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

3. Elusive, Unpredictable Storytelling

Jay White Hangman Page
AEW

A tentative 'Up', since AEW has earned the "let it play out" privilege.

The IWGP World Heavyweight Title picture at Forbidden Door falls somewhere between compelling and confusing, but ultimately, the match is difficult to predict, and Jay White's twist was interesting. He doesn't deem Hangman Page nor his "very good friend" Adam Cole worthy of a title match. Taking into account the events of last week, all of this isn't really great.

The wrestlers are trying to book themselves into matches, everybody is burying each other and claiming nobody is good enough to challenge for anything. On two occasions, Page has teased the best match possible from this convoluted combination - Page Vs. Kazuchika Okada - only for Adam Cole to interrupt and complicate a potential masterpiece of a picture.

The segment was elevated by Hangman, looking like the guy who got massively over all over again, charming the crowd with his self-deprecation. Also, an intriguing episodic hook was dropped here. Nobody has a firm idea of where this is all going, and it's refreshing (actual outcome depending). AEW usually does excellent storytelling in the correct order.

This is far more slippery, but interesting enough to want to get a hold of.

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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!