Forever Forward Fridays

Act Yasukawa/Heidi Lovelace VS Kris Wolf/Hudson Envy - Stardom 1/11/2015

CJD: First joshi we've ever featured on PIF? And a handheld recording at that. We are also known as the FanCam Connection after all. I don't love Kris Wolf's gimmick but after watching the Stardom episode of the Wrestlers I gained a ton of respect for her living over there and thriving in that culture. The main appeal of this match is seeing Ruby Riottt in Japan (debuting I think?), which is a real novelty, but pretty much everyone shines by the end of this. They pack a lot of character work and some really fun interesting moments into this one. Unfortunately there's a big sloppy slice of pizza in there by the end as we'd say at a wrestling night hangout, but for me I still really enjoyed the match. Even how they worked around said pizza. We've been a bit outside of our wheelhouse on Fridays lately but I'm liking it because I never know where it's going to take us next. Also It's funny to me this is the sixth Heidi Lovelace match we've shared over the years (double crown Champ! 2x FFF Champ!) but we've yet to play any Ruby Riott.

JJZ: Man, this match reminds me of DVDs I would get from IVP for the main event and this would've been a random undercard match that I loved! The Americans definitely shined in this but the homegrown talent came across strong too. Everything popped off the screen. The single cam was great because I'm a fancam junkie at heart so I was totally digging that. I don't think I've seen any of these other women before but I could be wrong. My memory isn't the greatest tbh. The best part of the match was the second half. The falsies were fantastic, I bit on all of them. Couldn't put my thumb on anything as hard as I tried. Also man I'm so happy you took us across the world with this. I've been in such a Japanese mood so I know this will scratch that itch!

Forever Forward Fridays

 

Rickey Shane Page VS Heidi Lovelace - 05/2015

JJZ: So I was torn between two matches to play forward here. A good 17 minute match and a good 7 minute match. So I thought to myself what is more impressive? And it's the 7 minutes. Plus we haven't featured a short match in a little bit. Also I always appreciate the grainy VHS quality. It's a shotgun style match that makes both wrestlers look experienced. For a short match it has pretty solid psychology. I gotta say that both these Rickey Shane Page matches were very different than I expected. I got a whole new appreciation for him honestly. He is way more versatile than I realized. Just one of the reasons I love swapping matches with you.

CJD: Holy early DSL internet video quality, Batman! This match did indeed get in, hit all the right notes, and get out before anyone could think twice about it. I couldn't agree more that versatile is the exact word I'd use to describe RSP and two weeks ago it definitely wouldn't have been what came to mind. Both wrestlers mastered how to deliver a great intergender match which isn't something I'm always sold on, and wasn't as common in 2015. I'd gladly watch these two go at it again, I bet they could have another match the very next day just as good and totally different. And trying to hunt down the date and promotion on this one (with no luck) it did seem like they worked each other quite a bit. I'm glad you went short and sweet with your pick babycakes. Even if you didn't fulfill your promise to take me to the EXTREME with Shane Page! Hopefully another time, I gained a new appreciation for him with these two matches.

Forever Forward Friday

Heidi Lovelace VS Arik Cannon - FEST WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINALE 10/30/2016

JJZ: Alright. I know you're not the biggest fan of intergender wrestling but I really think you'll be into this match. So at the time Arik and Heidi are in a relationship and that adds to the whole storyline which made the match. Cannon's struggle to go all in on his girlfriend evened the strength gap for Lovelace so she could really take control. The build to Cannon letting loose was timed really well with the crowd buying in the whole time. And this match had a strong finish that the fans lost their shit for. Enjoy.

CJD: Arik Cannon joins Ruby Riot as holders of both of our imaginary titles here. He doesn't exactly fit the evening the playing field theme of Forever Forward Fridays, however we are trying to stay indy wrestling focused as well and his career and this match certainly fit that bill. And I like when we cover some matches now and then with a bit more historical significance and this has that going for it. This is the second match we've featured at PIF between two wrestlers romantically involved at the time who split up down the line. Perhaps this should serve as a cautionary tale? But it made for great performance, both wrestlers told so much of the story with their facials and body language. Cannon was a great base which I feel like is a relationship metaphor waiting to happen. You're right that if I'm going to watch an intergender match then I'd prefer it to be story driven like this one, and this was really well done at that. Good pick my partner in crime.

Forever Forward Friday

Athena (c) VS Heidi Lovelace - AIW Women's Championship 7/26/2014

CJD: Heidi Lovelace becomes the first person to ever hold both of our imaginary titles, and she's good in this. Her and her heater are really effective setting the tone for Athena's babyface champ performance. But I picked this match much more because of Athena. I haven't seen a lot of matches where she totally clicks for me. Some wrestlers, even if they're good, are just like that for you as a fan I think. But here it clicks. She's awesome and efficient and smart at keeping the match moving when things slip up a little here and there. If I was there live that night I'd have left expecting big things from both ladies. Add in the old school AIW setting and I was sold.

JJZ: First thought. Who is the woman drinking an Artic Splash? I thought that was a pure Phila thing? I always loved the short/pant tights that Heidi rocked. I'm going to disagree with you though. I think Heidi was the one that shined here. Her transitions and the finish of her kicks and punches came across much more polished. Athena was good in this match but it felt like a match where one wrestler was obviously ready for the next level of their career and the other was still figuring a few things out. Personally I would have loved a longer match but for the match they were trying to give the crowd it came across really well.

Riot In The Streets

Heidi Lovelace VS Seleziya Sparx - A1 Wrestling 5/10/2015

CJD: Bad commentary goes as hand in hand with indy wrestling as bleachers, flat beer, and lukewarm hotdogs. And wanting to further explore her pre-PC days, all of the Lovelace matches I had in the que to play forward were indy to say the least. I had no idea just how scummy Heidi's roots were but I was so close to playing matches with her VS Ian Rotten, matches where you can see the locker room entrance where fans are awkwardly walking out from the bathroom, stuff that totally makes sense why Ruby Riot is such a well rounded product when you see her VFW Hall roots. This match is more polished than that, but dear god is the commentary atrocious. If you can get past it, this is the type of indy wrestling that paved the way for where women's pro wrestling is now in the US. But pretty please, turn down the volume... maybe even watch this one on mute?

JJZ: Oh I'm definitely listening to the commentary.

Well... starting off strong with calling her LOVELESS. Indy wrestling has a charm to it that I love so much. I'm not familiar with Sparx but Heidi is definitely the senior worker in the ring. LOVELACE is controlling the body of the match with Sparx firing up after the shine. The ladies do a great trading elbows spot that leads to a killer snake eyes into a big boot. Killer finish that would of made Gladiator proud. Soild match Chris. The commentary was really bad but the ladies totally over shadowed it.

Editor's note: Well chalk one up for the A1 commentators... it turns out it is pronounced "Loveless" after all!! Our bad!

Princess And The Pauper

Kimber Lee (c) VS Heidi Lovelace - CHIKARA Grand Championship 3/19/2016

JJZ: So I actually tried to avoid playing this match because I thought it was low hanging fruit. But then I figured that would be ignorant to what these ladies did to get to this point and to what they did in the ring. If you had to list the top true Indy promotions in the states Chikara would have to be on that list, so the fact that two women are wrestling for they top title can't be ignored or under appreciated. Their banter during the match adds such a nice story in the ring. There is no real heel in this match but Heidi comes out super aggressive and stiff setting the tone of the match. Lee has no problem taking the future Ruby Riot to suplex kingdom. Both wrestlers dig down deep during this match leaving the other to wonder what they need to do to walk out as champion. I'm a little embarrassed I haven't watched more of these two since they were clearly built to wrestle each other.

CJD: This match is an emotional roller coaster. Quack's vision for pro wrestling isn't for everyone but give him credit where it's due, he has a vision that is uniquely his, and he's been executing it for decades with limited resources and talent. As you said, a true indy through and through. And give these ladies even more credit, as they delivered a main event title match that nobody in that crowd could go home unhappy with, and a match that was a few years ahead of its time for the US. Suplex Kingdom felt like a bit of overkill to me but once again Quack pulls a page out of his creative playbook to keep the focus on the importance of the match rather than the moves being executed. I loved the personal edge Heidi brought to the table and her selling was top notch. Post match tugged on my heart strings. Heck of a match JJZ!