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.

Crowning The Inaugural Forever Forward Champion

Faye Jackson VS Sienna - Absolute Intense Wrestling 3/11/2018

CJD: When we started talking about rolling out a new imaginary title in the PIF format to give less represented wrestlers a platform, this was the first match that came to mind to share. You know I love me some AIW. I purchased this show and I'd be lying if I said this was a match I had my eye on. But one of the reasons I love AIW is if you give every match a chance you'll rarely be disappointed. Case in point I think this was my favorite match on the show. Faye Jackson's gimmick is basically that of a creeper, so this is not a match devoid of sexuality, which wrestling probably never will be. What it also is is a very physical, well paced, heated match with a fun out of control vibe. It's good pro wrestling, with two ladies I wasn't too familiar with, in a promotion I gladly pay money to support. Minus an unfunny dick joke on color commentary to kick things off, this is exactly the type of match I want to play forward to you right now.

JJZ: This was a really fun ride. I wasn't familiar with either of these ladies so this was all new to me. Great crowd for AIW, I'm assuming it was a 'Mania weekend? I think they played up to the size difference great with smart psychology throughout the match. The outside action evened the playing field for Sienna, and a little gaga was a nice surprise. The crowd was really into this match. I would love to know if there was some history between them because the audience was really invested if not. The ending stretch was great, I bit on all the falsies. I couldn't pick the winner at all. I even let out a couple of "ooooo"s. Great pick to start things off baby cakes!

CJD: Rubber City Con, right idea. A lot of random big name talent was on this show- Bob Orton, Gertner, Booker T. Sienna also wrestles as Allysin Kay, and Faye is as much of an AIW local as any female wrestler. Her recent episode of The Card Is Going To Change was a great listen. It's also worth noting this match opened up the main show which was a big spot to put these two in and I thought they totally crushed it. I'm glad you agree!