AEW Dynamite & Collision - 10/15/2025: 3 Things We Loved And 3 We Hated

The last episodes of "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" before Saturday's WrestleDream event were smashed into one 3-hour extravaganza on Wednesday. The extra-long episode of Wednesday night shenanigans had no shortage of things to talk about, from Orange Cassidy's display in Collision's main event to the glaring lack of Kenny Omega and Mercedes Mone on WrestleDream, so let's get into it.

As always, this will not be a recounting of "what happened," as that has already been taken care of on the results page. Instead, we'll break down the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of Wednesday night's smorgasboard of wrestling. There was plenty to love, like the atmospheric jailhouse vignette between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin, or the latest chapter in the psychosexual rivalry between Toni Storm and Kris Statlander. There was also plenty to hate, like the booking of Jamie Hayter or everything that happened between Mox and Darby outside the jailhouse.

But enough bloviating, let's get straight to the action. Here's the best and the worst from the supersized edition of AEW action on October 15, 2025.

Something was certainly in the air with the video packages during this week's show, but perhaps none of the stories benefited from that more than the ongoing duel of the sadists between Darby Allin and Jon Moxley.

Anyone who has been actively keeping up with AEW should know the deal by now, Moxley and the Death Riders are on a mission; no one but they know specifically what this mission is, but it has entailed the retirement of Bryan Danielson for a lengthy fourth World Championship reign for Moxley, and it has something to do with sacrifice and the future of the company. Allin, a man who appears to only thrive when in mortal danger, and having inherited the mantle of vigilante from Sting, is the perennial thorn in the side of Moxley and his vision (It has got to be a Shield thing). So naturally, the pair of them are due to blow off the latest chapter of their saga with a match designed to undermine their very core fundamentals, an 'I Quit' match, at WrestleDream this weekend. And that not only predicated but also anchored their final face-off – separated within a jailhouse visiting room.

This was a really well-shot and carried out segment, with each man delivering measured performances and getting their message across. Theirs is a story that has history working for it, with Moxley having spent literal years trying to snuff the fire in Allin before he had even started the Death Riders. And the very fact that he has been able to pin and trap Allin inside a casket to win, but has never been able to convincingly put Allin down where he may stay, helped to add weight to each of their words.

Allin rightfully pointed out that Moxley had more to lose than him, affirming that he would never say the words to end the match, and questioning where it would leave Moxley in terms of his bloodthirsty stable if he did. He brought the stakes to the fore, while Moxley tried to convince Allin that giving up would be in his best interest; a betrayal of the fear, perhaps. And it was all done in a very closed-in, foreboding atmosphere, broken finally when Moxley had had enough with his rival refusing to give in, and PAC emerged behind Allin to beat him to a pulp. The camera cut to Moxley as Allin was being beaten, evidently bloody from the screen Moxley had turned away from.

All in all, it wasn't a segment that would have looked out of place in a crime thriller, and it did well to deliver an edge and a grit that their feud had been missing outside of their bloody matches.

Written by Max Everett

The build to Darby Allin and Jon Moxley's "I Quit" match has been the focal point of AEW programming as of late, and Wednesday's three-hour "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" double feature was no exception. While the two men had a generally positively-received pre-taped "cinematic" promo exchange, I can't say that their in-person altercation on the "Collision" portion of Wednesday's broadcast held up nearly as well.

After the Death Riders outnumbered Paragon and associates at the end of "Collision's" Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta, Kyle O'Reilly, and Orange Cassidy opener, Darby Allin made an incredibly dramatic entrance to intercept the violence. Now, when I say "incredibly dramatic" for Allin, what do you think of? Do you imagine him armed with a steel chair? Perhaps you picture him zooming down the ramp, skateboard in hand. Maybe, in your mind's eye, Allin is making a heroic save with his finger on a flamethrower's trigger.

I'm glad to report (sarcastically) that Allin's dramatic entrance saw him standing at the top of the entrance ramp, limbs crooked and lifeless, like a zombie. Before you comment, I know that his less-than-lively disposition is not unreasonable, considering that he did get beaten to a bloody pulp by Pac earlier during "Dynamite," and, honestly, if you had just given me a tired Allin, it could have been salvaged. Allin, however, in his incredible commitment to the bit, begins shambling down the entrance ramp like an extra off "The Walking Dead." I'm talking failed sobriety test levels of swaying, with his body swinging off to the side against a steel barrier at one point. All the while, the Death Riders confronted him, one by agonizing one.

Allin got up every time. The message here is resilience, right? It's a tale of Allin's grit, how he is willing to get beaten down, but still rise to his feet (or hands and knees) in order to climb whatever mountain he has his eyes set on: Everest or otherwise. That's all fine and good...but can we not have the rest of the Death Riders just staring at him as he crawls pathetically to Moxley at two miles an hour? I understand what they were going for here, and on paper, this sounds amazing and more introspective than what I expect from AEW. In practice, though, this segment dragged on in such an awkward way, I found myself hating it before it was even done. By the time Allin finally got to Moxley, he unfurled the AEW flag at Moxley's feet, only to be at the receiving end of Death Rider. Something, something, Moxley's war on AEW. Segment over.

Like I said, in theory, this makes sense. On paper, this is cool. In practice? Painstaking to watch.

Written by Angeline Phu

AEW Women's World Champion Kris Statlander and former champion Toni Storm kicked off "Dynamite" in a unique, and rather sexually-charged (though that's nothing new for the "Timeless" one) way tonight, and I thought it was a refreshing way to kick off the show. It's also one bright spot that stuck out to me throughout the three-hour show that really didn't do much for me in the way of getting me excited for WrestleDream on Saturday.

The women started off their segment in a backstage interview with Renee Paquette, but before Paquette could really even get a word out, both Storm and Statlander were stripping out of their clothes, almost in a show of dominance. It threw me off for a second before I realized what they were doing, and then the champion launched into one of her most interesting promos I've heard from her since I started watching AEW. I initially kind of thought her delivery was off, but when I watched it again, I was getting some of Storm's cadence, or at least the vibes of a Storm promo, for lack of a better term, from Statlander. It's not like I had any doubts about Statlander's promo ability, but when you're up against "Timeless" Toni Storm, it is a pretty daunting task. I thought the champion came out shining.

She had some fire lines, too, that really worked, which "Who I am is a culmination of everything I was before. I'm already different than the person you faced at All Out," probably being my favorite. She also wished Storm Godspeed, because she's going to give her the "rest she so deeply deserves." That was also an excellent line, though it did make me wonder if Storm takes a little time off if she loses at WrestleDream.

Instead of the segment ending there, the women asked Paquette if the interview was over, and Storm told Statlander to meet her in the ring. The interview itself was reminding me of a Storm and Mariah May segment, so the women heading out in front of the crowd was a nice touch to make things feel a little different. They, of course, brawled, but couldn't bring themselves to hit one another with the title.

While I was already excited to see Stat and Storm go one-on-one for the first time, this really solidified it for me tonight. While I don't think Storm is getting the championship back at the pay-per-view, it's going to be one interesting, well-fought match.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Jamie Hayter and Thekla are a match on the WrestleDream card that many fans are surely looking forward to watching, and because they're arguably two of the biggest names in the women's division right now, they deserve to have something big and memorable to hype the fans in the last "Dynamite" and "Collision" before the pay-per-view. Unfortunately, that didn't really end up happening.

It makes sense to have Hayter have to wrestle one of Thekla's Triangle Of Madness stablemates, Skye Blue, and the match itself was perfectly fine as essentially a prolonged squash match to make Hayter look strong. That being said, it didn't really stand out in contrast to anything else on the card and wasn't helped by Thekla appearing in a video rather than in the ring, which made the entire thing feel super lazily booked.

I'll be the first person to say it: wrestling has seen no shortage of writers citing dumb reasons for one wrestler to attack another one (looking at you, Rikishi, attacking "Stone Cold" Steve Austin because The Rock told him to do it). Having Thekla say in a video for Hayter that her reason for attacking her in the first place back in May was because she just so happened to see her was among the worst ones I've heard in a long time. It not only felt super random and out of the blue, but it didn't really make sense to include an explanation from Thekla in the first place, now that May was several months ago, and it should've happened closer to then in the first place.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

The transition from "AEW Dynamite" to "AEW Collision" on Wednesday's three-hour AEW programming special was marked by tag team action, with The Death Riders' Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia taking on Kyle O'Reilly and Orange Cassidy. While the match — especially in its final and post-match stages — soured the segment for me, I'd like to single out one man's effort, regardless of how "whatever" he is about most things. Cassidy was a standout for me.

Now, am I saying that this is the best Cassidy match in the books? Far from it. However, Cassidy is a very good, distinctly AEW-coded babyface, and Kansas City's energy between his and teammate O'Reilly's work is something to note. I'd say most of the audience, myself included, were thoroughly enjoying Cassidy's work, and while O'Reilly is a great performer who has paid his dues, he just doesn't have the same cool and collected sauce that Cassidy has. It's Cassidy's laid-back behavior, I think, that endeared him to people in the Cable Dahmer Arena and at home, because Cassidy's taunts, chill "chops" to Garcia, and hands-in-his-pockets style of fighting really got the crowd into this match. At least, it got me really into the match.

After being brought back to AEW programming to fill in the top babyface vacancy left by the absence of figures like Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland, Cassidy has been riling crowds up with his nonchalant hands in his pockets and a totally whelmed disposition on his features. Sure, AEW has top guys like "Hangman" Adam Page and Darby Allin, but the number of top heels on their roster far outnumber the babyfaces. Cassidy has filled in that role very well, and it's good to see the crowd backing Cassidy so organically, with no "shove-it-down-your-throat" push from AEW at all.

Cassidy has something you can't teach. He is effortless, but he does not lack effort. The way he moves around the ring is so unbecoming of his laid-back personality, with incredible leaps and inversions around the ropes, and his opponents just to keep the audience on their toes. Commentary pointed out his speed and agility. He plays the dichotomy of that intense, high-effort "flippy" wrestling that polarizes fans with this completely low-stakes, laid-back personality that makes him so relatable. Sure, he's not as over as an Ospreay or a Strickland, but he has a totally unique wrestling persona that I don't think can be emulated by anybody else.

To capture the crowd's attention is one thing. To capture the crowd's attention during the middle of a three-hour broadcasting special, and to bring them back to life in the liminal slog of a show transition, is another. Cassidy is over with the fans, and you love to see it.

Written by Angeline Phu

With no more episodes of "AEW Dynamite" or "AEW Collision" left to go before AEW WrestleDream on October 18, it looks as if the match card is set in stone. Four matches on the "Tailgate Brawl" portion of the show that airs on TNT (rest in peace, Zero Hour, we will never forget you), eight matches on the main card, and some of the biggest stars in the business going at it for a rabid crowd in St. Louis, Missouri, it's going to be a party. However, not everyone in AEW seems to be invited to said party.

Even though the card for this Saturday looks very tasty, it is absolutely mindboggling that there is no room for either Mercedes Mone or Kenny Omega, and given their level of star power, it almost seems like booking malpractice not to have them involved in some capacity. To be honest, the booking for Mercedes since she lost to "Timeless" Toni Storm at All In Texas has been questionable to say the least, and the fact that she is being seen more on the independent scene than she is in an AEW ring is a bit of a problem. Sure, she's giving a whole host of promotions exposure by winning their titles, but the fact that she has had no direction since July needs to be sorted out.

Mone did say that she would be at WrestleDream, and there is still time for Tony Khan to reveal an open challenge graphic on X or something. However, Mone is wrestling for CMLL on Friday night, and then in Winnipeg against Jody Threat on Sunday night, so maybe he won't risk getting her hurt, but leaving her off a card that absolutely has room for her just seems strange.

Then there's Omega. From what reports have suggested, he was supposed to be teaming up with Kota Ibushi to take on Josh Alexander and Mark Davis, but that has since been scrapped due to Ibushi getting injured. He's also sort of in a feud with Andrade, but since Andrade has a booking in Puerto Rico on the same day (and the fact that no one knows where he is right now), that isn't going to happen either, which leaves Omega off the card completely. The most decorated wrestler in company history, who has made it very clear that he hasn't got long left in his career, is on the bench. Crazy.

It could be seen as a compliment to how good the AEW roster is that WrestleDream looks as good as it is without Mone and Omega, but they are two guaranteed ticket sellers, and not having them compete feels like a misstep to me.

Written by Sam Palmer