Well hello there! I’m Amanda and I am here to talk about wrestling!
From what I can remember, I’ve watched wrestling all my life. My first crush ever was on Scott Hall in the NWO, and yes, that does explain a lot about me.
Of course, I was way into the Attitude Era (who wasn’t?) and I kept up with wrestling on and off since then. I even did my own podcast on the topic! But enough about me lets draw our colored chip and jump into it.
Okay, I lied.
First we need a little history to jump into this.
I’m not going way back to the beginning of women’s wrestling (though I could) so don’t worry!
I just think it’s important to mention that this Women’s Tag Team Tournament came as a response to AEW fans wanting more from the currently lackluster women’s division. Whether or not this was the right response, in the long run, is really up to the viewers, but it’s my job to throw my two cents in so let’s get a full rundown.
Firstly, we’re introduced to our commentary team which was Tony Schiavone and indie wrestler Veda Scott. I have to say Veda did an outstanding job on commentary. Though there was a distinct lack of humor and comfortable back and forth that we get from our regular commentary team the play by plays from Tony and Veda was solid.
The legendary Madusa comes out and gave us a short but sweet rundown of what The Deadly Draw is. I can’t help, but wish we got a cool vignette like the one we got of Jake The Snake for the Casino Battle Royale. Think of how awesome it would be if we had Madusa in a dark smokey room handing out chips to these women? What a build-up it could have been!
Let’s get into the first match of the night!
The Nightmare Sisters vs. Penelope Ford & Mel
Mel (formerly of the Nightmare Collective) and Penelope Ford with Kip Sabian versus The Nightmare Sisters. Considering the Nightmare Sisters are the only women’s tag team in the division they fight with about as much cohesion as any of these other slapped-together teams. The vicious dynamic of Mel and Penelope garners some appreciation. Those girls fight like they’re the baddest bitches in the ring not giving Allie a chance to really gain back any momentum.
Brandi comes in hot to finish the match. I’m a little disappointed that we don’t get a better interaction between Mel and Brandi considering they do have a history. If you didn’t witness the strange world of the Nightmare Collective you wouldn’t have any idea it ever even happened. Maybe that’s kind of what they want? Allie does some mild cheating to open Brandi up for the win. Huzzah The Nightmare Sisters move on to the semi-finals!
Nyla Rose & Ariane Andrew vs. Anna Jay & Tay Conti
Anna Jay came out with the Dark Order, and I have to say that was exciting. For some reason, I’m not a big fan of the cult, but I am a big fan of Anna Jay being a part of that cult.
Tay Conti and Ariane Andrew both made their AEW debut in this match despite Ariane claiming she’s back. Back? Girl, you’ve never been here before! You could say she means back in wrestling, but many would not.
Let me say I am a huge fan of the team of Anna Jay and Tay Conti. If these women win this tournament and bring that win over to the Dark Order I will be a happy camper. Tay Conti bringing in these hard strikes against the Native Beast Nyla Rose is impressive and it looked fantastic. The only real gripe I have about this match is Ariane Andrew. She slows down the action and doesn’t really bring anything to the match. Nothing feels graceful or organic.
I know I’m being harsh on her, but if you’re telling us you’re back you should really prove that your time away meant something. Anna Jay & Tay Conti join The Nightmare Sisters to the semi-finals. Two teams down and only 4 more left to go.
So my final thoughts on the Women’s Tag Team Tournament Night #1?
Eh… I understand and appreciate the idea.
When WWE decided they were going all-in on their women’s division, they committed to a PPV exclusively for the division. They then followed it up with a major build-up for the women’s title match to be the main event of Wrestle-freaking-Mania. I bring this up to say that AEW has received noticeable critiques for their women’s division and their response was to take unsigned talent to mix and match with the signed women they have available into tag teams.
They’ve isolated them out of Dynamite, Dark, and you know what –– even Being The Elite.
Look, if you’re trying to prove to me that women are a part of the wrestling conversation shifting them off into their own easily ignored world is not the way to do it.
