Kamille makes her official AEW debut. Thea Hail set to challenge Roxanne Perez for NXT Women’s Championship. Rachel Armstong chats with WrestleZone, and more. Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
Kamille Makes Official AEW Debut, Aligns With Mercedes Mone
Upon her return to All Elite Wrestling, Britt Baker made it clear that her sights were set on the dual-reigning TBS and NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone. As revealed on AEW Dynamite, however, Baker is now faced with a massive obstacle in her path, namely “The Brickhouse” Kamille.
Kamille, a former NWA World Women’s Champion, made her official debut on this week’s Dynamite episode by attacking Baker. Moments earlier, Baker defeated Hikaru Shida in a hard-fought singles competition, to which Mone extended her round of applause. Despite this, Mone yet again rejected Baker’s previous request to challenge her at AEW All In.
As Baker subsequently shook her head in disbelief, Kamille ambushed her with a kick to the face and a slam into the mat. With Baker laid out before her, Mone then issued a sinister smile, while Kamille held up her hand as a sign of budding allegiance.
This marks Kamille’s second appearance in AEW, with the first coming on the August 4, 2021 episode of Dynamite. On this occasion, Kamile came face-to-face with Leyla Hirsch, who defeated The Bunny just moments before to secure an NWA Women’s Championship match against Kamille. Kamille and Hirsch later wrestled at NWA Empowerrr, with the former retaining her title in a banger of a match.
Mercedes Mone urges viewers to tune into next week’s AEW programming to find out more about her alliance with Kamille.
READ MORE: Mercedes Moné Comments On Kamille’s AEW Debut
Thea Hail Set To Challenge Roxanne Perez For NXT Women’s Championship
Next week, WWE NXT will kick off their two-part Great American Bash event with a trio of women’s championships on the line.
Firstly, Thea Hail will challenge Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship. For Perez, this will mark the sixth televised title defense of her second reign. For Hail, this will be her first televised NXT Women’s Championship match since her submission loss to Tiffany Stratton at NXT Battleground 2023.
Ahead of her latest title shot, Hail spoke with NXT correspondent Kelly Kincaid about the significance of potentially winning the NXT Women’s Championship.
“I’m not trying to win this title for just me. I’m trying to win it for all of Chase U, for the little girls who, like me, were counted out or picked last,” Hail said. “I know I’m only 20, and last year Tiffany seemed like the biggest mountain to climb, and now Roxanne seems impossible to get through, but I can’t control that. I can only control myself. So while Roxanne, and the rest of the world, are wondering what the NXT women’s division will look like in a few months, I’m focused on winning the NXT Women’s Championship.”
Elsewhere on night one of the NXT Great American Bash, Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson will vie for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. This title match comes in the wake of Legend and Jackson’s victory over Karmen Petrovic and Sol Ruca on this week’s NXT. Afterward, Legend proclaimed herself and Jackson to be the “Brightest Stars in the Galaxy,” while challenging Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to defend their titles against them. As such, the pairs will now meet two-on-two for the very first time, with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on the line.
RELATED: Charlotte Flair Reacts to Roxanne Perez Claiming To Surpass Her Record In WWE
Shayna Baszler Returns To Bloodsport
This weekend, former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will take another trip through the forbidden door as she competes at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI event.
This time, Baszler will come face-to-face with former TJPW Princess of Princess Champion Miyu Yamashita in a first-time matchup. In her previous Bloodsport outing, Baszler defeated TNA’s Masha Slamovich via referee’s decision.
Coming off her loss to Baszler, Slamovich will now seek retribution when she takes on fellow TNA Knockout Jody Threat at Bloodsport XI. Threat and Slamovich most recently met in tag team competition at TNA Slammiversary. There, Slamovich and Alisha Edwards successfully defended the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships against Threat and Dani Luna.
Elsewhere at Bloodsport, WWE NXT’s Charlie Dempsey will face Royce Isaacs, while TNA’s “Speedball” Mike Bailey battles AKIRA.
INTERVIEWS
“Your Wish Upon a Shooting Star” Rachel Armstrong spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about her mini European tour in 2024, wrestling Maki Itoh at Black Label Pro, her goal to make people smile, John Cena’s recent retirement announcement, the full-circle moment of seeing her former track and cross-country coach attend one of her matches, and more.
Former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey chatted with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about her new comic book project, “Expecting The Unexpected,” Dave Bautista, Paul Heyman’s influence on the book, if she still gets offers to return to pro wrestling and more.
Former MPW Women’s Champion Tiffany Nieves sat down with MPW’s On A Mission to talk about Mission Pro’s Midsummer Blast show, her upcoming ventures at Exodus Pro, her hopes to regain the MPW Women’s Championship, and more.
WWE NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss transitioning from gymnastics to professional wrestling, who in the sport inspires her, her dream match, and more.
Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green joined The Masked Man Show to discuss inter-gender wrestling, whether she’s actually afraid of heights or not, rhe current state of women’s wrestling, wanting to wrestle celebrities, the potential for a WWE women’s mid-card title, and more.
