Sabotage Wrestling ‘Hey Ladies’ Event: Delilah ‘Dooms’ Raze, wins 16-woman tournament

Often times, in any sport or line of work, the word “special” gets thrown around to describe moments that deserve a bit more esteem and notice, but are still unbefitting of that title. There are moments for the highlight reel, big maneuvers and elite level finishes that impress, yet they cannot hold a candle to moments that choke us up and tug at our heart strings, forcing the tears from our eyes, unexpectedly, creating moments so clear and adored that the lump in our throat starts to resurface at the sight of a picture or a short video highlight; the true mark of a “special” moment in history, ever so deserving of the title.

In my opinion, in this circumstance, the word “special” is not enough, it is merely the first word in a string of many to describe how important and unique Sabotage Wrestling’s Hey Ladies event truly was. February 18th, 2017 marked an important occasion for the sport of professional wrestling by way of a 16 woman tournament full of both highly familiar faces and bright up and comers that I yearned to learn more about. In one evening alone, it was made abundantly clear where the future of women’s wrestling is heading and it should surprise no one that things are only going to continue forward in a positive direction.

The tournament featured 16 competitors: Buggy Nova, Ray Lyn, Ruby Raze, Delilah Doom, Sage Sin, Kimmy Shellhammer, Kaitlin Diamond, Allie Kat, Heather Monroe, Mazzerati (aka Shay the Fox), Holidead, Violet Payne, Samara, Marriah Morreno, Shotzi Blackheart, and Desi De Rata. The show also boasted appearances by Christina Von Erie, Thunder Rosa (aka Kobra Moon) and more.

The promotion began announcing its participants in the latter part of 2016, announcing Violet Payne as the 16th and final competitor on Dec 1st, setting up one of the most impressive independent tournament rosters in recent memory for the big February event. The early rounds of the tournament were conducted in a tag team format, with the two remaining teams splitting up for one final showdown via a four-way elimination match that pitted Ruby Raze, Ray Lyn, Buggy Nova and the eventual winner, Delilah Doom against each other to compete for the honor of being the first ever Sabotage Wrestling Champion.

In an exciting finish, Ruby Raze eliminated Nova and Lyn, back to back as she set her sights on the “sweep”, looking to eliminate the injured Doom (who competed with her ribs taped up) before being tapped out in an exciting, tear filled finish which saw the deserving competitor take her rightful place as a Sabotage Wrestling champion. Doom has been on a tear lately, boasting many high-profile bouts on the independent circuit, as well as her two appearances on WWE television where she has taken on Carmella and Nia Jax, respectively. In December of last year, she became one half of Inspire Pro Wrestling’s Twin Dragon champions and has in just 2 ½ months time climbed even higher on the ladder as she came into the tournament as one of the biggest hopefuls in the eyes of the fans.

While there could only be one tournament victor, Sabotage Wrestling ensured that everyone went home a winner through this dynamic show that I am more than sure other promotions will mimic and replicate based on the success of the Hey Ladies event. While there have been women’s tournaments in the past, Sabotage’s most recent offering was far superior and didn’t allow for anyone to have a “been there, done that” attitude towards an important moment in age that cannot be described in any other way than a “women’s wrestling renaissance”.

Wrestler Dylan Bostic (husband of Ray Lyn) tweeted out the true summation of Hey Ladies event and I believe he may have said it best:

“I’ve been to many of the top female wrestling shows with @Ray_lyn but I have to say @sabotage2016 is the best one I’ve been to hands down!!”

To every participant in the tournament, I sit here typing this up during the wee hours of the morning, watching highlights and fact checking information, yet I continuously find myself stopping and marveling in the moments all over again. Every single one of you deserves a round of applause and on behalf of every true fan of professional wrestling, I would just like to say thank you for this beautiful moment in history and to the tournament champion, Delilah Doom, congratulations on a well deserved victory and let it be known that you brought a grown man to tears with this win, truly defining the word “special”.

You can catch the next big Sabotage Wrestling event on May 13th, 2017 in Austin, TX . You can follow all of their happenings @Sabotage2016 on Twitter. For more stories and articles be sure you follow me @NicholasGrooms on Twitter and be sure you send your congrats to @delilah_doom as she is your new Sabotage Tournament Champion!

Photos courtesy of Sabotage Wrestling (for individual photo credit please contact us here on the site)