6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (17 May - Review)
Ups…
6. Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin Vs Lee Moriarty & Big Bill
AEW
Though not dropped in as the hot Dynamite opener on a technicality (Wardlow's words with Christian Cage opened the show proper), this joyous tag bout captured the magic of the old formula and disguised some genuinely impressive booking and matchmaking within the body of a fun knockabout tag.
Who knows what's happening with The Firm after the latest calamity with Matt Hardy, but Bill and Moriarty have the sort of big man/little man chemistry that shouldn't be thrown away in the aftermath. This was a showcase for the heroes, but - much like The Butcher & The Blade's killer offerings - such a thing can only be as good as those on the other side of the ring.
Allin winning with a headlock takeover was cute foreshadowing of a white hot spot to come in the Double Or Nothing main event, whilst this entire match allowed for Orange Cassidy to remain on his 20th title defence until the pay-per-view where he'll work against the same number of opponents in his latest (and 21st) workhorse challenge. Between the beloved characters, surprise package opposition and careful plotting, this was AEW back operating at peak.
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
