Act Yasukawa Retirement Photobook Details:

Title: Act Yasukawa Retirement Photobook
Release: December 23rd, 2015
Cost: ¥2,500
Where to Buy: Third Party Vendors (Ebay, Buyee. Toudoukan, etc.)

During her brief wrestling career, few wrestlers in Stardom left more of an impact on Joshi fans than Act Yasukawa. Universally loved, her story of fighting through a rough childhood and battling Graves’ Disease made her a popular underdog wrestler, overcoming odds throughout her career to reach the upper tier of Stardom. Sadly, her in-ring wrestling career came to a premature end, and she was forced into an early retirement. To celebrate and highlight her career, Stardom released a photobook at her retirement show in December of 2015.

To say this photobook is a must for fans of Act Yasukawa would be an understatement. Since her career wasn’t very long, the photobook covers every aspect of her career, from her early days in Stardom up through her final matches. Some photos from past Stardom photobooks are included as well, as the photobook has a nice variety of modeling-style photos, in-ring photos, posed photos with her titles or partners, year highlight pages, and also some casual photos. The photobook does include a photo from the Yoshiko Incident, which may make some fans uncomfortable but it was a pivotal moment in her career and Stardom must have felt it was too important to completely leave out. All photobooks were signed on the front as well, making them a major collectible for Act Yasukawa fans. With over 50 pages (all in color), the Act Yasukawa Retirement Photobook may be my favorite Stardom photobook ever released, as it highlights one of the brightest and most popular stars the promotion ever had. Here are a sample of pictures from the photobook:

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Full Details

Title: Bikiniing Stardom Visual Book
Release: July 2012
Pages: 58
Cost: ¥2,750
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

As is the tradition for the Bikiniing series, this photobook features the Stardom wrestlers in bikinis or something similar. Nothing in this first edition is overly scandalous and many of the photos aren’t actually taken on a beach/outside but rather in a professional studio. Not all the outfits are revealing, as wrestlers mostly stayed in gimmick if they aren’t the “bikini” type (such as Yoshiko). The following wrestlers were featured:

• Io Shirai
• Nanae Takahashi
• Miho Wakizawa
• Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Yuzuki Aikawa
• Yoko Bito
• Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane)
• Natsumi Showzuki
• Natsuki Taiyo
• Mayu Iwatani
• Eri Susa
• Haruka Kato
• Act Yasukawa (also as Yuka Yasukawa)
• Yoshiko

As for the pictures, the ‘special’ aspect of this particular photobook is as far as I know this was the only photobook that pictured and labeled Act Yasukawa by her real name. She has pictures in the photobook both as herself and as Act Yasukawa. Otherwise, the pictures are pretty standard for the photobook series, as they include both individual pictures of the wrestlers and some group shots as well. Also to note – Hiroyo Matsumoto only has one picture in the photobook, so if you are a big fan of hers, I wouldn’t recommend buying this photobook just for her even though she rarely participates in these types of photoshoots. Here are some sample pictures from the photobook:

The post Bikiniing Stardom Visual Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

Stardom is another promotion that I am introducing myself to as I broaden my wrestling viewing a bit. I have heard good things about the promotion as they have some skilled wrestlers, so hopefully their first event to be taped for 2014 leaves a positive first impression. This is a big event for Stardom as three of their titles are being defended. Here is the full card:

• Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
• Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
• Takumi Iroha 10 Match Series 4th: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Let’s hop to it.

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase

A rookie match, although I am glad that Manase is over 18 with that outfit that she wears.  It was easy to tell these two are still learning, as they still haven’t mastered the staple of Puroresu – strike exchanges.  But besides the awkwardness of those it was not a bad match, just basic which is understandable.  Manase hit her kicks well (the Heel Drop was nice) and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive or anything.  Rookies need experience so while not a great match it wasn’t a bad way to start out the event.

Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Matsumoto, and Iwatani

I don’t care what all the results say on various websites, it was Matsumoto that got the pin, not Toyota… I know who Toyota is.   Only half of the match was shown but I assume we got the gist of it, I am not 100% sure what the significance of the brown bag is but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.  We didn’t really see enough of this to get a great feel for it, but what we saw was fine.  Compared to the last match you could tell these were more seasoned wrestlers as the moves were all hit smoothly and they kept the pace going.  Solid match, just not a lot of it was shown.

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

Looks like we only saw about half the match.  Yoshiko needs a new killer move, I am generally not a big fan of repeating big moves in a match unless its a big title match or something, especially if the move is just a set-up for the finisher.  Iroha is a rookie going through her ‘trial series’ so it is more about her learning than it is about her actually winning matches.  Maybe here she learned that trading strikes with someone twice your size is not a great idea.  Seemed fine for what we saw but I would have liked to have seen the first half of the match.

(c) Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with a big boot, Kimura goes off the ropes now but Takahashi hits a lariat.  Waistlock by Takahashi but Kimura elbows out of it.  Elbows by Takahashi and she applies another waistlock, Wakizawa comes in the ring to help and Takahashi is finally able to hit the backdrop suplex.  Cover, but Kimura gets a foot on the bottom rope.  We clip ahead as Alpha Female is in the ring and she lariats Wakizawa.  She and Takahashi both go off the ropes but Takahashi’s lariat hits the mark.  Takahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle, Wakizawa then runs in the ring and Wakizawa hurricanranas Takahashi onto Alpha Female.  German suplex hold by Wakizawa to Alpha Female but it gets a two count.  Wakizawa picks up Alpha Female but Alpha Female hits a short-arm lariat.  Alpha Female goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is back in the ring and hits Alpha Female.  Wakizawa then gets up, she joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex.  Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two.  Wakizawa stomps Alpha Female, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura runs up on the apron and stops her.  Takahashi knocks Kimura out of the ring, while Alpha Female joins Wakizawa on the top turnbuckle.  Wakizawa quickly jumps down and sits Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, Wakizawa then climbs back up and goes for a Frankensteiner, but Alpha Female catches her.  Kimura comes in the ring and holds Wakizawa, and Alpha Female comes off the top turnbuckle, slamming Wakizawa into the mat.  Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and hits a shoulder drop slam, cover, but again Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and puts her on her shoulders, but Wakizawa gets off and hits a backslide for a two count.  Wakizawa and Takahashi put their opponents lying in the ring, they both go up to the top turnbuckle and go for diving body presses, but both Kimura and Alpha Female get their knees up.  Alpha Female hits a lariat onto Wakizawa, cover, but Wakizawa barely kicks out.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and nails the Alpha Plex, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners and new champions:  Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female

A solid match, but the clips in the action made it hard for the wrestlers to really get a good flow going as it was disjointed in parts.  Not that it is their fault, it is just the way the match was presented which is disappointing for a title match.  The wrestling was generally solid although a bit silly at times (such as the ketchup usage and Wakizawa doing a Frankensteiner on her own partner).  There wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with the match, the skipping just hurt the structure.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and goes for a crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets a hand on the ropes.  Stomps to the back by Hojo, she puts Yasukawa on her shoulders but Yasukawa hops off and elbows Hojo in the chest.  Hojo elbows her back and they trade strikes, which Yasukawa gets the better of.  Hojo gets back up and elbows Yasukawa against the ropes, double chop by Hojo and she goes off the ropes, but Yasukawa catches her and slams Hojo to the mat.  Cover, but it gets a two.  Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hojo recovers in time and throws her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.  Hojo then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back.  Cover, but Yasukawa gets a shoulder up.  Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and cranks down, twisting Yasukawa’s back.  Yasukawa rakes Hojo in the face to break up the hold and hits Hojo in the head.  Hojo recovers first and elbows Yasukawa while they are still on their knees, and Hojo delivers a headbutt.  Cover, but  it only gets two.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa and elbows her in the head, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her with an STO.  Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a rolling senton, cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up.  Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo lands on her feet and elbows Yasukawa in the back of the head.  Jackknife hold by Hojo, but Yasukawa gets a foot on the ropes.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa, snapmare, she goes off the ropes but Yasukawa ducks the elbow and rolls her up for a two count.  Yasukawa quickly applies the Stretch Muffler, adding in a leg hook to apply more pressure.  Hojo fights it for several moments but she is stuck, and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner and still champion:  Act Yasukawa

This was a really good and well worked match.  The focus by Hojo on Yasukawa’s back was done really well as she never lost focus the entire match.  Yasukawa on her part also sold it the entire match and even failed to be able to apply her finishing move the first time because of it, something that I always enjoy seeing as it just shows that both wrestlers understand the psychology being used and won’t sacrifice that just to get a spot in.  Also the referee calling for the bell without Hojo submitting keeps her strong, as even though it was the right call she protested after the match and stayed crying in the ring while Yasukawa celebrated.  Just overall a really entertaining back and forth battle between these two.   Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
World of Stardom Championship

Taiyo goes back to the arm and goes for a jackknife hold, but Shirai pushes her way out of it.  Sit-down powerbomb by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.  Taiyo goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a dropkick.  Taiyo falls out of the ring, she tries to skin the cat but Shirai dropkicks her in the back.  Shirai bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Taiyo with a plancha through the ropes.  Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Taiyo as she was starting to get up.  Shirai throws Taiyo into the ring, she then goes on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick.  Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits another swandive dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Shirai waits for Taiyo to get up and goes for a kick, Taiyo blocks the first one but not the second one.  Kick to the side of the head by Shirai but Taiyo finally catches one and hits a powerbomb.  Shirai deflects Taiyo’s next attack and delivers another kick to the side of the head.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner and hits a standing moonsault, she then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, and finally she hits one off the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai goes up top again but Taiyo is up in plenty of time and jumps on top as well.  Taiyo goes for a German suplex off the top but Shirai lands on her feet and delivers a sliding kick to Taiyo.  Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and goes for a suplex but Taiyo slides between her legs.  They trade move attempts before getting into a strike battle, Taiyo grabs Shirai and hits the leg capture suplex hold for a two count.  Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double stomp, cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes and delivers the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb for a two count.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a hard elbow, but Taiyo returns fire as they trade shots.  Headbutt by Shirai and a slap sends Taiyo to her knees.  Sliding kick by Shirai, cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault doublestomp .  Shirai goes up top again and this time she hits a second incredibly accurate moonsault doublestomp.  Suplex de Io by Shirai and she picks up the three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Io Shirai

Well this was a match.  To get straight to the point I thought it was pretty amazing.  There were some little things here and there that didn’t work as they tried to get too cute, but considering the speed in which they go and having very little downtime some missteps here and there are expected.  It may stop the match from becoming an all-time classic but it doesn’t take away from all that they did right.  I have to admit any match with a perfect moonsault doublestomp automatically is good in my book, it is such an awesome looking move when hit properly like the second one was in this match.  I hadn’t seen either of these women before and Shirai is great fun to watch as she was just flying around everywhere.  They didn’t spend a lot of time with submission holds, just a few general ‘weaken your opponent’ ones and seemed content to just drop bombs and big moves on each other.  It felt like a big match, and it was as this was a big anniversary show for the promotion, so they were sure to end the event with a bang.  Overall just a great match, I can look past a few of the hiccups when a match is as exciting as this one, definitely a must-see.  Highly Recommended

review completed on 3/25/14

The post Stardom “Third Anniversary” on 1/26/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

As a fan of just about anything, you tend to get sad when someone you enjoy retires. That is true for actors, sports players, and of course in this case wrestlers. Generally you are happy for them as usually people retire to move on to something else they want to do, but we still miss them. This event is for the retirement of Natsuki*Taiyo, who had been wrestling for ten years. It is not uncommon in Joshi for wrestlers to retire when still in their 20s (Taiyo had just turned 30), a lot of them start young but burn out early, leaving either to pursue their career or to start a family. So we are happy to have had her, and sad to see her go. Here is the full card for the event:

• Stardom vs. Enemy Army Elimination Match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Miho Wakizawa, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Sayaka Obihiro
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
• Natsuki*Taiyo Retirement Match ~ Forever High Speed: Natsuki*Taiyo  vs. Nanae Takahashi

All the Joshi wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa

This is an elimination tag team match, but you can also be eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. Dino and Yoshiko start things off. Yoshiko pushes Dino but Dino pushes her back. Another push by Dino but Yoshiko pushes him in return and they trade pushes. Dino goes off the ropes but he can’t shoulderblock Yoshiko down. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but she also has no luck. Dino goes off the ropes but Yoshiko stays on her feet, Yoshiko does the same but finally Dino shoulderblocks her down. Yasukawa comes in the ring but Dino punches her back out of it. Hojo comes in, she gets punched as well. Koguma comes in next, punches by Dino but she ducks one and hits a series of elbows. Dino blocks one however and hits a series of headbutts, Dino goes off the ropes but Koguma delivers a dropkick. Yoshiko returns and she hits a big boot onto Dino. Facewashes in the corner by Yoshiko followed by a running kick. Yoshiko picks up Dino but Dino punches her off, he goes for the Testicular Claw but he has nothing to grab. Punches by Dino as his teammates come in the ring, and everyone hits running strikes in the corner. Snap vertical suplex by Dino and he pulls down his pants, Hojo comes in the ring and she slaps Dino, forcing Dino to sit on Yoshiko for a two count. Punch by Dino and he kicks Yoshiko into the corner. She rebounds out of it and almost falls into Dino’s tights, but stops herself. Dino and Yoshiko trade punches, Dino goes to go off the ropes but Hojo is standing in the way. She snaps his neck over the top rope, Dino goes to yell at Hojo outside the ring, allowing Yoshiko to send Dino crashing out of it. Danshoku Dino is eliminated.

Nakagawa comes in the ring next as does Koguma, and Nakagawa avoids Koguma’s dropkick. Nakagawa throws Koguma in the corner but Koguma avoids the charge and hits a monkey flip. Sunset flip by Koguma, but Nakagawa is in the ropes. Tornado DDT attempt by Koguma but Nakagawa shrugs her off as everyone comes in the ring to beat up Koguma. Kimura holds Koguma for Nakagawa but Koguma moves out of the way, she covers both Kimura and Nakagawa but it gets a two count. Face crusher/dropkick combination to Koguma, cover, but it gets a two count. Nakagawa hits a Fisherman Suplex on Koguma and then locks in the CRB, and Koguma has no choice but to submit. Koguma is eliminated.

Nakagawa stomps on Hojo, she picks her up and throws her in the corner before tagging in Alpha Female. Snapmare by Alpha Female and she clubs Hojo repeatedly in the chest. Alpha Female tags in Kimura, Kimura puts Hojo in the ropes and all three wrestlers press their boots into her face. Kimura goes off the ropes and jumps down onto Hojo, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo gets back up and clubs Kimura in the chest, but Kimura absorbs the blow. She does it again and a third time, but still with no luck. Repeated clubs by Hojo, she goes off the ropes and goes for a spear but Kimura catches her and applies a grounded facelock. Hojo eventually gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo tags in Nakagawa, Nakagawa picks up Hojo but Hojo applies an inside cradle for a two count. Waistlock by Nakagawa, reversed, and Yasukawa runs in the ring to attack everyone. Yoshiko hits a senton onto Nakagawa, and she tosses Hojo onto Nakagawa. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakagawa has recovered and elbows her. Nakagawa goes for a high kick, but she misses and goes over the top rope and onto the apron. Hojo hops back down into the ring and kicks Nakagawa off the apron to the floor. Tomoka Nakagawa is eliminated.

Alpha Female comes in and knocks Hojo to the mat, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Alpha Female picks up Hojo, Irish whip, Alpha Female tosses Hojo out to the apron but Hojo ducks when she charges in and jumps off the top turnbuckle to get back in the ring. Alpha Female gets Hojo on her shoulders but Hojo hits an armdrag, then Yoshiko runs in with a senton. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the diving elbow drop. Cover, but Kimura breaks it up. Yoshiko knocks Kimura out of the ring, Hojo goes off the ropes but Kimura kicks her from the apron and Alpha Female hits a lariat. Cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and nails the Alpha Plex Hold, picking up the three count. Kairi Hojo is eliminated.

Yoshiko and Yasukawa both run into the ring, and Kimura puts Yasukawa in a sleeper hold. Yoshiko eventually runs in to break it up, Alpha Female comes in as well and Alpha Female elbows Yoshiko. Yoshiko elbows her back but Kimura kicks Yoshiko from behind. They pick up Yoshiko, double Irish whip but Yoshiko hits a double lariat. Yoshiko positions Alpha Female in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse splash. Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle but Alpha Female rolls out of the way of the senton and Kimura kicks her in the head. Double Irish whip to Yoshiko into the corner, Alpha Female hits a lariat and Kimura follows with an elbow. Lariat by Alpha Female, cover, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Kimura picks up Yoshiko while Alpha Female goes up to the second turnbuckle, but Yoshiko gets away and punches Kimura into Alpha Female. Yoshiko joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, and Alpha Female dumps Yoshiko out to the apron. Yoshiko quickly gets up and pulls Alpha Female onto the apron with her, and both wrestlers hit lariats. They do it again, but Yoshiko ducks one and she knocks Alpha Female off the apron. Alpha Female is eliminated.

Dino gets on the apron and holds Yoshiko for Kimura, Kimura goes off the ropes but Yasukawa trips her from the floor. Yasukawa gets on the apron and holds Kimura for Yoshiko, Yoshiko charges in but Kimura moves. Yoshiko almost knocks Yasukawa off the apron but she stops in time, Kimura gets a running start and goes for a big boot but both Yasukawa and Yoshiko move out of the way and Kimura tumbles out of the ring. Kyoko Kimura is eliminated. Your winners of the match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma

For a 15 minute eight wrestler elimination tag match this was fine. My main complaint would simply be that this match had some of my favorite Stardom wrestlers (Hojo, Yasukawa, Kimura, and Alpha Female) but obviously in this style of match they really didn’t get much of a chance to shine. I’d rather have seen them get more time to do something. Having Dino in the match was fun since 80% of his offense is normally gay-based which doesn’t really work on women. But he was the first one eliminated and after that it was just your standard action in these types of matches. It was nothing bad since the wrestlers in the match were quality, it is just a limiting match stipulation that gave them more restrictions than I’d have preferred.

(c) Miho Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Obihiro
Artist of Stardom Championship

Yoneyama and company attack their opponents to start the match and they all attack Iwatani together before making a little pyramid with her. Matsumoto is having none of that and pelts all three with tawashis (see below for what the hell a tawashis is, y’all about to get educated), then they hit Kamen and Yoneyama with ribbons. Obihiro is put into the ropes so they can wrap the ribbons around her before running into the crowd to I assume try to kill her, but the ribbon snaps which sends everyone flying. This never works. Back in the ring Obihiro and Kamen hit running strikes on Iwatani in the corner, Obihiro goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving double chop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Obihiro chops Iwatani against the ropes, Irish whip, blocked, and Iwatani flips Obihiro to the mat. She applies a submission but it is quickly broken up, Iwatani goes off the ropes but Obihiro hits a sunset flip for a two count. Yoneyama grabs Iwatani and applies a leg submission but Wakizawa uses a rope to try to help Iwatani to the ropes. This doesn’t work of course, Irish whip by Yoneyama to Iwatani but Iwatani hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Kamen comes in the ring but Iwatani hits a springboard armdrag on both of them before tagging in Matsumoto. Matsumoto shoulderblocks all three of her opponents, Irish whip by Matsumoto to Yoneyama and she slams Yoneyama to the mat. Cover, but Yoneyama quickly gets out of it. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, but it only gets a two count. Matsumoto tags in Wakizawa, Matsumoto holds Yoneyama for Wakizawa but Yoneyama ducks and Wakizawa puts The Claw on Matsumoto.

Yoneyama rolls up Wakizawa from behind but it gets a two count. Yoneyama tags in Kamen, Wakizawa goes for The Claw on Kamen but it is blocked. Obihiro comes in the ring but Wakizawa bites her in the hand, Kamen kicks Wakizawa in the head but she only gets a two count. Kamen goes up to the top turnbuckle but Wakizawa recovers and joins her up top while Matsumoto dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Wakizawa hits a Frankensteiner into the pile, then Iwatani gets a big one and holds it against Kamen. Matsumoto charges in with a body avalanche, which hurts her just as much. Dropkick by Iwatani to Kamen, and Matsumoto puts the mega tawashi on her chest. Wakizawa and Iwatani get onto Matsumoto’s back and they all fall onto Kamen. Wakizawa goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Kamen, cover, but Obihiro breaks it up. Wakizawa picks up Kamen and she goes for a Fisherman Buster but Kamen blocks it. Kamen goes for a vertical suplex onto the mega tawashi, but Iwatani slides in and moves it so that Kamen actually lands on it and not Wakizawa. Wakizawa picks it up but Yoneyama grabs the tawashi from behind. Obihiro runs in and chops Wakizawa in the throat, inside cradle by Kamen but it gets a two count. Yoneyama throws the tawashi out of the ring, while in the ring Kamen puts Wakizawa on her shoulders. Yoneyama goes up top but Matsumoto hits her from the apron with a different tawashi, Backslide with Venom by Wakizawa to Kamen and she picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions: Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Iwatani!

True story – I have been wondering for the last year what those little brown balls they use in these matches were, but I looked online and no one seemed to reference what they were. I mean its not like there are tons of Stardom reviews in English on the Internet. So I finally figured I’d just ask one of the wrestlers and hope for a reply. I tweeted Kellie Skater, and within a few hours she advised that they are tawashis. A tawashi is a hard, rough scrubbing brush, so when they are rubbed against someone’s skin, as you can imagine that would hurt. So thanks to Kellie for answering this question that has been bothering Stardom fans for a long time. Anyway, as far as the match, it was pretty much the same as it always is, except at least now I know what is going on. I am glad these matches aren’t too long since they are generally comedy matches, and they did get a few chuckles out of me such as when Kamen accidentally landed on the tawashi when going for the vertical suplex. I think a few of these wrestlers actually are good but its so hard to tell in short comedy matches, all the action was crisp anyway. Exactly what you’d expect, I can’t score it low since it does what it is trying to do and it is funny at times, but it isn’t what I would consider high quality wrestling.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
World of Stardom Championship

Shirai slaps Iroha to start the match but Iroha slaps her back, she goes off the ropes and hits a heel kick. German suplex by Iroha and she hits a second one, she picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away. Kick by Iroha and she hits a vertical suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai but Shirai elbows her and they trade shots. Shirai goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a lariat, Iroha goes off the ropes but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iroha and hits a series of elbows. Iroha elbows Shirai as well and both wrestlers fall to their knees. Waistlock by Shirai, reversed by Iroha and Iroha applies a side headlock. Shirai eventually punches out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Iroha gets out of it but Shirai hits a cartwheel dropkick. Iroha falls out of the ring, Shirai goes off the far ropes and sails between the ropes onto Iroha with a plancha suicida. Shirai slides Iroha back into the ring and applies a stretch hold before throwing Iroha to the mat. Kicks to the face by Shirai and she chokes Iroha with her boot. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Iroha runs over and dropkicks her off, sending Shirai to the apron. Iroha goes out to the apron as well and chops Shirai repeatedly in the chest. Waistlock by Iroha but Shirai slides through her legs and hits a reverse DDT on the apron. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out to the floor with a plancha onto Iroha. Iroha recovers as she is pulled back to the ring and elbows Shirai before hitting a vertical suplex on the floor. Iroha slides Shirai back into the ring and applies a crab hold, but Shirai makes it to the ropes to force the break. Iroha stomps Shirai and charges her in the corner, but Shirai slides out to the apron and kicks her back. Shirai goes for a swandive move but Iroha uppercuts her mid-move and then hits a doublestomp to her back while Shirai is lying over the ropes. Cover, but it gets two. Iroha picks up Shirai and applies the Gory Special, she then releases the hold and goes for Shirai’s leg but Shirai kicks her back.

Spinning kick to the head by Shirai and she hits the Shinkansen Attack. Cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Arm trap crossface by Shirai but Iroha inches to the ropes and gets there to get the break. Shirai picks up Iroha, she puts Iroha on the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Swandive missile dropkick by Shirai, cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai positions Iroha in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iroha has recovered and hits her from behind. Slingshot suplex by Iroha and she holds on to Shirai to hit a second suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai around the waist but Shirai elbows free, Shirai goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana but Iroha blocks it and applies a crab hold. Shirai slowly inches to the ropes and eventually makes it there to force a break. Iroha positions Shirai, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai has slid out to the apron. Shirai climbs up top with Iroha and they trade punches and elbows. High kick by Shirai, she slides back out to the apron and then springboards back up to the top to hit a Frankensteiner. Standing moonsault by Shirai, then she hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and finally one off the top turnbuckle. Cover, but Iroha gets a shoulder up. Shirai picks up Iroha and hits the Shining Wizard. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai goes for a swinging kick but Iroha ducks it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Heel kick to the back of the head by Iroha, she picks up Shirai and she nails the powerbomb. Cover, but Shirai kicks out at two. Iroha goes for a Scorpion Deathlock but Shirai rolls through it and kicked Iroha in the face. La Magistral by Shirai, but Iroha kicks out at two. Elbow by Shirai but Iroha elbows her back and they trade shots back on their feet. Uppercut by Shirai but Iroha slaps her, but Shirai turns around and hits a running headbutt. Package German Suplex Hold by Shirai, and she picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Io Shirai

There must be some backstory on how Iroha got a title shot considering how young and inexperienced she is, but looking over the results I couldn’t get any clues. But it made for a good superstar vs. underdog dynamic, even if you knew that Iroha had no chance of winning. That hurt the crowd reactions a bit but it was still a really good match. From watching it you’d know that Iroha was an underdog but she didn’t act over-matched at all, she was exchanging strikes and getting nearfalls the same as any other challenger. Shirai didn’t take it easy either, which she could have done since this event already had a major attraction, as she was doing dives and spring boarding off of things just like she always does. Even with Iroha’s more limited experience the match was really crisp, I didn’t notice any awkward moments, and the match flowed really well with no real downtime. A predictable ending but a fun journey to get there for sure.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Nanae Takahashi

This is Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Match. They lock knuckles to start, side headlock by Taiyo but Takahashi gets out of it. Wristlock by Taiyo, Takahashi gets Taiyo to the mat but Taiyo wiggles away as they trade submission attempts. Both wrestlers return to their feet, tie-up, side headlock by Taiyo, Takahashi Irish whips out of it and hits a shoulderblock. Takahashi goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag, springboard by Taiyo and she hits an armdrag of her own. Takahashi falls out of the ring, Taiyo fakes a dive but ends up swinging herself back into the ring. Takahashi returns after a moment, elbows by Taiyo and she clubs Takahashi in the back. Taiyo and Takahashi trade elbows, armbar by Taiyo but Takahashi reverses it. Armdrag by Taiyo and she dropkicks Takahashi in the knee. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and kicks Takahashi in the arm. Knee to the arm by Taiyo and she yanks on Takahashi’s arm. Kicks to the arm by Taiyo and she twists it around her knee. Takahashi gets out of it and gets Taiyo’s ankle, applying an ankle hold. Taiyo flips out of the hold, elbow by Takahashi but Taiyo elbows her back. Taiyo throws Takahashi into the corner and elbows her some more, Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, Taiyo moves when Takahashi charges in and hits a palm thrust. Two more by Taiyo but Takahashi grabs her by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Dropkick to the knee by Takahashi and she applies a knee lock. Takahashi applies a stretch hold before going back to the leg, and she eventually applies a figure four leg lock. Taiyo gets into the ropes to force a break, Takahashi grabs her leg and hops down on it while it is propped on the bottom rope. Kicks to the head by Takahashi, Taiyo fights back but Takahashi knocks her back to the mat. Taiyo gets back up and they trade elbows, an exchange that Takahashi gets the better of. Takahashi throws Taiyo into the corner and chops her in the chest before hitting a lariat. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo quickly joins her, Takahashi catches Taiyo with a sleeper and tosses her back to the mat. Missile dropkick by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi goes up to the top again but Taiyo jumps up with her and hits an armdrag. Springboard moonsault by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Taiyo but Takahashi elbows out of it. They trade elbows, Takahashi charges Taiyo in the corner but Taiyo kicks her back and flips out to the apron. Trip by Taiyo and she hits a slingshot double stomp before kicking Takahashi out of the ring.

Taiyo gets a running start and hits a triple jump springboard plancha out of the ring onto Takahashi. Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, and Taiyo goes flying into a row of chairs. Takahashi throws her into some more chairs and a third time. Takahashi takes Taiyo to a different part of the arena and does the same thing, she then takes Taiyo up the aisle into the bleachers, but Taiyo starts fighting back. They trade elbows up in the crowd for a bit before Takahashi knocks Taiyo back down towards ringside, but Taiyo slaps Takahashi until she falls to the floor. Takahashi gets back up and they trade elbows again until both fall to ground. Takahashi gets back in the ring with Taiyo slowly following, Takahashi picks up Taiyo and elbows her, leading to another elbow exchange. Taiyo kicks Takahashi in the leg and then hits a dropkick, Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the missile dropkick. Dropkick in the corner by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi rolls out of the way of the double stomp and hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ankle hold by Takahashi but Taiyo is able to make it to the ropes. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and chops her in the corner, Irish whip, but Taiyo rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Taiyo and she applies an armbar to Takahashi. Takahashi makes it into the ropes for a break, Taiyo picks her up and goes for a powerbomb, but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo goes off the ropes, leapfrog, she kicks Takahashi and hits the Iguchi Bomb. Kick to the head by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her with a powerbomb and hits a sliding kick. Cover, but it only gets a two. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets into the ropes. Takahashi pulls her back and hits a backdrop suplex and then hits a second one. Lariat by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo, Taiyo fights her off and she goes for the sunset flip powerbomb but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo hits an armdrag before applying the Triple Taiyo☆Chan La Magistral for a two count.

Taiyo goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana, but Takahashi catches her and sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but Taiyo rolls through it for her own two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Takahashi gets away and slams Takahashi to the mat. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi and hits the leg trap German suplex hold for a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her and hits a second Nana☆Racka for a two count cover. Takahashi drags Taiyo to her feet, Taiyo gets away and kicks Takahashi in the stomach, back kick by Taiyo and she hits another one. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi hits a jumping kick to the face. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo rolls out of the way of the body press. Taiyo goes for the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb but Takahashi sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets away from her, knees by Taiyo and she hits a back kick. Taiyo☆Chan Bomb by Taiyo, but Takahashi barely gets a shoulder up. Momo☆Latch by Taiyo, but Takahashi kicks out again at two. Taiyo clubs Takahashi in the back and puts her up on the top turnbuckle, she joins her but Takahashi clubs her off. Diving body press by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi slowly goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo is up and knocks her to a seated position. Taiyo tries to join her, Takahashi knocks her back to the mat but Taiyo gets back up and jumps up to the top turnbuckle. Takahashi slides off however, Taiyo jumps off the top turnbuckle and hits the Momo☆Latch, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi, slaps by Taiyo, and she kicks Takahashi in the ribs. Headbutt by Takahashi and they trade elbows, Takahashi goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and she nails the One Second EX. Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up. Takahashi charges Taiyo but Taiyo knocks her back, Taiyo gets up on the top turnbuckle but Takahashi grabs her and hits the Nanaracka☆100. Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Nanae Takahashi

The match was probably a little bit longer than it needed to be as some parts of the match did drag (such as the battling up in the crowd section), but overall it was still a really good match. I have no idea how Taiyo can even concentrate as retirement matches can be so emotional, but for the most part the action was very crisp and fluid. The early limb work was ultimately blown off, but the limbs weren’t really targeted long enough to expect them to sell it for the rest of the match, so I won’t hold it against them. Taiyo has so much energy, even after a 30 minute match she was still springboarding around, things like that is why everyone loved her… she just has more gears than most humans do. Even though she lost, Taiyo didn’t go down easy as she took most of Takahashi’s big moves, some of them twice. Overall it was a fitting ending, shame she couldn’t get the win but generally in Japan wrestlers lose in their official retirement matches, that is just the way it goes. An emotional and exciting ending to the career of the original High Speed Champion.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Ceremony

I am not going to do a play by play of a Retirement Ceremony, but if you’ve never watched a Joshi Retirement Ceremony you really should sometime. First of all, from start to finish it was over 40 minutes long. It had a bit of everything, first Taiyo talked for a bit, they did some dancing, then all the Stardom wrestlers came down and gave Taiyo flowers one by one. It is pretty emotional as everyone is crying, so if you are an emotional person like me, don’t watch this with anyone else in the room as it will be really hard to explain. Along with the Stardom wrestlers, many legends came down to wish her well also, including Bull Nakano and Momoe Nakanishi. Some just gave flowers, some playfully attacked her, it likely depended on her personal relationships with them. Animal Hamaguchi came out last which got Taiyo the most emotional as he helped train her, and he talked a bit before leading the crowd in a cheer. It ends with everyone leaving the ring as the lights go down, and Taiyo gets her final farewell. Its a much more… personal retirement than most wrestlers get but its normal for long-time (and well liked) Joshi wrestlers. Probably too long for the common fan to sit through, especially if you don’t speak Japanese, but it does show that they know how to send people out the right way. I can’t imagine trying to do a wrestling match knowing all of this is coming, but that is why they are professionals and I just watch them while politely judging everything they do. But it was a really nice ceremony and you could tell from the emotions how much people will miss Taiyo, she was the life of Stardom at times and she will be hard to replace.

event originally reviewed on 1/5/15

The post Stardom “Natsuki Taiyo Retirement ~ High Speed Forever” on 6/1/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

I am a bit behind in my Stardom reviewing, so we are going to catch up really quick. This is a big show for Stardom on several different levels. First, Act Yasukawa has a big singles match against Kairi Hojo to find the #1 Contender for the World of Stardom Championship. Also, Iwatani challenges La Rosa Negra for the High Speed Championship and Dark Angel challenges Io Shirai for the Wonder of Stardom Championship! This was billed as Dark Angel’s last match in Japan before going to WWE. Here is the full card:

• Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Haruka Kato vs. Saori Anou
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid
• Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• High Speed Championship: La Rosa Negra vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Dark Angel

As is a normal feature on Joshi City, you can click on the wrestler names above to go directly to the wrestler’s profile.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf

This is Hiromi Mimura’s debut. I can’t find a lot of information on her, but she is 29 years old and was set to debut several times but it was delayed due to injury. But here she finally has her first match and it is against the energetic Wolf. This will no doubt be basic but I am sure that Mimura and Wolf have interacted quite a bit in the dojo so hopefully it will at least be smooth.

Wolf toys with Mimura to start but Mimura kicks her from behind and they go to the mat trading holds. Wolf bites Mimura in the arm but Mimura applies a wristlock. Wolf quickly gets out of it, snapmare by Wolf and she kicks Mimura in the back. Mimura gets back up and elbows Wolf, but Wolf kicks her in the leg as they go back and forth trading strikes. Mimura surprisingly gets the better of it, dropkick by Mimura and she covers Wolf for two. Back up, Mimura rolls Wolf to the mat and applies a leg submission, but Wolf gets out of it and gives Mimura a hard knee to the head. Running kneelift by Wolf, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Mimura rolls out of the way of her dive and hits a quick crossbody for two. Wolf elbows Mimura away and they trade shots until Wolf pulls down Mimura by her hair and hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Jumping knee by Wolf in the corner and she kicks Mimura in the back for another two. Wolf suplexes Mimura, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving double kneedrop for a three count! Kris Wolf wins the match.

This was not your typical wrestler debut, for a few reasons. First, Mimura is not a child so she can physically hang with Wolf as their sizes/strength are similar. Second, Mimura started training a year ago, so she has some decent experience. And finally, Wolf just debuted in August 2014 herself, so while she does have more experience it is not a significant amount. I thought this was pretty solid for a debut, I am sure there are some nerves but it was pretty smooth and Mimura showed off some really solid moves. If she sticks with it and continues improving, Mimura will likely have success in Stardom down the road, the match was too short to get excited about but not a bad way to start the event.

Haruka Kato vs. Saori Anou

This is random as hell. If you don’t know who Anou is, don’t feel bad. Anou wrestles for a small promotion called Actress girl’Z (now Actwres girl’Z). They are a beginners level promotion (their twitter handle is actually “Beginning Pro”) that puts on small events that never make television. So I have never seen Anou before and I am not sure why she is wrestling on a Stardom card. Kato is a solid midcard wrestler that likes doing cross armbreakers, which is the primary reason I like her and not because she is stunningly cute.

They tie-up to kick things off, shoulderblock by Anou and she hits another one. Anou picks up Kato but Kato elbows her away and they trade shots. Scoop slam by Kato and she applies a cross armbreaker, but Anou rolls it into a cover for two. They both go off the ropes, Anou hits a shoulderblock and hits a nice fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Backslide with a bridge by Anou, but that gets a two as well. Anou goes for another fisherman suplex but Kato gets out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy for two. Kato goes back to the arm, she gets the cross armbreaker locked in and Anou has to submit! Kato is your winner.

I thought this was a step down from the last match, as these two did not have the chemistry that Mimura and Wolf had. When Anou had a chance to show a few things she can do it worked fine, she is very bendy, but the match itself was disjointed. Kato isn’t known for her high-end matches so the bar was low for Anou’s Stardom debut, and while it may have worked to introduce her to the crowd it wasn’t the best situation to put Anou in to succeed. Watchable, but nothing more than that.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

Another debut, as this is Starlight Kid’s first match. I can’t find much information on her, the fact she wears a mask and has a gimmick name obviously doesn’t make it any easier. But this is a pretty low key situation to debut, as it is a short triple threat match against a seasoned veteran in Yoneyama and a literal child that debuted late last year.

Watanabe is teamed up on first but Starlight Kid rolls up Yoneyama for a quick two count. Handstand into a spinning headscissors by Starlight Kid to Yoneyama and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors on Watanabe. Watanabe falls out of the ring but returns after a moment, and Starlight Kid hits a dropkick for a two count. Yoneyama comes back in and throws Watanabe and Starlight Kid in the same corner, but they avoid her when she charges in. Watanabe and Starlight Kid both attack Yoneyama in the corner, Watanabe dropkicks Starlight Kid in the opposite corner and take turns dropkicking both of them. Reverse STO by Watanabe to Starlight Kid and she hits rolling vertical suplexes for a two count. Shiranui by Starlight Kid to Watanabe, but Yoneyama breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid falls out of the ring, Yoneyama goes up top and she hits a diving senton on Watanabe for the three count! Yoneyama wins the match.

I gotta say, for a debut I thought this was about as good as you can get. Starlight Kid showed a lot of ability in this short match, obviously it wasn’t long enough to see much of her but she showed a lot of quickness. Beyond that this was nothing special, as these triple threat Stardom matches generally aren’t, but it was fun to watch the rookie go.

Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo

This match is for the #1 Contendership for the World of Stardom Championship held my Meiko Satomura. These two need no introduction. Hojo is the former champion and just won the FIVE STAR GP, while Yasukawa just recently returned after being injured in a match earlier this year against Yoshiko. Really Hojo should not have had to wrestle anyone for the #1 Contendership since she won the tournament, but she is never one to back down from a fight, and since Yasukawa was unable to be in the tournament it only seemed fair.

They start with tie-ups and wristlocks, but neither gets a clear advantage. Next they trade elbows, Hojo knocks Yasukawa into the corner and starts marching but Yasukawa pulls her down from behind by her hair. Yasukawa picks up Hojo but Hojo slides away and they trade elbows. Hojo gets the better of it and goes up top, hitting a diving elbow strike. Hojo applies a crab hold but Yasukawa gets a hand on the ropes to force a break. Hojo goes for the Sliding D but Yasukawa kicks her arm and dropkicks Hojo in the knee. Yasukawa and Hojo go back and forth with elbows, powerslam by Yasukawa and she covers Hojo for a two count. Yasukawa goes up top but Hojo rolls out of the way of the somersault senton and hits a Sliding D to Yasukawa’s back. Cross legged crab hold by Hojo, she lets go of the hold but Yasukawa ducks the spinning backfist and rolls up Hojo for two. Stretch Muffler by Yasukawa, she picks up Hojo but Hojo slides away and rolls up Yasukawa for a two count. Cross-legged crab hold by Hojo but Yasukawa won’t give up, Hojo goes to the second turnbuckle but falls as she goes to jump off. She gets on the second turnbuckle again and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back, but Yasukawa barely gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top again, she nails the diving elbow drop and she picks up the three count! Hojo wins the match and is the new #1 Contender.

No one can ever say I am too biased, as while I love both Yasukawa and Hojo I thought this wasn’t a great match. First of all it was clipped which I am sure hurt it a bit, but it was probably clipped for a reason. This was Yasukawa’s first big match since last February so I have no doubt she was rusty, there were a few good sections and I liked Yasukawa’s attitude but it wasn’t cohesive. Also, and I always complain about this, if a move is botched it annoys me when wrestlers just repeat the spot. Poor Yasukawa had to lay on the mat way too long since Hojo slipped off the turnbuckle, I have no issue with her slipping as that happens but she should have gone over and slammed or kicked Yasukawa then gone back up top. So between the clipping, lack of focus, and messed up ending I can’t recommend this match, even though I think both are great wrestlers that on a normal day are two of the best in Stardom.

(c) La Rosa Negra vs. Mayu Iwatani
High Speed Championship

La Rosa Negra won the High Speed Championship last month from Starfire in an upset, in a match that also saw Starfire injure her knee which may have led to that ending. Iwatani on the other hand is one of Stardom’s rising stars and already has the tag team championship with Io Shirai. Of course, Shirai has her own singles title so Iwatani wants one too, and all she has to do is beat La Rosa Negra to get one.

La Rosa Negra and Iwatani do the usual wristlocks trading to begin, La Rosa Negra goes for a wheelbarrow facebuster but Iwatani gets out of it. Dropkick by La Rosa Negra and she chops Iwatani into the corner, she goes for a suplex but Iwatani lands on her feet and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Iwatani grabs La Rosa Negra’s wrist and flips off the ropes with an armdrag, La Rosa Negra falls out of the ring and Iwatani goes to the top turnbuckle. La Rosa Negra recovers, she jumps on the apron and throws Iwatani down to the floor. La Rosa Negra then gets in the ring and dives out onto Iwatani with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Iwatani kicks La Rosa Negra in the gut and she delivers a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Iwatani in the corner and she kicks La Rosa Negra in the back, La Rosa Negra throws Iwatani into another corner but La Rosa Negra rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody. Back up they trade elbows until La Rosa Negra snaps off a reverse neckbreaker, La Rosa Negra charges Iwatani in the corner and hits an elbow drop. Cover by La Rosa Negra but Iwatani kicks out at two. La Rosa Negra picks up Iwatani and applies the airplane spin before slamming Iwatani to the mat. La Rosa Negra goes up top but Iwatani avoids the Rose Splash, schoolboy by Iwatani but it gets two. Iwatani kicks La Rosa Negra back, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Diving footstomp by Iwatani, she goes up top again and she hits a diving body press for a two count. Iwatani picks up La Rosa Negra and she hits a crucifix slam for another two. Buzzsaw Kick by Iwatani, she picks up La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Back up, backslide with a bridge by Iwatani but it gets two as well. Iwatani charges La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra catches her with a powerslam, La Rosa Negra goes up top but Iwatani gets up and joins her. Superplex by Iwatani, she goes up top and nails the diving footstomp. Iwatani drags La Rosa Negra up and she delivers the dragon suplex hold, getting the three count pinfall! Your winner and new champion is Mayu Iwatani!

This was really solid, the best I have seen of La Rosa Negra so far. There was no time filler, no meandering limb work that didn’t go anywhere, and it lasted the perfect length. The moves were hit crisply and they were on the same page, which was my primary fear since they don’t have a lot of experience wrestling against each other. About as good as I could have hoped for and entertaining from start to finish, even if you aren’t familiar with La Rosa Negra it is definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Dark Angel
World of Stardom Championship

This is a special match, as it is also billed as Dark Angel’s last match in Japan. Dark Angel, also known as Sarah Stock, was already signed to WWE before this match took place as she was headed there to become a trainer in NXT. While I am sure she will have another match down the road, at the time of this review this was her last match period as she did not wrestle again after this one before joining NXT. She of course is going out on a high note, challenging Stardom superstar Io Shirai for her World of Stardom Championship.

Dark Angel immediately gets a double underhook applied but Shirai gets away, they lock knuckles and Dark Angel flips Shirai to the mat. Back up they trade elbows, armdrag by Dark Angel and they trade quick pin attempts. Hard dropkick by Dark Angel but Shirai cartwheels away from Dark Angel and dropkicks her out of the ring. Shirai goes up top to do a moonsault but Dark Angel knocks her down and powerbombs Shirai right on the apron. Dark Angel returns to the ring while Shirai gets the magic spray, back in the ring Dark Angel grabs Shirai and she hits a neckbreaker. Dark Angel stretches Shirai’s back and covers her for a two count. Rolling senton by Dark Angel and she hits a backbreaker, another cover but it gets another two. Dark Angel gets Shirai on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker before flinging her to the mat. Dark Angel goes off the ropes but Shirai drop toeholds her into the ropes, Shirai charges Dark Angel to hit a tiger feint kick but Dark Angel reverses it with an armdrag. Jumping knee by Dark Angel in the corner and she hits another one, Dark Angel throws Shirai into the corner but Shirai springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Dark Angel falls out of the ring, Shirai gets a running start and sails out onto Dark Angel with a tope suicida. Shirai slides Dark Angel back in and hits a springboard missile dropkick, tiger feint kick by Shirai but Dark Angel avoids the next missile dropkick and puts Shirai in an elevated crab hold.

Shirai eventually gets to the ropes, Dark Angel picks up Shirai and hits a few knees to the back before dropping her in the corner and rolling Shirai up for two. Dark Angel picks up Shirai but Shirai avoids the jumping knee and hits a running double knee in the corner. Dropkick by Shirai, she picks up Dark Angel and hits a few elbows, but Dark Angel comes back with a dropkick. Shirai falls out of the ring, Dark Angel goes up top and dives out onto Shirai with a plancha suicida. Back in the ring, Dark Angel goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Dark Angel picks up Shirai but Shirai slides away and hits the double underhook facebuster. German suplex hold by Shirai, she picks up Dark Angel and plants her with a tombstone piledriver. Shirai goes up top but Dark Angel gets both feet up when Shirai goes for the moonsault. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and trade elbows, Dark Angel kicks Shirai against the ropes and hits the Tiger Driver, but Shirai barely gets a shoulder up. Dark Angel gets Shirai on her back in La Reienera but Shirai gets out of it and applies a choke. Dark Angel elbows out of that and goes for another Tiger Driver, but Shirai reverses it and hits an Air Raid Crash. Shirai kicks Dark Angel in the head, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault for the three count! Shirai is still the World of Stardom Champion.

This was a great match for a lot of reasons, most of which in this case I will credit to Dark Angel. Dark Angel is a seasoned veteran that knows what she is doing, there is a reason she is going to be a trainer at NXT. Her focus on the back was on point, almost all of her offense focused on Shirai’s back area which directly lead to her finisher which targets… the back. It is so simple but so few wrestlers take the time to tell a logical story from start to finish that I appreciate it when it happens. It helped that her offense was all interesting, between backbreakers and powerbombs on the apron she was mixing up how she was hurting Shirai. Shirai was fine here, she sold the back pretty well and only forget about it when she had to do her spots. Which I understand the crowd came to see her do her spots but when she was on offense it became the standard Shirai match we’ve all seen before. Which is still entertaining, just a bit predictable. Dark Angel is the one that made this one, probably by design since it was her farewell match, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Highly Recommended

event reviewed on 10/28/15

The post Stardom “Appeal The Heart” on 10/11/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: Artist of Stardom Championship and the Wonder of Stardom Championship
Tournaments Won: Goddess of Stardom Tag Tournament (2013)
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• October 14th, 2012 vs. Yuzuki Aikawa
• January 14th, 2013 with Taiyo and Kashima vs. Wakizawa, Fujimoto, and Yokoo (Title Win)
• April 29th, 2013 vs. Dark Angel
• November 4th, 2013 vs. Dark Angel (Title Win)
• December 29th, 2013 vs. Kellie Skater
• January 26th, 2014 vs. Kairi Hojo
• January 18th, 2015 vs. Mayu Iwatani (Title Win)
• February 22nd, 2015 vs. Yoshiko
• November 11th, 2015 vs. Kairi Hojo
• December 23rd, 2015 with Kyoko Kimura vs. Haruka Kato and Kairi Hojo

Signature Moves:

• ACT Lock (Stretch Muffler Capture with a Front Roll into a Clutch Pin)
• ACT Special (Oklahoma Stampede)
• ACT Omega (Over-The-Shoulder Kneeling Reverse Piledriver)
• Akuton (High-Angle Senton Bomb)
• Complete Shot
• Orochi (Argentine Leglock)
• Stretch Muffler

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• April 29th, 2013 – Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel in Stardom
• January 26th, 2014 – Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo in Stardom
• June 1st, 2014 – Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa in Stardom
• October 11th, 2015 – Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo in Stardom
• October 16th, 2015 – Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kimura vs. Brittany Wonder, Datura, and Shayna Baszler during the Stardom USA Tour
• December 6th, 2015 – Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Evie, Matsumoto, and Skater vs. Io Shirai, Iwatani, and Watanabe in Stardom
• December 23rd, 2015 – Act Yasukawa, Haruka Kato, and Kairi Hojo vs. Holidead, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura in Stardom
• December 23rd, 2015 – Act Yasukawa and Kyoko Kimura vs. Haruka Kato and Kairi Hojo in Stardom

In Action:

ACT Omega

ACT Lock

ACT Special

Back to AgZ Roster

The post Act Yasukawa appeared first on Joshi City.

After watching New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom, I got inspired to watch and review one of the biggest Joshi show of the last decade. Joshi promotions rarely run Sumo Hall, one of the most famous venues for professional wrestling, due to the obvious reason that Sumo Hall is huge and most promotions in general struggle to fill it enough to make the venture profitable. Stardom decided to take a chance in 2013, however, as one of the most popular and “recognizable outside the wrestling bubble” Joshi stars was having her retirement match. Before she started wrestling, Yuzuki Aikawa was a famous model in Japan and was also in an idol group. She joined Stardom in 2010, and instantly gained an even bigger following as a combination of her looks, charisma, and fighting spirit made her the most visible new Joshi star of that (brief) time period. This is why after wrestling for less than three years, she was having her Retirement Match at Sumo Hall and not a smaller venue, she exploded onto the scene and left while she was still at the top of her game. Stardom stacked the entire show for the special occasion, here is the full card:

• Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
• Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
• Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Michael Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
• Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
• High Speed Championship: Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
• Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Nanae Takahashi, Tsukasa Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
• World of Stardom Championship: Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
• Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match: Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko

Big show! Let’s get to it.

Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
Ryogoku Starting Over Stardom vs. Ice Ribbon

Risa and Sumire begin the match, they trade elbows against the ropes until Sera hits a dropkick. She tags in Rutsuko as Yui is also tagged in, Rutsuko boots Yui and she applies The Claw against the ropes until Sumire breaks it up. Yui and Rutsuko trade elbows, Rutsuko slams Yui into her knee but Yui returns the favor. Dropkick by Yui and she tags Sumire, Sumire goes for a cartwheel mule kick but Rutsuko moves out of the way and puts her in a crab hold. Sumire gets to the ropes to force a break, Rutsuko tags in Risa and Risa hits a series of dropkicks on Sumire. Schwein by Risa, she picks up Sumire but Sumire slides behind her and applies a sleeper. Sumire reverts the hold into a cross armbreaker but Sera gets a foot on the ropes. Cartwheel mule kick by Sumire and she tags in Yui, Yui goes for a chokeslam but Sera blocks it. RainSleeper by Yui but Rutsuko breaks it up, Risa picks up Yui and hits Ayers Rock but Sumire breaks up the cover. Risa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Yui kicks out of the cover. Rutsuko comes in but she kicks Risa by accident, running elbow by Yui to Risa and she picks up the three count! Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino are the winners.

I wouldn’t call this a good match, although it was generally inoffensive. Sumire was pretty rough around the edges, I am not terribly surprised she quit wrestling, and while Risa Sera is currently a really good wrestler she was still working out the kinks in 2013. Rutsuko stood out the most because she had the most personality, however Yui seemed like the most complete wrestler. A skippable opener, even if it is interesting to watch a match with young wrestlers from four years ago where three have already left the business.

Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
All Japan Women’s Gold Tradition Ryogoku Advent

Wakizawa charges Toyota but Toyota hits a heel drop for a two count cover. Back up they trade slaps, a battle that Toyota wins, but Wakizawa fires back with elbows. Toyota bounces Wakizawa off the ropes and kicks her in the chest, Toyota charges Wakizawa but Wakizawa rolls her around the ring before covering Toyota for a two. Irish whip by Wakizawa but Toyota reverses it and gives Wakizawa a rolling cradle of her own. Toyota puts Wakizawa in the ropes but Wakizawa avoids the dropkick and kicks Toyota out of the ring. Wakizawa then goes up top and dives out onto Toyota with a plancha, she slides Toyota back into the ring and goes up top, connecting with a missile dropkick. Toyota gets back up but Wakizawa hits a Claw STO for a two count. Waistlock by Wakizawa but Toyota gets into the ropes, big boot by Toyota and she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Wakizawa rolls out of it and hits a German suplex hold. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota elbows her off, release German by Toyota and she goes for a moonsault, but Wakizawa gets her feet up. Fisherman suplex hold by Wakizawa, but Toyota kicks out.

Wakizawa goes up top and hits another missile dropkick, she returns to the top turnbuckle but Toyota boots her down to the floor. Toyota climbs the turnbuckle and dives out onto Wakizawa with her own plancha, taking out a random innocent on the floor in the process. Toyota rolls Wakizawa back in and hits a missile dropkick, another missile dropkick by Toyota and she covers Wakizawa for two. Toyota returns to the top but Wakizawa joins her, Toyota pushes her off and dropkicks Wakizawa in the back of the head. Moonsault by Toyota, but Wakizawa barely gets a shoulder up. Toyota picks up Wakizawa and hits a German suplex hold, she goes up top but Toyota joins her and hits a Frankensteiner, which Toyota rolls through for a two count. Straight Jacket German by Toyota, she goes up top but Wakizawa joins her and hits an avalanche fisherman buster for two. Another fisherman buster by Wakizawa, but again Toyota kicks out. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota kicks her and hits the Japanese Ocean Queen Bomb, she goes for the cover but lifts up Wakizawa before the three. Toyota then drags Wakizawa up and hits a release Japanese Ocean Cyclone Queen Bee Bomb. She goes for one final one, but Wakizawa slides down her back and applies the Backslide From Venom for the three count! Miho Wakizawa wins!

Afterwards, Wakizawa is in tears as she is overcome with emotion, and Toyota gives her a hug. Streamers are even thrown for Wakizawa, so to say this win meant a lot to her is an understatement.

It feels odd that a match that clearly meant so much to Wakizawa is just an undercard match. An undercard match on a stacked show, but still. Anyone that has never seen Toyota will be an awe at how any times she goes to the top turnbuckle, she always lived up there in her heyday and still does even though at the time of the match she was over 40 years old. I couldn’t say this was a great match but they definitely gave it their all, as both were dropping bombs and trying everything to get the win. Wakizawa kicked out of Toyota’s best offense, but at this stage of her career that just wasn’t really a big deal to Toyota as clearly the point here was for Wakizawa to overcome and get a win that meant a lot to her on a personal level. An interesting match that is worth watching, even if in a vacuum it seems out of place.  Mildly Recommended

Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Iwatani vs. Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
Ryogoku Special MIX Eight Person Tag Match

Mayu and Eri are the first two in, wristlock by Eri but Mayu armdrags out of it. Eri tags in Nakazawa, Sato comes in too but Mayu grabs their wrists and hits a springboard split-legged double armdrag. Mayu dropkicks both of them but Nakazawa soon takes back over and he tags in Sato. Sato puts on his swim gear and starts working over Mayu in the corner. He tags in Makoto, Makoto snaps Mayu off the ropes before tagging in Eri. DDT by Eri and she hits a second one, Mayu fights back and they trade elbows. Elevated DDT by Eri, and she covers Mayu for two. She tags Nakazawa, Nakazawa straddles Mayu on the top rope and slides her uh crotch-first across the ropes. That’s as nice as I can put it. Sato comes in and puts Mayu in a crab hold, but Mayu gets into the ropes. Sato goes off the ropes but Mayu dropkicks him and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Mayu tags in Byron, Byron DDTs Sato but Nakazawa runs in and attacks her. Eri comes in too as does Makoto, but Byron fights them all off. Sato recovers but Bryon drops him on the second rope, she goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Nakazawa jumps in the way. Bryon punches him in the balls and hits the Tiger Feint Kick anyway, she goes up top but Nakazawa grabs her before she can jump off. Backdrop suplex by Sato, he tags in Nakazawa while Ibushi is also tagged in.

Pele Kick by Ibushi and he connects with a kick combination, standing moonsault by Ibushi but Makoto breaks it up. DDT by Makoto to Ibushi, she then hits a footstomp followed by a cartwheel kneedrop. Nakazawa covers Ibushi but Ihashi breaks it up, kick to the chest by Ihashi to Nakazawa and he hits a cartwheel moonsault. Ibushi then follows with a running shooting star press and a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, but Nakazawa kicks out of the cover. He tags in Mayu, double wrist armsault by Mayu but it gets two. Mayu picks up Nakazawa and they trade elbows, Mayu slaps Nakazawa but he takes off his clothes and hits a spear. He takes off his underwear and goes for the Ultimate Venom Arm, Makoto tries to stop him so she gets it instead. He goes back to Mayu but Mayu blocks it, Sato tries to help Nakazawa get the hold applied but both teams run in and have a Test of Strength with the underwear. Makoto come sin but she goes against Nakazawa as does Eri, helping Mayu successfully block the hold. Makoto and Eri continue helping Mayu’s team, as all the women hit running strikes on Nakazawa in the corner. Mayu picks up Nakazawa, Eri chops Nakazawa in the chest and Mayu nails the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani are the winners.

This was a bit too DDT-y for me as their brand of comedy isn’t my favorite, but I did like Eri and Makoto switching teams as they agreed with me. Mayu was still a bit shaky but still learning, and everyone else looked fine. A bit longer than it needed to be but if you enjoy Nakazawa you may enjoy this match too.

Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
Takumi Iroha Debut Match

The match starts slow but Iroha fires up Satomura by elbowing her against the ropes instead of giving a clean break. Iroha kicks Satomura when they lock knuckles but Satomura elbows her hard in the face and kicks Iroha into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she applies a front necklock, armbar by Satomura but Iroha gets into the ropes. Back up they trade elbows, uppercut by Satomura and she knocks Iroha into the corner. Iroha swats Satomura away and kicks her in the chest, uppercut by Iroha and she dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Iroha picks up Satomura and flips her into a cross armbreaker, she reverts it into a triangle choke before then changing it to an ankle hold when she can’t keep Satomura down. Satomura gets out of it with a jawbreaker, she attempts an Irish whip but Iroha blocks it and re-applies the triangle choke. Satomura gets into the ropes, Iroha slams Satomura to the mat and goes up top, and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Iroha picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a powerslam for another two count. Backdrop suplex by Iroha, she picks up Satomura and goes off the ropes, but Satomura kicks her in the stomach and knocks her down with an uppercut. Kick to the head by Satomura, and Iroha rolls out of the ring hurt. Iroha is pretty out of it so Satomura goes to get her, she slides Iroha back in and covers her for two. Satomura picks up Iroha but Iroha dropkicks her, Satomura quickly kicks Iroha in the ribs and nails the cartwheel kneedrop. Seated armbar by Satomura, but Iroha quickly gets a hand on the ropes. DDT by Satomura, she goes up top and she hits the diving body press for a two count cover. Satomura goes for a Death Valley Bomb, Iroha gets out of it but Satomura kicks her in the ribs. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, she covers Iroha but lifts her head before the three count. Satomura puts Iroha in a sleeper hold, Iroha can’t get to the ropes and goes to sleep. Meiko Satomura wins!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, perhaps with some benefit of hindsight. Iroha no longer wrestles in Stardom as she left the promotion to join Chigusa Nagayo’s Marvelous, however she has really developed into a solid wrestler. I wouldn’t say she was a complete natural as aside from a few cool submission moves she didn’t do anything to really stand out in this match, but she sold really well and nothing ever felt awkward. Satomura gave the rookie a fair amount of offense but this was before Satomura went full ass-kicker on Stardom, I doubt a wrestler today in their debut match would have as much luck. An above average match with an obvious result, but it was nice to see someone debut on such a big stage.

Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They trade holds to start, Dark Angel gets Act to the mat but Act gets out of it and they return to their feet. Dark Angel gets Act to the mat again, she pushes Act into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Snapmare by Dark Angel and she rolls up Act for a two count, Dark Angel goes for a lariat but Act ducks it and puts Dark Angel in the Stretch Muffler. Dark Angel gets to the ropes, Act hangs her upside down from the top rope before kicking her in the leg. Act continues on Dark Angel’s leg, Dark Angel jumps up on the top turnbuckle but Act pushes her down to the floor. Act then goes out to the apron and she hits a cannonball down onto Dark Angel, Act slides Dark Angel back in and hits the ACT Special for a two count. Act goes off the ropes and knees Dark Angel in the head, but again her cover gets two. Act goes for a neck swing but Dark Angel gets out of it and the pair trade elbows. Springboard dropkick by Dark Angel, Act rolls out of the ring but Dark Angel goes up top and dives out onto Act with a plancha suicida, completely flattening her.

Act looks incredibly hurt but after a minute she manages to get back into the ring, slingshot bodypress by Dark Angel and she gets a two count. Dark Angel goes for the La Reienera but Act gets out of it, dropkick by Act but Dark Angel gets out of the tombstone and puts Act in the double chickenwing armlock with a neckscissors, but Act is too close to the ropes and gets the break. Dark Angel picks up Act and hits the Stun Gun, suplex by Dark Angel but Act kicks out. Dark Angel picks up Act but Act blocks the pedigree, reverse STO by Act and she delivers the Senton Bomb off the second turnbuckle. Act goes up again but Dark Angel recovers and tosses her off, Dark Angel goes up but Act joins her and powerslams Act to the mat for a two count. Act goes up top but Dark Angel hits the rope to knock her off, Act rolls Dark Angel to the mat but Dark Angel kicks out of the cover. Grounded necklock by Act but Dark Angel suplexes out of it, La Reienera by Dark Angel and after Act can’t escape the referee calls for the bell! Dark Angel is the new champion.

I like both of these wrestlers but I felt the match fell a bit flat. Something seemed off, they weren’t always on the same page and some of the moves just weren’t hit very cleanly. Act is always a bundle of fun to watch as she has a wide variety of offense and the pacing/time felt right as Dark Angel knows how to lay out a match, it just never sucked me in as the story was never really there (the crowd also never really got into it either). Some quality spots, but overall it didn’t reach the level I was hoping for.

(c) Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
NEO High Speed Championship

After some fast paced rope running, things calm down with wristlocks until Yuhi pushes Taiyo into the ropes and goes for a Tiger Feint Kick. Taiyo ducks that, Yuhi grabs her arm and she hits a diving armdrag out of the corner. Taiyo goes off the ropes and hits an elbow onto Yuhi, kicks to the ribs by Taiyo and she applies an armbar. She releases the hold after a moment, kicks by Taiyo but Yuhi fights back with elbows. Taiyo dropkicks Yuhi hard in the chest, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Running dropkick by Taiyo in the corner, and she covers Yuhi for two. Taiyo goes for the Iguchi Bomb but Yuhi hurricanranas out of it, quebrada by Yuhi but Taiyo kicks out of the cover. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo quickly joins her and armdrags her to the mat, Iguchi Bomb by Yuhi but it gets a two. Kick by Taiyo but Yuhi blocks the Taiyo-chan☆Bomb, kicks by Yuhi but Taiyo catches one and pushes her to the mat.

Kick to the chest by Taiyo, she goes off the ropes but Yuhi slides away and kicks Taiyo in the chest. Ankle Hold by Yuhi but Taiyo gets to the ropes to force a break. Kicks by Yuhi and she hits a strike combination, handstand capoeira by Yuhi and she kicks Taiyo in the head for a two count. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo avoids the Firebird Splash, Taiyo-chan☆Bomb by Taiyo but Yuhi gets a shoulder up. Hard elbow by Taiyo but Yuhi returns fire, knees by Taiyo but Yuhi gets into the ropes. Release German by Taiyo but Yuhi springs up and hits a German suplex hold for two. Taiyo goes for La Magistral but Yuhi blocks it, jumping kick by Yuhi and she delivers the Honey Flash, but Taiyo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuhi goes for a kick but Taiyo catches it and hits a leg trap suplex hold, but it gets two. Taiyo picks up Yuhi and puts her onto the top turnbuckle, Taiyo joins her and nails the Taiyo-chan*Spanish Fly, picking up the three count! Natsuki Taiyo is still the High Speed Champion!

This was a really fun match that delivered what it was aiming for – a fast paced entertaining midcard match that kept the fans engaged without overshadowing the bigger matches on the card. Yuhi was such a great young talent, she retired before she was even 18 so we’ll never know how great she could have been. This type of match was Taiyo’s specialty as she had a lot of different high speed offense, and even though the match was over ten minutes it flew by. I could watch this all day, far from a classic but just what the card needed to get the crowd back into it.  Recommended

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kairi and Natsumi try to attack before the bell, but it quickly backfires as Kimura Monster-gun takes over. Kairi stays in the ring with Hailey but Kyoko pulls Kairi out of the ring and they battle on the floor. Hailey throws Kairi into the ring post while Kyoko slides Natsumi into the ring, Kyoko puts Natsumi in the Tree of Woe and jumps down on her in the corner. Hailey comes in too as they double team Natsumi, Hailey stays in and works over Natsumi’s leg. Kyoko is tagged in and she puts Natsumi in a leglock, but Natsumi rolls up Kyoko for a quick two count. Kyoko goes back to the leg but Natsumi hits a crossbody and tags in Kairi. Kyoko and Hailey double team Kairi as they slam her into the mat, but Kairi gets away and hits a double spear. Another spear by Kairi onto Kyoko and she hits another one followed by a third. Kairi picks up Kyoko but Kyoko slides away and pushes Kairi to the mat. Kairi recovers and elbows Kyoko but Kyoko boots her in the face for a two count cover. Front necklock by Kairi but Kyoko reverses it, Kairi gets into the ropes but Kyoko slaps her in the face. Kyoko picks up Kairi and puts her in a sleeper, but Natsumi runs in and breaks it up.

Slaps by Natsumi to Kyoko, she goes back out to the apron and Kairi tags her in. Knees by Natsumi to Kyoko, running knee by Natsumi and she covers Kyoko for a two count. Natsumi goes off the ropes but Hailey hits her from the apron, Kyoko tags in Hailey and they kick Natsumi around the ring, Kairi comes in too but ultimately Kimura Monster-gun keeps the advantage. Natsumi kicks Kyoko in the head while Kairi spears Hailey, kick by Natsumi to Hailey and she tags in Kairi. Assisted kneedrop by Natsumi, she goes up top and hits a diving double kneedrop onto Hailey. Kairi then goes up top and nails the diving elbow drop, but Kyoko breaks up the pin. Hailey clears the ring, she picks up Kairi and snaps off a German suplex hold for two. Hailey picks up Kairi again and throws her into the corner, Kyoko returns and they double team Kairi. High kick by Hailey, and she covers Kairi for two. Hailey gets on the second turnbuckle and they hit an assisted Gory Special, but Natsumi breaks up the pin. Hailey picks up Kairi but Kairi spins away and applies the 4173 (Gedo Clutch) for the three count! Natsumi Showzuki and Kairi Hojo are your new champions!

I haven’t seen a ton of Hailey Hatred, and maybe I am just watching the wrong matches, but I have yet to see her in a match look good. Every spear by Kairi to Hailey just looked rough, as if Hailey had never sold a spear before, and so much of it felt awkward. Her German Suplex was nice but nothing else was smooth. To be fair, some of the Kyoko segments looked rough too, it just felt disjointed as hell. Natsumi and Kairi were spunky as you’d assume and there were some solid parts, but overall just too rough around the edges to recommend.

Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Takahashi, Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
Nanae Takahashi That’s Women’s Pro-Wrestling

Kaori and Fujimoto start off but they reach a stalemate and tag in Mika and Syuri. Mika takes down Syuri, kicks by Syuri but Mika slides away and hits mounted elbows. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked on, but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Nanae and Hiroyo are tagged in and they trade elbows, shoulderblock by Nanae and she throws down Hiroyo by the hair. Hiroyo returns the favor and hits a body avalanche before making the tag to Kaori. Abdominal Stretch by Kaori, she puts Nanae in the ropes so that her teammates can help her with the Stardom star. Syuri is tagged in next, Nanae slaps her but Syuri slaps her back and knees Nanae in the stomach. She goes off the ropes but Nanae delivers a lariat before making the hot tag to Fujimoto. Fujimoto kicks down all three of her opponents, Mika comes in and she dropkicks Syuri in the corner. Double catapult dropkick by Fujimoto to Syuri, she goes for a suplex but Syuri blocks it and hits a scoop slam. Syuri goes off the ropes but Fujimoto dropkicks her and tags in Mika, Mika and Syuri trade elbows, Syuri knees Mika into the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Suplex by Syuri, and she covers Mika for two. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, her teammates run in too however and Mika gets the hold re-applied. Mike gets out of it, knee by Mika but Syuri knees her back.

Syuri tags in Hiroyo and Hiroyo suplexes Mika with Kaori’s help. Hiroyo gets Mike on her back but Mika slides away and rolls up Hiroyo for two. Sleeper by Mika to Hiroyo, Nanae is tagged in and she lariats Hiroyo in the corner. Another lariat by Nanae, she goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it. Hiroyo and Nanae trade elbows, Hiroyo slides to the apron and snaps Nanae’s neck over the top rope. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and they trade strikes. Roaring Elbow by Hiroyo, but Nanae gets a shoulder up. Reverse Double Kneedrop by Hiroyo, but Fujimoto breaks up the cover. Hiroyo tags in Kaori, diving senton by Kaori to Nanae and she gets a two count. Everyone stacks on Hiroyo so she can hit a heavy kneedrop, cover by Kaori but Nanae kicks out at two. Nanae is thrown into the corner but Nanae lariats all of her opponents, she goes up top and hits the Refrigerator Bomb for a two count. Nanae picks up Kaori but Kaori sneaks in a flash pin for two. German suplex by Nanae but Kaori knees her in the back of the head, she goes up top and delivers the Takako Panic for a two count. Kaori picks up Nanae, elbow by Nanae and she hits a lariat. Yoshi Tonic by Kaori, she picks up Nanae but Fujimoto hits the Venus Shoot on her. Nanae picks up Kaori and delivers the Falcon Arrow, but Hiroyo breaks up the pin. The ring clears, Nanae picks up Kaori and she nails the One Second EX for the three count! Team Nanae Takahashi wins!

While a match like this isn’t going to blow anyone away, it was a smartly worked match that kept at a decent pace while giving all the wrestlers a chance to shine. Its a shame that Mika stopped wrestling as I love me a good MMA gimmick (well not a gimmick in her case), and her pairing with Syuri was entertaining. Nanae Takahashi was the star of the match by design but looked good, and everyone played their role well with no mistakes or miscommunications. Nothing special in the long run but a solid match bell to bell and quality filler.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
This match is for the World of Stardom Championship

After Alpha Female jaws with the crowd they tie-up, Io tries to shoulderblock Alpha Female over but it obviously fails. Chops by Io, she goes for a slam but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Alpha Female throws Io into the corner but Io avoids her charge and hits a spinning headscissors followed by a standing moonsault for two. Io attempts to Irish whip Alpha Female but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a release German suplex. Alpha Female picks up Io and hits a German suplex hold, but Io kicks out at two. Clubs to the chest by Alpha Female and she hits a lariat, cobra clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets into the ropes for a break. Alpha Female picks up Io but Io lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and dropkicks Alpha Female into the corner. Space Rolling Elbow by Io but Alpha Female blocks the face crusher and delivers a release German. Alpha Female charges Io but Io ducks her lariat and applies the Tarantula in the ropes. Io releases it and goes for a swandive move, but Alpha Female grabs her before she can springboard and elbows her down to the floor. Alpha Female goes out after her and slams her into the apron, she puts Io against the ring post and goes for a lariat, but Io moves out of the way. Io then hits a Tiger Feint Kick around the ring post, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault down onto Alpha Female.

Alpha Female is rolled into the ring by Kyoko Kimura, Io gets on the apron and she hits a swandive dropkick to Alpha Female’s back. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits another swandive dropkick, pinning Alpha Female for a two count. Armtrap Crossface by Io but Alpha Female muscles out of it, body avalanche by Io in the corner but Alpha Female elbows her in the other corner and they trade elbows. Palm strike by Io but Alpha Female elbows her hard in the face for a two count. Alpha Female charges Io but Io slides out to the apron, diving hurricanrana by Io and she hits a double knee strike in the corner. Alpha Female fires back with a lariat, she picks up Io and delivers a chokebomb, but Io barely gets a shoulder up. Cobra Clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, Alpha Female picks up Io and goes off the ropes, but Io catches her with a Frankensteiner. Spinning kicks to the head by Io and she hits a standing moonsault followed by a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and top turnbuckle, but Alpha Female kicks out of the cover. Io goes for another hurricanrana but Alpha Female catches her and hits a Buckle Bomb. Alpha Female picks up Io and goes for a slam but Io blocks it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick. Io rains more Buzzsaw Kicks onto Alpha Female, rolling savate kick by Io and she hits a second one for a two count cover. They get up, kicks to the midsection by Io and she nails another rolling savate kick for the three count! Io Shirai is the new champion!

This match was good but weird. The ending felt… strange as while repeated kicks to the head is a solid way to win a match, it wasn’t one of Io’s regular ways and it would have been more impressive if she had won with a power move (like a bridging suplex). Odd ending aside, Alpha Female is one of the top female heels in all of wrestling and plays the part perfectly, she is strong enough to do just about anything but doesn’t mind taking the big bumps when needed to put over the ‘good guy.’ Watching the match four years after it happened, it didn’t really have an epic feel like you’d hope from the young local star defeating the evil gaijin for the promotion’s top championship, but it did show that Io is incredibly hard to beat, which is a theme that continues to this day. I liked it overall, but the ending was a bit flat and it didn’t feel as special as it was probably intended to be.  Mildly Recommended

Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko
Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match

Aikawa and Yoshiko get right into it and end up on the mat, Yoshiko gets in the mount and holds down Aikawa. Aikawa hits an armdrag and kicks Yoshiko in the corner, figure four necklock by Aikawa and she rams Yoshiko’s head into the mat. Yoshiko kicks Aikawa into the corner and throws her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she nails the running kick. Yoshiko puts Aikawa in the ropes and kicks her repeatedly in the chest, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Aikawa kicks her in the chest. Aikawa and Yoshiko trade elbow strikes, kicks to the leg by Aikawa but she poses for too long and Yoshiko bodyblocks her to the mat. Shoulderblocks by Yoshiko, she charges Aikawa in the corner but Aikawa hits a heel drop. Running body avalanche by Aikawa and she puts Yoshiko in a STF, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes. Aikawa goes for kicks but Yoshiko blocks them all and chokes Aikawa against the ropes. Aikawa goes for a fisherman suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a Codebreaker. Yoshiko applies a stretch hold before delivering a pump handle slam, she picks up Aikawa but Aikawa kicks her in the back. Fisherman suplex hold by Aikawa, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover.

Hammerlock by Aikawa but Yoshiko slams her way out of it and hits a running senton. Another senton by Yoshiko and she hits one more for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoshiko but Aikawa gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes up top again but Aikawa snaps her neck over the top rope. Yoshiko falls out of the ring, Aikawa goes up top and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Aikawa returns to the ring and waits for Yoshiko, Yoshiko eventually slides back in and Aikawa hits her with the Shining Yuzard. Yuzupon Kick Blue by Aikawa, but Yoshiko barely kicks out of the cover. Aikawa goes for the Tiger Suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it, Yuzupon Stunner by Aikawa but Yoshiko drops her with a fireman’s carry slam for two. Yoshiko goes for the Reverse Splash but Aikawa moves out of the way, jumping knee by Aikawa in the corner and she kicks Yoshiko in the head again. Another head kick by Aikawa, but again Yoshiko kicks out. Aikawa picks up Yoshiko and kicks her in the head, but Yoshiko comes back with a headbutt. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, kicks by Aikawa to Yoshiko’s back and she hits the Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko gets up and fires off lariats. Aikawa ducks one and hits the Tiger Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko kicks out. Another Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko still won’t stay down for three. Aikawa goes for another Tiger Suplex Hold but Yoshiko pushes her off and hits a lariat. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails a diving senton for the three count! Yoshiko wins!

When you think about it, this result is really different and Stardom went ‘all in’ on Yoshiko by structuring the match this way. I mean Yoshiko was only 19, and not fully established. Aikawa very rarely got pinned once she was the star of the promotion, she never even lost her singles title and ended up forfeiting it when her retirement was planned. But on the biggest event in Stardom’s history, Yoshiko not only defeats the most popular wrestler in Stardom but takes literally every move that she has in the process. I mean Aikawa had nothing left, if you check her move list on wikipedia she did everything with no success. Then the first time Yoshiko hits the diving senton from the top, she gets the win. The crowd really didn’t react as they didn’t know how to, while Yoshiko was a rising star she wasn’t really on this level at this point and probably wasn’t expected to win. The crowd didn’t boo, they were just stunned. Anyway, the issue with the match was that it was just really back and forth with no real transitions at times. Aikawa would hit a few moves, Yoshiko would stand up and hit a few moves, and so on. It didn’t feel like either really had a plan, it was just both hitting moves randomly with little to tie it together. Aikawa never really got desperate or emotional, as even though it was a Retirement Match she had such a short career that it didn’t have that epic feel like the Dynamite Kansai Retirement Match I watched a few weeks ago.  The match was good, but nothing more than that, even though I admire Stardom’s balls for putting all their chips in one basket and really going for it.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Champion Fiesta Ryogoku Cinderella on 4/29/13 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details:

Title: From Stardom’s Shadow
Release : November 3rd, 2014
Producer: Stardom
Photographer: Kris Wolf (on Twitter @wolfinjapan)
Wrestlers Featured: Nanae Takahashi, Kairi Hojo, Miho Wakizawa, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Io Shirai, Yoshiko, Mayu Iwatani, Takumi Iroha, Hazuki Reo, Act Yasukawa, Star Fire, Mystique, and Fuka
Total Pages: 90
Cost: 2,500 yen
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

There are a number of reasons why this is my favorite Stardom photobook to date. First, just for a personal reason, the photobook is signed by none other than Kris Wolf herself. Kris is one of my favorite wrestlers not only because she is a lot of fun in the ring, but also just a great person in general, so having a signed version of her photobook is very special to me. But the main reason I love this photobook is simply because Kris is a great photographer. This isn’t a situation where a random person happens to have a nice camera, the pictures are taken very well and the wrestlers look completely natural, like they are enjoying themselves and not posing for pictures. The natural poses and easy going nature of the pictures makes them feel more real and less staged.

It is also the most in-depth Stardom photobook, as even though it is not full size, it has a very impressive number of wrestlers that participated. Every Stardom wrestler at the time is in the book, plus some gaijin that were in town such as Star Fire and Mystique. Another plus is that the photos are tasteful and don’t use sexuality to make the photos stand out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy scantily clad women as well, but the fact the photos are so compelling without that shows both the skill level of the photographer and the natural beauty of the wrestlers. Yuna Manase couldn’t help herself, but all the other wrestlers were dressed in either their wrestling attire, casual attire, or business attire.

If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend picking it up. I can’t sell mine since it is autographed, so you are on your own Below I have a very small sample of the pictures available in the photobook.

The post From Stardom’s Shadow: A Stardom Photobook appeared first on Joshi City.

One of my greatest fears in life is that Joshi City will just turn into a review website, which was not the original intention when I first created it almost a year ago (see all those categories on the right on the main page?). With how quickly Stardom uploads events now, however, the bulk of the posts have been reviews as since Stardom is the most popular Joshi promotion I did not want to skip any of their events. I still intend to review their shows, however I also am going to try to do other updates as well so that the site doesn’t turn into Stardom City.

With that in mind, welcome to the first edition of The State of Joshi! This will be a special collector’s item in a few years like the first Wrestling Observer, so be sure to print it out and have it professionally graded. I do not want to just do a results report as I find those tedious to type up, but just give an update on what has been going on around the scene. I do not know if this will be a weekly, monthly, or random type of column but I hope to keep people up to date on all the bigger stories going on in Joshi Wrestling while sprinkling in my opinion on Joshi as well.

Stardom – Championships Held Hostage by Threedom

Joshi promotion Stardom currently has a very unique situation with their title scene, with three wrestlers holding all eight titles in the promotion:

Io Shirai – World of Stardom Championship, Goddesses of Stardom Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship
Mayu Iwatani – High Speed Championship, Goddesses of Stardom Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship
Kairi Hojo – Wonder of Stardom Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship

The promotion as a whole only has nine active contracted wrestlers according to their website, but even with a small roster all the belts are held by the Three Daughters of Stardom (aka Threedom). In most promotions, this would be a very bad thing, as if a promotion is this top heavy it leaves them vulnerable if something happens to one of the top stars. There is literally no upper midcard in Stardom, as in the last year Threedom has elevated themselves so high that no other wrestler is close to their level. So far in 2016, no contracted wrestler in Stardom has pinned any member of Threedom, with their small handful of losses coming against Freelancers.

Short term this is an issue, a gap this noticeable is never a good thing as it leads to the matches being less compelling and if there was a major injury then no other wrestler is poised to step up. Some of it is not Stardom’s fault, as last year they lost three wrestlers that would have been upper midcarders or challengers of Threedom: Act Yasukawa, Yoshiko, and Koguma. The new rookies that debuted aren’t up to speed yet and Stardom doesn’t usually have Freelancers hold their major titles unless it is for a specific storyline. It takes time to build up wrestlers so it is a waiting game while they get there.

Long term they should be ok as long as none of the Threedom wrestlers get hurt. Oedo Tai should have a title (or two) by the fall, as they are building Kagetsu well. If Kagetsu loses her title challenges this summer, she will be knocked right back to the midcard like everyone else and the cycle will continue. Yoko Bito is in the same boat, if she comes back and is able to pick up where she left off, she could challenge Threedom by the end of the year, or she could become just another midcarder as well. I am holding off judgement until the end of the year as things can change so fast in wrestling, but at the moment Stardom has the largest gap between the top and everyone else in wrestling and sometime within the next few months it is an issue that needs to be addressed to shake things up a bit in the promotion.

Catch The WAVE – The Biggest Tournament of the Year (that we can’t watch)

Unbeknownst to many wrestling fans, Pro Wrestling WAVE is currently in the middle of one of the largest tournaments of the year as 32 wrestlers are participating to take the crown. Unfortunately, none of these matches have ‘made tape’ yet so we haven’t gotten to watch any of it. WAVE’s show on V*PARADISE will eventually catch up but it tends to be at least a month behind, and matches on the show are clipped. We heard rumors of WAVE starting their own online subscription which may have helped, but as of May 22nd there has not been any additional news.

The tournament is using what they referred to as “World Cup” rules, which are pretty simple. The 32 wrestlers are split into eight Blocks of 4. Within each Block, each wrestler has a singles match against the other three wrestlers in their Block. After all the matches are done, the two top wrestlers in each Block move on to the Knockout Round. That begins the 16 wrestler single elimination tournament until only one wrestler is left. Pro Wrestling WAVE added wrestlers from a variety of promotions, including SEAdLINNNG, Daijo Pro, Sendai Girls’, Ice Ribbon, JWP, REINA, and even Ryukyu Dragon. The winner of the tournament gets a shot at the single’s championship and 1 Million Yen. So far most of the Blocks have had two of the three matches while others are just about done, here are the current standings:

The wrestlers I put a * have locked up a spot in the Knockout Round. LEON is injured and has forfeited the rest of her points. The tournament goes through June 5th so we still have a ways to go, but I hope the standings at least shows the quality of wrestlers that WAVE assembled and hopefully some of these matches (or maybe all of them on DVD) will be released soon.

Makoto – Ace of a Forgotten Promotion

While I try to discuss as many different promotions, there is one I don’t talk about very often – REINA. REINA got a bit more love in 2015 as it was one of the promotions that Kana wrestled in quite a bit and Syuri was the ace. Unfortunately, Kana has left and Syuri is now a Freelancer, leaving the promotion without the wrestlers that many fans identified with. Add in that REINA rarely makes tape, and it is easy to forget that they even exist.

Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, not every promotion can get maximum coverage as there are simply too many promotions, but it does leave Makoto in the dark. Makoto won the REINA World Women’s Championship on March 25th against Tsukasa Fujimoto, and has taken over the role of Ace of the promotion. Makoto’s next big match is against Miyako Matsumoto on May 24th at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, which likely won’t be taped. She is in the Catch the WAVE tournament I mentioned above, which hopefully will keep her in the spotlight and maybe bring some fans back with her to REINA. Makoto is a nine year veteran but is only 26 years old and has many years in front of her to compete at a high level, so we can hope more of her matches become available as the year progresses.

Big Matches In the Pipeline

One of the good things about Joshi is they like to tell us way in advance what we should be looking forward to. Here is what we currently have announced:

May 24th – Makoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto (REINA)
June 5th – Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata (Stardom)
June 16th – Thunder Rock vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura (Stardom)
June 16th – Yoko Bito vs. TBD (Stardom)
June 19th – Aja Kong vs. Hana Kimura (Oz Academy)
June 22nd – Riho vs. Kaori Yoneyama (Gatoh Move)
July 18th – Sonoko Kato vs. Mayumi Ozaki (Oz Academy)
July 31st – Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Aja Kong (Matsumoto Produce Show)

That is it for this week, next time I will give some news and thoughts on SEAdLINNNG, Marvelous, and probably whatever Stardom is up to. Until then, if you have any suggestions or feedback feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @PuroCentral.

The post The State of Joshi: Threedom, Catch the WAVE, and Makoto! appeared first on Joshi City.

The first event took place on October 16th, 2015 in Covina, CA. Here is the full card:

• Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Brittany Wonder, Datura, and Shayna Baszler
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Nicole Savoy
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater vs. Kahmora and Kairi Hojo
• Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa vs. Melina Perez and Santana Garrett
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs Mia Yim

All the matches are shown in full, but none are terribly long, as the in-ring time for the event was a little over an hour. Let’s get to the first match.

Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Brittany Wonder, Datura, and Shayna Baszler

Wolf and Datura kick things off but after trading holds they tag in Wonder and Yasukawa. Yasukawa spits Sake in Wonder’s face and dropkicks her, Wonder gets Yasukawa in the corner but she avoids the charge and tags in Kimura. Baszler is also tagged in, Baszler gets Kimura’s leg but Kimura rolls out of it. Datura is tagged back in and is quickly triple teamed by Oedo Tai, she temporarily gets away but Kimura whips Datura down by her hair. Datura finally armdrags her way out of the situation and tags in Baszler, Baszler stacks up Oedo Tai in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Kimura pokes Baszler in the eyes to calm her down, twice, Wolf rolls up Baszler but it gets a two count. Baszler for reasons unknown tags in Datura, and Wolf quickly gets in control, hitting a high knee in the corner. Wolf tags Yasukawa, rollings reverse STOs by Yasukawa and she covers Datura for two. Kicks by Datura and she dropkicks Yasukawa, getting a two count cover. Datura goes for a moonsault but misses, giving Yasukawa time to tag in Kimura. Wonder is also tagged in, and they trade hip attacks and elbows. Wonder wins the battle, Baszler comes in and she slams Kimura to the mat. Banzai Drop by Wonder, but Wolf saves Yasukawa from being pinned. Kimura gets a metal pole and cleans house, Yasukawa spits Sake at Wonder and Kimura puts her in a sleeper. Wonder struggles for a moment but has to submit! Oedo Tai win the match.

My lasting impression from this match was Baszler. This was only her second match and she really seems like a natural, wrestlers strong enough to deadlift and toss other wrestlers around are ok in my book. I didn’t mind Oedo Tai cheating to win, that is what they do, and all the wrestlers got a chance to do a little something in the match. It didn’t get a ton of time but it got enough to get their point across, and overall I thought it was a solid opener. Keep an eye out for Baszler, if she keeps into it she could be something special down the road. Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Nicole Savoy

Savoy and Iwatani roll around on the mat to begin but they quickly return to their feet and start trading elbows. Savoy gets Iwatani’s arm but Iwatani crawls to the ropes, Iwatani springboards off the ropes and armdrags Savoy into the ropes. Running dropkick by Iwatani and she hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Another bridging suplex by Iwatani gets two and she hits a third with the same result. Savoy takes back over and hits a suplex, she applies a cross armbreaker but Iwatani gets out of it and kicks Savoy in the back. Diving footstomp by Iwatani but Savoy fires back with a kick to the chest and they trade shots. Savoy gets the armbreaker put back on but Iwatani gets to the ropes. Jumping knee by Savoy but Iwatani rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Kick by Iwatani, she goes up top and hits another diving footstomp for a two count. Savoy goes for a tiger suplex but Iwatani switches positions with her and hits the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Iwatani is your winner.

This was too condensed of a match to impress. Savoy going for armbreakers is fine but there was no buildup to them or other arm work, it was just random armbreakers. Same with Iwatani, she didn’t really have time to build up to the ending, they were trading moves and suddenly Iwatani won. There was nothing bad here, both wrestlers were smooth and they had solid chemistry, it was just too short to get anything going.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater vs. Kahmora and Kairi Hojo

Matsumoto and Hojo are the first legal wrestlers and go right at it with elbows, Matsumoto wins the exchange and drops a knee onto Hojo’s chest. Skater comes in but Hojo armdrags both of them and gets help from Kahmora to knock Matsumoto over. Skater is tagged in and she suplexes Hojo for a two count. Kicks by Skater and she knees Hojo hard in the chest before tagging Matsumoto back in. Hojo is double teamed as the referee hopelessly tries to keep control, and Matsumoto hits a backbreaker. Hojo plays Face in Peril, at least Hojo is putting the work in since she is no doubt one of the main wrestlers the American crowd came to see. Course she is getting her ass kicked but thus is life. Hojo finally hits a nifty headscissors and makes the hot tag to Kahmora, and Kahmora quickly takes control of Skater before Hojo runs back in and Kahmora slams Hojo onto Skater.

Hojo stays in and elbows Skater, neckbreaker by Hojo and she gets a two count. Hojo applies a cross-arm submission but it is broken up, and Skater plants Hojo with a DDT. Hojo goes off the ropes but Skater kicks her and drops Hojo in the corner. Lariat by Skater, but it gets two. Skater tags Matsumoto but Hojo kicks her, Kahmora comes in but Matsumoto puts them both in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto to Hojo but Hojo ducks the backfist and hits a spear. Hojo goes up top and hits a diving forearm smash before tagging in Kahmora. Kahmora hits a seated senton in the corner and applies a jackknife pin for a two count. Dropkick by Kahmora and she powerslams Matsumoto, but Skater breaks up the cover. Kahmora and Hojo try to double team Matsumoto but they eat a double backdrop suplex for their trouble, Matsumoto and Kahmora trade elbows, with Matsumoto winning the exchange. Big backdrop suplex by Matsumoto to Kahmora, and she picks up the three count! Matsumoto and Skater win the match.

They structured this match really smartly, as Skater and Hojo did the bulk of the work. That isn’t a knock on Matsumoto, but Skater and Hojo were able to get a bit of a flow going so the match wasn’t just constant tag-ins and tag-outs. Skater looked great here but everyone held their own, Kahmora was the least smooth of the four being with wrestlers she probably wasn’t very familiar with, but there were no awkward moments or anything like that. The match got enough time to tell the story, and while the offense was a bit random it stayed entertaining throughout. Another solid match but not overly memorable, although it was a pleasure getting to see Skater again. Mildly Recommended

Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa vs. Melina Perez and Santana Garrett

Melina finally hits a seated senton on Melina to change the momentum, but Envy kicks Melina hard in the chest. Bridging suplex hold by Envy, but Melina ducks her lariat attempt and kicks Envy out of the ring with a splits kick. Garrett comes in but she gets double teamed, Envy returns to the ring and she hits a Samoan Drop on Melina followed by a rolling kick. Both wrestlers slowly crawl to their corners and tag out, lariats by Garrett to Rosa and she kicks Rosa in the chest. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett but Rosa hits a full nelson twisting slam. Rosa stretches Garrett and slams her to the mat, Rosa gets on the second turnbuckle but Garrett recovers and headscissors Rosa back down to the mat. Garrett applies a submission but Envy breaks it up, Melina comes in too and she hits Envy with the splits legdrop. They roll out of the ring, Garrett kicks Rosa to the mat and she nails the Shining Star Press for the three count! Melina Perez and Santana Garrett are your victors!

Just to get it out of the way, the mere fact that Melina was in the match elevated it, I haven’t seen her in a long time and it felt like a big deal that she was involved. And she didn’t just stay on the apron, as she hit most of her big moves and was the Face in Peril at one point. It wasn’t 100% smooth, there were a few timing issues which you’d expect after a long layoff, but overall I was impressed by her performance. Everyone was on their game actually and the match stayed engaging from start to finish. Definitely an enjoyable experience for me personally, but even without the Melina factor it was an entertaining match. Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs Mia Yim

Yim and Shirai go straight into a Test of Strength, Shirai pushes Yim into the ropes and gives a clean break. Shirai tries to shoulderblock Yim over with no luck, Shirai rolls up Yim but she quickly kicks out. Shirai armdrags Yim out of the ring, Shirai goes to do a dive but Yim hits her before she can dive through. Yim rolls Shirai out of the ring and kicks her into chairs at ringside, she gets on the apron and kicks Shirai as she stands up on the floor. Back in the ring, Yim applies a camel clutch before hitting a vertical suplex. Big boot by Yim and she applies a crab hold, Shirai reverses it into an ankle hold but Yim quickly grabs the ropes. Kicks to the chest by Yim but Shirai catches her leg and hits a dragon screw. Space Rolling Elbow by Shirai and she dropkicks Yim in the head for a two count. Shirai goes up top but Yim kicks her in the leg before she can jump and plants her with a powerbomb for two. PK by Yim and she puts Shirai in a stretch hold, she releases her after a moment and hits a few knees. Shirai cartwheels away from Yim and dropkicks her out of the ring, Shirai goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. Back in, swandive missile dropkick by Shirai followed by the Tiger Feint Kick. Palm strike by Shirai but Yim comes back with a high kick. German suplex hold by Yim, but Shirai kicks out. Yim goes up top but Shirai joins her and hits the Frankensteiner. German suplex hold by Shirai, but it only gets two. Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for a three count! Shirai is still your champion!

This didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for, maybe I was just still on a high from the last match. The match wasn’t as long as I would have expected, so in some ways it was a more condensed version of a normal Shirai title match. They did take it up a step, with high flying moves and dives that I think other matches were intentionally not doing to make this one feel more special. It was smooth and well-executed, and it was fun to see Shirai against a different opponent that presented different challenges. A fitting way to end the show, it just didn’t reach that higher level I have learned to expect from Stardom main events. Recommended

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