9 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (27 Oct)

Ups...

9. AEW Remains The Premier Storytelling Promotion

Claudio Castagnoli
AEW

The ongoing Blackpool Combat Club Vs. Jericho Appreciation Society programme is a strange one to unpack. It peaked at Double Or Nothing all the way back in May, although Blood & Guts was a worthy if flawed hero's redemption. Now, it is simultaneously dragging on too long and worthy, compelling storytelling.

This was a fantastic advancement of it, one that made a mockery of recent criticisms not necessarily made in bad faith. Tony Khan's booking has fallen across 2022, but the character work here was robust in its logic and made for a scintillating tag team match. Claudio Castagnoli was pissed off because Chris Jericho cheated him out of the ROH World title. Wheeler YUTA was pissed off because he is considered, by his hero, to be inferior to his career rival.

Working under this character motive, both men delivered a complete blast of catharsis in a stupendous babyface showing. YUTA brought the fire and Claudio the superhuman magic in a vengeful, furious performance. Chris Jericho, incidentally, remains the most underrated tag team wrestler ever. Just when you thought the 'systematic cheating" bit was starting to take the piss, the heels eat sh*t in the most entertaining way imaginable.

Maybe the booking hasn't quite fallen off after all.

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Contributor
Contributor

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!