A bad, bad week for the women's division reached its nadir in a woeful segment featuring Rhea Ripley and her gang of babyfaces readying themselves for... peace?
The hook was clear from WWE's blocking of the segment - Mia Yim was about to be selected by the Aussie instead of the battered Dakota Kai after her kendo stick assault on the heels (and more on that in the Ups, at least). Knowing wasn't half the battle though - did any of these nerds even remember they were supposed to be going into one?
Ripley's motivation upto and including last week was to get her overdue and deserved shot against Shayna Baszler. This week, it appeared like she was using WarGames to assemble new group of mates. The fact that they were selected, off camera, by match graphic didn't help either.
This flushed much of the exceptional universe creation the brand had built in the run-up to the double cage spectacular, even if some of it is eventually rewarded in next week's Ladder Match between Yim and division Ace Io Shirai.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
