Amari Miller had her first match back from injury as she faced Valentina Feroz on the Dec. 15 episode of NXT Level Up. Miller had been out of action with an ACL injury since January.
The final moments of the match had Miller in control after a knee strike to the chest of Feroz. Feroz was able to turn the match around to her favor when she grabbed the knee brace of Miller and then laying her out on the mat. Feroz went up top and hit a meteora to get the pin and the victory spoiling Miller’s return.
Time is almost up to get your final votes in for Diva Dirt and Ring the Belle’s year end Women’s Wrestling Fan Awards. Polls will be closing by 10 PM ET on Wednesday Dec. 20.
You can watch Ring the Belle’s latest news and rumors episode where at the end they cover the big categories to vote in and their opinions!
You can still submit your votes by visiting the voting page at the link below.
Mercedes Moné and any potential work with AEW is seemingly off the table.
Sean Ross Sapp speaking on Fightful Select’s Q&A has concluded that the once working plans between Moné and AEW are no longer. He hinted that this was the case recently when it was stated that talk between Moné and AEW had cooled off. Now it appears to be no longer.
Moné talked on a live stream recently that she intends to return to the ring from her injury in 2024. She also shared a video of her training back in the ring.
There has been no word on when or where Moné will wrestle next.
Athena will be ending 2023 the way she started it and that is still the ROH Women’s World Championship. She faced Billie Starkz in the main event of Final Battle, which is only the second time women have main evented a ROH pay-per-view.
Athena gets the win with an armlock submission.
Athena kicked out of the Star Ten from Starkz. Starkz blocked the O-Face, but after a series of reversals, she could not avoid the submission from Athena.
Post Match Athena and Starkz embraced as a sign of respect.
Other match results from Final Battle includes Taya Valkyrie defeating Jazmin Allure and Nyla Rose defeating VertVixen.
WWE taped a second SmackDown on Dec. 16 for the Dec. 222 episode due to the holidays. The match was already announced but you will see the results below thanks to Cagematch :
We’re told that there is “absolutely no heat” on Liv Morgan following the arrest.
“Liv has not been on TV, did not alter creative plans, and was honest about the situation, there are no issues with her whatsoever” one WWE staff member said.
“Everybody liked Liv before, everybody still likes Liv. We’ll get our jokes off, and she’ll get hers off and nobody will be thinking about it soon enough,” one top talent told Fightful.
One WWE name said that Morgan bonded out Thursday, and was back on Twitter promoting Smackdown on Friday.
*In speaking to WWE sources this morning, while Morgan’s arrest was not widely known within WWE before it became public, but we are told several top executives were aware and had spoken with Morgan the day after the arrest, but had kept the information within a small circle.
We are told that Morgan had already been penciled in as to when she would be returning to company storylines in 2024 and currently, this is not believed to change those plans. The belief was she would be back in by the build to Wrestlemania and was very much in the mix for what we are told is a “a high profile program.”
*We are told that internally within the company, the arrest does not currently appear to have hurt her standing. Morgan’s always been well liked and considered a hard worker and we are told by sources that while they obviously want the situation to be resolved ASAP, it’s not an issue that’s currently going to put her in danger of being released. As several have pointed out to PWInsider.com, there have been talents with DUI arrests that have remained with the company, and Morgan was not charged with anything as serious criminally as a DUI.
*One story making the way in the company is that the vape pen, which allegedly contained a synthetic substance that Morgan was charged with possession of, actually belonged to someone else but had been left in her jeep. We are told WWE is waiting for the legal process to play out. Morgan is slated to be officially arraigned in February in Sumter County, Florida.
In case you missed the Dec. 15 episode of SmackDown, here you go.
In a well crafted vignette by Damage CTRL, a lot was said about the strength of the group. In fact with the addition of Asuka and Kairi Sane, they have been stronger than ever.
Bayley announces that she will be entering the 2024 Royal Rumble match which makes her the first woman to declare this. She then states that all of Damage CTRL will be dripping in gold when the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) take the tag titles from Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. And once Bayley wins the Rumble she will beat Rhea Ripley to become the Women’s World Champion.
Following the vignette, the Kabuki Warriors (who came out to their theme), made their way to the ring to take on Michin and Zelina Vega. Before they could get to the ring they were jumped on the ramp by their opponents. But by the end of the match, Dakota Kai would provide a distraction to the referee allowing Bayley to knock Michin down from the top turnbuckle. Sane gets the pin off of the Insane Elbow.
One week later and WWE has confirmed Charlotte Flair’s injury.
Flair, who was injured in her match against Asuka last week, is confirmed to be her knee and she will be out for at least nine months. This was announced from commentary on the Dec. 15 episode of SmackDown.
Flair had returned from a brief time off in June and has been an integral part of the SmackDown roster. She attempted to become the WWE Women’s Champion against both Asuka and then IYO SKY. She recently teamed with Shotzi, Bianca Belair, and Becky Lynch as winners in this year’s WarGames match.
WWE’s Liv Morgan was reportedly arrested yesterday, Dec. 14, after being stopped on a traffic stop. This took place in Sumter County, Florida.
According to PWInsider, “Morgan was arrested for possession of marijuana (not more than 20 grams) and possession of drugs, possibly synthetic cannabinoid.”
“Morgan has already bonded out and was released last night at 10:04 PM.”
If you haven’t yet voted for the Women’s Wrestling Fan Awards, you may do so by clicking here. Polls close next week. Winners to be announced to end the year.
A tag team match has been added to the Dec. 15 episode of SmackDown tonight.
Building up from last week, Michin and Zelina Vega want their hands on Damage CTRL. Michin and Vega attacked both Kairi Sane and IYO SKY last week keeping them from interfering in Charlotte Flair’s match with Asuka. This was their fight back from having been taken out as possible WarGames participants.
Michin and Vega will take on Asuka and Sane tonight.
Mickie James is down for an appearance in the 2024 Royal Rumble….but only if she wins!
James made the world of wrestling shocked when she appeared in the 2022 Royal Rumble as the IMPACT Knockouts World Champion.
Speaking with Gabby AF on if she would return to WWE in the 2024 Royal Rumble,
“I’m not coming back at this Rumble unless I’m winning because Hardcore Country at WrestleMania? It prints itself. Because the winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania. If you win the Rumble, you automatically get a title shot,” James said. (Fightful)
What if she did win? Who would she want to face?
“Rhea. You know why? Because I’ve never faced her. I never had a chance to wrestle her. I think Mami needs to take on The Mother. [laughs]”
James cleared up rumors lately once her profile was removed from IMPACT’s website. She explained that she is a free agent and was taking time off. When she returns to the ring could be anywhere and anytime.
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa, who has been out of action since August 2022 with a back injury, says God willing she will be back on Dec. 23. Recently she spoke with San Antonio’s News 4 that she is ready to come back, just waiting on the call.
Now, Rosa tells the San Antonio Express the following –
“There was hope ‘Maybe I can do it in Oakland.’ It’s in God’s hands right now. If it’s in God’s hands, I return on December 23. I think that would be such a blessing. I would be doing it again in front of my people. People that have been with me throughout this whole entire journey, the good and bad moment. What better way than to repay them with a happy moment. At the end of the day, I return, and life has given you another opportunity to do something you love is such a blessing,” she said. (Fightful)
AEW Collision was in Oakland back in November. Until her return happens, it is unknown when exactly Rosa is set to return, but it sounds like soon!
Macey Estrella, better known by Lacey Evans in WWE, recently spoke about her leaving WWE. In August of this year, Estella requested her release from the company at the end of her contract. This was granted.
While speaking to Chris VanVliet, she answered why she hasn’t taken any bookings since leaving WWE –
“No, I have not [taken any bookings]. I’ve had a lot obviously reach out. But I did WWE for seven years and it was never my passion, that was never a secret. It was incredible to see my fellow sports entertainers [succeed], that is their passion. But I just knew that I went out there and did the best that I could, I did my job. But I always looked forward to coming home. My family obviously travelled with me, everywhere that I went for the most part, and that was a struggle, right?
Because when I got signed with WWE, I was a mom and I was a wife. I’ve been with my husband since I was 15. It was an incredible opportunity. But it was a lot for whenever you compare what your passion is, and you’re wise and WWE is very, very difficult. If you’re on the road well over 300 days a year, they want a lot from you. And there was always something in the back of my head that was like what the fuck am I doing?”
She was also asked if there is any desire to go back to WWE.
“Do you want me to lie? No, there’s not [a desire to go back],” admitted Evans. “You know, some people, they wake up and they put on six-inch stilettos and 10 pounds of makeup and their extensions and they go walk the red carpet and they feel amazing. I’m not those people. And it was very difficult for me, right? To kind of put on that front. And because WWE does a lot of good stuff for a lot of people, but I just felt like more could be done for my why, right?”
It is hard to believe that the end of 2023 is just a few weeks away, which means that the Royal Rumble is quickly approaching. 30 women will once again vye to become the Royal Rumble winner and head to WrestleMania to face a champion of their choosing. Believe it or not, this will be the seventh women’s Rumble.
So who will join Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, and Rhea Ripley as Royal Rumble winner? Let’s go over five women who should win the 2024 Royal Rumble match. These are in no particular order.
Normally I would never want a winner of the Royal Rumble to be someone who can easily be booked in a WrestleMani match, but Bayley is different. She doesn’t easily get booked at WrestleMania, especially in a singles match.
In addition to her prior booking issues, ever since forming Damage CTRL, Bayley has been working on elevating other talent. With her likely finding herself on the outs with the stable she started, 2024 should be her year to rise to the top. And if she were to win and challenge IYO SKY it makes sense story wise.
Nia Jax is another name who can likely get on the Mania card. However, with her just coming back she needs to do more of the leg work. Arguably, Jax has been better received during this run and is looking to use that momentum to become champion. Even tho the “monster heel” winning a Rumble generally doesn’t provide the best response and excitement, but with her return it may be just the right move.
Jax now feuding with a top star in Becky Lynch will continue to keep eyes on her until the Rumble.
This is probably the biggest long shot on this list, but who wouldn’t want a Royal Rumble win from a legend?
Of all the legends that have been in the Rumble match, thanks to Stratus’ recent run, makes her the only likely one to win it. She has been around the current roster enough that her taking on lets say Rhea Ripley would be a big possibility. Stratus being in another singles WrestleMania match would also be a fun watch especially if lets say Lita returned for some revenge.
Much like Bayley, Baszler has had a similar past couple years with everything being about her opponents and less beyond her. Other than a few tag team championship reigns, Baszler hasn’t been what she was in NXT.
Baszler, up until just a couple weeks ago, continues to put over other talent, most recently Nia Jax. Baszler needs something like a Royal Rumble win to get her back on top.
Liv would be the one that would benefit the most from a Royal Rumble win. Being out of action for months, if they hold off her return until the Rumble then that would get a huge reaction. She also was the runner up of the 2023 match from the number two position, so we know she can go the distance.
Morgan is very over with the fan base and would need this win to propel her career further. And if she wins and goes on to face lets say Rhea Ripley, they have a history there. A history many fans would like to see taken to the next level.
While you are voting, continue to do so for the Women’s Wrestling Fan Awards by clicking here.
Due to the holiday season, the next two (and final episodes of 2023) episodes of NXT have been taped. Below are the results courtesy of PWInsider.
Dec. 19
Fallon Henley defeated Tiffany Stratton with a rollup. After the match, Stratton attacked Henley and they fight to the back with Stratton dumping the contents of a trash can on Henley.
Izzi Dame and Kiana James defeated Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail when Hail was pinned by Dame Hail had Kiana in a kimura but James was not the legal person in the match. Riley Osborne was in the crowd to watch the match.
In a locker room segment, Perez comments on the tag match. Arianna Grace responds to Perez’s comments and Perez slaps Grace.
Cora Jade enters the locker room and talks about how she is back. She takes back her locker, that is being used by Karmen Petrovic. She takes down Karmen’s name plate and then throws Karmen’s gear out of the locker. Karmen enters the locker room and wonders what happened to her stuff. Gigi tells Karmen that Cora did it.
Nikkita Lyons defeated Tatum Paxley.
Dec. 26
Cora Jade defeats Karmen Petrovic with a Future Shock DDT.
Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne were in the Chase U Student Section to watch Riley Osborne vs. Lexis King match. Riley won.
The December 13 episode of AEW Dynamite saw Riho go one-on-one with Ruby Soho for the second time ever while AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm watched the action from commentary.
This rivalry is burning hot on #AEWDynamite as Riho and Ruby Soho are vying to prove to "Timeless" Toni Storm that they are worthy challengers for the #AEW Women's World Championship.
Soho started out with the momentum, but Riho managed to nail a stomp to send Soho out of the ring. Soho made her comeback and kept Riho grounded until the latter pulled out a Tiger Feint Kick.
We agree with "Timeless" Toni Storm, kudos for the wrestling. Ruby Soho looks to take control over Riho.
Riho kept her momentum going with a diving crossbody followed by a trading of pinfall attempts. Riho landed the Crucifix Bomb, while Soho hit No Future for a nearfall. In the end, Riho finished it off with a Meteora for the win.
Riho and Ruby Soho are pulling out all the stops to get the victory tonight on #AEWDynamite!
Afterward, Riho and Storm stared each other down from a distance as a future title match seems inevitable.
As of this writing, no new women’s matches were announced for Rampage or Collision. However, Friday’s ROH Final Battle event will be headlined by Billie Starkz vs. Athena for the ROH Women’s World Championship.
What did you think of this week’s Dynamite? Sound off below!
TNA star Savannah Evans recently underwent knee surgery, PWInsider.com has confirmed.
Evans had been dealing with bone spurs in her knee. They required surgery to remove and she underwent the procedure earlier this month.
The expectation is that Evans should be done recovering and rehabbing in time to return to the ring for the TNA Hard to Kill PPV next month in Las Vegas.
Evans last match for IMPACT was in September. In a previously taped match, Evans and Gisele Shaw vs. MK Ultra will air this Thursday.
The NXT after Deadline had the return of Cora Jade continue as she started the show with a mic in hand. She went on to say that while she was out for four months all she kept hearing was when was she going to return. In addition, although she agreed the Iron Survivor Challenge match was great, nobody is talking about it because of her return being on everybody’s lips.
The NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria made her way out to the ring. She said Jade missed something in her speech and that’s the fact that she was jumped by her at Deadline. Blair Davenport joined the party who will be facing Valkyria at New Year’s Evil on Jan. 2 from winning the Iron Survivor moniker.
Lastly, Nikkita Lyons made her way out yelling that Davenport was the one who jumped her in the parking lot and took her out for most of the year. This led to a brawl between the four women and set up a tag team match for later in the show, Jade and Davenport vs. Valkyria and Lyons.
A mixed tag team match between Meta Four and Fallon Henley/Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen took place as both teams got into it backstage at Deadline.The final moments of the match had Henley and Lash Legend spill to the outside which caused Tiffany Stratton to come out to the ring. Henley quickly pounced on Stratton and the two brawled to the backstage area leaving the men to finish the match.
Briggs would picked up the win by pinning Noam Darr. He now wants to go after the Heritage cup. Fallon vs. Tiffany is now set for next week.
Lyons went to talk to Valkyria in the locker room. They share their disdain for their opponents. Lyons noticed the photo of Valkyria and Becky Lynch in Valkyria’s locker now has Tatum Paxley’s face now pasted over Lynch’s.
The final moments of the match saw Davenport with a vicious knee to the champions face. Lyons pulled Davenport out of the ring, but Jade was the legal woman and pinned Valkyria! Post match, Paxley entered the ring as Lyons was trying to console Valkyria. She tossed Lyons out of the ring and with a feather in hand got real close with Valkyria!
We also saw some tension backstage between Chase U’s Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail with Kiana James and Izzi Dame. This is all from a crush that Hail has on Riley Osborne.
A tag team match between the four women is set for next week.
Blair Davenport won the Iron Survivor Challenge meaning that she will face Valkyria at New Year’s Evil on Jan. 2. However, she isn’t the only opponent ready. We have Lola Vice who won the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament, and Cora Jade who returned at Deadline and attacked Valkyria from behind.
Cora Jade will be kicking off NXT tonight.
We also will have Nikkita Lyons return with a segment as she attacked Davenport last week.
Fallon Henley wants to “saddle up” with Mickie James and go for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Currently, Henley is climbing the ladder in NXT while James remains a free agent and is ready to return to a wrestling ring when the time is right.
In a social media post, Henley shares the following –
@MickieJames hear me out… what if we saddled up, you taught me to be hardcore country and we went for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. I’ll bring the drinks! ?
@MickieJames hear me out… what if we saddled up, you taught me to be hardcore country and we went for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. I’ll bring the drinks! ? https://t.co/819e9CQpwE
The current champions, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven will defend their titles against Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on the Dec. 18 episode of Raw. Henley is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion with Kiana James.
Mickie may be a free agent, but her name was mentioned on Raw last night. During the promo delivered by CM Punk, he mentioned his debut and how he had Mickie James on his arm. James responded to the segment as follows.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Piper Niven and Chelsea Green are set to defend their titles next week on the Dec. 18 edition of Raw. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance were able to defeat Tegan Nox and Natalya last week plus Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae this week to earn a shot at the tag belts.
Carter and Chance are the longest reigning tag team champions in a single reign when they were the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Now they look to capture the current tag titles. Their defeat against Hartwell and LeRae was thanks to their After Party finisher.
This will be Niven & Green’s third title defense as they previously defeated Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail and more recently Tegan Nox and Natalya.
Also on this week’s Raw, Ivy “Pitbull” Nile stood up and came face to face with the Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley. The staredown took place after Ripley took care of Maxxine Dupri in a quick match. Dupri tapped out to the Prism after suffering the Riptide.
Lastly, Becky Lynch had a promo where she called out Nia Jax. Five years since Jax punched Lynch and broke her face and Lynch is ready to fight. Lynch explained how she and Jax kept missing each other. Whether it was Jax having double ACL surgery – “even her knees wouldn’t stand up for her,” or if it was Lynch headlining WrestleMania. Then comes the time that Jax was fired of course.
Jax states that with all of the careers she “almost ended” it is funny because she made Lynch’s. Lynch says if she can’t end the lie that she is a main event star only because of Jax then she will just have to end Jax.
Jax followed up by saying that Lynch has to prove her career wasn’t just some accident when she broke her face. Otherwise it will always be Jax as the woman who made The Man. Lynch then wanted a fight, but Jax left the ring leading to a fight having to take place another day.
If you haven’t yet voted in this year’s Women’s Fan Awards, the polls are still open. VOTE!!
For those that may not be in the know, Charlotte Flair was injured this past Friday on SmackDown during her match with Asuka. It appeared that she slipped off the top rope during a high risk move and landed badly. She favored her knee and even audibly mentioned the pain after the match.
Update:
This is the moment from commercial break on last night’s #SmackDown in which Charlotte Flair got injured.
Thank you to @Ricksofa for sharing this, and I hope Flair recovers quickly and the injury isn’t tremendously serious. ??
Charlotte Flair was originally scheduled for this weekend’s WWE live events but was pulled after being hurt while wrestling Asuka on Friday Night Smackdown.
There has been no concrete update on Flair beyond some being extremely concerned the knee injury could be fairly serious.
The former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa has been out for quite some time due to a back injury. In fact, she hasn’t had a match in about 15 months. Her last match was on AEW Dark: Elevation is a six woman tag match where she was on the winning team in August 2022.
Talking with News 4 in San Antonio, Rosa had the following to say about her status –
“I am ready. Whenever that call and my boss says ‘it’s time for you to return’.
I am super excited and I cannot wait to show to the world and you fans that have been supporting all this time that I am ready and have a lot more to give.”
Rosa had to vacate the title and Toni Storm won her first gold in the company at the time in a Four Way that also included Dr. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Jamie Hayter. This was originally an “interim” reign but was turned into an actual reign once Rosa relinquished the gold. By that time, Hayter had become champion.
Athena has fully reinvented herself since being the mainstay of ROH. She has now reached 365 days as the ROH Women’s World Champion as of Dec. 10. She defeated Mercedes Martinez for the gold at ROH’s Final Battle. Athena has also become the first of two women (Willow Nightingale as her opponent) to main event a ROH pay-per-view. And she is about to do it a second time.
Athena has had many challengers of these 365 and has defeated the likes of Kiera Hogan, Allysin Kay, Skye Blue, Willow Nightingale, Miyu Yamashita, Emi Sakura, and more. She will be facing her former minion in training Billie Starkz this year at Final Battle that will take place on Dec. 15. This will be the main event.
Below you can catch some of Athena’s matches during her historical reign.
