Tag: IYO SKY

WWE SummerSlam night two live results: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes street fight

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 3, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ 

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Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW —

The Women’s World Championship triple threat match will open SummerSlam (in three hours).

They showed a few wrestlers arriving. Iyo Sky and Naomi both used carts to get around because the stadium is so big. 

There were highlights from night one, and the announcers discussed some of it before running down the card for today. 

I’m not going to recap everything the panellists say, but notably, Wade Barrett was openly skeptical of John Cena’s sudden change in behaviour on SmackDown. Big E was skeptical too, but played it more down the middle.

Naomi told Cathy Kelley she would not lose tonight. She recalled losing her title to Natalya eight years ago at SummerSlam and said she would be damned if it happened again.

There’s been a fair amount of repeat content on the pre-show from yesterday, including video packages and Peter Rosenberg doing the walk-through from Gorilla to the stage. Two hours to go. 

There was an entertaining Becky Lynch sit-down interview with Michael Cole. She doubled down on blaming the fans for her heel turn. She blamed Lyra Valkyria for costing them the tag titles and ruining her momentum. Valkyria had to learn a lesson. When your dog pees on the floor, you rub their face in it. (Cole made sure to say he doesn’t do this to his dog.) She noted the list that called her the greatest women’s wrestler ever, and stated she was “the greatest woman ever.” 

Kelley interviewed Angelo Dawkins (wearing a Ken Griffey Jr. shirt) and Montez Ford (wearing a black cowboy hat). They were all business and focused on winning tonight. Ford mentioned this was the first PLE match for the Street Profits in 16 months.

Byron Saxton handed out (sponsored) breath mints to fans. One hour to go. 

Megan Morant and Sam Roberts interviewed Dominik Mysterio. Morant asked about AJ Styles beating him on Raw, and Dom responded by asking her who she ever beat. Dom was offended by their questions, so he blew them off and left. 

They plugged AAA Triplemanía XXXIII with Vikingo vs. Dom vs. Dragon Lee vs. El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). 

In previewing Dom’s match tonight, they said Styles has not held a title in WWE since 2021. 

Rosenberg interviewed some fans about their experience at the show last night. One fan was happy when CM Punk won the title, but sad that he lost. Funny enough, he was sad because Punk finally won the title after being “gone for ten years.”

The panel spent the final few minutes previewing tonight’s card. 

Tigirlily Gold sang God Bless America as we transitioned from the preshow to the main show. 

SUMMERSLAM 2025 NIGHT TWO —

Solo Sikoa and his crew (MFT), Jacob Fatu, Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch, and Cody Rhodes were shown arriving. Lynch received a big reaction, and Rhodes received a big mixed reaction. 

The show intro was once again narrated by Druski. It’s 82 degrees Fahrenheit as the show starts, about 5 degrees warmer than yesterday. 

Paul “Triple H” Levesque entered the ring to his music (he was already at ringside, so it wasn’t a full entrance). He told the audience they were part of the biggest SummerSlam in history. He asked them if they were ready, and they responded in the affirmative. 

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are the announcers again. 

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Naomi’s entrance included her father, Shawn McCray, performing her theme on guitar as she entered. 

The opening match kicked off at 6:16 pm ET. 

Triple Threat Match for the Women’s World Championship: Naomi (c) vs. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley

Naomi left the ring as the match started, thinking she could let the other two battle it out, but they went after her instead. Their teamwork came to an end quickly when Ripley accidentally booted Sky. Naomi took out both women with a flying crossbody. 

Naomi was in complete control of both women (one at a time as they took turns falling out of the ring). Ripley fought back, and Sky hit Naomi with a springboard dropkick. Sky hit Naomi with a 619, and Ripley hit a German suplex. 

Ripley and Sky finally went toe-to-toe, and Ripley got the better of it initially until Sky countered a Rip-tide into a small package for two. Sky hit a poinsonrana, but Naomi broke up the cover. Ripley hit Sky with a Razor’s Edge and powerbomb, but Naomi broke up the cover again. 

Ripley attacked Naomi on the outside until Sky wiped them out with an Asai moonsault. With her opponents down in the corners, Sky hit repeated running knee strikes. 

Sky set up for a moonsault, but Ripley stopped her. Naomi knocked Ripley off the ropes and hit a split-legged moonsault. Sky tried to break up the cover with a moonsault, but Naomi moved and Sky hit Ripley with the move instead. They traded moves until Ripley hit Naomi with a Rip-tide, but Sky (who was out of sight) broke up the cover. 

Ripley wiped out Naomi with a cannonball off the apron. Sky caught Ripley and powerbombed her onto Naomi on the outside. Sky went to the top, but Ripley cut her off and eventually hit an avalanche Rip-tide. 

Ripley had it won, but Naomi jumped in and caught her in a schoolboy while holding the tights for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Naomi defeated Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY to retain the Women’s World Championship (16:24)

This was a pretty fun match, though nothing outstanding. The story was that Ripley had the match won multiple times, but came up short once again. 

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Tyrese  Haliburton (who was booed), Nick Hogan, and Michelle McCool were shown in the crowd. 

To honour the anniversary of the first TLC match, the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) were shown in the crowd. Cole mentioned their upcoming match at TNA Bound for Glory.

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Six-way TLC Match for the Tag Team Championships: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) (c) vs. The Street Profits vs. DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Rey Fénix & Andrade vs. Fraxiom

This was insane. 

There was a spot early where the Street Profits tried to give Gacy a backdrop onto a ladder, but he went sideways, missed the ladder and fell out of the ring. They grabbed him and did the spot properly, which delighted the crowd (and the Dudleys). 

The crowd gasped when Fénix leaped on the shoulders of Andrade and tried to grab the belts that way, but the Street Profits cut them off. Fénix and Andrade gave them the three amigos, and the crowd chanted for Eddie Guerrero. 

Tommaso Ciampa tried to throw Montez Ford into a corner table, but Ford did his crazy dive over the ring corner onto a group of guys. Johnny Gargano put Gacy through a table with a DDT off the ropes, and Dexter Lumis did a splash to put Ford through a table. 

Fénix did a crazy top rope frog splash to put Nathan Frazer through a table outside the ring. Angelo Dawkins wanted to do it too, but Axiom cut him off. Axiom put Dawkins (and himself) through outside tables with a Spanish fly off the top—one of the craziest spots you’ll see in WWE. The crowd went nuts. 

Candice LeRae tried to climb the ladder, but she was taken out by B-Fab. Nikki Cross gave B-Fab a backdrop off the middle of the ladder. 

LeRae went back to the ladder as Gargano held it steady. Ford shoved Gargano into the ladder, and it tipped over, causing LeRae to crash through a ladder bridge outside the ring. Another insane bump. 

Refs checked on LeRae, and Gargano gave her a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the ring. (More officials ran out to check on her.) 

Erick Rowan, not a legal competitor, attacked Ford and Dawkins, but they fought him off with chairs and put him through a corner table with a double tackle. 

Ciampa grabbed the harness holding the belts, but MCMG yanked the ladder away. With Ciampa holding on helplessly, Frazer tried a spear off the ladder, but Ciampa managed to do a sit-up to avoid it, and Frazer crashed and burned. 

Moments later, a few teams scrambled up separate ladders to grab the belts, but Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas knocked everybody down. That included knocking DIY through tables set up outside the ring. 

Dallas (not a legal competitor either) climbed the ladder, but Fénix cut him off. Andrade followed by giving Dallas a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder bridge. Fénix climbed the ladder, but Lumis and Gacy took him out with their double team finisher. 

With everyone down, Gacy grabbed the belts as Lumis guarded the ladder. The Wyatt Sicks retain the titles. 

Match result: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) defeated The Street Profits, DIY, Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fénix & Andrade and Fraxiom to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships (16:03)

This was a crazy match, worth going out of your way to watch. The only negative was the ending, because the crowd did not want the Wyatts to win, so that felt sorta flat after all the insanity. 

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They showed Triple H at the White House with Donald Trump. They did not show the live crowd’s reaction. 

They replayed Seth Rollins cashing in his MITB briefcase on CM Punk, and showed the reaction from different international broadcast teams. 

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There was a video package for this match set to ‘Greed’ by Royale Lynn. 

Becky Lynch has new entrance music. 

No Disqualification, No Countout Match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria

Lynch grabbed a kendo stick but was stunned upon seeing Valkyria present a crowbar. Valkyria smashed the kendo stick out of Lynch’s hand and tried to kill her with the crowbar, but Lynch avoided it and yelled at Valkyria for trying to kill her. 

Valkyria went right back on offence and tossed Lynch around ringside. There was an unintentionally funny spot where Valkyria tried tossing Lynch into the barricade, but instead shoved her into an unsuspecting cameraman. The cameraman acted like nothing happened and sheepishly walked to the other side of the barricade. 

Valkyria set up a table, and the crowd didn’t even care because we just saw a bunch of tables in the last match (and they don’t seem to care about Valkyria). Lynch grabbed her from behind by wrapping a chain around Valkyria’s mouth. 

Lynch shoved her into the steel steps and attacked her repeatedly with a kendo stick. The bored crowd began entertaining themselves. Lynch used the kendo stick like a golf club (to reference her role in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’). 

Lynch continued the beatdown, using a steel chair and a toolbox. Lynch ziptied Valkyria’s hands together and attacked her with a wrench. (Valkyria had to pretend she couldn’t prevent this from happening.) 

Valkyria kicked out of a cover despite her hands being tied together. Lynch followed with exploder suplexes. Lynch trapped Valkyria over the ring post and attacked her repeatedly with the kendo stick. 

Valkyria blocked Lynch’s next move and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Her hands were still trapped, so the landing looked no fun. Valkyria fought back with kicks and a leaping dropkick off some chairs. Valkyria even managed to hit a middle rope moonsault with her hands tied for two. 

For whatever reason, at no point did the referee think to help Valkyria out of these zip ties. Valkyria untied a turnbuckle cover, but Lynch drove her into the ring post. 

Valkyria disappeared under the ring, and when Lynch went after her, Valkyria sprayed her with a fire extinguisher. Valkyria tried using the extinguisher handle to break the zip ties and eventually got them off. 

With her hands finally free, Valkyria attacked Lynch with a kendo stick until it broke. Valkyria dropkicked a chair into Lynch’s face and hit a Nightwing off the second step of the ringsteps. 

Valkyria tried a charge in the corner, but Lynch moved, and Valkyria crashed into the exposed buckle. Lynch followed with a Man-handle Slam onto two chairs for a close nearfall. 

Lynch trapped Valkyria in a chair and drove her into the announce table and ring post. With Valkyria still trapped in the chair, Lynch leaped off the table and stomped the chair. That looked and sounded great.

Lynch was about to kill Valkyria with the crowbar, but Bayley suddenly appeared to stop her. Lynch reasoned with Bayley and tried talking her into hitting Valkyria. Bayley wouldn’t do it, so Lynch tried to attack her with the steel chain, but Bayley attacked her instead. Lynch avoided a charge, and Bayley flew into the crowd. 

Lynch tried using a table to get to her feet, but Valkyria flew out of nowhere and drove her through the table with a diving leg drop. 

As they traded counters in the ring, Bayley tried to punch Lynch with the chain, but Lynch ducked and Bayley clocked Valkyria instead. Lynch followed with a Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win, and mercifully, it was over. 

Lynch retains, and Valkyria can no longer challenge for the IC title belt as long as she’s champion. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Lyra Valkyria to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (25:06)

It was a mistake to put this on right after the TLC match, but they also tried to do too much. I was enjoying it for the first half or so, but it just kept going, and the stuff with the zip ties ultimately hampered the match. It was designed to get people behind Valkyria, but it didn’t work. It may not have worked even if they did go before TLC. 

And now it’s time for a cage match.

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Jelly Roll, Metro Boomin, Tigirlily Gold, and Russell Wilson were in the crowd. 

Steel Cage Match for the United States Championship: Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

You could win this match by pinfall, submission, or escaping the cage. 

Cole tried to put over Sikoa by saying he hasn’t been pinned since losing to Roman Reigns in January. He’s had four singles matches since then, two of which ended in a no contest. In fact, Sikoa had four wins in fifteen matches so far this year. 

Sikoa had the early edge, using the cage as a weapon. Fatu fought back, and when Sikoa tried driving him into the cage again, Fatu no-sold it. Fatu hit a running hip attack, and consecutive moonsaults—but only for a nearfall. 

Sikoa’s MFT crew ran out and surrounded ringside, but Jimmy Uso ran out to fend them off. However, Tala Tonga drove him into the cage and over the announce desk. 

Fatu could have escaped the cage, but he told the referee to lock the door because it was all gas time. Fatu turned around, and Sikoa hit him with a Samoan spike for a nearfall. 

They followed zip ties in the previous match with handcuffs in this one. Tala Tonga handcuffed Fatu to the top part of the cage. JC Mateo opened the door, and Sikoa tried to crawl out, but Fatu ripped himself free of the handcuffs and stopped Sikoa from escaping. 

Fatu smashed the door into Mateo, but Tala smashed the door into Fatu. Sikoa slipped out of the ring and fell to the floor to win the match. Sikoa retains. 

— After the match and after Sikoa and Tala made their way to the ramp, Jimmy attacked Mateo, while Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa were trapped in the ring with Fatu. 

Fatu beat them up and climbed to the top of the cage. He went to the very top and laid out both men with a moonsault. He absolutely obliterated Tonga Loa in particular on the landing. 

Match result: Solo Sikoa defeated Jacob Fatu to retain the United States Championship (12:38) 

This was a boring cage match with too much interference and a lazy finish. 

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Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana were in the crowd. 

In the last two matches, they’ve had the champion enter first. 

They noted it’s been 20 years since the custody over Dom match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Styles entered in a Chevy low-rider as a tribute to Eddie, and he wore Latino Heat-inspired gear.

Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. AJ Styles

There were duelling chants through the early portion of the match. The sun had set, so fans decided to wave their cellphone flashlights. 

Dom was in control until Styles hit a tornado DDT. Styles held control until Dom ducked a Phenomenal forearm and hit a Michinoku Driver. Dom tried three amigos, but Styles countered the last suplex into a brainbuster. 

Styles went for a frog splash, but Dom got his knees up. Dom hit a 619 and went for a frog splash (sort of), but Styles caught him and applied a calf crusher until Dom got a rope break. 

Dom removed a turnbuckle pad (which Valkyria did earlier) to distract the referee. As the ref fixed the buckle, Dom grabbed a chair to do an Eddie spot. 

Dom smashed the mat and fell down. But the ref was still distracted, so Styles wrapped the chair around his head and acted like he was dying. The crowd enjoyed all this, and I’ll always get a kick out of the Eddie spots. (Although, Styles would not have won the title if the ref disqualified Dom.) 

The match simply continued because the ref didn’t know who was or wasn’t guilty. Styles applied a calf crusher, but Dom’s boot slipped off in the process (as Eddie’s did at WrestleMania XX). When they showed replays later, it was clear that Dom loosened his boot on purpose. 

The ref almost got bumped, so while he was still distracted, Dom hit Styles with the boot. Dom followed with a frog splash for the pinfall win.

Match result: Dominik Mysterio defeated AJ Styles to retain the Intercontinental Championship (10:41) 

While nothing amazing, this was a fun match and a breath of fresh air after the last two matches. 

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WWE “icon” Stephanie McMahon announced an audience of 60,651 tonight (7,000 more than last night). The total for both shows was 113,722. 

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Rhodes entered first, and his entrance started with words from Dusty Rhodes (with yellow polka dots displayed on the tron). It may have been an AI version of Dusty’s voice (which is not the first time they would have used AI, sadly). 

Rhodes rose through the stage and his regular entrance music hit. Rhodes wore a gold version of his goofy skull mask, and he removed it fairly quickly. Fireworks went off as Rhodes, dressed in blue, white and red, entered. 

Cena entered second. The tron was initially all-black as it had been during his heel run, but it turned colourful as he entered the stage. Cena also happened to be wearing a blue, white and red t-shirt. Cena acted like his usual babyface self, and fans cheered. 

Rhodes received a heavy mixed reaction during his in-ring introduction, with the boos seeming to outweigh the cheers. 

Cena was roundly cheered, and he couldn’t help but smirk when Alicia Taylor announced him as the greatest of all time.

Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

They hugged as the match began, then kicked things off by trading punches. The fight quickly went to the outside, and there were boos when Rhodes slammed Cena into the steps. 

Cena recovered and approached Tyrese Haliburton. Cena gave him the ‘you can’t see me’ gesture and stole one of his crutches to use on Rhodes. (The crowd hates Haliburton.) Rhodes fought back and slammed Cena onto the steel steps, which were now in the ring. 

With Rhodes outside the ring, Cena grabbed the steps and threw them at Rhodes. Cena did this before to Bray Wyatt, and it nailed Bray right in the face (with Bray protecting himself). However, the steps appeared to catch Rhodes lower, and he sold his arm. (He continued and seemed ok.)

Some fans tried to sing Rhodes’ name, but it didn’t really pick up. Cena and Rhodes grabbed chairs, but Rhodes managed to hit Cena with it first. Cena did his usual comeback as the crowd went nuts. Cena hit a five knuckle shuffle, but Rhodes avoided an AA. 

Rhodes followed with clotheslines, jabs, and a bionic elbow as the crowd booed. One fan had the audacity to chant, “Same old sh-t,” at Rhodes, seconds after Cena did the five moves of doom. 

Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter for two, and Cena followed with an AA for two. There were light chants of “You can’t wrestle,” and “Yes, he can,” and I had no idea who they were directed at. Rhodes hit a Disaster Kick and another Cody Cutter for two counts. Cena hit an electric chair drop for two. 

Rhodes hit a piledriver for two, and some fans chanted, “You can’t do that.” Rhodes seemed unsure of how to proceed after that, and the hesitation allowed Cena to hit an AA. Rhodes hit a sit-out powerbomb for two, and Cena quickly applied an STF until Rhodes escaped. 

Rhodes sent Cena over the barricade before Cena bonked Rhodes with the microphone. Cena followed with a Code Red on the outside. 

Cena hoisted Rhodes on his shoulders and put him through the unbreakable announce desk with an AA. Cena struggled to get Rhodes in the ring, and the extra time allowed Rhodes to kick out. 

Cena missed a charge in the corner, and Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. Cena knocked Rhodes off the ropes and followed with a diving leg drop and AA for a close nearfall. 

Cena set up a table in the ring and went for an AA, but Rhodes tipped over the table and countered with a DDT for two. Rhodes set up a table in the corner, but they both managed to avoid it—so we’ll get to this later. 

Beyond the 20-minute mark, they found themselves fighting in the crowd. Cena grabbed a steel bike rack, but Rhodes suplexed him onto it. 

The brawl continued, and they disappeared under the big stage. The camera focused on the elevator platform that Rhodes used during his entrance. Smoke rose through the opening, and Cena emerged with Rhodes on his shoulders. Cena then dumped Rhodes onto the ramp with an AA. 

Cena hoisted Rhodes on his shoulders and carried him all the way to the ring. Barrett noted how difficult this must be so long into a match. Indeed, Cena was exhausted, so Rhodes drove him through the corner table and hit a Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. 

Rhodes bonked Cena on the head (softly) with a steel chair. Rhodes unscrewed a corner turnbuckle, causing the bottom rope to loosen. Rhodes used the metal turnbuckle rod as a weapon (although he really hit Cena with the padding). 

The crowd booed, and Rhodes showed regret on his face. Cena got to his feet, and Rhodes hit him with the turnbuckle again. Cena avoided Rhodes’ third attempt and hit a drop toe hold. Cena applied an STF, using the bottom rope to choke Rhodes, but Rhodes escaped. 

Rhodes avoided an AA and hit consecutive Cross Rhodes. The crowd was exasperated because they could feel the end coming. Rhodes hit his finisher one more time—but Cena kicked out. The crowd popped and chanted, “Super Cena.” 

Rhodes grabbed the title belt and went to use it as a weapon, but Cena ducked and hit consecutive AAs. Cena grabbed Rhodes and hit an AA off the middle rope—but Rhodes kicked out. 

Cena set up another table in the ring, but Rhodes blocked the avalanche AA attempt. Rhodes instead hit an avalanche Cody Cutter (or something resembling a cutter) through the table. 

Rhodes gave Cena a salute and hit one final Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. 

(The fans probably would have exploded if Cena won, but they weren’t necessarily booing the result.) 

— Cena handed Rhodes the title belt and hugged him. Cena said something to an emotional Rhodes. A big-ass fireworks display went off as Rhodes stood alone with the belt. Rhodes embraced Cena again and raised his hand for the crowd. 

Rhodes left, and the fans chanted for Cena, who remained in the ring. Before he could leave…

Brock Lesnar entered. The crowd lost it. 

Lesnar entered slowly, wearing a cowboy hat, jeans, and a t-shirt with his logo. 

Lesnar removed his cowboy hat, hit the ring, and nailed Cena with a huge F5. Lesnar was pumped. 

Lesnar grabbed his cowboy hat as the show ended. (Not sure where Rhodes disappeared to.)

Match result: Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to win the Undisputed WWE Championship (37:43) 

This was a genuinely enjoyable street fight, and the best Cena has looked in forever. He’s been in entertaining no-rules matches before, and this was up there with those. The drama around Cena’s final run certainly helped. It did go too long, but this was likely Cena’s last title match, so I’m sure they wanted to leave no doubt who the winner was in the end. 

However, none of that really matters because of how the show ended. A mixed bag of a SummerSlam could have ended on a high note, but instead came crashing furiously down to earth.

Bianca Belair reflects on WWE WrestleMania 41: ‘It was just magic’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When Bianca Belair reflects on her instant classic from WrestleMania 41, one of the things that makes the match special is that it was just her, Rhea Ripley, and IYO SKY doing what they do best.

Belair, Ripley, and SKY had one of the best matches of 2025 so far when they opened night two of WrestleMania 41 this April. Their triple threat match stole the show that night, even earning high praise from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Belair looked back at the match and how it proved you don’t need to break out new, never-seen-before moves to create magic in the ring.

“It was just magic,” she said. “And what I love most about that match, and I’ve told them this too, is that sometimes when you’re at WrestleMania or planning a match, you think like, it’s WrestleMania, I have to go out there, we have to do this, that, we have to do that, we have to pull out these new moves. If you watch that match, none of us did anything that we don’t normally do.

“And so I think we had the best of both worlds. You had everything that Rhea does, you have everything that I do, you had the high-flying moves that IYO has. We had moments in there, it was emotion in there, and we literally just went out there and did what we did, and that was good enough, and it ended up being great. And I love that because it’s not always about the moves, it’s really about the magic that you create in there and what you make people feel.”

Belair said she’s only watched the match back once, and that was because her husband Montez Ford urged her to.

“I’ve actually only watched the match back once, and it’s only because my husband forced me to watch it. Because lot of times if I have a really good match and it goes well and it goes great, I don’t want to watch it back because I know I’m going to pick it apart,” Belair said. “So I was like, ‘Just give me a few days, let me just live in the moment, and let me just be happy about it.’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to watch.’ He’s like, ‘You have to watch it.’

“So we were sitting at home, he put it on, and I watched it, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t pick it apart, but I’ll probably never watch it again, because it just takes way too much out of me, because I get nervous when I watch it again. I feel all the emotions again. By the end of watching, I just feel so exhausted. So I’m like, okay, one and done, and I’m happy with that.”

SKY retained the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania but dropped the belt earlier this month when Naomi cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase during the main event of Evolution.

Since WrestleMania, Belair has been sidelined since suffering a broken finger in the triple threat. She is still recovering from the injury and doesn’t have a return date set yet.

Naomi wins Women’s World title at WWE Evolution after Money in the Bank cash-in

Posted on by Josh Nason

A bruised and battered Naomi left Sunday’s WWE Evolution as the new Women’s World Champion following a successful Money in the Bank cash-in.

Reigning champion IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley were both laid out in the ring after a top rope Spanish fly that was preceded by a wild brawl outside the ring that saw SKY launch herself off a large stack of production cases onto Ripley.

As both women were recovering, Naomi’s music hit and she ran out with the case. After it was made official, she hit SKY with the briefcase, ran in and threw Ripley shoulder-first into the ring post, taking her out. She then turned her attention to SKY, connecting on her split-leg moonsault for the pin and title win.

Earlier in the night, Naomi fell in defeat to rival Jade Cargill in a no holds barred match with Bianca Belair as special referee.

It’s Naomi’s first WWE World title run since 2017 when she held the SmackDown version of the title twice that year. She also held the TNA World title for 182 days from 2023 to 2024. After returning to WWE in 2024, she held the Women’s Tag Team titles with Belair — her second run with them.

For SKY, the loss ends her 133-day run as Women’s World Champion while Ripley was looking for her third title run.

WWE Evolution live results: IYO Sky vs. Rhea Ripley

Posted on by Steve Khan

WWE wraps up a busy weekend in pro wrestling with Evolution: their second-ever all-women’s premium live event and first since October 2018.

The show is headlined by IYO SKY defending the WWE Women’s World title against the woman she defeated for it: Rhea Ripley.

Tiffany Stratton defends the WWE Women’s title against former champion and legend Trish Stratus in her third match of the year.

Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a three-way while in a no holds barred grudge match, Jade Cargill takes on Naomi.

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against top contender Jordynne Grace while WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria.

The card is rounded out by a battle royal for a title shot at August’s Clash in Paris.

The main card starts at 8 PM Eastern.

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Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW 

Michael Cole welcomed us to the pre-show, wrestlers arrived, and the show intro aired. 

The panel was hosted by three men and one woman: Cole, Big E, Wade Barrett, and Jackie Redmond. Cathy Kelley and Megan Morant (likely in place of Byron Saxton, who usually is in this spot) ran down some matches backstage.

Kelley interviewed Rhea Ripley following a video package for tonight’s main event. Ripley called tonight a must-win because she’s never beaten Iyo Sky, and that’s gone on for too long.

They will be recognizing women’s division “trailblazers” throughout the pre-show, and they started with quite the list: Fabulous Moolah, Lia Maivia, Sensational Sherri, Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly Jazz, Maryse, Michelle McCool, and Stephanie McMahon. 

Cole recalled Stephanie McMahon, in 2015, kicking off the “women’s revolution” by introducing Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. Big E spoke about Bayley’s influence as well, and the panel spoke about tonight’s IC title three-way. 

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Torrie Wilson joined the panel and got a nice reaction from the fans who have arrived so far. Wilson recalled crying throughout the first Evolution show, and she’s been emotional all day today. The women have come a long way and are complete badasses. She loved seeing the women rallying behind each other, and the best moments were often not caught on camera. 

She spoke about what it would have meant to her to have something like NXT and to train for a year. When she was around, she would learn new moves and have to perform them later that night. Sometimes the stress was unbearable. She often wondered how things would have been different if she had NXT. 

********

The next group of trailblazers shown were Mae Young, June Byers, Leilani Kai, Chyna, Ivory, Queen Sharmell, Melina, and Lita. They showed clips of Lita beating Trish Stratus for the title, the first time women main evented Raw. 

Morant interviewed Stratus backstage. She wanted to prove something to herself, but it was more about showing something to the young people watching, including her daughter. You didn’t have to fit in the box people put you in. You could evolve, keep going, and chase your dreams a little harder. It wasn’t over until you said so.

They previewed tonight’s NXT Women’s title match. 

Blake Monroe met with Jordynne Grace backstage. After some pleasantries, Grace asked Monroe to be in her corner tonight (to counter Fatal Influence). Monroe didn’t want to step on Grace’s moment, but Grace insisted, so she accepted. 

Shawn Michaels joined the panel to put over NXT. 

*******

Nikki Bella joined Kelley in the crowd for an interview. Bella said tonight was women’s empowerment. That was her passion and her love. It would mean everything to have her son see her earn a title shot and win a title. 

Kelley asked who she had her eye on in tonight’s battle royal, and Bella responded, “Stephanie.” She knew there would be a lot of competition, but she kept going back to Stephanie Vaquer. She repeatedly referred to Vaquer by only “Stephanie.” 

********

Jacqueline joined the panel, and she was pumped to be there. She spoke about how much it meant to be in the Hall of Fame. She paid her dues and hoped her career inspired today’s women. She also talked about beating Chavo Guerrero to become Cruiserweight champ. 

There was a feature on referees Jessika Carr and Daphanie LaShaunn. 

Big E gave shout-outs to a bunch of the women who work off-camera. Redmond was happy to hear Big E do this, and she spoke sincerely about the importance of this show as well. Big E ran down everything he looked forward to tonight, and his excitement was infectious.

The next group of trailblazers shown were Mildred Burke, Cora Combs, Alundra Blayze, Jacqueline, Stacy Keibler, Vickie Guerrero, Victoria, and Trish Stratus. 

The IC title three-way will open tonight’s show. 

********** 

WWE EVOLUTION 2025 

Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch, Tiffany Stratton, Trish Stratus, Iyo Sky, and Rhea Ripley were shown arriving. A video intro played, using Katy Perry’s “Rise,” and there was a big fireworks display. 

Joe Tessitore, hosting from the crowd, welcomed us to the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. He hyped up tonight’s show (while clearly reading off a piece of paper). He brought out his co-host, Stephanie McMahon, and said nights like tonight would not have happened without her. 

McMahon said they had to prove with the first Evolution that they deserved their own show. Now, the women were regularly main-eventing, and the depth through NXT was unbelievable. 

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers. Cole again recalled Stephanie McMahon ushering in the “women’s revolution” in 2015 by bringing in Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch.

Alicia Taylor is tonight’s ring announcer. 

They’re using the same stage setup as last night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event Show, so there is a narrow aisle to the ring.

********

Triple threat match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria 

Match referee: Daphanie LaShaunn 

The bell rang, and the fans gave an ovation before the wrestlers got going. Bayley hyped up the crowd, but used the moment to deck Valkyria, who wasn’t expecting it. 

The first few minutes had everyone trading moves until Lynch suplexed Bayley into the barricade. More than three minutes after getting shoved into the steel steps, Valkyria woke up and wiped out both opponents with a flying crossbody. 

Valkyria hit Lynch with a fisherman’s suplex, but Bayley broke up the cover with a perfectly-timed flying elbow. The crowd popped big for that, and they got a “This is awesome” chant moments later. Bayley hit Lynch with a sunset flip powerbomb into an upside-down Valkyria in the corner for two. 

Lynch hit Bayley with a superplex, but Bayley repeatedly blocked attempts at submissions until Valkyria knocked down both women with a flying leg drop. This got another good pop and “This is awesome” chant. Lynch followed with a combo DDT/reverse DDT on both women and covered Valkyria for two. 

Lynch and Valkyria traded counters until Lynch hit a man-handle slam, but Bayley broke up the cover. (The camera quickly panned away from Bayley moments before, so you couldn’t see her as she hit the ring to break it up.) 

Bayley hit Lynch with a Bayley-to-belly, but Valkyria broke up that cover, and we got our third “This is awesome” chant. Valkyria hit Lynch with Nightwing, but, you guessed it, Bayley broke up the cover. 

Bayley hit Valkyria with a Rose Plant. Instead of breaking up that cover, Lynch flew in and caught Bayley in a backslide for the pinfall win. Lynch retains.

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Bayley and Lyra Valkyria to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (16:25) 

This was a very fun match with a clever finish, and the eager crowd helped. They could probably do a rematch and have a completely different but equally good match. 

********

Ava and Mark Henry were shown in the crowd. A loud shrieking voice yelled, “Excuse me!” and they cut to Vickie Guerrero elsewhere in the crowd. This was just to give her a chance to say her catchphrase. She smiled and high-fived some fans. 

******* 

They aired a clip from earlier today of Jordynne Grace asking Blake Monroe to be in her corner tonight. 

NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne (w/Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx) vs. Jordynne Grace (w/Blake Monroe) 

Match referee: Victoria D’Errico 

Grace had the early edge until Jayne catapulted her into the middle rope. Henley choked Grace while Jayne distracted the referee. Monroe didn’t react, perhaps because she didn’t see it, or perhaps for another reason. 

Jayne was in control until Grace hit a folding powerbomb for two. Jayne regained control and hit a draping neckbreaker for two. Jayne missed a corner cannonball, and they traded cradles until Grace hit a fisherman’s suplex for two. Jayne hit a hurricanrana off the top and a knee strike for a nearfall. 

Henley tossed the title belt in the ring, so Monroe headbutted her. The referee stopped Jayne from using the belt, and Grace rolled her up for two. Grace followed with a back fist. 

Nyx grabbed the belt next, so Monroe decked her. Monroe kept the belt in her hands, so you knew what was coming. 

Henley tried getting in the ring, which distracted the ref for a long time. Jayne whipped Grace into the ropes, and Monroe hit her in the back with the belt. Jayne followed with a discus punch for the pinfall win. 

— Fatal Influence were all surprised by Monroe’s actions. Monroe handed Jayne the belt, smiled at them, and left the ring. Grace (bleeding from the nose) was pissed. 

Match result: Jacy Jayne defeated Jordynne Grace to retain the NXT Women’s Championship (10:28) 

********

Jazz, Ivory, Jacqueline, and Maryse were in the crowd. 

Tessitore and McMahon killed time by discussing the previous match and previewing the upcoming match. 

******** 

Fatal Four-way Tag Team Match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Sol Ruca & Zaria

Match referee: Daphanie LaShaunn 

Asuka and Sane were all over Perez until Rodriguez tagged in and knocked them both down with a clothesline. Rodriguez and Perez were in control briefly as the crowd chanted, “We want Charlotte,” which I’m sure was music to her ears. Bliss got a good reaction when she tagged and went after Perez. 

Zaria tagged and easily blocked Bliss’ offence. She hit an inverted suplex, and Sol Ruca flew in with a springboard facebuster for two. 

The crowd cheered when Charlotte got a hot tag from Bliss, and she ran wild on Judgment Day. Charlotte was visibly happy with her reaction, and she continued on offence. She hit Perez with a spear for a nearfall. Rodriguez booted Charlotte and checked on Perez. Cole thought it was interesting that Rodriguez was checking on Perez (her partner). 

Asuka and Sane got their turn to shine next, but Zaria broke up Sane’s cover of Perez. Zaria tagged herself in and hit both Kabuki Warriors with a vertical suplex. Charlotte broke up a cover, so Sol Ruca hit Charlotte with a Sol Snatcher (which got a good pop). Moments later, Charlotte pulled Bliss from safety, and Zaria speared Sol Ruca by accident. 

Rodriguez powerbombed Bliss over the top rope and into Asuka, Sane and Zaria. Rodriguez instructed Perez to take out Charlotte, so she hit a suicide dive. Rodriguez hit Sol Ruca with a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win. Judgment Day retains.

Match result: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defeated Sol Ruca & Zaria, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Asuka & Kairi Sane to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (10:52) 

This match was fine, with some good spots mixed in. The finish was a bit abrupt, but the champs getting a decisive win isn’t the worst thing. The most notable thing was the big babyface reaction for Charlotte Flair (and Alexa Bliss). 

********

Torrie Wilson, Melina, and Molly Holly were in the crowd. 

They cut back to Tessitore and McMahon. Tessitore noted how handsome Paul Levesque (his boss) looked in his promo photo. Stephanie chuckled. 

******** 

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Trish Stratus

Match referee: Jessika Carr

Stratus wore white gear with gold lining, Stratton wore all red. Stratus had the early edge, which caught Stratton off guard. Stratus brought Stratton down off the apron with a hurricanrana and hit a tornado DDT in the ring for two. 

Stratton went on offence and hit a vertical suplex into a backstabber (I think) for two. Stratton followed with a senton bomb for two. They traded counters until Stratus hit a Chick Kick for two. Stratton tried a PME, but Stratus got her knees up and hit Stratusfaction for a nearfall. 

Stratus went for a moonsault (tribute to Lita), but Stratton got her knees up. Stratton hit a Chick Kick of her own, followed by the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pinfall win. Stratton retains. 

— After the match, they cut Stratton’s music so Stratus could get an ovation from the crowd. (This wasn’t her retirement match, but we don’t know when the next one will be.) 

Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Trish Stratus to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (8:37)

It’s probably not a good sign that Stratus, a part-timer (at most), looked much better than the current champion. Stratton’s stuff was really off early in the match. She did get better once it came time to do the big moves. Because this was a short match, that happened early enough, so the match wound up being fine. Stratus deserves some credit here. 

********

They showed Rey Mysterio throwing out the first pitch at a San Diego Padres game. 

Alundra Blayze and Leilani Kai were in the crowd. This is still a WWE show, so they couldn’t only show the former wrestlers all night. Metro Boomin and Lil Yachty were also shown in the crowd.  

******** 

No Holds Barred match: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi 

Special guest referee: Bianca Belair 

Naomi entered first and tried to attack Cargill during her entrance. Cargill cut her off, and they rang the bell to start the match. 

Cargill took forever to set up a table, and Belair went over to whisper something to her. The camera cut away from Cargill and focused on Naomi, who had to keep selling. Cargill eventually went after Naomi, but Naomi posted her. Cargill speared Naomi moments later, but Naomi gave her a bulldog onto a steel chair in the ring. 

Naomi wrapped a chain around Cargill’s face, but Cargill knocked her off the ropes, wrapped the chain around her fist, and punched Naomi. Cargill yanked a big camera out of the hands of a cameraperson and used it to hit Naomi. She followed by placing a trash can lid over Naomi and kicking it. 

Naomi rolled out of the ring, and Cargill tried to kill her by dropping a toolbox on her head, but Naomi avoided it. Naomi dropkicked Cargill into a random TV screen at ringside, and a smoke effect went off. 

A few minutes later, Naomi used a chair to shove Cargill off the apron, and Cargill crashed through the table she had set up earlier. Naomi followed with an X-factor onto a chair for a nearfall. 

Naomi placed Cargill on a table and went up the ropes, but Cargill hit her with a chair. Cargill grabbed Naomi and hit a Jaded off the middle rope through the table for the pinfall win. Belair raised Cargill’s hand. 

Match result: Jade Cargill defeated Naomi in a no holds barred match (11:15)

This was maybe average at best. Naomi took a lot of the match until Cargill managed to hit her finisher for the win. Also, Belair didn’t get involved at all, so making her the referee was relatively pointless. 

******** 

Tomorrow on Raw, there will be a gauntlet match involving CM Punk, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Penta, and Bron Breakker to determine Gunther’s SummerSlam opponent.

Battle Royal – winner earns a world championship match at Clash in Paris 

Everyone got an entrance, so it took about 10 minutes for everyone to get in. They cut to black at one point, so certain feeds likely got a commercial break in between. Nikki Bella entered first. Stephanie Vaquer was second-last, and Giulia was last. 

Nia Jax eliminated Tatum Paxley 8 seconds into the match, and Izzi Dame 7 seconds later. 

Jax tossed Kelani Jordan into Paxley and Dam, but she didn’t land on her feet, and her momentum carried her to the announce table. Jordan did a handstand walk to get back into the ring. This got a nice reaction, but perhaps not the reaction they expected. 

Ivy Nile went after Vaquer (as Chad Gable instructed), but Giulia eliminated Nile. Giulia and Vaquer had a staredown as the crowd chanted lightly for Nikki Bella. The crowd was quiet until Vaquer set up Nikki for Devil’s Kiss, and they booed when Chelsea Green broke it up. 

There was a silly spot where Maxxine Dupri did her reverse worm, then convinced Natalya to try it too. Natalya did try, and it was bad. That led to Jaida Parker eliminating Natalya (so now Natalya can be annoyed with Dupri). Candice LeRae eliminated Dupri. 

Jordan shoved Parker into LeRae, knocking her out of the ring for the elimination. (Cole referred to Candice LeRae as “Candice Michelle” here and again in the upcoming spot. Barrett called him out on it.) 

Michin and B-Fab eliminated Parker, which got some good heat. Jax tried eliminating Jordan, but she remained on the apron. However, LeRae (already eliminated) yanked Jordan out from behind for the elimination. 

Zelina Vega eliminated Giulia by kicking her into the ring post from the apron. B-Fab went after Piper Niven, but Niven just chucked her out for the elimination. Chelsea Green eliminated Michin, so Michin tried yanking out Green, but Alba Fyre wiped out Michin with a suicide dive. 

Lash Legend eliminated Vega by press slamming her out of the ring. Nikki Bella tossed out Alba Fyre as she posed with her partners. Bella and Lola Vice swivelled their hips together until Niven knocked them down. Niven eliminated Vice, who didn’t do much in this match. Nikki and Vaquer eliminated Niven together. 

Vaquer gave Green the Devil’s Kiss, which probably got the match’s biggest reaction. Nikki eliminated Green. Jax knocked down Nikki and did her own hip swivel. 

Jax placed Nikki on the apron, and Lash Legend flew in with a boot. Jax moved, and Legend booted Nikki out of the ring for the elimination. Legend celebrated like this was a big deal, and she was in the final three with Vaquer and Jax. 

Vaquer and Legend teamed up to knock Jax out of the ring for the elimination. The crowd cheered as the final two faced off. They traded offence, which included Vaquer hitting a 619. 

Legend caught Vaquer off the ropes, and they stumbled over the top and to the apron. Vaquer grabbed Legend with her legs and hit Devil’s Kiss on the apron before knocking her own. Vaquer wins.

— Stephanie McMahon interviewed Vaquer in the ring. Vaquer admitted that doing interviews in English was hard for her because it wasn’t her first language, but wrestling was her first language. Funny enough, she spoke well after that. She thanked McMahon and every woman wrestler before her because now they could make history. She would keep working hard and promised that they would remember her name forever. 

Match result: Stephanie Vaquer won a battle royal and will challenge for the world championship at Clash in Paris (15:32)

This was the definition of a standard battle royal, and the crowd only got into it toward the end. However, the right person won, and the final few minutes made her look like it. The crowd liked Vaquer and her interview. 

********

Quavo and Funny Marco were shown in the crowd. I guess they ran out of former wrestlers. 

Women’s World Championship match: IYO SKY (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Match referee: Jessika Carr 

Iyo Sky got the better of an early exchange and half-heartedly did her face-pointing pose. Ripley got the better of the following exchange and did Sky’s pose, which got some heat. Sky continued to out-wrestle Ripley by hitting a dropkick and an Asai moonsault. 

They wound up on the apron, and Ripley finally got some offence by hitting a knee strike and tossing Sky into the announce table. It didn’t last long because Sky hit a great-looking tornado DDT. Sky couldn’t help but look enthused by hitting the move so smoothly. 

Sky followed with a double foot stomp, suicide dive, and missile dropkick. Sky did her pose full-heartedly before hitting a running double knee strike in the corner for two. Ripley tried a middle rope suplex, but Sky landed on her feet. Ripley went to the top, but Sky yanked her onto the turnbuckle. 

They traded counters until Sky hit a poisonrana for two. Sky went to the top, but Ripley shoved her down, and followed with a Razor’s Edge and sit-out powerbomb for two. Sky reversed a Rip-tide into a sleeper, but Ripley backed her into the corner. 

Sky went for a springboard moonsault, but Ripley ducked, and Sky obliterated referee Jessika Carr by mistake. Ripley hit Sky with a Rip-tide, but the ref was dead. 

Ripley was livid and hit another Razor’s Edge. Sky fell out of the ring, so Ripley booted her over the barricade. Ripley hammered away at Sky and tried powerbombing her off some equipment boxes to her death, but Sky fought her off and kicked her to the floor. Sky climbed up a second equipment box and hit a flying crossbody. The crowd chanted, “Holy sh-t.” 

Back at ringside, Sky charged at Ripley, but Ripley dodged it and Sky went ribs-first into the announce table. Sky recovered, however, and hit Ripley with a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron. The ref reemerged as Sky hit a moonsault, but Ripley kicked out for an amazing nearfall. The crowd chanted for Ripley. They went to the top, and Sky hit an avalanche Spanish Fly. 

With both women down, Naomi ran out with referee Daphanie LaShaunn. She officially cashed in to make this a triple threat. 

Naomi hit Sky in the head with the briefcase and launched Ripley into the steel post. Naomi followed with a split-legged moonsault on Sky for the pinfall win. Naomi is the new champ. 

Naomi and the crowd went nuts. (In fact, Naomi started to get up before the ref actually counted to three because she was so excited to celebrate.) 

After some replays, Naomi posed with the belt on the stage as the show ended. 

Match result: Naomi defeated IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship (26:19)

This was an outstanding main event until he finish. I wouldn’t say Naomi’s cash-in ruined it, because it felt like a big moment with Naomi finally winning the title. However, the crowd was going insane for Sky and Ripley, and this would’ve been a match of the year candidate if one of them had won without the cash-in. 

WWE Evolution preview & predictions: ‘Liv Morgan’s injured, but we did our best’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Image: WWE

It wasn’t a smooth riding leading into WWE Evolution, but there are some decent matches lined up for Sunday’s premium live event.

Of all the people WWE likely didn’t want to get injured before the PLE, it was Liv Morgan. It was either going to be her against Nikki Bella or she and Raquel Rodriguez against Nikki & Brie Bella in the main event. Either way, it would have been the featured angle heading into the show, the one used to sell tickets and such.

Morgan not being on the show hurts, but so does not having Bella in a marquee match. I think some fans underestimate how big of stars the Bellas are. Their Bella Army is massive but not necessarily tied to wrestling all the time. They follow Nikki and Brie wherever they go and there would be far more buzz about Evolution if Nikki hadn’t been relegated to the battle royal.

Still, some good matches and interesting stories could take place on Sunday. Below are previews and predictions for each match at Evolution:

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Trish Stratus

Stratton is a -2000 favorite to retain and I certainly wouldn’t bet against that.

It’s not hard to figure out why the oddsmakers are so certain Stratton will win. Stratus is a returning legend and while that’s fun for now, she’s not going to be back for the long haul. I don’t think too many fans are going into this one thinking she has a shot. Stratton will win clean.

Naomi cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase could be teased here, but I’m not sure it will happen. If she does attempt it, I’d expect Stratus to help Stratton fight her off before the two babyfaces share a passing of the torch moment in the ring together.

Prediction: Tiffany Stratton retains

WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley

It was good sportsmanship of SKY to pick Rhea Ripley as her title challenger for Evolution, but it’s likely going to cost her the championship.

Ripley is listed as a -500 favorite to win and I would even go higher than that. There could always be some outside hijinxs to cause an upset, but I think it’s time to put the belt back on Ripley and I believe WWE knows this as well.

Similar to the other babyface vs. babyface World title match on the show, it will likely be a clean finish and there could be an angle at the end when they fight off some interfering heels such as Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley wins the title

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a three-way

Lynch is listed as a -2000 favorite to retain and she probably will, but those odds are too high for me.

Obviously, it’s a triple threat match for a title and Lynch is the only heel in there so this appears to be set up for her to retain by stealing a pin or some other type of under-handed chicanery.

Triple H doesn’t always do things right by the book, however. This is the guy who will have the babyface team get the advantage in WarGames matches after all, so just because it’s set up like this doesn’t necessarily mean Lynch will win.

Bayley (+350) hasn’t exactly been a true blue babyface leading up to this match, either. She could easily do something underhanded to get the win and it wouldn’t be inconsistent with how she’s been acting lately. There is a big part of me that thinks she could do exactly that, leading to Lynch and Valkyria (+600) both blaming the other and continuing their feud without the Intercontinental title involved.

Is it as likely as Lynch stealing a pin to get a cheap win? Probably not.

Prediction: Becky Lynch retains

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Jordynne Grace

As of this writing, Grace is a -250 favorite to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution but I would rate her as a much heavier favorite than that.

This match currently has the closest odds of any on the show. I feel pretty confident Grace is walking away with the title, however, likely after Blake Monroe helps her fend off Jayne’s run-in buddies.

With Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer up on the main roster, this is Grace’s division now and her crowning takes place at Evolution. I’m not certain how long of a reign she will have as she probably can’t be kept away from the main roster for much longer either. And Monroe is right there to take the title off her when that time comes.

Prediction: Jordynne Grace wins the title

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria in a four-way

The oddsmakers have Rodriguez and Perez listed as -500 favorites to retain.

The next highest odds are Bliss and Flair at +300 who are my picks to win. I don’t know if their story needs the titles, but they need a reason to continue teaming together and winning the belts accomplishes that.

I read Flair’s Players Tribune article and I listen to a lot of her interviews. It’s clear she really wants to be liked. You can tell it would mean a lot to her. There is pain there, too. Some of it from being a celebrity who is criticized constantly, some of it from her brother Reid’s passing, and some of it from her failed marriages. I don’t know how much real life is feeding into the on-screen story, but it almost seems as though Bliss’ character sees what’s happening with Ashley Fliehr too.

I’m interested in seeing where this goes. If the story blends in real life and becomes about a constantly criticized celebrity trying to find peace, I’m down for it. It seems like a very relevant story for our times.

Asuka and Sane are listed as +500 underdogs and Sol Ruca and Zaria at +900. I’ve really enjoyed Ruca and Zaria so far and, obviously, the Kabuki Warriors are great, so this should be a fun match.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair win the titles

No holds barred: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Cargill is listed as a -2000 favorite and I don’t disagree with that at all.

WWE sees a big star in Cargill and I don’t think she is going to lose a singles match (other than a MITB cash-in scenario) in a long, long time. This won’t be a squash match, however. They will want Naomi to make this a competitive bout. That’s likely why it’s no holds barred.

Naomi will use various weapons, including her MITB briefcase, but in the end, Cargill will just be too much for her.

Cargill likely defeats Naomi here, but Naomi likely cashes in sometime soon, probably around SummerSlam, setting up a rematch.

Prediction: Jade Cargill

Battle royal for a title shot at Clash in Paris — Nikki Bella, Stephanie Vaquer, Natalya, Maxxine Dupri, Nia Jax, Ivy Nile confirmed entrants

There are no odds listed for this match but if Nikki Bella doesn’t win, I will be very surprised.

The winner of this bout gets a title shot at Clash in Paris and that seems like a fitting spot for The Bellas to be in the spotlight. There will be surprises, legends returning, and the whole nine yards. It will be a chance for the live crowd to cheer names that they haven’t seen in years while getting as many names as possible on the card.

Prediction: Nikki Bella

WWE notes: Evolution main event set, Lola Vice returning to AAA

Posted on by Josh Nason

The main event is official for Sunday’s all-women’s WWE Evolution premium live event.

Announced during Friday’s SmackDown, IYO SKY will defend the WWE Women’s World title against Rhea Ripley in the headliner.

Sky will be looking for the third defense of the title she won back in March from Ripley. A win would give Ripley her third run with the gold.

**********

After debuting Friday, WWE NXT’s Lola Vice will return to AAA next week.

The former title challenger will be part of this Wednesday’s Alianzas show at Arena Potosi in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as part of a women’s trios bout. She will team with Faby Apache and Lady Shani against Las Toxicas (Lady Flammer, Lady Maravilla & La Hiedra).

Vice made her promotional debut Friday in a losing effort, teaming with TNA’s Santino Marella against La Hiedra & Mr. Iguana. Vice was also part of June’s Worlds Collide show, teaming with Stephanie Vaquer in a victory over Chik Tormenta and Dalys.

Rhea Ripley names her new favorite WWE WrestleMania moment

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Rhea Ripley has a new favorite WrestleMania moment after sharing the ring with IYO SKY and Bianca Belair in Las Vegas.

On a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ripley said — despite losing — her show-stealing triple threat match against SKY and Belair from WrestleMania 41 is now her favorite Mania moment of her career. Before this, it was WrestleMania 39 against Charlotte Flair after their match three years prior had to take place on a closed set at the WWE Performance Center amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I always said my match with Charlotte, because it’s everything that I wanted my first Mania to be. Because it ended up being the COVID Mania — I didn’t get my family, I didn’t get the crowd, I didn’t get anything that normally goes into a Mania,” Ripley said. “And it was just like, ‘Wow, I’m back at the place that I really didn’t like going to every day, and this is my WrestleMania.’ So to then go and face Charlotte again, but it being in front of a crowd, and I saw my family in the front row, I had like all the adrenaline in the world. Everything was so perfect, and then I beat her for the first time. I won the SmackDown Women’s Championship. That was my WrestleMania moment.

“But now I feel like the match with IYO and Bianca has triumphed that. I am literally so proud of that match. I love those two so much. And going through NXT with them, overcoming things with them, watching them overcome things, and watching them grow as performers. And then me growing as a performer to get to that point where we could go to WrestleMania and have such a stellar match, and have people chanting, ‘This is awesome’ and us being the opener — I couldn’t ask for anything more. I understand I lost, it doesn’t matter at that time. It really didn’t, because that was IYO’s moment, but we all got a moment from it at the same time.”

SKY pinned Belair to win the triple threat, retaining the Women’s World Championship in the process. SKY is still champion and has now held the title for almost four months after winning it from Ripley in March.

This Saturday, Ripley will compete in a street fight against Raquel Rodriguez at WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.

WWE Raw live results: IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez & Giulia

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: May 12, 2025
Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY 

The Big Takeaway —

CM Punk and Sami Zayn will team to face Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Bron laid out Jey Uso, and the two men will wrestle next week in a non-title match. 

Gunther is coming after the World Championship again and will face the winner of Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul. Gunther’s title match will happen on Raw next month. 

Rhea Ripley pinned Giulia in the tag main event, and is likely getting a title match against Iyo Sky soon. 

Money in the Bank qualifiers begin next week. 

**********

Show Recap — 

The show opened with a memorial graphic for “Sabu” Terrance Brunk. RIP.

Judgment Day, AJ Styles, Iyo Sky, and Roxanne Perez and Giulia (referred to by Michael Cole as “NXT upstarts”) were shown arriving at the arena in Louisville. 

There was a dramatic recap of last week’s main event angle. 

Opening segment 

CM Punk entered and pointed to the sky in tribute of Sabu. 

Punk was pissed off. He nursed a few injuries and hurt feelings since WrestleMania, but he couldn’t shake being pissed off. He had a lot of enemies, and number one with a bullet was himself. 

He was mad at himself because they’d been here before. It wasn’t the first time Paul Heyman stabbed him in the back. Punk liked to trust his friends, so this was on him. Heyman dropped a ladder on his head 12 years ago and left him with 13 staples in his head. 

Punk thought they had moved past that because he matured as a human being, but Heyman didn’t. Jey Uso warned him about Heyman. Heyman was who he always was. He was a fat little snake. Punk was also mad at “Temu CM Punk” Seth Rollins. Punk couldn’t wait to get his hands on Heyman’s fat neck and squeeze until his eyeballs popped. 

Heyman marched out as Punk mocked him by referring to him as The Penguin. Heyman remained near the stage as Punk warned him that his next words would be his last. 

Rollins and Bron Breakker joined Heyman on the stage. Rollins said Punk found a way to be even more egotistical. Heyman was his best friend, but Punk made his life hell on the road to Mania. Heyman believed in Punk when no one else did. Rollins believed that Punk was human excrement. Rollins said he would be champion if not for Punk. 

Punk said Rollins would never be champ as long as he was on two feet. Rollins figured out that Punk loved to play the victim and be a martyr, so he sent Bron after Punk. 

Punk tried fighting them off, but the numbers caught up to him. Sami Zayn ran out to even the odds, but Bron suplexed him easily. 

Jey Uso came out and the crowd cheered, but he got beaten up too. The heels finally backed off when both Punk and Zayn hit the ring with chairs.

(Punk was good here, but this was a fairly standard segment. The babyfaces didn’t look great getting beaten up one at a time. I also don’t know how much more I need to see Punk and Rollins trade insults.) 

******** 

Cole called the opening segment alone. After Penta and Chad Gable entered for the opening match (Gable’s entrance was during a break), Pat McAfee entered to his music to join Cole on commentary. They tried to explain that McAfee was only coming out now because he just finished getting cleared by medical, but they obviously wanted to give him a TV entrance. 

Penta vs. Chad Gable (w/Ivy Nile)

Penta tried a dive early on, but Gable knocked him out of mid-air with a headbutt—the same headbutt used by El Grande Americano, but without the loaded mask. Gable repeatedly tugged at Penta’s mask during a break for heat. 

Penta made his comeback immediately following the break, but Gable cut him off with a bridging German suplex for two. Gable flew off the top, but Penta caught him with a Codebreaker. Gable hit a moonsault for two and applied an ankle lock, but Penta immediately rolled out of it and hit a superkick for two. 

Gable taunted Penta as they stood on the ropes, but Penta shoved him off. Gable landed on his feet, but Penta followed with a great-looking Canadian Destroyer for the pinfall win. This was pretty good. 

Match result: Penta defeated Chad Gable (11:04)

******** 

There was a pre-taped promo by Roxanne Perez and Giulia. They didn’t plan on waiting around for their turn, so they were going after the two women on top. The future started tonight. 

During a break, there was a video package of John Cena’s win over Randy Orton. 

Kofi Kingston was shown taking in the Louisville Slugger Museum. 

Judgment Day met in the back. There was some silly comedy with Dom not understanding that Liv Morgan was in a different time zone. (Hopefully, this bit wasn’t a result of a real conversation that somebody had backstage.) Finn Bálor assured Dom that he would take care of AJ Styles tonight. 

There was a recap of Gunther beating McAfee. They cut back to the announcers, and the fans gave McAfee a loud ovation. McAfee tried to play it humble, but Cole told him to stand up and take it in. McAfee thanked the fans before showing that he was still bruised and had popped a blood vessel in his eye. McAfee had respect for Gunther and felt Gunther now had respect for them.

******** 

Announced for Saturday Night’s Main Event: CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker. 

Zayn met with Punk backstage. Punk admitted to Zayn he was having a hard time trusting anybody. Zayn had difficulty trusting Punk at WarGames, but it worked out pretty well. They both liked to do things their own way and had similar ambitions, but they would get nowhere with Rollins and Bron standing in their way. Zayn said they could take them out together. They bumped fists. 

********

The opening match was followed by a long string of videos, backstage segments, and commercial breaks, so the show’s second match began with less than ten minutes remaining in the first hour, and they went to break again about two minutes into it. 

The New Day joined commentary to watch the next match. Cole said the winner of this match could earn a future tag title shot. 

The War Raiders vs. The Creed Brothers

Ivar made a comeback as they returned from break, but Julius hit him with a superplex, and Brutus followed with a moonsault for two. The War Raiders fought back, and Erik rammed Ivar into Julius in the corner, but Brutus broke up the cover. Brutus gave Ivar an impressive Angle Slam, but the crowd didn’t really react. Ivar tried a double handspring elbow, but the Creeds caught him out of the air and slammed him. 

Erik broke up the cover and tried to psych up Ivar, but became distracted by Xavier Woods. Kingston attacked Ivar as he went to the top, allowing the Creeds to hit Brutus Ball for the pinfall win. 

New Day ran off quite proud of themselves. 

Match result: The Creed Brothers defeated The War Raiders (10:27) 

********

Rollins assured Bron that Punk and Zayn had no idea what he was capable of. Rollins left for the evening, but whispered one final message to Bron. Bron smirked, and Rollins told him to have fun. 

Adam Pearce quickly met with Jey Uso backstage. (Bálor could be seen talking to Perez in the background.) 

Cathy Kelley interviewed A-Town Down Under during a break. She asked about the elephant in the room, but Grayson Waller said they weren’t there to talk about her mom. Waller tried to get Austin Theory a rematch against Sheamus, but Theory said he already got Waller a match against Sheamus. 

They let us know that the clip of Logan Paul attacking Jey Uso got over 16 million social media views in 12 hours. 

********

Jey Uso segment

Jey entered to a big reaction. The crowd chanted “One more time,” the music was played again, and they all Yeeted again. 

Jey said there was a big target on his big back, so he wanted to get something off his big chest. Logan Paul was talking out of the side of his mouth by claiming he wasn’t championship material. Paul was ducking him and sneaking him, but at SNME, it was the two of them face-to-face. Jey called himself the “arena shaker” and said he would still be our world champion after SNME. 

Gunther interrupted. The crowd chanted, “You tapped out.” Gunther said the unimaginable came true: Jey Uso was World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther noted this was their first time together since that moment. Jey clarified that the moment was when Gunther tapped out. The crowd chanted it again. 

Gunther said he knew what it meant to be champion. Just because he understood doesn’t mean his opinion of Jey has changed. This position was not natural to Jey because he was not a natural champion. 

Gunther had news to share (that Jey already knew): the winner of the SNME title match would face Gunther next. Gunther announced that the match would be Raw on June 9th in Phoenix, Arizona. (Interesting, because they often don’t give the exact date. Could be a way to push ticket sales for that particular show.) 

Gunther really hoped that his opponent would be Jey so he could put him in his place. 

Jey fired up and said he was already in the place he should be. He ran this place and would walk out of their match just like he did at WrestleMania—as World Heavyweight Champion. Yeet. 

(Jey is very good at being Jey Uso, and I mean that as a compliment. It felt like he struggled at times leading up to his big moment, but he was great here.) 

********

Cole and McAfee paid tribute to Sabu as pictures were shown. Cole called him a legendary ECW superstar. A two-time champion who had a legendary rivalry with his friend, Taz. McAfee said they were forever grateful for Sabu’s influence. Cole sent condolences to Sabu’s family and friends. The crowd chanted, “Thank you, Sabu.” 

******** 

During a break, Erik and Ivar screamed at Pearce backstage until Kingston and Woods entered to mock them. Predictably, Pearce announced that New Day would defend their titles in a triple threat.

Jackie Redmond tried interviewing Ludwig Kaiser, but there was a nearby commotion. Jey Uso was laid out with Bron Breakker standing over him. Bron left as officials checked on Jey. Zayn and Punk joined to check on him. 

******** 

AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor (w/JD McDonagh & Carlito)

Cole referred to Styles and Bálor as former leaders of the Bullet Club. He repeatedly noted that Dom was not there with Judgment Day.

As with the other matches tonight, they went to break quickly, less than two minutes into it. 

Styles was on offence until he became distracted by McDonagh on the apron. Cole referred to this as the “first” distraction of the match. I guess he knows what’s coming. They dropped each other with a double clothesline spot, leading to a second commercial break, nine minutes into the match. 

Styles hit a superplex as they returned from break. They traded strikes until Styles caught Bálor’s Pelé Kick attempt and applied a calf crusher, but Bálor got a rope break. Bálor hit a slingblade and dropkick, but Styles avoided a Coup de Grace. Styles tried the calf crusher, but before Bálor could break it, AJ hit a Styles Clash for two. 

Cole was right because Carlito hopped on the apron for our second ref distraction. Styles knocked down McDonagh, but the distraction allowed Bálor to hit an elevated reverse DDT. 

Penta appeared on the barricade to take out the outside Judgment Day members. He leaped off McDonagh to hit Carlito with a Canadian Destroyer. 

Styles hit Bálor with a Phenomenal forearm for the pinfall win. 

(This was good enough, but nothing you needed to see. The crowd was quiet for most of the match, but got into it as it picked up towards the end.) 

Match result: AJ Styles defeated Finn Bálor (17:00) 

********

Becky Lynch made her way through the back. (Karrion Kross gave t-shirts to New Day in the background.) 

Becky Lynch promo

Lynch said she was not beaten at Backlash. Valkyria was beaten at Backlash. The fans didn’t believe her, but one of them was taken to the hospital (Lyra), while the other went to their big bus, had a shower and a glass of tequila while basking in her brilliance (Becky). 

After everything Valkyria did to her—attacking her character for weeks—Lynch brought out the best in her and gave her the best match of her career. Valkyria has never mattered more than she has now. 

She realized how much she was manipulated not only by Valkyria but also by the fans. She walked away for almost a year because the fans basically asked her to. She saw their reaction after the last time she won the world title, and if she wasn’t there to win the title, then there was no point. 

Lynch had always been for the people because she had them to thank for her career. They saw themselves in her, and they were in this together. And then something happened—she won. They couldn’t see themselves in her anymore because they were failures and hated what they could not understand. 

One of Lynch’s friends asked if she missed it while she was gone. She missed being in the ring, but she liked herself more now because she didn’t have to listen to the fans tell her what she was about. She heard the same lies from the one person she had hope for in this business. 

It all changed from here on out. “From now on, whatever you say I am, I am. So I’m selfish? Yes, I am. I’m greedy? Yes, I am. I’m cutthroat? Yes, I am.” 

All the girls in the back who were happy she was gone because they thought they were safe were finally going to find out what it feels like to be held down by The Man. 

********

There was a Rusev video package. He would rather his brothers fall by his hand than fall into the abyss. 

Akira Tozawa asked Pearce for a match against Rusev. Maxxine Dupri and Natalya had his back, but Pearce said he wasn’t cleared. Sheamus showed up and gave him respect for not backing down. 

After Alpha Academy left, Sheamus spoke to Pearce. Sheamus proposed a match against Grayson Waller. Pearce acted like this was the first he had heard of this and granted the match. Sheamus was happy. I guess some wires got crossed because they already announced this match earlier. 

******** 

Next week on Raw: 

  • Money in the Bank qualifiers 
  • AJ Styles & Penta vs. Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh 
  • Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller 
  • Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker (non-title) 

********

Women’s World Champion IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez & Giulia 

(Perez and Ripley wore similar gear to the point where they looked like partners.) 

The heels were in control through a break over Sky, but Ripley made a hot tag when they returned from break. She gave Perez a Razor’s Edge and a running kick for two. Perez brought Ripley off the top with a hurricanrana for two. Giulia gave Ripley a vertical suplex before Perez hit a middle rope moonsault for two. 

Sky made the next hot tag and hit Giulia with a missile dropkick. They all traded moves until Sky hit a moonsault, but Perez broke up the cover. Ripley elevated Sky into a dropkick to take out Giulia. Sky wiped out Perez with a springboard dropkick. 

Giulia tripped Ripley off the apron before hitting Sky with an impressive avalanche butterfly suplex and brainbuster, but Ripley broke up the cover. Some more stuff happened until Ripley pushed Sky out of the way of a Perez flying crossbody, and Perez wiped out Giulia by accident. 

Ripley hit Giulia with a Rip-tide (as Sky held down Perez) for the pinfall win. 

— As Sky and Ripley posed together, Ripley took a long look at the women’s title belt. They gave each other a knowing look as the show ended. 

(This was pretty good, but somewhat messy at times. It felt like there were long periods with all four women in the ring at the same time. The crowd was oddly quiet for it despite being really into Ripley at the beginning.) 

Match result: Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY defeated Giulia & Roxanne Perez (14:00)

IYO SKY receiving internal praise as ‘breakaway star’ in WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Women’s World Champion IYO SKY is receiving high internal praise as a breakout star in WWE.

In the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shared that “one person high up in decision making” in WWE told him that SKY has been considered a breakaway star this year for not only her work in the ring but her promos as well. Everyone in the women’s division loves working with SKY and has no problem with letting her shine:

One person high up in decision making noted to us that Sky has been considered breakaway star this year, combining the fire and voice inflections that made Asuka a strong promo without speaking English and ‘her ridiculously great workrate, and everyone loves working with her, so no one has a problem making her shine, letting her shine, and designing a match for her to shine.’

SKY, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley stole the show at WrestleMania 41 night two last month — with their triple threat match even earning praise from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. SKY pinned Belair to win the match and retain the Women’s World Championship.

Already regarded among the best wrestlers in the world at the time, SKY has been with WWE since 2018. She’s had two Women’s Championship reigns on the main roster in addition to holding the Women’s Tag Team titles multiple times.

SKY does not have a match scheduled for Backlash this weekend, but she’ll team up with Ripley on Raw next Monday (May 12) against Roxanne Perez & Giulia.

IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new match has been announced for Monday’s episode of Raw.

WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY will face Roxanne Perez on the show. General Manager Adam Pearce made the announcement in a video published Sunday. The match comes after SKY rescued Rhea Ripley from a two-on-one attack by Perez and Giulia on last week’s Raw. The two were also on opposite sides of a tag match on NXT, where SKY and Jordynne Grace defeated Perez and Giulia.

Pearce also revealed that Becky Lynch will call out Lyra Valkyria on Monday as they prepare for their WWE Women’s Intercontinental title match at Backlash this Saturday.

This week’s Raw takes place from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

WWE Raw lineup for Monday, May 5

  • Rusev vs. Otis
  • JD McDonagh vs. Penta
  • WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez
  • Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman, and Bron Breakker will appear
  • Becky Lynch to call out WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria

WWE NXT live results: Joe Hendry appears, IYO SKY in action

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Tonight’s NXT episode is set to feature special appearances by TNA World Champion Joe Hendry and WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY.

Invited to the show by Shawn Michaels, Hendry will be on NXT to address the ending of TNA’s Rebellion pay-per-view. Hendry retained his TNA World Championship against Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Page in the main event but was then attacked by Trick Williams.

SKY is looking for revenge after being targeted by Giulia and Roxanne Perez on Raw in back-to-back weeks. It will be SKY & Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia & Perez tonight.

A couple of titles are scheduled to be defended on the episode. North American Champion Ricky Saints has a defense against Lexis King, while new NXT Tag Team Champions Hank & Tank will put their belts on the line against Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura.

Plus, Tony D’Angelo and Channing Lorenzo will have a confrontation after Stacks’ recent betrayal.

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

**********

The episode begins with a video package recapping the story so far in feud between Joe Hendry and Trick Williams.

Opening the show are commentators Vic Joseph, Corey Graves and Booker T from a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando in front of a live studio audience.

Joseph speaks the name of TNA Champion Joe Hendry, and he appears. Such is his gimmick. Tonight, Hendry enters the sound stage wearing his WrestleMania-branded t-shirt. The live studio audience responds accordingly, as they wave their arms in unison to the beat of Hendry’s theme song.

Hendry enters the ring for a monologue. He plays to the crowd and mentions wrestling Randy Orton at WrestleMania, and then Hendry days later defended the TNA Championship. That is where Trick Williams attacked Hendry in a cliffhanger ending to the TNA Rebellion pay-per-view.

Hendry cuts a promo on Trick, and Hendry gets the crowd to chant “we believe” in him. Hendry figures that Trick knew Oba Femi was not going to give him a shot at the NXT Championship, so Hendry says that Trick is instead trying to get a shot at the TNA Championship. Hendry then calls out Trick.

Before Trick came enter, the lights so out on the sound stage. The DarkState faction appears, and they jump Hendry. They powerbomb Hendry and leave him laying in the ring as they stand over Hendry.

The show cuts away to a skit from earlier today, where WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY is in the office of NXT General Manager Ava. She booked SKY in a tag team match, and Ava asks if SKY found a tag partner. Not yet, but in walks Jordynne Grace to volunteer. SKY accepts the offer, so her and Grace will team up later on.

NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints and Lexis King prepare for their title match, which is “next” after a commercial break.

What was actually next after the break is a quick recap from last Tuesday night when Liv Morgan & Raquel Gonzalez defended the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Gigi Dolan & Tatum Paxley. That recap led into a skit from the NXT lounge.

Karmen Petrovic was talking with Dolan & Paxley when they are interrupted by Ashante “Thee” Adonis. He basically tells her to ditch the two losers because Adonis got her booked in a title match tonight. Petrovic takes exception at him calling them losers, and she also says she in not ready for a title match tonight. Adonis responds by saying she better get ready because “we” have a title match.

NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints defeated Lexis King to retain his title

Saints pinned King clean after a Roshambo. It was a good match with lots of action. The match goes through commercial break.

King jumps Saints before the bell rings to start the match. Saints soon counters King, and Saints goes on to pose atop the barricade as the show cuts to commercial.

When the show returns from the break, King gets a near fall after a Swanton Bomb. More near falls for King, until Saints attempts a comeback. King goes for his finisher, but Saints counters him. Saints spikes King with a tornado DDT, and Saints executes his finisher. Saints then covers King for a pinfall. And still…

“NXT Spotlight” sponsored by an insurance company features a vignette where Shawn Spears addresses The Culling.

Tony D’Angelo makes his first appearance in front of the studio audience since Stacks turned on him at Stand & Deliver. D’Angelo begins his monologue by saying we can all relate to betrayal. Still, “The Don” did not expect it at Stand & Deliver.

D’Angelo expected a man-to-man conversation, but not the betrayal. The Don talks about when he stuck up for Stacks when they were kids. D’Angelo insists that Stacks always had his eyes on being the boss of The Family. D’Angelo then talks about the times Stacks stepped up, so he was rewarded with being the Underboss. Yet at the same time, Stacks was impulsive. D’Angelo had to step in to show why he was still “The Don” of the The Family.

The Don says Stacks waited until the world was watching to stab him in the back. D’Angelo says Stacks will pay for his sins. The Don also mentions that Luca Crusifino is missing and Adrianna Rizzo remains in hiding.

A bunch of security enters the ringside area as the Titantron shows a pre-taped promo from Stacks. He is on bridge somewhere, which is a callback a usual meeting place for The Family. Stacks cuts a promo on D’Angelo, with Stacks saying he is tired of taking orders. Stacks also says D’Angelo has grown soft, and Stacks accuses The Don letting The Family get pushed around by groups like DarkState.

Stacks wants to become the new Don of the Family. He knows D’Angelo better than anyone, and Stacks knows that D’Angelo is losing power. Stacks questions whether D’Angelo can trust his own Family.

The security detail turns out to be henchmen for Stacks. D’Angelo cleans house on the henchmen, as what appears to be other mobster look on from the apron. They do not help D’Angelo, but he does not need any as he easily suplexes a henchman over the top rope. End Scene.

In a backstage skit, Meta-Four splits up as they all agree to go their separate ways. Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend and Noam Dar all hug and then depart as singles wrestlers. Not the only break-up on this episode, but the only amicable break-up of the night.

NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca (with Zaria) defeated Karmen Petrovic (with Ashante “Thee” Adonis)

Ruca pinned Petrovic clean after a Sol Snatcher. After the match, Petrovic breaks up with Adonis. She turns on him as he is barking at her about why she lost. Petrovic heard enough. When Adonis grabs her arm, Petrovic lays out Adonis with a roundhouse kick. Adonis is dazed as the studio audience chants “one more time.”

Before the next commercial break, a clip plugs a cameo appearance by Trick Williams on the CW’s All American television series.

Trick Williams enters the sound stage to address the audience. Tricks name drops Joe Hendry, but he does not appear. Trick says Hendry should be glad DarkState got to him before Trick got to Hendry. Trick says even “those punks know” that Hendry does not belong here.

Trick responds to anyone thinking he “crashed out” last Tuesday. Trick then talks about his run-in at Rebellion. He also plugs his acting appearance on All American. I remember All American when Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon hosted the show, but that is story of another time.

Trick says he and Hendry are not on the same level. Trick is Hollywood, while Hendry is “local talent” in NXT. Trick wants his title back, and he wants to challenge Oba Femi.

Ava interrupted Trick and scolds him for his recent actions. Trick says he realized after Sunday (at Rebellion) that he is bigger than NXT. He refers himself as the “biggest superstar” in NXT, along with the biggest star in TNA.

While Ava agrees to give Trick another chance at a title shot, that will come in a 25-man battle royal next Tuesday on NXT to determine a number one contender. The winner of the battle royal will face Femi at Battleground for the NXT title. A battle royal? How original.

Roxanne Perez and Giulia talk ahead of their tag match later on against IYO SKY and Jordynne Grace.

Kelly Kincaid interviews NXT Champion Oba Femi, who vows to retain the title at Battleground. The interview is interrupted by a cameo from The Undertaker. He tells Femi that NXT is Femis’ yard now, but Undertaker warns him that some guys from LFG will be coming for Femi soon. In walks Shiloh Hill, Anthony Luke and Jasper Troy from LFG. Femi says he looks forward to the challenge, and he shakes hands with Undertaker.

NXT Team Champions Hank Walker & Tank Ledger defeated Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura to retain their titles

Hank Walker pins Josh Briggs, and the champs retain. Rough and tumble match from the start. It was fun. The tag bout also goes through a commercial break.

After the break, Briggs & Inamura work over Hank. The match builds to a hot tag, and Tank is a house of fire. Soon thereafter, Hank is sent crashing into the ring steps at ringside. That leaves Tank at a two-on-one disadvantage.

Tank takes a chokeslam and a lariat from Briggs, and Inamura follows up with a splash off the top rope. Hank jumps into the ring to break up the subsequent pinning attempt. Moments later, Tank is again being double-teamed. Hank goes to make another save when he is scooped up by Inamura. He spins Hank around to complete the scoop slam, but Inamura inadvertently swings Hank’s feet into Briggs.

For the finish itself, Hank & Tank double-team Briggs with spear/powerslam combination. Hank then covers Briggs for the deciding pinfall, and the tag champs retain their titles. Inamura pleads his case to Briggs after the match, trying to explain the mishap.

DarkState cuts a promo that was posted on social media.

Chase University is back in a skit with Andre Chase welcoming students back to class. Chase proclaims today is a “new semester” for Chase U. Kale Dixon and Uriah Conners show up late for class, and a goody two shoes tries to call them out for being late. Chase cuts a promo on them and curses at them.

In a locker room skit, Kelani Jordan challenges Sol Ruca to a North American title match next week. Ruca is about to accept when Zaria cuts them off to tell Jordan she is not getting a title shot next Tuesday. Zaria tells Jordan she must go through Zaria to get a shot at Ruca. “Fine,” says Jordan.

Hank & Tank interact with Joe Hendry in the trainer’s room. They all three to the “honk, honk” hand gesture. This skit sets up Hendry teaming with Hank & Tank against DarkState in a six-man tag match next Tuesday on NXT.

WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY & Jordynne Grace defeated Roxanne Perez & Giulia

SKY pinned Perez to win the match. Really good tag match with a lot of action. Some storytelling within the match, but this was mostly just fun.

The tag bout begins with a melee at ringside. They all soon get in the ring. SKY and Grace get to shine early on. Eventually, Grace is cut off. She is being double-teamed when Grace suplexes both Perez and Giulia at the same time.

Hot tag to SKY for a missile dropkick. Grace and SKY work well as a team, until they are cut off. Grace has SKY on her shoulders when they are tripped up. As the show cuts to its final commercial break (which is picture-in-picture), SKY and Grace are in peril as they sell big.

Heat on SKY during the split-screen break, and the show returns with SKY in trouble. Hot tag to Grace, and she runs wild cleaning house. Perez with a save with a high cross. Everybody is down selling when SKY gets to her feet and hulks up.

Perez with a Super Frankensteiner on SKY. Giulia and Perez look to finish SKY, but Grace jumps in for a save. Grace and Giulia began to brawl on the floor at ringside. In the ring, Perez and SKY exchange a series of great near falls.

For the finish, SKY counters Pop Rocks with a backflip. SKY then kicks Perez and follows up with a moonsault press. SKY then covers Perez for a pinfall.

The show ends with a skit where Ava is talking with NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer, and Ava announces a number one contender’s match for next Tuesday. Jordynne Grace and Giulia meet next week in a singles match, and the winner gets a title shot against Vaquer at Battleground.

Meiko Satomura retires from the ring, WWE stars send video messages

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Meiko Satomura’s 30-year journey in the ring came to an end at Korakuen Hall on Tuesday.

In her official retirement match, Satomura & Manami defeated Aja Kong & Sendai Girls Champion Chihiro Hashimoto. A Scorpio Rising kick from Satomura to Kong was the finish. There was then an impromptu five-minute handicap match where — at Kong’s request — the two legends Satomura & Kong teamed together against Hashimoto, Mika Iwata, Takumi Iroha, Senka Akatsuki & YUNA.

The show was named “Meiko Satomura The Final” and was produced by Satomura’s Sendai Girls promotion. WWE stars Kairi Sane, IYO SKY, Asuka, and Shinsuke Nakamura sent in video messages that were played for Satomura. There were also messages from NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and joshi legend Devil Masami. Among those in attendance at the show were The Crush Gals, Bull Nakano, Akira Hokuto, and Kenta Kobashi.

Fans showered Satomura with streamers after the bell rang 10 times and her name was called out by the announcer one final time. She gave a speech promising to continue devoting her life to pro wrestling through Sendai Girls.

The 45-year-old Satomura echoed that sentiment in a tweet, vowing to help make the next era of wrestling even more amazing. She thanked everyone who came to today’s show and said she was happy to be surrounded by so many people who played a part in her career.

Satomura’s journey took her from Japan to rings across the world, including wrestling for WCW in the 1990s, becoming an attraction on the European indies, and a stint with WWE as a wrestler, coach, and champion in NXT UK.

IYO SKY appearance added to WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

IYO SKY is heading to NXT.

During Raw, it was announced that the Women’s World Champion will be appearing on Tuesday’s show. Following the events of WrestleMania, she has been a target of NXT stars Roxanne Perez and Giulia.

Last week’s Raw had NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer arrive as a surprise, challenging SKY. The two were wrestling when both Perez and Giulia interfered, ending the match early. It wasn’t until Rhea Ripley made the save that the two NXT stars backed off.

On this week’s show, Ripley was wrestling Perez when Giulia came down to ringside. As Ripley was going for the riptide, Giulia chop blocked Ripley’s knee for the disqualification. SKY then ran to the ring to make the save for Ripley. During the segment announcing SKY’s NXT appearance, Ripley told SKY that they were even.

Here is the updated card for Tuesday:

WWE NXT, Tuesday, April 29 —

  • NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints defends against Lexis King
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Hank Walker and Tank Ledger defend against Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura
  • Tony D’Angelo and Channing Lorenzo face-to-face segment
  • IYO SKY will appear
  • Joe Hendry invited to resolve issues with Trick Williams

Steve Austin congratulates IYO SKY: That WrestleMania match was ‘killer’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When IYO SKY arrived backstage after her WWE WrestleMania 41 victory, she received praise from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

WWE uploaded a four-minute video today documenting some of the behind the scenes of WrestleMania 41. Among the footage included was an interaction between SKY and Austin after SKY retained the WWE Women’s Championship over Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match.

“That f*cking match was killer,” Austin said. “That was a f*cking great match, very physical… Congrats.”

“I’m so happy, I’m so honored,” SKY responded. “Thank you very much. Thank you.”

The SKY vs. Belair vs. Ripley triple threat opened the WrestleMania 41 night two card and was a tough act to follow. Though Belair was pinned to end her 4-0 streak of WrestleMania victories, she also spoke highly of SKY backstage following the match before cutting a promo on Ripley.

“I think I broke a finger. My finger’s hurt, my feelings hurt. Nah, I’m so happy right now. That was amazing. Win or lose, it’s WrestleMania. The Mania streak is broken. But you know what, I would prefer it to be IYO out of anybody. One of the greatest wrestlers on the planet. So I can’t be mad at that. Congratulations to IYO. Rhea, still coming for that ass, okay? This ain’t over, because it’s your fault.”

Austin appeared at both nights of WrestleMania in Las Vegas, taking part in the Hall of Fame segment on Saturday and then announcing the attendance on Sunday. His match against Bret Hart from WrestleMania 13 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday as the winner of the first-ever Immortal Moment Award.

NXT Champion Stephanie Vaquer makes WWE Raw debut

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her WWE Raw debut on Monday’s post-WrestleMania episode.

Vaquer interrupted IYO SKY’s celebration of retaining her Women’s World Championship on Monday’s Raw after WrestleMania, then challenged the champ to a match. Raw GM Adam Pearce made the bout official.

The Vaquer vs. SKY bout ended in a disqualification or no contest after Roxanne Perez interfered, attacking SKY. Former NXT Women’s Champion Giulia also ran in to attack Vaquer, then Rhea Ripley ran in to chase off Perez and Giulia, before handing SKY her title belt as the two had a brief staredown.

NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer —

Vaquer signed with WWE last summer following an impressive showing against Mercedes Mone at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view last June 30. Just 13 days later, Vaquer made her WWE debut on a house show in Mexico. She made her televised main roster debut earlier this year at the Royal Rumble in the women’s Rumble match.

After winning the NXT Women’s North American Championship this past February, Vaquer would go on to defeat Giulia for the NXT Women’s title in March, briefly holding both titles. She would relinquish the North American title in exchange for choosing her opponents for this past Saturday’s NXT Stand & Deliver, where she retained the Women’s title in a four-way over Giulia, Jaida Parker, and Jordynne Grace.

Our ongoing live coverage of the Raw after WrestleMania is here.