Seven Days in Women’s Wrestling: May 26 to June 1, 2024

Kisses! Forbidden doors! Prohibited portals! CEOs! There was a lot this week in the world of women’s wrestling. Let’s take a peek.

Sunday – AEW Double or Nothing (And The Buy In)

Matches: 3 women / 9 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 42:00 min women / 160:00 men

Representation: 6 women / 32 men

Deonna Purrazzo d. Thunder Rosa (10:15)

AEW Women’s World Title: Toni Storm d. Serena Deeb (15:38)

AEW TBS Title: Mercedes Mone d. Willow Nightingale (18:04)

It was a big night for AEW and for their women’s divisions, with Mecedes Mone making her long-awaited AEW in-ring debut. In my opinion it was worth the wait, but I also am very biased as I claim Mercedes as my all-time favorite and also constantly shout the praises of Willow. The crowd was into it and they had a fun match in just under twenty minutes, with Mercedes winning the belt. I’m a little saddened Willow didn’t get a longer run, but she’ll be fine. She was, however, not fine after this match as Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander turned on her. Poor Willow.

Timeless Toni Storm put her belt on the line as well against Serena Deeb. It’s less shocking that Toni retained, but they had a good match.

The Buy In gave us Deonna vs Rosa, which was ALSO a very good match. There was a lot of good wrestling for the AEW women on this show. They should get more chances to do it!

The representation numbers aren’t shocking if you’ve been following AEW – two entire hours more of wrestling for the men than the women and over five times the amount of men wrestling as women. What we got was very good, but what if we did even more? B.

Monday – WWE Monday Night Raw

Matches: 2 women / 5 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 17:00 min women / 37:30 men

Representation: 4 women / 12 men

Lyra Valkyria d. Kairi Sane (3:45)

WWE Women’s World Title Steel Cage Match: Liv Morgan d. Becky Lynch (12:59)

Fun fact! I had a comp ticket to this show and then my body decided it hates me so much that I didn’t get to go. Love that for me. Maybe it just knew Rhea Ripley wasn’t on the show so it didn’t want to go. Those in attendance in Savannah did get to see a banger women’s title cage match between Liv and Becky. While the wrestling was good, the storylines all moved forward as well with Dominik Mysterio trying to help Becky win, only to be thwarted again. Post-match, Liv gave Dom Dom the ol’ liplock, though USA Network cut it short. I imagine this probably made Mami mad. Personally, I’d never do anything to make Rhea mad but I guess that’s the difference between me and Dom.

Queen of the Ring runner-up Lyra Valkyria got a quick win over Kairi Sane – too quick for my liking. It’s good to see her get a spotlight though amidst the doom and gloom of “she’s ruined” after King and Queen of the Ring. Iyo Sky was also not happy with Kairi’s quick loss, doing a lot of destruction backstage afterwards.

Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark issue a challenge to Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair to bring the Women’s Tag Belts to Raw. Yes please! Former champion Sonya Deville interrupts them, but the bigger interruptions are Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn who open up a new matchup.

The women are bit parts in a few other stories going on as well, with Maxxine stopping Chad Gable from whipping poor Otis and Kiana James working with (or for) Adam Pearce. Overall, the women main evented and Liv is one of the top stories of the entire company right now. Lyra is still progressing and several teams are eyeballing the tag titles. There is still room for more on a three hour show, but it’s a good foundation. B.

Tuesday – WWE NXT

Matches: 3 women / 4 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 15:30 min women / 26:30 men

Representation: 6 women /12 men

NXT Women’s North American Title Qualifying Match: Michin d. Tatum Paxley (9:12)

Lola Vice d. Arianna Grace (2:13)

NXT Women’s North American Title Qualifying Match: Kelani Jordan d. Wren Sinclair (3:15)

It’s a banner night for NXT, with hip-hop star Sexxy Red appearing to kick-off the show. It’s announced that she is hosting NXT Battleground. She also helps GM/Mayor Ava unveil the Women’s North American Title, which looks like the men’s belt but with a white strap. Tatum Paxley slinks into the ring to steal it, but is stopped by Red. Michin ran in afterwards and we moved into that match, with Michin getting the win and ladder match spot. I really enjoyed this, and there was a cool spot where Michin matched Tatum’s “crazy.” I hate that either woman is not in the ladder match, but Michin will make the most of it and there is certainly a lot in the future for Tatum.

Sexxy Red would find her way into the main event scene as well, accompanying Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans to ringside. Lash Legend appeared after the mask to ask Trick if he knew who attacked Meta Four, only to get knocked down by a debuting Ethan Page.

Roxanne Perez came out to boast about how great she is and get the answer to who she is defending her title against at Battleground. We got a genuine unspoiled surprise as Jordynne Grace’s music played and she appeared to “TNA” and “holy shit” chants. Jordynne reintroduced herself to the audience and told Roxanne that she would like to leave Battleground as a double champion. A really cool moment and surprise, and personally I’d just throw the Battleground main event at these two at this point. This has sparked a lot of internet chatter about a further NXT/TNA crossover, with several noticing that Jordynne has an open challenge for her TNA Knockouts TItle shortly after Battleground on TNA TV.

Later in the show, Stevie Turner appeared in Ava’s office to complain about her lack of TV time. And that’s when we see Jordynne again, setting up a match between the two next week on NXT. Wild times.

Kelani Jordan found her way into the ladder match as well with a win over Wren Sinclair. This wasn’t much of a surprise, but Kelani has been very good since her debut.

Arianna Grace talked to Lola Vice backstage, which led to Lola threatening Arianna and setting up their match. Arianna’s delivery of “oh shit” was PERFECT and I am ready for the montages of her comedic moments. The match itself was quick, as it should have been, with Shayna Baszler trying to attack Lola after the match.

We also had a video package on Carlee Bright, a former cheerleader coming to NXT and that we’ve seen a bit on Level Up. Overall, another fantastic episode of NXT. I know Sexxy Red doesn’t mean much to the readership here because we’re all old, but her appearance was a BIG DEAL for NXT and her being at Battleground is also big. The genuine surprise of a killer challenge for Roxanne was great and they made great progress towards the ladder match. It’s a solid A from me.

Wednesday – AEW Dynamite

Matches: 1 women / 3 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 8:00 min women / 45:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 13 men

AEW TBS Title Match: Mercedes Mone d. Skye Blue (7:37)

The show opened with Mercedes, which was a nice change on a show where women often don’t even appear until an hour into the show. She had a little championship celebration, interrupted by Skye Blue who revealed she attacked Mercedes months ago. I figured we’d have to wait another four months for the security footage to be released, but here we are. This led to a match being announced, which happened a mere hour later.

Now Miss P, you ask, why are you complaining about this match happening? That’s a fair question. My complaint: why would you not give further advance warning about Mercedes’ first TV match for your company? Advertise the hell out of it! Hell, give it a week’s notice at least. I enjoyed the match, but it could’ve done with some hype after MONTHS of hyping her first match with the company. I’m not sure it helped Skye in the end either, who has now been vanquished in one night by Mercedes and I guess disappears again to Ring of Honor or to wait for her partner to reappear. Post-match, Stephanie Vaquer appeared to stare down Mercedes. It’s a dream match for women’s wrestling and one that looks to be happening at Forbidden Door.

Another complaint about the Mercedes/Skye match, to no fault of either women, is that the announced Mariah May vs Saraya match was pushed back a week. God forbid we have two women’s matches on this two hour program, especially when we have to have “TV Time” for Chris Jericho. Sigh.

There’s also a short segment backstage with Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, mocking Willow Nightingale. No sign of Timeless Toni this week, as we followup one of the three women’s matches that happened at Double or Nothing. I’m giving it a C- this week because we can do better. A lot better. I’m glad there was a marquee match for the women, but imagine telling people it was going to happen in advance!

Wednesday – WWE Speed

Matches: 0 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 0:00 min women / 3:00 men

Representation: 0 women / 2 men

The spirit of WWE Speed thus far continues with all men, all the time.

Thursday – ROH on HonorClub

Matches: 2 women / 6 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 6:00 min women / 33:00 men

Representation: 4 women / 19 men

Proving Ground Match: Athena d. Viva Van (3:51)

Red Velvet d. Kel (1:47)

I complained last week about the women received under two minutes in-ring last week, so this week we beefed up to six whole minutes. Remember the TV Title tournament and all the time the women were receiving and how we felt like ROH was getting it right? That was nice.

The Women’s World Champion Athena does open the show this week, getting a Proving Ground win over Viva Van in pretty short order. Viva last appeared on ROH in the aforementioned TV Title Tournament, losing in the first round to Abadon in under six minutes. Viva is a pretty accomplished independent wrestler who could be a good catch for AEW if they wanted. Athena appeared to hurt her ankle in this match, which could be a big problem for ROH.

Marina Shafir had a backstage segment to issue some general threats. Red Velvet won a quick match against Kel, with Billie Starkz attacking her post match. Kel last appeared on ROH in November, losing in short order to Emi Sakura.

A disappointing night in a series of them for fans of the women in ROH, with not much happening. Athena’s possible injury likely shortened her match, but those of us who have watched Athena’s previous 248584 Proving Ground matches know it was probably not far from being over anyway. There was so much for the women when we were doing a tournament and now we’re down to six minutes. Sigh. D.

Thursday – TNA Impact

Matches: 1 women / 5 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 4:00 min women / 51:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 10 men

Xia Brookside d. Steph De Lander (3:46)

The women continue to be on the back burner for TNA, and this week Impact’s biggest thing for the women was a highlight package of their Knockouts Champion on NXT and hyping her in two upcoming NXT matches.

In ring, Xia Brookside defeats Steph De Lander in a match that’s all storyline. PCO interrupts, accidentally causing Steph to lose. He does give her a card with a heart afterwards though, so we aren’t done with this yet.

Gail Kim has a sit down interview with Gisele Shaw, focusing on her return to the ring next week. We also get a short backstage talk with Jody Threat.

The most interesting thing with the Knockouts division is happening on the USA Network, but perhaps there is hope for a future crossover. As it stands, there isn’t much happening for the women in TNA. C-.

Thursday – WWE Main Event

Matches: 1 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 5:00 min women / 8:00 men

Representation: 4 women / 2 men

Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre d. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (5:06)

The Unholy Union get some time this week on Main Event. It’s a pretty good match actually between four women who deserve more time than what they’re getting. A-.

Friday – AEW Rampage

Matches: 1 women / 4 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 9:00 min women / 26:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 8 men

Women’s World Title Eliminator Match: Toni Storm d. Viva Van (8:58)

One might ask what Viva Van has done within the company to earn challenge matches for two of the company’s three women’s matches in the same week… and it would be valid questioning. As noted earlier, we haven’t seen her since November and here she is in her second match of the week to possibly earn a title match.

It’s a good match and Toni wins of course, because why wouldn’t she. The Outcasts appear after the mockingly clap as we remember that Mariah/Saraya match that has been pushed to next week’s Dynamite.

As usual, we get our one women’s match that is largely inconsequential on Rampage. C.

Friday – NXT Level Up

Matches: 1 women / 2 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 4:30 min women / 13:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 6 men

Stevie Turner d. Kendal Grey

In a rarity, what’s happening on Level Up has a slight bit of overrun with what’s happening on NXT. Stevie Turner mentioned on Tuesday that she has been working on Level Up, which led to her match coming against Jordynne Grace. And here she is warming up for that!

It’s the usual B for Level Up.

Friday – TNA Xplosion

Matches: 0 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 0:00 min women / 6:30 men

Representation: 0 women / 2 men

It’s an off week for the women on Xplosion. F.

Friday – WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Matches: 1 women / 3 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 8:30 min women / 31:30 men

Representation: 4 women / 8 men

Chelsea Green & Piper Niven d. Bayley & Naomi (8:28)

We start this week with our new Queen of the Ring Nia Jax. Following celebration, she calls Bayley out. Bayley is attacked by Piper & Chelsea.

This story weaves throughout the show. Naomi becomes Bayley’s partner, Blair Davenport gets into it with Naomi, Michin expresses displeasure towards Nia. It leads to the tag match, with Piper and Chelsea winning and setting up Piper as Bayley’s Clash at the Castle challenger.

We also get a brief segment with Indi Hartwell, who is mad at Jade Cargill.

I would’ve liked a second match, but I also appreciate the women opening the show, weaving all through it and being in the final match. C.

Saturday – AEW Collision

Matches: 1 women / 6 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 3:30 min women / 61:30 men

Representation: 2 women / 20 men

Thunder Rosa d. Reina Dorada (3:13)

It’s time for my weekly Collision complaint! It’s a two hour show but there only seems to be room for three minutes of women’s action, yet there’s plenty of room for multi-man matches. Odd.

This week’s two women are Thunder Rosa and Reina Dorada. This is Reina’s first match in the “big three” but she’s a regular for AAA. Not much to speak of here as it’s a quick win for Rosa. Rosa says things aren’t over between her and Deonna Purrazzo after the match.

We also have a brief segment with Statlander, Stokely and a pile of trash, with the implecation that Willow is a pile of trash. Rude.

We also have a backstage segment with Toni Storm being Toni Storm, including saying that her Forbidden Door is wide open.

A disappointing show for the women this week, but I am glad they at least gave them some storyline movement backstage. Still though, four minutes versus the men getting an hour is not cool. D.

Week in Review:

WWE: Four matches at approximately 30:30 combined, 12 different women in matches

NXT: Four matches at approximately 20:00 combined, 8 different women in matches

AEW: Six matches at approximately 62:30 combined, 9 different women in matches (Mercedes Mone, Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa all wrestled twice, Viva Van had two matches between AEW/ROH)

ROH: Two matches at approximately 6:00 combined, 4 different women in matches

TNA: One match at approximately 4:00, 2 different women in matches