Claudio Castagnoli vs. Johnny TV just about lands on the Ups side of this article.
Given how Johnny's last AEW outing saw him lose to HOOK in barely three minutes, did this match really need to go nearly 12 minutes? And given where both men are on the food chain, did Johnny really need to be in control for so much of the contest? The answer to both of those questions is clearly a definitive no.
Still, this was a well worked match between two veterans, with the ring work itself warranting a mild Up as, to the surprise of nobody, Claudio picked up the win. Castagnoli did, well, Castagnoli things, using his bionic mix of freakish power, smooth-as-silk transitions, and precision striking to impress, and it's fair to say this is the best Johnny TV has looked in a long time when it comes to AEW. Again though, did Johnny really need to look so good here? Likely not.
That said, Johnny rolled back the years as he launched a flurry of high-flying attacks on Claudio once Taya Valkyrie interference allowed TV/Morrison/Nitro/IMPACT/Mundo/Retro, Etc, etc to take control. Going back to the well once too often saw a second attempt at interference backfire, as Castagnoli hit the big swing and then a clothesline for the 1-2-3.
Clear filler, and TV time that could've been better used, but fine wrestling just about drags this one over the line.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.
