J-Cup Qualifying Match
Athena defeated Leva Bates via pinfall (O-Face)
First Time Ever
Lexxus defeated Rain via pinfall (Victory Roll Counter to the Acid Rain)
“Bones & Roses” (“Bonesaw” Jessie Brooks and Jenny Rose) defeated Rick Cataldo and Isabel Suena (Rose pinned Cataldo with a top rope cross body)
Jennifer Cruz defeated Becky Bayless (Cruz sat down on a Sunset Flip attempt and held the ropes)
Grudge Match
Marti Belle defeated Tina San Antonio via pinfall (Small package reversal to a Figure Four Leglock)
Uncensored Rules Tag Match
Sassy Stephie and Allysin Kay defeated Alicia and Brittney Savage (Stephie pinned Savage with a Kiss My Sass after Alicia had been put through a door with a 3D)
WSU Tag Team Title Match
The Soul Sisters (Jana & Luscious Latasha) defeated Lexxus and X (first it was ring announcer Destiny, then it was Tina San Antonio) (Latasha pinned Lexxus following an Enzugiri) *TITLE CHANGE*
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| MWM challenges the Soul Sisters |
- – New #1 contenders Sassy Stephie & Allysin Kay interrupt The Soul Sisters’ celebrations and challenge for an impromptu match…
WSU Tag Team Title Match
Sassy Stephie & Allysin Kay defeated The Soul Sisters (Latasha submits to Allysin Kay’s reverse jujigatame) *TITLE CHANGE*
J-Cup Qualifying Match
April Hunter defeated Annie Social via submission (Regal Stretch)
WSU World Title Match
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| A defeated Martinez |
Facts about the pay-per-view:
• Leva Bates vs Athena started last year’s fourth anniversary show, and both found themselves back in the same position this year.
• Leva’s pop culture outfit this time was an awesome Jedi outfit, complete with lightsaber.
• Lexxus was originally advertised as working double duty on the show – however, she ended up being joined by Tina San Antonio, Sassy Stephie, Allysin Kay, Jana and Luscious Latasha who all ended up in two matches each.
• Rain was in full “Jetta” mode, rather than “Lacey” mode – complete with Girls Aloud entrance music and Sprinkler dance.
• Nobody seems to know if it’s Ezavel or Isabel Suena. Onscreen graphic said “Isabel”, but regardless, it’s still Niya in a mask.
• A promo aired for NCW: Femmes Fatales VIII next weekend in Montreal, and the commentators announced that LuFisto & Kalamity would be coming to WSU this Spring.
• Alicia came into the match with a strand of barbed wire wrapped around her boot. However, it ended up being used by Allysin Kay to tear across her forehead.
• Lexxus originally picked ring announcer Destiny to “stand in the corner” as her tag team partner, while she (Lexxus) did all the work. This never amounted to anything as eventually Tina San Antonio came in and somehow took over as Lexxus’ partner. This led to Marti Belle running out and removing San Antonio from the proceedings, allowing Latasha to pin Lexxus.
• The Midwest Militia of Stephie & Kay ended up challenging The Soul Sisters for an impromptu title match, which was accepted – leading to a second title change on the night.
• April Hunter vs Annie Social was short, as the “breather” match between MWM matches. It did see the innovation of the Boob Toss, however.
• The main event was everything it had to be. Long, violent and venue-wide.
My thoughts on this iPPV:
• Leva Bates vs Athena on this anniversary show was even better than their match last year. Leva was particularly screamy in her match, prompting speculation that a Maria Sharapova gimmick is next on the drawing board.
• Lexxus vs Rain seemed at the time to lack urgency and be a little long – but given that there were other matches that were far more guilty of those crimes to come, this wasn’t bad in retrospect. There were a few awkward moments as far as execution (such as Lexxus banging her own head in the turnbuckle, a poor looking slingshot and a back and forth rolling inside cradle that was clunky as hell), but it was fine for second match on the card.
• For the second match in a row, the commentary team completely failed to recognise signature moves. They had no idea what to call Athena’s O-Face (which was the finish in her match), and referred to Rain trying for an “Electric Chair” when she was clearly trying for an Acid Rain. The commentary on these iPPVs has become significantly better than it used to be, but simple preparation and research seems to be lacking.
• I was keen to see Jenny Rose and see what she had learned in Japan – but she didn’t have the best opponents to work with here. Rick Cataldo’s eyeball-offending polka dots were one thing, but Niya’s new masked gimmick doesn’t hide that she’s still a bad pro-wrestler. Bones & Roses is still a sweet tag team name, and hopefully on a future show we’ll see a better match out of them.
• Becky Bayless vs Jennifer Cruz was an awful match that went way too long.
• Marti Belle – who was attacked by her ex partner Tina San Antonio, and who saw San Antonio carry out a mocking interview with Belle’s grandmother recently – opted to start this “grudge match” with a TEST OF STRENGTH. And some headlocks. And some chain wrestling. I don’t know who put this match together, but this was just an epic fail. What says “I hate you” more than exchanging wrestling holds? Later in the match, something vaguely resembling a “fight” broke out between the two outside the ring, but this was too little too late. San Antonio can’t apply a Figure Four Leglock, but she had to try it twice – the second of which led to an inside cradle pinfall loss for her. This didn’t deliver at all, given the buildup.
• After a series of three poor matches, the Uncensored Tag Team match saved the show with a really fun brawl that saw plenty of the action spill out around ringside (where Stephie channelled Cheerleader Melissa by wheelbarrowing Savage into the guardrail). Both members of the Militia were put through doors at the hands (and ass) of Alicia. The show badly needed a pick-me-up, and this was it. As mentioned, Allysin Kay dragged some barbed wire across the face of Alicia, but didn’t draw blood. Best match so far.
• The WSU Tag Titles match with Lexxus choosing a partner to take on The Soul Sisters was a bit of an overbooked mess. First, Lexxus chose ring announcer Destiny, with the idea that she’d stand in the corner while Lexxus did all the work. The commentators completely missed the psychology here and started to talk about how Lexxus was essentially in a “handicap match” and “fighting the odds” – despite the fact that she is a heel, so shouldn’t be sympathetic. Anyway, eventually Tina San Antonio ran in and somehow she became Lexxus’ legal partner. The match ground to a halt by this point too, as we had a ref bump, a run-in by Marti Belle, and eventually we hear that Latasha has hit an enzugiri on Lexxus for the win. We “hear” it, because the director missed the move.
• Show stealers Stephie & Kay come back out to save the show again, challenging The Soul Sisters and winning the titles. Going to throw out some credit to Luscious Latasha, who is scrappy and spunky and really a lot of fun to watch. Allysin eventually locked her in a reverse jugigatame for a submission and new champs. Seemed short, but was effective.
• April Hunter and Annie Social were in the “bring the crowd back down before the main event” spot, so the match involved posing and grabbing of boobs – leading to a boob toss. Really. Worked for what it was as a chance to grab a breath before the main event.
• Speaking of the main event, see below…
Match of the Night: Mercedes Martinez vs Jessicka Havoc (WSU World Title) Given the buildup – which basically threatened nothing short of all-out war – this match delivered. Thankfully they eschewed any further machete involvement, but they used doors, tables and chairs liberally. It remained one-on-one throughout, and it ended up covering most of the floorspace in the NYWC Sportatorium. This led to moments where some of the action was hard to see, but it was nicely out of control to where it always felt like a fight… and quite frankly, that’s all I want. I *want* to be able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy a fight. Taking myself out of that mindset for just two points though, firstly, credit to both women for not hitting any chairshots to the head. It’s 2012, people. Secondly, it became increasingly offputting to see the referee assisting in positioning and carrying tables for the competitors. In this situation, the referee should be dissuading the competitors from using tables rather than encouraging it. It just seems counterintuitive to what the referee should be there to do. Anyway – back to the match. It was brutal. I thought Havok may have been busted in the mouth early from a top rope cross body to the outside from Martinez, and I’m pretty sure one of Martinez’ early chops may have busted J-Hav’s bra, but the Magnificent Beast rallied superbly. There were air-raid crashes, fisherman busters, spinebusters and powerbombs through doors & tables, and several believable near-falls. The finish… well, I’m not sure what it was supposed to be. Both women were on the top rope, beside a table which was set up in the ring. Eventually they both came off… and I thought Mercedes had hit Havok with an RKO/Ace Crusher, but moments later, Havok draped her arm across Martinez and got the three count. Part of me wishes there was something more climactic, but at the same time, it seems like an a very suitable ending. Martinez was four days away from clocking up three full years as Champion, so it figures that if anybody can beat her, it should be by the absolute slimmest of margins. A technical classic? Nope. A visceral fight? Yes. Mission accomplished.
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| OMG look at that scare hair girl |
Overall impressions: Lee described this as a “one match show” in the preview, and to a large extent it was. You bought this show if you wanted to see Havok vs Martinez, and everything else was a bonus. In retrospect, it was a “one *team* show”, with that team being the Midwest Militia. Everything they were involved with felt like it mattered. I’ve always been of the opinion that while the main event level of WSU is a lot of fun, they really struggle with quality as they move further down the card – and the injection of Stephie & Allysin into proceedings really helped save what was becoming a really flat undercard with several clunkers in a row. Will be interesting to see if their path crosses soon with the incoming LuFisto & Kalamity. Undercard criticisms aside, I felt like I got my money’s worth with this one. Thumbs up.
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