In contrast to some saving graces of the past few weeks, this week's Dynamite was low on the sort of outstanding in-ring that's long been its norm, but All Elite Wrestling is still where good can become great and Malakai Black and Penta Oscuro were constantly trending in that direction.
That the match ended up a mini-ripper is a credit to both men too. House Of Black Vs Death Triangle has been going on forever, this individual encounter was made predictable by prior reports about Penta's inability to even work Forbidden Door on Sunday, and the All-Atlantic Title doesn't remotely feel like an actual prize at present.
As is typically the case when the bell rings, Malakai Black can be a real a force of nature out there. He looks and wrestles like a man very pleased to be kicking your f*cking head off, which only makes some of the hokier lore stuff needless. Penta, meanwhile, will give his body to any cause, big or small. That attitude was most helpful here. Another multi-man isn't ideal, but AEW have assembled something of a best case scenario line-up for their new strap.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
