7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (11 May)
Cole bests Harwood, MJF outlines Wardlow's terms, Jeff Hardy and Darby Allin lose their minds.
Returning to Long Island, New York for a bumper crowd far above Dynamite's weekly average, AEW delivered its strongest two-hour offering in a while last night, with the host city's unique reactions giving the performers no shortage of original material to play with.
This was particularly true for CM Punk, who was positioned opposite MJF the last time AEW rolled through town, and the LI native's new rival, Wardlow. Punk's night was a case of tapping into character traits familiar to a man who's career was forged on dancing in shades of gray. For Wardlow, his unanimous support was stripped back in "the most magical place on Earth", though his role was reconfigured accordingly.
Punk wrestled hometown boy John Silver on the undercard while Wardlow learned the terms of engagement for his upcoming MJF match. Elsewhere, the Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments were progressed through three separate matches, the Jericho Appreciation Society finally met its match, Danhausen made his long-awaited in-ring debut, and more.
Two largely great hours of episodic weekly television with only a couple of minor blemishes to run through.
Let's light the fuse...