Seven Days in Women’s Wrestling – June 30 to July 6, 2024

It’s a super-sized week of wrestling this week. We started the week with AEW entering the Forbidden Door on Sunday and ended it with WWE chasing the Money in the Bank on Saturday. In between, we had all the usual weekly shows. How much attention did the women get? Let’s find out.

Quick cheap plug: I reviewed the WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtains documentary that you’ve seen meme-ed to death on the internet in the last few days. Yes, Rock told me I should do it. You can find that recap here (and some pretty great, thought-out commenting on it which I adore).

AEW

Totals for the week: 8 matches / 1 hr 24 min 6 sec combined time / 14 competitors)

Forbidden Door + Forbidden Door Zero Hour (4 matches / 47:22 combined / 10 competitors)

Matches: The extended Zero Hour gave us two women’s matches, first a tag match with Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano defeating Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe (10:18). It was a hard-hitting tag match and it was good to see Willow on the winning side. The other match was an Owen Hart Tournament Quarter Final match with Mariah May defeating Saraya (8:31). Mariah is the right choice, and Toni Storm supporting her outside was fun as always.

On the proper event, we had two women’s title matches. Toni Storm defended her AEW Women’s World TItle against Mina Shirakawa (11:42) in a really good match where the two women and Mariah lived happily ever after, as they should. Mina has really been a great addition to the women’s division in AEW and I hope we see more of her soon. In a title-for-title match, Mercedes Mone walked away with her AEW TBS Title and the NJPW STRONG Women’s Title in her victory over Stephanie Vaquer (16:51). I really enjoyed this one as well. I think Mercedes is finding her groove and for a lot of us who are just being exposed to Stephanie, she was incredible. After the match, Dr. Britt Baker, DMD returned to face off with her fellow lover of three letter chants Mercedes.

A full-on success in my book for the women’s side of AEW. This is the most women that have been on a PPV/Zero Hour card since a 2021 show with a Women’s Casino Battle Royale and they made the most of it. Both title matches were great and the preshow matches worked well too.

Dynamite: Beach Break (1 match / 8 min, 10 sec combined time / 2 competitors)

Match: We’re in the Semi Finals of the Owen Tournament now with Willow defeating her former partner and current nemesis Kris Statlander (8:10). Willow gets the win and rolls onto the finals, though I feel like we’re not done with Kris yet. A good match as these two usually have.

Stories: Toni Storm and Mariah May connect via bosom and hype Mariah’s Rampage match against Shida. Dr. Britt Baker, DMD has her first in-ring segment in months, revealing she’s battled neurological issues and a mini-stroke. Britt was genuine and firmly on the side of the fans. Mercedes Mone comes out for her championship celebration in this, with Mercedes telling Britt to head to the back of the line. I think these two are going to bring it.

A good week for advancement with Dynamite this week. I do appreciate the continued work to elevate the TBS Title to being as important as the Women’s World Title which is a good thing. Britt’s a welcome new face, I just hope AEW doesn’t push other current faces elsewhere.

ROH on HonorClub (0 matches / 0 sec combined time / 0 competitors)

Stories: Nothing in-ring this week as it’s a shortened show and I guess they didn’t want to tape any women’s matches. We do get movement on our top story on the women’s side, with Athena and Billie getting the news that they will be defending their respective titles against Queen Aminata and Red Velvet at Death Before Dishonor. Athena yells “TONY KHAN!” as she is still on the injured list.

The lack of action hurts and it’s hard to figure this show out when some weeks it is three matches and sometimes it is two hours long. I do like the story advancement and it’s a relief to be able to assume that Athena is not really out eight months injured.

Rampage: Beach Break (1 match / 11 min 35 seconds combined / 2 competitors)

Match: Mariah May defeated Hikaru Shida 11:35) in an Owen Hart Tournament semi-finals match. The end result isn’t surprising as this has openly been Mariah’s tournament to win, but it was a really good match and I’d recommend it. Shida is so good and has a great connection with the crowd. I wish they’d use her more consistently.

Stories: Toni Storm narrates a fantastic video package on her and her Collision opponent, Trish Adora. This made Trish seem more important than anything they’ve done with her on AEW television in two years which is sad.

A good Rampage with the main event match delivering.

Collision (2 matches / 16 min 59 sec combined time / 4 competitors)

Matches: Two matches this week! Our first is Trish Adora losing a non-title match to Toni Storm (8:15). I thought this was quite good, but I’ve been an open Trish Adora fan (she has some wonderful matches outside of AEW/ROH) and believe she deserves way better than she gets in AEW/ROH. Later in the show, Riho defeated Lady Frost 8:44). This was Riho’s first match since March and I enjoyed it, though there are rumors she suffered an injury. As usual, Lady Frost is good enough to go 7-9 minutes in AEW matches but never win them. You’ve gotta give her some momentum at some point.

Stories: Serena Deeb has some thoughts on Riho, saying she can defeat her. WIllow and Mariah both say they’re ready for the Owen finals.

This was a good Collision for the ladies. I do wish the women of ROH, especially Trish and Frost, would be more than just “here you are to lose in 7-9 minutes on AEW TV again,” but Toni is always great and it’s good to see Riho back.

TNA

Totals for the week: 3 matches / 26 min 38 sec combined time / 4 competitors)

Impact (3 matches / 26 min 38 sec combined time / 4 competitors)

Matches: We start out with Dani Luna and Jody Threat going to a time limit draw (10:00). And then they demand a restart, which goes (0:11) before Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich appear to interfere and end it. We have a big tag match, with Rebecca Hardy having her first match since 2016 to team with her husband Matt, defeating Alisha Edwards & Eddie Edwards (16:37). It wasn’t bad honestly, but I secretly dig Reby being toxic as hell sometimes so that could be my personal problem. It was as good as any 2024 Matt Hardy match, which tells you about all you need to know.

Stories: PCO and Steph De Lander are still doing their weird thing, with PCO shocking SDL back to life. Well that’s a relief. Jordynne Grace issues an open challenge to any woman from any promotion next week, which could be interesting.

We’re in the usual boat we are with the TNA Knockouts side in 2024: it’s there! Jordynne is rolling around, the tag title matches are setup with singles matches, and there’s some Hardy stuff going on.

No women’s activity this week:
Xplosion

WWE

Totals for the week: 10 matches / 1 hr 17 min 18 sec combined time / 26 competitors)

Monday Night Raw (2 matches / 20 min 15 sec combined time / 5 competitors)

Matches: It was Championship Monday with Liv Morgan defending her WWE Women’s World Title against Zelina Vega (11:30). This was far more about Liv and Dom than Zelina, but Zelina did well for herself. Dom and Rey both interfered, giving Liv a chance to win and to set up a mixed tag for the following week. Meanwhile, we figured out our final Money in the Bank competitor for the Raw side with Zoey Stark defeating Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile (8:45). This one also featured a distraction outside, with the rest of Damage CTRL as well as Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre causing a stir that let Zoey get the win

Stories: Liv continued to be the A-story for the show. In addition to her match, she and Zelina got into it again during Rey and Dom’s match, with Liv accidentally causing Dom to lose. Nikki Cross delivered another VHS to commentary. Lyra Valkyria and Damage CTRL got into it backstage.

Liv continues to excel in the spotlight she’s been given, She’s clearly playing Dom for all she can and the reckoning from Rhea Ripley, whenever that may happen (no spoilers here!), is going to be something. The other stories in the Raw women’s division are slowing down a bit, but I’m hoping post-MITB they pick back up.

NXT (4 matches / 23 min 10 sec combined time / 8 competitors)

Matches: The biggest match was the show opener, a crazy street fight with Michin defeating Jaida Parker (12:35). It received a lot of praise and I like that these two have such a feud going on. Michin has really been my MVP for the last few months and she’s had quite the resurgence. Izzi Dame defeated Brinley Reece (2:39) in a short match that certainly happened. Wendy Choo beat Carlee Bright (4:05) in a match meant to keep Wendy’s new character moving. Jasmyn Nyx beat Karmen Petrovic (3:51), which sets up Karmen teaming with Arianna Grace against Nyx and Jacy Jayne on the Heatwave Kickoff Show.

Stories: Roxanne Perez and Lola Vice have a face-to-face to preview their Heartwave title match. Lola Vice shows a lot of good emotion here, speaking about why she’s doing this and her mother. We get a little preview video of Kelani Jordan and Sol Ruca wit their match upcoming as well.

There’s always a lot going on with the women of NXT and this week follows that with four women’s matches and an in-ring promo segment. All three matches at Heatwave get some hype and Michin and Jaida had a match that would’ve fit right on the Heatwave card.

Friday Night SmackDown (2 matches / 12 min 47 sec combined time / 6 competitors)

Matches: Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair defeated Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae (5:10) in a tag match that went longer than expected, not that I’m complaining. In a match set up backstage earlier, Bayley also defeated Piper Niven (7:37) in a good non-title match. All of the Money in the Bank participants got into a brawl ringside, which was the main part of the match, but seeing Piper get continued chances is a great thing. Nia Jax and Michin appear as well, with Michin attacking Nia with a kendo stick.

Stories: Trish Stratus is named as host of Money in the Bank. Everything else basically played out in the ring.

A good final SmackDown in front of the usually hot pre-PPV crowd. Having SmackDowns the night before a PPV in front of the same crowd is really a nice edge.

NXT Level Up (1 match / 4 min 34 sec combined time / 2 competitors)

Match: Wren Sinclair defeated Tyra Mae Steele (4:34). This is the television debut and fourth match ever for Tyra Mae, taking on a name change from her actual name of Tamyra Mensah-Stock. She is the signee that won an Olympic Gold Medal in freestyle wrestling.

This is the usual fare for Level Up, but this episode might be a good little footnote in stories about Tyra Mae one day. You saw it here first!

Money in the Bank (1 match / 16 min 32 sec combined time / 6 competitors)

Match: Tiffany Stratton wins Money in the Bank against Chelsea Green, Naomi, Zoey Stark, IYO Sky, and Lyra Valkyria (16:32). The consensus was mixed – the comments on Blog of Doom would tell you it was the worst thing ever, Twitter and Cagematch ratings will tell you it was the best match on the show. As always, think for yourself and watch it and make your own opinions. It was certainly a smashmouth match with the women throwing everything including themselves at each other. I wasn’t a big fan of Michael Cole and Corey Graves’ commentary for this match, as it felt like they were shitting on how “rough” it was (though they later gave it a standing ovation). To me, it’s a six-person ladder match. It should be rough! We complain all the time about Money in the Bank matches being by-the-numbers spotfests and this certainly was not. Chelsea Green was the highlight, being beloved by the audience and taking an incredible fall off a ladder through two tables on the floor.

Stories: Trish Stratus was present as host, introducing John Cena as well as having a pre-show faceoff with Zoey Stark.

No women’s activity this week:

Speed (Wednesday)

Main Event

Speed (Friday)

Week in Review:

Both WWE and AEW boosted their weekly time up above an hour of action this week thanks to the PPVs. WWE had a much higher number of different women in matches on their program. Zoey Stark was the only WWE competitor to compete twice this week. AEW had five more minutes of action but six less different women in matches. Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale, Mariah May and Kris Statlander all competed twice during the week. Had ROH had any matches for women this week, they might have evened the performer numbers. TNA was on an island of their own as usual, but had more women’s action than they do in a typical week.