5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (August 9 - Review)
1. Hikaru Shida Vs Anna Jay...
...was simply not very good, and looked by the finish as if it had time or a finish or both cut for time, and neither of things were ideal in such a key spot.
It was, fittingly, an extremely up and down week for the women's division on Dynamite, and more on the former shortly. However, alongside this not really clicking before it was rushed home, the already-predictable outcome was telegraphed by the announcement of a tournament to line up three Wembley challengers.
The relatively abject state of women's wrestling in the North America mainstream has been a big conversation in the wrestling bubble of late, and AEW doing back-to-back Women's Championship Dynamite main events is a good first step on a long, long road ahead. As is the thinking behind the four-way - trebling the amount of challengers that make it onto the card to face Shida is welcome gesture. But it'd be positivity trolling to call the idea a home-run.
Attempting to spin epic four-ways as company lore was transparent nonsense, and the symmetry with the first All In match is damning if anything. Five years on, and rather than having personal issues drawing money, it's four wrestlers just trying to draw reactions.
But it's not all bad news...