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, ROH's Women of Honor, and even a glimpse at the women on the independent circuit.

Well, folks, ya girl is officially a college graduate! I was entertaining family last week, so this week you get a WHALLOP of content from this past week, including Money in the Bank, AEW and more! Let's dive in!



Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I'll give WWE credit where credit is due: they had me dreading Mandy Rose winning the briefcase. They really did. This ladder match was nothing spectacular, but it did feature a lot of very cool and creative spots. We got Ember Moon hitting the Eclipse from a ladder, Naomi saving her life with a well-timed splits to the ground... your typical WWE multiwoman match.

Ironically enough, the most engaging story to be found in this match was the love story-I mean, ahem, partnership between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. At the match's conclusion, Sonya LITERALLY carried Mandy up the ladder in a shockingly poignant and very athletic display of solidarity. However, Bayley emerged from the void of the midcard and ascended the ladder, knocking the pair down to claim the briefcase and earn a title shot.

WWE... made the right choice. More on this later.

Winner: Bayley
Rating: 3.5/5

Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

Despite some surprisingly effective offense from Evans, our favorite double champ was able to stay on her feet and submit Evans rather quickly to retain her title. It's easy to lose sight of how impressively athletic Lacey Evans is because of her trash gimmick, but she held up well in this match and got some decent offense in. I still have some issues with the believability of her striking, but that's fixable.

I still cannot, however, justify her getting a title shot so soon. This gimmick does not warrant it.

Winner: Becky Lynch
Rating: 2/5

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Right after defeating Lacey Evans, Lynch was tasked with defeating a far more intimidating and proven opponent: Charlotte Flair. Flair went on the offense instantly, but it took interference from Lacey Evans (why?) and a killer big boot for her to plant Lynch for the 1-2-3, securing Flair her 9th title reign. Oooooof. That was my in-the-moment thought. But don't worry, because WWE gave themselves an out, and it was actually a pretty good idea.

Flair and Evans rubbed salt in the wound by beating down Lynch, but then HERE COMES BAYLEY, BRIEFCASE IN HAND! Bayley fought off the heels and cashed in, hitting a flying elbow drop on Flair to steal the SmackDown Women's Championship in spectacular fashion.

This sets up a Horsewoman feud we haven't gotten a lot of... Charlotte's current gimmick is a spectacular foil to Bayley's character, and this development finally gives the Hugger something substantial. We can only hope that WWE doesn't forget about potential challengers in Naomi, Ember Moon, Asuka and Kairi Sane.

Winner: Charlotte Flair... then Bayley!
Rating: 3/5



Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans, Peyton Royce & Billie Kay

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, who just creeped on Bliss in amusing fashion, interviewed Becky Lynch about the Money in the Bank fallout, but they were quickly interrupted by the IIconics, who mocked Becky now only being becky One Belt,t o which Becky responded by threatening to take THEIR belts. Boss. Lacey Evans showed up to talk (shocking) and Lynch quickly challenged the three to a match. Nikki Cross and a reluctant Bliss teamed with Lynch, and the match was set!

This was essentially a handicap match, because Bliss just kind of stood there, which I'll admit was pretty funny. Lycnh started off hot, then Cross came in to get some serious offense in before Lacey Evans made her the babyface in peril, which she played surprisingly well. This allowed Lynch to tag in hot and hit a beautiful diving leg drop on Billie Kay for the pinfall victory.

Predictably, Bliss celebrated as if she had won the match herself. I chuckled, sue me.

Winners: Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss
Rating: 3/5



Carmella vs. Mandy Rose

I honestly debated whether to include this because the match was very quickly taken over by 24/7 Championship mayhem because R-Truth was out there. Nothing happened.

Winner: .No contest
Rating: LMAO/5

Bayley & Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair & Lacey Evans

What even is the brand split anymore?

After a moment of mutual respect between Bayley and Becky Lynch, we got a tag between two champs and two... blonde heels. Seriously, I don't know why we're even pretending two distinct brands exist anymore, what is HAPPENING?!

Though short, this match was wildly fast-paced. The ladies definitely had a lot to cram into their short match time. In the end, Lynch locked the Dis-Arm-Her in on Flair, but it was broken up by Lacey Evans' Woman's Right, only for Bayley to roll Flair up for the sneaky victory. Huzzah for good guys!

Winner: .Bayley & Becky Lynch
Rating: 3/5



Taya Valkyrie vs. Madison Rayne (Knockouts Championship match)

Madison Rayne wasted no time in establishing herself in this match, hitting a spear moments after the bell rang. This set the tone for Rayne's performance in this match; she was aggressive and driven throughout. Valkyrie, however, had the grit to keep up and the grind to wear Rayne down with a nasty half-Boston Crab. One Valhalla's Gate later, and our champ retained her title.

Impact really is fun for women's wrestling fans right now, dubious use of M*chael Elg*n aside. Valkyrie is forging one hell of a title reign for herself, and I'm excited to see where her story leads. She has such a fun, brawling style we don't aways see, and it suits her persona to perfection. We just love to hate her.

Speaking of where Taya's story goes next, Rosemary emerged with her prisoner (I love wrestling) Su Yung and said she wanted a shot at that title. James Mitchell, meanwhile, wants Su back. It's all very creepy, and all very spectacular.

Winner: Taya Valkyrie
Rating: 3.5/5



Candice LeRae vs. Reina Gonzàlez

This match was a bit of a David and Goliath situation, as Candice's early attempts at attacking Reina did virtually nothing. Yikes! However, LeRae was able to weather some power slams and strikes from Reina and use her agility and speed to catch her opponent off guard, hitting a moonsault from the ropes for the victory.

She couldn't revel in her victory for long, as our lord and savior Shayna Baszler and her cronies showed up and surrounded LeRae. Lucky for Candice, Io Shirai ran out, kendo stick in hand, and fought the heel squad off.

Man. I'd be so here for any combination of those three women fighting each other.

Winner: Candice LeRae
Rating: 3/5



Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae vs. Awesome Kong

*inhales*

OHMYGODAWESOMEKONGTHEYACTUALLYGOTHER?!?!?!?!?!

Okay, cool, cool, I'm good. AEW showed they are here to play by adding the GLOW star and certified badass to a match that, fun fact, also featured the first trans woman wrestler to be signed to a major promotion. Hell yeah, Nyla Rose. Seeing Kong and Rose square off felt surreal. You couldn't help but be drawn in by the sheer celebratory mood of it all.

Kong was given a few moments early o show how unbothered she was by her smaller competitors, but AEW wisely kept her out of most of the main action and kept the focus on its three stars. The action was fast-paced and Nyla Rose decimated Kong through the steps, but it was some clutch attacks from Britt Baker that allowed her to take down Kylie Rae and win the match.

This was an encouraging display from AEW on what we can expect from its women's division. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long to see even more from them, and maybe some of that Joshi action we were promised?

Winner: Britt Baker
Rating: 3.5/5



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

PROGRESS

Match: Candy Floss vs. Mariah May
Winner: Candy Floss

STARDOM

Match: Kagetsu vs. Konami
Winner: Draw

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Match: Miyu Yamashita & Reika Saiki vs. Marika Kobashi & Yuki Aino
Winner: Miyu Yamashita & Reika Saiki


AEW is a force that seeks to turn the wrestling industry on its head, and if it can expand on what it started with its women's division at Double or Nothing, then it  just might. This match was fun, physical, and it let all of its young performers shine with the help of an experienced veteran, not despite it. I would watch it again a dozen times over.


This week, Bayley:

• Won the Money in the Bank match
• Cashed in
• Won the SmackDown Women's Championship
• Became the first-ever women's grand-slam champion

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!