Emma, aka Tenille Dashwood is back in WWE and back on Friday Night SmackDown!
Going into the October 28th edition of the blue brand, SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey issued an open challenge. Come show night that challenge was answered by former NXT star Emma. The star had been absent from WWE since October 2017.
Since leaving WWE, Emma featured on the independent scene and more recently in IMPACT Wrestling.
Back on SmackDown the Australian star threw herself in at the deep end by stepping up to face Ronda Rousey. Despite a spirited effort, it was Rousey who retained her title but not without flexing the rules along the way. With the returning star still well in contention, Rousey raked her eyes to get back on top, quickly locking in her famous Arm bar to grab the win.
Emma Helped Pave The Way For The Women’s Revolution
While Dashwood’s two runs on WWE’s main roster were uneven at best, she was a beloved figure in NXT and took part in a match with Paige at NXT ArRIVAL that helped kick start the Women’s Revolution in WWE. Speaking on an episode of his Gentleman Villain podcast back in June, William Regal spoke about the match between Emma and Paige, praising both women for their contributions.
“Paige came into the ring as the WWE Divas Champion at the time. And, you know, I’m going to, so we don’t have to go into this again, I’m gonna have to give Paige an Emma the highest compliment I can give them is that they were the two people before the four horsewomen and everybody else they, Paige and Emma were the people, the two ladies that set all that in motion as far as being where everything went from then onwards.”
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please credit Gentleman Villain and link back to this article with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.