Courtney Rush Reinstated To NEO

We’ve covered the history between Cherry Bomb and Courtney Rush in the past here on Ringbelles. Their feud in the NEO Spirit Pro Wrestling has been raging for the past year and a half, with the dastardly Cherry getting the edge at the end of last year when she used the power of new owner and boyfriend Derek Wylde to get the Winnipeg native fired from the promotion.

What followed was Rush’s #occupyNEO campaign, which she covered in the first episode of her Rush Hour podcast in order to politick a chance to be reinstated to NEO, but all her attempts were blocked by Wylde and Bomb to help them maintain control of operations and not rock the apple cart too much. However, Rush was thrown a lifeline at the hands of NEO’s special guest General Manager Bret “Hit Man” Hart, who gave Courtney one shot at redemption. The stipulation was “win and you’re in”, setting up a match for last night’s Hart of Darkness show at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, ONT – NEO’s biggest show in its history – with Rush teaming with Jennifer Blake against Cherry and Leah Von Dutch.

A spanner was thrown in the works when Von Dutch was given a chance to wrestle at the rebooted REINA x WORLD show on Saturday, meaning that she would be in Japan on that date, leading to Cherry Bomb being at a 2-on-1 disadvantage as match time approached. However, this being Cherry Bomb, she had a plan up her sleeve.

In the ring, Courtney and Jennifer pointed out the disparity to Bomb, with Blake pointing out the match will just have to be a handicap match – and with that, belted her partner in the face and revealed that she was aligned with Cherry Bomb, leading to the odds being even more against Rush.
Of course, the numbers game in a handicap match is a tough one, and Rush was really fighting the odds. Not only involved in a 2-on-1 affair, she only found out that would be the case with the bell just about to ring for the match, having to deal with that rollercoaster of betrayal, as well as having the added pressure of knowing that it was for all the marbles. However, Rush rallied, avoiding a double superkick attempt, clotheslining Blake out of the ring and catching Cherry with a spear for the three count that sees her reinstated to NEO.

However, her celebrations would be short lived, as she was felled by a Blake superkick, which sets up a new set of battles for the women’s division in the promotion. Not only can Rush and Bomb reprise their feud and take it to new heights, Courtney has to gain revenge on Blake for turning on her, and will also have to contend with Leah Von Dutch on her return, as she was scheduled to be Cherry’s tag team partner in the first place. It’s a trifecta of problems for Rush, and she is a sole competitor trying to take them all on. Courtney may have got her wish by getting back into NEO, but with three tough women all gunning for her, her reinstatement may be a poisoned chalice. We’ll probably find out if that’s the case in the coming months.