8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 3 - Results & Review)

2. A Happy New Year For AEW Fans?

Possibly!

2023 was the year AEW were comfortably and consistently creatively outstripped by WWE for the first time since the challenger brand took root in 2019. The glory days and Tony Khan himself felt finished beyond repair, and while it'd be naive to use one strong edition of the broadcast as proof that a corner has been turned, it'd be less so to suggest this has been going on for a little longer than that.

The Continental Classic restored a lot of AEW hardcores' faith in being able to produce the sort of in-ring action they liked, and the roll-out and follow-through of the Devil drama has calmed some of the criticisms towards that particular brand of storytelling. The new calendar year and all the optimism that brings following such developments gave this airy edition of the show a sense of freedom the shackled Autumn/Winter period desperately lacked.

Between the booking of key new acts in the women's division, the short and longterm matchmaking and a much-needed gap between now and the next pay-per-view, this Dynamite felt like a chance for the company to reclaim the conversation on fantastic matches and interesting dynamics on the road to Revolution.

Case. In. Point...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett