Being a native of Killafornia, I can no less than concur that L.A. is Sin City. And though the 39th Wrestlemania was thrown on the 1st of April in Inglewood (a city in L.A. County for those of you unfamiliar with the layout of my desert) the aura of the city rang out throughout the L.A. city, L.A. county, and the world over as a Frank Miller inspired promo was broadcasted to show the lead up to the beef between Becky Lynch and Damage Ctrl that started at last year’s Summerslam, culminating at the SoFi center now that Lynch had brought some legends (Lita and Trish Stratus) to even the odds.
Dakota Kai started the processions off strongly for Damage Ctrl with a handstand kick on Lynch catching a close two count after cornering The Man and jumping her with Bayley. The numbers advantage this early didn’t bode to well for The Role Model as she was tossed out the ring like a rag doll, but Bayley had a few more tricks as she became the legal woman and started mocking Stratus’ taunt as the pressure began to mount on Lynch and she looked to tag in the pioneering Diva. Iyo and Lita exchanged trees of woe, until Lita pulled off a neckbreaker that left Iyo unwittingly (and awkwardly) planted in a headstand. Sky revived herself for a close three on the Attitude Era Queen, and Bayley continued to add insult to injury still mocking Stratus’ taunt, until eventually it was time to do more than mock and Stratus got jumped by the entirety of Damage CTRL’s force.
Getting her foes off her former tag partner, Lita hit a double DDT on Kai & Sky , tagging in Trish like old times for Stratus to lay out some thunderous chops on the Team Kick Commander. Trish then wiped the ring rust off, stood on the shoulders of her teammates on her hands and launched herself to wipe out Damage CTRL, but they weren’t finished so the current tag champs had to flex some new tactics. Lita hit a step up elbow and Lynch followed with a leg drop into a Dis-Arm-Her for a pin attempt one of the Damage CTRL cronies, but it wasn’t enough as Bayley broke up the hold with an elbow.
The former Four Horsewomen stared each other down, only for Bayley to turn her attention to Trish and hit her with a Bayley to Belly suplex. Iyo Sky took flight from the post, leaving everyone as down and out as Trish was moments prior, giving time for the competitors to regroup for bragging rights. Both teams ran at each other like the opening theme to the SuperFriends and brawled to the point that Lita started having flashbacks to her valet days and performed Twists of Fate doing considerable damage to Damage CTRL as a whole.
What happened next was a passing of the torch as Lita took off her shirt and stood on the sidelines with Trish blocking Kai and Sky from interrupting the conflict between two Horsewomen. Bayley had Lynch dead to rights on the top rope, putting her in the position for the Bayley to Belly, but Bayley ended up getting Man-Handled ! 1,2,3 Lynch and Lita walk out with their belts and heads held high, with Trish in tow radiating success.
Though the final spot made Lita and Trish look tired and past their prime, a look at the rest of the match would only show different, especially in Trish’s case. All six women put on an entertaining grudge match, and the Hall of Famers did their job by not attempting to outshine some of the biggest faces of the today’s women’s division, instead propping them up rather than hogging the spotlight. Lita is a HOF’er. It is only a matter of time before Lynch and her surrender the titles, so the two better enjoy their victory while they can, because Lita isn’t putting on high performance shows like Meiko Satomura who is also close to her age. With half of the current tag team champs in her golden years, their days with the gold are undoubtedly numbered.
Score:
4/5