10 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jun 17)

7. Tremendous Booking In - Yes - The AEW Women's Division

Abadon Dynamite
AEW

Forgive the brief slip into the first person here, but the Abadon character is hard Not My Sh*t. The performer is admirably committed to a role that just isn't for me.

What follows isn't an automatic appraisal of a supernatural character purely because that supernatural character is promoted by AEW; what follows is an appraisal of a genuinely inspired spot of booking that solved, with remarkable inspiration, the significant issue that is an injury-plagued Women's division largely comprised also of travel-banned Japanese talent.

Anna Jay was given the Twitter match announcement and vignette treatment. She was framed as a big deal, and it was all earned by a fairly prodigious showing on Dynamite a few months ago, given her minimal experience level. Her opponent was subsequently announced on the night as the zombie-adjacent Abadon, who promptly destroyed her, and as goofy as I find this sort of thing, it was not cringe goofy. At all.

This was exponentially more effective than booking Abadon to squash Women's Wrestler X in an announced featured match. She beat somebody built as a somebody in sublime sucker-punch booking that created the illusion of depth.

Jim Ross deserves rare praise for his commentary work throughout a women's match; unlike with Kris Statlander, he sold in earnest sh*t-scared fright of the newcomer.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!