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

6. Santana Ascends

Inner Circle
AEW

This was the best thing Chris Jericho has been involved in for quite some time.

Santana again displayed his credentials as a singles pillar with a no-bullsh*t promo. In a great touch, he and Ortiz disassociated themselves from the Inner Circle by joining the "team meeting" with their own, new entrance theme. Jericho accused Santana of disrespect by not tagging him in last week. This cut was deep; CM Punk did the same thing to him for real at a house show years ago. It's the exact sort of thing that we know would bruise Jericho's ego, and here, it advanced his current storyline.

To reiterate: the level of thought that goes into AEW at its best renders it all the more irritating when the promotion indulges in lazy, fake-feeling tropes.

Each character made salient points, the frustration felt lived-in, and the escalation of the tension, leading to Jericho and Hager Vs. Santana and Ortiz next week, was organic. This was so good and effective that it elevated the previous, drab segments in retrospect.

AEW is the irony-free "let it play out" promotion.

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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!