The Disturbing Truth Behind The AEW Women's Division

by Michael Sidgwick
Jamie Hayter Riho
AEW

In the short-term, AEW should make the bold decision to start Dynamite with a women's match. This has not happened one single time. Toni Storm Vs. Jamie Hayter is an ideal choice. Storm is very popular, Hayter gets the crowd up with her sh*t, and the match promises to be a physical bomb war informed by their time spent in Japan. The addition of Rampage on the taping schedule has compounded the issue because fans reserve their energy more than they did in February 2020. The women are victim to this. Why not capitalise on that early enthusiasm to the benefit of the performers who badly need it?

Looking at the bigger picture, Khan needs to stop patterning the women's division after the men's. The established star versus prodigious upstart model simply doesn't work in a division with so little investment. Gedo and peak Ryan Ward/Triple H beat wrestlers far more often than Khan likes to, but they still enjoyed long, critically acclaim stints with the pencil. Khan could really do with pivoting to a less drawn-out, more all-star vision in the women's division, akin to what Gedo did in his prime. There is more than one way to book. You book around the talent you have. Khan doesn't do this for eight minutes every Wednesday.

Again: there are short and long-term booking solutions to solve the problem.

So why aren't AEW taking them?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!