[2015-07-11-JWP] Arisa Nakajima vs Hikaru Shida

[donsem43]

Hikaru Shida is someone who gets a lot of hype in joshi circles but I've never really been sold on her. She has a similar problem to Nikki Bella in that she does a lot of things well but just can't seem to consistently put it all together. She does manage to do that here though, and it's the best performance of her career. Her offense is focused on Nakajima's back, starting out with Boston Crabs and Camel Clutches that lead to her breaking out some Rodrick Strong style backbreakers, topping off with a nasty spot of her putting Arisa on her shoulders then dropping her back first on the top turnbuckle. Nakajima complements this with some absolutely fantastic selling. Once Shida starts working on her back, Arisa sells it in some fashion for the rest of the match. While she does hit some suplexes, she has to do in a snap style as anytime she tries to bridge her back gives out. I'm already pretty high on Nakajima, and hopefully this is the start of Shida being more of a complete worker. ****1/2

[donsem43]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSDwnkf4lpg

[Bierschwale]

Watched it a few months ago, liked it a good bit. I thought that Shida was fantastic all-around and that Nakajima certainly held her own but that it went a little bit too long. If I gave it a Pitchfork-style rating, something like a 7.8 would feel right (so ***3/4, I guess). Just, just below the "Best New Music"/"MOTYC" level.