INCOMING!: Byte This 5 (South Padre Island, Texas)

CUE THEME FROM "A SUMMERS PLACE" 

After freezing our nips ever since the Hawaii Show, it's nice to return to the lands of milk, honey, and azure blue, non-ice-filled waters.  Spring Break's coming early to FFW, and with everything going to benefit the Special Olympics, it's going to be a nice, warm, beachy day for everyone. 

Less nice for the losers, of course, but thems the breaks. 


FUJIKO MINE vs. VERONICA TAYLOR
Four days after her debut, Fujiko gets back into the ring to face Vernica Taylor, who welcomed Mine to FFW by attacking her from behind in Fujiko's hometown of Milwaukee.  Since Fujiko is not a McFarlane, she's understandably pissed about being unwarrantedly knocked around a bit, and is looking for revenge. 
PROJECTED WINNER: ...and there doesn't seem much out there to suggest that she can't get it.  Taylor seems to me an image over substance type, and I'm not going to be believing her bite's worse than her bark until I see her chomp down.  Fujiko's reputation precedes her, and she should keep that going with a solid performance here. 

KELLY MCGUFFIN vs. HAYLEY DARK
TRAPEZE ARTIST vs. FREERUNNER!  Should be an interesting showdown between two of FFW's mainstays over the past few years.  Believe it or not, this is the first meeting ever between the two, at least in FFW.  Winner apparently gets next Television Title shot, which should prove rather alarming news for Leona Vega. 
PROJECTED WINNER: I love Hayley to death, but let's be honest, she's been in big trouble in FFW ever since Bounce & Pounce broke up- she's lost four in a row now, and while this would be a hell of a match for her to get some momentum back behind her, she still has to worry about McGuffin, who hasn't lost a non-title singles match since Anarchy... the 2012 version. History and momentum are on McGuffin's side, and that tends to be a pretty good indication. 

PENNY BUCHANAN vs. MADELYNE MCTAGGERT
We haven't seen the Pain Train since her heartbreaking loss to Alysson Gardner for the UV Title, so by this point she should be well healed and thoroughly ready to beat the living hell out of someone.  That someone is Madelyne McTaggert, who's lost three straight and has taken so many shots that she's actually been a bit civil on Twitter lately. 
PROJECTED WINNER: The Blondetourage's best advantage is the numbers game, and with Holly Adams off in Bali (Byte This 6 site?) nursing a stubbed toe, Maddy's advantage is diminished.  Throw that in with an annoyed Penny (and if she's not annoyed yet, she probably will be five minutes into the match), and things really look bleak for McTaggert. 

TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER
SHADES OF THE SUN (Alysson Gardner, Gabrielle Crimson & Valerie Lamb) vs. TRIPLE THREAT (Casey Atherton, Crystal Hilton & Jennifer Williams)
You can look at this match one of two ways.  1. The Rockin' Kittens teaming Valerie Fucking Lamb to face Casey Atherton, who's babysiting the Williams Clan reunion and wondering where in the HELL the rest of us got off calling HER delusional.  OR 2.  a star studded affair that involves women who have combined to hold six of FFW's seven current championships going tooth and nail for a chance to break in the eighth belt.   Either/or, really. 
PROJECTED WINNER: Both teams are alarmingly the same, featuring a woman coming off a big win or two (Aly over Penny and Kate; Crystal over Stacey); a former Future Shock Champion getting into the ring for the first time since losing their belt (Gabrielle & Casey); and a mainstay who has gone into a slump (Val's not won an FFW match since Unstoppable, Jenny's only win in the same timeframe came thanks to Samara Steele's shitty officiating).  I think it comes down to chemistry, and considering what Wolf and I had to put up with when Crystal and Jenny were tagging before, I already know what's there is very limited.  On the flipside, the Rockin' Kittens have been superb together, and sprinkling a bit of Lamb in the recipe isn't going to diminish the flavor at all. Excpect the Shades to be cool, athough how cool when they face Elo Fury remains to be seen. 

WENDY BRIESE vs. SOPHIE RICHARDS
This match was made by random draw two months ago, thanks to a Special Olympian named Darren who made the pick.  All rejoiced, then Wendy got blindsided by Aimee Easter, and now two months later, we're going to try this on a happier note. 
PROJECTED WINNER: Honestly, if Wendy had won at ONS, I might have picked Sophie, purely on the motivational factor.  But anytime you lose a title like that, the first thing you want to do is take it out on the first person you face, and Wendy's going to be gunning to bounce back in a hard way.  An uber-motivated Wendy is a dead opponent, so it's why I gotta pick my client.