The John Report: AEW Dynamite 03/05/25 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet against Swerve Strickland & Brody King, Cope facing Wheeler Yuta, and more.
It’s the final AEW Dynamite episode before the Revolution PPV on Sunday night. I really like the lineup for Revolution, so I am looking forward to that show. I will get try to get a Revolution preview up a day or two before the show.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #283 from the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California. 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, Ian Riccaboni, and Taz. There were about 2900 fans in attendance for his show according to Wrestletix. It’s a decent sized building for AEW.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman was outside doing a promo saying what he did to Christopher Daniels was light work. MJF said that “Hangman” Adam Page has got MJF wanting to prove a point to his mark fan club. MJF said that if Page wants to find him then come find him in the streets of Sacramento. MJF kept yelling to end it.
Swerve Strickland-Ricochet Contract Signing
There was a table in the ring along with chairs and Tony Schiavone was there to host the contract signing. Swerve Strickland made his entrance first joined by Prince Nana and the fans were chanting “Swerve’s House” as usual. Ricochet received thunderous boos while wearing a suit and not wearing the robe. Ricochet and Swerve were seated in chairs in the ring. Their match is a #1 Contenders Match at Revolution for a shot at the AEW World Title.
Ricochet said you’ll see the robe at Revolution on Sunday, but it’s getting some modifications done. Ricochet said that he didn’t have to worry about Swerve’s house being burned down at a contract signing. Swerve told him to sign. Ricochet told Swerve that he was lucky that Ricochet was here. Ricochet reminded Swerve he started this and he chose to mock Ricochet. Ricochet claimed that Swerve chose to bully Ricochet and in the face of all of that, Ricochet still beat him. Ricochet said he’s one step closer to achieving his goal of being the AEW World Champion. Ricochet said he’s more focused than ever, he’s focused on Jon Moxley, he’s focused on Cope and he’s focused on being who he’s supposed to be – the AEW World Champion. Ricochet signed the contract.
Swerve said that Ricochet is a self-entitled little prick and called him annoying. Swerve reminded Ricochet that he stole the robe and he stuck scissors in Swerve’s head and left him a bloody mess. Swerve said that the mistake Ricochet made was that Swerve was still breathing. Swerve said that at Revolution he’ll put Ricochet in the ground. Swerve told Ricochet that he would be remembered for Swerve briefly revived Ricochet’s career and Swerve said Ricochet would be remembered for his ring announcer wife (Samantha Irvin). Swerve signed the contract.
Swerve was about to leave the ring, so Ricochet tried to attack him with scissors, but Swerve was ready for it. Swerve had his own pair of scissors and Swerve hit Ricochet in the forehead with the scissors. Ricochet went down to do the blade job so he was bleeding from the head. They are in a tag team match in the main event later in the show.
Analysis: Good segment to give Swerve the advantage after the signing. Ricochet tried to attack with the dreaded scissors, but Swerve was ready for it with his own scissor attack. The thing about the scissor attack is that if you put your hand in a fist then you can put the scissors in it, so then protects the opponent. It’s essentially just a punch. Anyway, I liked how Ricochet bragged about beating Swerve in the past and Swerve was adamant that he would win their next match. I think Swerve will win at Revolution.
A video aired about how AEW PPVs are now available on Amazon’s Prime Video, which was announced earlier in the day. You still have to pay for the PPV, but it’s another platform to watch it on.
Will Ospreay made his entrance for an eight-man tag team match.
(Commercial)
The rest of the babyface team made their entrance: Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy & Powerhouse Hobbs. The heel side was next with Bryan Keith joined by the Don Callis Family’s Lance Archer, Brian Cage and Mark Davis while Callis was with them. There was a big screen by the entrance rather than the tunnels. I don’t mind the big screen. It looks good.
Powerhouse Hobbs, Will Ospreay, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy vs. Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Mark Davis & Bryan Keith (w/Don Callis)
It took 23 minutes for the first match to start, which is rare for AEW to start the action so late. Cage used his power to hit a front body slam on Will. Cage nailed Will with repeated clotheslines. Will hit a hurricanrana, high boot and a belly-to-back suplex. Mark tagged in with uppercut strikes to Cage. Mark kicked Cage in the ribs and hit some forearms. Mark hit an enziguri kick to knock Cage into the turnbuckle, which led to the ten-punch combo. Will punched Cage ten times and Hobbs punched Cage ten times. Orange tagged in so he punched Cage one time so it was 31 punches. Orange celebrated that, so Cage hit a clothesline. Cage gave Orange a Jackhammer slam. Archer tagged in Orange ran the ropes, Davis stood in Orange’s way and Archer hit a spinning sidewalk slam. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The heels were in control as Callis stomped on Orange on the floor and the fans booed. Archer held up Orange for a suplex, Cage tagged in to take over the suplex, Davis tagged in to take over the suplex and Davis finished the suplex on Orange for two. After Keith tagged in, Orange hit Keith with a suplex. Orange hit Stundog Millionaire on Davis and Hobbs got the tag leading to Hobbs knocking down Davis with a shoulder tackle. Cage and Archer were in the ring illegally, so Hobbs tried to clothesline both of them. Hobbs avoided a double clothesline and Hobbs hit a double clothesline. Hobbs hit an overhead suplex on Davis out of the ring. Will was in illegally with an elbow on Davis, Mark hit a Stinger Splash on Davis and Hobbs splashed Davis while Orange was on Hobbs’ back. Will and Mark each hit dives to the floor. Orange hit an elbow drop off of Hobbs’ shoulders onto Davis for two because Keith made the save. Keith chopped Hobbs including a chop to the face and Davis hit a Powerbomb on Hobbs. Keith tagged in with kicks to Hobbs, who no sold a slam attempt and Hobbs nailed Keith with a clothesline. Will tagged in with a springboard forearm that some may say is phenomenal. Will hit a twisting kick on Davis. Will gave Keith a superkick against the turnbuckle for two. Davis was back in to hit Will from behind and Davis hit a kick to the back. Hobbs with a spinebuster, Cage with a uranage, Orange with a DDT and Orange hit a suicide dive DDT on Cage on the floor. Keith hit an Exploder Suplex off the top on Orange. Mark hit a running forearm on Keith. Mark hit an Exploder Suplex. Archer was in the ring illegally with a lariat on Mark. Archer brought a chair in and Mark did a palm strike into the chair into Archer’s face. Mark jumped off the chair over the top onto Archer and Cage on the floor. Will hit an Oscutter on Keith, who jumped into it. Will hit the Hidden Blade elbow on Keith for the pinfall win after 15 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Powerhouse Hobbs, Will Ospreay, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy
Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good tag team match that was also hurt by being a typical AEW tag team match with a lot of illegal offense throughout the match. This was one of those obvious tag team matches where the face side had way more star power and you knew they’d win with Keith or Davis taking the fall. All of the illegal offense hurt the match, but if you watch AEW then you are used to the spotfest tag team matches. Ospreay winning for his team over Keith was a predictable way to end it.
After the match, Mark Davis went after Ospreay and gave him a sleeper in the ring. Cage and Archer attacked the other guys on the floor. Cage and Archer gave Hobbs an assisted Powerbomb onto the steel steps. Ospreay passed out in the ring from the sleeper. Kyle Fletcher from the Don Callis Family slowly made his way down to the ring. When Fletcher got into the ring, he punched Will in the head repeatedly. Davis tried to stop Fletcher, so Fletcher told Davis he couldn’t tell Fletcher what to do. They told Davis what to do, so Davis hit Ospreay in the back with a steel chair. Davis left. Fletcher gave Ospreay a brainbuster onto a steel chair that was open in the ring.
Analysis: A heel beatdown that we see often in AEW because they have so many heel stables and they are constantly booked to do these kinds of attacks. I guess nobody on the roster likes Ospreay since nobody tried to help him. There wasn’t even security out there to try to help Ospreay. This is a problem with AEW where they lack consistency because there will be some fights that are broken up quickly and other times there is no attempt to stop an attack for several minutes.
A video aired about the AEW International Championship match between champion Konosuke Takeshita and Kenny Omega at Revolution. The video showed highlights of Takeshita beating Omega at All In 2023 in a tag team match and All Out 2023 in a singles match. Takeshita said he was better than Omega while Omega said he wanted that title and he’s taking it.
Analysis: That will be one of the better matches at AEW Revolution. I think Omega winning the International Title is very possible.
(Commercial)
Wheeler Yuta made his entrance from outside the building and he walked in from the back part of the arena. The story is that Cope has injured/taken out Claudio Castagnoli, Pac, and Marina Shafir (thanks to Willow Nightingale), so Yuta was the last man to take out as an ally of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. They showed the clips of Cope taking out the Death Riders group members. The “Rated R Superstar” Cope got a big ovation for his entrance with a 2-0 singles record in 2025.
Adam Copeland aka Cope vs. Wheeler Yuta
It started with Cope tripping up Yuta, so Yuta tripped up Cope to return the favor. Cope hit a clothesline. Yuta and Cope each got two counts. Cope gave Yuta a monkey flip followed by an armbar on the left arm. Yuta hit two arm drags along with a dropkick that knocked Cope down. After Yuta went to the apron, Cope slipped under the bottom rope and tripped up Yuta. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Yuta was in control with an Angle Slam for two. Yuta went to the top rope, Cope went after him with punches and Yuta hit a headbutt to knock Cope down. Yuta hit a top rope splash for two. Cope fought back with a Crossface submission, but Yuta countered to a pin for two. Cope hit a boot to the face followed by the Impaler DDT. Cope charged, but Yuta was back up with a Busaiko Knee to knock Cope out of the ring. Back in the ring, Yuta got a two count. Yuta applied the Cattle Mutilation submission that Bryan Danielson used to use. Cope broke free, lifted up Yuta and Cope hit a sitout slam like a reverse spinebuster. Cope charged, Yuta avoided it, Yuta was tied up in the ropes, he swung back around and Cope hit a Spear for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Cope
Analysis: *** A predictable win by Cope where nobody watching this believed Yuta had a shot. If I was booking this I’d have Cope beat Yuta in six minutes or less because Yuta isn’t seen as a star by AEW fans. I think booking Cope stronger would be the smarter move because it would show that he is going into Revolution with a lot of momentum. Every match doesn’t need to be 10 minutes at least.
After the match, Cope shook Yuta’s hand and said that this is what respect feels like. Cope left.
Analysis: Since Yuta is a whipping boy for the Death Riders, Cope was telling Yuta that this is showing somebody respect, which is different from how the Death Riders treat Yuta.
The AEW World Champion Jon Moxley went into the ring and he was mad about Yuta shaking hands with Cope. Moxley shoved Yuta in the face a few times. There were “Yuta” chants. Yuta shoved Moxley and Yuta walked to the back on his own. Moxley angrily walked to the back after Yuta. They showed Moxley backstage telling Yuta to keep walking.
Moxley did a promo talking into a camera saying Cope did it because Moxley is all alone and he’ll be alone at Revolution. Moxley said Cope has pissed him off, wasted his time and brought out the worst in Mox. Moxley said that the bars were there for his safety, now you’ve got Mox all alone and Moxley wondered what Cope would do to him at Revolution. Moxley told Cope he’ll do nothing. Moxley said he’ll beat Cope’s ass because it will make him feel good. Moxley talked about Cope showing respect to Yuta with a handshake. Moxley said in this business you don’t respect with a handshake. Moxley said that you get respect by pulling the trigger. Moxley said that at Revolution, he only has to pull the trigger once.
Analysis: It was the usual Moxley promo rambling about his issues with Cope. I’m probably picking Moxley over Cope at Revolution, but I may change my mind.
A video aired about The Outrunners using film that was from the 1980s. The music video said that it was from 1987.
Analysis: I don’t love The Outrunners gimmick. I understand it as a way to get cheap pops by doing the 1980s thing, but it feels limited to me.
MJF was outside calling for Hangman Adam Page. Renee Paquette was there for an interview. MJF said he was the main character of AEW, not Hangman. Page was shown driving a car up to the building, so MJF and Renee ran away.
MJF and “Hangman” Adam Page Fight
There was a shot from backstage showing that Page found MJF. Page grabbed a guy who had a jacket and scarf, but it was not MJF. When Page realized that, the real MJF attacked Page with a forearm to the back. MJF went for the Heatseeker DDT, but Page blocked that. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat, so MJF kicked Page Iin the groin. MJF hit the Heatseeker DDT. MJF revealed his shirt that says “MJF did nothing wrong” on it. MJF worked over Page with punches. There were a few security guys and MJF beat them up easily. MJF tried an attack with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Page was back up to tackle MJF. That didn’t work because MJF was back up and MJF punched Page with the DDR on MJF’s hand.
MJF did a promo saying that the fans like it when Page burns things, so let’s see how you feel when MJF does it. MJF grabbed some lighter fluid from under the ring and sprayed it all over Pave. There were security and referees who finally went into the ring to try to stop MJF. There were probably 20 guys that were stopping MJF, who shouted: “Let me prove my point.” MJF shouted that Page was a coward. Page laid on the mat selling the DDR punch.
Analysis: That’s my favorite rivalry in AEW right now. It should be an outstanding match at Revolution. My lean is for Page to win, but I think either guy could win and it’s a tough match to call.
(Commercial)
There was an interview about the Queen of the Ring film that is in theatres this Friday. Toni Storm joined the promo to say she is in the movie and plugged the film.
Kris Statlander & Thunder Rosa vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
I missed a few minutes at the start of this match. Rosa set up Ford against the ropes and hit a dropkick. Bayne used her power to knock Kris out of the ring. Bayne tossed Rosa over the top to the floor. Bayne threw her partner Ford over the top onto the two opponents on the floor. There was a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Rosa worked over Bayne with kicks to the body followed by an enziguri kick to the head. Kris made the tag with a missile dropkick on Bayne. Kris hit an uppercut on Bayne. Kris hit a spinning sitout slam on Ford for two. Rosa tagged in to jump off Statlander’s back for a running dropkick. Rosa kicked Bayne and Kris hit a scissors kick to Bayne’s back. Rosa kicked Bayne on the floor. Kris went up top, but Ford was there to trip up Kris and knock Kris down. Rosa was back in with a punch to knock Ford down. Ford tackled Rosa into the turnbuckle. Bayne was back in with a charging attack, but Rosa got her foot up to block. Rosa hit a jawbreaker on Bayne. Rosa charged at Ford, who moved and Bayne caught Rosa leading to Bayne’s F5 called Fate’s Descent (thanks Excalibur for the name) for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
Analysis: *** It was a competitive match to put over Bayne as a newcomer who is a powerhouse. Ford took out Statlander when she was on the top rope and Bayne got the easy win after that. Bayne will likely get a singles push in the weeks ahead with Ford as an ally, which is fine with me. The fans react to Bayne at least, so that’s a good thing.
Mercedes Mone, the TBS Champion, was interviewed by Renee Paquette and Mone had four titles with her. Mone mentioned she beat Momo Watanabe in the past while Momo earned the right to face her. Mone said that there was no stopping the Money Train. Renee mentioned Momo facing Serena Deeb on Collision, so Mone said she will watch. Mone said that Deeb will beat Momo and Mone claimed that money changes anything.
Analysis: It’s a shame that they don’t have more for Mercedes Mone to do considering how much they paid to sign her. I doubt most of the audience knows much about Momo Watanabe. She can be good and that’s fine, but the storyline is weak.
Max Caster was introduced as the Best Wrestler Alive since he had the registration trademark in his hands. Max claimed he heard the “Maxamaniacs” talking about him. Max said he wanted the fans to get on the same page and chant: “Let’s go Max, you’re the best wrestler alive.” The fans booed. Max trashed Sacramento for being a bunch of ballbags. Max wondered who can survive the Best Wrestler Alive. It was Jay White and Max wasn’t happy about it.
Analysis: This comedy gimmick doesn’t feel like it’s working. I like Caster as a performer. I hope it works out long term. I just don’t think it’s that interesting.
Jay White vs. Max Caster
Max was walking around the ring with his “Best Wrestler Alive” trademark. White caught him and hit the Bladerunner for the pinfall win after about 20 seconds.
Winner by pinfall: Jay White
Analysis: Squash city.
Jay White said that he has had Cope’s back and Cope has had White’s back. White said that Moxley is all alone. White said he’ll be there at AEW Revolution to see the new AEW World Champion, Cope.
Analysis: Simple enough. White is not in a match at Revolution for now.
Toni Storm and Mariah May Interview
The AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm and Mariah May were seated by Renee Paquette, who said that the women agreed to no physicality. May spit on Storm or tried to do it. May said that title is nothing without her. May said that they would both go down together. May said that she’ll be the sickest bitch you have ever seen and she’s the woman from hell who will drag Storm with her. May said that it will be a trilogy with Storm’s greatest co-star. May said they could have a Hollywood Ending that they dreamed of. Storm said that May didn’t deserve death. Storm said that May’s career will continue and she will be liked, but not loved. Storm said that May will be replaced and forgotten. Storm said that one day many years from now people will wonder what happened to Mariah May. The women stood up, Renee said she prayed that neither of them would get hurt. May and Storm both said: “Pray for her.” That ended it.
Analysis: I liked that promo exchange. This is one of the best feuds AEW has ever done and it goes back over a year. Great performances by both women throughout the story. The match at Revolution should be great.
(Commercial)
Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet vs. Brody King & Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana)
At Revolution, Okada will defend the Continental Title against King. Ricochet will face Swerve at Revolution. Ricochet had a bandage on his forehead since he was busted open earlier in the night.
Okada set up Swerve against the turnbuckle and teased a chop, but Okada patted Swerve on the chest instead. Ricochet tagged in, so Okada and Ricochet punched Swerve at the same time. King went after Okada to knock him down with punches. Ricochet tried a kick, so Swerve tossed Ricochet over the top to the floor. King sent Okada into the barricade. Swerve hit a running knee smash on Ricochet on the floor. Swerve set up Okada against Ricochet against the barricade, so King hit a running cross body block on both opponents. King held both opponents on his shoulders, which led to Swerve hitting a double foot stomp off the apron onto both opponents. Swerve and King hit double team moves on Ricochet in the ring including a senton splash and an uppercut to the back. Swerve kicked Ricochet to knock him down. Swerve charged, but Ricochet hit a Codebreaker double knees. They went to a PIP break that went through the top of the hour so they are going long by a few minutes.
(Commercial)
It was past the 10 p.m. ET as the hour continued. Swerve hit an atomic drop and a dropkick on Okada. King gave Ricochet a back body drop along with two clotheslines. King chopped Ricochet to knock him down. King slammed Okada onto Ricochet followed by a senton splash. King hit a Death Valley Driver on Okada by two because Ricochet made the save. King sent Ricochet to the apron, so Ricochet hit a kick. Okada hit a dropkick on King and Ricochet hit a springboard Frog Splash leading to Okada for two. Okada got a boot up, but King came back with a clothesline. Ricochet tagged in, so Swerve tagged in and Ricochet tried to run away. Swerve hit a hiptoss along with a vertical suplex for two. Ricochet came back with kicks. Swerve avoided a strike, but Ricochet countered Swerve with a twisting DDT for two. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” for the action. Swerve tripped up Ricochet, there were counters by both guys and Ricochet sat on top for two. Swerve was back up with a flatliner and a House Call kick to the head. Swerve jumped off the top with a Swerve Stomp on Ricochet for two because Okada hit an elbow drop off the top. King exchanged punches with Okada, King hit a boot to the head and King hit a running splash. King went for a cannonball attack, Okada avoided it and King hit the turnbuckle. Okada brought the Continental Title into the ring and Swerve hit a House Call kick. King clotheslined Okada out of the ring. The referee was looking outside the ring, so Ricochet hit Swerve in the head with the Continental Title (the referee never saw it) and Ricochet covered Swerve for the pinfall win. It went around 15 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet
Analysis: ***3/4 This was a great main event tag team match where it wasn’t too predictable like most of the matches on Dynamite. I thought it was a clever finish that puts over Ricochet as a crafty and cheap heel since he used the Continental Title to put Swerve down. Okada gave King a lot of offense in their interactions, so that should lead to fans thinking that Okada may lose to King. I think Swerve is going to beat Ricochet at Revolution.
Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet celebrated the win in the aisle. That was the end of the show at 10:08 p.m. ET.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Swerve Strickland & Brody King
- Ricochet & Kazuchika Okada
- Will Ospreay/Cope
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.25 out of 10
Last Week: 7.5
2025 Average: 7.28
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
It was a good show, but not as strong as the last two weeks. I think the match quality was weaker than most AEW shows. There were three tag team matches, but none of the tags furthered the stories in the tag team division. The tags were just done to further stories for singles wrestlers. The main event tag was excellent and I liked the finish.
There were some okay non-wrestling segments like MJF getting the advantage over Hangman Page. Other than that, there wasn’t that much that was interesting.
I like the Revolution lineup a lot, so I’m looking forward to that show on Sunday.
The next AEW PPV is Revolution on March 9th in Los Angeles. Here is the lineup so far:
* AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Adam Copeland aka Cope
* AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Mariah May
* Steel Cage Match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
* AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Brody King
* AEW International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Kenny Omega
* Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
* AEW TBS Championship: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Momo Watanabe
* AEW World Title #1 Contender’s Match: Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland
* The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. The Outrunners Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum
* “Big Boom!” A.J. and The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe) (with Big Justice) vs. Johnny TV and MxM Collection (Mansoor and Mason Madden) – PRE-SHOW
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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