7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2022
4. A Bastard's Performance
The timing of PAC's heel chicanery here was fantastic, as was the storytelling in what was a perfect second match. (This was actually their third singles contest, but it played out like a sequel to the joyous Revolution affair because the real sequel didn't maintain that vibe.)
At Revolution 2020, Orange Cassidy outwitted PAC and lulled him into various errors throughout. Here, PAC was wary of making the same mistakes and controlled the match with a brutal precision after studiously avoiding them. PAC didn't strategise for Orange's latest trick, and in a wonderful moment, the commentary team (far better sans Jim Ross, incidentally) didn't expect it either. They popped daft at an inelegant Cassidy getting his legs up with poor, telegraphed timing. The visual was utterly absurd and piss funny for it. It was a ruse that led to an electrifying near-fall and a hailstorm of stunning offence from Cassidy that boasted a top-rope DDT sell from PAC that was borderline NSFW.
In a tremendous story beat, PAC actually received the fight he asked for over two years ago. He couldn't abide it and elected to hit his opponent in the face with a hammer.
A bastard, indeed.