At some point during Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez, Raquel lost her bandana.
It happened during one of the many collisions between two wrestlers who spent 11 minutes throwing themselves, and occasionally each other, around the ring in Fresno. The bandana landed on the canvas. Referee Jessika Carr noticed it, picked it up and threw it outside.
Problem solved.
It was an insignificant little moment in a match filled with considerably more important things, including Iyo earning herself a future shot at Rodriguez’s Women’s Intercontinental Championship. But it also suited the match rather nicely.
This was frantic. Things kept happening.
And Iyo Sky looked absolutely fabulous.
Iyo Sky Would Like to Fly Now
Here, it makes sense.
They have excellent chemistry because almost everything one woman wants to do gives the other something interesting to fight against. Raquel wants to catch Iyo, carry her around and generally remind her that gravity is supposed to exist. Iyo spends most of the match finding increasingly inventive ways to disagree.
Early on, Sky threw kicks and knees before launching herself outside with a crossbody. Then came a lovely bit of babyface theatre.
Iyo wandered over to some younger fans at ringside and enlisted their assistance in climbing onto the barricade.
Did Iyo Sky, an internationally renowned professional wrestler and woman capable of performing a moonsault while barely subject to Earth’s gravitational field, actually need the help of several children to climb a barricade?
Probably not.
They helped anyway.
Iyo then launched herself from it into Rodriguez.
Why not?
It was fan service in the most literal sense, but that seemed to be part of the point. WWE was presenting Sky not merely as the spectacular wrestler everyone already knows she is, but as somebody visibly delighted to be around the people cheering for her.
That matters when the people standing opposite her are Judgment Day.
Then Raquel Punched Her Really Hard
There is a danger with Rodriguez that WWE can get so caught up in establishing her as big and strong that the wrestling itself becomes secondary.
That wasn’t really the case here.
Iyo climbed to the top rope, and Rodriguez smashed her with an enormous fist, sending her tumbling back toward the arena floor.
Later, Rodriguez had Sky hoisted across her body. Iyo escaped and wrapped herself around Raquel with what resembled a rear-naked choke. Rodriguez eventually threw her away, leaving both women on the canvas.
Then came my favourite sequence of the match.
Raquel reached towards Iyo.
Iyo rolled away.
Kick.
Right to the side of the head.
It wasn’t a Shining Wizard, exactly, but it had the sudden, nasty quality of one. More importantly, it was one of those little sequences where wrestling stops looking choreographed and starts looking like two people desperately inventing solutions to each other’s problems.
That’s wrestling.
The best exchange came shortly afterwards.
Iyo launched herself from the top rope. Rodriguez caught her and appeared ready to deliver the sort of chokeslam that 1998 Kane might have watched approvingly from somewhere in the darkness.
Up went Iyo.
Down went Raquel.
Sky somehow twisted it into a DDT and drove Rodriguez face-first into the mat.
Wade Barrett suggested it was closer to a jawbreaker.
Fine.
Whatever it was, it looked great.
Missile Dropkick Through the Night
Joe Tessitore then produced perhaps the commentary line of the evening as Iyo connected with a missile dropkick.
“Missile dropkick through the night.”
Which is quite a phrase to use during the particular period WWE currently finds itself in.
WWE is heading to Riyadh despite legitimate questions around regional security, while WrestleMania 43 is also scheduled for Saudi Arabia. Politics and religion can quickly turn that discussion into an enormous knot, but my position is much simpler.
If it isn’t safe, don’t go.
WrestleMania is supposed to be WWE’s grandest possible expression of itself. If security concerns ultimately mean staging it in a more confined environment or shaping the event around threats outside the stadium, then perhaps the obvious question is why WrestleMania needs to be there at all.
Anyway.
Iyo Sky was busy trying to kick Raquel Rodriguez in the face.
The Genius Keeps Finding Another Way
That was ultimately what made this work so well.
Every time Rodriguez appeared to have found the answer, Sky produced another question.
The missile dropkick connected. The Bullet Train attack followed. Iyo went looking for Over the Moonsault, but this time Rodriguez was ready.
Knees up.
That should have been the opening Raquel needed.
She hauled Sky upwards, seemingly looking for another huge power move. This is where Rodriguez is at her most convincing. Iyo is small enough that Raquel can make these situations look genuinely unpleasant, and agile enough that you never quite trust her to remain where Rodriguez puts her.
Sure enough, she didn’t.
Iyo twisted through the attempted powerbomb and turned it into a pin.
One.
Two.
Three.
No championship changed hands, but something important did.
Iyo Sky beat the Women’s Intercontinental Champion again, this time in singles, and secured a future championship opportunity.
She rolled outside and celebrated.
Then Roxanne Perez attacked her from behind.
Nasty.
Also useful.
Because underneath all the dives, kicks, reversals and temporarily homeless bandanas, this match appeared to have a fairly simple job.
Remind everyone who Iyo Sky is.
Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez Should Have a Sequel
Sometimes there’s a temptation to make wrestling considerably more complicated than it needs to be.
Iyo Sky is extraordinarily good at professional wrestling.
People like her.
So let her do spectacular things while interacting with fans, put a large unpleasant obstacle in front of her and have Judgment Day attack her when she succeeds.
There you go.
Rodriguez perhaps could have used a little more sustained offence here, particularly because she is the Women’s Intercontinental Champion and has now been pinned by Sky twice in eight days. But she has something Iyo doesn’t need establishing: presence.
Raquel already looks like the boss fight.
WWE needed to establish why we should want to watch Iyo try.
Eleven minutes in Fresno did a pretty convincing job.
Now give them the championship match.
Survivor Series would do nicely.
And if WWE really wants to make something of the contrast they have spent weeks establishing between Rodriguez’s power and Iyo’s refusal to stay down, don’t just give them another normal match.
Last Woman Standing.
Let Raquel throw Iyo around the building.
Let Iyo climb things she absolutely does not need children to help her climb.
Then see who is still standing.
How good is Iyo Sky?
Iyo Sky is widely considered one of WWE’s best wrestlers because of her athleticism, match quality, selling, creativity and consistency across major matches.
Why do fans like Iyo Sky?
Fans appreciate Iyo Sky’s exciting wrestling style, innovative offence and ability to produce standout matches against a variety of opponents.
Is Iyo Sky one of the best wrestlers in the world?
Many wrestling fans and analysts consider Iyo Sky among the best wrestlers in the world because of her success in Stardom, NXT, and WWE, along with her reputation for delivering high-quality matches.
