8 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (May 18 - Results & Review)

3. Same Old Short Shrift For The Ladies

AEW Collision Anna Jay Serena Deeb
AEW

Serena Deeb is a truly phenomenal professional wrestler and one your writer forever enjoys watching. Anna Jay continues to improve with each new showing, going from green-as-grass rookie to a highly promising talent in her own right. And for the most part, these two put on a very decent match.

As ever, though, the Down here isn't for the female talent or the match they put on, but more for the wider, continued, frustrating treatment dished out to the AEW ladies on a weekly basis when it comes to Collision and beyond.

Yes, trust me, I'm as tired of writing about this stuff as you are reading about it, but it can't not be addressed each and every time AEW gives its female roster such short shrift, particularly when it comes to in-ring.

Upon realising there was just one ladies match on this week's Collision, the hope was that AEW could at least veer away from the standard formula of an eight or nine-minute match, of which three minutes are stuck in a picture-in-picture break. Unfortunately, the same old habits were once again adhered to, with Deeb vs. Jay getting just over eight minutes, three of which were spent in a P-in-P commercial spot - some of which was merely the standard Collision logo and music.

There was of course the post-match stuff with Toni Storm, but seriously, how ridiculous is it to see AEW once again give barely five minutes of broadcast in-ring time to its female talent on a two-hour TV show?

To reiterate, I would love nothing more than to not have to write about such complaints on most weeks, but as long as it keeps happening, it's something that can't just be glossed over. The AEW women's roster deserves better, Tony.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.