Smark Out Moment

Each week, DIVAS DEBRIEF runs down the events that transpired in women's professional wrestling from the past couple of days. From the WWE Divas to the TNA Knockouts including some other companies as well, Smark Out Moment attempts to keep you up to date on all things going on with the ladies of the ring.

In this special edition, we run down what the female superstars of Monday Night Raw have been up to since the brand split.



Nia Jax vs. Britt Baker

NXT's female powerhouse Nia Jax made her main roster debut against local talent Britt Baker. In not a great way to start, Nia Jax's close-up shot entrance comes off more awkward than intimidating. She makes her way down to the ring looking imposing as always, the bell rings and Nia immediately starts beating up on Britt Baker. She showcases a few power moves including picking up Britt Baker and throwing her into the turnbuckle, as well as standing leg drop before going for a false pin. She roughs up Baker a bit more with a head butt and another standing leg drop for the three count. Jax kicks Baker on her way out. She looks strong, but expresses no particular character other than the "large and powerful" gimmick we've seen a million times. In fact, Braun Strowman works the exact same gimmick later in the night.

Winner: Nia Jax
Match Rating: 2/5


Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Women's Championship

The championship match is announced in the opening segment of the night, much to Charlotte's displeasure. Sasha Banks claims backstage she will become the Women's Champion tonight. Charlotte makes her way to the ring with assistant Dana Brooke, followed by Banks. Some, including Mick Foley on his Facebook page, have speculated about the expression on both competitor's faces being a tell of what was to come.

The bell rings and chain wrestling starts off the match, often a sign of a long bout. Right out of the gate, the back and forth is intense, with both unafraid to show how tough they are. Sasha gets knocked off the apron early, and Charlotte takes the opportunity to drive her into the barricade before taunting her with the Women's Championship belt. Sasha retaliates by kicking it out of the champ's hands and throwing her back into the ring. In an old Eddie Guerrero move, she tosses the belt over to Dana Brooke and then falls to the ground, pretending to be hurt. The duped Dana Brooke is tossed by the ref as a result and Charlotte is furious.

They trade attacks and reversals, allowing both to get in strong offense for several minutes. Major spots include Sasha's signature double knees to the stomach. The match spills out to the side of the ring on multiple occasions, including with Sasha diving head first at Charlotte and landing brutally. Then, when Sasha is knocked off the top turnbuckle to the floor, Charlotte takes the opportunity to moonsault onto her. Back in the ring, Charlotte gets a near fall, then tries for the Figure 4 Lock, which Sasha counters, and finally hits her finisher Natural Selection. However, Sasha manages to grab the bottom rope and proceeds to lock in the Bank Statement, which causes the champ to tap out. A new WWE Women's Champion is crowned and the Boss cries as she says "I did it!" to a cheering crowd. It was quite easily among the best female matches WWE has seen, and set the bar high for their rematch at SummerSlam.

Winner: Sasha Banks
Match Rating: 4/5



Sasha Banks and Enzo Amore vs. Charlotte and Chris Jericho

The Boss opened Monday Night Raw to cheers of "You deserve it," and begins talking about how last year's NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was stolen by herself and Bayley. She announces her title defense at SummerSlam and Charlotte interrupts to tell her that she "capitalized on one mistake." The two trade insults, including the stellar line, "you're the daughter of Ric Flair, if it weren't for a one night stand you probably wouldn't be here right now." Chris Jericho comes out to defend Charlotte, though his motivations are never really clear, and is followed by Enzo Amore. He, of course, takes the opportunity to hit on Sasha Banks and make inappropriate jokes, and she, for some reason, is into it. This part of the segment was, and there is no other way to describe it, so bad it was good. It showcased the stacked roster that Raw has, and gave the audience something so completely unexpected that it was highly entertaining.

GM Mick Foley comes out and sets up a mixed tag between the two pairs. Kevin Owens joins the commentary team to criticize Enzo Amore during the match. Chris Jericho spends most of the match dominating Enzo Amore, including locking in the Walls of Jericho early on. The match up becomes much more even as Chris Jericho tags in Charlotte, giving the women some time in the ring. Sasha uses her signature double knees to the stomach, and goes for an early pin, but Charlotte kicks out. Sasha tries to lock in the Bank Statement, but as Kevin Owens so nicely pointed out, "that Dana Brooke girl is back, she's gonna do something." Yes, thank you Kevin. She does do something, causing a distraction that leads to a couple of back and forth roll ups and eventually Natural Selection for a Chris Jericho and Charlotte victory. The match itself was strong and kept that strangely endearing energy from the set up.

Winner: Charlotte and Chris Jericho
Match Ranking: 2.75/5


Nia Jax vs. Ariel Monroe

In a repeat of last week's match, Nia takes on local talent Ariel Monroe for about two-three minutes. The beating, again, is fast and forceful, pulling Monroe by her super cool hair and driving her into the mat when she tries to show some offense. She lifts Monroe up on her shoulders and slams her into a Power Bomb, pinning her with one foot. After the match, Byron Saxton tries to ask her how it feels to compete in a WWE ring. She attacks Monroe again and says "ask her how it feels." He doesn't. Jax looks powerful, but we're left without the slightest of a character to get behind or against.

Winner: Nia Jax
Match Rating: 2/5


This was what occurred on the past two episodes of Monday Night Raw, but we'll be having a SmackDown recap coming up as well, so stay tuned for that. What were some of your favorite and least favorite moments from these women? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!