Any doubts on how well an entire card full of inter-gender wrestling matches could sell was silenced (at least for now) with a large crowd on hand at the Imperial Beach Sports Complex. The “Sabotage Idol” pre-show festivities saw Thunder Rosa sing to a Mexican (or other Latin) song, & Lucius showed his in-ring skill against Alexander G. Bernard. When Mariachi Loco showed off his dance moves, he lured Holidead into the ring, before hitting her with a Superkick. Desi Derata dragged Human Tornado into the ring, ultimately getting him “hog-tied”. That was just the beginning of a wild night of inter-gender wrestling action.
Ray Lyn v. “The Professional” Peter Avalon
I felt this was a good opener, with PPA having none of Ray Lyn & her twerks. PPA was able to move away from Ray Lyn’s aerial attack, then set her up for the Marti-Knees & the pin; although not without reeling from the stiff bumps he took after the bell.
Sage Sin Supreme v. Kaka Meng (substitute for Joe Heiken)
Kaka Meng’s “Gigolo” persona–complete with a mullet & wrestling gear that reminds me of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake in the 80’s–seemed to rub “The Pumpkin Queen” in obviously the wrong way. 2 Indian Deathlock holds softened Kaka up for Sage. 1st try with the Code Red/Canadian Destroyer didn’t go so well, but the 2nd one hit home for the pin.
Desi Derata & Mazzerati v. Human Tornado & “Rocket Boy” D’Marco Wilson
Pretty crazy tag team match, with Desi & Tornado picking up where they left off. There was a nice spot where D’Marco slid his board on the mat, between Mazzerati’s legs, then gave her a stiff kick that sent her down hard to the said board. A couple of team moves late, including Mazzerati boosting Desi’s Backbreaker on Tornado. Mazzerati wasn’t satisfied with Desi pinning Tornado after the team move, so she rolled her off, and got the pin herself.
Hudson Envy v. B-Boy
From my perspective, this was a very stiff match, setting the tone for the 2nd half. Like Christina Von Eerie in her 2 matches w/ B-Boy earlier this year, Hudson showed her physical & mental toughness against the veteran, trading stiff strikes & big slams. In the end, it was B-Boy who got the last laugh, rolling a Brainbuster into the Piledriver for the pin.
Shotzi Blackheart v. Steven Tresario
This was a great match to come out of intermission, with both wrestlers trading some stiff moves, including Cancelling Crossbodies. Somehow, Shotzi was able to take a Superplex, & reverse the cover on Steven for the pin.
Holidead v. Mariachi Loco
Seeing more lucha in this match was not unexpected, although there was a tense moment early in the match. When Mariachi Loco tossed Holidead over the ropes, and hard onto the floor, it looked like she was knocked out from the impact of the fall, given that the other referees, & some of the Battle U talents doing security work, provided assistance. So when Loco went for an aerial move of his own, Holidead dodged it, making Loco crash onto the men, then did a Corner Suicide Dive onto Loco. The rest of the match was very even, but Loco seemed to do one too many Superkicks. That was because Holidead blocked the last one she saw, swept his other leg, and covered him for the pin.
SM – Thunder Rosa v. Ray Rosas
This match was very stiff, complete with some great counters & chain moves. It was also where Ray’s in-ring showmanship, combined with his wide array of moves, was on full display. Ray capped it with a Rolling Neckbreaker to the knee, then locked in the Rear Naked Choke for the pass-out submission win.
M – (Non-title match) Sabotage Champion Delilah Doom v. FCW Lightweight Champion Eli Everfly
Donovan Troi’s hopes for maintaining control of the promotion came down to what Eli did in the ring, against his storyline nemesis. This was 20+ minutes of stiff wrestling, combined with in-ring storytelling. There was plenty of brawling outside the ring, including one moment where it looked like Eli planned to slam Delilah hard to the basketball court, to no avail. The longer the match went, the more tense it got, and that seemed to draw everyone from the back, to ringside. In the end, Eli saved the night for Donovan, rolling a Spanish Fly, into a Canadian Destroyer for the pin. Donovan, though, would not get the full satisfaction of keeping control of Sabotage, as the “War of the Genders” series ended in a 4-4 draw. Neither he nor his stablemates “got their way” with Delilah, as she took all of them (except an evasive Lucius) out, then gave Donovan himself the Pedigree.
With all that came out of the 4th Sabotage show, there will be plenty of interesting storylines, when the 5th show commences in Austin, TX this October. Obviously, there’s the matter of the ongoing feud between “Team Donovan” & Delilah, especially when she defends the Sabotage Women’s title against Ruby Raze. Depending on where that goes, we could see Raze return to Cali with the title. There’s also the Sabotage Tag Team titles that Thunder Rosa & Holidead vacated, citing that their journeys after the show would render them unable to fulfill their obligations. In the end, everyone worked their tails off, putting everything on the line to give the fans a great show. Everyone saw how much fight is in the small frames of both Eli & Delilah, making them worthy of the respective titles they hold. B-Boy continues to help put over the various opponents he has faced, whether it’s the BFF duo of CVE & Hudson, or the younger So Cal male talents.
In closing, I tip my hat off to everyone that put on such a great show, which is a reminder of why I take such long trips to places like San Diego, for big wrestling events. Taking The Human Tornado to the show, then back to his home, allowed me to take some time after the show to thank the wrestlers, & get some insight on Desi’s upcoming bookings, which is reasonably light on the wrestling side, as she prepares for her upcoming MMA fight. With that being said, I hope everyone that can schedule a trip to Austin, TX for the next Sabotage show do it, as that show is stacked with great talents, and Delilah will continue her feud with “Team Donovan”.
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