12 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (November 8 - Results & Review)

2. Mariah May's Introduction

RJ City Mariah May
AEW

AEW's history of introducing characters to the world is middling at best and disastrous at worst, but for once the arrival of a newcomer to the ranks was handled in a way that only opened up a world of opportunity instead of slamming doors shut.

Mariah May was introduced by RJ City, and she was pleased to see him because he has what she wants - an in with Toni Storm. May explained that she'd worked for Stardom because Storm did, and was thrilled to be in AEW for the same reason. The movie star has an understudy! Or perhaps more troublingly, 'Timeless' Toni has a stalker, and trouble awaits when her business with Shida has concluded.

Previous debuts for talents such as May would have featured her wrestling once or twice across Dynamites, Rampages and Collisions, eyeballing a Champion and perhaps losing on pay-per-view or forming a random friendship. This did away with that futile route to indifference.

You know how you or I or anybody else knows that Mariah May is a great wrestler? Because she's signed with All Elite Wrestling and the company is dumb if they sign a dud. In reality that might not quite hold weight, but this should absolutely be the kayfabe headspace. May grabbing a hold on Week One does nothing. May grabbing ahold of a story with both hands as she did here is lowkey one of the most promising developments of 2023.

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Contributor
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