Seven Days in Women’s Wrestling: June 2 to 8, 2024

It’s what has become a rare week without a special event, as we’re right past WWE and AEW events, days before NXT Battleground and a week before TNA’s next event. Whart stories do the women have building up on the shows this week? Let’s find out.

Monday – WWE Monday Night Raw

Matches: 2 women / 6 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 13:00 min women / 51:00 men

Representation: 6 women / 14 men

Kiana James d. Natalya (2:53)

WWE Women’s Tag Titles: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill d. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark

Our big A-story for the women and perhaps the show is the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour. This week, she opens the show, disses Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch and further teases poor, poor Dominik Mysterio. The heat is on for always with Dom Dom, but Liv is getting great reactions as well and doing well with this. I often see “I don’t get what they see in Liv Morgan” here, but just because you don’t see it or enjoy it doesn’t mean the general audience isn’t eating it up. She’s carrying this so well.

The tag division is firing up this week, with Jade and Bianca appearing to face Shayna and Zoey’s challenge. They have an enjoyable match, one that is ended by the interference of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. This easily sets up the home country witches to get a triple threat title shot in a match with the other four women.

Kiana James has her Raw in-ring debut and gets a quick win over Natalya. Natalya and Sonya Deville chat backstage, where Nattie pulls out the ol’ Owen “enough is enough and it’s time for a change.” Also backstage, Lyra Valkyria shows interest in Money in the Bank and is attacked by IYO Sky.

The usual line: there’s room for more than two matches in three hours. That said, the stories are rolling along here. Much like Rhea was doing this time last year, Liv is working fine in a story crossed over with the men (and not coincidentally the same faction as last year). The women’st tag belts are present, which isn’t always a guarantee with Raw. Still a C, but good effort.

Tuesday – WWE NXT

Matches: 4 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 21:30 min women / 8:00 men

Representation: 12 women / 2 men

Jordynne Grace d. Stevie Turner (3:03)

Jazmyn Nyx d. Thea Hail (4:30)

Natalya d. Izzi Dame (4:09)

Jaida Parker, Michin & Sol Ruca d. Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan & Lash Legend (9:37)

Yes, those of you following along on social media (@MissPeacockery on Twitter) know I’ve already declared this show an A+. Look at those numbers! This might be the first week the men have only had one match on NXT outside of the competition show days.

It’s a big week this week as we’re on the final build to NXT Battleground at the UFC Apex. There are three big matches building for the women, and we’re tackling them all tonight. The one we are talking about the most is the prohibited portal entry of TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace, coming last week to challenge Roxanne Perez. Jordynne faces Stevie Turner on this episode of NXT as a warmup, which sets the first time an active TNA champion has competed on NXT. She wins dominantly, which is pretty expected. Rox failed at a cheap shot afterwards. We get a bonus backstage reunion with former coworkers Jordynne and Michin, with Tatum Paxley appearing to take a shine to Jordynne’s belt.

The crowning of the first NXT Women’s North American Champion is the other big title situation. The six competitors meet in a in-ring summit, which lets the ladies show a little personality before it breaking into a brawl. That turns it into a main event six-woman tag, giving the women the chance to interact.

And then there’s the NXT Underground match upcoming with Lola Vice and Shayna Baszler. We get a really good hype package for this. In other in-ring action, Jasmyn gets a win over Thea, who is struggling with Chase U. And Nattie has a serviceable match with Izzi Dame that doesn’t really do much for anything going on. There’s also a vignette on Wendy Choo, who wakes up, looks in the mirror and… is possessed??? I’m 100% into it. She’ll be back next week.

A+, obviously. As always, there is so much going on and the women are CARRYING it on NXT. Four out of the five matches plus an extended in-ring segment. NXT is the brand where the women are ruling the show.

Wednesday – AEW Dynamite

Matches: 1 women / 4 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 9:00 min women / 46:30 men

Representation: 2 women / 16 men

Saraya d. Mariah May (9:06)

And then we come to AEW Dynamite, where the women have one match and there are two of them on the card compared to fourteen men crammed in the other four matches and four segments of Chris Jericho. Sigh. We were fools to think maybe things were changing.

Our mandatory one women’s match of the night is Saraya getting a surprise win over Mariah May. Not the way I would’ve gone, but it happens. The post-match is the story, with Toni Storm and Mariah being beaten down by the Outcasts, with Mina Shirakawa running out to save them. With both Toni and Mina trying to win Mariah’s heart, Mariah gives each one a headlock and pulls them both in for a chest-focused hug. That works.

Elsewhere, Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway come out for, uh, reasons to threaten Orange Cassidy, which brings Willow Nightingale out to attack.

On the Mone side of things, all we get is a video on Mone vs Stephanie Vaquer, coming at Forbidden Door. As usual, there’s not enough going on here for the women and there is room for more than one match in a two-hour show. The representation as usual is rough here. I do appreciate that they’ve done a good job building Toni/Mariah/Mina over the last few months. C-.

Wednesday – WWE Speed

Matches: 0 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 0:00 min women / 1:00 men

Representation: 0 women / 2 men

We’ve got a full minute of action here this week, and none of it involves a woman. F.

Thursday – ROH on HonorClub

Matches: 3 women / 3 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 9:00 min women / 22:00 men

Representation: 6 women / 15 men

Queen Aminata d. Mazzarati (3:23)

Marina Shafir d. Amira (1:45)

Proving Ground Match: Billie Starkz d. Zamaya (3:29)

Well, we’re up to three women’s matches again on ROH but they’re all crammed into nine minutes or less. Our big match is yet another Proving Ground match, with newcomer Zamaya getting the shot this week. I don’t have much background on Zamaya, but she has a very Bull Nakano look and I am immediately very into her. Billie gets the win because champions always win Proving Ground matches. Red Velvet comes in after Billie, and then Queen Aminata appears to help stack the odds.

Speaking of the good Queen, she kicks off the show with an easy win. She has seemed next in line for a title shot for a while and this keeps her rolling. Marina Shafir takes out Amira to show she’s in charge, which we’ll see if it goes anywhere. Amira last appeared on ROH in November. In that appearance, she lost to Marina in 2:11. At least she’s consistent.

This felt better than the last few weeks but we’re still finishing up with the women in ten minutes on a show where they used to get triple the time. Granted the runtime of ROH is thankfully down, but that happening after a second women’s title is introduced hurts. C-.

Thursday – TNA Impact (2oth Anniversary)

Matches: 2 women / 4 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 10:00 min women / 39:00 men

Representation: 4 women / 10 men

Gisele Shaw d. Shazza McKenzie (3:21)

TNA Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace d. Allysin Kay (6:13)

It’s the 20th Anniversary episode of Impact, which is crazy to think about. This week, we actually set a new record. Back in January, Jordynne and Trinity/Naomi became the first two women to compete on WWE and TNA TV in the same week. This week, Jordynne becomes the first to compete on TNA and NXT in the same week. She has a good match, successfully avoiding the interference of Allysin Kay’s partner Marti Belle to keep the title. We would learn shortly after that Jordynne has an open challenge for her belt at TNA’s Against All Odds next weekend. Hmmmmmm.

Gisele Shaw makes her return to face Peacockery favorite Shazza McKenzie, getting her big match on Impact. Gisele wins of course, but I enjoyed it.

In the land of love, Steph De Lander gets a letter from PCO, asking for her love. In the opposite, Rosemary is upset about general life.

TNA has been up and down – mostly down – with the women this year, but the NXT angle has certainly helped the show feel more alive. There’s a certain excitement around Jodynne and who might pass through that portal from the WWE end, and it helps a lot. B-.

Thursday – WWE Main Event

Matches: 1 women / 1 men

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

Representation: 2 women / 2 men

Dakota Kai d. Ivy Nile (5:41)

Man, I don’t like seeing Dakota down on Main Event. It’s a Main Event quality match, which isn’t an insult. The women have been putting on fun matches for weeks there, and that continues today. B.

Friday – AEW Rampage

Matches: 1 women / 4 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 13:30 min women / 20:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 16 men

Mina Shirakawa d. Serena Deeb (13:18)

Hear me out, I’m about to say good things about AEW. Mina and Serena take the main event spot and have a good match, even breaking out of the usual 6-10 minute mold and getting 13 minutes. Mina wins which is nice, because we haven’t seen much of her in-ring since appearing in AEW. After the match, Mariah May comes out to celebrate with her but is scolded by Toni Storm. Toni and Mina shake hands and hold the ropes open for Mariah to end the show.

The only other time we see women in this show is Toni backstage, hyping up her match against Lady Frost on Collision.

My biggest complaint about Rampage and Collision is that they seem to be the “get as many people on the show as possible” shows, but that tends to just apply to the men. Somehow they crammed 14 men into 20 minutes of action here. What if we had a tag match with women? Still, the women main evented, had more time than usual and the Rampage match was actually storyline-based this week. A big improvement. B.

Friday – NXT Level Up

Matches: 1 women / 2 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 3:30 min women / 12:00 men

Representation: 2 women / 6 men

Adriana Rizzo d. Wren Sinclair (3:26)

The usual for Level Up. Riz and Wren did what they could in over three minutes. B.

Friday – TNA Xplosion

Matches: 0 women / 1 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 0:00 min women / 7:00 men

Representation: 0 women / 4 men

Nothing for the ladies here this week. F.

Friday – WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Matches: 1 women / 3 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 6:30 min women / 27:00 men

Representation: 4 women / 10 men

Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair d. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

We’re building to Bayley defending her belt against Piper Niven at Clash at the Castle, and we get an in-ring chat this week that really pumps it up. Bayley talks about how she’s been watching Piper since the Mae Young Classic. Piper gives a really good promo back about her journey to this moment, one that unfortunately gets too many “what” chants. Really looking forward to their match.

The tag division gets some time this week too, and Candice and Indi get more than their usual three minutes. They still don’t win, but they get time. Bianca & Jade’s Clash opponents, Isla & Alba and Shayna & Zoey were ringside and it’s a brawl after.

Tiffany Stratton attempts to form an alliance backstage with Nia Jax, which follows with Michin brawling with Nia when Tiffany leaves.

Yes, the usual rule: should be more than one match in two hours. That said, they’re doing a good job building Piper up as a valuable challenger instead of a challenge of the month and seeing the tag belts across both shows is nice. Still, a C-.

Saturday – AEW Collision

Matches: 2 women / 5 men

Approx. In-Ring Time: 9:30 min women / 55:00 men

Representation: 4 women / 14 men

Kris Statlander d. Robyn Renegade (1:35)

Toni Storm d. Lady Frost (7:45)

That’s right, two women’s matches. It’s a miracle week. And no, I’m not complaining about Statlander-Renegade being short. It should be! A short squash is good in the right story, and that’s what Kris needs. Stoke enters Kris in the Owen Hart tournament, a decision Willow Nightingale also makes backstage.

Toni gets the win over Lady Frost in a good match, though we’re at the point where Frost needs to actually win one match on AEW TV if she’s going to keep being the one who is good enough to go 6-8 minutes with the various women of AEW. That’s not a knock at her – I’m a fan – but this is where having two matches more often could build up other women. After the match, Toni reminds Mariah that she is also in the Owen tournament.

This was a slightly more balanced episode of Collision this week, which is nice. B-.

Week Totals:

Notable – Jordynne Grace competed across two brands, NXT and TNA, this week.

WWE – 4 matches for approximately 25:00, ten different women saw action

NXT – 5 matches for approximately 25:00, fourteen different women saw action

AEW – 4 matches for approximately 31:00, eight different women saw action

ROH – 3 matches for approximately 9:00, six different women saw action

TNA – 2 matches for approximately 10:00, four different women saw action