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

by Michael Hamflett

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Darby Allin

Darby Allin Vs Konosuke Takeshita was much more than just a glorious festival of wrestler-on-wrestler violence, but what a festival it was.

Yet more evidence that the company might have been looking at the turning over of the calendar as an excuse to just rip up what didn’t work in 2023, the agenting of Takeshita as the latest Darby-killer was a giant leap even more pronounced than the top rope German suplex he folded Allin’s body up with. Patience with praise should be extended here - many wrestlers have their best night in AEW smashing Allin half to death - but it was impossible to hold back screams of joy watching the action itself. Great wrestling has never been more normalised than right now, but this broke through the rote stylings in the first 20 seconds and didn’t stop to check itself as it roared along.

Almost as encouraging as the match itself was the booking. Takeshita went over strong here, and riding a wave of momentum Don Callis offered up a tag match for next week’s show featuring Sting and Powerhouse Hobbs as the respective partners. In this, he noted the babyfaces’ unbeaten record, and how the Callis Family were ready to snap it. The power, and Takeshita and Hobbs are tentatively back.

They won’t get it done of course, but the mere mention of all of this drives yet more speculation towards whatever captivating choice the company makes for Sting’s last night in March. FTR? The Young Bucks? Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the belts? If it means a return to a rankings-based product, beating the latter duo and retiring on top would be a wonderful way to close out ‘The Stinger’s iconic and legendary run.

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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