6 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Dec 16)

4. Star-Making Win Fails To Click

The Acclaimed
AEW

The Acclaimed scored a credible victory over an established veteran tag team last night, outdoing SoCal Uncensored's Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian when Anthony Bowens smashed the former with an electric boombox. Afterwards, the ascendent duo grabbed the microphones, issuing a Tag Team Championship challenge to the ringside Young Bucks. That goes down at Holiday Bash next week.

Solid framework. The Acclaimed are full of themselves, have just broken into the top five, and already had beef with The Young Bucks. It all makes logical sense.

It's a shame, then, that the execution wasn't quite there, with the bout itself doing little to get The Acclaimed over as a title challengers and a rising, must-see tandem that those not watching Dark need to get invested in, despite earnest intentions. Caster's pre-match bars were largely on point but Kaz clapping back didn't need to happen. Additionally, the action was too pedestrian for him and Bowens to truly stand out, which sucks.

The Acclaimed is a potential money act when they start connecting, though their first big Dynamite step was a stumble.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.