8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Dec 9)

2. The Inner Circle's Last Chance

The Inner Circle came back together last night, opting not to go their separate ways in a strong ultimatum segment that somehow covered every individual character dynamic within the group without becoming bloated.

Chris Jericho's group was formed to be the most dominant faction in wrestling, not push and shove each other like petulant pricks, as they'd done last week. MJF took the room after Jericho called out the bickering parties, trying to put the blame on Sammy Guevara for last week's towel incident, which Jericho saw through. He successfully talked a fired-up 'Spanish God' down.

It was Ortiz, however, who really made the difference. Utterly fed up with the squabbling, he said the absent Santana had helped him realise that Wardlow and MJF are assets. So, for the good of the team, Guevara and MJF had to shake - with a hesitant Sammy only doing so after threatening to quit if something like this ever happens again.

A flare-up between Wardlow and Jake Hager (highlighted by Jake's impeccable comic timing) threatened to be a second flashpoint, but no. The Inner Circle came together with a middle-fingered salute.

It's hard to imagine this segment playing out more effectively. MJF was great, still turning the screw on Sammy right up to the moment his position became untenable, and Guevara once again showed signs of big babyface potential. Jericho's crew remains together, but how tight is the bond?

We'll find out soon.