Relatively early eliminations from the Continental Classic for Mark Briscoe and Jay Lethal appeared to reveal the flaws in a relatively short round robin format, but Mark Briscoe has been the safest pair of hands for playing the plucky loser and beloved underdog.
Here, in his penultimate Gold Group encounter, he was cast against the best possible heel.
White's escapes, counters and limb work flourishes were as smooth (and cruel) as ever, and ensured that this pattern of Briscoe being the hottest babyface on the show in spite of his win-loss record continued. There's absolutely no way that his bout with Jay Lethal next week isn't one of the hottest bouts on the final Dynamite of 2023, with avoiding ending on zero feeling just as powerful a ramification as a top-of-the-table clash.
It's the pop of a lifetime if and when he notches the three at long last, or a World's End singles match-in-waiting with Jeff Jarrett if Lethal procures a guitar from somewhere to cheat to win.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
