This episode of AEW Dynamite contained an electric opening act but somewhat failed to really maintain its momentum. Hangman Page and Will Ospreay tore the house down in their opening exchange with a phenomenal back and forth that made both the storyline, the title, and each man’s individual characters look stronger coming out of it. This was followed by an excellent, if slightly lengthy trios match that previewed Anarchy in The Arena well with some dynamic and enjoyable action. After a sharp downturn in quality with a rambling and poorly produced Hurt Syndicate segment which did very little for either story it attempted to advance, the show settled into a solid but unremarkable flow. Ricochet/Bowens and Shirakawa/Hart were much more about their post matches than the action itself but did what they needed to, while Mone and Hayter’s promo, while well delivered, felt a little too derivative of what had come an hour earlier. With only one match of note this week and lots of standard brawls, this show failed to truly wow me heading into the PPV outside of the opening segment, and probably could’ve used one more memorable match in the second hour to keep the energy high. Nevertheless, it had a hot New Mexico crowd, spotlighted Sunday’s card fairly well and the opening segment truly did wow me, making it overall a success, if a reasonably mild one.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley teams with The Young Bucks to take on Powerhouse Hobbs, Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland in a preview of Anarchy in The Arena. Elsewhere on the show, the Owen Hart Cup finalists come face to face and Mina Shirakawa takes on Julia Hart. Lets get at it
PERFECT Hangman Page/Will Ospreay Promo
In one segment, this managed to increase interest in Double or Nothing, All In, Will Ospreay, Hangman Page, Jon Moxley and the AEW Championship, a massively impressive feat. Ospreay and Hangman just have such incredible passion that bleeds through every word and they attack at each other with this fascinatingly biting respect, never bleeding into villainy while maintaining their professional differences. It gives both men equally compelling reasons to win and gives both men motivations beyond the match, making it seem like taking down Moxley is the strategic game it should be. A masterfully constructed segment.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 5 Stars
Jon Moxley makes his way into the arena for the opening matchup, though it was rather amusing to see Moxley coming grunting through the backstage area in broad sunlight with a few infrequent whoops and hollers as he walked past fans at concessions
AMAZING Swerve Strickland, Powerhouse Hobbs and Samoa Joe vs Jon Moxley and The Young Bucks
Another PWG special as is expected on each episode of Dynamite at this point. At 21 minutes it may have dragged a tad in the middle, but the final sequence of counters and finishers was electric and the dynamics particularly between Joe and The Bucks was a very fun dynamic that I don’t feel we have fully explored yet. The post match was a very standard brawl along with Joe promising to hunt them all night, which set up the angle later in the show. This match type is AEW’s most reliable weekly formula and it delivers once again.
Results: Swerve Strickland by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
BAD The Hurt Syndicate Contract Signing
This segment can be split into two parts, the first a deeply clunky contract signing which advanced bafflingly little. This went on for a while and, unlike previous weeks, it felt like a setup without a punchline. With the combination of MJF and Mark Sterling I was waiting for the reveal of what was written inside the contract, but it never came and instead just had a reasonably awkward ending. Another problem is that MJF and MVP are masters at crowdwork, but improvised and thrown together to bounce off each other it felt clunky and disjointed in its improvisation. For that dynamic to work there needs to be either better communication between parties or better material, as it turned out both weak and asynchronous. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara emerged for the promo’s second phase, a decently delivered nothing sandwich from Rhodes in which he said nothing of true consequence. A weak segment that struggled to build interest in Sunday’s match.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.25 Stars
Nice brief setup for Okada vs Speedball at DoN. That match should be fantastic if given time.
GOOD Ricochet vs Anthony Bowens
As much as I cannot abide Bowen’s entrance bib, it’s nice to see him in a prominent spot. This was a solid sprint that was well worked by both men though the actual wrestling didn’t truly matter here. Rico used nefarious tactics to get the win (Scissor on Scissor Violence) and escaped a post match attack by Mark Briscoe. Simple setup of a story here with Rico weaseling away only to get his just desserts on Saturday. Just hope Bowens can rebound and this isn’t a wall he finds himself unable to hurdle
Result: Ricochet by Pinfall via Spirit Gun
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
FTR will sign their tag team contract tomorrow night on Collision, which is a nice angle for that show.
GREAT Mercedes Mone/Jamie Hayter Face to Face
This was a well executed segment between two good mic workers, though it did find itself struggling to follow what came before. Much of this felt vaguer and less defined than the previous promo with vague platitudes and a feeling of similar, less refined ground being tread. I appreciated the final sting whereby Jamie pointed out Mone being one belt short (she recently lost her New Japan Strong Women’s Championship to AZM) which points to a vulnerability Mone hasn’t had before. This wrinkle was a nice touch, but while this did exactly what was necessary I feel it lacked the emotional depth to bring it up into that 4+ star territory.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Huge reaction to Toni Storm upon her entering the segment ahead of the main event. She is truly a star.
GOOD Mina Shirakawa vs Julia Hart
This wasn’t much if I’m honest and served as a disappointing main event with a few botches, but the charisma of all involved carried it through to a serviceable contest overall. Some nice sequences and Toni is always a delight, and the post match beatdown added a weak spot for Toni in her leg that can be exploited by Mina. Why Luther, a trained wrestler, didn’t step in and help free Toni I don’t know, but sometimes that is just what wrestling logic dictates. Would’ve liked a longer and bigger match, but the match fell secondary to the wider story and both women delivered that serviceably.
Result: Mina Shirakawa by Pinfall via Small Package
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
A huge melee between the Anarchy In The Arena participants to close the show. Just like the match will surely be, the segment was hard to keep up with because of so many flailing bodies, but it created the appropriate chaos image you want heading into the PPV, alongside a stacked lineup and plenty of outside factors that can change the match. Gabe Kidd and Eddie Kingstion mayhaps?
Overall…
This episode of AEW Dynamite contained an electric opening act but somewhat failed to really maintain its momentum. Hangman Page and Will Ospreay tore the house down in their opening exchange with a phenomenal back and forth that made both the storyline, the title, and each man’s individual characters look stronger coming out of it. This was followed by an excellent, if slightly lengthy trios match that previewed Anarchy in The Arena well with some dynamic and enjoyable action. After a sharp downturn in quality with a rambling and poorly produced Hurt Syndicate segment which did very little for either story it attempted to advance, the show settled into a solid but unremarkable flow. Ricochet/Bowens and Shirakawa/Hart were much more about their post matches than the action itself but did what they needed to, while Mone and Hayter’s promo, while well delivered, felt a little too derivative of what had come an hour earlier. With only one match of note this week and lots of standard brawls, this show failed to truly wow me heading into the PPV outside of the opening segment, and probably could’ve used one more memorable match in the second hour to keep the energy high. Nevertheless, it had a hot New Mexico crowd, spotlighted Sunday’s card fairly well and the opening segment truly did wow me, making it overall a success, if a reasonably mild one.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – May 21st 2025
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
