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Surprise, Surprise!
Last Friday was the WXW Women’s Super 8, and since the Clothesline Crew attends ECWA’s Super 8 faithfully, it was only fair that the whole crew (well, most of them) get out to Sciota, Pennsylvania, to check things out.
The day started somewhat early, as the entire length of 1-78 was unfortunately traveled to get into Pennsylvania. A more boring ride you couldn’t imagine- and there was actually traffic getting into Pennsylvania. Into! Who wants to go there? Thank God for EZ Pass, as it made that jam less than it should have been, and it was off to the Most Boring Stretch of Road Ever, Route 33 North. The sole highlight was passing Wind Gap, where Blaine DeSantis ran a PCW show in 1999 featuring a few workers from All Pro Wrestling like Mike Modest and Tony Jones, who are now thankfully with Pro Wrestling IRON, and Rolo the APW Carny, who managed to embarrass himself even further in front of 125 people. Such memories…this is why it was a highlight to keep driving past Wind Gap, PA.
One third of the Crew arrived in Sciota, PA around 4:30. The rest of the Crew arrived soon after to watch the parade of WXW family coming into the place, like Reno, LA Smooth, Moondog “You’re having another sandwich?” Molson, Alere Little Feather, Samu the Scariest Samoan Ever, the Bald Guy, Afa’s daughter, Shannon who went out of her way to say hello, and Luscious Lily, who looks so different in street clothes and it apparently brings out her inner dancing child, as we all saw after the show.
After the lengthy dinner was finally done, it was time to hang out and wait for the doors to open. There was a tryout match going on with a girl who looked like she got right out of 8th grade basketball practice, but the Crew couldn’t see the entire thing. Tracy Brooks took time to say hello, and she’s everything Brett ever wrote about her, and then some. They were kind enough to let us purchase our tickets and come in early, considering we were the only ones waiting, and after a lot of sitting around it was time for the show.
Tracy Brooks, the winner of the first Women’s Super 8, came out along with all the other competitors. Tracy high fived most of the fans but saved a kiss for Brett, the Luckiest Man in the Building. WXW took a big chance in having an almost exclusively women’s show, and this, like with ECWA’s Super 8 (the comparisons are bound to happen, so we might as well get them out in the open), helps push the whole tournament as important and meaningful. Tracy took the microphone and put over Afa for giving her and all the other women this big chance, as well as give him a cake since it was his birthday. All the workers and the 50 or so in the crowd sang Happy Birthday as Afa bit a huge chunk out of the cake in gratitude.
The actual card started off with a Women’s Battle Royal, with eight women fighting to get the last slot in the Super 8. The last two in the ring would then fight it out to a pinfall to see who gets the slot. Some of the competitors included Tara Charisma, Alere, Luscious Lily, Belladawna, aka Nicole Kidman’s Bigger Sister, and Jessica Dally. ODB looked like a cross between John Connor in Terminator 3 and Rich Gaspari for all you bodybuilding enthusiasts. Frankie V., a man dressed like Tracy Brooks, was thankfully eliminated early, as his inclusion in the Super 8 would have killed the whole point of the tournament. The gimmicks and angles, sadly, were to come later.
Sara Stock, tied with Tracy Brooks for Best Looking Woman to Come From Canada, won the battle royal by pinning Jessica Daly after all the other women and Frankie V. were eliminated. Stock has a great look to her- athletic but not bulky, and nice features that work well for her as a babyface. It’d be tough for her to be a convincing heel. Stock moved on to the first round of the Women’s Super 8. WXW Women’s champ Cindy Rogers watched most of the battle royal, and then walked to the back.
As Dally was recovering in the ring, Rob Dimension (w/out his four year old) came out to the ring to insult the tournament and the women in it and to put over his charge, Rapid Fire Maldonado. Dally slapped him in the face. He swore revenge and “war” on her and WXW. Then he left- not to be seen for the rest of the night. Rob Dimension…nice ring name, flat as hell and predictable gimmick. It doesn’t take a lot of work to be a preppie.
The opening match of the Women’s Super 8 had Phoenix, a recent recipient of 10 Questions With…, going against Psycho (the Bitch is silent in family friendly WXW). Psycho was surprisingly agile for her size, pulling off a better cartwheel into an elbow in the corner than Zaquary Springate ever could. And she has a scream that could knock you out of your chair. Phoenix took a lot of punishment and won with a belly to belly. As she went to the back, she got smacked by a chair that came through the curtains leading to the locker room. So much for not having angles in this tournament. Tracy Brooks came out to help her to the back with the two referees.
The next match was Angel Williams against the winner of the Dullest 10 Questions With… Ever, Allison Danger. These two chopped the skin off of each other, mostly Angel on Allison. Maybe she read the interview. Angel won with a rollup.
The next match was probably the match of the night as April Hunter (w/bronchitis) faced Ariel. This one went all over the place, and was a fast paced, exciting bout. April got whipped into several fans twice, and Ariel almost got whipped into one fan, but WXW’s sole security person blocked the shot, making him the biggest heel of the entire evening. (Editor's note: He was only the biggest heel in the building in the eyes of the fan writing this column.) April and Ariel worked VERY WELL with each other, and even though the match was short, it left you hoping for another match down the road. Exactly how it should be done. April won with a twisting neckbreaker from the second rope that didn’t catch Ariel quite right but was enough for the pinfall. She hits that move dead on and it’ll pop any crowd.
It was then time for intermission. Nothing exciting.
After intermission, it was Angle Alert Time. Tracy gathered all the women and Frankie V. into the ring for her version of Where Were You, also known as Who Cracked Phoenix Over the Head with a Chair- so she asked all of the competitors. Every single one of them. Including the ones from the battle royal. No one could hear their answers, for the most part, so it was pretty tedious. Finally, April Hunter grabbed the mic, said she saw the whole thing- which makes one wonder why she allowed things to drag on as long as they did- and accused Tracy Brooks of hitting Phoenix with the chair. Phoenix then comes out, doing a GREAT sell job from the chair shot, and Tracy does her heel turn, with her reason being that she didn’t want Phoenix to win the Women’s Super 8. Why would she care? It wasn’t really explained.
Phoenix, still selling the chair shot, came back out for her second round match with Angel Williams. Nice match- Angel concentrated on the injured neck, Phoenix sold like a champ, and managed to deal with the almost-interference from Tracy and Belladawna, who were chased to the back by Cindy Rogers, perfecting her “walk to ringside and walk back” routine. Phoenix got the win with another rollup.
Sara Stock faced April Hunter in the other second round matchup, and spent most of the match cracking the daylights out of April. Nothing outside the ring, but April took a real beating. Stock’s…err, stock, continues to rise as she kept right in there with the veteran worker April, and took that difficult middle rope neckbreaker better than anyone. Hell, Maven tried it on RAW a while ago and nearly broke his neck along with his opponent’s. It’s a tough move- but it’s gold when it hits. April won with it.
Now it was time for the sole men’s match of the night, as WXW World champ Mean Gene Snisky (as it’s spelled on the Talent Roster part of the WXW Web site) took on Slyk Wagner Brown and Sinn in a title match. Sinn has been seen on NWA TNA and Slyk should be seen on every national wrestling show in the country. And the champ? Snisky is just a mountain of a man, and truly scary up close. Several of the Crew backed their chairs up knowing his tendency to run into people during his matches. Nice diversion from the ladies matches, as it was a lot of power moves in this one. Snisky got treated like a champ and the monster he really is, as Slyk and Sinn had to team up several times to get him down. Good booking there, and Snisky got the pinfall on Sinn after a side slam.
In the main event, April Hunter faced Phoenix, the best seller in the women’s indys ever, in the finals of the Women’s Super 8. Best psychology of the night was here, even if April vs. Ariel was better. April of course worked Phoenix’s neck, and Phoenix countered with moves to April’s back. Then it was once again Angle Alert Time, as Referee Dick Woerhle got bumped HARD, which brought out Tracy Brooks who went to hit April with the chair. April turned around and caught her in the act. As Tracy leaves the ring, distracting April, Phoenix get the chair, and- what else? Hits April with it. Three count later, and she’s the new Women’s Super 8 Champion- which was exactly what Tracy Brooks didn’t want. Right? Well, tell that to Tracy, because she’s hugging Phoenix- the same woman she belted with a chair 90 minutes ago.
It gets worse. Another ref comes out to say he saw the whole thing, and restarted the match. April hits a quick belly to back into a bridge, and SHE gets the pinfall. Now APRIL is the new Women’s Super 8 winner, and this one thankfully stands. Nice match, horrific, wasted booking.
Getting past the restart, which kills any pop April would have earned by getting a clean pinfall, why mar your premiere women’s match in your promotion with interference and a totally nonsensical heel turn? Was the chair shot at the beginning of the show only done to “trick” April Hunter, who probably couldn’t have cared less and didn’t notice? Did Tracy Brooks manage to convince Phoenix the chair shot was in her best interests? (that might be possible- Tracy could get most men to rob a bank if she asked nicely) How come Tracy really turned heel- since her given reason of making sure Phoenix didn’t win was obviously off because she celebrated with her before the restart?
Tracy deserved better. Phoenix deserved better. April Hunter deserved better. Hell, Belladawna Kidman deserved better, but had no business winning that Oscar for Moulin Rouge. Cindy Rogers damn sure deserved better, as she once again sauntered out, gave April props by nodding her head, and walked to the back. Why isn’t this kind of work detail available on the job market? WANTED: Head Nodder. Must possess ability to hold shiny belt over shoulder, walk 30 paces back and forth, and bury natural talent for entire evening. MS Windows, Excel, 3-5 years experience preferred, but not essential. Will train (ask the 8th grader)
Give WXW a lot of credit for devoting an entire, deserved evening to the women of the indys, but take points off for the booking and unnecessary angles. Believe it or not, most people watch wrestling for- get this- the wrestling. After all, Christopher Daniels said that’s what it says on the marquee. You can do all sorts of angles just in the matches, like Phoenix doing a truly phenomenal job of selling her neck, as part of the ring psychology. Save the mystery chair shots and inexplicable heel turns for another show.
And if you don’t want to hear an honest opinion- DON’T ASK FOR IT. There are plenty of panderers, wannabes, and marks out there who will tell you what you want to hear.
Just some friendly advice for this, the best of holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!
Complaints, comments, questions?? Email Jim
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The comments and statements
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Brett Schwan and the Wrestling
Clothesline (although many times, he comes damn close!). Please
feel free to email HIM with any comments, complaints, etc.
Jim has been watching wrestling for over 20 years and has followed and reported on indy wrestling for over 6 years. He's also a fan of the New York Giants, New York Yankees, St. John's Red Storm basketball, Alabama Crimson Tide football, and the New Jersey Devils, but please don't hold that against him.
Contact Jim at BilJim2@hotmail.com
