6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (26 April - Review)

2. Roderick Strong Debuts To The Surprise Of Everybody

So, about that rant in the intro about the random four-man pairings Tony Khan has become obsessed with of late: as tiresome as the trope is becoming, he created a dream team too weird and too awesome to get mad about last night.

In what felt like a note of black comedy, Orange Cassidy was informed about last week's attack on Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker when he stumbled into Renee Paquette's interview area after the opener. He shrugged with an "Oh", but as revealed, this wasn't just an amusing non-sequitur.

Adam Cole called out Chris Jericho later in the show. He played the role of a vengeful babyface well. He was matter-of-fact, and didn't try too hard to play the badass. Jericho was quietly excellent in his signature role of massive f*cking hypocrite, too; his insistence that Adam Cole is scum (!) is loathsome, effective heel work. Cole, as mentioned, was attacked from behind by members of the JAS. This summoned Cassidy and Bandido, playing off earlier events, but the JAS still had the numbers advantage.

While the person who should have come out did not, Roderick Strong did. This was one of the biggest and most welcome shockers in AEW history: it is stunning that WWE didn't make Strong's exit public to ruin the high probability of his going to AEW. Perhaps they forgot. Regardless, the roof came off because nobody saw this coming. Strong and Cole embraced, and will compete together on Rampage. Strong's arrival is teeming with possibilities.

Perhaps AEW can finally do the Elite Vs. the Undisputed Era. Strong is also a great candidate for the Blackpool Combat Club. His work and personality suits the group, and he once beat the sh*t out of the Young Bucks alongside Bryan Danielson in an infamous PWG match. Whatever happens next, this is a great get.

Roddy is an amazing worker, and with Collision imminent, the roster doesn't feel quite as full as it once did.