7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2022

3. Good Match...

Toni Storm
AEW

...mild crowd reaction.

This is a recurring and bleak theme, but the women deserve immense credit for assembling something very good in places. The action during the ad break was a mess, but only Fite viewers were aware of it.

The actual broadcasted match wasn't quite the smoothest overall, but elements of it were great. These things tend to act as an advert for singles matches as much as a match unto itself, and the super creative and state-of-the-art exchanges between Toni Storm and Athena were exceptional. Serena Deeb was dispatched to pick off various bodies and de-clutter the field with her wince-inducing dragon screw spree. If the idea was to promote an all-action match in which there was zero downtime in which to lose the audience, it didn't quite work to its fullest.

The division has been stigmatised as an afterthought, so there was little heat to begin with, and the layout was probably too ambitious. Dr. Britt Baker got busted open the hard way following a misjudged Athena strength spot. That was not good at all.

Still, Tony Khan has failed, often, to build interest in a women's match - but Storm Vs. Athena should play out in front of a hot crowd when it happens.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!