Wrestling Resurgence’s most recent show saw a rare thing on the indies – a women’s main event as Charli Evans and Kanji looked to settle their score in an Iron Woman match. It’s well worth the watch!
Going into this, Kanji and Charli had a win each – Charli picking up the win Resurgence’s “Top of the Chops” show in November 2018, while Kanji “equalised” when she won a best-of-three falls match back in March 2019. Fast forward to the end of August, when this was going to be settled in an Iron Woman match. You know how these work: whomever gets the most falls in the time limit (thirty minutes, in this case) wins. We’ve got a nice little video package to summarise the feud to date, along with brief sitdown clips from Charli and Kanji ahead of the rubber match from a sold-out Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester.
Iron Woman: Charli Evans vs. Kanji
Both women are “good guys” here, at least in terms of the crowd reactions they got. The winner of this gets a shot at the Resurgence Championship, currently held by Gene Munny, who successfully defended against Chris Brookes in a cracker earlier in the night.
There’s a countdown being projected onto the balcony, which is a good touch, as was the handshake to start us off, before the opening lock-up led to a stalemate. Another tie-up ends in the ropes, and with a clean break from both sides, before Charli powdered to the outside as she looked to control the pace. Returning to the ring, Evans got taken down in an armbar, but she gets a foot to the rope… then heads outside as she did her damndest to make sure Kanji couldn’t build any momentum whatsoever. Regardless, Kanji stays on her, going for a takedown as Charli ends up scoring with a waistlock takedown of her own, rolling through into a Gedo clutch for a quick two-count.
Headscissors on the mat force Kanji into the ropes as the feeling-out process continued, with Evans staying on the head and neck, using a headlock takedown before another rope break led to Charli heading outside, again looking to dictate the pace. Back in the ring, the pair hit the ropes, but Evans looked to be edging ahead with an armdrag, before she uncorked some chops that prompted Kanji into a springboard armdrag… which Evans replied to in kind. All the armdrags lead us to pinning attempts, before Evans was forced to bridge up out of a knuckle lock, with Kanji’s attempt to break it failing as we crossed the ten minute mark. Double neck bridges lead to a handshake before they snapped each other’s bridges away, which signalled an uptick in the aggression that Evans followed up on, with kicks to the back that now had Kanji rolling outside for respite.
Back inside, Kanji couldn’t avoid a diving crossbody as Evans picked up a near-fall, before it’s back to the kicks as Kanji’s pigtails flew into the air after absorbing each kick. Eventually a kick’s caught, and there’s a switcharound as Kanji issues receipts ahead of a step-up legdrop… which again prompts Evans to roll outside as I have a feeling this’ll be a very low scoring outing. Still, Charli returns with some more chops but Kanji blocks and goes in for a springboard tornado DDT that left Evans down and out in the ropes… but Kanji doesn’t go for a pin. Instead, Kanji followed up with stomps, working Evans into the corner, only for another switcharound to see Charli follow in with a facewashing boot and a clothesline as we crossed the halfway mark.
We’re back to chops as Charli was looking to wear down Kanji… booting away a handspring as the Aussie was starting to show some frustration at not being able to get a fall. Working on the left arm, stomps weaken Kanji a little more, following through with more face-washing boots as Kanji was trapped in the corner. Evans goes back to the arm, kicking away at the limb as Kanji was struggling to defend herself, at least until Charli went in for a suplex as Kanji found a second wind, landing a STO out of nowhere, before rolling up into a low dropkick for good measure!
The offence continued as Kanji threw forearms, including some springboard variants, which eventually take Evans down. As did some headscissors into the corner ahead of a 619, with a missile dropkick folding Charli in a heap… and luckily too close to the ropes as the delayed cover led to a near-fall. We’re 20-minutes deep, with no falls recorded, as Kanji was forced to absorb some more strikes, before a roll-up nearly led to the first pin. An Alabama slam’s next, but still Charli kicks out, and gets up to knock Kanji off the top rope, following in when she caught a slingshot spear and countered into a DDT for another near-fall.
Back-and-forth forearms resume in the ropes as both women were back to squashing the other’s momentum, but Charli suddenly busts out a Violence Party of forearms and chops before an overhead belly-to-belly surprised a running Kanji. They continue to rail on each other with forearms and chops, showing no sign of letting up, as Evans’ Saito suplex just was shrugged off with Kanji coming in with a spear… but she couldn’t make the cover. Kanji scales the ropes again, but gets caught and brought down with a superplex… but this time it’s Evans who can’t make the cover as they instead had to beat a standing ten count by rolling to the outside as we entered the final five minutes.
Heading into the crowd, the pair trade strikes in the aisle, with Kanji trying for an Alabama slam only for Evans to counter back with a modified Gory bomb in the aisle – which led to the start of a count-out… and Charli beats the count to get the first fall with a shade over three minutes left. Wisely, Evans rolls Kanji back inside to try and score a killer second fall, but a Fisherman’s suplex isn’t enough, nor was a running knee, or a Fujiwara armbar as Kanji held on and got her way to the ropes for a break. After getting free, Kanji mounts a late fightback with a springboard stunner, then with a roundhouse kick off the top… and that’s enough to tie it at 1-1 with a minute left!
Kanji tries to go up top again as we entered the final seconds, but she crashes and burns on a moonsault as Evans grabbed both wrists with a series of Kamigoye-like knees, before another Fujiwara armbar was clamped on… all of that work on the left arm paid off, as Kanji couldn’t hold on, tapping with seconds remaining as Evans won 2-1 in the end. An engrossing match from start to finish, starting slowly, but Charli’s persistence on the arm of Kanji ended up being crucial in the finish – and that’s a title match against Gene Munny in Charli’s immediate future. ****¼
While this match lacked much in the way of what some people would call high spots in 2019 (at least until the closing stretch in the aisle), this match should be an eye opener for anyone whose sole exposure to women’s matches is via the token, second-on-the-card outings that rarely amount to anything. Charli’s had a sneaky-good 2019, while Kanji’s primed to break out… all it needs is a promotion to actually get behind them with some degree of persistence.
- Catch this show on VOD – for purchase or rent – via https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ironwoman