Future NXT star Giulia and former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY crossed paths at Marigold’s Summer Destiny. However, it was not in the ring. These two have never faced each other in the squared circle.
Giulia faced Sareee for the inaugural Marigold World Champion Match, while SKY took on Utami Hayashishita. Sareee became champion while SKY bested Utami. The next time Giulia says she sees SKY she expects it to be across the ring from her as opponents. She says this will speaking with Ameba.
“I don’t want people to compare Iyo and me just based on the Ryogoku match. The next time I see Iyo Sky, I think it will be on the opposite side of the ring.” (Fightful)
It is unknown when Giulia will be joining NXT, but latest rumors state likely by the next premium live event. NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez did name drop both Giulia and newly signed Stephanie Vaquer on the July 16 episode of NXT.
Mercedes Moné confirmed recently that she has creative control in her new home of AEW. This isn’t too surprising as AEW has been known to not be scripted and has given the talents more freedom for their creative minds.
Former NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose (Sacs) discusses this on her podcast, “Power Alphas.” She recalls times where Moné would often get frustrated or upset that she wasn’t able to insert her ideas into her character in WWE.
“Good for her for doing what she did and now she’s able to have complete creative control which she was always big with. I remember in WWE, like, if she wasn’t happy with something, it was hard for her to be able to speak out about it because certain circumstances and people really weren’t going to change it. Then it was useless to even speak out cause you’re just wasting your breath. So I think that’s cool that she does have all of that creative control.” (WINC)
Joining AEW this year has helped Moné introduce her character to a new audience and she is currently a double champion.
Kelani Jordan has become the next star in NXT as she is the current and inaugural NXT Women’s North American Championship. Winning the new title in a ladder match at Battleground, all eyes have been on Jordan since. She has successfully defended the gold against Michin and Sol Ruca since.
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, Jordan describes the moment she first felt as if she made the right decision to become a wrestler.
“It was, for me, when I did my first ‘Level Up’ match,” Jordan said. “It was against Wendy Choo. … I was feeling pure joy. I was so excited to be out there. It was the first time the audience saw me and it gave me a really cool, warm welcome.” (WINC)
In this interview, Jordan went on to say she would still want to capture the NXT Women’s Title down the line and her dream opponents are Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair.
On this week’s episode of ROH, the main event witnessed a Lights Out Match between Diamante and Leyla Hirsch.
The match included all of the typical artillery and even a plunger! Both women went through tables in the match, but it was Diamante to put Hirsch through the second table to get the victory.
MIT (ROH Women’s World Champion Athena & ROH Women’s World Television Champion Billie Starkz) came to the ramp (with two security guards) for Athena to explain she only left the crutches in an adrenaline rush, with Starkz emphasizing Athena was not 100% before Starkz declared she would be the first and last Women’s TV Champion. Athena then said she did not care if the ROH Board of Directors forced her to compete at ROH Death Before Dishonor because she would prove she was better than Queen Aminata on only “one foot”.
We are about two days away from TNA’s Slammiversary event, and the Knockouts are looking to get their last digs in before the premium pay-per-view.
To kick off Knockouts action tonight, Xia Brookside takes on one-half of the TNA Knockouts World Tag Teams Champions Alisha Edwards. Brookside looks to get back at Edwards’ after costing her a match against the other half of the tag champs, Masha Slamovich, a few weeks ago.
Brookside and Edwards start the match with a war of words. Brookside locks in an aggressive headlock and the Angel tries to knock Edwards off her feet, but Edwards sends Brookside crashing with a backstabber.
Brookside tries to find momentum and fires up just enough to hit a crossbody. Slamovich on the outside gets involved and tries to take out Brookside while the referee is distracted. Spitfire comes to the rescue and Brookside hits the Brooksy Bomb for the win. The tag champs are heading into Slammiversary on a loss, as they defend their titles against Dani Luna and Jody Threat.
Next, we hear from TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace as she reflects on her reign heading into her title defense against Ash By Elegance at Slammiversary.
What did you think about TNA Impact! tonight? Who will come out on top this Saturday at Slammiversary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
TNA’s Slammiversary is this Saturday, July 20, and a third Knockouts match has been added to the card.
At the Slammiversary press conference today, a four way match was announced which will be Tasha Steelz vs. Faby Apache vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Xia Brookside. It states it will be on the Countdown show.
Apache, who is a Mexican talent, was last seen in an IMPACT ring in April of 2022 when she faced Deonna Purrazzo for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship in a losing effort. Purrazzo lost that title in the month to Taya Valkyrie.
After a tumultuous ending on last week’s AEW Dynamite, the show celebrates its 250th episode as the women look to continue some grudges heading towards All In next month.
Mercedes Moné had issued an open challenge next week for her TBS title, and the one to answer her call is an AEW Original herself, Nyla Rose. Moné and Rose have been going back and forth on Twitter, with The Native Beast stating that she is ready to crash through a precious Mercedes.
But first, we get a glimpse of Moné with Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada flaunting her Moné dance for the Rainmaker.
The two lock up and Rose’s size and strength advantage catch Moné in the corner, but The CEO as always is very quick-witted. Moné does everything she can to best Rose but gets caught on the ropes for Rose’s patented legdrop.
The two go back and forth and Moné locks in an Octopus Hold to wear down Rose. Rose powers out and Moné gets crushed by Rose’s offense. Moné finds an opening in the corner and hits her signature Meteora. The two lock arms and Moné finds a way to hit a springboard bulldog.
Nyla Rose continues her dominating attack to the TBS Champion Mercedes Moné!
Moné pulls out a CEO glove, shades of one Britt Baker, and taunts to the crowd with a “C.E.O.” She looks to go for her Crossface finisher but ends up locking in the Lockjaw to retain her title.
Showboating in her win, an anonymous member in the crowd holds up a “DMD > CEO” sign. And speak of the devil, it is none other than Baker herself. The two try to lay hands on each other, but security breaks them apart saving this fight for another day.
After a shocking betrayal at the hands of Mariah May, the new Owen Hart Cup tournament winner looks to speak out on why she brutally attacked her mentor, the AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm.
It was a SHOCKING scene during the closing moments last week on #AEW Dynamite as we hear from the challenger for the #AEW Women's World Title at #AEWAllIn London – Mariah May.
Storm’s music hits, but in the Timeless One’s place is May posing in all of Storm’s ambience. May says that everyone saw it coming, except for Storm. The moment she saw Wembley, she waited for the right moment to strike and says that she can be Storm, albeit so much more. And that her greatest performance has yet to come, as she wants to take Storm’s AEW Women’s World Championship at All In.
What did you think about AEW Dynamite 250? What did you think of the CEO vs The Native Beast? Can May truly steal Storm’s performance? Who will prevail at All In? Let us know below!
For all you gamers out there, WWE’s Rhea Ripley is featured in the Call of Duty Season 5 trailer.
Ripley will be an operator in the game. A wrestling ring and various moves are also featured in the trailer and the game is available on July 24.
Get in the ring for Call of Duty Season 5 on July 24 ? ? WWE Superstar Operators ?Superstore WZ POI returns ?? Cel-Shaded Maps ? Plus so much more pic.twitter.com/WayNqGpYXY
How did one woman whip Japan into a frenzy? Launching on September 19, The Queen of Villains unveils the story of Dump Matsumoto, the most terrifying “heel” during the golden age of women’s pro wrestling in Japan. Spanning five episodes, the series explores the events that led to her rise decades ago.
From the ‘70s to the ‘80s, female pro-wrestling tag teams like “Beauty Pair” (Jackie Sato and Maki Ueda) and “Crush Gals” (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka) became national icons. They captivated Japan not only by competing but also by singing and dancing in the ring. On the other side of this was Dump Matsumoto, the sworn rival of the “Crush Gals.” She made all of Japan her enemy, wreaking havoc in and outside of the ring. But once upon a time, young Dump Matsumoto was told she was too kind to be a villain. What events made her one of the most disliked figures in Japanese wrestling history?
Bringing these iconic female wrestlers to life is a talented cast chosen through auditions:
Erika Karata (Desert of Namibia) plays Chigusa Nagayo, who starts as a failed wrestling trainee but eventually rises to stardom.
Ayame Goriki (Watashi ga Ore no Jinsei?!) portrays Lioness Asuka, known for being the most athletic and technical wrestler among her peers.
The renowned Osamu Suzuki developed, wrote, and produced the series. After hearing Matsumoto talk about the women’s pro wrestling era on his show, Suzuki was inspired to turn her story into a series and wrote the screenplay himself. Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path, The Blood of Wolves, Lesson in Murder) serves as the supervising director, while Chigusa Nagayo herself led the actors’ physical training and presided over the wrestling scenes.
Watch the rise of these women to fame and the lessons their journeys hold today. The Queen of Villains premieres globally on September 19, only on Netflix.
Release Date: September 19, 2024 Episode: 5 episodes
#TheQueenofVillains
Logline: The Queen of Villains unveils the untold story of Dump Matsumoto, a professional wrestler who ignited a boom in women’s wrestling in the 1980s with her cult-like following. Unlike the iconic “Crush Gals” duo, Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka, Matsumoto made her mark as the most famous heel. Dominating television screens, they became a cultural phenomenon, captivating Japan.
WWE will be hosting their live tour next week in both Osaka and Tokyo Japan. At that show, it had been previously advertised for Meiko Satomura and Asuka to be there. Asuka is injured but will be there to accompany Damage CTRL.
I’ll be appearing at the WWE Japan show?? Be prepared ??
— ????? meiko satomura (@satomurameiko) July 17, 2024
The match confirmed will be Damage CTRL vs. Satomura, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill. Both the WWE Women’s Champion Bayley and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan are listed on the card.
This will be the first time that Satomura has appeared for WWE since March 2023.
The advertised cards for WWE’s Supershow tour in Osaka and Tokyo includes Damage CTRL w/Asuka vs Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Meiko Satomura pic.twitter.com/Cu0ovFFNnD
On the July 16 episode of NXT, the NXT Women’s Champion took to the ring to speak her mind. She explains that she isn’t competing with anyone in that locker room, she’s competing with the history books. She’s on path to do it better than Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Asuka, and even Rhea Ripley. Perez adds that all she sees online is to bring Giulia in, bring Stephanie Vaquer in, well no one compares to The Prodigy.
Thea Hail comes out as Perez’s next opponent and has the true underdog mentality. She tells Perez to go ahead and hand her a pen while Perez rewrites the history books. Hail says at The Great American Bash she will become one of the youngest NXT Women’s Champions.
Perez responds letting Hail know she isn’t ready and calls her a little girl. This fires up Hail and things become physical. Hail has Perez in the Kimura Lock waiting for the champion to tap, but Ridge Holland and officials break it up to end the segment.
Other results from NXT this week include:
The OC def. OTM
Tatum Paxley def. Izzi Dame
Lola Vice def. Jacy Jayne
While Jayne has her trio of Jazmyn Nyx and Fallon Henley, it appears Vice has found some back up with Sol Ruca and Karmen Petrovic.
After Paxley is victorious we see a possible team in her and Wendy Choo. And Paxley may have her sights on another piece of gold.
Friday Night SmackDown will air as normal this Friday, but an extra show will be taped.
WWE will tape the July 26 episode of SmackDown at the live show on July 19, in Omaha, Nebraska. This is due to the fact they will be in their tour of Japan during July 26, Friday’s time frame.
The company has a live event in Tokyo that day, as well as shows in Osaka on July 25 and back to Tokyo again on July 27. This trip will be WWE’s return to Japan for the first time since 2019.
At the show is advertised Meiko Satomura who has not been in a WWE ring since March 2023 when she lost to Roxanne Perez at Roadblock. Asuka is also advertised but is currently out with an injury.
At the time of this writing there has been no matches scheduled for either July 19 or July 26 SmackDown events.
Welcome back to another edition of Monday Night Raw! Tonight we’re opening the show with women’s content right out the gate!
Rhea Rhipley is out to massive ovation! Boy was she missed! Rhea declares “Mami’s Home” and the crowd once again erupts. Rhea pushes the topic of Dom to side saying she’ll handle him later, but brings focus to something she never lost… the Women’s World Championship. Rhea calls out Liv only to be greeted by Papi…Dominik Mysterio (with a black rose, nice touch Dom but for all the shxt you pulled with Liv, you could’ve at least splurged on a bouquet).
Riply turns her back to Dominic and it seems like she can care less about anything he has to say but the segment quickly picks up when Liv appears on the screen!
Morgan apologizes for her raspy voices but lends it to having an active weekend and always being known as a screamer. Immediate tonal shift as Liv said she meant it when said she was going to take everything from Rhea. Apparently somewhere along the way Liv fell for Dirty D and despite Mami being home, she’s on top.
Rhea’s pissed now and declares once Liv steps in the ring with Rhea, the revenge tour ends.Then sets out the challenge at SummerSlam, Rhea Riply vs. Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship to a HUMONGOUS ovation!!
Backstage interview with Zelina who is quickly interrupted by Sonya, Zoey and Shayna. Deville scoffs at Vega for thinkings she’s still in the front of the line despite her loss to Morgan. Zelina claps back that she couldn’t hear passed Sonya her forehead, and I’m putting that delivery in my back pocket. Zelina lays out the challenge to Sonya and it’s next!
Sonya Deville vs. Zelina Vega
Sonya corners Vega, but Vega counters with a takedown. A dropkick positions Sonya for the 619! Zoey distracts the referee, Shayna grabs Vega’s arm and does her joint manipulation kick. Sonya then hits Deville’s Advocate, securing the pinfall victory in just under a minute.
Winner: Sonya
The heels beatdown Zelina after the match and then the Face divas (KC’s + Lyra) come to the rescue! This was some divas era foolery.
Lyra is out with the KC’s dancing it up which is fun, can’t say she isn’t trying to make the most out of the opportunity. Shayna corners Carter and lands a hard right. Carter attempts an arm drag, but Baszler goes for a stomp. Carter escapes and lands a series of kicks before tagging in Chance. They double team Baszler but only get a near fall. After a series of moves, Chance tags Carter, who monkey flips her into Zoey for a near fall. The KC’s are zooming around the ring as we go into commercial!
Returning from the break, Chance dominates Zoey with kicks in the corner, Shayna tags in and hits a knee in the corner for another near fall. Chance & Carter attempt a finish, but Sonya distracts, allowing Lyra to intervene on the KC’s behalf. Zoey kicks Lyra away, and the heels ultimately take the win after Zoey launches Katana right into a knee by Shayna.
The match was good but could’ve used a more engaged crown. Personally I feel like WWE has done a good job at creating interest over this new stable of Shayna, Zoey & Shayna so let’s give it some time.
That’s it in terms of women’s action, we get some more shenanigans in the Liv/Rhea story with Morgan intervening in Dom Dom’s match resulting in some more compromising positions between her and Dom. It’s gotten a bit gratuitous for my taste but the views keep coming in and now we have the ability to signal for Rhea so I get why they did that.
Returning from the break, Rhea tells Dom that she doesn’t belong to anyone, but he belongs to her. She hands him a flower and then walks away. Gonna leave this Segment of Jey Uso asking Rhea out below…
Nikki Cross/Abby the Witch has first full in-ring moment with the Wyatt Sicks as they come out to save Bo Dallas from Chad Gable and the newly formed stable with The Creed Brothers.
The Liv/Rhea stuff was very satisfying and yet still left me wanting more. Good stuff all around from the both of them and a strong argument can be made that the Women’s World Title should be the main event of SummerSlam. Not an episode of the red brand that heavily focused on the women though. No Damage CTRL, no Kiana James, Nattie just resigned so I’m not sure where she fits into creative atm. Nikki is present on the show with the Wyatt6 stuff but that’s a slow burn story. Hopefully her vignette airs next week. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I won’t be here tomorrow for NXT as I’ll be away on a work trip but shall return for Raw next week. See you then!
Saori Anou is back on top and she has an extra piece of gold with her!
Anou had lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship to Mika Iwata just a few weeks ago at Stardom’s The Conversion event. As a rematch, both the Wonder of Stardom and Sendai Girls World championships were on the line at the July 15 Sendai Girls show at Korakuen Hall.
Every time Saori Anou and Mika Iwata get in the ring it keeps getting better and better they didn't disappoint, after a wrestling masterpiece where each tried and endured every attack from the other Saori Anou regain the Wonder Of #STARDOM Title and dethroned Iwata to became the… pic.twitter.com/hWbHkUrCSG
In a 15-minute match, Anou was able to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship for a second time, making her only one of five women in history to do so. This is her first time as Sendai Girls Champion, dethroning Iwata at 301 days.
At this event, the Sendai Girls Tag Team Titles changed hands also as Mio Momono & Yurika Oka defeated Manami & Ryo Mizunami. This ended the reign of the former champions at 120 days.
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace was in Japan for this event and took on a Sendai Girls powerhouse Chihiro Hashimoto. Grace came through with the victory.
Marigold is thriving after coming off of its Summer Destiny event where they crowned three inaugural champions. What is left to decide is who will be the first tag team champions!
A tournament has been confirmed and below you will see the bracket breakdown. The artwork for the titles, named Marigold Twinstar Tag Team Titles can be seen as well.
Coming out of Heatwave, the NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez was not on last week’s show. She is, however, advertised for this Tuesday, July 16. The question is now, what’s next?
Perez defeated Lola Vice at Heatwave making this her fifth title defense. She has retained against Natalya, Lyra Valkyria & Tatum Paxley, Chelsea Green, and Jordynne Grace. And this has been all since just April when she defeated Valkyria for the championship at Stand & Deliver.
After defeating Vice, Perez has claimed no one can step up to her level. So who will end up being the one to prove her wrong?
We do have two women’s matches confirmed for Tuesday.
OTM (Jaida Parker) vs. The O.C. (Michin)
Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame
Parker and Michin have been in an all out war over the past couple of months. Parker gained the upper hand from the feud by winning a Street Fight. Now adding the men in, who will take this match?
Paxley showed up last week to get into Izzi Dame’s business and cost her the match against Thea Hail.
After weeks of hostility, brawls, and verbal attacks, O.T.M. and The O.C. will go to war in a Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match THIS TUESDAY on #WWENXT!
At the WWE Live Show from Mexico City on Saturday, a lot took place in the women’s division. An attempted cash-in and a debut!
First, Bianca Belair was facing Bayley for the WWE Women’s Title. Bayley retained the championship but this didn’t stop Tiffany Stratton’s attempt to cash-in her MITB contract. As the referee was confirming with her that it was in fact Tiffy Time, Bayley hit her from behind. Once Stratton gained control, she tried to make the cash-in official once again but Belair put a stop to it.
Elsewhere, Stephanie Vaquer not only makes her first appearance in WWE but had her first match. She was victorious against Isla Dawn.
Full Results –
WWE Women’s Championship – Bayley (c) def. Bianca Belair
The AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Moné issued an open challenge for this Wednesday’s Dynamite. The one caveat is that anyone can answer BUT Britt Baker.
After her victory against Ava Lawless on Collision, Nyla Rose answered Moné’s challenge.
Former #AEW Women’s World Champion Nyla Rose is riding high from her victory early tonight and responds to the TBS Champion, “The CEO” Mercedes Moné’s challenge for #AEWDynamite 250!
Also on Collision, Skye Blue returned to action and successfully picked up a win against Harley Cameron. Post match, she called out Hikaru Shida for next week.
AEW’s Willow Nightingale has been crowned the new CMLL World Women’s Champion on Saturday’s NJPW x CMLL event Fantastica Mania. She defeated Lluvia and Viva Van in a three way bout.
This win was for the vacant championship after Stephanie Vaquer was stripped from the gold as she left the promotion for WWE. This title has been previous held by Lady Apache, PrincesaSugehit, Marcela, La Diabolica, Syrui, and inaugural champion Bull Nakano.
Nightingale has now won championships for AEW, NJPW, and CMLL.
WWE has posted the arrival of newly signed talent Stephanie Vaquer.
Just officially signed, Vaquer was announced for this weekend’s WWE Live shows in Mexico. You can see what WWE posted below. The post currently has nearly 15K likes and over 450K views on X.
Vaquer is a former CMLL World Women’s Champion, CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Champion, and NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion. The latter which she won by defeTing Giulia who is also expected to start with WWE shortly.
Diva Dirt will follow up with more on Vaquer from this weekend’s events.
In a new report by PWInsider Elite, long time WWE talent and veteran Natalya has re-signed with the company.
There has been a lot of speculation over the past couple of months on if Natalya would re-sign or not. Stating that the two parties were in talk but a decision had not been made.
The last we saw her was on Raw about a month ago briefly backstage talking to Sonya Deville. Her last match on Raw was a loss against Kiana James on June 3 before she defeated Izzi Dame in NXT on the following night.
Natalya has been with WWE since 2007 making her the longest tenured woman on the roster.
On Saturday, Sareee defeated Giulia to be crowned the very first Marigold World Champion after a 25 minute battle due to referee stoppage. Giulia was cleared from a recent injury just prior to this match.
Sareee would begin to realize during the match that she needed to target Giulia’s injured hand which gave her the advantage. In the final moments, the referee was forced to stop the match because of the damage further done to Giulia’s hand and she could not go on. This crowned Sareee as the inaugural champion.
IYO SKY participated in this Summer Destiny event as she went against Utami Hayashishita for the first time. SKY was victorious after hitting her Over the Moonsault finisher.
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) July 13, 2024
We got to see the inaugural Superfly Champion crowned as Natsumi Showzuki defeated Misa Matsui. Miku Aono became the first United National Champion in her defeat against MIRAI.
