POWER X: December 2013

The Power X’s Inspirational Thought Of the Month

I heard your record on the telephone

It was my cousin, Joan

She picked it up from the top 40 rack and then

I read your interview in Rolling Stone

You threw the boys a bone

And so I genuinely felt obliged to call

I know You never meant to hurt us, man

We're just a baby band

You found a quicker way

To scale the wall of fame

The situation's awfully dim

Should we up and go with him?

No way (no way, 1, 2, 3, 4)

We know exactly where you are, and you're gone (my friend)

Don't know exactly where you're coming from

You've gone away my friend

We know exactly where you are, and you're gone (my friend)

Don't know exactly where you're coming from

Have you gone astray (gone)

Don't think we don't miss you

(We think about you every day)

We still love you anyway

('cause Love don't go away)

There's still this burning question (I got to know)

Why?

-     - My Friend (So Long!)- DC Talk

Why, indeed.

Anarchy lived up to its name, culminating in a five-star two out of three falls showdown that would have instantly launched itself into contention for Match of the Year… had it not been wrecked by Camilla Pazzini promptly ending her friendship with Valerie Lamb during its waning moments.  It’s a tough break for Val, who saw her hopes of regaining the FFW Championship crushed against the ringside barrier, and it certainly leaves the question of who would have won up in the air.  Wendy  insists that she still had a chance, despite her leg injury, but that four-week suspension from competition certainly attests to how badly she was hurt.

Either way, expect Val to be in line for another FFW shot soon.  After two stellar matches, I don’t think anyone would complain if those two took one more crack at each other. 

The undercard saw a completely chaotic ladder match showing some of our best and brightest newcomers, five titles changing hands, a few grudges settled, a few not even close to being settled, and the making of a new star in the finals of the Femme For All.

So that brings us to the final Power X rankings of the year.  Since there is only one show in December, there won’t be any for January, although expect some end of year extravaganza once the Christmas dust settles.  Obviously we’ll be back on track with this columns usual features, such as Show Rankings, Incoming! And Future Shock Therapy as well.  Not to mention a massive and comprehensive When Worlds Collide Preview.  Two goddamn shows, yo!

Anyways, quite a bit of turnover this month, although a few newcomers means the overall eligibility total only drops two from sixty-six to sixty-four.  And as could be expected from a PPV that saw five titles change hands, quite a bit of shakeup in the rankings as well.  As usually, the top 40 are highlighted, but first, those that we will be saying goodbye to.   (Cue “Don’t You Forget About Me” by the Human League)

Jode Gray (Last Ranked: 20^th)

Katherine Stryfe (38^th)

Tabatha Belmont (55^th)

April Evans (56^th)

Hanna Elliot (62^nd)

Sarah Richardson (63^rd)

Taryn Robinson (66^th)

And now… let’s count them down!

64. MICHELLE TAYLOR [+1]

63. ASHLEY WHITMORE [+1]

62. KANNA HAROSHI [-1]

61. CINDY WARREN [-1]

60. CHRISTELLE GILLET [-1]

59. SHAELIN O’HARA [NEW]

58. VALENTINA LOZANO [NEW]

57. EMI YAMAMOTO [NEW]

56. FREYA KANE [-6]

55. NANCY DIETZ [-8]

54. CRYSTAL HATE [SAME]

53. LOLLIPOP [+4]

52. GIGANTE [NEW]

51. NATALYA DEMIDOV [NEW]

50. MILEENA SAVAGE [-9]

49. SOPHIA BLACK [-6]

48. ARABELLA BLACK [+4]

47. STACEY [+11]

46. ANGELA HINCHCLIFFE [SAME]

45. JEM MICHAELS [+4]

44. STARDUST [-10]

43. JESSIKA HEXSTAR [-4]

42. METEORA [-13]

41. STARLA MCCLOUD [-9]

40	CLAIRE BLACK	-9	So far, Sudden Impact’s worked out about as well as KO/TO did.  Then again, the Leavenworths may be just that good in the Trios department, so let’s see how they fare against other teams before making a final judgement
39	DESTINY CAMPBELL	+6	Destiny’s on a four match winning streak, taking out Freya Kane at Breaking Point.  That sets her up for the most unlikely of TV title shots in Atlanta- one that she earned off of Candi, of all people
38	HAYLEY DARK	+4	Hayley sure seems to love being in those mass-entry ladder matches.  Sadly, she’s yet to win one, but she sure seems to leave her mark either way.
37	UNDINE	-2	After struggling to reassert herself in the UV division, it looks like Undine’s found a home in the trios.  Of course, doesn’t hurt when your two partners are Ignis and Lightning
36	SAMARA STEELE	SAME	Samara’s only activity in the month of November was guest officiating the match between Jenny and Arabella, which, thanks to Lightning’s antics, ended up being only the second worst called match of the month
35	TIFA HEAFY	+18	This sound’s cruel, but Freya Kane’s retirement might actually be just the thing Tifa needs.  She certainly showed us what Cody Kincaid saw in her during that ladder match.
34	STEPHANIE SULLIVAN	-4	Frosted Steele.  Crystallized Steele.  And now Motor City Steele?  We get it- it’s someone’s last name.  But there’s like 470,000 words in the fucking English language.  Come up with something else!
33	CANDI	+18	Hate if you want, but the fact of the matter is, she got up there and had almost a full minute to unhook the briefcase, and that’s impressive in and of itself.  Yes, she had a bit of trouble with the clasp, but to be fair, those can be tricky.
32	NICOLE KNIGHT	+12	Nicole finally busted out of her shell by getting to put down one of the Meanest Girls.  It was certainly cathartic to watch someone who’d been so thoroughly owned by them to give some back.
31	CAMILLA PAZZINI	+2	Yup.  She’s all the way down here, and she fucked up what may have been the biggest FFW Championship match in 2013.  Someone has severe jealousy issues
30	CASEY ATHERTON	-4	Casey may have created a monster with this whole PMA thing she instilled in Crystal.  Like most Rose Productions, I have a feeling “This Is Your Life” is going to be a catastrophe.  And that gives ME positive mental energy
29	SERAFINA DECARO	-8	Like Claire, Serafina’s having trouble figuring out Elemental Fury.  Unlike Claire, at least she gets to still take credit for being the one to completely and utterly expose Stacey
28	IGNIS	-4	So betraying her best friend and being a complete cunt about it got her a five week run with a lower-tier title that she drops first chance to Hayley’s new partner.  Gee, I hope that was worth it.
27	EMMA MACNAMARA	-12	The Hitgirl slides on non-participation, but that’s about to change in January, when she gets into a nice three way with Becky and Undine, and then goes into a massive clusterfuck bring your own weapons match for a shot at the UV title.  Fun times.
26	LAURA STEELE	+22	God help us, Laura’s actually won two of her last three… against decent competition, to boot.  Of course, one was by DQ and the other was because Becky got her foot caught in the ropes, so let’s not go around expecting any radical career renaissance here or anything…
25	KINSEY DECARO	+3	So Kinsey weathered the storm from Hexstar, waited for her to burn herself out, and got the win.  Not sure that was the roaring rampage of revenge she WANTED, but sometimes you gotta go with what works.
24	KELLY MCGUFFIN	-1	If she wasn’t so god damned annoying with her whole “lookee how awesome I am at jumping off things!” line, I’d be tempted to feel sorry for her.  But maybe she needs to quit jumping around and realize that the true victories come on the ground.
23	LEONA VEGA	+4	…unless of course you’re in a ladder match, in which case, do what Leona did.  It also leaves her the only girl in that match who’s not currently out to kill Destiny Loveheart
22	JENNIFER WILLIAMS	-5	J-Will requited herself well against Arabella, but now has to deal with both her and Samara at One Night Stand for a chance to retake the Evolution Championship.  I’ll say this, Williams seems more ready for it than her opponents do.
21	HOLLY ADAMS	-3	Holly came down with a near fatal case of Gingervitis by facing the very ginger Jo McFarlane.  Apparently it debilitates her performance in the ring, or at least that’s the excuse I bet she’ll be using
20	REBECKA HATE	+5	Sadly, Becka got into the one situation where Laura Steele running the hell away from her became a disaster.  Steel Cage matches used to end little spats like this, but I have a feeling Becka would love a piece of Laura again.
19	MADELYNE MCTAGGERT	-3	So have the Meanest Girls been exposed?  After being blonked by the Rocking Kittens, Jo, and Nicole Knight in a very short span, one would be inclined to think so, but I have a feeling the Blondetourage is going to have a few more tricks up their ring tops.
18	GABRIELLE CRIMSON FUTURE SHOCK CHAMPION	+22	Pinky pulled the upset to pick up one of the more unlikely championship wins of 2013.  It’s a stellar run for someone who until mid-year looked like she’d never ever have an official FFW match.
17	STEPHANIE DALLINS UNITY CHAMPION	+5	We got Colleen’s opinion on the matter, but you have to wonder what Witches’ Brew’s powerhouse thinks about her husband’s announced retirement.  It’d have been something to see the Dallins’ pull a tag match together, just once, but that won’t be happening
16	JO MCFARLANE	+3	Don’t look now, but Jo’s won four in a row and eight of her last ten.  Surely another crack at the Future Shock Championship (or something even better) is in the works for her.
15	CRYSTAL HILTON	-1	Considering the crap Stacey talked about her, shutting her up was nice, but wins over Stacey just aren’t the same as they used to be.  Still, this should open up Crystal for perhaps a run at the FFW Championship should she be able to string a few more wins together
14	KATE STEELE	-7	Kate hasn’t been in the ring for a while, but you have to wonder if that’s a good thing.  Her three match losing streak and the fact that she’s had a whopping twenty-two matches in FFW this year makes you wonder if burnout’s come into play.  So she’ll be a bit rested when she takes on Alysson in an attempt to win the UV title back
13	SUNNY KYOUN UNITY CHAMPION	-1	If Mika hadn’t made the finals of the FFA, you have to think that Sunny would qualify for the Breakout star of the year, from Future Shock rookie to pinning the “unpinnable” Aimee Easter- twice, and Unity champion to boot.  Sunny’s got a bright future on tap
12	TARA THUNDER	-2	Nobody can hold onto a title like Tara Thunder, who’s two Championship reigns in FFW have totaled fourteen months.  No word yet on when and if Tara plans to rematch, but you have to think she’s got to have her eyes on bigger fish at this point
11	CAROLINE STARK NO SURRENDER CHAMPION	+26	Caroline wasn’t even ranked coming out of Sin & Sacrifice and now sits just outside the top 10 after a meteoric rise to the No Surrender Championship.  Caroline got herself a gun and shot her way into the top echelon of the company in record time.
10	PENNY BUCHANAN	-6	Penny’s first defense didn’t quite go as planned, but she’ll be getting another shot to win it back.  Although considering Kate, Marla, and the fact that the UV belt’s been bouncing around quite a bit lately, it’s tough to tell who that rematch will be against.
9	MIKA DEMIDOV	SAME	A star was born at Anarchy, and it was red.  No, she didn’t win the Femme For All, but she proved that she could go toe to toe with someone like Scarlett Kincaid.   No FFA runner-up has not gone on to compete for the FFW Championship, and don’t look for Mika to be breaking that trend
8	LIGHTNING	-5	Lightning entered November with two championships, and left with zero, something that I’m sure makes most fans gleeful.  For me, it’s proof of the difficulty level in FFW.  It’s very hard to remain on top of any division for any length of time.
7	VALERIE LAMB	-2	When even the champion is saying you got screwed, that says something.  I don’t think any unbiased observer would think Val didn’t have a chance to win that match, and certainly another shot should be coming to her in the new year.
6	ALYSSON GARDNER ULTRAVIOLENCE CHAMPION	+5	Aly reminded us recently that the UV shot that Cara Stone parlayed into the Mile High Miracle was originally hers, until circumstances cut her first run in FFW short.  It makes you wonder, after the brilliant way Alysson overcame Penny to win the belt, how she would have fared in that match, which, coincidentally, was also Last Woman Standing
5	MISTY WHITMORE TELEVISION CHAMPION	+8	Vox Populi reigned supreme Saturday Night, when Misty pulled of a spectacular feat of gymnastics to stun Kelly McGuffin and win the Television Championship.  No rest for her, though- not with the vicious Destiny Campbell coming  to Atlanta, followed by an arguably even bigger match at WWC.
4	EILEEN AMARO	-2	Eileen didn’t just lose the Evolution Championship at Anarchy, she had her life pretty much torn apart by the hands of Aimee Easter, who apparently was manipulating her boyfriend all along as well.  We could be looking at an enormous ball of fury when One Night Stand and the rematch rolls around.
3	SCARLETT KINCAID	+5	One of the odd things about the Femme For All is that for all the upsets and rising stars it produces, the ultimate winner tends to be the consensus favorite going in.  Scarlett was no exception, and launches herself back to prominence in 2014.
2	AIMEE EASTER EVOLUTION CHAMPION	+4	It was disgusting, revolting, and nauseating the way she did it, but Aimee managed to throw Eileen completely off her game, hit her with a taser, and win the Evolution Championship.
1	WENDY BRIESE FFW CHAMPION	SAME	Wendy started 2013 out with an injury, and finishes the same, with her leg knocking her out until the day before WWC day 2.  In between- what a year, returning to the ring in April like a bat out of hell, and rising to the FFW Championship in September.  Anarchy didn't end the way she wanted, but she's still the woman leading the company into 2014.

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