4 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (15 Feb - Review)

4. A Well-Booked But Flat Return

The lack of energy in the crowd was such that it's difficult not to damn even the good moments with faint praise. Looking at the card in advance, you can permit their lack of enthusiasm.

Jungle Boy Vs. Brian Cage was only solid.

The action was decent if entirely unremarkable, and this is another area in which Tony Khan could improve. He becomes periodically obsessed with designating a certain heel as the wrestler who, for weeks on end, eats pins to get multiple babyfaces over.

For a while in 2021, Bobby Fish played that role. Then, for a long time, Jay Lethal replaced him on the spreadsheet. Now, it's Brian Cage's job. The man has lost so often recently that it is impossible to take him seriously, and what's worse is that, while talented, he is an extremely one-dimensional performer. There's only one Brian Cage match, and the audience has watched one too many of late. This was AEW at its predictable, functional, uninspiring worst - until the post-match angle.

Sadly, it barely landed.

Christian Cage has returned, and like the great heel he is, burned Jack Perry's eyes with mace before revealing that his arm has healed. Babyface pursued gold, but was cruelly distracted from goal by arch-rival is the most pleasing means of pivoting to a grudge programme, but this crowd barely cared. The card was weak, almost an insult compared to previous weeks, which might explain things.

That, or the Cage Vs. Perry feud peaked a while back and feels more like a narrative obligation they can't not do than a huge, heated story.