5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (20 April)

2. Kyle O'Reilly & Jungle Boy Misfire

Kyle O'Reilly
AEW

Kyle O'Reilly needed a big performance against Jungle Boy last night, having largely underwhelmed between the ropes since coming into AEW in December 2021 (Revolution 2022 aside). He won, defeating the Jurassic Express prospect to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament proper, but the bout unfortunately fell short.

This was a confused match. Though peppered with visually-impressive technical transitions from O'Reilly and explosive Jungle Boy cloudbursts, the duo never settled into a story. KOR spent much of his time on top working different overhand wristlocks that were never sold by Jungle Boy, who would escape Kyle's clutches, ignore the supposed damage, and fire into his opponent with elbow strikes, undermining the reDRagon man's work. Mid-match leg work barely landed either. The duo ostensibly worked a technical spotfest with little mind for psychology, while the announcers told a story dissonant to the one being told between the ropes.

Jungle Boy was purported to have lost to Kyle O'Reilly for working overly aggressive and confident. This wasn't reflected in the work, which saw the World Tag Team Champion rarely in command, restricted mostly to fired-up outbursts.

An extremely disappointing outing from two of the most talented wrestlers in the company.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.