5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (8 Mar - Review)

Ups…

5. Orange Cassidy Vs Jay Lethal

Orange Cassidy Jay Lethal
AEW

For a while, Orange Cassidy Vs Jay Lethal was merely good rather than great, and in the ultra-competitive landscape that makes up 2023 television wrestling, the vibe was less than ideal.

Thankfully, the experienced pair executed immense patience and skill to escalate this All-Atlantic Championship match into something that bordered on excellent. Lethal’s relentless targeting of Cassidy’s knee created tremendous dread around the potential of a centre-ring figure four leglock finish, or at very least the Champion finding himself prone to the Lethal Injection without the strength to move out of the way.

With all the casual nature of his typical offence though, Cassidy hid his own strategy in plain sight. Working the Challenger’s arm and shoulder, he played the waiting game then struck - when Lethal attempted to handspring into his deadly finisher, he forgot himself and crumpled under the pressure. Mindful of the trap he’d sprung, Cassidy was right there with the Orange Punch to take the win.

A Jeff Jarrett post-match attack folded into a corporate synergy development later in the show - Tony Khan announced the belt was to be renamed the “International Championship”, and it would “level up” with a maiden defence in Canada next week. Tantalisingly, Double J’s quest for gold can continue, even if Triple J’s seems to have definitively fallen short.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. 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