All Elite Wrestling celebrated turning four in January, and with Dynamite's 200th episode effectively toasted the same birthday here, and the company and show's lifespan is now long enough to justify taking a rose-coloured look at its impressive legacy.
As is always the case, the best way to honour something like this is to knock the show out of the park, but as far as making use of nostalgia for one of the first times, this was vastly superior to 95% of the Raw tribute shows over the last twenty years. The entrance tunnels and neon explosion graphics were back, Tony Khan teed up a video that served as a reminder of just how impressive a broadcast its been at its peak, and some of the old clips used during wrestler entrances were tremendous at bedding them further into the Dynamite's ever-increasing lore.
Neither overwhelming or underserving, the execution of the reasonable self-aggrandising was measured impeccably. Nobody minds a "This Is Awesome" chant when it's - in Khan's own words - justified.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
