4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 Mar - Review)

4. Jack Perry: More Mordecai Than Undertaker

Christian Cage
AEW

Even some of the good to great stuff on this show was a backdrop to some utter drivel.

Christian Cage was fantastic in his promo segment. Renee Paquette was on blinding form as well. She initially no-sold Cage's tirade, as if she'd heard it all before. She wasn't some glorified prop there to act as if Cage was a cartoonish force of evil. It was only when he really took it too far, and called Luke Perry a talentless hack, that she quietly registered her disgust. That way, she put it over as an actual transgression. Then it went to sh*t when Jack Perry answered the challenge of a "fight" not yet announced for the pay-per-view via video package.

This wasn't "cinematic" as in a synonym of very effective, but actually cinematic. There were close-up shots of Perry shedding a solitary tear as the emotion of the last two years caught up with him - highlights of which were very conveniently clipped together before the camera panned out and showed Christian's name engraved on a tombstone.

Who filmed this?

Who edited it?

And if it was Perry himself, that's very dorky. Also, it might have been a waste of time, since a Christian Cage interview wasn't advertised for the show. Fake, contrived melodrama: this was dire. The heel who rips the piss out of the babyface's deceased dad is cooler than the babyface. This is not good!

One of the most cringeworthy moments you'll see on AEW television this year.

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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!