The Blackwood Academy: August 2024 Results

Rei Hasegawa:(In Japanese) <This is most difficult for me, but it is something that must be done. Keiko, we have not had an easy time as a tag team. And yet, it was most delightful to have someone in this dreary Academy who could speak Japanese with me. I was pleased to know somebody who understands the drudgery that this life entails. Even if you were not born to the high status that I come from, you have been pleasant to be around, and that is most appreciated. But what I must do here, is to apologize. I apologize for believing that the advantage of my birthright would be enough to provide victory. It has not been the case, if I am to be perfectly honest. For, to be a true Hasegawa, I must work to realize the gifts that I was bestowed. And it was not fair to you to be along with me as I figured that out. So, from now on, I will actually try now. I will try to be a better Hasegawa, worthy of my lofty status. I will try to be the better teammate, and maybe even a better friend. And I will even try to follow to the lessons of the trainers...if they have anything worth following. Keiko, let us both rise up, and then we can show these people why it is inevitable that when we do our best, we can make for a White Hot future.>

Christina Wagner def. Katherine White
Tara Helmsley def. Josie Wilde
Emma Travers def. Fiona Walsh
Estrella Gratis def. Melody Bryant
Rei Hasegawa and Keiko Maeda def. Asha Nelson and Maria Marella
Amber Wright def. Heather Wild
Iris Coleman def. Leona Sterling
La Corsaria def. Ayako Asami, Rhiannon Banes, Calista Vargas
Diosa Syringa def. Anna Bryant
Baby Peregrine and Jessika Boom def. Sung Moon and Nana Yoon

Christina and Katherine kicked off this show with one hell of a fight, with Katherine trying her hardest to work Christina's arms and wearing the big woman down... but Christina was a powerhouse and a half tonight, and it showed as she eventually overpowered Katherine with a series of chokeslams, culminating in a Hercules Cutter that finally finished the job.

Katherine: 2 points


Josie Wilde came out swinging in this one early, landing a very, very early Tower Hacker Bomb and laying into Tara with a series of lariats throughout the match. But Helmsley was not to be outdone tonight... slowly but surely wearing Josie down, and despite getting caught up in taunting her opponent, eventually landed a Cerebral Assassination and picked up a big win.

Tara: 3 points
Josie: 2 points


Was this one of Emma's best showings ever? She looked like a legitimate veteran here in dealing with Fiona Walsh, a relentless frenzy of legwork and strikes, with Fiona just not quite able to get a proper foothold before Emma snatched a quick roll-up victory. With Emma primed for an unexpected match on Showdown in just over a week, she may need to be exactly this good if she wants any chance of taking on Angel Leblanc.

Emma: 3 points
Fiona: 2 points


Estrella Gratis just keeps getting better and better. Despite Melody looking like quite the budding powerhouse, Estrella was one step ahead at almost every turn... nailing quite a few leaping knees and armbars before shocking the entire Academy by delivering one of Melody's own trademark suplexes on her to score the victory.

Estrella: 3 points
Melody: 2 points


Could it be? Have Keiko and Rei finally found their way as a team? Just a short time after an 8-man tag victory in Lightning Pro, a return to the Academy for some tag work leads to a second victory in as many days, with Rei picking up the flash victory while Keiko dealt with Maria on the other side of the ring.

Rei and Keiko: 5 points
Asha and Maria: 4 points


As good as Heather Wild is, Amber Wright is still more experienced and seemingly the better of the two. While Heather put up one hell of a fight, giving this everything she had, trying to choke out Amber, it was that devastating rolling Stunner that finished things off, and gave Amber a very, very convincing victory.

Heather: 2 points


Maybe the single hardest-hitting match of the night... if not the entire Academy's history. This was a serious fight, strikes coming in hard and fast, and because of this, it favored Iris heavily... which showed by the end of the match. A huge lariat finally put the Scottish fighter down... and Iris may be making another surge towards the top, determined to put that Academy Championship around her waist before the end of the year, or at least to get one final shot before she seemingly calls it quits and moves on.

Leona: 3 points


La Corsaria seems poised for something huge. She tore through the field here, proving to be an absolute monster... although it was Rhiannon Banes that eliminated Ayako Asami, it was Corsaria that took control after that, first forcing Rhiannon to tap out to a vicious submission, then promptly landing a huge Shining Wizard on Calista to finish out the match. Whoever walks out of September as champion could have a tough match ahead of them.

Corsaria: 5 points
Rhiannon and Calista: 4 points
Ayako: 2 points


Is Anna Bryant still reeling from losing the Academy Championship? She gave this one her all, but Diosa Syringa seemed well in control of this match clear up to the end, staying one step ahead of Anna for pretty much the entire length. Anna had a chance to finish things off as she locked in the Anaconda Vice, but Syringa refused to tap... something Anna couldn't repeat when Syringa locked the former champion in her own submission hold.


Every bit the match we expected going in. Despite Jessika and Peregrine not exactly blending terribly well as a team, they were still quite effective working alone in the ring, and wore down the Koreans over time. Chaos broke out a couple of times, but eventually, Jessika was able to lock in a Bow and Arrow on Nana Yoon, scoring the submission victory for her team... but leaving us with many, many questions going into this month's live show. Does Peregrine have what it takes to end Sung Moon's reign as champion after just one month?

Firstly, I'm standing firmly behind the decision to stop growth at 150 points total... the upper echelon of the Academy being locked there has been good for the matches thus far, and also will set them up very well as they shift up to Proving Ground, or Showdown, or wherever they might wind up (Evergreen?) Full admission, Anna Bryant wound up topping out at 160 due to her status as the "blue chip" sort of prospect, but there's a lot of factors that went into that, plus she was champion at the time.

Regarding the championship, it's gonna keep being defended as it has been, usually in singles (This month it's Sung Moon vs. Baby Peregrine, 1v1), though a few people are pretty much dropping off of the chase for it, since they're not likely to be getting another shot before the year closes out. Iris Coleman is a notable exception, but that's been her arc from day one, pretty much: Iris wants to hold that title at least once, but she still might not reach that point before the end of the year, so as a result, she may fall into the same boat as the other potential "graduates".

Speaking of "potential graduates" let's go over who's likely to be moving on at the end of the year (yes, after the December show, that's the decision I finally came to.) Right now we're looking at promoting Anna Bryant, Iris Coleman, Sung Moon, Christina Wagner, Amber Wright, and Jessika Boom... and likely by the time that 2020 rolls around, Leona Sterling and La Corsaria will almost certainly be at that point themselves, along with potentially Katherine White. You'll notice this means pretty much the entirety of the "upper echelon" is set to move on, which of course means that I'm in the process of making quite a few newcomers to replace them, newcomers that are likely to be sticking to the Academy full-time (unless popular demand says otherwise.) I've already mentioned that Emma Travers and Diosa Syringa will remain in the Academy full-time, either due to wanting to stick with the environment or simply believing they can be of more use there.

There was more rant here but I decided to dump it. It doesn't need to be here.

Nana Yoon def. Asha Nelson
Maria Marella def. Rhiannon Banes
Keiko Maeda and Rei Hasegawa def. Josie Wilde and Heather Wild
Tara Helmsley def. Estrella Gratis
Leona Sterling def. Jessika Boom
Emma Travers def. Fiona Walsh and Diosa Syringa
Amber Wright def. Iris Coleman
Anna and Melody Bryant def. Christina Wagner and Katherine White
La Corsaria def. Calista Vargas
Sung Moon def. Baby Peregrine to retain the Academy Championship

Wild opener as usual, with Asha trying her best to do some heavy legwork... but Nana Yoon would simply not be denied this time, hitting a huge diving stomp to pick up a very impressive victory.


Technique ruled the day in this match, with Maria simply outplaying the brawler, eventually trapping Rhiannon in an armbar to force the tapout.


Something seems to have clicked for the team of Keiko and Rei... and now, they're on a roll. Keiko wrapped this one up with her mother's signature submission... but she showed off a fair bit of her own skill as well, including a truly impressive spread of power moves. Rei was no slouch here either... and this team could be poised to have a breakout 2020 when the tag division debuts.


A few missed opportunities from Estrella to put this match away led to Tara finally getting the upper hand with a quick roll-up... as far as Estrella's come, it seems she might still have some work to do with the Academy.


Leona, fresh off a showcase bout at the last Lariats and Legislators (a UCSS-style victory over Ong Daengsri), kept her momentum white-hot as she absolutely dismantled Jessika Boom... despite Jessika landing a Dynamite Cutter, that was the only truly major offense she could get, getting caught in Leona's devastating Guillotine choke before taking a series of sharp kicks to seal the win.


After a small mishap (that is, me forgetting I had the battle royal set to 300% for some stupid reason) this match got under way and just kept rolling along. Eventually, though, Emma was able to come out on top... taking out Diosa Syringa first, then finishing the job by locking in her Surgical Precision submission hold on Fiona Walsh to score her second victory of the week.


Amber Wright quietly continues to be one of the breakout stars of the Academy. She scored the huge win over Iris Coleman here, weathering the powerhouse's array of strikes and submissions before landing her devastating Stunner to finish the job.


A wild match between these two teams... but the Bryant sisters eventually pulled it off thanks to Melody, hitting a diving elbow drop to Christina and picking up the win, in one of Anna's last matches with the Academy.


La Corsaria was in no mood for anything tonight... absolutely wiping out poor Calista without allowing hardly any real offense against her. Once again Corsaria finds herself at odds with Eve Blackwood... who seemed quite unhappy about the way this match unfolded.


A worthy main event by any measure: Sung Moon defending her title with everything she had against a challenger who had something to prove. Both of them certainly got their wish... while Peregrine didn't come away with the Academy Championship, she held her own against one of the Academy's best, and no doubt she'll make her way to the top once again very soon.

Tara Helmsley and Trish Michaels def. Heather Wild and Josie Wilde
Baby Peregrine def. Jessika Boom
Calista Vargas def. Nana Yoon
Asha Nelson and Maria Marella def. Katherine White and Fiona Walsh
Anna Bryant def. Diosa Syringa
Amber Wright def. Leona Sterling
Keiko Maeda and Rei Hasegawa def. Rhiannon Banes and Melody Bryant
Emma Travers def. Christina Wagner
Iris Coleman def. Estrella Gratis
La Corsaria def. Sung Moon to become the NEW Blackwood Academy Champion

Quite the opener here, and showcased everything that Tara Helmsley has become known for... including a repeated series of taunts that seemed to go on forever. Eventually, though, it would be the newcomer that picked up the win... Trish Michaels hitting a big diving elbow drop to finish things off.


Every bit as fast-paced and intense as expected, with Peregrine once again showing just how talented she truly is, picking up a win that you'd be hard-pressed to call an upset. A huge superkick sealed this one for Peregrine, and it seems like only a matter of time before she rises to the top again.


Nana gave it her all, without a doubt, but Calista refused to stumble this close to her shot at the Academy Championship... still, she had to slip away with a close victory here, getting a backslide to narrowly escape over the Korean.


Maybe one of the best showings that Asha and Maria have had so far, enduring everything that Katherine and Fiona had to throw their way, with Asha eventually nailing a cutter on Katherine to pick up a much-needed win.


Anna Bryant continues to prove that her future is truly bright. In one of her final Academy matches, she handled Syringa without much trouble.


Amber Wright can't ever be counted out. Even after being bloodied by Leona's vicious strikes, Amber never gave in... eventually hitting a huge rolling stunner for a nearfall, then snapping Leona up in a counter-pin when she attempted to slip behind.


There can be no doubt that Keiko and Rei are a completely different team now than when they first joined together. Keiko was a force in this match, eventually forcing a submission to her signature leg submission... no doubt Yuki can now beam with pride at her daughter's progress.


Emma Travers just keeps impressing. While she's intending to stay with the Academy, she nevertheless was electric here, wearing Christina down slowly but surely, before forcing the German-Canadian to submit, leaving the usually-stoic Wagner writhing on the mats.


A mismatch on paper turned into one of the longest matches of the night... with Iris failing to seize her chances, and Estrella seemingly out to do as much damage as possible, it took Iris finally locking in her Triangle Lancer to put this one to rest.


The champion just seemed to falter in this one... after a hot start, Sung Moon trailed off, and Corsaria took command, absolutely ripping into the Korean and eventually landing a huge 0-5-4 to pick up the win, and the Academy Championship.