10 Times AEW Took Advantage Of WWE Ignoring The Fans

7. Serena Deeb

Roman Reigns, CM Punk
AEW

Serena Deeb has supplied enough objective evidence in 2021 alone that she's one of the best wrestlers in the world.

In WWE, she was a coach.

To watch her work is to at least understand what she could offer to WWE's Performance Center classes, but how on earth did so many people think that's all she could be used for?!

It speaks to institutional misogyny and ageism that she was kept off television following a Mae Young Classic cameo, but AEW were quick to spot her obvious benefits via a sideways entrance into the company as a representative of the NWA. A slew of bangers followed, only diverted by an injury that didn't remotely slow her down.

Blowing the first proper crowd of the year away against Riho in the Double Or Nothing 2021 Buy-In, she then entered into a feud with Hikaru Shida that's already yielded two of the former Women's Champion's best matches in the company. Eventual title reigns feel inevitable, as does the growth of the division at large with her in charge.

 
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Contributor

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