Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 2 Details:

Official Title: Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 2
Release: May 30th, 2012
Pages: ~80
Cost: ¥1,200
Where to Buy: Third Party Vendors (eBay, Mercari, Buyee, etc.)

The second volume of Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa featured the following wrestlers:

• Yuzuki Aikawa
• Ayumi Kurihara
• Io Shirai
• Moeka Haruhi
• Aoi Kizuki
• Haruka Kato

Compared to Volume 1, the second edition doesn’t hold up as well when looking at the wrestlers’ present day popularity. Io Shirai makes her debut, which is noteworthy, however the other five wrestlers are all retired or less visible Freelancers. That’s not a knock on the appearances of the wrestlers, which is what this magazine highlights, but rather just an observation that this volume may be less popular in 2020 due to the current statuses of the wrestlers.

Aikawa was the staple for these early EXTRA magazines, and has the cover as well as the most pictures. Ayumi Kurihara remains one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ of modern Joshi as she was extremely talented, but had an issue with injuries and had to retire early. Io of course needs no introduction, as she is one of the most popular Joshi wrestlers in the world and currently is gaining even more popularity while wrestling in WWE. Kizuki retired a few years ago, while Haruhi and Kato still wrestle but not many of their matches “make tape.” Beyond the modeling-style pictures, as with the last magazine there is additional content, including an article about Mika Iida and Kurihara. Here is a sample of pictures from the magazine:

The post Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 2 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

After existing for three years, SEAdLINNNG is finally creating a singles title for the promotion! They are having an eight woman tournament to crown the first champion, with the top wrestlers from SEAdLINNNG as well as visiting wrestlers competing for the belt. The tournament is the bulk of this show, as we get through the first round tonight. Here is the full card

• Aoi Kizuki, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ayame Sasamura, Mio Momono, and Miyuki Takase
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Title Tournament First Round: Takumi Iroha vs. Ryo Mizunami
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Title Tournament First Round: Hanako Nakamori vs. Yoshiko
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Title Tournament First Round: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Title Tournament First Round: Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita

This aired on Samurai TV so there may be some clipping. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Aoi Kizuki, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ayame Sasamura, Mio Momono, and Miyuki Takase

Miyuki and Aoi are the first two in, they immediately run the ropes before Natsuki joins them and the go back and forth. They (all three) trade holds before reaching a stalemate, and we clip ahead a bit to all six being in the ring. Team Aoi is in on control as they stack their opponents on top of each other and pose, Aoi elbows Tsukasa for reasons unknown before Ayame (who is apparently legal) continue the attack on Tsukasa. Team Miyuki take turns tagging in and slamming Tsukasa, Ayame puts Tsukasa in a crab hold while Miyuki comes in to help, but Tsukasa makes it to the ropes. Mio also finds her way into the ring but Tsukasa dropkicks all of them and tags in Makoto. Makoto hits a face crusher onto Makoto and Ayame before DDTing Miyuki, cartwheel kneedrop by Makoto but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam. Irish whip by Miyuki but Makoto reverses it, dropkick by Miyuki and she goes to the second turnbuckle before hitting a diving elbow. Mio comes in as the legal wrestler, Mio hits Makoto in the back of the head until Makoto slaps her, but Mio catches her boot and swings her foot into Natsuki. Dropkick by Mio and she hurricanranas Natsuki onto Makoto, cover by Mio but it gets two.

Tsukasa and Natsuki get into it until Makoto boots Natsuki and she rolls out of the ring, Aoi and Mio come in and Aoi hits a lariat. Running senton by Aoi and she covers Mio, but Natsuki hasn’t returned yet. Aoi applies a backbreaker to Mio before Tsukasa runs in and hits a dropkick, Mio fights them both off however and makes the tag to Ayame. Ayame goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Aoi, cover by Ayame but it gets two. Aoi sneaks in a few cradles as they trade flash pins, Aoi goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat before suddenly leaving the ring and running around the stands. She slides in and covers Aoi, but it gets two. That’s just part of the wacky High Speed vibe. Aoi goes up top but Miyuki tosses her off and hits a vertical suplex, Ayame then slaps Aoi before Mio hits a diving crossbody. She can’t cover her since she hasn’t bounced off the ropes yet, all of Team Miyuki go off the ropes but Tsukasa and Makoto run in to knock all three to the mat. Tsukasa stays in with Ayame, Yoshi Tonic by Tsukasa and Aoi comes off the top with a Swivel Body Press. Aoi goes off the ropes a bunch and covers Aoi, and she gets the three count! Aoi Kizuki, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto win!

For what they were going for, this was fun. The “High Speed” rules (having to go off the ropes or apparently around the arena before making a pin) would confuse newer viewers but since its just a silly thing it doesn’t really matter anyway, its designed to be a playful match. I always enjoy Natsuki herself getting involved as she tends to do, she still has the same speed and ability as she always had, still hopeful this leads to a match for her one day. An easy to watch opener, and it was nice to finally get to see Makoto again.

Takumi Iroha vs. Ryo Mizunami

They circle each other to start as they feel out the situation, they go into a Test of Strength but neither budges. They trade strikes, snapmare by Takumi and she kicks Ryo in the back but Ryo quickly gets up and elbows Takumi repeatedly. Ryo hits a hard shoulderblock, she picks up Takumi and hits more elbows, cover by Ryo but it gets two. She picks up Takumi but Takumi flips away and hits a kick combination, Ryo catches one of her kicks and Irish whips Takumi but Takumi delivers a heel kick. Takumi gets Ryo around the waist and superkicks her in the back of the head, release German by Takumi and she dropkicks Ryo for a two count. Vertical suplex by Takumi, she goes up top but Ryo recovers and joins her, Ryo grabs Takumi and powerslams her to the mat for a two count. Ryo picks up Takumi but Takumi gets away and hits a Liger Bomb for two. Takumi goes up top and hits the Frog Splash, she quickly goes back up top again and this time delivers the Swanton Bomb, but Ryo barely gets a shoulder up. Takumi applies a sleeper hold but Ryo slams Takumi to get out of it, Takumi goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her with a lariat. They both slowly get up and trade elbows, Takumi wins the exchange and picks up Ryo, but Ryo elbows and headbutts Takumi repeatedly. Spinning heel kick by Takumi but Ryo hits a lariat followed by a uranage. Takumi superkicks Ryo but Ryo fires back with another lariat, she picks up Takumi and hits the dragon suplex hold, but Takumi kicks out. Ryo charges Takumi and hits a lariat, but Takumi barely gets a shoulder up. Ryo goes for the Hot Limit but Takumi reverses it into a sleeper hold, Ryo almost reaches the ropes so Takumi releases her to pull Ryo back to the middle of the ring. Takumi quickly re-applies the sleeper, this time with a bodyscissors, and Ryo goes unconscious leading to the referee calling for the bell! Takumi Iroha advances to the next round.

For an early card match, these two certainly were holding nothing back. Both Ryo and Takumi enjoy the hard hitting style so they were a perfect match, as the strike exchanges were stiff and plentiful. I like when wrestlers don’t spend time doing moves that ultimately won’t matter as they didn’t waste time with limb work or brawling around the ring, it was just a physical fight from bell to bell. The back and forth was constant as ‘selling’ wasn’t always important to them, but both were doing it equally so it wasn’t a situation where one wrestler was showing up the other. An entertaining match between two women that don’t mind the more physical style of wrestling.  Recommended

Hanako Nakamori vs. Yoshiko

They start fast as they trade holds, Yoshiko gets away and knocks over Hanako with a shoulderblock. Hanako gets back up and kicks Yoshiko before they start trading shots, Yoshiko gets Hanako in the corner and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers the big boot, Hanako recovers but Yoshiko puts her in a stretch hold. Hanako gets a foot on the ropes, Yoshiko charges Hanako but Hanako hits a high kick. Strike combination by Yoshiko and she kicks Hanako in the chest before hitting a senton. Yoshiko gets Hanako up but Hanako gets away, waistlock by Yoshiko but Hanako headbutts her way out of it. Kick by Hanako and she delivers the Shining Wizard, she goes up top and nails the Destiny Hammer, but Yoshiko barely kicks out of the cover. Hanako picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the Fisherman Buster, high kick by Hanako and she hits a step-up enzuigiri. She goes off the ropes but Yoshiko hits a lariat, another lariat by Yoshiko and she hits a modified Samoan Driver for two. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle but Hanako rolls out of the way of the diving senton, Hanako goes up top but Yoshiko recovers and joins her. Yoshiko tosses Hanako to the mat by her throat, she picks her back up and delivers the choke bomb but it only gets two. Yoshiko goes off the ropes and hits the sliding lariat, but Hanako reverses her cover into one of her own for two. Step-up enzuigiri by Hanako and she quickly nails the PK for the three count cover! Hanako Nakamori advances in the tournament.

This match was short (a little over six minutes) but action packed. I’m surprised that Yoshiko lost in somewhat quick fashion but it was a pretty even match up to that point as both got their shots in. The stretch hold in the middle of the match felt a bit out of place but everything else was hard-hitting as you would expect. This just shows the level of respect that Hanako Nakamori has gained this year even though she flies under the radar for most fans as her home promotion rarely makes air, beating Yoshiko in SEAdLINNNG is a big deal. Probably not long enough to get too excited about but they did a lot with the time they had and it was far from a dull match.  Mildly Recommended

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi

Nanae attacks Hiroyo in the corner before the bell rings, Hiroyo fights back to the middle of the ring and they enter into a strike exchange. Hiroyo finally knocks over Nanae with a shoulderblock but Nanae immediately returns the favor, backdrop suplex by Nanae and she applies a grounded necklock. Hiroyo gets out of it and hits mounted elbows, but Nanae kicks her off and returns to her feet. They trade a few elbows before Nanae plants Hiroyo with a sidewalk slam, Nanae keeps Hiroyo on the mat and puts her in a sleeper hold. She lets go after a moment and kicks Hiroyo repeatedly, Nanae puts Hiroyo in the corner and chops her repeatedly before knocking her down with a lariat. Nanae goes up top but Hiroyo quickly joins her and hits a superplex, Hiroyo then goes up but she gets joined as well as Nanae hits a superplex of her own. Nanae picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo chops her into the ropes, Nanae charges Hiroyo but Hiroyo snaps her head on the top rope. Missile dropkick by Hiroyo and she charges Nanae, but Nanae pulls the top rope down and Hiroyo falls out of the ring. Nanae then goes off the ropes and sails out onto Hiroyo with a tope suicida, she then throws a chair at her but Hiroyo throws a chair back as they trade chair shots. Hard elbow by Nanae and she throws more chairs at Hiroyo, Nanae puts Hiroyo against the ring post and chops her but Hiroyo eventually ducks one and Nanae chops the ring post. Hiroyo hits a body avalanche while Nanae is against the post, she pulls Nanae onto the apron and goes for a powerbomb, but Nanae blocks it and delivers a back to belly piledriver on the apron!

Back in the ring, Blue Thunder Driver by Nanae but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Nanae goes up top but Hiroyo recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Hiroyo joins Nanae and goes for a powerbomb while still on the top turnbuckle, Nanae blocks it but Hiroyo slides out to the apron and grabs Nanae, powerbombing her onto the apron. Hiroyo returns to the ring and waits for Nanae, Nanae half-slides back in while Hiroyo pulls her up and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Nanae blocks it. Hiroyo keeps the hold applied and hits a wheelbarrow facebuster, she goes up top and delivers the reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Nanae but Nanae elbows her off, they trade strikes until Nanae drops Hiroyo with a release German. Hiroyo quickly gets back to her feet and hits her own German suplex, Nanae gets back up as well but Hiroyo plants her with a roaring elbow. Nanae and Hiroyo end up back on their feet and Nanae hits another back to belly piledriver, she kicks Hiroyo against the ropes but Hiroyo gets up angry and they trade slaps to the face. Both wrestlers collapse to the mat after the exchange escalates to punches, they slowly get on their knees and keep trading elbows. Nanae goes off the ropes but Hiroyo does as well, Hiroyo lariats Nanae to the mat and covers her for a quick two.

Jumping kick by Nanae and she delivers a wrist-clutch backdrop suplex, but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Nanae goes up top but Hiroyo gets her knees up on the Refrigerator Bomb, Hiroyo picks up Nanae in a gutwrench and powerbombs her for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Nanae and drops her with a more standard powerbomb, but that gets a two as well. Hiroyo goes for the backdrop suplex but Nanae blocks it and applies a front necklock. Nanae lets go and covers Hiroyo, but Hiroyo kicks out. Nanae picks up Hiroyo and delivers the Nana☆Racka, but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Nanae goes for a sliding elbow but Hiroyo moves and hits a sliding lariat of her own, she picks up Nanae and nails the backdrop suplex, but she is too hurt to cover. By the time she recovers, Nanae has rolled herself near the ropes, but Hiroyo kicks her back to the middle of the ring and covers her for two. Hiroyo picks up Nanae but Nanae gets into the ropes to block the suplex attempt, Hiroyo goes off the ropes but Nanae drops her with a lariat. Nanae goes for the One Second EX but Hiroyo gets away, high kick by Nanae and she headbutts Hiroyo repeatedly. Hard lariat by Nanae, she goes off the ropes and hits the Sliding D for a two count. Nanae goes up top and connects with the Refrigerator Bomb, but again Hiroyo gets a shoulder up. Nanae drags up Hiroyo and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count cover! Nanae Takahashi wins and advances in the tournament.

As is no surprise when Nanae Takahashi is in a big match, this had a very old school feel. Lots of near falls, lots of big moves, and not a lot of selling said big moves. Which is no problem for me in matches like this, its for our benefit they do that as if they laid on the mat for a minute after every killer looking move the match would have been 45 minutes long. I love that at Nanae’s age (and after her injury scare earlier this year) she still has no fear when it comes to dishing out or taking any types of punishment. Hard strikes and violence is what both of them do well and they stayed within that realm, and the time really flew by as there wasn’t a point that it felt excessive. For a major tournament match with two veteran wrestlers that know each other from the old NEO days, it was everything I could have hoped for, fantastic match.  Highly Recommended

Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita

Soon as the bell rings they go chest to chest before trading elbows, slaps by Rina but Arisa dropkicks her down. Running boot by Arisa, she kicks Rina out of the ring before going to the top rope and diving down to the floor with a crossbody. Arisa goes to get back in the ring but Rina grabs her from behind and hits a vertical suplex on the floor. Rina slides Arisa back in and boots her against the ropes, she throws Arisa into the corner and hits a pair of lariats. Rina puts Arisa back in the corner and charges in, but Arisa slides out to the apron before coming back in the ring with a slingshot wheelbarrow victory roll into a footstomp. Knees by Arisa and she applies a short armbar, she lets go after a moment and kicks Rina in the arm, but Rina knocks her back when she tries one too many times. Arisa throws Rina into the corner, Rina jumps on the top turnbuckle but Arisa elbows her down to the apron. While Rina is on the apron, Arisa goes up to the top turnbuckle and DDTs Rina into the apron while falling down to the floor. Rina rolls back into the ring, Arisa goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Rolling Germans by Arisa and she holds the last one, but it gets a two count. Arisa goes off the ropes and boots Rina in the head, but Rina catches her with a backdrop suplex and a running kick. Rina goes for a cover but Arisa rolls through it and applies an armbar until Rina gets in the ropes for the break. Knees to the face by Arisa and she connects with a running knee followed by a running boot. Arisa goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, elbows by Arisa and she knocks Rina back to the mat before connecting with a diving footstomp.

Arisa goes up top again but Rina gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Arisa ducks the lariat attempt and blocks Rina’s sleeper attempt as well before kicking her in the face again. Arisa goes off the ropes but Rina nails her with a hard lariat, another lariat by Rina and she covers Arisa for two. Sleeper hold by Rina but Arisa rolls out of it, she goes off the ropes but Rina catches her with the sleeper again. Arisa struggles but manages to get a foot on the ropes for the break, short range lariats by Rina to Arisa but Rina catches her with the Cutie Special for two. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they return to their feet and trade kicks and elbows until Rina drops Arisa with a lariat for two. Rina goes off the ropes and delivers the sliding lariat, but that gets a two as well. Rina picks up Arisa and goes for Splash Mountain, but Arisa slides away and hits a snap German. She goes for another suplex but Rina reverses it into a Victory Roll for two, running elbow by Rina but Arisa applies La Magistral for her own two count. Knees by Arisa but Rina hits a pop-up knee to the head followed by a lariat. Rina drags up Arisa but Arisa gets her from behind with a package German. Arisa slowly goes up top but Rina grabs her from behind and goes for Splash Mountain, but Arisa reverses it into a victory roll with a bridge for two. Release German by Arisa and she nails the dragon suplex hold, but Rina gets a shoulder up. Arisa positions Rina, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the moonsault for the three count cover! Arisa Nakajima wins the match and advances in the tournament.

Everyone in this tournament just killed it as this was another high end match. Ever since Arisa Nakajima left JWP, people seem to have forgotten how great she is. Her intensity, her strikes, her innovative offense, she is the total package. Rina is tough as nails as well and these two were really laying into each other as they alternated between hard strike exchanges and creative transitions and suplexes. If I was going to criticize it at all, one of the strike exchanges in the middle just felt a little too long, but that was the vibe they were going for – two tough wrestlers unwilling to go down. It was a no-nonsense violent style, similar to the last match, that a lot of times is missing from Joshi these days. Just as good as if not a smidge better than the last match, a fantastic encounter between two of the best current Joshi wrestlers on the scene.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG d-Higher on 10/3/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am continuing my trend of being somewhat current with watching Joshi, as its now time to see what OZ Academy has been up to (I typed this line when I started writing this review two weeks ago, so not necessarily still true). This is a pretty big event for the promotion, as both the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (held by Ozaki Army) and the OZ Academy Openweight Championship (held by Yoshiko) are on the line. Here is the full card:

• Alex Lee vs. Saori Anou
• Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Aoi Kizuki, AKINO, and Kaho Kobayashi
• Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Yumiko Hotta
• OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: Maya Yukihi and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Yoshiko vs. Hikaru Shida

As always, all the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Alex Lee vs. Saori Anou

We join this one in progress as Alex has Saori in the corner, slaps by Alex and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Alex picks up Saori, Saori gets away but she is tripped by Maya Yukihi when she goes off the ropes. Maya pulls her out of the ring and whips her before Mayumi Ozaki throws Saori into the ring post, Alex comes out and she scoop slams Saori onto the floor. Alex gets on the apron before jumping back to the floor with a footstomp onto Saori, she slides Saori back into the ring and hits a vertical suplex for two. Knees by Alex but Saori comes back with a boot, three more boots by Saori and Alex finally falls to her feet. Saori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Alex kicks out of the cover. Saori grabs Alex but Alex hits a suplex, Saori quickly gets back into control and delivers a fisherman suplex for a two count. Alex gets Saori’s back and hits a release German, kick to the head by Alex and she covers Saori for two. Kick by Alex and she whips Saori in the back, Saori avoids one shot however and gets the whip from Alex to return the favor. Mayumi comes in but she hits Alex with a chain by accident, backslide with a bridge by Saori and she picks up the three count! Saori Anou wins!

I’d like to say this match was good as I adore Saori Anou, but it was not good. Alex Lee is slightly better now that she has a heel gimmick but she still isn’t smooth in the ring, as her general movements are clunky and the transitions were rough around the edges. Saori is a solid young wrestler but she joined in the awkwardness here, and neither one came out of the match looking better than they came into it. Saori works better with wrestlers she is comfortable with and looks stronger in her home promotion, here it just didn’t work in any way.

Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Yoneyama vs. Aoi Kizuki, AKINO, and Kaho Kobayashi

Aoi is supposed to start the match but quickly changes her mind, throwing Kaho to the wolves instead. Kaho is triple teamed for a bit until Kong stays in as the legal wrestler, Kong picks up Kaho but Kaho hits a Codebreaker, Aoi and AKINO run in and they double team Kong. Kong pushes them all away as Kaori and Hiroyo come in, but MISSION K4 regains the advantage. They go back triple teaming Kong but Kong hits a jumping crossbody onto all of them and tags in Hiroyo. Body avalanche by Hiroyo to AKINO but AKINO hits a jawbreaker followed by a pair of kicks. Hiroyo blocks the third kick and the two trade blows, a battle that Hiroyo eventually wins with a spinning back elbow. She goes for a sliding lariat but AKINO catches her arm and hits a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo fires back with a lariat, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. AKINO tags in Kaho while Kaori is also tagged in, springboard armdrag by Kayo and she delivers a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. More dropkicks by Kaho, she goes to the top turnbuckle and drops Kaori with a missile dropkick before AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick as well. Aoi follows with a diving crossbody, fisherman suplex by Kaho but Kaori barely gets a shoulder up.

Kaho tags in Aoi, jumping lariat by Aoi and she covers Kaori for two. Mio Shirai (the referee) cheers on Aoi, which Kong doesn’t like so she tosses Aoi from the top turnbuckle to the mat. Hiroyo comes in and tries to powerbomb Kaori onto Aoi, but Aoi moves out of the way and AKINO kicks Hiroyo in the head. Aoi goes back up top and delivers the swivel body press, but Kong breaks up the cover. Aoi picks up Kaori and hits a running elbow, Kaho comes in and she dropkicks Kaori. Aoi picks up Kaori and hits a double wrist-clutch suplex, but ht only gets two. Aoi goes off the ropes but Hiroyo comes in and lariats her, AKINO and Kaho return but Hiroyo drops them both with a double backdrop suplex. Aoi and Kaori go back at it, cradle by Aoi but Kaori reverses it as they go back and forth. Kong lariats both Kaho and AKINO before slamming Kaori onto both of them, Hiroyo them slams Kaori onto Kaho before Kong picks up Kaori to try to slam her into Aoi. Aoi moves, Hiroyo holds Aoi for Kong as Kong gets her paint can, and Kong hits Aoi in the head with it. Hiroyo puts Kaori in a waistlock as Kaori puts Aoi in one, and Hiroyo suplexes both of them (Kaori is basically just being used as a weapon here). Kaori hits a senton onto Aoi, she goes up top and nails a diving senton, picking up the three count! MONSTERS win the match.

I probably enjoyed this match more than I should have, it was pretty basic but still had a certain charm to it. Mio encouraging Aoi Kizuki was cute, I think she was acting nice because Aoi announced she will be retiring soon. Kaori being used as a weapon was over-done but still different, and it was a short enough match that the offense never had time to feel stale. It had a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything due to the match length, and while its a match that isn’t memorable it still was entertaining for a lower-card match. A fun match between the veterans.  Mildly Recommended

Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Yumiko Hotta

We join this one in progress, which is a bit unusual for a six minute match. Kuragaki has Hotta in a front headlock before hitting a backdrop suplex, she goes up top but Hotta rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt. Kicks to the chest by Hotta but Kuragaki returns to her feet, sleeper by Hotta but Kuragaki drives her into the corner to release her grip. Hotta quickly goes for the sleeper again but Kuragaki flips her to the mat, rapid fire lariats by Kuragaki and she knocks Hotta to the mat with a final lariat. Kuragaki goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Hotta kicks out at two. Kuragaki picks up Hotta but Hotta pushes her off and goes for Kuragaki’s arm, Hotta goes for a powerbomb but Kuragaki quickly back bodydrops out of it. They both go for lariats until Kuragaki sends Hotta to the mat, Hotta gets back up however and catches Kuragaki in the head with a heel kick. Cover by Hotta, but Kuragaki gets a shoulder up. Jawbreaker by Kuragaki but Hotta palm thrusts her back, lariat by Kuragaki but Hotta kicks out. Superkick by Kuragaki but Hotta slaps her as they trade blows, lariat by Kuragaki but again it gets a two. Kuragaki goes for a suplex but Hotta reverses it into a cradle for two, Kuragaki then sneaks in a backslide but she gets a two as well. Hotta gets the sleeper back on, Kuragaki drops out of it but Hotta sits down on her and holds down Kuragaki for the three count! Yumiko Hotta wins!

This wasn’t quite the slobber-knocker that I was hoping for. There were moments where it looked like they were going to just start teeing off on each other, but it would always be interrupted. Them both deciding on flash pins being the way to go seemed unusual, and the sudden ending came across flat since the match hadn’t been very long up to that point. Too short and clunky to recommend, a Hoss Battle this was not.

(c) Maya Yukihi and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
OZ Academy Tag Team Championship

Maya and Sonoko start the match, they trade kicks with each other until Maya rakes Sonoko in the eyes. Uppercut by Sonoko and she hits a dragon screw before tagging in Kakeru. Kakeru and Sonoko Irish whip Maya and double team her until Mayumi comes in the ring with Police to take over the situation. The action spills out onto the floor with Ozaki Army in control, Maya whips Kakeru before rolling her back into the ring. Kakeru is attacked by all the members of Ozaki Army while Mio pretends to try to get them to stop, finally the ring clears with Mayumi staying in with Kakeru. Scoop slams by Mayumi, she tags in Maya and Mayu continues the assault on young Kakeru as Police continues to help from ringside. We clip ahead to Mayumi being in the ring with Sonoko, back bodydrop by Sonoko and she kicks Mayumi in the head. Kakeru comes in to help but Police pulls her out of the ring, Sonoko is brought out to the floor also as the Ozaki Army carnage continues. After the floor beatdown is over, Mayumi and Kakeru return to the ring as we see that Kakeru has been busted open. Alex Lee joins in on the fun too as Sonoko and Kakeru are attacked in the corner, Mayumi brings in her chain and hits Sonoko repeatedly in the head with it, Sonoko finally blocks a shot however and the two struggle over the chain. Mayumi hits Sonoko with an enzuigiri, but Sonoko catches Mayumi with a Samoan Driver for a two count. Sonoko goes up top but Mayumi joins her and hits a superplex, Alex Lee comes in but Kaho Kobayashi does as well so they cancel each other out. Kaho suplexes Mayumi as Sonoko goes up top, diving leg drop by Sonoko but Police runs in with a boot to Sonoko.

Maya tries to grab Mayumi but Kakeru kicks her in the face, dropkicks by Kakeru to Mayumi, she covers her but Mayumi gets a shoulder up. Kakeru picks up Mayumi but Mayumi throws her to the mat, Kakeru gets back up and hits a STO, but that gets a two as well. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Mio trips her on purpose, Maya comes in with her whip and hits everyone she sees while Mayumi gets her chain. Mayumi hits Kakeru in the head with the chain, cover by Mayumi but Kakeru kicks out of the one-foot cover. Mayumi hits Kakeru with her chain again but Sonoko runs in and knees her in the stomach, but Maya returns and whips Sonoko. Police and Alex Lee come in with chairs and throw them onto Kakeru, Mayumi slams Kakeru’s head into the mat but the cover gets two. Mayumi picks up Kakeru and goes for the Tequila Sunrise, but Kakeru blocks it before AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Mayumi. AKINO takes care of Police as well, Alex Lee comes in the ring but she eats a dropkick from Kaho. AKINO and Sonoko take turns kicking Mayumi, Kowloon’s Gate by Sonoko and Kakeru covers her, but Mio is too “distracted” to make the count. Police returns with a chair to clear the ring, cradle by Kakeru to Mayumi, but Mio makes a really slow count so it only gets two. Things break down again as they tend to do in Ozaki Army matches, Mayumi slaps Kakeru repeatedly as Maya returns and kicks Kakeru in the face. Mayumi immediately delivers the Tequila Sunrise, and she picks up the three count! Ozaki Army are still the champions.

So I was wrong about there not being clipping as about five minutes was missing. They probably clipped out the ‘slower’ non-carnage portions of the match. I’m on record as not really enjoying these matches as I really don’t like the “heel referee’ gimmick. I didn’t like it with the nWo and I don’t like it now, and since Ozaki Army usually win their matches its not a situation where the faces commonly get the upper-hand. Even though Kaho and AKINO got more involved at the end, for the bulk of it the Ozaki Army just did as they wished. The ending wasn’t very climatic as Kakeru didn’t really get a hope spot to cut off Ozaki Army and it never felt like the end result was in any doubt. That being said there were some things I enjoyed, Kakeru is feisty and while it came a bit late I did enjoy the rest of MISSION K4 getting involved to try to even the score. A decent enough chaos-filled match, its not a structure that is a personal favorite of mine but if you enjoy Ozaki Army matches a lot then you’ll enjoy this one too.

(c) Yoshiko vs. Hikaru Shida
OZ Academy Openweight Championship

They start the match slow as they feel each other out, Yoshiko knocks Hikaru to the mat first with a hard shoulderblock but Hikaru recovers and connects with a hurricanrana. Yoshiko rolls out of the ring but Hikaru goes out after her and throws Yoshiko into the chairs at ringside. Hikaru sets up a chair and goes to do a jumping knee off of it, but Yoshiko catches her in mid-air and throws Hikaru back into the chair. Yoshiko then picks up the chair and throws it at Hikaru before sliding her back into the ring, bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running kick to Hikaru’s head. Drop toehold by Yoshiko and she twists on Hikaru’s leg, but Hikaru gets to the ropes for the break. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Hikaru pulls down the top rope and Yoshiko falls out onto the apron. Hikaru elbows Yoshiko to the floor, she goes out to the apron but Yoshiko lariats her leg out from under her. Back in the ring Yoshiko keeps on Hikaru’s leg, she goes for a scoop slam but Hikaru blocks it. Vertical suplex by Hikaru and she rolls through it, suplexing Yoshiko again but this time into the turnbuckles. Hikaru throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko drops her onto the apron when she charges in, Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and tries to suplex Hikaru back into the ring, but Hikaru blocks it.

They both end up on the apron but Hikaru drops to the floor and trips Yoshiko before kneeing her in the head. Hikaru gets on the second turnbuckle from inside the ring and suplexes Yoshiko back into the ring, Hikaru elbows Yoshiko but Yoshiko elbows her back and they trade blows. Yoshiko goes for lariats but Hikaru knees her to block it, Yoshiko finally delivers one but Hikaru blocks the sliding lariat attempt. Knee to the head by Hikaru, and she covers Yoshiko for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Yoshiko levels her with a lariat. Another lariat by Yoshiko and a few more, but Hikaru keeps standing back up. Yoshiko finally sends down Hikaru long enough for a cover, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Hikaru kicks out at two. Yoshiko goes all the way up the next time but Hikaru recovers and suplexes her back to the mat. Yoshiko fires back with a lariat, she picks up Hikaru but Hikaru sneaks in a sunset flip for two. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but Hikaru catches it and headbutts her, knee strike by Hikaru and she connects with several more. The referee does a count for Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets up before she reaches ten, Hikaru promptly knees Yoshiko some more and covers her for two.

Hikaru picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko fires off a lariat, another lariat by Yoshiko but Hikaru gets a shoulder up on the cover. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but that gets a two count as well. Yoshiko picks up Hikaru and hits a fireman’s carry slam, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Hikaru slowly recovers and joins her. Hikaru goes for a Frankensteiner but Yoshiko blocks it, she gets Hikaru on her shoulders and tosses her back to the mat. Diving senton by Yoshiko, but Hikaru barely kicks out. Yoshiko goes up top again but Hikaru gets a knee up when Yoshiko goes for the diving senton, knee to the back of the head by Hikaru and she delivers the Falcon Arrow for two. Tamashii no Three Count by Hikaru, but Yoshiko grabs the ropes to break up the pin. Hikaru picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko punches her in the face, she goes off the ropes but Hikaru connects with a jumping knee. Lariat by Yoshiko but Hikaru delivers a jumping knee, she picks up Yoshiko but struggles to pick her up. Hikaru goes off the ropes and hits the Three Count, Hikaru picks up Yoshiko again and drops her with a vertical suplex lift into a side slam for two. Hikaru picks up Yoshiko and hits another Falcon Arrow, she goes off the ropes and nails the Tamashii no Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida is the new champion!

While this match wasn’t perfect, it was certainly entertaining. Hikaru Shida is one of my favorites so seeing her in a major singles match was great, and I think she really delivered here. Her knees were on point and frequent, which is all I ever want in life, and Yoshiko was her usual solid self. I didn’t love the early leg work immediately being forgotten, mostly because Yoshiko did a good job with it and it lasted for several minutes, sometimes just a bit of limping can go a long way. But aside from that, it was a hard hitting and well paced match that felt like it went just the right length for what they were going for. Overall a really solid match, not without its faults but still definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

The post OZ Academy “Rude In June” on 6/3/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

One thing that I am a complete sucker for is retirement shows. I love the atmosphere, the emotion, everything about them. Sure, not all wrestling retirements stick long term (looking at you, Chigusa Nagayo) but I still enjoy them anyway, as not only are they special events but the wrestlers tend to put a little more effort to make the send-off for their friend more memorable. I purchased this event on DVD as it didn’t air anywhere, I’ll only be reviewing the regular wrestling matches on the show. Here is the card:

• Debbie Malenko, Jaguar Yokota, and Kaoru Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, and Mariko Yoshida
• Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache vs. Leon, Mariko Yoshida, and Melissa
• Aoi Kizuki and Misaki Ohata vs. Bambi and Cherry
• Maruko Yoshida Retirement Match: Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

All the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. These matches won’t have a ton of backstory but I’ll at least fill in some gaps on who the wrestlers are and why they are on the card.

Debbie Malenko, Yokota, and Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, and Mariko Yoshida

Yoshida and Malenko start the match, they grapple until Malenko gets Yoshida to the mat, but Yoshida switches positions with her as struggle for control. Malenko gets a short armbar applied but Yoshida quickly gets into the ropes for the break, Yoshida tags in Kyoko while Ito is also tagged in. Ito immediately hits a big lariat, she picks up Kyoko and the pair trade elbows. Short range lariat by Ito but Kyoko doesn’t go down, she returns fire as the veterans go back and forth with lariats. Kyoko wins the battle and tags in Takako, double Irish whip to Ito and she eats a double kick to the gut. Yoshida comes in too and poses on top of Ito, she stays in and tries to suplex Ito, but Ito blocks it and hits a back bodydrop. Ito throws Yoshida into the corner and hits a lariat, running senton by Ito and she covers Yoshida for two. Crab hold by Ito but she lets go after a moment, Irish whip by Ito but Yoshida flips over her back and cradles Ito for two. Yoshida tags in Takako, boots by Takako to Ito but Ito lariats her to the mat. Takako elbows Ito away and delivers a high kick, but Ito eventually has enough and drops her with a uranage. Ito tags in Yokota but Takako catches her with a backdrop suplex. Yoshida comes in but Yokota sends them both down, they recover however and Takako cradles Yokota for two. Yokota recovers and shoulderblocks Takako into the corner, Irish whip by Yokota but Takako hits a bridging backdrop suplex for two.

She tags in Kyoko, lariat by Kyoko but Ito runs in and lariats Kyoko. Things break down as all six come into the ring, Kyoko gets Yokota onto the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex for two. Kyoko picks up Yokota and goes for a powerbomb, but Yokota reverses it with a hurricanrana. Somersault legdrop by Yokota and she tags in Malenko, who comes in the ring with a diving face crusher for two. Running back elbow by Malenko and she hits a second one, but Kyoko chops her to the mat. Malenko goes for a cutter but Kyoko pushes her off and tags in Yoshida, double underhook facebuster by Yoshida and she covers Malenko for a two count. Irish whip by Yoshida but Yoshida is grabbed from the apron, giving Malenko a chance to deliver a boot. Yokota comes in and helps Malenko hit a double backdrop suplex onto Yoshida, before Ito follows with a diving footstomp. Malenko picks up Yoshida and delivers a Northern Lights Suplex, but the pin is broken up. STF by Malenko but Yoshida crawls to the ropes to get the break. Everyone runs in the ring as the action breaks down, Kyoko lariats both Ito and Malenko and Yoshida cradles Malenko for two. Yoshida picks up Malenko and puts her in the Spider Twist, and she has no choice but to submit! Double Inoue and Mariko Yoshida are the winners!

A fun way to kick off the show. What I loved the most was the maximum effort shown by everyone, I mean Kyoko hit a superplex while 56 year old Yokota was flying around with a hurricanrana and somersault legdrop, they didn’t hold anything back. Malenko looked great in her first official wrestling match since 1993, and Kaoru Ito is still really solid as well. Even though it was a ‘reunion’ match they didn’t wrestle like it as there were no lighthearted moments – they were all in from start to finish. Better than I would have imagined, enjoyable in every aspect.  Recommended

Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache vs. Leon, Mariko Yoshida, and Melissa

Yoshida and AKINO start the match, AKINO immediately sneaks in a backslide but it gets a two count. AKINO goes off the ropes but lll kicks her from the apron, Yoshida and AKINO grapple on the mat and trade submissions until they reach a stalemate. lll and Apache tag in, armdrag by lll but Apache returns the favor as they go back and forth. They reach a stalemate as well as they return to their feet, Irish whip by Apache but lll delivers the spear. lll tags in Melissa, elbow drop by Melissa and she applies the Kondo Clutch, but Apache gets into the ropes. Apache gets away from Melissa, Melissa goes for a scoop slam but Apache blocks it and lands on top of her. Heel kick by Apache and she tags in Kong, Irish whip by Kong but Melissa hits a lariat. Kong doesn’t budge, they both try to knock the other one over but Kong outsmarts Melissa and knocks her to her knees. Kong picks up Melissa but Melissa knocks Kong to the mat with a lariat, diving strike by Melissa and she tags in Yoshida. Kong punches Yoshida in the throat and kicks her in the head, she goes for a suplex but Yoshida lands on her feet and applies a sleeper. Kong almost goes to sleep but gets a hand on the ropes in time, Yoshida goes for a suplex but she can’t get Kong over. Leon comes in to help but Kong suplexes both of them instead, giving her time to tag in AKINO. Kicks by AKINO to Yoshida but Yoshida blocks a lariat attempt and puts AKINO in the Spider Twist.

AKINO rolls out of it and puts Yoshida in the Spider Twist instead, but Yoshida also rolls out of it and applies an ankle hold. AKINO gets out of it and puts Yoshida in a cross armbreaker, but Yoshida pins down AKINO’s shoulders for a two count. High kick by AKINO, Apache runs in but Yoshida blocks her powerbomb attempt and throws Apache out of the ring. AKINO has gone up top in the meantime but Melissa joins her and hits an avalanche Samoan Drop, Leon goes up top and nails a somersault senton onto AKINO for a two count. Leon picks up AKINO but AKINO blocks the Capture Buster, Apache runs in and lariats Leon before Kong drops her with a backdrop suplex. High kick by AKINO, she covers Leon but Yoshida breaks it up. AKINO picks up Leon but Leon slides away, she goes for a sunset flip but AKINO blocks it. Melissa runs in and elbows AKINO, double underhook facebuster by Yoshida to AKINO and Leon delivers her diving body press for another two count cover. Leon picks up AKINO but AKINO avoids her kick and punches Leon in the head. Yoshida tries to help but boots Leon by accident, Melissa comes in but she is shoulderblocked by Kong and Apache. Kong and Apache accidentally run into each other, Leon goes off the ropes and delivers a high kick, but AKINO snaps off a hurricanrana for the three count! Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache are the winners.

Not as good as the last match but still solid. There were some chemistry issues, which isn’t surprising since some of these wrestlers don’t wrestle each other very often (if ever), but it all came together for the home stretch. AKINO was the workhorse here, she was really on top of her game and helped tie the match together. Too disjointed to recommend too strongly but I still an easy and entertaining watch.  Mildly Recommended

Aoi Kizuki and Misaki Ohata vs. Bambi and Cherry

Aoi and Misaki attack before the match starts and double team their opponents in the corner, double vertical suplex to Bambi and they then suplex Cherry on top of her. Ohata and Cherry stay in as the legal wrestlers, Misaki tags in Aoi and Aoi hits Mongolian Chops onto Cherry. Elbow by Aoi in the corner and she hits a face crusher, running senton by Aoi and she covers Cherry for two. Misaki returns but Cherry hits a jumping neck drop on both of them, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi snaps her back over her knee before slamming Cherry fast-first into the match. Aoi goes for a diving senton but Cherry moves, Cherry goes for an armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Aoi quickly wiggles to the ropes for the break. Cherry tags Bambi, Bambi chops Aoi in the corner and Cherry returns as both hit running hip attacks onto Aoi. Irish whip by Bambi, reversed by Aoi but Bambi avoids her charge and hits a high kick. Running boot by Bambi, and she covers Aoi for two. Bambi charges Aoi but Aoi kicks her back and applies a sunset flip for two, Bambi goes off the ropes but Aoi chops her in the chest and hits the double wrist-clutch armsault. Jumping lariat by Aoi and she tags in Misaki, Misaki elbows Bambi in the corner and delivers the low crossbody. Misaki goes up top but Bambi ducks the crossbody and boots Misaki in the face. Misaki fights back and dropkicks Bambi in the face, she goes off the ropes but Bambi delivers a big boot again. Bambi tags Cherry, Cherry goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, double Irish whip to Misaki and she is knocked down by a double shoulderblock. Body press by Bambi, Cherry goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Swanton Bomb, but Aoi breaks up the cover. Cherry goes off the ropes but Aoi elbows her, Misaki cradles Cherry but it gets a two count. Bambi tries to help but boots Cherry by accident, lariat by Misaki to Cherry and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Misaki picks up Cherry and nails the Fisherman Buster, but Bambi breaks up the pin. Misaki picks up Cherry but Cherry gets away and chops her in the face, uranage by Cherry and both wrestlers are down. Cherry recovers first but Aoi dropkicks her, double Irish whip to Cherry but Cherry avoids them both and cradles Misaki for two. Bambi is back but Aoi throws her out of the ring, Misaki cradles Cherry from behind but Cherry reverses it as they trade flash pins. Spinning chop by Ohata and she applies a hammerlock into a cradle for the three count! Misaki Ohata and Cherry win the match.

This felt like a standard midcard tag match, which is to say it was perfectly fine but nothing memorable about it at all. Bambi can’t really keep up with Aoi and Misaki so the pace wasn’t quite what you’d expect, and some of the strikes were a bit loose. Cherry looked inspired though and had a lot of emotion, and generally speaking nothing was really wrong with it and they kept it short. Decent enough but nothing more than that.

Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
Mariko Yoshida Retirement Match

Yoshida asks for Matsumoto’s hand as the match starts, Matsumoto goes to shake it but Yoshida cradles her for a quick two count. Starting her retirement match with a bang. Kick to the stomach by Yoshida and she throws down Matsumoto by the hair, another kick by Yoshida and she covers Matsumoto for two. Choke by Yoshida and she puts Matsumoto in a headscissors, but Matsumoto quickly gets out of it. Bodyscissors by Yoshida but Matsumoto gets out of that as well and puts Yoshida in a crab hold, Yoshida crawls to the ropes and she reaches them to force the break. Chops by Matsumoto, she gets Yoshida on her shoulders and tries to decide where to toss her, with the wrestlers at ringside trying to discourage her. Matsumoto eventually tosses Yoshida out of the ring anyway and down onto the wrestling mob at ringside, but the wrestlers help out and hold Matsumoto out on the floor so that Yoshida can go to the top turnbuckle and dive down onto Matsumoto. Back in the ring, Matsumoto puts Yoshida in the corner and all the wrestlers at ringside come into the ring to take turns on Yoshida, with a variety of strikes, hugs, and even a kiss. Yoshida comes out of this two minutes later in pretty rough condition, Matsumoto covers her but she only gets a two count. Crab hold by Matsumoto but again Yoshida reaches the ropes, scoop slam by Matsumoto and she delivers the reverse double kneedrop, but Yoshida gets a shoulder up.

Matsumoto goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick, another cover but she only gets two. Yoshida slaps Matsumoto but Matsumoto slaps her back, Matsumoto goes for a powerbomb but Yoshida gets out of it and applies the sleeper hold. Spider Twist by Yoshida but Matsumoto gets up while still in the hold and slams Yoshida into the turnbuckles. Yoshida flips Matsumoto and applies a cross armbreaker, but Matsumoto gets to the ropes. Boots by Yoshida but Matsumoto hits a body avalanche against the ropes, she goes for the sliding lariat but Yoshida ducks it and puts Matsumoto in an armtrap facelock. Yoshida reverts it into the Spider Twist but after struggling for a bit, Matsumoto is able to make it to the ropes. Yoshida picks up Matsumoto and goes for the Air Raid Crash, but Matsumoto blocks it and goes for a powerbomb. Yoshida rolls out of it, Matsumoto goes for the backdrop suplex and eventually hits it, but is too hurt to make the cover. They slowly get up and trade strikes, with Matsumoto winning the battle with a hard club to the head. Matsumoto picks up Yoshida but knocks her back down with an elbow, she drags Yoshida to her feet and nails the powerbomb, but Yoshida gets a shoulder up. Matsumoto picks up Yoshida and goes for the backdrop suplex, but Yoshida reverses it with the Air Raid Crash! She’s too hurt to make the quick cover, she eventually does so but Matsumoto kicks out. Back up, hard lariats by Matsumoto and she nails the Backdrop Driver for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner!

As I mentioned at the top, I love retirement matches, and this one certainly hit the spot. Obviously Yoshida isn’t the force she was in her prime, but she still can bring it when she needs to and mostly kept up with one of the top Joshi wrestlers on the scene. Yoshida had a few really close calls, with the Air Raid Crash and Spider Twist, but realistically speaking she wasn’t going to win against her younger trainee even though she put up a good fight. The match was played pretty straight, as it went almost 20 minutes and only a few minutes of that was spent doing retirement match type spots, and they really delivered. Yoshida went out holding nothing back (and taking lots of damage in the process), showing why she in her heyday was one of the top female wrestlers in the world. Really entertaining match and worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

The post Mariko Yoshida Retirement Mariko Final – 11/19/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is hard to summarize how important Manami Toyota was and always will be to Joshi Wrestling. That’s another column for another day, but from her career in AJW to her continued role in wrestling she has left a mark that will never be forgotten. This retirement show does a match style that isn’t uncommon at anniversaries or retirements, nor is it the first gauntlet match of Manami Toyota’s career. The idea behind the match is Manami Toyota will have a long series of singles matches, the vast majority of which have a one minute time limit (except the first and last few matches). The list of wrestlers she will be against includes old friends, current enemies, and everyone between. Some pairings will be serious, some will be playful, but its really about giving the wrestlers a chance to say goodbye in their own way. Of course, it is filmed for our enjoyment as well. This will be the longest match list of any show I will ever review, here is what we have in store for us:

• Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Yumi Ohka, Maya Yukihi, and Alex Lee
• Manami Toyota vs. Tequila Saya
• Manami Toyota vs. Mochi Miyagi and Hamuko Hoshi
• Manami Toyota vs. Meiko Satomura
• Manami Toyota vs. Emi Sakura
• Manami Toyota vs. Rina Yamashita
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki
• Manami Toyota vs. AKINO
• Manami Toyota vs. Risa Sera
• Manami Toyota vs. Drake Morimatsu
• Manami Toyota vs. Cherry
• Manami Toyota vs. Aoi Kizuki
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bolshoi Kid
• Manami Toyota vs. Sakura Hirota and GAMI
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Manami Toyota vs. Sonoko Kato
• Manami Toyota vs. Leon
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuu Yamagata
• Manami Toyota vs. ASUKA
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida
• Manami Toyota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Ayako Hamada
• Manami Toyota vs. Chikayo Nagashima
• Manami Toyota vs. Ikuto Hidaka
• Manami Toyota vs.  Papillon Akemi
• Manami Toyota vs. Gabai-jichan
• Manami Toyota vs. Kanjyouro Matsuyama
• Manami Toyota vs. KID
• Manami Toyota vs. Small Antonio Inoki
• Manami Toyota vs. Otoko Sakari
• Manami Toyota vs. Isami Kodaka
• Manami Toyota vs. Ryuji Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Carlos Amano
• Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda
• Manami Toyota vs. Itsuki Yamazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bull Nakano
• Manami Toyota vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• Manami Toyota vs. Jaguar Yokota
• Manami Toyota vs. Mariko Yoshida
• Manami Toyota vs. Nanae Takahashi
• Manami Toyota vs. KAORU
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaoru Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Tomoko Watanabe
• Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota Retirement Match: Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

There also will be a retirement ceremony, which I won’t “review” but I will still discuss at the end of the article. As I mentioned, the vast majority of these matches have a one minute time limit, except for the opener and the final series of matches against Tsukasa Fujimoto. There is a method to the madness, as for some sections the string of wrestlers in a row is promotion-based, then with the older veterans from Toyota’s heyday going last.

The event starts with by far the least fair match of the night, as Manami Toyota faces off against all four members of Ozaki Army. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota have been battling since the early 90s in AJW and never stopped, as they had matches in GAEA Japan and of course OZ Academy as well. The other members have less of a connection, but they still happily join in as Toyota is beaten by all four of them (plus of course Police). The match goes better once Toyota isolates Ozaki, but it doesn’t last long as Toyota is quadruple teamed and tosses out of the ring. Ozaki Army takes the fight into the crowd and pummel Toyota, Ozaki returns to the ring as the referee counts and Toyota is counted out! Ozaki Army win the match.

So on a night that Manami Toyota has over 50 matches, she starts out getting beaten with chairs and whatever other weapons they can find. Toyota eventually does make it back into the ring, at first Ozaki throws the flowers at her but eventually does pick them up and nicely hands them to her. The other members of Ozaki Army follow suit, except for Police, who throws a chair at her instead. Police was always an asshole.

Tequila Saya is next. Saya is an Ice Ribbon wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years, with only a few tag matches between them. Toyota doesn’t seem to take Saya too seriously  as she sends her flying with a missile dropkick, moonsault by Toyota and she gets the three count! Manami Toyota defeats Tequila Saya. Toyota doesn’t get much of a chance to relax as its back to a handicap match, with Toyota facing off against the Lovely Butchers. They bring Manami a hat and instead of fighting, they all dance together. They even get Toyota do do their signature pose but they jump her while she is doing it and give her the double body block for the double pin three count! Manami Toyota falls for the second time tonight, but they still all pose together and no hard feelings are had.

Next down the ramp is the woman that has no chill – Meiko Satomura. Satomura and Toyota first wrestled in GAEA in the late 90s and had many encounters in the promotion of the years. Since GAEA Japan closed their paths have crossed a few times in Satomura’s Sendai Girls’ promotion. Satomura and Toyota have such a high level of respect for each other that it took time for them to lock up, Satomura eventually hits a DDT and cartwheel kneedrop but the minute has already expired and the match is a Draw. Gatoh Move wrestler and owner Emi Sakura enters the ring, Sakura immediately goes in with chops and delivers the low crossbody in the corner. Toyota slaps Emi Sakura, Riho runs in and with Toyota they pose over Sakura. Toyota puts Sakura in a camel clutch, and she submits! Manami Toyota gets her second win of the night.

Young WAVE wrestler Rina Yamashita is Toyota’s next challenger, Toyota boots her but Rina kicks out of her continuous covers. Rina connects with a hard shoulderblock but she is so excited she never covers Toyota and the time expires. They hug before Rina exits the ring and Tsubasa Kuragaki takes her turn. Kuragaki and Toyota began their battles in JWP back in 2006 and haven’t stopped, as they frequently were paired up in OZ Academy. Kuragaki gets Toyota in the corner and lariats her, she gets Toyota on her back in a backbreaker before she drops her to the mat. Kuragaki goes up top and nails a moonsault, but Toyota bridges out of the cover. Kuragaki picks up Toyota and lariats her, but the bell rings as the match is a Draw. Another hug, and fellow OZ Academy wrestler AKINO takes her spot.

Six matches down, lots more to go! AKINO is another common enemy and foe from OZ Academy, which was Toyota’s primary home the last several years. AKINO gets Toyota in the corner and bootscrapes her, but doesn’t go for the pin as time expires for the Draw. AKINO helps her up before Ice Ribbon wrestler Risa Sera charges the ring to take her shot at the retiring legend. A slew of Ice Ribbon wrestlers jump into the ring with Risa Sera and they all attack Toyota in the corner, Sera goes up top and she nails the diving kneedrop, she hits a second one but the bell rings before she can cover her so the match is a Draw. Almost all retirement matches at some point have a string where the retiring wrestler is attacked by tons of wrestlers in rapid succession, and it may not be the last time. But Toyota gets a special gift from the Ice Ribbon wrestlers after Sera’s match, and everyone poses for the camera.

Drake Morimatsu is next! You may not be familar with Drake, she current wrestles in GUTS WORLD, she started her career in FMW and is definitely an ‘old school’ veteran. She comes into the ring with a baseball bat and hits Toyota with it a few times, lariat by Drake and she covers Toyota, but pulls her up before the three count. Another lariat but she does the same thing, she hits a Samoan Driver but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Drake gets the bat again and hits Toyota with it, but the bell rings which saves Toyota from more carnage. I really enjoyed the feel of this one, very different as Drake showed her old FMW side with the weapon-based offense.

Cherry bops down to the ring, she repeatedly steps on Toyota’s toes and chops her in the face, but Toyota chops her back. Toyota wins the strike exchange but the bell rings, signifying the match is a Draw. Aoi Kizuki is next, Aoi is a young popular Freelancer that wrestles in a variety of promotions. Aoi immediately dropkicks Toyota and hits a jumping lariat, double wrist-clutch suplex by Aoi and she goes for the swivel body press, but Toyota gets her feet up. Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb by Toyota and she gets the three count! Toyota has won her third match of the evening. Aoi is laughing and smiling even as getting pinned, which is accepted in these situations as I am sure she was thrilled to be part of Toyota’s retirement show.

Next is Yuki Miyazaki, she charges Toyota but Toyota boots her. She goes up top but Yuki joins her and gives her a big ‘ol kiss. Superplex by Yuki and she puts Manami in a Compromising Position, where she stays until the bell rings for the One Minute Draw. Poor Toyota, that’s what happens when you wrestle Yuki. Bolshoi Kid comes down, this is I am assuming Command Bolshoi wrestling in her old gimmick, which is a more playful clown. Bolshoi Kid gives Toyota a little bag and they both throw things into the crowd, but Bolshoi Kid schoolboys her from behind for the three count! A rare loss for the gullible Manami Toyota, hopefully she learned something from this experience.

On paper, Manami Toyota vs. GAMI and Sakura Hirota looks normal, but it isn’t….. since both are dressed as Manami Toyota. So this is Manami Toyota vs. her two clones. The real Toyota is double teamed and imitated by the two impostors, Oil Check by Sakura and GAMI hits Toyota with her horn. Luckily for Toyota the bell rings and the match is a Draw. Up next is Kaori Yoneyama, she is affiliated with YMZ but wrestles in a bunch of promotions including OZ Academy and Stardom. Yoneyama wants Toyota to wave a flag she brought down to the ring, which she does, but Yoneyama schoolboys her from behind for a two count. Yoneyama goes for a roll-up but Toyota reverses it, getting the three count! Manami Toyota gets her fourth win of the night. OZ Academy wrestler Sonoko Kato takes her turn, lots of kicks by Kato as she is taking this one minute match very seriously. Cannonball by Kato and she nails the diving leg drop, but the bell rings as she makes the cover so the match is a Draw. Manami gives Kato a rolling cradle just for fun before Kato leaves the ring and the next wrestler enters.

Leon throws Toyota into the corner and spears her, another spear by Leon and she hits the Frog Splash, but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Heel drop by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, but Leon barely kicks out of the cover and the bell rings, as time has expired. Leon barely survives and other Pure Dream wrestlers get into the ring as they all give Manami Toyota their final goodbyes. Yuu Yamagata is next, these two have had very limited interactions over the years even though they are seasoned veterans, as Toyota rarely wrestled in Pro Wrestling WAVE. Enzuigiri by Yuu but Toyota hits a snap vertical suplex and a second one The bell rings soon thereafter as the time has expired, making the match a draw!

WAVE wrestler ASUKA comes down and she hits Toyota with a springboard moonsault, dropkick by ASUKA and Toyota falls out of the ring. ASUKA dives out onto her with a tope con hilo, she then goes back up top and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, in an homage to Toyota. Everyone is hurt outside the ring as the bell rings, as time has expired. ASUKA seems more hurt than Toyota as she likely regrets that spot, Toyota returns to the ring as my personal favorite Kaho Kobayashi enters. Kaho dropkicks Toyota and goes up top to hit a missile dropkick, elbows by Kaho and she covers Toyota for a two count. Boots by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota defeats her fifth wrestler so far today.

Hikaru Shida takes the next shot (this is the 21st match for Manami Toyota so far), while her friend Syuri watches from ringside. Shida goes for hip attacks, at first Toyota blocks them with her own hip but she finally connects with one. Syuri comes in the ring and with Shida they both kick Toyota, but Toyota breaks out of the cover. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but the bell rings before she can make a cover so the match is a Draw. Syuri returns and both present Toyota with flowers, once she is able to get back up. Hiroyo Matsumoto and her Godzilla mask is next, she shakes Toyota’s hand but kicks her before putting the Godzilla mask onto Toyota. Body avalanche by Hiroyo, she takes the mask off Toyota and hits a missile dropkick. Toyota slowly gets up, Hiroyo allows her to go up top and she hits a missile dropkick as the bell rings, giving Toyota another Draw.

Ayako Hamada is the next challenger, Hamada immediately dropkicks Toyota but she misses the heel kick. Enzuigiri by Hamada and she hits a DDT, superkick by Hamada but Toyota kicks out of the pinfall. Samoan Driver by Hamada, but the bell rings before she can finish the cover, as Toyota escapes another match with a Draw. The rest of the WAVE wrestlers get in the ring and they pose with Toyota for a photo-op, signifying the end of the WAVE string of challengers.

Veteran Freelancer Chikayo Nagashima is Toyota’s next opponent, she has a long history with Toyota as they fought in both GAEA and OZ Academy over the years. Chikayo hits Toyota repeatedly with her jacket and puts her in the rolling cradle, this takes literally the entire match until Chikayo stops just in time to get the three count pinfall! Chikayo Nagashima defeats Manami Toyota! Never know what is going to happen in these matches. Ikuto Hidaka is next, Hidaka is a ZERO1 wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years. Toyota dropkicks Hidaka as soon as the match starts but Hidaka strikes her back, snap German by Toyota and she hits a heel drop for a two count. Boots by Toyota but the bell rings before anything else of note happens, and the match is a Draw.

Things are going off the rails a bit, as Papillon Akemi is next. He wrestles in smaller promotions such as GUTS World and I have no idea how he got into this match. Kick and a snapmare by Akemi, but Toyota puts him in the rolling cradle, but the bell rings before she can finish the move for a cover. The match is a Draw. Gabai-jichan very very slowly comes down to the ring (he has an ‘old man’ gimmick so he can’t walk very fast), with Toyota getting impatient in the ring for him to hurry up. The referee starts the match and the 20 count, Toyota goes out to help Gabai-jichan get into the ring while they pose for pictures. Toyota helps roll Gabai-jichan into the ring but he knocks her back to the floor with his cane, and Toyota is counted out! Gabai-jichan wins by dubious means, but the crowd enjoyed it.

The series continues going down the wrong path as creepy wrestler Kanjyouro Matsuyama is the next one down. Matsuyama tries to attack Toyota with his fan, but she avoids it and hits him with it instead. They trade slaps until Matsuyama is thrown into the corner, she gets Toyota’s wrist and walks the ropes, but he falls off of them before he can finish the move. The bell rings, and the match is declared a Draw. KID is next, I can’t find anything online on who KID is, but Toyota promptly boots him in the face and gets the three count pinfall! Toyota gets her sixth win of the gauntlet. Small Antonio Inoki is next, we still have a few more goofy challengers, punches to the head by Small Inoki and he applies a Cobra Twist. He goes up top and hits the diving kneedrop, more kneedrops by Small Inoki and he hits an enzuigiri. He goes to put Toyota in an Octopus Hold but the bell rings, the match is a Draw!

Otoko Sakari (Alexander Otsuka) is the next opponent, as Toyota faces her second man of the night that is only wearing a thong. Strikes by Toyota, she goes for a sunset flip but Sakari blocks it. Sakari tries to get away but Toyota grabs him by the thong, pulling it down to expose Sakari. The referee finds this offensive so he rings for the bell, disqualifying Sakari, giving Toyota her seventh win so far! Isami Kodaka is next, he throws streamers at Toyota to distract her before kicking Toyota out of the ring and sailing out onto her with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Kodaka grabs Toyota’s hair but Toyota kicks him low and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold for the three count! Toyota gets her eighth win of the evening. Big Japan wrestler Ryuji Ito is the final male challenger in this intergender run of opponents, he comes down to the ring with a barbed wire board. He sets up the board in the corner but Toyota jumps him and tries to throw him into it. He blocks it and goes for a suplex, but Toyota reverses the suplex and puts the barbed wire board on the mat. Ito scoop slams Toyota onto the barbed wire board, but Toyota kicks out of the pin. Ito keeps her on the board, he goes up top and he nails the Dragon Splash for the three count! Manami Toyota is defeated by the Big Japan star.

Now we have reached a run of challengers from Toyota’s past. Retired wrestler Carlos Amano is first, Amano and Toyota held tag team championships together in both GAEA Japan and OZ Academy. They don’t want to wrestle, so they set up chairs in the ring and talk to each other instead. I can’t understand what they are saying, but they seem to be having a good time. Amano gives Toyota a letter, which she reads as the bell rings. The match is, obviously, a Draw. Mima Shimoda is next, with her friend and long time tag partner Etsuko Mita joining her at ringside. But Toyota won’t go at it alone, as old teammate and friend Toshiyo Yamada joins her at ringside as well to make everything fair. These four were friends and foes back in the mid-90s in AJW. Shimoda charges Toyota and hits a jumping neck drop, Mita runs in and chops Toyota in the chest as they both double team Toyota i the ropes. Yamada trips Shimoda from the floor, she gets in the ring as Toyota puts Shimoda in a camel clutch, kicking Shimoda in the chest. Around this time the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Mita brings in a big present for Toyota and all four pose together in the ring.

Itsuki Yamazaki is next, she may be the least-known wrestler to casual fans as she retired back in 1991. You may know her better as part of the Jumping Bomb Angels, a popular Joshi tag team in the late 80s. She and Toyota also wrestled at Toyota’s 25th Anniversary Show, so the two made a strong bond during their brief time in AJW together. Yamazaki gets Toyota to the mat and starts working over her arm, Irish whip by Yamazaki and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Yamazaki pulls Toyota out of the ring and poses her for a picture, they get back in but the bell rings before she can do anything else, as the match is a Draw. Up next is Bull Nakano, yes THE LEGENDARY BULL NAKANO which obviously is exciting for me as I love Bull Nakano and this is her first televised match of any sort in over five years. Nakano looks great, and comes down to the ring with her nunchucks. Once the bell rings, she hits Toyota in the stomach with the nunchucks, but Toyota avoids the next shot and schoolboys Nakano for the three count! Manami Toyota wins and picks up her ninth victory so far.

Very few wrestlers could follow Nakano and not be a drop down in status, but Chigusa Nagayo is next. Nagayo is still a fairly active wrestler, she currently owns and promotes the wrestling promotion Marvelous. Nagayo and Toyota worked together quite a bit in GAEA Japan, and Nagayo already is tearing up before she even gets into the ring. They tie-up as both are getting emotional, but Toyota hits a scoop slam and covers Nagayo for the three count! They hug on the mat, as Manami Toyota wins her 10th match. Equally legendary Jaguar Yokota is next, as we reach a big string of wrestlers. Nakano, Nagayo, and Yokota are three of the biggest names in Joshi over the last 30 years and it feels really special seeing them all here to help send Toyota into retirement. Yokota is more stone-faced as they lock-up, Yokota kicks Toyota in the head and hits a somersault kick but the bell rings before she can further capitalize. The match is a Draw.

Mariko Yoshida is the next challenger, she also has had a great career and is best known for her work in ARSION. She’s also already crying before the match starts, Yoshida throws Toyota in the corner and boots her in the face. Toyota ducks the next boot but Yoshida puts her in the Spider Twist, luckily for Toyota the bell rings before she can submit, so the match is a Draw. Nanae Takahashi is next, she and Toyota both were in AJW together in the late 90s. Nanae charges Toyota and knocks her to the mat, Natsuki Taiyo comes in and dropkicks Toyota in the corner. Nanae grabs Toyota but Toyota drops her with the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, Nanae returns to her feet however and hits a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb of her own for the three count! Nanae Takahashi wins the match!

It is now KAORU’s turn, KAORU is still an active wrestler and has battled with Toyota in a number of promotions over the years, ranging from AJW in the early 90s up to Marvelous and Diana just a few years ago. KAORU immediately hits Toyota repeatedly with her wooden panel, she picks up Toyota and suplexes her onto it but the referee won’t count the cover since she used the weapon. KAORU drags Toyota to the corner and tries to top the wood piece onto Toyota, but Toyota rolls out of the way as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as Kaoru Ito comes down, Ito and Toyota wrestled with and against each other many many times in the 1990s while wrestling AJW and also won the JWP Tag Team Championship together. Ito isn’t feeling the love as she immediately slams Toyota, Yoshida and another wrestler get in the ring and hit a double facecrusher. Diving footstomp by Ito, and she covers Toyota for the three count! Manami Toyota falls to Ito in painful fashion, but she gets a nice bouquet of flowers for her troubles.

The next challenger is Tomoko Watanabe, like Ito she wrestled with and against Toyota during much of their run in AJW in the 90s. The match starts but Watanabe wants a selfie with Toyota so they do that first. Lariat by Watanabe and she hits another one, a third lariat by Watanabe and a fourth, but as she goes for the cover the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Former AJW wrestler Takako Inoue is next, they were usually on opposing teams in the tag division and kept wrestling after AJW folded in LLPW, OZ Academy, and Diana. Takako shakes hands but then grabs her baton, Toyota ducks the shot but Takako hits a DDT instead. Takako goes up top as Toyota joins her, but Takako hits an avalanche chokeslam for two. DDT by Takako and she goes up top again, but Toyota ducks the Takako Panic as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as they end the match with an embrace.

Veteran wrestler Yumiko Hotta is next, she has her chain with her of course. Hotta was one of Toyota’s main foes in their AJW years, and they had multiple title matches in their heyday. Hotta gets right to kicking Toyota but Toyota pushes her against the ropes, she charges Hotta but Hotta nails her with a heel kick. Cover by Hotta, but Toyota barely kicks out. Hotta picks up Toyota but Toyota sneaks in a cradle, she goes off the ropes but Hotta delivers another heel kick for the three count! Yumiko Hotta is the winner, as I think all these matches is starting to wear on Toyota a bit. Takako Inoue’s long time tag partner Kyoko Inoue is next (no relation), as we have seen with this set of wrestlers these two used to be common enemies in AJW. They eventually tie-up and Kyoko flings Toyota to the mat, Pyramid Driver by Kyoko Inoue but the bell rings as time expires, the match being declared a Draw. Some of the veteran wrestlers return to the ring again and give Toyota more flowers, as she prepares for Tsukasa Fujimoto.

The one minute time limit is out the window now, as Manami Toyota faces her last opponent, Tsukasa Fujimoto. While Manami Toyota didn’t train Fujimoto, their careers crossed several times as far back as 2011. Toyota was impressed with Fujimoto’s abilities, and in 2015 it was Tsukasa Fujimoto that Manami Toyota endorsed as her ‘successor’ and gave her permission to use all of the Japanese Ocean moves. So this is a fitting final opponent, as Toyota has her last match against the wrestler she believes will best continue her legacy. Before the match starts, Aja Kong gives Toyota some flowers – Kong and Toyota had a long match in late October which is likely why she wasn’t in the Gauntlet. Shinobu Kandori then comes down and gives Toyota flowers as well, she had a ‘final’ match with Toyota on October 22nd.

Tsukasa Fujimoto finally arrives and the match begins, Fujimoto immediately dropkicks Toyota and tries to get Toyota on her shoulders, but Toyota blocks it. Dropkick by Fujimoto as they reach a stalemate, Toyota twists up Fujimoto in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Fujimoto falls out of the ring, Toyota goes up top but Fujimoto recovers before Toyota can jump off and knocks Toyota to the floor. Fujimoto then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Toyota, Toyota returns to the ring but Fujimoto connects with a missile dropkick. Toyota recovers and puts Fujimoto in the rolling cradle, Toyota lets go and goes up top, delivering a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, but Fujimoto springs back to her feet and hits a dropkick of her own. Fujimoto sits Toyota in the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Toyota blocks it and hits a heel drop. Cover by Toyota, but it gets a two count. Toyota gets up on the top turnbuckle and she nails the moonsault, but Fujimoto bridges out of the pin. Fujimoto gets up near the ropes but Toyota grabs her and goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. Fujimoto wiggles out of the hold and cradles Toyota for two, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she hits a PK for a two count. Fujimoto goes up top but Toyota hits her she can jump off and joins her, Fujimoto goes over her back and hits an avalanche sunset flip powerbomb for two. Fujimoto goes for the Venus Shoot, but Toyota grabs her from behind and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Manami Toyota wins!

The match immediately starts again, elbows by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but again Toyota joins her. Fujimoto knocks Toyota into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Fujimoto but Toyota kicks out. Venus Shoot attempt again by Fujimoto but Toyota blocks it the same way, Fujimoto slides off Toyota’s back this time and hits a series of jumping footstomps for two counts. Fujimoto gets Toyota on her shoulders and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Toyota gets a shoulder up. Heel drop by Toyota, she grabs Fujimoto and decapitates her with a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb. Both are slow to recover, Fujimoto picks up Toyota but Toyota snaps off a suplex. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits another Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota wins for the second time against Fujimoto.

Fujimoto quickly gets back up as the final match begins, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but Toyota boots her off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Toyota goes up top and dives down onto Fujimoto (and a slew of other wrestlers that wanted to be part of the last dive of Toyota’s career), she slides Fujimoto back in and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by Toyota, but it gets two. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Fujimoto gets a shoulder up. Toyota goes back up top but Fujimoto gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Fujimoto kips up and hits the Tsukka-chan☆Bomb, but Toyota kicks out. Fujimoto picks up Toyota and hits the PK, dropkick by Fujimoto and she hits a second one followed by a third. Fujimoto goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, which she follows with two more. Another missile dropkick by Fujimoto, she covers Toyota but it only gets a two count. Venus Shoot by Fujimoto, she grabs Toyota and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto wins the final match in Manami Toyota’s career.

Following the match, many of the wrestlers Toyota faced tonight surround the ring, while Toyota says her final words. She gives Fujimoto her final blessings, and Fujimoto speaks for a moment as well. After that, per her wishes, a chair is brought into the ring and Toyota has her hair cut shorter, with her hair being donated to use for wigs for people that lost their hair due to medical issues. A photo and video slideshow then appears on the big screen, highlighting Toyota throughout her career, which continues for several minutes.

 

The post Manami Toyota Retirement Show on 11/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Finally! WAVE uploaded this event on the WAVE Network last month, but the website was down for awhile so it just took me time to first get the show and then have time to watch it. This is the biggest Pro Wrestling WAVE event in a long time, with over 2,000 people in attendance for their 10th Anniversary. Many big matches on this show, including a series of matches with GAMI vs. Chigusa Nagayo and a big title match between Yoshiko and Rina Yamashita. Here are the matches I’ll be watching:

• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
• Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura
• Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki
• Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T
• Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Takumi Iroha
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
• ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

Two matches from the show I won’t be reviewing – the Y Dress Battle Royal was not added to the WAVE Network for whatever reason, and the Kashin/Michinoku vs. Togo/Goto match I am skipping since I am focusing on the Joshi matches. All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go directly to it.

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo kicks GAMI in the leg to start the match, GAMI immediately retreats to the corner and asks for an ice pack for it. She comes back out while limping, chop to the chest by Nagayo but GAMI gets her noise maker and hits the referee in the head with it. She then tosses it to Nagayo and claims it was Nagayo that hit the referee, GAMI kicks Nagayo and bounces her off the ropes. Kick to the chest by GAMI, and she covers Nagayo for two. GAMI gets her weapon and hits Nagayo a couple times with it, Nagayo gets to the ropes and the referee gives her a moment to recover. Kicks by Nagayo and she punches GAMI in the chest, cover by Nagayo but GAMI kicks out. Wristlock by GAMI, she climbs up the corner and walks the top rope, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok look, you have to watch matches like these from a different perspective. Clearly, ‘workrate’ wise this was not a good match. GAMI is no longer an active wrestler, while Nagayo is 52 years old and a bit broken. But they were having fun and the crowd enjoyed seeing two classic wrestlers mixing it up. We aren’t done seeing them yet as they are having a match series, for their next match they will be in tag action. This is really only for long time fans that just want to see Nagayo and GAMI lock up, everyone else can safely skip it.

(c) Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Hiroe and Kaori start the match, Kaho quickly comes in to help her partner and they stomp down Kaori. Double dropkick to Kaori but Cherry breaks things up, Hiroe is now double teamed until Kaori tags in Cherry. Cherry rolls Hiroe to the mat and elbows her, slaps by Cherry and she kicks Hiroe into the ropes. Kaori is tagged back in and she throws down Hiroe by the hair, Cherry returns as they take turns on the young WAVE wrestler. Hiroe fights back with a crossbody and makes the hot tag to Kaho, Kaho dropkicks both Cherry and Hiroe and goes for a double crossbody, but she gets caught. Kaho flings them both to the mat anyway, Kaho throws Cherry into the corner and she hits a dropkick. Running senton by Kaho, but Cherry bridges out of the pin. Back up they trade elbows, eye poke by Cherry and she forces the referee to help her out. Cover by Cherry, but Kaho kicks out at two. Kaho elbows Cherry and goes off the ropes, but Cherry catches her with Cutie Special for another two.

Cherry tags Kaori, Kaori knees Kaho in the back of the head but Kaho blocks her chops. Kick by Kaori and she goes off the ropes, but Kaho delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags Hiroe, dropkicks by Hiroe and she goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Hiroe picks up Kaori and hits the Northern Lights Suplex, but Cherry breaks it up. Cherry and Kaori are stacked in the corner but they avoid Hiroe’s charge and send Kaho out of the ring. Hiroe is slammed near the corner, diving senton by Kaori and Cherry follows with the Swanton Bomb, but Kaho returns in time to break up the cover. Cherry and Kaori pick up Hiroe but Kaho runs in again and dropkicks both of them, they avoid Kaho’s next dropkick and they cradle Hiroe, but Kaho once again breaks it up. Kaori goes for the Chaos Theory but Hiroe blocks it, Cherry chops Kaori by accident and Hiroe cradles Kaori for two. Kaho kicks Kaori from the apron, Hiroe quickly puts Kaori in the Hiroe Special and she picks up the three count! Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi are the new champions!

My love of Kaho helped this match entertain me more than it probably should, but both teams did work well together and they kept the action flowing. This is the first title in Hiroe’s career and she was clearly very excited to win it, even if it was a bit fluky. Fast paced and interesting, but overall not incredibly memorable for a title change.  Mildly Recommended

Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota
vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura

Hana and Hirota start the match, dropkick by Hana and she covers her for the three count! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Hirota gets on the mic and I am assuming wants the match to re-start, and she eventually gets her wish. Hirota and Mio Momono start the rematch, dropkick by Mio and she covers Hirota for three once again! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Well Hirota still isn’t satisfied so the match re-starts again with Rin and Hirota, dropkick by Rin and she covers Hirota, but this time Hirota barely kicks out. Hirota Oil Checks Rin and tags out, Hikaru tags in too but she is double teamed by Ranmaru and Mii. Hikaru gets her kendo stick and tries to hit Ranmaru with it, eventually succeeding. Ranmaru rolls out of the ring while Fairy gets in it with her wand, and she uses it to deflect Hikaru’s kendo stick. Fairy flings all her opponents with the wand, Hirota comes in while all their opponents are lying on the ring, she goes off the ropes and hits a running splash of sorts onto everyone. Both teams ram into each other in the middle of the ring, almost causing them all to be counted down for three, but the eight wrestlers get their shoulders up. They trade finishers with each other until Hikaru is in the ring with Mii, Tamashi no Three Count by Hikaru to Mii and she picks up the three count! Hana Kimura and friends officially finally win the match!

This match was, as the kids would say, a Nothing Burger. Even though it was Hirota’s first official match since 2015, it certainly didn’t feel special in any way. I so rarely get to see Hibiscus Mii and Ranmaru that I wish the action wasn’t so short, as it didn’t give anyone time to make an impact. I guess it functioned as a cute little midcard match, but even comedy lovers probably would want a bit more than what we were given here.

Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki

Aoi and Yuki start the match, Yuki pushes Aoi against the ropes but Nagisa comes in to help even things out. Yuki lariats both of them for their trouble, Mika comes in and puts on Aoi’s wings while Yuki puts Aoi in a compromising position. Nagisa comes in to break up the fun, Mika stays in with Aoi and hits a pair of falling headbutts. Yuki walks back over and covers Aoi for two, Irish whip by Yuki but Aoi hits a jumping lariat. Yuki doesn’t go down however and dropkicks Aoi in the head, Mika then comes in and she dropkicks Aoi as well. Yuki picks up Aoi but Aoi snaps off a German suplex, jumping lariat by Aoi and she hits the double wrist clutch suplex for a two count. Aoi goes up top but Yuki avoids the swivel body press, Mika comes in but Aoi moves when Yuki tries to slam Mika onto her. Aoi puts Yuki in a stretch hold with Nagisa’s help, but Yuki fights them both off. German by Yuki but Aoi pops back to her feet and hits a German of her own. Aoi tags in Nagisa, Nagisa goes for a kick but Yuki shoves her to the mat. Elbows by Nagisa but Yuki fires back with a lariat, Yuki goes up top but Aoi grabs her from the apron, allowing Nagisa to German her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.

Nagisa goes up top but Yuki joins her before suplexing Nagisa back down, DDT by Yuki and this time she succeeds in slamming Mika on top of her. Yuki goes up top but Nagisa avoids the moonsault, Nagisa goes off the ropes but Yuki catches her with a Samoan Driver. Yuki tags in Mika, uppercut by Mika and she then hits a running uppercut. Nagisa and Mika trade elbows, big boot by Nagisa but Mika avoids her charge in the corner and snaps her arm over the top rope. Mika boots Nagisa in the head but Nagisa puts her in a sleeper, Yuki grabs Nagisa from behind and suplexes her into the turnbuckles. Dropkick by Mika to Nagisa, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Aoi comes in to get Nagisa back in control, butterfly suplex by Nagisa and she covers Mika for two. Sleeper by Nagisa but Mika rolls out of it, Nagisa charges Mika and nails a running knee, but Yuki breaks up the cover. Nagisa hits a modified STO before cranking on Mika’s arm, but Yuki breaks up the submission. Nagisa goes for a boot but Mika ducks and puts Nagisa in a short armbar, cross armbreaker by Mika but Nagisa gets a foot on the ropes. Mika goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the face, she goes for another boot but Yuki comes in and distracts the referee. Modified sunset flip by Mika, and she holds down Nagisa for the three count! Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki win the match.

I will give Nagisa credit – she looked a little rusty but she was in the bulk of the match and took a lot of big bumps, so she wasn’t taking it easy. Nagisa was never, in my opinion, a high end wrestler but she is good at submissions/strikes and can hang with most wrestlers. Really, the other three aren’t high end wrestlers either so it was a fair pairing, a decent midcard match but nothing overly exciting.

Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T

GAMI and Chigusa charges Matsumoto and Zap T as they come through the curtain and they brawl on the stage, which quickly backfires as Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head. Matsumoto brings GAMI back to ringside and into the ring, where she hits GAMI in the head with a kendo stick. Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head some while GAMI bleeds, Zap T comes in too and puts GAMI in a camel clutch of sorts. Zap T stays in as the legal wrestler but GAMI elbows her against the ropes, scoop slam by GAMI and she tags in Chigusa. Elbows by Chigusa but Zap T kicks her back, Matsumoto gets Chigusa in the corner and tries to stab her, but Chigusa blocks it. Zap T clubs Chigusa while Matsumoto gets her paint can, but she hits Zap T by accident. GAMI and Chigusa double team Zap T, Chigusa then trips Matsumoto and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock of sorts. Around this time the bell mercifully rings, as the five minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok so I said I love Matsumoto, and I do, but her physical condition has gotten worse since I last saw her and she had trouble even standing. GAMI is still pretty spry as is Watanabe, but Matsumoto’s situation just dragged down the match. I still love her and always will, but even with my strongest nostalgic goggles I can’t recommend this.

Ayako Hamada, Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Iroha

Satsuki and Meiko begin for their teams and quickly trade elbows, they go into a tie-up and Meiko takes Satsuki to the mat. Satsuki gets to the ropes to force a break, Meiko quickly applies a short armbar but again Satsuki reaches the ropes. Meiko isn’t done schooling the rookie as she puts Satsuki in a kneelock, but Satsuki breaks the hold for the third time. Meiko tags in Nanae and elbows Satsuki in the corner, chops by Nanae and she hits a leg drop. Nanae tags in Hamada, kicks by Hamada and she covers Satsuki for two. Short armbar by Hamada and she puts Satsuki in a stretch hold, but Iroha runs in to break it up. Satsuki finally hits a move as she delivers a crossbody, giving her time to tag in Iroha. Iroha kicks Hamada to the mat but Hamada hits a vertical suplex before tagging in Meiko. Iroha elbows Meiko in the corner but Meiko elbows her back, kicks by Meiko and she shoves the referee down when she tries to slow down Meiko’s assault. Iroha fires back with kicks and she puts Meiko in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Nanae breaks it up with a hard slap. Lariat by Nanae to Iroha and Meiko delivers the cartwheel kneedrop, Meiko tags in Nanae and Nanae slaps Iroha into the corner, lariat by Nanae but Iroha kicks her in the chin. Suplex by Nanae and she goes for an ankle hold, but Chihiro breaks it up. Lariats by Nanae and she drops Iroha with a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits an elbow.

Superkick by Iroha, she goes up top and nails a Swanton Bomb, but Nanae barely kicks out. Iroha tags in Chihiro, somersault sentons by Chihiro and she covers Nanae for two. Nanae slaps Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro fires back, lariat by Chihiro but Nanae knocks her down with a lariat of her own. Nanae goes off the ropes but Chihiro lariats Nanae to the mat, Iroha comes in but Nanae lariats both of them. Nanae tags in Hamada, Hamada goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Chihiro gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nanae and Meiko both get in the ring and they help Hamada take over the match. Chihiro gets Hamada’s back and drops her with a release German, giving her time to tag in Satsuki. Shoulderblocks by Satsuki but Hamada kicks out of the cover, Nanae comes in to try to help but she kicks Hamada by accident. Satsuki and Chihiro both hit sentons, Satsuki goes up top and she hits a somersault senton onto Hamada for a two count. All six wrestlers end up in the ring and Team Hamada all hit signature moves, powerbomb by Hamada to Iroha and Meiko hits a diving bodypress. Chihiro spears both Hamada and Meiko but Hamada ends up alone with Satsuki again, superkick by Hamada but the cover is broken up. Another superkick by Hamada, and this time she gets the three count! Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi pick up the win!

I still have no idea why an Ice Ribbon rookie that hasn’t shown a lot so far in her career was in this match, but what can you do. Any section with Satsuki suffered a bit but when she was on the apron, everyone fought with the passion and hard strikes you’d expect from this collection of wrestlers. Meiko doesn’t know how to chill in general and Chihiro’s suplex on Hamada was fantastic, so the match definitely had its memorable moments. Having an obvious wrestler to take the fall hurt the suspense, but with all the strike exchanges and anger I still enjoyed it overall.  Mildly Recommended

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

Misaki and Tsukasa start the match but Arisa kicks Misaki from behind, double dropkick to Misaki but Ryo comes in to help as well. Ryo and Misaki both hit running strikes in the corner but Tsukasa dropkicks them out of the ring, Arisa and Tsukasa go to different corners and dive out of the ring onto their opponents. Tsukasa slides Misaki back in and puts Misaki in the ropes, dropkick by Tsukasa to the back and she covers Misaki for two. Misaki bridges out of it and rolls up Tsukasa, but Tsukasa kicks out of it and delivers a dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out, boots by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo fires back with elbows. Hard shoulderblock by Ryo but Tsukasa runs in and dropkicks her, running knee by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo avoids their kick and Misaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody. Double spear by Ryo and she lariats Arisa in the corner, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Misaki, low crossbody by Misaki and she goes for a Stunner, but Arisa blocks it and hits a release German. Misaki comes right back with a German of her own, but Arisa hits a footstomp to her stomach and both wrestlers get back up to trade elbows. Spinning back chop by Misaki but Arisa catches her with the Cutie Special for a two count. Arisa tags Tsukasa, missile dropkick by Tsukasa and she nails Misaki with a dropkick in the corner. Tsukasa goes for a PK but Misaki catches her leg, Arisa boots Misaki and Tsukasa delivers a PK for a two count. Tsukasa charges the corner but Misaki grabs her by the waist, she goes for a German but Tsukasa lands on her feet. Tsukasa gets Misaki on her shoulders but Misaki slides away, Arisa hits a German suplex onto Misaki and Tsukasa applies a jackknife for a two count.

Tsukasa goes for the Venus Shoot but Ryo breaks it up, she gets Tsukasa on her shoulders and tosses her to the mat while Misaki hits a diving crossbody. Ryo lariats Arisa and Misaki covers her for two before rolling to her corner to tag in Ryo. Spear by Ryo but Tsukasa boots her, overhead suplex by Ryo but Tsukasa blocks the dragon suplex. Arisa hits a missile dropkick onto Ryo and Ryo eats a double kick to the head, but she kicks out of the pin attempt. Uranage by Ryo to Tsukasa for two, she goes up top but Tsukasa joins her and armdrags Ryo to the mat. Arisa hits a diving footstomp onto Ryo, cover by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Infinity by Tsukasa, but Ryo barely kicks out. Tsukasa gets Ryo on her shoulders but Ryo slides off, Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Misaki runs in and hits a German suplex. Hard lariat by Ryo and she nails a dragon suplex hold, but Arisa breaks it up. Ryo picks up Tsukasa but Arisa elbows her, Arisa goes off the ropes but she is caught with the 3D. Reverse Hurricanrana into a roll-up by Tsukasa, but it only gets a two count. Enzuigiri by Tsukasa but Ryo fires back with a lariat, Tsukadora by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Misaki and Ryo hit a double tombstone piledriver onto Tsukasa, Ryo goes up top and nails the guillotine legdrop, but Arisa breaks up her cover. Misaki takes care of Arisa while Ryo picks up Tsukasa and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Avid Rivals win!

The only knock on this match is the fact it wasn’t very long, but man was it fun. I love teams that actually function as teams and these two work together so well. Its chaotic but it doesn’t feel messy, all four wrestlers were constantly getting involved but it never felt out of control. Lots of suplexes and hard strikes, and I loved that double tombstone piledriver as both teams have a handful of creative double team moves. Fast paced and entertaining, hopefully as the series continues they’ll get a bit more time as I think they can do even better.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo traps GAMI in the corner and hits a hard elbow, more strikes by Nagayo but she can’t get GAMI off her feet. GAMI pushes Nagayo into the corner and punches her, mounted punches by GAMI and she spits water on her. A Count Down begins as the two wrestlers start wrestling in slow motion, they trade lariats (still in slow motion) until GAMI stomps on Nagayo’s foot. Lariat by Nagayo as the Count Down expires and they go back to full speed, Nagayo puts GAMI in the Scorpion Deathlock but lets her go after a moment. Heel kick by Nagayo but GAMI ducks the second one, small package by GAMI and she picks up the three count! GAMI wins!

The surprising thing here was simply that they had a pinfall instead of going to a Draw like everyone assumed. Nothing much to it and the slow motion part was a bit odd since in theory it wasn’t a comedy match, but it was really just nostalgic filler. A good time was had by all, but not exactly a high-end wrestling affair.

(c) Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
Regina di WAVE Championship

They start slowly with a tie-up and trading holds, Rina bites Yoshiko and they end up back at a stalemate. Yoshiko tosses down Rina by the hair and bootscrapes her in the corner, but Rina fires back with an elbow and returns the favor. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko snapmares her and puts Rina in a chinlock, Yoshiko bites Rina again before putting her in a side headlock. Rina Irish whips out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Yoshiko gets out of it and they collide into each other with neither going down. Rina finally shoulderblocks Yoshiko to the mat, she picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko springs out of the corner with a lariat and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Rina falls out of the ring but Yoshiko goes out after her, hitting a seated senton from the apron to the floor. Yoshiko goes for a running senton but Rina rolls out of the way and hits a senton of her own, she then grabs Nanae Takahashi and suplexes her onto Yoshiko. Rina gets a really really long running start and hits a senton still on the floor, she gets Yoshiko back into the ring and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Yoshiko makes it to the ropes for the break. Running knee by Rina, she gets out on the apron and knees Yoshiko in the head again before covering her for a two count. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a strike combination before connecting with the senton for a two count. Rina quickly applies the sleeper hold, Yoshiko gets out of it and she lariats Rina in the corner.

Rina picks up Yoshiko and slams her into the opposite corner, lariats by Rina and she hits a vertical suplex. Rina gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, but the cover gets two. Rina goes all the way up this time but Yoshiko recovers and joins her, Yoshiko gets Rina on her shoulders but Rina slides off and back to the mat. Rina goes for the powerbomb and eventually gets it, cover by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a back bodydrop before kicking Rina in the chest. Senton by Yoshiko, she picks up Rina but Rina wiggles away and hits a superkick. Both wrestlers go off the ropes but Yoshiko levels Rina with a lariat, she picks up Rina and delivers a fireman’s carry slam for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes to the top turnbuckle but Rina rolls out of the way of the diving senton, both wrestlers slowly get up and they trade elbows. They then start trading lariats until Rina clubs Yoshiko to the mat, sliding lariat by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Yoshiko to get up and charges her, but Yoshiko ducks and hits a short-range lariat. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but Rina reverses her cover into one of her own for two. Yoshiko blocks one Rina lariat but not the second one, Rainmaker by Rina but it gets a two count cover. Rina goes off the ropes and nails another lariat, but Yoshiko won’t stay down. Another lariat by Rina, and this time she gets the three count! Rina Yamashita is still the champion.

If you like “hoss” battles than this is the match for you. These two know each other well enough that they don’t mind really laying in the strikes, some of the lariats were extremely snug but that’s just the way they operate. A few parts seemed out of place, like the super long running sentons they both went for, but for the most part they stayed focused on what they do well. A good change of pace also since no other match on the card was designed like this one, and a quality title match for their biggest show in years.  Recommended

ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

ASUKA and Ohka quickly end up on the mat to trade holds, ASUKA applies a front necklock but Ohka quickly gets out of it and applies a side headlock. They end up facing off on their feet again, wristlock by Ohka but ASUKA reverses it. Ohka gets the headlock re-applied but ASUKA gets out of it, headscissors by ASUKA and she kips up, but Ohka ducks the springboard crossbody. Ohka throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA moonsaults out of it, Ohka stomps ASUKA anyway before ASUKA goes for a Space Rolling Elbow, but Ohka kicks her in the back to block it. Running boot by Ohka in the corner but ASUKA comes back with an elbow, another boot by Ohka and she covers ASUKA for two. Ohka picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits the springboard crossbody this time, Ohka returns with a cross-arm slam but ASUKA puts her in a crucifix armbar. Ohka reverses that into the Stretch Muffler but ASUKA reverses it back again as they trade submission holds until they end up in the ropes. Ohka is up first and boots ASUKA in the head, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka goes off the ropes again but ASUKA duck the boot this time and applies an ankle hold, but Ohka quickly gets out of it.

Ohka applies a hanging headscissors over the top rope, she then brings ASUKA to the middle of the ring and applies a cross-arm submission, but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Ohka goes up top but ASUKA smacks her before she can jump off, ASUKA joins her but Ohka knocks ASUKA back to the mat. ASUKA joins Ohka again, Ohka knocks her off but ASUKA hits a springboard side slam. Standing moonsault attempt by ASUKA, but Ohka reverses it into an armbar necklock submission. ASUKA gets in the ropes, Ohka picks her up but ASUKA blocks the suplex attempt and drops Ohka onto the apron. Ohka keeps a hold on ASUKA to snap her over the top rope, heel drop by Ohka on the apron and she goes to the floor before hitting a sliding kick to ASUKA’s head. Ohka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Ohka goes up top again but ASUKA dropkicks her off the turnbuckle down to the floor, ASUKA goes off the ropes and sails out onto Ohka with a tope con hilo. Back in the ring, missile dropkick by ASUKA but her cover only gets two. ASUKA goes for a moonsault but Ohka gets her feet up to block it, Ohka picks up ASUKA and the two trade strikes. Superkick by ASUKA but Ohka nails a big boot, Ohka picks up ASUKA and drops her with a DDT. Cover by Ohka, but ASUKA kicks out.

Ohka goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a chokeslam, ASUKA goes off the ropes but Ohka grabs her and hits a chokebomb for two. Ohka and ASUKA trade elbows and then trade boots, dropkick by ASUKA and she gets a two count cover. Chokeslam by Ohka but ASUKA hits a rolling fireman’s carry toss, ASUKA goes up top but Ohka grabs her from behind. Running boot by Ohka, she joins ASUKA and she hits a superplex. Ohka goes to the turnbuckle as ASUKA kips up, dropkick by ASUKA and she hits a superkick followed by a gutwrench suplex. ASUKA goes off the ropes and goes for the springboard moonsault, but Ohka kicks her as she goes for the move. Running boot by Ohka, she picks up ASUKA and delivers a brainbuster for a two count. Ohka goes for a tiger suplex but ASUKA blocks it, running boot by Ohka but ASUKA ducks the next one and hits a superkick. Chokeslam by ASUKA, she goes up top and nails the moonsault, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. ASUKA goes up top again and this time delivers a Shooting Star Press, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA wins!

While I am still a bit confused on why this was the main event over the title match, it was a really good match. Ohka sometimes doesn’t do much for me but she lead ASUKA really well here and everything felt fluid, which I have to give her a lot of the credit for as the veteran. ASUKA hit everything perfectly and didn’t seem to be intimidated by the grand stage, and anytime a match ends with a Shooting Star Press I am a happy camper. I don’t know long term what WAVE’s plans are with ASUKA, but she delivered as well as anyone could have hoped for. It was still a bit repetitive at times as Ohka doesn’t have a wide move set, but between the excitement of ASUKA’s wrestling style and Ohka setting the match structure, it was very entertaining and a fitting main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE 10th Anniversary “Never Ending Story” 8/12/17 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.*

• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Risa Sera
• Hamuko Hoshi, Hiroshi Fukuda, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Misaki Ohata, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Aoi Kizuki vs. Cherry vs. Dynamite Kansai vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• Isami Kodaka vs. Yumi Ohka
• Aja Kong and SAGAT vs. Neko Nitta and Shuji Ishikawa
• Arisa Nakajima vs. Mio Shirai

Some potential here for goodness, let’s see how it goes. All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Risa Sera

Sera attacks Nagashima from behind to start and she hits a shoulderblock, but Nagashima boots her in the head.  Nagashima applies an armbar over the top rope and she steps on both of Sera’s hands.  Nagashima mushes Sera in the face with her boot but Sera hits a scoop slam followed by some running double knee drops.  Sera goes for a monkey flip but Nagashima has none of it and hits a footstomp.  Another footstomp by Nagashima, she picks up Sera and they trade elbows until Sera hits a dropkick.  Crab hold by Sera, she picks up Nagashima and she hits a Schwein for a two count.  Nagashima goes off the ropes and she hits a spinning headscissors followed by a dropkick.  Nagashima goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover, but it gets two.  Knees by Nagashima but Sera picks up Nagashima and hits an Attitude Adjustment for another two count.  Sera hits a running double knee in the corner, reverse double knee drop off the turnbuckles by Sera but Nagashima kicks out.  Sera picks up Nagashima but Nagashima quickly rolls her up for two.  German suplex hold by Nagashima, but Sera kicks out at two.  Nagashima charges Sera but Sera hits a hard elbow.  Sera goes up top but Nagashima joins her and hits a Frankensteiner.  Cover, but Sera gets a shoulder up.  Back up, Sera goes off the ropes but Nagashima hits a big boot.  Fisherman Buster by Nagashima and she picks up the three count!

This was a really solid way to open up the show.  Nagashima and Sera are both good wrestlers and they put together a somewhat short but fast paced and to the point match with little wasted time.  Good way to start things off.  Mildly Recommended

Hamuko Hoshi, Fukuda, and Miyagi vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Misaki Ohata, and Tsukasa Fujimoto

Hoshi and Ohata start off, wristlock by Hoshi but Ohata reverses it.  Ohata tags in Fujimoto and they all triple team Hoshi while he is in the ropes.  Fujimoto throws Hoshi into the corner but Hoshi teammates run in and Fujimoto is triple teamed in the corner.  Hoshi tags in Miyagi and Miyagi hits a body avalanche in the corner.  Miyagi mounts Fujimoto in the corner and rubs her belly into Fujimoto’s face, but Fujimoto somehow survives and kicks out of the cover.  Fujimoto throws down Miyagi and she tags in Ozaki, and Ozaki whips Miyagi in the corner.  I mean literally whips her.  Miyagi sneaks in an inside cradle but Ozaki kicks out of it and tags in Ohata.  Irish whip by Ohata and she hits Miyagi with the whip.  Curb stomp by Ohata and she tags in Fujimoto.  Fujimoto kicks Miyagi in the back and twists her belly before tagging in Ozaki.  Ozaki throws Miyagi to the mat and she hits a corkscrew senton from the top for a two count.  Irish whip by Ozaki and she kicks Miyagi for another two count before applying a seated armbar. Ohata is brought back in as Miyagi plays face(?) in peril, until Miyagi finally hits a running belly bump and tags in Fukuda.  Fukuda shoulderblocks Ohata and kicks her, he goes up top but Ohata punches him in the stomach when he jumps off.  Fukuda rakes Ohata in the eyes, his teammates come in and all three of them hit body blocks on Ohata.  Lariat by Fukuda but Fujimoto breaks up the cover.  Tiger Feint Kick by Fujimoto, Ozaki grabs Fukuda and hits a release German suplex.  PK by Fujimoto, running body press by Ohata while Fukuda is sitting on the mat but it only gets a two count.  Ohata tags in Ozaki, Ozaki whips Fukuda in the corner and then chokes him, Ohata and Fujimoto come in and they all take turns whipping Fukuda.  Ozaki goes up top, Fukuda tries to convince her not to attack him so Ozaki climbs back down.  Everyone comes into the ring while Fukuda is still talking away and they take turns singing, but they can’t get Ozaki to do it.  Finally Ozaki does sing as everyone jumps around happy, Fukuda applies a small package to Ozaki but it gets a two count.  Quick kick by Ozaki, she gives Fukuda a small package of her own and she picks up the three count!

Just a bit too long and a bit too silly for me. There were some decent wrestlers hiding in this match, I love Ohata for sure, but this match just didn’t do a lot for me.  Very skippable.

Aoi Kizuki vs. Cherry vs. Dynamite Kansai vs. Kaho Kobayashi

Everyone attacks Kansai right off the bat, hitting rolling sentons and a triple falling headbutt.  They pick her up but Kansai elbows all three of them, Kansai throws all three in the corner and she lariats Cherry and Kobayashi because Kizuki moved.  Kansai scoop slams Cherry while Kizuki cheers her on, and Kizuki poses with Kansai.  Kizuki sneaks in a roll-up on Kansai for a two count, and Kansai kicks her in the ribs.  Kobayashi comes in and dropkicks Kansai in the head twice but Kansai blocks the fisherman suplex.  Lariat by Kansai and a cover, but it is broken up.  Cherry and Kizuki Irish whip Kansai but Kansai and Cherry end up elbowing Kizuki.  Cherry puts Kizuki in a figure four, then Kansai puts Kizuki in a necklock.  Kobayashi then puts Kansai in a necklock, Cherry runs over and puts Kobayashi in a necklock but releases the hold so she can put Kizuki in a crab hold (rolling them all over in the process).  Kizuki pushes Cherry off of her, both Kizuki and Kobayashi convince Kansai to go after Cherry but they all end up triple teaming Kansai in the corner.  Kansai starts booting them back, Cherry covers Kobayashi but Kizuki breaks it up.  Kizuki hits a jumping lariat on Kansai, double Irish whip to Kansai and Kansai eats a double dropkick.  Senton by Kizuki and Kobayashi back and forth, double cover by the duo but Kansai kicks out.  Kobayashi and Kizuki charge Kansai but Kansai puts them both in the claw.  Double lariat by Kansai and she lariats Cherry as well.  Kansai goes for Splash Mountain on Cherry but both Kobayashi and Kizuki break it up.  German suplex by Kizuki to Kansai and then the all hit dropkicks.  Triple dropkick to Kansai, Kansai goes for a crossbody on all three but they roll through it and pick up the three count!  Kizuki, Cherry and Kobayashi are declared the winners!

In theory this was not a tag match but they quickly realized that keeping down Kansai was the key to success.  I actually didn’t hate it even though it’s silly on paper, since Kizuki and Kobayashi are such high energy.  Kizuki almost was having too much fun, lots of smiles throughout from everyone but Kansai, almost as if she wasn’t in on the joke.  Definitely above average and a decent mid-card match.

Isami Kodaka vs. Yumi Ohka

They trade holds to start with Kodaka getting the first advantage, they then trade elbows but Kodaka throws Ohka into the corner. Punch to the stomach by Kodaka and he hits the baseball slide elbow smash (he was safe).  Ohka fakes she us running towards Kodaka but Kodaka cowers in the corner.  Ohka moves when Kodaka charges in and hits an elbow drop, stomps by Ohka but Kodaka regains the advantage and applies a chinlock.  Stomps by Kodaka but Ohka punches him before hitting a scoop slam.  Big boot by Ohka in the corner but Kodaka avoids the next one and hits a boot of his own.  Kodaka goes for a suplex but Ohka blocks it into a vertical suplex, she goes off the ropes and she boots Kodaka in the head.  She does it a second time and a third, she goes for a backdrop suplex but Kodaka lands on his feet and applies a submission hold.  Ohka gets out of it and they trade elbows, Ohka stomps on Kodaka’s foot and kicks him but Kodaka connects with the super kick. Back up Kodaka delivers a dropkick, he covers Ohka but it gets two.  Scoop slam by Kodaka in front of the corner, he goes up top but Ohka avoids the diving double knee.  Big boot by Ohka and she hits a backdrop suplex, but Kodaka avoids the next boot.  Chokebomb by Ohka, but Kodaka gets a shoulder up.  Heel drop by Ohka, she picks up Kodaka but he blocks the tiger suplex.  Roll-up cover by Kodaka for two and he kicks Ohka in the side of the head.  Kodaka picks up Ohka and drills her with a brainbuster, but she barely kicks out of the cover.  Kick to the back of the head by Kodaka and he nails the Isami-Ashi Zan for the three count cover!

This wasn’t as bad as I was expecting since I don’t think much of Ohka.  I thought it was smartly worked once we got through the beginning, it was a bit repetitious at times since Ohka is limited but they did the dynamic very well.  Kodaka didn’t hold back of course because Ohka is a woman which just helped make her look more legitimate, it never felt like a “gender” thing which is a plus.  Not great but certainly watchable.

Aja Kong and SAGAT vs. Neko Nitta and Shuji Ishikawa

Kong and Ishikawa start off, side headlock by Ishikawa but Kong Irish whips out of it.  They take turns failing at shoulderblocks  until Kong manages to shoulderblock Ishikawa down, but Ishikawa immediately returns the favor.  Nitta and SAGAT are tagged in and Nitta hits SAGAT with her tail, Ishikawa comes in and they hit a double shoulderblock.  Ishikawa and Nitta both scratch SAGAT and stand on him near the ropes.  Nitta tries to go off the ropes but SAGAT grabs her by the tail and tags in Kong.  Kong pulls around Nitta by the tail before tying her to the top rope with it.  Chops by Kong and she keeps hitting Nitta by the tail, scoop slam by Kong but Ishikawa runs in and scratches her back.  Kong tags in SAGAT and SAGAT chokes Nitta by her tail, Nitta sneaks in a bodyscissors roll-up but it gets two.  Nitta tags in Ishikawa and Ishikawa shoulderblocks both SAGAT and Kong.  Ishikawa lariats SAGAT in the corner and he hits a backdrop suplex for a two count cover.  Irish whip by Ishikawa but SAGAT kicks him back, they trade elbows and SAGAT hits a DDT.  Cover, but it gets two.  Knee to the stomach by Ishikawa and he hits a vertical suplex.  Ishikawa tags in Nitta and Nitta hits a dropkick off the second turnbuckle.  Nitta picks up SAGAT and goes for a suplex, but SAGAT blocks it.  Nitta goes off the ropes and hits a springboard elbow, Ishikawa comes in the ring and he slams SAGAT to the mat.  Ishikawa picks up Nitta and throws her into SAGAT, picking up a two count.  Nitta and Ishikawa both attack SAGAT in the corner, Ishikawa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp.  Nitta hits (well not really) a corkscrew senton, but Kong breaks up the cover.  Ishikawa takes care of Kong but SAGAT hits a Samoan Drop on Nitta.  SAGAT tags in Kong, Kong picks up Nitta and she hits a lariat.  SAGAT returns but Ishikawa comes in the ring and lariats both of them.  SAGAT is thrown into Nitta, while Kong gets a metal bucket and hits Ishikawa with it.  Wheelbarrow suplex by Kong to Nitta but Ishikawa breaks it up.  Kong picks up Nitta and she nails the brainbuster, picking up the three count!

Another goofy match on the card, I guess no one wanted to upstage Mio in the main event. There were a few cute spots with Kong and Nitta, it was just the third match with some comedy type spots in it so I’d rather have seen something a bit different. Certainly nothing to get excited about.

Arisa Nakajima vs. Mio Shirai

Time for the reason I am watching this event in the first place, two of my favorites. They start slow, trading holds on the mat with neither having much luck. Back up Nakajima hits a big boot and throws Shirai into the corner before throwing her to the mat by her hair. She does it again, Irish whip by Nakajima and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Seated armbar by Nakajima and she applies a wristlock before kicking Shirai in the chest. Nakajima applies a stretch hold and then a bodyscissors, stomp by Nakajima and she puts Shirai in a sleeper. Shirai gets up and slams her way out of it, she goes for the cross armbreaker but Nakajima blocks it. Stretch Muffler by Nakajima but Shirai gets to the ropes. Shirai puts Nakajima in the ropes and boots her hard in the back of the head, crossface by Shirai and she kicks Nakajima in the face. Eye poke by Shirai, she puts Nakajima in the corner and kicks her in the chest. Snapmare by Shirai and she kicks Nakajima in the back, cover by Shirai but it gets two. Camel Clutch by Shirai but Nakajima gets out of it and they trade elbows back on their feet. DDT by Nakajima and she dropkicks Shirai in the head, Irish whip by Nakajima to the corner and she hits a high knee. Dropkick out of the corner by Nakajima, cover on Shirai but Shirai kicks out. Kick by Nakajima, she picks up Shirai but Shirai hits a leg sweep and applies the figure four necklock. Nakajima gets out of it, she pulls down the rope when Shirai charges her and Shirai lands out on the apron. Shirai and Nakajima trade elbows but Nakajima wins the battle and knocks Shirai down to the floor. Nakajima then gets up on the top turnbuckle and she dives out onto Shirai with a plancha suicida. Nakajima throws Shirai around the floor and throws chairs on top of her before hitting a footstomp (I am assuming since it is off camera). Shirai fights back and throws Nakajima into the ring post before slamming her head into the apron. Shirai gets up on the apron and hits a jumping kick onto Nakajima, she then hits a vertical suplex out on the floor. Shirai hits Nakajima with a chair and chokes her, but the referee finally gets her to stop so Shirai elbows her instead.

Shirai finally rolls Nakajima back in the ring, she gets up on the top turnbuckle and applies a necklock over the top rope. Shirai goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Shirai gets a chair and sets it up in the middle of the ring, she puts Nakajima on it and boots it into Nakajima’s face. Shirai picks up Nakajima but Nakajima ducks the enzuigiri and hits a suplex. Running boots by Nakajima while Shirai is against the ropes, cover by Nakajima but it gets two. Nakajima gets a chair and she hits Shirai in the face with it, she then breaks it over Shirai’s head and Shirai rolls out of the ring. Shirai gets up out on the floor but Nakajima hits a baseball slide and goes after her, throwing Shirai into the ring post. Nakajima rolls Shirai back in and goes up top, and she hits the missile dropkick for a two count. German suplex hold by Nakajima but that gets a two count as well, rolling Germans by Nakajima and she holds the last one for another two count. Nakajima goes up top, but Shirai recovers and joins her, Nakajima pushes Shirai off but Shirai gets a chair and hits her with it. Back up Shirai goes and she hits an avalanche powerslam, kick to the head by Shirai but the cover gets two. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and they trade elbows as they return to their feet, and Nakajima knocks Shirai back to the mat. Shirai gets back up and hits a high kick, heel drop by Shirai and she covers Nakajima for a two count. Shisenkō by Shirai, she picks up Nakajima and she nails the double underhook facebuster. Running kick by Shirai, cover, but Nakajima barely gets a shoulder up. Shirai waits for Nakajima to get up but Nakajima catches the Egukeri and applies an ankle lock. Running knee by Nakajima, she picks up Shirai but Shirai applies a sleeper. Figure four necklock by Shirai but Nakajima manages to get a foot on the ropes. Shirai suplexes Nakajima back to the middle of the ring and re-applies the hold, but Nakajima gets to the ropes again. Nakajima snaps off a release German suplex, elbows by Nakajima and she hits the Dharma Style German, but the bell rings just as she does so and the match is a Draw.

Shirai agrees with me that draws are lame and does not want to end her show that way, so after a few minutes of discussion the match restarts! Shirai immediately hits a hurricanrana, but Nakajima kicks out. She goes for the Tsuchigumo but Nakajima blocks it, but Shirai applies the Jorōgumo into a roll-up for two. Shirai goes off the ropes but Nakajima elbows her, knee by Shirai but Nakajima hits a bridging fallaway slam for two. Kick to the side of the head by Nakajima, she picks up Shirai and hits a few elbows. Shirai fights back with a hard headbutt, Tsuchigumo but Shirai but Nakajima gets a shoulder up. Headbutt by Shirai to the now bleeding Nakajima, she goes for a kick but Nakajima ducks it and hits elbows. Nakajima punches Shirai in the face, she picks up Shirai and nails the Dharma Style German Suplex Hold, and this time she gets the three count!

This really was a great match, only hurt by the fact it was filmed on a hard camera. That was really only an issue because a good chunk of the match in the middle was out on the floor, and with the camera some things were hard to see and others were missed entirely. Also, even though it was a hard hitting match some of that is lost when the view is a bit far away. That being said, what a match by these two as it had everything you could ask for… hard strikes (Shirai even busted open Nakajima with a headbutt), suplexes, submissions, memorable moves, the works. For a 30+ minute match it never felt like it was dragging, and of course I love the match was re-started and they didn’t end things with a draw. Really a must-see match by these two, with the only downside being the action missed due to not having a multi-camera setup. Highly Recommended

event originally reviewed on 7/1/15

The post Mio Shirai Produce “M.I.O. 4” on 6/19/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

We haven’t checked in with OZ Academy in awhile, let’s see what they are up to. This is a pretty small event for them as it has no title matches, however all the stars are here. Manami Toyota has a big singles match with AKINO as she continues her road to retirement, and we get the unique tag team of Yoshiko and Hikaru Shida in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Aja Kong vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita
• Mayumi Ozaki, Yumi Ohka, and Alex Lee vs. Sonoko Kato, Syoko Sekiguchi, and Kaho Kobayashi
• Manami Toyota Retirement Road: AKINO vs. Manami Toyota
• Hikaru Shida and Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki

As always, you can click on the names above to go directly to the wrestler’s profile on the website. This aired on Nico Pro, so it will be unedited.

Aja Kong vs. Kaori Yoneyama

The match starts slowly, with Kaori trying to be the dominate wrestler without having much luck since Kong ignored everything she did. Kong knocks Kaori to the mat and stomps her against the ropes, she puts Kaori in the corner and chops her in the chest. Lariat by Kong and she covers Kaori with one foot for a two count. Chinlock by Kong but Kaori bites her arm to get out of it, Kong steps on both of Kaori’s hands before stomping down on them. Scoop slam by Kong and she hits an elbow drop for a two count cover. Kaori swats at Kong but Kong shrugs her off and punches her to the mat, Kong picks up Kaori but Kaori goes for a sunset flip. Kong blocks it and tries to sit on Kaori, but Kaori moves and dropkicks Kong in the back. Kaori goes for a slam but Kong blocks it, Kaori slides away and jumps on Kong’s back and puts her in a sleeper, but Kong drives her into the corner to get her off. Kaori applies a waistlock but she can’t get Kong over, she goes for a crossbody before hitting a DDT. Running knee to the back of the head by Kaori but Kong kicks her in the head, lariat by Kong and she covers Kaori for two. Scoop slam by Kong, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaori grabs her from behind and tosses her to the mat. German suplex hold by Kaori, but Kong gets a shoulder up. Kaori gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but that gets a two count as well. Kaori goes all the way up the next time but Kong avoids her dive, Kong gets her paint can and hits Kaori in the head with it. Backdrop suplex by Kong, but Kaori barely kicks out of the pin. Kong picks up Kaori and drops her with a brainbuster, but that gets a two count as well. Kong picks up Kaori but Kaori ducks the backfist, Kaori blocks Kong’s kick and knees her in the chest. Jackknife cover by Kaori, and she picks up the three count! Kaori Yoneyama wins the match.

The story was sound, but it took time to get going. This was basically Aja Kong 101, a common theme in a lot of her matches is the feisty underdog failing at first to get her off her feet before finally succeeding as the match goes on. Kaori is easy to root for so it generally worked, but she is enough of a veteran that it didn’t feel out of the realm of practical that she could hit moves like the German suplex. I am surprised that Aja Kong lost, not that it matters in this case but she so rarely gets pinned. An interesting way to start the show, it had a tight story and a fun surprise ending.  Mildly Recommended

Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita

Aoi grabs Rina from behind and quickly schoolboys her for two, she tries a few more flash pins but none have any luck. Suplex by Aoi, she goes up top but Rina rolls out of the way of the swivel body press. Rina picks up Aoi but Aoi hits a series of Mongolian Chops, snapmare by Aoi and she puts Rina in a rolling bodyscissors. Aoi eventually lets Rina go, Irish whip by Aoi but Rina reverses it and Aoi falls to the mat. Giant Swing by Rina and she puts Aoi in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Aoi gets a hand in the ropes for the break. Rina throws Aoi into the corner and hits her with a few lariats, but Aoi runs out of the corner and hits a jumping lariat of her own. Aoi jumps out to the apron and snaps Rina’s neck on the top rope, Aoi goes up top and delivers a diving body press for a two count cover. Aoi picks up Rina and applies a side choke over her knee, but Rina gets out of it and boots Aoi in the head. Rina goes for a backdrop suplex but Aoi lands on top of her, she goes for another one but Aoi grabs the referee to stop from going over. Rina shakes Aoi free and hits the move anyway, but Aoi kicks out of the pin. Rina charges Aoi, Aoi avoids her and goes for another flash pin with no success. Lariat by Rina but Aoi cradles her for two, Aoi goes off the ropes but Rina hits another lariat for her own two count. Rina goes off the ropes and hits a final lariat, picking up the three count pinfall! Rina Yamashita wins the match.

I have trouble these days really getting into Aoi Kizuki matches, she went from one of my favorites a few years ago to just being nothing. She rarely wins big matches so I don’t take her seriously, and her offense (such as the Mongolian Chops and jumping lariat) lack any impact whatsoever. Rina is a lot of fun to watch but she wasn’t able to save this match. I don’t know what is going on with Aoi or if it can be fixed, but most of her matches these days are skippable.

Mayumi Ozaki, Ohka, and Alex Lee vs. Sonoko Kato, Sekiguchi, and Kaho Kobayashi

Kaho and company attack before Ozaki Army even makes it to the ring, and both teams brawl around the floor. They drag Ohka into the ring and triple team her until Ozaki comes in with a whip to help. The action goes right back to the floor again, with Ozaki Army in control this time, as Police makes it a 4 vs. 3 affair. Ohka and Syoko return to the ring as Ohka whips the rookie, Ozaki comes in to help even though Ohka had things well in control. Ohka tags in Alex Lee, who has a whip of her own which she uses to choke Syoko. Lee kicks Syoko in the head with a Buzzsaw Kick, cover by Lee but Kaho breaks it up. Lee tags Ozaki as they continue on Syoko, its interesting as usually Kaho is the Face in Peril but I guess with Syoko there she gets the day off. Ozaki suplexes Syoko and gets a chain, she drives Syoko’s head into the chain a few times before hitting her in the head with it. Police gets on the apron to help (again, not really necessary under the circumstances), Ozaki hits Syoko with the chain in the corner before throwing her into Ohka’s boot. Ozaki tags Ohka as the abuse of Syoko continues, Syoko finally manages to dropkick Ohka but Ohka stops her from making the hot tag. Knees by Ohka but Syoko hits another dropkick and tags in Sonoko. Kaho comes in too and Ohka is double teamed in the corner, catapult footstomp to Ohka and Sonoko kicks Ohka in the face. Another kick by Sonoko, but her cover only gets a two. Sonoko goes up top and hits a cannonball, but it gets a two count as well.

Kicks by Sonoko and she tags in Syoko, dropkicks by Syoko and she hits a STO, but Ohka kicks out of the cover. Syoko goes off the ropes but she is hit by Lee from the apron, Ozaki comes in but Kaho dives into the ring with a crossbody onto both opponents. Sonoko kicks Ohka but Ohka gets her whip and hits Sonoko in the face with it. Backdrop suplex by Ohka, and she covers Sonoko for two. Ohka tags in Lee, Lee kicks Sonoko into the corner and hits a jumping knee followed by a spin-out slam for a two count. Sonoko ducks a lariat and hits a release German, kick to the head by Sonoko but Ohka breaks up the cover. Sonoko picks up Lee but Lee wiggles away, head kick by Sonoko but Lee returns the favor. Lee slams Sonoko in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, but Kaho breaks up the pin. Lee tags in Ozaki, Ozaki goes for the Tequila Sunrise but Sonoko blocks it. Sonoko hits a back bodydrop, she gets Ozaki behind her back but Ozaki applies a sunset flip for two. Kaho runs in to clear out Ozaki Army, running kick by Sonoko to Ozaki and she goes up top, hitting the diving guillotine legdrop. Her pin attempt is broken up so she tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. She goes up top again, she knocks Police off the apron before hitting another missile dropkick. A third missile dropkick by Kaho, she elbows Ozaki but is tripped from the apron when she goes off the ropes and pulled out of the ring by Police.

A crazy brawl ensues at ringside, most of which we can’t see well since the event is filmed with just a hard cam, until Kaho is rolled back into the ring. Kaho gets away from Ozaki but eats a chop to the chest, Ozaki tags in Ohka who takes a moment to whip Kaho. Sonoko comes in and kicks Ohka, dropkick by Syoko and Kaho hits the Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Kaho and Ohka trade elbows until Ohka hits a DDT, heel drop by Ohka and she covers Kaho for two. Ohka whips Kaho, then Ozaki hits her with a chain before Police hits Kaho with a chair. Powerbomb by Ozaki to Kaho, but the referee won’t count since everyone is standing in the ring with weapons. Ohka picks up Kaho but Kaho reverses the chokebomb into a hurricanrana for two. She goes for a bodyscissors roll-up but Ohka blocks it, Ohka goes off the ropes but Kaho hits it on the second try. Ozaki hits Kaho in the head with the chain, lariat by Police and Lee drops Kaho with a chokebomb. Ohka then hits a chokebomb of her own, but Sonoko breaks up the cover. Police lariats Ohka by accident, La Magistral by Kaho to Ohka but Police breaks it up. Police stomps Kaho but Kato comes in to neutralize him, dragon suplex by Kato to Ohka and Kaho goes up top, but Ozaki joins her and hits a superplex. Ohka tosses Kaho over her head before hitting a big boot, but Syoko breaks up the pin. Brainbuster by Ohka but she lifts up Kaho before the referee can count three, she goes off the ropes and nails a big boot for the three count pinfall! Ozaki Army wins.

I can’t pretend to really enjoy matches like these, as they simply aren’t my preferred match style. At least Ozaki Army lost their own biased referee (MIO) so its not quite as unfair, but the constant interference by Police just takes me out of it a bit. I lived through WCW doing this match style for years and it officially burned me out apparently forever. Even beyond that it was way too long, the Syoko segment lasted an eternity but ultimately didn’t matter so it just felt like time filler. It also makes the weapons like the chain less special when they are used throughout the match with little long term impact, I don’t mind them cheating but sometimes less is more. A few exciting parts and its always fun to see Kaho, but overall just too long and predictable.

AKINO vs. Manami Toyota

AKINO schoolboys Toyota right after the handshake, ending the pleasantries, but Toyota comes back with a crossbody and kicks AKINO into the ropes. Stomps by Toyota but AKINO fires back with a dropkick, kicks to the back by AKINO and she flings down Toyota by the hair. PK by AKINO and she rakes at Toyota’s face, but Toyota gets away and stomps AKINO in the lower midsection. She does it a second time before throwing AKINO into the mat, cross leg submission by Toyota and she puts AKINO in a Muta Lock. She lets her go after a moment and puts AKINO in the ropes, dropkick by Toyota but AKINO kicks her and returns the favor by dropkicking Toyota while she is tied up in the ropes. AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Toyota gets back up and goes for the Rolling Cradle. AKINO blocks it but Toyota kicks AKINO in the head, Toyota gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She hits a second one and a third but AKINO keeps getting back up, so Toyota delivers a fourth missile dropkick for a two count cover. Toyota gets on the top turnbuckle but AKINO avoids the moonsault, AKINO goes up top but Toyota boots her off and down to the floor. Toyota gets on the top turnbuckle but AKINO rolls back in, Toyota climbs back down but AKINO kicks her. AKINO kicks Toyota in the leg and chest, release German by AKINO but Toyota ducks the PK. Rolling Cradle by Toyota, but AKINO kicks out at two. Both wrestlers slowly get up, heel drop by Toyota and she covers AKINO for another two count. Toyota goes up top and nails the moonsault, but AKINO gets a shoulder up on the pin. Toyota picks up AKINO but AKINO spins away from her, they trade strikes until AKINO knocks Toyota to her knees with a high kick. Buzzsaw Kick by AKINO, she covers Toyota but it gets a two count. AKINO goes for an exploder but Toyota blocks it, high kick by AKINO but Toyota boots her back. Toyota gets AKINO on her shoulders but AKINO slides off, AKINO goes for a schoolboy but Toyota sits on her for two. AKINO pushes Toyota down and puts her in La Magistral, picking up the three count! AKINO wins!

Needless to say, AKINO and Toyota can’t “go” like they could 10 years ago, but both still know how to structure a match to make it entertaining. The ending was a bit flat as I’d have preferred after all of that they ended it with something bigger than a cradle, but they kept the action up and Toyota hit most of her big setup moves. I don’t mind a good veteran match now and then, not everything was hit crisp but it was still a fun watch. Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida and Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki

Hiroyo and Yoshiko start the match, they trade holds before trying to knock each other over, with Hiroyo having the first success. Yoshiko returns the favor and knocks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a running boot but Hiroyo greets her with an elbow. Hiroyo snaps Yoshiko’s neck on the top rope, elbows by Hiroyo and she dropkicks Yoshiko in the head. She tags in Kuragaki, Kuragaki throws Yoshiko into the corner and she hits a couple lariats. Crab hold by Kuragaki but Hikaru runs in to break it up, Kuragaki keeps the hold applied though until Yoshiko makes it to the ropes for the break. She tags Hiroyo back in, scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits a double kneedrop to Yoshiko’s stomach. Kuragaki returns, she throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko rebounds out of it with a diving lariat. That gives her time to tag in Hikaru, elbows by Hikaru to Kuragaki and she hits an enzuigiri. Hikaru gets her kendo stick, she hits Hiroyo in the head with it before rolling Kuragaki to the mat for a two count. Dropkick by Hikaru and she goes for a suplex, but she can’t get Kuragaki over. Yoshiko comes in to try to help but Kuragaki suplexes both of them and makes the tag to Hiroyo. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Hikaru, backbreaker by Hiroyo and she puts Hikaru in the Argentine Backbreaker before hitting a gutbuster for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Hikaru and applies a sleeper, but Hikaru snapmares out of the hold. Elbows by Hiroyo but Hikaru catches her with a hurricanrana, running knee by Hikaru and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Running knee by Hikaru, but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Hikaru rolls to her corner and tags Yoshiko, senton by Yoshiko to Hiroyo but Hiroyo blocks the Samoan Drop attempt. Strike combination by Yoshiko and she kicks Hiroyo in the head, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Hiroyo for two. Cobra Twist by Yoshiko but Kuragaki quickly breaks it up, Hikaru and Yoshiko pick up Hiroyo but Hiroyo catches them with a double backdrop suplex.

Reverse double kneedrop by Hiroyo out of the corner, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Hiroyo goes back up top but Yoshiko elbows her and goes up as well, Hiroyo headbutts her off but Yoshiko headbutts her back. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, but Hiroyo rolls through it and they trade quick pin attempts. Yoshiko picks up Hiroyo and hits a fireman’s carry slam, she goes up top but Kuragaki runs in and joins her. Yoshiko blocks the superplex attempt but Hiroyo helps them out by powerbombing Kuragaki, sending everyone to the mat. Body avalanche by Hiroyo but Yoshiko blocks the powerbomb, elbow by Hiroyo but Yoshiko slides away and hits a Codebreaker. Spinning back elbow by Hiroyo, and both wrestlers are on the mat. Hiroyo recovers first and tags in Kuragaki, backdrop suplex by Kuragaki to Yoshiko and she goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up. Yoshiko tries to tag out but Hiroyo knocks Hikaru off the apron, Yoshiko lariats Hiroyo before sending Kuragaki on top of Hiroyo and hitting a senton. Kuragaki recovers and trades elbows with Yoshiko, Hikaru kicks Kuragaki from the apron and Yoshiko delivers a lariat for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Hikaru comes in with her kendo stick and hits Hiroyo with it, but Kuragaki grabs it. Yoshiko tries to hold Kuragaki for Hikaru, but Hikaru hits Yoshiko with the kendo stick by mistake. Kuragaki then lariats both of them, another lariat by Kuragaki to Yoshiko but Hikaru breaks up the cover. Hiroyo returns and drops Hikaru with a backdrop suplex, she then picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt and puts Hiroyo in a sleeper. Kuragaki breaks it up but Yoshiko then puts her in the sleeper, Kuragaki gets out of it and Hiroyo greets Yoshiko with a hard elbow. Assisted powerbomb by Hiroyo to Yoshiko, Kuragaki follows with a lariat and covers Yoshiko for two. Falcon Arrow by Kuragaki to Yoshiko, and she picks up the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki are the winners!

An interesting booking choice, I’d never have expected Kuragaki to pin Yoshiko as the match result. This was enjoyable, a fast paced heavyweight match with four quality wrestlers. I wouldn’t have minded more Hikaru Shida since she is one of my favorites, but the story of the match centered around Yoshiko so she had to take a back seat. The team of Hiroyo and Kuragaki being dominate throughout the match surprised me, Kuragaki is one of those wrestlers that won’t win anything major but is a very respected veteran that can dominate just about anyone at any given time. Hiroyo’s power was impressive as always and while the heel/face dynamic didn’t exist it was still fun to watch. A fitting main event for a smaller show.  Recommended

The post OZ Academy “Dolphin” on 9/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE surprises us by uploading an event pretty quickly onto their WAVE Network. I reward them for doing this by reviewing the event and pointing people to their service if they want to see the event too. Everyone wins! This show has no title matches but a couple big matches anyway, with the highlights being Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita and Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Mika Iida
• Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata
• Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita
• Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka
• Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

Isami Kodaka vs. Keisuke Goto was on the card too, but I’m skippin’ it.

ASUKA vs. Mika Iida

They circle each other to start before locking up, Mika gets ASUKA to the mat first but ASUKA gets out of it and puts Mika in a headlock. They trade submission attempts before returning to their feet, quick takedown by Mika and she puts ASUKA in an armbar. Crossface by Mika and she twists ASUKA’s arm before applying a seated armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, takedown by Mika but ASUKA puts her in a guillotine. Knees by ASUKA and she hits a scoop slam, another scoop slam by ASUKA and she puts Mika in a guillotine, Mika gets out of it and the two trade elbows. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mika and she puts ASUKA in a submission hold, but ASUKA rolls out of it. Takedown by ASUKA and she returns the favor by contorting Mika into a submission, but Mika gets out of it and puts ASUKA in the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA reverses it into a reverse armbar but Mika gets a foot on the ropes, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA but Mika catches her with an uppercut, rebound crossbody by ASUKA and she covers Mika for two. ASUKA goes for a kick but Mika reverses it and rolls ASUKA to the mat, kimura by Mika but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Running dropkick by Mika while ASUKA is still against the ropes, uppercut by Mika and she goes for the short armbar, but ASUKA rolls out of it tosses Mika to the mat from her shoulders. ASUKA picks up Mika but Mika reverses the waistlock and sneaks in two flash pins for two. Mika goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a thrust kick, she goes for a chokeslam but Mika blocks it. Mika tries to roll up ASUKA but ASUKA kips out of it and hits a superkick, suplex by ASUKA in front of the corner and she nails the moonsault for the three count! ASUKA is the winner!

This was basic but sound. It started slow, which isn’t unusual for an opener but picked up some about five minutes in and stayed interesting the rest of the way. ASUKA is coming along really well, even though she got early press as the first transgender wrestler to join a Joshi promotion they haven’t exploited that fact and treat her like everyone else that has to work their way up the rankings. Beating Mika is definitely a good sign for her growth though, and now that she is 18 and two years into her career I expect her to start picking up more wins going forward. Not a bad opener.

Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Yoneyama, and Ohata

Ohata and Nagahama start the match but Ohata is immediately jumped from behind and triple teamed by all her opponents. Yoneyama and Cherry finally come in to help and now it is Nagahama getting triple teamed, curb stomp by Ohata to Nagahama and she covers her for two. She takes in Yoneyama, Yoneyama stomps down Nagahama in the corner and with Ohata’s help attacks her while she is caught up in the ropes. Yoneyama stretches Nagahama before tagging in Cherry, monkey flip by Cherry and she rams Nagahama’s head into the mat repeatedly. Nagahama fights back with a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Aoi, Yoneyama comes in too but Aoi and Moeka hit a double crossbody onto both of them. They do the same three more times to Cherry, double cover to Cherry but it gets a two count. They continue to double team Cherry until Cherry hits a double neck drop, she puts Aoi on top of Moeka and hits a double stomp onto her back. Nagahama runs in but she gets the same treatment, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi stretches Cherry over her knee. Cherry quickly hits a bridging suplex, she goes off the ropes but Aoi delivers a jumping lariat. Backfist by Cherry and she tags in Ohata, while Moeka is tagged in as well. They trade elbows, a battle which Ohata wins, crossbody by Ohata and she gets a two count cover.

Moeka ducks a spinning chop and hits a hurricanrana, hanging armbar by Moeka and her teammates come in to play defense. Aoi helps Moeka hits a double suplex, cover by Moeka but it gets two. Moeka tags Nagahama, dropkick by Nagahama in the corner and she delivers two more dropkicks for a quick cover. Nagahama picks up Ohata and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner, but Ohata kicks out at two. Nagahama picks up Ohata but Ohata slides down her back and they trade flash pins. Stunner by Ohata, she goes off the ropes but Nagahama does too and goes for a bodyscissors roll-up. Ohata blocks it and hits a suplex, low crossbody by Ohata and she tags in Cherry. Yoneyama also comes in and they double team Nagahama in the corner, double face crusher to Nagahama and both Yoneyama and Cherry get onto the top turnbuckle. Nagahama avoids Yoneyama’s diving senton however, Aoi then gets up top and hits a swivel body press onto Yoneyama. Diving footstomp by Moeka onto Yoneyama, Nagahama grabs her and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, but the cover is broken up. After some chaos with all six wrestlers in the ring, Nagahama gets a few more flash pins but Yoneyama sneaks in an assisted jackknife hold and picks up the three count! Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata win!

Just mindless fun. The match was actually better when they weren’t trying to be serious, the general chaos with wrestlers running in whenever they wanted to worked well with the skill sets of some of the participants. A good match for this part of the card, a short multi-tag sprint never hurt anyone as long as it isn’t presented as too important which this wasn’t.

Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire

SAKI and Natsu start the match, SAKI immediately trips Natsu and the two trade armdrags. They square off again, kick by Natsu and she stretches SAKI in the ropes. Running elbow by Natsu and she tags Maya, kicks by Maya and she covers SAKI for two. Maya goes up top but Heidi grabs her from the apron, SAKI recovers and she tosses Maya to the mat. Reverse Splash by SAKI and she puts Maya in a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but it quickly gets broken up. Maya kicks SAKI but SAKI kicks her back and tags Heidi, Heidi elbows Maya in the corner and gives her the Giant Swing. Leg drop by Heidi, but Natsu stops the referee from making the count. Heidi charges Maya but Maya hits a superkick, giving her time to tag in Natsu. Boots by Natsu but Heidi catches one and hits a headbutt, Heidi goes off the ropes but Maya hits her from the apron. Running boot by Natsu to Heidi, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsu and Heidi struggle for position, Maya runs in to help and with Natsu they suplex Heidi. Double boot to Heidi, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu picks up Heidi and applies a sunset flip for two, she goes off the ropes but Heidi catches her with an over the shoulder powerslam drop for the three count! Heidi Katrina and SAKI win!

I don’t want to say the match was bad, since it was too short to be offensive, but it certainly wasn’t good. The ending was incredibly out of nowhere, I assume the commentary team held up their pen and they went to the finish early since nothing was really happening. Much of the action wasn’t overly crisp, although Heidi looked pretty polished. Just a nothing midcard tag match.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

They circle each other to start, Rina pushes Chihiro into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Chihiro takes down Rina and they struggles for position on the mat. Chihiro applies an ankle hold but Rina kicks her off, Chihiro puts Rina in a stretch hold but Rina gets out of it. They both go for shoulderblocks but neither budges, Chihiro finally knocks Rina off her feet but Rina returns the favor. Rina throws Chihiro into the corner and hits a lariat, she puts Chihiro into a Scorpion Deathlock but eventually gets to the ropes for a break. Rina mushes Chihiro against the bottom rope with her boot, Rina picks up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner and hits shoulder tackles. Body avalanche by Chihiro, and she covers Rina for a two count. Scoop slam by Chihiro and she hits a rolling senton, another senton by Chihiro and she covers Rina for two. Chihiro picks up Rina but Rina slides off her back and goes for a sleeper, which Chihiro quickly gets out of it by slamming Rina into the mat. Rina and Chihiro trade elbows until Chihiro hits a vertical suplex, Chihiro picks up Rina and hits a fireman’s carry roll followed by a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle. Chihiro goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, they trade elbows until Rina superplexes Chihiro down to the mat. Rina applies a sleeper but Chihiro gets to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and she knees Chihiro in the back for a two count. Rina elbows Chihiro repeatedly, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her with a spear. Back up they trade elbows and lariats, Chihiro finally knocks Rina to the mat but Rina blocks her suplex attempt. Back bodydrop by Rina but Chihiro comes back with a lariat, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the bell rings as she goes for the cover.  The match is a Draw.

While I don’t really love draws, at least here there is a reason behind it. Last match they had was a 10 minute draw, while this one was a 15 minute draw. Both are the future leaders of their respective promotions, so they are really building up to a big match down the road, ideally for one of their titles. This just keeps the interest up, we’ve established they are very equal and hit extremely hard, but neither can wear down their opponent enough with a shorter time constraint. It leaves me hyped for a rematch, even if it doesn’t happen for awhile. But a very hard hitting and entertaining match, it wasn’t fast paced but never felt like it was dragging, and they both showed a lot of emotion. Sometimes a slow simmer is the way to go, and as long as the relationship between Sendai Girls’ and WAVE doesn’t fizzle, we are in store for an epic match at a future date judging by their interactions so far.  Recommended

Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka

Yumi and Mio start off the match, Yumi immediately boots Mio and goes for the cover, but Kyuri breaks it up. Yumi goes for a tiger suplex but Mio reverses in a backslide, she tries a few more quick pins but Yumi kicks out of each. Hard shoulderblock by Yumi and she tags in Miyazaki, Miyazaki picks up Mio but Mio wiggles away and tags Kyuri. Kyuri goes for a crossbody but Miyazaki catches her, legdrop by Miyazaki but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Mio runs in to help but gets pushed away, crab hold by Miyazaki to Kyuri but Kyuri eventually gets to the ropes. Miyazaki picks up Kyuri and hits a DDT, she tags in Yumi and Yumi knees Kyuri repeatedly in the head. Running boot by Yumi, but Kyuri kicks out at two. Judo toss by Kyuri and she tags in Mio, dropkicks by Mio and she finally gets Yumi to the mat, but the pin only gets a one count. Scoop slam by Mio and she continually covers Yumi, but Yumi won’t stay down for the two count. Mio charges Yumi in the corner but she keeps booting her back, dropkick to the knee by Mio but Yumi boots her when she climbs to the top turnbuckle. Big boot by Ohka in the corner and she hits a second one, cover by Ohka but Mio barely gets a shoulder up. Yumi immediately puts her in an armtrap crossface, Mio gets to the ropes but Ohka boots her in the face again. Mio tries to roll-up Yumi and does with Kyuri’s help, but Yumi kicks out at one. Another roll-up by Mio and she dropkicks Ohka, Mio tags in Kyuri and Kyuri hits a series of neck drops for a one count. Kyuri picks up Yumi and hits a few elbows, but Yumi snaps off a DDT and covers her for two. Kyuri rolls through the cover and goes for a submission, but Yumi is too close to the ropes. Diving crossbody by Kyuri, she picks up Yumi but Yumi blocks the fisherman buster and hits a heel drop for a two count.

Backstabber by Kyuri and she rolls up Yumi a few more times, but each time gets a one count. Yumi suplexes Mio, Mio manages to tag in Kyuri but Miyazaki comes in too. Kyuri is double teamed until Yumi tags in Miyazaki, the action spills to the outside where Kaori Yoneyama and Cherry lend a hand to Kyuri. Miyazaki gets back in the ring while Yumi comes in with Kyuri, they hit the Magic Killer onto Kyuri but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Miyazaki, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mio comes in and pushes Miyazaki over the top rope. She tries to pull her down (remember they can win by Over The Top), but Miyazaki pushes them away and gets back into the ring. A quick roll-up by Kyuri gets a one count, as does a leg clutch hold. Yumi runs in but she boots Miyazaki by accident, cover by Kyuri but Yumi breaks it up. Fisherman suplex by Kyuri, but Yumi breaks that up as well. Eye poke by Miyazaki, Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Miyazaki and Yumi now have one pinfall, they need one more to win the match. Kyuri grabs Miyazaki around the waist but Miyazaki trips her, quick roll-up by Kyuri but Miyazaki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Kyuri tags in Mio, Mio tries to pin over Miyazaki repeatedly but each time she gets a one count. Mio picks up Miyazaki but Miyazaki kicks her and delivers a dropkick. Miyazaki grabs up Mio and hits a Samoan Driver, but Kyuri breaks up the cover. Miyazaki picks up Mio but Kyuri runs in and grabs her, backslide by Mio but it gets a one count. Around this time the bell rings, as time has expired. As the rules stipulated, due to the match being a draw, Mio Momono and Kyuri win!

Matches tend to suffer when there are so many stipulations, and this one was no different. It was a cute concept, the two young wrestlers getting the rules advantage against two wrestlers much more experienced, but I think they just over-did it a bit. They could have just done the rule that Yumi/Yuki needed two pinfalls and that the young team only needed a draw, no need for the two count pinfalls or Over The Top Rules to get their point across. The action was ok but nothing too memorable. Probably a more fun match live but a bit too weighed down by stipulations for my preference.

Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

They start with trading holds, Ryo gets Hikaru to the mat and shoulderblocks her, but Hikaru kips up. Hikaru trips Ryo but Ryo avoids the dropkick, they trade strike attempts but neither can connect. They get into a knuckle lock, Ryo pushes Hikaru to the mat and knocks Hikaru against the ropes. Ryo applies a front necklock but Hikaru gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a quick legdrop for two. Camel Clutch by Ryo, she drives Hikaru back into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Hikaru boots Ryo back and elbows her in the corner, she goes for a jumping knee but Ryo catches her and throws Hikaru to the mat. Ryo rams Hikaru’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and hitting a lariat in the corner. Ryo knocks Hikaru off the apron to the floor, but Hikaru throws a kendo stick at her and hits a running knee. Hikaru picks up Ryo and drops her onto a steel chair, she brings Ryo over to a table and suplexes her on it. Hikaru knees Ryo repeatedly in the chest, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Hikaru, but it gets a two count. Hikaru applies a crab hold, Ryo gets to the ropes but Hikaru hits a running knee. Ryo falls out to the apron but Hikaru suplexes her back into the ring, cover by Hikaru but Ryo kicks out. Ryo fires back with elbows but Hikaru hits an armdrag and delivers a Falcon Arrow for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her knee, Hikaru connects with the next one but Ryo hits a lariat.

Ryo lariats Hikaru in the back of the head but Hikaru snaps off a hurricanrana, she goes off the ropes but Ryo hits a powerslam for two. Jumping knee by Hikaru, but Ryo quickly rolls her up for two before applying an Anaconda Vice. Hikaru gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, spear by Ryo but Hikaru slides off her back and hits an enzuigiri. Uranage by Ryo, she covers Hikaru but it gets a two count. Ryo picks up Hikaru but Hikaru gets way again and rolls up Ryo for two, Hikaru gets her kendo stick and hits Ryo in the head with it. Hikaru hits a pair of running knees, but Ryo gets a foot on the bottom rope to break up the pinfall count. Hikaru puts Ryo on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Ryo pushes her off. Ryo goes for the diving leg drop but Hikaru avoids it, two more running knees by Hikaru but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Hikaru tries to hit Ryo with her kendo stick but Ryo blocks it, dragon suplex hold by Ryo but it gets two. Big lariat by Ryo, she goes up top and nails the diving leg drop, but that gets a two count as well. Hikaru pokes Ryo in the eyes and applies in an inside cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her and delivers the Hot Limit. Before she can make the cover, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was an oddly structured match but I think they accomplished their goal of putting on a good show while protecting both. I didn’t love that Ryo kept kicking out of Shida’s Three Count knees, but then Hikaru kicked out of the diving leg drop so it was just one of those matches that neither was going to stay down under any circumstances. I’m not sure what the point was as Shida isn’t really in the main event scene, but if they just wanted to put on an entertaining match for the fans I’d preferred the match have a more conclusive ending as a Draw leaves you wanted more that isn’t imminently coming. The action was really solid, Ryo was sandbagging Hikaru some which was interesting, not sure if there was a backstory there or just an effort to make her look tougher since WAVE is her promotion. I enjoyed it, I wish it had a real ending since the last two matches also went to the time limit, but both are great wrestlers and they put on a fun main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE “Weekday WAVE Vol. 108” on 6/22/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Since a fair number of OZ Academy shows air on GAORA, it isn’t unusual for us to be a bit behind in watching the promotion’s more significant events. This show just recently aired and is a big one, as it takes place at the famous Korakuen Hall and has two title matches on top. Here is the full card:

• Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita and Yako Fujigasaki
• Konami vs. Sonoko Kato
• Aja Kong, Yoshiko, and Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Yumi Ohka
• Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue
• OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: Syuri and Hikaru Shida vs. AKINO and Kaho Kobayashi
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile page on Joshi City. As this aired on GAORA there is likely heavy clipping, I’ll make a note of any match that is noticeably missing content.

Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita and Yako Fujigasaki

We join this one well in progress as Aoi and Yamashita are in the ring, Aoi applies a cobra clutch over her knee but Yamashita avoids the senton and kicks Aoi in the head for a two count. Yamashita goes for a backdrop suplex but Aoi blocks it, back up Aoi hits a lariat and she tags in Kaori. Kaori knees Yamashita in the back but Yamashita blocks the suplex attempt and hits a lariat for two. Yamashita tags in Yako and they double team Kaori in the corner, Yako goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Yako picks up Kaori and hits the double wrist armsault, but Aoi breaks up the cover. Yako goes up top but Kaori avoids the swivel both press, Aoi runs in and sentons Yako with Kaori following with a senton of her own. Kaori goes for a suplex but Yako blocks it, Yamashita runs in to help but she accidentally kicks Yako. Aoi sails off the top with a crossbody onto both of them, they put Yako in front of the corner and both hit diving sentons on Yako. Cover by Kaori and she gets the three count! Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki win.

Clipped down to two minutes so not a whole lot to say about it. Fun home stretch though, Kaori and Aoi worked well together. Way too clipped to recommend but what they showed was fine.

Konami vs. Sonoko Kato

This match is also joined in progress as Kato is going for a suplex, but Konami blocks it. Uppercut by Kato and she hits a rolling fireman’s carry, picking up a two count cover. Kato gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, but that gets a two count as well. Kato kicks Konami into the corner and hits the cannonball, she goes up top but Konami kicks her before she can jump off. Konami applies the sleeper but Kato gets into the ropes, schoolboy by Konami and she applies the cross kneelock. Kato manages to get into the ropes to force the break again, release German by Konami and she kicks Kato in the head for a two count. Konami drags Kato up but Kato catches her kick and hits a dragon screw. Konami charges Kato but Kato kicks her in the head, she goes for a Dragon Sleeper but Konami kicks her off. Kato kicks Konami in the back and applies it anyway, but Konami gets a foot on the ropes. Kato goes up top but Konami avoids the diving legdrop and quickly re-applies the sleeper. Kato throws her off this time and kicks Konami in the head, but Konami retorts with her own head kick. Another head kick by Kato but Konami hits another as well, as both wrestlers are woozy. Konami finally ducks a head kick and hits a pair of her own, but Kato quickly kicks out of the cover and delivers a heel kick for a two count. German suplex hold by Kato, she picks up Konami and nails the Kowloon’s Gate for the three count! Sonoko Kato is the winner.

Even though this was cut in half, I still really enjoyed it. Konami is one of the best wrestlers in the world with only two years experience, she has come along so well and is so smooth with her moves. I love how often she chains moves together, no waiting and thinking, just bang-bang-bang with the offense which is rare these days. Kato was game for everything and really put over Konami’s head kicks, this was a really close match which Kato didn’t have to allow it to be considering her level in the promotion. A really solid match, I just wish we saw more of it.  Mildly Recommended

Aja Kong, Yoshiko, and Kuragaki vs. Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Yumi Ohka

This one is joined in progress also, as poor Kuragaki is being whipped by Ohka. Kuragaki is triple teamed for a bit until everyone but Ozaki leaves, Kuragaki promptly drops her with two backdrop suplexes but Ozaki hits a spinning chop and tags in Ohka. Crossbody by Ohka and she whips Kuragaki before choking her, but Kuragaki tosses her to the mat. She goes for a moonsault but Ohka moves and hits a heel drop, Ohka goes off the ropes but Kuragaki ducks the boot. Kick by Ohka but Kuragaki levels her with a lariat, she goes off the ropes but Ohka hits the chokebomb for a two count. Now Ohka goes off the ropes but Kuragaki hits another lariat and makes the tag to Yoshiko. Maya is tagged in too and she whips Yoshiko in the leg, more whips by Maya and she chokes Yoshiko with it. PK by Maya, but the referee won’t count due to all the whip usage. Yoshiko gets the whip and hits Maya with it, running boot by Yoshiko and she covers Maya for two. Mounted choke by Yoshiko, she picks up Maya and elbows her, but Police hits Yoshiko with a chair from the floor. Ohka and Ozaki come in and Yoshiko is triple teamed, Maya goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count cover. Maya tags Ozaki who comes in with her chain, Ozaki hits Yoshiko in the head with it a few times but Yoshiko grabs it and they play tug of war.

They trade shots with the chain but Yoshiko hits a lariat, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Ozaki for two. Yoshiko tags in Kong, Kong comes in with her metal can and hits everyone with it. Brainbuster onto the can by Kong, but again the referee won’t count since she used a weapon. Scoop slam by Kong and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but Police grabs her from the apron. Maya runs in too as everyone ends up in the ring, Kuragaki ends up with all three opponents in the corner and gets them all on her shoulders. Kuragaki tosses her to the mat and her team all hit lariats on their opponents before isolating Ozaki. Backdrop suplex by Kong to Ozaki, but Police breaks up the cover. Irish whip by Police and he goes for a lariat, but Kong slaps him in the face. Maya comes in and kicks Kong but Kuragaki lariats her, Ozaki tries to spray mist into Kong’s face but she sprays Ohka by accident. She ducks Kong’s backfist and mists her successfully the second time, Alex lee suddenly appears and she kicks Kong in the head. Schoolboy by Ozaki and she gets the three count! Ozaki Army win!

I don’t mind this match getting clipped a bit. As I mentioned at the top, not my cup of tea, but Kuragaki of all people came out looking like the star as multiple times she fought off Ozaki Army and had the most memorable offense in what they showed. Alex Lee joining Ozaki Army is really lackluster, she is a pretty average wrestler and doesn’t bring much to the table besides being another lackey to interfere in their matches. Some decent action and weapon shots, but quite a bit was missing and the big reveal at the end fell flat to me.

Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue

Toyota dropkicks Takako just as the match starts, she hops up on the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving armdrag, but Takako kicks her and hits a DDT. Another DDT by Takako and she applies a sleeper, but Toyota gets out of it by biting her foot. Toyota tickles Takako to get her to release the bodyscissors, she picks up Takako but Takako hits an armdrag. Wristlock by Takako and she steps on Toyota’s hand, she throws Toyota into the turnbuckles but Toyota gets away and rolls her up for two. Toyota twists Takako’s hair and throws her down by it, Toyota stomps on Takako near the ropes but Takako recovers and kicks Toyota in the leg. DDT by Takako and she boots Toyota in the head, but Toyota blocks the next one and bops her. Another boot by Takako, she goes up top but Toyota avoids the Takako Panic and applies the Manami Cradle Roll for a two count. Toyota quickly goes up top but Takako recovers and slams her back to the mat, cover by Takako but it gets two. Now Takako goes up top but Toyota joins her, avalanche chokeslam by Takako but Toyota barely gets a shoulder up. Takako goes up top and nails the Takako Panic, but again it only gets a two. Toyota ducks the backfist attempt and boots Takako in the face, big boot by Toyota and she nails the moonsault, but Takako barely kick out of the pin. Toyota goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Takako gets away, she goes for the spinning backfist but Toyota ducks it. Suplex by Takako and she hits Toyota with a night stick, Takako Night Night by Takako but that gets a two as well. Takako goes up top and hits another Takako Panic, but she can’t keep Toyota down. Another Takako Night Night doesn’t do the trick either, Takako goes up top but Toyota boots her off and she falls to the floor. Toyota goes up top but Takako quickly rolls back in and joins her, but Toyota slaps her back to the mat and hits a missile dropkick. Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex by Toyota, but Takako kicks out at two. Toyota picks up Takako and hits the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota is your winner.

Needless to say, this was a “Legends” style match, which meant a bit of playing around but still with some quality action. Toyota and Takako are past their prime of course, and Takako doesn’t wrestle a normal schedule, but both are still in shape and had no issues putting on a ten minute match. They were spamming finishers a bit but I can see it being their last ever singles match so they wanted to put on a good show. An enjoyable match if you go in with the right expectations, the effort was definitely there and it was fun to see them going at it probably for the last time.

(c) Syuri and Hikaru Shida vs. AKINO and Kaho Kobayashi
OZ Academy Tag Team Championship

Syuri and Shida are deadly serious for this match, which doesn’t bode well for AKINO and Kaho. Syuri and Kaho start off, Kaho gets Syuri into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Syuri kicks her anyway and applies a headlock. Kaho gets out of it, shoulderblock by Kaho but Kaho kips up and hits a pair of armdrags. Dropkick by Kaho, AKINO comes in and Syuri is double teamed, but Shida grabs AKINO from the floor and pulls her out of the ring. Syuri gets out onto the apron and hits a jumping knee off of it onto AKINO, Kaho goes for a double crossbody but she is caught and thrown at AKINO. Shida battles Kaho around the ring while AKINO and Syuri end up in the bleachers, Syuri kicks AKINO in the head before coming back to ringside to help Shida double team Kaho. Shida stays in as the legal wrestler and hits a backbreaker on Kaho, Shida stretches Kaho over her shoulder before hitting another backbreaker. Syuri comes in but Kaho ducks their kick and they hit each other, AKINO dives in with a crossbody on both of them before Kaho applies a quick cover to Shida for two. Kaho tags AKINO, missile dropkick by AKINO but Syuri comes in to help. Syuri elbows Shida by accident, kicks by AKINO to Shida but Shida lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt and hits a hurricanrana. Knee by Shida in the corner and she tags Syuri, kicks by Syuri and she hits a spinning headscissors. PK by Syuri, but AKINO kicks out of the cover.

Jawbreaker by AKINO and she delivers a few kicks, but Syuri ducks one and rolls her up. Syuri goes for a kick but AKINO blocks it, Syuri reverses AKINO’s hold into an ankle lock but AKINO reverses that into an armbreaker. AKINO charges Syuri but Syuri hits a jumping knee followed by a cross armbreaker takedown. Kaho breaks it up before Shida can get to her, kicks to the chest by Syuri to AKINO but AKINO catches her jumping knee attack and slams Syuri to the mat. AKINO locks in a deep headscissors but Shida breaks it up, kicks by AKINO and she covers Syuri for two. AKINO picks up Syuri but Syuri gets away and delivers a jumping knee. Kick combination by Syuri but AKINO elbows her and they trade shots until both collapse to the mat. AKINO tags in Kaho before Syuri can reach her corner, dropkicks by Kaho but Syuri kicks her in the chest and makes the tag to Shida. Shida goes for a suplex, Kaho gets out of it but Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Kaho reverses the Falcon Arrow into a DDT, she goes up top but Shida throws the kendo stick at her, she joins Kaho up top but Kaho lands on top of her when she goes for a suplex. Kaho and AKINO both go up top together, Syuri runs in and hits a Backstabber on AKINO, but Kaho jumps off the top with a missile dropkick/body press combination on both opponents.

Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Shida barely gets a shoulder up. Kaho goes off the ropes and goes for a roll-up, Shida blocks it but AKINO runs in and kicks her. Cover by Kaho, but Syuri breaks it up. Dropkick by Kaho, she goes off the ropes but Shida nails a jumping knee. Shida picks up Kaho and hits a vertical suplex, Three Count by Shida and Syuri follows with a PK. Another kick by Syuri and they both knee Kaho, but AKINO breaks up the pin. Shida goes off the ropes but Kaho catches her with a Frankensteiner, but Shida rolls through it. Jackknife cover by Kaho, she goes for La Magistral but Shida kicks her off. High kick by Shida but AKINO kicks her and Kaho hits a Codebreaker. 120% Schoolboy by Kaho, but Syuri breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but it caught by a powerslam, Three Count by Shida but Kaho kicks out. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but AKINO breaks the pin up. She eats a double knee for her trouble as does Kaho, but again Kaho gets a shoulder up. Tamashi No Three Count by Shida, and she finally gets the three count pinfall! Syuri and Hikaru Shida are still the champions!

What a match. This was just a 15 minute strike filled sprint, with little time to breath or relax. I don’t mind matches that start with submission holds or feeling out, but I do enjoy when a match does something different as this one had none of that. Kaho is so easy to get behind, she got her ass kicked the whole match and even though I knew the ending, I still leaned forward when she got the 120% Schoolboy locked in, rooting her on even though I knew it wouldn’t work. She took an amazing amount of abuse here but kept on chugging along, until Shida finally found the right combination to put her away. Both teams are real tag teams, not just thrown together, and were constantly helping each other out without it feeling excessive or like one team was cheating. Just an incredible tag team match and one of my favorite ones of 2017 so far.  Highly Recommended

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu
OZ Academy Openweight Championship

This match starts a bit slower, until Kagetsu drives Hiroyo into the corner and hits a running elbow smash. More elbows by Kagetsu and she hits a dropkick in the corner, Hiroyo recovers and they get into a double wristlock. Hiroyo chops Kagetsu in the chest but Kagetsu dropkicks her and the two trade elbows. Hiroyo throws Kagetsu out of the ring and throws her into the crowd, Hiroyo gets Kagetsu on her back before tossing her to the floor. Hiroyo throws Kagetsu into the ring post but Kagetsu moves when Hiroyo charges in, Kagetsu gets on the apron and kicks Hiroyo in the chest. Kagetsu throws Hiroyo back into the ring and puts her in a headscissors, Kagetsu kicks Hiroyo in the back but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam. Elbow drops to the back by Hiroyo, Hiroyo gets Kagetsu on her back and stretches her with a backbreaker. Kagetsu grabs the ropes to get out of it, she slides out to the apron but Hiroyo grabs her when she goes for a swandive move and throws Kagetsu back to the mat. Body avalanche by Hiroyo in the corner, she goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Elevated crab hold by Hiroyo, but Kagetsu crawls to the ropes and reaches them for the break. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double knee to Kagetsu’s back, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she covers Kagetsu for two. Kagetsu fights back with elbows, she goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it. Kagetsu jumps up on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, Kagetsu goes for a kick but Hiroyo catches it. Deadlift German by Hiroyo, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kagetsu springboards up to her and dropkicks Hiroyo out of the ring. Kagetsu runs up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Hiroyo (and Rina Yamashita too), Kagetsu returns to the ring and waits for Hiroyo to recover. Kagetsu grabs Hiroyo as she gets on the apron but can’t suplex her back in, Hiroyo snaps Kagetsu’s neck over the top rope and climbs back into the ring.

Hiroyo elbows Kagetsu in the knee, she goes up top but Kagetsu joins her and hits a superplex. Kagetsu keeps the hold applied and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Kagetsu but it gets two. Strike combination by Kagetsu and she hits an Ebisu Drop, cover by Kagetsu but Hiroyo gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu hits a second one but she gets another two count, she jumps on Hiroyo’s back but Hiroyo blocks the sunset flip bomb and hits a hard lariat. Kagetsu kips up and kicks Hiroyo twice in the head, she goes for another high kick in the corner but Hiroyo ducks it and plants her with a powerbomb. Kagetsu recovers and hits another Ebisu Drop, but she can’t keep Hiroyo down for three. Hiroyo goes for a lariat but Kagetsu kicks her arm away, she goes for a backdrop suplex but instead drives Kagetsu face-first into the mat. Sliding Lariat by Hiroyo and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Hiroyo recovers first and elbows Kagetsu, Kagetsu elbows her back and the two trade blows. Roaring elbow by Hiroyo and she lariats Kagetsu, but Kagetsu stays up. Hard elbow by Hiroyo and she chops Kagetsu in the chest, she goes for a powerbomb but Kagetsu back bodydrops out of it. High kick by Kagetsu and she rolls up Hiroyo with a jackknife, but Hiroyo gets out of it. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with an elbow, she goes for a cover but Kagetsu reverses it into a cover of her own. Kagetsu goes for a hurricanrana but Hiroyo catches her, hitting a sit-down powerbomb for two. Hiroyo picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt, high kick by Kagetsu and she applies a jackknife hold for two. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Hiroyo nails a hard lariat, Hiroyo picks up Kagetsu and delivers the backdrop suplex for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is still the champion.

I enjoyed this as both are just so smooth at their execution and they hit hard, but both blowing off moves so quickly eventually got on my nerves. It was constant, but one example was Hiroyo being “out” at ringside, but upon getting on the apron hits the first move and is back in control. Both “reversed” covers after eating their opponent’s bigger moves a few times, and generally the transitions were non-existent for half the match. Still, I can’t say the match wasn’t exciting as it certainly was, and they just went non-stop for the end stretch. An enjoyable and intense main event, just lacking in some areas.  Recommended

The post OZ Academy SAKURA HANASAKU on 4/12/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.