The Power X’s inspirational thought of the month.
When I was a young boy
Said put away those young boy ways
Now that I'm gettin' older
So much older
I love all those young boy days
With a girl like you
With a girl like you
Lord knows there are things we can do, baby
Just me and you
Come on and make it hurt
Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good
- John Cougar Mellencamp “Hurt So Good”
The Power X would like to wish John Mellencamp a very happy birthday! Mellencamp, who turns 62 on October 7, is famous for such homegrown American rock songs such as “Jack & Diane”, “Pink Houses”, and, of course, his breakout hit, 1982’s “Hurt So Good”
Fellow Hoosier Wendy Briese knows a little bit about it ‘hurting so good’ (although probably not in the way that Mellencamp intended), overcoming a furious defense from Valerie Belmont to capture the FFW Championship. Wendy is only the second non-original to hold the belt (Stacey Mackenzie didn’t arrive until the first Cold Blooded), and the second consecutive first-time champion. Oh, and my client. But I don’t like to brag.
And on that note, we head to the rankings. Same format, of course- anyone who’s been in that ring in the last two months is ranked, but only the top forty get their pretty little pictures up here. Sadly, as is usual for pretty much every Power X, we had to say goodbye to some people who just didn’t make the cutoff. Those ladies are…
Starla McCloud [15th]
Sophie Richards [34th]
Gigante [45th]
Trinity [49th]
Marie Reynolds [62nd]
Obviously we’ll be seeing Starla back in the ring soon enough, as she’s scheduled to participate in Chase for the Crown 5 at the upcoming Indomitable special. As for the others, only who knows, although the latter two have been released from the company, the latter in quite spectacular fashion. Luckily, we have five newcomers to the rankings, so our list stays at a robust 62. Which means twenty two ladies are left crying on the outside, wondering why nobody loves them. They are:
#62- MICHELLE TAYLOR [-1] (NINE!)
#61- TARYN ROBINSON [NEW]
#60- SARAH RICHARDSON [-1]
#59- HANNA ELLIOT [NEW]
#58- NANCY DIETZ [SAME]
#57- LISA RICHARDSON [SAME]
#56- CHRISTELLE GILLET [SAME]
#55- ALLISON SULLIVAN [SAME]
#54- TABATHA BELMONT [-4]
#53- TIFA HEAFY [+7]
#52- FREYA KANE [NEW]
#51- CRYSTAL HATE [SAME]
#50- KARA HARRINGTON [-9]
#49- APRIL EVANS [-6]
#48- CANDI [-11]
#47- LAURA STEELE [SAME]
#46- ARABELLA BLACK [NEW]
#45- GABRIELLE CRIMSON [+7]
#44- JEM MICHAELS [+10]
#43- NICHOLE WHITMORE [NEW]
#42- ANGELA HINCHCLIFFE [+11]
#41- MILEENA SAVAGE [-5]
And now, as Mr. Mellencamp is so fond of saying.. LETS COUNT EM DOWN!
40
|  |
CAMILLA PAZZINI
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-16
|
Chunks keeps talking about breaking out of Val’s shadow and into her own, but she’s yet to do it. In fact, she hasn’t even been in the ring since embarassing Val in her hometown. That will change at Breaking Point, when she meets Samara in the Femme for All
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39
|  |
SOPHIA BLACK
|
-6
|
After falling to Jo at Sin & Sacrifice, Sophia’s lost three in a row and is at a huge risk of returning to her old, unspectacular ways.
|
38
|  |
DESTINY CAMPBELL
|
+2
|
Destiny looked solid against Sarah Richardson at S&S, when she extended her winning streak to three matches. She’s already got herself a TV title shot, so she’ll be watching Indomitable and Anarchy quite closely.
|
37
|  |
IGNIS
|
-10
|
The only thing saving Ignis from being off these rankings entirely is her upcoming Future Shock Championship match. She’s been apt to focus more on ruining some others careers than furthering her own.
|
36
|  |
HAYLEY DARK
|
-6
|
Hayley’s now lost three in a row, no thanks to her former tag team partner. Even worse, that loss to KO/TO at S&S cost her and Gabby a chance to reclaim the Unity belts.
|
35
|  |
UNDINE
|
-10
|
The Aquablonde has lost 5 in a row, now. Lying in a wreckage of a table, a ladder, and a dozen chairs was not how she had envisioned the night ending for her.
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34
|  |
SAMARA STEELE
|
-2
|
Samara takes her 6 match winning streak into the Femme For All with a quarterfinal showdown against Camilla Pazzini. She could be the best bet for a dark horse in this years tournament.
|
33
|  |
STARDUST
|
+11
|
While she ended the night on her back at S&S, Stardust still fought a hell of a match. But she can’t be happy that the Rudos were out-tricked by another team.
|
32
|  |
METEORA
|
+14
|
Like her partner, Meaty put on a great show in a losing effort. Her suicide dive to take out Steph Dallins was spectacular- albeit very costly
|
31
|  |
CLAIRE BLACK
|
+8
|
Claire (along with her partner Serafina) have stirred quite a controversial debate with their huge win over Dark & Crimson. Should they be given the tag shot that those two were fighting for? I say no- not yet, but a couple more wins like that, and they’ll earn one anyways.
|
30
|  |
JESSIKA HEXSTAR
|
+1
|
My cousin’s crowning accomplishment has come in the past two weeks- turning kind, sweet-natured Kinsey Robinson into a homicidal maniac. That might come back to bit her in the butt in the next couple weeks.
|
29
|  |
KATHERINE STRYFE
|
-6
|
Not a good month for Kat. Her loss to Arabella makes it four out of the last five, and she actually managed to talk her way out of the Femme For All with all this “I never quit” nonsense. She better hope that Evolution rematch is going to be worth it.
|
28
|  |
REBECKA HATE
|
+14
|
She’s taking her share of lumps, but Becka is moving forward nonetheless. Getting out of Frosted Steele is honest to God the best thing that’s ever happened to her, and even if she doesn’t win the Femme For All, she can certainly prove she belongs higher than opening a PPV.
|
27
|  |
KINSEY DECARO
|
+2
|
Considering what she’s been through, a countout has to be the least satisfying way her match over Hexstar could have possibly ended. Chances are, these two are going to go again at Anarchy, under much more barbaric conditions.
|
26
|  |
STEPHANIE SULLIVAN
|
-9
|
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the woman who has deprived us of the chance to pay money to watch Tara Thunder wrestle for the second consecutive PPV. In all seriousness, I hope she’s recovered, because her match with Tara will either be momentous, or a complete disaster.
|
25
|  |
TARA THUNDER
*NO SURRENDER CHAMPION*
|
-9
|
God, I hate doing this to Tara, especially because its not her fault her match was delayed onto a non-PPV show. But if she survives Sullivan, Indomitable should get the challengers lining right up, and make her quite the busy woman in the coming months.
|
24
|  |
LEONA VEGA
|
+24
|
Easily the biggest riser in this month’s Power X. Mika’s little sidekick has been on a tear, winning four matches in a row now, including a hat trick on the Hyper Tigers.
|
23
|  |
STEPH DALLINS
|
-1
|
Steph opened a lot of eyes with her power at S&S, actually managing to manhandle Aimee Easter on multiple occassions. She needs to work on not letting herself get isolated, though. She was effectively the first woman to be taken out of the match.
|
22
|  |
MADELYNE MCTAGGERT
|
+16
|
It’s getting to the point where I kind of want to backhand her. But we all know the worst thing about it is that she’s backing it up in the ring. Beating two of the Whitmore girls is not an easy thing to do.
|
21
|  |
HOLLY ADAMS
|
+14
|
Like her partner, Holly was her usual solid, bitchy self. But that expression on her face when she yanked Sasha’s mask off to reveal Killer C was priceless!
|
20
|  |
SERAFINA DECARO
|
-2
|
I have not heard any word on Serafina’s participation in Indomitable, which is a shame. The woman with the longest title reign in division history deserves to be on the show, at least in some capacity.
|
19
|  |
JO MCFARLANE
|
+1
|
She had a bit of fun taking Sophia to school in that Anything Goes match. Is an Ultraviolence run Jo’s future? Chances are that shot will come as the Future Shock, but with 5 wins in 7 matches, Jo’s time for another crack is nearing.
|
18
|  |
MIKA DEMIDOV
|
+8
|
For all their talk about shutting her up, the Hyper Tigers couldn’t get the job done. With relations tense between the US and Russia again, Mika winning the Femme For All might just be enough to rekindle the Cold War.
|
17
|  |
CASEY ATHERTON
*FUTURE SHOCK CHAMPION*
|
-9
|
Sitting out a PPV never helps you in the rankings, and Casey regrettably did that. Still, it’s going to be amazing when she and Ignis headline the Egg Dome in just a little under four weeks.
|
16
|  |
KELLY MCGUFFIN
|
-4
|
That win over Crystal Hilton has put Kelly right back into the TV title discussion (why not Evolution?). She’ll get her shot at Anarchy- where last year her hopes were dashed thanks to Jenny Williams
|
15
|  |
EMMA MACNAMARA
|
+4
|
Loss to Gardner turns out not to be a complete shutdown for Emma Mac, as she heads on into the FFA now, to face Rebecka Hate in the quarters
|
14
|  |
SUNNY KYOUN
|
+7
|
Sunny was a valiant, valiant fighter at Sin & Sacrifice, and came within INCHES of hitting her big finisher to make Witches’ Brew the tag champ. That obviously didn’t happen, but the pluck she and Steph showed seems to have gotten them a second chance.
|
13
|  |
MISTY WHITMORE
|
+1
|
She may not have beaten the Blondetourage, but she certainly inspired a lot of people with her gumptious defiance. Now her attentions turn to far more important matters- the TV Championship and Anarchy.
|
12
|  |
ALYSSON GARDNER
|
+16
|
A year and a half ago, Aly became the Ultraviolence #1 contender, but circumstances forced her out, and Cara Stone would go on to win what became known as the Mile High Miracle. Now she’s back, and this time, she’s got a date with a train.
|
11
|  |
JENNIFER WILLIAMS
|
-2
|
Second time around wasn’t a charm for Williams, as she just came up short against Eileen. From the sound of things, she’s making some sacrifices in her life to focus more on wrestling, so if/when the rubber match comes around, expect her to be ready
|
10
|  |
CRYSTAL HILTON
|
+3
|
Her long awaited brawl with Scarlett Kincaid proved to be her undoing, and Crystal unfortunately finds herself the first one out of the Femme For All. Her attitude in the wake of the loss is admirable, though. Whichever challenge she faces next, she’ll be ready
|
9
|  |
JODIE GRAY
|
+2
|
Don’t look now, but Jodie’s got another four match win streak going, which is why she’ll be making her Femme For All debut at Velocity. If the Autumn of Gray repeats itself, it could make for a very golden New Years.
|
8
|  |
SCARLETT KINCAID
|
+2
|
One down, three to go! Scarlett’s the first woman through to the Femme For All semifinals, where she gamely awaits the winner of MacNamara/Hate. Anarchy will mark a year since Scar was in the FFW title picture, and she could make her triumphant return there in the finals.
|
7
|  |
KATE STEELE
|
-4
|
Kate showed a tremendous amount of heart at S&S, but that Kendo sticked sharpshooter did too much damage to her legs for her to get up the ladder. She’ll get her rematch though, and hopefully it’ll be one on one- she and Penny have a score to settle.
|
6
|  |
LIGHTNING
*UNITY CHAMPION*
*TELEVISION CHAMPION*
|
+1
|
Yes, I hate goldbricking, but believe it or not, the way Of Poets & Prophets did it, I’m okay with it. The match didnt stop. THe medics weren’t alerted. They just lay on the outside, and let everyone else take themselves out around them. That’s not irresponsible, that’s just playing the game.
|
5
|  |
AIMEE EASTER
*UNITY CHAMPION*
|
+1
|
That being said, please don’t every damn wrestler on the planet start following their strategy. That’s going to make for some boring matches.
What’s not going to be a boring match? Aimee Easter vs. Eileen Amaro at Anarchy. And Aimee holds an advantage right now- she KNOWS she’ll be there.
|
4
|  |
VALERIE LAMB
|
-3
|
Four months and two successful defenses. Not a bad FFW title run for Val, who looks to make this but a hiccup when she rematches for two out of three falls at Anarchy.
|
3
|  |
PENNY BUCHANAN
*ULTRAVIOLENCE CHAMPION*
|
Sin & Sacrifie had a lot of feel good moments, but arguably the biggest one came here. Penny’s been loved by the fans for a while now for her no-nonsense style in the ring. But the moment that title came into her hands, we all learned from her emotions how much winning that meant.
| |
2
|  |
EILEEN AMARO
*EVOLUTION CHAMPION*
|
SAME
|
For someone who made an open challenge the moment she won the title, it sure took a while for Amaro to make her first defense. Well, she delivered, and now has a nasty line of challengers awaiting her, starting with Kat Stryfe at Velocity, then Aimee Easter at Anarchy.
|
1
|  |
WENDY BRIESE
*FFW CHAMPION*
|
+3
|
Since returning to FFW in March, Wendy has exploded with a 7-1 record, flying up the ranks, and riding a momentous win over Isabella Pazzini to another one over Valerie Lamb. And now she walks into her hometown of Indianapolis to defend her title at Anarchy.
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