Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Serena Deeb

[4.0] "I don't know what's going on with Britt Baker but she's been slow and lethargic in her matches since her return. She has regressed in the ring and on the microphone. It's disappointing to see because 2020-21 she evolved quite a bit. Sooner rather than later a decision will need to be made."

[4.0] "Ever since coming back, Britt Baker has felt checked out and that continues with this match. Serena Deeb is a good wrestler, but she's not gonna carry Britt to a good match here, especially when Britt is the bigger star."

[3.0] "Deeb is good-ish but Britt really looks like she is not mentally invested in AEW or her matches. Something has been off with her for a while and it was glaring when they tried to do anything technical. It came off as a low level indie match with people early in their careers. The match was boring."

[3.0] "Maybe I'm just over Britt Baker, but I feel like I've seen this one and I prefer to see something else. Felt really clunky, didn't really tell a story, and there was just not much to like here. Poor Serena Deeb is just there to make the Doctor look good. Bummer. As for this one... 3/10"

[3.0] "Hardly anything worse than clunky technical wrestling like this. It's not even botching it's just this weird lack of athleticism and in this case it seemed like just to fill time rather than lead to anything for the match. Looks like diminishing returns for the hometown hero here too."

[5.0] "Deeb is too smart to take part in a disaster, leading a pretty simple match here that goes mostly without incident. Unfortunately, it also lacks any oomph, being stretched notably thin at this length. The result is a TV match that drags considerably, even without glaring mechanical miscues. **1/4"

[6.0] "I thought that this match was fine -- nothing special, but not worth the hate that it seemed to get in some quarters either."

[5.0] "This was rather boring but actually fine when you break the match down to it technical standpoint. I have seen worse Baker performances this year alone but at this point in her career I do not expect much more improvement. Deeb was solid but could have spiced the match up a bit during the middle."

[6.0] "Thankfully Britt stepped up her game after the Wembley match with Mercedes, which I think was just lack of chemistry/communication.Serena is a great rival for anyone in this women's division and hopefully both these women stay healthy and Tony books them strong."

[1.0] "Not only my least favorite Britt Baker match after she returned, but the second-worst match of the year that I have seen coming right under Kota vs. Marufuji. Britts mechanics have become glaringly and distractingly awful. The way she hit those ropes has terrible form; her footwork is bad; her sling blade was what it was; her pacing is not up to par, and she struggles to string together things. It really seemed like she's lost a lot of confidence in this match. Although most of the blame is on Baker in this one, pairing her with Sarena was highly questionable. The Pittsburgh crowd really wanted to cheer her on but were noticeably less enthused than previous times she's been there. I find it hard to come up with a reason as to why I'd have any incentive to revisit this match. 1/2"

[3.0] "This was a really clunky match which probably isn't a surprise but it also dragged and went way too long so it just makes it worse."

[6.0] "Hard carry job by Serena here, she might have to wear a back brace after this match. I dunno what happened to Britt, she's just not the same girl."

[7.0] "Good TV match, nothing amazing but well worked. Serena is not the hottest name around but I like her style quite a bit, she had a good one with Britt here, who as usual looked perfectly fine."

[5.0] "Very boring. Deeb carries this hard with her submission work which looks as great as ever ever. Her work on Britt's leg was genuinely pretty good. It's a shame then when Britt never sells her leg, even once throughout the entire match. I honestly don't know how she's been at the top of the women's division for so long because she so far below the level of pretty much everyone else in terms of in ring skill that it's laughable. Anyway, she picks up the win after putting in another lackluster performance and being completely outshone by her opponent. Such a waste of some good limbwork. Britt Baker is an unfortunate wrestler. **1/2"

[6.0] "Both Britt and Serena looked pretty good, even if they couldn't keep the crowd's interest. Britt moved well and didn't have any of her signature standing around moments. Weird post-match ignoring of Queen Aminata."

[5.0] "This was one of Britt Baker better matches but that ain't saying much because her in - ring talent is very below average. Serena Deeb carried the match in my opinion she did a solid job against Britt Baker."

[7.0] "It is always a pleasure to see Serena Deeb's submission game which, in my opinion, is ZSJ, Danielson or Hechicero level of good. Unfortunately the rest of her game, and particularly her charisma is below average as is Britt Baker's whole stock. So the match itself wasn't too great, but I enjoyed it due to the whole llaveo."

[6.0] "This was decent but as so often with the women, it suffered from a lack of crowd enthusiasm which shows just how far Bakers star has fallen even in her home town."

[4.0] "A slow match that didn't seem to exist for any reason than "Britt Baker is from the town we're going to be in." If nothing else that certainly is a fitting celebration of 5 years of Dynamite for the women's division. Baker doesn't have a good rep in the ring so her doing lousy looking technical exchanges is whatever but I feel like Deeb skates by on this rep of being a technical wizard but mostly just being awkward at best and convoluted at worst. Anyways, that's all I really got from this match which was oddly long."

[5.0] "First, what is happening with Britt Baker? Is she out of the doghouse? I guess so since this was a bridge match to get her into a feud with Mariah May, the current champ. If so , good. I'd rather her stay in AEW than go to WWE, as has been rumored. As to the match itself, why did Britt had the Terrible Towel but drop it BEFORE she came out of the tunnel? The crowd would've gone nuts for her. And the match was perfunctory. They've wrestled many times before but we never had any doubt Britt was going to win in her hometown against a lower mid-carder like Deeb. I know plenty of wrestling moves defy logic if we analyze them too hard, but Britt's finisher is the absolute dirt worst. Every time she does it all it would take is for her opponent to bite down and completely turn the tide. Last but certainly not least, what kind of wet far was the run in from Queen Aminata. Does ANYONE other than Deeb and Aminata care that they're feuding? On the 5th Anniversary show you have a lower mid-carder almost no one knows run in to save Britt from another jobber that loses 90% of the time she's on TV? Say what?"

[6.0] "Starts off with some pretty good chain wrestling, they seem to have pretty complimentary styles and have some pretty decent chemistry here. Think deebs chain wrestling can get a little TOO cute sometimes, not a huge fan of their running the ropes spot but Britt gets a nice running neckbreaker. Pretty brutal top rope slam by Britt, Britt finds the camera, hits the lockjaw on Deeb, gets the three count. Crowd is really into their hometown girl here by the end of it, its a decent enough match, so good job by both."

[6.0] "Theres some ok looking chain wrestling to start this one. Theres some funny looking running stuff that ends with a cutter. Some more chain wrestling in the heat where Deep gets the doctor in a couple holds, causing Brit to sell her legs. Some nice back and forth after this with them trading throws and submissions. Baker almost gets her crossface on but Deep is able to counter. Deep is also able to kick out of a move off the top turnbuckle, but not soon after the Doc gets her crossface locked in and its all over for the professor. Some good stuff here for sure."