6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (8 May - Results & Review)
1. Chris Jericho Is Chris Jericho
AEW
You will have already decided if this new Chris Jericho bit is for you or not, such is the “success” of the character to those that are enjoying it.
It’s all very…Chris Jericho. By force will and passing quality of performance, he has managed to find his voice with the ‘Learning Tree’ persona, taking some of the worst-case-scenario crowd reactions and converting them into tangible, functional heat. The usual thing here is to commend the capacity of a performer for their ability to do just this, but there’ll be plenty of that elsewhere online. To cut this long-enough story short, Jericho and Big Bill’s squash win existed for the former AEW Champion to do some more insincerity, adding yet more tweaks to the knowing carny he currently portrays.
It’s taken a while to crack it, and isn’t that the biggest problem of all? This was always going to be a dud until it wasn’t, but who gets opportunity after opportunity to make that so? Hundreds of other wrestlers wouldn’t, but Chris Jericho did and does. Assuming he would go away was always naïve. Why would he, when he can evidently still exert such acute control?
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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
