Tag: billie starkz

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A Tale of Two Wrestling Shows

This past weekend began and ended (sort of) with me attending live wrestling. Friday night was at the jeffersonville Arena, where I saw the return of former backyard promotion XCF. Monday night was at the Yum Center: Monday Night Raw.

Friday night’s show was one of the most joyous atmospheres I’ve ever experienced in pro wrestling. XCF, as I noted on this blog last week, began with a bunch of kids putting on shows in their backyards. Many of those kids have become notable stars in the Indies, not the least of which was Friday’s ring leader Shane Mercer. Every single one of the guys who came back to play Friday brought their inner child with them.

Shane Mercer promised there was not a dud on the card, and he delivered. Every match was a treat, and the card read like an Indie fan’s dream come true. Credit promoter Terry Harper for some of that. Terry books matches HE wants to see, and Terry’s tastes are awesome. Gary Jay and Lord Crewe tore it up. So did Aaron Williams and Chance Prophet. So did Atticus Kogar and Jason Kincaid, who I swear is the most creative, surprising, and innovating wrestler working today. So did Matt Naff and Kongo Kong, who was represented at ringside by Rodney Rush.

I may have missed something, but it felt like Rush and King expected to play the heels, but when the fans gave Kong a monster (no pun intended) reception, Naff cut a promo that clearly put him at odds with the crowd and lit a fire in Kongo Kong. Like I said, not a dull match on the card.

Fans were also thrilled by some of the surprises XCF sprang on them. No one present ever expected to see Simon Sezz, a huge local favorite, in a wrestling ring again. Yet there he was in the middle of the battle royal that delivered just as much action, comedy, and fun as any Royal Rumble. Aidan Blackhart garnered a similar pop for his entrance, as did Mercer, who surprised everyone by entering the battle royal last.

This was no vanity show for Mercer, however. He was eliminated before the match got down to its final four, and he took the final pin of the night in the main event against fellow XCF original Satu Jinn.

Speaking of that main event, what a once-in-a-lifetime performance that was. Four tag teams squared off in the finale: Mad Man Pondo and Duke the Nuke; John Wayne Murdoch and Satu Jinn; Iron Beast; and Billie Starkz with Mickie Knuckles. The bout started with a mat wrestling display put on by Mad Man Pondo and Shane Mercer. You read that right. Mat wrestling.

I also saw John Wayne Murdoch actually do wrestling “moves” for the first time. I say this not as a critique of Murdoch but as praise. I’m used to seeing Murdoch and his regular tag partner Reed Bentley brawl rather than rassle. Murdoch showed he can work a “normal” wrestling style as good as anyone Friday, furthering my belief he was simply born in the wrong time and would have been a huge star for Jerry Jarrett or Cowboy Bill Watts.

And dang it, Billie Starkz had me a little emotional Friday night. I remember when thirteen year old Billie made her debut in that building, so it was hard not feeling choked up seeing her go toe to toe with “Dad Man” Pondo, taking a Stop sign to the face, delivering a moonsault to her mentor, and then chokeslamming Duke the Nuke on top of him. She’s headed to Japan for the first time this week. She turns 18 next month. She’s headed for the top of the business sooner rather than later.

Fans in the arena had a chance to meet many of the XCF boys during intermissions and after the event, but many also got a chance to meet some boys from other local promotions. I won’t say their names because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. They weren’t allowed to work the show because of their ties to other companies, but they came anyway as fans and friends. Their inner children came out as well as they cheered on their pals. Friday was all about the love of wrestling. Pure, unadulterated love.

But you know what I found strange? Monday night, I felt the same vibe.

Yes, this was WWE. This was corporate wrestling. This is a show I don’t keep up with for many reasons, with one of my biggest knocks being there’s just not enough wrestling on their TV shows. A week before I tweeted from a treadmill in Planet Fitness that Raw had been on the air a full twenty minutes, and it had been nothing but talking.

Monday started with talking. No surprise. But the talk ended sooner than the week before. The wrestling began, and it felt very different than any Raw or Smackdown I have attended in the past.

No three minute rushed matches. No quick squashes. Every match was given time to develop and tell a story, many of them lasting through at least one commercial break.

It was clear everyone walking that ramp was having a good time. You couldn’t help but feel the energy from everyone who made an appearance on stage or in the ring. Fin Balor and Seth Rollins delivered a great main event. Austin Theory and Dolph Ziggler stole the show, with Ziggler proving that outside Flair and Ricky Morton, no one in the business sells better than him. Matt Riddle and Chad Gable were terrific as well.

Plus, I got to see Io Shirai wrestle in person. That was a treat.

The WWE filled the breaks with fan-interactive activities like the DX Cam and the Undertaker Cam, encouraging fans to mimic their favorite stars. It was fun not only seeing the kids play along, but watching the camera crew in the arena seemingly do the same double take when the camera fell on former WWE star (and New Albany basketball legend) Rob Conway.

And proving Louisville fans never, ever forget their heroes, Shelton Benjamin was welcomed with an “O-V-Dub” chant for his bout with Dominik Mysterio.

Word has it that the atmosphere backstage at WWE has completely changed not that Triple H is in charge. No one’s walking on egg shells. People no longer fear week to week about being fired. Most of the restraints have been taken off roster members as far as social media and outside money opportunities. That looseness backstage translates to the performances in front of the fans. Everyone seems to be having fun again. They’re enjoying being pro wrestlers, and you can’t help but enjoy watching what they do.

If I had to pick one or the other which one would I choose? Sorry, not gonna go there. I enjoyed both XCF and WWE, and I fully expect to enjoy OVW just as much tomorrow night in their go-home show before Thanksgiving Thunder. If there’s any takeaway for casual fans in this blog, it’s this: yeah, WWE has changed for the better. It’s much more fun than I remember the last time I saw it live. But Do. Not. Sleep. On. The. Indies. Do not miss your chance to see and meet rising stars like Billie Starkz. Don’t underestimate the ability of an indie promotion you’ve never heard of – or a long-running indie like OVW – to suck you in with great matches and great, long term story telling.

I will always say you get more bang for your buck at an indie show. Cheaper tickets, cheaper merchandise, and more opportunities to shake hands and take photos with the wrestlers. But the WWE definitely showed me it’s a different company than it was the last few years. New blood has revitalized the promotion just as it did in Louisville for OVW.

This is a great time to be a fan.

Thanks to Terry Harper and Shane Mercer for letting me bring books to Friday’s show. And thanks to Mad Man Pondo and Ref Daffney (formerly known as Girl Fight Champion Aja Perreira) for Monday’s ticket.

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XCF: A Boyhood Dream Reborn

If Terry Harper’s name is attached to a wrestling show, I pay attention. The concert promoter doesn’t put on wrestling shows very often, but he doesn’t mess around when he does. He gave us Kongo Kong vs. Jeff Jarrett. He brought Sandman to The Arena, and he booked MJF hot on the heels of his All In curtain jerker with Matt Cross.

I was a bit thrown when I saw his next show is a revival of wrestling company called XCF. I’ve been following indie wrestling in Southern Indiana and Louisville for close to a decade now, and the name was not familiar to me. Turns out XCF has a history that is truly inspiring.

It all started with a bunch of kids who wanted to be professional wrestlers putting on shows – where else? – in the backyard. One of the founders was also one of the best kept secrets in indie wrestling, The Iron Demon Shane Mercer.

“We originally called the company ECF,” says Mercer. “E from ECW, C from WCW, and F from WWF. We originally started on a ground with a base, moved to a trampoline, and then to an actual ring. We even had a cage set up at one time.”

The ECF guys merged their backyard fed with another started by Aidan Blackhart. The new group changed its name to XCF, and the homegrown shows continued even as many of its founding members began wrestling professionally.

“The style we wrestled is everywhere now, but it was frowned upon at the time,” says Mercer. “We felt the freedom in XCF to do things our way.”

XCF connected with other small companies and produced super shows. They had an annual “Wrestlemania” type event they called Last Rites. They held their own awards banquet at the end of the year, complete with dinner and highlight reels showing the best performances in an XCF ring.

In addition to Mercer and Blackhart, XCF had a number of regulars like Satu Jinn, Alex Zayne, and Maxx Mizery. JC Bailey joined forces with them on several occasions, bringing his own crew up from Bardstown, Kentucky.

“We told ridiculous stories and had bad ass dream matches,” says Mercer. “We had so many styles, from technicians to deathmatch advocates to goofy dumb stuff and more. It brought us all closer, and we kept it going until it finally faded out around 2011-2012.”

The momentum of XCF faded, but not the memories. A place like XCF no longer felt necessary, thanks to the changing styles of indie wrestling, but Shane Mercer couldn’t shake the thought of “What If.”

Shane shared his “what if” thoughts with the right person. Terry Harper came on board, and Shane out the word out. “It blew up like I never thought possible. So many people from the past wanted to jump on board because because that electricity we felt for XCF never died.

A true XCF reunion would be impossible because more than a hundred people wrestled for them at one time or another. Shane assembled the “Originals” and teamed up with Terry to book a card loaded with indie stars: Shane Mercer, Billie Starkz, The Rejects, Team No Respect with Mad Man Pondo and Duke the Nuke, Mickie Knuckles, Aaron Williams, Gary Jay, Kongo Kong, Dan Maff, Jason Kincaid, Lord Crewe, Atticus Cogar, Chance Prophet, KTB, and a host of surprises appearing in an XCF Battle Royal.

“The card is full of bangers and badass matches,” Mercer promises. “No filler ever.”

Will XCF: Resurrection be a one night only reunion or a true rebirth? That’s up to the fans who are buzzing over the show and snapping up tickets. And Shane and Terry of course. The important thing is tickets are still available for what is sure to be one of the biggest nights of wrestling ever at The Arena.

The show takes place Friday night, November 11, at The Arena, 1416 Spring Street in Jeffersonville.

Click here to get all the scoop on XCF: Resurrection on Facebook.

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Bluegrass Brawlers Returns

It’s back, and better than ever.

The second edition of Bluegrass Brawlers is now available on Amazon, and for all you signed book lovers, it’s available to pre-order here as well. Revisiting my first wrestling book has been on my agenda for years. There were a few facts that needed to be corrected (like the demise of the Columbia Gym), and there were far too many stories left out of the original. The omissions weren’t intentional; the information just wasn’t as accessible as it is today.

Bluegrass Brawlers now includes almost 50% more text: filling in time gaps, expanding on stories that were all too brief, and covering the many changes that happened since 2014.

Just to give you a preview, here are some of the new stories included:

Steve Callaway, a long forgotten African American wrestling hero from the turn of the 20th century.

Promoter Abe Finberg, who booked wrestling at the Gayety Theater and later created a heavyweight wrestling promotion.

Promoter C.B. Blake and the Savoy Theater.

The feud between Blake, booker Heywood Allen, and the Kentucky State Board of Athletic Control, the first state institution that attempted to regulate wrestling.

Louisville fan favorite Jack Reynolds.

Gorgeous George comes to Louisville – and to dinner.

Wahoo McDaniel in Louisville in the early 1960s.

Phil Golden’s All Star Wrestling.

New Albany native Jeff Van Camp, better known in the ring as Lord Humongous.

A hilarious fan story about Flex Kavana, aka Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, courtesy of Michael Ewing from The Seated Senton.

Tales of the first class at Ohio Valley Wrestling.

The sale of OVW to Al Snow.

The rise of the Legacy of Brutality.

The growth of the indie scene in Southern Indiana.

Crazy Mary Dobson becomes Sarah Logan in the WWE.

The rise of women’s wrestling in Louisville and beyond.

I also conducted a number of interviews for the new edition, including “Lord Humongous” Jeff Van Camp, Al Snow, Billie Starkz, Bryan Kennison, Charlene McAnally, Hy Zaya, Cash Flo, Josh Ashcraft, Judi-Rae Hendrix, Rebecca Ann Bridget, Maria James, Haley J, Ryan Howe, Sierra, Doug Basham, Flash Flanagan, Sarah (Logan) Rowe, and Rico Costantino.

The book is also jammed with more photos, from Matty Matsuda to Billie Starkz, who you may notice is also on the cover.

Fans who can’t wait to grab a copy can click here to order on Amazon.

And fans who want to get a signed copy can click here to pre-order.

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Girl Fight Gets Royal Approval

It’s been an exciting week for me. I finally had the chance to meet my long time friend and colleague Tamaya Greenlee, and I got to spend time in person with Princess Victoria, Vicki Otis. The two of us wrote her book solely by remote, and Tuesday night’s Girl Fight show in Jeffersonville, Indiana, gave us the chance to finally hang out in person.

Girl Fight made its long-anticipated return to home base with a bang. The seven match card delivered plenty of action from start to finish, and it was great seeing some of my long-time favorites including Charlie Kruel, Ella, and Big Mama. It was also wickedly fun to see long-time fan fave and current champion Billie Starkz play a little heel in her victory over Rachel Armstrong.

Some new faces proved to be show stealers, and Sawyer Wreck was right at the top of that list. The tall Florida girl made an impression simply by the way she took the ring. Her bout with Big Boss Anika was largely played for comedy,  but everything about her work made her look like a future mega star.

Props have to go to Anika as well. The pair looked like a mismatch with Wreck dwarfing the Russian big mouth, but Anika played her role to perfection. I really look forward to seeing more from both ladies.

Mickie Knuckles and Masha Slamovich delivered a No DQ match that was everything you wanted it to be – at least in the Arena, where blood is a no-no. I’ve often said of The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley) that their work looks more like a fight than sports entertainment, and that’s a great way to describe Mickie vs. Masha. The slaps, the strikes, and the hits were very real. Masha’s constant ranting in Russian paired nicely with Mickie’s “I don’t know what the —- you’re saying!” banter.

Mickie even brought Princess Victoria into the action, attempting to slingshot Masha into the Princess’s extended foot. Masha reversed the move, and Mickie ate the foot, taking out my sales banner in the process.

“She really hit me!” The Princess said over her shoulder. “I like her!”

Yes, happy to say, the Princess was enchanted by the entire Girl Fight crew. She happened to come on a night the promotion had long dreamed about; the wrestlers, referees, ring announcer, and commentary team were all ladies for the first time ever. The Princess loved it, and she loved each and every one of the girls.

The majority of the ladies took full advantage of her being there, asking for an receiving critique. The Princess praised the uniqueness of every gimmick (“No two of them are the same!”) and their gimmicks (“Is she selling koozies?”)  What’s more, she was thrilled to see how the promotion and its founder, Mad Man Pondo, truly cared for the girls. She was impressed enough, she’s decided to make an effort to come back June 14 for their next Jeffersonville show.

Girl Fight has a long legacy of giving rising stars a platform. It’s amazing to see that opportunity spread from the locker room to the announce table, and the current roster is as good as it’s ever been. If you’re in the area, you won’t want to miss the next edition in June. And you might just get a second chance to meet Princess Victoria for yourself. 

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Coming Soon: Bluegrass Brawlers, 10th Anniversary Edition

It’s been almost 10 years since I started writing about pro wrestling in December 2012. Okay, so that’s eleven months out, but what’s pro wrestling without a little exaggeration?

The book that started it all, Bluegrass Brawlers (2014), is no longer available on Amazon or Kindle. That’s because I’ve gone back to the beginning to create a new edition, a 10th anniversary edition, if you will.

Bluegrass Brawlers is getting a major overhaul. I spent the last several months compiling every wrestling result from 1880 through 1966, when Louisville went dark before the Memphis era. I also conducted more than a dozen new interviews including Jeff Van Camp, Al Snow, Billie Starkz, Bryan Kennison, Charlene McKenzie, Hy Zaya, Cash Flo, Josh Ashcraft, Judi-Rae Hendrix, Maria James, Haley J, Ryan Howe, and Doug Basham. And I still have a few more to go.

The original book covered four distinct eras: The Pioneers (1880-1920), The Allen Athletic Club (1935-1957), the Memphis era (1970-1997), and the OVW era (1996-2014). All four of those sections have been expanded, some by a little, some by a lot. I also expanded on the Dick the Bruiser era (touched only briefly in the 2014 edition), filled in the time gap between 1920-1935, and told the story of Louisville since 2014.

New stories covered in the new edition include:

Steve Callaway, a long forgotten African American wrestling hero from the turn of the 20th century.

Promoter Abe Finberg, who booked wrestling at the Gayety Theater and later created a heavyweight promotion.

C.B. Blake and the Savoy Theater.

The feud between Blake, booker Heywood Allen, and the Kentucky State Board of Athletic Control, the first state institution that attempted to regulate wrestling.

Louisville fan favorite Jack Reynolds.

Gorgeous George comes to Louisville – and to dinner.

Wahoo McDaniel in Louisville in the early 1960s.

Phil Golden’s All Star Wrestling.

New Albany native Jeff Van Camp, better known in the ring as Lord Humongous.

A hilarious fan story about Flex Kavana, aka Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Tales from the first students at OVW including Doug Basham and Nick Dinsmore.

The sale of OVW to Al Snow.

The rise of the Legacy of Brutality.

The growth of the indie scene in Southern Indiana.

Crazy Mary Dobson becomes Sarah Logan in the WWE.

And the rise of women’s wrestling in Louisville and beyond.

The new book includes a lot more photos and 50% (and counting) more written content. Thanks to a more professional layout, it’ll still be around 330 pages.

Last but not least, the book is getting a brand new cover. Artist Adrian Johnson, who did covers for Tracy Smothers and The Black Panther Jim Mitchell, is working on something really special.

The target release month is March. So far, it’s on schedule. I’ll announce more here and on my social media in the coming months!

This new edition has been a long time coming. It’s going to be special.

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Masters of Pain Caps Off Great Weekend at IWA East Coast

It’s been twenty months since I took a road trip to see professional wrestling, and IWA East Coast broke the Covid-enforced moratorium with a bang this past weekend. The promotion hosted three shows from Friday through Saturday, and the entire weekend was a blast.

IWA East Coast hosted their festivities at Skateland, a roller rink set up inside an old elementary school just southeast of downtown Charleston, West Virginia. The decor along the two story walls surrounding the rink included playful graffiti, billiards tables and accessories, and high up in one corner, a life-size replica of Michael Myers, complete with butcher’s knife.

“To me, this building represents all of West Virginia,” said one local on Saturday afternoon. “You have all this fun stuff, and then, a little bit of creepiness.”

Made sense to me. Earlier that day I made the obligatory one hour trek to Point Pleasant to see the Mothman Museum and statue. Yes, it’s absolutely worth the extra time and your $4.50 admission. (You will spend more in the shop. Trust me!)

Back to the wrestling. The action began Friday night when eight men took part in the Zero G Crown Tournament, including Kincaid, Facade, Gary Jay, Aaron Williams, and Jake Crist. The first round match up between Crist and Williams alone made the trip worthwhile for me, but the entire evening was full of great action.

Third generation wrestler Malcolm Monroe III came into the building as an unknown, but by the end of the evening, everyone was chanting “Three! Three! Three!” Host Mad Man Pondo hyped the kid up in his first major event outside his home state of Michigan. Odds are he’s going to be doing a lot more traveling in the near future.

Fans dumped plenty of hate on Jake Crist, who heeled it up all night long as he sailed through the brackets. At one point the crowd split with a “Let’s go Jake Crist / Dave is better chant.” The former Impact star proved he deserves to still be on someone’s roster, and he took home a giant trophy to add to his resume.

Saturday afternoon, the ladies of Girl Fight took center stage. Fans were treated to two great opening matches featuring Girl Fight regulars Charlie Kruel, Mickie Knuckles, Nikki Victory, and Big Mama.  A lesser known competitor named Shayla Hyde put the Girl Fight fans on notice when she hit a 619 on the Black Widow Harley Fairfax. The crowd popped big, and Shayla scored a huge upset.

Another new face who impressed was young Judi-Rae Hendrix from Lexington, Kentucky. I met Judi on Friday night, when she picked up a copy of Tracy Smothers’ book and told me she was training with Bobby Blaze. Having not met her before, I was surprised to see Hendrix in the main event slot with newly crowned Girl Fight champion Billie Starkz. Hendrix quickly showed she belonged, going toe to toe with Starkz and earning a “This is awesome” chant after hitting the champ with a Canadian Destroyer.

Starkz got the win, but fans definitely took note of Hendrix and her tenacity. This is another young lady to watch in the coming years!

Saturday evening was the Masters of Pain deathmatch tournament, featuring eight of the best deathmatch artists in the world: Shlak, Shane Mercer, John Wayne Murdoch, Akira, Jimmy Lloyd, G Raver, Alex Colon, and Nolan Edwards. To be honest I am not a deathmatch guy, but I have endless respect for the men and women who do these types of matches. I also firmly believe that some of the deathmatch specialists are among the very best wrestlers in the world, period.

I’ve often said you could take John Wayne Murdoch, put him in a time machine, and drop him in Memphis or Mid-South during their hey day. A number of the guys competing with him Saturday night would do equally well in that sci-fi scenario.

The show was fun and frenetic from start to finish, but the match that had everyone buzzing in the building and online was the second round clash between Shane Mercer and Akira. Why Mercer is not signed to a major company is beyond me. His combination of power and athleticism are unmatched on the indies. Mercer and Akira dueled it out in a shower of glass shards and fluorescent lights with big flips and power moves throughout. Akira outlasted Mercer, and afterwards, Mercer took a moment on the mic to honor the student who had just bested one of his teachers.

The evening came to a grand finale when Akira and Nolan Edwards entered a ring filled with fan-made weapons to fight for the Masters of Pain trophy. The boys made use of everything from a door covered in barbed wire to a preschool baseball bat covered in glass Christmas ornaments. That said, it was the garbage can full of light tubes that stole the show. The boys began trading head shots, one after another, faster and faster, as if determined not to leave a single bulb unbroken. The flurry of popping glass had the fans on their feet, stomping and screaming for more. The night ultimately belonged to Akira, who bested his close friend and brother Nolan Edwards to win the tournament.

IWA East Coast plans to bring back Masters of Pain next year. If they do it up like these did this year, I highly recommend fans making the trip. The hospitality is warm and friendly. The local flavor is fun. And as I already mentioned, the Mothman is only an hour away… although Mad Man Pondo swears he heard the creature in his hotel room Friday night.

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Girl Fight: Billie Starkz vs. ELLA!

I can’t believe I’m a week late posting this. I’ve been waiting a long time to see Ella back in the ring. Not only is Ella back, she’s fighting Billie Starkz!

Ella was the only woman never to be pinned in Girl Fight before her hiatus. Can she keep the streak alive against Billie Starkz?

Girl Fight is presenting empty arena matches every week for its wrestling-starved fans for free. All they ask is, if you can, to send a few bucks to the ladies. Here’s where to send a little thank you to Ella and Billie:

Ella:
Venmo: @Elizabeth-Johnson-348

Billie:
Venmo: @Billie-Starkz
CashApp: $BillieStarkz
PayPal: BigStarkzBrand@gmail.com

And don’t forget, Ella also has a novel available on Amazon!

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Mickie Knuckles Triumphs at Night of the Living Girl Fight

There were sixteen ladies booked for the October 2020 edition of Girl Fight Wrestling. Five canceled due to Covid-19, and one had to bail last minute due to a family emergency. The ten ladies that remained put on one of the best shows in the promotion’s history.

I missed independent wrestling like crazy over the last nine months, but I can honestly say if I had to go another nine months without an indy show, this one would hold me over. Top to bottom, it was one of the most entertaining nights of pro wrestling I’ve ever attended.

The great action started with the very first bout when Hawlee Cromwell took on Arie Alexander. Alexander was a new face, and the girl with sunflowers all over her wrestling gear proved to be a very equal match for Cromwell. Alexander won over some fans and took the match from the Girl Fight veteran.

Next up was the much anticipated Jeffersonville debut of Heather Reckless against another diminutive grappler Valentina Loca. Loca made enemies of the crowd with her loud mouth and smart aleck comments right from the start while Reckless stole the heart of every child in attendance. The Seth Rollins trainee quickly won over the older fans as well with her wrestling and submission skills. Loca and Reckless were great from start to finish, where Reckless claimed a win over the brash girl from New Mexico.

Blair Onyx entered the ring next followed by her challenger, the masked Pizza Cat, Jr., aka fan favorite Billie Starkz. After silencing a few smart marks in the back of the room with her death stare, Onyx struck fear in the heart of poor Pizza Cat by bending backwards into a bridge and crawling like a spider toward her feline foe. It was impressive to watch the young Starkz/Pizza Cat put on a different persona in the ring, but Onyx was equally impressive with her acrobatic skills and flexibility. In the end the cat beat the spider as Pizza Cat got the pin.

The last match before intermission was a grudge match between Mickie Knuckles and Charlie Kruel. Still fuming from the last Girl Fight show when Kruel cost Knuckles a victory against Susie, Mickie took the fight to Kruel. Mickie’s humor was back in full force as well. “You’re crazier than I am, and that’s REALLY saying something,” she told Kruel early in the match. Mickie later made everyone question who the crazy one was by picking Charlie’s nose and feeding her the booger. Then after a slow count from the referee, Mickie warned the official, “You’re getting licked tonight. I don’t care if there’s Covid!” Knuckles got her revenge, winning a hard-hitting contest.

Only one match remained after intermission, and that was the Broad Brawl for the vacated Girl Fight Championship. Heather Reckless and Billie Starkz started off the Girl Fight version of the Royal Rumble, and a new competitor joined in every 30 seconds until 10 ladies total had entered. In addition to Onyx, Cromwell, Loca, Knuckles, Alexander, and Kruel, the ladies were joined by Hannah Henderson and Larry D’s wife Paige.

All ten ladies made it into the ring before the eliminations began. Heather Reckless was the first to go, followed by Valentina Loca, Arie Alexander, Blair Onyx, Hannah Henderson, and Paige. Charlie Kruel then shocked the fans by tossing Billie Starkz over the top rope, leaving Kruel and Cromwell to face the only former champion in the match, Mickie Knuckles.

Twice, Cromwell and Kruel made a run at Knuckles trying to knock her over the top rope. On the second attempt, Mickie pulled down the top rope and gave the younger ladies a nudge. The bell sounded, and Mickie Knuckles became the two time Girl Fight Champion.

I can’t say enough about how hard the ladies fought tonight. This is a must-see event when it hits streaming and DVD for anyone who loves Girl Fight or women’s wrestling in general.

Girl Fight’s next event is yet to be announced, but Mad Man Pondo teased the possibility of a Midnight Girl Fight show the night before Thanksgiving. If past years are any indicator, it will be a raucous crowd and another great night of women’s action should it come to pass.

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Susie Surprises and Terrifies at Girl Fight

I’ve seen Su Yung of Impact Wrestling in action twice before. Once on a show for Terry Harper, when she ended up in the lap of my seventeen year-old nephew, and once at Girl Fight. I was as disappointed as anyone last night when Impact Wrestling star Susie appeared for the main event go against Mickie Knuckles, but that disappointment gave way to terror as Susie took the ring and Mickie reacted to the surprise appearance.

It’s a shame Susie’s run with Impact has not played out in front of a live audience because I can tell you first hand, there’s something disturbing and ominous about her. Every time Mickie would put Susie on the ground and her face would be obscured for a time, you expected her to push the long, black hair out of her face and reveal the visage of Su Yung. That Su never appeared didn’t matter. The threat never went away, even after ref Charlene called for the bell and disqualified Mickie (thanks to some dubious intervention on Charlie Kruel’s part). Susie came in with her little girl wave and left with the same innocent wave, but she put a chill in the fans that packed the Park Place UMC gymnasium tonight.

Yes, Girl Fight Wrestling is back, and tonight’s event in a six-sided ring drew cheers from beginning to end. The evening began with Lily Lockhart defeating Bailey McRoberts and Megan DiFrancisco defeating Hannah Henderson. New comer Henderson made a big impression on the fans, many of whom crowded around her gimmick table at both intermissions to say hello. DiFrancisco made the opposite impression, angering fans with a big mouth and a bad attitude. She made you hate her in all the right ways.

The first part of the show concluded with the masked Seishin (formerly Tootie Lynn Ramsey) facing the dark Hawlee Cromwell. One of the joys of following this promotion is watching young wrestlers grow and develop. Seishin and Cromwell are part of the current “generation” growing up before our eyes, and their high energy battle could have main evented many independent shows I’ve attended. They won’t be occupying the first half of the show much longer.

The second portion of the show kicked off with another vocal heel, Nikki Victory, facing the returning Big Mama. Big Mama was even more vocal than Nikki, and while she is used to playing heel in her home promotion of NWF in Ohio, she reminded fans why they loved her before taking a break to have a baby. Nikki was a game adversary, but Big Mama powered her way to her first ever Girl Fight win.

The next match featured another of the current Girl Fight class’s signature stars, Charlie Kruel in a match against Salena Dean. Kruel’s psycho killer character has evolved from a one dimensional screamer to a personality that’s part Susie, part A.J. Lee, part Festus, and even a touch of U-Gene. She’s gleeful and wants to be friends – at least, she says she does. But the psycho killer comes out to play once the action starts, along with the piercing scream. Charlie took the win over Salena tonight and skipped away, waving to her friends in the crowd.

Next up was Skye Blue from Chicago facing the youngest and arguably the most popular star in Girl Fight, Billie Starkz. Starkz eats, sleeps, breathes, and dreams pro wrestling. It’s in her blood, and it permeates every part of her. She has an infectious smile and a playfulness that connects with the fans. She also continues to blossom on the ring, adding new weapons to her arsenal with each outing. Most fans believe they’re seeing a future mega star every time she takes the ring. Enjoy her while she’s here, folks. The tickets to see her will be much pricier in a few years.

I’ve often said that the Mickie Knuckles/ Dementia D’Rose vs. Amazing Maria/ Samantha Heights tag team match in Fort Wayne a few years back was my favorite live match of all time. I still stand by that statement, even after tonight, but for a time, Mickie Knuckles and Susie threatened to overtake that spot.

I already gushed about Susie’s character and the way she holds you in the palm of her hands, asking the question, “Will she or won’t she turn into Su Yung?” That said, I can’t overstate Mickie Knuckles’ role in the match. Mickie’s the veteran, a Chris Hero student turned locker room leader and teacher, and there’s a reason fans like me will never miss a match of hers if we can help it. Usually Mickie entertains with one liners, comedy spots, and a little – not make that a lot of referee abuse. That made her reaction to Susie all the more real. Mickie wasn’t about the jokes tonight. She was scared. She didn’t know how to handle Susie or even what to make of her. Susie acted creepy. Mickie made it feel real.

Sadly, we did not get a clean finish to what was otherwise a very entertaining main event. Charlie Kruel skipped to the ring while ref Charlene was out, found a folding chair, and gave Susie a whack on the back with it. She then laid the chair beside Mickie, just as Charlene came to. Those darn refs never believe the babyfaces when they say they’ve been framed, and Charlene disqualified Mickie in favor of Susie.

Susie kept us watching as she rose off the mat, her face obscured by her hair once more like the little girl from The Ring. But when she brushed her hair back to thank Mickie for the match, it was still creepy Susie and not Su Yung whose face we saw. Mickie demanded a match with Charlie, and Mad Man Pondo agreed to give it to her on the next show.

Mickie and Charlie will face off on October 17 at the same venue, Park Place UMC in Jeffersonville. Girl Fight will also present a battle royal-type match that will crown a new Girl Fight champion that evening. Oh yeah, and we will finally see the Girl Fight debut of Heather Reckless on the 17th. I’ve been singing her praises to Pondo and anyone else who will listen since seeing her in action at Cauliflower Alley Club in April of 2019. Fans, you’re in for a treat.

Head to www.girlfightwrestling.com to get all the info about the next show and find out how to order tickets.

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Girl Fight Returns September 26!

One of my favorite promotions is back, and I am finally going to see some live wrestling in two weeks!

Things were looking a little rough for Girl Fight Wrestling, even before the pandemic shut the wrestling world down. A monster card planned in January was canceled under somewhat suspicious circumstances. “Dad Man” Pondo was understandably discouraged, and many of the Girl Fight faithful were left wondering if they would ever run another show.

Eight months later, Girl Fight is reloaded and ready to go. The promotion that gave a boost to many current WWE, AEW, and Impact stars will host “Jawbreaker” on Saturday night, September 26 at Park Memorial UMC in Jeffersonville. Fans will see rising stars who are already Girl Fight favorites including Billie Starkz, Charlie Kruel, Hawlee Cromwell, Seishin, and Big Mama. They will meet new faces like Megan Difrancisco, Camron Bra’nae, and Bailey McRoberts.

And the main event? Oh, it’s a good one.

Mickie Knuckles vs. Su Yung.

If you know the names, you know how good this one’s going to be. Impact and Girl Fight fans already know how good Su Yung (aka Susie) can be. And Mickie? She only steals the show any time she makes an appearance at Girl Fight.

The good news is Girl Fight’s in a new venue with more room than ever before at a Southern Indiana show. The bad news is capacity is limited. (Stupid Covid.) The even worse news? Front row is gone, and the remaining general admission tickets are selling fast.

Head to www.girlfightwrestling.com to find out how to order tickets before it’s too late!