8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (4 October - Results & Review)
Adam Copeland's superstar presence highlights another uneven 2023 Dynamite...
'The beginning of a new era' hype wasn't that. Khan's rhetoric was basically code for "We've signed a big name and we're debuting them at WrestleDream, so, buy it".
That name was Adam Copeland, and on last night's show, he was set to cut his first promo. This, adding to the fascination, was his first promo outside of the WWE system.
A name of that calibre had to do something incredible immediately. He arrived at great expense and with great hype, and walked into a key spot in a company teeming with great talent. The pressure was on.
The thing about Edge, whose output in the 2000s was outstanding, is that his return WWE run was not great. The man himself has admitted as much. Excellent in the ring on select occasions - matches with Seth Rollins and of all people Austin Theory underscored his masterful sense of craft - his output was uneven. He bombed at WrestleMania against both Randy Orton and AJ Styles, and he was wasted against The Miz at Day 1.
The Miz!
In 2022!
After nine years away!
No wonder he fancied a new challenge.
Much worse were his promos. Edge was intense to the degree of parody as a babyface and, quite frankly, talked utter pretentious rubbish as a heel. It was as if a sixth-former had attempted to write promos in the style of Malakai Black.
That the Judgment Day soared without him underscored that WWE didn't need him anymore.
On admittedly scant evidence, does AEW...?