Abbey Laith vs Mercedes Martinez
As they lock up, it suddenly dawns on me that earlier this
year I wrote up a match they had for AAW, which I really enjoyed. This wasn’t
quite so go, mainly because it didn’t get as much time to develop, but it was
still good. Probably the best Martinez has looked in the tournament, with
little touches like her using Laith’s momentum to roll through an armbar into a
pinning cradle. Loved her aggression early on, throwing some big shots in the
corner. Laith is a likable face working from underneath, though her strikes
seem less impactful than those of Martinez. Mercedes pretty much telegraphs a
failed suplex from outside by having her arm under the top rope as she goes for
it. Laith unsurprisingly reverses this into a nice German for 2. The end seems
to come from nowhere and isn’t really built to, as Martinez rolls through the
Alligator Clutch and hits a fisherman buster to win.
Candice LeRae vs Shayna Baszler
I came into the tournament unconvinced by LeRae, and she’s
not really done anything to change that view. That said, this is her best
showing in the tournament. Her suicide dive into a DDT on the outside looked
great. Between that and the Yim dive in the second round, Baszler has ended up
being a surprisingly good base for high flyers. LeRae goes for the Gargano
Escape, but when she tries to roll through to keep Shayna from the ropes, the
more experienced submission wrestler is able to escape easily. Candice goes for
the 2nd rope neckbreaker, but Baszler reverses into the choke for
the win. Nice little sprint, again puts over the danger Baszler poses, being
able to lock in her finisher from anywhere.
Piper Niven vs Toni Storm
Another match I’ve seen before, this time in a leisure
centre in Mansfield. Kinda neat to see it taking place in a WWE ring. This is a
really great match, possibly the match of the tournament thus far, despite the
commentary not really telling the story of the match. The story, which both
ladies show by their actions and expressions, is that they’re clearly close
friends – Piper laughs off Storm stealing her “gentle punch to the chin” taunt
and they work a fun knucklelock sequence ending with them shaking hands whilst
bridging on their necks. This is vital for the next stage, where Storm is
bridging again, having escaped another move, and Niven just thinks “Fuck it”
and hits a big surprise splash for two. At this point, the tone changes and
Niven blitzes Toni in an attempt to win. She nails two crossbodies and a
senton, all getting two, before Toni is able to fight her way back into the
match, avoiding a cannonball and hitting a hip attack in the corner. The
Michinoku Driver gets 2 for Niven, and we see her frustration kicking in. She
goes for a Vader Bomb, but Storm gets up and hits a second rope German suplex
(also paying off her failed attempts to hit a German earlier in the match). A
top rope legdrop gives her the win. Really great stuff.
Kairi Sane vs Dakota Kai
Another good match, with both ladies being similar in size
and style. This is the first time Kai hasn’t been the smallest competitor in
the match, so it was nice to see her in a role other than underdog. Loved Sane hitting
a pounce from nowhere to catch Kai unawares. Kai’s curling running kick into
the corner looks great every time. I enjoyed Sane avoiding the corner stomp by
virtue of the tactic of “not holding herself up into position” before following
it with a neat diving elbow strike from the top. Kai misses a second corner
kick, and the Alabama Slam is followed by Sane’s top rope elbow to win.
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