SPW Ladies Night Review
(Feature photo and videos via Sir Huss Pro Facebook page)
Match Results
Ashura & Luchadonna defeated Luna Inez & Selina via pin
Alexis Lee defeated Indi Hartwell via pin
GM Carl Hella defeated Jane Foo via pin
Emi Sakura defeated Shazza McKenzie via pin
Onslaught & Reika Saiki defeated The Horrors & Mizuki via pin
Zeda Zhang defeated Phoenix and Blue Lotus via pin
Queen of Asia Championship match: Riho defeated Makoto via pin
My preview predictions: 4/7
Ashura & Luchadonna vs Luna Inez & Selina: Luna and Selina isolates Luchadonna by working in their corner and putting her in the tree of woe. Luchadonna fights back and tags in Ashura, who runs wild with a flurry of attacks and hits a German suplex on Selina before receiving a sitdown facebuster by Luna. Botchfest follows before Ashura hits a neckbreaker slam and a running kick on Selina for the win as Luchadonna holds off Luna. Ashura & Luchadonna defeated Luna Inez & Selina via pin [DUD]
They really tried, but it was truly an awful match with plenty of botches. On hindsight it was a bad idea to put these rookies in the first match as the crowd was still warming up, and also not to pair them up with more experienced hands. It was nice to see the crowd being supportive. clapping whenever a move was executed well. I hope they take this on their chin and continue to improve.
Indi Hartwell vs Alexis Lee: Indi avoids lock-up and repeatedly gets out of the ring to boos. She plays scooby-doo with Alexis and gets the first strike. Alexis fights back with strikes but gets cut off. Some showboating follows as she pins Alexis with a most muscular pose for two. Alexis counters a suplex with a cradle for two. Indi does a hanging suplex but the crowd funnily replies with “NOT IMPRESSIVE”. Alexis fights back with a snapmare and kicks but her double knee strike gets countered. Indi attempts a Samoan drop but Alexis counters, and succeeds with her double knee strike. Indi goes for a springboard sunset flip but Alexis sits on her for the three count. Alexis Lee defeated Indi Hartwell via pin [**]
It was fine, a clean match that was slightly slow-paced at times. Credits to Indi for revving up the crowd with heelish tactics who was still quiet at this point. I thought it was cool they didn’t have Alexis go with the underdog route—she was toe to toe most of the time and won the match because she was smarter.
Jane Foo vs GM Carl Hella: GM Carl starts off with a speech about male superiority. He goes for Jane with strikes but Jane is too quick for him. Jane gets the upper hand with strikes and kicks, and slaps GM Carl to cheers of “ONE MORE TIME”. GM Carl uses Ref Sodiq to his advantage and bodyslams Jane. His leg drop misses and Jane hits a stunner. Jane prepares for a superkick but GM Carl hits a hard clotheslines for the win, a callback to the last show. GM Carl Hella defeated Jane Foo via pin [**]
I thought the match was going well until the abrupt finish. For what it’s worth, GM Carl was really great with his selling and expressions, while Jane continues to show potential. The feud continues.
Post-match Eurasian Dragon surprises everyone by proposing to Jane, who said yes. Best wishes to the couple!
Emi Sakura vs Shazza McKenzie: Emi and Shazza locks up as they exchange technical holds. Emi does a swinging neckbreaker and goes for a neckhold submission. Shazza breaks the move and fights back, but Emi starts to dance with Ref Sodiq before using his arm to clothesline a running Shazza. Emi delivers kicks to Shazza chest and puts her in a leg split position but she shows no pain. Shazza returns the favour by putting Emi in a hamstring stretch. Emi then does a middle rope crossbody for a two count before another crossbody from the top rope. Shazza responses with a leg split stunner and a back suplex. Both starts to trade knife edge chops. Shazza delivers an amazing top rope leg split stunner! Emi counters with a quick double underhook bomb for two count, before a top rope moonsault finishes business. Emi Sakura defeated Shazza McKenzie via pin [***1/2]
A much needed shot-in-the-arm for the crowd, it was a quality match with a lightheartedness to it as both veterans worked in some over-the-top moments that were hilarious.
Onslaught & Reika Saiki vs The Horrors & Mizuki: Both teams start to trade poses before everybody starts to brawl. Reika and Mizuki then starts the match showcasing technical holds and counters. Reika and Statement attempts a double team move but Mizuki does a running crossbody. Dr Gore and Statement then takes over—Dr Gore does a mandible claw on Statement but Statement responses with a running rana and a codebreaker. Trexxus tags in and lays Dr Gore on the top rope and stands on his back to do his signature elbow drop. Headbutt and eat defeat combination by Dr Gore and Butcherman follows. Reika tags in with yes kicks on Butcherman who responses with knife edge chops to no effect. Statement then does his signature satellite DDT on Butcherman but Dr Gore breaks pin by grabbing his ass hard! Trexxus does a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Butcherman but he then starts his crazy taunts with Mizuki’s poses. Statement takes over and crossfaces him before trying to solicit a kiss from Mizuki. Butcherman gets one back with his slingshot spear before Reika and Mizuki takes over as the active person. Mizuki does a double foot stomp followed by a top rope version. Trexxus does his signature vertical suplex-front backpack stunner combination on Butcherman. Dr Gore blind tags in and broski kicks Statement for a pin but Reika breaks it up. Reika starts to bodyslam everyone and then does aided body slams using Statement and Trexxus!
Reika dropkicks Butcherman from the top rope while Statement and Trexxus does their double team finisher on Dr Gore to wrap things up. Onslaught & Reika Saiki defeated The Horrors & Mizuki via pin [***1/2]
Another quality match from SPW’s top guys and the Japanese stars, working a smooth and fast-paced match for its entirety. It was skit-heavy, but it achieved the objective of showcasing the technical ability of the joshis as well as providing fan service, as Onslaught and Horrors played supporting roles. Side note my fiancée is now a fan of Reika Saiki.
Zeda Zhang vs Phoenix vs Blue Lotus: Phoenix and Lotus gets Zeda out of the ring to fight among themselves. Phoenix uses her speed to overwhelm Lotus with arm drags. Lotus fights back with strikes and starts brawling with Zeda. Lotus suplexs Phoenix but gets DDT by Zeda. Phoenix’s discus clothesline to Zeda fails and she gets body slam by her. Lotus and Zeda trades elbows and fights outside the ring, before Phoenix does a great suicide dive! It’s showcase time for Zeda as she does a front suplex, a blockbuster and catches Phoenix’s top rope crossbody for a body slam. Three-way brawl starts as Phoenix hits a rana on Lotus but Zeda ends it with a dangerous looking brainbuster on Phoenix to get the win. Zeda Zhang defeated Phoenix and Blue Lotus via pin [**1/2]
It was a tough act to follow after the six man tag, as the crowd had gotten exhausted. It was a fine match with a standard triple threat layout, designed to showcase Zeda’s strength, but I thought Phoenix stood out as well—she is a natural babyface that makes it difficult for people not to support her (she was initially boo-ed when the announcer billed where she’s from but the crowd quickly got behind her).
Queen of Asia Championship match: Riho vs Makoto: Both lock ups and exchange technical holds and dropkicks. Riho knees Makoto in the corner followed by a bulldog. Makoto counters and puts her in a tarantula hold. Makoto taunts and steps on Riho torso and lays kicks to her in the corner. Riho ranas Makoto out of the ring and peforms her signature crossbody from the top rope (but Makoto didn’t catch all of it). Back in the ring Riho puts Makoto in a half crab and finally hits the 619 on her second attempt. Makoto counters and hits a cartwheel double knees. She then puts Riho in a headlock to armbar, but Riho manages to catch the ropes. Amazing sequence starts as both trades stiff elbows as Makoto spears Riho but Riho replies with a wheelbarrow roll up to double foot stomp.
Makoto does a double underhook suplex. Both ends up on the top rope as Riho does a top rope arm drag and a top rope double foot stomp. Makoto fights back with kicks again but Riho then does a fantastic bearhug to bridging suplex for a two count. Makoto is gone at this point as Riho does a running double knees to get the pin. Riho defeated Makoto via pin to retain the title [****]
My match of the night—a clean singles match without any stipulations, where you just let two experienced stars fight it out for the title. Being the only match with a title on the line, there was an urgency to the match as compared to the rest of the matches. Both Riho and Makoto delivered, ending the show on a high.
Overall: Ladies Night started badly with a poor match combined with a quiet crowd, but the atmosphere started to pick up by the third match. By the end of it the Riho-Makoto match was a great way to end the show. It was a joy to see the Japanese and Australians wrestlers showcasing their skills live, but it also then shows that our ASEAN female wrestlers still have quite a way to go. Plus we also get to experience probably the first ever in-ring proposal in Singapore, so overall it was a good show.