Regina di WAVE Championship #1 Contendership Tournament - Semi-Finals: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rina Yamashita

 

This is the most impressive Nozaki has looked since returning. She was going at it with Rina. Her movements and emotes are always striking to me, and she is very calculating with that sleeper hold. Yamashita held the match together, and they crafted a great story around Nozaki's dangerous sleeper. ***1/2

 

Nozaki has been interesting to follow. She was really starting to get some momentum in SMASH before having to leave due to injuries and she has had a strong push since coming back to WAVE at their anniversary show. Nozaki looked very good here working a similar style to Hana Kimura. Yamashita tries to work her typical straight ahead power style but Nozaki smartly uses starts uses Yamashita's approach against her. The finish is a duel of sleeper holds till Nozaki steals pinfall by turning a sleeper attempt into a rollup. Nothing flashy, just good selling and smart work. ***3/4