6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (19 Apr - Review)

2. The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn Vs The Jericho Appreciation Society

JAS The Acclaimed
AEW

The Acclaimed potentially joining The Jericho Appreciation Society was never much more than filler fluff on the undercard, but as this listless payoff match against 2.0 and Jake Hager dragged on, it became all too apparent that one of the company’s hottest act was winning stupid prizes for playing stupid games.

This felt every bit like the typical obvious winner/obvious loser match, but was the payoff to a storyline that has eaten up weeks of television time and yet more of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens’ momentum. They felt no further forward whatsoever for this victory, and Billy Gunn felt the stalest yet alongside the pair too. It had to end, and it had to end this way, but the inconsequential nature of the entire thing being so brutally laid bare was dispiriting.

The tag division is a long, long way from stacked, but without the belts for now, are Bowens and Caster stuck with this low stakes fare for good?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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