11 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jan 1)
8. Frantic Women's Championship Four-Way
With Kris Statlander pulling out of last night's scheduled Women's World Championship match with Riho due to a prior booking, this four-way was AEW's attempt at taking those lemons and making lemonade. It was a success.
Riho's latest title defence over-delivered. It was a fast, frantic, and action-packed scramble that let each individual competitor get some shine. Hikaru Shida stood out early on, Riho was as smart an evasive as ever, and Britt Baker controlled Nyla Rose on the matt, though it was 'The Native Beast' show shone brightest. Rose delivered her most assured performance yet, hitting her crowd-popping draped knee drop before putting Shida through a table on the outside. She also hit the top rope for a big senton bomb that missed when her targets rolled out of the way, and wasn't involved in the finish, as Riho covered Baker with a jacknife pin following a Shida nearfall.
While the finish's execution was a little clunky, the bout was bags of fun and generated great drama. Rose's post-match beatdown was just as successful, as Nyla putting the diminutive champion through a table not only drew heat and made Riho look sympathetic, but added an extra wrinkle to next week's clash with Statlander.
Kris should probably win that one, though Rose's ongoing in-ring development remains one of the division's most exciting aspects.