8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (24 May - Review)

2. Good Match, Too Little Of It

Daniel Garcia
AEW

If I had one very entitled gripe about going on a trip to watch a cool wrestling show live, it's that Roderick Strong and Daniel Garcia should have been allocated more time on Rampage. A longer match isn't necessarily better, but this felt sudden and could have shattered the ceiling it only just approached.

Elements of it were fantastic, just abbreviated.

Garcia hammed it up by flexing and roaring through Strong's harrowing, best-in-class chops before collapsing in slapstick agony. Garcia is an extraordinary wrestler already, and again played the role of a wrestler trapped in the body of an immature, distracted twenty-something. He outwrestled Roddy on occasion, particularly with a beautiful transition into a Dragontamer, but he would not stop screwing around. In a great, cathartic spot, Strong sent Garcia into the air at almost rafter height before killing the poor prick with a backbreaker. Awesome spot all the better after Garcia's clowning.

A simple "f*ck around and find out" story elevated by Strong's ability to f*ck people up more satisfyingly than most, this was a blast live even if, weirdly, not everybody in the crowd shared that opinion.

Advertisement
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!