6. Darby Allin & Nick Wayne Vs Daddy Magic & Cool Hand Ang
AEW
Darby Allin doesn’t have bad matches and Nick Wayne’s still too flashy to be boring, but this routine squash felt like an inadequate use of valuable television time more than an important battle for the reunited babyfaces. Particularly when Christian Cage’s post-match promo - the only real highlight of this segment of the show - could have still been cut as part of a far shorter backstage bit.
Cage is always a riot, but this wasn’t a night for both sides to get their jabs in. He was horny on main for Wayne’s Mother and laid out the challenge for a tag match to get revenge for the Wembley Coffin Match loss.
Not to labour over a well-worn point yet again, but couldn’t this time specifically have been used to push another women’s division story instead? Not least considering the breaking news before showtime that Becky Lynch and Tiffany Stratton pulled a monster number for NXT and the post-show bombshell about a potentially seismic roster change heading AEW’s way…
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
