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, Lucha Underground's luchadoras, and even a glimpse at the women on the independent circuit.

I hope everyone is enjoying the nosedive into Mania season! We have two pay-per-views to go until the big day, but I'm enjoying the ride. Meanwhile, AEW continues to make some encouraging signings and the ladies on the indies continue to keep the bar higher than ever. Let's get right to it, shall we?

This week marks Valentine's Day, and I'd like to shout out MY Valentine... booking Becky Lynch like Stone Cold Steve Austin. Got any good wrestling valentines? Tweet them to me @not_gabriela.



It's not Mania season if...

...you don't suspend the hottest act of the year so far.

Stephanie McMahon opened the show, and we all partied like it was 2015. She was soon interrupted by Becky Lynch, the pride and joy of all the badassery in the world. McMahon insisted Lynch be cleared by doctors before WrestleMania, citing concerns over Lynch's knee. Lynch, suffice it to say, did not respond well. Steph was left with no choice but to suspend Lynch, who instantly attacked her boss and decimated her.

Mwah! Lynch was escorted out of the building, but not before running into Ronda Rousey, who was equipped with a lecture about professionalism or whatever.

Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan and then Sarah Logan, because why not?

I mean. Did we expect anything else?

Despite attempted shenanigans by Morgan and the Riott Squad, Rousey walked away with an easy submission victory. She then defeated Logan by similar means. Rousey challenged Ruby, but the latter thought better and retreated. She later said she'd fight Rousey for the title when the time was right.

Winner: Ronda Rousey
Rating: 1.5/5

Boss N' Hug Connection vs. Two Crazy Mofos (Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross)

What an odd pair that I never realized I wanted!

The Crazy Mofos (we were not given a name so I'm improvising) attacked Bayley and threw her into the LED boards before the match, but Bayley's good at coming back from ambushes. Fox nearly pinned her, but she stayed alive long enough to tag Banks in. Banks turned the tide, and Bayley capitalized, covering Fox for the victory and a ticket to Elimination Chamber.

Elsewhere, Nia Jax and Dean Ambrose antagonized each other more. They will face off in an intergender match at a live show in Arkansas. So...yay, progress, I guess? Hope it translates to some intergender fun on television soon enough.

Winner: Boss N' Hug Connection
Rating: 3/5



The Man and Stephanie's husband have a chat

Charlotte opened the show and said that though Becky might not be cleared for WrestleMania, she is most certainly available. Lynch interrupted her and came through the crowd despite Charlotte's vehement protests. Triple H then entered and told Lynch to leave and Charlotte to chill and mind her own business. Which, well, fair, but screw logic! Go Becky! Modern medicine is the real villain!

(I'm kidding, please vaccinate your kids.)

ANYWAYS, Trips accused Lynch of trying to purposely avoid facing Rousey because deep down, she knows that she can't beat her. Lynch replied with a beautiful slap to the face. Trips squared up with her, but Lynch stared him down with defiance and not an ounce of fear. It rocked.

Fabulous Glow vs. *cringe* Fire & Desire

Yeah, yeah, we get it: Mandy Rose is hot. Like, very hot. Super beautiful. What was my point again?

Oh, right. More tag team qualifiers!

Mandy could only avoid sharing the ring with Naomi for so long, and the Glowing One wasted no time in laying the smacketh down on the attempted homewrecker. It was pretty sick. Well, until Mandy Rose hit Angel's Wings out of nowhere for the pinfall.

Ladies and gents, please join me to rain a chorus of boos down from the heavens. Three, two, one...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Okay, I feel better now.

Winner: Fire & Desire
Rating: 2.5/5



Dark!Allie vs. Kiera Hogan

If this sounds familiar, it's because it is.

Hogan started off hot, but Allie drew upon the forces of darkness (I guess) to rally. Su Yung tried to further turn the match in Allie's favor when Hogan began to even out the swing of momentum, but Jordynne Grace was there to slam her away from the action. This distracted Allie and gave Hogan an opening to pick up her second consecutive victory over Allie.

Winner: Kiera Hogan
Rating: 2.5/5



Sky Pirates & Bianca Belair vs. 3/4 Horsewomen of MMA

Happy Black History Month, everyone! Bianca Belair had some SICK threads on to celebrate. Anyways, onto the match. She teamed with Io Shirai and Kairi Sane to take on Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir.

NXT is spectacular at pacing matches according to the strengths of the talent at hand, and they showed that here. This match had a lot of fun spots and was given the time to really blossom into something memorable. Baszler and Co. have great chemistry with Shirai and Sane.

Sane hit her elbow, and Shirai grabbed the pinfall. Bianca celebrated with them, but didn't look too thrilled with an increasingly ambitious Io Shirai.

Winners: Sky Pirates & Belair
Rating: 3.5/5



*heavy sigh*

Nikki's dating life is a bit chaotic but honestly, such a mood. Brie is still the voice of reason. Here, have a clip:



This section includes recaps of matches from around the world in various lesser-known independent promotions throughout the week.

Pro-Wrestling: EVE

Match: Nina Samuels vs. Emi Sakura (EVE Title match)
Winner: Nina Samuels

STARDOM

Match: Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid & Tam Nakano vs. AZM, Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita
Winner: Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid & Tam Nakano

American Combat Wrestling

Match: Avery Taylor vs. Katalina Perez (ACW Women's Title match)
Winner: Avery Taylor


This match was a hell of a good time. Kairi Sane and Io Shirai are still the same kickass wonders they were in STARDOM, and Bianca Belair more than belongs in big storylines, screw what the podcaster who shall not be named says.


As great as their fellow Horsewomen were this week, I had to give due credit to two incredible talents who have not gotten the attention and treatment they deserve. These two spearheaded the revolution in NXT with their Brooklyn classic and Iron Woman match

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!