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Write Forever: Kenny Omega returns on AEW Dynamite for January 8

Write Forever: Kenny Omega returns on AEW Dynamite for January 8

Last weekend was a big one for a number of people in AEW, not least of all Kenny Omega who made his in-ring return at Wrestle Dynasty with a victory over the actually insane (according to Chuck Taylor) Gabe Kidd.

Konosuke Takeshita also walked away with the NEVER Openweight Title after a win over Shingo Takagi at Wrestle Kingdom and a successful defense against Tomohiro Ishii the next day at Wrestle Dynasty.

Not the mention those damn Young Bucks who became the new IWGP Tag Team Champions!

As far as we know, the only person guaranteed on the show tonight is Kenny Omega who somehow makes his return even though Jack Perry stole all of his guts and dumped them on a birthday cake a few months ago.

What is Will Ospreay up to?

Will Ospreay and Buddy Murphy–er–Matthews had an excellent match to open the show, surprising nobody. Also surprising nobody, Ospreay came out on top though Buddy put in a great performance and looked strong in defeat.

Post-match, though, Ospreay got up to some antics. He got on the mic and told Buddy that he's now wrestled both he and Brody King and that neither of them need to be following a leader, which got a smattering of boos from the crowd.

Ospreay went on to say that there could be tag team gold in Buddy's future or even singles gold "if you work hard enough, Buddy." Finishing up, Ospreay told Buddy that if he ever needed a guy in his corner then Ospreay was his guy. The two shook hands and then went their separate ways.

Usually when something like this happens and Buddy Matthews shakes someone's hand in the ring, mysterious magic happens and a wild Malakai Black appears in Buddy's place.

Not so this time around.

So, what's going on here? Maybe it was just my read of the promo, but Ospreay came off awfully patronizing to Buddy. Was he being patronizing or was he being sincere? And, either way – what's the endgame? Is this all in service of a future Malakai Black vs Will Ospreay match (for custody of Buddy and Brody?), or is there more to unravel between Ospreay, Buddy, and Brody?

Few know this, but the J in MJF stands for Jeff Jarrett

MJF is finally out of the Adam Cole Zone which is a blessing unto itself. He's now entered the atmosphere of Planet Jarrett.

After Jarrett failed to win the Casino Gauntlet thanks to noted little shit Wheeler Yuta, MJF mocked Jarrett for being unable to win the medium one on his way to winning the big one.

MJF offered a solution: MJF guides Jeff Jarrett to the World Title and then gifts MJF with the first shot. It's not a bad deal!

Jarrett denied the offer, though, and stormed off leaving Maxwell alone in the ring.

This is an interesting little feud. I think MJF could really shine with an old school, southern rasslin' guy like Jarrett in a prolonged feud. This also keeps Jarrett outside of but still in the loose orbit of the World Title scene, which means we don't need to get continual attempts at becoming the number one contender for the next couple of months.

It's a feud that could also wash the bad taste out of everybody's mouths after having to sit through the revived MJF/Cole story that bored us all to tears. Here's hoping!

It's not time for Toni Time

In the three-way match to determine the first entrant in next week's Casino Gauntlet, Kris Statlander got a bit of a surprise win over Willow Nightingale and rookie Toni Storm. I think everyone expected Toni to win this - after all, she is undefeated since her debut.

In a post-match interview, Toni was dejected and it sounded like she wrote herself out of the Gauntlet all together because she's "not ready yet." Whether she actually appears in the match next week remains to be seen.

My assumption has been that, since the winner of the Gauntlet gets a World Title shot at Grand Slam Australia, Toni would win the Gauntlet and then the World Title in her home country. But, maybe there are other plans for Toni at Grand Slam.

I'm not sure when the other shoe drops on the Toni Storm story. Will she miraculously regain her memory/reveal that she's been acting all along if she enters and wins the Gauntlet next week? How long is too long to try to play the long con against Mariah May?

Wrapping Up

Mark Briscoe and Bobby Lashley had a match that was fun enough, but I still think I'm just not that into Lashley at all. I wasn't into his initial WWE run years and years ago and he hasn't done anything to really blow me away yet. Briscoe definitely did the heavy lifting in the match.

If Lashley and Shelton stuck to being a tag team, maybe I'd come around on him because there'd be a different dynamic in a tag team. We may get that soon, as The Hurt Syndicate laid out a challenge to Private Party for the Tag Team Titles.

I assume we'll get the match at Revolution, if not sooner, but it feels too early for Private Party to lose the belts. They've only got one defense under them and it'd be great to have them establish themselves more as champions before dropping the gold.

Powerhouse Hobbs won a good Casino Gauntlet and goes on to challenge Jon Moxley for the World Title next week, a rematch of the match where Hobbs was injured and put on the shelf for several months. While there's about a zero percent chance of Hobbs winning next week, it is nice to see him thrust into the spotlight like this.

Also on the show, Cope (I hate it) called out Jon Moxley and I really couldn't have cared less. I have little to no interest in a Cope/Mox feud or match. I like Cope (ugh) enough and he surprised me a lot once he shook off the WWE stink in AEW.

However, the thing I want to see least is an extended Cope vs Mox feud for the World Title. If the focus shifted to Rated FTR going for the Trios Titles I'd be fine with it, but you're telling me that the guy who's going to save AEW from Death Riders is a guy who spent most of his career in WWE? Not an AEW original? It simply feels inauthentic to me.

In the main event of the show, Kenny Omega made his return and was confronted by Don Callis. Kenny, throwing out all preconceived notions of what happens when a babyface confronts a heel manager, beat the absolute shit out of Callis before the Don Callis Family ran out to save Callis.

Brian Cage gave Kenny a tummy punch that earned him a match with Omega next week before Omega was saved by Will Ospreay.

A quick segment to get Kenny back on our television sets here in AEW, but nothing too groundbreaking otherwise. Next week we get Omega/Cage which should be an absolute spectacle because both guys are great and have insane wrestlebrains. Then, let's see where this all goes with so many different people involved – Kenny, The Don Callis Family, Will Ospreay, and maybe some sprinkling of the House of Black in there for good measure?


Best AEW Matches of 2025

Don't see a match on the list? It's not because I didn't see the match, but because I didn't do a write-up for that show for whatever reason (timing, schedules, etc.). This list is as comprehensive as it can be.

I've also decided to omit squashes from the list since they're just going to crowd space at the bottom.

  1. Toni Storm vs Mariah May: Women's World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  2. Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  3. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Orange Cassidy (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  4. Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  5. Daniel Garcia vs Mark Briscoe: TNT Title (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  6. Konosuke Takeshita vs Orange Cassidy: International Title (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  7. Mercedes Moné vs Momo Watanabe: TBS Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  8. Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  9. MJF vs "Hangman" Adam Page (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  10. Konosuke Takeshita vs Kenny Omega: International Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  11. FTR vs Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  12. Rated FTR vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  13. Roderick Strong vs Jay White vs Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  14. Toni Storm vs Kris Statlander vs Willow Nightingale (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  15. "Hangman" Adam Page vs Christopher Daniels: Texas Death Match (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  16. Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  17. Kazuchika Okada vs Brody King: Continental Championship (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  18. Orange Cassidy, Powerhouse Hobbs, Mark Briscoe, & Will Ospreay vs Bryan Keith, Mark Davis, Lance Archer, & Brian Cage (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  19. Private Party vs The Hurt Syndicate: Tag Team Titles (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  20. PAC vs Komander (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  21. Will Ospreay vs Buddy Matthews (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  22. Toni Storm vs Deonna Purrazzo (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  23. Women's Casino Gauntlet (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  24. Hounds of Hell vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  25. Bryan Keith vs Will Ospreay (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  26. Jon Moxley vs Powerhouse Hobbs: World Title (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  27. Swerve Strickland vs AR Fox (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  28. Daniel Garcia vs Adam Cole: TNT Title (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  29. FTR vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta: Mid-South Street Fight (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  30. Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  31. Cope vs PAC (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
  32. Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  33. Will Ospreay vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
  34. The Beast Mortos vs Mike Bailey (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  35. Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  36. Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet vs Brody King & Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  37. Brody King vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  38. Rated FTR vs The Learning Tree (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  39. Private Party vs Lio Rush & Action Andretti: Tag Team Titles (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  40. Daniel Garcia & FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  41. Daniel Garcia vs Katsuyori Shibata: TNT Title (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  42. Daniel Garcia vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  43. Bandido & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Big Bill & Bryan Keith (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  44. Men's Casino Gauntlet Match (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  45. Cope vs Big Bill (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  46. Mariah May vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  47. Will Ospreay & Kevin Knight vs Blake Christian & Lee Johnson (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  48. Samoa Joe & Hook vs Kip Sabian & Nick Wayne (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  49. Swerve Strickland vs Clark Connors (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  50. Kenny Omega vs Brian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  51. Hook vs Christian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  52. Julia Hart vs Queen Aminata (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  53. Daniel Garcia vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  54. Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale vs Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  55. Brody King vs Lance Archer (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  56. Will Hobbs vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  57. The Outrunners vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  58. Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, & Roderick Strong vs Lee Moriarty & The Infantry (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  59. Julia Hart vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  60. Rated FTR, The Outrunners, & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Death Riders & The Learning Tree (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  61. Cope vs Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  62. Mark Davis vs Mark Briscoe (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  63. Hologram vs Dralistico (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  64. Mark Briscoe vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  65. Kenny Omega vs Blake Christian (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
  66. The Hurt Syndicate vs The Outrunners: Tag Team Titles (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  67. Max Caster vs RUSH (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  68. Bobby Lashley vs Mark Briscoe (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
  69. Private Party & Mark Briscoe vs Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, & MVP (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
  70. Serena Deeb vs Momo Watanabe (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  71. Orange Cassidy vs Hechicero (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  72. Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
  73. Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii: Continental Championship (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  74. FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  75. The Outrunners vs Premier Athletes (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  76. Adam Copeland vs Claudio Castagnoli (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  77. Ricochet vs Katsuyori Shibata (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  78. Toni Storm vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
  79. Jon Moxley vs Adam Copeland: World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
  80. Chris Jericho vs Dax Harwood (Collision: January 11, 2025)
  81. Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  82. Wheeler Yuta vs Willie Mack (Collision: March 1, 2025)
  83. Top Flight & Hologram vs The Infantry & Lee Moriarty (Collision: March 15, 2025)
  84. Willow Nightingale vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  85. The Acclaimed vs The Hurt Syndicate (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
  86. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong vs The Infantry (Collision: March 8, 2025)
  87. Komander vs Dante Martin vs Brian Cage vs The Beast Mortos (Collision: January 4, 2025)
  88. Murder Machines vs The Outrunners (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  89. The Outrunners vs Chris Jericho & Bryan Keith (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  90. Hologram & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Brian Cage & Dralistico (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  91. Taya Valkyrie vs Harley Cameron (Collision: February 1, 2025)
  92. Deonna Purrazzo vs Harley Cameron (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
  93. Max Caster vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
  94. Murder Machines vs Top Flight (Collision: January 18, 2025)
  95. Jeff Jarrett vs Aaron Solo (Collision: January 4, 2025)

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