By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Defy Wrestling and TJPW “Bright Eyes”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
November 9, 2024 from Seattle, Washington at Washington Hall
The venue is a small auditorium and the crowd is in the 400 range. Lighting is subpar from the hard camera but seems fine from ringside. Rich Bocchini and Veda Scott provided commentary.
1. Arisu Endo and Suzume vs. Rika Tatsumi and Amira. I’ve compared Amira to Raquel Rodriguez; she’s strong but she’s shorter. Suzume is blonde and wore yellow-and-black. Endo has short purple-and-blue hair (think Asuka’s haircut.) Rika wore metallic white or silver. Rika and Endo opened. Rika grabbed both opponents by their throats. Amira entered and hit a sideslam on Suzume for a nearfall at 3:30. Endo tagged in and battled Amira. Rika hit a Dragonscew Legwhip on Endo, then Rika applied a Figure Four Leglock. Suzume hit a top-rope crossbody block on Rika for a nearfall at 6:30. Amira hit a back suplex on Suzume for a nearfall. Suzume tied Amira in an Octopus Stretch and fell to the mat, but Amira got to the ropes at 8:00. Amira hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall on Suzume, and they traded rollups. Rika and Amira were pushed into each other. Suzume hit a stunner to pin Amira. un opener.
Arisu Endo and Suzume defeated Rika Tatsumi and Amira at 10:18.
2. Yuki Kamifuku vs. Wakana Uehara. Yuki has lighter-colored hair while Wakana’s hair is dark black. Standing switches to open, and Yuki applied a leg lock around the neck on the mat. Wakana hit a dropkick at 3:30, then a handspring-back-elbow into the corner. Yuki hit a springboard dropkick. Wakana hit a snap suplex, and she tied up Yuki’s arm at 6:00. Yuki hit a brainbuster, then a running Fameasser for the pin. Good action.
Yuki Kamifuku defeated Wakana Uehara at 7:19.
3. Moka Miyamoto vs. Rebel Kel. I’ve seen Rebel here before; Veda said this is Moka’s U.S. debut. Moka wore an orange-and-white flowery outfit. Rebel is 6’0″ and wore red top and bottom and she has a significant height advantage (think Stacy Keibler’s build), and she immediately tied up Moka’s left arm. Moka hit some strikes, then some blows to the gut. Rebel hit a dive through the ropes to the floor at 2:00. In the ring, Rebel hit some chops and was in charge. Rebel hit a swinging leg lariat in the corner for a nearfall. Rebel tied her in a Stretch Muffler, but Moka kicked free at 4:30. Moka hit a bodyslam and a karate chop across the belly for a nearfall. “That will rearrange your intestines,” Bocchini said. Rebel hit a Falcon Arrow for the pin! Good match; that felt longer than it was.
Rebel Kel defeated Moka Miyamoto at 5:43.
4. Mizuki vs. Liiza Hall. Liiza also is tall and really thin and has impressed me in the past but I admittedly haven’t seen much of her lately. Mikuki hit a dropkick in the first minute that sent Liiza to the floor. Mizuki hit a top-rope splash onto Hall on the floor. In the ring, Liiza hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 2:00, and she tied up Mizuki’s arms and twisted the fingers. Liiza hit a Mafia Kick and kept Mizuki grounded. She hit a stiff kick to the spine at 6:00. Mizuki hit a dropkick as Hall was in the ropes. Mizuki hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall.
Liiza hit some European Uppercuts, then applied a Rings of Saturn-type hold on the mat. Liiza nailed a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 9:30, and she was frustrated that didn’t get her the win. Mikuki hit a doublestomp to the stomach. She hit a doublestomp out of the corner for a nearfall, but Liiza grabbed the ropes. Mikuki then hit a top-rope doublestomp to the stomach for the pin. These two really worked well together. They hugged afterwards.
Mizuki defeated Liiza Hall at 11:05.
5. Miu Watanabe and Shoko Nakajima vs. Zara Zakher and Yuki Aino. Zara was just announced as signing a WWE ID contract. Yuki has blonde hair. Shoko wore her furry Eskimo-style outfit with a tail. Shoko and Zara opened. “The world was already watching Zara Zakher, for good reason,” Veda said. Zara dropped her with a shoulder tackle at 2:30. Shoko dove through the ropes onto everyone. In the ring, Miu hit a wind-up bodyslam on Yuki. Zara hit a hard back elbow in the corner on Shoko, then a kick to the back for a nearfall at 6:00. Shoko and Yuki traded forearm strikes, and Yuki hit a senton for a nearfall. Shoko hit a dropkick on Zara at 8:00. Miu slammed Zara back-first into the corner and hit a Stinger Splash.
Yuki hit a second-rope flying shoulder tackle on Miu, then a springboard splash for a nearfall at 10:00. They traded shoulder tackles. Shoko hit a dropkick on Yuki for a nearfall. Shoko hit a 619 for a believable nearfall on Yuki. Yuki hit a Buckle Bomb, then a gut-wrench suplex on Shoko. Shoko hit a suplex on Yuki at 13:00 and they were both down. Zara and Miu tagged back in, and Zara hit a clothesline for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes. Miu hit a backbreaker over her knee. Miu did a Claudio-style Giant Swing on Zara, and kept going and going, earning a “holy shit!” chant. Miu applied a standing Figure Four move, but Yuki made the save. Zara hit a spinebuster, then a stunner at 16:30. She hit a swinging sit-out powerbomb and pinned Miu! “What a rocket ride Zara Zakher is on,” Bocchini said.
Zara Zakher and Yuki Aino defeated Miu Watanabe and Shoko Nakajima at 16:42.
6. Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh vs. Vert Vixen and Nicole Matthews for the Princess Tag Team Titles. Unlike most of the earlier matches, I’m fairly familiar with these four. Vert and Miyu opened, and they tied up each other’s legs, and they had a standoff. Nicole and Maki entered at 2:30, and Nicole has a clear height and overall size advantage. Nicole knocked her down with a shoulder tackle and Itoh began crying, and the crowd loudly BOOED Matthews. Maki hit her own shoulder tackle. Maki splashed a Kokeshi onto both opponents at 6:00. They went to the floor and brawled in front of the fans. They fought up onto a stage that is maybe six feet off the ground.
They fought back into the ring, where Matthews tied up Itoh on the mat, and she hit a backbreaker over her knee at 10:00. Vert hit a dropkick on Maki, and they kept working Itoh over in their corner. Matthews was really into cheating, but Vert was hesitant. Itoh hit a double Kokeshi across both opponents. Miyu tagged back in at 13:00. However, Vert and Nicole began working Miyu over in their corner. Miyu and Vert traded strikes. Miyu hit a springboard spin kick. Itoh tagged back in at 15:30, and she hit a kick that sent Vert to the floor. Itoh hit a flying DDT off the apron and onto a thin mat at ringside. Vert nailed a Blue Thunder Bomb on Maki for a nearfall.
Vert and Itoh traded forearm strikes while holding onto each other’s left wrist. Itoh hit some thudding headbutts, then a DDT. Miyu and Nicole tagged back in and traded more forearm strikes. Miyu hit a hard clothesline, and she applied a standing Cobra Clutch. Nicole hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall at 20:00. Maki and Miyu accidentally collided. Nicole hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Miyu and switched to a crossarm breaker, but Itoh made the save. Itoh hit a headbutt on teammate Miyu to fire her up, and Miyu hit one back! Miyu hit a Helluva Kick on Vert, then a Shining Wizard on Matthews for a nearfall. Itoh hit a stunner on Vert. Miyu nailed the Skull Kick and scored the pin on Matthews.
Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita defeated Nicole Matthews and Vert Vixen to retain the Princess Tag Team Titles at 24:04.
* All the wrestlers on this show poured back into the ring to soak up the cheers from a very appreciative crowd.
Final Thoughts: A stellar main event and a really entertaining show, clocking in at just over two hours. I’ll go with Zara Zakher’s tag match for second and Liiza Hall’s match for third. But everything here worked for me. Veda and Bocchini work together often, and I am just such a fan of Veda’s knowledge and background when calling these all-women shows; her earnest passion really comes through.
Veda made a mistake. Moka’s US debut was actually at an MLW show back in January.