Ranking #10 – MK Ultra
Although not stepping in to the ring this week, MK Ultra earn their spot this week for their backstage segment with Santino Marella that has changed the landscape of their upcoming title defence.
In fitting with their masochistic characters and love for brutality, the reigning Knockouts Tag Team Champions would welcome the challenges coming from this sudden abundance of teams within the division. The Coven, The Death Dollz and Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans (is the SHAWntourage an official name?) will all be gunning for the titles come Emergence.
Ranking #9 – Candice LeRae
The fact that Liv Morgan‘s injury likely forced some changes to the creative direction of the destination that is Raquel vs Rhea is unfortunate but if Candice LeRae is the consolation prize, we will take it!
Not to say that LeRae is not a threat to Ripley and her determination this week in their brawl shows this, we are just happy to see her back on RAW. Here’s hoping that we will see LeRae and Ripley get a lengthy program as Rodriguez heals from her ‘injury’ and not another squash match. Either way, it is refreshing to see our champion mixing it up with the women once again.
Ranking #8 – Raquel Rodriguez
Despite not being medically cleared and warned by officials, Raquel Rodriguez would finally snap this week and go after Rhea Ripley, forcing Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae to try and stop their friend from hurting herself further.
This has been the brewing storyline for sometime, the eventual collision of these two powerhouses, and I hate to admit that the slow burn is actual working for me.
I feel it is too soon to think about ending Ripley’s reign but this booking really has me wanting Rodriguez to be the one to bring Ripley down a peg or two.
Ranking #7 – Mercedes Martinez & Diamante
The TBS Championship has been without a real story since it changed hands but Kris Statlander has been defended it regularly, in fact she was undefeated since winning the title until this week’s Collision.
The new pairing of Mercedes Martinez and Diamante would defeat Statlander and her partner, Willow Nightingale, with Martinez pinning Nightingale.
Statlander has already defended the title against Martinez but the win was not a decisive one and with Diamante by her side, Martinez looks to primed to challenge again.
Ranking #6 – Shayna Baszler
Wearing her wounds like a badge of honour, Shayna Baszler competed in singles action against Zoey Stark on RAW, putting away Trish Stratus‘ partner in crime as Becky Lynch watched on.
Baszler is riding a wave of momentum after sending Ronda Rousey packing from WWE at Summerslam. She got mic time and a victory this week on RAW as well as a confrontation backstage with Lynch. The title scene on RAW is finally starting to get populated so it will be interesting to see where Baszler goes from where but WWE will be wise to not waste her potential.
Ranking #5 – Becky Lynch
Ahead of her final (?) singles match against Trish Stratus next week, Becky Lynch would take to the mic like only she can and provide a verbal preview of what to expect next week as she looks to finally move on from Stratus and Zoey Stark.
Speaking of Stark, she would of course interrupt Lynch and so too would Shayna Baszler, prompting Lynch to act and call out Adam Pearce to make a match official.
With her freshly made lemonade at ringside, Lynch would enjoy the match, share the literal fruits of her labour with commentary and give us her best Triple H impression.
Ranking #4 – Athena
An interesting titbit I learned this week is that Athena, since ROH’s return, has not lost a single match on ROH, which when you consider how she appears nearly weekly in-ring is even more impressive.
This week she continued that streak but also we saw more signs of change within our #ForeverChamp as she made the surprising save for Billie Starkz and refrained from attacking her herself. Her own reputation of beating down opponents after her matches appears to be shifting, a change brought on since her historic victory over Willow Nightingale.
Ranking #3 – Saraya
As we move closer to AEW All In, the women’s title match has nearly rounded out its competitors.
This week, Saraya would earn her spot with a victory over Skye Blue and be competing for the first time in nearly a decade in her home country. The match itself is a huge moment from Saraya and anyone familiar with her history, the fact she is even competing for a title again is a reality she was told for years she would never see. Add in the fact the match takes place at what is proving to be one of the biggest in AEW’s history just adds to the moment.
Ranking #2 – Hikaru Shida
Also earning her spot in the women’s title match at All In this week was Hikaru Shida… the AEW Women’s Champion… yeah.
Despite the wording around it being a little odd, the reason Shida guarantees her spot in this match is due to the fact she was defending the title against Anna Jay in the main event of Dynamite.
Jay went down fighting but Shida would overcome and joins Saraya and Toni Storm in the match. Although it is every woman for her self, Shida will likely be watching The Bunny vs Britt Baker to see if a potential ally might be in the ring with her against The Outcasts.
Ranking #1 – IYO SKY
When a new champion is crowned, a lot of how their reign may go can sometimes be indicated by their first appearance post victory. This week on Smackdown, new WWE Women’s Champion delivered an impactful statement in a way only she can.
Flanked by her fellow Damage CTRL teammates, SKY would interrupt the scheduled match between Charlotte and Asuka, taking them both out with a springboard dropkick and proudly showing off her agility, athleticism and her newly won WWE Women’s Championship.
Coming just over a year since their debut, the booking of Damage CTRL has seen several people calling for their disbandment and for a while it looks like we might have seen that but times have changed. With SKY atop the division and Damage CTRL running Smackdown in a way they couldn’t on RAW, the team looks stronger than ever.
What did you make of this week’s women’s action? Who do you think will top next week’s ranking? Let us know in the comments below!
