Coming out of her intense Iron Man match against Sasha Banks, WWE Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair recently sat with Raute Musik to discuss life on the road as a WWE Superstar, rivalry with Sasha and goals for 2017. Highlights of the interview and partial transcript courtesy of Wrestling INC below:
Thoughts on her Iron Man match: “I really haven’t had time to think about it. It was an honor being in an Iron Man match with Sasha. She really is my krypton. I’m really looking forward to 2017 and seeing who my next rivalry is.”
Her favorite match with Sasha Banks: “Probably our Wrestlemania Triple Threat with her and Becky Lynch, just because it was our first Wrestlemania. And we surpassed expectations.”
Which stipulated match she would like to see the women compete in next: “I think a Money In The Bank would be awesome.”
Which NXT female Superstars she’d like to see join the main roster in 2017: “Definitely Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and Asuka. I think they’re three rising stars.”
On possibly joining Total Divas: “I think Total Divas has definitely taken the Women’s division to the next level in terms of exposure and getting the women brand to a different demographic. For me right now, I’m so into my character that I’m not sure being on reality television would really help me along the way. So I’m not saying I was going to do it or not, just right now, I’m really focusing on my heel persona.”
Goals for 2017: “Main event Wrestlemania and make each year better than the last, and just to continue to get better every day.”
Charlotte also talks her favorite music, friends backstage, meeting Vince McMahon for the first time and idea of a potential “Paul Heyman Girl”.
What has been your favorite Charlotte match this year? Which stipulation match would you like to see the WWE Women compete in next? Let us know in the comments below!
Tonight on Lucha Underground a longstanding rivalry will come to a head when Sexy Star takes on Johnny Mundo surrounded by a steel cage for the Lucha Underground Championship.
Sexy will become the first female in the Temple to compete in a match with such a stipulation.
Last week the mind games between the two continued on Twitter:
The rivalry between the Lass Kicker and the Spiteful One will continue as a rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship will take place next Tuesday.
Last week an impromptu bout took place between the two but was mired in controversy when Alexa Bliss claimed she suffered an injury, leading to a count out victory for Becky Lynch. However, Alexa still retained the title.
Daniel Bryan made the rematch after casting doubt on whether or not Alexa was truly injured, saying that the medical staff see no reason she can not compete:
Becky, disguised as La Luchadora, taught Alexa a lesson last night in a non-title match and would take home the victory after a top rope reversal into the Dis-Arm-Her. She would unmask herself to a stunned Women’s Champion.
Roadblock was dubbed ‘the end of the road’, the final chapter to the WWE’s trailblazing feud between Sasha Banks and the new RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte. This week’s of RAW, despite being one of the last of the year, would be the beginning of a fresh start for the RAW women’s division… so let’s see what was in store.
Our first appearance for the women is a wounded Sasha Banks. Sporting a braced knee and crutch, the former Champion is a shade of her confident persona, limping down to the ring to address the crowd. Sasha mentions how heartbreaking it was to tap out twice to the Figure 8 and describes the history that she has made with her foe Charlotte. “The better woman won” she says, as she invites Charlotte down to the ring to congratulate her.
After a brief silence, the lights dim and Nia Jax makes her way to the ring with her usual deathly stare. Nia stares down Sasha and threatens her, “You can call yourself the Boss all you want… you’ll never be the Boss to me. You’re weak, you’re wounded and above all else, you’re just a little girl…”. The threat turns to physicality as Nia kicks away her crutch, then tosses her across the ring that Sasha catches her injured knee against the ropes on the other side of the ring! Nia then looks to strike Sasha with the crutch, but instead throws it down and leave the ring. Jax has made her statement!
Next up, we have Alicia Fox accompanying Cedric Alexander to the ring! They don’t really seem like a couple, but hey I guess they’re official. Before the match, they show a recap from 205, where Noam Dar defeated Cedric and dedicated his victory to Alicia Fox.
The finish of this match sees Cedric catching Noam with a Lumbar Check for the victory! His girlfriend comes into the ring to join the celebrations, but they’re cut short when Noam states that they’re still not even despite the victory. Noam says, “you’ve got what I want, you’ve got the beautiful Alicia Fox… Foxy baby, all I want for Christmas is you”. Cedric is clearly annoyed, while Alicia tries to calm him down. Oh Foxy, causing trouble with these Cruiserweights!
Up next, we see the new four-time RAW Women’s Champion, Charlotte making her way to the ring!
We kind of know the drill by now, calling herself the Queen, saying she’s better than Sasha, bringing up her PPV streak, greatest of all time etc. She even goes as far as saying that she’s better than Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and The Fabulous Moolah.
All the gloating stops when Bayley’s music hits the PA! She states, “now that the Charlotte/Sasha rivalry is over… I think it’s time for the Charlotte… BAYLEY rivalry to begin!”. The crowd erupts into “YES!” chants as Bayley continues, she reminds Charlotte that she still holds two victories over her… and is still seeking retribution from Survivor Series.
Charlotte reveals that when she did the “four finger” sign after her victory at Roadblock, that was to symbolise all of her title wins and The Four Horsewomen, claiming that she’s #1 and Bayley is #4. However, Bayley shrugs it off and wants to prove herself, so she challenges Charlotte to a match. Despite competing in a 30 minute+ ironman match, Charlotte accepts the challenge and calls a referee down to the ring to have a match!
In quite a basic match-up compared to what we’ve seen from these two in the past, it’s clear that this was used for the women to get more experience working together in front of a live crowd. Both of them are quite evenly matched, all-rounder competitors which was evident in this match. The end of the match sees Charlotte take over, getting cocky and going for a trademark Flair chop. Bayley manages to catch her arm and counter it into a backslide pin for a victory! It’s third time lucky for the Huggable One!
Bayley celebrates her victory backstage in this exclusive!
Lana also makes an appearance during the end of Enzo Amore’s ‘sensitivity training’. Cornered in between Rusev and Jinder Mahal, Amore gets jumped again. He is held up so Lana can slap him and she demands Rusev to crush him one more time.
Oh yeah and we got another meaningless Emmalina promo that none of us care about anymore since they completely wasted our time last week.
Thoughts: So, it’s the era of Bayley vs. Charlotte… and if you didn’t see that coming about 4 months ago, then you need glasses. If we you don’t see Bayley breaking Charlotte’s PPV streak and winning her first Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania 33, you may also need some glasses. If you didn’t see Nia Jax taking on Sasha, then please visit the opticians, because I could see this from several miles off.
Don’t get me wrong, Sasha is the perfect person for Nia to work with to get over, hit some sick power moves and have a traditional David VS Goliath feud… but one thing… there’s no title. So we have no real reason to care. This feud should have started long ago, but between quiffs of Nia looking green and the hot potato of the title, I just don’t really see why we need to see this program anymore. Nia squashing Sasha right now doesn’t make her look strong, nor does it get her heat in an active way… it’s just a pretty dull move.
Charlotte vs. Bayley has all the potential to be a great feud, so I won’t knock it but in my personal opinion, they weren’t my favourite combination between the 4HW. However, both have come leaps and bounds since then, so I’m sure we’re destined to see something great. I just want to see Bayley go back to being a proper underdog. Surprise roll up wins aren’t really an underdog thing, being on the losing side, but always getting back up is an underdog. With a heel heavy division, it’s an easy job to get the crowd to rally behind Bayley… so hopefully this is the start of something good.
Overall, it’s nice to see all the women on RAW getting some action… but with Charlotte so protected, you just don’t get that freedom that you do with SD. Well I guess we have to get used to Bayley and Charlotte now, as the plans are being laid!
Are you excited for Bayley stepping up to the plate? Were you happy for Nia’s return? Are you still interested in Emmalina’s debut? You know what to do below!
Daria Berenato looks to exact some revenge this week against the Iconic Duo. In absence of any women’s action on NXT last Wednesday, in a backstage segment Daria challenged Billie Kay or Peyton Royce to a fight.
An NXT interviewer meets with Billie and Peyton and asks them about their loss and what their plans are now in regards to running the division. They both said they never lost their match in Toronto, it was Daria who did. They don’t associate themselves with losers and have now moved on to bigger and better things.
Daria appears and challenges one of them for a match. She psychs them out before leaving.
“You need a good opponent to see how far your limits go…to test yourself. Iron sharpens iron. I’m coming back for my crown.” These were the words tweeted by Charlotte Flair, that lead to Roadblock’s Ironman match for the RAW Women’s Championship. A feud that has ruled the RAW women’s division for the whole of 2016, coming to an end at the final PPV of the year.
In the warm up to the big match, WWE camera caught up with the Champion, Sasha Banks, as she arrives in the arena. She reminds us that Pittsburgh was the first place where she won the Women’s Championship, describing that it feels ‘eerie’. She mentions her match against Bayley last year and recognises Charlotte’s PPV streak, but lets us know that she has a different game plan in store for tonight’s match.
So for the 6th time in one on one action, with the title on the line, both Charlotte and Sasha Banks make their way to the ring and Jojo begins the match with a traditional ring announcement.
Now, while I’d love to give you and in-depth move by move analysis of a 30+ minute match, I would be writing forever. So for a brief overview, this match was a much slower pace in comparison to the other 5 battles that they’ve had over the year. Clearly trying to save their energy and endurance for the duration of the match, the match is more technical and uses more mat psychology as opposed to the big brawls and hardcore action we’ve seen from the last encounters.
The first fall happens 19 minutes into the match, with Charlotte nailing a Natural Selection from the top rope.
Sasha manages to even the score about 3 minutes later, after using a slightly sloppy roll up for a cheeky three count.
Sasha then takes the lead 24 minutes into the match by locking in a Banks Statement, a move that has caught Charlotte out several times during their series!
During the last 5 minutes, Charlotte begins to turn things around and begins working on Sasha’s knee. Twisting it into all sorts of shapes, smashing it against the ring post and eventually the Figure 4… which she turns into a Figure 8! With only 2 seconds to go!
Amidst the shock of the crowd, the referee tells Jojo that due to the no-rematch clause, the match will continue at a Sudden Death stipulation. The next pinfall or submission wins the match!
Off the bat, Charlotte goes right for Sasha’s already worn down leg. After attempts to roll her up and a Banks Statement cinched in, Charlotte is able to wrangle into the Figure 4. By this point, Sasha has been busted open and is bleeding across her face as she desperately tries to grab the rope, but it’s all too much as the Figure 4 turns to Figure 8 one more time and the Boss is forced to tap. Despite a valiant effort, Sasha has fallen short just at the very end.
Charlotte Flair has become the 4 time RAW Women’s Champion and the record remains intact!
On RAW Talk after the PPV, Charly Caruso and Booker T catch up with the new Champion following her win. Speaking a lot softer, she talks about the long 4 year history that runs deep between herself and Sasha from their time in NXT. She holds back the tears as she mentions that she always wants to be better than Sasha.
Although she’s quick to snap back onto character once Booker mentions Bayley and she retorts that this is the big leagues. When asked who’s going to be her next challenger, Charlotte does her best Mariah Carey impression and doesn’t answer! The hosts anger her more when they ask about her Dad, Ric Flair, she replies “He didn’t pass the torch, I took it… and I ran.”
Thoughts: Dear WWE… please make this actually be the end. I am so impressed with both these women and how much they’ve bust their asses all year, but the time to move on has been long overdue. Much like with Hell In a Cell, my mind is completely split in two here.
On one hand, I could be really positive and see how this whole feud has come to a really hardworking and well deserved ending. The approach to this match was definitely needed – as mentioned in the review, these two have been going ‘hardcore’ lately, so to see them slow things all the way down was a really nice touch. It would have been nice to see Sasha get more offence in, but that tends to be the flow of these matches with the bigger Charlotte dominating for most of the match.
On the other hand, Sasha has been cut short for another lengthy and legitimate title reign. Unlike Charlotte, she has never had a long reign on the main roster, so by this time, it’s pretty much killed any credibility to be a Champion that can hold it for longer than 3 weeks. I honestly can’t see her winning the title again unless she gets drafted to SmackDown – which is an issue in itself to have someone like her come in and just take over that up and coming division.
Furthermore, we can now see that Charlotte’s record is going to make the next couple of PPV matches very predictable. It’s a great record and yes, I know it’s just singles matches, so there will be ample chance for tag matches etc, but it’s not going to happen. Charlotte is now going to be more protected than Sasha in 2015, heck even more protected than Trish Stratus in 2006. We have a good 4 months to go until WrestleMania… that’s 4 months of very predictable outcomes coming our way, which makes for really bland booking.
Don’t get me started on why this match wasn’t Main Event too? Again, I’ve always been skeptical about Vince’s actual thoughts on the women being main draws, but if there was a time for them to make them the main event and really end this groundbreaking feud… this would have been the place. The RAW ratings alone from their main event match shows that these women can draw, so it’s a shame that they weren’t given that chance.
Anyway, enough of me being negative. Seeing Charlotte break character on RAW Talk is what we should have seen on the show following the match. If this really was the last time, the crowd would have given a complete standing ovation and we would have got such a warm moment if Charlotte hugged or at least raised the hand of the fallen and bloody Sasha. Again, I don’t know whether this is a Triple H VS Vinnie Mac decision, but these are the reasons why we really resonated with these girls all the way back in NXT. Remember when Sasha won her first NXT Championship? And the hugged, but still kept in character after? That’s the gold that we were robbed of last night and it’s what would have ended this on a perfect note.
Do you agree with the kayfabe breaking moments that we’ve seen in the past? Are you happy that this is the end? Or do you think we’re going to get Sasha VS Charlotte again tonight anyway? Let me know!
It’s that time of year once again! Now that we are into the final month of 2016, it’s time to give out some awards.
For the ninth year running, Diva Dirt presents its Year-End Awards!
Who will follow Nikki Bella as WWE’s female Superstar of the Year, Gail Kim as Knockout of the Year, Santana Garrett as Independent Wrestler of the Year and Bayley at NXT’s female Superstar of the Year?
It’s all down to you.
If you’re just joining us for the Fan Awards this year, or if you need a refresher, here’s a breakdown of how our awards work:
How it works:
The Diva Dirt Fan Awards are voted for by you and only you, the readers. We consider your input throughout the entire awards process, from voting for your winners to even informing the nominations process!
Each year, we open our awards season with the nominations suggestions ballot. Here, you’ll have the chance to suggest potential nominations for categories such as Match of the Year. We’ll take all of your suggestions into consideration when forming the official nominations shortlist.
The nominations will be revealed and voting will commence on Friday, December 23rd. The voting period will run through New Year’s Eve.
The winners will be revealed, as is the annual tradition, throughout the day on January 1st.
Nominations suggestions ballot:
To get the process under way, we are looking for your suggestions for the following categories. These suggestions will help us decide the official nominations shortlist which will be revealed on December 23rd. To have your say, simply leave a comment copying and pasting the form at the bottom of this post.
Remember: This does not count as your official vote. The categories here do not reflect all of the categories in the Fan Awards – simply the ones we want your input for.
The categories are:
Independent Wrestler of the Year Independent wrestler that has had the most exceptional year. Locations considered: North America (US and Canada), Europe, Japan and Mexico. This category will include women competing for Lucha Underground.
Televised Match of the Year Match of the year that has taken place on television or a televised promotion’s Pay-Per-View/Live Special. Open to WWE, NXT, TNA and Lucha Underground.
Independent Match of the Year Match of the year that has taken place in an independent promotion and is available on DVD, online or iPPV. Matches that are not available for public viewing are not eligible.
News Story of the Year What has been the year’s biggest and most interesting news story? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Moment What was the best moment in women’s wrestling this year? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Feud
What was the best feud in women’s wrestling this year? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Tag Team/Group Who was the best tag team or group in women’s wrestling? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Most Improved Wrestler Who has improved the most? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Most Skilled Wrestler Who was 2016’s most technically-gifted wrestler? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Newcomer Who was the best new entrant in women’s wrestling this year? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Manager Who served as 2016’s best manager? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Finisher Who had the most exciting finishing move? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Babyface
Who was the best fan favorite? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Heel Who did you love to hate the most? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Best Gimmick Who best portrayed their character in 2016? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Most Underrated Who was the most underrated in 2016? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
One to Watch in 2017 Who should we watch out for next year? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Most Stylish Who had the best fashion sense? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Biggest WTF Moment What was the biggest moment that made you go “WTF?” Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
Most Social Who is the most entertaining woman on social media platforms? Open to WWE, NXT, TNA, Lucha Underground and the independents.
To submit a ballot, copy and paste the following form into the comments section.
Please answer each category succinctly. No additional details are necessary.
Independent Wrestler of the Year:
Televised Match of the Year (provide YouTube link and/or event name/date):
Independent Match of the Year (provide event name/date):
News Story of the Year:
Best Moment (provide date):
Best Feud:
Best Tag Team/Group:
Most Improved Wrestler:
Most Skilled Wrestler:
Best Newcomer:
Best Finisher:
Best Manager:
Best Babyface:
Best Heel:
Best Gimmick:
Most Underrated:
One to Watch in 2017:
Most Stylish:
Biggest WTF Moment:
Most Social:
Tonight at Roadblock: End of the Line, Charlotte Flair became a four-time Raw Women’s Champion after defeating Sasha Banks in a 30 Minute Iron Man match.
The confident challenger would continue to play offense but less than two minutes after scoring the first point, Sasha was able to score a fall of her own after reversing a slam from Charlotte.
With less than ten minutes to go and the score tied at 1-1, Charlotte went high risk from the top rope again with a moonsault but Sasha rolled out the way and connected the Bank Statement forcing Charlotte to tap out and giving Sasha a much needed 2-1 lead.
Charlotte began to target Sasha’s legs, driving it through the mat from the second rope and tossing it to the ring post. With Sasha’s lower body weakened, Charlotte locked in the Figure Eight causing Sasha to tap out just seconds away from the end.
With the score tied at 2-2, the referee called for the Iron Man match to enter overtime, with the next Superstar able to score a fall be declared the winner.
A battle of submission between Sasha and Charlotte would commence but Charlotte would prevail over a bleeding Sasha with the bridged Figure Eight, earning her the Raw Women’s title for the fourth time.
With no title rematch clause, this also marks the end of the Charlotte and Sasha Banks feud.
Tonight at Roadblock: End of the Line, Sasha Banks defends the Raw Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair in a 30 minute Iron Man match. Who will go the distance? The Diva Dirt team weighs in:
Abir: This match will imitate the Sasha vs. Bayley one from Takeover: Respect. We’ll see either woman get the upperhand, and whilst the winner is predictable, there will be moments that we shall see Charlotte look stronger. However, I see Sasha Banks going home with the victory and championship.
Alex: I predict Charlotte is going to win this one. She has that PPV record that is going to be a ‘Wrestlemania moment’ when it’s broken… and that person to do it will be Bayley, especially since they’ve been hinting developing drama between those two. Charlotte taking the title and heading down the ‘Road to WrestleMania’ with her record intact seems pretty evident. Sasha… I hope you get a long title reign one day… I just don’t think it will be the RAW belt, but that’s another discussion!
Candace: This is probably the hardest prediction I’ve had to think about… but I believe that Sasha will retain!
Jack: As much as I want Sasha to retain, you just KNOW that WWE will have Charlotte win again for the LOLs. All I want is for Sasha to retain but this never-ending feud will no doubt continue so I’ve got to go with Charlotte to win.
Josue: After months of this back and forth feud, I’m not even going to analyze things this time around – Charlotte for the win!
Matthew: Charlotte. Sasha is long overdue of a lengthy Women’s Championship reign, but let’s face it; Charlotte has a solid PPV winning streak and if everything else, I would love to see that all come to an end. The RAW women’s division does NOT revolve around Charlotte, it revolves around good talent. I’d rather see Sasha win, if nothing more.
Stephanie: Charlotte will win. Sasha is well overdue a lengthy serious reign, and I’d be happy if I’m wrong but there’s a PPV streak to uphold and a 16 time world champion who will probably cost her the belt.
BREAKDOWN: 5 for Charlotte, 2 for Sasha Banks.
Who do you agree with? Who is just dead wrong? What are your predictions? Sound off in the comments below!
Each week, The Wrap will wrap up the week in women’s wrestling by compiling the week’s smaller news stories, rumors and gossip – anything not normally covered by Diva Dirt. Got a tip for next week? Send it in.
* There are no plans for a 2016 WWE Slammy Awards special this year and it there is now talks that WWE is considering about moving the award show to WrestleMania Week. (Wrestling News)
* WWE.com is conducting a poll asking fans what kind of stipulation match they would like to see the women compete in next. (WWE.com)
* Rachael Ellering speaks with The British Wrestling Revival on being a second generation, training with Lance Storm and appearances in NXT. (British Wrestling Revival)
* Sports 360 highlights the feud between Sasha Banks and Charlotte this year, labeling the rivalry as one of the best of all-time. (Sports 360)
* Pro Wrestling Sheet reports Chyna‘s Autopsy reveals the former Intercontinental Champion died from a “combined effect of drugs and alcohol.” (Pro Wrestling Sheet)
* Allie announces she will begin a YouTube channel in January. (Twitter)
* Alexa Bliss receives new merchandise in the form of a Little Miss Bliss T-shirt. (Twitter)
* Triple H comments on the possibility of seeing Chyna inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. (Newsweek)
* WWE teases the chance of Lana moving down to NXT to wrestle on a regular basis. (YouTube)
* Brazilian kick boxer Katya Kavaleva will take part in an upcoming WWE tryout in February. (Squared Circle Sirens)
Ah Knockout fans, I knew you’d come! After all, why wouldn’t you come to this wonderful Total Nonstop Deletion edition of Impact Write-Up when TNA have done everything they could to promote this episode. Look no further then when it was announced that Sienna would be make an appearance at the Hardy compound. So what kind of business does the former Knockouts Champion have in North Carolina? Let’s find out!
We find Sienna inside a six sided ring surrounded by a small audience of dedicated Hardy fans. She has a mic in hand and says she has been searching for the Knockouts Champion Rosemary. While Sienna claims the Rosemary’s absence is a result of fear, Jermey Borash (from a commentary table somewhere in this broken universe) reveals that Rosemary has actually been banned from the Hardy premises after her attmept of kidnappingKing Maxel.
With no Rosemary present, Sienna decides to declare herself the new number one contender for the Knockouts title. Hmm, so she can do this with no authoritative approval? In any event, Sienna claims to be a classy lady and is wiling to put her new number one contendership against anyone – inside or outside of TNA!
Out comes… the incomparable Vanguard 1? Or maybe not, as the acting referee rules that a drone can fight a woman and throws Vanguard to the back. The feisty flying drone follows the official’s order but calls it BS.
A new challenger emerges from a BBQ sauce truck parked outside and out comes former Knockouts Champion ODB! The match starts with ODB dodging an incoming attack from Sienna and cornering her to a turnbuckle with some right forearms.
Sienna responds with an attack from behind and mounts ODB onto her shoulders for a running Samoan Drop. She goes for the pin cover and earns a two count.
ODB takes Sienna to a corner again to connect a Bronco Buster and follows up with an elevated Thesz Press. The combination earns ODB a two count over Sienna.
Sienna takes back control of the match and whips ODB to a corner, where the referee nearly gets hit had ODB not slowed down her pace. The referee goes down anyway after ODB dodges a charging attack from Sienna. With the referee down, Sienna big boots ODB and quickly finds a chair from outside the six sided ring.
Sienna takes aim of ODB and swings the chair but ODB ducks out the way! She punches the chair back at Sienna and goes for the cover but the referee is still down for this contest. This prompts the return of Vanguard 1, in referee mode, who makes the near three count had the acting referee not recovered to take back his job.
In the midst of all the confusion, Sienna picks up the chair and attacks ODB from behind with it. She follows up with The Silencer finisher, that puts ODB away and allows Sienna to remain number one contender to the Knockouts title.
Post match, ODB gives Vanguard 1 her thanks for trying to help her out by allowing the drone to feel up ODB’s chest. Well then….
Reby Hardy also makes an appearance on Total Nonstop Deletion to celebrate the Broken Hardys’ monstrous victory in Tag Team Apocalypto! and drop that she is expecting! Congrats to Reby/Matt and all of the mothers to be in the new year! Mommagedon is among us readers!
Thoughts: I said in this in a previous TNA forum and I’ll say it again here: If you’re a fan of the Broken Hardy stuff, this episode was for you, if you’re not a fan of the Broken Hardy stuff, it isn’t. As always, I’m of the latter.
This Knockouts match was a complete throw-away and felt like it was more so thrown in the show as a way to sort of fill time. The match was pretty short, the ref bump was flat, the Vanguard interaction got a chuckle from but that’s about it. ODB was a nice surprise but knowing this was a guest star kind of ordeal, it wasn’t like I expected her (or anyone else that might have been booked) to beat Sienna for a number one contendership.
Of course, according to previously mentioned spoilers, we were suppose to have a Knockouts title defense with Rosemary but I guess there were some schedule conflicts in between the times TND was being taped?
I think Rosemary’s gimmick works so well in the Broken Universe, as we’ve seen before, so it is disappointing to hear she wouldn’t make an appearance – though I give props to TNA for finding an explanation that works! Even Rosemary being part of Tag Team Apocalypto! would’ve been a treat to watch!
Seeing as this is most likely the final material coming from the Knockouts, what with word that next week’s Impact will be a Hardy Holiday episode and maybe a countdown of “TNA moments” for the week after, it is pretty disheartening to see the Knockouts end in a low point.
Looking back at the year, 2016 has been a more storyline/character year for the Knockouts with the wrestling taking a seat in the back burner. TNA have the talent to put on great Knockouts matches, as we’ve seen in the cage match between Jade and Rosemary two weeks ago, but they have be committed in investing to long term feuds rather than quick no-build matches and random title reigns.
Making my New Year’s wish early this year and going to wish that Knockouts are able to really pick themselves up and the division in 2017.
What did you think of Total Nonstop Deletion? Surprised by ODB’s appearance? Looking forward to a future Knockouts title match between Rosemary and Sienna? Let us know in the comments below!
One of the UK’s major television broadcasters, Channel 4, will be airing a one-off hour documentary titled “Women of WWE”. This documentary is being produced by James Delow, who hosts popular UK WWE fancast Gorilla Position.
James has revealed via his Twitter page that the show will be airing sometime in January. Screengrabs from the edits and interview shots show interviews with Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch and Natalya.
For all asking, my @Channel4 ‘Women of #WWE‘ doc will now be released in Jan so it doesn’t get lost in busy Christmas schedules. Can’t wait! pic.twitter.com/xzgpfL5GIE
Eagle eyed readers will see that filming commenced on October 28th and seems to end around Hell In A Cell. During this period, the SmackDown ladies also had No Mercy, so we are in store for good insights.
We can assume that this documentary will follow behind the scenes action as the women headed into such a historic night for women’s wrestling. Viewers can expect to see a close and intimate at a look at some of our favourite WWE Superstars outside of the ‘WWE view’ – different to this year’s 24/7 special and without the glitz and glam of Total Divas.
This isn’t the first time that both parties have made documentaries in the pro-wrestling world. In 2012, Channel 4 aired “The Wrestlers: Fighting with my Family” which featured Saraya Knight and who we know know to be Paige. While James Delow prodcued “Superstar Wrestlers” with the BBC earlier this year, which also featured Charlotte.
The official airdate hasn’t been revealed yet, but we will keep you updated as we move into the new year!
Are you excited about this documentary? What particular event in that time period are you thinking may be covered? Do you prefer documentaries or reality shows? Let me know in the comments section!
On May 6th, 2016, WWE said “Girl, Bye” to the very sassy Ariane Andrew (FKA Cameron).
Since then, the former Funkdactyl has found herself starring alongside Tim Tebow in a car commercial, as well as getting her YouTube channel up and running.
On her online video blog, Andrew uploaded the second episode of her “Ask Andrew” series.
The former star of ‘Total Divas’ discussed the current state of the WWE women’s division, saying that she would like to work with “everybody”, especially “a couple girls at NXT” that she hadn’t gotten the chance to work with.
Ariane also said that she is proud of Alexa Bliss for her win at TLC, as she is a “sweet girl”. She then makes a mention that she’s rooting for Naomi to get a title opportunity.
When asked about her goals for the next five years, Andrew said that as “a Jill of all trades”, she sees herself in a wide variety of roles – whether that be wrestling, acting, entertaining, performing, hosting etc.
The full video can be seen here, in which she also discusses making her own talent agency, what her goals were in WWE and more.
What do you think of her words? Do you miss Cameron? Let us know your views in the comments below!
Season six of ‘Total Divas’ is turning into a pretty big ride. On this week’s episode we see Lana deal with a culture clash of a wedding whilst we get a deeper look into the lives of Dean Ambrose and Renee Young. Also Paige is really adorable.
Paige and Renee Young meet up at the start of the episode and discuss the infamous relationship between the Brit and Alberto Del Rio. For some reason, despite moving in with the man, Paige can’t find it in herself to poop in the house – which has four different bathrooms. Are the alarms ringing yet? No? Oh okay.
We then get whisked away to Nashville, Tennessee where Lana and Rusev are discussing the upcoming wedding. Lana gives us some info on her “spiritual” upbringing, brags about how kind her fiancé is, and then we’re watching the group shop for a wedding dress! The topic of American weddings is brought up and Rusev claims that he hates them because there are no “traditions” apart of it. Lana’s mother pipes up and explains her traditions, but it seems Rusev couldn’t care less.
Rusev soon reminds Lana that she has to break the news to his mother that they won’t be having a Bulgarian wedding… and it appears like it’ll be a little challenging to do so.
Flash forward to Thursday and the ladies are at SmackDown! Backstage, Maryse, alongside her husband The Miz, gets a FaceTime call from her mother, and it’s not good news. Her mother informs the two that there’s a burglar at their house, and after checking the CCTV footage on their phones, The Miz can literally see the man at the door! Yikes! A scared Maryse yells at her husband and mother to call 911 and they proceed. The man soon runs away as the cops arrive and all is well in the Mizanin household.
The wedding drama then continues as Lana and Rusev are seen chatting backstage. Rusev says that he plans on getting married in Bulgaria, as his mother wants that. Lana insists that she will never have someone “live vicariously” through her as it is her wedding (and Rusev’s). Trouble in paradise, it seems.
The Miz and Maryse catch up with Paige and other friends at a restaurant and tell them all about the robbery. After a quick discussion, Maryse is still worried about her safety, so brings up the option of getting a gun in her bedroom. The Miz unsurprisingly is against the idea as the robber could easily take the gun off of her and kill the Sexiest of Sexy. Maryse may have been against it in the past herself, but with her husband going off to film a movie next month, she’s feeling a little too scared to not have one by her side.
Back in the Rusev-Lana household, some stripper pole fun is going down before Rusev’s mother pops in. And as she enters, the very fitting “Roar of the Lion” plays. Lana explains that sometimes she doesn’t understand what her mother says because of the language barrier, and it’s pretty clear where things are headed…
We then check in with Renee, who lives in Las Vegas – away from all of her friends. So because herself and Dean-o do not have any friends nearby, they ask Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan to hang out with them. And with the fact that Bella and Bryan don’t show up at work as much, this proves to be the perfect idea.
Once everyone has arrived, Brie drops the bomb that she invited her twin, Nikki Bella! Cue awkward eye contact. But, Renee being Renee, attempts to go above and beyond to make her feel comfortable by setting up a random room. So sweet!
Lana and Rusev are then seen having a barbecue to give Mama Rusev a chance to experience American culture. The conversation soon moves to Bulgarian weddings as Rusev feels the need to pitch the idea to Lana and her family. And though Lana says that it’s been her dream to have a beach wedding, Mama Rusev is not having it…
Eva Marie then meets up with Maryse in the Mizanin household to give her some company whilst Mike is away. The two have a bit of fun together but then they realise that the current security may not be cutting it. So, despite Mike’s wishes, they decide to window shop for and try out someguns.
Lana, Rusev and co. then go to buy some cottage cheese and Mama Rusev is discussing the Bulgarian wedding – in Bulgarian. Lana catches on and feels extremely uncomfortable, but the two deny the simple thought of doing such an act.
We’re then taken to the car that carries Dean, the Bellas, Renee and Bryan, and they’re off to go on some ATV/Monster trucks. Unfortunately for Nikki, her neck injury means that she can’t take part, and this definitely plays on Renee’s mind as she feels horrible for not even thinking of Nikki. But, whilst the gang plays, Nicole turns to her best buddy – alcohol!
The Lana-Rusev saga then continues as Rusev discusses the wedding situation with his soon to be father-in-law. He attempts to convince him about having a Bulgarian wedding over an American one, but Lana soon interrupts and takes her fiancé upstairs to give him a talking to. Lana brings up the fact that Rusev doesn’t understand American culture – so much that he hasn’t even asked her father if he could marry her! And before she can get too serious, Rusev laughs it off and she walks away in anger. Oops.
Maryse and Eva then go to do some gun training – without the knowledge of the Miz – so that Maryse can understand how to work one before purchasing it. The ladies have some great fun and Maryse feels ever so empowered afterwards. However, in respect to her husband, she declines the gun in front of Eva.
The house gathering antics are up next and Renee is feeling the pressure. She wants to impress her friends but pleasing everyone at once proves to be a somewhat difficult task. The perfect plan falls flat as the food almost catches fire and Brie catches on to Renee trying way too hard. Also, Nikki decides to get a hotel room after feeling like a fifth wheel (though Renee assures her she is far from such).
The next morning, Brie and Renee try to continue setting up the house but it proves a little stressful for Young. Bella reminds her that she needs to relax and thus, they will all stop working and do something more fun for the sake of the ring announcer. Aw!
All of the ladies then take to Norfolk for a taping of Monday Night RAW. Backstage, Eva brings up a photo of Maryse posing with a gun – one that she bought… without consulting Mike! But, she now feels safe, so I guess that’s all that matters.
Lana and Rusev then have a meal with Lana’s dad and the topic of the wedding is still on everyone’s mind. Rusev – being Rusev – prepares a speech to Lana’s father to marry her, and though he’s confused about the lateness of the question, his blessing is still given. And the idea of a Malibu wedding is also confirmed. Aw!
Maryse then gathers up the courage to discuss the gun issue with Mike over FaceTime, and though he’s disappointed, it’s not in the way she expected. The Miz was going to get the gun for Maryse himself, but it seems that she saved him the effort and all is good in the Mizanin household!
The episode then ends in the Lana-Rusev household when Lana announces the final decision on the wedding. It seems that the proud American and her soon-to-be hubby choose to have two weddings; one in Malibu and the other in Bulgaria! Yay!
Thoughts: I’m not quite sure what it is… but Lana is super boring in this episode. I’m not exactly her number one fan outside of ‘Total Divas’, but I’d been somewhat entertained by her prior to this episode. When watching her this week I feel as though I’m watching a little kid wanting a certain piece of candy in a store and not stopping until they’d get what they wanted. And then in the end they learned a lesson about fairness so decided to negotiate. Her story isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but I did somewhat roll my eyes every time we were going to her house. Rusev was pretty funny though, if that makes up for anything.
The whole Paige scenario is coming, and I’m not sure if I’m excited or nervous for it. Based on this episode – and the last – it feels as though the woman is moving on way too fast. I mean, if you can’t use the bathroom with someone you’re living with – and it isn’t student accommodation – then why are you living with them?! Surely that should be a huge sign that one isn’t comfortable enough to live with another. And you’d think Paige would. But alas.
One thing I did like was that finally, the Bellas had an interesting story this season! And all it took was for the focus not to be on their men! Who knew we wanted to see them just have fun with their friends and support the needs of others? Eh…
The story is pretty cute, and it’s nice to see the twins actually have fun rather than bicker about nonsense that we’ve heard in every other episode. And it appears that through this story, we have a breakout star in Renee Young!
Renee is so adorable and it’s lovely to see her in her own stories, rather than supporting others or just being in the background. She seems like such a lovely spirit, and her relationship with Dean is the cutest thing.
And speaking of adorable relationships – let’s discuss Miz and Maryse! I’m not the biggest fan of the Sexiest of Sexy, but you’d be a fool to say she wasn’t all kinds of sweet in this episode. Her relationship with Mike is so loving and understanding that it really makes you see both of them in a different light. They really get each other and they don’t have unnecessary drama. Instead, though some actions may be somewhat petulant, they still come together as adults and have a healthy bond. I’m in love with their love!
What did you think of the episode? Did you like Renee’s story? How do you find Paige’s relationship? Are you a fan of Miz and Maryse? Where do you stand with the double wedding scenario? Let us know your views in the comments below!
According to Show Buzz Daily, the sixth episode of Total Divas, titled “Mother of the Groom”, drew in a viewing audience of 556,000 viewers.
This is down 7,000 viewers than last week’s rating of 563,000 viewers.
In the 18-49 demo, the episode drew in a 0.25 rating, which is lower than last week’s 0.26.
The episode was the 19th most watched show on cable last night, up from last week’s number 26 ranking.
The episode featured a look at Lana and Rusev’s wedding plans, a robbery incident at Maryse’s home and Renee Young and Dean Ambrose playing host to a BBQ gathering.
Below is a look at the viewership breakdown for this season:
Episode 1: 632,000 viewers
Episode 2: 461,000 viewers
Episode 3: 595,000 viewers
Episode 4: 563,000 viewers
Episode 5: 556,000 viewers
Did you catch Total Divas last night? What do you think about these ratings? How do you think the rest of the season’s ratings will play out? Sound off in the comments below!
I wasn’t able to cover RAW, but don’t you fret guys, I’m here this week covering the WWE’s 14th annual Tribute To The Troops event! This feel-good holiday time show has always been a light showcase for the women, so let’s see what was on offer this year!
First off, making her return to the WWE television was Lilian Garcia. This was her first appearance since leaving in August earlier this Summer. She sang the American national anthem to kick off the show, sorry Jojo but Lilian is still the original songstress!
Backstage, Bayley is seen playing backstage with Charlie the dog from The Today Show. She’s interrupted by Charlotte and Dana Brooke, who start to belittle Bayley. After a couple of ‘dog’ themed threats and puns, Dana warns that Bayley better be ready before their match!
So onto the match… which lasts about 3 minutes. Dana dominates for the first 2 minutes. When Bayley gains some steam, Charlotte saves Dana by pulling her out the ring, Bayley throws Dana into Charlotte, then throws her back in the ring and hits the Bayley-to-belly for the finish. Looks like the Bayley VS Charlotte/Dana storyline continues on!
Thoughts: Can’t say much really, since this was a nice little showing for the troops that we usually get at Christmas time. With RAW covering this show, Road Block literally around the corner and about 5 active girls on the roster, they couldn’t do much.
It’s just crazy to think that a couple years ago, we would usually get a really awkward ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ throwaway tag match. Sure this wasn’t an amazing match, but with so few active women around on RAW they couldn’t do much. We have had a couple battle royals at these events over the last few years, which were fun, but I guess with our current RAW roster that would be too difficult since. It was very nice to see Lilian back on WWE TV, Dana looked good and Bayley got the feel good win… can’t really complain but can’t really praise too much either!
Welcome back to the Temple, Believers! This week things get ultra violent as several of our Luchadoras find themselves either playing or at the mercy of mind games. The Battle of the Bulls Tournament also continues, this week showcasing Mariposa’s skills against Killshot, Jeremiah Crane, and Dante Fox.
That match is up first, let’s watch:
The match starts off quick, with frequent super kicks and slaps between all competitors. It isn’t long before bodies go flying out of the ring at each other. Highlights include Jeremiah throwing a bunch of steel chairs into the ring and setting them up for a devastating top rope spot which Mariposa steals to perform a super powerbomb.
She also counters a move by Killsot into an aerial stunner and then Butterfly Effect’s him into a chair. Jeremiah gets the win after a back and forth fight with Dante.
After the match we join Taya as she continues to film her documentary following the Worldwide Underground.
Taya asks them how they feel being part of the “hottest” group in LU. Taya continues to try and control them to keep them focused. Johnny Mundo arrives and tells PJ Black and Jack Evans that if neither of them win their Fatal Four Way Battle of the Bulls match, then they’ll have to find a new crew.
After that segment we join Sexy Star as she trains for her upcoming cage match against Johnny next week.
She makes her way back to her locker and finds a giant spider inside. She freaks out and takes this as some sort of sign.
Our match between Kobra Moon and Drago is next. Let’s watch:
Kobra Moon gesticulates on the top turnbuckle as Drago makes his way to the ring.
They tie up and go through several reversals and submissions before Kobra can plant a hurricanrana on Drago. For most of the bout Drago dominates Kobra. She tries to hypnotize him but he continues attacking her. It’s not long before her reptile clan interferes in the bout, ending the match with a no contest.
Kobra Moon has been setting this trap for longer than many can comprehend #LuchaUnderground
He takes out the Super Friends, Fenix and Aerostar, and hoists Drago away. The clan leave with an unconscious Drago.
Up next we see Sexy corner Mariposa who’s coming back from her previous bout.
Mariposa chortles at her before swiping at her hair. Sexy immediately takes offense, fists and kicks fly everywhere. She and accuses her of putting the spider in her locker. She threatens her. Mariposa denies it and says she’d put something beautiful in there, like a butterfly. Sexy gets pissed and punches a hole in the wall.
Thoughts: Another great episode of Lucha Underground. I’m very pleased to see the Battle of the Bulls tournament include a female member of the Temple. As stories get propelled forward Mariposa makes perfect sense at being the one to compete in this. We have two rivals in Killshot and Dante, a newcomer in Jeremiah, and then Mariposa who’s already defined as one of the seediest characters, one of the most violent. It ups the intensity of this Fatal Four Way match.
I want to commend her for continuing to put her body on the line when the story and wrestling calls for it. I was quite entertained by the use of the steel chairs in this match, the crazy powerbomb that took everyone out, the reversed stunner, the Butterfly Effect on the chair. The only thing missing for the Martinez siblings is a clear cut target right now. The rivalry between her and Jeremiah and Ivelisse was cut short when Ivelisse broke her ankle. Now they are just floating around a little bit until their next feuds.
While striking, Kobra Moon needs to tone down her movements just a little bit. I appreciate her putting her whole being into this character but sometimes subtlety works best. I was a bit disappointed that she took so much of the punishment from Drago. I would have liked to see a more even contest but, the whole thing paid off. It was all a trap, all mind games!
Speaking of mind games, Sexy is preparing for one of her toughest matches yet as she looks forward to competing in a steel cage next week. She’s on edge and played it well. I’m hoping this isn’t her downfall going into it. I’m curious as to who is sending her these messages, is it Worldwide Underground or is someone else now looking to take her out?
What did you think of this week’s episode? Who do you think will win next week as Sexy fights Johnny in a cage? Sound off in the comments below.
This episode of SmackDown is pretty special. Not because of the fact that Deonna freaking Purrazzo showed up. But, it’s more to do with the fact that we saw our first Tuesday night women’s match in three weeks! I mean, it’s not necessarily something to brag about, but it happened!
The ladies started off the night when Natalya took on Carmella in a match whilst an anxious Nikki Bella is on commentary. As Nikki is discussing the upcoming episode of Total Divas during Natalya’s entrance, the Queen of Harts takes ahold of the mic to address the Survivor Series situation. But before she can get into her apology, the Princess of Staten Island comes out for the match. Oops!
The contest proves to be fairly gripping, with both women getting so great offense in. Towards the end of the match, Natalya is outside trying to get Bella to believe her. And, as Carmella is about to launch an attack on the Fearless One from behind, Natalya pushes her friend aside to knock the Princess of Staten Island to the ground. The action then goes back to the ring, and just after Natalya tells Nikki that it wasn’t her – again – Carmella rolls her up for the three count!
Later on in the night the SmackDown Women’s champion Alexa Bliss comes out for her match against the one and only – local competitor – Deonna Purrazzo! Before she can get her full introduction, Bliss grabs the microphone from Greg Hamilton and dismisses him accordingly. Alexa then addresses Purrazzo and says whilst SmackDown Live may be “the land of opportunity”, but she doesn’t do charity work like Becky Lynch. Bliss then refers to Purrazzo as “Jane Ellsworth” (probably her best line ever) before attacking her and throwing her out of the ring. But before she can go back to her speech, the former SmackDown Women’s champion comes out to interrupt her – seems to be a theme this week!
Lynch slowly makes her way to the ring as she apologizes for catching Bliss “off guard” when asking for the rematch. Alexa wasn’t in her ring gear, but, now she is – and so is Becky! So, to the interest of both of them, Becky claims that the two should have the rematch right here, right now! Alexa, as accepting as she is to have a rematch, declines the offer for the night and dashes out of the ring. But before she can make her full escape, Mr Shane O’Mac himself pops out to ringside.
Shane tells the champ that what’s going on isn’t how things go down on SmackDown Live. So, before she can head backstage, she must defend her title against Becky Lynch – cue the music and the Lass Kicker’s best Shane O’Mac dance moves!
When we return from a break the match begins. Bliss plays the cowardly role and tries to avoid any form on contact with Lynch. Becky leads a lot of the match and seems to indicate that she’ll win. So, sensing the potential loss, Alexa dashes outside of the ring with an “injured” leg and gets herself counted out. I’d totally roll my eyes but it was pretty hilarious.
The very hurt SmackDown Women’s champion shows up on Talking Smack to discuss her issue. She tells Daniel Bryan and Renee Young that she is still sore from the match and that she didn’t even realise that she was being counted out – that’s how bad the injury was! When questioned about the authenticity of the injury, Bliss says that she hasn’t seen a trainer because she believes that it’s best to test the waters in the locker room and elevate her injury herself. She tells Daniel that his words are “questioning [her] integrity” – RUDE – and that she prides herself on said integrity.
Thoughts: This was a really good week for the ladies. I really appreciate how after three weeks of no Tuesday night wrestling we got two solid matches. And though one may not have been properly complete, it was still a great bout.
I’m really enjoying what SmackDown are doing with this Survivor Series storyline. It’s involving three different women and allowing each of them to grow.
Carmella is clearly coming across as a threat in the ring as she was definitely the competitor given the better moves this week. Between her Hurricanrana, the Bronco Buster and everything in between, the Princess of Staten Island had a great week. And even if she may be the most irrelevant of the three, she’s still not losing any shine. SmackDown are still giving her the opportunity to improve and get closer with the crowd and I can’t help but appreciate that. She’s getting better week by week and it’ll be great to see where she is in a few months from now because of it.
Nikki is also doing pretty well right now. Though it’s fairly weird that she stays silent whenever the other girls confront her, it’s interesting to see her looking anxious and not sticking to this “fearless” gimmick. The attack at Survivor Series could have easily been brushed away or seen as something expendable, but it’s great that that isn’t the direction we’re going in. When we do find out the attacker, Nikki’s consistent silence will lead to her being afraid of them, and actually having some kind of reason to feud. The two will have a great feud as Nikki will fear them and thus give them some power going into their rivalry.
On top of this, Natalya is still my favourite part of the storyline. She’s the type of character that thinks she’s a babyface and that everyone loves her, yet is really annoying and no one actually wants her around. Prior to this she was desperately trying to get the crowd to boo her adorable self. Yet now when it comes across as her being a lost puppy, she easily becomes annoying and therefore will garner the heat she needs. She won’t necessarily get to the heat levels of Eva Marie, but she’ll become annoying enough to make you not want to root for her – and that’s what she needs.
And finally, the Women’s championship story! Alexa Bliss is an incredible heel. She has the perfect balance between humor and annoyance that makes her the right kind of villain. She may crack you up with her references and insults, but she’ll then turn her back on the crowd and force them to boo her. This is the kind of heel I like to watch. She’s entertaining, engaging and also allows her opponent to show. Despite last week’s mishap, Alexa’s title reign may be going in the right direction after all. She’s doing a wonderful job and the feud between her and Lynch is far from stale. They may be going at it multiple times, but each week we see them doing something new and engaging – and it’s brilliant.
What are your thoughts on this week’s show? Love it? Hate it? When do you think Nikki’s attacker will be revealed? Let us know your views in the comments below!
Greeting readers! First and foremost, apologies for this delayed edition of Raw Redux. I’m filling in for Alex this week and we are just days away from Sunday’s big Iron Man match between Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Charlotte. You’d think for such a historic match, WWE would want to showcase the final standoff between these two tremendous Superstars in the biggest way possible.
Unfortunately, neither woman makes an appearance on this Roadblock go-home show aside from a hype video promo. Instead, we are treated to a rematch between Bayley and Alicia Fox, an Eva Marie shout out and a taunting Lana! Wait a minute, I’m certainly sure WWE also promised the complete makeover of Emma to Emmalina for this week as well…
We first stop by backstage to find Stephanie McMahon, Raw GM Mick Foley and a fair portion of the Raw roster (with a few indie guest stars) celebrate The New Day’s big tag team title defense over the teams of Cersao/Sheamus and The Club to become the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history!
In the midst of the rejoiced tag team milestone, the New Day sprayed a little too much of their campaign bottles over Stephanie after she had just given the group a congratulating toast! The entire room goes silent, holding their breath until the angry McMahon knocks off a huge bowl of Booty-Os and storms away.
Thankfully, this little bump with the boss wasn’t an entire upset for the New Day’s historic reign, as the group overcame the odds in their second title defense of the night against the new teams of Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens/Chris Jericho in this week’s main event. New Day Rocks!
The long rivalry between Sasha Banks and Charlotte is hyped next. From Sasha’s first Women’s title win to their Hell in a Cell match to their Falls Count Anywhere main event match, the video package is a great look back at the history of this feud that will truly come to an end of come Sunday night as it is announced that there is no rematch clause in this title match.
Well… let’s see if WWE actually stays true to their word when it comes to this part of their women’s division since they didn’t keep their promise of Emmalina’s repackaged debut. Instead, we’re told for maybe the seventh week in a row that it will be “premieringsoon”. WHAT’S WITH THE EMPTY PROMISES WWE!?
Before our only women’s match of the evening, we get a glimpse at what happened earlier in the Raw pre-show between Alicia and Bayley. Alicia had destroyed one of Bayley’s teddy bears for her “move” towards Alicia’s “man” Cedric Alexander. Alicia adds that Bayley’s win last week was a complete fluke and in this rematch, she’ll dedicate her win to Cedric.
The bell sounds off and Alicia charges toward Bayley but the Huggster dodges out of harm’s way. Bayley slips behind Alicia and takes her down to connect a headlock submission.
Alicia escapes the hold by shoving Bayley to the ropes only to be taken back down via striking elbow. After being backed to a corner, Alicia manages to gain some control of the match with a back elbow and axe kick to back of Bayley’s head.
With Bayley grounded to the mat, Alicia goes for a submission hold but Bayley reverses this to a pin cover for a count of two. Back on her feet, Alicia begins to mount some offense again with a combination of suplexes and right forearms. Just when things begin to favor for Alicia, a Belly-to-Bayley out puts Alicia down for the three count. That’s 2-0 for two weeks in a row!
After the win, Bayley is interviewed as part of Raw Fallout and compliments Alicia for her athleticism but adds she is ready to move on from fighting with “Foxes”. Instead, Bayley looks ahead of Roadblock and says she will look be watching closely to whoever wins as she wants to hug that Raw Women’s Championship.
Ever wonder what Lana and her husband Rusev do behind closed doors? Well keep on wondering because they certainly aren’t going to tell us! After teasing fans with some pretty promiscuous dialogue on the fun they have behind closed door, we were all actually punked with a replay clip of last week’s vicious beatdown of Enzo Amore.
Sorry Enzo but as Lana says, as she always does, that the only man for her is Rusev. Answering on behalf of Enzo is tag partner Big Cass (with his “pants” on?) that leads to a brawl between the two giants.
And we will close out the delayed Raw Redux with some disappointing news for all of you fans hoping to see Eva Marie on Raw and/or Sami Zayn heading to SmackDown. After being denied a match against Braun Strowman at Roadblock, Sami threatened to join the blue brand to be around those who would actually listen and give him what he wants.
GM Mick had no problem with this so long as Raw would get a Superstar of “equal talent value”. Of course, this was all just a way to further Sami to get what requested at the cost of Eva’s name. Keep up that talk of positive women’s wrestling alive there Mick!
Thoughts: A pretty weak Raw for their final PPV event of 2016.
This isn’t to say I’m not excited to see how Charlotte and Sasha do in their Iron Man match – I am confident the two will deliver as they always have every single time they’ve stepped in to the ring together! I just wish that we had something more to latch onto before this big square off. Maybe even swap the whole public Ric Flair apology this week for the hype video last week.
I echo what our usual Raw Reviewer Alex, and many others, have said about the feud between Sasha/Charlotte rivalry: it’s time for these two to move on! Spread the wealth and utilize your entire women’s division Raw!
To throw my prediction here early, I’m going to say Charlotte will walk out with the title Sunday. I say this for two reasons: one is WWE insisting to keep Charlotte’s streak of single PPVs wins alive and so that she can enter a feud with Bayley. As of now, Bayley is really the only other woman on Raw’s roster who has been build as a contender for the title. Sure it was through a lame misunderstood semi-love feud with Alicia/Cedric but at least it was nice to see other women be involved in another feud.
Also what a big middle finger on WWE’s part for their misleading promise of giving Emma’s complete makeover this week. While I do think re-debuting a character after a PPV makes more sense, I wish WWE wouldn’t make these promises and not keep them but hey, it isn’t the first we’ve been let down by the company.
What did you think of Raw this week? Excited for Roadblock? Disappointed on Emmalina’s delayed premiere? Let us know in the comments below!
[media-credit name=”Ring of Honor” align=”alignnone” width=”620″][/media-credit]
Could ROH’s Women of Honor division soon be fighting for a new Women’s title?
According to a report from PWInsider, Ring of Honor are currently in the works of introducing a new title for their female roster and crown its first women’s champion in the upcoming year.
The report also adds the company plans to offer contracts to their regularly used female talents that include Kelly Klein, Mandy Leon, Deonna Purrazzo and Taeler Hendrix to launch an official Women of Honor division.
Within the last year, ROH has showcased their Women of Honor matches as an exclusive content to their official YouTube page every Wednesday as part of their #WOHWednesday movement on Twitter.
Would you like to see ROH introduce a WOH title? Who would you crown as the inaugural champion? What other female talents would you like to see make up an official WOH division? Let us know in the comments below!
Things are about to heat up on Lucha Underground as Kobra Moon steps into the ring against Drago this week. Elsewhere, Mariposa will participate in The Battle of the Bulls tournament.
The dragon had a few choice words for Kobra Moon and Lucha Underground’s twitter shared them:
Kobra Moon has been stalking Drago this season, beckoning him to come back to her tribe and call her his queen. Drago, however, isn’t interested at all. He was enslaved by her and her reptile clan and he refuses to have anything to do with her. She’s also looking for a great general who deserted them during the war. Is him and Drago one and the same?
Meanwhile, The Battle of the Bulls tournament continues this week to determine Johnny Mundo‘s challenger after he faces number one contender Sexy Star. Mariposa will participate in a fatal four way match against Killshot, Jeremiah Crane, and Dante Fox!
The popular YouTuber with over 10 million subscribers met up with Stephanie in person for a new video in which Singh checks off one of her childhood dreams — to become a WWE Superstar.
“Since I was a little girl, I’ve been obsessed with the WWE,” says Lilly before making her wish come true by breaking into Steph’s hotel room, bringing room service bites to the RAW Commissioner.
Crispy croutons aside, Lilly manages to also order up some merch on a silver platter as a part of her wrestler pitch and the rest? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to find out!
Are you a fan of Lilly Singh? If so, are you surprised to know that she had dreams of being a WWE Superstar? What’s the boldest thing that you would do to become a WWE wrestler? Did you like this video? Would you want to see more of Stephanie in comedic videos like this? Sound off!
The Fine Brothers are at it again for one of their newest React videos on YouTube — and this time they’ve recruited a handful of WWE Superstars, including Lana and Alicia Fox, to watch a few funny videos…with a twist.
As the only female WWE wrestlers in the visual, Lana, along with husband Rusev, Alicia, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and several others are shown a variety of funny videos, while given the task of not laughing or grinning while watching the clips.
Lana impressively remains in character throughout the whole video, hardly cracking under comedic pressure. However, Alicia can barely keep it together for most of the videos, especially during one in which a cute tabby cat misses his targeted landing.
How do you think your fave female wrestlers would have done in a React video like this? Which of them would you have liked to see in this clip? The Bella Twins? Eva Marie? Charlotte? Sasha? Send your thoughts!
NXT TakeOver: Orlando takes place on Saturday, April 1, at the Amway Center, less than 24 hours before The Show of Shows. Fans in O-Town will get to see NXT’s most heated rivalries reach their boiling point on the biggest stage NXT has to offer.
Tickets for this event will go on sale Friday, December 16th:
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