Background: The Joshi invasion continued in SHIMMER as standout star and rivals Ayumi Kurihara and Tomoka Nakagawa made their American wrestling debuts against one another.
SHIMMER Volume 29
Berwyn, IL
April 10, 2010
Ayumi Kurihara vs. Tomoka Nakagawa
An intense collar & elbow tie up opened up this one. Ayumi Kurihara turned the knuckle lock into an opportunity to head scissor and arm drag her rival before trading unsuccessful pins with Tomoka Nakagawa. Nakagawa decided to forget about fighting honorably, stomping and biting the hands of Ayumi. Kurihara came back, using a series of clotheslines to set up a modified Indian deathlock. The only thing that saved Nakagawa was her tenacity by hanging on long enough for Kurihara to release the hold. Nakagawa quickly got to her feet, reversing an Irish whip to hit a back elbow in the corner on Ayumi. Following up with a running knee to Ayumi’s back and a body slam, Tomoka hooked Kurihara in a single leg Boston crab in hopes of making the fighting Ayumi tap out. Kurihara survived, clawing her way to the ropes.<br>Nakagawa’s Irish whip attempt got reversed, allowing Ayumi to hit those double knees in the corner before dropkicking a fallen Nakagawa in the face. With Tomoka stunned, Ayumi used the ropes to arm bar Nakagawa illegally. Ayumi broke the hold before being disqualified, hooking Tomoka in an octopus right after. Tomoka showed some incredible strength by holding her base while walking to the ropes with Kurihara covering her back. With a quick sidestep, Nakagawa avoided Ayumi’s running forearm, paying her back with an enzuguri.
Modified DDT by Nakagawa put Ayumi in position for the Last Chancery. Ayumi held on, making Nakagawa change game plans. That planning change almost got Tomoka pinned when Ayumi caught Nakagawa in a crucifix to counter Tomoka’s sliding clothesline. When both women rose to their feet, they started trading forearms. Ayumi lost the forearm battle, but almost won the war after hitting a lung blower-dropkick-missile dropkick combination. Nakagawa blocked the Exploder Suplex, unleashing two enzuguri kicks … for a near fall!
The fans were behind Ayumi as Nakagawa bounced off the ropes. Tomoka ran into Kurihara’s uranage, but Ayumi was too weak to follow up. Once again, the forearms became their main weapons until Kurihara victory rolled Nakagawa. When Tomoka kicked out, Ayumi dropkicked her in position for another Exploder Suplex. Kurihara quickly made the pin, gaining a hard fought win.
Winner: Ayumi Kurihara (14:19)
Is It A Classic: What a fantastic outing between these two that proved to be one of highlights of not only this show, but also in SHIMMER history up to that point.
