7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (February 14 - Results & Review)
4. The Young Bucks Match Is Good...
The Young Bucks are among the most thoughtful and intelligent acts in pro wrestling history. You don't read the review of this show and this show itself does not even exist were that not true.
In the second consecutive great week for an act that feels all the way back, at last, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson defeated Top Flight in a very good TV match. It wasn't quite "vintage" Young Bucks, by design or otherwise. The last third was very exciting and improbably dramatic, given that the Bucks were hardly going to lose ahead of Revolution, but they are flirting with an almost methodical approach to the heat segment. It suits the development of their new characters.
Before the pace and action exploded, they did a very effective job of generating support on behalf of their opponents. They again wrestled in the white suits they wore during the attack on Darby Allin and Sting and his family. This is a great visual - the blood, now developing a browned tinge, is a reminder of a deeply-felt transgression - but the material limits their movement somewhat. It is impossible for the Bucks to work a match that is anything less than exciting, but they don't fizz about the ring in quite the same way. They wore restrictive gear in a match in which they also restricted their own movement.
That stated, the Bucks are simply so fantastic at crafting a match to suit the strengths of their opponents that this almost couldn't help itself but resemble a "banger" at times.
In a great sequence, Matthew almost lost when Dante used his brother as a platform to spike him with an awesome-looking DDT. In a great bit of heel work, Matthew hit Darius in the balls just as the match was approaching a breathless crescendo. In the most important of ways, this was better than a great match in and of itself. It will take some getting used to, but it is now the job of the Young Bucks to deprive the fans of exhilarating action. This was beautiful character development. Match quality is less of a concern at this stage of the arc.
It's all about drawing the heat and making you beg for the comeuppance, and they did that brilliantly in the post-match...