4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (12 Jan)
MJF, CM Punk, Serena Deeb, and more impressed, but AEW has serious Dynamite problems to solve.
AEW Dynamite's creative slump continued last night, as the promotion spent a week assembling a promising card then delivered sleepy, trope-laden chaos on the evening, leaving its audience with one of the show's most muddled episodes ever.
Recent highs like the Bryan Danielson vs.Adam Page matches and phenomenal MJF/CM Punk feud have carried Dynamite across the past month or so. Last night wasn't without its highlights either, but with Dynamite's structure becoming increasingly reliant on interruptions, contrivances, promo trains, and other tedious tropes, the product is losing what made it stand out.
These are week-to-week problems, now. It's a trend.
And it's up to Tony Khan to stop the rot.
This show saw Punk wrestle Wardlow as part of his quest to get closer to MJF, while Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb penned the fourth chapter of their great in-ring rivalry. Elsewhere, 'Hangman' learned his new number one contender, a long-expected debutant finally made his big arrival, Powerhouse Hobbs' brute force met Dante Martin's dazzling acrobatics, and interim TNT Champion Sammy Guevara vs. Daniel Garcia took the main event spot.
Let's light the fuse...