8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (November 29 - Results & Review)

Eddie Kingston brings the sport, MJF goes back to basics on a quietly encouraging Dynamite.

by Michael Sidgwick
MJF Promo
AEW

The Continental Classic didn't fail to launch, exactly - God bless Eddie Kingston and Brody King for grasping the do-or-die importance of tournament wrestling in their fabulous Collision main event - but last week's round of Dynamite fixtures was hardly great.

Is that pedantic, fickle?

AEW dreamt up a major tournament in a format that fans have requested since 2019, mandated clean finishes, and generally went with the sports-oriented presentation that critics have missed in recent months. Still, the execution was lacking.

Swerve Strickland Vs. Jay Lethal was fine, but opening the broadcast and tournament with the most obvious pin-eater in the field was uninspiring. Jay White went over Rush in a better match that still wouldn't trouble TV Match of the Year rankings. It was only easy to feel something when Mark Briscoe threatened to survive Jon Moxley, but Tony Khan didn't opt for Gedo's tone-setting early twist.

What was special, exactly, about watching some very good if predictable matches, each resulting in the expected outcome? Beyond the sports entertainmentification of AEW, that is still the quintessential Dynamite experience most weeks.

Was last night's Gold League a little more glittering...?

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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!