4 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (July 26 - Review)

Downs...

5. Does This Really Need A Saga?

Chris Jericho
AEW

The slow dissolution of the Jericho Appreciation Society is painful to watch.

Not because nobody wants them to split, but because the acting is absolute sh*t.

The split was teased across two segments. First, Don Callis continued to court/corrupt Jericho in a backstage interview in which he presented Jericho with an oil painting (which was very funny) and offered him a match alongside Konosuke Takeshita against Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara. Jericho's inner conflict facial expression here was horrendous. Not remotely believable.

He might as well have said "But you see, Don, while I am considering aligning with you, Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara are my friends and are each my protégé in the Jericho Appreciation Society" out loud for how obviously his feelings were mixed.

Deeper in the night, Renee Paquette caught up with Jericho and told him that his JAS underlings were not happy. Again, the acting and dialogue: horrible. Bush league sh*t. The premise is impossible to take seriously for a start, which really doesn't help. Pretending that there are real interpersonal relationships within the one-dimensional sports entertainment parody group of clowns - that outstayed its welcome a year ago - is just a woeful foundation for a saga. The characters and the material go about as well together as Hardcore Holly taking on the role of the sympathetic Frederick Treves in an Elephant Man reboot. This could only possibly work if the stable was beloved. They are not.

Anna Jay's "Maybe you don't appreciate us" line was brutal. The identity of the ex-soap opera writer who penned it isn't clear, but they need to be forcibly ejected from the building. There is no emotional depth to this stable of goons and what the f*ck does any of this have to do with Kenny Omega Vs. Konosuke Takeshita?

Overcomplicated, cringeworthy sh*te.

Collision should be cancelled purely so that this stuff is tempered on Wednesdays.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!