5 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 (Results & Review)
Downs...
2. Chris Jericho Vs. Sammy Guevara Underwhelms
Chris Jericho Vs. Sammy Guevara was deflating. Some of the work was good, many of the ideas even better, but this suffered from three flaws.
One, the adrenaline dump following Eddie Kingston's euphoric win flattened the atmosphere.
Two, realistically, if fans were that into Le Sex Gods Explode, they'd have got up for it anyway. It wasn't the end of a long night.
Three, the work, at times, was actively bad.
Jericho collapsed into the ropes when trying to duck under Guevara's leapfrog and back-flip routine. He couldn't get under Guevara in time, and it's not the first time they've blundered through a rough version of that sequence.
Deeper into the match, something went awry when Guevara tried to cut off Jericho's springboard apron dropkick. Whatever they were trying to do, they missed it by - no hyperbole - several feet. Many of the moves were executed well, but because nobody cared about the story, the match felt off. Disjointed. The soundtrack inside Arthur Ashe was a loop of eerie hum/pop for high spot/eerie hum.
The middling execution also ruined a top rope cutter spot, even if it actually went well enough in the end: because the action wasn't tight elsewhere, watching Jericho and Guevara scale the top turnbuckle was frightening. That's meant to be the point, yes, but you're meant to be in suspense, not in fear for their safety. It just never came together, and it's a shame. Four long years went into this. Sammy's top-rope lionsault idea was an outstanding means of trying to put across that he thinks he's outgrown and is a literal level above Jericho. The match ventured into "oof" territory too often.
The finish and the post-match, however, practically salvaged the whole thing...