Dynamite – May 28, 2025: The Start Of The Big Road
Dynamite
Date: May 28, 2025
Location: El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ian Riccaboni
We’re done with Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start getting ready for All In, which is about a month and a half away. That is going to be one of the biggest AEW shows in history and we now have two of the top matches already set. Hangman Page and Mercedes Mone will be challenging for the World and Women’s Titles and they’ll likely have a lot to say. Let’s get to it.
Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Tony Schiavone brings out Hangman Page for a chat. Page talks about how fleeting triumph can be, but the same is true for loss. At Double Or Nothing, they both knew that one of them would lose and thank you Will Ospreay for giving him the fight of his life. Ospreay can be the man who carries this company forward, but one of them won. This victory is fleeting as well though, because it is time to hand off the Owen title, because someone will win it next year.
Now it is time to win the World Title, which has been locked in a briefcase for seven months. That title was supposed to be a symbol to everyone and he promises to win the title, which will be held high for all to see. Cue Swerve Strickland to interrupt and he shows us a clip of why he’s here. We see a clip from April 9, with the Young Bucks saying they came back to cost Swerve the World Title. Back in the ring, Swerve says he had the title won, but then the Bucks cost him.
Page was in the ring at the same time and Swerve is calling collusion on this. Swerve wants a straight answer: did Page have anything to do with what the Bucks did? Page: “Well, dumba**,”. Page says that he even considered helping Swerve at Dynasty but he implies he wasn’t working with the Bucks. Swerve: “You’re still full of s***.” Cue Will Ospreay to say he doesn’t want to do this but he tells Swerve that he’s wrong about Page. On Sunday, Page came back to the ring and helped him up, which is what Swerve did to him last year.
People are starting to believe in them again, and the reality is that Page is the guy who can get the title back. They have one shot at this and they need to work together. Swerve slaps the mic from Ospreay and he insists he will NEVER work with Page. That seems to be mutual from Page, who storms off as well. This is very reminiscent of Cody Rhodes and company coming together to take the WWE Championship from Roman Reigns and that is a story worth doing again.
Video on Anarchy In The Arena.
Death Riders vs. Willow Nightingale/Mike Bailey/Mark Briscoe
Kidd and Briscoe slug it out to start and everything breaks down in a hurry. Bailey hits a running kick to Moxley and Briscoe adds a big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Briscoe getting over for the tag off to Bailey, who fires off the kicks to Moxley. The double tag brings in Shafir and Nightingale to slug it out with Nightingale hitting a spinebuster for two. Shafir comes back up with a shot of her own and it’s back to Bailey vs. Moxley.
They waste no time in going outside, where Moxley throws him over the barricade for a crash as we take another break. Back again with Bailey being dropped over the top rope and kicked in the face. Bailey comes back up with some kicks to the chest and the standing moonsault knees hit Kidd.
Briscoe comes in to clean house, including a dropkick through the ropes to Moxley. Bailey hits a dive of his own and Briscoe’s Froggy Bow gets two on Kidd. Claudio Castagnoli offers a distraction but here is Komander (facing Castagnoli on Collision) to take him out. Moxley uses the distraction to come in and choke Briscoe out for the win at 18:42.
Rating: B-. Pretty standard six man tag here and the two breaks in the middle cut off some of the momentum. At the same time, this felt like the way for the Death Riders to get some momentum back after Sunday’s loss. The match is nothing that hasn’t been done multiple times around here but the flips were good enough.
MJF is ready to help the Hurt Syndicate retain the Tag Team Titles against anyone. It’s just business.
Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne want revenge on Anna Jay and Harley Cameron in a No DQ match.
Ricochet talks about wanting to get some gold around here but he sees how things are going around here. It’s clear that he needs a group and we’ll be working on that.
Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay/Harley Cameron
No DQ and it’s a brawl on the floor to start with the weapons being brought in fast. A trashcan lid to the back gets two on Ford with Bayne making the save. Bayne shrugs off a chair shot and hits a double clothesline but gets knocked down again. That means it’s time to get the table and we take a break. Back with Bayne getting chaired in the head, sending her off the apron and through a table. That doesn’t last long either and it’s Bayne getting back up to send Cameron face first into the steps. Back in and Bayne clotheslines Jay down, setting up a Doomsday Device for the pin at 11:01.
Rating: C+. This was what the Double Or Nothing match should have been, as it was all about making Bayne look like a killer. She smashed through the two of them and it made for a great showcase. Ford was there as well, with Jay and Cameron being good cannon fodder. Bayne feels like she is on the way up again, and that is as obvious of a move as you can get.
Mercedes Mone arrived in a low rider.
Opps vs. Frat House
Non-title and the Frat House is from Ring Of Honor. Joe is not impressed at Jakked Jameson’s discussions of recruitment parties and the beating is on fast. Joe hammers away and it’s off to Shibata, who shrugs off some forearms and marches at Garrison, even as Garrison forearms away. It’s off to Hobbs for some clotheslines so some of the pledges come in, earning a string of spinebusters. A less than great looking spinebuster gives Hobbs the pin at 3:13.
Rating: C. Total destruction here and that’s what it needed to be. Hobbs looked good enough (save for that not very good spinebuster finish) and that’s something that needs to happen every so often. Occasionally you need a team to just smash through everyone in front of them and the Opps know just how to do that.
Renee Paquette brings out Jamie Hayter for a chat. Before she can say much though, the lights go out and Thekla, formerly of Stardom and recently of the spiders on screen, is here to lay Hayter out.
Video on Mistico, who isn’t on the card tonight. So they promote him when he isn’t there and don’t promote him when he is there?
TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Adam Cole
Cole is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Cole knocks him into the corner for some stomping and SHOUTS HIS NAME. A superkick sends Fletcher outside but RPG Vice is there to cut off a dive. Cue Paragon to take them out, leaving Fletcher to give Cole a TERRIFYING apron powerbomb, with Cole’s head slamming into the apron as we take a break.
Back with Fletcher hitting a spinning slam but Cole catches him with a superkick. Cole strikes away and hits a Death Valley Driver onto the knee for two. The Panama Sunrise is blocked so Cole goes with a brainbuster onto the knee. Cue Josh Alexander to jump Cole for the DQ at 9:35.
Rating: B-. They were starting to roll before the DQ and it seems like we have the Paragon vs. Don Callis Family coming for the next few weeks. There is a good chance that one of them will take the title from Cole, which is not a bad way to go. This was a good match, but dang Fletcher needs to work on that powerbomb, because that could have gone far worse.
Post match the beatdown stays on until Brody King makes the save with a chair.
Brody King vs. Josh Alexander
For a spot in a four way International Title match next week. They go straight to the brawling with King getting the better of things. They go outside where King gets in a few shots, only to be knocked up against the barricade. Alexander sends him into the steps and we take a break.
Back with Alexander working on the arm but King hits a hard clothesline. They brawl out to the apron, where Alexander snaps off a German suplex. King shrugs that off and hits the running crossbody against the barricade. The Cannonball misses back inside though and Alexander locks up the apron. As tends to be the case, that’s broken up rather quickly so Alexander goes with the bridging German suplex for two. King raises the knees to cut off the moonsault and the Ganso Bomb finishes Alexander (who was busted open somewhere in there) at 14:11.
Rating: B. Take two big guys, have them beat the fire out of each other for the better part of fifteen minutes until one of them can’t get up. King needed the win after a stretch of bad results, though Alexander could use a good one of his own. Either way, good, hard hitting match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.
Here’s what’s coming on Collision.
Adam Cole and Kyle Fletcher get in another fight in the back.
Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. Mone talks about what it means to win the Owen Hart tournament (which she ties into Eddie Guerrero) but here is Toni Storm to cut her off. Storm says Mone has never spoken to her and she told Anthony Khan how much she wanted this match. So what took so long? Mone says this is about her because she is the Beyonce of women’s wrestling. They met years ago and Mone is no longer a Boss but rather a CEO. Storm talks about how they were in the same place and now they are in AEW where they can be their real selves.
The difference is while Mone wants all of the titles, Storm only needs one (that’s a great line). Storm has bled, cried and died for the Women’s Title. They will meet in 45 days and a little girl will be watching. That little girl will say “holy s*** these b****** are crazy” and Storm will still be timeless. Mone says it’s time for Storm to come to an end. Mone offers a handshake and Storm kisses it, leaving them to both miss their finishers, sending Mone running to end the show. This felt like a major showdown and that’s what it needed to be, as this is probably going to be the second biggest match at All In.
Overall Rating: B. That ending segment boosted this up a bit as I want to see Storm and Mone fight. Other than that, the show was the usual collection of good action as we move towards the four way next week, plus All In a little over a month from now. Good, hard working fallout show from the pay per view, but now it’s time to get ready for All In and that’s going to be difficult.
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