Willow Nightingale relinquishes the TBS Championship. Tatum Paxley retains the NXT Women’s North American Title. WWE prepares for Saturday Night’s Main Event and more!
Willow Nightingale vacates TBS Title
Willow Nightingale’s reign as AEW TBS Champion has come to an end after an untimely injury.
Just days before she was slated to face NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Alex Windsor at AEW Double or Nothing, Nightingale revealed that she had sustained a shoulder injury. As a result, AEW has pulled her from her upcoming match, a first-round one in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Moreover, Nightingale vacated her TBS Championship, which she reclaimed last December by defeating “The CEO” Mercedes Mone.
Nightingale delivered the unfortunate news in a backstage segment on this week’s three-hour AEW Dynamite and Collision special.
“Winning this back from Mercedes, I knew that if I could do that, that I would prove to myself, I could prove to the world that I’m everything I believed I could be, which is why I told myself I would fight day in, day out, to any challenger that stepped up. And if I couldn’t do that, then I “didn’t deserve to be the champion,” Nightingale said. “As fate would have it, in my most recent title defense against Red Velvet, I injured my right shoulder.
“I want so bad to wrestle at Double or Nothing in front of my family at home in New York against Alex Windsor. I want to go on in the Owen and go to All In and become the AEW world champ. But unfortunately. I have to withdraw from the Owen Hart Cup. Furthermore, I must relinquish the TBS Championship. Now, it’s been an honor and a privilege to hold this championship. And after ten successful title defenses, I am overjoyed to have been the face of TBS. But as sure as this smile remains on my face, I will be back. I don’t know when, but I’ll tell you this. I’m coming right back to the top.”
With Nightingale unable to wrestle, Windsor will now take on a mystery wild card in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament at a late date. Additionally, Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa is set for Double or Nothing in their place.
Elsewhere at DON, Thekla will defend the AEW Women’s World Championship in a four-way against Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter, and Hikaru Shida. Double or Nothing will emanate from Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York on May 24.
RELATED: Willow Nightingale Thanks AEW Star For Believing She Was Worth TV Time
Tatum Paxley Retains NXT NA Title
Wanting to give back to those who deserved it, NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley granted Lizzy Rain a title shot on this week’s episode of WWE NXT.
In the final moments, Rain delivered a flying headbutt that sent Paxley to the outside floor. When they returned to the ring, however, Paxley seemingly recovered as she dodged a roundhouse kick from Rain. Rain caught Paxley’s own kick attempt that followed, leading the two to then trade pinfall attempts. Paxley eventually gained the upper hand by getting herself and Rain back to a vertical base, after which she hit the Cemetery Drive for the match-winning pinfall.
Paxley’s post-match celebration was abruptly cut off when Zaria charged in with a double spear to her and Rain. The red-headed Aussie then continued the attack with a pair of F5s, making her NXT NA title aspirations very clear. Whether Zaria’s actions will result in an official title match against Paxley has yet to be seen.
Next week, NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice will defend her title against Izzi Dame, with Kelani Jordan and Kendal Grey waiting in the wings for their own respective title shots.
RELATED: Nikki Blackheart’s New WWE Name Is a Tribute to Her Late Mother
WWE SNME Preview
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event will return on May 23, with three women’s division matchups on the card.
Firstly, Paige and Brie Bella will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against the former titleholders Lash Legend and Nia Jax. Paige and Brie captured the titles last month in a fatal-four-way bout last month that also featured Legend and Jax, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Now, Jax and Legend, together known as the Irresistible Forces, will receive their official rematch.
Elsewhere, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch will face Sol Ruca in non-title action. Weeks ago, Lynch interrupted Ruca’s Raw contract signing. Ever since, the fresh call-up has been craving an opportunity to shut Lynch, the main roster veteran, down. Should Ruca defeat Lynch at SNME, a proper title match may be in order shortly afterward.
Finally, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will team with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss to battle Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab. At WrestleMania 42, Ripley unseated Cargill as champion. Still, their feud continued, with Ripley eventually finding allies in Bliss and Flair to even the odds.
Saturday Night’s Main Event will take WWE to Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
RELATED: Rhea Ripley Explains Why She Won’t Change This Part of Her WWE In-Ring Look
INTERVIEWS
WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella appeared on the Battleground Podcast to discuss a possible Total Divas/Total Bellas comeback, Paige stepping in at WrestleMania after Nikki’s injury, Danhausen’s hilarious “Bella Clones” bit, WWE’s women’s evolution, the Bella Army, and Bonita Bonita wine, and more.
Former WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria talked with No Holds Barred about her journey from Irish wrestling roots to WWE stardom, her creative character development inspired by Irish mythology, the Lodestone seminars run by her tag team partner Bayley, her love for Canadian rock band Nickelback, and more.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena spoke with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful to talk about Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor, the strongest woman she’s been in the ring with, who has hit her the hardest, her lengthy run as champion, the story behind her O-Face finisher, and more.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair joined TMZ’s Inside The Ring to talk about her iconic rivalry with Becky Lynch ahead of her new A&E Rivals, chasing John Cena and Ric Flair’s championship record, mentoring WWE’s next generation, why Logan Paul and Bad Bunny have impressed her inside the ring. growing up as Ric Flair’s daughter, lessons that shaped her career, and more.
Former WWE Women’s Champion Layla El chatted with Sportshadow Wrestling about her previous relationship with Cody Rhodes, working with Vickie Guerrero and Michelle McCool, Paige’s return to WWE, her current life and plans, what it would talk for her to return to WWE, Vince McMahon’s involvement and early learnings from Extreme Expose, and more.
