A look back at Sabotage 2: “Hey Ladies”

Over a week removed, I’ve decided to (finally) write my review on Sabotage: Hey Ladies.

The Talent Show

For those that missed the talent show portion, you missed magic.

If you survey the crowd, you wouldn’t be able to get a definitive answer to who actually won.

My personal vote goes for Kaitlin Diemond serenading Delilah Doom, with Delilah’s reactions being equally as entertaining.

Delilah’s exercise routine and bringing fans into the ring is the interactive experience that will keep bringing fans back.

Desi Derata’s stilt-walking and interpretive dance was mesmerizing.

But Thunder Rosa and Human Tornado’s continuation of their “interpretive dance” to the baby-making classic “Nobody” was nothing to shake a stick at, either.

The twerk-off was entertaining and foreshadowed the match.

I’d love to see Sabotage do more fan interactive fun activities like that.

Maybe a water balloon toss or egg race, who knows? The possibilities are endless.

I thought it was a great way to involve the crowd more with the show than just your normal evening of wrestling.

It was definitely something that will go down in SoCal wrestling lore, alongside many XPW moments, early PWG spots (Remember Joey Ryan Fan and B-Boy having a faceoff where B-Boy backs down), and Taro wrestling Spongebob.

The Show Itself

There’s no need to run through the card match by match, that’s been done.

A year or so ago, I wrote about the state of women’s wrestling in SoCal.

I’m glad to see that so much has changed since that time.

The depth and breadth of the talent on the card created so much variety that I’m sure many fans walked away with ideas for matchups that they wanted to see down the line.

Holidead squaring off with Desi Derata were those moments for me.

When Holidead and Desi squared off – I don’t know if it was my imagination – but you could hear the crowd pop like crazy.

It’s the matchup that I wrote about going into the show and the execution of it didn’t disappoint.

Holidead and Raze was the other one.

Another matchup of two of SoCal’s most imposing wrestlers.

It was one of those “Oh, it’s on now!” moments.

I was also thoroughly impressed by Hideaki Shibata.

He handled the whole night like a pro and adjusted for whatever came his way (including the sound system going out).

Whoever suggested to him that he inquire about announcing the show should get a fat check (checks mailbox… nothing).

The Talent

VIP of the night hands down was Delilah Doom.

There’s something so special about her. The way that she can draw you in and make you believe just can’t be taught.

It’s something that we haven’t seen in a long time. The closest comparison I can make is Shawn Michaels.

Delilah versus Raze would be the classic David (or Delilah) versus Goliath story. It would also be Storytelling 101.

CVE versus B-Boy has to be an early contender for match of the year.

If you didn’t see this show, you need to see this match.

Thunder Rosa continues to impress me.

I mentioned before about Thunder Rosa’s charisma and I think it’s one of her greatest strengths.

You can’t help but watch her.

She walks out believing that she’s the best and the baddest.

In turn, she makes you believe that.

I’d like to see where Samara and Violet Payne end up next, too.

My Sabotage Wish list

Sabotage is already off to a great start.

They posted a poll on twitter asking fans, which was the better show, their first or second one.

I thought long and hard and ultimately didn’t vote… it was too hard to call.

In the future, I’d love to see more social media video promos, though.

They do a great job of constantly updating fans on Facebook and participating in live chats.

But if you saw the Holidead/Heather Monroe video or the Buggy/Raze video, I see a lot of potential for viral video entertainment.

I think it would be a good way to allow the wrestlers to show off more of their personalities, too.

As far as future matchups go, Raze versus Desi versus Holidead would be a sight to see.

While I’m at it, I’d also like to put in another request for our current Sabotage Champion versus a certain meat-eating wolf who recently won a title.

To me, what made Sabotage: Hey Ladies stand out to me was the kids.

There were so many little girls in the crowd and I thought it was truly special to have a locker room full of inspirational women to look to.

When those girls get older, if they’re still interested in wrestling, they’ll be able to recall this show and their favorite wrestlers.

Sabotage is like Wu-Tang… for the kids.

 

P.S. Holidead needs to twerk.