Last week on The Masked Wrestler, the lumbering Skid fell to Genkai in the series’ first Submission victory. Skid would turn out to be AIW’s own Josh Bishop. While we’re staring down the barrel of next week’s Finals, we still have one more match to see who will stand across the ring for Genkai. Was this episode one to watch? Lets find out.
This Week’s Contest
This week, by process of elimination we are down to Stokely Hathaway Jr. taking on Wyldkat. Once again we kick things off with an inside look at both competitors’ Quarterfinal victories. Stokely, begun with reflecting at how beating Tre’ under the mask taught them some lessons to carry into this round. Wyldkat on the other hand had much more to say. They started off explaining how they knew it was Lady Frost pretty quickly and that she did nothing to mask her in ring style. In reference the less than sportsman-like way they beat Lady Frost, Wyldkat said simply “…at the end of the day, I have a mask and she doesn’t.” In closing, Wyldkat explains how they already have Stokely Jr. scouted and know who they are.
The Match
With their respective words out of the way, it was time to ring the bell! The match started off with chain wrestling, which Stokely broke with an Arm Drag. Both competitors decided to go another round of exchanging holds until Stokely Jr. busted out a series of Arm Drags. This caused Wyldkat to spring out of the ring to catch a break. Upon return to the ring, Wyldkat immediately took over with a harsh Hip Toss into the corner; following with a Basement Dropkick for a two count. Wyldkat went for yet another desperation cover as he followed a Back Suplex with a pin also for two.
After slipping out of a Bow and Arrow hold, Stoke slipped out of another Back Suplex and begun to come back with strikes. Seeing the shifting tides, Wyldkat bounced from the ring yet again. This time Stokely would take advantage of their position and hit a Suicide Dive to the outside. Stoke then followed with a Crossbody in the ring for a two count. While Larry Legend went over to the panel for their thoughts, Stokely hit a beautiful combo of a Corner Trip, Crossbody through the ropes and a Step-Through Code Breaker on Wyldkat for a Rope Break Two Count.
Attempting to follow this combo with a Meteora, Stoke found themself countered and locked in a deep Single Leg Crab. After both competitors found their way to their feet, Wyldkat attempted to go for a Full Nelson Slam. Stokely would roll through the hold with an Arm Drag. Both competitors would then go counter for counter until Stoke caught Wyldkat’s arm and hit a Lucha style Springboard Arm Drag. The match would boil down to strikes from here, which also saw Stokely Jr. shed both of their gloves to deliver some more intense Open Palm Strikes. The match ended in mischievous fashion as Wyldkat landed a Pop Up Low Blow out of referee Kris Levin’s view and rolled up Stokely Jr. for the three in 9:14.
The Reveal
Post match, Stokely Hathaway Jr. would waste no time playing games as they tore their mask off to reveal they were GCW standout Tony Deppen. Rightfully pissed, Deppen snapped the mic from host Larry Legend’s hand to vent his frustrations of losing. Tony then left the ring and started running down the judges. Starting by asking Mr. Brickster he thought Tony was Ms. New York so Brickster could have another shot with her. He then asked Billy Dixon who he thought Tony was, to which Billy answered “Someone who got pinned.” Finally, Tony had much to say to Kris Statlander, or as he referred to her: someone who “…decides she’ll stop by whenever she pleases and take money out of [his] pocket.” Kris then showed her board to reveal her guess was “A Loser!” Deppen then closed the show promising to find the identity of Wyldkat kick them in the dick twice.
I think it might be safe to say that this was easily the best episode of The Masked Wrestler by far! The match was absolutely entertaining to watch and the drama that came after it was even more so. I also like how Wyldkat has been playing the consistent heel throughout this competition; using low blows, pulling the mask and ducking out of the ring at will. Whether you’re looking to follow this series or you’re just looking for some entertainment, this episode is more than worthy to watch.
But with Wyldkat’s victory we have our Finals set in stone: Genkai vs Wyldkat. And since we have our Finals set, I will take the liberty of giving my final predictions for next week’s season finale. I see Genkai defeating Wyldkat in the finals; and as for who is who, I predict Genkai is Lee Moriarty and Wyldkat is Atticus Cogar. While these are my guesses, we’ll have to wait until next week to see if these are correct on the season finale of The Masked Wrestler.