Predictions For PWI Female 50

We are coming up to the time that the winner of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Female 50 is revealed – though the magazine itself will not be released until mid to late November. Since its launch in 2008, the second week of September is when the winner’s name comes out, so I’ve been having a think about who PWI could possibly select as the woman who will sit atop the heap.

Now bear in mind that PWI still bases the criteria for the winner in the way any legitimate sport could be judged, so victories, title wins and lengths of reigns come way above match quality or column inches, so whoever you may think would win may not necessarily be the same as who PWI has in mind. When  the question was asked on who you would think would win, AJ Lee‘s name popped up a couple of times, with the reasoning being that she is the WWE Raw General Manager and has been embroiled in the WWE and World Championship pictures this year. However, she is unlikely to win the PWI editors’ pick because as an in-ring performer, she has only wrestled a handful of times, and hasn’t won any championships. Likewise, Sara Del Rey is probably an outside bet to win – despite placing in the men’s PWI 500 due to her victories over men in CHIKARA – as she doesn’t have many championship wins or reigns to speak of, and has lost quite a bit recently.

Hailey Hatred was another pick, and she has more chance of winning as someone who held six belts at one time and currently holds the Remix Pro Women’s Title, but PWI doesn’t really assess wrestling in Japan for the Female 50 – if it did, Yuzuki Aikawa would probably win the whole thing as she holds the Wonder of Stardom and Goddesses of Stardom belts, and has only lost twice in her entire career, while World of Stardom champ Nanae Takahashi and Ice Ribbon‘s Tsukasa Fujimoto would probably be up there too, considering all the titles she’s amassed recently.

Kalamity has held the nCw Femmes Fatales International Title since last October, but probably isn’t high enough up the totem pole yet, even though her rise in the last 12 months has been amazing. Mercedes Martinez was third in 2010 – making her the highest-placed indie star that year – and was runner up last year to then-SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles, and will probably be up there again, as she held the Women Superstars Uncensored World Title until March and regained it briefly in April, but more likely to be challenging for the top spot will be Jessicka Havok, who currently holds the belt and also held the Spirit Title. In fact, she may be the top indie star – but I don’t think she will win.

Why? Because PWI will recognise WWE and TNA above the indies, and chose Eagles last year partly because she was brilliant, but also because the big two’s wrestlers had absolutely nothing to brag about. However, when they can, they would prefer to go for a “bigger” name like Awesome Kong in 2008, Mickie James in 2009 and Michelle McCool in 2010. For that reason, I think the eventual winner will be either current Divas Champion Layla or former Knockouts titleholder Gail Kim.

Admittedly, since winning the belt on her return at Extreme Rules back in April, Layla’s title reign has been as hot as a typical polar expedition, but on paper, her winning streak is very impressive. She is undefeated in singles competition since her comeback from ACL and MCL surgery, and has retained her title against every challenger, including former titleholder Beth Phoenix (who should be up there on the list but probably won’t be). Her possession of the championship, coupled with having her hand raised so often both on TV and on the road means she will be vying for the top spot.

However, I believe the winner will be Kim – the woman who offered some much-needed stability to the Knockouts after winning the belt in November and holding it until June, making her the longest reigning Knockouts Champ in the promotion’s history. She also enjoyed a four month run as Knockouts Tag Team Champion with Madison Rayne, and has been the focal point of TNA’s women’s division – whereas Layla’s had to take a backseat to AJ’s antics for the bulk of the spring and summer.

Of course, this is all speculative and I could be crushingly wrong – not for the first time, mind you – but I would say Gail Kim is the woman to beat in this year’s PWI Female 50. If previous years are anything to go by, it won’t be long until we find out.

Cameron's Job In Jeopardy?

Regarding Cameron’s DUI arrest, F4Wonline.com reports that the feeling within WWE is that she probably would have been fine with management if not for the story coming out about her trying to bribe police with $10,000 and the fact that she didn’t list WWE as her employer. Most feel that mistake might cause her a job. With that said, there’s still no word on what kind of action WWE will take.

Reby Sky In Sports Illustrated

This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated features an article on devoted fans of NFL teams and Reby Sky is among those pictured. Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, she gained fame as a New York Giants fanatic.

Reby was most recently seen at the SHINE 2 pay-per-view, where she lost to Jessicka Havok and was attacked after the match with a steel chair. She will miss SHINE 3 on September 21st due to Havok's attack.

Cameron Not At Live Event In Australia

Cameron, who was arrested and charged with driving under the influence on Aug. 24 in N. Hillsborough County, Florida, did not appear at Friday’s Raw live event in Sydney, Australia after appearing at the previous day’s show in Brisbane. Brodus Clay was only accompanied by Naomi.

Mia Yim Signs Japanese Contract

Independent standout and Ring of Honor star, Mia Yim, has signed a contract with the REINA promotion in Japan.

Yim, who has expressed interest in competing full time in Japan for much of her career, will soon depart for Japan where she will compete exclusively for REINA.

The ROH star has previously competed for REINA, completing several tours of Japan in the past couple of years. Her transition to Japan follows in the footsteps of Hailey Hatred and Jenny Rose, to name a few, who have also left US shores for careers in Japan.

Diva Dirt has learned that there was significant interest in Yim from one of the two major US wrestling organizations, but she ultimately opted to sign with REINA.

Mia recently made her in-ring debut on ROH’s television series in a losing effort to Sara Del Rey, and last month appeared on Internet pay per view for SHINE.

Congratulations to Mia on her contract!

Time For New Knockouts Tag Champs

I believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that the 15th of April episode of Impact Wrestling – the pay-per-view Lockdown – was the last time we seen Eric Young and ODB competing as a tag team and right now the male female pairing of women’s tag team champions, currently hold the longest reign of any team to ever hold the titles and they’ve done literally nothing with them. Didn’t Hamada and Awesome Kong get stripped of the belts for not defending the titles for thirty days?

When they won the belts, it baffled me and the whole wrestling world, and with news that Eric Young will be returning full time to Impact Wrestling, it’s about time to give this team a quick defeat and brush their reign under the rug as if it never happened. Live Impact airs tonight so what better way to kick it off than to have brand new tag champs. We take a quick look at four teams, eligible for the tag team gold.

SARITA & ROSITA

The Knockouts of dominant stable Mexican America are another couple who haven’t been seen in TNA in a very long time. Sarita and Rosita are former Knockouts Tag champs – Sarita holding the belt on not one occasion with Rosita, but on a second too with former Knockout Taylor Wilde. Mexican America could make their well needed return tonight on live Impact and defeat the husband wife couple to capture the second reign as a team.

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TARA & TESSMACHER

TNA Knockouts champion Brooke Tessmacher has teamed with Tara once before to capture the TNA Knockouts Tag titles, so what’s stopping them from doing so again? Brooke is the current (two time) singles champion while partner and trainer Tara is a four time singles champ. The pair first captured the tag belts when they defeated Rosita and Sarita last year in July. Lately, both Tara and Tessmacher have continued to dominate in the Knockouts division so it’d make sense to put the belt on this pair.
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RAYNE & KIM

Gail Kim and Madison Rayne once won the tag titles and they proved to be a dominant team, holding both the tag titles and the singles championship at the same time. Recently, the pair have been on a losing streak but surely even they can exact their revenge on the couple that beat them for the tag belts and recapture what’s theirs?!
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MICKIE & TAELER

A random pairing – the ‘wild card’ – as they say. Weeks back, Taeler Hendrix earned herself a contract and has yet to be seen on Impact television and the last time we saw Mickie James, she was screwed out of two victories by love blinded referee Earl Hebner. In a way to get Taeler involved in the Knockouts division, TNA could have Mickie take her under her wing (as let’s face it, they have their similarities!) and the pair could take the Knockouts division by storm – starting with the TNA Knockouts Tag titles!

What do you think? Who should be new champs? Leave a comment, or tweet me your thoughts on Twitter @WrestleDirt

Why WWE Should Sign The Ninjas And Rednecks

So I know two teams who would be great for WWE...Maybe you know them too:

THE CANADIAN NINJAS

The tag teams in the current Divas division are usually two individuals with little to do with each other, thrown together at the last minute. While there are no women's tag titles, bringing in The Canadian Ninjas offers WWE tons more options in terms of feuds with their female wrestlers.

Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez are energetic and fun to watch.

They play endearing bad girls. And while they are pretty enough to get into Vince McMahon's club of models, their appeal is far more about showmanship.
The current Shimmer tag team champs make ideal rivals for most of the current divas: crass, mean, vicious. Signing The Canadian Ninjas would be a departure from WWE's norm, but one that would be beneficial right away.

Both male and female members of the WWE Universe should enjoy their butt-kicking ways.

Watch The Ninjas do their thing.

****

THE BRISCOES

Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Jay and Mark Briscoe the best tag team of 2007. The Briscoe Brothers have worked so long together that their chemistry is near perfect.

Both Briscoes are an excellent combination of power, high-flying, attitude and presence.

They would instantly bring a fire to the WWE tag division.

Were this pre-PG era, there'd be no question about what the Briscoes could do in WWE. In a lighter, softer version of the company, the Briscoes may find it hard to be themselves. Their promos are generally not kid-friendly.

This promo, for example, is not safe for work, but displays their gritty charisma.

See what they can do in this match against Kota Ibushi and Katsuhiko Nakajima.

Any other teams you think should be in WWE? Let me know with a comment!

Possible Divas Storyline Ideas

In an article here on Wrestle-Dirt, it was said that Triple H wants to focus less on the WWE Divas and more on the WWE Tag Teams. While the general consensus was that Triple H was essentially right in that the Tag Teams had more to offer than the Divas, I had a few words for that way of thinking.

WWE focuses on it's World Titles so much these days, the mid-card titles suffer mostly for it—as does the rest of the show to an extent. So why perpetuate this problem by taking away from the Divas to add to the tag teams.

It's not even a problem with having it done. I remember a time when WWE gave us quality programming on all fronts. The Divas got time, the Tag Teams got time, the mid-card got time, and of course the World Titles got time. Vince McMahon did it, and he was working with resources that could be considered limited at the time.

Triple H has so much at his disposal to make the WWE greater than it's ever been, so it saddens me to think that he could end up doing things the same way Vince has done then over the past few years, which while not horrible, hasn't been his best work.

With that said, I'm going to show that it's quite easy to have interesting things going on in the Divas Division. All you need is a little effort, some creativity, some guts, and maybe an immpecably skilled writer.

Idea No. 1- "My Man"

This first idea is essentially a storyline that involves using the lower-card Superstars and some of the Divas, to not only draw interest to the Divas but also to find a new mid-carder to bring up on the card.

A few of the gals I see being included are Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Aksana, and Natalya.

Basically, all four of the gals begin on-screen relationships with lower-card stars. Couples include Kaitlyn and Heath Slater, Alicia Fox and Zack Ryder, Natalya and Tyson Kidd. All three of these couplings do their best to one-up each other, while constantly in opposition with Antonio Cesaro and Aksana.

Along with getting the duos mic-time (backstage at least,) it also allows them to get some time in the ring and the Divas to perhaps work longer matches and show what they are capable of.

Antonio needn't drop the title to any of them, but a good showing by Slater, Ryder, or Kidd would do wonders, and keeping them paired up with their prospective Diva also adds more to both stars.

Idea No. 2- "Legacy"

Here's a simple storyline that could get a lot of people involved: Tamina Snuka and Natalya Neidhart are two favorites among Internet wrestling fans and I suspect part of that is the pedigree both girls bring to the ring with them.

Tamina and Natalya have had their fair share of battles in the past, but WWE has failed to really capitalize on the last names of these girls in these brief scuffles, with little but passing remarks made by the commentators.

Instead, let these girls get some practice on the mic and let them each make a claim on which is richer: The Hart/Neidhart family legacy or The Samoan wrestling tradition.

Let these girls give us history lessons and remind us exactly who their fathers were, where they come from, and (here's the kicker,) what they'll do to add to the legacy handed down to both of them.

I'd say this is a feud where both gals could either be faces or we go the traditional heel vs. face route. Either would be good.

Idea No. 3: "Mentor-Ment"

In this scenario, we get a little out of kayfabe and explore the weaknesses of some of the Divas. Stars I think would fit in this feud include Layla, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly and Kaitlyn.

This story centers around Layla's title, and Beth's perceived nonchalance at her skill. Beth claims that part of what makes her skill so superior is the power behind it, and Layla proclaims her own abilities as "flawless." This leads to a little wager between the two girls.

Beth and Layla both pick a Diva to take under their wing, and in a few weeks the girls have a match. If Beth's apprentice (Kaitlyn) can beat Layla's girl (Kelly) Beth gets a shot at the Divas Championship, and if Layla wins, she gets to pick the next challenger for her title.

Over the next few weeks, we get to see some of their training methods—while Beth works on increasing Kaitlyn's muscle mass, Kelly is getting her cardio on with Layla on the treadmill, for example. There are a few ways this one can go, and it's one of my favorites.

One way actually sees both Kelly and Kaitlyn turning on their mentors and forming a heel team, which brings me to the next idea.

Idea No. 2: "Legacy"

Here's a simple storyline that could get a lot of people involved: Tamina Snuka and Natalya Neidhart are two favorites among Internet wrestling fans and I suspect part of that is the pedigree both girls bring to the ring with them.
Tamina and Natalya have had their fair share of battles in the past, but WWE has failed to really capitalize on the last names of these girls in these brief scuffles, with little but passing remarks made by the commentators.
Instead, let these girls get some practice on the mic and let them each make a claim on which is richer: The Hart/Neidhart family legacy or The Samoan wrestling tradition.
Let these girls give us history lessons and remind us exactly who their fathers were, where they come from, and (here's the kicker,) what they'll do to add to the legacy handed down to both of them.
I'd say this is a feud where both gals could either be faces or we go the traditional heel vs. face route. Either would be good.

Idea No. 3: "Mentor-Ment"

Don't ask me why I put this here, just enjoy it.

In this scenario, we get a little out of kayfabe and explore the weaknesses of some of the Divas. Stars I think would fit in this feud include Layla, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly and Kaitlyn.
This story centers around Layla's title, and Beth's perceived nonchalance at her skill. Beth claims that part of what makes her skill so superior is the power behind it, and Layla proclaims her own abilities as "flawless." This leads to a little wager between the two girls.
Beth and Layla both pick a Diva to take under their wing, and in a few weeks the girls have a match. If Beth's apprentice (Kaitlyn) can beat Layla's girl (Kelly) Beth gets a shot at the Divas Championship, and if Layla wins, she gets to pick the next challenger for her title.
Over the next few weeks, we get to see some of their training methods—while Beth works on increasing Kaitlyn's muscle mass, Kelly is getting her cardio on with Layla on the treadmill, for example. There are a few ways this one can go, and it's one of my favorites.
One way actually sees both Kelly and Kaitlyn turning on their mentors and forming a heel team, which brings me to the next idea.

 

Idea No. 4: "Butterflies"

Seeing as Hunter wants to focus on tag teams, why not give us the best of both worlds. I'm talking about eliminating the WWE Divas Division as is, and making it a tag division all it's own. Yes they will have singles matches often, but there will be no singles Divas Champion. Only Tag Champs.

Picking up where the last idea left off, if Kaitlyn and Kelly do form a team, it will come from Kelly screwing Layla out of her title in a match against Kaitlyn (we're assuming Kelly beat Kaitlyn, but Layla chose Kaitlyn to defend her title against.)

 

At the next RAW (or Live SD special) Kelly claims Layla chose Kaitlyn because she knew she couldn't beat her, and claims that Kaitlyn and herself are the best all-around combination in the WWE.

 

This prompts Kaitlyn to come down, agree with Kelly and present her with a second Divas Championship, before they declare themselves the first-ever WWE Diva Tag Team Champions.

For the next few weeks, we see girls teaming up to face them like Alicia Fox and Tamina (Wild Side), Cameron and Naomi (The Funkadactyles), and Natalya and Eve (Sharp and Awe,) before Beth and Layla (Thunder and Lightning) return as a team to take on Kaitlyn and Kelly (now going collectively by K-Cubed. Either that or K3.)

 

Idea No. 5: "Legacy II"

My final ideas is something of a combination of "Legacy," "Butterflies," and "Mentor-Ment." It would essentially consist of a feud between Natalya and Tamina, but instead of direct competition, each girl picks another to train and see who has the best and most to offer.

Eventually, as the girls try and one-up each other, the questions and issues spread through the Divas division like wildfire, causing lines to be drawn. Some (heels and faces alike) side with Tamina, and others with Natalya.

This can all culminate with a huge elimination tag match (I'm thinking at Survivor Series or even WrestleMania, if not SummerSlam.) where the captain of the winning team is made into a new quasi-authority figure, along the lines of a head trainer.

This head trainer, while still competing on the roster, is also seen and heard a lot more backstage and has some pull with the GM. Also, the inevitable influx of talent can be attributed to them. (I.E. Buggy Nova, Trinity, Del Ray, etc.)

Now, these aren't the best ideas in the world, but at the very least I think they can be pretty entertaining if done well and help to draw more attention the Divas. I don't know about you, but I enjoy women's wrestling. Not just in the WWE but all over.

I don't see why Triple H would even consider cutting time from one division to make one better when it's been proven you can allocate time to both and have a great product.

I'm sure with a better staff of writers, Triple H would have an easier time with the Divas Division. Personally, I just don't feel a cop-out is a good way of going about business.

Let me know what you think, your ideas for Divas story lines, on Triple H, etc. Thanks for reading.
 

Vickie/AJ Feud Continues, Possible Match?

The official WWE website caught up with Vickie Guerrero and RAW General Manager AJ Lee after Monday's show where AJ attacked Vickie in the ring.

The two have played their feud up on Twitter and Vickie told the cameras that AJ has not seen the last of her yet. Vickie vented about AJ abusing her power and said she would have the last word after talking with WWE’s Board of Directors.

While Vickie was upset, AJ was all smiles when the cameras caught up with her. AJ repeated that she was the General Manager of RAW and said it was her job to put on the best show possible. AJ repeated the same thing when asked if she’s worried about Vickie pursuing disciplinary actions against her.

AJ has teased recently that she could book herself in a match if needed and it looks like her first opponent as General Manager may be Vickie Guerrero.

Former WWE Writer Not Fan Of Stephanie McMahon

Seth Mates is apparently not a fan of Stephanie McMahon, who he worked alongside with as a member of WWE’s creative staff for a number of years. He was asked on Twitter whether a “Best of Stephanie McMahon” DVD release is long overdue and responded, “does twitter have a “report buffoons” button?”

Rosa Mendes Wants Divas Title Shot

Rosa Mendes, who has never challenged for the Divas Championship throughout the title’s four-year history, revealed during an interview with WWE Magazine that she would like a shot one day.
She says she’d give anything for a chance at the belt, noting, “I haven’t been given the opportunity yet, and the Divas division wouldn’t know what hit them.”

Heath Slater Welcomes Daughter

It's baby season!

SmackDown Superstar Heath Slater is the proud parent of a baby girl. TNA Wrestling talent Jesse Sorensen ‏stated Wednesday on Twitter, “Congratulations to @HeathSlaterOMRB @meanstephiejean on the birth of their beautiful baby girl! #GonnaBeGreatParents.”

Mayhaps name her Wendy?

The Wrestle-Dirt Dirt Sheet (August 30th, 2012)

There has been a lot of focus on the continent of Australasia recently, and most of it centres around one kick-happy wrestler from New Zealand.
As we have documented, Evie has been catapulted into everyone’s line of sight, winning both the IPW Women’s and PWWA Championships in the space of seven days – the first in a triple threat match with Megan-Kate and Britenay, and the latter against Jessie McKay just last Saturday.
When approached for comment, the Auckland resident had this to say:

"Winning the IPW Women’s Title and then the PWWA Interim Title… words can’t pinpoint the feelings I felt over those nights. I was extremely emotional… a few tears were shed, and it definitely is the highlight of my career to date. I came away from both matches battered and bruised, but it was all worth it in the end… after five years, I finally feel like a champion.

The fans have also been rad… I can’t believe how much support I received through those tournaments, both online and in person. It was amazing!"

Indeed, her name has been thrown about on social networks a lot this month – she pointed out that following her PWWA victory, she received more than 100 messages of congratulations on Twitter. Her wins have seen her profile skyrocket and has seen calls for her to compete in other countries. Indeed, as SHIMMER promoter Dave Prazak pointed out on the promotion’s forum, “as far as Evie coming to the States is concerned, it’s just a matter of when”, while in a podcast recorded by NHB Girls at the weekend, former SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles believes that Evie would suit well both in the US and also in Japan, and would defend the belt on October 6 when PWWA stages its next all-women show.

With so much attention on Australia at the moment, it is also telling that so many Aussies and Kiwis are experiencing career highs at the moment. For New Zealand, Britenay and Megan-Kate have hit their groove and are on the ascent, and will both be part of the card on October 6. In Australia, Jessie McKay and Kellie Skater are still two of the biggest names on the circuit, with McKay soaring to main event status in SHIMMER in recent trips, and Skater spending three months in Japan at the start of the year before heading to North America to tour over there, before returning to her home country to defend her IndyGurlz Australia title.

Meanwhile, there are others like Shazza McKenzie, Harley Wonderland and Eliza Sway carving their way through with their own character developments – McKenzie being the happy-go-lucky babyface in her SHIMMER debut earlier this year but developing something of a darker edge back home, Wonderland is the buxom burlesque grappler, and Sway being the tattoo sporting, punky troublemaker who has no time for fripperies.

Savannah Summers’ reign as Riot City Wrestling’s inaugural Women’s Champion is gathering pace, and RCW’s women, including Miami, are also embroiled in a feud with local rivals Melbourne City Wrestling, with invasions at each other’s shows – on MCW’s next show on September 14, she will enter hostile territory to face KC Cassidy.

Speaking of Cassidy, she and Nikita Naridian are back in Australia after recently spending three months in Canada training with Lance Storm – with Naridian recently participating in Lance Hoyt’s American Psycho Tour, taking on Mighty Mel around the horn – while Siren Munroe is preparing for a trip to the US following training at Orlando Jordan’s School of Wrestling in Melbourne. And while we’re on the subject of America, Niki Nitro is preparing to travel to Florida to train at the Team 3D Academy – while also in Florida is the former Tenille Tayla, who has been rechristened as Emma since starting her WWE developmental training and being added to the NXT Divas roster. Finally, also abroad is Alex Lee, who is shaking off the stigma of being released from WWE and is currently on an extended trip to Japan, wrestling in REINA x World and receiving training from some of the best joshi wrestlers out there.

These are women with ambitions, and wrestlers and wrestling fans from elsewhere in the world would be best served to take note. A slew of female stars from Down Under are maturing quickly, and will be taking the spotlight soon. Take notice.

**

April Davids had a pretty varied bank holiday weekend.

It started on Saturday evening at FutureShock Wrestling’s biggest show in its history, presenting its 60th card under the title of International Supershow and taking place at Manchester, England’s Royal Northern College of Music (with the defending men’s champion Jack Gallagher being played to the ring by a string quartet, no less). The Women’s Championship match saw Davids defending the title against friend and rival Jenny Sjodin in a match which had fans of the women’s grap game salivating.

After all, last October at Pro Wrestling: EVE v Ice Ribbon in Nottingham, the pair engaged in an amazing contest for the EVE title which refused to suffer even when Davids injured her ankle midway through the contest – which Sjodin won with a cross-armbreaker submission. The two members of the then-European Empire earned themselves a standing ovation from the audience, although the injury did keep April out of the ring for a number of weeks (though admittedly less than her doctor would have preferred).

On Saturday, the pair locked horns once again, with the smart money going on the Swedish Sjodin winning, after earning the shot due to winning a round-robin featuring Hannah and Holly Blossom, and Charlotte Quinn (replacing Becky James partway through the series). The league took place after Davids suffered a concussion in late winter, meaning she would be unable to defend the belt before making her second trip to Japan to compete for Ice Ribbon, which saw Davids earn plaudits for her matches, but was also hampered by illness and injury – she cracked a couple of ribs, but carried on competing. Given that Davids has only wrestled sporadically since returning and Sjodin’s growing reputation as one of the safest hands in European wrestling, many were expecting a title change.

Many were incorrect.

In a titanic battle which was reported to be better than the EVE match and the best contest the two have had together – in fact, some spectators dubbed it their match of the night – Davids got the win by reversing a triple German suplex attempt by the Female Fight Machine into a victory roll to get the pinfall. The victory was also something of a redemption for Davids, who had recently swayed in her desire to continue wrestling – hopefully this will stoke the fire and see her wrestling more regularly in the future.

Both she and Sjodin are prime examples of solid British style grappling. Jenny is more technical, which April is a little more impactful, but both have plenty to offer, and deserve to be wrestling all over the world.

Two days later, Davids won another big match, this time in a very different environment to the ropes and canvas of a wrestling ring. Rather, this took place in a 16ft diameter pool of foodstuffs in the garden of a country pub in Lancashire.

The World Gravy Wrestling Championships is now into its sixth year and has grown in popularity with each competition, which takes place to raise money for a local hospice. This year, a film crew from the UK’s Channel 5 station was on hand, as well as actors and comedians. However, there were also some competitors with proper grappling credentials, including two-time Olympic judo player Sophie Cox, who was eliminated in the under 52kg category at London 2012 by eventual gold medalist Kum Ae An from North Korea. Despite the rain, hundreds of spectators were there to watch the two minute contests which took place ankle deep in 1,000 litres of onion gravy – you can see footage of it here.

After donning a bikini and taking on Cox, Davids defeated her seven other female competitors to be crowned Women’s Champion, capping off an eventful and bizarre weekend for the Lancashire Terrier, one which will be difficult to surpass any time soon.

**

The best of the rest

WWE

Beth Phoenix was not on last week’s Raw due to a family bereavement. It must have been pretty last minute as her image was on the match graphic for the Diva battle royal which Kaitlyn won. She has also been pulled from WWE’s Australia tour and all of her other dates in September. No explanation as to why Kelly Kelly was advertised but wasn’t there though… Rima Fakih says WWE “doesn’t want” her. She was making noise around WrestleMania time that she was on the verge of being signed… Last week’s Divas battle royal on Raw lost 350,000 viewers. That’s a massive drop… Ashley Flair (now rechristened as Charlotte) could be paired with Cody Rhodes to play off the Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair dynamic from the 80s. She also has a profile on the NXT website, and even though her father Ric is not mentioned by name, she is referred to as the daughter of “”one of the greatest Superstars of all time”… Kaitlyn was on commentary for Layla’s win over Alicia Fox on SmackDown, with she and Michael Cole discussing Natalya’s problem with her. She also shook Layla’s hand before Eve Torres came out to raise both their arms. Both looked confused… Brodus Clay’s backing dancer Naomi defeated Natalya at a house show on Saturday after Natalya’s scheduled opponent Kaitlyn had travel issues. Naomi won with help from her fellow shape-thrower Cameron. It was said to be a great match. This could be just the break she needed… In his latest blog, Jim Ross says: “Paige is the top young diva in NXT for my money and the young lady from England has a bright future”… Vickie Guerrero called for AJ Lee to be sacked as Raw GM on last night’s show. AJ skipped out and attacked her.

TNA

Brooke Hogan has posed nude for PETA with their tagline “I’d rather go naked than wear fur”. She is photographed in an animal cage, but one of her breasts is clearly visible… Taryn Terrell has been added to the TNA roster page on the promotion’s website… Angel Williams has broken her silence since her TNA departure, telling the Monday Night Mayhem show that there was no big scandal, but it was just “my time” to go… Claire Lynch reportedly quit TNA after her YouTube and LinkedIn accounts were bombarded with messages from fans about their dislike for her character and acting skills… Tara defeated Knockout Champion Miss Tessmacher with a superplex on last week’s Impact. Tessmacher had challenged her friend as part of Open Fight Night.

North America

Sara Del Rey is included in the 2012 PWI 500. She reached #430 based on her victories in CHIKARA… Lacey Von Erich says she expecting her second son to be born any day now… Plans for the SHIMMER volume 50 main event are apparently taking shape. Promoter Dave Prazak says it won’t be a singles match… Allison Danger, Mercedes Martinez and MsChif have also been announced for October’s tapings, and MsChif will challenge Champion Saraya Knight for the belt at the AAW show the night before SHIMMER… Hiroyo Matusmoto was also announced, and will also make her nCw Femmes Fatales debut the following week… Daffney survived a major car crash last Monday where her car aquaplaned on some standing water on I4 in Florida and left the road, ending up on its roof. Injury-wise, she may have another concussion, as well as damaged knees and cuts from the broken glass. She’s auctioning some items to replace the possessions which were destroyed in the crash… Tina San Antonio will face Brittney Savage at WSU’s Full Steam Ahead on October 13… Reby Sky will miss SHINE 3 on September 21 following her attack at the hands of Jessicka Havok at SHINE 2. The promotion also issued another press release saying that Havok, Jazz and Mercedes Martinez were fined for their unruly conduct on the show… By virtue of being unbeaten in the promotion and Hailey Hatred forgoing her title challenge for now, Crazy Mary Dobson will be the next woman to challenge for the AIW Women’s Championship. She faces titleholder Allysin Kay on September 23… Nevaeh returned to action on Saturday, defeating Sassy Stephie. She had been out for about 5 weeks with a fractured ankle… The Beautiful People will wrestle in a tag match at Maryland Championship Wrestling on October 27… Cherry Bomb was stripped of the Tri City Wrestling Women’s Title before Saturday’s show for not defending the belt in the allotted period. In the four way match which became for the title, Allysin Kay and Courtney Rush both claimed victory after separately making opponents Leah Von Dutch and Xandra Bale tap out at the same time. Kay and Rush will meet at the next TCW show in a Submission Match to determine a new champion.

Japan

A new tournament has been set up to determine a number one contender for the IW19 Championship, currently held by Aki Shizuku. Hamuko Hoshi pinned former champion Tsukasa Fujimoto in the first round in what must be considered a mild upset… Leon won the REINA-CMLL International Championship on Sunday by beating Alex Lee and Tiffany in the four woman tournament. Tiffany defeated La Malcriada to reach the final.

Europe

Nikki Storm’s pompous alter-ego that she uses in Insane Championship Wrestling released a video yesterday saying that she’s disgusted with the promotion and its fans. Miss Nicola Storm stresses that she wants ICW to be family friendly with children pumping foam fingers into the air. This makes her the uber-heel in a promotion that is adult based. She also promised to be at Fierce Females on September 30 to clean things up… Also announced for Fierce Females: Holly Rocamora v Rhia O’Reilly… Shanna makes her official comeback on Friday at Swiss Championship Wrestling to challenge Laura Wellings for her Women’s Championship… Jewel debuted in her home country of Norway at the weekend. All of her matches up to that point had been in England.

Mexico

Lady Afrodita is a little confused as to what side of the fence she falls on at the moment in CMLL. In an interview with La Prensa, she points out she started as a heel, but was then booked as a babyface. She points out she’s happy to be whatever role she needs to be… Chavo Guerrero tweeted: “Ok, who is the next Latina wrestling superstar? I’m searching now. Gotta be Pretty, bilingual & know the wrestling biz, at least a little.” Sarita is already part of TNA – sure, she’s not a Latina, but she’s the best option out there to fit his criteria.

Australia & New Zealand

Krackerjak and Kellie Skater will face each other in an intergender match on Friday for NHPW. He’s upset because she decided to not join his team representing her home province of Victoria, and has sided with Western Australia instead. Skater gets to pick the kind of match that they will have… Rachel Rose debuted as a manager at PWA’s Call To Arms, representing Jack Bonza… Savannah Summers retained the Riot City Wrestling Women’s Championship on Saturday, beating Harley Wonderland. On the same card, Eliza Sway and Miami went to a double count-out. They’ll have a falls count anywhere match on October 6 to determine a new number one contender. However, because that show’s on the same day at the PWWA event, that means neither Miami or Sway will be in Casula for the all-women card… KC Cassidy and Harley Wonderland will be on the PWWA show though… It’ll find out more this week about why Megan-Kate was added to the IPW Women’s Championship match just over a week ago to turn it into a triple threat. It should explain why Commissioner Dion McCracken looked so flustered when he made the announcement just before the bell rang.

**

Results

August 19: K-DOJO (Chiba, Japan) – Aki Shizuku b Bambi

August 19: Anarchy Championship Wrestling (Austin, TX) – Barbi Hayden & Bolt Brady b Jaykus Plisken & Miss Maulie; Athena b Jeff Gant; Christina Von Eerie b Jessica James; Jojo Bravo & Jordan Jensen b Portia Perez & Rachel Summerlyn

August 20: CMLL (Puebla, Mexico) – Princesa Blanca b Luna Mágica

August 22: K-DOJO (Tokyo, Japan) – Ryuichi Sekine, Ayumu Honda & Kotaro Nasu b Boso Boy Raito, Bambi & Kunio Toshima

August 22: CMLL (Tlalnepantla, Mexico) – Princesa Blanca & Princesa Sugheit b Estrellita & Goya Kong

August 23: WWE NXT (Winter park, FL) – Audrey Marie & Paige b Kaitlyn & Alicia Fox

August 23: Impact Wrestling (Orlando, FL) – Tara b Miss Tessmacher

August 23: New York Wrestling Connection (Port Jefferson Station, NY) – Marti Belle & Rick Cataldo b Brittney Savage & Nikki Addams

August 24: WWE (Cape Girardeau, MO) – Layla b Aksana

August 24: Fight Club Finland (Helsinki, Finland) – Sara Elektra b Aurora Flame; Jessica Love b Stark Adder

August 24: Diana (Kitazawa, Japan) – Piyota Mark b Rabbit Mito; Mima Shimoda & Mask Do Sun b Kyoko Inoue & Sareee; Yumiko Hotta & KURO b Kaoru Ito & Keiko Aono; Kyoko Inoue won a 6 woman battle royal

August 24: 19 Pro (Saitama, Japan) – Hamuko Hoshi b Tsukasa Fujimoto

August 24: WWE SmackDown (Bakersfield, CA) – Layla b Alicia Fox

August 24: New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (Petone, New Zealand) – Lolli Lane b Misty & Scarlett

August 24: American Wrestling Alliance (San Diego, CA) – Kitana Vera b Terra Calaway

August 24: CMLL (Mexico City, Mexico) – Dalis la Caribeña, Estrellita & Luna Mágica b La Seductora, Lady Apache & Zeuxis

August 24: Can-Am Rising (Windsor, ONT, Canada) – Jaime D b Mike Legacy

August 25: K-DOJO (Chiba, Japan) – Kengo Mashimo b Bambi & Ryuichi Sekine in a 3-way

August 25: Sendai Girls (Bandai City, Japan) – Sendai Sachiko b Kagetsu; Meiko Satomura & Kagetsu b DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko

August 25: Pro Wrestling Australia (Casula, Australia) – Evie b Jessie McKay to win the PWWA Interim Championship

August 25: ICW Canberra (Tuggeranong, Australia) – Niki Nitro b The Gimp

August 25: Riot City Wrestling (Wayville, Australia) – Savannah Summers b Harley Wonderland; Miami v Eliza Sway went to a double count out

August 25: Ice Ribbon (Saitama, Japan) – Tsukushi & Kurumi b Maki Narumiya & NOZOMI; Hailey Hatred b Meari Naito; Tsukasa Fujimoto b Crazy Star; Mio Shirai & Neko Nitta b Hikaru Shida & Hamuko Hoshi

August 25: Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Kc Spinelli b Riea

August 25: WWE (Sioux Falls, SD) – Naomi b Natalya

August 25: Fight Club Finland (Helsinki, Finland) – King Kong Karhula b Jessica Love

August 25: Alternative Wrestling Show (Rowland Heights, CA) – Hudon Envy b Candace LaRae

August 25: FutureShock (Manchester, England) – April Davids b Jenny Sjodin

August 25: American States Wrestling Alliance (Mansfield, OH) – Nevaeh b Sassy Stephie

August 25: American Psycho Tour (Moe, Australia) – Mighty Mel b Nikita Naridian

August 25: Norwegian Wrestling Federation (Oslo, Norway) – Erik Isakson & Miss Mina b Daniel Sebastian & Jewel

August 25: AIWF Mid Atlantic (Thomasville, NC) – Mia Svensson b Alexis Parrish

August 25: New Age Wrestling (Sunbury, Australia) – Vixsin b Lowzen

August 26: American Psycho Tour (Shepparton, Australia) – Nikita Naridian b Mighty Mel

August 26: Dramatic Dream Team (Tokyo, Japan) – Cherry b NOZOMI

August 26: WAVE (Tokyo, Japan) – GAMI v Kyoko Kimura went to a time limit draw; Kana b Shuu Shibutani; Gori Child b Sakura Hirota; Ran YuYu b Moeka Haruhi; Aja Kong b Ryo Mizunami; GAMI & Tomoka Nakagawa v Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hikaru Shida went to a time limit draw; Ayako Hamada b Ayumi Kurihara; Misaki Ohata b Yumi Ohka; Misaki Ohata won a battle royale

August 26: REINA x World (Tokyo, Japan) – Kaji Tomato b Charlie Simone Aussie; Leon b Alex Lee; Tiffany b La Malcriada; Maki Narumiya b Bambi; Hikaru Shida & Tsukasa Fujimoto b Silueta & Crazy Star; Leon b Tiffany to win the REINA-CMLL International Championship

August 26: Stardom (Osaka, Japan) – Saki Kashima, Eri Susa & Mayu Iwatani b Hiroyo Matsumoto, Natsumi Showzuki & Yuuri Haruka; Yuusaku b Azt Yasukawa; Nanae Takahashi v Yoshiko went to a time limit draw; 
Yuzuki Aikawa b Io Shirai; Dark Angel b Kairi Hojo; Natsuki*Taiyo b Miho Wakizawa

August 26: Battlewar (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Mademoiselle Rachelle v Myleena Sheera went to a double DQ

August 26: WWE (Rochester, MN) – Kaitlyn b Natalya

August 26: Tri City Wrestling (Kitchner, ONT, Canada) – Allysin Kay & Courtney Rush b Xandra Bale & Leah Von Dutch in a 4-way

August 27: WWE Raw (Milwaukee, WI) – Layla b Natalya

**

Upcoming

August 31: New Horizons Pro Wrestling (Fremantle, Australia) – Kellie Skater v Eliza Sway

August 31: XCW (New Albany, IN) – Amazing Maria v Sarah McCool

September 1: New Horizons Pro Wrestling (Fremantle, Australia) – Krackerjak v Kellie Skater

September 1: Scottish Wrestling Alliance (Clydebank, Scotland) – Nikki Storm v Kirsty Love

September 1: Swiss Championship Wrestling (Bern, Switzerland) – Laura Wellings v Shanna

September 1: Crossfire Entertainment (McMinnville, TN) – Jessicka Havok v Reby Sky v Allysin Kay

September 8: EVOLVE 17 (Voorhies, NJ) – Christina Von Eerie v Marti Belle

September 8: NWA: Top Rope Promotions(Lebanon, TN) – Tasha Simone v Pandora

September 8: Maximum Pro Wrestling (Angus, ONT, Canada) – Xandra Bale v Courtney Rush

September 14: Squared Circle Wrestling (Auburn, NY) – Veda Scott v Cherry Bomb

September 14: Melbourne City Wrestling (Sunshine, Australia) – Savannah Summers v KC Cassidy

September 14: CHIKARA King Of Trios (Easton, PA) – Green Ant, Fire Ant & AssailANT v DASH Chisako, Sendai Sachiko & Meiko Satomura; CombatANT, DeviANT & Soldier Ant v Manami Toyota, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw; Commando Bolshoi, Kaori Yoneyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki v Mr Touchdown, Dasher Hatfield & Matt Classic

September 15: IndyGurlz (Boonton, NJ) – Leva Bates v Kimber Lee; LuFisto v Mia Yim

September 15: Maximum Pro Wrestling (Meaford, ONT, Canada) – Courtney Rush v Xandra Bale

September 15: Pro Wrestling Elite (Ayr, Scotland) – Mickie James v Kay Lee Ray

September 15: Solent Wrestling Federation (Waterlooville, England) – Erin Angel v Amazon Ayesha Ray

September 16: Pro Wrestling Elite (Ayr, Scotland) – Mickie James v Carmel Jacob

September 16: World Association of Women’s Wrestling (Norwich, England)

September 21: SHINE 3 (Ybor City, FL)

September 21: Top of the World Wrestling (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – LuFisto v Tara

September 22: Northeast Wrestling (Fishkill, NY) – Rosita & Madison Rayne v Angel Williams & Velvet Sky

September 23: Absolute Intense Wrestling (Cleveland, OH) – Allysin Kay v Crazy Mary Dobson

September 23: Alternative Wrestling World (Wolverhampton, England) – Amazon Ayesha Ray v Holly Rocamora

September 28: Xcite Wrestling (Binghamton, NY) – Kimber Lee v Annie Social

September 29: Pro-Wrestling Euskadi (Bilbao, Spain) – Pollyanna v Dragoi Neska

September 30: Insane Championship Wrestling: Fierce Females (Glasgow, Scotland) – Jenny Sjodin & April Davids v Kasey & Leah Owens; Holly Rocamora v Rhia O’Reilly

September 30: Beyond Wrestling (East Greenwich, RI) – Portia Perez v Lexxus; Veda Scott v RD Evans

September 30: Squared Circle Wrestling (Vaughan, ONT, Canada) – Cherry Bomb v Gabriella Vanderpool

October 5: Family Wrestling Entertainment (Brooklyn, NY) – Maria Kanellis & Winter v Angel Williams & Velvet Sky

October 6: Pro Women’s Wrestling Alliance (Casula, Australia)

October 6: Riot City Wrestling (Adelaide, Australia) – Harley Wonderland v Eliza Sway

October 6: UK Women’s Wrestling/World Association of Women’s Wrestling (Wakefield, England)

October 6: REINA World Joshi Puroresu (Baltimore, MD)

October 7: Joshi4Hope (Tokyo, Japan)

October 11: Bombshell Ladies Of Wrestling (Rahway, NJ) – Jewells Malone v Silvie Silver

October 13: Women Superstars Uncensored (Deer Park, NY) – Jessicka Havok v Alicia v Lexxus; Tina San Antonio v Brittney Savage; Marti Belle v Nikki Addams

October 26: AAW (Berwyn, IL) – MsChif v Sweet Saraya

October 27: Extreme World Wrestling (Hastings, England) – Lady Lory v Erin Angel

October 27-28: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Berwyn, IL)

October 31: Preston City Wrestling (Preston, England) – Kay Lee Ray v Carmel Jacob

November 3: nCw Femmes Fatales (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – LuFisto v Mercedes Martinez; Pink Flash Kira v Portia Perez; Sweet Cherrie v Cherry Bomb

November 9: Preston City Wrestling (Preston, England) – Angel Williams v Kay Lee Ray

November 10: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Sudbury, England) – Alpha Female v Nikki Storm

April 6: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Secaucus, NJ)

April 13-14: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Berwyn, IL)

Former Knockout Goes Into Labor

Hot on the heels of former WWE star Michelle McCool giving birth yesterday, it looks like another female wrestling personality is about to make it two-for-two!

Former TNA Knockout Lacey Von Erich, who announced her pregnancy last week, revealed on Twitter yesterday that she too has gone into labor.

Lacey tweeted: ” Dilated 4cm! Walking around to get the baby out! Looks like John Grant Blindbury the third “Trip” will be born today! ;)”

Congratulations to Lacey on her new arrival!

New Details On Cameron's Arrest

Last night news broke that Diva Cameron was arrested early Friday morning on charges of Driving Under the Influence. Today, TMZ has dug up some new details on the arrest.

TMZ reports that Cameron attempted to bribe officers to let her go, offering them $10,000 and fearing that “she would lose her job” otherwise. The report also states that Cameron blew a .20 on her breathalyzer test, more than twice the legal blood alcohol content in Florida, which is .08.

A male passenger who was in the vehicle with Cameron at the time of the arrest told officers that the two had been drinking martinis before getting on the road.

TMZ received a statement from the WWE, who said about the incident:

“Ariane [Cameron] did not alert us to this matter, we are investigating and will take appropriate action.”

It seems as if WWE officials were learning about this the same time we were. Time will tell what other consequences are in store for Cameron.

Michelle McCool Has Daughter

Courtesy of a tweet by the Undertaker’s eldest son Gunner, we’ve learned that Michelle McCool has given birth.

The baby is a girl, and has been named Kaia Faith Calaway. Calaway is, of course, the Undertaker’s real last name.

A tweet by Lilian Garcia was what first caught the attention of news sites. Earlier today, she tweeted:

 “Congrats @McCoolMichelleL & Taker! Soooooo happy 2 hear about ur new bundle of joy!!! #BestWishes!! ;))”

 

Michelle and the Undertaker were married back in June 2010, and Michelle retired from in-ring competition in May 2011.

The baby is the Michelle’s first and Calaway’s fourth. Congratulations to the whole family!

Trish Stratus To Host "Breakfast Television"

Crank up your “wake up with Trish” puns! Tomorrow morning, Trish Stratus will be co-hosting the Canadian morning show “Breakfast Television”.

Trish tweeted the news, expressing her excitement to co-host with show regular Dina Pugliese.
Breakfast Television airs on CityTV starting at 5:30am ET. Trish’s official website is reporting that you’ll be able to catch the former Women’s Champion on the show after 6:00 am.

Melina To Appear In Web Series

Former WWE Diva Melina and John Morrison will be appearing in the second season of a web series titled “The Darkness Descending“. The series has a unique concept, describing itself as combining “mobile apps, social gaming and feature film to tell the story of a hero’s descent into the mysterious real life underworld below NYC.”

Morrison tweeted the news that he and Melina were filming for the series and posted a photo of himself that hints at the look Melina might adopt.

No word on who they’re playing or when their episode(s) might air but for now, you can view previous episodes of the series by clicking here.

The project is also looking for funding, having set up an IndieGoGo page with incentives to donate.

Watch the official trailer below:

Cameron Arrested For DUI

PWInsider is reporting that Ariane Andrew, better known as Cameron, one half of Brodus Clay’s “Funkadactyls”, was arrested in the early hours of Friday, August 24th on a charge of Driving Under the Influence.

The arrest took place just before 3:00 am in Hillsborough County, Florida. Cameron was soon released on a $500 bond.

Click here for more information on her booking.

Madison Rayne Teases "Suprise"

After losing her Knockouts Title two weeks ago and pulling a no-show last week, Madison Rayne is teasing a “surprise” for this week’s Impact. Earlier today she tweeted:

“I’ve got a little surprise for everyone this Thursday on @IMPACTWRESTLING :)) tune in to find out more :)) @SpikeTV 8pm!!!”

This could have something to do with Knockouts Champion Brooke Tessmacher, the woman who cut down Madison’s title reign, but until Thursday night, all we can do is speculate.

McCool And Torres Make List Of Smartest Wrestlers

Following up on their list of wrestlers they want to see wrestle one more time, WWE.com has now produced a list of the “20 Smartest Superstars in History”. Singled out for their smarts were Eve Torres and Michelle McCool. Eve landed at #10, Michelle at #19:

#10 – Eve Torres: Eve may very well be one of the most well-rounded Divas in WWE history. After attending the University of Southern California and getting a degree in industrial systems and engineering, she won the WWE Diva Search in 2007, earning a spot on the SmackDown roster. On top of that, she trained at the world famous Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, ensuring she’s prepared for any attack in the ring.

She’s also shown she’s prepared to use her brains and beauty to get what she wants. The former Divas Champion weaved a web of deceit in early 2012, stringing the lovesick Zack Ryder along in a scheme that helped John Laurinaitis unseat Teddy Long as SmackDown GM. For her work, Eve earned a place in Laurinaitis’ administration as his executive assistant. She currently holds a similar position in the administration of SmackDown GM Booker T.
#19 – Michelle McCool: Fun fact: Before terrorizing the Divas division alongside Layla as a member of LayCool, Michelle McCool was an honest-to-goodness school teacher. Upon arriving in WWE, she kept her teacher’s garb and led a tag team called The Teacher’s Pets before deciding to pursue another subject and taking up the role of a personal trainer. Given that she eventually decided to embrace her mean girl side and take up with Layla, we think it’s safe to say that McCool was brains and beauty all in one package.

PWWA News: Evie Gains Second Title, Names Announced For October 6th

Adding to her collection of gold is none other than Evie!

The New Zealand-born wrestler – whom only one week ago won her home promotion’s (IPWNZ) first-ever Women’s Championship – topped “Everybody’s Favourite Girlfriend” Jessie McKay on August 25 at the Casula Powerhouse, in the tournament finals to crown an interim PWWA Champion.

The finish of the match came when McKay had her octopus stretch submission locked in, but Evie broke free and hit a second TTYL (Go To Sleep) on her opponent for the victory – and the title!

PWA Australia have announced that Evie will indeed make her first defense of the title at their all-women’s show to be held on October 6th, once more at the Casula Powerhouse. Who would you all like to see as her first challenger? Hit us with your thoughts below.

 

• • • • •

 

For those North American fans who might be interested in seeing Evie wrestle, SHIMMER Women Athletes founder Dave Prazak has commented on the company’s official forums’ “talent request thread” saying he has heard your pleas.

“Not everyone *I* want to see in SHIMMER is on SHIMMER shows, because A) there isn’t enough room, and B) the shows have to remain within a budget. Again… lots of women’s shows around the world means opportunities to see everybody you want to, but maybe not all on the same show at the same time. We do our best. And as I said in the SHINE 2 chat room, as far as Evie coming to the States is concerned, it’s just a matter of when.”

• • • • •

 

In other PWWA news, several names have been added to the October 6 card since our last talent announcement post a few weeks ago.

 

They are none other than: Evie’s “BFF” tag team partner, Megan-Kate; former WWE developmental diva Irena Janjic (now going by the name Alex Lee), whom is currently living and training in Japan and competing on REINA X WORLD shows; Savannah Summers; Harley Wonderland; and recent Storm Wrestling Academy graduates KC Cassidy and Kellyanne English.

Naomi Earns Praise For Match With Natalya

The internet was abuzz this weekend with the news that former FCW Divas Champion Naomi stole the show in an impromptu match with Natalya at a live event on Saturday.

Naomi, who currently serves as a backup dancer for Brodus Clay, stepped in for Kaitlyn, who was not at the event due to travel issues. According to a report, Naomi won the match thanks to help from her fellow dancer Cameron. The same report stated that it had been considered one of the best Diva matches of the year.

Fans tweeted about the match, some upping the ante and calling it “one of the best Divas matches in years”. Natalya retweeted one such tweet, while giving a resounding “Of course!” to a fan’s question asking if she’d like to see Naomi wrestle on Raw or SmackDown in the near future.

Even those outside the Divas division took notice. Ricardo Rodriguez, best known as Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, tweeted high praise, saying, “Beyond proud of @NaomiWWE For stepping up huge last night at the Smackdown Live Event vs Natalya.”

Of course, all of this is just buzz and won’t necessarily translate to an immediate in-ring push for Naomi, but with this kind of a response to a house show match, you can bet that WWE officials took notice.

Names Announced For SHIMMER 49-52

SHIMMER has announced talent for its tapings of volumes 49-52. Joining SHIMMER originals Allison Danger, Mercedes Martinez and MsChif is Hiroyo Matsumoto. Matsumoto is making her return to the company for the tapings in Berwyn, IL on October 27th & 28th.

A SHIMMER press release includes details on this, as well as a new video showing Sara Del Rey in her quest to find a new tag team partner. See it all below:

SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES News for August 27, 2012
Courtesy of the SHIMMER Yahoo Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shimmerwrestling/

Follow SHIMMER on Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/shimmerwomen

Headlines:

- Live Happy with Hiroyo October 27 & 28 in Berwyn!

- Four more names announced for SHIMMER 49-52!

MORE NAMES ADDED TO SHIMMER 49-52!

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SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES returns to the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL on Saturday & Sunday, October 27th & 28th, 2012. Volumes 49-52 of the SHIMMER series will be filmed during the course of that weekend. Bell time on Saturday, October 27th is 2pm. Bell time on Sunday, October 28th is 1pm. The events are suitable for all ages.
During this past weekend’s AAW event in Berwyn, three SHIMMER originals were added to the “officially announced talent list” for SHIMMER 49-52, in the form of MsChif, Mercedes Martinez, and Allison Danger.

Just announced this morning was “Lady Destroyer” Hiroyo Matsumoto!

Hiroyo made her SHIMMER debut at SHIMMER 30 in April of 2010, and quickly made a strong impression on American fans with her outings against Sara Del Rey, LuFisto, and Mercedes Martinez. She later went on to win the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship along with partner Misaki Ohata in early 2011 at SHIMMER 37. After a brief title reign, Matsumoto began to focus on singles competition in SHIMMER. In late 2011, Hiroyo battled the likes of Nicole Matthews, Kellie Skater, and Jessie McKay, and also challenged then-SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles at SHIMMER 42, which was Hiroyo’s first SHIMMER main event bout.

Though she was forced to miss the last set of SHIMMER tapings due to her busy schedule in Japan, the Joshi 4 Hope office has arranged for Hiroyo to return to North America during late October, to compete not only for SHIMMER in Berwyn, but also for NCW Femmes Fatales on November 3rd in Montreal!

Hiroyo joins the following previously announced competitors who will participate in the SHIMMER 49-52 tapings: SHIMMER Champion Sweet Saraya Knight, SHIMMER Tag Team Champions The Canadian Ninjas, Cheerleader Melissa, MsChif, Mercedes Martinez, and Allison Danger. Look for more names to slowly be revealed during the remaining weeks leading up to the events. Over 25 of the top female wrestlers from around the world will be a part of the festivities!

General admission seating for the SHIMMER 49-52 events is still available, and can be purchased online right now by visiting http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/ and ordering by PayPal. If you would like to purchase tickets via money order, please E-mail shimmernews@yahoo.com for mail order instructions.

Look for more names to slowly be revealed over the course of the remaining weeks leading up to the events. Over 25 of the top female professional wrestlers from around the world will be a part of the festivities!

Make your plans now to be a part of the weekend of SHIMMER tapings which will include the milestone SHIMMER 50 event. Mark your calendars, and join us live!

Discuss the SHIMMER 49-52 tapings in the following thread at The SHIMMER Forum…
http://tinyurl.com/7x9xaqz

NEW FREE VIDEO POSTED!

————————————————–

A five minute free SHIMMER video has been posted on YouTube for everyone to check out! It’s Sara Del Rey’s search for a tag team partner, which began on SHIMMER 46. View the video below.



VOLUMES 45 & 46 NOW IN STOCK!

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Volumes 45 & 46 in the SHIMMER DVD series are now in stock and available exclusively from http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/ for immediate worldwide shipping! We have several handy multi-DVD packs to choose from in order to save on shipping. Below are the match lists & running times of the newest releases in the SHIMMER series.



SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES Vol. 46 (DVD)

Description:

1. Courtney Rush vs. Sassy Stephie
2. Veda Scott vs. Saraya Knight
3. LuFisto vs. New York Knockout
4. Leva Bates vs. Sara Del Rey
5. Ray & Leon vs. Mia Yim & Davina Rose
6. Kc Spinelli vs. Kellie Skater
7. MsChif vs. Jessie McKay
8. Athena vs. Nicole Matthews
9. Kana vs. Mercedes Martinez
10. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Ayumi Kurihara & Ayako Hamada vs. Hailey Hatred & Kalamity
11. SHIMMER Title Match: Cheerleader Melissa vs. Portia Perez

Running Time: 3 hours, 2 minutes

Price: $15.00

Order yours at http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/



SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES Vol. 45 (DVD)

Description:

1. Courtney Rush vs. Rhia O’Reilly
2. Veda Scott & Shazza McKenzie vs. Melanie Cruise & Mena Libra
3. Leon vs. Sara Del Rey
4. Davina Rose vs. Saraya Knight
5. Jessie McKay vs. Mia Yim
6. Ray vs. Kellie Skater
7. Kana & LuFisto vs. Hailey Hatred & Kalamity
8. Christina Von Eerie vs. Portia Perez
9. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Ayumi Kurihara & Ayako Hamada vs. Allison Danger & Leva Bates
10. Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez
11. SHIMMER Title Match: Cheerleader Melissa vs. Nicole Matthews

Running Time: 3 hours, 11 minutes

Price: $15.00

Order yours at http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/

If you would like to place a mail order for SHIMMER DVDs, E-mail shimmernews@yahoo.com for mail order instructions.

SHIMMER TO PARTICIPATE IN WRESTLECON!

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SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES will be participating in a huge independent wrestling festival during WrestleMania weekend next year.

SHIMMER, CHIKARA, Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE, and Combat Zone Wrestling will all be presenting live events at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, NJ from April 5th through April 7th.

SHIMMER 53 will take place during the afternoon of Saturday, April 6th, on the same day as CHIKARA and Dragon Gate USA events during the late afternoon and evening. This will mark the second time that SHIMMER will hold a live event outside of its Berwyn Eagles Club home base (the first was the SHIMMER 14 event from Inverness, FL during 2007).

Ringside tickets for SHIMMER 53 will go on sale at http://www.wrestlecon.com/ on September 5th. Front row seating will be priced at $50, second row will be $40, and general admission will be $25.
If you will be on the east coast during WrestleMania weekend next year, don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch a live SHIMMER event without needing to travel to Chicago to do it!

Visit http://www.wrestlecon.com/ for more details.

Thus, the SHIMMER live event schedule is as follows:

SHIMMER 49 & 50: October 27, 2012 Berwyn, IL at Berwyn Eagles Club

SHIMMER 51 & 52: October 28, 2012 Berwyn, IL at Berwyn Eagles Club

SHIMMER 53: April 6, 2013 Secaucus, NJ at Meadowlands Expo Center

SHIMMER 54 & 55: April 13, 2013 Berwyn, IL at Berwyn Eagles Club

SHIMMER 56 & 57: April 14, 2013 Berwyn, IL at Berwyn Eagles Club

Mark your calendars and plan ahead!

Discuss the WrestleCon events in the following thread at The SHIMMER Forum…

http://tinyurl.com/86r7yzu

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Call the SHIMMER hotline
630-585-3958

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Follow SHIMMER on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/shimmerwomen

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Download SHIMMER matches on demand
http://www.clickwrestle.com/

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Visit the SHIMMER web site
http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/

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