Welcome, all to the weekly AEW round up. There wasn’t a women’s match on AEW Dark this week hence its omission.
AEW Dark did, however, show an angle that took place between Shanna and Nyla Rose. The footage shows Rose attacking Shanna at a meet and greet session setting up what could be a tasty feud.
AEW Dynamite, is offering us a doozy of a match with Hiraku Shida taking on Kris Statlander, Nyla Rose in action and Brandi Rhodes speaks.
Winner: Nyla Rose
Nyla Rose returned to the ring to face Leva Bates in a fun squash match that showcased Nyla’s power and destructive offence. The Librarians were decimated but Nyla wasn’t quite finished ith Bates just yet and power bombed her twice more. Shanna made the save and attempted to fight off Nyla while getting revenge for the previously mentioned attack at the meet and greet. Rose overpowered Shanna and went to powerbomb her through a table until referee Rick Knox interfered only to be power bombed through the wood himself. Rose would then powerbomb Shanna on top of him.
Great squash and post-match angle that made Rose look like the monster heel she should be. Plus the cheeky little Britt Baker in shock shot parodying her inadvertent (or was it) NXT WarGames appearance was a funny addition.
Winners: Kris Statlander
A decent match with two fantastic performers in phenomenal form. The match had purpose and meaning as the newcomer Statlander aimed to force her way into contention with a victory over Shida. The match was hard-hitting and nicely-paced allowing both women to hit their signature moves and showcase their in-ring prowess.
This was Statlander’s coming-out party as she got show off her unique, style and character “The Galaxy’s Favourite Alien” is intimidating, powerful, athletic and alternative.
Statlander picked up the victory upsetting the balance of the ranking system and stamped her mark on the women’s division in the process. I for one am looking forward to seeing what she is going to bring the show with her impressive and kooky vibe and that finishing move is brutally beautiful, I can see her winning a ton of matches with that.
Loser: Brandi Rhodes
After the match, the lights went out and Awesome Kong appeared with Brandi Rhodes. Mic in hand Rhodes declared they were now known as The Nightmare Collective. Rhodes attempted to recruit Statlander who then squared up to Kong nose to nose. Before anything went further a “fan” pleaded to pledge herself to the newly formed group. Kong and Rhodes then proceeded to shave her head however the electric razors were not good enough and they gave up. The segment just didn’t really work and had no effect and therefore left the crowd in silence until some of them faintly chanted “what just happened?”.
Rhodes just comes across very unlikable and not in the meant-to-be heel way. In an attempt to create characters, storyline and factions, which the division needs, she has become another obstacle in the way of the women’s division. Parading around in a veil taking the hair of defeated women just seems more of an ego trip and something for her to do rather than a meaningful addition to the programme. The more she does it the more valuable exposure and screen time she takes away from talent like that of Sadie Gibbs, Britt Baker and Big Swole too name but a few. Or am I being too critical?
Final Thoughts:
A good show with plenty of action. We got 2 women’s matches, 2 good angles, 1 in-ring promo and a backstage segment. The Butcher, The Blade and The Bunny segment was very effective. We now know who they are, what they want and who they are after, all in 30 seconds. Good stuff.
A vast improvement on previous AEW programmes and the most exposure they have gotten since the company’s inception. Hopefully, this is now the norm and not the exception.
What did you think of the show? Let us know below and as always stay tuned to Diva Dirt for all of your AEW news and updates.
