WINC Watchlist: Naomi’s Best Matches

WWE’s Naomi had an incredible yr in 2025 along with her heel turn, following a storyline attack on Jade Cargill, that resulted in her winning not only the Money within the Bank briefcase, but additionally, the Women’s World Championship. Her yr within the ring ended early, nevertheless, thankfully not on account of injury, but on account of pregnancy.

Even when announcing her departure and the way she needed to vacate the championship, Naomi tore the home down with among the finest promos of the yr. Her profession didn’t start out as hot because it was when she needed to hit “pause,” nevertheless.

She debuted on the primary roster as a “Funkadactyl” in January 2012, dancing alongside the previous Cameron to escort Brodus Clay all the way 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 ladies would infamously walk out of WWE, while still holding the titles, on account of creative frustration in May 2022. The walkout would actually begin Naomi’s reinvention, and he or she joined Impact Wrestling/TNA the next month. After dominating there, and winning the Knockouts Championship, she’d make her surprise return to WWE within the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Naomi, or Trinity, as she used her real first name in Impact, has been within the business since she began training in FCW in 2009. In her profession, she’s had plenty of wonderful matches, and plenty of have been contested in recent times, as her in-ring ability has only gotten stronger. These are only a handful of a few of her best, along with her Money within the Bank victory in 2025, in addition to her cash-in at Evolution II against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY getting honorable mentions.

It might take a bit lower than a yr for Naomi to develop into Trinity in Impact Wrestling (now once more generally known as TNA) following her WWE walkout with Banks. She debuted on “Impact!” on a May 2023 episode of the show and immediately squared as much as 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 will see Trinity capture the title, a crucial moment for her profession reinvention.

Just before the match began, commentary made note that Purrazzo had never tapped out in the corporate and the match would likely be a battle of submissions. The ladies circled one another, sizing each other up, and Purrazzo conveyed that she knew Trinity can be no slouch.

The second half of the bout is where things really begin to get going with things picking up steam. Trinity attempted to lock Purrazzo in her submission, then generally known as the Starstruck, however the champion would not hand over 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 searched for a pin, but then locked within the Starstruck tight, making Purrazzo submit for the primary time in Impact. The match can have been less polished than others on this list, as she was still finding her footing in Impact after spending all of her profession in WWE, however the match with Purrazzo marks an especially vital point in her journey.

One in all the most popular 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 group.

While Naomi didn’t walk out victorious within the match, and he or 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 group’s enthusiasm. 

Naomi showed how much of a beating she could absorb 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 underside turnbuckle.

“The Glow” almost had the match won with a split-legged moonsault to Stratton, after which at one other point when she had her within the Starstruck, but ultimately, it was Bayley to retain after reversing a roll-up into certainly one of her own on Naomi.

This hot match was an awesome 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 clearly didn’t impact her in the long term. Naomi looked just like the primary event player she is here, with perhaps an excellent more vital role at that time of her profession to assist recover from latest 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 within the primary event of the February 11, 2022 edition of “WWE SmackDown,” but her match against “The Queen” made her seem like a star, and one who could hang with one of the best of them. Their match, despite being in the highest spot of the night, didn’t exactly mean much, because 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 yr, but for those who would never give you the option to inform the match result was somewhat obvious, just by watching Naomi and Flair work.

The ladies took advantage of each second that they had within the ring with each other they usually had a superb, premium live event-worthy match. The gang was behind Naomi throughout the bout and Flair played the cocky heel, who was obviously overlooking Naomi on her strategy to WrestleMania, thoroughly. 

The challenger hung with Flair all throughout the match and almost had had pinned throughout quite a few points of the match, including off an enormous cross body from the highest rope, a Rear View, and a split-legged moonsault. Naomi had a solution to much of Flair’s offense, making it a fun back-and-forth match to observe.

In the long run, it was Flair to retain with a Natural Selection, but even in defeat, Naomi looked like an enormous star against “The Queen.” It’s hardly anymore that WWE fans get incredible women’s matches within the primary events of “Raw” or “SmackDown,” so going back to observe this can be a treat.

Trinity had loads of great Knockouts Championship defenses, including against now-TNA Hall of Famer Mickie James at Sure for Glory 2023, one other honorable mention on this list, but perhaps her best match in Impact/TNA got here 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 he or she and Trinity would go one-on-one in a clash of styles that worked thoroughly together.

Grace dominated a great portion of the start 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 ladies got right into a slug fest, trading strikes within the ring after Grace called for Trinity to hit her harder. In addition they 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 transient Starstruck hold, followed by a Rear View, but Grace wasn’t giving up.

Fans, who chanted “that is awesome!” throughout the bout, thought Trinity had the match when she locked within the Starstruck following an influence bomb to Grace, but ultimately, it was Grace who hit the Juggernaut Driver for the victory to develop into a three-time Knockouts Champion. 

The match can be Trinity’s first pinfall loss in TNA, and it was also certainly one of her final matches with the promotion before returning to WWE. She had a incredible run in the corporate, 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 can’t 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 on account of 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 place 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 command of Ripley within the ring, and commentary made sure to say how hard she had worked to reinvent herself.

The champion didn’t let one other Ripley and SKY one-on-one steal the highlight through the match, despite her opponents doing their best to maintain her out of things to proceed their very own story. Ripley looked to have Naomi pinned with a Riptide, but SKY broke things up just in time. She took just a few more big spots, including an influence bomb by SKY, dropping Ripley right on her stomach, but ultimately, 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 recover from as a heel. She looked incredible alongside Ripley and SKY, and the match was considered among the finest of the yr for a great reason. The champion was perhaps one of the best she had ever looked, when it comes to her in-ring abilities and her character work, up against her two opponents, and the match was an ideal strategy to kick off the second night of the event, the primary time in SummerSlam history.