Murphy’s Blog: WWE Evolution Predictions – Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship, Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus for the WWE Women’s Championship

One more prediction piece to round out a crazy wrestling weekend. WWE presents its Evolution event this evening from Atlanta, Georgia, at State Farm Arena. This show will feature all-female talent. On paper, it looks to be a good lineup. I’m hoping we see some talents start to step up because the women’s division has been a bit flat as of late. I feel like there are the champions, their top contenders of the month, and then everyone else. That said, NXT and Evolve have a nice pipeline of up-and-comers that could shake things up when they get to the main roster. I just think that needs to start happening sooner rather than later. Let’s run down the card!

Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship. I assume this match will close the show, and if that’s the case, it’s the right move. Ripley is the most over of the female talent, and it’s wise to spotlight Sky, who is also a crowd favorite who has been doing strong work since winning the title. The plan here is to make Sky look strong heading into SummerSlam, where I assume she’ll face Asuka (more on that later). My only concern is Ripley. I feel like she’s done all she can on the Raw brand and has been a bit directionless for a while. If there’s a draft in the short term, she would be my top pick to switch brands and go on a new title journey, which would give her some fresh match-ups.

Don Predicts: Iyo Sky retains the Women’s World Championship.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus for the WWE Women’s Championship. I’m not a fan of legacy stars walking and receiving title shots. Yes, I know it’s Trish, and I can listen to the argument that she’s beyond having to earn a shot, but still, I would have liked to have seen something to make this match make sense. WWE is trying to get Stratton over, and it just hasn’t happened at the level that they want it to. And to me, that’s never going to happen while she’s trying to be a babyface while talking like a heel. The Barbie act must go before the fans will take her seriously. In any event, it should be a fine match. I think we may get a Naomi tease here, but I don’t think we’ll see an actual cash-in.

Don Predicts: Tiffany Stratton retains the WWE Women’s Championship.

Jacy Jayne vs. Jordynne Grace for the NXT Women’s Championship. It’s unfortunate that they announced that the NXT Women’s Champion will meet the TNA Knockouts Champion next weekend at Slammiversary. It pretty much gives away that Grace will walk away with the title and go on to rekindle her rivalry with Masha Slamovich. They could always have Jayne retain, but she already met Slamovich in a standard TV match, so I don’t think they would go back to that on pay-per-view. Plus, they’ve done Grace vs. Slamovich in TNA many times, and while it will be a good match, I don’t know that it brings the same level of intrigue at this stage.

Don Predicts: Jordynne Grace wins the NXT Women’s Championship.

Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. “The Kabuki Warriors” Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Sol Ruca and Zaria in a four-way for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. I like that in the story, Adam Pearce is making Rodriguez and Perez prove themselves before just gifting them the titles. This is probably the most interested I’ve been in the women’s tag team scene. Rodriguez and Perez will be positioned as a top act while we wait for Liv Morgan to return from injury. That should be a fun program when it gets started. I’m also getting a kick out of the “partnership of convenience” between Flair and Bliss. Ruca is a sensational talent and is one of the potential standouts to shake up the women’s division when she joins the main roster. Zaria hasn’t figured it out yet, but I’m holding out hope. In the end, I think Sane takes the pin here, and we see Asuka turn heel on her as early as tomorrow to set up Asuka and Iyo Sky at SummerSlam.

Don Predicts: Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley in a Triple Threat for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship. This one could have been great. During the build, neither Bayley nor Valkyria has been positioned in a way where one is the clear babyface. They’ve both been on the annoying side to the point where the fans don’t know who to get behind. And while Lynch is the heel, she still gets a mix of cheers and boos. So I think the work will be there, but the fans will sit on their hands because the creative team hasn’t given them much to invest in.

Don Predicts: Becky Lynch retains the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship.

Jade Cargill vs. Naomi in a No Holds Barred match with Bianca Belair as special referee. So, I liked the addition of Belair to this match since both Cargill and Naomi have issues with her. Then I thought about it – if the match is No Holds Barred, what’s the point of a special referee? I suppose you can say Belair is there to make sure that things don’t get too out of hand, but still. Since Naomi is being primed to be the next WWE Women’s Champion, I think Cargill goes over here to set her up as a contender down the line. We’ll likely also get some more storyline development with Belair involving both Naomi and Cargill.

Don Predicts: Jade Cargill defeats Naomi.

A battle royal for a shot at a championship at the Clash in Paris event. The advertised entrants are Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile, Nia Jax, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Maxxine Dupri, Kelani Jordan, Jaida Parker, Lola Vice, Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, Tatum Paxley, Zelina Vega, Giulia, Candice LeRae, B-Fab, Michin, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Alba Fyre. This is the match to get everyone on the show, and I know initially, Nikki Bella was slated to face Liv Morgan before Morgan was injured. So, I’m not sure what the original plan was, but I think Bella is the logical choice in order to have a marquis name on the Paris show. That’s fine, and at least she’s not being gifted a title show. At the same time, this goes back to my issue with the women’s issue, that no one is relevant enough to make a compelling contender. You could make the case for either Vaquer or Giulia, but I feel like they’re still being established and not fully baked yet.

Don Predicts: Nikki Bella wins the battle royal.