6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (17 May - Review)
Downs…
4. Wardlow & Christian Spit Fire, Stipulation Douses Flames
AEW
It was disgustingly in-character of Christian Cage to promote that he was coming to Dynamite to spit in Wardlow's face, and equally believable that the TNT Champion wasn't prepared to hang around and wait for such a gross fate.
As such, the talking segment between the two made narrative sense and played out to a hot and receptive crowd, proving yet again that the injection of Arn Anderson to Wardlow's act might have been one Tony Khan's greatest Hail Mary passes and Christian Cage is one of the most valuable players on any team.
The quickie build has been effective, but Wardlow's promo later in the show laying the challenge down for a Ladder Match was disheartening. The stipulation feels more of a curse than a blessing in 2023, with climbing contests and needlessly intensified danger taking away from what stood the chance of being a uniquely poised singles match. Cage's experience with the gimmick might enhance the rub he'll give Wardlow in defeat, but his dark arts in-ring genius could have achieved that too.
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
