AEW Five Fingers of Death 10/30 - 11/5 (BONUS)

Ring of Honor 11/2/23

Athena vs Mercedes Martinez

MD: One part of AEW's booking I am absolutely vibing with is what Athena's up to in Ring of Honor. A week ago this time, I thought I'd be writing about her vs Mercedes on Monday but then they snuck a few matches in on Collision and I'm not going to say no to Dustin. That said, I thought I'd add in a bonus this week. The only reason that Athena, given the generational run that she's on, isn't the fifth Finger is that I just think my reviews of her matches would be repetitive. It's me, not them. She's great. There are variations in opponents, even just down to how and when she works the magic forearm into the matches or how her opponents deal with the left handed handshake that she starts every match with, those things, but the general story would be the same: she's an amazing midpoint between character and athleticism. There's only so many ways I can say that, but I haven't said it for a while, so let me do it here.

I never knew quite what to make of Ember Moon. She had that athleticism. She was smooth, wrestled hard, had a cool finisher, but I just never had a sense of who she was supposed to be. I know exactly who 2023 Athena is. The character jumps off the screen with the sort of magnetic unpredictability and sheer verve for life and thirst for chaos of a Terry Funk or Negro Casas. She mentions porcelain hussies, but it's almost as if some ancient statue developed a hairline crack in transit and a primal force of nature was released upon the world. One of the most frustrating parts of trying to rate or list wrestlers is that so much is based on opportunity. On some level, talent should drive opportunity. On another, it's all driven by a fickle power imbalance. The character of Athena was forged by the pressure of that talent constrained and confined, potential energy massing, volcanic forces building, until she was unleashed unto an environment where talent was simply undeniable, modern ROH.

2023 Ring of Honor is wrestling for the sake of wrestling put together by people who love wrestling for people who love wrestling. You don't end up watching Ring of Honor by accident. You're not a casual fan if you watch Ring of Honor. Unconstrained by the pressures of quarterly ratings, ad breaks, and demographic trends, it has steady storytelling and gets to showcase a variety of different styles. On any given show you're likely to see a crazy four way spotfest, three women's matches, a couple of squashes, a pure rules match, and a bunch of enjoyable backstage interviews. It took a bit for things to come back into focus once the show left the studio, but the last month or two has been pretty solid. Yes, being taped after Collision means that it's a smaller crowd, but it's a crowd that packs down towards ringside and that really wants to be there. 

And it's the home to the best story in the company, Athena's mentoring of Billie Starkz. Billie, having just turned 19, has found herself under Athena's wing. She forced herself there through persistence and pluck, through being sharp and intelligent but holding none of the wisdom of age or experience (though she has more matches under her belt than quite a few members of the roster, even if I kind of wish she'd scale back on that early match German suplex she does, sorry). She's gifted and ambitious and carries with her a positivity that lets her see the best in every opportunity. She has a courage that is blind but in showing no fear, has yet to incur the wrath of Athena; by nature, a predator strikes out first against those that fear it.

I'll admit that I worried that the pairing might soften the dangerous unpredictability inherent in Athena's character. The skits are legitimately funny (and as an aside, Lexie is exceptional in them, showing more depth every week not just in those but also in of her backstage interviews). But then Terry Funk was funny. Roddy Piper was funny. They could balance it because you never knew when things would turn. You never knew when something benign might be seen as a slight. You never knew with jovial acceptance might turn into homicidal rage. Every time Billie saves an opponent from a post match belt-planting, every time she refuses to cheat, it becomes a game of Russian Roulette played by a woman young enough to think erroneously that she'll live forever. 

Meanwhile, in search of acceptance, Billie continues to edge more and more over lines that she wouldn't have imagined crossing just a few months before. And it makes sense. She's gifted. She achieved great success early on. She's the valedictorian thrust into a world of adults, the kid who stumbles into a grad school class proclaiming that she got a 5 on the AP Exam. And why wouldn't she want to learn from the pinnacle, from the one of the most dominant ROH champions ever? So she learns lessons that change her just a little, one after the next. She becomes better and stronger, enduring gaslighting and bullying, not seeing that success will make her not just an eventual threat to Athena, but maybe even a monster herself. We're all just watching and waiting, teased and tempted by the hope that everything might turn out okay but secretly yearning for the railroad crash ahead down the tunnel. We're wrestling fans. It's what we do.

And then there's Mercedes Martinez, finally winning a belt that didn't even exist when she was making her mark. I saw Mercedes wrestle Sumie Sakai back in NECW in 2002. That's a foundational indy wrestling memory for me. In some ways, she's the perfect opponent for Athena; absolute confidence in the ring, the same sort of reactive presence in the moment, a shared history between them, every bit of offense looking credible and nasty. The run that Athena's on now? That should have been Mercedes' run, except for the opportunity that exists now didn't exist then. Their first ROH match was Athena's coronation, Mercedes a victim of the Texas location as much as anything else. For this one she had the homestate advantage, down to her sister being in the crowd. She had the momentum, Billie having eaten a fall in a tag match to create the first blemish on Athena's ROH record to set this up. 

The match itself went around fifteen, hard-hitting with an epic feel despite not wearing out its welcome. You can have a back and forth title match but it needs a few things to ensure coherence: competiveness, sharp and meaningful transitions, selling that creates consequence. I'll talk about the first two within the confines of the match but let me spend a moment with the last one; it's important because it's easier to build a narrative around a long stretch of control, or using shine/heat/comeback as a structure, and a match like this doesn't lean on those. When the match goes back and forth, it becomes all the more important to show that each move, even if chunked into smaller bits or decentralized throughout the match, still somehow matters. Selling allows that to happen. 

This nailed all three. The transitions were great. Athena turned the handshake into an opportunity for the magic forearm. Mercedes took over on the outside when Athena ripped up her sister's sign. Athena came back by landing on her feet out of a spider German. Mercedes used Diamante as a distraction multiple times, both to set up transitions and to protect big bombs that were going to be used as false finishes down the stretch. Athena came back by turning the chair-assisted double stomp attempt on the floor into a gnarly superplex off the guardrail. And then they sold, milking the 20 count on the outside. When they came back in throwing fists and forearms and kicks, there was a deliberate staggering after each one. This exchange wasn't just to show fighting spirit but to create a sense of violence manifesting the idea that they were trying to hurt one another and get an advantage. They weren't trying to prove their toughness; they were trying to prove that their forearm could go through the other wrestler's face. 

All of that built to a finishing stretch which took full advantage of the large arsenal of each wrestler. Even though finishers were kicked out of either due to resolve or distraction (or when it came to blocking the Brass City Sleeper, sharp teeth), there was always a bit of escalation they were leaving in their deep, deep pockets that avoided the need for repetition. The finish itself weaved everything back to the overarching story. Billie redeemed herself and got recognition and praise (even if not the specific love she sought). In doing so she crossed yet another line, the sharpest and reddest one yet. What she wants may be what she needs to be great (as opposed to losing matches on Rampage as Athena noted), but in obtaining it, will Billie Starkz realize that she's not Space Jesus but instead Icarus, flying far too close to the burning sun that is the Fallen Goddess? ROH TV allows for a steady deliberate pace. Given how well the slow drip of development is going and that they're just starting to milk this other side of Athena's compelling tweener persona (a heel so committed to the act and so undeniable that the crowd gets behind her even though she hasn't changed a single thing about herself), there's still so much meat on the bone. Supercard of Honor feels like a better destination than Final Battle so long as they can find a compelling enough match for Athena next month. Given the dubious way she lost, I wouldn't mind them going back to Mercedes, just with a literal chain instead of a figurative one between them.

I wrote about this a bit when talking about MJF and the Righteous but I feel like we got the balance all wrong as a community over the decades. Workrate became our false idol and we lost sight of the point. Character and narrative are the starting points; they're the "need to have"s. Workrate, athleticism, those are the nice to haves. Once you have the foundation, you can build upon it. The very best wrestlers, the greatest wrestlers, the top of the top, are the ones who tap into both sides of the balance, that grip hearts and minds with how deeply they submerge themselves into their personas and the stories that they're telling, and then can execute those stories with precision and intensity enough to create the most thrilling suspension of disbelief imaginable. If you have just one side of it, you have something seamless but potentially lifeless. With just the other, you're left with excitement that's hollow and quickly forgotten. With Athena, you get that perfect blend of alchemy, the component elements coming together to create something more than the sum of their parts, that ideal mix that makes professional wrestling unique and compelling. 

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NXT TakeOver: In Your House 6/13/21

We still can't rewind or start from beginning on Peacock, and I had Sunday errands. Why is Peacock this bad? Remember when we complained about the Network? Nobody wants to talk about it but this is clearly digital pro wrestling slowly turning into the lamest I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I'll go back and pick up the stuff I missed once it's actually online. It's going to be really nice watching one of these with a decent crowd. There are so many of these acts who have barely played in front of people, and right on first sight this show has a great "packed local indy" energy to it. [Edit: Was I actually on time for this? I assumed it was 4:00 PM but if it's 5:00 then I guess I made it?]

Legado Del Fantasma vs. Bronson Reed/MSK

ER: I came into this one an unsure number of minutes, but it's one I was excited about on this card. Wilde and Mendoza are a pair of underrated in ring players right now, and you could say the same but lesser for MSK. The Dusty Classic was the best TV period for WWE this year and the energy hasn't been as good since that ended. The whole thing was great, and nearly every single participant has felt lost since. This whole thing is really great, as even when WWE has matches with actual luchadors in it, they don't always connect as actual lucha matches. But this really had the feel of a really strong lucha trios, and it's a shame we don't get more TV matches with the Legado del Fantasma trio. This is the best I've seen Reed look all year, a guy who appeared to be suffering from New Keith Lee syndrome. Here he was the great lucha wrecking ball, a large presence that could flattens someone to peak a sequence, like big Super Porky spots without any jokes attached. MSK were really fun getting set up over and over but LdF, and LdF's timing and rhythm were firing hard here. Reed acting as the big cut off to LdF's runs was a good way to lay this out, and I have no doubts that they could have worked a really good 2/3 Falls match (and there's no reason they still can't, ehhhhh?). Wes Lee is a good FIP and I just love Wilde and Mendoza do their thing. Mendoza was great at taking everyone's offense, getting just leveled by a Reed avalanche and having some great vocals and facials after getting flattened with more. Reed crashing Escobar through the hockey barricade looked like convenience store footage of a compact car crashing into the front beer display. Great moment. This match is literally only the 2nd time this year we've gotten the full trios version of Legado del Fantasma, and that needs to change, because this quality can't be denied. 

Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

ER: I'm probably 2-3 months behind on NXT TV so I always see TakeOvers way before the set up, so I don't know how we got here, but I really like the energy that they take into it. Pretty early we settle into Li convincingly bullying Martinez around the ring and ringside, and you need a lot of ring confidence to bully Martinez. I'm a fan of Li's current thing, a little more Lucha Underground than the typical NXT gimmick. She runs Martinez into the ringpost and the turnbuckles, bends her around the post, and eventually throws a nasty high kick right into that same damn post in a great spot. Not only does the spot look great, but it changes the total energy of the match in a cool way, as now Li is the underdog babyface and Martinez is never more interesting than when she's stalking prey. Li is compelling when desperately fighting out of slams, and Martinez drops her with some nasty suplexes and slams. I like Li as a brow furrowed ass kicker, and I like her as a big bumping babyface. If you're taking a high backdrop on the floor on a show I watch? I am into you. I love how they had Li's big spinkick be the clean finish, made it feel like a huge singles win. This went the exact right length, and this is probably the best we've seen look in a longer match. Martinez gets a lot of credit, but Li now looks like a super confident performer who can work face or heel, and her look is excellent. Really loved the energy they sustained. 

LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes

ER: I cannot help to love how Grimes moves to his To The Moon entrance song, it just fits. I'm pretty over ladder matches at this point, but I liked what these two did with the played out ladder match. Knight especially was great at turning non-spots into big moments, with strong stuff like trying to slam the ladder on Grimes and missing. To the Moon is a great way to get fans into it, and Knight was an old indy pro at keeping it a strong rallying cry. The build was really good and they knew how to start with bullshit, build to fighting around the ladder, then throw in your painful bumps. Knight has been at this game practically as long as AJ Styles, and he felt like a great AJ Styles heel here. Knight had a killer backdrop bump onto the ladder, and a Lawler level face first run into the top of a ladder. He was great at stooging to set up all of Grimes' comebacks, snapping over on Grimes' ranas (in ring and to the floor), and fed perfectly into two nice Grimes punts. Grimes gets crazier the longer the match goes, scaling a ringside ladder and escaping to ringside rigging, then does a sheer drop onto Knight with a crossbody. He tops that with a crazy CZW type spill, getting tipped in gross fashion from the top into the entrance ramp. I liked the Knight win, but that might be just because I really liked Knight in this match. Definitely exceeded my expectations. 

 

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon

ER: Raquel has been such a wonderful presence in the women's division, a role that seemed like she might have been rushed into and yet all it did was make her immediately grow into the role. She is so good at selling for smaller opponents and is so good at pacing things out. She knows how to be dominant while leaving openings, and then her selling during those openings is so good that she seems actually beatable, before she slams the doors shut again. She uses her long limbs very effectively, lashing out with big clubbing shots and reaching out with kicks to the stomach, but when she's in close she unleashes different attacks. Her elbows really rock Moon, and she does this awesome over shoulder backbreaker while bending at Moon's neck and chin (then flipping her hard to get her back to the mat), and when Moon makes her big press back I loved how she paid Raquel back for all of the specific things she did. Moon hits a fantastic running clothesline, and Moon must love Raquel as an opponent as you can always tell she throws her offense even harder than usual and Raquel just leans right into it. Moon kicked things up a level when she locked in a deathlock variation and yanked Raquel by the ponytail, mouth, and throat to pull her deeper into the submission. Moon has complicated offense and I'm impressed she almost always manages to pull it off better than it could be pulled off, but Gonzalez is again someone who has an uncanny ability to take complicated offense, so, well. Ember Moon got to hang with Gonzalez and look like she belonged, Dakota Kai was a treat at ringside (I love the dynamic of the Raquel/Kai partnership), and I love how Raquel's wins are always big exclamation marks. Dominant champ who can sell, then wins definitively, is a simple formula. This could be absurd hype with a year of hindsight, and I wouldn't expect him to touch his peak, but she's progressing in a way that could be as impressive as Brock's initial rise. The potential is right there. 

Kyle O'Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole vs. Karrion Kross

ER: Here's the one on paper landmine on the show, and the way they start does not make me optimistic that they'll escape landmine status. I think it will all depend on the runtime. But I did not need to see Kross work his Karate Rockette routine while everyone else busies themselves on the floor, really not liking how Kross is the denominator for all the early stretches. Everyone else waits their turn to go one on one or two on one with Kross and the Kross show is the weakest routine in the match. And you know what? This match wasn't totally for me, and it almost surely wasn't ever going to be. So, knowing that, you go in hoping that it will at least be good for what it is, and it was. If you are the kind of person who sees these 5 names in a main event and assume it's going at least 30, and you are EXCITED for it, then this definitely gave you every single thing you could have wanted. It went too long (obviously it was going to go too long) but was laid out well once they moved past the Kross one on ones. 

This is modern wrestling based around constant counters, constant commentary talking about the counters, and constant guys looking over the shoulder waiting for the timing to be right. It's distracting, but it's tough to time things perfectly with an odd number of guys, and if you were a fan of late 2000s PWG main events then I'd be surprised if you didn't enjoy this. I have no interest in going through 30 minutes of spots, but O'Reilly and Gargano took some heavy bumps (loved O'Reilly getting shoved off the top to the floor and basically cannonballing to the floor), Gargano got powerbombed into the edge of the apron by Kross in what looked like the worst possible landing, both guys really kept this pumping. Gargano went really wild here, my favorite stretch of the match was when he was flying all over the place. He hit a fast bullet tope that almost sent him straight into the announce table, and his tope tornado DDT on Dunne was a real feat for both. I also found myself rooting for O'Reilly when he had that sick Volk Han leg lock sunk in. Also a big fan of the timing it took for the double superkick to actually look good on Dunne's moonsault. This spots are an inch either way from either murdering a man or looking awful, and this one looked great. I think anyone would have taken that over a continued Reign of Kross. But hey, if you already wanted to see this match, you are happy, and that is what's most important. This is about the best this style can get for me, which means it was technically my least favorite match on the show, but it didn't tank the show at all. 

ER: This was a great show, every match delivered what people excited for that match would want. Seeing  Legado del Fantasma as a trio was a treat, Xia Li stepped up into the spotlight nicely, Raquel and Ember tore it down (Raquel has delivered on big NXT shows this year like literally no other person on the roster), and the ladder match was strong. Great show, kept a great pace, only really felt like it was dragging during some stretches of the main. Highly recommended show. 

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Monday AIW - Bobblehead Night 9/20/19

Bitcoin Boys (Mikey Montgomery/Eric Taylor) vs. Aeroform (Louis Lyndon/Flip Kendrick) vs. The Production (Danhausen/Derek Director) vs. 40 Acres (AJ Gray/Tre Lamar)

PAS: AIW four team scrambles are maybe my favorite thing in current wrestling. This match was missing some of the regular standouts (WHERE ARE THE FUCK-ITS?!?!), but was still a blast. This match was really high flyer heavy and we got some really nifty dives by the Bitcoin Boys, Aeroform and Tre Lamar. There was also some nasty double teams, including a spot where Derek Director takes Tre Lamar on his back and smushes a Bitcoin Boy with a cannonball in the corner. The Bitcoin Boys had some moments of questionable offense, but took huge uncalled for beatings in this match, and that is always fun to watch. I didn't love the finish, and this wasn't at the level of the best AIW 4 way tags, but that is a super high bar to clear.

Dominic Garrini vs. Alex Shelley

PAS: There were moments in this I liked, but overall came away disappointed. Dom looked great, and the opening sections where you had Shelley doing his flashy matwork, only to be countered by cool Ju-Jitsu flourishes was a lot of fun. Outside of that though, I thought this was way too much of Garrini being a dance partner to Shelley's do-si-doing. It looked like a dance routine, and Garrini went down way too easily for such a top guy in this promotion. I can't remember the last time I saw Shelley, and I want to forget this time.

D'Lo Brown/Twan Tucker vs. Parker Pierce/Dr. Dan Montgomery

PAS: AIW does a nice job of delivering on their nostalgia acts. D'Lo hit all of his big spots, albeit quite a bit slower then in the 90s (no Low Down, but he did miss a second rope moonsault). Dr. Dan is a nice foil for whoever they bring in, and took an insane Powerbomb neck first on the guardrail from Twan which was uncalled for. Twan brought the intensity to what was otherwise basically a comedy match, and the Parker Pierce feud is fun, if not a bit of a side drain to a guy who was building big momentum. I am ready for Twan to move on to bigger and better things, or at a minimum getting a Manders rematch.

Erick Stevens vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Zach 

PAS: This had some moments I liked, and some moments I didn't care for. I enjoyed watching Thomas and Stevens hit each other, and didn't love watching Yuta and Moriarty find athletic ways to miss each other. Thomas is a big boy and wrestles like it. He had some fun power spots and he and Stevens would lace into each other whenever possible. Moriarty is seemingly on every AIW show in a four way and I still don't get it, he and Yuta really feel like they are counting dance steps in their head. I gripe about the guys AIW isn't booking, but there is no reason for Young Studs, Fuck It's and Weird World to be on the sidelines and have a match with these guys spinning each other around like they are on America's Next Great Dance Crew.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Dr. Britt Baker

PAS: This is Baker's swan song in AIW before going to AEW, and it really makes you wonder why she is the one of these two ladies who is signed. Martinez had one of the best matches of last year with Meiko Satomura, and looks like a killer in this match. Baker looks tentative and her stuff looks weak. She does slingblades and slowly rolls Mercedes into submissions, and I just don't see it. I give Baker credit for taking the beating she took, but come on, someone pay Mercedes.

Nick Gage vs. Wes Barkley

PAS: This opens with Josh Bishop clanking Gage with a Kendo stick from the audience, and Barkley and Bishop double team Gage for a bit, busting him open and Wes slams him on thumbtacks and Legos. After that bit of offense, its the violent squash you would expect with Barkley getting tossed around the ring into things and bleeding badly (he tries the mid air Michaels blade job, but does it really obviously, someone needs to do an AIW school seminar on blading secretly). Finish has Gage spearing Bishop through a table, and giving Barkley a chokebreaker on the top of a chair. Props to Wes for taking a pounding, this was basically the worlds most violent Ultimate Warrior vs. Bobby Heenan.

Philly Marino Experience (Philly C/Marino T) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

PAS: Another absolute banger from these two teams, I can't remember the last time a tag rivalry has been this consistently excellent (maybe Usos vs. New Day although that got worn out after a while.) The storytelling of this match was a bit different, your previous matches have been all about PME trying to climb the mountain and unseat the champs, here they have knocked TIAB off that mountain and are trying to keep them down. Cheech and Colin are a bit less sure of themselves, a little more desperate and PME are on a roll. Philly takes a huge backdrop onto the ramp and sells a bad back for the finishing run really well, that little bit of tentativeness costs him a couple of times. We get good heat sections on both PMErs and a cool hot run, with Infinity trying all of their dirty tricks. I loved the couple of big near falls after the hot tag, and the super Sunset Dreams is a great escalation finish.  I also appreciate how both team work towards real heel and face reactions, there is no "Fight Forever" or "Both These Guys" chants in their matches, just beloved babyfaces fighting against dastardly heels.

Matthew Justice vs. Mance Warner

PAS: This was a fun ECW nostalgia brawl, lots of unprotected chairs right to the top of the head, and long construction projects leading to hard painful falls. I really like Mancer's facial expression when he gets hit hard in the head, he is one of the better looking bloody faces in wrestling. If Wrestling Eye was still a thing he would make a great cover model. I enjoyed this, even though it was pretty dumb. Justice kicks out of a top rope piledriver through two tables for fucks sake. Sort of a stepson of Sabu versus third cousin of Terry Funk and it is hard not to at least be glad you watched it.

Tom Lawlor vs. KTB

PAS: This was good stuff, one of the better Lawlor title defense for sure. KTB brings this fun sprint intensity to all of his matches, and these guys go right at each other reckless from the start. They wing punches and chops and don't pause to stare and make faces at each other. KTB has really fun power spots, including just powering Lawlor over the top rope when Lawlor was stomping on his chest, and Lawlor does some cool MMA counters, like catching KTB mid spear in a guillotine choke, and snatching him out of the air into triangle chokes. Never lets up and ends cool and clean. Really a house show title match, and the post match Bishop angle sets up the next big title defense perfectly.

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Mae Young Classic 2018 Episode 5

Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

ER: This one kept having me and then losing me. I liked the first half for the most part, and the stretch lost me. I thought the strike exchange was weak, the weird rope running weaker, and Storm's selling and facials the weakest. When Toni cut the cutesy crap she was better, and she certainly has no problem eating tough suplexes, that nasty kneedrop to the stomach, or hard lariats to the neck. I like how heavy Storm bumps; she doesn't look super athletic when she bumps, which works well as it makes suplexes look harder and makes lariats look like she's running into a low tree branch. The early parts with wristlocks and headscissor escapes were more interesting than bad learned behavior rope running, or Matsumoto clumsily taking forever to do a old  powerbomb turned into a Boston Crab. She held Storm's legs awkwardly for way too long, and Storm basically had to hold still until Matsumoto turned it into a nice single crab. I really didn't think this had any decent flow, despite some good moments (and that's been a running theme of this tourney so far).

Kacy Catanzaro vs. Rhea Ripley

ER: This was really fun. Ripley has great presence, and her size reads bigger than she actually is (and no it's not just because she's against a tiny human). Most of Catanzaro's offense doesn't look too plausible against someone like Ripley, but I really liked how Ripley made it look plausible. She didn't take light headscissors as if she was getting launched across the ring, more took them as if they were knocking her off balance. It's always annoying when much larger opponents bump the same for every opponent regardless of size, and Ripley doesn't act like any of these moves are devastating, but sells them appropriately. Kacy does important things really well, and her tight roll up was maybe my favorite spot in the match, fully grapevining Ripley's leg before they had even rolled fully over, clamping Ripley's legs shut. It actually looked like something that could have finished the match. Ripley's power offense to take over was really fun, nice cocky suplexes, show off dropkicks, a cool standing Cloverleaf variation, and that match finishing Riptide was about as gif-worthy as things get. Catanzaro was mostly good at the stick and move stuff, got hung up a bit on that Mascarita Sagrada spinning DDT, but Ripley spiked herself nicely and had some good comedic flailing after. This was a fun one, and I'm glad Ripley advanced.

Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Lane

ER: I wasn't sure what they were going to do with this one, both being still pretty new. They kept it to a tight 150 seconds. It was kind of clumsy but in a fun way, throwing awkward knees, getting tossed by hair, Lane tying up Conti in kind of weird ways. Conti has some cool judo throws and it's awesome that WWE in 2018 has two women working judoka gimmicks. Lane's crucifix was nice and snug, looked like a pinfall. This was probably the quickest match of the tournament, but it was fun and effective.

Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez

PAS: An absolute classic, maybe the best WWE Women's match of all time. Satomura is incredible, in the early chain wrestling sections she looked like the best wrestler in the world. The way she transitioned from a collar and elbow lock up into an armbar was intricate and flawless, the hammerlock into an armdrag, into an armbar with a knee on the neck this was simple stuff done as well as it can be done. Martinez looked good in those sections as well, not as crisp as Meiko, but the bit of grime worked well with her character. After getting out wrestled early, Martinez tries to turn it into a fight, and lays in with huge thudding shots, Meiko worked a dozen Aja Kong matches so isn't afraid to escalate the violence and we get some of the stiffest wrestling ever in a WWE branded ring. Thudding forearms, punishing kicks and knees the kind of thing that leave deep bruises which last for weeks. Martinez used her size and power really well, I loved that choke bomb, tons of force and Meiko landed poorly. The entire section where Martinez was fighting out of the Fujiwara armbar was great too, I loved how all the counter attempts were counter countered, until she finally is able to get a foot on the ropes. The finish run was great, I loved all of Mercedes's selling at the end, the limp collapse from the axe kick put over both the violence of the move and the fatigue of the war they were in.

ER: Hot damn I thought I had pretty high expectations for this one, and this completely demolished my expectations. This is definitely the best women's match in WWE history, and we have had some WWE women's matches pretty high on our MOTY list the past couple years. This had a totally different pace and structure than most WWE matches, and from a kayfabe perspective it was exciting as neither woman felt out of the match, always felt like one could feasibly end it. I don't check ahead on results so honestly had no idea who would be advancing, so I was going nuts down the stretch. Rachel was positive Mercedes was advancing, I was positive Meiko would be...but was getting swayed by Rachel, and Mercedes' strong showing. All the early moments were tough, nice headlocks, headscissors, Satomura looking like she could maneuver to north/south and transition to any single one of Mercedes' limbs with her eyes closed. Things ramped up for me when Satomura fired off two quick kicks to the chest to drop Martinez, then drops a knee right into her neck. Meiko's knees are absolutely terrifying; I hate things touching my neck, the thought of wearing a turtleneck makes me anxious (luckily I...don't often think about wearing turtlenecks, so I'm pretty safe), and Meiko was making me watch this match while covering my throat with my hands. I loved Mercedes fighting back, working a guillotine, coming at Meiko with hard strikes and uppercuts and slams, and I like how each momentum shift almost seems like a surprise, not a preordained thing. Each of their transitions back to offense didn't necessarily have a smooth flow, which benefitted them, as every time one would fight back it felt just like that - fighting back, not wanting to give up ground. Meiko starts putting on a clinic, reversing a fisherman's buster into an armbar, and that armbar looked worthy of finishing a match. And obviously that's what made all of this so great, that so much of it looked worthy of finishing the match, without ever once feeling like they were burning through actual finishers. Mike Awesome/Masato Tanaka matches also had a few dozen things that looked like finishers, but it was just guys hitting big moves and then getting up and taking big moves, like you were demoing finishers while making a bitchin' CAW. Here their moves look very worthy, but it always seems plausible when both escape or kickout.

Meiko's arm bar was one of the nastiest I've seen, totally expected that to end, but Mercedes kept rolling while also getting her arm bent straight behind her, Meiko great at starting the armbar at 3 and cranking it up to 9 the longer it was on, allowing the spot to build and breathe and not look silly that Mercedes wasn't tapping immediately. Meiko hits a heavy frog splash, big knees, and an absolutely spine shortening DDT. I loved how Martinez took that DDT, loved her forward crumple, her defeated child's pose. I certainly wasn't expecting a kickout after Meiko's cartwheel knee aimed to behead Martinez, and Martinez looked to drill Meiko through the mat when she finally hit her fisherman's buster (on the third overall attempt). Meiko's slumped over sell on the mat after kicking out was an awesome visual. Fully agree that Mercedes' selling was impressive, loved her dropping to a knee from fatigue, allowing Meiko to hit a low spin kick. The sell reminded me of one of my favorite's from last year, in the Cain Justice/Cecil Scott match, when Cain hits Scott with a big shot and Scott lurches forward before falling, his will to fight being a second ahead of his pain. This was a stone classic, and Meiko can do no wrong. I have no clue what exactly she will get out of Lane in the next round, but I can tell you at this point I'm not looking forward to anything else in the tournament more than that.

ER: Well, good luck to the rest of the people in the Mae Young Classic, you got some mighty shoes to fill. Who can credibly beat Meiko at this point? As you may have expected, that is one very easy, very high add to our 2018 Ongoing MOTY List.

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Mae Young Classic 2018 Episode 2

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Priscilla Kelly

ER: Is there anyone other than original World of Sport guys who can make those "crawling on knees through legs" spots look good? So far I don't think I've seen it look anything but dumb. Early parts of this had stuff I didn't like, the WoS cosplay, and Kelly weirdly looking like she was barely running during spots that required running, but I thought the last couple minutes delivered. Once Kelly locked in a nasty dragon sleeper I was into it, and only got more into it when Purrazzo cracked her with a great back elbow. Finish was cool with Purrazzo rolling into a nasty Fujiwara armbar that really looked like she was ripping Kelly's arm off. They kept it short and relatively timely, and did enough things that I dug.

Zeuxis vs. Aerial Monroe

ER: Zeuxis is easily one of my favorite ladies in CMLL, and her shiny hair makes her look like she's in a lucha Pantene Pro-v commercial. The secret is conditioner y'all. There was some awkwardness here, possibly due to language barrier, the first couple rope running and strike exchange spots didn't look good. Zeuxis can be pretty vicious in CMLL and appeared to be holding back a bit here, and it was a weird spot to be in as she was up against the clear local babyface (and also awkward that the local babyface also really wanted to trash talk during the match), and should have worked more overtly ruda. The best parts were when that ruda side was at the forefront, like when she was fishhooking Monroe or tossed her crotch first on the top rope and immediately smacking her, and I really liked her bridging pin. Monroe has good in-ring confidence, but got a little too cute with some of her offense. It wasn't bad, but I was expecting more.

Kacy Catanzaro vs. Reina Gonzalez

ER: Catanzaro is really tiny, which only makes Reina look bigger, and I'm glad Reina's back this year. I really liked her opposite Nicole Savoy in last year's tournament, and that armbar finish was one of the best finishes of 2017. And I liked her here and am really bummed she didn't advance. Catanzaro is clearly an impressive athlete but I can't get too excited for another CrossFit wrestler with tiny offense that couldn't crack an egg. The structure of this was problematic too, as Reina slammed her around the ring for a few minutes, but Catanzaro was springing around for the finish. I liked all of Reina's offense here, and working against someone who is barely 100 lb. is only going to help that. She had nice stuff aside from throwing around a Lilliputian, had nice stomps and a good elbow drop. I'm fine with Catanzaro winning with a roll up I guess, but didn't think any of her offense looked very plausible with the size difference. The "three cheers for Kacy!" post bell stuff, lifting her up like she was Rudy after sacking a QB, only made me dislike it more.

Ashley Rayne vs. Mercedes Martinez

ER: Not sure why we get the Madison Rayne name change, has she actually signed with WWE? I guess it doesn't matter; Rayne has been around for ages now and she's never really impressed me, and that didn't change here. She gets up for and takes offense fine, but never leaves a lasting impression on me. I've literally been seeing her in matches for over a decade now and barely remember a thing. Martinez looked good, like the delayed vertical suplex (odd that we don't see that often anymore, a vertical suplex somehow seems special now), a knee into a fisherman's buster is a good finish, although maybe not in a match that also saw her doing a nasty cradle driver. This whole thing was worked fairly even, which is problematic as I didn't think Rayne's offense looked even with Martinez's. This one got the most time of the episode, but overall didn't do a ton for me.

ER: Episode 2 moved quickly but won't make much of a lasting impression. As with last year I'm sure the matches will continue to get better in the later rounds, and this episode wasn't bad, more "mostly inoffensive".

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Mae Young Classic Episode 8

1. Shayna Baszler vs. Mercedes Martinez

PAS: This was a nasty little scrap. Martinez had a Tenryu vibe about her as she was lighting up Bayzler with hard forearms and chops, including some that would rise up the throat area. This match really made Bayzler look tough as she took a physical pounding and was still able to pull out the win. Loved how the knee bar took the toll, and made it a little harder for Mercedes to lift Bayzler for the second fisherman's buster, great bit of subtle selling by Martinez. That finishing choke was brutal looking, Samoa Joe should really study Bayzler if he want's to get his finisher over more. The booking was a little weird though, they had done a great job getting Shayna over as a heel, and this was a pretty babyface performance, including a post match emotional hug. The match itself I enjoyed a bunch.

ER: This was awesome. I had said I thought Martinez had underperformed so far, well, she sure showed me. She was an absolute machine in this, dictating the pace from go. I liked how Baszler threw out a slow leg kick to test distance and Martinez just rushed her during the follow through, sending Baszler scrambling for much of the match. I thought Mercedes' chops, elbows and downward strike punches looked killer. Baszler looked completely dumbstruck during the attacks and it made Martinez look great. The knee bar was great and I loved how Martinez handled it, using the killshot fisherman buster instead to give her space. All of the suplexes looked concussive, the Saito suplexes just ragdolled Baszler, and that german was aces. I agree with Phil about Martinez' subtle knee selling, quickly going for the buster but not being as quick with it, allowing Shayna to plant that knee to the gut, leading to her dropping Martinez into the choke. The choke was death, that forearm looked fully wedged into Martinez' windpipe, the tap inevitable. I agree that the face/heel dynamics were totally against the rest of the tournament, and even within the match they were weird: Martinez' selling during that choke was a huge babyface moment, going from monster one moment to a mouse getting squeezed by a snake the next moment. But the match was gold, best of the tourney so far. Also, Joe's choke is insanely over. Lesnar is a guy who gets a deep red face just from brushing his teeth, but Joe choked him until he looked like roided up Grimace.

2. Kairi Sane vs. Toni Storm

PAS: This was worked in epic 2017 style, and had many of the pluses and negatives of that style. There were some big moments, the dive to the floor by Sane was pretty great, and the bruising on her face added to the violence of the match, I also really liked Storm's armbar she really cranked it and made it look vicious. It did feel a bit like a forced epic though, that puro forearm exchange was stinko, and there was a lot of anguish face near falls. I think it served its purpose, but I am never going to like this kind of match as much as I am going to like something like Devi v. Kai.

ER: This really didn't move me at all. It had cool individual moments, but the build felt completely disjointed and there always seemed to be a reset moment in between big moments. And the resets were all just ugly mouth screams. I think that bridged armbar from Storm was arguably the nastiest moment of the tournament, and also one of the biggest failures of the tournament. It was locked on for far too long, way too far from the ropes, and Sane spent so much time in it that I just couldn't believe in any more of their work. It looked far too strong, and seeing her just last through it for so long just got silly. Although I weirdly would have liked it had she won after reversing into a crucifix pin. It reminded me of that Dynamite Kid/Bret Hart match from 1985 where Dynamite drops an absolutely insane knee drop from the middle rope, 2/3 the way across the ring, right onto the back of Bret's head. And the match ended a minute later with a Bret roll up. The most brutal spot of 1980s WWF was barely a 2 count. Here we have an armbar that looks like the submission of the year, and it didn't even convince Kairi to try using a different arm. It made her scream some more, but she had already spent the entire match screaming, so who cares. They got their "This is wrestling" chant, but the emotions felt forced throughout.

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Mae Young Classic Episode 7

1. Abbey Laith vs. Mercedes Martinez

PAS: This took a bit to get going, but by the end it got pretty good. Martinez is such a bruiser, my favorite spot in the match was her just stomping Laith square in the chest. During Laith's german suplex near fall cry face, I was just humming "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my surface hid", her makeup is a total nightmare. I dug the finish with Laith trying to hard for her roll up and getting stuck with the fishermans buster.

ER: Early miscommunications in this were rough. Martinez is not good at those spots where she has to miss something so her opponent can capitalize. She always telegraphs the misses way too much. They awkwardly repeat a spot, and both seemed like they spent portions of this match lost, fans were even groaning during a cross-up and this was generally a pretty positive crowd. Things threatened to get good when Martinez stomped Laith in the chest, then took a nasty bump off the apron. Laith's crossbody off the floor looked like she could have posted her arm on the entrance grate.  I thought Laith's german suplex looked great, but thought most of this was a mess. I think Martinez has really underperformed this whole tournament.

2. Candice LaRae vs. Shayna Baszler

PAS: Sprint of the year candidate, and my favorite match of the tournament so far. Bayzler comes out and throws this jumping knee right into Candice's face and walks away with this great Kazunari Murakami style smirk. She misses a kick though, and Candice pushes her to the floor and hits a great looking tope into a spinning DDT, Bayzler is surprisingly great at catching dives, which isn't something you would think you would learn at Josh Barnett catch wrestling school. LaRae hits an octopus into her husbands crossface finisher. Baszler had a great almost tap near fall here, and it really felt like Candice might catch her, and there was also great second selling by Jessymyn Duke and Ronda Rousey, both really looked concerned and worried. LaRae tries for her top rop neckbreaker and gets ripped off the top right into the Bayzler choke. Shayna refuses to release it, and really comes off like an asshole. Awesome performances by both ladies and a hell of a short match.

ER: This really did feel like a great 3 minute Regal match on Nitro. Shayna's opening mocking kicks while holding LaRae's arm were great, really condescending. I thought Candice could have gotten Shayna to the floor a little better, her kick looked really light; but that dive into a tornado DDT was just insane; totally crazy, could have practically worked as a count out death move. That octopus hold was legit and the crossface moreso, with Shayna's facial panic really putting over the danger she was in. Her powering and slamming her way out of it perfectly got over her strength and her desperation. The finish was a killer as Baszler sets up for reversal without LaRae knowing, and drops to her doom right into the choke. Great stuff.

3. Piper Niven vs. Toni Storm

PAS: This didn't do a ton for me. Storm was really hamming it up with her facial expressions and it was approaching Davey Richards territory. I thought Niven's splashes were cool, but didn't really care for Storm's offense, feels like Lacey Evans might have brought the spuds for their fun match in the previous round. I really thought Storms leg drop looked crappy, this is a tourney with Kairi Sane's elbow, you are going to have to get more air under you to make me buy that finish.

ER: I liked this a lot more than Phil. There were a couple Storm facial sells that annoyed me, but I don't think they were enough to distract from a good match. The opening bridges and wristlock stuff was really cool. The double bridge segment was cool with an amusing handshake finish, Storm bridging up on her neck with Piper on her was legit impressive, and I love how it got paid off with Storm bridging again and Piper just splashing her guts. That was an awesome spot. All of Piper's splashes looked great, and I thought the missed cannonball was set up really organically, allowing Storm to get in her hip attack, which she nailed. And I don't get the criticism of Storm's legdrop, even if it didn't look great, because it was set up by a freaking german suplex from the middle turnbuckle! The suplex itself was easily enough to end the match, and her putting the stamp on it with a legdrop was just the equivalent of double tapping a zombie. Lesser matches would have had a suplex kickout for 2.9 drama, this actually lead directly to the finish. I do wish Piper would have advanced, however.

4. Kairi Sane vs. Dakota Kai

PAS: This had its moments, but I don't think it ever connected to a great match. Thought Kai could have used a little more offense, Sane seemed to have an easier time with her then either of her previous two opponents. I did like Kai missing the Warriors Way to set up her bad knee, it was a nice callback to the previous matches, and the elbow drop is always special. Still I thought this was missing a final gear.

ER: This felt like it would have made tons of cool GIFs, but didn't really build into a whole lot. I liked the same moments as Phil, thought Kai sold the knee nicely and the WW is a great way to set up an injury. Her running kick in the corner looked great and set up her missing the kick later on. Sane's sliding elbows always look killer and her Alabama slam looked like a bringer of concussions. Whether intentional or not I liked Kai getting legs up during the elbow drop to attempt a block. It very well could have been her just bracing for the impact though.

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Mae Young Classic Episode 5

1. Rachel Evers vs. Abbey Laith

PAS: This wasn't the mess that Evers first round match was, and has gotten a lot of praise in other places, but this didn't do it for me. It felt very 2017ish, full of forearm exchanges, your turn my turn wrestling, and agonized 2.9 near falls. This tourney has had a lot of different kind of styles, and this was their Seth Rollins v. Kevin Owens match, which for me is a hard pass. Top rope powerslam is a cool move in a vacumn, but if the very next move has the person taking the powerslam winning the match, what is the point.

ER: Yeah this really did nothing for me. It didn't even feel like your turn/my turn, it felt like they let Evers do tons of offense before Laith wins a powerbomb, with both doing tons of Godspell curtain call heavy breathing in between moves. Evers clearly looked better than that 1st round match, and I liked several parts of her offense, but that top rope powerslam should be a killshot. This just felt like it had no build, no flow. Both looked fine without actually accomplishing much.

2. Piper Niven vs. Serena Deeb

PAS: Great performance by Piper, as Serena really didn't bring a ton to the table. Really impressive job of crafting a fun monster v. underdog match in a tourney with a ton of those already and where the underdog really doesn't have a ton of impressive offense or bumping. I liked the simple wrestling story of Deeb trying to bodyslam Niven and failing until she succeeds, and since whoever the agent for this tourney has already run a half a dozen "big girl misses a top rope move and gets rolled up" finishes, I really bought that Deeb was going to win when she missed her big splash.

ER: Fully agree on Piper's performance. Not only did her own stuff look great, but she helped out Deeb tremendously on things that didn't really deserve to look good. You watch Piper violently snap herself back on a neckbreaker, and you see Serena not doing anything to cause that snap, and you just can tell Piper is pushing this thing. Piper gave her a lot and some of it really didn't look great, but it was crafted nicely and the build to Serena hitting the slam was good. I loved all of Piper's splashes and crossbodies and that Vader bomb, she really gets great full force and extension on them, reminds me of Big E. I'm totally with Phil on that finish, it seemed like every bigger gal that lost in the 1st round after taking for ever to do and then miss a top rope move. I saw Piper going back up and I'm going Nooooooooo, already pissed that they were letting Deeb advance, already writing angrily that they were trying to inorganically recreate the Brian Kendrick CWC run and it wasn't working...and then it wasn't the finish. Really happy Piper advanced, really great showing.

3. Princesa Sugehit vs. Mercedes Martinez

PAS: There are a lot of promising rookies in this tourney, but this was a match of professional veterans.  This match took a minute to get going, but I really liked the finishing run. Sugehit really wrenched the Fujiwara arm bar, and I loved all of the way Martinez countered out of it. The big Fisherman's buster was a significantly nasty finish that I bought it ending the match. Martinez has such a badass look, she really looks like the kind of lady who could kick most guys asses.

ER: A bunch of really good stuff here, and yeah this was two pros working a professional match. Rachel brought a lot insight into how Sugehit wears a lot of French high cut over the hip bottoms, and how most gals typically work in more of a boy cut short. Both were generous with the other, with Mercedes leaning way into some Sugehit kicks and both mapping out some nice counter sequences. The Fujiwara armbar was nasty and I thought for sure it was the finish. Watching her yank on that arm got one of the loudest reactions of the tournament from me so far, just kept naturally shouting OH! OH! with every pull. But I liked the counter out of it and agree that the fisherman buster works as a finish (you know, like that top rope powerslam in the first match, but whatever...). Martinez looks like Cris Cyborg decided to go into pro wrestling, though I would like more intensity from her. I hope WWE has some interest in Sugehit as it would be cool to see an actual luchadora there. I know they have Dark Angel under contract, but I think it's as a trainer.

4. Kairi Sane vs. Bianca Belair

PAS: This is the second Sane match in a row I have really liked, but ended up being more impressed with her opponent. That is actually a pretty good sign that Kairi is a great wrestler. Man what a star making performance by Belair though, she comes off like such a athletic marvel, she reminded me of early Goldberg or Dr. Death. The weave as Shoo Baby is such a creative idea and while it came off as more of a comedy spot in the first match, here she really tore her up with whips. The squat suplexes were awesome as was her throws and 450, I can just imagine her debuting on RAW and blowing the doors off the place. Sane was great eating all of Belair's stuff, and also had some real highlight moments of her own, I commented on her last match that Sane was more of a Manami Toyota style worker, and I was an Aja guy, she proves me wrong by unloading with an Aja level back fist, and then does her watch out below elbow. The fact that she doesn't always know where she is going to land adds to the coolness of the move.

ER: Instead of Goldberg or Dr. Death, maybe more Doug Furnas? That surprising flying mixed with legit power. There were a couple times where she looked like she was lifting and switching Kairi's weight without Kairi actually doing anything. The hair whip spot sounds cool on paper, yet the execution somehow FAR EXCEEDS however cool it sounds on paper. No Lucha Underground sound sweetening here, she just blasts Sane with shots. Both women have great charisma, loved Belair's slow turn entrance, loved Sane stomping on a kiss before flying in with an attack. The 450 was just completely unexpected. She had a real great "fuck it" face before attempting it, like she had been keeping it secret and practicing it after hours, and here she reaches deep and brings it out as a last chance move. Sane really works nicely as an underdog and as an...overdog? I'm saying she works well from behind and from ahead, takes offense really well, and once she gets a lead you can see her facially selling the momentum. That backfist was awesome (not quite Aja Kong breaking Chapparita Asari's face on Raw to Vince MacMahon's horror) and that "elbow" is nuts. I'd hate to be underneath it, but agree that not knowing where the hell she's landing is part of the charm, like a less dangerous version of Kidman's shooting star.

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Mae Young Classic Episode 2

1. Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

ER: If this was actually Li's first legit wrestling match, it's not really fair to be that critical, but there wouldn't be much need to as she looked far better than most anybody else I've seen having their first match. Her opening headlock and wrestling looked good, and the spin kicks to Martinez's hip were neat (the spin kick to a kneeling Martinez was awesome), and her running snapmare was really cool. What's surprising is just how much Martinez let her have. I fully get letting Li get some shine since she was obviously not advancing, but Martinez handled it kind of weird, lying down and just sitting on the mat for an awkwardly long amount of time. I'm not sure if Li was supposed to hit that superman punch earlier or what, but it didn't seem like it. It really just seemed like Martinez was overselling the kicks. It felt odd.

PAS: I thought this was worked pretty perfectly for this type of match. I loved Martinez taunting Li and the beginning of the match, tooling her on the mat early, only to get caught with big shots. I had no problem with her selling, as it came off like she was just stunned by stiff kick. I also liked how when Mercedes took over, she just planted her and submitted her. Li got in some stuff, she really didn't need a bunch of your turn, my turn or a bunch of near falls.

2. Marti Belle vs. Rachel Evers

ER: OOF this was some ugly business right here. These two were not only on different pages, they were in different libraries. I think each of them may have been out of position for 80% of the things done in this match. I don't think you can blame nerves, as Belle was still doing solid trash talk throughout, and if someone freezes up in a match they tend to freeze up in every way. These two just did not work together. Evers hit a flush senton. That might have been the only thing that landed correctly. Kicks were completely whiffed, moves were taken as if they had no idea what move was being performed. I mean there were some clumsy landings in this. I had seen Belle several times in TNA and don't remember her looking this bad. I had high hopes for her as I like her look and personality but...man something went majorly wrong here.

PAS: Yeah this was a mess, they probably should have just video packaged this, like when a not great singer advances on the Voice "Also advancing to the second round Rachel Evers." It is always hard to tell when something goes this bad, but it really looked like Rachel didn't know how to bump or apply her own moves, that fisherman's buster thing.. ooof. There was also a terrible Evers pantomime when she got hung up on the ropes, it looked like a 14 year old girl scout miming choking so her friend could demonstrate the Heimlich for a merit badge.

3. Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas

ER: Ripley seemed fine, but they let the wrong giant woman advance. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking Jazzy should be in round 2 instead. I liked Salinas although I'm not sure I'm buying the 5' billed height. MAYBE in heels. But I liked Salinas' personality, thought she looked awesome baiting Ripley with a hair pull and a slap and then catching her with a snapmare as she charged out. Ripley had a nice corner dropkick and a decent full nelson slam and Salinas landed with a big thud. Perfectly fine stuff here.

PAS: I think Ripley and Jazzy play really different roles, and we could have had both of them advance pretty easily. This was basic stuff, the kind of thing you would see from two black trunks NJ rookies. Ripley had a couple of nice dropkicks and is clearly a good athlete. She will be good in a couple of years, but probably should be off TV until then.

4. Sarah Logan vs. Mia Yim

ER: We saw Sarah Logan at an NXT house show earlier this month and I thought she was the least impressive woman on the show, but that was before I knew she had to wake up early to catch that evening's dinner. But this was pretty easily the best match of episode 2. Logan looked much better here than at the NXT show, mixing up strikes nicely (liked her chop/jab combo and running knee). Yim is a professional, but I don't like how she gets kind of stuck in pre-determined kick combos, and I still don't think there's been anyone who can plausibly pull off the tarantula. But I liked her suplexes, liked Logan's knees, we got a couple good nearfalls, etc. Good match.

PAS: I really liked Logan here, I remember enjoying a Crazy Mary Dobson match or two but she felt at another level here. Her offense felt more violent and sudden then Yim who felt a little mechanical. Loved Logan's head but to the shoulder blades and her finishing off the slap exchange with those nasty thrust kicks to the mouth. Yim v. Bayzler will be fine, but I think we missed out on a special bit of violence by not getting Logan v. Shayna

ER: So, an obvious step back from episode 1, with a match that honestly shouldn't have been allowed to air. I don't think I'm exaggerating with that statement. But Xia Li was a nice surprise and I hope she sticks around, and Ripley/Salinas each showed promise.

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