7 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 Sep)

6. Return Of The Queenslayer

That the opening stages of Tay Conti vs. Penelope Ford were met with near-silence is a failure on the company's behalf. AEW, unfortunately, haven't invested enough time into getting these people (and the rest of the division) over as personalities. Britt Baker is the notable exception, as her crowd responses prove, but we see it every week now. What the scene needs more than anything else are well-defined characters with clear hooks developed through storylines, promos, and angles.

Conti and Ford overcame this in a similar way to Kris Statlander and Nyla Rose a few weeks ago. Like last night's combatants, Rose and Statlander stirred a quiet audience to life through good, well-plotted work, and that was the case here too.

The match had a handful of clunky moments but still nowhere near enough to sully it, with Conti fired up after Ford and The Bunny laid her out on Rampage. She worked Ford's knee, making a late-match gutbuster ineffective, and helped draw "this is awesome!" chants from a previously disinterested Chicago. That's a sign of quality work - and an objective Up.

A supplemental Up, too, for Anna Jay's comeback. The 23-year-old cleared the ring to save Conti when Bunny and Ford swarmed after the bell. It's good to see her back after seven months on the shelf, with a tag match now likely between the two sides.