AEW begins the hunt to crown a new TBS Champion. Nikkita Lyons captures the WWE Women’s EVOLVE Championship. Nattie will return to NWA, and more.
TBS Title Qualifiers
With Willow Nightingale forced to vacate the TBS Championship due to injury, All Elite Wrestling is now a quest to determine its next holder. So far, five women have qualified for the upcoming crowning bout.
In the first of six qualifying matches, Hikaru Shida defeated Zayda Steel, with Persephone following shortly after by beating The Triangle of Madness’ Julia Hart. Former TBS Champion Kris Statlander joined the ranks when she pinned Mina Shirakawa on last week’s episode of AEW Collision.
On Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Harley Cameron and Queen Aminata secured their respective spots. Cameron solidified hers by reversing a rear naked sleeper hold into a roll-up on Marina Shafir. Aminata cemented hers with a headbutt and big boot to the face of Red Velvet.
The final contender will either be AEW’s Skye Blue or STARDOM’S Maika, who will clash with each other on the Forbidden Door Buy-In on June 28.
The six qualifying match winners will meet in the ring for a Survival of the Fittest match on the July 1 edition of Dynamite, where the winner will become the new TBS Champion. Of the competitors, Statlander is the only one with a previous TBS Title run.
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Nikkita Lyons Claims EVOLVE Title
Wendy Choo’s reign as WWE Women’s EVOLVE Champion has come to an end.
Choo claimed the title on the April 15 edition of WWE EVOLVE by defeating Kali Armstrong, Karmen Petrovic, Laynie Luck, Nikkita Lyons, PJ Vasa, Sloane Jacobs and Tyra Mae Steele in an eliminator gauntlet match. This week, Choo tackled her third title defense.
In this case, Choo put the title on the line against Nikkita Lyons on EVOLVE: Succession, with Sloane Jacobs in Lyons’ corner. Jacobs later inserted herself into the match when Choo trapped Lyons in a chokehold.
Behind the referee’s back, Jacobs placed Choo’s title belt on the ring apron. Jacobs herself then hopped on another apron to distract the referee and prevent her from seeing Lyons tap out. Out of nowhere, Laynie Luck rushed down to neutralize Jacobs on the outside. Back in the ring, Choo and Lyons resumed the in-ring action, with the latter attempting to hit Choo with the title belt. Choo ducked, after which the referee moved the title belt out of the way. In the same moment, Lyons successfully struck Choo with a crystal and a spinning kick for the win.
Lyons’ victory marks her first reign as WWE Women’s EVOLVE Champion and her first overall under the WWE banner.
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Nattie Set To Return To NWA
Last year, WWE star Natalya marked her National Wrestling Alliance debut as “Nattie,” a more aggressive, shoot-style alter ego. This year, Nattie will return for round two, this time at NWA 78, coming to Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena on July 25.
NWA broke the news on Thursday morning with a graphic advertising “Nattie Neidhart” to appear at the show. As of this writing, Nattie’s opponent for NWA 78 is unclear, though based on other talent announcements, potential opponents include Natalia Markova, NWA World Women’s Champion Tiffany Nieves, Ms. Starr, and Gretta.
In 2025, Nattie challenged Kenzie Paige for the NWA World Women’s Championship at the Crockett Cup, with Kenzie retaining. A year later, Kenzie and her sister, Kylie, now reign as the NWA Women’s World Tag Team Champions.
Kenzie and Kylie, together known as Pretty Empowered, claimed the titles on the June 13 episode of NWA Powerrr. The sisters battled in a three-way bout also involving the defending champions, The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle), and “Hollyhood” Haley J and Clara Carter. Kylie picked up the win for her team by pinning Carter.
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INTERVIEWS
Former TNA Knockouts Champion Allie joined Rewind Recap Relive to talk about her decision to re-sign with TNA, her recent return to the company in the Undead Realm, her love for horror, being able to work with Rosemary, winning the Knockouts world title from Chelsea Green, why she and Rosemary are going to capture the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary and more.
WWE NXT star Kendal Grey chatted with TMZ’s Inside The Ring about her upcoming NXT Women’s Championship match against Lola Vice, being compared to WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, her journey from collegiate wrestling standout to one of WWE’s fastest-rising stars, her breakout performance in the Iron Survivor Challenge, dream matches against Liv Morgan and Jaida Parker, and more.
Former WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill spoke with No-Contest Wrestling about her recent wig incident on SmackDown, current Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton, their upcoming title match at Night of Champions, her potential bar fight crew, her dream WrestleMania opponents, and more.
WWE star Natalya appeared on The A2theK Wrestling Show to discuss her WWE Championship goals, working with Jaida Parker, reinventing herself from Natalya to Nattie, her new memoir The Last Hart Beating, her book signing at Forbidden Planet London ahead of RAW & SmackDown in the UK, growing up in the legendary Hart family, why British wrestling still means so much to her today, working with Shawn Michaels in NXT, and more.
TNA Knockout Elayna Black spoke with Jimmy V3 about her goal of winning the Knockouts World Championship, the upcoming Slammiversary event, returning to her hometown of Chicago for TNA Lockdown, dropping out of high school to become a pro wrestler, feeling like that decision was worth it, and more.
Former WWE Divas Champion Layla sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss why she has returned to wrestling conventions after being away for so long, why she left WWE in 2015, if she is open to one more match, how winning the Diva Search started her WWE journey, being paired with Michelle McCool, how CM Punk came up with the name Lay-Cool, becoming a mom and more.
