Ringbelles Roundup (26 February 2013) – wrestling’s equivalent of Ronda Rousey, Girls Night Out 8 and more

Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche delivered in spades on Saturday as part of the main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s UFC 157 pay-per-view. While PPV buyrates are only an estimate – though expected to be around the 400,000 mark – the other numbers are amazing.

With those two headlining the show, the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA drew 15,525 fans with a gate of $1.4 million and reportedly fewer comps than usual. It’s the highest attendance for a UFC show in the building, which includes UFC 121 with Cain Velasquez against Brock Lesnar. Admittedly, both Rousey and Carmouche hail from the state, which means that both had a relative hometown crowd, but it’s evidence that women can headline male-dominated shows, given the right booking, promotion and hype. Additionally, the fact that it outdrew Velasquez v Lesnar is even more astounding considering it’s a Hispanic market which would be behind Cain, and Brock is one of the UFC’s biggest draws in its history.

And yes, there was a lot of hype surrounding this fight, as it broke barriers. It was the first women’s fight in the UFC – after President Dana White said that it would never happen. It main-evented the show, which meant that if the house was down, it was their fault – as it turned out, the house was way up, for which they should be credited. The card was also preceded in previous weeks with some amazing countdown shows which highlighted how much of a force Rousey is, but also emphasised the threat that Liz Carmouche was – being a former Marine, and someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even though the smart money was on Ronda, nobody would have argued if you had thrown down some cash on Liz pulling off the upset.

Carmouche could have seriously spoiled the party had she won. Rousey was given the Women’s Bantamweight Title on the basis of her previously being the champion in Strikeforce before it was closed, but she said she didn’t see it as legitimate until she was successful in the Octagon. If she won, then she would call herself a true champion.

So, you have a woman who is the face and figurehead of the division – and the sport of women’s MMA in general – in Ronda Rousey; and Liz Carmouche, who set out to spoil the party and make herself a star in the process. A woman who is undefeated and unstoppable as champion with all her victories coming in the first round with an armbar, against a woman who believes that she can avoid it, and eke out the victory.

Seriously, if this isn’t pro wrestling booking, I don’t know what is.

All this brilliance comes before the pair have made contact, and when they did, it got even more pro wrestling on us. Asserting her dominance early and looking for the quick win, Rousey went to take her opponent to the mat, but was caught in a bodyscissors from behind and was having her face cranked, putting her in more danger than she has ever been in before. With the crowd going batty, thinking that Ronda is seconds away from tapping, she shakes Liz off, puts her in a headlock and starts punching while Carmouche looks to counter. As the clock ticks closer to the end of the round, Rousey goes for her feared armbar, though the challenger’s fighting to avoid being caught and make it to the end of the first five minutes. With 11 seconds to go, Ronda locks it in, Liz taps out, and we have the conclusion of a dramatic encounter that puts a lot of wrestling matches to shame – and it’s real.

With that result, everyone wins to a certain extent. Rousey obviously won and retained her belt with another first round tapout from an armbar, maintaining her position as the top woman in the sport – and arguably the biggest star in the whole industry. Carmouche pushed Ronda further than anyone has in the past, almost got the win and made fans know that despite the loss, women’s MMA is not a one-woman show, increasing her earning power – which was desperately needed for her, as she was living hand to mouth and didn’t even have a table to eat at (though she shouldn’t be short of money after this). The UFC wins because women’s MMA just got a fantastic outing, and should mean a lot more fights in the future, as its top star is still champion but there is proof that there are a lot of good female fighters about, and the fans got their money’s worth with a fight which justified the hype and proved that women’s MMA is not a sideshow.

If all this can be done with a legitimate fight, why do some wrestling promotions find it so hard to manufacture it?

I digress though. What that fight got me to thinking is why WWE and TNA can’t provide that sort of hype for its women these days. In this, I accept that with the Divas, the quality of wrestling isn’t up to the level of headlining a PPV, and the Knockouts may struggle these days, even though the talent level for the most part is much higher. However, if the UFC can manufacture the hype ahead of a real fight, why can’t WWE or TNA do it for a worked one, where they can even make sure the outcome is the right one?

Now, in fairness, it hasn’t always been like this. WWE headlined a Raw back in December 2004 with Lita winning the Women’s Championship from Trish Stratus, while TNA has had a couple of main events involving the Knockouts, such as Awesome Kong winning the Knockouts belt from Gail Kim in January 2008, and Mickie James and Tara competing in a cage in December 2010. Those matches prove that with the build-up, backstory and hype, women can headline shows.

Even on the indy level, women have proved that they can be the final match on the card. For example, in CHIKARA, Sara Del Rey headlined ten different shows. Similarly, women have headlined events in Anarchy Championship Wrestling – with Rachel Summerlyn recently topping cards – and in North Shore Pro Wrestling in Canada, where LuFisto is their reigning champion. In Europe, Pro Wrestling: EVE had its Special Edition show last summer headlined by Alpha Female v Amazon Ayesha Ray, with the guys matches being on the undercard. Examples like this prove that – as coined on one of our t-shirts – great wrestling knows no gender, and the biggest match should go on last.

I accept that more often than not, wrestling shows have title matches as their main event. However, there is some times that you have to accept that on occasion, there may be stories bigger than a title feud. WWE should have put Rock v Hollywood Hulk Hogan on last at WrestleMania X8, as HHH v Chris Jericho could have never followed it; similarly, HHH and Randy Orton died a death out there after Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had torn the building down at WrestleMania 25. Sometimes, you have to read the crowd and not the format, and just go with it. There have been a number of times that I have seen the women have the best match on a show featuring mostly men, but they’re put in a position on the card where they are meant to be a sideshow attraction. This does them a disservice, and part of me thinks female wrestlers should do their best to show that they sometimes belong in the last match. Of course, it’s a balancing act, as promoters may use it to accuse them of getting ideas above their station and not every match on a show can be a 5 star match – but if you’re booked to be the opening match, make sure it’s the best opening match it can be without overdoing it or outstaying your welcome.

Ronda Rousey is not happy to just be part of the card. She wants to be on top – something which may seem a bit cocky, but you need a strong confidence in yourself to get to where you want to go. You have to be your own biggest cheerleader at times, as if you don’t feel you’re worth shouting about, why should anyone else? It’s because of Rousey’s ability, media savvy and constant badgering that women are now fighting in the UFC, and she will never apologise for that, as it adds credibility to the argument that female fights should be put on the same level as guys – though some men may take some time to accept it, as pockets of fans (and possibly fighters) are still getting their heads around it, or worse, want to see the women fail. Whether it is an anomaly centred around Rousey because of a combination of her looks and ability – much like there was with fellow fighter and beauty Gina Carano a few years ago – or is a real interest in their fights is still an unanswered question, but the intrigue is there and can be explored. However, Carmouche – while hardly unattractive but less striking than Rousey – garnered a lot of support, so maybe looks are becoming less important as a fighter. Come for the looks, stay for the skills, perhaps.

So is there anyone who is as good as Rousey in the world of women’s wrestling? Someone who can open doors with their incredible ability, looks, persistence and the willingness to ruffle some feathers along the way? I can think of one who stands out – and she was one who faced Del Rey in a main event in CHIKARA on November 8, 2011.

Kana has it all. She’s a shoot-style pro wrestler with MMA influences, coupled with incredible speed and great technique, while still looking incredibly feminine both inside the ring with her gear, and also outside of the ring at things like press conferences, dressed in a suit and glasses. This woman is all business all the time and can adapt herself to the situation. In addition, she made some waves with her Joshi Manifesto which was published in 2010, saying that women’s wrestling in Japan was in a state and laying out a series of points to try and save it. Essentially, she was on a crusade to “fix” what she thought was wrong with joshi, despite the fact that at 8 years in the biz, she was still relatively “new” to the game. Whether she meant it or whether it was a work to try and get her over, it caused quite a stir – but it got her the attention, which she used to have more yes – and money – on her when she set foot in the ring.

Look at her arrival in SHIMMER as an example of how Kana is portrayed – both by promotions and by herself. No interest in making friends, blanking former associates and not giving flying fornication about anything else other than going out there and winning matches, which is exactly what she did. Eventually, LuFisto wore her down and showed off her friendlier side, but it didn’t take away from the assertion that Kana is no-nonsense, and is doing what she believes is right for her. However, when she’s not on the job, Kana is the nicest person to meet and talk to, which shows that she’s not cold-hearted – just efficient when it comes to her wrestling.

Her direction’s burned her a few times, as she’s unlikely to be part of Stardom because of her arguments with current World Of Stardom Champion Nanae Takahashi when they were both part of Passion Red, and last November she quit Wrestling New Classic as part of an argument over late wages. The latter is another example of how she is all-business, and won’t be taken for a ride by anyone. She knows her worth, knows she can get it and if you can’t afford her, that’s too bad. She has a well-paid career as a freelance graphics designer, so if a promoter doesn’t offer enough, she’s not going to starve.

Granted, standing up for yourself in wrestling can be looked down on – with claims that you have an attitude problem or something – but if women wrestlers are good enough, they can headline cards, get paid more by promoters and also make said promoters feel that they still got their money’s worth. I’m not saying for new faces to do it, as that’s a spectacular bit of foot-shooting – but if you have the talent and experience to outshine the guys you’re sharing a backstage area with, why should you stand for being paid less or being the cheesecake match before the main event? Go out there, and hit a home run – then you’re in a better position to negotiate for next time. If Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche can do it when they’re not co-operating with each other, women wrestlers should be able to do it when they are.

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This Friday sees Absolute Intense Wrestling take the plunge into the world of Internet Pay Per View – but not with one of its male-oriented shows. Rather, the honour goes to the women who have helped to grow its all-female offshoot Girls Night Out into the success that it has become over the last three years.

The project began on May 15, 2009 with a tournament to crown its first Women’s Champion – an honour which went to Hailey Hatred, a woman who to this day is still undefeated in GNO shows after getting the ball rolling with victories over Alison Wonderland, Jennifer Blake and Sammi Lane. Another GNO followed the following October with Hatred retaining the belt over Sara Del Rey.

The concept was rested for a year but returned for AIW’s first card of 2011 with reigning champion Angel Dust (she won the belt from Jefferson Saint, who was awarded the belt after Hatred no-showed a title defence the previous June) beating Del Rey on January 28. Three shows in, Girls Night Out was still somewhat of a stand-alone series of exhibition matches, though storylines and developments started to emerge on July 29′s GNO 4 with Jessicka Havok retaining the belt under screwy circumstances over former champion Angel Dust in a First Blood Match, and Mickie Knuckles cashing in her title shot to take the belt in a quick outing.

However, last year was when the series really started to take hold, and it was all down to a kick from Mia Yim to Allysin Kay’s nose.

That blow in the semi-final match on GNO 5 on January 29, 2012 – which was won by Yim – gave the series its first sustained feud, with a programme between the two evolving into also being for the title following the vacation of the belt by Mickie Knuckles due to her pregnancy. They brawled all over the building at GNO 6 on April 15 in an unsanctioned match – using light tubes and machetes – with Kay winning the title with help from her buddies in Flexor Industries, even though she did not want or appreciate it. As a result of the controversial ending, the pair fought for the third Girls Night Out in a row in a great steel cage match with Kay getting the win and seeing the pair’s profiles elevated by a huge degree – so much so that their tangling last year was brought up when the pair faced each other in the ring as part of the six-woman tag team match last Friday at SHINE 7. That feud made both of them – and full credit goes not only to both women, but also AIW, which threw whatever plans it had out of the window to jump on the drama surrounding the broken nose. Other promotions may not have gone with it despite it being a logical thing to do – so it AIW should be applauded for going with it.

This Friday, Girls Night Out returns from a six month layoff, and it’s knocking things up a notch by broadcasting live, with quite a few question marks over the card it’s presenting – a sign that AIW is confident that the name of the card and its champion will draw buys. After all, Allysin Kay is taking on an unnamed opponent, and we won’t find out who it is until the broadcast begins. That’s brave, though it’s probably worth watching to see who AIW has in mind – and it’s likely to be a good name, as a duff one would go down as well as a Band-aid in a swimming pool.

Elsewhere on the card are four singles matches, with the winners going on to wrestle in a ladder match later on the show. The winner will leapfrog up the rankings to become the number one contender to the title. Recently, AIW has been going with the deal that whoever has the most wins gets the shot – meaning that names like KC Warfield and Crazy Mary Dobson have been challenging for the belt in matches which were a bit difficult to buy that the title was truly in jeopardy, as their wins came in matches from the lower portions of the undercard. However, this show should help to redress the balance and give Kay a top contender to the championship.

It all goes down on Friday – we’ll be watching and bringing you coverage and reaction.

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Elsewhere this week, we’ve uploaded video of Dark Angel taking on Marcela for the CMLL World Women’s Championship for Wednesday’s Retro, while we also presented a match featuring a babyface Nicole Matthews.

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The best of the rest

WWE
NXT Diva Dani (Alisha Ceraso) has accepted an office job with WWE. It’s reminiscent of Jessie Ward taking part in Tough Enough 2 back in 2001 only to end up in the production team… Bayley (Davina Rose) makes her NXT debut in a few weeks against Paige. Also as part of last week’s tapings, Alicia Fox was a heel – if you’re keeping track… Alicia Fox and Natalya are visiting refugee camps in Rwanda as part of WWE’s relationship with the United Nations to raise awareness in the fight against malaria. A worthwhile campaign… The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE has been holding private Diva Search casting sessions in Los Angeles. Modelling agencies brought attractive women to be evaluated, with being a fan of wrestling being a plus, but they don’t have to have had any training. PWInsider claims there will be similar sessions in places like Chicago in the future… Ric Flair accompanied his daughter Charlotte and Summer Rae to the ring at an NXT house show in Melbourne, FL on Sunday night to face Paige & Sasha Banks. Charlotte got the win for her team by using the Figure Four.

TNA
We mentioned it in a spoiler post at the time, but Velvet Sky “officially” won the Knockouts Championship on last Thursday’s Impact Wrestling. She will defend the belt against Tara on Thursday… Taryn Terrell worked as a ring girl for last Thursday’s Bellator MMA show in Salt Lake City, UT… Ivelisse Velez tweeted a hint that she will be on Impact Wrestling this week. PWInsider reports that it’s for a Gut Check, and it will be gainst Lei’D Tapa. Velez has wrestled a dark match against Tara in the Impact Zone since her WWE release… In an interview with WrestleShark, Gail Kim said she would love for Amazing Kong to return to TNA, and that she would have loved to have wrestled Sarita.

North America
GLOW – The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling will be shown on Logo on March 19… Taylor Made is out of Absolute Intense Wrestling’s Girls Night Out 8 show on Friday. Instead, Sassy Stephie’s opponent will be Addy Starr. Meanwhile, Starr’s original opponent Jodi D’Milo will now face Angelus Layne… Alicia and Brittney Savage aired their dirty laundry in public by running down Women Superstars Uncensored on Twitter. WSU responded with a bunch of hypothetical questions. You can read how it all unfolded here… Serena Deeb will debut for Pro Wrestling Syndicate on May 11. Presumably, that the Bombshell Ladies Of Wrestling show. Alicia’s now coming in too… Maryse Ouellet announced her engagement to Mike “The Miz” Mizanin on Friday. Congratulations to them… Ivelisse Velez & Santana Garrett had big nights at SHINE 7, with the former being involved in the match of the night against LuFisto, while the latter is now stupidly over… Reby Sky & Jessicka Havok will compete in a Career v Respect match at SHINE 8 on March 24. If Sky wins, Havok will have to say that she respects her opponent, but if Havok wins, Sky will be forced to leave SHINE… SHIMMER volume 53 will be broadcast on iPPV on WWNLive. It had been rumoured for a while but was finally confirmed during the SHINE 7 broadcast. Also, Jessie McKay’s been announced for all of April’s SHIMMER dates, with her facing Madison Eagles on volume 53… Gabriella Vanderpool won the PWA Elite Women’s Championship on Friday, defeating Jewells Malone… Nevaeh faces Jessicka Havok at Combat Zone Wrestling’s next show on March 9… Hannah and Holly Blossom are back in Ohio Valley Wrestling, both advancing in a tournament to determine a top contender for the Women’s Championship. They will face each other in the next round… Cheerleader Melissa won the Pro Wrestling Revolution Women’s Title on Saturday, beating Dark Angel with the Kudoh Driver.

Japan
Gatoh Move has a new female wrestler. Her name is Kotori, and she’s 14… Miyako Matsumoto and Tsukushi will wrestle tomorrow to determine a new Ice Ribbon ICEx60 Champion. They advanced to the finals by beating former ICEx60 champs Hikaru Shida & Tsukasa Fujimoto respectively on Monday. Matsumoto has held the belt before, while it would be Tsukushi’s first run with the promotion’s top title.

Europe
Alpha Female’s returning to Japan next month. She will challenge Nanae Takahashi for the World Of Stardom Championship at Korukuen Hall in Tokyo on March 17. Two weeks before, Amazon Ayesha Ray will make her debut in the promotion, teaming with Hailey Hatred & Kyoko Kimura against Nanae Takahashi, Eri Susa & Miho Wakizawa. The following week, she’ll again team with Kimura against Takahashi & Kellie Skater… Jenny Sjodin has been forced to forfeit the Nordic Women’s Wrestling League Championship due to her shoulder injury which is taking its time to heal. Get well soon Jenny… Last Saturday’s Pro Wrestling: EVE Special Edition 2 show was postponed on Thursday due to a family emergency… The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family – the documentary featuring Saraya Knight & daughter Paige – won a Royal Television Society award last week. It’s a massively prestigious honour… April Davids has scaled back her bookings for the rest of the year due to injury and work commitments… Friday sees the ABC Catch Women’s Championship on the line with Shanna defending against the winner of a tournament taking place that night… Speaking of Shanna, she’ll defend the Swiss Championship Wrestling Women’s Title against Saraya Knight on March 16.

Mexico
Sexy Star vacated the AAA Reina de Reinas title she had held since December 2010 without giving a reason, and it will be put up in a tournament starting at a Fusion show on Friday. LuFisto will return to Mexico on the card… Thumbs up to AAA for something all the big companies like WWE and TNA should be doing – it’s offering health insurance for all its wrestlers… Dark Angel (hey, she got mentioned in three different sections this week!) is heading back to Japan for another stint in Stardom.

Australia & New Zealand
Miami challenges Eliza Sway for the IndyGurlz Australia Championship at a New Horizons Pro Wrestling show in Maddington on March 30… Savannah Summers defeated Harley Wonderland on Friday’s Riot City Wrestling show. After the match, Sway joined Wonderland in attacking Summers with Lou Lou making the save… Evie says she suffered a mild patella tendon tear after her beatdown at the hands of Britenay and Megan-Kate on February 16. She says she’ll be fine by the end of March.

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Results

February 19: CMLL (Guadalajara, Mexico) – Goya Kong, Luna Mágica & Marcela b La Vaquerita, Tiffany & Zeuxis

February 20: LDN (Grays, Essex) – Saraya Knight b Penelope

February 21: Ohio Valley Wrestling (Louisville, KY) – Taeler Hendrix b Lylah Lodge

February 21: WWE Superstars (Biloxi, MS) – Cameron & Naomi b Natalya & Alicia Fox

February 21: TNA Impact Wrestling (London, England) – Velvet Sky b Tara, Gail Kim & Miss Tessmacher in a 4-way to win the TNA Knockouts Championship

February 21: WWE NXT (Winter Park, FL) – Cameron, Naomi & Sasha Banks b Aksana, Alicia Fox & Audrey Marie; Summer Rae b Emma; Paige b Bailey; Kaitlyn b Natalya

February 22: WWE SmackDown (Biloxi, MS) – Kaitlyn & Layla b Tamina Snuka & Aksana

February 22: Riot City Wrestling (North Adelaide, Australia) – Savannah Summers b Harley Wonderland

February 22: Pure Wrestling Association (Kitchener, ON, Canada) – Gabriella Vanderpool b Jewells Malone to win the PWA Elite Women’s Championship

February 22: SHINE 7 (Ybor City, FL) – Brittney Savage b Heidi Lovelace; Tina San Antonio b Luscious Latasha & La Rosa Negra in a 3-way; Santana Garrett b Jessie Belle; Ivelisse Velez b LuFisto; Allysin Kay, Taylor Made & April Hunter b Mia Yim, Tracy Taylor & Su Yung; Nikki Roxx b Mercedes Martinez; Leva Bates b Kimberly; Rain b Amazing Kong via DQ

February 22: Charity Appeal Wrestling Shows (Luton, England) – Alpha Female b Dragonita

February 22: TNA (Detroit, MI) – Velvet Sky & ODB b Gail Kim & Tara

February 22: AAA Canada (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) – Evan Adams, Big Jess Youngblood & Kat Von Heez b Cam!!!kaze, Alex Plexis & Nicole Matthews

February 22: Melbourne City Wrestling (Tullamarine, Australia) – Mr Juicy & KC Cassidy b Andrew Phoenix & Zoe O’Neil

February 23: Newcastle Pro Wrestling (New Lambton, Australia) – Shazza McKenzie b Madison Eagles

February 23: Riot City Wrestling (North Adelaide, Australia) – Eliza Sway & Harley Wonderland b Savannah Summers & Lou Lou Lockhart

February 23: WWE Saturday Morning Slam (Lafayette, LA) – Natalya b AJ Lee

February 23: Wrestling Is Fun (Allentown, PA) – Saturyne b Kimber Lee

February 23: Premiere Wrestling Xperience (Charlotte, NC) – Amber O’Neal & Zane Riley b Maria Kanellis & Mike Bennett

February 23: Pro Wrestling Revolution (San Francisco, CA) – Cheerleader Melissa b Dark Angel to win the PWR Women’s Championship

February 23: Deutsche Wrestling Allianz (Walsrode, Germany) – Katarina Leigh b Layla Rose

February 23: WWE (Waco, TX) – Kaitlyn & Layla b Aksana & Tamina Snuka

February 23: REINA x World (Tokyo, Japan) – Bambi b Mayumi Hashiba; TAKA Michinoku & HIROKI b Hiro Tounai & Jonathon Bader; Aki Kambayashi b Mini Tomato & Aoi Ishibashi in a 3-way; Leon & Manami Katsu b Charlie Simone Aussie & Alex Lee

February 24: WWE NXT (Melbourne, FL) – Charlotte & Summer Rae b Paige & Sasha Banks

February 24: WWE (College Station, TX) – Kaitlyn & Layla b Tamina Snuka & Aksana

February 24: TNA (Bowling Green, OH) – ODB & Velvet Sky b Tara & Gail Kim

February 24: Resistance Pro (Lockport, IL) – Crazy Mary Dobson b Miss Natural; Thunderkitty b Nikki St John

February 24: CMLL (Guadalajara, Mexico) – Dalis la Caribeña, Dark Angel & Estrellita b Amapola, Princesa Blanca & Princesa Sugheit via DQ

February 25: Ice Ribbon (Saitama, Japan) – Kurumi b Risa Sera; Aoi Kizuki & Arisa Nakajima b Hailey Hatred & Nana Kawase;
Miyako Matsumoto b Hikaru Shida; Tsukushi b Tsukasa Fujimoto

Upcoming

February 27: Ice Ribbon (Saitama, Japan) – Miyako Matsumoto v Tsukushi

February 28: TNA Impact Wrestling (Orlando, FL) – Velvet Sky v Tara

March 1: Chaotic Wrestling (Lowell, MA) – Greek Barbie v Kasey Ray

March 1: ABC Catch (Beziers, France) – Morgane Leigh v Alpha Female; Lady Lory v Kay Lee Ray

March 1: AAA Fusion (Mexico City, Mexico) – Cinthia Moreno v LuFisto; Fabi Apache v Sexy Lady; Lolita v Mari Apache; Jennifer Blake v Taya Valkyrie

March 1: Absolute Intense Wrestling Girls Night Out 8 (Cleveland, OH) – Sassy Stephie v Addy Starr; Annie Social v Crazy Mary Dobson; Leva Bates v Veda Scott; Kimber Lee v Athena; Heidi Lovelace & Nikki St John v Angeldust & KC Warfield; Angelus Layne v Jody D’Milo

March 2: Norwegian Wrestling Federation (Oslo, Norway) – Penelope v Miss Mina

March 2: Destination 1 Wrestling (Charlestown, IN) – Crazy Mary Dobson v Leva Bates

March 2: Vendetta Pro Wrestling (Santa Maria, CA) – Amber O’Neal v Terra Calaway

March 2: Extreme World Wrestling (Hastings, England) – Skarlett v Phillip Bateman

March 3: Stardom (Tokyo, Japan) – Amazon Ayesha Ray, Hailey Hatred & Kyoko Kimura v Nanae Takahashi, Eri Susa & Miho Wakizawa

March 3: Ring Of Honor (Chicago Ridge, IL) – Scarlett Bordeaux v MsChif v Athena v Cherry Bomb

March 8: CHIKARA (Tampa, FL) – Eddie Kingston v Amazing Kong

March 9: Combat Zone Wrestling (Voorhees, NJ) – Nevaeh v Jessicka Havok

March 9: Women Of Wrestling (Las Vegas, NV)

March 10: Scottish Wrestling Alliance (Glasgow, Scotland) – Nikki Storm v April Davids

March 10: Stardom (Takamatsu, Japan) – Nanae Takahashi & Kellie Skater v Kyoko Kimura & Amazon Ayesha Ray

March 10: Venom Wrestling Federation (Stourbridge, England) – Kazza G v Katey Harvey v Erin Night v Jess Heartless

March 15: North Shore Pro Wrestling (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) – LuFisto, Franky the Mobster & Buxx Belmar Vs Giovanni, Maddog & Lucky Sabiti

March 16: Swiss Championship Wrestling (Wil, Switzerland) – Shanna v Saraya Knight

March 17: Stardom (Tokyo, Japan) – Nanae Takahashi v Alpha Female

March 22: Canadian Pro Wrestling (Woodstock, ON, Canada) – Courtney Rush v Kellie Skater

March 23: SHINE 8 (Ybor City, FL) – Jessicka Havok v Reby Sky

March 24: Bellatrix 5 (Norwich, England) – Rebecca Mason v Skarlett; Penelope v Erin Angel; Miss Mina v Amy Lee; Chanel v Phobia; Violet O’Hara v Bacardi; Queen Maya v Liberty

March 24: Women Of Wrestling (Bethlehem, PA)

March 30: nCw Femmes Fatales XI (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Kalamity v Mercedes Martinez; Cheerleader Melissa v Jessicka Havok; LuFisto v Sweet Saraya; Sweet Cherrie v Sassy Stephie; Allison Danger v Courtney Rush; Xandra Bale & Leah Von Dutch v Deziree & Midianne

March 30: New Horizons Pro Wrestling (Maddington, Australia) – Eliza Sway v Miami

April 6: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Secaucus, NJ) – Sweet Saraya v Cheerleader Melissa; Athena v Ayako Hamada; Mia Yim v Amazing Kong; Jessie McKay v Madison Eagles

April 13-14: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Berwyn, IL)

April 27: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Sudbury, England)

April 27: Remix Pro Wrestling (Marietta, OH) – Sassy Stephie v Christina Von Eerie

May 4: ICW: Fierce Females (Glasgow, Scotland)

May 11: Women Superstars Uncensored (Voorhees, NJ)

May 11: Bombshell Ladies Of Wrestling (Metuchen, NJ)

May 25: Pro Wrestling: EVE Queen of the Ring (Nottingham, England)

June 23: Anarchy Championship Wrestling American Joshi Queen of Queens (Austin, TX)

July 6: nCw Femmes Fatales XII (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

- Lee Burton
- Photos by UFC, Gilda Pasquil, Wrestleshare, Stardom, TNA, Masked Republic

© Ringbelles