Ranking #10 – Hikaru Shida
Last Week – N/A
When Saraya first joined AEW and was seeking a tag team partner, she had a choice between Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida, her choice was Storm.
At the time, many assumed from Shida’s reaction that she would be turning on Saraya and Storm but this past week we saw the result of Saraya’s choice play out.
Shida made her return and seemed to side with The Outcasts but it was all a ploy and she would instead give the trio a taste of their own medicine with the spray paint before standing tall with Britt Baker and AEW Women’s Champion, Jamie Hayter.
Ranking #9 – The Outcasts
Last Week – N/A
Saraya would be the in-ring representation for The Outcasts this week and she would defeat Willow Nightingale on Dynamite.
The trio would continue to take advantage of the fact that their opponents continue to show up alone and attack Nightingale after the match before being joined by Hikaru Shida.
As mentioned above, this did not go to plan and the trio were laid out but the match result remains the same.
Ranking #8 – Damage CTRL
Last Week – N/A
This ranking is specifically for Bayley and Dakota Kai who defeated the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions this past week on RAW and have earned themselves a title match on the next episode of Smackdown.
The rest of the week was a mixed bag for the stable as they would be run off by RAW Women’s Champion and the Tag Team Champions on Smackdown before possibly being the deciding factor at Backlash for IYO SKY’s title match.
Ranking #7 – Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Last Week – N/A
The KC’s went in to this week knowing they had a chance to keep the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles on NXT but come Monday, they found out that they too would be heading to a new brand.
This title match would serve as their swansong on the NXT brand and it truly could have gone either way. The KC’s would break out their unique tag team offense that sets them apart from other teams and Chance would even be busted open at one point.
The duo did not win but they cannot focus on this loss as they are now RAW Superstars from this point on and should be focal points of the women’s tag division.
Ranking #6 – The Unholy Union
Last Week – 6
The newest Smackdown tag team is officially bringing the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles with them.
The Unholy Union would successfully defend their titles this past week on NXT and so, for now, the titles will be leaving with them as they head to Smackdown.
There is a WWE Women’s Tag Team title match booked for this week’s episode, could we see The Unholy Union make their presence known during this match?
Ranking #5 – Trinity
Last Week – 5
She has arrived!
In a pre-announced debut, Trinity would appear on Impact this week with an in-ring promo as she discusses what brought her here and what is next!
The Knockouts Champion would come out, closely followed by her No.1 Contender, Jordynne Grace. Trinity would make it clear that she would be coming for whoever leaves Under Seige as champion.
Also, recently announced, that Trinity has an open contract challenge for Under Seige, marking this as her PPV debut for the company.
Ranking #4 – Zelina Vega
Last Week – 10
Zelina Vega would have a busy week as a member of the LWO. First in Six Person Tag Team action on RAW that her team would ultimately lose before teaming with Rey Mysterio on Smackdown against Dominik and Rhea Ripley to a victory.
Going in to Backlash, Vega had the support of the arena, her family and her LWO stable as she was towered over by the bigger, stronger Ripley.
This match carried an emotional weight behind it with Vega being the underdog but she got to deliver a series of offense to Ripley, including a 619, but once Ripley had had enough, that was it. A brutal kick and Riptide later and Vega’s championship dreams were crushed.
Ranking #3 – IYO SKY
Last Week – N/A
It’s truly a testament to the women of the WWE that despite not the best booking leading to a title match, they are still able to deliver an incredible match that gets the crowd invested.
Easily serving as SKY’s best showing on the main roster, she and Bianca Belair would open Backlash and the fans were very vocal in their support of SKY over the RAW Women’s Champion.
SKY would not leave with the title but post-draft, she and Belair remain on the same brand so one can hope we will see her back in a title match before too long.
Ranking #2 – Rhea Ripley
Last Week – N/A
The Smackdown Women’s Champion had her first title defence since winning the title and cemented her reign with a decisive victory.
Sporting a new white gear, Ripley would come out alone for her title match against Zelina Vega, looking to avenge the embarrassment from recent weeks.
A Riptide would be the exclamation point to the match and now Ripley, as the very first draft pick of Night Two of the draft, goes to RAW with the title in hand.
Ranking #1 – Bianca Belair
Last Week – 11
Not only was Bianca Belair victorious in her title defence at Backlash, she is now making history as the longest reigning main roster Women’s Champion of the modern era.
Belair continues to make history with each passing day as champion and now with the rosters switching this week, she will return to the brand that arguably started her meteoric rise to the top: Smackdown.
A new brand with new (and old) challengers will bring with it a new set of challenges for Belair but we personally hope that her business with IYO SKY is not quite finished yet.
What were your favourite moments from this week in women’s wrestling? How would you rank the action? Let us know in the comments!
