5 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dark (May 26)

2. Brandon Cutler vs. Michael Nakazawa

This was a battle between two of AEW's biggest losers, with Nakazawa sitting at 1-6 before the bout and Cutler on a pitiful 0-12. That's fine, as both are jobbers, though it made Cutler's forced aggression tough to take seriously.

Nakazawa was forced into a straight wrestling match when referee Bryce Remsburg lobbed his bottle of baby oil into the crowd and Brandon did the same with his backup. Working without his gimmicks, Nakazawa looked okay, though it's clear that he is a very shtick-depending performer. Cutler, meanwhile, showed flashes of athleticism, though his attempt at getting serious in his beatdown of the Japanese wrestler didn't convince, even when it played into the finish.

After getting beaten up on the outside for a while, Nakazawa forced Cutler into the barricade, rolled under the bottom rope, and beat the 10-count. His opponent got there too late and thus, we had the first countout finish in AEW history. Brandon cut a frustrated figure afterwards and while this isn't a bad story, the execution was off.