6 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (February 7 - Results & Review)
4. A Super-Refreshing Hard Left
This review is written from the perceptive of somebody who rates the individual veteran members of the Blackpool Combat Club to a boundless extent. Bryan Danielson is probably the best professional wrestler ever.
This review is also written from the perspective of somebody who isn't a a fan of the BCC as a stable, since their amorphous tweener shtick can't support stories of any real focus nor emotional weight.
This match was amazing, mostly, and the unit was positively embarrassed by the CMLL all-stars, which was enormously gratifying to those bored of the "we are very tough and legitimate" persona that, honestly, is beneath them.
The story of the match was basic but inspired. You had to be blown away by the CMLL all-stars to receive them as a threat, and so they blew away the BCC time and time again before Claudio Castagnoli kicked Hechicero in the balls to steal the win. The plot was as basic as the quite incredible action was not.
Danielson and Hechicero, for the second time in less than a week, unleashed new submission sequences that proved they could probably wrestle for three hours before boring the crowd or running short of material.
Jon Moxley and Volador, Jr. maintained the vital sense of animosity: the action was cool, a great exhibition for the interlopers, but this is meant to be a territory war waged by alphas, after all.
Mascara Dorada entered the most uneven performance, by stumbling for what get like an age by the ropes initially, but he drew the biggest pop of the match by appearing to levitate two feet above Claudio Castagnoli before sending him to the mat with an awe-inspiring headscissors variation. As lazy as it may seem to use fireworks as a metaphor, and it is, it's accurate here. The Phoenix crowd literally reacted to that spot as if taking in a stunning New Year's display. The sound was exactly the same.
Very, very fun match that peaked at incredible at its best - one that, refreshingly, advances a totally left of field development on a show that is often too predictable.