AEW Dynamite airs tonight (Mar. 25) with a live show from Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is the second episode of Dynamite during the four week build to Dynasty, which takes place on April 12.
AEW’s latest high stakes stipulation needs a much better explanation
Kenny Omega returns to the ring tonight on Dynamite in a high stakes singles match against Swerve Strickland. If Omega wins, he takes Swerve’s spot as the number one contender for the AEW world championship. If Strickland wins, he takes Kenny’s status as Executive Vice President (EVP) of
AEW.
Swerve said he wants power in AEW, and this is how he plans to get it. He already helped remove the Young Bucks’ status as EVPs last summer, so he seems to know what he’s doing here.
This stipulation would be a bigger deal if AEW previously established that EVPs can easily throw their weight around and not be subject to Tony Khan’s authority as the ultimate decision-maker in AEW. But from what I recall, the Young Bucks were only effective at abusing their EVP powers when they injured Khan and briefly kept him off TV. As long as Tony Khan is backstage at AEW television (and his attendance rate is as close to 100% as it gets in AEW), it’s not clear what being an EVP really gets Swerve as far as being able to influence his match making and goal to win back the AEW world title. It would go a long way if AEW explained what exactly Swerve gets to do as EVP that he doesn’t get to do if he loses this match.
Omega’s last match took place over a month ago on Dynamite. That’s when Swerve beat Kenny and then turned heel by putting him on the shelf with a Vertebreaker through a table after the match was over. Kenny wants revenge, and the best way to do that is to remove Swerve from AEW world title contention.
Can Strickland and Omega find a way to top their excellent outing from last month when they go at it again tonight with higher stakes on the line? Tune into Dynamite to find out.
The rest of the card
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends the gold tonight against Mina Shirakawa, who filled in for Toni Storm last week and picked up as surprise win last week over Marina Shafir. There’s a big mystery regarding the identity of the person who left Storm unconscious backstage and took her out of AEW for potentially the rest of 2026. Thekla thinks Toni is faking it because she’s afraid of the Toxic Spider. Will we get any closer to finding out who did it by the time this one is over?
Darby Allin plans to be in the AEW world title mix after winning last week’s silly Coffin match against Gabe Kidd. That’s why Darby will probably win tonight (after taking a beating) when he goes one-on-one against RUSH. Will Don Callis’ money man Andrade El Idolo show up afterwards to make sure Darby is in no shape to pursue the top prize in AEW?
Roderick Strong is now officially a member of The Conglomeration. He teams with Orange Cassidy tonight in a tag match against The Dogs’ Clark Connors and David Finlay. Is this leading to some kind of trios match between the two factions at Dynasty?
AEW World Champion MJF is scheduled to appear on Dynamite after surviving the Texas Death match against Hangman Page at Revolution. After bragging about the fact that Hangman is a dumbass who can never challenge for the world title again, what very offensive things does MJF have to say about potential next challengers like Darby Allin, Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, or Andrade El Idolo?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Will Ospreay’s return to AEW seems way too soon following neck fusion surgery last September. AEW threw him right back in the ring against a low card guy last week on Dynamite, rather than saving the Aerial Assassin’s return match for PPV, or a more interesting opponent on TV. Now that the rust is off, Will intends to get revenge on AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley and the Death Riders for trying to end his career last summer. Does Ospreay have to run through “The Bastard” PAC before he can get the match he desperately wants against Mox?
– Adam Copeland and Christian Cage are back in AEW and automatically challenging AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR for the gold at Dynasty. Will Cope and Cage fight any other team(s) on TV before then, or do they prefer to spend their time cutting promos with FTR and the Young Bucks while occasionally kicking Stokely Hathaway’s ass?
– Brody King said he will continue pursuing championship gold in AEW while Swerve Strickland is busy dealing with Kenny Omega. Does King plan to challenge TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher at Dynasty? How loud will the “Fuck ICE” chants be tonight in Minnesota if Brody and Don Callis are in front of the crowd at the same time?
– The Babes of Wrath want a rematch against AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. Do the Brawling Birds have any say in the matter, or will they patiently wait for those two teams to sort it out?
– Is Tony Khan planning to book AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita at Dynasty, or does their story need to play out for a few more months?
– How long will Ricochet be gone from AEW after crossing the line and showing very poor judgment with the stupid shit he said on social media?
– AEW National Champion “Jungle” Jack Perry needs a new challenger for his gold. Does Tommaso Ciampa have any interest in chasing this belt, or will he be too busy dealing with a pissed off Mark Briscoe?
– As far as I can tell, HOOK is a terrible leader for The Opps. When the hell will Samoa Joe be back to show him how it’s done?
– Is The Hurt Syndicate close to returning to AEW for an eventual showdown against AEW World Trios Champions Mistico & JetSpeed?
– “The Machine” Brian Cage says he’s cleared to return to AEW, and he has an indie date booked in May. Will he be back on Dynamite ASAP if the other 297 members of the Don Callis Family need some help in the coming weeks?
– Where the f*** are Chris Jericho, Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, Keith Lee, and Nyla Rose?
What will you be looking for on Dynamite?
