Chaos Column Recap: AWS Women’s Tournament #5

5/27/17 AWS Women’s Tournament #5

American Legion Post #335, South Gate

Big names in the independent women’s wrestling scene, combined with the fans’ favorite regional talents, helped fill the hall to capacity. If you haven’t been to an AWS show lately, then you should consider going to one later this summer, as it’s rare to see some of the biggest independent female talents in women’s wrestling fly over to So Cal. Take advantage of it, while you still can.

ROUND 1

To me, this was a pretty strong opener. The outcome, however, was the biggest surprise, at least for me. Renee rolled a few kicks to Shotzi’s face into a Moonsault for the pin. Yes, she pinned the current Phoenix of RISE Champion.  Maybe Renee will get a shot at that title in a future RISE event, especially since Kevin Harvey was at the show.

Although Solo didn’t bring one of her wrestling gears that featured a tail (like the one that Shayna Baszler tried to pick apart recently), her “Queenbee” attire was pretty neat. Going up against “The Wounded Owl Ronin” couldn’t have been easy, but she held her own for awhile. LuFi stopped Solo from doing an aerial move, grabbing her from the top rope, to hit the Burning Hammer for the pin.

Jordynne put her pure athleticism into display, although it had to be relatively difficult for her to lift the big body of the “Equal Opportunity A$$-Kicker”. Raze’s own athleticism was also on full display, as she was able to match up really well with Jordynne, then find an opening to hit the Soul Eater for the pin.

The last several days had to be pretty difficult for Candice, having to swallow some bitter pills from her hubby, Johnny Gargano, being taken out post-match by Tommaso Ciampa at NXT Takeover, then having to watch her Anaheim Ducks get eliminated by the Nashville Predators in the NHL Western Conference Final. The match itself, brought back memories from their hardcore match a few years ago, as they brawled all over the hall. Candice played possum after eating an Air Raid Crash from the top rope, then caught Hudson in an Inside Cradle Rollup for the pin.  In my books, this was the best of the 4 first round matches.

NON – TOURNAMENT TAG TEAM MATCH

A pretty decent tag team gimmick match, with Chuckie getting involved in a couple of occasions. There was an all-out mayhem late in the match, capped with Sage hitting a Codebreaker on Samara, knocking her right onto a waiting Buggy, who did a Crucifix Rollup for the pin.

SEMIFINALS

Renee held her own pretty well against LuFi, getting some good offense at spots. LuFi caught her late, rolling an Olympic Slam into a Tiger Bomb for the pin.

This one was surprising short, but effective. Raze ambushed Candice from behind, & didn’t give her much of a chance to fight back, capping it with the Soul Eater for the pin.

EVERY AWS FAN’S FAVORITE, THE 5 MEN V. 5 WOMEN MATCH

This match didn’t disappoint, with its own mix of comedy, and serious wrestling. Things got serious fast, when Mondo “tried to talk some sense” into Hudson, only to get a knee to his nuts. There was Pizza Cat flying onto the men, & Kadillak flying onto the ladies. Although the men didn’t have Terex, who is recovering from recent medical issues, Mikey & Pinky were good substitutes, and they put their size to full use. The tail end of the match featured a parade of signature moves & finishers, capped with Laura putting Ryan in the YP Plex hold. The other guys tried to overpower the hold, but the women “combined their might”, while Justin was “neutralized” somehow (maybe Nicole did it). In the end, it was a combined YP Plex flip, with the ladies scoring the pin.  Post-match, Kadillak berated Nicole, only to eat a German Suplex.

The two got it going with a major brawl outside the ring, going from one end of the hall, to the other. It got real serious late, when Jordynne Grace interfered, and helped LuFi unload on Raze. That drew Sage Sin out, and she went after Jordynne, with the two brawling to the back. Raze found an opening late, hitting the last of 3 Soul Eater’s for the tournament-winning pin.

The tournament win has to be one of Raze’s biggest wins to date, along with winning a handful of titles elsewhere. It also makes her the #1 Contender to the AWS Women’s title, which could see her taking on her “Fatal Attractions” partner, Sage Sin, or a returning Nicole Savoy late in the summer or during the fall season (depending on the outcome of the title match at the July show). Both Solo Darling & Jordynne Grace had strong AWS debuts. With enough fan support, Bart could bring them back for a future show. There was also an announcement at the end of intermission, where a 2nd RISE/AWS Double-Shot was announced by Kevin Harvey. It’s scheduled for 12/1 & 12/2, with the RISE event, named “Brutality”, featuring some hardcore matches.

MOTN