8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 May - Results & Review)
5. Willow Nightingale Speaks, But What Else Gets Discussed?
The promo featuring Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway ostensibly existed for Willow to set up a Rampage match against Skye Blue, but it was so much more about what wasn’t getting said.
Statlander apologised for her role in Nightingale getting slapped by Mercedes Moné last week. She wasn’t forgiven but the matter was forgotten - another clue that she could be hiding in plain sight as Mercedes’ mystery attacker to frame Willow ahead of turning on her. As part of an ongoing runner, Renee Paquette was messaged by the EVPs midway through the interview and patronisingly asked to “smile more”, and Stokely noted with some frustration that he had nobody to complain to because those same men had taken out Tony Khan. Is this bringing The Elite into their orbit on purpose? Moné, heel turn confirmed, would sure make an amazing fifth member. And what of their continued needling of Paquette? Could that eventually raise the ire of Jon Moxley for an Elite/BCC feud vastly superior to the laboured series in 2023? At very least yet another Kazuchuka Okada dream match with Claudio Castagnoli?
Could all be speculation. Could all be reaching, bro. Could all just be layers of wasted fantasy booking. But wrestling shows exist to inspire everybody’s creative juices to flow. AEW wouldn’t exist without The Elite’s knack for it just under a decade ago. Plenty of clues turn out not to be clues at all, but you kick yourself for missing the ones that are.