7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Dec 7 - Review)

Ups...

7. A Good, Tight Battle Royal Opener

The Dynamite Diamond battle royal was raucous, creative and very well-received by a hot Texas crowd. It was uneven in quality, without being messy, but one wrestler in particular elevated a match genre that more often than not occupies its usual space between fun and flawed.

Jack Perry is a battle royal artist. His approach to elimination attempts proves that he is more prodigy than pet project, as difficult as it was to make that distinction following a singles run that hasn't exactly propelled him to mega stardom. His risky and creative strategy in this match didn't so much elicit drama as palpitations. He was brutalised by W. Morrissey, and heaven knows Perry is miserable now because that back bump on the apron looked horrific. He was almost half a person after getting snapped in two like that.

Distance needs to be created between Perry and Christian, and since Perry has only really excelled in singles this year opposite Luchasaurus, Morrissey as stylistic surrogate should work well. While that story was incited, the indentured servitude stuff between Ethan Page and Matt Hardy was advanced. Hardy carried out the orders reluctantly before threatening to disobey. And so what if he bloody did?

This sort of thing always ends with the heel accepting a match. It's a waste of time devoid of real stakes, but the fans seemed to be into it, and not just on the basis that they like to chant "Delete!"; they were with this subplot the whole way.

Shawn Dean played his role brilliantly too, and what an inspired choice. In English football, most big clubs have what is known as a "bogey team" - a lesser side that seems to have their number, inexplicably, even if the starting eleven changes every season. Dean is that to MJF, and Tony Khan deserves more credit for building this sports-oriented concept.

Starks won, after a finish stunning in its execution, which led to...