Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of DIVAS DEBRIEF—a rundown of the events that have transpired in the world of women's professional wrestling over the past several days. Whether it's the women on WWE programming or elsewhere with the TNA Knockouts and other smaller, independent companies, Smark Out Moment attempts to keep you up to date on all things going on with the ladies of the ring.



Nia Jax vs. Hyan

You guys know the drill. Nia Jax came out to lay waste to a local wrestler by the name of Hyan. In a backstage interview, Hyan has an awkward interaction and says nothing of particular interest. Nia takes her down right out of the gate and gets some power moves including a big clothesline, ramming her into the corner and dropping Hyan on her back into an quick pinfall. We've gotten to a point where "Nia smush" has stopped telling me anything about her character. It would be refreshing to see her working towards a goal to get a real sense of a character.

Winner: Nia Jax
Rating: 2/5


Bayley and the New Day vs. Dana Brooke and The Club

Backstage, Bayley is hanging out and giving hugs when The New Day welcomes her to Monday Night Raw. Dana Brooke is not so amused by The New Day and Bayley's antics, and recruits The Club to take them on in a 6-person inter-gendered match. Glossing over Dana's cringeworthy nurse gimmick, both teams look cohesive as they come down to the ring. That can be a sticking point for these types of matches.

The matchup begins with Bayley and Dana, and although Dana gets an early advantage, Bayley reverses. Once again reminding Dana that she is a former NXT Women's champion and not to be messed with, Bayley gets in some serious offense. It can be easy to forget how aggressive of a competitor Bayley is, but not tonight.

After tagging in, Kofi and Big E double team on Anderson, and Dana distracts the official. The New Day get Anderson in the corner and perform the Unicorn Stampede, including throwing Bayley into Anderson for a stomp of her own. The Club and Dana retreat, but when we cut back from commercial they have the upper hand again. Dana talks some trash as The Club beat up Kofi Kingston, but Anderson misses with an exposed knee as Kofi rolls out of the way. He eventually manages to get over to his corner, and tags Bayley since Big E was knocked down.

The ladies go at it again, this time with Bayley clearly in control. Her energy is infectious and it allowed her to fit really well with The New Day. From the turnbuckle, Bayley tightens her pony and gives Dana a springboard elbow. It's not over yet, as Anderson drags Dana out of the ring and off a distraction by Kofi, she tries to roll Bayley up. Bayley, of course, has an answer for that, and reverses it into the Bayley to Belly for the pin. It was an entertaining match with great chemistry on all sides. It felt like it could've been pay per view opener, with a sense of urgency to it that sometimes is lacking on Raw.

Winner: Bayley and The New Day
Rating: 3.5/5



Natalya and Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi and Becky Lynch

Nikki Bella joins the SmackDown commentary team to discuss the new Women's Championship, Total Bellas, and Carmella's vicious attack on her last week. Natalya and Alexa Bliss team up again to take on Naomi and Becky Lynch. The match starts evenly between Naomi and Natalya, some cracks are shown as Natalya yells at Alexa, but we never come back to it. They take an opportunity to double team Naomi and Alexa takes her into a ground and pound before Naomi fights out of it. Off the hot tag to Becky, she knocks both her opponents down, and is very clearly hyped up. With right forearm to Alexa, she almost gets a pin but Natalya breaks it up.

Suddenly Carmella attacks Nikki from behind at the commentary desk, continuing her assault from last week. Nikki fights back at first but manages to be taken down by the newcomer. Off the distraction, Alexa steals a pin on Becky, pulling the tights and all the heels walk off victorious. Becky and Naomi check on Nikki who is laid out by the commentary desk. While it's nice to get all the women on the show to build up characters and story, it's starting to feel a little messy. Hopefully we'll see more one on ones after Backlash.

Winner: Natalya and Alexa Bliss
Rating: 2.75/5



Liv Morgan vs. Aliyah

With Carmella, Alexa, and now Bayley waving goodbye to NXT, the next crop of NXT female competitors are out to prove themselves. Liv Morgan was victorious in a very good tag team match alongside Carmella and Nikki Glencross before NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. She returned this Wednesday to take on Aliyah in a one on one. It was good to see them getting those one on one reps, it's an opportunity for them to carry the division themselves and they delivered.

Aliyah has struggled in the past but is really coming into her own with some new gear, a new entrance theme, and a new attitude. She dominated Liv early, but Liv managed to reverse the momentum. An early cover leads to a kick out and Aliyah regains control. She is a bit repetitive with the knees to Liv's face, but the strategy works and conveys a nasty character. Aliyah launches herself at Liv in the corner and takes to elbows in exchange for knees.

Eventually she gets Liv wrapped up in a submission, and it seems to be over for the Jersey Girl, but Liv manages to work her way out. She reverses the momentum again, drop kicks and takes down Aliyah, then gets a Bulldog and picks up the surprise victory. It wasn't as tight or as impactful as we're used to seeing, but for two competitors that weren't getting much TV time at all until recently, it was a good showing on both ends.

Winner: Liv Morgan
Rating: 2.5



TNA Knockouts Champion Allie comes down to the ring to celebrate her victory last week. She thanks the crowd for their support and explains how amazed she is that this happened. Former Knockouts Champion Sienna comes out to the ring to confront Allie about the cheap way that she lost her title. Maria followers her out and says tell her take the night off. However, Maria isn't there to celebrate for Allie and tells her to lie down in the middle of the ring. Maria gets a ref and threatens to fire Allie if she doesn't do it, leading Maria to get a three count in a non-match and be crowned the TNA Knockouts Champion.

Winner: Maria
Rating: 1/5


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!