The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 09.17.25

The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 09.17.25

“September to Remember”

TSN only scheduled the show for two hours tonight and my DVR only records up to another hour, so if there’s an overrun I missed it. Guess we’ll find out.

Live from London, ON, in Canada, where you still make a joke about the sickly orange toddler in charge without your show getting cancelled by state run media.

Your hosts are Excalibur, Taz & Bryan Danielson

Hangman Page & Kyle Fletcher join us for the contract signing to start. Fletcher is still without socks, and Hangman ups the ante: If Don Callis or anyone from his family interferes in the match, Kyle has to vacate the TNT title. Hangman still sees potential in Fletcher and wants to make sure Kyle doesn’t disappoint him at the PPV. Good intense opening segment to hard sell the title match. Nobody buys Kyle as a serious challenge but it’ll be a great match.

Meanwhile, we get a video package about the Mox-Darby coffin match.

Jon Moxley v. Roderick Strong

They immediately brawl on the floor and trade chops out there, and Roddy drops Mox on the railing backfirst. Back in the ring, Mox beats him down in the corner and hits a pair of corner clotheslines before chopping him down. But Roddy dropkicks him to the floor and we get an awkward showdown between Strong and Marina. I sense some sparks there! We take a break and return with Strong making a comeback and hitting the gutbuster and a knee strike in the corner for two. Moxley chops him down again and goes for the armbar, but Strong makes the ropes. Moxley manages to grab the choke, but Strong makes the ropes again and then reverses to an Angle slam for two. To the top, but Moxley bites the hand to fight him off. So Roddy tries again and brings him down with a spinning slam for two, although that didn’t come off well. Not even really sure what they were going for there.. Mox tries the DDT and Strong takes him to the floor to escape. Back in, Strong hits a jumping knee, but Wheeler Yuta trips him up and annoys the world as usual, and Moxley chokes him out for the win at 12:00. Great hard hitting and fast paced match, although hopefully Moxley going over so much lately means he’s putting Darby over strong at the PPV. ***1/2

Meanwhile, MJF bursts into Tony Khan’s office and tries to get out of his match with Mark Briscoe, but Tony “puts on his big boy pants” and sends him packing. So Max threatens to put another Briscoe in the ground.

Toa Liona v. Bobby Lashley

Toa chokes him out in the corner and beats on him with the clubbing forearms, and then blocks a charge with a big boot and chokes him out some more. To the apron, where Toa hits him with a vicious samoan drop on the apron as we take a break. That looked like it sucked. Back with Bobby making a comeback as they slug it out, but neither guy goes down. Lashley with an overhead suplex and Liona no-sells that, so Bobby spears him and follows with a flatliner. Toa bails to the floor and Bobby wallops him out there with the spear, and then MVP kicks Ricochet’s ass for the giant babyface pop. Back in the ring, Bobby gets distracted by Kaun, and Toa spears him for two. Lashley comes back with the Hurt Lock, but Toa pushes off for two and then passes out at 89:54. Well you knew Lashey wasn’t doing a job but they had a pretty hellacious mean guy match that overdelivered. ***. Match had huge heat as well.

FTR and C&C join us for their final showdown before the PPV, but they can’t touch each other of face fines and consequences. Dax notes that they’re the generational tag team and runs down all their championships and big feuds (Big Bill and Enzo?). But Adam points out that Stokely still gets no hoes and although FTR is in the discussion for greatest teams, but C&C were around for 25 years, even if they can’t decide if it’s Cope & Cage or Cage & Cope. And Christian points out that $100,000 means nothing to him because he’s already rich, and the brawl is on. And Dax ends up busted open.

Meanwhile, the Young Bucks are back in the money, although Matt is a bit worried about how much Nick lost at the casino. Still, they had enough to grease the production guys and get their entrance back. Plus a bribe for Renee! $10,000 in real USD!

The Young Bucks v. The Bang Bang Gang

They get pyro again! All of the pyro! And a complimentary bottom third! Nick even has enough extra cash to pay off a fan with a Young Bucks sign, so clearly that $500,000 will never ever run out. Just like they say, money lasts forever and grows on trees. Matt takes Juice down with armdrags and the Bucks double-team him, but it’s over to Austin Gunn and he slugs away on Nick for two. We take a break and return with Gunn making a comeback and knocking more money out of the duffel bag, and it’s hot tag Juice. He hits Matt with a senton and the LEFT HAND OF GOD, but then it’s back to Gunn right away for a lariat that gets two. Nick hits Gunn with the X-Factor and they brawl on the floor, where Nick hits the BBG with the dive. Back in the ring, Bucks with a double german suplex on Juice and that gets two for Nick. BTE Trigger misses and Gunn flies in with a blockbuster, allowing Juice to make another comeback. Gunn breaks up the TK Driver and Juice hits a Blade Runner on Matt for two. To the top and Juice gets a rana off the top for two, and they trade cradles for two, but the Bucks recover with the TK Driver to finish at 11:38 and advance to the PPV ladder match. Really they should have just faced Bro-Dido for the title anyway based on beating them last week. This match RULED. ***1/2. Also Danielson going on the tangent about the “slide off” with Gunn was amazing and delightful.

Mascara Dorada v. The Beast Mortos

Winner here gets to job to Okada on Saturday. Dorada takes him down with a rana a couple of times and hits an enzuigiri from the apron, but Mortos powers him to the floor and follows with a dive to the floor. We take a break and return with Dorada flying all over the ring while Mortos bases him, and a destroyer on the apron follows. Dorada hits his own dive, but Mortos hits him with a backbreaker and then reverses a destroyer (IN CANADA!) into a DDT for two. Mortos with a backbreaker that Dorada turns into a crucifix bomb and they trade rollups for two. To the top and Dorada brings him down with a rana for one, but Mortos fires up and that’s scary. So Dorada takes him down and hits the shooting star press and that finishes at 10:00. Holy cow this was great. ****. Afterwards Okada comes out for a confrontation (with Callis obnoxiously wearing the International and Continental belts), but Takeshita interrupts and stares Okada down, allowing Dorada to hit a dive.

Toni Storm joins us and runs down her accolades in her usual hilarious fashion, but Jamie Hayter interrupts and so does Kris Statlander. Toni: “Trim your bushes, bitches, because we’re about to go All Out!” That’s quite the PPV tag line.

No holds barred: Thekla v. Queen Aminata

Aminata is so angry she barely even does her little pose, and hits Thekla with a trashcan before running her into the railing. Aminata with a snap suplex on the floor, but Thekla grabs some plunder from the ring and they fight into the crowd as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting a draping cutter onto the trashcan for two. Thekla spears her onto a chair for two. Headbutt gets two. Aminata goes to the top as we switch to the third hour, and they fight up there, but Thekla brings her down and then stomps her onto a chair and pins her at 10:30 in an anticlimactic finish. Match was OK but not up to the standards of everything else tonight. **1/4. Thekla calls out Toni Storm afterwards and Toni attacks her and beats her down, and that leads to a brawl with the four women in the title match before the Spooky Sisters go after Toni and the Death Riders try to recruit Statlander and there’s a million things going on with no particular focus or story. That match feels so pointless.

Meanwhile, Top Flight and SCU promise to have Hangman’s back.

Killswitch & Kip Sabian v. Jetspeed

Kip and Killswitch are already bitching at each other, and Knight hits Sabian with a dropkick and chases him back to the corner. Jetspeed double-teams Sabian and sends him to the floor, but Killswitch slams Bailey and cuts off his kick combo with a back elbow. Speedball figthts back with more kicks, but Sabian sends him to the floor and moonsaults him while yapping at Killswitch, as we take a break. Back with Sabian hitting a neckbreaker on Bailey for two. Bailey fights back with the kicks and Killswitch fights them off alone, but he goes to the top and Jetspeed hits him with a double team powerbomb and a pair of splashes for two. Bailey with a head kick for two and he follows with the double knee moonsault on Sabian, but Killswitch breaks it up and chokeslams him. But then Sabian smacks Killswitch around to tag himself back in, and Speedball rolls him up for two. Sabian with a rollup for two on the ropes, but Killswitch pushes his own partner off because he doesn’t like cheating. And then he short-arms Sabian and walks out on him, leaving him to get finished off by Bailey’s big kick at 11:30. JET SPEED WINS A MATCH?!? Miracles can happen! **1/2

Meanwhile, Big Bill promises to expose Eddie Kingston as a fraud at the PPV. Which is kind of weird because they never even mentioned or showed Kingston on this show so far and I guess just assume everyone watches Collision and knows he’s back. NO ONE watches Collision.

Meanwhile, Darby Allin sits down with Bryan Danielson to discuss climbing Everest, and makes Bryan promise not to get involved in the coffin match, no matter what. So Bryan agrees in exchange for a secret promise from Darby.

Riho v. Robyn Renegade

Robyn grabs a headlock, but Riho stomps her foot and reverses to her own before taking her down and sending her to the floor. Riho follows with a dive as we take a break. Back with Robyn booting her on the ropes for two, but Riho gets a double stomp and dragon suplex. Crucifix Bomb gets the pin at 5:00. Basically just a squash. *1/2. Affterwards, Mercedes lays her out with the backstabber, but there’s no real heat here. They should have stuck with Alex Windsor as the challenger instead of the bizarre pivot to Riho.

Meanwhile, on Collision, Jerry Lynn seemingly does the impossible and reunites the Acclaimed.

Meanwhile, Daniel Garcia challenges Shibata for the All Out pre-show deal. Also the “Tailgate” theme is kind of weird because we don’t really do that in Canada.

Josh Alexander & Hechicero v. Top Flight

Josh gets caught in the babyface corner and double-teamed, and they send the heels to the floor for a brawl out there. We take a break and return with Top Flight running wild and Dante hits the Nose Dive on Alexander for two. Josh tries a double german suplex but that doesn’t quite go off and Darius hits a poison rana for two. Callis Family with a neat double DDT on Dante for two. They all fight to the floor again, but Hechicero hits Dante with a headscissor driver for the pin at 10:12 to advance to the ladder match. And then my
DVR runs out so whatever happens after that is a mystery to me. This was messy but OK. **1/4. Man, poor Top Flight are just never going anywhere in this company, though.

The normal two hour portion had a HOT London crowd and some great wrestling, but the third hour felt tacked on and basically like an episode of Rampage that didn’t mean much and really felt like it ran out of steam quickly. The PPV still feels like a filler show, to be honest.