Last week on the Masked Wrestler, the masked Falcor was defeated by the still anonymous Skid. Then in the moment of truth, Falcor unmasked to reveal they were in fact GCW’s KTB. This week, with half of the first round finished, we are only two weeks away from Semifinals action. But for this week, we get to know two more masked competitors and try to take a crack at their true identities.
This Week’s Contest
Another spin of the wheel would bring us this week’s match: the orange masked Marmalade taking on the dark grey clad Wyldkat. First we get to know Marmalade a little closer. They’ve been a professional wrestler for a few years. They claim that their identity is a big part of who they are in the ring. They did come off as a little self-centered in their pre match interview, saying “I’m only concerned with myself, showing off my skills and winning.” while also looking to show off as one of the best in the business.
Across the ring from Marmalade is the aforementioned Wyldkat. They are a six year pro in the wrestling business. They see both the challenge and opportunity of this tournament; being anonymous to their opponent, but also having to solve the puzzle of who they’re facing. They do admit though that the size and ability of their opponents is telling and that their game plan is to “Identify, adapt and execute.” against their opposition.
Two Truths & a Lie
Marmalade:
They are a nationally qualified gymnast
They are also a classically trained opera singer
They were a Texas Hold’em Poker dealer
Wyldkat:
They have competed for the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship before
They have sailed across the Equator twice
They were trained by “…one of the most feared submission specialists in professional wrestling.”
The Match
This bout starts off hot as Wyldkat takes the short cut and attacks Marmalade just as the bell sounded. After staying on top of Marmalade for a while, Wyldkat finds themself on the receiving end of some evasive offense; starting with several roll up attempts only gaining a two count, before incorporating some handsprings and rolls to get the jump on Wyldkat. Wyldkat then got momentum back in their favor with a clean Dropkick from the second rope but only gets the two count. At this point, host Larry Legend came over to panelist Kris Statlander for her thoughts to which she had an early guess of Marko Stunt.
The match would resume as Wyldkat firmly locked Marmalade in a Gory Special submission. After escaping the submission, Marmalade let their gymnastic acumen show by transitioning from a handspring across the back of Wyldkat and hitting a beautiful Dropkick. The gymnastics continued as Marmalade would hit a Sonya Blade-esque Up-Kick and then a flipping Cannonball Senton into the corner on Wyldkat. Several back counters would lead to Wyldkat nearly hitting referee Kris Levin with an Avalanche Splash in the corner before dragging Marmalade to the mat by the head. The match culminated in Wyldkat hitting a Full Nelson Slam for the three in 5:50.
The Reveal
Like the previous two weeks, it was once again time for our panel to take a guess at the identity of this week’s loser. Starting this week with Mr. Brickster, he pulled a first for the show and phoned a friend; choosing current IWTV Independent Wrestling Champion WARHORSE. After some deliberation, Brickster would incorrectly guess Boomer Hatfield. Next came Billy Dixon with a little more insight on this guess than the previous; claiming that he’s felt that Up-Kick to the face before and guessing one-half of Pretty Proper: Lady Frost. For the first time in the series, a judge would guess correctly! Marmalade would unmask to show that they are indeed Lady Frost; a guess which Kris Statlander would also get right and definitely DIDN’T guess both Marko Stunt and Tommy Dreamer.
Post unmasking, Lady Frost claimed that being masked in this competition felt like “…stripping away preconceived notions.” about herself. She was also fairly sure that any fan that has watched IWTV would most likely know that she was in fact Marmalade. And finally, she would voice her displeasure of losing this match due to unsportsmanlike circumstances. Unfortunately for Lady Frost, her unmasking also marks her elimination on this week’s episode of The Masked Wrestler.
This episode is exactly why I’ve been using They/Them pronouns to address both anonymous competitors. We truly do not know who is underneath the masks and this episode is a testament to that. I personally thought that this week’s episode was a good watch; and Billy Dixon correctly guessing Lady Frost’s identity definitely made things more interesting. Again the in-ring work was enjoyable as each episode has brought something different to the table. In this one particularly, both competitors showed much more character in their performances. Wyldkat playing the overt heel who uses referee distraction to get the advantage and Lady Frost using some very gymnastic tactics to evade and get the jump on her opponent. With this episode wrapped up we move onto the last quarterfinal contest. Who either of the final two wrestlers are is entirely up for debate. But next week we will finally see when yet another wrestler is sent home on The Masked Wrestler.