Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up: Thunder Rosa Named Number One Contender, Stephanie Vaquer To Defend NJPW Strong Women’s Title, Mickie James Interview

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Thunder Rosa is named the number one contender. Stephanie Vaquer is set to defend NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. Mickie James chats with WrestleZone, and more!

Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up.

Thunder Rosa Earns AEW Women’s Title Shot

On the April 3 episode of AEW Dynamite, Thunder Rosa and Mariah May competed in a number one contender’s match, where the winner would earn a future title shot against AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm. Given the circumstances surrounding this match, Storm served as a special guest commentator.

Thunder Rosa and Mariah May traded several strikes throughout the contest, but in the end, it was Rosa who gained the ultimate momentum. The match’s closing moments saw May nail Rosa with a headbutt, to which Rosa responded with a backstabber. After following up with a Tijuana Bomb, Rosa secured a three-count pinfall for the victory.

With this win, Thunder Rosa will now challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s Championship at AEW Dynasty on April 21. Rosa, of course, is a former AEW Women’s Champion. Rosa’s title reign spanned from March to September 2022, when she announced a lingering back injury.

AEW Dynasty will mark only the second singles match between Storm and Rosa, as they previously faced off at the 2022 AEW Forbidden Door event.

Stephanie Vaquer Set To Defend NJPW Strong Women’s Championship

Coming off her stunning victory over Giulia, the newly-minted NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer will soon defend her title in “The Windy City” of Chicago.

Earlier this week, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Vaquer will defend the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship against two-time STARDOM High Speed Champion, AZM. This specific title defense will take place at the NJPW event Windy City Riot event, which emanates from the

Wintrust Arena in Chicago on April 12.

This upcoming title match will mark the first-ever singles encounter between Vaquer and AZM. The two have, however, previously shared the ring in a three-way tag team competition. While Vaquer partnered with Hanan, AZM fought alongside her Queen’s Quest stablemate Konami. In this case, neither Vaquer nor AZM found victory, as it was ShiKid (Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid) who emerged victorious.

Elsewhere on the Windy City Riot card, current Artist of STARDOM Champion Mina Shirakawa will team up with “The Hell-Bent Vixen” Viva Van to take on the pairing of Alex Windsor and ROH’s Trish Adora on the kickoff show.

INTERVIEWS

Former TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about bringing HER to Australia as part of Starrcast Down Under, her role as The Mother in The Last Match, wrestling Alicia Fox (Vix Crow) for the first time in 15 years, her future as an in-ring competitor, and more.

WWE announcer Cathy Kelley appeared on After We Wrap to discuss her career in the wrestling industry, work-life balance, her involvement in WWE 2K24, the evolution of women’s roles in wrestling, her love for fostering puppies, and more.

Former IWGP Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné joined the Stick To Wrestling podcast to about her recent introduction to AEW in Boston, being the highest-paid woman in wrestling, her relationship with Tony Khan, and more.

Former WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly joined Chris Van Vliet to talk about recently becoming a mom to twins Jaxon and Brooklyn, getting signed to WWE at 19 years old, her retirement from wrestling at age 25, winning the Divas Championship from Brie Bella, how she inspired Chelsea Green to become a wrestler, and more.

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley chatted with MMA Hour about her wrist injury, the upcoming WrestleMania 40 event, Becky Lynch’s recent comments about her, her pre-match comments about Lynch’s daughter, her opinion on Jade Cargill, and more.