On AEW.ONE’s own AEW Women’s Roster page, I divided the women into one of two groups:
- #AllElite: Wrestlers on the official AEW roster page
- Prospect: Wrestlers that aren’t officially #AllElite yet but are given wins on Dark/Elevation
The Prospects group includes: Julia Hart, Diamanté, Marina Shafir, Skye Blue, Kiera Hogan, Leila Grey, Willow Nightingale, KiLynn King, Kayla Rossi and Robyn & Charlette Renegade; Which is why none of these names were included.
This article is about a 3rd group of true Dark Horses (see what I did there? Dark Horse, Dark, Dark Elevation? Eh.) where we’ve seen them wrestle in AEW but they haven’t been given that elusive first win. Not that a win in AEW guarantees you’re getting signed but it’s a positive sign.
It can be difficult to shine in a 2-4 minute match where most of the time you’re selling for someone else’s offence. Yet some wrestlers “maximize their minutes” and show me something that encourages me to go and watch an actual match of theirs from the Indys and more often then not, it’s pretty eye opening!
So with that, I present AEW.ONE’s Top 5 Dark Horses to become #AllElite. And with each person I’m going to provide a YouTube link to one of their matches to give you a better idea of what they can bring.
#1: Queen Aminata
In-ring experience: 5 years
Matches: 100
Height: 5’9″
Birthplace: Guinea
AEW Record: 0-13-0
Matches on Dynamite: 0
Matches on Rampage: 0
Number one with a bullet is Queen Aminata. The match that convinced me to look up more of her work was her match on Dark Elevation against Athena. Since then she’s been in tag matches (once with Skye Blue, once with Madison Rayne, both times against Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir) and she’s found her spots to impress in each match, though I think I enjoy her heel work more.
In the world of wrestling there are a million royalty gimmicks that land adjacent to Jerry Lawler. Queen Aminata has a very different energy. She is an African Queen, which is itself a cool spin on the gimmick but the fact she’s actually from Africa makes her character and aesthetic feel a lot more credible.
When you see Queen Aminata’s presentation and hear her beautiful accent, your imagination can’t help but run away, picturing what her life might’ve been like before coming to North America. If I had to guess, I’d say the Queen’s aesthetic is a tribute to her heritage. I’ve never been to Guinea. I have been to Zambia, just a scant 3000 miles away, and its diversity is astounding. So if Guinea is anything like Zambia where modern cities exist just hours from villages with thatched roofing and ox-driven plows, it could also be a tribute to a culture that is alive and well.
Recommended Match
In any case, the gimmick doesn’t go anywhere if Queen Aminata can’t get it done in the ring and boy can she ever. If you want to get a better feel for what she can do beyond selling on Dark for 3 minutes, check out her match against Tasha Steelz from Battle Slam: Fight For ATL (linked below) but not before you check out the remaining four Dark Horses, of course! 😉
I’ll bet you’re too much of a coward to see who the #2 Dark Horse is. Prove me wrong! Click “Next Page” below!
