By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynasty Pre-Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Liacouras Center
Aired live April 6, 2025 on AEW social media platforms
-The pre-show was hosted by Renee Paquette, RJ City, and Jeff Jarrett from inside the arena.
-Madison Rayne joined the hosts to preview the AEW Women’s Championship match.
-Ricochet was interviewed by Lexi Nair in the backstage area. Ricochet called Philadelphia the city of champions and said nothing can stop him from winning the AEW International Championship.
-Harley Cameron joined the hosts to break down the brackets of the Owen Hart Cup tournaments. Cameron read some stats about the men’s tournament from a piece of paper. “What a researcher,” Jarrett quipped.
-A Kevin Knight video package aired. Knight said it’s a privilege to face Will Ospreay, but he won’t hesitate to knock his block off.
-A graphic listed the AEW All In Texas week events. The All In show has a listed start time of 2CT/3ET.
-Tomohiro Ishii showed up on the set with the hosts. Mark Briscoe entered the picture and spoke about facing Kyle Fletcher in a first-round match. Briscoe told Fletcher that he’s going to get his ass whooped because he intends to move on and win the gold. Briscoe said the word of the day is advancement. Mark recalled his father taking him and his brother Jay to a pro wrestling show at the Philadelphia Spectrum. He said it was okay, but then they went to see wrestling at a bingo hall in South Philadelphia and that’s when they fell in love and said they had to make their mark in pro wrestling.
-A video package showed footage of Swerve Strickland at a Philadelphia 76’ers game where he rang the bell on the court prior to the NBA game. They cut to a shot of Swerve and Prince Nana walking backstage.
-The broadcast team of Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Matt Menard checked in. Ring announcer Arkady Aura delivered the introductions for the opening match.
1. Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and Nick Wayne (w/Mother Wayne, Kip Sabian) vs. AR Fox Dante Martin, and Darius Martin (w/Leila Grey). Andretti ducked to ringside and stood next to Rush after the opening bell. Fox performed a dive onto both wrestlers and then there was a brief brawl at ringside.
A short time later, Wayne ran Darius into the ring steps (well, Darius actually sailed right over the top of the ring steps). Wayne stood on the barricade and soaked up the crowd’s boos. Back in the ring, the heels isolated Darius.
Dante eventually took a hot tag and hit a top rope crossbody block on Rush for a near fall. Sabian climbed onto the apron and distracted Dante. Rush wrapped a chain around his fist and went after Dante, but Dante cut him off and then cleared him from the ring. Andretti rolled up Dante for a two count. Andretti and Rush hit a double team move on Dante and then Andretti went for the pin, but it was broken up by Darius.
Fox tagged in and hit a double cutter on a pair of heels. Fox was left alone in the ring and was cheered before hit a flip dive onto Rush and Andretti. Fox returned to the ring and then hit a flip dive onto Wayne on the opposite side of the ring. Fox returned to the ring and hit another flip dive onto Rush and Andretti.
Fox went for a top rope frog splash on Wayne, who put his knees up. Dante checked in and Schiavone questioned whether he actually tagged in (I don’t think it matters at this point). Sabian climbed onto the apron and was pulled down by Grey. While the referee was caught up with Sabian, Mother Wayne pushed Fox off the top rope. Nick hit Fox with Wayne’s World and then pinned him…
Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and Nick Wayne defeated AR Fox Dante Martin, and Darius Martin in 11:15.
Powell’s POV: An action-packed opening match. It was a spot-fest that lacked psychology, but the live crowd ate it up and the match got the show off to a good start.
-ROH Women’s Champion Athena joined the hosts. Athena spoke of being the most dominant champion in ROH history. She said the Owen hart Cup tournament is the start of her capturing all the gold. City pointed out that the last time she lost a singles match was in the Owen Hart Cup tournament. “We don’t talk about that,” Athena said while adding that she is 63-0 in singles competition.
Athena said her opponent Harley Cameron is a wild card and she’s improved, but she’s not match for her. Athena said she can’t wait to hand Mercedes Mone a loss in the second round, and she said she hopes to see Jamie Hayter there with her. Athena was asked about the men’s tournament and predicted that Will Ospreay will win. “I think I’m better, but he’s good,” Athena said.
-Jarrett noted that he is celebrating 39 years in the business today. Wow. Congratulations to him. The hosts had a long chat about various topics (they did fine, but I wish AEW could scale back to 60-minute pre-shows).
-Max Caster made his entrance for his open challenge. Caster tried to lead the crowd in chanting, “Let’s go, Max, you’re the best wrestler alive.” Caster scolded the fans for not using the proper cadence. Caster told the fans that he needs them to show up for him like they have for Philadelphia sports stars. Caster opened his jacket to show that he was wearing a Ben Simmons’ 76ers jersey, which drew boos because he no longer plays for the team.
-The lights went out and then entrance music played. Anthony Bowens made his entrance with Billy Gunn. Bowens’ video wall listed him as “The Pride of Pro Wrestling.”
2. Max Casters vs. Anthony Bowens (w/Billy Gunn). Caster pointed at his “Best Pro Wrestler Alive” framed certificate. Bowens took it away from him and tossed it. They pushed and shoved and then the referee got between them before calling for the bell. Bowens punched Caster and then followed up with a leg lariat. Bowens waited for Caster to stand up and then hit him with a discus punch. Bowens covered Caster and got the three count.
Anthony Bowens defeated Max Caster in 0:40.
After the match, Bowens looked into a camera and said he’s The Pride of Professional Wrestling and AEW’s five-tool player. Bowens said it’s time to make history and then he went back to playing to the crowd.
Powell’s POV: Bowens got a great reaction from the live crowd. It’s a shame that the first match between the former tag team partners didn’t mean more, but this was a strong return for Bowens. I hope Gunn was there because of his history with the two wrestlers and won’t be aligned with Bowens going forward. As the pre-show winds down, it’s worth nothing that going with two matches as opposed to the usual four should help prevent crowd fatigue.
-Jarrett announced that Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight will open the main card. The broadcast team ran through the pay-per-view lineup and it was noted that Jim Ross will be on the call for some of the matches.
-A video package aired.
Join me for my live review of the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view by checking out a separate report available via the main page.
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