8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (5 April - Review)
2. The Stakes Were Too Low
AEW should have spent more time putting over the gravity of FTR potentially being forced out of AEW.
After a fortnight of elegant show-long storytelling, with the exception of one neat bit of dovetailing, the show felt compartmentalised, and when FTR emerged for a 14 minute main event that had barely been spoken about, the drama barely existed. AEW is still shockingly useless at this sort of thing nearly four years into its run, which is strange.
The fanbase should have been tormented with the idea that this could have been FTR's last night. AEW career highlights should have been shown in video packages. An interview should have been conducted in which FTR thanked the fans, in case this was the last time they had the chance to do it. Something, anything to lay the tension and anxiety on thick.
This didn't happen, and as a result, the match under-delivered...