May, the good and the bad...

So June has been an interesting month for me... It started off with my breaking my foot a few weeks ago. Yes, it did happen grappling, and no it wasn't during competition or a session or training. Just messing around with a friend, wouldn't you know?

So that's really been a pain. I've not been able to keep off the foot nearly as much as I should since New York's such a walking city, and since the injury happened when I was travelling, I've had to go through a slow process to get a referral to a podiatrist close to home.

I'm really not used to being stuck with an injury I can't just tough out, and it's been driving me nuts to turn down matches lately -- sessions, videos with visiting wrestlers, rounds at the last Grapple Den. I've been worrying too about whether I would be recovered enough by June 5th to fight Xana at Monica's event in London -- after conferring with Monica just yesterday, we decided it's best if I don't make the trip. That's disappointing since I was really looking forward to that visit but also, actually, a relief. And the good news is that by playing it safe I'm 99.9% confident that I will be ready to go at the NYC Wrestling Showcase June 19th. (I'd better be; I'm scheduled to fight practically everyone!)

So here's the rest of the good news: I've been filling the time off my feet with some serious upper body work at the gym. It's always fun to make a new plan and set a challenging goal, whatever the circumstances. The goal here, volume! Oh so much lifting. Grueling but awesome. Hopefully, I'll have some good results to flaunt by showcase time.

And last but not at all least, some very exciting and unexpected news. Not one or two, but FOUR new ladies have come out to train with Doom Maidens in the past month! All looking to hone their grappling skills in preparation for video fighting and sessioning in the near future. (Perfect timing; these ladies can pick up the slack for me when I'm literally being lame - not that I'm planning on any more of these detestable injuries ever again!)

There's Clobberetta, a close friend and training partner of mine and a long-time regular and rough-houser at the Grapple Den, who's just about ready to make her official debut. She'll be taking on the Bulk in the coming showcase and also going public with her tremendous size and strength in the session world soon, where I know she's going to smother, crush, lift, and fight like no other.

And there's also Orlandoe, a capoeira expert with a Greco Roman background who's now also training to add submission grappling to her excellent and unique tool kit. She's a complete acrobat and a kicking phenomenon on her feet and a scrappy, whole-hearted warrior on the ground.

Two other ladies aren't quite ready to be introduced yet, so more about them later, but we did have everyone together at a rather epic training session lately. The new recruits teamed up with Amazon Annie and me...to the dismay of Hanz and the Bulk!

Battle of the Sizes!

Full match at our video store: VeVe Lane vs the Incredible Bulk: Mixed Wrestling

NYC Wrestling Showcase returns on June 19, 2010

The 2nd NYC Wrestling Showcase is coming up this June. It will be Saturday, June 19, from 2-5 pm at 440 Studios in the East Village. And we have quite a line up of guests and matches for that one. Here's the list of Superstar Guests:

Dominique Danger (Atlanta, GA)
VeVe Lane (NYC)
Clobberetta (NYC)
Rachel Sinclair (Florida)
Sherry Stunns (Cookville, TN)
Amazon Annie (NYC)
Allana (NYC and CT)

And the fight card:

1. Dominique Danger vs VeVe Lane
2. Clobberetta vs the Bulk
3. Rachel Sinclair vs Sherry Stunns
4. Sherry Stunns vs Amazon Annie
5. Rachel Sinclair vs Jay
6. Allana vs TBA

Advance discount tickets can be purchased here: http://www.doommaidens.com/nyc-wrestling-showcase/ticketinfo.html

And the Showcase main website is here: http://www.nycwrestlingshowcase.com

- VeVe

VeVe Lane vs the Bulk!

Just released: a match between to arch rivals which took place a few short days following the January 23 NYC Wrestling Showcase....

VeVe Lane vs the Bulk
Mixed Wrestling
http://www.doommaidens.com/store/vevebulk

The Bulk and VeVe have always been at odds with each other, and they had met in wrestling combat before, but both had always claimed victory over the other. Now we'll see once and for all who can claim decisive victory, since this match is on video!

The Bulk comes in for a competitive bout, thinking to use his tremendous size advantage against the petite female wrestler. But VeVe uses her speed, agility, and artful submission skills to even up the odds.

It started out competitive, but once VeVe's endurance proved the better, Bulk faced a HUGE struggle to survive the final round.

VeVe Lane: 5'4" and 125 lbs
The Bulk: 6' and 300 lbs

Full details and full match available here: http://www.doommaidens.com/store/vevebulk


www.doommaidens.com

My battle with Jenny Sjodin while she was in NYC

looking forward to tax day. what?!

The party is cancelled this month.

Ha, ha -- gotcha! April Fool's!!!

Actually, the April party is coming up fast -- just exactly as fast as the dreaded Tax Day deadline. That's right, we're reviving our venerable Tax Day Wrestling theme and holding the party on April 15th this month to give everyone a positive reason to look forward to the day. And the chance to sweat out any frustrations you may still be feeling after tallying that last column of digits and suffering those endless post office lines. After that, who wouldn't be ready for a fight?

To add to the post-taxes festivities, there will be grappling in a huge pile of (Monopoly) money -- a nod to those welcome returns hovering on the horizon.

I mention this now because, like I said, the day is fast approaching, and it's never too early for a reminder to finish those taxes or to start revving up for a night of underground wrestling. And also because I'm mad tickled to be making the playlist for this party, and will happily accept any suggestions for songs about money, riches, or dollars you can throw my way between now and then!

february super blog! Wrestling, amazons, southern belles, travel, Ziggy, and more!

February has been one busy month, exactly as I knew it would. And I've got two more weekends of travel coming up back-to-back starting with my flight to Atlanta this Friday. So from the eye of the storm, here's a report on what's been going on.

The month started off with a quick weekend in Providence, a few days of business as usual in NYC, and then a looong trek down to Florida. Amazon Annie's gotten very revved up to do more traveling lately, so she joined me on both trips. Providence was nice, but Florida was quite the epic.

To start with, we drove. Non-stop. Through a blizzard. And when I said Florida, I meant south Florida -- five extra hours after you first cross that Sunshine State border. And to cap it off, we had planned to have four drivers on this trip -- me, Annie, our videographer, and another friend -- but our videographer stayed home sick, so the rest of us took longer shifts. But then we arrived!

It was a good trip for sessions, but it was a great trip for videos! I got to have a match with Ziggy, something I was very excited about since I've heard so many fans speak so highly of her ever since I started wrestling. It was definitely a pleasure to meet and fight her.

We were stuck using the hotel room as a studio, but with (quite a lot of) remodeling, we turned it into a pretty decent wrestling space. And Annie got to discover her filming talents. It was a terrific, very even match, and I'm especially proud of the third round where we amped up the intensity despite the fatigue! And best of all the video is coming out on the Doom Maidens site TODAY!

Then on a stop in Sarasota, I went in for a shoot with Grappling Girls. That one was really neat because my opponent brought his wife along, and she even participated in the video (heckling him from the sidelines, poor guy!) Very fun, and since I meet so many men who tell me their wives or girlfriends aren't into or don't understand wrestling, it always gives me warm fuzzies to meet a couple that enjoys it together. And, appropriately, this shoot was on Valentine's Day!

There was a little free time before we headed back north to meet up with some friends for a picnic at the beach. It was little chilly, but nothing could stop Annie from diving straight into the water. The rest of us (all grapplers) hung about for a bit discussing how sand is a horrible! surface for wrestling, until someone showed up with a volleyball, and we got sporty that way. Managed to get a little sunburned, and it says something about how starved for summer I am that I was happy about it!

Then the drive north. From headquarters back in the city, our videographer had managed to connect with Southern Belles Wrestling in NC and arrange a video stop for Annie and me along the way. Great way break up the trip and stretch not just the legs but everything! Annie and I did a match together, and then we each did a match with one of Southern Belles' regulars Tyler. Tyler was great to fight and to see in action. She's a very accomplished, athletic pro-style wrestler, very pretty, and has a totally savvy, with-it personality that made her great to work with.

It was quite interesting to see and feel how everyone's different styles interacted in this set of matches. Annie and I paired up to give a classic submission grappling perfomance -- of course! I felt like my match with Tyler was a sub grappling meets pro-style concoction, and Tyler and Annie got fully into pro-style with A LOT of lifts and scissors. And then back on the road.

I spent most of this past week resting up after the big adventure but took a definite break from resting for the Rumble in the Jungle party on Thursday. Annie masterminded and hosted this party in true Amazonian style -- she even hooked me up with a Poison Ivy costume of her design. I'm told there are some pretty terrific photos floating around that I must see. The party's going with a scheme where regular guests are going to present their own theme parties this spring. In March, Hanz Vanderkill and Clobberella present: Das Wrestlefest! I'm psyched and also incredibly amused.

And like I mentioned, looking forward it's going to be Atlanta this weekend. Then Columbus for the Arnolds Expo the next. Looking forward to a bit of a wrestling reunion at the Arnolds with the crew from Madison, and also very excited to finally be competing again!

More to report soon!