Becky Lynch is still the NXT Women’s Champion after doing battle with Indi Hartwell on the Oct. 23 episode of Raw.
Prior to the match, Lynch was being interviewed backstage about her bout with Hartwell which was up next. During the interview, Xia Li was lurking in the background. Lyra Valkyria who will face Lynch on Oct. 24 Halloween Havoc, was front row for this match.
Candice LeRaw stayed backstage to watch Hartwell take on Lynch. In a solid match which picked up in the middle, Lynch took away the win. Hartwell tapped out in the DisarmHer.
After the match, Li attacked LeRae backstage and told her it was a message to send to Hartwell as well. Li vs. LeRae us set for next week.
Also ahead of the Fatal Five-way for the Women’s World Championship at Crown Jewel, a contract signing took place. GM Adam Pearce attempted to get Raquel Rodriguez, Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler, and Nia Jax’s signatures eithout involving the champ. However, that backfired as Ripley who had a busy night trying to get Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre on the Judgment Day’s side, made her way to the ring.
After claiming she will remain at the top of the division, Jax spoke up and explained to the other three competitors that Ripley will use her to do most if the work.
Later in the night, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was talking to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, potentially trying to convince then to come to the blue brand.
Natalya confirmed on the Oct. 23 episode of Raw that her tag team partner Tegan Nox is injured. Her injury was not mentioned but was said to have take place last week on NXT in her match against Lyra Valkyria. Natalya confirms that Nox will be “back soon.”
Fans learned about this in a locker room segment when Natalya wished Indi Hartwell good luck in her match against Becky Lynch. Candice LeRae was also present.
Later in the night, Natalya would find a tag team partner to take on Chelsea Green and Piper Niven in a non-title match. Well sort of? Her partner was Nikki Cross who walked to the ring like a zombie.
Natalya started the match before Cross made it to the ring apron. Once on the apron, Cross stood there in a trance until Natalya was heading for a pin. Cross leapt down from the ring apron and walked to the back still in a trance.
Final moments of the match had Green hit the Unprettiher followed by a cross body splash by Niven. Niven pinned Natalya for the win.
Tonight’s Raw has Becky Lynch defending the NXT Women’s Championship against Indi Hartwell.
With Crown Jewel rapidly approaching, the Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley finds herself in a Fatal Five Way at that event. What will we see next between Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez, Zoey Stark, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler?
We have also seen a feud brewing between the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green/Piper Niven and Tegan Nox/Natalya. Nox took on Lyra Valkyria last week on NXT with Natalya in her corner, but thanks to Green/Niven it was a loss for Nox. What will we see tonight?
Feel free to discuss the show in the comment section below.
According to a recent interview with Raquel Rodriguez, her former tag team partner Liv Morgan will likely being returning soon from injury.
Morgan was last seen in the ring back in July when she and Rodriguez dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships to Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Morgan was also out prior to that with the perceived same injury to her shoulder that happened in the same match where Dakota Kai injured her ACL.
“Yeah, I’ve talked to Liv. She’s doing great. She’s really recovering well. She’s in very good spirits, and of course, she’s very, very anxious to come back. I don’t have a specific date of when she’ll be back. We’re all waiting for her. I know, I miss her terribly. So I’m very excited for that. But I feel like time has been flying, and she’s just been on it, on her recovery. So I would assume she’d be back sooner rather than later, and probably before any of us can really imagine.”
The Oct. 23 episode of WWE Raw will have an NXT Women’s Championship match take place. Becky Lynch continues to take all challengers and this Monday will be Indi Hartwell. Hartwell continues to let Lynch know she never lost the belt so the two will go at it tonight with the gold on the line.
Xia Li has also been wanting a shot at Becky’s title but is wanting it on her terms.
Set for Crown Jewel in less than two weeks is a Fatal Five-way where Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will take on Nia Jax, Zoey Stark, Raquel Rodriguez, and Shayna Baszler.
What more will take place between these five women before they battle on Nov. 4?
Check back in with Diva Dirt at show time to talk about Raw live!
Sonny Kiss made her debut with IMPACT at Bound for Glory over the weekend. She appeared in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet and eliminated Gisele Shaw before being taken out by Matt Cardona and Bryan Myers.
According to PWInsider, Kiss will be making a regular appearance going forward. However, it is is not clear whether or not she has signed a deal with the promotion.
Kiss previously was under contract with AEW and was not re-signed making her a free agent.
Trinity went toe-to-toe with a legend on Saturday night at Bound for Glory as she took on Mickie James. A match Trinity went on record to say that she had to win in order to truly feel like the Knockouts World Champion.
The final moments of the match, James spikes the champion with a tornado DDT out of the corner but it’s not enough to keep Trinity down for a three count. James avoids the X-Factor, the rolls her up for two. James uses the ropes to her advantage but Trinity comes back and locks in Star Struck to win by submission.
Trinity will next face Deonna Purrazzo defending the championship at Turning Point. If Purrazzo doesn’t win then she will not get another championship shot as long as Trinity is the champion. The event takes place on Oct. 27 but will air on Nov. 3.
BREAKING: @TheTrinity_Fatu will defend the Knockouts World Title against @DeonnaPurrazzo on October 27 at Turning Point in Newcastle – and it's the last time Deonna can challenge Trinity so long as Trinity is champion.
The Knockouts World Tag Team Match of MK Ultra (c) vs. Tasha Steelz and Deonna Purrazzo was cut from Bound for Glory but was taped beforehand and will air at a later date.
On the Oct. 21 episode of Collision it was confirmed that Ruby Soho will get a match against the AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida on this week’s Dynamite.
Soho spoke with Lexy Nair backstage and stated that everyone else thinks that they deserve title shots but it is truly her that does.
The match on Collision witnessed Skye Blue defeat Hollyhood Haley J.
On Battle of the Belts that followed, Kris Statlander remains TBS Champion after defeating Willow Nightingale. The final moments of the match had Statlander land a powerbomb and then a 450 splash. Post-match, Statlander and Nightingale went to shake hands but Skye Blue emerged and slapped Nightingale’s hand away telling her not to shake Statlander’s. Nightingale did anyway much to the disappointment of Blue.
We got a slugfest between two powerhouses tonight on Battle of the Belts!
At the end of this year’s Bound For Glory, some exciting news for long time IMPACT fans has been announced. Starting at Hard to Kill in January, the TNA name will be officially back.
TNA IS BACK!
TNA Wrestling RETURNS starting from Hard To Kill on January 13 LIVE on PPV from the Palms in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/2qyaiDxvKI
A near five minute video aired with various Knockouts and the men of IMPACT. Jordynne Grace and Alisha Edwards joined Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards, Eric Young, Josh Alexander, and Frankie Kazarian to make the announcement. Kazarian emerged from the water to deliver the box to the rest as Alexander opened it.
IMPACT changed its named to such in 2017 after 13 years under the TNA banner.
BREAKING: IMPACT Wrestling is returning to its iconic Total Nonstop Action Wrestling name at #HardToKill in January, which will originate for the first time ever from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Jordynne Grace becomes the first Knockout to ever win the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match. The match has taken place now four previous times at Bound for Glory and despite Knockouts entering prior matches, one hasn’t walked away with the win…until now.
Grace last won by eliminating Bully Ray. She would then call her shot for Hard to Kill for the Knockouts World Championship.
Competitors in the gauntlet included Dirty Dango, Jonathan Gresham, Rich Swann, Frankie Kazarian, Heath, Brian Myers, Joe Hendry, Eric Young, Matt Cardona, Bully Ray, Sonny Kiss,KiLynn King, Jody Threat, Gisele Shaw, Johnny Swinger, Juventud Guerrera, Kenny King, Eddie Edwards, and Jake Something.
This was Sonny Kiss’ debut in IMPACT. Currently Kiss is a free agent after wrapping up time in AEW.
NXT’s Jakara Jackson was pulled from her first round match in the Women’s Breakout Tournament that was set to take place on Oct. 17. It was confirmed prior to the match that she wasn’t cleared to compete. She was set to face Arianna Grace but at the time the cause of her injury was unknown.
Jackson confirms she has suffered a broken bone. On her Instagram story, Jackson showed her wrist and arm bandaged up. She captioned it, “break my bones, but I’ll find a way.”
There is no word on how long Jackson will be out of action.
IMPACT’s hottest event of the year, Bound for Glory, takes place today on Oct. 21. Heading into tonight’s show, there are three matches that include the Knockouts. Below will be our predictions of the outcomes. Feel free to share yours in the comment section below!
This will be the 5th annual Call Your Shot Gauntlet match. It is intergender and the winner receives a trophy and a contract they can invoke anytime within one year for a championship match of their choosing. At this time, a Knockout has yet to win this match in the prior four entries. Can this change tonight?
So far, the Knockouts confirmed are: Gisele Shaw, Jody Threat, Jordynne Grace, and KiLynn King. It is a 20 person match so the men included are, Jake Something, Dirty Dango, Champagne Singh, Eric Young, Shera, Brian Meyers, Bully Ray, Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, Eddie Edwards, and Kenny King. That leaves still five spots open.
Predictions:
NICK – I am hoping for a Knockout to finally win this match, and I think the woman to do it is Jordynne Grace. Grace recently returned to IMPACT and signed a new deal. She is the one Knockout to consistently get in the ring with the men and I think they need to finally pull that trigger and let her win a male only championship.
WINNER – Jordynne Grace
COLBY – It appears that at least four Knockouts will take part in this year’s Call Your Shot gauntlet match including Jordynne Grace, KiLynn King, Jody Threat, and Gisele Shaw. Knockouts have appeared in this bout before, but it has only been won by men. This year, I would like to see that change. Honestly, any of the Knockouts announced could walk out with the trophy in hand, but I see Grace and Shaw standing out above the pack. Based on my predictions for the Knockouts title match, I’m going to go with The Quintessential Diva to make history here.
WINNER – Gisele Shaw
Next we have the Knockouts World Tag Team Championships on the line.
NICK – An interesting match indeed. For those that don’t know Deonna and Tasha’s history may look at this on paper and be confused. But they trained together at the start of their careers. So I get the good vibes. However, since they haven’t fully shown that on screen as much as I think they should I think the team needs more time to cook. So MK Ultra who has such a fully formed package will take this.
WINNERS – MK Ultra
COLBY – This match excites me just from an in-ring standpoint knowing what all four are capable of. Purrazzo is in an interesting spot right now as she currently sits out of the Knockouts World title picture and her character remains in that tweener role, but almost leaning heel for this tag team at least. A partnership with Steelz sounds exciting, but I’m not ready to see MK Ultra lose the gold just yet. The tag division has been rather light for some time, and constantly switching the titles when a new team forms isn’t the answer. The story can be expanded with MK Ultra retaining.
WINNERS: MK Ultra
Lastly we have the Knockouts World Champion vs. a Legend. Two veterans who haven’t had that one-on-one finally get to do so.
NICK – This has match of the year potential just by looking at the two names. I see that Mickie could take the title back but I don’t feel that time is now. It just wouldn’t feel right. And Trinity is on a mission to feel 100% whole with that championship gold and she won’t feel that unless she has beaten the GOAT Mickie James. So I think this won’t be the last we see of this match up but round one will go to Ms. Trinity.
WINNER – Trinity
COLBY – One can argue the build has not been as great as it could’ve been. That aside, I personally don’t need a lot of build because I’ve been ready to see this match. Trinity has had a fun run since winning the title at Slammiversary, and Mickie is now back in the fold after her untimely rib injury. Mickie has every right to go back after the title she never lost, and there are plenty of routes this could go. Does Mickie turn heel, win or lose? Does the potential Call Your Shot winner cash in immediately after? What’s next for Trinity if she beats Mickie? The one scenario that stands out in my mind is Trinity retains against Mickie, but then Shaw cashes in right after to keep their feud going and to finally crown Shaw after her numerous attempts to capture the big one. For the official prediction, though, I’m sticking with the champ.
The final moments of the match had Damage CTRL of course getting involved to help. First it was Bayley who put SKY’s foot on the bottom rope which enraged The Queen. She chased Bayley with punches ringside and tossed her over the commentary desk.
While Flair was dealing with Bayley, Dakota Kai snuck the title belt to SKY and then distracted the referee on the apron. Flair made it back in the ring and hit a spear but SKY was holding the belt in the way. SKY would get the pin to retain
Damage CTRL would beat up on Flair after the match until Bianca Belair made her return. She was last seen over two months ago. Belair hit the KOD on Bayley after first trying to do so to SKY. Belair helped up Flair and the two stood tall to end the show.
Trinity and Mickie James will be across the ring from each other at Bound for Glory on Saturday, but last night the duo won a tag team affair. They faced Savannah Evans and Gisele Shaw in the main event.
The final moments of the match, Shaw and Evans delivered a backbreaker dropkick combo to James but Trinity breaks the pin attempt. Trinity takes Shaw out of the match with a slingshot Facebuster. James hit a Mick-DT on Evans to get the pin.
KiLynn King defeated Jody Threat on BTI with her King’s Curse.
Here is your preview for the Oct. 20 episode of SmackDown.
The WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY will be defending her championship against Charlotte Flair. At Fastlane, Flair had the chance to become a 15-time champion in a match that also included Asuka. Even though Flair cause Asuka to tap out, the referee was busy with Bayley which allowed SKY to remain champion. Last week, the new GM, Nick Aldis, agreed to a rematch for Flair.
Flair also ran into Jade Cargill in their first on-screen meeting.
The are current rumblings that Bianca Belair may return tonight after a two month absence.
Check back in with Diva Dirt tonight to talk about the show live.
The Garcia Twins, both Nikki and Brie, recently spoke on the Not Skinny, But Not Fat Podcast. In addition to confirming they plan on wrestling again in the future, likely with another company, the twins comment on their exit from WWE.
The Garcia (Bella Twins) on leaving WWE and WWE not even having a conversation with them about them keeping their in-ring names: pic.twitter.com/coGalBydgO
Nikki explains that a conversation wasn’t even had with them on continuing with the Bella surname. They confirmed they were going by their real last maiden names of Garcia moving forward back in March.
The Garcia Twins [FKA Bella Twins] talk about how WWE never had a conversation with them about keeping their in-ring names amidst them leaving the company:
Nikki: “We thought ‘oh maybe there’ll be a conversation because we have such a huge brand & we were actually making WWE a… pic.twitter.com/D8EvtKHVnL
“We thought ‘oh maybe there’ll be a conversation because we have such a huge brand & we were actually making WWE a lot of money’, so we actually thought there was gonna be a conversation of like ‘ok if you guys aren’t re-signing let’s talk about the name, maybe when you do future projects we take a percentage, you keep the name.’ I’ll be honest I got a lawyer letter, 4-hours before my contract was ending they were ceasing it all, so I keep that letter in my office so I could always see it & just know that as I enter this new chapter, that it’s like I get to see what wasn’t even talked about of something that I built for 20-years but know that I have the power as a Woman to build something else for the next 20-years.”
The Bella Twins were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.
Alicia Fox officially ended her contract with WWE earlier this year, although she hasn’t been a consistent talent for a few years. She had sporadic appearances since 2021 including Royal Rumble appearances.
https://youtu.be/YaXJ6pMpHw8?si=27VlzwS8FqVAA0Uw
During a recent interview with the Pope’s Point of View podcast, Fox now going by Vix Crow, spoke about her treatment in WWE.
We are independent contractors. They borrow our bodies,” she said. “More importantly, y’all are wrestlers, either trying to go to the machine or most of us are trying to still run so far away from it. The thing is, is like they’re not the only machine in town and they haven’t been. So what is the nostalgia about? Because human nature, by its nature, can experience nostalgia for the past. No wonder the wrestling fans are like, ‘Oh my god, wrestling!’ no matter where they are.
“As long as that particular company has been doing blackface and our bosses have been doing these characters, it makes sense to me now why they were treating me like this,” she added.” For me, I didn’t study the history of wrestling going forward. I lived that experience linearly. I did what they told me to do, I drove those hours. I was on a tour bus with my fiancé being driven around. I also wasn’t bringing camera crews in to exploit my friends on an already exploited agreement.” (Fightful)
Fox has recently been involved in Booker T’s Reality of Wresting promotion.
The IMPACT Knockouts World Champion Trinity has had an emotionally couple of years. From leaving WWE and rejuvenating herself in IMPCT she is now on the horizon to defend her championship against the legend Mickie James.
Before they meet at Bound for Glory this weekend, Trinity spoke with James and the rest on Busted Open Radio and had the following to say about lifting up her self esteem and how her current IMPACT run has boosted her stardom.
“It’s very reassuring, and it makes me happy, and it makes me feel fulfilled in a lot of ways. This wrestler journey, especially as a woman, it’s not an easy road. There are a lot of highs and lows, and somewhere along my career, I stopped feeling — I didn’t feel like I was of value to the women’s division, I wasn’t a star,” Trinity admitted.
“Those things really started to set in my head, which is also why I think it led me down this road to really figure it out and prove for myself, not for anybody else, that I belong in this world in this business, and that I am a game changer, and that I am a star. I really needed it to prove that to myself, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Even with all the negativity that happened with my situation, I really feel that it led me to where I am now, to IMPACT, and to be given this opportunity to prove myself, for myself. I hope that, in the future, it inspires others that when one door closes just know, as long as you keep going, that you can find your way through another door.” (Fightful)
She continues to answer how her current run is proving people what she can do. Howeved, in the same breath knows that no matter what she does some people are just not going to be in her corner (and that’s okay).
“Oh 1,000%. I saw the comments and what people were saying about me and it lit a fire in me,” Trinity says. “It just made me tell myself, ‘No, girl, you ain’t going out like this, you gotta get up and get out there and finish this in a better way for myself’. And I feel that I’m doing that in IMPACT. So that makes me feel good, you know?
“Also, no matter what you do, there are just going to be people against you, and they are just not going to be on your team,” she added. “I’m good. I feel fulfilled within myself. I feel like, now, nothing can shake me anymore. I’m in such a good space mentally, physically, and emotionally with everything. I feel like my life is in a way better balance now than it was ever before and I just want to keep going because I love this. I love it. it’s fun for me. It’s great therapy for me to continue performing. I’ve been performing since I was eight years old. That’s what I do. That’s what I love to do. Wrestling is so beautiful because it combines all of these different factors of performing, entertainment, and theatrics. You can sing if you want, you can act if you want, you’re wrestling, you’re physically active, and I just love that I have a world and a place where I can combine all those things that I love and do and bring people happiness because in return, that brings me happiness.”
During the same podcast, James says it was a sad day when she had to relinquish the Knockouts gold earlier this year. She says she wishes she would have had the opportunity to at least lose the title and wishes it was against a debuting Trinity.
It was a sad day when I had to relinquish that championship and obviously, the way I had to relinquish it, just kind of give it up and not lose it. God, if I was to lose it, I would have loved to at least have lost it to you when you were coming in,” said James.
“To then see you come in and take that championship and bring it to a whole new level. I mean, first off, I’ve been out there with your entrance now, and it is electric. It’s exciting, and I can’t help but wiggle and dance to it, I’d steal glowsticks from people and swing them around. Like, it’s so exciting, and you are just exciting. I was out there last time. Obviously, we’re gonna see that on Thursday in our big tag match, and I was just like, the people adore you. They really, really do love you, and they gravitate to you because I feel like they, they can see your authenticity. They can see that you are just being true to you. They’re living vicariously through that because we all want to be able to have that power and do that.”
Trinity and Mickie will team up on tonight’s IMPACT episode against Savannah Evans and Gisele Shaw. They will the face off this Saturday at Bound for Glory.
It had been announced that Alex Windsor would have her first match ever with IMPACT at Turning Point during the UK tour. Now we know her opponent will be the Quintessential Diva, Gisele Shaw.
BREAKING: @GiseleShaw08 faces @HailWindsor at #TurningPoint at the Walker Dome in Newcastle on October 27 as part of the UK Invasion Tour, airing November 3 on IMPACT Plus.
These two women have some history with each other as it was Windsor who captured the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s World Championship from Shaw. A championship that Windsor continues to hold, 711 plus days later. In 2022, they did battle over the PROGRESS Women’s Championship which Shaw retained at the time.
This is the second Knockouts match confirmed for Turning Point as Jordynne Grace vs. Dani Luna is also announced.
Diva Dirt will have spoilers/results from this match as it will be aired on Nov. 4.
Kris Statlander’s next title defense has been announced.
During the October 18 episode of AEW Dynamite, Statlander revealed that she will defend her coveted TBS Championship against friend/foe Willow Nightingale this Saturday, October 21, at AEW Battle of the Belts VIII. It will mark her 14th title defense.
Orange Cassidy & Kris Stalander share their thoughts on their title matches this Saturday Night on #BOTBVIII!
This week’s show also saw Emi Sakura take on AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida in an Eliminator match. The student vs. teacher bout started off evenly matched until Sakura took control and hit a crossbody that knocked the champ out of the ring.
After the break, Shida fired back with Katana that only scored a one-count. Shida then pulled out of a Falcon Arrow followed by one more Katana to finish it off.
Looking ahead, Friday’s Rampage will feature Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho. A women’s match for Collision has yet to be confirmed.
What did you think ofthis week’s Dynamite? Sound off with your thoughts below!
Check it out! Ring Post Journal’s 2022 Women’s Wrestling Year in Review is now available on Amazon in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats internationally. Relive the entire year in one book with a news timeline, detailed results, and win-loss records for WWE, AEW, IMPACT, NWA, and more!
Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) has released its Women’s 250 list for 2023. This is up from last years 150. Rhea Ripley has topped the list at number one for the first time in her career. Ripley was at number 42 last year. Syuri was number one last year for the first time of a STARDOM talent.
Bianca Belair is slated to return soon. She has been away from WWE TV taking a much needed breather from in-ring competition.
Belair’s last match was on the Aug. 18 episode of SmackDown where she teamed with Charlotte Flair to take on Damage CTRL. Before that on Aug. 5, at SummerSlam she briefly won the WWE Women’s Championship in a Triple Threat that included Charlotte Flair and then-champion Asuka. IYO SKY would cash in on Belair right after her victory.
Her two-month hiatus may come to an end this week. According to PWInsider Elite, Belair could be back as early as this week’s episode of SmackDown on Oct. 20.
The current WWE poster for Crown Jewel that takes place on Nov. 4 does show Belair. This doesn’t necessarily mean she will be on the show, but there is potential for that.
IMPACT is heading across the pond for their Turning Point event as they will be in Newcastle at the end of the month for the UK Invasion tour. It will air on Nov. 3 and we will see Jordynne Grace taking on Dani Luna. Luna hails from Croydon, South London UK and formerly performed under WWE’s NXT UK brand.
BREAKING: @JordynneGrace will face @DaniLuna_pro at #TurningPoint at the Walker Dome in Newcastle on October 27 as part of the UK Invasion Tour, airing November 3 on IMPACT Plus.
It was previously reported that RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Champion Alex Windsor will be in action. An opponent for her has yet to be named.
However, before we get to Turning Point we have Bound for Glory this weekend on Oct. 21. At that event Trinity will defend the Knockouts World Title against Mickie James while MK Ultra puts their tag gold up against Tasha Steelz and Deonna Purrazzo.
On this week’s IMPACT to air on Oct. 19, Trinit and James will team up against Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans.
