Daily She-DT: Tessa Blanchard owns, Kiera Hogan is a star

Today’s Daily She-DT feature looks at Tessa Blanchard’s upcoming feud for the Knockouts Championship following an impressive TV victory, Pro Wrestling: EVE’s “Global Women Strike”, and an announced match at “WWR vs. The World”.

Let’s start with Tessa Blanchard, who faced Faby Apache to start last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling. Blanchard is the current Knockouts Championship, having defeated Su Yung for the title in a Triple Threat match at “ReDefined” (Blanchard’s Slammiversary rival Allie was also a part of the match).

Apache took exception to Blanchard’s superiority complex in the women’s locker room last week on Impact, so she took it upon herself to try and teach Tessa lesson about respect. I’m not so sure Tessa got the message, because she dispatched Apache in minutes.

While the veteran tested Blanchard, countering many of her moves early and hitting her with a huge near-fall, the current Phoenix of RISE Champion managed to buckle down to put Apache away. Apache kicked out of Tessa’s “Magnum” (a codebreaker off the top rope) move to the shock of many, and Blanchard was visibly distraught when the crowd started chanting for her opponent. But Blanchard used her Hammerlock DDT to swiftly bounce back, putting her stunned reaction to Apache’s kick-out behind her.

These two could have easily been given more time to work with, as the match was quite good. However, Blanchard’s relatively quick win over Apache was a welcome sight, because Blanchard is the present and future of Impact’s Knockouts Division. She’s one of wrestling’s biggest stars, and she has to win matches against veteran wrestlers from outside the company in fast-but-not-easy fashion.

This was the best result fans could have hoped for, especially since there are some who came into last night’s show wondering if Impact was doing enough for Tessa as a champion.

Judging by the fact that Taya Valkyrie called Tessa out after the match, it’s clear that Impact is serious about making Tessa’s reign a special one. As Taya noted to the crowd in Mexico, she is a two-time Reina de Reinas Champion (a title Apache has held for 244 days and counting!) in AAA, in addition to being one of Impact’s most decorated women’s wrestlers.

Taya vs. Tessa has feud of the year potential, and Taya’s brilliant backhanded compliment gave fans a taste of what’s to come. These two will put on a show at Bound For Glory for the Knockouts Championship, and the fact that Impact can put together a feud of this caliber just tells you how talented this Knockouts roster is.

In more Tessa Blanchard news, the Knockouts Champion will defend her PCW Ultra Championship against Priscilla Kelly on Oct. 26.

Mia Yim To Make NXT Live Event Debut

Mia Yim has officially signed with WWE after impressing fans and (presumably) executives for a second straight year in the Mae Young Classic. In 2017, Yim’s match with eventual NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler was one of the most well-received bouts of the tournament, and Yim has a chance to make some magic on the prestigious NXT roster.

This Saturday in Fort Pierce, Florida, Yim will make her official NXT Live Event debut, as per the NXT’s official Twitter account. Anyone able to attend is in for a treat, and everyone who has ever been to an NXT Live Event, particularly the ones in 2018, has raved about how awesome they are. Yim’s debut should make things extra special.

Kiera Hogan Is Impact’s Next Rising Star

Whenever I watch Kiera Hogan, I wonder when she’ll become a bigger part of Impact Wrestling, because she should be on TV weekly. She always looks a step above her peers in her tag matches, simply because you can FEEL the energy around the match improve whenever she tags in. Hogan brings electricity to these matches, and her wrestling ability has gotten to the point where she’s one of the better in-ring performers on the Impact roster.

Everything about her screams “star”, and Don Callis went out of his way to call her a future Knockouts Champion, which carries even more meaning since it was Hogan who pinned former Knockouts Champion Su Yung in the tag match. Hogan is going places, and it appears Impact quietly know what they have in her.

Kiera Hogan will face Su Yung on next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

Women of Wrestling (WOW) also know how big of a deal Hogan is, as she will be at their Oct. 10 and 11 tapings for AXS TV.

Pro Wrestling: EVE’s Global Women Strike

Once again, Pro Wrestling: EVE delivered with one of their shows, as yesterday’s “Global Women Strike” was a huge hit. So many fans on social media praised the show heavily, and EVE has a real knack for providing wrestling fans with several different types of matches.

I mean, we got to see Millie McKenzie do her thing, Viper and Kay Lee Ray team up in a match that featured a SICK Charlie Morgan plancha, Holidead make her debut in a hard match against the underrated Rhia O’Reilly, and an insane main event between Toni Storm and Meiko Satomura.

Seriously, if you have a chance, considering signing up for Pro Wrestling: EVE’s streaming service just for the main event (the replay of the show will be available tomorrow). Storm vs. Satomura was up there with any match they’ve put on this year, and that includes the “Match of the Year” candidate at Wrestle Queendom between Satomura and KLR.

Deonna Purrazzo Is Out To Avenge Karen Q

In the first round of the Mae Young Classic 2, Deonna Purrazzo defeated Priscilla Kelly to advance to the second round. She’s a serious threat to make it to the finals of the tournament, especially after scoring such an impressive victory to start things off.

Purrazzo’s second round opponent will be Xia Li, and Deonna has her eyes out for revenge. She wants “payback” for Li’s win over Karen Q in round one. While Purrazzo should be considered the heavy favorite here, I also picked against Li in her match with Karen Q. So we’ll see what’s in store for us in round two.

I also loved WWE.com’s write-up for Purrazzo on her profile page.

Huge Match At Women’s Wrestling Revolution Show

On Oct. 28, WWR Pro will present “WWR vs. The World” on the same day as WWE’s Evolution Pay Per View, and if you ask me, this card looks just as stacked, given that wrestlers like Jazz, Jazzy Gabbert, Jordynne Grace, Tessa Blanchard, and Karen Q are among those announced.

Last night, Women’s Wrestling Revolution also tweeted the first match officially set for the show: Tenille Dashwood vs. LuFisto.

These are two of the most respected wrestlers outside of WWE, with Dashwood having been a high-profile WWE Superstar before her surprising release. Dashwood’s impact on wrestling since leaving has been critical, but we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Her bout with LuFisto at WWR vs. The World has a chance to be one of her most important matches in her first year since leaving the company.

Tickets for the show go on sale today for between $20 and $50.

Quick Hits

• Total Divas does such a great job of giving a behind-the-scenes look at meaningful moments in a wrestler’s career, and the fallout from Paige’s retirement announcement has been must-see. Check out this video of Nia Jax giving Paige her support as one example.
• Momo Watanabe’s B-Driver to Mayu Iwatani on the outside is a move you have to watch!
• Scarlett Bordeaux’s announcement has me intrigued…