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

1. Broken Glass, Broken Segments

Darby Allin Sting
AEW

This Sting and Darby Allin segment had the energy of an old Riott Squad segment or one of the early RETRIBUTION angles. The intended rebellious energy came off a little childish and inconsequential, with Sting and Darby breaking windows after addressing Taz's "hoodlum" tag, as Sting accepted that at his core, he is no different to Darby.

Face paint is the only difference between this and Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan cutting peoples' ties and slapping cups of coffee out of hands, or Mustafa Ali's masked goobers setting a generator ablaze. It's silly, unimpactful, and accomplishes the opposite of its intended goal, and the promos weren't strong enough to compensate either.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.