Reviews

The John Report: AEW Dynamite 09/24/25 Review

By John Canton • Published Sep 25, 2025 09:59 EDT
AEW Dynamite September 24

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Kris Statlander defending her newly won title, “Hangman” Adam Page in action, a big 6-man tag, and more.

It’s the post-AEW All Out edition of Dynamite. The biggest title change at All Out was Kris Statlander winning the Women’s World Title in a 4-way match to end Toni Storm’s long title reign.

I watched this episode of Dynamite live on Wednesday and wrote a results-only post here on TJRWrestling without analysis or ratings. Rather than rewatch the show again, I will add my analysis to what I have already written about the show. For next week’s 6th anniversary edition of AEW Dynamite, I’ll probably write a detailed, full review, but it also depends on whether my Toronto Blue Jays are playing in the MLB Playoffs that night or if they are off that night. I like doing it this way instead of doing a 5,000-word play-by-play review, so sometimes I will do it this way. I’m going to be flexible a bit in terms of the format of reviews moving forward.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #312 from Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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, Taz, and Bryan Danielson.

The AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page did a promo about how he was defending his title against Lee Moriarty later in the show.

Match #1: AEW Tag Team Championships –Brodido (Brody King & Bandido) defeated The Demand’s Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) by pinfall. Ricochet joined commentary for the match. Ricochet went into the ring with a steel chair, but referee Aubrey Edwards saw him and ejected him from the match. GOA hit a double team spinebuster on Bandido for two, but King made the save. King hit a suicide dive on Liona while Bandido hit the 21 Plex on Kaun for the pinfall win. It went 15 minutes.

Analysis: ***1/4 Good stuff here. Brodido is so fun to watch with King as the power guy who can also do some aerial moves and Bandido can do everything and make it look easy. Liona matched King with the power game, while Kaun is well-rounded too. I didn’t expect a title change, so it was tough to get into some of the nearfalls. The Ricochet spot was kinda lame and really obvious, but they had to do it to set up the finish. King’s dive, followed by Bandido’s finisher, was a smart way to end it.

The Conglomeration’s Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Hologram, and Willow Nightingale were interviewed by Alicia Atout. Mark made multiple references to Orange Cassidy as their mystery partner without saying his name.

Kris Statlander, the AEW Women’s World Champion, was interviewed by Renee Paquette, with Harley Cameron by her side. Statlander said she was a fighting champion, so she was ready to defend her title tonight in the main event. When Renee asked about her association with the Death Riders, Kris said that things move fast when you make decisions.

Analysis: It teased the idea that Kris may have joined the Death Riders, but I didn’t think much of it since she’s so much better off as a face.

Match #2: AEW World Championship – “Hangman” Adam Page defeated Lee Moriarty by pinfall. Lee is the ROH Pure Champion, and he’s from Pittsburgh, so he got a hometown pop. Moriarty went for his Border City Stretch submission, but Page got out of it. Page hit his Deadeye slam for the pinfall win. It went about 10 minutes.

Analysis: *** A competitive match with an obvious result. Moriarty applying his submission finisher was cool, and Page sold it well, but nobody thought Page was losing here. Page usually wins with a Buckshot Lariat, so winning with Deadeye for a change is fine with me because then it looks like it could win him matches instead of just getting two counts all the time.

They showed Adam Copeland and Christian Cage talking after AEW All Out when FTR hit a piledriver on Cope’s wife, Beth. Cope said he can’t keep doing this because it’s affecting his family, and it has happened before. Cope said he’s not sure if he will be back. Cage said he doesn’t have a family anymore, so Cope should take care of his. Cope said you do have a family, and they shook hands as if Cope was saying they were like family. Cope left.

Analysis: There are people who will see something like this and think it means Cope is leaving AEW. I don’t think he is. I think he has time left on his contract, especially because he’s missed time with injuries. Cope is 52 years old soon and the guy takes breaks all the time, so I think it’s just a way for him to miss a PPV or two before coming back.

FTR Interview

There was an interview with FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler, along with Stokely. Tony Schiavone was in the ring, but had the microphone taken from him. Cash said that Adam Copeland is the one to blame for what they did to Beth because he got her involved in this. Big Stoke said he forgives Beth for what she did to him at All Out. Stoke said Cope & Cage needed Beth to win. Dax said that he tried to talk sense to Beth, but then she punched him in his broken nose. Dax claimed he piledrove Beth by accident. Dax said he would never put his hands on a woman, and he used that term loosely. Willow Nightingale interrupted, saying women like Beth are why she became a wrestler and came back from a broken neck to become All Elite. Willow said women like Beth are why she doesn’t take s**t from guys like FTR. Stoke tried to silence Willow, so she slapped Dax. Jetspeed’s Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight got in the ring to support Willow, so they cleared the ring of FTR with kicks and dropkicks. Willow and Jetspeed celebrated in the ring.

Analysis: I enjoy the FTR heel act a lot. They are definitely my favorite tag team in AEW, although Brodido is near the top as well. The way FTR embraces the roles of being a**hole heels makes them so enjoyable to watch. Dax saying he piledrove Beth “by accident” is such a bulls**t thing to say, yet he did it effortlessly and you almost believe it even though it sounds so absurd. The Jetspeed boys stepping up to support Willow sets up Jetspeed against FTR in a tag team match, which should be great when it happens. I like that.

An angry Maxwell Jacob Friedman was shown after losing his Tacks n Tables match to Mark Briscoe at All Out. MJF spoke about his accomplishments, but said that something is missing. MJF said that he is not like the MJF that he was in the past. MJF discussed how he cannot return until he’s the best again. MJF said that he won’t come back until he’s the most dangerous he’s ever been. MJF claimed that when he comes back, he is taking his spot at the top of professional wrestling, and he’ll do it his way. As he left, we could see tacks in his back that had blood on it.

Analysis: I think MJF is the best overall performer in AEW, and I hope he gets the AEW World Title again. I’m sure it will happen because he’s there long-term and he’s a young guy. Losing to Mark Briscoe makes it seem like he’s on a downward spiral a bit, but I think long-term he can be built back up, and I hope it makes it more of a cheap heel because he’s so good in that role.

Don Callis did a promo before the Don Callis Family’s match. Callis claimed he had a masterpiece painting. When the painting was unveiled, it was actually the returning Orange Cassidy, so the idea is that Orange ruined a painting. That led to a 6-man tag team match.

Analysis: Welcome back to Orange Cassidy, who missed about six months with a shoulder injury that required surgery. I’m not the biggest Orange fan out there, but the dude is good in the ring and the fans like him, so AEW needs him, considering other faces are out right now.

Match #3:The Conglomeration – Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Hologram defeated Don Callis Family’s AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, and Hechicero by pinfall. After Hologram took care of Takeshita and sent him out of the ring, Orange Cassidy hit an Orange Punch on Hechicero. Hologram hit a spinning sitout Powerbomb on Hechicero for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.

Analysis: ***1/2 I enjoyed the match, especially the continuing tension between Okada and Takeshita, which should lead to a highly anticipated singles match between them soon. I think Takeshita could break out as a singles babyface at any time, and the fans would absolutely love the guy, but for now, he’s a heel in the Don Callis Family. Okada could also be a face, but I think it makes more sense to have Takeshita as the face that beats Okada for his AEW Unified Title. Anyway, Orange looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, Briscoe was his usual fun self, and Hologram continues to be booked strongly by getting the win. No surprise that Hechicero took the loss since that’s what usually happens to him in DCF tag team matches. I thought Orange would win, but then what happened next made sense for Hologram to win.

The TNT Champion, Kyle Fletcher, of the Don Callis Family, did a promo about how he is going to be a future AEW World Champion. Kyle mentioned that Hologram is 34-0 and said that he has been undefeated so long because he has never stepped into the ring with Fletcher. Kyle said next week, at the 6-year anniversary of Dynamite, he wants to put his TNT Title on the line against Hologram to end his undefeated streak. Fletcher said that when he ends Hologram’s streak, he will make Hologram say his full name.

It was made official. Next week on Dynamite, Kyle Fletcher will defend the TNT Championship against Hologram.

Analysis: I think most of those Hologram wins were on Collision, which I normally don’t watch, so I missed a lot of them. The promo from Kyle Fletcher made sense because he wants to prove he can beat an undefeated wrestler like Hologram, so he’ll put the TNT Title on the line to do it. That story works. It should be a great match, which I think Fletcher will win.

Mina Shirakawa was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Mina said that Kris Statlander will get her best tonight, and she is fighting to win the AEW Women’s World Championship. Renee wished her good luck.

A video aired about the reunited “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry and Luchasaurus, who were back together as Jurassic Express at All Out. Jack talked about how they picked themselves up to ride again. It was announced that Jurassic Express – “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry & Luchasaurus – will be on Dynamite next week.

Analysis: I’m not a huge Jurassic Express fan, but I thought Perry was so boring as a heel, and he had one of the lamest title reigns ever as TNT Champion. I also think Luchasaurus is much better as a babyface. They are both better off in these roles as a tag team.

Match #4: Claudio Castagnoli defeated Powerhouse Hobbs by pinfall. Pac of the Death Riders showed up on the apron, and Hobbs grabbed him, so Claudio hit a running uppercut on Hobbs and cradled him for the win. It went about 12 minutes.

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a good match between two powerhouses that I like, but then the finish was about as lame as it gets. I understand wanting Claudio to win in a cheap way because he’s in the Death Riders. However, this was about as uncreative as it gets with Pac on the apron, Hobbs grabs him, Claudio hits one uppercut and it’s enough to cradle Hobbs for the win. Poor ending, in my opinion.

After the match, Samoa Joe ran down to ringside and Pac ran away into the crowd. Hobbs clotheslined Joe out of the ring. Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia attacked Hobbs from behind. Pac and Claudio joined in fighting Samoa Joe and Hobbs. AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page made the save and cleared the ring of Claudio and Garcia, while Pac and Yuta ran away. The Death Riders left while Page, Joe and Hobbs stood together in the ring.

We found out later that a big trios match was announced for next week on Dynamite with the Death Riders trio of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Daniel Garcia facing AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page, Samoa Joe, and Powerhouse Hobbs.

Analysis: It was an effective angle to set up the tag team match for next week. I have no idea who Hangman is going to face at WrestleDream, but at least for now, he’s fighting with Joe and Hobbs against the Death Riders.

The AEW Founder and President, Tony Khan, was shown backstage with his big announcement. Tony said that this is truly where the best wrestle. Tony said that he’s proud of the women’s division. Tony said that they will soon crown the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Champions. Tony called for Renee Paquette to show the new titles.

The new Women’s World Titles were displayed for the fans, and the fans cheered.

Analysis: The AEW women’s division has been booked better in recent months, and they have more depth on the roster, so introducing Women’s Tag Team Titles makes sense. I don’t really mind that there are too many titles in AEW or any promotion. It’s just a matter of finding a way to give the titles TV time and feature them on PPVs sometimes to make them feel important. Titles are valuable tools to tell stories, so adding them to the women’s division will help.

Match #5: AEW Women’s World Championship – Kris Statlander defeated Mina Shirakawa by pinfall. Mina worked over Statlander’s left knee throughout the match and applied a Figure Four Leglock, but Kris managed to get to the ropes to break the hold. Kris avoided another Figure Four Leglock attempt with a kick, and Kris applied the Seatbelt pin to beat Mina.

Analysis: *** A solid match between two likable wrestlers. Mina worked over the left leg quite a bit, but then there were times when Kris barely sold it. I felt like she could have sold it better. Anyway, the finish continued the story of Kris using Wheeler Yuta’s Seatbelt pinning move to win matches, which teases the idea that maybe she joined the Death Riders group.

After the match, Wheeler Yuta of the Death Riders went into the ring to congratulate his friend Kris. Harley Cameron joined Kris in the ring.

Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir made their entrance, joining the rest of the Death Riders at ringside while Statlander was in the ring with Cameron. Moxley approached Kris in the ring as if she was joining the Death Riders. Yuta raised Statlander’s hand, and Kris clotheslined Yuta. Kris did a middle finger salute to Moxley, and Kris ran away with Cameron. The crowd liked that.

Analysis: That’s the right move. Keep Kris a babyface and pair her up with Harley as a tag team.

Darby Allin made his entrance with a flamethrower in his hands. Jon Moxley and the Death Riders approached. As Allin held the flamethrower with a big flame, Moxley and the Death Riders left the ringside area.

Allin did a promo telling Moxley that he would never quit. Allin called for Moxley to have an I Quit Match at WrestleDream on October 18th.

Analysis: There’s the first match for WrestleDream. Darby Allin and Jon Moxley always have crazy matches full of blood, so I expect the same thing at WrestleDream. It could main event that show too.

Next week, on Dynamite’s 6th anniversary, Darby Allin will team up with Kris Statlander against Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir.

Allin was shown with the flamethrower still in his hands. That was the end of the show.

The show ended at 10:07 p.m. ET this week.

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Three Stars of the Show

  1. Hologram, Orange Cassidy & Mark Briscoe
  2. Brodido (Brody King & Bandido)
  3. Kris Statlander

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The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.25 out of 10

Last Week: 7.25

2025 Average: 7.40

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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite

A good episode of Dynamite that featured several matches around the three-star level, but not a single match blew me away. The three title matches were all predictable wins for Hangman, Brodido, and Statlander, so it was hard to really get into them. The other matches were solid, but I didn’t like the Claudio-Hobbs finish because of how uncreative it was. The Conglomeration tag team’s win over the Don Callis Family was the best match, although sometimes on Dynamite, the best match is a lot better than that, too.

They advanced some stories and set up matches for Dynamite next week, along with the Darby Allin-Jon Moxley “I Quit” Match for WrestleDream. We still don’t know about Hangman Page’s next opponent, and nothing else was pushed for WrestleDream.

I find myself enjoying the AEW product for the most part, but it doesn’t feel like any storyline or feud is that interesting right now. They are trying different things, and the Moxley-Allin rivalry is wild, but other than that, I’d like to see a better effort in building some more personal feuds. I think guys like Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega are missed a lot right now.

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Rams. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @johnreport