So I'm kind of bored right now. I'm finishing up a work shift and I have Smackdown on, but nothing particularly interesting is happening so I'm not paying attention. The main roster stuff doesn't grab me much anymore and if I have it on it's because nothing else is on the TV. Don't know if this will interest anyone, but I think I'm gonna take a few minutes to discuss one of the more positive aspects of WWE right now. They have a lot of talented women, particularly in NXT. I think it's fun to speculate on who will break out and become big stars like Bianca Belair, the four Horsewomen, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, etc.
The most obvious one is
Jade Cargill:
but we'll see how long she lasts given how limited she is. I think WWE could potentially just get bored with her at some point and when that happens, she'll get dropped down to NXT after jobbing out to some women on Smackdown. Then it'll be sink or swim time for her if she doesn't want to get future endeavored and come crawling back to AEW with her tail between her legs. It's obvious that Jade's push is largely motivated by her being from AEW, but one then has to ask the question of why she was pushed so heavily in AEW in the first place, pushed so much that WWE took notice. I think people look at her and see a modern day Chyna, something we haven't had since Beth Phoenix.
Rhea Ripley was sort of viewed in a similar vein, but she doesn't have that heavily muscled look of a Beth Phoenix, Chyna, or Jade Cargill. I think Rhea has sort of evolved into enough of her own person that she doesn't really need to be compared to anyone at this point with the Mami stuff, her relationship with Dom, and that heavy metal/punk, badass Aussie persona that she's created. So Jade could be that modern day Chyna for WWE while Rhea Ripley continues to be Rhea Bloody Ripley. Personally, I don't see why finding another Chyna is such a big deal. Chyna really stood out in her day, but in 2024 it's not like heavily muscled women are a rarity in pro wrestling, maybe they just are in WWE or AEW I guess. TNA's Jordynne Grace looks like she could easily bench press Jade Cargill and snap her in half in my opinion, but I digress.
The next really obvious one is "Tiffy Time"
Tiffany Stratton:
Boy, if I could sum up Tiffy in just one sentence, I'd say she's a better, prettier (as I'm sure Tiffy would tell you herself) version of Charlotte Flair. Tiffy's the total package. She's got a good look (better than Flair), she's got a clearly defined and entertaining character (spoiled rich varsity, valley girl), she's not uncomfortable talking, and she's got a ten times better moon sault than Charlotte:
When you claim to have the "Prettiest Moon sault Eveeeer", you have to be able to back that up. So after holding the NXT women's title, and competing in a high profile main event title match with Becky Lynch, Tiffany is now in the major leagues having been regularly appearing on the main roster. It's sink or swim time for her, but she seems to be handling herself well and WWE seems to be giving her a bit of a push. She may even be getting a little mainstream attention too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qm4x09KT1c
She's so damn athletic and just makes things look GOOOOOOD:
Next, we have
Roxanne Perez:
She's an interesting one. Trained by Booker T, who incidentally has called many of her matches in NXT, for his Reality of Wrestling promotion. She also gained the interest of Maria Kanellis, who made her the first ever Ring of Honor women's champion:
It seems that early in her career she already got the attention of some notable people in the industry. Dubbed "The Prodigy", for some reason she always reminds me a bit of Skye Blue. I think a few similarities in their looks, stature, age, and the fact that they are both up and comers in the two biggest wrestling promotions has something to do with that. Plus, there's their finishers:
It might be more apt to compare her to AJ Lee though, who she seems to be a fan of. She says she NEEDS to have a match with AJ Lee before she'll ever retire:
She's also mentioned Bayley and Paige as influences so she clearly wants to become a big star (I can see a little bit of Bayley in her actually). WWE has seemed to be invested in Roxanne for some time now. They seem to be continually testing her with one off appearances on the main roster and on pay per views (like the Royal Rumble). If dirt sheets are to be believed she has impressed the company every time. I've seen criticisms of her online saying her character is boring or that she can't promo, but she recently turned heel (which always seems to reinvigorate people's careers) and seems to be taking to it well (kind of like Jack Perry), enough so that WWE decided to put the NXT women's title back on her for a second time during Wrestlemania weekend
which leads me to the person she defeated in that match and someone else that the company seems to be invested in...
Lyra Valkyria
I think Lyra wins the most badass name award. I don't know much about her, I only watch NXT occasionally, but when the company has you win the NXT women's title from one of the top women in WWE for several years now in Becky Lynch, you take notice. That alone makes her one to keep an eye on. Maybe she'll actually BE the next Becky Lynch. WWE made a note of pointing out that they are both Irish. NXT has now used Becky Lynch to give both her and Stratton the rub by competing in title matches with them, a good reason to be optimistic about their future
Thea Hail
Of the few times I tune in to watch NXT, Thea Hail has been one of the most fun and entertaining characters on the show. She's a high energy, light hearted character who has been part of this cool group called Chase U, which reminds me in some ways of Chad Gable's Alpha academy. She'd probably have been a good fit in the Alpha Academy had they called her up to the main roster. Although now that Chad Gable has turned heel, I don't really know what the Alpha Academy's future is. Thea's character is a little spit fire who seems like someone who drinks ten cups of coffee a day. She's a loveable baby face type of character who seems naive and prone to being manipulated by others. She's also HARDCORE into her training. Her persona is all about pushing her body's limits and she seems always ready for one more rep. I haven't seen much of her matches, but assuming her ring work is good I see a great future for her. She's very young at 20 years old so the sky's the limit for her. She's someone who seems to fit perfectly into the "sports entertainment" world of WWE and is one of those people I can see just being a great character for years to come. You need people like that in wrestling. It can't just all be about 5 star matches and nothing else. I could easily see her getting super over with the right kind of story line as a loveable, underdog, babyface. She just makes you smile and want to root for her. She has had no major accomplishments yet, but she's got time, and it feels like WWE is more interested in establishing her character and telling her story. Nothing wrong with that.
Dakota Kai
I don't understand the deal with Dakota Kai. She brings so much to the table. She can act really well, in fact she plays a very effective backstabbing psycho (a recurring theme with her). She's great in the ring and can cut a promo too. However, I feel every time she gets any kind of momentum, WWE cuts the legs out from under her and jobs her out to people...over and over and over again even back when she was in NXT. She just took over Damage Control and has already had two losses...that I know of, maybe more since I don't follow the main roster regularly anymore since Cody Rhodes started stinking up the place. It's like she's in that Bryan Danielson role of always having to put everyone else over. When does she get her reward, aside from that brief, meaningless run her and Iyo had with the tag titles?
Shayna Bazler
Shayna Bazler had a really dominant run as women's champion in NXT and comes across as possibly the most legit badass on the entire WWE women's roster across all three brands. Her booking since hitting the main roster has been pretty good (she retired Ronda Rousey), but it feels like she's never really reached the next level yet. She's still got time and it's really noteworthy that WWE sent her to that recent GCW show, which certainly got people's attention. She beat one of the hottest acts from TNA and the indie scene in Masha Slamavich, a woman who certainly comes across as quite a badass bitch herself. Masha has even beaten MEN in the world of pro wrestling
Zoey Stark
So now's as good a time as any to mention Shayna's partner in crime, who was also at GCW's Bloodsport in Shayna's corner. At one time, the dirt sheets said WWE was high on Zoey Stark and she had a high profile program involving the legendary Trish Stratus. She's cooled off a bit since then, but I hope WWE still has plans for her. Don't let that Trish Stratus rub go to waste.
Chelsea Green
Jesus Christ, the amount of wasted potential right here in this woman. She's fucking gorgeous (so much so that she was recently mistaken for a real life escort
), she's funny and entertaining, she can wrestle, she's well travelled from TNA to the indies. She's also attached to one of the hottest acts in the indie scene in Matt Cardona. You could do so much with this woman, but WWE continues to use her as nothing more than a comedy act Karen character who is jobbing to people left and right and often times even acts afraid of her opponents. She recently got demoted to NXT (where she continues to be entertaining). I wonder if she wouldn't be better utilized in AEW with her real life friends Britt Baker and former TNA partner Deonna Purrazzo.
Piper Niven
This poor girl got named "Dew Drop" by Vince McMahon
Nia Jax has had a pretty decent run recently as a monster on the women's roster on Raw, and is now gunning for Bayley's title on Smackdown. As good as Nia has been lately, Piper is so much better and could do so much more with the kind of push Nia is getting. Instead she's been paired with Chelsea Green doing comedy for months now. Don't get me wrong, she's been entertaining in that role, but I think she can do more
Women WWE needs to stop trying to push:
Raquel Gonzalez
She has NO CHARISMA AND IS BORING. Stop trying to make her a thing WWE
Zelina Vega
See above comments regarding Raquel Gonzalez
Liv Morgan
She's kind of hot...that's all I have to say. She literally brings nothing else to the table. She's like a bargain bin, shitty, version of Alexa Bliss. You can't beat the original:
Random thoughts on a few other women:
Cora Jade is someone else whose name I've seen pop up a few times and she's feuded with Roxanne Perex. I think CM Punk has a thing for her too, but nothing I've seen from Jade has impressed me. She's a horrible actress, comes across as a poser, and had a brief Twitter battle with Darby Allin once that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I've seen some stuff from Arianna Grace recently that I've found entertaining (she's now hanging out with Chelsea Green of all people who is taking some time away from the main roster). She has this funny beauty queen gimmick and apparently doesn't like fighting
Another one to recently get my attention is The Bride from Kill Bill...I mean Karmen Petrovic...just because I like her gimmick. She seems to be a legit badass with a martial arts background too.
Indi Hartwell seemed like someone with a bright future, she's a former NXT women's champion, but it seems like ever since she hit the main roster she floundered. Also, Teagen Knox was a bright spot way back in Black and Gold NXT, so was Candice LeRae, but they've yet to really break out in any way on the main roster. Candice is one I'm a little surprised by, she's talented. She had a recent heel turn, I hope it amounts to something for her. Jesus, took a while to finish this post from when I started it
EDIT: Completely unrelated to the rest of this post but, Will Ospreay vs Orange Cassidy for the International title would have been a much bigger match than Ospreay vs. Roderick Strong
