AEW Dynamite Review - December 3, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Champion and AEW World Trios Champion Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston Went Face-to-Face

When Kingston initially threw out the challenge to Joe on last week's Collision, the first thing that excited me about them feuding was the eventual promo exchange considering how tremendous both of them are on the mic. This was their only chance to go back and forth since the match is on next Wednesday's Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite, but I thought it was good while it lasted. I was hoping we'd get more intensity from them. I laughed when Kingston said he wanted to hurry up so the crowd could watch wrestling, but we get enough wrestling on AEW programming. Give me more heated promos, dammit!

AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Pac in a Continental Classic Gold League Match (Non-Title)

This didn't quite reach the same level as their encounter from last year's Dynasty pay-per-view, but for the time given, it was very good. I'd say the heel vs. heel dynamic didn't help, but that wasn't an issue when Okada and Kyle Fletcher faced off last week. The crowd was way quieter than I would've expected. Nonetheless, Okada winning made sense after losing his first match in the Continental Classic. He pretty much has to win every match he has going forward in order to make it to the finals.

Kyle Fletcher def. Kevin Knight in a Continental Classic Gold League Match; Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Jurassic Express Fended Off The Don Callis Family

I may have actually liked this more than Okada vs. Pac, in part because of the stronger dynamic. Fletcher is fantastic and Knight is a star on the rise, so it was no surprise they worked as well together as they did. Fletcher going over was the correct outcome to ensure he maintains his momentum after beating Okada last week, but I appreciated that Knight was made to look credible in defeat. The post-match angle was well done, though I could do without the inevitable 10-man tag team match having money on the line.

Timeless Love Bombs def. MegaProblems in an AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Hardcore Holiday Death Match

Does Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir getting a team name indicate this will be more than a one-off pairing for the tournament? Doing a gimmick match in the middle of the tourney was silly, but at least they justified it after what Bayne and Shafir did to Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa in Blood and Guts. This was a bit of a mess, but the crowd popped for Luther's return (dressed as Santa), so there was that.

The Opps (Hook and AEW World Trios Champions Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata) def. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds)

I just complained in my review of Tuesday's ROH TV that Dark Order's match was random and wouldn't amount to anything as always, but I'll admit to being wrong. Hobbs said earlier in the episode that The Opps were impressed with their win and would give them a shot at the AEW World Trios Championship if they won here. Obviously, that was never going to happen, but it did give them a straightforward squash win. Adam Page brawling with them afterward led to Page's challenge for Winter Is Coming with him and Swerve Strickland taking on Hobbs and Takeshita.

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Claudio Castagnoli def. Jon Moxley in a Continental Classic Blue League Match (Non-Title)

From a storyline standpoint, this was easily the most interesting match on the whole show because of what it might mean for The Death Riders. There weren't any signs of tension, but Castagnoli winning could cause some friction as Moxley keeps racking up losses. The match itself was solid and hard-hitting, despite the crowd sitting on their hands for a majority of it.

Overall Show

Man, this crowd was dead as hell almost all night. I'm not going to say this would have been the most thrilling show otherwise, but the lame atmosphere certainly hurt my enjoyment. The Continental Classic matches were well wrestled and I'm glad we got Joe and Kingston going at it on the mic, even if it didn't live up to my lofty expectations. Winter Is Coming is next week and it's never felt any less special. I'm not sure why it's still a thing when there's a pay-per-view at the end of the month, but perhaps it will turn out to be entertaining.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews