This past week left us with plenty to talk about here in the Wonderful World of Wrestling. Elimination Chamber qualifiers and budding rivalries as the Road to Wrestlemania heats up, more masked men and a shocking title change. Here at Justarasslefanpage, we like to keep you up-to-date on only the most can’t-miss action happening in the squared circle today. Which is why our top story is about ZaRuca.
Ok, maybe not the most earth-shattering thing to most people, but to me it is, so here we are. A ZaRuca breakup has been teased since Stand and Deliver last year, and in recent weeks, NXT had fans of the pair thinking that the time had finally come.
It’s beginning to feel like groundhog day over at the Performance Center, but I like being miserable, so naturally I’m enjoying every second of this excruciating breakup storyline.
Just last week, we were treated to a special tag team stipulation match where the team member to gain pinfall would become number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship. Teams in contention were ZaRuca and Wren-QCC.
This was an exciting match to watch, and Sol Ruca vs Kendal Gray wasn’t a future singles matchup I knew I needed. I can see a bright future plainly before these two. Zaria spent the match self-sabotaging by refusing to communicate or co-operate, pulling Sol out of a pin attempt multiple times.
One blind tag, and a simultaneous F-6 and Sol Snatcher later, we have our winner.
The golden girl, Sol Ruca was, maybe predictably, the one to come out of this matchup with the number one contender distinction. She faced off against Fatal Influence while Zaria shot her a look meant to kill.
I suspected that this week would be all quiet from Zaria while Sol Faced off against Jacey Jane in preparation for their title match in Atlanta. Zaria is nowhere to be found until she turns up next week to cost Sol the match. Simple, right? But nothing is ever simple, because ZaRuca is fine.
What actually happens is much more exciting, and much more upsetting. Zaria tells Sol off backstage. I believe her words were that she’s done being used, done with their friendship, and that Sol can go to hell. Glad she laid that all out for us.
Later, Sol would face off with Jacey and the two give an incredible promo together. Jacey never fails to amaze when she takes to the mic.
The footnotes? Sol is all anyone can talk about, she has been shoved in all our faces, she’s a terrible friend, and not nearly as hard a worker as our NXT Women’s Champion.
Sol interrupts her to counter. Friends fight, she says, but Jacey wouldn’t understand that, because she’s never had a friendship as secure as the one she has with Zaria (a scathing insult given the state of their relationship).
Jacey has enough and Fatal Influence goes on the attack. The moment I see Sol’s getting jumped, I believe I said something along the lines of “There’s no way they’re doing this to me again.” They were.
Zaria enters the ring, jump-scaring Jacey, but telling her to pick Sol up to line her up for a spear. Maybe predictably, Zaria spears Fallon Henley in half instead, headbutting Lainey Reid and military pressing Jacey to toss her out of the ring.
Zaria and Sol face each other and hug in a heartwarming moment that had me yelling and breaking things in my house.
They talk backstage and Zaria tells Sol that she wants things to go back to the way they used to be before she lost her titles. Towards this goal, she will indeed be at ringside to support her. This was maybe the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.
Am I happy that they hugged it out? Yes. Of course, I am. Because I love ZaRuca. Am I also losing my mind because NXT is ruthlessly playing with my feelings and I really want them to just rip my heart out already if they’re planning on doing so anyways? Also, yes.
Prediction time! Sol will have her match against Jacey and win. The NXT Women’s Championship belt would simply look too natural around her waist for it not to happen. With her sure to get called up any time, I think it only makes sense to cement the title as part of her NXT legacy, and soon.
Zaria will raise her arm in the middle of the ring in celebration, before laying her out with an F-6. She’ll lift the title belt, making her intentions clear, and the two will have a gut-wrenching rivalry that culminates in a singles match for the title at Stand and Deliver.
And I cry forever. That, too. ZaRuca is fine.
Jade Cargill’s match against Jordynn Grace impressed at Smackdown on Friday. JG is definitely the type of wrestler who elevates her opponent, but I think a lot of the discourse surrounding Jade and her in-ring ability, or lack thereof is pretty exaggerated and a bit tired at this point.
While I already believed there was more to her than just having most insane physique in the game, this match made me want to see more of what she can do against a serious opponent.
I was hoping the rivalry between her and JG would land them across the ring from one another at Mania, but with this match having been so decisive, I’m a bit concerned that was never the plan. While it’s certainly possible to cook up a rivalry between Elimination Chamber and Mania, it’s a short window of time to start a feud from scratch.
Here’s hoping there’s a real plan. I see no other credible threat to Jade’s dominance on Smackdown, so we’ll have to see how things shake out at the Chamber to get a hint at where this is headed.