14 Ups & 5 Downs For AEW In 2021

13. The Women's Division: Massive Improvement On 2020

Britt Baker
AEW

The women's division has improved, but just because bad faith criticisms of the scene exist doesn't mean that there aren't genuine areas that need to be improved.

But, compared to 2020's unfocused picture that exposed far too many green talents, the division actually feels like a division.

Dr. Britt Baker is the face of it, as Women's Champion, and has killed it in the role. She broke the pattern of Rampage's hour-long viewership decline by drawing the strongest last quarter in an age in an improbably great, witty and creative match against Abadon (!). That's Ace sh*t, and why she was cast as Ace at Double Or Nothing.

The ongoing TBS Women's Title tournament is a low-key triumph. The match quality is improving with each fixture, three of the four semi-finalists have been very well-built, leading to an open field, and two storyline developments have sprawled beyond the brackets in the Serena Deeb Vs. Hikaru Shida feud and Jamie Hayter's dissension with Baker.

The one-women's-match-per-show edict needs to be abandoned, particularly since the division has sufficient depth with which to make such a pitch actually viable - as opposed to an hysterical bad faith argument with no consideration to the fact that AEW is a business that needs to promote experienced, talented stars to succeed.

The gains are still too slow for some - and Serena Deeb is more worthy of TV time than scores of boring white men that pollute the undercard - but the progress should be noted.

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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!