User blog:CEDJunior/The Queens of Combat Championship Tournament

As I stated in last week's blog, I had already loved what I was seeing from the Queens of Combat promotion after their first four shows. However, I myself was wondering when we'll see an actual championship in that promotion. SHIMMER instilled their title nearly two years after the promotion was founded. Shine Wrestling began their process of crowning their first ever champion just less than a year after they debuted, as did NCW Femmes Fatales and Women Superstars Uncensored. I was expecting a long wait for QoC to instill an actual championship, but in April, I went to the Queens of Combat site and saw the words "Title Tournament," and I just beamed!

The site announced that 16 women will participate in a tournament to crown the first ever Queens of Combat Champion, and the tournament will span three events in five months. Of course, North Carolina is no stranger to the Sweet 16; the Tar Heels and Blue Devils are perennial participants of March Madness. This was part of the evolution of Queens of Combat, which included joining social media and uploading their own web series:  The Queen's Court. Every episode of the program included an announcement of a first round match. The website already announced the 16 combatants, and here were the announced matches:


 * Amy Love vs Taeler Hendrix
 * Miss Diss Lexia vs Jessicka Havok
 * LuFisto vs Leva Bates
 * Crazy Mary Dobson vs Solo Darling
 * Jenny Rose vs Amanda Rodriguez
 * Tessa Blanchard vs Hania
 * Mandy Leon vs Santana Garrett
 * Su Yung vs Heather Owens

Queens of Combat 5, which featured the first round ot the tournament, took place on June 13, 2015 in Gibsonville, NC. There was one little bit of bad news regarding the event. Crazy Mary Dobson couldn't be there due to traffic issues, so they had to make a couple of changes. Solo Darling ended up facing off against Su Yung, which was the first tournament match of the event, and it was won by Su. Regarding "Hardcore" Heather Owens, she would compete against Chasity Taylor, who was actually a ring announcer for Shine, but she has competed in the ring as well. For Owens, this was her first appearance since the first event last March. Their match, as good as it was, ended in a double countout. More on that later.

Up third was Santana Garrett defeating Mandy Leon in a match featuring a pair of QoC debuting stars. I was looking forward to this because with both being stalwart faces, I was hoping one of them would act as the heel, and I wanted that heel to be Santana. But it was typical face/face and it was a great match. Tessa Blanchard defeated Hania to pick up her first QoC win, doing so by using a chair outside the ring. Amanda Rodriguez defeated Jenny Rose to advance, and Taeler Hendrix defeated Amy Love in a very interesting and fun-filled matchup. Jessicka Havok quickly dismantled up-and-comer Aspyn Rose before she got down to business and defeated Miss Diss Lexia, and LuFisto's win over Leva Bates represented the main event of the first round.

Queens of Combat 6 took place the very next day, June 14, 2015, in Winston-Salem, NC, and featured the quarterfinals of the tournament. Now, back to that double countout between Heather Owens and Chasity Taylor. The result caused a vacant spot in the Elite Eight, as Jessicka Havok entered the event without an opponent. With Crazy Mary Dobson arriving in time for the second event, QoC decided to open the event with a Second Chance Match pitting Mary against eliminated combatants Leva Bates and Hania, which Mary won to advance. The quarterfinals got underway with Santana Garrett defeating Su Yung to become the first combatant to advance to the Final Four. In non-tournament action, a six-woman tag team contest took place, pitting Amy Love, Solo Darling, and Chasity Taylor against Miss Diss Lexia, Roni Nicole, and Heather Owens. The babyface trio won, even though I was (again) expecting a heel turn from Amy during the match. In another non-tournament match, Mandy Leon defeated ROH rival Jenny Rose.

Speaking of heel turns, Taeler Hendrix turned villainous during the tournament weekend, which I found interesting because she appeared to be in babyface mode against Amy Love, who seemed to be acting as the heel. After messing with Amanda in a backstage segment, Taeler continued her heel antics by openly flirting with Amanda's boyfriend, Caleb Konley, who was at ringside. Her evil mind games clearly worked, as Taeler defeated Amanda to join Santana in the Final Four. And I mentioned Tessa Blanchard using a chair to defeat Hania in the first round earlier. Well, Tessa was the true highlight of QoC6, IMO, as she fully became a villainess and delivered a promo that bashed the rest of the QoC roster, and even bashed her home state fans. After delivering her venomous barbs, the evil Tessa defeated LuFisto in her quarterfinal match; using LuFisto's own chain against her and using the ropes for leverage for the victory. More on Tessa's villainous attitude on the next blog. The quarterfinal match between Jessicka Havok and Crazy Mary Dobson was the main event, and despite Mary's game effort, Havok defeated her to complete the Final Four picture. What I loved about this match was Mary's new look; adopting a demonic appearance to match Havok. Seriously, she looks like she could be Havok's evil apprentice.

The first two rounds of the title tournament were absolutely phenomenal, and I just know that the Final Four will exceed expectations! The semifinals and finals will take place three weeks from today at Queens of Combat 7, and next week's blog will take a look at each member of the QoC Final Four.