Build to women’s title match at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam leaves much to be desired

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam is set for September 21 and the card is shaping up to be a huge night of professional wrestling. Four championships are on the line and with the matches that are announced this show should deliver an action-packed night. A lot of eyes are on the four-way match for the interim AEW Women’s World Championship. While some have their complaints about how this match has come together, it’s yet another opportunity for AEW to change the momentum behind its women’s division.

The difference between the two matches for the vacant AEW World Championship and interim AEW Women’s World Championship is like a tale of two different belts. The build between Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley has been a calculated development, even though the tournament was quickly booked out. There’s real intrigue around who will come out on top, and what that would mean with MJF waiting nearby with the Casino Ladder Match poker chip.

The women’s division has had the same amount of days pass since All Out, but with much less on-screen build. The focus has been on the long-awaited split between Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter, which will create an interesting storyline when it comes, but at the same time Storm’s brief time as champion has become another women’s title run getting off to a perplexing start.

This match feels thrown together, with Serena Deeb and Athena taking the place of Hayter and Hikaru Shida from All Out. Athena was defeated at All Out by Jade Cargill but immediately inserted into this match after picking up a win over Emi Sakura. Deeb has been more active, picking up a series of wins on Dark and Dark Elevation before defeating Madison Rayne on AEW Rampage. But since AEW hasn’t released rankings since August 31, it’s hard to gauge where the company places here, even in kayfabe.

Outside of Storm and Baker, it’s hard to see how the other two women fit into this match without much being given in the way of the story. This leads to the idea that neither women feel like a viable threat to win the championship, perhaps being there to keep the heat of being pinned off Storm and Baker.

A more meaningful route would have been to set a singles match between Storm and Baker with the angle being Baker feeling like Storm owes her a shot after the result of the initial four-way at All Out. Hayter would get involved in the match, allowing the parties to go their separate ways with new angles on the horizon. That doesn’t seem to be the case and fans continue to roll their eyes at the lack of support for the division.