12 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Feb 5)

5. Ortiz & Moxley Get Crazy

Ortiz Jon Moxley
AEW

This was Ortiz's first singles match in almost four years, with his last one-on-one a Beyond Wrestling tournament bout against Chris Dickinson back in August 2016. That's a long, long time, but the Inner Circle man killed it against Jon Moxley, matching his decorated opponent's pace for the duration of their kinetic opener.

Santana was at ringside and Chris Jericho was on commentary, with Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager watching his back. "Ortiz is like a cigarette machine with a head on it," he said, putting the "street thug" over. He did a good job but really, this was all about the in-ring. Moxley was made to battle against both his injured eye and the disadvantage of having Santana at ringside. He dived on Santana at one point then put Ortiz over the barricade, though the most eye-catching moment was definitely his opponent's cannonball through the ropes. How does he pull it off?!

The finish saw Santana try to get involved again, only to be knocked off the apron for his troubles, leading to Ortiz being sufficiently distracted for Moxley to hit the Paradigm Shift. Fun stuff, and a logical progression of the Inner Circle/Mox storyline.

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.