AEW: The importance of Serena Deeb vs. Allysin Kay at Full Gear

AEW must be doing more with its Women’s Division.

AEW hasn’t been utilizing their women’s division. I’m aware that take is bitterly cold at this point. We’ve seen it with women’s matches on a card rarely going past one in total. Or so often there is only the barest build-up to a women’s title match. Or how often they are sidelined in favour of an aging veteran segment. In all honesty, AEW needs to do something about their women’s division if they ever hope to live up to their revolutionary promises.

And while it won’t be a one and done fix, the NWA Women’s Title match on the Full Gear buy-in could be a very important step towards that. Would likely be more than one step if it was on the full show, but we work with what we get.

Serena Deeb is a veteran of the women’s wrestling scene, with a career stretching back 15 years. From trainer to in-ring to champion holder, Serena has a resume of experience a mile long. But unlike many aging veterans who are unwilling to let go of the sun that shines down on them (Read: Jericho), Serena can still bring it and elevate herself and fellow performers in the ring. You only need to look at how much she and Leyla Hirsch packed into 5 short minutes for proof of this.

Allysin Kay has been performing since 2008, only a few years behind Deeb. While lacking the stronger connections to WWE as regular TV appearances and trainer at the Performance Center that Deeb possesses, Allysin proved herself a versatile wrestler through the independent promotions such as Shimmer and Shine.

One of Kay’s standout accomplishments was becoming the unified GFW Knockout Champion in Impact. Where Serena has the skill and technique of a wise veteran, Allysin is still very much in her prime and would not be an unwelcome sight in the main event scene.

But, there is something I am omitting. The fact that these two women have shared a rather noteworthy promotion with one another.

The power of legacy in the NWA

NWA-The National Wrestling Alliance-is a name many wrestling fans know very well. Their titles are historic. Their legacy everlasting. And their recent return to youtube of bringing an old-school style of studio-filmed wrestling brought many eyes.

But, have you noticed there has not been much talk of them lately? NWA, despite their recent return to prominence, has had its fair share of hiccups. The poorly thought out signing of Jim Cornette as an on-air personality and the eventual, and foreseeable, controversy he brought. The damage, through no fault of their own, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to their promotion. Things for NWA in their present state seem dire, to put it bluntly.

And that’s where we have what we call a mutually beneficial opportunity between NWA and AEW. On the former, we have a return that had issues on sticking their landing and are struggling to find their feet once again. On the latter, success in some areas can be easily seen but in the other areas we see struggles.

By bringing the NWA Women’s Title to AEW, their women’s division will gain something it had so much trouble with: A sense of prestige. While their own women’s title started off not even main eventing a weekly episode in its inaugural crowning, you only need to see the first three letters before Serena’s own title and the notoriety they bring to know it’s importance. As the champion herself said:

“NWA Women’s Champion. What does this mean? This is LEGACY in my hands.”

And by allying themselves early with AEW, the National Wrestling Alliance gains a lifeline. A way to keep in the eye, and attention, of wrestling fans until they come up with a more self-sufficient solution.

NWA’s gold will be featured on the second-largest American promotion and one of the world’s leading promotions in the world. All those eyes, seeing those three important letters of theirs potentially every week. And those fans will remember that when they finally find their footing.

AEW’s women’s division is struggling. They have the talent. They have the audience. And now they have the prestige. All they need to do is give the women of their roster the chance to show how they’ll weave that all together. And they will.

But also, maybe give them more than one match per show? Just a thought.