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Raw, NXT and Dynamite set the table
WWE redeemed itself following last week’s Raw, which saw the first Monday night episode in six years not to feature any women’s in-ring action. Thirty-seven minutes of the first hour of the program were used to showcase six different wrestlers in a gauntlet match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was ultimately won by Bayley. It sets up a title match for next week in which Bayley will become only the second wrestler to square off against AJ Lee in more than ten years. The match, along with a backstage segment later in the show, was also used to further the ongoing issues between the Kabuki Warriors.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, three title matches were set for next week’s NXT episode in Houston, Texas. We were given not only an excellent 14‑minute “warmup” for Sol Ruca as she prepares to battle Jacy Jayne and Zaria in a three-way match for the NXT Championship, but also what Vic Joseph declared a “star-making performance” for Lainey Reid. On an episode that saw Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley continue their feud, it was also announced that the two will meet next week in a steel cage match for the North American Championship. Finally, the weeks-long Speed tournament concluded with Wren Sinclair besting Thea Hail in just under two minutes to advance to face champion Fallon Henley, in what will be the third huge match on a somewhat rare NXT road show.
Lastly, Dynamite on Wednesday saw Willow Nightingale defeat new CMLL Champion Persephone in 12 minutes to retain the TBS Championship. The contest was treated (and received) as a big-time matchup that helped establish Persephone as a future player in AEW. Backstage afterward, Nightingale declared she would be facing Lena Kross twice this coming weekend: first in a TBS title match on the Revolution Zero Hour lead-in, then again on the main show in a tag team title match alongside Harley Cameron, when Kross is joined by her MegaBad cohort Megan Bayne.
Stray observations…
WWE Raw
-Already, I can tell the best thing about this gauntlet will be getting a chance to watch some wrestlers who don’t get a ton of TV time these days. To that end, Lyra looked great. I know anyone can against Iyo, but Valkyria has a unique kind of mobility and energy. She deserves more time than she gets.
-Iyo is out here making everyone shine. That pounce from Raquel was bananas.
-I would like to see Bayley continue to be conflicted over Iyo. At a time when Iyo’s popularity is higher than ever, there’s something intriguing about Bayley remembering how Sky screwed her over. Regardless, it looks like we just got the first seed of an eventual reconciliation. I do appreciate a story being told in bits and pieces.
-If we’re not going to do anything with American Made, let’s get a new song to go with Ivy’s new look and set her off on a solo journey.
-Put Ivy Nile right there with Lyra Valkyria as someone I’m so glad we’re getting to see more of thanks to this format. She looks ready to take on a bigger role.
-Maybe it’s having just watched Dakota Kai kill it on Wrestle Queendom a few days ago, but Bayley vs. Asuka is really making me miss Damage CTRL.
-Having just said last week that I believe AJ Lee and Becky Lynch are still on track for a final battle at WrestleMania, Bayley is the perfect wrestler to get AJ through another respectable match in one piece.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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NXT
-It says a lot that the Vengeance Day highlight package at the open of tonight’s show would have you believe Paxley-Dame was the main event. It absolutely stole the show.
-Paxley is still finding her comfort zone on the mic with a few too many “you guys,” for example. She also seemed a bit panicked about running over her allotted time with the way she shut down the “You deserve it” chants. That said, she’s so good in the ring and so beloved, I don’t think anyone cares if she’s not entirely there on the mic just yet.
-Why don’t more wrestlers groan and exclaim “Go away” when they get interrupted mid-promo by an enemy’s theme? I loved that.
-Jacy Jayne’s plan last week, which involved relying on Lainey Reid to “take out” Sol Ruca tonight sounded deeply flawed from the jump, but damn if Reid didn’t step up to the challenge.
-As weird as it is to say, Booker T really helped get Reid over on commentary tonight.
-Of course, Ruca deserves a ton of credit for making Reid look so dangerous. Her selling, including a couple times where she looked just dead, was excellent. She gave a ton in this match, which on paper felt like it would go the in the exact opposite direction.
-Why on earth was Blake Howard (obviously) scripted to correct Blake Monroe on her intentional mispronunciation of St.Louis? It’s really common for folks to say “Saint Louie,” and she was working it into a cheeky rhyme. He just came off like a jerk.
-And just like that, we have a future Monroe-Paxley program to dig into. I’m not mad.
-With how much they’ve been mentioning her Texas roots, it felt like a given that Wren Sinclair would be advancing to the Speed finals next week in Houston. I won’t say I’m not disappointed to see Thea Hail take the loss, though. She is built for this format.
-Nice to see a Speed match wrap up in under two minutes rather than nearly running the distance for a change.
-Paxley-Dame in a cage match next week is a hell of a thing to drop on the way to the end of the program. With another big show in NYC in two weeks, what will be left to make Stand and Deliver feel special? Not a complaint, mind you. Just speculation.
AEW Dynamite
-It’s rare to see both members of an upcoming match interviewed side-by-side beforehand. It seems This was done to help establish both Persephone’s character with an unfamiliar audience and also help viewers understand the stakes beyond the title itself.
-We’re getting heel Persephone once again. Even toned-down, this is the best, most natural version.
-That entrance is all you needed to show you what a star Persephone is. Fortunately, we’ll be getting a lot more than that.
-Ian Riccaboni glazes Persephone every time she’s on ROH the same way he did here. Nice to for a much larger audience to hear it.
-Weird time to initiate a handshake. Willow with shades of Randy Arozarena.
-Dead lift, fall away slam, kip up. Show me one other wrestler on earth capable of that.
-This San Jose crowd is bringing the fire and eating this up. Awesome to see.
-Willow delivers an Arn Anderson spine buster ON THE FLOOR.
-Who else took the bait when the 10-minute mark was announced on the PA?
-In a weird way, Willow on Dynamite feels like a tougher challenge than Mercedes visiting your hometown promotion in the midst of a run of returning titles. I would’ve loved for Persephone to get the W here, mostly because it mean we’d be seeing much more of her on AEW TV, but I don’t hate this. Both wrestlers are better off having had this match.
-Persephone was great at selling how much that loss affected her.
-I would like to take an improv class with Harley Cameron.
Thanks so much for reading and, of course, for supporting women’s wrestling. Feel free to leave a comment or drop a line via email at jeffp.rush@gmail.com or on Twitter/X @nottherightjeff.
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