Michael Dworkis: Well, AEW Dynasty 2025 was quite the roller coaster of an event. I have a bad habit of monitoring social media, specifically Twitter to gauge whether fans are legitimately tuning in or being fickle and self-serving by seeking engagement for spewing negativity when there is none.
However, there was universal disdain for the final match of the night, and I hate, I really hate to admit it, but I also felt the final match again suffered from being the final match of the night. AEW booking desperately needs to improve their match order. For 75%-80% of the shows, they get it right. It appears the final hour or so always seems to struggle with keeping the crowd invested.
For Dynasty, they concluded the final four matches with Bandido vs. Chris Jericho, Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia, the Omega/Speedball/Ricochet triple threat, and the main event, Swerve vs. Mox.
I would have restructured to have Bandido/Jericho, Omega/Speedball/Ricochet, Cole/Garcia, followed by the main event. Putting the triple threat right before the main event felt just like AEW Revolution where they put Ospreay/Fletcher in a MOTY Steel Cage match, followed up with the slog which was Cope and Mox. AEW needs to give a buffer after an ultimate heart-pounder of a match before the main event.
The main event at Dynasty was good, but not great. I think there was an expectation there would have been “more” but I couldn’t tell you what it would have looked like. The end result with The Young Bucks returning to assist Mox with retaining with World Championship was certainly a moment. This will be talked about for a while, but I worry about how it will be talked about.
Let’s get to the rest of the show through the perspective of watching it from the comfort of my couch.
Bill Bodkin: Hey everyone it’s Bill Bodkin, editor-in-chief of ThePopBreak.com. I will be joining Mike in this review of AEW Dynasty as I was live in attendance covering the event for Pop Break. Outside of my thoughts you’ll find video and photos from the event that I took.
To kick things off, the Liacouras Center (minus the parking) is a fantastic venue for pro wrestling. Not a bad seat in the place, and it was absolutely packed to the rafters. So, all the talk about AEW’s inability to move tickets can go kick rocks. The crowd was fired up for wrestling, however I do feel that the length of the card did burn people out. I’m not one to complain about more wrestling on a card, but Bandido vs. Jericho could have been saved for the ROH PPV. Also, the show seemed to have a little less of the “we wanna kill each other” vibe that Revolution had. You can’t have it on every show, but I feel moving some matches to Dynamite and swapping in first round Owen matches would’ve made sense here too.
Check out Bill & Mike’s predictions for AEW Dynasty.
Pre-Show:
CRU and Nick Wayne defeated Top Flight & AR Fox
MD: Fun pre-show match, AR Fox never disappoints. The chemistry between CRU and Wayne seemed weird, but in the end their tactics got the victory.
BB: Crowd was absolutely out of their mind excited for this. Deafening chants for AR Fox — who earlier in the day posted his thoughts about finally getting on AEW PPV. Top Flight had one of their most inspired matches in a long time. Dante Martin really showed out in a way we have not seen in a minute. CRU works very well together and Nick Wayne is such a natural fit with them.
Anthony Bowens defeated Max Caster
MD: EXPLOSIVE. The eruption for Bowens was incredible. With Billy Gunn in his corner, he made short work of his former tag team partner. Reasons why one shouldn’t gloss over the pre-show. To be fair, this could have been saved for the main card. Regardless, Bowen’s return was fun to watch.
BB: A star-making spectacle. Max Caster really has gotten over with his “Best Wrestler Alive” challenge and his ludicrous chants. Guarantee he will be a crowd favorite again by end of the year — as he easily had some fans in Philly. Bowens’ reaction was almost ungodly. It was one of the biggest pops of the night for sure. Both of these men were put in a position to shine and they did. What’s next for both is very intriguing.
MD: The main show kicks off the right way, featuring Will Ospreay in the opener to electrify and amp the live crowd as he faced off with and defeated Kevin Knight. Fantastic match. The crowd was 100% into it, between the unpredictability and fast-paced agility displayed, this delivered as it should. Had this not been a tournament match, it would have been believable for Knight to win.
Knight has the look and vibe which will thrive in AEW. He’s already on the level of Ospreay, Bailey, Ricochet, and others. Kid’s got a big future ahead of him.
When Jay White returns, I imagine they’ll have a feud since it was Knight who replaced him in the tournament.
BB: This is how you start a show. Ospreay was heavily cheered throughout the match, but about a 1/4 of the way through the “Let’s Go Kevin” chants got as big as “Let’s Go Ospreay.” AEW definitely has something special with Kevin Knight. Knight had some spectaular moves includes a mid-air flipping rana, and a extremely fluid, eye-popping moves including his mid-air turning splash.
The Hurt Syndicate defeated Big Bill and Bryan Keith
MD: Much better match than expected. Big Bill was no easy mark for Lashley or Benjamin. Lashley and Benjamin are absolutely dominant, so it was good to see a match where their dominance took some time to surface. Now, the intervention of MJF, which seemed unnecessary, adds to the tension between the Syndicate, specifically between MJF and MVP. I am curious where this goes, because on paper MJF does not really need to be in the Hurt Syndicate, but does create an interesting “What If?” situation.
BB: Big Bill’s babyface turn is going to be huge. The crowd was chanting his name to the cadence of “We Hurt People.” That chant — easily the third most popular chant behind “Who’s House?” and various variants on “You Bald!” chants towards Ricochet. This was much better than the Hurt Syndicate’s match at Revolution. The MJF inclusion was a nice spot and that definitely has a lot of legs. Overall, good match.
Mercedes Mone defeated Julia Hart
MD: Let’s get this out of the way. Not their best showing. Which, is fine. IT IS FINE. No one is perfect, but the fickle fans of the IWC will parade this as the Death of AEW… Oh wait, that comes later. It was an off-night for both, but not enough were one would say the match was “bad.” It was fine. The ending sequence was actually really good, the crowd became heavily invested in Julia resisting to submit, but instead fell prey to a straightjacket pinfall, in similar style to Wheeler Yuta.
Guess Mone vs. Athena is inevitable, unless someone prevents it from happening. It would seem Athena vs. Starkz or Mone vs. Starkz in the finals is likely.
BB: Julia Hart was so just so over with the crowd. It feels the AEW crowd is totally cool with Mercedes now, as they’re buying everything she’s selling. These two had a solid chemistry and while there was a miscue or two, Mercedes covered it well. I’d really like to see these two run it back as this was a good first match, and subsequent ones could get even better.
Death Riders defeated Rated FTR to retain the Trios Championships
MD: Really good match with six excellent wrestlers. I can’t help but laugh at how hated Yuta has become. I can’t tell who gets more venom, Yuta or Don Callis. After some miscommunication by Cope and Dax was taken advantage of by the Death Rides, Yuta pins Dax to become even more hated if that is even possible.
I enjoyed watching the multiple submission sequences. Very well done.
Cash Wheeler has taken his energy up more than a few notches. Dax is often perceived as the stronger personality, but Cash lets his speak in the ring.
The inevitable turn. Dax and Cash are fed up and take their anger out on Cope. He eats a piledriver from Harwood and then a series of one-man con-chair-tos from both Harwood and Wheeler. FTR as heels is the turn we need now. They’re angry and no more holding back.
BB: Philly hates Wheeler Yuta. Wheeler Yuta, resident of Philadelphia. Hate him with a passion. If I’m AEW, I have Yuta in the main event of every show I do in Philly from now on. You know what they loved? FTR turning heel on Cope. FTR had entered the night to a mild reaction, but when Cash finally snapped on Cope, it’s like Philadelphia let out a joyous cry of “Finally!” As for the match itself, the crowd ate up all the false finishes, trios shennanigans and of course, Claudio’s Big Swing.
“Timeless” Toni Storm retains the AEW Women’s Championship against Megan Bayne
MD: We’re in Philadelphia, so who better than to channel her inner Rocky Balboa than Toni Storm? Great video entrance. She really came out as the underdog, despite coming in as champion. Bayne for the most part completely dominated but Storm proved her champion’s worth by fighting back and refusing to quit. Both women did a phenomenal job of storytelling in the ring with their facial expressions. Which I should add Bayne excelled at. We have seen pieces during her brief feuds with Kris Statlander and Thunder Rosa, however her inner rage revealed in full. Despite consecutive hip attacks, the Storm Zero, it took a reversal of her finisher into a small package to retain the championship.
Using a move which confused and disoriented the menacing Megasus to win was spot-on. While Storm was able to outsmart the challenger, she could not out-power her. Future rematch? Definitely.
BB: The thought of Megan Bayne losing felt like a bad thing, and you could tell the audience was very wary of this early on. However, Bayne did such an incredible job (as did Storm for selling) that you not only believed she’d win, but that she also looked better in the loss. Her kicking out of Storm Zero at ONE lit the crowd on fire.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Mark Briscoe
MD: I am very disappointed that Briscoe did not get the win. This would have been a great underdog/upset/shocker which would have been talked about for weeks afterwards. You all might think I am nuts, but this is a candidate for Match of the Year.
This wasn’t their first nor second time together, and yet this third blew the others out of the water. Briscoe once again busted out his Straightjacket Burning Hammer which looked absolutely devastating. Briscoe and Fletcher sold each other’s biggest moves like death itself, yet somehow found a way to remain amongst the living.
Fletcher vs. Hangman seems likely unless the wild card is worthy. Given the result of the main event, Hangman winning seems less of a certainty now. Briscoe clearly loves doing what he does, and I am amongst those who want to see a title around his waist again, or at least a main event run. I know it’s not what he desires but his fans want him to get all the love in the world.
BB: On paper, you could’ve said “Eh, this could go on Dynamite.” When you saw it live you know exactly why this was here. Kyle Fletcher is on the cusp of being the guy in AEW. This match was absolute nuts and I love Mark Briscoe to death for always going the extra, absolute insane mile for the fans.
Bandido defeated Chris Jericho to become a two-time Ring of Honor World Champion
MD: Decent match, I felt became a bit sluggish at times when Jericho was in control. However, this appeared to be the intent as Jericho is very good at pissing off the crowd when he wants to. Some remarkable spots by Bandido, holding Jericho in a vertical suplex position for an entire 60-seconds.
Fast forward through some oopsie spots, to Bryan Keith interfering, brawling with Gravity at ringside, allowing Jericho to hit Bandido with a bat, pinning him for the supposed win. Bandido’s family yelled at ringside about the bat being hidden, because clearly the other few thousand in attendance didn’t see squat. Referee Aubrey Edwards found it, and ordered the match to continue. Bandido quickly hit his 21 Suplex for the win.
Campy and corny finish, but finally puts this feud to rest.
BB: This match needed to be elsewhere…like ROH in AC. Philly was not kind to Jericho with very loud “Please Retire” chants. He was able to make it work for the match, but man it was intense. However, they do love themselves some Bandido and his stalling 60 count suplex was absolutely bananas. The finish was classic, classic Lucha Libre with the family getting involved, finding the weapon and the match has to continue. Bandido needs to move on from Jericho, AEW/ROH needs to put the rocket on Bandido and let’s move on in general.
Adam Cole defeated Daniel Garcia to win the TNT Championship
MD: Pretty good match, but again, moments where I struggled to become fully invested in it. I felt this feud could have been given more life with Shane Taylor being involved, and frankly I would have rather seen him become champion with either Cole or Garcia chasing. The match appeared to liven up towards the end as Garcia hit Cole’s own finishers, but inevitably Cole would use his moves with precision to become TNT Champion.
I honestly don’t know where either man goes from here. Unless Cole defends the title regularly, I can’t see his reign being any stronger than Garcia’s. I really like Garcia too so it pains me to feel his run as champion was lacking.
BB: Crowd was not into this one outside of when Garcia started doing all of Cole’s moves. Cole’s comeback and taunts got a good reaction. People liked the title change, but I think AEW needs to take a long hard look at both men and develop creative for both. Cole still has the Brochacho hangover, while Garcia’s TNT Title run never got the right run.
Kenny Omega retains the AEW International Championship against “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Ricochet
MD: Who knew being bald would become such a hot Trend in professional wrestling? clearly the Philadelphia crowd loved it. The match delivered as expected and then some. lots of unique things which I don’t think anyone has ever seen before. Predictability went out the window within the first few minutes. 30 minutes later even with Omega winning, there were more than a few occasions where it truly felt like someone else could have walked away as champion. Some of the double pinfall combinations were quite unique. Got to love the comedy spots with Speedball and Omega paint brushing Ricochet’s bald head more than once.
After the match, Okada came to the ring seemingly to confront the International Champion, however Kenny Omega seemed to dismiss the altercation and immediately went to the back. While some may feel this was a dismissal of the feud, I believe that they were already crunched for time and needed to speed things up. The main event did not begin until 10 minutes to midnight.
BB: Wow. Run don’t walk for this one. All three men were in top form for this match. For me, this could’ve gone a full hour. Ricochet is perfect in his new form. 100/100 no notes. Speedball Mike Bailey was an absolute sensation throughout. Kenny Omega? The god of pro wrestling for a reason. Crowd ate this up like a Sunday brunch buffet.
Jon Moxley retains the AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland
MD: All right, all right. let’s just get to the heart of why the internet is crying. The Young Bucks returned an assisted Mox with retaining the championship. It seemed as though Swerve was on the verge of victory, after Samoa Joe, Hook, and Shibata rushed out and drove off the Death Riders from the ringside area. This is going to irritate a lot of people, but it seems as though the story has become whether Mox is capable of retaining the championship without interference. It is very disappointing that the trigger was not pulled on Strickland. For those wondering if Darby Allin is the mix, he’s going mountain climbing so I wouldn’t get your hopes up. This gets my hopes up that Eddie Kingston is going to be the guy to come back and Dethrone Mox once and for all. No one likes the Young Bucks anymore, everyone feels that their presence does more hurt than help.
The finish of match is certainly being talked about. Regardless whether it’s positive or negative it certainly got a lot of attention. Unfortunately it seems this may have taken attention away from the rest of the show which many felt was good up until the disappointment of the final match.
One thing is for certain, all those crying that “AEW is dead” and no one is ever going to watch again, are most likely to be the first people to tune in on Wednesday, either to stream their live reactions or have material for a podcast.
BB: The match started extremely slow, but from a narrative perspective it made 100% sense. Moxley was grinding Swerve into the crowd. Working body parts. Systematically dismantling the former champ. When Swerve hit his first House Call kick (one of the best moves in wrestling) this match starting shifting gears with much haste. These two beat the living hell out of each. The cameos from The Death Riders, Hangman and The Opps got massive reactions. No one was expecting The Opps so when they came out, the roof blew off the place. The lights on/lights off spot as the crowd was going bananas for Swerve about to hit The Swerve Stomp for the win caught everyone by surprise. The Bucks returning — while not popular with the internet — got a raucous reaction from the crowd. The crowd lived and died with the last 10 minutes of the match.
Not putting the belt on Swerve is a move I would not have made. He’s the guy. The Death Riders need to ride off into the night. However, that’s not what happened. We may be waiting for Darby Allin to finish his climb. We may be waiting for Ospreay or Hangman to win the Owen. Not sure the move, but whomever beats Mox needs to do so in convincing fashion with great creative behind it.
