7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash (21 Dec - Review)

1. Swerve Strickland Forms Mogul Affiliates

Swerve Strickland
AEW

Mogul Affiliates' formation segment was a hot mess.

A fun, entertaining hot mess, but a hot mess nonetheless.

Rick Ross is as absurdly entertaining in wrestling as he is on record. The guy is great. While not everyone will have enjoyed his running commentary here, how could you not pop for his "You a big motherf*cker" at the sudden realisation that Keith Lee is, indeed, a big motherf*cker, or the casual "Wow, he may need attention!" after Lee had had a cinderblock stomped through his chest.

If his own hip-hop mogul-isms hadn't already made him rich beyond belief, Rick Ross should be in wrestling full-time.

The angle fell apart when it got physical. Parker Boudreaux attacked Keith from behind, drawing zero reaction, even with his green-as-Grinch-piss, over-the-top gesticulations. A mystery man, now revealed as Granden Goetzman, joined the party. He brought a tangible chaos factor to proceedings but it didn't sound like many in the building cared as he and Parker restrained Lee for the stomp.

A perversely entertaining segment, Strickland at least came off well in it. The entire wrestling world will belong to him someday. The Lee feud is going to be great, too, and stomping a cinderblock through a man's chest sends one hell of a message. Nonetheless, the Mogul Affiliate group's coming together felt all-over-the-place in good ways and bad.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.