The Womens Divisions of both Raw and Smackdown have stumbled as a whole since Wrestlemania. Bayley never evolved as champion to the point anyone over 12 could embrace her, leading to a disappointing five minute squash of a kendo stick match that did nothing for champion Alexa Bliss and signals an impending burial for Hugger #1.
Smackdown inexplicably turned Charlotte Flair babyface and threw everyone into the same feud to mug for screen time – although that eventually evolved into a tantalizing first-ever Women's Money In The Bank ladder match.
The quest for the briefcase aside, for the first time since WWE called up Sasha Banks, Flair and Becky Lynch, this new era of exciting women's wrestling in WWE hit a serious downturn.
Once again, since those Four Horsewomen days, it is up to the women of NXT to remind the main roster how it's done. Champion Asuka, Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot did just that in a triple threat rematch that ended with a stiff, violent brawl that Bayley and Bliss should have had weeks ago.
(Ruby Riot was eliminated early, but showcased her best ring work since dropping the Heidi Lovelace moniker. Source: WWE.com)
The trio put on a showstealer at NXT Takeover: Chicago and it was hard to see how they could top it. In the weeks building to the June 15th edition of NXT, we got to see all three women evolve prior to what this author considers the best women's match in WWE in 2017 so far.
Asuka has grown arrogant, angry. Her recently found contempt for the NXT women seemingly comes from frustration that hardly anyone has given her a real challenge. Only Ember Moon took her remotely close to her limits in singles action. She had yet to face Cross or Riot solo and no one else in NXT could plausibly turn out the Empress' lights.
(Cross commanded attention quickly once she became the pitbull kid sister in Eric Young's dystopian freakshow stable Sanity. Source: Sportskeeda.com)
Nikki Cross has gradually added more nuance to the feral violent character she gives audiences in Sanity. Ever since she was the first woman to knock Asuka out, Sanity's most irrational and feral member has obsessed over the Empress of Tomorrow with a fixation that goes beyond championship gold. Is it love? Is it the excitement of facing someone who, while very different, revels in the thrill of violence? We may never truly know, but she has been relentless every step of the way, even amidst a feud with Ruby Riot.
(Ruby Riot, wrestling as Heidi Lovelace, defying convention, always. Source: Lastwordonprowrestling.com)
Even four years ago, WWE would never have given the punk rock grappler formerly known as Heidi Lovelace a second look. Triple H and WWE road agents saw her through different eyes and latched on to her athletic, versatile style, charisma and solid mic skills. She won't be the next pinup du jour, but people like her genuineness, relentless attitude and eyepopping ring work. Even though she was dispatched early in this title rematch, she showed once again she belongs at the highest levels of American pro wrestling. She demonstrated that more big moments are on the horizon down the line.
After Nikki Cross pinned her, that's when it got really crazy.
(Asuka fights Nikki Cross the only way she can, full on. Source: WWE.com)
Once the action spilled out of the ring, fans finally got a taste of the ultraviolent and an overdue commitment to a more personal feud between the Scottish veteran and the world's best female wrestler. Asuka was ring general once again, but she gave more than ever, and lived up to the champion's burden of helping those around her shine. Most importantly, the brawl gave the audience the stiff, angry storytelling and pugilism that Bayley/Bliss so desperately needed as well as the rest of WWE's women's divison since Wrestlemania.
Blown opportunities on the main roster were capitalized on here. In other words, they set the new bar in WWE for what women's wrestling needs to be. With an impending rematch with Ember Moon looming in the distance beyond Cross and Riot, Asuka can finally showcase the nuances of a great champion beyond simply being better than everyone else in a developmental brand.
Hopefully this will rub off on their peers who will vie for the the first ever women's Money In The Bank briefcase.
(Coupled with James Ellsworth, Princess Mella has all the arrogance, sass and opportunistic chutzpah to be the best choice for the case. Source: @CarmellaWWE twitter.)
Thanks to the sound forcefeeding of Lana down the throats of the world, Carmella is no longer the greenest woman on Smackdown Live's roster. Her best moments in the squared circle so far have involved run-ins and her extreme rules contest with Nikki Bella at No Mercy – the most underappreciated women's match of 2016. The ladder match is a venue that will not only hide her grappling weaknesses, but most importantly will play to her strengths as a character and as a worker who's shown she'll gladly wrestle stiff. Throw in her flunky James Ellsworth giving an assist and she could become Smackdown Live's top female heel.
The official prediction: Carmella wins the MITB ladder match.
(Will Lana get a chance to evolve or will Vince have his femme fatale champion right now? Source: WWE.com)
Predictions for the rest of the card.
The Usos (C) vs. The New Day, Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos resort to shenanigans to win this first encounter. Possibly the tag feud of the summer.
Mens' MITB Ladder match: Sami Zayn gets the case. He's too likeable and too solid a performer not to. Corbin could get it, but while he's improved drastically since his callup he's not refined enough technically, nor over enough to be The Guy at this time.
Naomi (C) vs. Lana, Smackdown Women's Championship: Naomi retains. It's bad enough Lana gets shot to the moon way too quickly, but winning the belt would signal bad times ahead for women's booking in WWE. Besides, if a heel gets the case, the cash-in won't be as compelling.
Whatever the outcomes will be, the women of WWE need to have a copy of this picture posted in their lockerroom as a friendly reminder of where the bar is now . . .
(source: WWE.com)
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I hope to be around social media for MITB and I look forward to marking out with you all.
