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

2. Swerve Is The Guy

Without being blow-away great (or truly worth going out of your way to see), Swerve Strickland Vs. Jeff Hardy was both much better than expected and a very robust defence of Swerve's credentials as the man.

He got something hot and dramatic out of a Hardy brother in 2024, and after the initial, towering wave of nostalgia subsided, booming chants of "Swerve's house" rang put across the arena as he prepared to put Jeff away with the House Call. It took a while for a Jeff to warm up - you could see Swerve measuring his steps very carefully to attune to Jeff's slower wavelength - after which the match actively started to rock, since Jeff warms up by taking frightening bumps. Again, not a classic, not even in range of the second-tier of Dynamite matches, but a relatively loud and violently fun time all the more shocking given that Jeff was thought absolutely done, finished, just a few weeks ago.

The storytelling wasn't intricate or sophisticated, but it was believable: you can always buy that Jeff can kick out of anything. He's that sort of wrestler.

Still!

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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!