Let’s start at the beginning when four black females changed the landscape of black women wrestling forever. For our part, here at Women’s Wrestling Talk, we’ll be honoring black female wrestlers from the 1950s to now, for the next 28 days to commemorate Black History Month. To begin, there are Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo, Kathleen Wimbley, and Marva Scott, all of whom came to prominence during the heyday of women’s wrestling in the early twentieth century. Johnson is often regarded as the world’s first black female wrestler, with the other three women following closely after. In spite of the fact that all four of the ladies were great athletes, Johnson was the most naturally athletic and the most popular with the audience. Aside from that, she was a trailblazer in the application of the standing dropkick. In 1952, Johnson, Wingo, and Wimbley wrestled in a main event tag team match in Baltimore, where they established an all-time attendance record with 3,611 spectators, establishing an all-time record for wrestling in the city. They were drawing 9,000 people to the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City by 1954, when they shared the stage with Gorgeous George, one of the most renowned wrestlers of all time. Johnson and Wingo have crowned World Heavyweight Champions in 1956. Scott was rated third in the world by Ring Magazine in December 1968, ahead of then-NWA champion Moolah, who was placed fourteenth in the same issue. Both Johnson and Wingo would go on to challenge Burke for the NWA women’s title once. When it came to the women’s ring skills, even on a night that featured Hall of Famer Dory Funk Sr., the spotlight was always on the ladies. Even though they achieved great success and prosperity at a period when Jim Crow laws were still in effect, the sisters’ achievements and affluence during this period cannot be overstated, it is a little-known chapter in American history. Wrestling was a popular sport for women, even if they had to deal with the accepted prejudice of the period (in Lady Wrestler, Johnson writes about how vacations to southern states frequently entailed women hiding in the trunk while traveling with a white person), but they were still popular. In terms of their in-ring ability, Johnson, Wingo, Wimbley, and Scott were all light years ahead of their time in the ring. With the exception of a few stylistic peculiarities of the time period, the film that exists of them seems to be footage from a match from the 1980s or early 1990s in the United States. Johnson was a highly nimble fighter in the ring, delivering dropkicks, a variant of flying head scissors, and the atomic drop, which was hailed as a feat of athleticism by the press at the time. Many of the women’s wrestlers of the period used kip ups (which involve vaulting from one’s back to one’s feet in one motion) as part of their routine—a movement that Shawn Michaels would employ to great fanfare to build up his finishing move in the mid-90s, according to the WWE. Eventually, Ethel Johnson faced off against her mentor, Mildred Burke, for the NWA World Women’s Championship. Johnson won. Unfortunately, she was never able to win the championship or acquire the level of notoriety that she seems destined to accomplish. Despite this, she and her contemporaries set the path for a generation of African American women who followed in their footsteps. It’s a real pity that their story isn’t being told more widely at this point. They earned a name for themselves in the realm of professional wrestling at a time when there were few options for women of their caliber. #BabsWingo #EthelJohnson #KathleenWimbley #MarvaScott

Hosts Nickie Booshie & Leslie Colon discuss WWE’s RAW for the week of January 3rd, 2022 #AlexaBliss #BeckyLynch #CharlotteFlair #RondaRousey

Join hosts Nickie Booshie & Jamekia Goodman as thy recap WWE Royal Rumble #womenswrestling #womenswrestlingtalk #wrestlingblog #WWE

Turnbuckle Glam is a monthly live show that features our Looks of the Week for that month given by your favorite women in wrestling. Looks are broken down into four categories: Glam Special, Selfie Queen, Gear of the Week, and Gym Hotties! #prowrestling #womenswrestling #womenswrestlingtalk #wrestlingblog

The last week of the month and it’s Royal Rumble week! From hardcore country to royal glam, this week’s “Gear of the Week” category will be dedicated to the looks from the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble and all the bets are off! Gear of the Week Calling all show stoppers!! Looking good while putting on for the crowd starts with the ring! https://www.instagram.com/p/CZW4OZeruYu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZWBkFPoHMr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZVsNFrggx_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXEx_FuqaZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZWmCfsrmzl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXmIrSPrPw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZW0ladu5yo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZWD_9uOw-z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Photo Credits: Instagram @kimberlasskick Glam Special These looks are all about the glam! For the glamorous, to the flossy, glossy! https://www.instagram.com/p/CZUae8tFyDg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZM2AqZpbOI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZHvvzJrkCA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZUU-b3Olbm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Selfie Queens Serving looks while serving face, this category is all about the selfie game! https://www.instagram.com/p/CZSvrzFp92N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZSWhaDpf3I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPSo7Ll94A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZK3D_SPs5e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZJ9sDBLL7H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Gym Hotties Working out and looking good! Let’s stop and take a pic! https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPpXhjlLJl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPjjIpFOMw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CZHsFtZO3GS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link All of the looks from Week 4 and other looks in February will be discussed on February 26th, 12 pm CST/1 pm EST, on Turnbuckle Glam! The panel will include host Driune, Emily, Katrina, and myself! Stream Turnbuckle Glam Live on the last Saturday of every month, exclusively here on Women’s Wrestling Talk! #SashaBanks #Carmella #Ivory #ChelseaGreen #Melina #QueenZelina #BrittaniNikoleHoughtlen #kaylabraxton #JadeCargill #Tamina #RheaRipley #wendychoo #CharlotteFlair #deonnapurrazzo #Naomi #ZelinaVega #MickieJames #MichelleMcCool #RaquelGonzalez #TenilleDashwood #Cameron #KellyKelly #Natalya

2022 is a new year. With a new year comes new goals, new beginnings, and in the case of Wrestle Carnival , a new women’s championship. This week news broke that the recently founded promotion will be crowning their first women’s champion at their first event of 2022. The fledgling company out of Nottingham, England, will crown their inaugural, Queen of the Carnival, at their upcoming Carnival of Champions event. Wanting to put on a big show, Wrestle Carnival had reached deep into the UK wrestling scene and pulled out a star-studded list of competitors. The eight-women match is a who’s who of talent, including Rhio, Alex Windsor, Jetta, Mercedez Blaze, Chantal Jordan, former EVE Women’s Champions Charlie Morgan, and Lana Austin, and from my hometown, the Liverbird Lizzy Evo. Wrestle Carnival has declared the match a Gauntlet For the Gold in an added touch of showmanship. Two competitors will begin in the ring, with the other six entering at timed intervals. Eliminations follow the standard battle royal rules of over the top rope eliminations. Once the ring has been cleared of all but two competitors, the match becomes a traditional 3-count fall match that can be won by pinfall or submission. With the UK indie wrestling scene slowly creeping back to life after a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus. It is good to see that things are slowly returning towards some level of normality. The Carnival of Champions takes place at the Portland Centre in Nottingham this coming Sunday, January 30th. #indiewrestling #womenswrestling #womenswrestlingtalk #WrestleCarnival

#womenswrestling #wrestling #wrestlingblog #wrestlingpodcast

As Knockouts World Champion, Mickie James gears up for the Royal Rumble, she gave her state of address to the Knockouts division. With no surprise, there were a few Knockouts that had closed ears to the message and took matters into their own hands. It is safe to say that The Virtuosa, Deonna Purrazzo, led that pack quite well. James began to recognize each champion that was centered around the ring, landing Purrazzo at the last spot. “Regardless of our personal issues, quite frankly, you might be the worst human I’ve ever shared the ring with. You are still without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greatest women I’ve ever stood in the ring across from.” James went on to rank Gail Kim as the number one Knockouts Champion of all time, herself as the second, and Purrazzo as the third. Of course, that did not sit too well with the current champ. Photo Credit: IMPACT Wrestling Staff Purrazzo made it very clear that this state of address was an absolute waste of time for her, the other Knockouts, and every single person in the building. With all due respect, one thing we know about The Virtuosa, she will not grace her presence for long. As she left, James continued on with her address and was joined in the ring with Chelsea Green. Green ensured that James would go on to win the Royal Rumble and asked her to be the first at the title. Well, that came with a prize. Before James could clearly answer, the first-ever Knockouts Ulitmate X winner, Tasha Steelz interrupted and entered the ring. “Hey Chelsea, guess what, nobody cares what you want. Let me inform you of something real quick I didn’t beat you not once but I beat you twice. So as far as I’m concerned, you are officially a non-factor to Tasha Steelz.” .@MickieJames was about to tell @ImChelseaGreen she had the first title shot after #RoyalRumble but number one contender @RealTSteelz wasn't going to sit back and let it happen…"Okurrr"! #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/LmAfOuMKA8 — IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 28, 2022 Being their second encounter, a tag team match for all of these women seems to be coming next week or in the near future. Yet, no matter what happens at the Royal Rumble tomorrow, one thing is for sure: Mickie James and Tasha Steelz will go one on one for the Knockouts World Championship at No Surrender on February 19th! Digital Media Champion, Jordynne Grace, defended her title against former Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, Kiera Hogan, in this week’s digital exclusive match. After her successful retain, Grace met with Gia Miller to officially accept Matt Cardona as her next challenge. The powerhouses will face off next week in the Impact Zone as the Digital Media Championship is on the line! .@JordynneGrace has accepted @TheMattCardona's challenge for the IMPACT Digital Media Championship!#IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/KwuiXeTOTy — IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 28, 2022 As Tenille Dashwood remained out of action, Kaleb with a K tried to help his friend, Madison Rayne outsmart the competition. Before the match, Rayne expressed to Kaleb the object of the match and to pay close attention to The IInspiration. Unfortunately, her plan went into shambles once Kaleb lost the match for his team. Will Dashwood and Rayne finally get their chance at The IInspiration and become champs? It seems that time may be running out. Photo Credit: IMPACT Wrestling Staff As the invasion turns to settle, Maria Kanellis made it clear that Honor No More are here to stay! EVP of IMPACT Wrestling, Scott D’amore, had a few things to say about that and Kanellis did not hold back to respond. “Let me ask you a question. Why should I play by your rules?” Well, D’amore wasted no time answering that question while giving Kanellis and the rest of Honor No More the opportunity they have all been waiting for. Honor No More will face off against Team IMPACT! at No Surrender and if they lose, they must leave the IMPACT Zone for good! Photo Credits: IMPACT Wrestling Staff Big shoutout to Gail Kim for stepping into the interactions with us. Looks like she has no problem giving the IMPACT Zone exactly what they need. I only gave @The_Ace_Austin what he wanted! #IMPACTonAXSTV https://t.co/XV3aESf8nv — Gail Kim-Irvine (@gailkimITSME) January 28, 2022 Be sure to catch out #IMPACTRecap every Friday exclusively here on Women’s Wrestling Talk! #LadyFrost #JordynneGrace #MariaKanellis #ChelseaGreen #SavannahEvans #ImpactWrestling #deonnapurrazzo #GailKim #JessicaMcKay #MadisonRayne #TashaSteelz #MickieJames #Rosemary #CassieLee

Taya Valkyrie posed the question on social media ‘Why do people talk about age like it’s a negative?” Women in the entertainment sector often have a limited shelf life. In the wrestling business, there isn’t much of a distinction. We’ve seen many women ascend through the ranks of promotions, only to feel as if they have to do everything in five years or they’ll be viewed as the senior in the class who hasn’t graduated and is overstaying their welcome. For these ladies, the countdown begins at the age of 29. When they still have a lot left in the tank, they are frequently recommended that they should consider shifting to commentary or becoming a trainer. Dawn Marie, for example, was dismissed in the mid-2000s because her figure altered after she had a kid. Her function as an attractive face was no longer desirable. Meanwhile, at the same time, we’d see full segments devoted to male wrestlers who have become family men and now wrestle for their children, and how that pushes them to be the best at what they do. Mickie James was dismissed and badly underused barely a year ago since she was no longer in her twenties. She still had fantasy matches with the younger talent in mind, but WWE made it plain that they only wanted her to move on to commentary. Mercedes Martinez was similarly underutilized in NXT, most likely owing to her inability to fit into this eye candy position and her age, which is not acceptable in the newly branded NXT 2.0 era. She was a standout in the Mae Young Classic, and fans finally got what they wanted when she joined NXT following a 20-year trip to WWE. So, what do they do now? They fired her immediately after she began appearing on the show. During her second stint in WWE, Maria Kanellis was underutilized. Her extremely current narrative proposals of having her spouse adopt her name and being the only expectant mother actively holding a title weren’t structured in a way that could build up Maria as a veteran in the locker room and demonstrate how much progress she has had as a performer and as a woman. She could have demonstrated that, even as a pregnant woman, she could utilize her abilities to maintain her position at the top of the food chain. This could have been brilliantly executed. The maturation of these women’s personalities into mature ladies with a greater awareness of their jobs and ring psychology isn’t truly depicted in narratives. Men like Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H have all had triumphant comebacks. The fans chew it up and are excited to see who that wrestler will meet next and what the next chapter has in store for them. Jacqueline Wrestlers like Madusa, Jazz, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, and others should be called in to have dream bouts at Wrestlemania and confront the next generation of female superstars to offer their approval. As we’ve seen with Hogan versus The Rock or Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels. That would demonstrate respect for these female icons, that they have made such an effect on the industry that their ‘putting over’ the next great thing in wrestling is required and recognized. With this topic growing more significant and accepted over the last year, perhaps we will see some adjustments to the usual. Women who are more experienced in the industry are starting promotions, becoming bookers, agents, and producers. This could be the tipping point that women need to become major players in the industry and end age discrimination. To keep the conversation going, use the hashtag #Ageism.

Last week’s AEW Dynamite 1/19 and Rampage 1/21 episodes were taped in The Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington D.C., which also hosted the first-ever edition of dynamite on 10/1/19. The episode would begin with a mixed tag team battle between Britt Baker D.M.D. and Adam Cole and the galaxy’s greatest aliens Kris Statlander and “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy. Cole and Baker won the match, but not before Cassidy sent Baker over a table. Cole and Baker had set up a table at ringside, but before they could throw Cassidy through it, he collided with Baker, who had sent her through it instead. The fight would also contain some memorable moments, like when Britt delivered a Canadian Destroyer to Statlander on the arena walkway. There was an interview with TBS champion Jade Cargill and Anna Jay. The only issue with this section was that it was not shown to the audience in Washington, D.C., so we had no idea what happened. However, Dynamite only had four ladies, but Dark Elevation included ten. The matches that took place on Dark were: Legit Layla Hirsch Vs Brittany Blake During the game Between Hirsch and Blake, the fans were overwhelmingly supportive of the newcomer Brittany Blake throughout the match. She would show some offense against Hirsch, but it wasn’t enough as Hirsch won by kicking Brittany in the ribs when she was completing a springboard crossbody. Brandi Rhodes Vs. Willow Nightingale Brandi was booed out of the Entertainment and Sports stadium that night since the crowd was not into her at all throughout the contest. Willow was able to lock in a unique octopus submission hold and gain some offense on Brandi, but it wasn’t enough as the “CBO” forced Willow to tap out for the victory, Brandi “Jealously IS NOT the greatest form of flattery.” Red Velvet Vs. Janai Kai In my honest opinion, this was one of Red Velvet’s greatest matches on a Dark or Elevation. Kai was attempting to outdo Red Velvet in her hometown of Washington, D.C. Kai had some success on the offensive end, but Red Velvet was able to strike “Just Desserts” on Kai to take the game. “The Runaway” Ruby Soho & Thunder Rosa vs Jordan Blade and “The Librarian” Leva Bates This was a lot of fun, and the crowd in Washington, DC was very into it throughout this match for these four girls. It was great to see Leva back in the ring as her librarian persona; she was entertaining, to say the least as she interacted with the audience. During this bout, Ruby and Thunder had the audience on the edge of their seats. Thunder Rosa and Soho would win after Rosa forced Blade to tap out. Rampage Jade Cargill vs “99” Anna Jay – TBS Championship All I have to say about this battle is that it was the MAIN EVENT!! I was surprised that AEW would give these two ladies the main event place on Rampage, given that their awful scheduling of the women had elicited a negative reaction from fans and reviewers. However, these two ladies deserved to be the main event and demonstrated why AEW should prioritize its women more and include more than one women’s match on their broadcast. Anna Jay and Jade would put on the best match of the night, with the fans chanting “Let’s go Anna, Let’s go Jade” throughout. Jade would defeat Anna Jay with “Jaded” to maintain her TBS title and go on to go undefeated for almost 250 days. One thing I will say is, who will stop Jade? #AEW