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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Aug 29, 2017 9:51:56 GMT -5
Don't even think about changing Kairi's theme WWE. Keep that theme for her, for as long as she's in the company. That is the perfect heroes triumphed theme, hell, you'd expect to hear it after beating a Final Fantasy game.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Aug 29, 2017 9:55:30 GMT -5
I finished watching the first round this morning and instead of writing down about favourite matches (for the record, Sane/Blanchard was the beat match of the first round, Neith/Jazzie below it) I wanted to throw out some points about the tournament in general. The first thing was the crowd. I don't know why they were so tired or whether these were taped after an NXT block, I don't remember, but the crowd didn't seem to get into it outside of a few matches and it felt weird. It wasn't a complete destruction of the tournament but it did hamper some stuff that would have made a bigger impact if they reacted more. Then there were some weird traits throughout the matches that I didn't understand. The amount of big woman/small woman contrast matches were ridiculous and it felt like after Laith/Jazzy, there should have been some more contrasts and more showcase of styles instead of 'ME BIG, ME CRUSH YOU, OH NO ROLLUP FINISH!' Speaking of which, goddamn, the amount of rollup finishes in the first round was ridiculous. Laith's win made sense because, well, that is her finish and it has a connection to Mae Young so I'll take that, but the other stuff just felt like it was there for the sake of it. I feel like what made the CWC so great was that you could pick out the people with the finishers that could beat people. You had Metallik with the Metallik Driver, Ibushi with the Golden Star Powerbomb, Tozawa with the stalling germans etc. That's not to say it didn't happen, with Sane's elbow drop, LaRae with the wild ride, Niven with the Michinoku Driver etc but it felt like the people who needed to be put over didn't get put over the way they should especially in a big tournament like this. This tournament and the UK tournament demonstrated something weird, too, in contrast with how they built people during the CWC. The people who were built up even a little bit were able to showcase their skills and their styles even if the match was short and they were supposed to win. The reason me and Error adore Fabien Aichner so much was because he came in as a big guy, dominated but then showed off some high flying that just made him seem like a dominant figure. He lost because he was outsmarted and it made for one of the best matches of the first round (before Ciampa and Gargano stole it from everyone). It felt like there were people like Salianas or Kay Lee Ray or a couple of others who came in, had this wave of stuff that they could do or say they could and then...nothing. In the UK tournament, there was Dan Moloney (Mr 'I've seen a lot of bad s*** but I can't tell you about it') who came in, didn't show the aggression the video showcased and then lost to Mark Andrews. It's a weird thing and I know not everything can be 100 miles per hour or full on character development because some people won't get signed (I don't see Kay Lee Ray signing, for example, and the match she had kind of shows that) but investment's important with these things. So...the WWE talent. There isn't a terrible one in the bunch and that's a good thing. They need seasoning but there are a good couple that could, in a few months, make it to the main roster easily. Naith's ready, though. She has the character down, she's very crisp and sells really well. She could be a big star for the women's division on either brand easily. Garrett made a great showing for herself, Devi needs to move a bit more (because she's not freaking Khali, she's a lot more flexible than him by miles), hopefully Savoy's able to showcase her moves more, Evans needs a bit more character work, Li is athletic as all hell for not wrestling as much as others (no, I don't think that was her first match) and I feel like all they need is more development to be good for the future. Even Bourne's not TERRIBLE but...I don't know what her character is and she doesn't show that character in the ring. I mean, if anything, there's a lot of people in the same place people like Banks, Bayley and Becky were at the start of their WWE TV tenures and that's a positive because we all know what happened with them. If it were up to me, Jazzy, Piper, Rachel (from past works, not with Belle), Kai, Raymond, Yim, LaRae, Lee Ray and Martinez would be signed by now and Blanchard would be pushed to the goddamn moon. But...I don't think it's as cut and dry as people think it is. For the talk of the lack of opportunities, consider that a) there are a lot more promotions that specialise in women's wrestling than there were 5 years ago (Pro Wrestling Eve being one of the most talked about in recent times for good reasons) and b) I feel like there's some backlash to how people are treated in NXT and how they are on the main roster and it's something WWE needs to sort out as soon as possible for them to be as approachable to talent as they could be. For WWE to want to sign the best women in the world, they need to put the backing behind them not just in NXT but on the main roster too. Consider last week's Raw, there was one promo hyping up the title match and a two-minute match where Emma was basically being punished for her tweets by being fed (AGAIN) to Nia Jax. That doesn't show they're backing the division, it shows they're only backing a couple of people in the division. There's enough time for you to try new things across all divisions and card levels but the women's one, in particular, is a joke in this regard. Sure, the money might be potentially better but why would someone come in, do work in the performance centre then get told that the work isn't good enough, have everything changed and then their overness drops. It's one of the reasons why indie wrestling's doing better than ever, because it comes off as an alternative and the talent coming from the indies, especially for women, is better than ever before and the women stars on top want to wrestle those people to get better. I mean, I could be wrong and most people get signed and we'll have a hell of a division on our hands. But I'm not convinced yet and I hope the next couple of rounds do more because right now it feels a bit weirdly put together. PS. Marti Belle would make a FANTASTIC manager for someone. She's not appalling but considering she's been doing this for 9 years, she should be a lot more honed and bette than she is now.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Aug 29, 2017 10:03:11 GMT -5
I think you can have an undercard that's better than Marti Belle. She had some decent heel mannerisms but it didn't make up for the absolute flop her match was. People with not even a year experience made her look like shit. She literally just had a bad match on a card that had decent-to-good matches. It happens all the time. Like, I didn't even say she was good. Besides, we all know WWE tends to still use wrestlers even if they aren't good and have hardly any redeeming qualities. Im not saying she's the worst thing ever, but I guarantee HHH was in the back like "Nine Years Experience?? Where the f*** did she train??"
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tenshi
Patti Mayonnaise
Probably more memorable than a Charlotte title reign
Posts: 34,654
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Post by tenshi on Aug 29, 2017 13:41:48 GMT -5
It's not really a spoiler but it would've been nice if WWE acknowledged the fact that Serena and Asuka used to feud in Japan, with Serena beating her twice in such way that Asuka brought a sword for the contract signing of their third match. That way Asuka comes off as crazy when someone gets the best out her and it makes Serena look like a big deal.
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Perfect Timing
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Perfect Timing on Aug 29, 2017 13:42:31 GMT -5
Ripley was awesome. I don't know exactly what it was about her but she screamed star to me. To be like that at 20 this girl could make a ton of money at some point.
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Post by Slanted and Enchanted on Aug 29, 2017 13:44:57 GMT -5
This first round has impressed me greatly. My only complaint is that so many good names were taken out in the first round and many of these first round matches should have been second round ones. There are many great wrestlers in this tourney but I feel like LaRae, Storm, Evans with a few more years, Kai, and Ripley have potential to be superstars. And then you have hosses like Bazler, Jazzy, and Nivens. And let's not forget about the promising PC talent who have impressed greatly and have the potnetial to follow the footsteps of Alexa and Carmella.
Man, the future of women's wrestling in WWE looks bright. Cautiously optimistic about how things will go on the main roster but for now I am enjoying this.
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Post by Slanted and Enchanted on Aug 29, 2017 13:46:49 GMT -5
Don't even think about changing Kairi's theme WWE. Keep that theme for her, for as long as she's in the company. That is the perfect heroes triumphed theme, hell, you'd expect to hear it after beating a Final Fantasy game. Her look and that music is totally Skies of Arcadia.
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Post by Slanted and Enchanted on Aug 29, 2017 13:47:53 GMT -5
Fave matches of Round 1: Abbey Laith VS Jazzy Gilbert, Mia Yim VS Sarah Logan, and Kairi Sane VS Tessa Blanchard (best overall of round one actually).
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Perfect Timing
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Perfect Timing on Aug 29, 2017 13:49:46 GMT -5
What's going on with JR?....I swear he just referenced Tajiri and called him Handsome. I always liked his old school somewhat quirky style but he seems a bit confused during this.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Aug 29, 2017 13:51:18 GMT -5
Fave matches of Round 1: Abbey Laith VS Jazzy Gilbert, Mia Yim VS Sarah Logan, and Kairi Sane VS Tessa Blanchard (best overall of round one actually). I'd throw Piper Niven vs. Santana Garrett in there too because that thing really picked up near the end. I loved the ending of Yim/Logan "Off with your head!" "No, off with YOUR head!"
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Post by hbkid718 on Aug 29, 2017 17:54:26 GMT -5
I watched all 4 episodes of The Mae Young Classic. Sugehit VS Ray was a good opener to the tournament. Deeb VS Borne was pretty good & nice redemption for Serena. Baszler VS Zeda was OK. I don't get the love for Baslzer, wasn't impressed by her at all. Laith VS Gabert was a fun David VS Goliath match. Martinez VS Li was OK, especially since it was Li's very first wrestling match. Evers VS Belle was pretty good & my 2nd favorite match. Salinas VS Ripley wasn't that good, all Ripley got is her size. Logan VS Yim was awesome & my favorite match of the entire tournament. Storm VS Raymond was OK. Both girls have an interesting look, but was not impressed by the match. Kai VS Devita was horrible. You can tell that Devita was trained by The Great Khali. Belair VS Beckett was OK. Bianca has an interesting offense, using her hair. Garrett VS Niven was really good. I hate all of the hate that Piper is getting because of her size. LeRae VS Michelle was pretty good, loved Candice's finisher. Evans VS Conti was a hard-hitting match. Savoy VS Gonzalez was OK, but not I'm a fan of MMA & submission. Sane VS Blanchard was really good & my 3rd favorite match of the entire tournament. I can see the hype for Sane, she's awesome. Overall, the Mae Young Classic was really good. I liked the presentation. Also, JR & Lita worked well together as commentators. I'm looking forward to the rest of the matches.
Here are the facts for the MYC: - Princesa Sugehit VS Kay Lee Ray was Sugehit’s WWE debut & Kay Lee Ray’s 1st match since she lost to Nia Jax on NXT on October 28, 2015, & both of their 1st Mae Young Classic openers - Serena Deeb VS Vanessa Borne was Borne’s 1st match since she defeated Jayme Hachey on NXT on July 12 & was Deeb’s 1st match since she & Luke Gallows defeated The Big Show & Kelly Kelly on Smackdown on August 20, 2010 - Shayna Baszler VS Zeda was both wrestlers’ WWE debut & the 800th match in WWE & NXT on TV & PPV in 2017 - Abbey Laith VS Jazzy Gabert was Gabert’s debut & was Laith’s 1st WWE match since she lost a Battle Royal on NXT on May 3, as Kimberly Frankele, & both wrestlers’ 1st Mae Young Classic main event - Mercedes Martinez VS Xia Li was both wrestler’s WWE debut & their 1st Mae Young Classic opener - Rachel Evers VS Marti Belle was Belle’s WWE debut & was Evers’ 1st match since she lost to Sonya Deville on NXT on June 21 - Miranda Salinas VS Rhea Ripley was both wrestlers’ WWE debut - Sarah Logan VS Mia Yim was Yim’s 1st WWE match since she lost to Charlotte Flair on NXT on December 4, 2014 & was both wrestler’s 1st Mae Young Classic main event - Toni Storm VS Ayesha Raymond was both wrestlers’ WWE debut & 1st Mae Young Classic opener - Dakota Kai VS Kavita Devi was Devi’s WWE debut & Kai’s 1st match since she lost to Nia Jax on October 14, 2015, when she competed at Evie - Sage Beckett VS Bianca Belair was Belair’s 1st match since she lost a Battle Royal on NXT on May 3, when she competed as Bianca Blair & was Beckett’s 1st WWE match since she lost to Emma on NXT on November 18, 2015, when she competed as Mary Kate, & was the 150th Women’s Match in WWE & NXT on TV & PPV in 2017 - Santana Garrett VS Piper Niven was Niven’s WWE debut & Garrett’s 1st WWE match since she lost to Billie Kay in NXT on July 27, 2016 & both wrestlers’ 1st Mae Young Classic main event - Candice LeRae VS Renee Michelle was Michelle’s WWE debut & LeRae’s 1st WWE match since a Battle Royal on NXT on May 3, & both wrestlers’ 1st Mae Young Classic opener - Lacey Evans VS Taynara Conti was Conti’s WWE debut & Evans’ 1st WWE match since she lost to Sonya Deville on NXT on May 17 - Reina Gonzalez VS Nicole Savoy was Savoy’s WWE debut & Gonzalez’ 1st WWE match since a Battle Royal on NXT on May 3, when she was Victoria Gonzalez - Kairi Sane VS Tessa Blanchard was Sane’s WWE debut & Blanchard’s 1st WWE match since she lost to Carmella on NXT on June 15, 2016, & both wrestlers’ 1st Mae Young Classic main event
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salz4life
Grimlock
Prichard is a guy who gets that his job is to service his boss.
Posts: 14,276
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Post by salz4life on Aug 29, 2017 20:09:55 GMT -5
Through the first episode and I need more Jazzy!!!!! She is AWESOME. Abbey Laith was excellent as well. Shayna is going to be a GREAT heel!
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Phil Parent
El Dandy
Your Favourite Teacher
Posts: 8,508
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Post by Phil Parent on Aug 30, 2017 0:14:53 GMT -5
So you guys saw Rhea Ripley and you saw the future, right? Told you she was special.
A friend of mine saw her / met her at a show in Japan and wanted to bring her to North America when she turned 18 and introduce her to the American circuit and give her a chance to grow there. But she didn't want to leave Australia because she had her bookings there and she had a fair shot at Japan, too.
She's the next one. Next women's ace. She has so many tools, and she's so young, and there's so many ways you could go in terms of character. I feel that she can do glamourous, she can do athletic, she can do rebel/punk, she could even be an awesome young Bull Nakano-like figure (which I guess, was a punk)
I hope she doesn't have or gain bad habits, that she won't get bad injuries and that she's NOT going to sign with NXT right away, she needs to work the American women's circuit and Japan to truly reach her true potential, IMO.
Sky's the limit.
Other than that, I liked Kairi Sane but I expect Vince McMahon to go "WTF?" at her gimmick. Very charming. Little children will love her and it won't be forced like Bayley where being child-friendly, if not straight up a woman-child, is the whole deal. Kairi is a friendly little Japanese pirate that drops elbows off the top rope. Suspend your disbelief. It works.
I loved Jazzy Gabert and the fact that there is no gray zone, she's a monster, NOT just a big girl that is also a plus-size model, she's the straight up nightmarish love-child of Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen who must break you, and if you die, you die. But I raised an eyebrow at the life story they told about her: I thought she was Masahiro Chono's step-daughter? I don't see Chono kicking her out of the home because she wanted to get into athletics...And she posts family pictures where she seems 100% happy with her half-brother and half-sister and mom?
Haven't see her name mentionned much, but I noticed Marti Belle. There's something there. Very agitated and flamboyant and all. She catches your eye.
LuFisto is too broken down to be in this but Princesa Sugehit ISN'T?! No disrespect, this will be the highlight of her career and it`s well deserved but Lu would have deserved it more than some others.
The only reason the Chinese and the Indian were in this was to pander to China and India. Shame. Expect a lot more from where that came from. $$$.
Poor Piper Niven and her non-revealing wardrobe malfunction. There's a lace on her gear that got unglued or something and it bothered her something fierce. My kind of girl. Thick.
Lose the f***ing tiny hat, Toni Storm. If you want to wear a top hat, for whatever reason, wear a real one, it will look less ridiculous. Hate that shit.
Baszler could kick all our asses. I did not mind the fact that she bordered on being uncooperative at points because I think it makes sense. Tough customer.
Lacey Evans is like a real life Liberty Bell.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Aug 30, 2017 0:36:15 GMT -5
The only reason the Chinese and the Indian were in this was to pander to China and India. Shame. Expect a lot more from where that came from. $$$. I dont think this is fair. One it adds more global diversity which was the whole point of the tournament, to have a ton of different countries represented. Second, all three girls did a fine job and served their purposes. Xai Li was really good vs Martinez. Martinez is a good person to work with but her strikes were crisp and she got the crowd into it. Zeda had a good story and conveys herself well, and she had a nice underdog roll in getting rolled by Baszlor Devi needs work, but her power game was nice. People shitting on her match saying it was awful when Kai was putting her over since we all knew Kai is gonna have more matches in this thing. She slipped up though and lost in the end showing her rookie inexperience. Some of these talents seem undeserving but broadened the international pool, didn't fall all over themselves, and put on decent showings in losses that they can learn from. Yes WWE wants to expand to these markets, that's no secret, but these girls shouldn't be shit on or looked down upon because of that, they did their jobs well.
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Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Aug 30, 2017 2:47:32 GMT -5
Ripley was awesome. I don't know exactly what it was about her but she screamed star to me. To be like that at 20 this girl could make a ton of money at some point. I found her the most impressive of all the girls. She's really the total package as she pretty much has everything a company is looking for (in ring ability, charisma, looks, size, still very young). Going by JR's commentary apparently the officials are really impressed with her too. She definitely has a ton of upside especially when you consider she's already pretty good at just 20 and will only get better with more experience.
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auph10imitated
Dennis Stamp
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Post by auph10imitated on Aug 30, 2017 5:27:00 GMT -5
I am really looking forward to most of these girls joining NXT, the division needs replenshing and there are so many great characters here - Jazzy, Shayna, Kairi, Toni Storm, Candice Larae, Dakota Kai, Piper etc etc, then potentially calling them to the main roster too which would be great, you have some dream matches there.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Aug 30, 2017 10:19:54 GMT -5
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/WWE_Mae_Young_Classic_official_logo.png) WWE Mae Young Classic Episode #2 August 30th, 2017 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
After a solid debut episode, I dive back into the Mae Young Classic. I’m familiar with six of the eight women on this episode.
The opening video package showed highlights from episode one.
Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li Li is signed to the WWE and has only worked a tiny amount of matches. Martinez is a 36-year old vet who has been in SHIMMER, Shine, ROH and many other promotions. I’ve been watching her for about ten years at this point. Martinez had fun with the opening handshake, intimidating Li and mocking her. Lie responded with a series of kicks that overwhelmed Martinez. Li made the mistake of running into a spinebuster and Martinez took her to school. Martinez turned a surfboard into a dragon sleeper for the submission victory in 3:06. I liked the potential that Li showed. In her first televised match, she was given a chance to show off and did well. Martinez made her look good. Martinez faces Princesa Sugehit next. [**½]
Marti Belle vs. Rachel Evers Belle, 29, has been seen in TNA and Shine. Evers, 24, is the daughters of Paul Ellering, was trained by Lance Storm and has impressed me in some appearances for Shine. Early on, Belle went to stall tactics and called for timeout when Evers had control. Marti took over a bit, but the stronger Evers did the old school spot where she no sold turnbuckle smashes. Evers showed off a fisherman slam, which I don’t think I’ve seen before. Marti responded with a bad looking Stroke for a near fall. Rachel then rolled her up to win from out of nowhere at 6:10. That wasn’t any good. Marti looked horrible. She was sloppy as hell and, though I like Evers, she didn’t stand out either. Easily the worst match so far. Evers meets Laith in the next round. [¼*]
New signees Shadia Bsesio and Kacy Catanzaro were shown in the audience.
A video package was shown of Triple H giving the 32 participants a talk at the Performance Center.
Miranda Salinas vs. Rhea Ripley Salinas, 23, was trained by Booker T, while Ripley is just 20 years old and signed to WWE. Ripley is way taller. After some basic grappling exchanges, Ripley busted out a sweet dropkick. Like, some of the top dropkick guys in the business would be a bit jealous. Salinas didn’t back down, regrouping and finding a way to take her larger opponent down. Ripley brought more dropkicks, including a hesitation one in the corner. A full nelson slam later and Ripley won at 3:51. In the short time, they told a fine David vs. Goliath story. The important thing here was Ripley looked like a star. Of the girls I’ve never seen before, she seems to have the most potential. [**]
Beth Phoenix and Natalya were shown in the crowd.
Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan Logan is the former Crazy Mary Dobson, is 23 and signed to WWE. Yim is 28 and has worked for TNA, SHIMMER and Shine in the past. They started with a quick pace and had the crowd giving split chants. Yim showed off an impressive array of kicks, with Logan conjuring up FIGHTING SPIRIT, only to keep getting kicked. As a side note, this was the most knowledgeable Lita sounded in the tournament, noting their past and Yim using the tarantula as a tribute to her old trainer, Tajiri. The women continued to hit each other hard with strikes, kicks and knees. They moved to suplexes, with Yim hitting some great looking ones. Logan was fired up and resilient, constantly fighting back and racking up near falls. Logan missed a weak looking strike and fell to Eat Defeat in 7:17. The best thing on this episode. There was some great looking moves throughout and Logan showed some great babyface fire. Yim was very impressive in her own right. I enjoyed the back and forth aspect, as it hasn’t been something we’ve seen a lot of in the tournament so far. Yim faces Baszler next round. [***¼]
Overall: 5.5/10. Not the best episode if you’re looking for great matches. Only Yim/Logan stuck out to me. However, what did work was how some girls got to showcase potential. Ripley has future star written all over her and a great presence, while Li and Logan looked to be good pieces for the Performance Center. Martinez being on WWE TV was quite cool, too. Avoid Evers/Belle, though. That didn’t work at all.
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Post by tigermaskxxxvii on Aug 30, 2017 14:28:36 GMT -5
Watching episode four right now. Specifically I am on the Reina Gonzalez vs Nicole Savoy match. I cannot hear Nicole Savoy's name without thinking of this:
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Post by hbkid718 on Aug 30, 2017 14:40:34 GMT -5
I take back what I said yesterday. My friend told me to re-watch Marti VS Rachel after I said it was good. After re-watching Marti Belle VS Rachel Evers, it was my 2nd least favorite match, not best. It was horrible. I was updating my records when I was watching it and I missed all of the botches. Therefore my 2nd favorite mach was Sane VS Blanchard and my 3rd favorite was LeRae VS Michelle.
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ToyfareMark
Vegeta
A WINNER IS YOU!
In Hutch I trust!
Posts: 9,652
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Post by ToyfareMark on Aug 30, 2017 15:16:15 GMT -5
Vanessa Bourne runs off the ropes, drops to her knees, and does a headbutt. I'm sorry but thats one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in a wrestling match.
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