AEW Dynamite (Dec. 3, 2025) was anchored by the Continental Classic main event between Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli. One Death Rider would be victorious, and it wasn’t Moxley. The show also featured Samoa Joe belittling Eddie Kingston, Toni Storm with the shoe to win the Hardcore Holiday Deathmatch, Okada blindsiding the Young Bucks, and more from Fishers Events Center in Fishers, Indiana.
Jon Moxley loses to Claudio Castagnoli
Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli collided in the main event for a Continental Classic tournament match in the Blue League. Aside from the drama of competition, there was a lot of intrigue on how the Death Riders would handle this situation. Moxley is trending downward, while Claudio and PAC are trending upward. There was also the question of Moxley’s intestinal fortitude after tapping out in recent big matches. Fans wanted to see what happens when Claudio put Moxley to the test.
Moxley and Claudio delivered a great fight. It was iron sharpens iron. Neither man pulled any punches. They wrestled with aggression just like against any other opponent when the stakes are high. Claudio wounded Mox to gush blood with physicality on the outside.
The visual was red when Claudio went from a big swing into a Sharpshooter submission. Moxley demonstrated grit to keep clawing. He had no quit on this evening. The slugfest increased in intensity the longer the fight went. A striking exchange knocked both down. Claudio was quicker to the trigger as they charged to the center of the ring. Claudio blasted a huge uppercut to win. 3 points to Claudio for 6 overall, while Moxley remains with 3 points total.
In the aftermath, there didn’t appear to be any tension among Death Riders. Moxley sat outside disappointed in defeat, and Claudio was happy for the hard-fought win. I was waiting to see the any clues as Claudio went over to Moxley, but cameras cut out before we could see that moment, if there was any moment to pick up on.
Turning to social media showed the Death Riders in unison doing pushups together. There is clearly no tension between the heavy hitters of the Death Riders. Moxley was happy for Claudio’s success.
Moxley versus Claudio delivered on every level. It had physicality, drama, excitement, and the hook to see who wins. I don’t care how many times Moxley loses. It’s still surprising to see. I know the Death Riders are heels, but a match like this with the extra scene of being a family pushes them toward anti-hero status. I think there’s room to explore the growth of the Death Riders in that aspect. AEW would have to smooth things out for a new direction to make sense, but it has potential to work.
Samoa Joe & Opps’ business
Samoa Joe and The Opps are busy men with fights coming on several fronts. Joe has a date to dance with Eddie Kingston for the AEW world title, The Opps have trios gold, and Hook is in the bullseye of Hangman Page.
Joe and Kingston shared a promo segment to open the show. After humorous insults about the crowd, Joe answered the pressing question of why rope Kingston into this drama. Joe calmly explained that Hook comes from championship pedigree, so the young man needed to learn how life is on the other side. Joe used Kingston to show Hook what second place looks like. Joe lambasted Kingston as a man never living up to potential and always failing to cross the finish line.
Kingston’s retort was calling Joe a sell-out. This isn’t the man that Kingston once respected. The Mad King warned that Joe better bring that old fire or else he will get eaten alive at Winter is Coming.
In terms of promo content, Joe smoked Kingston. That has to feel embarrassing to be publicly used as the negative example to show Hook how not to be. Joe treated Kingston like a verbal punching bag. Kingston’s talking points didn’t connect with me, because AEW hasn’t portrayed Joe as a sell-out Hollywood money man living the high life. That said, Kingston did his job here. This match needed a quick build for television, and he provided the intensity to fire up the crowd for the big fight. Fans will root for him to win, and haters will root for Joe to shut him up.
I was initially harsh on The Opps’ grand scheme storyline, but I’m warming up to it now. Joe’s explanation for Hook makes sense from their viewpoint. It’s also a scummy thing to do, which builds nice heat on the villains.
Hook, Will Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata were in action later. They fixed a match under the guise of being fighting champions. They called out the Dark Order to give them a chance to earn a trios title shot. There is also the tie-in of tenderizing Hangman’s former pals. This might be Hook’s most productive promo of his career. He sounded much more comfortable speaking.
Funny enough, the Dark Order crossed paths with Hangman backstage. I laughed at how Hangman didn’t even bother to acknowledge them until Alex Reynolds grabbed his arm. The Dark Order didn’t want the cowboy to ruin they’re big opportunity, so he promised not to intervene until the match was over.
The Opps treated the Dark Order like chumps. Evil Uno actually had a strong rally. Hobbs went into powerhouse mode in the end for a spinebuster to win. Production also treated the Dark Order like chumps. During the finish, they had Excalibur reading off ads for the Dynamite Diamond Ring and graphics cluttering the screen. All that info overshadowed the winning maneuver.
Hangman honored his word. As soon as the match was over, he came to collect from The Opps. Hook was ushered out by security. Hangman fought Hobbs and Shibata. The cowboy got the upper hand. Security saved Hobbs from the buckshot lariat, so Hangman beat up security.
Hangman gave a promo about Hook costing him the world title. He will handle Hobbs and Shibata in tag team action next week. Hangman teased his partner, which we all assume will be Swerve Strickland.
The overarching Opps story was well done on this evening. I appreciate how AEW incorporated so many characters, and it all felt natural as a story on screen. Everything had its purpose to set action in motion. Dare I say, this felt like an episodic wrestling television show.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Gold League: Okada defeated PAC. The Rainmaker entered with zero points, while PAC had 3 to his name. The first half was simmering aggressive. The pace picked up for the second half. PAC surged for a huge clothesline then into the Brutalizer submission, however, Okada swiftly countered for a roll-up to win. Okada earned 3 points.
This match had a big-fight feel not knowing who would win. The chemistry was good for a chess match. Okada and PAC both had moments of escaping signature moves with style. The closing sequence was smartly executed. PAC had all the momentum and went into his finishing routine. It felt to me like that was going to be the end. That’s when Okada used his expert ring awareness to outsmart PAC on the counter roll-up. The finish was a nice little roller coaster of emotion. The match flowed to give the feeling that both wrestlers are still legit contenders to advance through league play.
Gold League: Kyle Fletcher defeated Kevin Knight. Both men entered with 3 points in the tournament. Knight thrilled with his coast to coast dropkick again.
Knight continued his impressive run by pushing Fletcher to the limit. Jet went for the win on the UFO splash, but the Protostar put his knees up to block. Fletcher took control to finish with a brainbuster. 3 points to the winner for a total of 6 overall.
Knight is proving to be the breakout star of the tournament so far. He is showing he can hang with the best in a wrestling sense and in a story sense. I think Knight will need a win or two more for this momentum to stick above the level of fan favorite loser to the stars. Fletcher picked up valuable points. There are no easy matchups this year, and Fletcher is showing the grind of the tournament lifestyle.
Okada turns on the Young Bucks. After Fletcher’s win, Don Callis taunted the Bucks to come get their money. The Bucks brought the superkicks to clear the ring, but it turned into a numbers ambush with numerous members of the Callis Family. The most surprising was Okada with zero hesitation to hit the Rainmaker on Matt Jackson.
Nick Jackson was next, but Jurassic Express made the save. More numbers from the Callis Family led to Kenny Omega on the scene. He ducked a Rainmaker to counter for a dragon suplex. Too bad for the Bucks that the cash was still in possession of the Callis Family.
Interesting move for Okada to firmly pick Callis over the Young Bucks. Conspicuous in his absence was Konosuke Takeshita. Okada’s Rainmaker set the battle lines, and that brought memories of Omega mentoring Takeshita back in the day. With the way that Omega forgave the Bucks, it feels like Takeshita might be next on that list of forgiveness. One step at a time though. First, we need to witness the electric moment when Takeshita finally snaps on Okada and the Family.
Speaking of Takeshita, he was actually in the building. Okada is right that the Alpha let them down. Renee Paquette tried to stir the pot about the Unified title. Callis wasn’t taking the bait.
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship tournament semifinal: Timeless Love Bombs defeated MegaProblems. Hardcore Holiday Deathmatch stipulation in effect. Weapons of choice were a champagne bottle, a frying pan, and a barbed wire candy cane.
Toni Storm hopped off the apron for a piledriver to Megan Bayne through a table.
You’d think that spot was close to the end, but there was plenty more action. The finish was the surprise return of Luther dressed as Santa Claus. Marina Shafir did not watch out for the shoe, and Storm clocked her to win. Timeless Love Bombs advance to the final next week.
Fun match in general. I was expecting more blood given the deathmatch name. I think Shafir was the only bleeder from breaking a champagne bottle over her hand. Moxley bled enough for all four women, and he was in just a regular singles match. The finish was amusing and also kind of cheap for a tournament result. I’ll try not to be too much of a Grinch about it. The highlight reel for this fight would be pretty entertaining. Credit to the wrestlers for taking the hard bumps.
Notes: Mark Briscoe had respect for Daniel Garcia, but Garcia is losing his way with the Death Riders. Briscoe doesn’t play games, and he arranged the TNT title match for Cardiff Wales (Winter is Coming Collision).
Ricochet has promoters begging for him to defend the AEW National Championship on their shows. He’ll do charity work for ROH to give Dalton Castle a shot at Final Battle.
Orange Cassidy faces Roderick Strong in the tournament on Collision. Strong was not down to conglomerate. Two reasons to watch this clip are Briscoe’s word of the day, which I can’t spell, and the funny quip from Cassidy to close the scene.
Darby Allin was admitted to the hospital after his last match, due to burn injuries (from PAC in Blood & Guts). Commentary teased an update on Collision about his status for the Continental Classic. I wonder if AEW is setting up an excuse for Allin to get the goose egg until he beats PAC in his final match to screw PAC’s chances of advancing.
Babes of Wrath proved doubters wrong to make the tag team title tournament final. They will be champions.
Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter challenged Sisters of Sin to a tag match in the UK. Hayter was in good cheer for that, then she teased focus on the women’s world title.
Mercedes Moné beat Red Velvet once before, and she will gladly do it again at ROH Final Battle.
FTR talked trash about the Bang Bang Gang.
Stud of the Show & Match of the Night: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jon Moxley
Interesting blend of action and story. Four out of five matches had intrigue about the winners. Sorry Dark Order as the odd men out. That served a transition anyway for Hangman’s story. Overall, the show felt focused as a storytelling device.
Share your thoughts about Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?