6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (17 May - Review)
2. Jungle Boy Jack Perry Vs Rush
AEW
Shooting for a memorable beatdown of the babyface, Rush bloodying up Jack Perry just two weeks from his biggest ever match was absolutely the move here. For a match featuring two men that don't necessarily have the most consistent record on television, this was best possible version of what they were able to achieve.
The finish was - in contrast to the muddled Sammy Guevara stuff earlier in the show - intriguing too. Perry scoring a win with a sneaky roll-up showed ingenuity but also a sly side that he might need and exploit during the Four Pillars main event.
And about that. The close of this match saw Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara chase off the heels as they tried a post-match beatdown on Perry, seemingly in an effort to show broad solidarity between the challengers ahead of Double Or Nothing. MJF fumed in the aftermath, aggressively slapping the microphone out of Renee Paquette's hand when she asked for his response to the scene. The idea of the Challengers finally out-thinking the Champion this close to the show is a great one, especially if it turns out to be Jungle Boy who breaks the union for his own gain.
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
