Maybe Saraya's promo might have scanned differently if the bulk of it had taken place after Toni Storm and Serena Deeb finished beating the sh*t out of each other?
What a fantastic wrestling match this was. Fought initially in the face of indifference from the crowd and against the needlessly busy backdrop of a lumberjack stipulation, the two - like Bryan Danielson and Matt Menard - were tasked with more than they should have been. Unlike the opening match, they got the crowd back huge by the end.
Deeb's one of the best wrestlers in the world and continues to be crucial to whatever success can be made of this division. Meanwhile, Toni Storm grows in self-confidence every week, and it's being reflected in how hard she goes to get herself, her opponent, and the interim Championship over. The elevated piledriver was a heart-in-mouth conclusion after Deeb survived the first brutal one, with audible gasps surely as prevalent in front of all screens as they were in the building.
Whole thing ruled in spite of accidental efforts to impede it.
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
