6 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (February 7 - Results & Review)

It was SHOWTIME on an excellent Dynamite. The Young Bucks - whisper it - might actually be back...

by Michael Sidgwick
Hangman Page Swerve Strickland
AEW

What was last night's Dynamite on paper, a member of the Tony D'Angelo crime family?

Because it was stacked.

It felt like a mission statement of a show, one set to actually embody the promises made at the start of the year. Hangman Page Vs. Swerve Strickland was very much all-or-nothing high-stakes drama, a huge match on free television, one that followed two weeks of deeply predictable action.

The draw was the expected result - a three-way Revolution match was signposted in a way that even by AEW's standards was transparent - but did they mine drama from those dying minutes and live up to their first two incredible encounters?

Sting & Darby Allin earned a World Tag Team title shot all the way back in 2021, if wins and losses truly mattered, and they eventually got it three years later. The Sting magic is fading. It feels less like watching Sting work within expert smoke and mirrors, through the lens of a child, and more like watching Steve Borden, 64 years old, risk serious injury in every match.

Could he roll back the years and make it showtime once again?

This copy may read as cynical, but AEW has a rather suboptimal record of underwhelming when a TV show looks as good as this one did. Fans with a very strong memory will recall the May 12, 2021 episode with a shudder.

Still, the loaded show was rewarded with what by recent standards was a very strong crowd of around 5,000.

Were those fans in turn rewarded with an episode that truly felt like prime Dynamite...?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!