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AEW Dynamite Recap – 12/31/2025

We're sending the year out with a SMASH!
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AEW Dynamite Recap

It’s Wednesday…the last one of 2025…AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!!! That means it’s time for the final AEW Dynamite Recap of the year, and Tony Khan ensured that the company would go out in style!

Things started out with MJF coming to “address things,” including bringing back his “BBB.” Yes, his custom belt is back, and the crowd didn’t seem to mind it! Go figure. Obviously, there were many “challengers” to come for his title, but the question was…who would make their claim first? Oh, we found that out quickly…

Oh yeah, Kenny Omega is going back for the main belt! Many are already predicting that this could be the main event of AEW Revolution in March, and if so…I AM READY!!!!! Seriously, their match on Collision was awesome, and Kenny was literally on death’s door at that point in time, due to his Diverticulitis! So now, imagine him in the condition he’s in right now. This will be good. Oh, and if you’re wondering WHY he wasn’t there live, it’s because he’s in Japan, preparing to be at Wrestle Kingdom for Tanahashi’s last match. They are very close, after all.

…but he wasn’t the only one who wanted a piece of MJF:

Personally, I appreciated them stacking the top of the show to indicate that even if you didn’t like the finale of World’s End, there was a lot to look forward to in 2026. Plus, remember, AEW had a killer slate of 2025 PPVs, so let’s just see where this all goes, okay?

So, as I made clear in my World’s End “best match breakdown,” the “Mixed Nuts” match was a highlight of the show. In fact, the clip of Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy “dancing and fighting” during the match went onto Instagram and got over 75 million views! So, it wasn’t too much of a surprise when AEW decided to “run it back with this match.

Sure, it wasn’t as long, but it was just as fun in many ways, including doing bits on Dynamite that they didn’t do at World’s End:

Oh, and remember that “dancing scene” at the PPV? Well, what’s a movie star without a worthy sequel?

They even had a bit where Roddy actually got to put a backbreaker on Marina! I love wrestling. In the end, the Death Riders would pull out the win, which could mean another “nuts” match like this could happen in the future! Stay tuned!

Another “surprise match” that Tony Khan dropped on us at the last minute was Bandido versus Mortos! I’m always up for a fun lucha match, especially when you consider just how great these two are!

And true to form, AEW had fun with the fact that Mortos wears a bull mask…

…and that Bandido is basically a superhero in his own right…

This was a fun sprint of a match. In fact, I was a little surprised that the first two matches on Dynamite went under ten minutes. Perhaps it was for the best, given who was involved, and what was to come, but if these two do run it back in the future, I hope they get even longer to shine.

That was followed up by a squash match featuring Brody King. I’m not sure where they’re going with that, but I am glad to see Brody getting some TV time again, as he’s very much one of the “unsung heroes” of AEW, especially in 2025 with how he helped elevate Brodido in his own way.

Then, we got a surprising message from Darby:

Hmm…he wants to be “free” of the Death Riders. Interesting. This fits with not only him beating Gabe Kidd at World’s End, but Moxley becoming a “face” again and not acting as he did before. Plus, if you caught it, he might be yet another challenger for MJF, and there are MANY out there who want Darby as the world champion one day. Godspeed, Mr. Allin…

And now, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to talk about the man, the myth, the legend…Jon Moxley. After his performance at World’s End, he’s right back at the top of the “fan favorite” list in AEW, and when we all heard he was doing a match just DAYS after the back-to-back matches to finish the Continental Classic, we all did the “We’re Not Worthy!” gif motion.

I was excited for his match because I figured it would allow Josh Alexander to show just how good he is again, as he’s only had a few opportunities to do so since his signing early in 2025. Thankfully, I was right, as this was a physical match from start to finish:

A key element in this match, for me, was that they continued the angle of Jon not being 100% still, with Alexander going after his wounded ankle, and yet Moxley didn’t care. He kept coming back, kept begging for more, and every time Josh dished something out, Jon would dish it right back!

This was 15 minutes of brutal intensity, but when you’re at the top of the mountain like Moxley is, it’s really hard to get knocked down.

Oh, and the best part? Not only was the match great, but they’re also teasing Moxley versus Shelton Benjamin! This will be fun, as these are two wrestlers who are STILL at the top of their wrestling game, and we might get another showcase sooner rather than later.

The phrase “a challenger approaches” could be an appropriate moniker for the entire New Year’s Smash show, and for Kris Statlander, a familiar foe is dangling above her…within a web of madness…

Next, was the first of two title matches for the night, as Ricochet went up against Jack Perry, following Perry’s pin on him in the World’s End Zero Hour 8-man tag. As you would expect from two men of such talents, things got wild quickly:

I’m sure many are grateful to Tony Khan for not doing away with Jack Perry’s singles potential following his Continental Classic run. He did REALLY well, and showed what he could do, and while this match was just over 10 minutes, he did showcase his talents yet again.

In the end, though, Ricochet would win, and then, The Demand did some serious damage to Luchasaurus. I’m not sure if he’s actually injured, but hopefully not, as I want Jurassic Express to be used quite a lot in 2026. Fingers crossed that this was all kayfabe!

…and now…a word from The Death Riders:

Finally, we had our main event of the night!

The fact that this was made at World’s End and then got the main event spot shows just how much Tony Khan adores these ladies, and knew they would put on a great match. The question was, “Would he pull the trigger on Willow, even though she’s already a champion?” or “Would they have Willow lose again, and have someone else, like Athena, take the belt off Mone?”

These questions mounted as the match went longer and longer. I was THRILLED that they maximized the use of the overrun, otherwise this would’ve been only about ten minutes, and that would’ve made me sad, especially with how full-tilt these two were going!

Despite only having one true 1-v-1 match in AEW, and one in New Japan, these two have clear chemistry, and worked so well throughout the match, including doing some big spots, like the suplex on the announce table…*in Gonzo impression*…which did NOT break!

By the time we were getting to the final minutes, I was really unsure who would win. We even had a great fakeout moment, where Mone used the same pin that Willow did at World’s End to try to sneak away another victory.

…but…

WILLOW WON!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! WILLOW WON!!!!!!!!

Did I expect that? Nope. I was on the side of those who thought she was likely to lose. Yet, I couldn’t be happier that she won, especially when the Conglomeration and a certain someone else came out to celebrate…

Sometimes? You just need to buck expectations and pull out something special. The good guys won, the babyfaces have all the women’s gold, and the lesson here, as we leave 2025, is that “Nothing matters. Smile anyway.”

God bless you, Willow Nightingale.

And with that, my AEW Dynamite Recap ends, and so too do my tales of AEW wrestling in 2025…I’ll see you in 2026 for the first Collision recap!

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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!