Post by chrisv on May 23, 2006 13:34:32 GMT -6
Shimmer Women’s Athletes 052106 results & thoughts
By Chris Vetter
Shimmer Women’s Athletes returned to Berwyn, Ill., on Sunday, May 21, 2006. The crowd is a legit paid total of 176 fans, and this venue is packed. I drove with Nora Greenwald, Rain and Ann Thraxx; when we arrived around 12:45 p.m., the ring was being put up. All the women were there by 1 p.m., and there was a palpable excitement in the air, as Allison Danger excitedly pointed out the crowd that was already gathering outside.
I helped set up chairs and tried to stay out of the way! Chairs were set up on all four sides of the ring this time, as it was clear the crowd was going to be up. Doors finally opened shortly after 2 p.m., and there were two dark matches to open the show. Tyme Page defeated Havok, and Lawrence defeated Boy Toy Brian. I hadn’t seen these guys before today; they had helped set up the ring. Each of their matches went about 3 minutes.
Lighting in here is ok. They have nice lights set up above the ring, and this event was filmed with three cameras. There was a video screen above the entrance ramp! That’s new. This event is tape two DVDs worth of programming, “Volume 5” and “Volume 6.” Each DVD will be 2+ hours, so everyone here knows to expect a LONG day of wrestling! (Still, this was longer than most would have expected!!!
* To start the show, Allison Danger appeared in a pre-taped segment on the screen, talking about Shimmer’s birth. There is a nice video montage set to a Garbage song.
* Lacey did a backstage-promo, saying she has signed an open contract for her match at the Volume 5 taping. She said she was robbed in the main event of both the volume 1 & 2 shows. “I’m working my way back to the top,” Lacey said.
* Nikita cut a backstage promo, telling us she is from the United Kingdom. “We have some tough bitches in Europe, too,” she said.
* Daizee Haze also did a backstage promo, saying that she has already beaten Rebecca Knox once, and she can do it again in a best-of-three-falls match.
* Sara Del Ray did one more backstage promo, saying she wanted her rematch with Mercedes Martinez.
(1) Daizee Haze defeats Porsche Perez at 2:29. This is a “Shimmerwrestling.com exclusive download match.” Perez is perhaps 5’2” … and I hate to say this… she has the face of a 14-year-old. She looks really, really young, and she wore black with pink trim. They opened with some nice standing switches, and Perez got some nice rollups. Haze hit some stiff forearms. Perez hit a headscissors takedown. Haze nailed the Heart Punch, then a Daizee Cutter/stunner, to score the pin. 1/2*
* Rebecca Knox ran in the ring and hit Haze with a German Release Suplex. Knox cut a great heel promo saying we live in a “Hicksville town” and “we smell like ugly people.” Knox told Haze, “You must be dreaming if you think you’ll get two pins on me.”
(2) Rain defeats Lorelei Lee at 9:18. Good match. Lorelei wore blue & red. Rain wore purple & black. They traded arm holds, and Rain applied a headscissorslock and did some pushups! Lorelei came back with a handspring back elbow, and Rain rolled to the floor at 3:30. Back in the ring, Rain hit a Lungblower to the chest, and that got a huge pop! Rain took over, choking Lee and hitting some hard chops, then a running knee to the chest, and Rain was dominating.
Rain hit a bulldog at 6:00, and she pulled Lee down by her hair. They hit double crossbody blocks, and both women were down. Lee airballed a dropkick, but she still got a nearfall. Lee hit some rolling suplexes. Rain went for the Raindrop/inverted DDT, but Lee blocked it. Rain hit the Electric Chair/fallaway slam with a bridge, to score the pin. **
(3) MsChif defeats Cindy Rogers at 7:59. Cindy wore black pants & a pink top. MsChif wore her green & black, and she got a huge pop from this crows. They traded nice armbars and had a standoff. Rogers applied a cross-armbreaker. MsChif hit some blows to the back and she growled at the ref. MsChif applied a Camel Clutch in the ropes at 3:00, then she hit a Bubba Bomb.
Rogers used a variety of submission holds, including a front guillotine choke and a mid-ring Octopus. MsChif hit a nice hurricanrana, then she bridged backward and pulled back on Rogers’ head at 6:30. Rogers hit a Russian Legsweep. MsChif hit the Desecrator/modified implant DDT, for the pin! Good action. **1/4
(4) Amber O’Neal defeats Serena at 8:12. O’Neal wore her hot pink top & bottom, and she’s a prissy southern belle blonde. Serena came to the ring, also in pink, and she has brown hair. “I don’t appreciate you trying to steal my look,” O’Neal said. They started with an intense lockup, and Serena applied a hammerlock, and O’Neal SCRAMBLED to the ropes, squealing in pain. Amber hit some chops; Serena fired back with harder chops. They brawled to the floor, and Amber yelled at the fans.
In the ring, Amber pulled Serena’s hair, hit a hard clothesline, then a Russian Legsweep at 5:30, and she was in charge. She pulled back on Serena’s head and her nose! Serena fired up, hit a clothesline and a flying forearm for a nearfall, then a nice spear for a believable nearfall, but Amber reached the ropes at 7:30. Amber hit an STO Uranage for a nearfall, then she won it with a rollup and a handful of tights. Ok match. *1/2
(5) Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka defeat Arial & Josie at 11:59. Ok match. Fyfe & Hosaka really work well as a heel tag team. Josie is a black woman; I’ve seen her wrestle in MN & WI for years, but this was her Shimmer debut; she wore a gold outfit. Arial wore white with red trim. Arial and Hosaka started, and Arial got some quick rollups. Arial outwrestled both heels early, and the heels stalled. The crowd chanted, “quit your whining!” at the heels. Josie tagged in and hit a bodyslam for a nearfall on Hosaka. The faces hit a team armdrag at 3:30.
The heels began to work over Josie. Arial made the hot tag, and she dropkicked Hosaka. Hosaka hit a spin kick to the shoulder for a nearfall, then she tossed Hosaka across the ring by her hair! Fyfe hit a sideslam, and the heels are making plenty of illegal switches. The crowd was hot, yelling at the ref! Hosaska hit a snap suplex. Josie made the hot tag at 10:30, and she hit a bodyslam on Fyfe. All four women brawled in the ring. Arial missed a second-rope frogsplash. The teams hit a team faceplant, and Fyfe pinned Arial. *3/4
(6) Allison Danger defeats Cheerleader Melissa at 9:45. Good match. Melissa wore her black robe and pink one-piece outfit. Danger wore all black. They started with an intense lockup, and they traded stiff forearms. Melissa hit some blows to the back, stomps, and she choked Danger in the ropes. Melissa went for a Copkillah, but Danger sat down to avoid it. Melissa with in charge, applying a modified sleeper (using just one arm), while hitting strikes with her open hand. Melissa hit some crossface blows at 6:30.
Danger hit a spinning facebuster over her knee, then a neckbreaker over her knee for a nearfall. Melissa hit a running knee in the corner. Suddenly, MsChif came out to ringside at 9:00. Melissa applied a modified Figure Four Leglock, but Danger reached the ropes. MsChif distracted Melissa, which allowed Danger to get an inside cradle for the pin! Good match, but cut short by MsChif. **1/4
* Immediately after the match, Melissa rolled to the floor and began to brawl with MsChif! This was HOT. All five referees, plus a few of the women wrestlers, ran to ringside to separate them. The crowd loved the action.
(7) Amazing Kong defeats Nikki Roxx at 10:39. Wow, I dug this match. Kong is a large black woman from Japan, and she wore a black gladiator-style outfit. She was billed as 242 pounds. Nikki, in comparison, was listed as 145 pounds, and she wore a green top & bottom. The crowd near me immediately chanted, “Please don’t die!” at Roxx, and Roxx couldn’t help but laugh! Someone taunted Kong with a “Mark Henry!” line. The match began, and Kong let out a monster scream, and Roxx backed up! Kong pushed Roxx to the mat. Roxx slapped her! Kong hit a bodysplash for a believable nearfall at 1:00!
Kong hit some hard chops, as Roxx was tied in the ropes! They brawled to the floor, where Kong slammed Roxx’ head on the steps, then she whipped Roxx into the guardrail. In the ring, Kong hit a guillotine legdrop, then she applied a sleeper, and the crowd rallied behind Roxx. Kong hit some more hard chops, and she slammed Roxx to the mat at 4:00. Roxx hit a flying forearm, and she applied a Figure Four Leglock, but Kong reached the ropes. Kong hit a huge Stinger Splash in the corner, and she made an arrogant cover for a nearfall.
Roxx hit some stiff forearms, but all they did was make Kong ANGRY. Kong screamed and slapped Roxx in the face. Kong missed a second Stinger Splash, and Roxx hit a bulldog for a nearfall at 6:30. Roxx hit a missile dropkick. Kong hit a powerbomb and more chops. However, Roxx avoided a move, and Kong fell to the floor. Roxx then hit a top-rope dive to the floor!
In the ring, Roxx tried a top-rope headscissors takedown, but she didn’t quite rotate right. Kong hit a double-arm faceplant for a nearfall. Kong hit a second-rope frogsplash for a nearfall… but Kong pulled her up at 10:00! Kong slapped Roxx in the face, then she hit a sitdown powerbomb for the pin. The crowd gave this match a standing ovation. **3/4
(8) Nikita defeats Lacey at 14:56. Lacey wore purple & yellow, and the crowd instantly booed her! Nikita wore a red & black top and black pants, and she has brown hair. The crowd was loudly chanting, “Lacey sucks!” before the women had started. Lacey yelled at “all the perverts to stop taking her picture!” They traded quick arm holds, and Lacey hit a spine kick, so Nikita hit her own spine kick, then Nikita hit a Curbstomp at 5:00! Nikita hit a backbreaker over her knee, and Lacey stalled on the floor.
As Lacey was climbing back in the ring, she grabbed Nikita’s left arm and snapped it over the top rope! Lacey immediately began to work over the injured arm. Nikita came back with a backslide for a nearfall at 9:00. Lacey choked Nikita, and Lacey yelled at the ref. Lacey stayed on top with a DDT and a clothesline in the corner. Nikita hit some chops in the corner. Lacey gave Nikita a hotshot on the turnbuckle. However, Nikita’s knee caught Lacey directly in the mouth, and Lacey was bleeding from the mouth.
Nikita hit a standing neckbreaker, and both women were down. They traded stiff forearms, and Nikita hit a Mafia Kick, an enziguri, and a backbreaker over her knee for the pin. Very good women’s match. ***
(9) Rebecca Knox defeats Daizee Haze in a best-of-three falls match at 28:05. Very good match! Knox is a Brit who I think looks a bit like Keira Knightley, and she wore her dark green outfit. Haze wore gold & white. They did a little dance-off early, and the crowd let Knox know she lost. They traded armbars, and Haze hooked on a Front Guillotine Choke, then she applied a nice modified Tequila Sunrise/single-leg crab. This is a lot of good mat wrestling and reversals. Haze applied a headscissorslock at 8:00.
Knox hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Haze dove to the floor on Knox at 14:00, and they were both down on the floor. They traded chops on the floor. Knox tossed Haze HARD into the guardrail. In the ring, Knox missed a top-rope guillotine legdrop. Haze hit a Heart Punch, then the Mafia Kick to the side of the head for a pin at 17:22! Haze is up 1-0. They traded stiff forearms, and Knox hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall, then some quick armdrags and a snap suplex and a hard kick to the chest. Knox got a rollup, grabbed the ropes for leverage, and got the pin at 23:10!
Haze tied Knox in the Tree of Woe and hit a running knee to the gut. Knox came back with a missile dropkick. Knox applied a reverse Figure Four Leglock, but Haze reached the ropes. Haze went for the Heart Punch, but Knox avoided it. Knox hit a sideslam for a nearfall. Knox again hooked on a modified Figure Four, and she grabbed the ropes to get leverage for a pin! Good back-and-forth mat wrestling. ***1/4
* Allison Danger ran to ringside and complained to the ref about Knox using the ropes. Danger got on the mic and talked about the ROH Pure Title rules, and she challenged Knox to that match at the Volume 6 taping. (Each woman gets three rope breaks, then the ropes are in play.)
(10) Sara Del Ray defeats Mercedes Martinez at 21:56. Excellent match. This was a rematch from the Volume 1 taping. Mercedes wore a pink top and black pants. And Sara wore white & blue stars with lime green. They started with an intense lockup and some quick rollups. Sara hit a headbutt, and they traded suplexes, and they stood nose-to-nose in the ring. Did I mention how intense this was? Sara tied up Mercedes’ legs, and Mercedes hit some blows to the chest to escape. Mercedes applied a nice modified half-crab, but Sara reached the ropes at 8:30. Sara applied a Camel Clutch, then she hit a hard kick to the stomach.
Mercedes returned a hard kick to the stomach, and she hit some stiff forearms and chops in the corner. Sara tried to springboard off the ropes, but Mercedes caught her with a dropkick. They brawled to the floor, where Mercedes whipped Del Ray into the guardrail at 14:00! In the ring, Mercedes threw some punches, and she was in control. Mercedes hit a reverse suplex, dropping Sara on her head and stomach for a nearfall. Sara came back with a German Suplex with a bridge for a believable nearfall at 17:00, then a second-rope superplex, and the crowd popped.
Mercedes hit a back suplex. Sara hit a back elbow that sent Mercedes to the floor. Sara then dove through the ropes onto Mercedes on the floor, and both women were down at 19:30. In the ring, Mercedes applied an Octopus on the mat, but Sara managed to roll Mercedes over and score the pin! The finish came out of nowhere. The crowd gave the women a well-deserved standing ovation. On par with their great match at Volume 1. ***1/2
By Chris Vetter
Shimmer Women’s Athletes returned to Berwyn, Ill., on Sunday, May 21, 2006. The crowd is a legit paid total of 176 fans, and this venue is packed. I drove with Nora Greenwald, Rain and Ann Thraxx; when we arrived around 12:45 p.m., the ring was being put up. All the women were there by 1 p.m., and there was a palpable excitement in the air, as Allison Danger excitedly pointed out the crowd that was already gathering outside.
I helped set up chairs and tried to stay out of the way! Chairs were set up on all four sides of the ring this time, as it was clear the crowd was going to be up. Doors finally opened shortly after 2 p.m., and there were two dark matches to open the show. Tyme Page defeated Havok, and Lawrence defeated Boy Toy Brian. I hadn’t seen these guys before today; they had helped set up the ring. Each of their matches went about 3 minutes.
Lighting in here is ok. They have nice lights set up above the ring, and this event was filmed with three cameras. There was a video screen above the entrance ramp! That’s new. This event is tape two DVDs worth of programming, “Volume 5” and “Volume 6.” Each DVD will be 2+ hours, so everyone here knows to expect a LONG day of wrestling! (Still, this was longer than most would have expected!!!
* To start the show, Allison Danger appeared in a pre-taped segment on the screen, talking about Shimmer’s birth. There is a nice video montage set to a Garbage song.
* Lacey did a backstage-promo, saying she has signed an open contract for her match at the Volume 5 taping. She said she was robbed in the main event of both the volume 1 & 2 shows. “I’m working my way back to the top,” Lacey said.
* Nikita cut a backstage promo, telling us she is from the United Kingdom. “We have some tough bitches in Europe, too,” she said.
* Daizee Haze also did a backstage promo, saying that she has already beaten Rebecca Knox once, and she can do it again in a best-of-three-falls match.
* Sara Del Ray did one more backstage promo, saying she wanted her rematch with Mercedes Martinez.
(1) Daizee Haze defeats Porsche Perez at 2:29. This is a “Shimmerwrestling.com exclusive download match.” Perez is perhaps 5’2” … and I hate to say this… she has the face of a 14-year-old. She looks really, really young, and she wore black with pink trim. They opened with some nice standing switches, and Perez got some nice rollups. Haze hit some stiff forearms. Perez hit a headscissors takedown. Haze nailed the Heart Punch, then a Daizee Cutter/stunner, to score the pin. 1/2*
* Rebecca Knox ran in the ring and hit Haze with a German Release Suplex. Knox cut a great heel promo saying we live in a “Hicksville town” and “we smell like ugly people.” Knox told Haze, “You must be dreaming if you think you’ll get two pins on me.”
(2) Rain defeats Lorelei Lee at 9:18. Good match. Lorelei wore blue & red. Rain wore purple & black. They traded arm holds, and Rain applied a headscissorslock and did some pushups! Lorelei came back with a handspring back elbow, and Rain rolled to the floor at 3:30. Back in the ring, Rain hit a Lungblower to the chest, and that got a huge pop! Rain took over, choking Lee and hitting some hard chops, then a running knee to the chest, and Rain was dominating.
Rain hit a bulldog at 6:00, and she pulled Lee down by her hair. They hit double crossbody blocks, and both women were down. Lee airballed a dropkick, but she still got a nearfall. Lee hit some rolling suplexes. Rain went for the Raindrop/inverted DDT, but Lee blocked it. Rain hit the Electric Chair/fallaway slam with a bridge, to score the pin. **
(3) MsChif defeats Cindy Rogers at 7:59. Cindy wore black pants & a pink top. MsChif wore her green & black, and she got a huge pop from this crows. They traded nice armbars and had a standoff. Rogers applied a cross-armbreaker. MsChif hit some blows to the back and she growled at the ref. MsChif applied a Camel Clutch in the ropes at 3:00, then she hit a Bubba Bomb.
Rogers used a variety of submission holds, including a front guillotine choke and a mid-ring Octopus. MsChif hit a nice hurricanrana, then she bridged backward and pulled back on Rogers’ head at 6:30. Rogers hit a Russian Legsweep. MsChif hit the Desecrator/modified implant DDT, for the pin! Good action. **1/4
(4) Amber O’Neal defeats Serena at 8:12. O’Neal wore her hot pink top & bottom, and she’s a prissy southern belle blonde. Serena came to the ring, also in pink, and she has brown hair. “I don’t appreciate you trying to steal my look,” O’Neal said. They started with an intense lockup, and Serena applied a hammerlock, and O’Neal SCRAMBLED to the ropes, squealing in pain. Amber hit some chops; Serena fired back with harder chops. They brawled to the floor, and Amber yelled at the fans.
In the ring, Amber pulled Serena’s hair, hit a hard clothesline, then a Russian Legsweep at 5:30, and she was in charge. She pulled back on Serena’s head and her nose! Serena fired up, hit a clothesline and a flying forearm for a nearfall, then a nice spear for a believable nearfall, but Amber reached the ropes at 7:30. Amber hit an STO Uranage for a nearfall, then she won it with a rollup and a handful of tights. Ok match. *1/2
(5) Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka defeat Arial & Josie at 11:59. Ok match. Fyfe & Hosaka really work well as a heel tag team. Josie is a black woman; I’ve seen her wrestle in MN & WI for years, but this was her Shimmer debut; she wore a gold outfit. Arial wore white with red trim. Arial and Hosaka started, and Arial got some quick rollups. Arial outwrestled both heels early, and the heels stalled. The crowd chanted, “quit your whining!” at the heels. Josie tagged in and hit a bodyslam for a nearfall on Hosaka. The faces hit a team armdrag at 3:30.
The heels began to work over Josie. Arial made the hot tag, and she dropkicked Hosaka. Hosaka hit a spin kick to the shoulder for a nearfall, then she tossed Hosaka across the ring by her hair! Fyfe hit a sideslam, and the heels are making plenty of illegal switches. The crowd was hot, yelling at the ref! Hosaska hit a snap suplex. Josie made the hot tag at 10:30, and she hit a bodyslam on Fyfe. All four women brawled in the ring. Arial missed a second-rope frogsplash. The teams hit a team faceplant, and Fyfe pinned Arial. *3/4
(6) Allison Danger defeats Cheerleader Melissa at 9:45. Good match. Melissa wore her black robe and pink one-piece outfit. Danger wore all black. They started with an intense lockup, and they traded stiff forearms. Melissa hit some blows to the back, stomps, and she choked Danger in the ropes. Melissa went for a Copkillah, but Danger sat down to avoid it. Melissa with in charge, applying a modified sleeper (using just one arm), while hitting strikes with her open hand. Melissa hit some crossface blows at 6:30.
Danger hit a spinning facebuster over her knee, then a neckbreaker over her knee for a nearfall. Melissa hit a running knee in the corner. Suddenly, MsChif came out to ringside at 9:00. Melissa applied a modified Figure Four Leglock, but Danger reached the ropes. MsChif distracted Melissa, which allowed Danger to get an inside cradle for the pin! Good match, but cut short by MsChif. **1/4
* Immediately after the match, Melissa rolled to the floor and began to brawl with MsChif! This was HOT. All five referees, plus a few of the women wrestlers, ran to ringside to separate them. The crowd loved the action.
(7) Amazing Kong defeats Nikki Roxx at 10:39. Wow, I dug this match. Kong is a large black woman from Japan, and she wore a black gladiator-style outfit. She was billed as 242 pounds. Nikki, in comparison, was listed as 145 pounds, and she wore a green top & bottom. The crowd near me immediately chanted, “Please don’t die!” at Roxx, and Roxx couldn’t help but laugh! Someone taunted Kong with a “Mark Henry!” line. The match began, and Kong let out a monster scream, and Roxx backed up! Kong pushed Roxx to the mat. Roxx slapped her! Kong hit a bodysplash for a believable nearfall at 1:00!
Kong hit some hard chops, as Roxx was tied in the ropes! They brawled to the floor, where Kong slammed Roxx’ head on the steps, then she whipped Roxx into the guardrail. In the ring, Kong hit a guillotine legdrop, then she applied a sleeper, and the crowd rallied behind Roxx. Kong hit some more hard chops, and she slammed Roxx to the mat at 4:00. Roxx hit a flying forearm, and she applied a Figure Four Leglock, but Kong reached the ropes. Kong hit a huge Stinger Splash in the corner, and she made an arrogant cover for a nearfall.
Roxx hit some stiff forearms, but all they did was make Kong ANGRY. Kong screamed and slapped Roxx in the face. Kong missed a second Stinger Splash, and Roxx hit a bulldog for a nearfall at 6:30. Roxx hit a missile dropkick. Kong hit a powerbomb and more chops. However, Roxx avoided a move, and Kong fell to the floor. Roxx then hit a top-rope dive to the floor!
In the ring, Roxx tried a top-rope headscissors takedown, but she didn’t quite rotate right. Kong hit a double-arm faceplant for a nearfall. Kong hit a second-rope frogsplash for a nearfall… but Kong pulled her up at 10:00! Kong slapped Roxx in the face, then she hit a sitdown powerbomb for the pin. The crowd gave this match a standing ovation. **3/4
(8) Nikita defeats Lacey at 14:56. Lacey wore purple & yellow, and the crowd instantly booed her! Nikita wore a red & black top and black pants, and she has brown hair. The crowd was loudly chanting, “Lacey sucks!” before the women had started. Lacey yelled at “all the perverts to stop taking her picture!” They traded quick arm holds, and Lacey hit a spine kick, so Nikita hit her own spine kick, then Nikita hit a Curbstomp at 5:00! Nikita hit a backbreaker over her knee, and Lacey stalled on the floor.
As Lacey was climbing back in the ring, she grabbed Nikita’s left arm and snapped it over the top rope! Lacey immediately began to work over the injured arm. Nikita came back with a backslide for a nearfall at 9:00. Lacey choked Nikita, and Lacey yelled at the ref. Lacey stayed on top with a DDT and a clothesline in the corner. Nikita hit some chops in the corner. Lacey gave Nikita a hotshot on the turnbuckle. However, Nikita’s knee caught Lacey directly in the mouth, and Lacey was bleeding from the mouth.
Nikita hit a standing neckbreaker, and both women were down. They traded stiff forearms, and Nikita hit a Mafia Kick, an enziguri, and a backbreaker over her knee for the pin. Very good women’s match. ***
(9) Rebecca Knox defeats Daizee Haze in a best-of-three falls match at 28:05. Very good match! Knox is a Brit who I think looks a bit like Keira Knightley, and she wore her dark green outfit. Haze wore gold & white. They did a little dance-off early, and the crowd let Knox know she lost. They traded armbars, and Haze hooked on a Front Guillotine Choke, then she applied a nice modified Tequila Sunrise/single-leg crab. This is a lot of good mat wrestling and reversals. Haze applied a headscissorslock at 8:00.
Knox hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Haze dove to the floor on Knox at 14:00, and they were both down on the floor. They traded chops on the floor. Knox tossed Haze HARD into the guardrail. In the ring, Knox missed a top-rope guillotine legdrop. Haze hit a Heart Punch, then the Mafia Kick to the side of the head for a pin at 17:22! Haze is up 1-0. They traded stiff forearms, and Knox hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall, then some quick armdrags and a snap suplex and a hard kick to the chest. Knox got a rollup, grabbed the ropes for leverage, and got the pin at 23:10!
Haze tied Knox in the Tree of Woe and hit a running knee to the gut. Knox came back with a missile dropkick. Knox applied a reverse Figure Four Leglock, but Haze reached the ropes. Haze went for the Heart Punch, but Knox avoided it. Knox hit a sideslam for a nearfall. Knox again hooked on a modified Figure Four, and she grabbed the ropes to get leverage for a pin! Good back-and-forth mat wrestling. ***1/4
* Allison Danger ran to ringside and complained to the ref about Knox using the ropes. Danger got on the mic and talked about the ROH Pure Title rules, and she challenged Knox to that match at the Volume 6 taping. (Each woman gets three rope breaks, then the ropes are in play.)
(10) Sara Del Ray defeats Mercedes Martinez at 21:56. Excellent match. This was a rematch from the Volume 1 taping. Mercedes wore a pink top and black pants. And Sara wore white & blue stars with lime green. They started with an intense lockup and some quick rollups. Sara hit a headbutt, and they traded suplexes, and they stood nose-to-nose in the ring. Did I mention how intense this was? Sara tied up Mercedes’ legs, and Mercedes hit some blows to the chest to escape. Mercedes applied a nice modified half-crab, but Sara reached the ropes at 8:30. Sara applied a Camel Clutch, then she hit a hard kick to the stomach.
Mercedes returned a hard kick to the stomach, and she hit some stiff forearms and chops in the corner. Sara tried to springboard off the ropes, but Mercedes caught her with a dropkick. They brawled to the floor, where Mercedes whipped Del Ray into the guardrail at 14:00! In the ring, Mercedes threw some punches, and she was in control. Mercedes hit a reverse suplex, dropping Sara on her head and stomach for a nearfall. Sara came back with a German Suplex with a bridge for a believable nearfall at 17:00, then a second-rope superplex, and the crowd popped.
Mercedes hit a back suplex. Sara hit a back elbow that sent Mercedes to the floor. Sara then dove through the ropes onto Mercedes on the floor, and both women were down at 19:30. In the ring, Mercedes applied an Octopus on the mat, but Sara managed to roll Mercedes over and score the pin! The finish came out of nowhere. The crowd gave the women a well-deserved standing ovation. On par with their great match at Volume 1. ***1/2
