9 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dark (Sep 2)

Ups...

9. Anna Jay vs. Red Velvet

Anna Jay Red Velvet
AEW

Obligatory reminder that Anna Jay has less than 20 professional matches on her resume but is already at a level where she can squash YouTube jobbers without looking in over her head. She's nowhere near the finished product yet, but 'The Star of the Show' is already a huge prospect. Showing such poise despite her lack of experience is a triumph in itself.

Jay's win over Red Velvet suffered from a few unrefined moments, though this is to be expected. Regardless, Jay has lots of personality and charisma and showed good intensity at times, particularly when she had Velvet on the mat. Her control led to her eventually putting the opponent away with a rear naked choke, so it looks like AEW is trying to establish this as a signature after she sent Brandi Rhodes to the shadow realm on Dynamite recently.

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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.