No entrance for either woman but I guess that allows for more match time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to Marina not wearing shoes. Maybe it’s just something I need to get used to. I guess it’s different? Helps her stand out?
Marina, as always, continues to impress. If you watch the things she does between every move, you’ll notice she’s rarely transitioning with her partner in a participatory way for the sake of a smooth quick transition. There’s always some type of struggle or effort to setup the next maneuver like changing her grip or rearranging a limb or her opponent’s head. I’m not saying everyone should wrestle like Marina (variety rules) but I really appreciate how legitimate she makes everything look.
As we go to commercial, Ruby feeds a stiff knee to the face of a seated Marina. Thanks to a distraction from Vickie, Shafir gets back in and starts attacking with the inner thigh kicks – a very underrated attack. Marina’s strikes and her throws are as lush as ever.
When we come back from commercial, Ruby captures one of Marina’s legs and clasps her other hand while having an arm around Marina’s neck and delivers a nice overhead suplex, very nice maneuver. Marina dodges a No Future and goes for a leg lock. Ruby catches a Marina kick and counters with a big knee to the face. Pretty good chemistry between these two. They take it home with a Destination Unknown.
Post-match
After the match, this happened:
And during the beatdown Excalibur mentions that Britt Baker vs Toni Storm vs Ruby Soho, a match that we were supposed to have back on January 25th, is going to happen on the next Dynamite! Looking forward to that!
Parting thoughts
Marina shafir
For Marina; She’s so damn good but she’s not over as of yet. And given how she’s been booked as far as wins and losses go, I’m not sure there’s a quick pivot solution like a gimmick or storyline angle that fixes that. Maybe it’s just a matter of doing a steady and consistent flow of great matches? But if you do that and you don’t book her to win some of those matches where she’s up against wrestlers at the level of a Ruby Soho, does she just become “jobber to the stars”? Sometimes with uber serious characters like Shafir you can do the “odd couple” trope where she’s being put over by way of a meeker, more fun-seeking wrestler appealing to her for approval. There are ways. Personally, I’d just love to see her reach that next level as I think once you get some more heat into her matches, her style is made for the main event. Maybe I’m just getting a little impatient.
Ruby Soho
For Ruby, I feel like there was a honeymoon phase with her initially when she came into AEW but due to losing every big opportunity she had, fans started to lose faith in her. Ever since she came back from injury, I feel like it’s refreshed her in the eyes of the fans but more importantly, she herself feels like she’s laying in those strikes a bit firmer and somehow she seems quicker and more agile like her feet are quicker than ever. Is it possible that Ruby Soho, 12 years into a career that’s seen her wrestle everywhere besides Impact, is actually improving?!
One critique I will make though (and take this with a grain of salt, I’m just another fan) is I’m not sold on Destination Unknown as a finisher. For one, it looks almost indistinguishable from Skye Blue’s Skye Fall (which I’m not terribly sold on as a finisher either). I feel like a good finisher, if it’s not a submission, need a bit of a drawn out setup. Like you look at the One-Winged Angel: There are so many potential exit points for Kenny Omega’s opponent to escape. And it’s a move where just setting it up is dramatic. Destination Unknown feels like she should be able to hit it at any time almost like an RKO (which is a finisher I don’t like for that very reason). Like Made in Japan would be an ideal finisher for Ruby in my opinion.
