7 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (12 Oct)

2. Jericho & Danielson Meet In The Middle

Jericho Appreciation Society
AEW

An unexpectedly uneven series between Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson concluded with a match that, while heated towards the very end, only settled in somewhere between their All Out 2022 disappointment and Grand Slam Tournament Of Champions Semi Final scorcher.

Solid-to-good wrestling was hindered rather than helped by a partisan crowd. The Toronto fans were all the way into Jericho, and while Bryan's better than most when playing situational heel, that dynamic couldn't effectively mesh with the Sports Entertainment/Pro Wrestling angle that's dragged on with the Jericho Appreciation Society and the Blackpool Combat Club.

It flew in the face of reasoned suggestions that Jericho was the guy to elevate the Ring Of Honor Championship too - the match went on in the middle of the show and as it wore on didn't feel like it belonged any later. Daniel Garcia's decision to stick with 'The Ocho' went down well after weeks of foreshadowing that he'd probably end up staying put, and a pivot point might be forthcoming with him and Wheeler Yuta over the Pure Championship, but all of these developments further marginalised the match as something existing more as a vehicle to further stories than to definitively end a self-contained one.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett