12 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Bash At The Beach (Jan 15)

1. A Nightmare

Is the nightmare over?

Mel and Brandi Rhodes lost to Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida last night, suggesting a demotion. It's unlikely that they'll remove The Nightmare Collective from TV entirely, of course, but perhaps this shows that AEW is about to ease off on the group after recent criticisms.

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on the critics' behalf. We'll find out soon.

Either way, the match didn't work. Statlander and Shida tried really, really hard to lull the crowd from their slumber but were only moderately successful. It was like the atmosphere was sucked out of the building from the moment this thing started and while Mel may have promise as a heel powerhouse in this (largely) undersized division, her work was clunky. Brandi, meanwhile, looked very much like an underseasoned wrestler working only her third match in 12 months - which is exactly what she is.

Rhodes admonishing Mel (who ate the pin) after the bell is an interesting hook and Shida smashing Dr. Luther out of the way on her ring entrance was fun. The babyfaces' efforts have to be appreciated as well, but this didn't hit.