When AEW announced Samoa Joe versus Eddie Kingston for the world championship, we all knew it would be a slugfest. That’s exactly what they delivered on Dynamite (Dec. 10, 2025). The Winter is Coming special also featured Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland working together as a tag team, the inaugural women’s tag team champions crowned, another upset in the Continental Classic tournament, and more from Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Samoa Joe vs. Eddie Kingston
The main event was a clash of titans. Samoa Joe radiates badass aura, while Kingston’s passion connects with the fans in ways so few can do.
AEW hyped the world title fight with a pair of promos. Joe mocked Kingston’s admiration. Joe is ruthless by design. He doesn’t care about men like Kingston. Joe will beat reality into him.
Kingston admitted to a nervous energy, which is good to keep him sharp. He was emotional thinking that this could be his last world title opportunity. Kingston won’t go down easy.
The potential x-factor was removed early when Hook was ejected for hooking Kingston’s foot. This was a fair fight for the rest of the way. Joe and Kingston engaged in a slobberknocker with furious chops. Joe stood tough with his massive chest, while Kingston winced in pain. Kingston showed heart to deliver hefty clotheslines. I love the speed of Joe’s hands on this sequence.
Kingston backed up his words. He wouldn’t go down easy. After another flurry from Joe, Kingston hit an exploder suplex.
Joe responded by grinding Kingston with physicality. Joe executed an Attitude Adjustment and an STF submission, but Kingston bit Joe’s thumb to escape. Kingston took advantage for a DDT, which is his new finisher. Joe wisely rolled outside to prevent the pinfall. Back in the ring, Kingston sized up a spinning backfist. Joe ducked to counter with the Coquina Clutch. Kingston tapped out.
Damn entertaining fight. Joe and Kingston delivered a war in TV time constraints. The atmosphere was hyped throughout the match. The crowd was split about 50/50 for each man. The flow worked well for both characters. Joe looked like a badass controlling most of the exchanges, and that allowed Kingston to give hope as the babyface with fighting spirit. The finish was a nice sequence. Kingston’s theatrics with straps down for the spinning backfist drew in the fans only for Joe to squeeze the air out. I’m surprised that Kingston tapped out instead of passing out. I don’t know if that is part of a longer story as Kingston climbs to the top or if that was his way of putting Joe over clean to establish the world title reign with authority. The result works both ways.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: Babes of Wrath defeated Timeless Love Bombs to win the titles. The tournament final crowned the inaugural champions. Team Timeless had victory within grasp on Harley Cameron after a flying slingblade from Mina Shirakawa and a piledriver from Toni Storm, but Willow Nightingale landed a running senton to break the pin. Willow turned the tide by DDTing Toni Storm on the floor. Mina clocked Harley with a spinning backfist, however, Harley countered the Mina Driver into Her Finishing Move. Tag to Willow for a gutwrench powerbomb to pin Mina for the win.
Solid tag team action. There was lots of personality for great enjoyment. There was no wrong choice for the winners, and the underdog angle worked. Harley’s journey of improvement led to being a champion, with help from Willow of course. The finish was exciting with a near fall on Storm’s piledriver. I like how the Babes were able to divide and conquer to win. Storm is the strongest competitor of that bunch, so it was smart to see her taken out. It still looked like Mina could pull out the win, however, that was the moment that Harley’s growth paid off. Willow sealed the deal with emphasis. It was a feel-good story.
Gold League: Kazuchika Okada defeated Jack Perry. Jungle Man brought the thunder. There’s two moments that stick out. One was Perry running up the buckles to flip over Okada for a German suplex. It doesn’t look the prettiest as Perry didn’t land on his feet, and that’s fine by me. Not everything has to be pristine to enjoy the creativity of the moment. Unrelated, I don’t know why Perry was honking the air like he was at the strip club. I didn’t notice that during the match, but it stands out in this little clip.
Second was Perry biting Okada in the crotch. Okada bit Perry’s hand earlier to escape the Snare Trap submission. Perry’s payback was to munch Okada to escape a tombstone piledriver. That shows Perry’s desperation to do anything to win to get on the scoreboard.
In the end, Okada clobbered Perry with the Rainmaker lariat. Okada decided to get cute for a second Rainmaker rather than a pin, and Perry escaped. Jack charged for a running knee. Okada caught him for a tilt-a-whirl slam. Rainmaker for the win. 3 points to Okada for 6 overall. Perry still has zero.
Exciting match. Perry came out like gangbusters with urgency to win. That set the tone. He created a couple of moments to believe in an upset. This effort has me excited for Perry’s next matches. Okada’s story was his usual reliance on the Rainmaker. It takes a couple times to finally connect, and it’s sweet when it does. The movement from backslide to Rainmaker was delicious. They added a little more drama to string along the finish, then Okada crushed another Rainmaker.
Young Bucks’ bucks. The Young Bucks got their million dollars back from Don Callis, sort of. After Perry’s match, Callis offered him cash to join the Callis Family. Perry rudely declined, so the Family beat him down. Luchasaurus and the Bucks arrived for the save. The Bucks hit a BTE Trigger on Okada. Most interesting to me was Konosuke Takeshita taking a superkick party to save Callis. That shows strong loyalty from Takeshita to Callis, and it makes me wonder how that plays into Takeshita finally fighting Okada.
Backstage, Callis threatened to drain the Bucks’ finances through lawyers trying to get his money back. Callis had a different proposal in mind. He wants his pound of flesh. Okada, Takeshita, & Hechicero versus Young Bucks plus one for the million dollars next week.
The Bucks approached Luchasaurus, who had a better idea pointing to Kenny Omega’s locker room. Omega was in. The money would be nice, but he’ll do it for free to get hands on Callis.
Nice little story to set up a PPV-level trios match. I like how AEW went through the process of getting to Omega, rather than just announcing it on screen. Omega’s appearance was a nice pop.
Tornado tag team match: Hangman Page & Swerve Strickland defeated Will Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata. This fight was wild. The ruckus started with a brawl through the crowd. Hangman slammed Hobbs through a table and drank a beer.
They eventually made their way to the ring to officially start the match. Tornado rules allowed Hangman and Swerve to be singular entities. Once they teamed up for combos, they were on a higher level.
The teamwork continued for a double powerbomb to Hobbs through a table. Buckshot lariat and a House Call kick sealed the deal for Swerve to pin Shibata.
The intensity was fantastic for a rugged fight. I was fully satisfied with how the action unfolded. Great job showing how Hangman and Swerve will work for the common goal, but there still remains icy tension. Those are the types of character details that keeps their relationship as a compelling story. Hangman and Swerve didn’t interact a lot during the match. The few times that they did combine forces showed chemistry worthy of being future tag team champions, if their paths lead to that one day.
That day will have to wait. Hangman declared his intention to go for the world title at Worlds End. There was no response from Swerve on this matter.
Gold League: “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Kyle Fletcher. Wow. Another upset in the tournament. This match had so many beautiful sequences. It was hard-hitting too. Fletcher slammed Bailey onto the barricade, and the bruising flared right away. The pace was fast at the start and became even quicker by the end. Both men had dramatic kick-outs, Fletcher on an Ultima Weapon and Bailey on a brainbuster. The crowd was bonkers for the action. In the end, Bailey trapped Fletcher in a straitjacket roll-up to win with under one minute remaining. 3 points to Bailey for his first score. Fletcher sticks with 6 points overall.
The win from Bailey gives him life, and it drags Fletcher back to the pack. In terms of results, this tournament is very dramatic. The upsets are aplenty, and they feel shocking in the moment. The wrestlers are doing a good job building emotion through action for fans to connect.
Notes: Jon Moxley feels alive with his back against the wall in the Continental Classic. Daniel Garcia chimed in about the Death Riders doing what it takes to win.
Later, Garcia interrupted Briscoe’s promo with disrespect. Dat Boy taunted Garcia to get froggy. A little fisticuffs erupted before Wheeler Yuta and Marian Shafir held Garcia back. Briscoe versus Garcia will be for the TNT title on Collision.
Triangle of Madness roughed up jabronas. Kris Statlander was there to fight Thekla. StatDaddy had the upper hand with a chair.
Stokely Hathaway broke the news that FTR will defend the AEW tag titles against the Bang Bang Gang next week.
Studs of the Show: Hangman Page & Swerve Strickland
The cowboy and the mogul looked like the most dangerous men in AEW, and they did it with swagger.
Match of the Night: “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Kyle Fletcher
Great sequences. The near falls had the crowd loud.
Winter is Coming was a loaded special, and every match delivered entertainment.
Share your thoughts about Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?