AEW Crown First Women's Champion On Debut Edition Of Dynamite

Riho and Nyla Rose steal the show, and the joshi star claims the gold.

Riho Women's Champion
AEW/FITE

Riho became the first ever AEW Women's Champion after an exhilarating encounter that comfortably stole the first ever episode of the company's new TNT vehicle.

An unlikely outcome considering the promotion's focus on Rose thus far (she has appeared on every pay-per-view and is heavily featured in the show's branding and promotional material), Riho's sold, sold and sold for the awesome monster Rose to build to her climactic and evocative victory. Winning with the double stop, she barely suppressed Rose for the three and took a further kicking afterwards, suggesting that the two may go again in the near future.

Going head-to-head with NXT's own Women's Title clash (in an act of serendipity or covert design), the contest was made all the more historic for both brands representing the league so proudly during important second hour slots. Fans will likely argue which match bettered the other, but both were roundly favoured as match-of-the-night efforts, highlighting again how hard so many wrestlers have worked to elevate it over the last decade.

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A post-match scene saw Champion Riho and Michael Nakazawa (acting as her interviewer and interpreter) decked by Rose before Kenny Omega himself made the save.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett