5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (April 17 - Results & Review)

2. Where's The Emotion?

It's difficult to watch Cody Rhodes Vs. Roman Reigns and sense that something is amiss in AEW.

AEW has attempted, over its short history, a more layered and sophisticated way of telling stories. The promotion has excelled at old-fashioned good versus evil - Cody Vs. Chris Jericho, Cody Vs. MJF - but reached unreal artistic peaks with Kenny Omega Vs. Hangman Page and MJF Vs. CM Punk. At times, Page wasn't a true babyface, nor was MJF entirely irredeemable, but by the time of the final show-down, you knew who you wanted to root for, who deserved to be avenged. That emotional thrust is badly missing from AEW in 2024. Where the layers once built fan investment, now they're just making a mess.

Swerve Strickland Vs. Samoa Joe is basically a feud between two not very upstanding dudes whom the crowd deem cool regardless. There's no engaging contrast there. It's not a great story. Meanwhile, the Blackpool Combat Club continues to be baffling and off-putting.

Jon Moxley mentioned that he hates Don Callis. They were aligned last year!

Jon Moxley cut a pure babyface promo at the start of the show. Like a good guy, he stuck up for his mate Bryan Danielson and vowed revenge on Powerhouse Hobbs for the Don Callis Family's post-match attack on the BCC last Saturday. Then, in the main event, babyface Family member Will Ospreay, managed by heel Don Callis, defeated Claudio Castagnoli, who is in the BCC, a group that is feuding with the heel Callis Family. Claudio wasn't a full-blown heel, exactly, but was at a minimum unsportsmanlike at various points. He jumped Will at the start of the match and later targeted his eyes. You could argue that he identifies Ospreay as a Don Callis guy, even though Ospreay is destined to split from him, but it's just messy. It could be so much cleaner and more effective. There's nothing close to a Dusty/Flair dynamic in AEW right now.

This isn't "people are complicated" storytelling, the likes of which worked to wonderful effect when AEW explored Hangman Page's defensiveness, or MJF's ability to be redeemed. It's just a convoluted mess. It's been a mess for a while. Consider the main event of Collision. Don Callis wanted Kyle Fletcher and Powerhouse Hobbs to fight Claudio and Danielson in order to soften Bryan up ahead of Dynasty. He also had each member of the Family wrestle Ospreay so that Will could be as sharp as possible. What?

What's the difference?

It's not as if those Callis Family derbies weren't violent. Hobbs smashed Ospreay on the steel steps. What was that, if not an attempt to maim someone beyond the code of an exhibition?

The contradictions are stupid, the storytelling in the upper midcard is detached from real emotion, and the most basic foundations of pro wrestling are missing.

It's impossible to truly care no matter how great the action is.