An insanely busy weekend of wrestling led to another WWR live stream on Powerbomb – featuring their own “Revolutionary Rumble”.
As ever, there’s a pre-show too, provided by the crew at Beyond Wrestling. It’s daylight at the Electric Haze for the pre-show, which makes for a wacky visual as always.
Matt Riddle vs. AR Fox
Oh hey, I’ve literally just watched these two guys at EVOLVE 98. Our sound levels are a bit wonky at first, as we go all over the place… Riddle dumps Fox on his head first thing with a German suplex, before he busts out some rolling gutwrenches and a back senton.
Fox manages to rebound with a roll-through before taking a leaping kick from Fox, who follows up with a series of topes as Riddle went to the outside, before nailing a plancha into the crowd! Back inside, a senton bomb gets a near-fall for Fox, before Riddle returns the favour with a Bro to Sleep and a German suplex as the match threatened to end at a short rate.
A Fisherman’s buster gets another two-count for Riddle, but Fox gets caught from the kick-out into a guillotine… which he escapes by standing up and turning it into the Twister suplex. That’s another two-count for Fox, who follows up with a Destroyer out of the corner, taking Riddle up to the other corner for Lo Mein Pain… before dodging the HVAC system for a 450 splash.
Somehow, that’s only enough for a near-fall as Riddle barely gets a shoulder up, and quickly traps Fox in a rear naked choke before the tombstone slam, powerbomb, and a running knee does the job. Bloody hell that was a fantastic sprint – going just over six minutes long… more please folks! ***¾
Brian Cage vs. Josh Briggs
Ooh, we’ve gone from hard hits to the big lads, as Josh Briggs took on new-father Brian Cage.
Surprisingly, Cage takes the match to the mat from the off, grabbing a Trailer Hitch before going for a near-fall as the newcomer Briggs seemed to be caught off guard. A drop toe hold puts Briggs back down as Cage keeps trying for pins, before taking Briggs into the corner for some clotheslines.
A nice dropkick from Cage ends Briggs’ brief offence, but the youngster’s quickly in it, charging into Cage with back elbows in the corner before repeatedly whipping him from corner to corner, ahead of a spinning side slam. Cage is able to come back with a deadlift suplex taking Briggs in from the apron, before a spear-like back body drop flipped Briggs for a near-fall.
Cage grounds Briggs with a chinlock for a spell, before the pair tee off with right hands, ending when Cage’s superkick is met with a big boot as Briggs ensured both men were left laying. Another running boot clocks Cage, as goes a gutbuster, but the monster Cage ends up throwing Briggs into the ring post before landing his GMSI (pumphandle sit-out facebuster) for a near-fall. A spin kick to the head keeps Briggs down, but Cage turns around into a Bossman Slam and a moonsault as we’re getting towards the business end of the match.
Briggs looks to go for a chokeslam, but Cage backflips out and nails the F5 instead… and Briggs still kicks out! Some uppercuts in the corner keep Briggs loopy, not helped when Cage gives him (of all things) a Cheeky Nando’s, before Briggs managed to slip out and hit a chokeslam/backbreaker for another near-fall. Good God, they’re kicking out of everything!
Briggs tried to finish off Cage with an inverted Iconoclasm, but Cage slips free as the near falls keep coming, ending with a bloody Screwdriver from Cage for the win. If you like your big lads doing hard-hitting moves, this is for you. It certainly was for me… ***¼
Brandon Watts vs. Flip Gordon
Gordon got the easy “hometown” pop for wearing a Patriots jersey to announce his relocation to Boston.
Flip’s pretty restrained early as he went for a headlock… but bounces right back up after taking a shoulder tackle as Watts and Gordon went back and-forth. A small package nearly dumped Gordon on his head, and that led to a rather awkward moment where they reset things, and we’re quickly back to the high-speed stuff as Gordon’s sent outside and met with a dive.
Watts goes back in, but his crossbody off the top is turned into a lungblower as Gordon got the knees up, and it’s one-way traffic for Flip here as he nails a PK before, erm, flipping off the fans as he eschews a moonsault in favour of a back senton. Finally Flip does a flip, but it’s off of Watts in the ropes as he goes to a grounded abdominal stretch as Flip becomes more of a troll in terms of what the crowd expects to see.
A series of body blows during the abdominal stretch follow, but Watts is able to fight back, getting some boots up to a charging Gordon, before a dropkick cut-off an attempted springboard from Flip. Watts tries to capitalise on the apron, but Flip just slaps him… before getting some receipts and finally an STO on the side of the ring!
Back inside, a legdrop to a kneeling Gordon almost gets the win as Flip barely gets up in time, before Gordon hits back with a Falcon arrow for a near-fall, having taken Watts off the top rope with it. Gordon keeps on hitting with a knee to the face, but a springboard spinning stunner misses a Watts hits back, eventually missing a frog splash before the reverse Finlay roll and a superkick led to a nice reversal, with Watts turning it into a crucifix for a two-count.
Watts keeps kicking, landing an enziguiri before a Pele from Flip and the springboard spinny stunner connects for the win. Nice stuff here, with Flip showing an edge for once… although it’s not a full-on “I’m not flipping” deal, he’s dropping the needless, flashy stuff, which works for me. ***¼
After the match Gordon suplexes Watts and spits on him as the crowd again berates their former flippy fave.
Powerbomb.tv Independent Championship: Martin Stone vs. Jonathan Gresham (c)
Gresham was out with Stokely Hathaway and Faye Jackson – as part of the “Dream Team” – as commentary noted how Gresham’s title defences thus far weren’t exactly clean as a sheet.
Gresham scurried into the ropes early, but he’s quickly taken down as Stone grabs a wristlock and clings onto it as Gresham tried to fight free. Eventually he succeeds and takes the Brit down with a side headlock as he thought to utilise some of his submission game, but Stone’s even to it, and he’s back in control of that wristlock.
The pair continue to move fluidly through submissions until Gresham kips up and we have a square-off… and a graciously-accepted handshake between the two. Gresham tries to grab a hammerlock as the simple holds continue, but Stone manages to back body drop free and into a sunset flip as the pair exchange several pinning predicaments, confusing the hell out of the referee as we went to another square-off.
Stone and Gresham exchange strangleholds, but they’re even to the reversals, before Stone just flipped Gresham free as we’re back to yet another stand-off, this time without a handshake as these graps are GOOD. It’s back to the mat as Gresham tried his luck again, and this time took down Stone in an armbar, before some headscissors ended up with Gresham being rolled into the ropes.
Eventually Stone gets back up as he snaps away on Gresham’s fingers, before moving the strikes towards the hand as Gresham tried to bail. Gresham does leave the ring, as Stokely Hathaway tried to get him to abandon the match, but Stone’s quickly on him and takes him back inside as there’s more finger snapping!
With useless hands, Gresham’s offence becomes limited as he’s forced to use armdrags and kicks until he can shake some feeling back into his hands. He’s able to get enough of a grip as he grabs an armbar on Stone in an attempt to pop the shoulder out, before switching into a regular armbar as he tried to fight on with effectively no hands.
A shoulder charge doesn’t have much effect as Gresham tries for a wristlock, but Stone gets free and lands a missile dropkick off the middle rope, and takes over as he tried to get some flash pins, before catching Gresham in a crossface. The counter from Gresham nearly leads to the pin, but Stone just throws a headbutt after he kicked out, before Gresham uses his legs to kick at the arm and try for another armbar.
More armdrags from Gresham eventually sees him try for a Koji clutch, before instead rolling him up for a delayed near-fall, but Stone’s back with an Exploder and a shot to the arm that nearly gets him the title… but somehow Gresham kicks out! Gresham again tries to bail, but Stone catches up with him and we’re back inside the ring… for like a second as Gresham continues to try and bail. The camera misses everything outside the ring, but Stone barely beats the count-out… Gresham takes him back outside as it looks like they repeat the spot, with Gresham trying to put Stone to sleep on the floor… again, Stone fights up and looks to roll himself and Gresham back inside, but instead he tries to fight out of the hold. An errant elbow misses as Stone sent himself into the crowd, and Gresham rolls in just in time to beat the count! A cheap finish, but I’m kinda liking Gresham being the master of the count-out wins – it didn’t feel like it cheapened the match that preceded it, and brings to an end an exceedingly good pre-show. ***¾
Those last four matches are available for free via Beyond’s YouTube channel – for the rest of this, we head over to Powerbomb.tv…
Jordynne Grace vs. Sonya Strong
We open with Sonya in the ring, who’s talking about her “three month plan”, which including beating Jordynne Grace and winning the Revolutionary Rumble as a way to getting to Deonna Purrazzo.
Strong starts the match by swapping wristlocks with Grace, before an attempted O’Connor roll sees Grace trap Sonya in a camel clutch. Grace’s leg strength countered a Boston crab into a pinning attempt, before she delivered a shoulder tackle for another two-count. After fighting out of a bear hug, Strong lands a nice standing leg lariat to knock Grace down, before a low dropkick put Jordynne way too close to the ropes.
Strong takes over from there, choking Jordynne in the ropes, before nailing a side Russian legsweep for a two count. Grace fights back with a spinebuster, before chaining together the running knees and forearm in the corner, leading to a Vader bomb for another near-fall for Grace.
Another low dropkick from Strong gets her back in it, landing a diving roundhouse for a near-fall, before attempting a sunset bomb out of the corner… only to turn it into a small package driver, spiking Jordynne for another near-fall. Christ, that looked nasty. Still, Grace manages to fire back from there, planting Sonya with a lariat before a pumphandle driver collects a two-count.
Jordynne tried to get the win with a bear hug, but Strong elbows free before rolling her up with a big handful of tights to steal the win. Pretty fun stuff while it lasted, and having Grace cheated so obviously in the opener may be setting up for something for last year’s Tournament for Tomorrow winner… ***
Terra Calaway vs. Kennadi Copeland
There’s a big size difference between these two, as Copeland gave up a lot against Calaway… and she’s forced to use her speed and agility to avoid Terra in the opening stages. An early mistake sees her schoolboy attempt blocked, with Terra dragging her into an over-the-knee backbreaker in the opening moments.
Calaway takes Copeland into the corner for some blistering chops, followed by an old school eye rake on the ropes as Calaway kept her foe at bay. An attempted fightback with a kick gets caught as Copeland eats a sidewalk slam for a near-fall as Terra stayed on top, choking Kennadi on the mat, before pulling her up after a Bastion Booger-like sit-down splash would have ended things.
Copeland eventually gave herself a chance as she avoids a charge in the corner, and follows up with some kicks to Terra’s knee, before a running Blockbuster just about took down Terra for a two-count. Enraged from that, Terra hits back straight away with a full nelson slam, and that’s your lot. A glorified squash, and a so-so one at that, thanks to the wonky comeback. **
Everything’s building up to the Revolutionary Rumble main event… so expect everyone to work double duty folks!
Alexxis, Gilian Leigh & Taeler Hendrix vs. Kasey Catal, Kris Stadtlander & Vanity
There’s a few WrestlePro trainees here, with Catal in particular having done a squash on Raw, losing to Asuka a few months back. Stadtlander is perhaps the tallest member of her team, but not that much taller than “short and sweet” Catal.
Leigh and Stadtlander open things up, with the latter using a roll-up to take Gilian into the ropes, before Catal tags in to pick up an early near-fall after some double-teams in the corner. Things get even worse for Leigh as she’s charged into the corner and brought out with a folding German suplex, earning Catal another near-fall.
Leigh’s knee looked to buckle, but it was a ploy as Alexxis and Hendrix hit the ring to distract everyone, allowing Gilian the chance to attack a dumb-founded Catal with an uppercut. Alexxis tags in to keep Catal down, ramming her head into the turnbuckles as she ran her mouth some more at a fan in the crowd, keeping Catal isolated as Taeler came in to throw some more chops.
A sidewalk slam into a facebuster sees Hendrix set up for a Muta lock/low dropkick combo as Kasey remained out of her depth, struggling against the more experienced trio. A double side-Russian legsweep gets a near-fall, before Leigh spiked Catal’s head from a short snapmare.
Eventually Catal’s able to get to her corner, but she doesn’t get the tag at first, finally bringing in Vanity, who gets caught as she enters the ring. Commentary sells it like she was really caught off-guard, but she’s able to fight back as the ring fills up, ending with a single-arm DDT and a flapjack to Alexxis. Man, commentary really is lashing out at the shoddy officiating as Leigh comes in to break up a pin, before she spikes Vanity with a lungblower as this match has fallen apart.
“What was that?!” was Denver Colorado’s reaction to Stadlander’s atomic drop to Leigh, before Gilian ate a vicious Electric Chair facebuster. Hendrix superkicks away Stadtlander off the top rope, then sees a tombstone rolled through as this again breaks down, taking us back to Vanity, who nails Alexxis with a Blue Thunder bomb for the win. This was a mess, with inexperience showing at the worst possible moments. It almost felt farcical by the end… *¼
Solo Darling vs. Willow Nightingale
Solo looks to have leaned up a little bit since we last saw her, with the nickname “Swoll-o” perhaps hinting as to where she’s been.
They start out playing patty-cake, but it breaks down into some playfuls laps that Willow quickly amps up. A trip from Darling sees Nightingale scramble to the ropes, before Solo takes her down with a hiptoss… but Willow’s back with a shoulder tackle, then grounds Darling in an Octopus on the mat, only to let go of the hold before Solo tried to roll her into a pin.
Willow tries to come back with a Samoan drop, but Solo escapes and lands a chop block, only to find that she can’t capitalise as Willow flips away a cloverleaf attempt and follows in with a backbreaker. Another escape from Solo sees her use headscissors before a tornado suplex left Willow laying.
Nightingale returns with headbutts, before dumping Solo in a Tree of Woe for a baseball slide dropkick that misses as Darling pulled herself up to freedom. From there, Solo goes back for a modified Cloverleaf, but it’s too close to the ropes as a break’s called for. Willow hits back straight away with a superplex, then a Fisherman’s suplex as she came close to victory, before Solo nearly snatched it with a backslide… only for a uranage slam to leave Darling down once again.
Willow tries to finish off with a moonsault, but she’s caught in the ropes as Darling clips the knee again, and traps her in the ropes for some kicks to the knee. After trying for a pin, Darling’s again caught in a Koji clutch, but she rolls free and is able to counter back into the Cloverleaf, finally locking it in for the submission. A good, basic match with Darling continually working the knee and eventually getting her just rewards – a million miles away from what preceded it! **½
Skylar vs. LuFisto
Against her character, Skylar jumped LuFisto at the bell… and that was perhaps her only shout as LuFisto instantly decked her with a forearm as she took the relative rookie to school.
Chops and whips into the corner looked to have Skylar down, but she’s able to escape a charge by countering with a ‘rana… only for LuFisto to hit back instantly with a chop to the chest. A barrage of suplexes gets a near-fall for LuFisto, who ties up Skylar with some body scissors as she began to wear things down, but Skylar eventually hits back with a neckbreaker as some rare offence sees her keep LuFisto down with a snapmare and a low dropkick for a near-fall.
Skylar keeps up with a surfboard stretch, but LuFisto escapes with a butt bump and a titty twister, before some rapid-fire chops left Skylar reeling. There’s more offence to Skylar’s chest, leading to a straight kick to the head and a face-washing boot, but LuFisto’s unable to force a submission with a calf slicer.
An upkick from Skylar almost gets her back in it, as does a lungblower, before a mounted guillotine choke ends up getting countered into a suplex as LuFisto almost took home the win! Somehow, Skylar’s able to reply with a Meteora off the top, but her quest to underscore things sees her caught in the ropes as LuFisto pulled her down into a Burning Hammer for the win. A bloody enjoyable sprint of sorts – with Skylar developing some aggression in her character, only for her inexperience to cost her. **¾
Delmi Exo vs. Holidead
Exo’s changed her gimmick here, playing a tomboy rather than the aquatic-themed character she has in CHIKARA.
Holidead starts out by grabbing a wrist as she tried to wear down Exo early on, but a variation of a front facelock just angers Holidead into pushing away her foe. A headlock takeover works for Exo, as does a side Russian legsweep as Holidead ends up taking a lucha-style armdrag to the outside.
A baseball slide knocks Holidead down outside as Delmi looked for a Thesz press, only for Holidead to catch it and charge her into the ring post instead. Some clubbing forearms on the apron set up Holidead for a legdrop across the apron, but she doesn’t roll Delmi far enough away as the pin doesn’t even begin.
Holidead keeps up with some knees and a clothesline, but Exo’s able to come in with an overhead kick in the ropes, only to get press slammed off the top as Holidead follows with a seated surfboard stretch, rocking back and forth for a while before breaking the hold. Exo blocks a powerbomb as she tried to fight back with more forearms, throwing in a lungblower for a near-fall, before countering a death valley driver and landing a sliding facebuster for a near-fall.
After the kick-out, Holidead catches Delmi unawares, blasting her with a Praying Mantis Bomb, and that’s enough for the win. Another fun outing, with Exo looking more comfortable in this gimmick than what I saw in the former life… **½
Faye Jackson vs. Allie Recks
Faye’s out with Jonathan Gresham and Stokely Hathaway, with the crowd telling her “you don’t need him”.
Jackson easily shoves away Allie at the bell, but Faye’s crew at ringside seems to distract her more than Allie, as Recks racks up some early one-counts. A wheelbarrow roll-up gets turned into a facebuster for a couple of two-counts… but Recks is able to hit back with Eat Defeat and a cartwheel forearm into the corner, but Stokely interferes by grabbing her leg… which somehow isn’t a DQ.
The distraction leads to Faye capitalising with a whoopee cushion-like splash out of the corner for a two-count… and another Stokely spot sees him sent away as Faye wanted to do it on her own. An Irish whip into the corner, then a hip attack gets a near-fall, before a second one’s countered… only for Faye to block a spear and turn it into a crushing Michinoku driver for the win. This was perhaps a little too shtick-heavy with the Stokely interferences, but they kept it short, so… eh. *¾
Davienne, Miranda Vionette & Miss Belmont vs. Team Adams (Deonna Purrazzo, Karen Q & Tasha Steelz)
Hopefully this trios match is better than the prior one! There’s an attack before the match as Miss Belmont attacks Deonna at the bell, and it seems she’s replacing Sammy Lane.
After the initial offence, Deonna takes down Belmont with some headscissors and a clothesline as she showed a gear we rarely saw in prior matches. Steelz tags in and works over Belmont’s arm, as does Karen Q, before Belmont eats a pair of elbows from Q and Purrazzo.
Vionette tags in as Belmont crawled to her in the corner, but Vionette just rushes into a drop toe hold, only for Sammy Lane to distract Purrazzo outside, turning things around for the Black and Blue trio. Miranda crumbles as she delivered a pendulum backbreaker for a near-fall, then tags in Davienne to wear down Deonna with forearms and suplexes. Belmont returns to troll Deonna a little, chopping her in the corner before a wonky tag brings Davienne right back in.
A hip attack in the corner nearly gets Davienne the win, but Belmont crashes and burns with a shoulder charge in the corner, sailing all the way through to the ring post as Purrazzo tags in Steelz, with Tasha having to fight off Davienne and Vionette – with some success as well! Tasha takes an awkward bump to the floor as Davienne lifted her in the corner, before rolling her back in for a near-fall.
Steelz tries to go for a wheelbarrow roll-up, but it’s turned into a facebuster for a two-count as Q and Purrazzo stormed the ring to break it up… before Davienne’s attempt at a triple team goes awry, with Q tagging back in to clear house all by herself! Belmont quickly stops it with a cobra clutch slam, before Davienne waffles Q with an air raid crash, and we’re well into a Parade of Moves, with Vionette ending with a Blue Thunder Bomb to Steelz!
The ring quickly empties as Q stays in with Vionette, only for Sammy Lane to interfere again… and it backfires as a forearm from Vionette knocks Sammy down, allowing Karen to get the win via schoolboy. Entertaining enough, but nothing particularly special as the proverbial ring rust showed for some. **¾
Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) vs. The Office (David Starr & Tessa Blanchard)
Despite losing the fans bring the weapons match on New Year’s Day, David Starr is still tussling with Joey Janela over being the Ace of Beyond… and he’s picked Tessa Blanchard for this latest go round, complete with their own customised entrance lines.
Before we get going, Joey wants the mic, but Starr intercepts it so he can heel himself by calling for the Eagles (a week later, they’re facing the New England Patriots at the Superbowl, so yeah, being an Eagles fan in the Boston area is an instant bad guy move). Starr demands that they get another referee, but ref Kevin Quinn refuses to go, and he starts the match anyway.
We’re under intergender rules as we start with Janela and Blanchard, with the latter taking a shoulder takedown before tripping up Joey. Tags bring in Starr and Ford, with Starr hamming up a tie-up into the corner before mouthing off to the ref and the crowd, as he takes down Penelope with ease. She fights back, blasting Starr with a forearm, before scoring a ‘rana and a wheelbarrow bulldog, before another pair of tags took us back to Janela and Blanchard, thanks to Starr not wanting to stay in.
Joey sent a message with chops in the ropes to Tessa, as some double teaming led to Ford missing a moonsault… only for Joey to hit some more chops to the front and back of Blanchard. Starr tries a cheapshot, but missed, before he and Tessa score some nice double-teams, with Blanchard’s lariat sending Janela flying. Tessa’s back with some chops, and now Starr wants in as he picks his spots against the “Bad Boy” Janela.
Blanchard’s back with a triangle armbar on Janela, before Starr returns for a Violence Party of forearms and chops, before landing a diving crossbody into a cornered Janela. Joey tries, and fails, to leap over Starr to make the tag out, before Blanchard’s attempt to interfere sees her thrown onto the floor by Penelope… but she’s able to make full use of her positioning to drag Ford off the apron as they came within inches of a tag.
Back inside, a spiking hammerlock DDT left Janela reeling for a near-fall, as Tessa returns to tie up Janela with an abdominal stretch. He eventually hiptosses free, then finally brings Ford back in for a nice comeback featuring accidental spots, before a back handspring elbow connects to Blanchard… only for a second one to see Ford trap herself in the ropes en route to Starr. A repeat sees her hold Starr in place for an accidental forearm from Blanchard as the match threatened to fall apart here.
They tag out again as Janela comes in to plant Blanchard with a kick to the chest, then a death valley driver as Starr’s forced to break up the pin, before he pratfalls in and helps trap Janela in the ropes for a superkick from the apron. A backdrop driver from Tessa nearly gets the win, but Starr’s back in as they windmill each other with slaps, as do Blanchard and Ford!
Janela tries to put the icing on the cake with a Doomsday Device, but Tessa just spikes him with a reverse ‘rana as a Shining Wizard from Starr takes out Ford… allowing The Office to hit a double-team Lungblower/German suplex combo for a near-fall. Joey’s back with a superkick as they try the Doomsday Device again, this time succeeding as Ford rolled Blanchard over for the pin – despite Tessa having her feet clearly on the ropes! Ah, I like it when incompetent refereeing is a storyline rather than a constant crutch. A solid mixed tag match, despite some rough moments. ***¼
David Starr was incensed after the match, despite Kevin Quinn miming the count repeatedly. Tessa throws a fit too as Starr tries to shout over the crowd, who scream “Not My Ace” at him, before a handshake from “The Product” sees him snap into the ref with an armbar and stomps. Just deserved, in my mind…
Revolutionary Rumble
The winner of this faces Tenille Dashwood in March… I can’t think where they got this idea from… we cut out the entrances, as Skylar and Deonna Purrazzo open the match, working hammerlocks and the basics until the first newbie came into the fray, breaking their hold to greet Tessa Blanchard! Tessa’s double-teamed almost instantly, but she lands a double clothesline before going after Skylar with a punt to the back.
Blanchard and Purrazzo go after each other with forearms as Penelope Ford hit the ring, and now we’re getting folks pairing off. Eliminations just come when folks leave the ring, there’s no over-the-top stuff here, and it’s in a holding pattern until Miss Belmont comes out. Belmont goes straight for Skylar, choking her in the corner as Blanchard takes a breather, at least until Ford spots it and makes a beeline for Tessa instead.
Number six is Davienne, as Team Black and Blue didn’t seem to be in any rush to pair up, instead working separately to try and get rid of Skylar and Purrazzo. Out next is Karen Q, entering just as Penelope was eliminated. Miss Belmont’s also shoved out, as Davienne just watched on. Q and Purrazzo got rid of Skylar and Davienne as the ring cleared a little.
Purrazzo and Blanchard turned their sights on each other as the next entry came in the form of Jordynne Grace, but it’s a quiet thirty seconds before number nine appeared as Willow Nightingale, whom Tessa instantly wanted to square up with. Blanchard is bulldozed down as Willow tickles everyone, before Blanchard’s fighting to stay in the ring against Q and Nightingale. Gilian Leigh is next out, and she goes straight for Q, choking her in the corner as Grace tried to shove Willow out of the match.
Next up is Sonya Strong, who takes her time entering the ring… but she gets dragged in by Grace and instantly dogpiled as everyone had enough of her running her mouth. Number 12 is Terra Calaway, who immediately throws out Nightingale before leaving Karen Q hanging in the corner… Gilian Leigh’s turfed out too, as number 13 appears as LuFisto, who goes straight for Terra!
Calaway avoids being eliminated, dragging herself onto the apron before duelling hip attacks from Team PAWG – LuFisto and Grace – finally knocked her down. Purrazzo gets eliminated courtesy of a leg sweep on the apron from Strong, as Tasha Steelz emerges from the back, and things quickly settle down to LuFisto and Blanchard trading blows. Out at fifteen is Holidead as things entered another lull, despite Holidead and LuFisto laying into each other with chops!
Sonya Strong clings onto the apron to keep herself alive, and almost takes Blanchard out as we wait for number sixteen: Taeler Hendrix! Meanwhile, Holidead’s kept in by the fact that Jordynne Grace was trying to shove her out of the ring on the side right by the wall! Blanchard dropkicks Steelz out of the ring, as she then stands around chatting with Grace until Faye Jackson came out.
Jackson went straight for Blanchard with a stinkface, but Taeler breaks it up as the ring was getting especially full. Another body joined the fray in the form of Delmi Exo, but she’s instantly chopped by Hendrix as the camera cuts to show Team PAWG eliminating Holidead. Another vicious chop from Taeler to Delmi follows as PAWG try to turf out Jackson, but Tessa’s more interested in slapping her arse instead.
Solo Darling is out next to help with the Jackson situation, but she’s quickly eliminated via a baseball slide dropkick from Strong, who instantly has to deal with LuFisto’s strikes as the last entrant comes out – Alexxis… and it’s Alexxis who’s looking very unsure, surveying the scene before taking action. Surprisingly she’s not helping Taeler, who was about to get shoved off on the apron by Strong…
Delmi Exo’s thrown out by Alexxis and Hendrix, before they try to turn their sights onto Jackson. Meanwhile, Grace hangs on as Strong tried to throw her out, just in time for Jackson to get kicked to the outside as we were left with the final six in the match. Hendrix headbutts away a suplex attempt from Tessa, before kicking LuFisto to the floor. Strong’s taking a breather in the corner as Hendrix and Alexxis get into a shoving match between each other, and it’s Hendrix who’s eliminated by Alexxis!
Alexxis avoids a Sid Justice/Hulk Hogan elimination as Taeler heads to the back, as we’re down to the final four of Alexxis, Grace, Strong and Blanchard! They pair up, leading to Alexxis getting thrown out by Jordynne, before Blanchard tries to fly off the top into Strong… but Sonya instead kicks away Grace and knocks Tessa off the top rope, eventually onto the apron and to the floor, with Jordynne having the final helping hand on that.
The final two are Strong and Grace as we go back to the opener, with Strong dumping Jordynne with a German suplex, before Grace low-bridges her onto the apron. Sonya drags her there as the pair look to finish off, but Grace snares her in a bear hug on the apron… eventually wearing down Sonya and dumping her into the arms of the referees below… and that’s our match! Jordynne Grace faces the former Emma in March, and that’s going to be a tasty match! A decent enough Rumble, with very few down-spells, but it also had some head-scratching moments, like expected alliances not paying off. **¾
All-in-all, Five Year Plan was a fun show, but completely overshadowed by the pre-show. Taking that out, WWR’s blend of experienced and fresh faces worked a little, but those with little experience hurt the matches they were in, with that early trios match almost derailing the entire card. Still, if you’ve got Powerbomb.tv, this is worth your time, if only to get a sight of the next round of women’s wrestling in the States.