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

5. A Lovely Announcement

Owen Hart Bret Hart
WWE

Everything about the announcement of this year's Owen Hart Cup - including the fact that it wasn't billed as a ratings grab of a "Huge" announcement - was just lovely.

Last year's tournament was good, not great. Some of the matches were excellent, but that's not a special or unique development in AEW. Too many matches were vehicles for various midcard storylines where the tournament should have been its own, self-contained beast, winning which was of more importance than a grudge rivalry. The men's final between Adam Cole and Samoa Joe wasn't great, and the women's, between Dr. Britt Baker and Ruby Soho, was sloppy. If it only existed to allow Dr. Martha Hart a touching moment on pay-per-view, it was all worth it.

This year promises so much more; the entire tournament will unfold in Canada, Owen's country, and the finals will take place in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta. The level of thought put into it this year is deep, and touching, and the idea to incorporate NJPW talents is inspired.

Tony Khan isn't the most natural onscreen presence, but he was composed and dignified here.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!