Dynamite recap & reactions: Samoa Joe’s big payback

Break down a jam-packed episode from Detroit with us — right here.

AEW Dynamite (May 7, 2025) emanated from Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit, MI. The show featured Samoa Joe getting payback on the Death Riders, Will Ospreay confronting Hangman Page, MJF inching closer to joining the Hurt Syndicate, and more.

Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.

Samoa Joe’s big payback

After the Death Riders injured Hook and Shibata, Samoa Joe need some get-back. The big payback. Claudio Castagnoli was the man for the assignment.

Joe and Claudio went toe to toe in the main event. Joe snatched a choke early, however, Claudio touched the ropes for the break. The action was a battle of bulls. Hard-hitting and smash-mouth. In the end, Joe pulled a fast one. Claudio teased the giant swing. Joe upkicked to stun him, then he grabbed the tights to pull Claudio down into the Coquina Clutch choke. Claudio quickly tapped out. Joe was slow to release as a message of pain.

After the match, the Death Riders tried to make a move. Will Hobbs had Joe’s back, and he also had a steel chair. Moxley put pause on advancing. Joe slammed Claudio onto the chair as payback.

That was a nice warm-up to get in the mood for next week’s world title steel cage match. Joe handled business, and Claudio made it competitive. Moxley was consistent in character by chickening out. He’ll have nowhere to hide inside the steel cage. The main event segment hammered that idea home without going overboard. Joe took out Moxley’s ace for an impressive win to keep hope strong to crown a new champion.

Moxley may have a backup plan. Earlier in the show, a meeting was teased between the Death Riders and the Young Bucks. Mox’s mad hooligans were waiting in the darkness when the EVPs entered their locker room.

Redemption or ascension

Hangman Page and Will Ospreay will meet in the Owen Hart Cup tournament final at Double or Nothing. The winner will receive a world title shot at All In. The two competitors shared the ring for an intense promo session to hype the bout. The story was that it will either be Hangman’s redemption or Ospreay’s ascension.

Hangman opened the show with his head down sheepishly thanking the crowd for cheering for him after all the bad things he has done. He thought closure would be felt upon serving revenge to Swerve Strickland, however, he felt nothing in that moment. The cowboy pushed that anger elsewhere to tear down anyone around him. Hangman made a decision. He will never forgive or forget what Swerve did, however, he has to put it behind him.

Ospreay entered the scene with a competitive attitude. He is rooting for Hangman to find his smile. There is one problem with that story. Ospreay is not losing at Double or Nothing. It won’t be Hangman’s redemption. The story will be Ospreay’s ascension. Tension was heated face to face.

Don Callis butt in with his bulbous head. Ospreay was in the mood for a challenge. He proposed a tag match with Hangman as his partner against two members of the Callis Family for next week, which was later announced to be Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander. Callis seized on the juices running hot between his rivals to take the match.

Good storytelling in this segment. Hangman delivered a smart promo to close old doors and open new ones to clarify his motivation moving forward. I like how AEW addressed the feud between Hangman and Swerve little by little over the past few weeks to frame babyface directions for both men. It paints a fuller picture than just brushing over their past willy-nilly. The intensity from Ospreay and Hangman was money in selling their upcoming bout. I love the framing of redemption versus ascension. That creates an emotional hook for the fans. The clash with the Callis Family is cliche, but it works to fill time for an entertaining match on television.

MJF hurts people

MJF has been trying to join the Hurt Syndicate, however, Bobby Lashley’s vote has not been earned yet. Bob hinted at what could win him over. The Hurt Syndicate hurt people, so that’s exactly what MJF did.

MJF attacked Top Flight from behind. The Martins were stepping up to the tag champs for a shot at gold, then Maxwell made his move. He was dressed for the moment in street fight gear with taped fists. MJF bloodied Dante. MJF wanted an answer from Lashley. That will be given next week.

Another step forward for the storyline. MJF got his hands dirty, and Lashley seemed to like it. That’s not enough to get his vote on this evening, but it’s progress.

The Hurt Syndicate also chatted with their legal counsel. I didn’t understand what the purpose of this scene was. Maybe it becomes clear next week. Let me know in the comments if you observed any meaning from it.

That wasn’t MJF’s only business on the show. Last week, seeds were planted for another showdown with Hangman. This week, seeds were planted to renew the rivalry with Ospreay. MJF exchanged trash talk with the Aerial Assassin.

These are interesting encounters for MJF. It really feels like AEW is setting the table for him to challenge the new champ that finally dethrones Moxley.

Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite.

AEW Women’s World Championship eliminator: Toni Storm (c) defeated Penelope Ford, Anna Jay, and Thunder Rosa. A win by one of the contenders would earn a title shot. The funniest scene of the night came from Harley Cameron and Anna Jay’s fat ass. They bonded over T&A, tenacity and aggression as Harley put it. Anna stated the obvious meaning. When Anna threatened to choke someone out, Harley raised her hand thinking it was a kinky offer. A piggyback ride closed the scene. So much hilarity jammed into a quick promo.

The women put on a fun match. There were two notes to hit. First was Megan Bayne running physical interference due to the No DQ rules of the four-way. Harley ran in to lay pipe on Bayne in the back.

The finish came full circle between Storm and Ford. Early in the contest, Storm executed a bridging fisherman suplex. Ford kicked the champ in the crotch.

On the finish, Ford had Anna in a submission. That was the perfect moment for Storm to return the favor for a kick to the nether regions. Timeless slapped on the TCM chicken wing to submit Ford.

Very enjoyable contest with lots of personality. I like how Anna and Penelope immediately attacked each other with aggression to carry over their feud from Collision. The run-ins from Bayne and Harley added to that story. The action was wild throughout for a chaotic four-way. It was amusing to see the Thunder Tits reunion. They worked together for a stepping stool cannonball. Storm and Thunder even bumped chests after the match out of respect.

The finish was a creative moment of cheekiness. With Double of Nothing a few weeks ago, this result leaves me wondering if Storm will have a PPV opponent. This would have been an easy way to book her next challenger, especially considering Storm wouldn’t have to be pinned here. I’m curious to see what AEW has in store. Granted, Double or Nothing is pretty much a filler defense, because Storm isn’t losing the title before All In to face the women’s Owen Hart Cup winner.

ROH World Television Championship: Nick Wayne (c) defeated Rhino to retain the title. Christian Cage handpicked someone from his past as the opponent for his son. Enter the Man Beast for a hometown pop. Wayne used his speed to score offense, however, Rhino pummeled him with a belly-to-belly suplex and a spinebuster. As Rhino set up for the Gore, the Patriarchy caused a minor distraction. Wayne sidestepped, and Rhino collided into the corner. Wayne executed his father’s Kill Switch finisher to win. Afterward, Christian snatched the title belt. Instead of placing it around Wayne’s waist, he dropped it on the mat and walked out.

That was a fun legends appearance from Rhino. He hit some power moves to give the people what they want. All that was missing was a Gore to Kip Sabian. This match was about Wayne winning, and that he did. We’re left with analyzing the Patriarchy without any real answers yet. Was using the Kill Switch a step too far? Did Christian walk out as a lesson or out of jealousy?

Young Bucks & Ricochet defeated Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, & “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Prior to the bout, Ricochet was confident that he had Swerve’s number. The Bucks agreed to follow his lead. They also loaned him some hair.

The action was crazy, particularly this flying stomp into a powerbomb combo from the Bucks.

In the end, the heels squeaked out the win. The heroes appeared to have momentum on the outside, then Matt Jackson cradled Swerve for the surprise roll-up to win. Ricochet had the master plan after all.

Dynamite action. So many crazy moves. The Young Bucks are going all out to put on a show. Everyone else stepped up to the pace and vibe. Of course, if you don’t like their style, then this match might not be for your tastes. I was shocked by Swerve eating the pin, and it was clean too. His expression says it all. There will be hell to pay on the Bucks for that embarrassment.

AEW Continental Championship eliminator: Okada (c) defeated Kevin Knight. Rush had a menacing message earlier in the show. He blames Knight for costing him the $100,000 match. Rush claims that the Jet now owes him that money, and it will be paid in blood.

Rush backed up his bravado by attacking Knight on stage. The Jet was damaged goods for his match. Okada worked on what Rush started. Knight rallied with flash to leap over a lariat.

In the end, Okada dropkicked Knight out of the air and closed with the Rainmaker lariat to win. Afterward, he added another Rainmaker. Mike Bailey ran in for the save, so that sets a direction for Okada’s next match.

The first half of the match was underwhelming. I liked seeing Rush beat Knight up to continue that beef, however, Okada lacked urgency to capitalize. Once Knight’s rally kicked in, the match was exciting through to the end. Knight gets protected in defeat by the pre-match attack. The way Okada finished was pretty cool.

Notes: Stokely Hathaway harassed Tony Schiavone. He claimed that Schiavone always has something negative to say about FTR. Big Stoke shoved Schiavone back into his seat, then FTR stepped in as protection for their manager. FTR also had a message about teaching Daniel Garcia a hard lesson. This will hurt them emotionally more than it does Garcia.

The women’s bout had a mystery spider gimmick. Speculation points to the possibility of it being to promote Thekla.

Jamie Hayter has the integrity, grit, and truth over Mercedes Moné. The CEO attacked from behind, and that led to a scuffle in the seats of Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. Mercedes stood tall with a submission targeting Hayter’s back injury. This was a cool use of scenery inside the venue.

Kris Statlander wanted to iron out the issues with Willow Nightingale. Willow wasn’t interested in forgiveness, so she proposed a match for Collision.

The Callis Family called out the Outrunners for an 8-man tag.

Stud of the Show: Toni Storm

Timeless bested three quality opponents, and she was never in real danger of losing.

Match of the Night: Young Bucks & Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, & “Speedball” Mike Bailey

Classic AEW style.

Grade: A-

Lots of fun. High energy and high intensity.

Share your thoughts about Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?