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.


This week, Nikki Bella and Paige continue their war of words over the state of the Divas Division, and face the challenges of Summer Rae and Alicia Fox respectively heading into their Divas Championship match at Money in the Bank. Also, Evil Emma fights the cult figure Blue Pants in NXT, and Taryn Terrell offers a Knockouts’ Championship match to Awesome Kong, albeit with a rather degrading stipulation.


Nikki Bella vs Summer Rae

Following Paige’s cutthroat promo on SmackDown about the Bella Twins holding back the rest of the Divas division, Divas Champion Nikki Bella did not react favorably. However, instead of being angry with the Brit’s words, the champ felt sorry for her, viewing her as a whiny brat complaining that she wasn’t getting her way. To show the Bellas give opportunities rather than take them away, Nikki would have a match with Summer Rae before her title defense against Paige at Money in the Bank, stating that it may be Paige’s house, but it’s the Bellas’ World.

Summer got a rare opportunity to perform on one of the premier shows after being rooted to Main Event for months, but was quickly under pressure with a scoop slam by Nikki, who then showed off with some push-ups. The blonde didn’t appreciate this brashness, and came back into the fight with a kick from the corner and a flying clothesline. Summer was clearly the heel in this match, which might confuse a few fans as to what stance Nikki will take in the Money in the Bank battle.

Summer produced some more damage with her roundhouse kick to the face of the champion, and then crushing her against the corner with her strong legs as Paige watched on from backstage. Yet this momentum did not last long, as Nikki regained the initiative with her springboard kick from the corner, and then landed the Rack Attack to secure a victory. A short match that gives Nikki some form heading into her title defense, but it is interesting that neither she nor Paige is being treated as a heel prior to the bout.



Naomi & Tamina Snuka vs Emma & Layla

As Nikki Bella and Paige now fiercely contest the Divas Championship, for now Naomi has been relegated to the sidelines, however still maintains the allegiance of Tamina Snuka. Their partnership would collide with Emma (babyface for now) and Layla, who has scarcely been seen in the ring since her return from injury. Naomi and Emma start proceedings, with any advantage earned by the former very brashly celebrated. This is until the Aussie gets her own back, clotheslines followed with the DilEmma and a dropkick to the face of Naomi.

Layla enters the fray, and is quickly matched up against the powerful Tamina. The former Divas Champion shows a lot of fight early, with some innovative kicks and a crossbody onto her opponent, but is stopped dead in her tracks with a Samoan Drop. From that moment, the family tandem is dominant, beating down Layla with clotheslines, slams and kicks. In particular Naomi’s sit out bomb was a welcome new addition to her arsenal.

Layla’s attempts at escape prove futile, as Emma is knocked from the apron by Naomi. When this infuriates the Aussie that she steps into the battle, the referee is too busy concerning himself with ousting her from the ring. This allows Tamina to jump in and superkick Layla to the mat with authority, and Naomi picks up the pieces with the pin. A decent bout, although Emma didn’t get a great deal of time to perform, so it is fortunate she now has NXT to look forward to.


Emma vs Blue Pants

Emma’s double life from WWE programming to NXT persisted this week, as after falling to defeat alongside Layla on Main Event as a kooky babyface, she was back to being a smarmy heel in the developmental territory. Her opponent this week was the cult icon in NXT, Blue Pants. Known as Leva Bates on the independent circuit, her ridiculous name and attire has result in her becoming one of the most popular performers in the brand’s short history. Not too bad for someone who technically isn’t part of the roster.

The crowd begin chanting ‘Happy Birthday’ towards Blue Pants to celebrate her 32nd birthday, but Emma only offered gifts on punches and elbows. It was entertaining how she taunted her opponent, and the Aussie has quickly become a masterful heel. I was impressed with the control she showed in this match, and her mixture of jokey taunts and frustration at Blue Pants’ resilience was a great balance. But the popularity of Blue Pants is hard to deny, and her short fightback with kicks was very well received, until Emma ended the short contest with her Emma Lock.


Becky Lynch vs Jessie McKay

The second women’s match of the night witnessed the return of Becky Lynch after her star-making performance at Takeover: Unstoppable. In spite of her loss against Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship, the discovery of a unique look and the quality of the match made the Irishwoman a star in the eyes of the audience. Now a star in her own right, Lynch would compete against a prospect who will be looking in time to achieve similar success, in the form of the Australian Jessie McKay.

Lynch starts with a little bit of panache, with her matrix slide out of an early pin attempt by Jessie into a pair of deep armdrags. But her opponent shows she won’t lay down easily when she lands a hard kick to the face of the flame haired veteran. Yet after a brief spell in control, Lynch fires back with her unique offense, suplexing Jessie onto her arm and then landing three leg drops. Lynch then introduced a new weapon to her arsenal, a leg hook face plant, which sends Jessie hard to the mat, and prone for the Discoostin armbar that forces her submission.


Taryn Terrell Calls Out Awesome Kong

After dispatching of Gail Kim a few weeks ago, Taryn Terrell and her Dollhouse cohorts took to the stage with their eyes set on eliminating Awesome Kong. Terrell was gracious enough to offer the giant a shot at her Knockouts’ Championship, but that was where her courtesy ended. The stipulation was that it had to be a lingerie pillow fight, and Kong would be forced to where a teddy picked out by the Dollhouse. Not surprisingly, Kong did not heed that demand, and when the match was set up, she approached the ring sporting her usual attire.

Jade and Marti Belle were less than impressed with her outfit, and firmly requested that she go and change. In response, Kong dragged them both from the ring, and beat both Dollhouse members up the stage. This left Terrell alone, although she was thrilled that she would remain Knockouts’ Champion. However, her joy was halted when Brooke Tessmacher came to the ring and issued her own challenge. Terrell declined, and was met with a beating on the bed set up in the ring, before Brooke stripped her of her robe and sent her scrambling in nothing but her undergarments.



Paige vs Alicia Fox

After Nikki Bella gave her two cents about Paige’s crusade against the Bella Twins on RAW, their feud has seemingly split the entire Divas division. Alicia Fox approached the Brit backstage on RAW, saying that nobody speaks for her, and will make change herself by kicking Paige out of WWE. But Fox doesn’t make a strong start in this claim, as Paige unleashes a flurry of elbows in the corner, following by a hard knee to the face and more kicks to the skull. Her aggression is undoubted as she punished Fox leading into the match with Nikki at Money in the Bank.

Fox though fights back with kicks from the ring apron, asserting herself into the contest. These kicks continue to have a significant part in the match, as Fox misses a boot in the corner, that allows Paige to attempt a roll-up, but it is kicked out and leads to a connected kick to the face. The climax that followed was pretty much a carbon copy of their Main Event match last week, which likely means few people saw it. A running senton outside of the ring by Paige caught Fox, and after dodging a Scissors Kick the Anti-Diva produced a straight kick to the face, and locked in the PTO to force the submission.


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!