Forever Forward Fridays

Sabian (c) VS LuFisto - CZW Junior Heavyweight Championship 12/8/2007

CJD: We've played forward intergender LuFisto matches before. We've played forward LuFisto matches that get extreme before. But I don't think we've played forward a LuFisto match quite like this before! This gets complicated and problematic, clearly on commentary, but also at times in the ring. This match is also freaking awesome. Do we watch it with 2026 lenses and omit it from our forward thinking Fridays? If that's your vote, I'll scratch this one and pick a different match. But I think we owe this moment in pro wrestling history its due, warts and all. Everyone came to play in this match and they took the crowd on a ride. I am glad I watched it and I'm glad LuFisto has it up for you to watch some classic CZW balderdash baby cakes!! Prepare to enter the combat zone!!

JJZ: Play It Forward has made me a fan of a lot of wrestlers but maybe none more than LuFisto. You were so right, this commentary does not age well at all. As far as the match itself, it's fantastic. Sabian plays such a good shitty little heel. I'm genuinely rooting for Lufisto to lay some shit in. When she dumped Sabian on his head I let out a "fuck yeah!" Can you imagine if LuFisto was in her prime in 2026? She was so ahead of her time. That chair shot was fucking brutal. That stomp was crazy. Good shit!

Forever Forward Fridays

Vita VonStarr VS LuFisto - CCW 2/19/2022

JJZ: Shout out to the women in the front row with the Iverson jersey. LuFisto. Without doing any research I'd say she is one of our top FFF Champions. And for good reason. The Wounded Owl seems to always deliver such quality wrestling matches in every promotion. Her polish really shines on these independent shows. I love that we got to showcase Vita in two different types of matches. In this Capital Championship Wrestling match she really displayed her athleticism and her fancy footwork. Got a classic indy feel between  Lufisto and VonStarr. I always enjoy a vet versus a rising young up and comer.

CJD: Classic indie feel to this match indeed. I really liked the way little things Vita did had to be built up to and earned that much more against a force like LuFisto. The Wounded Owl Ronin is such a bright spot every time we feature her, and is definitely on my short list of most underrated all-time. I did think the last little stretch of this could have used one more twist or turn, but that also speaks to how much I was enjoying where the match was taking me. This was two very different sides of VonStarr in the best way possible, and similarly I'm going to try to find something a little different for LuFisto since we've already featured her in so many different settings. Great way to start my Friday with this bout!

Forever Forward Fridays

LuFisto VS Kimber Lee - Women Wrestling Revolution 4/10/2016

CJD: I've watched a lot of LuFisto matches for PIF at this point. But I've yet to see a bad one. The dynamic here is so different than last week's as Kimber Lee clearly has LuFisto's respect but still has so much to earn. I loved how big they made this match feel, how hard Kimber Lee had to work for what she got, how they took a generic crowd brawl and made it organic and awesome, and how they brought things home. LuFisto just carries herself like everything matters, she projects such a big presence. And Lee was right there with her standing her ground and then some.

JJZ: So before we started Play It Forward I didn't even know who LuFisto was. Now I think I can confidently say she is a top 20 all time women's wrestler. She has such spectacular fundamentals. She does the little things so well. And getting to see her work with such a baby faced Kimber Lee was such a treat. I'm a big fan of the Princess also and I'm pretty sure this is the earliest match I've seen of her. The dynamic between the two played out great and they both didn't hold back at all. Kimber proving herself to the old Lioness. The vet showing the younger wrestler how it's done. Just good shit. Loved the finish, totally believable.

Forever Forward Fridays

LuFisto VS Jordynne Grace - Beyond Wrestling 5/29/2016

JJZ: So I think this is the first time we are playing a match forward of a tag team working each other. This was an old lion vs young lion style match. LuFisto really controlled this one for most of it. Grace's selling was way better than I've seen from her before but to be honest this might be the first time I've seen her working from under this much. Really solid psychology trying to work on Grace's core. Some innovative transitions and some really stiff strikes. I popped a few times with LuFisto's aggressiveness. I feel like this was a giving Jordynne the business kinda match. Making her earn her stripes so to speak. The home stretch was was a lot of fun and the finish caught me off guard.

CJD: I expected this match to be good. I didn't expect it to be great. But I'd say it pretty comfortably was by the end. I also think this is the first significant partner VS partner match we've featured which is interesting because which one of these ladies is technically our imaginary FFFriday Champion right now?? Is the belt held up?? Anyway, they weren't teaming yet at this point I don't think but knowing Grace so clearly earned LuFisto's respect in matches like this one makes me appreciate their team that much more. I loved how engaged in the moment both ladies were, how much they were feeding off each other. The grimey hold for hold stuff combined with the chippy shots gave this the feel of early 2000s IWAMS or something generally from a different era. That's an aspect of LuFisto's style that I really enjoy. Her being such a student of the game and paving the way for the likes of Jordynne gave the young lion aspect of this that much more gravity.

Forever Forward Fridays

Team PAWG VS Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy - Beyond 9/24/2017

CJD: I've been thinking about what a great career LuFisto has had despite the odds, so happy for her Indie HoF induction. So this match caught me at the right time, plus OC ties perfectly into last week's match even without Chuck Taylor as his partner! I gotta say Freshly Hungover Orange Cassidy isn't my favorite version of his schtick but he really grinds this one out if he is indeed hurting as bad as Bryce implies. This match was the type of goofy fun you'd expect and by the end it had me grinning big time on my lunch break. Gotta love Beyond bringing the goods with the YouTube uploads as always. This is familiar FFFriday grounds but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

JJZ: I love this venue! This was such a fun match. Chuck and Orange are the perfect dance partners for an intergender tag match. I thought everyone looked very polished and experienced. Besides LuFisto everyone is pretty young still. I think this is such a good match before the main event. I wish Orange still did a few of the things he did in this match. Like the hand fake outs and the sunglasses flip. I got a real kick out of the finish. Gotta stay strong brother!

CJD: Yeah man, if I was going on in the main event after this I would thank every one of these four individuals. Give em a good ol worker's handshake. This must have set the table beautifully.

Let The Devil Step Right In, LuFisto's Your Only Friend

LuFisto (c) VS Ayako Hamada - NCW Femmes Fatale Championship 3/12/2011

CJD: Question for you John. Did you know Gran Hamada has two latina daughters who are both very accomplished pro wrestlers?? Well you do now my friend! And I've watched a bit of Ayako over the years and she's always impressed me but this is the damndest match of hers I've ever seen. This match went in directions I certainly didn't expect and it's a bit all over the map but I enjoyed the ride! We've featured LuFisto in a lot of different roles here now that she's a double crown PIF Champ but we hadn't seen her as the defending hometown Champion and she's great at it. She has such a mean streak but is also willing to go above and beyond to make her opponent look good. She strikes a good balance of looking strong while sympathetic here. Very curious to hear your thoughts on this one especially following up the insanity you played forward to me last week.

JJZ: I did not know that about Gran Hamada!!! It's funny because I read your comments after I watched the match and thought to myself that Hamada is a legendary name. But in wrestling you see a lot of names recycled, especially in Japan. Just recently we featured a female Nakajima! So I didn't even think about the possibility of her being related to the legend Gran Hamada. Well this was an ECW style title match if I've ever seen one. I know this wasn't even close to the match with Necro in regards to craziness but this was a hardcore piece of art. Nice little start in the ring then a pretty violent battle in the crowd. Some great stiff highspots topped off with a few close falsies! Just a great match. The crowd was super into this so I Ioved the lack of commentary to highlight that.

The Harder They Come The Harder They Fall

LuFisto VS Necro Butcher - Stranglehold Wrestling KOTDM Finals 10/29/2006

JJZ: So I've been waiting for months to share this match with someone and the moment I realized I can play this forward I felt like a kid on Christmas!!! Finals of the 2006 King of the Deatch Match tournament. It ain't the longest match but talk about making the most out of your time. With them having to wrestle so many times before this I was in shock at how much punishment they went through. I try to keep my death match viewing few and far between because I think it's too easy to get desensitized from it. This match screamed insane brutality to me. I know the gender and size difference jump off the screen but I think the offense of LuFisto and Butcher actually makes for  good psychology. As good as you can get in a dream match that is. This match starts and finishes at a 10 imo. Enjoy baby cakes.

CJD: I'll be honest, I never wanted to watch this match. And if any of our readers don't want to, I don't blame them. Necro hasn't exactly added to his legacy but there's no denying he's an all-time great deathmatch wrestler. This is his signature match done as well as he ever did it, and that's a credit to LuFisto that she's right up there with his best opponents. I certainly agree it started at a 10 and never took its foot off the gas for one second. Necro takes the worst of the punishment by far but LuFisto certainly goes through hell and back in the process. I'd be curious to hear her thoughts about this match now. I'm glad that she's the one with it up on YouTube if it's going to be up on there. This was a horror show but it was a horror show done exceptionally well. I don't think I'll ever watch it again but I was impressed to finally experience it. And why the hell isn't that ref wearing gloves?!?

Forever Forward Friday

LuFisto VS Shotzi Blackheart - Women's Wrestling Revolution 3/25/2018

JJZ: Can't believe with as long of a career that Lufisto has had these are the first matches that I can recall seeing. I am a fan. I got to watch some older and newer stuff before settling on this match. Shotzi Blackheart I am familiar with and also a fan of. Mama Pawg's veteran psychology mixed with Shotzi's innovative offense and youth made for one hell of a match. I definitely thought "I've never seen that before!" a few times. Shake that up with a positive encouraging crowd and pour it into one of my favorite venues. You got yourself one hell of a match.

CJD: While LuFisto is new to you, Shotzi is new to me. And that's what FFFridays are all about! You can tell I haven't had a Network subscription in a minute, I'd be curious to see how Blackheart's gimmick translates to NXT. Being billed from the Black Lagoon is a nice touch. You nailed it with the veteran VS rising talent comments, the dynamic in this one was perfect. Great hold for hold wrestling with a more deliberate pace thanks to LuFisto's experience. Great energy from Shotzi and one hell of a finish that came at just the right time. Good stuff!

Forever Forward Friday

Jordynne Grace/LuFisto VS Tasha Steelz/Karen Q - Women's Wrestling Revolution 5/27/2018

CJD: Tasha Steelz took me on a long journey that brings us to our first FFF tag match. I love seeing LuFisto happy, healthy and contributing to this new generation of talent. She's a true trailblazer and back when she was wrestling Necro Butcher in the KOTDM I didn't anticipate a long career for her. I love Steelz and Q representing their trainer Damian Adams with Purazzo on commentary as well. Their performance gives me real 90s Saturday morning babyface vibes which warms my heart. Both teams feel like a cohesive unit and have good chemistry with each other. And I know you love this venue!

JJZ: Love watching team PAWG! Excited for this one! This is a classic heel/baby face tag match. A lot of shine mixed with aggressive heat. And I do love this venue. I think you'll agree this could have used a little more time but they made the most of what they had. Energy and psychology really poured out. All four of these women really capture the independent spirit of Beyond and WWR. The fact they can perform such a solid tag match while being such excellent singles wrestlers shows the depth of their talent.