A spectacular way to open the show, with two of Valkyrie Pro's best going at it. Priya Mallaya has quickly become the Opening Attraction on any show she appears on, though not quite to the degree of the Office's GP Christopher... and, ultimately, after a hard-fought match that saw Empress Fenix fighting unbelievably hard through some of Priya's best offense, she nailed a Reincarnation that left Priya out cold on the mat.
Violent, chaotic, what else could one expect from a Trios Championship match that involved one of the wildest teams Evergreen's ever signed? The Cuddleys have had a couple of false starts in trying to go for the Trios Championships in the past, but here, finally having earned their shot, they made the most of it in one of the most unhinged matches of the night. And while they were, at one point, reluctant to let Tiny Hope Cuddley into the ring, it would be the smallest of the trio that'd pick up the win in the end, coming up huge to capture the titles and knock off the dangerous Vindication trio.
Silver Hawk was absolutely fighting from behind for most of this match. Damian seemed like he might be an insurmountable test, with raw power to spare, throwing the hero around like a ragdoll. And yet, Silver Hawk was getting plenty of shots in for his own part... and as Damian set up for what was surely going to be the big finish, his devastating Big Ben Edge powerbomb... Silver Hawk
reversed it, snapping him into a rana pin that captured the Pacific Northwest Championship!
Yet another matchup where the challengers appeared outmatched from the start. And yet, when it comes right down to it... you cannot deny the heart of any member of Oakland's Most Metal. Veronika Armstrong may be the heart and soul of the fed, but Rebecca Andrews and Sayaka Saito have also been there from the very start... and when everything looked at its worst, Sayaka dug deep, landing a Kotaro Crusher on the run, and while Skullface was busy trying to knock Rebecca senseless, Sayaka scored the shocking victory over Rampage!
Is there anyone on the face of the earth that can stop Brady Quinn? Even the unstoppable Rilantha De Nav couldn't shut down her devastating strikes... and the Shoot Championship remains on its inaugural champion, simple as that. There may be more frequent defenses for Brady in the future, as Valkyrie Pro may perhaps partner with some of the other Phoenix Rising umbrella to expand the division.
Rey de la Carne didn't exactly have the best experience in a four-way match last Friday on Sakura Pro. All he had to do there was last to the final two. He wound up being the first one eliminated there.
Obviously, he didn't want a repeat of that experience here.
After Markos Andreas tapped out to the Tachibana Special, Rey became a hunter. He caught HAYATO first, and the crowd held their breath... he'd left himself in the ring with Axel Halldorson, the largest man on Proving Ground's roster.
And then he took out Axel the same way. Rey de la Carne endured, and once again, he's the Top Prospect... a championship that may require a new name going forward.
Fast Break have been a spectacularly good team since their promotion from the Academy to the AFW roster. They fought hard here, giving it everything they had... but when it comes right down to it, the Marshall Sisters didn't become AFW Tag Team Champions for nothing. They didn't dethrone the horrifically dominant Haines/Donovan team for nothing. So after a rough, brutal matchup, the Marshalls came out the other side, still the champions.
We've seen Fresh Suzuki's evolution over the past five and a half years. From a young, hungry rookie, just trying to make a name for herself, to perhaps one of the most insanely talented women under the entire Phoenix Rising umbrella. This match proved it... a wild, vicious sprint that saw Aria Kintelas trying to overpower Fresh, only to get caught by perhaps the most devastating finishing sequence of the night: landing a Destroyer, not feeling satisfied with that much (or thinking it wouldn't be enough to put Aria away), and ascending to the top rope to land a Destroyer from
there. That would indeed be enough to win, and Fresh Suzuki remains the Inspire Champion.
The Invincible lived up to her name, but Babe Ruthless did not go quietly. This was maybe one of the most hard-fought singles matches of the entire show, with Babe refusing to stay down, blocking multiple attempts from Elly to finish things off... but Elly herself simply would not stay down for anything, living up to her name. Ultimately, she did lock in her familiar Cross Armbreaker to secure the submission, but this likely won't be the last time we see Babe Ruthless as champion.
Never take your eyes off of Mercedes Ortega. That was the lesson of the night... as while the Limbtakers were as good as they've ever been, this was a reminder of just how good Mercedes and Kroll have become as a team in just three months. Paired together randomly in the Lottery Tag Tournament, they went on to win it all... won the tag titles... and now, with their talent for snatching victory out of the blue, it seems like they might
stay tag champs for a good long while, much to the chagrin of Phoenix Rising's higher-ups (maybe), being an Evergreen team holding Showdown's biggest tag team prize.
Jackson Shaw was always positioned as a man who could be a star for AFW. It just hadn't really clicked for him yet... at least, not until recently. Winning big to get into this match, he made the most of his opportunity, and simply put, never gave Johnny Rocket a chance to get fully rolling. Jackson captures the Spirit of Texas Championship... but can he prove he's more than just a single victory?
There were some concerns that Kileas Kintelas might not have what it takes anymore. After all, even Firehawk Sentarl has had some signature victories over the past five years... where Kileas simply...
hasn't. Trying to prove otherwise may have been the biggest disaster of his career, and possibly the last. While the Alpha Villain certainly tried to keep pace, Avispa was just that much better here, and he ultimately locked in La Avispa II... a finishing submission that's put away quite a few challengers since he became World Champion. And when he cinched in the hold, Kileas tapped
immediately, the ferocity of the hold proving too much.
Is it a career-ender for Kileas? Has the Alpha Villain finally reached his limits? We may not know for a while yet... but for now, it seems likely that the Family may be without its patriarch going forward.
"Bet you didn't expect to be hearing from me, huh? But you listen here... this night was Evergreen's night. Doesn't matter what I personally think of any of 'em tonight... this was a night of Evergreen taking back what's ours. The Trios Championships, back on our roster, even if the Cuddleys aren't our homegrown girls. They fit right in, and you damn well better believe we're keeping them around. The Evergreen tag titles, back on our homegrown talent, where they belong, even if I don't like the damn Oakland bunch. The Evergreen Championship... well, look, Babe's not homegrown either but she's so fucking Evergreen to the core that I'm gonna consider that match a win/win regardless.
And then there's Mercedes and Kroll, by god, those two have lit up the world. We got our titles back. We've taken two of the big fed's belts as well. Evergreen's running as hot as it ever has, maybe ever will be. And I'm not gonna lie... I got half a mind to send someone down to Houston to see if we can't add to our collection. You hear that, Marshall? Big guy Jackson better hang on tight to that precious title he just won, because I'm thinking about getting a bit greedy."
