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

4. The Impromptu Match Was At Least A Great TV Match

CM Punk Jon Moxley
AEW

While you could tell these four haven't worked together within a similar dynamic extensively, and the crowd was somewhat low at points - probably because they didn't have time to get hyped ahead of it! - when this banged, it banged.

Moxley was chosen by Punk as his partner in a nice choice. A carny wrestling promotion would have booked Punk to bury Mox for his personal issues. AEW, a progressive and generally nice promotion, booked Punk to befriend and support him.

FTR's cut-offs were NXT-level great in driving the tension during their heat spots, which informed some fabulous moments of catharsis. AEW's greatest attribute, something North American TV wrestling fans thought had been lost forever, is that the promotion nails how to book babyfaces. In a lovely illustration of that, Mox sensed Cash Wheeler's blind tag and smashed him with a backdrop suplex. Intelligent babyfaces you can root for, imagine that.

The twists down the stretch were incredible. Punk and Mox teased executing their impact finishers in stereo, and when that plan was foiled, they teased tapping out FTR with their submission finishers in stereo. In a further twist, timed impeccably, they did end up scoring the win with the synchronised GTS/Paradigm Shift.

The timing on that was joyful, better than a slightly awkward Mox Big Rig break-up, but that moment of slight awkwardness couldn't undermine what was, despite a sports entertainment set-up, a ripper of a TV match.

Selling, drama, thought, craft: this fused no-frills intensity with a thrilling Young Bucks signature structure to create magic in spite of itself.

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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!