Tag: bayley

Bayley auctioning ring gear to benefit victims of Texas floods

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE star Bayley is pitching in to help fundraising efforts after a tragic situation unfolded in Texas over the weekend.

Bayley announced she will be auctioning off the ring gear she wore on the June 23 episode of Raw to benefit victims of the Central Texas floods that happened on Fourth of July weekend. More than 80 people were killed in the floods, including 27 campers and counselors from the all-girls Camp Mystic in Kerr County.

“I’ll be putting this gear up for auction. All proceeds will go directly to the families impacted by the heartbreaking tragedy that happened at Camp Mystic girls summer camp,” Bayley wrote. “Please stay tuned for auction link this week, thank you.”

The auction has not been started yet. Bayley shared a GoFundMe campaign where people can donate to help families of the Camp Mystic tragedy.

Bayley faced Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch in a title match on the June 23 Raw episode. It ended in a disqualification, setting up Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria in a triple threat match for the belt at WWE Evolution on July 13.

Bayley challenging Becky Lynch for WWE Women’s IC title

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Becky Lynch will make her first defense of the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Bayley.

The Man’s first title defense since capturing the IC title from Lyra Valkyria at Money in the Bank is official for the Monday, June 23 WWE Raw episode as announced during this week’s show.

Bayley and Lynch had an in-ring confrontation on Monday’s Raw in a follow-up to Bayley returning last week seeking vengeance on Lynch for attacking her and taking her out of WrestleMania 41 in storyline.

A King of the Ring tournament semifinals matchup will also take place next week on Raw, with Cody Rhodes going one-on-one with Jey Uso. Rhodes advanced to the semis on Friday’s SmackDown, while Uso advanced on this week’s Raw episode.

A Queen of the Ring semifinals bout is also set for the June 23 Raw, with Roxanne Perez facing Jade Cargill.

The announced card for next Monday’s WWE Raw, the final episode before the June 28 Night of Champions event:

WWE Raw, Monday, June 23 —

  • Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley
  • King of the Ring semifinals: Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso
  • Queen of the Ring semifinals: Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez

WWE Raw live results: King & Queen of the Ring first round concludes

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: June 16, 2025
Location: Resch Center in Green Bay, WI 

The Big Takeaway —

Liv Morgan injured her shoulder just moments into her match, and the match was stopped. Hopefully, it’s not a serious injury. It’s particularly poor timing with Morgan being set up for multiple programs. 

Jey Uso and Asuka advanced in the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. On next week’s Raw, Jey Uso faces Cody Rhodes, while Jade Cargill faces Roxanne Perez. On Friday’s SmackDown, Asuka faces Alexa Bliss, while Sami Zayn faces Randy Orton. 

Next week’s Raw will also see Becky Lynch defending her Intercontinental Championship against Bayley. 

Goldberg returned as expected to set up a World Championship match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Gunther (holding the world title belt and wearing a smile), Bayley, Stephanie Vaquer, and Jey Uso were shown arriving earlier today. 

Corey Graves is filling in for Pat McAfee alongside Michael Cole on commentary. Graves said he couldn’t be more excited to be on Raw.

Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky segment 

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio entered holding their respective belts. Liv welcomed us to Monday Night Morgan and wanted to hear some noise for the most gorgeous man in WWE, Dominik Mysterio. The fans booed, but they didn’t boo over his promo like they used to. Dom said tonight wasn’t about him and turned things back over to Morgan. 

Morgan said Nikki Bella learned the hard way that this division was about her, and now Nikki was sitting hurt at home. Morgan mocked Iyo Sky’s comment that Bella paved the way for them. Morgan said nobody paved the way for her. She was a four-time tag team champion and the greatest women’s tag champion ever. Now, she demanded the rematch she never got for the world title. 

Just as Morgan was about to call her out, Sky interrupted. The crowd chanted for Iyo. She told Morgan to do everyone a favour and shut her mouth. She said Morgan disrespected her and disrespected Nikki. Sky was ready to fight her, but Morgan only wanted to do it for the title. 

Morgan accused Sky of being scared and invited her to just hand over the belt. Sky told Morgan she had to earn a shot. Morgan couldn’t just steal it the way she stole Dirty Dom. Dom said Sky should give Morgan whatever she wanted, just like he did. 

They again suggested that Sky hand over the belt, so she did, but then dropkicked Morgan out of the ring. She also kicked Dom, and he left with Morgan. 

******** 

Stephanie Vaquer entered ahead of a commercial break. Chad Gable cut a promo on Ivy Nile’s behalf during a break (while also taking a shot at the Green Bay Packers). He returned to the back for the match. 

Backstage, Morgan told Rodriguez to win her match, then they would take care of Sky and Kairi Sane. (It was difficult to hear Morgan, but the closed caption helped.)

Queen of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Asuka vs. Ivy Nile vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Raquel Rodriguez

Asuka entered to her singles theme. She had full face paint and wore mostly black gear along with a knee brace. The crowd chanted, “Welcome back.” 

Asuka and Vaquer had a very brief exchange that was interrupted by the heels. Rodriguez powerbombed Asuka into Vaquer and Nile, which led to break 80 seconds into the match. (Nothing else has happened since the previous commercial break.) 

The crowd was quiet through the break until they returned and Vaquer did Devil’s Kiss to Nile. Rodriguez blocked a Devil’s Kiss, but Vaquer managed to do it to her on the apron. (The crowd counted along instead of yelling like Booker T.) 

Vaquer blocked an Asuka lock, and Nile kicked her in the face. Nile gave Asuka a German suplex for two. This led to the match’s second commercial break—just eight minutes into it. 

As they returned from break, Rodriguez hoisted both Nile and Vaquer on her shoulders, which was impressive, and Asuka knocked everyone down with a flying dropkick. Asuka handed out kicks, but her pinfall attempt on Nile was interrupted by Vaquer. 

Vaquer invited Asuka to her feet so they could go at it again. Asuka no-sold Vaquer’s strikes, so Vaquer responded with repeated headbutts and a vertical suplex. Vaquer hit a facebuster, but Nile broke up the cover. Nile gave Asuka a uranage, but Vaquer broke up her cover. 

Rodriguez booted Vaquer and gave her a Tejana Bomb. You could tell she was about to get yanked out of the ring because of how she made the cover. Rhea Ripley pulled Rodriguez out and gave her a Rip-tide on the floor. 

Asuka followed with a running hip attack on Rodriguez for the pinfall win. 

Asuka faces Alexa Bliss on SmackDown in the semi-finals. (Cole reminded us that Asuka and Bliss were once tag champions.) The crowd was up and down during the match, but popped big for the closing sequence. 

(I thought Vaquer might’ve won this one, but they probably don’t want to pin her in the tournament, so Asuka advances. Also, Asuka pinning Rodriguez can set up a future tag title match with Sane.) 

— After the match, Asuka told Cathy Kelley that she would become Queen of the Ring. 

Match result: Asuka defeated Raquel Rodriguez, Ivy Nile and Stephanie Vaquer to advance in Queen of the Ring (15:49)

******** 

There was a Gunther/Jey Uso video package. Gunther is up next. 

New Day cut a normal heel promo during the break.

******** 

Morgan approached Rodriguez in the Judgment Day locker room and wanted them to go somewhere. I’m not sure what she actually said, but Rodriguez wasn’t up for whatever it was because she wasn’t cleared by medical after just wrestling. Morgan left to deal with it alone. 

There was another disagreement between Dom and Finn Bálor, where Bálor brushed it off. The crowd repeatedly yelled, “What?” throughout the segment because it was hard to hear. Bálor told Rodriguez not to worry about Morgan, and he left with Roxanne Perez. 

******** 

Gunther and Goldberg segment 

Gunther entered and received a big fireworks display as he held up the World title. 

Gunther said he was man enough to admit that Jey Uso was the better man at WrestleMania. Jey was better than him—for one night. But on every other night, Gunther was untouchable. (The crowd booed as he spoke.) 

Gunther heard the rumours about what was next for him. Some fans chanted for Goldberg. Gunther said it wasn’t Goldberg, because he already cussed out Goldberg in front of his family. 

Gunther spoke about Seth Rollins. He heard Rollins say the champion would be a target, so he told Rollins he was right there. 

Goldberg entered. He wore a “Goldberg’s Last Ride” t-shirt. The fans chanted for him, and he thanked them. 

Goldberg told Gunther not to worry because tonight was his night. Goldberg congratulated him on winning the title. 

Goldberg got in his face and recalled what happened between them last time. Gunther started something with him and his family in Atlanta, so Goldberg wanted to end it in Atlanta. At Saturday Night’s Main event on July 12th, “You’re mine because you’re next!” 

Gunther was perturbed and left the ring.

(Goldberg was good enough here, but this title match isn’t the most exciting direction.) 

This title match was made official after a break. 

********

AJ Styles vs. JD McDonagh (w/ Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) 

This match was sponsored by an app. 

Dom helped McDonagh get a rope break as Styles held a calf crusher, so Styles chased Dom around the ring. When Styles got to the timekeeper’s area, McDonagh flew over the barricade to wipe him out. It was a cool-looking spot and got a good reaction. 

Styles fought back after a break, but McDonagh cut him off with a headbutt and brainbuster for two. Styles knocked McDonagh off the ropes but was distracted by Dom, who hopped onto the apron in front of the referee. 

McDonagh tried to use the distraction, but Styles hit him with a Styles Clash anyway for the pinfall win. 

— Dom tried attacking Styles after the match, but Styles fought him off until Bálor pulled him to safety. Styles held up Dom’s IC title belt. Judgment Day tried swarming Styles, but Styles bailed with the belt. 

Match result: AJ Styles defeated JD McDonagh (10:34)

******** 

Maxxine Dupri and Natalya gave Sheamus words of encouragement backstage. They want him to take care of Rusev. Akira Tozawa fired up and told Sheamus to kick his ass. 

Bayley walked through the back. She’s up next. (Grayson Waller and Austin Theory argued as they hung out with New Day nearby.) 

Packers player Evan Williams was at ringside. 

******** 

Bayley and Becky Lynch segment 

Bayley entered. She missed the fans and was happy to be back. She waited as she heard some fans trying to sing, but it didn’t pick up. The fans instead chanted, “Let’s go, Bayley.” 

Bayley revelled in every opportunity she had to perform for the fans because it’s what she was born for. She put her heart and soul into it every single night. Two months ago, she was stripped and robbed of a WrestleMania match and an opportunity to go after the tag titles. That division was near and dear to her heart. 

She didn’t just perform for WrestleMania, though. She would do it any night and would do it on nights like this one. If Becky Lynch thought she broke her by costing her WrestleMania, she was wrong. It healed her and made her stronger. 

Bayley said Lynch was always two steps ahead of her on the ladder, and she admitted that it did eat at her. But Bayley planned on climbing the ladder, knocking Lynch down and taking everything from her. 

Lynch entered wearing Chicago Bears gear. (A rival team of the Packers, and Seth Rollins’ favourite team.) The fans chanted, “Bears still suck.” 

Lynch said she and Bayley were the same. They were never meant to be on top of the division. But Bayley accepted playing second fiddle, while Lynch didn’t. Bayley would much rather have friends over her legacy. Lynch would rather have her legacy over some fake-ass friends. 

Bayley said she’s built her own legacy and is a future Hall of Famer, that’s why she didn’t mind bringing others in the locker room along with her. Lynch said she used to fight for the people, but they stopped fighting for her, so she stopped fighting for them. 

Lynch said the fans also stopped fighting for Bayley. Nobody gave a damn about Bayley when Lynch repaced her at Mania. 

Bayley called her an insecure idiot. Lynch was so worried about how the fans would react to her return that she took out Bayley so her return could be a big surprise. She followed that by taking out Lyra Valkyria as well. (Lynch noted the fans cheered that, too.) 

Bayley wondered if Lynch forgot what it was like to fight for opportunities, or if her head was too far up her ass. Lynch smiled and said she didn’t remember what that was like. She wondered if Bayley remembered what gold felt like. 

Bayley challenged her to a match. Lynch was ok with that—but not in Green Bay and not for the title. Lynch said, “See you in Columbus.” Lynch tried a cheap shot, but Bayley avoided it and knocked Lynch down. Lynch bailed with her title. 

********

Kelley interviewed Jey Uso backstage. Jey had his eyes set on a rematch with Gunther, and he was fine going through King of the Ring to get it. Yeet. 

********

Styles returned the Intercontinental title to Nick Aldis. (Aldis was filling in for the vacationing Adam Pearce, which they did not explain.) Aldis informed Styles he was getting an IC title match against Dom at Night of Champions. 

Bayley approached Aldis next, and he put her in an IC title match against Lynch next week. Bayley was happy. (I guess Aldis has full control.) 

Valkyria approached Bayley. Bayley apologized for not returning her texts and calls over the past few months. Valkyria was annoyed but understood that Bayley was simply doing what was best for her. Valkyria said she would do what was best for her, too. 

********

Kairi Sane vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan 

The match was stopped due to an injury. The first spot of the match was Sane going for a takedown, and Morgan came up injured. She rolled out of the ring, and officials checked on her as she grabbed her arm/shoulder. 

They showed a bunch of replays, and it wouldn’t have looked like much if you didn’t know Morgan was hurt. She appeared to land hard on her right arm/elbow, and the reaction on her face said it all. 

During a break, they announced Morgan couldn’t continue, and Sane was declared the winner. Sane celebrated. 

Match result: Kairi Sane defeated Liv Morgan via injury stoppage 

Cole announced that Morgan suffered a dislocated shoulder.

********

There was a John Cena/CM Punk video package. They didn’t shy away from Cena’s hypocrite line. 

********

Sami Zayn did an interview backstage until he was interrupted by Karrion Kross. Kross thought Zayn was insane for doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. (That’s not the definition of insanity.) Kross said Randy Orton would beat Zayn, go on to win his 15th title, and Zayn would stay at zero. 

Zayn called Kross a coward for lurking in the shadows. Zayn wondered if Kross had the courage to back up his words. Zayn has talked a big game, lost and had the courage to pick himself up and go back out there again. Kross couldn’t say the same. 

Zayn was tired of hearing from Kross. Zayn’s focus was KOTR, but the second that was done, he would get Pearce to put them in a match. Kross said it was about time. 

********

Next week on Raw in Columbus, OH: 

  • Becky Lynch vs. Bayley for the Women’s Intercontinental title 
  • Queen of the Ring semi-final match: Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez 
  • King of the Ring semi-final match: Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso  

********

King of the Ring first round fatal four-way: Jey Uso vs. Rusev vs. Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman) 

They went to break 90 seconds in after Jey hit Rusev with a suicide dive. Jey’s ribs were taped, and Reed targeted his midsection during the break. Jey handed out superkicks to everyone after the break. Rusev didn’t go down, so Jey tried another, but Rusev clotheslined him. 

Reed tossed Sheamus over the barricade, but Sheamus emerged to give him ten (or twenty) beats of the Bodhrán. Jey superkicked Sheamus and went for a running hip attack on Reed, but Rusev knocked down Jey again. 

Rusev and Sheamus finally went at it in the ring. They each hit big moves before exchanging right hands until Reed squished them in the corner. Reed also gave Jey a world’s strongest slam ahead of another break. 

Jey and Sheamus went back and forth until Sheamus hit a backbreaker. The crowd cheered as Sheamus got big Bronson on his shoulders to hit a White Noise, but Rusev broke up the cover. Rusev slammed Sheamus onto Reed. 

Jey handed out superkicks again, but Rusev blocked a superkick and applied the Accolade. Sheamus flew in with a knee strike, but Reed broke up the cover with a senton. Reed followed with a Tsunami on Sheamus, but Jey broke up the cover. 

Jey speared Reed, but surprise, surprise: there was interference. Bron Breakker shoved Jey off the top rope, so Sami Zayn ran in and posted Breakker. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but Breakker grabbed him by the throat and tossed him over the announce table. Penta flew in and wiped out Breakker with a dive. 

Reed hit Jey with a DVD, but there was more interference. This time, LA Knight shoved Reed off the top. Jey speared Reed again and consecutive Uso splashes for the pinfall win. 

Jey Uso advances to face Cody Rhodes on Raw next week. 

— Seth Rollins marched down to go after Jey, but he stopped as Cody Rhodes’ music hit. Rhodes entered to a huge reaction to face off with Rollins. They stared each other down until Rollins left the ring. 

Rhodes and Jey faced off before shaking hands. 

Match result: Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed, Sheamus and Rusev to advance in King of the Ring (17:24)

(This was a fun match, but with tons of interference. You’ll often wonder where the hell all the good guys are when the heel group is running roughshod, so at least we got a satisfying ending here.) 

Bayley returns on WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bayley has returned to WWE programming for the first time since WrestleMania 41.

The former four-time WWE Women’s Champion made her return after a six-week hiatus on Monday’s Raw, attacking new Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch in a segment also featuring Lyra Valkyria.

In storyline, Bayley and Valkyria were set to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, but a mystery assailant took out Bayley on the WrestleMania Saturday pre-show, allowing Lynch to make her own return to the company after a hiatus to serve as Valkyria’s partner for the title match.

Lynch and Valkyria won the titles at WrestleMania, then lost them on the Raw after WrestleMania. Lynch snapped and turned heel on Valkyria, and admitted to attacking Bayley in the subsequent weeks.

As Lynch and Valkyria went back and forth on the mic on Raw, Bayley made her surprise return and attacked Lynch as Valkyria looked on with a stunned expression.

Our full report from a very newsworthy WWE Raw is available here.

Daily Update: Bayley, John Cena, Toni Storm

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • Running down AEW Dynasty, controversy over the finish, where the angles look to be going, Young Bucks return, what the PPV number says and what to learn from it, long-term, Chris Jericho update, Why the show was long, Swerve vs. Booker and match-by-match rundowns.
  • Update on the Mania card, what matches are on what night, what is up in the air on the card, length, odds, Kevin Owens injury, Paul Heyman angle, Flair vs Stratton and Stand & Deliver, ticket demand and more.
  • New Japan Sakura Geneis report, angles at the show, Best of the Super Juniors and Windy City Riot.
  • Update on the legal strategy of WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon regarding the ringboys lawsuit.
  • El Hijo del Santo’s possible last match in Mexico City
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows, including comparisons with a year ago quarters, demos, placings and competition.
  • Fantastica Mania Mexico
  • Arena Mexico hosting tournament of champions
  • Mina Shirakawa leves Stardom
  • Dragon Gate in Las Vegas
  • Lots of Las Vegas lineups for this coming week
  • Champion Carnival in All Japan begins
  • Junior Sakura Geneis thoughts
  • Anniversary of a legendary match
  • Advance ticket sales to the major WWE & AEW & Las Vegas wrestling events
  • Injury updates
  • Ospreay on Owen Hart
  • Aaron Pico signs with UFC
  • Major 2010 feud rematch falls apart
  • Lex Luger Hall of Fame notes
  • Legacy Hall of Fame notes

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • During her appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (recorded last week prior to WrestleMania), Bayley expressed that she doesn’t feel like she’s at the same level as Charlotte Flair or Becky Lynch despite them coming up in WWE together. Bayley said she doesn’t understand what she has to do to be featured more by WWE on things like posters and talk shows:
    • I don’t get on the press conference. I don’t get on the posters. I don’t get to do the talk shows. And I don’t know what else to do, you know? And it’s not like [there’s an issue], there’s no heat backstage or anything like that. Hunter and I have a really good relationship. Bruce [Prichard] and I have a really good relationship, all the [talent relations]. Like, I have such a good relationship with them, and I’ve always been professional. Even when I’ve gone to other shows to support my friends, we’ve had those conversations of like, the do’s and the don’t’s, and ‘that was a little too much’ or, you know, like, we’ve had those conversations. So I think we’re at a real respect level. And Hunter has gone on a press conference being like, ‘Bayley’s this, Bayley’s this, she’s everything that you could possibly want out of a Superstar,’ which I appreciate. But it’s like all right, well what do I need to do to get me there?
  • Bayley added that reading the book “The Four Agreements” has helped her understand that she should not take things like this personally:
    • They’re not like, ‘Hey, take Bayley off [of posters]. Let’s just hurt her feelings a little bit.’ It’s not personal. It’s not. And my ego will get over it. You know, like, who cares? It’s not personal. They’re doing it because the marketing team thinks it’s best, or because the fanbase, or because of your merch sales. Like, whatever it is, I don’t care. I’ve been learning this the last couple of years. There’s so much more to life – and life is so freaking short – that I don’t want to spend my time, especially my last few years here, like being upset or being like, ‘Man, I wish I was on the poster. Wish I had more TV time or I wish I’d been this.’
    • It’s like, I’m going to look back and be like, dude, this is the coolest freaking thing ever. I can’t believe I’m here.
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin expressed support for Bayley in an Instagram comment: “Very humble. Class act. Future Hall of Famer. That’s the bottom line”
  • The full Stephanie Vaquer vs. Roxanne Perez NXT Women’s Championship main event from last night can be watched here.
  • A video aired on NXT with Andre Chase revealing that Chase U is returning.
  • NXT Champion Oba Femi named IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley as his favorite match of WrestleMania weekend.
  • Michael Hayes remembered his late Freebirds partner Terry Gordy on what would have been his 64th birthday: “Today would have been Terry’s 64th birthday!! REMEMBER YOU MISS YOU LOVE YOU:
  • Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena turns 48 years old today.
  • The official trailer and poster for Cena’s upcoming movie “Heads of State” have been unveiled. Cena stars alongside Idris Elba and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, with the movie set to be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 2:
    • The UK Prime Minister (Idris Elba) and US President (John Cena) have a public rivalry that risks their countries’ alliance. But when they become targets of a powerful enemy, they’re forced to rely on each other as they go on a wild, multinational run. Allied with Noel, a brilliant MI6 agent (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), they must find a way to thwart a conspiracy that threatens the free world.
  • The Club 520 Podcast interviewed Jacob Fatu.
  • Drew McIntyre, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller joined Sheamus for a Celtic Warrior Workouts episode that took place at WWE World.
  • Logan Paul uploaded a new vlog.

Other Wrestling

Bayley says 2021 knee injury was ‘bigger than anybody knows’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bayley is still impacted by the knee injury she suffered nearly four years ago.

In July 2021, Bayley underwent surgery for a torn ACL after suffering the injury in training. It kept her out of action for more than a year, halting the momentum Bayley had built up as one of WWE’s most dependable performers of the pandemic era.

A new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet was released on Tuesday with Bayley appearing as the guest. During their conversation, Bayley said her knee injury was “bigger than anybody knows.” It’s still difficult for her to run and do leg curls to this day.

“This will be a story for another day, because I’m not ready to share it yet, but my injury ended up being more than what everybody knows. It was a bigger injury than anybody knows,” Bayley said. “There’s a few people that are aware of it, and obviously the office and stuff. But that’s the reason, wasn’t just an ACL thing, it was a bigger injury, and that’s the reason why it kept me out longer. And the reason that really — like, it still bugs me to this day. I can’t do certain things, it’s hard for me to run, it’s hard for me to do leg curls. Like, there’s a lot of things that I can’t do because of that injury. And so there was a time, maybe in [physical therapy] doing stuff where I was like, ‘Man, I can’t even walk. I can’t jump. How am I supposed to wrestle in three months or something?’ So there was that little doubt which I’m sure everybody goes through with injuries, but I always knew that I was going to come back. Because, I mean, it wasn’t that crazy of an injury. It was just like a, ‘Where am I going to fit in?’ kind of thing.

“My whole idea behind Damage CTRL was like all right, I’ve won my championships, I’ve had my Mania moments. And now as a character, and as a bad guy, I could be like, ‘I don’t even want anything for myself, I want it for them.’ They’re going to reap all the benefits of my experience, and they’re going to get all the championships, and they’re going to get everything. And when the time is right, I’m going to steal it, I’m going to take the spotlight right back when I’m ready. But while I’m still recovering and finding my ways, they’re going to do all the work for me. And that was my idea behind it.”

Damage CTRL originally consisted of Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai with Kairi Sane and Asuka later being added to the group. The faction debuted at SummerSlam 2022 in Bayley’s return from injury. Bayley told Van Vliet that Raquel Rodriguez, Alba Fyre, and Toni Storm were some of the other people she considered for the faction. It was slated to be a five-person group in its planning stages with Bayley, SKY, Kai, Rodriguez, and Fyre.

Bayley split from Damage CTRL in 2024 during the build to WrestleMania 40.

A Tag Team title match with Bayley & Lyra Valkyria challenging Rodriguez & Liv Morgan was originally announced for WrestleMania 41, but WWE ran an angle last weekend where Bayley was taken out in a backstage attack. The returning Becky Lynch subbed in as Valkyria’s partner — but Lynch then betrayed Valkyria the next night on Raw.

Bayley says she has year and a half left on WWE contract

Posted on by Joseph Currier

While appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Bayley gave an update on her WWE contract status.

Bayley told Van Vliet that she has a year and a half left on her current WWE contract. When she was younger, Bayley thought she would only be able to wrestle until she was 35. But she’s now reached that age and realizes she can still keep competing. She has not set a timeframe for when she will step away from the ring.

“When I was younger, because women didn’t wrestle as long as we’re doing it now. Like Trish and Lita, if you think about it, they were everyone’s heroes, they were my heroes, and they only did it like, six, seven years with WWE and were only on top for three years or something. So to me, that was always in my head,” Bayley said. “But now you look at Nattie, who’s been here forever. I just wrestled her [on April 11], and just incredible in the ring. Just one of one, and everything that she brings to it, not just in the ring, but her experience, and we really need that in [the] locker room. So I always think that even if I’m not wrestling every week, there’s something that I have that can help the locker room just like she does, just like Naomi does, just like Tamina does. But when I was younger I always said all right, 35 would be my cut off, because, in my opinion, ‘Guys can go forever, but it’s not that cute when you’re a woman and you’re 35.’ But now that I’m 35 I’m just like, ‘Oh we’re all way past that, and we’re still main eventing, we’re still, doing red carpets, we’re still doing all this stuff. People still care about us.’ They still care about us. So that’s kind of changed my mindset.”

Bayley said she’s always dreamed of opening her own wrestling school and wants to do that while she’s still active in WWE. Whenever she does step away, Bayley believes WWE will be in good hands with so many talented women on the rise.

“I have a year and a half left on this current contract, so we’ll see what happens then,” Bayley said. “And then what? Man, I don’t know. I think I’ve done everything I really want to do, not everything. There’s still a lot I want to get done, but done so much with WWE and I’ve been here for already 12 years. And there’s like a huge wave of women coming in that I think are ready to take over and ready to be in those spots.”

Bayley named Lyra Valkyria, Roxanne Perez, and Cora Jade as some of the talented younger women she’s worked with.

“When I think about, ‘Ok, I might be done in a couple of years or, you know, who knows’ I know that it’s going to be in good hands. So that makes me really happy,” she told Van Vliet. “Where like before John Cena always says he couldn’t leave, because who was going to do what he does? Who’s going to take his place? Who’s going to be the one to freaking put asses in seats? Who’s going to be the one that the kids want to see, that the kids idolize to the level that he does? Cody’s doing that. And not saying I’m John Cena of course, but that’s kind of the same mindset. As long as it’s in good hands, the goal was to just leave it in a better place than you found it.”

A Women’s Tag Team title match with Bayley & Valkyria challenging Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez was originally announced for WrestleMania 41, but WWE ran an angle where Bayley was attacked backstage and Valkyria had to find a new partner. The returning Becky Lynch teamed up with Valkyria to win the belts. Their title reign was short-lived, though, with Lynch turning against Valkyria on Raw last night as they dropped the belts back to Morgan & Rodriguez.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque praised Bayley as a “true pro” at the post-WrestleMania 41 press conference. Levesque said Bayley will be just fine despite losing her WrestleMania spot to Lynch.

Van Vliet’s interview with Bayley was recorded prior to the angle where she was taken out of WrestleMania.

Becky Lynch possibly replacing Bayley in WWE WrestleMania 41 Tag Team title match

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Lyra Valkyria needs a tag team partner, and Becky Lynch could be it.

WWE shot an angle during the WrestleMania 41 Saturday pre-show in which Valkyria was seen running backstage only to see her tag team partner for Sunday, Bayley, lying on the floor and clutching her shoulder. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were then seen walking by, laughing at the predicament. Raw GM Adam Pearce confronted the champions but both denied having anything to do with the attack. Pearce said the match would take place as scheduled, and told Valkyria that she had 24 hours to find a tag team partner.

Bryan Alvarez is reporting that the Bayley injury is a story and has been in the works for a while, with the idea being that Becky Lynch will replace her in the upcoming WWE Women’s Tag Team title match on Sunday. Lynch notably was in town during WrestleMania weekend, sitting next to Seth Rollins during the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday.

Valkyria & Bayley were named number one contenders after winning a gauntlet match on last week’s SmackDown.

This is not the first WrestleMania match that has been changed today. After suffering an injury during SmackDown, Rey Mysterio announced that Rey Fenix would be taking his place in the match against El Grande Americano.

WWE WrestleMania 41 Women’s Tag title match set

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are on their way to WWE WrestleMania 41.

Valkyria and Bayley won the gauntlet match on Friday’s WWE SmackDown to advance to the Women’s Tag Team Championship currently slated for night two of WresteMania on Sunday, April 20. They will challenge current champs Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the titles.

Both teams had a staredown in the ring on Friday’s show while posing in the sightline of the WrestleMania 41 sign hanging in the rafters.

The expected WrestleMania 41 lineup is listed below.

WWE WrestleMania 41

Night one (Saturday, April 19) —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Night two (Sunday, April 20) —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Randy Orton vs. ?

Women’s Intercontinental title match booked for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A match for the Women’s Intercontinental title is set for next week’s Raw.

In a promo segment during Raw, Valkyria said she appreciated Bayley helping her out against Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan last week, but she needs to stand on her own two feet as champion. After mentioning her only loss as champion so far was against Bayley in a non-title match, she will put the title on the line next week in Minneapolis.

Seth Rollins will also make his return to Raw next week. He was last seen on Friday’s SmackDown signing the contract for the three-way match between Roman Reigns and CM Punk that will headline WrestleMania Saturday, none too pleased to find out that Punk would be getting his WrestleMania main event thanks to Paul Heyman.

El Grande Americano will also be returning to action. Chad Gable told Adam Pearce backstage during Raw that he was still sick, handing him a doctor’s note. However, he changed his tune when he found out next week’s Raw would be in his hometown. Pearce said that Gable couldn’t compete, but El Grande Americano would be in action.

Here is the card for next week’s Raw:

  • Women’s Intercontinental title: Lyra Valkyria defends against Bayley
  • Seth Rollins returns
  • El Grande Americano returns to action

WWE NXT Vengeance Day live results: Four title defenses highlight six-match card

Posted on by Marc Quill

WWE NXT returns to Peacock and Netflix with tonight’s Vengeance Day from the CareFirst Arena in Washington, DC, with a six-match card featuring nearly every title being defended.

NXT Champion Oba Femi will defend against partners Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in a triple threat match.

NXT Women’s Champion Giulia will defend her title for the first time as she faces Bayley, former champion Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade in a four-way.

Fallon Henley will put her women’s North American title on the line for the fourth time as she faces Stephanie Vaquer.

NXT Tag Team Champions Fraxiom will defend against the hard-hitting Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura who are looking for their first run with the gold.

The card is rounded out by a strap match between former NXT Champion Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe, and a grudge match between the returning Je’Von Evans and former NXT Champion Ethan Page.

**********

Countdown Show

– From the WWE Studios at Stamford, CT, Sam Roberts & Megan Morant welcomed us to the Countdown show as they ran down the current goings-on in NXT. They also talked about the six-match card that’s set to take place tonight at Vengeance Day. We then got a recap of the leadup to the NXT Women’s Championship Fatal Four-Way match.

– We got a sitdown interview with Corey Graves talking to Bayley where she was asked about why she decided to vie for the NXT Women’s Championship. Bayley said that being on NXT was her way of giving back to the future so she could see if they were ready for Raw or SmackDown.

– The story of how Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura won their shot at Fraxiom was shown before we got a promo from the NXT Tag Team Champions.

– A recap of Je’von Evans and Ethan Page’s feud was shown before we got an interview with Evans and Vic Joseph ahead of the former’s match tonight on Vengeance Day. Morant and Roberts talked about Evans’ demeanor heading into tonight’s match, noting that tonight could see a different Je’von Evans going up against All Ego.

– Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe in the Strap Match was the next match to be recapped by our esteemed panel.

– Next up was a recap of Stephanie Vaquer versus Fallon Henley for the Women’s North American Championship set to take place tonight, focusing mainly on Vaquer talking about how she’d take the gold from Henley.

– An interview with Austin Theory & Grayson Waller was shown, as the topic of their impending triple threat NXT Title match against current champ Oba Femi came up. Morant and Roberts wrapped things up afterwards with a final rundown of the card as it was time for Vengeance Day to kick off at the top of the hour.

**********

NXT Vengeance Day 2025

– Following the WWE signature open, we were welcomed to tonight’s show by Vic Joseph over shots of the Washington skyline. Shots of Oba Femi, A-Town Down Under, Bayley, Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Giulia were shown before we went inside the CareFirst Arena and the cold open got our show started.

Women’s North American Championship Match: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Fallon Henley (c) (w/ Fatal Influence)

Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan, and Karmen Petrovic were shown separately watching this upcoming match in the crowd before the bell rang.

Vaquer & Henley started things off with a lockup in the middle of the ring as chain wrestling action between the two got things going. After a stalemate, Vaquer and Henley stared each other down before another lockup exchange took place. Vaquer applied the STF on Henley, but was forced to break the hold after Henly made it to the bottom rope.

Vaquer answered with a kick to the chest of Henley and an attempt at her signature scissors roll. Henley, however, managed to escape by rolling into the ropes. Vaquer applied another submission and stopped a Henley pin reversal with a pin of her own, but the Women’s North American Champion kicked out at two. Henley countered a move attempt by Vaquer into an armbar, but had to break it up after Vaquer turned it into a pin attempt.

In the corner, Vaquer trapped Henley with a hanging triangle choke. Jazmyn Nyx provided a distraction, which allowed for Jacy Jayne to hit Vaquer with a pump kick at ringside. This gave Henley the advantage back in the ring. Vaquer attempted to mount a comeback, but Henley stopped that with a series of hard elbows to the face of her challenger. Once again, Henley had the upper hand as she hit a modified Blockbuster on Vaquer for the near-fall.

Henley applied a chinlock on Vaquer, but the challenger broke free from it. Vaquer rolled under a Henley clothesline, but got pulled down by the hair. Henley was caught on the backfoot as Vaquer blasted her with a faint kick across middle rope, followed by the springboard crossbody. This opened up Henley to be trapped in Vaquer’s trademark headscissors pounding for ten times the pain.

Vaquer and Henley traded running strikes, but the former avoided a Shining Wizard for a cover on the Women’s North American Champion. Only a two there. Vaquer caught Henley with Eat Defeat, which sent her foe scurrying in the corner. Running Meteora by Vaquer on a prone Henley wasn’t enough to put the champ away. Henley responded with a pumphandle exploder on Vaquer. Jacy Jayne once again got involved as she struck Vaquer behind the referee’s back. That wasn’t enough to keep the challenger down, though.

Henley was forcibly sent outside by a strike from Vaquer as the action spilled out at ringside. Vaquer turned her attention to Jayne and Nyx and took both down. On the apron, Vaquer hit a modified piledriver before she took down all of Fatal Influence with a dive onto all three members. In the ring, Vaquer finally hit the SVB on her third attempt as she finished things off with a Spiral Tap. One, two, three. Stephanie Vaquer is your new NXT Women’s North American Champion.

A solid way to open our six-match card tonight. Vaquer and Henley were more than up to the task of kicking things off the right way and the crowd got suitably invested in the action as a result. They certainly proved why NXT’s Women’s Division is at the level as it is right now as one of the top women’s divisions in North American wrestling.

**********

– Josh Briggs gifted his partner Yoshiki Inamura with a leather vest of her own as they discussed their battle plan for the NXT Tag Team Champions.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) (c) defeated Yoshiki Inamura & Josh Briggs

Inamura and Axiom started things off for their respective teams. Frazer quickly tagged in as they used their fast and furious tandem offense to momentarily leave the challengers flatfooted. Frazer blasted Inamura with a kick before Axiom reentered the match. Inamura created separation with a hard chop on Axiom before he tagged Briggs in. The big man took down both champions with separate big boots before he tagged Inamura. Briggs hit Axiom with a chokeslam onto the knees of Inamura, but that certainly was not enough to put the champs away.

Briggs maintained momentum for his team with that most powerful hold, a chinlock on Axiom. Inamura tagged in and assumed a sumo stance before he crushed Axiom with strikes in the corner. The Pro Wrestling NOAH star continued the onslaught in the corner as he obliterated Axiom with repeated chops to the chest.

Axiom’s own attempt at a chop was met with yet another Inamura chop that kept the masked man down. As Axiom recovered, he mustered enough strength to take Inamura down with the Golden Ratio. Both men down as they tagged in their respective partners.

Frazer used his explosive offense to hit Briggs with a DDT and a kick. Briggs managed to heat himself back up as he hit Frazer with a powerbomb. Briggs and Inamura hit an amazing double team toss into a powerbomb on Axiom, but Frazer broke the pin up at two. The fans came alive with.

As Inamura headed up the top rope, Axiom met him there as he hit an avalanche Spanish Fly. Frazer tried to head up top for the Phoenix Splash, but Briggs caught him and hit an avalanche clotheslam that sent Frazer colliding into Axiom on the comedown. Inamura caught Frazer with a fallaway slam as Axiom took Briggs out with a Poisonrana. Inamura had Frazer and Axiom and spun them around before he hit an Death Valley Driver on Axiom that sent him onto Frazer. That didn’t end the match.

Inamura tried to go up top, but Axiom & Frazer avoided calamity at the last second. At ringside, Axiom took down Briggs with a moonsault. Back in the ring, Axiom and Frazer put an end to Briggs & Inamura’s championship aspirations with an amazing modified Total Elimination (with Axiom going up high on the missile dropkick, and Frazer going down low). The champs retained after a fantastic match.

As Both teams showed respect to one another, they were attacked by four men — Saqoun Shugars (fka Lucky Ali), Cutler James, Osiris Griffin (fka Josh Black), and Dion Lennox — in matching black clothes, who laid everyone out with a sudden assault filled with nothing but retribution. The commentators speculated that these were the four men in the quick teasers on past episodes of NXT making their mark at the expense of the NXT Tag Team Championships. The quartet left bodies in their wake, proving that they were ready to shut it down.

You can count on Fraxiom to deliver an exciting NXT Tag Title defense and this was no exception. Credit to Briggs and Inamura for stepping up as credible challengers in this match. The post-match with the mystery group is interesting and it’s quite clear that they might be going after the NXT Tag Titles. That said, it’s not a promising sign when the crowd was left chanting “who are you?” upon the quartet’s arrival.

**********

– Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo talked about how he was going to get revenge on Shawn Spears and his group for what they did to Tony D’Angelo. He said he was challenging Spears for a match on Tuesday’s NXT, stating that payback wasn’t going to be pretty.

Strap Match: Eddy Thorpe defeated Trick Williams

Thorpe got a cheap shot on Williams before the strap could be tied by the official. Williams fought back and sent Thorpe to the outside with a clothesline. Williams whooped that Trick early as the official finally managed to get Williams tied to the strap. Thorpe tried to beg for mercy, but he found himself tied to the strap as the match finally got underway.

Williams seized the early momentum with a series of clotheslines on Thorpe, which sent him out the ring again. Williams used the strap to send Thorpe crashing into the ringpost at ringside before the action returned to the ring. Williams headed up the top rope, but got thrown to the mat by Thorpe using the strap as momentum. Thorpe tied Williams by the legs with the strap and stomped away on his foe. The crowd booed loudly at Thorpe gaining the advantage.

Williams took over and tried for a strap whipping, but missed out. Thorpe avoided a boot from Williams and hit Williams with the strap to the back. Thorpe continued to hit Williams with the strap, but the former NXT Champion fired himself back up and hit Thorpe with strikes.

Thorpe regained the advantage by sending Williams into the ringpost as he used the strap to tie Williams into the ringpost. More whips from Thorpe to Williams. In the ring, Thorpe continued to command the match with a Randy Orton-style backbreaker to Williams. Using the strap, Thorpe threw Williams into the middle turnbuckle across two different corners.

Williams rose up and tried to take advantage, but Thorpe hit his foe by the legs and managed to ground Trick once again. Williams launched a counter-offensive with a strap-enhanced submission hold that Thorpe tried to break free from by grabbing the ropes, to no avail. Williams finally had control as he looked to take out some frustrations on Thorpe with some strap strikes of his own. Thorpe could not escape the fate as leather met the flesh with precision.

Williams crushed Thorpe with a Trickshot Knee that sent his rival flying outside the ring. Back in the ring, Thorpe went low with a strap low blow, followed by a dropkick for the win.

I’ll be honest, it was kinda hard to fully get invested in this match given the rather unfortunate optics on a match involving a Black wrestler getting whipped with a leather strap during Black History Month, especially since said match largely just consisted of the wrestler in question taking the abuse. Eddy getting the win was nice, but I do wish it was in a different match, though.

**********

– The commentators recapped Ricky Starks’ surprise appearance on last Tuesday’s NXT, as we got remarks from Starks himself. He said he’d be signing his official NXT contract on Tuesday as he was still not yet mentioned by name on-screen.

Ethan Page defeated Je’von Evans

Evans started off hot as he went on the offense against Page, who ran out ouf the ring. Evans responded with a dive that he partially overshot as he flew into Page and sent him flying over the announce table. Evans continued his assault on Page with a dive from the announce table as the action went back into the ring.

Evans maintained his advantage as he caught Page with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. Page was unable to find any sort of refuge early on until a kick to the gut of Evans briefly created some breathing room. That was a fleeting moment as Evans soared with a springboard clothesline on Page for another two-count.

An attempted springboard cutter was caught by Page, but Evans answered back with a superkick, followed by the springboard cutter on the apron. With Page stunned, Evans placed his head against the steel steps as tried to stomp Page’s head in. Page managed to avoid a grisly fate at the last second as Evans found his leg trapped between the ringpost and steel steps. Page then kicked at the steps to finally get the advantage.

A bloodied Page began to sadistically target that injured leg of Evans with stomps, followed by a submission to the leg. After a brief reprieve, Page applied an ankle lock, but Evans escaped. Page lifted Evans up for the powerslam, but that wasn’t enough to get the victory. Page once again had the ankle lock firmly cinched in with a grapevine hold. Evans finally managed to get to the bottom rope to force a break. Page tried for another ankle lock, but Evans escaped and struck down Ego with a Superman Punch.

Page caught Evans for the Ego’s Edge and connected. One, two… Evans kicked out at the last possible second to prolong the match. Evans blocked a stomp from Page and rose up back to the feet as he unleashed his own combo on Page. He finished it off with an acrobatic rolling kick on Page. Ego was left at the mercy of Evans, who stomped at Page’s jaw. One more attempt at a springboard cutter was blocked by Page, who punched away at the jaw of Evans, which sent the mouthguard flying. Page connectedwith the Twisted Grin cutter, which got him the pin and the win in this grudge match.

Good match here, though all signs seem to point to Evans getting the win here, so it was a curious choice for Page to go over here. That said, it didn’t take away from how good the match and the story behind it was.

**********

– Sarah Schreiber interviewed Stephanie Vaquer after her successful Women’s North American Championship win. Vaquer said that she wasn’t done yet and that she’d be watching tonight’s main event, the fatal four-way for the NXT Women’s Championship.

Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship: Oba Femi defeated Austin Theory and Grayson Waller

Waller hit Femi with a superkick, as he and Theory began to double team the NXT Champion, clearly on the same page for the time being. Femi blocked a double Irish whip attempt as he then threw both men down with a double chokeslam. A-Town Down Under found themselves the victims of a one-man double suplex from Femi. Theory tried for a roll, but got caught by Femi, who threw him into Waller with relative ease.

A double clothesline from Theory and Waller took Femi out of the equation as the two partners stared each other down now. Waller and Theory shoved one another, but Femi pulled Waller out of the ring before the partners could come to blows. Femi absolutely lit Theory’s chest up with a hard chop as the announce table was rearranged by the NXT Champion.

Waller was thrown into the stairs by Femi, who took the top half of the steel stairs and threw it right into Theory’s face. Waller stopped Femi’s momentum with a drop toehold that sent his face into the steel steps. The Aussie pulled out a chair from underneath the ring as he then began to work over Femi with knees and elbows to the head.

Femi got himself back up, only to be struck down with a chair to the chest and bakc by Waller. With the chair opened up, Femi was placed in position as Waller went up top. Femi caught Waller as he then sent him right into the chair with a sidewalk slam that completely destroyed it. Theory reemerged to break up the count as he stunned Femi with the rolling dropkick.

A-Town Down Under looked to team up on Femi once more, but the champion fought out momentarily. On the top rope, Theory had Femi on his shoulders as we got a Tower of Doom Suplex spot from the three competitors. Theory tried to get the pin with his partner out cold, but Femi managed to kick out. At ringside, Femi gave the fans what they wanted as he introduced the table into the proceedings. Theory and Waller once again launched a two-on-one assault on Femi as they set the table up and placed Femi across it. Waller went up to and hit a diving elbow on Femi through the table.

Theory entered the ring and tried to steal the pin for himself, but Femi kicked out and Waller saw it all unfold. Waller yelled at Theory, as Femi caught the Atlanta native with a powerful spinebuster. With a full head of steam, Femi ran into Theory in the corner as he turned his attention to Waller at ringside. He threw Waller into the announce table to take him out of the equation. Femi punched the steel chair out of Theory’s hand and tried for the Fall from Grace. Theory reversed it and hit A-Town Down instead. Will we have a new NXT Champion? No! Waller pulled out the referee at the very last second to stop the count.

Theory took notifce and yelled at Waller at ringside. Femi had Theory set up for Fall From Grace, but he noticed Waller rolling into the ring for the Rolling Thunder Stunner and got out of the way. Waller ended up hitting his (former?) partner with his finisher, which opened him up for the Fall From Grace by Femi. That’s it, over. Femi retained the NXT Championship.

The lights went out as we saw the four masked men appear in the crowd once again. The group stormed the ring and launched an assault on Femi, as two of the group threw Femi into their cohorts for an assisted powerbomb. This mystery group left the NXT Champion laying, having made an impact once more.

The triple threat match was a fun one, and the added drama on whether or not A-Town Down Under’s selfish ambitions would be their downfall made for an interesting underlying story in this title defense for Oba Femi. What was more interesting was the arrival of the mysterious quartet earlier and them laying out Femi, which raises a lot of questions on what their plans will be.

**********

– Ava was backstage with Sarah Schreiber, as she talked about Roadblock on March 11th. Arianna Grace dropped by for a visit, as she thanked her for making her NXT’s liason to TNA Wrestling. She introduced her father Santino Marella (TNA’s Director of Authority) to a huge reaction from the crowd. Santino said that he hadn’t seen Arianna since she was a little girl, which elicited a confused reaction from Ava. Soon after, Ava and Santino left to discuss future plans.

Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Giulia defeated Roxanne Perez, Bayley, and Cora Jade

The bell rang on the match with Bayley trying to get crowd into it early. Giulia sat on the top rope and watched as the other three women fought each other. She leapt into action with a dropkick to Bayley and Jade.

Jade and Perez tried to hit a double suplex on Giulia, but that was blocked. Action fast and furious here early on. All four women exchanged pins on one another as they looked to get the win, as they then teed of on one another. With Giulia and Jade at ringside, Bayley and Perez took off for stereo suicide dives. In the ring, Perez and Bayley faced off before Jade pulled the latter out and entered the ring. Perez and Jade began to mix it up briefly before Giulia took both down with a dropkick.

On opposite corners, Giulia charged into both Perez and Jade with boots to to the face. Cover attempt by Giulia saw Perez kick out as Bayley slid into the ring and faced off with the NXT Women’s Champion. Bayley and Giulia engaged in a chain wrestling duel as the fans showed their support for both women in the ring at the moment. With Bayley stunned, Giulia tried for a running attack, but was pulled out by the tandem of Perez and Jade. Bayley recovered and helped Giulia out against Perez and Jade at ringside.

In the ring, Giulia and Bayley caught Jade with a double suplex. Perez almost found herself the victim of a double suplex of her own, but Jade saved her at the last second. The two friends put aside their difference as they went after both Giulia and Bayley. With the NXT Women’s Champion isolated, Perez and Jade pounced on Giulia like sharks on their prey. A running knee by Jade led to Perez getting caught in the crossfire, as she as then kicked aside by Jade.

With Giulia and Bayley at ringside, Jade went up top and hit a diving moonsault on the two of them. Jade had Bayley dead to rights for another dive, but Perez stepped in and unleashed hell on her former friend. Bayley recovered to strike Perez with a running knee as Jade caught her with a boot to the face. Bayley hit an unintentional double-team move with Jade’s unwilling help. Bayley was a house of fire, taking out both Jade and Perez with a double stunner from the apron. Giulia caught Bayley with a Northern Lights suplex as she tried to return into the match.

Black Widow submission by Giulia on Bayley was then turned into a crucifix bomb. Pin attempt was broken up by Perez. In the middle of the ring, Giulia’s STF was turned into a crossface by Perez. That was then answered with a suplex by Giulia. Twisting side suplex by Bayley wasn’t enough to get the win. The action spilled into chaos as an attempted Pop Rox by Perez was met with a knee from Jade. DDT by Jade to Bayley. One, two… Perez interrupted the pin at the very last second. Giulia made her presence known with multiple belly-to-belly suplexes on her competitors. Up top, Giulia tried for a suplex on Perez. Bayley and Jade joined in and we got another Tower of Doom suplex/powerbomb sequence.

As all four women got themselves back up to their feet, the slugfest began with Giulia and Jade fighting and Bayley and Perez mixing it up at the same time. At ringside, Jade hit a suplex on Giulia as Perez caught Bayley with two consecutive Pop Roxes. Jade interrupted and caught her friend with the double-arm DDT. Giulia with the last-second Arrivederci knee to break up the pin. And now it’s Perez’s turn to eat an Arrivederci knee from Giulia, as the Northern Lights Bomb put the exclamation point here.

After the match, Giulia’s celebration was interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer, who joined in the celebration. We got a vintage NXT copyright graphic fakeout as Jordynne Grace’s music hit to a huge ovation from the crowd. Grace entered the ring and stared down both Vaquer and Giulia to end our night.

Solid main event, with four very talented women getting their chance to show up and show out as only they can. I enjoyed this one from start to finish and it’ll be interesting to see the fallout from what we saw here. More importantly, the addition of Jordynne Grace certainly makes NXT’s already-stacked women’s division even more of a must see and it’ll be exciting to see where she fits in as the road to Stand & Deliver in April is set to begin in earnest soon.

All in all, another fun show from start to finish as NXT’s track record for PLEs continues to be a great one. The women, as expected, managed to steal the show as they gave us a grand opening and a grand closing in more ways than one.

WWE NXT live results: Vengeance Day go-home show

Posted on by Colin McGuire

With Vengeance Day just four days away, WWE NXT presents a new episode tonight.

Bayley has a chance to become NXT Women’s Champion on Saturday when she faces Giulia and Roxanne Perez in a triple threat match. Tonight, it will be Bayley vs. Cora Jade in one-on-one action. Jade — who also has her eyes on the NXT Women’s title — attacked Bayley with a kendo stick last week.

Gold will be on the line tonight when Tony D’Angelo defends his North American Championship against Ridge Holland inside of a steel cage. The Heritage Cup is also set to be contested with Lexis King defending against TNA star JDC — the former Fandango.

Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Tavion Heights & Myles Borne has been announced for tonight as well. It has title implications with each team looking for a shot against NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom.

Plus, WWE will follow up on Eddy Thorpe’s attack on Trick Williams that closed last week’s show.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– Vic Joseph welcomed everyone into the show. Tony D and his family were shown walking in the parking lot. Ditto for Ridge Holland. Back in the PC, Bayley made her entrance for the first match.

Cora Jade defeated Bayley [10:36]

The commentary team wasn’t exaggerating when they said this was the biggest victory of Jade’s career, but umpf, they had a bumpy road getting there. I expected a lot more from these two, but we all have a bad night here and there, so, well, life moves on. Missed spots aside, the women worked hard and Jade’s victory packed a punch because of how predictable it felt that Bayley would win heading into the triple threat at Vengeance Day. That said, the late addition of Jade to Saturday’s match justifies this upset and then some. Perez and Bayley showed good fire in their limited brawling. So much so that I almost prefer a singles match between the two this weekend, but perhaps they are saving that for ‘Mania weekend. Time will tell.

Jade tried to jumpstart the match, but Bayley ducked the attack and the action spilled outside. Bayley held control and went for a dropkick, leaping between the bottom rope and the mat, but Jade was a little out of place and Bayley barely connected. Back inside the ring, Jade gained the upper hand briefly, but Bayley came right back with a series of elbows for a two-count. Bayley landed a knee and Jade rolled to the outside. Bayley followed up with a dive through the ropes. As Bayley celebrated landing the dive, Jade attacked her and went on the offensive. Jade hit a series of strikes and with Bayley down in the middle of the ring, the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Bayley hit a type of cutter and the two brawled for a short time before Bayley hit a Bayley-To-Belly, but it only resulted in a near-fall. Bayley followed up with a series of clotheslines and a double-knees to Jade’s midsection. Bayley suplexed Jade for another near-fall. Bayley tried a Sunset Flip, but kind of missed and Jade sat on her for a pin attempt. Bayley caught Jade as Jade lunged at her and then slammed Jade for a two-count. Bayley went to the top, but Bayley’s old theme music hit and Roxanne Perez walked out in old school Bayley gear.

Bayley went to ringside and attacked Perez. Jade followed her out and hit a double underhook DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Perez hit another one, and that was good enough to get Jade the win. Giulia was shown watching backstage and Ava walked up to her to whisper something. Soon after, Ava walked to the ring and announced that Saturday’s triple threat for the NXT Women’s Championship will now be a Fatal Four-way, including Jade. Jade and Perez hugge and Bayley attacked them both to end the segment.

**********

– Zaria and Sol Ruca were shown talking in the locker room. Nikkita Lyons walked in and confronted them, saying one win doesn’t make Zaria and Ruca a tag team. Lyons challenged Zaria to match later tonight.

The Oba Femi/A-Town Down Under segment

Please. If nothing else. Please. I beg you, Shawn Michales, pull the trigger on the Theory and Waller break up this weekend. If there’s anything to come of this excursion back down to NXT for Waller and Theory, it should be a definitive split for those two. We’ve been waiting for months. We’ve been begging for months. I plead with you, man: End the madness. Anyway, this segment was fine. The heels showed good fire, though I can’t say I’m a fan of Femi taking a beating from these two. In some ways, he just seems above it. Then again, you have to keep the story moving going into this weekend’s PLE, and one way to do that is to have the guy take a beatdown. So it goes.

Femi started by reminding everyone who he will be defending his NXT title against on Saturday. Femi called it a handicap match because in Waller and Theory’s mind, they will gang up against The Ruler. Femi said it will be every man for himself and on cue, A-Town Down Under’s music hit. Waller and Theory walked out with microphones. Waller said he thought better of Femi than to try and turn Waller and Theory against each other. Theory said Waller never received his flowers in NXT. Theory said Waller has jumped off ladders and risked his career many times in NXT while other people like Carmelo Hayes and Tony D get all the credit. Theory called Waller a pillar of NXT. Theory then said Waller will help Theory become the NXT Champion on Saturday.

Waller said this weekend, Theory can ride shotgun after Waller wins the NXT title. Femi chimed in and asked them if they both thought they’d become NXT Champion. Waller fired up and said he’d do whatever it takes to win … and was then cut off by Theory, who said he was never NXT Champion. Theory was then cut off by Waller, who said nobody cares about the things Theory has accomplished. Theory noted how Waller has never had a singles title run in WWE. Waller brought up how he had the WWE Tag Team Championships in his hands at a ‘Mania. Theory fired back and said he’d do whatever it takes to win this weekend. Theory and Waller turned their attention to how they want to attack Femi on Saturday.

Waller told Femi his plan didn’t work tonight and there is nothing or nobody who will stop him from winning the NXT Championship. Waller dropped the microphone and walked away, but Theory pushed Waller, who tried to clothesline Theory, but Theory moved and Waller hit Femi. Theory and Waller then double-teamed Femi and Theory hit his finisher on Femi before Waller followed up with a rolling Stunner. Waller then picked up the title. Theory took it from Waller and Theory and Waller posed together to close out the segment.

**********

– An Eddy Thorpe vignette aired. Thorpe challenged Trick Williams to a strap match at Vengeance Day.

– Footage of Ethan Page busting up Je’Von Evans from a couple months ago aired. A doctor came on the screen and said that while Evans is cleared to wrestle this weekend, if it goes wrong, Evans could be out for months. Evans was then shown talking to Ava in her office and Ava made Evans sign a waiver saying if anything bad happens to him at Vengeance Day, WWE isn’t responsible. Evans signed it right away.

Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura defeated Hank Walker & Tank Williams and Tavion Heights and Myles Borne [12:08]

My God, this felt like I was covering AEW TV again, what with the nonstop action, the quick tags and my constant use of the three words, “things broke down.” I’m not complaining. This was a lot of fun and the right team went over. Briggs and Inamura have a weird momentum going for them and the last-minute tag title match is a solid addition to Saturday’s card. Axiom and Frazer are main roster-ready, so do we think this is the time they drop the belts? Probably not, but a loss backed with a solid performance this weekend could set up a better moment for Briggs and Inamura during ‘Mania weekend. In the meantime – and back to the match at hand – Hank and Tank deserve some credit here because they looked better than most everyone else involved. Kudos to those fellas.

Tank and Inamura started the match, but things broke down fairly quickly and Heights tagged himself in, lifted Hank and Borne tagged in. The two dropped Hank, but Tank quickly tagged in and things broke down between the teams. Before long, Tank hit a cartwheel and took out Briggs and Inamura. Borne tagged in and was disposed of to the outside quickly. Heights tagged in and Hank and Tank took down Heights. Hank and Tank squished Borne on the outside of the ring, but soon after back inside the ring, Heights slammed Hank. Axiom and Nathan Frazer were shown watching match from the Designated NXT Eagle’s Next. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back to from the break, Inamura tagged in and worked over Borne, complete with a spinning body slam. Briggs tagged himself in and took out Heights and Borne. Hank tagged in and things broke down between the six wrestlers again. “NXT!” chants broke out. Hank and Heights were left alone in the ring and they traded blows. Briggs gave the big boot to Heights and Hank. Briggs chokeslammed/powerbombed Hank and went for a pin, but it was broken up. Hank hit a splash on everyone, who was on the outside. Hank then slammed Briggs back inside the ring for a good near-fall. Bodies were everywhere and “This is awesome!” chants started.

Hank went to the top, but Briggs cut him off. Briggs set up for a chokeslam, but Hank worked out of it. Inamura tagged in and hit a huge splash on Hank, which was good enough to get his team the win. After the match, Frazer and Axiom spoke to the winners and said they could have a title match at Vengeance Day on Saturday.

**********

– Tony D was talking to his family backstage and Stacks apologized for the way he’s been acting. D’Angelo forgave him, and, of course, said, “Forget about it!” The show went back to the ring.

Lexis King defeated JDC to retain the NXT Heritage Cup [9:39]

I’m not in the camp of people who blindly hate King for the sake of hating King, and in a lot of ways, I root for something – anything – to work for him … but it’s just not getting there. Bringing in JDC, who you can’t have a bad match with if you tried, was a smart move because the in-ring work wasn’t going to suffer, but even with that loyal NXT PC crowd, King seems to never receive any notable reactions, no matter what he does and no matter how hard he tries. The fact that we are now making Heritage Cup matches just a regular old match does nothing for me, either, because … well … why? How does this allow the prize to standout among the other belts on the brand? At this point, it’s just a prop and that’s kind of sad.

The action was slow to start. JDC eventually took control and chopped the hell out of King repeatedly. JDC went for a backslide, but King kneed JDC in the face and JDC went to the outside. King wiped himself down with a towel in a corner and JDC came back at him. JDC then clotheslined King over the top and to the outside and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and King had the upper hand. King went for a single-leg crab, but JDC worked out of it and chopped King a few times, only to have King ultimately work a single-leg crab. King went to work on JDC’s back, but JDC came back with a strong clothesline. JDC followed up with a Russian Leg Sweep and a Falcon Arrow for a two-count. King went to the outside and JDC landed a dive over the top. Back inside the ring, JDC hit a leg-drop from the top for a nice near-fall. JDC went back to the top, but King hit the ropes and JDC stumbled. King then hit The Coronation for the win.

**********

– Ava was standing between Perez and Bayley in her office and the women were bickering. Perez was still in her Bayley gear and Bayley said it was the best she ever looked, called her an idiot and walked away. Jade walked into the office and said she’d win the women’s title this weekend and walked away. Perez said “over my dead body” as she stood there with only Ava.

– Fallon Henry was walking backstage and Kelani Jordan walked up and said Fallon has yet to face “this version of Kelani Jordan.” Jaida Parker appeared and said she has next. Ashante Thee Adonis walked in and said his girl Karmen is the one who should have next. Everyone bickered and the segment ended.

Zaria defeated Nikkita Lyons [2:47]

More of this for Zaria, please. She came in as a monster, but for whatever reason, the booking minds have cooled her off in the last handful of weeks. This was a nice semi-squash that could help re-establish her has a force of nature. Lyons, meanwhile, held her own, but less is more with her as she’s still a bit of a work in progress. This was inoffensive and quick. You can’t ask for much more than that when it comes to a match that was made earlier in the show.

Lyons hit a German Suplex early on and went to the second rope, but Zaria cut her off … until Lyons turned Zaria over with a head-scissors takedown. Zaria came back with a German Suplex and the match reset. The two hit a series of simultaneous clotheslines before Lyons landed a kick to take brief control. Lyons worked a Camel Clutch until Zaria stood up and slammed Lyons. Zaria ran right into a knee from Lyons, but Lyons missed a splash. Zaria speared Lyons and then hit her finisher for the win.

**********

– An Ethan Page vignette aired.

– Trick Williams was interviewed in the Eagles Nest while the cage for the main event was being set up in the background. Williams officially accepted Thorpe’s challenge for a strap match at Vengeance Day. The commentary team then ran down the card for Vengeance Day … until Ricky Starks showed up in the crowd. And I can’t believe I just typed that. The crowd chanted “Ricky Starks!” and Starks said NXT needs an “absolute superstar of the future” and NXT needs “the hottest free agent right now.” Starks said he was there to turn the place upside down. Starks talked about the revolution being televised, hit his pose and left through the crowd.

– Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia were shown talking backstage briefly until Ridge Holland walked past them. From there, footage of the main event participants walking was shown. The show went to a break.

– Andre Chase was shown walking backstage and ran into Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon. They wanted to go out with Chase, but Chase said it was a school night. Chase reflected on the fact that Chase U is dead and walked away.

Tony D’Angelo defeated Ridge Holland to retain the NXT North American Championship [11:08]

A good television main event. It felt like some shenanigans were in the works once the entrances for it started about 20 minutes to the hour, but I like the Shawn Spears alliance. He’s been cold since coming over from AEW, so this is a nice way to heat him and his faction up. Holland ostensibly no-selling the defeat only to rush out of the cage and attack Stacks felt a little out of place, but Holland is going to need something to do coming out of this loss anyway, and he could worse than a program with Stacks. Despite no title changes this week, it was quite the newsworthy go-home show between Jade beating Bayley, Izzi Dame turning on D’Angelo and Ricky Starks showing up. Never a dull moment these days in the land of NXT.

D’Angelo got the better of things early, hitting a series of strikes and a suplex for a two count. D’Angelo went for a belly-to-belly suplex, but Holland eye-gouged his way out of it. D’Angelo ultimately flipped Holland into the cage and tried to follow it up with a splash, but Holland moved and D’Angelo went into the cage hard. The show went to its final commercial break of the night.

The show returned and Holland had control, complete with a strong clothesline for a two count. Holland went to the top and went for a splash, but D’Angelo moved. D’Angelo then threw Holland into the cage repeatedly. D’Angelo followed it up with a series of belly-to-belly suplexes. D’Angelo hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for a two count. D’Angelo ran right into a pump kick and a Snowplow from Holland for a nice near-fall. Holland sold disappointment in not getting the three count.

With both wrestlers on their knees, they traded elbows. There was a tiny bit of miscommunication before D’Angelo threw Holland into the cage and followed it up with a spear for another nice near-fall. Izzi Dame tried to throw a crowbar into the ring. Stacks stopped her and threw the crowbar into the ring himself. Holland and D’Angelo fought over the crowbar and Holland ultimately got possession of it. Holland hit D’Angelo in the head with it and covered him for a very good near fall. Holland jawed at D’Angelo and D’Angelo eye-gouged Holland before hitting him with the crowbar and his finisher for the win.

Aftrer the match, Holland attacked Stacks and some of the family. They brawled to the back and Shawn Spears showed up with his crew. D’Angelo jawed at them and Izzi Dame hit D’Angelo in the back of the knee with the crowbar. Spears and his faction worked over D’Angelo from there, with spears working D’Angelo over with a chair. With the cage door locked, Stacks and the D’Angelo family ran back out for the save, but couldn’t climb the cage before Spears suplexed D’Angelo onto a chair in the ring. A video package on past Vengeance Days aired to end the show – until one final teaser for the new faction aired to truly close things down.

Logan Paul & Bayley qualify for WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two more wrestlers have qualified for the Elimination Chamber.

Bayley and Logan Paul advanced to their respective Elimination Chamber matches that will take place in Toronto, Canada on March 3. Bayley was the first to qualify on Raw, defeating Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria after reversing a cradle into one of her own. 

In the main event of Monday’s show, Logan Paul defeated Rey Mysterio after hitting a new finishing move, which saw Paul turn an x-plex into a DDT, pinning Rey Mysterio to advance. It has now been set that the winner of the men’s Elimination Chamber match will face Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after events from Raw saw Jey Uso pick Gunther for his WrestleMania match.

Next week’s Raw will see Seth Rollins take on Finn Balor and Roxanne Perez face Raquel Rodriguez in qualifying matches. This coming Friday’s SmackDown qualfiying matches will have Jacob Fatu taking on Damian Priest and Braun Strowman while Chelsea Green will square off against Naomi.

The updated card for the Elimination Chamber:

  • Men’s Elimination Chamber: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Logan Paul vs. 2 TBD
  • Women’s Elimination Chamber: Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Bianca Belair vs. Bayley vs. 2 TBD

WWE star Bayley to participate in NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the game taking place near her hometown, WWE star Bayley is set to participate in NBA All-Star Weekend 2025.

The NBA announced today that Bayley will be playing in this year’s All-Star celebrity basketball game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN on Friday, February 14 at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Part of the game will air opposite WWE SmackDown, but Bayley is no longer on the SmackDown roster after recently moving over to Raw.

Oakland & San Francisco are hosting the All-Star weekend festivities with the celebrity game being held at Oakland Arena. Bayley is from San Jose, which is also part of California’s Bay Area.

Bayley will be playing for Team Rice, which is coached by NFL legend Jerry Rice & TikTok star Khaby Lame. The other team is coached by MLB home-run king Barry Bonds & rapper 2 Chainz. The full rosters can be seen below:

Bayley won’t be sticking around long after the celebrity game. On Saturday, February 15, she’ll be in Washington, D.C. to compete at NXT Vengeance Day. The PLE card includes a triple threat match with NXT Women’s Champion Giulia defending her title against Bayley and Roxanne Perez.

Championship summit, four matches announced for next WWE NXT

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A championship summit segment, plus four matches have been announced for the February 4 WWE NXT episode.

Prior to their triple threat match for the NXT Women’s title at Vengeance Day, Giulia, Bayley, and Roxanne Perez will gather for a championship summit on next week’s NXT.

Four matches are also set for the February 4 show.

NXT Champion Oba Femi will team with former champ Trick Williams against A-Town Down Under’s Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Theory and Waller will challenge Femi at Vengeance Day for the title on February 15.

Stephanie Vaquer is next in line to challenge Fallon Henley for the North American Championship at Vengeance Day, but Vaquer will first take on Jacy Jayne of Henley’s Fatal Influence group next week.

Ridge Holland feud with The Family will continue next week as he faces Stacks. Kelani Jordan and Karmen Petrovic will also renew acquaintances on February 4.

The WWE NXT lineup for the Tuesday, February 4 episode:

  • WWE NXT Women’s Championship summit with Giulia, Bayley, Roxanne Perez
  • Oba Femi & Trick Williams vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
  • Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne
  • Ridge Holland vs. Stacks Lorenzo
  • Kelani Jordan vs. Karmen Petrovic