WWE's Naomi had an incredible year in 2025 with her heel turn, following a storyline attack on Jade Cargill, that resulted in her winning not just the Money in the Bank briefcase, but also, the Women's World Championship. Her year in the ring ended early, however, thankfully not due to injury, but due to pregnancy.Even when announcing her departure and how she had to vacate the championship, Naomi tore the house down with one of the best promos of the year. Her career didn't start out as hot as it was when she had to hit "pause," however.She debuted on the main roster as a "Funkadactyl" in January 2012, dancing alongside the former Cameron to escort Brodus Clay down to the ring. After shedding the gimmick and becoming a serious in-ring competitor, she would win the SmackDown Women's Championship twice. Things would really change for her after she won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships alongside Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 38.The women would infamously walk out of WWE, while still holding the titles, due to creative frustration in May 2022. The walkout would actually begin Naomi's reinvention, and she joined Impact Wrestling/TNA the following month. After dominating there, and winning the Knockouts Championship, she'd make her surprise return to WWE in the 2024 Women's Royal Rumble.Naomi, or Trinity, as she used her real first name in Impact, has been in the business since she started training in FCW in 2009. In her career, she's had plenty of amazing matches, and many have been contested in recent years, as her in-ring ability has only gotten stronger. These are only a handful of some of her best, with her Money in the Bank victory in 2025, as well as her cash-in at Evolution II against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY getting honorable mentions.
It would take a little less than a year for Naomi to become Trinity in Impact Wrestling (now once again known as TNA) following her WWE walkout with Banks. She debuted on "Impact!" on a May 2023 episode of the show and immediately squared up to Jordynne Grace and then-Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo.After scoring a victory over Gisele Shaw at Under Siege that month, she was set to challenge Purrazzo for the title. The pair went face-to-face at Slammiversary in July in a match that would see Trinity capture the title, an important moment for her career reinvention.Just before the match began, commentary made note that Purrazzo had never tapped out in the company and the match would likely be a battle of submissions. The women circled each other, sizing one another up, and Purrazzo conveyed that she knew Trinity would be no slouch.The second half of the bout is where things really start to get going with things picking up steam. Trinity attempted to lock Purrazzo in her submission, then known as the Starstruck, but the champion wouldn't give up that easily. Trinity looked extremely strong throughout the match, and Purrazzo deserves credit for that, as well. At one point, Trinity even kicked out after a piledriver, then kicked out again after a Queen's Gambit on the ring apron.Trinity fought off a Queen's Gambit attempt from the ropes, and planted Purrazzo on the mat. She looked for a pin, but then locked in the Starstruck tight, making Purrazzo submit for the first time in Impact. The match may have been less polished than others on this list, as she was still finding her footing in Impact after spending all of her career in WWE, but the match with Purrazzo marks an extremely important point in her journey.
One of the hottest WWE crowds in recent memory was that of Lyon, France, in May 2024 for Backlash. Naomi and Tiffany Stratton challenged WWE Women's Champion Bayley for the gold, in a match that never slowed down and absolutely delighted the crowd.While Naomi didn't walk out victorious in the match, and she even ate the pin after the briefest of one-on-ones with Bayley, the match was meant to make newcomer Stratton look good, which Naomi helped accomplish. Her gymnastic ability complimented Stratton's throughout the match, which only helped the crowd's enthusiasm.Naomi showed how much of a beating she could take in this match. She took an Alabama Slam off the commentary desk from Stratton, and before that, a buckle bomb-like move from Bayley where she smacked her head off the bottom turnbuckle."The Glow" almost had the match won with a split-legged moonsault to Stratton, and then at another point when she had her in the Starstruck, but in the end, it was Bayley to retain after reversing a roll-up into one of her own on Naomi.This hot match was a great showcase for Naomi, despite the loss, highlighting what she could do, ahead of her big 2025 push. She looked strong here, and taking the pin from Bayley didn't hurt her here, and obviously didn't impact her in the long run. Naomi looked like the main event player she is here, with perhaps an even more important role at that point of her career to help get over new talent, while staying relevant and over herself.
Naomi already had two SmackDown Women's Championships under her belt when she faced off against Charlotte Flair in the main event of the February 11, 2022 edition of "WWE SmackDown," but her match against "The Queen" made her look like a star, and one who could hang with the best of them. Their match, despite being in the top spot of the night, didn't exactly mean much, as the 2022 women's Royal Rumble winner, Ronda Rousey, had already made it know she was headed for Flair and her title at WrestleMania that year, but if you would never be able to tell the match result was somewhat obvious, just by watching Naomi and Flair work.The women took advantage of every second they had in the ring with one another and they had an excellent, premium live event-worthy match. The crowd was behind Naomi throughout the bout and Flair played the cocky heel, who was obviously overlooking Naomi on her way to WrestleMania, very well.The challenger hung with Flair all throughout the match and almost had had pinned throughout numerous points of the match, including off a big cross body from the top rope, a Rear View, and a split-legged moonsault. Naomi had an answer to much of Flair's offense, making it a fun back-and-forth match to watch.In the end, it was Flair to retain with a Natural Selection, but even in defeat, Naomi looked like a huge star against "The Queen." It's not often anymore that WWE fans get incredible women's matches in the main events of "Raw" or "SmackDown," so going back to watch this is a treat.
Trinity had plenty of great Knockouts Championship defenses, including against now-TNA Hall of Famer Mickie James at Bound for Glory 2023, another honorable mention on this list, but perhaps her best match in Impact/TNA came at Hard to Kill 2024, where she actually lost the title. Jordynne Grace cashed in her Call Your Shot opportunity on the Knockouts Championship, and she and Trinity would go one-on-one in a clash of styles that worked very well together.Grace dominated a good portion of the beginning of the match, but Trinity hung in there. She kept the match moving fast and kept things at an exciting pace, all while still selling effectively for "The Juggernaut."The women got into a slug fest, trading strikes in the ring after Grace called for Trinity to hit her harder. They also traded pin attempts off big moves, with Trinity hitting her split-legged moonsault, and Grace, a Muscle Buster. Trinity nearly had her opponent off a brief Starstruck hold, followed by a Rear View, but Grace wasn't giving up.Fans, who chanted "this is awesome!" throughout the bout, thought Trinity had the match when she locked in the Starstruck following a power bomb to Grace, but in the end, it was Grace who hit the Juggernaut Driver for the victory to become a three-time Knockouts Champion.The match would be Trinity's first pinfall loss in TNA, and it was also one of her final matches with the promotion before returning to WWE. She had a fantastic run in the company, and her pay-per-view match against Grace highlighted how far she had come since winning the title from Purrazzo.
Perhaps an example of recency bias, but a match that simply cannot be ignored, is Naomi's Women's World Championship defense against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY to open the second night of SummerSlam 2025. The match was Naomi's first defense, and due to her pregnancy, her only, of the title, and her retaining the gold over two megastars in Ripley and SKY showed that WWE was confident in its decision to put the rocket on her after her heel turn.SKY AND Ripley went after the champion to kick things off. After briefly taking a beating, Naomi was in control of Ripley in the ring, and commentary made sure to mention how hard she had worked to reinvent herself.The champion didn't let another Ripley and SKY one-on-one steal the spotlight during the match, despite her opponents doing their best to keep her out of things to continue their own story. Ripley looked to have Naomi pinned with a Riptide, but SKY broke things up just in time. She took a few more big spots, including a power bomb by SKY, dropping Ripley right on her stomach, but in the end, after Ripley hit a second rope Riptide to SKY, Naomi got a sneaky roll-up on the "Eradicator" for the win.Naomi's defense is the culmination of all her work to get over as a heel. She looked fantastic alongside Ripley and SKY, and the match was considered one of the best of the year for a good reason. The champion was perhaps the best she had ever looked, in terms of her in-ring abilities and her character work, up against her two opponents, and the match was a perfect way to kick off the second night of the event, the first time in SummerSlam history.
