Defeating Mercedes Mone to become the 1st champion on May 2st at NJPW STRONG RESURGENCE 2023, Willow Nightingale made her first defense of the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship last Friday night on RAMPAGE. Her challenger that evening was the hard-hitting veteran Emi Sakura, and though she pushed Nightingale to the brink, Emi was unable to dethrone “The Babe with the Power”.
As the face of the Women’s division for NJPW STRONG, Willow aims to continue raising the profile and prestige of the newly-created title, and thus plans to defend whenever and wherever possible. The second opportunity to do so will take place this Thursday night when Nightingale battles Rachel Ellering for the title! This marks the second-ever match between the two women, the last time around taking place in 2018 and ending in a 15-Minute draw, and at a one point when both were barely three years into their careers.
Since then, each has garnered their fair share of experience with a great deal of Willow’s playing out in front of the AEW and ROH faithful, while Rachel’s took place in Japan’s Stardom promotion, as well as under the learning tree of Sara Del Rey in Florida, IMPACT, and all around the independent wrestling world.
So when the two meet once more this Thursday night, neither are the same competitor they were back in July 2018, and with the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship on the line, they are fighting for far more than they were five years ago. Can Willow continue to be the champion who shapes the legacy of new title, or will Rachel pick up that mantle and run with it moving forward?