FAWNatics FEEDBACK - Possible Spoilers

A lot of stories coming to a head this week with Mania + the extra Madhouse card, so I'll just take it from the top.



Bunny Cooper vs. Stephanie Rocker

Very solid showing for Bunny, who must be moving up the LW rankings lately. Whatever Wendy Smith is doing in terms of coaching and training, it's definitely working. It's always interesting to see a LW wrestle a power style, and that's doubly true for the Upstart Nation who boasts an impressive air force of agile flyers but not so much anyone who can just drive her opponent through the deck. Even back in 2014, Bunny pushed Adelaide Brewster very hard and might have beaten Polly Lockwood had it not been for outside interference, so it's not like she's untested against top level competition. Big things coming for Bunny, I think.



Estrina Starfire vs. Tulip Morrison

A clean match with no low blows or shenanigans, and the two wrestlers walk off with a healthy dose of respect for each other?! What?! The star from Singapore picks up another win, and it's nice to see Tulip extending an olive branch to the newcomer as a way of showing that not all the FAWN ladies are vicious jerks. I think Estrina is ready for another step up in competition, which should come as no surprise since she was champion of SE Asia.



Alia Saad vs. Trixie Decker

I really liked this one, because I'm always a sucker for a good gimmick match with a creative use of props and weapons. I like the interplay of personalities too, with the very pompous, self-serious Alia in contrast to Trixie who has a much more developed sense of humor. Saad really snatched defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to misplaying the gimmick too, and it always warms my heart to see a pompous heel get taken down a notch. And if the end of the match is anything to go by, she's not a very effective scarecrow either -- so that's a double whammy of failure.



Astrid White vs. Ariella Casta

Astrid is as creepy and weird as she is talented. Going back to her introduction promo, even Autumn Sammain seems to be ill at ease around her. I would say she's a sociopath, except that she does seem to at least understand social graces based on her interactions with the front office. I wonder what's next for her -- she did say she wanted to study fear in athletes, although she hasn't exactly gone on a campaign of terror in her short time here. Honestly, it doesn't even seem like mind games, only an academic interest, which is exactly what she said. Definitely one to watch with that unorthodox fighting style and a pretty fascinating persona.



Trisha Belle vs. Eliza Bliss

Eliza's struggles in singles continues even after beating Sue Burlingame a year ago at Mania, though to be fair, she's had some stiff competition. Belle, on the other hand, is on the warpath and setting herself up as another monster heel. Taking down Eliza with Bliss' own finisher is just rubbing salt on the wound and sending a message to the other women on the roster. I can't help but think, however, that she's already made a lot of enemies and is going to make a lot more on her rampage, and recently she's gone Splitsville with her partner in crime. Historically, most heels have operated with backup, so it will be interesting to see how Trisha's lone wolf rampage plays out.



Adelaide Brewster vs. Camille Cosworth

My contribution to the card, and if it was half as fun to read as it was to write, then I'll be more than satisfied. The banter and dialogue was fun with a dozen references from Pokemon to Stephen King to Tupac Shakur to Dylan Thomas and many others, and lots of callbacks to events past (Yoona finally gets Camille that Pumpkin Spice Latte she promised all those months ago!). Camille finally flashes that incredible potential and gets a very dramatic victory over a legitimate contender on the biggest stage of all. If she were a superhero, this would be the conclusion of her origin story, though she's far from finished developing as both a person and a wrestler. As for the Church, this won't be the last time that Camille hears from them, and now Yoona's made herself a target too with her post-match actions.



Jenny Jacobs vs. Maddy Crane

I was honestly expecting something a lot more acrimonious given the tone of their last match. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I do sense that hint of jealousy coming from Maddy in that she wants what Jenny already has. In some ways, I suppose that's the ultimate sign of respect, even if Jenny may not see it that way. It also seems like these two are just getting started, and I wonder if the series will end (relatively) amicably. Their differences don't seem irreconcilable, and IIRC the whole thing started because Jenny took out a mutual enemy in Lisa Dream before Maddy could get to her. I guess we'll find out if the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or still just another enemy.



Dixie Longstreet vs. Mercy Ellis

I actually don't know much about Dixie, but Mercy is a certified badass (and very ironically named) and anyone who can hang with her is worth seeing more of. As anyone who's read Yoona's fights can attest, I'm a fan of MMA so it's always good to see Ellis back in action. Now that she's no longer playing the part of cat's paw, I'm interested in seeing what she does next as her own woman. Perhaps another run at the LW title? Bratty Gabby Mendoza vs. vicious, no-nonsense Mercy Ellis would be quite the ring pairing just for the personality clash alone. It seems Mercy has some outstanding business with the Miranda Wainright and crew too, so there are several directions her story can take.



Polly vs. Janel vs. Shea

Well, what can you say? Shea is a legend for a reason, and it shouldn't come as a huge shock that she defied the odds and defeated her younger opponents. Some part of me wants to see Shea have one more go at Kylie now that FAWN's prodigal daughter has returned, and yet another part of me feels like this is Shea's Michael Jordan over Bryon Russell moment.



Amara Singh vs. Reiko Ohno

Well it's been quite the banner year for Amara Singh. Victories over Lenore, Sayuki, and now Reiko for the Eurasian title in consecutive months. I for one am glad to see the Eurasian title out of the Invasion's hands, if only because they seemed content to stash the title overseas and force all challengers to go through a very imposing gatekeeper first. I'm sure Amara will have no such contrivances, and be more than willing to take on all comers. On the flip side, does this now free up the Invasion / Reiko to cause havoc in FAWN now that they're no longer concerned about protecting a title. Lots of ramifications of a title change, IMO.



Alexis Suguitan vs. Veronica Treymane

I was expecting some sort of shenanigans on the part of Alexis, I really was. Just the fact that she was pushing herself as the new CEO had me concerned that she already had a few underlings lurking in the shadows. Fortunately it turned out that Alexis was more game for a fair (if not clean) fight than her mentor, though she wasn't quite good enough on this night. I'm curious how her time as Veronica's valet will play out. I can't imagine she's happy about once again being second fiddle, and if I were Treymane I'd be wary of a backstab during a title defense.



So that's it for Mania. There were a few other matches that went up this week too...



Yoona Park vs. Sydney Deschain under House Shows

Walkindude and I had been discussing this fight since when Yoona was barely a character and Camille didn't exist at all. The match itself has been written up for about 3 or 4 months now, and it was just a matter of finding a good time to get it posted. Technically, this took place over a year ago, right in the middle of Sydney's retirement tour and when Yoona was still hustling people on the beaches of San Diego. Yoona came up short by literally seconds, and even then she got a pair of falls in an Iron Woman match against someone who otherwise went undefeated for an entire year, so even back then Yoona was quite the fighter. On top of that, she knows exactly how good she is, which is why she's so frustrated in recent months that she's being booked as a curtain jerker for House Shows. That's going to change though. Very, very soon.



Mallory Slade vs. Elise Winterrest under March of the Black Queen

Everyone should read the entire series between these two ladies, IMO. Hateful and violent, and just escalates and escalates and escalates. If the series went to a best of 7, I'm sure match 7 would simply be pistols at dawn. As it is, locked in a steel cage in the Madhouse seemed like a perfectly appropriate way to cap off the feud, and I can't wait to see how these two interact with the main roster now that they're out of the Jungle. Mallory gave current champ Veronica all she could handle back in the day, so the talent is there for both these wrestlers to hang with anyone.



Adelaide Brewster vs. Lenore Lemarchand under March of the Black Queen

It's been a rough week for Adelaide, to put it lightly. I have to wonder if the punishment she ate during her Mania match with Camille had any lingering effects, and perhaps her anger got the better of her in making an open challenge with so little recovery time. Then again, she probably didn't expect Lenore of all people to answer the call. Lenore clearly came in with a plan and knew the trappings of the Madhouse, and as a result the Queen is dead, long live the Queen. Yoona and Camille are probably hanging out on a beach in Key West somewhere, but once they return from suspension / vacation, I'm sure they'll send the new Queen a nice house warming gift. Yoona might also send Adelaide something as consolation, perhaps an erotic cake shaped and decorated like Lenore's backside.



All in all, fantastic card which I enjoyed immensely. I'm sure all the writers would love to hear thoughts, so keep the comments coming guys.