6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (February 21 - Results & Review)

5. Wardlow's Best Night In A While

Wardlow Promo
AEW

Wardlow cut a mostly good promo in the ring before the main event. It was a bit flawed.

There was a lot of tell don't show, in that he ran through the list of names of former World champions that he has defeated or outright squashed. He also reminded fans that he hasn't once received his due shot at the gold, which wasn't ideal. 2024 is meant to be the year of resurgence; this promo reminded fans of the dumbest logic gap of 2022, when a white-hot Wardlow was booked to refuse to enter the Interim World title picture. The delivery was great, and just as well: in kayfabe, all of this is really his fault.

And if it isn't, it's the fault of the promotion, which, again, is meant to be back and on rare form. Now is the worst time for a self-own; AEW is in the process of rebuilding trust, and it's more difficult to earn it back than to get it in the first place.

The odd am-dram line reading aside - Wardlow looked skyward as he said the word "Gods" - this mostly was a brutally delivered, ultra-intense rant in which you feel Wardlow's frustrations and well believe that he is set to take them out imminently.

Total meathead jock energy and quite awesome as a result.

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!