5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (30 August - Review)

2. Better Than Everything Else On The Show, Bay-Bay

With no MJF in the building, Adam Cole was left to deal with Roderick Strong and the Kingdom when they interrupted his live promo. This was great.

Roderick Strong plays a whining pr*ck so well, with that wonderful Owen Hart quality, and his stablemates delivered the exposition that was probably overdue without being too insulting about it. They have a bitter history with Adam Cole, which while easy enough to infer needed some emotional bite to it. Mike Bennett flashed his teeth in a good promo that didn't take the piss. He didn't say anything to the affect of "As you know, Adam", anyway. The dialogue was unnatural in a way typical of pro wrestling, but it can be worse, and the delivery elevated the material.

In an inspired touch that put over how well this entire programme has been plotted, Strong accused Cole of caring more about MJF's neck than his, but said he'd wrestle through it to win the Grand Slam Eliminator tournament regardless. Cole urged him not to, but Strong wouldn't hear it.

Everything is dovetailing together very nicely.

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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!