The John Report: AEW Dynamite 10/22/25 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured The Opps facing The Hurt Syndicate, Kazuchika Okada taking on Bandido, and more.
The AEW WrestleDream PPV took place last Saturday and it was an entertaining show as usual for an AEW PPV. Samoa Joe turned heel after losing to “Hangman” Adam Page in the AEW World Title match, so it looks like that feud will continue. AEW is on the road to Full Gear on November 22nd, so we’ll see how they build up to that PPV.
I’m going to go with summary style for most of the show and then play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #316 from the Boeing Center at TechPort in San Antonio, Texas. 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 and Bryan Danielson. They had a stage, a small ramp and then plenty of room around ringside.
There was a video package showing WrestleDream highlights.
A clip aired of AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page getting checked on by an AEW trainer after WrestleDream. Page yelled loudly wondering if Samoa Joe had lost his mind. Page said he warned Samoa Joe, and he said that when he finds him, he will ruin Joe’s life.
AEW Trios Championships: The Opps – Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & MVP
The fans were behind The Hurt Syndicate since they are faces now, while The Opps turned heel at WrestleDream. Shibata went for an armbar on Shelton, who got out of it and hit a clothesline. Lashley tagged in against Hobbs leading to “Meat” chants for the big boys, but Joe tagged in instead. Lashley attacked Joe with punches. Joe hit Lashley with a forearm to the jaw. Lashley came back with a flatliner into the mat. Shelton was back in, Joe sent him to the apron and Shelton tried an attack off the top, but Joe avoided it. Shelton landed on his feet. Hobbs tagged in, Shelton hit a heel kick to the face and Hobbs clotheslined Shelton out of the ring. Lashley clotheslined Hobbs out. The others hit strikes to clear the ring, so Joe tossed MVP out of the ring. Shelton hit a knee on Joe, Hobbs hit a powerslam on Shelton and Joe hit a running senton on Shelton. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
Shibata worked on Shelton with kicks against the turnbuckle. Joe was back in with some punches and a chinlock. Shelton came back with slaps to the face and he hit a DDT on Joe. Lashley tagged in with a clothesline on Shibata, along with a belly-to-belly suplex. Lashley hit a Dominator slam for a two count because Hobbs broke up the pin. Lashley faced off with Hobbs as the fans chanted “Meat” for their punches. Lashley went for the Hurt Lock, but Hobbs fought out of it with elbows. Lashley and Hobbs hit a double clothesline. That minute of action was all illegal action because Hobbs wasn’t legal and Shibata hit a running kick. Lashley broke free, MVP tagged in against Joe and hit a knee strike. MVP bounced off the ropes and hit a Ballin’ elbow on Joe for a two count. Joe was legal against MVP, he went for a sleeper, but MVP hit a jawbreaker. Ricochet showed up on the apron to distract MVP, so Joe applied a Coquina Clutch on MVP, and MVP tapped out to give Joe’s team the win. It went about 14 minutes.
Winners by submission: The Opps – Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata
Analysis: *** It was a solid tag team match. It didn’t really get to that next level. I thought the story between The Hurt Syndicate and The Demand was done after WrestleDream, but that rivalry is going to continue. The Lashley-Hobbs interaction was the best part of the match, even though Hobbs wasn’t legally in the match. Joe getting the win made sense since he’s still going after the AEW World Title, so he should win every match until his next title match.
The Hurt Syndicate guys went after The Demand (Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) on the stage, but The Demand ran away to the back.
Samoa Joe and The Opps were interviewed in the ring by Tony Schiavone, who asked Joe why he did what he did to Adam Page? Joe said it was a pleasure to be in San Antonio tonight. Joe said when you have a big, powerful man like Hobbs around, it’s good to have these fat San Antonio women to keep him occupied. That was funny. Joe said that as long as he is on planet Earth, he comes hunting for a champion. Joe said that as long as you think you’re the best, Joe is waiting to show you that you are not that man. Joe said he’ll slap Page around and make him his bitch, or something along those lines. Joe trashed the San Antonio and Texas sports since he’s a heel. Joe said that they are never lacking.
Analysis: I like the heel version of Samoa Joe because he knows how to be a jerk, and he has credibility.
Mercedes Mone was shown arriving earlier in the day with a bunch of male wrestlers carrying her 12 titles. Her celebration is still to come.
The AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Kris said that she was glad to be in the ring with her. Kris said she doesn’t need a celebration because she is focused on what she is going to do. Kris mentioned she’s beaten Toni Storm twice and she’s the AEW World Champion, while Mone has not done that. Statlander said that she isn’t the same person that Mone beat last year at Full Gear. Statlander said she accepted Mone’s challenge for AEW Full Gear for the AEW Women’s World Title.
Analysis: There’s the first match for Full Gear and it should be awesome because Mercedes and Kris are so talented. They’ve had some great matches in the past.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from Darby Allin
Darby Allin made his entrance to a big pop from the fans. They love this guy who beat Jon Moxley at WrestleDream thanks to an assist from Sting in the I Quit Match. Allin had the AEW flag with him.
Allin said that there were people saying he could never be the face of this company because he could get himself killed like when he climbed Mount Everest. Allin shouted that he is willing to go further than anybody and he would die for this place. Allin said he would never say I Quit on Saturday, but here’s wearing the scars today. Allin said he knows the Death Riders aren’t going away just like that. Allin said that as long as the Death Riders are breathing, Darby Allin isn’t far behind.
Analysis: A quick promo from Darby Allin to remind us that he would never quit and he would die for AEW. Well, don’t do that, pal. It was also a warning shot to the Death Riders group by stating that they are not done yet.
The Jurassic Express duo of Jack Perry and Luchasaurus were shown after their win at WrestleDream. They also won $500,000 in the match, at least in the storyline. Jack said that they beat the most legendary tag team of their generation. Jack claimed they would reclaim everything they had lost. Jack said that they are here to take it all. Jack said that eventually they will take their AEW World Tag Team Titles.
Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Queen Aminata & Jamie Hayter
The winning team gets to pick their opponents in the AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament. There are two wrestlers who are legal, and the others are supposed to stay on the apron.
Willow slammed Harley onto Blue. After Blue hit a superkick, Ford did a blind tag to become legal. When Bayne and Ford tried to suplex Harley, Willow went into the ring to save her partner. Hayter faced off against Bayne, and Queen got the tag, but Bayne was able to hit a double suplex. Bayne hit a suicide dive, while Ford hit a moonsault, and they took out the ladies on the floor. I think Ford’s knee hit Blue in the head. Ouch. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Queen fighting off Blue and Hart, so Willow got the tag and dominated the heels. Willow kicked Hart, along with a spinebuster on Blue for two. Bayne went into the ring, pulled Blue into her corner and Ford tagged in. Ford hit a Cutter for two because others broke it up. Bayne hit a double German Suplex on Blue and Hart. Willow ran the ropes and hit a Pounce, but Hayter did a blind tag. Queen was in the ring illegally for some double team moves on Ford, including a double boot and Queen hit a headbutt while Hayter hit a Hayterade lariat on Ford for the win. It went about 10 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Queen Aminata & Jamie Hayter
Analysis: **3/4 The match was just okay. I didn’t like how it was formatted and all the illegal offense in the match, but that’s AEW. Hayter got the tag, yet Queen was in the ring at the same time and they were able to do double team moves. What’s the point of tags if both people on the team are in the ring? It’s only supposed to be one person. AEW tags are so annoying sometimes and they never should be like that. Anyway, good job by Queen and Jamie getting the win. I don’t think it mattered much. I thought Willow and Bayne stood out the most in the match.
After the match, Jamie Hayter did a promo. Hayter said they picked Skye Blue and Julia Hart in the first round of the Women’s Tag Team Tournament. Excalibur screamed about how we’ll see the brackets later.
The Young Bucks were outside of Tony Khan’s office. Renee Paquette tried to interview them, and the Bucks said that they were broke, so they wanted a money match. Tony walked out of the room and put the Bucks in a match on Collision. Tony said he’d put up $400,000 for this match. Tony said it will be Jetspeed and Jurassic Express against The Young Bucks and FTR, who walked out of the room with Stokely. Nick Jackson of the Bucks said they had a checkered past, but they needed this for the money. Stokely gave Nick a dollar ,and Nick put it in his pocket.
Analysis: The riveting “Bucks are broke” story continues. I don’t watch Collision, but they taped it on the same night as Dynamite this week, so there will be spoilers out there.
(Commercial)
Mercedes Mone Championship Celebration
The ring had a cake in it along with a black part, a table, some alcohol, and balloons. Renee Paquette listed some of the recent accomplishments of the CEO, “Ultimo” Mercedes Mone, who now has 12 championships, including the TBS Championship. There were dudes holding Mone’s championships by the ramp. The Mercedes Mone puppet was in the ring that Harley Cameron uses, so the puppet spoke. Mercedes Mone told the belt boys to go to the back.
Mone went into the ring to approach the puppet Mone by the table. Mone told Paquette to get out. Mone asked Harley what the hell do you think you’re doing? Mone yelled about the marks trying to mock her. Mone told Harley she was so pathetic and now you’re out here disrespecting Mone. Mercedes said tonight is about her. Mone said that this is her moment and her celebration. Mone claimed that being 12 Belts Mone is going to go down as one of the greatest accomplishments in pro wrestling history. Mone complained about the “pathetic, little marks” disrespecting her. Mone put the Minni Mone puppet into the cake. Mone grabbed Harley and tried to attack her, but Kris Statlander showed up and slammed Mone face first into the cake. Kris slammed Mone with a spinebuster through the cake and through the table.
The graphic made it official: Kris Statlander defends the AEW Women’s World Title against Mercedes Mone.
Analysis: It’s well known that when there’s a cake in a ring, it’s usually going to get smashed and that’s what happened here. I don’t think the Mone puppet is that entertaining, but it was done to set up the Statlander spot, so that’s fine because it popped the crowd. Humiliating Mone during her celebration also made the fans happy.
Jon Moxley was shown after WrestleDream talking about losing to Darby Allin. Moxley said that he has an unwavering commitment to being the best and their only competition is themselves. Moxley said there is nobody does what they do. Moxley said he thought Allin was going to fold. Moxley said it didn’t matter how tonight went because he knows exactly who he is.
Kyle O’Reilly made his entrance, and they showed the new entrance video of The Conglomeration group. It’s like a 1990s sitcom video. Kyle was joined by the others in The Conglomeration and his friend Roderick Strong, who wants nothing to do with the group, apparently. Jon Moxley made his entrance in the back part of the arena with Marina Shafir by his side.
Jon Moxley (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
There were some fans chanting, “He’s a quitter” at Moxley. Kyle was going for submission moves, and Moxley did some counters. Kyle worked over Moxley with kicks, so Moxley blocked a kick and bit Kyle in the face. Moxley tossed Kyle out of the ring, leading to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Kyle hitting a dropkick off the apron while Moxley was on the floor. Kyle hit some strikes, along with knees to the ribs and Kyle did a sweep kick to trip up Moxley. Kyle applied a Triangle Choke submission on the mat, but Moxley broke the hold. Kyle wrenched on the arm to send Moxley into the apron. Kyle hit a knee drop off the top and a running knee smash for two. Kyle applied an armbar, Moxley got out of it and hit a lariat. Moxley hit a piledriver for two. Moxley applied a Bulldog Choke, so Kyle got his foot on the bottom rope. Bryan did a good job of making the point that Moxley seemed off in this match after the WrestleDream loss. They exchanged strikes, Kyle tripped up Mox and applied an Ankle Lock. Moxley grabbed the referee, Paul Turner, and elbowed him to knock him down. The other referees went into the ring to call for the bell, so Kyle won by DQ.
Winner by disqualification: Kyle O’Reilly
Analysis: ***1/4 I enjoyed the match before the flat finish. It was done that way to show that Moxley wasn’t going to quit to lose a match again, so he got DQ’d intentionally instead. The story was about Moxley being in pain coming out of WrestleDream, so Kyle got a lot of offense in the match. I thought Moxley would hit one of his finishers and win, but it didn’t happen that way. I assume we’ll see this match again soon with Mox getting the win.
After the match, The Conglomeration fought with The Death Riders in the ring. Moxley and Shafir left through the crowd.
Analysis: There was a six-man tag team match already announced, so that was up next.
(Commercial)
Death Riders – Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta vs. The Conglomeration – Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Roderick Strong
Orange and Yuta did a routine going for nearfalls, so Orange sent Yuta out of the ring. Garcia tripped up Orange and kept him down with some mat wrestling, so Garcia celebrated it. Mark got some offense going with some kicks on Garcia. The veterans Claudio and Strong exchanged strikes. Strong hit a backbreaker on Garcia, so Claudio sent Strong out of the ring. Strong gave Yuta a backbreaker on the barricade. Strong kicked Claudio into the barricade and hit another backbreaker on the barricade. After Yuta pulled Strong out of the ring, Claudio press slammed Strong throat-first against the barricade. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Claudio was in control of Strong with a gutwrench suplex across the ring. Strong hit an Angle Slam to break free. Orange got the hot tag against Yuta and did some of his comedy spots, including a double dropkick with his hands in his pockets. Mark got the tag and he was on fire with some kicks for his opponents. Mark went up top and hit a twisting moonsault onto both Death Riders on the floor. That was great. Mark hit a Fisherman’s Buster on Yuta for a two count. They did the “hit one move, take a move and bump to the floor” sequence of spots. It was back to Mark against Yuta, who hit a German Suplex. Garciaa and Claudio hit splashes, followed by Yuta hitting the Busaiko Knee for two because the pin was broken up. Yuta hammered Mark with elbows, and Mark came back with a lariat. Mark hit a Jay Driller while his partners held the Death Riders on the floor, so Mark got the pin. It went about 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The Conglomeration – Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Roderick Strong
Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a very good tag team match. This match had way less illegal offense in the match compared to the earlier tag and the women’s tag. The result wasn’t a surprise because Yuta was in the match, so that usually means he’s the guy taking the pin. It was an entertaining match since the faces were really well-liked, so the fans got really into it after the hot tags were down.
After the match, Pac attacked Mark, so Tomohiro Ishii saved Mark from the attack. Jon Moxley returned as the Death Riders tried to outnumber The Conglomeration. Kyle O’Reilly returned to fight with Moxley. Claudio Castagnoli was ready to toss Orange Cassidy over the top and through the commentary table, but Darby Alli had a baseball bat and he hit Claudio in the leg with it. The Death Riders ran away while Allin celebrated in the ring. Moxley was frustrated.
Analysis: There was a lot going on there, but the point is that Darby Allin and The Conglomeration fought off the Death Riders to prevent an attack.
Mercedes Mone, who had cake all over her, was interviewed by Alicia Atout. Athena approached an angry Mone and suggested that they make history together as the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Mone said that she likes that because it could be Title #13 for her.
Let’s Hear from Kyle Fletcher
The TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher made his entrance with Don Callis for an in-ring promo. Kyle said he is done with Mark Briscoe because he has proven he is better than Briscoe. Kyle said if he faced Mark a million more times, then Kyle would beat him a million more times. Kyle claimed he’ll be the TNT Champion for a very long time.
Mark Briscoe interrupted the promo, saying that as Kyle grows up, he will learn he doesn’t have to talk so much. Mark said he already had his match, but he heard Kyle talking, so he’s here to retort. Mark said he just needs one more shot, not a million more times. Mark had a line about icing his balls in there, too, because he’s a unique guy.
Don Callis told Mark he’s a great wrestler and a great athlete. Callis said that Mark is sounding desperate, and it’s off-putting. Callis said that Mark has about 10 kids at home, so he’s not sure how Mark can focus. Callis said that his family are not blood sucking leeches that just want to take everything. Callis told Mark, “No.” Kyle’s music played to end it.
Analysis: This is another feud that I thought was done, but it feels like Mark will do something to make Kyle give him another shot at the title. It still feels like it is early in Fletcher’s long run as the champion.
(Commercial)
The brackets were shown for the Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament.
- Queen Aminata & Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue
- Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Mercedes Mone & Athena
- Alex Windsor & Riho vs. Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa
- Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford vs. Tay Melo & Anna Jay aka Tayjay
Analysis: I don’t care that much who wins the titles, but I want to see Tayjay as the champions because they’ve been together for a long time and have had long runs in AEW. They deserve some titles. Why not? I like them as a team. Since Mone and Athena are in it, they might be the favorites to win.
Mina Shirakawa was interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. Mina talked about teaming with Toni Storm and how they are going to be champions together. Thekla interrupted to mock Mina, who said they had fought in Japan and they would fight here. Mina said she wanted to face Thekla on Collision, so Thekla accepted.
It was main event time as Bandido made his entrance with his AEW Tag Team Championship partner Brody King. Bandido is also the ROH World Champion. That ROH World Title is not on the line. Bandido hugged his family at ringside.
Kazuchika Okada made his entrance as the AEW Unified Champion. Don Callis was on commentary to support Okada for this match.
AEW Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bandido
This match started a few minutes before the 10 p.m. hour, so they were going to go past the two-hour mark. Bandido hit a hurricanrana, so Okada bailed to the floor. Bandido went after Okada, who kicked Bandido in the ribs. Bandido suplexed Okada on the floor. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Okada was in control with an elbow drop off the top rope. That was followed by Okada’s middle finger salute to the crowd. Bandido went up top and hit a corkscrew splash. Bandido kicked Okada out of the ring, followed by Bandido hitting a suicide dive. Bandido hit a somersault dive over the top onto Okada on the floor. Back in the ring, Bandido showed off his athleticism and hit a superkick. Bandido went up top and hit a Frog Splash for two. They went to the apron, where Okada pulled on Bandido’s arm against the ropes. Okada kicked at Bandido’s injured left shoulder. Okada hit an inverted shoulderbreaker, and Okada was laughing about being in control. Bandido got looked at by Dr. Samson, so Okada grabbed Bandido and tossed him into the ring. Okada wrenched on the left arm again. Bandido picked up Okada and went for a move, but Okada blocked it. Bandido hit a spinning back fist to the head. Bandido hit a knee to the jaw. Bandido hit the 21 Plex off the ropes and did a slow cover for the one…two…no because Okada got his right shoulder up. Bandido did a weak cover. They battled by the turnbuckle where Bandido countered Okada with a hurricanrana into the turnbuckle. Okada came back with an impressive dropkick. Bandido got an inside cradle for two. Okada hit a boot to the face, Bandido came back with a chop and Okada got his boots up to block a charging attack. Bandido hit a Rainmaker lariat of his own. Bandido tossed Okada off his shoulder and hit a knee to the face. Bandido went for a 21 Plex again, Okada avoided it and Okada hit a Rainmaker for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada
Analysis: **** Great match that I’m rating at 4 stars out of 5. They worked well together, the fans were into it, and Bandido showed what he can do with a bunch of nearfalls throughout the match. Okada kicked out of Bandido’s 21 Plex finish, but Bandido couldn’t kick out of Okada’s Rainmaker because it’s a protected move. Okada is a dominant singles wrestler in AEW. He loses some tags, but when it comes to singles, all he does is win, so it will be a big deal when he loses.
Kazuchika Okada celebrated in the ring with Don Callis and the rest of the Don Callis Family. Konosuke Takeshita walked out with the IWGP World Championship, and he was slowly walking out to the ring. Callis and Kyle Fletcher talked to Takeshita in the aisle. Okada smiled in the ring. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: They are obviously building to an Okada-Takeshita when Takeshita becomes a face, so it’s just a matter of when that happens.
Dynamite had a runtime of 2 hours, 10 minutes this week.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Kazuchika Okada
- Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Roderick Strong
- Bandido
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.25 out of 10
Last Week: 7
2025 Average: 7.38
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A pretty good show, but I don’t think it was that great until the main event. I thought the two matches in the first hour were average for AEW matches, but the match quality improved significantly in the second hour.
I’m happy for the women’s division getting the new AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles, and now we know who the teams are in the tournament, so I’m interested to see how it will be booked.
The Okada-Bandido match was easily the highlight of this week’s show.
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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