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, ROH's Women of Honor, and even a glimpse at the women on the independent circuit.



Becky Lynch & Charlotte vs Natalya & Trish Stratus

This match was intriguing for the fact Trish Stratus was making her return to Raw in a wrestling capacity, whilst the team of Charlotte and Becky Lynch is always a tantalising prospect. Unfortunately, the match failed to deliver as expected, and the main reason for this is the lack of in ring action for Trish. It was admirable for Natalya to take Charlotte and Becky on alone, however it did little to raise the expectation for Charlotte vs Trish at SummerSlam.

Natalya ended up losing the match for her team via DQ as a result of not listening to the referee and continuing to beat on Becky. This was an acceptable manner in which to end the match as it builds towards Becky vs Natalya at SummerSlam, but this came at the expense for real build to Charlotte vs Trish.

Winner: Becky Lynch and Charlotte via DQ
Rating: 2/5


The IIconics vs Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs The Kabuki Warriors vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

The Women's Tag Team Championships were on the line, in what was a great display of women’s tag team action, and the fact it was Raw’s main event speaks volumes. The IIconics have no doubt brought little prestige to the championships, and this meant when they were the first team eliminated following a knee strike from Mandy Rose, it felt apt that a new team would become champions and attempt to raise the prestige of the belts.

Any of the 3 remaining teams would have been deserved winners, however the second elimination came as Asuka made Rose submit to the Asuka lock. Rose and Sonya Deville have come far as a tag team, and their performance in this match was commendable.

However, it was not to be the Kabuki Warriors' day, as Asuka was isolated and taken out by Nikki Cross whilst Alexa Bliss focused on Kairi Sane in the ring. A stiff strike to the head followed by a twisted Bliss gave Bliss and Cross the victory, becoming champions for the first time.

Bliss and Cross have at times carried the women’s division on Raw with their intriguing storylines, polished promo skills and more than competent wrestling skills. They will be able to provide the championships with the attention they deserve, and this will undoubtedly make other teams raise their game. The match was deserving of the main event slot, and was a reminder of how fun women’s tag team matches can be.

Winner: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
Rating: 3/5



Ember Moon vs Natalya

I truly feel for Ember Moon at the moment, as she has completely lost all momentum and credibility going into her match with Bayley at SummerSlam. She has failed to win and assert herself within matches over the past few weeks, and this match is no different. After controlling the initial part of the match, the action spilled out to the ring, with Natalya locking in the sharpshooter. This resulted in a double count out which only benefitted Natalya as she came across as ruthless, whilst Moon came across as weak.

This match had the potential to be great, and if there couldn’t be a winner, a double count out that protected both wrestlers would have been a better option. This also creates a problem for Moon if she wins at SummerSlam, as she won’t be taken seriously as SmackDown Women’s Champion, even if she was to defeat Bayley in a decisive fashion.

Winner: Draw via Double Count Out
Rating: 1/5



There were no matches on this week's episode that were strictly female exclusive, such is Impact's penchant for intergender matches. Whilst intergender matches are not bad, it is hard to determine how good the match is when a male wrestler is involved. Tessa Blanchard is a great example of this as she has been competing against Sami Callihan recently, and whilst their matches have been interesting, it is hard to quantify how much of that is down to Tessa.

However, it appears Impact are working towards a Su Yung vs Havok match which would be quite interesting. Su Yung appeared on the screen and began to speak in a different language, something that made Havok storm off from the ring.


Xia Brookside & Piper Niven vs Jinny & Jazzy Gabert

This match was another women’s tag team match, and these matches have been used by NXT UK to great effect recently. All 4 women had a chance to shine, but it was Xia Brookside who shone in particular, especially as Brookside had so much energy.

After Brookside and Piper Niven took control early on, Jinny and Jazzy Gabert responded with strikes and slams on Brookside. This ended up with Rhia Ripley arriving to brawl with Niven to the backstage area, leaving Brookside to play the face in peril as she was in a 2 on 1 situation. Despite a valiant effort, Brookside fell to a dominator by Gabert for the pinfall victory.

This match was a perfect manner to highlight how good Brookside is, whilst also setting up a future match between Ripley and Niven, which is sure to be a hard hitting classic. All the women involved here highlighted just how exciting NXT UK is.

Winner: Jinny & Jazzy Gabert
Rating: 2.5/5


There were no women’s matches on NXT this week, however the promo package for Shayna Baszler vs Mia Yim was well produced. I cannot wait for these 2 to face off at NXT TakeOver: Toronto II.



Dana Brooke vs Sarah Logan

Dana Brooke is a Main Event regular, and this match was one of her best performances for a while. Sarah Logan also displayed a more determined and aggressive version of herself, and this was no more evident than with Logan's series of knee kicks and her expert application of the inverted cloverleaf. Main Event is a great stage for underutilized stars, and Brooke is showing just why she deserves an extended run on Raw.

Dana was able to regain control after countering a top rope suplex into a suplex of her own, and followed this up with a series of strikes and a cartwheel splash. An attempt at the back handspring elbow was countered by Logan into a german suplex for a close 2 count, and at this point the match was fairly even. The finish of the match came when Brooke smashed Logan into the turnbuckles and hit a senton bomb for the pinfall victory. This match was a better offering than the recent women's Main Event matches. There was a desire and they both worked hard to produce an interesting match. I'd definitely recommend this if you can access it.

Winner: Dana Brooke
Rating: 3/5


The Women's Tag Team Championships felt important in this match, and all 4 teams showed a desire to be the face of the fledgling women's tag team division. Hopefully this will lead to a period of dominance by Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to establish just how important the championships can be, and restore the prestige lost during The IIconics' reign.

This may seem like a strange pick, however Natalya has shown a ruthless streak this week that she hasn't displayed before, and it is this ruthlessness she will need in order to beat Becky Lynch at SummerSlam for the Raw Women's Championship. I appreciate this side to Natalya, and hope she can maintain this level of aggression for a while to come.

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!