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

6. Mark Briscoe Elevates Solid Match

5 6 Mark Briscoe Brian Cage
AEW

Even though it's a mess of his own making, you have to sympathise with Tony Khan to an extent. He signed far too many wrestlers, many of which he couldn't not sign on a case-by-case basis - you couldn't just let WWE have Will Ospreay - and now he struggles with who exactly to push.

Rush?

Konosuke Takeshita?

Daniel Garcia?

Jay White?

Who, outside of the established main event bracket, is truly worth the investment?

It's a hard decision, but Mark Briscoe makes it easier every single time he appears on TV. Structurally, this was a very familiar match in which the underdog babyface survives the hoss monster. Everything more or less happened in the "correct" order. It should have been predictable and bereft of drama, particularly since Brian Cage is one of Khan's trusted glorified enhancement talents, but Mark Briscoe is incredible. He has such a bump on him and such an ability to work the crowd that Cage's Liger bomb looked like a kill-shot.

Briscoe won with the Froggy 'bow and the crowd exploded not because they didn't expect the finish but because they badly wanted to see it. At an absolute minimum, AEW should position Briscoe on the slow-burn chase to a midcard title. The crowd is in love with the guy.

He wears every single babyface characteristic so well.

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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!