AEW Dynamite took place last Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minnesota. I was there. Having attended the last two times that AEW was up in the Twin Cities, I feel confident in saying this was the best of them. As non-pay-per-views go, I think this is the best live wrestling show I have seen in person.
There was so much to love for AEW fans new and old. There was meaningful progress with current stories and some original members of the AEW roster playing the hits.
The show was book-ended by Kenny Omega and Darby Allin victories. Kenny appeared two more times over the course of the show. I think I can speak for most of the crowd when I say this: we had a great time.
It was loud. The two hours went by quickly. We popped for a number of big moments. We booed the bad guys. In so many ways, it was exactly what a wrestling show should be.
And yet, as we got to the last 30 minutes of the show, something was still missing. And that thing had nothing to do with AEW's kayfabe universe, and everything to do with the things that have happened in Minnesota in 2026.
We wanted Brody King.
Save for a few holdouts, it seems like pro wrestlers have embraced a new reality when it comes to kayfabe, or maintaining the characters and stories of their promotion at all times.
Gone are the days when it was a violation of some sacred code to acknowledge that a wrestler is playing a character in a fight that isn't real. What we have now is a shared acknowledgment of that reality and a nearly constant blurring of those lines on the shows themselves.
There is constant coverage of off-camera dynamics, from feuds in the locker room to impending free agents who might switch companies. There is open discussion of the craft of pro wrestling by analysts and writers and the wrestlers themselves, acknowledging the split between fiction and reality.
With all of that in mind, crowds might react strongly to a wrestler or an angle for reasons completely separate from the actual wrestling shows. They might boo because of a rumor about backstage happenings. And they might cheer because of things they know about the person behind the wrestler.
That brings us to Brody King.
In a moment when we are staring down a truly scary road when it comes to the role and behavior of our federal government, there aren't a lot of people with larger platforms who want to say so. At least it doesn't feel like it's very many people, or as many people as it should be, when the actions of federal officials agents are so plainly evil and corrupt.
It's not like people with platforms are out here supporting what's happening. They just aren't saying anything. On the one hand, I get it and I don't have a lot of capacity to tell people how to be when I don't actually know anything about them or what they are dealing with.
On the other hand, I struggle with treating the events of 2026 like they are anything normal or anything that can be sidestepped like any other run-of-the-mill political topic. As I argued the last time I wrote about this, there is only one side to this particular issue.
Hayden Kane
The federal government bullied the people in Minnesota for months. They murdered two people and lied about it. Citizens who did nothing other than have non-white skin were not safe to leave their home for days or weeks or months, lest they be scooped up by a masked loser who was trying to help ICE meet its quota.
When it comes to all of these horrors, Brody King said something. He has been saying something about ICE's bullshit since the days before their high-profile terrorism in Minnesota.
With all that has been happening here, that means something. It meant something when I saw that first crowd greet Brody with a "fuck ICE" chant. And it meant something to the St. Paul crowd this past Wednesday, so many of us hoping to see Brody in person.
The show unfolded, and as we got to the last 30 minutes or so, it became clear that Brody wasn't booked for our edition of Dynamite. In terms of wrestling stories in AEW, that made sense. But in terms of that blurring of the lines between kayfabe and real life, it was still unacceptable.
So we started a different chant: "We want Brody!"
Ring announcer Justin Roberts misunderstood. He reminded us that Tony (Schiavone) was right there at the announcers desk.
"We want Brody!"
"We want Brody!"
Then the main event started. Realizing that we might not have the chance to greet the man himself with the chant that we really wanted to yell, we just yelled it anyway.
"Fuck ICE!"
Darby Allin and RUSH continued their match.
"Fuck ICE! Fuck ICE! Fuck ICE!"
Darby Allin won the final match of the show. He was swiftly attacked by the Don Callis family. The heels stood tall over Darby. So ended this episode of AEW Dynamite.
But that wasn't the end for the live crowd. Because Brody King did run out for the save, along with Minneapolis's own Top Flight (Dante and Darius Martin).
So it was that the loudest cheer of the night happened after the wrestling show was over, for actions that had nothing to do with the wrestling show.
It was awesome.
By the time we left, Brody King was still shaking hands and fist bumping and taking selfies. His very loud music was still playing.
Kenny Omega is my favorite wrestler. I was lucky enough to see him win a classic match last Wednesday. I'll remember that for a long time.
And I'll still remember this particular night, first and foremost, as the night I got to see Brody King and join my fellow Minnesotans in loudly recognizing him and his willingness to say something about violence and evil in the world.
Here are some of my other notes from seeing last Wednesday's Dynamite live.
- Orange Cassidy is constantly finding new ways to keep the same gimmick entertaining. I thought he, Roderick Strong, and the Dogs tore the house down in their tag team match.
- The Dogs are great heels, by the way.
- Darby Allin generated no less than five jump-scare moments for our row of fans. I knew RUSH was going to throw him around. It was still scarier than I thought it would be.
- It was also a great main event match, by the way.
- This was my first time seeing a true MJF promo in person. The last time I saw him was during his brief run as the good guy. It was exactly as entertaining as I expected it to be to see him as the villain.
- The small venues for Dynamite are the way to go, especially with a hot crowd like the one we had last week. But the entrance ramp in this small venue is especially tiny. It was funny to watch the wrestlers pacing out their usual entrances when they were like five steps away from the ring.
- Example: Kenny just walked in place for a bit to hit all of his marks in his entrance.
AEW and its fans sometimes talk about "the feeling," and whether or not AEW has it at any given moment.
For my money, this show had "the feeling." It was an excellent experience attending the show, and it's got me excited for what's coming in AEW.
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