All Elite Wrestling Crowned Its First Women’s Champion On The First Episode Of Dynamite

The first episode of All Elite Wrestling‘s new television show on TNT, Dynamite, saw the promotion crown its first AEW Women’s World Champion. Both Riho and Nyla Rose had won over fans on the company’s earlier shows, but this match saw Rose solidify her monster heel status while Riho took home the title.

After Cody vs. Sammy Guevara, MJF vs. Brandon Cutler, and Hangman Page vs. Pac, the women’s title match kicked off between Nyla Rose and Riho. Rose had earned her spot in the match by winning the women’s Casino Battle Royal at All Out. Riho had earned hers by defeating Hikaru Shida in a singles match on the same show.

As commentary pointed out, Rose had a clear size advantage, but Riho had more wrestling experience and the speed edge. AEW fans had previously seen this dynamic between the two women in a triple threat at Fyter Fest that had also included Yuka Sakazaki, which had ended with Riho pinning Rose.

It looked like their title match, for which Britt Baker sat in on commentary, might have the opposite result. But while Rose dominated much of it with her size and strength and even tried to use chairs from under the ring, Riho hung in there. Each woman scored some very close nearfalls, but it was ultimately Riho who picked up the win and the title. In the words of Tony Schiavone, “She took the Beast to the limit.”

After the match, Michael Nakazawa entered the ring and congratulated Riho, telling her, “What a great match! Look at the people. They must be proud of you. I’m proud of you.” He said told the audience he would interview Riho in Japanese for the Japanese fans, but was stopped by an attack from behind by Rose. Rose hit him with a powerbomb and went to deliver a move to Riho on the ring apron, but Kenny Omega ran in to stop Rose and save the new AEW Women’s World Champion.

What did you think about this match, its result, and its aftermath? Let us know in the comments!