8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (9 Feb)

1. Jay White Gets Overshadowed

AEW Dynamite Jay White Adam Cole Young Bucks
AEW.com

This was more an execution issue than a significant error.

The premise behind Jay White's AEW debut was fantastic: Adam Cole is playing a marvellous, d*ckheaded game at the expense of Kenny Omega. He wants to take over the Elite, and in a wonderful moment of mirroring and foreshadowing, he has recruited a man well-versed in overtaking a stable: a man who just so happens to be a known enemy of Omega's.

An attempt was made to make this less mundane and anticlimactic than it was; the shot of the back of White's jacket was cool, and generated a pop built on the slow realisation of the reveal. But it was still anticlimactic, and in addition to robbing White of an arena-sized pop and genuine moment, the backstage pre-tape was overshadowed by a far more impressive debut. The double-your-fun trope has been done significantly better in the past, too (Mr. Brodie Lee/Matt Hardy; Adam Cole/Bryan Danielson).

The direction is fascinating, and Jay White is a very astute "get".

The beginning was just a bit damp.

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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!