10 AEW Dark Matches You Must See
6. Hikaru Shida Vs Leyla Hirsh (October 27th 2020)
Midway through the non-title match between Hikaru Shida and Leyla Hirsh, the latter looked to have been legitimately knocked out by a particularly violent suplex into the corner turnbuckle.
She was thankfully fine, but the briefest break in play informed the drama of the second half of the contest, and was equally as effective in highlighting just how hard the two had been hitting during this excellent only-for-YouTube offering.
The misadventures of Penelope Ford has highlighted how AEW's women's division is far from a meritocracy at present, and there was ample evidence here that Leyla Hirsh (and, all things being equal, Hikaru Shida) is in the same packed boat. The aforementioned sell of Shida's dangerous suplex lit a fire in Hirsh, resulting in her abandoning her accomplished ground game to take to the skies. A dive was successful but a springboard moonsault less so, ultimately opening the door for the Champion to claim a valueless rankings win.
This was such a treat for free buried in the middle of a YouTube show, but equally served as a reminder Dynamite needs much, much more of this sort of thing,