4 Ups & 7 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen (August 17 - Review)
Downs…
7. Orange Cassidy Vs Wheeler Yuta
AEW
Orange Cassidy has made a strong Wrestler Of The Year case in 2023, thanks to both the enduring quality of his in-ring and the excellent booking that has heightened the drama of his International Championship defences.
It was the undercooking of the latter ingredient that resulted in his nailed-on offering with Wheeler Yuta falling a little flat. All the joyous familiar beats were there - Cassidy's crumbling body was a feast for the increasingly callous Blackpool Combat Club recruit, the cool-as-a-cucumber comebacks disarmed the challenger even when he thought he was too wise for them in the early stages - but due to where the match fell in this ongoing BCC/Best Friends rivalry, a title change just wasn't in doubt before nor during the contest.
Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli lurking at ringside theoretically existed to insert drama and potential danger for Cassidy, but instead were walking reminders of how long all this has dragged on for, especially in a post-match that was, at its absolute best, a mixed bag...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
