kenny omega walked into AEW Dynamite with his Executive Vice President status on the line and left with the company’s top prize in his sights. The singles rematch with Swerve Strickland opened the show and carried major implications for the AEW World Championship picture as of March 25, 2026, during the live broadcast window in Eastern Time. By the end of the bout, the stakes were settled in the ring: a new number one contender emerged.
What happened on Dynamite: high stakes, immediate result
The match was framed as a winner-take-all scenario: Swerve Strickland entered with his status as the #1 contender to the AEW World Championship, while kenny omega put up his EVP status. The result was decisive. Omega defeated Strickland, scoring the winning pinfall after hitting the One Winged Angel finisher.
With the win, Omega becomes the new #1 contender for AEW World Champion MJF. There was no confirmed timetable given for when the championship match will take place; the timing remains unspecified as of the end of the segment.
Kenny Omega and the road to this rematch
This rematch was built on a rivalry that escalated fast. AEW’s own preview for the March 25 Dynamite described how the first Strickland-Omega match from just over a month earlier turned into a “nightmare” for Omega, noting that Strickland won with “questionable tactics” and then took things further after the bell by hanging Omega over the ropes by a chain and delivering a Vertebreaker through the announce desk.
AEW also stated that the aftermath kept Omega out of action until Revolution, where he returned to save Brody King from a Swerve Stomp through a cinder block after Strickland defeated King in a singles match. From there, the stakes were raised again: Omega pushed for Strickland to put his #1 contendership on the line, and Strickland demanded more—Omega’s EVP status—as the price of agreeing.
Immediate reactions and what MJF has to watch now
An on-screen post from All Elite Wrestling during the broadcast summed up the moment plainly: “Omega wins… is the new #1 contender for MJF’s AEW World Championship. ” That announcement locks in the next direction at the top of the card, even if the date for the title match is still unknown.
MJF was also scheduled to return to Dynamite for the first time since Revolution, after his successful championship defense against “Hangman” Adam Page in a Texas Death Match at AEW Revolution. AEW’s preview emphasized that MJF would be “certainly” interested in the outcome of the Strickland-Omega rematch—an interest now sharpened by the fact that Omega has officially taken the #1 contender position.
Quick context
The March 25 Dynamite originated from Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was promoted as a night where “power and opportunity” were on the line. The headline stipulation made that literal, tying championship positioning directly to executive status inside AEW.
What’s next
The central question coming out of the opening match is straightforward: when does Omega get his title shot, and how does MJF respond now that a new challenger is officially set. Until a date is announced, kenny omega stands as the confirmed #1 contender, and Dynamite’s next developments will revolve around turning that status into a scheduled AEW World Championship fight.
