By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
Just like I said last week, the limit is the point here. So you will get ten thoughts on the show! No more, no less (I will inevitably break this rule someday).
– “Hangman” Adam Page and MJF failed to excite me in the final build up to their Texas Death Match. While the video package about them was superb and the brawl to close out Dynamite was intense, the press conference was a swing and a miss. Not only did it weirdly mix up actual wrestling critics in the on-air wrestling product (something I tend to frown upon), but both the questions and answers were bad. It was a bad promo segment wrapped in all the appeal of a bad press conference.
– Nothing about Adam Page feels inevitable this time around and that is strange when Page is challenging one-on-one for the AEW Men’s World Championship. This story with MJF is not connecting the way Page’s feuds with Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley did. Is this Hangman fatigue or a sign that this is Page’s last run at the Men’s World Championship?
– Kyle Fletcher and “Speedball” Mike Bailey are pure wrestling magic together. These two have a perfect blend of in-ring chemistry and character consistency that makes anytime they touch truly special. Their match in the 2025 Continental Classic was one of the best of the tournament. Up until the end of this week’s encounter, I was convinced they had topped themselves. I understand why AEW went with the cop out distraction/interference finish for this one, but it did negatively impact a match that was just seconds away from perfection. Now that these two are tied (1-1) in singles competition in AEW, I hope the rubber match comes soon and is as electric as the first two.
– AEW is really doing something with the Don Callis Family and the absurd number of wrestlers contained within it. Between Konoske Takeshita turning down nefarious offers of help when it comes to beating up Jon Moxley and Kyle Fletcher making sure Don Callis is not taking orders from MJF, I am intrigued. Takeshita has been slowly turning into a noble and upstanding citizen since Summer, but Fletcher questioning MJF? That is new and that will lead to some very fun conflict.
– Brody King and Swerve Strickland have built a nice little feud out of this “most dangerous man in AEW” tagline. King is improving when it comes to promos and AEW is doing a better job of protecting him in that department. This is a bigger sustained push than King has seen in his time in AEW. Swerve is still fighting an uphill battle when it comes to being booed, but hopefully Sunday’s match against King helps cement that aspect of his character.
– “F— ICE” chants have become commonplace in AEW. You love to see it.
– Roderick Strong randomly decides to be a nice person this week, facing absolutely no consequences for being a mean person for months prior. I know this is how wrestling works, but it did not trick me into enjoying AEW’s weakest story at this moment – Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin’s forever war with The Dogs.
– The finish of Willow Nightingale vs. Persephone was not my favorite, but I truly enjoyed Willow’s facial expression after the backslide pinfall win. A cheeky smile will always lead to me enjoying a match.
– Tommaso Ciampa needed a big win more than anyone else in the FTR and Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe and The Young Bucks match. This six-man did not match the intensity or joy of Mile High Madness two weeks ago, but it did not need to.
– The look of this week’s AEW Dynamite was delightful. The San Jose Civic was just a cool looking building to see a TV wrestling show in. AEW’s turnaround in the last year and a half is not entirely tied to these smaller, cooler, better buildings for TV wrestling, but they certainly help. Not every smaller building looks this good (2300 Arena looks terrible today and was truly cooler looking in 1993), but historic theaters are far more fun to watch wrestling in and from than generic basketball arenas.
Will Pruett writes about wrestling and popular culture at prowrestling.net. To see his video content subscribe to his YouTube channel. To contact, check him out on Bluesky @itswilltime, leave a comment, or email him at itswilltime@gmail.com.
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