8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 27)

2. Bland Battle Royal

The battle royal to crown Cody's number one contender didn't hit, continuing AEW's tradition of delivering lacklustre over-the-top-rope scrambles.

Things were particularly rough early going. Wrestlers looked like they were stepping on each others toes as they struggled for space and cues, resulting in several moments where performers were standing around visibly waiting for others to get out the way. It was messy. Highlights came only in short bursts (Luchasaurus' Chokeslam elimination of Luther was awesome) before the bout fell down again, and the end result was a lacklustre battle royal with nothing to differentiate it from the dozens of others you'll see on wrestling shows this year.

That a contendership match had so many lower-ranked wrestlers in it didn't help either. Peter Avalon, Brandon Cutler, and Luther were all in contention for a title shot. Sure, it's the secondary belt, but having these guys orbiting the title scene's periphery doesn't exactly present it as prestigious.

Things at least got interesting later on as Wardlow and MJF were eliminated shortly after the latter had accidentally blasted his heavy with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, leaving Orange Cassidy and Jungle Boy to battle it out. The Jurassic Express man won. He's a good choice who Cody will get over in defeat, pushing him closer to the Sammy Guevara/Darby Allin tier of prospects.