WAWW: The Return results, review & photos
It has been four months in the making, but after an absence of more than two years, the World Association of Women’s Wrestling is back.
Appropriately entitled The Return, WAWW’s latest card is headlined with another return – this time of Allison Danger back to the UK after her initial tour of the country in early 2007. As part of her whistlestop tour of the country, Danger arrived yesterday morning, then wrestled in the evening and Herts and Essex Wrestling against Sweet Saraya Knight where she was defeated for the HEW Women’s Title in what was a precursor to tonight’s event, where she faces Saraya again, before making her final appearance of the weekend tomorrow evening at a World Association of Wrestling show before flying back to the US on Monday morning.
Three of the women on tonight’s card – Saraya, daughter Britani and Lucy Clayden – featured on the last pure WAWW card back in May 2008 – the most recent WAWW show before tonight was held in conjunction with WAW in March 2009 – so expect to see a number of debuts from newer talent from Britain and Europe, as well as the regulars of WAW.
Click after the jump for results… (more…)
Retro DVD review: SHIMMER volume 1
This retro DVD review is all ass-backwards. Instead of us doing a review of a show from days gone by, instead, it is the review which is old and it is of the (then) newly-released SHIMMER: Women Athletes volume 1 – a show that you can still buy as part of the Collectors’ Edition.
Back in February 2006, Stewart Allen decided to pick up a DVD of this new SHIMMER thing – based on Beth Phoenix v Allison Danger – and wrote a review for Figure Four Weekly. So let’s jump in the time machine and go back five and a half years to see what Stew’s first impressions of SHIMMER really were…
***
I was initially attracted to the idea of checking out the new SHIMMER promotion for the sole intention of being able to see Beth Phoenix in competition. I’ve been a fan of Beth’s in OVW for some time (where she works as the valet to Aaron “The Idol” Stevens) and while she’s quick to get physically involved in his matches, I’d never seen her wrestle a proper match. It was a further bonus that on this Volume 1 release, she happened to be facing Allison Danger – one of the relatively few other women I know from the US indy circuit. So, the promise of some Phoenix/Danger action coupled with the fact that the promotion name was based on a song title by one of my favourite bands (“Shimmer Like A Girl” by Veruca Salt) meant that I actually laid down some dollars and ordered a DVD from ROHWrestling.com. Yay me.
I’ve got to say, I was very surprised to hear that the DVD is reportedly one of ROH’s fastest selling DVDs of all time. “Why??” asked a friend of mine when I told him this piece of information. I honestly didn’t know. I know why *I* bought a copy – but what was the attraction for everyone else? Either way, I unwrapped the DVD with some excitement tonight and stuck it in the machine. Fingers crossed it won’t suck. (more…)
Allison Danger hits the UK this weekend
This weekend, SHIMMER co-founder Allison Danger touches down in the UK for her first bookings in England since 2007. The triple header takes in shows for HEW (Herts & Essex Wrestling), WAW (World Association of Wrestling) and “The Return” show for WAW’s sister promotion WAWW (World Association of Women’s Wrestling).
While her match for Sunday’s WAW show remains undecided (with the promotion waiting to see how the land lies after Saturday’s WAWW show), Danger is scheduled to renew her rivalry with “Sweet” Saraya Knight on both Friday and Saturday in one-on-one bouts. This will hardly be the first time the two have faced off in a singles match – In addition to a fabulous old school scuffle during Danger’s last UK tour in 2007 (which you can watch in full here), they two went at it again in a brutal British rounds style match last month at SHIMMER Vol 41 (soon to be released via the SHIMMER website). Both encounters are the scheduled main events on their cards, and on Friday at HEW, they will clash for the newly vacant HEW Women’s Championship – a title most recently held by Britani Knight.
Ringbelles Retro: The Women of Honor
OK, first off, as a Brit, it hurts to write “Honor” without a “u”, but there we go. Anyway, to business.
Ring Of Honor is an utter sausagefest these days. Daizee Haze and Sara Del Rey, who were featured on a semi-regular basis on ROH on HDNet, have been removed from the roster page, with only Mia Yim still there, and she is a valet for the Embassy, so she isn’t even wrestling. Coupled with the distancing of the promotion from SHIMMER, it seems as if you’re cursed with having two X chromosomes, you’d better go and wrestle elsewhere.
It hasn’t always been this way though. As previously mentioned, Del Rey and Haze regularly wrestled on ROH TV, usually against talent who had been brought in such as Nikki Roxx, Rachel Summerlyn and Taeler Hendrix, but even that was a shadow of how things were five years ago, when ROH’s Women Of Honor – comprised of Del Rey, Haze, Allison Danger and Lacey. Each was associated pretty closely with a male wrestler (Bryan Danielson, Delirious, Christopher Daniels and Jimmy Jacobs respectively) and in some cases, were the female foil – Del Rey used the same music as Danielson, and Danger had the same entrance pose as Daniels, for example. However, when they got into the ring, they would not just put on 4 minute squash affairs or pointless exhibitions – they knuckled down and got on with wrestling. (more…)
HONOUR: Danger/Leva interviews & Trish part 2
HONOUR magazine returns for issue 14, with a slew of interviews, reviews, news and opinions.
The cover is dedicated to the interviews with the ReGeneration X tag team of Allison Danger and Leva Bates, though the magazine also chases down Mia Yim for a chat, and there is the second part of their giant interview with former WWE Women’s Champion and Tough Enough trainer Trish Stratus.
If that wasn’t enough, there are pieces on Kalamity‘s nCw Femmes Fatales title win, Velvet Sky winning the TNA Knockouts Championship, and the struggles which used to haunt SMASH Diva Makoto.
Throw in reviews of ACW’s American Joshi Queen of Queens 2011 and AIW’s Girls Night Out 3, and you’ve got 46 pages of great reading. Click the picture to get stuck in.
Fight Like A Girl: Skarlett
More interviews from Ringbelles, I hear you say? Oh yes, dear reader…
Ahead of her “first time ever” match against Sweet Saraya Knight, the Extreme World Wrestling Women’s Champion Skarlett talks to Fight Like A Girl about her feelings concerning the match and her opponent. We also go into further depth about EWW as a whole, the importance of strong characters, and how it promotes female wrestling (also on the card for October 15 in Hastings, England is a match between Lucy Clayden and Pollyanna).
She also discusses the relationship EWW shares with Saraya’s home promotion, World Association of Wrestling, and its sister offshoot, World Association of Women’s Wrestling, which returns on November 19 in Norwich, England, headlined by Saraya v Allison Danger. Throw in that we also talk about her sideline business, Killer Cupcakes, and that’s a lot of topics for you to listen to her talk about…
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SHIMMER Volumes 43 & 44 results and thoughts
Day Two of SHIMMER is in the history books, and now that the smoke has cleared from the shimnanigan-filled afterparty, it’s time to go back and review an absolutely amazing day of action. In my opinion, Day Two (encompassing Vols 43 & 44) was a stronger day of tapings than Day One, featuring many great matches and topped off with a history making Vol 44.
In male pre-show action, the team of Knight Wagner, Jordan McIntyre and the indiest man alive (a wrestler I failed to identify, but who wore the indytastic combination of a mask, t-shirt and pleather pants) defeated Team CLASH. After that, SPARKLE action saw Jett Riley & Kimberley Maddox beat December & Buggy Nova, while KC Spinelli pinned Su Yung with a hard powerslam.
Volume 43
1. LuFisto pinned Maja Svensson with the Mangalizer.
2. ReGeneration X (Allison Danger & Leva Bates) beat Sassy Stephie & Nevaeh after a Sonic Screwdriver on Stephie.
3. Nicole Matthews pinned Davina Rose with a Roll Of The Dice.
4. Hiroyo Matsumoto defeated Kellie Skater with a side suplex.
5. Saraya Knight pinned Ariel after a Sunset Flip Powerbomb.
6. Courtney Rush pinned Nikki Roxx following an Angle Slam.
7. Yumi Ohka pinned Mia Yim with a bridging Tiger Suplex.
8. MsChif pinned Tomoka Nakagawa after a Desecrator.
9. Mercedes Martinez & Athena went to a double countout. After the match, Athena wanted to restart, but Martinez walked off.
10. Jessie McKay pinned Britani Knight following a Boyfriend Stealer. Afterwards, Saraya Knight came out and berated Britani for letting down the Knight family name, and disowned her – suggesting she could put out a want ad and find a better daughter than Britani. Britani eventually snapped and the two brawled in a breathtaking extended pull-apart brawl. Britani vows to leave, but wants one match with her mother on Vol 44 to settle it all.
11. Serena Deeb pinned Portia Perez in an amazing no holds barred match, after spearing Perez off a table the two were standing on at the time.
12. Cheerleader Melissa defeated Kana after an Air Raid Crash. Post match, ring announcer Joey Eastman revealed that the win made Melissa the new top contender for Madison Eagles’ SHIMMER Championship.
13. SHIMMER Tag Team Titles: Ayako Hamada & Ayumi Kurihara (c) defeated Madison Eagles & Sara Del Rey to retain their titles after Hamada pinned Del Rey with an AP Cross.
Volume 44
1. Kellie Skater pinned Davina Rose after a Skate or Die.
2. Taylor Made pinned Veda Scott with a neckbreaker.
3. Kalamity pinned Tomoka Nakagawa with a Kalamity Driver.
4. Sassy Stephie & Neveah beat Ashley Lane & Mia Yim with a Kiss My Sass from Stephie on Yim. Former partners Nevaeh & Ashley Lane had already brawled to the back.
5. Serena Deeb pinned Yumi Ohka with a Spear.
6. ReGeneration X, Christina Von Eerie & MsChif beat Mena Libra, Melanie Cruise, She Nay Nay & Bonesaw when Von Eerie pinned She Nay Nay with a Pedigree.
7. Hiroyo Matsumoto pinned Jessie McKay with a side suplex.
8. Sara Del Rey pinned Courtney Rush with a Royal Butterfly.
9. Athena beat Mercedes Martinez via DQ when Martinez blatantly used a steel chair to attack the ankle of Athena. This seemed to cement a double turn, as Martinez was booed, while Athena was cheered. Athena pledged to get back at Martinez, but claimed she thought her leg was broken.
10. Kana beat LuFisto with the Kana Lock.
11. Britani Knight pinned Saraya Knight in a no DQ match with a Knight Light DDT.
12. SHIMMER Tag Team Titles: Ayako Hamada & Ayumi Kurihara (c) beat The Canadian NINJAs (Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews) after Kurihara pinned Perez after an Exploder Suplex.
13. SHIMMER Title: Cheerleader Melissa pinned Madison Eagles (c) with a rollup after escaping the Hellbound – NEW CHAMPION. After celebrating with the fans, Melissa was jumped and assaulted by Nicole Matthews, who claimed that this was “her time” now.
Click after the jump for more thoughts
SHIMMER volumes 41 & 42 results and thoughts
Day one of SHIMMER: Women Athletes is in the bag, with volumes 41 and 42 seeing some top class matches, strong debuts and some advancements in storylines, which should add intrigue to tomorrow’s event.
Before the tapings began, we were treated to two SPARKLE pre-show matches, with BoNayNayBugs (Jessie “Bonesaw” Brooks, She Nay Nay and Buggy) defeating Veda Scott, Kimberley Maddox and former WWE Developmental Diva Su Yung when Bonesaw nailed Yung with a double underhook DDT, and Allysin Kay & Maja (Mia) Svensson went to a time limit draw with KC Spinelli and Cherry Bomb.
Volume 41:
1. Nikki Roxx beat Kellie Skater with a schoolboy as Skater went for her Skate Or Die finisher.
2. Mercedes Martinez pinned Davina Rose with a Fisherman Buster.
3. Hailey Hatred pinned Kalamity with a running powerbomb. Hatred showed respect to Kalamity for her effort afterwards, but were attacked from behind by Mena Libra and Melanie Cruise.
4. Sara Del Rey beat Yumi Ohka with the Royal Butterfly.
Amber Gertner then brought out former SHIMMER Tag Team Champion Ashley Lane (AKA TNA‘s Madison Rayne) who called out Nevaeh after her former partner’s heel turn at AAW last night. The two got into a pull-apart brawl.
5. Kana (who was shown in video packages lanking Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa) made Mia Yim tap out from the Kana Lock (crossface chicken wing).
SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles was presented with her award for being number one in the PWI Female 50, then talked trash about Serena Deeb, who was her challenger for the taping. Serena then cut the best promo of her SHIMMER career to express her desire to be the champion.
6. Ayako Hamada & Ayumi Kurihara defeated Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa to win the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship. Haze and Nakagawa came out beforehand to say they were taking the night off, but were forced into a defence. Nakagawa was pinned by Kurihara following two exploder suplexes.
7. Nevaeh b Ashley Lane with a German Suplex.
Daizee Haze returned to ringside to quit the promotion.
8. Cheerleader Melissa pinned Britani Knight following an Air Raid Crash. Britani’s mother Saraya gave her some verbal abuse after the match.
9. Portia Perez beat Jessie McKay after hitting her in the head with a chain wrapped round her fist, then wished rival Serena Deeb all the best in her title match, as she wanted to become SHIMMER Champion by beating her.
10. Saraya Knight defeated Allison Danger in a British rounds-based match. Danger got the first fall at the opening of round one; Saraya equalised by pinning Danger with her feet on the ropes in round three, and; Knight won the third fall in round four by pinning Danger with her forearm over her throat.
11. Hiroyo Matsumoto beat Nicole Matthews with a backdrop driver.
12. Madison Eagles retained her SHIMMER Championship after pinning Serena Deeb with the Hellbound.
Volume 42:
The taping began with a video of Sara Del Rey talking about Kana blanking her and challenging her to a match.
1. Mercedes Martinez beat Leva Bates with the Fisherman Buster, then kicked her a few times after the bell.
2. Mena Libra and Melanie Cruise defeated Hailey Hatred and Kalamity when Libra pinned Kalamity with the Ambassador Bridge (samoan drop with a bridge).
3. Tomoka Nakagawa defeated MsChif, LuFisto and Kellie Skater in a 4-way when Nakagawa pinned MsChif.
4. Yumi Ohka pinned Courtney Rush following a chokebomb.
5. Portia Perez made Davina Rose tap out with the Just Facelock. Perez had called for Serena Deeb to sit at ringside to watch her destroy Deeb’s protege. Perez refused to break the hold so Serena got in the ring to break it, only to be attacked by Nicole Matthews. The four then had a wild brawl which saw the locker room clear to break them up.
6. Nevaeh and Sassy Stephie defeated Nikki Roxx and Ariel.
7. Cheerleader Melissa pinned Christina Von Eerie following the Kudo Driver.
8. Athena won a 3-way featuring Jessie McKay and Mia Yim with the O-Face (leaping Stunner from the top rope).
9. Nicole Matthews beat Serena Deeb with the Roll The Dice after Portia Perez interfered. Deeb then challenged Perez to a no holds barred match for volume 43.
10. Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara retained the Tag Team Championship over Saraya and Britani Knight when Hamada pinned Britani. Saraya refused to help her daughter during the match, who she blamed for being soft after the match during a scathing promo, where she said “they” would want her anymore.
11. Kana beat Sara Del Rey via referee stoppage when she passed out in the Kana Lock.
12. Madison Eagles retained the SHIMMER Championship by beating Hiroyo Matsumoto with the Hellbound.
Click after the jump for more thoughts. (more…)
WOW Podcast #27 with Leva Bates
Episode 27 with Leva Bates
Oft-requested guest and self-professed “Shoot Geek” Leva Bates joins the Podcast as we’re on the Road To SHIMMER Vols 41-44 in two weeks time (get your tickets). We talk the cult phenomenon that is ReGeneration X (with Allison Danger), favourite wrestlers growing up, her pop-culture character, a day in the life at the Team 3D Wrestling Academy, getting the call to wrestle Kong with only a few hours notice in TNA and future international plans – we also discuss burning questions in the worlds of Doctor Who, Comic Book Adaptations, The Big Bang Theory, Lost and N64 beat-em-ups. Oh yes.
Follow Leva Bates on twitter | Leva Bates official fanpage on facebook
(left click on picture to stream, right click and “save as” to download)
HONOUR magazine: new name, more content
Over the last few months, we have been telling you about RESPECT magazine – an e-mag which shares an ethos with Ringbelles, in that it wants to showcase the best women’s wrestling from across the planet, no matter what promotion it comes from. Last month, it celebrated its 1 year anniversary. This month, it has undergone a metamorphosis to HONOUR magazine, though the mantra remains the same.
This month’s mammoth 60-page issue heavily features a biopic and interview with former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus, who discussed Tough Enough, her WrestleMania 22 match with Mickie James, her retirement match at Unforgiven 2006 against Lita (though she has wrestled since, most famously at this year’s WM) as well as her yoga and movie ventures.
Elsewhere in the issue, Terra Calaway talks about becoming the #1 contender to the WILD Championship, and there is also an interview with WILD’s Travis Leland about working with former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro. There are also previews to Pro Wrestling: EVE‘s upcoming title match between Jenny Sjodin and April Davids and CHIKARA’s Joshimania, as well as columns from SHIMMER’s Jessie McKay and Allison Danger. Meanwhile, if you’re after reviews of CHIKARAsaurus Rex and SHIMMER‘s latest DVD offerings, you get those too.
Take a read of it by clicking on the image above to support HONOUR.
Allison Danger is UK bound for WAWW
After a four year absence, SHIMMER founder and Pro Wrestling SUN president Allison Danger is returning to the UK for a weekend of shows in November.
She is the first international name to be announced for the return of Saraya Knight’s World Association of Women’s Wrestling, which holds its next card in Norwich, England on November 19. The announcement was made on the UKFF a few hours ago:
WAWW are please to announce that Shimmer star Allison Danger is joining the roster and will debut on “The Return” presentation on the 19th November. Allison will also appear for HEW at the greyhound stadium Harlow on the 18th and for WAW at Larva Ignite Hemel Hempstead on Sunday 20th.
That’s three potential chances for Brits to see Danger in one weekend. (more…)
Allison Danger’s Womanist Revolution spreads
Allison Danger has returned to her blog to tell us about her Womanist Revolution, and it seems the fever is spreading.
It all started back in June when Danger informed us about her new campaign, and how she was directing her attention at more than just other women in wrestling, but also towards promoters and fans. In her latest entry, the 11-year veteran tells us she is leading by example by being more selective with her bookings – refusing some offers because of how women will be portrayed by her actions – as well as speaking out about untrained or uncaring women being thrown into a women’s match because of who she knows, or who she’s sleeping with. Below is a snippet from her most recent musings:
A few years back I was booked to do a show in North Carolina. I was part of a baby face tag team against a heel team of a female with similar time in as me and another female with a little less time but a monster build. Both good opponents to share a ring with. Unfortunately, the worker booked as my tag partner had to cancel off. The promoter, instead of finding a suitable female wrestler, decided to put in a worker’s girlfriend who, I believe, had never even taken a bump yet. Good times! We were able to structure a match around this person’s limitations and the match was go. Sadly, about two minutes into the heat, this gal tags out and leaves the rings because….wait for it….SHE GOT BORED TAKING THE HEAT. Thankfully, the remaining members of our match, who were not bored, were able to pull together a somewhat decent ending that didn’t kill them and told a story. In the back we get no apology and no explanation other than the “I was bored” and “I was in there for so long I thought you guys were playing a joke on me”. She spent the rest of the night suction cupped to her boyfriend while fixing her hair so she could manage him in the main event. Worst part is, neither the boyfriend (who was also her trainer) nor the promoter saw any problem with this behavior.
It seems other women in the industry are just as annoyed with being put in there with unskilled or apathetic girls who are in the position they are in because of who they are associated with, rather than how skilled they are – and the most vocal has been the NY Knockout Nikki. (more…)
RESPECT reaches 1 year anniversary
Twelve months ago, Captured Beauty launched an e-magazine called RESPECT. Sporting Alpha Female on the cover of the debut edition, it focussed on the launch of Pro Wrestling: EVE, covered the death of Luna Vachon and previewed the debut of Manami Toyota in the United States.
In its first issue, RESPECT was just 18 pages. A year on, it’s 1st anniversary edition has swelled to 42 pages, and features a giant interview with SHIMMER and PWWA Champion Madison Eagles, previewing her SHIMMER title defence on September 3 in Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
The official preview for the latest issue also shows how far the brand has spread:
We also had the pleasure to talk to Eagles’ former tag team partner, and the woman who was kicked in the head in by ‘The Punisher’ only days ago – Jessie McKay! The #1 Contender to the SHIMMER Title on September 3 talks to us about that looming triple threat match, joining the SHIMMER roster and working with Madison Eagles.
Portia Perez fills in the role of ‘Guest Writer’ this month. She writers an ‘Open Letter to Fans’ addressing her displeasure with wrestlers cheapening themselves for fan adoration. The disgruntled former SHIMMER Tag Champion lets loose in her very own article.
RESPECT also looks at ‘The Big Fight’ that takes place on August 7. Hailey Hatred defends her JWP Openweight Title against Kaori Yoneyama. RESPECT had the pleasure of talking to Yoneyama about her break into the business and influences in the ring.
The Perez piece is definitely worth a read, as is the fantasy booking of Beth Phoenix, and there is also Allison Danger’s Womanist Revolution manifesto, in case you missed it when it was launched back in June.
Congratulations to RESPECT for a year of success, and here’s to many more in the future.
To read issue 12 of RESPECT, click the cover above. You can also follow Captured Beauty on Twitter.
WSU Uncensored Rumble IV: Lexxus earns title shot
For the past three years, WSU has held an Uncensored Rumble to crown a number one contender. Going into it this year, Jessicka Havok was the strongest contender to win it all, though she would have to go through Alicia in an Uncensored Rules match first. Also on the card, among other matches, was Sassy Stephanie’s first title defense against the veteran Rain, new tag team champions Boston Shore defending against the Belle Saints, Marti Belle and Tina San Antonio, and Mercedes Martinez defending her WSU Championship against Britney Savage. Would the show live up to the hype? Let’s find out…
The iPPV was 20 minutes late starting, but wrestling fans are somewhat used to this. The stream flickered on to show Amy Lee in the ring, cutting a promo on fans in the crowd. The less said about this, the better.
The show kicked off with Sassy Stephie defending her WSU Spirit title against the Radiant Rain (who arrived in a new outfit, and to Jetta’s music “Something Kinda Oooh” – nice nod to her former tag team partner). What we saw was a strong, solid opening contest between a veteran and a woman who has only been wrestling since 2007. But despite Rain’s experience, Stephie fought back and delivered a Kiss My Sass to retain the Spirit title. Both women looked excellent, and it was a great match to start the iPPV off with. (more…)
Allison Danger welcomes us to the Revolution
Looks like Allison Danger‘s as mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore.
After teasing that she had a concept waiting in the wings, the President of Pro Wrestling SUN and co-founder of SHIMMER has revealed her plan to make sure women’s wrestlnig is treated more seriously. The suggestions she makes are not anything radical, but should fans follow it, should create a massive change in perception, and benefit every female who steps through the ropes and is serious about learning this craft.
In her post on her blog, Danger breaks her feelings down into a number of segments, starting with a message to her fellow female wrestlers:
It is time we show offices and fans alike that looking different makes us special, not unemployable. But at the end of the day, what is most important is our performance. Are you not sick of being told “eh, you are ok for a girl”? I am. But I can’t potentially change a mind without looking at myself, seeing where I need improvement and actually DOING IT. I feel fortunate that there are women in this business who are leading by example. Despite their years in wrestling they have not once stopped trying to be better. Without knowing it, they are my inspiration. Despite the cattiness people assume when females are involved, I am happy for the successes of these peers and will continue to cheer them on.
Ringbelles Roundup (7 June 2011)
The future of women’s wrestling in Britain was looking bright. In May 2010, Pro Wrestling: EVE debuted with a lot of fanfare, announcing a working relationship with World Association of Wrestling, meaning Sweet Saraya and her daughter Britani Knight would be part of the proceedings, along with other WAW talent Destiny and Amazon (and later, Liberty and Melodi). The partnership seemed to be working well, with training seminars being held with WAW, and EVE making Britani its first Champion two months ago.
Fast forward 13 months, and things are looking much muddier.
Last Saturday, less than two hours before Britani would defend the EVE title against Jenny Sjodin at an XWA Wrestling show in Morecambe, Saraya took to her Facebook to say that the relationship with WAW and EVE was being permanently severed, and would not be healed. In addition, it also said that WAW talent would no longer be on EVE shows.
While our Twitter exploded with requests for information, both from fans and wrestlers themselves, I was sat in the crowd at Morecambe unaware, much like EVE promoter Dann Read and the participants in the match. As it turned out, not even Saraya’s daughter knew that this decision was going to be made, nor that it had been made public and was being discussed.
There was no massive incident that caused the split, but more of a lot of little niggles that eventually became too much. Britani travelled to Morecambe against the wishes of family members as she was ill, with swollen legs and voice gone, presumably still suffering the after-effects of the glandular fever that she wrestled with on the EVE Championship weekend. According to Saraya, she did so because of promises made by Dann Read that he wanted to get her booked all around the country and get a number of successful defences under her belt – thereby increasing EVE’s national exposure. It seems that when Saraya learned that Britani would be dropping the title that night, it went against what they were told would be happening with Britani, and saw it as a betrayal of trust. We must point out that it isn’t down to Britani being upset with the booking decision and refusing to drop the title – it apparently is down to promises being made then then reneged on.
Saraya also went on to say that she would be reviving World Association of Women’s Wrestling – a promotion which promoted a number of cards between 2006 and 2009. (more…)
DVD Review: ArenaChicks Volume 1
Firstly, an apology – I’ve been meaning to write this review for some time, but other commitments got in the way. However, these are excuses, and I’m remedying that right now by producing for you a review of ArenaChicks Volume 1.
We first heard of a new project from ArenaChicks founder Amber O’Neal way back in 2009 when she spent the interval between DVD tapings at SHIMMER taking down email addresses from the fans for an upcoming venture. We didn’t hear anything about it for a year, and assumed it had come to nothing. Then we got wind of ArenaChicks – a new DVD series being produced with CWF Mid-Atlantic in the North Carolina area of the US. This is the first offering of what O’Neal is hoping to become another viable stage for female wrestlers to ply their craft, so let’s take a look and see what it’s like…
Now, unlike shows such as SHIMMER, NCW: Femmes Fatales, WSU and Pro Wrestling: EVE, ArenaChicks doesn’t produce one night of action – instead, it has individual matches on a number of cards and collates them all onto one show. For that reason, this is a collection of what you may refer to as exhibition matches, rather than having shows which build to a crescendo of a main event. Because of that, you need to remember the matches are filmed in chronological order, which means the best or highest profile match may not necessarily be the final one. (more…)
Unearthed: Sweet Saraya vs Allison Danger in 2007!
Ringbellesonline is proud to bring you a match that hasn’t seen the light of day for over four years, but after the events of last month’s SHIMMER tapings, is strangely relevant once again.
Nobody would even begin to argue that the debut of The Knight Dynasty (Sweet Saraya & Britani Knight) was one of the major talking points coming out of the tapings at the Eagles Club in Berwyn, with people breathlessly talking about how they’ve never quite seen anything like the Knights before. One person who knew pretty much exactly what to expect was the promotion’s co-founder Allison Danger, who tangled with Sweet Saraya just over four years prior as part of her extended UK tour in early 2007 – and in fact, Danger and Saraya found themselves on opposite sides of a heated tag team match on Volume 40 as Danger and partner Leva Bates took on Saraya and her daughter Britani.
The following match is from Saraya’s home promotion of WAW on March 23rd 2007 and is notable for featuring the traditional British “rounds” style of wrestling. Few promotions still keep the rounds style alive, but WAW are certainly one of those who still keep that tradition strong – having all their titles defended in rounds matches, as well as hosting many challenge matches under those rules. Here, the match is competed across six rounds of three minutes, two falls, two submissions or a knockout to decide the winner. Enjoy!
Great thanks and full credit go to our buddy Rob Brazier of Last Chance Photographs for finding the footage, dusting it off and uploading it.
Ringbelles Roundup (12 April 2011)
The Big News
Two big stories coming out of the UK this week…
It was a rough yet rewarding weekend for Britani Knight. Suffering from what she thought was tonsillitis, the 18-year old member of the Knight Dynasty wrestled 5 matches in 28 hours on route to becoming the first ever Pro Wrestling: EVE champion. However, she was bedridden the next day with what turned out to be glandular fever, causing her to miss a date with her home promotion, World Association of Wrestling. We at Ringbelles wish her congratulations on her title win and also a speedy recovery from a nasty illness.
EVE’s title tournament turned out to be less complicated that the brackets would have led you to believe. Starting with FIVE four corner matches and a Last Chance Battle Royal for the losers to determine the quarter finalists, they were hurried through relatively quickly to leave us with singles matches which varied from fine to good – the standout matches of the first night featured Erin Angel v Nikki Storm and Britani v Jenny Sjodin in the quarters, and Sweet Saraya taking on Blue Nikita in a Last Woman Standing match. The return of Blue Nikita was something of a surprise after her relationship with EVE went sour after the first show – so when she ran in to attack Saraya in the opening match of the evening, it took many by surprise. It also meant that both voluntarily took themselves out of the tournament – Saraya was eligible for the Battle Royal and Blue Nikita never got to compete in her four-way contest due to brawling with Saraya before the bell – to compete in the Last Woman Standing affair, which Saraya won with a sunset powerbomb.
The Project nightclub was a makeshift venue after the Royal British Legion was pulled as a host due to licensing issues and complaints – somebody even called up the local radio station pretending to be EVE management to say the event at the Project had been completely cancelled – but as an environment for the audience, it was great. It was cosy, yet sat the fans comfortably with plenty of space, and felt safe yet anarchic. Apparently it was a little too cosy backstage, as there wasn’t much room for the wrestlers – of which there were around 20 – to change, but that could be changed if EVE decides to return to the venue – something the owners were pretty receptive to. (more…)
Allison Danger on Cindy Rogers’ retirement
Last week, we brought to you Cindy Rogers’ blog about her reasons for retirement, and how she had requested to wrestle Allison Danger in her final match at the WSU Uncensored Rumble on June 25.
Now Danger has responded:
When I was first approached about being Cindy Rogers’ final wrestling match ever I was flattered. Honored even. But then I thought to myself, “Who else would they ask?”. Let’s face it-there would be no Cindy Rogers without Allison Danger. Join me for a quick walk down memory lane (don’t worry, nerds, it is not a REAL walk. Lord knows wrestling fans hate any form of real exercise): (more…)
Cindy Rogers explains why she’s retiring, also WSU Uncensored Rumble card
Cindy Rogers has turned to her Facebook to explain her reasons for her retirement, with her last match taking place in two months at the WSU Uncensored Rumble on June 25 in Union City, New Jersey.
I started this journey of pro wrestling 10 years ago, and it has been the greatest ride. Due to a permanent neck injury I sustained in a car accident 2 years ago I have to announce my retirement from this sport I love. It’s a decision that I have put off for a long time now. Physically I needed to do it awhile ago, but mentally I just couldn’t do it. Unfortunately the physical part has taken a priority. I will be retiring on 6/25 at the WSU show in Union City, NJ.
I had the pleasure of working with some of the best female wrestlers out there and some of them in my opinion are the best of all time who don’t get the credit they deserve. I’ve also been able to not just meet, but work with some of the legends I grew up watching. It has been said that it is hard to make friends in this business, but I have been lucky to make many friends including ones who I also consider family-you guys know who you are :)
I’m not going to lie- this announcement I am finding much harder to write than I thought it would be. It is hard to try to sum up my feelings on not just retiring, but also how to thank everyone who helped me on this great journey. I learned from every match I had and from the many workers I have met along the way-guys and girls. I want to thank all the organizations and promoters that I was blessed to work for. (more…)
Ringbelles Report: SHIMMER DVD tapings, volumes 39-40
SHIMMER Women Athletes returned to action on Sunday to film Volumes 39 & 40 of their DVD series. In results and news from the show:
a. Rhia O’Reilly & Jett Riley defeated Brittany Force & December in SPARKLE action. As the only women’s SPARKLE match on the day, this got a little more time than the two matches yesterday. O’Reilly beat Force with a cross body to avenge her loss from the day before. A fairly good match, with O’Reilly’s fire and Force’s personality coming through most strongly.
1. Kellie Skater defeated Courtney Rush with a Skate or Die, giving “Rate Tank” a much needed win, albeit at the expense of one of the stars of the first day of tapings. Tank’s knee-bend Torture Rack initiated chants of “Total Package” in a decent, and somewhat surprising victory. Rush wasn’t back on Vol 40, but I hope to see a lot more of the former PJ Tyler, who looked very good in her appearances this weekend.
2. LuFisto defeated Sassy Stephie with a twisting Downward Spiral. Stephie was making her first SHIMMER appearance in several volumes, having missed the previous set of tapings with a shoulder injury. Madamoiselle Rachelle managed Stephie here, and although she didn’t get particularly involved in the pleasingly pretty even matchup, she did contribute to the end of the match, when Stephie and Rachelle coming together on the apron, setting up LuFisto for the win. A fine match. (more…)
Ringbelles Report: SHIMMER DVD tapings, volumes 37-38
Apologies for the delay in getting to you, but we’re in Chicago, working on a poor wifi connection and there is much socialising to be done, but we’re finally updating you with the results of the tapings of volumes 37 and 38 of SHIMMER: Women Athletes, held in Berwyn, IL on Saturday.
So we’ll furnish you with the results and my thoughts on any standout moments.
Volume 37
SPARKLE: Bonesaw b Jett Riley with a double-arm DDT. Bonesaw’s improved since her last SHIMMER outings last year and looks much more aggressive with her forearm strikes, so good on her. Jett Riley is one colourful individual – it makes her stand out and be memorable, so thumbs up for that too.
SPARKLE: Brittany Force b Rhia O’Reilly by getting a pin while her feet were on the ropes. Force is a tough-looking cookie, and her appearance is aggressive yet mildly sleazy, which works for her character. O’Reilly flew over to Berwyn on her own dime for the opportunity to wrestle for SHIMMER, which makes her the most far travelled SPARKLER in the promotion’s history.
MsChif b Kellie Skater with the Desecrator. MsChif’s return to SHIMMER after her freak shoulder injury while preparing for the tapings last September was in a comedy outing, but she still had her sharp edge taking out the Rate Tank.
Mena Libra b Courtney Rush with a samoan drop with a bridge. Rush (formerly PJ Tyler) unleashed a shedload f impressive suplexes on the bigger Libra, which got the crowd into the contest, even though neither are SHIMMER regulars, and are pretty unknown to the Berwyn crowd, even though both have SPARKLEd here before. Both Rush and Libra have something to offer SHIMMER.
A backstage interview with Christina Von Eerie was interrupted by Sara Del Rey, who proceeded to beat the holy crap out of the spiky-haired punk and send her down two flights of stairs to show who was superior. Very different to previous backstage segments, this one used actions as well as words, setting up a match later on in the tapings. (more…)
The Pocket Volcano Erupts: A Fan’s Take on the Womanist Revolution
A couple of months ago, I was watching Raw and occasionally tweeting my thoughts. I remember being aggravated at the fact a feud was brewing between two of the women that was based on something incredibly superficial – I believe it was the Bellas claiming they had a ‘big secret’ about Kelly Kelly, and that secret turning out to be them claiming she was too skinny, or it may have been something else equally superfluous. I took to my Twitter, wondering if the concept of fighting for pride, to be the best was something that WWE writers refused to consider as a reason for a female feud. After all, it’s regularly a concept used in other promotions. Was it really that far a leap for WWE to try it out?
Not long after expressing my frustrations, I received a cryptic reply from Allison Danger. She said, “You are inspiring my latest blog. #therevolutioniscoming”
That made me pause. Revolution? Me? I tentatively asked, “Should I be flattered or afraid…?” She replied, “It’s a good thing. I know once you read it you will join me.” Colour me curious! I didn’t have to wait long; shortly thereafter she unleashed her blog entitled, “The Revolution is Here” and issued a call to arms, calling on fans, bookers/writers and fellow female wrestlers to change their modus operandi when it came to their part in wrestling. If you haven’t read it, you really should. Do it now before continuing.
I did not so much read it as consume it. Allison’s words stirred the passion within me, the passion that drives me when it comes to wrestling, the passion that infuses my articles here on Ringbelles. The passion that wants to help overthrow the conventional view of female wrestling as nothing more than a piss break – a view that WWE helped cultivate, but that several promotions still nurture, despite the fact that there are dozens of females who can easily steal any show, if given the chance. (more…)
September 1, 2011 | Categories: Commentaries | Tags: Allison Danger, Daizee Haze, Jennifer, Madison Eagles, MsChif, Pocket Volcano, Serena Deeb | 4 Comments »