Most Valuable Elitist #181

Rising Star of the Week

Bowie Gray

After several weeks in a hiatus, Bowie Gray made his return just a couple weeks before Gateway to Glory. I was not sure if he was going to be placed on the card, but for him to have the opportunity to get into the Cash in the Vault match at Pain for Pride is amazing! To me, he was one of the few favorites I had going into the match and it shocked me knowing that he qualified for the match. Bowie doesn’t strike me as someone who would want to win this match, but this is one of the matches at Pain for Pride where things will get brutal. I think this would be a perfect fit for him. Not only will have have the chance to crush some people, but to take a prize that most of the men and women will be vying for will be satisfying for him. I’m quite excited to see how he does going into the match. He is one of the individuals that you should be on a look out for.

Beef of the Week

See MOTW.

Show of the Week

Terminus

For the past three days, I have been having to rewatch all of this shows. Each of them have moments that stuck out to me. Dynasty had the whole story with Giovanni Luciano backstage with him being taken to custody; and that whole post-match fuckery with Mr. DEDEDE costing Darkane the Answers World Championship. Amber Keys turning on Theron Nikolas and assisting Mr. DEDEDE in getting revenge. Showdown had The Round Table helping Drake King in retaining the Interwire Championship. Kassidy Heart finally hitting the shit out of Ahren Fournier. Voltage had moments like Oskar Wagner joining House Reigner, Lethal Consequences attacking Captain Charisma; distracting Rex McAllister in the process and The Visual Prophet getting the victory for Veena Adams. There was also…well…everything that happened in the main event with Charlie Marr and Daryl Kinkade, which I will bring up a little later. 

It was difficult to decide a show that I loved more. Shoutout to all who made these shows possible, but I had to give it to Empire’s Terminus. There were so many moments from this show that stuck out. From the opening match, you had Miho Li turning on Io Ishimori and joining Fatal Destiny. You had Amber Keys turning on Cleopatra post-match — which still kinda makes me sad. :mjcry: You had Felix Hartley still having their streak alive with a victory over Serena Bennett. You had some feel good moments with Heavenly Hell winning the Empire Tag Team Championships. You had Andrea Valentine becoming a two-time Specialists Champion. You had the clashing between two former friends in Sienna Jade and Tyler Wolfe. Even during the match, there was a shocking moment with some person in a hoodie who put Sienna in the right position to cover Tyler and retain her championship. I thought this show left me with so many questions about where these shocking surprises will go.

Match of the Week

Charlie Marr vs. Daryl Kinkade

This was a no brainer for me. These two men killed it in their back-and-fourth battle this week. If anyone that wonders if their match lived up to the expectation, it did. Like holy crap. This was the one match that ended EAW week in such a great note. It was one of the final things that made me excited for Pain for Pride. I think almost everyone in the arena was not just rooting for Daryl Kinkade, but death as well and it seems like they got that. I do not understand how any of these men will be standing a week later, but anything is possible in this company. :wow: What was seen in this match is more than just a vampire facial (thanks Jordie, for the micro needle facial roller. I’m sure Daryl loved the facial), but basically a murder. The weapons brought in to the match (other than barbed wire) was more than what I could have imagined. This match may not have been for those who are disturbed by the sight of blood, which was me just a few years ago, but it was something that I could not take my eyes off of. One of the things that I loved was that it gave me a story to tell between Charlie and Daryl and we got a good match to conclude (this is over, right?) their rivalry. 

Promoer of the Week

Kassidy Heart

Kassidy Heart (once again) takes this spot. From the get-go, she was one of the women on Empire, who went hard for this match. For a woman, who is barely booked on Empire due to her injuries, Kassidy made the most out of this match. She was not going up against any woman, but Raven Roberts, who is fantastic in her own right. Not only did Kassidy manage to defeat Raven, but getting her to submit is something that I would never imagine happening in a million years, but I know for a fact that this loss will fuel Raven up to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As for Kassidy, I’m quite curious to see what her role for Pain for Pride is. Not only did Kassidy get a victory at Terminus, but she found herself in a scary situation during the Malcolm Jones vs. Ahren Fournier main event and it seems like Ahren is not going to be too happy about that. There are a few directions that this story can go, but I’m excited to see what she does at Pain for Pride.

Champion of the Week

Malcolm Jones

Speaking of Malcolm Jones, he is our Champion of the Week! He had a difficult first title defense going up against the former EAW Champion, but it also happened to be in a Hell in a Cell Match. This was a structure that Kassidy Heart couldn’t interfere in, right? Wrong. But, Malcolm did a fantastic job in this match. He made sure that he didn’t have a disadvantage going into the match and there maybe a few in the back, who are shocked that Malcolm managed to get out of the match alive, but Ahren gave him a fantastic battle this week and this was one of the more brutal title defense that Malcolm will face…until Pain for Pride. His next title defense is set in stone and I’m looking forward to seeing him and Chris Elite clash for a second time at Pain for Pride.

Most Valuable Elitist

Heavenly Hell

Not one person, but two for Most Valuable Elitist(s). Heavenly Hell managed to capture the Empire Tag Team Championships against the Queen’s Court. These are two women, who I would have never believed would balance each other out. You have Constance who is good. You have Minerva who is badass. Both women are similar in appearance, but I found that these two meshed well with each other. This was one tag team I never thought I would see, but it has made me want to see more of these two clashing. The potential matches that could come out of this will be amazing. I’m curious to see who they will face at Pain for Pride? Perhaps, two members of Fatal Destiny? It would be a good first title defense, but Constance and Minerva really deserve this moment. Both women put in the work and they are the champions that Empire needs at the moment. Congratulations, Constance and Minerva!