Hello, OVW fans! Fair warning: there is no bad ass Four-Way Ladder match this week, but there are definite signs that OVW’s heading in a compelling direction. For the second week in a row, the women of OVW compete in the main event.
We kick off this week with the new OVW Women’s Champion Hannah Blossom, who is interviewed by Gilbert Corsey:
Hannah expresses her excitement at winning the title, saying that it’s her time to shine. When asked about shoving her sister Holly off the ladder at the end of the match, Hannah acknowledges that she hasn’t heard from her sister in a few days. She hopes, though, that she can talk to her now.
Holly makes her way to the ring and admits that Hannah’s actions really upset her. She’s thought about it, though, and she now understands why she did it. She says she’s happy for Hannah. The sisters hug. Cue sitcom “awwwwwww!” track.
Lei’D Tapa can’t abide this happiness, so she interrupts the family reunion and takes the microphone. She threatens Hannah, telling her that she has something she could easily take. Holly defends her sister, standing between the two women.
Hannah grabs the mic and begins to challenge Tapa to the title match, but Holly snatches the mic away from her, telling Tapa that if she wants her sister, she has to go through her. Tapa accepts the challenge, but not before telling poor Gilbert to bow down (#BowDownGilbert?). She says that she’s going to make both of the Blossoms BOW DOWN.
But just because we have an actual wrestling feud going on, that doesn’t mean the Miss OVW contest has ceased. Thankfully, though, it has been brought backstage, in short little segments that are more fitting for filling that comedic relief role. This week, the ladies are competing in a hula hoop challenge, with several segments spread out over the night:
In the first segment we see Ray Lynn, Lylah Lodge and Jessie Belle start to hula hoop. Tapa makes a cameo, telling them that TAPA DOES NOT HULA HOOP!
In the next, we see Jessie chase off a peeping tom before we segue into a segment with Hannah and Holly. Hannah tells Holly that she doesn’t need to take on Tapa for her.
Holly informs her sister that even though she’s the Women’s Champion, they’re still in this together. She’s doing this.
In the final hula hopping segment, Ray Lynn and Lylah are still going strong. That is, until a scuffle causes Lylah to drop her hoop. This makes Ray Lynn the winner, and she tries to celebrate with her BFF Tapa. Tapa appears, pie-faces her and tells her WE ARE NOT BEST FRIENDS! Okay, I’ll admit, that made me laugh.
Finally, in the main event of the evening, we’ve got Lei’D Tapa and Holly Blossom going one-on-one. Hannah joins the commentary team for the match.
The match starts with Tapa grabbing a handful of Holly’s hair, but Holly valiantly battles back, trying to wear down Tapa with numerous blows. Tapa isn’t fazed, though, and tosses her bodily into the corner.
Holly dodges an attack and pounces on Tapa in the corner, pounding on her head. Tapa pushes her off, but she pounces right back on her. Tapa eventually grabs hold of Holly and swtches places with her, seating her on the turnbuckle and getting in some hits of her own.
Holly stumbles to the mat and dodges another attack from Tapa, hitting her with some chops before Tapa shoves her away. She knocks Holly to the mat and motions to Hannah, telling her that she’s next.
She charges at Holly, but gets a boot to the face and a kick to the stomach. Holly tries to whip Tapa into the corner, but Tapa won’t budge and instead whips her into the ropes, delivering a big boot on the rebound.
Tapa goes for a pin attempt, but pulls Holly off the mat after a two-count. Uh oh..
After toying with Holly a bit, Tapa takes one pause too long, and Holly begins to battle back, stomping on Tapa’s feet and knocking her down.
Out of nowhere, though, Tapa hits her with the TKO, and it’s all over. She pins Holly and wins the match.
Hannah and Tapa jaw a bit after the match, Hannah telling Tapa that she just made this personal.
Thoughts: I think it says a lot about the new priority OVW has for their women’s division that this match was the main event. It makes this feud seem that much more important, and I’m really happy about that. It’s the little things that can make or break a feud, and OVW’s doing a good job with this one so far.
They’re also doing a good job making Tapa look like an unstoppable force. She’s not the smoothest wrestler, but she plays a great monster, and the Blossoms sell being intimidated by her really well. I think they’re definitely setting her up for the jump to the TNA roster, and having her eventually put over Hannah will be smart.
It will be interesting to see how Tapa’s character translates to TNA, as the Knockouts there aren’t as inexperienced and small as the ones in OVW. I can’t wait to see her try and intimidate ODB.
Lastly, I need to say thank youuuu to OVW for putting the Miss OVW segments where they belong: on the sidelines. Cutting them up into small segments and allowing for actual wrestling to go on around them makes me a happy viewer.
