AEW did what they do best for the Christmas Eve snack of great wrestling. Jack Perry took a bite out of PAC to cause a six-way tie in the Continental Classic, Bandido won the Dynamite Diamond Ring, and more drama was featured on the Dynamite om 34th Street special (Dec. 24, 2025) from Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
There were no major stories on this episode, so let’s start with a cool move that I’ve never seen before. Bandido executed a Styles Clash Liger Bomb.
Dynamite Diamond Ring: Bandido defeated Ricochet. Winner receives the Dynamite Diamond Ring as well as a world title shot at the January 14 episode of Dynamite. This match started with a touch of humor as Bandido raided Brody King’s closet.
Unfortunately for Bandido, King was not ringside. GOA were there to assist Ricochet. That didn’t come into play until the end. More with the fun and jokes first. Bandido’s Macarena was interrupted by Ricochet, but Bandido had the last laugh on that exchange by slapping Ric upside his bald head for stealing the dance.
Bandido and Ricochet got down to serious business for a sweet match. Bandido surged down the stretch for the X-Knee maneuver to knock Ric silly. Bandido set up for the 21 Plex, however, shenanigans were afoot. Toa Liona distracted the referee as Bishop Kaun anchored Ricochet to prevent Bandido’s finisher. Ricochet hit a mule kick to the gonads. Ric rushed into a sloppy Spirit Gun, and Bandido countered for the crucifix pin to take the win. The Demand were poor sports and pounded Bandido afterward. King ran out, and the hooligans retreated.
Cool finish with the heel’s tactics backfiring. There was a lot of personality in this match as a change of pace from the intensity of the Continental Classic contests. The athleticism from Bandido and Ricochet delivered as well. I like the detail of Ricochet rushing into the Spirit Gun to leave himself open to the counter. It will be interesting to see how Bandido uses the Dynamite Diamond Ring. It probably won’t be for cheating, such as MJF’s shown over the years, so I’m curious how AEW keeps the gimmick going through the year. The bigger picture is an upcoming world title shot for Bandido. I appreciate that it doesn’t foreshadow who will walk out of Worlds End as world champion. Bandido can match up with anyone in that scenario for the sake of putting on an entertaining match for television.
Gold League: Jack Perry defeated PAC. The main event had its fair share of cool moves too. I love this recent wrinkle Perry added to his game to flip over the top then execute a German suplex.
PAC upped the ante for an avalanche belly-to-belly suplex.
The story was Perry’s tender ankle and showing heart to keep fighting. He pushed through the pain to hit his offense. Jungle Man scored major drama on his running knee finisher, however, PAC kicked out to transition to the Brutalizer submission. Perry really dug deep to survive by rolling the position over to touch the ropes with his foot. On the finish, Perry wanted no piece of another Brutalizer, so he bit PAC’s fingers to prevent the hold. That allowed Perry to sneak out with the win on a cazadora roll-up. Perry earned 3 points for 6 overall, and PAC remains with 6.
I did not expect Perry to become the agent of chaos in the Continental Classic, especially as an injury replacement for Darby Allin. Aside from Perry’s new habit of biting opponents, he threw the Gold League into a mess with everyone tied at 6 points heading into the final round of matches on Collision (airing on Christmas night). That was a gutsy win worthy of his babyface status. PAC was a beast in defeat. The running on the lariat adds an extra layer of oomph. It’s a cool visual in the setup and the impact.
Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Orange Cassidy. OC’s style and how Takeshita handled that made for a fun match. Cassidy showed urgency right away by tossing his sunglasses at Takeshita as a distraction for a roll-up. The Alpha hammered blows with force. Cassidy was shifty in movement for counters such as a stunner to escape an avalanche Raging Fire driver. Cassidy got a little cocky with his hands in pockets, and Takeshita made him pay by coming from behind for a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cassidy connected on a superman punch in an unorthodox position to knock Takeshita over the barricade. The Alpha beat the count-out back into the ring. In the end, Takeshita escaped a roll-up to explode into the Raging Fire finisher for victory. 3 points to Takeshita for 10 overall, and Cassidy stays at 6.
Enjoyable flow to the match. Cassidy looked good without his style making the opponent seem stupid. Takeshita’s aggressiveness mixed well with Cassidy’s flavor. There were a few sequences that heat up with drama toward a pinfall. Credit to Casssidy’s roll-up game for keeping viewers on their toes that the end could happen at any time. Takeshita punched his ticket into the semifinals with emphasis on that finish. When it was over, this match satisfied my appetite for wrestling.
Blue League: Mascara Dorada defeated Roderick Strong. The story was lucha libre versus backbreaker style. The luchador shined with speed. Strong had to slow him down with his backbreaker offense. In the end, Dorada escaped a backbreaker to kick Strong in the face. That set up the shooting star press for the win. 3 points to Dorada with 6 overall, and Strong has yet to taste success in the tournament.
Entertaining clash in styles. You know what type of match Strong will deliver, and Dorada added sizzle with his high-flying. Strong is too strong of a wrestler to get zero points for the entire tournament. I suspect he has a good chance at spoiling his final opponent’s chances of advancing to the semifinals. No matter what happens in Dorada’s final match, I think his run in the Continental Classic is a success for the exposure with quality wins to establish him in AEW.
MJF defeated Dustin Waller, followed by world title promos. MJF mauled his opponent for the squash. A hammerlock DDT set up the Salt of the Earth armbar. Afterward, MJF grabbed a mic, but he never got a chance to speak. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland were in the crowd to threaten him. They backed it up with violence. Samoa Joe chimed in on the big screen trying to sow mistrust between the heroes. Swerve hit the House Call on MJF, and Hangman choked him with the steel chain.
I really like the visuals of this scene with Hangman and Swerve in the upper deck. That was a cool way to use the venue’s atmosphere. The beatdown on MJF looked artistic as well. The content of the promos didn’t interest me. I don’t want to hear lectures about MJF being misogynistic and toxic. That part did nothing to get me excited for the PPV.
Marina Shafir defeated Mina Shirakawa. Mina wanted to fight solo without Toni Storm ringside.
The fight unfolded with Mina securing a figure-four. Shafir snapped Mina’s fingers to escape. Shafir blocked a spinning backfist to smother Mina with the Mother’s Milk submission to win. The referee waved off the bout as Mina passed out. Shafir decided to add insult to injury by doing that chokehold again. Storm ran out for the save, so Shafir blasted her with a front kick. Storm collapsed on top of Mina.
Damn. That was a physical statement from Shafir. Her badass aura just increased tenfold as someone to be taken seriously as a singles competitor. She was aggressive on offense and vicious on defense with small joint manipulation, which is outlawed in the UFC. Steamrolling Storm was icing on the cake.
Notes: Gabe Kidd wants Darby Allin at Worlds End. Allin paints an image of being indestructible, but he’s standing on thin ice. Kidd wants to crack that ice. Nice recap package of their feud to refresh the memory.
Allin wasn’t concerned about Kidd, so Kidd made his presence felt with a sneak attack. Lots of loud noises led to Kidd tossing Allin down the stairs. The first part with Kidd didn’t get me excited, because there has been too much down time in this feud. My opinion changed when Kidd got violent here. That was a great way to kick-start the excitement back up in seeing that match.
The Bang Bang Gang want FTR in a street fight at Worlds End. Juice Robinson doesn’t believe FTR were the better team in Manchester when Dax Harwood put his foot on the ropes to break the fall, which caused confusion on the finish. Juice proposed getting rid of the rules. Sometimes, you have to get down and dirty to settle the score. This challenge has me wondering why would FTR accept this.
Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter hyped their world title bout for the PPV. Statlander told her opponent to stop dwelling on the past and focus on who she deserves to be. Hayter’s reply was to swing for a lariat. StatDaddy blocked, and officials broke it up. I think Statlander’s motivational message is fine in a bubble, but it felt out of place in this story. AEW hasn’t shown Hayter having pity for herself. Hayter’s tweener attitude toward Statlander is amusing. She didn’t throw that lariat with malice. If it connected, so be it.
Babes of Wrath showered each other with compliments as a boost in confidence.
The Young Bucks won’t be cleared for the rest of the year, so Kenny Omega decided to handle some business on his own. I hope that is a tease for Omega versus Josh Alexander on PPV.
Stud the Show: Jack Perry
Jungle Man pulled the underdog story.
Match of the Night: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy
Great chemistry in a clash of strategy.
Hot matches to deliver rowdy entertainment. The live promos didn’t hit for me.
Share your thoughts about Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?