7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (June 5 - Results & Review)

by Michael Sidgwick

1. Very Good Main Event

5 6 Swerve Strickland Roderick Strong
AEW

Swerve Strickland Vs. Roderick Strong was a very good main event - the sort of match that you'd explode for in 2019, but in 2024 you've been spoiled by.

Swerve is sometimes one of the most dazzling hybrid style athletes ever. Here, he executed a walking handstand and took Strong down with a headscissors in one fluid motion. It looked unreal. At other times, and it's really not too often, Swerve's stuff can look a little landfill PWG. His awkward slow-motion forward roll into a flatliner looked particularly slow and contrived here. Worse still, this was the moment chosen for the double down and the bit where they asked the crowd to give it up. A killer finishing stretch elevated the match and the atmosphere.

In one gruesome moment, Strong executed a release suplex onto the apron, and the back of Swerve's rotated head clipped it. That was a wild, crucial moment, a wild tweak on the trope got the crowd back. Roderick Strong joins Hangman Page in the short list of wrestlers who can position themselves for the Swerve Stomp as if they're not politely accepting their fate. Swerve attempted to boot Strong out of the ring. Strong, and he did this expertly so that it didn't look at all phony, found his foot stuck under the rope. Swerve's connection was beautiful, and he quickly retained the World title with the House Call.

Another very good night for Swerve, on the whole.

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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 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!