Date: 10/19/2024
Location: Chicago, IL
Hello RFW fans! I am Shawn Roberts, the original voice of RFW, and happy to be back to be your guide to the latest happenings in this great wrestling promotion.
We wrapped up a hot Rapid Fire Festival over the summer and now we begin our journey toward Final Round on December 14th. Are you ready for another wild ride? Good! Because here we go!
Annika vs. Yurei
We started this season with a hot match between Annika and Yurei. We know Annika has competed in MMA in recent years but we know little about Yurei. I tried to do homework on her. Yurei is a Japanese native but I can’t find any record of her competing in her home country. She has only competed in RFW as far as I can tell.
I don’t know where Yurei’s experience comes from but she put up a good fight against Annika. This match looked like an MMA fight with pro wrestling flavors throughout. Yurei was as vicious as one would expect of her but Annika withstood the attacks and fought back just as hard.
The match took a turn when Yurei tried to spear Annika but she dodged, grabbed Yurei’s arm, and dragged her to the mat into an armbreaker. It was smooth as hell and the crowd lit up.
And then, something happened I will never forget. We all know Yurei is tough as they come and, unsurprisingly, she refused to submit. Annika had the armbreaker locked in tight and, true to its name, the hold worked and Yurei’s arm snapped, causing the referee to stop the match.
Annika won this match by decision but the post-match was less than celebratory as she clearly showed concern for Yurei. Yurei, on the other hand, looked furious. This girl’s rage overshadowed what must have been a tremendous deal of pain.
And yes, though you don’t need me to tell you, I confirmed that Yurei suffered a broken arm and her timetable for return is currently undetermined. Well wishes to Yurei. I hope we see her back soon.
Jessie Vega Gets Some Help
Were you looking forward to Jessie Vega’s concert at the Rapid Fire Festival? Well, that didn’t happen, and nobody was more upset about it than Vega and her record label.
Our cameras caught Vega backstage with her lady Maria Estrella where she explained the solution to her issues.
“More than Mary Jane Elder screwing me over, RFW mishandled me, their superstar, and now my record label is stepping in to do their job to protect me. Let me introduce my new talent manager, Lee Lee Hunt.” -Jessie Vega
And that is how we met Lee Lee Hunt. Hunt was cordial, though not particularly friendly, to Estrella and quipped that a lot of things needed to change in RFW regarding Vega’s career and image. This should be fun for RFW Commissioner Tiger Johnson, eh?
Lost Cause Making the Most of their Second Chance
Lost Cause found themselves on the outs this past spring but thanks to Paisley Alden, Cool Spencer, and Rus Samson standing up to their former partner, Alexandra Morgan, at the Rapid Fire Festival in defense of Delilah, the Commish rehired the group.
Lost Cause were spotted backstage discussing the second chance they’ve been given and wanting to reach their potential. Spencer remarked that he and Alden have been “indulging less” and Samson said he had been hitting the gym harder than ever. Alden said they should all try to win some championships this year.
“We can do this! You two could be tag champs again. Mark Blood has an open challenge every week you can try for. I could go for a title. Mum would be proud of me for once… I need to talk to Delilah about this.” -Paisley Alden
These kids are making better life choices and have goals other than getting high and eating cookies. Good for them. Could you imagine RFW World Champion Paisley Alden? RFW Grand Champion Cool Spencer? Aw, hey, come on. This is a place for opportunity. Imagine harder!
Kassidy Fortune vs. Mia Mercury
We went back to the ring for another match, and spoiler alert, no bones were splintered in this one.
Kassidy Fortune and Mia Mercury are two standouts from the beloved-but-defunct Wildheart Wrestling Club and both have the distinction of being former RFW Wildheart Champions here in our ring. Fortune has had a higher profile in RFW than Mercury but both are fixtures of RFW’s long term plans.
Fortune was cocky and dominant in the early goings of this match but Mercury showed why she cannot be overlooked and came out from the defense with a wild assortment of high flying attacks to fight Fortune off. Mercury came close to victory on a few occasions but when Fortune rolled away from a flying elbow drop and followed up with a cutter, it was all over. Fortune picked up the win by pinfall.
Fortune wasn’t done yet. She grabbed a microphone and made her next goal clear.
“I dedicate that win to our illustrious World Champion, Cate Stiles. You know, once upon a time you were the woman everyone saw as the future of this company. But that was yesterday. Today is my time and I think it’s about time I have a prize to make sure everyone knows that. So what do you say, Cate? I want what you got. I challenge you to face me.” -Kassidy Fortune
A Cate Stiles/Kassidy Fortune match? Sign me up! Stiles is scheduled to appear on next week’s show and Fortune is sure to get a response from the RFW World Champion.
The New Wildheart Champion
The Diamond Peak has been, arguably, the greatest faction in RFW since The Darkside back in 1990s MoW. They have carried a lot of gold and their leader, Claudia Winter, has a talent in opening doors for her clients.
The latest success story is Meghan DeWitt who won the RFW Wildheart Championship from former Diamond Peak member Shannon Worth back at the Rapid Fire Festival. DeWitt has come a long way and though she still has work to do to prove herself as a champion, she looked good wearing the gold in the ring in a celebration ceremony.
Winter did most of the talking here and praised DeWitt for making the most of the opportunities she created for her. Winter proclaimed DeWitt as the future of The Diamond Peak.
DeWitt took the microphone and shared her enthusiasm for this career milestone.
“I have been here for five years, clawed my way to get to this point, and thanks to Claudia, given the opportunities I deserved. Becoming the RFW Wildheart Champion is the biggest milestone of my career to this point, but this is just the beginning of greater things.” -Meghan DeWitt
Winter and Preston Montgomery surrounded DeWitt and posed in triumph but not everyone was happy with the new champion.
Rematch Roadblock
That brings us to the former RFW Wildheart Champion, Shannon Worth. Worth was watching Meghan DeWitt’s celebration and spoke with RFW correspondent Kimberly Kennedy. Worth called DeWitt a fraud who would not have defeated her if Claudia Winter had not interfered. Worth, to her credit, took pride in holding her own in the ring even when she had the backing of The Diamond Peak. What is Worth going to do about this? She is going to challenge DeWitt and win it back, of course!
Wait! Hold on. Of course it isn’t that simple. Alexandra Morgan overheard Worth and said she was just making excuses and should step aside to make room for someone more worthy of challenging for the title, like herself.
Worth suggested they settle this debate in the ring. Delilah, Commissioner Johnson’s assistant, confirmed the two will meet in a match next week.
Rex is Lost
Elsewhere backstage, Rex Anarchy was sitting on a bench in the locker room and was approached by “Badlands” Bill Stanton. Stanton noticed that Anarchy didn’t look like his usual surly self and just looked sad. Anarchy let out a sigh and was surprisingly honest with Stanton (he must not have known we were watching on camera).
“My career was in the toilet a decade ago. I went from being NRWL Champion to being out there looking for anyone who would bring me in for a match. Then RFW started and I had the best years of my life. And it’s because of one man. One man that has been linked to me for almost a decade. We hate each other. We hate each other so much that I drove him out of here. And now he’s gone. And now, I don’t know what to do. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m lost without Cole Arcane.” -Rex Anarchy
This revelation left Stanton just as stunned as the rest of us and he had nothing to say as Anarchy walked off. You know who did have something to say? Ruslan Panov. Panov stepped up alongside Stanton with an eerie observation.
“That is a man who needs a purpose. Wouldn’t you agree, Bill? Yeah. I thought so, too.” -Ruslan Panov
You didn’t miss anything in the exchange. Stanton didn’t answer Panov. He looked even more confused as Panov walked away.
RFW Grand Championship Open Challenge
Before Rex Anarchy defeated Cole Arcane in a Loser Leaves Town match at least year’s Final Round, Mark Blood did the same thing to me! That was July 15, 2017. Blood and I made amends when we were both wrestling in Japan a few years ago.
I mention this because the Mark Blood that was here before 2024 was very different than the man we have today. Blood is the current RFW Grand Champion and his mission with the title is to give opportunities to anyone who wants it.
“We’ve been having some fun with this open challenge, haven’t we? I’m ready to keep this going. We’ve got a locker room of guys who want this belt. Who wants to try next?” -Mark Blood
The call was answered by Andre Jordan, who was accompanied by the ever beautiful Lucia Mendez. Mendez offered words of encouragement to her man before the bell rang for our big main event title match.
Andre Jordan w/Lucia Mendez vs. Mark Blood (c)
Andre Jordan and Mark Blood match up well. Both are skilled ring technicians who are strong, fast, and adaptable. This match was full of back-and-forth exchanges of holds, throws, slams, submissions, and sure, some strikes thrown in for good measure.
Blood had Jordan on the defensive while Mendez slapped her hands on the ring apron to drum up support for Jordan. Jordan did start a comeback deep into this battle and was looking to bring the title home. Jordan used a belly-to-belly suplex on Blood but before he could go for a pin, he was grabbed off the mat by The Iconoclast who used a chokeslam powerbomb on him and then another one on Blood.
The referee had to throw this match out, unfortunately, but The Iconoclast wasn’t satisfied with ruining our night. He continued to attack both men in the ring. Mendez confronted The Iconoclast but was attacked from behind by his protege, Dezzy Nightshade. The Iconoclast and Nightshade left Blood, Jordan, and Mendez lying in the ring.
I don’t know what their intentions were but we will have to find out next week. Thanks for checking in you Rapid Fire Fanatics! See you next week in Indianapolis!
Rapid Fire Wrestling 