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

6. It'll Be Lore-Right On The Night

Malakai Black
AEW

I really didn't like the first attempt at spooky lighting when the House of Black introduced the Open House gimmick.

I suspect I'll find it hokey, distracting and ultimately pointless when I watch the show back on FITE. But as a live show experience, even as a lore skeptic, it was an effective spot of theatre. It helps that the House of Black are as over as f**k. They were as over as anybody on the roster. They're almost impossible to dislike as a wrestling fan. They embody the range of the form as a unit, everything they do looks like death, and they register the imminent destruction brilliantly.

They are so good, with their body language, at conveying that their opponents have just been sentenced to death. And when Blake Christian looked like he had been decapited, his selling put the stable over all the more. Brody King strangled what remained of Christian's neck in a great finish to a fun, all-action sprint that almost certainly benefited from the bias of attending live.

With a two-hour show imminent, Christian could be slotted in as a competitive job guy on Collision. He made the House of Black look almost disturbingly vicious.

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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!