Tag: Speed

Alba Fyre to challenge for WWE Speed Women’s title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Alba Fyre has the chance to bring some gold to the Secret Hervice.

Next Wednesday, Fyre will challenge Sol Ruca for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship. The title match was confirmed with Fyre prevailing over NXT wrestler Thea Hail in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament on Speed this week. The energetic Hail started strong and seemed poised to win in the closing moments after getting her knees up on a Swanton attempt. But when Hail tried to follow that up with a springboard, Fyre caught her in mid-air with a Gory Bomb for the victory.

Ruca became Speed Champion in April and has made one defense so far — a victory over Ivy Nile. Ruca also currently holds the NXT Women’s North American Championship.

Fyre is part of the SmackDown roster, where she and Piper Niven are aligned with Chelsea Green as the Secret Hervice. To earn this title shot, Fyre defeated B-Fab in the first round of the contender’s tournament before advancing to face Hail.

After next week’s Ruca vs. Fyre match, we should get some clarity on what’s going on with the men’s WWE Speed Championship. Chad Gable — who holds the title as El Grande Americano — underwent shoulder surgery this week. There was a backstage segment on Monday’s Raw where Ludwig Kaiser briefly appeared as the Americano character.

WWE crowns number one contender to Speed Women’s Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ivy Nile is first up to challenge Sol Ruca for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship.

A number one contender’s tournament wrapped up on Speed this week with Nile defeating Kelani Jordan in the finals. With her victory, Nile will challenge Ruca for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship on the episode of the show that premieres next Wednesday (May 28). It will be Ruca’s first title defense since winning the belt from Candice LeRae.

Nile scored the pinfall on Jordan with just seven seconds of the three-minute time limit remaining. Near the end of the match, Jordan was going for her One of a Kind moonsault before getting caught with a bridging German suplex by Nile. Jordan kicked out of that, but a kick to the head and a swinging uranage earned Nile the win.

Nile defeated Maxxine Dupri in the first round of the tournament before defeating Jordan. If Nile is able to dethrone Ruca, she’ll become the third-ever WWE Speed Women’s Champion in history.

While Jordan isn’t getting a shot at the Speed title, she will be challenging Ruca for a different championship this weekend. Ruca vs. Jordan for the NXT Women’s North American Championship is set for Sunday’s NXT Battleground PLE.

Ivy Nile advances in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With less than a second to spare, Ivy Nile defeated Maxxine Dupri to advance to the next round of the current WWE Speed number one contender’s tournament.

The two faced off in a first-round matchup that premiered on Speed today. Dupri started fast but lost control of the match when Nile caught a kick and dropped her with a clothesline. Nile then threw Dupri into the barricade outside and suplexed her onto the floor. She kept the advantage until a back-and-forth in the closing stretch. Dupri hit a superplex, did The Worm into an elbow drop, and then hit a crossbody — but Nile rolled through and secured the pinfall just before the three-minute time limit expired.

The match was taped before Raw in Louisville, Kentucky this Monday and can be watched below:

Nile will now face Kelani Jordan on Speed next Wednesday (May 21) with the winner earning a title shot against new WWE Speed Women’s Champion Sol Ruca. Jordan defeated Wren Sinclair in the first round.

Ruca won the title from Candice LeRae last month, becoming the second-ever WWE Speed Women’s Champion. She also currently holds the NXT Women’s North American Championship.

El Grande Americano defeats Dragon Lee for WWE Speed title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

El Grande Americano — the loosely disguised alter ego of Chad Gable — now holds WWE gold.

Americano is the new WWE Speed Champion after defeating Dragon Lee for the belt. The title change was taped at Raw earlier this week and aired on Speed today. Lee had the advantage until he tried to rip off Americano’s mask. When the referee stopped Lee, that gave Americano an opportunity to load his mask up with a weapon. Lee kicked Americano in the face but hurt his own leg against the loaded mask. Americano then connected with a diving headbutt off the top rope for the victory.

With the victory, Americano becomes the fourth men’s WWE Speed Champion in history. Ricochet, Andrade, and Dragon Lee are the prior champs.

Gable adopted this gimmick as part of his quest to conquer lucha libre following a loss to Penta. The Americano character is a self-proclaimed lucha libre legend who supposedly has a rich history of success in Mexico.

WWE Speed shifts its focus back to the women’s division this Friday as the tournament to crown a new number one contender begins. The tournament winner will get the first shot at new WWE Speed Women’s Champion Sol Ruca.

Here are the first-round matchups:

  • Kelani Jordan vs. Wren Sinclair
  • Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivy Nile

NXT star to challenge for WWE Speed Women’s Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An NXT star is next in line for a shot at the WWE Speed Women’s Championship.

Sol Ruca became the number one contender to Candice LeRae’s title with a victory over Michin on this week’s WWE Speed episode. With less than 30 seconds of the three-minute time limit remaining, Ruca connected with the Sol Snatcher to defeat Michin.

Following her victory over Katana Chance in the first round, this was Ruca’s second straight win over a main roster wrestler in the Speed number one contender’s tournament. Ruca will get her title shot against LeRae on the episode of Speed that premieres on X/Twitter at noon Eastern time next Wednesday (April 16).

LeRae became the inaugural Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024 and has only made two defenses during her reign so far, escaping with the belt by going to time-limit draws against both Natalya and Zoey Stark. Title matches on Speed have a five-minute time limit.

The athletic Ruca joined the WWE Performance Center in 2022 after competing in acrobatics and tumbling as a college athlete. In addition to challenging for the Speed Championship next week, Ruca has a title match set for NXT Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend. She’ll be one of the participants in the ladder match for the vacant Women’s North American Championship at the Saturday, April 19 event.

Michin advances in WWE Speed contender’s tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Michin is now one victory away from a WWE Speed Women’s Championship shot.

On today’s WWE Speed episode, Michin and Shayna Baszler met in the first round of a number one contender’s tournament. Most of the match had Baszler in control as she targeted Michin’s leg, but Michin was able to turn the tide and get a win from out of nowhere. She sent Baszler face-first into the middle turnbuckle and then rolled her up for a three count with 48 seconds left on the three-minute clock.

Up next for Michin is a tournament match against NXT’s Sol Ruca on Speed next Wednesday (April 9). The winner earns a title shot against WWE Speed Women’s Champion Candice LeRae.

Ruca advanced with a victory over Katana Chance in the first round of the tournament.

LeRae became the inaugural Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024. So far, the story of her title reign has been remaining champion by going to time-limit draws in both of her defenses. Those defenses were against Natalya and Zoey Stark.

Sol Ruca defeats Katana Chance in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An athletic matchup took place on WWE Speed this week with Katana Chance battling Sol Ruca.

NXT’s Ruca got the victory over her main roster counterpart, pinning Chance with 29 seconds remaining on the three-minute clock. They traded pinfall attempts in the closing stretch of the match until Ruca was able to catch Chance with the Sol Snatcher.

This was the first match in a four-person tournament to determine the next challenger for WWE Speed Women’s Champion Candice LeRae. The tournament continues next Wednesday (April 2) with Michin vs. Shayna Baszler to decide Ruca’s opponent in the finals.

LeRae became the inaugural WWE Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024. The story of her title reign has been using the short time limits on WWE Speed to her advantage, going to draws with both Natalya and Zoey Stark.

In a post-match promo after defeating Chance, Ruca — who signed with WWE in 2022 — said she’s “absolutely stoked on life” following this main roster win. She’s a rising star in NXT and has a background as a college athlete in acrobatics and tumbling.

Dragon Lee defends WWE Speed title against Ivar, new women’s tournament announced

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It was a battle of power vs. agility as Dragon Lee made his second defense of the WWE Speed Championship.

Lee retained his title with a win over Ivar on this week’s WWE Speed episode. Filmed earlier this month at a SmackDown episode in Philadelphia, the match went three and a half minutes before Lee was able to reverse a Death Valley Driver attempt into a crucifix pin for the victory. There was a show of respect after with Ivar shaking Lee’s hand despite being disappointed in the loss.

Following reigns by Ricochet and Andrade, Lee is the third-ever men’s WWE Speed Champion. He’s now made successful title defenses against Chad Gable and Ivar.

Starting next week, WWE will begin the process of finding a new challenger for women’s Speed Champion Candice LeRae. Sol Ruca vs. Katana Chance and Michin vs. Shayna Baszler are the first-round matchups. The Ruca vs. Chance bout premieres next Wednesday (March 26) at noon Eastern. Ruca is part of the NXT women’s division and is making her Speed debut in this match.

Zoey Stark to challenge for WWE Speed Women’s title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Zoey Stark has a chance to win her first WWE singles gold on Speed next week.

A new episode of WWE Speed premiered this afternoon with Stark battling Shotzi in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. After Shotzi started off strong, things got more even as the three-minute time limit ticked down. Stark connected with a superkick and hit Z-360 to pin Shotzi with 26 seconds remaining.

It will be Candice LeRae vs. Stark for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship next Wednesday (February 26). LeRae became the inaugural champ in October 2024 but has only made one title defense since then, going to a time-limit draw with Natalya.

Stark is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion but has never held any other titles in WWE. In a post-match promo after today’s win, Stark said she has something to prove — both to herself and everyone at home. This title shot is her chance to do that.

Featured on the WWE Raw roster, Stark is tag team partners with Shayna Baszler. Their Pure Fusion Collective stablemate Sonya Deville was among this month’s WWE departures with Deville being informed that her contract will not be renewed when it expires.

Chad Gable to challenge Dragon Lee for WWE Speed title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chad Gable is the new number one contender to the WWE Speed Championship.

A first-time-ever matchup aired on WWE Speed today with Gable taking on Chris Sabin in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. In the final minute of the match, Gable applied an ankle lock outside of the ring. He saw time winding down and got Sabin back in, where Gable went for another ankle lock. Sabin reversed it into a pin attempt, but Gable escaped and hit a Chaos Theory German suplex to get the victory with 19 seconds left of the three-minute time limit.

Dragon Lee vs. Gable for the WWE Speed Championship will air on a special edition of Speed on X/Twitter at noon Eastern this Saturday (February 1) — the day of the Royal Rumble. The match should be taped either before or after SmackDown this Friday.

This will be the first title defense Lee has made since winning the Speed title from Andrade in November.

Lee has been away from WWE programming in recent weeks as he and his wife Lupita prepared for the arrival of their new daughter. She gave birth on January 23.

Chad Gable defeats Charlie Dempsey on WWE Speed, Corey Graves not on commentary

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A new number one contender’s tournament began on WWE Speed today with Chad Gable and NXT’s Charlie Dempsey facing off for the first time ever.

The two technicians nearly went to a three-minute time limit draw, but Gable got the victory with three seconds remaining. He hit a Chaos Theory German suplex with time winding down and pinned Dempsey just before the clock expired.

Of note, Corey Graves was not the commentator for WWE Speed this week. He had provided play-by-play for every episode of the show since it debuted in April 2024, but Blake Howard was instead in that role for Gable vs. Dempsey. Howard is a commentator for WWE Main Event and formerly called NXT Level Up.

Graves also did not appear on NXT this week after hyping that he would have “a lot to say” on the episode. Late Monday night, Graves posted a tweet voicing his displeasure with being moved off main roster commentary and demoted to NXT. Graves claimed that he was told he wasn’t famous enough for Raw or SmackDown. He has since deleted the tweet.

The Speed tournament continues next Wednesday (January 22) with Chris Sabin vs. Grayson Waller. The winner of that match takes on Gable in the next round to determine who will challenge Dragon Lee for the WWE Speed Championship.

Candice LeRae & Natalya go to time limit draw in WWE Speed title match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Candice LeRae is still the WWE Speed Women’s Champion after going to a time-limit draw in her first title defense.

A new episode of WWE Speed premiered on Wednesday with Natalya challenging LeRae for her title. In the final minute of the match, Natalya applied a Sharpshooter and was on the verge of victory. But LeRae was able to survive until the five-minute clock expired, retaining the WWE Speed Women’s Championship after the match ended in a draw.

Matches on Speed typically have a three-minute time limit, but that is expanded to five minutes for title bouts.

In a post-match promo, LeRae claimed that this wasn’t a draw and she was actually victorious because it was Natalya’s job to beat her within the time limit.

LeRae became the inaugural WWE Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024. Natalya earned this title shot by winning a number one contender’s tournament.

Next week, Speed shifts its focus back to the men’s division with the start of a new number one contender’s tournament. Chad Gable vs. Charlie Dempsey is airing next Wednesday (January 15). The other first-round match in the four-man tournament will be Chris Sabin vs. Grayson Waller. The winner of the tournament receives a title shot against WWE Speed Men’s Champion Dragon Lee.

Michin advances to next round of WWE Speed women’s tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

She came up just short in the Women’s United States title tournament, but Michin is still determined to win championship gold.

Michin defeated Katana Chance on WWE Speed today to advance in the show’s ongoing number one contender’s tournament. After avoiding a 450 attempt from Chance, Michin connected with Eat Defeat and got the victory with 51 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

In the next round, Michin will face either Zelina Vega or Natalya with the winner earning a shot against Candice LeRae for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship. It will be the first title defense LeRae has made since becoming the inaugural champion this October.

The Vega vs. Natalya match is airing on Speed next week.

Michin had been competing in this tournament and the Women’s United States title tournament simultaneously, but the latter concluded at Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend with Chelsea Green defeating Michin to become the first-ever Women’s U.S. Champion.

Natalya advances in WWE Speed women’s title shot tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With just seconds to spare, Natalya defeated B-Fab to advance to the next round of the current WWE Speed number one contender’s tournament.

A new Speed episode aired on Friday with Natalya and B-Fab facing off in a first-round tournament match. As the three-minute clock wound down, it seemed like the contest might end in a draw. But, after avoiding a splash into the corner, Natalya was able to apply the Sharpshooter. B-Fab tapped out with less than five seconds of the time limit remaining.

Following their match — which was filmed last week on B-Fab’s 34th birthday — Natalya shared a moment with B-Fab backstage and praised her as a competitor.

Natalya will meet Zelina Vega in the next round of the tournament, which began earlier this week with Vega defeating Chelsea Green.

There are still two first-round matches remaining: Katana Chance vs. Alba Fyre and Michin vs. Ivy Nile. The Chance vs. Fyre match will premiere on X/Twitter at noon Eastern time next Wednesday (December 4).

Candice LeRae became the inaugural women’s WWE Speed Champion in October and will be making her first title defense against this tournament winner.

Bron Breakker advances in WWE Speed tournament, facing Sheamus next round

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A hard-hitting matchup against Sheamus awaits Bron Breakker in the next round of the WWE Speed number one contender’s tournament.

Breakker advanced in the tournament with a first-round victory over Cruz Del Toro on this week’s WWE Speed episode. Just over a minute into the match, Breakker avoided a Phoenix Splash and connected with a spear to get the win.

Sheamus vs. Breakker is the first matchup set for the next round of the tournament, which began last week with Sheamus defeating Giovanni Vinci.

Next Wednesday (October 30), the first round continues with Dragon Lee facing NXT wrestler Tavion Heights. The only remaining first-round match after that is Akira Tozawa vs. NXT’s Riley Osborne. The tournament winner earns the next shot against WWE Speed Champion Andrade, who has held the title since June and made three successful defenses.

Breakker won WWE gold on Raw this Monday, defeating Jey Uso to reclaim the Intercontinental title. Interference by The Bloodline cost Uso that match.