‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (May 14th 2025)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast from Chicago, Illinois’ NOW Arena. Let’s get straight into the review!
Match #1: Will Ospreay & Hangman Adam Page def. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
We kicked off Wednesday night’s festivities with Will Ospreay making his entrance to a raucous reception from the Chicago crowd. Ditto for Hangman Page, who made sure to acknowledge a young fan at ringside – something that seemed to catch Ospreay’s attention. Was that another sign of a softer side of Hanger? Don Callis joined us on commentary, as we began with Ospreay and Takeshita in the ring. The larger Takeshita knocked Ospreay to the ground, only for the Aerial Assassin to pop right back up (twice). Takeshita made the tag to Alexander, who isolated Ospreay after the Owen Hart Cup finalist appeared to ignore a potential tag from Hangman. Eventually, however, Ospreay was able to tag in the red-hot Page, who leveled both Takeshita and Alexander, inside and outside of the ring. A flat-footed moonsault from the apron took out Alexander, leading to Page landing a Death Valley Driver on Takeshita. Takeshita avoided a sliding lariat from Hangman, then the two heavy hitters exchanged massive blows in the middle of the ring. A pop-up powerbomb from Hangman scored a two-count. An insistent Ospreay wanted in on the action, and despite a moment’s hesitation, Page obliged, setting up a nice flurry of tandem offense from the two Double or Nothing opponents. Takeshita and Alexander turned the tables when Alexander prevented Takeshita from being whipped into the ropes. A Northern Lights suplex from Alexander saw a near-fall, but the Don Callis Family member kept the ring cut in half, preventing Page from tagging in Ospreay with an ankle lock. But Hangman would not be denied, tagging Ospreay in. Ospreay and Hanger then each climbed the turnbuckles and took out Alexander and Takeshita, respectively, on the outside. Back in the ring, though, Takeshita reclaimed control, bouncing Ospreay off the mat with a Blue Thunder Bomb followed by a brainbuster. Alexander and Takeshita lined Ospreay up for a ripcord stereo elbow. Ospreay bounced back, landing two Oscutters – but not the pinfall. We almost got a bit of drama at that point, as Ospreay was just inches away from taking out Hangman with a Hidden Blade. But the two Double or Nothing opponents recovered to score a combo Hidden Blade/Buckshot Lariat and the win.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #2: Ricochet def. Zach Gowen
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Ricochet came to the ring still in possession of Gowen’s prosthetic leg, parading it around the ring even as Gowen made his entrance and soaked in the respect from the crowd. Gowen got the best of the first contact between the two, springing up from the mat to throw Ricochet to the ground on a collar-and-elbow tie up. Ricochet tried to stall on the outside, but Gowen landed a kick through the ropes, dove onto Ricochet on the outside, then locked in a head lock for good measure. But Ricochet countered, driving Gowen into the barricade and stopping his momentum cold. As the action returned between the ropes, Ricochet hit a massive Shooting Star Press that he thought was going to end things, but Gowen wasn’t done. The frustration drove Ricochet to grab his golden shears. And in the ensuing confusion of the official taking the scissors away, Gowen grabbed his prosthetic leg and brained Ricochet with it. Unfortunately, he missed on his signature moonsault, letting Ricochet steal the win.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: The Hurt Syndicate def. Top Flight
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Shelton Benjamin started things off in the right for The Hurt Syndicate, taking on both Darius and Dante Martin. The tag champ took an early advantage, but Top Flight used their speed and agility to take out both Benjamin and Bobby Lashley. The only problem: Outside of the ring was a very good place to hurt people. Lashley sent Darius crashing into the barricade, then took control back in the ring and presented Martin to Benjamin on a silver platter. Two big release German suplexes turned Darius into a ragdoll, but he kicked out of the pin attempt by Benjamin. A step-up knee by Benjamin on Dante set up Lashley for a massive spear and the Hurt Lock for the win.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator 4-Way – Mina Shirakawa def. Toni Storm, AZM and Skye Blue
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Chaos and sloptarts were on the menu for this one! All four women collided with a vengeance to start things off, with Shirakawa planting AZM with a DDT on the outside. In the ring, the hometown girl, Skye Blue, took down the champion with a head-scissors takeover and a DDT of her own in her return from injury. With Storm incapacitated for a moment, Blue and AZM exchanged big forearms then went crashing to the outside, as Storm and Shirakawa got reacquainted back in the ring. Shirakawa went to whip Storm into the ropes, but AZM met the women’s champion with a huge kick to the chest on the rebound. Shirakawa locked in a figure-four on Storm, but the champ made her way to the ropes. That brought all four women back together, with Blue taking out the other three on the outside. The disorder continued back in the ring, with the four women exchanging suplexes and strikes smack-dab in the middle of the ring. Storm lined up all three women for Hip Attacks, but AZM sneaked her way out of the corner for the counter. Storm broke up a potential suplex on Blue by Shirakawa with a nasty dropkick, only for Blue to have two Code Blues countered by AZM and Shirakawa each. Storm landed a Storm Zero for a near-fall, broken up by Shirakawa, who avoided a Storm Zero herself, then reversed a Big Package from Storm into a pinning predicament of her own for the 1, 2, 3 and the win! With the victory, Shirakawa earned an opportunity at the AEW Women’s World Championship against Timeless Toni Storm at Double or Nothing!
My Score: 5 out of 5
Match #5: AEW World Championship Steel Cage Match – Jon Moxley def. Samoa Joe
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
For the first time ever, the AEW World Title was being defended inside of a steel cage at Beach Break in Chicago! We started with an exchange of holds, leading to elbow strikes from both champion and challenger. Joe sent Mox face-first into the steel cage twice, with a headbutt in the corner in between just for fun. With Mox slumped in the corner, Joe landed several stiff kicks, then a running boot to the face. A two-count from Joe on Mox drew a middle finger from the champion, who went to work on Joe’s left knee, locking in a figure-four after pummeling Joe’s lower limb. Joe was able to turn the hold over and reverse the pressure, sending Mox to the ropes for a break. As Mox maintained the advantage inside the cage, Yuta Wheeler and Claudio Castagnoli of the Death Riders made their way down to ringside through the crowd. They were quickly met by a chair-wielding Willow Nightingale alongside Joe’s fellow AEW World Trios Champion, Powerhouse Hobbs. The action turned bloody from there, as Joe drew first blood from the champion’s forehead. Despite that, though, Mox stood to trade blows with Joe for a minute, before the challenger got the best of the champion. It appeared as if Mox went to escape the cage at that point, but Joe caught him and suplexed him right back into the center of the ring. That was followed by a massive powerbomb by Joe, then a transition into an STF and a crossface after a near-fall. But Mox was able to crawl to the ropes for a break. In the corner, the struggle between the two gave way to Mox literally biting at Joe’s face, limiting the challenger’s visibility. Mox capitalized with a big lariat and a cutter, but Joe had the wherewithal to fight off a cross armbreaker by the champion. Mox did apply a bulldog choke, but Joe refused to surrender. He locked in a Coquina Clutch of his own, which brought the Death Riders into the fray. Claudio tried to climb the cage, but Willow negated him. Yuta tried to get involved, but Powerhouse Hobbs was having none of it. But in the chaos, Gabe Kidd (!!!) slipped the briefcase into the cage to Moxley, who clocked Joe and got the win. Kidd then assisted Castagnoli in taking out Hobbs and went to the ring to celebrate with Moxley.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite delivered on multiple fronts, but the standout moment of the night was the exceptional four-way eliminator match in the women’s division. Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm, AZM, and Skye Blue put on an absolute clinic, blending hard-hitting action with fast-paced sequences and dramatic near-falls. The chemistry between all four women was undeniable, and the crowd was fully invested from bell to bell. Shirakawa’s victory, pinning the reigning champion Toni Storm, felt like a star-making moment, and it sets the stage for an intriguing title clash at Double or Nothing. Elsewhere, the show featured a brutal steel cage main event between Jon Moxley and Samoa Joe, more chaos from The Elite and Death Riders, and a major development as MJF officially joined The Hurt Syndicate. While the men’s matches carried the usual AEW intensity, in particular the opener, it was the women’s bout that truly stole the show and elevated the episode beyond expectations. Dynamite continues to build momentum, and with Double or Nothing on the horizon, AEW is firing on all cylinders.