7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (February 14 - Results & Review)
Heat, not love, was in the air on a very good Valentine's Day edition of Dynamite.
Last week's Dynamite was great; a genuine return to form as opposed to the "restore the feeling" posturing that betrayed the show-don't-tell mantra.
More encouragingly still, the events were framed to matter, to linger. Tony Khan has been fairly accused of burning through story beats and pacing his shows in too rushed a manner. On Collision, through Adam Copeland and Eddie Kingston blasting the Young Bucks for what they did to Sting and his family last week, the transgression deepened, reverberating around the locker room. This effective device, a return to the detail-oriented peaks of AEW at its best, painted a picture of AEW as an interconnected and more believable entity, as opposed to a crammed warehouse of talent, few of whom are pushed at the level they should occupy.
This week's Dynamite promised to be very good. Jon Moxley and Dax Harwood were the two best TV wrestlers of 2022, and while a meeting two years later wasn't quite as appealing, the ceiling was high and the floor was a damn good match.
Adam Copeland Vs. Daniel Garcia seemed like something more than the usual AEW TV formula of top star narrowly defeats up-and-comer. Garcia has racked up the wins recently, and, at some point, Copeland and Christian Cage will join forces: would a shock Garcia win draw a bitter Copeland to the dark side?
The Young Bucks, in a squash Rampage win, teased a less ostentatious ring style. Did that continue against Top Flight, or would fans have to settle for a trademark whirlwind banger?
On a less good note, Tony Khan also booked a Texas Death Match (!) between Orange Cassidy and Matt Taven.
What?
Yes, the show emanated from Cedar Park, Texas - but Khan did a magnificent job of preserving the mystique of the stip in 2023. It felt like a gimmick with real aura to it, where so many - Hell In A Cell, ladder - have faded. Now, it's a subplot ahead of a midcard title match on PPV.
Did this latest Texas Death match live up to the legend...?