6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (21 June - Review)

Ups...

6. Opener Just About Over-Delivers

The Gunns Hardys
AEW

The Gunns Vs. The Hardys was shockingly OK.

They were a part of the Double Or Nothing pre-show match, which was over-long and botch-ridden. This opener was much shorter and tighter in comparison. Benefitting from a red-hot Chicago crowd, this was able to reach the dizzy heights of "fine". The Gunns were willing slapstick bumpers, flailing all over the place to help the Hardys turn back time (to 2017 for six minutes or whatever).

Austin and Colten are getting better with their timing, which led to the odd impressive cut-off spot. This was forgettable fun, if you're partial to a desperate, pop-hungry Matt Hardy nearly dislocating his elbow trying to get a "Delete!" chant going. Unremarkable but solid.

There was one poorly-timed and telegraphed moment, in which Jeff Hardy executed a save after standing next to the pin attempt and breaking it up at 1.5, but other than that, it was evidence that the Hardys haven't entered their Heroes of Wrestling phase and are at the very least over enough to make this run worthwhile. For some people.

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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!