AEW made its penultimate stop on the road to “All In: Texas” last night, when they returned to the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, for “Dynamite.”
This was a serviceable go-home episode of “Dynamite.” While it had its shortcomings, the ProtoShita and Ricochet matches were thoroughly enjoyable. The highlight was the main event, proving that, with the right talent, AEW has nearly perfect their all-star eight-man tag formula.
Rating: ***¼
Hits and Misses
MISS: Toni Storm & Mercedes Moné face-to-face
This was a fairly run-of-the-mill confrontation, for a go home episode. However, Mercedes Moné’s input was less than stellar. Moné is a phenomenal professional wrestler. In fact, I ranked her ninth on my list of the 10 best professional wrestlers of 2025. However, not all professional wrestlers are created equally. In the case of our “CEO,” her innate charisma doesn’t translate on the microphone.
Thankfully, “Timeless” Toni Storm has more than enough charm to spare.
Still, Storm aptly accused Moné of lacking authenticity and speaking in catchphrases; using her impressive collection of championship belts to hide her insecurities.
Moné proceeded to… speak in platitudes.
Damn.
HIT: Jon Moxley Pre-Tape
The AEW World Championship filmed a pre-tape promo in a dimly lit corridor of the Curtis Culwell Center, questioning “Hangman” Adam Page’s mental fortitude.
Before “Hangman” Page conquered Kenny Omega and won the AEW World Championship, Page doubted whether or not he had the means to climb the proverbial mountain and reach the summit. Since his defeat at the hands of CM Punk, the question has not been if he can win the title. The question has been whether or not Page had the motivation to try again.
Jon Moxley has chosen to underscore that same critique that Swerve Strickland and MJF did before him. Has failure made Page complacent? Is he content with being a preliminary player?
This Saturday, Page has an opportunity to prove his critics wrong—once and for all.
HIT: Bandido & Brody King vs. ProtoShita
This tag team match was designed to build anticipation for Ring of Honor’s next pay-per-view, “Supercard of Honor,” which airs this Friday, exclusively on Honor Club. There, Bandido will defend his ROH World Championship against Konosuke Takeshita.
Last night, Bandido joined forces with Brody King to take on ProtoShita.
This was a really fun, punchy tag team match. King is one of the hottest single’s competitors in AEW and deservingly reveled in it, helping even the odds against the Don Callis Family’s ace tag team.
Unfortunately, ProtoShita just shined too bright.
Rating: ***¼
HIT: Ricochet vs. Blake Christian
Last week on Saturday Night “Collision,” The Gates of Agony attacked Lee Johnson at Ricochet’s behest—putting “Big Shotty” on the shelf. So, Blake Christian challenged Ricochet in his friend’s honor.
There’s obvious irony in The Gates of Agony being the team to join Ricochet. After all, they were previously aligned with Ricochet’s former nemesis, Swerve Strickland.
That aside, this match was bizarre. Christian is a very talented individual, but Ricochet made him look like junior heavyweight era Will Ospreay.
While I understand that Ricochet’s job is to give the babyface shine, there’s also inherent value in a heel knowing when he needs to punch down. Unless Christian is poised for a single’s run, this may have been a little too giving.
Rating: **¾
MISS: Mark Briscoe and MJF have their “Talky-Talk”
Earlier in the evening, Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin learned that JetSpeed stole their AEW World Tag Team Championships from their bags. So, The Hurt Syndicate were too preoccupied to accompany MJF to the ring.
So, Maxwell Jacob Friedman was forced to meet Mark Briscoe in the squared circle mano-e-mano, as god intended, for their “talky-talk.”
I really wanted to love this segment. And, there were some highlights. I’m not averse to wrestler’s resorting to cheap tricks, like insulting the crowd’s median household income. MJF’s remarks about Mark Briscoe’s “95 inbred children” were delightful.
However, I draw the line at the mention of Mark’s late brother, Jay Briscoe. Not because it’s necessarily a subject that shouldn’t be broached, but because I know MJF is capable of more.
While it wasn’t quite as classless and uninspired as Chris Jericho’s comments, it was disappointing.
After their “talky-talk” devolved into a pummeling, the Hurt Syndicate arrived to rescue MJF. However, their arrival was met by JetSpeed—who absolutely ran roughshod over the tag team champions. Kevin Knight & “Speedball” Mike Bailey went to painstaking lengths to beat Shelton Benjamin’s ass, on his birthday no-less.
Then, The Patriarchy joined in on the fun, with Christian Cage & Nick Wayne delivering a series of Conchairtos to Lashley’s knee.
At “All In,” both The Patriarchy and JetSpeed will challenge The Hurt Syndicate for the AEW World Tag Team Champions, having assured themselves a significant advantage.
HIT: Megan Bayne vs. Thekla vs. Queen Aminata vs. Tay Melo
This week’s obligatory women’s match was a fatal-fourway, to determine the second entrant in the Women’s Casino Gauntlet match.
This was inoffensive enough, albeit a little clunky at times. The saving grace was the interpersonal rivalry between Thekla and Queen Aminata, whose animosity seems palpable.
In the end though, it was the “Megasus” who claimed victory—pinning Aminata with a running powerbomb.
Now, Bayne will be the second entrant in the Women’s Casino Gauntlet match, facing Kris Statlander.
Rating: **¾
HIT: Samoa Joe vs. Wheeler Yuta
Few pro wrestlers can punch down quite like Samoa Joe can. For Wheeler Yuta, technical precision or ruthless aggression wouldn’t be the order of the day. Instead, he needed to rely on the immortal techniques of the chickenshit heel: subterfuge, biting, playing possum, gouging the eyes…
Yuta employed all of the tried-and-true tricks to even the odds. Unfortunately, they weren’t enough to overcome the insurmountable obstacle that is Samoa Joe.
This was fun television.
Rating: ***½
HIT: “Hangman” Adam Page, Will Ospreay, & The Opps vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Catagnoli, & The Young Bucks
Last night’s main event was an all-star eight-man tag match, pitting “Hangman” Adam Page, Will Ospreay, and two-thirds of The Opps against Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and The Young Bucks.
There was so much to love here. “Hangman” Adam Page has recaptured the magic that he attained in late-2021, as the true face that runs the place. Will Ospreay continued to impress me in the multi-man format, using his unbridled energy as a vehicle to alter the pace and momentum. Powerhouse Hobbs had a fun confrontation with Claudio Castagnoli and devoured Matt & Nick Jackson’s superkicks.
At the core, though, this was a game of cat-and-mouse between Page and Moxley, with the latter avoiding the “Hangman.” In the end, Moxley exploited a mismatch with Katsuyori Shibata, forcing him to submit with a bulldog chokehold.
Afterwards, Gabe Kidd and Yuta joined in on the fun—quickly overwhelming Page and company. Marina Shafir produced a pair of plastic bags to suffocate Page and Ospreay, but The Death Riders and Young Bucks were interrupted by Swerve Strickland, who commandeered the titantron. Strickland was outside with a bulldozer, which he used to destroy Matt & Nick Jackson’s limousine.
While it wasn’t very sports-entertaining, it was a serviceable distraction, providing Samoa Joe an opportunity to postpone the execution.
Even though the main event was terrific, the post-match angle was suffocating—almost like someone was choking me with a plastic bag.
Rating: ***¾
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