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AEW started a new era tonight as the product officially started its renewed deal with WBD. Under the new contract, the promotion aired its first show - Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite. The show was incredible, and they told multiple stories. The promotion may have caught several new eyes as the episode aired on Max for the first time.
The show started with Hangman Page winning against Orange Cassidy in a gruesome contest. The Hurt Syndicate stood tall against the Acclaimed, who were on the verge of breaking up. Jeff Jarrett then announced that he would not be retiring from in-ring competition and set his eyes on Jon Moxley and his title. Julia Hart also looked dominant as she scored a victory over Jamie Hayter.
The main event saw Rated FTR defeat the Death Riders after a chaotic contest. The highlight of the show was when Ricochet attacked Swerve Strickland with a scissor. While the show was not perfect, Dynamite kicked off the year with a huge statement. However, some major booking mistakes were made that might have affected tonight's show.
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Let's take a look at some of the errors the Jacksonville-based promotion made during the very first Dynamite of 2025.
A former WWE writer just went after JBL for his comments HERE
#3. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley didn't stand tall
Tony Khan highly promoted Dynamite on Max on January 1, 2025. Max has a vast audience worldwide and must have easily brought a new crowd to the product. While the promotion introduced the majority of their roster, they forgot to showcase the current face of AEW, who is holding the top prize of the promotion.
Jon Moxley and his crew fought Rated FTR in an amazing match. Despite losing the contest, the Puryevor of Violence should have stood tall in the ring to end the show. Instead, FTR and Cope celebrated their victory. New fans should have known who the top star of the company is.
#2. AEW, where does the best wrestle?
AEW has failed to differentiate itself from WWE as an alternative pro wrestling company. Fans have been criticizing the underwhelming push of young stars in promotion. On today's Dynamite, stars like Jeff Jarrett, FTR, and Cope were featured. However, they could have booked a high-athletic match with anyone amongst Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Will Ospreay, or Daniel Garcia.
While matches on tonight's show were great, they failed to showcase what the promotion was built upon.
#1. Opportunity to make a huge return
Kenny Omega's return at the Worlds End pay-per-view was one of the biggest highlights of the show. Comebacks are always the talking point of the show, but AEW failed to surprise the crowd with any huge return. Samoa Joe's return might have been memorable enough for a loud pop.
The Samoan Submission Machine has completed his outside ventures but still hasn't returned to AEW.
Things are looking great for next week's Dynamite as a massive Casino Gauntlet match will take place. The winner of the bout will receive a shot at Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship at Maximum Carnage Dynamite. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the show is booked.
