7 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dark (Jan 26)

Ups...

7. Climbing The Ladder

Shanna AEW
AEW

Last night's women's matches varied in quality, but victories for potential players in the division quietly demonstrated the progress AEW is making in presenting it as a competitive scene. Is it enough? No, not really, but it's a start.

It took until the final quarter of 2020 before the weekly women's rankings started looking credible, with winning records occupying each of the top five spots. Here, we got Britt Baker, Shanna, Tay Conti, Abadon, and Ivelisse all picking up victories. You'd fancy all five to at least be orbiting the title scene in 2021 and to credibly do that, they need to be presented as winners. That was accomplished last night.

Conti, who looks better every time out, had a nice outing against one of the top prospects remaining on the indie scene, Davienne, while Baker was typically obnoxious against Haven. Brook herself pulled off a good showing after just four months of training at the Nightmare Factory. These were the highlights, though collecting W's is the most important thing at the moment.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.