10 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (Apr 29)
Everybody dies: just look at Dustin Rhodes.
The needless handwringing over last week's Kenny Omega vs. Alan Angels match summarises professional wrestling's empty arena era up nicely. There isn't a whole lot to talk about at the moment so people will tie themselves in knots over the smallest things, particularly when it comes to AEW: the most over-analysed wrestling product on the planet.
Yes it was a Down, and perhaps not the squash Omega needed to have, but did it warrant more than a minute's debate? Absolutely not.
Let's hope the discourse on last night's episode of Dynamite revolves around effective storytelling, as these two hours were full of it. A triumphant three-course meal of a show, it served two strong TNT Championship Tournament semi-finals in Cody vs. Darby Allin and Lance Archer vs. Dustin Rhodes, a couple of ripping squashes, plus great stay-at-home promos from the likes of Jon Moxley, MJF, and Dr. Britt Baker.
We're pushing towards Double Or Nothing at full steam now. While not everything is hitting, this was one of the strongest episodes of Dynamite since the ongoing global health crisis robbed the brand of its noise.
Let's light the fuse...