8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming (15 Dec)

4. Kiss The Ring

MJF claimed the Dynamite Diamond Ring for the third consecutive year, beating Dante Martin with the aid of Ricky Starks, who put the Pinnacle man's boot on the ropes when it looked like Dante had him beaten. This allowed MJF to lock in the Salt of the Earth for the win.

It was an effective screwy finish in a company that has admittedly overindulged in interferences in 2021. Regardless, Dante vs. Team Taz, not Dante vs. MJF, is the feud, and Starks' crew would have looked meek had they not struck back following Martin's betrayal in last week's battle royale.

The match leading up to that was a lot of fun. MJF had promised to defeat Martin with a headlock takeover and went to the hold multiple times, though Dante endured. The duo left enough of a blank canvas for Martin to run through another dazzling array of building-popping high spots, including a spectacular springboard Shooting Star Press to the outside, further highlighting Martin as one of the world's most exciting young wrestlers.

And with CM Punk chasing FTR and MJF from their beatdown of Sting and Darby Allin (who cut the lights before appearing), we've got a big trios match booked for next week.