AEW Dynamite Preview and Predictions are here for June 17, 2026, at the Smart Financial Center in Sugar Land, Texas, after a special episode of AEW Dynamite Summer Blockbuster last week at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. AEW has been giving WWE a run for their money ever since their historic AEW Double or Nothing 2026 PPV that dropped the jaws of many wrestling fans. AEW is now on the road to AEW Forbidden Door 2026, which is essentially a brand warfare between AEW and NJPW.
On that special episode last week, Chris Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa had a really dumb “Tommy Mommy” segment. Darby Allin returned to get revenge on Kevin Knight for the TNT Title after Knight took him out of commission on the stretcher at Double or Nothing.
In terms of momentum builders, Mark Briscoe defeated PAC, whose other Death Riders comrades are feuding with Shane Taylor Promotions in the interim. Also, Orange Cassidy lost to Andrade, who could potentially be a possible addition to Team MJF.
In terms of the Owen Hart Tournament, Swerve Strickland defeated Brody King to advance to the finals against Will Ospreay. Meanwhile, Maya World upset Skye Blue to advance to the semifinals of the tournament against Athena.
While the Men’s Owen Hart Finals between Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland are already set for Forbidden Door, the Women’s Owen Hart Finals are yet to be decided. However, based on how this is going, it seems that Mercedes Mone vs. Athena will be the finals match for this tournament.
This week on AEW Dynamite, MJF and Mark Briscoe are scheduled to select their teams for their big 10-man tag match at Forbidden Door.
The stipulation is: If Team Briscoe wins, Mark Briscoe will earn an AEW World Title shot against MJF. While Mark Briscoe likely recruits The Conglomeration (i.e., Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’ Reilly, Roderick Strong, Tomohiro Ishii) and even teases the return of Adam Cole, MJF could reunite with Hurt Syndicate (i.e., Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, MVP) and tease the return of Wardlow.
The possibilities are endless, as Adam Cole has history with Undisputed Era, and both Hurt Syndicate and Wardlow have history with MJF. Also, one match is scheduled: Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki in the Owen Hart Semifinals.
The finals of these tournaments are expected to take place at AEW Forbidden Door, which is scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 28, 2026, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. This show will be interesting. Without further ado, here are the AEW Dynamite Preview and Predictions for June 17, 2026.
Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki – Owen Hart Semifinals
Many fans questioned why Mercedes Mone was on such a long hiatus just to come back in the Owen Hart Tournament as a wild card replacement for Willow Nightingale.
They probably thought that she would target the AEW World Title directly or even get her rematch for the TBS Title. Still, the latter is clearly not the case since there is a Survival of the Fittest Match currently booked to determine the new TBS Champion, which will commence on Collision this week. Looks like AEW called an emergency audible.
Mone will undoubtedly go all the way to the finals in this tournament and battle Athena in a marquee match at Forbidden Door. Just like Ospreay and Strickland, Mone and Athena have had a historic rivalry in the past two years. Like Maya World is for Athena, Kazuki is merely fodder for Mone here.
There is no way that AEW would sacrifice leaving out two of their biggest women’s wrestlers from the PPV card. This is academic, and the result here is inevitable, as there’s always a price to pay when you mess with Mercedes Mone.
Prediction: Mercedes Mone
AEW Dynamite Preview (6/17/26) – Matches & Segments Announced:
- MJF and Mark Briscoe select their teams for AEW Forbidden Door 2026
- Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki in a 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Cup Semifinals
If you’re not down with just that and would like even more AEW Dynamite Previews and Predictions from Mark Justice, check out more of his articles right here on Last Word on Sports (LWOS), on Let Them Wrestle (LTW), and subscribe to his popular YouTube channel.
