7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (December 20 - Results & Review)

1. The Devil Storyline Reaches A New Nadir

Didn't AEW just do this?

Samoa Joe openly suspected MJF to be the Devil in a live promo segment. He didn't mention how the AEW World title is the prize he must claim to underscore his legacy. He didn't create a wonderful, bloody image of MJF to sell a grudge match worth paying for. He suspected that MJF was the Devil. For the second consecutive pay-per-view cycle, the identity of the Devil and a goofy-looking mystery has taken precedent over the top prize in the sports league.

MJF arrived on the scene to accuse Joe of being the Devil, and can this fellow please take off his mask so that AEW can then book a proper World title match?

MJF at least had a killer line here, saying that Joe cared about protecting him as much as he cared about his diet. Just the intonation of "diet" here was a reminder of how superb MJF was in the heel role. The Masked Men surrounded the ring as soon as MJF and Joe threatened to come to blows. MJF and Joe sent them fleeing, but didn't attempt to remove their masks. Yet more Masked Men, who look like Dark Order creepers for Christ's sake, surrounded them as a message played on the screen. Once again, the Devil challenged MJF to an ROH World Tag Team title match.

Again: hasn't this challenge already happened?

And didn't the match not happen because the Masked Men attacked MJF beforehand? Do the Masked Men actually want to win gold, and if not, what the f*ck are they doing in a wrestling company? On that note, how can Tony Khan possibly sanction this? The Masked Men can't be trusted. They could very well assault MJF before the bell yet again. Why would Khan risk the health of his World champion ahead of an important pay-per-view?

Then again, he could always get someone more injured to replace him. Shame Charlotte Flair just re-signed with WWE, she'd have been perfect apparently.

End this Devil business now.

It is extravagantly stupid.

Mostly...

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!