Written by Mark Rodriguez
Match 1- Athena VS Mazzerati -Proving Grounds Match-
Mazzerati goes for the roll up pin and Athena kicks out. Mazzerati grapples with her arm and tries to either pin or make her submit, but Athena reverses this into her own hold. Mazzerati slides out from underneath Athena to escape the hold. However, she wastes too much time showing off and doing jumping jacks that Athena is able to launch her towards the ropes with a flying dropkick.
Athena picks up her opponent in a vertical position and just slams her down facefirst. The champ grabs Mazzerati and hangs her off the ropes, punching her across the back. Mazzerati shoves Athena back, making her fall off the apron. Mazzerati goes off the apron to grab Athena with a Hurricarana, but Athena holds onto her. The champ lifts her up and power bombs her into the unforgiving floor. Billie Starks is shocked.
Athena goes over to pick up Mazzerati and swings her into the stands. Athena throws her back into the ring and starts kicking her around. She slams her opponent's face in the ring and lands on her with senton. Athena gets her in a submission hold, pulling her arms back with her knee up against Mazzerati's spine.
Athena flings Mazzerati towards the ropes and her opponent hangs on. Athena runs towards her but gets kicked in the midsection by Mazzerati. Mazzerati goes for the flying headscissor but Athena cartwheels herself out of it. Mazzerati, thinking she got the champ, turns around and gets decked out. Athena goes for the pin but the challenger kicks out.
Athena hands Mazzerati upside down the ropes and viciously kicks her spine several times. Athena runs into Mazzerati but she gets out of the way. With Athena bumping into the ring post, Mazzerati hits her with two flying knee strikes. Mazzerati rolls the champ into the mat and hits her with several elbow strikes. She goes for the ropes and leaps off, but Athena kicks her right out of the air. Athena gets Mazzerati in a choke hold and makes her tap.
Even though the bell rang, Athena turns around and gets Mazzerati in a crossface. The ref tries to get her off and brings her the belt. During this, Billie quickly grabs Mazzerati and rolls her under the ring and out of sight. Once Athena recovers her title she asks Billie where her opponent went and she swears she doesn't know and she just must have left. Athena says Billie better not be lying as she heads off holding her title.
Mark's thoughts-
So this was a 'Proving Grounds' Match where Mazzerati had to either pin Athena (not happening) or survive 10 minutes against Athena (also not happen) to get a legit title shot against her. Mazzerati definitely had her work cut out for her.
Still loving the dynamic between Athena and Billie and how they clash. It's pretty much a heel making a face work with them, while both retain their character. Even though this was a jobber-squash match, Athena still brought on impressive and vicious power moves. It felt like Mazzerati died several times during the match and was brought back to life just to get killed again by those power slams. Billie saved her from further abuse, and the commentary did mention the matches and recorded and Athena could see them (something not too often brought up). We'll see how Athena responds to that if the story goes there.
Jupi's Thoughts-
So, Athena was in an "in action" match, which means a jobber match. Should I have high expectations for the poor wrestler, who will inevitably lose, to face off against the 40-0 reigning champion?
Man, that Mazzarati is trying so hard to get Athena to submit, but that flying kick Athena used against her looked like it would've hurt. Same with that slam Athena used on her!!! It was after that frontal facelock she used on her! WTH!! Athena do not KILL your opponents!! The rest of the match just had me cringing over the moves Athena was using against her opponent! Mazzarati was a trooper. I'm like, "Who the heck did you piss off backstage to go through that abuse!" 😣 'I will definitely say that this is one of the best jobber matches I've seen because it didn't end after like 30 seconds and Mazzarati did put up a fight at times.
The ending of the match with Athena as the victor (41-0) distracted and Billie Starkz hiding Mazzarati to avoid her fate with the belt was interesting. I now wonder what will happen when Athena finds out that Billie is doing stuff like that to keep her from smashing her losing opponent's face with the belt.
Match 2- Mercedes Martinez (with Diamante) VS Lady Frost
Both women go for the grapple but Mercedes trips Frost up and stomps her across the back. Mercedes stomps her again and then stands her up to slap the taste out of her mouth. Mercedes gives her another slap across the mouth and grabs her for the Irish Whip while she's rattled. Frost lets go before she gets flung forward and tries to hit her, but Mercedes pops her across the mouth again.
Mercedes picks up Frost and flips her back, but Frost lands on her feet and goes for the roll up pin. Frost finally socks Mercedes across the mouth and grabs her for some knee strikes. Frost goes for a handstand to grab Mercedes with her legs. Mercedes pushes her legs off her and kicks her in the stomach. Frost is on the mat, recoiling in pain as Mercedes talks trash. Mercedes grabs her and hits her across the chest several times. She goes for the cover but Frost kicks out.
Mercedes grabs her and rams her face into the top turnbuckle. Mercedes kicks away at Frost several times until the referee breaks it up. Frost starts to fight back, landing some strikes and getting back to her feet. Mercedes cuts this short by gouging her eyes. Mercedes grabs her and runs her face across the ropes. Mercedes runs towards her and Frost gets her chance to kick her back, making her fall on her back. Frost does a cartwheel over Mercedes and sending her flying forward with a dropkick to the back. Frost hurt herself as she landed from the dropkick and can't take advantage of the fact that Mercedes is down.
Frost forces herself to her feet and runs towards Mercedes, but her opponent trips her up and slams her face into the top turnbuckle. Mercedes grabs Frost with an underhook slam and goes for the cover. Frost kicks out twice. Mercedes picks her up but Frost gets out of it and lands some kicks on her. Mercedes and Frost trade shot and Frost gets her opponent up against the ropes. She hit Mercedes with several running shoulder tackles and then bashes her with a running kick to the side of the head. With Mercedes out, Frost rolls her across the met and goes for the ropes. Frost lands on her with a body splash and goes for the cover, but Mercedes sets her boot on the ropes.
Frost gets Mercedes into position again and goes for the top rope for her finisher, but due to the damage she's endured, she's taking a while to get up there. Mercedes crawls out of range. Diamante runs into to try to hit Frost but the ref catches her and she backs away. Mercedes runs in and hits Frost several times across the back to put her out of commission. She then lifts her up, Razor's Edge style and slams her face first into the mat. She goes for the pin and wins the match.
Mark's Thoughts-
You gotta feel back for Lady Frost in this match. Not only did she get popped in the mouth enough times to require dental work afterwards, but Mercedes raked her face across the ring ropes and kicked the hell out of her spine. Between the beat down and the trash talk. Mercedes was vicious and then she ended the match with a more violent version of the Razor's Edge. Pretty good match, but poor Lady Frost.
Jupi's Thoughts-
I have high hopes for this match since both are good and capable of putting on a good match. It's Strength vs Athleticism for this set up.
Dang, Mercedes started off strong, as expected, but that slam to Frost's head seemed a bit too brutal. Mercedes wasn't holding back at all! She even kicked poor Lady Frost in the boob! I mean....OUCH!!! I couldn't imagine that feeling. All throughout, it seems Mercedes had the upperhand, but Lady Frost still managed to fight back and break out of Mercedes' pins....but oh my gosh! That last move! What the heck was it? It's like she had Lady Frost in like this crucifix position and then dropped her or something...my brain couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. Of course Lady Frost couldn't get out of that and was pinned.
Since Mercedes lost to Athena, I think this match proved that she is definitely worthy enough to fight against her again. I hope that's where this is leading because seeing those two go against each other with how they've been doing lately would be so epic!! I wouldn't even know who I would root for in that type of set up or even fathom who would win. All I know is that both could put on a good match! Athena with her aggressive style against Mercedes' strength.... bring it on!!!
Match 3- Leyla Hirsch VS Willow Nightingale
Leyla goes for the drop toe hold, but is unable to make Willow budge. Both women go the grapple, resulting in Willow picking up Leyla and body slamming her. Willow keeps her down with a shoulder tackle and a hip toss. She gets Leyla up against the ropes and hits her with several forearm strikes. She then picks her up, but Leyla holds onto her, going for a choke hold.
Willow backs up against the turnbuckle to get Leyla off her. She rolls her across the mat and goes for the ropes. Before Willow can do anything, Leyla runs over and socks her. She then grabs one of her legs and pulls her off the ropes, making Willow hit the back of the head with the turnbuckle on the way down. Leyla goes for the cover and Willow kicks out. Leyla gets Willow up against the ropes and chokes her with her leg and the ropes.
Willow is dazed and Leyla notices her left arm is in bad shape, so she targets all her attacks towards it. The woman trade shots and Willow tries to pick up Leyla for another slam. Leyla holds onto her arm and rolls with it, making Willow hit the ropes. She then knocks down Willow with a missile dropkick. Leyla goes for the cover, but Willow kicks out.
Leyla grabs Willow in a double wrist lock. Willow fights her way back to her feet and tries to pick up Leyla, but she doesn't let go. Willow is unable to get to the ropes, so she hits Leyla across the back and slams her back with a suplex. Both women are down and fight to get back to their feet.
Leyla runs towards the ropes, but Willow gets out of the way, leaving her to crash into the top turnbuckle. Willow hits her with a running hip attack and then knocks her down with a thrust kick. Willow picks her up and slams her with a spine buster. She goes for the cover but Leyla kicks out.
Willow hits her with a series of headbutts and picks her up again. Leyla slips from her grasp and managed to get behind her and slam her with a suplex. Leyla then knocks her down with a running lariat and goes for the cover.
Leyla goes for the ropes but Willow grabs her and gets ready to power bomb her. Leyla slips from her grasp, but Willow is able to grab and slam her. She goes for the cover but Leyla still kicks out. Willow goes for the running cannonball but Leyla gets out of the way, making her crash into the ring post. Leyla goes for a running knee but Willow kicks her back. Leyla runs into Willow, and Willow sends her into next week with The Pounce. Willow picks up Leyal and slams her with the Gutwrench Powerbomb and pins her for the win.
As Willow raises her arm in victory, Leyla socks her in the face and starts to punch and kick at her. Skye Blue runs in to help and Leyla takes her down to start attacking her. Skye turns the tables and does the Ground and Pound on Leyla instead. As Leyla gets back up, Skye lays her out with one of her thrust kicks. Skye Blue tends to Willow as Leyla backs off and leaves in defeat.
Mark's Thoughts-
It was a pretty intense match. The common theme is that both Leyla and Willow have come close to defeating Athena for the title, and both of the have been having strong momentum in Ring of Honor. This meant that this one really could have been any woman's match, and that's always exciting. As expected, it was an intense match with Leyla being more technical while Willow brought the power moves. Due to the height and weight difference, you can consider this a David and Goliath match, just that this time the David is the heel. It made sense for Leyla to get pissed and jump Willow afterwards since this loss broke her streak. Good to see Skye Blue come in, since she and Willow continue to have each other's backs. We'll see if this leads to Leyla coming after Skye.
Jupi's Thoughts-
Oh man this should be good! Let’s see how this goes. Leyla was rude by not accepting Willow’s handshake at the beginning of the match.
Willow started off dominating the match but there was a spot where Leyla knocked Willow off the top rope and the back of her neck hit the rope! That HAD to have been a botch! 😣
Man when Leyla got Willow in that double wrist lock and she stood up while holding Leila, while still holding her and then suplexing Leyla to break out…dang!
Willow was way more aggressive than usual. This match was good! It could’ve gone either way, but Willow managed to win. Too bad Leyla didn’t like that and started beating on Willow, but Sky Blue showed up to help! That was so cool! So, does that mean there’s a rivalry with those two now? I am a bit behind with ROH. 😅
Match 4- Billie Starks (with Athena) VS Rachelle Riveter
Both women grapple and Billie gets Rachelle up against the turnbuckle. Billie turns her back on her opponent and celebrates, which leaves her wide open for Rachelle to lay her out with a kick. Rachelle runs towards Billie, but she leaps out of the way, letting her crash against the top turnbuckle. Billie smacks her with several hits and knocks her down with a clotheslines.
Billie is a little too proud of herself and Athena tells her to stay on her. Billie tries to grab her but Rachelle slips from her grasp. Rachelle goes for a kick but Billie catches her foot and knees her in the face. Billie picks her up and slams her upside down. She then grabs her in a crossface and Rachelle taps out right away. Billie Starkz wins the match.
Athena and Billie start heading out, with the champ bossing her 'minion in training' around as always. Suddenly Mercedes and Diamante run in and jump them from behind. Diamante grabs Athena and spikes her into the floor, knocking her out. Mercedes then grabs Billie to Diamante can sock her out. Mercedes and Diamante stand over the defeated women as they mock them.
Mark's Thoughts-
Extremely short match with Billie acting kinda like an idiot, more focused on impressing Athena than the actual match. I'm just saying, she wasn't making these kinds of rookie mistakes pre-Athena. Athena even had a scoreboard to grade her during the match. Of course the major thing is that now Mercedes and Diamante have their eyes on the champ, and poor Billie Starkz will also be caught in the crossfire.
Jupi's Thoughts-
So another 'In Action' match. So Billie will probably win. With Athena in her corner like a coach.
Billie did too much showboating during this incredibly short match, but at least that allowed Rachelle to get a couple of hits in. In the end, Rachelle tapped after being put into a submission move by Starkz.
While heading back up the ramp, Mercedes Martinez and Diamante showed up and attacked the pair, knocking Athena out! I should’ve known that something else would happen with the match being so short. I am so curious where this is all going to go. 😀
Mark's Overall Thoughts-
The women really brought their A-Game today, using all sorts of devastating moves. The Athena match was made much more intense by how brutal she was. Mercedes ended poor Lady Frost with a hell of a finisher. Leyla VS Willow could have gone either way. The Billie Starkz match was barely a match, but then you have them getting jumped by Mercedes and Diamante. This was a hell of an episode when it came to the women's matches.
Jupi's Overall Thoughts-
Okay, highlight of this ep…the Dalton Castle vignette. 😂😝. Okay, never mind that but all the women’s matches were really interesting for this episode…even the short Starkz one but mainly because of the aftermath. I wish we could’ve gotten more of Rachelle Riveter. Maybe some other time.
Anyway, this was all pretty intense and I hope these potential rivalries go in the right direction. Are we going to get a tag team match up between Athena/Starkz and Mercedes Martinez/Diamante? Will we get Mercedes vs Athena for her title? So much potential and opportunities to build on. Come on creative, don’t slack!
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