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AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
MAY 14, 2025
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. AT NOW ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TBS & MAX
REPORT BY AMIN AJANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Attendance: WrestleTix reported just before showtime that 4,830 tickets had been distributed; arena is set up for 4,867. The arena has a capacity of 11,218 spectators when configured for concerts.
—AEW Dynamite opening video played. There was a firework display. Excalibur, Ian Ricabonni and Taz opened the show.
(1) WILL OSPREAY & “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE” vs. THE DON CALLIS FAMILY (Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander w/Don Callis)
Will Ospreay made his entrance to a big reaction. Loud chants of Ospreay from the crowd. “Hangman” Adam Page made his entrance to a big reaction. Hangman signed an autograph on some kid’s shirt ringside which was cool. Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Callis made their entrance. Alexander and Takeshita came out accompanied by Don Callis who joined commentary for the match.
Ospreay and Takeshita began with a nice exchange. Ospreay caught Alexander with a head scissors. Alexander stopped Ospreay with a flapjack. Takeshita nailed Ospreay with a knee strike. Ospreay stopped Takeshita with a head scissors. Hangman launched Takeshita with a Fallaway Slam. Alexander grabbed hold onto Hangman’s leg stopping the Buckshot Lariat. Hangman hit a flying Moonsault onto Alexander to the floor. Hangman hit a Death Valley Driver on Takeshita for two. Hangman caught Takeshita with a Sit-Out PowerBomb for two. Ospreay asked for a tag. Hangman obliged. Hangman hit a sliding lariat on Takeshita. Ospreay followed by hitting a standing Shooting Star Press for two. Alexander used the ropes sending Ospreay outside the ring. Takeshita hit a Tope Con Hilo onto Hangman and Ospreay to the floor. [c]
Alexander hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Hangman for two. Alexander baited Hangman by slapping him across the face. Alexander applied an ankle lock. Hangman broke free. Ospreay ran wild hitting a handspring kick on Alexander and Takeshita. Ospreay hit a standing Sky Twister Press on Alexander for two. Hangman and Ospreay hit stereo dives on Alexander and Takeshita in a cool spot. Ospreay hit a springboard forearm on Alexander for two. Alexander stopped Ospreay with a launch spinning slam for two. Takeshita went for a Blue Thunder Bomb but over-rotated as he just slammed Ospreay to the mat in a miss-timed spot.
Takeshita made up hitting a BrainBuster on Ospreay. Hangman made the save. Alexander and Takeshita both launched Ospreay with a German Suplex. Alexander and Ospreay hit a stereo rolling forearm for two. Ospreay stopped Alexander with a Poisonrana. Ospreay hit OsCutters on both Alexander and Takeshita for two. Hangman tagged himself into the match. Alexander moved as Hangman almost hit Ospreay with a Buckshot Lariat. Alexander moved as Ospreay almost hit Hangman with a Hidden Blade. Ospreay hit a hook kick on Alexander. Hangman and Ospreay hit a Buckshot Lariat/Hidden Blade combo on Alexander for the 1-2-3 win.
WINNERS: “Hangman” Adam Page & Will Ospreay in 18:20.
—Takeshita jumped Hangman and Ospreay after the match. Ospreay made his own comeback hitting a Hidden Blade on Alexander. Ospreay hit a Dragon Suplex on Takeshita. Hangman grabbed Ospreay. This led to Ospreay nailing Hangman with a spinning back elbow. The referee held Hangman and Ospreay away from each other.
(Amin’s Thoughts: A really fun action packed tag team match to start the show. AEW and WWE both like to do the can the partners co-exist and we saw that in this tag match. Thankfully it didn’t take away from the match or cost the babyface team the win. Good to see Hangman and Ospreay get the win as they have the big PPV match. Post-match angle stuff was fine building more tension heading into the Double or Nothing PPV.)
—Excalibur went to pitch to Alicia Atout backstage. Excalibur instead threw a Jon Moxley and Samoa Joe hype video. [c]
—Alicia Atout interviewed Top Flight backstage. Dante Martin called out MJF for attacking them last week. Darius Martin brought up calling out Hurt Syndicate and not MJF. Darius said they want the titles. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara appeared. Dustin said he and Sammy will be watching.
(2) RICOCHET vs. ZACH GOWEN
Ricochet made his entrance holding Zack Gowen’s prosthetic leg. The crowd gave Gowen a nice reaction as he made his entrance. Gowen outwrestled Ricochet early to begin the match. Gowen hit a slingshot plancha onto Ricochet to the floor. Ricochet stopped Gowen, running him into the barricade. [c]
Gowen moved as Ricochet got caught against the ropes. Ricochet responded by hitting a jumping kick on Gowen in the corner. Ricochet hit a springboard 450 Splash for two. Ricochet hit a Shooting Star Press for two. Ricochet hit Vertigo for two. Ricochet grabbed his scissors. Gowen nailed Ricochet with his prosthetic leg for two. Gowen went for a flying Moonsault but Ricochet moved. Ricochet hit a Spirit Gun for the 1-2-3 win.
WINNER: Ricochet in 7:20.
—Ricochet nailed Gowen with a second Spirit Gun after the match. Mark Briscoe ran down to make the save.
(Amin’s Thoughts: Gowen did well in this match and is talented. Ricochet has done some great heel work. That’s the positive here. The match didn’t do anything for me. I have no interest in seeing a Ricochet and Briscoe match if that’s the direction they are leading with the post-match.)
—Renee Paquette interviewed MJF backstage. He spoke about being the AEW World Champion for 406 days. He said he wants the title back. He put over the AEW roster from top to bottom. He said he doesn’t like working hard or wants to wrestle unless he can win. He said Hurt Syndicate would be unstoppable if he joins forces. Renee asked MJF if he wondered what they would do to him if Hurt Syndicate didn’t bring him into the group. The Hurt Syndicate appeared. MJF told MJF to join him inside the ring after their match.
(3) THE HURT SYNDICATE (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) (w/MVP) vs. TOP FLIGHT (Dante & Darius Martin) (w/Leila Gray) — Non-Title Match
Hurt Syndicate made their entrance to a strong reaction. Top Flight made their entrance to a light reaction. Dante and Darius used double team moves going after Benjamin and Lashley right away. Darius caught Benjamin with a flatliner. Darius hit a Super Splash on Benjamin for two. Dante went for a tope. Lashley caught Dante and launched him into the ring post. Benjamin launched Darius with an overhead slam. Lashley slammed Darius onto the ring apron. Benjamin launched Darius with a series of German Suplex for two. Darius caught Benjamin with a jumping enzuigiri. Benjamin immediately stopped Dante with a jumping knee. Lashley rocked Dante with a Spear. Lashley applied the Hurt Lock for the submission win.
WINNER: Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin in 6:20 via Submission
(Amin’s Thoughts: This is exactly how this match should’ve gone. Nobody believed Top Flight had any chance of beating Hurt Syndicate. Lashley and Benjamin looked great squashing Top Flight in a showcase win. I will keep mentioning until AEW fixes the problem. The AEW Tag Team remains a mess. Hurt Syndicate isn’t doing to help as champions.)
—Bobby Lashley maintained hold of Dante in the Hurt Lock. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara came out. Dustin told Lashley to free Dante of the Hurt Lock. He told Lashley he looks like an a**hole. He told Hurt Syndicate to pick on someone on their own side. MVP said he goes along way with Dustin and his father. He asked Dustin what he wanted? Dustin spoke about holding the ROH World Tag Team Titles. He implied challenging Hurt Syndicate to a title match.
Action Andretti and Lio Rush came out next. Andretti said we got an old man and his little buddy trying to be heroes. The crowd chanted STFU at Andretti. Rush said he had old business in the ring. He said they beat Top Flight. He then asked MVP for a title match. Dustin said Andretti and Rush will learn to respect their elders. MVP said he had enough of this. He said both teams should fight it out on Collision. He said the winners will challenge Hurt Syndicate to a tag title match at Double or Nothing. He said MJF will be joining them after the break. He said MJF will get what he deserves.
(Amin’s Thoughts: Here’s the good part. They announced a match for Collision.That match on Collision sets up a tag title match for Double or Nothing. Now we got three matches as of this point on the Double or Nothing PPV. Here’s the bad part. This didn’t do anything to get me interested in wanting to see the tag title match at Double or Nothing. This felt like a way to shoe in a team to get Hurt Syndicate on the Double or Nothing PPV.) [c]
—MVP called MJF to the ring. MJF’s music played. MJF didn’t come out. MVP told Benjamin to bring MJF to the ring. Benjamin went to the Gorilla position. Tony Khan, Sonjay Dutt and Jerry Lynn were sitting in Gorilla Position. Tony told Benjamin that MJF was hiding behind Lynn. MJF said he was looking all for Benjamin. Benjamin brought MJF to the ring. MVP told MJF this was his moment of reckoning. He said they had their discussion. MVP gave a thumbs up. Benjamin gave a thumbs up. Lashley placed his arm around MJF who had his back turned. Benjamin was behind MJF. The crowd cheered as Lashley took his sweet time but gave a thumbs up. MJF jumped into Lashley’s arms. Lashley shoved MJF off him. MVP said MJF’s contract signing to the Hurt Syndicate will take place next week. MJF led the crowd in “We Hurt People” chants.
(Amin’s Thoughts: The easy option here was for Hurt Syndicate to give a thumbs up. Benjamin, who was in the background lying in wait, could’ve laid out MJF. Cedric Alexander could’ve been revealed as the newest member with his part history with The Hurt Business in WWE. I liked how this played out. This has been the best storyline in AEW with MJF wanting to be part of Hurt Syndicate. It kinda reminds me of MJF and Adam Cole storyline of how they became friends. The Devil storyline in the end between Cole and MJF was horrendous. I will give AEW credit as they are trying to tell a story here and giving it time to play out. This was nicely done.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(4) “TIMELESS” TONI STORM (w/Luther) vs. AZM vs. SKYE BLUE vs. MINA SHIRAKAWA — AEW Women’s World Title 4-Way Eliminator Match.
“Timeless” Toni Storm came out with Luther to a big reaction. AZM got a fine reaction. They showed highlights of AZM winning the NJPW Strong Women’s Title at the Resurgence Show in a Three Way with Mercedes Mone and Mina Shirakawa. Mercedes wasn’t pinned in the match. Shirakawa got a nice reaction. Skye Blue returned to action, getting a great reaction from her hometown.
AZM and Shirakawa exchanged pinning combinations for near falls. Shirakawa hit AZM with a Tornado DDT on the floor. Blue caught Storm with a head scissors. Blue lost her footing on the ropes hitting a Tornado DDT on Storm. AZM and Blue exchanged strikes in the ring. Storm and Shirakawa hit double Theez Press on AZM and Blue. Shirakawa placed Storm in a Figure-4-Leg Lock. Storm grabbed hold of the ropes. Taz on commentary noted Storm broke the hold grabbing the ropes. Isn’t there No DQ in 4 Way Matches? We saw Megan Bayne and Harley Cameron get involved in a 3 Way Match last week on Dynamite! Blue hit a flying crossbody onto everybody to the floor. [c]
AZM and Storm hit stereo German Suplex on Blue and Shirakawa. Storm launched AZM with a German Suplex. Storm rocked AZM with rapid hip attacks. Storm gave Blue a Sky High. Shirakawa gave Storm a hook kick. Blue went for Code Blue but didn’t look great. Blue managed to maintain control into a rollup. AZM came flying off the ropes. Blue went for Code Blue on AZM who escaped. AZM gave Blue a Canadian Destroyer. Storm made the save. Storm gave AZM a Storm Zero. Shirakawa made the save. Storm went for an inside cradle on Shirakawa. This led to Shirakawa reversing into her own inside cradle to get the flash 1-2-3 win.
WINNER: Mina Shirakawa in 11:20 to earn an AEW Women’s World Title match at Double or Nothing
(Amin’s Thoughts: It’s great to see Skye Blue back in action. Blue’s timing was off during a couple moments in the match. It’s gonna take time for Blue to get her rhythm down coming back from injury. I’ve been complaining about Eliminator matches on AEW TV for weeks now because the champions always won. This was one such example where the Eliminator match actually worked. I liked the finish with Shirakawa catching Storm with her own inside cradle for the win. Shirakawa getting the title match at Double or Nothing PPV is a fine way to go.)
—Storm and Shirakawa had a stare down after the match. Storm left the ring. Aubrey Edwards helped AZM to the back. Mercedes Mone attacked AZM after the match. Mercedes placed AZM in the Statement Maker. Jamie Hayter ran down attacking Mercedes to make the save. Hayter placed Mercedes in the Statement Maker. Hayter went for Hayter-Rade. Security held Hayter back.
(Amin’s Thoughts: They have been going out of their way to make Hayter get the better of Mercedes. This is how you get fans to think Hayter actually has a chance of winning the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament at Double or Nothing.)
—Excalibur, Ian Ricabonni and Taz were on commentary. Exclalibur spoke about the passing of Sabu. They showed pictures of Sabu and played his theme music. Excalibur then handed it over to Taz to speak about his history with Sabu. Taz spoke about Sabu being a machine. He spoke about Sabu bringing out the best in him when they wrestled. He removed his sunglasses. He spoke about Sabu being aura before it was aura. He spoke about Sabu being a great person who was beloved behind the curtain. Taz held back tears saying he will miss Sabu. Taz, Excalibur and Ricaboni all pointed towards the sky as tribute for Sabu. They showed a tribute graphic for Sabu. [c]
(Amin’s Thoughts: Taz gave a nice tribute speaking from his heart about Sabu. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Sabu. He will be missed.)
—Renee was backstage with MJF and MVP. MJF said he hurts people. He said he just needed his lawyer Mark Sterling to make sure everything was fine. MVP was taken aback. MJF brought Sterling into the frame. Sterling went for a handshake. MVP used his cane to put Sterling’s hand down. MJF asked Sterling to leave. MVP asked MJF about the lawyer. MJF said this was just business. He said MVP won’t sign anything without a lawyer seeing it. MJF and MVP shook hands. They walked off.
—Tony Schiavone was inside the ring with Nigel McGuinness asking about what happened on Collision. McGuinness apologized to Schiavone for getting inside the ring after telling him not to. He called Daniel Garcia to the ring. McGuinness told Garcia he let his ego get in the way and cost Garcia the match. He apologized to Garcia. He said his place is next to Schiavone at the announcer desk and not in the ring. Garcia told McGuinness to keep the apology to himself. He said he stood up for himself after FTR disrespected him. He said FTR tried to take the career of him and Adam Copeland. He told McGuinness that FTR might do the same to him. He said he would fight FTR with or without McGuinness. He said it would be an honour to have McGuinness to fight by his side.
Stokely Hathaway came out. Hathaway said FTR wasn’t here. He said what McGuinness did was egregious. He asked McGuinness what his problem was. McGuinness said when someone puts his hand on him, he returns the favour. He gave Hathaway a mocking apology. Hathaway said that apology meant nothing to them. He said McGuinness and Garcia should get together inside a match with FTR. McGuinness mentioned he doesn’t want to get inside the ring with FTR. He mentioned FTR would beat them. Garcia spoke about watching McGuinness overcoming the odds. He wanted McGuinness to team and give the people what they wanted. Hathaway said McGuinness didn’t have to wrestle. He noted McGuinness should sit behind the announcer desk and try to relive his glory days. He questioned if he can beat FTR? He said McGuinness barely beat hepatitis. McGuinness dropped the mic. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler jumped Garcia and McGuinness from behind. FTR gave Garcia a Shatter Machine. McGuinness went to battle back. Harwood rocked McGuinness in the jaw with a right hand. Daddy Magic ran down with crowbars to make the save.
(Amin’s Thoughts: Hathaway was great and knows how to get the right heel reaction from crowds. Garcia tries really hard on the mic. The problem is Garcia’s on screen character just feels so dull. They are likely setting up a tag match for Double or Nothing. It would be cool to see McGuinness wrestle again. This overall segment didn’t click with me.)
—The crowd cheered as ring announcer Justin Roberts hyped the main event on the show. Samoa Joe made his entrance to a big reaction. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley his entrance from the crowd. Moxley was accompanied by Marina Shafir who was holding a briefcase. Excalibur said you can only by pin or submission. You can’t escape the cage.
(4) JON MOXLEY (w/Marina Shafir) vs. SAMOA JOE — AEW World Title Steel Cage Match
Joe and Moxley began exchanging strikes. Joe took control early, running Moxley into the cage. Joe hit a running shoulder tackle to Moxley into the cage. Joe rocked Moxley with rapid head butts. Moxley stopped Joe kicking at his knee. Moxley took control working over Joe’s leg. Moxley applied a Figure-4-Leg Lock. Joe reversed putting the pressure on Moxley. Molxey nailed Joe with a big boot. [c]
Moxley had control over Joe during the break. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta made their way ringside. Powerhouse Hobbs and Willow Nightingale made their way ringside as well. Willow was holding a chair. Joe battled back, running Moxley into the cage. Moxley was busted open.
Joe and Moxley exchanged strikes returning from break. Joe hit a pair of atomic drops and back senton on Moxley for two. Joe hit a PowerBomb for two. Joe placed Moxley in an STF. Moxley grabbed hold of the ropes. The referee called for the break. Joe just released the hold. How are there rope breaks inside a Steel Cage Match? This was LAME!
Moxley responded by biting Joe’s face. Moxley caught Joe with a Cutter for two. Moxley applied a Bulldog Choke but Joe broke free. Moxley hit a Paradigm Shift on Joe for a close two count. Joe responded by catching Moxley in a Coquina Clutch. Claudio climbed the cage. Willow yanked Shafir off the cage. Hobbs gave Yuta a slam through the table. Gabe Kidd from NJPW snuck the briefcase into the cage. Moxley whacked Joe in the face with the briefcase for the 1-2-3 win.
WINNER: Jon Moxley retained the AEW World Title in 13:20
—Gabe Kidd taunted Powerhouse Hobbs. Claudio used a chair which Hobbs no-sold. Kidd gave Hobbs a low-blow. Claudio and Shafir sent Willow into the barricade. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson came out. Nicholas offered Moxley a handshake. Kenny Omega’s music played. Omega drilled Yuta with a V-Trigger. Kazuchika Okada gave Omega a gut punch. Okada sent Omega back into the ring. Matthew placed the button as the cage came out. Mike Bailey chased Okada to the back. Moxley went to give Nicholas a handshake. The camera cut away as Moxley went to give Nicholas a handshake. The Bucks gave Joe an EVP Trigger. Moxley hit a Paradigm Shift to Omega.
Swerve Strickland’s music played. Swerve came out with Prince Nana. Swerve climbed the cage and hit a dive onto the pile. Matthew placed the button to raise the cage. The heels all left the ring. Swerve said he got his brain beat-in last time he was inside a Steel Cage in Chicago. He said he was the fear. He said he’s the most dangerous man in AEW. He laid out the challenge for Anarchy in the Arena for Double or Nothing. The show ended.
(Amin’s Thoughts: I still don’t get why was there a rope break allowed in a Steel Cage match? If you can look away from that nonsense. Joe and Moxley had a standard Steel Cage match for AEW TV. Moxley winning was no surprise. The visual of seeing Swerve jump off the cage onto everyone was a cool visual. I’m presuming Gabe Kidd’s involvement was there to get him in play for the Anarchy in the Arena match. Kidd was on the opposite side of The Young Bucks at the NJPW Resurgence show this past weekend. They will need to explain that. I’m wondering if the Anarchy in the Arena will be more than just a 5 on 5 match with all the people ringside. The post-match angle was fun but also an overbooked mess to set up Anarchy in the Arena.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: A better than average episode of Dynamite. They finally announced more than two matches for Double or Nothing. You can see from watching the shows, they are holding back the big stuff for All In Texas. That’s why the Double or Nothing PPV right now is feeling like just another show.
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