Fuck yeah.
Part of the fun of falling out of the habit of watching Dynamite in the COVID era is that I’m not really burdened by anything these two had to do during the build. I know Lee’s run as Exalted One has been divisive with its use of Vince McMahon’s quirks as part of his character. I don’t mind it too much though I do think it’s a little too obsessed with the competition.
But none of that matters so much because this match rules.
These two go out there and don’t waste any time at all. Big hits, big bumps, big dives. A whole lot of great action at a wild pace that never lets up and despite opening hot, only escalates. All the strikes look great and Lee makes for a great physical threat against the already beefy Moxley.
They even work their way to a stage crash spot which gives us a pretty cool cut on Lee’s face. Love that Mox is a scrappy babyface who doesn’t get scared to get nasty, immediately going for Lee’s cut before nailing him with successive Paradigm Shifts. Not sure if Lee’s the first person to kick out of the Paradigm Shift but it felt like a big deal that he did even though commentary missed that moment. I liked that Mox got to shift strategies and go to the Rear Naked Choke to get the win instead–a clever little flourish on already great match.
Easily the best AEW World Championship match in the company’s history and the match of the night too (though it has some stiff competition later on). A nice feather in the cap for Top 5 WOTY Jon Moxley.
I am so glad to see someone else love this match. Recently found your YouTube page and am now working through some of your reviews. I found so many on the internet refer to this one as boring, yet both my brother and I were so invested.