This show from WXW is one of six independent wrestling shows added to WWE Network this last week, along with offerings from Evolve, ICW, and Progress. This expansion to WWE’s video library has been long rumoured, and now that it’s here, how do shows from the first round stack up?
This is one of two WXW events that have been added in this drop of indie content, with Femmes Fatales centred around a one-night tournament for a future women’s championship match (and a shiny trophy).
Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) is one of the leading promotions in Germany, so the network is providing a wonderful opportunity to see more diverse international content. The opening montage shows the climb of women’s matches becoming main events in their company. It’s effective at hyping their past content, and they seem a lot of fun, so I hope we’ll see those events added to WWE Network soon.
The event definitely delivers an interesting selection of athletes from across the world, in what is now the fourth year they’ve held this tournament. Previous winners include Meiko Satomura, Toni Storm and Alpha Female, so that’s a winner’s circle you’d want to join. It again makes the choice of putting this year’s event up first an interesting one, when bigger names were featured in previous years, but I’m not complaining about seeing the possible future of women’s wrestling on display.
Not that there’s not experienced, popular fighters on the card – for example, Session Moth Martina and LuFisto have made names for themselves across the globe. They also sit at different ends of the sports-entertainment spectrum, which adds to the appeal of this tournament.
I quickly became fans of talent I saw for the first time. With her amateur grappling background, Leyla Hirsch rocketed to the top of my list of talent to keep tabs on; she’s got loads of potential. Sammi Jayne also impressed. There’s a nice variety of match styles and talent involved to keep the action from getting stale, and a women’s championship match is also included. As a showcase of multiple talents, the show flows well. And the final of the tournament is exactly what I wanted to see after the rest of the show’s build.
The commentary team of Andy Jackson and Rico Bushido have a blast throughout. They’re knowledgeable about the talent, so you learn some history as you watch, and they’re easy to listen to due to how much fun they’re having. The only downside to this comes when several remarks are made about the “sexy” appearance of one wrestler; the tonal shift is jarring because they wouldn’t say or act that way about a male wrestler. Commentary always plays an integral role in framing an event, but apart from the above situation, commentary is lively and elevates the product.
Overall WXW Femmes Fatales 2019 is worth checking out, and I hope the rest of the tournaments are uploaded soon. There are a few minor technical issues, and at one point a wrestler’s name is spelled two different ways – plus there’s a certain indie wrestler named during a promo segment that I bet WWE wished they’d removed, given recent events – but they don’t distract from a fun night of pro-wrestling.
The indie evolution on WWE Network has begun, and I can only hope a lot more content is on the way.
