AEW Dynamite recap & reactions (Nov. 26, 2025): Samoa Joe’s long con

Samoa Joe is a strategic mastermind. On the fallout episode of AEW Dynamite (Nov. 26, 2025), the new AEW world champion explained his long con to win gold at Full Gear. The show also featured surprising results in the opening night of the Continental Classic tournament and more from The Pinnacle in Nashville, TN on Thanksgiving Eve.

Samoa Joe’s master plan

Samoan Joseph celebrated his own genius for the master plan coming together to win the AEW World Championship from Hangman Page. He patted himself on the back as a strategist of unparalleled splendor with a mind rivaling Sun Tzu. Joe’s Art of War had Katsuyori Shibata as bait to nullify Eddie Kingston, Will Hobbs with feats of strength, and a musclebuster to beat the cowboy.

There was also the long con involving Hook. Joe played a video package for the simpletons to understand this brilliance. Hook arrived on the scene to hug Joe. Hook heeled on the fans as the ‘greatest second-generation wrestler’ this business has ever seen.

Before the Opps could celebrate any further, Hangman and Swerve Strickland rushed the ring to beat up the jabroni scrubs (random dudes for the Opps dojo). Joe and his men retreated up stage.

The big question coming out of Full Gear was how AEW would explain Hook’s heel turn, if you want to call it that. Credit to AEW for putting together the montage so we can see the effort in storytelling, but I’m not buying this Hook malarkey. The fans didn’t sound like it either, as they gave zero reaction to Hook’s entrance. I think we’re supposed to believe that Hook was a sleeper agent until the time was right to help Joe when it mattered most. Hook’s recent losses were throwing matches to Joe and the Opps. But why bother bringing Eddie Kingston into this mess? I don’t think Joe is scared of Kingston at all, however, it seems like an unnecessary risk to unleash the unhinged attitude of the Mad King feeling wronged.

Speaking of Kingston, he declined to speak on Hook, but he flashed a grimace at the apparent betrayal. Kingston turned his attention to Joe and a world title shot. Beating Shibata is a way to boost his status up the ladder, so AEW made that match for Collision.

Joe’s explanation for the rest of his plan on that night is good enough to turn the page for this next chapter. It really helps that Joe previously executed a complicated scheme to take the world title from MJF. That gives credibility to his words here.

Hangman and Swerve looked like badasses dressed in black choking fools with chains. Their appearance was a high energy moment that had the crowd eager to see payback on the Opps. This was a good step in building anticipation for the showdown.

Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.

Gold League: Kyle Fletcher defeated Kazuchika Okada. Protokada engaged in tense competition. The alpha energy flowed from both men trying to cut corners for an advantage, but there was never any animosity. The action was evenly matched. Okada hit a tombstone, then Fletcher countered the Rainmaker lariat into the Michinoku Driver. The timer was five minutes left, and the urgency really picked up. Okada could never hit the Rainmaker. Fletcher had several counters throughout, and the finish came on a Rainmaker counter into a cazadora roll-up. Afterward, Fletcher offered a handshake. Okada teased the middle finger, but he accepted the gesture to shake hands. Fletcher starts the tournament with 3 points.

Hot way to open the tournament. This is a PPV-level matchup on paper. That’s a strong way to hook fans into treating the Continental Classic as a big deal. The match was smooth. I like the story of tit for tat and familiarity of movesets. The result surprised me. I was expecting a time limit draw as the top option, followed by an Okada cheap win. Fletcher winning clean is a great way to get back his star power after losing the TNT title to Mark Briscoe. Okada now has extra drama for his tournament run by being behind in points. Urgency to win should flow into Okada’s next contest for added intrigue.

AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship tournament semifinal: Babes of Wrath defeated Sisters of Sin. Blind tag by Willow Nightingale. Harley Cameron shoved the Sisters colliding into each other. Willow clotheslined Skye Blue, while Harley hit a backstabber on Julia Hart. Willow closed with the gutwrench powerbomb to pin Hart.

Even though the energy was good, the action didn’t feel tight at times. There was a spot where Hart overshot on a moonsault, landed on her feet, and did a standing elbow drop instead. I guess that could have been the plan all along, but I don’t think so based on Harley not really moving out of the way. If it was improvised, then credit to Hart for thinking on her feet quickly. Babes of Wrath move on to the final with a positive reaction from the crowd. The fans are behind the idea of them winning gold. It should be interesting if it comes down to an all-babyface finale against the Timeless Love Bombs.

Speaking of Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa. Timeless declared the stipulation for their semifinal matchup next week against Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir. As a Christmas present to Mina, Toni wants to serve their heads on a platter in a Hardcore Holiday Death Match.

Blue League: Jon Moxley defeated Mascara Dorada. Moxley had a promo package about how AEW wrestlers, like Kyle O’Reilly and Darby Allin, have no durability. The Death Riders are about coming back for more as battles continue.

“The battle continues!”

Read Original   

Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Linkedin Pinterest

What's Your Reaction?

0

Like

0

Dislike

0

Love

0

Funny

0

Angry

0

Sad

0

Wow