FNL BOXERMANIA PPV-NO PREDICTIONS

Where Others Fear To Tread....Predictions (my record year-to-date is 'zero wrong')


Carmella vs Brie Bella. This one is a tough choice. I know Brie is the "other" Bella sister... I'm just never sure which one is which. (I mean, for all I know they could switch places during a match and I would NOT know the difference!) But Carmella's "gimmick" is a blatant rip-off of Edie Falco's iconic Carmela Soprano, and I would never want to reward anyone for profiting from stealing. Still, my Internet research didn't provide much help: "Brie is the softest of the French cheeses; known as "The Queen of Cheeses"... both cheesy reasons to pick a Brie IMHO. Still, I'm going with Brie by submission (Rear Naked Choke). I may have had some trouble with my browser Spellcheck/Autocorrect as I reread this.

Tessa Blanchard vs Celeste Bonin. Again, my Internet research is letting me down. According to Merriam-Webster "bone in" is defined as "containing a bone: attached to a bone" Not very helpful, but "blanched" (to take the color out of) seems to indicate Tessa will remove some/all of Celeste's support and so I am predicting Tessa will win (2 falls to 1). Looks like Spellcheck/Autofix let me down again.

Mia Yim vs Eve Torres. I don't know Yim from Yang but Eve was one of my original ancestors... family honor (and pride) requires I support her. Torres in two straight falls (Camel Clutch & Yim counted out of ring, unable to return).

Trish Stratus vs AJ Lee. One of the all-time greatest women ever to wear the Championship belt facing a manufactured, trumped-up, titleholder not deserving of the name "champion". This could be the upset of the night (according to Stephanie McMahon) as AJ Lee forces Trish Stratus to submit the deciding fall with "The Black Widow"). Fans boo the obvious fix and Trish leaves with a briefcase full of money for her trouble. 

Bayley vs Sasha Banks. Bayley (of "Bayley, Banks & Biddle" fame) faces off against her former partner in a battle of colorful hair-dos and costumes. Neither shows any particular skill (other than mugging, hugging and taking pratfalls, but it's all in the spirit of fun as these two put there all into selling this as a Grade A grudge match (when everyone knows they're really just a couple of fun-loving kids who'd rather be out drinking together). Since neither really wants to win, the match is ruled a "time limit draw" but the promoters throw the fans a bone-in by announcing a rematch "soooooon".

Nikki Bella vs Becky Lynch. The other Bella Sister (or is it the same one?) wins a close-fought contest after she's drop kicked out of the ring through the ropes, then as Lynch struggles with the referee, Bella crawls underneath the ring and climbs out on the far side. There, she sneaks into the ring to attack Becky from behind and roll her up in a match deciding pin. (Couldn't make this stuff up!)

And the main event, Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair. The match fans have been clamoring for since.... I dunno, January sometime? (Ever since it was announced that Rousey "may be leaving the FCBA to pursue honest work" (after being unceremoniously dumped by Chimera). These two (unlike Bayley-Banks who merely fiddled) really get after one another. Rousey opened the action by introducing her fists to Flair's (artificially inflated) mammaries. Charlotte responded in kind, quickly disabusing Ronda of trying THAT again! Then they settled down to wrestling - which played to Rousey's strength as a Judoka and grappler. Flair hung in gamely for a while, but eventually submitted the first fall to an arm bar.
The second fall was going Rousey's way when Flair decided to go all "gangsta" on her and used her fists to batter the former MMA champ into a stupor, then easily managed to pin her, using a handful of Ronda's suit backside to lock in the hold.
The final fall was a barn-burner, with the two blondes going back and forth; Rousey trying to keep the action in the middle of the ring while Flair used a succession of rebounds off the ropes to add some extra OOMPH to several elbow smashes. Charlotte climbed the ropes and leapt off, but Rousey caught her and body slammed her! It looked like the end for Flair when Rousey covered her but Charlotte kicked out at "2"... then head-butted Rousey for the KO!

I can't understand why some folks don't appreciate the "sweat science" of wrestlers as boxers.... I thought it was a fun and entertaining FNL.

Ginny should replace Tess and make predictions for all PPVs from now on.