9 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (6 Oct)

Downs...

3. Rushing To The Finish

Ricky Starks
AEW

Putting the Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks blow-off match on this week's Rampage at least prevents Team Taz from getting too held up. Starks vs. CM Punk is the more exciting bout, particularly after Punk's match with Powerhouse Hobbs and verbal sparring sessions with Taz, and the Cage program has lost a lot of juice lately. Holding it off for longer would have made little sense.

But this is a double-edged sword, because last night's Starks/Cage segment didn't hit.

This felt like another hurried, insubstantial interaction in a feud characterised by such things. Before Cage got injured and had to take time off television, the format was identical to last night, with Ricky and co. playing the pricks, big Brian running out for the save, and the tension continuing. This happened again here, and Cage's run-out fell flat.

AEW has given viewers little reason to invest in this storyline. It's best to move on from it now, though this segment only highlighted the flaws in how Cage/Starks has been presented thus far.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.