The first bit of women’s action kicks off with a backstage scene featuring Judgment Day discovering their club house trashed, courtesy of Liv Morgan.
In another intense moment, Maxxine Dupri slaps Chad Gable to stop a post match beatdown after the Alpha Academy took a loss to the Creed Brothers. Gable goes to leave to ring as the W6 enter the arena to stalk their prey but get’s taken out by Nikki Cross.
Zelina Vega admits that the attack from Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, and Sonya Deville was a wake-up call she needed. But before she can recover, they jump her again.
We see Liv Morgan backstage by the production trucks, talking by a fire. She’s furious about Dominik Mysterio breaking her heart, and she’s tossing his merch and pictures of them into the flames. Liv declares that at SummerSlam, she’s ending her Liv Morgan Revenge Tour by beating Rhea Ripley. She’s determined to stand tall as the “Women’s World Champion.”
Rhea Ripley responds with her own backstage promo, calling Liv’s revenge tour a fantasy. Rhea says that at SummerSlam, it’s her turn for payback. She recounts how Liv cost her three months of her career, took her championship, and tried to mess with her family and her Latino Heat. Rhea’s ready to end Liv’s tour once and for all.
Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark & Sonya Deville
Valkyria starts strong against Deville, slipping through her legs and landing some blows. Stark comes in, only to be caught in a wristlock. The villains get tossed outside, and we go to a break. When we’re back, Valkyria’s in trouble but manages to tag Carter. Chaos ensues, and Valkyria nails a gutwrench powerbomb. The After Party gets interrupted, and Stark hits Carter with the Z360 for the win.
Winners: Shayna, Zoey, Sonya
Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY, Dakota Kai, and Kairi Sane stormed the ring making their return! The Damage CTRL trio quickly cleared the ring with SKY delivering a moonsault, taking out all three opponents on the floor. Damage CTRL then posed triumphantly in the ring.
And to wrap things up, Damage CTRL is back in action next week, with Dakota Kai taking on Sonya Deville.
Not a ton of content for the women last night. The story for Liv and Rhea has been laid out, so I understand why they didn’t want to add any new elements on the go home show but last night felt very much like a paint by numbers. That doesn’t dull my excitement for the SummerSlam match though, Liv has been doing the best work of her career and it would be a shame to see her lose the belt this Saturday. The tag division continues to be given time, it just feels in limbo while we wait for the post mania-SummerSlam stretch to reach it’s conclusion.
Hope to see some of ya’ll tonight in the NXT discussion post!
