Smark Out Moment

Can you believe we're almost all the way through February? Mania is fast(lane) approaching, and that means that all around the wrestling industry, the biggest feuds are (in theory) heating up. Now, because of the opening of a play I'm in, I had to watch everything this week on delay, but I'm here and ready to rumble.

I'll be honest: I wasn't that into this week's stuff. The matches were middling and every show is still in the early stages of building to their next events. That said, there were some bright spots. Let's dive right in!



The short...

Dreams come true, if you drag out a story long enough!

The long...

Can someone, for the love of God, explain to me why every wrestling company now has a woman who just walks down the ramp, does nothing and leave? How am I supposed to be curious about Lacey Evans when every segment they give her is so... nothing that I just want it to end?

Anyways, onto the realness that is how incredible Sasha Banks and Bayley's journey has been. Like Bayley said in the celebratory promo the pair cut, they have felt every emotion out there for each other, and still somehow found their way back to each other to become tag team champs. It's a beautiful journey, even if WWE did drag it out for longer than they needed to and made some questionable booking decisions along the way. Naturally, Nia Jax and Tamina tried crashing the party, but they were warded off.

It kind of blows my mind that WWE saw better fit to have Ruby Riott give a good fight on Raw and not on oh, I don't know, the actual freaking pay-per-view. Her title rematch against Rousey was far superior to the dismal 4-minute showing at Elimination Chamber. I mean really, the bar wasn't that high to begin with, but I don't understand why WWE couldn't figure out a way to make Rousey look as dominant as she should be without making Riott look like a joke.

Grade: B-



The short...

Don't look at me. Don't touch me. Just... ugh. Ugh. UGH.

The long...

Well. Um.

Asuka, the once-undefeated certified badass who I've recently praised as being back on the right track, got pinned by Mandy Rose with a schoolboy.

I. Um. I... suppose this means something is coming for Mandy Rose? Or maybe it doesn't. This week gave me little reason to believe WWE knows how to handle Asuka at all, so I'll just bite my tongue and hope that my silence says more than keyboard smashing ever could.

In better news, heel Charlotte continues to disparage Becky Lynch. I'm still team singles match, but I won't pretend Miss Flair isn't very good at what she does.

Grade: C



The short...

Protect. Ya. Freaking. Neck.

The long...

Mia Yim has the kind of swagger most people could only dream of having. Xia Li has a lot of fire, but we all know whose time to shine it is. Yim won with the Protect Ya Neck, but the action didn't end there. Shayna and co. came out to attack Yim, but the rest of the locker room emerged to try and even up *ahem* THE ODDS. The UFC Horsewomen cleaned house, however, and Shafir and Duke held Yim down so that Baszler could brutally attack.

God, NXT is having so much fun with the 3 Horsewomen of the UFC. They're uncompromising, dominant and booked exactly like bruising bullies should be. Everyone who stands up to them, however, is not made to look silly. No, we find ourselves rooting for everyone because NXT's writers know how to build heroes, even in defeat.

Grade: A-



The short...

Make a deal with the devil, because those only end well.

The long...

Alisha Edwards and Delilah Doom put on a pretty fun match before Tessa Blanchard stormed in and began attacking Edwards, who then subsequently got the victory via DQ. Blanchard didn't stop there, however, and fought with Doom for a bit before leaving when she got bored, I guess.

It was a power move and I respect that. Even if it did kinda overshadow Delilah Doom's debut, which is super exciting for the entire company, FYI.

Doom challenged Blanchard next week, so we have that to look forward to! Elsewhere, Rosemary just, uh, casually made a deal with Father James Mitchell for Allie's soul? Army vs. Army, with Rosemary on the line. No biggie, no biggie. It's fine, we're fine.

Grade: B-



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

AAW: Pro

Match: Kylie Rae vs. Su Yung (AAW Pro Women's Championship match)
Winner: Kylie Rae

STARDOM

Match: Andras Miyagi & Kagetsu vs. Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora
Winner: Andras Miyagi & Kagetsu

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Match: Sakisama vs. Miu Watanabe
Winner: Sakisama


Nothing really blew me away this week, but the fun brawl after Mia Yim won with one of the best-named wrestling moves ever put this one over the edge for me.


What? She could beat me up and I'd thank her.

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!