Heydorn's AEW Dynamite Receipt 5/7/25
The good, bad, and ugly from this week's episode of AEW Dynamite.
-See that opening segment with Will Ospreay and Adam Page this week? THAT’S how you do a babyface vs. babyface match successfully. This was tremendous stuff. First of all, Adam Page addressing his past demons and using the Owen Hart Cup Tournament as a means to get over those demons worked well. Second, not only did it address the past hardships that Page had, but it framed the tournament as something significant and meaningful. As for Ospreay, the way he addressed Page was respectful, but edgy. Confident, but accepting. That’s the right tone for this. Plus, the ascension vs. redemption theme they started is perfect.
Can they coexist?
-Now, they can derail all of that praise by moving into a “can they coexist as a tag team” storyline, which looks to be on the horizon next week. Nobody needs another one of those. If Page and Ospreay simply beat members of the Don Callis Family, great. If they go any other direction with this, the eyes will begin to roll.
-I guess it was a fine showing by FTR this week. Bullying Tony Schiavone is almost always an avenue to some heat. Thumbs up there. Daniel Garcia is terrible babyface foil for them. He’s not over enough to pull big time cheers out of the audience that are against FTR. FTR is doing fine, but they’re in a holding pattern until Cope can come back.
-Yikes, Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa vs. Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford was sloppy. A lot of the sloppiness was Jay’s fault. She hasn’t shown much in-ring growth since the beginning of her time in AEW.
MJF hurt people
-Alright, MJF still isn’t officially in the Hurt Syndicate, but he did hurt people this week. Top Flight was his victim and they didn’t seem ready for the night. They cut the worst promo of the entire show and then after a line that should have been cheered by the crowd because it had to do with being underdogs, they were attacked by MJF and HE was cheered for it. Not exactly what they were going for, but MJF got a chance to show off for Bobby Lashley.
-Long term, we still don’t know what AEW wants us to think about MJF. He’s getting cheered as he tries to join Hurt Syndicate, but it doesn’t appear that he’s going to be a babyface again. So, the only outcome here is for Hurt Syndicate to offer MJF a spot, only for MJF to turn it down and attack. Big time heat available there if AEW goes that route.
-I don’t really need to see Rhino on a national wrestling show anymore. That said, AEW used him well this week. Getting Nick Wayne a strong win was important. This succeeded in that effort.
Rush!
-Wait a second. Was that a promo from Rush? RUSH? Hell yes. It’s so “Rush” to keep collecting AEW checks on a monthly basis without doing much.
-The Young Bucks and Ricochet vs. Mike Bailey, Swerve Strickland, and Mark Briscoe was the flippy match of the week. If you like them, you certainly loved this. Tons of action. I question the use of Swerve Strickland in this. He’s feuding with The Young Bucks, but he’s kinda fading into the background with guys like Briscoe and Bailey at the same time. Strickland needs to always stand out. As for Swerve losing for his team? Clearly, it’s a move, but not a smart one. Would Stone Cold Steve Austin be losing matches like this one in 1999? He wouldn’t be and Strickland shouldn’t be either.
A fresh approach
-The Jaime Hayter and Mercedes Mone brawl was fun while it lasted. Nothing special, but it was a fresh way to present a wild a brawl. Mone attacking during the interview was a cool re-imagination. The bottom line is, AEW is taking the time to actually tell stories around the Owen Hart Cup Tournament finals rather than just presenting them as final matches and that’s it. Good on them for that.
-Kazuchika Okada vs. Kevin Knight was muddied up thanks to an attack on Knight by … you guessed it … RUSH! Goodness. The goal was to protect Knight and they did that. Knight vs. Rush wasn’t a match I had on the bingo card, but we seem to be heading in that direction.
Joe with the momentum
-AEW got the main event right this week ahead of the big Samoa Joe vs. Jon Moxley showdown for the world title inside a steel cage next week. Joe needed a win over a Death Rider and Claudio Castagnoli was the Rider to beat. The match was fine, but it was important to continue to showcase Joe as a viable challenger. This win helped in that effort. Nobody truly thinks he’s winning the world title next week, but the job is to get people to believe. They have.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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