5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dark (Feb 4)

1. Shida Vs. Mel Gets Ugly

Mel Hikaru Shida
AEW

Poor Hikaru Shida. She tried really, really hard to get something watchable out of Mel on last night's Dark, but couldn't make it work. You can't make a glass of delicious fruit juice from a pile of mouldy, withering lemons and apples, and Shida, for all her strengths, is no miracle worker.

Shida vs. Mel wasn't good. At all. Mel is tall and works a traditional hossy style, but she's too slow and plodding to be convincing. This isn't by design, either. Traditional wrestling monsters should work a slower style than their smaller counterparts, but it didn't feel like a stylistic choice in this case. With this as evidence, Mel is just greener than Grinch poop.

That the match was full of Dr. Luther/Awesome Kong nonsense didn't help either. Overbooked, devoid of fluidity, and cumbersome, it was a bad, hard-to-watch mess, though at least the right person won. Shida took the victory with her running knee.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.