3 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW: Battle Of The Belts

1. Britt Baker Keeps Her Title

Britt Baker Riho
AEW

Well, praise be to the wrestling lords.

Britt Baker defeated Riho to retain her AEW Women's Title in a so-so main event. Despite some hiccups (the bout really lagged during the middle portion, and some of Riho's selling was a little too spotty to mean much), the ending had fans on their feet. That's a win for these women.

Excalibur bizarrely claimed that Britt's win was a tainted one. Not quite, mate. Did Rebel and Jamie Hayter interfere on the champ's behalf earlier? Yes, absolutely, but Rebel had been punted from ringside by the ref before Baker used her Lockjaw finisher to make Riho tap in the centre of the ring.

The big plus here is that Riho didn't become champ for a second time. She would've been a step in the wrong direction for a division that's starting to heat up, and she's definitely not the right woman to end Britt's lengthy reign.

What did you think of AEW's Battle Of The Belts? For more like this, check out 5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 7) and 4 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 7)!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.