5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts 2023 (Review)

3. Frankly Unacceptable Women's Division Segment

Britt Baker
AEW

Dr. Britt Baker beat Kayla Sparks in what was an almost impressively bad match, since it went just 25 seconds.

Enhancement talent Sparks, who isn't meant to be ready in her defence, either fed too obviously and readily or took too long to bump. And that was your lot. What a complete and utter waste of bastard time. This was bleak in a way so transparent that you could almost literally peer through the window into the creative meeting and actually hear the words "Best get the birds on for a few seconds at least, you know what the bloody world's like these days".

Where is Kris Statlander? Why not interview Willow Nightingale to find out what she next has planned after winning the Owen? Has Shida stopped giving a damn about the Outcasts? Does she travel to and from Dynamite by hot air balloon?

When AEW can't be arsed to book an angle to barely advance the one solitary storyline in the women's division, you know it's on its arse. Terrible. It was also insulting. Dr. Britt Baker, to her credit, has done countless jobs over the last year. Far too many, in fact.

This squash win doesn't reverse any of that, and it's bullsh*t that this existed to fool fans into thinking otherwise.

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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!