10 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Apr 8)

4. Moxley Vs. Hager Is Legit

Catalina Hager
AEW

So Jon Moxley vs. Jake Hager feels like a big, big deal now, and last night's video packages took it to the next level.

The two will meet in a Last Man Standing empty arena match this week. AEW is warming up to it with UFC-style vignettes charting their respective journeys to the big fight, which was particularly beneficial for 'The Big Hurt.' As great as Hager has looked in recent squashes, he still needs to develop some personality, and that was accomplished not only through his own diatribes last night, but those of his wife and coach as well.

Mox was great as well, putting Jake over as the most dangerous guy he had ever stepped in a ring with. He acknowledged that he was in there with an absolute animal and that whether the match when three minutes of 30, it was going to be a brutal, unpleasant war, boding well for the scrap itself.

"We are a house of winners," said Catalina Hager. "If he doesn't come home a winner, he doesn't come home at all." That's Jake's mentality heading into this thing. AEW's "real sport feel" hasn't always come across, but it's definitely present in this MMA-like build.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.