Tag Archive: Athena

  1. WSU-An Ultraviolent Affair

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    This is episode 2 in the new era of WSU, which can be found here. I remember that nature did not smile on this show as it faced a horrible blizzard. We headed right into the action. It would have been nice to get a little bit of characterization to prepare ourselves for the night.

    Jessie Brooks w/Sammy Geodollno vs. Nevaeh

    The last WSU show found Jessie Brooks teaming up with Sammy Geodollno. I think they are a good pair on paper. I am intrigued how they will mesh as a team. And I’m not sure how this has never happened before, but this is my first chance to see Nevaeh wrestle. Sammy provides a lot of energy which counteracted with Brooks’ slow, methodical entrance. It reminds me a lot of Mark Henry in that an inevitable beating is about to arrive. (And there is no comparison between body types there so please do not kill me.) Brooks just looks mad and pissed-off, which I think is a great place for a leading heel to be. As the match started, the crowd was a little dead, and Nevaeh listened to the crowd and tried to get them moving. I’m not sure that these two have worked together very often. There were some awkward moments in the match. Nevaeh wrestled a heel style so I really wasn’t sure who I was supposed to go for. The ending came out of nowhere for me, so that’s pretty positive. I’m not really sure about the booking of the first match. The crowd was quite dead during this match, so that might have affected me enjoying this match as much as I could have.

    Kimber Lee vs. Christina Von Eerie

    Kimber Lee is the quintessential “girl next door” and Von Eerie is the antithesis of everything Kimber Lee is. This would be a very interesting feud should it ever happen. Kimber was wearing her Moolah tights. We started off with some exciting mat wrestling. We got to see a good showcase for Von Eerie. I think she really shined here. Von Eerie is one of the best athletes in women’s wrestling (with respects to Athena). I would have liked to see more offense from Kimber.

    Niya vs. Veda Scott

    I really like Niya, and Scott is one of my favorites to watch in the ring. One would have to call Scott one of the best all-around workers in wrestling. She is such a good heel. Niya had a lot of sassiness in her entrance. I liked it. We started out with an “at-the-bell” attack by Scott. We had Jana as ref, which was great to see. Niya really got the chance to fly around. Veda got the chance to bump and do her thing as only as she can. She plays the despicable heel role so well. This was easily the best of the first 3 matches. This match had a story and a reason to care.

    Cherry Bomb vs. Kalamity

    So we have my very favorite vs. one of the most unique wrestlers in the indy scene. Kalamity didn’t do a lot to get the crowd on her side. Cherry Bomb is a very over heel in CZW so she fit right in. If you like Grumpy Cherry, there were plenty of great facials. There was some good entertainment to start off the match including the greatest insult of all time-“You look like an Oompa Loompa.” Cherry Bomb kept the crowd hating her. Watching her during the opening minutes is a clinic on how to get the crowd to hate you. If you like a stiff SHIMMER-style match, this is your match. Cherry Bomb also kept the crowd engaged, never giving up on heckling them or yelling at them. This crowd was as dead as can be. However if there was any life up to this point, it awakened during the Cherry match. I found this to be a really good match, my favorite up to this point. (Pretend I’m not the biggest Cherry Bomb fan but) I would definitely recommend this DVD for this match.

    Addy Starr vs. Chris Dickinson

    I love Addy Starr, but why is there a guy here? I’ve never seen Dickinson so I will be happy to see him, but why is he wrestling in Women Superstars Uncensored? Dickinson took the mic and cut a really good heel promo. I love Addy’s energy. She brings so much to a crowd. This wasn’t my favorite intergender match, but Addy flopped around like a rag doll. She took a powerbomb that I wowed out loud for. The near-fall portion was really good.

    Spoiler alert: I hated the finish. Why is this on Women Superstars Uncensored? It just seemed out of place. Dickinson won and got the pin. How does that help out THIS company? I just don’t see where it’s going yet.

    Athena vs. Jessicka Havok

    Would I be out of place to say my expectations for this are sky high? You have two of the top female wrestlers on the planet going at it here. This match got the time it needed. Up to this point, I didn’t feel the matches had gotten the time they needed to tell their stories, other than Cherry-Kalamity. There isn’t a lot to say. It was nearly twenty minutes of two of the top talents in wrestling doing their thing. This match alone would have been worth the price of purchasing it.

    LuFisto vs. Mercedes Martinez

    This first meeting between these two was my choice for 2012 Match of the Year. So you can imagine my expectations for this are pretty high too. Plus, this was Falls Count Anywhere. If I’m correct, this was in a hockey arena. This match took place in an ice skating rink. This was a match where you bumped on ice. I played broomball once in high school. I fell smack dab on the back of my head and haven’t been on the ice since. These women fought on the ice on purpose. There were some snap suplexes that made me hurt watching them. What an epic follow-up. I dare say this match topped the first. This match alone is worth the price of the DVD.

    All in all… I know that circumstances were way against WSU when trying to put forth this show, and no one would have blamed them for cancelling. But they put forth a really good show. Not every match was epic, but I’m not sure they were given the time they needed. I would like to have seen more character development. Just give me a minute for Havok to tell me why she chose Athena, postmatch of Mercedes explaining her actions, why the Dickinson-Starr feud.

    I liked Cindy Rogers on the mic. WSU needs a consistent color commentator so I’d like to hear more of her there. You had three really strong matches (And the Starr-Dickinson match was good; I just hated the story.), one of which bordered epic and another was the poster child of epic. I would definitely recommend this DVD.

  2. Absolute Intense Wrestling Girls Night Out March 1, 2013

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    I’ve been watching AIW for over a year. They are without a doubt my favorite wrestling promotion outside of Texas. Matter of fact, I spend most of my time trying to get my wife to take me up there for a birthday or something. We’re still working on that. One thing I’ve told them since I’ve started watching is that they needed iPPV. There is nothing worse than hearing about this great show, waiting for it to come out on DVD, buying it and waiting for it to be shipped. (Ok, I guess the DVD never arriving is worse, but it can be pretty annoying.) Not only did they take the risk of doing an iPPV, but it was their Girls Night Out event.

    There were plenty of risks. First and foremost what would the stream be like? Ring of Honor is a top caliber company and they can’t get a stream working. I’d never gotten a Smart Mark Video stream before so I was pretty nervous. We began with the first match.

    First match: Addy Starr vs. Sassy Stephanie

    Addy Starr has really improved over the past few years. She has an IT factor that I see. She has an infectious enthusiasm that comes out during her matches. AND I love the All-American Canadian gimmick. Stephanie is a very good soldier and has done a very good job to help create the lady wrestlers in AIW. I think she’s one of wrestling’s greatest villains, male or female. The match was pretty decent. The two gelled together and had pretty good chemistry. I was a little shocked by the match length and the outcome.

    Winner: Starr

    Second match: Athena vs. Kimber Lee

    What I first thought of when these two locked up is that this could be billed as “The Battle Between the Girls Next Door.” Both just have that sweet “girl next door” feel. I was very impressed by the work here. No secret I’m a huge Athena fan, and I think she’s one of the best out there. We had a nice stiff match that was very entertaining. Really wish it would have been a little longer. No shock with the outcome.

    Winner: Athena

    Third match: Veda Scott w/Gregory Iron vs. Leva Bates

    Veda and Greg began with cutting a lengthy promo, which I couldn’t hear because I can only not hear indy wrestling promos and my wife telling me to pick up milk on the way home from work. Leva showed up as Daredevil, which was a painful reminder that Ben Affleck had a career in between Good Will Hunting and Argo. The match itself was one of my favorites of the first 4. Veda is one of the best when it comes to matwork. I could watch her do her grappling/submission all day. And I love Leva’s bumping. It’s reminiscent of Shawn Michaels. I saw this one coming from a mile away. Veda with the win.

    Winner: Scott

    Fourth match: Annie Social w/The Social Network vs. Crazy Mary Dobson

    I’ve seen Social look more impressive than she did tonight. She also looked like the puppies were about to break free, which normally I wouldn’t mind except for the fact I have Google with unlimited opportunities. It might be time to look for a safer, more flattering outfit. Dobson has been spending some time overseas, and a lot of that work is showing in her matches. The match was pretty good here. We had some brawling outside the ring. But other than that, this was a pretty clean match from Dobson. We all know she can do the Pondo Death Match style. But here she wrestled an actual match concentrating on in-ring work. Well-done by both.

    Winner: Dobson

    Don’t know why, but I didn’t see Dobson winning this one. So two of the first 4 matches were surprises for me. AIW tried something different that I usually don’t see. During the intermission, they gave us a bonus match from Girls Night Out 6 between Jenny Rose & Hailey Hatred, which was one of my favorite matches of 2012. There were some glitches here and there (and I mean everywhere) with the bonus match, but I thought they were genius for giving a bonus match during the intermission.

    Fifth match: Jodi D’Milo vs. Angelus Layne

    I was really anticipating this match, as I have never seen either wrestle and had only heard of Layne. I wasn’t that impressed by Layne’s look. The hair didn’t do it for me, looked out of a Mad Max movie (and judging by my Twitter feed, I WAS alone). When it came to the in-ring work, I was an immediate fan of D’Milo. She was stiff, strong, had some good kicks. I liked Layne’s in-ring style. In my opinion, the one who shone here was D’Milo, but Layne is the bigger name, so it makes sense that she get the win and continue at AIW. Easily better than any of the first 4 matches.

    Winner: Layne

    AIW has done pretty well about discovering Canadian wrestlers: Ethan Page, Josh Alexander. Add Jodi D’Milo to that list.

    Sixth match: The Social Network (Nikki St. John and Heidi Lovelace) vs. Angeldust and K.C. Warfield

    Sammy Geodollno is really growing on me as a manager. Lovelace is improving a lot and I’m liking her hair longer. Angeldust and Warfield worked well as a team. Warfield has also improved a lot in her in-ring work. She carried most of the load tonight. And St. John is this graceful, beautiful, athletic goddess (Sorry, Athena). I admire her in the same way I do Courtney Rush, just a stunning athlete. Nikki and Heidi spent most of the match brutalizing Warfield. This was a nice diversion from the rest of the night and gave us a storyline reason to come back.

    Winner: Social Network

    Seventh match: Allysin Kay (c) vs. Mickie Knuckles

    This sure was “Don’t worry, it happens to lots of guys” booking. Mickie never lost the title. She relinquished the belt after finding out she was pregnant. How does this match not get more build-up? This is a huge freaking deal. I don’t think Mickie got enough of a chance to shine here. I love Allysin. She’s my favorite in-ring female wrestler. Watching her in the ring is a thing of beauty. I’m not sure how it looked to anyone else, but it was like a poetic masterpiece to me. Allysin looked like a star here.

    Winner: Kay

    Main event: Addy Starr vs. Athena vs. Veda Scott vs. Mary Dobson in a 4 Way Ladder Match for the #1 Contendership

    What can you say about this match? You had 4 of the best in their craft going at it. They made this title seem important. I can’t decide where this match goes in my all time favorite female matches. Maybe top 3. Crazy Mary channeled Terry Funk. Addy really stood out in this match and really had a scene-stealing night. This is perhaps the best match I’ve seen from a Girls Night Out event and is probably my first choice for match of the year for 2013, male and female. This match alone was worth the price several times over.

    Winner: Scott

    All in all… The stream worked! I think that is the biggest victory.

    The main event made up for an okay show. For what I’ve come to expect from AIW, this was not the strongest complete Girls Night Out event. If you have never seen AIW, if you are a fan of any of these wrestlers, and if you’ve only ever watched WWE Divas matches, this is a must own. The main event was great. I liked the Kay-Mickie match and D’Milo-Layne.

    Allysin Kay and Veda Scott should be a really good match. There is some really nice buildup on the way.

  3. Anarchy Championship Wrestling -Distrust, Dismay & Antisocial Behavior

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    1. Gary Jay vs. Darin Childs

    Either Darin is really great at selling or he had a legit sprained ankle. Speaking for somebody who has had one, walking to the ring, much less competing in a match is a small miracle. Gary’s work was really good as always. It was a really strong first match, though I thought it was a bit short.

    We had a Barrett Brown promo. He needs a mouthpiece. He has such an amazing presence in the ring; he just needs the promo ability taken off his plate.

    2. Barbi Hayden & Bolt Brady vs. The Takeover

    Barbi is probably one of the best wrestlers you’re not watching. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Barbi as a face, which is funny because she’s one of Texas’ top heels, male or female. This is my first time to see Miss Maulie. I’ve only had the chance to see Jaykus Plisken once and it was when I was ring announcer so I was running around trying to find my bearings. He has a great look and is a born main-eventer. He has such a presence. I wonder if he needs a mouthpiece to help preserve the gimmick. I liked Maulie’s work here. And Bolt earns his name as he is-sorry, I have to-“electrifying.” The pumphandle slam into the knee breaker thing was incredible.

    Jojo Bravo cut a really nice promo heeling Ricky Romida. Bravo is where ACH was a few years ago.

    3. Ricky Romida vs. Carson

    Add Carson to the list of best wrestlers you haven’t heard of. The match itself started off as Andre the Giant vs. Cary Elwes from Princess Bride. The strategy was that you had a little man (which Carson isn’t) trying to take down the bigger man. Romida looked strong, and Carson put him over as a monster, which he’s not really that big. I was impressed by both’s work here. I believe we had a story told.

    4. Jeffery Gant vs. Athena

    When I see Gant, I wonder where the rest of him is. Athena is just in a class by herself. This match was way more competitive than I thought it would be. The longer it went, the more Gant impressed me. I might call him the Texas Spike Dudley. I found myself liking this match a lot more than I thought I would. This was a great showcase for Athena’s submission skills, but both looked great in this match.

    5. Davey Vega vs. Barrett Brown

    I was told how great this match was from a very impartial source-Brown’s dad. (Yes, that sentence was in jest). If you have never seen Brown, he’s worth it. You have Texas’ future vs. the U.S.’ future. (Give Barrett time. He’ll be the U.S.’ future too.) He was able to hang with Vega and he looked pretty good in the ring against a top tier indy talent. It was very emotional to watch this kid that I’ve watched ever since he was 16 get to wrestle in what is probably the biggest stage in Texas. He did really well in there against Vega. The scary part is that Barrett is only 18 and has no limit to where he goes.

    6. Arik Cannon vs. Matthew Palmer

    Matt Palmer is the best wrestler in the world you’re not watching. I like seeing Cannon every time I get the chance to watch him. They worked really well together and had good chemistry. The thing I write about Palmer is that he never forgets he’s in front of a live crowd. There is so much innovation in this match. Not only were they great in the ring, they were great out of the ring too. This is a great DVD if you have never seen either of these. I’m not sure what they paid Cannon, but he gave you a really good match with brawling, scientific wrestling, striking, lots of blood and made Palmer look like a million bucks. Whatever they paid him, it was a bargain.

    7. Pierre Abernathy vs. Darin Corbin

    This was good fun. They did a tribute to the Wrestlemania VI Main Event, Warrior vs. Hogan. After 3 really excellent matches, the crowd needed come down a little bit. This was very good comedy.

    8. Jessica James vs. Christina Von Eerie

    This was an interesting look and transformation for James. James has got to be one of the top female wrestlers in Texas. And Christina has got to be one of the top female wrestlers in the world. She has the most unique look in all of women’s wrestling, plus she is great in the ring. Any wrestler I’ve first heard about while watching AAA is pretty awesome in my book. The match was really good. There were a few moments where I noticed the little things both did well.

    9. Mojo Bravado vs. Team Havin Fun (Rachel Summerlyn & Portia Perez)

    I really don’t know what to think about some of these creative decisions as Portia is one of the top heels in the world, but she is really good with Summerlyn, and Anarchy is its own creature. It gets to do what it wants to. Jojo Bravo wrestles like a face but is a heel. To call Jojo one of the next big names in Texas would not be much of an exaggeration. He has that same energy and charisma that ACH has. You can’t teach what skills this man already has. Jordan Jensen is extremely good at the heel role. And I’ve gone into detail about what I think about Summerlyn, but just to repeat, she reminds me of a really pretty tomboy. Plus, with Summerlyn, you get Machiko, who is in my opinion, one of Texas’ hottest wrestling personalities. The match was a really good match with intergender implications. Jensen puts on a heel clinic, and both ladies owned the crowd.

    10. Children of Pain 2.0 vs. ACH, Summers & Genesis

    Wrestling doesn’t have too many wrestlers who looked like The Thing of Fantastic Four fame. Scot Summers is one. Ryan Genesis is pretty jacked up too. I consider these two to be the top tag team in Texas. And ACH is in a category all by himself. I haven’t seen Vexx too much, but I’ve seen Silver and and Sky (the Lost Boys) live and wrestled in one of my favorite matches of 2012. Watching ACH at this point of his career at ACW is like seeing Ric Flair in Charlotte, CM Punk in Chicago, Jim Ross in Oklahoma. It’s his hometown, and that crowd has made him. The match was pretty violent and everybody carried their weight. A good main event to capitalize on a really great card.

    All in all… A really good show from Anarchy. The Athena-Gant, Vega-Brown, Cannon-Palmer trilogy of matches were all really good. There are so many great underrated or undiscovered wrestlers on this card: Barbi Hayden, Bolt Brady, Carson, Jojo Bravo, Summers & Genesis & The Lost Boys. There are some top women’s wrestlers: Athena, Christina Von Eerie, Rachel Summerlyn, Portia Perez, Jessica James, so if you like women’s wrestling, this is also very worth your time and money. I’d have to definitely make this a huge recommendation.

  4. Top Unsigned Women Wrestlers

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    So I spent some time seriously thinking about who were the 5 best women’s wrestlers without a contract for the Big 2 (In this case, WWE & TNA/Impact.) I’m probably going to upset some women and some fans of those women. That’s why there is a comment section. So please understand this is simply my opinion.

    So what was my criteria? Are these my favorites? Not necessarily. All the below are great workers that I like, otherwise they obviously wouldn’t be on this list. My Fav 5 (to steal a Booker T-ism) is another topic for another time. Are these the best workers out in the indy scene? Not necessarily. Obviously I’d say Jazz, Beth Phoenix, Awesome Kong & Rain are in the top. But they’ve been to the big dance. I’d like to concentrate on those who haven’t been to the big dance. And are these my favorite workers to watch? Not necessarily. I love watching Allysin Kay & Athena & Veda Scott, but that’s not what this is about. These are the wrestlers that I feel could go to WWE or TNA/Impact tomorrow and contribute immediately. This is my collection of who I think are the 6 (I couldn’t narrow it down to 5.) best unsigned (by WWE or TNA) female wrestlers in North America.

    Mia Yim-Is there a better combination of beauty and wrestling ability? Yim’s look is exotic. She would look great in a Diva’s model shoot. She has the experience of having traveled all over the world. And this woman doesn’t break noses because she’s clumsy. She breaks noses because she’s trying to decapitate you. There is photographic proof known as Allysin Kay. Could Mia Yim show up tomorrow in the WWE or TNA and make an immediate difference? You can bet on it.

    Courtney Rush-If this Canadian were not a wrestler, you would probably see her as a beach volleyball player or a track star or some other kind of athlete. She is a tremendous athlete, like watching a wild gazelle run on a Discovery documentary. But that’s not all she offers. I recently saw a match in SHIMMER (Volume 48, to be exact) where she carried it mostly by her personality. The story was that Sara del Rey was looking for a tag team partner, and she couldn’t find anybody to be her partner, except for a way-too-enthusiastic Courtney Rush. The vignettes were entertaining, and the match was something I have not seen done in wrestling before. She is very over with their crowd and just continuing her simple gimmick, tweaked for the Big 2’s creative minds, I could see her being very successful.

    Melanie Cruise-Every once in a while, wrestling needs that one woman who can come in and destroy every one. This has been a role that Awesome Kong/Kharma, Jazz and Chyna have played in the past. I think Cruise would be perfect for this role. The thing is that Cruise is still a beautiful woman. Much like Beth Phoenix, Cruise could be the respected woman renowned for her wrestling ability but still has the right amount of femininity.

    Leva Bates-The biggest minus for Leva in the past was AJ Lee of the WWE. Now AJ has evolved beyond the geeky character to psycho leaving room for the geek to return. Leva has the dorky cuteness that appeals to a lot of wrestling fans. She’s good on the mic and very good in the ring. She can play whatever character she wants to. I could see her breaking the hearts of many wrestling fans who would be in love with her.

    Brittney Savage-As some of these wrestlers are great workers, Savage has one thing going for her. Savage is unbelievably hot. The WWE and TNA love them some hotness. I think she could show up tomorrow in a WWE or TNA ring and break hearts everywhere. Now, just because I think she has the look most companies crave doesn’t mean she’s not a good worker. She knows her way around a ring and is really good on the mic. She is a natural heel and would be a great addition to any if the big two.

    Kellie Skater-If you have never seen the Ratetank persona, I think it is well worth a view to watch how she applies the persona into every aspect of her match. I really love her hair and see little girls dressing like her in arenas. (Note to self: Daughter must do if she ever sees her live.) There aren’t enough Aussies in the international wrestling market, and I feel that between Skater and fellow Aussie Shazza McKenzie, hearts of teenage boys would melt. Skater has a great physique and plays a great heel. I could see her lasting well in the WWE or TNA.

    So who did I miss? Do you agree? Disagree?