5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (June 22)

4. Christian Cage Is Money

In which a fantastic promo reminds everybody of what AEW once was and will hopefully be again.

The timeless Christian Cage showed just how much he still knew his way around being an upfront c*nt after months of doing it on the sly, but it wasn't just the content and delivery that ruled so much about this explanatory missive on the battering he dished out to Jungle Boy last week.

Cage went full Kevin Nash in trivialising his own original "Outwork Everybody" philosophy for the good of admitting that he's only come to AEW for the money and glory. Jungle Boy derailing that fast-track one year ago was - as we'd all been permitted to fantasy book for the last 12 months - the catalyst, and getting in Luchasaurus' head in the aftermath continues on a story you're invited to assume has been carefully plotted from the off.

Beyond an excellent individual performance from Cage, this was such a quality segment because it reflected what around 90% of AEW storytelling used to be when operating at its peak. The segment generated feeling and emotion in the building and online, and in waves. In the face of so much debate around the quality of the product elsewhere, this stood alone as the difference between expectations of what the company can produce at its best versus the current frustrating reality.