5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (8 Mar - Review)
Ups…
5. Orange Cassidy Vs Jay Lethal
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.