Those Dynamite Kids - Dynamite recap for August 20, 2025

"The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson heads to the ring to start tonight's show, then guests on commentary for this week. Will Ospreay shows up and heads to the ring afterwards. Ospreay talks about a time when he went to perform in Glasgow, Scotland, got drunk, saw blue lights, and got an advertisement for Gregg's Sausage Rolls instead of the police. "Sausage Rolls" gets a "Daddy Cool"-style chant from the fans. He says that he has grown up in front of the fans and thanks them for their support over the years, then announces that he has not been medically cleared for Forbidden Door, then says he will take this in his own hands. He says that the Lights Out Steel Cage Match is unsanctioned and that anything that happens to him is on him and not AEW, then says he is aware of the risks and is comfortable taking them as AEW means so much for him. Ospreay says that if there is not even a small chance that he can wrestle again after Sunday, then he is leaving everything in the ring, for he is doing this for revenge and he and his team will tear The Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Gabe Kidd) apart. As he says that he will take a pound of flesh from Jon Moxley before he can take a scalpel, Moxley and Marina Shafir head through the crowd and to the ring. Moxley and Ospreay have a staredown in the middle of the ring, then Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta show up. Ospreay tells Moxley that he is coming for him on Sunday, and if he wants to get rid of him, he will have to do it himself. JetSpeed ("Speedball" Mike Bailey and "The Jet" Kevin Knight) are the first to come to Ospreay's aid, then Hiroshi Tanahashi shows up and starts cleaning house. This leads to the first match of the night.

JetSpeed ("Speedball" Mike Bailey and "The Jet" Kevin Knight) and Hiroshi Tanahashi beat The Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta) in a six-man tag match. During the match, members of the Bullet Club War Dogs - Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Robbie X and Drilla Maloney - show up and distract the ref, then Will Ospreay shows up with a bodybag, which distracts Moxley. Tanahashi wins the match for his team with the High Fly Flow. After the match, The Death Riders and the War Dogs work together, then Will Ospreay dares The Death Riders to approach him. The Young Bucks (Matthew and Nicholas Jackson) suddenly show up and superkick Ospreay, then Paragon (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) show up and stop The Young Bucks from opening the bodybag. The Death Riders open the bodybag only to find Darby Allin inside. Darby attacks Moxley as The Opps suddenly jump into the brawl, which spills all over the arena. Darby ends up hitting a Coffin Drop from the mezzanine onto multiple people.

Tony Schiavone introduces "The Rated R Superstar" Adam Copeland to the ring. They are both soon joined by Christian Cage. Copeland has to stop Christian from doing his full "Shut your mouths while I am conducting business" and chalks him still doing it up to being an asshole, then says sometimes one needs an asshole and that Christian is his asshole. Christian says he has taken time to actually find himself and found that he does not need to change and that he is perfect just the way that he is. He admits that he and Copeland are not on the same page by a long shot, but at this point, they are writing in the same book, and while some people were expecting a happy reunion, this reunion is one made out of necessity. Christian says that Copeland is helping him with his problems while he helps Copeland with his problems, and while he cannot promise anything beyond that, this version of himself will still be the best tag team partner Copeland ever had. As Copeland and Christian shake hands, Kip Sabian and Mother Wayne show up. Sabian accuses Christian of pandering for the fans that he despised, and Mother Wayne points at the video screen and a message from "The Prodigy" Nick Wayne. Nick Wayne says Christian came out to save his old friend Copeland, and while Christian did not take his head off, he broke his life, which saved his life for the time being, and took Forbidden Door from him. He says that he would have turned a reunion into a farewell tour at Forbidden Door and taken their careers from them, and says that while it is a blessing in disguise he will not be there, he warns that he is always one step ahead. We then see footage of Killswitch being brought back to life on a mad doctor's hospital gurney, then Killswitch shows up for the first time in about a year. Killswitch choke slams Copeland, and when Christian confronts him after going after Sabian, he eventually suffers the same fate.

Backstage, we suddenly hear from Mark Briscoe, who says that he will find and destroy MJF tonight.

Backstage, we hear from Ricochet and Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona). MJF shows up and proposes an alliance to go after Mark Briscoe. Ricochet says he would love to see MJF run around like a chicken with his head cut off, but Mark Briscoe irks him, and agrees to the alliance.

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs. Bandido and Brody King in the finals of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament ends in a thirty-minute time limit draw. Both teams will face The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) for the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Forbidden Door, as per Tony Khan. After the match, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin show up and stand at the middle of the ramp.

We see a video package for Swerve Strickland vs. "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Unified Championship at Forbidden Door.

"Hangman" Adam Page heads to the ring. Hangman talks about how he was jumped from behind in the parking lot by MJF, as he handles things in a back-stabbing, underhanded way. He says MJF cannot handle anything head-on because he does not have the balls to do it. Hangman says that calling MJF out to beat him up a few days early is a waste of time due to MJF being an insecure and gutless coward, then says there will be nothing underhanded or back-stabbing at Forbidden Door when he shoves his boot up MJF's ass. MJF's music hits, but MJF fails to show, and Tony Schiavone tells Hangman that MJF is backstage and that if Hangman leaves the ring before finishes, something bad is going to happen. MJF appears on the video screen, states that Hangman is at his most vulnerable when he is angry, and reveals that he, Ricochet and Gates of Agony have kidnapped Mark Briscoe. MJF requests three things in exchange for Briscoe, and if he rejects any of them, he will set Briscoe on fire. MJF demands a title change by disqualification, a title change by count-out, and demands that he does not have to use his Casino Gauntlet Contract to face Hangman at Forbidden Door. He then gives Hangman until the count of five, and Hangman is forced to give MJF what he wants. After MJF thanks Hangman, Hangman heads to the back with a metal folding chair. After the commercial break, "Hangman" Adam Page finds Ricochet and hits him in the back with the metal folding chair, demanding MJF's location. Security jumps in, and one member says MJF has left. That member gets punched out, then MJF leaves as Gates of Agony is ticked off.

CMLL luchadora Persephone is seen in the crowd before the next match.

Mercedes Moné and Athena beat "Timeless" Toni Storm and Alex Windsor after Athena tags herself in, unbeknownst to Alex Windsor, and hits Windsor with the O-Face after Windsor puts Mercedes in the Sharpshooter only to find out she is not the legal participant for her team. After the match, Mercedes gets in Persephone's face in the front row only for Persephone to shove her back. Meanwhile, "Timeless" Toni Storm is clutching her neck as she is checked on by medical.