wXw continued their autumn festival with an all-women’s show – that also saw another title defence for Amale.
Who would follow in the footsteps of Alpha Female, Toni Storm and Meiko Satomura? Like pretty much every show this weekend, we’d had a late change, with Saraya Knight pulling out on Thursday night due to illness – she was replaced by Vicious Vivien, out of the German Hurricane Wrestling promotion.
This year, they flat out say that the winner of the tournament gets a shot at the wXw women’s title, which makes things a little more interesting. We open with the obligatory parade of entrants, and then it’s straight to action…
First Round: Martina vs. Wesna
Martina’s playing hide and seek as she’s afraid of Wesna. The “please don’t die” chants don’t help her mood, although the bottle of beer at least helped.
She bounced off Wesna with shoulder tackles early on, before she got peppered with kicks as Wesna followed up with some chops in the ropes. Forearms from Martina led to a nice handstand takedown, throwing in some forearms and a boot before a missile dropkick finally had Wesna off her feet.
Wesna charges Martina to the corner, coming close with a Northern Lights suplex too, before a simple big boot decked Martina once more. Forearms and chops get Martina back in it, before a double jump Seshbreaker was swatted away with a chop. A Samoan drop almost won it for Wesna, only for Martina to get free with a Seshbreaker off the top, and then a Jagerbomb as the Dubliner booked her spot in the semis. A pretty good opener given the time they had, with the crowd heavily behind Martina. ***
First Round: Leyla Hirsch vs. Sammii Jayne
They play the video package to introduce Leyla before this one, as we got a rematch from Inner Circle.
Hirsch took Sammii into the corner early on, before charging her down with a shoulder tackle, following in with a lucha roll and a low dropkick as Leyla was on fire. A slingshot dropkick into the corner keeps Sammii down for a near-fall, but the Scotswoman was right back in with a fallaway slam.
That took Leyla into the corner for a diving crossbody, which she followed up with a missile dropkick as the former EVE champion Sammii began to wear down Hirsch. A leaping double knee drop’s good for a near-fall, only for Leyla to kick away the knee and follow in with a knee strike and a German suplex for a good two-count.
A triangle armbar almost forced Sammii to tap, but she’s right back in with the Shadowfax baseball slide German suplex, again for a two-count. Sammii’s leaping forearm keeps the pressure up, before Hirsch snatched the win with a roll-through cross armbreaker for the tap. Decent stuff, with Leyla getting her win back here. **¾
First Round: Baby Allison vs. Lana Austin
With a sizeable travelling support, Lana was the more popular here – and she started off by kicking away Allison ahead of a low dropkick.
A snapmare roll through and a diving clothesline’s good for a two-count as Austin looked to have control, only for Allison to find a way back in, throwing Lana along the apron and into the ring post. She quickly throws Austin back inside for some ground and pound, but Lana gets frustrated as Allison Matrix’s out of a clothesline, before landing a DDT for a two-count.
Allison continued to wear down Lana in the corner before she went all Rikishi on her, but Lana trips her up and responded with some hip attacks. A knee to the head and a side Russian legsweep followed, with Lana rolling over into a near-fall, only for Allison to return with a clothesline for a two-count of her own.
A headbutt from Austin knocks Allison to the outside, dragging her back in for a hanging DDT off the middle rope for the win! Good energy here, buoyed on by the crowd. ***
First Round: Vicious Vivien vs. LuFisto
Vivien, sensing her chance, ran in and attacked LuFisto before the bell, and managed to land a nice discus lariat for a one-count… but that’s where her fortunes ended as LuFisto quickly put her away with a forearm. Short and sweet.
Semi-Final: Martina vs. Leyla Hirsch
Martina, buoyed by her win earlier, patted Leyla on the head to start off with… and was made to pay for her patronising ways.
Hirsch punches Martina low in a Test of Strength attempt, before she brought Martina to her knees. A roll through got Martina free, but Hirsch trips her again and threw in a noogie for good measure. Leyla keeps on Martina with a cross armbreaker, but Martina got free and took Hirsch into the corner for some uppercuts, before a big boot knocked her down.
A Twister suplex took Hirsch outside as Martina followed up with a dive that was met in mid-air with a forearm. Back inside, Hirsch gets crotched on the top rope as she went for a moonsault, before Martina pulled her into a Tree of Woe for a dropkick for another near-fall. Hirsch responds with a hattrick of German suplexes, as the match descended into an exchange of strikes.
Hirsch dropkicked Martina through the ropes to the outside, but we’re still waiting for a dive as Martina headbutts her way in, then connected with a Seshbreaker off the top for a near-fall. A Jagerbomb looked to follow, but Hirsch slips out and lands a roll-up for a near-fall, before going back to the cross armbreaker. Martina rolls into a pin, before she tied up Leyla in knots… but it’s still not enough, as Hirsch got free and rolled into an old school Boston crab that ended in the ropes.
Another headbutt from Martina earned her a retaliatory enziguiri, before Hirsch went up top and hit a moonsault for the win. They didn’t lose the crowd, in spite of some rough moments throughout the match. **
Semi-Final: Lana Austin vs. LuFisto
The Ogden section did a grand job of singing along to Austin’s music, as LuFisto more than doubled her match time so far before she even hit a move, as Austin tried to put her away with some pinning attempts early.
A kick to the leg drops Austin into the corner, as LuFisto was making a point of going for the left leg, wrenching away on it before using a deathlock to try and force a submission. Finally, Lana began to fight back, but she’s stung in the corner with chops, then with kicks in the ropes, before it was back to the chops.
A sunset flip out of the corner almost nicked it for Austin, which just prompted LuFisto to go back to the leg. More forearms looked to lead to a fightback, but LuFisto goes in for a Figure Four, which Austin blocked and met with a clothesline before a headbutt finally knocked down the Canadian to end a hot sequence.
That headbutt almost won it for Austin, but she came in with a Stunner for another near-fall before LuFoisto kicked her leg out of her leg and forced the submission with a Trailer Hitch. A well-worked semi-final, with Austin being worn down from the start before LuFisto making the most of it by the end. **¾
They’ve got a new “parade of champions” video that played before the women’s title match – a nice touch… which then bled into video from after FAN where Amale was complaining to Karsten Beck about anything and everything, and then footage of Amale cheating to beat Faye on the Road to World Tag Team Festival.
wXw Women’s Championship: Faye Jackson vs. Amale (c)
Amale had her own section of fans with her in Oberhausen, while Karsten Beck was out to oversee things. I sense weirdness…
Jackson double-legs Amale at the bell, sending the champion scurrying outside for cover. Amale returns and got charged down by Jackson, then slammed, before a body splash in the corner set up Faye for some hip attacks.
Amale rolls outside to avoid a cannonball, but when Faye joined her she got sprayed in with some water. Faye took the match onto the crowd, where she twerked for Amale, before they headed back inside, as Amale turned the tables with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack of her own.
A snapmare and a kick to the back gets Amale a near-fall, before she had to block a charging Jackson, knocking her down for a knee strike that almost won the match. Some grounded figure four headscissors looked to make Faye tap. When Faye got free, she caught Amale in the corner with a series of elbows, following up with a hip attack before Amale found her way back with a suplex.
Jackson took over again though, only for Amale to rip off the bottom turnbuckle pad. The ref completely missed it, as Jackson crashes into the exposed turnbuckle with a cannonball, before Amale took the win with the Champion’s Maker. This was real good, with Amale again cheating to win… but her next test could prove to be even tougher, depending on who wins the final next. ***
After the match, Amale stomped and ripped up some flowers her fans threw in for her. A real baddie!
They announced that Meiko Satomura would be returning at the 19th Anniversary show – getting the title shot she won at last year’s Femmes Fatales.
Final: Leyla Hirsch vs. LuFisto
The winner of this gets a shot at Amale’s title at the 19th Anniversary show, and Hirsch looked to snatch a win early on with a leg lock – almost mirroring how LuFisto won quickly in the first round.
Back to her feet, LuFisto’s taken down as Hirsch pounded her into the corner ahead of some boot choking. Running double knees into the ropes sent LuFisto sailing backwards, as Hirsch looked to force a submission with a grounded surfboard, before some kicks in the ropes led to LuFisto sweeping the leg and booting Hirsch onto the apron.
LuFisto looked to please that fan who wanted her to “murder” Hirsch, following up with a face-washing boot in the corner for a near-fall, before she looked to work over Leyla’s leg. Much like how she did against Lana Austin in the semis. Headbutts to the thigh looked to wear down Hirsch some more, but Leyla kicks back from the ground, only to get picked up, slammed and met with an ankle lock that forced her into the ropes.
LuFisto looked to charge at Hirsch, who sidestepped as the Canadian sailed outside, and was met with a lowpe! Then another! A third one’s cut-off with a forearm though, before she placed Hirsch on the apron for some forearms. Hirsch swings and misses with a PK and ended up getting powerbombed into the front row.
Referee Markus Weiss gave Hirsch plenty of time to recover after what seemed like a nasty landing, but she was able to kick out after LuFisto rolled her back into the ring. The pair went on to trade forearms, with some on the balcony going wild for every single one. Chops follow, with LuFisto threatening to pull away, only for Leyla to slip out of a Burning Hammer and take the Canadian down with a knee strike.
A German suplex nearly got Hirsch the win as the crowd was losing their minds. Hirsch caught LuFisto in the corner with running knees, before a slingshot’s pushed away with LuFisto almost winning with a spear. Leyla lands a Saito suplex to stop the momentum, then hit a double jump moonsault… for a near-fall! From the kick-out she rolled LuFisto into a cross arm breaker, but LuFisto rolled out and pulled the hair on the way to a STF… which Hirsch broke in the ropes!
Another Saito from LuFisto looked to lead to some Angel’s Wings for a near-fall, but Hirsch kicks out nails a clothesline for a near-fall. Hirsch crashes and burns on a moonsault, then gets dumped with a Burning Hammer for the win. Just. WOW. Maybe a little bit of live bias, but this was immense! ****¼
Afterwards, LuFisto cashed in her title shot – and she’ll take on Amale on Sunday’s World Tag Team Festival finale… addressing her in French. I don’t speak that, but Amale’s fans booed it, so it can’t have been too nice!
All in all this was a pretty decent Femmes Fatales tournament – and a very easy show to watch. There was excellent use of video packages to introduce new faces and keep us in the loop on storylines, which helped a LOT. Matches flew by, and while these one-day outings always tend to struggle, especially when the finalists have three matches in around two hours, the crowd were on board throughout. In one afternoon, wXw made a star out of Leyla Hirsch – now, where do you go from there?
It’s just a shame that Lana Austin didn’t make the final – there was certainly a part of the crowd who’d have been up for that!