5 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 (Results & Review)

4. Saraya Delivers Her Best AEW Performance

Toni Storm Vs. Saraya was a very entertaining and over match.

In a testament to the strength of Toni's incredible performances of late, the match was more over than a big Chris Jericho singles affair. Given the bleak extent to which fans have been conditioned not to care about the women's division, Toni is - quite literally - box office. It wasn't perfect.

The in-vogue "Do I really want to hurt my friend?" hesitation spot has infested wrestling, and this match and feud didn't need it. If everything is grey, there are no meaningful shades. This also infringed on the neck health-based drama of the main event, but that was probably justified, given Saraya's documented history. Beyond those flaws, this was in fact Saraya's best AEW match, and by some distance.

She played a rotter of a heel role like a true pro, and Toni was priceless. Mostly. In crawling under the ring to retrieve shoes - shoes that doubled as missiles - she proved that she can weave her scene-stealing character work within the body of a wrestling match. She was already quite awesome at the in-ring aspect to begin with, and proved it again by pacing the overdrive of the finishing sequence to perfection with an array of convincing near-falls. Saraya won with an avalanche variation of her Knight Cap finish. This protected Toni, though you could make the argument that she looked foolish. She had removed the turnbuckle cover and was further outsmarted when Ruby Soho took the spray can from her hand.

Also: yes, Storm is playing an unhinged character, but a kiss nobody else asked for is not OK in any context.

That ugly overtone aside, not exactly helpful on a night on which a black cloud lingered over the New York sky, this was a fabulous hybrid of in-ring over-delivery and sports entertainment smoke and mirrors.