It has been an eventful last week in women’s wrestling: the Elimination Chamber returns, Ronda Rousey challenges Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, Deonna Purrazzo issues an open challenge, and much more! Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
Two Women’s Matches Set For WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE recently announced the return of a Women’s Elimination Chamber match, scheduled for February 19th in Saudi Arabia.
Five out of the six participants have been announced thus far, with the winner becoming the number one contender for the RAW Women’s Championship. Confirmed for the match so far are Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. The final participant has yet to be confirmed at the time of this writing, although the WWE Universe has some theories.
Of the remaining RAW women’s division, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Zelina Vega could be viable options to fulfill the last remaining slot. However, many envision a surprise return at Elimination Chamber. As noted during Royal Rumble speculation, Asuka, Bayley, and Lacey Evans have remained undrafted to either brand during their absences from WWE programming. So, if any of those competitors are medically cleared, perhaps February 19th will set the stage for a surprise return.
Interestingly, of the five women confirmed so far, Liv Morgan might have an advantage as the only competitors with previous experience in the Elimination Chamber. She competed alongside Sarah Logan for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in 2019 inside the unforgiving structure.
February 19th in Saudi Arabia will mark the first Women’s Elimination Chamber match since 2020, and the fourth overall. In addition to the grueling Elimination Chamber match though, the RAW Women’s Championship will also be on the line in Saudi Arabia.
After returning to in-ring action at the 2022 Royal Rumble, WWE Hall of Famer Lita returned to RAW to confront the RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch on the January 31st episode. There, Lita challenged Becky Lynch to a title match at Elimination Chamber. After some trash talk, Lynch hesitantly accepted Lita’s challenge.
Now, for the first time since 2006, Lita will compete for a championship in WWE. Becky Lynch puts her RAW Women’s Championship on the line against Hall of Famer Lita, in a first-time matchup.
WWE.com released the following statement on the historic matches:
“Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. will battle inside the career-altering Elimination Chamber for the right to challenge the Raw Women’s Champion at WrestleMania.
Belair, Ripley and Nikki are all former Women’s Champions. Doudrop and Morgan have also recently challenged Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title and have come within an eyelash of unseating the champion.
Of course, whether the winner will challenge Lynch on The Grandest Stage of Them All is still contingent on whether Big Time Becks can overcome WWE Hall of Famer Lita in a one-on-one championship showdown at WWE Elimination Chamber.
The Elimination Chamber Match will begin with two Superstars in the ring and four other competitors enclosed in their respective pods. Every five minutes, a pod door will open, allowing another competitor to join the contest. This process will continue until all pods are empty. When a Superstar is pinned or submits, that Superstar is eliminated and must exit the Chamber. The last Superstar remaining will be the winner.
Don’t miss all the action of WWE Elimination Chamber, presented in cooperation with The General Entertainment Authority and streaming LIVE from Jeddah beginning at noon ET/9 a.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 19, on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.”
A #WWERaw Women's Title opportunity will be on the line in an Elimination Chamber Match at #WWEChamber! https://t.co/NiGxZBIZmN pic.twitter.com/OcdHD6nRfQ
— WWE (@WWE) February 7, 2022
Ronda Rousey Challenges Charlotte Flair At WrestleMania 38
After the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble, Ronda Rousey already has her sights set on WrestleMania this year.
Last week on Smackdown, Rousey debuted on the blue show to reveal her opponent for this upcoming WrestleMania. Rousey has previously feuded with both potential competitors in Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. The three fierce competitions collided in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 35 as well.
This year though, Rousey decided to chase the woman who she eliminated from the Royal Rumble, Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Now, Charlotte Flair will officially meet with Rousey at WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
The last time these two clashed one-on-one was Survivor Series 2018, where Flair ruthlessly wielded a kendo stick against Ronda Rousey.
? IT’S OFFICIAL! ? @RondaRousey will face @MsCharlotteWWE at #WrestleMania!@SonyaDevilleWWE #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/kpYwGo8JiI
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2022
READ MORE: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair Made Official For WrestleMania 38
Deonna Purrazzo Issues Open Challenge, Digital Media Championship On The Line
Last week on IMPACT Wrestling, Deonna Purrazzo issued an open challenge for this week either of her current two championships.
Speaking backstage with Gia Miller, “The Virtuosa” revealed her reasoning for storming out of Mickie James’ State of the Knockouts Address the week prior. In an intense promo, Purrazzo declared: “I AM the state of the Knockouts Division”. Despite being defeated by Mickie James for the Knockouts Championship, Purrazzo went on to name a list of her accomplishments in IMPACT Wrestling.
Furthermore, Purrazzo issued an open challenge to further her point:
“I do my talking in the ring, and for that, I need an audience. So next week, I’m issuing an open challenge for either of my championships because I do have two, so why not? And anyone who thinks they can dethrone the Virtuosa will fall to the same fate as everyone else…their arm broken by the greatest technical women’s wrestler in the world, Deonna Purrazzo. And the age of the Virtuosa will live on, forever.”
Reigning as the current AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion, Deonna Purrazzo will now lay one of the titles on the line this week against a mystery opponent. Who will answer her challenge?
.@DeonnaPurrazzo issued an open challenge for either one of her Championships next week on #IMPACTonAXSTV!
Who do you think will step up to challenge The Virtuosa!?@IMPACTWRESTLING pic.twitter.com/D3glzSC6um
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) February 4, 2022
Also last week on IMPACT Wrestling, Jordynne Grace defended her Digital Media Championship against Matt Cardona.
In a first-time one-on-one matchup, Jordynne Grace put her Digital Media Championship on the line against Matt Cardona. Cardona recently competed for the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship at Hard To Kill, but fell short in his efforts. Grace, on the other hand, had maintained a solid string of successful title defenses against Chelsea Green, John Skyler, Lady Frost, and Kiera Hogan since claiming the Digital Media Championship in October.
Matt Cardona seemed apprehensive in the bout, as it was noted that the matchup was his first-ever one-on-one intergender match in his career. In the end, however, Cardona utilized some clever tactics to gain the advantage. As Cardona grabbed the title from ringside, the referee pulled it into the ring. This brief distraction then allowed Matt to hit Jordynne Grace with a chair, before landing the Radio Silence to gain the pinfall victory and the Digital Media Championship.
Jordynne Grace was the inaugural Digital Media Champion, winning the title at Bound For Glory in October. That win also earned her the distinction of becoming the first-ever Triple Crown Knockout in history.
RELATED: IMPACT Wrestling Results (2/3/22)
Gisele Shaw Joins IMPACT Wrestling
A new Knockout is soon headed to IMPACT Wrestling.
On the January 27th edition of IMPACT, a short vignette revealed that “The Quintessential Diva” was coming soon to IMPACT Wrestling. IMPACT’s newest Knockout would soon be revealed as PROGRESS Women’s Champion, Gisele Shaw.
Shaw previously competed in IMPACT Wrestling on three occasions in 2018 against the likes of Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan. But now, she returns to join a now stacked roster of Knockouts, amongst the recent additions of Masha Slamovich and Lady Frost.
Gisele Shaw reigns as the PROGRESS Women’s Champion after capturing that title back in August. She also recently held the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship at the same time, before losing it to Alex Windsor. Nevertheless, Shaw made her mark in 2021, even ranking nineteen on the PWI Women’s 150 list.
Now, “The Quintessential Diva” looks to make a dent in IMPACT Wresting with her first in-ring appearance very imminent.
"The Quintessential Diva" Gisele Shaw is coming to @IMPACTWRESTLING!@GiseleShaw08 #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/44spZa0EdY
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 28, 2022
INTERVIEWS
Former FSW Women’s Champion Mazzerati appeared on Putting You Over to discuss working with Ring of Honor, Mission Pro Wrestling, Madi Wrenkowski, and much more.
Ring of Honor star Amy Rose appeared on Table Talk to open up about her time in Ring of Honor, her training at 3D Academy, where she looks to go next, and more.
Australian wrestler Shay Kassidy chatted with A Wrestling Gal to discuss her alliance with Charli Evans, her professional goals of 2022, photoshoots with Barnaby, the inspiration behind her persona, and much more!
RAW Superstar Doudrop spoke with Ryan Satin on Out of Character to discuss her love for rocks and crystals, time spent in NXT UK, adapting to living in the United States, working with Becky Lynch, and more.
AEW TBS Women’s Champion Jade Cargill spoke with Talk Is Jericho about her WWE tryout, her first-ever match with Cody Rhodes, Shaquille O’Neal, and Red Velvet, her TBS Championship tournament run and more.
Former Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie joined Jobbing Out to discuss her future post-WWE, what she would have done on the next season of GLOW and a potential dream intergender match she has in mind.
Former IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Champion Tasha Steelz spoke with Denise Salcedo about winning the first-ever Knockouts Ultimate X match, the changes in her career and her upcoming match with Mickie James at No Surrender.
RESULTS
Pro Wrestling EVE: Slayers In Spandex 2 – February 5th
- Dark: Nina Samuels defeats Chantal Jordan
- Mercedez Blaze defeats Kamille Hanson
- Debbie Keitel defeats The Ava
- Alexxis Falcon defeats B3CCA
- EVE Championship: Jetta defeats Emersyn Jayne (c) – TITLE CHANGE
- Dark EVE Tag Team Championships: The Uprising (Rhia O’Reilly & Skye Smitson) defeat Chantal Jordan [Replacement for Charli Evans] & Millie McKenzie (c) – TITLE CHANGE
- Hyan defeats Lana Austin
- Ivy defeats Rita Slayworth
- EVE International Championship (vacant): Laura Di Matteo defeats Alex Windsor- TITLE CHANGE
Read More: Nia Jax Says Her Family Legacy Didn’t Influence Her Stature In WWE
