AEW News : Women's division makes serious waves ...
Mar 27, 2021 23:00:25 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Mar 27, 2021 23:00:25 GMT
The women's wrestling division in AEW has taken a lot of criticism during the pandemic era and I feel some of it has been justified. With just a handful of people in the audience at any given time, some matches went off like damp squibs. Top talents like Riho and Emi Sakura returned home to Japan as travel bans were being put in place. At times, the wrestlers in Florida just weren't getting it done.
"I find that women are much more insulted when wrestling does stupid stuff. Their intelligence is much more insulted than guys. Guys will go, 'well that's kind of wrestling,' and girls will say, 'this is stupid'. That's why, if you tell great stories, I find that's probably why our women demographic is so high. Yes, we have younger guys but we don't insult your intelligence, we tell complete stories with a beginning, middle, and an end and you have to follow along."
- Chris Jericho, Digital Spy
Britt Baker reveals her thoughts about the Lights Out match : Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette
Cut forward to late March, 2021, with Easter fast approaching, and there's now real momentum behind the division. It's true, AEW could become a serious rival to the star-powered Impact Knockouts division if they strengthen in certain areas, back their talent and make all the right moves. There could even be inter-promotion rivalry matches with Impact on the way as this is already happening with the mens' division, so the women in AEW have plenty to aim for. Imagine Jordynne Grace coming face to face with Hikaru Shida, or Havok charging the Abadon.
"I am the Virtuosa. Do you even know what that means? Allow me to explain. I express outstanding technical ability. I have a cultivated appreciation for artistic excellence. Unlike the average human, I have been able to declutter my mind and access space previously ignored. To be truly virtuous, I have formulated the perfect equation for success, which I implement with precision. A unique training that not only lies in technique, but in the movements between, allowing my reactions to not be within the stimulus, but to be within my subconscious knowledge. I am Deonna Purrazzo, the Virtuosa.”
- Deonna Purrazzo
Technical Titans : Jazz Vs Deonna Purrazzo (ft. Jordynne Grace & Susan)
In the last couple of weeks, we've seen some absolute gamechangers. First came one of the most divisive and controversial matches in wrestling history, which saw Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker do battle in blood-drenched hardcore action. The moment where Rosa delivered a death valley driver off the second rope, barely landing Baker on a ladder halfway across the ring thanks to a last-gasp adjustment, left me breathless.
For some fans, this was the womens' match of the year so far. For social media influencers like Jim Cornette, it was a weekly chance to rant at length on youtube for half an hour about the dire state of so-called modern wrestling garbage (till the next match of course, his current worst being Alexa Bliss in an intergender match against Randy Orton at WWE Fastlane). On the other hand, hardcore legend Mick Foley heard the ripples when the match began trending worldwide, sat down to watch it, then tweeted a picture of himself giving the match a big thumbs up (he got plenty of shade from the good Doctor for his efforts).
* Unsanctioned Lights Out Match Review : Thunder Rosa vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD [All Elite Wrestling]
'For the first time, two women headlined AEW Dynamite. For the first time, Dynamite featured an Unsanctioned Lights Out Match.
Wednesday's show featured the latest chapter in the rivalry between Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker DMD as they battled in an unofficial match without rules.
Rebel attacked before the opening bell, catching Rosa with a cheap shot before Baker levelled her on the entrance ramp for an early near-fall. Rosa recovered, throwing a chair at Baker's face before sending the good doctor over the guardrail and into the stands, where she pummeled the dentist.
Rosa sat Baker on a chair and tried for a flipping senton, but the heel moved and the face-painted competitor crashed and burned.
Baker stomped Rosa's head into diamond plating, busting the former NWA women's champion open ahead of the commercial break.
Back from the timeout, Baker delivered a superplex from the top rope onto a pile of chairs. Rebel produced a ladder, and Rosa sent her face-first into the ladder. A corner attack by Rosa sent the ladder into Baker's face, busting her open.
Baker struggled to the ropes, where Rosa met her. She hoisted the doctor in a fireman's carry and tried for a Death Valley Driver but slipped, only slightly delivering the move into a ladder. Baker, her vision adversely affected by her own blood, dropped Rosa with a DDT onto a chair. She earned a two-count.
Baker smiled through her crimson mask and put on a glove, signaling the Lock Jaw. Rebel produced a bag of thumbtacks, and Baker emptied them in the center of the ring. Rosa blasted Rebel with a crutch, then dropkicked her through a table at ringside.
Rosa delivered a powerbomb to Baker, driving her into the thumbtacks. Baker still kicked out at two, even as her back became a pincushion.
Baker finally applied the Lock Jaw, but Rosa rolled back into the thumbtacks, breaking the hold.
The action spilled to the ring apron, where Rosa delivered a Fire Thunder Driver through a table for the win.
Result : Rosa defeated Baker
Grade : A+
Wednesday's show featured the latest chapter in the rivalry between Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker DMD as they battled in an unofficial match without rules.
Rebel attacked before the opening bell, catching Rosa with a cheap shot before Baker levelled her on the entrance ramp for an early near-fall. Rosa recovered, throwing a chair at Baker's face before sending the good doctor over the guardrail and into the stands, where she pummeled the dentist.
Rosa sat Baker on a chair and tried for a flipping senton, but the heel moved and the face-painted competitor crashed and burned.
Baker stomped Rosa's head into diamond plating, busting the former NWA women's champion open ahead of the commercial break.
Back from the timeout, Baker delivered a superplex from the top rope onto a pile of chairs. Rebel produced a ladder, and Rosa sent her face-first into the ladder. A corner attack by Rosa sent the ladder into Baker's face, busting her open.
Baker struggled to the ropes, where Rosa met her. She hoisted the doctor in a fireman's carry and tried for a Death Valley Driver but slipped, only slightly delivering the move into a ladder. Baker, her vision adversely affected by her own blood, dropped Rosa with a DDT onto a chair. She earned a two-count.
Baker smiled through her crimson mask and put on a glove, signaling the Lock Jaw. Rebel produced a bag of thumbtacks, and Baker emptied them in the center of the ring. Rosa blasted Rebel with a crutch, then dropkicked her through a table at ringside.
Rosa delivered a powerbomb to Baker, driving her into the thumbtacks. Baker still kicked out at two, even as her back became a pincushion.
Baker finally applied the Lock Jaw, but Rosa rolled back into the thumbtacks, breaking the hold.
The action spilled to the ring apron, where Rosa delivered a Fire Thunder Driver through a table for the win.
Result : Rosa defeated Baker
Grade : A+
Rosa vs. Baker has been one of the most intense rivalries in AEW. Theirs was one that deserved this spotlight, in a hardcore match of this sort, and the competitors absolutely performed up to the moment.
This was appropriately violent, even producing blood and thumbtacks, typically no-nos for women's wrestling in major North American promotions.
Rosa may have won the match itself, but Baker was the real winner of the night's festivities, showing a level of toughness few would have expected from her. She sported the crimson mask, suffered the breathtaking agony of thumbtacks stabbing into her back and took a big table bump in the finish. She was simply phenomenal and elevated her star exponentially in this match.
More importantly than the quality of performances or the high spots within was what this match potentially means for AEW's women's division.
For too long, the company has produced a division that had all of the talent necessary to succeed but failed to build stars and tell stories. Then came Baker vs. Rosa, a genuine secondary feud that proved AEW could focus on women outside of the title picture and efficiently build a storyline.
It culminated Wednesday in a genuine Match of the Year candidate and, hopefully, opens up opportunities for the extremely talented women's division to find more opportunities in the near future.
Kudos to all involved in this one for their toughness, commitment to telling their story, and delivering the painstaking levels of violence and brutality the match type deserved.'
This was appropriately violent, even producing blood and thumbtacks, typically no-nos for women's wrestling in major North American promotions.
Rosa may have won the match itself, but Baker was the real winner of the night's festivities, showing a level of toughness few would have expected from her. She sported the crimson mask, suffered the breathtaking agony of thumbtacks stabbing into her back and took a big table bump in the finish. She was simply phenomenal and elevated her star exponentially in this match.
More importantly than the quality of performances or the high spots within was what this match potentially means for AEW's women's division.
For too long, the company has produced a division that had all of the talent necessary to succeed but failed to build stars and tell stories. Then came Baker vs. Rosa, a genuine secondary feud that proved AEW could focus on women outside of the title picture and efficiently build a storyline.
It culminated Wednesday in a genuine Match of the Year candidate and, hopefully, opens up opportunities for the extremely talented women's division to find more opportunities in the near future.
Kudos to all involved in this one for their toughness, commitment to telling their story, and delivering the painstaking levels of violence and brutality the match type deserved.'
- Bleacher Report
"As a female athlete, to be in the main event in a major company in the United States, it's everything. If you know my story, you know I come from very humble beginnings. I never thought I would be doing sports on television like this. It's the wildest thing I could ever wish for, and I am very proud of it. It has been seven years in the making.
This feud has made me realize the importance of story, and I'm not just talking about one match in the ring. It has to have consistency. (Britt) Baker is doing that, but she has messed with the wrong woman. I have proved to everybody in the world that I am one of the baddest and toughest athletes in the business. She should be afraid."
This feud has made me realize the importance of story, and I'm not just talking about one match in the ring. It has to have consistency. (Britt) Baker is doing that, but she has messed with the wrong woman. I have proved to everybody in the world that I am one of the baddest and toughest athletes in the business. She should be afraid."
- Thunder Rosa, Bleacher Report
Official Jim Cornette : Jim Cornette reviews Britt Baker Vs Thunder Rosa
Now everybody wants in on the action and the younger wrestlers on the roster are improving rapidly. '99' Anna Jay's out with a shoulder injury but her partner Tay Conti's stepped up bigtime as her skill set continues to build. A judo black belt and jujutsu blue belt who was inexplicably ditched by WWE, Conti's sparked the impossible by animating a furious Bunny. This is hopefully the beginning of an almighty feud for the ages.
"Well, yes, it was a shock for me because I asked for my release, like, a couple of months before. I wasn't happy there (WWE) and we were trying to figure out something, right? And then I was not able to get my release, so we were okay after then, I gave myself one more chance to try because I had no option, right? Because I had a contract - but, yes, everything was good. I was having matches and everything was fine so, yeah, I didn't expect to be released. They called me and they were like, "Yeah, you're released". So I was upset, of course, at first. I had to give myself, like, a couple of days to understand and to put everything in the right place but, yeah, that was sad, to be honest."
- Free agent Tay Conti on being released by WWE NXT development, Sportskeeda
Tay Conti and Nyla Rose Go to War | AEW Dynamite, 3/24/21 [All Elite Wrestling]
Big Money Matt Hardy reminded viewers this week that the Bunny's one of the best wrestlers to ever grace the ring, so it's flabbergasting we've not been seeing her in action. Under the ring name Allie, she was one of the most gifted performers on the independent wrestling scene and she took a young Kiera Hogan under her wing at the behest of Hogan's mentor Madison Rayne. So who's to blame for the Bunny being inactive? Probably Eddie Kingston who used her as his personal backup whenever he recklessly courted danger (her illegal interference helped him win some matches too). It's time for her to step back out of the shadows and let Big Money do the talking.
“Tay Conti is a great example of somebody who I’ve always thought looked like a star. I went to a house show, an NXT house show, like four years ago in Jacksonville and I thought that Tay Conti looked like she’d be a great star then. She had such charisma and personality. She was working as a manager, and as a manager she had that much charisma. And she’s developed so much in the past few years as a wrestler – I’m really excited about Tay Conti.”
- Tony Khan, Wrestling Observer
Tay Conti with Dark Order's Anna "99" Jay vs Vertvixen | AEW Dark 12/29/20 [All Elite Wrestling]
There's enough talent at AEW to make waves if they can get wrestlers off the inactive list. Riho, Penelope Ford, Shanna, Yuka Sakazaki, Big Swole and Leyla Hirsch are serious talents and I believe Awesome Kong's working in Florida in a coaching capacity. In addition to the aforementioned Anna Jay, Brandi Rhodes is on maternity leave, Serena Deeb has a knee injury and Kris Statlander's out with a torn ACL. Then there's the ongoing problem of travel which means the promotion's Japanese stars are largely absent. So they can still look to strengthen. Perhaps the way to do this is to start mixing up the rosters with Impact; this could provide some thumping entertainment just as long as they don't overdo it.
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D in 'The Waiting Room' with Tay Conti & the Acclaimed| AEW Dark 11/24/20
