The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/04/25 Review (Fyter Fest)
This week’s AEW Dynamite was Fyter Fest as Kenny Omega defended the International Title against Claudio Castagnoli, Brody King and Mascara Dorada.
It was a four-hour show this week where they did Dynamite and Collision back to back for four hours of content. It’s an experiment of sorts and they are doing it next week too. I was watching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night. Go Edmonton Oilers with the 1-0 lead.
I’m only going to review the Dynamite portion because that’s what I review every week. I don’t review Collision, but I’ll put the results in at the bottom of the review. The shows aired on TSN2 here in Canada.
For this review, I’ll go summary style for most of the show and play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #296 from the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado. 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.
Let’s Hear from Will Ospreay
Tony Schiavone was in the ring and introduced Will Ospreay for an interview. The venue in Denver looked nice and it had a ramp connecting the entrance to the ring. The announcers were positioned so that they were behind the hard camera. A clip aired of Will Ospreay trying to talk Swerve Strickland into working with him and “Hangman” Adam Page, but Swerve didn’t want to do it. They got into a fight.
Will Ospreay said that he never wants to fight Swerve since he’s been his friend for about 12 years. Will said he knows Swerve and Hangman hate eachother. Will made it clear that the enemy is Jon Moxley, so if they could put aside their differences for one night, retrieve the belt, and then kill eachother. Will told Moxley to piss off if he hates what AEW has become. Will mentioned the great performers are the reason why AEW has momentum again and the only reason that AEW sucks right now is because Moxley is the World Champion. Will said he has given Hangman his word in ensuring that the World Title comes back. Will said maybe Swerve is a threat as well. Will said he can’t let Swerve be a threat to Hangman winning the AEW World Title. Will said he loves Swerve and he would take a bullet for him, but he would take a bullet for AEW too. Will said that at Summer Blockbuster, he’s calling Swerve out for Ospreay-Swerve 2.
Analysis: That’s a huge match for next week on Dynamite, with Ospreay facing Swerve. That’s fine with me because I like Ospreay and Swerve a lot. I’m not sure where Ospreay will figure into plans at All Out Texas next month, but I assume he’ll be in one of the biggest matches of the show.
The Cru duo of Lio Rush and Action Andretti interrupted. The fans chanted, “Shut the f**k up,” as Action tried to speak from the ramp. Rush said he knows that Brits like Will like to talk a lot and he’s doing a lot of yapping. Rush said they had just got off a 14-hour flight from Japan. Rush said Action is resting tonight, but Rush thinks that the worst thing about AEW is Will’s dumb ass.
Will said he would love to help him get that anger out because they are sold out tonight. Will said he’s got his fake tan on and his crime-fighting pants, and he asked the fans if they wanted to see him have a match. The fans cheered. Will said he’ll see him in the ring on Collision. Rush agreed to it. Will said he’ll see Swerve next week.
Analysis: It was a simple way to set up a match for later in the show to get Ospreay an easy win.
A video aired featuring Mark Briscoe discussing how he lost to Jon Moxley in a six-man tag team match. Mark said that his son asked him if he quit, but Mark said that he didn’t quit. Mark said he was going to prove something to his kids and told Moxley to man up.
Jon Moxley (w/Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Mark Briscoe
This is not for Moxley’s AEW World Title. Jon Moxley is 6-0 in singles matches this year. I’ll go play-by-play here.
Mark took the fight to Moxley with punches and they went fighting on the floor. Mark worked over Moxley with punches to the head. They were back in the ring where Mark connected with strikes until Moxley hit a boot to the face to put him down. Moxley hit Mark with a forearm and stood on the back of Mark’s head against the ropes. Mark hit a neckbreaker to pull Moxley out of the ring. Mark hit a running dropkick through the ropes to knock Moxley down. Mark went for a neckbreaker on the floor, Moxley moved and Mark landed hard on the floor. Shafir distracted the referee, so Yuta threw Mark into the ring post. Mark was busted open after being set into the ring post, so he was covered in blood and Moxley worked him over with elbow smashes. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
Moxley remained in control by biting Mark’s head, which is gross. Moxley hit a back body drop. Moxley tried another back body drop, but Mark landed on his feet and Mark kicked Moxley out of the ring. Mark hit a somersault suicide dive through the ropes onto Moxley on the floor. Back in the ring, Mark hit a lariat for a two count. Mark and Moxley exchanged forearm smashes. Mark hit a running elbow. Moxley hit a boot to the head. Moxley blocked a move and hit a short-arm lariat. Mark came back with his own short-arm lariat. Mark jumped off the top with a Froggy Bow, but Moxley caught him and applied an armbar until Mark got to the ropes to break the hold. Mark left the ring, Moxley distracted the referee and Yuta sent Mark’s left arm into the steel steps. The fans chanted, “f**k you, Yuta.” Mark hit a Death Valley Driver and a Jay Driller, but Mark was too hurt to cover right away. Mark crawled over for a pin attempt that got a two count. Mark went for a slam off his shoulders, but Moxley wrenched on the arm and hit The Stomp. Moxley applied a choke, but Mark kicked off the ropes and got a two count out of it. Moxley applied a sleeper on the mat, and the referee, Paul Turner, called for the bell. It went 13 minutes.
Winner by submission: Jon Moxley
Analysis: ***1/4 A pretty good match between two veteran wrestlers. Moxley shouldn’t lose before All In Texas next month, so of course, he was going to win here. Mark came close to winning with the Jay Driller, but since he was slow to cover, it wasn’t a surprise that Moxley kicked out. Moxley won relatively clean, although he did get some help from his friends outside the ring. Mark did a promo about not quitting last week, so they basically did the same thing this week, where he lost to a submission move. Poor guy.
A video package aired about CMLL’s Mistico. Mistico is back next week on AEW Summer Blockbuster.
The TBS Champion Mercedes Mone made her entrance to watch the next match.
(Commercial)
Mercedes Mone was at ringside with a plate of food (it looked like a steak) and some wine. Mone will challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In Texas on July 12th.
“Timeless” Toni Storm (w/Luther) & Mina Shirakawa vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue
Mina hit a legsweep on Mina. Toni got some brief offense in, but then Blue took over on Mina with an elbow smash. Hart did the Tarantula on Mina against the ropes. Mone was taking selfies and eating at ringside. Blue and Hart hit a double team sidewalk slam on Mina while Storm was attacked on the floor.
(Commercial)
The heels were in control as Blue hit a neckbreaker on Mina. Hart and Blue did some double team offense, Storm got involved, and Mina hit a rolling elbow. Mina hit a Slingblade-like neckbreaker off the top. Storm got the hot tag and was aggressive with a Thesz Press, along with punches. Storm and Mina hit double German Suplexes and double hip attacks. Storm did the Chickenwing submission on Blue for the tapout win.
Winners by submission: “Timeless” Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa
Analysis: **1/2 It felt like an average match. The Hart/Blue team had no shot here. It’s smart to give Storm wins going into All In Texas, just like I mentioned for Jon Moxley earlier in the show. You don’t want your main champion to lose a match, even a tag, before that event.
After the match, Toni Storm had a staredown with Mercedes Mone on the floor. Storm ate some of Mone’s steak and wine.
Will Ospreay was interviewed by Lexy Nair, who mentioned that Will is against Swerve Strickland next week on Dynamite. Maxwell Jacob Friedman walked up to Will, telling him to stay out of Swerve’s way. MJF said that Swerve and Hangman are animals, so MJF told Will to let them eat eachother. Will said that, of course, Max is going to think about himself, while Will said he’ll think about AEW. Will said MJF had no chance of beating Hangman on his best day. MJF asked Will how his son Harry is doing. Will put his hands on MJF, and that led to The Hurt Syndicate showing up to watch MJF’s back. MVP wished Will good luck in his match. Bobby Lashley put his hands on Will’s shirt and left.
Analysis: That’s classic MJF getting involved in something that doesn’t have anything to do with him. Perhaps it will lead to Will against MJF at All In Texas because I’m not sure who Will would face at that show at this point.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from The Hurt Syndicate
The Hurt Syndicate’s AEW Tag Team Champions Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin made their entrance, joined by MVP and MJF. There were “Bobby” chants since Lashley is from Colorado. MVP said that Lashley used to live in the Mile High City, but now that Lashley lives in Texas, what’s his opinion of Denver and Lashley did a thumbs down gesture, which drew boos. MVP put over Bobby and Shelton as dominant Tag Team Champions. MVP asked where are the best tag teams to challenge the champions. MVP said that those tag teams don’t exist. MVP said there is “no one” capable of beating them for the Tag Team Titles.
MJF said he wants gold, and he wants back the AEW World Championship. MJF said, unfortunately, that means he has to start wrestling a little bit more. MJF mentioned Mexico’s supposed top guy is Mistico. MJF claimed he was the best wrestler in the world. MJF claimed he is the youngest foreigner to sell out Arena Mexico and he said it’s because he’s a megastar. MJF mentioned Happy Gilmore 2 comes out July 25th and he’s in it. MJF thinks Mistico is a big fish in a small, stinky pond. MJF said he’ll watch Mistico’s match next week and if he feels Mistico is worthy, then maybe MJF will wrestle him at Grand Slam Mexico.
Analysis: A heel promo from The Hurt Syndicate since they get cheered a lot. Lashley trashed Colorado with the thumbs down, and MVP was heelish as well. MJF is always a jerk, so it’s easy for the fans to boo him. Anyway, it sets up MJF against Mistico in a match in two weeks.
The trio of “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Komander and Kevin Knight interrupted. Komander yelled at MJF for disrespecting lucha libre. Bailey claimed they were international killers, so MVP laughed at them. Knight suggested a match against The Hurt Syndicate tonight. MVP said absolutely not because they haven’t earned it. MVP suggested they impress THS by earning it. The Hurt Syndicate left.
Analysis: There is a lack of great teams in AEW right now, especially babyface teams, but at least on the heel side, there is FTR and The Young Bucks. When you keep The Hurt Syndicate as heels, it limits potential opponents.
La Faccion Ingobernable – Rush, Dralistico & The Beast Mortos vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight & Komander
The six guys were fighting on the floor, and the incompetent referee wasn’t counting any of them out of the ring because it’s AEW. The babyface trio of Bailey’s team all hit running strikes on Rush for a two count. After a cheap shot from Mortos, Rush nailed a forearm smash on Bailey. The LFI guys hit a triple dropkick. The three LFI guys tossed Bailey over the top onto the two teammates on the floor. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Komander got the tag and was on fire with a Reverse Rana and a standing moonsault for two. Dralistico hit an impressive springboard Destroyer. Rush got some offense on Knight with a boot to the face. All six guys were in the ring, so the babyface trio hit dropkicks and then the three babyfaces hit dives onto the three heels on the floor. Komander hit a Code Red on Mortos for two. The heels got their turn to hit a bunch of moves without making tags. Mortos hit Bailey with a lariat, Bailey came back with a superkick and Knight hit a jumping clothesline. Komander did a rope walk onto two opponents on the floor. Knight got the tag and hit a UFO Splash on Mortos for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight & Komander
Analysis: ***1/2 It was one of those crazy AEW tag team matches where they barely follow the rules of tag team wrestling so they can do crazy spots without trying to tell a tag team story. The hardcore AEW fans who ignore the poor storytelling will like this kind of match, but it’s frustrating for many of us watching it. Just make it a tornado tag instead of making them do tags since they don’t matter. Putting over Knight’s team makes sense since it might lead to Knight and Bailey getting a Tag Team Title match. Komander is talented, too.
MVP and The Hurt Syndicate credited the winners on the victory. MVP said that next week, you guys get to face Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and MJF in a trios tag team match. MVP said that you can get a preview of that ass kicking right now. Lashley and Benjamin went into the ring, so Bailey and Knight cleared the ring witha dropkick. Komander dropkicked MJF out of the ring. The trio of Knight, Bailey and Komander hit slingshot dives over the top onto THS on the floor.
Analysis: It was an effective way to show that Bailey, Knight, and Komander are threats to The Hurt Syndicate.
Alicia Atout interviewed Paragon and Daniel Garcia. Adam Cole, the TNT Champion, talked to Garcia about the four of them facing the Don Callis Family in an 8-man tag team match. Garcia agreed to tag with them. That’s for Collision later in the night.
(Commercial)
Christian Cage and The Patriarchy’s ROH TV Champion Nick Wayne and Mother Wayne were interviewed by Lexi Nair. Cage said that Nick had a tremendous showing at NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors, but he didn’t win. Cage said that Nick had 14 matches in 22 days. Cage said Nick wasn’t getting a night off because he’ll defend the ROH TV Title right here in Denver. Nick said his last title defense was light work for him last time. Cage said Nick will defend it in a four way.
Analysis: AEW loves booking four-way matches. We get them nearly every week, sometimes multiple times per week.
Max Caster did a promo about how he’s the Best Wrestler Alive. Max claimed the fans wanted to chant, “Let’s go, Max, you’re the best wrestler alive,” so the fans chanted that along with him. Max called for five minutes on the clock and we’ll see who can survive five against the Best Wrestler Alive.
Analysis: This angle has change the channel heat.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Max Caster
Caster is 0-10 in these open challenges, according to Excalibur. Hobbs hit a shoulder tackle and repeated clotheslines against the turnbuckle. Hobbs hit a huge spinebuster for the win after 47 seconds.
Winner by pinfall: Powerhouse Hobbs
Analysis: Squash city.
(Commercial)
It was time for the Dynamite main event in a four-way match. I told you earlier that this company loves four-way matches.
AEW International Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King vs. Mascara Dorada
There are no disqualifications and no countouts in AEW four-way matches.
The three babyfaces took turns hitting splashes on Claudio against the turnbuckle and Omega hit a head slam on Claudio to put him down. Omega and Dorada kicked King and hit a dropkick on King. Omega teased an attack on the floor, but Claudio avoided it. Omega and Dorada avoided a flip attack. King clotheslined Claudio over the top to the floor. Omega hit a slingshot dive onto Claudio on the floor and Dorada hit a twisting splash onto King on the floor. Claudio sent Omega into the barricade and Claudio hit a boot to King’s face. Claudio charged at King, who hit a forearm to the head. King ran, stopped and Dorada jumped on King, so King tossed Dorada into Claudio. King hit a cross body block on two guys on the floor. Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex on King on the floor. Omega hit a somersault dive over the top onto King and Claudio on the floor. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Omega hit a rolling senton slam on Claudio, but a moonsault failed because Claudio got the knees up. Claudio hit a shoulder tackle, but Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex. Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex on Komander as well. King was bleeding above the left eye and he clotheslined Omega. King had Dorada on his shoulders and tackled him into Omega against the turnbuckle. Claudio hit a popup uppercut on King for two. Omega hit a spinning kick to Claudio’s back. Omega hit a V-Trigger knee to Claudio’s back against the turnbuckle. King was on the turnbuckle with Claudio, Omega hit King in the back with a double axhandle and Omega held King on his shoulders, so Claudio hit an uppercut and Omega slammed King down. Claudio covered King for two because Omega broke the pin up. Dorada hit a missile dropkick on Omega. King went after Claudio on the top rope, but Claudio countered with a front suplex. Dorada jumped up top and gave Claudio a top rope hurricanrana onto King. Dorada covered King for two. Omega hit a V-Trigger knee on Dorada and a V-Trigger on Claudio too. Dorada hit a Reverse Rana to spike Omega. King hit a lariat on Dorada, King no sold a clothesline from Claudio and King hit a lariat on Claudio for two. Dorada went for a cross body black, but Claudio and King caught him. Dorada hit a hurricanrana on King and Claudio kicked Dorada down. Claudio did a Giant Swing on King and Dorada hit a dropkick. Claudio sent Dorada and Omega out of the ring. Claudio hit a Neutralizer on King for two because Omega made the save. There were pin attempts by Dorada and Claudio. Dorada hit an incredible hurricanrana on Claudio. Dorada hit a springboard hurricanrana on Claudio for two because Omega broke up the pin. Dorada did a monkey flip to send Claudio crashing to the floor. Dorada hit an SSP off the ropes onto Claudio on the floor. Dorada hit a dive onto King on the floor. Dorada jumped off the top, Omega caught him and Omega hit One Winged Angel on Dorada for the pinfall win. It went about 17 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kenny Omega
Analysis: **** I enjoyed that a lot. They got nearly 20 minutes and put on a show. It was an exciting match with a lot of fun moments, but it also lacked drama because we knew there wouldn’t be a title change. Omega doesn’t have bad matches, while Claudio, King, and Dorada are all very capable in the ring, especially in a fast-paced match like this. The last seven minutes stood out, with numerous nearfalls for everyone in the match. Omega beating Dorada is the result that I expected.
Kenny Omega was handed the AEW International Title, and a graphic went on the screen to signal the end of this part of Fyter Fest, so it was the end of Dynamite.
Kazuchika Okada walked out with the AEW Continental Championship and got in the ring with the International Champion Omega. The fans chanted “Holy S**t” as Omega and Okada put their titles in eachother’s faces. That led to a fight as they exchanged punches. Okada punched Omega in the ribs since Omega always has the diverticulitis history to sell. Omega went for One Winged Angel, but Okada got out of it and left.
Later that night, it was announced that Omega will face Okada in a Winner Take All Match at All In Texas. That’s where I’ll end my review.
Chapter five. pic.twitter.com/1LRNzrG5Cl
— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) June 5, 2025
Analysis: It was obvious that AEW was planning on an Omega-Okada match at All In Texas for a few months now. I’m glad it’s finally official, and I’m sure it will be a fantastic match that renews a rivalry that goes back about a decade. We haven’t seen them in singles in AEW yet, so it should be one of the biggest matches at All In Texas. It also could be a way to merge the International and Continental Titles.
Here are the match results from the Collision portion of Fyter Fest.
* Will Ospreay defeated Lio Rush (w/Action Andretti)
* FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (w/Stokely) defeated Atlantis Jr. & Templario
* Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechichero (w/Don Callis) defeated ROH Champion Bandido and Los Outrunners
* ROH TV Championship: Nick Wayne (w/Christian Cage and Mother Wayne) defeated Sammy Guevara, AR Fox and Lee Johnson (w/Blake Christian) to retain his title.
* Thekla defeated Lady Frost
* Paragon – Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong and Daniel Garcia defeated RPG Vice – Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero, Lance Archer & Josh Alexander (w/Don Callis)
That was the end of four-hour Fyter Fest.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Kenny Omega
- “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight & Komander
- Will Ospreay
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 7
2025 Average: 7.35
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A good show that improved over last week. They had some entertaining matches, with the four-way standing out as the best, while the six-man tag team match was also enjoyable. The Moxley-Briscoe match was okay.
The Will Ospreay promo segment was effective in setting up his match with Swerve Strickland next week. The Hurt Syndicate’s promo was fine, but nothing special about it.
Next week is another four-hour show. I think it’s too long and doing it again next week is excessive.
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport