6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (27 Oct)

1. Tournament Match Slaps, Serena Deeb Snaps

This was fantastic - and one of the best Dynamite matches of the year.

Serena Deeb and Hikaru Shida took the themes established in their first match and built on them. This meant Shida aggressively attacking Deeb from the bell, driven by vengeance after The Professor of Professional Wrestling robbed her of her 50th AEW victory in the cruellest way. Serena, meanwhile, went back after Shida's leg, having found great success with that strategy the first time around, entering a performance of Bret Hart-ian standards (fitting, given her tribute ring gear).

Her knee was worked surgically and progressively by Deeb, forcing Shida to work with increased urgency, knowing her ligaments could be snapped at any moment. The damage build-up created great drama when she was dragged into a half crab then an inverted Figure Four, conveying an immense sense of struggle thanks not only to Deeb's technicality, but Shida's anguish and pain. She did as great a job as her opponent.

Smartly reversing a pin attempt scored Shida's tournament advancement and 50th AEW victory. Outfoxed by her opponent, Deeb kept the beatdown going afterwards, necessitating Jerry Lynn and a gang of referees to get them apart.

Chapter III is all but guaranteed now. The first two suggest it'll be another tremendous match between two smart wrestlers who are crafting a great in-ring story that perfectly melds their contrasting styles. Deeb's salty veteran character is great, and is reflective of her work. She should get a belt soon.