Ah, Maximum Carnage. One of those silly but quintessentially ’90s superhero comic book crossovers that was irresistible to readers of a certain age. Alas, Spider-Man and friends probably have little to do with the week of AEW programming of the same name that begins with AEW Dynamite from Cincinnati.
Maybe it should be called “Maximum Opportunity” for Powerhouse Hobbs, who not only has shown he’s willing to stand up to Jon Moxley and the Death Riders but has the chance to dethrone Mox as AEW World Champion. This is mixing superhero universes, not to mention metaphors, but perhaps Hobbs is the hero AEW both needs and deserves.
Before we get to that, though, we’ve got something fun to kick things off: The Machine vs. The Best Bout Machine.
Brian Cage vs. Kenny Omega
The fans are certainly hype for Omega’s in-ring return, and Kenny looks like he’s in excellent shape. The announcers put over his status as a company pioneer, someone who has accomplished everything, which is smart framing for any new fans who might be tuned in.
Cage always looks like a million bucks and gets a chance to show off his power early on. Don Callis, who has joined the commentary team, is the target for an obscene chant, one that turns to boos when Lance Archer intervenes.
Callis says “I want this whole Kenny Omega thing over with,” and he gets a chance to lay some hands on Kenny after Cage drops him on the announce table. Of course we’ve already seen Omega bumping like crazy in New Japan this year, so it’s no shock to see him fight through some adversity before putting Cage away with a One-Winged Angel.
Winner: Kenny Omega by pinfall
The Don Callis Family wastes no time putting the boots to Omega after the bell, and the fans’ pleas for Will Ospreay to ride to the rescue are eventually answered. There still appears to be no love lost between Omega and Ospreay, but they still fight together until Konosuke Takeshita arrives. The heels have numbers and momentum on their side, leaving our heroes flat on their backs and the fans starting that obscene Callis chant back up again.
A short Hurt Syndicate vignette features MVP talking about lacing up the boots for the first time in more than two years. We also get a New York Minute from The Learning Tree promoting their match on Collision, with Chris Jericho promising to be on the same page as Moxley and the Death Riders.
Not exactly the warmest reception for Ricochet, which the announce team points out is probably fitting given his recent attack on Swerve Strickland. He looks surprised; not “Hulk Hogan on the first Raw on Netflix” surprised, but doing a good job of looking like he’s somewhere on that continuum. Eventually he says a picture is worth a thousand words and shows his attack on Swerve on the big screen, but Prince Nana sneaks into the ring from behind and wallops him with a steel chair. Strickland enters the fray the more conventional way down the ramp, causing Ricochet to head out of the building into the snow to escape.
Next up is a quick look at Mercedes Moné and all her titles doing some media, shopping and training. As one does. Well, without the four titles for most of us.
The Hurt Syndicate (MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley) vs. Mark Briscoe and Private Party
MVP has a vest that looks like the Punisher, so we got our Marvel link after all. I totally forgot Private Party were fan favorites; I feel like that was not the case last time I wrote up an AEW show.
Despite being the current tag team champions, Private Party probably doesn’t get enough credit for their status as AEW OGs. They make a fun team with Briscoe, who doesn’t need much arm-twisting to hurl his body around in similar fashion.
Benjamin is still poetry in motion, even approaching age 50, and Lashley is Lashley, so it’s fine when they get the pin here. Those two are circling the tag team belts for sure.
Winners: The Hurt Syndicate by pinfall
A quick video promo for Rated FTR talks about how much they all appreciate wrestling as best friends. Not Best Friends, the stable, but hey.
Oh yeah, Jeff Jarrett is a thing in 2025 too, and people seem to be digging it? More than one would expect, anyway. He barely gets to start speaking when he’s interrupted by MJF, who ironically gets ticked about Jarrett interrupting him in turn.
MJF gets in one sick burn: “Jeff Jarrett is the last thing you see before your favorite wrestling company dies.” He threatens to send Jarrett “back to rehab” and makes some, um, ungentlemanly insults aimed toward Karen Jarrett. Jeff says everything Max has been saying has been said a thousand times before and talks about the passion that’s been reawakened in him that will lead to the world championship.
Jarrett disses both of MJF’s parents in an attempt to give as good as he got. Not sure if it all quite lands, but ‘A’ for effort. Jarrett repeats that MJF is scared of becoming a one-hit wonder, but Max fires back with barbs about nepotism and gives us some insight into his current motivations. How low will he go? How about calling Jeff a leach riding the coattails of his deceased friend Owen Hart?
That finally tuns thing to violence, with Jarrett attacking MJF until security and his wife hit the ring. MJF uses Karen as a human shield, then hightails it out of there.
A video package reviews some of the history between Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii before they meet once again on Collision, with Okada’s AEW Continental Championship on the line.
Christian Cage vs. Hook
Hook attacks Cage before the intros are even done, seemingly surprising even his dad on commentary. Christian’s best chance would seem to be by the numbers game or cheating, but the match is laid out in a way to make him look every bit the physical equal of Hook. Katsuyori Shibata tries to assist on the outside but is quickly fended off. Hook locks in Redrum and has Cage ready to tap, so Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian crash the ring and break the hold, which leads to the ref calling for the bell.
Winner: Hook by DQ
Is Taz going to have to go aid his son? As it turns out, no, because Samoa Joe makes a popular save and aids Shibata and Hook in clearing the ring. Smells like six-man tag ingredients to me.
This can’t be the first time we’ve seen Renee Paquette tonight, but it is. She asks Jarrett what’s next before they’re joined by Dustin Rhodes vowing that he’s “110% behind Jeff.” Lot of people saying s–t tonight too. Anyway, it’s a good pep talk from The Natural.
AEW Women’s World Champion joins the announcers to take in the Casino Gauntlet match so she can see firsthand who her challenger will be.
Women’s Casino Gauntlet Match
Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter start things out, which is a benefit here since the first fall wins it. Megan Bayne makes her AEW Dynamite debut as the third entrant, showcasing some impressive power. Other wrestlers who join in the fun include Julia Hart, Willow Nightingale, and that plucky newcomer Toni Storm. Mariah May applauds the “great rookie” and plays along with the idea that Storm is new to the company.
Harley Cameron is in as well, taking the black mist from Hart, which allows Storm to grab a roll-up and come up with a huge win. Storm will face May in Australia for the first time. Wink, wink.
Winner: Toni Storm by pinfall
Powerhouse Hobbs (challenger) vs. Jon Moxley (champion) – AEW World Championship Match
The announcers have a bit of an uphill battle selling the idea that Hobbs could actually upset Mox in the champ’s hometown, but they certainly give it their all. A brawl into the crowd seems appropriate here, with Moxley getting some love even though he’s very much a heel at the moment. Tony Schiavone assures us we will stick with the action as long as it takes since 10 p.m. ET is coming up fast.
Is there blood? Yes, yes there is. Possibly from Hobbs biting Mox though it happened during a picture-in-picture sequence so it was hard to tell. It’s definitely not hard to buy Hobbs as a threat from his power and athleticism, nor is it unbelievable to see Moxley have to scramble to kick out after a powerslam.
Wheeler Yuta runs down when he has an opening and Marina Shafir also gets in a briefcase shot, but Hobbs keeps kicking out even after a Paradigm Shift. Moxley shifts to a bulldog choke and is able to retain despite bleeding like mad.
Winner … and still AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley by submission
After the bell, the Death Riders join Moxley in continuing the assault on Hobbs, including stomping his knee in a chair. Cope and FTR hit the ring just a moment too late, taking us to the credits for the night.
