9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (8 Sep)

Ups...

9. Dan Lambert Is Fine

Dan Lambert's schtick hasn't resonated with a portion of the fanbase that would rather not hear verbiage about "soft millennials" on television every week. It's a fair stance, particularly as Lambert is far more interesting (and less on-the-nose) when apeing Jim Cornette's criticisms of the AEW product, which was largely the case last night.

Flanked by the Men of the Year, Lambert railed against the locker room's perceived lack of tough guys, irritating fans, and everything else in this "soft" company, begging someone to step up to his boys. It closed with the American Top Team chief teeing the crowd up to gleefully chant "A-E-W!" at him, then roll his eyes in response, which tells you what you really need to know about this character.

Lambert is the bad guy. He is a proxy for AEW's absolute worst critics and clearly in the wrong, regardless of what he may or may not think about the product away from television. If he were being presented as a face, his verbiage would be an issue - but he isn't. He is an unwanted interloper and is largely getting the intended reactions.