RISE ASCENT Episodes 4, 5: Killer Death Machines vs. Doom/Blackheart

EPISODE 4

This episode kicks off with a promo where Deonna Purrazzo promises Mercedes Martinez a beat down, and Mercedez responds in kind. Seeing Deonna pop up in RISE right now is bittersweet because we know she’s headed to WWE sooner or later (and given the fact she just pulled out of ALL IN, it’s definitely sooner). But she gives a great promo here, and what can you say about Mercedes Martinez? She’s terrifying. I once watched her cut a promo on an eight-year old and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. That kid is probably still in therapy. In short, I love you, Mercedes Martinez.

KIKYO VS TASHA STEELZ

Speaking of being brutal on the mic, Kikyo continues her show-stealing streak this episode. I was delighted to see Tasha Steelz come back, as her first appearance on ASCENT definitely left me wanting more. This match kind of turns out to be a squash, as Kikyo starts out dominant and never really loses that streak, but Steelz gets in some great offense including a knee-to-face move that Shinsuke Nakamura would probably have gotten a kick out of. Steelz is a green talent, but she has a ton of charisma and will definitely be someone to watch very soon.

However, this was Kikyo’s match from the jump. She tossed Steelz around like a doll, mocked her, and ended it with a brutal driver that almost knocked Steelz cold. Kikyo also got in a great dig at the beginning by yelling at Steelz that it’s unprofessional to wear a t-shirt into the ring instead of showing up ready to go. (Honestly, Kikyo might kind of have a point there.) In the end Kikyo left triumphant, gesturing that she’ll be going for the title very soon. Maybe this’ll come up at Rise of the Knockouts? Perhaps?

PROMO: KILLER DEATH MACHINES

This is a quick but effective cell phone cam promo where Havok and Nevaeh take some time to wear down Doom’s psyche and make her doubt Blackheart’s commitment to their friendship. WWE, take notes- if you insist on continuing to do those awkward backstage selfie promos, this one would be a good example for you. I liked Nevaeh and Havok pointing out that they’ve been tagging together for years and have the history and chemistry that Doom and Blackheart do not. RISE continues to kill it on these promos.

KAREN Q VS GABBY GILBERT

So the last time we saw Bones of Contention, Ray Lyn took the ring and Karen yelled at her from the sidelines. I was glad to see Karen jump into the ring this time, as she’s a favorite of mine. I considered her to be a bright spot in the Women of Honor tournament, and it’s always fun when she pops up in SHIMMER or RISE. Gabby Gilbert is (I believe) another RISE talent who was very into sparkles and fun, but also pretty serious about her wrestling game. This became apparent when Karen Q tried to rush Gabby before the bell and got bodyslammed into a turnbuckle for her trouble. Cute doesn’t mean helpless in a wrestling ring, Karen.

This was another quick match, with Karen dominant throughout. Karen is a great striker and technical wrestler, and she puts on excellent matches with every opponent, so it makes sense that she’d carry a match like this in RISE. They trade strikes briefly, then Karen twists Gilbert into a Spring Roll (Karen’s modification of a Boston Crab, I think?) and gets her to tap.

From there we get another contentious promo where Ray and Karen yell at each other about how they don’t like each other or want each other, but are willing to tolerate each other’s presences for the sake of the Guardians of RISE titles. After all, who’s ever going to be good enough to beat the two of them together?

Cue a run-in from Paradise Lost, the stable of Rosemary, Ash, and Dust. Rosemary has been doing an awesome job making her presence felt at RISE despite her injury, and this run-in was incredibly effective. Points to Karen and Ray for selling their terror hard by bolting from the ring and vaulting over a barricade to make their escape. I am so excited to see what’s going to happen with these teams at Rise of the Knockouts!

PROMO: KATIE ARQUETTE

Shoutout to Alicia Atout (who oddly is not listed in the credits for RISE ASCENT- why is that?). While the prestaged video packages are glitzy and fun, Atout plays an excellent straight woman to big personality talents like Blackheart and Kimber Lee. This promo brought us more from Katie Arquette, a wrestler whose acting diva gimmick  and bad attitude gave her the dubious honor of a headbutt from the champion of SHIMMER herself, Nicole Savoy.

This promo is super-funny and Arquette knocks it out of the park. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’m not going to tell you any of the jokes from it, but suffice to say Arquette has her promo game locked down. She challenges Savoy to a match. I hope she brings a helmet.

MERCEDES MARTINEZ VS DEONNA PURRAZZO

RISE ASCENT seems to have developed a good sense of rhythm for these weekly shows- start with a couple fun (if not straight up comedic) matches, throw in some storyline building promos, then bring out two huge talents to end the show with a bang. I didn’t see the Martinez/Purrazzo match-up coming, but as soon as it was announced, I was excited for it. Both are amazing technical wrestlers in different ways, and I was excited to see how their styles would work together.

It was a very satisfying match. Purrazzo kept trying to lock in her world-renowned Fujiwara Arm Bar, but Martinez was too quick. Martinez responded by raining incredibly painful chops and strikes on Purrazzo. (The commentators noted that Martinez is known for having the most painful chop in the business, and I absolutely believe that.) They almost appeared to be evenly matched, but in the end Martinez was able to roll Purrazzo up and use the rope for leverage long enough for the three count. I loved Mercedes selling the damage Purrazzo dealt to her arm throughout the match, but also smirking and taunting Purrazzo on her way out the door. Purrazzo has the skills, but Martinez has the ring awareness (and questionable moral compass) that leads to a win.

Also interesting to see Martinez come out on top here, now that we know that she has a shot at being the Phoenix of RISE champion. Very interesting…