By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
AEW Dynamite – Fyter Fest (Episode 296)
June 4, 2025, in Denver, Colorado at Mission Ballroom
Simulcast live on TBS and Max
Excalibur ran through tonight’s card as wrestlers were shown walking in the backstage area. Toni Storm was shown and said her tits were taped up and she was ready to tango. In the arena, Tony Shiavone was shown in the ring and brought out Will Ospreay. Video footage was shown of Ospreay attempting to have a conversation with Swerve Strickland. They discussed getting on the same page with Hangman Page, but it quickly devolved into throwing punches at one another.
Ospreay spoke to Schiavone and spoke about needing to get on the same team for one night so they can rid AEW of Jon Moxley and the Death Riders. I lost my internet connection here for a few seconds, but when it returned Ospreay was wanting to sort out his differences with Swerve and challenged him to a match next week at Summer Break. The Crew then walked out, and Lio Rush has some things to say. He said he had pent up anger, and a point to prove, and called Will Ospreay the biggest problem with AEW.
Will responded and said they could have a match on Collision, because he had his fake tan on and his crime fighting pants upstairs. He then said he would see Swerve next week. Mark Briscoe was shown in a pre-taped promo. He spoke about his loss on Dynamite and how his kids asked him if he quit when he got home. He challenged Mox to a match one on one and told him he better be ready to man up.
Jon Moxley then made his ring entrance with Marina Shafir and Wheeler Yuta. He was then followed by Mark Briscoe.
1. Mark Briscoe vs. Jon Moxley: The action spilled outside quickly and they brawled around the ringside area. Briscoe got the advantage and then applied a sleeper back in the ring. They went back and forth for until Briscoe sent Moxley to the floor. Yuta attempted to interfere, and Briscoe stomped on his fingers. That allowed Moxley a momentary breather, and he was able to avoid Briscoe diving at him on the floor. Mox gained control and focused on the arm of Briscoe…[c]
My Take: A fast start to the show. I’m having some internet connection issues, so hopefully it stabilizes here and I don’t lose too much content.
Briscoe was bleeding when the show returned from commercials. Moxley remained in control throughout, but Briscoe got in a few home spots with a Froggy Bow and a Jay Driller with a couple of good near falls. Distractions from Marina Shafir and Wheeler Yuta were the deciding factors, and eventually Briscoe was forced to pass out in the Bulldog Choke.
Jon Moxley defeated Mark Briscoe at 13:28
Post match, a video aired for Mistico, who will return to AEW at the Summer Blockbuster show next week. In the arena, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone made her ring entrance. She will join in on commentary for the Women’s Tag Match coming up next…[c]
My Take: A solid opening match. Moxley was firmly in control for most of it but Briscoe looked tough in defeat as he usually does.
Toni Storm made her ring entrance after the break, followed by her partner Mina Shirakawa. Toni Storm danced along with Mina’s music. Julia and Hart and Skye Blue completed the entrances for the next match.
2. Julia Hart and Skye Blue vs. Mina Shirakawa and Toni Storm: Mina and Skye started the match. Mina landed a back elbow and a side Russian leg sweep. Storm tagged in and landed a backbreaker for a two count. She made a quick tag back to Mina, but Skye was able to avoid a Glamorous Drive and tag out to Julia Hart. She entered the match and applied a Tarantula hold in the corner. The heels isolated Mina heading into the break…[c]
My Take: Things seem to have stabilized now. The show isn’t puking on me every 90 seconds. My apologizes for the lack of detail regarding the earlier match.
Mina attempted an escape, but Skye Blue knocked Toni Storm from the apron. Mina barely kicked out after a kick to the face. Toni and Skye traded attacks and both ended up out on the floor. Mina then took to the top rope, but whatever she attempted didn’t execute properly and she ended up pulling Julia Hart to the mat on the way down. She then made a hot tag to Toni Storm, who landed a Sky High on Skye Blue. Mina and Toni then both delivered German Suplexes and danced before landing hip attacks in the opposite corners.
Toni applied a TCM Chicken Wing to Skye and she tapped out quickly.
Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa defeated Julia Hart and Skye Blue at 9:43
After the match Toni and Mina celebrated as Mercedes looked on disgusted. Mercedes was not audible on the headsets, so she stood at ringside awkwardly for the entirety of the match. Ospreay vs. Strickland was confirmed for next week. Backstage, MJF approached Ospreay and jawed at him about how he had no chance of beating Swerve or Hangman, and even less of a chance of getting them on the same page. He called them animals, and told him to let them tear each other apart. Ospreay said he was thinking of AEW, and MJF only ever thinks of himself, and MJF had no chance of defeating Hangman if he wins the title either.
MJF brought up Ospreay’s son Henry, which caused him to grab MJF by the lapels and back him into some equipment crates. The Hurt Syndicated suddenly surrounded Ospreay, and he backed off. MVP said they had business elsewhere, and they walked off…[c]
My Take: It was very odd to have Mercedes at ringside and never interact with the TV audience, never interfere in the match, and just share disgusted glances afterwards. I understand she’s not the most dynamic performer on the microphone, but there has to be something better for her to do than this?
The Hurt Syndicate made their entrance while video was shown of their recent exploits. The crowd chanted for Bobby Lashley as he was originally from the Denver area. They then chanted a bit for Shelton after MVP prompted them to, and then booed MJF when he was pointed to. MVP asked Lashley his opinion of Denver now that he lives in Texas, and he gave a big thumbs down.
MVP called Lashley and Benjamin the greatest Tag Team Champions in any company, and asked if AEW is where the best wrestle, where are the best to challenge the Tag Team Champions? He said repeatedly that there is no one capable of beating the World Tag Team Champions. He then asked people to show respect for MJF, and they booed loudly. MJF grabbed the microphone and asked for silence while he was speaking.
He then said he wanted gold just like his friends Bob and Shelton. MJF said he wanted the AEW World Championship, and he’ll have to wrestle a little more. He promised he would get over it. MJF brought up Mistico and said his country of Mexico thinks he’s the best wrestler in the world, that’s not true because he’s the best and he hails from the only country that means a damn the United States of America.
MJF said he was the youngest foreigner to ever sell out Arena Mexico, and called himself a megastar while promoting Happy Gilmore 2. He called Mistico a big fish in a small stinky pond, and if he was impressed with his match next week, he would let Mistico wrestle him at Grand Slam Mexico.
Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, and Kommander walked out on the stage. Kommander called out MJF for disrespecting Mistico and Lucha Libre. He called MJF a bastard and said everything that came out of his mouth was garbage. Mike Bailey spoke up and said if they wanted the best, the people in front of them were international killers. Knight said they could get it popping tonight in the Mile High City, but MVP shut them down because they haven’t earned it. He told them to impress them by earning a title shot, and they left.
Rush, The Beast Mortos, and Dralistico made their entrance for the next match. Video was shown of the attack on Top Flight on Collision that setup this trios match.
3. Rush, Dralistco, and The Beast Mortos vs. Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, and Kommander: It was a free for all early on with all six men brawling around the ring on the outside. Rush tossed Knight into the announce table, and Kommander sent Dralistico into the barricade. In the ring, the babyface trio landed some fast paced triple team offense on Rush. The match sorted itself and became a more traditional trios match at this point. Speedball continued the attack on Rush and delivered a seated dropkick.
The heels reasserted control as everyone got back in the ring and sent Knight and Kommander to ringside. They then tossed Bailey on top of his own partners on the floor…[c]
My Take: The Hurt Syndicate segment felt like a lot of words to get precious little accomplished. I guess you have a future Tag Title match and a Mistico and MJF match coming up, but this all feels a bit beneath the star power involved in my opinion.
Kommander performed some impressive offense as the show returned. He landed a tornado DDT on Mortos off the shoulders of Dralistico. Dralistico fired back with a Destroyer, and both men reset and crawled for tags. Knight and Rush tagged in and went toe to toe. Big chops went back and forth. Rush sent him into the corner and delivered an insulting kick. He then took a run at Knight, but got caught with a backbreaker for a two count.
Rush fired back with a knee strike and tagged in Mortos. Things broke down as LFI broke the rules and delivered a beatdown. The babyfaces recovered and sent them to the floor, and then all three men performed dives to the outside. Kommander delivered an assisted Code Red on Mortos and got a close near fall. Dralistico returned fire with the Cherry on Top, but Kevin Knight broke up the pin.
Bailey tagged in and performed an O’Connor roll for a two count. Knight cleared Rush from the ring after he broke up a fall. Bailey landed a thrust kick on Mortos and tagged in Knight. Bailey landed the Time Adventure kick on Mortos. Kommander dove on Dralistico and Rush at ringside. Kevin Knight then landed the UFO on Mortos and got the win.
Jet Speed and Kommander defeated LFI at 13:48
Post match, MVP walked back out with the rest of the Hurt Syndicate. He said the three of them had earned a trios match next week with Lashley, Benjamin, and MJF, and they had earned a preview of that ass whopping right now. Jet Speed and Kommander quickly knocked the Hurt Syndicate out of the ring, and then splashed them on the floor. MVP then held them off with his cane as the Hurt Syndicate seethed at ringside.
Backstage, Adam Cole and Paragon recruited Daniel Garcia to take on The Don Callis family in and 8 man tag later on tonight…[c]
My Take: A decent fast paced match with no suspense about the outcome given the interaction between Jet Speed and Kommander in the previous segment with the Hurt Syndicate. If you enjoy trios matches generally then this will scratch your itch.
Christian and the Patriarchy were interviewed backstage. Lexi Nair mentioned Nick Wayne had a great showing in the Battle of the Super Juniors Tournament in Japan. Christian said he had a good showing, but he didn’t win it. He mentioned Nick wrestled 14 matches in 22 days, and he would be defending his Ring of Honor Championship tonight. Wayne said Christian had tried this before, and it was light work for him. Christian said it would be a Fatal Four Way, and Kip was working on an even bigger surprise.
Max Caster was then in the ring, and held a petition. He asked the referee to sign on stating that he is the best wrestler alive. He led the crowd in an awkward chant, and told them it was bad. He put 5 minutes on the clock and asked who could survive five with the best wrestler alive. Powerhouse Hobbs made his entrance through the crowd.
4. Max Caster vs. Powerhouse Hobbs: This was a one sided squash. He tossed Caster around and put him away with a big side slam in quick order.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Max Caster at 0:45
Hobbs celebrated after the match…[c]
My Take: Caster is going to get a big pop when he finally gets an upset win.
The Main Event four way match for the International Championship is up next. Brodie King made his ring entrance first. He was followed by Claudio Castagnoli, Mascara Dorada, and International Champion Kenny Omega.
5. Kenny Omega vs. Mascara Dorada vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie King for the AEW International Championship: The action spilled outside early on. Claudio walked away to prevent an aerial attack from Omega. Dorada took down King with a Tornillo, and Omega finally splashed Claudio when he got into range. King fired back and tossed Dorada into the crowd over the barricade. Claudio attempted to take a run at King, but he intercepted him with a back elbow. King the powerbombed Dorado into Claudio, and splashed him both against the barricade. Omega landed a snap dragon suplex on King on the floor, and then dove on him through the ropes…[c]
Claudio landed shoulder tackles in the corner on Omega, but he escaped and delivered a snap dragon suplex. Brodie King entered the ring bleeding above his left eye. He picked up Dorada and slammed him into the corner onto Omega with a Death Valley Driver. Claudio got involved and took down King with an impressive slam for a near fall. He then dumped King to the floor. Omega recovered and delivered a V-Trigger Knee to the back of Claudio. Omega held King on his shoulders, and Claudio came off the top with an uppercut for a Doomsday Device.
Dorada bided his time while Claudio and King fought in the corner. Dorada then pulled Claudio off the turnbuckle with a hurracarrana. Things broke down a bit as all four men were in the ring for the same sequence. Omega got spiked by a poisonrana from Dorada. King landed a huge lariat on Claudio and covered for a near fall. King was bleeding heavily at this point. Claudio landed a Neutralizer on King, and Omega broke it up just in time.
Omega set up for a snap dragon, but got pulled into a sunset flip by Dorada for a two count. Dorada then took down Claudio with a flurry of aerial offense. Claudio recovered and put down Dorada with a sit out powerbomb, but Omega broke up the fall. Dorada used both feet to monkey flip Claudio to the floor, and then used a Shooting Star Press to dive onto him on the floor. Omega sized the opportunity and caught Dorada off the top rope. He turned that into a One Winged Angel and covered for the win.
Kenny Omega defeated Mascara Dorada, Claudio Castagnoli, and Brodie King at 17:54
After the match, the show quickly went off the air on Max, but continued on Collision. On Collision, Omega was confronted by Kazuchika Okada. They traded some blows and eventually held up their titles after neither of them could gain a clear advantage.
My Take: A fun closing match, but there was no reason to believe we were seeing a title change given the direction the company is going with Omega vs. Okada. Overall, this was a well paced and entertaining edition of Dynamite, but it suffered form a lack of suspense in the matches. I’d call the show slightly above average, but not dramatically so.
I would argue that slightly above average is a huge under statement …more like slightly above good would be better and more accurate . I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a tv wrestling show put together this well up to this point…but I would agree it has been predictable which isn’t rare but par for the course when building up to these big events. I think I could hear Jason chanting let’s go max you’re the best wrestler alive all the way from where I live.
it’s a shame too because it wouldn’t shock me to see the ratings hurt due to the Stanley cup but perhaps maybe being 4 hrs will help skew it up.
I didnt and won’t watch, but we’ve never a seen a wrestling tv episode put together as well as tonight’s Dynamite? Again, I didnt see it, but that statement seems ambitious as all hell.
It might seem ambitious(and perhaps it is) but I stand behind my statement those first two hours were put together very well and the actual wrestling matches were fantastic. I would also argue that we’ve seen some good raw and Smackdown episodes in recent memory most notable the ones heading into the rumble however even those cases most of the time the flow of the show is up and down ..with this episode of fyter fest the first three hours just flew by for the most part.
The reality is everyone is entitled to an opinion ( and who am I to argue right or wrong) outside of having a different view, and I respect that.
My pet peave are those who hate just to hate or complain without explaining their agenda or criteria in getting to that point one way or the other. just as an example Double or nothing was widely regarded as a possible show of the year candidate, yet the reviewers on this site gave it a c-(the poll result was a b) and you ask yourself how is that possible? and what criteria are you using and how heavyily is it weighted? I didn’t even give backlash that low of a grade, and double or nothing without question was much better…that doesn’t mean they’re wrong but it begs the question how does anything get to that A or B level. I know some complain about the length but I don’t see it because some of those same people will watch 9-12 hours of the NFL on a Sunday and three more on Monday not counting the time they spend putting their fantasy lineups together in failing effort LOL, however as the NFL has found out (and pro wrestling) more is better and more profitable in the long run….better for the people participating in it, the companies producing it and the media outlets who carry it.
I did admit during another post that the show did fall off during the collision part but was still a very good and entertaining show, and I can agree with your skepticism(which isn’t off base at face value) of my original statement.
I’ve had bowel movements that were better put together than this shitty TV show.
Omega vs Claudio would have accomplished the same thing as the 4-way, but been a better, more suspensful match. Okada could have shown up at ringside to tease interference, to add suspense as to the outcome.
Claudio is the most boring person in the god awful 4 way, and a singles match would have had just as much of a lack of suspense as the meaningless 4 way did.
Not sure if it happened on break or your feed still wasn’t good. But Mercedes was on headset to start before deciding she shouldn’t be sat with the commentary team, having her own single table brought out with a huge steak and a glass of red wine.She sat there for the match, and wasn’t just stood awkwardly at ringside. She was on her phone to feign being disinterested in everything, I’m not saying it was good by any means but it was all in keeping with her character.
Just finally got to watch the show (I wouldn’t be so ignorant and pathetic to post comments about a show when I didn’t see it), and I thought it was ok, but not anything special. DEFINITELY worth a watch, don’t get me wrong, but I think they need to keep building storylines and not having 42 minute in-ring promo’s.
The MJF-Hurt Syndicate is interesting and should be fun, and surprisingly all four are holding their own without MJF taking most of the spotlight, which is awesome.
Mone needs to go away.
As far as the matches being predictable, most matches on any wrestling program nowadays are predictable, but I must say AEW usually has a lot of contests that you aren’t really sure who is going over.
As far as the matches being predictable, most matches on any wrestling program nowadays are predictable, but I must say AEW usually has a lot of contests that you aren’t really sure who is going over.
excellent point and well stated.