The John Report: AEW Dynamite 10/07/25 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite was called “Title Tuesday” on a special night with Orange Cassidy facing Pac in the main event.
It was a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite due to other sports pushing them off Wednesday. I was watching my Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, then I reviewed WWE NXT on Wednesday, and now it’s Thursday as I review Dynamite.
I’m going to go with summary style for most of the show and then play-by-play for the main event.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #314 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Tuesday night, and you know what that means. The commentary team was Excalibur, Taz, and Bryan Danielson. This episode was 2.5 hours long, like last week.
Face to Face: “Hangman” Adam Page and Samoa Joe
Tony Schiavone was in the ring to host the face-to-face segment that is not a contract signing. The AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page was up first. Samoa Joe is one of the AEW Trios Tag Team Champions with Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata. They walked out with Joe and went to the back.
Page talked about how Joe lost his composure with Page last week. Page claimed he volunteered to team with Joe last week, but then, when he won the match, Joe lost it. Page said that Joe sucker punched Page in the face, so Page is confused. Page said that Joe decided that he wanted the AEW World Title again. Page claimed that Joe has been distracted by what’s important in pro wrestling. Page said he asked Joe to have this chance because Page owes him. Page talked about how, at All In, Joe and The Opps and others helped to make sure that Page’s match with Jon Moxley was a fair one. Page said he owed him. Page told Joe he would not let Joe take this from him.
Joe responded, saying that what Page said was true. Joe said that he sees a pretender in Page. Joe said that the timely intervention of The Opps helped Page become the champion, and Joe said that they had his back, so that’s why Page is the man. Joe said he was so focused on going after the Death Riders that he forgot the prime target is the World Champion. Joe didn’t care for Page for saying that he owed them, and Joe said he’s coming to collect what is owed. Joe said he’s going to torture him, Page will give his best effort, and Page will try to be a champion, but Joe is going to choke him unconscious and take his belt. Joe said that Page will know his place and give the world a rightful World Champion, referring to Joe.
Page didn’t like being called a pretender. Page said that the proof has been proven when the bell rings. Page admits that Joe will beat his ass at WrestleDream, but for every shot that Joe takes, Page will fight back. Page told Joe that he can not outlast Page. Page said that he hopes Joe can stand up, shake his hand, look Page in the eye and know that Page is the champion of the world.
Analysis: It was a strong promo exchange to set up their WrestleDream match, even though Joe hasn’t had any significant singles wins to earn him an AEW World Title match. AEW used to do a better job of having people earn title shots, but in this case, it’s just a case of Joe getting a shot because he helped Page in the past, and Joe is a former AEW World Champion. Page beating Joe at WrestleDream is a lock.
Mark Briscoe and The Conglomeration’s Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick, Strong, Orange Cassidy, and Tomohiro Ishii were interviewed by Alicia Atout. They talked about their matches later in the show. A lot of shouting from Briscoe, as usual.
Jon Moxley (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
There was a lot of “stand and throw strikes” early on because of the wrestlers involved in this match. The action spilled to the floor and they went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
Moxley was in control until Ishii did the no selling routine when Moxley hit him with forearms. Ishii was bleeding from the nose, and he hit a Backdrop Suplex. Moxley clotheslined Ishii to regain control. Ishii came back with a Powerbomb for two. They exchanged shots again with Ishii doing an enziguri kick and Moxley hitting a knee strike. Both guys were down. Moxley hit a Cutter for a two count, along with a piledriver, but Ishii stood right up after that. Moxley hit The Stomp for two. Ishii came back with a clothesline. When Moxley hit a German Suplex, Ishii didn’t sell it and Moxley hit a Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley applied he rear-naked choke, and Ishii passed out to give Moxley the win. It went about 13 minutes.
Winner by submission: Jon Moxley
Analysis: ***1/2 A very good, physical match by two veterans. It was the typical Moxley match where you know he’s going to win, but it goes longer than it needs to be because AEW likes having longer matches. Ishii’s style is unique, and he’s a guy who is there to put top guys over, but he can beat other midcard guys. Anyway, Moxley is against Darby Allin at WrestleDream, so it was just a match to give him a win.
The Young Bucks were backstage with Renee Paquette for an interview. The Young Bucks were knocking on Tony Khan’s door with Nick Jackson saying they needed a money match. Matt Jackson said they’d be watching The Jurassic Express match. Nick was shouting about how he needed money.
(Commercial)
A video, narrated by Renee Paquette, hyped up the Kris Statlander-Toni Storm match for the AEW Women’s World Title match at WrestleDream.
Street Fight: The Demand – Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona vs. The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & MVP
It’s a match where anything goes, and they don’t have to tag. Liona hit Lashley with a Samoan Drop onto some chairs in the ring. MVP was trying to do a move on Ricochet, who hit a low blow to stop that. The fans were cheering for tables as Ricochet hid under a table until MVP pulled Ricochet away. Benjamin was in control of Kaun with a body slam on a chair while MVP suplexed Ricochet on the stage. Ricochet hit an incredible running somersault dive onto the five guys as the show went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The Demand guys were in control as Kaun hit a cross body block on Lashley on the floor. Lashley came back with a double clothesline on Ricochet and Kaun on the floor. Lashley tried to Spear Liona through a table, but Kaun threw a chair at Lashley to stop that. Liona hiptossed Lashley through the table. Kaun also elbow-dropped Lashley through a table on the floor. Liona tackled MVP through the barricade. The Demand hit a double team spinebuster on Benjamin for two. GOA held Benjamin on a table, and Ricochet tried a SSP on Benjamin through the table, but the table didn’t break. Ouch. They improvised by having MVP tackle Liona onto Benjamin to break the table. The Hurt Syndicate came back with some offense. Lashley and Liona exchanged some power moves, which led to Lashley hitting a Spear. Lashley gave Liona spinebuster through a table that was bridged against the apron and guard rail. Ricochet was alone against the three THS guys in the ring. MVP hit a knee to the face, Lashley hit a spike spinebuster and Shelton launched Ricochet with a German Suplex through the table that was in the ring. Shelton covered Ricochet for the pinfall win. It went about 17 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & MVP
Analysis: ***1/4 It was an entertaining weapons match with some big spots. I wouldn’t call it a great match, but it did have a happy ending for the fans because they wanted a big table bump and that’s what the finish was. It felt like it dragged to get to 17 minutes as another example of an AEW match going long. That match felt like the feud ender, but it’s AEW so sometimes these feuds keep on going.
(Commercial)
Don Callis and the Don Callis Family, with too many members, were standing backstage for an interview with Renee Paquette. Callis claimed that Kyle O’Reilly is such a fan of Kyle Fletcher that he named himself after Fletcher. O’Reilly is older by about a decade, so it’s a ridiculous statement, but that’s pro wrestling. Anyway, Callis kept talking about his “family” winning all the time.
Jurassic Express – “Jungle” Jack Perry & Luchasaurus vs. KM & Orion
Jack got some offense early with a dropkick. Luchasaurus hit a release suplex to show off his power. The Young Bucks were sitting in the crowd watching the match. Luchasaurus hit a boot and Jack hit a dropkick. Luchasaurus kicked a guy off the apron to the floor. Luchasaurus flipped over the dude and Jack hit him with a sitout Powerbomb for the pinfall. It’s called Countdown to Extinction. It went about 3 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Jurassic Express – “Jungle” Jack Perry & Luchasaurus
Analysis: *1/4 A squash match to give Jurassic Express a win in their first match as a team in a few years.
The Young Bucks attacked after the match. They sent Jack into the barricade. The Bucks hit a double low blow kick on Luchasaurus and hit a BTE Trigger double knee on Luchasaurus. The Bucks hit a double superkick on Perry. Nick said that this is a callback, and he punched Jack in the ribs with the microphone. Nick said that at WrestleDream, how about this: Jurassic Express against The Young Bucks. The Bucks hit the TK Driver on Perry.
Analysis: It got some heat on The Young Bucks to set up the WrestleDream match.
Pac was outside with the Death Riders. Pac did a promo about how he was going to beat Orange Cassidy. Pac said that they had ambition that outweighs the likes of Orange. Wheeler Yuta said that they had to separate the winners from the losers. Daniel Garcia said that a winner is a choice, so you have to wake up and you have to want to win. Garcia said they’ll keep winning because that’s what winners do.
TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kyle O’Reilly
It’s the double Kyle match. Don Callis joined commentary. Normally when I review either of these guys matches I just write Kyle because it’s shorter than their last names, but I can’t do it in this case. O’Reilly hit a running knee smash off the apron onto Fletcher on the floor. Fletcher hit a Michinoku Driver to take control going into a PIP break.
(Commercial)
O’Reilly was aggressive with kneebar submissions. When Fletcher hit a Powerbomb, O’Reilly was able to come back with the knee bar again until Fletcher broke the hold by grabbing the ropes. They battled on the apron, where O’Reilly wrenched on the arm to slam Fletcher on the apron. O’Reilly dropkicked Fletcher into the barricade at ringside. Back in the ring, Fletcher hit a knee smash to the face. So what was the point of the big moves on the floor if you aren’t going to sell? Fletcher launched O’Reilly face first into the turnbuckle. O’Reilly hit a shoulder capture suplex for two. Fletcher barely sold anything and hit a clothesline. O’Reilly went for an Ankle Lock, but Fletcher rolled out of it and hit a brainbuster. Fletcher decided to sell a bit as he hit a running kick, along with another brainbuster for the pinfall win. It went about 13 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kyle Fletcher
Analysis: ***1/4 A solid match to give Fletcher a win to continue his reign as the champion. Like the Moxley match that opened the show, you know who is going to win and know that the other guy has no chance, but it’s about having a competitive match. The selling is inconsistent, which is a problem I have with AEW matches. It’s good to see O’Reilly in a match like this, although he’s never really gotten a push in AEW. Fletcher is going to be a long-term TNT Champion, and that’s pretty obvious, so there really was no chance of a title change here.
There was a post-match fight involving some members of the Don Callis Family, including Lance Archer and Rocky Romero, who joined Kyle Fletcher in a confrontation with Roderick Strong and Tomohiro Ishii. Mark Briscoe made the save by clearing Archer and Romero from the ring. Fletcher stopped himself from hitting Briscoe.
Analysis: It makes sense for Briscoe to go after the TNT Title held by Fletcher since Briscoe beat MJF in their big match, so Briscoe has earned a title shot.
(Commercial)
Kyle Fletcher, the TNT Champion, was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Fletcher denied he was scared of Mark Briscoe. Renee informed that at WrestleDream, per Tony Khan, Fletcher has to defend the TNT Title against Briscoe. Fletcher walked off without saying anything.
Mercedes Mone made her entrance as the TBS Champion. This was an open challenge. Her opponent was Lacey Lane, a former WWE wrestler known as Jayden Carter. Lane is from Winter Park, Florida. Excalibur mentioned Lane has wrestled in ROH recently, and this is her Dynamite debut. Mone has been champion for 499 days.
TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Lacey Lane
Lane was aggressive early on with a cross body block and a kick that sent Mone into the barricade. After they exchanged holds in the ring, Lane hit a superkick to the face. Lane used her knees to spike Mone into the mat for a two count because Mone got her foot on the rope. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Mone took control with the Three Amigos vertical suplexes. Mone went for a splash off the top, but Lane got the knees up to block. Mone hit a double knee attack, along with a sunset flip Powerbomb into the turnbuckle. Lane hit a hammerlock flatliner for a two count. They messed up a spot where they exchanged pins, and Mone hit the Moneymaker for the pinfall win after about 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Mercedes Mone
Analysis: **3/4 It was an okay TV match. Lane got some offense, but again, it’s a match where the winner is so obvious, so it’s tough to really get into the match. Lane is talented and she has a good personality, so hopefully she gets more chances in AEW. Mone’s Moneymaker finish looked okay since Lane is a smaller opponent.
Sammy Guevara was with The Beast Mortos doing a promo, warning Eddie Kingston about Kingston’s match with Mortos on Collision. I didn’t even know LFI was a stable with Sammy.
Eddie Kingston was with Hoo,k saying that Mortos shouldn’t hang out with Sammy. Kingston said he’d see Mortos on Collision.
(Commercial)
Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido vs. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis)
If Brody King or Bandido wins, then the winner of the fall will earn a shot at Okada’s AEW Unified Title. If Okada & Takeshita win, then they will earn a shot at the AEW Tag Team Titles held by King & Bandido.
Takeshita and Okada don’t seem to get along as a team, so that’s the story for this match. Can they get along? We’ll find out as the match goes on. King slammed Bandido onto Takeshita. Bandido was selling a left shoulder injury since he had his shoulder taped up. Even though Takeshita was the illegal man, he hit a DDT on King on the apron. Okada gave King a DDT on the floor. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
King was isolated from his partner, so he tried to fight off both guys. King hit a double clothesline on his opponents. When Bandido got the hot tag, he was on fire and hit an impressive hurricanrana, along with a twisting cross body block. Bandido hit a suplex that Okada sold as if it were a painful move, even though it was just a suplex. King hit a sitout driver on Okada for two because Takeshita made the save. Okada pulled on Bandido’s injured left shoulder against the top rope. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on King, who was not legal. Bandido countered Takeshita into a cradle for two. Takeshita hit Okada with a knee after Bandido avoided it. Bandido hit a rising knee smash on Takeshita. Takeshita hit a Reverse Rana on Bandido. Okada tagged himself in because Takeshita waited by the turnbuckle for him. Takeshita kicked King off the apron. Okada hit a Rainmaker on Bandido for the pinfall win. It went about 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
Analysis: ***1/4 That was good, but the ending was a bit flat and not that interesting considering the talent involved. It’s a match that had something on the line, and it wasn’t predictable, so I was more interested in this. The Okada/Takeshita team dynamic is entertaining, and I think it’s going to lead to Takeshita breaking free from the Don Callis Family to become a big babyface.
It was announced that at AEW WrestleDream, Brodido will defend the AEW Tag Team Titles against Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita.
The trio of Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight and Willow Nightingale were interviewed by Renee Paquette. They talked about beating FTR and Megan Bayne on Collision.
(Commercial)
FTR and Stokely did a backstage promo about their tag team match on Collision. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford walked in to trash talk Willow Nightingale to say Willow didn’t stand a chance. Stoke said that Jetspeed doesn’t stand a chance.
The Brodido duo of Brody King and Bandido was interviewed by Renee Paquette, who mentioned that Bandido is not 100%. Bandido blamed himself for the loss. King said that Bandido is the one who says never stop fighting, so they will not stop fighting. King said that Bandido is the best wrestler right now, and at WrestleDream, they will still be AEW Tag Team Champions.
Orange Cassidy vs. Pac
These two guys have a long history together. They also missed a lot of time this year with injuries, so it’s good to see them back.
Pac and Orange exchanged some holds, leading to Pac doing a back body drop. Pac ran over Orange with a shoulder tackle, followed by a side headlock. Pac did an armbar, so Orange came back with a kip up and got his own armbar. Orange sent Pac into the turnbuckle a few times. Orange hit a clothesline. Pac was on the floor, Orange tried a suicide dive DDT, but Pac blocked that and hit a Falcon Arrow on the floor. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Pac hitting a missile dropkick off the top. Orange did his stupid “comedy” slaps to the chest, so Pac kicked him and then Orange barely sold it. Orange and Pac did the “stand and throw forearms” spot. Pac hit a pump kick, so then Orange went for his own kick to the head that didn’t even touch Pac, so Excalibur tried to cover by saying it was a “glancing blow.” Pac and Orange exchanged strikes again. Orange hit a thrust kick and Pac hit a German Suplex. Orange avoided a sunset flip and hit a PK kick to the chest. They left the ring where Orange hit a Stundog Millionaire on the floor. Orange jumped onto Pac on the floor and hit a DDT on the floor. The fans barely reacted to it. They were still on the floor as Orange hit an Orange Punch on Pac. Orange went into the ring to break the referee’s count that didn’t exist. Orange went up top and put his hands in his pockets, leading to a splash that put Pac through the table at ringside. Back in the ring, Orange flipped around Pac and hit a DDT. Orange hit the Orange Punch for a two count because Pac’s right foot was on the bottom rope. Orange went up top, so Pac rolled out of the ring and went onto the ramp. Orange went after Pac, who managed to get a hold of Orange and Pac gave Orange a Tombstone Piledriver near some fans by the entrance area. Pac was by a guardrail, so Darby Allin chained Pac to the guardrail. Pac managed to break free and got down to the ring. As soon as Pac got in the ring, Orange flipped him over and sat on top for the pinfall win at 16 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Orange Cassidy
Analysis: ***1/4 The pacing was slow early on and perhaps too slow, but then it really picked up later. Darby Allin slowing down Pac after Pac hit a piledriver was a big reason why Orange Cassidy won. I’ve seen these guys have a lot of matches and they were better than this. It was fine as a TV match, but it didn’t feel like a big main event.
After the match, Pac sprayed some mace into Pac’s face. Pac had a taser or stun gun and ran away. Pac had a Molotov cocktail in his hands as Jon Moxley approached, but a security guy tackled Allin. Security guys kept Moxley and his friends from getting to Allin, who was being held by multiple security guys.
Analysis: It continues to push the story that Darby Allin is a wild man and will do anything to Jon Moxley if he gets the chance. They have an I Quit match at WrestleDream, and I think Allin should win.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Jon Moxley
- Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
- The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & MVP
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.25 out of 10
Last Week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.39
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
I think it was a good episode of Dynamite in terms of matches, but I don’t think anything stood out that much. When it comes to stories, I don’t think AEW has anything that is that exciting. There are so many stables, and I think that hurts more than it helps.
They called this show “Title Tuesday,” and there were only two title matches. Both of them were very predictable. I would like to see AEW book some more matches on Dynamite that are less predictable. The predictability factor hurts the show, in my opinion. I also think it’s a mistake to announce the full card before the show. I’ve written this many times before. Why not set up matches at the show and during the show? It gives people a reason to tune in to see what kind of unpredictable matches could happen.
It felt like the crowd wasn’t that into the show. I know AEW thinks highly of Daily’s Place, but they were not a vocal crowd for most of the night.
The next AEW PPV is WrestleDream on Saturday, October 18th, with this lineup so far.
* AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Samoa Joe
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Toni Storm
* I Quit Match: Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley
* $500K Match: The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson vs. Jurassic Express – “Jungle” Jack Perry & Luchasaurus
* TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Mark Briscoe
* AEW Tag Team Championships: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita
There will be more matches added soon.
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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