6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (16 Nov)

2. Anna Jay A.S Steps In & AEW's Women Step Up

Jamie Hayter Toni Storm
AEW

The Dynamite main event on a technicality, Toni Storm's latest singles win over late replacement Anna Jay A.S (The Bunny was off sick) might be her last as Interim AEW Women's Champion but what a fabulous run it has been.

The booking hasn't improved anywhere near as much as it should have, but the strides taken since she claimed the vacant strap at All Out (and in the run-up to that, in fact) have highlighted that she might have been the babyface Tony Khan needed to help drive change all along.

Near-weekly offerings from Storm have established her as the cornerstone of the league, even if it still occupies the death spot and - evidently - not enough of the AEW boss' attention. That these matches are almost always over-achievements explains why she's a fixture as champion, and her omni-presence has subtly helped the elevation of Jamie Hayter as challenger too.

Jay and Storm worked a snug and tidy match (Jay doesn't get enough credit as a prodigy for how small her Cagematch profile actually is) before an NXT-style stare-down between the Full Gear tied a bow on a good build for Hayter's title shot. Everybody involved - even Britt Baker noticeably hanging back when it mattered - was on good form, even if the road to parity on the show remains a little too long and winding.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett