6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (15 Mar - Review)

4. A Generous 'Up' For Segment That Cleared Low Bar

Taya Valkyrie Jade Cargill
AEW

The segment built around the TBS title wasn't fantastic or anything.

It was probably even flawed; in borrowing a trick from Paul Heyman, and revealing the real debutante after fans thought they had seen the trick, Tony Khan showed his arse a bit. If a male wrestler on par with the influence and talent of Shimmer royalty Nicole Matthews rocked up on Dynamite, there's no way they're getting destroyed in a matter of seconds. This was bizarre: surely any Canadian local would have sufficed in this slot? Not many people knew who Matthews was, but those who did must have been miffed.

This was all a prelude to the real debut of Taya Valkyrie.

The crowd were happy to see her and she carried herself like a star. In a cool moment, she blasted baddie Leila Grey with Jaded to convey, for perhaps the first ever time, that Jade may have met her equal. This required no clunky verbiage and was sold as a not inconsiderable match through the universal language of actual pro wrestling.

This was one of those "Never thought I wanted it, but now it's been teased..." deals. Jade has needed and demanded a credible challenge for a while. She got it in a resourceful, well-received segment.

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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!