The WWE Women's Evolution LJ Comm

DG's "stamp of approval" list for WWE women's talent:

Zaria: I'm all in for the "Zone of Destruction" title push that's coming to the NXT women's division. Zaria is currently the only monster gimmick in developmental and could get pushed like Abyss did in TNA if NXT books storylines to get her gimmick over. Zaria can go toe-to-toe with the best in the business and be a future Champion after getting elevated by high work-rate rivalries with both Sol Ruca & Tatum Paxley earlier this year.

Reina Volcán: I like Reina Volcán's potential to be the Latino powerhouse that can dominate lucha-style competition in the division. Raquel Rodriguez has always worked more of a brawling, street fighter in-ring style, but Volcán features a torture rack submission and the muscle to be as good or better than Jordynne Grace's run with the company.

Lainey Reid: Lainey Reid got noticed after pinning Brie Bella for her first singles win in WWE on SmackDown last month. I like the impressive power/speed combination that Reid has flashed in the ring and will be her calling card, and Reid will get a boost from her first rivalry with Rhea Ripley because they work a similar puroresu in-ring style.

Nattie: I like the "Lowkey Legend" gimmick that's re-branded Nattie as a Canadian "prize fighter" like Kevin Owens' gimmick during his career. Nattie's new MMA-style character will keep her relevant in the division and fill a creative niche that's been missing since the departures of both Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler in recent years.

Ellen Åkesson: I'm so excited about "Viking Strong" Ellen Åkesson's impending EVOLVE debut. I hope Åkesson gets booked like Mark Henry or Braun Strowman because she's won all the competitions to be called "Sweden's strongest woman" and will flex the muscle power to get that gimmick over in her character for her debut. It will be interesting if Åkesson has a heel run like Ludvig Borga had back in the 1990's as the only Scandinavian wrestler in WWE history.

As a diehard NXT UK fan, it was great to see Xia Brookside win the first singles title of her career last week @ TNA: Slammiversary.

I thought TNA booked a fairly compelling storyline for the title match payoff, as Brookside sold her heel swerve moment with a memorable "psycho" facial to the camera before she betrayed Léi Yǐng Lee to set up the Knockouts Championship rivalry.

For NXT UK fans like me who still support the active UK alums, Xia Brookside might've earned my vote for "Inspirational Wrestler of the Year" on my PWI Awards ballot when you consider her long journey from enhancement talent to Brookside's first Championship moment in the business.

Holy Statue of Liberty, I was a perfect 5-for-5 with my NOC/GAB picks for this weekend! I'd like to thank FanDuel for financing my purchase of Flo's "Sea Hag" yacht from that Progressive commercial! *LOL*

Wow, Kendal Grey is my new hero for winning her first NXT women's title @ GAB tonight and saving the division from Lola Vice's IWC flame threads. The story for Grey/Vice was that Grey can outwrestle anyone in NXT and that her Championship pedigree is for real now as the first developmental prospect to win both EVOLVE & NXT titles.

I also liked how Zaria is stealing Brock Lesnar's playbook and trading finishes to create urgency and intensity to get a reaction like in an MMA cage fight. Why can't Zaria also become the new "Queen of the Underground" now? Zaria should be Lola Vice's next challenger in an "Underground" match because the "Zone of Destruction" is like a force of nature in NXT.

As a side note, I would also like to give props to WWE's "system" for never failing to get over new wrestling talent when it seems like the pipeline is tapped out for the next generation.

The future of women's wrestling is trending up again after the WWE "system" discovered creative magic for Zaria, "Wren QCC," Tatum Paxley as well as the highly-anticipated debuts of the new Euro talent currently training in EVOLVE.

The WWE Universe will be dreaming of the next wrestling dream moments that only the WWE "system" has been able to consistently deliver in the industry for generations now, so someone should give the Statue of Liberty a giant WWE title belt to hold up to the world as a tribute to the WWE Universe for the Bicentennial!

WWE: Night of Champions

"Queen of the Ring" tournament final:
Stip: Winner is crowned "QOTR;" receives title match @ SummerSlam
Iyo SKY vs. Liv Morgan

The biggest question that will determine the booking for this match is whether Rhea Ripley will be vacating the WWE women's title due to injury, and WWE might be delaying an announcement about Ripley's future until after Night of Champions to avoid distracting rumors for SS booking plans.

If Rhea Ripley is vacating soon, then Jade Cargill would likely be Champion for SummerSlam, but will Iyo SKY or Liv Morgan be part of the SS storyline build for the title match?

Iyo SKY has never been more over in her career than now, which is amazing considering her WWE debut as a "Damage CTRL" protégé for Bayley only 4 years ago, and knowing Triple H's booking predilection for anniversary symbolism to create emotional storyline payoffs, I'm taking Iyo SKY to win "QOTR" this Saturday @ NOC in Riyadh.

WWE Women's United States Championship match:
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill

Tiffany Stratton is approaching the 100-day milestone (62 days) for her first US title reign, whilst Jade Cargill is seeking to win the US title for the first time in her career @ Night of Champions.

If Cargill is getting the WWE women's title back for SummerSlam, then Stratton would be the favorite to retain in this match, but there's also the possibility that Stratton could get her 2nd title reign to set up a Championship rivalry with Liv Morgan @ SS.

I think WWE wants the payoff for a SKY/Cargill title match @ SS because it would create more emotion for RHIYO's MOTY moment @ WrestleMania with SKY also getting a Championship dream moment to redeem Ripley's aborted title reign due to injury hiatus, so I'm taking Stratton to retain the US title in this match.


NXT: Great American Bash

NXT Women's Championship match:
Lola Vice (c) vs. Kendal Grey

That interview vignette from this week's NXT episode, when Vice naïvely empathized with Grey's adversity story, re-affirmed my opinion that Lola Vice is the worst Champion of the CW era in NXT history, so I'm not even going to bother hyping this match and take Kendal Grey to win her first NXT Women's Championship @ GAB to hopefully save face for the division.

NXT Women's North American Championship match:
Zaria (c) vs. Tatum Paxley

Earlier this year, when Zaria was a "muppet sidekick" stuck in Sol Ruca's shadow and doing comedy spots, nobody could've predicted that Zaria would be one of the hottest NXT talents after ZaRuca's acclaimed storyline and eventually win her first title after Ruca's departure for RAW. Zaria has all the title push momentum as well as the in-ring mojo right now to retain in this match, but will the re-match be a showstopper like their previous encounter?

WWE Women's SPEED Championship match:
Wren Sinclair (c) vs. Arianna Grace

Today officially marked the 100-day milestone for Wren Sinclair's first SPEED title reign, whilst Arianna Grace will be seeking to win her first NXT title in this match @ GAB on Sunday. I like the creative idea of "Wren QCC" both having titles to help get them over more as the future of the division, and Arianna Grace hasn't been getting booked in any storylines since dropping the TNA Knockouts title, so I'm taking Sinclair to retain.

DG's new women's "franchise faces" for USA's "big 3" brands:

WWE: Sasha Banks: Top babyface stars Rhea Ripley and Charlotte are both struggling with knee injuries right now, so the time is now for Sasha Banks to shock the world and return to the company @ SummerSlam after opting out of her AEW contract. Banks/Cargill would be a WrestleMania dream match to define this era, and a dominant run by "The Bo$$" after her history-making AEW career would invest new levels of Championship prestige in WWE.

TNA: Nia Jax: "The Big IF" (Irresistible Force) could be like Fabulous Moolah and get a monster 1,000-day Knockouts title run in TNA, which TNA had wanted for Awesome Kong back when the Knockouts division debuted in 2008, but Kong never made it to the 200-day milestone during her pair of KO title reigns (169 & 178-day reigns, respectively). Nia Jax has had a most impressive career re-birth during her current WWE run, and TNA could elevate Jax to a legendary monster heel Champion that she can still be before Jax rides off into the sunset.

AEW: Bayley: If WWE needs Sasha Banks back for the women's division right now, then AEW needs a dominant run from the "Role Model" because Bayley is a perfect fit for AEW's diverse culture that welcomes global indie talent to the brand. As a fluent Japanese speaker, Bayley would have the best joshi talent from Japan lined up to work with her in AEW, and those are classic matches that Bayley needs to have for her all-timer legacy in the business.

DG's "Final Four Faves" for QOTR:

1. Iyo SKY: This is the best creative option for a SummerSlam title match because of the intrigue for a possible heel swerve in the post-match activity, and of course Iyo SKY debuted with "Damage CTRL" @ SummerSlam back in 2022, but I would also like the idea of putting the title on Iyo SKY for RHIYO delivering MOTY @ WrestleMania as well.

2. Charlotte: Ripley/Charlotte or Cargill/Charlotte would have a good storyline because "The Queen" would be "Queen of the Ring" for the SS build. Cargill/Charlotte would be a new, unpredictable challenge for Charlotte, but I also like the payoff for one more match in Charlotte's rivalry with Rhea Ripley because they have a 2-2 W-L record in PLE title matches and the next one will be the tiebreaker.

3. Raquel Rodriguez: If WWE wants to push a new face for SummerSlam, then maybe "Tex" will finally have her first Championship moment to tease a competitive rivalry with Liv Morgan and make "Judgment Day" the biggest "draw on RAW." Would the WWE Universe give a babyface pop for Raquel Rodriguez to set up a double Championship match with Morgan? It's so tempting that I wonder if WWE will pull the trigger and book a Morgan/Rodriguez double Championship rivalry in the SummerSlam fallout.

4. Liv Morgan: If Morgan wins QOTR, then I think Jade Cargill should be WWE Women's Champion for the SummerSlam title match because Morgan already had a title match with Rhea Ripley @ SS back in 2024, and of course, Morgan snubbed Cargill and chose Stephanie Vaquer for her WM 42 opponent after winning the women's Rumble, so Morgan/Cargill would deliver an interesting payoff btw. Cargill's heel crew & "Judgment Day."

Zaria won her first Championship in a banger of a match on NXT last night, whilst Kendal Grey pinned Kelani Jordan with "Shades of Grey" to earn a title match against Lola Vice @ NXT: Great American Bash.

I was surprised that WWE booked a Grey/Vice title match-up for GAB because Jordan seemed to have more momentum with her new "calf crusher" submission, but I think Grey exposed Jordan's limited skill level with "Shades of Grey," which is Grey's STO finish and an impact maneuver that's been missing from Jordan's arsenal.

I'm not a fan of WWE's overbooking trend to share the title with midcarders, but I hope Grey wins the title @ GAB because Vice's spinning backfist isn't a wrestling finish and Vice's other pandering signature moves are from the Divas era.

Zaria has been a great story for the NXT women's division after getting overshadowed by Sol Ruca, then going over Ruca in that classic "ZaRuca" rivalry, and now winning her first title in NXT last night.

Zaria understands how to create emotion from nuanced storytelling in both character and in-ring work, and I would love to see what Zaria could do in rivalries with WWE Superstars like Bayley, Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan and of course Zaria's "Adelaide homegirl" Rhea Ripley!

"Fatal Influence" knows how to get their heat back after taking an L! Time to cancel the Divas nostalgia tour on SmackDown and raise the bar in the women's tag division. "All the Gold" starring Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid is a summer blockbuster coming soon!

NXT women's division power rankings:

1. Tatum Paxley: Zaria is next NA challenger for GAB & will headline women's card.

2. Kelani Jordan: "Calf crusher" is a game-changer that will win NXT women's title.

3. Zaria: She's getting a title push after going over Sol Ruca in NXT's best storyline.

4. Wren Sinclair: "Final Wrench" elevated SPEED title over Vice's NXT title reign.

5. Lola Vice: Lowest ranking ever for Champion, but "Standout" is next in line @ GAB.

6. Kendal Grey: "Total Divas" trend diminishes spot; should work crowd more in promos.

7. Layla Diggs: Moonsault has "Air Jordan" hangtime, but character work is still green.

8. Izzi Dame: Exposed/KO'd & now faction is getting buried; needs creative re-boot.

9. Lizzy Rain: Got first win over Nikkita Lyons; needs Rick Boogs for sidekick.

10. "Vikingadrottning" Ellen Åkesson: Get ready for next Ludvig Borga in NXT!

Oh mio Dio, I was 2-for-2 with my Clash women's division picks! Ripley/Cargill was the best match of the night, but it was also exciting to see Sol Ruca get a rub from Becky Lynch after Ruca's first PLE Championship moment tonight. Overall, Clash in Italy was a great show and one of my favorites so far in WWE's "Clash" PLE series in European markets.