Orange Cassidy, Hook & Katsoyuri Shibata Vs Jake Hager & 2.0 was, as a graphic, yet another reminder of what All Elite Wrestling was at its hottest, rather than a summoning of the actual feeling.
Weird and wonderful combinations featuring wrestlers that simply would have never come together in the pre-2019 world were a crucial part of the company's early growth, but four years later they are the best reflection of a bloated roster full of characters that don't really have many reasons to really fight. And when the reason for this match was revealed, it was, appropriately, very nice.
Chicago was briefly brought to life by the return of Danhausen, presented as it was as a thanksgiving surprise from Orange Cassidy. He temporarily made Jake Hager's purple hat patter fun again, and Hook and Shibata disposed of the clown heels in the exact way they deserved. This sort of stuff used to land more on the blood-and-thunder Dynamites of old, but the company shouldn't be discouraged from keeping a bit of lightweight entertainment around while they figure out how to get the stuff that really matters back on track.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. 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