Review: ICW Fierce Females ‘XX – It’s In Our DNA’

The following review is a fan review of Insane Championship Wrestling: Fierce Females ‘XX – It’s In Our DNA’ by Pixie.

The female wrestling scene as of late, especially in the UK, has been on fire. This fact will never be more evident than when you are in attendance at an ICW: Fierce Females event. As the little sister of Insane Championship Wrestling, Fierce Females is carving a place in the British and International independent scene all on its own, pulling impressive crowds in various venues around Glasgow City Centre. ”XX- It’s in our DNA” is the third event staged by Fierce Females and was hotly tipped to be the biggest yet.

Billy Kirkwood and Dr Sean opened the show in true ICW fashion and the crowd were treated to some jokes from Billy’s show “I am the tag team champions” before Sammii Jayne and Shelly Starr entered the ring while the commentators were still doing their thing. Both Billy and Sean were oblivious to this until they were nearly finished their segment on the mic. Both he and Sean quickly made a hasty retreat to the safety of the commentary table when they realised that they were holding up proceedings.

James R Kennedy came to the ring to introduce Kirsty Loveign and her partner Fiona Frazer. He made a few comments to the opposing team about them just being there to put over Loveign and Frazer before they approached the ring and the match got under-way  The match was started by Fiona and Sammii however, before long, Kirsty claimed she could do a better job and tagged herself. This proved to be a mistake as Shelley tagged herself in at the same time and overpowered Kirsty, forcing her to the canvas  several times. The bout on the whole was short lived, neither team hitting their stride before the match got interrupted by “Amazon” Ayesha Ray who jumped over the barrier and started trying to beat down the women in the ring, most of whom fled. Loveign, clearly trying to impress Kennedy got back into the ring defying the request of her manager. It didn’t take long for Ray to tear through her and left her scrambling out of the ring where she was met by James R Kennedy shouting in her face about her defiance. Kennedy then slapped Kirsty, who in threatened to retaliate before stalking off backstage instead.

Bete Noir having seen enough came to ringside and challenged Ayesha to a match after calling her a bully and telling her to pick on someone her own size. The match was a fantastic show of both women’s skills and really got the crowd behind Bete who was ultimately giving as good as she got and then some, it wasn’t to be however and Bete was over powered and Ayesha got the win. It was clear to anyone watching it, this would not be the last time these women will square off against each other.

The next match would see Sara try everything in her power to convert Leah Owens to David the Beloved’s way of thinking. both girls made their entrances and Sara claimed to want to help Leah and asked that she get down on her knees. Leah did as she was asked before being kicked in the face which started the match off. Leah dominated the match for a great deal of the time however there were several moments where it looked like Sara may pull it back. The match was awesome from start to finish and although she put up a good fight it just wasn’t enough to get Sara the win. Leah was victorious and celebrated by obliging to the crowds chants of “taps aff”.

After the match Carmel came to ringside and called out Sara before telling her she doesn’t have to be David the Beloved’s little pet. Carmel suggested that she could get Sara the attention she so desires and invited her to realign and reform the Glamour Gym. Sara hesitated before accepting much to the delight of the crowd.

It was then time for the first match in the round robin tournament for the number one contender’s spot for the ICW: Fierce Females Championship. The first of the three matches would see Rhia O’Reilly take on “Portugal’s Perfect Athlete” Shanna. Rhia was very much the dominant force in the match providing fans with exactly what they wanted while tearing Shanna apart. There were many submission holds as well as full on grappling and some aerial manoeuvres from both women. Shanna, however, managed to pick up quite a nasty knee injury which, of course, Rhia capitalised on. Rhia finished the match via submission by capitalising on the damaged leg of Shanna.  After the match, Portugal’s perfect athlete had to be carried to the backstage area for medical assistance. The MC, Simon Cassidy, then announced that there would be more news on Shanna’s condition and ability to compete later in the show.

Carmel and ‘Crazy’ Mary Dobson were next to lock horns in a match which given both ladies style and history in death matches,  fans were expecting a hard hitting, blood-soaked battle. There was no blood during this match, but it was definitely hard hitting and it was certainly a battle. The match was fantastic and proved that despite reputation, neither of these ladies required blood to make their match look great. This was also the first match that spilled out into the crowd and although the crowd were hot, there were the usual people trying toget involved with the wrestlers and who seemed hell bent on spoiling it. The match soon returned to the ring and continued at a fast pace, truly looking like neither woman had the upper hand. With Dobson being fresh off her tour of Japan, she was able to  treat the fans to a display of the things she has learned while out there. ultimately picked up the win. This bout was definitely a very hard hitting match between two of the greatest girls on the Fierce Females show.

After an interval which seemed to drag on for ages it was time for the début of Portia Perez who would lock horns with Scotland’s very own Nikki Storm. After making her entrance, Nikki got on the mic and expressed her disbelief that the three girls involved in the round robin tournament were competing for a title shot yet she hadn’t been offered one despite in her opinion and that of the fans, deserving one. The match got under-way and Perez appeared to be be playing face until she got fed up of Nikki’s heel-ish actions and they both played out the match as character rather than wrestlers. It wasn’t long before Perez was up to her usual tricks and had exposed the top turnbuckle, although this later backfired when she was thrown into it face first by Storm; who then hid the fact that it was exposed from the official. Nikki Storm picked up the win in what was a fantastic match.

Next up was the second round of the Number one contender-ship round robin. Just before the match began, MC Simon Cassidy informed the waiting crowd that due to an injury picked up in the previous round, Shanna would be unable to continue with the contest so the next round would feature Erin Angel and Rhia O’Reilly in a straight number one contender-ship match. The Ladies came to the ring, and the match got under-way  After a hard fought battle earlier in the night, Rhia still looked fresh and ready for a fight, making for a very evenly contested bout. Unfortunately for the ladies, the previous match was one that the crowd really got invested in, which left them a little flat during this contest. The crowd reaction was not a good gauge for this match which was both hard hitting and technically sound with some brilliant wrestling spots throughout. The match ended after Rhia O’Reilly was pinned cleanly by Erin Angel, which made her the number one contender for the Fierce Females title.

There was some slight confusion however, when Portugal’s Perfect Athlete’s music hit once again and Shanna appeared on the outside of the ring, being supported by two of the event’s staff, claiming that she was still in the contest and was more than willing to compete in her billed match against Erin Angel. After she struggled to get into the ring, both Shanna and Erin Angel were attacked by a furious O’Reilly, leaving both stunned as she finally left the ringside. In the midst of the confusion, Shanna was able to recover enough to try and mount some form of offence against Angel. Unfortunately for her, Erin Angel was able to counter and get the pin against the visiting star. This left no doubt as to who the winner of the Round Robin was; with Erin Angels hand being raised in victory and earning a chance at the Fierce Females title at a later date.

The ring was cleared and it was time for the main event. The crowd were ecstatic to welcome Awesome Kong, Viper and the FF champion Kay Lee Ray and the match got under-way quickly. Kay Lee Ray went on the offence, trying to get at least some form of attack going before being unceremoniously dumped out of the ring to the floor, leaving the physically imposing Viper and Kong to battle it out. Trading hefty blows back and forth, the two women only paused to keep Ray out of the ring by continuing to knock her from the ring apron. Only when both Viper and Kong had focused their energies on each other was the champion able to get herself back into the ring and into the contest, using her speed and high flying skills to impose her will on her two opponents  With all three women back in the contest, the match picked up pace, neither of the combatants able to gain the upper hand for long before being cut off by one or both of the others.  The  first elimination came when Kong was knocked to the mat, allowing Kay Lee Ray to hit her with a swanton, picking up a three count, leaving just herself and Viper going at it for the title.

Not long after Kong made it to the backstage area, the newly reunited Glamour Gym, consisting of Carmel Jacobs and Sarah Marie Taylor, ran into the ring, assaulting both Viper and Kay Lee Ray. This was short-lived however as Bete Noir ran to the aid of the challenger and champion, diverting the attention of the Glamour Gym for a short time before becoming over powered by the team of Jacobs and Taylor again. This caused fan favourite, Crazy Mary Dobson to run to the ring, lifting the championship belt on her way. The presence of the hardcore American was enough to drive the pair from the ring and away from the match taking place. As Dobson returned to the backstage area, she took the belt with her, causing more confusion for the champion in the ring.

Fortunately it wasn’t long before both champion and contender caught a second wind, coming out in the second half of this contest strong. Each woman using every weapon in their arsenal to try and pick up the win but neither really succeeding in getting ahead. The break in the stalemate came when Viper knocked Kay Lee back outside the ring for what would be her 6th trip to the floor that evening. Following her outside, Viper led her through the crowd to the back of the venue and onto a raised platform 15ft from the floor where the women continued to trade blows until Viper gained the upper hand, sending Kay Lee over the security rail, and onto the floor below. As if to add insult to injury, Viper them climber her way up onto the barrier, and jumped from it, hitting Ray with a frog splash.

By some minor miracle, both women found their way back to the ring, certainly worse for wear after their exploits out amongst the crowd. As the match continued, Kay Lee Ray was able to pick up some momentum, producing an impressive offence. The only slip being when Viper was able to dodge a dropkick which hit the referee, Eddie Roberts, knocking him out of the ring and putting him out of commission for a few moments, costing her a pinning opportunity when she was finally able to get Viper on her back. As the match progressed, Kay Lee was able to keep her momentum going, hitting Viper with a stellar series of offensive manoeuvres  finishing with another swanton. By this time, the referee had recovered and was able to count the one, two, three; sealing Kay Lee Ray’s victory.

Once the match was finished, Mary Dobson returned to ringside; The women’s belt in one hand and a mic in the other. After congratulating Ray on a well won victory, she then cut an impressive promo, stating that as much as Ray was a deserving champion, the ICW : Fierce female fans might like to see another holding that title. She them proceeded to challenge Kay Lee Ray to a title match at a future date to which the champ had only one response. ”Aye.”

All things considered, this was a good effort on the part of ICW : Fierce Females. The diversity in talent was impressive; From relative newcomers to seasoned international starts made for a balanced and cleverly thought out card. Despite a few dubious decisions, like the one to send Shanna back out after picking up an injury, it is safe to say that FF’s third shot at a women’s only show was a resounding success. It would also be safe to assume that this wont be the last Fierce Females show and honestly, the best is yet to come.