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

by Michael Sidgwick

1. Swerve Strickland Is So Close To Being THE Man

Swerve Strickland Vs. Mark Briscoe turned into something awesome by the finishing stretch.

This might scan as pedantic - again - but to be the man in wrestling, you must be virtually flawless. Swerve is closer than ever, but...

For a while, the match was merely good, if somewhat affected by Swerve's attempts to evade his opponent and lure him into danger with his more convoluted move set-ups. That's where the Swerve part of his name comes from, but it feels like he's shedding his old skin to become a proper headlining player. His escapologist bit looks a bit weird, even downright clumsy at times, with that bigger main event body and aura. The fans were jolted awake when Swerve blasted that maniac Briscoe with an inside-out suplex over the barricade to the matting that just barely covers the cement. That unhinged spot acted as the segue to the commercial break, after which the match developed into a dramatic shoot-out.

After a series of matches that while good to very good didn't feel like urgent, G1-adjacent masterclasses, the stakes and the characters elevated the wrestling in the second half of this match. Everybody believed that Swerve could win, but equally, everybody wanted Briscoe to stay in it. This dynamic and atmosphere elevated an electrifying closing stretch from which every drop of drama was extracted. The false finishes were wholly convincing, and if Briscoe had to lose, taking a death valley driver on the apron was a gnarly way of going out.

The impact was brutal throughout an intoxicating finishing stretch, the emotion felt just as hard. Taking Briscoe out of the tournament so early has to be considered a mistake, mind.

You don't get many wrestlers with such a strong audience bond, and frankly, AEW has fumbled too many of the few.

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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!