AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw
August 10, 2020
by Samoa Rowe
From Jacksonville, Florida. Our hosts are Tony Shiavone and Veda Scott.
Big Swole draws the color gray, meaning her partner is good friend, "Little Swole" better known as Nicole Savoy. Later on, Leva Bates and Rache Chanel draw yellow, and they're pleased to be teaming together despite having very little in common.
Tag Team Cup Tournament - Quarter Finals:
Rache Chanel and Leva Bates (with Peter Avalon) vs. "The Swole Family" (Big Swole and Nicole Savoy)
The Librarians continue shh'ing everyone in their entrance, and if this act was cold in 2019, it's buried six feet in the Arctic in 2020. I'm refusing to call Savoy "Lil' Swole" and I hope AEW considers signing her to help rebuild the women's division. Savoy and Chanel start with some chain wrestling, and Savoy enjoys herself as she targets the arm. Chanel hides in the ropes and argues with Bates, leading to a near roll-up. Savoy gets carried away beating up Chanel at ringside and Big Swole carries her back to their corner to avoid a countout or DQ. Swole tags and gets some shine on Bates. Savoy puts Bates in a modified STF, and Avalon distracts the ref so Chanel can… shake a fan at Savoy. Bates manages a backstabber, and hits a Fisherman suplex for 2. Bates and Chanel make quick tags to work Savoy over, and I'm pleasantly reminded that Bates is a very good in-ring performer. Savoy hits Chanel with an exploder and Big Swole storms in on a hot tag. Bates cuts Swole off with a spear, can't hit a suplex, but Chanel kicks Savoy into a roll-up. Avalon's interference goes nowhere, and Savoy and Swole light Bates up with numerous KO shots for the win at 8:53. This was decent, Swole and Savoy make for an appealing team, **¼.Winners: Big Swole and Nicole Savoy
Brandi Rhodes makes her sales pitch for AEW Heels, which is basically an exclusive fan club for women wrestling fans. This, of course, has stirred up such a sh!tstorm on social media, that she had to deactivate her Twitter account due to excessive harassment, including racial slurs.
Ivelisse chooses her color and will be teaming Diamante. Later, Madusa tells host Dasha that she gets to choose the next color, and she gushes at her opportunity to wrestle. She picks blue, which means she's teaming with Rachael Ellering!
Tag Team Cup Tournament - Quarter Finals:
Rachael Ellering and Dasha vs. Ivelisse and Diamante
Dasha is making her in-ring debut, and apparently made a name for herself on the Titan Games. She scores a quick arm drag on Ivelisse and follows with quick attacks. Diamante tags and trades wristlocks with Dasha. Ellering tags and hits a hard arm drag and shoulder block. Dasha and Ellering hit a double team suplex. Diamante shoves Dasha into a boot from Ivelisse to gain control. Dasha does an okay job selling for sympathy and Ivelisse gets frustrated when unable to gain a pinfall. Dasha survives a double flapjack and crawls under Ivelisse's spinning kick. Ellering gets the hot tag and cleans house. Ellering's twisting leg drop gets 2. Diamante pulls Ivelisse away from a corner elbow by Ellering, which leads to tags. Diamante hits Dasha with a stunner and gets 2 on a late cover. Ivelisse finishes Dasha with Code Red at 10:14. This was better than I expected, with Dasha holding her end of the bargain, and Ivelisse and Diamante looking dominant down the stretch, **¼.Winners: Ivelisse and Diamante
Backstage interview with the Swole Family. Their history gave them the edge against Bates and Chanel, they can do this everyday.
Interview with Dasha, who is all smiles despite losing her match. Dasha is keeping her head up and hopes to get more opportunities later.
Interview with Ivelisse and Diamante, who were successful as a team, despite being recent opponents. Ivelisse explains that they respect each other, and Diamante says that makes them a threat.
Final Thoughts: Two decent matches from some surprising competitors makes this a novelty worth checking out.
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