Ringbelles Roundup (19 March 2013) – TNA One Night Only tapings, Bellatrix, GLOW documentary & more
WARNING: Spoilers lay within.
TNA Wrestling is saying goodbye to the Impact Zone in Orlando, FL by hosting a series of One Night Only pay-per-views. In last week’s Roundup, we discussed the Knockouts Knockdown all-women show which saw a number of former Knockouts turn down the offer of being there. At the time, Traci Brooks was one of the women who had declined the offer, but it was not because she was holding a grudge of any description, tweeting “I had to say no to TNA for the KO ppv as I couldn’t make it that day. No other reason”.
Payton Banks (Rain) and Winter (Katarina Leigh) pointed out last week that they had also been asked but said no, while Salinas (Shelly Martinez) vlogged that she wasn’t asked. However, it was the former Roxxi who came out and explained in detail why she didn’t go back for Sunday’s show.
Nikki Roxx (who was messed around during her two stints in the promotion) spoke to the Greg DeMarco show about her turning down the offer, saying, “You can only get kicked so many times… I think that I had finally had enough. They had trouble treating me very well to begin with and I felt like I was being a glutton for punishment every time I went back… I felt like it was the right time to tell them no. It was like one of those bad relationships where you keep trying to get away from it… You can’t treat people badly and then hope that they’ll come back and hang out.” (more…)
TNA Knockouts PPV taping features Serena Deeb’s return match; Daffney shows up independently
Well, it had a difficult birth – with most of the former Knockouts banding together and turning down offers to work the show – but TNA have managed to put together a Knockouts only PPV as part of their taped “One Night Only” series after all, and managed to pull a coup out of the bag by featuring Serena Deeb‘s first match since October 2011. Deeb took on fellow OVW trainee Mickie James in the match, which it is believed will likely air in the July or August slot on TNA’s One Night Only calendar. (X-Travaganza will air in April, the Jokers Wild Tag Tournament in May, and TNA’s live Slammiversary will air in June). All of the early matches were termed as qualifiers for the main event “Queen of TNA” Gauntlet match, which is TNA’s Royal Rumble style timed-entrance Battle Royale with the final two facing off in a pinfall/submission standard match.
Interestingly, one former Knockout did show up despite not being booked – as Daffney, fresh off resolving litigation with the company, was seen protesting the show with an “I’m here independently” sign (in reference to her threat to challenge the so-called ‘Independent Contractor’ clause in TNA contracts).
Click back after the break for an exclusive pic of Daffney & Amber O’Neal at the show, along with full results, which also saw the return of other former Knockouts, a former Diva, Gut Check competitors and independent talent (more…)
Thanksgiving video bonanza!
Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers/listeners, who are spending the day eating roasted birds and things containing pumpkins while watching Gridiron football or the Macy’s parade. As Brits, we’re not entirely clued up on what goes on on this particular Thursday in November, but we have seen a lot of people talking about what they are thankful for. So, in the spirit of the day, we shall do the same.
We are thankful for every single one of you who chooses to visit our website, download an interview or podcast, read an article, leave a comment, share our contributions with others and so on. We are also thankful for women who go step into the ring and work hard to entertain the fans; we’re thankful for promoters who give them the opportunity to do so, and we’re thankful for every fan who spends money supporting the wrestlers and the promotions.
So as a thanks to all of you, we’ve got a series of videos of matches which took place around Thanksgiving, but may not necessarily have a Thanksgiving theme. As a result, we’ve got Trish Stratus v Molly Holly from WWF SmackDown on November 23, 2000; The Pilgrims (Michelle McCool, Layla & Jillian Hall) v The Indians (Kelly Kelly, Mickie James & Melina) from WWE Raw on November 23, 2009; Hannah Blossom v Josie from OVW Thanksgiving Thunder on November 28, 2009; and Winter, Angelina Love & Madison Rayne v Velvet Sky, Brooke Tessmacher & Tara from TNA Impact Wrestling on November 24 last year.
Happy Turkey Day, everybody! (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (9 October 2012) – the return of Rebecca Knox, WSU and more
“I am so sorry I have not been in touch in a while. I have been in and out of hospital and have not been able to get access to the internet in over a week. I am very upset I have to write this email because I have to cancel all future dates until December. I am not sure if you had heard about the knock to the head I got in Germany a few weeks ago or not, but I got a bad cut above the eye and it was stitched up and all seemed fine. But after a few days I was getting extremely painful headaches, loud buzzing in my left ear and my vision in my left eye is completely blurred. The doctor has told me it may be damage to the 8th cranial nerve and I am waiting for a CT brain scan and have been advised to stop wrestling for the next few months. It could be permanent or it could go away by itself, but until all signs have been alleviated I will not be able to engage in any heavy physical activity.”
That’s the message Rebecca Knox posted on her own website back in October 2006, following her serious injury in a match against Kisu in Dortmund on September 22 of that year. The match finished as normal, and took on Sweet Saraya the following night in Great Yarmouth, England in a match which saw her drop the Queens Of Chaos Championship. After that, she took some time out to get medically checked out, which gave her the bad news about her 8th cranial nerve injury. It also meant that the proposed Iron Woman Match between she and Daizee Haze at SHIMMER Volume 7 had to be scrapped, after the pair had engaged in a heated feud in the promotion’s early days.
As she points out in her post, she was expecting to be out until December 2006. It’s now October 2012, and only now is the 25-year old from Dublin, Ireland seriously thinking of a return. (more…)
Tessmacher regains Knockouts belt; plus, a former Diva debuts
Last Sunday at TNA Hardcore Justice, I questioned the Knockouts Title victory by Madison Rayne, saying that it was the right result in the right storyline – as it pertains to her advances to referee Earl Hebner – but it arrived too soon, as it cut the legs off the previous champion Miss Tessmacher, who was still finding her way in her first reign. The situation changed on last night’s Impact Wrestling when Tessmacher regained the belt after the law stopped leaning in the direction of Rayne.
Knockouts boss lady Brooke Hogan had clearly seen enough, and made the ruling that Hebner was not going to ref any more women’s matches, which bent the new champion out of shape as she waited in the ring for what she thought was going to be a victory party. She then got two further kicks in the teeth when she was informed that the rematch between her and Tessmacher would happen later in the show, and there would be a debuting ref, and it would be a woman – not that female refs are a new thing in TNA, as Traci Brooks donned the stripes for a while in 2008.
Rayne got in a cutting blow before leaving though, saying that Brooke was only there because of her surname – an interesting, and possibly close-to-the-bone line, considering that argument was raised in this week’s Wrestling Observer about how she’s not over and not much of a talker. Granted, her on-mic stuff here wasn’t great, but she’s hardly the worst ever – perhaps she’s being unfairly compared to her dad. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (14 August 2012) – Femmes Fatales, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Maria Kanellis & more
Wrestling promotions spend a long time building up a reputation. Many groups which are starting out at the moment like SHINE and BLOW are looking to get some traction, credibility and a fan base behind them to be mentioned in the same sort of high regard as companies like SHIMMER and Women Superstars Uncensored. Another promotion which has created a great reputation for itself is Montreal, nCw Femmes Fatales, which was worked hard over the last three years to be known as the standard bearer for all-women shows in Canada.
Earlier this year, another promotion looking to start its own women’s show did not do as much research as it probably should have. Insane Championship Wrestling in Scotland called its group Femmes Fatales, but after realising that there was already another Femmes Fatales out there which already had a positive reputation and was working on heritage. After a brief contact from the original, ICW agreed to change the name to Fierce Females, admitting that there would have been some confusion, rebranded itself and looked ahead to promoting its first show, which takes place in Glasgow on September 30 (which Ringbelles will be attending, we may add). It was a considered, reasonable and mature approach exhibited by all which meant that nobody felt aggrieved or hard done by, and would mean that there would be no confusion by fans.
A similar situation came to light this week. (more…)
Hardcore Justice: “Bad call” leads to new champ
Madison Rayne challenges Miss Tessmacher for the TNA Knockouts Championship, hoping that she has the ace in the hole by swaying the affections of the referee in her favour.
The Background
• For months, Rayne has been talking about the crush that’s making her all gooey-eyed, and it was finally revealed to be referee Earl Hebner. Since then, he has been smitten with her. This has been demonstrated by controversially awarding her the decision in matches, though it could be argued they were bad calls rather than favouritism.
• The latest instance came in a 4-way match to determine a new top contender when Rayne beat Gail Kim, Mickie James and Tara. Madison was the one being pinned but was awarded the victory.
• Rayne also kissed Earl right in front of the Knockouts Champ on last week’s Impact Wrestling to make it seem that she had the ref in her pocket. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (7 August 2012) – Wrestlers Rescue, Dawn Marie, BLOW & more
Former WWE and ECW personality Dawn Marie seems to have a good heart. Setting up Wrestlers Rescue in 2008 (and the subsequent Pro Wrestlers Relief) in 2009, her goal was to make life easier for wrestlers with medical issues to help them pay their bills – a common problem for wrestlers outside of WWE who may not be able to secure the proper insurance needed to cover their ailments.
In the last week or so, her charity has received a battering from James “Kamala” Harris, who has had both of his legs amputated due to complications stemming from diabetes and high blood pressure. He claims that Wrestlers Rescue and Boston-based independent wrestling promotion the Millennium Wrestling Federation promised to help him out financially, and never did so, calling Dawn Marie “no good” and accusing her of keeping the money that was raised for him.
Wrestlers Rescue has not had the best of reputations in its short existence, but following this high-profile attack on her work, Dawn Marie decided to go public with all the details. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (31 July 2012) – Beautiful People reunion, no Divas and more
Velvet Sky was released from TNA last week, and I’m sure it wasn’t a decision that she came to lightly. However, following the departure of her longtime tag team partner Angelina Love at the start of July, she thought out loud on Twitter about a Beautiful People reunion, and there was no way that could happen on TNA TV, so we should have read into that at the time. Well, now it’s set to happen, as Sky and Love (now going under her original guise of Angel Williams) will be on the same show for Northeast Wrestling on September 22 in Fiskhill, NY, and have been booked to participate in a tag team match for Family Wrestling Entertainment on October 5 in Brooklyn, NY against Maria Kanellis and a partner who has not been announced yet.
Like I pointed out when the news of her release was announced, Sky must imagine that there must be a lot of money on the table for the Beautiful People to do a tour. However, as well as taking the money on the table, both she and Williams have the opportunity to give back too. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (10 July 2012)
Quite a few interconnected items to discuss this week, but they all start at the same point, so let’s go back to last Saturday night…
On the “Before They Were WWF Superstars” DVD back in 2001, we got a look at Edge and Christian’s background, learned about their friendship and how they were high school buddies. From there, they went back to their old school, walked the corridors and showed how a particular hallway entrance doubled up as their wrestling ring.
One element that is pertinent to this piece is that the group of friends that they hung around with were known as the Getalong Gang, as they got along with all the other cliques like the jocks, the geeks and so on. They were the middleground that everyone could be friendly with and not face any attitude, hostility or pretty grudges.
nCw Femmes Fatales is the Getalong Gang. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (3 July 2012)
Opportunities. Some have them, enjoy success and then they are lost; others don’t get them when they feel they’ve been patient, done all the right things and are continually overlooked. One WWE Diva has left the company due to a lack of chances, while one TNA Knockout has also departed after seeing herself slipping down the ladder after being the most decorated women on the roster.
The first one to leave was Maxine (Karlee Perez) who has spent the bulk of her WWE tenure in either Florida Championship Wrestling or on NXT, where she debuted as part of the all Diva season 3 run, or on NXT Redemption, which was the show that would never end. While I was never that impressed with her on season 3, her antics on Redemption involving the love triangle with Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman showed that she had some range as an entertainer. As a wrestler, she was really nothing to write home about, but she had potential as a manager or authority figure – like she was in FCW, before she was relieved of her duties. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (26 June 2012)
Back when it was still in single figures, we interviewed LuFisto for the Women of Wrestling Podcast. Among the mass of topics which were discussed, including her changing an Ontarian law which prevented men wrestling women and competing in brutal and bloody deathmatches, she pointed out one ambition which she held dear – one which has yet to be accomplished.
The last thing I would love to do is have one match with TNA. Just one. Dark match, whatever – I don’t care. I just want to experience what it is.
Considering she has been wrestling her entire adult life in numerous countries (and spilt blood in many of them – either her own or someone else’s) it sounds like a modest request. Debuting at the age of 17 in 1997, the Montreal native has broken barriers for women in her home country of Canada, competed and won championships in Combat Zone Wrestling, hanging with the guys there along the way, won deathmatch tournaments (one of which saw a piece of broken fluorescent bulb glass lodged in her back for around four years), and also proven that she’s not a one-trick pony by wrestling in SHIMMER without the benefit or distraction of weapons. Much like Mick Foley’s transformation from Cactus Jack and cellar dweller Mankind to the cuddly guy who is everyone’s happy uncle, LuFisto transitioned from a violent, partially masochistic maniac character to one which is based around Japanese anime and peppered with fun and happiness. LuFisto is a pioneer for women’s wrestling who has been trying for a number of years to get a foot in the door at either WWE or TNA, with the usual response being that she doesn’t have the “look” that they are after. However last Saturday, on the 15th anniversary of her debut, she got the opportunity she’s been after for years, when she got a chance to wrestle in a TNA ring as part of its Gut Check before the card in Oshawa, Ontario. (more…)
Madison Rayne discusses winning fitness contest
Hard work and dedication has paid off for Madison Rayne. The former TNA Knockouts singles and Tag Team Champion & SHIMMER Tag Champ tweeted on Saturday about her victory at Main Stage Muscle’s Victory Classic in Kannapolis, NC, where she took first prize in the fitness bikini competition, and has now qualified for the Mid-Atlantic Classic taking place on October 20 in Charlotte, NC. In a message on MSM’s Facebook page, Rayne posted “THANK YOU for the awesome experience at my first show ever last night!!! From start to finish, the show was a blast!!! Can’t wait for October!!!!”
On the TNA Today vodcast, she discussed how she had such a strict diet to get the look that she was going for, and how she has been splurging since the contest ended. As part of the chat, Madison also discussed Taeler Hendrix‘s Gut Check match on last Thursday’s Impact Wrestling and who her “secret crush” may be. Click the jump to watch the video. (more…)
Victory Road – Rayne Eats Defeat
It snuck up on us somewhat because of women’s wrestling’s March Madness, but TNA‘s Victory Road hosted a Knockouts Title match last night, pitting (former) friends Gail Kim and Madison Rayne facing each other for Kim’s belt.
Rayne earned the shot at the title by sneaking her way to victory in a battle royal, causing her friendship with then-Knockouts Tag team Championship partner Kim to become somewhat strained, as the two began arguing and distancing themselves from each other in situations where they would have helped each other out, to the point where the pair lost their doubles straps to ODB and Eric Young on last Thursday’s Impact Wrestling. Freeing themselves of the shackles of being forced to associate with each other, the pair met last night with the singles strap at stake.
In what turned out to be a back and forth contest with no real aggressor, Kim was able to retain the championship by hitting the challenger with Eat Defeat on her second attempt for the winning pinfall, albeit with a handful of Rayne’s tights.
It was a short match, so this will be a fairly short report, but we’ll look at what was bacon, what was baloney, and what was offal… (more…)
Against All Odds: Tara falters, Gail retains
At last month’s Genesis, Mickie James deliberately disqualified herself in her TNA Knockouts Championship match against Gail Kim. That left fans wondering if she would get yet another bite at the apple, but on January 26th Tara defeated both James and Velvet Sky to become number one contender. The match was set for the next PPV, Against All Odds.
Between then and now, for some unknown reason, TNA decided to give away the PPV match for free on the February 2nd Impact show from London’s Wembley Arena, except it wasn’t for the title. Tara defeated Gail after Madison Rayne accidentally hit the titleholder. The match was good and perhaps because they were out of the Impact Zone, the crowd was into it. How would Tara fare with the title on the line on pay-per-view? Answer: not as well as in London.
Tonight both women put on a solid match but after a (likely worked) knee injury, Gail defeated Tara to retain her title. Gail dominated most of the time, when she wasn’t arguing with Madison. Rayne finally got fed up and left midway during the match, which didn’t seem to bother the champ. However, when it seemed Tara had Kim on the ropes, she seemed to hit her knee awkwardly after a moonsault and was unable to capitalise. Gail targeted the knee for one move, then hit the Eat Defeat for the three count. Afterwards in the ring, Tara had removed her knee brace and was talking to the referee and another official. Lets break it down… (more…)
My first TNA live experience
I swore off going to WWE shows back in 2005 when I decided that they weren’t worth my time. I felt that the ratio of entertainment to investment wasn’t good enough, so after having gone to at least one WWE show a year since 1996, I walked away. Since then, I have been to smaller shows, and avoided events from the bigger wrestling companies.
That is, until this Thursday, when after seven years away, I headed to Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena for the first UK date of the TNA Maximum Impact IV European tour.
To be honest, I was looking forward to it, as I had always heard good things about TNA house shows, while the Impact Wrestling shows are more hit and miss. Buoyed by my interview with Tara earlier this month, I was confident that I was going to enjoy myself, even though I’m not as much of a TNA viewer as have been in the past. So along with fellow wrestling fan and work colleague Tom Campbell (the voice of the infamous Big’Un in Wigan), we hopped into my car and – barring an unscheduled stop because of my brakes almost catching fire – made the 90 minute drive to Nottingham. (more…)
Genesis: Mickie loses her cool
In their third meeting for the TNA Knockouts Championship, Mickie James was set to take on Gail Kim. However, due to the interference of Madison Rayne during their second meeting during the main event two weeks ago, one Knockout in particular had had enough. Before the match, Velvet Sky tracked down Sting and arranged something she called the “Velvet Touch.” Come time for the match, it turned out “Velvet Touch” was a cage that Madison would be put in and hoisted up – effectively taking her out of the picture.
However, it turned out that Rayne still affected the match. With Velvet at ringside cheering Mickie on, the two women put on another good match with a few near falls. Towards the end, when the referee’s back was turned, Rayne pulled something out of her boot and dropped it down to the mat below. The item bounced out of the ring and the referee went to retrieve it. The object was a pair of brass knuckles, which Gail strenously denied using or having the intent to use them. The ref went to give it to Christy Hemme, and that’s when Madison dropped a second pair of knucks. Second time wasn’t the charm, however, as Mickie got to them first. The frustration and anger with Gail got the best of her and she popped the KO champ right infront of the referee, causing a disqualification. Gail retained her title but Mickie seemed unphased by the fact she effectively cost herself the championship.
As always, lets break it down into what was silk, what was leather and what was cotton… (more…)
Final Resolution: Gail retains (with a bit of help)
After going through six out of ten Knockouts in a gauntlet match, Mickie James became number one contender to Gail Kim‘s TNA Knockouts Championship. Between then and now, Karen Jarrett made Mickie’s path to the pay-per-view a difficult one. Karen reinstated ODB and gave her the order: hurt Mickie and pin her, and she would become number one contender. Despite her best efforts in a street fight, Mickie pinned ODB after kicking a chair into the latter’s face. Karen then called upon Gail’s tag team partner, Madison Rayne, and called her her “lynch pin.” She ordered Madison to tear Mickie apart so she would be unable to show at Final Resolution. Again, to no avail – Mickie pinned Madison after a jumping DDT.
The last time these two met was when they were employed by WWE on August 17th, 2009. Mickie defended her Divas title against Gail Kim in what was an unqualified disaster of a match. When Gail returned to TNA, people wondered how long it would be until the two wrestled again, and if the match would turn out better or worse than the last time. At Final Resolution, Gail kept the Knockouts Championship after Madison distracted Mickie long enough for Gail to hit Eat Defeat. Let me break it down into what was Batman, what was Batman Returns and what was Batman & Robin… (more…)
Bound For Glory: Velvet gets the gold
After a series of qualifying matches, the TNA Knockouts title match was set as a four way between champion Winter, Mickie James, Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky. At Bound for Glory, Velvet finally won her first Knockouts Championship by hitting a Pedigree on Madison. The eight year veteran was visibly emotional as she was awarded the belt by Traci Brooks.
Originally, Karen Jarrett had named herself as the referee for the match, saying she was not about to let “those four prostitutes run around.” She told Traci to remain in the back unless she suffered physical harm. Of course, you knew then something would happen to Karen. Before all this, however, we saw Mexican America with Sarita & Rosita take on Ink Inc. with new member Christina Von Eerie. Christina has been given a new name – Toxine. TNA and their names… The women didn’t mix it up, but Toxine did rip the face mask off Sarita and depanted Anarquia. Mexican America, despite this, retained the tag titles. Lets get down to business and look at the Knockouts match. So what was roses, what was dandelions and what was weeds? (more…)
Christina Von Eerie arrives in TNA, plus BFG news
Quite frankly it’s long overdue, but Christina Von Eerie has finally made her official debut in TNA.
The 22-year old first appeared on-screen as part of an angle involving Mexican America and Ink, Inc. back on the September 22 episode, where – without her spiked hair – she played the role of a tattoo shop owner who got involved in the brawl between the two tag teams. On last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling, the Californian, whose real-life fiance is Ink, Inc. member Jesse Neal, came to the aid of Neal and Shannon Moore during another brawl with Hernandez, Anarquia, Sarita and Rosita, and cleared the ring of the former Knockouts Tag Team Champions, though she was never officially introduced by name, so they may not be going with the name Christina Von Eerie.
As we pointed out, it has been a long time coming for Von Eerie. She received a tryout with TNA more than a year ago due to the company’s relationship with lucha libre promotion AAA, where she held the World Mixed Tag Team Championship with Alex Koslov between July and October last year. In her tryout, she teamed with Moore against Cookie (Becky Bayless) and Okada, in what was reportedly a messy affair, and shortly after, it was reported in Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly that she had signed a contract. However, things stalled for a while, which led to Christina making her SHIMMER debut back in March. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (4 October 2011)
Well, that’s SHIMMER all over with for 2011 (see the complete results and extra thoughts by clicking here and here), but the flood of quality women’s wrestling doesn’t end there. This upcoming weekend sees two great promotions in two countries – nCw Femmes Fatales have a card on Saturday which sees International Champion LuFisto defending her title against Kalamity, with a distinct possibility of a title change, though instead of explaining it – and the rest of the card here, check out the latest edition of the Women Of Wrestling Podcast which will be online later today.
So let’s focus on the other promotion hosting three separate events over Saturday and Sunday in Nottingham, England.
Pro Wrestling: EVE has undergone a changing of the guard since the last time it ran a full show in April. At that time, Britani Knight became the first EVE Champion by wrestling five matches to win the title tournament, but lost the belt on her second defence to Jenny Sjodin under a series of circumstances that led to she, her mother Sweet Saraya and World Association of Wrestling breaking away. Things have stabilised since that warm June evening in Morecambe – Sjodin has become a double champion by adding the Norwegian Women’s Wrestling Alliance title to her collection by defeating Aurora Flame in a title for title affair, and is pitted to take on her teammate in the European Empire group – as well as her Northern Shooters tag team partner – April Davids with the EVE Championship on the line. (more…)
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…)
Ringbelles Roundup (16 August 2011)
So it’s official; Melina’s return to indie wrestling will be on November 19 at Women Superstars Uncensored’s Breaking Barriers II iPPV where she will wrestle fellow ex-WWE employee Serena Deeb. WSU made the match official in its press release yesterday, where it claims “Melina, who has a very storied career in WWE, wants to prove to the world that she is not just a diva, but a full-fledged womens wrestler. She will get that opportunity on 11/19. Serena is calling herself “The Best in the World”. We’ll find out if that rings true on 11/19 in this first time ever one-on-one clash.”
In theory, this is will be a comfortable return for Melina to a different style of action than you normally see on WWE TV, as she and Serena can work a half WWE, half indie style. It’s a decent idea, considering she has not been on the indie scene since 2004, a mere three years into her wrestling career. It’s also Melina’s best opportunity to create a new first impression…
32-year old Melina Perez has a reputation for being troublesome behind the scenes, with a number of reports from a number of different sources – some of them could be true, some of them could be phoney. However, after a number of reported incidents, it becomes ever more likely that the next incident will be more readily believed, regardless of its validity. Melina polarises opinions – some think she is excellent, others think she is more trouble than she is worth – but she has a chance to sell herself to a fresh set of eyes on November 19. In essence, she has an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and give us the chance to see that she is taking wrestling seriously, and is willing to muck in and work towards presenting a better product for women’s wrestling fans. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (17 May 2011)
The Big News
Hide your kids, hide your wife – Wrestlicious is back.
On Monday, it was announced that the second season of TakeDown would be shown on a cable network owned by Viacom. That could mean it could be hosted on Comedy Central, an MTV channel, VH1 or even Spike – the channel which currently hosts TNA TV.
In the official press release, Union Square Agency, with whom Wrestlicious has formed this partnership, says it will provide sponsorship sales, television production, syndication, media sales, event extensions, venue selection, strategic partnerships and manage licensing and merchandising.
Wrestlicious launched on TV in the US and Canada last year, two years after host and producer Johnny Cafarella and Jimmy Hart teamed up with Jonathan Vargas, a 19-year old who won $35.3 million on the Powerball Lottery. The original concept for Wrestlicious was dreamt up in 2003 when Hart produced a pilot for Crush, which was exactly the same as what Wrestlicious is – a mix of cartoony wrestling with comedy skits spliced in. Featuring wrestlers like Melina, Lacey, Rain and Cheerleader Melissa, it had proper wrestlers as well as models who would be trained up – sound familiar? Some of the characters were even recycled – the Felony character was originally played in Crush by Melissa, but seeing as she was contracted to TNA at the time, Felony was played by Rain in Wrestlicious. (more…)
Interact!