5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (25 May)

Downs...

5. Lukewarm 'Anarchy' Build Continues

Eddie Kingston
AEW

Bringing Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley back together between the ropes for the first time since September was a nice idea to sell their cohesion heading into Double Or Nothing, where they'll join forces to face the Jericho Appreciation Society, but their win over Private Party did little to fire-up a match build that has cooled off since a couple of excellent first week.

Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy aren't necessarily squashable, which made them suboptimal opponents here. The duo have too much cache to flatten - but Kingston and Moxley could have used somebody to flatten. A shorter, more impactful mauling in a more condensed runtime would have done more to make the babyfaces look good ahead of Anarchy in the Arena.

This, plus a same-same post-match angle that emphasised Bryan Danielson's bad leg coming out of Rampage, delivered nothing we haven't seen before from this group of wrestlers. The match's exceptional talent level must carry it now.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.