Last week, Saraya hinted at some backstage shenanigans after her match against Mariah May was cut last-minute in favor of Mercedes Moné’s unadvertised “Dynamite” debut. Coming into her match against May tonight, both the general, soul-crushing pressure to wrestle a great match and the pressure to deliver a match that justified her social media outburst must have weighed heavy on her mind. When the dust settled and the bell rang, however, Saraya’s hand was the one that was raised, and now, we don’t know what to expect from the former AEW Women’s World Champion — in a good way.

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This wasn’t any Match of the Year, but going into tonight’s contest, I thought this was a surefire May victory. May is one of AEW’s hottest acquisitions, and even though she’s been here since November 2023, she still is one of the promotion’s biggest draws, especially in the women’s division. Before tonight, she had won eleven out of the fifteen matches she was involved in, which places her success rate within range of top stars such as “Timeless” Toni Storm, Thunder Rosa, and Willow Nightingale. Saraya, on the other hand, has one singles win and three losses in her 2024 record — needless to say, not great. The odds were stacked against Saraya from a booking standpoint, and judging from her social media fit last Wednesday, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was buried.

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In fact, Saraya’s chances of winning were not even on my mind until the bell rang, and Saraya’s hand was raised. It was a pleasant surprise that offered a much-needed twist to an admittedly stale women’s division — by all patterns and expectations, May should’ve won. Add the fact that, on top of an upset victory, Saraya made May verbally tap out. Submissions are far more emasculating and humiliating than pinfalls, and so for Saraya to win in a dominant way — on top of her winning at all — is tantalizing. Saraya’s victory was an upset (which is weird to say, considering how infamous she is in the industry), but it was an upset that left me wanting more. What does this mean for The Outcasts going forward? Will Saraya be featured more in upcoming shows post-Forbidden Door? Are we finally going to have a reason to care about Saraya after she’s been irrelevant for most of 2024?

This is less about Saraya and May’s match, and more about the growing number of possibilities for Saraya’s career, now with a tide-turning victory over May underneath her belt. When women only get a 15-30 minute slot in the midcard of a show, there is only one chance to surprise us, to make us care, and to leave us wanting more. Having Saraya come out on top over May? This is how you leave us wanting more. It was unexpected, it was something new in a women’s division that relies on the same three women to carry the entirety of the roster, and it was long overdue. This could be the start of something big for the former AEW Women’s World Champion, and I am strapped in for the ride.

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Written by Angeline Phu