FOUR CORNERS- Velocity 1.15.2015 (Sacramento, CA)

BURNOUT

Four bits of news and observations from last nights wild Velocity

#1: FIREBIRD IN TROUBLE

Last night was cathartic, especially if your name was Lilly Sheffield or one of her many fans.   After months of being tortured by Ignis, including having her boyfriends arm broken in absolutely sick fashion, and Iggy evading every single attempt Lilly had at comeuppance, Lilly finally cornered Ignis in a steel cage, and after a brutal match, beat the so-called Wrestling Goddess down and walked out with a win, ending what had been a crazy night on a definite feel good moment.

Whether this win sets up a rematch for Ignis’ Future Shock Championship remains to be seen.  Nothing explicitly was ever said about it, and a true argument could be made that Lilly’s outgrown the Future Shock division and is ready to move up to TV or even Evolution from here.  It could be very well that Lilly, satisfied with the revenge she gained last night, tips her cap and shuffles off for greener pastures.

Besides, even if she stays, the odds that Ignis will survive long enough to even defend against her are… not good.

Here’s a pop quiz, hot shots.  How many wins does the so-called Goddess of Wrestling have in her past ten matches?

If you guessed ONE… go buy yourself something nice.

It shocked me too when I saw it, but that Future Shock title win over Lilly is Ignis’ only win in the last several months, and yes, to be fair, many of those matches were either tag or trio matches when Ignis has been shown to be absolutely incapable of working with anyone else- including her husband, but still.  I don’t want to fling out the word ‘paper’ here, but the fact of the matter is that we have a champion with a Desirae Kain-esque winning percentage heading into a massive Super Bowl Eve defense in just a couple weeks at Ascencion.

And you have to bet Gabrielle Crimson is just SALIVATING right now.

Ignis has done a great job of disguising her shortcomings so far behind a wave of violence and sneak attacks, but the Lilly cage match has seriously ripped that façade open, and right now she stands as easily the most vulnerable champion in Femme Fatale Wrestling.  And when you’ve pissed off an entire division that wants to rip you to shreds, that’s hardly a good place to be in.

#2: HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

Speaking of Gabrielle Crimson, you had to feel for the Wildcat last night.

It had to be heart-rending for fans of the Shades of the Sun to watch their title hopes go from almost certain to zero in the span of seconds, but for poor Gabby, she got a front row seat as everything fell apart.  It was a brutal reminder of just how quickly fortunes change in pro wrestling, and things changed for the worse for the Shades.

But with their hard fought, yet decisive, loss to Triple Threat, that’s it for the Shades as Trios contenders in the immediate future.  They had their rematch, they came up short, and I don’t think we really need to see a fifth contest between the two teams in a span of just over a year.  So while there’s nothing to say the Shades won’t be raising those belts again in the future, the current prognosis is dead.

Of course, that does leave the question- now who?  Looking at the Trios roster, there’s really only one other viable team- Sudden Impact- and 67% of that is currently running around with the Unity straps. So then who?  Who’s left to challenge Triple threat?

Luckily, as yesterday tooketh away, so did yesterday giveth.

The Femme Fatales are immediate contenders based on track record alone.  Arabella’s been an effective teammate, Stacey’s got plenty of accolades to back herself up, and Lollipop is thus far undefeated in FFW.  Stylistically, they match up well against Crystal, Casey, and Jenny, and pose a clear danger.

But another Trio emerged as well through the mist last night- The New Social Elite.  Valentina and Neveah have both improved leaps and bounds over the past year, and you factor in replacing Candi with Kimmi, and you have a Trio team that’s poised to make a serious dent in the division.  Taking out the Heafys and Freya last night was a strong way to vault onto the scene, and they are a true threat to crash whatever easy run the Femme Fatales thought they were going to get to the belts has been seriously compromised.

It’s rare you see the balance of power shift so thoroughly in a night in which the champion actually retained, but the Trios division of January 16 looks far different than the one of yesterday.  And with a flurry of new matches on the horizon, things are going to get interesting indeed.

#3: HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER! (PART 2)

New talent seems to come in waves in FFW.  We can go several months without a new face, and then receive a glut of newcomers all at once.  Right now we’re in the midst of the latter, with several new signings poised to make their way into the company, including FIVE new tag teams.

Leading that charge, of course, is the oddly (yet aptly) named One Woman Show, winners of Season 16 and already in line for a Unity shot.  Future Shock also gave us the Heafys, although their main roster incarnation sees Tifa return to the company to take Mia’s place.  Unfortunately for the Heafy’s, it’s already been a rough going, as the girls have already suffered two losses during the opening shows of the year.  Oh, and the Aryan War Machines.  God dammit.

The other two new teams- Change of Heart and the Burning Star Express, both also have made their debuts in fashions that will get people talking.  Change of Heart came in and immediately severed all previous ties with Destiny Campbell, much to the fans appreciation, while the BSX gave us a welcoming that pretty much had to be seen to be believed.  Both teams now get down to work, and try to crack into an already loaded Unity division, so expect to see both teams tested early.

On the singles side, we’ve seen the return of Kaylee Clarke, back after a brief hiatus and thankfully no longer under the tutelage of Matt Stone.  As her own woman, look for her to be more confident and assertive, something that should help as she tries to re-establish herself.  And then there’s Samantha Tolson, debuting last night in a tough loss to Lollipop.  Still, it was hardly a bad performance for a girl in her first ever wrestling match, and she showed flashes of the stuff it takes to rise to the ranks to a championship in FFW.  I’d expect no less from a graduate of Camp Nightfall, and look forward to seeing Tolson develop in the future.

All these fresh faces should inject our roster with a new life as we speed on into 2015!

#4: SHOTS ACROSS THE BOW

I had a feeling that we’d be hearing from Cody Kincaid at Velocity after the controversial results of the Fan Poll at Breaking Point.  Mr. Kincaid delivered, and delivered in biting fashion.  Whether or not that fanpoll is legitimate is a moot point now, as its clear neither side is really willing to let the issue rest.

Here’s the thing- if you’re a supporter of Cody Kincaid, that speech was a rallying cry, particularly the point about other wrestlers not ending up like Isabella, something that will likely be repeated by talking heads in the next couple months.  If you don’t like Cody, that speech was little more than narmtastic schlock from a man with a vendetta.

Either way, things look to be coming to a head between the two deputies of Samantha Star after seven months of simmering.  If and when it does, how things get settled will be a very interesting thing to see.

WHATS NEXT: After a balmy Pacific tour, its back to freezing our nips off in the Heartland as we visit the Quad Cities!  COME ON ON THE TRAIN!  AND RIDE IT!  WOOO WOOO!!!!!!!  Aimee Easter looks to club Kate Steele like a baby seal (or a rookie giving an interview!)  Neveah makes her first TV defense against Bubble Butt!  Jodie Gray tries to further her delusions of grandeur against Bubble Bust!  Charlotte Harker cuts an entire promo in mime!  Unity Galore with… THE ARYAN WAR MACHINES?!  GOD DAMMIT!