WrestleMania 34

SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair looks to break Asuka's undefeated streak on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Ronda Rousey seeks to punish Stephanie McMahon while teaming up with Kurt Angle against Triple H & Stephanie McMahon in a highly-anticipated Mixed Tag Team Match. After Alexa Bliss betrayed Nia Jax, the two former friends battle for Bliss' Raw Women's Championship.

## WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

The inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal was nearly Bayley’s moment. As she tossed her seemingly former friend, Sasha Banks, over the top rope and the WWE Universe erupted in cheers, it seemed The Huggable One had finally squeezed success. It was Naomi, however, who was left glowing on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Only one woman was left standing, but every competitor who entered this over-the-top rope melee — including Superstars from Raw, SmackDown LIVE and NXT — came to make history. And Carmella was the first to do it. Ms. Money in the Bank was attacked by virtually the entire field at the jump, and she became the first woman ever eliminated from the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.

Whether it was Kairi Sane’s dazzling InSane Elbow or Bianca Blair using her hair as a weapon that echoed throughout the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, it was clear that every single Superstar had come to show up and show out.

With alliances forming — particularly between NXT Superstars and within SmackDown LIVE’s Riott Squad — and the numbers dwindling, preexisting personal beefs began to rear their ugly heads. The long-simmering conflict between Bayley and Sasha came to a head on The Grandest Stage of Them All after the two teamed up to eliminate several Superstars, and Bayley got her just desserts for both Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber when she hurled Sasha over the top rope to the ground for what she believed to be the win.

However, as The Huggable One began to celebrate, she turned around to a major surprise when Naomi, who had been down on the outside for most of the contest, got back in the ring.

Bayley charged the former SmackDown Women’s Champion, but after feeling a Rearview from Naomi, the only hug Bayley needed was that of consoling, and Naomi threw the dazed Bayley over the top rope to win the first-ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal. A year after she won the SmackDown Women’s Title on The Grandest Stage of Them All, Naomi had again made history.

## SmackDown Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

After 267 wins over two and a half years, including an unmatched reign as NXT Women’s Champion, a rampage through the Raw roster, winning the Mixed Match Challenge and a historic victory in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match, The Empress of Tomorrow finally met her match in SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. The Queen handed Asuka her first loss, forcing The Empress of Tomorrow to tap out to the Figure-Eight Leglock at WrestleMania 34.

Both competitors exuded confidence as they stepped foot on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Clad in gold, Flair arrived on a throne befitting her position as sports-entertainment royalty, flanked by a fleet of gladiators that escorted the second-generation Superstar to the squared circle. The allusions to Charlotte’s own debut as part of Triple H’s WrestleMania 30 entrance in the same venue were not lost on anyone. Asuka, meanwhile, responded by strutting to the ring with the same swagger that helped her rack up win after win between the ropes.

The two competitors proved to be evenly matched in the opening moments of the bouts. Both competitors traded holds in an athletic display that left the WWE Universe in awe. After sending Flair crashing to the arena floor, The Empress of Tomorrow took control of the match, slowing it down as she wrenched on The Queen’s arm.

Charlotte battled back and had her challenger in position for her picture-perfect moonsault. However, Asuka was ready for Flair, catching the champion in a triangle hold as she landed. The challenger continued to zero in on Flair’s arm and shoulder, perhaps preparing to cinch in the devastating Asuka Lock.

The battle made its way to the ring apron, where The Empress of Tomorrow continued to punish the champion, taking Charlotte to the arena floor with a suplex. But despite Asuka’s grueling offense, The Queen persisted, turning a top rope struggle into a breathtaking Spanish Fly. The challenger did not let Flair’s spirit catch her off-guard, as she immediately locked on a series of vicious submissions before fighting off an attempted Figure-Eight Leglock.

But in the face of peril, The Queen persisted. Charlotte locked on the Figure-Eight, and in a moment that many in the WWE Universe never expected, Asuka tapped out.

As a rush of emotions overcame both competitors and the WWE Universe, The Empress of Tomorrow grabbed the microphone and made a simple proclamation: “Charlotte Flair was ready for Asuka!”

The two competitors embraced in the center of the ring, both knowing that the landscape of WWE’s women’s division had changed permanently. Now, Asuka must learn how to deal with her first defeat in WWE. And Charlotte, having defeated the previously undefeated, must continue to assert her dominance. Will anyone step up to try and dethrone The Queen as SmackDown Women’s Champion?

## Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H

Signing Ronda Rousey may have been great for business, but it did not pay dividends for Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34. The power couple who thought they could control the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion instead found themselves on the losing end of Rousey’s dreaded armbars — not to mention Kurt Angle’s Ankle Lock — in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34 that will be tough for The Authority to swallow no matter how boffo the box office.

Doubly tough, it turns out, because Triple H and Stephanie’s teamwork was second to none in the early goings of the match. Each time Angle began to roll against The Game, Stephanie would goad Ronda into near-interference that drew the ref’s eye, allowing The King of Kings to go dirty and reclaim the lead. As long as this chemistry remained intact, Rousey & Angle faced a long road, and sure enough, soon as The Game and his wife suffered the first miscommunication, Angle took advantage of the lull to tag in Rowdy Ronda.

Rousey, it turns out, is a natural in the ring. Not only did she go after Stephanie with near unbridled ferocity, she even turned Triple H himself into a human heavy bag during a stretch where Stephanie and Angle got taken out and The Game convinced the ref to allow the action to continue anyway.

Impressively, Stephanie managed to answer Rousey’s dreaded armbar each time she attempted to apply it, and her resilience paid off when The Game managed to throw Angle into his partner while The Olympic Gold Medalist was applying the Angle Lock on The King of Kings.

With their opponents down, the power couple attempted stereo Pedigrees on the two Olympians, but at this point, it was Angle and Rousey who were rolling with The Authority playing catchup. Angle tossed The Game over the top rope, Rousey maneuvered her way into armbar position once again and Stephanie’s pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. When the armbar was finally locked in, the Raw Commissioner tapped within seconds — although possibly too late to save her appendage — and The Baddest Woman on the Planet claimed her first win in WWE.

## RAW Women's Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax

There’s no better place for a Superstar to experience the sweet feeling of redemption than on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Nia Jax did exactly that when she crushed her tormentor, Alexa Bliss, to capture the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.

For Nia, this moment was a long time coming.

After a bitter betrayal by her former friend, in which Nia overheard Bliss decrying her weight and appearance, Jax used the hurtful experience to fuel her all the way to WrestleMania.

At The Show of Shows, Jax quickly got to work, slamming Bliss’ cheerleader Mickie James to the arena floor before the match even began, leaving her ineffectual on the sidelines.

With James out of the picture, The Irresistible Force got off to a quick start with a dominating offense. The champion was able to battle back, however, sending Jax reeling and crashing to the arena floor. Bliss capitalized with a soaring leap from the top rope and kept up her offense with a solid in-ring attack, punctuated by a series of verbal assaults.

Those hurtful words proved to be a huge mistake, however, as it only served to light a fire in Jax.

After slamming Bliss’ head into the turnbuckle, Nia followed it up with a brutal slam to the canvas. Then, she hoisted the champion onto her shoulders before delivering a resounding Samoan Drop from the second rope for the win.

The victory was a monumental accomplishment for Nia Jax, but, more than that, it was a win for anyone who has ever been bullied for feeling different.

## Results

* Naomi prevailed in the first-ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
* SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair def. Asuka
* Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey def. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
* Nia Jax def. Alexa Bliss to become the new Raw Women’s Champion