AEW Dynamite 4/23/25 continued the countdown towards Double or Nothing with some more story builds and some actual wrestling matches.
The show kicks off with Master P bringing out the new trios champions, The Opps. Samoa Joe easily dominates the segment, physically and verbally. Despite the Death Riders trying to get revenge and with the interference of the elite, the Opps have help from Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega. This definitely seems like a setup for an Anarchy in the Arena match in the near future.
It’s an interesting mix of wrestlers. While Joe is clearly gunning for the world championship, there are quite a few other contenders in the ring. Strickland and Omega being two potential opponents in the near future. However, neither are in the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament, so we have yet to see how they could get into the main event picture.
Unlike a celebrity in another promotion, Master P was minimally involved.
Mark Briscoe defeated Ricochet
I have no doubt people will complain that Ricochet is being buried, but keep something in mind that is crystal clear — Briscoe is a workhorse. He’s just a guy who wants to wrestle and enjoy himself. However, getting a win, and an unexpected win specifically is something that fans want to see. Ricochet will always be the cowardly heel no matter what so losing a match only leans into his shtick even more. More importantly I think it’s nice to see a Workhorse like Briscoe get a well-deserved win on television.
After the match, Ricochet threatened to attack Briscoe with his golden scissors but was stopped by Kevin Knight. This is going to continue later on in the show. definitely gives off a mid-late-90s WWF and WCW vibe type of storytelling
Backstage, Christian Cage tells Nick Wayne how proud he is of him and how he apparently celebrated with his mother after the title win. Ew. Then Christian reflexively takes the Ring of Honor Television Championship away from Nick Wayne who was nonplussed about it, cutting a pretty scathing promo on his adopted father. This prompts the patriarch to return the championship to Wayne.
Just when we thought this was going to be another Luchasaurus situation, it went in an unexpected direction.
FTR goes full-on heel mode
As Tony Schiavone attempts to introduce Dax and Cash, he is interrupted by the returning Stokley Hathaway. he introduces himself as their new agent which is one hell of a turn. I did not see this coming and boy do I love this as a surprise. FTR are great on the mic on their own but adding Stokely as another element really drives the heel turn home. They bring out the Rock ‘n’ Roll express, and Dax mercilessly berates them on the mic before driving Ricky Morton into the mat with a spike piledriver. This feels like a very old school heel move. I love it. This is the type of angle that fans should be praising.
The Paragon (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong) make the save after the damage has been done.
The Young Bucks defeated Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey
As much as the internet might disagree, I am glad to see The Bucks back in action. It’s rare to see another team work faster than they can. A really enjoyable match where the pace gradually sped up to a point where the spots seemed impossible but yet pulled off. Yes, I’m sure those who despise the Superkick Party will have lots to complain about but for once just check the scrutiny at the door. The combos from Knight and Bailey were pretty damn impressive.
The Bucks get the win when Ricochet interferes by harassing Knight who then falls to the EVP Trigger.
MJF still fails to get into the Hurt Syndicate
Despite Shelton Benjamin giving a thumbs up, he clearly tells MJF he does it because MVP trusts him. Lashley is about to give his answer but it seems MJF shows a lack of confidence so He oversells what he can contribute to the stable, and then desperately offers Lashley his new car. This winds up backfiring as Lashley and Benjamin take the car out for a test drive while Lashley speeds away giving a thumbs down.
Backstage, Renee interviews Hangman, who uses recent events to further irritate MJF. Page suggests that MJF get in his car and leave but oh wait he can’t! Haha!
Josh Alexander and Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brody King and Will Ospreay
This was an amazingly fun match. good to see big bad Brody on television again. I seem to enjoy his baby face demeanor. He jokingly throws Ospreay onto his opponents. The two share a brief comedy spot. While Brody was clearly the MVP Of the match, The Walking Weapon, Josh Alexander definitely stood out as well earning the final pinfall with the C4 Spike Piledriver on the big man. It’s amazing when you get a great pairing between wrestlers who can go really well.
After the match, the entire Don Callis family started inflicting more pain on Ospreay, in which Kyle Fletcher also came out to threaten his former stablemate about the Owen Hart Tournament. Just when you think this is giving away the finale, Adam Page returns but the Hangman is intercepted by the two newest members, Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero. Now it’s a bit murky who will go to the finals. I’d love to see Hangman vs. Ospreay.
Jamie Hayter defeated Kris Statlander to advance to the finals of the Women’s Bracket of the Owen Hart Memorial
Fantastic match to main event the show. When Jamie Hayter returned almost a year ago, there was a lot of fanfare, but felt like it fizzled fairly quickly due to travel issues. Thankfully, she got a second chance by way of this tournament and had some pretty damn good matches along the way. this by far was her best one, and Statlander as always puts on 110%. Even in defeat Statlander still looks incredibly strong and will maintain to be a formidable opponent. It seems they may be leaning towards a Mercedes versus Toni Storm final. This could be the biggest match since Toni storm and Mariah May concluded their story arc. Storm/Mone would be huge, but I wonder if it is too soon for it. If not, and they do it, what happens next? Between Storm/May, Storm/Bayne, and potentially Storm/Mone, you’ve spoiled the fans and can’t top those series of matches.
It definitely feels like it continued on from last week where AEW has found its footing in a style similar to Attitude Era WWF, and late-90s ECW and WCW. I just can’t help but wonder when Eddie Kingston comes back to take over and fulfill my prediction.
