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

1. Face-To-Face (To Face-To-Face-To-Face-To-Face-To-Face-To-Face)

Moxley Tanahashi
AEW

Elements of the Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi face-to-face were good. It was an uneven segment. But, since the core purpose was missed and then muddled, it represented a low point to the show.

Jon Moxley was on incredible form; by framing his entire, excellent NJPW run as a pursuit of Hiroshi Tanahashi, he made his opponent feel enormous, the match even bigger. Then Chris Jericho interrupted to initiate a scene so loaded with exposition that even Vince McMahon would have said "Howay Chris, they're not that thick. Leave something to the imagination here."

In between, of course, rampant intercourse with a subordinate who is not his wife at the time.

The Jericho Appreciation Society attempted to beat Mox and Tana down, and then Lance Archer and El Desperado, on loan from Suzuki-gun since Minoru is tagging with Jericho at Forbidden Door, added to the beat-down before various babyfaces associated with Mox made the save in a deadening blur of a scene. Never feels like anybody is actually getting hurt in these things, does it?

It's just something that happens to make more matches happen now.

This crammed angle did more to advance an undercard trios match than it did the main event of Forbidden Door. It's trademark convoluted booking at this point.

Still, Tana telling Chris Jericho to shut up was good craic well-timed.

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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!