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

Downs...

2. Full Gear Party Match Doesn't Feel Worth Going To Yet

Jeff Jarrett
AEW

Jay Lethal Vs. Trent was a fine-to-good match highlighted by some committed and pleasingly brutal bumping, but it was inessential pretext to a strange miss of an angle.

The Jeff Jarrett stuff feels better in the ironic sphere of social media than it does on TV at present.

AEW capitalising on Jeff's carny rep and delivering the catharsis within weeks that TNA wouldn't do for years is great, opportunistic booking, and the visual of Sting eating a chair shot as an unaware Jarrett struts away will make for a neat comedy spot at Full Gear, but his appearance on Dynamite this week wasn't up to much. He's meant to be the preeminent master of the carny dark arts. They're in his blood.

This is made difficult to buy when he can't time out a TV segment properly. Or was that the joke? If so, it didn't land, and neither did a guitar shot. Shouldn't he have raged at the production staffer who was winding him down? Wasn't a weapon shot there the while point of the bit? He didn't actually go long on a promo again, did he?!

A very confusing segment of television, during which it wasn't a good idea to take the piss out of WWE. Get your own house in order first, etc.

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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!