 |
| Victorious Rachel! Photo Credit: John Hyperion/DDS |
Highlights:
- Portia Perez stole a victory in her first round match against Cherry Bomb with a roll-up.
- In a battle of veteran vs. rookie, Rachel Summerlyn showed Veda Scott she still had a lot to learn with a fisherman's neckbreaker.
- Allysin Kay fought hard, but she couldn't best Sara del Rey's cross armbreaker.
- The final first round match saw Mercedes Martinez dropping Mia Yim on her head with a fisherman's buster.
- Summerlyn tapped Perez in the first semifinal match of the tournament with the Texas Cloverleaf.
- The entire male locker room appeared during the four-way 2CW Championship match to perform planchas to the outside.
- Jay Freddie retained his title in said match via tapout over Jason Axe.
- del Rey used the Royal Butterfly to fell Martinez in the other semifinal.
- The 2CW Tag Team Championship match turned into a six-man tag after Zaquary Springate III attacked the challengers Loca Vida and Steve McKenzie, with Kage making the save.
- Kevin Graham got the win for his team by rolling up Kage for the pin.
- Carlito countered a fireman's carry into a roll-up to defeat Sean Carr.
- Summerlyn took home the tournament Championship with the Texas Cloverleaf after a wild brawl.
Observations:
- Perez tried to bribe Bryce Remsburg before her first round match. As if the honorable spirit of wrestling's finest referee could be bought!
- I was impressed with Cherry Bomb early on. Having been reared on WWE Divas, it was shocking to me to see a woman with supermodel-quality good looks actually look good in the ring.
- Larry Zbyszko would be proud of Perez's stalling in this match if he wasn't busy shooting on Louie Spicolli after all these years.
- Someone brought a vuvuzela to the show and blew it several times during the course of the card. The first time that person blew it elicited a "PORTIA FARTED!" chant.
- Her reply of "SHUT UP!" was golden though.
- Cherry Bomb followed up a drop toe hold that left Perez draped over the bottom rope with a running apron dropkick to the head. It was such a sublime combo.
- Perez totally took a Cherry Bomb superkick at one point and flopped around like she just got shot. But no guys, she's overrated.
- Scott has all the tools to be a great wrestler, but it just seems to me that she's still just not comfortable moving around the ring. That comes with experience though.
- That being said, nice trading of pin attempts to start the match with Summerlyn.
- The veteran-roughing-up-the-rookie narrative of this match was best encapsulated when Summerlyn shrugged off Scott's shots and just started shrieking at her.
- Just for reference, while it wasn't my match of the night, I could totally see how Ring Belles or anyone else might have thought that Kay/del Rey was the best on the card.
- del Rey's usual straitlaced demeanor took a bit of a vacation here as she let her hair down all night. It started with her taking a turn on the vuvuzela before the match.
- Kay lifted del Rey up for a DEADLIFT Samoan drop early in the match. I think I'm in love.
- del Rey's face upon being deadlifted was perfect. I think I'm conflicted.
- At one point, Kay acted like she was going to kick del Rey in the small of her back and then locked in a headlock. It was ace-level trolling.
- The best moves are simple ones with embellishment. That's why I was pretty much marking out in my hotel room at del Rey using an O'Connor roll to put Kay's head into the bottom turnbuckle in one of the most creative spots I've ever seen.
- I wonder if Yim owed Martinez money the way that MM was putting a whupping on her early on in the match.
- Yim's deadweight counter on a Martinez suplex shortly thereafter was pretty brilliant.
- I don't know if I wrote this for my Girls Night Out 5 review or not, but watching Mia Yim, I seriously cannot tell that this is only her second or third year active. She's a natural.
- Loved that Perez was dedicated to stalling in her second match of the night. Loved it better when Summerlyn answered in kind.
- I appreciated the crowd being up for the two brawling around the outside of the ring, but I wonder how many in attendance knew that the match was so heated because Perez and Summerlyn were blood rivals in ACW?
- Rachel Summerlyn using a Viking hat to do a headbutt is the greatest move in the history of professional wrestling, and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise.
- Brodie Lee got the loudest cheers and sneering chants during the four-way match for the Championship. Strange crowd.
- Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards trying to take special guest referee Isys Ephex's tiny hat was amusing.
- What other promotion would have a plancha interlude during their Heavyweight Championship match? Wait, don't answer that.
- That being said, it was entertaining.
- del Rey reversed out of an arm-wringer, screamed "HA!" in Martinez's face and promptly ate a hard palm strike to the grill. Her reaction was again priceless and why she's one of the best in the world.
- There was one dude who kept yelling "YOU SUCK, SARA!" I want to meet that guy and tell him that I think he's full of shit. FULL. OF. SHIT.
- The six-man tag match was the one match where I wished there were announcers. I struggled to make out who was who.
- Sean Carr was probably the best male prospect I saw all night. He had a decent match with Carlito.
- I don't know why the GGP tournament final was no-DQ, no-countout, but it worked, despite the fact that Summerlyn/Perez was another brawl around the arena.
- In my 3+ years of watching her wrestle, I do believe this match was the first time I ever saw del Rey throw an opponent by their hair. And it was awesome.
- Don't think I didn't notice that your front lariat is aimed right at the boobs, Rachel Summerlyn. Don't worry, I like it.
In typical fashion between the two wrestlers, there was plenty of lightheartedness mixed in, mostly from Summerlyn's end. Obviously, someone as free-spirited as the Queen of Anarchy is has to keep things light, which is why her breaking out a prosthetic foot and a VIKING HAT as weapons was not only awesome but totally a propos to her character. Some people just "get" pro wrestling. Summerlyn was born to be a pro wrestler, and she proves it every time out. Of course, she wouldn't be nearly as awesome in this match if she didn't have her mortal rival to pinball around the guardrail. Perez was just as awesome on the brawling-on-the-outside portion. It also can't be stated enough how great Bryce was during this match. A lesser referee might have just stayed in the ring and counted. Bryce, working in the context that this tourney should have a winner, tried to shovel the action back into the ring, but kept his distance when things got hot and heavy.
Bryce would play into the finish as well, as Perez argued with him over some kind of call he made. This allowed Summerlyn to drill her in the back with a lariat that sent Perez flying to the ground in a visually stunning bump. Summerlyn may have advanced right after with her Texas Cloverleaf, but everyone was a winner in this match. Fantastic action from all involved.
Overall Thoughts: For me, this was a tale of two different shows. The Girls Grand Prix tournament was excellent from top to bottom. If the goal was to showcase some of the best female talent in America and Canada, they succeeded big time. I thought all of matches were at least decent, and several of them were worthy of high praise. Not only were the usual suspects on display, but I thought the first round losers did their part to show off their goods. Kay and Yim especially were on point, but it seems to me that they always are.
As for the male matches, I won't trash them, but I thought most of the matches featuring the men dragged a bit. The plancha-fest in the Championship match was a nice diversion though. 2CW doesn't have announcers, and while that was refreshing for the folks that I did know (mainly, all the women plus EEEE, Brodie and Carlito), it made things confusing for the people that I didn't know, which was basically most of the native 2CW talent. While I wasn't blown away, I did see a lot of potential.
Still, it was a good show overall. I would definitely watch these guys again.
Results:
- Girls Grand Prix 1st Round match: Portia Perez pinned Cherry Bomb with a roll-up.
- Girls Grand Prix 1st Round match: Rachel Summerlyn pinned Veda Scott after a fisherman's neckbreaker.
- Girls Grand Prix 1st Round match: Sara del Rey submitted Allysin Kay with a cross armbreaker.
- Girls Grand Prix 1st Round match: Mercedes Martinez pinned Mia Yim after a fisherman's buster.
- Girls Grand Prix semifinal: Rachel Summerlyn submitted Portia Perez with the Texas Cloverleaf.
- 2CW Heavyweight Championship match: Jay Freddie (c) defeated Jason Axe, Brodie Lee and Eddie Edwards by submitting Axe with the sharpshooter.
- Girls Grand Prix semifinal: Sara del Rey pinned Mercedes Martinez after the Royal Butterfly.
- Kevin Graham, Punisher van Slyke and Zaquary Springate III defeated Steve McKenzie, Loca Vida and Kage when Graham pinned Kage with a sunset flip.
- Carlito pinned Sean Carr with a roll-up.
- Girls Grand Prix final: Rachel Summerlyn submitted Sara del Rey with the Texas Cloverleaf.
