5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (27 April)

An uneven Dynamite highlighted by Dax vs. Cash, CM Punk, Lucha Wardlow, and more.

by Andy H Murray
Eddie Kingston fireball
AEW

Last night's episode of AEW Dynamite played out in a similar fashion to the previous two.

A top-loaded outing that crammed its first hour with quality content, it unfortunately sagged during the second. This is becoming a habit. Perhaps it's down to the strong Big Bang Theory lead-in, with Tony Khan and co. looking to retain as many viewers as possible by opening hot, or perhaps it's accidental. Either way, it's something to address for a promotion that is still delivering the best weekly show in American wrestling nonetheless.

Reportedly heavily rewritten as a result of World Champion 'Hangman' Adam Page catching COVID-19, this was also a typically chaotic episode. Featuring a return, big stipulation matches, a title change, visually-impressive parlour tricks, elaborate set pieces, and more, a lot happened here. Fortunately, though, this wasn't one of those weeks where it felt like things weren't being given enough room to breathe. The strong segments were really strong - and on par with AEW's 2022 high average.

Sammy Guevara faced Scorpio Sky in a TNT Title ladder match, Serena Deeb and Hikaru Shida settled their long-running beef, Chris Jericho brought the fire, and Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler fought for a spot in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Let’s light the fuse…

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.