12 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Mar 11)

Downs...

2. Women's Tag Struggles

The women's division's main representation came from a tag match pitting champion Nyla Rose and the returning Bea Priestley against Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander. A talented collection of performers for sure, but it didn't deliver. This was a slow, stodgy bout marred by several awkward exchanges whenever Shida wasn't in the ring, with the Japanese star working hard to elevate it.

It was a chance for a new contender to emerge, particularly with Statlander out to avenge her Revolution loss and Shida on a nice little winning run. The latter deserves great credit here. She was very over and entered one of her stronger performances to date, holding big chunks of the match together, even if it wasn't enough to outright save it.

Priestley was particularly cumbersome. A botchy corner sequence with Statlander stands out the most, though you could see her gears turning whenever she was in control. A shame, as she's clearly somebody AEW wants to invest in, but it didn't come together last night.

A spear and Best Bomb on Shida brought it to a close: a curious choice, given how over Hikaru was. Here's hoping there's a plan.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.