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

3. Nightmare Over?

Awesome Kong
AEW

A fracture emerged in The Nightmare Collective as Dr. Luther and Mel beat Awesome Kong down after the Hikaru Shida match, leaving the TNA legend's future hanging in the balance.

AEW has put it over as a "serious injury" that Kong may never recover from on social media. Said injuries are almost certainly kayfabe, but it looks like the promotion is writing her out for a while - and she's probably out of the Collective as well. That's a good thing. Kong may not be the performer she used to be and hasn't looked great in recent outings, but she's still a convincing mauler with plenty of name value and her involvement in AEW's worst stable was hindering her.

Kong chastised Mel for losing, so Mel bludgeoned her as Luther held the monster back. Kong was lobbed through the barricades and onto the steps, then guillotine leg-dropped while still on the steel. It was a convincing enough beatdown.

The Nightmare Collective just hasn't taken in AEW. This angle shows that the promotion has at least acknowledged this, so it'll be interesting to see how they follow-up.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.