Just 4 women’s matches across Dark & Elevation this week, down from 6 last week. This was a good week to look at the progress of several developing talents in AEW. Skye Blue (23 years old/5 years in-ring/241 career matches), Julia Hart (21/3/59), Leila Grey (33/3/117), and Kiera Hogan (28/8/321) all wrestled on this show. It’s hard to tell how anyone has progressed week-to-week (and not to mention that these matches actually took place weeks ago and we’ve seen most of these talents since) and especially in short matches but I still try to pick up what I can.
Alright, let’s get into it…
Dark Elevation-Apr. 3
Angelica Risk (2 years, 45 matches) gets a look on AEW against the consistent Skye Blue. At the moment, Blue is kind of locked into the mid-card where she’s an enhancement talent slayer but she hasn’t had that one big win against any women on the rester. I’m hoping the current storyline she’s in along side Willow & Riho is leading to that.
Angelica, as a character, is a nasty piece of business. Very vocal. She’d been delivering mostly kicks and strikes and then she pulls out a 6-1-9 outta nowhere!
Skye Blue feels extra slick in this match and her Skye Fall finisher is probably the best I’ve seen from her in this match. She set it up like Jade’s Jaded. I really like that for a few reasons. Good outing for both women.
Winner: Skye Blue (3:37)
Kelsey Heather’s gimmick is that she’s a cheerleader. The irony is not lost on Tony Schiavone. Julia sits back and tells Kesley to show off her best cheerleading rendition. Kind of a fun moment where Julia just is like “I’m the expert here. Show me your stuff.” Afterwhich Kelsey goes for a handspring elbow but Julia stops her cold with a forearm smash.
Julia is just full on aggression but Heather does manager a Stunner with the splits. Julia avoids a moonsault then submits Kelsey Heather with Hartless.
It shows where Julia’s character that it’s such an amusing departure from her usual disposition that she’d show any interest in seeing if Kelsey Heather is any good at cheerleading. She nails her spots. I could see that AEW just wants to build more of those patented spots. Very happy with how she’s coming along.
Winner: Julia Hart (2:44)
Dark Elevation-Apr. 4
Ameera, who doesn’t have a Cage Match profile as of yet. Whoa! Leila Grey runs corner to corner the second the bell rings and Shot Gun Dropkicks Ameera into the turnbuckle. If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a good Shot Gun Dropkick. She also hits a suplex then floats over and picks up Ameera for a face buster which isn’t something I’ve seen her do before.
Small hope spot for Ameera. She’s pretty green. Leila ends this one with what I believe is a new finisher for her, a double undertook into a face buster or if you watched wrestling during the Attitude Era, it was like a Pedigree that ends like an X-Factor.
I like Leila, I think she’s feeling her character and her matches are getting stronger. I wonder what’s in store for her in AEW.
Winner: Leila Grey
Toni Storm and Kiera Hogan go head to head in the Dark main event. It’s pretty obvious who’s going to win this one but let’s see how much shine Kiera gets. Toni Storm has an amazing black & white leather jacket with spikes. Hogan’s hair literally looks like fire, which matches her gear.
I like the aggression Toni Storm has been showing, blitzing her opponents from the ring bell. Kiera gets back in with a chop and then a chop to Toni’s bootie. And then a Hip Attack. Bootie stuff. This was a really strong match for Kiera Hogan. It felt quicker and harder hitting. Toni, meanwhile, is an absolute pro, as always. Fans like Kiera but it’s hard to know what you’re getting behind at the moment. Toni finishes this one with a Hip Attack and Storm Zero which, I’m going to take a moment and say how much I love the Storm Zero. It’s like a snap piledriver. Love it.
