5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (April 3 - Results & Review)

by Michael Sidgwick

1. Very Good Match, Great Post-Match Angle

The Young Bucks defeated Orange Cassidy and Trent to advance to the finals of the World Tag Team title tournament. The match was very good without being off the charts great, but it underscored just how good and valuable the Bucks are. When this match reached its scorching peak, it was the loudest that another quite alarming gate had sounded all night.

In a fabulous sequence, Matthew Jackson fizzed about the ring, superkicking Orange and Trent en route to Trent's mother Sue and AEW fan favourite Sue. Matthew teased striking her, and he soaked up the fierce heat in the building with a Cheshire Cat grin. He then reached for the fist bump before Sue slapped him in the face. It looked dreadful but was somehow great at the same time, and the force of the slap hardly mattered; this sparked Orange into a rage, and he scored a beautifully timed near-fall from the resulting Orange Punch.

The 2.9s ramped up from there, each as close as the last, which was some achievement; Young Bucks Vs. FTR IV is so nailed on for Dynasty that they really had no right. Matthew pinned Trent with a flash pin.

Trent was devastated, but agreed to a post-match consolation hug with Orange - before, instead, kicking him in the face. This match and post-match was the best thing on the show by miles. The angle - built towards by Trent's darkening demeanour over months - was really, really well done, and having Sue stationed at ringside, encouraging her boy to finally "win the big one", put it over as a proper transgression. Her poor face! He's going to blame her and it's going to be fantastic.

If the follow-up is as good as the angle, which in AEW - look at Jay White, Christ almighty - is no guarantee.

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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!