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.



Naomi vs Carmella vs Natalya vs Alexa Bliss

This match was an elimination match to determine the number one contender for the Raw Women's Championship. This match is off to a bad start immediately, as none of the 4 women are particularly renowned for great matches. Carmella is the first to be eliminated via a cradle by Bliss after a stretch of uninspiring offense. Carmella had hit the bronco buster to Natalya and a superkick on Naomi just before being eliminated, but she never really appeared to pose a threat.

The problems for the match ramp up with the amount of downtime, and with Naomi, Bliss and Natalya keeping much of the action on the ground, the crowd unfortunately turn on the match with chants of this is awful. It's hard to disagree with them, especially when Natalya pins Naomi with a cradle. The match doesn't get any better between Natalya and Bliss as they involve Nikki Cross in proceedings, and after a period of Bliss being in control after her moonsault knee attack, miscommunication between Cross and Bliss leads to Natalya winning with the sharpshooter.

If this match was a sprint and lasted between 10 and 12 minutes, it would have been an interesting match, however subjecting the fans to 25 minutes of uninspired wrestling with no logical progression hurts this match and the reputation of all 4 women involved. The fans are fully entitled to vent their frustration, and hopefully this car crash of a match will result in more care being given to women's matches on Raw. All 4 women need to be praised for continuing to work in such a hostile environment.

Winner: Natalya
Rating: 1/5



Charlotte vs Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan showed a fire in this match that she hasn't shown since leaving The Riott Squad, getting in a lot more offense against Charlotte than would be expected. An enziguri followed by a double stomp was only good enough for a 2 count, but Charlotte was able to counter a hurricanrana attempt into a powerbomb to gain control. This was followed by the figure eight, and Liv tapped out. For a sub 3 minute match, this was an entertaining sprint. The interesting aspect to this match was Liv declaring after the match that she would come back real, which is intriguing as she has been rather directionless since she moved to SmackDown.

Winner: Charlotte
Rating: 2.5/5



Ember Moon & Bayley vs Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville attacked Bayley immediately in an attempt to isolate her, with multiple knee strikes from the pair only getting a 2 count. Bayley battles back, and once Ember Moon is tagged in, she hits a dropkick and knee strikes of her own to display her dominance. Moon and Bayley win following Moon hitting an eclipse on Rose for the 3 count, which was an effective manner to build Moon up as Bayley's next opponent for the SmackDown Women's Championship.

In what was essentially a squash match, the action was effective in reminding fans just how good Moon can be, whilst also showing the potential depth of the roster in terms of women's tag team wrestling. For the purpose that this match tried to achieve, it was an inoffensive and fun sprint.

Winner: Ember Moon & Bayley
Rating: 2.5/5


The IIconics vs The Kabuki Warriors - WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Peyton Royce starts the match by slapping Kairi Sane, who replies with a slap of her own and an effective head scissors. Asuka gets involved in the match with a codebreaker before she is taken out by Billie Kay following a missed attack into the ropes. Billie Kay is taken to the floor with a kick by Asuka, and with the count at 5, Royce realises they can win the match and retain the championships via countout, therefore she stops Billie Kay from returning to the win and they take the loss.

The Kabuki Warriors decided to take out their frustrations on The IIconics following the match, with Sane taking out Royce with the insane elbow drop. If the plan was to build to a match further down the line, this was not the correct way to do it as it made The Kabuki Warriors look like idiots for not breaking the 10 count. In terms of The IIconics, this match further enhances their reputation as chicken heels, however the championships themselves are being degraded by being competed for in such poor matches. There was very little to like about this match.

Winner: The Kabuki Warriors
Rating: 1/5



Taya Valkyrie vs Havok vs Madison Rayne

Havok is double teamed by Taya Valkyrie and Madison Rayne but she is able to fight them off, slamming Rayne into the turnbuckle. Taya hits Havok with a series of elbows, clotheslines and double knees, which leads to Rayne taking out Taya with a neckbreaker. Havok returns to take control of Taya until Rayne hits a DDT on Havok for a 2 count. All 3 women start to trade strikes in a hard hitting sequence which ends with Rayne hitting the high cross on Taya, which is followed by a tombstone by Havok to Rayne for the 3 count.

This was a match filled with hard hitting action, however the layout of the match was typical of poorly booked triple threat matches where it feels to formulaic. Havok winning is interesting, and with Rayne taking the fall, Taya is protected as the Impact Knockouts Champion, and Havok highlights the credible threat she poses.

Winner:Havok
Rating: 2/5



Jinny vs Xia Brookside

This match felt very standard and by the numbers, which is a shame considering the wrestlers involved. Gabert accompanied Jinny to the ring and Xia Brookside took control early with dropkicks and a running high cross, with Jinny replying with strikes, only to be hit with double knees. The match chugged along with neither wrestler taking control until the finish of the match, as Jinny cradled Brookside for the 3 count after Brookside was tripped up by Gabert in a spot that came off poorly. Both wrestlers are capable of much better, but this wasn't the worst offering WWE presented this week.

Winner: Jinny
Rating: 2/5


There were no women's matches this week on NXT, although next week we will see Io Shirai vs Kacy Catanzaro. This match is sure to be a cracker, especially as Shirai needs to cement how much she has changed through her heel turn.


Dana Brooke vs Sarah Logan

This match is their fourth match within the last 5 weeks, therefore I have high hopes for this match. Dana Brooke takes control of the match with multiple strikes, hitting her back handspring elbow and cartwheel splash to only get a 2 count. Sarah Logan responds with a clothesline for a 2 count of her own, which leads to the pair trading a series of strikes until Logan takes control with a pop up headbutt and a dropkick. Logan hits a cobra clutch which is countered by Brooke with a jawbreaker which eventually leads to Logan trapping Brooke in the inverted cloverleaf, however Brooke escapes. The finish of the match comes as Logan misses a running knee strike and Brooke hits the Dana senton.

As a match, this was entertaining, however it didn't feel significantly different to their previous matches. I feel they have a really good match in them, but it is about being able to unlock that potential.

Winner: Dana Brooke
Rating: 2/5


This was the perfect match for Ember Moon to highlight just how talented she is, in addition to showing the depth of the women's division on SmackDown. This match was entertaining which is the most important aspect of wrestling. Most matches this week were poor or failed to get out of first gear, therefore this match feels like a worthy choice for match of the week.


Ember Moon was able to turn around months of poor booking with an impressive showing on SmackDown, positioning herself as the number one contender to the SmackDown Women's Championship. Her character in NXT was intriguing, and her performances were always a highlight of each NXT TakeOver she appeared on, however her main roster experience has been poor so far. This is an ample opportunity to rehabilitate Moon's character and give fans a reason to cheer for her.

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!