AEW Dynamite Review - July 23, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Champion "Hangman" Adam Page def. Wheeler Yuta (Non-Title)

This was one of the only matches announced for this show ahead of time, so I fully assumed it would be saved for the main event and would be needlessly competitive. That said, I'm grateful they instead got it out of the way in the opener and had Page essentially squash Yuta in a matter of minutes. This was exactly what it needed to be. The Death Riders not having Yuta's back gives me hope that the group's days are numbered.

FTR def. JetSpeed in a AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

It was announced that a number one contender's tournament will be held to determine The Hurt Syndicate's AEW World Tag Team Championship challengers at Forbidden Door. As a fresh and fun match that was given plenty of time, this was a strong start to the tourney. Adam Copeland unleashed Hurt Syndicate on FTR afterward, so I wouldn't be shocked if FTR end up winning this whole thing.

Tony Schiavone Interviewed Will Ospreay

There were some rumblings that Ospreay was banged up coming out of All In and that he was going to take some time off but be back for Forbidden Door next month. That's pretty much what Ospreay confirmed in this promo, but it's interesting he appeared at all instead of waiting until Forbidden Door to return by answering an open challenge or something. Then again, I imagine they want to advertise him in advance given he's from England and that's where the event will emanate from. Being gone for only a month despite the severity of what he's dealing with seems soon, but hopefully he can make it happen and isn't risking his health by doing so.

AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm def. Billie Starkz in an AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Match

Storm telling Athena on last week's Collision that Starkz would earn a title shot if she managed to win added a nice layer to this match. Sure, Starkz was never going to win, but Athena acting nervous that she might played into the subtle (or perhaps not-so-subtle) jealousy and disdain she has toward her pupil. It was an enjoyable outing and I appreciated that Starkz was made to look credible in defeat. Alex Windsor made the save for Storm afterward as she'll be contending for Athena's ROH Women's World Championship on Saturday's Collision.

Swerve Strickland def. Hechicero by Disqualification

I'm all for Hechicero getting more prominent singles matches on AEW TV because the guy is good. This was solid but could've been better with more time. The interference from The Don Callis Family leading to the disqualification finish was whatsoever, but I understand wanting to protect both guys since they're being built up for championship opportunities. Kazuchika Okada attempted to attack Strickland afterward but was thwarted.

Mark Briscoe Interrupted MJF; Briscoe def. Claudio Castagnoli

MJF was addressing Adam Page and teasing tension with Bobby Lashley backstage earlier in the episode when Briscoe interrupted. I honestly forgot about this feud, but it made sense to continue it after MJF stole the win from Briscoe in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In. The subsequent match didn't feel like a main event in the slightest, but at least it was a quality contest. Post-match, Page vs. Moxley in an AEW World Championship rematch from All In was made official for next week's Dynamite with everyone barred from ringside. I'm glad they're not waiting until Forbidden Door and are getting it out of the way early (so we can ideally move on).

Overall Show

I have no idea why AEW neglected to announce almost anything for this episode until mere hours beforehand on social media, and most of what we got wasn't anything of importance. Tony Khan usually does a better job with that. The venue AEW has a residence at right now continues to look awesome and the crowd was hot, but this was a middle-of-the-road show for me. Feuds were furthered and some stuff happened, but it felt like they threw this card together at the last minute just to get it over with.

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