11 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 31 - Review)
4. Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin Vs Gates Of Agony
Book a match to build a match featuring wrestlers people want to watch, and cool things happen.
A simple principle, but one that's gone slightly awry in recent weeks and months across most AEW broadcasts. Not here. Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin have linked up before as a babyface superpower unit, and this being a fixture on the same night Swerve Strickland won his way back into International Title contention was the sort of hidden contrivance that should make a worked sport so consistently appealing.
Swerve watched his Mogul Embassy associates attempt to take out the Cassidy from the stage, making it perfectly clear that the Blackjack Battle Royal showdown was, in his mind, a fluke. Gates Of Agony failed to get it done against the fan favourites, but that wasn't the story. As Swerve and Brian Cage approached the ring, Sting made a surprise appearance to ward off the heels, set up a few kick a*s trios matches, and pop the entire building. On a night where AEW felt alive again, the return of 'The Icon' felt like a celebration of the fact.