This weekend The Orpheum in Ybor City, FL played host to Shine Wrestling. The promotion held two pay-per-views on Friday and Sunday 7/14 and 7/16, SHINE43 and SHINE44. The two-night extravaganza was built on the foundation of a 16-woman bracket style tournament for a brand-new belt, the Shine Nova Championship. This field had a nice mix of well-known wrestlers such as Veda Scott and Ivelisse, along with a crop of wrestling talent coming up whose names we will all know very soon. The competition was fierce and by Sunday evening we had our final two competitors, Candy Cartwright, and Priscilla Kelly.
Around the 16-woman tournament, there was also a Fatal 5-way Friday night to crown a #1 contender to LuFisto’s Shine Women’s Championship that she would have to defend Sunday evening. The fatal 5-way saw Maria Maria pin Brandi Lauren, however, we quickly learned that Maria Maria was a false character and underneath her mask was Allison Kay! Sunday night Allison Kay, who walks out to Gangster’s Paradise(needed everyone to know that), went toe-to-toe with the veteran of the squared-circle, LuFisto. The match went all around The Orpheum, however, in the end, we saw a different Maria Maria come out and get Allison Kay disqualified. LuFisto retained her title, but in a furious rage Kay ripped off the mask only to find Brandi Lauren underneath it(this stuff is amazing).
Leading up to the main event of the weekend, Priscilla Kelly defeated three women, all by submission. One of those wins was over Veda Scott, who had not lost a Shine match in five years. While on the other side of the bracket, Candy Cartwright, the leader of The Cutie Pie Club used the other two women in her club to steal some undeserved wins. The most notable, her semi final match where Cutie Pie member, Kiera Hogan, held down Jordynne Grace’s legs from the outside so Candy could pick up the victory. The final match did not go as planned for Candy, as Priscilla Kelly locked in her submission finisher, Trapped in Sin, and Candy had no choice but to quit.
With this victory, Priscilla Kelly is now the first EVER Shine Nova Champion and, oh yeah, she’s only 21. Between both events Shine43 and Shine44 this weekend in Tampa, and up the road in Orlando where WWE’s Mae Young Classic was being filmed, there is absolutely no doubt that we are entrenched in a Women’s Revolution in wrestling. These women are creating a buzz in the wrestling world that we have never heard before, my only hope is that we can all be ringside to watch it happen.