6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (17 May - Review)
2. Jay White Vs Ricky Starks
AEW
That a match ending in a disqualification or count-out still feels like a transgression is a credit to AEW's booking and may be a Jay White staple based on this being the second match to get thrown out since he landed a full time spot with the company. However, this one felt much, much closer to the sort of finish WWE would roll out in order to "protect" one wrestler or extend the programme towards a less satisfying sequel.
The excitement of this being brought forward to a Dynamite two weeks before Double Or Nothing centred around the idea that neither man could really lose. Starks was the hometown favourite and White was the new hot heel. Something had to give, and...nothing did.
There were flashpoints where the pair luxuriated in their natural gifts too, and more's the pity after it was thrown out to tee up something else down the road. Starks' babyface run hasn't been as smooth as hoped, but few heels have complimented and stifled his fire quite like 'Switchblade'. But it wasn't close to hitting projected heights before then, and trying to find a personal issue in a post-match only acted as reminder that they've failed to do so along the way.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
