CW: Blood. Lots of blood. And thumbtacks. and the violence of dolls
Last week on AEW Dynamite, 12 women entered a steel cage and made history in the first-ever women’s Blood & Guts match. Featuring lovable eccentrics like AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, “Timeless” Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, Jamie Hayter, and Harley Cameron. The heels were Certified Bad Girl TBS Champion Mercedes Monet, Marina Shafir, Megan Bain, and Triangle of Madness (Thekla, Sky Blue, Julia Hart). There was real blood flowing in abundance, and figurative courage on display as each woman risked everything to make their enemies hell. Ever since the first B&G was held in 2021, fans have been calling for a women’s Blood & Guts match. After four long years, the women’s division has the opportunity to show that it can be just as brutal as the men. But would they have done it?
Spoiler: Yes. Yes, they did.
Shikosu’s blood and guts
Not only did both teams achieve results, they actually outperformed the men’s team. Skye Blue, the clear MVP of Blood and Guts, both gave it her all and took the gauntlet of pain. Five minutes into the match she was already covered in blood, but she made it to the end looking tougher than the floor of nails Shafir threw at Statlender. Blue has been chomping at the bit to play Blood and Guts for years. She has developed a reputation as a certified sick person. Last year, she talked about her childhood wrestling aspirations of pulling crazy stunts that wowed her mother, and tonight that dream came true. After being put through a table, covered in studs, and beaten with a kendo stick, Blue’s dazed, dazed smile at the end said it all. Other standouts were Jamie Hayter and Kris Statlander, who took an impressive series of punishments, and Marina Shafir, who made me wince by intentionally stepping on broken glass with her bare feet.
This parade of carnage ended with an act of love. Mina Shirakawa, who previously formed a group with Toni Storm and Mariah May, recently became Storm’s work wife. Shafir pinned Shirakawa down and Megan Bayne delivered a brutal beating with the TBS championship belt. Horrified, Storm decides to lose the match rather than watch his beloved wife suffer. This opens up interesting new story possibilities. Will Storm realize that love is getting in the way of her career and turn heel? But more importantly, it felt like the right emotional beat and a satisfying conclusion to the Blood and Guts match. The heels may be victorious for now, but a promo filmed after the match shows Storm and Shirakawa already planning their next move, which they plan to make once the latter recovers from the beating. All eyes will be on the upcoming feud between Bane and Shafir.
bloody incident
For too long, women’s wrestling has generally been considered inferior. The women’s singles matches on this card have typically been derided as “toilet breaks,” and talented, physically admirable women have been forced to participate in humiliating rituals such as bra-and-panties matches. Those in power prefer to act as if even our anger is no big deal, belittling our intense competition with each other and calling it a catfight. Hardcore matches are simply a violent artistic expression of the pain and anger that many of us already feel every day.
While the general consensus remains that women don’t like blood in wrestling, and that the sport needs to be sanitized to attract us, the reality is quite the opposite. Hangman and Swerve gained a large female fan base thanks to Texas Deathmatch. Chris and Willow’s hardcore matches are as beloved as street fights like the one between Bunny and Anna Jay pictured above. The women of Blood and Guts feel like a conglomeration of the girls from the final horror film, each strong in a different way and with no doubts about their skills and accomplishments. At a time when WWE is running two-minute women’s title matches, AEW is setting itself apart as a true alternative by providing a showcase like this for the women’s division.
aftermath
And what’s next for that women’s division? full gear The game is a few weeks away on November 22nd, but so far only one women’s game has been announced. Chris Statlaender will compete for the world championship against Mercedes Monet, who is looking to add to her impressive collection of 12 belts. Chris and Mercedes have fought at Full Gear before, with their match at World’s End last year being the longest women’s match in AEW history at 24 minutes. Mone’s eyes are set on Moby Dick, the AEW Women’s World Championship, and perhaps Statlander and Mone will set a new record and continue to make history like they did on Wednesday.
Image via All Elite Wrestling
Do you have strong thoughts about this piece that you need to share, or would you like to discuss it with your Fandomental friends? Visit our community server and join the conversation!
Source: The Fandomentals – www.thefandomentals.com
