6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 Dec)
Cody Rhodes catches fire, CM Punk wrestles Lee Moriarty, Danielson demolishes Angels.
AEW Dynamite continued its rocky run of form with another middling show last night, yielding none of the stunning, adrenaline-popping highs the brand has specialised in for the past two years.
This is frustrating. AEW is better than this. Transitional shows are fine when the stories make sense and build excitement for future developments, but the past couple of weeks have served several platefuls of slop. The Ups, in general, have been functional and fine rather than great and glorious, while the Downs have been either dysfunctional, awkward, or illogical.
There was no Jim Ross on commentary last night, as the legend takes time off to undergo radiation treatment following his skin cancer diagnosis. Best wishes to him as this progresses. In his stead, a revolving door of voices joined Tony Schiavone and Excalibur in the booth.
Cody Rhodes met Andrade El Idolo in an Atlanta Street Fight main event, Ruby Soho wrestled Kris Statlander in the TBS Title tournament, and Bryan Danielson tore through another Dark Order member in Alan '5' Angels. Elsewhere, Lee Moriarty stepped up against CM Punk and Sting and Darby Allin faced Gunn Club.
Let’s light the fuse...