6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (8 May - Results & Review)
5. Anarchy In The Arena
AEW
The new power struggle that has opened up between the new Elite and All Elite Wrestling took its most predictable turn this week, but predictable is sometimes good, and the third incarnation of Anarchy In The Arena almost certainly will be too.
From his hospital bed, Kenny Omega exerted his EVP power to book the match, and lined up a quartet more than capable of putting his former friends in their place. There was a nice shift in control illustrated here too - Matthew and Nicholas, Kazuchika Okada and Jack Perry were permitted to feel arrogant and over-confident when confronted with "just" FTR, but when the babyfaces were joined by Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson, they sold their first setback well.
The dynamic instantly felt sharper than last year's good but inferior sequel to Anarchy In The Arena 2022, and as master architects of this specific sort of carnage, the Bucks and Kingston in particular make it a can't-miss. Tony Khan likes his traditions, and he's right to stick with this one.
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
