Naomi is the second woman to get an advancement from the first round of the WWE Speed Tournament. She defeated Blair Davenport, by submission, in a match that aired on Sept. 11 on the X social media platform.
Naomi advancing means she will collide with IYO SKY in the semi-finals. SKY defeated Lyra Valkyria in last week’s match. Naomi had words for SKY that you can see below.
Athena will be defending the ROH Women’s World Championship at the Maple Leaf Pro, Forged in Excellence event in an upcoming two night event. Her opponent? Gisele Shaw. This will be a first time match up between the two.
Shaw has wrapped up her last moments with TNA which are set to air this week. She will become a fixture for the Maple Leaf Pro revival promotion. It has been revived by former TNA President Scott D’Amore.
Athena (641) approaching 650 days as champion and is set to surpass the longest reigning champion in ROH history – Samoa Joe at 645 days.
Wendy Choo is getting a shot at the TNA Knockouts World Title.
EXCLUSIVE: Following last night's attack on @WWENXT, @JordynneGrace has announced that she will defend her Knockouts World Championship against @therealestwendy THIS FRIDAY at #TNAVictoryRoad in San Antonio, TX!
Choo along with Rosemary unleashed an attack on Grace during this week’s NXT. Grace was defending the Knockouts Title on NXT against Sol Ruca, but just as she was seconds away from possibly retaining the title – the Demonic Duo attacked.
Grace now says Choo can’t wait her turn so she is going to go ahead and give her a title match, at Victory Road, this Friday.
The NXT/TNA continues to move strong. Choo and Rosemary will also be in action on the Sept. 17 episode of NXT against Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley.
Already announced is a TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title match. If Spitfire doesn’t win the titles then they have to disband.
A couple of firsts took place on the Sept. 10 episode of NXT.
First, we have Giulia making her highly anticipated in-ring debut. Her opponent? Chelsea Green. Green had her moments in this match and even introduced Giulia to the announce table by tossing her over it! But Giulia was resilient and proved why she is the one to be looking at as the future of NXT. Beautiful Madness defeated Green after hitting the running knee and following it up with the Northern Lights Bomb to get the pin.
Giulia appeared a couple other times on the show. One, where TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace caught the eye of Giulia as she was making her way out to the ring.
The second time was towards the end of the show when she was speaking with Ava alongside Funaki. The NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez interrupted and wasn’t happy that Giulia jumped the line for a title shot. Giulia said Perez was scared and should be.
Moving on to Jordynne Grace….this was history as the first time the TNA Knockouts Title has been defended on WWE programming. She issued an open challenge and who better to answer but Sol Ruca!
What a fluid and just fun match between the two. There was even a few times that left me personally thinking, is Ruca gonna take this? But in the end, the finish was deemed a DQ as the lights went out just as Grace was attempting to put Ruca away with the Juggernaut Driver.
As the lights came back on, it was the Demonic Duo who caused the bell to ring. Rosemary screaming in Grace’s face as Wendy Choo caught Grace from behind putting the Knockouts Champion to sleep.
Prior to this, a vignette aired showing the Demonic Duo’s partnership.
Ruca may have answered the open challenge, but this decision had the whole women’s locker room in a frenzy! Everyone was eager to take this opportunity, but this also ruffled some feathers. Especially between Fatal Influence and Lola Vice. Jaida Parker was also hunting down Fatal Influence with a baseball bat in hand but they kept dodging her after they attacked her last week posy match. Vice tried to say she wanted to help out Parker but she wasn’t having it. Vice vs. Jayne is booked for next week.
Tatum Paxley and Lyra Valkyria were at Paxley’s dollhouse backstage. Valkyria has a lot of work to do in reeling in Paxley and the two agree they will work together to take out Choo and Rosemary. That match takes place next week.
Also expecting on the show: NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez, NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan, Tatum Paxley, Lyra Valkyria, Wendy Choo, Fatal Influence, and more.
Queen Aminata is looking to earn herself a championship match this Wednesday, that is, if she can beat the champion, Mariah May
These two women had a confrontation over the weekend at All Out. An already injured (and on crutches) Skye Blue was addressing the Chicago office when May interrupted. They verbally traded banter before May attacked Blue. This caused Aminata to come out and make the save.
Aminata was in action on Friday’s Rampage where she defeated Missa Kate.
First, Giulia is finally going to make her in-ring debut for NXT. This has been months in the work and many fans have been waiting for arrival for a while now. She appeared at No Mercy to start the month and since then has challenged Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Title on Oct. 1 when NXT moves to the CW Network. But first, she will have her in-ring debut tonight against Chelsea Green.
Next, we certainly have a first and history being made as TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace will be defending her title tonight. Yes! The a TNA title is being defended on NXT. Her opponent is unknown as this will be an open challenge.
Some follow ups are likely to happen as well. Speaking of TNA, Rosemary has been featured recently in NXT and we may be getting Wendy Choo in TNA shortly as well. The two have made a formidable pact together and have targeted Tatum Paxley in NXT and Jordynne Grace in TNA. Lyra Valkyria has joined the mix as she came to Paxley’s rescue last week.
Lastly, we have possibly Kelani Jordan’s next opponent as Jacy Jayne from Fatal Influence seemed real interested in their verbal scuffle from last week.
Welcome to the season premiere of Monday Night Raw! A jam-packed show indeed, with the headline news that Raw is temporarily returning to a 2-hour format starting Monday, October 7th. So, clear your calendars – less might just mean more!
The Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, were shown looking sharp as ever, while their opponents for the night, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, were prepping backstage.
Street Fight: Wyatt Sicks (Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross) vs. American Made (Chad Gable, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Ivy Nile)
It’s been a hot minute since Nikki Cross had a match, but she more than made up for it with a brawl that saw her locking horns with Ivy Nile. Punches were exchanged, and before long, the ring action spilled outside. Chaos ensued, as Cross delivered a sitout front suplex to Nile on the floor, before making the kendo stick her weapon of choice – battering Nile, who was hidden under a trash can for good measure.
Elsewhere, Julius Creed was manhandled by Rowan, while Brutus sent Gacy into the apron. Lumis, meanwhile, hit a full nelson slam on Gable, because why not? In a final act of mayhem, Cross gave Nile a neckbreaker onto steel chairs, leaving Lumis to wrap things up with a Superfly Splash on Gable for the win. Carnage in all the right ways!
Winners: Wyatt Sicks (Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross)
Balor, flanked by Carlito, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio, had a bone to pick with Priest. Things quickly escalated, and The Judgment Day boys ganged up on him. But just when it seemed Priest was done for, out came Rhea Ripley (crutch and all) to save the day…only for Liv Morgan to turn up and attack Rhea! The tide turned as Morgan, armed with a crutch, targeted Ripley’s injured knee. Priest tried to shield Ripley, but Jey Uso came out with a chair to chase the heels off. Drama!
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Unholy Union (Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn)
The champs, Belair and Cargill, kicked things off with a mix of power and agility. A few impressive double-team moves gave them control early on, but Fyre and Dawn fought back with some crafty maneuvers. Fyre nearly pinned Belair after a double team Gory Special facebuster, but Jade saved the day.
In the end, Jade finished things off with a German suplex to Fyre, giving the champs another win in their already glittering reign.
Winners: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
Post-match, the Women’s Tag Team Champs crossed paths with Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane of Damage CTRL, who warned them not to get too comfortable with those shiny titles. Belair and Cargill’s response? Polishing their titles a bit more.
Natalya, Lyra Valkyria, and Zelina Vega vs. Pure Fusion Collective
It was the return of Natalya, as the “surprise” partner to join Lyra Valkyria and Zelina Vega in this six-woman tag team match. The crowd was all in for the return of the veteran, and she didn’t disappoint. Natalya, as sharp as ever, applied the Sharpshooter to Zoey Stark, who promptly tapped out. Not to be outdone, Lyra and Vega each applied their own submissions to the other members of Pure Fusion Collective, completing the clean sweep.
Winners by submission: Natalya, Lyra Valkyria, and Zelina Vega
Backstage, Natalya was feeling the love after her return match, sharing a sweet moment with Uncle Bret “The Hitman” Hart, who gave her a hug and insisted, “This is your moment, not mine.”
And there you have it – a lively season premiere for Monday Night Raw! Big news on the 2-hour format change, thrilling matches, and the return of one of the finest technical wrestlers in WWE history. What’s not to love? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Raw is returning to two hours. At least from Oct. 7 through the end of 2024. In breaking news on Sept. 9, the announcement was made. Raw has been consistently three hours since 2012.
BREAKING: #WWERaw will be on @USANetwork from 8pm ET to 10pm ET starting on Monday, October 7th and through the rest of 2024 culminating with the @USANetwork finale on Monday, December 30!
Of course, starting with the Jan. 6 episode of Raw, the show moves to the Netflix streaming platform. It is unknown at that time if the show will return to a three hour format, but keeping in mind currently Netflix does not have commercials.
What are your thoughts on losing the last hour of Raw? Discuss below.
It was confirmed on the Sept. 9 episode of Raw that Morgan will defend her Women’s World Title against Ripley.
The two battled at SummerSlam with Morgan retaining and taking both Dominik Mysterio and The Judgment Day from Ripley and Damian Priest. Ripley and Priest did receive some payback with the mixed tag team match against Morgan and Mysterio at Bash in Berlin.
At the time of this writing, no stipulation has been added, but it sure seems like one should be listed for this match.
The newest TNA Knockout Heather Reckless with be in action this Thursday on iMPACT. Reckless officially has signed with the promotion and had an initial scuffle with Gisele Shaw. The two face off this week.
UPDATE: In an update from PWInsider, Kiana James is out with a leg injury. Expected to be out for six months.
Raw talent, Kiana James, has reportedly been pulled from the active roster. According to PWInsider Elite. The reason however, is currently unknown.
James has been shifted to the company’s “misc” section which is where talents are usually are shifted if they’re unable to perform or injured. She was last in the ring on June 17 in a Three Way with IYO SKY and Zelina Vega. She has been used sparingly since her call up from NXT. She made her in-ring debut on Raw against Natalya.
There’s no official word on what may have her sidelined at this time.
There’s a lot of women content advertised for the Sept. 9 edition of Raw.
First, a mystery partner will join Zeina Vega and Lyra Valkyria in their fight against the Pure Fusion Collective. They will be in Calgary so any guesses on who this mystery woman may be?
Next, we are going to see a rematch for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Current champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair defeated Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre at the Bash in Berlin. Dawn & Fyre defeated Damage CTRL last week to earn another shot at the gold.
There will also be a huge mixed tag match which may end things between the Wyatt Sicks and American Made once and for all. It is an Eight-Person tag team match, and although Uncle Howdy is on the graphic I feel like it should be Nikki Cross? This will be a Street Fight.
Don’t forget to return to Diva Dirt tonight for the Raw Discussion Post!
On the All Out pre-show, the AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May once again postponed her championship celebration. She wasn’t going to have it in Chicago where she claims nobody has ever been blown even though it is called the Windy City.
Instead, Chicago native Skye Blue was interviewed out on stage. Blue has been out with an ankle injury and appeared with crutches. May interrupted and the two traded words before the champion became physical and took Blue down. Queen Aminata made the save.
Blue has been injured since July 20 on Collision during a match against Hikaru Shida.
Giulia is set to make her NXT in-ring debut as she will be facing Chelsea Green on the Sept. 10 episode.
Giulia debuted at No Mercy, following up with an appearance last week. Last week, it was Green who answered the NXT Women’s Championship need for her next opponent. This only led to Giulia coming out and taking down Green with a knee before challenging Perez on Oct. 1 during the NXT’s move to the CW network.
Don’t forget to join Diva Dirt’s discussion post this and every Tuesday for NXT.
Friday Night SmackDown made its way to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the Rogers Place arena for quite a notable episode. For starters, Bash in Berlin is in the rear view mirror as SmackDown’s own Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill recaptured the Women’s Tag Team Championships. Not only that, but SmackDown will no longer be airing on Fox for viewers in the United States, as it will be returning to USA Network starting next Friday. USA previously aired the show during the SmackDown LIVE era on Tuesday nights between 2016 and 2019. Anywho, let’s get started!
We start off with Pretty Deadly brushing Tiffany Stratton’s hair in the locker room, once again mentioning the premiere of “Pretty Deadly: The Musical”, but in walks WWE Women’s Champion and Queen of the Ring Nia Jax to seemingly confront Stratton. Jax mentions that the rest of the women’s division believes the Buff Barbie was going to turn on her last week, which to Jax, is a stupid thing to believe. Stratton says that she was only out there to help her queen, and accuses Chelsea Green of spreading this speculation around the locker room and being jealous of the friendship that Stratton and Jax have. Tiffany would never lie to Nia! Offering her champion friend to accompany her to her match against Bayley later, Jax accepts, stating she’ll be in her corner and help her the same way Stratton did last week.
Immediately following the segment, Bayley makes her way out to the ring for their match, followed by Tiffany. The two lock up to start with, with the Role Model focusing on hurting Stratton’s arm early on.
Stratton would start taking control, unleashing a series of strikes targeting different areas of Bayley’s body. Nia made her way out to watch the match, distracting both competitors and leading to an unsuccessful Bayley-to-Belly attempt. Jax’s attempts to give her bestie a pep talk would result in her being the victim of a suicide dive from Bayley, and trying to distract referee Jessika Carr would lead to the former Women’s Champion reversing a backslide into a Rose Plant on Stratton for the victory.
Elektra Lopez was featured in a Legado Del Fantasma vignette where Santos Escobar reminded Los Garza (Angel and Berto) following their victory last week that they don’t find success, they make it, with Lopez adding that everything is finally falling into place with them and that SmackDown is bound to be their turf. The vignette finishes with the four of them doing a toast.
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven are doing their weekly complaining to SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis when Michin enters the room. Green continues to talk, mentioning how fitting is that Michin’s street fight against Nia Jax last week ended with her covered in a trash can, as that is where “trash” goes. Michin bites back and pokes fun at her NXT appearance. Only Aldis can intervene and he makes a match between the both of them for later tonight.
Both women, who according to Michael Cole, are both former TNA Knockouts Champions, entered the ring for a match later on. In a more fast-paced encounter, Michin initially had the advantage before Green would get the upper hand. Michin was noticeably favoring her ribs, which were taped up as a result of last week’s street fight, and commentary additionally mentioned that executing more impactful moves would be painful due to the ribs being damaged. Piper would get up to distract Michin, but she continued to regain her momentum and would take out Green on the outside with another suicide dive. Both Piper and Michin would have a stare down, and while referee Chip Danning wasn’t looking, Michin was thrown back into the ring, where Green would hit an Un-pretty-her for the win.
A Progressive Match Flo video package aired recapping the Women’s Tag Team Championship match between The Unholy Union and the team of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill at Bash in Berlin. They’ll be facing The Unholy Union again on Raw next Monday night, and if they can retain, they’ll walk into SmackDown’s new home of the USA Network as the Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Share your thoughts on this week’s episode in the comments below!
Former two-time WWF Women’s Champion Jacqueline has reportedly signed a WWE Legends (Nostalgia) Contract.
In a report by Double Take Sports (shared by Jacqueline on social media), that Jacqueline is officially the first Black woman to be offered a legends contract. She was inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2016.
With a legends contract, this means superstars will be honored and utilized through video games, action figures, merchandise, and more.
Jacqueline joins recent legend contract recipient Victoria who confirmed her signing just a week ago.
According to Fightful Select, the former three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and former two-time NXT Women’s Champion has inked a new deal with the company. The talent’s contract was set to expire this year and the new deal is multi-year.
Per the report:
Another WWE Superstar is there to stay.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp has confirmed that former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and former NXT Champion Shayna Baszler has re-signed with the company. We’re told the deal came together recently, as Baszler’s WWE contract was set to expire this year.
An exact length of the deal is unknown, but Fightful confirmed it is a multi-year deal. Baszler recently joined the Pure Fusion Collective with Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark on WWE Raw, where they’ve been receiving a push.
The 44-year old Baszler is a pioneer of women’s MMA, who also competed in the UFC. She signed with WWE in 2017, and has been with the company ever since.
In asking about Baszler’s contributions and how she’s viewed, one longtime WWE staffer said that Baszler approaches WWE void of any ego, and is always easy for the company to work with. One WWE higher up said that Baszler has long been helpful in many ways with newer talent as well.
Baszler is one of a few women WWE has kept with new contracts recently. This includes Natalya and Asuka.
Tenille Dashwood has announced that she is pregnant.
In a raw and unedited moment, Dashwood and her husband Mike Rallis find out together about the positive result. The couple have been married since March of this year and have been together since 2022.
They both performed under the ring names Emma and Riddick (Madcap) Moss in WWE. Since their release in 2023, the couple have mostly taken time away from the ring.
Congratulations to the happy couple as they continue to build their life together.
Just fresh off of Emergence, we are just about one week away from Victory Road and the stage is being set for the pay-per-view on tonight’s jam-packed episode of TNA Impact!
The show opens with The System and the Knockouts World Tag Team Champions, Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich. Just after her defense at Emergence, Edwards is lobbying her way out of another title defense heading into Victory Road. But in comes Spitfire, and iterate that they’ve got another shot at the Tag Team Championships at the upcoming pay-per-view. However, the catch is that if Spitfire loses for a third time, they will have to break up indefinitely.
Next, the TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace looks to defend her title in another open challenge this week on Impact!
WWE NXT’s Arianna Grace Crosses The Line but is NOT Grace’s challenger. She announces her new collaboration as a liaison between NXT and TNA and announces the Champion’s challenger as a close friend of hers.
Grace’s challenger this time…is NXT’s Karmen Petrovic.
Petrovic tries to best Grace in the early ongoings of the match but meets the strength of “The Juggernaut” early on. The NXT standout looks to sweep Grace off her feet with her signature kicks, but just can’t seem to put her out.
Grace props Petrovic up onto the top rope, but Petrovic fights out to hit a Flying Crossbody. Unfortunately, it’s just not enough as Grace hits The Juggernaut Driver to defend her title.
The lights go out, and we see Grace left knocked cold in the ring with a familiar pillow laid out next to her. Rosemary from the risers watches in delight.
We soon hear from Rosemary again and get an eerie glimpse of her new partnership with NXT’s Wendy Choo.
It seems a new awakening is upon the Knockouts Division. And we catch a familiar glimpse of some war fans and a woman who speaks Chinese.
Steph De Lander looks to confront Matt Cardona after interfering with her marriage with PCO time and time again. Cardona says he owns her and has given her every opportunity she can ever think of. SDL says she’s worked hard on her own merit without Cardona in TNA, but despite that, she is legally bound to him. Before Cardona can take things too far, PCO comes in to make the save for his wife.
Finally, we hear from the newest Knockout Heather Reckless as she makes her debut next week on Impact against Gisele Shaw. Reckless introduces herself but before she can get another word out, Ash By Elegance interrupts her and says that there’s just too much trash in the division. In comes Gisele Shaw, who says the Ash should be more respectful. Ash calls Shaw a “nobody,” but Shaw responds by slapping the taste out of Ash’s mouth.
What did you think of tonight’s TNA Impact? Are there more surprises in store for our World Champion? Will Spitfire make it out of Victory Road still intact? Let us know what you thought below!
Xia Zhao, previously known as Xia Li in WWE, seems to be heading to TNA.
On the Sept. 5 episode of TNA iMPACT, a vignette aired with Zhao standing by a fire. Zhao states in a voice over, “The initial spark is a symbol of my awakening. And from this point on, there is no turning back.”
Zhao was released by WWE in April. She has had a few indie appearances since.
Bayley made her return from a small hiatus last Friday in Berlin on SmackDown. She came down to even the odds against Tiffany Stratton and WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax as Jax defeated Michin in a Street Fight.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis has confirmed that Bayley will be taking on Stratton this Friday on SmackDown. Bayley hasn’t had a televised match since losing the title to Jax at SummerSlam.
We are just three days away from All Out, and tonight’s AEW Dynamite looks to set the stage for the pay-per-view this weekend and continue the fallout of All In.
After a raucous return at All in at London, former World Champion Jamie Hayter looks to continue her success tonight on Dynamite as she takes on Robyn Renegade.
Hayter starts strong with a lariat, but Renegade tries to get some offense in with some knees in the corner. Renegade tries to wear down Hayter, and heads for a crossbody but gets countered. Hayter sends Renegade’s spine into her knee and makes quick work of Renegade as she hits a new and improved Hayterade for the win.
Next, we see an appearance from Marina Shafir and her newly found partnership with Jon Moxley.
It’s Beauty vs Beast as the AEW Women’s World Champion “The Glamour” Mariah May is in action as looks to defend her title for the first time tonight against “The Native Beast” Nyla Rose.
May just wants to slap around Rose to start the match, but the size and strength advantage of Rose takes May off her feet with a Running Crossbody.
May manages to gain back the advantage and drives punches through Rose’s head. Unfortunately, both butt heads, and the two end up crashing to the canvas. The two trade blows and Rose begins to fire up her offense.
May rolls to the outside and begins to stall with referee Aubrey Edwards. This momentary lapse allows May to sweep the feet off Rose to send her crashing into the ring steps. May follows up with a brutal knee and Rose barely manages to make it in before 10-count. However, Rose cannot seem to capitalize as May hits The Storm Zero, à la Toni Storm, to defend her title.
Next, we see a vignette of Deonna Purazzo as she reminds everyone of why she is “The Virtuosa.”
After her victorious defense of her NJPW Strong Women’s Championship this past Friday at Capital Collision, we hear from “The CEO” Mercedes Moné as she is set to defend her TBS Championship this Saturday at All Out.
Moné is confident heading into All Out, but Hikaru Shida who she faces has a message for “The CEO.” “The Ace” mentions that in their last match, Kamille had gotten involved. With the help of Christopher Daniels, they announce that Kamille will be banned from ringside making the odds even heading into this bout.
Shida concludes with some Japanese that Moné had learned recently: “Sayonara, Bitch.”
