5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 24 - Results & Review)

Downs...

4. Well-Intentioned Angle Falls Flat

At the start of the show, Samoa Joe - whose performance was to be brutally honest a little cartoonish by his über-credible standards - gloated about his title victory over HOOK last week, but before he could commentate on Hangman Page Vs. Penta El Zero Miedo, he was confronted by the victim he felled.

This wasn’t a half-bad idea, one designed to reassure anxious viewers that AEW will not forget about HOOK (it’s a bit alarming, incidentally, that Tony Khan felt the need to preempt this frequent complaint). The execution was poor. HOOK still needs some work and experience in live promo exchanges, and when he drew Joe close with the forcible handshake, the crowd didn’t react at all. The intended, sought-after gasp didn’t materialise, which was brutal. Joe then sold fear of HOOK before retreating, and HOOK then threw around some security guards.

A segment designed to get HOOK over as a badass achieved nothing. Is trust in AEW’s ability to follow up so low that fans rolled their eyes?

Or was this one of the worst crowds AEW has ever played to?

Advertisement
 
Posted On: 
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!