Phoenix Rising: Grand Ascension VI Finals Night Results

Victor Kintelas def. Angel Leblanc
Urani Whitemist def. Veronika Armstrong
HAYATO def. Concrete Pete
Titania def. Kyle Anderson
Anari Lynn Heyward def. Silver Hawk to retain the Pacific Northwest Championship
Sanya Markov def. Roland Chang III
Strawberry Sookie def. Emelia "Air" Hart
Todd Colton def. Eddy Introspect
Fresh Suzuki def. Eri Sentarl

A very, very strong start to the night from Victor here, wiping Angel out with the Kintelas Driver and making it very clear that he's far from out of the running in Block A. Angel, meanwhile, continues to struggle on her own, as usual... perhaps this setting just isn't to her strengths.


For all the fight that Veronika had in her tonight, for as close as she came to actually toppling the Titan, it just wasn't enough. She landed a few crushing Spears, tried to lock in the Dragon Clutch, but ultimately, she wasn't fighting a one-sided battle... and Urani managed to pull off a Whitemist Bomb to put this one away and remain undefeated.


Finally, we get a glimpse of the man we know HAYATO can be. He stood in the ring against Concrete Pete and shut the big man down, coming away with an incredibly important victory, delivering a pair of HAYATO Drivers to keep at least some hope alive for himself in the block.


As dominant as Urani's been in Block B, her victory is not yet a foregone conclusion... because Titania is still red-hot, even after losing to Urani for her only defeat thus far. She was monstrous here against Kyle in one of the best matches of the night, weathering a brutal string of offense on the outside to eventually land her lariat into the Iron Claw, and scored a huge win to keep her momentum going.


Anari Lynn Heyward has clearly broken the "curse" over the Pacific Northwest Championship. Three successful defenses is easily the best run in months, and she was a wrecking ball against Silver Hawk here, though she did have to work for her win.


Finally, we get a look at the Russian beast that is the proper Sanya Markov. Roland Chang III just could not get things going here, as we saw Markov on a mission... and although he's already been practically eliminated from contention, he's not quite dead yet... there's still the incredibly slim hope that he can win out and that Urani will fall...


If Sookie wasn't going undefeated, then she wasn't going to let anyone else do it. She was simply vicious here, a brutal dismantling of the formerly-undefeated Emelia, and reminded everyone that she is still the Evergreen Champion, and one would do well not to get on her bad side...


Todd Colton didn't seem entirely sure what to make of this match. He was far from used to Eddy's usual antics in the ring, though he kept a cautious eye on Eddy throughout, working his usual gameplan: target the arms, and wait for the right moment. Eventually, he got his moment, landing a Destroyer to pick up the win, and ensure he's still on track in Block B.


Fresh Suzuki simply would not be denied. As much as Eri threw at her, the Inspire Champion would not stay down, would not give in... and she'd eventually score a quick rana-pin, perhaps through instinct, perhaps a deliberate gameplan, perhaps desperation. Either way, Fresh picks up a major victory, and Eri now finds herself having to try and catch up once again.

HAYATO def. Angel Leblanc
Eddy Introspect def. Roland Chang III
Eri Sentarl def. Strawberry Sookie
Urani Whitemist def. Sanya Markov
Emelia "Air" Hart def. Concrete Pete
Veronika Armstrong def. Titania
Victor Kintelas def. Fresh Suzuki
Todd Colton def. Kyle Anderson

Quite the intense battle between these two, despite being at the bottom of the block... but HAYATO, determined to close his run out on a high note, came out swinging here and walked out with a big win after a second HAYATO Driver gave him the victory. Angel, quite simply, doesn't seem to have it without the rest of LBB at her side...


You simply do not count Eddy Introspect out at any point. No matter who he's facing, no matter what the situation might be, Eddy can find a way to beat you... and that's what he did here, weathering Chang's vicious power offense, and snapping off a huge cutter to steal yet another huge upset victory.


Eri Sentarl refuses to let anyone stop her. Two losses thus far in the block, it seems like she simply can't afford another... and she's fighting as though that's the case, taking this one straight to Sookie, and nailing the Little Phoenix to score an important victory, and stay in the hunt.


Sanya Markov came out with a new look, and immediately, there was a sense that this was a much more dangerous man than the one we've seen so far. And although he ultimately couldn't come away with the win, he made Urani Whitemist pull out everything in her arsenal short of the Whitemist Bomb to put this one away, including a colossal moonsault. Still, the old standby, the Ushi-goroshi, scored Urani her fifth victory... and the Titan remains undefeated.


Can Emelia keep this up? She's scored victory after victory, and other than a stunning loss to Strawberry Sookie, she's been seemingly unstoppable, even taking down Concrete Pete here after taking two Cement Mixers. Still, her next match on Thursday may prove to be the biggest test of her entire tournament run... as she takes on the Little Phoenix, Eri Sentarl.


Veronika Armstrong is winless no longer... and in addition, she's made life very, very difficult for Titania. A huge match here, with wild brawls on the outside, but Veronika landed a snap powerbomb to pick up the huge win... giving Titania her second loss, and making her path to victory an unlikely one, with the undefeated Urani looming over Block B.


Victor Kintelas was out to prove something tonight, though against Fresh Suzuki, it wasn't exactly an easy time. This one got wild, with Fresh doing her best to keep moving, to keep her speed in play, but Victor would finally shut her down after landing a crushing Frog Splash, and another tournament participant seems to have had some opinion turn against him... not that Victor seems to care.


Five Star Kyle and the greatest technician in the world today (if you ask Todd Colton, anyway). A recipe for a fantastic match, and these two really did give it their all... but Todd, clearly, had done his homework for this match, staying a step ahead and never letting up in his attack, landing a huge Tornado DDT before putting this one to rest with the Binding Suplex. Todd's still in the hunt... staring down a potential Night 7 showdown with the undefeated Titan. But Todd still has to get through one more opponent just to have the chance of keeping pace with Urani... none other than Roland Chang III.

HAYATO def. Fresh Suzuki
Eddy Introspect def. Titania
Strawberry Sookie def. Victor Kintelas
Kyle Anderson def. Urani Whitemist
Concrete Pete def. Angel Leblanc
Todd Colton def. Roland Chang III
Eri Sentarl def. Emelia "Air" Hart
Veronika Armstrong def. Sanya Markov

HAYATO continues to surge as the back half of the tournament rolls along. Still, he had to work for this win over Fresh, narrowly slipping away with the win as he locked in the familiar submission, keeping a faint glimmer of hope alive for his chances in the block.


What else is there to say? Eddy Introspect once again does what he does best... stealing a win in clutch fashion, seizing an opportunity to lock in his brutal facelock submission, and once again walking away with an incredible win.


Strawberry Sookie perhaps saw how effective it was for Eddy... and she wound up finishing Victor with the exact same submission! Sookie remains well on track to make it to the final night, but one last match stands in her way...


This was an all-out war to the finish, with the entire future of Block B riding on the outcome. Urani could've forced her way onto the final card with a win here... but Kyle Anderson came out swinging, and never let up for a second, eventually trapping Urani in the Triangle Scissors, and forcing the Titan to give in...


A match that nobody expected to go anywhere... most expected a resounding Pete victory, but Angel simply wouldn't give in here, fighting with everything she had, even through Pete's brutal biting attack that left her a bloody mess. Still, the outcome never really seemed in doubt despite her wild fight, falling to a piledriver and Pete's massive weight following up with a splash.


This one was wild from start to finish. Todd Colton gave up a lot of advantages to Chang here: size, strength... but his technical ability and experience carried him, along with a wild recklessness that we don't often see from him. Back-to-back Spider German suplexes leading into a flying Tornado DDT gave Todd the win... and ensured that his final match, against Urani Whitemist, would decide the winner of Block B.


Eri Sentarl has her eyes set on the final night. She was at her best here against Emelia, refusing to slow down, and pulled off an impressive victory to climb her way back to the top of the block... but we could be headed for a major tiebreaker on the final night.


Many thought it was a bit odd to put this match on last, given the records of both Veronika and Sanya. But disregarding their records, this match was one of the best of the night, with Sanya determined to bring his full power to bear against Veronika, while the Oakland metal star roared through and eventually landed a huge Spear to pull off the win, giving herself some serious momentum as the tournament draws to a close.

"So, here we are. Winner Take All, on the last night, in the last match of the tournament. The greatest technician in the business today, against the Titan herself. I wouldn't have this any other way. Urani wanted to sweep her way through the block, coast into the final night without being contested... well, Kyle Anderson saw to it that you gotta fight your way in. And I did what I had to do to make sure this happened.

Every single person in the crowd has been expecting Urani to just plow her way through the whole damn field like she was the Black Dragon. Like she was some kind of unstoppable force of nature, that somehow they figure Urani challenging for the World Championship is destiny, or some shit. I don't give a shit about 'destiny'. I don't give a shit about what's 'supposed' to happen. Because come Monday night, I'm going to take Urani Whitemist down, I'm going to be the outright winner of Block B, I'm gonna go into the final and I'm going to be the Grand Ascension winner when all's said and done, no matter who you put in front of me.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it... I couldn't help but keep an eye on what was being said down in Texas after Monday night... old man Chang Jr. shitting on the kid for losing to Eddy Introspect. So lemme set you straight before you go running your damn mouth again. I've heard it all. People saying I don't have what it takes, people saying I won and it was a fluke, people saying whatever the hell they wanna say. And I can already hear you saying it yourself, that you're gonna go after the kid for losing to me as well, I can already feel it.

So you listen to me, old man. You wanna talk shit about the top technician, the best talent in Phoenix Rising, that's fine. You wanna start some shit, I might find the time to make my way to Texas and give you a first-hand look at what the hell your kid had to face off against.

Now it's possible that you weren't gonna run your mouth at all, and I don't need to be stirring anything up with you. But y'know what? I know guys like you, 'cause I'm one of 'em. Difference is: I got the skills, I got the words, I got everything to back it up. So you better watch yourself... because if I could take down the youngest, I sure as hell don't gotta worry about you."

Victor Kintelas def. Concrete Pete
Sanya Markov def. Eddy Introspect
Emelia "Air" Hart def. HAYATO
Roland Chang III def. Titania
Strawberry Sookie def. Fresh Suzuki
Kyle Anderson def. Veronika Armstrong
Eri Sentarl def. Angel Leblanc
Todd Colton def. Urani Whitemist to win Block B

A roaring start to the night as these two clashed in what was sort of a "last effort" for both... they still had an outside chance of getting to the final tiebreaker with a win, but it required three different losses. Victor came away with the win here despite being bloodied early on, landing his devastating leaping cutter to finish out strong.


Sanya Markov was a force of nature in this match... and the only reason, seemingly, that this wasn't a complete squash was that Eddy just would not go down to anything. Thanks to that, he got a fair bit more offense on Sanya than the Russian would've liked... but a brutal slam into the turnbuckle finally brought this one to an end.


Emelia "Air" Hart quickly came out of the gates with a huge win to ensure her spot on Thursday's show... tearing HAYATO apart with her usual style, and finishing at a very strong 5-2... though, as we'd find out, she wouldn't be the only one to hit that mark in Block A.


This was probably the single hardest-hitting match of the night, to no surprise, given who was in the ring. Titania gave as good as she got here, but Chang, clearly determined not to take another loss after his rough week last week, eventually brought this to a thunderous end with a Lawndart into the turnbuckle, scoring a major win to close out his tournament run.


Strawberry Sookie never seemed to care about what the people wanted... she was not going to let anyone pass her by, and with a win needed to stay on top of Block A, she came out without hesitation and took down Fresh Suzuki, much to the dismay of the crowd, setting herself up in a tiebreaker for Thursday...


For every counter Veronika Armstrong was able to get, Kyle Anderson seemed to have another response to keep the pressure going. And while Veronika looked incredibly dangerous here, Kyle was just a step better tonight, eventually landing the Five Star Combination (after multiple blocked attempts) to force Veronika to give up.


There's still some fire left in the Little Phoenix as we come to the end of the tournament. She was absolutely dynamic here, an incredible force against Angel, whose threats towards Eri simply didn't seem to register at all. Eri came out of this with white-hot momentum... and as she moves towards Thursday, a three-way tiebreaker match against Sookie and Emelia... Eri might be poised to have her biggest breakout moment ever.


Had this not been a winner-take-all match, Eri vs. Angel had been planned to be the main event. In hindsight, this was easily the better option in the end, as this match was everything you could've ever asked for. This match had it all... Urani's raw power came into play more than a little, as she sought to plow through Todd, but he just wouldn't stop coming... cranking on the arms, showing off his pure technical prowess. But how did this one end? With the move that Todd's seen multiple victories with already: the flying Tornado DDT, crushing Urani into the mat, and giving Todd perhaps the most unlikely win of the entire night. He's won Block B... and he's waiting for the Grand Finals.

"You might as well call it right there. I just took down the Titan. I just beat the so-called 'favorite' to win this block, I put an end to any of this talk about how Urani's the most dominant force around... and now, I find out the other block's gotta have one last match, a three-way no less, to decide their winner? Not a single one of those three has what it takes to beat me. Not one. But, y'know, I'll humor you. I'll give you the chance. Whoever comes out of that mess... well, let's see.

Strawberry Sookie, let's start there. Crazy, violent, psycho... but I've seen your game, and I don't care that you're the Evergreen Champion... you're not at the level I'm at, end of story. I'm the greatest technician alive today, I'm Phoenix Rising's #1 talent, and no garbage wrestler out of Evergreen is gonna be the one to stop me.

Emelia Hart... y'know, you're good. Fast, relentless. But you've had more matches ahead of this thing than anyone else, and sooner or later... all that's gonna catch up to you. And whether it's the tiebreaker that gets you, or yours truly, you're not winning this thing.

And then there's the 'Little Phoenix'. Eri Sentarl... kid, you don't even remotely have what it takes. How many times have you choked when it mattered? How many times have you gotten so, so close only to blow it at the last second? You stepped out of your singles career only to turn around and enter this tournament... and you think that stretch of focusing on your tag team is gonna help you beat me? Or the other two?

Y'know what, I'd love to see you actually win that match, Eri, because first of all, it gives me another chance to put a Sentarl in their damn place. And secondly... I could add myself to the short list of people that made you tap out. Because I guarantee, Eri, if you make it through that tiebreaker to face me? I'm going to make you regret ever setting foot in that ring at all, because I'm going to make damn sure you can't even lift your arms by the time it's all over. Every wrestler has their limits... and I'm going to find yours if you challenge me.

Either way, though... come Thursday night, you'll be crowning the Grand Ascension champion... Todd... Fucking... Colton."

Eri Sentarl def. Strawberry Sookie and Emelia "Air" Hart
Riccardo De Luca def. Eddy Introspect
Laura Tate def. Urani Whitemist
Angel Leblanc def. Veronika Armstrong
Mascara Avispa def. Anari Lynn Heyward to become the NEW Pacific Northwest Champion
Shiana Sentarl def. Rachel White
Team Pete (YES, TEAM PETE) def. Team Kyle
Laenara Kintelas def. Freya O'Malley to retain the World Championship
Eri Sentarl def. Todd Colton to WIN THE GRAND ASCENSION

We kicked the night off big, jumping straight into the action with the three-way match to decide Block A's winner. And although Eri seemed to lag behind her two opponents for a fair part of this match, she absolutely turned up the pressure... and exploited the seeming animosity between Sookie and Emelia to land the Little Phoenix on Sookie to score an elimination... and then, just a couple of minutes later, trapped Emelia in the Romero Special to pick up a huge win and make it to the finals.


We haven't gotten to see much of Riccardo since the end of the 50-State Tournament, but a lot came out here: first, that he's clearly just as relentless and quick as ever, and secondly, that he's apparently signed to Proving Ground to join the Top Prospect division. Eddy made this one interesting down the stretch, but Riccardo turned up the heat not long after, landing a huge Spanish Fly to score the win.


After Urani's absurdly dominant showing in the tournament (other than her two mis-steps), one might think that this match favored her heavily. But Laura Tate, having not really gotten as much of a chance to show what she's got than other 50-State participants... clearly wanted to prove something big here. And she absolutely did that, meeting the Titan face-to-face, and came away with perhaps one of the most stunning upsets of the entire month.


This was a match Angel needed badly, and she's got to be feeling much better about her poor performance now that she's able to have the rest of LBB at ringside again. They didn't prove much of a factor here except as moral support, but even that much seemed to do wonders for Angel, who scored the win with her familiar Figure Eight.


Four defenses proved to be just a bit too much here. Mascara Avispa came roaring out of the gate and made it look easy against Anari, who nevertheless still kept this one close to the end... but La Avispa would force the champion to submit, and give Avispa the Pacific Northwest Championship, dethroning the woman who up to now has been the most dominant PNW champion of the year.


This was supposed to be an easy match for Shiana, to work herself back into the ring, an easy victory with the odds so heavily stacked in her favor she couldn't possibly have trouble... only nobody told Rachel White. Clearly seething over being considered the "easy target", she was on fire in this one, ripping into Shiana and putting her back to the wall time and time again... and while Shiana did eventually take the win, locking in her brutal Romero variation, she was clearly annoyed over having to put far more effort into it than she expected.


If not for what came after this match, it might've gone down as the match of the night. Things looked dire for the Block A team, "captained" by Victor Kintelas... and a sweep looked imminent, first with Titania taking out Fresh Suzuki, and Sanya wiping out both Victor and HAYATO in short order after that. Enter Concrete Pete, stepping into a one-on-four situation that looked absolutely impossible... only for him to start working his way through the field, until only Sanya Markov remained. And then, in a stunning comeback moment, he landed the Cement Mixer on Sanya... and completed the reverse sweep, coming back from impossible odds to stand as the only man left in the ring at the end.


This was a match that saw everything that both women had to offer, and while it's been enough for Freya in past matches, it didn't quite get the job done against the World Champion. Laenara Kintelas didn't hold anything back on the newcomer, the tournament champion, and although she couldn't force Freya to tap out to the submission that she beat the Dragon with, she would eventually land a Moonsault on an exhausted Freya, and scored a big win to defend her title, and ensure that she'll hold that title until at least New Year's Bash...


And at New Year's Bash, Laenara Kintelas will face off against none other than the Little Phoenix. In what may go down as Phoenix Rising's match of the year, Eri Sentarl, already having had a match earlier in the night just to get here, stepped into the ring with Todd Colton, who continues to declare himself the World's Greatest Technician. And for well over twenty minutes, he made his claim an accurate one... only he just couldn't put Eri away, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many armbars he put on... even as Eri writhed in pain on the mat, her arms limp at her sides, she stubbornly refused to quit, and for good reason. She still had enough in the tank to throw herself into one big combo... culminating in a huge seated Superkick, falling onto Todd for the pinfall, the victory, and the Grand Ascension. The Little Phoenix is as close to the top of the mountain as she's ever been... but now, she has two months to prepare for the single biggest match of her entire career.

"I wanted... so badly, to talk in front of the crowd, out in the ring, after I won, but... I was tired, I was so worn out... couldn't even lift my arms properly to celebrate out there. I'm still sore... I'm gonna be sore for days, I think... but nothing can take away what happened out there. Two big matches, two big victories, and I won. I won the whole thing...

The second Grand Ascension winner... that's the Little Phoenix, that's me. Last year there was all this talk about who deserved what, about who should've won... and it pushed my mom down a road that she still hasn't come back from. Nobody's gonna claim that this year. I'm sure... that there's people out there that don't think I should be standing here right now, but... Look, I've been doubted for my entire career. I've been looked down on, I've been pushed aside, I've had my fair share of defeats and embarrassments, but I keep getting back up, I keep pushing to do better every single time I go out there.

I wasn't gonna let myself leave without winning this whole thing. After I won that opening match... I knew deep down that I wasn't going to be satisfied unless I beat Todd. That no matter what, I wasn't going to let myself quit. He wanted to force me to tap out... wanted me to do what nobody can do, and make me quit. But you can't. No one can.

Laenara... In two months, you and I are gonna face each other for the biggest title in the game right now. And it won't be about Sentarl vs. Kintelas. It'll just be you and me, the best of the best today, fighting over the top prize in Phoenix Rising. And I won't be satisfied with anything less than a win. I won't walk out into 2021 without that title. I'm sending this year off by becoming the World Champion, and I won't back down for a second. I want nothing less than the best you've got... because I want to be absolutely sure that I deserve that title. That I earned my way to the top, that I wasn't just handed a belt...

I'm going to prove that I'm able to stand at the top, not because of my name, but because of my talent. I'm counting down the days already... and I can't wait."

"Every single fuckin' time it's gotta be THEM. The whole damn family... why is it, that whenever I start to find any sort of momentum, some Sentarl bitch comes along to cut my knees out from under me? You made a big mistake not tapping out, Eri, you made a REAL big mistake. If you would've just given up like a normal person, you could've maybe gotten a second chance... sometime next year, I'm sure. But I'm not gonna forget this. I'm not gonna let you get away. You watch your fuckin' back, because I know damn well you're not World Championship material... so I'm gonna make sure you don't go to New Year's Bash."

Nick MacLeod def. Rilantha De Nav
The Gallego Twins def. The Yoshida Twins
Mercedes Ortega def. Christina Wagner
Sanya Markov def. Avery Adonis Alexander
The Excellent Blades def. HAYATO and SATOMI
Anna Bryant def. Titania
Akira Ryusaki def. Riccardo De Luca
Arthur and Amber Wright def. Winter Fresh
Calista Vargas def. Jessika Boom

Proving Ground came back with a roaring start as Nick MacLeod made his case as one of Proving Ground's top talents, absolutely dominant over a veteran talent in Rilantha De Nav. This one never quite seemed in doubt, and now Ril has to figure out what's going on.


Two sets of twins squared off here, and the slightly more experienced team would win out, though this one was a tough fight to the finish. Rafael would bring it to an end with a quick Superkick out of the blue, but the Yoshidas were in this one to the bitter end.


Christina's raw power very nearly carried her to a victory here... at one point coming clear across the ring to slam a vicious elbow into Mercedes Ortega's face. But Mercedes fought back, eventually landing a huge slam to score the win, and perhaps put herself up as a potential Inspire Championship contender.


Whether AAA wanted it or not, Gary Gear accompanied him to the ring... and Sanya seemed to know it'd happen that way, so he brought his partner from his Friday appearance in Wacker Drive. Even so, Gear injected himself into this one a few times... to no avail in the end, as Sanya would land a crushing senton off the top rope to score the victory. And now his ire may be turning towards Gear next...


The Blades continue to prove themselves as perhaps the premiere tag team on Proving Ground short of the reigning champions. This was a match that displayed their incredible teamwork, Donna's technique, and Nicole's power... but a cross-arm suplex from Donna would be the decisive move over the Tachibana duo, and the Blades may be looking for their shot at La Familia sooner rather than later.


Once again, Titania appears to have underestimated an opponent... and paid for it. Anna Bryant, sporting new attire and seemingly a more focused attitude, held her own here, and even after Titania brought her raw power into play, Anna held strong, responding with quick technical maneuvers, and eventually countered into a sharp German suplex that scored her a sudden victory.


Riccardo's Proving Ground debut was just as impressive as every other match we've seen from him. Akira Ryusaki, however, was on top of his game tonight, and pulled out nearly everything in his arsenal to make sure that the newcomer would get a harsh welcome to the show... finishing things off with an enormous avalanche powerbomb, coming away with a truly impressive win.


Winter Fresh came up just a bit short tonight, as the Wrights were absolutely on fire the entire match. Both managed to get the Triangle Scorpion locked in at one point or another, Arthur landed a brutal Screwdriver, and in the end, Amber dished out a quick moonsault to finish the job, Rin a step too slow to break up the pin.


This was as good a main event as you could hope for: two high-flyers at the top of their game squaring off. Jessika eventually tried to ground the match, focusing on her bow and arrow submission and the Dynamite Cutter, but Calista wouldn't be slowed... while she never broke out the Stormbreaker, she was still relentless, eventually going big with a diving crossbody, and when that didn't get the job done, delivered a spinning frog splash to finally score the three-count and bring the show to a wild end.