Gatoh Move Japan Tour #244 on 8/26/16 Review

Event: Gatoh Move Japan Tour #244
Date: August 26th, 2016
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

It has been a few months since I reviewed a Gatoh Move event so I figured I was overdue to review a show from the small promotion with the purple mat. This is a short show with only three matches, with Emi Sakura being in two of them. Here is the full card:

  • Emi Sakura vs. Kaori Yoneyama
  • “Trans-Am” Hiroshi vs. Sayaka Obihiro
  • Aasa, Kotori, and Kazuhiro Tamura vs. Cherry, Emi Sakura, and Masahiro Takanashi

This will be fun, but quick.

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Emi Sakura vs. Kaori Yoneyama

The show starts with two distinguished veterans facing off. Yoneyama regularly wrestles in Gatoh Move but is best known by fans in the US for her role in Stardom, she officially is affiliated with the promotion YMZ. Sakura is the original trainer and promoter of Ice Ribbon, she left in 2012 and created Gatoh Move where she continues to both wrestle and train in.

gatohmove8.26-1Sakura immediately dropkicks Yoneyama when the bell rings, she goes for quick pins but none do the trick. They trade holds with Yoneyama sinking in a headlock, Sakura gets out of it and they trade shoulderblock attempts. Sakura knocks Yoneyama to the mat but Yoneyama gets up and they trade wristlocks. Armdrag by Sakura and she applies a camel clutch, she then applies a choke but Yoneyama gets out of it and applies a STF. Muta Lock by Yoneyama but Sakura gets out of it and they trade chops back on their feet. Scoop slam by Sakura and she puts Yoneyama in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Yoneyama gets to the edge of the mat to force a break. Sakura puts Yoneyama on the window ledge and hits a body avalanche, but Yoneyama slides to the other side and hits Sakura with a stool. Missile dropkick by Yoneyama, she picks up Sakura but Sakura elbows her off and hits a swinging neckbreaker.

Bodyscissors into a roll-up by Yoneyama, she goes for the Chaos Theory but Sakura blocks it and applies a cross armbreaker. Yoneyama gets to the edge to break it up, but Sakura hits a double underhook right back into the cross armbreaker. She wiggles to the edge again to force a break, she goes for another double underhook but Yoneyama blocks it and kicks her in the chest. Yoneyama gets up on the window sill and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoneyama but it gets a two count. Now Sakura gets on the window and hits a diving senton of her own, but she also gets two. Sakura picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama blocks the Yoshi Tonic, so she flips Yoneyama into the wall. Knee to the back of a head by Sakura and she hits a rolling headscissors for a two count. Yoneyama quickly applies La Magistral for a two count, she rams Sakura into the wall but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

For a match with severe limitations, I thought it was decent. Sakura and Yoneyama both know how to work and they managed to pull of a few well thought-out spots in the match. I liked that both were still giving it their all even in such a small ‘arena’, it feels strange watching two wrestlers of their abilities wrestling in such an environment. Worth watching for the general quality as well as the unique surroundings.  Mildly Recommended

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“Trans-Am” Hiroshi vs. Sayaka Obihiro

This isn’t as odd as it looks on paper, as while Hiroshi (also known as Hiroshi Fukuda) is a DDT wrestler, he is a regular in Gatoh Move. Obihiro is affiliated with Gatoh Move but wrestles in other promotions as well, including HEAT UP and DDT. These two are at least somewhat familar with each other, and wrestled against each other in Tavern Pro Wrestling (a DDT affiliate) on August 1st.

gatohmove8.26-2Hiroshi and Obihiro lock-up to start before getting into trading wristlocks, headlock takeover by Hiroshi but Obihiro Irish whips out of it. Shoulderblock by Hiroshi but Obihiro trips him, Hiroshi begs for mercy but he ends up poking Obihiro in the eyes. Snapmare by Hiroshi and he drops a knee, Obihiro fights back with an elbow and knocks down Hiroshi before applying a headlock. Obihiro pulls at Hiroshi’s hair too but he gets out of the hold and knees Obihiro in the stomach. Punches by Hiroshi and he catches Obihiro with a lariat for a two count cover. Scoop slam by Hiroshi, he gets up on the window sill  but Obihiro gets her feet up on the diving fist drop attempt. Dropkick by Obihiro, she gets up on the window herself but Hiroshi avoids the double ax handle. Punches by Hiroshi, he catches Obihiro’s kick but this time Obihiro ducks the lariat. They talk for a bit, can’t say I understand what is going on, but Obihiro tricks Hiroshi and goes for a backslide, but Hiroshi blocks it. Fisherman suplex hold by Hiroshi, and he picks up the three count! Hiroshi is the winner of the match!

More along the lines of what I expect from this type of show – mostly simple strikes in submissions, a bit of goofiness and then a quick pin. I wouldn’t form an opinion of either wrestler just from a match like this one, obviously there were some constraints on what they could do, but both looked fine. Just a short and forgettable match overall.

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Aasa, Kotori, and Kazuhiro Tamura vs. Cherry, Emi Sakura, and Takanashi

We are already to the main event, as this was only a three match show. Cherry and Takanashi are DDT wrestlers, as this is a pretty DDT-heavy show, and they team with the promoter of the promotion in Emi Sakura. On the other side, Kotori is Gatoh Move’s newest young wrestler/potential phenom while Tamura also wrestles in DDT. Aasa just debuted in June for Gatoh Move, not a lot is known about her but she has been wrestling a regular schedule since then. Aasa is the least experienced wrestler of the bunch, which does not bode well for her in this match.

They are doing tag rules even though there are no turnbuckles or ropes. Kotori and Takanashi start and trade holds on the mat, which Takanashi gets the better of. Kotori comes back with a wristlock and she jumps up on the window, but Takanashi pulls her back off. Quick roll-up by Kotori but it gets a two count, leading to Takanashi tagging in Sakura. Tamura tags in also and kicks Sakura in the leg, so Sakura tags in Cherry. Tamura and Cherry grapple on the mat but neither gets a clear advantage, Tamura tags in Aasa and Cherry quickly takes Aasa down. Front headlock by Cherry to Aasa and she applies a bodyscissors, but Aasa gets to the edge of the mat to force a break. Scoop slam by Aasa, she picks up Cherry but Cherry rolls her to the mat and hits a series of mounted elbows. Headlock by Cherry and she punches her in the head before tagging in Sakura. Sakura stomps down Aasa and tags in Takanashi, Takanashi places Aasa against the wall and chops her in the chest. Chinlock by Takanashi and he then applies a stretch hold, he tags Sakura back in a the beatdown on the rookie continues. Takanashi returns and puts Aasa in a stretch hold, but Aasa suplexes out of it and makes the hot tag to Tamura.

gatohmove8.26-3Takanashi and Tamura trade chops, kick by Tamura but Takanashi shrugs off the Yoshi Tonic attempt. Cutter by Tamura, but Cherry breaks up the cover. Kotori comes in to help and they drop Cherry with a double face crusher, Kotori gets up in the window sill and hits a diving crossbody on Takanashi, Aasa comes in and she helps Tamura slam Kotori on top of Takanashi. Kotori puts Takanashi in an Octopus Hold but Cherry breaks it up, Cherry suplexes Kotori, Takanashi comes in but Kotori plants him with a judo throw. Kotori tags in Aasa while Takanashi tags Sakura, body block by Aasa to Sakura and Kotori comes in with a crossbody. Body press by Aasa to Sakura, but it gets a two count. Aasa goes for another body block but Sakura avoids it, Sakura throws her and both her teammates against the wall and hits a crossbody onto all three of them. Takanashi comes in but he accidentally kicks Sakura, scoop slam by Aasa onto Sakura but she gets her knees up on the body press. Tamura comes in but Sakura jumps on his back and lands on top of Aasa. Sakura gets on the window sill and hits a diving crossbody onto Aasa, Sakura puts the rookie into the Cavernaria, and Aasa submits! Sakura, Cherry, and Takanashi win!

Not the best match on the card but not too bad for this type of show. As I have mentioned a few times, obviously they are very limited with what they can do since there are no ropes, but at least they are familar with how to work in such a unique environment. Aasa seems to have the basics down pat, and I am quite a fan of Kotori. About what you’d expect considering the situation, watchable but not as good as the first match on the card as most of it was uneventful aside from a few cute spots.

Final Thoughts
1

 

There was really only one good match on the card, as the other two were pretty basic for the bulk of them and not overly interesting. I like watching Gatoh Move from time to time to see what they are up to, and I enjoy Kotori and Sakura, but these types of events are really only for the hardcore fans or those that enjoy wrestling in really unusual environments. Skippable but at least different.