Need to know when and where to watch an upcoming PPV/PLE? Need to know who’s fighting who? Need to know why you should care? Then, you’ve come to the right place!
A Handy Guide is a new series here on Dirt Sheet Radio and Comic Book Clique where we run down an upcoming pay-per-view’s match card, and discuss the competitors and stories coming into each match. For now, our focus is going to be on WWE and AEW, but if there’s interest, we may expand to companies like TNA, NJPW, and more.
Today’s edition is all about AEW Redemption 2026, taking place on Sunday, July 26th, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This is the inaugural Redemption event and the first AEW PPV to take place in Montreal.
The PPV will air on major cable and satellite providers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. U.S. and Canadian viewers can stream the event on YouTube, Prime Video, and DAZN. Additionally, U.S. fans can also stream it on HBO Max at a discount, or catch it at select Dave & Buster locations nationwide. International viewers can view the event on PPV.com or MyAEW.com.
This article does not cover any of the Buy-In (pre-show) matches, and as always the card is subject to change. But for now, these are the matches, and these are the stories:
Mark Davis vs. Andrade El Ídolo— National Championship Match
To the surprise of no one, the Don Callis Family is all over this show, and out of all the matches on this card, this one is the Doniest Callisiest Familiest of them all. When Andrade returned to AEW, he immediately aligned himself with Don Callis and his growing family. However, the DCF’s biggest strength (numbers) is also its biggest weakness. The more members they have, the more egos need to be balanced, and Andrade didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle behind guys like Okada, Fletcher, or the newly acquired Kevin Knight.
Things came to a head at Forbidden Door. Andrade was handpicked by Don Callis to join Team MJF in the wild and bloody “Death’s Door” twelve-man tag team cage match. He protested the decision, primarily due to his hatred for MJF, and would loudly betray his team during the match. Now on his own and with an eye for singles gold, Andrade won a number one contender’s match for a shot against a familiar face: the National Champion, and DCF member, Mark Davis.
Mark Davis joined the family back in 2025 as part of a spiteful feud against Will Ospreay. He’s brought both muscle and brains to the group, beating down DCF adversaries with precise brutality. He made it to the semifinals of this year’s Owen Hart Tournament, and a couple of months ago, he won the AEW National Championship from “Jungle” Jack Perry. Davis has defended the belt in RevPro and Ring of Honor, and most recently defended it in a hard-hitting match on Collision against “Speedball” Mike Bailey. This Sunday, he is not only defending the championship, but also the honor of the Don Callis Family.
"The Painmaker" Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa
— No Holds Barred
This feud has hit all the notes for a typical face/heel feud. Returning star receives a welcome back pop and an automatic face turn, heel is jealous of face because “reason”, something something respect.
Tommaso Ciampa has made his hatred for Chris Jericho crystal clear (even spoofing his infamous 1,004 Reasons promo to explain it). He believes he is better than Jericho and feels he needs to expose him as a fraud following his return to AEW. As for Jericho, he is running solo for the first time since the disbandment of the Jericho Appreciation Society, and sees Ciampa as a nuisance (see: Jericho calling him “Tommy” during a recent promo battle). The two faced off for the first time at Beach Break, and Ciampa won after blinding Jericho with sand and hitting him with a running knee. Typical heel work, typical end to a filler feud.
And then Ciampa tried to attack Jericho with a power drill.
“Psycho Killer” Tommaso Ciampa has re-emerged, and it seems this is no longer just about respect. Now, he wants to kill Jericho(?). Meanwhile, Jericho has not taken this threat lying down, and has tapped into his own sadistic side, returning to his Painmaker moniker to enact revenge on Ciampa. Ciampa has upped the stakes and called for a No Holds Barred match, Jericho has accepted. Painmaker versus Psycho Killer; this is going to be brutal.
Cage and Cope (Christian Cage/Adam Copeland) vs. The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli/Pac)
— Tag Team Championship Match
When Christian Cage and Adam Copeland became the AEW tag team champions, it was a cathartic moment. Two best friends whose careers were cut short due to injuries, returned and branched off on their own paths, and then came together to remind themselves and the world how great they are. Some people thought they might slow down a little bit. Some people thought they would take on challengers sporadically until dropping the belts and riding off into the sunset. Those people do not know Cage and Cope.
In their first two defenses of the championships, they faced young, hungry competitors in The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) and The Death Riders (Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta). The Dogs and Death Riders are now aligned to inflict pain and violence all throughout AEW, and the tag team championships remain in their crosshairs. Since the younger Death Riders were unable to get the job done, the heavy hitters are now taking their shot. Claudio Castagnoli and PAC are wrestling savants with kicks and elbows that can take your head off. Cage and Cope will not let the titles go without a fight, and Claudio and PAC are the perfect wrestlers to bring the fight to them.
Bang Bang Gang
(Jay White/Juice Robinson) vs. The Dogs (Clark Connors/David Finlay) — Double Chain Match
Speaking of The Dogs, they have been engaged in a bloody and personal feud with the Bang Bang Gang that stems from a historic schism of one of Japan’s most infamous factions. In 2023, Jay White lost a “Loser Leaves NJPW” match, and as he was addressing the crowd, David Finlay attacked him and took control of Bullet Club. Finlay saw the faction through to its bitter end while White joined AEW and formed Bullet Club Gold (later the Bang Bang Gang). In 2025, Jay White needed to take time off to deal with some severe injuries and would be sidelined for 15 months. Enough time for David Finlay and Clark Connors to finish their tenures in New Japan and set their sights on becoming all elite.
The Dogs formed in full force back in March when David Finlay made his AEW debut to help Clark Connors and the other dog, Gabe Kidd. Formed from the ashes of the Bullet Club, these three men have run roughshod through the AEW roster and were set to win the tag team championships at Forbidden Door. Until Jay White made a surprise return and attacked David Finlay, costing them the match. There is a price to pay this Sunday, and it will be paid with blood and chains. The Double Chain Match will supposedly function much like the Double Dog Collar Match between FTR and The Briscoes in 2022. One member of a tag team will be chained to a member of the opposing team, ensuring there is nowhere to run or hide, and the violence will not stop until there is a pinfall or submission.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido— International Championship Match
On March 28, 2026, Kyle Fletcher suffered a torn meniscus, fractured tibia, and fractured ankle. These injuries should have taken him out of action for months. Less than sixty days later, Kyle Fletcher returned at Double or Nothing to help kick Konosuke Takeshita out of the Don Callis Family. An insane amount of luck kept Fletcher from needing surgery and allowing him to rehab so quickly. Though, it wasn’t luck that helped him defeat Takeshita and win the International Championship.
The golden boy of the Don Callis Family is riding high after betraying one of his best friends— again— and taking his title in the process. He has already amassed one successful title defense against the high-flying luchador Komander, and at Redemption he’s set to face another luchador: Bandido.
At just thirty-one years old, Bandido has already solidified himself as a legendary luchador and has held the ROH World Championship now for over 470 days. He combines smooth high-flying prowess with a disproportionate strength that allows him to easily throw around guys twice his size. And he, like so many wrestlers, has a bone to pick with the Don Callis Family. After Fletcher successfully defended his championship, he and the DCF sought to unmask Komander. He was saved by Bandido and Brody King, which enraged Fletcher enough to call the tag team out for a singles match with the International Championship on the line. It’s a bold, emotional move on the young champion’s part, but if it pays off, it can go a long way in solidifying Fletcher as a main-event talent.
If it pays off…
Six-Man Ladder Match to Become #1 Contender for the International Championship
The multi-man ladder match is the bay leaf for a pro wrestling match card. You don’t always need it, and you don’t know how it got in there, but man is it giving that stew the good spice. On this pay-per-view, the spice is coming from a six-man ladder match to determine the new number one contender for Kyle Fletcher’s International Championship. Already announced for the match are: Quebec’s own “Speedball” Mike Bailey, the man who nearly defeated Fletcher in his first defense, Komander, the former National Champion “Jungle” Jack Perry, and The Beast Mortos, who returns to AEW after dealing with visa issues.
The final two entrants will be determined in qualifying matches on Saturday night’s Collision. AR Fox takes on “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne, and the last time these two faced off, Fox was victorious and also won the ROH World Television Championship from Wayne. Now, they face off for a shot at a different championship. The second qualifying match is between El Clon, the evil side split off from the wrestler Hologram after he began “glitching out” in the ring, and Lio Rush, who has become possessed by a demon that has made him go insane and also won him the ROH World TV title. Wrestling is fun.
Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World
— TBS Championship Match
Hikaru Shida returned to AEW in April to answer Willow Nightingale’s challenge, coincidentally, for the TBS Champion. Over the next few weeks, Shida began developing an attitude and animosity towards her fellow competitors. She was more brutal and relentless in the ring, all for the sake of becoming a champion again. She fully turned heel during the Survival of the Fittest match, submitting Kris Statlander after she was blindsided by Persephone, and becoming the TBS Champion. She has shown no mercy to challengers and continues beating them down after the bell rings. It’s during her post-match beatdown of Queen Aminata that she was interrupted by her newest challenger: Maya World.
Maya World has had a whirlwind couple of months. After the tragic loss of her brother, she continued to wrestle in order to honor his memory. That drive and dedication earned her a spot at Forbidden Door and in the finals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament. Despite coming up short, it gained her respect and adoration from the fans, and a continued presence on AEW television. Now, on the heels of her great showing at Forbidden Door, she is in another high-profile pay-per-view match. Can she ride her momentum all the way to her first AEW championship win? Or will Hikaru Shida continue to hone her ruthless edge and extend her reign?
The Young Bucks vs. Death Riders (Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley)
After defeating him at Dynasty in April, Jon Moxley started a campaign to recruit Will Ospreay. It was a confusing move, the two men are like oil and water. Moxley is cold, methodical, and violent; Ospreay is flashy, high-flying, and…okay, so he’s violent too but in a video game character kind of way. Still, though, why would Moxley want Ospreay of all people to join the Death Riders? The answer, it turns out, is deceptively simple: Ospreay earned Moxley’s respect. He’s willing to work with the Aerial Assassin so he can live up to the latter part of that moniker. Ospreay was hesitant at first, but he eventually learned to tap into his more violent side, and even the most apprehensive Death Riders learned to embrace their newest recruit. With the Death Riders in his corner, Will Ospreay vanquished Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door and won the Men’s Owen Hart tournament.
The lessons continue, however, and Moxley has taken the full-fledged Death Rider completely under his wing. Moxley and Ospreay have become a formidable mentor/student tag team, defeating their opponents with a brutality that some would deem unnecessary. The Death Riders would deem it as part of the business. Meanwhile, the Young Bucks have their sights set on the world tag team championships again and want to ensure The Elite are all holding gold sooner rather than later. They see Will Ospreay and, by extension, the Death Riders as a threat to that golden prophecy.
The Young Bucks have challenged Moxley and Ospreay to a match at Redemption, and the Death Riders have accepted. With the Bucks being best friends to Ospreay’s potential All-In opponent, Kenny Omega, how personal will he take this match? Will it be “just business” for him? Or a prelude to what could await Kenny in London in one month?
Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale
— Women’s World Championship Match
Back in May, Willow Nightingale suffered a shoulder injury that forced her to relinquish her TBS Championship and drop out of the Owen Hart tournament. This was a significant loss to the women’s division and hurt the momentum of Willow, who was having a banner year. However, earlier this month at Beach Break, Willow made a shocking return during the Women’s Casino Gauntlet, ultimately winning the match and a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship. Willow Nightingale proudly revels in this pay-per-view’s theme of redemption. On an episode of Collision, she declared, “Redemption means…that the worst day of my career doesn’t have to define the rest of it.” She’s been vocal about the pain of losing it all, but also the strength it took to get her back and better than ever. She is not going to waste this chance to get back to the top of the women’s division.
However, the woman standing in her way is the mean, violent, toxic champion Thekla. After winning the championship in a bloody strap match against Kris Statlander in February, Thekla has been on a reign of terror. Alongside Julia Hart and Skye Blue, the Triangle of Madness has engaged in regular beatdowns of the women’s division and antagonized pretty much anyone with a pulse. Unfortunately for her challengers, Thekla has backed her trash talk up decisively in the ring. Over the last five months, she’s amassed victories against the likes of Thunder Rosa, Mina Shirakawa, Jamie Hayter, Alex Windsor, and Stardom’s own Starlight Kid. Neither woman is backing down from the other, and when these two dynamic forces finally meet, it’s surely going to be spectacular.
Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Knight
— Men’s World Championship Match
There is perhaps no other wrestler on this card that embodies the theme of redemption like Kenny Omega. Back in January 2025, Kenny Omega returned after a thirteen-month absence due to a life-threatening bout of diverticulitis. During that time away, he had two feet (sixty-one centimeters) of his intestines removed and was told he could never return to the level of the Best Bout Machine, the seven-star man, the God of Pro Wrestling. To return to the ring was already a miracle, to become AEW champion again was another thing entirely. Jameus Mooney wrote a beautiful article that touches on how much Kenny’s identity is linked to the AEW World Championship, and you can read that here.
Winning the world championship means ultimate vindication for Kenny. Yes, he did win the International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita during this time, which was vindicating in its own right, but it wasn’t the World Championship. It wasn’t the championship synonymous with All Elite Wrestling, the company he built. At Dynasty, Kenny was unsuccessful at wrestling the world championship from MJF, but managed to secure a rematch at Beach Break. However, it was with an asterisk that has plagued The Elite since AEW’s inception: if Kenny lost, he could never challenge for the world championship ever again. Thankfully, Kenny Omega found himself again and regained the world championship at Beach Break. Kenny knows it’s going to be a journey to keep his championship, but he also knows this will all result in the “best” version of Kenny Omega that AEW has ever seen. A version that every challenger of the belt will have to combat.
Enter the TNT Champion, Kevin Knight.
Kevin Knight won the TNT Championship in a Casino Gauntlet match at Dynasty in April. The win came as a surprise to everyone…who hasn’t been watching the product. Kevin Knight has quickly become one of AEW’s most reliable talents, and him winning the TNT Championship shows the company believes he is the present and future of the business. However, that responsibility has deformed into arrogance, and he believes the people that have lifted him up are actually anchors holding him down. At Double or Nothing, he let one of those anchors loose by turning heel on Darby Allin. Since then, he has split from his tag team partner, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, joined the Don Callis Family, and called out the new world champion.
Kenny has called Kevin Knight out for being a fraud. He believes there is still goodness inside Knight and wants to see the return of “The Jet”. But Kevin Knight doesn’t believe there is goodness in his heart, only greatness. That ego may get the better of the TNT Champion. His growing disdain over certain members of the DCF (*cough* Kyle Fletcher *cough*) has caused him to ban the rest of the family from ringside during this match. This will be the first test of Kenny’s reign and the biggest test of Kevin’s entire career. Whatever the outcome, this is sure to be an exciting match.
Other Things To Look Out For
Where is Swerve Strickland? After coming up short in the finals of the Owen Hart tournament, he hasn’t been seen on television. Could he make an appearance at Redemption? And if so, who does he go for next?
Hangman Adam Page can never challenge for the AEW World Championship again, leaving his next path wildly up to interpretation. Could we see a hint of what he does next on this night?
Mercedes Mone went back-to-back and won the Owen Hart tournament two years in a row. She’s set to face the women’s champion at All-In, so she’s certain to make an appearance at Redemption, possibly after (or during?) the women’s championship match.
It was also announced that this PPV would celebrate 80 years of the Rougeau wrestling dynasty. Expect a nice, respectful ceremony at the event with very little chance of shenanigans.
A plethora of former WWE wrestlers have entered free agency. Big names like Motor City Machine Guns, Kairi Sane, and The New Day are on the market and have not yet confirmed where they’re going next. Could we see some new faces become all elite at Redemption?
Jhuvin P is a new writer for CBC/DSR. He has previous experience as a ghostwriter, has published several short stories, and is perpetually working on a novel. In addition to writing, he is also a comedian based out of Colorado Springs. He posts clips of his stand-up along with his other goofy antics on TikTok and Instagram.