I’ve been watching OVW consistently for about 3 years and in that time their women’s division has had some ups and downs but there have always great wrestlers on the roster. They always seemed to have interesting storylines in the women’s division too.

We had Shalonce’s lawyer helping her keep her title through her long reign, the infamous Freya the Slaya wedding, and the dominance of The Bad Girls Club, which consisted of Leila Grey, Getta, Tiffany Nieves, and Dream Girl Ellie. The Bad Girls Club combined for four championships, along with some great stories and some of the best matches in this time period.

We have had a lot of changes in the last year, Leila is now in AEW. Tiffany Nieves and long time OVW fan favorite, Haley J are working in Reality of Wrestling. However, the division is still very strong and as interesting as ever. The veteran of the OVW locker room, Freya the Slaya still remains dominate and is always near the top of the division, as there are few to match her power. Freya has held the title four times, with her last reign being 173 days starting when she defeated Sophia Rose and ending with a shocking loss to Leela Feist.

Leela Fiest calls herself the Devine Drama and has surely caused a lot on drama at OVW since arriving. In a very short time, she forced herself into the title picture and got a quick win over Freya the Slaya to win the title. The way she got to the title match may have been a little calculating, but don’t let that discredit her ability in the ring. Leela is very athletic and will do whatever it takes to win. She was in OVW in early 2025, but was out of action until November. She has been a completely different person since returning and has been on quite a tear, defeating Sophia Rose, Teagan Thorne and Karter Cauffman on her way to her title match. She has even recruited some back-up in The Feist Phantoms, Elijah Eros and JJ Lawson, to watch her back and help her do whatever she needs to keep her belt.

The rest of the division is gunning for Leela, and that includes former champions Sophia Rose and J-Rod. J-Rod possibly made the most impressive debut in the history of OVW when she won the Nightmare Rumble, then immediately challenged the champion, Leila Grey for the title and became champion in her first match. As the only women in The Revolution, a faction that was lead by Doug Basham, J-Rod dominated the women’s division, holding on to the title for 212 days and defeating former champions Freya the Slaya, Shalonce Royal, and Haley J. J-Rod’s strength and agility is matched by very few in professional wrestling, and she has been proving that recently. While J-Rod has not been in OVW as much recently, she has been becoming a star around the world. J-Rod has made two trips to Japan to compete in TJPW, one in which she faced Miu Watanabe for the Princess of Princess title, in an incredible match. J-Rod has also been filming for the new season of American Gladiators.

J-Rod recently challenged Leela for the championship at Tough Love in a ladder match. She was dominating the match, until the Phantoms got involved. J-Rod went for a spear, but she missed Leela and got stuck between the rungs in the ladder. Her giant muscles would not let her escape and Leela was able to climb over her and get the title. 

Sophia Rose was the one that ended J-Rod’s title reign. Sophia is one of the most athletic, entertaining and inspiring wrestlers you will see in the ring. She has fought through the odds, from seeing wrestling on a TV in her hospital bed after having a stroke, to learning to walk and talk again, to training at the Rhodes Academy to becoming the OVW Women’s champion. As soon as Sophia steps in the ring she has the crowd cheering for her and every match is entertaining, as she has a very flashy style and a never give up attitude.

While not a former champion herself, Lovely Miss Larkan (and Therapist Larkan) have been around championships since she arrived. Larkan debuted at last year’s Nightmare Rumble and immediately became a fan favorite. She tried to make friends when she got to OVW and eventually became obsessed with Sophia Rose. Larkan was in love with Sophia and in trying to win Sophia’s love, she took on Freya the Slaya, which may not have been the best decision. This led to multiple injuries, including a “hurt neck” in which Larkan had to wear a neck brace, and a “stab wound” from where Freya stabbed Larkan with her invisible knife. This may have resulted in a lot of pain for Larkan, but it did gain Sophia’s love.

Whenever Larkan comes to the ring, you never know which personality you will get, if it will be Lovely Miss Larkan or Therapist Larkan. She may seem silly at times or possibly a bit unhinged, but Larkan’s in ring skills are constantly improving and whenever she is focused on something she will do anything to get it. Larkan was in the middle of the battle for the tag team championships and actually helped two teams with the titles, like a modern day Sunny. Therapist Larkan took former enemies, Donovan Cecil and Jack Vaughn, under her wing, taught them to get a long and helped them win the Tag Team Championship from The Evans Family. Then, Larkan inexplicably joined The Evans Family and helped them win back the tag team championship. At this year’s Nightmare Rumble, the Evans Family dominated the event. Tony Evans won the men’s rumble and Larkan won the women’s rumble to each gain a title opportunity at any time. Larkan is looking to turn that win into a championship.

OVW also has a lot of young wrestlers that are looking to climb that ladder and get their title shot. The one that I think is the closest is Karter Caufman. Karter is a former softball player that brings her bat to the ring and incorporates her softball past into her offense. She “runs the bases” and slides into the opponent while they are downed in the corner. Karter’s biggest accomplishment so far in OVW was whenever she shockingly pinned former champion, Sophia Rose, in a gauntlet match. She has also recently had wins over Dayami and Janie Hartman.

The unorthodox Noelle has been on a bit of a tear lately. Noelle, The Marionette, is a tough opponent to figure out, as you never know where she is going to come from. She has awkward movements and uses that to catch her opponents off guard to hit them with a big move or go for a quick pin. Noelle has been on a winning streak, defeating Leela Hall, Karter Cauffman and former OVW Women’s Champion, Shalonce Royal twice, before falling to Shalonce at the Tough Love event. 

Dayami brings a lucha style to OVW that few others have. She is fast and creative with her offense. She recently joined the super hero faction, Z Force with Super Z, Percival Goodington XIII and Kid Colossus. Dayami has truly been part of the team, as when Kid Colossus got hurt during the tag team tournament Super Z picked her to be his partner in the next round. They were unsuccessful in their match against Los Desafios, but Dayami proved that she could fight with the men along with the women. She proved this again when her and Super Z took on Larkan and Tommy Boy. This was originally supposed to be a mixed tag match, but everything broke down and Dayami got the win by pinning Tommy Boy. Dayami has not had as much luck in singles matches, but I look for that to change as she gains confidence with the Z Force.

Leela Hall and Ava Brooks are also two young wrestlers who have started making appearances in OVW. Both are only 19 years old, very athletic and have already had some success in promotions outside of OVW. Leela has held the ACIW women’s championship for over a year and was the inaugural Hooligan Championship Wresting tag team champion with Allie Albright. Leela has also wrestled for Black Label Pro, Hybrid Championship Wrestling, Unsanctioned Pro, and many other promotions.

Ava Brooks is out of the Pittsburgh area and recently won the IWC women’s championship by defeating TNA Knockout Mila Moore. Ava has really taken to the road in her short career, appearing in promotions like NCW in New York, Northland Wrestling in Canada, Ladies Night Out in North Carolina and NWA Exodus in Cleveland, where she stood toe to toe with former OVW Women’s Champion Sophia Rose. 

OVW has had a history of successful women at their promotion. The fans get to see these wrestlers every week, so the wrestlers can tell stories that the fans are invested in. It seems like every time OVW loses some wrestlers, there are a couple more to take their place. The young women on the roster right now are incredible and all have their unique styles and personalities, that keeps every show interesting.