We've made it through another week in the world of professional wrestling, and that means that once again, it's time for the Wrestling Inc. staff to name some winners and losers!But wait, we hear you asking. Wasn't AEW Redemption the biggest thing that happened in wrestling over the last seven days? And didn't you already publish an AEW Redemption Winners & Losers column? The answer is yes on both counts! However, two things to note first, Redemption isn't the only thing that happened this week, as we had plenty of new content from WWE to select from. Second, we can have even more thoughts about Redemption if we want to, that's our prerogative!Who ended the week on a high note according to the WINC crew, and who's down in the dumps?Here are your WINC winners and losers for the week of 7/27/2026!
The "WWE Raw" women's division is in dire straits, and that fact is made quite obvious by the build, or almost total lack thereof, for the WWE Women's World Championship match ahead of SummerSlam. Champion Liv Morgan is set to defend her title, for the first time in over 100 days by then, against IYO SKY. It will be Morgan's first defense since winning the belt from Stephanie Vaquer at WrestleMania 42 in April.On last week's edition of the red brand, instead of SKY and Morgan engaging in any kind of promo battle, backstage attack, or anything to further their feud going into "The Biggest Party of the Summer," their story revolved around Judgment Day's comedy angle battle with Danhausen. Morgan was involved in their backstage segments, and roughed up Danhausen a bit, before SKY was finally introduced to it all when the "Very Nice, Very Evil" one brought her out on his Danhausen-mobile to help even the odds against Judgment Day to take on Morgan. In an angle that's not unique in WWE, once again, the women's story was once again completely overshadowed by the men.In addition to the women's top title match at SummerSlam being almost entirely ignored on "Raw" last week, there were zero women's matches on the show. To make matters even worse, there were no televised (at least in the United States) promos by women on the episode, either. If you watched in the States, you would have no idea, unless you took to social media, that Women's Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca cut a promo during a commercial break on her challenger for this week, Raquel Rodriguez. Or perhaps even more importantly, that Lyra Valkyria addressed beating Bayley at Saturday Night's Main Event, as well as Bayley's absence from the show amidst rumors of the "Role Model's" departure from WWE.The way WWE has treated Morgan's title reign is laughable, at best, but the fact there were no women's matches, no angles furthered, and not even a promo uttered in the ring, is beyond excusable at this point. With just three women's matches on the SummerSlam card, out of 12 matches total thus far, with the lineups for both nights already announced, WWE desperately needs some kind of change. It shouldn't be hard to book some of the best women's wrestlers in the world in at least one match per episode. The "Raw" women's division overall was a big loser this week, and fans of women's wrestling certainly didn't feel great about it, either.Written by DaisyRuth
Last week on "WWE SmackDown," it was determined that Sami Zayn will indeed get another shot for the opportunity to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship, after he feels like he was screwed out of the title after just nine days by management and CM Punk. It won't be so easy for him, however, as Finn Balor won a four-way match against Damian Priest, Royce Keys, and United States Champion Trick Williams to face Zayn at "The Biggest Party of the Summer" to determine the next contender for the title.While SummerSlam isn't a premium live event where fans often see number one contender's matches, in the case of Zayn and Balor, it's warranted. Those are two big names for the card, which needs enough matches to span over two nights, and it should be one absolute banger of a bout, making all fans winners in the end. Balor and Zayn make the winners list this week for making their way onto the show, in a match with actual stakes.Fans have been begging for another push for Balor since the beginning of 2026, and truly, even longer. He hasn't held a top title on the main roster since his ill-fated Universal Championship victory over Seth Rollins a decade ago at SummerSlam 2016, where his shoulder was injured by a buckle bomb onto the barricade. Balor relinquished the title the next night, and hasn't hit such heights since.In just one night on "SmackDown," in very simple fashion, it sets up a unique match dynamic, with Balor fighting his way back to the top ten years after his major injury at the event, and Zayn also looking for redemption after working so hard for so long, only to lose the Undisputed WWE Championship to Punk after just a few days with the gold.The match is great for Zayn's character arc either way. Either he wins the match to challenge for the title, or he can continue his arc of descending further into madness. For Balor, personally, it has to feel fulfilling to even get the opportunity, and it seems rather likely he'll emerge the victor to challenge either Punk or Rhodes down the line, if only just to further Zayn's story. The bout is up against some stiff competition when it comes to in-ring action during night two of the event, but there's no chance they don't deliver.Balor vs. Zayn may have been one of the last-minute additions to the SummerSlam card, but it could emerge as one of the best bouts of the entire weekend. The simple, yet effective way to book this match was a big win for WWE last week.Written by DaisyRuth
These pups made a bit of a mess now didn't they?Look, I think The Dogs have all the makings of a staple team in AEW, and they have the experience in New Japan Pro Wrestling to help them along. David Finlay, Clark Connors, and Gabe Kidd all have so much going for them individually, but it has to be said that their run in AEW so far has been, to put it bluntly, bad.Things didn't get any better this past Sunday at AEW Redemption 2026 when Finlay and Connors faced off with The Bang Bang Gang in a Double Chain Match. First of all, the match was bad. Not like astronomically bad, but bad enough that it genuinely ruined the momentum of what was up to that point a very good pay-per-view. Secondly, despite actually winning the matchagainst Jay White and Juice Robinson, they couldn't get the job done without the help of the Death Riders' young boys in Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia. I understand that they are the heels and they will naturally use every trick in the book to get the win, but this is a group that has prided itself on being one of the most dangerous in all of wrestling and they can't get a win without the Death Riders B-Team? Come on guys.All three guys are immensely talented. Connors has his Fear and Loathing, "what Hangman Page would look like if he did drugs instead of drink" gimmick down, and is genuinely entertaining to watch. Finlay probably wouldn't have fit in WWE had he chosen to go there, and the former IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion has a natural presence about him that can take him to the top in the future. Gabe Kidd kind of needs to sort himself out as he is caught between being a Death Rider bag carrier and a crazed British thug, but he has the pieces to be put together to go places as well. And yet, they are probably lower on the totem poll in AEW's trios division than The Lethal Twist right now which shouldn't be the case.Also, just as a side note, Kidd is currently top of his block in the NJPW G1 Climax and it's such an uninspiring run that any and all hype he had 18 months ago in Japan is almost gone. Like seriously, how do you have a bad match against Zack Sabre Jr. of all people? I'm sure The Dogs will come good eventually, but it's a bad start for a group that should have the world at their feet.Written bySam Palmer
Who would have thought that two women refusing to do a job would lead to someone ending up with a championship one month out from the biggest event in that company's year? Funny how wrestling works sometimes.Back in October of last year, Nixon Newell and Miranda Alize chose packing their bags and walking out of an "AEW Collision" match against TayJay over doing a quick job and getting an easy payday. Maya World and Hyan stepped in their place at the last minute, and nine months later, Maya World is the AEW TBS Champion and you have to say that she honestly deserves it. The effort that she has put in over the past few months, especially with the death of her brother naturally taking its toll outside of the ring, is nothing short of inspiring, and having a title around her waist is a well deserved reward.For the AEW TBS Championship as well, putting the belt on Maya is a more interesting route to take than having the belt on Hikaru Shida. No disrespect to Shida, she is still great when the time calls for it and having a new heel character allows her to do some different things. However, when Willow Nightingale vacated the title due to injury, everyone wanted AEW to take a risk and put the title on someone new, someone different try something unique because there is everything to gain by doing it. If Maya runs with this belt and becomes a star, it looks like an inspired move and you have a new babyface on your hands. If she flops, that's fine too because she's young and her time will come, a move the company mirrored in the main event by giving Kevin Knight a chance to see if he can hang with the big boys.Hopefully her tag team partner Hyan doesn't just get forgotten about and left to rot in dark matches or Ring of Honor, but for right now, giving Maya a good run with the title would be the best option. She's heading into AEW All In London with the title and could face a whole host of people at Wembley Stadium, such as Shida in a potential rematch, Athena who she has repeatedly interacted with in recent weeks, or you can quickly heat up someone else to fill in that slot. However, I would be surprised if the TBS title doesn't make it to Wembley.Written bySam Palmer
