7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (February 14 - Results & Review)
2. Strong Opener Is Right
You see chop battles premised on the idea of machismo every week. You see a match with loosely the same fighting spirit-informed structure as Jon Moxley Vs. Dax Harwood most weeks. The difference, the key that allowed the Dynamite opener to soar, was in its stubbornness.
Awful non-consensual kissing spot aside.
That theme underpinned the entire match: neither man wanted to show an ounce of vulnerability or weakness. They at times couldn't mask how much damage they had endured - Dax's delayed, jelly-legged selling was excellent in particular - but refused to give in throughout. Neither man wrestled with an iota of intelligence until the finish required a semblance of strategy; instead, they became awful versions of themselves to prove their masculinity over the other. It was idiotic in the best, most deliberately way possible. They were too stupidly proud, and as the classic Jackass song goes, if you're gonna be dumb, you've gotta be tough.
And the shots in this match, Jesus Christ. They were indeed tough.
In this hard-hitting era of pro wrestling, you'll read variations of "they beat the sh*t" out of each other" most weeks - but they truly beat the sh*t out of each other. The match ruled. Attentional tone, gruesome physicality, loopy body language: it was gnarly, but also incredibly dramatic. It felt destined to go to a draw, since so many sequences were skilfully arranged to make it seem as though as neither man could be separated. The double count-out tease, done to near-death since it was popularised by resurgence-era New Japan, took on real meaning all over again here. On TV, AEW attempts the one wrestler goes over, the other gets over match constantly. This was one of the better versions: Dax simply never wins singles matches, and here, he almost took the winningest singles wrestler to his absolute limit.
In the post-match, Mox held onto the match-winning bulldog choke a little too long, drawing out Cash Wheeler. Claudio Castagnoli returned fire, setting up a very appealing tag match next week.