The first Dynamite of 2025 had moments of real excitement, but was weighed down by the one thing I didn’t expect from such a momentous episode…filler. There was so much filler on this show, and while I appreciate needing to put in recaps aplenty for new viewers on Max, having a Hobbs squash and a completely pointless segment with Mercedes Mone is not what I suspect will draw the eye of any viewer, casual or hardcore. Ricochet’s full descent into heeldom was very well done and the main event was a great showcase for all involved, despite Adam Copeland’s silly abbreviation ‘Cope’ being shoved down the viewers throat throughout, but I expected a higher gear from AEW to supercharge the new year and new TV deal. Instead, we had a just about solid episode with some fun matches and angles, but which, with limited exception, just felt rather bogstandard with an often flat crowd and lack of substantial storyline advancement. Not a terrible first show of the year, but not the lightning rod it ought to have been.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, FTR team with the recently returned Adam Copeland to take down The Death Riders. Jamie Hayter battles a returning Julia Hart, while Roderick Strong, Swerve Strickland and Jay White battle for a spot in next weeks Casino gauntlet. Elsewhere on the card, Jeff Jarrett addresses his future, and The Acclaimed take on The Hurt Syndicate. Let’s get at it!
Before I begin, I wanted to give a huge thank you to the amazing work done by fellow reviewer Archie Carter, who has covered Dynamite in my absence over the last month. He continues to review NXT on Tuesday Nights so go and support him over on those reviews! Super excited to be back!
Opening promos from Moxley and Rated FTR. Moxley’s had terrific fire, promising to burn the company to ash before he’d let a lying greedy hand on the world title. Copeland responded with a more simple and basic hype promo. Moxley definitely won the exchange here
GREAT Hangman Page vs Orange Cassidy
An entertaining opening match for 2025 between 2 AEW originals. Hangman and OC have good chemistry and played the power/speed dynamic well. Hangman no sold several Orange Punches and Lariat’s to hit the Buckshot for the win, attacking both Cassidy and Christopher Daniels after the match. Frustrated by the finish as the Orange Punch was greatly undermined, but the match around it was a strong start.
Result: Hangman Page by Pinfall via Buckshot Lariat
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Jay White promises to get through the Casino Gauntlet next week to get to Moxley. Great delivery from White.
SQUASH The Acclaimed vs The Hurt Syndicate
A quick match that told a good story. Max Caster was decimated by The Hurt Syndicate, Bowens began to fight back well before Caster tagged himself in and got squashed while Bowens looked on seething. It appears Bowens will be the breakout star of this group when it splinters, though I’d quite like them to get to the point at this stage. Still, the Hurt Syndicate looked great here in squashing a big team.
Result: The Hurt Syndicate by Pinfall via Spear
Swerve tells Alex Marvez that his head is now back in the game ahead of his Casino qualifier. He says since he was always champion, this is his first Casino match, which adds a nice dynamic to the later match.
AVERAGE Julia Hart vs Jamie Hayter
Julia’s first match back from injury, and to be truth it showed. The match here was scrappy, focused around the neck and shoulder. It wasn’t a terrible match by any stretch, and some of the reversals were clever, but there was nothing spectacular enough to stand out. A chance for Hart to loosen ring rust, but not quite the built for weeks blowoff we were led to believe it may be.
Result: Julia Hart by Pinfall via Mist to Face
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.5 Stars
Kenny Omega is back next week. Great news, but why are AEW refusing to acknowledge Omega is wrestling Gabe Kidd THIS SUNDAY. It’s so bizarre
BELOW AVERAGE Mercedes Mone Celebration
In what is already a contender for the most pointless segment of 2025 (yes it is only day 1) Mercedes Mone comes out to drink champagne, play a video package and…fade to black. A few words about Mina Shirakawa ahead of their Wrestle Dynasty match, but otherwise nothing. What was the point of the red carpet and the set if that was all they were planning. At that point just run the video package. Mercedes had okay delivery which saves it a few stars, but I have no clue why this was done
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2 Stars
Nice video package on the hurricane relief efforts AEW are doing around this show.
Bizarrely stilted promo from Roderick Strong, who sounds like he’s talking not from another room, but from another decade.
GREAT Jay White vs Roderick Strong vs Swerve Strickland
Whereas the previous match I think struggled a little with chemistry issues, this had much better chemistry and worked well in the 3 way format. White and Strong isolated Swerve early before he came back to a great ovation. Having 3 faces made the dynamic a little flat though, as it was harder to invest when you were designed to cheer all 3. Ricochet took out Swerve with scissors in a great moment, allowing White to get the win. A well wrestled match with a great Swerve comeback, the dynamics involved struggle to go past the fundamental strength into emotional investment.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Post match, Ricochet sinks fully into his heel turn, brutalising Swerve. This was excellently done, even if Ricochet’s evil cackle was a little bit much.
Jarrett teases hanging up the boots, which to me telegraphs that he isn’t later tonight.
Mariah May says much of nothing, telling the women’s division to step up. She has this promo every other week I swear.
GREAT Jeff Jarrett Promo
A really nice promo for Jarrett, who got one of the biggest ovations of the night. He teased retirement before announcing he’s signed one more contract and wants world title gold. He won’t get it, but it’s nice to hear him want to push for it. I’ve always enjoyed Jeff a lot and am excited to see what he can do in 2025.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Hook gets Christian Cage at Maximum Carnage. Happy for this feud to culminate finally.
SQUASH Powerhouse Hobbs vs Jon Cruz and Rob Killjoy
Quick, dominant, impressive victory from Hobbs.
Result: Hobbs by Pinfall via Spinebuster
Rated FTR set up a trios match with The Learning Tree for Collision. Not exactly enthused for this but Jericho and Copeland had to reengage at some point.
MJF cuts a fantastic promo saying he wants world title gold back in 2025, and that it’s time for the devil to get his due. The best promo of the night comfortably.
AMAZING Rated-FTR vs The Death Riders
I may have spent the first 5 minutes of this utterly bemused at the baffling choice to appreciate Copelands name to ‘Cope’, but once I was past that there was a very good 18 minutes of wrestling to be had. Copeland looked right back at home and I enjoyed his sequences with each Death Rider in turn, particularly Moxley. The camerawork was a little poor here, missing some big spots, but this felt like the big time match the rest of this show was missing, a proper main event for Max.
Result: Adam Copeland by Pinfall via Spear
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Overall…
The first Dynamite of 2025 had moments of real excitement, but was weighed down by the one thing I didn’t expect from such a momentous episode…filler. There was so much filler on this show, and while I appreciate needing to put in recaps aplenty for new viewers on Max, having a Hobbs squash and a completely pointless segment with Mercedes Mone is not what I suspect will draw the eye of any viewer, casual or hardcore. Ricochet’s full descent into heeldom was very well done and the main event was a great showcase for all involved, despite Adam Copeland’s silly abbreviation ‘Cope’ being shoved down the viewers throat throughout, but I expected a higher gear from AEW to supercharge the new year and new TV deal. Instead, we had a just about solid episode with some fun matches and a fun angle or two, but which, with limited exception, just felt rather bogstandard with an often flat crowd and lack of substantial storyline advancement. Not a terrible first show of the year, but not the lightning rod it ought to have been.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – January 1st 2025
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
