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| Whom will she face? Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Tonight begins a huge weekend in indie wrestling that will be broadcast by and large on iPPV. Well, at least the two heaviest hitters will be. The first event, tonight, will feature Absolute Intense Wrestling going headfirst into the medium with Girls Night Out 8. Ring of Honor's foray into iPPV will be their 11th Anniversary Show, one of their bigger shows of the year. They will be two of several companies doing live wrestling this weekend around the country. It's a busy, busy weekend.
First up is Girls Night Out, at Turner's Hall in Cleveland, which is dubbed "Climb the Ladder" will feature a one-night mini-tournament to see who'll get the next shot at Women's Champion Allysin Kay. Kay has taken out every woman put in front of her, and at least one man (demon?), so the next person to get a crack at her will have to win a qualifying match and then a four-way ladder match. Actually, that's a lie. The next person to get a crack at the winner of Kay's match against an unknown opponent tonight. Who will it be? Will it be a freshly-returned-from-Japan Mia Yim? An ally-in-elseworlds Jessicka Havok? I have no real leans on this, but either way, given the year that Kay has had, I doubt it will disappoint.
But back to the Climb the Ladder series, the qualifying matches will feature Veda Scott against Leva Bates, Kimber Lee against Athena, Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Annie Social, and Sassy Stephie against Addy Starr. The winners of those matches will compete in a four-way ladder match with contract hanging atop the arena as a surprise. All eight wrestlers could conceivably win this and challenge Kay. I'd have to flip a coin between the two, but if I had to make an uninformed prediction, I'd go with either Scott or Athena. Scott's a hot choice because she's one-half of the Tag Team Champions with Gregory Iron, and is hugely over as a baddie with the Turner's Hall crowd. Athena is another likely winner because she, like Hansel in Zoolander is so hot right now.
ROH's offering on iPPV will take place at the Sayre Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, IL. The main event of this show, Kevin Steen defending the World Championship against Jay Lethal, has been in the works since September of last year. At an event in Rahway, NJ, Steen spat on Lethal's mother in the crowd, which has set the former Black Machismo on the warpath. Both other titles will be on the line, as the Briscoes defend the Tag Titles against Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, and Adam Cole will defend the Television Championship against Matt Taven. Outside of the titles, tag team matches seem to be the order of the day. The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards will attempt to fend off the invading-from-New Japan team of the Forever Hooligans, Ricky Romero and Alex Koslov. In the other big tag match, Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino will look to further tear down the ethic of ROH, and an unlikely duo from the South, Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman, will come to its honor.
There are some other shows around the country that will be happening for a live audience only. If you're in these areas though, you can totally check them out. AAW at the Bourbon Street Entertainment Complex in Merionette Park, IL will also be happening tonight. It has the Jerry Lynn Retirement Tour rolling in for his final match in Chicago. Also, the semifinals and finals of the Heritage Championship tournament will be taking place. Juntai Miller/ACH will be worth the price of admission alone, but then they'll be putting on Louis Lyndon/Samuray del Sol with the winners of those two matches facing off? Yeah, this might be the best show of the weekend going on.
Also of note going on in the next three days:
First up is Girls Night Out, at Turner's Hall in Cleveland, which is dubbed "Climb the Ladder" will feature a one-night mini-tournament to see who'll get the next shot at Women's Champion Allysin Kay. Kay has taken out every woman put in front of her, and at least one man (demon?), so the next person to get a crack at her will have to win a qualifying match and then a four-way ladder match. Actually, that's a lie. The next person to get a crack at the winner of Kay's match against an unknown opponent tonight. Who will it be? Will it be a freshly-returned-from-Japan Mia Yim? An ally-in-elseworlds Jessicka Havok? I have no real leans on this, but either way, given the year that Kay has had, I doubt it will disappoint.
But back to the Climb the Ladder series, the qualifying matches will feature Veda Scott against Leva Bates, Kimber Lee against Athena, Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Annie Social, and Sassy Stephie against Addy Starr. The winners of those matches will compete in a four-way ladder match with contract hanging atop the arena as a surprise. All eight wrestlers could conceivably win this and challenge Kay. I'd have to flip a coin between the two, but if I had to make an uninformed prediction, I'd go with either Scott or Athena. Scott's a hot choice because she's one-half of the Tag Team Champions with Gregory Iron, and is hugely over as a baddie with the Turner's Hall crowd. Athena is another likely winner because she, like Hansel in Zoolander is so hot right now.
ROH's offering on iPPV will take place at the Sayre Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, IL. The main event of this show, Kevin Steen defending the World Championship against Jay Lethal, has been in the works since September of last year. At an event in Rahway, NJ, Steen spat on Lethal's mother in the crowd, which has set the former Black Machismo on the warpath. Both other titles will be on the line, as the Briscoes defend the Tag Titles against Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, and Adam Cole will defend the Television Championship against Matt Taven. Outside of the titles, tag team matches seem to be the order of the day. The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards will attempt to fend off the invading-from-New Japan team of the Forever Hooligans, Ricky Romero and Alex Koslov. In the other big tag match, Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino will look to further tear down the ethic of ROH, and an unlikely duo from the South, Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman, will come to its honor.
There are some other shows around the country that will be happening for a live audience only. If you're in these areas though, you can totally check them out. AAW at the Bourbon Street Entertainment Complex in Merionette Park, IL will also be happening tonight. It has the Jerry Lynn Retirement Tour rolling in for his final match in Chicago. Also, the semifinals and finals of the Heritage Championship tournament will be taking place. Juntai Miller/ACH will be worth the price of admission alone, but then they'll be putting on Louis Lyndon/Samuray del Sol with the winners of those two matches facing off? Yeah, this might be the best show of the weekend going on.
Also of note going on in the next three days:
- Pro South Wrestling tonight at the Pro South Arena in Piedmont, AL, featuring Ace Haven
- East Coast Wrestling Association at the Newark Boys and Girls Club, Newark, DE, on Saturday, featuring Apollyon, Papadon, Kekoa, and a 30 minute Iron Match for hte ECWA Title between Josh Daniels and Chris Wylde
- Empire Pro Wreslting at the Empire Arena in Rossville, GA, on Saturday, featuring Ace Rockwell and Shaun Tempers
- Platinum Championship Wrestling at Main Event Hall in Porterdale, GA, featuring the quarter- and semifinals of the PCW Championship tournament and wrestlers such as Fred Yehi, the Washington Bullets, Shane Marx, and Chip Day