Women in Wrestling Weekly Roundup – October 29 to November 4, 2023

It’s time for another exciting week in women’s wrestling. We have two extra special events this week, one from WWE and one from Impact. Will the numbers go up due to this? They definitely will for Impact since they aired no new wrestling last week. Let’s run through the week!

WWE Raw (Monday)

It’s the go-home show for the Raw brand as Crown Jewel nears and the last live main roster show. We have two women’s matches advertised.

The matches:

Xia Li defeats Candice LeRae in 2:03. Don’t be shocked, but there wasn’t much to this two minute match. A Xia kick knocks Candice silly enough for the referee to call the match. This was probably a way to make Xia look lethal in the build to the match with Becky.

Chelsea Green defeats Natalya in a Trick or Street Fight in 5:32. This is your mandatory silly Halloween match of the year and Chelsea is the perfect person to be in it. Her stumbling around with a pumpkin on her head is enough for it to be a classic, but we also see a dreaded powerbomb onto candy corn. I enjoyed it.

Other developments:

Throughout the show we get video packages highlighting the five women in the Crown Jewel five-way that are really well done. Rhea and Judgment Day cut a good show-opening promo and Rhea has really grown on that mic. Ivy Nile appears with the Creeds and gets into it with Maxxine. Becky cuts a promo on her NXT title loss and it interrupted by Xia, who says their match will happen on her time.

The stats:

Two women’s matches for a combined 7:35 is pretty weak for a three hour show. Combined, that’s shorter than any one men’s match on the show by two minutes. Two of seven matches were women’s, four women had matches compared to fourteen men. This one gets a D. Under ten minutes of a three hour show is rough.

WWE NXT (Tuesday)

It’s week two of Halloween Havoc. Last week we had five women’s matches, and it looks like we’re getting a little less this week with two advertised matches. One is the Breakout Tournament finals and another is a WWE Women’s Tag Title match, so still big things.

The matches:

Tiffany Stratton vs Fallon Henley doesn’t happen. Tiffany jumps Fallon before the bell.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven defeat Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail in a Women’s Tag Team Title match in 8:58. Women’s tag belts make their triumphant return to NXT after being unified with Shayna & Ronda’s belts and disappearing to the main roster. This is a good little match and, in a rarity, the champs come out ahead. This one goes south for Chase U when Andre Chase argues with Jacy about cheating.

Lola Vice defeats Kelani Jordan in the Women’s Breakout Tournament finals in 6:59. A lot of us thought this was Kelani’s to win, but she definitely comes off as a project forming anyway. This gives Lola as well as Elektra Lopez some momentum.

Other developments:

This week’s hosts are a combo of Shotzi & Scarlett and our witchy queens Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, which makes this an automatic A for me. Meta Four are in a haunted house. We get a look at Lyra Valkyria who is touring Irish media after her title win last week.

The stats:

Two women’s matches actually happen for a combined sixteen minutes. Three men’s matches happen in comparison, with six women and eight men competing. Not bad odds. The men get more time, which was bound to happen with a TLC match and a big NXT Title rematch. Still lots of representation and development, so we’re going with a B-.

AEW Dynamite (Wednesday)

It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means… one women’s match on a two hour show! The last Dynamite with two women’s matches was February 9, 2022. There were two women’s dark matches this week, so… well, the women were there. Just can’t seem to fit them on the show. How could we possibly fit women on the show AND Ric Flair’s mushroom-based energy drink and Paul Wight looking in pain in 2023?

The match:

Hikaru Shida defeats Willow Nightingale in a AEW Women’s World Title match in 9:56. As Thomas said in his recap, the usual good match between these two with Willow’s usual loss. They’ve got to capitalize on what they have with Willow one day. Toni Storm brawls with Shida post match, while Julia Hart returns to stare at Willow. Skye Blue appears and spits blue mist into Julia’s eyes.

Other developments:

Tony Khan Has A Big Announcement. Not about women. The women did get a really cool Doja Cat video that debuted on social media before the show and some of us were foolish enough to think maybe it would mean women might appear in more than one segment. We were wrong.

The stats:

One out of five televised matches featured women for 9:56 of in-ring time. Two women competed versus twenty men which is, as usual, the AEW way. It’s hard to go above a D when the women are so minor and can’t get more than ten minutes of two hours, but I’m going with a C- just because they tried to advance several stories at least.

Impact Wrestling (Thursday)

Fresh off last week’s Bound for Glory recap show, we are gearing up for… this weekend’s Turning Point??? Time flies I guess. We’re in Scotland this week and seeing matches from the current international tour.

The matches:

Deonna Purrazzo, Brian Myers & Moose defeat Subculture in 15:43 – Mixed tag action here. Dani Luna is a member of Subculture, for anyone seeking the women in the match not named Deonna. Not a shocking result with Deonna and Moose having pending title shots, but a fun match.

Trinity defeats Emersyn Jane in 7:09. Jane has been active since 2012, winning various titles across the independents. This largely was to get the champ on the show, but Jane looked good.

Other developments: Trinity says she’s ready to beat Deonna at Turning Point.

The stats:

Two matches involving women here (including a mixed six-person match) for a combined 22:50 or so. Two women-featured matches compared to three with me, with four women competing versus twelve men. A tough spot as the “we’re on tour” show which is also the one show between two special events. It’s a B- for me.

Ring of Honor on HonorClub (Thursday)

Still building to that HonorClub-exclusive PPV that’ll probably mostly feature talent that doesn’t appear on this show, though we have some hot things going on with the women.

The matches:

Leyla Hirsch defeats Robyn Renegade in 1:43. Not much to it, but post-match issues might be setting up Robyn and her sister Charlette against Leyla and Rachael Ellering.

Rachael Ellering defeats LMK in 2:41. Speak of the devil! LMK is local indie star Little Mean Kathleen. Another little squash here on AEW Dark Elevation 2023.

Kiera Hogan defeats Charlette Renegade in 3:23. It’s not a race tonight, ladies. Again, not a lot happening here but putting a little heat on Kiera.

Athena defeats Mercedes Martinez in a ROH Women’s Title match in 13:30. Not surprisingly, probably the women’s match of the week as Athena is consistently the MVP and Mercedes is fantastic. Worth going out of your way for. Billie Starkz gives into Athena’s evil ways to help her win.

The stats:

Four women’s matches for a combined 21 minutes or so. Six men’s matches this week, with 8 women competing versus 31 men in action. The three short matches hurt, but the main event lands this one a B-. About as good as ROH usually does, strongly on the back of Athena.

WWE Main Event (Thursday)

As usual, the WWE show where things don’t matter but they happen because *content* and such.

The match:

Kayden Carter defeats Blair Davenport in 5:07. This is Blair’s official first main roster match. They do a lot in five minutes, none of which is going to advance anything unfortunately.

The stats:

One women’s match for 5:07 out of two matches on the card, with two men and two women. B.

AEW Rampage (Friday)

Our one-hour AEW show, Friday has become the most digestible of the AEW shows I think. One advertised women’s match tonight.

The match:

Skye Blue defeats Marina Shafir in 7:11. Not a bad match, but “just a match.” Skye continues to get TV time while Marina looked good here.

Other developments:

Saraya plays mean girl and tells Ruby Soho that she wouldn’t get TV time without her and that she’s tired of hearing about Toni Storm.

The stats:

Four matches, one of which is 7:11 of women’s action. Two women compete versus nine men. It’s the usual Rampage! Let’s give it a C.

Impact Wrestling Turning Point (Friday)

England gets an Impact PPV. We just had Bound for Glory, so there’s not a lot of build going on here.

The matches:

Gisele Shaw defeats Alex Windsor in 8:38. I enjoyed this as they flowed well and I’ve developed a soft spot for Gisele. An inoffensive match.

Jordynne Grace defeats Dani Luna in 8:36. This one is a hoss fight and again, I mostly enjoyed it. These are mostly TV-level bouts tonight.

Trinity defeats Deonna Purrazzo in an Impact Knockouts Title match in 16:15. Listen, these two aren’t going to have a bad match and they didn’t here. I’d recommend giving it a watch. Trinity continues to rock this Impact run.

The stats:

Three women’s matches tonight for a combined 32:20 or so. The women had three matches versus five for the men, with six women against 14 men. I really can’t complain about three matches and half an hour of time as Impact, as usual, gives the women time. A-.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (Friday)

We’re not live this week as the crew is in Saudi for tomorrow’s Crown Jewel. We have a big women’s main event advertised. Of note, NXT’s Alicia Taylor is in the house for the third SD in a row filling in for Mike Rome. With this and her fill-in for Samantha Irvin Monday, she becomes the first woman to announce Raw, NXT and SmackDown in a week.

The matches:

Charlotte & Shotzi defeat Chelsea Green & Piper Niven in 3:00. Non-title and they really can’t seem to give Chelsea & Piper time for matches or wins. I’m sure this will set up a rematch with the titles on the line, but this didn’t feel like much.

Bianca Belair defeats Bayley in 13:21. Again, two that aren’t going to have a bad match especially if they get the time, which they did. I’d recommend this one too. Bayley eats a Kiss of Death through the announce table to end the show and to see Bianca as the big challenger tomorrow.

Other developments:

Just some pre-match shenanigans with Damage Ctrl and Bianca, leading to Iyo & Dakota being banned from ringside during the main event.

The stats:

Two of the four matches involved women for a combined 16:21. Six women and six men competed, with the women’s main event being the longest match of the show. It’s an A.

NXT Level Up (Friday)

If you’ve ever wanted more NXT but without the pesky storylines, this is the show for you.

The match:

Ivy Nile defeats Valentina Feroz in 5:47. Ivy has had a big week appearing with the Creeds on Raw and NXT. This was a good spotlight for her and really, she’s been main roster ready for a bit.

The stats:

A three match week this week, with the women getting one for 5:47. Two women versus six men. Let’s give it a C.

AEW Collision (Saturday)

Two more hours of AEW this week and we have one advertised women’s match. Will we get a second this week? I knew the answer before asking.

The match:

Willow Nightingale defeats Emi Sakura in 10:05. Wait, does that say Willow WON? In AEW?? Willow’s last singles win (non-ROH) in AEW was in August. Hey, these two had a good match! I’m always going to recommend a Willow match.

Other developments:

Backstage, Kris Statlander thanks Skye Blue for rejoining her and Willow. Skye says she did it for Willow, not Kris.

The stats: Seven matches tonight, 10:05 of which was the one women’s match. That’s not the worst stat, however. Two women competed versus 28 men. 28! Inexcusable odds for a two-hour show. I give it a D only because the women got ten minutes and not three, as sometimes happens.

WWE Crown Jewel (Saturday)

We’re in Saudi Arabia, as we are sometimes, for our latest PPV. We have two women’s matches advertised and both have honestly gotten a lot of hype. The five-woman match might have the most hype beyond Roman vs Knight.

The matches:

Rhea Ripley defeats Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark in a Fatal Five-Way match for the WWE Women’s World Title in 11:05. I’m a BIT biased, but I really enjoyed this match. Rhea received a special occasion entrance and all five looked good in this five-way hoss fight. Shayna had submissions on three women at once and it was badass. Rhea squeaks out the win and the reign continues.

Iyo Sky defeats Bianca Belair in a WWE Women’s Title match in 16:33. This one has a few rough bumps but was enjoyable. Most notably, Kairi Sane appeared to attack Belair and make her WWE return, embracing Iyo after the match. It immediately opens several stories, including Bayley being the one to send Kairi out of the company.

Other developments:

Rhea Ripley told Jackie Redmond that she would rather have Cathy Kelley interview her. Rhea + Cathy 4ever.

The stats:

Two of seven matches for a combined 27:40 included women, with seven women competing versus ten men (twelve if you count the Kickoff match). Really, not bad especially with this being a Saudi show. I’m giving it a B.

The Final Stats:

Spread across approximately 11.5 hours of TV time including NXT, 10 out of 26 matches aired by WWE included women. That’s 27 women’s spots, with Chelsea Green competing three times and Piper Niven and Bianca Belair competing twice within the week. In comparison, we had 46 male spots in matches. In-ring time this week was approximately 79 minutes.

Spread across approximately 7 hours of TV time including ROH, 7 out of 26 AEW matches involved women (4 of the 7 were on ROH). There were spots for 14 women (8 of those on ROH) versus spots for 88 men. No, that’s not a typo. In-ring time this week was approximately 38 minutes. Willow Nightingale had two matches this week.

Spread across approximately five hours of TV time, 5 out of 14 matches included women including one mixed tag match. There were 10 women’s spots in matches this week versus 26 men’s spots. Trinity, Deonna Purrazzo and Dani Luna all competed twice this week. In-ring time this week was approximately 55 minutes.