Forever Forward Friday

Faye Jackson VS Mia Yim - NOVA Pro Commonwealth Cup 9/6/2018

JJZ: AND THE FIRST EVER PIF FOREVER FORWARD CHAMPION IS.... FAYE JACKSON!!

Either wrestler would have been a great champion to start with but Faye impressed me just a little bit more. The commentators do a good job painting the importance of this match for both women. Loved Mia's entrance music. Jackson's stalling bodyslam stood out to me simply because no one does that move anymore. At least that I see. Letting the blood rush to the head before slamming them to the mat, it's basic but smart. Nice psychology being executed with Faye using her size to punish Yim while Mia uses her experience to gain back the advantage. Great leg work by Mia to even out the size difference. Great first round match imo. I would love to watch the rest of this tournament.

CJD: Great opening tournament match indeed! I haven't watched NXT in a while but I got sick of how often they'd mention Yim used to be a highflyer but an injury forced her to change her style. It was rarely relevant when they'd bring it up, but here it certainly seemed like it was the foundation of this mentor VS mentee battle. Mia wanted to try out her new bag of tricks and Faye was fighting for her teacher's respect. The commentators also did a good job playing up the strengths of both women. I loved seeing Faye tap into another level with some of those suplexes. And yeah the entrances, the tiny but vocal crowd, the tournament format, this was indy wrestling through and through, in the most endearing way possible. This was fun territory to explore that we might not have ever gotten eyes on otherwise. I feel like Forever Forward Fridays will have us playing in those waters pretty often, which I'm excited for. And Faye has been the perfect place to cast off from. I hope we only see her star shine brighter and brighter once live wrestling is a thing again.