The final WWE show of 2020 is here and what a crazy ride it has been! Tables, Ladders and Chairs gives us two women’s matches to look forward too. Sasha Banks vs Carmella for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. This match was on the cards ever since Carmella returned and attacked Banks every chance she got. … Read more
It has been just about a year since Liv Morgan interrupted Lana’s wedding to Bobby Lashley and revealed that she and Lana were past lovers. The two had a couple of matches as a result earlier in the year. The storyline, however, was rarely touched upon. WWE has always been scrutinized for LGBTQ storylines and with valid reasons.
Morgan recently spoke to Inside the Ropes where she said she would be open to revisiting that storyline.
“I would love to touch on that story again because I think it’s so important just to show not different people but, you know, ‘Hey, maybe I love this girl,’ you know, like, I think it’s important just to show that. But I don’t think you ever can say never in WWE. I think anything and everything is open to being visited again. Is that happening? I have no idea. But would I like it? For sure.”
She further adds in some of the criticism that was received from portraying a lesbian character. Morgan says it was a mixed reaction. There were people who were happy she was back on screen regardless whereas there were others who felt the a lesbian should have portrayed that role.
“I think it was definitely split half and half and I think that’s because… I think people today, they want real representation. They want like… Characters are characters, but they want people that are really, maybe, experiencing these things to represent these characters. So I feel like, in that aspect, maybe it didn’t go over so well towards some people that felt like Lana’s secret lover could have been someone else that was maybe really into women, you know, but then on the other spectrum, this was my re-debut after like eight months off. So people were excited to see me and they were happy for me.”
A lot of the criticism came from the fact that this was a rumored storyline between Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose prior to this which obviously never came to light.
Lana previously mentioned she would love to revisit this as well. Right now both superstars are on opposite brands so don’t expect this to come to fruition anytime soon if it were to be brought up again. Lana has recently been receiving the most time she ever has in the ring. She was recently pulled from a tag title match for the TLC event after a kayfabe injury.
Although representation does matter, what would you think about them revisiting this? Leave your thoughts below.
Ding Dong! Hello! – We had another SmackDown where the women of the brand were well represented throughout. Three cohesive storylines A big match between Bayley and Bianca Belair was had along with Billie Kay finding her partner of the week while Carmella looking strong heading into the TLC pay-per-view. Let’s get into it!
First, we have a match between The Riott Squad and Billie Kay with a partner of her choosing. Last week Kay had found Natalya to be her partner through heavy research and her qualifications listed on her resume. Although she had the veteran on her side, the two would fail to pick up a win. This week, Kay challenged the squad again and said she had a new partner in place.
The Riott Squad defeated Billie Kay & Tamina
Billie Kay found herself her partner this week as Tamina. This wasn’t a huge surprise as Tamina is really the only woman left on the roster who is currently active. The Riott Squad shows some great teamwork as always with them isolating Kay at the end of the match by knocking Tamina off the apron. Liv Morgan would pick up the pin on Kay.
My thoughts are still firm that breaking up The IIconics to just have the two of them put in random tag teams was a bad idea. However, at least with Kay, this highlights her humor. Not sure how much longer they can continue this week after week partner idea unless they finally move some women from NXT up to the roster. If this somehow brings up the Robert Stone Brand I wouldn’t be mad at it.
Following this match, we had the Champagne Toast segment by Carmella.
During the toast, Carmella says she knows that she already has Sasha beat. The SmackDown Women’s Champion got herself disqualified last week according to Carmella because she felt her precious title slipping from her grasps. She adds that Banks always has to be the best and once she wins the title from her on Sunday, she won’t know what to do. As she ended her promo, Carmella snapped her finger for her assistant to give her a glass of champagne. She called it cheap and frantic, just like Sasha Banks.
Once Banks had heard enough, her music hits. Carmella’s assistance leaves the ring to cut off The Boss on the ramp. Banks however wasn’t coming from the back. She showed up in the ring and threw a champagne glass at Carmella and then took her down. Banks tried to lock in the bank statement but Carmella fought it off as her assistant came back into the ring and pulled Banks off. Banks would then slap her assistant and go for a backstabber.
Much like last week, Carmella smashes another champagne bottle over the back of the SmackDown Women’s Champion to end the segment.
Let’s pause for a second and admire this attire….
Lastly, we have the advertised match between Bayley and Bianca Belair. This was a highly anticipated match to see these two finally go at it. A new rivalry that will go on a bit longer with Belair hopefully getting the last laugh.
Bayley defeated Bianca Belair
What I will say about this match is the athleticism from Belair, my lord! but we already knew that. It just impresses me every time. The final moments of the match saw Bayley attempt to cheat by using the ropes for leverage to get the pin. The referee saw it and Belair countered it into an excellent pin of her own but Bayley kicked out.
Moments later, Belair would stack Bayley up and get a near fall. She went to lift her up and the shoulders fell again for a near fall. Belair finally got Bayley up but Bayley raked the eyes without the referee seeing it. She then delivered the Rose Plant to pick up the victory.
I thought this was a solid first match between the two. It is far from over and eventually, I see Bayley helping Belair get over and elevate her. What I felt was good about this match is I could have seen it going either way. The way it went was done well and I am excited to see more from these two. I wish they were on the upcoming pay-per-view.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers of the week for SmackDown.
WINNERS: The Riott Squad
It is good seeing them stringing some wins together. As the new year approaches they need to be next in line for the tag titles and win them. I can see that happening either way after the Women’s Tag Team Title match on Sunday at TLC. If Nia and Shayna retain then I can see the Riott Squad finally getting the win over them. If Asuka and her mystery partner win, I can see it being a short reign.
WINNER: Carmella
Carmella certainly has the upper hand going into the pay-per-view. Week after week she seems to get the better of the exchange with Sasha, for the most part. I give it a very slim chance that she will take the title from Sasha on Sunday, so it is good they are letting her shine heading into that match.
I am a big fan of her entrance, theme, etc. I may be in the minority with that, but I dig it.
They put on a solid first match between the two and did it in a way of me wanting more and I appreciate that. These two have good chemistry I feel both in-ring and with their promos. It makes sense for this to continue to at least the Royal Rumble, if not further.
As for the losers this week, I don’t really feel as though anyone would be in that category. The blue brand has been delivering pretty well. I feel that with Billie Kay, this new partner weekly is at least humorous and she is doing well with it. I will hold judgment to see how it continues next week.
What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Who were your Winners & Losers? Speaking of Winners, check back in with Diva Dirt this weekend to see the results of the Fan Awards!
TLC takes place this Sunday as well, so check back in with Diva Dirt for that discussion post and any news, rumors, and results.
Tonight’s SmackDown is the last stop before the TLC pay-per-view this Sunday. The match from the blue brand represented at that event will see SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks taking on Carmella. The two battled one-on-one for the first time last week on SmackDown in the main event. That match ended up in a disqualification … Read more
On this week’s episode of NXT UK, a huge number one contenders match for NXT UK Women’s Championship was announced. The match between Jinny and Piper Niven will take in three weeks time on Jan, 7. Jinny and Niven have been on a collision course ever since the “Fashionista” cost Niven a chance at the … Read more
Dakota Kai has been missing from NXT programming ever since she was part of the hellacious WarGames match nearly two weeks ago. She hasn’t been seen on the past two episodes of the black and gold brand. The original report stated that she was out due to an injury. She put her body on the … Read more
Advertised for tonight’s NXT is a match that fans haven’t seen in a while. This fight dates back to their time in NXT UK and that is Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm. The history between these two women will certainly not be forgotten and it will be exciting to see them go at it on … Read more
Raquel Gonzalez has been tearing through NXT as of late. In a recent interview, NXT’s biggest rising star spoke about the match she believes put her on the map. Speaking about the match with Wrestling Inc, Gonzalez said; “It opened a lot of people’s eyes. It opened their eyes to something I already knew, which … Read more
It is almost that time again. As the new year starts, the Royal Rumble event is always an exciting time for new possibilities as the road to WrestleMania begins. The Royal Rumble match itself started to take on more meaning to women wrestling fans as of 2018. This is when the women started having their … Read more
The term “underutilized” tends to be tossed around a lot when the talk is about those that have star power but aren’t being utilized as such. This always tends to be a vicious cycle and, unfortunately for some, they never get that ultimate opportunity to prove what they can do. This could be for any … Read more
The last pay-per-view of the year, TLC, is this Sunday and for the red brand, they had their go-home episode of RAW tonight.
The match for that event from the RAW roster is for the Women’s Tag Team Championships between the champions, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka & Lana. At least that was the original plan heading into tonight’s RAW. Lana has now been pulled from the match due to “injury.”
In a storyline injury, Lana was taken out by who would have been her opponents, Jax & Baszler. This happened after Lana picked up the upset victory over Jax in a one-on-one match. Both Baszler and Asuka were not at ringside during the match. Once the bell rang in Lana’s favor, Asuka was attacked backstage by Baszler. Baszler then came out to the ring and between her and Jax, they sent Lana to the local medical facility.
Lana suffered an attack that targeted both her arm and her leg. Asuka was able to come out and fight off the tag champs, however, the damage was already done. It was announced shortly thereafter that Lana will no longer be able to compete on Sunday. A replacement for her has not been announced at the time of this writing.
Baszler and Jax were not done for the evening. Baszler was set to take on Dana Brooke in a singles match later on in the night. The match ended in a disqualification as Jax blatantly got involved by pushing Brooke off of the turnbuckle. The duo had plans to perhaps do to Brooke what they had done to Lana earlier.
They didn’t get very far as Brooke’s tag team partner, Mandy Rose, made her return from injury. Rose rushed to the ring with a kendo stick in hand to ward off the tag team champions. It worked well until Baszler grabbed ahold of the kendo stick and was about to use it on Rose.
Asuka then made the save and between her and Rose, they fought off Jax & Baszler. The segment ended with Asuka and Rose helping up Brooke as the tag champs headed up the ramp.
Diva Dirt will provide any updates on who will end up being Asuka’s partner at TLC if announced prior to the event.
The last stop for the red brand prior to the TLC event this Sunday takes place tonight. The women’s match announced from RAW for that show will see the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the line. In that match, Lana will attempt to become champion for the first time in her WWE career. In a … Read more
Carmella made her return to the ring on last week’s SmackDown for the first time in eight months. Before returning to the ring, her rebranding started a few months ago as a “mystery woman” in several vignettes. She has been rebranded as “Untouchable” and since her return, she has shown more of a Diva moniker. … Read more
Bianca Belair and Bayley will clash on next week’s Friday Night SmackDown in a highly anticipated match. The women’s brand on SmackDown has been heating up as we are seeing several storylines running. Since Survivor Series, these two women have been brewing towards a match and we are finally going to see it. Belair has … Read more
Instead of waiting for the TLC pay-per-view event a week from Sunday, Carmella made her return to the ring on this week’s SmackDown. This was her first match since April back when she took on Mandy Rose. She faced Sasha Banks this week in the main event for the SmackDown Women’s Title. A title she … Read more
As we build towards the TLC pay-per-view that will take place one week from Sunday, Carmella is the challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Title. She has been a pain for the champ, Sasha Banks, for week’s and the two will meet one-on-one for the first time at the aforementioned event. Tonight the tension builds as … Read more
The NWA Women’s World Champion and AEW star, Serena Deeb recently spoke on the Women’s Wrestling Podcast. During the interview, she spoke very highly about a certain NXT star. Deeb has been making waves on the women’s wrestling scene ever since she appeared on AEW Dynamite as a surprise opponent for Thunder Rosa. So good … Read more
Former two-time Divas champion, Maryse had a very interesting response to a fan question on Twitter. The fan asked Maryse if she would like to make a comeback, to which she replied: “I think I got one more run in me”. Maryse is a former two-time Divas champion winning the title in 2008 and 2010. … Read more
Life imitates art so to speak, and if fans have watched the latest WWE Chronicle they can see that applies to Lana. When it comes to the Ravishing Russian, fans have mixed opinions of her. To say it is unfair is an understatement. In this world of social media and the Internet, Lana has received … Read more
Charlotte Flair’s name has become very prominent recently as rumours and reports surround the plans for her return to WWE. Charlotte has been absent from WWE since June when she took time out for elective surgery. On Dec, 3rd Charlotte tweeted that she was going to finish the year strong. The post seemed to suggest … Read more
There were a lot of highlights on this week’s NXT for the women despite there only being one match. That one match was the main event however and was between Ember Moon and Raquel Gonzalez. But first, let’s get to the other women on the show. First, we saw Scarlett’s return. Karrion Kross made his … Read more
The fall out from WarGames is here and Team Candice picked up the big W at that event. Raquel Gonzalez shocked many as she was the one to get the win for her team. Not only did she get the win, but she pinned the NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai. Could this mean she is … Read more
One of the most confusing and frustrating decisions in WWE this year is the booking of Charlotte Flair as NXT women’s champion. At WrestleMania 36 Charlotte Flair shocked the wrestling world by defeating Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship. Fans widely criticized the decision to put the title on Flair as it derailed Ripley’s … Read more
Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair have been busy in Los Angeles filming scenes for the upcoming Punky Brewster reboot. WWE Hall of Famer and producer, D-Von Dudley revealed in a Cameo video that he was in LA alongside Bliss and Flair for the reboot of the popular 1980s sitcom. Back in January NBCUniversal announced that … Read more
Hey guys! It’s Mykel. I’ve been away from you all for a while, and I miss your reads, shade and comments, so I’m back! This article is a bit of a departure from the usual, no lists, just a random moment in 20 years that I’ve enjoyed the women of wrestling. Take a look below. … Read more
The last pay-per-view of the year is rapidly approaching and we now know the women who will be involved in that event. It was recently announced that the Women’s Tag Team Titles will be on the line at TLC. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax will put their titles on the line against RAW Women’s Champion … Read more
