9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming (14 Dec - Review)
1. Winter Comes, And So Does Bryan Danielson
With fans feeling an upset in the air thanks to the Chris Jericho angle earlier in the night and both Champion and Challenger using their very best barbs in the last build, Dynamite's main event hit a tremendously dramatic level without once sacrificing a more suspenseful rematch somewhere down the road.
Unlike Hangman Page and CM Punk before him, MJF's first title defence was always going to struggle to summon proper title change anxiety/euphoria. The man booking his own 2003 Triple H vice-like grip over the belt had to beat his first challenger at very least, and a nearly-but-not-yet babyface megastar elect like Ricky Starks being the guy to get the shot only furthered that narrative.
To that end, the pair worked a stunningly well measured back-and-forth that found the right gear from the first five seconds without ever killing the potential of a rematch that might eventually have a different out. 'The Salt Of The Earth' tried and failed to outwrestle his 'Absolute' challenger in an extremely competitive offering, then cheated to win like the sh*thouse he is because - as he told everybody earlier in the show - he doesn't care about right, wrong, fairness or justice.
Speaking of which, a virtuous but enraged Bryan Danielson emerged at the end of the show to chase MJF into the stands, make the assumed Revolution main event all but official, and give Starks an endorsement in defeat. As economical as it was electric in the building.