14 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Dec 4)
1. Starting Hot
Look, if you aren't into The Young Bucks' six-man tags, you wouldn't have gotten anything out of the night's opener. Dustin Rhodes flipped the usual Elite script by taking Kenny Omega's place but the layout was largely the same as it always is: spot upon spot upon spot to pop after pop after pop, designed to provoke wonderment above all else.
That it was so over makes it an easy Up. A product's success is to be measured by how it resonates with its intended consumers. Here, the consumers went absolutely wild, as did this writer.
The Bucks dazzled and flew while Dustin kept the pace well, only reminding the audience of his age when doubling over to catch his breath and sell the effort. Big "you've still got it" chants followed him. The former Goldust even nailed a Destroyer, though the official prevented Shattered Dreams, allowing The Inner Circle a way back in via baseball-filled sock.
A stunning Sammy Guevara 630 splash scored a 2.9999999 count on Dustin. Guevara would be his team's undoing, though, heading to the top rope with his selfie camera on in a moment of vanity, eating a double Superkick on his way down. A senton to Sammy melded with tandem Tombstones on Proud and Powerful saw the babyfaces emerge triumphant.
A pure sugar rush from start to finish, this was AEW's house style to a tee.