6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (March 27 - Results & Review)

2. A Fantastic Opener Should Have Been Even Better

Will Ospreay Vs. Katsuyori Shibata was a fantastic if bittersweet match worked to further restore the latter's aura. If only the crowd was a bit more into it.

They didn't erupt when Shibata ate the Tiger Driver '91 with a screw-you look of defiance. They showered the match with chants in the spaces between everything but didn't react with stunned awe as they watched the true rebirth of Shibata's inimitable aura. That was the story told throughout the match: that the man who had defeated Ospreay seven years prior was back in full effect. In their strong style shoot-out, Ospreay had to smack himself in the face and appeal to the crowd to spark the adrenaline rush to withstand the pain. In a tremendous sequence, Ospreay took a PK and bumped and kipped up at the exact same time. The athletic feat was so outrageous, the heart-stopping momentum shift so sudden and unforeseen, that Tony Schiavone could only purr at how unbelievable Ospreay is. In contrast, to get back into the match, Shibata just had to be Shibata.

He played the role of terminator. He absolutely would not stop, ever, until Ospreay's neck was dead.

How much Shibata took here was a surprise, but really, Ospreay did an exceptional job of safely working him over. It only looked frightening at various points because Ospreay is a magician with impossible physical timing. In the perfect match, one wrestler goes over and the other wrestler gets over. This wasn't perfect - the fans were out of rhythm with Shibata's badass crowd appeals - but it felt like Ospreay had to evolve for seven long years just to beat a guy for whom time had somehow stood still. Shibata should start winning after this.

Maybe then he'll get the crowd reactions his brilliance deserves.