‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Aug 13th 2025)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Let’s get straight into the review!
Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Kevin Knight
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
We went outside the arena to see Cincinnati’s own Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir, and Wheeler Yuta preparing to make their way inside the building, but not before Moxley sent a message. “The Jet” Kevin Knight made his way to the ring with JetSpeed partner “Speedball” Mike Bailey in an effort to combat the constant numbers game of the Death Riders. Knight jump-started the match by charging Moxley with a flying kick to the head, which clearly stunned Mox. However, Knight was a bit overzealous, as he tried to trade strikes with Moxley on multiple occasions, which only seemed to fire up Mox more. Not even a second later, Knight was able to reverse a whip into the steel steps and sent Moxley sprawling. The Jet took to the skies by hopping up the apron and crashed down to the floor on an already wounded Moxley. As the two made their way to the opposite side of the ringside area, Knight went back to the air, flying over the top rope and onto Moxley on the elevated ramp. While Knight basked in the adulation of the crowd, he decided to go for broke by launching himself off the ramp to the floor, but Moxley sidestepped and Knight went crashing into the ringside barrier. With momentum clearly in Mox’s favor, he grinded down Knight and slowed down the pace significantly, even going as far as to bite one half of JetSpeed! Skyline Chili this was not! The resilient Knight wouldn’t be kept down and found a few spurts of energy to fight his way back into contention. With Mox and Knight perched on the top rope, Moxley resorted to joint manipulation and a deep back scratch, yet Knight persevered and hit a superplex. Moxley kicked out, and as Knight took a little too much time to get into more offense, he walked right into a cutter and it seemed as if the end was near. Knight escaped a piledriver attempt and while Mox tried to bail to the outside, he was met by yet another flight by The Jet with a big crossbody over the turnbuckles. Sensing Mox could be in trouble, both Shafir and Yuta paid a bit more attention to Knight, as he scaled the top rope for the UFO Splash. The minor distraction gave Mox a chance to get his knees up as Knight came crashing down the painful way. Mox sunk in a deep choke for the win.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Alex Windsor, Queen Aminata & Willow Nightingale def. Mercedes Moné, Thekla & Skye Blue
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
With all six competitors in the ring, the match was about to begin, but the music of AEW Women’s Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm played and she appeared in the upper level of the crowd. Before she could soak in too much of the love from Cincinnati, ROH Women’s Champion and Storm’s opponent at AEW Forbidden Door Athena also appeared in the crowd just a couple sections over from Storm. Things finally started with one of the challengers for Mercedes Moné’s TBS Championship at Forbidden Door, Alex Windsor, and Skye Blue. Windsor continued to look dominant, as we’ve seen so often in the last month. Then, we got a fun showdown between Moné and Queen Aminata with The C.E.O. tasting some Chocolate Kisses! Windsor would tag back in, but quickly found herself in the wrong corner and was soon dominated by Moné, Thekla, and Blue. Finally, Willow made the tag and regained control for her side before everything broke down. Eventually, Moné, Blue, and Thekla were stacked up in the corner and finished off by a big Willow cannonball. We got back to Windsor and Moné, and for a minute it looked like Windsor might get the TBS Champion to tap out, but Moné got some help from her corner to escape. Windsor was able to get back in control and trapped Blue in a Sharpshooter for the victory.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #3: Adam Copeland def. Stokely (DQ)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
In what’s becoming a wonderful tradition, Cope was serenaded by the Cincinnati crowd. The FTR music played, yet no one came out until Stokely was carried out by security. He tried to escape but security made sure he was deposited in the ring. The bell rang and Stoke immediately went for a spear and just bounced off Cope. After shaking off what might have been a stinger, Big Stoke went for another spear and bounced off Cope again. Stoke tried to beg off and offered a handshake, but Cope punched him right in the face. Cope grabbed a mic as the crowd chanted, “Fight forever!” He polled the crowd for their opinions on Stoke. It was pretty lopsided, as Stoke’s issues with height, hair, and attractiveness were addressed. Mercifully, Cope threw Stoke back in the ring and hit a spear, but wasn’t done. This brought out FTR, although they still remained banned from the ringside area due to the restrained order against Cope. Cope would hit another spear on Stoke and that was enough for FTR to hit the ring, making the restraining order null and void. Cope was able to fight off Dax and Cash long enough to go for a third spear on Stoke, but he threw powder in Cope’s face causing a disqualification.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: Brody King, Tomohiro Ishii, Hologram & Hiromu Takahashi def. The Young Bucks, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
A bunch of pyro hit at what seemed to be the wrong time and a voice said the Young Bucks wouldn’t be getting music tonight. Matt and Nick Jackson walked out complaining yet again, although entrance videos for Mr. Instant Replay and Slick Nick appeared. So they had that going for them, which is nice. The Bucks were joined by their partners, TNT Champion “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher and “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander of The Don Callis Family. Brody King, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hologram made their way to the ring and awaited their mystery partner. In a total surprise, former five-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi joined the team and immediately began the match with Fletcher. The tide turned when King was down on the outside, and the Bucks feigned superkicking ring announcer Justin Roberts, but then actually did it! Before the Bucks, Fletcher, and Alexander had a chance to celebrate, Hologram twisted himself to the outside, taking out all four of his opponents. When Dynamite returned from break, Tony Schiavone announced he was told by Tony Khan that both Matt and Nick Jackson were fined $10,000 each for kicking Roberts earlier in the match. That’s not good for the merch design budget. As the match continued, King was cut off from his teammates, as Alexander worked him over on the outside. Luckily, he found just enough daylight to tag in Ishii and we got back to the battle we saw between Ishii and Fletcher on AEW Collision this past weekend. The action spilled back into the ring with the Bucks coming into control, as Alexander and Fletcher aided them in taking out all their opponents. The Bucks and Fletcher hit an assisted spike piledriver with Fletcher to King on the ramp! All of a sudden, this unfamiliar team looked unstoppable. A fresh Takahashi would finally get back into the match and swung the momentum back in his team’s favor for a time, although the numbers game would get the best of him. The Bucks got into their tandem offense before turning it over to Fletcher and Alexander, who hit some tag team offense of their own, yet Takahashi wouldn’t stay down. Amazingly, King battled his way back into the match, sending Fletcher to the outside. Both teams then traded dives to the outside with Hologram taking out both Bucks. Back in the ring, Takahashi got the better of Alexander and planted him with a Timebomb for the pin!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #5: The Opps def. LFI
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
We welcome Samoa Joe back to AEW for his first action since All In Texas! It didn’t take long for Joe to get involved, showing absolutely no signs of rust. Katsuyori Shibata tagged in and after a flurry of offense, was cornered by La Faccion Ingobernable. Eventually, Powerhouse Hobbs got into the mix and put his full power on display, swinging the match back in his team’s favor. At the end, Joe caught Dralistico in the Kokina Clutch while Shibata and Hobbs kept the rest of LFI at bay, as the AEW Trios Champions earned a victory in the main event.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
This week’s show was a taut, emotionally charged ride that expertly balanced storyline advancement with character payoff and delivered major returns and match announcements for Forbidden Door. The MJF vs. Hangman confrontation laid out simmering tension and forced MJF’s hand in classic heel fashion. The overdue emotional reunion of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage was well-executed and earned, fueling anticipation for their tag team appearance at the PPV. Meanwhile, Will Ospreay’s dramatic return and steel cage challenge raised the stakes even higher. With HOOK teased on the horizon, the episode built momentum, intrigue, and excitement in a way that feels both smart and rewarding. In short, Dynamite fired on all cylinders this week.