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.


On this edition, Team PCB get a shot in the arm on RAW when they battle opponents from Team BAD and Team Bella, whilst Bayley looks to make good on her promise to become the best in NXT when she clashes with friend Charlotte. Sexy Star competes for the Gift of the Gods Championship at Ultima Lucha, and finally Gail Kim faces challenging odds when she fights alone against all three members of the Dollhouse.


Chelsea Eliminated From Tough Enough

Another woman was sent packing from Tough Enough this week, again amid some controversy from the judges. Not that many are still watching the show at this point, as its only entertainment value has become how farcical it has made the wrestling business feel. Three of the four remaining female contestants were placed on the chopping block: Gigi, Sara Lee and Chelsea. This was after Miz suggested he would place the hugely unpopular and weak Amanda, but changed her mind to Chelsea, which again riled up Paige.

Then when the judges were asked for a save, Paige decided to save Gigi, which is fair enough as she has been the most impressive woman on the show thus far. And it proved vital, as she continued the trend of the popularity contest by getting the lowest share of the votes, and Chelsea went home instead. It was another shame, as Chelsea was one of the few with a serious wrestling background and her passion was clear, whilst Amanda continues to saunter on due to Miz, who is probably fortunate that when he sees her he’s sitting behind a desk. The only saving grace is she’ll be sent packing eventually.


Divas Stable Named After Porn Site

The WWE Creative team found themselves suffering some embarrassment after their original name for Team PCB, ‘the Submission Sorority’, was found to share that name with an S&M website. The mistake was quickly rectified, but it did mean the website sent some gifts to WWE headquarters for the unintentional advertising. It will teach those behind the scenes to maybe use Google every once in a while.

Rosa Mendes Announces Pregnancy

For those wondering where Rosa Mendes has been the last few months (yes, all two of you), she recently announced her pregnancy over Twitter. We at Smark Out Moment wish her many congratulations for this announcement.

BREAKING: @LaRosaMendes announces pregnancy. http://t.co/1pXldLV5rl pic.twitter.com/z7LDpRj8Zk

— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2015

Paige On Stone Cold Podcast

Paige was a special guest on the Stone Cold Podcast immediately following RAW this Monday, but only a few things of note took place. The British Diva seemed slightly intimidated by her host and the platform she was on which damaged some of its quality, but Paige handled herself as best she could. You could definitely feel her passion for wrestling throughout, her desire to stand out from the crowd and the respect she had for many in the business, past and present. It wasn’t anything different than what her dedicated fans would already know, but interesting for less invested fans.

The most interesting moments were Paige talking about Tough Enough and the way it was working (or not working in certain facets), especially her choice to nominate Patrick the night he was eliminated, and when she inadvertently let slip that she’d prefer it if the Women’s Championship replaced the current Diva’s Championship.



Charlotte & Becky Lynch vs The Bella Twins

Team Bella have been struggling to make an impact on the Divas division ever since the newcomers from NXT arrived on the main roster. Their prior dominance has been shaken to its core with the emergence of Team PCB and Team BAD on the scene, and last week endured more defeats at the hands of Charlotte and Becky Lynch. With their power over the division seemingly dwindling, they attempted to restore it on RAW by turning to their biggest asset, the sisterly bond of The Bella Twins.

Lynch and Brie, fresh off their clash on Main Event, locked up first, with Lynch gaining the early advantage following a flurry of leg drops, before Charlotte tags in with her own knee drop. But Nikki responded quickly when she tagged in, hitting a high kick to the face of Charlotte from the apron. The Divas Champion wore down her rival, and when Charlotte attempted to launch a quick comeback, a distraction by Brie saw her crashing down onto the canvas from the turnbuckle. The Nature Girl became the victim of some strong double team work by the crafty sisters, until escaping long enough to reach Lynch in her corner.

The Irishwoman exploded into the match, taking Brie down with a suplex and transitioning into the Dis-Arm-Her submission. Brie reached the ropes and escaped to ringside, allowing them to reassert control when Lynch recklessly attempted to take both twins on. The sisters got back to working over their flame-haired opponent, Nikki exploiting her strength and Brie channeling her husband Daniel Bryan with some rapid kicks. Lynch survived the onslaught, long enough to collide in the center of the ring with Brie, offering her the opening she needed.
Charlotte flew in with chops to Nikki, taking her down with a spear. Brie broke up the resulting cover, but all that earned her was a flying exit from the ring after a T-Bone suplex from Lynch. Nikki recovered enough to drop Charlotte with the spinebuster, but that was not enough to earn the victory. Instead, the genetically superior Diva blocked an attempted face crusher by the champion, locking her into the Figure-Eight, and forced Nikki to tap out. Another difficult night for Team Bella, the recent arrivals again show their age of tyranny is over.


Paige vs Naomi

The second ladies match of the evening saw the leaders of Team PCB and Team BAD collided one-on-one, flanked by their teammates. Paige and Naomi have had a strong rivalry for most the last few months, based off of Naomi assaulting the Brit in order to originally make a name for herself. The pair exchange some close chain wrestling early on, Naomi looking to cling to the ropes to frustrate her opponent, but Paige finally gets a good shot in with a knee to the face. Naomi fought back and showed some disrespect in the process with a stinkface to Paige, but that simply infuriated the former Divas Champion, who unleaded knee strikes in the corner.

A brief distraction allowed Naomi to regain the advantage, albeit off of a hopelessly botched backstabber attempt. This position of control allows her ample opportunity to trash talk and celebrate her own ability, something Naomi has become extremely well-versed at ever since turning heel. Her aggression factor especially picks up when she yanks at Paige from the outside, whilst the Brit’s body was contorted around the ring post.

Paige escapes the torment with a strong fallaway slam, although not before screaming and saying the same ‘This is My House’ line, which is making it very difficult to enjoy any of her matches. Paige takes the initiative with clotheslines and a running dropkick, before killing hopes of a Naomi recovery by throwing her hard into the turnbuckle. The Team BAD matriarch does respond well with a flexible high kick from the apron, but her follow-up crossbody from the top rope was dodged. With Naomi writhing in pain from this misstep, Paige applied her ferocious PTO submission to earn a second win of the evening for PCB.



Gift of the Gods Championship Match

After months of luchadores fighting for the right to earn valuable Aztec medallions, their purpose finally came to the forefront at Ultima Lucha, as seven competitors battled for the Gift of the Gods Championship. Similar to WWE’s Money in the Bank, this belt granted the victor a Lucha Underground title match whenever they requested it, and so was certainly a coveted prize for the various challengers. The focus of this segment was on the fiery underdog Sexy Star, who was certainly not just involved to make up the numbers in the war for the ultimate opportunity.

Throughout the match, Sexy found herself at the mercy of the immensely powerful Big Ryck, at one point being thrown from a gorilla press onto Jack Evans at ringside. However, her biggest rival in this clash was not actually part of title match itself, as Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez looked to exact some revenge for being made to tap out by Sexy in a match for a medallion a few weeks ago. Sexy though would show she was willing to fight anyone who stood in her path, ousting the despicable Martinez from the ring, before soaring outside herself onto a group of her actual opponents.
Sexy gave everything she had in her attempt to gain the gold, including taking Ryck off his sizable feet with a hurricanrana, and an inventive pin attempt of Aerostar that had to be broken up. Even a massive Thrill of the Hunt by King Cuerno didn’t keep her down for the count. But the extra size and strength of her rivals was too much in the end, as she was one of the six that fell short to the illustrious Fenix, who captured the golden opportunity that is the Gift of the Gods Championship.



Bayley vs Charlotte

The challenge was made two weeks ago by Bayley, who after returning from an unfortunate injury was desperate to prove that she is the real deal in NXT by beating the best on offer. So, she looked for a match with Charlotte, and the Nature Girl was more than happy to oblige for her friend. However, their respect for one another was not going to prevent either from pushing themselves for victory by any means necessary, and that attitude made this match another standout for NXT’s catalogue of exceptional women’s matches.

The early pace was methodical, with neither competitor giving an inch, but eventually the greater technical prowess of Charlotte broke first, landing a series of headscissors flips to Bayley. The bubbly Diva though was not staying down for long, flattening Charlotte with clotheslines and elbows, until she was leveled by a big boot. When the action returned from break, the genetically superior performer was looking to demonstrate that fact with her Figure-Eight, but Bayley reversed and finally got herself back into the fight with a diving back elbow from the middle turnbuckle.

This is where the match really caught fire, as both ladies gave everything they could to entertain the Full Sail crowd. Bayley connected with a phenomenal hurricanrana off the top rope, with Charlotte barely escaping the resulting pin attempt. The fans rose to their feet chanting for the effort on display, as Charlotte retaliated with a hard spear to her opponent. She then looked for the Figure-Eight, but as she attempted to bridge Bayley took this chance to turn onto her stomach, reversing the pressure, a feat not many have managed.

Charlotte kept up the offense with her knife-edge chops, but Bayley block and transitioned into a backslide. Charlotte kicked out keeping their arms locked, until her huggable rival flipped over off the turnbuckle into the Bayley-2-Belly. Yet, that would not keep Charlotte down for a three count to the bemusement of Bayley. Her momentum was cut down by Charlotte’s school girl throwing Bayley into the bottom turnbuckle on the back of her head, and she attempted to follow this up with Natural Selection off the top rope. Bayley fought out, and clasped Charlotte for a final Bayley-2-Belly through the air, handing her a hard-fought and significant victory.

This was an exciting and captivating contest, showing any doubters of Bayley that in the ring she can mix it up with the best in WWE today. She will ride this incredible wave of success into next week in a number one contender’s match with Becky Lynch, and that will hopefully provide the same entertainment as her latest encounter.



Gail Kim vs The Dollhouse

This seemed like a no contest when this contest was added to the Impact Wrestling card, as Gail Kim stood opposite all three members of the dominant Dollhouse faction. Whilst Taryn Terrell no longer held the Knockout’s Championship, largely due to Kim’s interference in her defeat to Brooke Tessmacher, her unit alongside Jade and Marti Belle controlled the roster for many weeks. However, Kim’s foremost desire is to tear down their faction as quickly as possible, and few would consider her out of any match, no matter the odds stacked against her.

Kim started out the bout in control over Marti, who I still have considerable doubts over with regards to her wrestling ability, and some clumsy moments early on don’t do anything to erase them. Kim stands tall after clearing both her and Jade before challenging Terrell, a brief distraction that saw her taken down from behind by Marti. She and Jade proceed to work over their fallen nemesis, yet Terrell is the one looking to make the pin before ducking out. Eventually, these selfish decisions cost her group, as she mistakenly floors Marti with a forearm smash, allowing Kim to send Terrell’s peons out of commission.

Again, Kim challenges Terrell to step up and face her woman to woman, but the former champion refuses, jumping over the barricade and running out of the match. With the other two Dollhouse members still to contend with, Kim really didn’t have to exert herself much to dominate the closing proceedings. It didn’t exactly make either Marti or Jade look particularly strong, as their sole opponent threw them around the ring, finishing Marti off with Eat De-Feet. Terrell remains the prize bounty though, and Kim will not be satisfied until she stands over her fallen foe.



Naomi vs Charlotte/Naomi & Sasha Banks vs Charlotte & Becky Lynch

Following their success on RAW, it was left to Charlotte to make this a perfect week for Team PCB, as she took on Team BAD leader Naomi in singles action. With the Nature Girl riding the high of making the Divas Champion submit, she was extremely confident of her chances, but that is also a quality that Naomi is never lacking in. And both started off in impressive fashion, the BAD Diva bouncing off the ropes into a sunset flip, before Charlotte reacted with her own Charlotte’s Web. Naomi once again celebrated too soon after her booty shaking in her opponent’s face, to which she was rewarded with a stinging chop.

But, when Charlotte applied an early Figure-Eight, Sasha Banks stepped in to break it up, causing the disqualification. That didn’t mean an end to proceedings however, as the match was restarted as a tag team contest, with Becky Lynch once again at the side of Charlotte. When the bout got going once again, it was more Charlotte and Lynch domination, wearing down both Naomi and Banks with aplomb. That was until a distraction of the referee allowed Team BAD’s enforcer, Tamina, land a superkick to send Charlotte into a daze.

The cocky pairing on Naomi and Banks wore down Charlotte with their combination offense and brash taunts, and when she was able to make it to Lynch, it wasn’t long before they were laying into the Lass Kicker as well. All four were given ample time to show off, especially Team BAD to their credit, and they lived up to lofty expectations with a confident showing. When Charlotte entered once more, she was typically on the attack with chops and a spear knocking Banks out of her boots. But, in something of a shock result, Naomi managed to catch her adversary out with a small package. Another very solid tag team match, but maybe some question marks over that finish.


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!