WWE RAW Superstar Zoey Stark has delivered a perfect tribute to ‘Mr Perfect’ Curt Hennig, over two decades after the passing of the WWE Hall of Famer. On social media, Stark shared clips of herself performing several impressive feats accompanied by Hennig’s WWE theme song.

Fans will recognize this video as a tribute to Hennig, who was introduced in the World Wrestling Federation with a series of vignettes highlighting his skills in various fields. Whether it was basketball, baseball, bowling, or something else entirely, Hennig was able to accomplish feats to perfection.

Hennig’s perfect skill set in WWE would see him capture the Intercontinental Championship on two occasions and hold the gold for a combined 404 days. After joining WCW, Hennig would become WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and also held the World Tag Team Titles with Barry Windham.

Hennig sadly passed away in February 2003 at the age of 44 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. That same year, his son Joe would sign with WWE and compete as Curtis Axel before his 2020 release. He would later return to WWE as a producer.

Zoey Stark in WWE

Stark’s tribute to Mr. Perfect comes at an interesting time in the career of the former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion. Stark has aligned with Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville as a dominant group on RAW that has been feuding with Damage CTRL. Stark was called to WWE’s main roster last year as an ally of Trish Stratus though their partnership ended at Payback 2023.

WWE Money In The Bank is upon us. In addition to an action-packed card, it was revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus will be the special host for the event. This has made fans wonder if there may be more at play when she appears tonight.

One of the featured Money In The Bank matches will have Zoey Starks, Chelsea Green, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, Lyra Valkyria, and Iyo Sky competing for the briefcase. After the reveal that Stratus will host the event, fans believe she could get involved in the matchup.

Before her hiatus, Starks attacked the WWE Hall of Famer after Stratus lost to Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage match at Payback on September 2, 2023. It’s worth noting that the former WWE Women’s Champion slapped her former protégé first, which led to Starks landing her Z-360 move on Stratus. Since then, Starks has succeeded without the Canadian superstar’s leadership and will attempt to become the new Women’s Money In The Bank winner. However, fans believe that Stratus hasn’t forgotten and may interfere to ensure Starks doesn’t win.

Zoey Starks Sends Tweet Antagonizing Trish Stratus

The chatter from fans on social media seems to have reached Starks, as she sends a reminder to Stratus ahead of the upcoming premium live event. The former WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion shared a gif of her landing her Z-360 on the Canadian superstar on X.

Starks made a disparaging remark about Canada on X yesterday to feed into her ‘Heel’ character. It’s possible that the WWE superstar could find herself in a position to win the Women’s Money In The Bank match, leading to Stratus getting her revenge. The WWE Hall of Famer has been open to a return to the ring, and it would make sense for her to go after her former protégé.

For now, fans must watch tonight’s PLE to see if Starks post towards Stratus and Canada will backfire on her.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles from Damage CTRL at Backlash in France. Now, their next challengers have been determined, setting the stage for an exciting title defense.

Which team will earn an opportunity to challenge for the #WomensTagTitles?#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/BdwsSzRPSR

— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2024

The May 20 edition of WWE RAW featured a fatal four-way match to decide who would face Belair and Cargill for the titles. The match included Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, and Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane. The competition was fierce as each team vied for the #1 contender spot.

In the end, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark secured the win by hitting Dupri with an alley-oop into a high knee double team move. This victory earned them the #1 contender spot for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

This is interesting, because Sonya Deville returned to WWE television earlier in the night after a nine-month hiatus. She had a backstage segment with the new #1 contenders, adding a layer of intrigue to the night’s events. Deville’s return was a notable moment, sparking curiosity about her future role.

 The date for the next WWE Women’s Tag Team Title defense has not been announced, but it was promoted as a “future title opportunity.” As of now, the match is not booked for the 2024 Queen and King of the Ring on May 25. Fans are eagerly awaiting more details about when and where Baszler and Stark will challenge for the titles.

While Jade Cargill is out of the tournament after a DQ loss to Nia Jax on SmackDown, Bianca Belair is still competing. Belair will face Jax this Friday for a spot in the finals, where the winner will take on Lyra Valkyria in Saudi Arabia. 

WWE took its first steps towards crowning a new King and Queen of the Ring this week with a total of six first-round matches on the May 6, episode of Raw. 

Both tournaments will culminate at the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE later this month which will take place in Saudi Arabia. WWE had initially planned on hosting the event last year but nixed the idea in favor of WWE Night of Champions. That event saw Roman Reigns reach 1,000 days as Universal Champion and Seth Rollins crowned World Heavyweight Champion. 

King of the Ring Results

On Raw, the recently called-up Ilja Dragunov defeated new WWE Speed Champion Ricochet to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, Jey Uso got payback on The Judgment Day with a tournament victory over 2021 runner-up Finn Balor. Originally, Drew McIntyre was supposed to be in Jey’s spot but his injury forced changes to be made. Dragunov and Jey will face each other in the quarter-finals next week. 

Queen Of The Ring Results

Raw also saw Zoey Stark advance with a win over Ivy Nile, while Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai. Like Jey Uso, Kai was a last-minute replacement for Asuka, who Damage CTRL confirmed is out with an injury. Stark and Valkyria will face each other in the next round on the May 13, episode of Raw. 

What’s To Come? 

While WWE promoted four matches from each tournament for Raw, only three took place. At a WWE live event this week, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio will face off in a first-round match. This was supposed to be Rey Vs. Xavier Woods but the latter has been replaced due to not being medically cleared. The winner will face GUNTHER next week. 

Shayna Baszler and Zelina Vega will also do battle at a WWE live event, despite being previously promoted for the Raw taping. The winner will face IYO SKY on next week’s Raw with a spot in the semi-finals on the line. 

First-round matches will continue on the May 10, episode of WWE SmackDown. Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Santos Escobar have all announced their participation.

WWE has recently brought in several NXT stars to work main roster shows in recent months, and this week’s episode of Raw is no different. 

WWE has brought in another NXT star for the company’s flagship show; this time, it’s Zoey Stark. Pwinsider.com reports she is backstage at the show. Although not confirmed, she will likely be there to work the Main Event taping before Raw goes live. 

WWE is at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA, for tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. As of this writing, The Miz vs. Dexter Lumis is the only match announced.

Zoey Stark’s Journey

It was revealed that she signed a contract with WWE on January 20, 2021. She made her debut as Marina Shafir’s tag team partner in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament on the January 29 episode of 205 Live, losing to Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the opening round. She made her NXT debut on the February 17 episode of NXT by defeating Valentina Feroz.

The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship was won at The Great American Bash by Stark and Io Shirai over The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell). In a triple-threat tag team Scareway To Hell Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc that also featured Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta, they were defeated and lost the belts to Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne).  Because of a torn MCL/Meniscus, Stark was written off television last November. 

Stark returned from her injury in the 20-woman Battle Royal for the Number One Contendership for the NXT Women’s Championship on the July 19th episode of NXT. She turned heel earlier this month by attacking Nikkita Lyons.

One WWE superstar is back in action and has punched her ticket to a big title match.

Injuries have been pelting the wrestling industry over the past few months. We’ve seen the likes of Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton go down with injuries that’ll put them out of action for a lengthy period of time.

Injuries didn’t just happen on the main roster as the NXT brand was also hit with a few ailments. One of the key talents who had been shelved was Zoey Stark.

The good news is, Zoey is back.

Zoey Stark Returns

For weeks, WWE was teasing a mystery with a QR code for fans to speculate on who would arrive (or return) to NXT.

That mystery was solved on the July 19 episode of NXT.

Zoey Stark made her return for the 20-women battle royal match. She ended up winning the whole thing, which has earned her a shot at Mandy Rose’s NXT Women’s Championship.

Stark had been out of action due to injury.

There has been a lot of talk over what Zoey’s tag team partner, Io Shirai, will do with her WWE future. Her contract is coming due and it’s been said that she could leave the company if she doesn’t get a main roster spot.

After her triumphant return, Zoey Stark was interviewed for a WWE Digital exclusive.

WWE NXT star Zoey Stark is reportedly expected to make her NXT return in the near future and plans are beginning to be put in place for it.

Stark’s Injury

The former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion has been out of action since Ocotber 2021 due to a knee injury. Stark has been out with a torn ACL and meniscus. 

Zoey hasn’t wrestled since the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship three-way ladder match at Halloween Havoc where she and Io Shirai lost their titles.

New Plans For Return

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that there have been pitches for Stark’s return to NXT. Meltzer also noted that Bayley is well on her way to returning as well.

Meltzer wrote:

“Bayley and Zoey Stark should both be returning from knee surgery relatively soon. Bayley has been back training for her return. Returning booking ideas have been talked with that regard Stark in NXT.”

Io Shirai’s Future

Stark’s tag partner Io Shirai could be on her way out of WWE, with previous reports indicating that her contract is up soon, and that Shirai hasn’t signed a new deal.

Io Shirai, Zoey Stark’s tag team partner, is currently out with an injury. However, there have recently been reports that indicate that her WWE contract is up soon and that she hasn’t signed a new deal.

With Io Shirai possibly leaving WWE, that leaves Zoey’s plan for return up in the air.

Two WWE superstars who have been on the shelf due to injury are expected to return soon.

Injuries have plagued the wrestling business as of late. WWE has lost two top stars in Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton due to surgeries that will have them out of action for months.

Other promotions such as AEW have also been hit hard. AEW is experiencing an all-time high when it comes to injuries.

There is some good news, however.

Io Shirai & Zoey Stark Returning Soon

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Io Shirai and Zoey Stark are expected to be back on NXT TV soon. The two have been out of action due to injuries but are primed for returns any week now.

Shirai and Stark are former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. The two had been a humorous duo as Io did everything in her power to get rid of Stark but they ended up winning gold together.

Time will tell if they’ll return looking for singles gold or if they will once again go after the tag team titles.

NXT star Zoey Stark has provided an update on her health and confirmed that she is now able to walk around on her own without crutches.

The female star provided the update on Instagram on Wednesday. She posted a video and thanked her physical therapist for her progress in the caption:

“Officially off the crutches and walking on my own! Next step = RUNNING Thank you to my awesome Physical Therapist Lauren! @wwenxt #WWENXT,”

Zoey Stark has not wrestled on WWE TV since the NXT Halloween Havoc special on October 26. Stark and her partner Io Shirai defended their NXT tag team titles in a triple threat match.

The ladder match dubbed as Scareway to Hell saw Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne win the tag team championships from the duo.

The company then did an injury angle with Zoey during the November 2 episode of NXT. She was taken to the hospital after being attacked by Dolin and Jayne.

The angle was done so the female star can take time off to repair a torn ACL. She underwent the required surgery in early November.

There is no news on when we can expect her back in the ring at this point. Though this latest update is a positive sign for her fans.

WWE NXT superstar Zoey Stark has confirmed that she underwent successful surgery for a torn ACL and Meniscus and she is already rehabbing.

The female star provided the health update on Twitter. She explained that she suffered the damage due to the attack from the current NXT women’s tag team champions the Toxic Attraction, before promising to come back stronger:

“Sadly, I tore my ACL/Meniscus due to Toxic’s attack, here’s the bad news for the ‘champs.’ Surgery went great and I’m already rehabbing.” wrote Zoey Stark “I’ll be back BETTER & STRONGER with three targets in mind! Until then @shirai_io @KacyCatanzaro @wwekayden kick their ass tonight!”

The NXT star last competed during the NXT: Halloween Havoc special last month. She was a part of the scareway to hell triple threat ladder match on the show.

Stark and Io Shirai defended the NXT women’s tag team championships on the show. The team of Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne became the new champions after winning the match. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta were also part of the bout.

There is no word yet on how long the former champion will stay out of action but a successful surgery is good news for her fans. We will keep you posted on her recovery.