Jon Moxley once again retained his AEW World Championship on Sunday at AEW Dynasty, this time against Swerve Strickland. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
(USA TODAY Sports / Reuters)
AEW Dynasty 2025 was a Sunday night gold rush inside Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center, as seven total titles were on the line, headlined by the latest defense of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Moxley’s seemingly never-ending reign of terror remained exactly that. His main-event match against Swerve Strickland started out as a pure, technical wrestling match, with specific holds aplenty traded before they drifted into violent shenanigans and overbooked madness. Marina Shafir, Prince Nana, Hangman Adam Page, The Death Riders, Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata all got involved. However, it was the return of The Young Bucks that spelled the end for Strickland’s second title reign hopes, when they hit him with a BTE Trigger while the referee was outside the ring. Moxley retained again, and the AEW faithful couldn’t be more upset about it, if you read comments on any of promotion’s video clips.
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One of the other big title defenses of the night came directly before Moxley’s, as AEW International Champion Kenny Omega unsurprisingly brought the house down with his dance partners “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Ricochet. Stop what you’re doing now and watch the match if you missed it. They just don’t make triple-threats like this one, and it led us to a tease of another Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada program. Who could say no?
TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and ROH World Champion Chris Jericho were the only two titleholders who didn’t walk out of their matches Sunday with their belts. Against Garcia, Adam Cole earned his first AEW championship, while Bandido not only won the ROH strap but also kept the integrity of his masked gimmick intact.
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Philadelphia is one of the best-worst sports cities on the planet, depending on which side of it you’re on. The crowd was here for mostly everything throughout the night, and the matches went as expected — except for the main event. Just as it did at AEW Revolution, that put a damper on another close to an AEW pay-per-view. I give AEW Dynasty 2025 a crown score of: 👑 8/10. 👑
AEW Dynasty 2025 Uncrowned Nightly Award Winners:
During Omega’s match, I couldn’t help but feel like commentary was trying to make him feel old compared to Bailey and Ricochet. He technically is at age 41, but that’s not significantly older than the 36-year-old Ricochet. Bailey, more so at 34. Regardless, the guy’s body has obviously been through the wringer, yet he hangs effortlessly with these athletic freaks to put on wrestling perfection each and every time. Omega’s a GOAT for a reason, and it’s great to have him back.
Julia Hart is taking major steps every time we see her. Sure, this time around could have been partly attributed to having one of the best dance partners in the world in Mercedes Mone, but regardless, Hart feels like a force — though still tiny in stature — and she’s presented as one in every way. There’s no need to rush her since she’s only 23 years old still, but she’s been around for long enough and gotten good enough to where she deserves something big next.
This was the easiest, most predictable thing ever. Especially for my taste. Come on. No words are needed, just three-way brilliance between the ropes.
Here’s your controversial closer, and I’m looking at it through a lens I wouldn’t regularly. Was The Young Bucks’ BTE Trigger the most impressive move or spot of the night? No, I think that had to be the wild Styles Clash counter sequence from Will Ospreay and Kevin Knight outside the ring. But what is the one moment from AEW Dynasty 2025 that everyone will remember and talk about for the week after? It’s The Bucks’ return — for better or (much) worse.
AEW Dynasty 2025 full card results and highlights:
Recap of AEW Dynasty 2025 with Uncrowned’s live blog below:
