When you find the right formula, you run with it for as long as it lasts. The goal is to hype up a live crowd, get the audience at home invested, in order to set expectations for the rest of the night. This must be the fourth or fifth week in a row where Will Ospreay opens AEW Dynamite 5/21/25. His music, “the aura” as the kids say, is off the charts. Whether on the mic or wrestling, there is an air of excitement which fills the arena. His theme music is pure energy. It hits, and BOOM the live crowd erupts. Fans at home are glued to the box of pretty streaming colors. Let’s add fuel to fire with “Hangman” Adam Page meeting his opponent in the ring for what I feel was one of the most intensely well-spoken promos in recent memory.
Ospreay and Page each had a goal, expressing how winning the Owen Hart Memorial Cup is vital on multiple levels. Professional. Being considered the best and world contender-worthy is one hell of an accomplishment on a resume, this was Ospreay’s opening salvo. Personal. “Hanger” retorts that his quest is personal. He has wasted two years trying to find himself and allowed himself to flounder. For Page, it’s everything. He disappointed himself. He became a violent, cold human being. Leadership. Both Ospreay and Page gradually intensified, the tension mounting, but not in a disrespectful manner, no slandering, but an approach of dedication and ultimate drive to be recognized as a flag bearer for the company. Ospreay has ascended. Hangman has unleashed an evil side which seems to be the side who intimidates and becomes feared. However the compassionate side is the one who led the Dark Order for a time.
However, being a leader in AEW also means dethroning Jon Moxley and bringing back the AEW World Championship to the people. This is the first story-arc time where this whole frickin Death Rider business makes sense. Sure, both Swerve and Samoa Joe stood up and challenged Moxley, but it didn’t carry the sense of urgency in which Ospreay and Hangman are bringing to light. It’s as though they convinced each other whomever is the victor come Double or Nothing should consider themselves the last man to dethrone Jon Moxley.
Anyone who has read my columns knows how I exactly feel about who it should be to end the Death Riders. However, after hearing impassioned promos from the Owen Hart Tournament finalists, I could believably see one of them doing the job. Ospreay even threw in Forbidden Door taking place in the UK. He’d love to be AEW Champion there.
Too close to call now. The segment closed with them sharing beers, walking out respectfully together.
One of the best opening talk segments in a very long time.
Swerve Strickland, Samoa Joe, and Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Jon Moxley and the Young Bucks.
Mox, being the subject of the opening promo seemed to take a bit to unkindly to being seen as no more than a jailer of an inanimate object. Solid six-man which saw the Bucks usual double-team acrobatic antics, however felt overall like a more plotted and methodical match. The pro of this sort of style is we get the build to hot tags, although I questioned why Swerve who was the central figure of being on the defensive for majority of the match would be tagged back in so many times. Regardless, after a wild chaotic breakdown, Joe choked out Nick while Swerve rolled up Matt for the three count, getting revenge on being rolled up in a multi-man tag match just weeks ago.
Post-match, typical, the Death Riders are sore losers, Claudio and Yuta rush out and Marina Shafir is also directly involved. However, Willow Nightingale rushes in and mauls all opponents. Noticing a trend where Willow and Marina have no hesitation to fight with the men. Shibata returns and then a Wild Kenny Omega appears!
It would seem the teams are set for Anarchy in the Arena… But where did Gabe Kidd go?
Spoiler, watch all the way to the end.
Backstage: MJF and “Smart” Mark Sterling confer with MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, and their lawyer. Maxwell looks ridiculous in his exceptionally tacky gold suit.
Funny moment when MJF tells interviewer Alicia Atout to get lost.
In the ring, the big moment arrives. Reluctantly, the members of the Syndicate sign the contract which officially brings MJF into the club. Rejoicing like a little schoolgirl until Lashley death-stares him to calm down. However, the party is interrupted by the Syndicate’s PPV opponents, Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara, the Sons of Texas arrive. Rhodes cuts a passionate promo himself, including his respect for MVP and the tag champs, however reminds them even at his age, he has been hurt but doesn’t stop for a little bit of pain. Sammy is silent for the whole segment, but does appear to carry himself well, more mature as a titleholder.
Being this is only for the AEW Tag Team Championships, the Syndicate won’t lose. It would have been more unpredictable had the ROH titles gone up for grabs instead, it would have been a bit different. It’ll be a good match though.
Backstage: Okada sort of cuts a promo accepting but then challenging “Speedball” Mike Bailey to a match for the Continental Championship at the PPV. Okada teases his usual “bitch” segment closer… but doesn’t. If it was meant to troll, it worked.
I enjoy watching Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight on television, but their win-loss records have not been great. If anything the novelty is watching them get all their spots in before a loss. I would like to see some more stuff from them, but worry with an influx of similar type wrestlers, if the novelty acts are going to wear off on fans.
Ricochet defeated Anthony Bowens w/ Billy Gunn
Really good match with a questionable outcome. Bowens has returned but we only see him sporadically on television. Losing to Ricochet thanks to the use of scissors to the head (how was he not bleeding?) sort of protects Bowens.
I really believe Bowens could be a main event guy, but not for a while. He’s a dude who would strongly benefit from the slow build over a couple years and then BLAM, main event title chaser.
After the match Mark Briscoe surprised Ricochet with a stretcher, playing into their “Stretcher Match” for Sunday.
Promo package hyping up Reyna Isis who will face Mercedes Mone on Collision.
Promo from FTR and Stokely: If being blunt and honest means they can’t be nice guys, then they won’t. Mission is simple: put Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuiness out to pasture.
Nigel is going to get bigger pops than Garcia. Regardless of the outcome, where does someone like Garcia go from here?
Sit Down Interview with Mercedes Mone and Jamie Hayter with Renee Paquette moderating. It’s taking place in the ring, so we know where this is heading. The short end of it is as follows: Hayter cuts the passionate promo about climbing back up the ladder to a position she was in once before. Mone cuts the same one-liners with slight modifications. Mone does well with the facial expressions of disgust and dismissiveness. I’d rather her talk by wrestling. Her promos still feel locked into the ol’ WWE script. It appears this is where she is comfortable, but the repetitiveness in nature is sure to lose luster faster than hoped.
Oh yeah, the brawl broke out. Hayter pointed out Mone has started to lose her belts. Mone leapt towards the challenger who destroyed her with the Hayterade Lariat.
Main Event Time with “Timeless” Toni Storm!
Mina Shirakawa defeated Julia Hart
Very enjoyable main event match. Storm on commentary is gold. Everyone behind the announce desk struggled to move past her “large package.” She made it very challenging. Shirakawa has been an instant hit with AEW fans since her arrival when traveling, but she is now an official member of the roster. Hart continues to grow and become more versatile. Lots of near falls where I thought she would win. Mina broke out the arsenal to defeat her challenger. Shows Hart is always a force to be reckoned with.
After the match, Skye Blue shows up to assist Hart with a post-match fight. Enter Storm who evens the odds. Mina and Storm then come to blows and the referees need to separate them.
But wait! There’s more! Backstage the Bucks think they are making their escape, but Team Joe is here to enact revenge from earlier tonight! This brawl goes all over the back, into the arena and all over the place. Just when it seemed Joe’s team had the upper hand, GABE KIDD arrives to even the odds.
Yet… he is not in the match. As of now the rosters are:
Team Joe: Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, PowerHouse Hobbs, Katsuyori Shibata, AND Willow Nightingale vs. The Death Riders (Mox, Claudio, Wheeler, Shafir) and the Young Bucks. Five men and one woman each on the docket for Sunday’s Anarchy in the Arena match. Gabe Kidd could possibly interfere in the match. It’s anything goes, so anything goes. Which means, should Team Joe fall short of a player and Kidd arrives, it means ONE MAN AND ONE MAN ONLY can return to save the day…
… Yes, it has to be HIM.
Eddie Kingston.
AEW Dynamite 5/21/25 a fun and enjoyable episode. However, some of the promotional segments felt like they went long, while other matches and segments could have been tightened up a bit to streamline the show a bit better. Nothing truly detracted from the show, however I struggled to find it as a true go-home show aside from the hype for the main event and the Anarchy in the Arena match. Many of the mid-card matches on Sunday feel like filler and quite predictable. There’s no doubt those matches will be very good to watch but predictability again dampens it just a bit. With Collision airing on Thursday, I’m hopeful that they’ll be more hype for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
