This episode of AEW Dynamite continued its streak of must-watch shows with yet another phenomenal outing, this week one which showcased the embarrassment of riches AEW possesses in its roster. Every in-ring segment and match delivered, with the Young Bucks, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight producing a contender for the best 2 on 2 tag match of the year so far. MJF and The Hurt Syndicate delivered a perfect set-up and punchline while Stokely Hathaway is an inspired partner to FTR’s new heel act. Josh Alexander got a much needed win, as did Jamie Hayter, and the set-up of a clutch sized achilles heel for Moxley is a perfect advantage for Joe heading into an otherwise filler title defence. Every segment over delivered, and while not all of the matches had the deepest storytelling, it nonetheless provided an extremely entertaining episode of TV that advanced everything it intended to very well.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Kris Statlander takes on Jamie Hayter in the Semi Final of the Owen Hart Cup. The Young Bucks also return to AEW action against Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight. Elsewhere on the card, Will Ospreay and Brody King take on Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander and Master P appears! Let’s get to it!
GREAT The Opps Promo
A fun opening segment here with Master P, who my uncultured self had never heard of. The promo itself was ultimately a bit slight, but the segment in full was great fun with Joe again choking out Moxley in a smart piece of business, establishing Moxley’s kryptonite ahead of his likely filler title defence. The Bucks appeared to even the odds but Schafir wanted nothing to do with it, before Swerve and Omega ran down to see off the Bucks and Okada. The level of starpower in this segment alone was remarkable. Not much to the promo, but a lot to the segment.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Christian Cage has a great promo taking credit for Nick Wayne’s ROH TV title. This story of tension, particularly around this idea of ‘love’ is really fun and interesting.
AMAZING Mark Briscoe vs Ricochet
It is no surprise that two men of this calibre put on a match of this calibre. Both have excellent chemistry and had a great back and forth, lacking in any truly exceptional moments but nonetheless near perfectly wrestled top to bottom. The ending was a bit disappointing with a roll-up reversal a little played out, but it furthers this mid-card program solidly and the appearance of Kevin Knight post match once more furthers the contingent of wrestlers around this place on the card that can be used in various combinations to always deliver great tv wrestling. A very strong start to the in-ring action.
Results: Mark Briscoe by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
AMAZING FTR/Stokely Hathaway Promo
I certainly didn’t expect to see Stokely Hathaway pop up alongside FTR here, but it quickly proved an inspired choice. Stokely is such a brilliant orator and fantastically slimy whilst also remaining entirely truthful. The hypocrisy of so many actions going unpunished while FTR are not afforded the same courtesy is frankly damning on AEW’s management in storyline, but nonetheless remains entirely truthful. It was only a matter of time before Chekov’s Express came into play as the Rock and Roll Express were invited to the ring, humiliated and then beaten. Great to see them both as their agility in the ring is still strong, and if they wanted to do FTR vs Rock and Roll Express I would be more than up for that as despite their ages there is still gas in Morton and Gibson’s tank yet.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
MUST WATCH Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey vs The Young Bucks
A tag team match of the year contender with little build wasn’t precisely what I expected tonight, but with the calibre of worker on display it is no surprise. Being The Bucks first match back in AEW, they pulled out all the stops and delivered a scintillatingly innovative matchup with great crowd interest and pitch perfect action. A lack of build before the match is the only slight I can give this to hold it back from a 5 star match, as otherwise there is frankly nothing to complain about and I would watch 100 more matches between Mike Bailey and The Elite if I could.
Result: The Young Bucks by Pinfall via EVP Trigger
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.75 Stars
Nice backstage promo from Toni Storm ahead of the TCM awards, as well as one that sets up a match with Queen Aminata. Aminata was unusually stiff on the microphone here but Toni’s charisma carried through.
AMAZING The Hurt Syndicate Promo
This is, for my money, a perfect set up and punchline. MJF emerges to once again ask for a position in the Syndicate. He gets a thumbs up from MVP and finally from Shelton, before an expert bait and switch from Lashley gives him a car, a thumbs down and an angry MJF. MJF is right to say that he can offer things to the Syndicate, and seeing this evolve week on week is both funny and really interesting. Not especially deep, but very well executed.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
Hangman Page teases a returning of his feud with MJF while putting over his upcoming match with Kyle Fletcher. The level of depth of storyline talent is genuinely staggering.
AMAZING Brody King and Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander
Another top quality matchup with top quality opposition. Thoroughly enjoyed the opposing stories of Ospreay and King being a little too mismatched while Takeshita and Alexander had better chemistry overall, allowing them to pick up the win. Great action as expected from all involved and while Ospreay is the bigger face moving into the Owen Hart cup final at Double or Nothing, Alexander needed this win after his loss to Hangman last week. Another great match.
Result: Josh Alexander by Pinfall via C4 Spike
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
AMAZING Jamie Hayter vs Kris Statlander
It is only appropriate that Jamie Hayter has possibly her best match since returning from injury on her birthday of all days. Hayter and Stat have rock solid chemistry and delivered a great strong style encounter that is exactly what I wished it to be. Good power, consistently exciting, nicely obnoxious work from Hayter in the PIP break, and the correct finish. Mone vs Hayter is a legitimately unpredictable match heading into Double or Nothing as either could conceivably win, which makes for a super exciting final and a great way to end a great show/
Result: Jamie Hayter by Pinfall via Hayterade
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Overall…
This episode of AEW Dynamite continued its streak of must-watch shows with yet another phenomenal outing, this week one which showcased the embarrassment of riches AEW possesses in its roster. Every in-ring segment and match delivered, with the Young Bucks, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight producing a contender for the best 2 on 2 tag match of the year so far. MJF and The Hurt Syndicate delivered a perfect set-up and punchline while Stokely Hathaway is an inspired partner to FTR’s new heel act. Josh Alexander got a much needed win, as did Jamie Hayter, and the set-up of a clutch sized achilles heel for Moxley is a perfect advantage for Joe heading into an otherwise filler title defence. Every segment over delivered, and while not all of the matches had the deepest storytelling, it nonetheless provided an extremely entertaining episode of TV that advanced everything it intended to very well.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 1/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – April 23rd 2025
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
