April 14, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW Dynasty review, Kevin Owens suffers serious neck injury
Image: AEW
Subscribers can now read this week’s full issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which features a full recap of AEW Dynasty:
AEW Dynasty on 4/6 had an interesting reaction to what seemed to be generally considered a very strong show that went too long.
There was considerable online negativity toward the main event finish, which saw Jon Moxley retain the AEW title over Swerve Strickland in a match that saw involvement from Marina Shafir, Prince Nana, Adam Page, Pac, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and the return of the Young Bucks.
Just writing that alone makes it feel like they went overboard, especially for a match that went 31:28. If people were mad because they went overboard I can see it. If they were mad Strickland didn’t win, I can understand that because in theory, when a heel wins by cheating the fans are supposed to be mad. Of course, making fans mad at times leads to bigger business, and at times it doesn’t. I think the idea was to give fans a happening, the return of the Young Bucks, that they would be mad at, but see as news. The show ending felt like the start of the build for Young Bucks vs. Page & Strickland, although that’s likely long down the line like at All In. From television, it looks like either an Anarchy in the Arena or Blood and Guts match with Young Bucks & Death Riders against a babyface team that would include Kenny Omega & Strickland, and possibly Adam Page (but that can’t be made clear until or unless he’s eliminated from the Owen Hart tournament if this is a PPV direction since the Owen Hart Cup finals are on Double or Nothing on 5/25.
The issue also looks at the WWE WrestleMania 41 card changes due to Kevin Owens’ serious neck injury, the latest development with Linda McMahon and the ring boys lawsuit, the Charlotte Flair/Tiffany Stratton promo, and plenty more.