AEW Dynamite Preview (3/19/25) – Cope and Moxley Meet Again

Last week’s AEW Dynamite set the table. Plenty of teases for the Dynasty card. With assistance from Collision, the three confirmed appetizers for this Wednesday’s show AEW’s increasing assurance.

There are more great things to come between now and Dynasty. Another sign perhaps beyond the 5 I’ve already discussed of AEW’s creative turnaround.

Fans in Omaha, Nebraska will be treated to a huge rematch between two powerhouses. Megan Bayne vs. Kris Statlander seems to have an obvious winner.

Bayne it seems will challenge “Timeless” Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship. But this is Statlander and if there’s going to be an upset or complication, it’s her.

Potentially, Dynamite will have two women’s matches with Mercedes Mone vs. Billy Starkz after their interaction last week. However, despite confirmation, there’s been no graphic for the match.

Two competitive women’s matches would begin to address AEW’s women’s spotlighting issue. Could this be an angle disguised as a match?

Each match has big stakes for Dynasty and we’ve not even considered the two biggest contests. War!

AEW Dynamite Matches Announced

• Megan Bayne vs. Kris Statlander
• International Championship Eliminator Tournament 4-way: Orange Cassidy vs. Mark Davies vs. Ricochet vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
• AEW World Championship Street Fight: Jon Moxley © vs. Cope

To be confirmed via Graphic

• Mercedes Mone vs. Billy Starkz

Gamble of the Week: AEW World Championship Street Fight

Cope’s challenge against Jon Moxley at Revolution was the gamble of the PPV. It did not deliver in violence or expectations. It could not follow the skyscraper-high bar set by The Hollywood Ending, the International Championship contest, and the steel cage match.

Its failed potential reflects some folks’ mood that The Death Rider’s storyline is out of sync with the rest of creative. Cope’s performances in the post-broken leg have varied.

There’s a risk on Wednesday that both men’s hard-as-nails characters risk diminishing temporarily AEW’s skillful use of violence to elevate stories. Cope’s excess and injury during the barbed-wire steel cage match brought up legitimate critique about violence in AEW.

Yet, AEW has a history of making good on disappointing outcomes on PPV. While this won’t be a “69 me Don” or emotive Eddie Kingston mic work that will immediately rinse away the bad taste, Mox is a violent artist

Cope can, in the right circumstances, be a sick individual. With some possible storytelling integration of Jay White, Swerve Strickland, or the Death Riders, it could overdeliver.

Banger of the Week: International Championship Eliminator Finale

It’s been a fun and banger-filled tournament. Four men with varied characters, motivations, and skills, there’s all kinds of potential. All kinds of fun mini-contests and clashes that could set up subsequent storylines and feuds.

Orange Cassidy may be the favorite. A match with Kenny Omega was teased after Cassidy’s defeat to Konosuke Takeshita last month. I’ve speculated on the eliminator tournament’s outcome that a loss for Cassidy could aid the character’s progression.

Throwing newcomer Speedball Mike Bailey into a dream match with Omega could be glorious. So could a match with Ricochet. Even Mark Davies, the outsider choice, could tie Omega back to a feud with The Don Callis Family.

Ignoring the outcome, this match may steal the week. You have three diverse hybrid wrestlers who can fly and maneuver with different stylistic bases.

Bailey with martial arts and speed, Cassidy with intelligence and counters, and Ricochet with his evolving heel character. Add Davies as the heavyweight wrecking ball causing disruption and drama. Classic AEW multi-man booking.