At AEW Dynamite, Moxley defeats Garcia, Wheeler Yuta demands the spotlight, HOOK returns with a new theme, attacks Yuta, and the rivalry escalates dramatically.
It was a show at a historic venue—and a moment like the old days.
On the latest episode of the TV show Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling made a guest appearance at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, the former home base of the revolutionary 1990s cult league ECW. As a treat for fans in the legendary “Bingo Hall,” AEW had an acclaimed comeback up its sleeve, staged exactly as it used to be back in the day – by an up-and-coming star with family connections to the ECW Arena.
AEW Dynamite: Hook is back
After the opening match, in which former World Champion Jon Moxley defeated Daniel Garcia, Moxley’s sidekick Wheeler Yuta remained in the ring and, amid boos, threatened not to leave until the end of the show.
At that moment, the lights went out—a typical stylistic device used by former ECW promoter Paul Heyman for big surprise debuts and comebacks.
When the lights came back on, Hook’s logo appeared on the screen and the son of ECW icon Taz stormed to the ring to beat up Yuta.
@730HOOK makes his return in a building important to his family lineage!
Watch AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/ML1mqZ0pfc
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 28, 2025
Like his father Taz once did at ECW
Hook, who had been out of action since April due to a severe concussion, showed off several of his signature moves against the Death Riders member, with whom he had feuded before his forced break.
Among other things, he took Yuta into the Tazmission, the finisher of his father, who is one of the greatest ECW legends and had fought numerous big fights in the 2300 Arena with and against other league icons such as Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, and Sabu, who passed away this year.
The returning Hook – whose father is now a commentator at AEW – also presented a new theme song, “So tell the Girls I am back in Town” by Jay-Jay Johanson, upon his return.
Hook’s comeback is accompanied by questions in terms of storyline: before his injury, he was a member of the group The Opps led by mentor Samoa Joe – but during a one-off appearance by Hook during his rehab, tensions between him and Joe became apparent.
More comebacks on the horizon
There had already been a major comeback after a long absence at the big Forbidden Door event in London over the weekend: powerhouse Wardlow returned after an attack on Swerve Strickland (who is out for a while due to surgery, as is Will Ospreay) and joined Kazuchika Okada’s Don Callis Family.
Several other AEW stars also appear to be on the verge of a return: According to media reports, fan favorite Orange Cassidy is fit again and is likely to reappear on the shows soon.
The same seems to apply to Jack Perry, who was written out of the shows in the winter without explanation: His allies The Young Bucks brought Perry’s name back into the conversation during their web show Being The Elite: In a telling segment, the clip showed the Bucks watching their defeat in the main event of Forbidden Door – and receiving a call from Perry, which they did not answer.
The first big match for the upcoming major event All Out on September 20 is already official: Adam Copeland and Christian Cage will face their rivals FTR in their Canadian hometown of Toronto in the second match after their reunion – a long-anticipated “dream match” between two of the best teams of their respective generations is now set.
