DVD Review: nCw Femmes Fatales VII – World Summit (8 October 2011)
Kalamity challenges her tag team partner, mentor and friend LuFisto for nCw Femmes Fatales International Championship, Mercedes Martinez looks to extend her win streak, and SHIMMER original Tiana Ringer returns to the ring.
Results
1. Angie Skye beat Cherry Bomb with a handful of tights on a roll-up.
2. Mercedes Martinez pinned Tiana Ringer following a Fisherman Buster.
3. Courtney Rush defeated Kellie Skater with the Skyward Suplex.
4. She Nay Nay bested Xandra Bale via submission with a Fujiwara Armbar.
5. The Sherbrooke Connection – Loue & Kira defeated Anna Minoushka & Missy. Loue pinned Missy with a top rope splash.
6. Cheerleader Melissa beat Yumi Ohka with an Air Raid Crash.
7. Tomoka Nakagawa won a 3-way over Portia Perez and Sweet Cherrie by pinning Perez with a roll-up.
8. Kalamity pinned LuFisto with a Ki-Krusher to win the nCw Femmes Fatales International Championship.
Highlights
• Martinez extends her win streak in the promotion to five by defeating the returning Tiana Ringer, who returned to wrestling following a four year absence, then challenged the winner of the main event for a title shot.
• Courtney Rush and Kellie Skater broke out the comedy at the start of their match, engaging in an 
arm-wrestling match, using the referee as a table. Rush antagonised Skater on her way to the ring by carrying a toy kangaroo, which ended up being punted into the front row.
• Cheerleader Melissa and Yumi Ohka earned a “this is awesome” chant from the audience in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for their match.
• Kalamity ascends to the top of the ladder in Femmes Fatales by defeating LuFisto to win the International Title. Following the contest, Martinez tried to snatch the belt from the new champion, but ended up offering her hand, setting up Kalamity’s first challenger to her championship.
Kalamity to face biggest challenge to date at Femmes Fatales IX
Coming off the back of a successful show at Femmes Fatales VIII earlier this month (which was declared by all as the “best FF event to date”), our friends in Montreal are turning their attention to the next show already. To be held on July 7th at the Centre St-Barthelemy, Femmes Fatales IX will feature a main event of Kalamity defending her Championnat International Femmes Fatales against an unexpected rival. Click play on the video (which aired on Saturday at NCW’s “Crime Scene”) to see who came face to face with Kalamity at SHIMMER just over a week ago.
Click through for more on Femmes Fatales IX (more…)
SHIMMER volumes 47 & 48 results – title changes (now updated with live observations)
It’s day two of the SHIMMER tapings in Berwyn, IL (you can find out the results, thoughts and photos from yesterday’s DVD tapings by clicking here), and a number of matches have been announced.
After defeating both Canadian Ninjas in singles matches yesterday, Cheerleader Melissa defends her SHIMMER Championship against Jessie McKay, aware that Sweet Saraya has apparently put a bounty on her head.
Elsewhere, the Tag Team Championship will be on the line as holders Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara defend against high-fliers Ray and Leon in an all-joshi affair, Mercedes Martinez takes on Hailey Hatred, and the unlikely team of Sara Del Rey and Courtney Rush will meet ReGeneration X – Allison Danger & Leva Bates.
As with yesterday, we will be adding the results to this post as they happen, and Stew will offer his thoughts from ringside later. Click after the jump and keep hitting refresh to follow the goings-on. (more…)
SHIMMER volumes 45 & 46 results (now updated with live observations)
We’ve had WSU; we’ve had Femmes Fatales, and now it’s the turn of SHIMMER as part of wrestling’s March Madness.
Cheerleader Melissa walks into these four DVD tapings as the SHIMMER Champion, while Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada hold the Tag Team Championship. Although no matches have been announced, we offered some thoughts about what could happen, but they are just musings and nothing more. We will all find out together how things will unfold.
Stew is in Berwyn, IL watching the shows live, and will offer up thoughts on the tapings later on. For now, we will bring you results as they happen, so keep refreshing the page to keep up with all the developments.
Click after the jump to dive in. It’s going to be a busy one. (more…)
Femmes Fatales live show thoughts and observations
So, I’ve had nearly 24 hours to digest the events of Femmes Fatales VIII on Saturday night at the Centre St-Barthelemy in Montreal, Quebec (full results here), and to be honest, I’m still struggling on where to begin. I suppose the easiest place is to say that I’ve seen the first six Femmes Fatales shows on DVD, and this was the best one yet, in my view. 
(I’ve picked up the DVD of FF VII, but everybody was in agreement by the end of the night that this was the best show in company history, top to bottom). There wasn’t a bad match on the show, in fact – and when it was *really* good – as it was for Cheerleader Melissa vs Hailey Hatred in particular, it was utterly fantastic. It’s not a newsflash for patrons of this website in particular that both Melissa & Hailey are tremendous pro wrestlers – so the fact that they put on such a great match is hardly unexpected. Hard hitting, technically sound, and nicely paced – the twenty minute time limit flew by way too quickly, ending with Hatred holding out in a Kondo Clutch for what seemed like an age before eating a curb stomp. “Five more minutes”, which were put up on the big screen as a 5:00 countdown clock, gave us more of the same and ended with a raucous final 1:00 where the two simply struck each other into oblivion with back and forth strikes like a marathon runner sprinting the last hundred metres. Brilliant stuff. (more…)
nCw Femmes Fatales VIII results
All eyes are on Montreal, Quebec, Canada this evening as nCw Femmes Fatales hosts its eighth instalment, and boasts a triple main event. In the main event, defending International Champion Kalamity takes on Mercedes Martinez; elsewhere, Hailey Hatred meets Cheerleader Melissa in a Battle Of The Champions; and former International titleholder LuFisto faces former WWE Women’s Champion Jazz in a First Time Ever Dream Match.
Elsewhere, Jessie McKay and Rhia O’Reilly join Jazz and Hatred in making their debuts, while Portia Perez and Sweet Cherrie look to settle their differences.
We have results after the jump (thanks for Rick McLean from North Starz for the updates). Coming later, we will bring you post-show news, analysis and thoughts from Stew, who is in attendance in Montreal. (more…)
DVD Review: SHIMMER volume 39 (27 March 2011)
Cheerleader Melissa continues her quest towards Madison Eagles‘ SHIMMER Championship, while Jessie McKay and Nicole Matthews settle their feud in a best of three falls match.
Results
1. Kellie Skater defeated Courtney Rush with a Skate And Destroy.
2. LuFisto beat Sassy Stephie with the Mangalizer.
3. Rachel Summerlyn made Mena Libra tap out to the Texas Cloverleaf.
4. 3S (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata) beat Pretty Bitchin’ (Nikki Roxx & Ariel) to retain the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship – Matsumoto pinned Roxx following an Exploder Suplex.
5. Mercedes Martinez pinned Britani Knight with a Fisherman Buster.
6. Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa defeated Mia Yim & Jamilia Craft. Nakagawa pinned Yim with a Fisherman Suplex.
7. Jessica James pinned Athena after hitting the Hard Boiled Egg.
8. MsChif beat Sweet Saraya with a Desecrator.
9. Serena Deeb defeated Portia Perez via DQ when Perez hit Deeb with a cookie sheet.
10. Nicole Matthews beat Jessie McKay in a best of three falls match. Matthews took the first fall with a tights-assisted O’Connor Roll, McKay equalised with multiple Schoolgirl Crushes, and Matthews scored the third fall with the Vancouver Maneuver.
11. Cheerleader Melissa & Ayako Hamada beat Madison Eagles & Sara Del Rey when Hamada rolled up Eagles for the pin.
Highlights
• 3S continue their run as SHIMMER Tag Team Champions and establish themselves as the most over team in the promotion’s history with a second successful title defence over Pretty Bitchin’.
• Both Sweet Saraya and daughter Britani Knight are defeated by SHIMMER originals, MsChif and Mercedes Martinez respectively. The former sees the Knight’s manager Rebecca Knox get involved in the match but gets her comeuppance when a Saraya basement dropkick goes awry.
• Haze and Nakagawa earn a SHIMMER Tag Team Title shot by remaining undefeated, beating Mia Yim & Jamilia Craft.
• The Serena Deeb/Portia Perez feud that began following Deeb’s return to the promotion after her release from WWE the previous year continues and starts to involve weapons.
• Nicole Matthews and Jessie McKay put their on-off feud to bed after their best of three falls match after trading victories in singles and tag matches.
• Ayako Hamada pins Madison Eagles to earn a shot at the SHIMMER Championship, much to the chagrin of Cheerleader Melissa, who wanted to get the pin to earn the shot for herself. (more…)
2CW Girls Grand Prix – Live Results
Tonight at the American Legion Post 80 in Binghampton, New York, Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) are presenting the Girls Grand Prix – an eight woman, one night tournament featuring an intriguing mix of established indy stars and up and comers. Despite losing half of the originally announced competitors (Nikki Roxx, Courtney Rush, Lexxus and Serena Deeb have all at one point been booked on the show), we’ve still got an eight woman, one night tournament featuring 2CW regulars like Sara Del Rey & Portia Perez, mixed with a potent mix of talents including Mia Yim and Allysin Kay (following their nose-breaking endeavours at AIW’s Girls Night Out 5), ACW‘s Rachel Summerlyn making an irregular East Coast appearance, Mercedes Martinez having her biggest profile match (or matches) since her concussion issues and recent co-Podcast guests Cherry Bomb & Veda Scott.
Click after the jump for relevant live results from the show via our correspondant David Muscarella. (more…)
Hailey Hatred added to SHIMMER DVD tapings
As well as making her debut at nCw Femmes Fatales on March 10 taking on Cheerleader Melissa, Ringbelles‘ choice for Wrestler of the Year 2011 Hailey Hatred is scheduled to return to SHIMMER for the volumes 45-48 DVD tapings the following weekend in Berwyn, IL.
The 28-year old made her SHIMMER debut last October, competing on volumes 41 and 42, defeating Kalamity on the first taping, then teaming with her in a defeat to Mena Libra and Melanie Cruise on the following DVD.
However, she would only wrestle for half of the SHIMMER weekend, as she had accepted another booking in her home state of Ohio. She would go on to defend the JWP Openweight Championship which she held at the time against Cherry Bomb in Absolute Intense Wrestling in the first JWP title match to ever take place outside of Japan. This time around, Hailey will wrestle on both days of tapings, meaning that there a strong chance of her being part of a storyline arc.
Hatred joins Melissa, Ayumi Kurihara, Ayako Hamada, Portia Perez, Nicole Matthews, MsChif, Sara Del Rey, Athena and Christina Von Eerie as being confirmed for the tapings. In addition, Del Rey, MsChif, Matthews, Perez, Von Eerie and Athena will all compete the day before the tapings at AAW in trios action. (more…)
Ontario & Quebec dish out their 2011 awards
NCW Femmes Fatales were big winners at the annual Quebec Wrestling Awards for 2011, which were announced yesterday on lutte.com. The French language website celebrates the history of Montreal wrestling as well as recognise the best in current day Quebec grappling – and these awards are now in their eleventh year. Femmes Fatales, which returns to action on March 10th, picked up a number of plaudits. LuFisto‘s feud with current NCW International Champion Kalamity won Feud of the Year in the province, while Femmes Fatales VII: World Summit (from October) won show of the year. Femmes Fatales VII was the show which saw Kalamity beat LuFisto for the title, and feature more international visitors than ever before, such as the debuting Yumi Ohka (who had a highly regarded match with Cheerleader Melissa), Tomoka Nakagawa, Kellie Skater and the return to the ring of Tiana Ringer. For having both feud and show of the year, as well as enhancing the international reputation of his promotion, Femmes Fatales booker Stéphane Bruyère was awarded the Best Booker award.
In other categories, Femmes Fatales placed strongly. The match between LuFisto & Ayako Hamada (which headlined FFV in March) was the runner up for Match of the Year (coming second to Kevin Steen vs Paul London from NSPW only on the basis of “first place votes” cast – and only then by a margin of one vote). LuFisto also placed second runner-up for Best Babyface, while “The Pink Flash” Kira was first runner-up in Rookie of the Year. In related news, Kira’s next challenge was announced today, as she will go one-on-one in an international challenge with “Rate Tank” Kellie Skater at Femmes Fatales VIII next month. (more…)
DVD review: JoshiMania
I sit here, having watched 21 matches as part of the three JoshiMania events which took place at the start of December 2011. As I watched the three DVDs, I jotted down notes of the big moments and key incidents in the matches. I now have EIGHT pages of bullet points to go through, and one thing because blatantly obvious: doing a match-by-match review of JoshiMania would be incredibly laborious, repetitive and dull for you, the good reader.
So instead of going through JoshiMania chronologically, what this review will be about is the best matches, the standout stars and moments, and which shows were the best if you absolutely, positively can only by just the one DVD…
The shows had a bumpy road leading up to the first event in Philadelphia on December 2. Meiko Satomura, Madison Eagles and Command Bolshoi all had to pull out due to injury, leading to replacements such as Ayako Hamada, Kaori Yoneyama, GAMI and Portia Perez and a fair bit of rewriting to the matches, as the trio who didn’t make it would likely have been part of the matches at the higher end of the card. Hamada was the biggest beneficiary, as she ended up in two of the three main events (against Aja Kong on night 2, and taking on Sara Del Rey on the final show).
However, nothing can take away from the huge amount of organisation that took place to bring JoshiMania to fruition. As Mike Quackenbush revealed to us on the Women Of Wrestling Podcast the week before the shows, the introduction of Manami Toyota to CHIKARA came about thanks to retired Jumping Bomb Angel Itsuki Yamazaki. From there, it was thanks in part to Toyota’s reputation and contacts that facilitated stars from across Japan to come together for the shows, effectively closing down the joshi scene while tars from promotions like JWP, WAVE, OZ Academy, Union Pro and more came together for a series of interpromotional contests. Indeed, a lot of potential issues were circumnavigated and resolved to come to the point that these shows even took place. So how were they? Well, let’s see… (more…)
Girls Grand Prix: opening matches announced
Two weeks ago, we reported about Squared Circle Wrestling setting up a new tournament called Girls Grand Prix, to be held in Binghamton, NY on February 24. At the time, the names which had been announced were Rachel Summerlyn, Sara Del Rey, Portia Perez and Serena Deeb (should she be fit to wrestle following her concussion). Today, 2CW has announced the other four participants in the tourney, as well as the opening round matches.
Joining the announced quartet will be former World Women’s Wrestling Champions Nikki Roxx and Alexxis Nevaeh (AKA Lexxus in Women Superstars Uncensored), as well as Canadians (and potential smash hits for 2012) Cherry Bomb and Courtney Rush. Having the experience and East Coast history of Roxx and Navaeh as well as the youth and added international flavour of Rush and Cherry Bomb (to go with fellow Canuck Perez) makes for an interesting dynamic. It could have been the same local faces for the most part, but those additions mean that it has a unique edge to it all. (more…)
Ringbelles Retro: Portia as a babyface?!
Fun fact: we have never had a SHIMMER match in the Retro.
Funner fact: we still haven’t.
This is a SPARKLE (pre-show) match from the volumes 5-6 tapings on May 21, 2006. The promotion was still in its embryonic phase, with new names being added every time, characters being formed and storylines evolving. On volume 5, Amazing Kong (now Kharma) and Nikita (now Winter) made their debuts, while before the tapings even started, an 18-year old from Ottawa, ONT, Canada made the trip to Berwyn to get her foot in the door. That 18-year old was Portia Perez.
Perez would make her official debut on volume 7, teaming with Serena Deeb in a defeat to The Experience (Malia Hosaka and Lexie Fyfe) – her only SHIMMER appearance as a babyface – before heeling it up by using a (yellow) chain to defeat Josie on volume 9 and never looking back. These days, Perez is the ultimate heel, doing everything that she can possibly do to be as hated as possible. And it works, she’s brilliant at it. There is NOTHING to support about Perez, exactly the way a heel should be. (more…)
Pocket Volcano: ‘Tis the season to reflect
As 2011 comes to a close, and Christmas is just around the corner, around this time people look back at the year and reflect on their blessings. This is true in wrestling fandom as well as anywhere else. If you are a fan of female wrestling, there was a ton to be grateful for in 2011, although if you concentrated on WWE, I feel bad for you – nothing good, aside from Kong’s debut as Kharma, happened in 2011 in that company. I wanted to take the time to look back and write about what I, personally, was grateful for this year and share with you my thoughts. Feel free to comment and tell me what you were grateful for in wrestling this year.
Thanks to my trips to SHIMMER: Women Athletes, I was able to see a number of women wrestle in person for the first time that I personally admire and look up to.
LuFisto
With her health problems in 2010 and being rotated out of the September ’10 SHIMMER tapings, I had worried I’d not get the chance to see her in person. Fortunately that fear was baseless as Lufi was back and stronger than ever. In April, I thoroughly enjoyed her matches with Tomoka Nakagawa (it’s always a treat to watch her wrestle joshi women), Sassy Stephie, and the four way match with her, Portia Perez, Cheerleader Melissa and Serena Deeb. However, at the October tapings I wasn’t sure she would be there. She had had heart surgery in July to repair a hole in her heart, and with the precautions she now has to take, I felt it doubtful.
To my great pleasure, she was not only there but had some of the best matches of the tapings. The four way between her, Tomoka, MsChif, and Kellie Skater was just plain fun. I popped huge for MsChif’s Freddy Krueger gear (I’ve been a fan of Nightmare on Elm Street for years) but Lufi’s Pink Power Ranger gear was incredibly cute! Her match against Mia Svensson is a personal favourite – you have the up and coming taking on the veteran, giving the former a chance to see what she can do. However, Lufisto was involved in one of the best matches of the weekend, and given the talent that was on display, this is a bold statement but entirely true. In Kana‘s last match, she wrestled Lufi and it was tremendous. Kana pulled out the win, but while everyone else stood, I remained in my seat. I refused to applaud unless Kana shook Lufisto’s hand – I felt that Lufisto had gone toe to toe with her, and unless she also recognised this and shook her hand, I didn’t feel that Kana was worthy of respect. However, she did.
Lufisto is a lady I have so much respect and admiration for, I can absolutely say it was wonderful to see her wrestle in person. (more…)
Another all-woman tournament to add to the calendar
Women’s wrestling has had some great tournaments over the last few years. ChickFight held nine of them between 2004 and 2007 both in the US and later in the UK, with Mariko Yoshida and Cheerleader Melissa winning two tourneys each, and being the home of wild brawls as well as top in-ring action. Also in 2004, Dave Prazak put together the excellent IWA: MS Volcano Girls show, which crowned the first NWA Midwest/IWA: MS Women’s Champion in Lacey. SHIMMER‘s two night, 16 woman title tournament in 2007 saw Sara Del Rey become the inaugural champion. More recently, the Anarchy Championship Wrestling American Joshi Queen of Queens has become a mainstay of the summer, with Daizee Haze, Portia Perez and Rachel Summerlyn taking the crown over the years.
Tournaments are great – they can tell a number of stories over one evening or weekend, integrating a number of characters into the mix and giving a satisfying payoff, as you can tell the struggle someone has gone through, wrestling multiple matches in rapid succession to emerge victorious at the top of the heap. Of course, done badly, you end up with King of the Ring 1995 but that’s beside the point… (more…)
In Video: Sara Del Rey destroys the ring!
“In Video” this week comes to you from 2CW’s “Living On The Edge 6″, featuring Portia Perez taking on Sara Del Rey in a match that features bottom-rope breakage due to the unstoppable force of Del Rey’s (admittedly missed) Koppo Kick. 2CW is becoming a bit of a promotion to watch for fans of female wrestling, as not only will they present their first all-female show on February 24th with their “Girls Grand Prix” tournament (more on that later today), but on last night’s show (“Hot Action on a cold December Night”, held in Syracuse, NY), Jason Axe and his partner Portia Perez became the NEW 2CW Tag Team Champions, defeating Jimmy & Colin Olsen. We’ll be following and reporting on the upcoming GGP right here at Ringbelles, but you can follow general 2CW info on their website.
JoshiMania Night 2, Everett, MA live results
Following a successful first night in Philadelphia, PA, JoshiMania rolls into Everett, MA for night two of the three day extravaganza. As with last night, bell time is 7.30pm EST, and we will be bringing you results as they happen, with the main event being joshi legends Aja Kong (who was defeated last night by Sara Del Rey) taking on current SHIMMER Tag Team Champion Ayako Hamada. Click after the jump for the results… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (15 November 2011)
(WARNING: This Roundup contains spoilers for this week’s Impact show.)
I don’t care about Velvet Sky. She’s a choker, she sucks and Gail Kim is far better because she’s been in WWE. And they’re my thoughts because that’s what TNA’s bookers WANT me to think.
OK, maybe it’s not intentional, but the superpush of Gail Kim to the Knockouts singles and tag team titles in less than a month of her return has sent a signal to the rest of the girls that they aren’t stars unless they’ve been in WWE. Fine – Kim was a star in TNA before her muted three years in New York, but her stock had dropped like her stone since leaving and returning. But not to TNA, oh no. Instead, she was portrayed as the unstoppable force alongside Karen Jarrett and Madison Rayne, beating up Tara (who’s one of the best workers that the Knockouts division has), winning the tag belts and then claiming the Knockouts belt from Sky at Turning Point in what was Sky’s first title defence on either TV or pay-per-view. Sure, now Kim looks like the queen, but as a result, Tara, Sky and in a residual way, Brooke Tessmacher have all had their wings clipped, meaning that there are precious few credible babyfaces to challenge for the belt.
Last week, I wrote a piece about why it was in the best interests of all the Knockouts if Velvet Sky won at Turning Point and retained the title. It would establish her first reign as champion as something credible, and Kim wouldn’t really lose much as she was still the Knockouts Tag Champ and could secure a rematch due to her alignment with Jarrett (which still puzzles me, as why is she still Knockouts VP when it was Eric Bischoff who put her in charge and the company is being governed by Dixie Carter and Sting these days?). However, TNA decided that Sky’s important first run as champ was expendable, as the belts clearly don’t matter – and that’s true, as in the last 100 days, the Knockouts belt has changed hands five different times.
According to Dave Meltzer, the idea is that TNA can now market Sky as the plucky babyface going for the Knockouts belt and overcoming the odds to get it back. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t she do that for FIVE YEARS as part of her quest to win the belt for the first time at Bound For Glory, then won it in a four-way match where Jarrett was the biased ref who was pulling for the heels and wouldn’t give the babyfaces an inch? (more…)
Portia Perez wins (and loses) the ACW Title
Portia Perez made Anarchy Championship Wrestling history tonight by claiming the promotion’s Heavyweight Championship in the opening round of the promotion’s 6th Annual Lone Star Classic tournament in Austin, TX. Perez defeated Rachel Summerlyn and then-champion Darin Childs to win the match and the title, as the belt would be defended in every round of the tournament, much like the American Joshi belt was in last year’s American Joshi Queen Of Queens tournament – where Summerlyn lost the title to Daffney, who dropped it to Jessica James/Lady Poison, and then Perez won the title and tournament in the final.
As Jennifer Logsdon explained earlier today in the first part of her look at alternatives to Ring Of Honor, ACW is a promotion that prides itself in having the women interacting with the men and proving that both genders can work together to present interesting and absorbing matches and storylines. The result certainly caused a storm on our Twitter feed, with reactions being a mixture of shock, disbelief and joy. Certainly, it is a bold move to put the promotion’s top prize on a female talent, but fans have been conditioned to treat the women as equals, and having Perez hold the title proves it beyond any doubt. (more…)
Pocket Volcano: Alternatives to Ring of Honor (Part 1)
On September 24th, 2011, Ring of Honor returned to television on Sinclair Broadcast network. Former owner Cary Silkin has stayed on with them as an executive and although Sinclair doesn’t have a channel in many cities, the company sees this as a positive step forward. For those who are unable to see it on television, you can view each week’s episode for free on their website.
However, on September 27th, Sara Del Rey noted on her Twitter:
I just noticed I’m not a part of the ROH roster anymore…boo
In fact, if you take a look at the website, not only is Del Rey not listed as part of the roster, but neither are fellow Women of Honor Daizee Haze or MsChif. The only woman who is listed is Mia Yim, as part of Prince Nana’s Embassy stable. Given that this is considered a new start of sorts for the company with their debut on SBG, perhaps it isn’t that surprising that ROH is choosing to focus on their male talent and grow their audience from there. However, other fans have taken note of this. Over at ROHWorld.com, Dave Wood wrote a piece explaining why he believes a female division in ROH would be a benefit, and gives details on how to re-create one, which you can read here and here.
One consistent criticism was the lack of time given to their matches. Another was that there were no storylines, except for sporadic times (such as last year when Daizee and Del Rey were clamouring for competition). You would have a match every now and again on the HDNet show or on the iPPV with no background attached. It’s hard to be invested in a division that isn’t really given any real focus.
Other companies have taken the ball ROH dropped and ran with it. Two promotions come instantly to mind that have incorporated women into not only a division of their own but have integrated them with the male roster, producing memorable feuds and showing that when booked right, women can have great, credible matches with men. (more…)
nCw Femmes Fatales: Kalamity wins the big one
The pupil surpassed the teacher in Montreal this weekend, as Quebec’s “can’t miss” prospect Kalamity ascended to the position of champion in the main event of NCW: Femmes Fatales VII: World Summit in what was reported to have been an excellent hard hitting affair on par with the other two times they’ve fought in the last year, and a worthy passing of the torch from one generation to the next. The twisted tale of LuFisto and Kalamity’s friendship was told in the form of a four and a half minute history package which played before the main event. You can view it here.
The event, which took place in front of 175 fans at Centre St Barthelemy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada saw Mary Lee Rose beat Milouu in the preshow match when she hit her Encore (RKO) on Milouu after Milouu missed her moonsault.
1. Angie Skye beat Cherry Bomb with a handful of tights on a roll-up. The match was very competitive with lots of submission attempts. At the end, Cherry had Angie in her Cattle Mutilation, but Angie reached the ropes. Cherry thought she had won, but Angie snuck up on her with the rollup whilst Cherry argued with the referee.
2. The Sherbrooke Connection defeated Anna Minoushka & Missy. Minoushka used some impressive power moves on both opponents – but at the end of the match, the Connection was able to eliminate Anna from the ring and double team Missy for the quick finish.
3. She Nay Nay bested Xandra Bale via submission. Bale entered a strong performance, overcoming She Nay Nay with quickness for much of the match before falling to She Nay Nay’s modified crossface finisher.
4. Mercedes Martinez defeated Tiana Ringer in Ringer’s first match back in four years. Ringer was reported to have shown absolutely *no* ring rust at all. The match was a 50/50 affair, which Martinez narrowly won with the Fisherman Buster. Post match, Martinez says she deserves a title shot at the winner of LuFisto vs Kalamity due to being undefeated in the promotion to date. (more…)
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…)
2012 – Opportunity Knocks
Happily though, a chat with a friend in the business a little while ago persuaded me to turn the frown upside down. “Well,” she said (when contemplating the worst case scenario that Deeb, Eagles and others may be facing the end of their careers) “That gives plenty of opportunity for other girls to move up and take those spots”. I stopped and thought for a moment, and answered in the affirmative. I wasn’t yet 100% convinced, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured that there was a definite ring of truth to that statement. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely *not* ready to contemplate life without Eagles and Deeb, and I’d love nothing better than to have them back – but if they don’t return (or even just miss an extended length of time as they overcome their issues), it’s worth considering who actually is likely to benefit, and why we can actually look forward to 2012 as a year of opportunity as much as anything else. (more…)
January 15, 2012 | Categories: Commentaries | Tags: Allysin Kay, Angie Skye, Athena, Courtney Rush, Jessie McKay, Kalamity, Lexxus, LuFisto, Madison Eagles, Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim, NCW:FF, Nicole Matthews, Portia Perez, Sassy Stephie, Serena Deeb, Sherbrooke Connection, SHIMMER, Stew, WSU | 1 Comment »