6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (8 May - Results & Review)
4. Christian Cage Swerves Strickland
AEW
A nice surprise development that AEW had either a) hidden in plain sight or b) dropped entirely before smartly picking back up again (and one is better than the other but neither matters now), Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage's advertised interaction was the setting for The Mogul Embassy to violently turn on their now-former boss.
There'd been no acknowledgement of the tacit separation that had occurred between Strickland and his former charges, but when Brian Cage and The Gates Of Agony appeared alongside him, the first thought was the potential of splinter tag/trios matches on the road to Double Or Nothing. Instead, [Brian] Cage, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona brutalised Strickland and commentators speculated that maybe they'd seethed at being "left behind". Selling the beatdown from last week, Prince Nana wasn't there, adding some intrigue on what side he'll take, and indeed the consequences when he makes his choice.
It marked the final chapter of the AEW Champion's extended babyface turn, and remained tethered to the warring EVPs story by virtue of Cage's position as The Elite's current chosen 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
