If Kylie Rae hadn't quit, AEW's women's division would've started off very differently. I honestly believe she would've been the first women's champion and the face of the division instead of Britt.
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I remember watching her indie match with Orange Cassidy and thinking she is going to be a star with all that charisma. It’s a shame how things played out but mental health is important.
you're not wrong. Also they were clearly building it an international fashion that got totally fucked by the pandemic. Shanna, Riho, Yakazaki, Bea Priestly etc.
I still think that after Hikaru Shida carried the division through the pandemic, they should give her a little more respect for that. She's amazing. The women's division is so stacked now though.
I don't know, she hot anxiety when pushed into top spotlight. TNA wanted to put the title on her and she said she'd rather not.
Hopefully that's behind her now. She was always fun to watch
To be fair to AEW, they started off with a VERY green women's division in the name of tv time.
Only 3 had any here in the states: Kong(who was part time) brandi(who had more exposure as an announcer) and Allie/Bunny(who was coming off her TNA run).
Well you also have to remember the AEW women’s division was incredibly snakebit for quite awhile there. Injuries, visa issues and random bad luck hindered it for years. I’d say really only in the last 18 months has it really come into its own.
I was so excited by that early idea of joshi wrestlers being like the luchadores in WCW. I was imagining weekly AJW style matches on Dynamite. Not quite what we ended up getting
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Then I found out why and I’ve been angry about it since
britt, nyla, shida, shanna shoulda been the pillars
Hopefully that's behind her now. She was always fun to watch
If riho HAD been more available OR if they gave the run to shida things could've been very different indeed.
Shida doesn’t get enough credit for the run she had during lockdown.
Pandemic protocols/restrictions/forced absences hurt the women’s division the most of any part of AEW during that time.
Only 3 had any here in the states: Kong(who was part time) brandi(who had more exposure as an announcer) and Allie/Bunny(who was coming off her TNA run).
It was gonna take time to build a the division.
When the pandemic hit, it was practically only the inexperienced wrestlers left.
I think that's what Kenny was pushing for and I think it could have benefitted all the American female wrestlers on the roster.