12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Feb 26)
1. The TV Match Of The Year
Imagine opening your pay-per-view go-home show with a 30-minute Iron Man match. A daring move, but it worked. Kenny Omega vs. PAC f*cking ruled.
The real 'Best Bout Machine' re-emerged in a pulsating rubber match, running the wrestling game as he did for much of 2016, 2017, and 2018. This was as pure a babyface performance as he has delivered in years. He had the crowd's support from the moment he first walked out but didn't rest on this, consolidating his immense support by going pure white meat. A more perfect foil for PAC's outright bastardry he couldn't have been.
Tremendous pacing saw the duo hit the gas right away without going full cocaine. The opening stages were brisk but not over-the-top in a bout that progressed in stiffness with chops, knees, and a particularly nasty teep kick to the corner unfolded. By 16 minutes, the "this is awesome!" chants were out and the first fall was also the first disqualification in AEW history. PAC, in a smart heel move, willingly lost a fall to bludgeon Omega with a chair, beat him up some more, level things at 1-1, and enjoy a long, dominant spell, throughout which he completely controlled 'The Cleaner.'
A Falcon Arrow to outside nearly put Kenny's lights out. Later, Omega just made it back inside from a countout attempt then found himself trapped inside the Brutaliser with just 2:40 to go. What followed was an agonised, torturous struggle, and you felt every second ticking away with the scores at 1-1 but of course, Omega didn't tap. 30 minutes expired. Sudden death followed as Aubrey Edwards took the downed Paul Turner's place and the V-Trigger, Kamigoye, and One Winged Angel put PAC away.
Two masters of the craft worked their magic with nothing held back here, yielding one of the best matches in AEW's young history. It had all the drama and heft of a big pay-per-view bout with none of television's usual shortcuts and though PAC lost, he looked incredible throughout. This was a true prizefight. It's not the kind of thing AEW can pull off every week, but only they can generate and execute a TV match of this weight and importance.