The John Report: AEW Dynamite 11/05/25 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured The Opps against Hangman Page, Eddie Kingston & Hook, plus some big singles matches to set up Blood & Guts.

The AEW Blood & Guts episode is next Wednesday, November 12th, and the company has announced the two Blood & Guts matches on that show, including the first-ever Women’s B&G Match in AEW history. The women’s match looks like this:

* Jamie Hayter, Mina Shirakawa, Willow Nightingale, Harley Cameron, “Timeless” Toni Storm, and Kris Statlander vs. Triangle of Madness (Julia Hart, Skye Blue, and Thekla), Megan Bayne, Marina Shafir, and Mercedes Moné

As for the men, the Blood & Guts Match looks like this:

* Darby Allin, Roderick Strong, and The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, and Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and Pac)

I don’t know why the Women’s B&G match needs 12 women and the men have the traditional 10 men, but here we are.

The next AEW PPV is Full Gear on November 22nd, so they are also building to that. 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 #318 from the Bayou Music Center in Houston, 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, Tony Schiavone and Bryan Danielson. There was a big stamp, a ramp near the ring and room around the ring to hit the many dives that occur during an AEW show.

A replay was shown of last week’s Dynamite when “Hangman” Adam Page was dressed as Tony Schiavone for Halloween and Hangman attacked Samoa Joe and The Opps. Great way to end the show.

Let’s Hear from Samoa Joe with The Opps

Tony Schiavone was in the ring announcing something, but Samoa Joe and The Opps’ Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata interrupted. Joe said he knows that Tony will say he had nothing to do with what happened last week, but Joe said he finds it hard to believe. Tony tried to explain himself, so Joe told him to shut up. Joe said that there are consequences for your actions. Security guys ran down to the ring. The AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page ran down to the ring, so Joe and friends left the ring. Joe said now they can take care of two problems at once. Page’s tag team partners Eddie Kingston and Hook went into the ring, so The Opps ran away.

Page said that man is Tony Schiavone, not him, but the Hangman is right here. Page said that he is Joe’s problem, so Page will beat his ass. Hook said you guys are the Trios Champions and Hook wanted them to put the titles on the line. An enraged Joe agreed to it.

Tonight’s main event is The Opps defending the AEW Trios Championships against Hangman, Kingston and Hook.

Analysis: It was a fine way to start the show to build the main event. I didn’t expect Tony Schiavone to take a bump or get attacked in any way, It also makes the main event more interesting by making it a title match.

Men’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 1: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli

This is the first match in a Best of 3 series between wrestlers in the Men’s Blood & Guts Match. Claudio walked Orange around the ring and suplexed him onto the barricade. Orange put a sleeper on for about a minute, but Claudio got out of it with the swing and they went to a break.

(Commercial)

Claudio was in control of pocket boy with a suplex and Orange put his hands in his pockets again, so Claudio hit a gutwrench suplex. Orange did a hurricanrana with his hands in the pockets, followed by a dropkick. They left the ring where Orange hit a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Orange hit a diving DDT off the ropes for two. Claudio came back with a Liger Bomb for two. Claudio smashed Orange with repeated uppercuts. Orange hit an impressive Stundog Millionaire by the ropes. Orange countered Claudio with an Orange Punch, but Claudio launched Orange in the air with an uppercut for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Claudio Castagnoli

Analysis: ***1/2 Good match. It was slow early on, but then it really picked up with some big moves and clever counters. That finish was terrific, with Claudio hitting the uppercut out of nowhere for the win. Orange nearly won a few times, so it was good in terms of making it look like either man could get the win.

Mark Briscoe and TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher, with Don Callis, were interviewed by Renee Paquette. Mark wanted another title shot against Kyle, who cheated with a low blow kick. Mark suggested a rematch at Full Gear in a No DQ Match. Callis said he’ll need something from Mark, too. Mark wondered if he wanted to put his career on the line, but Don said no to that. Callis said if Mark loses, then he’ll join the Don Callis Family and leave The Conglomeration forever. Mark said he’s not losing, and he told Don he’s got it.

Analysis: That’s an interesting stipulation. I think Mark Briscoe winning the TNT Title is likely now because I doubt they have him lose and join the Don Callis Family even though it would be mildly entertaining just to see it.

(Commercial)

The Young Bucks and Josh Alexander – with Don Callis – were interviewed by Renee Paqutte. Don talked about how AEW has treated The Young Bucks and Don talked about giving them some perks if they join the Don Callis Family. The rest of the Don Callis Family arrived. Kazuchika Okada was there as well. Matt Jackson said they need some time. Okada told them not to take too much time.

AEW Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mercedes Mone & Athena vs. The Babes of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron

Mone is the TBS Champion, and Athena is the ROH Women’s Champion. Mone has many other titles as well. Willow and Harley are called The Babes of Wrath. They’re a happy team.

It was Harley isolated early on, but Willow got the tag and the team got some offense going when Willow slammed Harley onto Mone. Athena sent Willow out of the ring and Mone hit a Backstabber on Harley. Athena hit a suicide dive on Willow on the floor. Athena slammed Mone onto Harley for a two count. Cool spot.

(Commercial)

Harley hit an impressive crucifix bomb on both opponents and Willow made a blind tag, leading to a double Spear. Willow was on fire with a spinebuster for two. Mone was back in with a running cross body block for two, but Willow came back with a sidewalk slam. The four women all hit big moves consecutively, including Willow with a clothesline. Mone did Lungblower on Harley and a Statement Maker submission, but Willow made the save by tackling Athena onto the submission to break it up. Athena had Willow on her shoulders and Athena kicked her. Athena hit a fallaway slam on Harley while also holding Willow and it got a two count. Billie Starkz went down to the ring to help Athena, but Kris Statlander showed up and clotheslined Starkz. Kris chased Mone around the ring, so Athena was left alone and Harley hit a neckbreaker-like move on Athena for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Babes of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron

Analysis: ***1/4 It’s easy to like The Babes of Wrath team. They are full of energy and work well together. Willow was terrific when she got the hot tags. Athena is so awesome, while Mone is always great, and Harley has improved so much. The ending was done to show that the heels couldn’t get the help they needed because Kris Statlander was there, and Mone leaving the ringside area cost her team the match.

The Babes of Wrath move on to the AEW Tag Team Tournament Semifinals against the Sisters of Sin team of Julia Hart & Skye Blue.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from The Hurt Syndicate

Tony Schiavone was in the ring saying Tony Khan has announced that at Full Gear, there’s a Casino Gauntlet to crown the first AEW National Champion.

The Hurt Syndicate’s Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and MVP entered for an interview. Lashley and Benjamin are in the Casino Gauntlet Match. MVP mentioned wrestlers who held the NWA National Championship in the past. Tony asked what would happen if Bobby and Shelton faced off in the match. MVP said that The Hurt Syndicate wins, but more importantly, the viewing audience wins.

The Demand’s Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun arrived. Ricochet was booed. Ricochet said it didn’t matter how old they are because every week, The Hurt Syndicate hobbles down to the ring and said he admires them at their age. Ricochet said he would do everything to make sure they never win gold again, and he laughed about it. MVP said that nobody cares about what Ricochet has to say. MVP mentioned The Hurt Syndicate beat them repeatedly. Ricochet said that at Full Gear, The Demand will be met and he’ll be the inaugural NWA National Champion. MVP said that Ricochet talks shit and they hurt people. Ricochet and The Demand left.

Analysis: This was okay. The Ricochet promo was a bit awkward, but they got through it. I don’t know why this company thinks they need more men’s singles titles. They merged the International and Continental Titles to the Unified Title, and now they are adding another title? It seems like too much to me. Titles are props that can be used to advance stories. I just think they have too many of them.

Here’s more from AEW’s website about the new AEW National Title.

History will be made in just a couple of weeks at AEW Full Gear presented by DC, when the first ever AEW National Champion will be determined in a Casino Gauntlet match, as first announced by AEW GM & CEO Tony Khan ahead of Wednesday night’s Dynamite!

The National Championship is a storied, prestigious professional wrestling championship, representing the top prize in the NWA’s Georgia Championship Wrestling, one of the top wrestling promotions in the entire country. But the title hasn’t been seen on TBS since 1986.

That will change following Full Gear on Saturday, November 22, live from Newark, New Jersey! Tune in live when AEW crowns its first AEW National Champion in Full Gear’s Casino Gauntlet match!

The Jurassic Express duo of Jack Perry and Luchasaurus were walking backstage. Jack said he knows the Young Bucks are hurting for cash, so he left them a $100 bill under a knife.

Men’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 2: Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia

This is pretty much a lock that Allin will win since his team lost the first match.

The match spilled out to the floor early, where Allin was in control. Garcia trapped Allin against the ring apron/side of the rin,g and Garcia hit a running kick to the head. Garcia sent Allin knees-first into the steel steps, which led to a big Darby bump.

(Commercial)

Garcia was trying to choke out Allin with a sleeper, but Allin was able to fight it off. There was a superplex by Garcia and then Allin hit a Scorpion Death Drop that his mentor Sting uses. When Allin went up top, Garcia swept the legs and Allin bounced to the floor. Allin was busted open after being sent into the steel steps. Pac appeared at ringside and clotheslined Allin on the floor. The inept referee Bryce Remsburg finally initiated a count and got to 9 when Allin went back into the ring. Garcia applied his Dragon Tamer submission. Allin was able to get out of it and applied the Scorpion Death Lock like his buddy Sting and Garcia tapped out. This went about 12 minutes.

Winner by submission: Darby Allin

Analysis: ***1/4 A competitive match with Allin selling a lot before getting the obvious win. I don’t think Garcia has won a match on Dynamite since going heel, but I could be wrong on that. It just feels like Garcia is just another guy, rather than a star on the rise.

That means Jon Moxley faces Roderick Strong on Collision in a Blood & Guts Advantage Match 3.

After the match, Pac attacked Allin. Orange Cassidy made the save, so Wheeler Yuta showed up and hit a running knee. Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley joined the party. Pac hit a piledriver and Claudio hit a sitout slam. Roderick Strong tried to save Kyle O’Reilly by hitting a knee and it worked because the heels ran away.

Analysis: I don’t know why five guys ran away from Roderick Strong after a jumping knee attack, but they did. If Strong had a weapon, I would understand, but they just ran away instead of trying to beat his ass. It was a way to end the segment.

(Commercia)

The FTR duo of Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood were in the ring for a promo. I think they were trashing Bandido’s grandmother in the crowd. Unfortunately, there’s a heavy rain storm where I am, and I missed most of this because the power went out, and by the time it was back on, the segment ended. FTR tried a double team attack on Bandido, but Brody King showed up, and FTR and Stokley ran away. I’ll go back and redo this segment later in the night.

A video package aired about the Blood & Guts Match and it was narrated by the great Dean Malenko.

Women’s Blood & Guts Advantage Battle Match 1: Megan Bayne (w/Penelope Ford) vs. Mina Shirakawa

Toni Storm was on commentary. She asked Excalibur why he doesn’t do commentary on one of her orgies. Yes, she said it. Bayne was in control in the first few minutes as she hit a fallaway slam.

(Commercial)

The powerhouse Bayne was still in control with a German Suplex across the ring. Storm said her sheets end up in Blood & Guts after a long weekend. She has some good lines. They went to the apron where Mina kicked Bayne and hit a suplex on the apron. Bayne came back with a superplex off the middle turnbuckle. Mina came back with a forearm to the back of the neck. Mina hit a Slingblade from the top for two. Marina Shafir showed up at ringside and choked Toni Storm at ringside. Mina was distracted by that, so Bayne hit a clothesline. Bayne hit a running Ligerbomb on Mina for the pinfall win after 10 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Megan Bayne

Analysis: *** A solid match that had the cheap ending because Mina was distracted by Storm getting attacked on the floor and Bayne took advantage of that to win. Mina did a good job of selling before hitting a couple of big moves for a comeback. I’m not surprised that Bayne got the win.

After the match, Marina Shafir sent Storm into the steel steps. Shafir and Mina attacked Mina with punches. Storm went int the ring with a chair, so Bayne and Shafir left the ring. The Triangle of Madness went into the ring to attack the faces, so the faces Willow, Harley and Hayter went into the ring. Mercedes Mone went down to ringside, she didn’t want to fight and Kris Statlander attacked Mone. The babyfaces stood tall in the ring while the heels were on the floor.

Analysis: It was the typical “action after the match” that happens often in AEW and it was more of it here to promote the Women’s Blood & Guts Match. This felt very rushed, but they did what they could to have the 12 women in the Blood & Guts Match face off to end it.

(Commercial)

It was main event time with the six man tag team match.

AEW World Trios Championships: The Opps – Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata vs. “Hangman” Adam Page, Eddie Kingston & Hook

The Opps are 9-0 as a team. The challengers have never teamed before. Hangman is the AEW World Champion defending that title against Samoa Joe at Full Gear.

Page and Shibata exchanged strikes early on. Shibata ran the ropes, leading to Page hitting a boot to the head. Page hit a clothesline, but Shibata came back with a running kick. Page hit another clothesline for a two count. Hook tagged in with a clothesline, along with a Northern Lights Suplex. Hobbs tagged in with a backbreaker on the youngster Hook. Hobbs hit another backbreaker. Hook caught Hobbs and gave him an overhead suplex. They went to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Samoa Joe was battling Eddie Kingston in the ring as Joe hit an elbow smash to knock Eddie down. Hook was on the floor getting his back checked on by a doctor. Joe went for a running splash, but Eddie avoided it and Joe hit the mat. Page got the tag against Hobbs and Page sent Hobbs out of the ring. Page hit a slingshot dive over the top, but Hobbs caught him. Page managed to send Hobbs into the ring post. Page went up top and hit a moonsault onto a standing Hobbs in the ring. Eddie made the tag and hit a clothesline on Hobbs. Joe went into the ring illegally with a clothesline. Hook sent Joe out of the ring. Shibata hit an STO trip on Hook. Page kicked Shibata. Hobbs slammed Page on the ring apron. Hobbs punched Eddie and Shibata hit a German Suplex on Eddie. Hobbs ran over Page with a shoulder tackle on the ramp. Hobbs: “Cowboy S**t, my ass.” Page fought with Hobbs and hit some elbows. Hobbs picked up Page and gave him a World’s Strongest Slam from the stage and through a table that was on the floor. Ouch. Shibata kicked Joe by accident because Eddie avoided it. Eddie suplexed Shibata out of the ring. Hobbs splashed Eddie against the turnbuckle. Hook made the tag. Hobbs countered a Hook move and Hobbs applied a Torture Rack on the shoulders and Hook quit. It went about 12 minutes.

Winners by submission: The Opps – Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a competitive match that ended with some chaos since Hobbs put Page through a table by the ramp and that took Page out of the match without pinning him. That set up poor Hook to get beat while Kingston tried to put up a fight. The Opps getting the win made sense since they shouldn’t lose their titles to a makeshift babyface team like that. I like how it put over Hobbs in a big way.

A graphic was shown saying that “Hangman” Adam Page will face Powerhouse Hobbs next week on Dynamite in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.

The Opps left victorious while Page was down on the floor selling the attack that put him through a table. That was the end of the show.

Dynamite had a runtime of 2 hours, 7 minutes this week.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. Darby Allin
2. Claudio Castagnoli
3. The Opps – Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata

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The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.25 out of 10

Last Week: 7.75

2025 Average: 7.39

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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite

I thought it was a good Dynamite episode with some entertaining matches throughout the show as usual. Some of the matches went a bit longer than I thought and were better than I expected, but most of them were predictable. In terms of promos, there wasn’t anything that really stood out.

They did a nice job of building the two Blood & Guts matches next week. Full gear matches were set up as well, but obviously the focus was on Blood & Guts next week.

The next AEW PPV is Full Gear on November 22nd. Here’s the lineup so far.

* AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Samoa Joe

* AEW World Tag Team Championships: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido (c) vs. FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

* AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Mercedes Mone

* TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Mark Briscoe – If Briscoe loses then he must join the Don Callis Family

* $1 Million Cash Prize Match: Kenny Omega and Jurassic Express (“Jungle” Jack Perry and Luchasaurus) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Josh Alexander

* Casino Gauntlet Match for AEW National Championship

There will be more matches added in the weeks ahead.

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Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @johnreport