7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2022

6. Chris Jericho Is An Ageless Wonder

Claudio Castagnoli
AEW

There's an argument to be made that Chris Jericho was the very best wrestler in the world across 2008 and 2009 - he certainly won many fan-voted awards to that effect - and somehow, he's wrestling like it's 2009 in 2022.

This new/old slimmed-down Jericho is yet another revelation; in a career defined by reinvention, this has to be his most extraordinary shift yet. The Le Champion persona was sublime, but the Wizard takes on at least two positive definitions. His ROH World Title win over Claudio Castagnoli was another triumph.

The man has never worked a style designed to draw chants of "This is awesome!", but his work has been so superb this year that he's received more than one chant of "Fight forever". Against Claudio, with an absolutely jaw-dropping midair hurricanrana counter to an avalanche ricola bomb, he did something worthy of a "Holy sh*t!". He didn't need to pull off a stunt to get it, either: he just had to display his timeless brilliance.

The match was initially built around Claudio's attempt to batter Jericho with uppercuts, and he was successful in launching into multiple strikes from creative, strategic positions. One particular flipped evasion was a breathtaking feat of agility. Jericho's own counters were superb. The match, bathed in noise, accelerated into something very special by the finish.

The finish might prove divisive, particularly on a show that was lax in its repetition, but this next evolution of the sports entertainment interloper bit is a savvy one.

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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!