NWA is gearing up for two huge events at the end of summer with its first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view Empowerrr along with its 73rd-anniversary show on back-to-back nights. With the help of Mickie James, more eyes are paying attention to women in this promotion.
On this week’s Super Powerrr four women competed in tag team action which included two former NWA World Women’s Champions. Serena Deeb and Kylie Rae faced Thunder Rosa and Skye Blue. Deeb and Rae came out with a win from this exchange which certainly won’t sit right with Rosa.
Legends, blue chip prospects, and former World Champions all in the ring at the same time as “La Mera Mera” @thunderrosa22, @Skyebyee, @SerenaDeeb, and “Smiley” Kylie Rae clash!!!
Although Deeb and Rosa continue to circle the NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille, feeling as though they both should be the next number one contender, Kenzie Paige will get perhaps the biggest opportunity of her young career. Kenzie was recently in a Three Way match against Melina and Jennacide in which Melina won. She has also had matches with AEW in 2020.
Kenzie released a promo that can be seen below that she will be facing Kamille with the prestigious title on the line It will take place on July 24 at an indie event in Charlotte, NC.
Kamille puts her title on the line for the first time against me. I want to make a name for myself in NWA what better way than to be the champion?? @nwapic.twitter.com/ejxvRVGaKR
NWA also released episode one of Race to the Chase. In this video, you can view the preparation for NWA’s Empowerrr and the value Mickie James holds to this project. Kamille is featured in the discussion.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for all of your news on the women in NWA.
Zelina Vega shocked the WWE audience when she returned to SmackDown this past Friday. Vega was released from the company in November and reports in May started to swirl noting that she would be making her return. Up until Friday that was pure speculation.
WWE Authority Sonya Deville announced Vega’s returning by adding her into the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Vega was on this weekend’s Talking Smack to discuss her return and involvement in the match and which champion she may target if she wins the briefcase. She was also in action on Friday in a losing effort against Liv Morgan who is trying to prove she deserves her own spot in the MITB match.
“I think I have some unfinished business with Bianca [Belair]. If she’s even going to remain champion, although, I’m not really fond of Bayley either. Whoever it’s going to be, that’s who I have my eyes on right now.”
In 2020, Vega and Belair had a rivalry in which Belair came out with victories on numerous occasions. The story writes itself regardless if Vega wins the briefcase or not with her being a potential future opponent for the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Vega also included NXT in the discussion of possible champions to cash in on if she were to win the contract.
She joins Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Naomi, Nikki Cross, and Carmella so far for this upcoming match. Two more names from SmackDown are still to be announced. Belair is set to defend her title against Bayley at Money in the Bank in an “I Quit Match.”
With the names so far announced for the MITB match, do you think Zelina has good odds to win? Join the discussion below.
The stakes continue to pile high surrounding the SmackDown Women’s Championship!
On this week’s SmackDown, Bianca Belair has challenged Bayley with her SmackDown Women’s Title on the line once again to a match at the upcoming Money in the Bank event. However, since Belair defeated Bayley inside Hell in a Cell it can’t be just any ordinary match. The two will battle in an “I Quit” match.
Bayley was able to pin Belair in a Mixed Tag Team Match last week which has placed that chip firmly right back on her shoulder. The Role Model feels that the EST is not living up to the expectations of the WWE Universe and her prior win was just a fluke. Belair feels that Bayley just won’t leave her alone and move on after defeating her over and over again.
After Belair said she wanted this type of match, Bayley started laughing. Once she realized she was serious she was all for it. Bayley says she has never quit anything in her whole life. Adding to the conversation she says that if she utters “I Quit” then she might as well not only quit SmackDown, she should quit the WWE and while she’s at it, wrestling altogether. She says that if Belair says she quits though, Bayley would not be surprised in the least.
Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering have had a rocky road when it comes to their friendship and tag team partnership.
Ever since they lost the Knockouts Tag Team Championships almost as quickly as they won them, the two haven’t been on the same page. Last week, Jazz returned to try and mend their friendship and left the ball in the hands of Grace on how they wanted to move forward.
It appears this week she gave her answer and had Ellering’s back.
Ellering took on Tenille Dashwood in a singles match. Dashwood has been one factor that has been trying to drive a wedge between Ellering and Grace by trying to have Ellering join her and Kaleb with a K. Ellering picked up the much needed win after countering a sunset flip found Dashwood with her shoulders on the match and a count of three.
Post match, Dashwood and Kaleb went after Ellering as Jazz tried her best to help. Grace then rushed to the ring to help clear it out and embraced her tag partner. Do we think this is genuine, or is this just part of a bigger plan for Grace?
Speaking of tag teams, the Knockouts Tag Team picture is heating up.
With Slammiversary just a few weeks away, Rosemary & Havok are looking to prove their newfound tag team is the team to beat. On this week’s IMPACT, they brought this up to Scott D’Amore who said he would take their request for a Knockouts Tag Team Championship match under consideration. He didn’t have to think too hard once the champions Fire ‘N Flava tried to thwart Rosemary & Havok’s request saying that they are barely a team and never earned a championship opportunity. All of this despite Rosemary picking up a win on Kiera Hogan last week.
D’Amore has made it official that Rosemary & Havok will be taking on Kimber Lee & Susan next week. Lee faced her former ally, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, on BTI. Purrazzo continued to dominate and much like she took out Susan last week she defeated Lee this week.
Susan and Kimber were seen backstage during IMPACT discussing having to move on from Purrazzo. Lee says there are still the Knockouts Tag Team Championships in their sights and worst-case scenario they have a backup plan. Susan questioned what the backup plan is and Lee says – Su Yung.
Mercedes Martinez took part in a Mixed Tag Team Match on tonight’s NXT alongside Jake Atlas. They teamed up to take on Martinez’s rivals of Tian Sha (Xia Li & Boa).
The match had to be stopped by the referee due to a concerning moment after Li delivered a roundhouse kick to the head of Martinez. Li went for the pin but Martinez couldn’t physically keep her shoulders down although the official was making the count. The official then realized something wasn’t right and she was checking on Martinez as Li backed away. The match was then called.
Concern quickly set in with fans in wanting to make sure that Martinez is okay. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful stated that he would look into it and has received word that Martinez was checked in the back and talent/staff were told that she has been sent to the hospital for further evaluation.
I'll work to find out Mercedes' condition. That was nasty
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 30, 2021
Mercedes Martinez was checked in the back and talent/staff were told she's headed to the hospital for further evaluation
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 30, 2021
Diva Dirt will provide any further updates to this post as the information is provided.
Vita VonStarr will no longer participate in the upcoming ROH Women’s Title Tournament. She didn’t play by the rules.
On the June 9 episode of Women’s Division Wednesday, VonStarr received a golden ticket into the tournament after Bateman pled her case to be in it. She recently had a match against former Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai. She came up short in that match but held her own and felt that she should still be placed in the tournament.
Board of Directors member and the mind behind the upcoming tournament, Maria Kanellis Bennett, gave in and granted her a spot. However, she gave a stipulation. As long as she can prove that she has the passion and the focus to participate in the women’s division she can. By this, if she interferes in the men’s matches again then she will be out of the tournament. She interfered.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 28, 2021
In the clip below you can see where Maria stands firm in her decision to remove VonStarr from the tournament despite the anger from Victor.
This tournament is meant to be about the BEST in the sport of professional wrestling and without rules there is no true winner. My decision is Righteous. This is Ring of Honor. This is Women’s Wrestling. @VVonstarr @TheHorrorKingVM #therightgeous#ROHWD@ringofhonorpic.twitter.com/w72LkwvtqU
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) June 29, 2021
With VonStarr being removed, and as long as the punishment is kept, this opens up another spot for the tournament which is still not finalized. The participants are as follows:
Angelina Love (first round bye)
Allysin Kay
Rok-C
Willow
Trish Adora
Miranda Alize
Mazzerati
Mandy Leon
Nicole Savoy
Max the Impaler
Alex Gracia has had a Women’s Division Wednesday match recently against Willow in which she came up short. Despite these matches not being qualifiers anyway, Gracia made it a point to get the attention of Maria to get another shot to prove herself. Maria responded in person. Gracia will be getting another chance in the future which may mean she may impress Maria enough to earn a ticket to gold.
Who else do you think will round out the tournament for the new ROH Women’s World Championship? A date for the start of the tournament has not been provided at this time.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for all your news on ROH as they rebuild their women’s division and look to crown a new champion.
On this week’s RAW, Nikki Cross continues with her new gimmick she started last week and has coined that she is “Almost a Superhero.” Claiming that her name could end up being Nikki A.S.H as a result, commentary went back and forth between calling her both names throughout her match against Shayna Baszler.
Prior to their match, Baszler was seen backstage by herself with a deck of cards. Nia Jax and Reginald approached her making sure she was focused heading into her match with Cross. After they walked off-screen, Alexa Bliss was seen lurking in the background. Last week, Bliss and Cross qualified for the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder Match after they defeated Jax and Baszler. Cross pinned Baszler so The Queen of Spades was looking for some revenge against her and further had plans to take care of Bliss.
Bliss came out during the Cross vs. Baszler match and although she interacted with Jax and Reginald, the match continued. Baszler was distracted by the happenings on the outside, however, Cross wasn’t able to get the pin right away. After a clothesline took down Cross, she regained momentum by locking Baszler’s arm and placing her in a cradle for the victory.
Moving on to a rematch from last week, Doudrop and Eva Marie took on Naomi and Asuka. Last week, Naomi and Asuka got the win after the Eva-Lution has already started to have cracks in its mission. After Eva gave the pet name of Doudrop to Piper Niven, the “protege” wasn’t too happy. She stepped off the apron instead of accepting the tag which allowed Naomi to pin Eva. Naomi and Asuka qualified for the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder Match as a result.
This week, we saw distrust again between the new members of RAW but this time Eva Marie jumped down from the ring apron and refused to tag in to help her partner. This time, however, Doudrop was able to maintain focus and she won the match after hitting a crossbody off the ropes on Asuka. Although this was a tag team match, Eva took the mic from the ring announcer and said that the winner of the match was just herself. This left Doudrop fuming in the ring as the segment ended.
The third and final women’s match of the night was the advertised six-woman tag team match. RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley teamed up with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke to face Charlotte Flair and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Tamina and Natalya.
For the first half of the match, Flair/Tamina/Natalya isolated Brooke in their corner keeping her away from her team. Once she was finally able to tag out the match broke down with each woman being highlighted and Brooke/Rose showing some solid tag teamwork. In the end, the two legal women would be Rose and Flair.
Flair delivered the big boot to get the win for her team. She wasn’t able to celebrate for long as Ripley re-entered the ring and chop blocked the left knee of Flair. Flair tried to go right after her but she had already rolled out of the ring. She taunted her on the outside to end the segment.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Join the discussion in the comment section below.
Tenille Dashwood continues to stack up wins as a singles competitor despite her obsession with wanting a tag team partner. Kaleb with a K continues to be the decision-maker however in Dashwood’s matches as he is the ultimate distractor. This week’s IMPACT was no different.
Dashwood took on Rachael Ellering this week. Backstage Ellering was speaking with her tag team partner Jordynne Grace about the rocky road they have been having ever since they lost the tag titles. Grace is frustrated and upset because the word around the locker room is that she only won those titles because of Rachael.
Prior to the match, Dashwood and Kaleb tried one more time to have Ellering join them by giving her a t-shirt. Ellering dismissed it and said she just wants to wrestle. Grace did not accompany her to ringside. Grace lost to Dashwood this past weekend at Against All Odds.
In a very competitive match, Ellering had Dashwood right where she wanted her to get the win, but Kaleb caused the distraction with his ring light. Dashwood then executed a crucifix pin to get the victory.
This was the only Knockouts match of the night but we did see two segments. The first was Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo sharing her frustrations with Kimber Lee and Susan. Purrazzo says that the duo needed to prove to everyone and most importantly her that they deserve to stand by her side. They fail to do so time and time again and were unable to capture the tag titles at Against All Odds.
Before storming off, Purrazzo says she is done with the both of them as Susan calls her a typical degenerate millennial.
Last but certainly not least, we see the Knockouts Tag Team Champions backstage. Fire ‘N Flava were looking around to find people to ask them who the best tag team of all time is. They came across two employees who couldn’t answer them. The first was sweeping the floor and said it was his first day while the second was taking out the trash.
As Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz were arguing with the employee who was just trying to do his job and take out the garbage, Rosemary and Havok showed up. The newly formed pair made a statement by throwing Steelz up against the wall and dumping Hogan into the bin that was carrying the trash. As the tag champs tried to put themselves together, they found a very specific trash bag.
The bag had the name “Mickie” written on it. This was taking a jab at WWE who sent Mickie James her belongings in a trash bag when she was released from the company in April. Could we be seeing Hardcore Country making an IMPACT return as well?
What did you think about this week’s IMPACT and what do you think we are going to be seeing at Slammiversary in July? Leave your thoughts below!
Today is Wednesday, and if you are a fan of ROH then you know what that means. It is Women’s Division Wednesday and this week’s match-up involved two women that kicked off the weekly show in April – Rok-C and Laynie Luck.
The last time we saw these two in the ring together it was the first episode of the series and it was in tag team action. Rok-C partnered with Max the Impaler while Luck had Hyan by her side. The match was impressive and lasted to the 15-minute time limit making it a draw. This time, Rok-C was able to best Luck by hitting Code Red to get the three count for the victory.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 16, 2021
Rok-C has already found herself with a ticket to gold. This summer we will be seeing a ROH Women’s Title Tournament to crown a brand new champion with a new lineage set to begin. Rok-C was the first woman announced for the tournament. Two names were added this week and those are Nicole Savoy and ROH veteran, Mandy Leon.
Ya'll…. #LFG#ROHWD Let's get this gold!! I want all the shiny!! ? Happy and excited to come back to @ringofhonor!
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 16, 2021
Savoy was selected to be in the tournament by fan request. Maria Kanellis-Bennett delivered her the good news and let her know that her name kept coming up with the fans and they overwhelming begged to see her in this tournament. Savoy has worked for ROH before and has done tours in Japan. She has also worked all over the United States and has done work for various all-female promotions.
When Leon was told the news, she expected it. She already assumed.
Former NXT Superstar Vanessa Borne has opened up recently in regards to her WWE release. Borne, whose real name is Danielle Kamela, had not been on WWE television since January 2020. After over 15-months of inactivity, Borne was released from her contract.
One of the biggest speculated rumors involving Borne was that she, along with Chelsea Green and Santana Garrett, were supposed to debut on the main roster as a trio. Recently, both Green and Garrett have both also been released from their WWE contracts as well. Green was part of the original cuts after WrestleMania in April whereas Garrett was part of the last releases less than two weeks ago.
While talking with PWInsider, Borne had the following to say about the main roster call-up news.
“When I was told [I was being called up], I didn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ I hadn’t been doing much in NXT, but getting that news after working so hard at the Performance Center, everyone at the Performance Center works their asses off, so when you’re told that information, you’re like, ‘All my hard work has paid off.’ I was excited, especially because Paul Heyman had brought me up and I look up to him when it comes to storytelling, his mic work, and he’s someone I want to be like. It was encouraging.”
She continued, “I had been in and out with Raw and SmackDown, and it was around March when my lease was up in Orlando, so I moved back to Arizona and that’s when COVID hit. They stopped bringing me to TV and they changed everything. Everyone had to navigate through that. I sat home for six months and that was tough. When COVID calmed down, they brought me back with Chelsea and Santana, and told us we were going to be in a trio, which I was super excited about. Anytime you’re working with others that closely, it’s fun. Being able to bounce ideas off each other and everyone thinks differently. We were excited and we all got main roster contracts, which was exciting. Things just never worked out and the idea got scratched. I feel like that happens a lot.”
After plans to be alongside Garrett and Green fell through, Borne was actually pitched to be a part of the now-defunct RETRIBUTION stable. The stable that had Mia Yim as Reckoning and Mercedes Martinez who dropped out and returned to NXT before revealing her new name to the audience.
“After that, I was called in and they had a pitch where I was part of RETRIBUTION,” she recalled. “I was excited about being on TV for something, but I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know what the group was about and how I fit in. I had some concerns because, during this time, there was stuff around the country with violence and we’re watching this unfold and it’s not pretty. I wanted to know if the group was mimicking that. I expressed those concerns, but ultimately, I wanted to do what I was told and tried to figure out how I could help. Within the week, I got a call from Mark Carano saying, ‘We’re not going to have you as part of RETRIBUTION and we’re going to pull your contract. You’re getting sent back to NXT.'”
After being told she was going to go back to NXT, Borne opened up to how that made her feel and also how her re-debut never pushed forward. Before being off TV and prior to her being told she was being moved to the main roster, Borne was in a tag team with Aliyah.
She further commented that she wanted to make sure that those in charge knew she wanted to be a team player and didn’t want anyone to think she didn’t want to participate. Borne wanted to make sure that she didn’t give the wrong impression.
“It felt like I got kicked in the gut. I would never want them to think that I didn’t think an idea wasn’t good or that I didn’t want to participate. I would do anything and had done everything to that point. After we talked, I sent him a text that said, ‘I’m so sorry if I came across not wanting to be part of anything. I’m here to work. I’m willing to do whatever.’ He just said, ‘This is where we’re at.’ I still think back and kick myself and think I should have sat there, nodded, and been happy. I was happy, I might have just given the wrong impression. Lesson learned. Sometimes I tend to be blunt and I don’t know if that’s what came across when it came to asking questions or having concerns. Maybe that isn’t the reason and it’s something totally different, it just happened to fall in line with how everything went down. I put those two things together.”
She continued, “After I was back in NXT and had time to digest that, I was still happy to have a job. I spoke to Canyon and said, ‘I’m still in the game and willing to move back to Florida.’ We chatted and wanted to get me back at the Performance Center because I hadn’t been in the ring for nine or ten months. I eventually went to the Performance Center for two weeks to train, which was great. I was in the gym constantly and was in great shape. I felt like I was flying in the ring and didn’t miss a beat. During my second week when I was back in the ring, I ended up getting COVID. That was the last time I was at the PC because it rolled right into the holidays. This year rolled around and I hadn’t heard anything, so I needed to figure things out. I texted Triple H because I hadn’t spoken to anyone and no one had spoken to me. He connected me with a writer at NXT and we were going back and forth with ideas to get me involved. We had ideas that would work, but when you have other characters and storylines, it’s a giant puzzle. We never came to a final plan or anything. The last message I had sent over, I didn’t get a reply, and a week later I was released.”
Hopefully fans will see Borne turn up in another promotion and get back into a wrestling ring as soon as possible.
Check back in with Diva Dirt on any further news on Borne or any of the other recent WWE releases on where they may wrestle in the future.
Shotzi Blackheart returned at this weekend’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House to help her tag team partner Ember Moon and get some revenge in the process. Blackheart has been out for a number of weeks after suffering an attack by Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai. Moon challenged Gonzalez in an attempt to become a two-time NXT Women’s Champion. Despite Blackheart returning and removing Kai from the equation, Moon wasn’t able to put Gonzalez away and the championship stayed put.
Moon hit a huge Eclipse on Gonzalez prior to Blackheart’s return. As the count was heading in Moon’s favor and she was a mere second away from becoming the new champion, Kai inserted herself. Kai placed Gonzalez’s foot on the ropes. The referee saw Gonzalez’s foot but didn’t see Kai do it so the official called for the rope break to keep Gonzalez alive in the match.
Blackheart made her return and chased Kai around the ring slamming her into the plexiglass at ringside. The two then battled back and forth as they made their way to the stage where the In Your House set up was. Blackheart threw Kai into the plants below the set window. The two disappeared as they battled to the backstage area.
Moon tried to capitalize with Kai now out of the picture and she executed a big DDT from the ring apron onto the ramp. She tried for a second Eclipse, however, the champ was able to stop the attempt and grabbed Moon for the one-armed powerbomb to get the pin to retain her title.
The second women’s match from In Your House had Xia Li facing Mercedes Martinez in a very personal match. Li felt disrespected several years ago when Martinez defeated her in the Mae Young Classic. Martinez may have the experience but she knew she was heading into a three-on-one disadvantage because with Li comes the rest of Tian Sha (Boa and Mei Ying).
Li was able to finally get her retribution from many years ago as she came out with the win. As the match approaches its ending, Boa gets in the way of Martinez and the two exchange words before Boa is shoved to the side for Martinez to get to Li. After she is able to get a back drop on Li, Martinez goes for the Air Raid Crash but is unable to execute it as Li breaks free. Li connects with a spin kick to the face of Martinez which is enough to get the pin for the win.
After the match, things get intense as Mei Ying gets involved. Martinez didn’t back down from Ying and said she wasn’t scared of her. She tries to go for the steel chair which she just had to fight off Li and Boa post-match, but that wasn’t enough. Ying grabbed Martinez by the throat and slammed her into the plexiglass. All three members of Tian Sha then regrouped on the ramp as Martinez lays at ringside.
Other notes from the night includes a message from General Manager William Regal. Regal was leaving the building with tears in his eyes saying: “It’s been seven years since I became the GM of NXT and I’ve never seen so much bedlam. It’s complete madness. I think it’s time for a change.”
Could this be the end of Regal as GM? At this time it is just speculation. He will be at NXT this Tuesday to further address his concerns and statement.
The next special event will come in July and it will be the return of The Great American Bash. This event theme returned last year along with several others including In Your House and Halloween Havoc. It will be on July 6 on NXT’s regular night of Tuesday.
Vita VonStarr received her golden ticket from Maria Kanellis Bennett on this week’s Women’s Division Wednesday. VonStarr was not part of this week’s match but she did go one-on-one with Sumie Sakai a number of weeks ago. Vonstarr was joined by Bateman backstage who was convincing Maria to allow her to enter the tournament.
Bateman explains that VonStarr holding her own against Sakai should be enough to get her a golden ticket plus this would make Vincent happy. Maria agreed and said that VonStarr can join the tournament but under a condition. She is all for handing out opportunities for women who are focused on the division. Maria says VonStarr needs to stop getting involved in any of the men’s matches or she is out.
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) June 10, 2021
As for the match that took place this week, it was a tag team match in which three of the women have already received their spots for the tournament. Miranda Alize teamed up with Sumie Sakai to face Trish Adora and Mazzerati. After quite the battle, Alize locked in the Miranda Rights on Mazzerati which caused her to tap out.
This is Sakai’s second win since the start of Women Division Wednesday’s and as a former champion herself she has yet to be granted a ticket to gold. Alize, Mazzerati, and Adora have all previously received their spots in the upcoming tournament. They join Rok-C, Allysin Kay, and Willow who have earned their spots as well — and now VonStarr. Angelina Love has earned a first round bye to the tournament by defeating Quinn McKay.
After this week’s tag match, the four competitors showed their good sportsmanship as they shook hands in the ring. Max the Impaler then made their way down to the ring and cleared out the ring thus making a huge statement. Max has been in two matches since the start of Women’s Division Wednesday and has yet to earn their ticket into the tournament. After Max clears the ring, Amy Rose comes out from the back and claps giving her approval.
Although not part of this week’s show Alex Gracia has posted a promo telling Maria that she deserves to be part of the tournament. Gracia took on Willow last week in a losing effort.
This week’s RAW ended with Shayna Baszler screaming in the dark.
Nia Jax warned Baszler prior to entering Alexa’s Playground that she had never seen Alexa Bliss this way before. That wasn’t enough to stop Baszler as she was convinced that Bliss was nothing to worry about and that Lilly is just a “stupid doll.”
The main event of the show witnessed Baszler make her way to the ring where Bliss and Lilly were waiting for her. It was Baszler’s idea from last week to have a chat with Bliss before anything got out of hand to deal with the situation. For week’s Bliss/Lilly have been targeting Baszler/Jax/Reginald and The Queen of Spades blames these occurrences for the reason why she and Jax are no longer tag team champions.
It would be Bliss who started the physical altercation after Baszler continued to mock Lilly. Bliss let her know that all she had to do was to apologize to Lilly, but Baszler was dead set on the idea that Lilly was nothing more than a stupid doll. After the confrontation got physical, Baszler took it one step further (pun intended) and stepped on Lilly.
This unleashed the anger in Lilly and the pyro went off in the arena which sent Baszler scurrying to the backstage area. Something felt different as there was no one backstage and the former Women’s Tag Team Champion was all alone. She kept trying to tell herself that Lilly was just a doll and nothing was happening but panic started setting in as she tried to escape the building as random stage equipment started falling down around her.
Baszler found herself in a room where she had hoped she was safe. However, she came to a mirror which had Lilly in the reflection. When she turned around, Lilly wasn’t there. She tried to compose herself — but once again looking at the mirror the doll reappeared. Baszler then broke the mirror, everything went black, and Baszler was left screaming as RAW went off the air.
Elsewhere on RAW, Nikki Cross picked up her third win in a row by pinning the RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley in tag team action. Unlike her prior two wins where she had to just avoid being defeated in two-minutes in Beat the Clock challenges, this win came with an actual pinfall.
Earlier in the night, Charlotte Flair wanted her loss to Cross last week to be wiped from her record. WWE Authorities Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville wouldn’t budge on the matter. They did decide that Flair should team with Ripley against Cross and an opponent of her choosing. She chose Asuka.
The match was given plenty of time and highlighted the obvious descension between Flair and Ripley. That would ultimately be their demise as Flair couldn’t help herself by taking out her own partner with Natural Selection. Flair then sat by while watching Cross pin the RAW Women’s Champion.
After the match, Cross and Asuka celebrated their win by dancing on the commentary table. The celebration continued backstage in a WWE Network Exclusive. Both women were extremely fired up from their win.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Sound off in the comment section below.
Eva Marie will finally make her return to WWE television for the first time in nearly four years on next week’s RAW.
It has been over a month since vignettes started to air for the former “All Red Everything” to make her return. These videos have explained her previous time with the company, who she has become since leaving, and what we may see from her upon her return. All of this preparing the fans for Eva-lution.
Since her very first vignette was aired, the speculations on what a return for Eva Marie may look like started to swirl. The most recent rumors have her being paired with a potential call up for RAW. A couple names that have been on the list to be the “muscle” for her are NXT’s Mercedes Martinez or NXT UK’s Piper Niven.
There has also been some discussion on the role she will be playing upon her return. Whether she will just be a manager or jump right back into the ring. She has been training at the WWE Performance Center since her signing and one of her latest vignettes shows her back in the ring.
Regardless of how Eva will be presented back to the WWE Universe, she will arrive next week.
For over a month now, WWE has been teasing the return of Eva Marie with weekly vignettes on RAW.
These videos have ranged from Eva expressing wanting to be a role model and a type of mentor to help get another talent over to most recently showing her training in the ring. Regardless of what role she will play once she returns to WWE television, there is one constant and that is she will likely be paired with someone.
According to a current report from WrestleVotes, current plans are for Eva to have a “muscle” by her side. Two names that are being discussed are Mercedes Martinez from NXT or Piper Niven from NXT UK.
Hearing the plans for Eva Marie’s return include her having a “muscle” of some sorts by her side. The two names I’ve heard most discussed to pair w/ her are Mercedes Martinez -OR- NXT UK star Piper Niven.
Martinez was briefly on RAW when she was paired with the now defunct-RETRIBUTION stable. Prior to her character being revealed she chose to return to NXT. Since then she has been in the NXT Women’s Title chase as she has faced former champion Io Shirai and most recently the current champion, Raquel Gonzalez.
Since NXT UK’s return, Niven continued to battle Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women’s Title. Since coming up short from those encounters, Niven has been paired with Jack Starz and had an match against Jinny and Joseph Conners. She has not been in the ring since March.
There have been many rumors and reports of call ups from both NXT and NXT UK to the main roster. If Eva does get paired with someone, a call up may be likely.
What are your thoughts on these two names? Leave what you are thinking in the comment section below.
On this week’s Dynamite, Red Velvet took on The Bunny. During the match, Velvet hit a suicide dive landing on her opponent awkwardly on the outside. This caused some concern with fans on social media based on the way that she landed. She took to her social media moments ago to confirm that she is doing good and appreciated everyone for their concerns.
They don’t call it a suicide dive for nothing…really glad Red Velvet is ok. https://t.co/mSpoH3RO5p
— A Kenny For Your Thoughts (@_kennythoughts) June 5, 2021
Thank you to my AEW Family and everyone who reached out to check up on me. I’m good and still Stirring Sh*t Up ? as usual.
Velvet was able to continue this match and even picked up the win after delivering Just Desserts.
This one-on-one match was booked as a result of what took place on Elevation this past week resulting in Velvet wanting some revenge. In a tag team match which paired up The Bunny & Nyla Rose taking on Velvet & Big Swole, The Bunny took advantage of the referee being distracted and struck Swole with brass knuckles. This allowed Rose to pick up the win.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for all further news on the women of AEW.
This week’s SmackDown saw SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair putting her foot down when it comes to Bayley. Belair knows that she has bested Bayley inside the ring, however, for a while now the Role Model has been getting in the head of the EST.
Belair admits that she has had people mocking and laughing at her her entire life. Something that Bayley continues to do to her with her excessive cackling. So the champ decides to take the matter in her own hands and challenges Bayley to a match at Hell in a Cell.
As Belair is waiting for Bayley to answer the challenge, the champion starts to hear the cackling. Bayley shows up on the screen via satellite from her “sanctuary” where she had photos of herself as champion plastered behind her. The Role Model then accepts the EST’s challenge and says that she won’t be the only one laughing when she beats her. She then starts her laughter as all the screens in the Thunderdome fill up with the image of Bayley cackling.
Much like the upcoming RAW Women’s Championship match between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair, this match was not announced to be inside the Hell in a Cell structure at the time of this writing.
Also on SmackDown, Carmella took on Liv Morgan. Prior to the match, Morgan addressed in a prerecorded promo that she thinks it is so cute that Carmella thinks she is the most beautiful woman in all of WWE. Morgan considers Carmella a 7 at best.
At the end of the match, Carmella tripped up Morgan and then proceeded to lock her in the Code of Silence. Morgan then tapped out to give Carmella the victory. After the match, Carmella required the ring announcer to address her win by referring to her as “the most beautiful woman in all of WWE.”
Morgan took to her social media after her loss and tweeted out to “keep watching.”
Willow (Nightingale) is the newest addition to the upcoming ROH Women’s Title Tournament. On this week’s Women’s Division Wednesday, Willow took on Alexa Gracia and walked away with the victory. After the match, Board of Directors Maria Kanellis Bennett went backstage to introduce herself. In this meet and greet, Kanellis Bennett let Willow know she has earned herself a golden ticket.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 2, 2021
Willow has recently wrestled on AEW Dark and Elevation where she has competed against Diamante and Thunder Rosa. Her most recently match was a losing effort against Trish Adora at the WWR Let’s Talk About Wrestling event.
Gracia has been a frequent competitor in AEW being seen mostly on Dark or Elevation. She was last seen in March for the company facing Dr. Britt Baker and has also made appearances with NWA.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 2, 2021
Willow joins Rok-C, Trish Adora, Miranda Alize, Allysin Kay, and Mazzerati so far that have received their golden tickets. Angelina Love has received a bye for the first round by defeating Quinn McKay.
Check back in with Diva Dirt as ROH continues to build their tournament for this summer to crown a new ROH Women’s World Champion.
RAW kicked off this week with a Miz TV in which RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley along with Charlotte Flair were the guests. These two women have a match for the championship at the next pay-per-view at Hell in a Cell. One woman had something to say about the championship, thus interrupting Miz TV to say her peace. That woman is Nikki Cross.
Cross defeated RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley last week by avoiding a pin or submission during a two-minute beat the clock challenge. Because she avoided defeat in that match against the champion, she believe she deserves a title opportunity. Cross then asked Flair if she defeats her in two-minutes as well – will that make her a contender to face whoever is champion after Hell in a Cell?
This then created another beat the clock challenge, this time against Flair with the same time limit of two-minutes. Flair declared she could get the job done in one minute. Regardless, Cross spent half the time avoiding Flair on the outside of the ring. As a result, Flair was not able to put away Cross in the two-minute time frame. Cross wins for the second week in a row.
Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke defeated Naomi and Lana
Baszler had the Kirifuda Clutch locked in and was moments away from having Reginald tap. As she backed herself towards the corner of the ring, the fire/pyro went off at the turnbuckle which distracted her. Reginald then rolled thru on Baszler to pin her for the win. Nia Jax celebrated with Reginald backstage.
Reginald was then invited to Alexa’s Playground for later on in the night.
The last women’s match involved two teams who would like an opportunity at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. With the champions on commentary, Tamina & Natalya looked on as Naomi & Lana faced Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke. Natalya spoke a lot about Lana and how she helped train her. The match came down Brooke winning it for her team as she pins Lana.
Lastly on Alexa’s Playground, Alexa Bliss and Lilly were excited to speak with Reginald. Lilly asked Reginald how it was working with Cirque du Soleil but he wasn’t able to answer due to Baszler attacking him from behind. After taking him out, Bliss let Baszler know she wasn’t invited because Lilly doesn’t like her. Baszler says that next week they need to have a little chat and then let Lilly know that she is just a stupid doll.
In a report by PWInsider, it is being stated that Hall of Famer Molly Holly is backstage at RAW tonight. In the report it says that she is there to have a try out as a potential producer for the company.
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, Molly has continued to maintain a good relationship with WWE. She has appeared in two Royal Rumble matches, one as herself and one as her Mighty Molly gimmick.
She is a two-time WWE Women’s Championship and has also held the Hardcore Championship. Her tenure in WWE spanned the course of five years from 2000-2005 where she decided to leave to spend time with her family.
She was pivotal in her iconic Hair vs. Title match against Victoria at WrestleMania XX. The match wasn’t originally set to be on the card but she pitched the idea to Vince McMahon. She ended up losing that match resulting in having her head shaved.
What would you think if Molly became a producer? Could this be a benefit for the women’s division? Leave your thoughts below.
It has been nearly a month since WWE first started to air vignettes for the return of Eva Marie. Since then, several videos have aired which have pushed the notion that she will serve as a manager or a motivator to a fellow talent. This seems to be the exact case.
According to a report by Fightful Select, the plan as of now is not for Eva Marie to return as an in-ring competitor. Fightful has been told that the plan is to use her as a vehicle to help get another female talent over. This plan has been in the works long before her vignettes started to air and confirms that her return is in no way a response to WWE recently releasing other female talent.
There is no word on who the female talent is that Eva Marie will be paired up with.
There have been various reports of her training at the WWE Performance Center and she even gave a shout out to Norman Smiley for his coaching. Once rumors started to swirl that Eva Marie would be back, she had previously stated that she would return to WWE when the time was right and if it made sense.
Alexa Bliss was not on this past week’s RAW due to trying to find an emergency vet to help her pet pig Larry Steve who needed urgent care. He was in a great amount of pain and was having difficulty even moving. She explained that his normal vet did not feel comfortable assisting him.
By the next morning on Tuesday May 25, she sadly announced that Larry Steve had passed away.
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) May 25, 2021
Last evening, Bliss took to her social media to a video in where she thanked everyone for their kind words including those who reached out to try to help her in any way they could. She explained that Larry went very quickly and they do not fully understand it yet. She says that her family was there petting him and trying to make him as comfortable as possible before he passed. The transcript of the video is below:
“I just wanted to get on here and say thank you to everyone who has reached out about Larry and to let everyone know that I really appreciate the amount of support and people who have called and texted, I will get back to you, I just can’t yet, because we’re still trying to kind of wrap our heads around what happened. Larry went very quickly, digressed really quickly, and we don’t really fully understand it yet. But he was surrounded by people who loved him.”
“My family was there, we were petting him and Ryan was playing your music on his guitar because Larry loves music. I just want to say, to any animal care person or vet, no matter how big an animal is, or how different they are, please help them. I hope Larry’s story helps open people’s eyes to the realities of having animals around his size. I just want people to do better. We are going to celebrate Larry’s birthday tomorrow. I really want to do something where we celebrate his birthday and maybe do something like a charity thing to raise money for an animal rescue and if that’s something that you guys are interested in or seeing or anything like that, just let us know, and again, thank you” [h/t – Fightful]
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) May 26, 2021
Larry passed away one day before his 4-year birthday. Bliss stated that she is still going to celebrate his birthday today and for those that can to join Bliss on Instagram Live at 7 P.M. EST on her account @alexa_bliss_wwe_. They will be raising money for a pig rescue.
Join us tonight at 7 PM ET. To celebrate Larry-Steve’s 4th birthday & his life ?? There will be musical performances, fun Larry stories, we’re gonna talk about the importance of more vet accessibility for large & unique animals. We will also be raising money for a pig rescue ?? pic.twitter.com/LDnUSZCEbq
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) May 26, 2021
WWE talent Buddy Murphy also mourned the loss of Larry. Murphy and Bliss got Larry together when they were a couple. His post can be seen below.
This week’s IMPACT certainly had the Knockouts division going after one another. The advertised match for tonight’s show had Tenille Dashwood in singles action against Kiera Hogan.
Dashwood teamed up with Taylor Wilde at Under Siege and the duo defeated Susan and Kimber Lee. Wilde is still not feeling being in a tag team and has one goal since coming out of retirement and back in the ring for the first time in a decade. That goal is to become Knockouts Champion. Wilde is also not about cheating and both Dashwood and Kaleb with a K have proven that’s how they roll.
Dashwood let Wilde know about her one-one-one match against Hogan and said if she is victorious that may open up them as a team to go after the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Although Wilde still wasn’t on board, Dashwood would go on to face Hogan and come out with a victory.
After the match, chaos erupted. Tasha Steelz attacked Dashwood behind as she was trying to celebrate. Kaleb would then get involved to try and even the odds. Things then began to break down as Susan, Kimber Lee, and Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo rushed to the ring. It then became a five-on-one scenario as the five women in the ring were attacking Dashwood.
Just when we think that Dashwood doesn’t have any allies in the division, out comes Wilde. She went right after Purrazzo to signify she is coming for the title. The numbers advantage was still too much which caused Havok to make her way out. Havok recently lost to Purrazzo and was unable to capture the title at Under Siege.
Lastly, Rosemary and the rest of Decay made their way out to the stage to end the segment to show their solidarity with Havok, Wilde, and Dashwood. Purrazzo and the rest of the gang ran for safety.
With the majority of the Knockouts division partaking in this segment, the women were not done for the evening. Jordynne Grace had a one-on-one match against her friend and tag team partner, Rachael Ellering.
As the match goes on, Ellering begins to build momentum. She hits a jumping European uppercut and follows it up with a senton to get a near fall. After avoiding a Vader Bomb by Grace, both women exchange pin attempts until Ellering finally gets the three count for the win.
After the match, the two embrace. The team lost the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Under Siege after only holding the gold for a few weeks. Grace was the one to ask for this one-on-one match in an attempt to get things back on track. She Tweeted after the match that she is 100% fine…not sure if that is convincing.
Lastly, there was an updated promo for the upcoming Slammiversary event that takes place in July. Just like IMPACT did last year, they put together a promo of the event teasing names of recently released WWE talent. In that included Chelsea Green, Mickie James, and The IIconics. Previously only showing the Australian flag to hint at The IIconics, we now have the “II” symbol showing up in the vignette.
On last week’s NXT UK, Meiko Satomura replaced Xia Brookside in the gauntlet match, and went on to earn another shot at the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
The week before this, Amale attacked Brookside, seemingly to replace her in the five-woman match. However, this clearly backfired as Satomura replaced the star. NXT UK management then revealed that the pair would be going head-to-head once Brookside had recovered from her injuries.
The time came for the two to face off on this week’s NXT UK. The bout between the two women got off with a frenzied start, and Brookside grabbed Amale by the hair and dragged her across the ring.
The action between the pair spilled over to the outside of the NXT UK ring, and this is when Amale gathered more momentum. The French Hope rammed her rival into the ring apron, before throwing her back into the ring and attempting a pin. Brookside kicked out. Amale got another near-fall when she hit Brookside with a savage strike to the face.
This brought Brookside back to having the upper hand in the match. She hit Amale with a series of strikes, followed up with a sharp dropkick which she followed up with headscissors. This combo sent Amale crashing to the mat.
Amale recovered from this, and came back with more strikes on her opponent. She then attacked her rival with a powerful-looking spinebuster slam to pin her rival and take home the win.
This was the only women’s match on NXT UK this week. However, a vignette was shown of Aoife Valkyrie. In the clip, the star mused over Satomura ending her previous winning streak. As the NXT UK Superstar explored woodland, she claimed that she was coming for Satomura in the future, and vowed to beat her.
Prior to any matches taking place, Naomi & Lana along with Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke were arguing backstage with WWE Authority Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville on who would be next to get a title shot. Now that we have new champions, the teams are wanting another go.
Naomi mentions how every time her and Lana would have a match they would always get interrupted in some capacity. Mandy and Dana stated that they were on the winning team last week against the former tag team champions.
Deville then asks the ladies to give her and Pearce a moment with Flair as they have something to discuss. No surprise, Flair stated that she wasn’t the one to take the pin during last night’s Triple Threat match, so she wants Rhea Ripley one-on-one for the RAW Women’s Championship. Deville says that she understands where she is coming from (as always) but says she will have to defeat Asuka later in the night in order to get another title shot.
Rhea Ripley says what every single fan has been saying for a while now….that she is here and she wants to take on some NEW competitors. Yes Rhea! Fresh matches…we WANT to see it.
As for the match between Asuka and Flair, it ends up much like their match did a few weeks ago. Asuka gets the pin, which was very much needed for her, from some assistance on a distraction by Ripley. So does this mean that Flair might not be facing Ripley again, or….?
If that is the case, who would Flair go for next? Could we maybe see Sonya making a return to the ring after perhaps she doesn’t feed into Flair wanting another title match? I may just be getting my hopes up to see some new matches.
As for the Women’s Tag Team Title rematch, let’s take a trip to Alexa’s Playground first. She invited the new champs, Tamina & Natalya to visit. Tamina definitely wasn’t having it and wanted out every second she was there.
They start off by talking about their tag team win. Nattie says that it was no easy task beating two of the toughest women in the division but it was something they will cherish and it was also Tamina’s first title win.
Bliss responds, “super duper, that is nice” as she holds Lilly up. Tamina, who had been staring around the playground, asks if they can leave now. Bliss then says that she hasn’t even asked the “tough questions yet.” She says Lilly wants to know what their favorite colors are. Nattie of course says pink but Tamina says black and blue which is what Alexa’s face will look like if she tries anything weird.
Bliss says that wasn’t very nice but Lilly likes Tamina. She really liked it when Tamina beat up Reginald and wanted to know if that was fun. Tamina says it was and if he tries to interfere in the rematch then she will have no problem “swatting” him again. Bliss then goes on to say what Lilly likes in regards to dead bugs as Tamina and Nattie quietly exit.
Once Bliss realizes they are gone she says she will be watching the tag team match. And that she did.
Bliss came out with Lilly in hand on the stage during the match just as Reginald was creeping up the steel steps to the ring. Tamina had Baszler up on her shoulders, but Baszler countered and was trying to lock in the Kirifuda Clutch. As Reginald was on the steel steps the ring post pyro went off and burst into flames causing him to be launched back to the barricade. Jax went to go check on him as he kept his eyes covered.
Tamina then took advantage and held up Baszler for Nattie to execute a clothesline to get the pin and retain their titles.
This keeps me hopeful also that we may end up seeing the end of Baszler & Jax vs Tamia & Nattie. With their loss they should be put at the back of the line.
As for Bliss and what’s to come, it seems as though she is definitely targeting Baszler and Jax. She did some voodoo magic on Baszler’s knee last week and then went after Reginald this week.
We did get another new promo for Eva Marie. It was similar to last week’s where it definitely seems like she will first step into perhaps a managerial or mentor role. She talks about being in film and compares herself to a heroine just like Angelina Jolie.
Lastly, there was a Nikki Cross sighting. She was a lumberjill during the lumberjack match between Damian Priest and John Morrison. She was the only woman out there and was front and center. Unfortunately they didn’t do much with her, but it was good to at least see her out there.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers of this week’s RAW:
WINNER: Asuka
A great bounced back and much needed win for Asuka. It was almost certain that Asuka was going to take the fall at WrestleMania Backlash, and she did just that. Although it was a great Triple Threat, Asuka tends to take the fall in type of matches. This win against Charlotte tonight though still gave her that fight that she needs to not be brushed aside. Not sure where this is all going next, but her getting that win kept her in a good light.
WINNERS: Tamina & Nattie
First successful title defense – check! Not sure about anybody else, but I was holding my breath thinking that they were going to take the titles off of them this quick. It’s WWE, so I wouldn’t have been surprised. I thought the interaction with Alexa Bliss was great also….and I am looking forward to them hopefully facing The Riott Squad on SmackDown.
Side note: I am all for the tag team champions being used on both brands – they are supposed to be. However, the fact they have to be used on both brands every week shows how badly we need some new faces on both brands.
LOSERS: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
It seems to be obvious that they are probably Alexa’s target. If that’s the case I am all for them moving on and away from the title. However, them losing should put them at the back of the line.
LOSER: Charlotte Flair
Much like Nia & Shayna, Charlotte losing should put her in the back of the line. But this is Charlotte Flair, so I won’t count my chickens until I see what happens the next couple of week’s. I would really love for her and Sonya to feud next. Maybe that’s just me really wanting Sonya back in the ring, but I honestly think they could have some great one-on-one matches together.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Discuss in the comment section below!
Raquel Gonzalez is still the NXT Women’s Champion after a hard fought match against Mercedes Martinez.
Leading up to tonight’s title match, Gonzalez and Martinez have been clashing over their differences. Martinez being a 20-year veteran while Gonzalez saying that she has accomplished more in one year than Martinez has her entire career made this match very personal. One thing the two have in common is they are both strong competitors.
As the match comes to its conclusion, Martinez gets a count of two from a Fisherman Buster. Gonzalez then bounced back with a big boot. The champ followed it up with her one-armed powerbomb to put away Martinez and retain her title. Dakota Kai was at ringside and in the corner of Gonzalez but did not interfere in the match.
Announced for next week’s show is a rematch between Zoey Stark and Toni Storm. Stark defeated Storm at the last Takeover event, Stand & Deliver. Storm has been riddled with the fact that she lost to a rookie. Since then, Stark has been a thorn in the side of Storm as she cost her a match against newcomer Zayda Ramier. Can Stark go 2-0 over Storm next week?
Franky Monet has been seen weekly approaching various superstars since her debut several weeks ago. She first introduced herself to Raquel Gonzalez but since then has made sure others have known her name as well. She will be in action for the first time in an NXT ring in two weeks. An opponent for her has not been named at the time of this writing.
