WWE NXT General Manager Ava announces the NXT No Mercy Gauntlet Eliminator. Momo Watanabe challenges Mercedes Mone to a match at NJPW Capital Collision. Mission Pro Wrestling is set to go on a hiatus and more. Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
No Mercy Gauntlet Eliminator Set For WWE NXT
On next week’s episode of WWE NXT, six women will compete in a gauntlet eliminator match. The winner will earn the right to face NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez at NXT No Mercy. WWE NXT General Manager Ava confirmed that all of the gauntlet participants would be women who have yet to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship.
After a random drawing, the following were selected to compete:
- Wren Sinclair
- Adriana Rizzo
- Sol Ruca
- Jaida Parker
- Kendal Grey
- Karmen Petrovic
While none of these six have vied for the NXT Women’s Championship, Ruca has challenged Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s North American Championship, albeit unsuccessfully.
For Roxanne Perez, No Mercy will mark the seventh televised title defense in her second reign. Her latest defense came at the 2024 Great American Bash, where she defeated Chase U’s Thea Hail. Perez reclaimed the title by beating Lyra Valkyria at NXT Stand & Deliver
Elsewhere on NXT next week, Lola Vice will go one-on-one with Wendy Choo.
NXT No Mercy will emanate from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, September 1.
RELATED: Camron Branae Opens Up About Friendship With NXT’s Sol Ruca: We Were Inseparable
Momo Watanabe Issues A Challenge To Mercedes Mone
On August 25, Mercedes Mone will defend the TBS Championship against Britt Baker at AEW All In. Six days later, she will defend her NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship against an opponent that was yet to be determined. After a recent call-out, however, an opponent now seems to be in sight.
Following her latest match in STARDOM, Momo Watanabe made it clear that she wanted a break from Japan’s heat, typhoons, and earthquakes. As such, Watanabe asserted that she’d rather fight in the United States of America, specifically in Washington D.C., the site of NJPW Capital Collision. There, Watanabe aims to challenge Mercedes Mone for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship.
As of now, the title match between Mone and Watanabe has yet to be made official. NJPW has, however, promoted the event while making note of Watanabe’s challenge on X (formerly Twitter). Should Mone and Watanabe square off at Capital Collision, it will mark their first-ever in-ring encounter.
Elsewhere on NJPW Capital Collision, “The Afro-Punk” Trish Adora will take on STARDOM’s HANAKO.
RELATED: Mercedes Moné Announced For NJPW Capital Collision
Mission Pro To Go On Hiatus
In 2019, Thunder Rosa and Brian Cervantes launched an all-women’s promotion known as Mission Pro Wrestling. The promotion, based in Texas, has featured a plethora of talents from across the United States and international waters, such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
Last week, Mission Pro released a statement on its future operations, revealing its intent to go on an indefinite hiatus.
“After much consideration, our team has decided that Mission Pro Wrestling will go on hiatus after our Aug. 17, 2024 “Midsummer Blast” show in San Antonio. This will be our last show of 2024, and no future show dates will be announced at this time,” MPW wrote.
“This was not an easy decision. We understand that this is disappointing news to Mission Pro fans, financial supporters, and talent. Please know that we are committed to using our time away as an opportunity to reset and recalibrate our organizational structure and goals to better serve the women’s wrestling community.”
Before it officially hiatus, Mission Pro will hold its Midsummer Blast event on Saturday, August 17. MPW Champion Izzy Moreno will headline the event with a title defense against an opponent to be named by Thunder Rosa. Elsewhere, Rache Chanel will face Carolina Cruz in singles action, while Mia Friday takes on Rebel Kel.
RELATED: Michelle Green Has A Special Place In Her Heart For Mission Pro Wrestling, Match With Jazmine Allure
INTERVIEWS
Camron Branae, formerly known as WWE’s Amari Miller, spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about her plans to take a break from wrestling, her friendships with Sol Ruca and Alba Fyre, learning from Piper Niven, her recent opportunity to wrestle for STARDOM, her interest in potentially taking up dance, and more.
Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Jade Cargill joined Scott Fishman to reflect on her WWE journey so far, her bond with Bianca Belair, coordinating fashion with Belair, the House of the Dragon fandom, and more.
WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss how winning a coloring contest ignited her passion for WWE, the inspiration behind The Glamazon character, breaking her jaw in her first singles match, getting hit with an RKO by Randy Orton and a con-chair-to by Rhea Ripley, Adam Copeland’s recent cage dive at AEW Double or Nothing, and more.
NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan appeared on Casual Conversations with The Classic to discuss her family, WWE tryout, training, transitioning from gymnastics to professional wrestling, influences, her relationship with Carmelo Hayes, and more!
Former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey chatted with Denise Salcedo about her comic book “Expecting The Unexpected,” her writing, life as a mother, welcoming a second baby, her WWE rookie year, her feud with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and more.
“The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo sat down with Stephanie Chase to discuss her decision to leave TNA and sign with AEW, why she didn’t choose WWE, her friendship with Toni Storm, her current feud with Thunder Rosa, Britt Baker, and the women’s locker room and more.
