11 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Mar 31)
Ups...
11. Christian Cage Does, In Fact, Still Have It
That apron bump was worse than most.
Early into Christian Cage Vs. Frankie Kazarian's wonderfully crafted slow-burn opener, Kazarian launched Cage to the floor, via the apron, knocking him on his arse upside down. It looked bad in a controlled way - as sickening as it was painful to take. A dispassionate Kazarian sold the attack with something approaching his fabulous Being The Elite deadpan.
"I want to go out on my own terms."
"Do ya?"
Kazarian's body language was sublime in how remorseless he was. That's what wrestling is now, he seemed to convey with a shrug. You just left for seven years.
This was a damn, damn good match - a hybrid of consummate counter wrestling and a real unvarnished scrap, the physicality of which Cage sold brilliantly with a shocked, catatonic stare. He measured his comeback perfectly, to spike moments of drama near the finishing sequence in "vintage" Cage fashion, but the real brilliance was in the sell. He wasn't just selling Kazarian's super-aggressive offence. He wasn't just selling a bit of rust.
He was selling the shock of a new game, putting it over before he went over, in a match of exquisite pacing the likes of which will somehow contrive to make this white-hot TV show even better.