6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (November 1 - Results & Review)
Ups...
6. Willow Nightingale Could Be So Much More, And Yet...
Willow Nightingale and Hikaru Shida displayed thrilling glimpses of the great and significant match they could one day have.
The work looked fiery, snug, tight, accomplished. They balanced a precarious dynamic fairly well, working an all-babyface match and drawing duelling chants - chants louder than the staggeringly questionable matchmaking warranted.
It is very easy to split and lose the crowd in a match like this, but Shida and Nightingale assembled an entertaining shoot-out that developed a powerful level of drama and didn't allow either woman to appear weak or callous. As well put-together as it was, it was almost annoying, if you're of a pessimistic disposition. Imagine how over Willow Nightingale would be if her booking wasn't abject, thoughtless rubbish. She could be a veritable sensation.
She has lost a title match and the opportunity to be in a title match across the last three weeks. Fans should almost be resentful of the character at this point, and they love her. Imagine if AEW put in a tenth of the effort into her arc as they did Hangman Page's.
Something very special would have unfolded by now.