5 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Apr 7)
2. Demolition Darby
The best match on the show was Darby Allin vs. JD Drake, which had just enough time to breathe but not enough to hit its ceiling.
Much of this was a fun styles clash. Drake his hard-hitting and heavy-handed, and battered the TNT Champion around with big strikes and bigger bombs throughout. Sting's arrival cleared Ryan Nemeth from ringside, minimising the shenanigans, and Allin fought back with quickness and evasiveness, as he always does when positioned opposite a larger man.
But JD is no lumbering stiff. The cliché Agile For A Big Man applies here as he pulled off a brutal Cannonball while Allin was stuck in a Tree of Woe, then a late match Moonsault. He was a fun dance partner before an avalanche Code Red and Coffin Drop finished him off.
This had the air of an old Cody defence, when Rhodes would put the TNT Title up against anyone and everyone. That theme continues when Allin faces Matt Hardy next week.