4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jan 20)
1. Birthday Fun With -1
On what might be the most Tony Khan move in AEW's short history, the company president squeezed some extra storyline juice onto last night's birthday party for -1, replaying Brodie Lee Jr.'s promo on Luther from a recent episode of Dark. God bless that man and his pro wrestling nerd-dom.
Everything about the birthday party was lovely. From The Dark Order presenting -1 with a birthday cake to Luther cutting a promo on the nine-year-old, it was pleasant, heartwarming, and wholesome. The match started hot when Angelico and Jack Evans joined Luther and Serpentico's fight, pulling Hangman Page from the back. The former Elite man dived on a pile of bodies to really get things going. The best match on the card was as all action as you'd expect from an eight-man tag in this company, concluding with Page nailing the Buckshot Lariat into John Silver's German Suplex and ultimately Alex Reynold's jackknife pin.
The post-match was a hoot, too. "My birthday was three days ago you idiots!", shouted -1 down the microphone, launching papers at Serpentico just like his old man. The Order then jumped the gun, celebrating Page "joining" their group before he could properly get his words out, leading to the ultimate deflation when Adam said no.
Hangman took a bottle from Stu Grayson on the way out. Kool-Aid, perhaps? This storyline feels far from finished.
Good on AEW for continuing to do right by the Huber family, and for wrapping this up with earnest storyline developments, a fun match, and Silver's over-the-top exuberance.