Last week on The Masked Wrestler, the masked Stokely Hathaway Jr. put away their opponent Blueskie, who turned out to be GCW standout Tre’ LaMar. LaMar would join fellow wrestlers Lady Frost, KTB and Logan Easton LaRoux as losers of the Quarterfinal Round. With the opening round behind us, we were surely in for some more thrilling action as the stakes are even higher. Did the inaugural Semifinal match deliver? Lets find out.
This Week’s Contest
The Semifinals would start with a challenge of sizes as the smaller Genkai in pink would take on the much larger Skid in red. While the show typically starts with bios of the respective competitors, as well as a game of Two Truths & a Lie, this one was much different. Instead, we got a highlight package of each wrestler’s victory in the Quarterfinals along with their thoughts on the match. Starting with Skid, who claimed that they always figured they could beat KTB, but now they know they could whether masked or unmasked. Genki on the other hand had known Logan Easton LaRoux was talented, but didn’t anticipate getting the challenge they did in the contest. With each competitors’ thoughts in the books, all there was left to do was finally ring the bell.
The Match
The opening moments of this match were much slower as it revolved around Genki and Skid trading headlocks and wristlocks. The battle for position would continue until Skid used their size to throw Genki across the ring while held in a headlock. Skid would keep on the attack, following with a Bossman Slam, but only getting a two count. Going back to the well, Skid would club Genkai around the ring until going for a Scoop Slam and a desperation pin, also gaining a two count.
With Genkai getting their footing, they roped Skid into throw wide strikes until they landed an vicious Enzuigiri on Skid, following with an attempt at an Octopus Hold. Momentum would once again fall into Skid’s favor with a Great Khali-esque Brain Chop. They then followed up with a deadlifting Jackhammer for a two count. Getting back to their feet, Genkai countered an attempted Chokeslam into a Hurricanrana; then hitting a Flying Headscissors, which perfectly set up a 619. After fighting another Bossman Slam attempt by Skid, Genkai would secure victory by tapping Skid out with a Modified Octopus Hold (the first submission win in the series) in 7:03.
The Reveal
With another loser down, then came time for the panel to give their guesses. Host Larry Legend sent it straight to Mr. Brickster who had much to say about Skid. Bricker claims his familiarity with Skid’s arsenal of moves and how close he is to Skid. His final guess: current AIW Absolute & Intense Champion and fellow Rip City Shooter, Josh Bishop. Brickster’s guess…would be correct! Bishop gleefully unmasked, claiming to feel good seeing Brickster in the panel and stablemate Wes Barkley watching at home. Post show, Bishop proclaimed his match as unfair as pink is the weakness of red and that whoever Genkai truly is would be on Rip City’s Hitlist. With this victory in the pocket, Genkai is one step closer to winning The Masked Wrestler.
The start of the Semifinal Round was an enjoyable one as I thought the clash of styles and sizes made for an interesting matchup. I also liked the aforementioned change in format now that we’ve had a little bit of familiarity with both competitors. My only complaint though is that I do wish they would’ve done another round of Two Truths & a Lie with more factoids to give us further hints at the competitors. With only two more episodes left in this series, it makes you wonder who else could be beneath the masks. By process of elimination, next week we will find out the identities of either Wyldkat or Stokely Hathaway Jr. on The Masked Wrestler.