AEW Dynamite results (4/2): Barnett’s live review of Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir vs. Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale in a mixed tornado tag, Adam Copeland vs. Claudio Castagnoli

By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)

AEW Dynamite (Episode 287)
April 2, 2025 in Peoria, Illinois at Peoria Civic Center
Simulcast live on TBS and Max

Excalibur welcomed Tony Schiavone and Taz to the commentary table. Jon Moxley made his way to the ring through the crowd to start the show. He was joined by his tag partner Marina Shafir. Their opponents Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale followed. This is a Tornado Tag Match where all competitors are active simultaneously. 

1. Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir vs. Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale: Shafir landed a snap suplex on Willow out on the floor. Moxley tossed serve into the ringside barricade. Moxley retrieved a table from under the ring. The bell finally rang when Willow and Marina fought inside the ring. Swerve sent Moxley into the steps on the floor while Willow landed a suplex on Shafir in the ring. The Women and Men swapped positions with Moxley and Swerve ending up in the ring. 

Moxley and Shafir gained control and isolated Willow Nightingale. Moxley even set up to deliver a Death Rider to Willow, but Swerve returned to the ring and threatened to land Big Pressure on Shafir. They both tossed the women aside, and Nightingale shoved Moxley into Swerve and they both spilled to the outside. After trading strikes, the women ended up on the apron, where Shafir put Nightingale through the table at ringside…[c]

A big tower of doom spot in the corner saw Willow Nightingale pull everyone down off the second rope. She then splashed both Moxley and Shafir in the corner. Moxley grabbed a hold of her, but Swerve ran in to deliver a kick. Swerve then tossed Moxley to the floor and followed up with a springboard splash. Nightingale then delivered a big spinebuster on Shafir and covered for near fall.

Moxley and Swerve entered the ring and traded heavy punches. Swerve attempted a slam, but Moxley reversed and pulled him into a rear naked choke. Willow bailed out Swerve by powerbombing Shafir onto Moxley. Swerve and Moxley went back to trading strikes until Strickland delivered a flatliner. He then lined up for a House Call Kick, but Shafir pushed him out of the way and he hit her instead. Willow then shoved Moxley through a table at ringside, but the cameras missed it.

Willow delivered a sitout powerbomb to Shafir and covered for the win.

Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale defeated Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir at 14:32

After the match, Moxley delivered a DDT to Nightingale after the match, and then escaped with Shafir through the crowd. A big asshole chant started in the crowd. Video was then shown of Wheeler Yuta defeating Dax Harwood and having a tantrum afterward. We then got a backstage segment where Dax Harwood apologized to Paul Turner and paid his $10k fine to him directly. Renee asked Dax if they could put their differences aside and win the trios title, and Dax apologized and offered him a hug.

Wheeler refused the hug and told him they were still brothers, and would be fine on Sunday, but after that they had to talk. Penelope Ford vs. Toni Storm is up next…[c]

My Take: That was a fun opening match. I hope the Nightingale angle doesn’t lead to some BS finish on Sunday. The FTR drama continues to be a chore to sit through.

A replay of the previous segment was shown. Excalibur then introduced the Owen Hart Cup tournament bracket for the men. Hangman Adam Page will face a wildcard, and Will Ospreay will face newcomer Kevin Knight. Ospreay and Kevin Knight will tag to face Blake Christian and Lee Johnson. Jay White was not listed for the tournament any longer due to injury.

The Women’s bracket has Harley Cameron facing Athena, and Mercedes Mone will face Julia Hart. They will have a tag match between the four of them on Collision. Toni Storm then made her ring entrance in the arena, followed by Penelope Ford. Footage of Ford and Megan Bayne attacking Storm on Collision was shown.

2. “Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Penelope Ford: Storm slapped around Ford early on and delivered a backbreaker. She then got a two count after a Fisherman’s Suplex. Ford came charging back and delivered a double knee drop to the back of Storm, followed by a big boot…[c]

Ford went to lick Tony Storm’s face, and Toni decided to bite her tongue. Storm delivered a Thesz Press and followed up with a backdrop suplex. She then delivered a hip attack and a DDT for a close near fall. Storm then applied an STF, but Ford was able to reach the ropes quickly. The action spilled outside, and Ford delivered a moonsault onto Storm from the apron. She then delivered a gutbuster in the ring for a near fall of her own.

After a series of reversals, Storm delivered a Storm Zero Piledriver and got the win.

Toni Storm defeated Penelope Ford at 8:30

Megan Bayne walked out of the back and stared down Toni Storm in the ring. Backstage, Swerve Strickland was asked about Willow Nightingale by Renee Paquette. He didn’t really provide a medical update, but promised revenge by the end of the night on Jon Moxley, and referenced Willow’s history of neck problems…[c]

My Take: A decent match from Storm and Ford, but I’m hopeful we get more between Storm and Bayne by the end of the night. That was a weak segment for the last Dynamite before the PPV. Hopefully Swerve’s promise of revenge adds a little steam to their feud by the end of the night.

MVP and Bobby Lashley made their entrance as the show returned. Footage was shown of their appearance on last week’s Dynamite with MJF, Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Storms have apparently prevented Shelton Benjamin’s appearance on Dynamite tonight. MJF made his entrance before Lashley was able to speak.

MJF flattered MVP by complimenting his suit. He chastised Lashley for disrespecting him last week, and tried to introduce himself as a generational talent. MJF then complimented the absent Shelton Benjamin, and told Lashley he’s a legend, but AEW is a block that he built. He then said he can help Lashley hold onto the Tag Titles as long as he wants, and they could help him regain the world title that he held for a record setting amount of time. MJF continued and said that The Hurt Syndicate and MJF is good business, and they need him.

Lashley said that out of respect for MVP he’s not going to leave him lying, but he doesn’t like or respect him. He said they don’t need him, and until he proves differently that wasn’t going to change. MJF seemed offended that he had to prove himself, but he left for the back without a physical confrontation. As MVP and Lashley left, Bryan Keith and Big Bill made their entrance for the next match. They told Lashley to sit down and watch them work. There were ac couple of enhancement wrestlers in the ring that didn’t even get verbal introductions.

3. Big Bill and Bryan Keith faced Enhancement Wrestlers: Bill tossed one of them at Lashley on the floor. Keith delivered a knee strike to the other one, and Bill put him away with a chokeslam.

Big Bill and Bryan Keith defeated Enhancement Wrestlers at 1:01

Lashley and MVP laughed after the match. Bill said they whooped Top Flight’s ass on Saturday and “their” ass tonight. He said they would whoop their ass at Dynasty, and demanded a Tag Team Title Match. MVP started to respond, but Lashley stopped him and they left. Mercedes Mone was interviewed backstage and asked about her Tournament Match against Julia Hart. She said it would take more than tricks and spells to stop her, and called herself the greatest TBS Champion of all time.

Harley Cameron is her partner on Collision on Saturday, and then walked up with her Mercedes puppet. She said they could be a dream team, and Mercedes was so disgusted she walked away. Harley said they were the Money Wrath Train. Will Ospreay made his entrance for the next match. He was followed by his partner Kevin Knight. They were followed by Blake Christian and Lee Johnson.

My Take: The MJF and Hurt Syndicate story is in a weird spot. Big Bill and Bryan Keith have a very strange path to getting a title shot. Feels like one of those pro boxing situations where a fighting beats a bunch of Tomato Cans ahead of getting fed to a real fighter.

4. Will Ospreay and Kevin Knight vs. Blake Christian and Lee Johnson: Ospreay and Christian started the match. The match quickly spilled to the outside and Knight and Ospreay landed criss cross suicide dives to the floor. Johnson and Christian took control back after Johnson pulled Ospreay off the apron and Christian delivered a spear…[c]

Ospreay landed a double cross body on Christian and Johnson. He attempted a follow up springboard onto Christian, but Johnson was able to cut him off. Christian then performed a 450 stomp onto Ospreay, but opted to tag Johnson instead of making a cover. Ospreay landed a Stunner on Johnson and a big kick on Christian. He then made a tag to Kevin Knight. Christian ended up on Lee Johnson’s shoulders, and Knight landed a shotgun dropkick that sent them both tumbling hard to the mat. Knight followed up with a big springboard lariat for the win.

Kevin Knight and Will Ospreay defeated Blake Christian and Lee Johnson at 9:45

Tony Schiavone announced Ospreay vs Knight at Dynasty in their Owen Hart Cup tournament match. The Opps were then shown backstage. Joe said the nature of the game is changing, and he put The Opps together because he needed an arsenal. He said they were looking to expand their influence, and warned no one in particular not to let them catch them lacking. Lance Archer vs. Brody King is up next…[c]

My Take: Knight has been impressive in his first couple of matches. Let’s see if that lasts beyond the initial Tony Khan excitement about his new action figure.

Brody King made his ring entrance, followed by Lance Archer. Tony Schiavone was very excited about this being a “big meat matchup”.

5. Brody King vs. Lance Archer: They traded big strikes to start the match before spilling out to the floor. Archer landed a cannonball against the steps. King recovered and delivered a big splash against the barricade with Archer sat in a chair. Don Callis provided a distraction for Archer, and he capitalized by kicking the middle rope into Brody King’s plums. Archer then threw King into the steps on the floor. Both men fired off big chops and elbow strikes on the outside…[c]

King delivered a German Suplex to Archer and both men were down for a moment. He followed up with a rolling elbow and a running cross body. He then landed a scoop slam and a running senton for a near fall. Archer fired back with a sidewalk slam and a chokeslam for a close near fall of his own. Brody replied with a couple of lariats and a cannonball in the corner. He then delivered another big lariat and covered for a close near fall. King then hit the ropes and delivered a running killshot lariat and got the win.

Brody King defeated Lance Archer at 10:32

After the match, Don Callis checked on Archer while King celebrated. The announce team then ran through the lineup for AEW Dynasty. Cope vs. Claudio Castagnoli is up next…[c]

My Take: King and Archer beat the crap out of each other in a big physical war. It’s nice to see King get a win, but I don’t know how much of a boost he gets from defeating Archer, who is in the same position of losing too many matches.

Adam Copeland made his entrance, followed by Claudio Castagnoli.

6. Adam Copeland vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Claudio jumped Copeland before the bell, and the referee checked on Copeland before ringing the bell. They spilled to the floor almost immediately and Copeland was sent hard into the barricade. Cope recovered and returned the favor. He tossed Claudio into the barricade and landed a flurry of punches. Back in the ring, Copeland attempted a backslide and got a two count. He then traded short arm lariats, but neither man went down. Claudio got an advantage by biting the ear of Copeland.

Copeland managed to spear Claudio to the floor through the middle rope a moment later, but got stuffed by a European uppercut when he made a second attempt…[c]

Claudio attempted to suplex Copeland to the floor, but he was blocked. He landed another uppercut instead and then climbed the ropes. Copeland met him there and traded punches with him, and then they awkwardly worked into position so Copeland could land a top rope bulldog. Claudio managed to land a poke to the eyes without the ref seeing it and then dropped Copeland with a slam. He then performed a Giant Swing, but only got a two count afterwards.

Copeland fired back with an Impaler for a near fall. Claudio fought back and applied a Sharpshooter. Copeland attempted to power out of it, but Claudio transitioned into a Crossface. Copeland managed to escape and apply a Crossface of his own, but Claudio used his power to roll out to the apron. Claudio landed a big powerslam on the apron, and then tossed him over the barricade. He then urged the referee to make the count, but Copeland got back to the ring at nine.

Claudio fired up with a big lariat for a close near fall. He then attempted a springboard, but Copeland landed a big boot to counter. Claudio avoided a spear and delivered a big vaulted uppercut. Claudio attempted to set up for a Conchairto, but the referee ejected the chairs from the ring. Copeland delivered a low blow during the distraction, and then landed a spear to get the win.

Adam Copeland defeated Claudio Castagnoli at 17:38

After the match, Renee Paquette asked Swerve Strickland backstage about Willow Nightingale, but he cut her off and said he was looking for her husband. Instead, he was confronted by Hangman Page, who said he was a man of his word and wouldn’t allow him to be World Champion again. They yelled at each other about their past, and Hangman told him he deserved it when he burned his house down. Swerve agreed, which confused Hangman enough that he just walked away.

Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders ambushed Swerve and put him through some glass backstage. They then dragged him to the ring, and poured out a tin can full of glass. Claudio then delivered a powerbomb onto the glass, and then Moxley trash talked Swerve before exiting the arena. Swerve then sat up, not bleeding in the slightest, and then rose to his feet as the show ended. Moxley had a look of disbelief on his face as the show ended.

My Take: Swerve is so tough, he can shrug off not one, but two attacks involving sugar glass! All joking aside, the brief encounter with Hangman was far more interesting than anything that happened with Moxley to close the show. Overall, this was an entertaining episode of TV but I can’t say it did much to sell me on the PPV. If you were already excited about Dynasty, then I don’t think you opinion would have changed, but if you needed extra encouragement to spend your hard earned money on Sunday then you are left with Collision as one final hope.