Hardcore Country!! That’s right, former three-time Knockouts Champion Mickie James made an appearance for IMPACT’s Slammiversary as she came to the ring after Deonna Purrazzo retained her title. James was released from WWE in April and since then she has been putting in the work to highlight and create a bigger platform for women’s wrestling … Read more
The “Hot Mess” is back! Chelsea Green returned to the ring for the first time since her release from WWE in April. She has come home to IMPACT Wrestling where she is a former Knockouts Champion under the name Laurel Van Ness. She was the surprise tag team partner for Matt Cardona during the Mixed … Read more
Havok & Rosemary are now your NEW Knockouts Tag Team Champions as they defeated Fire ‘N Flava on the pre-show of Slammiversary. Havok has now fully joined Decay and their power together ended the 63-day reign of Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz. Havok got the pin on Hogan after delivering a Tombstone. The Knockouts Tag … Read more
One of IMPACT’s biggest shows of the year is tonight and there is a lot of surprises that could take place. We have two mystery competitors showing up which creates a bit of suspense for the event. Slammiversary could possibly see some new additions to the Knockouts division. The pre-show starts at 7 P.M. EST … Read more
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair received an absolute electric reception when crowds returned on last night’s SmackDown. She successfully defended her title against a determined Carmella but the Most Beautiful Woman in all of WWE wasn’t happy with this last-minute booking.
Because Carmella wasn’t “prepared” for her match, she is getting another one. The two will clash again next Friday on the July 23 episode of SmackDown.
Belair appeared on Talking Smack after their match and provided a response to Carmella who says she wasn’t ready because she only had six days to prepare. The champ says people like Carmella tend to go on Twitter and act like they aren’t bothered when they are. So if Carmella wants a rematch then she can have that because Belair is a fighting champion.
Alright Knockout fans, we’ve made it to Slammiversary.
IMPACT! currently has three matches involving the Knockouts planned for the event. The matches are as follows:
Pre-Show – Knockouts Tag Team Championship
Fire ‘N Flava (c) vs. Havok & Rosemary
Mixed Tag Team Match
Tenille Dashwood & Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona and TBA
Knockouts Championship
Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. TBA – Mystery Opponent
Fire ‘N Flava (c) vs. Havok & Rosemary for the Knockouts Tag Team Championships
After spending some time trying to best each other to get to the Knockouts Championship, Havok and Rosemary realized that they may be better off together. Havok consistently having the back of Rosemary has led to this partnership forming and has made Rosemary now wanting Havok to fully commit and join Decay.
Fire ‘N Flava has been against their opponents getting a title shot feeling they haven’t earned it. Since then, Rosemary & Havok have had a chance to prove they are on the same page and defeated Kimber Lee and Su Yung to become the number one contenders. This match was recently moved to the pre-show.
Havok holds a singles victory over Tasha Steelz heading into this match and Rosemary defeated Kiera Hogan in June.
Predictions:
Nick: This one I can see go either way and now that it has been moved to the pre-show it makes me doubt that Havok & Rosemary will win. However, I feel as though the push and focus have been more on Havok & Rosemary over Fire ‘N Flava so I will still be with them as the winners and new champions.
John: Huge mark for Rosemary and she and Havock make a great team. Fire ‘N Flava has been good champions but it is time to take the titles to the dark side. Rosemary and Havok as new champions
Tenille Dashwood & Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona & TBA
This match certainly was a last-minute surprise. On this past week’s IMPACT, Dashwood said hello to her real-life ex- Matt Cardona, and not in the nicest way. After hitting a low blow on Cardona, Dashwood was revealed to be the person that Brian Myers needed to help take down his former lifelong friend. Although this was a random booking, it doesn’t even need a build up due to the history of the three involved.
What is the wildcard here is who will Cardona pick as his partner? Since this match was announced, Cardona has spent a lot of time on Twitter saying who his opponent will NOT be. Most recently confirming that it will indeed not be Vickie Guerrero.
Nick: With Chelsea Green showing up to ROH and announcing that she still has about a month left of rehabbing her arm, her being her real-life fiance’s partner seems less likely. That is unless she is playing it up and she really is ready to get back in the ring. I am guessing that Taylor Wilde will return as Cardona’s mystery partner based on her friction with Tenille prior to her time off TV. I have Cardona and whoever his partner is winning.
John: If it’s not Chelsea Green what are we even doing here? I fully expect to see the ‘Hot Mess’ return to IMPACT alongside Cardona to take out Dashwood and Brian Myers.
Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Mystery Opponent – Knockouts Championship
This match has the most buzz surrounding it and Purrazzo has done a wonderful job building up the match essentially by herself. She has had the help of Gail Kim and Scott D’Amore to punch home the excitement, but without someone across the ring from her yet, she has had to do all the work.
Gail has told her to get prepared for the fight of her life and that this match will not only change our world but Deonna’s as well. Those words alone make it sound like her opponent is going to be tough to beat. Purrazzo has gone through the entire Knockouts Division (other than Taylor Wilde) and since Slammiversary last year she is a two-time champion and seems to be unstoppable.
D’Amore has continued to tease recent WWE releases as being possible opponents for Purrazzo, but only when the bell is about to ring will we truly find out.
Predictions:
Nick: Deonna will retain. Regardless of the opponent, Deonna will, and for a few reasons. One, because of her future bookings which require her to still be a champion, and two I feel they will have her surpass the longest reign held by Taya Valkyrie. Now, this doesn’t take away from a great match that we hopefully are about to watch. Chelsea was my go-to choice, but as already mentioned that seems less likely now. Mickie James makes the most logical choice here. The rumor is it will not be someone currently on the Knockouts Roster.
John: Deonna is easily the best Knockouts Champion in years and as Nick says will retain. For the mystery opponent, I’m hoping for someone way out of left field like Jazzy Gabert, Serena Deeb or even NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille accompanied by Mickie James.
Along with Mickie and Chelsea, Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay, formerly known as The IIconics, are two more women who many are hoping to see at this event.
What are your picks for these Knockouts matches at Slammiversary? Comment below and check back in with Diva Dirt later today to join the Slammiversary Discussion Post.
This week’s Friday Night SmackDown was an explosive showing as live crowds have returned for the first time in 16-months. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair was able to defend her title for the first time in front of a crowd since she won it at WrestleMania in April. Carmella was her opponent and what a … Read more
It was announced on tonight’s SmackDown that Toni Storm will be making her debut on the brand next week, July 23. A video promo premiered last week teasing her debut and with it just saying “coming soon” we didn’t know at that time when she would show up. Now we do. Storm is coming from … Read more
Tonight’s a big night. WWE is back in front of fans from here on out and SmackDown is the first show to do so. Heading into the weekend, this is the last show before the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event that takes place this Sunday. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair is ready to put … Read more
NXT Superstar Xia Li is reportedly planned to have a dark match prior to this week’s SmackDown. Fightful Select is reporting this was the plan as of Tuesday. An opponent has not been named at the time of this writing.
EDIT: Since this posting, Aliyah has been confirmed as Xia Li’s opponent.
Li joins several other NXT talents that have had dark matches over the course of the past number of weeks. Tegan Nox, Scarlett, Shotzi, and Toni Storm have all been included on that list. Nox and Shotzi debuted on SmackDown last week and came out with a win in tag team action by defeating the Women’s Tag Team Champions of Natalya and Tamina. A video package started airing last week showing that Storm is coming to the blue brand as well.
At this time, Fightful has not heard of any plans of Li being called up. However, the plan is to continue to have NXT talent work dark matches prior to RAW and SmackDown now that fans will be in attendance.
Li has the biggest opportunity of her career coming up on next week’s NXT as she will be challenging Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women’s Championship. She has been a part of a very popular NXT stable at the moment along with Boa and Mei Ying, known collectively as Tian Sha.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for any further news on NXT talent being utilized for the main roster.
Slammiversary is this Saturday and we have another match with Knockouts involved added to the card. Tenille Dashwood will be teaming up with Brian Myers taking on Matt Cardona and a tag team partner of his choosing. Myers was out in the ring with Sam Beale as they were calling out Jake Something. Jake didn’t … Read more
Knockouts fans, we have made it to the last IMPACT! show before Slammiversary which will take place this Saturday on July 17. So far there are two matches booked for the event, both with championships on the line. Rosemary & Havok will get a shot at the tag team gold as they face the champions … Read more
Tamina becomes the eighth and final woman added to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match which will take place this Sunday on July 18. A spot that many speculated was going to be a “surprise entrant” was just officially announced by WWE as one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. She joins her tag … Read more
For what it is worth, AEW’s Fyter Fest Night One takes place tonight. On the card for this event is one women’s match that has the returning Yuka Sakazaki taking on Penelope Ford. Sakazaki returned to the states to the company and picked up a win over KiLynn King on Elevation this past Monday. Next … Read more
AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker wants to finally have the women included in the AEW and IMPACT Wrestling cross-promotion. At the end of 2020, the two companies announced some exciting news that they were going to work together moving forward in some capacity. Many fans and talent alike were excited about the possibilities. However, … Read more
NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez has a new challenger and that is Xia Li.
Prior to Li stepping up to Gonzalez, the champion was at ringside supporting her tag team partner Dakota Kai as she faced Ember Moon. Moon is now officially a singles competitor again as Shotzi Blackheart has now moved on to SmackDown with Tegan Nox.
Kai and Moon put on another clinic of a match and Kai was able to pick up the win. Afterward, the lights went out and Xia Li emerged.
Li tells Gonzalez that she is standing in her way. Gonzalez accepts the challenge and says she hopes she shows up this time and tells her to take a good look at the belt. Li then left the ring and the match is booked.
Next week Li challenges Gonzalez with the NXT Women’s Championship on the line.
If there were two surprises on this week’s NXT, the credit goes to Mandy Rose and Aliyah. First, RAW Superstar Mandy Rose appeared during the scheduled match between Sarray and GiGi Dolin. Dolin was having her first singles match since joining the company and having Rose come out on the stage certainly wasn’t what anyone … Read more
This week’s NXT has two women’s match set and ready to go. First, as was revealed yesterday on social media, Sarray has found herself an opponent. Since arriving in WWE and on the NXT brand, Sarray has been undefeated. She is actively looking for competition and she wanted Toni Storm. Storm declined the offer saying … Read more
Ring of Honor has announced that their new women’s champion will be crowned on Sept. 12 at its Death Before Dishonor XVIII event. The event will take place in Lakeland, Fla. at the RP Funding Center. This event for Ring of Honor has been a mainstay since 2003. The brackets for the Women’s Title Quest … Read more
If you are a fan of the WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix then you will enjoy the possibility of her lacing up her boots once again. The Glamazon recently spoke with Renne Paquette on her Oral Session podcast and provided some details about her love for wrestling and how she doesn’t feel as though … Read more
Monday’s RAW didn’t just signify the go-home show for the red brand when it comes to Money in the Bank but it was the last show of the ThunderDome era. This show was pre-taped and fans will be returning regularly to WWE shows starting with this Friday’s SmackDown.
With that being said, a Fatal 4-Way match took place between the four women representing RAW in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match which will take place this Sunday, July 18. Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and Nikki A.S.H. all wanted to get a leg up heading into the event by pulling out a win.
A match that started out as a Fatal 4-way became a Triple Threat after Bliss disappeared. Earlier in the night, Eva Marie and Doudrop came to Alexa’s Playground. And although Bliss and Doudrop seemed friendly, Bliss wasn’t keen on the fact that Eva tagged along when she wasn’t invited.
During the Fatal 4-Way, Doudrop and Eva made their way out to the ramp. A distraction caused Eva to be scared by Bliss and she tried to use her shoe to shoo her away. Doudrop then dumped Bliss over the barricade and that is where she disappeared from the match.
Now with only three women left, things really picked up in the match and it was Nikki who picked up the win after she pinned Asuka. Leading up to the pin, Naomi hit a swift kick from the ring apron to Nikki over the top rope. Asuka then delivered a codebreaker to Naomi in the ropes causing Naomi to fall to the outside taking her out of the equation. After a few pin attempts by Nikki, Asuka tried to lock in the Asuka Lock but Nikki had a unique roll through in order to get Asuka’s shoulders on the mat for the three count.
After picking up another victory in the Fatal 4-Way Match, Almost a Super Hero @NikkiCrossWWE is ready for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. pic.twitter.com/uyqcKtLQhg
Elsewhere on RAW, we saw the build continue towards the RAW Women’s Championship match between the champ Rhea Ripley and challenger Charlotte Flair. The two will battle it out at Money in the Bank with the gold on the line and with Ripley trying everything she can to best The Queen. Flair has been using Flair’s tactics against her for a number of weeks now. In fact, it helped her retain against Flair at Hell in a Cell when she disqualified herself in order to keep the title.
In a refreshing match, Ripley faced one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Natalya. The two put on a stellar match that highlighted both women. Natalya was added to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match by WWE Authority Sonya Deville on social media prior to RAW taking place.
Prior to Nattie’s match with Ripley, she and Tamina continued to have issues with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke backstage. The verbal assault turned physical after Tamina shoved Brooke before the tag champs walked away. Rose and Brooke are still gearing up to take the tag titles from the champs, they are just waiting for the match to be set.
Ripley ended up pinning Natalya and as to be expected, Flair jumped Ripley from behind with a chop block to the knee. Flair made sure that the champ and her opponent come Sunday wasn’t going to walk out of the last ThunderDome easily. She continued delivering the pain to Ripley’s knee as she wrenched it on the ring apron.
In a backstage interview with Flair, she makes an emphatic statement that she will become RAW Women’s Champion and that it is game over for Ripley. As Ripley tries to continue her championship reign since dethroning Asuka at WrestleMania, Flair will try to win the RAW Women’s Champion for the first time since 2016.
What did you think about this week’s RAW? Are you excited to get fans back?
Check back in with Diva Dirt for all your news on the women of WWE and coverage for Money in the Bank this Sunday on July 18.
Sonya Deville has been thriving in an authority role on both SmackDown and RAW. Deville made her return to WWE to kick off the new year on the Jan. 1 episode of SmackDown. Her absence from WWE programming started at SummerSlam in August when she lost in a Loser Leave WWE match against Mandy Rose. … Read more
Welcome to the final RAW before Money in the Bank and the last time we see the Thunderdome as WWE goes back on the road this week. This show was pre-taped. WWE announced today via Sonya Deville that Natalya has joined the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder Match that will take place this Sunday … Read more
Chelsea Green has made her debut with Ring of Honor. Green made her debut with the promotion during tonight’s Best in the World event. During the event, Maria Kanellis Bennett announced the brackets for the Quest for Gold Women’s Title Tournament. Since the end of April, Kanellis Bennett has been scouting women for the promotion … Read more
Over the weekend, MLW taped its Battle Riot III event. At this event, fans started seeing the new partnership MLW has with the founder of SHIMMER, Dave Prazak. Just days ago, MLW unveiled some huge news that they will be launching a women’s division and it will be spearheaded by the SHIMMER founder. On Saturday, … Read more
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair and “The Boss” Sasha Banks are now ESPY award winners. In the category of WWE Moment of the Year, their WrestleMania main event match took the prize. The award was fan voted. There were four nominees for this award and Belair herself was nominated twice in the category. Her second … Read more
