Willow Nightingale earns a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship. WWE hosts Bad Blood. Candice LeRae captures singles gold in WWE. Charli Evans chats with WrestleZone and more! Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
Candice LeRae Claims WWE Speed Championship
Candice LeRae has finally achieved singles gold in WWE.
After crowning the first WWE Speed Champion in May, WWE confirmed that the Speed brand would soon extend to the company’s women’s division. In September, WWE began its eight-woman tournament in an effort to crown the inaugural Women’s Speed Champion. Through three rounds of competition, IYO SKY and Candice LeRae stood as the finalists. In the end, though, only one could win.
That one turned out to be Candice LeRae.
In the finals’ closing moments, SKY descended from the top rope with a moonsault, which LeRae blocked with her knees. With SKY rocked, LeRae then followed up with a Lionsault for the win, and the first singles title of her WWE career.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque later commented on LeRae’s milestone win, writing, “Never underestimate a Superstar as talented, determined and hungry as @CandiceLeRae. Huge congrats to your first-ever #WWESpeed Women’s Champion on a history-making victory.”
Along her path to gold, LeRae defeated the likes of Piper Niven, Kairi Sane, and finally IYO SKY.
Willow Nightingale Earns AEW Title Shot
Willow Nightingale stands tall.
On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Willow Nightingale was originally slated to face Britt Baker in a number one contender’s match. Baker, however, was later unable to compete due to illness. As such, the match was elevated to a four-way also involving Jamie Hayter, Nyla Rose, and Saraya.
Despite the lesser odds, Nightingale still emerged victorious after laying out Saraya with a Doctor Bomb. Elsewhere, a returning Penelope Ford struck Hayter with a chair, prompting her to then chase Ford to the backstage area. Nevertheless, with Nightingale’s win, she will now move on to challenge Mariah May for the AEW World Championship at AEW WrestleDream.
In anticipation of this title match, May has since sent a stern message to Nightingale.
“Willow, what do you do when you go home? Do you sit there and manifest your little diary and your little dream board and write ‘One day I’m going to be AEW Women’s World Champion,’ because it’s working. Despite all logic, you finally have your title shot. Look a little closer at your diary. Does it mention anything about the woman from hell, here to ruin your every dream?
“Think about how good your career would be if I didn’t exist. You would have won the Owen Hart Tournament for the second time, if I didn’t exist. Would have wrestled for the world title at Wembley Stadium, if I didn’t exist. You would be more successful, sell more merch, make more money, all if I didn’t exist. But Willow, I do exist. I am 26 years old; I am standing on top of the world and I am not coming down any time soon. I hold this title because I have ended every woman I have ever stepped in the ring with, and you just don’t have that in you. So throw out your dream board. Burn your diary and manifest enough mercy that I don’t drown you in a pool of your own blood. At WrestleDream, you’re gonna lose your smile.”
WWE Bad Blood: Raquel Returns, Nia Jax & Liv Morgan Retain
WWE Bad Blood presented two women’s contests last weekend, with the first pitting WWE Women’s Champion Nixa Jax against “The Role Model” Bayley.
Jax and Bayley went back and forth for most of the match, but some complications arose near the end. At one point, Jax accidentally fell onto the referee. Moments later, Bayley hit the Rose Plant, but the referee was still rendered unable to make a count. This prompted Tiffany Stratton to charge down with her Money in the Bank briefcase, attack Bayley, and attempt to cash it in.
Unfortunately for Stratton, Jax rose to her feet and immediately confronted her. Seeing the two arguing with each other, Bayley pushed Jax into Stratton, then rolled Jax up for a near fall. Ultimately, Jax regained her footing just enough to nail Bayley with a Samoan Drop and the Annihilator. With this, Jax won the match and retained her title.
Elsewhere, Liv Morgan defended the WWE Women’s World Championship against Rhea Ripley, while Dominik Mysterio hung in a shark cage above. In the match’s closing moments, Ripley repeatedly struck Mysterio with a kendo stick as he hung upside from a chain (after previously breaking open the shark cage door).
Out of nowhere, a returning Raquel Rodriguez attacked Ripley while the referee was tending to Morgan in the ring. Upon dragging Ripley to the ring, however, the referee spotted Rodriguez and called for the bell. As such, Ripley won the match via disqualification. Still, Morgan retained her WWE Women’s World Championship.
RELATED: Liv Morgan: I Finished The Liv Morgan Revenge Tour When I Beat Rhea Ripley
INTERVIEWS
“The Violence Artist” Charli Evans spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about challenging for the PWA Heavyweight Championship at PWA Colosseum, Grayson Waller’s return to PWA, reuniting with Millie McKenzie as Medusa Complex, ranking on the PWI 500, making her Choco Pro debut, and more.
MLW’s Delmi Exo chatted with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about her Taekwondo Rules match at MLW Pit Fighters, focusing on her singles career, Conan the Barbarian, her run as MLW Featherweight Champion, coffee milk, and more.
Serena Deeb joined WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about the AEW Dynamite 5th anniversary show, facing Britt Baker, overcoming serious health issues, the importance of momentum as a wrestler, what she wants people to put more focus on, and more,
AEW’s Willow Nightingale talked with amNewYork Metro about her growth in the company, deathmatch wrestling, the biggest television show of the year for the promotion, and more.
TNA Hall of Famer Gail Kim appeared on the Nemeth Bros show to discuss TNA’s hot streak, Gail’s life-changing experience on The Traitors (Canadian version), how betting on yourself can pay off, and a potential return to the ring, and more.
