AEW Dynamite preview (Oct. 25, 2023): Tony Khan has something very special planned for Sting’s retirement

Dynamite airs tonight (Oct. 25) with a live show from Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the fourth episode of Dynamite during the seven week build towards Full Gear, which takes place on November 18.

Tony Khan has something very special planned for Sting’s retirement

Sting’s retirement tour is officially upon us now that the pro wrestling legend revealed the last match of his career will take place at AEW Revolution 2024. That leads us to tonight’s episode of Dynamite, where AEW President Tony Khan will have a special gift for Sting.

Khan has gained a reputation similar to the boy who cried wolf, often hyping something up as huge and incredible, only for the actual announcement to be a let down compared to those high expectations. With that in mind, part of me is thinking that Khan might present Sting with a framed photo commemorating last weekend’s “special Dream Match” of Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson. Let’s hope Tony’s special gift turns out to be much more interesting than that.

Sting did get physical after his retirement announcement last week, backing up Darby Allin during a brawl with Luchasaurus, TNT Champion Christian Cage, and Nick Wayne. This introduces the possibility that Adam Copeland will be inserted into Sting’s retirement story, because he is involved in all things related to Christian these days.

Copeland doesn’t want to fight Christian, but of course he’ll have to change his mind at some point after Christian crosses a line. Could that line involve doing something completely horrible to Sting, like interrupting Khan’s special gift segment and trying to send Sting into early retirement?

Let me know in the comments below what you think Khan’s special gift for Sting will be, Cagesiders.

The rest of tonight’s lineup

AEW World Champion MJF goes one-on-one tonight against Juice Robinson, with MJF’s Dynamite Diamond Ring on the line. Bullet Club Gold has already stolen MJF’s world title, and now the group plans to pawn his ring. Will Daddy Ass & The Acclaimed, Roderick Strong, or someone in a Devil mask help MJF overcome the numbers game and hold onto one of his most-prized possessions?

NJPW star Kazuchika Okada is back in AEW tonight, this time for a tag team match with AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy against Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli. Will this bout help set up a rematch between Danielson and Okada at the Tokyo Dome in January? How will Jon Moxley affect the outcome, if at all?

AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida puts the gold on the line against Ruby Soho. Ruby is sick of never winning the big one in AEW. What is she willing to do to make sure she leaves Philadelphia as champion? Will Saraya be there to help her beat Shida?

Rob Van Damn will team with FTW Champion HOOK to take on the Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver). Things didn’t go so well this summer when HOOK trusted Jack Perry to be his friend. Can he trust that RVD won’t turn on him and go after the FTW belt?

Hangman Page and the Young Bucks defend the ROH world six-man tag team championship against The Hardys and Brother Zay. That’s an awful lot of babyfaces in one ring, so I’d expect Swerve Strickland’s Mogul Embassy to crash the party. AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill and Ricky Starks might also have some incentive to ambush The Elite.

Speaking of Swerve, even if he doesn’t interrupt Hangman’s match, he is at least scheduled to address Page on the mic tonight. Are they going to book a rematch for Full Gear?

Finally, Renee Paquette will sit down with Chris Jericho for an interview. Jericho and Kenny Omega have recently struggled to deal with the Don Callis Family. What will Chris have to say after Powerhouse Hobbs mopped the floor with him two weeks ago?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Wardlow and Samoa Joe both want a piece of AEW World Champion MJF, whose plate is already full with Jay White at Full Gear.

- Kenny Omega is also on MJF’s radar. In fact, Omega and MJF are both booked for this Saturday’s Collision, which is the final AEW show before MJF passes Omega as the longest reigning AEW world champion of all-time. Is there any chance Tony Khan books an MJF vs. Omega title match this weekend to get a ratings boost out of MJF’s chase of Kenny’s record?

- Skye Blue is slowly turning to the dark side after Julia Hart sprayed her with poison mist a few weeks back. It’s just a matter of time until she turns on Willow Nightingale and goes after TBS Champion Kris Statlander again.

- Is there any reason for the former Jericho Appreciation Society members to stick together after they failed to win the AEW world trios titles from Daddy Ass & The Acclaimed at Battle of the Belts?

- Britt Baker is currently lost in the shuffle. What will she do in order to change that and become the face of the women’s division again?

- Will Danhausen be back in AEW in time for Full Gear?

- Is Jack Perry still suspended? If not, where the f*** is he?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?