INCOMING! Future Shock Fight Night 2 8.27.13

Geez Louise are we gonna rack up the Frequent Flier miles this week.  After a show in Cologne, its a trip back around the world to South Korea, with a quick stop in Seattle for the second Annual Future Shock Fight Night.  And of course, the Future Shock Cup will be up for grabs, with seven women competing for the right to enter the next Season of Champions.  And for just the second time ever, a title will be defended in a televised special.  Talk about a busy action packed night!

FUTURE SHOCK CUP QUALIFIER #1
SERAFINA DECARO vs. TRINITY
Serafina is arguably the most successful Future Shock Champion we've ever had, having turned her prize into the longest championship reign in FFW history.  But if there's one woman who's gotten her number on a fairly consistent basis, it's Trinity.  That being said, Serfafina is probably wrestling at an even higher level now than she did back during Season 6, while it almost seems Trinity's missed a step due to a few recent stumbles.  Expect DeCaro to wear down Trinity, dodge a couple of screwballs along the way, and advance.
PREDICTION: Serafina DeCaro

FUTURE SHOCK CUP QUALIFIER #2
STEPHANIE DALLINS vs. JODIE GRAY
Jodie's certainly gone a one eighty on the attitude, going from an absurd amount of cockiness and predisposition to an almost unbearable amount of self-pity.  Now, there's a lot of people inclined to give me the blame/credit for that, but let's face it, we've known all along the girl's a neurotic pathological liar.  Stephanies neurotic too, although in a slightly more endearing "Ha ha, Lyn's gonna die painfully" way.  Also, she's strong as hell, as the poor Rudos and Trinity found out the hard way. 
PREDICTION: Stephanie Dallins

FUTURE SHOCK CUP QUALIFIER #3
REBECKA HATE vs. LAURA STEELE
Ah, now this is the one we've been waiting for!  Becky's been wanting a crack at her tag partner for a couple months now, and considering all that Laura and the Agency of Steele have done for (read: to) her in that time, not a lot of people can blame her.  Laura's shown to have a devious side, in her rather cheat-filled victory over Jem Micheaels a couple weeks ago.  But does anyone really think that Becky isn't going to power through this after waiting so long for a chance to strangle Laura?  I'm not sure if either Frosted Steel or Cousin Steele are going to survive the night!
PREDICTION: Rebecka Hate

GABRIELLE CRIMSON vs. APRIL EVANS
This will actually be Gabby's first official FFW match, despite her Future Shock season ending well over a year ago.  She'll be looking to get going against April Evans, who is still searching for her first singles win as a member of the main FFW roster.  This could be the darkhorse match of the night, folks (not surprising, as its the only one without title implications).  I'm tipping the nod slightly to April, primarily based on experience- she's been in FFW dogfights before, and she knows that level required of her.  Gabby's stepping into the major leagues for the first time, and she's about to be in for a rude shock on the challenge level she faces here. 
PREDICTION: April Evans

FUTURE SHOCK CUP FINALS- FOUR-WAY
SUNNY KYOUN vs. SERAFINA DECARO vs. STEPHANIE DALLINS vs. REBECKA HATE
An absolute barnburner of a four-way awaits us in the Future Cup finals, anyway you slice it.  Obviously, the only guarantee here is Sunny, who's picked up that coveted first round bye in the battle royal, and the other spots could quite possibly be taken by either Trinity, Jodie Gray, or Laura Steele.  
Obviously, the advantage lies with Sunny, who got to bypass those pesky qualifiers and will be entering the match as the freshest daisy in the garden.  But what would be a clear advantage in a one on one match is diminished with each opponent added, to the point that any high ground Sunny posesses could be gone within five minutes.  In fact, Kyoun best be praying that Dallins wins HER match, because if Gray advances, she could be looking at a three on one beatdown right off the bat as the other competitors try to drag her down to their energy level. 
But don't think Sunny doesn't have a chance, either.  She's probably the pluckiest wrestler in this match right now, if not the whole company, and she's a VERY tough cookie to crack.  Her heart, along with Steph's power and Becky's ruthlessness, give all three a definite chance here.  But I have to look at Serafina, who has both experience and history on her side.  The biggest downside she has is that as a primary submissionist, she's going to need a LOT of time to get a victory-capable hold executed fully, and time is tough to come by in a four-way.  But as the match wears on, and the energy levels dip, this will favor Serafina more and more
PREDICTION: Serafina Reynolds

FUTURE SHOCK CHAMPIONSHIP
CASEY ATHERTON (c) vs. JO MCFARLANE
For the first time in her two-plus years of FFW employment, Josephine Theresa McFarlane is getting a title shot.  I'd like to say it's been a long time coming, but Jo herself can admit that the majority of her run here has been somewhat underwhelming.  That's changed in recent months, and Jo enters this match having won four out of her last five, including being the first to crack the Mika Demidov code.  
I WANT Jo to win this.  I really do.  Her tenacity, even while she was in some pretty bad slumps, is admirable, and she has fought tooth and nail and come up short in some pretty big matches.  But then you look at Casey, and her dominant run to the Future Shock Championship, and her taking five of her last seven, and it's tough to see Casey giving up the title.  She nearly did against Jodie, and I think it served as a wakeup call for her, and she'll be at her definite A-level when she goes up against Jo.  
PREDICTION: Casey Atherton