To say 2026 has been a great year for Mark Davis would be an understatement.
The Aussie-native got off to a rough start in AEW after he and his Aussie Open tag partner Kyle Fletcher signed with the promotion in 2023, with Davis getting injured only months in when the pair challenged then-champions FTR for the tag team titles.
It remained the case between then and the end of 2025, with other injuries hampering any momentum he would start to gain after returning.
All the while, Fletcher’s star rose more and more thanks to his success including winning his first singles title in the Ring of Honor Men’s Television Champion, joining the Don Callis Family, a high-profile feud with Will Ospreay, and plenty more gold since then. It had gotten to the point where many fans believe he could win his first world title sooner than later, especially after Ospreay won the AEW Men’s World Title at All In London 2026.
It made fans wonder what would happen to Davis after he returned from a foot injury in October 2025, rejoining the Don Callis Family after joining earlier in the year before the aforementioned injury. Some viewers on social media suggested he was the “Marty Jannetty” of Aussie Open, AKA the tag partner who would not reach the same levels of success as the other.
This talk started dying down after the 36-year-old wrestler got off to a good start in 2026. He was having well-received matches on TV fairly regularly, even if he lost more often then he won, and would become AEW World Trios Champion and AEW National Champion in the first four months.
However, the night that truly changed things was on the April 22 edition of Dynamite.
Davis, who won the National Title only a few weeks before, was scheduled to face Ospreay, with the latter coming off a tough loss to Jon Moxley at AEW Dynasty. The general consensus among fans was that Davis was being fed to Ospreay to help him bounce back from the Moxley loss, even if Davis was still the National Champion.
The match was a physical showdown between the former United Empire stablemates, with Davis hitting the power moves he became known for while Ospreay leaned on his athleticism despite lingering damage to his neck from the Dynasty match.
And then it happened.
Davis managed to catch Ospreay on the outside apron before hitting his gut-wrench piledriver on the self-described ‘Billy GOAT’ and dropped him to the floor. The referee and ringside doctor were quick to respond and check on the English-born wrestler. The doctor decided Ospreay who, in kayfabe came back from neck surgery too quick and was paying the price, told the referee he could not continue and to end the match.
The unthinkable had happened. Davis had defeated Ospreay by referee stoppage. Davis physically beat Ospreay so bad that he wasn’t able to continue.
Davis didn’t even need to pin Ospreay.
It was a win that caught fans completely by surprise. Even with how Ospreay was selling his injuries and neck surgery, no one thought Davis had a chance of winning a match against the wrestler who would eventually main event All In London for the AEW Men’s World Title against champion Kenny Omega. And not only did Davis beat Ospreay, he beat Ospreay in about as physically dominant a fashion as possible.
Ospreay and Davis would have two more matches in the following months, one in the Owen Hart Classic and then a street fight at Grand Slam Mexico. Both would go to Ospreay in matches just as, if not more physical than the first match the pair had.
But it was that April 22 match that truly changed things for Davis.
Since then, Davis’ stock in AEW has only gone up. The bruiser from Queensland has become a fixture on AEW TV as he worked singles and multi-man matches on either Dynamite or Collision fairly regularly, especially while holding the National Champion. He became the go-to “bruiser” for the Don Callis Family and has even started teaming with Jake Doyle again after a reportedly planned tag title match for the pair earlier in the year didn’t happen due to an untimely injury for Doyle right after signing with AEW.
This success extended to pay-per-view, as well, as he received multiple singles spotlights.
He would defend, but lose, the AEW National Title to Andrade El Idolo at AEW Redemption in July. Davis then participated in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In London, which featured a variety of stars including MJF, Mistico, Chris Jericho, Tommaso Ciampa, and several others.
Davis’ most recent pay-per-view outing was at AEW WrestleDream on October 17, where ‘Dunkzilla’ would challenge Moxley for the AEW Continental Championship in what many fans and pundits cited as their match of the night. It was an emotionally charged matchup, specifically for Moxley, as it came only weeks after the tragic and sudden passing of Benjamin Satterly, better known to fans as Moxley’s Death Riders’ stablemate Pac.
Moxley came in to the match carrying the load of Pac’s passing, being the Death Riders’ stoic leader, and two losses in back-to-back weeks, both to Davis. The first came in a tag match at Grand Slam France where Davis pinned Gabe Kidd in a tag match that pit Davis and Doyle against Kidd and Moxley. The following week, Davis scored a pinfall win over Moxley, himself, in a trios match featuring Daniel Garcia and Kidd teaming with Moxley while Doyle and the recently returned Wardlow teamed with Davis.
Davis would effectively serve as the avatar for Moxley’s grief and pain that was weighing him down after a very tough several weeks, physically and emotionally, for himself and the Death Riders. He was ready to give up in the match because of how badly Davis was beating him, especially after a gut-wrench piledriver to Moxley on the outside of the ring that echoed Davis’ match with Ospreay earlier in the year.
Moxley would endure and ultimately emerge victorious to retain the Continental title, but not before getting his hands bloody and busting open Davis in return for getting busted open earlier in the match.
Davis, in particular, received praise for his work in the match and how important his physicality and brutish offense informed the overall story of the match.
And with barely two months left in 2026, it will be interesting to see where Davis goes.
He could easily find himself involved in the 2026 Continental Classic, vying for the AEW Continental Title in what has become AEW’s annual end-of-year round robin tournament. There’s plenty of gold Davis could chase after, too, whether its trying to become a two-time National Champion or making a run at the TNT, International, and maybe even World Title
But one thing stands true above all else – Davis has proven he belongs with the best AEW has to offer and won’t just be relegated to being the “Jannetty” of Aussie Open. He continues to slowly make his way up the card through sheer force of will and incredibly physical matches.
While it isn’t as clear what other potential success and spotlights are in the future holds for Davis, the wrestling world became his oyster in 2026 and he will continue to pry it open as only he can.
