Mariah May’s signing must create urgency for better booking

Mariah May is a talented, young performer and one that should help the AEW women’s division in a time when it desperately needs better booking. 

Mariah May made her All Elite Wrestling debut during the November 8 edition of AEW Dynamite. This comes one month after initial reports that AEW was interested in bringing in one of the top young talents in women’s wrestling. Now that she’s here, the company has an opportunity to build some interesting momentum in the women’s division.

May made her appearance and put the focus squarely on her interest in Toni Storm. She’s not in the space of wanting to fight Storm, instead, admiring her as a performer. This immediately caused many to signal that this is akin to the Trish Stratus versus Mickie James crazed fan angle from generations ago. That was some of the better wrestling booking for women back in that time, even though it still wasn’t where it should have been.

That brings the conversation to AEW, as that is a current complaint about where that women’s division is today. May is someone that can help in that space. At 25 years old she’s already grasped the concept of strong character work coupled with great in-ring performances. All of this on four years of wrestling experience according to Cagematch.

Potentially slotting May into an angle with Storm is hopefully a positive signal that AEW is going to give the women’s division more space to develop characters, thus building more interesting storylines. Julia Hart and Skye Blue are involved in an angle that is giving space for character development for two women that fans are invested in supporting. As Hart’s popularity grows, expect to see her soon capture the AEW TBS Championship.

It will be interesting to see how May is used in the coming weeks. The initial excitement to see her on screen is there, she’s one of the trending topics in wrestling the day after. But will she still be on television in a few weeks, which is usually how long it takes Tony Khan to “forget” individuals that are on the roster. May is one of several names that would benefit from more than one match on AEW television each show, and that outcry will continue until consistent change is seen.

Fans should be excited for Mariah May’s signing to AEW. She’s a young, talented performer that the promotion can build around for the future. Her signing and introduction may point toward some improvements coming soon for the women’s division. At least many are hoping that is the case as AEW continues to fall short in that space since its inception.