5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (April 24 - Results & Review)

3. A Really Good Women's Segment

25 4 Willow Nightingale
AEW

Willow Nightingale is great, deserves a celebration more than most, and was great even when she technically wasn't throughout her big moment.

She was as inordinately endearing as ever when talking herself up as the new face of TBS. Then, she was again interrupted by Mercedes Moné. The commentary team once more laboured over the idea that she is displaying poor form by refusing to let Willow have her moment. Willow responded to Moné by talking to the ringside camera operator half the time. That was the technically not great bit - this really needed an intense, focused face-to-face - but Willow being a bit awkward is part of the charm. She never feels remotely synthetic.

The problem, all along, was that the dynamic is too blurred. Moné is a star that you want to see make a difference and win, but Willow is too likeable. Here, for the first time, with dialogue and delivery that didn't feel robotic, Moné and Willow explored the emotional ramifications of their fateful meeting in NJPW. Moné couldn't look past the searing pain she felt for months and the real terror that her career might have ended as a result of the ankle injury; Willow said that she hasn't felt like a good person since even if wasn't her intention.

It could still be cleaner, all this - and is this continuity really more important than a less divisive and pure fictional story? - but for once, it was at least emotionally affecting.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!