AXS TV premiered its new season of Women of Wrestling (WOW) last night. The show which has been running for four seasons has featured names such as Malia Hosaka, Holidead, and Amber O’Neal. New viewers can get up to speed with this article before getting into this new episode, but the show is also easy to pick up and jump right into.
Opening the show, WOW champion Santana Garrett gave an emotional speech about how much she appreciated her father “TNT” Kenny G, who was in attendance. Tessa Blanchard then interrupted to say how unimpressed she was with Santana’s family. She dropped the cutting line “your dad probably laced my dad’s boots,” before stating her claim for the WOW championship. Santana had an equally powerful comeback: “I don’t see any of your dads in attendance… get to the back of the line.”
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The Beast vs. Steffy Slays
The first match of the night then took place between The Beast and Steffy Slays. Steffy requested this match to avenge a previous loss. The Beast started the match very dominant with a series of clotheslines, spears, and slams. A couple of cocky pin attempts allowed Steffy to kick out and attempt a comeback, however she was never able to get more than a couple of moves together. After cutting Steffy off with strikes, The Beast hit a big suplex, went for the pin, and then deliberately broke her own pin after a two-count. With a menacing smile, The Beast raised Steffy into one more move, hitting a strong powerbomb to close the match with a statement.
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Abilene Maverick vs. Fire
Making her Women of Wrestling debut, Fire (also known as Kiera Hogan) then appeared on screen in an outdoor woodsy interview area. Fire gave us the origin of her name in a moving segment where she explained that she was bullied in school, and that wrestling was her only outlet. The segment included a bit of fantastic editing where she split into two different people. One was her wrestling ego, and the other was the bullied person of her past. The two looked at each other until one faded away so that only Fire remained. The last shot was of Fire throwing pictures of her old self into flames.
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This segment led into a match against Abilene Maverick (Barbi Hayden). The crowd was very hot, and fully behind Fire’s speedy strike-based offense, throughout. Abilene spent much of the match hair-pulling into mat slams, and other subtly dirty tactics to suppress Fire. After breaking into a sustained attack, Fire appeared to have the match won with a fishermen’s buster, but Abilene kicked out at two. Abilene then took advantage of Fire playing to the crowd by giving her an unexpected punch to the gut. This set up a brutal-looking rope hung DDT for the win.
Eye Candy vs. Khloe Hurtz
Backstage, Khloe Hurtz (Katie Forbes) was briefly seen shoving Abilene and Steffy Slays out of her way en route to the ring. Accompanied by her posse of shirtless men, she proceeded to face the debuting Eye Candy (Willow Nightingale). This match was something of a greatest hits match. It only lasted about 5 minutes, but still managed many noteworthy moments that played heavily to the crowd. From Eye Candy’s shimmies and dances before diving attacks to Khloe performing squats while holding Eye Candy on her shoulders. Eye Candy picked up the win with a moonsault, and then, surprised at the result, hugged the referee in joy.
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Jungle Grrrl vs. Santana Garrett
Before the main event, several brief segments aired. The first showcased Siren, a new wrestler making her first appearance. She used tarot cards in a dark room with candles and declared that she was the true top contender of Women of Wrestling. The editing and lighting made the segment sufficiently spooky. Santana Garrett then spoke about her passion for wrestling and how being the champion of WOW was difficult, but rewarding. Lastly, a package explained that Jungle Grrrl has never been pinned, heading into the match. The former champion lost her title in a triple threat where she was not involved in the pinfall. She feels Santana Garrett doesn’t deserve the title.
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During the main event, Jungle Grrrl got the upper hand within two minutes and hit her Jungle Driver early. However, when going for her top rope splash finisher, Santana rolled out of the way. After Jungle Grrrl came up empty, Tessa came from backstage and interrupted the match by harassing Kenny G. Santana attacked Tessa to protect her dad but did so until past the 10 count, which ended the match. The action wasn’t over though. While trying, and failing, to beat the ten count, Santana slid into the ring right into position for Tessa’s hammerlock DDT. Jungle Grrrl then turned Tessa around and hit the Jungle Driver on her. Finally, The Beast appeared out of nowhere to have a staredown with Jungle Grrrl. The show ended with a gang of referees pulling them apart. Overall, a very entertaining and eventful show; the future looks bright for Women of Wrestling.
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