Tonight on Dynamite, Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker will face off in a Lights Out match to headline the show. AEW’s women’s division experienced some growing pains since the onset of the promotion but seems to have really hit a new stride as of late. Tony Khan recently spoke to the Sporting News about the growth of the division.
“I think we’ve seen great development of the women’s roster since AEW launched,” Khan said during the interview. “Wrestling fans voted Dr. Britt Baker the most improved wrestler in the world last year for 2020, in the Wrestling Observer awards, and she’s been a great leader in the women’s division. She’s been a great leader in the women’s division and we’ve added great talent internally.”
Khan then listed a few names that AEW has been able to acquire that have helped the division grow.
“I think Red Velvet’s come in and done a really good job for us, and Serena Deeb has come in and not only been great for us, but then as a full-time AEW contract wrestler, went out and won the NWA women’s title. Serena, Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch are great examples of people who weren’t here at the beginning, who I think have upgraded our talent, and stepped in and become really great additions.”
Tony Khan Praises Tay Conti & Others
Tay Conti was also specifically mentioned by Khan during the interview.
“Tay Conti is somebody who I’ve always thought had tremendous potential — she has vastly improved and I think she could be a front-runner this year, potentially, to break out and be one of the most improved wrestlers in the world. I think she had all the tools and all the personal charisma that it takes to be a great wrestler. She always had everything it took, and now with more experience, more reps and great coaching, we’re seeing that.”
AEW signed several big-name male stars right out of the gate. Marquee female wrestlers equivalent to Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Jon Moxley simply weren’t available in the free agency pool when AEW started. Since then, however, they’ve added to the roster through free agency and worked to grow stars in the division.
“The women’s division, we signed a lot of great wrestlers and we’ve seen some development but we’ve also had a lot of huge movement in free agency since then,” Khan continued.
“I think now for our women’s division, for us to have great new stars with buzz who have really added to the show in the past six months or a year, it really helped us a lot. I’m so excited for the main event this week of the Lights Out match with Dr. Britt Baker versus Thunder Rosa, which is one of my favorite stories we’ve ever told on all of AEW, really.”