AEW Dynamite recap & reactions (Oct. 29, 2025): Fright Night surprise

It’s spooky season for AEW. Samoa Joe received a painful surprise on the Fight Night special (Oct. 29, 2025) from Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. The show also featured #1 contender matches, the women’s tag title tournament opening contest, Okada being an alpha, and Blood & Guts in motion for the men.

Fright Night surprise

All signs pointed to a world title rematch between Hangman Page and Samoa Joe at Full Gear. It was just a matter of going through the motions to get there, so AEW booked a four-way #1 contender match with Bobby Lashley, Ricochet, Hook, and Joe. The win came as expected, however, it was an entertaining ride along the way.

The sequences were fast and furious. A few moments that stood out were Hook not backing down from Lashley, Hook and Joe doing the tango with fists, and Lashley pouncing Ricochet out of the way to face Joe. This clip is as bonkers as advertised.

Another sweet sequence was Joe lifting Hook for the Musclebuster, Lashley spearing Joe, then Ricochet landing a springboard 450 splash onto the pile to break the pin.

The finish sorted out by Ricochet hitting Lashley with a chair. Bobby chased that scoundrel to the back. Hook was distracted by that hullabaloo, and Joe took advantage for the Coquina Clutch. Hook tapped out. Joe earned his shot at Hangman for the world title at Full Gear.

Very entertaining match. It was hard-hitting with urgency to win. There were so many dynamics at play for current feuds and hopefully future showdowns. Who doesn’t want to see Joe versus Lashley after that hoss fighting. Hook held his own as the underdog with thunderous suplexes. It was funny seeing Lashley treat Hook like a child. I was surprised that Hook tapped when considering how much effort AEW has protected his aura. Commentary theorized that all the abuse to Hook’s spine during the match softened him up. I’m thinking long term will have Hook choke out Joe to finally beat his wicked mentor, and it will make sense full circle when looking back.

That main event was the treat. Time for the trick.

Tony Schiavone was dressed like the Phantom of the Opera. He brought in more costumed individuals to celebrate the moment. Joe received his contract to sign, however, he played it safe by having the Opps beat up those goobers. This was a callback to Hangman in disguise from years ago in AEW.

Hangman was in disguise alright, but it wasn’t the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The cowboy was dressed as Schiavone in a replica Phantom costume. Boom! Hangman ambushed the Opps and clobbered Joe with a Buckshot Lariat to stand tall.

That was an amusing way to close the Halloween special. Hangman is becoming a master of disguise. I was lukewarm on the idea of a rematch for Full Gear, but I’m getting on board. The intensity between Hangman and Joe sells. Add in these theatrics to make TV feel fresh.

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

Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin defeated Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia. Tornado tag rules in effect. They brawled through the crowd and added some table spots. Yuta executed a flying splash though one table, and Cassidy crunched one on the finish. OC cracked a superman punch to Garcia on the apron, hit the Sole Food move on Yuta, then fired off a suicide dive into Garcia through the table. That flurry paved the way for Allin to submit Yuta on the Scorpion Death Lock.

Fun action with lots of little moments to pop a reaction. I enjoyed the teamwork on display, especially the double surfboard catapult into the corner from the Death Riders. The finish was an emphatic rally to bring an energetic vibe. Nobody will cry a tear over Yuta tapping out, probably not even his mother. Allin and Cassidy had good chemistry. That’s a duo that I’d like to see explore the tag team division when the time is right for an all-star squad.

#1 contender: FTR defeated Young Bucks, JetSpeed, and Jurassic Express. Four-way bout to earn a title shot at Brodido for Full Gear. Kevin Knight landed a UFO splash on Nick Jackson, but FTR swooped in for a Shatter Machine on Knight to win.

Rowdy action. Each team shined in their own way. The were so many exciting sequences, such as a chicken fight leading to Knight with a doomsday dropkick to Jack Perry onto the pile below.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. This clip looks more like a team handshake (give me a ‘whoa, team’) rather than Luchasaurus shucking off opponents with force.

FTR advancing to the title shot creates a good PPV match that is tough to predict the winner. Brodido are rocking right now, however, FTR is bound to win the gold again sooner than later. I can see that bout going either way.

Callis Family Summit. Don Callis held a group meeting with the intention of soothing tension between Okada and Takeshita. There were two highlights from this segment. First was Rocky Romero unveiling the latest artistic masterpiece of the Family in loin cloths.

Second was Okada being a snake. Callis forced Takeshita to offer his hand to bury the heat. Okada acted like he would accept the handshake, then he flipped the bird instead. Takeshita was steaming at the disrespect, while Okada flashed a cocky grin.

I was critical last week of the slow roll between Takeshita and Okada. I’m much more favorable of the segment this week. The summit as a whole was over-the-top silliness that works well in professional wrestling. The arrogance from Okada was great to develop an emotional connection for once Takeshita snaps. Callis booked his alphas into a tag match for Collision. I couldn’t stop laughing when the graphic showed Okada and Takeshita versus Max Caster and Anthony Bowens.

CEO on notice. Olympia is up next to challenge Mercedes Moné for the CMLL Women’s World Championship on Collision. Kris Statlander was ready now, and she urged Mercedes to say any trash talk to her face.

Later in the show, cameras caught a melee in progress that carried to the ring. Statlander gained the edge on Mercedes, then a helping hand arrived with Athena smashing Statlander. Backstabber from Mercedes and O-Face from Athena put the champ in pain. Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale ran out for the save. Willow and Statlander didn’t interact much to gauge if that ice is thawing.

Effective way to mix together the stories around Mercedes. Let’s hope this favor from Athena is repaid for Mercedes to do minion training.

Jon Moxley versus Kyle O’Reilly ends in double count-out. Moxley and O’Reilly engaged in a rematch from last week with the same aggressive technical duel. O’Reilly secured a guillotine choke on the outside, and referee Aubrey Edwards counted both men out on the ten-count.

Marina Shafir was not happy about the decision, so she cold-cocked Edwards. This was hilarious.

Rugged round two in this series. Interesting subplots are brewing here. O’Reilly is getting the shine pushing Moxley to the limit. Even though O’Reilly doesn’t have the win yet, that’s twice that he had the better of Mox when the match was called. On Moxley’s side, he is sorting through confidence issues when taken to deep waters. Surely there will have to be round three, and I’m curious how that shakes out. O’Reilly could be elevated with a win, or Moxley could find his redemption in victory.

Business was just picking up there.

Blood & Guts. The Death Riders mauled O’Reilly until Darby Allin and the Conglomeration made the save. The villains scattered like cowards. Mark Briscoe had a solution, and Orange Cassidy uttered the words, “Blood and Guts.”

If there has to be a men’s Blood & Guts, this will work. I need a video recap package about why this feud deserves Blood & Guts. I’m sure there’s enough material to paint that picture, but the general story has gone on so long with various injuries that I don’t remember all the evil deeds from the Death Riders towards the Conglomeration.

AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship tournament quarterfinal: Sisters of Sin defeated Jamie Hayter & Queen Aminata. The Triangle of Madness pulled a fast one. Thekla rolled from under the ring to attack Hayter. That left Aminata outnumbered for a teamwork maneuver to win.

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