As Steve mentioned, there were about 150-200 people that came to this all-women’s show. Although I had hoped more people would be drawn by the relatively cheap ticket prices and the appearances made by some of the finest women in wrestling today, this was still a good number. Steve gave his thoughts on the RISE matches, so here’s my thoughts from what I saw on my side of the hall:
1 – Desi De Rata v. Jewels Malone
As Steve mentioned in his article, the match was fairly even, and a decent opener. I wasn’t sure where Jewels got hurt in the match. In all likelihood, it came from being held head-over-heels for quite a long time, before Desi dropped down to her knees to complete the Modified Tombstone Piledriver, or the whiplash from the bump.
2 – Sage Sin v. Allie Kat
Steve is pretty much right in his observance of the match, and that’s not unexpected. I did like the few things that Allie showed, when she was on the offensive, but Sage was on the offensive most of the time. Sage rolling an evasive maneuver into the Code Red was neat.
3 – Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Rosemary v. Samara
Samara should learn something from being in the ring with someone like Rosemary, even if she was “intimidated” by her presence. Steve forgot to mention that Rosemary set Samara up w/ a Poison Mist, before hitting that Modified F5 for the pin.
4 – Saraya Knight v. a gauntlet of opponents
I didn’t hear exactly what one of the fans said that got Saraya pissed off, but she got right in front of him, and had some choice words for him. She one-shotted her first opponent–who was never introduced, made short work of Layna Rosario, and then really went medieval on Kikyo, capping it with a DDT for the pin.
5 – Raze v. Hawlee Layne
Short, but effectiv, as Steve mentioned. Raze was on the offensive for most of the match, capping it with the Soul Eater for the pin.
6 – SHIMMER Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez (w/ Nicole Savoy) v. Shotzi Blackheart
This was definitely where the intensity really picked up. The only matches I saw that involved Mercedes, was when she was doing battle w/ Yuzuki Aikawa at Stardom way back in 2011, and the brutal ladder match she had at WSU a few years back. I wasn’t sure initially how well Shotzi would match up with a highly decorated wrestler, but she really held her ground, and made Mercedes earn the pin w/ a Fisherwoman’s Suplex or Muscle Buster.
SM – #1 Contenders Match for the Phoenix of RISE title: Britt Baker v. Chelsea Green
Very even match in my books, complete with the in-ring expressions that 1/2 of Stardom’s “Tea Time” duo (Chelsea, w/ the other being Santana Garrett) showed. Referee Justin Borden took a bump, trying to prevent Chelsea from using a steel chair. He slumped over in the corner, which Britt used to springboard off of Justin’s back, and hit a Leg Drop for the pin.
M – Phoenix of RISE title match: Angel Dust (c) v. Delilah Doom
Both women looked really good in the match, especially Angel. It seemed like it was all sportmanship after Angel hit the Backstabber on Delilah for the successful title defense, then it went south when Rosemary got involved after the bell. Backstabber by Angel, a Poison Mist, then a Modified F5 on Delilah, and it only makes me wonder what storyline is going to come out of an apparent partnership between Rosemary & Angel.
Overall, I felt this show was a great platform to showcase younger talents, and gauge where they stand with the likes of Mercedes or Saraya. Allie Kat & Samara didn’t show alot on the card, so hopefully, I’ll see more of what they can do next month at Sabotage. Although there’s no exact date on when another RISE show will be held in So Cal, I can envision them coming back later in the fall or next year.
MOTN
3 – Britt Baker v. Chelsea Green
This show brought a real capacity crowd to the event, and it was a lively one from start to finish.
1 – Phoenix of RISE title match: Angel Dust (c) v. Britt Baker
This was a very even match from the start. Britt looked like she had Angel set up for a 2nd Leg Drop, but Rosemary got involved again, spitting a Poison Mist into her face, and that allowed Angel to get an otherwise underhanded rollup pin.
2 – Jewels Malone & Katarina Leigh v. Shotzi Blackheart & Delilah Doom
After RISE the previous night, I wasn’t sure if Jewels would be fine for this match, but she was cleared to compete. This was a very fun match to watch, especially with the contrast of styles. Delilah hit her Clothesline Smash on Jewels, setting up Shotzi’s Super Senton Bomb for the pin.
3 – Bad Dude Tito v. J.R. Kratos
A very stiff men’s match, that was very even, & well paced. Kratos hit a Piledriver for the pin.
4 – Brody King v. Mariachi Loco
Very decent match, w/ the contrast of styles Brody also hit a Piledriver for the pin.
5 – Andy Brown v. Suede Thompson v. Jake Atlas v. B-Boy
A very even, well-paced spotfest, especially when they started to fly, and did a string of counter-moves. B-Boy had the last laugh after a parade of signature moves, hitting his Piledriver on Jake for the pin.
6 – Saraya Knight, Hudson Envy, & Christina Von Eerie v. Rosemary, Raze, & Sage Sin
Neither Saraya nor Rosemary got alot of ring time in this match, and that’s not too big of a surprise to me. Sage soaked up most of the bumps in the match, while she & her tag team partners did most of their work on Hudson & CVE. There was a strange moment when Rosemary’s attempt to spit another Poison Mist found Raze’s face, instead of the ducking Hudson or CVE; and then the Impact Knockouts champ walked out of the ring. CVE hit a Spinning Sidewalk Slam on Sage, which Hudson rolled into the Air Raid Crash for the pin. Saraya had plenty to say to Rosemary after the match.
7 – H.A.T.E. (Ray Rosas & Che Cabrera, w/ Mondo Vega) v. Colt Cabana & Joey Ryan
A very even, well-paced gimmick match. At one point, Joey locked Ray into the YP Plex–a hold that Che tried to pry Ray out of, but ended up getting flipped over. Ray & Che also tried to pull a Dudley, but Che’s Flying Headbutt onto Joey’s groin was obviously a bad idea. Joey did a reversal cover on a stunned Ray for the pin.
SM – Mercedes Martinez (w/ Nicole Savoy) v. Chelsea Green
A well paced, very even match between two of the finest women in the indies. There was a couple of moments where Chelsea had quite the beef w/ Nicole, with the 2nd one being very costly for her. That allowed Mercedes to hit a signature move, which I couldn’t see with Nicole in my field of view, for the pin.
M – Heavyweight title match: Tyler Bateman (c) v. Lil Cholo v. Scorpio Sky
This one was also well paced, & very even. Neither men could put the others away with their usual line of signature moves, so Tyler hit a Piledriver on Scorpio for the successful title defense.
Overall, a very fun card to watch. The crowd brought plenty of energy to the arena, even though there was no intermission midway through the card that went a good 3 1/2 hours. J.R. Kratos, Suede Thompson, & Jake Atlas had very good AWS debut, and that could only lead to more bookings for them somewhere down the road. I liked the continuation of the storyline that started at the RISE show the previous night, and the crowd dished out plenty of heel heat to Angel Dust after Rosemary’s interference. As I mentioned in the live tweets before the show, there aren’t alot of promoters that can pull off a weekend booking of some of the biggest names in indy wrestling today, especially when it comes to women like Mercedes Martinez, Saraya Knight, Chelsea Green, & Rosemary. Out here, they’re definitely a rare attraction, so it was very nice to see the fans come out & greet them. We now know that Tyler Bateman will have another challenger coming up on the 15th Anniversary Show. Who that challenger will be, is yet to be determined, as of press time.
“The Chaos Column” return in February, at either of the two upcoming EWF shows, or Sabotage on 2/18.
