8 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynasty (Results & Review)

2. Kazuchika Okada Is The Best Heel In Wrestling

Kazuchika Okada defeated PAC in a wonderful opener. It was a truly excellent slow-burn wrestling match, one so great that it was surely impossible not to appreciate. It was simultaneously immune to criticism without ever safely, cynically ticking boxes to craft a "great" match.

In a content-forward, trope-y landscape, this was remarkably self-assured pro wrestling. They took their sweet time building it, but the pacing was majestic - and crucial to the specific story being told.

PAC is one of the most game bumpers in wrestling history, and between several neck-jamming moments, he sold brilliantly. The fans were with him during every methodical step and gasped with awe during the few moments in which he was able to unleash his spectacular high-flying repertoire.

Okada was on bravura form as a heel, creating his first truly iconic in-ring moment in AEW by feigning to do the Rainmaker pose and flipping off the crowd as the camera zoomed back in. He wrestled as the most cocky, confident man alive - which informed the incredible drama down the stretch. Again and again, measuring the comeback brilliantly so that the fans never once forgot just how much punishment he'd endured, PAC caught Okada in flash pin attempts. And, since nobody is as good as the 2.99 kick-out as Okada, every near-fall was breathless, nerve-shredding.

At the finish, Okada got the knees up to counter the Black Arrow. PAC was a level beyond special here, selling the impact as if he'd suffered a stinger and a chipped tooth.

A deadly-looking Rainmaker - which is recovering its old one-and-done power all over again - secured Okada the win, and his first AEW classic.