12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Nov 6)

7 - The Brandi Rhodes Angle Strips Everything Back

Brandi Rhodes AEW
FITE TV

Last week’s voodoo ceremony vignette was not good.

Well-produced for what it was, what it was was sub-Lucha Underground, Akeem-adjacent theatre, in entirely the wrong context, that felt, jarringly, like a platform for Brandi’s acting talent.

This was a more traditional, less pretentious vignette, and all the better for it. It explained the connection, if not Brandi’s sudden turn, which still comes off as something we should automatically accept because AEW flirts with blurred dynamics. This isn’t blurred. It’s very stark and difficult to take seriously.

But the promise of all this is cause for optimism. Awesome Kong isn’t the physical force she was once, and was never the same menacing threat she was on the ring in the mic.

The jump cut jump scares in this vignette should foreshadow the way she’s used going forward—in harmony with and put over big by a deeply underrated talker.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!