12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Nov 6)
8 - Hell, Even Shawn Spears Got Over
This by no means was a very good professional wrestling match in and of itself, but that is not how a pro wrestling television show should function. TV exists to build characters ahead of lengthy, feature matches, and this was a make-good for Shawn Spears, who has endured a mixed time.
His big All out debut was a better spectacle than auspicious start, and really, Tully Blanchard was the star of that match. Selected as Jon Moxley’s victim on week two, in a match that did little for either man, this restored his aura. To an extent: he beat the piss out of Brandon Cutler (who looked decent) in a professional, well-balanced squash performance, after which Joey Janela rushed to the ring in retribution. On Dark this week, Spears and Blanchard butchered his tongue with a pair of pliers, itself retribution for Janela stubbing his cigarette out in Tully’s water.
It’s not too dissimilar to the old Kane/Chris Jericho rotter, this storyline, but the props are cooler and Janela was awesome in this (functional) angle. He showed real, believable fire, and was great value screaming “You old prick!” at Blanchard.
Solid angle, and a great premise and dynamic for a match—Spears fancies himself an old school wrestler, and Janela is determined to prove that crowd wrong.