AEW’s males had their On line casino Gauntlet Match Wednesday, which is a disgrace, as a result of they have been virtually instantly outshined by the ladies’s triple risk for the #1 Spot within the Girls’s On line casino Gauntlet Match. Toni Storm, Kris Statlander, and Willow Nightingale confirmed the Tennessee crowd an exceptional wrestling bout. No gimmicks, no exterior interference — simply nice wrestling. Storm, Statlander, and Nightingale confirmed us that AEW is really the place the very best girls wrestle.
The match, admittedly, began off with a sluggish roll-up sequence. Issues picked up when Nightingale nailed Storm with a spinebuster, to which Statlander responded with an arm drag. Statlander and Nightingale had a extremely stable grappling sequence — a staple to any wrestling match that’s usually sorely underappreciated. After all, you will have your AEW ridiculousness in that collaborative low-blow, with Nightingale despatched Storm face-first right into a bragging Statlander’s crotch.
All girls performed their elements excellently on this match, significantly Storm. AEW has actually allowed her experience in in-ring psychology to shine, from her “Timeless” gimmick to her present, retro “Toni Time” gimmick. She spent a lot of the match making an attempt to get offense in, solely to be knocked to the surface by both Statlander or Nightingale — precisely how she would have been if she was legitimately a rookie. She was the one who ate the pin — precisely how she would if she was legitimately a rookie. Whereas commentary is type of ruining the phantasm by citing her previous as a three-time AEW Girls’s World Championship, I am comfortable that Storm and AEW reserving just isn’t afraid to let her be booked just like the rookie she is claiming to be.
I’ve already extensively written my praises about Statlander throughout her two TBS Championship matches in opposition to Mercedes Moné, and truthfully, I’m glad that she is being booked just like the gifted wrestler she is. I would argue that, regardless of her two losses, Statlander has lots of nice momentum now — she has confirmed that she is keen to go head-to-head with the very best, and he or she is being handled accordingly. Whereas I do not imagine that Statlander is the individual to dethrone present AEW Girls’s World Champion Mariah Could — and that is if she will translate pole place right into a victory — I do recognize that she is being posited as a doable participant on the earth title scene.
Nightingale was the star of the match for me. She is simply so good within the ring, combining agility with brute energy to offer a very gorgeous efficiency. She was in a position to go toe-to-toe with the skilled Statlander, and he or she labored fairly effectively with the alleged-newbie Storm. She is simply the complete package deal, and whereas I do want that she bought the win, she nonetheless closely contributed to creating this Triple Risk a contender for Match of the Evening.
With AEW’s document of lackluster girls’s competitors, I am glad Storm, Statlander, and Nightingale carried out as effectively they did. The remainder of the locker room — women and men — ought to take notes.
Written by Angeline Phu
