TAELER: Abadon On The Rise In AEW

As the Pro Wrestling Industry has done it’s best to combat and circumnavigate this pandemic stricken year, AEW has impressively invested more time and attention towards their Women’s Division. At the start of the year, a major point of contention amongst AEW fans were the AEW Women’s Division. A point I might add that I’ve reported several times as having since been rectified. The heel turn and character shifting build up of AEW’s Dr. Britt Baker DMD, simultaneously elevated her and the Division. All without Baker even wrestling. Ingenious writing strategy if you ask me.

Since the pandemic, AEW has added depth, evolving stories, and up and coming debuting talents. Adding much needed credibility and buzz for the AEW Women’s Division. Hikaru Shida remains the current and longest reigning AEW Women’s Champion. Ivelisse and Diamante winning the Tag Team Cup. Segments with Britt Baker. Debuts of women fighting to make it from AEW Dark to AEW Dynamite. The likes of Alex Gracia, Red Velvett, Vipress, Leyla Hirsch, Lindsay Snow, Lady Frost, and others. Add on top of that perhaps one of my favorite moves by AEW and the subject of this article – Abadon…

The slow rise of Abadon in my opinion has been perfect in its timing. And artful in its subtlety. Since signing with AEW, Abadon has amassed a 5 wins and 1 loss record. Very impressive. For such a young talent to carry herself with such credibility on a T.V. program. I’ve made no secret of my macabre-like love for Abadon. As someone whose watched Abadon evolve from her 2019 debut in Rocky Mountain Pro to her signing with AEW, I couldn’t be more excited for her.

From a business perspective, I truly see Abadon as a great get for AEW. A gem if you will. Had AEW not grabbed Abadon when they did, she would have been prominently featured on my Fightful Segment, ‘2020 Female Free Agents To Look For In 2021.’ Abadon to my point of view is very much adjacent to my views of fellow up and coming talent Leyla Hirsch. Both young in their careers. Both represent a unique demographic. They both possess a great understanding of what it means to work on T.V. Both equally provide a sort of authenticity to their respective characters which has been somewhat missing over the years. And like Hirsch, Abadon’s gimmick is in a sense done by other women signed and not signed to other companies. Yet, Abadon provides the most credible and polished T.V. ready version that I find captivating to watch on AEW…

Recently, fans were on Twitter questioning why Hikaru Shida would all of a sudden be cautious when it comes to Abadon. Especially since Shida has beaten Abadon earlier in the year. This response came after Shida Tesha Price from the onslaught of Abadon. I personally like this development because of its aforementioned subtlety. Yes, fans are right. Yes, Hikaru Shida won against Abadon earlier on in 2020. That loss is Abadon’s only loss here in 2020. And as physics goes, what goes up must come down.

Hikaru Shida has been on top of the AEW Women’s Division as the current and longest reigning AEW Women’s Champion with a record spanning over 200+ days. Shida having defeated most recently Anna Jay, Big Swole, Penelope Ford, Leyla Hirsch, Nyla Rose, and more. Thus proving the value of a fighting Champion. As ot relates to Abadon, imagine being barely over one year in the business, signing to a major T.V. program, and going on to dethrone the longest AEW Women’s Champion to then become champion yourself in the span of a year!? That’s why the subtlety of this unraveling storyline works.

Yes Shida beat her once. However, there’s no guarantee that the Abadon who lost to Shida earlier this year is the same Abadon setting her sights on Shida now. Think of it like this, something that happens to you that changes you. A make or break moment that decides whether you succeed or fail. That one opportunity. Do you wing it? Or do you go after it with your all? Life happens. A loss can change a person. Either way I think this is some of AEW’s better writing by simply taking their time. Patience and the slide of hand their using to build up multiple female characters without being overly predictable. I.E Britt Baker, Ivelisse, Diamante, Thunder Rosa, and others.

In this there’s a complete departure from karny wrestling storylines and instead more relatable circumstances. An authenticity that I pick up on in this budding rivalry between Abadon and Shida. A loss that fuels. A missed opportunity because you weren’t ready. Realizing you need to change in order to succeed. The monster clawing her way up the mountain. Claws sharp. Teeth bared. Hungry. Ravenous. Focused. Only thing standing in the way is the queen at the top. Is she defenseless? Has she met an enemy like this before? Does she know what to expect? So in response to fans questioning Shida’s sudden hesitation. I’d say think about those aspects as you watch the storyline unfold with Abadon. Abadon working her way into the head of Hikaru Shida. In my opinion, its these aspects that make it work. Masterful storytelling. Afterall, every hero has a nemesis. Every protagonist has to overcome adversity. Every villain was once a hero who was let down. Catch more from AEW Women’s Division every Tuesday and Wednesday on AEW Dark on YouTube and AEW Dynamite on TNT Drama.

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