By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WOW (Women Of Wrestling)
Taped in October 10-11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California at Belasco Theater
Aired March 1, 2019 on on AXS-TV
WOW opened with a recap of Tessa Blanchard winning the WOW Championship and last week’s angle involving Jungle Grrrl and The Beast. The narrator hyped Beverly Hills Babe vs. Jungle Grrrl… The broadcast team was Stephen Dickey, David McLane, and EZ Rider…
Ring announcer Shaul Guerrero introduced Tessa Blanchard, who delivered an in-ring promo in which she said they should rename the show after her. She addressed McLane, who was with the other broadcast team. “You can wind these bitches up and I’m going to knock them down,” Blanchard said. McLane said they don’t condone that type of language in WOW. (Jessicka) Havock made her entrance. Blanchard left the ring…
1. Havok vs. Eye Candy. Havok controlled the early offense. Eye Candy put her in a sleeper briefly. Havok came back and applied a Boston Crab. Havok released the hold and then threw a running knee. Eye Candy ducked a charging Havok and performed a cannonball in the corner. Eye Candy performed a missile dropkick for a two count. Eye Candy went up top and went for a moonsault, but Havok moved out of the way. Havok threw a kick to the head and followed up with the Air Raid Crash for the win…
Havok defeated Eye Candy.
A video package aired on Jessie Jones, and the broadcast team said she was coming up next… [C]
Powell’s POV: I like the idea of establishing Havok as the badass heel of the promotion. I assume they had a similar role in mind for The Beast before they opted to turn her babyface. Eye Candy got a little more offense than she probably should have if this was about establishing Havok, but the right person went over. Eye Candy’s moonsault was frightening in that she nearly landed on her head.
2. Jessie Jones vs. Chantilly Chella. Jones targeted the left arm of Chilla throughout the match. She eventually applied an armbar and won via submission. After the match, Jones took the mic and said Chella was another example of the disrespect in the WOW locker room. She said wrestling isn’t about parties and festivals, it’s about hard work. Jones said her own hard work would make wrestling great again…
Jessie Jones defeated Chantilly Chella.
Powell’s POV: A good match that told a story in terms of Jones working the arm and eventually winning via her armbar submission hold. I’m still not sure who they are building up as the babyface counter to Jones’s redneck heel persona.
Joyce Grable was shown seated in the crowd. McLane approached her and welcomed her to the show. She said it was the best ladies show she had seen since the ’70s and said WOW was going number one… A teaser hyped Lucha Underground’s Kobra Moon appearing after the break… [C]
A Kobra Moon video aired. She said nothing is enough for her and WOW is another opportunity for her to gain power and conquer to satisfy the thirst for power that she hasn’t been able to achieve in the LU Temple thus far. She said anything is possible is possible with Sophia Lopez by her side. She said she is a queen who isn’t afraid of anything…
Sophia Lopez was introduced by Guerrero. Lopez took the mic from her and said it was nice to be working with someone who understands greatness. Guerrero didn’t act like she shared the sentiment. Lopez pointed out Jeanie Buss in the crowd, then introduced Kobra Moon. The broadcast team acted surprised to see Moon. Guerrero introduced Azteca…
3. Korba Moon (w/Sophia Lopez) vs. Azteca. The bell rang. Moon proclaimed herself “the real queen of the temple.” Moon applied a tarantula style choke in the ropes and broke it before the ref’s five count. Moon performed repeated neckbreakers and got a two count. Azteca came back with a play for the octopus stretch, but Moon backed her into the corner to break it. Moon put Azteca in the tree of woe and then dropkicked her and covered her for a near fall. Azteca came back with a corkscrew dive for a near fall of her own. Moon stuffed a piledriver attempt and then performed two running knees. She went for a third, but Azteca rolled her into a single leg crab, which Dickey said she learned from Lance Storm. Moon reached the ropes. Moon came back with a unique slam and scored the clean pin…
Kobra Moon defeated Azteca.
The broadcast team hyped The Temptress vs. Dagger… [C]
Powell’s POV: The best match of the night thus far. Kobra Moon also works as Thunder Rosa, and teams with fellow WOW wrestler Holidead as the Twisted Sisterz. Moon would be a nice candidate to oppose Jones, but they both seem to be in heel roles.
4. The Temptress (w/Dagger) vs. Fire. McLane told a story about Fire wrestling in Detroit the night before and missing her flight. He said he told her to catch the next flight and bring him the bill and then they would take care of it. He said she took a four-hour nap and is now in the ring. Um, okay. Anyway, Temptress took advantage of Dagger interfering a couple times and targeted the back of Fire. Late in the match, Temptress had Fire down and played to the crowd. Fire made a nice comeback and had the crowd with her. Fire went up top, but Dagger shoved her off the top rope. Temptress performed a backbreaker and scored the pin.
The Temptress defeated Fire.
After the match, the heel duo worked over Fire until Keta Rush made the save and the babyfaces cleared the heels from the ring. McLane entered the ring and asked if Fire had something to say to Rush. Fire thanked Rush for saving her… A main event teaser aired… [C]
Powell’s POV: The new highlight of the show. This match was longer and better than the previous match. Well done. Obviously, they are building to a tag feud given the post match angle. Temptress is Katarina Waters, who was formerly known as Winter and Katie Lea Burchill. Fire works as Kiera Hogan in Impact Wrestling. I’m not sure why the company felt the need to give Waters such a generic name and gimmick when she has name value even if she uses the Winter name from Impact. At least Fire had a really good introductory video package that explained her gimmick and justifies the name change.
5. “Beverly Hills Babe” Amber O’Neal (w/Lana Star) vs. Jungle Grrrl. Jungle Grrrl stopped and hugged her son at ringside, and McLane referred to him as Jungle Boy (he had long hair, but he’s much younger than the AEW wrestler who goes by Jungle Boy). O’Neal applied an armbar. Grrrl eventually powered her up and slammed her into the corner. Babe came back with punches to the head. Later, Babe distracted the referee while Star worked over Grrrl at ringside. Grrrl came back with a stunner for a two count.
Grrrl went up top for her finishing splash. Star interfered in front of the referee, who scolded her. The Beast entered the ring and shoved Babe out of the way. The Beast called for Grrrl to come at her. Grrrl leapt from the top rope. The Beast caught Grrrl by the throat and then chokeslammed her.
Jungle Grrrl defeated Beverly Hills Babe by an apparent DQ.
After the match, Grrrl approached McLane and said she wants a rematch. “Beast, Tessa, you guys have come into my jungle,” she said “My jungle. My jungle. My ring. This is a game of dominos. 1-2-3. Both of you are the next to go down. Out.” The WOW logo appeared to close the show…
Powell’s POV: I’d love to see Jungle Grrrl get a gimmick makeover. The name is ridiculous and it’s not like she’s really doing anything beyond a Jimmy Snuka style Superfly splash to play into whatever the gimmick was. I like that WOW has focused on her being a mother. It would be nice if she was simply presented as Erica Porter, even if they want to use Jungle Grrrl as her nickname. It feels like they want her to feel genuine and yet that name completely works against that. Overall, a solid edition. It feels like they have established the main event mix and everyone else is just sort of fighting to fight. This was the seventh episode of the eight shows that AXS committed to. So next week’s show will be the last first run show for some time, as even if the network orders more episodes, they haven’t even announced another batch of tapings.
Check below for the new Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and Davey Boy Smith Jr. discussing what led to the Hart Foundation vs. Lucha Brothers match at MLW SuperFight getting physical, training at a young age, and much more.
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