The John Report: AEW Dynamite 10/29/25 Review (Fright Night)
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured a big 4-way match for an AEW World Title shot, tag team action, and more.
I didn’t see Dynamite on Wednesday night because I was watching MLB World Series Game 5 as my beloved Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to go up 3-2 in the series. One more win and the Blue Jays are World Series Champions, but it won’t be easy in Game 6, which could lead to a winner take all Game 7. Good booking, my friends. Anyway, I love my team and I’m proud of them being on the brink of a championship like this.
The next AEW PPV is Full Gear on November 22nd, so they have over three weeks to build the card.
I’m going to go with summary style for most of the show and then play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #317 from the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday night, and you know what that means. The commentary team was Excalibur and Bryan Danielson. They had big screens by the entrance, no ramp and a lot of room around ringside. I like the two-man commentary table, although I assume Taz will rejoin when he’s recovered from recent surgery.
Trick Or Treat Tornado Tag Team Match: Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. Death Riders – Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta
It’s a tornado tag, so anything goes, and you don’t need to make tags. The action spilled to the floor quickly and Allin hit Yuta with a chair to the back. Allin hit Yuta with a chair to the back. Garcia and Yuta got control briefly by double teaming Orange, but that was done so that Allin could jump off a railing in the crowd and he hit a Coffin Drop on the heels. It wasn’t that high up, but they shot it perfectly and looked cool. Allin hit a dropkick into the barricade, and that led to a break.
(Commercial)
Orange was on a roll with DDTs on his opponents while Allin was down selling in the ring. Garcia put a guillotine on Orange and put him on a table on the floor. Yuta hit a top rope splash through Orange on the table on the floor. Allin hit a Code Red on Garcia for two. Allin hit a low blow on Yuta and Orange hit a diving DDT off the top rope. Orange hit a Coffin Drop on Yuta for two because Yuta kicked out since Garcia was too slow to break it up. Oops. They just had Yuta kick out Darby’s finish because of Garcia being slow to break it up. Anyway, Orange hit Sole Food and a suicide dive to put Garcia through the table. Allin put the Scorpion Death Lock on Yuta for the tapout win after 12 minutes.
Winners by submission: Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin
Analysis: ***1/4 It was an entertaining match to put over Cassidy and Allin over the JOB Squad of the Death Riders. There’s no drama about who is going to win or lose. They turned Daniel Garcia heel so he can do jobs in matches like this, I guess. They should have turned Garcia heel and turned him into a killer, more destructive wrestler, but instead, he’s just a guy losing matches. If you turn a guy heel, have a plan for them. Don’t just do it and then do nothing with them. Anyway, Allin is crazy in an exciting way while Orange is likable too, so I like them as a team.
Hook did a promo into the camera, saying he’s the underdog in the match tonight against three decorated veterans. Hook claimed he’ll do his best to make sure Samoa Joe doesn’t advance tonight. Hook said Joe showed the world who he really is, but Hook already knew.
(Commercial)
Don Callis was interviewed by Renee Paquette. The Young Bucks approached. Callis said that maybe it would help the Bucks to have a family to watch their back. Callis told the “production jobber” to cue up the special entrance that Callis set up for the Young Bucks. There were three dudes in costumes backstage. Callis did a special introduction for the Bucks, and there was some impressive pyro as well.
AEW Tag Team Championships #1 Contender’s Match: The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson vs. Jurassic Express – Luchasaurus & “Jungle” Jack Perry vs. FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (w/Stokely) vs. Jetspeed – Kevin Knight & “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Jurassic Express beat The Young Bucks and FTR beat Jetspeed at WrestleDream, yet the Bucks and Jetspeed are just one match away from an AEW Tag Team Title match. Shouldn’t wins and losses matter more? They used to matter in AEW. Lazy booking or simply wanting to do more 4-way matches.
There are supposed to be two guys legal and the other six guys are on the apron, but it’s AEW where the rules barely matter. It took about a minute for the match to break down as Bryan wondered who was legal and Excalibur tried to explain who “may” be legal. Anyway, JetSpeed and Jurassic Express had a staredown after exchanging moves, so the Bucks and FTR tried to clear the ring. FTR worked together with the Bucks to double attack Knight as Nick hit a senton splash off the top. Jack hit a double hurricanrana on FTR. When Jack tried a dive over the top, FTR caught him and slammed Jack onto the commentary table. Cash dropkicked Matt and tossed Nick onto Matt. Bailey cleared the ring and hit a somersault dive over the top onto the heels. Dax superplexed Knight off the top onto other wrestlers on the floor. The fans were chanting “AEW” for it.
(Commercial)
The match returned from break with Luchasaurus getting a hot tag and hitting splashes on the FTR and Bucks. Luchasaurus hit a double shoulder tackle and a double clothesline. Jack gave Bailey a hurricanrana onto Knight on the floor. Luchasaurus hit four Chokeslams and Jack hit a Destroyer on Nick, which led to a two count for Luchasaurus on Matt. I had no idea who was legal, but Knight DDT’d Luchasaurus and Knight hit a dropkick on Perry onto the other guys on the floor. Bailey hit a springboard dive onto guys on the floor and Knight hit a springboard splash on Luchasaurus for two. The Bucks went into the ring illegally with multiple superkicks for a few different guys. The Bucks hit Shatter Machine on Cash. Bucks hit a double superkick on Knight, who was jumping off the top. Bucks hit BTE Trigger and Knight kicked out of it. Dax tagged Nick to become legal as Luchasaurus hit Chokeslams and a sloppy moonsault onto Matt. Bailey hit a moonsault onto some guys on the floor. Knight went up top and hit a UFO Splash. Both FTR guys went into the ring and hit Shatter Machine on Knight. Dax covered Knight for the pinfall win after 14 minutes. FTR celebrated the win. They should have shown a replay of Dax making the blind tag, but they didn’t show any replay.
Winners by pinfall: FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
Analysis: ***3/4 A wild match that was a lot of fun to watch. It was the usual AEW multi-team tag team match with chaos and guys randomly going into the ring to do moves. That nearfall where the Bucks hit BTE Trigger on Knight was a great one, with Knight kicking out to continue the match. I didn’t think Knight was kicking out there. FTR are my favorite team in AEW, so I don’t mind that result at all. They did a lot of big spots in the match with guys taking risks and especially a lot of dives on the floor to try to make it look like teams were unable to make the saves. Other than all of the illegal offense in the match, I liked a lot of it.
A video aired about “Hangman” Adam Page’s issues with Samoa Joe. Page beat Joe at WrestleDream and Joe attacked Page after, so it was a heel turn. Page said he would ruin Joe’s entire life.
A graphic was shown promoting the Samoa Joe-Ricochet-Bobby Lashley-Hook main event for a shot at the AEW World Title held by Page.
Analysis: I think the video package that aired before the graphic gave away who was winning to face Page. Odd choice to show a video like that before the match is official.
(Commercial)
Don Callis Family Summit
Don Callis walked out with his “family” consisting of TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero, Josh Alexander, AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada, Hechicero, Mark Davis, El Clone and Lance Archer. The IWGP World Champion Konosuke Takeshita did not walk out with the group. There were two tables and chairs in the long, along with a portrait that was covered.
Callis welcomed us to the Don Callis Family Summit, which drew boos. Callis said he was there to address the Okada-Takeshita problems. Callis mentioned four things about the family, so the others spoke up. Rocky did a promo saying they are the largest and most dominant faction in all of pro wrestling today. Rocky unveiled a portrait of Don Callis (with a lot of muscles) standing in front of the Don Callis Family. Josh cued up a video showing highlights of the Don Callis Family’s success.
Kyle read some fake contract that the members of the Don Callis Family had to sign to be part of the family. As Kyle was reading it, here comes Konosuke Takeshita.
The IWGP World Champion Konosuke Takeshita apparently no longer has “travel issues” like the group said, as he walked out to the ring. Takeshita stared at Okada, who stood up and stared at Takeshita. Callis said that Takeshita is the Alpha, but Callis said they are family of Alphas. Callis said that this is a family. Callis said they’ll succeed by listening to what he wants. Callis said there’s no “I” in team, but there’s “I” in family and he decides what this family is about. Callis said that Takeshita was the first one in the family. Callis told Takeshita to put his ego aside and shake Okada’s hand. The fans didn’t want that. Takeshita was reluctant to shake the hand. Callis told Takeshita to shake Okada’s hand for Don. Takeshita extended his hand and Okada saluted him with a middle finger to the face! The crowd exploded. Okada was laughing while the other wrestlers stepped between them. Callis said that they had to work on this. Callis said this Saturday, Okada will team up with Takeshita to show they can work like a family. Collision was taped after Dynamite.
Analysis: This took too long for my liking, but I understand why it was done that way to make Konosuke Takeshita stand out above the others. A heel like Callis doing a long promo is done to get heat and it got a lot of heat, so it worked in that regard. When Takeshita turns babyface officially for the match with Kazuchika Okada it’s going to be a big deal and I’m looking forward to it. Takeshita can be a huge babyface star on his own and I think AEW is smart enough to know that, which is a good thing. This one of the better stories in AEW right now in terms of building up the Okada-Takeshita match.
A video aired about CMLL’s Olympia facing Mercedes Mone on Collision.
The AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander was interviewed by Renee Pquette. Kris said she’ll support Mercedes Mone for her match on Collision. Kris invited Mone to come say something to her face. Kris said she’s the one holding the title that Mone doesn’t have – the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Jon Moxley (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Last week on Dynamite, Jon Moxley punched the referee while O’Reilly had him in the Ankle Lock, so Moxley was DQ’d. This is the rematch. They exchanged strikes early on. Moxley caught Kyle and dumped him over the top to the floor.
(Commercial)
They were out on the floor as Moxley sent Kyle into the steel steps. Kyle did a dragon screw leg whip against the ropes. Moxley didn’t sell that much and hit a piledriver. Kyle worked over Moxley with a step onto the ankle and a knee smash. Moxley went for another piledriver, but Kyle turned it into a Triangle Choke submission. After Moxley got out of it, he hit a lariat and Kyle did a flip bump. The action spilled to the floor, where Kyle sent Moxley onto a chair. The referee wasn’t counting them out of the ring. Kyle applied a Guillotine Choke and then the inept referee Aubrey Edwards did a countout, which led to the double countout finish. The fans booed. It went about 10 minutes.
Match Result: Double Countout
Analysis: *** A solid match, but it was mostly done to set up another non-finish and build to the angle after the match. The problem with a countout finish in AEW is that in 95% of the matches, the referees don’t count, and this time it took about a minute for the ref to start counting. It’s very inconsistent and makes it feel amateurish. It would have been nice if Moxley sold some moves more, but Kyle did a couple of nearfalls later in the match. Anyway, the non-finish does put Kyle over for being tough to beat.
After the match, Marina Shafir went into the ring and punched referee Edwards with a light shot to the face. Claudio Castagnoli went to the ring to attack Kyle. Roderick Strong made the save with a knee on Moxley and an Angle Slam on Claudio. Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia showed up to attack Strong. Darby Allin, Mark Briscoe and Orange Cassidy ran out to the ring for the save.
Darby Allin said they should end this right here. Allin said that the Death Riders haven’t suffered enough, but they’ll give the Death Riders a chance to suffer from more. Mark Briscoe said that the Death Riders like to skedaddle (run) when it’s time to throw down. Mark said that they have the perfect solution to this. Mark told OC to tell them what they’ve been talking about.
Orange: “Uhh…Blood and Guts!” The fans cheered. Blood and Guts is two weeks away, so that’s when it would take place.
Analysis: The Blood and Guts match makes sense for this rivalry since it’s been going on for such a long time. Since Blood and Guts is two weeks away, it was time to set up a men’s match for it, so here we are. That’s cool with me.
(Commercial)
Mercedes Mone and Kris Statlander were fighting in the backstage area. Mone grabbed Kris by the hair, and they walked through the tunnel and by the entrance area. Kris punched Mone in the gut and tossed Mone onto the apron. Athena pulled Kris off the apron and threw Kris into the steel steps. Mone did a Backstabber to Kris and Athena jumped off the top with the O-Face on Kris. Mone applied a crossface on Kris. Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron made the save, so Mone and Athena left.
Next Wednesday on Dynamite is Mone and Athena against Willow and Harley in the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament.
Analysis: A quick segment to build the Mone-Statlander match at Full Gear. It only lasted a few minutes, and it got some heat on Mone with Athena as her tag team partner.
Bandido was featured in a video with his grandmother, and he talked about how she got to see him wrestle on Collision last week. They showed Grandma and Bandido’s family with him last week. Good stuff. Bandido is awesome.
AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round: Sisters of Sin – Skye Blue & Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata & Jamie Hayter
Hayter and Aminata won a tag last week and picked Hart and Blue as their opponents this week. Hayter hit a running kick on Hart while Aminata got a two count. Aminata did her Chocolate Kisses spot, where she sent Blue’s face into her butt repeatedly. I described it as best I could. Hayter and Queen hit a double suplex on both of their opponents. Hart made a blind tag for a double team hair pull and double flapjack into the mat. Blue and Hart kicked Hayter for a two count.
(Commercial)
It was Hart and Blue on offense against Hayter, but Hayter hit a double suplex. Queen was back in with a running kick to Blue’s face for two. Hayter hit an impressive missile dropkick and a lariat for two. Hayter and Queen hit double German Suplexes that were not sold as Blue and Hart hit double superkicks, but Hayter and Queen came back with double clotheslines. All four women were down as they decided to sell. Thekla attacked Hayter on the floor, but the director missed that. That’s not good. Hart and Blue were both in the ring as they hit a double team slam on Queen for the pinfall win. They replayed the Thekla spot. The Blue/Hayter move was like a double team uranage slam. It went about 10 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Sisters of Sin – Skye Blue & Julia Hart
Analysis: *** It was a good tag team match with some creative spots, especially in the final minutes. The result makes sense since Blue and Hart are part of a faction, and they are more of a team, so that result made sense.
Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford (with her right arm in a sling) were interviewed by Tony Schiavone, who was in a Phantom of the Opera-style mask/outfit. Ford said that she had a torn UCL in her elbow, which means she’s out indefinitely and she’s not cleared to compete. Ford said that those titles were her destiny and she’ll make the other women feel her pain. Bayne said that their fate may be delayed. Bayne wondered if any woman was worthy to stand beside her. Marina Shafir walked in saying don’t worry, she’s listening. Jon Moxley walked in, he approved and said, “Look out.” Shafir and Bayne touched fists.
Analysis: That sucks about Penelope Ford being injured because she has improved a lot, and I liked her team with Bayne. Shafir is a good replacement as a tough heel to side with Bayne.
(Commercial)
AEW World Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet vs. Hook
I don’t know how they picked the people to be in this match. Lashley has been a tag team guy, Ricochet hasn’t had any big singles wins of late, and Hook barely wrestles, yet they are all one match away from a World Title shot. Meanwhile, there was literally a video about Samoa Joe and Hangman, so even Helen Keller and Mr. T could see where this is going. The first pinfall or submission wins. No disqualifications and no countouts.
Joe worked over Hook with some strikes. Lashley pulled Joe out of the ring and sent Joe into the steel steps. Ricochet kicked Lashley on the floor, but Lashley was back in the ring. Hook hit Ricochet with an overhead suplex and Lashley hit a release overhead suplex on Ricochet. Hook hit a Fisherman’s Buster on Ricochet for two because Lashley broke up the pin. Lashley elbowed Hook and punched Hook from the apron to the floor. Lashley gave Hook a spinebuster on the apron. Ricochet hit a suicide dive on Lashley. Joe hit a suicide dive elbow on Lashley and Ricochet on the floor.
(Commercial)
Ricochet hit a boot to Joe’s face. Ricochet went for a leap off the turnbuckle, but Joe moved and Ricochet hit the mat. Lashley was back in to hit Joe with a spinebuster. Lashley hit a Dominator slam on Ricochet for two because Hook broke up the pin. Lashley caught Hook on his right shoulder and Joe was back in to clothesline Lashley. Hook clotheslined Lashley out of the ring. Joe headbutted Hook, who came back with a T-Bone Suplex. Hook celebrated like a dumbass, so Ricochet hit a top rope clothesline. Ricochet hit a running, twisting dive onto Lashley on the floor. Ricochet hit a handspring moonsault onto Joe on the floor. Ricochet went up top, jumped off and hit a Shooting Star Press perfectly for a two count. Hook was able to come back with a Red Rum on Ricochet, but Joe broke that up with a senton splash. Joe tried a Muscle Buster on Hook, but Lashley was back in with a Spear, and Joe completed the Muscle Buster on Hook. Ricochet hit a springboard 450 Splash to break up the pin. Bryan put over Ricochet for being incredible in the match. Hook clotheslined Ricochet out of the ring, and Hook sent Lashley out of the ring. Ricochet hit Lashley in the back with a chair, so Lashley chased Ricochet to the back. Joe put Hook in the Coquina Clutch. Lashley tried to run back into the ring, but Hook tapped out. It went about 12 minutes.
Winner by submission: Samoa Joe
Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very good four-way match. It wasn’t as good as the four-way tag team match earlier in the night, but it ended up better than I thought, even with an obvious result. Lashley was protected because he ran away from the match with Ricochet and wasn’t there to make the save because Hook tapped out. Hook used to be more of a killer, but he didn’t look very strong in this match. Ricochet put on a show throughout the match. Joe getting the win was no surprise, as mentioned earlier. At least I can say Joe earned the title shot by saying he won a match instead of just being handed another title shot.
The win by Samoa Joe means he’ll challenge Hangman Adam Page for the AEW World Title at Full Gear.
Samoa Joe Signs Contract
Samoa Joe was joined in the ring by his allies The Opps – Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata. Tony Schiavone was in the ring with his Phantom of the Opera costume and called out some guys to bring out the contract for Joe to sign. There were some dudes who walked out to the ring in Halloween costumes, where we couldn’t see their faces. Joe claimed he wanted to ensure that this was a safe environment for him, so he told Hobbs and Shibata to make sure he was safe. Hobbs and Shibata beat up the dudes in the outfits. Joe pulled the Marshmallow Man’s head off and it wasn’t Hangman Page. Joe punched the guy. In the past, Page dressed as Marshmallow Man, so that’s why Joe thought it was him. Joe signed the AEW Full Gear title match contract.
Joe said it seems like the Hangman isn’t as creative as he used to be. Joe warned Hangman that his days are numbered because soon Hangman will not be the champion. Joe said that what stands in front of you is your next AEW World Champion. Tony Schiavone suggested that Joe and his friends celebrate the win, so there were beers in the ring. A guy went into the ring who looked like Tony Schiavone, but it was really “Hangman” Adam Page dressed like Tony. Page kicked Shibata and Hobbs in the groin. Page smashed Joe with a bottle to the head. Page took his outfit off on his head and hit a Buckshot Lariat on Joe. Page attacked Joe with punches. Security and referees went to the ring to break it up. Page was taken out of the ring while Joe sold it in the ring. End show.
Analysis: That was a clever attack by Hangman while capitalizing on the Halloween theme. It was smart to have Tony Schiavone dress up and have Hangman dress up in a similar outfit. I thought it worked very well, and the fans loved it. I think Hangman will beat Joe at Full Gear, and if that doesn’t happen, I’d be very surprised.
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Three Stars of the Show
- FTR
- Samoa Joe
- Ricochet
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.75 out of 10
Last Week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.39
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
It was an entertaining edition of AEW Dynamite with good matches all night long. They had matches that had stakes, which always makes the wins mean more when you can do that. The 4-way tag team match was chaos, and I liked the main event 4-way too.
They progressed some stories very well. I definitely want to see Takeshita against Okada and Page against Joe has a better story going into Full Gear than it did going into WrestleDream. The Men’s Blood & Guts Match also seems set now with Death Riders against The Conglomeration and friends. I enjoyed Dynamite this week.
The next AEW PPV is Full Gear on November 22nd. Here’s the lineup so far.
* AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Samoa Joe
* AEW World Tag Team Championships: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido (c) vs. FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Mercedes Mone
There will be more matches added in the weeks ahead.
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Rams. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport