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WWE‘s Queen of the Ring Tournament begins. Masha Slamovich and Alisha Edwards claim the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. Ashley Vega speaks with WrestleZone, and more. Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
WWE Begins Their Queen of the Ring Tournament
In two weeks, WWE will crown their 2024 King and Queen of the Ring. To fill these thrones, WWE has coordinated a 16-man and 16-woman tournament comprised of top stars from the Raw and SmackDown brands.
These respective tournaments kicked off on this week’s episode of Raw, with six men and six women of the red brand competing in first-round matches. To kick off the Queen of the Ring tournament, former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY battled “The Queen of Harts” Natalya in a first-time singles matchup. Later in the evening, Zoey Stark faced Ivy Nile, while Dakota Kai filled in for an injured Asuka in a first-round match against Lyra Valkyria.
After a fierce opening round of competition, the likes of IYO SKY, Zoey Stark, and Lyra Valkryia emerged victorious. Moving forward, Stark will square off with Valkyria in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, SKY is slated to clash with the winner of the upcoming Zelina Vega-Shayna Baszler match.
Elsewhere on the card, Becky Lynch confirmed that she will defend her WWE Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan at the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event. Lynch claimed the title last month after outlasting 13 other women in a WWE Women’s World Championship battle royal.
READ MORE: WWE Raw Results (5/6/24)
WWE NXT GM Ava Announces Women’s North American Title Match Qualifiers
Last week, WWE NXT General Manager Ava announced that the NXT women’s division would compete at a combine to determine who would be moving on the hunt for the brand-new Women’s NXT North American Championship.
As a part of this combine, WWE NXT officials organized a series of tests designed to measure participant’s speed, power, strength, and conditioning. Exercises featured in this combine included a vertical jump, overhead medicine ball throw, 10-yard sled push, and rotational punch. After undergoing a series of tests, the twelve women with the highest scores will now move on to compete in a round of one-on-one qualifying matches. The winners of those contests will then advance to the six-woman Women’s NXT North American Championship ladder match at NXT Battleground.
On Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT, NXT General Manager Ava revealed the top-performing women of the combine:
Sol Ruca Thea Hail Jaida Parker Brinley Reece Michin Fallon Henley Lash Legend Ivy Nile Izzi Dame Kelani Jordan Tatum Paxley Wren SinclairNext week, WWE will kick of their series of NXT Battleground qualifying matches with Sol Ruca taking on Izzi Dame, while Ivy Nile faces Lash Legend.
RELATED: Lash Legend Shows Trick Williams What’s In Her Envelope On 5/7 WWE NXT
New TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Crowned
On Friday, May 3, TNA Wrestling hosted their fourth annual Under Siege event from the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York. In total, Under Siege featured 12 matches, three of which included figures from the TNA Knockouts division.
Within the TNA Knockouts tag division, Dani Luna and Jody Threat were tasked with defending their Knockouts Tag Team Championships against the recently formed duo of Masha Slamovich and Alisha Edwards. Unfortunately for Luna and Threat, Slamovich and Alisha Edwards proved to be the ultimate threat to their reign.
In the match’s closing moments, Edwards aimed to strike Luna with a kendo stick, to which Luna countered. Moments later, Edwards successfully nailed Threat with the kendo stick, allowing Slamovich to then slam Threat for the win. As a result, Edwards and Slamovich were crowned as the new Knockouts Tag Team Championships.
With this, Slamovich now boasts three reigns with the Knockouts Tag Team Championships, while Edwards begins her first.
Elsewhere on the card, Ash By Elegance defeated Havok in singles competition. Knockouts Champion Jordyne Grace and PCO also emerged victorious against Steph De Lander and Kon in mixed tag team action.
READ MORE: TNA Under Siege Results (5/3/24)
Interviews
UK standout Ashley Vega spoke to WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about transforming herself into “The Modern Day Diva,” attending TNA Wrestling’s 2023 Gut Check series, drawing inspiration from Tara/Victoria, her pop culture and Diva-inspired ring gears, and more.
TNA Knockout Alisha Edwards spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about her run in TNA, The System’s success, her own in-ring career and aspirations for gold, Broken Matt and the Hardy Family possibly getting involved, and more.
Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton joined ComicBook Nation to talk about her plans to overcome both Bayley and Naomi to win the Women’s Championship at Backlash, what exactly “Tiffy Time” is, her popularity with international fans, her athletic background, and more.
“Top Tier” Jazmin Allure chatted with Astrid Pizarro of BodySlam.Net about representation in professional wrestling, her experience in WOW Superheroes, being AJ Lee’s stunt double in Heels, competition for Mission Pro Wrestling, and more.
Former WWE NXT star Mila Moore joined XeniaDidThat to discuss the Florida wrestling scene, life on the indies after WWE, and more.
Professional wrestler and ring announcer Melissa Santos appeared on the Lightweights Podcast to talk about her experience in TNA Wrestling and Lucha Underground, her marriage with AEW pro-wrestling star Brian Cage, acting, and the current state of pro wrestling.
