9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (31 Aug)

4. Bryan Bests Jake

Jake Hager is a wrestler best used sparingly. While effective in short bursts, he lacks the aura and intensity demanded by his role, which gets exposed in longer, more gruelling matches. He is big, strong, and looks good but does little to pull you in on a visceral level. Compare his work on top to that of Lance Archer and the differences are stark.

Fortunately, he was in the ring with a wrestling savant last night, falling to Bryan Danielson in a well-worked battle largely dominated by the Jericho Appreciation Society's enforcer.

Danielson started the match by attempting to circle around Hager while taking potshots, chipping away at the big tree. This gameplan fell short when Jake got hold of him and started pummelling. Following this was a long heat sequence that lagged towards the end, though the craft of Danielson shone through. Having had his lower back worked over (effectively softening him up for the Walls of Jericho at All Out), Danielson found an opening when Hager preoccupied himself with the referee. Bryan chipped away at Hager's remaining defences, combated his brute force with smarts, and eventually won via Busaiku Knee Kick.

The Chris Jericho/Daniel Garcia relationship was given new wrinkles, too. The pupil apologised to the master for prior transgressions early on, pledging his allegation to the JAS. Later, when Jericho attempted to swing a chair at Danielson, Garcia saved his hero, accidentally making Jericho susceptible to a Busaiku in the process.