By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Femmes Fatales and Smash Wrestling “Girls Next Door”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
June 25, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario at Toronto Rec Room
This was an afternoon show for the diehards who wanted to see even more wrestling before heading to a five-hour “Forbidden Door” PPV. Veda Scott, Scott Hunter, and Adam B provided commentary. Attendance was perhaps 200 in a small room; this feels like a refurbished factory. I want to add this promotion did a really good job of mixing in instant replays.
1. Nikita defeated Liiza Hall to retain the Smash Women’s Title at 8:31. I have seen Liiza at least once before in a memorable showing in Dallas during Wrestlemania week a year ago. She has long red hair; think Isla Dawn more than Becky Lynch. Nikita came out, taking a selfie of herself and she’s dressed in a fur coat like NXT’s Franky Monet (whatever happened to her?) Nikita, who has long blonde hair and of average size and build, paused some more to take additional selfies in the ring. Nikita repeatedly slammed Liiza’s face into the middle turnbuckle. Liiza shoved the phone out of Nikita’s hand at 2:00 and Nikita was livid! Funny.
Nikita tied her up in the ropes, then she applied a mid-ring Octopus. Liiza hit a spin kick to the head, then a Shining Wizard for a believable nearfall at 5:30. Liiza applied a modified Rings of Saturn double armbar, then she hit a Death Valley Driver. She switched to a cross-armbreaker. Nikita applied a half-crab, but Liiza reached the ropes. Nikita hit the X-Factor Faceplant for the clean pin, and the crowd loudly booed the outcome.
2. Miley! and Kristara defeated KC Spinelli and Mary Lee Rose at 9:29. Spinelli wrestled (and lost to!) Athena on ROH TV on Thursday; she has dark black hair. Rose has red/pink hair and is shorter. Miley! has dark red hair and is fan favorite; she is all smiles and Veda noted the exclamation point is part of her name (think Bayley’s NXT infectious enthusiasm). Kristara is Black in MN Vikings purple-and-gold. I have only seen KC of these four before. Miley! and Kristara hit a team suplex on KC early on. Rose distracted Kristara, allowing the veterans to take charge.
The veterans continued to work over Kristara, with Rose hitting a clothesline for a nearfall at 4:00. Miley! finally made the hot tag at 6:30 and she beat up Rose. She hit a monkeyflip for a nearfall. Miley! hit a crossbody block for a nearfall. All four brawled in the ring. KC hit a spear on Miley! Miley! hit a fisherman’s swinging neckbreaker on Rose for the pin. Okay action.
* Mercedes Martinez ran into the ring and beat up Miley!, drawing boos. Vert Vixen came out and they jawed. Mercedes demanded a title match and Vert agreed. Mercedes still stomped on Miley!’s arm anyway…
3. Trish Adora defeated Vanessa Kraven at 10:26. This was one of the matches that got me to tune in. Trish got a nice pop; she is getting a nice push in ROH of late and has been paired with The Infantry. Vanessa is 6’0″ and appeared in the first Mae Young Classic. Trish tied her up in the middle of the ring. They brawled to the floor. Vanessa accidentally chopped the ring post at 5:00. In the ring, Adora kept Kraven grounded in the ropes.
Kraven hit a fallaway slam for a nearfall at 8:00. Adora hit a big German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall, drawing a “holy shit!” then “Trish Adora!” chants. Vannesa fired back with a series of stiff chops. Adora got a rollup out of nowhere for the clean pin. Good match, and fully what I hoped and expected here.
4. Nicole Matthews defeated Alexia Nicole to win the Femmes Fatale Title at 12:55. Alexia had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it match on AEW Dynamite on Wednesday against Ruby Soho, and she’s really short. Matthews is much taller, visibly stronger, and has a vast experience advantage. Matthews held her hands high in the sky for a test of strength, showing that Alexia couldn’t possibly reach her hands. Alexia tried a shoulder tackle that had no effect. Alexia hit a shotgun dropkick and a Meteora double knees at 2:30. Matthews hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip that drew a reaction because it looked so vicious. “That hurt my knee watching it!” one of the male commentators said.
Matthews began kicking at Alexia’s damaged knee, applying an Indian Deathlock at 5:00. Matthews tied her in the Tree of Woe at 7:30 and she punched at the damaged knee. Alexia hit a missile dropkick but immediately sold the pain in her knee. Alexia hit a Lungblower for a nearfall at 9:00. Alexia hit a mid-ring stunner for a nearfall. Alexia actually got Matthews on her shoulders, but her knee buckled and she collapsed. Matthews hit a brainbuster for a nearfall, then a fisherman’s suplex; she switched to a single-leg crab, but Alexia reached the ropes at 12:00.
Matthews hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip. Alexia hit an enzuigiri and a Lungblower to the chest. Matthews hit a swinging faceplant for the pin! New champion! The crowd was shocked and thrilled with the title change. Veda praised Matthews for wrestling a smart match.
5. Taylor Rising defeated Hayley Dylan at 10:58. Rising is a short blonde woman; the first time I saw her, she was facing Heather Reckless and I found them to almost be identical in size. Haylen has orange hair and she looks really young; a quick internet search says she’s 21, and she skipped to the ring. Veda acknowledged that Hayley was a last-minute replacement because of cancellations, and she said that Hayley’s first-ever match was against Taylor. They almost immediately brawled to the floor, and Hayley is the heel. In the ring, Hayley tied Taylor up on the mat and hit some elbow strikes to the side of the head at 3:00.
Hayley hit a snap suplex and remained in control. Rising hit a second-rope superplex at 5:30, and they were both down. They began trading chops, and Rising hit some clotheslines. Rising hit an overhead wheelbarrow suplex for a nearfall. Rising went for a 619 but Hayley avoided it. Rising hit a pump-handle slam for a nearfall. Hayley hit a piledriver as Taylor was caught in the ropes for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Hayley applied a Sharpshooter and the crowd booed, and Rising reached the ropes. They traded more forearm shots. Rising nailed a Mafia Kick, then a Pedigree for the pin.
6. Mercedes Martinez defeated Vert Vixen via DQ at 14:56; Vert retained the Defy Women’s Title. This was supposed to be Mercedes vs. Masha Slamovich. Mercedes came out first; Vixen attacked from behind on the floor. They got in the ring; Vert hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall just seconds in. Mercedes hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes for a nearfall at 2:00. Veda said these two wrestled just a few weeks ago, with Martinez winning. Vert hit a modified uranage for a nearfall.
Mercedes hit a running knee to the side of the head at 5:00, and she seized control. Vert hit a back suplex and fired up. Mercedes hit a German Suplex, and she applied a crossface on the mat, but Vert reached the ropes at 6:30. Mercedes tied up the arms and hit some elbow strikes to the side of the head. Vert hit a Death Valley Driver, then a springboard spin kick, then a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall, but Mercedes got to the ropes.
They traded Mafia Kicks, and they were both down at 9:30. They traded kicks to the chest as they sat on the mat, and Vert got a nearfall. Mercedes hit a Spider German Suplex out of the corner and she got a nearfall at 12:00. Mercedes tied her in a Bow-and-Arrow, but Vert fought free. Vert accidentally speared the referee! Mercedes nailed a fisherman’s buster for a visual pin, but we had no ref! Mercedes got a chair from under the ring. As she was preparing to swing it, Miley! jumped in the ring (her elbow was wrapped!) and took it away. Vert picked up the chair; Miley grabbed the chair from Vert and hit Mercedes with it, causing the DQ. A really good match and I like that this finish did protect both women.
7. Jody Threat defeated Allie Katch in a no-DQ match at 17:18. Veda said these two are familiar opponents and partners. They shook hands and were being friendly, but suddenly then both went for weapons under the ring. In the ring, Katch choked her with a belt, and she struck her in the back with it. Jody hit a suplex, tossing Katch onto an open chair at 9:30, and they were both down. Jody hit a German suplex and was fired up, and she got a nearfall.
Allie got a chair and jabbed Jody with it. A door bridge was set up in the ring. Jody hit a frogsplash onto Allie, who was lying on the door bridge, for a nearfall at 13:00. Jody hit her over the head with door shards. Katch fired back with a Pele Kick. Allie hit a superplex, then a Death Valley Driver through a door set up in the corner for a nearfall at 15:00. Allie got more chairs from under the ring and tossed them in. Jody hit an F5 faceplant slam onto a pile of chairs in the center of the ring for the pin. Solid no-DQ match.
Final Thoughts: Mercedes vs. Vert Vixen was easily best match, even with the no-finish. I first saw Mercedes live at an IWA-Mid South show in 2004 and she has only gotten better over the past 19 years. I’ve seen perhaps five Vert Vixen matches in the past three months and she has really moved into another tier from when she was losing in AEW Dark matches.
I’ll go with Adora-Kraven for second place, and I was glad to see Adora go over. Yes, the top matches delivered on what I hoped for. I’ll go with Nicole Matthews vs. Alexia Nicole for third, ahead of the main event. This show is streaming on IWTV.
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