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AEW Dynamite Recap – 11/26/25

It's the Effin Continental Classic!!!!
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AEW Dynamite Recap

Hey everyone! I hope you’re all having a great Thanksgiving Eve! I was absolutely pumped for AEW tonight, because with Full Gear now behind us, it was time to start the Continental Classic!!!! And just like Wednesday…YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!! Yep, some of the most consistent and epic wrestling you’ll see all year on EVERY SHOW, and my AEW Dynamite Recap is here to break it all down…starting with the perfect way to start the C2:

I’ll admit, I was a bit stunned that they decided to do this match first! Then again, once things got rolling, you could see why they made this choice…because the match was incredible!

Recall that during last year’s Continental Classic, Fletcher beat Okada, which was a huge upset. So, the question was, would Fletcher be able to do it again? I honestly wasn’t sure, because they were going back and forth in an epic fashion throughout the match. With the following sequence being just one part of the spectacle:

Yeah, there was a lot going on here, and there were equal amounts of brutality and hilarity, including both Fletcher and Okada using the ref to knock the other off the top rope…and then begging for forgiveness from the ref.

It was really back and forth, especially once the two broke out their “I’m ready to finish this moves,” but in the end…Fletcher got the rollup for the win!!!

That’s a huge deal for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that everyone (including me) thinks that the finals will be Okada vs. Takeshita at World’s End. So, that means Okada is already behind the 8-Ball and can’t screw up if he hopes to make it to the semifinals at World’s End. What this also shows is that Tony Khan still isn’t afraid to stun people with this tournament…and that would go double (or nothing) for another match coming up.

Afterward, we got a follow-up with Kenny Omega after the events of Full Gear about whether he and the Young Bucks are truly back together.

Yeah, they’re back together, and if you haven’t yet, check out the latest episode of Being The Elite where they expand upon this even more!

Next up was the next semifinal match in the women’s tag team title tournament! The Babes of Wrath, Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron vs. the Sisters of Sin, Skye Blue and Julia Hart.

This was another fun tag team match for the women, and I’m glad the crowd was into it (unlike what happened at Full Gear for the women’s world title match…). Anyway, this was another result that could’ve gone either way, as the tournament is still very much wide open.

Yet, in the end, Willow wouldn’t be denied, getting the powerbomb on Julia to get the win!

I’ll admit, I was surprised by that, as many felt that the Sisters of Sin would be a perfect “first champs,” especially given that they’ve been a tag team for a long time. I can understand going with the Babes of Wrath, though, in the finals, as Willow is forever over, and Harley has more than earned her place in AEW.

Following the match was the “celebration” of The Opps, who were more than happy to bask in Samoa Joe’s glory, as the new version of “Sun Tzu” revealed just how his “plan came together,” especially with the turncoat Hook playing “double agent.” I do appreciate them “spelling things out,” as there were clues along the way that Hook was playing both sides, and after Full Gear, we all put the pieces together…a bit too late.

Regardless, we all knew it would be interrupted, and sure enough, Swerve and Hangman arrived to “make things right.”

Where this leads to World’s End? Hard to say. I doubt they’ll do a triple threat match right off the bat, but I’ve been surprised before!

Next was Jon Moxley vs. Mascara Dorada in the C2. A LOT of us AEW fans were thrilled when Dorada got included in the Continental Classic, as he’s a special talent, and this match showcased that once again.

I honestly wondered if Moxley would go through the C2 winless, especially after the loss at Full Gear, and the match with Dorada made me think that would happen. The luchador had Moxley on the ropes quite often, and even though Moxley did some big moves himself…

Mascara always seemed to have an answer…

I truly wondered if the night would be full of upsets. But in the end, Moxley wouldn’t let his “tap out streak” continue and choked out Dorada cold:

…but…his night was not over…as he had to deal with the one and only Toni Storm. She decided to reveal to both him and Marina Shafir the stipulation for the next women’s tag team semifinals match…and it was a bold choice:

…what a woman. Oh, speaking of which…

That’s another one where I don’t know where things will go with World’s End. There are a few women I’d LOVE to see step up to face Stat, including Thekla and Jamie Hayter, but will they pull the trigger on that, or go in a different direction? We’ll find out…

Next on my AEW Dynamite Recap, we had the absolute spectacle that was Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight.

If you SOMEHOW didn’t see the potential of Kevin Knight before this match… you’d better see it now.

The beautiful thing about the Continental Classic is that it allows wrestlers to go full-tilt and really show why they belong in AEW, and Kevin Knight totally did that here. He had done it before, mind you, but this was the exclamation point on the matter.

…oh, and Darby did great, too!

This was truly a content of two young talents going, “Okay, how can we keep cranking things up?” and they kept finding great answers to that question:

…and it all ended up with yet another upset in the tournament, as Kevin Knight beat Darby Allin clean!

He’s “2 Fly” indeed! I love this tournament.

Finally, the night ended with a classic rivalry revisited, as Orange Cassidy took on Claudio Castagnoli. At this point in the night, I had NO IDEA who would win. That’s what made it so much fun to watch!

The reason that many won’t get tired of this matchup is that it’s a true “clash of styles,” and they make it work really well. Claudio is easily one of the strongest and most gifted wrestlers around, and Orange can make any match look good with his “laid back” style, not to mention easily getting the crowd on his side.

…you know…even taking lots of punishment:

But hey! Orange gave as good as he got!

As time started ticking on, I really started pulling for OC and hoping he would pull out the victory, and at one point, I really thought he would do it, as did the rest of the crowd.

But it was not to be. Claudio got one final uppercut, and the match was decided:

And then…of course…we end things with a brawl!

So, yeah, Dynamite was incredible, and a darn-near perfect way to show off why the Continental Classic is something to behold. What was your favorite match tonight, and what C2 matches are you looking forward to in the future? Let me know in the comments of this AEW Dynamite Recap!

AEW Collision Matches (it’s on Thanksgiving night!!!)

  • Pac vs. Speedball Mikey Bailey
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Roderick Strong
  • Thekla vs. Tay Melo
  • Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  • We’ll Hear From FTR
  • We’ll Hear From Ricochet
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A self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy, born, bred, and Mushroom fed! He’s owned every Nintendo handheld and every console since the SNES. He's got a degree in video game development, is a published comic book writer and an author of several novels!

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