6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 Dec)
2. Soho Fells Statlander
An interesting pairing, here. Ruby Soho is extremely televisual, comes of well in AEW, and is over, but hasn't yet reached her ceiling between the ropes. Kris Statlander, meanwhile, is becoming something of a vanguard in this division. She has developed into one of the scene's most reliable performers, having given Britt Baker her best title defence so far - and ended up doing the same with Soho here.
This was fought cleanly. Mutual respect was on display as the duo shook hands and pulled out of particularly nasty shots, though Statlander did try to rile Ruby with a nose boop. Big bombs came later, including a series of gnarly head-dropping ranas from Soho, but they kept it competitive without getting nasty.
Statlander looked like she was edging closer to victory when Soho countered out of the Big Bang Theory, rolling into a pinfall for the three. A Vickie Guerrero distraction allowed Nyla Rose (who faces Soho in the next round) to attack the celebrating Ruby, with Kris making the save after charging back down the ramp.