9 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Dark: Elevation

5. Solid If Functional Storytelling ELEVATED

QT Marshall
AEW

Incredibly basic but necessary nuts and bolts, the idea is to further QT Marshall's heel turn and strengthen him on paper ahead of Lee Johnson's breakout singles match. This was accomplished after he defeated Marko Stunt, who is the ideal opponent with which to get over as a prick.

This basic, logical storytelling shed every bored pejorative when it unfolded in the ring, because this was a tremendous amount of fun. A wrestler must adore getting in there with Marko. He is the perfect loser; anybody who dwarfs him looks like a nine foot tall monster, and QT was blackly hilarious playing the bully capable of holding Marko in midair at his whim. It's when the bully eats sh*t that Marko reveals his true brilliance on the comeback: QT was game to sell it, taking a ridiculously great Canadian Destroyer.

QT throws a vastly underrated working punch, and he annihilated Stunt with a perfectly-timed midair hoof of one deep into the match.

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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!