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

1. A Very Good And Very Dynamite Main Event

Sting and Darby Allin defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs in an unhinged main event. It was the best Sting party match in a while - purposefully or otherwise.

In yet another great magic trick in a run overflowing with them, Sting after a walk and brawl sequence draped Hobbs over a flight case, rolling him into a nasty tumble to the concrete floor. Sting can't do much and can increasingly do less and less, and that was a cracking idea for a chaotic slapstick spot. Darby and Takeshita revisited their exquisite psycho chemistry when Take splattered him neck-first with a rolling German suplex by the ring. It was around this time that Sting looked to be in real trouble. The ref looked nervous, commentary sounded nervous. He got back into it, after a bleak vibe-wrecker of a cameo from Ric Flair, when hitting Take and Hobbs with a pair of Stinger splashes. The spring and impact isn't what it was even two years ago, but the emotional weight will always land. A scary, anxiety-inducing layer of drama is drama all the same.

Just when you thought he couldn't do his signature Holy S*** moment, after Darby took Takeshita out with a demented Coffin drop from the top of the set, Sting walked Hobbs along the concrete seating area and smashed him through two tables erected by the heels earlier in the match with a Scorpion Death Drop. This was a great spot, even better than the Darby Special in which he was thrown and spun like a rag in a washing machine at the same insane time by the two hoss heel monsters.

A vintage, expertly laid-out Sting party match - even if you'd be happy if the next one is the last.