8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Nov 30 - Review)

3. Yes, AEW Shows DO Flow Together

Jon Moxley AEW
AEW

This angle wasn't just sensational on its own terms.

Apparently, AEW's TV shows suffer from a lack of flow. The shows "do not connect", according to WWE Producer 'Road Dogg' Brian James. This is primarily because AEW operates within a sports-oriented narrative framework, as part of which the matches are meant to exist as fixtures for the sole purpose of determining challengers for little things called "championships" before heated conflicts emerge.

Things aren't meant to necessarily "flow" in the context of a professional wrestling show, but when the occasion demands, storylines should overlap. The dovetailing across the Jon Moxley and William Regal storylines was deft. Mox, uncontrollable, had to be ejected from the arena. AEW needed a logical reason to get him away, otherwise, he wouldn't be the picture of integrity that he is. This means of removing him from Regal's orbit also happened to be a red-hot way to build an emotionally charged rematch in and of itself.

This was supreme narrative elegance on the part of Tony Khan, who, now that he doesn't have several crises to manage for the first time since June, incredibly, is on trademark deep-thinking form as a booker. This was a significantly better method of "connecting" stories than a match going to a numbing non-finish leading to an impromptu tag. That isn't flow.

That's sh*t.

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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!