14 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (Aug 22)

9. Jungle Boy: A Smart Babyface

A supplementary Up for Jungle Boy being presented as a smart, cunning babyface here, as he capitalised on the dissent between the Lucha Brothers and The Butcher and the Blade to roll Blade up for the match-winning pinfall, giving his side a nice victory over a quartet that has been rolling lately.

Said dissent was always coming. The team put it over while competing on Dark and the announcers brought this up throughout, meaning it was only a matter of time before something happening. Here, it flared through an argument between Blade and Pentagon, later expanded on to include Fenix and Butcher, feeding into the big post-match angle.

While not quite on the same level as some of FULL DEATH CERO MIEDO's other eight-man tags, this was good stuff throughout, with the infinitely sympathetic Dustin Rhodes doing an outstanding job as the face-in-peril. Dustin is great at getting the p*ss beaten out of him. You feel genuinely upset when a nasty prick like Pentagon bruises his legs with stiff kicks, such is his babyface power, and his prolonged beatdown led to a great Luchasaurus hot tag.

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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.