AEW Dynamite Preview & Predictions for September 16, 2026

AEW Dynamite returns on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, from Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. With AEW All Out less than two weeks away, Wednesday’s show will continue the build toward the September 26 PPV with four matches already announced. AEW World Champion Will Ospreay will team with Andrade El Idolo & Francesco Akira against Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd & PAC, while Chris Jericho will go one-on-one with Nick Wayne.

The card has also added a massive eight-man tag team match, with AEW World Tag Team Champions Cage & Cope, TNT Champion Darby Allin & Steven Borden taking on FTR, Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight. Jamie Hayter will also be in singles action against Lena Kross.

We’ll have all the latest updates right here on DraftKings Network as additional matches and segments are announced for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite from Norfolk, Virginia.

Below is our full AEW Dynamite preview for September 16, 2026, including the confirmed match card and predictions.AEW Dynamite Preview & Match Card for September 16, 2026

Here’s a look at the matches announced for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite in Norfolk. We’ll continue updating the card as additional matches and segments are announced.

Will Ospreay, Andrade El Idolo & Francesco Akira vs. Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd & PAC – Trios Match

There’s a lot going on in this match, but I’m particularly interested in seeing Francesco Akira involved again. Akira accompanied Callum Newman and HENARE at All In when Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship. This time, Akira isn’t officially teaming under the United Empire banner, as he’ll join Ospreay & Andrade El Idolo against Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd & PAC.

Obviously, the biggest story here is Ospreay and Moxley continuing to build toward their AEW World Championship match at All Out. But I also wonder if we’re starting to plant the seeds for something even bigger between United Empire and the Death Riders. AEW recently announced that Blood & Guts will take place on November 4 in Jacksonville, Florida, and a United Empire vs. Death Riders showdown would make a lot of sense if these issues continue to escalate.

As for Wednesday, I’m going with Moxley, Kidd & PAC. Ospreay doesn’t need to take the loss this close to All Out, and Akira gives AEW an easy way to give Moxley’s side the victory without pinning the AEW World Champion. More importantly, I’ll be watching to see if this match continues pushing United Empire and the Death Riders closer to a potential Blood & Guts showdown in November.

Will Ospreay, Andrade El Idolo & Francesco Akira vs. Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd & PAC Prediction: Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd & PAC earn the victory

Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne – Singles Match

Jericho has been an even 3-3 in singles competition since returning to AEW, with losses to Ricochet, Tommaso Ciampa and Kevin Knight. At this stage of Jericho’s career, it feels as if one of his biggest goals is making younger talent look good, and the 21-year-old Wayne certainly fits that criteria.

Wayne hasn’t had a ton of direction since dropping the ROH World Television Championship to AR Fox back in May. He’s obviously still extremely young and has plenty of time, but a program with Jericho could be exactly what he needs to start moving in the right direction again.

For this first match, I’m still siding with Jericho. I could easily see AEW using this as the beginning of a larger feud, with Jericho getting the first victory before Wayne wins a more important rematch down the line. That would still accomplish the goal of elevating Wayne without having Jericho immediately lose the first match of the program.

Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne Prediction: Chris Jericho earns the victory

Cage & Cope, Darby Allin & Steven Borden vs. FTR, Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight – 8-Man Tag Team Match

There’s a lot going on in this eight-man tag match, with several different storylines coming together ahead of All Out. Last week on Dynamite, FTR & Stokely Hathaway helped Fletcher & Knight defeat The Young Bucks in a Tables Match. They weren’t finished after the bell, but Darby Allin & Steven Borden came out to run them off. Now, all four will be on the same side of the ring against Darby, Borden and AEW World Tag Team Champions Cage & Cope.

Darby & Borden are also coming off their first televised tag team match together, defeating Mark Davis & Josh Alexander last week. Borden scored the pin in that match and continues to be presented as someone AEW has big plans for. Pairing him and Darby with Cage & Cope against this level of competition is another pretty significant spot for him this early into his television run.

This is a tough one to predict because there are plenty of ways AEW can get to the finish without hurting anyone involved. I’m going to side with Cage & Cope, Darby & Borden. With so many All Out storylines involved, I expect plenty of chaos, but the babyface side getting some revenge for what happened at the end of last week’s Dynamite feels like the direction I’ll take.

Cage & Cope, Darby Allin & Steven Borden vs. FTR, Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight Prediction: Cage & Cope, Darby Allin & Steven Borden earn the victory

Jamie Hayter vs. Lena Kross – Singles Match

It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen either of these women in singles action. For Kross, this will be her first singles match since March 15. She’s only had three singles matches in AEW and owns a 1-2 record, with most of her work coming alongside Megan Bayne as Divine Dominion.

Hayter hasn’t had a singles match since May, when she defeated Skye Blue on Dynamite. Since then, we’ve obviously seen plenty of her alongside Alex Windsor as The Brawling Birds, but it’ll be good to see Hayter back in a one-on-one match.

I’m going with Hayter here. Kross has been presented as a force in the tag team division, but this feels like a good opportunity to get Hayter rolling again in singles competition. I don’t expect Kross to make it easy, but Hayter should come away with the victory.

Jamie Hayter vs. Lena Kross Prediction: Jamie Hayter earns the victory

AEW Rebel Heart Dynamite Results (September 9, 2026)

• AEW World Trios Championship Match: Swerve Strickland & The New Level (Austin Creed & Kofi) (c) def. The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
• Trios Match: Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida & TBS Champion Persephone def. Thunder Rosa, Maya World & Hyan
• AEW National Championship Match: Andrade El Idolo (c) def. The Beast Mortos
• AEW World Championship Eliminator Match: Will Ospreay (c) def. David Finlay
• Tag Team Match: TNT Champion Darby Allin & Steven Borden def. Mark Davis & Josh Alexander
• Tables Match: Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight def. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)

Key Takeaways from AEW Rebel Heart Dynamite

• AEW opened the night with an in memoriam tribute to Andy Williams, with a full tribute edition of Collision announced for Saturday.
• Rebel appeared during The Waiting Room and later helped Britt Baker secure her first AEW victory in nearly two years by delivering Baker’s glove for the Lockjaw.
• Swerve Strickland & The New Level retained the AEW World Trios Championship for the second straight week, before The Demand and The Lethal Swirl confronted the champions.
• Will Ospreay defeated David Finlay and revealed that he personally requested Jon Moxley as his first AEW World Championship challenger at All Out.
• Darby Allin & Steven Borden won Borden’s first televised AEW match, defeating Mark Davis & Josh Alexander.
• Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight defeated The Young Bucks in the Tables Match with help from FTR and Stokely Hathaway.
• Thekla confronted AEW Women’s World Champion Mercedes Moné and Willow Nightingale as the women’s title picture continued to heat up.
• Andrade El Idolo retained the AEW National Championship before The Dogs attacked him, prompting Will Ospreay to make the save.

How to Watch AEW Dynamite (September 16, 2026)

Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
TV Channel: TBS
Streaming: HBO Max (simulcast)
Location: Chartway Arena — Norfolk, Virginia

AEW Dynamite airs live Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TBS and streams simultaneously on HBO Max.