4 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (5 Jan)

1. Spooky Stuff Follows Ineffective Semi-Squash

As an extended squash match, Malakai Black's defeat of Brian Pillman Jr. wasn't as emphatic or impactful as it needed to be. It's fine giving Pillman comeback spots, particularly after his featured storyline with MJF a few months ago, and that the social media video of him learning counters to Malakai's heel kick played into the story was appreciated as well. Regardless, Black needed to look like a killer coming out of this.

And he didn't.

Last week's Griff Garrison match was a more effective flattening with greater fire and harder-hitting work from Black. Still, at least the finish looked good, with Malakai finally landing the kick, then pinning Pillman with a knee across his throat.

It's the post-match that really cements this as a down, though. The Lucha Brothers came out as Black threatened to inflict further punishment on Pillman and Julia Hart. Then, the lights went out. When they came back on, the opposing sides had swapped positions: Black had gone from the ring to the ramp, and the Lucha Bros. the opposite.

One of two things happened here:-

1. The two sides passed each other on the ramp and somehow didn't notice the other's presence, which, despite the lights being down, is ridiculous.

2. They teleported, which is even more ridiculous.

We're getting borderline supernatural with Malakai's character, now, and it flies in the face of what makes AEW so great when Dynamite is firing on all cylinders. It's time to tone it down.