[4.0] "AEW was in a bad position in January 2025. The stories were messy and the wrong people were getting TV time. The show has its positives with the Kenny match being pretty good but the rest is decent to just being outright horrible"

[5.0] "I was not a fan of this dynamite, the only thing i enjoyed was the opener and everything else was either fine or straight up bad."

[6.0] "Overall a solid show. None of the matches were great but none a very bad. MOTN would be the Casino Gauntlet barely edging out Omega v Cage and the main event. Jeff Jarrett and MJF had one of MJF worst segments where he comes off very forced."

[7.0] "Probably would have been rated lower had it not been for Omega/Cage and the post-match that followed. I would love the prospect of Omega and Ospreay putting their differences aside and joining forces to tackle the threat of Don Callis and Co. Ricochet/Swerve was good as well as the post main-event drama. Not a fan of the JJ/MJF stuff but it didnt hit the mark at all, far from it as a matter of fact. MJF doesnt feel the same and its a sad sad state of affairs. The matches were good but not upto the set standard therefore a 7 only feels fair."

[5.0] "Maybe it was just on my end but what the hell was the problem with the crowd audio on this show. I think they weren't feeling some of this stuff but even on the big pops I could barely hear it. I have never seen a company torpedo a new wrestler the way they have with ricochet. Swerve is getting affected as this badass thug is stopped by the Cincinnati snow. There was literally a cut to a lady waving rico off while telling him t just go home. They did the intelligent thing of not letting rico talk but he got beat up by the damn manager! I wasn't a fan of the Owen Hart stuff. You have his wife so heavily involved in this company with the tournament. It isn't heat for me it just makes me want to fast forward. God save us if he wins the title. I couldn't be less interested in Rated FTR vs Death Riders. Omega vs Cage - 7 Ricochet/Swerve Segment - 5 Hurt Syndicate vs Private Party/Briscoe - 6 Jarrett/MJF Segment - 4 Cage vs Hook - 8 Women's Gauntlet Match - 7 Moxley vs Hobbs - 4 The Show - 5"

[7.0] "Match-wise, opener and main event were pretty good, Casino Gauntlet was harmless fun as always, and trios match was solid. Hook/Christian wasn't great and had a bad finish, but Joe is back! Again, I think it all hinges on your feelings on the Jarrett/MJF promo, which I'm higher on than most. The arena helped too, had a cool look and atmosphere was pretty decent."

[6.0] "Great start to the show but the energy slowly fizzled out as the episode progressed. Omega vs. Cage was the best match of the night. Good return match for Kenny. Post-match angle was great too. Ricochet/Swerve angle was excellent. Best thing on the entire show by a mile. Ricochet getting booed out of the building and Swerve returning... great, great stuff. Hurt Syndicate vs. PP and Briscoe was solid. Hurt Syndicate will most likey dethrone PP. MJF and JJ promo was whatever. Way too long and both men's schtick was lame as hell. Jeff starting a rent on MJF's mom and MJF mentioning Owen... lame, lame, lame. Just very low hanging fruit. Christian vs. Hook was bad. Neither Christian or Roderick Strong were able to have a good match with Hook. The guy just doesn't have it. At least Samoa Joe is back although I'm not really on board with this faction. I wasn't when it debuted and I'm not now. Women's casino gauntlet match was good. Better than the men's one last week. Toni Storm winning was predictable and it's such a shame she'll end up beating Mariah in Australia. Mariah's title reign has been a failure and her losing to the woman she beat just shows how much noting has really progressed since All In. Just lackluster feuds and backstage promos. Moxley vs. Hobbs was meh. These two just don't have good chemistry. The first portion of the match was messy as hell and there was a lot comunication going on, perhaps due to timing issues. At least Hobbs looked good in defeat. The Death Riders destroying Hobbs' leg only for Rated-FTR to come out seconds later was dumb. First quarter of the show was great. Then the promo between MJF and JJ sucked the energy out of me. Rest of the show was pretty forgettable, despite a good casino gauntlet match. This new era doesn't seem to want to pick up in quality."

[4.0] "The product needs a new perspective desperately because the negatives have been standing out more than positives. Kenny's return was fine, not great. Women's casino delivered despite given very little to work with especially in regards of time. Main event was okay even though the angle surrounding it is beyond dead. I said I'd give the MJF and Jarrett thing a chance but my god that was one of the worst segments I've ever seen. Material was complete shit and they just kept going on and on and on. Stop having these old geezers gobble up so much of your tv time only for them to yap a bunch of terrible garbage. Such a pathetic display of the strenghts of your roster when these dinasours are being featured the most prominent. I'd say wake up Tony but I think at this point there is not much hope."

[7.0] "1) I'm so happy to see Brian Cage as Kenny Omega's first opponent in AEW after the death-threatening illness. It shows the respect and trust the company and Kenny has in him, and deservingly so. If I were to create my own little wrestling promotion, I would built the entire company around this dude - he has everything to be a top guy. He would be my best hire for the money. In this match he proved, once again, why he belongs in the ring with the likes of The Best Bout Machine. The best match of the night for me, btw. 2) Seeing MVP wrestle wasn't on my BINGO card this year, but here we are. He reminded me that he was the first person I ever saw using nasal strips - I knew I had seen them somewhere before I saw them 5 years ago on some YouTube persona, but in a million years, I would have not guessed that MVP was the one I was trying to recall, because of how long time ago I saw him wrestle. Now I just want the Hurt Syndicate to strip the Private Party of their championchip belts, and the sooner, the better. 3) This week, the MJF and JJ promo was better than last week's. Even I thought that they crossed the line in a couple of moments, which made the confrontation even better. 4) Nah, probably the Women's Casino Gauntlet match was the match of the night. On second thought, no, it wasn't, but it was a good one. The problem was the predictability of the whole thing. 5) The main event was exactly what I expected it to be, which is not a bad thing, I guess. Overall, a decent episode of Dynamite with superb opening and strong main event, but the tag-team match and Hook vs Cage lowered the overall quality of wresling on the show."

[7.0] "This was a solid-themed Dynamite episode that revolved around two major plotlines - Kenny Omega's return match and the main event. Both worked positively in different ways, but the latter felt well-structured and deserving. MJF & JJ had another stern exchange which is MJF's schtick, but it was great to see JJ throw some insults at someone. Samoa Joe's return was amazing that saved the angle between Hook & Christian from underwater. The ladies had a great night showing their consistency week after week, meanwhile, the sub-plots (Swerve/Ricochet, Private Party/Hurt Syndicate) had good progress. 7.5 out of 10 points!"

[7.0] "Good Dynamite. Promo and Interview segments were all good, from MJF & Jeff Jarrett cutting scathing personal promo's on eachother, Swerve attempting to gain revenge on RIcochet was a good short segment andThe Learning Tree segments always make me laugh. When it comes to the matches it is great to see Omega back, he adds so much star quality to the show and his match vs Brian Cage was a pretty good showcase for Omega, the result was never in doubt. The post match is probably leading towards a Takeshita & Fletcher vs Ospreay & Omega match, which will be exceptional. The Hurt Syndicate vs Private Party & Mark Briscoe was an extended squash to get MVP, Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley over, Lashley & Benjamin should win the tag team titles soon. HOOK vs Christian Cage was a decent match, which resulted in another star returning, Samoa Joe which will be a big boost to not only HOOK and Shibata's characters but to AEW as a whole. The Women's Gauntlet was alot of fun like every Gauntlet Match they've done so far. Obvious winner, to further the awesome Toni Storm vs Mariah May feud. I'm 100% sure people are gonna bitch about Mox vs Powerhouse Hobbs because it's cool to hate Mox and The Deathriders at the moment, but thought it was a good physical match, where Hobbs looked like a real threat, making Mox bleed from his ear, which looked gruesome. Mox wins, and Hobbs looks strong. The Deathriders attack post match and got ran off by Rated FTR. Good show, and bad faith morons are gonna tell you it was trash and how trash AEW is right now, but it's still the best weekly wrestling TV Show around right now."

[6.0] "Thought this was a solid episode. Omega vs cage was decent without being anything exceptional, the trios match was fine but predictable, good to see MVP back in the ring. The Hook vs Cage match was as poor as expected, but thankfully Joe is back to hopefully add some quality to this feud. I really enjoyed the women's gauntlet, and I wish it was given a little more time. That being said, the participants maximised their time and have shown they deserve to have longer next time. Moxley vs Hobbs was decent without being anything more than that, I wouldn't be sad to see more of Hobbs at this level. The Promo between Jarrett and MJF was weird. The content felt a little forced but my only real complaint was the length of time they took. If they had gone five minutes shorter and that had been given to the gauntlet I would have had zero complaints. 6/10"

[8.0] "Dynamite opened with Excalibur claiming this was essentially a PPV, and while I wouldn't go that far, this was a brilliant episode of Dynamite. The venue was unique and visually looked great, Taz returning to commentary was a welcome surprise too. There were, in my opinion, 3 great matches and 2 solid TV matches that served a purpose. Omega Vs Cage was a great way to start the show, really enjoyed this match - post match was good too, the idea of Omega & Ospreay Vs the DC Family is a positive move. The women's casino gauntlet showcased a fantastic (underutilized) division which AEW should focus on more - fun match, as the gauntlet matches always are, if not a bit short. (don't need anther gauntlet match for a while now - make them feel special) The main event was my favourite match of the night, in defeat Hobbs looked incredible and it felt like they were back to telling the original Mox story - young guys stepping up. Hurt Syndicate Vs PP & Briscoe was a fine TV match which seems to point to the HS winning the tag titles. Christian Vs Hook another good TV match leading to the return of Samoa Joe who instantly felt like a huge star. Only negative on this episode was the MJF / JJ promo which just kept going on and on. (8/10)"

[4.0] "Kenny and Cage was a good match, but the rest of the show fell off a cliff from there. Private Party miserable tag team title reign is obviously coming to an end. The Death Riders story? Where is it going? It's going nowhere. Crowd was absolutely dead and lifeless and it's sad for me for someone who does like AEW, Megan Bayne looked great but came out to crickets.. Who asked for JJ in 2025 to feud with MJF. MJF should be up there with defending AEW? Julia Hart just returned and beat Jamie. And for Toni Storm to pin Julia Hart the next week? NO SENSE!"

[6.0] "Cage vs Omega fell short of being good but it was fine enough to make me hopeful about the rest of the episode. Something about the venue and the crowd brought with it a feeling that AEW was its own little world again. It's the first time in a long time I felt like we were seeing a glimpse of that fabled "feeling" which is always being restored. Things didn't escalate after that match, though, apart from maybe the Ricochet and Swerve segment. Both guys looked the part in that. Swerve with the bigger chain and Ricochet with a golden belt buckle to match the scissors in his breast pocket. The six man tag was the beginning of things going mediocre, with Private Party again looking like the biggest gimps in the division they rule over. Hook is Hook at this point and I don't think there's going to be any effort made to make him get better. I was hoping for a few surprise returns in the women's Gauntlet but it was okay. The main event was also okay, as was the MJF/Jarrett promo battle outside of being too long. The video packages once again were pretty good, apart from the FTR/Cope video which said "We're best friends" so many times that I'm expecting a turn somewhere. An okay episode, but I've found myself thinking the same thing about the shows so far this year: You'd hope for more than this."

[8.0] "Fun night of wrestling. Kenny Omega returns to an AEW ring to take on the machine Brian Cage. Both wrestlers delivered. Trios match putting over the Hurt Syndicate against Private Party and Mark Briscoe. Solid match between everyone's favorite father Christian Cage and Hook. I was good with the DQ finish and extra curriculars after the match between the Patriarchy and the returning Samoa Joe. Thoroughly enjoyed the Women's Gauntlet Match, especially debuting Megan Bayne! This set up Toni vs. Mariah at Grand Slam. Gritty main event as Moxley defeats Powerhouse Hobbs."

[7.0] "[6.5/10] AEW continues to put out decent for the most part, albeit inconsistent quality television in 2025. It's somewhat frustrating to witness them squander some of the momentum they were beginning to regain towards the end of the last year during the Continental Classic tournament that came to a conclusion at the excellent World's End PPV. They really needed to start the year with a bang, but they have failed to do that. For every good moment on the show last night, there is unfortunately an asterisk to put beside it to explain something that was less good. Kenny Omega opened the show with his return match against Brian Cage. It was a good moment and a good match, but surely it would have been better to save his first match back to a PPV? Or Grand Slam, which I can't work out if it's a PPV or a special? AEW has a problem with its presentation. They are struggling to make feuds and matches feel important and to get their talent over. A prime example is what they are building with the Don Callis family feud against Omega and Ospreay, which feels a bit derivative and not as big as it should feel. Moving on though, Ricochet and Swerve is surprisingly interesting and if Ricochet's recent heel turn was a pivot and not pre-planned, then I have to really praise AEW for that. They have handled it tremendously well. I still think Ricochet's attack on Swerve from a couple of weeks ago was brilliant. It was good to see MVP wrestling again and The Hurt Syndicate continue to be great in my opinion, but the match wasn't anything special. The Hook and Christian feud continues to be ice cold, without any heat whatsoever, and I don't think anyone who really cares much about it. The women's Casino Gauntlet was fun and I enjoyed how they weaved multiple stories through the match, such as the one between Statlander and Willow. Toni winning was very predictable. Not always a bad thing, but it is what it is. Finally we had the Hobbs and Moxley match. No one thought Hobbs would win and of course he didn't. Wouldn't it have been cool to have maybe built Hobbs up a bit more and built up more of a feud with Mox? Maybe they could have planted some seeds that maybe, just maybe, he could do the unthinkable and win the title? They really need to wrap up this Deathriders story FAST. It's awful and nonsensical. Whatever there was about this arc that was interesting at the beginning has long dissipated. It's just boring heels doing boring heel things at this stage. Finally, I should mention the Jarrett and MJF segment. I actually liked the promo battle for the most part and I am interested to see where the feud goes, but there were problems. Jarrett did start to ramble a bit in the middle and consequently it did feel it went on a little long. That said, as someone who always disliked Jarrett in every promotion I watched him in and could never understand why he was treated as a main event and world champion level talent in a couple of certain promotions, I must say he has really warmed on me in AEW. When he first signed and I saw he was wrestling too, I rolled my eyes and had no interest. Fast forward though and I have to say I have come around to him. It's like it's a different Jeff Jarrett. He's right too, that during the Owen Hart cup last year that the audience really got into him. Some of the jabs ("your mom is a prostitute", "your wife cheated on you") is cheap, a bit tacky and cliched, but overall I did enjoy the segment for the most part. Overall, the episode is between a 6 and a 7 for me. For a supposed tv special that Excalibur claims is like a PPV, that's very disappointing to be honest, but it wasn't a bad episode. Edit: Damn, forgot to mention Joe's return! Yeah, that was great."

[8.0] "Great show. I watch the show on max now and it's really nice. Kenny omega vs Brian cage was a decent match. Hook vs Christian cage was good, I'm not sure why it's rated so low. The first ever women's casino gauntlet match was really good! I wish it was longer. Toni storm vs mariah may part 2 is going to be great. MJF vs jeff jarrett was a old school mjf promo battle. Finally, powerhouse Hobbs vs Jon moxley was a good match. Moxley won, but made Hobbs really good. Cope and ftr came out afterwards, but was a little late on the save."

[1.0] "nothing really great to hightlight in this episode except MJF and Jeff Jarrett promo, and, of course, Kenny Omega return after a long abscence in this company."

"This was a mixed bag for me, with some fantastic moments but also some glaring lows. The show opened with a returning Kenny Omega taking on Brian Cage in a great match. Cage looked like an absolute beast, with Omega selling for him most of the match until Kenny's momentum turned the tide. Omega's victory was well-earned, and the post-match angle with Will Ospreay coming to Omega's aid was a cool touch. The trios tag match saw The Hurt Syndicate defeat Mark Briscoe & Private Party in a fun bout. the Hook vs. Christian Cage match felt flat due to the DQ finish, . On the bright side, Samoa Joe's return afterward was a nice surprise. The women's casino gauntlet match was a highlight, delivering fun action and a predictable but satisfying Toni Storm win. However, the MJF and Jeff Jarrett promo was dreadful. While MJF's heel lines fit his character, Jeff's rebuttals felt weak and unconvincing for a face, which dragged the segment down. Ricochet's character development right now is intriguing, and I'm excited to see how it evolves, especially with his upcoming match against Swerve. The main event had Jon Moxley retaining the AEW World Title against Hobbs in a fantastic showing. Hobbs looked like a monster in defeat, enduring every attack and interference before finally being knocked out by Mox's submission. The post-match angle saw Death Riders attacking Hobbs's knee before FTR eventually came out to make the save. The timing of their interference left me scratching my head--why not come out earlier to stop the interference or the knee attack? Still, it was a strong way to end the show despite the questionable logic. Overall, a show with highs that were very high but with some narrative choices that didn't quite land."

[5.0] "Compared to last week's Dynamite, This was like diving off a cliff. This show was super disappointing from beginning to end. I mean some mind boggling booking decisions. Some people on the internet say AEW is in WCW 2000 mode and that's not true because everything was awful in WCW in 2000. This feels more like WCW 2001. Where they were struggling to find an identity and their storylines were boring. Omega and Cage had the best match of the night which was obvious but really? His return match is on a random Dynamite? The stories going on in AEW again are very uninteresting even the Main Event angle isn't good. They really need to move and do something else or pivot. Big matches advertised were disappointing especially the overbooked main event. Some notable points were Omega vs. Cage which was decent but sloppy. The Ricochet segment was supposed to be super boos but it didn't get that result. Jeff Jarrett and MJF's story is just boring to me and predictable. Cage vs. Hook ended in a DQ finish nobody cared about. Samoa Joe is back! So that's a plus! The Women's Gauntlet match was super disappointing and the return of Megan Bayne to AEW with zero pop. As a fan of STARDOM, I understand that a majority of the AEW casuals and fans don't watch STARDOM. They advertised this as a PPV like show but it felt so underwhelming in every area. Now we go onto Collision, which has been the talk of the town because of the 10 man tag match happening. [**1/2]"

[4.0] "Funny that Tony Khan touted this as a PPV level card when it was nowhere near that. The smaller venue didn't seem to help the crowd noise as they were flat out DEAD for various parts of the show and it sounded horrible on TV. Tinny audio also didn't help during the entrances. A lot of underwhelming and mid work littered throughout the show after Kenny's match. After a very strong episode last week, this was a huge letdown especially given the outrageous hype. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD END THE DEATH RIDERS CRAP."

[8.0] "I thought this episode of AEW Dynamite was very solid. Have no complaints the pacing of the show was very good."

[8.0] "Very good show. Really enjoyed a venue with a different look. Kenny and cage opening was a great way to start the show and a sensible way to reintroduce him in a manner that was exciting but didn't need a story build up. Main event was good, best of moxs current championship and built Hobbes well as a real threat to the top tier. Even though it was mox home town they still couldn't help but get behind Hobbes. Ricochet is looking amazing as a heel and the gauntlet was really enjoyable. Not convinced the end of the trios match was the right decision but look forward to a priv party hurt syndicate match"

"This episode had two really cool surprises in the middle of (it felt to me) a lot of uninspired wrestling and repetitive stories, with three of the five matches having post-match beat down angles. The video packages were really well produced and exciting (MVP, Mercedes, Rated FTR, Okada/Ishii, UK/Jay White), Brian Keith had the line of the night and the visual presentation of the show looked fresh, but the feeling was not there for me. No match stood out as great, it was all just fine but somewhat bland. The women's Casino Gauntlet felt way too short and rushed compared to previous ones. The MJF/Jarrett promo battle was (quite literally) insulting, Jarrett's cadence was weird, the lines felt cheap, and it took forever to get to the point - scratch that, there was no point because they didn't even really advance the story - the segment was a misfire, in my opinion. Highlights included Brian Keith's hilarious delivery, Swerve's superstar presence, Samoa Joe's return, Megan Bayne's debut, Mariah May on commentary (as always! ) and Moxley bleeding from the ear. Hoping for a better one next week!"

[3.0] "Maybe the worst special edition of Dynamite in the history. I say maybe only because of the MJF and Jeff Jarrett segment. A couple of years ago people would have been mad just of the fact Jarrett is in the world title race, but now he's pretty much the only guy who's bringing life."

[6.0] "Most of the show was rather flat with matches and one promo segment going way too long. But the highlights were the debut of Megan Bayne, who looked good, and a strong World title (M) main event."

[6.0] "This show was honestly totally fine. Every match needed more time and there's one reason for why they didnt have it: Tony Khan letting MJF go out and ramble out his same promo. It accomplished nothing. We understand after the first encounter what theyre going to fight about it. Now it's just endless bad insults. That segment was so abysmal that I debated why I watch AEW live. THEN to do a follow up on the SAME SHOW with JJ and Dustin Rhodes, insane move. You've already cut deeply into your two main events. This show highlighted another feud that needs to just be dead; Hook vs Christian. It's dragged well past beating the dead horse. Stop putting these guys around each other. Only highlight was Joe's return. Everything else was pretty good. Mox clearly likes Hobbs, he gave him a lot here. Unfortunate Death Rider matches only ever end one way."

[6.0] "Can't remember ever giving a wrestling show 6's across the board. This was a unique experience of every match doing what it needed to and nothing more. On the segments, I was hoping Fletcher/Omega and Ospreay/Takeshita would be the pairings, but looks like it might be flipped. People will be upset if Kenny wins the International Championship and not the World Championship. The MJF/JJ segment got rightful criticism. Kris Statlander was the performer of the night as the core cog in the first women's Casino Gauntlet."

[5.0] "At this point it might just be time for me to switch to watching Dynamite/Collision on replay only so I can fast forward through anything that's not wrestling because virtually every story AEW is telling right now is wholly unentertaining. Wrestling is just about the only thing AEW does that is worth watching anymore."

[6.0] "Why the babyfaces arrive only too late to save their buddy? Good opener, strange booking but good main event, nothing special in the middle in the ring."

[9.0] "Let's be clear, this rating is being hard carried by Kenny Omega. The MACHINES had such a good match that I feel it elevated the entire episode of Dynamite. I think Mox/Hobbs was lowkey very good also, but it did not need to be fodder for the Death Riders bullshit. Overall I very much enjoyed this edition of Dynamite, but I can also understand why someone would be frustrated with the lack of clear direction after everything was said and done. Completely fast forwarded through the Jericho segment and the HOOK/Cage match because I only have so many mental health hours every week. Thank God Kenny is back."

[8.0] "Very good edition of Dynamite, with Kenny Omega returning, the big Women's Casino gauntlet match and Samoa Joe returning. MJF/Jarret segment was the lowest point, but overall this was a fun episode with a lot of good stuff happening. Venue was really cool but wish the crowd were a bit hotter."

"[6.0] Second time AEW dropped the ball this year. The show started with Kenny's return to the AEW ring beating Brian Cage. Finally The Best Bout Machine is back. The match was very good, with Kenny showing the beast that he is. Ending with Don Callis family attacking Kenny and Ospreay once again to coming to rescue Kenny. Could we see a tag team in the future? Let's hope so. The opener was followed by Ricochet segment, with Nana attacking him from behind before he could speak, and when Swerve came out, Ricochet ran away out of the building. Interesting feud so far, and I'm loving this heel version of Ricochet. The second match was a six man tag with The Hurt Syndicate going over the team of Private Party and Mark Briscoe. Honestly, who wants to see MVP wrestling in 2025? So far, Hurt Syndicate has been very meh and not showing signs that this will change in the near future. Following the match, it was another MJF and Double J segment. Albeit it was better than last week's segment, I'm not interested in this feud. The third match was Hook defeating Christian in a DQ. Very entertaining match, although in my opinion Hook hasn't evolved as a wrestler. For me, he's still a very similar wrestler as he was two years ago. I don't know if Taz is physically able to wrestle, but it's looking like we're having a father and son tag match soon. At the end of the match, Samoa Joe came in for the save. Great to see Joe back in AEW. The fourth match was the women's casino gauntlet match, with (of course) Toni Storm winning the match. The highlight of the match was Megan Bayne finally returning to AEW and making her Dynamite debut. Very predictable match with a very awkward finish, but still serviceable to set up the match with Mariah at the Australian PPV. The main event was Moxley beating Hobbs for the AEW title. Very good display for Hobbs, even though I never thought he would've won this match, it was very likely his best singles match, and the most important of his career. As for Mox and the Death Riders, more of the same. I'm counting the hours for this program to end. The show was ok at best, and I'm probably being generous giving the show a 6, when it could very likely be a 4 or 5. Excalibur started the show saying that it was basically a PPV on TV, I think he was talking about All Out 2020 when he said that lol. AEW can't drop the ball in this special episodes, it's the key episodes for their success, it's never a good look when you promote this heavily a weekly show and the show doesn't deliver. Hoping that this is the last time AEW drops the ball this year."

[5.0] "A decent episode of Dynamite. I'm going to have to disagree with Excalibur and say that this definitely didn't feel like a PPV heading into it or while watching it. Very far from it honestly but there was some good stuff on the show. It did peak with Omega vs Cage, which would've meant more if Cage wasn't just Don Callis Family canon-fodder but you can make the make the same case for over half of the roster at this point. TAKESHITA/Fletcher vs Ospreay/Omega will be fantastic but it doesn't feel like pretty tame as a story thus far. The presentation has made this feel casual and not as big of an angle as it should be. Ospreay and Omega were the semi main event at Wrestle Kingdom 17 and stole the show at Forbidden Door with Ospreay being the one NJPW, at the time, to get a lot of focus on AEW TV (in hindsight we know why since he's in AEW now) but this feel likes midcard presentation featuring uppercard/main event talent. The MJF/JJ promo segment was awful and MJF hasn't delivered a good promo in forever. His character development is questioned a lot and rightfully so. He feels like he's spinning his wheels and him cutting the same promo over and over doesn't help. JJ's side of things was just as bad. Samoa Joe coming back is a breath of fresh air but HOOK needs to go do something else and work on his character. An excursion in Japan or if ROH was actually treated like it mattered, he could have easily been a focal point there for a while. The Casino Gauntlet match was right with the winner not really being in doubt based on the storyline and finish just sort of being a thing that happened. They moved right onto the next commercial break and segment. Storm/May had the top women's storyline in 2024 and we didn't even get a nice moment there to let it sink in. AEW did themselves a disservice by not hyping up Megan Bayne prior to this. Vignettes are a beautiful thing and airing them a few weeks before this would've gotten the crowd to react because she looks like a star as should be presented as such. The main event was pretty good with Hobbs and Mox getting the chance to makeup for last year's unnecessary IWGP World Heavyweight title match that cost Hobbs several months. The Death Riders story is bad and completely underwhelming. I'm not entirely sure where it's going and I don't care too much to put the effort and think about it. The Max stream is nice though as the picture quality looks so much better but once you look past the window dressing, AEW is lacking in momentum and they shut it down the second they get any. Honestly, it's amazing to see hot acts and storylines cool off so fast that they just sort of feel "there" and not must-see. It's an issue that's plagued AEW for years with no signs of that changing. Overall, an okay episode that left a lot to be desired."

[8.0] "Good show in an unusual place to watch wrestling. The opening was quite good and dynamic with a fairly enthusiastic audience during most of the fight. The trio fight seemed average to me, but enjoyable at times. I found the MJF and Jarrett segment very long or excessive in time, quite the opposite of the Ricochet segment, which lasted as long as it should and was very enjoyable. The HOOK vs Cage fight was quite slow and without moments to remember. Same case as the female gauntlet. The main event, with all the booking errors that may exist, I found fun with great chemistry and physicality between Moxley and Hobbs. It was the fight of the night for me. A good show in my books. 8/10."

"[7.0] "It was a pretty decent episode of Dynamite and certainly one of the hotter crowds Dynamite has had in weeks. Omegas first match back was good and just what you would expect from wrestlers of their calibers, clearly they're building to Ospreay/Omega vs. Fletcher/Takeshita which will inevitably kick ass. Ricochet seg was cool, got booed then jumped by Prince Nana and ran away from Swerve. Trios match was ok, unfortunate that it looks like Private Party are going to be transitional champs. Women's Casino Gauntlet was great of course. Oh the Hook match was just kinda there but served for the return of Samoa Joe so we back up. Main was one of Mox's best singles matches in a bit.""

[7.0] "This was an interesting show. I will say that I have yet to watch Kenny's return match, so when I do, my rating will probably go up. There were some high highs and some really low lows on this show. Most of the wrestling was great. I really liked the Casino Gauntlet, even if it was a tad shorter than I would have liked, and the six man tag and main event were also very good, very enjoyable matches. Now, onto the bad. Jeff Jarrett's incredibly long, incredibly stupid, pointless, strange back and fourth promo with MJF. There was zero reason for that segment to go as long as it did. All it did was take time away from other talents that would have really benefited from extra time. Death Riders are still underwhelming."

[3.0] "This was a weak episode of AEW Dynamite IMO. The only good things to come out of this episode are Kenny Omega's first AEW match back since injury and the women's Casino Gauntlet match. The trio's match was alright; MVPs first match in like two and a half years but other than that everything else missed the mark. The promo battle between MJF and Jeff Jarrett was rough and frankly one of the worst promos in the history of AEW. The awful Death Riders storyline is still going as well and it took Moxley all of them interfering to beat Powerhouse Hobbs. Hopefully, Collision is better but I doubt it."

[6.0] "A very uneven episode. The show starts as hot as possible with Kenny opening in his return AEW match and the crowd is hot. Kenny looks great, Cage looks great, and the match is hard hitting and keeps a fast pace. The beat down after with the Ospreay attempted save was predictable but I enjoyed it as seeing Omega and Ospreay team up will be a ton of fun. The video packages for both MVP and Mercedes look slick. The Learning Tree schtick was half cringe, half funny and attempted to smooth over the incoming tag between Jericho and Mox. Ricochet got massive heat and then just said one line and ran away from Swerve. Kind of unsatisfactory. The trios match was solid. Tony mashing Zay and Quen together for "Quay" during the finishing stretch was hilariously old man brained. The RatedFTR fluff piece was too schmalzty for my taste, but harmless. And then we get to the interminable, awful MJF/Jarrett promo. "Your mom's a whore! You're girlfriend's a whore! " Give me a fucking break. It didn't pick up until the very end when MJF went after Jarrett's Owen Hart connection. Then we have the snooze fest that is HOOK, and his ongoing battle with Christian Cage. A whatever match ends in an awful DQ. The ladies single match of the night was not as good as it could have been. Should've been a 20 minute match, for starters. Mariah was great on commentary, but Megan Bayne got zero reaction. Hobbs looked great in the main event, but he was the only reason I watched."

[7.0] "There was a fractal quality to Dynamite this week, where if you look at most places, you get a rather enjoyable experience, but the middle starts to sag a little: Omega/Cage was, as was expected, incredibly good. Hobbs/Mox was also surprisingly well done, and managed to thread the needle of making Hobbs look credible enough, but not too credible, for a "middle-of-the-program" challenger. As a whole, the rest of the show didn't disappoint either, and actually flew by pretty quickly, although there were some minor flaws that, on their own, don't ruin the experience, but prevent it from being top-drawer, most notably during the Hook/Christian match (though, that said, Joe's back, so I'm happy). But nowhere was the fractal quality more evident than during the MJF/Jarrett promo, which felt like a roller coaster in how invested I was: one minute I was hooked, the next I felt it was going on a bit too long. I get the feeling that the weekly AEW product has a lot of moving parts right now towards a big realignment at Revolution (especially if TK is pivoting on the Death Riders story, which I hope he is), so there's going to be some friction in week-to-week moving those pieces. But, for the meanwhile, the friction isn't detracting from my enjoyment whatsoever."

[7.0] "A solid episode of Dynamite this week, with a couple matches but a not so good main event and good segments like MJF/Jeff Jarrett which was interesting and entertaining, FTR/Cope vignette which was insightful, and an interesting preview for Collision, and a surprise return in Samoa Joe. Kenny Omega vs Brian Cage: In the first match in AEW for Omega in over a year, he went up against a powerful opponent in Cage and held his own, even with everything that Cage put him through during this match, Omega getting the win was the right choice here [***3/4]. Bobby Lashley, MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs Mark Briscoe, Quen & Zay: An actually solid match where MVP having not wrestled in 2 and 1/2 years looked like he hadn't got any ring rust, the action was okay and Shelton getting the win by pinning one half of the tag champions was not surprising and hoping that leads to a tag title match down the road [***1/4]. Hook vs Christian Cage: Cage trying to walk out the match at the start, there being okay at best action, Hook nearly tapping out Cage only for Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian to get in the ring and attack Hook for the DQ finish ruined it, post match though for Samoa Joe to make his return to AEW was surprising to see but good to see [*3/4]. Women's Casino Gauntlet Match: Megan Bayne being an entrant was good to see, some good action but Toni Storm getting the win was not surprising though but looking forward to the title match at Grand Slam: Australia [***1/2]. Jon Moxley vs Powerhouse Hobbs: This was not a good title match from Moxley AGAIN, Hobbs tried his best but The Death Riders got involved again which did not need to and should not have happened again, it took the interferences of Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir for Moxley to retain [*1/2]"