11 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (7 Sept)
AEW proves it can have a great Dynamite without CM Punk, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
Swimming down Sh*t Creek and somehow coming out clean has been an AEW hallmark since day one - and Tony Khan and co. have spent the past week trying to not get swept away by their biggest torrent of excrement yet.
The backstage chaos that has engulfed all post-All Out coverage made last night's Dynamite appointment viewing. How the promotion would address the fallout from CM Punk and The Elite's fight, including the fate of the vacated World and Trios Championships, was the biggest selling point of a night that demanded a show joyous enough to take the heat off Khan's creaking operation. Similarly, AEW had to demonstrate to messrs Jackson, Brooks, and Smith that it could put on a great show without them.
And it succeeded. Spectacularly.
This was one of the most electric Dynamites in some time. For the umpteenth time in its short history, AEW delivered big when circumstances were at their worst, showing that while the promotion's real world might be in chaos right now, its fictional world doesn't have to be.
Whether or not last night was a case of Tony Khan papering over the cracks will become clear in time. For now...
Let's light the fuse.