CM Punk, Sting, & Darby Allin vs. MJF & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) - AEW: Dynamite - 12/22/21
Alright y’all, I have to be honest. I just did not have the energy or time to write up a full review of Dynamite on this night. I’ve covered almost every episode this year outside of a select two or three so cut me some slack :)
Work and life have had me very busy and tired, especially with it being the holidays. With this in mind, I went into this show very tired and close to dozing off. However, this match here brought me completely back to life and honestly gave me the energy to power through the Up and Over Podcast episode we recorded immediately after (which can be found here.)
I knew this match would be special. It’s Sting in the Greensboro Coliseum for the first time in god knows when. I’m not a huge stats guy so go find that somewhere else but this was huge for that reason alone. Then you factor in the fact that this babyface team is like.. the most star studded babyface team in wrestling today. These aren’t just top guys, these are larger than life superstars. Punk and Sting are legends from different generations and seeing them tag together is a treat on it’s own. Pair them with a young star like Darby and you’ve got a fuckin vibe pal.
So, yeah, I knew this would be special, but as soon as I saw Sting come out with the CM Punk inspired face-paint, I was hooked and on my feet. Then Punk did the same, coming out looking like Surfer Sting. This was just so much fun. The type of stuff that makes you feel like a kid again.
The trio of Punk, Sting, & Darby are such huge babyfaces that they honestly just felt like superheroes here. And I’m not a movie or comic guy, so I think it says a lot that I would make that comparison. This felt more like superheroes vs. villains than just good wrestling guys vs. bad wrestling guys. I HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE.
MJF & FTR were the perfect shit head villains to counteract the super human like trio they were facing and I think their styles complimented that of Sting & Punk better than almost anyone Sting & Punk have faced in their time in AEW. FTR is a classic old school tag team and there probably aren’t two wrestlers in AEW more old school stylistically than Punk and Sting. So yes, this was everything it needed to be and then a little more.
You got the face in peril segments. You got the isolation and cutting off the ring from the heels. You got all the hot tags you could’ve asked for. Sting did a dive or two, Darby did some insane ones, of course, and Punk, despite some missteps here or there turned up the energy himself. Shit, MJF even got a little nutty and landed right on his neck on the outside when shit broke down.
This just ruled and might be my favorite trios match of the year so I had to review it. Can’t wait to watch this again and again in the months and years to come.
Match rating - ****
No comments:
Post a Comment