I originally tried doing the live iPPV recap of this particular show but was unable to complete it because of some previous comments. However, being we’re in the month of October, and it’s Fight Season, I thought it might be nice to take a look back at the event since it is one of the more unique tournaments done on a yearly basis. Eight women and eight men join up with the winning team seeing the female get a WSU title match. Thanks to CZW, this event was made all the easier. I’ve had some mixed feelings about WSU since being purchased by Drew Cordeiro, but this was certainly a very solid show punctuated with a close to classic intergender singles match.
The show opened up with four quarterfinal matches. Given some of the teams had to wrestle two or three times, nothing was extraordinary, but everything was at a minimum solid. Jake Crist and Naveah defeated Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb in the battle of the engaged versus the married. The emphasis was mostly on the women (as it should have been) as Naveah and Bomb had frequent interactions. Naveah pinned Cherry Bomb with the chinchecker as the men brawled on the outside. Drew Gulak and Kimber Lee went over Devon Moore and Mickie Knuckles was way too short to mean anything, and this easily the weakest of the first round matches. Another case of a woman pinning another woman with Lee getting the victory. The best of the four first rounders witnesses Athena and AR Fox defeating Ezavel Suena and Latin Dragon. This was a high-flying spectacle that seemed to be the best actual match-up given all four styles. Athena did not win with the O-Face but rather a Meteora, a blatant rip-off of what Fox does in certain matches. Dragon and Suena were the clear underdogs and wrestled as such by going subtle heel. Because this was a WSU show and CZW, Matt Tremont and Masada weren’t going to have a great of interaction in their match, but a count-out ending has to be considered a disappointment given this got decent time. Addy Starr crawled in the ring at nine while Christina Von Eerie was unable to make the count. This was the very definition of an average match.
In one non-title match, the WSU tag team champions of Allysin Kay and Sassy Stephie beat Lexxus (someone WSU seems very interested in pushing in the future) and Spirit Champion Marti Belle. Lexxus and Belle looked good in the match, but Kay and Stephie came across that much better. Kay and Stephie are two more than solid wrestlers who showed why they deserved these titles. Stephie doesn’t get a lot of love, but she and Kay have very good chemistry. Suena attacked Marti Belle after the match since she wants the Spirit championship.
The semifinals went a combined 13 minutes, so obviously the emphasis was being put on the last round of the tournament. Drew Gulak and Kimber Lee got to showcase their mat wrestling a bit more against Naveah and Jake Crist. Gulak went total heel by pulling on Naveah’s hair and locking in the GuLock to get the victory. This was chaotic in a good way, and the right team absolutely went over. In the other semifinal, the action started right away with dives from Matt Tremont and Addy Starr. This match was also the only one where a male wrestler pinned a male wrestler as Fox won with the 450 splash. Not much time was given here, but there was a ref bump, the first of two on the night. Chris Dickinson attacked the girls after the match because he wanted to live up to at least part of his name.
All that can be said about the penultimate match is that if Sami Callihan is willing to put over a female worker, then there is literally no excuse for anyone else not to. If not for a ref bump and a needless low blow, I might have been willing to go four stars and say this was a borderline must see match for 2013. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still very good, and whether you’re a fan of intergender matches or not, you should give this a watch. Lots of hard strikes and exchanges. Jessica Havok kept up very well with Sami Callihan, and I could make an argument that this was a better match for her than a title defense. As mentioned, there was a ton of physicality and a great deal of ringside brawling, which served to get Havok over as a beast of a human being. A fine way for Callihan to go out and a great win for someone who I consider not just one of the best female workers but one of the top workers in the business regardless of gender.
AR Fox and Athena came away with the 2013 Queen and King tournament victory after defeating Drew Gulak and Kimber Lee. This was certainly the right choice on all sides. Gulak and Lee controlled much of the match with mat work, and this match even featured a double heat segment. Crazy sequence toward the end eventually ended as Athena pinned Lee after the O-Face. An awesome way to end the tournament. Fox and Gulak have shown over and over again how good they can be, and Athena certainly could be argued as a top tier women’s wrestler. Kimber Lee is a bit behind the others but not by much. Her association with Gulak can only help her, and a tournament like this will serve to make her better.
Some good stuff and unique matches can be found across this night. Likely the best WSU show since they came under new ownership.
Grade: B-
-Taped from Voorhees, New Jersey
-2013 Queen and King Quarterfinal: Jake Crist and Naveah defeat Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb by pinfall. Naveah connected a chin checker on Cherry Bomb leading to the pinfall/12:09/**3/4
-2013 Queen and King Quarterfinal: Drew Gulak and Kimber Lee defeat Devon Moore and Mickie Knuckles. Lee pins Knuckles after a German suplex/6:58/**
-2013 Queen and King Quarterfinal: Athena and AR Fox defeat Ezavel Suena and Latin Dragon by pinfall. Athena hits the Meteora on Suena to pick up the win/11:39/***
-2013 Queen and King Quarterfinal: Matt Tremont and Addy Starr defeat Masada and Christina Von Eerie by count-out/10:14/**1/2
-Allysin Kay and Sassy Stephie (WSU Tag Team Champions) defeat Marti Belle (WSU Spirit Champion) and Lexxus in a non-title match by pinfall. Kay pins Belle after a double team lungblower/face plant combination/11:03/***
-2013 Queen and King Semifinal: Drew Gulak and Naveah defeat Jake Crist and Naveah by submission. Gulak tapped out Naveah with a GuLock/7:48/***
–-2013 Queen and King Semifinal: AR Fox and Athena defeat Matt Tremont and Addy Starr by pinfall. Fox pinned Tremont after a 450 splash/5:22/**
-Jessica Havok (WSU Champion) defeats Sami Callihan in a non-title match by pinfall after the Air Raid Crash/16:49/***1/2
-2013 Queen and King Final: AR Fox and Athena win the 2013 Queen and King Tournament by defeating Drew Gulak and Kimber Lee by pin pinfall. Athena pins Gulak after the O-Face/16:21/***1/4
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