Marti Belle VS Mia Yim - NWL KC 4/15/2017
CJD: I had one of those weeks where I watched this match, really liked it but had a few issues, watched a bunch more good Yim stuff, but in the end came back to the beginning. So here's what I didn't like about this match. Glancing at the run time, I expected a good bit more than what we got, and I did indeed think they had more story left to tell. And the match is introduced by a male talent in character and is followed up by an angle with male talent that's as long as the match. But this is the first women's match this promotion ever ran, so give them some credit, it's a hell of a way to kick the division off. I didn't even mind the introduction bit because it quickly established a strong face/heel dynamic, and I enjoyed the ring announcer's (who looks like he just did a children's magic show) hammy reactions to the local heel. I want to watch more of this promotion just to see that guy give pep talks to the crowd in between matches. And the strong babyface performance from Marti Belle paired with Mia's cool as a cucumber nasty heel work setting the pace was exactly what kept me invested in this. I love performances where you can tell there's something to prove, a chip on the shoulder, and it was palpable here with every stiff shot and every go for broke bump. I watched a lot of Yim this week and our second Forever Forward Champion would be a top prospect for me if I was drafting a women's division. I especially appreciate how after watching her in opening matches, title shots, comedy matches, and Monster's Ball matches, she thrives in such a variety of situations. That's not an easy quality to come by.
JJZ: First of all, wanna be Joel Gertner getting kicked out of the ring was a great way to start the match. Wrestling at its core is good versus evil. And that's what this match was. Now I'll agree it felt very rushed. They really could have slowed this down at times but the energy these women brought was serious. I felt like both of these ladies knew the importance of the match being the first women's match in the promotion. So I'll grant them that and chalk it up to extreme focus on winning a historic opportunity. It was fast paced and the moves had pop. I enjoyed it very much but did want more. Excited to see more from Marti and keep this moving forward.
