This weekend will see AWS present its fifth women’s tournament, aptly titled Women’s Tournament #5. Our resident guru of girl’s wrestling Gregg (aka DJ Chopstix) and myself got together to take a look at the show and offer our predictions on how we think it is going to play out.
Tournament Round 1: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Renee Michelle
Steve: I think Shotzi Blackheart (who is already the best Blackheart ever, sorry Joan Jett) has become one of the top women’s wrestlers in the American independent wrestling scene over the last year. It will be a shame if she isn’t in WWE’s women’s tournament later this summer. I haven’t seen a whole lot of Renee Michelle, so I’m not sure what to expect there, but with Shotzi in this I expect it should be good. I also think Shotzi will be moving on to round two.
Gregg: I said before that Shotzi is going to have a huge 2017 and she’s already on her way. Between Shimmer and Rise appearances, heading to England for the BEW tournament, I, too, would be really surprised if she doesn’t make an appearance in the WWE Women’s Tourney. I give it to her over the (arguably) bigger name, Michelle.
Tournament Round 1: Lufisto vs. Solo Darling
Gregg: This should be an interesting styles clash. Lufisto is the grizzled vet, while Solo is fun and charismatic. Gotta give this one to the Wounded Owl Ronin, unless Solo has too much sugar. My picks will unfold into the next rounds.
Steve: I haven’t seen much of Solo Darling myself, but Lufisto is consistently really good and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her have a bad match, so this should be good. I’m also going to go with Lufisto to get the win here.
Tournament Round 1: Candice LeRae vs. Hudson Envy
Steve: This should be really good. This is two long time opponents meeting again in the promotion that was home to some of their most memorable matches. Both wrestlers are really good, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up as the match of the night. I think this is also the hardest match to predict a winner, but I’m going to say Candice gets the win.
Gregg: This will be a war, to say the least. As Hudson has pointed out, it’s been 4 years since the two of them were last in the ring together. It’s going to be a great story to see how far the two of them have come in that time. This has the makings to be a match of the night. Gotta go with Hudson, because I always gotta.
Tournament Round 1: Ruby Raze vs. Jordynne Grace
Gregg: I’m calling Jordynne Grace on this one. This is going to be a hard-hitting power-based affair to say the least. But I don’t think Raze needs this. I’m a HUGE fan of Raze, don’t get me wrong. To me, she’s become the bar for SoCal women’s wrestling. Much in the same way that Cheerleader Melissa used to be that standard, Raze is that now. It’s also a travesty to me that she isn’t on any of the “bigger” stages as of yet.
Steve: Hey Raze, if you are reading this Gregg didn’t pick you! This is the match I’m most looking forward to in the first round. Like Gregg said this should be really hard-hitting. Jordynne Grace is really good, and Raze is one of the top women’s wrestlers in the area. To further add to Raze being the standard for the area, I think her positive attitude towards promoting women’s wrestling in the area has helped to elevate the scene in recent years too. I have to go with Raze here.
Buggy Nova & Sage Sin Supreme vs. Samara & Violet Payne
Steve: I really like the heel version of Samara that showed up in FIST a few months ago. Both Buggy and Sage are a lot of fun to watch and have a ton of charisma in the ring (and I’m sure outside of it too). I think they’ll really complement each other as a team. I haven’t seen Violet Payne wrestle, so I’m not sure how she and Samara will work together. I’d be surprised if Buggy and Sage don’t win.
Gregg: I gotta go with Buggy and Sage, too. They’ve got the experience factor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Samara and Violet pull out the victory. Violet’s made mention of her recent ankle issues, so I wonder if this will have any impact on this match.
Tournament Round 2: Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
Gregg: Shotzi vs Lufisto. This will definitely be a “trial by fire” match for Shotzi. Lufisto is the most experienced in the tournament and I don’t think that Shotzi will be able to overcome the world traveler. (Plus… this will make the finals that much more telling).
Steve: I’m also predicting Shotzi versus Lufisto. I think it’s like you mentioned with Raze, but lufisto doesn’t “need” to win this. Shotzi winning here could help to further elevate her (though with the path she’s been on I don’t think she really needs help there either). I’m going to pick Shotzi to go over here.
Tournament Round 2: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4
Steve: Based on my predictions on the opening round, I think we’ll have Ruby Raze versus Candice LeRae here. If that happens, it should be good. Raze versus Hudson will be good too. I heard that if Raze loses in round one there may be a riot. I think Raze moves on to the finals.
Gregg: Based on my predictions, after the riot happens… it’ll be Hudson vs. Jordynne. What will be interesting in this match is actually what it will mean for the finals. On one hand, you’ve got Hudson… the daughter of the Wounded Owl, Lufisto. On the OTHER hand, you’ve got Jordynne, Lufisto’s Team PAWG tag team partner. Hudson is back, stronger than ever, and she’s looking to reclaim her AWS title. And while her “baby daddy” may have the title now, you can bet that nothing is going to stop her until she gets it back.
Five Men vs. Five Women
Gregg: With one spot still left on the men’s team, here’s my prediction. In true SoCal historical lore, if there’s a “TBD” on the card, Frankie Kazarian has to be an option. Or El Dandy (he’s a jam-up guy). Kadillak is a performer who I’ve been thoroughly impressed with and should be booked more often, too. Last year’s match was a fun spotfest that the crowd was hot for, so I expect nothing short of fireworks for this year’s, too.
Steve: These matches are usually pretty fun, with a lot of fun spots sprinkled throughout. I don’t even think the full match has been announced, but the Killer Baes are in it and it’s good to see more of them in AWS. I don’t have a prediction for this.
Tournament Finals
Steve: My prediction is a Shotzi Blackheart versus Ruby Raze finals. Both have been having a really good year so far, but I’ll go out on a limb and pick Raze to win it all.
Gregg: My prediction for the finals is Hudson vs. Lufisto. Hudson is on a path back to her title and beating Lufisto could be the momentum that propels her back to it.
Closing Thoughts
Steve: This is looking like it should be a really fun tournament. There are so many possible interesting matchups that could happen. I also think there are legitimately six different wrestlers who could win, which makes these things much more exciting when you have no idea which way things will go. Also, feel free to book mark this and tell us how wrong we were when Solo Darling wins the tournament.
Gregg: Don’t forget to spay and neuter your pets. Don’t hinder Jinder. Book Joshua Shibata. Headlock…
AWS Women’s Tournament #5 is this Saturday May 27th in South Gate, CA at 8:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now at paypal.me/awspromotions and are $27.00 for 2nd row and $22.00 for general admission. For more information check out our events page.
