7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 10 - Results & Review)

Samoa Joe wears the World title VERY well as the vibe returns to All Elite Wrestling in Daily's...

by Michael Sidgwick
Samoa Joe CHAMP
AEW

Daily's Place - the site of last night's Dynamite and AEW's spiritual home - is magic. If that reads as the statement of an incurable mark, so be it.

It's so bizarre, holding a deep and near-profound nostalgia for the worst period of your life, but it was even more bizarre that AEW was capable of producing a seminal wrestling television programme under the most suboptimal of circumstances. For several months, no paid fans attended that Daily's residency, the purpose of the interactive performance art was defeated entirely, and AEW nonetheless entered an unbeatable streak.

Tony Khan stared at a bleak, empty canvas, the reason that wrestling exists missing from the picture, and saw opportunity. He booked the Young Bucks and the Butcher and the Blade to lay waste to the entire facility in a compelling, creative Falls Count Anywhere brawl. The car park, into which no customers could drive, was instead repurposed as the site of a spectacular Parking Lot Fight, a perfect and seamless blend of brawling, high spots and plunder. It was a fight that used its environment so perfectly that it earned its spectacular Holy s*** moments - and the environment should have been incredibly depressing.

The Daily's Place era of AEW Dynamite was bittersweet, and may not have aged well, but an improbable creative triumph all the same.

Could AEW replicate that on-fire magic last night...?

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Contributor
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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!