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Write Forever: The road to Toni vs Mercedes began on AEW Dynamite for May 28

Write Forever: The road to Toni vs Mercedes began on AEW Dynamite for May 28

It's the post-Double or Nothing episode of Dynamite and it's... sort of packed! I guess? As with most post-PPV episodes, not much is announced far in advance and we can probably expect a lot of storyline stuff up and down the show.

We know that we'll hear from "Hangman" Adam Page and see Mercedes Moné and Toni Storm go face-to-face, as well as Brody King wrestling Josh Alexander in the International Title Four-Way Tournament.

Plus, a late announcement that brings me much hope and also trepidation! Adam Cole defends the TBS Title against Kyle Fletcher and I hope upon hope that we pull the fucking trigger on Kyle Fletcher as a singles champion, shuttling Cole back to trios (or anywhere else, just not on commentary).

So let's see what we get! Will we end the night pleased by Kyle Fletcher or disappointed by Adam Cole?

The lines are drawn around Hangman Page

In the show opener, ole Hanger cut a promo talking about his path to this point and his continuing path to the men's World Title at All In. Before he could say everything he wanted to say, though, a familiar face made his entrance: Swerve Strickland.

Swerve said he was out there for a specific reason and aired a clip of The Young Bucks talking about their previous work in costing Swerve the World Title as a favor to Page. Swerve asked if that was true and Hanger rebuked the claim, telling Swerve that for a split second he even thought about helping Swerve against Moxley.

Will Ospreay was drawn out from the back and laid out a passionate plea to both men. He told them that the fans were starting to believe in them again and that it turned out Swerve wasn't the guy, and neither was Ospreay – instead, it was Hangman.

Ospreay said that they can work together to make things easier for Hangman against Jon Moxley and Death Riders prompting Swerve to slap the mic out of Ospreay's hands and go nose-to-nose. Swerve said he'd never work with Hangman and then stormed off.

Hangman said about the same to Ospreay before both men departed.

Is this building to Swerve/Ospreay at All In? I'm not sure either guy will have much else to do now that they're out of the men's World Title picture, and Swerve vs Ospreay is basically a guaranteed great match. We have 7 weeks until All In which means we have a lot of time to see if Swerve or Hangman change their minds about working together.

I love a bit of intrigue in and around the main event. We know what Hangman is going to be doing at All In but we don't know what his situation will be with his enemies, friends, and in-betweens. Will Swerve begin to see some kind of light as a means to the end of Death Riders, or do some grudges run too deep?

The women's division is stronger than ever

In a No DQ match, Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford defeated Harley Cameron and Anna Jay. Harley has been such an enjoyable watch the past several months. She gets better every time she's out and it's very cool to actually see someone learn, grow, and improve in real time.

Anna has also improved a lot since returning from STARDOM, and Penelope has looked great since returning from injury. Megan Bayne rules and always has!

It looked like Harley may have suffered a broken nose after being smashed onto the steps and Anna looked to pick up an undisclosed injury, maybe possibly also a broken nose or at least something rattling her noggin after taking Fate's Descent on a chair.

If ever there was an argument for women's Tag Team Titles, this was it.

Later in the show, Thekla debuted by attacking Jamie Hayter off-screen (in the middle of the ring) and in the dark, then hit her a second time and did an upside down spider pose before playing to the crowd. And, uh, that was it. Kind of sucked as a debut, not gonna lie! Thekla will be great because Thekla is great but this debut didn't really sell her as a big deal in the least. Especially because they immediately cut to a video package about Mistico.

In the main event segment, Toni Storm and Mercedes Moné came face to face (and nose to neck) to spar back and forth about their upcoming match at All In. There was nothing revolutionary said or done here, but the segment did underscore just how big this match is for AEW. These are, unquestionably, two of the best to ever do it in professional wrestling and it feels like that without them having to do much at all.

This is my most looked-forward-to match of All In so far, largely because I know it's going to be great and I'll be happy with either outcome. By contrast, Hangman/Mox is something I'm sort of looking forward to but am hoping that they don't make the awful decision to keep the belt on Mox. Toni/Mercedes exist in a unique space where both are equally over and either one winning could lead to continued new and extraordinary things at the top of the women's division.

The bullshitification of the TBS Title continues

I had a slight hope, a tiny dream. I saw the post on social media and I was momentarily titillated. Kyle Fletcher vs Adam Cole for the TBS Title? Could it be? A hotshot title change onto Fletcher to get us out of the doldrums of Adam Cole as champ?

I didn't think it was a lock but I wanted to believe.

A fool! What a fool I was! A fool to have hopes, to have tiny dreams, to believe a good decision involving Adam Cole could actually be possible.

Kyle Fletcher looked great against Cole and, honestly, Cole looked good too. It was a fine match. And then the bullshit came with Josh Alexander interfering as Cole was about to hit Fletcher with The Boom running knee to finish things off.

Ah, yes. A DQ finish. A nonsense way to end a match to save everybody from something interesting actually happening.

I should have known. It felt too quick to take the title off of Adam Cole, though he has been rubbing the Callis Family the wrong way for few weeks now. I've also had my own hunch that Josh Alexander would be the guy to take the TBS Title off of Cole.

At this point, Fletcher feels too big for the TBS Title. He should be in contention for either of the other three men's titles, which are routinely presented as much bigger deals. Of course, he could always elevate the title out of the muck and mire of the Adam Cole reign.

Putting the title on someone like Alexander feels like a safer bet, though. He's a new commodity and while he's not quite as hot as Fletcher, he can still go like a madman in the ring and would absolutely wash some of the stink off of the belt.

So, does Alexander's interference lead to a one-on-one showdown between he and Cole? Maybe. But let's be careful about our slight hopes and tiny dreams.

Wrapping Up

The Death Riders/Willow&Bailey&Briscoe mixed tag match was a lot of fun, but I am curious to see what is actually happening with Mike Bailey (and to a lesser extent, Mark Briscoe). Bailey came in hot and had an excellent Continental Title match with Okada at Double or Nothing. Being randomly slotted into this match feels like a not-so-great sign in regards to having a solid plan for him going forward.

Briscoe is less of a question for me as he seems to be nestled softly into the midcard without much upward mobility in his foreseeable future, which is a real shame. Briscoe would make a great TBS Champion and deserves a run with some title in AEW as a reward for his consistently excellent work.

All around, this was a fun episode of Dynamite with one big thing (Thekla's debut), though it didn't really feel like a big thing. Not a lot of build to anything new or unusual, though we may have had some seeds planted that Kyle Fletcher is outgrowing the Don Callis Family Definitely looking forward to where that goes!


Best AEW Matches of 2025

Don't see a match on the list? It's not because I didn't see the match, but because I didn't do a write-up for that show for whatever reason (timing, schedules, etc.). This list is as comprehensive as it can be.

I've also decided to omit squashes from the list since they're just going to crowd space at the bottom.

  1. Toni Storm vs Mariah May: Women's World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  2. Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  3. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Orange Cassidy (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  4. Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  5. Mercedes Moné vs Jamie Hayter (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  6. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Will Ospreay (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  7. Daniel Garcia vs Mark Briscoe: TNT Title (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  8. Konosuke Takeshita vs Orange Cassidy: International Title (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  9. Mercedes Moné vs Momo Watanabe: TBS Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  10. Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  11. Toni Storm vs Megan Bayne: World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  12. Mark Briscoe vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  13. Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
  14. Kenny Omega vs Ricochet vs Mike Bailey: International Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  15. MJF vs "Hangman" Adam Page (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  16. Mercedes Moné vs Athena (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
  17. Death Riders vs Rated FTR: Trios Titles (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  18. Will Ospreay vs Kevin Knight (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  19. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
  20. Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight vs The Young Bucks (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
  21. Konosuke Takeshita vs Kenny Omega: International Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  22. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Josh Alexander (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
  23. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Wheeler Yuta vs Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, & Powerhouse Hobbs: Trios Titles (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
  24. Will Ospreay & Brody King vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
  25. Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Willow Nightingale, & The Opps vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, & The Young Bucks: Anarchy in the Arena (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  26. FTR vs Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  27. Rated FTR vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  28. Roderick Strong vs Jay White vs Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  29. Toni Storm vs Kris Statlander vs Willow Nightingale (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  30. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Christopher Daniels: Texas Death Match (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  31. Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  32. Daniel Garcia vs Dax Harwood (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  33. Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  34. Mina Shirakawa vs Julia Hart (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
  35. Jon Moxley vs Swerve Strickland: World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  36. Kazuchika Okada vs Brody King: Continental Championship (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  37. Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks vs Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, & Swerve Strickland (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
  38. Mark Briscoe vs Ricochet (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
  39. Orange Cassidy, Powerhouse Hobbs, Mark Briscoe, & Will Ospreay vs Bryan Keith, Mark Davis, Lance Archer, & Brian Cage (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  40. Ricochet vs Anthony Bowens (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
  41. Private Party vs The Hurt Syndicate: Tag Team Titles (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  42. PAC vs Komander (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  43. Will Ospreay vs Buddy Matthews (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  44. Komander vs Nick Wayne: ROH TV Title (Collision: April 17, 2025)
  45. Toni Storm vs Deonna Purrazzo (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  46. Women's Casino Gauntlet (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  47. Hounds of Hell vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  48. Bryan Keith vs Will Ospreay (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  49. Kazuchika Okada vs Mike Bailey: Continental Title (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  50. Young Bucks & Ricochet vs Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, & Mike Bailey (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
  51. CRU & Nick Wayne vs Top Flight & AR Fox (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  52. Jon Moxley vs Powerhouse Hobbs: World Title (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  53. Toni Storm vs Mina Shirakawa: World Title (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  54. Swerve Strickland vs AR Fox (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  55. Daniel Garcia vs Adam Cole: TNT Title (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  56. Jamie Hayter vs Kris Statlander (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
  57. Ricochet vs Mark Briscoe: Stretcher Match (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  58. Nick Wayne vs Jay Lethal: ROH TV Title (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
  59. Will Ospreay, Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, & Mark Briscoe vs CRU, The Beast Mortos, & Ricochet (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
  60. FTR vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta: Mid-South Street Fight (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  61. Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  62. Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata (Collision: April 26, 2025)
  63. Cope vs PAC (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  64. Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  65. Will Ospreay vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  66. Kenny Omega, Mark Briscoe, Mike Bailey, & Kevin Knight vs Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, & THe Young Bucks (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
  67. FTR vs Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  68. Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd, & Marina Shafir vs Willow Nightingale, Mike Bailey, & Mark Briscoe (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
  69. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford vs Harley Cameron & Anna Jay (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
  70. Toni Storm vs Miyu Yamashita (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
  71. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander vs Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii (Collision: April 17, 2025)
  72. The Hurt Syndicate vs The Gates of Agony: Tag Team Titles (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
  73. The Beast Mortos vs Mike Bailey (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  74. Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  75. Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet vs Brody King & Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  76. Brody King vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  77. Paragon vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, & Josh Alexander (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  78. Brody King vs Josh Alexander (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
  79. Lance Archer vs Kevin Knight (Collision: April 17, 2025)
  80. Rated FTR vs The Learning Tree (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  81. Private Party vs Lio Rush & Action Andretti: Tag Team Titles (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  82. Mercedes Moné & Harley Cameron vs Julia Hart & Kris Statlander (Collision: April 17, 2025)
  83. Daniel Garcia & FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  84. Daniel Garcia vs Katsuyori Shibata: TNT Title (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  85. Daniel Garcia vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  86. The Hurt Syndicate vs The Sons of Texas: Tag Team Titles (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
  87. Bandido & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Big Bill & Bryan Keith (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  88. Men's Casino Gauntlet Match (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  89. Cope vs Big Bill (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  90. Mariah May vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  91. Will Ospreay & Kevin Knight vs Blake Christian & Lee Johnson (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  92. Toni Storm vs Penelope Ford vs Thunder Rosa vs Anna Jay (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
  93. Samoa Joe & Hook vs Kip Sabian & Nick Wayne (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  94. Swerve Strickland vs Clark Connors (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  95. Samoa Joe vs Claudio Castagnoli (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
  96. Kenny Omega vs Brian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  97. Hook vs Christian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  98. Julia Hart vs Queen Aminata (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  99. Daniel Garcia vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  100. Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale vs Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  101. Adam Cole vs Kyle Fletcher: TBS Title (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
  102. Brody King vs Lance Archer (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  103. Will Hobbs vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  104. The Outrunners vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  105. Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, & Roderick Strong vs Lee Moriarty & The Infantry (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  106. Julia Hart vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  107. Rated FTR, The Outrunners, & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Death Riders & The Learning Tree (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  108. Cope vs Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  109. Mark Davis vs Mark Briscoe (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  110. Ricochet vs Angelico (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  111. Chris Jericho vs Bandido: Mask vs ROH World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  112. Hologram vs Dralistico (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  113. Mark Briscoe vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  114. Cash Wheeler vs PAC (Collision: April 5, 2025)
  115. Kris Statlander vs Thunder Rosa (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
  116. Kenny Omega vs Blake Christian (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  117. The Hurt Syndicate vs The Outrunners: Tag Team Titles (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  118. Max Caster vs RUSH (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  119. Bobby Lashley vs Mark Briscoe (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  120. Private Party & Mark Briscoe vs Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, & MVP (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  121. Serena Deeb vs Momo Watanabe (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  122. Kazuchika Okada vs Kevin Knight (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
  123. Orange Cassidy vs Hechicero (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  124. Mercedes Moné vs Julia Hart (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  125. Mike Bailey vs Dralistico (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  126. Powerhouse Hobbs & Tomohiro Ishii vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita (Collision: April 5, 2025)
  127. Adam Cole vs Claudio Castagnoli: TNT Title (Collision: April 17, 2025)
  128. Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  129. Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii: Continental Championship (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  130. FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  131. The Outrunners vs Premier Athletes (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  132. Adam Copeland vs Claudio Castagnoli (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  133. Bandido vs Dralistico: ROH World Title (Collision: April 26, 2025)
  134. Ricochet vs Katsuyori Shibata (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  135. Top Flight vs CRU (Collision: April 5, 2025)
  136. Toni Storm vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  137. Swerve Strickland vs Blake Christian (Collision: April 26, 2025)
  138. The Outrunners, Bandido, & AR Fox vs Roppongi Vice, Kyle Fletcher, & Lance Archer (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  139. Top Flight vs CRU: Tornado Tag Match (Collision: April 26, 2025)
  140. Mike Bailey vs Dralistico (Collision: April 5, 2025)
  141. Samoa Joe & Hook vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
  142. Jon Moxley vs Adam Copeland: World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  143. Mercedes Moné & Harley Cameron vs Athena & Julia Hart (Collision: April 5, 2025)
  144. Jon Moxley vs Katsuyori Shibata (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
  145. Top Flight vs CRU: Tornado Tag Match (Collision: April 26, 2025)
  146. The Hurt Syndicate vs The Learning Tree: Tag Team Titles (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  147. Anthony Bowens vs Lee Johnson (Collision: May 8, 2025)
  148. Chris Jericho vs Dax Harwood (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  149. Nick Wayne vs Rhino: ROH TV Title (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
  150. Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  151. Wheeler Yuta vs Willie Mack (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  152. Top Flight & Hologram vs The Infantry & Lee Moriarty (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  153. Willow Nightingale vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  154. The Acclaimed vs The Hurt Syndicate (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  155. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong vs The Infantry (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  156. Komander vs Dante Martin vs Brian Cage vs The Beast Mortos (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  157. Daniel Garcia vs Adam Cole: TNT Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
  158. Murder Machines vs The Outrunners (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  159. The Outrunners vs Chris Jericho & Bryan Keith (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  160. Hologram & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Brian Cage & Dralistico (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  161. Taya Valkyrie vs Harley Cameron (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  162. Deonna Purrazzo vs Harley Cameron (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  163. Max Caster vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  164. Murder Machines vs Top Flight (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  165. Jeff Jarrett vs Aaron Solo (Collision: January 4, 2025)

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