6 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Dec 16)

3. Women's Tag Gutted By Breaks

It's always a joy to watch Serena Deeb, even in relatively straightforward midcard matches, so engrossing is her details-first approach to pro wrestling, while Ivelisse's intensity enhances much of what she does as well. Here, they helped deliver a functional tag set up by the previous week's ambush of Red Velvet, with Big Swole tapping Diamante out via Clearwater Cloverleaf while Deeb held Ivelisse back from interfering.

The bout felt choppy as a result of being gutted by a lengthy commercial break. When the picture-in-picture subsided, Dynamite went to a full-screen commercial, only coming back to the match when it was reaching its end.

Careful commercial placement is something AEW has done well since Dynamite launched, though they didn't get it right here. It's hard to get invested in a contest when the guts of it are lost to advertisements. Still, Velvet making the save (with a steel chair) from Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero was an appropriate post-match angle.