A common thread on NXT this week was that there are many women gunning for the NXT Women’s Championship. Mia Yim, Chelsea Green, Io Shirai, and Candice LeRae all seem to have their eye fixed on the top of the division and gold in their future. Before we unpack this, let’s get to the two … Read more
Since the beginning of time, similar “gimmicks” or terms used by wrestlers in different promotions riles up the fan base of wrestling. It is quite easy to overlap with what is done and said as there is always a similar formula. AEW’s Britt Baker spoke with Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho about using the … Read more
IMPACT’s Rebellion event kicked off last night with night one and it hosted one Knockouts match between Kylie Rae and Kiera Hogan. Rae was able to pick up a big win as she starts getting her footing in with the company. The second part of Rebellion will take place on April 28. Originally the second … Read more
Dakota Kai has had many eyes on her since her heel turn in November at TakeOver:WarGames. No one has kept a closer eye on her than her former best friend and tag team partner Tegan Nox. It was at WarGames that Kai turned on Nox which opened the flood gates to some high profiled matches … Read more
Kylie Rae, the newest addition to the Knockouts Division, showed that she has a lot to keep smiling about as she walked out with a victory at IMPACT’s Rebellion. Rebellion was originally scheduled as a pay-per-view event for IMPACT, however, it was changed to a two-night event. This first night featured Rae vs. Kiera Hogan. … Read more
This week’s AEW Dynamite was all about Britt Baker. “The Face of the Women’s Division” was back in the ring after last week’s amazing match with Hikaru Shida. How would Britt fair after such a gruelling and hard-hitting match in which she suffered a broken nose? Let us find out. Before the match, we were … Read more
After a long day of uncertainty within WWE due to the release of talent, we still had our weekly NXT show to view. Heading into the night the only thing that was for certain was that we would hear from at least Charlotte Flair. Flair defeated Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania and is now ready for … Read more
Scarlett Bordeaux makes her debut at the end of this week’s NXT, well sort of. One thing is known and that is she is definitely here and ready. The last segment of this week’s show saw a debuting Killer Kross attacking Tommaso Ciampa during his backstage promo. Ciampa was explaining after his loss last week … Read more
Today marks the day that the legendary Meiko Satomura celebrates 25 years in professional wrestling. Satomura is one of the most well-respected wrestlers on the planet and widely considered as one of the best wrestlers in history. Satomura’s amazing wrestling journey at the age of 15 when she made her professional wrestling debut on this … Read more
It was announced earlier today that WWE would be either letting go on placing some of their employees on furlough (leave of absence). This is as a result of cutting costs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sarah Logan was the first female in-ring talent that has been released from the company. Below is … Read more
It has been officially announced on WWE.com that Sarah Logan has been released by the company. She joins many other male employees that have been officially released today. This comes from an announcement this morning that the company was going to start releasing some talent/employees as well as putting some others on a furlough status. … Read more
Update: Since posting this, WWE has released several superstars as announced on their official Twitter account and website. At this time, there has not been a female talent listed, but you can view who has been released below: WWE has released an official statement in regards to what measures they are taking to save money … Read more
On this week’s IMPACT, Madison Rayne debuted her new show called Locker Room Talk. As the Locker Room Leader, Rayne likes to create some friction between her colleagues. Her guests were Kylie Rae and Kiera Hogan. It started with just Rae and Rayne. The two talk about the upcoming match at Rebellion between Rae and … Read more
Tenille Dashwood has not been in action for the past several months. She returned on tonight’s episode of IMPACT in what was being coined as a rematch from Bound for Glory. She faced former Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie in the in-ring main event reigniting their rivalry from last year.
Valkyrie felt like she had Dashwood’s number throughout the match as her associate John E. Bravo would attack Dashwood as much as he could while the official wasn’t looking. She would eventually hit her Road to Valhalla, which normally takes out her opponents. Instead, Dashwood’s ring awareness shows no ring rust as she was able to grab the ring rope for a break.
Valkyrie introduced a steel chair to the match, but was unable to use it as the referee was on top of the situation. This distraction caused enough for the former Knockouts Champion to take her eye off of her opponent. Dashwood hit a sunset flip on a surprised Valkyrie and picked up the pin for the victory.
After the match was an onslaught from Valkyrie as she became unhinged. She would utilize several weapons including burying Dashwood in a pile of steel chairs. Luckily before things got worse, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace emerged with a kendo stick to take out her upcoming challenger for Rebellion.
As reported earlier this year in January, WWE has now launched the Fight Like A Girl series on the steaming service known as Quibi. The series picks 10 women who have struggled throughout their life, one way or another, and over the course of 10 weeks helps instill confidence through training at the Performance Center. … Read more
On tonight’s RAW, there were three matches set up to determine three competitors for the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Money in the Bank will be taking place on May 10. The women that have advanced are Asuka, Shayna Baszler, and Nia Jax. The most competitive match of the three was the first … Read more
WWE’s first openly gay signee Jake Atlas recently sat down with DS Shin from Ring the Belle to divulge his top five women that have inspired him. Atlas recently made his debut on NXT in a losing effort to Dexter Lumis. Just like most gay men growing up, Atlas idolized the women of WWE through admiration and intrigue. He spoke to Shin about how it was the women of the company that inspired him to become the wrestler that he is today.
Generally from a young boy you would hear them say idols such as The Rock, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold influenced them to want to become a wrestler. For Atlas, and many gay youth, this was quite the contrary.
Let’s go through Atlas’ top five and see if these women were ever inspirations to you.
5. Maryse
Credit: WWE
Atlas starts off his list with the French Kiss herself, Maryse. Maryse was definitely a powerful heel during her mainstay with the company. He praised the fact that she came in green without wrestling experience and turned herself into not just a Diva but an in-ring presence. She also came into this without knowing English very well. Atlas explains how when he has been a heel character, Maryse’s portrayal is one he admired.
“I’ve always been a fan of heels. I’ve always been about the bad girls, the mean girls. It just looks so effortless for her. So sometimes whenever I have done a heel character I have done the hand gesture, like get out of my face, and it has always been a tribute to her.”
4. Gail Kim
Credit: TNA/IMPACT Wrestling
Atlas believes that Gail Kim is one of the best women’s wrestlers to exist. He mentions her move to TNA and is glad they were able to show why she is one of the best.
“I’m glad that TNA gave her the platform to acknowledge that she is one of the best. Her match with Tessa Blanchard was phenomenal. You know, I think I saw this on Twitter. Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard was what Trish and Charlotte was for WWE at SummerSlam. That’s just generational. Gail Kim was ahead of her time, she was so good, I enjoyed her work at WWE. It was really awesome to just see her win the Women’s Title in her debut, because she is just so good,”
3. Sasha Banks
Credit: WWE
Atlas attributes Sasha for his psychological aspect of wrestling. Her sayings and thought process behind the art of wrestling is what he admires from her. He has adapted this into his own career and his own way of thinking about loving what he does.
“Again, just the heel character in her is what really drew me to her, but more than anything, she is just so passionate about this…..The one line I always say when I am about to go through the curtain is ‘I was born to do this.’ And maybe other people have said this in the past, but I got it from Sasha.”
“Another quote that she says is ‘be so good that they can’t ignore you.’ And that can’t be anymore truer for her. Mentally she is just so good at wrestling and you see that through her matches. Through the psychology of what she does. The Sasha and Bayley match, one of the best matches I have ever seen.
2. Aj Lee
Credit: WWE
Aj Lee is one female wrestler that Atlas believes was relatable to him. Through her advocacy on mental health and from her passion she showed for wrestling. He talks about her book and how she was meant to do this. He also recalls her FCW days and how he enjoyed her matches with Naomi.
“I remember at Payback when she won the Divas Title and when the referee handed her the belt, you could just see her face as she is receiving the belt. This was her moment. This was her crowning moment. Her whole life’s work into finally winning the top championship of WWE. I just connected to her from her FCW days when she would have the matches with Naomi, they would kill it.”
1.Trish Stratus
Credit: WWE
Let’s be honest, Trish Stratus was an idol for many people. She predominately was an idol for all of the gay youth growing up, myself included. She was also that way for Atlas. He recalls the story of not being able to see her main event match on RAW against Lita when it took place because he was punished by his mother. He recalls a funny story of how he blamed his mother for Trish losing the title that night.
He had the following to say on why she means so much to him:
“I remember before I came out, I would always say she was my girlfriend and that I would marry her one day. I just wanted to be her. She is the best of all time I think of the women. When it comes to the overall package. She had it. She was a superstar. She was the standard of what you needed to be.”
“She just made me feel everything about pro wrestling. She made me feel it all. She made me cry, I cried at her retirement match. I cried in her return, I cried for the Trish and Charlotte match. This was my person, my go to wrestler. You made me feel this about wrestling.”
Voices like Atlas’ are good for the community. Him speaking on his top five women’s wrestlers who have inspired him to do what he does is inspiring of itself. The women that we have grown to idolize whether it is in WWE or any other organization means a lot to those who feel as though they don’t have a voice.
What did you think of his list? Do you share any of the same women? Who makes your top five? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Thank you to Ring the Belle for this exclusive content.
Friday Night SmackDown picked up where RAW left off and that is with plenty to talk about from the women’s division. WrestleMania may be in the rear view, however, there is still plenty to build from as a result of that event. The match of the night saw The Kabuki Warriors getting a rematch for their former gold. They faced the new Women’s Tag Team Champions – Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss.
Another great match between these four women was a joy to watch. Personally, I feel that the WrestleMania match was better, but this one certainly was entertaining. Asuka and Cross arguing on top of the commentary desk was fun to watch. Speaking of Asuka, she certainly has been the glue that has held both RAW and SmackDown together. She has been appearing on both shows for the past several weeks and has been the most entertaining to see during this time.
The match culminated with Kairi Sane being isolated in the ring. This allowed for a blind tag by Cross. She would enter the match and hit a neck breaker to pick up the pin on Sane to retain the title. With these two being the only two teams left on-screen I couldn’t have been the only one wanting The IIconics to return tonight.
Credit: @DynamiteSkye
In regards to the tag team division there seems to be a new team brewing and that is Dana Brooke and Carmella. They were seen backstage approaching Bliss & Cross after their win. They challenged them to a match and although Bliss was reluctant, they accepted. There wasn’t any mention of when this match would take place but because Brooke and Carmella weren’t on WrestleMania they wanted a chance for the gold.
Brooke was also announced to be in a qualifying match for next week against Naomi for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match that will take place on May 10.
From the tag titles we transfer to the SmackDown Women’s Title. Bayley retained in a Fatal Five-way at Mania and she continues to think she is the unstoppable role model. Her and Sasha Banks stood in the ring and explained the opinions of the sheep. They were interrupted by a determined Tamina. The two best friends attempt to smooth things over as always with the compliments to her. Tamina wasn’t buying it and issued a challenge of her own. She explains that although she may have been first out during the Fatal Five-way match, it took all four of the other competitors to do so. She wants a title shot one-on-one with the longest reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Bayley would agree to this, however, Tamina has to go through Banks first next week. It has been a while since Tamina has been seen as an unstoppable force and also standing on her own instead of being the bodyguard for someone else. So could she be finally getting her moment?
Sonya Deville was also on the show to accompany Dolph Ziggler to ringside. Ziggler defeated Tucker and although it appears Mandy Rose is busy with Otis, Deville will meet with her next week. Deville and Ziggler maintain that the footage that was shown about their involvement with the Valentine’s date gone wrong was doctored. Let’s see how Deville talks her way out of this one as she will be face to face with Rose next week.
Banks has really been killing it on the mic. Her reactions to Tamina have been comical and having that during these times is a nice relief. Since Bayley was the one to make the match between Sasha and Tamina for next week, it seems that there is still that break up lurking. Although I won’t get my hopes up to much because we all know what happen for the majority of 2018 between the two.
WINNER: Dana Brooke
OPPORTUNITY!! Brooke was unfortunately taken out of the WrestleMania match but she is back and is ready to finally get some gold. Between her qualifying match for the MITB Ladder match as well a Women’s Tag Team Championship If anyone’s immediate future looks bright it would be Dana’s.
LOSER:
Everyone on tonight’s show seems to be moving forward in there storylines so it really is hard to pick a loser this week. The Kabuki Warriors could be considered on the losing end as they lost their rematch, but with how Asuka has been carrying both shows and the match itself being good that seems to be a stretch.
What did you think of this week’s show? Who were your Winners and Losers? Did you find anyone on the loser end? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
It was announced tonight on Friday Night SmackDown that two women from the blue brand will battle it out next week for a chance to enter the Money in the Bank ladder match. The Money in the Bank pay-per-view is still on schedule for May 10 as advertised. It will most likely take place at … Read more
Nia Jax appeared on Paige’s Twitch where she spoke candidly about having to step in and talk to WWE management about Alexa Bliss getting injured by a co-worker. The clip posted by talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy shows Jax tells her colleagues of a time when she had to step and look after her friend, Alexa Bliss … Read more
Ring of Honor announced that former Women of Honor champion, Angelina Love has re-signed with the company. The official announcement was made via their website and featured the following quote by Love; “I am extremely happy to have re-signed with Ring Of Honor,” Love said. “I’m very happy working here and look forward to continuing … Read more
This week’s AEW Dynamite offered up a real doozy of a match between two of the company’s best female talents, Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker. The match starts with Baker evading Shida until the two exchange shoves. Baker takes Shida to the turnbuckle but Shida powers out and goes for a dropkick but Baker evades … Read more
In a match that was supposed to take place at the canceled TakeOver: Tampa Bay, Io Shirai became your new number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. After the weekend of WrestleMania, we have a new champion in that of Charlotte Flair. So the Joshi Judas will take on The Queen in a future … Read more
The ladies of WWE are keeping busy with their social media attributes as they participate in the #DontRushChallenge. This trend of – presenting their best selves in a matter of seconds – is making its way around social media and many favorites of the women’s division gladly jumped on bored. In a time of most … Read more
Here we are! We made it past the most unique WrestleMania in history. After WrestleMania there always seems to hit a “reset” button with a lot of storytelling and potential focus for the rest of the year. Last night seemed to start that. The women were very well represented on this week’s show. The most … Read more
Today marks the day that Becky Lynch hit the huge milestone of holding the RAW Women’s Championship for 365 days. The amazing accomplishment means she now joins an esteemed list of Trish Stratus, Asuka and Shayna Baszler, who have also held their respective championships for a full year. It has certainly been one hell of … Read more
