This episode of AEW Dynamite was precisely what last week’s debut on Max should’ve been. Everything across the board was improved, from its structure to its intrigue to its promo and match quality. There still were misfires in my opinion, as the Hurt Syndicate segments failed to connect, MJF regressed as a character in his promo with Jeff Jarrett and some segments struggled to get a quiet crowd onside. However, terrific promos from Kenny Omega, Adam Copeland and Toni Storm as well as two strong matches in the Casino Gauntlet and Ospreay/Matthews made this show feel more consequential than last week, and the show’s solid structure with a good Ospreay bookend and the contingent of contenders vying for Moxley’s gold made for mostly compelling television. A step up from last week.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, A Casino Gauntlet match determines Jon Moxley’s latest contender for the AEW World Championship at Maximum Carnage. Speaking of Gauntlet’s, a number one contenders match for the first spot in the women’s casino is also set, with rookie Toni Storm taking on Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander. Elsewhere on the card, Kenny Omega returns to Dynamite, Mark Briscoe battles Bobby Lashley, and Will Ospreay takes on Buddy Matthews.
AMAZING Buddy Matthews vs Will Ospreay
It will come as no surprise that a match involving talents of the calibre of Will Ospreay and Buddy Matthews resulted in a terrific TV match. I’ll confess to not feeling a sense of immense innovation from this that I have felt from other recent Ospreay matches, with a large portion rather safe, but the fundamentals are impeccable, some of the kicks and oz-cutter’s incredibly exciting and a finish before the match was able to overstay its welcome. A good but not outstanding Ospreay match is better than most wrestlers’s top game, and this represented a strong start to Ospreay’s 2025 campaign.
Result: Will Ospreay by Pinfall via Hidden Blade
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
GOOD Will Ospreay Promo
Are we preparing for life after The House of Black? This certainly seemed to suggest so, with a reverence displayed between Ospreay and Matthews that suggested a face turn, though it can equally explained away as the respect shown by Matthew’s character to all that can best him, itself a very underrated heel trait (see WALTER for another great example of that in action). Not much here really but Ospreay is incredibly affable and this was a nice furthering of their dynamic.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
Recap promo of Wrestle Dynasty. If they’d have put some more effort like this into promoting the card BEFORE the show, I may have cared more about some of the fringe matches. Definitely check out the exceptional Gabe Kidd and Kenny Omega match though, with a special shout out to Takeshita and Ishii who would’ve had match of the night locked on any other day. Anyway, back to Dynamite…
AVERAGE Private Party Celebration
This was the weakest segment on an otherwise good show. I am absolutely a fan of The Hurt Syndicate going after the tag titles, but this was a very awkward segment that Bobby Lashley particularly doesn’t suit. This may have been more effective as a backstage segment where you can control camera edits etc and allow MVP and Isiah Kassidy the space to work, as MVP’s delivery here was good, but this all felt clumsily constructed, overstuffed with needless extras and Lashley’s final line came across as comical rather than intimidating. An unfortunate misfire of a segment somewhat saved by the charisma of MVP.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.5 Stars
GOOD Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Lashley
A solid clash of styles here playing off a good rivalry, but one that never seemed to hook the crowd. A good strength game from Lashley led into the typical Briscoe hope spots involving a hidden chair, a nice burst of adrenaline. It is hard to describe entirely what felt off here as we entered the closing stages, perhaps overt predictability or a lack of true investment in this story, but it never felt as though everyone here was on the same page, with spots like the kick out at one both not necessary, damaging to Briscoe’s move, and getting no reaction from a seemingly confused crowd. Standard fare that, while by no means bad, felt like it had potential to push even further with some missteps along the bumpy road.
Result: Bobby Lashley by Submission via Hurt Lock
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
AMAZING Casino Gauntlet
The interesting thing about each singles Casino Gauntlet match is that it’s brought something new to the table. The first introduced the stipulation, the second perfected it and brought in external talent from other promotions and the third had the pomp, circumstance and spectacle of the Wembley stage. This one felt much more domestic and low key in its construction, focusing solely on current AEW talent and advancing their storylines and dynamics, which I appreciated. Adam Page and Jay White began the match, furthering their feud over various months, The Undisputed Kingdom got a lot of fun spots as a reunited front and Jeff Jarrett was heartbreakingly immediately removed from the match by Wheeler Yuta. Ricochet in particular played his role as the bratty heel perfectly, mixing great technical work against the likes of Adam Cole with the ability to play a perfect punching bag against Hobbs and Archer.
The unfortunate result of doing this type of match with the stars they had however, especially in the middle of the card, was it didn’t have the excitement or velocity that the best Gauntlets, or Rumble’s if we consider its influences have. This was probably the weakest singles casino gauntlet done by AEW (the tag gauntlet was considerably weaker) purely because it lacked the momentum other such matches have had, and after a hot start relegated into a parade of reliable midcarders. No complaints as to the work or storytelling done here but the structure in it’s second act could’ve used some work and it needed a surprise shot in the arm to make the match dynamic livelier, in keeping with its reputation. Hobbs is a surprising winner, and I appreciate attempting to elevate him into the main event scene, I just find it challenging to invest fully behind Hobbs with so many other challengers taking greater precedence and a history of Hobbs being pushed in short bursts and never allowed to maintain momentum. At the very least though, Hobbs vs Moxley can be no worse than the last match the two had.
Result: Powerhouse Hobbs by Pinfall via Spinebuster
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
GOOD Jeff Jarrett/MJF Promo
It first appeared as though Jeff was going to emulate the formula of Cena’s promo from Raw on Netflix, teasing that he was not ready for the world title scene. MJF interrupted to get some good early heat, and he and Jarrett delivered well here, though the overall achievement and purpose of it left me cold. There were strong pieces, with MJF revealing Jarrett’s contract is only a year long, but him offering to mentor Jarrett, clearly setting up him immediately winning the belt in what he perceives to be an easier manner, feels at odds with MJF’s fiery blood soaked promo from last week. MJF’s dangerous eyes and searing anger felt like it regressed back to cheap heat laziness (in character not the performer) and that is not the evolution I’d hoped for in MJF’s typically ever evolving character. Curious to see if this goes anywhere, but I think significant investment is needed to make me invest in either of these characters based upon their motivations here, even if I had no issue with the performance of either man.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
AMAZING Cope Promo
Though I still chuckle over the name change, this was an amazing promo from Copeland, who is unmatched when he gets fiery in promo exchanges. Unlike the previous segment, Copeland’s overarching motivation set a clear and correct story between himself and Moxley, that of Cope’s resilience in the face of pain. This match, when it happens, should be focused around resilience and pain tolerance. It dissolved into a big brawl which was honestly disappointing as this should have been solely focused on letting Cope sell you a story, which when given the opportunity, he absolutely did.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Mariah May and Harley Cameron set up a Collision match, I didn’t really understand Mariah’s motivation for wrestling Harley to be honest, but it should be fun.
GREAT Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander vs Toni Storm
A very fun 10 minute sprint between three very capable workers. Toni is still wrestling as a rookie which is fun, but it was the right step for her to lose the number one spot, because I think she will win next week with a quick upset and so losing here was the perfect step in that. Good combination work between the three, and while time limited what they could do (as is tradition with AEW’s womens division) they did the best job they could with the time given.
Result: Kris Statlander by Pinfall via Saturday Night Fever
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
A brilliant promo from Toni Storm backstage, which genuinely broke my heart for her and made me root for her. She is a master at investing you into her successes.
MUST WATCH Kenny Omega Promo
I have missed Kenny Omega, more than I ever realised. His promo here was superb, an earnest heartfelt speech about returning that made me realise just how passionate he truly is. He was beaten down post promo by the Don Callis Family and was saved by Will Ospreay, before the two had an electrifying staredown. This was the best segment on the show by a good margin, and his announced match with Brian Cage made me salivate at the prospect of 2025 being the year of Omega.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.5 Stars
Overall…
This episode of AEW Dynamite was precisely what last week’s debut on Max should’ve been. Everything across the board was improved, from its structure to its intrigue to its promo and match quality. There still were misfires in my opinion, as the Hurt Syndicate segments failed to connect, MJF regressed as a character in his promo with Jeff Jarrett and some segments struggled to get a quiet crowd onside. However, terrific promos from Kenny Omega, Adam Copeland and Toni Storm as well as two strong matches in the Casino Gauntlet and Ospreay/Matthews made this show feel more consequential than last week, and the show’s solid structure with a good Ospreay bookend and the contingent of contenders vying for Moxley’s gold made for mostly compelling television. A step up from last week.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – January 8th 2025
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
