In a stunning twist, Mariah May went from hero to villain faster than you can say “steel chair!” She clinched the 2024 Owen Hart Cup by defeating defending champ Willow Nightingale in a knock-down, drag-out brawl on Wednesday’s “AEW Dynamite.” The win earned her a shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In, but the real fireworks started after the bell.
Mariah May, the once-innocent protegee of “Timeless” Toni Storm, proved she’s anything but timelessly loyal. After the match, mentor and mentee hugged it out like a Hallmark movie, only for May to turn the scene into a Quentin Tarantino flick by clocking Storm with the very belt she just won. The AEW Women’s World Champion and her butler, Luther, were left in a crumpled heap as the show went off the air.
The match itself was a barnburner. Storm, dressed in her best 1990s homage, cheered on from ringside as May and Nightingale traded blows like it was Black Friday at the mall. Nightingale, rocking her finest Owen Hart tribute gear, hit a cannonball from the ring apron, making May look like she’d just been run over by a freight train. Not to be outdone, May dished out a hip attack that could’ve knocked the glitter off a unicorn, only to be met with a spinebuster that had her seeing stars.
The drama reached fever pitch when a hooded figure—presumably Stokely Hathaway—distracted Nightingale just long enough for Kris Statlander to deliver a slap that could be heard in the cheap seats. With Storm lending a hand to May, it was a chaotic scene of elbows, knees, and near-falls. Nightingale seemed to have it in the bag with a fireman’s carry, but May reversed it into a pin, securing her victory.
But the real show began post-match. Mariah May proved she’s got the villainy chops of a soap opera star, attacking Storm and her butler with the kind of ferocity usually reserved for action movie bad guys. May even threw poor Luther off the stage into the equipment, adding a dose of mayhem to her betrayal. Storm, bloodied and beaten, had her wound insultingly prodded by her own shoe, courtesy of May.
The final shot of “Dynamite” was pure cinematic gold: May kissing Storm’s bleeding forehead, her mentor’s blood smeared like war paint, as she stared out at an enraged audience. If you thought wrestling was fake, May’s betrayal was real enough to make you question everything.