Pros and Cons: State of WWE's Women's Division Entering SummerSlam

Well, wrestling fans, we are closing on WWE's summer classic, SummerSlam. This year is the 39th annual event, meaning that next year will see SummerSlam turn the big 4-0. It's also the second straight SummerSlam to serve as a two-night event, and it will emanate from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis--the home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. A dozen matches will be on the SummerSlam card, six on each day, and before Raw kicked off, we find out which matches will take place on which night.

Of the 12 matches, three of them are women's matches. This includes the first of the 12 matches to become official: reigning Queen of the Ring Iyo Sky challenging Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship. Regarding the WWE Women's Championship, an interim champion will be crowned in a five-woman ladder match due to the current linear champion, Rhea Ripley, being injured. The most recent of the three matches was made on Friday's SmackDown, as Nikki Bella returned and challenged Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne and newly crowned Women's Tag Team Champions Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley) to a three-on-three match against herself, Brie Bella, and Paige.

But that's part of what I want to discuss. There have been some good attributes and some bad ones, and I want to look at those bit by bit. So let's get this started:

Pro: The "Interim" Option is the Right Move

I said this before, and I'll say it again: the "interim" route is better than vacating a title. I have never liked it when a title is vacated, because when said former champion returns, they have that whole "I never lost the title" claim--a legit claim. At least with an interim champion, the title stays intact, and we get an "undisputed championship" angle when Rhea returns. What really bothers me is people are trying to say that WWE favors Rhea and that's why the title's not vacant. The title's not vacant because by the time WWE finally got the full details regarding the extent of Rhea's injury, it was pretty close to SummerSlam.

The news of Rhea's injury first broke just days after Clash in Italy almost two months ago. If the details were known then, then WWE would have easily vacated the title. But things were odd. We didn't know what exactly the injury was, or the extent. That takes time. You have to be patient. As for the match itself, Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill were the first to qualify on July 17, and a week later, Chelsea Green qualified by defeating Kiana James, and Charlotte Flair qualified by beating Nia Jax via DQ when Jade interfered. Regarding the last spot, it will be Giulia and Lash Legend battling for that last spot on this week's SmackDown. The five-woman ladder match will take place on Night 2 on August 2.

Con: A Glamorous Title Match Cancelled

While the Interim WWE Women's Championship match does look good, having the reigning Women's United States Champion in it isn't ideal. We are closing in on two years since midcard titles were introduced in the Women's Division, and while the Women's Intercontinental Championship has had the spotlight quite a bit, the same cannot be said for the Women's US Title. The first time the Women's US Title received the PLE spotlight was this year's Night of Champions... in Saudi Arabia.

The story is that we were supposed to get a title match between Tiffany Stratton and Blake Monroe, which would have been good since both have "glamorous" gimmicks. Rhea's injury changed that, and they had Tiffany win her way to the ladder match. So yeah, the WUS title gets removed from the PLE spotlight once again.

Pro: Nikki Bella's Back in Action

I figured Nikki Bella would be back around this time; I read that they had some plans for Nikki leading to SummerSlam. I actually was silly enough to think that they'd put her in the ladder match, but this is much better. So Nikki and her sisters--twin sister Brie and sister-in-arms Paige--will be in action against Fatal Influence at the Night 1 of the event on August 1. So that's at SummerSlam, but what will happen beyond that. I read one theory that the Bellas may turn on Paige. That would break my heart, but it would make sense. An idea I just had: maybe they all turn heel together. It would be delicious, but the Bellas turning heel would make more sense, because we'd probably see AJ Lee pop back up and team with Paige against the evil Bellas at some point. But let's take this one day at a time.

Con: Evil Maxxine Will Manage, but Not Wrestle

I was afraid of this. I was afraid that literally the only thing I'd love about Maxxine Dupri turning heel was how fabulous she looked as a villainess. Now, you know--you know--I love a sexy villainess as much as anyone. However, I have to turn that part of me off for this, and that's hard because it's a loud part of me, and I must focus on the overall here. As someone who loves wicked villainesses, the evil Maxxine has pleased me so very much. But as a women's wrestling fan who loves depth and builds, what I'm about to add pisses me off.

It's bad enough that Maxxine's part of a faction she doesn't need. Recently, I read that from this point on, Maxxine will be a manager only, and they won't put her in the ring. Are you fucking serious?! This is the same woman who not only held the Women's IC Championship, she took the title from, of all women, Becky Lynch! Yet you're going to turn Maxxine from a talented upstart who got a huge rub, to a ringside asset?! That's absolutely insulting!

Pro: Raquel's 1st Main Roster Singles Title

Speaking of the WIC Title, it has a new holder. Raquel Rodriguez received a second shot at the title a few weeks after she came up short against Sol Ruca, but this time, fellow Judgment Day members Roxanne Perez and Liv Morgan provided the assists to make sure Raquel walked out as champion. Hard to believe that Raquel's been in WWE for a decade now, and she's been on the main roster since 2022, but this is her first main roster singles title of her career. Raquel is a former six-time Women's Tag Team Champion, which is the most in that title's history.

Speaking of six, Raquel is the sixth Women's Intercontinental Champion in the title's short history, joining the list that includes Becky Lynch, Sol Ruca, AJ Lee, Maxxine Dupri, and Lyra Valkyria.

Con: It Should Have Been Lyra

I just mentioned Lyra Valkyria; while I am happy for Raquel for finally getting main roster singles gold, I was really expecting Psycho Lyra to be the one who dethrones Sol, most likely at SummerSlam. An exclusive segment on last week's Raw (only available to international Netflix viewers who don't have commercials) actually showed Lyra confronting Sol, and that led me to believe that we'd see Lyra go after the title she was the first to hold.

This would have been a good SummerSlam match, but thanks to Raquel getting the belt, it's not happening. This will add to the already growing frustration from Lyra diehards who are saying that Lyra's being buried. She's not. Fans seem to misuse that word, "buried." They only use it when their favorites aren't in title contention, and yes, I'm guilty of that, as well. Evil Lyra's time will come, count on it.

Pro: SmackDown Becoming Vice City

Another thing I saw coming: Lola Vice is getting called up! This is why she lost the NXT Women's Championship to Kendal Grey, and she and Mr. Iguana dropped the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship recently. Regarding the NXT title, we will see a rematch, with Lola challenging Kendal to an Underground Match. It's perfect. Lola's never lost those, but that will change. This will see Lola pass that torch to Kendal, and while Kendal rules NXT, Lola will be off the the blue brand. Yep, she'll be on SmackDown.

Con: Ivy? Jordynne? Where Are You?!

Why are two of WWE's strongest petite powerhouses not on TV?! Where the hell are Ivy Nile and Jordynne Grace?! It has driven me up the wall how WWE has continued to misuse Jordynne Grace, and they're doing the same to Ivy Nile as well. My original idea was putting Maxxine and Ivy back together, but this time as heels, but that didn't happen. Regarding Jordynne, with Blake Monroe on SD, I figured that Jordynne could become her evil henchwoman. Nope. Here's an idea that entered my mind just now. Jordynne turns heel, aligns with Ivy, but it's revealed that they have a leader. The unveiled villainess leading the pair: none other than Lola Vice. Oh baby!

Can you imagine that?! Lola Vice as a villainess leading a violent faction consisting of Ivy Nile and Jordynne Grace? That would be so delicious! They would be tough, monstrous, and brutal. They would be what Pure Fusion Collective could have been. But they won't do it. It's too imaginative for Creative. I'm reminded of a line from Garfield and Friends where Roy Rooster said that the Network only understood nursery rhymes. That still makes them smarter than WWE Creative.

Pro: At Least Queen of the Ring Means Something

While the road to crowning this year's Queen of the Ring was messy and full of holes, at least the reigning Queen will get her shot. Iyo Sky defeated Liv Morgan in the Finals of the tournament to win the crown, and now, the rematch for Liv's title will happen on Night 1 of SummerSlam on August 1. So yeah, with the reigning King not even getting a shot at either of the two World Titles, at least we will see Queen Iyo challenge for the title, just as it's supposed to be.

Speaking of the title and its holder:

Con: One Hundred Days, Zero Defenses

Liv Morgan has reached 100 days as Women's World Champion, but the number of defenses matches the number of Super Bowls won by the Vikings: zero. Though at least Liv's number will change on August 1, as this will be her very first title defense since winning the belt at WrestleMania! And it may be her only defense during this reign, because remember: she's still cursed by Danhausen. And that curse could come in the form of a returning Stephanie Vaquer, who we have not seen since a week or two after WrestleMania. So yeah, I'm banking on new Women's World Champion being crowned at SummerSlam.

The booking of WWE's Women's Division has been a mess for a long time, but SummerSlam is upon us. Despite it all, I'm excited for the two-night event, and I can't wait to see what develops at SummerSlam and after the event as well!