Aerial Monroe vs. Zeuxis
.@aerialmonroe's gonna pop you… pic.twitter.com/AQY59Vry9U
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) September 13, 2018
Incredible @ZeuxisLucero! pic.twitter.com/Ov6hfNr583
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) September 13, 2018
The next match of the night saw Aerial Monroe go one on one with Zeuxis. Monroe’s daughter and husband Cedric Alexander were shown in the crowd supporting Aerial for her WWE debut. Monroe and Zeuxis started off the match with a handshake and some mutual respect. However, that respect quickly diminished.
Zeuxis was able to dominate a good portion of the match using her strength. However, Monroe would not be deterred. She used numerous palm strikes to ground Zeuxis, as well as a running uppercut. Despite Monroe’s onslaught, Zeuxis would not be put down. Zeuxis ended up hitting Monroe with a top rope Spanish Fly to earn the victory and a spot in the second round. After the match concluded, Monroe’s daughter was shown crying in the audience, which personally just tugged on my heart strings and made me feel a tad bad.
Following her victory, Zeuxis expressed her desire to show the U.S. who she is and what she’s capable of. She also stated that her next goal is to train hard for the second round so that she can proceed in the tournament.
Thoughts: This match didn’t click with me as much. I think it would be unfair to say the match was bad. Something just seemed to be missing for me. I did love the end of the match. That Spanish Fly was done really well. I also loved how Zeuxis embraced the audience reaction. When she made her entrance, I didn’t think she was trying to portray a heel. To me, it seemed she kind of shifted moods in the moment. I could be incredibly wrong. But if that is what Zeuxis did, I think that speaks to how much of a pro she is.
I have never seen Monroe wrestle before watching this episode. But good lord does this woman have an incredible amount of charisma. I love her presence and energy. She has a great amount of attitude. And her in ring work seems solid as well. So I’m really glad she got the opportunity to show a little bit of what she can do on such a huge platform.
