The Grind continues as the roster continues to inch towards title contention.
Quick Results
Spartan Medal: Madison Marley pinned Harley Hudson in 8:50 (**½)
Chronos Medal: Maddy Morgan pinned Jackie T in 5:38 (**½)
Chronos Medal: Millie McKenzie pinned Melissa Fierce in 8:41 (***)
Once again we’re back in Digbeth at the Kamikaze Pro dojo with commentary from Conor Bailey, Lucy Simons and Jetta… and we’re straight to action.
Madison Marley vs. Harley Hudson
This is for a Spartan bronze medal – so there’s no time limit here…
An exchange of headlocks between Harley and Marley made me wonder if itt was just me being a muppet. A headlock takedown and escape resets things as Hudson worked over an arm wringer, but Marley’s able to counter with an armbar in an even opening stretch.
An overhead wristlock from Hudson took things back to the mat, before Marley found a way back with some headscissors to take things into the corner. A dropkick’s good for a two-count for the Dane, who then got caught in the ropes as Hudson dove into the strands to stop her in her tracks.
Hudson takes things into the corner for a hip attack, before a whip into the corner kept her ahead, as did a straitjacket choke. Marley’s able to break free, returning with a jawbreaker and some knee strikes, before things spilled outside with Hudson sneaking in an Undertaker-like legdrop onto the apron.
Back inside, see-saw pins troll the ref as Hudson then worked her way in for a Gory special on Marley… but the ropes were able to save Marley and force a break. Another trip up top from Marley ends with a crossbody to Hudson for a near-fall, before a Codebreaker off the middle rope got the win in a decent match – but like most of this show, something really hampered by the atmosphere. **½
Pre-tape time… as Nina Samuels reminds us that Tilly Rose still isn’t cleared to wrestle, and as such she’s getting her banned from the building as we’re getting Hollie Barlow against Claudia Bradstone.
Next up, the Duchess laments her losses – including one to her coach, Harry Milligan… she promises to come back stronger, but something tells me time isn’t on her side for this series.
Maddy Morgan vs. Jackie T
This was set up last week when Jackie T tried to push himself around a bit… Adam Bolt’s out with Jackie, just for the fun of it.
Jackie’s caught with a crossbody early on as Morgan refused to let him push her about, leading to a facebuster and a standing moonsault for a two-count as Jackie bailed to the outside for a breather.
Morgan gets dragged outside, and while she shrugged off an attack, she had to deal with a distraction from Bolt on the floor. It eventually paid off in Jackie’s favour as he pulled Maddy out of the corner, then hit a back elbow off the ropes for a two-count. We’ve got some choking in the ropes before Jackie threatened to use a foreign object… the ref confiscates and removes it as Bolt stood about two feet away.
Bolt gets involved some more as he choked Morgan in the corner, before Jackie T’s take on the People’s Elbow came up short, allowing Maddy back in briefly. An enziguiri buys her time as she followed up with a cartwheel back elbow into the corner… then something flashier ahead of another facebuster.
Problem was, Jackie was close to the ropes and it allowed Bolt to reach in to put Jackie’s leg on the rope to save his skin. It looked to only prolong the inevitable though, as Morgan’s ‘rana off the top eventually came off, before a moonsault out of the corner got the win. **½
More pre-tapes, this time with Leon Cage berating Joseph Conners and Riley Nova… before talking up how he bounced back with a win last time. Cage wants the Underground title, but he’s got to win two more matches.
Aleah James is up next to hype up her match with Angel Hayze. She brings up their meeting at Pro Wrestling EVE in 2019’s SHE-1, which Aleah took the loss in… and promised to get the win this time around.
Next week: Aleah James vs. Angel Hayze, Tyler Owens vs. Violet Nyte, and Brendan White vs. Jay Joshua.
Melissa Fierce vs. Millie McKenzie
It’s just Jetta and Lucy on commentary for this match…
We’re told on commentary that a time limit draw in these matches counts as a loss – which is a nice little wrinkle to things. An even opening star sees Fierce and McKenzie trade holds, before a spinning back elbow from Fierce put her ahead, leading to a Tiger Feint kick in the corner and a missile dropkick as Fierce looked to close this one out in a hurry.
Fierce remains on top with an uppercut in the corner for another two-count, before Millie reversed an Irish whip and hit a dropkick of her own. That’s added to with a neckbreaker, then with another whip into the corner as Millie began to use her experience to build on her advantage.
A side headlock from Millie’s next, but Fierce breaks free with a jawbreaker as she mounted a comeback, adding a monkey flip before a second one was stopped in its tracks. Instead, Fierce’s ‘rana off the top almost wins it, but a roll-up and a superkick put McKenzie back in control, before a deadlift side suplex almost ended things. A German suplex from Millie finds its mark, as does a second, before a third one almost put Fierce away. Somehow, Fierce manages to shake that off to land a back cracker for a near-fall as we were heading into the final minutes of the time limit, but Fierce’s attempt at a Fireman’s carry is pushed off as McKenzie hits back with a spear out of nowhere for the win. I liked how they were beginning to toy with the time limit here – especially as they’d introduced some jeopardy with that result. ***
We’re eight episodes deep into the Underground format, and the addition of two new roster members has me pondering – how far into the journey are we? While this has been presented as an open-ended endeavour, the fact that you need to be in at least three matches (and of course, win three in a row) in order to get to the “next step” means that we’re still very much in a tunnel with no idea of when we’re going to see the light. It’d be like if the Champions’ League kept adding extra teams to the mix every other week… That’s not inherently a bad thing, but at least having an idea of “we’ve got X weeks to go” would create a sense of urgency and an additional reason to tune in to see whether your favourites (or most hated) remain in the running or not.