When IYO SKY challenge for Naomi’s WWE Women’s World Championship title was canceled, I was a little disappointed. Of course, I am wishing Naomi the best (I am already suffering from caution tape and neon yellow withdrawal), but come on. SKY is one of the best WWE performers on the roster right now, male or female, and Naomi is so effortlessly entertaining. There’s no way you couldn’t have been disappointed when that match was canceled.
There is, however, some silver lining. Lining feels like we’re understating it, though. SKY’s replacement, Roxanne Perez, gave her a hell of a fight, and their absolutely electrifying contest brightened up what was otherwise an incredibly dull “WWE Raw.”
Full disclosure: I have been a Perez truther, from day one. I loved her when she won the Breakout Tournament in “WWE NXT,” I loved her when she was the babyface who dethroned Mandy Rose, I loved her when she feuded with Cora Jade, and I loved her when she became the power-hungry and conniving heel that she is today. Perez is one of my favorite wrestlers, but even during tonight’s match, she really stood out to me. I know people harp on her young age, but you cannot deny just how much she has in the tank, even at the age. To stand toe-to-toe, go tit-for-tat, with SKY is no easy feat. To stand out amongst SKY’s death-defying Moonsaults, superb selling, and crowd-pleasing demeanor is a whole other accomplishment. Perez did both of those tonight, and if she can just get a compelling character to sink her teeth into, she will be a face-of-the-company, woman-in-the-history-books, bonafide star.
SKY and Perez’s match was easily Match of the Night. Their opening back and forth woke up the Quebec crowd, and early feats of athleticism, like SKY’s headstand, set the tone for the rest of the match. When I say that Perez went tit-for-tat, mug-for-mug, against SKY, I mean it. That match was deadlocked from the opening bell, which made every strike, every top-rope move, every trip to the outside much more impactful. Perez was the underdog, logically, but she did not fight like one. She was hot on SKY’s trail, hot breath trickling down “The Genius of the SKY’s” neck, for pretty much the entire match.
I don’t love a messy ending, especially in a show that saw so many of them up to (and even past) that point. However, the near-implosion of SKY and the Kabuki Warriors sets up for an interesting storyline for SKY, who is on her way out of the main title picture, and for Asuka and Kairi Sane, who have kind of been stuck in catering. It also gave Perez a much-needed win (even if it was via a fistful of tights), and what a win it was, getting one over the IYO SKY. If this is indicative of a Perez push, I am all for it.
Thoughts and prayers to Naomi, but wow. SKY vs. Perez was a sight to behold.
Written by Angeline Phu
