Bully Ray Believes AEW Missed Opportunity With Willow Nightingale On Dynamite

NJPW Resurgence concluded in shocking fashion on Sunday when AEW star Willow Nightingale pinned Mercedes Moné to become the inaugural NJPW STRONG Women's Champion. The match was reportedly cut short and the finish was changed on the fly due to Moné suffering a leg injury. During a recent episode of "Busted Open," Bully Ray discussed how AEW missed an opportunity to showcase Nightingale after her monumental win.

"I would say that AEW missed the opportunity with Willow Nightingale [on Wednesday]," Ray said. He pointed out that Orange Cassidy and Kyle Fletcher took up nearly the first 20 minutes of "Dynamite" and believes that a few minutes could've been carved out for Tony Schiavone to interview Nightingale in the ring. He continued, "I'm not talking about giving her a ten-minute segment. I'm talking about giving her a three-minute segment. Tony announcing her, letting the fans soak it in, let the people see that championship, let her say a couple of words, and get the hell out. This was dropped in their lap... Massive missed opportunity."

Ray said that we always hear about the honor and prestige of New Japan, and here we have Nightingale who defeated Moné in a huge upset in the main event of a pay-per-view. He also mentioned that if it was Britt Baker or Jamie Hayter in Nightingale's spot, they would've received more than a 30-second pre-taped promo. He thinks what happened here and with Thunder Rosa relinquishing the title in the manner she did proves the notion that AEW doesn't care about their women's division outside of one or two performers.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.