Fresh off of an action packed trip to Las Vegas, All Elite Wrestling returned to California for the February 11 episode of “AEW Dynamite,” which took place in Ontario. Fans got to see two title changes as Kyle Fletcher and Thekla won the AEW TNT and AEW Women’s World Championships respectively, Private Party made their return to the company after more than a year away, and tensions boiled over between Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland as the two men brawled all over the arena.

AEW received a lot of publicity following the February 4 episode of “Dynamite,” but the company couldn’t capitalize on that as far as the TV ratings were concerned. Both Wrestlenomics and The Programming Insider confirmed that the February 11 episode of “Dynamite” averaged a total of 604,000 viewers, an 8% drop from the previous week. With that said, 604,000 is 4% higher than the trailing four week average of 583,000 viewers, with all of these figures not only being helped out by the recent change in Nielsen’s methodology, but also not including those who streamed the show live on HBO MAX. The change in methodology has helped “Dynamite” compared to its 2025 ratings as the show is currently up 7% in February 2026 compared to last year, but the first quarter of 2026 is down by 7% compared to the same period 12 months ago.

In the 18-49 demographic, there was a dip for “Dynamite” as the show posted a 0.12 number, a 20% drop from the previous week, but 0.12 is 20% above the trailing four week average of 0.10. With that said, the demo number is down significantly compared to February 2025 and the first quarter of last year. With a 0.12 number, “Dynamite” ended up ranking joint ninth for the evening in the prime time cable rankings alongside an episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” with the big winner of the night being coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics on the USA Network.

When MJF signed with AEW in 2019, WWE star Cody Rhodes was his mentor and friend both on and off-screen, with “The American Nightmare” having played a role in the success that the 29-year-old has achieved today. However, after MJF was no longer the protege in the relationship and Rhodes had moved onto WWE, many questioned if both wrestlers still keep in touch despite working for opposing companies, and during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet on “Insight,” Friedman revealed that he still stays connected with the former Undisputed WWE Champion.

“Yeah, absolutely. Look, I’m not sitting here without Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes booked me for All-In, which got me in front of Tony Khan, which got me signed to a contract. Like [CM] Punk, I hope whatever he’s doing, he’s happy right now. And I mean, you would think he would be.”

In years prior, Rhodes has claimed that MJF will be a WWE star someday, and has been most impressed with his body transformation since he first started in AEW, stating that he will be able to stand across wrestlers with good physique if he ever jumps ship. In the same interview with Van Vliet, MJF revealed that he had several conversations with some of WWE’s higher-ups, who were interested in signing him. Additionally, Friedman claims that WWE would still like to strike a deal with him today, but reminded fans that he’ll always sign the contract with the most guaranteed money.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

When a new stable emerges in WWE, AEW, TNA, or any other American wrestling company, it’s a pretty safe bet that a bit of trademark news isn’t that far behind. And that’s exactly the case for a new “NXT” stable that seems ready for a big push. On February 11, WWE filed to trademark the name “Birthright.” As per usual, the trademark sees WWE looking to secure the name for the usage of entertainment services, almost all of which are related to pro wrestling.

Though not confirmed, speculation has centered on “Birthright” being used for the name of a stable headed by “NXT” star Lexis King, who has been using the word “birthright” on “NXT” television over the last several weeks. So far, King has recruited Arianna Grace and her fiancée Stacks into the stable, while also making an effort to recruit Charlie Dempsey and Uriah Connors. Grace, Dempsey, Connors, and King are all second or third generation wrestlers, suggesting that Birthright could be a modern day version of legacy, the stable of second and third generation wrestlers created by Randy Orton in the late 2000s.

While the group is still in the recruitment phase, King, Grace, and Stacks have already made moves in TNA to put them in a position of strength should Dempsey, Connors, or anyone else join them. Most recently, Stacks held the TNA International Championship for 70 days, only dropping it this past weekend at No Surrender to Trey Miguel. Fortunately, Grace immediately covered for her fiancée’s loss, defeating Lei Ying Lee to capture the TNA Knockouts Championship, her first championship victory in her career.