FOUR CORNERS- Firewall 11-15-12

Four thoughts coming out of the latest FFW Internet PPV: 


1. MELINDA DAVIS MADE THE RIGHT CALL
Referees get a lot of grief, and sometimes justifiably so.  This isn't one of those times.  Throwing out Firewall's main event, especially just when it was certain Spectra Fantasia was going to win was no doubt an unpopular decision, but what is unpopular, and what is correct are hardly the same thing, and the referee's job isn't to be a populist.  So give Melinda Davis credit here.  She made the difficult decision that I guarantee ninety-five percent of the arm-chair wrestlers of the world wouldn't have had the guts to make.  

Here's the deal- there's about three seperate occasions where Team Adonis probably should have been disqualified- but Melinda CORRECTLY decided not to make that call, because she knew that a disqualification would serve no benefit to Val and Cammie.  But when Cammie decided to spear Starla McCloud to hell, then Casey Atherton, even though Davis had specifically told her to get out of the ring, well, Melinda had no choice.  The match, by that point, was officially out of control, and there was no chance of restoring order without creating a shitstorm of controversy.  Officiating 101 says in that situation, you throw the match out.  And that is exactly what Melinda did, although I think the Double-DQ was certainly a nice expression of annoyance with both teams than simply calling it a no-contest. 

Obviously, there's going to be a rematch, and I'm sure we'll have a stipulation calling for more relaxed rules (which do a remarkable job of ending controversies).  I was looking forward to Spectra Fantasia winning, and a possible showdown with the Scarborough Fair.  But that obviously didn't happen, and you can point a lot of fingers of blame for the reason why, but none of them should be at the referee. 


2. ONLY PAYTON ST. PIERRE COULD WALK INTO A NO-LOSE SITUATION... AND LOSE
No, we're not talking about the match result here.  That's always going to say that Payton pinned Christelle Gillet to win the match.  But we all know that the story goes far beyond that. 

The setup for Payton was so simple a five year old could see it.  Go into the match, let Penny do the heavy lifting, and pick her own shots to make her look better than she really is.  And if the match started to go against her, she'd tuck tail and run, leaving Penny (who's too damn stubborn to do the same thing) to her fate.  Everyone saw the layout there, even Buchanan, who knew she was trapped from the getgo, and was, even hours before the show, trying to figure out how she could avoid this inevitability. 

But a funny thing happened on the way to the screwjob- Lightning decided to betray Christelle first.  This isn't a huge shock, although most odds pointed to Penny and Payton falling apart quicker.  And Payton was in the right place at the right time, leveled the Frog, and got the win, the glory, the bragging rights, everything she'd want save for standing on the entrance ramp and laughing hysterically while Lightning and Gillette picked the Pain Train apart.  Like I said, Payton was set up not to lose here, and she was about to come out smelling like a rose. 

Of course, like the dumb bitch she is, she blew it.  Instead of taking her gains, and getting the hell out of dodge, she decided she was going to gloat.  With her Anarchy opponent, who she's spent the last two months pissing off every chance she got, standing merely feet away.  And, coincidentally, Penny stopped being her tag partner the moment the ref's hand hit three. 

Gee, what the fuck did you THINK was going to happen?

So no, in a match that had everything set up for Payton St. Pierre to walk up that ramp all smiles and laughter- either in victory or because she just suckered Penny again, it was Buchanan who walks up the ramp the winner on the night.  All because Payton was too dumb to learn the phrase 'quit while you're ahead'.  And that, my friends, is more poetic than anything Aimee could EVER write. 

3. SRSLY SLC? 
I suppose you can't blame Shelbi Lynn Carter for being a bit on the frustrated side.  After all, her loss to Sabra was her third in a row, the other two coming to both members of the Steele family.  I'd probably be pulling my stringy bleach blonde hair out too if that happened- and you're talking to someone who actually lost to Ginger Rogers. But for God's sakes, the only person Shelbi could possibly blame for losing at Firewall is herself. 

I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again.  Referee intimidation doesn't just make you look like a jerk- it's counterproductive.  Are officials supposed to be impartial?  Absolutely.  But they're also human, have a subconscious, and are significantly less prone of giving the benefit of the doubt to people who threaten them as opposed to people who are, y'know, polite to them.  Basic human nature. 

And of course, there's also the glaringly obvious- when you're threatening to beat up the dude in the striped shirt who's ultimately going to determine whehter or not you win the match, you're not paying attention to your opponent, a lesson that Sabra taught SLC in a very big way last night.  Maybe if Carter was focusing on Nikolayev, instead of Adam, she might have actually won the damn thing.  And it's mind-boggling how many people in wrestling are incapable of making that connection. 

Adam Grant is not a referee, but under the circumstances, he did a great job as the guest ref, and to be attacked by Shelbi in the wake of her loss was completely uncalled for.  If FFW valued Adam at all (and in this post Amanda Saint world, I'd like to think they do), they would fine and/or suspend Shelbi for her actions, which were cowardly, despicable, and amazingly short sighted.

After all, on top of all that, it's probably not a good idea to beat up the guy who runs your company's website.


4. "DYNASTY" IS ACTUALLY APPROPRIATE IN THIS CASE
And we're talking about the television show, a primetime soap opera that ran for 9 seasons on ABC in the 80's.  Of course, the saga of the Williams family has quite a few ways to go to reach that level of longevity, but we're certainly not being shorted on any aspect of the melodrama, even if we are missing a few Linda Evans-Joan Collins style catfights.  Last night at Firewall was no exception, when we saw Crystal apparently adopt a woman (A DEAS!) who's six years younger than her as her daughter, not to mention the uber-racist half-sister Maia Lopez joining FFW, Jennifer apparently forgetting all aspects of the pluckiness that got her where she is now, and Melody Williams... making her on screen debut by apparently fulfilling every stereotype she possibly could.  That's not even bringing up the bizarre envelope from Todd we got at the end. 

Either way, I'd almost feel sorry for Crystal if I wasn't so certain that this wasn't just some bizarre form of karmic retribution.  Either way, keep watching kids, as this incredibly bizarre situation continues.  And be ready to cringe.  I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of that in the near future.