Event: Marvelous 6th Anniversary
Date: May 1st, 2022
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko and Passmarket

I don’t get to watch a lot of Marvelous these days, which is a shame since they are a fun little promotion. Run by Chigusa Nagayo and led by Takumi Iroha, they have had a lot of issues the last few years with wrestlers leaving or getting injured, but they still plug along and put on entertaining events. This is a big show for them, as for their Anniversary event they are running Korakuen Hall. Its not a long event with only five matches (I’ll only be reviewing the Joshi matches, so four for our purposes), but that doesn’t mean it won’t deliver. Even though this is a Marvelous event, the titles for the revived GAEA Japan promotion will be defended, since Chigusa Nagayo is a big part of its occasional revival. Here is the Joshi portion of the card:

• An Chamu, Chikayo Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Miyako Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka
• Maria vs. Riko Kawahata
• AAAW Championship: Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
• AAAW Tag Team Championship: Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Onto the show!

An Chamu, Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka

Team Matsumoto attack their opponents from behind to start the match, Chamu is isolated and triple teamed in the corner. Makoto and Nagashima eventually return to even the odds, and eventually Houzan stays in the ring with Chamu to become the legal wrestlers. Kick to the check by Chamu, she picks up Houzan while Nagashima comes in the ring so they can double team her. Chamu tags Makoto, kick by Makoto to Houzan and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Another shoulderblock by Makoto, and she covers Houzan for two. Makoto works a headlock, Houzan pushes her back into the corner and Makoto tags Nagashima and Nagashima keeps up the assault on Houzan, but Houzan eventually delivers a dropkick and tags Matsumoto. Matsumoto throws Nagashima into the corner but when she charges in, Nagashima puts her in a hanging armbar. She lets go and steps on Matsumoto’s hands, running kick by Nagashima and she covers Matsumoto for two. Nagashima goes for another kick but it gets blocked, Nagashima knocks Matsumoto to the mat but Matsumoto bridges out of the pin. Nagashima returns to the dominate position anyway, Complete Shot by Nagashima and she tags Chamu.

Chamu dropkicks Matsumoto before hitting a DDT for a two count. Schoolboy by Chamu and she applies a figure four, but Matsumoto gets to the ropes for the break. Chamu goes for a hip attack but Matsumoto moves, kick by Matsumoto and she delivers a Stunner followed by a Shining Wizard for two. Matsumoto tags Oka, lots of dropkicks by Oka and she covers Chamu for two. Face crusher by Oka, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagashima grabs her from the apron. This gives Chamu time to recover and she throws Oka back to the mat, hair toss by Chamu and she hits a running double knee in the corner. Chamu picks up Oka, Oka gets away from her but Chamu kicks Oka in the head. Fisherman suplex by Chamu, and she covers Oka for two. Makoto is tagged in, Makoto boots Oka in the corner and hits an armdrag. Makoto applies an armbar but it gets broken up, scoop slam by Oka and everyone on her team runs over Makoto’s stomach. Nagashima and Chamu eventually get in the ring to help their partner, spinning headscissors by Oka to Makoto and she hits a dropkick. Oka charges Makoto but Makoto drop toeholds her into the ropes and delivers a big boot for two. Drop toehold by Oka and she cradles Makoto for two. Dropkick by Oka and she tags Houzan, dropkicks by Houzan to Makoto and she covers her for two. Houzan picks up Makoto and hits a series of elbows, dropkick by Houzan but Makoto boots her in the throat.

Double kneedrop by Makoto, but it gets two. Makoto picks up Houzan but Houzan slides away, and the two trade flash pins for two counts. Double underhook suplex by Makoto and she tags Nagashima, boots by Nagashima to Houzan but Houzan gets away and delivers a few quick dropkicks. Houzan picks up Nagashima but Nagashima blocks her slam and hits one of her own. She goes off the ropes but Oka cuts her off with a dropkick, double dropkicks to Nagashima and Matsumoto kicks Nagashima in the back. Houzan goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Houzan but it gets two. Houzan goes back up top again with an assist from Oka, but Makoto boots Oka and tosses Houzan to the mat. Chamu kicks Houzan before Nagashima hits a suplex for two. Nagashima goes to the top turnbuckle but Houzan avoids the diving footstomp, Makoto tries to help but boots Nagashima by mistake. Cover by Houzan to Nagashima, but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Nagashima but Houzan rolls her up for two. Houzan goes off the ropes but Nagashima boots her in the head, Nagashima picks up Houzan and nails a Fisherman Buster for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima, Makoto, and An Chamu are the winners!

A perfectly fine multi-wrestler tag match. I haven’t seen Oka in awhile, she looked really good and is coming along well, she flies under the radar due to Sendai Girls’ not being talked about much these days but she certainly has all the basics down. It is difficult in a sub-15 minutes six wrestler match for everyone to get some shine, but no one looked out of place as the veterans controlled things and the young wrestlers got their moments. Ultimately not a match that will stick in the brain but nothing wrong with it either, pretty solid work by all.

Maria vs. Riko Kawahata

They are making it obvious from the start that there is a ten minute time limit, which is an ominous sign. Maria immediately goes for a dropkick but Riko moves, boot by Maria and she kicks Riko into the ropes. Running boot by Maria, she goes to the apron and hits a slingshot footstomp. Kick to the ribs by Maria and she hits a heel drop, Riko recovers but Maria hits a dragon screw. Maria hits Riko in the knee before applying an ankle hold, she lets go after a moment and hits a sliding kick. Maria keeps on Riko’s knee and slams her into the mat, she puts Riko in an armtrap crossface but eventually lets go and picks Riko up. Riko snaps off an enzuigiri and delivers a sliding kick of her own, covering Maria for two. Maria quickly puts Riko in a kneelock but Riko gets to the ropes for the break, Maria charges Riko but Riko moves, sunset flip by Maria and the two trade cradle pin attempts. Maria gets Riko’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, they end up on the ground as Maria pulls on Riko’s arm but Riko doesn’t submit. Maria kicks at Riko but Riko nails her with a superkick, Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Riko but it gets two.

Riko picks up Maria and hits a high kick, knee by Riko and she puts Maria in a cross armbreaker. Maria wiggles to the ropes to get the break, Riko goes off the ropes but Maria hits a dropkick. Cross armbreaker takedown by Maria and she keeps it locked in, but Riko rolls out of it so Maria applies an ankle hold instead. She switches to a cross kneelock and then a figure four leglock, but Riko gets to the ropes. Maria goes off the ropes but Riko boots her, they trade strikes until Maria knocks Riko off her feet. Maria picks up Riko and hits a snap suplex, but Riko returns fire with a release German. Just one minute left in the match as they go into high gear, trading flash pins with no success. Kick by Maria and she goes for Riko’s arm, but Riko rolls away and kicks Maria in the stomach. Head kick by Riko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Maria avoids the moonsault. Cradle by Maria, but Riko kicks out. Snap suplex by Maria, but the bell rings before she can do anything else as time expires. The match is a Draw.

For a match clearly designed to be a Draw (they kept the time up on the big screen and showed it throughout), this was really good. I’m a little behind in my Marvelous viewing but Maria is progressing really well, I don’t know why she isn’t getting more of a push somewhere but she has a lot of great moves and shows emotion. Her submission game is smooth, everything they did was fluid. Riko looked good as well but this felt more like a showcase for Maria, which makes sense as this is her home promotion. An entertaining match, would like to see these two get more time without a telegraphed end result.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
AAAW Championship

They tie-up to start, Yuu pushes Takumi into the ropes but she allows Takumi to get back up. They end up on the mat and trade holds, Takumi spins away from Yuu and slaps her back before retreating. Side headlock by Takumi, Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Takumi tries to shoulderblock Yuu over with no luck, she tries again but Yuu shoulderblocks her down. Scoop slam by Yuu but Takumi avoids her running senton, successful shoulderblock by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the chest. Cover by Takumi, but Yuu pushes her off with ease and returns to her feet. Snapmare by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the back, but Yuu gets up and chops Takumi in the chest. Spinning sidewalk slam by Yuu and she hits a senton, Takumi quickly rolls out of the ring and tries to recover. She eventually does so and gets on the apron, but Yuu knocks her back down to the floor. Yuu drops down in the ring and rolls out of it and over the apron, landing on top of Takumi. Yuu returns to the ring as Takumi slowly follows, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi kicks her, she goes for a suplex but Yuu pushes her away. Kick combination by Takumi and she hits a PK followed by a sliding kick. Snap vertical suplex by Takumi, she picks up Yuu and applies a sleeper hold. Yuu inches to the ropes and makes it to force a break, Takumi kicks Yuu in the corner and delivers a dropkick.

Another kick by Takumi but Yuu eventually catches one and chops Takumi in the chest. They trade blows until Yuu knocks Takumi to the mat, she picks her back up and hits a crossbody for a two count. Yuu gets on the second turnbuckle but Takumi recovers and hits an elbow, she joins Yuu and hits a superplex down to the mat. Takumi positions Yuu and goes to the top turnbuckle, diving senton by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Takumi throws Yuu into the corner and tries to pick her up, but Yuu won’t budge. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu knocks her to the mat, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Takumi for two. Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Takumi blocks it, slaps by Yuu but Takumi blocks the powerbomb again. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu slams her to the mat, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a Reverse Splash for a two count. Yuu goes up top but Takumi elbows her, Takumi joins Yuu but Yuu chops her back to the mat and hits a diving crossbody for two. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a back bodydrop, Yuu quickly hits a running senton though to stay in control. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a heel kick, chops by Yuu and she slaps Takumi to the mat. Another chop by Yuu but Takumi elbows her, kicks by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Kick combination by Takumi, she goes for a powerbomb but Yuu shrugs her off. More kicks by Takumi, she puts Yuu in the corner and positions her for the Running Three. Yuu blocks it so Takumi superkicks her in the face, she tries again and this time nails the Running Three for the three count! Takumi Iroha wins and retains the championship.

This was a really fun match, however it may have gone a few minutes longer than it needed to based on the setup. The story of the match was simple – Yuu was bigger and stronger than Takumi so Takumi slowly cut her down with strikes until she was weak enough to get up for the Running Three. Its a good story but a heavyweight hoss/strike battle doesn’t necessarily need to be 20+ minutes to tell it as it did get a little repetitive at times. Takumi’s kicks always deliver and the match felt like hers to lose from the start as Yuu didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls – the story was always about Takumi. A match I enjoyed for sure, a safe defense for Takumi but still a solid one.  Recommended

Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe
AAAW Tag Team Championship

The kids attack the vets before the match starts, Watanabe is then isolated and double teamed. Rin stays in as legal and snapmares Watanabe, hitting a sliding knee for a two count. Watanabe comes back with a suplex and hits a scoop slam, leg drop by Watanabe and she puts Rin in a crab hold. Rin gets out of it so Watanabe puts her in a Scorpion Deathlock instead, Ito comes in and stands on Rin’s hands before stomping on them. Watanabe lets go of the hold so she and Ito can drive Rin’s knees into the mat, Watanabe tags Ito and Ito lariats Watanabe in the corner. Crab hold by Ito, Itsuki tries to break it up but is unable to do so. Ito pulls on Rin’s hair but eventually stops and applies a chinlock, Itsuki tries to help again and eventually Ito lets go. Ito stands on Rin and applies a single leg crab hold, but Rin gets to the ropes for the break. Rin finally hits a move as she delivers a jumping neck drop, giving her time to tag Itsuki. Itsuki elbows Ito but Ito elbows her to the mat, Itsuki gets back up but promptly is elbowed down again. She keeps trying with no luck, but does manage to get Ito off her feet with a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki, but it gets two. Itsuki tries to pick up Ito but Ito blocks it, Irish whip by Ito and Itsuki tries to shoulderblock Ito over with no success. Hard shoulderblock by Ito and she hits a footstomp, running senton by Ito and she covers Itsuki for a two count. Ito tags Watanabe, Watanabe goes for a suplex but Rin attacks her from behind.

Double Irish whip to Watanabe but she hits a double rebound crossbody on both of her opponents, Itsuki manages to get Watanabe down with a drop toehold (with some help) and hits a sliding kick. Itsuki sets up Watanabe in the ropes and chargers in, but Ito grabs Itsuki from the apron and Watanabe hits a lariat. Watanabe goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a STO for two. Itsuki tags Rin, they pick up Watanabe but Ito runs in with a double lariat. Itsuki and Rin recover and hit a double superkick to Watanabe, diving body press by Itsuki from the second turnbuckle and Rin follows with a double footstomp for a two count. Rin picks up Watanabe but Ito returns again and hits a lariat. Ito tries again to help but she hits Watanabe by accident, release German by Rin to Watanabe but Watanabe returns to her feet. Rin plants her again, this time with a release Dragon Suplex, she hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold but Watanabe kicks out. Rin gets Watanabe’s back, Itsuki superkicks Watanabe and Rin hits a crucifix drop for two. Double superkick to Ito, Rin tries to superkick Watanabe but she hits Itsuki by accident. Lariat by Watanabe to Rin and she tags Ito. Lariat by Ito, and she covers Rin for two. Ito picks up Rin and nails a powerbomb, Itsuki runs in but Ito drops her with a uranage.

Rin and Itsuki end up outside the ring and Ito drills them both with a dropkick through the ropes, Watanabe throws Rin back in and Ito delivers a sit-out powerbomb but Itsuki breaks up the pin. Watanabe gets on the top turnbuckle, Ito feeds Rin to her and Watanabe hits a diving lariat. The cover is broken up again, Ito gets on the second turnbuckle but Itsuki elbows her before she can jump off. Watanabe takes care of Itsuki which allows Ito to hit a diving footstomp, but her cover is broken up. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press to Rin, Ito goes all the way up but Itsuki grabs her from the apron. Itsuki distracts Ito until Rin can recover, Rin joins Ito and hits a Frankensteiner. Rin waits for Ito to get up and hits a jumping DDT, but she is too hurt to capitalize and Ito is up first. Ito picks up Rin as Watanabe runs in, but Watanabe lariats Ito by mistake. Itsuki gets Rin on her shoulders and helps her set up for the crucifix slam on Ito, Rin hits the move on Ito and holds her down for the three count! Rin Kadokura and Itsuki Aoki are the new champions!

Poorly done ending aside, with Ito not even willing to keep her shoulders on the mat for a big title win up for grabs, this was a VERY Veteran vs. Young Underdog match. The entire structure was just Itsuki and Rin doing their damnedest to just knock their opponents off their feet, let along get a nearfall. Its not necessarily a bad story, and with Ito and Watanabe definitely not a surprising one, as that has been their go-to match setup for probably the last 15 years. But it led to some problems, like some really iffy transitions (for example when Ito recovered first after being dropped by Rin’s DDT) and the win coming across as a fluke lucky win. Rin and Itsuki are both exciting young wrestlers, so giving them a tiny bit more of a rub wouldn’t have hurt anything, although its surprising enough that Watanabe and Ito lost so I guess we have to take what we can get. I give Itsuki and Rin credit for trying hard, and Ito/Watanabe for mostly rolling with the punches, but it still would be disingenuous to say the match was good even if they got the winners right. It wasn’t bad, and is perfectly watchable, but predictable in structure and for such a big match it would have been nice if they had gone a little outside the box to surprise us.

The post Marvelous 6th Anniversary on 5/1/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING
Date: May 19th, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Marvelous Nico Channel

As I dive back into recent Joshi wrestling events, this one really caught my attention. Marvelous is low-key one of my favorite Joshi promotions, as they have a handful of entertaining wrestlers and tend to put on shorter but quality events. Watching them generally isn’t free, but as long as the action is good I certainly don’t mind forking over a little money. This is my first time watching Hibiki since she started acting a little “crazy” so I am interested in seeing how that goes, and the main event is a banger. Here is the match line-up, I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches on the card:

• Maria vs. Ai Houzan
• Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo
• DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

As this streamed on the Marvelous’ streaming service, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Maria vs. Ai Houzan

Houzan asks for a handshake before the match, Maria turns her back on her so Houzan schoolboys Maria for two. A few more get the same result, elbows by Houzan but Maria runs her off the ropes and hits an armdrag. Houzan comes back with a dropkick and throws down Maria by the air, but Maria cartwheels out of it and kicks Houzan in the chest. Now it is Maria that twists the hair and throws Houzan into the corner, kick to the arm by Maria and she kicks her arm again while she is against the ropes. More arm-focused offense by Maria before she kicks Houzan in the face, Houzan tries to fight back but gets kicks in the face again. Fujiwara Armbar by Maria but Houzan quickly wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Maria picks up Houzan and Irish whips her, but Houzan hits a jumping crossbody.

Another crossbody by Houzan and a few more, she eventually keeps one on for a cover but it only gets two. Houzan goes for a slam but Maria blocks it, elbows by Houzan and she hits a dropkick. Another dropkick by Houzan and she covers Maria for two. Scoop slam by Houzan, but again her cover gets a two count. Houzan picks up Maria but Maria elbows her as the two trade strikes, dropkick by Maria and she covers Houzan for two. Maria quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, she traps Houzan’s leg as well but Houzan gets to the ropes for the break. Boot by Maria but Houzan quickly schoolboys her for two. Houzan goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, snapmare by Maria and she delivers a sliding kick, but Houzan again cradles her. Front dropkick by Maria, she quickly picks up Houzan and applies a cross armbreaker. Houzan struggles for a moment but has to tap out! Maria is the winner.

Maria is a bit of a mystery to me as whenever I watch Marvelous, she looks solid enough but doesn’t really seem to be focused on very often by the promotion like Mei and Mikoto are. She gave Houzan a fair amount of offense here, and even though limb-based offense is rare in a rookie opener it was nice to see some type of story being told. Houzan would sometimes shrug off offense too quickly to go to her flash pins, probably something she should work on, but she has time. Nothing too memorable but Houzan seems to have the basics down pat and Maria led her well enough, a decent opener.

Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo

Itsuki and Mei start the match, Itsuki talks a bit as she does and she eats a dropkick. Mikoto helps Mei as they double team Itsuki, she eventually leaves and Itsuki punches Mei in the stomach. Itsuki puts Mei in the ropes and applies a chinlock, she lets go and delivers a running double knee to Mei’s back. Mei stomps on Itsuki’s foot to regain the advantage, she gets Itsuki in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Mei picks up Itsuki, Irish whip and she hits another dropkick before tagging Mikoto. Itsuki pokes Mikoto in the eyes and hits a hard shoulderblock, she tags in Tomoko and they double team Mikoto in the corner. Scoop slam by Tomoko and she hits an elbow drop off the second rope for a two count cover. Tomoko picks up Mikoto, Mikoto fights back with elbows but Tomoko hits a short-range lariat. Irish whip by Tomoko but Mikoto connects with a dropkick, giving her time to tag Mei. Tomoko greets Mei with a boot but Mei ends up on the apron and dropkicks Tomoko through the ropes. Mei puts Tomoko in a submission hold but Tomoko gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Mei but Itsuki kicks her from the apron, she holds Mei for Tomoko but Mei moves out of the way and dropkicks Tomoko into Itsuki.

Mei goes for a scoop slam but Tomoko blocks it, hard elbow by Mei but Tomoko kicks her in the shin. Kick to the leg by Tomoko but Mei blocks the Irish whip attempt, Mikoto runs in and kicks Tomoko but Tomoko hits a backwards jump springboard on both of them. She tags Itsuki, shoulderblock by Itsuki to Mei and she hits a face crusher followed by a double kneedrop for two. Mei fights back as they trade elbows until Itsuki elbows Mei hard to the mat, Itsuki picks up Mei but Mei slides off her shoulders and stomps on her foot. Lariat by Itsuki but Mei avoids the next one and dropkicks Itsuki from the apron. Running dropkick by Mei and she tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Itsuki and she covers her for two. Mikoto goes for a scoop slam but Itsuki blocks it and hits one of her own, Irish whip by Itsuki but Mei runs in and they both dropkick her for two. Running elbow by Mikoto to Itsuki and she dropkicks her in the corner, corner dropkick by Mikoto and she hits the scoop slam for a two count. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a Samoan Drop, she tags in Tomoko who comes in the ring with a body press off the second turnbuckle.

Mikoto gets her feet up however so that backfires, Mei runs in and stomps Tomoko but Itsuki cuts her off. Itsuki stacks both opponents in the corner and hits a lariat followed by a Tomoko body avalanche, Mikoto and Mei stagger to the middle of the ring and both are bit with stereo body avalanches. Falling body press by Itsuki on both, they then stack Mikoto on top of Mei before Tomoko hits a body press of her own. Scoop slam by Tomoko to Mikoto, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press, but Mikoto barely kicks out. Tomoko picks up Mikoto but Mikoto get away and dropkicks her in the back, another dropkick by Mikoto and she cradles Tomoko for two. Mikoto picks up Tomoko and hits a springboard dropkick, Mei hits a dropkick as well before Mikoto delivers a swandive sunset flip for a two count. Itsuki runs in and lariats Mikoto, Tomoko follows with a lariat of her own but Mikoto reverses it into a flash pin. She goes off the ropes but Tomoko levels her with a lariat, cover by Tomoko and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe are the winners.

This was a pretty by-the-numbers tag match but still had more good than bad. Tomoko played her role well as grumpy vet, as she mostly dominated while in the ring but did let Mikoto have quite a run on her before killing her with a lariat so it was far from lopsided. Mei’s offense isn’t overly interesting but both she and Mikoto are more than capable so everything was smooth both in the one on one match-ups and tag moves. Itsuki didn’t get too much of a chance to shine here but brought her usual energy. A perfectly fine mid-card tag match, but nothing more than that.

DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU

Hibiki won’t even get in the ring to start the match, jawing at both KAORU and Chisako, so they start without her. Dropkick by Chisako but Hibiki trips her from the floor when she goes off the ropes, this gives KAORU time to kick Chisako and hit a vertical suplex for two. Hibiki gets in the ring but quickly bails, Chisako and KAORU trade elbows but turn their attention back to Hibiki as KAORU kicks her through the ropes. This stuns Hibiki, allowing Chisako to charge from in the ring and hit a dropkick through the ropes on her. KAORU and Chisako both leave the ring to get Hibiki but Hibiki runs away and into the back. Hibiki reemerges from the other side and gets in the ring, but Chisako catches her with a missile dropkick. She follows with another dropkick, KAORU comes in with a piece of table board and hits Hibiki in the head with it. Chisako and take turns striking Hibiki, double Irish whip and they hit a double boot followed by a double vertical suplex. Assisted footstomp by Chisako, they wait for Hibiki to get up and take turns booting her.

Chisako and KAORU go up to opposite corner, Hibiki avoids KAORU’s Valkyrie Splash but rolls right into a diving footstomp by Chisako. Cover by Chisako, KAORU tries to break it up with the board but Chisako moves and she hits Hibiki instead. Cover by KAORU, Chisako tries to break it up with a chair but she too ends up hitting Hibiki. KAORU goes back up top but Hibiki recovers and knocks her out of the ring down to the floor. Hard elbow by Hibiki to Chisako but she elbows her back as they trade blows, Chisako goes for a Northern Lights Suplex but Hibiki blocks it. Knees by Chisako but Hibiki catches her with a lariat, cover by Hibiki but KAORU is back and breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Hibiki but Hibiki hits a spear on both of them, she goes off the ropes again but is hit with both a chair and piece of board at the same time. Chisako goes up top while KAORU picks up Hibiki, but Hibiki slams KAORU and tosses Chisako back into the ring (and on top of KAORU). Hibiki goes to the top turnbuckle but both wrestlers avoids her diving senton, Hibiki gets a white powder and throws it into KAORU’s face. Chisako comes over to help with a chair but she hits KAORU by accident, Hibiki quickly dropkicks Chisako and schoolboys KAORU for the three count! Hibiki is the winner.

A short match but still fun to watch and it progressed Hibiki’s unique story. For a match that wasn’t very long, it had a lot of shenanigans and hard hits, as all three did their part to put over what they were doing. Hibiki out-maneuvering her opponents in what was essentially a 2 vs. 1 match was well done as it felt smart rather than cheap. Hibiki took a fair beating on her way to victory to earn it, and she is definitely not wrestling as a comedic gimmick but rather unhinged. For a short three way match, I thought they delivered what they were going for and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Hibiki in the future.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

Rin and Mika jaw before the match can even start and start trading blows, while their two teammates look on, letting them go at it. Rin temporarily wins but Mika battles back, dropkick by Rin and she covers Mika for two. Rin tags Mio, kicks by Mio in the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Mio gets Mika up and applies a rolling front necklock, but releases the hold so she can dropkick her in the back of the head. Mio tags Rin back in, scoop slam by Rin and she mushes Mika’s head. Enzuigiri by Mika and she kicks Rin against the ropes before tagging in Chihiro. Hard shoulderblock by Chihiro, she scoop slams Rin and hits a running somersault senton. Mika returns, kicks by Mika and she applies a headlock. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Rin, starting to focus on her arm. snapmare by Mika and she kicks Rin in the back, she tags in Chihiro who puts Rin in an abdominal stretch. Mio breaks it up with a dropkick, Chihiro picks up Rin but Rin fights back with elbows. Chihiro elbows her back to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but Mio breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Rin and yanks on her arm before tagging in Mika, Irish whip by Mika but Rin delivers a jumping lariat.

Quick kick by Rin and she makes it to her corner to tag Mio. Mio comes in the ring with a diving crossbody, sliding kick by Mio but Chihiro kicks her from the apron. Chihiro gets in to help but Mio throws Chihiro into Mika and then hurricanranas Chihiro onto Mika. Dropkick by Mio to Chihiro, she goes back to Mika and hits a sliding kick for a two count. Mika shakes Mio off and hits a high knee in the corner, snapmare by Mika and she kicks Mio in the back. Mio ducks the PK but Mika kicks her in the head anyway and tags in Chihiro. Lariat by Chihiro in the corner and she hits a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Chihiro gets Mio on her shoulders before Mika comes in and delivers a head kick. Double Irish whip to Mio, Mio tries to get out of it but is slammed for her efforts. Mika then flips Chihiro onto Mio, picking up a two count. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and nails a somersault senton, but Mio gets a shoulder up. Chihiro picks up Mio but Mio slides away, lariat by Chihiro but Mio fires back with a dropkick. Chihiro hits another lariat but Mio lands on her feet on the suplex attempt, hard elbow by Chihiro but Mio hits a twisting headscissors takedown for two. Mio makes the tag to Rin, Rin goes up top and connects with a missile dropkick. Elevated DDT by Rin and she hits a sliding kick for two. Rin goes off the ropes but Chihiro spears her, she tags in Mika and Mika kicks Rin into the corner.

More kicks by Mika and she applies the cross armbreaker, Rin wiggles out of it so Mika switches it to an armtrap crossface. Mio breaks that up but Chihiro throws her out of the ring, Mika picks up Rin but Rin kicks her in the head. Mika returns the favor, more kicks by Mika and she covers Rin for a two count. More kicks by Mika but Mio breaks up the next cover, Mika picks up Rin and goes to the turnbuckles but Mio grabs her from the apron. Rin pulls Mika back into the ring, missile dropkick by Mio and Rin hits a diving footstomp for two. Rin gets on the top turnbuckle but Mika avoids the somersault senton, they trade elbows as they get up until Chihiro runs in and hits a lariat. Jackknife cover by Mika, but Rin kicks out. Mika waits for Rin to get up but Rin ducks the high kick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Rin goes for another cradle but Mika blocks it, Mio dropkicks Mika in the head but Rin can still only get two. Strike combination by Mika and she covers Rin, but Mio breaks it up. Mio dropkicks Chihiro when she comes in too but Mika kicks Mio, high kick by Mika to Rin but Rin barely gets a shoulder up. Mika goes off the ropes but Rin kicks he, crucifix slam by Rin but Mika is too close to the ropes. She hits a second one, and this time she holds down Mika for the three count! Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura are the winners!

One could never accuse these four of not being hard hitting, they certainly were holding nothing back in this match. Lots and lots of kicks so if you like kicks, this is the match for you. I wish that Mio and Chihiro did more as they felt almost like the side attractions, particularly Chihiro who didn’t get to do much that was memorable as Mika was the focus. But they have to save something for GAEA. Mika and Rin did a good job conveying disdain for each other and even though the arm work was shrugged off, at least they did go back to it towards the end so it wasn’t a meaningless exercise. I don’t love a match like this having a “trading flash pins” part, which seems to now be a requirement in every Joshi match even if it doesn’t fit, but at least they got over it and didn’t end the match in that manner. Not long enough to wear out its welcome (I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few minutes longer), an entertaining match and a good prelude to their match next month.  Recommended

The post Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 5/19/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: None
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• October 20th, 2022 vs. Crea  (title challenge)
• May 5th, 2025 with VENY vs. Sareee and Takumi Iroha  (tournament final)

Signature Moves:

• Dropkick
• Rolling Neckbreaker

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• May 19th, 2021 – Maria vs. Ai Houzan in Marvelous
• May 1st, 2022 – An Chamu, Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Matsumoto, and Oka in Marvelous

In Action:

Diving Crossbody

Back to Marvelous Roster

The post Ai Houzan appeared first on Joshi City.