There's nothing sweet about Kandi Jewel

Kandi Jewel

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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There's been a renewed interest in women's wrestling on the national level. But long before Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were wowing crowds on WWE programming, the ladies of the independent wrestling scene were tearing things up. 

At the show, Hot August Night 2 for Stride Pro Wrestling will see the debut of a new wrestler on the roster. Kandi Jewel comes in this Saturday night to face fan favorite Sarah Summers. Both women know each other well and have wrestled for companies around the region, including ICAW.

Kandi Jewel

That's where Kandi made her debut in 2011. She's also faced competitors in several other states, including Tennesee and Mississippi. I have never seen her in the ring, so I'm looking forward to Saturday night's match. Judging from her photos though, you can see despite the name Kandi, she's far from sweet.

Sarah takes to the sky
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

She'll need that tough exterior. Sarah Summers is far from a pushover. Fans have watched her battle other women here at Stride, including Alexxa Flood and Marni Gras. Summers even went toe to toe with the guys as she and Farmer Billy Hills entered a tag team fatal four-way a few months ago. Sarah climbed high that night and crashed into the other competitors on the floor, showing she's tougher than a two dollar steak (sorry JR, I had to borrow that).

So join us Saturday night and find out what kind of craziness might go down at the newcomer faces the veteran from Amazon Island. 

A 'Little Bit' about Marni Gras

Marni Gras ready for action
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Long before the Divas Revolution/Women's Evolution in WWE, women's wrestling has been a big part of the independent scene. Stride Pro Wrestling is building a roster of women too. Sarah Summers will step into the ring Saturday night and team with Farmer Billy Hills to battle three other teams in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team Turmoil match for the Stride Pro Wrestling Tag Team Titles. 

Marni vs. Summers
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

Last month, Summers did battle with Stride newcomer Marni Gras. For fans who think Marni looks familiar, there's a good reason. She also wrestles in Cape Championship Wrestling as Little Bit. She's already put it out there that she's returning this Saturday night, but says "I just can't figure out which personality is going to show up." We do know the opponent will be the always dangerous Alexxa Flood. We've seen here in battles with not just Summers, but Farmer too. 

Marni gets aggressive
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

Marni will need to come to Stride with her A game. Last time she was her, she gave Summers a very competitive match. I've also seen her compete at CCW and have been impressed. Her downfall in March though was when she tried to take a shortcut. Summers turned the tables on an attempt to throw glitter and Marni ended up being blinded and pinned.

The women of Stride Pro Wrestling
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

It'll be interesting to see which woman goes to the well for something underhanded first because both Flood and Marni have a reputation for bending the rules. It's all good though as adding more women to the Stride Pro Wrestling roster is definitely a good thing. Little Bit will be a part of Cape Championship Wrestling's first ever Girl Fight. It's the Luna Vachon Memorial Tournament and part of a huge weekend of wrestling coming to southeast Missouri (April 21 & 22). Listen to Monday's podcast for more details on that show.