9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash
Ups...
9. Adam Cole Vs. Orange Cassidy BANGS
The funniest punchline to the Orange Cassidy comedy routine is that, at his core, he's everything the purists say a wrestler should be.
He doesn't really bump too often. He knows how to preserve his body. He's excellent at selling and drawing people into the story. He wrestles the match with a strategy and not the high spot in mind.
Adam Cole and the expressive temper of his face is Cassidy's perfect opponent not named PAC.
Their counter expert versus 4d chess-master imp match was a slow-burning joy, a witty psychological game of feints that despite a somewhat repetitive structure at the midway point eventually erupted with an explosion of character and drama. Cole sticking his hands down his trunks to rub Cassidy's face in it was heel bastard magic, the resulting kick-out and boo-boo face a triumphant key change. The Boom into the Beach Break reversal was seamless, electrifying. Between the SuperKliq interference and the shocking finale, Cassidy - and this word is permissible when a narrative masterstroke drives the finish - was sufficiently protected as an upper midcard threat.
The surge of the finish drove this into banger territory, but the decision to go to commercial during it was questionable, disruptive, and a bit alarming. The ad-free opener is a constant Wednesday night pleasure.
Hopefully, this was an aberration necessitated by the post-match angle.
On the subject of which...