Riho vs. Baker was everything that a professional wrestling program could possibly hope for in a main event. Though Riho entered this match as a challenger she was no underdog, the inaugural champion in her own right, Riho was a tall order in the ring for Baker, but Baker had more than enough to meet her challenge. Arriving in the ring with two enforcers, the odds were seemingly stacked against Riho early on until a table was set up and and Riho hit a diving dropkick that caused the odds to be evened, if not for a brief moment.
Baker’s skills were put into question, but she showed and proved on her own as her enforcers were either getting injured or ejected outside of the ring. Baker was able to meet Riho’s swift kicks with stiff forearms concentrating on a offense reliant on her weight advantage being concentrated within even her glancing blows. Riho on the other hand relied on her speed and performed a gorgeous modified 619 as well as double stomps from nearly every angle. Her signature Snap Dragon, and Baker was able to hit a show-stealing counter that ultimately turned the tide for the remainder of the match. Stomp after stomp followed by Baker’s version of the mandible claw spelled doom for Riho as she tapped out and Baker retained, with her enforcers joining her and displaying a little heat amongst each other as the pay per view went off the air.
Riho and Baker put on a well-fought match that could easily rival and surpass heavyweight main events from AEW’s outside competition, both male and female divisions. This was a wrestler’s wrestling match : both technical and thought out with a focus on move-set’s and natural strengths being the deciding factor to this female on female action.
Score : 4/5
*AEW Battle of the Belts was a professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling. The event aired live on TNT and took place on January 8, 2022, at 8pm Eastern Time at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina
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