6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (16 Nov)

2. Mox & Max In The Mix

MJF Jon Moxley
AEW

Even when Jon Moxley is bad, he's good.

His words in the evening's show-closing angle seemed knowingly glib, and if that scans as generous then you try and not be won over by the glint permanently placed in the man's eye. A charmer and a perfectionist in equal measure, he doubled down a mistake he'd made earlier in his promo about the date of Full Gear to make a mini-moment with MJF just before Dynamite went off the air.

Before that though, the fans didn't seem to know what to make of the Champion refusing to take the Challenger seriously, which is probably excellent foreshadowing about 'The Salt Of The Earth' doing something f*cking awful to all of us the second he's got the belt. Unfortunately, words that might age like fine wine in the future stunk like off milk today.

MJF beating up The Firm felt pointed in doing away with any doubts of that split being an Aces & Eights-style misdirect, and the 'Generational Talent' more than held up his end of things on the microphone as usual, but possibly because of the faux all-babyface vibe, this was the coldest this otherwise-red hot match has thus far felt. After Hangman Page Vs CM Punk and Jon Moxley Vs CM Punk, did we even need another build insistent on blurring the lines?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett