9 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (15 Sep)

1. No Messing Around

A dressed-up talking segment standing as the best thing on your show usually means one of two things:-

1. The rest of the show kinda stunk.

2. It was so great it transcended a format fans have long grown weary of thanks to years of go-nowhere blab-fests in other promotions.

Fortunately, this was the latter. Kenny Omega, Don Callis, and Bryan Danielson were each tremendous in their roles for the segment that put Danielson vs. Omega together, with a spiky Danielson putting enough dents in Omega's pride that he eventually said "yes" to a challenge he may have rejected at the start.

There's a dangerous energy brimming beneath Bryan's surface right now. Bryan Danielson and Daniel Bryan are different guys. The American Dragon is rougher, harder, and more dangerous. He's a killer pro wrestler ready to cave skulls in to prove he's the best in the world - and this continues to come through in his performances. "Show, don't tell," is storytelling one golden rule, and Bryan doesn't need to explicitly say that he's an assessing when you're able to read it yourself from the way he talks, carries himself, and acts.

A great, great piece of pro wrestling television, and getting to Omega vs. Danielson without sacrifice the sanctity of the rankings system (this is a non-title match) gets a supplement Up too.