by Power Drop
photos by Jim Duong

    The pre-bout buzz was electric on April 26th and the fans knew there were two teams facing off that have had a laser focus on each other for quite some time. The Angels of Death (AOD) and the Women of Mass Destruction (WMD) had met in the Championships last season and both teams have retained their basic rosters. The coaches had been long planning for this one. Word was each had a few new tricks to show the other in the Championships.

    The WMDs were looking to gain some ground on the AODs early and came out blazing, leading the AODs by two points after the second jam. The table turned when Lil’ Cinner put up 11 points in the third jam and upped that feat two more times with a pair of 15 point jams during the course of the evening; she ended up with 67 points, 16 more than she had in last year’s Championship.

    The Women of Mass Destruction were in it to win it and worked their defensive line rotation hard. Their hope in this match was to counter Lil’ Cinner’s barrages with their own steady scoring - jam after jam. Ragin Caucasian led the WMDs with 20 points followed closely by Akilles Wheel with 18 and Jill’em All with 14. The Angel’s offense came back with 17 points from Cutthroat Cutie; and Shawty, recently traded from the PrissKilla Prezleys, contributed 18.

    The first half saw a lot of adrenaline and some brutal hits. With 2:08 remaining, Rollanya Asse, pivoting for the AODs, applied a harsh three-stride jammer take out that sent Akilles Wheel flying out of the rink and Rollanya to the box. The Angels of Death understand this is vicious business and they were getting down to it.

    The big story on the defensive side was individuals playing multiple positions. Bloody Elle, blocker for the WMDs, was on a personal hitting frenzy. She put down 16 advantageous blocks, 6 jammer take outs, 3 blocker take outs, took her turn at jamming – all of this with a thoroughly messed up knee. That is playoff spirit. Brooken Bones, pivot for the Angels, had 7 assists, 9 advantageous blocks, 3 jammer take outs; and she tried her hand at jamming as well. Cat Claus, blocker for the AODs, added 9 advantageous blocks, 3 jammer take outs, and 6 blocker take outs.

A highlight of the evening was the lively discussions taken up in center rink. On four separate occasions, the head coaches and player captains shared their thoughts with the head referee, the Panti-Christ. Although not entirely genteel at times, it was an improvement over last season’s scuffles, helmet-throwing, and ejections.

The second period had more brutal hits. Halfway through the set, Tenacious B got loose from the pack while jamming for the WMDs. Manda Malice took umbrage and clocked “B” so hard the audience groaned. Tenacious B spent a minute face down and the roller girls took to their knees. She eventually got back on her skates but no more jamming for the night. Manda ended the night with 5 advantageous blocks in addition to this noteworthy jammer take out.

The last jam of the season saw Bad Juju of the WMDs up against Rollanya Asse as jammer; the minions saw this as a classic coaching move from both benches. Rollanya got some thanks for her intimidating efforts and Juju got to play blocker, pivot, and jammer (in addition to her 6 assists).

The final score was 113 AOD and WMD 67 which was not far off from the 120 to 74 tally from last season. The play was more seasoned with a greater defensive feel but the outcome fell close to the same mark.

There has been a lot of speculation, strategy, and planning spent trying to beat the Angels of Death but to date they have not proven to be vulnerable within the realm of Memphis Roller Derby. Jonjitsu was stoked after the bout and said, “These girls are the best … it’s all about them, they work their asses off.” Both Jonjitsu and the Unabobber will be joining up to coach the Memphis Hustlin’ Rollers travel team and will be focusing their forces on some out-of-towners this summer. Hopefully, Memphis Roller Derby will get their third recommendation letter and will be in the Woman’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) by the start of the next season.