April 10, 2005
Predictions by Karen Shallett
Readers, welcome to our newest feature. Each week, I'll gaze into my crystal ball and try to tell you who I think is going to come out on top during Sunday's big card. I won't do the house shows, because it's nearly impossible to keep up with them as FAWN gets bigger and bigger on the global stage.
I get to start out with a relatively light load. This Sunday's action consists of only three matches. Don't scoff, though. What this card lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality with a HUGE main event between former FAWN World Champions.
The opening match pits Xia de Sade against Courtney Malcolm. Xia is fresh off her destruction and subjugation of FAWN's ethereal bondage queen, Miriam Gaiman. At "Lions", we saw de Sade do what we thought was impossible...break Gaiman. You could hear the red head's soul crack and splinter as she cried out her submission.
Courtney Malcolm is a fighter through and through. But she's hopelessly overmatched here. The pick is Xia de Sade, and it's going to be ugly.
Our second match
features FAWN newcomer and established superstar
Samantha Page against the aforementioned Miriam Gaiman. A few months ago,
this would have been tough to call. But Samantha Page has been incredible
in her first two matches, annihilating Demetria Andrews in her debut, then
running off the Nubian Queen, herself, LaKeisha Bates after the match. In
her second match, a house show appearance in Akron, Ohio, Page was even more
dominant, completely destroying a hopelessly over-matched Sascha Savarino.
Miriam, when last saw her, lost a hard-fought, brutal match. She also lost the veneer of invincibility she had. The red-haired wolf looked like a lost lamb. She's damaged goods, now, and even though I still think she'll give Page more of a scrap than either Andrews or Savarino, the Samantha Page Express is going to run her over. Samantha Page wins impressively.
Finally,
we come to Sunday's main event. Shea London, FAWN's first World Champ,
taking on LaKeisha Bates, the woman who beat The Woman, ending Portia Van
Buren's reign. This is a classic power versus speed match up. Bates
is an athletic powerhouse. London is a crafty high-flier. Both women
are coming off losses, but the feeling is that Bates was purely out-smarted by
Kylie Sanders at "Lions", while London let a win get away when the Mme. Legarre
factor gave Anciline de Cyr a second chance.
I think London can cope with LaKeisha's power, but I'm not sure she can cope with her viciousness. There's no doubt in my mind that Bates is quick enough to off set some of Shea's advantage. I see the powerful ebony warrior, at some point, getting her hands on London. I think this one will come down to which woman makes the most of her chances. I think LaKeisha will have more chances. But I think Shea will have a much higher batting average as far as capitalizing on them. In a match that I think is too close to call, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick the crafty speed demon over the brawny Amazon. I like Shea London in this one.