Diamond and I had been discussing a match on and off since we last fought in 2009. We had 2 half hour matches on the same day in 2009; one in the matted room at The Wrestling Factory in Manchester and one in the ring at the same venue. We had drawn 1-1 in the matted room but Natalie took it well 3-0 in the ring. In our attempts to get a date where we were both free and a venue we could both get to, we considered the RG event on 20th April. I contacted her suggesting Good Friday or Easter Saturday and she got back in touch very quickly to confirm she was ready for a match on Saturday morning. Hi hired the Pole Fighters Club for the match.
After two matches the day before, I was feeling stiff but got up early and did a bit of stretching and limbering up in the hotel before breakfast. A quick check out of my hotel room and I walked round the corner to the Pole Fighters Club arriving exactly at 0930. The first thing I saw as I arrived was Diamond arriving and so I signalled to her where to park. Chanel came out to greet us both and show us into the studio.
Round 1 : We started each round on our knees and had agreed that each round would be fought until a pin or submission had occurred with pins being to a count of 5. I shook hands and started. I noticed straight away that Diamond was much stronger than in 2009. I was soon on my back and felt powerless to move her. She pressed down on my arms and I wriggled to prevent the pin and tried crossing arms over but could not actually get out from under her. She gradually worked her way up my body got me in a school girl pin position, each time she edged up she was making sure I could not find any gaps to escape. She then placed on knee on my right shoulder to press it down but I managed to push up hard to get her slightly up so that I could rotate out of the corner. Diamond came straight after me landing across my chest and applying a cross body pin. I temporarily got a shoulder off the ground but Natalie reapplied the move and Chanel counted to 5 and it was 1-0 to Diamond.
Round 2 : We took on some water and I towelled down. As we reconnected at the start of round 2, I tried to get Diamond side on to stop her forcing me onto my back. I pulled her down side on and worked round to her back, trying for a nelson move and reverse body scissors. I was not strong enough to keep her held in this position and she pulled clear. I tried to get up but Diamond got to me first sending me right down on my back. This time she applied a school girl pin and my shoulders were planted flat on the ground, the count reached 5 and I was 2 points down. So I was 2-0 down after only 10 minutes and there was a danger that this could be a complete massacre.
Round 3 : After two quick points for Natalie to start the match, the 3rd round was a struggle for 30 minutes with a couple of times where we agreed to take a break for water. We were on our knees and side on to each other. Diamond put one of her long legs behind me and pulled me down backwards. I was looking up at the ceiling with Natalie beneath me also looking up at the ceiling. She had my arms head above my head and pulled the back while her legs were around my waist and pressing down on my quadriceps with her heels. It was like an assisted stretch. I was on the rack! I managed to use my feet to unhook her legs and shift back to the side of her. We tussled for position and I managed to get the full mount position on her. She managed to get one of my feet between her legs and topple me. I grabbed her quick, more to restrict her moves rather than do an attack myself. I senses the gap in strength between us narrowing as the match went on and I got on top again. She pulled my head down hard and I had to reach behind my head to loosen her grip so that I could pull my head clear. I pressed down on her body with my body and held her around her shoulders, but she rolled on top and was soon in the mount position herself. She was looking for a school girl pin again and tried to hold my hands in position. However as she kneeled on my shoulders, I got my hands free and pushed her behind up over my head and slipped out from underneath her ending up behind her. We launched back into each other very quickly, Diamond getting a cross body pin opportunity but my left shoulder was up. So instead she went for an elbow lock as my body was trapped beneath her and my other arm was stuck between her legs. She applied the elbow lock well and I had to tap. 3-0 to Natalie.
Round 4 : The third round had used up a lot of Diamond's strength and stamina and so I went into the fourth round with the intention of maintaining a high tempo to get an opportunity of a point. If I could just get one in the next 5 minutes and if she tired, I could still get a result. It was Natalie who started the round the better, however, she got me from behind and pulled me down and into a scissors from behind. We were almost at the side wall and so we moved back to the middle of the mats restarted in the same position. I wrestled her arms clear and turned side on, but she had me in a scissors. The scissors were positioned on my hips and so I was able to resist. However, Diamond got on top and went for a breast smother. I pushed out to the side and popped my head up. Diamond got my head behind her back and tried for a guillotine but I prevented her hands from connecting. She pushed my shoulders back down on the mats and then applied a neck crank, My head was being forced sideways by her body as she held my head in position. It really hurt and I had to tap. 4-0 to Natalie.
Round 5 : We had 10 minutes left and it was looking very likely now that this was going to be a win for Natalie and it was just a question of whether I could get one point. Diamond had me in her guard and had an option for a guillotine but chose to apply the body scissors instead. I was trying to reach behind to unlock her ankles, but was aware that she could switch to a head scissors or at least a triangle while my hands were behind me. So instead I planted my feet and stood up looking for a Boston crab. Diamond slipped her feet out from my arms with ease and we faced each other on our knees for one final exchange. We were in a stalemate situation for the last couple of minutes and the match ended with no further scoring.
At the end of the match, Diamond asked me for an arm wrestling challenge because she wanted to see if she was still as good at arm wrestling as before. She won with the right, but I won with the left. Well done to Natalie on her win today, she was much stronger than me and in control the whole way. A very big thank you to Chanel for allowing us to hire the Pole Fighters venue for this match and for making all the arrangements for the three matches on The Long Good Friday.
