9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash

6. The Hype For Page Vs. Danielson II Is Real

Bryan Danielson
AEW

At the start of the promo segment, the reaction was somewhat mixed.

Bryan Danielson had his fans, Page had more, but he wasn't quite the all-conquering babyface. Danielson, wrestling genius, reconciled the split before Page emerged as an all-conquering babyface with his response. This was a perfect promo duel.

Danielson was a maverick heel, claiming that he wasn't the man who was stalling throughout before offering an excuse. He tweaked his leg in his match with John Silver, which made the jumping jacks even funnier in retrospect. He then suggested that three judges be installed for their January 5 rematch, which incidentally is an astute choice for the TBS relaunch. Page agreed, but claimed it won't be necessary; he'll defeat Danielson within the time limit because no old prick at ringside is going to tell him he's not worthy of the belt. This almost certainly wasn't an Ole Anderson tease, but imagine if it was, man. Actually, imagine Ole as Danielson's manager.

Page's cadence and content were immaculate; his voice strengthened with belief just before his final line - "If the question is whether I can beat you in under an hour, then the answer is "yes"" - which elicited the chant in Page's favour this time.

Majestic stuff.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!