7 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (22 Mar - Review)
3. Toni Storm Vs Skye Blue
AEW
Toni Storm hits really hard and Skye Blue is an awesome sympathetic babyface when she's getting beaten up, so it's little wonder the in-ring portion came across so well here. A huge underdog, Blue's near-misses registered fabulously with the live crowd as the women made the best of good matchmaking rather than great booking.
The match overall gets an Up as a result because, as usual, it's a far harder task generating a reaction when your stories are obligatory rather than focussed-upon parts of the show. The post-match was horrifically lazy auto-pilot stuff - The Outcasts attacked, Willow Nightingale and Riho saved - but the performers continue to add flavour to the wafer-thin plot.
Pipe-weilding Riho has instantly nailed AEW's ability to make magic from something feeling more like a meme too. In the big battle down the line, her swinging it wildly into the heads of the heels will make for a standout moment.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
