Nikki Storm VS "Amazon" Ayesha Rae - LCW 3/1/2014
CJD: I watched a lot of Nikki Storm era Nikki Cross to decide what to play forward to you this week. I honestly don't know if this was the best match. But it was the most interesting. You know I've been listening to a lot of WTF with Marc Maron, and on the episode where he goes to a pro wrestling event for the first time and meets a bunch of the AEW roster he talks to Jericho about performing in front of small crowds. And they both agree the secret to being great at any type of performance is mastering the art of playing to an audience of 7. I count more than 7 in this crowd but if there's more than 30 I'd be surprised. It's very awkward at times. But in that you see these two young ladies growing leaps and bounds in this relatively simple and shortish match. Ayesha is totally new to me but she impressed me quite a bit. I don't think think either lady really nailed this match but they were dealt a tough hand that night and I appreciate what they did out there. I might just be digging this match because I'm exhausted bouncing around rentals in Vermont trying to build a new life for my family and just generally in a weird head space. But I dug it none the less.
JJZ: Marc Maron and Jericho aren't wrong. It's an art playing to such a small crowd. So many art forms are mastered playing to mostly empty rooms. The lack of bodies in the building didn't stop these ladies from putting out an effort and energy that would have been the same if 20,000 were watching. Speaking of podcasts, I remember Sami Zayn saying recently that he felt like he never mailed it in no matter how many people were watching. Nikki and Ray mailed nothing in. This is also my first time watching Ayesha and even though this match was only 12 minutes I got a really good sense of how good she can be. She uses her size really well with her moveset. Nothing over complicated. Storm always delivers. I think she is totally underrated. Really excited to dive into some Ray!
