Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of WOMEN'S WRESTLING WEEKLY—a rundown of the events which have transpired in the world of women's professional wrestling over the past several days not just with the Superstars on WWE programming, but with Impact Wrestling's Knockouts, Lucha Underground's luchadoras, and even a glimpse at the women on the independent circuit.

This week is a WWE-centric one, it seems. Impact took off with a clip show, LU is on hiatus... so... yeah, let's dig into the TLC fallout!



Alicia Fox vs. Bayley vs. Dana Brooke vs. Ember Moon vs. Mickie James vs. Natalya vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender’s match)

Typing that match title took years off my life. Anyways, as part of Raw's new philosophy/makeover (all words, mind you), opportunity is abound, so basically everyone gets to fight for a shot at Ronda Rousey's title. Cool beans, a gauntlet match with stakes!

Bayley started the match off (I know, shocking) against Alicia Fox and eliminated her and Dana Brooke before Mickie James had to rain on my parade by eliminating her with a DDT. Lucky for us, Ember Moon avenged Bayley's defeat by eliminating James. Out came Natalya next, and the rest is history. She eliminated Moon, Riott and even a hot and hungry Sasha Banks to secure herself a title match against Rousey.

This makes sense story-wise, considering Nattie just emerged victorious from a (stagnant, but still existing) feud with Ruby Riott. She will challenge Rousey on "Christmas Eve." I'm interested in seeing how their mutual respect plays into the matchup.

Winner: Natalya
Rating: 3.5/5



Asuka vs. Naomi (SmackDown Women's Championship match)

Vince McMahon himself gave Becky Lynch and Charlotte directions to take out their beef on Ronda Rousey and praised Asuka's victory as a surreal moment for WWE in 2018, which it totally was. He then named Asuka's first challenger for her newly won title: Naomi!

Early on, the former champ and new champ seemed pretty evenly matched. They exchanged elbows and Naomi slammed Asuka with an avalanche Russian legsweep. Naomi showed the same resilience that has so endeared her to SmackDown fans, escaping the Asuka lock twice. However, one can only ever truly be ready for Asuka for a limited time, and Asuka locked in the Asuka Lock a third time for the submission victory.

Winner: Asuka
Rating: 3.5/5

Carmella & R-Truth vs. Mandy Rose & The Miz

Entrance, dance break, attack from behind, pinfall.

Any questions?

Winners: Mandy Rose & The Miz
Rating: 1/5



Io Shirai & Dakota Kai vs. Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir

Hello, Horsewomen.

The other two members of the MMA stable also featuring Shayna Baszler and some lady named Ronda Rousey made their debuts against Mae Young Classic finalist Io Shirai and our favorite plucky superhero Dakota Kai.

Dakota got off to a hot start, but Shafir hit her with a cheapshot, allowing the still-legal Jessamyn Duke to take control. Shafir, once in, was mostly a punching bag for Shirai's fierce striking offense. With Kai's help, Shirai was able to hit her moonsault from the top rope to secure the faces a victory.

Great debut for Duke and Shafir. Anyone else interested in the fact that Baszler, Shafir and Duke are all heels? I'm just saying... Rousey might want to consider joining them.

Winners: Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir
Rating: 3/5



This section includes recaps of matches from around the world in various lesser-known independent promotions throughout the week.

For no particular reason, I've decided to show off some matches from Joshi promotions in Japan. These all-female promotions, including promotions like Tokyo Joshi Pro and STARDOM, have existed in Japan for years and have drawn significantly well for the better part of decades. I encourage everyone who supports women's wrestling to look into these promotions and, if you're financially able, subscribe to ones that interest you. I have had a STARDOM subscription for years and have never regretted it.

STARDOM

Match: Momo Watanabe vs. Natsuko Tora (Wonder of STARDOM Title match)
Winner: Momo Watanabe

World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana

Match: Aja Kong vs. Sareee (World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Title match)
Winner: Aja Kong

Actwres girl'Z

Match: Mari & Misa Matsui vs. Riko Kawabata & SAKI
Winner: Mari & Misa Matsui

REINA

Match: Tae Honma vs. Yuko Sakurai
Winner: Tae Honma

Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling

Match: Meiko Satomura vs. Sakura Hirota
Winner: Meiko Satomura


This was a fun match. Naomi has been sorely underutilized, so it's nice to see her get a title match against one of the company's best. Both women delivered, and Asuka as a champion is a sight I can most definitely get behind. She has her swagger back, folks.


Although I covered Asuka's TLC victory last week, I would be remiss to ignore it this week as Asuka rode her championship high right through SmackDown. Her energetic title defense and social media presence has made this week rightfully hers to lose.

So there you have it, the breakdown for the week in women's wrestling. What were some of your favorite and least favorite moments from these women? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy holidays! Whatever you may or may not celebrate, I hope you spend time with your loved ones and have a peaceful week.