Mia Yim was in need of a match like this, and even if nothing will truly complete a rehabilitation that will elevate her back to the level she’d reached before a TakeOver stinker with Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai's sublime style as a heel relit her babyface fire within.
What additional virtues can be extolled about Shirai at this point? With women on this AND the other show competing for titles that announced them as the best in North America, she entered in a display here that leaves her comfortably atop the pile, competently juggling faux-cowardice with a cruelty borne out of her own failure to defeat the 'Queen Of Spades'.
Putting her away with a moonsault, Shirai turned a high spot in a killer low blow at Yim's expense. She looks ready for a second bite at the belt that broke her.
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
