6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 29 - Results & Review)
5. Kris Statlander Has A Great Night
Though Double Or Nothing didn't afford anywhere near the time for Kris Statlander's heel turn on Willow Nightingale to resonate, Dynamite was an extremely welcome opposite.
Alongside Stokely Hathaway (but in a promo very much not carried by him), Statlander's villain origin story came to the fore, and as it had been teased effectively on television too, none of it felt like forced mining of old dates for continuity.
The pair referred to the Dynamite four-way won by Willow to get her the TBS Championship match in the first place, suggesting that she was a bad friend to Stat for not stepping aside. Statlander specifically spewed her resentment for being taken advantage of by too many people in the past, saying that she was "done being the protector".
All of this followed Statlander's part in the attack on Orange Cassidy, severing what remained of her link with that side of the divide. Focus on a character in more than one segment is the low bar set for North American television, but still an important one to clear nonetheless.
It wasn't the only case on this show either...