AEW Dynamite Review - February 26, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Aaron Solo

The match itself was a total squash as it should have been, but the focus was on the post-match angle with MJF addressing Page from the stage and revealing that he bloodied Christopher Daniels backstage. Given the way they've established the relationship Page has with Daniels, I thought this was an effective way to put more heat on MJF before their match at Revolution.

Will Ospreay def. Bryan Keith

The Don Callis Family hired Keith as a bounty hunter for the night to attempt to take out Ospreay. Of course, he was always going to be unsuccessful, but They had a well-wrestled affair and I appreciated that Keith was made to look credible in defeat. Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher will be having a Steel Cage match at Revolution, so they brawled briefly in the crowd afterward.

The Outrunners def. The Monster Machines

This wasn't officially billed as a number one contender's match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, but it felt like one since I assume The Outrunners will end up challenging for the tag titles after winning here. Monster Machines were already teasing facing The Hurt Syndicate, but it looks like we're going to have wait a little longer until we get it. I know Monster Machines dominated most of the match, but this sort of ass-backwards booking makes little sense to me if we're going to get Monster Machines vs. Hurt Syndicate eventually. At least The Outrunners are popular, so the crowd popped for the upset win.

Ricochet Interrupted Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana

Ricochet received fantastic heat from this crowd and this was one of his better promos. Strickland and Nana also played their roles well, setting the stage nicely for their rematch at Revolution and raising the stakes by making it a number one contender's match for the AEW World Championship. Nana threatening to leave Strickland if he doesn't go back to his old self was an interesting tease for a possible split.

The Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) def. AEW TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and FTR

It's been encouraging to see AEW's trios division has been heat up as of late. Cope taking out The Death Riders member by member means we aren't getting an AEW World Trios Championship defense at Revolution, but this was designed to set up Cole vs. Garcia for the AEW TNT Championship on Saturday's Collision more than it was to earn Undisputed Kingdom another shot at the Trios titles. This had good action and all six guys worked well together.

Cope, Jay White and Willow Nightingale Attacked The Death Riders

The Death Riders storyline still stinks, but I credit AEW/Tony Khan for pulling back on it and not overexposing them on both Dynamite and Collision every single week. It has made them infinitely more bearable. This was simple stuff with the babyfaces getting the better of the heels, specifically with Claudio Castagnoli and Marina Shafir being "eliminated" so they (presumably) don't interfere in the Revolution main event. I'm just surprised Cope's wife Beth Phoenix didn't take out Shafir, but Nightingale was a logical choice.

Harley Cameron def. Deonna Purrazzo

I'm glad Purrazzo wrestled her first match since last April (which is completely ridiculous, by the way), but it doesn't appear she's in line for a push despite that recent report about her voicing her frustration about her current spot to management. Her AEW run has been disappointing, but I will give AEW props for following up with Cameron accordingly after she lost at Grand Slam: Australia. This was a decent match with the right outcome.

AEW Continental Champion Konosuke Takeshita def. Orange Cassidy in a Revolution International Championship Series Match

I can't imagine a single soul in attendance actually thought Cassidy was winning (rendering this Revolution International Championship Series irrelevant) and I wasn't thrilled when I saw this slotted as the main event, but they ended up having the best bout on the entire show. I figured it would be entertaining, but this overdelivered in my opinion, especially with how hot the crowd was for it. Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW International Championship is now official for the pay-per-view.

Overall Show

AEW has been producing a solid string of shows this month and this edition of Dynamite kept that streak alive. It had an enjoyable energy to it and there was plenty of storyline progression along with the usual quality wrestling. The build for Revolution on the whole has been strong and the card on paper looks promising. Not everything AEW is doing at the moment is firing on all cylinders, but they're definitely headed in the right direction.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews