ChocoPro #425 on February 1st, 2025 Review

Event: ChocoPro #425
Date: February 1st, 2025
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: ChocoPro Youtube Channel

We kick off reviewing 2025 events by watching ChocoPro! Since they uploaded the first event of the month. ChocoPro is run by Emi Sakura and was formally known as Gatoh Move. They run most of their events at Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba which is basically a room with a mat in it. That is true for this show, and even though the full show had three matches, I’ll only be reviewing the matches with at least one Joshi wrestler which knocks it down to two. So this won’t be the longest review I’ve ever done but the opener in particular should be fun. Here are the matches we’ll be reviewing:

• Chie Koishikawa vs. Mei Suruga vs. Miya Yotsuba
• Gauntlet Match: Baliyan Akki vs. Chie Koishikawa, Emi Sakura W, Kaho Hiromi, Mei Suruga, Miya Yotsuba, Nonoka Seto, Sayaka Obihiro, and Tokiko Kirihara

All the Joshi wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. This will be a quick review, let’s get to it.

Chie Koishikawa vs. Mei Suruga vs. Miya Yotsuba
We kick off the show with some triple threat action. ChocoPro fans are going to probably get mad at me for saying this, but Mei Suruga is too good to be doing these types of matches for the last six years. I have to assume of course its her choice/preference and I respect that, but she has shown repeatedly when she visits other promotions that she’s fantastic so seeing her in short matches with wrestlers well below her level is a little depressing. Here she is against Chie, an excitable wrestler who is a bundle of fun, and the two year pro Miya Yotsuba. This one has potential to be entertaining between Mei’s skills and Chie’s antics, we’ll see how it works out.

They all shake hands to start and circle each other, Miya wants a Test of Strength because she is taller than both her opponents but they oblige and all three lock knuckles. Miya gets the better of it at first but Chie and Mei manage to reverse it as Miya gets double teamed. Even though she is the least experienced, she’s the biggest, so she’s the target. Miya is flung to the mat so Mei and Chie go at it, Chie drops Mei and goes for a pin but Mei bridges out of it. Chie has recovered and all three go for flash pins with no one having any luck. Chie and Mei pick up Miya but Miya slams them into each other, Miya goes off the… crowd… and hits a double shoulderblock. Miya throws Chie and Mei into the wall but they avoid her charge, Mei kicks Chie and hits a crossbody off the wall. Dropkick by Mei to Miya, she goes back to Chie and puts her in a stretch hold. Miya comes over and breaks it up, bodyscissors by Mei but Miya catches her and slams Mei onto Chie for a two count. Miya picks up Mei but Mei gets away, she grabs Miya by the hair and rams her head-first into the wall.

Double axe handle by Mei, she picks up Miya and applies a stretch hold, but Miya muscles out of it and slams her into the wall. Jumping elbow by Miya but Chie comes out of nowhere with a double chop to the chest. Chops by Chie to Miya and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Chie charges Miya but Miya catches her, Chie wiggles away and applies a schoolboy but it gets two. Stretch Muffler by Chie but Miya gets to the edge of the mat for the break (didn’t know that was an option). Chie picks up Miya but Miya gets her onto her shoulders and hits a backbreaker. Mei re-appears and bites on Miya’s arm, Miya catches Mei but Chie goes to the window and hits a chop to Mei’s back. Chie goes to the window again but Miya elbows her to the outside before diving out onto her with a double axe handle. Miya returns to the ring but Mei cradles her for a two count. Miya and Mei trade flash pins until Mei finally holds down Miya for the three count! Mei Suruga is the winner.

A fun short opener. Its interesting that Miya was the one double teamed throughout the match due to her size since she was the least experienced wrestler in the match, felt like the two vets picking on the almost-rookie even though it logically made sense. They are all used to the surroundings so they made good use of the window and wall, and there was always something going on to hold your attention. Not a bad match, it lacked substance but made up for that with a little extra style.

Baliyan Akki vs. Chie Koishikawa, Emi Sakura W, Kaho Hiromi, Mei Suruga, Miya Yotsuba, Nonoka Seto, Sayaka Obihiro, and Tokiko Kirihara
Gauntlet Match
Main event time! This is a Gauntlet Match for Baliyan Akki, with him wrestling a series of matches with a two minute time limit. This is to celebrate Baliyan Akki’s 10th Anniversary since he started his wrestling career. This is the bulk of the ChocoPro roster, ranging from vets like Mei Suruga to the rookie child Kaho Hiromi. Gauntlet matches with short time limits by definition aren’t usually “good” in regards to the actual action but hopefully the match will be funny or entertaining in a different way.

Baliyan Akki vs. Tokiko Kirihara – Tokiko gets to go first, they tie up before Tokiko goes for Baliyan’s leg. She finally gets Baliyan to the mat and kicks him repeatedly in the leg, she applies a figure four leglock but Baliyan rolls over to reverse it. Tokiko rolls it over again but they reach the edge of the mat and the referee calls for a break. Tokiko gets Baliyan’s back and goes for a cross armbreaker, she can’t get it fully applied so she goes for a double armbar instead. Baliyan gets out of it by picking up Tokiko and hitting a backbreaker, but before he can do anything else the referee signals that the time limit has elapsed. The match is a Draw.

Baliyan Akki vs. Sayaka Obihiro – Sayaka charges Baliyan and hits a shoulderblock, drop toehold by Sayaka and she hits another shoulderblock. Sayaka picks up Baliyan and pushes him into the wall before hitting a running elbow. Snapmare by Sayaka but Baliyan avoids the double chop, kick by Baliyan and he kicks Sayaka in the leg. Baliyan picks up Sayaka but Sayaka slides away and cradles Baliyan for two. Baliyan goes for a sunset flip by Sayaka blocks it, chops by Sayaka but Baliyan chops her back, more chops by Sayaka but before they can go much further the referee signals the two minutes are up. The match is a Draw.

Baliyan Akki vs. Nonoka Seto – Nonoka dropkicks Baliyan immediately and covers him, but it gets two. Snapmare attempt by Nonoka but Baliyan pushes her off, but Nonoka avoids his charge and hits a bulldog off the wall. Schoolboy by Nonoka, but it gets two. Nonoka charges Baliyan and hits a dropkick, she jumps up on the window and jumps off with a snapmare but Baliyan reverses her cover into a cradle for the three count! Baliyan wins the match!

Baliyan Akki vs. Chie Koishikawa – Baliyan gets no break as Chie immediately comes in, wristlock by Chie but Baliyan reverses it. Chie spins Baliyan to the mat with an armdrag before hitting a jumping double chop for two. Spinning toehold by Chie and she puts Baliyan in a stretch muffler, but Baliyan gets to the edge of the mat for the break. Chie waits for Baliyan to get up and charges, but Baliyan catches her. Chie wiggles away and cradles Baliyan, but it only gets two. Dropkick by Chie and she covers Baliyan, but that gets a two as well. The referee says time is up, and the match is a Draw.

Baliyan Akki vs. Emi Sakura W – Emi Sakura W is better known as Konaka, a wrestler out of 666. Emi chops Baliyan and throws him down by the hair, Emi tosses Baliyan into the wall and knocks him to a seated position. Emi does a dance for a bit (well a long bit), he turns back to Baliyan but Baliyan gets his knees up on the crossbody attempt. Kick to the leg by Baliyan and he kicks Emi a second time, Emi gets back up but eats a third leg kick. Baliyan hits a fourth but Emi dropkicks him in the knee in return, Emi goes for La Magistral but Baliyan blocks it with his own cover. The time expires before the referee can start the count however, so the match is a Draw.

Baliyan Akki vs. Miya Yotsuba – Miya runs in with a shoulderblock and hits a few more, she pushes Baliyan against the wall and hits a jumping elbow. Jumping shoulderblock by Miya and she puts Baliyan in a Texas Cloverleaf, but Baliyan gets to the wall for the break. Miya waits for Baliyan to get up but Baliyan chops her in the chest, another chop by Baliyan but Miya fights back. Uppercut by Miya and she hits a jumping forearm to the back for a two count. Miya picks up Baliyan and hits a backbreaker, but time expires before she can make a cover. The match is a Draw.

Baliyan Akki vs. Kaho Hiromi – Literal child Kaho is next. Kaho clubs Baliyan in the chest a few times but Baliyan knocks her to the mat, Kaho comes back with a hanging guillotine but Baliyan gets out of it. Modified airplane spin by Baliyan but Kaho sneaks in a cradle for two. Schoolboy attempt by Kaho but Baliyan blocks it, Kaho applies a bodyscissors but Baliyan lays backwards to cover her for the three count! Baliyan is the winner!

Baliyan Akki vs. Mei Suruga – Mei is already in the window and ready to go, Baliyan sees her and approaches the window by Mei dives into the room with a hurricanrana. Baliyan throws Mei into the wall and hits a bodyblock, he goes to pick her up but Mei pushes him off and attempts a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Baliyan blocks it however and hits a gutbuster, cover by Baliyan but it gets two. Baliyan picks up Mei but Mei fights back and dropkicks Baliyan in the knee. Kick to the chest by Mei but Baliyan flips her into a cover for two. Baliyan goes for another cradle but Mei rolls through it, however before she can do anything the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

So short time limit gauntlet matches are always a bit of a challenge as just by their structure its hard for any pairing to get anything going. In the case of a retirement match, it makes sense as there are emotions involved, but really no emotions here as each match was a pretty normal sprint. No one looked bad, which is a plus, but no one really got a chance to shine either. Baliyan did a solid job of adapting to each opponent, but there were some moments of awkwardness throughout. For a free small event, no harm done, but not an overly exciting main event either.