7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (18 Jan - Review)
4. Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale (And Listening To The Audience)
Pivoting away from existing plans and going with the audience has been a hallmark of AEW's existence thus far - and it continued with Saraya and Toni Storm last night.
Audiences have been souring on Saraya since her cathartic Grand Slam debut. This is down to her character and content as established in the Britt Baker feud, throughout which Britt came off as a heroic, homegrown figure protecting her turf from a WWE interloper. And if it wasn't already the case, last week's jeers cemented the need for a turn.
So that's what we got. Eyebrows were raised when Storm was booked opposite insuppressible heroine Willow Nightingale, the most babyface babyface to ever babyface. And though the bout start in typical face vs. face fashion, Toni quickly pivoted, slapping Willow down and getting nasty. For the finish, Saraya distracted the referee, allowing Storm to roll Nightingale up with a handful of tights. A beatdown followed, with Ruby Soho making the save.
On watched Hikaru Shida, whose own heel turn has been teased since Saraya spurned her in favour of Toni. AEW subverted this by flipping the other wrestlers instead.