Giulia retains the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship at Multiverse United 2. Raquel Rodriguez looks to score some payback on Rhea Ripley. IMPACT Wrestling prepares for Emergence. MJ Jenkins speaks with WrestleZone, and more. Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
Giulia Retains At Multiverse United 2
Following the success of the inaugural Multiverse United event, IMPACT and NJPW revived the event to host Multiverse United 2 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. For the sequel, NJPW sent the current NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia and rising STARDOM talent,
Momo Kohgo. There, the two competed in a four-way match against IMPACT’s Deonna Purrazzo and Gisele Shaw. To elevate the contest even more, Giulia put her NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship on the line.
The Philadelphia crowd issued an extra warm welcome to Giulia, as this marked her official debut in the United States. The entire match itself was also positively received as “Women’s Wrestling” chants buzzed throughout the arena. Despite the impressive efforts unleashed by her challengers, Giulia was poised to retain her title.
In the end, it came down to Shaw and Giulia in the center of the ring. After Shaw laid out Kohgo with a spinebuster, she turned her attention to Giulia, attempting to nail her with a knee strike. Giulia quickly evaded and reversed Shaw into a roll-up position, which Shaw kicked out of. Before Shaw had a chance to regain control, Giulia hit her with a drop kick and slap before following up with a Northern Lights Domb to secure the win.
Giulia Wants More
Giulia made it clear that her work in the United States is far from over.
“Wow, seems like the people of Philadelphia love them some Giulia! This place is great! Seriously, I’ve gotta say, I feel so good,” Giulia said in a post-match promo. “I’m proud of myself. Getting here is a pretty big moment for my career. It’s a big deal. I’m proud of this, getting this experience. I’m not done in the US, and not done with this title either. Who’s next? Who’s next challenger? Anyone, any promotion, I’m down, but the STRONG champ only wants strong challengers.”
READ MORE: IMPACT x NJPW Multiverse United 2: For Whom The Bell Tolls Results (8/20/23)
IMPACT Emergence Preview
Hot off the heels of Multiverse United 2, IMPACT Wrestling now pivots their focus to Emergence. This pay-per-view will take place this Sunday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. So far, seven matches have been confirmed, including a Knockouts Championship rematch between Trinity and Deonna Purrazzo.
While Purrazzo fell short at Multiverse United 2, she looks to bounce back and regain the Knockouts Championship she lost to Trinity at Slammiversary last month. Following her loss at Slammiversary, Purrazzo was keen on getting her contractually-obligated rematch. After Trinity and Dani Luna scored a victory over The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) on the July 27 episode of IMPACT on AXSTV, Purrazzo wasted little time to confront Trinity. Now, the two will meet again at Emergence as Trinity defends the Knockouts Championship for the first time.
Elsewhere on the card, Knockouts World Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly have a grueling task in front of them as they defend their titles against not one, not two, but three other teams. At Emergence, MK Ultra will put their Knockouts Tag Team Championships on the line against Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans, The Coven, and The Death Dollz (Courtney Rush & Jessicka). Originally, only Shaw and Evans were set to challenge MK Ultra, but The Coven and the Death Dollz demanded a shot as well.
In the spirit of fighting champions, Slamovich and Kelly declared they were willing to defend their titles against all challengers. A four-way Knockouts Tag Team Championship match was then made official for Emergence.
RELATED: Deonna Purrazzo Names KiLynn King, Gisele Shaw As Potential Knockouts Champions
Raquel Rodriguez Has A Shot At Payback
Next weekend, WWE gears up for Payback. As of this writing, three bouts have been announced for the Pittsburgh PLE, including a grudge match between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus. On Monday, WWE revealed a new addition to the card.
Prior to SummerSlam, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were set to defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Before their title defense, though, Rodriguez suffered a knee injury at the hands of WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. As a result, Morgan and Rodriguez lost their titles later that night.
During Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, Ripley scored a quick victory over Candice LeRae. In the midst of Ripley’s post-match celebration, Raquel Rodriguez arrived with a crutch, seemingly still selling her knee injury. She then threw the crutch at Ripley as she approached, which led to the two brawling at ringside. As Rodriguez stood tall, she announced that she would challenge Ripley for the WWE Women’s World Championship at Payback on September 2. This will mark their first televised singles match since January 2021 when Rodriguez defeated Ripley in a Last Woman Standing Match on WWE NXT.
RELATED: Rhea Ripley Believes The Judgment Day Can Surpass The Bloodline
INTERVIEWS
BRCW Women’s Champion MJ Jenkins spoke with WrestleZone’s own Ella Jay about entering the Burke Invitational Gauntlet match at NWA 75, what it would mean for her to become NWA Women’s Champion, her fashion influences, her adventurous spirit, teaching a wrestling seminar in Trinidad, and more!
NWA star Ruthie Jay chatted with Denise Salcedo about signing with the National Wrestling Alliance, training with Gangrel, how she almost went an entirely different direction with her life, and more.
Former NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale joined MuscleManMalcolm to discuss her Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Victory, main eventing ROH Death Before Dishonor with Athena, Mercedes Mone possibly appearing in AEW, and more.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green appeared on WAVY-TV 10 to discuss the recent injury to her tag partner Sonya Deville, Chelsea’s Got Talent auditions, and the development of her character, and more.
