6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (14 Sept)

by Andy H Murray

1. Crafty, Pragmatic Wrestling

Bryan Danielson Chris Jericho
AEW

Bryan Danielson doesn't wrestle two mid matches in a row, so after his All Out bout with Chris Jericho fell short of lofty expectations, it was all but guaranteed the second would bang.

And it did.

This was a very smart match performed by two very smart wrestlers - and one that came with a perfect story. For the first act, Danielson outclassed Jericho. Driven by his All Out defeat, a fiercer, more focused American Dragon smothered Jericho, largely dominating the former AEW World Champion through his sharper technicality and higher ring IQ. For the most part, Jericho was a piranha waiting for blood in the water. The majority of his openings came from slips and skullduggery.

Things changed later on. Jericho bundled Danielson to the outside, with the Dragon taking a rough landing. Chris then nailed the perfect facial expression as Danielson sold like he'd rolled his ankle. Realising his pathway to victory, Jericho went after the joint, pulling his opponents' boot and other protection away to generate incredible drama, eventually working towards a spinning toe hold and Figure Four.

Perhaps Jericho was a little too focused on the ankle. Danielson, recovering his composure, reversed out of the Figure Four designed to put him away, finding the LeBell Lock. Though Jericho tried to hand-fight his way away from certain doom, he couldn't. Danielson advanced to face Jon Moxley at Grand Slam.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.