Mae Young Classic Episode 6
1. Toni Storm vs. Lacey Evans
PAS: I wasn't looking forward to this match, as both ladies kind of annoy me. Still this ended up being pretty good, as it got real crowbarish. Storm kicked the lipstick off of Evens, Evens threw a straight right to the eye and a vicious body shot. Parts of this felt like a distaff Kurisu match. I also am happy Storm broke out the Dixie Driver, (the finish of Segunda Caida fave and JAPW legend Dixie). If you are going to have a match that is sort of awkward, potato shots are the way to go.
ER: The personalities of both of these two annoy the hell out of me. Toni Storm seems like someone who would do an interview and shoehorn in "oh my god I'm such a nerd!" But...this was actually really fucking good. Evans brings some good clunky matwork, a tough headscissors, stiff headlock, stiffer shoulderblock, a nice tough opening. Storm catches a boot and throws one of her own to Evans' sternum. Evans drops a slimmer Shocker style slingshot elbow that really lands, busts out a single leg takedown with a punch-to-the-gut chaser. Who are these girls!? Storm throws a northern lights bomb that looks like it bounces Evans on her head, then practically snaps her neck over her knee with a Dixie Driver. Holy shit, this was the meanest match of the tournament. Now I'm really bummed Evans didn't advance, but Storm was deserving here. Awesome stiff fest.
2. Mia Yim vs. Shayna Bayzler
PAS: One of my favorite matches of the tourney so far. Bayzler has a great cocky demeanor, and I loved how she acted like Yim was beneath her until Mia made her believe. I loved the smarmy turn down of the handshake, and the twisting of the ankle as almost a taunt. Yim had nice kicks some of the time, although some others looked a little performative, I did dig her tope though, one of the better WWE topes I can remember seeing. Finish was awesome with Bayzler violent yanking Yim on the landing of her 450 into a violent choke. I am all in on the Four Horsewoman show down, as it felt like the kind of battling dojo's thing you might see in Zero One.
ER: Oh man this was great too! Baszler was nice and cocky to start with Yim, and I really loved that bitchy ankle twisting, such a jerk move and a bully showoff, and then we got those rolling gutwrench suplexes that meant this match was going to be a win no matter what followed. Yim was good at being pissed off and focused, and that tope was not only a great tope by Yim, but shows that Baszler really knows how to make a tope look like a battering ram. Instead of deflecting-as-catching she just lets the tope totally engulf her, really making it look impossible to dodge. Yim catching the leg and maneuvering up into a delayed sit out powerbomb looked fantastic. But Baszler was a great snake in the grass, always looking for an opening, and the 450 on the finish was a little messy, but messy in an effective way. The messiness added to the shoot-y feel of it, catching the 450 with a choke. Really satisfying. And I fully got that battling dojo's vibe that Phil got. I wanted one of those FMW vs. Karate Dojo fights, with the 4 Horsewomen having fluffy mullets and wearing a bunch of Ocean Pacific short shorts and crop tops and Zubaz. This episode is the best.
3. Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai
PAS: Really fun Oceanic sprint. Ripley is still green, but she has sort of a uber-athletic charm, like a race horse learning to run. I loved the spot where she caught Kai on her shoulder and dropped her chin first on the apron, really felt like that should have ended a match. Kai has some fun kicks, loved her Chun Li backwards kick, and she has a super nasty face wash. Really nice set up of the warriors way and I dig the continued JAPW finisher tribute. Shayna really should have won with the cop killer.
ER: I was mildly into this, annoyed by the sing chanting but into the simple work that was happening, and then Ripley snaps me into things by whipping Kai jaw first into the ring apron as if she were beating a rug. Kai is a nutbar for agreeing to take that move; one inch off and she's looking for teeth. Ripley continues her devastation, tossing her up for a wicked flapjack. Kai responds with a stiff face wash, Ripley brings a short arm crescent kick and a jarring northern lights suplex. The girls this episode are trying to murder each other! That warriors way looked ankle shattering, like Kai was really trying to slam her feet through Ripley's face, hit or miss, she was gonna make it count. This episode rules.
4. Candice LeRae vs. Nicole Savoy
PAS: Savoy has been one of my favorite ladies to watch in this show, she would make an awesome Alexander Otsuka to Bayzler's Daisuke Ikeda in the all ladies WWE BattlArts spin off I am booking in my head. After not seeing any suplexes from her in the first round, she really chucks Candice with some nasty throws here, and I loved her work on the arm. Candice took a big time beating, but I didn't really buy her being fresh enough to pull off her finisher, still I enjoyed this match, and want to go down a Savoy youtube hole.
ER: I'm really happy how well Savoy delivered in her two matches. I told Phil she was one of the reasons I was so interested in the tournament, so it would have been awkward had she looked bad and I ended up just looking like a fan of hers for weirdo reasons. But really I'm happy that she was awesome. I like her slow builds. That first match saw her work a slow and patient armbar win, and this looked like her taking her time as well, showing she knew when she was and wasn't in trouble, and responding accordingly. I don't really buy LaRae's offense. I like how she takes moves, and think her in-ring charisma is solid, but I don't buy her offense. I bought Savoy's offense. I thought LeRae was a worthy competitor and a great spunky face, but I thought Savoy should have won. She should have been able to strongly counter the finish. But, I still liked this and it capped off the best episode of the tournament so far.
Labels: Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Lacey Evans, Mae Young Classic, Mia Yim, Nicole Savoy, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm
posted by Phil @ 10:00 PM
1 Comments:
1) I like the pageantry and all for creating a look to stand out but the current WWE presentation it is to out of place. Lucha Underground is what brought me back into wrestling because it was more of a Saturday cartoon element that got me interested in wrestling in the first place. Those costumes also relate to the action they bring to the ring.
The funny thing is Evans pushes a very feminist promo but many outside of the Suicidegirls would consider the cheesecake aspect to degrade women. So she creates a weird situation depending on ones views.
Unless you are a champion or an established top rank athlete like Bayzler the cockiness angle feels unearned and grates on me. You don't get a good promo before your match every time to put over why you have such an attitude. I get the mindset but like a comic book any wrestling show can be a persons first one and being cocky doesn't mean you are a heel.
So as far as the match. If Toni Storm acted as serious from start to finish like she did when she finally snapped out of the cockiness I think I could really enjoy her.
Thank you JR for reminding people the importance of basics. The match was great but many would write it off because Evans isn't flashy but brought a strong bare bones offense with some power that really worked.
2) I was kind of surprised Mia Yim got past the first round based on basic wrestling politics. She was the only one I knew outside those with already established NXT players. Never seen her actually wrestle but saw her a time or two in Impact Wrestling promos on POP during Big Brother After Dark and That 70's Show reruns. Glad those politics didn't hold her back in the tournament because though Sarah Logan I liked in the previous match her more straight ahead bringing of the violence could have led to a lesser match.
Some of the offense came of as robotic choreography and I am still not a fan of the MMA element but it is a great tool of bringing credibility to women's matches and helps get across that females shouldn't simply be in the bathroom break match before the main event.
3) This match really showed me the potential of both ladies.
I like Rhea's look and could tell she has much to learn. Would love to see a Big Sister/Lil Sister act in NXT with her and the Iconic Duo. Having Peyton and Billie try to improve her personal style and wrestling. Hazing her and Ripley eventually turning on them. If done right I think it could be a fun angle.
Dakota Kai I like how they are playing to her strengths. Wrestling you can get away with a lot because people are working together to pull off the slams and such. Here you have a small frame and they are creating a realistic offense unlike Enzo. The women side you can get really push a personality and she has that in spades. Her wrestling style may be a bit limiting but the sky's the limit for Dakota.
4) If they push forward the MMA 4 horsemen thing they going to continually push the Roderick Strong baby daddy connection too? It is as cheap as a face putting over the city they are wrestling in. I have probably seen at this point LeRae as much as Liv Morgan since I started watching NXT and that is one of my problems with her. I could easily confuse the two.
I am bad I don't keep up with the local wrestling but that is what happens when you are at least 3 hours in every direction away from the hot beds of wrestling audiences. Long gone are the days when the fairgrounds here hosting wrestling with the likes of Saito, Fuji, etc that my mother and older coworkers can recall from their youths. When refs would have to come in to untie the figure four leg lock. Hey maybe some day when you can have local metal fests headlined by the likes of Death Angel, the indian casino's getting hotels, and those same casino's hosting cage fighting; you never know.
I may never have seen Savoy and others coming up from the California Inde ranks but it is always nice to see homegrown talent make good and proud to recognize their roots when choosing the city they hail from.
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