One of the most decorated women in STARDOM history, Mayu Iwatani, will be having a film about her life and career released. The film is based on her memoir which she released in 2020. The film is titled “Runaway Wrestler” and will show in Japan starting on May 17.
You can watch the trailer below as the film will also include KAIRI (Sane), Syuri, and Momo Kohgo.
Iwatani is the current NJPW IWGP Women’s Champion and will be defending against Sareee at All Star Grand Queendom on April 27.
The AEW Women’s Word Champion Toni Storm does not mince her words in her final promo towards Thunder Rosa ahead of Dynasty. The event takes place this Sunday on April 21 and Storm defends her illustrious belt against the former champion Rosa. The promo aired on Collision.
Rosa mentioned on last week’s Collision that she would drag Storm to hell to which the Timeless one has now responded.
Storm says that Rosa wants to drag her soul to hell?
Well, Storm says, “hell is in my bedroom and I make love to my demons every bloody night.” She also says that Rosa wants the belt back because Storm has made it everything that Rosa couldn’t. And she adds that if Rosa wanted to uplift women then she should have stayed a social worker, wrestlers should be selfish.
On the April 20 Collision we also saw Skye Blue defeat Leyla Hirsch by submission. Hirsch went to the corner to utilize the ropes but slipped which Blue capitalized on. A dragon sleeper made Hirsch tap out.
Mariah May talks about changing her finisher and the new “Mayday” that she uses to end her matches. May used a tombstone piledriver on numerous occasions in STARDOM but has switched it up in AEW.
While speaking with Ring the Belle, May said the following:
“Well, I noticed a few people do tombstones or piledrivers in AEW, so I wanted to come up with something a little bit different. I looked around at the roster and I know I’m like one of the tallest, so I definitely wanted to do something where I got them on my shoulders and popped them over. I like that, I like the sit out because it reminds me of the Bella Buster. I thought it was a nice Diva finish. Mayday, I just thought it was a great name.”
Jade Cargill is making no qualms about wanting championship gold in her future. She is currently working with Bianca Belair and could be going after the Women’s Tag Team Championships, but also sees potential in the Women’s World Title.
On the April 15 episode of Raw, Ripley kicked off the show by vacating the WWE Women’s World Championship due to injury after holding the title for 380 days. Liv Morgan, who injured Ripley, would make her presence known in the same segment and has since teased becoming the new Women’s World Champion now that Ripley is on the shelf.
There will be a Battle Royal on April 22 to determine the new champion. Even though it is unknown if any SmackDown Superstars will enter this match, Cargill has hope to hold that gold for when Ripley comes back. There is also a draft coming up at the end of this month.
While speaking on The Babyfaces Podcast about future rivalries, Cargill noted the following.
“I have some unfinished business with Nia Jax. That would be great. I think that would be an amazing match. Rhea Ripley, obviously she’s injured right now, but I know she is going to comeback and hopefully I’m holding that belt when she comes back. One thing I know is how to hold a streak down and how to go out there, dominate, and kick butt. That would be a great match as well. Eventually, if things don’t work out, I think we’re doing phenomenal right now, but Bianca. That’s something people have always wanted to see. Us working alongside each other right now in the same right, out there with Naomi, we were all part of different promotions as of last year. It’s a phenomenal thing to see.” (Fightful)
AEW’s Skye Blue took on her boyfriend and ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher at an indie show for Chicago Style Wrestling (CSW).
Blue was originally set to take on Missa Kate but plans had to change. Will Ospreay ended up being the special guest referee as well. Fletcher came through with the victory.
Blue will be in action on the April 20 AEW episode of Collision. She is set to take on Leyla Hirsch. Rampage will air on April 20 as well this week and Yuka Sakazaki will take on Emi Sakura.
Friday Night SmackDown aired this week from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Our first sighting of women came in the form of B-Fab, who made her way out with The Street Profits for a fatal four-way tag team match; despite little involvement, luck was on her side as her team won the match and became the No. 1 contenders to the newly-rechristened WWE Tag Team Champions, A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller).
Zelina Vega and Elektra Lopez respectively accompanied Carlito and Santos Escobar to their one-on-one match. Of course, as in previous weeks, the two valets continued to go after each other as Zelina stopped a distraction from Elektra via a hurricanrana attempt, but that would get Zelina thrown into the barricade. The distraction ended up working as Santos won his match over Carlito.
Immediately following the match, commentary threw us over to Kayla Braxton who was up in the nosebleed section of the arena with Damage CTRL. When trying to ask IYO SKY why the group wanted to watch the Women’s Championship match between Bayley and Naomi, Dakota Kai quickly began to snipe and reminded Braxton that IYO will get her title back when she’s ready. They can’t stand both the champ and the challenger and want to see them tear each other apart for now. Kai still considers Damage CTRL the most dominant force in the women’s division, citing the Women’s Tag Team Championship reign of The Kabuki Warriors, but her remarks are cut off by the music of Jade Cargill. Turns out, Cargill and Bianca Belair also have nosebleed seats.
Naomi and Bayley made their entrances for the main event, and commentary emphasized early in the match the level of respect and history that the two have had for one another dating back to Bayley’s beginning on the main roster; Naomi having been someone who looked out for her all those years ago in 2016. Both champion and challenger were on equal footing throughout the contest, but as it was starting to get more heated came Tiffany Stratton from seemingly out of nowhere.
The Buff Barbie attacked Bayley and Naomi outside the ring, causing a disqualification, followed by a moonsault on them inside the ring. Stratton stood tall on the top turnbuckle as the show went off the air, leaving the WWE Universe without a successful title defense and creating questions about her potential motives.
Next week on SmackDown will be the first night of this year’s WWE Draft; it will air live next Friday from Cincinnati, Ohio. Who will go to Monday Night Raw? Who will stay on Friday nights? We don’t know yet for sure, but the women’s division on both shows will never be the same.
A battle royal will be taking place this Monday on April 22. The winner will become the new Women’s World Champion, a title that was vacated by Rhea Ripley due to injury on the April 15 episode of Raw.
The following women were advertised during the announcement, keeping in mind there can always be changes –
Who do you think will walk away as the new Women’s World Champion?
Xia Li has taken to her social media to thank both WWE and Triple H. At the end she said this isn’t the end but a new beginning. Li was last in the ring on this week’s episode of Main Event in a match against Natalya.
Li had been with WWE for seven years and first appeared during the Mae Young Classic. Li is best known for her time in NXT as a member of Tian Sha along with Boa and Mei Ying (Wendy Choo). Last year, Li got a small push as she was in a high profile match with Becky Lynch.
Diva Dirt sends our best wishes to Xia in her future.
The former NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions, Allysin Kay and Marti Belle return to the ring, this time in ROH. The last time the duo appeared in ROH was back in October and both haven’t been in the ring since November. They each had singles matches on this week’s show.
Kay faced Abadon in a losing effort while Belle was bested by Lady Frost.
Full results of this week’s show are below:
It’s the go-home show for TNA as the company readies up for Rebellion this Saturday!
To start off the night, Ash By Elegance with the help of George Iceman announces that she’ll be at Rebellion watching the Knockouts Championship match and believes she still deserves her shot at the title. Despite still vying for her opportunity, Xia Brookside steps in and is unsure of why Ash deserves a title shot when she can’t even beat her fairly. Brookside then reveals she has talked to Santino Marella, and a rematch has been set for the two next week on iMPACT!
After a successful title defense at HER, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace is in Sydney, Australia ready to transit home. She informs us that Matt Cardona is injured, and her challenger Steph De Lander will be all on her own at Rebellion. Despite being thrown through a table last week, Grace is positive De Lander will pull more shenanigans. But, she ensures that she’ll bring some tricks of her own come Rebellion.
In Knockouts action, we see Rosemary take on one-half of the Knockouts Tag Team Champions Jody Threat, as their respective teams are set to face for the tag titles at the next pay-per-view.
Threat takes control of Rosemary early on in the match, that is until Rosemary takes a literal bite out of her in the corner. Threat tries to withstand the onslaught and manages to come back. However, Havik makes the distraction and Rosemary takes her out for the win. Decay now has momentum heading toward Rebellion against Spitfire.
TNA Rebellion – April 20
What did you think about tonight’s TNA Impact? Who will take home the gold at Rebellion? Let us know in the comments below!
Ruby Soho shares some big news. She is pregnant and announced this to her partner Angelo Parker and the crowd during this week’s Rampage tapings. Soho and Parker have been an on-screen couple as well for a number of months. This led to a storyline which broke up Soho and Saraya who were known together as The Outcasts along with Harley Cameron.
Soho’s last match was a six woman tag team bout that was taped for Rampage on Feb. 7. You can watch the clip of the announcement below.
We send our congratulations to Ruby and Angelo!
Feuds are getting explosive this week on AEW Dynamite as the women are making their way toward Dynasty this Sunday. Julia Hart and Willow Nightingale are set to face for the TBS Championship, and “Timeless” Toni Storm faces Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s World Championship at the upcoming event.
Dynamite kicks off with Mercedes Moné reeling off from her attack last week. Moné instantly suspects Julia Hart because of her familiar tactics, but questions if someone is posing as her. Either way, Moné will be paying close attention to the upcoming mixed-tag team match, and when she’s all healthy by Double or Nothing there will be a price to pay.
Up next, Willow Nightingale and Adam Copeland are set to face the House of Black’s Julia Hart and Brody King. However, Nightingale is seemingly attacked backstage before she can make her entrance. Back in the ring, the lights turn off and the House of Black members overtake Copeland.
Nightingale eventually makes her way to the ring all battered and bruised and makes the tag to Copeland and gets some shots in on King. Unfortunately, this comeback is short-lived as Hart uses the chain to knock out Nightingale and fades her out for the win.
The House of Black members are relentless with their onslaught, that is until The CEO herself comes to the rescue, steel chair in hand. Whether she was there to make the save for Nightingale or suspects Hart as her attacker, the question still remains.
Later on in the show, Mariah May makes her entrance along with Storm as she goes one-on-one with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo. May gains the upper hand on Purrazzo throughout the first half of the match. However, Purrazzo manages to gain back control and continue to go back and forth until she rolls up May for the win.
Storm is upset with this loss and begins to pummel Purrazzo. That is until she is saved by Rosa, even if Purrazzo does not want her help. May tries to drag Purrazzo from the outside. Meanwhile, Rosa gets her comeuppance on Storm after last week’s toast and rubs makeup all over her face for some much-needed retribution.
Who will come out victorious at Dynasty? Will Moné find her culprit? Let us know what you thought of Dynamite in the comments below.
Tonight’s Dynamite has the following –
Mercedes Moné to speak out on her attacker
Julia Hart and Brody King vs. Willow Nightingale and Adam Copeland
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mariah May
Another jam packed episode of NXT with women regularly appearing throughout the show! Let’s get right to it!
The hip swivels of Lola Vice opens up women’s action first up against Sol Ruca. Competitive fast paced match with neither of the competitors getting a clear advantage. Lola has a serious tude and moves with something to prove. Ruca is incredibly athletic in the ring but her character doesn’t feel compelling for me yet. Blair Davenport has a “blink and you miss” distraction that ends up costing Ruca the match as she slips off the top rope with Vice picking up the win.
Nattie, still upset at Lola from her attack last week, appears on the tron after the bout and challenges Lola to a match at Spring Breakin’ with NXT Underground rules. Not gonna lie, I never knew Nattie to be a combat specialist whereas Lola’s moveset involves a lot of striking. The writing is on the wall for this one but Nattie’s my girl so let’s see how this all goes down.
Tatum Paxley has a vignette that goes in a really interesting direction. It’s not that she was obsessed with Lyra herself but that status Lyra obtained after becoming champion. In addition, how the title has propelled its holder into stardom and relevance, something Paxley has been deprived of but so desperately wants. Very much serving the title being her “precious” which I can get behind.
Andre Chase and Thea Hall are backstage prior to Thea’s match later that night. The mentor and student relationship is on full display here with the two making up prior to Hall’s match later in the night.
Brinley Reece has a social media promo with her exuberance on display. Cute cute.
Whatever Arianna Grace is selling, I’m buying. I’m a sucker for character driven performers and her segment with Gigi was fun TV. Gigi did great here too, looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
Kelly Kincaid is interviewing Karmen Petrovic saying she’s gonna be in Nattie’s corner for the NXT Underground match. Lola interrupts the segment with some sass and drops that there will be a contract signing next week. I have a feeling this segment will be unintentionally hilarious based on the performers involved.
Sol Ruca is backstage with the General Manager Ava and challenges Blair Davenport to a No DQ match at Spring Breakin!
Tatum Paxley vs. Thea Hail next! Thuis is fun!
Thea is a ball of energy in the ring and has great facial expressions that lends so well to Tatum’s spooky mannerisms. Match had some fun moments and got the characters across.
Jazmyn Nyx is out to distract the referee at the end, which was super random. However, Jacy Jayne trips up Hail for the distraction which allows Paxley to pick up the win. Things break down super quick as a brawl breaks out on the outside. Back in the ring and Lyra Valkyria is PISSED, throwing fists and going ham on blacklight barbie. Super fun albeit blink and you miss it action that immediately cuts away to our next backstage segment.
Roxanne, who is completely unbothered by what’s going on in the ring, decides whomever emerges victorious out of the Lyra/Tatum debacle can be the next challenger for the NXT Women’s Champion in a backstage segment. She shades Ava over how easy it is to make matches which comes back to bite her because Ava pulls a Phonie, and let’s Roxanne know she doesn’t make the matches around here, the GM does!
At Spring Breakin’ next week, it will be a triple threat match between Roxanne vs. Lyra vs. Tatum for the NXT Women’s Championship!
Spring Breakin’ will take place over the course of two nights. April 23 and April 30.
Spring Breakin’ – April 23
Spring Breakin’ – April 30
Author’s note:
Fun build for Spring Breakin’! So many of the same finishes on tonight’s show, Ava needs to start coming down harder and laying down the law. Speaking of whom, really enjoyed Ava in her segment with Roxanne tonight and the confidence she’s exhibiting as she grows into her authority role. Fun stuff all around from NXT again, looking forward to next week!
NXT tonight has two matches on the card.
Lola Vice will face Sol Ruca while Tatum Paxley faces Thea Hail.
Mercedes Moné with be at AEW Dynamite this Wednesday and has something to say!
Last week, she was attacked during an interview when the lights went out. Moné will have her first match in AEW at Double or Nothing in May against either Julia Hart or Willow Nightingale depending on who walks out of Dynasty as TBS Champion.
In regards to Hart and Nightingale, they will be in action as Hart teams up with Brody King to take on Nightingale and Adam Copeland.
Also Deonna Purrazzo takes on Mariah May.
It has already been reported that Giulia has signed with WWE and will make her debut with NXT. She is currently helping out with Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion Marigold and has a Japanese indie match coming up as well. Fightful Select is sharing when Giulia will likely debut for NXT and what the plans are for her.
Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned from sources close to the situation that Giulia is expected to work at least “a handful” of matches in Marigold before hopefully reporting to the WWE Performance Center in late June/early July.
Brennan has also learned from sources in NXT production and creative that while WWE could obtain the rights to Giulia’s current theme music, there are currently no plans to do so at this time. As far as presentation goes, Brennan has also learned that Giulia is currently planned to keep her ring name in WWE.
As far as when fans can expect to see Giulia on NXT programming, the belief within NXT is that she will have her debut match at NXT Heatwave on July 7th, and is expected to be challenging for one of the NXT Women’s Championships at the event. Brennan was also told that Giulia visited the WWE Performance Center during her recent time in the United States.
Raw opened with Rhea Rhipley addressing the crowd relaying unfortunate news that due to injury, she would be relinquishing the Women’s World Championship. Nick already posted an article covering the emotional segment but I’ll post my thoughts at the end of the recap as I alluded last week to feeling strongly that Rhea’s reign had achieved its purpose and felt very much ready to see the title move on to another wrestler.
First piece of in ring action of the night is a rubber match between The Way’s Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae vs. Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri. Tension is palpable between the former NXT Tag Team Champions as they make their entrance. Action starts with Nile and Indi exchanging mat based techniques. Maxxine gets the tag and shows off the fruits of her training with an impressive Fisherman Suplex!
Maxxine’s momentum is halted after Indi makes the tag to Candice and the wily veteran reminds Maxxine of her place at the bottom totem pole. Maxxine is all heart though and manages to plant Candice with a spike DDT! The poison pixie laid motionless in the ring as Dupri stirs towards her partner only for Hartwell to finally succumb to LeRae’s bullying and make the switch.
After distracting the ref to prevent Nile from entering the match, Hartwell nails a big boot to the rookie Diva and places Candice over the fallen Dupri for the 1,2,3! Candice & Hartwell pick up the win! Match was short but did its job in bringing attention to Maxxine’s arsenal expansion and Indi aligning with LeRae’s heel persona.
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter next and we get entrances for both teams! Which is great for me bc Katana & Kayden always serve a much appreciated dose of energy to the show. This is always reflected in the pair’s offense but tonight the speedy teamwork is no match for Piper’s brute force and power.
Some brief offense by the faces after Niven makes the tag while Chelsea serves character with her over the top selling. Match comes to an end with Green picking up the win over Carter after the latter got flattened by a running cross body ala Piper. Right to the point, story driven match.
Backstage interview with Nia Jax and Cathy Kelly! Cathy questions the former champion on her thoughts pertaining to Rhea relinquishing the title earlier in the evening. Nia brings the conversation back to herself stating there are two types of people in this world, those who fear Nia Jax and those who learn to fear Nia Jax. A bold statement book ended with Nia vowing to be the next WWE Women’s World Champion.
Liv Morgan has a backstage segment too and gets to display her growth on the mic. Her cadence and delivery are on point as Morgan justifiably exclaims why she feels zero remorse for what happened to the now injured Rhiply. Liv goes on to state the LMRT is only just beginning and won’t end until she’s the WWE Women’s World Champion. Watch me!
Author’s Thoughts:
All in all a big improvement from last week with the major story from tonight’s show being Rhea relinquishing her title after an impressive 380 day reign. The injury is unfortunate timing as Rhea has been cemented at the top of the division but the silver lining to all of this is the injury weaves seamlessly into the story they’re telling between Rhea and Liv. It also cements the babyface turn for the inaugural Women’s World Champion as the audience had already accepted Rhipley as a top star and this storyline will only further cement it. Not to mention with the draft looming around the corner, both divisions have the opportunity for a refresh which only heightens the excitement for the upcoming weeks. Good stuff!
You know the drill, sound off in the comments!
Rhea Ripley had to address some important and unhappy news to start off the April 15 episode of Raw. Ripley had to relinquish the Women’s World Championship, a title she has held for 380 days due to an arm injury.
Coming out to the ring and making the announcement, she blamed the injury on Liv Morgan’s revenge tour. She says she will be out for a few months but once she returns she will be out for blood regardless of who has the title. Ripley followed up by saying she was going to find Morgan and the back and take care of her but Morgan’s music hit. The two were held back by security guards with one even getting a headbutt from Mami.
A new champion will be crowned next Monday on Raw.
Tonight’s Raw has two matches confirmed.
Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell vs. Maxxine Dupri/Ivy Nile
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Piper Niven/Chelsea Green
Rhea Ripley answers her attack from Liv Morgan
The Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley may have to vacate her championship as early as tonight’s Raw.
In a new report from PWInsider:
WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley was injured on last week’s Raw, PWInsider.com has learned from multiple sources.
Ripley was involved in a backstage brawl with Liv Morgan.
PWInsider.com has heard that the issue is severe enough that the talk internally is that Ripley may be forced to vacate her championship, possibly as soon as tonight’s episode of Raw.
This is a breaking story and may be updated as necessary.
Ripley has recently achieved over 365 days as champion and last defended against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XL.
We officially have a name in place for Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion – Marigold.
STARDOM’s co-founder, who was released by the company earlier this year, said he had a new promotion in the works. Ogawa and the new company held a press conference to introduce Marigold, full name being DREAM STAR FIGHTING Marigold.
The company’s first seven wrestlers were confirmed which include Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, Mai Sakurai, MIRAI, and Yuzuki from STARDOM as well as Nanae Takahashi and Nao Ishikawa. Giulia recently appeared in the front row at WWE’s NXT Stand & Deliver alongside Ogawa and William Regal. Although officially unannounced, Giulia has been reported as signed with WWE. Yuzuki will now go by the name Victoria Yuzuki. A challenge was made by Yuzuki to Takahashi for a match at the first event.
The first event will be on May 20 and is titled Marigold Fields Forever. It will have both Japanese and English commentary. Its main event will be a tag team match with Giulia and her partner vs. Sareee and her partner. The promotion has dates lined up through the end of June.
At the end of the presser, Fuka and six wrestlers from the promotion Actwres girl’Z asked to wrestle in Marigold. They were all shown in the group photo. The six wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z include Natsumi Sumikawa, Miku Aono, CHIAKI, Kouki, Chika Goto, and Misa Matsui.
Zayda Steel, Myla Grace, and Bozilla will also be in the first leg of shows.
The 2024 WWE Draft is right around the corner and with that hopefully we get a refresh of each brand, including NXT.
Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has checked in with NXT sources and has found out the following information.
The Final Testament and Ivar made surprise appearances on this past week’s episode of NXT . There have been a few question marks over NXT’s role in the draft, one being the possibility of main roster talent being drafted to NXT. This is not just a tease, with The Final Testament and Ivar’s appearances on this past Tuesday’s edition of NXT setting the stage for other main roster stars to make the jump during the event as part of a renewed focus on making NXT the third brand of WWE once again. This would move Scarlett with The Final Testament to NXT. There was no word in this report on Valhalla staying with Ivar or not.
Brennan has also been told that the next two weeks of NXT programming will focus on the draft in the lead up to Spring Breakin’, as shown on this past Tuesday’s episode of NXT.
Roxanne Perez’s status for the draft still remains up in the air despite on television teases.
Elsewhere in NXT, Tony D’Angelo’s Family and Baron Corbin have been discussed as possible additions to RAW or SmackDown. This would move Adriana Rizzo to the main roster if she were to be included in The Family’s call up.
Two matches have been confirmed for the upcoming NXT episode which will air on April 16.
First, Sol Ruca will be in action against Lola Vice.
Last week, Ruca was talking to Arianna Grace in the locker room about the upcoming Women’s North American Title. Vice entered and was irate over Natalya. Ruca made sense of Natalya going after Vice but she didn’t want to hear it. She told Ruca a lot has change since she has been gone. The two will do battle this Tuesday.
Next, Tatum Paxley will be taking on Thea Hail. Paxley turned on Lyra Valkyria last week after seemingly only being by her side because she was champion. Will Valkyria show up in this match to get some revenge?
Thunder Rosa had a big message to send to “Timeless” Toni Storm on Collision as the two will face on April 21 at Dynasty.
On the April 10 episode of Dynamite during Storm’s Champagne Toast, she attacked Rosa and smeared/wiped off her face paint. Deonna Purrazzo came for the save, but it seemed to be a little too late as Rosa pushed her away.
On April 13 Collision, Rosa responded.
She wanted to know what happened to the old Toni Storm. The Storm she teamed up with as ThunderStorm. She says she wants to humble her and that she didn’t leave when she did due to the passion but her body needed time to heal.
Rosa says, “you made a big mistake in trying to erase this mask off my face, because you don’t want to see what is underneath here. Remember, you can’t kill what is already dead. On Sunday I am coming for you, I am coming for the Title, and I am coming to drag your soul to hell.”
During this promo, Rosa also says she doesn’t need Purrazzo’s help. So Purrazzo answers.
The Virtuosa says it is fine that Rosa doesn’t want her help. She says she will help herself. She says that Storm doesn’t embody what it means to be World Champion. Purazzo says she won’t make excuses as to why she isn’t champion right now but if she can’t have one To i Storm, she will have the other. She will be facing Mariah May next week and vows to break her arm.
Storm took on STARDOM’s AZM on this Saturday’s Collision. She won with the Storm Zero.
