In late 2017, it was announced that the WWE had released Australian superstar Emma and the news divided fan opinion greatly! Despite her poor booking, Emma had gone down by many as one of the leading faces in the women’s Evolution with matches against Paige arguably kick-starting a movement that would completely change women’s wrestling forever. Many have argued about how underutilized Emma was during her time with the WWE and since her departure, she has been proving to the world exactly why that statement may just be true. Working matches against some of the biggest and best names on the scene Emma, now Tenille Dashwood has set the women’s independent wrestling scene on fire including a debut for ROH and so today we are going to be looking at five post-WWE matches the rising star has been a part of that you should defiantly check out!
Vs Angelina Love
Personally, I do believe that Tenille Dashwood’s standout match not only since her departure with the WWE but quite possible of her entire career has been against Angelina Love. While the two had never met in the ring before this date they managed to work extremely well together matching one another perfectly. Even throughout the match, it was rare one was in control of the action for a great deal of time before the other had a counter waiting just around the corner. Identical in size, skill, and use of mind games the two women delivered a brilliant one on one contest full of solid spots and storytelling that left the match genuinely feeling like the main event and big attraction of the night. It was difficult to tell who exactly would walk away with the victory and after several close calls, those final moments perfectly concluded what was quite possibly one of the best matches women’s wrestling has seen.
Vs Brandi Rhodes
Now, unlike the majority of matches, we will be talking about today this isn’t a one on one full of excellent ring work from two competitors, however, what this match did do was allow Tenille to show herself to be a true veteran. Working against an opponent with less experience Tenille brought all the character to this bout against Brandi Rhodes. Mocking and laughing at the still fairly new star that is Brandi Tenille was the confident rookie in control of the action, however, when the tables turned Dashwood did an excellent job in putting Rhodes over selling moves well and telling a story through facial expression, move set, and in-ring physiology. This may not have been the strongest technical match but it was an interesting and revealing bout in the ROH Women of Honour Championship tournament.
Vs Sumie Sakai
Taking a look at another match from the ROH Women of Honour Championship tournament and we have the singles bout between Tenille Dashwood and Sumie Sakai entering this list. Now, this may not have been a personal favourite of mine, but it sure has been a matchup which has stood out in the career of Tenille Dashwood so far. As a semi-final of the tournament, this was a close call and many did have Dashwood down as their favourite for the win, however, despite her efforts, size advantage and solid performance she was unable to score the victory against veteran Sumie Sakai. It was evident how much both women wanted this win and the tough, back and forth battle they worked made for another career standout for both women.
Vs Rachael Ellering
Rachael Ellering is a standout performer on the indie scene and was highlighted during last years WWE Mae Young Classic. With a brilliant career ahead of her she is one to watch out for in the future and her singles bout against Tenille Dashwood is a sure must see proving this point yet again! Unlike many of the matches we have spoken about today this was a more entertaining contest rather than a serious, personal one on one. The two were yet again evenly matches and their styles complimented each other very well! Including the fact Lance Storm was the special guest referee and you have a ring full of extremely talented stars of the industry.
Vs Toni Storm
Toni Storm has one heck of a career ahead of her. At only twenty-two years old she is raising the bar and setting the standards and in a one on one contest against Tenille Dashwood, she proved that point once again, however, let’s not forget about Dashwood herself. The two young women squared off in what an intense, physical contest, jam-packed full of brilliant wrestling. It was here Dashwood really did show the world that she is worthy of being considered as one of the best female wrestlers on the scene today. Holding her own against a multi-time world champion the two were evenly matched throughout and in return fans were left genuinely hooked from start to finish. This is only one of two matches on today’s list where we didn’t see Tenille pick up the victory but it’s, in fact, this bout that has been the most revealing and important since her departure with the WWE.
It’s evident from the matches above and so many more that Tenille Dashwood is a fantastic talent the WWE just didn’t use correctly. She may no longer be under a World Wrestling Entertainment contract, but she is providing wrestling entertainment to a very high standard around the world proving her critiques wrong on a daily basis. Making such an impact already, the future is very bright for Tenille and I believe we will be seeing much much more of her in the weeks, months, and years that will follow.