Saturday September 28,2013 it all went down at Zab Judah's Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, East New York. Queen Of The Ring, The first all female battle league celebrated it's Third Year Anniversary with an amazing card titled Do Or Die consisting of the following match ups:
Lex Banko vs O'fficial
Young Gattas vs Chayna Ashley
Star Smilez vs Looney Divine
C3 vs Krissy Yammagucci
and 40 B.A.R.R.S vs Bonnie Godiva
*Photo Credits: Debo (QOTR)*
When the card for the event was released, people were most excited about the long awaited and long over due debut of Young Gattas and her bout with Chayna Ashley. Another match up that was heavily anticipated and what most called a mirror match was the clash between 40 B.A.R.R.S and Bonnie Godiva.
I was expecting a larger crowd as I have witnessed at past QOTR events, but the smaller crowd made for more comfortable night. Which is a good thing. One thing I can say about the QOTR crowd is that the men to women ratio is shocking as far as fan fare goes. The men at the venue, far outweighed women. Why? I don't know. Anyway, As I entered the gym, and maneuvered my way past some spectators, I came across Looney Divine who was standing at 5'5 in 5 inch heels swaying left and right focusing on the rounds she prepared for Star Smilez; who was ironically standing 5 feet away from her, accompanied by her beau T-Rex, O-Red and a crew of battlers.
Things kicked off with the first matchup of the night, Lex Banko vs O’fficial. I spoke to O'fficial outside of the venue prior to ithe battle and she told me that she was calling out some people.
When I asked who, she said " I'm calling out everybody, I don't care, names are getting named tonight!"
O'fficial vs Lex Banko
O'fficial vs. Banko was the first battle of the night.
O'fficial went first after the coin toss. The crowd was so anxious to see the battle that the room was still and silent at the top of the first. I'm glad they were because O'fficial had some fire! Throughout the battle she called out C.Ash, C3, E Heart, Ms Fit and Couture. Her performance was consistent and her punches were heavy hitting. She had nice schemes and set-ups and she meant business.
Quotable from O'fficial:
" This bitch fake watch how I make her face drop , this ain't the time to pick shit up and screw it like a fake clock. When I roll Lex face off she'll hit the ground like Ace watch."
Lex Banko came out swinging like she usually does but her overall performance was not one of her best. She had some bars and she punched crazy. But later on in the battle; since this is a QOTR event, I'll say Earl's sister "Pearl" came to pay Lex a brief visit. Before I continue, For those of you who are not familiar with " Earl" let me put you on. “Earl" is a fictional character who was created after the Goodz vs Hitman battle. During the battle Hitman Holla had an infamous choke and Goodz being the jokester that he is said that Gerald (Hitman Holla) was mumbling to his imaginary friend Earl during his choke. Since then, when a battler has a clear choke and a lost for words "Earl" is the culprit. Lex recovered from her conversation with "Pearl" and picked up her high energy she came out with.
Quotable from Lex Banko: "Ima OD on B and leave a dead rapper"
OH! let me not forget, Banko pulled out a prop during the battle and the crowd was loving it!
The third round Lex energy began to dwindle and the crowd was becoming disinterested. She had some dry spots throughout the battle. Overall, The battle was a good back and forth, punch filled and bar heavy battle. I'm glad to see Lex Banko back in the ring and I look forward to her being more active than she has been. If you ask me who took the win, I give it to O'fficial. Her punches hit way harder and she was far more consistent.
Star Smilez vs Looney Divine
This was the battle following O'fficial and Banko.
After the coin toss Looney went first.
This was Looney's first QOTR appearance so I was anticipating the crowd to be completely biased against her. There were some hecklers in the beginning but once Looney started to spit, to my surprise the crowd was rocking with her. Of course all I hear is how good Looney looks. Despite the allure of her looks, her fast paced flow had people paying close attention to what she had to say. Looney had a few jokes and mentioned that Rex was one of many men who was admiring her. After Star spit in the first round the crowds attention and favor went towards Star. Some would say Star spazzed on Looney in the first.
But then, "Pearl" returned to Do Or Die to pay Looney a visit as well. Star stumbled a bit in her round and I think "Pearl" had a convo with Star too. You would think a lot of heckling would have commenced when Looney started to trip over her words and stumble but people genuinely wanted to see Looney do her thing. There were a few bad remarks thrown around, but for the most part people in the crowd encouraging Looney. Unfortunately, her fast flow was too fast for her own good.
Quotable from Looney: " C3 beat you, how you expect to handle a C4?"
Although this battle was very disappointing Star Smilez had some bars. She came at Shooney, addressing the fact that Shooney slept with T-Rex and also had a few Looney name flips.
Quotable from Star: " Saying you can eat me you're Looney Divine, I'll have Rex do you... I'll Shooney Divine."
Star took the win but I expected more from both ladies.
C3 vs Krissy Yammagucci
Well... the battle did not go down. Debo came to ring to announce that Krissy had an emergency and couldn't make it. C3 came to the ring and responded to O'ffcial calling her out. She spit a few bars at O'fficial.
Quotable from C3: "I'll leave O'fficial stretched out and flatlined just like her shirt."
It's been said the date for C3 and O'fficial to go down will be in December, I'm looking forward to it.
Young Gattas and Chayna Ashley
This was, no doubt, one of the most anticipated moments in QOTR. C. Ash vs Gattas. Gattas brought her energy when she stepped into the ring and the crowd was hyped. C.Ash went first after the coin toss. Chayna’s presence immediately commanded the crowd. She was completely in control and didn't stumble. She returned to the essence of she flowed when she began her career in Queen of the Ring.
Quotable from Chayna Ashley: "It's like I'm posing for portraits the way I keep steel."
When Gattas went next, some people in the crowd were biased in the beginning. When I looked around the ring I saw some people with screwed and turned up lips and side eyes, but there were also some onlookers who gazed with anticipation and excitement. When Gattas started to spit though, all that bias went out the window. This battle was a CLASSIC, a term that I rarely use. The bout will have heavy replay value. I won’t quote all of the lines verbatim because you have to see this when it drops. Gattas’s Olympic setup, and her C.Ash impression were fire! Gattas came with her witty wordplay, humor and aggression.
Quotable from Gattas: "The E Hart attack caused you to die."
This was the best battle of the night.
C Ash Mayweather line, QOTR scheme, and bullets coming with address lines was dope too. There’s so many quotables and memorable parts in this battle from both ladies its crazy. Chayna Ashley called out O-Red and bought out a prop of a mannequin head. She did an Imah X impression that was dope. I honestly have it going either way solely because its like they wrote so perfect for each other it flowed so well. All I heard throughout the battle was how pretty Gattas is and how is that her real hair and how C.Ash is in her bag and so on. Gattas interactions with fans in between rounds was impressive and commendable. There were some die hard Gattas fans next to me mad loud annoying me though. Real talk LOL. I can't wait till the footage drops. Right now if I had to pick a winner though, I have C.Ash edging it. I really want to view this battle on camera because it was really that close. It wasn't a clean sweep or body bag on either part. That's the best I have seen C. Ash and my first time seeing Gattas live. Classic and a great match up that built the momentum and crowds excitement for the next battle on the card which was the main event.
40 B.A.R.R.S vs Bonnie Godiva
I honestly called this battle "The meeting of the minds." Most people have been comparing 40 and Bonnie since they started their careers in the QOTR league. They both have similarities so I anticipated a classic.
When 40 and Bonnie came to the ring I was shocked by the appearance of both women, solely because Bonnie wasn't dolled up and 40 was. I think they both had an angle to their appearance. Bonnie wanted people to focus on her bars and not looks 40 wanted to get dolled up because Bonnie being dubbed eye candy by the fans.
Well 40 started the battle off after the coin toss and as the battle ensued, 40 took shots at Nuborn who is rumored to write for Bonnie. She had a Jennifer Hudson line, a Cash Money scheme, an Aladdin Bar based off her calling out Bonnie's real name, Jasmine. She also said that Bonnie looked up to her.
Quotable from 40 B.a.r.r.s: " We sound similar but we're different bruh, we homonyms."
Bonnie came with some heat, bringing up 40's parenting skills, freestyling and taking shots at John John. She also had a dope Jackson 5 line.
Quotable from Bonnie: "You mad because Tori Doe had that baby longer than you can keep a man."
There was a lot of foolery in this battle with the crowd talking throughout Bonnie's rounds, I think mainly because they were disappointed in her appearance. I say this because the moment Bonnie got in the ring people were like " Why Bonnie not dressed up?"
The crowd lost interest here and there when Bonnie was spitting because she did have some dry spots. But her good points far outweighed the dry spots, so I don't understand why the crowd seemed to be so unforgiving.( Side Bar) I was standing next to O Red during the battle and it was hot so being a gentleman he shared his makeshift fan he used from a flyer. A Ramadan line was mentioned in the battle; I side eyed O Red . Jokingly he took his fan back lol. S/O to ORed for being petty Lol! (watch Hitman vs Phara to understand why he did). Needless to say ,despite the crowd Bonnie had some hay-makers and went Ham in the third. This was an overall good battle but I have 40 taking it . Bonnie did not go down without a fight. This is another battle I anticipate seeing on camera.
I must say,nthis is the best QOTR event I have attended in a while. The card was very well put together and the match ups were well thought out. The crowd was the usual QOTR crowd. There were some classic lines, funny moments, and call outs that will make for some dope battles in the near future. After the event I spoke to a few ladies. Looney said she had a great time and she liked the crowd. C.Ash said her and Gattas put on a classic and said Gattas better come back to the ring. 40 said she was taken back by Bonnie's appearance. She really thought Bonnie was going to come on some dolled up sh*t. O'fficial said she's gunning for all the chicks who are bar heavy and C3 is the main one she's aiming at right now especially after she came to the ring and spit some bars towards her after her battle.
Aside from the cancellation of the Krissy and C3 battle and the crowd speaking through rounds when they became bored, it was a dope event. The spot was just right for my liking and not over crowded. The fans had access to battlers and was able to take pics with no problem. There was food if you were hungry, drinks if you were thirsty and the battles flowed without long intermissions or time in between. There were rest spots at two separate rings and ringside if your legs got weary lol.
Overall thumbs up QOTR. Shout outs to Vague, Babs, Debo and everyone who showed me love from fans to battlers - male and female alike. I'm looking forward to see what QOTR has cooking up for November 2nd. I was told to save that date because it's going down. I don't see that card topping this one, but we shall see.
- Nettie McFly (@NettieMcfly)
