4 Ups & 7 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen (August 17 - Review)
Ups…
4. Darby Allin & Nick Wayne & The Gates Of Agony
AEW
There was a lot to like about this frantic teaser of Wembley's tag team coffin match, and that was before Joker Sting made an unlikely return to scare the life out of Prince Nana.
After a tremendous introduction to life on the AEW roster, Nick Wayne already felt like part of the furniture here, taking a hefty kicking from Kaun and Toa Liona before embodying the spirit of his mentor Darby Allin and battling back enough tag him in. It was relatively smooth sailing for the babyfaces from there, and the stereo moonsault/Coffin Drop finish delighted a live crowd that seemed deeply invested both men.
Armed with Allin's skateboard, the young Wayne notably took real command of the ring in the post-match, helping diffuse any attacks from Swerve Strickland and AR Fox before Sting appeared and messed with the head of Nana and The Mogul Embassy. For a party match on the night, the All In payoff to this has been extremely well-handled. 'The Stinger' embracing his wildest side for the biggest crowd of his legendary career is just another potential cherry for the top of a well-iced cake.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 over 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 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana 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
