RISE ASCENT Episode 3: Delilah Doom VS Jessicka Havok

Episode 3 of RISE ASCENT gave us a check-in on Rosemary, a head-splitting run-in from a champ, and more on the feud between Delilah Doom and Jessicka Havok.

Another week, another episode of RISE: ASCENT. This week we have an awesome run-in, a mad honey badger, and some payoff on the Doom/Havok/Blackheart tension that got stoked last week. This article contains spoilers, so go watch it, then come on back.

KATIE ARQUETTE VS JINX

So for the first time, we have two wrestlers that I’ve never seen before. Jinx is half Rainbow Brite, half Bride of Chucky- her tagline is “bloody adorable” and her aesthetic is bright colors, true crime and mayhem. (Was that a Golden State Killer backpatch on her vest?) Jinx is up against Katie Arquette, a wrestler who bills herself as a semi-delusional movie star. She acts like an entitled diva and has a lackey with a clipboard. Both talents are relatively new to me, but known to the IWC crowd, who met them with enthusiasm. One of the cool things about RISE is the opportunity to see newer talents that might just be the next big thing.

Jinx got in a lot of fun quick offense, including some awesome drop kicks, but Arquette ran the show as the bigger, stronger wrestler of the two. Jinx was fun in the ring but Arquette has a very impressive sense of her character, and that let her more-or-less guide the show. It wasn’t a surprise when she pinned Jinx, and it wasn’t a surprise when she grabbed a mic to cut a promo on RISE after the match, informing the crowd that nobody in the locker room stood a chance against her.

It WAS a surprise when  Nicole Savoy, current SHIMMER Champ and all-around badass, came out to answer Arquette’s challenge. Savoy jumped in the ring, took a few seconds to dance to her own theme song, then laid Arquette out with a vicious headbutt. She took Arquette down without saying a word or breaking a sweat. It was a great surprise run-in, and it gave me hope we’ll be seeing more of Savoy on ASCENT in the future. Savoy is an incredible talent and a huge force in the world of SHIMMER, and her tag work with Aerial Monroe is a ton of fun. I hope we’ll see them at Rise of the Knockouts!

PARADISE LOST

Finally! Two weeks is too long to go without some Rosemary. I’m still really digging these slick promos for ASCENT wrestlers, and it’s also great to see Rosemary continuing to have an active role in ASCENT despite her injury. (She’s also helping produce the show, which is cool. I wonder if the wrestling talent having influence behind the scenes is a part of why ASCENT came together so well?) Rosemary is huddled in an alley with her team, ready to stake a claim on the Guardians of RISE titles for Paradise Lost. Dust chimes in to remind us all she was the first Phoenix of RISE, and Ash continues to glower in silence on Rosemary’s orders. I am very excited to see what kind of hell these guys are ready to raise in July.

REGINA “HONEY” BADGER VS MIRANDA ALIZE

I always wondered why there weren’t more berserker barbarian types in women’s wrestling. It’s a semi-common trope for male wrestlers, but for some reason I don’t see many female wrestlers trying it on. (If I am missing a band of amazing lady barbarian wrestlers somewhere, please do correct me on Twitter, as I would love to see that.) This is why I was delighted to see Regina “Honey” Badger make her debut. She’s big and mean, she dresses like a viking, and she plays up her badger side with bites, claws, and a general aura of wildness. Cool. Miranda Alize I’d seen before at the Mae Young Classic and as a tag partner for Kylie Rae in the Wiley Smilies, so I was interested to see how she’d do in a singles match in RISE.

This match was a somewhat typical big brawler vs high flyer matchup that was elevated by the characters of both wrestlers. Badger played her gimmick to the hilt, growling and biting the ropes and her opponent and deploying a series of power moves to maul everything in her path. Alize brought her A-game with a number of fun spots, including a drumroll dropkick and an awesome submission hold finisher that put the badger to bed. It was a quick match but it showed off the big personalities and unique move sets we expect from RISE wrestlers, and I look forward to seeing them both again.

DELILAH DOOM VS JESSICKA HAVOK

ASCENT continues to kill it on the main events. Jessicka Havok is an incredible opponent in any match, and this was also ASCENT’s first chance to show off Delilah Doom in the ring. Last week Havok tried to psych Doom out by telling her that her friendship with Shotzi Blackheart wasn’t real, and that Blackheart was sure to betray Doom for a title shot. Doom was resolute in her belief that Blackheart was a true friend, and that Havok was just playing mindgames to give herself an edge in their fight. Doom was anxious, but ready as always for a challenge. Doomies never say die!

From the first moment they were both in the ring together, Havok was on top of Doom, menacing her and pushing her into the ropes. Doom reacted to this by becoming a tiny war machine, shrieking and punching Havok (to little avail). Doom and Havok are very well-matched competitors- Havok is able to take all of Doom’s fun high-flying moves and counter them with her strength, and Doom is strong and flexible enough to take Havok’s gnarly submissions and power moves and really make them look painful. Havok is the perfect fearsome bully to get people rooting for Doom.

Nevaeh made her presence known on the sidelines with a little cheating, but it was Doom and Havok’s fight. I loved it when Havok caught Doom out of the air to thwart her crossbody and hung her up for a tree of woe kick- it was gorgeous and mean and a great example of how well these wrestlers work together. And while there was pretty much no chance Doom would drop the title on  the weekly show when her rematch with Shotzi has been hyped so much, the momentum swung back and forth so wildly and Doom and Havok played so well off of each other I was actually surprised when Doom won. Well done!

Next: NXT TakeOver Predictions

As soon as the match ended Nevaeh and Havok swarmed Doom for a revenge beatdown. And who should come to Doom’s rescue but the Ballsy Badass herself, Shotzi Blackheart, armed with a steel chair and a sense of justice that won’t let Doom get beaten to death before their rematch in RISE 8. Apparently Doom can still trust Blackheart…for now.