By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 294)
May 21, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Rio Rancho Events Center
Simulcast live on TBS and Max
The announce team of Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, and Taz welcomed the TV audience to the show. Tony Schiavone started the show in the ring, and brought out Hangman Page and Will Ospreay to the ring for an interview.
Schiavone listed what was at stake at Double or Nothing between the two wrestlers, and left them in the ring together. Ospreay dismissed all the security guards after getting Hangman agree that they weren’t going to get physical. He then asked Page if he still drank, which got a smattering of boos. Ospreay then joked around with Page about how they hit each other last week, and as his Dad says, any time he gets hit it is an improvement.
Ospreay then signaled for someone to bring beers in the ring. Ospreay offered a salute and a drink, but Hangman did not partake and set the beer down in the corner. The conversation advanced and Ospreay said that he had petitioned Tony Khan to follow Anarchy in the Arena and to go on last, because the winner has the responsibility to bring home the gold at All In.
He then explained his travel schedule, and how he flies across the world every Tuesday full of jetlag and puts his body on the line every week. Ospreay then told a story about how AEW Forbidden Door is going to be near his hometown, and he wants to wear the belt home for his longtime supporters and his family. He claimed that he wants it just that much more than Hangman.
Page replied that was the difference between the two of them. He acknowledged the honor of being a World Champion. But for Ospreay it was a professional accomplishment, and for him it was personal. Hangman said Ospreay wants the title, but he needs it. He then said he had wasted two years of his life on sorrow and hate and got nothing from it. Page said he sat in front of his kids at Christmas and stared out the window looking for a man he knew was never going to come back.
He continued and said he needed the World Title because he wanted to be the man that his wife and kids knew, and the man the fans thought he could be when he least deserved their support. Page finished his speech by saying he needed to prove Ospreay wrong when he said it was too little, too late. Ospreay then asked what he was going to do about it, and intimated that Hangman would cut corners to win. He then said that he would give his best, and sometimes that hasn’t been enough, but he never took shortcuts to get there and earned respect in the process.
Page asked him if that would be enough to beat The Death Riders and Jon Moxley. Ospreay said he didn’t know, he had never beaten Moxley. He then said Page had, and he wanted to bring that fire to Double or Nothing, because if he can beat Page he knows he’s got Moxley. Ospreay said before Page writes him off, he should know that his best was enough to beat the likes of Omega, Okada, Bryan Danielson, countless more. He called himself the best in the world, and if it wasn’t him, said he would have Hangman’s back. Ospreay said he hoped for the same from him, and told him he was calling him out on Sunday for a shootout in Arizona.
Ospreay and Hangman then left the ring together, and walked up to the Owen Cup and had a staredown before walking off. Afterward, Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir were shown outside the building heading in. He said the tension is rising in AEW and the spoils would go to those who embrace the anarchy. His music then hit and he headed out towards the ring. Footage was shown of the aftermath of last week’s cage match main event.
My Take: A very strong promo from Hangman and Ospreay. There was good delivery from both men, but I think Hangman gets the edge if I was going to give them individual grades. He’s got better control of his voice, and he understands the value of being quiet before you get loud. Ospreay is very much a shouty promo guy, which has its place but felt less refined by comparison.
The Young Bucks followed Jon Moxley. The Opps then made their entrance for the first match.
1. Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, and Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jon Moxley, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson: Joe and Moxley started the match. Mox took a cheapshot at Joe and then tagged out to Nick Jackson. Swerve then entered the match and took control. He delivered a kick and a big vertical suplex. Matt Jackson and Moxley entered the match to interfere, which caused things to break down. Joe and Swerve avoided springboard splashes from the Young Bucks by walking away.
Moxley raked Hobbs in the eyes and then dove on him at ringside. Joe considered doing a dive, but he ate a superkick instead. Swerve then took out the Jacksons with a Fosbury Flop to the floor. Joe then dove on all three heels…[c]
My Take: A lot of dives and people stumbling into position to catch dives in the early going.
Moxley took control on Powerhouse Hobbs during the break and stomped on him as the show returned. Nick Jackson tagged in and landed some strikes that Hobbs shrugged off. Hobbs caught Nick coming off the ropes and dropped him with a Powerslam. Swerve then tagged in and landed a powerslam of his own. He slipped as he flipped out to the floor, but recovered quickly and landed a backbreaker on Nick Jackson. Matt Jackson then caught him with a superkick.
The Bucks then landed a combo of offense, including a rising knee strike and a sliced bread out of the corner. Nick climbed to the top rope and went for a Swanton, but Swerve got his knees up. Moxley cleared the corner before Swerve could make the tag. The Bucks then landed a combo of strikes on Swerve in the corner, followed by a Moxley Suplex. They then landed Risky Business on Swerve for a near fall. They followed up with an assisted 450 for another near fall…[c]
Moxley continued the attack on Swerve as the show returned. He delivered a piledrivers, but Joe ran in and prevented a cover. Moxley applied a crossface, and eventually a full nelson to Swerve. In desperation, Swerve landed a hard right hand, but Moxley replied with a headbutt and both men were down. Swerve finally crawled over to make a tag to Joe. Moxley tagged in Matt Jackson, who got the stuffing kicked out of him by Joe. Swerve then landed a big splash and covered for a close near fall. Hobbs tagged in and a double superkick from the Bucks.
Swerve landed a House Call Kick on Moxley and a stomp on both Bucks on the floor. Hobbs dropped the straps and landed a Spinebuster on all three heels and fired up the crowd. Swerve went up top, but Moxley shoved Hobbs into him. Joe got taken out by a double superkick. The Bucks then went for an EVP Trigger, but Swerve avoided it and their knees knocked. Joe applied a Coquina Clutch to Nick Jackson, and Swerve rolled up Matt and got the win.
Powerhouse Hobbs, Samoa Joe, and Swerve Strickland defeated The Young Bucks and Jon Moxley at 17:51
Post match, the heels went on the attack with the help of Claudio and Wheeler Yuta. Marina Shafir eventually got involved, which brought out Willow Nightingale. Kenny Omega then evened the odds and took out Matt Jackson with a V-Trigger. Joe and Swerve set up a table, and Omega tried to put Jackson through it, but he was saved by Claudio. Joe got on the microphone and said he wasn’t a sane man, and they were coming after all of them in Albuquerque tonight.
The Hurt Syndicate was shown backstage with their lawyer. MJF walked in wearing a shiny gold suit, and MVP excused them so MJF and the lawyers could finish their business…[c]
My Take: I feel like I’ve seen a version of this match a lot lately. It’s not that this was bad, it was fine and I’m sure it was a blast to watch live, but it felt a bit samey to someone who watches AEW TV weekly. I’m curious what we end up finding out about MJF’s contract with the Hurt Syndicate.
In the arena, The Hurt Syndicate made their entrance. The lawyers were out in the ring as well with a table. MVP addressed the audience and said he had an official announcement. He said they were there to officially induct the fourth member into the Hurt Syndicate after convincing Bobby to change his position. He then brought MJF out from the back in his black and gold suit.
MJF said he would boo too if he was borned and raised in Albuquerque. He said his Mother told him the greatest day of his life would be when he got married, but that dumb bitch clearly never joined the Hurt Syndicate. MJF and MVP really went in on the Albuquerque crowd, and then Mark Sterling announced that Max would sign first and then all the members of the Hurt Syndicate to make him a member of the LLC. Bobby was the last to sign, and picked up the contract to read it more closely. He then took a step back and thought some more.
Bobby signed off after having last minute reservations, but they were interrupted quickly by Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. Rhodes told MJF to shut up and told him he hated his guts. He told MVP he respected him, but told him to watch himself with a snake in the grass like MJF. Rhodes then called themselves day one guys and recalled their history going back to the start of AEW, and said they had earned their title shot as the undefeated ROH Tag Team Champions.
He claimed there was nothing Bobby or Shelton could do to them that bigger and better monsters hadn’t already done. MVP told him to be careful what he wished for. Dustin then said if he were a betting man, he would bet on the day one guys.
Backstage, Okada was interviewed by Renee Paquette. He said Speedball Bailey doesn’t call him out, because he called him out. Okada then said he would find out why Okada is Continental Champion and he isn’t. Renee asked if he was worried since Bailey hasn’t been pinned in AEW, and Okada answered that there was a first time for everything.
My Take: They didn’t really nail the landing with the MJF and Hurt Syndicate promo. It just felt like more of the same. Dustin’s promo was all over the place. He’s got good energy but he’s lost his place a few times, and repeated himself more than once.
Anthony Bowens made his entrance for the next match. He was followed by Ricochet.
2. Anthony Bowens vs. Ricochet: Bowens started out on offensive with some strikes and a facebuster. He then cleared Ricochet from the ring with a lariat, where he got spooked by Billy Gunn and ran into the barricade by Bowens. Gunn nearly got ejected after throwing Ricochet back into the ring. Ricochet grabbed the referee to avoid an attack from Bowens and then tripped him up on the apron with a chop block…[c]
RIcochet was in control as the show returned and landed a series of strikes. Bowens replied with a big superkick and covered for a near fall. Ricochet landed a kick of his own and lined up for a Spirit Gun, but Bowens avoided it. He landed The Arrival and then a Mollywop, but Ricochet fell to the floor. Billy Gunn walked towards Ricochet, which grabbed the attention of the referee. Ricochet used the opening to stab Bowens with his gold scissors and then landed the Spirit Gun for the win.
Ricochet defeated Anthony Bowens at 9:14
Ricochet left towards the stage, but was met from behind by Mark Briscoe with a gurney. Briscoe ran him into the gurney and landed some punches. He set him on top of it and climbed up top for a Froggy Bow, but Ricochet rolled off and headed to the back. The announce team then ran down the Double or Nothing card. Mercedes Mone and Jamie Hayter go face to face next…[c]
My Take: A decent match that gets Ricochet some heat and sells the idea that Gunn is holding Bowens back.
In the arena, Renee Paquette stood in the ring for an interview. She brought out Jamie Hayter and Mercedes Mone, and said she would do her best to maintain order.
Renee said she wanted to start with Hayter because she was a former AEW Women’s World Champion, and yet she felt like an underdog. Hayter said if she’s the underdog, then so be it. She said he has had to scratch and claw her way for everything in AEW, and she’s never had anyone chasing her around doing her dirty work like Mone. She said it means more to her because she’s out to prove that she’s still relevant. If she didn’t win, she didn’t know who she was or whether she should have come back from injury. Hayter then said when her back is against the wall she laces up her boots and hits hard, because that’s who she is.
Mercedes replied that she’s not looking past Hayter, she’s looking through her like the glass doll she is. She called herself the Beyonce of Pro Wrestling and a revolutionary, and she makes her dreams a reality and she always gets what she wants. She listed off her undefeated record and how she was TBS Champion for 360 days. Mercedes then said that this was about legacy to her, and she would go on to All in and become the AEW Women’s World Champion, because that was her destiny.
Hayter pointed out that Mercedes looked a bit lighter, and mentioned that she had lost the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. She said maybe it was Mercedes’ destiny to lose everything. Mone then snapped and took a couple of cheapshots at Hayter, who responded by catching a punch and throwing a big lariat that landed. As Hayter knelt over a falled Mercedes, Toni Storm made her ring entrance for the Main Event…[c]
My Take: A good segment, but neither of these characters is as fleshed out as they should have been, and so the back and forth felt fairly surface level. This promo honestly made it seem like the most interesting thing that could happen to either woman was lose, which I’m sure wasn’t the point.
Toni Storm joined in on commentary for the main event. Mina Shirakawa made her ring entrance. She was followed by Julia Hart.
3. Julia Hart vs. Mina Shirakawa: They tied up and traded some reversals to kick things off. Hart went for old school and landed a forearm across her back. Mina returned the favor and rope walked a bit before landing a knee strike. Mina went to the floor to gloat in front of Storm, and then got attacked from behind. She tossed Mina into the ring apron and then back into the ring…[c]
Shirakawa landed a rolling elbow strike, and followed by a dragon screw out of the corner. Hart recovered and applied a spider hold in the ropes. The ref forced a break, and Shirakawa responded with a spinning backfist. She then took to the top rope and there was a bit of a botch on the crucifix bomb that followed. Hart responded with a back heel trip and took to the top rope.
She went for a moonsault, and jammed her knee trying to land on her feet. Mina attempted a Figure Four, but got rolled up for a two count. Hart avoided a piledriver and rolled up Mina for a near fall. Shirakawa then rolled up Hart with a straightjacket pin of sorts for the win.
Mina Shirakawa defeated Julia Hart at 9:24
Post match, Hart attacked Shirakawa with some assistance from Skye Blue. Toni Storm left the commentary table and gave her an assist. Both women had a staredown and tousled over the Women’s World Championship, and Mina attacked Toni with a dragon screw leg whip. She then used the ring post to apply a figure four using the ring post. Backstage, The Young Bucks gloated to Renee Young that Samoa Joe never got their hands on them.
Right on cue, a massive brawl broke out with all the members of the Anarchy in the Arena match. The action spilled out to ringside and everybody brawled as music played in the arena. Kenny Omega choked Nick Jackson with a chain. Shibata wore out Wheeler Yuta with a Kendo Stick as he wore a trash can over his head. Omega and Swerve took out the Bucks. Gabe Kidd saved Jon Moxley from passing out in the Coquina Clutch. He then turned the tables in favor of the heel squad. Omega and Swerve were put on tables and The Bucks put them through them with a splash and an elbow drop. The show went off the air with the heels standing strong.
My Take: I guess Gabe Kidd is technically not in Anarchy in the Arena, but then again, what would prevent him from joining anyway? This show had a few memorable segments, so I would rate it as a bit above average. I don’t think they hit a home run here, as nothing got anywhere close to topping the opening segment, but they made an honest effort to put the major Double or Nothing matches in focus which was good to see.
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