8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (11 Aug)

2. Welcome To Brittsburgh

Tony Schiavone Britt Baker
AEW

The best segment of Britt Baker's AEW Women's World Title run played out in her Pittsburgh hometown last night, as the good doctor knocked it out of the park in her in-ring promo with Tony Schiavone.

This was great, great stuff. Baker got the expected big-time pop and learned all the way into it. While recent weeks have muddied her alignment (fans didn't want to boo her crutch-led assault on Velvet last week), Baker played the pops up with just the right level of cockiness. She put herself over, put Velvet over, sold their Rampage match huge, and conducted the audience as if they were an orchestra.

Velvet cut a good, fiery promo prior to this. She then brought an end to the in-ringer by running down and jumping Baker from behind, establishing her as the villain in the program - which needed to happen here. Pittsburgh was never going to do anything but treat Baker like a hero. Velvet would have died as the babyface, so this was a smart use of AEW's more fluid alignment scale.

The pull-apart brawl was hot in the building and drew big D.M.D. chants. An explosive Rampage atmosphere is guaranteed, with these two favourites to main event the first show.

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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.