Book a match to build a match featuring wrestlers people want to watch, and cool things happen.
A simple principle, but one that's gone slightly awry in recent weeks and months across most AEW broadcasts. Not here. Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin have linked up before as a babyface superpower unit, and this being a fixture on the same night Swerve Strickland won his way back into International Title contention was the sort of hidden contrivance that should make a worked sport so consistently appealing.
Swerve watched his Mogul Embassy associates attempt to take out the Cassidy from the stage, making it perfectly clear that the Blackjack Battle Royal showdown was, in his mind, a fluke. Gates Of Agony failed to get it done against the fan favourites, but that wasn't the story. As Swerve and Brian Cage approached the ring, Sting made a surprise appearance to ward off the heels, set up a few kick a*s trios matches, and pop the entire building. On a night where AEW felt alive again, the return of 'The Icon' felt like a celebration of the fact.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
