Shida/Storm vs Baker/Hayter

With this being the 4 women facing off at All Out for the Interim AEW Women’s World Championship, there’s so much to speculate on for how this match will go and what the result of this match might spell for All Out! You can read some of my analysis on the 4-way at All Out at the link below:

Related Article

• ONE Opinion

Who Walks Away Interim Champ?

byTravis

August 27, 2022

So going into this match I was looking for three things:

1. Shida to score the win because she’s been off TV for over 2 months and they’ll want fans to be prepped to be alerted when she hits the Katana on someone at All Out
2. Will they tease any dissension between Britt & Jamie?
3. Might they use some device like a ”miscommunication” to spark some competitive juices between Hikaru & Toni?

I love Britt & Jamie’s current gear. I get that it’s based off Homelander and that’s cool, I guess, but I just love it regardless. Shida doesn’t get her own entrance. Not a fan of that, to be honest.

Shida & Hayter start off. Hayter imposes her size advantage but Shida comes back with a vicious head scissors and Hayter sells it so well! Most head scissor takedowns result in the opponent looking like they’re just doing a somersault. This looked awesome.

With that, Storm & Shida bring Hayter into their corner and work away on her. She eventually gets the tag to Britt but Storm & Shida still have the upper hand but Hayter helps to level the ring by tripping Toni from the floor and it works as Baker & Hayter take control.

Commentary is really selling Toni Storm having wisdom teeth surgery recently. As someone who’s had it, it’s unpleasant for a few days.

The heels build the heat on Toni Storm during PIP. Britt takes Toni up to the top rope but Toni fights it off and hits a Spinning DDT and eventually makes the tag to Shida. Shida pounds away at Jamie Hayter with 10 punches in the corner. Again, somehow Shida & Hayter make a pretty mundane wrestling spot look better than I’ve seen it in years. JR makes a weird comment about Shida becoming more “Americanized” which he clarifies that he ”means that in a positive sense”. Ok?

Then Hikaru Shida hits her middle rope Meteora on Hayter which looks phenomenal but also, I get the sense that a lot of fans aren’t watching Dark/Elevation where she’s kind of perfected this move, because it gets a pretty great surprise reaction from the crowd. Britt Baker breaks the pin.

Shida & Storm then try to double suplex Jamie Hayter but she drops the knee down to sink her own center of mass before then suplexing both Shida & Storm to a big pop! Fans love Hayter.

Britt gets tagged in and hits a swinging neckbreaker on Shida for two. Shida rolls up Britt for two. Baker hits a knee kick then goes for the curb stomp but Shida dodges it, waist locking Britt who reverses that and turns it into what Big Swol’ calls ”Dirty Dancing”. Britt then calls for the glove from Rebel but as it’s being put on, Shida wall jumps off the middle rope and hits the Venus Shoot from outta nowhere! Again, another move Shida’s been hitting on Dark/Elevation.

Shida rolls out of the ring and sneaks past Rebel to go pull Hayter off the apron just as Britt is trying for a tag. Britt collapses in the corner from exhaustion which Tony takes as an opportunity for a Hip Attack (aka ”Sweet Cheeks Music”) on Britt. Then, just as Jamie is getting to her feet, Toni hits a Spinning DDT on her to the floor! Awesome sequence!

Back in the ring, Hikaru Shida hits the Katana on Britt Baker and pins her for the win! So my suspicions on the outcome were right and I think on the go-home Dynamite before All Out, that’s a tidy piece of business.

Hikaru & Toni celebrate while sharing a respectful handshake in the ring as if to acknowledge that yes, that was a great win but on Sunday, it’s every woman for themselves.

This was a really fun match with excellent action while also curiously booked. In my own Pitch Please! article pitching a Jamie Hayter win at All Out, I had said that I would have Britt & Jamie show absolutely zero hints of animosity. I don’t think for a second that fans are thrown off the scent at a possible Baker/Hayter split up happening but whether they are or aren’t, I think it’s the smarter path to not tease it here.

Watch the Highlights on YouTube