‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Oct 7th 2025)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast from the home of AEW, Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida in a “Title Tuesday” special. With that, let’s get into the review…
Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
Two of the biggest strikers in AEW opened the match right in the middle of the ring with a forearm battle, with each man taking the advantage for a time until Moxley sent Ishii into the corner, but he came flying right out with a lariat, sending Moxley bailing to the outside. Ishii followed Mox to resume the back and forth striking, although this time it was chops that could be heard throughout Daily’s Place. Moxley cut that off with a nail-digging back rake before sending Ishii head-first into the ring post! But the Stone Pitbull shook it off! An angry Ishii stalked after Moxley, returning the favor by sending him into the ring post. With the referee checking on Moxley, Shafir stopped Ishii on the apron and clawed her fingers into his eyes. That allowed Moxley to recover to hit a dropkick that sent Ishii back to the outside. Moxley started to get into his usual pace of methodically picking apart his opponent by targeting Ishii’s left knee, including a figure four that Ishii was stuck in for a long time before he finally made it to the ropes. Finally, Ishii started fighting right through Moxley’s strikes, eventually putting Moxley down with a quick brainbuster. Moxley bounced back with a choke, but Ishii turned it into a belly-to-back suplex. Moxley fired back with a big clothesline and mounted Ishii for 10 punches only for Ishii to come out of the corner with a powerbomb. He stacked Moxley up, but the kickout came in the nick of time. Now it was time to empty the tanks, as both men went back and forth with some of their biggest shots, although neither would stay down until Moxley cracked Ishii with a running knee. As both men struggled to recover, Mox got to his feet first, and Ishii blocked his lariat attempt and then Moxley did the same before a cutter that kept Ishii down for a two count. Moxley called for the end, as he set up for a stalling piledriver, spiking him right in the mat! And Ishii stood up! Moxley immediately followed with a stomp to the back of the head, but Ishii kicked out again! How do you break a Stone Pitbull? Ishii fought out of the Paradigm Shift to hit a sliding lariat and immediately followed with a tight headlock, yet Moxley bit his way out of it! A big clothesline from Mox allowed him to hit a Paradigm Shift and Ishii was in dire straits. A deep choke put Ishii out and the referee called for the bell to give Moxley the victory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Street Fight – The Hurt Syndicate (Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley and MVP) def. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona)
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
Liona and Lashley were the first ones in the ring, with Liona making good use of the chairs all over the ring by throwing Lashley on to the steel just seconds into the match. Liona kept the pressure on Lashley in the corner and sent him to the outside, as we saw Benjamin and Kaun battling. Back in the ring, MVP and Ricochet continued to go at it after they started the match, swinging anything they could find, but after a brief exchange in the ring, Ricochet went to hide under a table. MVP found him and they fought back to the stage, where MVP hit a suplex on the ramp. With Ricochet out of the mix, MVP joined Lashley and Benjamin for a brief 3-on-2 advantage on GOA until Ricochet came flying back into the match with a diving flip onto everyone from the ramp to the floor! Weapons started to become more prevalent in the match, although an MVP trash can shot to Liona only seemed to anger the big man. Lashley took out Liona with a face-first slam to the floor, as MVP wore out Ricochet with a crutch. Kaun took over the ring by knocking MVP and Lashley to the outside with kicks only to follow up with a crossbody to Lashley on the floor! He came back in to continue the punishment on Benjamin in the ring before turning his attention back to Lashley on the floor. Ricochet and Kaun tried to whip Lashley into a standing table, but he reversed it with a double clothesline. Liona and Lashley started to get into it again, and it looked like Lashley was about to spear him through the table, until Kaun threw a chair in his face at the last moment. With Lashley stunned, Liona put him right through the table. Lashley was set up on another table on the outside so Kaun could come running down the apron to send Lashley through it with a diving elbow. Liona added to the pain by spearing MVP through the barricade. That left Benjamin all alone in a 3-on-1 situation, but somehow, he was able to kick out of a double chokeslam. The Demand put Benjamin on a table and Ricochet hit a shooting star press, but the table didn’t break! Liona made sure it did when he put MVP through it. The Hurt Syndicate started to get back into the match as Benjamin and MVP knocked GOA to the outside to isolate Ricochet. Kaun quickly got back in to even the odds, as he was able to save Ricochet. Ricochet returned the favor by jumping in the way of Kaun to save him from a running Benjamin knee. Ricochet was then set up for a power bomb, but Kaun threw him a chair, which Ricochet sent crashing into the back of the skull of Benjamin to escape. Lashley finally got back into the ring to hit a spear on Kaun, then a spear on Ricochet, and finally a spear on Liona! After chasing him to the outside, Lashley hit a massive spinebuster to put the massive Liona through the table. Ricochet found himself all alone with The Hurt Syndicate who took turns getting in some big shots on him before Benjamin hit a nasty release German Suplex to put Ricochet through the table and get the three count.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #3: Jurassic Express (Jack Perry & Luchasaurus) def. KM and Orion
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
For the first time since 2022, Jurassic Express were back in action on Dynamite! Jack Perry started things off with a fury on Orion, including a flying head scissors that let him soak in the adulation from the crowd. Well, except for the Young Bucks, who were watching in the audience. Luchasaurus tagged in and just powered his way through Orion. Meanwhile, Perry walked down to a neutral corner to remove a turnbuckle pad, which referee Aubrey Edwards tried to stop, so someone tossed Perry a beach ball, and he walked away to get the tag from Luchasaurus, who made the beach ball disappear. Despite how long it’s been since they teamed together, the Jungle Express chemistry was on full display, as Luchasaurus launched Orion into The Countdown to Extinction Powerbomb for the quick and successful win and return to action as a team for the first time in about 1200 days!
My Score: SQUASH out of 5
Match #4: TNT Championship – “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher def. Kyle O’Reilly
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
O’Reilly immediately tried to grind down Fletcher on the mat, which was a big concern to Fletcher, as he made multiple escapes only for O’Reilly to stay right on him. Fletcher bailed to the outside, but he was met by a running knee from the apron. Back in the ring, Fletcher quickly recovered with a Michinoku Driver, putting the TNT Champion in the driver’s seat in his fifth attempted defense of the TNT Title. Fletcher picked apart O’Reilly for the next few minutes, taking plenty of chances to argue with the pro-Kyle (O’Reilly) crowd. Despite taking a major beating, it was O’Reilly’s quick and precise strikes and kicks that got him back into the match. Fletcher tried to headbutt his way out of an arm submission, which didn’t work, so he tried to powerbomb his way out of it, and O’Reilly switched into a leg submission. The two traded blows on the apron and went to the ground, where O’Reilly hit a dragon screw into the barrier and followed it with a flying knee to a sitting Fletcher. O’Reilly missed a flying knee in the ring, allowing Fletcher to hit a big knee of his own. Still, O’Reilly grabbed an arm bar, but Fletcher lawn-darted him into the turnbuckles. A trade of strikes saw O’Reilly get the advantage with a tornado DDT, which he held onto and nearly put Fletcher away with a capture suplex, but the champion kicked out. Fletcher briefly found some separation, only to wind up in an ankle lock that he struggled to get out of until he did and hit a Shear Drop Brainbuster. Fletcher was too wounded to go for the pin, so he hit a running kick in the corner that put O’Reilly out on his feet. A second Shear Drop Brainbuster made it five successful TNT Championship defenses for Fletcher.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #5: TBS Championship Open Challenge – Mercedes Moné def. Lacey Lane
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
Moné tried to toy with Lane early on, but Lane tried to strike quickly and went for a couple of quick pin attempts. Moné bailed to the outside, but Lane was ready for her and kept her foot on the gas. Lane hit a reverse kick to a sitting Moné and drove her head-first in a piledriver variation through the ropes, but Moné kicked out, although she appeared to be in trouble. Lane gave Moné a little too much time to recover on the outside, which allowed the champion to trip her face first into the apron. Now, Moné had Lane back in the ring and slowed down the pace a bit. Lane fought back briefly until Moné cut it off with the Three Amigos suplexes. With Lane down in the corner, Moné went for the Meteora in the corner, but Lane moved. Moné hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the corner and went for another set of running knees, and once again Lane moved. The door was open for the Floridian challenger. A springboard leg drop from Lane set up Moné for a Hammerlock Flatliner, and it still wasn’t enough to get the win. She followed with a fireman’s carry slam and Moné managed to kick out, although she seemed to be in big trouble. The two traded pin attempts until Moné caught Lane in The Moné Maker for a win to guarantee she’ll wake up Wednesday with 500 days as the TBS Champion!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match – The Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita) def. Brodido (Bandido & Brody King)
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
Despite Bandido’s injured shoulder, he demanded to start the match with Takeshita, which was questioned by Bryan Danielson on commentary since there was clearly lots of tape and extra support for his injury, leaving him with a big target for the Don Callis Family to exploit. Takeshita took a couple shots at the shoulder yet couldn’t connect, so Bandido worked him into his corner and tagged in King. Takeshita tagged out to Okada, although he walked right into a chop from King, who threw him in the champions’ corner to bring Bandido back in. Bandido hit a flying head scissors and a dropkick, but the landing seemed to bother his shoulder, so he tagged King back in and rolled out of the ring, really favoring his injured arm. King worked over Okada in the corner but missed a splash, and Okada sent him over the ropes into a Takeshita boot which Okada immediately followed with a lariat. Then, Takeshita DDTed King on the apron, but Okada wouldn’t be one-upped, so he DDTed King on the floor! Takeshita and Okada got in each other’s face with the tension remaining even though they were handling the AEW World Tag Team Champions. Even with the tension, Okada and Takeshita operated well as a team with smart tags in and out to stay fresh as they isolated King from his corner. King fought through the Family double team with a double clothesline and finally tagged Bandido back in, although we didn’t know what kind of shape his shoulder was in after he had to tag out earlier in the match. Call it an adrenaline rush, but Bandido came exploding out of the corner with a springboard into a modified stump puller that nearly put Okada away if not for Takeshita coming in to break it up. Bandido reversed a pop-up attempt into a hurricanrana to send Takeshita to the outside. Bandido hit a crossbody and tried a pair of pin attempts, although neither was enough, so he hit a stalling suplex, but Takeshita was in to break up the pin. King sent him right back to the outside so Brodido could hit a double team reverse piledriver on Okada that Takeshita barely made the save for by pushing Bandido into the pin. Takeshita dragged Okada back to their corner so he could tag into the match. Takeshita decided to get into a 2-on-1 strike battle with Brodido and it didn’t work out, as they hit an assisted sidewalk slam. They set up for the Second Shooter until Okada stopped Bandido, allowing Takeshita to recover and hit a wheelbarrow suplex on the massive King in an awesome display of brute power, but King found some fighting spirit and got right back up! But Takeshita was ready with a Blue Thunder Bomb, although he couldn’t go for the pin since King wasn’t the legal man. Bandido, who was legal, got rocked by a big knee from Takeshita, although his attempt at The Raging Fire was countered by Bandido into a near-fall. Okada grabbed Bandido from the apron to hold him for Takeshita, but Bandido moved, and Takeshita hit Okada! Bandido saw an opportunity and rolled up Takeshita for a two count! Bandido somehow rotated the much larger Takeshita up on his good shoulder and dropped him with a knee, doing this all with one arm. Bandido called for the 21 Plex but couldn’t complete it when his shoulder gave way. Takeshita sensed the trouble and lowered his kneepad to finish off the ROH World Champion. However, Okada decided to make a blind tag, so Takeshita blasted King off the apron with a knee while Okada put Bandido down with a Rainmaker to get the three count!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #7: Orange Cassidy def. PAC
The following is courtesy of allelitwwrestling.com:
Orange Cassidy went right to his pockets, but PAC stopped it and tossed Cassidy away with relative ease. Cassidy got back up and started hitting his devastating kicks, so PAC rolled out of the way and regained the advantage with a side headlock on the mat. PAC was clearly trying to ground Cassidy, which was praised by Danielson on commentary as a smart way to approach his first match back since April. Cassidy created enough distance to get to the top rope and hit him with the side crossbody. PAC went to the outside, so OC followed with a dive only to be caught by PAC and planted with a Falcon Arrow on the floor! PAC started to toy with the battered Cassidy, taking plenty of time to antagonize the crowd as he picked apart the fan favorite. A couple of weak shots from Cassidy were cut off by a huge kick from PAC. That fired up OC, as he bounced back up to win a big strike exchange. He delivered a big boot, and PAC came back with one of his own. PAC stunned OC with a forearm, but OC shook it off to start another strike exchange. OC hit a thrust kick, so PAC came back with a release German Suplex. Cassidy got back up for a Beach Break, so PAC rolled through only to be hit with a short-range PK. Cassidy went for another dive and once again PAC was there to catch him, only this time, OC reversed it into a StunDog Millionaire on the floor. He went back into the ring and finally hit the dive with a DDT on the floor! PAC stumbled around the ringside area and turned into an Orange Punch that left him laying on the timekeeper’s table. OC saw the opportunity and climbed to the top rope, putting his hands in his pockets to launch himself onto PAC through the table. Back in the ring, Cassidy hit a tilt-a-whirl DDT and followed with an Orange Punch that could have won the match, but PAC got his foot on the rope at the last possible moment. Cassidy went back to the top rope, only for PAC to take a page out of OC’s book by slowly rolling away. PAC retreated up the stage and into the stands near the ring. Cassidy followed, although PAC had a plan, as he booted OC and dropped him with an ugly tombstone piledriver amongst the fans! To add insult to injury, he kicked Cassidy down the steps. When PAC went to make his way back down to the ring, Darby Allin appeared and handcuffed PAC’s ankle to the protective barrier! He had nowhere to go, as Cassidy started to find his way back to the ring. PAC finally broke free and made it back just in the nick of time to beat the count, but Cassidy was waiting and trapped PAC in a Cazadora for the three count! PAC was stunned!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
This special Title Tuesday edition of Dynamite packed plenty of chaos, storytelling, and grit into two fast hours. Jon Moxley and Tomohiro Ishii opened the night with a brutal, hard-hitting fight that had the crowd wincing with every strike. Later, Moxley’s ongoing feud with Darby Allin escalated to near-madness — Darby stormed out wielding a Molotov cocktail in one of the most unhinged, attention-grabbing moments Dynamite has seen in months. It was raw, dangerous, and perfectly captured their “I Quit” storyline. The TNT Championship bout between Kyle Fletcher and Kyle O’Reilly delivered pure wrestling excellence, with Fletcher retaining after a fierce back-and-forth battle. Mercedes Moné’s TBS Title defense against Lacey Lane showcased her dominance and continued her smooth transition into AEW’s spotlight. The tag division also heated up, as Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita scored a big win despite simmering tension between them – a dynamic that adds intrigue heading toward WrestleDream. The Elite’s post-match ambush on Jurassic Express kept that rivalry burning bright, setting up what feels like an inevitable showdown. While not every match hit top gear, the pacing was sharp and the storytelling clicked. Dynamite felt edgy again: unpredictable, fiery, and unapologetically AEW.