All Elite Wrestling wrapped up the year of 2025 in style on Wednesday night in “The Gateway to the West.”
The company ran the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Omaha, Nebraska on December 31 for their annual year-end “New Year’s Smash” special-themed episode of AEW Dynamite.
And the action got started before the TBS and HBO Max cameras started rolling at 8/7c.
Prior to the start of the live AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash show on 12/31, a dark match took place for the crowd in attendance in Omaha.
Featured in pre-show in-ring action was AEW fan-favorite pillar performer Darby Allin, who competed in a singles showdown against Kevin Matthews.
When all was said-and-done, it was Allin who managed to get his hand raised in victory in a basic, and somewhat brief, crowd-pleasing performance to set the tone for the evening inside the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
From there, the live broadcast on TBS and HBO Max kicked off, with AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash airing a jam-packed show that included MJF bringing back his “Triple B” version of the AEW World Championship in a show-opening nostalgic moment, and Willow Nightingale defeating Mercedes Mone to capture the TBS Championship in a show-ending “feel good moment.”
Regarding Darby Allin, the charismatic face-painted daredevil appeared during the televised portion of AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash. He turned up in a video segment where he addressed his awareness for pain and what it gives him. He also mentioned having unfinished business with The Death Riders, namely PAC, and he wants to finish what he started.
Later in the show, during a backstage segment with The Death Riders, in addition to Jon Moxley offering an AEW Continental Championship Eliminator opportunity to Shelton Benjamin for the first AEW Dynamite of 2026 on January 7, fellow member of The Death Riders, Wheeler Yuta, called out Darby Allin.
For those interested, you can check out our complete AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash Results 12/31/25 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com every Wednesday night at 8/7c for the best live AEW Dynamite results coverage on the web!
