7 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Anniversary Edition (Oct 14)
5. Shida Gets Past Swole
A few clunky moments aside (the wrestlers at least did well to recover from them), Hikaru Shida's Women's Title defence against Big Swole was a serviceable TV match that saw the 'Full Metal Champion' take the victory in under 10 minutes.
Swole's in-ring output has been hit and miss. Shida, thankfully, is a good leader, and the title shot was warranted by the rankings. The challenger had been sitting in the top two for what felt like months. Finally, AEW gave her the opportunity warranted by her record, and she was given plenty in defeat, with Shida only escaping a fall via Dirty Dancing by getting her hand on the bottom rope.
An attritional feel came over the bout as they brawled on the outside, Shida hitting her chair-assisted knee strike while Swole was draped over the barricade not long after her opponent had shoved her into a cameraman. They fought hard, nasty, and with urgency.