Winner: Riho pins Rose at 13:02
Chris: Yuka Sakazaki is winning me over for the same reason Kylie Rae did. I love happiness. No, seriously. They’re so joyful. I’m still convinced Nyla is going to break her, though. Riho too, for that matter.
I’ve realized AEW loves the zooming in from the back of the arena camera shot in its production. While I don’t blame them, because it looks great, it’s used so often and so randomly that it is starting to lose some of that cool. While that’s not a critique of this match, it was used here while nothing was happening in the ring, so there was nothing to zoom into, a move I found odd.
As for the story here, it’s similar to Nyla’s match as Double or Nothing where the smaller women worked to keep Rose and Awesome Kong on the outside while they westled their match. I understand why, as Nyla is a believable monster of a talent that should just bulldoze these two. But I was so happy when they finally worked her back into the match and she did some bumping for the two smaller women before throwing her brute force around. Simply sidelining Nyla isn’t a good enough use of her talent and after Double or Nothing, I felt like we were missing out on what she was truly capable of.
As with Daniel vs. Cima, I also have to commend the blend of styles in this match. Nyla, against all odds, mixed in with the Japanese style of wrestling well and even had her own top rope highspot. But let’s talk about that ending. I don’t agree with it. That’s the second show in a row where Nyla has come up short and he even ate the pin in this one.
The finish was well-orchestrated, but building up Nyla is a beast should be a priority right now. At least, that’s how I view it.
6.5/10
Mat: I think I picked Riho to win, but Yuka is my favorite out of this group. When those two shook hands before the match, it made me the happiest, like when the Best Friends hug. Also, AEW hates putting any filler between matches, so I’m scrambling to write this and get the next match ready on-site.
I like the blend of the smaller Japanese style, with lots of quickness and unbelievable moves, alongside Nyla Rose, who is a beast. I do feel there were a few times where these styles clashed and Nyla couldn’t keep up with Riho and Yuka though. Nyla needs to be in the ring with Awesome Kong. I’m dying for that match. Anyway, with a match like this, I’m looking for a specific moment, and that’s when the two smaller wrestlers take on the behemoth. We got that, it was satisfying, and it’s almost the backbone of the match. Riho and Yuka team up against Nyla, then fight each other. That’s great in-ring storytelling.
I love, love, love the finish here. It took me completely by surprise, as I didn’t see Riho getting Nyla with the roll-up. Yes, that’s two losses in a row for Nyla, and I’m not exceptionally keen on that, but I do love that AEW is really highlighting the Japanese women here.
6.5/10