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

6. Swerve Strickland Vs Daniel Garcia

A statement of intent following decisive wins for both men at World's End, Daniel Garcia Vs Swerve Strickland headlining the first flagship show of the year made AEW feel bold and interesting all over again.

For better and worse, there are wrestlers people tune into All Elite Wrestling to see, and these are two of them right now. Strickland in particular has been making no secret of his desire to fight for the World Heavyweight Championship, and Garcia's turned a loss-heavy Continental Classic run into the spark that will light the way far removed from Chris Jericho and the other distractions that have sat in his way. Searing action, good chemistry and the live audience's belief in 'Red Death' as the underdog put gave everything the vaunted big fight feel. The promotion was and is still fighting for this title.

Swerve picked up the win in the end, but not without Garcia kicking out from a Swerve Stomp before succumbing to the JML Driver. If not for an awkward botch that saw both men tumble off the announce table during a Dragontamer attempt by Garcia, this would have been one of those No Notes Dynamite main events, especially considering what followed in the post-match.

A furious Hangman Page had arrived shortly before the main event threatening to beat up anybody in his path, and Strickland became the perfect target after he and Prince Nana low-blowed and assaulted Garcia after the bell. The pull apart was yet another example of their exhilarating chemistry, and with Revolution more than two months away, this feels like something to spice up Dynamite rather than be pushed back to pay-per-view.

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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