Madison Rayne Signs With Women Of Honor, Sign Of Big Plans For Division?

Madison Rayne is one of the most decorated wrestlers on the planet, and she had a stretch where she fought in a Knockouts Championship match at Slammiversary, a Women of Honor title match against Sumie Sakai, and a match against Mercedes Martinez in the Mae Young Classic 2. She has officially signed with Women of Honor, having already worked several dates with ROH in the past.

Few wrestlers are as smooth inside the squared circle as Madison Rayne, whose graceful suplexes, pinning combinations, and Rayne Drop have dazzled audiences for years. Rayne competed for ROH in their “Survival of the Fittest” event and inaugural “Women of Honor Championship Tournament”, but she was never officially signed to the promotion.

That has changed this week, as Women of Honor officially announced that Rayne will be a part of their division going forward. It was Rayne, however, who first broke the news on “The Taz Show”, but it took a few hours for the word to truly make the rounds.

Rayne herself tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/MadisonRayne/status/1042547386910945280

Last month, Rayne told TVInsider.com’s Scott Fishman that her goal was “100-percent” to sign with WWE after appearing in the Mae Young Classic 2. Instead of joining WWE or Impact Wrestling, where she shined during her Slammiversary feud for the Knockouts Championship against “The Undead Bride” Su Yung, she will become a cornerstone of ROH’s Women of Honor division.

The Women of Honor division didn’t start to heat up until last December when the WOH Championship Tournament was announced. Sakai was the inaugural winner and remains the champion to this day, but Rayne’s signing, combined with the fact that the two already had a title match at a TV taping this summer, could foreshadow a change at the top.

Although WOH lost Deonna Purrazzo, one of the world’s finest technical wrestlers, to WWE this year, they still have several of the biggest names in women’s wrestling. Former WWE standout Tenille Dashwood remains their biggest name, Mae Young Classic 2 participant Karen Q is as underrated as they come, Kelly Klein is “pretty bad-ass”, champion Sakai is a true professional in this business, and Rayne has an incredibly impressive resume.

This is a huge addition for ROH, and the significance of this signing shouldn’t be lost on fans hoping that the Women of Honor are featured more frequently on ROH TV and Pay Per Views. The demand for women’s wrestling has risen exponentially, especially when it comes to the fanbase outside WWE.

Rayne’s Four-Way match at “All In” with Britt Baker, Chelsea Green, and Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard was one of the most well-received matches on the highly successful show. I’m sure ROH took notice, and I’m excited to see how they build this division around the likes of Rayne, Dashwood, and Sakai.