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

3. Thank God For Eddie Kingston

Eddie Kingston Vs. Wheeler YUTA was not blow away great, but Kingston is such a wonderful and believable performer to watch that he can make the fans feel something for a match that is only solid. It's all in his facial expressions and selling.

Without overdoing it, he sold the agony of YUTA working over his arm, which was the key thread. YUTA was overjoyed at hurting and controlling Eddie, and let him know with a bratty expression on his face. This incensed Eddie, who grew into the match with a total refusal to take that condescension. Working with a battered husk of a body, earning a high spot like few others, Eddie's "screw it" dive - I'm already broken, let's go - made the move fans see every night of the week mean something.

Similarly, while everybody takes chops, nobody registers the pain and the fury like Eddie Kingston. In the post-match, in a great touch, Claudio Castagnoli entered the ringside area to usher YUTA out of there. He refused to make eye contact with Eddie once.

A sign of disrespect, or a growing sense of fear?

Advertisement
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!