The John Report: AEW Dynamite 04/02/25 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir face Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale, Cope taking on Claudio Castagnoli, and more.
They are on the road to AEW Dynasty, which takes place this Sunday, April 6th in Philadelphia. They are taping Collision after Dynamite this week.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #287 from the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. 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, Tony Schiavone, and Taz.
The AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir made their entrance from the back part of the arena. They did not have Moxley’s AEW World Title in a briefcase. The announcers claimed that Jay White was attacked by the Death Riders before the show, so Jay White isn’t in the Owen Hart Cup tournament. That led to Willow Nightingale and Swerve Strickland making their entrance.
Mixed Tornado Tag Team Match: Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir vs. Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) & Willow Nightingale
It’s a mixed tornado tag, which means there are no tags and anything goes.
Swerve was aggressive fighting Moxley on the floor. Willow sent Shafir into the barricade at ringside. Moxley threw a chair at Swerve. Shafir suplexed Willow on the floor. Moxley and Shafir set up a table on the floor. The bell rang to start the match since Willow and Shafir finally went into the ring. Moxley fought with Swerve on the commentary table while Shafir tackled Willow in the ring. Swerve sent Moxley into the steel steps. Willow worked over Shafir with chops in the ring. Willow hit a suplex on Shafir, who bailed to the floor. The guys were in the ring as Moxley hit a shoulder tackle. Swerve hit a dropkick on Moxley. Willow went to the turnbuckle and hit a dropkick on Moxley. Willow and Swerve each hit clotheslines. Swerve hit the uppercut off the turnbuckle. Shafir kicked Willow and Moxley hit a Cutter on Swerve. Shafir choked Willow against the middle rope while Moxley sent Swerve out of the ring. Willow slapped Moxley and Shafir slapped Willow back. Moxley and Swerve each teased doing moves on the women, but then they stopped themselves. Willow shoved Moxley into Swerve so the guys bumped to the floor. Shafir did a leg lock takedown. The women were on the apron, Shafir barely lifted Willow up and Shafir gave Willow a Powerbomb through the table on the floor. That was rough with Willow’s head smacking the table hard. You want to do that move where the body hits the table rather than the head. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with a Tower of Doom spot out of the turnbuckle with Willow doing the Powerbomb part while Swerve took the superplex from Mox and Shafir. After Swerve sent Moxley to the turnbuckle, Willow hit a cannonball on Moxley against the turnbuckle. Swerve dove onto Moxley on the floor. Willow hit a spinebuster on Shafir. Moxley sent Willow out of the ring. Swerve and Moxley exchanged strikes, Swerve did a hiptoss and Moxley countered into a Falcon Arrow slam. Moxley applied a sleeper with a body scissors on the mat. Willow broke up the submission by giving Shafir a Powerbomb onto Moxley. Swerve hit a jumping flatliner on Moxley. Swerve hit a House Call kick on Shafir because Shafir pushed Moxley out of the way. Willow did something to Moxley to knock him off the table and the director completely missed it. Way to go, director. Anyway, Willow hit a Powerbomb on Shafir for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale
Analysis: ***1/2 It was an entertaining match. That’s not an easy match to do when it’s a Mixed Tornado Tag and that’s why you don’t see that many of them. I’m not surprised that Willow won by beating Shafir, who barely wrestles. It keeps Swerve and Moxley away from being involved in the pinfall.
Analysis x2: I was waiting for a replay of Moxley’s bump through the table that we never saw, but they didn’t show the replay. The director needs to be better. It was the key spot in the match and it wasn’t shown. If it’s not shown, then you need to replay it.
After the match, Moxley went into the ring and gave Willow a DDT. The announcers were shocked by that, with Excalibur saying it was disgusting. Dr. Sampson went into the ring to check on Willow.
Analysis: A man doing a move on a woman is a dirtbag thing to do, so it gets heat on Moxley for attacking Willow like that. Swerve literally kicked a woman in the head a minute earlier and the announcers weren’t disgusted by that, but that was done as if it was an accident, so that’s the difference.
There was a clip shown from Collision when Dax Harwood was upset about losing to Wheeler Yuta. Dax put his hands on a referee and even shoved Cash Wheeler down.
FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were interviewed by Renee Paquette while referee Paul Turner was there. It said it was “Earlier Today.” Dax apologized for putting his hands on Paul and Dax gave his $10,000 fine money to Paul. Turner said he understood that it was in the heat of the moment. Harwood apologized to Wheeler for putting his hands on him. Harwood said he loves him and he wanted to hug him. Wheeler said they’ll be fine for their match on Sunday, but after Sunday, they have to talk. Cash left.
Analysis: It’s an interesting tease for Dax Harwood turning heel on Cash Wheeler. I don’t want to see FTR split up, so what I think is more likely is FTR turning on Cope after they lose at Dynasty.
(Commercial)
When they returned from the break, they showed the Moxley table bump that I mentioned earlier. At least they got it in there.
The Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament brackets were shown:
* Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight (Replaces Jay White)
* Brody King vs. Konosuke Takeshita
* Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher
* “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Wild Card
The tournament starts this Sunday at Dynasty and the finals are at AEW Double or Nothing.
Analysis: I don’t know who the wild card will be against Hangman, but maybe it’s a debuting wrestler like Josh Alexander. There are obviously a lot of options there. I think Ospreay against Hangman will be the final and I think Ospreay will win.
The Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament brackets were shown:
* Jamie Hayter vs. Billie Starkz
* Thunder Rosa vs. Kris Statlander
* Julia Hart vs. Mercedes Mone
* Harley Cameron vs. Athena
The tournament starts this Sunday at Dynasty and the finals are at AEW Double or Nothing.
Analysis: I think Mone facing Athena in the semifinals is a lock. I thought it would be the finals. I’ll go with Hayter against Mone in the finals and I think Mone will win.
“Timeless” Toni Storm (w/Luther) vs. Penelope Ford
Storm was in control with a backbreaker and a suplex. Ford avoided a hip attack and hit a jawbreaker. Ford hit a double knee attack on Storm’s back on the apron. Ford hit a boot to the face. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Ford hit a handspring back elbow and a pump kick. Storm was biting Ford’s tongue or lip but there was hair in the way so we couldn’t really see it. Storm hit a Thesz Press along with punches. Storm gave Ford a backdrop suplex. Storm hit a running hip attack against the turnbuckle and a DDT for two. Storm applied the STF near the ropes so Ford got to the ropes. Ford knocked Storm down to the floor and Ford hit a moonsault onto Storm on the floor. Ford hit a gutbuster onto the two knees for two. Storm came back with a Storm Zero for the pinfall win after about eight minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Toni Storm
Analysis: **1/2 Easy win for Toni Storm to give her positive momentum going into Storm’s Dynasty match against Megan Bayne. Ford had a couple of nice moments and nearfalls, but she wasn’t going to get the win here.
After the match, Megan Bayne appeared in the aisle for a staredown with Storm. That was it.
Willow Nightingale was getting checked on by AEW’s doctors. Swerve Strickland talked to Renee Paquette saying that Willow is strong and brave. Swerve said that Willow welcomed the challenge in that match. Swerve mentioned Willow’s neck injury history. Swerve said that by the end of the night, he will have his hands on Jon Moxley and he promised us that.
Analysis: It gives people a reason to stay tuned in to see Swerve get his hands on Moxley at some point later in the show.
(Commercial)
There was a rundown of the AEW All In Texas schedule that was altered a bit. All In Texas is at 3 pm ET on Saturday, July 12th.
Let’s Hear from The Hurt Syndicate and MJF
The duo of AEW Tag Team Champion Bobby Lashley and MVP made their entrance in suits. Shelton Benjamin wasn’t there due to weather issues, according to the announcers.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman interrupted before Bobby Lashley was about to speak. MJF said that “Bob” interrupted him last week, so MJF introduced himself. MJF said he knows Shelton missed the show because of travel issues. MJF told Lashley that having him work with The Hurt Syndicate is good business. MJF said everybody knows it and even insulted the fans, saying even they know it. MJF said that Lashley may not want MJF, but Bobby (MJF put his hand on Lashley’s shoulder), you need MJF.
Lashley said that out of respect for MVP, he’s not going to leave MJF laying right here. Lashley told MJF he doesn’t like him or trust him. Lashley said that The Hurt Syndicate does not need MJF. Lashley said unless MJF proves otherwise, you need to get out of this ring right now. MJF said if you want him to prove himself then maybe he will. MJF left the ring.
Analysis: The story continues with MJF wanting to be in this group and The Hurt Syndicate has other ideas. I’m not sure where the story is going, but at least it’s a story and I’m intrigued to see where it goes.
Big Bill and Bryan Keith made their entrance. They told Lashley and MVP to watch their match.
Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. Two Guys With No Chance
The opponents were not named. Big Bill tossed a skinny dude across the ring along with a boot to the head. Bill did a press slam over the top to the floor. Bill choked the second guy who had a shoulder harness. Keith hit a running knee smash. Bill hit a massive Chokeslam and boot to the face for the pinfall win. It went two minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Big Bill & Bryan Keith
Analysis: 1/2* Squash city.
Big Bill said on Collision they whooped Top Flight’s ass and they whooped their ass tonight. Bill said that on Sunday at Dynasty, they’ll whip The Hurt Syndicate’s ass because they want the match for the Tag Team Titles. Lashley prevented MVP from talking and Lashley pointed his finger in the air as if to say the match is on.
Analysis: I don’t see The Hurt Syndicate losing to Bill Bill & Bryan Keith, but at least Bill & Keith have picked up some wins to make them look like contenders.
Mercedes Mone was interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. Mone faces Julia Hart at AEW Dynasty in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament. Mone said it will take more than tricks and spells to stop the Mone Train. Harley Cameron walked up to talk about teaming with Mone on Collision. Cameron had her puppet with her. Cameron suggested they were a Dream Team. Mone told Cameron to stay out of her way. Mone left. Cameron said they were the Mone Wrath Train.
Will Ospreay made his entrance to a big pop. Will is 11-0 in singles matches this year.
Blake Christian & Lee Johnson vs. Will Ospreay & Kevin Knight
Will hit a hurricanrana on Blake early on. Knight hit an impressive leaping splash. Will was sent out of the ring and Lee hit a dropkick on Knight. Will was back in the ring to save Knight from a double team move. Will and Knight each hit dropkicks on their opponents. Will and Knight each hit dives on their opponents on the floor. Lee tripped up Knight by the apron and Blake hit a kick to the head. Blake hit a Spear on Will on the apron. They went to a PIP break there.
(Commercial)
Knight was the face in peril, he tagged out and Will hit an impressive double cross body block. Will hit a spinning kick to the head. Will went for a move from the apron, but Lee pulled him down. Blake hit an impressive corkscrew dive to knock Will down on the floor. Blake went up top and hit a 450 Splash stomp. Lee tagged in, Blake kicked Will in the head and Will countered Lee into a Stundog Millionaire. Will hit a reverse kick on Blake, who wasn’t legal in the ring. Knight tagged in, he hit a splash on Blake and a running kick on Lee. They did a ridiculous spot where Knight dropkicked Lee and Blake took a bump off the shoulders. Will hit a dive onto Blake on the floor. Knight hit a springboard lariat on Lee for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Will Ospreay & Kevin Knight
Analysis: *** It was an easy win for Ospreay and Knight against two guys who really had no chance. This was about Knight looking like he belongs as an AEW newcomer and he was impressive in the match. Blake and Lee hit some big moves in the match and they are a talented duo. Blake was in the ring for over a minute to set up that final spot. It looks silly when they do spots like that.
It was announced by Tony Schiavone that Will Ospreay’s match with Kevin Knight will take place at AEW Dynasty this Sunday in Philadelphia. Will and Knight shook hands.
Analysis: I’ll take Will to win that match. It should be fun to watch.
The Opps trio of Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata did a promo backstage. Joe said that he understood the nature of warfare was changing in AEW, so he needed a different arsenal. Joe said they’d like to expand their influence in AEW. Joe said they will be at Dynasty, they will be watching all and seeing all. Joe warned others to not let The Opps see you lacking. That was it.
Analysis: I like the trio, but Hook really hasn’t been elevated from beating Chris Jericho in a feud while Samoa Joe was in a main event spot a year ago.
(Commercial)
Brody King vs. Lance Archer
Don Callis was on commentary. I missed a few minutes of this. They were brawling on the floor where King hit a running cross body block against the barricade. Archer was talking to the referee, so Callis held King’s leg and Archer kicked the middle rope. Archer hit a boot to the face to knock King down. They left the ring again so Archer sent King into the steel steps. King and Archer got into a slugfest on the floor. The referee wasn’t counting them out because…AEW? I guess. Anyway, the action kept going on. They went to a PIP break and Archer broke the referee’s count that didn’t really exist.
(Commercial)
Archer was in control with running splashes against the turnbuckle. King avoided a charge by Archer and King hit a German Suplex. King hit Archer with a rolling elbow along with a running cross body block. King hit a body slam and a senton splash for two. King charged, but Archer hit a cross body block. Archer hit a Bossman Slam for a two count. Archer hit a Chokeslam for a two count. King hit a running splash on Archer against the turnbuckle and a clothesline. King hit a running cannonball on Archer against the turnbuckle. King hit a lariat for two. King hit another running lariat for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Brody King
Analysis: ***1/4 A competitive match to give King a win over a tough opponent. The finish was okay, but I wouldn’t call it a great ending to the match. King is against Konosuke Takeshita in the Owen Hart Cup, so it made sense for King to get the win here. Archer is a guy who wins against the lower card talent in AEW, but he often loses to the bigger names.
There was a rundown of the AEW Dynasty lineup for this Sunday, April 6th in Philadelphia.
* AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Swerve Strickland
* AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Megan Bayne
* AEW International Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Ricochet vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
* TNT Championship: Daniel Garcia (c) vs. Adam Cole
* Owen Hart Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight
* Owen Hart Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart
* AEW Trios Tag Team Championships: Death Riders – Claudio Castagnoli, Pac & Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Rated FTR – Cope, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
* ROH World Championship – Title vs. Mask: Chris Jericho (c)vs. Bandido
They didn’t mention that Jericho/Bandido match, but I included it.
(Commercial)
It was main event time on Dynamite as Adam Copeland aka Cope made his entrance and he got a big ovation. Cope is 16-4-1 in AEW in singles matches. As noted above, Cope will team with FTR against The Death Riders trio of Pac, Castagnoli & Yuta for the AEW Trios Tag Team Titles at Dynasty. Claudio Castagnoli made his entrance with a 1-0 singles record in 2025.
Adam Copeland aka Cope vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio went into the ring and hit a running uppercut to knock Cope down. Cope told the referee he was fine, so the bell rang to start the match. Claudio sent Cope out of the ring and Claudio tossed Cope into the barricade at ringside. Claudio hit a running uppercut on Cope while he was on a chair on the floor. Back in the ring, Cope kicked Claudio a few times and Cope knocked Claudio off the apron and into the barricade at ringside. Cope worked over Claudio with forearms to the head. They were in the ring where Cope got a backslide pin for two. Cope and Claudio took turns hitting eachother with clotheslines, but none of them were strong enough to knock the other guy down. Claudio bit Cope’s right ear and hit some more clotheslines. Cope hit a boot to the head along with a sitout neckbreaker for a two count. Claudio was on the apron, so Cope did a Spear through the ropes to the floor. Cope went back into the ring and tried a suicide dive, but Claudio hit an uppercut to stop that. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
It was announced that The Hurt Syndicate will defend the AEW Tag Team Titles against Big Bill & Bryan Keith at AEW Dynamite.
The match continued with Claudio hitting a necksnap on the rope Cope. Claudio went up top for nothing, Cope went up there with him and Cope hit a top rope bulldog for two. Claudio did a thumb to the eye and a double foot stomp. The referee never saw the thumb to the eye, but it’s not like it would be a DQ in this company. Claudio did a Giant Swing with about ten spins for a two count. Cope countered a Claudio move and Cope hit an Impaler DDT for two. Claudio sent Cope into the turnbuckle, Cope got a boot up and Cope went for a sunset flip that didn’t work because Claudio slipped out of it. Claudio applied the Sharpshooter submission on for about 20 seconds, Cope tried to fight out and Claudio applied a Crossface submission. Cope was able to slip out of that and applied his own Crossface submission until Claudio managed to get to the ropes to break the hold. Claudio gave Cope a powerslam on the apron. Claudio tossed Cope over the barricade and Claudio told the referee to start the count. The referee counted Cope out, but Cope managed to get back in before the ten count. Claudio hit a running lariat for two. Cope backed out of a move, Claudio went for a springboard attack and Cope hit a boot to the jaw. Claudio hit an uppercut for two because Cope had his hand on the bottom rope. Claudio hit a Neutralizer for two. Claudio brought two steel chairs into the ring since Cope did a Conchairto to Claudio earlier in the year. The referee Bryce Remsburg took a chair out of the ring, so Cope hit a low blow uppercut. The referee didn’t see it. Cope was back up and he hit a Spear for the pinfall win after 17 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Adam Copeland aka Cope
Analysis: ***3/4 A great match between two talented veterans. I thought this was better than both matches that Cope had with Jon Moxley, which isn’t that much of a surprise since Claudio is so good in the ring. What I liked about it is that they took their time, they set up big moves and everything mattered. There are too many guys in AEW who rush through their spots and the moves don’t mean as much when you do that. Cope and Claudio worked really well together to tell a story. I enjoyed the match.
Swerve Strickland was backstage with Prince Nana while Renee Paquette was there asking Swerve for a medical update on Willow Nightingale. Swerve said he was looking for Renee’s husband Jon Moxley right now. “Hangman” Adam Page was in the hallways behind Swerve, saying that Swerve was wasting his time. Page said that he made a promise that Swerve would never hold the AEW World Title again. Page said Swerve broke into his house, Swerve said you burned my house down, Page said you deserved it and Swerve said, “I know.” Page asked what did you say, and Swerve repeated himself: “I know.” Page left almost looking like he was shocked that Swerve admitted it.
Analysis: That was an admission by Swerve that he deserved to have his house burned down because he invaded Page’s house. Maybe that will lead to Page respecting Swerve in the future since they are both babyfaces.
Swerve Strickland walked further down the hallway and he was attacked by Jon Moxley, Pac, Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir. Moxley tossed Swerve into some glass case backstage. Moxley and The Death Riders brought Swerve out to the ringside area.
The Death Riders group of Moxley, Claudio, Pac, Yuta and Shafir beat up Swerve in the ring. There was a bucket of glass that was dumped into the ring. Claudio picked up Swerve and gave Swerve a Powerbomb onto the broken glass. There were “Holy Shit” chants from the crowd. The Death Riders left the ring while Swerve sat back up in the ring. Swerve had broken glass on his back. Swerve was smiling in the ring and looking intense at Moxley, who left through the crowd. Moxley had a shocked look on his face while Swerve was laughing like a maniac. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: I liked it as a show ending angle that told us that Swerve is a very tough guy who will be tough to beat because he got back up after taking a Powerbomb on broken glass. There will be a lot of people who believe Swerve can beat Moxley and that’s important going into a PPV match on Sunday night.
The show ended at 10:06 p.m. ET this week.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Cope
- Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale
- Claudio Castagnoli
===
The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.25
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
It was a good show that featured some good in-ring action, and I think the Cope-Claudio main event was the best match. That mixed tag opener was a lot of fun, too. The rest of the card was full of predictable matches, and some of them weren’t that interesting.
I thought there would be more promos on the final Dynamite before the Dynasty PPV, but there wasn’t that much talking on the show.
They did a good job of making me care more about the Moxley-Swerve match. Some of the other matches at Dynasty were barely furthered, though, so that was a bit disappointing. I think the Dynasty card is strong, like most AEW PPVs.
The next AEW PPV is Dynasty on April 6th in Philadelphia. Here’s the lineup so far:
* AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Swerve Strickland
* AEW International Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Ricochet vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
* AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Megan Bayne
* ROH World Championship – Title vs. Mask: Chris Jericho (c)vs. Bandido
* AEW Trios Tag Team Championships: Death Riders – Claudio Castagnoli, Pac & Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Rated FTR – Cope, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
* TNT Championship: Daniel Garcia (c) vs. Adam Cole
* Owen Hart Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight
* Owen Hart Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart
* AEW Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Big Bill & Bryan Keith
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X: @johnreport