Shida/Blue vs Emi/Itoh

Holy shit! It’s Maki Itoh everybody! She makes her entrance after Emi Sakura who does not look impressed with her tag team partner.

Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue come out together. Shida comes out donning her newly won Regina Di WAVE Championship. This match is actually hard to call.🤔

Paul Turner rings the bell just as Maki Itoh is running across to strike Skye in the back of the head with her microphone. Itoh opens the match with Shida who immediately finds out about Maki’s hard head, hurting her hand on it. Itoh takes down Shida with a headbutt and then goes for the Kokeshi. Matt Menard doesn’t understand what’s going on.

Emi Sakura and Skye Blue are both tagged in and Emi definitely gets the better of the exchange, leading to Maki Itoh being tagged in to pick up the scraps and in her offensive run she manages to do this:

Skye Blue manages to create some space with an enziguri on Itoh, she tags in Shida who goes on a run of of offence against Itoh-chan. Interference from Sakura on the apron helps stop Shida’s run allowing Maki Itoh to hit a headbutt and the Kokeshi on Shida before making the tag. Daddy Magic is coming around on Maki Itoh.

The weakened Shida is able to fight back with a Question-mark kick, axe kick and nice standing head scissors. Hot tags from both sides. A flurry of punches from Skye Blue and then she goes to ram Itoh’s head into the turnbuckle but apparently she hasn’t been educated on Itoh’s iron head. Itoh gets a headbutt in and tags Sakura. They hit a double team move before Emi hits the double undertook face buster.

Emi goes for the pin but Shida breaks it up with a Meteora off the middle rope! Hell kinda breaks loose as Maki storms the ring and hits a big DDT on Shida. Blue hits a swinging neck breaker on Itoh. Blue gets hit by a lariat from Emi and as Emi is getting up she’s met with a diving elbow from Shida. Shida goes to take another swing at Emi but Emi ducks it and drops Shida with a backdrop suplex. Emi gets up just as the legal woman, Skye Blue flies in low and tries to roll her up for a pin but Sakura kicks out!

Skye gets ready as Emi recovers and goes for a big thrust kick but Sakura dodges it and she hits her own partner Hikaru Shida square in the jaw! That actually really caught me off guard. Really well done!

Maki hits a top rope DDT on a stunned Shida and then rolls her out of the ring. Meanwhile Emi tries for her finisher but Skye battles out, runs off the ropes but right into a Tilt-o-whirl backbreaker. Sakura picks up Skye as she stares down Shida who can’t get in the ring because she’s being waist locked by Maki Itoh and hits the Queens Gambit for the win.

Great match! The chaotic parts were really well done. Skye Blue looks every bit the pro in there with veterans Emi Sakura and Hikaru Shida. Maki Itoh is always a treat but this entire match was put together really well, really compactly.

Post match, Emi and Shida stare each other down while Shida holds up her Regina Di WAVE Championship (so it looks like this might be setting up that match, perhaps in AEW?) while Maki Itoh celebrates and dances around the ring. Love her.

Watch this match on YouTube