12 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Mar 5)

Ups...

12. Jake Hager Gets It Done...

Jake Hager
AEW

Jake Hager's Revolution match with Dustin Rhodes was, at times, a plodding, laborious affair that failed to present 'The Big Hurt' as the dominator it should have, despite a high-effort performance from his opponent. Fortunately, Hager looked significantly better against QT Marshall last night.

This bout was everything it needed to be. AEW couldn't have totally squashed Marshall as they're building him and Dustin as a tag team, but the need to present Hager as a threat meant he shouldn't have enjoyed more than a few slithers of offense against the big man. Thus, he got three minutes and a couple of doomed fightback spots before Jake eventually put him away, sending Marshall to the shadow realm with his standing triangle choke.

Hager largely stuck to his more eye-catching offense here, with the short runtime meaning the match never had a chance to develop the Revolution clash's molasses-like pacing. This was fine.

Advertisement
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.