While AEW’s residency in the hallowed 2300 Arena ended last Saturday, the promotion isn’t finished paying homage to Paul Heyman’s defunct ECW. Hence the name of this three-hour special, “September to Remember.”
Speaking of the 2300 Arena, this week’s venue, Canada Life Place, was a welcome change of scenery for “Dynamite.” While I was enamored with the 2300 Arena, three consecutive weeks of programming dulled its charm. Three more hours would have been overkill. Even a new stage couldn’t endear me to this week’s episode, though.
From “Spring BreakThru” to “Double or Nothing,” and “Grand Slam: Mexico” to “All In: Texas,” AEW seemed to be riding a tidal wave of momentum. And, exiting its biggest pay-per-view of the calendar year, the promotion seemed poised for a terrific latter half of 2025.
In the weeks following “Forbidden Door,” though, it feels like the promotion has cooled off. Some of that can be attributed to the losses of Will Ospreay, Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega — all of whom are veritable franchise players. Tony Khan has also spoken at length about how his plans in the women’s division were curtailed due to a number of wrestlers suffering injuries during the Women’s Casino Gauntlet match at “All In: Texas.”
It’s a promoter’s job to expect the unexpected and adjust accordingly, though. Khan has assembled one of the most impressive bullpens in wrestling history. While it may be impossible to adequately replicate what Ospreay, Strickland and Omega bring to the table; he hasn’t exactly given his roster a fighting chance.
“Timeless” Toni Storm is one of the greatest wrestlers alive, and she’s been haphazardly thrown into a fatal-fourway match. “Hangman” Adam Page’s title defense feels like somewhat of an afterthought, compared to FTR’s match against Adam Copeland & Christian Cage or Darby Allin’s coffin match against Jon Moxley.
This week’s three-hour special felt like a hail mary — desperately trying to round out this Frankenstein’s monster of a pay-per-view card.
There were three qualifying matches to determine Brodido’s challengers, in this Saturday’s fatal-fourway match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. The Young Bucks, JetSpeed and Don Callis Family (consisting of Hechicero and Josh Alexander) all advanced.
Mascara Dorada defeated The Beast Mortos in a qualifying match, becoming the final challenger in the triple-threat match for Kazuchika Okada’s AEW Unified Championship. Dorada joined Konosuke Takeshita, whose animosity towards the “Rainmaker” has caused a rift in the Don Callis Family.
“Hangman” Adam Page and Kyle Fletcher opened the show with an obligatory contract signing, and while it didn’t devolve into a fracas, Fletcher did warn the world champion that he wouldn’t leave Canada Life Place of his own volition.
The “Protostar” made good on his promise, leveling Page with a sheer drop brainbuster through a table before the night’s end.
Jon Moxley continued his hot streak with another stellar singles match, this time against Roderick Strong.
After an abysmal start to 2025, Moxley’s work over the last four months has defied my wildest expectations.
Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong (AEW – 09/17/25)
***½
— Ray Petree (@ray_petree) September 18, 2025
Elsewhere, Riho beat Robyn Renegade in a tune-up match, Bobby Lashley put Toa Liona to sleep, Christian Cage legitimately broke Dax Harwood’s nose, and MJF also had a hilarious meeting with Tony Khan behind closed doors.
The highlight of the night was Thekla’s no-holds barred match against Queen Aminata — which managed to harness all of the hard-hitting chaos from their feud into one match rife with plunder.
Thekla vs. Queen Aminata (AEW – 09/17/2025)
— Ray Petree (@ray_petree) September 18, 2025
Still, this was a three-hour television special. Two exciting matches and a pleasant change of scenery weren’t enough to sway my opinion. This week’s episode of “Dynamite” (and “Collision”) just wasn’t up to par. Hopefully,
Rating: **¾
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