Last week on NXT we found out that Dakota Kai will be Io Shirai‘s opponent for her NXT Women’s Title at TakeOver: XXX. There isn’t any advertisement for them on tonight’s show but with the event so close they will most likely be involved in some capacity.
We have also been seeing the growing of the Robert Stone Brand ever since Mercedes Martinez joined. Stone has posted on his social media that they will be present for tonight’s show. What may they have in store?
It has already been reported that IMPACT will host the Emergence event over the next two weeks of August with a Knockouts Title rematch headlining the second night.
The second night will be on Aug. 25. The match will be between the current Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defending her title against the former champion Jordynne Grace. What has now been announced however is for the first time in the history of IMPACT, this match will be a 30-minute Ironman Match.
These two ladies put on one heck of a match at Slammiversary where Purrazzo made a powerful statement in becoming the Knockouts Champion so quickly after appearing in the company. This time around with the stipulation of an Ironman Match and 30-minutes to fight should prove for a quality showdown.
What are your thoughts on this match? Leave them in the comment section below!!
There is a lot to unpack on this week’s RAW which is less than two weeks until the biggest event of the summer – SummerSlam. We had three official matches and an appearance from Shayna Baszler as the first woman to enter the RAW Underground. Out of the three matches, two were advertised and the three was a continuation from last week’s reunion of sorts by Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan.
Shayna Baszler in RAW Underground vs. Marina Tucker, Sofia Castillo, & Emily Andzulis
Before we get into the match results, let’s talk about the exciting return of Mickie James. Her segment was a backstage interview where she admitted that she is heading towards some gold and mentioned leading the women’s locker room. She was interrupted by Lana and Natalya.
Lana scoffs at James wondering how she can be the leader of the women’s locker room if she doesn’t even have a TikTok? She does give James her due and say that she is one of the best, but Natalya – she is THE best. In fact, she is the most winning woman of the WWE, the Serena Williams of the WWE if you will. She is in fact the B.O.A.T (Best of all time).
James says that Natalya has worked so hard riding the coat tails of her family and let Lana know that the one thing about boats is that they sink. She tells Nattie that she will see her next week.
The first match of the night saw Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega. The two have had their problems in the past, but this time it has become extremely personal as Belair believes that Vega was the cause of her husband’s poisoning last week. An accusation that Vega still denies even throughout the match.
A very good match that validated what many already knew and that is that Vega should be in the ring more often. Although pinned as the underdog, Vega has so much ring experience that she almost put away Belair after driving her shoulder first into the ring post. She took too much time not capitalizing and unfortunately for her, she fell just short as Belair hit the KOD to pick up another victory.
For the newly reformed Riott Squad it seems as though there is one step forward and two steps back. Liv Morgan took on Peyton Royce one-on-one and of course both Ruby Riott and Bille Kay were at ring side to support their teammates.
In the shorter match of the night, there would be some miscommunication between Morgan and Riott. This still shows that they aren’t as cohesive as they once were and it may take longer than fans think for this team to work again. At the end of the match, Kay hops on the apron to perhaps get involved. The referee was busy checking on Royce. Riott would then hop up on the apron as well to try and help Morgan as Kay gets down from the apron. The official saw it as Riott being the one to try and interfere which is how Morgan took it as well.
Royce was able to capitalize on all this and gets the pin after delivering the Deja Vu. Riott tries to convince Morgan after the bell that she was only trying to help.
The last official match before RAW Underground for the women had big implications for Asuka as she had to defeat Bayley to earn a rematch against Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Title. Another great match between the two culminated to its conclusion when Bayley decides to do what she does best and that is showboat. She taunts Asuka by mocking the traits of Kairi Sane. This was enough to catch her off guard as Asuka applied the Asuka Lock to win the match by submission.
This has awarded Asuka with her rematch against Banks for the RAW Women’s Title that will take place at SummerSlam on Aug. 23.
Lastly we saw Shayna Baszler show up as the first woman for RAW Underground. RAW Underground debuted last week and although a few women were present, none of them would step up for a fight. This time Baszler would step right up and based on her background she felt right at home. The women present would still not step up, so she had to go out and get one herself. She pulled in Sofia Castillo first to inflict some pain.
Marina Tucker would then enter and try to help out Castillo, but wasn’t much of a difference-maker. Lastly, WWE Performance Center trainee Emily Andzulis entered. Andzulis would get the most offense in out of the three women but was still no match for Baszler. The Queen of Spades would get the final bell as she took down all three opponents at one time.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers:
WINNER: Mickie James
Although I personally expected more to come from her return (yes, sometimes I expect too much), it was great to see her. She mentions she has gold on her mind which is exactly what we should be hearing. I hope this means she will be in the battle royal on SmackDown this week.
I am okay with her to have a match or two against Nattie as her coming back, but I hope this transitions somehow into going after Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title! Nattie and Lana can focus on the tag team division that is always hurting for teams.
WINNER: Peyton Royce
As much as I do enjoy the IIconics feud with Riott/Morgan – I love all four of them and I know that there can only be a winner and a loser. I am okay with Peyton picking up this win because it shows they are not just going to let The IIconics continue losing. It also shows that there is more complexity to the Riott/Morgan reunion then just “everything is okay now.”
WINNER: Shayna Baszler
I am still not completely sold on this RAW Underground thing but it fits Shayna perfectly. Not saying that she needs to be a part of this all the time, however, it is in her wheelhouse. It makes sense for her to just demolish her opponents in this. I enjoyed it.
LOSER: Zelina Vega
She is purely on the loser list because it would have been better if she went over on this match. Personally I don’t want it to be just another one-off for them and rather have them have a few more matches. With Bianca winning, there is nothing to indicate this. As far as the match, it was great, that is why I want to see more.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave them along with your thoughts in the comment section below!!
Independent star and former Mae Young Classic competitor Vanessa Kraven has announced that she is hanging up her wrestling boots. She states that she has taken time to reflect and will not be returning to in-ring competition when wrestling resumes.
Just as many wrestlers on the indie scene, she has not been working in the ring as a result of the COVID pandemic.
She states that she may still attend shows out of support but that will be all for now. Kraven thanks her fans and supporters including any promotions that helped her out along the way.
Kraven is former SHIMMER Tag Team Champion where she held that title with the promotion along with Tessa Blanchard. She would be most known by WWE fans by her appearance in the second Mae Young Classic tournament. She was defeated in the first round by Kayden Carter. Other than the United States, she competed in Canada and Japan.
Diva Dirt would like to wish Vanessa Kraven the best in her future and with wherever life takes her.
AEW’s Women’s Tag Team Tournament returned for its second episode and second round of quarter-final matches. Last week’s show offered up an array of surprise competitors, guest appearances and shock victories.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that Ivelisse and Diamante would team-up. And earlier today Madusarevealed that Dasha would be making her AEW in-ring debut, teaming with Rachel Ellering.
The only match announced before the show was Ivelisse and Diamante vs Dasha and Ellering. This would end up being the second match of the show.
The first match was fully announced right before it took place. Big Swole drew her color and ended up being paired with someone she knows very well and that was Lil’ Swole (Nicole Savoy). Savoy has a ton of experience in the indies and is the longest-reigning Shimmer Champion at 721-days before she was dethroned by Kimber Lee. This team took on the last random pairing of Leva Bates and Rache Chanel.
The history between Big & Lil’ Swole was too much for their opponents as they pulled out with the win to advance to the semi-finals. They will take on the Nightmare Sisters next who advance from their first round.
The second match was the advertised match and it had perhaps the most surprising entrant into the tournament and that was Dasha. She paired up with someone she has been friends with for years in that of Rachael Ellering. They did what they could, but at the end of the day, they weren’t able to get a win, and Ivelisse and Diamante advanced.
Ivelisse and Diamante advance to face the team of Tay Conti and Anna Jay (TayJay) in the upcoming semi-final bout. You can view the matches by the YouTube clip below:
With the next round set, who do you see advancing to the finals? Who do you see taking the cup? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
There is a lot of potential for tonight’s RAW for the women and especially with SummerSlam just around the corner! Speaking of SummerSlam, we will see if Asuka can win her rematch against Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Title at that very event. Tonight she takes on Bayley and if she wins, she will get her rematch.
We will also see the return of Mickie James as announced earlier today! It is unknown if she will have a match, but it will be good to see her back on TV. She has been out of action since April of 2019.
A one-on-one match is scheduled between Bianca Belair and Zelina Vega. After last week’s alleged poisoning of Montez Ford, Belair is convinced that Vega was behind it. She is determined to take down Vega tonight!
There have also been rumors that Shayna Baszler will enter the new RAW Underground which kicked off next week. If this is the case, who will end up being her unlucky victim(s)?
Feel free to use the comment section below to talk about tonight’s show!!
RevPro returns with the main event clash Gisele Shaw vs Jamie Hayter for the British Women’s Championship. Taking place on Sunday, August, 23 this will be the first time Revolution Pro Wrestling will return after a five-month absence.
The match is Shaw’s second title defence since she defeated Zoe Lucas for the championship way back in February 2020.
The rest of the card features;
Robbie X Vs Connor Mills
Kenneth Halfpenny Vs Brendan White
Callum Newman Vs Dan Moloney
Bobbi Tyler Vs Aleah James
Michael Oku & Will Ospreay Vs RKJ & Kyle Fletcher
According to revolutionprowrestling.com, ‘the show will be presented before an ‘empty arena,’ with all competitors staying in a hotel ‘bubble’ following stringent health and safety protocol including, but not limited to on-site COVID testing.’
What do you make of the match up? Let us know in the comments below. As always stay tuned to Diva Dirt for all of your independent wrestling news.
The six-time Women’s Champion has been out of action for well over a year due to a knee injury at a live event that required surgery. She has been recently teasing a return as she has stated that she would love to come back and earn another title run.
Credit: WWE
Since recovering from her injury and surgery, she has made her mark on commentary on Main Event. She has also made a remark that she was ready to come back to in-ring action prior to the current health pandemic.
Last week on SmackDown, Stephanie McMahon mentioned a Triple Brand Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for Bayley at SummerSlam. James has had some interest in this on her Twitter account.
AEW’s Women’s Tag Team Tournament – The Deadly Draw has thrown up a number of surprise contests so far. And there is another big surprise announced for tonight’s edition as Dasha will make her AEW in-ring debut.
The shock announcement came from Madusa who then prompted Dasha to make her draw and reveal her partner as Rachael Ellering.
SOCIAL EXCLUSIVE@DashaKuret is excited about tonight's tournament. However, @Madusa_rocks is about to give her more exciting news!
It was later announced that Dasha and Ellering will be facing Ivelisse and Diamante, who were revealed to be partners yesterday. The two teams will clash later on tonight in the second round of quarter-final matches for the tournament.
Dasha hasn’t wrestled since last year when she took on Renee Michelle at Great Lakes Championship Wrestling’s (GLCW) Blizzard Brawl. More recently though, she has been showing off her athletic skills on The Rock’s The Titan Games.
What do you make of the announcement? Let us know in the comments below. As always stay tuned to Diva Dirt for all of your AEW news, reviews and updates.
On last week’s RAW, WWE brought a new concept to Monday nights in the form of RAW Underground. This was introduced by the returning Shane McMahon.
Credit: WWE
The concept is that of a shoot-style fight club and in its first night saw several RAW Superstars such as Erik of the Viking Raiders, Dolph Ziggler, and The Hurt Business stable take out several others. There were a few women around the platform which led to some questioning if the women would ever get involved.
This would be a perfect concept for certain women of the RAW roster, one being the former two-time NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler. It is being rumored that she will partake in RAW Underground tonight. This has been rumored by many, and WrestleVotes added to this when they tweeted the following out moments ago:
Hearing Shayna Baszler will be apart of RAW Underground tonight.
The Deadly Draw – the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament kicked off last week. The rules for the tournament states that the teams will be determined by a “random draw.” This event is currently airing on AEW’s YouTube channel.
It started with two matches last Monday that saw Ariane Andrew make her wrestling return as she teamed up with Nyla Rose. They faced Tay Conti and Anna Jay in a losing effort. The other match was the Nightmare Sisters who defeated Mel and Penelope Ford.
The next team announced is Ivelisse and Diamante. The two have recently been shown on AEW programming against each other on the July 16 episode of Dynamite. Diamante walked away with the victory. She faced the AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida the following week in a losing effort.
SOCIAL EXCLUSIVE Earlier today, we saw @RealIvelisse make her draw to determine who she will be teaming with tomorrow night. Needless to say, it was someone familiar.
We will have to see who becomes their opponents shortly. The second night of the Deadly Draw will be on AEW’s Youtube Channel this Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
What do you make of this team? Who do you think will be their opponents? Leave your thoughts below.
For a show that didn’t have a women’s match in sight, it sure still has a lot to still talk about. SummerSlam is starting to take shape and Stephanie McMahon dropped some news that revolves around who Bayley‘s opponent will be at that event. First, let’s get into the first woman that was shown.
Alexa Bliss was attacked by The Fiend last week to end SmackDown. After receiving the mandible claw, she hadn’t been seen or heard from since. In anticipation of what’s next to come, Bliss showed up once again in the ring with The Fiend. This time the fear in her eyes wasn’t there as it was last week.
Despite the awkward placement with Bliss just showing up in the ring, The Fiend was using her as a way to lure out Braun Strowman. He knows of their friendship and was trying to play on it to get to Strowman and the Universal Championship.
The Fiend approached Bliss much like he did last week and it looked as if we were going to see a repeat with another mandible claw. Instead, Bliss grabbed his hand to stop him and then put her hand up to his mask/face. This caused Strowman to appear on the big screen. He states that he doesn’t care about Bliss and what The Fiend does with her. The Fiend ends up receiving his match against Strowman for SummerSlam. Where will Bliss continue to fit into all of this? It is important to note that Nikki Cross did not appear on this week’s show.
Now we can get to all gold Bayley and Sasha Banks. They were interrupted by Stephanie McMahon and the duo tried to patronize their way out of any bad news the Chief Brand Officer may deliver to them. Banks was told that she will be defending her RAW Women’s Title at SummerSlam. Perhaps to Asuka if she beats Bayley this coming Monday.
Her other news was to deliver who would be Bayley’s opponent. The winner of a Triple Brand Battle Royal on next week’s SmackDown will determine who faces Bayley next. You can read further on this by clicking here.
Next, we have the continued saga of Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. First, Deville was the guest on The Dirt Sheet with John Morrison and The Miz. She mentions that she is confused about why people are shocked about what she did to Rose last week. The prior promise that she would make Rose’s outsides look as ugly as her insides are and she feels she delivered.
Much like Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose had also been quite silent on social media over this past week. The topic turned to Otis and the trio of Deville, Morrison, and Miz start to tear him down as well. It didn’t take long for Otis and Tucker to rush down to the ring to attack Miz & Morrison.
This led to a match between those two tag teams later on in the night as the main event. That match ended up in a disqualification as now short hair Rose rushed to the ring to attack Deville who was at ringside. The two brawl all around the ring and each male team attempts to hold back their respective woman, but that didn’t seem to be enough.
Backstage afterward the tension between the two is still high as now WWE officials are trying to keep them apart. Shortly everyone stopped as the lights went out.
The lights going out led into the new faction that was shown on RAW making their presence known. The faction is called RETRIBUTION. They run off the commentators, the cameramen, and then they attack the wrestlers in the crowd. They come equipped with bats, crowbars, and other various weapons including a chainsaw that they use to destroy the ring.
This faction includes five people. It is apparent that there are some women involved in this group. At least one that I could tell, possibly two.
Who do you think is part of this faction?
Let’s get into this week’s Winners & Losers:
WINNER: Alexa Bliss
I will admit I wanted more from this week in regards to how it left off last week. However, that wasn’t Alexa’s fault. Her acting is amazing. She gets criticism as far as her in-ring work, but most cannot deny that her acting is top notch. I am still very invested into this and if she will indeed be considered Sister Abigail.
WINNERS: Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose
That was a great brawl and the fact that they have been essentially feuding for months and months still doesn’t bother me. Maybe because they did have a small hiatus recently but I hope they have a match at SummerSlam. It has been rumored previously about the Hair vs. Hair match, so maybe they will still go that route. Either way, we need one killer of a match to wrap this feud up before Sonya goes for a title.
I wouldn’t really consider any of the women on tonight’s show on the losing end. Perhaps we could include Naomi and Nikki Cross as I found it weird that neither one was on the show. How are we supposed to rally behind Naomi when she isn’t being showcased? I can only assume we will see her next week in the Battle Royal.
The Battle Royal is a good idea if the winner to face Bayley is a fresh match. I wouldn’t mind it being someone from NXT or Naomi if she finally wins the title. Knowing the way these things work out it will probably be Nikki Cross getting her 18th shot and they still won’t give her the belt.
What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Bayley has now been SmackDown Women’s Champion for 300-days and has defeating several opponents in that time frame. She is also a dual champion as both her and Sasha Banks are the Women’s Tag Team Champions. That’s not all, but with Banks holding the RAW Women’s Champion, the duo is dominating WWE.
Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon had to step in and rectify the situation of the unclear winner of the RAW Women’s Championship match from Extreme Rules. She put into action a foolproof plan to determine the rightful titleholder of the RAW brand. In that, Bayley and Banks found the loophole that cost Asuka the title as she had to race to her best friend Kairi Sane‘s aide after Bayley’s attack. This caused a count-out which McMahon had stated would still cause a title change in the stipulations.
This did not sit well with McMahon as she graced the big screen once again to deliver a message to the Golden Role Models on SmackDown. She explains that for SummerSlam, Banks will be defending her RAW Women’s Title. It may just be against Asuka if the Empress of Tomorrow can take out Bayley this Monday on RAW. As for Bayley, she too will be defending her SmackDown Women’s Title.
But who will be her opponent?
McMahon congratulated the duo on holding all the gold and that they have successfully made their way across all three brands. So as a result, she wants to help those that the duo have wronged by giving them a chance for some retribution.
Next week, there will be a Triple Brand Battle Royal that will include women from all three brands. The winner of that match will go on to SummerSlam and face Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
Former NXT Superstar Rachael Ellering will be making her AEW debut on AEW Dark this coming Tuesday. Ellering was part of the WWE releases in April due to budget cuts during the current health pandemic. Prior to her release, she was out due to injury. She posted on Twitter back in June that she has been ready to return to the ring.
3. I’m ready. I’m better than I’ve ever been.
I so appreciate everyone’s support and kind messages!
Also. Breonna Taylor’s murderers are still free. Wear a mask. Be kind.
Her upcoming match will be against Penelope Ford who recently lost in the first round of The Deadly Draw Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament along with Mel. They lost to The Nightmare Sisters – Allie and Brandi Rhodes.
Ellering posted on her Twitter about her upcoming match against Ford. She says this match is the first step in reproving herself. She is ready to earn back the support and trust from the fans and to start her next chapter.
Oh y’all forgot about me?
Next week is the first step in reproving myself. Proving that just because I was hidden away in a warehouse for a hot minute doesn’t mean I’ve lost what I had before.
I can’t wait to earn back your support and trust. Let’s start the next chapter ? pic.twitter.com/237Pd47UTa
All eyes are on SmackDown for tonight as last week Alexa Bliss was attacked at the end of the show by The Fiend. This came after Nikki Cross was unsuccessful in her SmackDown Women’s Title match against the champion Bayley. Both Bliss and Cross have been silent on social media since last week, so what happens tonight is hopefully a good progression with this storyline.
Last week also saw the return of the rivalry between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Deville attacked Rose backstage and took scissors to the beautiful blonde’s hair. Deville will be the guest on this tonight’s The Dirt Sheet.
We also have Bayley who just made a milestone at hitting 300-days as SmackDown Women’s Champion. She has to face Asuka on RAW this coming Monday, but what does she have in store for the blue brand tonight?
Just yesterday, Bayley hit a milestone as SmackDown Women’s Champion. A reign that has already made history as the longest for the title now sees it at 300-days. She won the title from Charlotte Flair just mere days after losing it to her to start her second reign. This marked her turn as a heel character and she has held the title ever since.
And I ain’t “holding it down”. I ain’t “filling a void”. I am… ding dong!!!!!!! Hello? Your consistent champion!!!!!!https://t.co/ZmZMt7wAcU
Since becoming champion, Bayley has successfully defended her title against such opponents as Naomi, Lacey Evans, Carmella, Tamina, Nikki Cross and a Fatal 5-way at WrestleMania.
It is being reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Vince McMahon has praised Bayley as of late and thinks very highly of her. In that same regard, he is speaking highly on Peyton Royce and Bianca Belair as well.
From a meeting that took place at the end of July, he was said to have gone on and on about his love for Bayley and her current character. He also commented that he is high on Belair and Royce as well but noted liking them as singles competitors.
What do you make of Bayley’s reign? Where do you see the title going from here? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
It’s been a while since we did a Free Match Friday and why not have one involving the women of NXT UK. Much like the absence of Free Match Friday’s comes the hiatus of the NXT UK Women’s Division.
Since it has been on hiatus, why not look at a past match to reminisce. Here is Nina Samuels attempting to knock off Toni Storm as NXT UK Women’s Champion. Storm held the title heading into the match and throughout her entire tenure as champion she went 230-days.
Enjoy this match!!
Who would you like to see back in the ring once NXT UK starts back up again?
AEW’s Chief Brand Officer, Brandi Rhodes has deactivated her Twitter account. Although the exact reason isn’t known on why she decided to leave the social media platform, but may are attributing to the backlash she has received about AEW Heels.
For those of you who may not know, AEW Heels is being boasted as a new community for female wrestling fans. The full statement about it comes from their website and is as follows:
“AEW Heels is a new community for women who love wrestling. The female-forward movement, led by Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, is designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world. AEW Heels is dedicated to making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan. Be who you are, and come as you are. Because we’re all going to come together as a community to change the world”
The scrutiny in this is that it has been announced to join this AEW Heels community it would be a $50 per year fee. This also comes with the fact that the women’s division’s booking in AEW is constantly being judged by fans as lacking. The lack of women representation on AEW Dynamite and the unbalance of women’s matches provided on AEW Dark are just some of the complaints.
Rhodes has stated that it is not her that does the booking for the women’s roster. She does say however it was her idea to do the current Deadly Draw Tournament.
Credit: AEW
Fightful caught one of the last tweets made by Rhodes before she deactivated her account. Her response was to the criticism she was receiving:
“Oh for love and lemons…my head is aching. This is not about women’s wrestling. It’s about community for the fans. Now stop droning on and on and on like that little dog barking next door in the dog day heat. Context is key. Reading is comprehension and I…am bored.”
Rhodes advanced in the Deadly Draw Tournament that kicked off on Monday on the YouTube platform. She and Allie defeated Mel and Penelope Ford.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Leave them in the comment section below.
Ariane Andrew shocked wrestling fans when she appeared on AEW Dynamite last week and took her spot in the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament. This was her first return to the ring since her release from WWE in 2016. During the random draw, she was partnered with former AEW Women’s World Champion, Nyla Rose. A partner that seemed to be a lock to advance in the tournament.
On Monday was the first round and it pitted Andrew and Rose against Tay Conti and Anna Jay. In what some may say was a surprise finish, Andrea and Rose would actually lose the match signally that they were done with the tournament.
As with many competitors for AEW, the company gives many opportunities to the talent that hasn’t been signed. With Andrew, it was natural for fans to wonder what comes next for her. She confirmed on her podcast Sippin’ The Tea that she has not signed with AEW and is a free agent.
She hasn’t ruled out wanting a reunion with Naomi whom she was in a tag team with known as The Funkadactyls in WWE.
“I am not with AEW,”she stated. “That was just a ‘little somethin’ somethin” I’m a free agent. As excited as people were, they were like, ‘does this mean no Funkadactyl reunion?’ It’s not official. There’s still a door, hello Vince [McMahon], are you listening?”
Speaking of Naomi, she was the most recent guest on Andrew’s podcast as well. You can catch that by clicking here.
It is clear that she is ready for another run in the business as she was ready to return to an indie show in April. The show did not take place as a result of the current COVID pandemic.
Credit: AEW
What promotion would you like to see Andrew in? What did you think of her return match? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Dakota Kai won a number one contender’s match on tonight’s NXT to earn her shot at Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s Championship. This match will take place at TakeOver XXX on Aug. 22. She defeated former champion, Rhea Ripley. Kai has been chomping at the bit to get to Shirai ever since Shirai became champion. Attacking the champion on numerous occasions, Kai has made several emphatic statements to the Joshi Judas.
Kai may have picked up the victory on Ripley but wouldn’t do it all on her own. While the referee wasn’t looking, Mercedes Martinez attacked Ripley. Ripley and Kai had been in the corner, Ripley got the better of the exchange as she knocks her opponent down to the mat. While the official was checking on Kai, Martinez leveled Ripley with a kick on the apron.
This was enough for Kai to capitalized as she delivered the GTK and got the three count to head to TakeOver.
As Kai made her way up the ramp celebrating her victory, Martinez enters the ring and attacks Ripley leaving her laid out in the center of the ring. If you recall, Ripley was approached by the Robert Stone Brand to become a member last month. She declined and defeated both Stone and Aliyah in a handicap match at The Great American Bash.
The trio was interviewed after the attack on Ripley and Stone said that Ripley may be done with the Robert Stone Brand, but the brand isn’t done with her.
Do you think Kai is the rightful next opponent for Shirai? What do you make of a Martinez vs. Ripley rivalry up next? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
With SummerSlam approaching quickly, this also means the next TakeOver event is right around the corner as well. This will be the 30th TakeOver event so any women’s matches should go above and beyond.
We know that Io Shirai is the NXT Women’s Champion. She has held the title since the TakeOver: In Your House event that took place in June. She defeated both Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat. Her first title defense against Tegan Nox was successful but now she either has to face her old rival Rhea Ripley or Dakota Kai.
Ripley and Kai will square off tonight to determine who moves forward to face Shirai.
In addition to this number one contender match, what is next for the Robert Stone Brand. Mercedes Martinez took NXT by storm as she joined the brand a few weeks ago. What will she and Aliyah have in store tonight for the women’s locker room?
During Melina‘s time with WWE she was definitely a quintessential Diva during her tenure. Although she is currently often overlooked by the company from her successes she is a former two-time Divas Champion and a three-time Women’s Champion. She also was a top tier manager of the MNM stable.
Recently, Melina spoke on Instinct Culture with Denise Salcedo about her time with WWE and if she would ever return if asked. She says she used to struggle a lot of the time because her heel persona presented something she wasn’t in real life. The character she portrayed was one that the audience was supposed to hate. This oftentimes found her depressed.
“I thought, ‘Oh my god, everyone hates me.’ The depression happened more so because when I was a little kid, I wanted to be a doctor. My heart was like, I want to save the world, I want to help people… But when I felt like nothing I was doing was right, that’s the way I felt.
Credit: WWE
I thought everybody hated me, that I wasn’t touching people’s lives, I wasn’t making a difference in this world. I wanted to be a part of charities when I saw people doing all the charity stuff in WWE. I wanted to be a part of that but because I was a heel, I couldn’t, so it felt like I wasn’t doing anything.”
From her heel persona many rumors started circulating about her. When there is an individual you don’t like, it generally becomes easier for the rumor mill to spin. She says she is generally a private person, so it caused people to make up things instead.
“It was a weird time for me where saying my name was never a good thing,” says Melina. “It’s also associated with the heel character and the rumors and all this stuff… Because I was such a private person, people wanted to know about me. They were intrigued but they didn’t see anything except the character. So, rumors get created and all this stuff, and I was raised to never talk about your personal life and it’s okay as long you know the truth. Which are all great things to say and to believe in, but the reality is if you don’t educate people on who you are they are left to believe whatever they want to believe.”
Credit: WWE
She continues, “15 years later, I hope people see who I actually am as a person,” Perez said. “But it’s been tough. It was hard for me to show people who I was. I was raised like a normal life [with] family and friends. And to go from that to being the most hated person, it was like, ‘Where can I connect?’ I wanna hug people, I wanted my fans to be family and hug them and thank them, but you have kayfabe and kayfabe is like, ‘No, you can’t be nice to people’.
And it was so isolating that it just became depressing for me. I couldn’t talk to anybody; I couldn’t show love. And I was just Melina the heel character. And sometimes my co-workers believed it too because I never talked. I was shy…. I couldn’t tell my family because I didn’t want them to worry, so in my mind, it was all about the work.”
Melina made a surprise appearance in WWE for the first time in eight years as she appeared in July 2019 at the RAW Reunion. She was seen backstage in a 24/7 Championship segment as a referee to declare Candice Michelle 24/7 Champion prior to Alundra Blayze taking the title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQLHKjbn7tc&t=6s
She was also asked if she would ever return to WWE if she was asked. This is what she had to say:
“I always say everything will happen if it’s meant to happen. If an opportunity shows up, of course. Like, who wouldn’t? But if there’s never an opportunity, I am okay with that too. I am thankful for what I’ve been able to do because I didn’t even think I would be able to do that.
She continues, “I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I would be on TV, or that I would have a video game or an action figure, or be in magazines in England, Australia, Mexico and different parts of other countries… I never thought I could do that, that that would be me. So all this, I am happy. I am very grateful.”
Credit: NWA
Currently Melina has been working with NWA.
What would you think of a return to WWE for Melina? Who would you like to see her face on the present-day roster? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
AEW is often under a microscope when it comes to its women’s division. The lack of booking and focus has been scrutinized since the start of the organization last year. Starting this past Monday the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw took place on AEW’s YouTube Channel. The fact that it happened on YouTube was getting some controversy as well.
Regardless, Brandi Rhodes recently spoke with Sports Illustrated stating that the idea of the tournament was her. Despite her being the Chief Brand Officer of the company, she states that it is not up to her for the booking of the women’s division.
She is hoping to get more eyes on the women’s division with this tournament.
“I see people saying they want more for the women in AEW, and that’s where my idea for the Tag Team Cup Tournament came from,” said Rhodes. “I don’t book the women’s division, but I help out wherever I can, and I’m really excited for this tournament. I hope people take their cues from the women involved because we’re really excited about this. This exists on its own, with no restraints. I think people are going to be charmed by it, both by the production and the talent. Very quickly, it’s become a labor of love, with graphics, travel, filming pre-tapes, every detail. People are working really hard to create new content. It’s not tacked onto Dark or Dynamite, this is the start of something great for the women’s division.”
The tournament will host a total of 16-women and 8-teams that are put together by random draw. Although the teams are “randomly” put together, Rhodes still winded up with her Nightmare Sisters tag team partner Allie. They advanced from the first round as they defeated Mel and Penelope Ford.
The other team that advanced in the first round was Tay Conti and Anna Jay as they defeated Ariane Andrew and former AEW Women’s World Champion Nyla Rose.
What do you think of the tournament so far? Who do you hope to see in it still and who would you like to see win it? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Big Swole returns to AEW tonight to face an opponent of Britt Baker‘s choosing.
Credit: AEW
Tensions have been running high for weeks between Swole and Baker, which lead to Swole being suspended at Fyter Fest – Night 2 for “kidnapping” Baker on Jun, 17 episode of Dynamite.
Big Swole managed to sneek into the arena to confront Baker. During the confrontation, Swole would viciously attack Baker with a piece of paper causing severe nasal injuries in the process.
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) July 9, 2020
Both competitors have thrown barbs at one another via interviews and on social media. The time for talking is over and Baker asked Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, Cody and The Bucks to lift Swole’s ban.
— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) August 5, 2020
Khan has removed Big Swole’s suspension and announced her return with an added stipulation. If Big Swole wins, Baker has promised to face her in a future match.
We have another exciting match to announce for #AEWDynamite on TNT tonight, as I’ve lifted the suspension of Big Swole @SwoleWorld, and tonight she’ll take on an opponent of Dr. Britt Baker’s choice! If Swole wins, Britt has promised she will compete in a future match vs. Swole. pic.twitter.com/4liNq1eAEI
The last time Big Swole was in action was the June, 1 episode of Dark where she defeated Rache Chanel. No doubt Swole be itching to get back into the ring and to get her hands on Baker.
Baker has been out of action due to a knee injury, and won’t be back in action until AEW All Out on Saturday, 5 September. So until then Big Swole will have to settle for Baker’s choice of opponent and judging by her tweet it is not going to be an easy night for the returing Swole.
What do you make of Big Swole’s return and who do you think her opponent will be? Let us know in the comments below. As always stay tuned to Diva Dirt for all of your AEW news, reviews and updates.
There was a lot of animosity towards the Golden Role Models as they now hold all the gold. The woman who has the most anger would be that of Asuka who lost the RAW Women’s Championship to Sasha Banks last week. This also saw the exit of Kairi Sane from the company. Asuka would say later on in the show “Kairi’s not here” and it broke my heart. Anyway, let’s keep going.
So there were two matches of the night. The first one was, wait for it – The Riott Squad vs. The IIconics. That’s right, another tearjerker of a moment that saw Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott reuniting. This all started with Riott as the special guest on Kevin Owens – The KO Show.
Owens first talked to Riott and went over how she was on such a losing slope from her return until she picked up her singles win against Peyton Royce. She has been having major problems with The IIconics lately and she finally came out on top.
KO then announced a special guest as he invited Liv Morgan out to the ring. Riott has been trying to contact Morgan for weeks with no such luck. She came out to give Riott a chance to speak what was on her mind. In a tearful segment, she went over their time together in the Riott Squad along with Sarah Logan and how she understands when she came back she went about everything the wrong way. She was providing her apology in hopes to win back some trust.
She saw that Morgan had moved on and was doing well on her own and she didn’t come back to things quite the same as they were when she was out with her injury. The IIconics music hits and the duo comes out.
Of course they try to rattle both Morgan and Riott and challenge them to a match. KO then asks if The IIconics mics could be cut (during this segment the mics were going in and out) and this prompted both Royce and Billie Kay to slap KO. He asked for some back up, and Riott and Morgan attacked them. This developed into a match between the two teams.
The match culminated to a win for the reunion of The Riott Squad as Morgan picked up the pin on Kay. Then The IIconics went on the attack as they both attacked her. Riott then saved her from the beating proving that them working together is better than apart. After Riott takes out Royce in the corner, she delivers a kick to the face of Kay.
Morgan and Riott would then team up to drop Kay to the mat by kicking her legs out from under her. They would leave the ring together in celebration.
Nia Jax had a segment as a follow up from her attacking WWE official Pat Buck last week. In her match against Shayna Baszler that ended in a double coun-out, Jax attacked Buck and was “fined” an undisclosed amount. This week she was in the ring to provide an apology to him.
She stated she would apologize to him, only after they have a match against each other. Jax wanted him to have a shot at a match as she felt that his in-ring career failed. He suggested that they take this to the back and talk about it in private as he wasn’t getting the apology he expected.
Jax instead wanted him to speak to her right then and there. He would then take to the mic and let everyone know that Jax is now suspended indefinitely. This of course infuriated her so she then attacked him again before leaving the ring and storming to the back.
Earlier in the night backstage during an interview, Bayley and Sasha Banks were highlighting last week’s win by Banks. This led to Shayna Baszler stepping in and knocking down Banks setting up for their match later on in the night.
This provided a unique and refreshing match as I believe this was the first singles match between these two competitors (at least that I can think of). The match showcased both women pretty well. It definitely was opposite of the domination that Baszler normally shows to her opponents. The match ended in a no contest as Asuka made her way down to the ring and attacked Bayley at ringside. The official called for the bell.
This caused both Banks and Bayley to retreat as Asuka gets interviewed about how she is feeling after last week’s loss and the exit of Kairi Sane. She says that Kairi is fine but she is no longer here, but she is. She is determined and ready to get back the RAW Women’s Championship and challenges Banks for a rematch at SummerSlam.
Baszler is still in the ring and she says she is rooting for Asuka. Because once Asuka beats Banks she wants to dethrone Asuka. Bayley and Banks come back out on the stage. Banks says that Asuka can have her rematch only if she defeats a former NXT Women’s Champion and a member of the Four Horsewomen. Swerving thinking that she is referring to Baszler, Banks says that she has to defeat Bayley next week.
Lastly, there was a brawl that was held back in the backstage area between Bianca Belair and Zelina Vega. In a match that involved Belair’s husband Montez Ford vs. Andrade, Ford collapsed from being “poisoned.” This heated Belair who feels that Vega and her stable had something to do with it. She was ready to go to blows with Vega, but both women were held back.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers of the week!
WINNER: The Riott Squad 2.0
In a much-needed way, Liv and Ruby’s reuniting is good to see. In a land where tag teams are minimal, it is good to see one come back together – especially this one. Hopefully, now we can get a build for them to get towards those tag titles and win their first gold in the company. Ruby was really impressive with her promo, it hit me right in the feels.
WINNER: Shayna Baszler
I enjoyed the match between her and Sasha. Shayna gets a lot of flack, but I can tell how hard of a worker she is even if it is an unpopular opinion. I also like how she is taking a step back and saying she wants Asuka over Sasha as well.
LOSER: Nia Jax
I don’t get what is going on. What is the point in her being fined and beating up a WWE official two weeks in a row? Her dominance doesn’t need to be proven. Unless for whatever reason this was a way to write her off for a bit, I don’t see the appeal. I was kind of hoping that Pat was going to turn around and become her manager, although she really doesn’t need one.
I hope they move forward with an actual feud with Bianca and Zelina. Although they have done it before and it is clear they are just doing this because they “have nothing else for Bianca” (which is ridiculous), I hope to get a few matches out of this.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Originally reported by Fightful and confirmed by IMPACT Wrestling, Jordynne Grace will be getting her rematch for the Knockouts Title. Grace dropped the title to Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary ending her first reign at 182-days.
This will go down at an event called Emergence. It will be a two-night event on August 18 & 25. This rematch will take place on the second night.
Promptly after being let go from WWE, Purrazzo showed up in IMPACT with an emphatic statement. She wanted to go straight to the top and that she did. She immediately targeted the then-champion Grace and showed how effective her Fujiwara Armbar could be.
Credit: IMPACT
Do you think that Grace can regain the title, or does the foreseeable future belong to Purrazzo? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
