The Blackwood Academy: August 2024 Results

Lexi Dawson def. Kasey Ryder
Hikari Ueno def. Nana Yoon
Angela Rothenberg and Brianna Tierney def. White Hot
Vanessa Saunders def. Melody Bryant
Baby Peregrine def. Trish Michaels
Wild and Wilde Inc. def. Asha Nelson and Maria Marella
Rhiannon Banes def. Shiori Yoshida
Helena Lundgren def. Jessica Kimblee
Naoko Yoshida def. Tara Helmsley
Diosa Syringa and Emma Travers def. Fiona Walsh and Virginia Caldwell

Make no mistake: Lexi Dawson is here to stay, and she showed no hesitation in going up against the former Academy Champion, matching Kasey Ryder move-for-move. Both women threw a lot behind this one, but Lexi would eventually land a Cazadora stomp on the run, and immediately threw herself into a running SSP for good measure to pick up a very, very impressive victory, her first in the Academy.


A bit of a surprise appearance here, but it would seem that Hikari Ueno has joined the Academy to even out the roster with Lexi Dawson's arrival. She certainly didn't disappoint, either, though Nana Yoon didn't go quietly here: an early Shock Arrow package piledriver seemed to flip a switch, and Nana began to fight back big-time, landing missile dropkicks and generally making it difficult for Ueno to keep up. But finally, Hikari seemed to get tired of dealing with Nana, and landed back-to-back Shock Arrows to keep Nana down for the finish.


A wild representation of just how far White Hot has come, and yet also representing how far they still have left to go. The match was clean enough, teamwork flying from both sides, but Rei and Keiko simply couldn't close it out, positioning proving to be their worst enemy. Eventually, a sharp DDT from Angela Rothenberg, leading into a camel clutch, forced Rei to tap out almost instantly.


Melody Bryant simply couldn't keep pace with Vanessa Saunders here. She struggled to weather the storm of brutal kicks thrown her way, and while she had a glimmer of hope near the end of the match as she landed a couple of vicious Capture Suplexes, Vanessa would quickly stomp her right back down, another series of kicks laying out Melody and ending her comeback.


Baby Peregrine continues to come into her own as a rising star, with another very impressive victory. While she still has yet to capture the Academy Championship, her time is clearly coming... and the next attempt may be the one. This was fast-paced, but Peregrine controlled most of it, flash pins flying and a couple of huge dives landing en route to snapping Trish up in a quick rana pin.


There was barely a moment to breathe in this match: both teams were absolutely relentless in going after each other, almost making you believe that there might be some bad blood between them. Without a doubt, though, it was one of the best showings that both sides have had... and while Asha Nelson looked like she might have things under control, quick thinking from Heather Wild led to her trapping Asha in one of her signature chokeholds, and securing a hard-fought victory.


Rhiannon Banes might've finally found a weak point in the Yoshida Twins. She seemed to absolutely dismantle Shiori in this match, and while Shiori was able to get some of her dangerous armwork in, it was only in-between the vicious beating Rhiannon laid out, culminating in a brutal series of elbows that left the tag champ down and out. With Rhiannon and Melody set to take on the twins later in the month for the tag titles, could the Yoshida reign be in jeopardy for the first time since they captured the titles?


Helena Lundgren surprisingly found herself on the back foot for a large part of this match, with Jessica Kimblee making life difficult for the powerhouse. Helena even tried to fall back on a backslide pin that didn't quite get the job done, while Jessica just kept coming after her, landing backdrops and trying to keep the Swedish rookie down. But finally, Helena seemed to find her footing, landed her crushing powerbomb, and finally managed to escape with the win.


Naoko Yoshida fared far, far better than her sister in this match, plowing through Tara Helmsley for most of the somewhat short matchup. While the action spilled outside at one point, Naoko didn't let Tara get a foothold on the outside either, and eventually landed a facebuster in the ring to pick up a stunningly dominant victory.


We could be seeing a glimpse of the future here. Emma and Syringa were a well-oiled machine here, and while Fiona and Virginia were dangerous in their own right, it was Syringa that was the most dominant person in the match, absolutely relentless against the opposing team, and a double-arm suplex into the familiar Strangle Hold Gamma forced the upcoming challenger, Fiona, to submit. Could Syringa do the same when she defends her title against Fiona?

Kasey Ryder def. Hikari Ueno
Rule XXX def. Nana Yoon and Lexi Dawson
Rei Hasegawa def. Virginia Caldwell
Vanessa Saunders def. Keiko Maeda
Baby Peregrine def. Emma Travers
Brianna Tierney and Angela Rothenberg def. Asha Nelson and Maria Marella
Jessica Kimblee def. Heather Wild
Helena Lundgren def. Josie Wilde
Fiona Walsh def. Diosa Syringa to become the NEW Academy Champion
The Yoshida Twins vs. Melody Bryant and Rhiannon Banes ended in a time limit draw, Yoshida Twins retain

Hot opener to kick off tonight's show, with Ueno showing she's definitely a threat among the Academy... but Kasey, perhaps determined to fight her way back to the top in a hurry, wasn't going to be stopped, landing a hard facebuster and snapping Ueno up for the pinfall.


Nana and Lexi may be the fastest, most agile team around today, but they might still be getting used to being a team... while Rule XXX have steadily become a well-oiled machine together, which they showed very, very well here. It didn't help that a massive brawl on the outside favored them heavily... and teamwork carried the end of this one, with Trish laying out Lexi, Tara taking down Nana, and Trish picking up the victory shortly after.


This might be the ultimate culmination of Rei Hasegawa's transformation into a legitimate wrestler. Virginia had a plan in mind, but Rei was just too quick... and despite being busted open on a vicious stomp, Rei held her ground and landed a facebuster to put Virginia down for the pinfall.


Keiko didn't quite fare as well as her partner, with Vanessa Saunders arriving on a mission. While Keiko did her best to work the Nagata Lock, Vanessa eventually ripped off a brutal kick to the head, and seemingly knocked Keiko out, though she was back on her feet not long after the bell, looking frustrated with her own efforts.


Baby Peregrine's rise just continues... it really does seem like just a matter of time before she's back at the top challenging for the title again. Emma Travers just couldn't keep up, despite her usual strategy, and a Small Package Driver scored a big win for the young luchadora.


This was very, very much in favor of Angela and Brianna, once again seeing a brawl on the outside go heavily in their favor. Asha and Maria did what they could, but never really kicked it into gear... and Brianna laid Asha out for a truly dominant victory.


Jessica Kimblee might be the brightest star of the new recruits. She's been absolutely dynamite from day one, and this match was no exception, weathering everything Heather had to throw her way and landing a Kotaro Crusher to score another victory, continuing her meteoric rise to the top.


Two powerhouses matched up here, and one walked away with no doubt who the stronger of the two was. Josie, for her part, gave Helena all she could, but Helena was a brutal machine, throwing out Karelin Lifts and wrapping things up by forcing Josie to Bow Down with her signature powerbomb.


Easily the best match of the night, one of the most impressive matches the Academy's seen in recent memory, and a test of wills. Both women were determined to finish the other with a signature submission, but it was finally Fiona Walsh who got the opening, a Snapdragon suplex leading into one of her most brutal submissions, and forcing the Academy Champion to give in... and now, Fiona stands atop the mountain.


The first appearance of the time limit, but what a match for those thirty minutes. With Melody and Rhiannon looking dominant through much of this one, the Yoshidas seemed to be desperately fighting just to survive, and while they started to slowly make a comeback late, they eventually seemed to settle in to force the draw... and thus, we're likely to see this one again sooner rather than later, as the trainers have deemed that a rematch is absolutely necessary.

Lexi Dawson def. Diosa Syringa
Kasey Ryder def. Hikari Ueno
White Hot def. The Dream City Bandits
Melody Bryant def. Baby Peregrine
Tara Helmsley def. Emma Travers
Asha Nelson and Maria Marella def. Vanessa Saunders and Helena Lundgren
Rhiannon Banes def. Trish Michaels
Heather Wild def. Jessica Kimblee
Josie Wilde def. Nana Yoon
Angela Rothenberg and Brianna Tierney def. Fiona Walsh and Virginia Caldwell

Lexi started this match off hot, but eventually, settled back into playing defense as Diosa Syringa began to take over. And it certainly looked like it was going to stay that way... only Lexi simply wasn't giving in. Slowly but surely, she began to fight her way back into the match... and with Syringa unable to put her away, Lexi finally got her opening, landing a Superstar Elbow and picking up maybe one of the most incredible victories the Academy's witnessed in a very long time.


Where the opener was a struggle for Lexi to fight back, this was a flat-out brawl to the finish, with both Kasey and Hikari dishing out everything in their arsenal to try and keep the other down. Kasey laid in multiple Brazilian Kicks, Hikari landed a pair of Shock Arrow package piledrivers, but finally, Kasey was able to deliver a huge diving stomp to pick up the win in what proved to be an absolute sprint to the finish.


The Dream City Bandits have arrived... and Rule XXX suddenly finds themselves stronger than ever. Still, White Hot were definitely not afraid of the newcomers, and Rei Hasegawa in particular seemed to do her homework on the duo, taking full control of the match herself and eventually stealing the finisher of Shelly Hotlips, giving White Hot a much-needed victory over the newest members of the Academy roster.


Just like that, Melody Bryant picks up maybe one of the more impressive victories of the night... after having trouble keeping pace, but getting in what she could, Melody broke out a brand-new suplex, the Perfect-plex, and scored a huge win over Baby Peregrine. Could Melody's fortunes finally be changing? How dangerous will she be going forward?


Tara Helmsley continues to remind the Academy why she's the leader of Rule XXX, matching Emma Travers move-for-move. And while Emma held out and nearly took the win multiple times here, Tara just kept coming, landing spinebusters and brawling with her on the outside before landing a Cerebral Assassination to pick up a very impressive win.


Never let it be said that Asha and Maria are lacking in talent, and never count them out of a match. Indeed, they seemed to be in control for most of this match, with Helena and Vanessa never really getting out of the starting gates, and Asha would finish this in spectacular fashion with a diving kick that put the Swedish powerhouse down for the three-count, Maria easily cutting off the save to ensure the win.


Just in case you'd forgotten how dangerous Rhiannon Banes could be after her recent failure to capture the Academy Championship, she came roaring back here against Trish Michaels, making sure she reminded everyone exactly what she can do. The young Welsh brawler was absolutely relentless here, capping off a victory with a brutal series of elbows that ensured the perfect position for the win.


This one turned out to be another all-out brawl, much like Jessica's tag partner Kasey had earlier in the night. Heather had control for some time, but Jessica quickly fought back... and then, the match spilled to the outside, where it stayed for a good while, Jessica seeming to get the upper hand until a double-arm DDT from Heather, both outside and inside the ring, finally put this one away, as Heather followed up with a chickenwing facelock to get the submission win.


There were plenty of moments in this one that looked like Josie Wilde was coasting to an easy win... and Nana Yoon just kept kicking out. It took far more effort than Josie was likely expecting, and Nana nearly stole this one a couple of times, even... though Josie would finally put this one away with what seemed like the fourth or fifth Whiskey Rose of the match. Ouch.


As good as Fiona Walsh has been since winning the Academy Championship, it seemed like Brianna Tierney figured out how to match her fellow Irishwoman. This match was wild from start to finish, with Virginia Caldwell brawling with Angela Rothenberg on the outside, and aiming to live up to the moniker she's claimed for herself: "Legbreaker". But Brianna eventually found herself face-to-face with the Academy Champion, landing a crushing DDT, and just barely pulling off the win thanks to Angela's assistance in cutting off the save.

Brianna Tierney def. Asha Nelson
Heather Wild won the 4-way
Rhiannon Banes and Melody Bryant def. The Dream City Bandits
Lexi Dawson def. Hikari Ueno
Nana Yoon def. Vanessa Saunders
Rule XXX vs. White Hot reached a time-limit draw
Kasey Ryder def. Baby Peregrine
Virginia Caldwell def. Josie Wilde
Diosa Syringa and Emma Travers def. The Yoshida Twins to become the NEW Academy Tag Team Champions
Fiona Walsh def. Helena Lundgren to retain the Academy Championship

Brianna Tierney was on a mission tonight, and Asha Nelson simply got in the way. Back-to-back crushing DDTs left Asha simply unable to keep going, and Brianna looks towards next month's tag team championship match, clearly ready to claim those titles alongside Angela Rothenberg.


Heather Wild was the quiet participant in this 4-way contest... Angela Rothenberg was the first one down as Jessica Kimblee landed a pair of German suplexes. Jessica would then later get caught in Maria Marella's F- submission hold... and that opened the door for Heather to spring her trap, eventually locking in a vicious chokehold to take home the victory and set herself up nicely near the top of the rankings.


The tag division might want to watch out, because Rhiannon Banes and Melody Bryant might just be better than ever. The Dream City Bandits put all they could out there, but Rhiannon was a pure wrecking ball in the ring tonight, and even a wild brawl on the outside couldn't quench the Welsh rookie's fire, landing a crushing powerbomb to Allie Katt to pick up the win.


Lexi Dawson quite literally gave this match everything she had. By the time she got to the end of the match, she was almost completely wiped out... perhaps the constant, relentless pace she forced Hikari Ueno to match took its toll. But despite all of that, despite literally running herself ragged, it was all she needed, landing a final running SSP to pick up the victory just in time.


Nana Yoon is still one of the best the Academy has to offer, and nowhere was that clearer than tonight, as she outlasted Vanessa Saunders and completely outclassed the kickboxer, forcing her to tap out to her devastating submission hold and reminding everyone that she is a former Academy Champion, and may very well capture that title again soon if she keeps up this pace.


By now it seems like the Academy simply can't go without a time-limit tag match draw, though this was hardly for lack of trying to finish the match. Rule XXX and White Hot were both at each others' throats for the entirety of this one, not letting up on each other for even the slightest moment, and even clear up to the bell signalling their draw, they were still trading blows. It seems like this may not be over between these two teams, but with Rule XXX's ranks quickly swelling, what can White Hot do to keep up?


Kasey Ryder just keeps getting better. Tasked with facing one of the Academy's best, Kasey didn't back down an inch, dishing out one of the more impressive victories we've seen lately, and a crushing stomp from the top rope gave Kasey a very well-earned win.


This was probably the match of the night. Virginia Caldwell and Josie Wilde absolutely tore into each other, Josie throwing lariats time and time again, cinching in the Cloverleaf, trying to finish Virginia with the Whiskey Rose... and the MMA fighter-turned-wrestler just kept coming back with brutal strikes and submissions, eventually leading up to her setting up a top-rope dragon screw, and clamping on one final submission to force the tapout.


It took the Academy's top two veterans to finally topple the Yoshida Twins, ending their brief Academy run but ensuring that they'll nevertheless go down as one of the Academy's best teams ever. Still, Diosa Syringa was not about to let this one reach the time limit and cost them their shot at the titles... as that half-hour mark approached, she finally locked in the Strangle Hold Gamma, and finally, the tag titles changed hands... back to the team that the Yoshidas defeated to win them in the first place.


For all of Helena Lundgren's raw power, for all of her overwhelming strength, she just couldn't put Fiona Walsh away. The Academy Champion once again rose to a colossal challenge and never relented in this defense, wiping out Helena primarily with her incredible striking game. Fiona stays atop the Academy for another month as she prepares to take on Rei Hasegawa.