5 Ups & 8 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jan 8)

1. A Good Match Undone

Kris Statlander vs. Riho was an omni-fail of a bout, but that had absolutely nothing to do with the wrestlers. The AEW Women's World Champion and her challenger worked hard. There were signs of a great, great wrestling match unravelling and they did well to at least try to get around the overbooking, though there was little they could do in the end. The nonsense conquered all.

Nightmare Collective members Awesome Kong and Mel hit the ring relatively early on. Mel was the first to interfere, throwing Riho into the barricade, before Statlander went face-to-face with Kong. Brandi then marched down while the referee took an ice age to attend to Riho, facilitating the listless Dr. Luther introduction and while the action resumed thereafter, the f*ckery wasn't over. Mel distracted the referee, Kong grabbed Statlander, and Riho took the win. Bleh.

A classic case of bad writing getting in the way of a good match, the wretched "storyline development" wasn't worth derailing what looked like one of AEW's better women's bouts. Big Swole, Sonny Kiss, and Hikaru Shida running the heels off after the bell did nothing to ease the disappointment either.

The women's division did not need this angle at this specific time. It doesn't need The Nightmare Collective, period.