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

3. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

PAC Gravity
AEW

PAC Vs. Gravity was a Dark match.

A Dark match, taped in Universal Studios, worked for the express purpose of allowing Excalibur and Taz to riff on the punchline.

"Oh Moonwalk Jones over here," etc.

At most, if they had to do the bit, this should have happened on Rampage. It wasn't even that funny as an ironic match graphic, and the match itself was disjointed and all sorts of weird. PAC - and this might have been amusing, if the show elsewhere was hot and intense and needed the levity - actually treated Gravity like he was furious about being forgotten by him.

The absurd, literal riff on the punchline didn't land, which was odd. PAC is usually so brilliant at playing it straight as the miserable bastard that it should have been funny watching him do some irreverent material for once. Perhaps the joke was too stupid. Or perhaps this was just a nothing match.

Gravity is very raw and needs far more experience to do it at this level. The match wasn't terrible, but PAC had to wait a long time when feeding more than once. It was neither nothing nor something, ultimately. It wasn't a breakthrough Gravity match nor a ghoulish delight of a squash. It wasn't even a closely-contested back and forth. It just...happened.

PAC won a nothing match, one that defined an episode of Dynamite with a bizarre lack of priorities, and that was that.

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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!