5 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (December 6 - Results & Review)

3. Beautiful Match, Ugly Finish

Christian Cage Vs. Adam Copeland was a very good and well-crafted wrestling match until the finish.

Following a hot start, in which Copeland just kicked Cage's ass over and over again, Cage attempted to cheat with a low blow, but Copeland just stomped on his hand. It looked as though Cage couldn't even cheat to get the advantage, but he found a way in when a combination of Copeland's red mist and adrenaline dump allowed Cage to drive him face-first into the ring post. This was structurally elegant and brimming with character and motivation - just beautiful stuff worked by two masters telling a great, believable story. As the match progressed, the counters worked wonderfully. You see them in every match, but you won't find two wrestlers better than Cage or Copeland at the timing and ingenuity, and you won't find two wrestlers who actually know one another inside out to earn them.

Cage's leapfrog over the spear was just fantastic. A great moment of action informed by years and years of mutual history.

At the finish, though, Copeland fell into referee Bryce Remsburg. An enterprising Christian Cage then hit Bryce in the balls. Remsburg, when he came to after the shenanigans, counted the three in Cage's favour. Realistically, who else hit Remsburg in the balls? Andre the Giant?

It was obviously Cage.

The finish was also a victim of AEW's selective and convenient approach to enforcing the rules. The Continental Classic is sacred. Stablemates of the wrestlers will get fired if they dare interfere. The TNT title?

Don't send a second referee out there, it's fine. Adam Copeland will certainly get the opportunity to win the title fairly.

This reeked of AEW attempting to have cake and eat cake. Have wrestling, eat sports entertainment. With Bryce down, Shayna Wayne walked to the ring. She deliberated over hitting Cage with the belt before turning on Copeland. Th acting was...not good here, even by the standards of self-aware, unashamed soap opera.

The belt shot looked weak, but that was understandable. Less understandable was the actual finish.

Cage draped the TNT title below Copeland's head and curb-stomped him onto it. It looked flimsy, but was sold by the commentary team as if it was as devastating as the Con-chair-to.

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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!