Asuka dethrones Bianca Belair. Tiffany Stratton becomes the new NXT Women’s Champion. AEW crowns two new women’s champions. Trinity makes her IMPACT PPV debut. Kayla Kassidy speaks with WrestleZone, and more! Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up.
WWE Crowns Two New Women’s Champions
With four pay-per-views on the lineup, it was a busy weekend for professional wrestling fans. In the realm of WWE, fans gathered to watch Night of Champions on Saturday, followed by NXT Battleground on Sunday night.
WWE Night of Champions emanated from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with three women’s matches on the card. First, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus laced up her boots to battle “The Man” Becky Lynch. Stratus and Lynch fought back and forth for most of the contest, but as Lynch appeared to have the upper hand, Stratus called in some backup. As the referee had their back turned, Zoey Stark emerged from under the ring, blindsiding Lynch with her Z-360 finisher. This, of course, allowed Stratus to then hit Lynch with a Stratusfaction for the win.
Later in the show, Bianca Belair defended her RAW Women’s Championship against her WrestleMania 39 rival, Asuka. Three weeks before, Belair had surpassed Becky Lynch to become the longest-reigning RAW Women’s Champion in WWE history. Unfortunately for Belair, that reign wouldn’t last too much longer.
While “The EST” had Asuka positioned in the KOD, “The Empress of Tomorrow” blinded Belair by rubbing blue mist in her eyes. This opened the door for Asuka to land two head kicks and secure the victory, officially ending Belair’s historic reign. Asuka is now a four-time RAW Women’s Champion.
To close out the women’s action, Rhea Ripley defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Natalya. Saturday, May 27 also happened to be Natalya’s birthday. “The Queen of Harts” wouldn’t be celebrating too much, though, as Ripley swiftly defeated her in 70 seconds. Dominik Mysterio is credited with an assist.
READ MORE: WWE Night Of Champions 2023 Results
Tiffany Stratton Claims Her First Title
After the conclusion of Night of Champions, WWE pivoted its attention to NXT Battleground, where a new NXT Women’s Champion would be crowned. After two rounds of stiff competition, only two women remained in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament: Lyra Valkyria and Tiffany Stratton. The finals of the tournament took place at NXT Battleground.
As Valkyria and Stratton fought to claim the championship, their match racked up the longest performance of the evening, surpassing Ilja Dragunov and Dijak’s Last Man Standing match by six seconds. In the end, though, only one could win.
After evading a powerbomb, Stratton shifted her momentum to deliver the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and secure the pinfall. With her victory, Stratton became the NXT Women’s Champion and certified that it is now officially Tiffy Time.
RELATED: Tiffany Stratton: Gymnasts Are Naturally Good At Wrestling, WWE Should Recruit More Of Them
IMPACT Under Siege: Trinity Makes Her IMPACT PPV Debut, Purrazzo Defeats Grace
On Friday, May 26, IMPACT Wrestling hosted their Under Siege pay-per-view from
London, Ontario, Canada. This card featured an IMPACT PPV debut for Trinity (fka Naomi in WWE).
After defeating Kilynn King on television, Trinity turned her focus to facing “The Quintessential Diva” Gisele Shaw. Shaw, of course, came accompanied by Jai Vidal and Savannah Evans. Despite some intentional interference from Vidal and Shaw, Trinity held on to defeat Shaw with her Starstruck submission.
Here is a brief recap of the closing moments of the match, courtesy of our live coverage page.
Shaw runs Trinity into the ring back-first. Back inside, Shaw covers for two. Shaw controls the pace with a headlock to try and keep Trinity grounded. Shaw elbows away in the corner and then stomps on her midsection, cover. Shaw gets distracted by the fans before Trinity catches Shaw’s boot and hits a backbreaker. Trinity unloads with forearm strikes in the center, followed by a dropkick. Trinity knees Shaw’s face and then spikes her into the mat, nearfall. Trinity hits a split legged moonsault, cover.
Shaw hides in the corner and then gets a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. Trinity is thrown into the turnbuckle then kicked in the head. Shaw hits a draping DDT, nearfall. Trinity hits a modified code red and applies Starstruck for the win.
Winner: Trinity
Later in the evening, Deonna Purrazzo defended her Knockouts Championship against Jordynne Grace. If Grace lost, she could not challenge for the title again as long as Purrazzo reigned as the champion. As expected, Purrazzo and Grace produced a hard-hitting contest, but in the end, “The Virtuosa” emerged victorious once again. After absorbing two powerslams from Grace, Purrazzo hoisted Grace up to the top rope before delivering a Queen’s Gambit for the win.
READ MORE: IMPACT Under Siege Results (05/26/23)
AEW Double Or Nothing Produces Two New Women’s Champions
On Sunday, May 28th, AEW headed to the suburbs of Las Vegas to host their annual Double or Nothing pay-per-view. The event would have two scheduled matches for the women’s division, but a surprise return would later warrant a third.
With Jamie Hayter battling through an injury, it appeared that AEW opted to take the AEW Women’s Championship off of Hayter in the safest way they could think of. Before the bell even rang, Saraya and Ruby Soho attacked Hayter backstage before leading her out to ringside for a further beating. Toni Storm then joined in, until Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida arrived to even the odds. Hayter pushed through her arm pain to deliver a Hayter-ade for a two count, but the damage was already done. Storm soon landed the Storm Zero for the win to become the new AEW Women’s Champion.
Later in the show, Jade Cargill defended her TBS Championship against Taya Valkyrie. Valkyrie did her best to ground Cargill, but after kicking out of the Road to Valhalla, Cargill hit a Jaded for the win. With this victory, Cargill’s record improved to 60-0, but the TBS Champion wanted more. As such, she issued a subsequent open challenge.
The challenger? Kris Statlander.
After nine months on the shelf, Kris Statlander made her surprise return to accept the open challenge. Cargill tried to fend off the ferocious competitor, but Cargill’s 500+ reign soon came to an end. Statlander delivered Cargill her first loss after slamming her to the mat for the three count. Kris Statlander now stands as the new TBS Champion.
READ MORE: AEW Double Or Nothing Results (5/28/23
INTERVIEWS:
Independent star Kayla Kassidy speaks with WrestleZone’s own Ella Jay about her brief hiatus from professional wrestling, what prompted her to return, mental health, playing one of Su Yung’s Undead Brides at IMPACT Wrestling, and more.
AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill appeared on Women’s Wrestling Talk to discuss her relationship with Tony Khan, facing Taya Valkyrie at Double or Nothing, her love of historical cemeteries, and more.
WWE star Chelsea Green appeared on Out of Character to discuss her WWE return, the unique bond she shares with Triple H, Royal Rumble, her marriage to Matt Cardona, her Karen character, and more!
AEW star Taya Valkyrie joined Chris Van Vliet to talk about signing with AEW, making her debut in Winnipeg in front of a Canadian audience, some of her dream matches in AEW, being ringside for her husband John Morrison’s boxing debut at Creator Clash 2, and more.
RESULTS
Ladies Night Out: Triple Shot – Show 1
- Kylie Alexa defeated Jordy Lee
- Sammi Chaos defeated Jazmyne Hao
- Nikii Duke defeated Ultra Violette
- Emily Jaye defeated Selina Rose
- Vanity defeated JC Storm
- Brittany Jade & Jada Stone defeat Ella Envy & Kenzie Paige
- CCW Network Title: Christina Marie (c) defeated Roxy
Ladies Night Out Triple Shot – Show 2
- Clara Carter (w/Seth Clayton Burns) defeated Selina Rose
- Olivia Devine defeated Jazmyne Hao
- Jada Stone defeated Spice Speigel
- Ella Envy (w/ Kenzie Paige) defeated Kylie Alexa
- BCP ICONS Title: Cosmic (c) defeated Avery Jax
- Arie Alexander defeated Brittany Jade
- Renee Michelle defeated Kenzie Paige (w/ Ella Envy)
Ladies Night Out: Triple Shot – Show 3
- Spice Speigel defeated Clara Carter (w/ Seth Clayton Burns)
- Kaitlyn Marie & Sammi Chaos defeat Olivia Devine & Vanity
- Ella Envy (w/Kenzie Paige) defeated Jada Stone
- Ultra Violette defeated JC Storm
- Jordy Lee defeated Avery Jax
- Imperial Women’s Title: Roxy (c) defeated Nikii Duke
- CCW Network Title: Christina Marie (c) defeated Kylie Alexa
- BCP ICONS Title: Cosmic (c) defeated Brittany Jade
- Renee Michelle defeated Emily Jaye
- Kenzie Paige (w/Ella Envy) defeated Arie Alexander
- Ladies Night Out Title: Angelica Risk defeats Janai Kai (c) and Miyu Yamashita – TITLE CHANGE
