5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts 2023 (Review)

3. A Passable Plot Development

Daniel Garcia Sammy Guevara
AEW

The adventures of Chris Jericho worked in hindsight, but at the time, it all felt threatening.

It began with roving reporter Alex Marvez, so woefully unconvincing that he's almost charming, trying to spy on Jericho and Don Callis having a business lunch earlier in the day. He then followed them into the arena for a scoop that wasn't forthcoming.

Jericho commentated on the Blind Eliminator final, after which he was spurned by his JAS underlings. In a neat bit of dovetailing plotting, the Blind Eliminator advanced two stories at once: the MJF/Cole saga and the dissolution of Jericho's stable. Beaten and more crucially embarrassed in their match, evidently tiring of acting like sports entertainer clowns, Garcia and Sammy walked past Jericho's commiserations.

The problem when watching the show as it unfolded was the threat of Callis and Jericho sealing the deal at the close of Blood & Guts and ruining the sense of finality by accelerating a new plot and not allowing the last beat of a major story to breathe.

Mercifully, this didn't happen, but the threat still lingered uneasily.

Advertisement
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!