Welcome friends, to the August Matches of the Month!
2026 is more in the rear view than the road ahead of us, and this month proved to be a real treat for exceptional wrestling! Maybe I'm getting my mojo back, maybe the end of the summer is proving to be a better season for great wrestling than the start. Regardless, let's see what matches were the very best this month!
The third match in what, very well may be, the best trilogy of matches AEW has ever had, Bailey and Fletcher had, to the surprise of none, an exceptional match. In my humble opinion, this was the weakest of their trilogy, but was in no way a terrible match. Maybe expectations were too high, maybe the crowd in Mexico just didn't get behind it, maybe it was the ring, maybe it was the weather. Either way, something about this match felt a quarter step behind their two previous encounters, but still exceptional in just about every other way.
Mark Davis vs. Will Ospreay - Mexico City Street Fight - AEW Dynamite - Grand Slam Mexico 2026 - 08/05/2026
An exciting street fight that took both men around Arena Mexico, Ospreay and Davis worked fantastically together. Davis' hard hitting and violent style worked well against Ospreay's more nimble style, with Ospreay spending a good amount of time getting his ass kicked, only to come back with fantastic fire and really lay it into Davis. These two clearly had a lot of fun out there and it showed in the match.
Yuya Uemura vs. Ryohei Oiwa - NJPW G1 Climax 36 - Day 19 - 08/16/2026
Featured in Weekly Watchlist 114 - Can the Headlock Save Wrestling?
Athena vs. Hazuki - ROH Death Before Dishonor 2026 - 08/21/2026
A match that I enjoyed far more than the Bandido/Nick Wayne main event, Athena and Hazuki had a brilliant match from bell to bell. Hard hitting and full of plenty of exciting near falls, the Forever Champion continues to show that she can be both incredibly dominant in her defences, but also thread the needle of knowing how to be vulnerable as well. She gave Hazuki just enough for you to believe that there was a chance of her losing the title, but came back strongly enough that the victory did not feel cheap. Exceptional work from both women.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia - AEW Collision - 08/22/2026
The Death Riders "Emissary of Violence" was sent to the ring with one goal in mind; test Garcia. Recently, Daniel has been looking to get "too big for his britches," trying to push the boundaries with Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders. Whether it was intentional for the story of this match or not, Claudio beat Garcia senseless for a good portion of this match, reminding him of the hierarchy within the Death Riders and that no amount of trash talk and posturing will change that. This match was a whole load of fun.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jon Moxley - AEW Dynamite - 08/26/2026
In an alternate universe, this would have been the finals for the Continental Challenge Cup, but I also understand why they had Nigel challenge Moxley in Wembley. Regardless, Claudio and Mox ran back their match from the end of 2025, with the two top dogs of the Death Riders going head to head. This match felt more in favour of Moxley than Claudio this time around, but it still felt like a really tough bout and a struggle at times. I had a lot of fun with this match, these two are just meant to beat lumps out of one another.
Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Mika Iwata - Sendai Girls SENJO 20th Anniversary Tour In Yoyogi ~ The Top Of Joshi Wrestling ~ - 08/28/2026
I feel like I'm talking about Chihiro Hashimoto at least every other month on this blog at this point. I mean, how can you not when she's having matches that are as good as this near every time she steps between the ropes?! Hard hitting, action packed, and just straight up bonkers, Hash and Iwata went absolutely hell for leather in this bout, beating each other absolutely senseless. Find this match yesterday and thank me tomorrow.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita - AEW All In London 2026 - 08/30/2026
Featured in Weekly Watchlist 116
Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin - Falls Count Anywhere Match - AEW All In London 2026 - 08/30/2026
Featured in Weekly Watchlist 116
Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone - AEW All In London 2026 - 08/30/2026
Featured in Weekly Watchlist 116
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay - AEW All In London 2026 - 08/30/2026
Featured in Weekly Watchlist 116
No comments:
Post a Comment