The John Report: AEW Dynamite 01/29/25 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Jeff Jarrett facing Claudio Castagnoli, Mercedes Mone’s TBS Title defense against Yuka Sakazaki, Will Ospreay in action, and more.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #278 from the VBC Probst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday and you know what that means. The commentary team was Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz. They are taping Collision after Dynamite as well.
The show started with action because Will Ospreay made his entrance for the opening match.
After Brian Cage made his entrance, Don Callis told Ospreay to look at the screen right now. It was a video of Kenny Omega down in the backstage area and Callis was laughing. Cage attacked Will from behind.
Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage (w/Don Callis and Lance Archer)
This feels like a replay since Brian Cage was put in a match against Kenny Omega two weeks ago where Cage did the job in a predictable match. I think we know what will happen here. I think part of the problem with AEW booking is they book too may television matches with obvious results. When you do that, fans aren’t going to want to tune in.
Cage was in control early on, but then Will came back with a hurricanrana that sent Cage out of the ring. Will went for a slingshot attack onto Will on the floor, Cage moved and Cage ran over Will with a shoulder tackle. Will shoved Cage into the ring post. Will jumped onto Cage on the floor, Cage walked around the ring with Will and Cage hit a suplex on the floor. Tony Schiavone said that Brian Cage has “never looked better” which Tony says about nearly every wrestler and even said about Adam Copeland, who is in his 50s and is clearly not better than when he was a younger man, but that’s AEW commentary. Archer and Callis did some cheap shots to Will, so Cage slammed Will on the apron. Cage hit a jumping side kick on Will. Cage hit a spinning backbreaker for two. Cage worked over Will with chops and a hard whip into the turnbuckle where Will hit the turnbuckle sternum first. Will did a handstand off the ropes leading to a corkscrew kick to the head. Cage hit a jumping kick to Will on the turnbuckle, but Will came back with a superkick while Cage was against the turnbuckle. Will hit a springboard elbow for two. Cage was back up with a forearm smash. Will avoided a suplex, Will sent Cage to the apron, and Will hit a running kick to knock Cage off the apron to the floor. Will hit an impressive Sasuke Special ending with a moonsault over the top onto Cage on the floor. Will was distracted by Archer, so Cage clotheslined Will on the apron. Cage hit a suplex from the middle ropes while Will was on the apron and it got a two count. Will broke free leading to two hook kicks to the jaw. Will went for Oscutter, Cage blocked it leading to a forearm and Cage hit a huge lariat. Cage hit a sitout Ligerbomb for two. Cage was on the middle turnbuckle and hit a spinning slam like an F5 for a two count because Will’s foot was on the bottom rope. Archer pushed Will’s foot off the rope, the referee saw it and did nothing. Will hit a hurricanrana that sent Cage into Archer. Will hit a Styles Clash for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Will Ospreay
Analysis: ***1/4 This was a solid match as usual whenever Will Ospreay is in a match like this. Cage got a lot of offense and it took two moves for Will to beat him. It was obvious that Cage had no chance here even though he does a lot of cool moves in a match. Will didn’t go crazy in some of his matches. It was mostly Will selling before finding a way to win.
After the match, Lance Archer attacked Will with punches. There was a clothesline for Will as well. Kenny Omega made the save with a steel chair, Omega hit Archer with a chair shot two times including a chair to the back. It was nice of Cage to do nothing while Omega positioned the chair shot. Omega threw a chair at Cage. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher went down to the ring to beat up Will and Omega. Takeshita and Fletcher each hit versions of the Tombstone Piledriver. The Don Callis Family group stood tall over Kenny and Will. This kept on going for a few minutes with nobody trying to help the two guys beaten up.
Analysis: We have seen this before when The Don Callis Family beat up Omega and Will. Last week it was Omega and Will fighting back, but this week the Callis Family was too strong due to the 4-on-2 numbers game advantage. When AEW books these segments, they need to try to get some referees and/or security guys out there to try to stop it because it looks silly when nobody is trying to help.
At AEW Grand Slam Australia, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay will team up against Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.
Renee Paquette was outside of Swerve Strickland’s dressing room when “Hangman” Adam Page showed up looking for Swerve. Page said he wasn’t in there. Renee asked what was going on? Page said it was none of your business. MJF walked backstage, he bumped into Page, and Page left. MJF said he won’t let anybody ruin his mood tonight. MJF said that Jeff Jarrett will have to go out there alone against Claudio Castagnoli because Jeff refused MJF’s help. MJF said that Jeff can’t decline this offer and MJF said it was the Last Outlaw’s last ride. MJF laughed: “Ain’t I great?”
Analysis: The “Ain’t I great?” line at the end was a catchphrase that Jarrett used in the past.
(Commercial)
A clip aired of Powerhouse Hobbs brawling with Big Bill on Collision recently. There was a promo from Powerhouse Hobbs saying he wasn’t cleared to come back. Hobbs told Big Bill that they are going to hell and hell is just the beginning.
Analysis: There was apparently a plan for AEW to have Powerhouse Hobbs and Big Bill get into a fight on this show to set up a Collision match. However, Hobbs was legitimately not cleared to compete, so they had to change plans and it changed some things later in the show.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jeff Jarrett
If Jarrett wins then he gets an AEW World Title match. The last two singles matches that Jeff won were over Aaron Solo and QT Marshall. They are barely used on television, yet somehow if Jeff wins this match then he gets an AEW World Title match.
Claudio hit a shoulder tackle leading to Jeff hitting two hiptosses and an arm drag across the ring. Jeff worked over Claudio with punches, but Claudio hit an atomic drop. Jeff countered a move leading to a Figure Four Leglock only for a few seconds because Claudio got his hands on the bottom rope. Claudio signaled for Wheeler Yuta to come to ringside. The referee left the ring to admonish Yuta, who was doing nothing. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The action continued with Jeff hitting a Russian legsweep after I missed about a minute of action. They took turns throwing strikes, Claudio hit an uppercut and Jeff delivered a punch. Jeff avoided charging Claudio and Jeff kicked the back of the leg. Claudio ducked a kick attempt followed by Claudio doing the Giant Swing. Claudio applied the Sharpshooter submission move, Jeff powered out of it and Jeff applied a poor version of The Sharpshooter. Yuta tossed a chair into the ring, Yuta went on the apron and Jeff punched Yuta, who bumped into the ring to distract the referee. Claudio did the worst chair shot attempt of all time, Jeff went for The Stroke, Jon Moxley went into the ring and Moxley hit the Paradigm Shift on Jeff. The referee never saw it. Claudio hit a Neutralizer on Jeff. Claudio hit another Neutralizer that Jeff sold by landing on his knees, so that didn’t look pretty at all. Claudio covered for the pinfall win after 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Claudio Castagnoli
Analysis: **3/4 This was okay. I respect what Jarrett’s done in his career, but he moves slowly like a guy who is almost 60 years old and probably should retire. It was a cheap finish that puts over Jeff Jarrett as somebody who is tough to beat since Claudio Castagnoli needed two guys to help him. I guess you can explain it by saying that the Death Riders are jerks. I thought Jeff might win due to the storyline he’s involved in, but I’m certainly not upset about a Claudio win.
After the match, Jeff Jarrett was shown on his knees looking frustrated while a few fans tried starting a “Double J” chant that didn’t pick up.
Let’s Hear from MJF
Maxwell Jacob Friedman went into the ring while Jarrett was in the ring looking upset about his loss. MJF said “I just wanted to come out here to say” and MJF knocked down Jeff with a punch while the Dynamite Diamond Ring was on his hand. Jeff sold it like he was knocked out in the ring. MJF said he respects his elders, which is why he won’t say “I told you so.” MJF left.
Analysis: A quick appearance from MJF mocking Jeff for his loss. MJF is one of my favorites in AEW and I hope this story ends soon because he needs to be a part of something better than this lame angle.
There was a commercial for AEW Revolution on March 9th in Los Angeles. That is the first AEW PPV of the year.
(Commercial)
Ricochet was interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. Renee said they don’t know where Swerve Strickland is while informing Ricochet that if Swerve is involved in his match then Swerve won’t get Ricochet in a match next week on Dynamite. Ricochet said that he’ll talk to Renee more on Collision in a formal interview. Ricochet spoke about how he had a match up next, so he made his entrance after that.
Ricochet vs. AR Fox
Last week’s Dynamite saw Swerve beat AR Fox in an easy match and now Fox is against Ricochet. This is what I meant earlier about AEW booking matches that are too predictable.
Fox knocked down Ricochet with shoulder tackles and a side headlock takeover. Fox jumped off the bottom rope with a Stunner followed by a corkscrew brainbuster. Fox jumped over the top with a cross body block on Ricochet on the floor. Fox hit a boot to the face. They went to the apron where Ricochet gave Fox a hiptoss on the apron. Ricochet teased a dive, but then he stopped himself to piss off the fans.
(Commercial)
Ricochet hit a spinebuster followed by a bounce off the ropes looking like an elbow and it led to a standing moonsault instead. Ricochet and Fox each ran the ropes leading to a cross body block collision that knocked both guys down. Fox hit an enziguri kick and a suplex for two. Ricochet went to the turnbuckle, Fox pulled Ricochet down and hit a Cutter. Fox went up top and hit a 450 Splash for two. Ricochet went to the apron, Fox did a lift, Ricochet grabbed the referee’s shirt to break free and Ricochet hit a Codebreaker for two. Ricochet hit his Spirit Gun lariat and the Vertigo slam for the pinfall win after 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ricochet
Analysis: *** A solid match with Fox showing what he can do while Ricochet sold everything well. It was similar to how the Ospreay/Cage match was where the loser Fox got a lot of offense before Ricochet hit a couple of big moves to get the win.
After the match, Ricochet grabbed his screwdriver that was hidden by the turnbuckle. Swerve Strickland showed up and pulled Ricochet out of the ring. Swerve sent Ricochet into the steel steps. Ricochet was in the ring, he had the scissors against Fox’s throat and Swerve hid behind Fox as Ricochet left the ring. Ricochet let Fox go and Ricochet went to the back.
It’s Swerve Strickland against Ricochet in a grudge match next week on Dynamite.
Analysis: That should be a great match next week between Swerve and Ricochet. I don’t know who will win that one, but I think it may be Swerve getting the win.
There was a video shown of an AEW Close Up interview by Renee Paquette talking to her husband Jon Moxley and the Death Riders group. Moxley wondered why people needed to see the AEW World Title. Moxley claimed that people don’t understand what it takes to be a champion. Moxley said he is the AEW World Championship and said that the championship lives with him. Moxley said it’s not something you pose with or take pictures with. Moxley claimed he is trying to build 1000 Jon Moxley’s and put them through what he went through and even worse. That was it. The full interview is on AEW’s YouTube channel.
(Commercial)
The ROH World Champion Chris Jericho did a “New York Minute” promo. Jericho mentioned Big Bill took out Powerhouse Hobbs last week on Collision and Bill said he understands Jericho’s words in a way that he never did before. Bill said he feels stronger. Jericho said he’s proud of himself for being such a great mentor. Jericho told Bill to take out Hobbs permanently and he didn’t do that. Jericho said that he’ll team up with Bryan Keith against The Outrunners in a match on Collision. Jericho said that Big Bill will watch how it’s done.
Analysis: I’m sure at some point Big Bill will have enough of Jericho’s mentorship and Bill will turn babyface. We have seen this happen with Jericho groups in the past. Some of the guys are better off after working with Jericho while other guys are not better off. Good luck to Bill.
Jay White vs. Wheeler Yuta
This has been building for a few weeks since White has been feuding with Moxley’s Death Riders group and Yuta is essentially the worst wrestler in the group in terms of winning matches. White was in control with chops and stomps to the body. White hit a back body drop across the ring. White chopped Yuta from the apron to the floor. Yuta finally got some offense with a dropkick to the knee. Yuta did a drop toe hold that sent White into the ring apron. Yuta sent White into the steel steps. The wrestlers broke the ref’s count a few times during this match so at least there was a count going on. Yuta stomped on White’s left knee. Back in the ring, Yuta hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for two. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Yuta kicking White in the left knee while a few fans chanted “Yuta sucks” at Wheeler, which is true based on his win-loss record. White hit a dragon screw leg whip. White set up Yuta on the top rope and hit a superplex for a two count. Yuta cradled White for two and White came back with his own cradle for two. Yuta hit White with a forearm to the knee followed by a single leg crab submission by Yuta, so White grabbed the rope to break the hold. Yuta kicked White in the back of the leg followed by an Olympic Slam for two. White hit a spinning uranage slam. Yuta hit a bridging German Suplex for a two count. Yuta went up top, jumped off with nothing since White moved and Yuta hit an elbow to the head. Yuta charged with a knee attack, White avoided it and White hit a Bladerunner to win.
Winner by pinfall: Jay White
Analysis: *** It was fine for what it was and obviously White was going to win here. This is the kind of match that should have went about 7 minutes with White winning decisively and have White look strong while the announcers put over White as a threat to beat Jon Moxley. Instead, they went double that time. Why? Yuta isn’t a featured singles wrestler in AEW. I would have booked a shorter match.
After the match, White hit another Bladerunner and the fans wanted to see more. The Death Riders went down to ringside with Moxley distracting White and Claudio Castagnoli hit White from behind. Marina Shafir was there with the briefcase. Moxley and Claudio stomped on White, so Rated FTR’s Adam Copeland, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler made the save, which led to the Death Riders running away. Harwood talked about how he didn’t like how Death Riders tried to eliminate Ricky Morton. Harwood did a promo mentioning wrestling legend Dennis Condrey was at the show. Harwood said on Collision it will be FTR against Death Riders in a Mid-South Street Fight.
Analysis: We know this is probably going to lead to Jon Moxley against Adam Copeland at Revolution on March 9th. It’s still over a month away, so they are killing time between that match happens.
A video aired about Toni Storm revealing to Mariah May on Collision that she was still “Timeless” Toni Storm. May said that Storm was easy to beat and Storm said that gave the performance of a lifetime.
Analysis: I think AEW made a mistake doing the Toni Storm reveal on a Collision episode with a small audience against WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. Why not do it on Dynamite when you know more people are watching? Poor planning by AEW.
Let’s Hear from Mariah May
The Women’s World Champion Mariah May was on the stage for an interview by Renee Paquette. May suggested Huntsville change the first letter of its name to a “C” so that drew some boos. Renee left. May shouted that Toni Storm was not real and some fans chanted “Toni” for Storm. May said that she didn’t need to role play like Toni Storm because when you’re as good as May, you don’t change a thing. May said she’s the woman from hell, and she always will be and she’ll remind us for the rest of your life. May bragged about being AEW Women’s World Champion.
Analysis: It’s nice to have a long-term story with May and Storm going back over a year now and I think Storm winning back the Women’s Title at Dynamite Grand Slam is very likely. I prefer May as the champion, but it makes sense for Storm to win in Australia.
A video package aired about former AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunns – Colten and Austin Gunn. It just showed them driving around and training in a ring. They have been out with injuries, so this likely means they will be back soon.
There was a video about The Hurt Syndicate’s Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin (with MVP) winning the AEW Tag Team Titles last week. MVP said that Lashley & Benjamin will hold the titles for as long as they choose. The Hurt Syndicated reminded us that they hurt people.
(Commercial)
The AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita was featured in a video about some of his recent successes like winning the Never Openweight Championship. Don Callis put over how great Takeshita is.
A replay was shown of the Don Callis Family beating up Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay earlier in the night.
There was also a replay of MJF’s cheap attack on Jeff Jarrett earlier in the night.
The Vendetta’s Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie did a promo saying Harley Cameron cost Deonna her shot at Mercedes Mone’s TBS Title. The Vendetta threatened Cameron by saying they would be coming for her on Collision.
Analysis: I’m a fan of Deonna and Taya, but they are examples of how poorly AEW books their women’s division. Since AEW only has one women’s match per TV show, there isn’t enough time to feature a lot of women on the show, so talented people like Deonna and Taya barely get TV time.
TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Yuka Sakazaki
Mercedes Mone has four titles with her. Yuka earned this title shot by winning a four-way match on Collision. This doesn’t feel like a main event match, but here we are.
There was a shoulder tackle by Mone and then Yuka came back with her a shoulder tackle. Mone went for an armdrag, Yuka held onto the ropes and Yuka spun Mone around a few times leading to a two count. Mone avoided a lariat attempt leading to a pin attempt for two. Mone did an armdrag takedown. Yuka avoided a sliding dropkick and Yuka came back with her own spinning kick on the apron. Yuka went up top, Mone stepped back to avoid it and Mone tripped up Yuka on the apron. Mone hit her Meteora double knee attack on the floor as the show went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Mone was in control with a submission move pulling back on the arms. Mone hit Yuka with a knee to the jaw. Mone went for a Powerbomb, but Yuka reversed with a hurricanrana. Mone charged, Yuka moved and Mone hit the turnbuckle. Yuka hit a springboard missile dropkick. Yuka hit a brainbuster that was more like a regular suplex. Yuka hit a running clothesline for two. Mone hit the Three Amigos vertical suplex in tribute to Eddie Guerrero for a two count. Mone took way too long going to the top rope, so obviously Yuka got back up to her feet with a forearm to the jaw. Yuka hit a superplex off the middle turnbuckle for two. Yuka went for a slam, Mone avoided it, Mone went for her slam, Yuka landed on her feet and Yuka hit a superkick. Yuka hit a spinning slam onto Mone’s stomach for a two count. Mone hit the Backstabber leading to a crossface submission, but Yuka got out of it easily. Yuka hit a forearm to the jaw followed by a crucifix pin attempt for two. Mone was on the middle turnbuckle, Yuka kicked her in the back and Yuka hit a German Suplex. Yuka jumped off the top with a splash, but Mone got her knees up for a two count. Mone hit a knee to the jaw. Mone hit a Powerbomb. Mone hit her spinning Money Maker slam for the pinfall win after 13 minutes. The fans barely reacted to that finish.
Winner by pinfall: Mercedes Mone
Analysis: ***1/2 I liked the match. Yuka had no chance to win, but I like how it was structured and they worked well together. Yuka can really go in the ring while Mone is awesome as we know. Mone’s finisher move the Money Maker doesn’t look that impressive although it is a unique move for her so that’s probably why she likes it as a finisher. The fans didn’t even react for the finish, though, so that’s not a good sign. Anyway, I like Yuka as a worker because she sells well and her offense looks believable. Of course, it was a predictable match like most AEW matches.
Mercedes Mone celebrated with her four championships. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: I find it strange that AEW is likely paying Mercedes Mone a ridiculous amount of money and they can’t think of a storyline for her. She had good matches with the likes of Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale, but what about a storyline? The creative team needs to be better.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Mercedes Mone
- Will Ospreay
- Jay White
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 6.75 out of 10
Last Week: 6.75
2025 Average: 7.05
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
It was a decent show. There used to be better matches on Dynamite that would carry a broadcast like this, but none of these matches stood out that much. I did like the Mone/Yuka main event even though we all knew Mone was going to win.
The Claudio/Jarrett match was very average. I don’t think the Death Riders story was booked very well this week. It was like they were going through the motions. Ospreay and Omega getting beat up by the Don Callis Family felt like a repeat, but I guess it was their turn to take a beating after Ospreay & Omega had the upper hand last week.
On a positive note, I am looking forward to the Swerve Strickland-Ricochet match next week. That’s probably the best story in AEW right now and it should be a great match. Other than that story, there just isn’t a lot in AEW right now that is very interesting to me. The stories need to improve and I hope they do.
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X: @johnreport