Ringbelles Roundup (26 February 2013) – wrestling’s equivalent of Ronda Rousey, Girls Night Out 8 and more
Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche delivered in spades on Saturday as part of the main event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s UFC 157 pay-per-view. While PPV buyrates are only an estimate – though expected to be around the 400,000 mark – the other numbers are amazing.
With those two headlining the show, the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA drew 15,525 fans with a gate of $1.4 million and reportedly fewer comps than usual. It’s the highest attendance for a UFC show in the building, which includes UFC 121 with Cain Velasquez against Brock Lesnar. Admittedly, both Rousey and Carmouche hail from the state, which means that both had a relative hometown crowd, but it’s evidence that women can headline male-dominated shows, given the right booking, promotion and hype. Additionally, the fact that it outdrew Velasquez v Lesnar is even more astounding considering it’s a Hispanic market which would be behind Cain, and Brock is one of the UFC’s biggest draws in its history. (more…)
Jessie McKay returns to SHIMMER; facing Madison Eagles on volume 53 – plus, iPPV news
Another comeback has been announced for the upcoming SHIMMER volume 53 in Secaucus, NJ on April 6, and it also clears up who fellow returner Madison Eagles will face on the show. In fact, it’s the woman who she debuted with all the way back on volume 21 on October 19, 2008 – Jessie McKay, who returns after missing the last tapings.
The pair made their first appearance in the promotion as the Pink Ladies in the Tag Team Championship Gauntlet to determine the first titleholders – still the longest match in SHIMMER’s history. They were the first team eliminated by the Canadian Ninjas of Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews, and also fell to The Experience – Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka – on the next taping.
However, while it was plain to see at the time the hierarchy in the team, an illness suffered by Eagles on the second day of the volume 23-26 tapings in May 2009 gave McKay a break. She took on Cheerleader Melissa on volume 25 – going down in defeat, but she was rubbing shoulders with bigger names – won a 4-way on the next edition, and when SHIMMER returned in November, stood across the ring from Sara Del Rey. At the time, she was plucky but lacked the edge to get the win over the top talent, though her feud with Nicole Matthews over a number of volumes saw her make her way into a #1 contender’s match against Ayako Hamada and Del Rey on volume 34… and guess what happened? (more…)
WOW Podcast #51 with Serena Deeb
Episode 51 with Serena Deeb
Last week, Serena Deeb was announced as returning to the ring after an eighteen month injury hiatus following a severe concussion suffered on SHIMMER Vol 44 – which begs a number of questions; questions that we aim to ask on this podcast. Get the full rundown on her decision to return to the ring, how close she was to returning last Fall, and how attending a show a couple of weeks ago helped convince her to get back in the ring. We talk about what she’s been up to for the last year and a half, including Yoga and DVD box-sets, how much she’s kept in contact with both the wrestling business and the people in it, and discuss what exactly happened when she was arrested last July 4th. We also touch on Davina Rose‘s signing with WWE, and nail down whether this is a temporary or a permanent comeback, and talk future plans. Plus, before the 40 minutes with the Deebious One, Stew & Lee spend 20 minutes running down what to expect in the next couple of months – from SHINE to EVE, Bellatrix to SHIMMER and AIW to NCW: Femmes Fatales. Oh, and just what is happening with Kaitlyn for WrestleMania? We ponder the imponderable, here on the Women of Wrestling Podcast.
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First SHIMMER title match on British soil announced
On Saturday, we ran down the card for March 24′s Bellatrix 5, knowing that there was one match still to be announced. Earlier today, that final match was revealed, and it’s groundbreaking on a number of levels.
When Saraya Knight faces Destiny in the main event of the show in Norwich, England, it will be fought under British rounds rules with the first woman gaining two falls winning the match – and to sweeten the pot a bit more, Saraya’s SHIMMER Championship is on the line, making it the first time that the title has been put up for grabs on British soil. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (12 February 2013) – WSU, Saraya Knight, Serena Deeb, TNA Gut Check & more
The two big stories coming out of Women Superstars Uncensored’s An Ultraviolent Affair were Jessicka Havok retaining the WSU Championship by beating Athena with a top rope Air Raid Crash, and LuFisto defeating Mercedes Martinez in a Falls Count Anywhere match to become the next number one contender. However, after the latter match, a double-turn took place, with Mercedes Martinez turning heel and LuFisto turning babyface.
As a result, Martinez is now the aggressor in all the big-name women’s promotions in North America. Previously, WSU had been the exception to the rule, with her smiling and playing nice while in SHIMMER, NCW Femmes Fatales and SHINE, she was hankering for the jeers of the fans. Likewise, WSU was the only place where LuFisto was working heel. What that now means is that there is a status quo amongst the big players on the continent, so fans don’t have to work out whether they should be cheering or booing somebody. While this makes it easier on the audience, does it create a natural harmony that isn’t necessarily needed? (more…)
Serena Deeb is back
SHIMMER Volume 53 at WrestleCon in Secaucus, NJ on April 6 seems to be the show of the Comeback Queens. Last December, promoter Dave Prazak revealed on the Christmas edition of the Women Of Wrestling Podcast that both Amazing Kong and former SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles would return to action following WWE stints and injury respectively. However, earlier today, another huge return was announced, with news that Serena Deeb would be returning from a debilitating concussion to compete at both the Volume 53 show and the four DVD taping the following weekend back in Berwyn, IL.
It has been 18 months since her injury took place during her match with Yumi Ohka on Volume 44 on October 2, 2011. At the time, she was aware that she had had her bell rung, but it wasn’t until a few days later that the full extent of her concussion was diagnosed – a topic which she discussed with us at length on episode 30 of the WOW Podcast. The time could not have been worse – as she was having great matches, was in amazing shape and was expanding her horizons by wrestling in Japan for the now-defunct SMASH and establishing a rivalry with Kana. Back on home ground, she put together great matches with Five Star Amanda Fox in Anarchy Championship Wrestling, and venturing to Women Superstars Uncensored to challenge then-champion Mercedes Martinez. In SHIMMER, she had finished up wrestling Portia Perez at volume 43, winning a heated no-DQ match by spearing the Canadian off a table, and had also been half of a great title match on volume 41 against Eagles which included a crazy Spider German Suplex which has to be seen. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (5 February 2013) – Shanna v Emi Sakura, Rachel Summerlyn and more
On Sunday, I sat among 400 people in a hall in a small city in the west of England. The only reason why I had decided to go – well, apart from it being a 15 minute walk from my front door – was that it featured a women’s match that was pretty hyped up about. Unfortunately, the billed contest between Kay Lee Ray and Shanna had to be scrapped because of KLR suffering a broken toe two days previous, then wrestling for about 40 minutes on it the previous day – though as it turns out, her metatarsal had been broken for about a month, which was compounded by the broken toe. As a result, a suitable replacement was brought in to replace Ray, and it would more than compensate.
The fans at Alternative Wrestling World in Wolverhampton had no idea who Emi Sakura was. To them, she was a Japanese woman who wears a lot of fabric, doesn’t show much skin and visually, didn’t look like much to write home about. Around me, I heard some borderline racist jokes about the “Chinese” woman in the ring and some unfunny gags about ordering Chinese cuisine in a mocking Far Asian accent. Her opponent also got the heckles, with a guy yelling “get your tits out” to Portugal’s Perfect Athlete – as if that line has EVER worked. Needless to say, we were dealing with an audience with spectacularly low expectations for the contest, and more than their fair share of xenophobia and ignorance. I’m stunned that I didn’t see anyone get up to go to the bar or toilets. They would have regretted it if they had, as little did they know, but they were going to be treated to a showcase featuring one of Europe’s best against one of the best in the world… (more…)
WOW Podcast #50 with Lexie Fyfe
Episode 50 with Lexie Fyfe
Remember that time Lexie Fyfe made her return to the ring on SHIMMER Vol 50? Well, here she makes her return to the WOW Podcast to celebrate our fiftieth offering too. Lexie’s been all over the world and done so much, it was only fitting that we had her on for a full length show. We talk about her return to the ring at SHIMMER 50, how much convincing she took and how nervous she was before the match – and also about her role in the SHIMMER set up, watching matches and offering feedback to the wrestlers. Of course, she’s also heavily involved in SHINE in Florida, so we talk about how that all came together, how the first half-year has been, and discuss a number of SHINE talents, including Made In Sin, Kimberly, Reby Sky and more. Lexie tells us about what an important part Matt Hardy had to play in her early career, along with Malia Hosaka. She recalls working a 30 date military base tour with Wendi Richter (aka “the stiffest person I’ve ever worked, man or woman”), and her brief flirtations with both WWF and WCW in the late 90s (including an example of a WCW idea that never went anywhere – shocking, right?). We also talk about her cameo on Monday Night Raw as Hillary Clinton, working the UK ‘Revival’ show in 2002 vs Nikita and her work producing customs with SlamminLadies.com (including how the cops got called to her house recently). Almost an hour and a half of audio goodness. Thanks so much for your continued support, and here’s to the next 50!
Follow Lexie Fyfe/SlamminLadies on twitter
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Davina Rose debuts in WWE developmental
While we didn’t mention it at the time – despite other places doing so in some form or fashion – we have been waiting for Davina Rose to make her WWE debut since signing her developmental deal last month. On Tuesday, WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes mentioned her (by real name) in a tweet, and on Thursday it happened, with the Californian making her first appearance in a WWE ring as part of an NXT live event in Tampa, FL. Teaming with Charlotte and Paige, she defeated Emma, Summer Rae and Audrey Marie in a six-woman tag match, with a curious new addition to her gimmick – a mask.
That’s right – as you can tell by the image on the left, Davina has her face obscured, and her gear is also a lot darker than the oranges and greens which SHIMMER fans were getting accustomed to seeing.
Now, before anyone starts kicking off about her wearing a mask and accusing WWE of maltreatment, gimmicks change all the time, and she’s only been there for five minutes – I have an open carton of apple juice in my refrigerator that has been there longer than Rose has been a WWE employee. It’s called developmental for a reason, and I’m sure there will be more tweaks to her look and character until they’re happy with it – in fact, she wrestled the following day as a heel against Charlotte without the mask, losing via a backslide. One thing that they will likely not have to work on for very long is her wrestling, as over the last four years, this Rose has blossomed into quite the athlete, and has grabbed a lot of attention along the way… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (22 January 2013) – Mia Yim, TNA’s reality hits and misses, and more
There are many interesting prospects in North America. One which has been simmering for a while is Mia Yim, who has been honing her skills and gaining more experience by partaking in a number of extended trips to Japan to wrestle for REINA x World. Domestically, she has had some interesting matches which have been of a good quality, and was a beneficiary when one of her kicks broke Allysin Kay’s nose last January leading to a number of well-received matches between the two with greater stipulations reflecting the development of the programme, culminating in a cage match at Absolute Intense Wrestling’s Girls Night Out 7. She had a fine outing against Jessicka Havok at SHINE 3 last September, and also enjoyed outings against the likes of Kana and Yumi Ohka in SHIMMER in 2011.
However, there is one major sticking point when it comes to her work in the US – barring the original nose-breaking match against Kay at GNO5, Yim has lost most of those high-profile outings.
Despite that, she has the opportunity to claim a really big scalp at SHIMMER volume 53 in Secaucus, NJ on April 6, and spoil the homecoming of one of its biggest stars at the same time. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (8 January 2012) – Madison Eagles’ return, GAMI announces retirement and more
On October 1, 2011, Madison Eagles was at the height of her career. As well as being the reigning SHIMMER Champion – holding the belt for close to 18 months – she had just been presented with the plaque for emerging on top of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Female 50, becoming the first woman who wasn’t a WWE Diva or TNA Knockout to win the honour. Despite a nagging shoulder injury suffered in a car accident the previous April which had restricted her bookings, she was in the middle of a string of five matches in three days, culminating with her dropping the SHIMMER belt to Cheerleader Melissa in the main event of volume 44.
Two days later, Eagles’ momentum would come to a crashing halt.
During training for a match in CHIKARA with Kana on Friday, October 7 in Burlington, NC, a double stomp hyperextended her knee so badly that when the doctor was able to take a good look at it, the prognosis was as bad as it could be. The 28 year old was given two options – have surgery which would solve the problem but mean that she could never wrestle again, or to see if it will heal of its own accord, though there would be no timeframe to determine how long it would take. It could be a few months, or it could be years, if ever. Not willing to bow out of wrestling if it was not on her own terms, the 11-year veteran elected to wait it out.
So she waited. And waited.
And then, things started to feel better. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (1 January 2013) – holding wrestlers back, Ribbonmania, news and more
Former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion Michelle McCool must have talked to her official fansite MichelleMcCool.net for about a kabillion years for it to produce as many different releases about things she has said about her time in WWE. There are masses of quotes about Beth Phoenix, Maria Kanellis, Layla, Sharmell Huffman, Vickie Guerrero, Tara, Natalya, Torrie Wilson, Mickie James and more. Seriously, the interview must have gone on for about three hours to sufficiently cover all these topics. Quite why she has decided to do this now after spending more than 18 months out of the wrestling spotlight is a discussion in itself, as it is doubtful that she is doing to come back, and she has positive things to say about everyone, which doesn’t lead to that many juicy tidbits. However, it is her comments about her experiences with Melina which we found the most interesting.
The 32-year old discussed how they collectively got in trouble following their contest at Night Of Champions 2009, where McCool successfully defended the Women’s Championship, with one particular move on the outside of the ring causing the problem:
It was that day – I was like: “could you not tell anybody, but do you think we could do a DDT on the barricade?” And [Melina] was like: “Ohhhh! Yeah!!!” — Not even thinking twice about it. We kind of hid it all day, even though we did ask our agent for approval, I think it was Fit — which is no secret that he was always fighting for the girls. We just made sure that we can stand up and get our balance, but we never actually did the bump. She was the one who was going to take the huge bump, and there was no doubt, no hesitation, that she would make it look ridiculous — and it did! [During the match] She finally takes the bump, it looks sick [pictured above], pops off — up to that point, that was the best match I’ve ever had. We had the pay-per-view, we had time, I was really proud of that match. (more…)
Stew’s 2012 highlights
Much like when I sat down a few days ago to look back over the Podcasts we’ve done in 2012, when I think of the shows I’ve seen and covered for this website over the last year, either live or on video/download/iPPV, I can’t help but feel a bit gobsmacked – it’s been a busy, busy year. As far as live wrestling was concerned, I chalked up two more transatlantic trips (both times taking in SHIMMER in Berwyn and NCW:Femmes Fatales in Montreal), and more all-female shows than ever back here in the UK (I personally tallied up four WAWW/Bellatrix shows and an EVE show – and bitterly regret the fact that work stopped me making the first EVE show of the year, and the ICW:Fierce Females debut in Scotland). With those shows, plus the likes of WSU, AIW, Shine and more, there’s never been a better time to be covering women’s wrestling, at least at the indy level.
Ringbelles Roundup (25 December 2012) – Arisa Nakajima, Veda Scott, 100th Roundup & more
Emi Sakura has had a hell of a year, and it’s been well documented here at Ringbelles. Her success since leaving Ice Ribbon has included setting up her own promotion in Thailand, having it migrate to Japan, winning the JWP/Daily Sports Tag Team Championship, securing the services of Kaori Yoneyama then having her take her side in some sort of Stockholm Syndrome scenario, forming a team to invade JWP and then taking hold of the promotion’s crown jewel by winning the Openweight Championship. In addition, she defended the belt in the UK for the first time in its history and won the Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship on the same night. Indeed, it has been one hell of a year for the 36 year old. However, it seems as if 2012 is going to end on a mildly disappointing note.
Yesterday, 17-year veteran dropped the Openweight Title in the main event of Climax 2012 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall after 57 days – the second shortest reign in the title’s 20 year history (for the record, the shortest was Devil Masami’s 32 day run which ended when the title was vacated for unknown reasons). She was beaten by current Tag Team Champion Arisa Nakajima, who has also enjoyed a tremendous 2012. (more…)
SHIMMER debuts and returns, Femmes Fatales main events announced, WSU teases intergender match
Have you listened to the latest edition of the Women Of Wrestling Podcast yet? Featuring the heads of SHIMMER, NCW Femmes Fatales and Women Superstars Uncensored, Dave Prazak, Stephane Bruyere and Drew Cordiero spoke frankly on a number of topics such as their respective fortunes in 2012, the pros and cons of booking former WWE Divas or TNA Knockouts on a show and what they think of iPPV. Amongst all the great chat, each took the time to reveal nuggets of what we should expect in 2013 from their respective promotions.
For SHIMMER, Prazak revealed that at at the volume 53 show on April 6 in Secaucus, NJ as part of the WrestleCon event will see the return of two big stars and the debut of one of women’s wrestling’s hottest prospects. Former SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles – who has been out of action since October 2011 with a devastating knee injury – will make her long-awaited return to the promotion where she reigned supreme between April 2010 and last October, where she dropped the belt to Cheerleader Melissa on volume 42. Her injury occurred mere days later as she was in training ahead of her match against Kana for CHIKARA , with a mere double stomp causing all the problems. At the time, she was told that she could either rest and see if the injury healed of its own accord, or have surgery which would end her career. (more…)
WOW Podcast Xmas Special (#49) with SHIMMER’s Dave Prazak, WSU’s Drew Cordeiro & NCW:Femmes Fatales’ Stephane Bruyere
Episode 49 with SHIMMER’s Dave Prazak, WSU’s Drew Cordeiro & NCW:Femmes Fatales’ Stephane Bruyere
Happy holidays everybody, and we’re celebrating by trying something brand new for us on the WOW Podcast, as we’re visited by the Three Wise Men of women’s wrestling. We’ve had many multiple guest shows before, but never have we had them all on the line at the same time, roundtable style. We welcome SHIMMER’s Dave Prazak, WSU’s Drew Cordeiro & NCW:FF’s Stephane Bruyere to discuss their year in wrestling. How was 2012 for them and their promotion? We discuss the exodus of female talent from the “Big Two” and whether the revolving door at WWE/TNA will have an effect on the independent scene. We talk about opening dialogue between promoters (and this is legitimately the first time Dave Prazak & Drew Cordeiro have *ever* spoken to each other) and thoughts/plans for iPPV going forward with all three companies. All of the Ringbelles picks for our 2012 awards are discussed, along with other performers who either have had a standout year, or are ones to watch going into 2013. Speaking of 2013, we have loads of news on the upcoming shows for all three promotions – Drew gives the lowdown on WSU’s “An Ultraviolent Affair” in February, Stephane unleashes a tasty triple main event for Femmes Fatales XI in March, and Dave makes three new talent announcements for SHIMMER vol 53 at the WrestleCon event on WrestleMania weekend. Oh, not only that, but there’s a tease on a current WSU talent that may well debut in SHIMMER in 2013, and you may want to keep listening after the outro music for a special Christmas song from one of our guests… It’s damn near an hour and a half of Christmas cheer! Enjoy~!
Follow Dave Prazak on twitter | SHIMMER on twitter and facebook
Follow Drew Cordeiro on twitter | WSU on twitter and facebook
Follow Stephane Bruyere on twitter | NCW:Femmes Fatales on twitter and facebook
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And The Wrestler of the Year is…
And so it’s come down to this. With Kimber Lee and Allysin Kay installed as Discovery and Breakout Star of the Year respectively, it’s time to unveil the winner of our main Year End Award. To be honest, it’s been a strange year in that there are a number of contenders for the award, really depending on what criteria you use to determine what makes a “Wrestler of the Year”. Let’s take a look at some of the top contenders.
If you consider your Wrestler of the Year to be the one who elicited the most emotion from the crowd, then you may well choose SHIMMER Champion Saraya Knight. Her late career renaissance has been incredible, and was topped this year by winning the SHIMMER Championship, and reviving her long-simmering rivalry with Cheerleader Melissa. Nobody can hold a crowd in the palm of her hand like “Sweet” Saraya, and she’s taken that momentum with her throughout the calendar year. On a similar note, the WSU Champion Jessicka Havok (last year’s Breakout Star of the Year) has managed to create and foster a very fervent fanbase in a year that has seen her win the WSU Championship (twice), and compete for (amongst others) Crossfire, NCW:FF, ACW & Shine – winning plaudits everywhere she competed. It’s a shame, really, that with the transition of ownership in WSU, Havok only had one appearance in her “home” promotion in the second half of the year. Havok & Knight had achievements in 2012, but arguably the person who has had the most personal achievement in 2012 is none other than Emi Sakura, who started 2012 with absolutely nothing, having left Ice Ribbon in late 2011. From nothing, Sakura ends 2012 promoting her own shows in both Thailand & Japan (under the Gatoh Move banner), a regular gig in JWP and owning the oldest joshi belt in Japan (the JWP Openweight Title) and Europe’s Pro Wrestling EVE Title concurrently. From the outhouse to the penthouse, Sakura went from nowhere to become one of joshi puroresu’s most important names. And then, of course, there’s the dark horse pick – which for us this year was “Rate Tank” Kellie Skater. Skater started 2012 in Japan, and returned from the Land of the Rising Sun a much improved grappler. She had career-best performances in SHIMMER (such as Kana on Vol 48 and Yumi Ohka on Vol 50), had two outstanding matches with Evie back at home, and made a believer out of EVERYBODY in the Eagles Club that she was going to beat Saraya Knight for the SHIMMER Championship at Vol 51. In fact, had Skater won the title that night (or even the NCW:FF International Championship in Montreal the following weekend), there’s a great chance she could’ve won this award. Kudos to an outstanding year to all of these women.
However, for the sake of this award, we have chosen to take the term “Wrestler of the Year” quite literally, and recognise quite simply the best in-ring competitor of the year. Bar none. (more…)
And the Breakout Star of the Year is…
It’s time for the second of our three honours which comprise the Ringbelles 2012 Year End Awards, and that brings us to the Breakout Star of the Year. While we define the Discovery category as someone who caught our attention and made us believe that great things are in that wrestler’s future, the Breakout Star award is for those wrestlers who have gone from being another name in another match to someone who has become a genuine player, breaking through that proverbial glass ceiling to being a must-have selection for promoters, and someone who fans are now going out of their way to see, learn more about and follow.
As was mentioned in yesterday’s Roundup, the Breakout Star category saw the biggest field of potential winners, with fifteen women in contention for the award. Names on the list included Hiroyo Matsumoto, who challenged for numerous championships in Japan and earned another crack at the SHIMMER title on volume 51; Courtney Rush, who was part of the brilliant Queens Of Winning storyline and has been part of higher profile matches in 2012, showing how well regarded she is and how you can rely on her to put on an entertaining contest; Athena, who won the Anarchy Championship Wrestling American Joshi Queen of Queens and had big outings against the likes of Ray, Mercedes Martinez and Ayako Hamada, as well as challenging for both the SHIMMER and nCw Femmes Fatales International championships; Evie, who in the space of seven days in August won two of the most high-profile titles in Australasia and fought some staggeringly hard-hitting matches along the way; and Nikki Storm, who blossomed over the year from an entertaining prospect for the future into a consistently entertaining performer and the Pro Wrestling: EVE Champion – albeit for only a matter of minutes.
Three of the aforementioned names came within a gnat’s whisker of winning this award. However, we elected to give it to a woman whose rise over 2012 came to be because of an errant kick which caused her nose to explode… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (18 December 2012) – AJ Lee’s year, Yuzuki Aikawa announces retirement, and more
2012 Diva of the Year (named by both WWE Magazine and the WWE fans via the Slammy Awards) AJ Lee is about as far away from WWE’s idea of what a Diva should be as you can imagine. Short, quirky, geeky, lacking the body shape that others have had in the past, she comes across as the person you would be more likely to meet over an Xbox Live session of Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 than at an awards ceremony or a fancy bar. She’s your friend, your buddy – she’s not what WWE would perceive to be the ultimate in femininity.
But scratch beneath the surface, and she may be more woman than anyone else on the roster. She’s independent, driven, and has forged a path which she was never meant to go down – and in doing so, forced WWE to take notice.
After all, at the start of this year, she was Daniel Bryan’s put-upon girlfriend – the one who was the foil for him to turn heel, and saw her end up being verbally abused and put in harm’s way. If anything, at the time she was another version of the antithesis of a Diva – meek, helpless and unable to take care of herself. However, when their relationship ended on the post-WrestleMania SmackDown following Bryan’s loss of the World Heavyweight Title – which he blamed on her – she went off at the deep end. It gave her character a chance to have an edge, and she ran with it. (more…)
Hailey Hatred amassed more titles in 2012
The 2012 Ringbelles Awards week kicks off tomorrow, and in preparation, we are taking a look back at the winners from 2011. We have already seen how Kay Lee Ray‘s star has grown, how Jessicka Havok took 2012 by the balls, and now we look at what Hailey Hatred‘s been up to after spending a portion of 2011 holding six separate championships…
There was a mild irony of our timing when we revealed that Hatred had won the Wrestler of the Year title. We announced that the 29-year old had won a day after she lost the JWP Openweight Championship – a title which was instrumental in us choosing her as the winner, as she was the first non-Japanese woman to hold the belt in its 20-year history. However, we judge from December 1 of one year to November 30 of the next, in order to make sure all the awards are despatched and received before the end of the calendar year.
Hatred’s disappointments continued in January as she was unsuccessful in her challenge for the CMLL World Women’s Title – at the time held by Ayumi Kurihara – and was unable to wrest the Ice Ribbon International Ribbon Tag Team Championship, as she and Dorami Nagano lost to then-champs Hikaru Shida and Maki Narumiya. However, a return to the United States for half a year saw her amass some quality outings against world-class opponents… (more…)
Fight Like A Girl: Cat Power
As you may well know, Canadian grappler Cat Power recently moved from Windsor, Ontario to Vancouver, BC – and as she’s kinda putting wrestling on the back-burner once again in order to focus on her new life, she requested a chance to come back on the site and talk about some of the people who have helped her in her career to date. A chance to close the book on one chapter of her life, if you like. We’d never turn down a request from Cat Power, so we duly obliged – the only thing is… Cat’s a talkative sort, so what was planned as maybe 20 minutes ended up clocking in at about 45 minutes. So, kick off your shoes, sit back in your comfy chair and let Cat Power update you on what she’s up to and lay out thanks to some of the trainers, bookers, opponents and friends who she’s met along the way.
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If you want to keep up with the hectic life of Cat Power, give her a follow on twitter
WOW Podcast #47 with Rhia O’Reilly
Episode 47 with Rhia O’Reilly
31 episodes ago we had a rookie wrestler on our Christmas show, who we thought had a bright future… now, coming off a quite astoundingly successful 2012 it’s time to welcome back our friend Rhia O’Reilly and see what’s causin’ all this. We talk working in NCW: Femmes Fatales earlier this year (and getting a “Finlay’s Daughter” chant), working heel on St Patrick’s Day in SHIMMER, “The Catchphrase” (Oh Really??), her second trip to SHIMMER in October, working Cheerleader Melissa & Davina Rose and interjecting herself into the main event of SHIMMER Vol 52, black eyes, working SHINE in Florida, Su Yung wackiness, the impact of Lexie Fyfe on her career, winning the British Ladies Title at WAWW, Scottish hijinks at Fierce Females and her friendship with “Amazon” Ayesha Ray which has become a tag team in Pro Wrestling: EVE. With a year like this, how can 2013 compare? Well, Rhia’s already got her sights on another continent…
Follow Rhia O’Reilly on twitter | Rhia O’Reilly on facebook
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Ringbelles Roundup (6 November 2012) – experiencing live wrestling, Femmes Fatales and more
Allysin Kay, Santana Garrett, Ryo Mizunami, Heidi Lovelace, Thunderkitty, Su Yung, Shazza McKenzie, Angelus Layne, Sweet Cherrie, Mary Lee Rose, Deziree, Missy, Medianne, Xandra Bale, Leah Von Dutch, Jewells Malone, Serphentina, Angie Skye & Pink Flash Kira all share a common thread with me in relation to all the wrestling I’ve seen in the last few weeks – seven shows since October 26, and two more to come this weekend, where I can add Kaori Yoneyama and Angelina Love to that list. They are all wrestlers who I have seen live for the first time, and I think that’s a massively important thing to be excited about.
While at SHIMMER, the discussion took place about Lexie Fyfe’s announcement as part of the heel team for the elimination match which headlined volume 50, with the assertion that if you merely read the results, or even saw it on DVD, it would not generate the same reaction or experience as watching it live. At the Berwyn Eagles Club, RPM by Sugar Ray hit and there was a wave of excitement as the recognition sunk into fans’ heads, realising that Fyfe would be wrestling her first SHIMMER match since May 3, 2009, where she and Malia Hosaka fell to Ariel and Nikki Roxx. It was a nice throwback to a previous generation, and provided a lovely nostalgic feeling. Had you just seen the result on paper, or knowing that it was going to happen, it may not have garnered the same buzz. (more…)
Lee’s 2012 highlights
Dolly Parton said that – wise woman.
The reason I started out this piece about my favourite memories from 2012 with that quote is because to truly appreciate the moments you most enjoyed, you need something negative to compare it to – and for me, that moment was back in mid-March when I was sat at home in the early hours of the morning updating the results of the SHIMMER volumes 45-48 tapings for Ringbelles.
I was at home because the inevitable happened – after eight trips to the Chicago area in four years, the coffers had run dry and I couldn’t afford to go. While Stew was at the Berwyn Eagles Club watching everything unfold, I was remotely keeping up with the festivities, feeling more and more disappointed that I wasn’t there. After his return, Stew let me know about the epic encounter that was Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada against Ray and Leon which saw the crowd lose their collective shit, as well as the whole Queens of Winning storyline play out, culminating in Courtney Rush and Sara Del Rey winning the SHIMMER Tag Team Titles. However, the ultimate low point for me would have been the ultimate high point if I was there, and that was Saraya Knight winning the SHIMMER Championship. (more…)
December 31, 2012 | Categories: Commentaries | Tags: Bellatrix, Erin Angel, ICW:FF, Nikki Storm, Pro Wrestling: EVE, Rhia O'Reilly, SHIMMER, WAWW | Leave A Comment »