Event: SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You!
Date: June 13th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

More new wrestling! As promotions start ramping back up again, I am going to try to keep up the best I can as I’m excited to finally have Joshi back. This is a big card for SEAdLINNNG, as we get ASUKA challenging Arisa Nakajima for the championship in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana
• Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase
• Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko
• Battle Royal with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA

This aired on Samurai TV and was live so matches should be shown in full. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana

Tie-up to start, Hiroyo pushes Honori into the ropes but Honori knocks her back with elbows. Side headlock by Hiroyo but Honori whips out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Hiroyo just bulldozers over her. Chinlock by Hiroyo, she lets go after a moment and picks up Honori, biting on her arm. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Hiroyo throws Honori into the corner but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo doesn’t go down however and stomps on Honori. Elbows by Honori and she dropkicks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a scoop slam but Hiroyo blocks it. Scoop slam by Hiroyo, and she covers Honori for two. Hiroyo goes for the crab hold but Honori quickly gets into the ropes, back up Honori elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her hard back. Honori goes off the ropes but a shoulderblock doesn’t work, she tries a few more times until Hiroyo knocks her over with her own shoulderblock. Crab hold by Hiroyo but Honori inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Honori and throws her into the corner, chop by Hiroyo but Honori avoids her charge and cradles Hiroyo for two. Backslide by Honori, but that gets a two as well. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, she picks up Honori but Honori blocks the backdrop suplex and cradles Hiroyo for two. Irish whip by Hiroyo but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo stays up but a second sends her to her knees. Scoop slam by Honori, and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she puts Honori in a crab hold, Honori tries to get to the ropes but can’t make it, eventually tapping out! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

This was a ‘by the numbers’ veteran vs. rookie match, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t have minded a change here and there to the formula, but there is a reason its been this way for decades as it works. Hiroyo soundly stopped Honori’s offense at the start but slowly as the match built up, Honori finally was able to knock Hiroyo off her feet and even get a nearfall or two in the process. Its early in Honori’s career, her dropkicks still need work and she has a ways to go, but the basics seem to be there. A good way to kick off the show.

Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase

Misa and Miyuki attack before the match starts, double dropkicks by team AgZ but they both eat a shoulderblock for their trouble. Yuu and Miyuki stay in the ring, shoulderblock by Yuu and she puts Miyuki in a front headlock. She tags in Makoto, Makoto twists on Miyuki’s hair before throwing her down by it. Makoto rakes Miyuki’s head across the top rope and boots her in the head a few times, but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Misa. Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto scoop slams her, footstomp by Makoto and she covers Misa for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Misa. Running senton by Yuu, but Miyuki breaks up her cover. Yuu picks up Misa and chops her in the chest, body press by Yuu but again Miyuki breaks up the pin. Misa sneaks in a small package but it only gets two, scoop slam by Yuu but Misa avoids the senton this time and hits a dropkick. She hits another dropkick as Yuu doesn’t go down, dropkick to the knee by Misa and she finally knocks Yuu over. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she clubs Yuu against the ropes. Irish whip by Miyuki but Yuu elbows her in the face, they trade strikes until Yuu chops Miyuki to the mat. Miyuki returns to her feet but Yuu chops her down again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu chops Miyuki in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick.

Lariat by Miyuki but Yuu stays up, she tries again with the same result but Miyuki finally knocks her off her feet and gets a two count cover. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a hip toss, she tags in Makoto and Makoto boots Miyuki in the corner. Face crusher by Makoto and she hits a running kneedrop for a two count. Makoto picks up Miyuki but Miyuki spins away, they both struggle to hit suplexes until Miyuki gets Makoto over. Miyuki tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Dropkick by Misa and she goes for Makoto’s arm, but Makoto quickly gets to the ropes. Makoto chops Misa in the chest but Misa puts her in an Octopus Hold until Yuu breaks it up. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a trio of low crossbodies, she picks up Makoto and goes for a suplex but Makoto blocks it. Elbows by Misa, she goes off the ropes but Makoto drop toeholds her into the bottom rope. Big boot by Makoto and she delivers the cartwheel double kneedrop for a two count. Makoto waits for Misa to get up but Miyuki cuts her off with a dropkick, Miyuki gets Makoto on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Misa goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Misa but Yuu breaks it up. Miyuki gets rid of Yuu, Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a double underhook suplex. Yuu returns and dropkicks Misa into the corner, big boot by Makoto and Yuu runs in with the Cannonball. Spear by Makoto to Misa, and she picks up the three count! Makoto and Yuu are the winners.

This was really fun. One of the advantages of Misa being new but over a year into her career is while she was the weak link, she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t get in her licks as well. Yuu is always a breath of fresh air in these matches, there aren’t a lot of younger “hoss” Joshi wrestlers and it just opens up so many more options for a match’s direction. Makoto is a pro and hit all her spots well, and both teams showed good chemistry which is impressive since they aren’t regular opponents and they just had a lay-off due to the pandemic. I also loved the ending, just move-move-move-dead, not every match needs a bunch of hope spots and 2.9 nearfalls. All four delivered, a fast paced and hard hitting match that may have not been high end but delivered as much as one could hope for from a midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko

Ryo and Kaho start the match, Ryo pushes Kaho into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Kaho gets Ryo to the mat and applies a front headlock, Ryo gets out of it and puts Kaho in a wristlock before elbowing her in the arm. Ryo applies a side headlock, Kaho reverses it but Ryo Irish whips out of the hold. Dropkick by Kaho, but Ryo stays on her feet and knocks over Kaho with a hard shoulderblock. Ryo tags Aoki and they both shoulderblock Kaho, legdrop by Ryo and Aoki hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Aoki gets Kaho in the ropes and hits a body avalanche, she then jumps down onto Kaho’s back but Kaho retorts with a dropkick and tags in Yoshiko. Yoshiko picks up Aoki and throws her down by the hair, facewashes by Yoshiko and she delivers a running boot. Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. She tags Kaho back in, Kaho puts Aoki in the ropes and rakes on her face. Dropkick to the back by Kaho and she covers Aoki for a two count. Kaho tags Yoshiko and she stands on Aoki’s back, Irish whip by Yoshiko to the corner but Aoki avoids her charge, she tries to tag in Ryo but Yoshiko cuts her off. Back bodydrop by Aoki and she makes the tag, leg lariat by Ryo to Yoshiko and she shoulderblocks Kaho. Kaho tries to keep helping but Ryo delivers a double spear, she picks up Yoshiko and chops her into the corner.

Kaho again tries to help but ends up getting chopped in the same corner for her trouble, she leaves the ring and Ryo goes back to chopping Yoshiko. Aoki holds Yoshiko so Ryo can fire herself up before she finally hits a lariat on Yoshiko for a two count cover. Ryo and Yoshiko both go for lariats with both staying up, Irish whip by Ryo but Yoshiko finally wins the lariat battle as she sends Ryo to the mat. She tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Ryo, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Kaho spins Ryo around but Ryo gets her on her shoulders, Kaho slides off an hits an enzuigiri, but Ryo levels her with a lariat and tags Aoki. Aoki hits a running elbow on Kaho in the corner before hitting a face crusher, body press by Aoki and she covers Kaho for two. Aoki slams Kaho in front of the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kaho avoids the footstomp attempt. Kaho gets Aoki to the mat and wraps her up in a modified armbar, Yoshiko blocks Ryo from helping but Aoki wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Kaho picks up Aoki and keeps working on her arm, dropkick by Kaho and she covers Aoki for two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Aoki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ryo finally gets free of Yoshiko and lariats Kaho.

Aoki grabs Kaho and hits a bridging vertical suplex, but it gets a two count. Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine leg drop, Aoki then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for two. Aoki gets Kaho on her shoulders but Kaho slides off, Kaho kicks Aoki in the leg and drops her with a DDT. Yoshiko comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving senton, Kaho then goes all the way up and with Yoshiko’s help hits a somersault senton but Ryo breaks up the cover. Elbows by Kaho and she goes for a cradle, but Aoki blocks it and covers her for two. Elbows by Aoki but Kaho blocks the suplex attempt, Yoshiko elbows Aoki and then Ryo lariats Aoki by accident. Jackknife by Kaho, but Ryo breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a lariat, dropkick to the face by Kaho and she hits a enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Aoki barely gets the shoulder up. Another Fisherman suplex by Kaho, but this time she wraps up Aoki’s legs and keeps her down for the three count! Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko win!

I can’t decide if I like or love the ending. It was a little awkward but I see what they were going for, that it took a ‘better’ version of Kaho’s normal finisher to pick up the win. Anyway this was pretty great, while I expect good performances from the other three I was really impressed with Aoki. I haven’t seen her wrestle in awhile, and while she didn’t control the match, her personality really came through and she held her own with wrestlers with far more experience than she has. I know Yoshiko isn’t incredibly popular with Western fans but she’s so good in the ring, and there was a lot of ‘power’ based wrestling here which I really enjoy. Kaho is one of the best sellers in Joshi and only has one pace, so she kept everyone else moving fast as well. It didn’t feel like a 20 minute match as the time flew by, as the match never slowed down. Really good match between three quality veterans and an up-and-comer starting to show what she can do.  Recommended

Battle Royal
with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana

They all brawl to start, as is usually the case lots of randomness as the bulk of the wrestlers get stacked in the corner so that Kaho can be launched at all of them. Hiroyo and Yoshiko try to launch Yuu but they can’t toss her, leading to her landing on them. The wrestlers take turns stomping each other until they all suddenly leave the ring, brawling on the floor. Hiroyo and Kaho get back into the ring and trade strikes, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo and she puts Kaho in a headscissors. You know what that means, as all the wrestlers slowly return to the ring to stretch out the headscissors chain, as it stretches across the ring and under the ropes. Aoki is the last one so she grabs Kaho’s legs to turn them over, which doesn’t fully work since not everyone is even in the ring. Things get back to normal as Aoki and Misa trade elbows, a battle which Aoki wins with little effort. Ryo and Miyuki get involved as they stack both of them in the corner, but they get distracted and start dancing. Finally Miyuki tries to attack Misa but Misa had gone into an invisible box, sending Miyuki flying. Everyone covers Miyuki, and she is held down for the three count! Miyuki Takase is eliminated.

Ryo moves the invisible box and tosses it out of the ring, but is kicked for her trouble. She spears both Aoki and Misa, the other wrestlers join in to cover them and both are held down for the three count. Misa Mitsui and Aoki Itsuki are eliminated. Kaho and Yoshiko go after Makoto but she drives them across the second rope, she gets everyone else on the second rope and kicks it into their chest, but her attempt to cover everyone for the pin doesn’t work. Yuu elbows Makoto in the corner then tosses Ryo, Yuu dropkicks Makoto while also hitting a senton on Ryo before getting on the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving body press on Makoto. Everyone else helps her with the cover, and she gets the three count! Makoto is eliminated. She does the same to Ryo and everyone again helps with the cover, keeping her down for three as well. Ryo Mizunami is eliminated. Yuu slams Honori in front of the corner to repeat the process to her as well, but Hiroyo and Yoshiko run over and knock her over the top rope to the ring! Yuu is eliminated. Natsuko Taiyo suddenly decides to get involved and hits a missile dropkick onto Hiroyo, Kaho and Yoshiko trade pins but nether are held down for there. Hiroyo goes after Natsuki but Yoshiko grabs her from behind, Natsuki helps Yoshiko attack Hiroyo and they both attack her in the ropes, but Natsuki is knocked over the top rope to the floor. But technically not eliminated since she wasn’t in the match in the first place.

She returns (she is the referee after all) while the four remaining wrestlers brawl, Hiroyo and Honori shoulderblock Yoshiko but Honori schoolboys Hiroyo for a two count. Hiroyo bullies Honori but Natsuki kicks her from behind, Kaho runs over but Hiroyo picks her up and press slams her out of the ring. Kaho Kobayashi is eliminated. Honori dropkicks Hiroyo with Natsuki’s help, cover by Honori but it gets a two count. Honori goes for a roll-up but Hiroyo sits down to block it, pinning Honori’s shoulders to the mat and getting a quick three count from Natsuki. Honori Hana is eliminated. We are left with just the tag team partners, Yoshiko and Hiroyo Matsumoto. They immediately go for lariats on each other with Hiroyo winning the battle. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle to go to the Reverse Splash, but Yoshiko knocks her out to the apron. Yoshiko struggles to knock Hiroyo off the apron to the floor but ends up on the apron herself, with all the eliminated wrestlers trying to pull them off. Natsuki dropkicks Hiroyo and Yoshiko gets free, she gets back in the ring while Hiroyo continues to struggle and gives her a final dropkick to loosen her grip. Hiroyo flops out to the floor, and is eliminated. Yoshiko is the winner!

A typical Battle Royal, with more style than substance. I like Natsuki Taiyo getting so involved because its a silly match anyway, and she’s still just as good as she was before she retired. A few cute moments, like them tricking Yuu, but overall not a whole lot to it. It acted as a nice buffer before the title match and to stretch out the card since they had to fill two hours, but if you are on a time crunch it can be skipped.

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship

They trade holds to start as they jockey for position, ASUKA applies a headscissors but Arisa gets out of it and both wrestlers return to their feet. ASUKA gets Arisa back to the mat and rolls her around with a guillotine, but Arisa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. ASUKA kicks at Arisa but Arisa slaps her and the two trade strikes, headbutt by ASUKA and she chokes Arisa in the corner. ASUKA toys with Arisa in the corner before grabbing her by the hair and flinging her into the opposite corner. Single leg takedown by Arisa and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but ASUKA blocks it and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment, headbutt by ASUKA and she slams Arisa’s head into the mat. Camel Clutch by ASUKA, she releases the hold and tosses Arisa out of the ring. She gets back in but is met with boots, Irish whip by ASUKA but Arisa catches her with a DDT. Dropkick by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA boots her in the midsection. Irish whip by Arisa to the corner but ASUKA avoids her charge, ASUKA ends up on the apron but Arisa goes to the top turnbuckle and slams her head down onto the apron. Arisa picks up ASUKA and slides her back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick.

She goes up top again and hits another one followed by a third to the knee, Arisa picks up ASUKA and cradles her before applying a Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets out of it and applies an armbar but Arisa reverses the hold back instead of reaching for the ropes. ASUKA struggles back to her feet and gets away, knees by Arisa and she hits a release German suplex. Running boot by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA and rolls her to the mat while applying a knee lock. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Arisa kicks her leg and goes off the ropes, but ASUKA catches her with a jumping kick to the face. ASUKA picks up Arisa and drops her with a release German followed by a second one, running kick by ASUKA and she covers Arisa for two. ASUKA positions Arisa and goes up top, but Arisa recovers and joins her, suplexing ASUKA off the top turnbuckle. Arisa goes for a cradle but ASUKA reverses it, Arisa avoids ASUKA’s footstomp attempt however and applies an ankle hold. ASUKA kicks Arisa off and slaps her, but Arisa delivers a trapped German suplex for a two count. Arisa picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits a hard elbow followed by a boot to the face for two. Kick to the chest by ASUKA but Arisa fires back with a kick of her own, Arisa goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a spinning heel kick.

Mounted elbows by ASUKA, she gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for the moonsault, but Arisa rolls out of the way and cradles her for two. Running kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while up top until Arisa snaps ASUKA’s neck over the top rope, she goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Dragon suplex hold by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa drags ASUKA up, she wraps ASUKA’s leg around her but ASUKA hits a Stunner to get out of the suplex hold. Powerbomb by ASUKA, she picks up Arisa and nails a Liger Bomb for a two count cover. ASUKA goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Arisa barely gets the shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Arisa but Arisa reverses the side slam into a DDT, elbows by Arisa and a hard elbow sends ASUKA to the mat for two. Arisa wraps ASUKA’s leg around her waist and nails the modified German suplex, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up ASUKA and goes for the half and half suplex, ASUKA blocks it but Arisa keeps her momentum going and cradles ASUKA for the three count! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

There is a lot to unwrap here but just as a first reaction, this was a great match. ASUKA is no longer in the ‘learning” or “developing” phase, she knows what she is doing and has grown into being a high end wrestler at just 21 years old. Not only are her moves on point but her selling has improved as well, and she had no issues here keeping up Arisa and the structure of the match. I liked the leg work a lot, I wish it had played into the end a bit as it kinda got dropped but I did like the ending with the veteran Arisa taking the blocked move and turning it into a complicated cradle. Its the kind of craftiness you’d expect from a 14 year vet and while it may not have been a ‘killer move’ ending it fit well with her general experience and intelligence. Like the other matches on the card, it felt like it went the right amount of time, not feeling short but not over-staying its welcome with move spamming. All and all a really entertaining match, I could nitpick things and maybe it won’t end up the MOTY, but a damn fine effort from both in one of the biggest Joshi matches post-peak pandemic so far.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You! on 6/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Natsu Sumire Produce Forever
Date: December 15th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 361

When this event was first announced, little did we know how special it would be. For her show, Natsu Sumire invited all her Oedo Tai buddies, which would end up being the last time they ever teamed together as Hazuki would retire later in the month. On top of that, Kagetsu retired not long afterwards too so it really was the end of an era. Unlike in Stardom, here Oedo Tai was given the send-off they deserved, as they battle random wrestlers from other promotions in unique match-ups in three different matches. That’s the main interest from the event but we also get Jamie Hayter teaming with CIMA, which seems wacky and fun. I’ll only be reviewing the Joshi matches, so here are the Joshi matches on the card:

• Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire
• Hazuki and Kagetsu vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Takumi Iroha
• CIMA and Jamie Hayter vs. Martina and Shigehiro Irie
• Hazuki, Kagetsu, Natsuko Tora, and Natsu Sumire vs. Makoto, Rina Yamashita, Syuri, and Yuu

As this event was only released on DVD, all matches will be shown in full. The Joshi wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire

Takase and Natsuko start the match, they lock up and Takase applies a headlock, and she works it down to the mat. Natsuko gets out of the hold after a moment and they return to their feet to trade elbows, hard shoulderblock by Natsuko but Takase fires back with a dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out as Natsu and Aoki come in, but Takase stays in as well as they double team Natsu. Aoki hits a body block to Natsu before Takase follows with a dropkick, Aoki jumps down on Natsu’s back and Takase then hops on her back to apply even more pressure. Takase finally leaves, Aoki Irish whips Natsu to the corner but Natsu reverses it. Natsu gets the microphone to cut a mid-match promo, I assume she is offering a bribe to Aoki, but its all a ruse as Natsu kicks Aoki in the back. Takase is apparently mad that Aoki was going to accept it and has walked most the way up the ramp, while Natsu and Natsuko double team Aoki while she is in the ropes. Big boot by Natsu to the back of Aoki’s head, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu sits down Aoki in the corner and hits the gyrating Bronco Buster before tagging in Natsuko. Chops by Natsuko in the corner as Takase finally makes it back to the apron, cover by Natsuko but it gets two. Aoki fires back with an elbow and the two trade blows, scoop slam by Natsuko and she covers Aoki again for a two count. Natsu comes in the ring but Aoki hits shoulderblocks on both of them, she goes off the ropes and hits a double shoulderblock on both of them.

She tags in Takase, dropkick by Takase to Natsuko and she hits a second one. Takase chops and elbows Natsuko in the corner, Natsu tries to help but gets chopped for her trouble. Takase goes back to Natsuko and hits a dropkick out of the corner, lariat by Takase and she hits a diving elbow strike for a two count cover. Takase picks up Natsuko but Natsuko hits a spinning backfist, Samoan Drop by Natsuko and she gets a two count. Takase knocks Natsuko back but Natsuko catches her with an uppercut, she goes off the ropes and both wrestlers lariat each other without going down. Takase goes off the ropes and drops Natsuko with a lariat but Natsuko hits a spear and both are down on the mat. Natsu comes in and knocks Aoki off the apron, she makes it back in time for Natsuko to tag her and Natsu boots Takase while she is in the ropes. Cutie Special by Natsu, but Aoki breaks it up with a double kneedrop. Aoki picks up Natsu and hits a STO, Takase jumps on Aoki’s shoulders and she hits a falling body press. Leg drop by Takase, and she covers Natsu for two when Natsuko breaks it up. Backbreaker by Natsu to Takase before Natsuko hits a running leg drop, cover by Natsu but Aoki breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Aoki but Aoki hits a double lariat, Takase goes off the ropes but Natsu has gotten her whip and hits Takase with it. The referee stops her from using her again which gives Aoki time to run in and lariat her, Takase gets Natsu on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam followed by a diving legdrop for two. Takase picks up Natsu and delivers a tornado vertical suplex, and she picks up the three count! Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase are the winners.

This was an interesting mixture of comedy and seriousness, which is perfectly fine for an opening match. I haven’t seen much from Aoki Itsuki but she was really solid here and didn’t seem out of place, which can sometimes happen with wrestlers that mostly hover in smaller indies. Natsu is a treasure, as she doesn’t really have any issue transitioning from funny to serious and can hold her own even while playing around. They had enough time that everyone had a chance to shine, and they kept the pace up to keep it interesting. A solid opener.  Mildly Recommended

Hazuki and Kagetsu vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Takumi Iroha

After some false starts we finally get started with Kaho squaring off with Hazuki, they go into a fast paced exchange ending with a Kaho dropkick. Kaho goes off the ropes but Kagetsu trips her from the floor and pulls her out of the ring. Hazuki pulls Takumi out of the ring too as they battle around the floor, Kagetsu tosses Kaho back in and Hazuki greets her with a scoop slam. Kagetsu picks up Kaho, scoop slam by Kagetsu and she tags Hazuki back in. Hazuki slams Kaho again before Kagetsu returns to the ring, double drop toehold and and they kick Kaho in the back before hitting a double senton. Kagetsu covers Kaho, but it gets two. Snapmare by Kagetsu which lands Kaho in the ropes, she tags in Hazuki and Hazuki stands on Kaho’s back. Running boot to the back of the head by Hazuki, bootscrapes by Hazuki and she hits another running boot. Hazuki tags in Kagetsu who gets a drink of water, Irish whip by Kagetsu and she spits the water in Kaho’s face. She spits water in the face of Takumi and the referee too for good measure, she goes back to Kaho but Kaho fights back with elbows. Kaho goes off the ropes but Kagetsu slides out of the ring and trips her, Hazuki runs over and hits a slingshot footstomp to Kaho’s back. Swandive footstomp by Kagetsu, she elbows Kaho but again Kaho fights back.

Irish whip by Kagetsu but Kaho delivers a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. That gives her time to tag in Takumi, kick combination by Takumi and she hits a PK and a dropkick. Takumi picks up Kagetsu but Hazuki interrupts her, Takumi suplexes both of them and turns her attention back to Kagetsu. She goes off the ropes but Hazuki knees her from the apron, Kagetsu rolls up Takumi from behind but it gets a two count. Swandive missile dropkick by Hazuki, she throws Takumi in the corner and hits a running elbow. Codebreaker by Hazuki, and she covers Takumi for two. Armtrap crossface by Hazuki while Kagetsu keeps Kaho back, but Takumi gets into the ropes for the break. Hazuki slaps at Takumi and goes off the ropes, but Takumi kicks her in the chest. snap vertical suplex by Takumi and she covers Hazuki for two. Takumi picks up Hazuki but Hazuki elbows her and the two trade blows, kick combination by Takumi and she delivers a superkick. Hazuki fires back a big boot, DDT by Hazuki but Takumi blocks her hurricanrana attempt and plants her with a powerbomb for a two count. Boot by Hazuki but Takumi returns fire with a superkick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both manage to tag out, dropkick by Kaho but Kagetsu dropkicks her back. Another dropkick by Kaho and she hits a third, sending Kagetsu into the ropes.

Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Kaho but it gets two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Kagetsu blocks it, Hazuki boots Kaho and Kagetsu hits a Codebreaker. Backstabber by Hazuki to Kaho, Kagetsu nails the Ebisu Drop but Kaho gets her shoulder up on the cover. Kagetsu picks up Kaho and hits another Ebisu Drop in front of the corner, she goes up top but Takumi runs in and joins her. Superplex by Takumi and Kaho hits an enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Kagetsu kicks out. Kaho twists up Kagetsu in a modified armbar but Kagetsu gets a toe on the ropes to force the break. Kaho goes up top but Hazuki grabs her from the apron, giving Kagetsu time to recover and dropkick to the floor. Takumi comes in but a double dropkick sends her right back out, Hazuki and Kagetsu go to do a dive but Takumi and Kaho interrupt them before they can finish it. Kaho gets in the ring and dives out on both opponents with a tope suicida, Kagetsu is slid back in the ring and Takumi slams her in front of the corner. Kaho goes for a corkscrew senton but Kagetsu moves out of the way and spits blue mist in her face. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu in front of the corner, she goes up top and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Takumi barely breaks up the cover. Hazuki takes care of her, Kagetsu picks Kaho up but Kaho slides away and applies the 120% Schoolboy, but Hazuki breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits her from the apron with the Oedo Tai Board, Death Valley Bomb by Kagetsu and she covers Kaho for the three count! Kagetsu and Hazuki win the match!

I’m not sure if it is because I am already nostalgic for Hazuki and Kagetsu, but this match in my opinion was pretty much flawless. I have literally nothing bad to say about it. Hazuki and Kagetsu work so well together as a team with the constant support and assistance you’d expect to see, while Takumi and Kaho did so a lot less which is completely logical since they aren’t a regular team. The action was so fast that I barely even had time to get a sip of water, in fear I’d miss something. Kaho took a beating but she is so good at that, and when she was on offense she was super crisp and smooth, which is impressive since she doesn’t regularly wrestle Hazuki or Kagetsu. I loved the ending, as Kaho got a real hope spot after the mist instead of just going right down, and it took something extra for Kagetsu to get the pin. Just about the perfect match within this style and incredibly fun to watch, I can’t imagine how it could have been any better.  Highly Recommended

CIMA and Jamie Hayter vs. Martina and Shigehiro Irie

CIMA and Martina start the match, but Martina is too much for CIMA to handle so he tags in Jamie. Jamie and Martina lock up, Jamie pushes Martina into the ropes and gives a clean break. They lock up again, Jamie gets Martina to the mat in a headlock but Martina struggles back to her feet. Waistlock by Jamie but Martina dances her way out of it, hard elbow by Jamie but she hurt Martina more than she intended and asks for forgiveness. Martina elbows her back instead and the two trade blows, Irish whip by Jamie to the corner but Martina boots her as she charges in. Release German by Martina and she hits a back elbow in the corner. Another elbow by Martina but Jamie avoids the next one, Martina kicks Jamie and hits a Backstabber out of the corner. Snapmare by Martina and she kicks Jamie in the back, but Jamie snapmares her in return and kicks her in the back as well. On their feet, they block each other’s kicks and both elbow each other before deciding they’ve had enough and tags in their partners. CIMA and Irie tie-up, CIMA pushes Irie into the ropes and gives a clean break. Irish whip by CIMA but Irie delivers a hard shoulderblock, Irie throws CIMA into the corner but CIMA avoids his charge and dropkicks Irie in the knee. Enzuigiri by CIMA but Irie catches him with a powerslam.

Irie tags Martina, Martina goes to slam CIMA but CIMA blocks it. Irie comes over to help and with him she is able to hit the slam, body press by Irie to CIMA but CIMA moves when Martina goes for one. CIMA then hits a bulldog/dropkick combination on both opponents, she tags in Jamie and they both chop Martina in the chest. Lariat by Jamie to Martina and she hits a spinebuster before quickly applying a crab hold. Irie gives Martina a beer to help motivate her, and Martina makes it to the ropes for the break. Martina gets the advantage with a suplex and tags in Irie, Irie clubs Jamie in the back but Jamie fires back with elbows. Irie knocks Jamie to the mat, CIMA comes in to shield her but the referee gets him back to the apron. Irie throws Jamie into the corner and tags Martina, but Jamie elbows her as she charges in and suplexes her into the turnbuckles. Side slam onto her knee by Jamie, and she tags in CIMA while Martina also tags Irie. CIMA dropkicks Irie and knocks Martina off the apron, Irish whip by CIMA but Irie reverses it. CIMA kicks Irie before hitting a double knee in the corner, Martina runs in but CIMA scoop slams her. He then drop toeholds Irie onto Martina before hitting a splash, Jamie comes in and dives on top of the pile as well.

CIMA goes back to Irie, Irish whip by CIMA but Irie blocks it. Chop by CIMA but Irie catches him with a spinning side slam, giving him time to tag in Martina. Elbows by Martina but CIMA chops her back, tilt-a-whirl DDT by Martina into a vertical suplex and she covers CIMA for two. CIMA gets the advantage and tags Jamie, CIMA spanks Martina before leaving the ring so Jamie can take over. Martina dropkicks Jamie however and tags Irie, Irie gets Jamie on his shoulders but Jamie slides away. Lariat attempt by Jamie but Irie stays up, she goes for a suplex but Irie blocks it. Headbutt by Irie, he throws Jamie into the corner and delivers a running lariat. Cover by Irie, but Jamie gets a shoulder up. Irie goes off the ropes but Jamie kicks him, she lariats Irie but he stays on his feet. Scoop slam by Jamie and she hits a running senton, cover by Jamie but it gets a two count. Jamie picks up Irie but Irie snaps off a vertical suplex and tags Martina. Martina goes up top and hits a diving Codebreaker, cover by Martina but Jamie kicks out. Martina picks up Jamie and elbows her, Jamie goes off the ropes and knocks Martina over with a lariat. Jamie picks up Martina, Martina gets away but CIMA runs in and dropkicks her. Schwein by CIMA to Martina, Jamie lariats Martina in the back of the head and nails the Cow Killer for the three count! Jamie Hayter and CIMA are the winners!

This match had a similar mix of serious and playful as the first match, and while it didn’t hit as well with me it still wasn’t bad. Both of the male wrestlers seemed happy to take part in the playful bits but less excited to give the women much in the serious parts, and with the mixed genders the match had a lot of stop-and-go since the same genders seemed to prefer to be against each other. So some of the transitions weren’t great and it came across a bit clunky. The wrestlers themselves are all talented so when they got to it, the match was fun, but the structure was just all over the place. A unique match for sure which gives it some extra appeal, but a step down from the first two matches on the show.

Hazuki, Kagetsu, Tora, and Sumire vs. Makoto, Yamashita, Syuri, and Yuu

Oedo Tai start the fight during the pre-match handshake, and the ring quickly clears with Syuri and Natsu alone in the ring. Natsu doesn’t see Syuri at first but eventually does, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Natsu in the back. Kick to the chest by Syuri but Hazuki grabs her foot when she goes for a PK and pulls her out of the ring. Oedo Tai maintains the advantage on the floor while Natsu waits in the ring, Syuri is eventually rolled back in as Hazuki comes in as well. Natsuko and Kagetsu get in the ring as well and bring their opponents with them, Miyuki Takase and Aoki Itsuki are tossed in too as Jamie and Martina come in, and all six of Oedo Tai connect with running boots to one of their enemies. Rina is wrapped up in the ropes with a band wrapped near her mouth, Hazuki takes the other end of the band into the stands and snaps it back into Rina’s face. They put the band around her head again and this time Nao Yamaguchi takes it up into the crowd, but Natsuko accidentally lets go and snaps the band back into Nao. Martina checks on Nao while Natsu and Hazuki Irish whip Rina, with Hazuki hitting an assisted Codebreaker. Natsu puts Rina in the corner and delivers the gyrating Bronco Buster, but Rina picks her up and hits a powerbomb. Rina tags in Syuri, stomp by Syuri to Natsu and she snapmares her before connecting with a kick to the back. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Natsu quickly gets out of it, she puts Natsu’s arm in the ropes and stomps down on it before tagging in Yuu. Yuu throws Natsu into the corner and hits a jumping elbow, senton by Yuu and she covers Natsu for two. Makoto is tagged in, she throws Natsu in the middle of the ring and goes up top, hitting a diving body press. Running double kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers Natsu for two.

Makoto tags Rina, Rina comes in with a t-shirt and hits Natsu with it repeatedly. Giant Swing by Rina to Natsu while Syuri comes in to jump over her while she swings round and round before Rina drops Natsu to the mat. Natsu tries to tag out but crawls to the wrong corner due to her dizziness, while Rina tags in Makoto. Double underhook suplex attempt by Makoto but Natsu blocks it and elbows her, Natsuko hands Natsu her whip and she hits Makoto with it. She tries to hit Yuu but Yuu catches it, Natsu and Yuu talk for a bit, but Yuu knocks Natsu down with a lariat. Natsu knocks Yuu back and hits atomic drops on Syuri and Rina, Makoto runs in and she gets an atomic drop as well. This gives Natsu time to tag Hazuki, Hazuki rolls Makoto to the mat and chops her in the chest. Natsuko comes in and they both slam Makoto, they hit a double boot as well before Natsuko finally leaves. Hazuki picks up Makoto and the two trade elbows, pump kick by Hazuki but Makoto fires back with a boot of her own before hitting a double underhook suplex for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, hard shoulderblock by Yuu and Kagetsu and Natsu eat hard shoulderblocks as well. Natsuko comes in and Yuu can’t knock her over, they both charge at each other as they attempt to knock the other to the mat but neither can. Eye rake by Natsuko but Yuu drops her with a spinning side slam. Senton by Yuu, and she covers Natsuko for two. Yuu picks up Natsuko, chops by Yuu but Natsuko fires back with an elbow. They trade strikes until Yuu dropkicks Natsuko in the corner, Cannonball by Yuu and she covers Natsuko for two. Yuu gets on the second turnbuckle but Natsuko recovers and tosses her off, spear by Natsuko but Yuu tosses her to the mat when she charges in. Both wrestlers tags out as Kagetsu and Syuri become the legal wrestlers, they trade kicks to the chest until Syuri knocks Kagetsu to the mat. Cover by Syuri, but it gets two. Syuri quickly goes for the cross armbreaker while her team protects her, but Kagetsu rolls out of it and delivers a strike combination. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, but Syuri kicks out of the pin attempt.

Kagetsu picks up Syuri but Syuri snaps off a German suplex, Kagetsu returns to her feet and hits a head kick but Syuri returns the favor and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Syuri tags in Rina while Kagetsu tags in Natsu, Natsu goes for a knee but Rina blocks it and drives her into the corner. Lariats by Rina and she knees Natsu in the back, cover by Rina but it gets two. Rina picks up Natsu but Natsu elbows her and the two trade strikes. Hazuki, Natsu, and Kagetsu all run in as Rina is attacked by all four, Nao Yamaguchi gets in the ring too and she lariats Rina. Natsu suplexes Rina but the cover is broken up, Syuri grabs Natsu from behind and hits a Backstabber with Yuu following with a body press. Cartwheel double kneedrop by Makoto to Natsu, Rina goes off the ropes and hits a lariat but Natsuko grabs the referee to break up the cover. Rina goes off the ropes again but Natsu catches her with an inside cradle for two. Rina picks up Natsu but Jamie Hayter hits her in the head with the Oedo Tai board, big boot by Natsu to Rina but Yuu breaks up the cover with a senton. Hazuki pump kicks Yuu, Makoto then boots Hazuki but Kagetsu kicks Makoto out of the ring. Syuri takes care of Kagetsu and then kicks Natsuko in the head for good measure, leaving bodies everywhere. Rina and Natsu slowly recover and trade elbows, Natsu boots Rina while Rina returns fire with lariats. Rina finally knocks Natsuko off her feet with a lariat, she picks her up and kicks Natsu in the head. Another lariat by Rina, but Natsu barely kicks out of the cover. Rina picks up Natsu and goes for the Splash Mountain, she nails it but the rest of Oedo Tai break up the cover. Rina drags Natsu to her feet and goes for it again, but Martina spits water in her face. Spear by Natsuko to Rina, she falls out of the ring and Kagetsu and Hazuki dive out onto their opponents with stereo tope suicidas. Rina is rolled back in and Kagetsu hits her with an Ebisu Drop, then Natsuko goes up top and hits a guillotine legdrop on Rina. Hazuki follows with a diving senton, Natsu picks up Rina and nails the Demon for the three count! Oedo Tai are the winners!

While the number of wrestlers and different styles may have prevented the match from really getting into a good rhythm, its hard not to enjoy the final match with this version of Oedo Tai. There were some stretches where it felt like nothing was happening but they sprinkled in memorable and fun spots throughout to keep things interesting, whether it was Syuri playing jump rope over Natsu’s body or Yuu and Natsuko having their stand-off. The other Oedo Tai members getting in on the action felt appropriate and it was nice to see Nao Yamaguchi getting involved as well. With eight wrestlers in the match, none really got a chance to stand out but everyone did get their big moves in, and none looked out of place in this chaotic environment. A fun match and a fitting main event for Natsu Sumire’s show, it wouldn’t win any MOTY awards but delivered what they were going for.  Recommended

The post Natsu Sumire Produce Forever on 12/15/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Pro Wrestling WAVE’s online streaming service can be hit or miss, but they have been on a roll this summer as they have been very timely with their updates. WAVE is in a rough situation right now, there is no other way to say it. They recently lost Ayako Hamada to a drug scandal, Misaki Ohata is retiring at the end of the year, Fairy Nihonbashi is leaving, and on top of all of that the promotion is temporarily closing at the end of the year to “restructure” behind the scenes before re-launching. They already have among the lowest Korakuen Hall attendance averages among all Joshi promotions (this event did a great number for them), and closing for a few months likely won’t help that. But even with all these issues going on, this is a very solid card up and down as they celebrate their anniversary with two big singles match and two title matches. Here is the full card (I am only reviewing the Joshi matches):

• Aoki Itsuki and Mikoto Shindo vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase
• Cherry and Fairy Nihonbashi vs. Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota
• Hiragi Kurumi vs. Rina Yamashita
• Misaki Ohata vs. Ryo Mizunami
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Nagisa Nozaki and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Takumi Iroha vs. ASUKA

As this aired on the WAVE Network, matches will be unclipped. All wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it.

Aoki Itsuki and Mikoto Shindo vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase

Mikoto and Hiroe kick things off, they lock up as Hiroe gets Mikoto in the ropes, but she gives a clean break. Mikoto quickly locks back up with her, this time Mikoto gets Hiroe in the ropes and hits a series of elbows. Back in the middle of the ring, Hiroe tosses Mikoto into the corner and throws her down by the hair. Miyuki helps (even though Hiroe doesn’t need it), snaomare by Hiroe and she puts Mikoto in a bodyscissors. She picks her up after a moment and puts Mikoto into the corner, Irish whip to Mikoto and Hiroe hits a dropkick. Miyuki follows with an assisted elbow strike, Aoki tries to help but immediately gets kicked out of the ring by Miyuki. Mikoto dropkicks Hiroe and quickly rolls her up for two, another dropkick by Mikoto and she makes the hot tag to Aoki. Shoulderblocks by Aoki, she picks up Hiroe and hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Aoki goes off the ropes but Miyuki kicks her from the apron, she gets in the ring and with Hiroe they hit a double dropkick. More dropkicks by Hiroe, she picks up Aoki and hits a vertical suplex for two. Aoki blocks the suplex attempt but Hiroe delivers a spear before tagging in Miyuki. Miyuki picks up Aoki but Aoki blocks the slam attempt and punches Miyuki in the stomach.

Miyuki comes back with a dropkick, legdrop by Miyuki and she covers Aoki for two. Back up, they trade strikes until Aoki chops Miyuki to the mat. Aoki goes off the ropes by Miyuki hits a lariat, Miyuki gets Aoki on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam, but Aoki avoids the diving legdrop. Hiroe comes in and spears Aoki, Miyuki picks up Aoki but Aoki lariats both of them. Short-arm lariats by Aoki, but Miyuki kicks out of the cover. Aoki tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Miyuki and she covers her for two. Scoop slam by Mikoto but Miyuki continues to kick out of Mikoto’s covers, Miyuki elbows Mikoto but Mikoto elbows her back. Mikoto elbows Miyuki into the corner but Miyuki connects with a dropkick out of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving elbow smash for a two count. Miyuki picks up Mikoto while Hiroe gets on the top turnbuckle, but Aoki knocks Hiroe off and Mikoto cradles Miyuki for two. A schoolboy by Mikoto gets two as well, she tries a few more flash pins but none get the three count. Powerslam by Miyuki to Mikoto, she picks her up and hits a vertical suplex but Aoki breaks up the cover. Miyuki waits for Mikoto to get up and hits a lariat, cover by Miyuki and she gets the three count Your winners are Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase!

Considering the experience levels of those involved, this was a really solid opener. It wasn’t complicated but it didn’t need to be and everyone played their roles well without any awkwardness. The mid-match strike exchange was probably a tad too long and ultimately meaningless since the “loser” was immediately back on offense, but beyond that it never felt like it dragged. Mikoto is a firecracker as I assumed, and if she sticks with it/continues training under Chigusa Nagayo she could be something special down the road. A good way to start the show and get the crowd into it without trying to overshadow the action to come.

Cherry and Fairy Nihonbashi vs. Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota

Its hard to do play by play on silly comedy matches but I will try my best. Fairy and Himeka begin but Fairy starts doing Fairy things so no action actually takes place. Himeka is not in the mood and puts Fairy in a Argentine Backbreaker, but her own teammate breaks it up as this is not proper Fairy procedure. Hard shoulderblock by Himeka but Fairy gets her wand, she tries to use it on Himeka but Himeka doesn’t budge. It finally works, Fairy dances around and she covers Himeka for two. Fairy goes to tag out but Himeka hits her from behind and scoop slams her, Sakura comes in but Himeka slams her on top of Fairy. Himeka tags Sakura as she makes it back to the corner, Irish whip by Sakura and everyone comes in to deliver running strikes on Fairy in the corner. Including her own partner. Sakura then tries but Fairy hits her in the head with her wand, they go through the whole thing again but it has the same end result for Sakura. Sakura gets Fairy’s arm and goes to walk the ropes, but Fairy gets away and tries to wand Sakura off the top turnbuckle. Sakura walks the ropes instead and almost makes it to the next turnbuckle, but falls off. With her its hard to tell when her crash and burns are planned.

Anyway Cherry is finally tagged in and they both chop Sakura in the chest, double Irish whip but it is reversed and Cherry ends up going into the ropes. She lariats both of them, including her own partner, but Cherry makes her feel better by giving Fairy her wand. She uses it on Sakura, Cherry covers Sakura with the wand but it gets a two count. Cherry chokes Sakura into the corner but Sakura is still under Fairy’s spell so she isn’t moving too well. Headstand by Sakura on the turnbuckle which sucks everyone towards her, until Fairy hits Sakura low with the wand. Face crusher by Sakura to Cherry but Cherry slams her into the mat as they go back and forth with face crushers. Sakura tags in Himeka while Fairy is also tagged in, shoulderblock by Himeka and she his a second one. Fairy goes for a wand shot but Himeka moves and hits a jumping knee, but Cherry breaks up the cover. Fairy hits Himeka in the head with the wand, Cherry then tries to hit Himeka also but she hits Fairy by accident. Sakura comes in but she ends up kissing Fairy before Cherry accidentally hits Fairy again. Fairy tries to hit Cherry with the wand but it rebounds back and she hits herself, Himeka puts Fairy in the Argentine Backbreaker and Fairy submits! Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota are the winners.

This was exactly as advertised. Maybe a new wrinkle or two but it was basically a Sakura Hirota and Fairy Nihonbashi comedy match combined into one. If you like it, more power to you, but its old hat to me and I’m happy to move onto the next match which is much more up my alley.

Hiragi Kurumi vs. Rina Yamashita

They start off trading tie-ups with neither getting the clear advantage, they try to shoulderblock each other over until Kurumi ultimately wins the battle. Rina rolls out of the ring but Kurumi goes out after her and scoop slams Rina onto the floor. Rina gets some of the cold spray and sprays Kurumi with it, she takes Kurumi around the ring and throws her into some chairs at ringside. Rina sits Kurumi in a chair, she goes all the way up into the bleachers before charging at Kurumi, but Kurumi had plenty of time to recover and greets Rina with a lariat. Kurumi slides Rina back into the ring and hits a body avalanche in the corner, cover by Kurumi but it gets two. Crab hold by Kurumi but Rina gets to the ropes for the break, scoop slam by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton for a two count. Kurumi tries to knock Rina over but Rina stays up, Rina goes off the ropes and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Rina picks up Kurumi and eventually hits a scoop slam, cover by Rina but it gets two. Rina picks up Kurumi and throws her into the corner, lariat by Rina and she hits a second one before kneeing Kurumi in the back of the head for a two count. Kicks by Rina, she picks up Kurumi and hits a backdrop suplex for another two.

Sleeper by Rina but Kurumi hiptosses out of it, they trade elbows until Kurumi dropkicks Rina to the mat. Cannonball by Kurumi, she gets back up but Rina manages to re-apply the sleeper. Kurumi struggles but eventually makes it to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and hits a kick to the head, but Kurumi ducks the lariat and delivers a release German. Rina returns to her feet but Kurumi connects with a second German, which keeps Rina on the mat. They both slowly get up and trade lariats, with Kurumi winning the battle as she knocks Rina down. Kurumi picks up Rina but Rina wiggles away, she goes for the sleeper but Kurumi quickly grabs the ropes. Rina goes off the ropes but Kurumi floors her with a lariat for a two count. Kurumi drags Rina to the corner, she goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her. Superplex by Rina, she slowly covers Kurumi but Kurumi gets a shoulder up. Rina picks up Kurumi and nails the sliding lariat, but again Kurumi kicks out. Rina charges Kurumi but Kurumi catches her with a cradle belly to belly piledriver. Kurumi picks up Rina and goes off the ropes, but Rina catches her with a lariat. Rina goes to pick up Kurumi, Kurumi hits a back bodydrop but Rina turns it into a cradle for two. Lariat by Kurumi, she picks up Rina and hits a second belly to belly piledriver, but the bell rings before she can make a cover as the time has expired. The match is a Draw!

Even though it felt like they were going for the draw with the slower portions early in the match, I still enjoyed it. I was surprised how much Kurumi was shown as an equal to Rina, even getting the better of her on several occasions, but Rina has always been good at giving her opponents a lot to make the matches more competitive. Kurumi flies under the radar a bit since Ice Ribbon isn’t as popular among Western fans but at only 18 she is already great at the “hoss” style and will continue to get better. Some unique spots and numerous ‘strength’ battles makes this one worth watching, and hopefully they will get a chance to do it again sooner than later.  Recommended

Misaki Ohata vs. Ryo Mizunami

They tie-up to start, Ohata gets Mizunami into the ropes but she gives her friend a clean break. Wristlock by Ohata but Mizunami reverses it, armdrag by Ohata and they trade positions on the mat. Mizunami works a headlock and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a leg drop but Ohata moves out of the way and hits a dropkick. Mizunami stomps on Ohata’s foot but Ohata hits a jawbreaker and stomps on her foot back, she goes off the ropes but Mizunami catches Ohata with a powerslam. Mizunami chops Ohata into the corner and hits a jumping elbow smash, but Ohata dropkicks her when she messes around too much and hits an elbow in the corner. Ohata mimics Mizunami before hitting another elbow, Ohata goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Stunner by Ohata and she hits a tornado DDT, low crossbody by Ohata and she nails a sliding kick for a two count cover. German suplex hold by Ohata, but Mizunami kicks out. Back up they trade strikes until Mizunami hits an overhead belly to belly suplex, lariat by Mizunami and she hits a German suplex. Jumping leg lariat by Mizunami, but her cover gets a two count. Mizunami picks up Ohata and hits an elbow combination, Ohata fires back with slaps but Mizunami hits a lariat.

Ohata charges Mizunami but Mizunami hits a lariat, another lariat by Mizunami and she covers Ohata for two. Mizunami picks up Ohata but Ohata quickly hits the Blue Dahlia, she follows with the Fisherman Buster but Mizunami gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Ohata goes off the ropes but Mizunami gets Ohata onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat. They headbutt each other on their knees before trading elbows, Ohata finally chops Mizunami to the mat and she hits a hard elbow for a two count. Ohata goes for the Sky Blue Suplex but Mizunami rolls out of it, Ohata kicks Mizunami in the head and hits a second Blue Dahlia, but she again only gets two. Sky Blue Suplex Hold by Ohata, but Mizunami barely gets her shoulder up. Ohata goes for a second one but Mizunami blocks it and hits a uranage, Mizunami goes for the Hot Limit but Ohata blocks it as she goes for a series of flash pins. Ohata goes off the ropes but Mizunami hits a pair of lariats, dragon suplex hold by Mizunami but it gets two. Mizunami picks up Ohata and she nails the Hot Limit, cover by Mizunami but Ohata kicks out at one. Mizunami picks up Ohata and delivers a second one, a third Hot Limit by Mizunami and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami is the winner!

This match was good but something felt a bit off. Its like they were going for that epic feel but it was just a midcard match with under 15 minutes of action so there were built-in limitations. Both were going through their finishers which I have no issue with but there wasn’t a lot of build-up to it, for Ohata to kick out of the Hot Limit and Mizunami to kick out of the Blue Sky Suplex Hold it just would have been nice for them to have a slower lead-up to that. Still, these two have great chemistry obviously so everything they did was smooth and hard hitting, and the match certainly never dragged. Hopefully this match is just a primer for a bigger match between them before Ohata retires, but still an enjoyable match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Nagisa Nozaki and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
WAVE Tag Team Championship 

Yuki and Mio begin for their teams, they lock knuckles but Mio spins away and hits a series of elbows. She goes for a crossbody but Yuki catches her and hits a slam, she goes to put Mio in an unfortunate situation but Ohka breaks it up. Ohka slams Mio on top of Yuki, Mio tags in Ohka and Ohka delivers a hip toss slam for two. Ohka picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sliding kick and tags Nagisa. Yuki stays in and helps Nagisa for a moment double team Ohka, Nagisa chops Ohka in the corner before putting her in a sleeper. Ohka quickly gets to the ropes to break it up, Nagisa charges Ohka but Ohka moves out of the way and hits a big boot. Another boot by Ohka and she tags in Mio, Mio stomps down Nagisa in the corner but Nagisa fires back with a big boot, cover by Nagisa but Mio bridges out of it. Nagisa pulls down Mio by the hair, Mio goes for a dropkick but Nagisa swats her away and applies the sleeper. Mio drives back into the corner to break it up, Ohka comes in and she stomps on Nagisa’s foot repeatedly. Nagisa tries to boot Mio but she boots Ohka by accident, Mio then accidentally dropkicks Ohka but she recovers and boots Nagisa into the corner. Ohka launches Mio at Nagisa for a dropkick, cover by Mio but it gets two. Mio applies an ankle hold but Nagisa quickly gets to the ropes, Mio keeps the hold applied anyway until Yuki knocks her off. Dropkick by Mio, and she covers Nagisa for two. Mio goes off the ropes but Nagisa drops her with a big boot, Somato by Nagisa and she tags in Yuki.

Yuki dropkicks Mio, she picks her up but Mio slides away and dropkicks Yuki in the knee. Yuki and Mio trade flash pins, they get back up but Mio ducks Yuki’s lariat attempt and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Mio and she rolls Yuki to the mat before hitting a footstomp to the chest. Mio goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Yuki blocks it, Ohka comes in and hits a chokebomb on Yuki before she gets tagged in and drops Yuki with a cross-arm DDT. Ohka goes for a suplex but Yuki blocks it and kicks her in the head, Yuki picks up Ohka but Ohka wiggles away. Ohka knocks Nagisa off the apron and boots Yuki in the head, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka goes off the ropes but Nagisa trips her and pulls her out of the ring, meanwhile on the other side Mio pulls Yuki to the floor as both teams brawl. Mio goes up top and dives out onto both opponents, they return to the ring but Sakura Hirota gets in the ring too and helps Yuki with Ohka. That quickly backfires, Ohka drops Yuki with a backdrop suplex and she covers her for a two count. Mio comes in and stands on Ohka’s shoulders for an assisted senton, cover by Ohka but Nagisa breaks it up. Mio and Ohka try to suplex Yuki but Yuki reverses it, Yuki suplexes Ohka into the turnbuckles and she goes up top, but Ohka avoids the moonsault. Samoan Driver by Yuki, but Ohka kicks out. Yuki tags Nagisa, boot by Nagisa to Ohka and she drives her into the corner. Nagisa sets up Ohka in the corner and hits a boot, another boot by Nagisa and she covers Ohka for two.

Nagisa goes for the sleeper but Ohka quickly gets out of it and they trade boots until Ohka knocks Nagisa to the mat. Ohka calls for Mio, they pick up Nagisa and Ohka hits a brainbuster while Mio distracts Yuki. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Yuki, Ohka then goes up but Nagisa recovers and joins her. Mio grabs Nagisa from behind but Yuki tosses her aside, Yuki then helps Nagisa superplex Ohka but Mio breaks up Nagisa’s cover. Mio goes up top but Yuki joins her and gives her a kiss, which knocks Mio to the mat. Yuki wraps up Mio near the corner but Ohka breaks it up, Nagisa rolls up Ohka from behind and puts her in a grounded dragon sleeper, but Mio breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Mio but Mio tosses both opponents down and dropkicks Nagisa in the head. Yuki kisses Mio again and goes for a wheelbarrow slam, but Mio blocks. Boot by Nagisa to Ohka, but it gets two. Nagisa goes off the ropes but Ohka hits a big boot of her own, Nagisa boots her back and hits another one, but Mio breaks up the pin. Nagisa goes for a sleeper but Ohka kicks his way out of it, Mio comes in and hits the Yoshi Tonic on Nagisa and Ohka hits a boot. Ohka goes off the ropes and hits a final big boot, and she picks up the three count! Yumi Ohka and Mio Momono are the new champions!

While I am beyond excited for Mio Momono getting her first title as she is a lot of fun to watch, I can’t say that this match did a lot for me. Yuki Miyazaki is best in small doses, if at all, as while she does provide a veteran presence and can help keep things together, her offense is pretty bland and her segments tend to drag. Ohka is better but still is mostly just big boots, and Nagisa wasn’t able to do what she does best here (set up submissions) as the match wasn’t about her wrestling preferences. So a 20 minute match with the only highlights being Mio-related feels like an eternity, the wrestlers worked together well but the structure was just all over the place with Yuki’s occasional comedy. Not a match I would recommend unless you love all parties involved but still a big moment in Mio Momono’s young career.

(c) Takumi Iroha vs. ASUKA
Regina Di WAVE Championship

They tie-up to start, Takumi pushes ASUKA into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They go into a Test of Strength and go to the mat, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate and return to their feet. Knees by ASUKA and she kicks Takumi in the arm, ASUKA goes for a boot but Takumi moves out of the way and kicks ASUKA down in the corner. Dropkick by Takumi and she hits a dragon screw leg whip as she starts working over ASUKA’s leg. Scoop slam by Takumi and she hits a body press, covering ASUKA for two. Takumi goes back to ASUKA’s leg as she goes for the Stretch Muffler, but ASUKA gets into the ropes before she can get it fully applied. More kicks to the leg by Takumi but ASUKA absorbs the blows and kicks her back. Takumi gets the better of it at first but ASUKA knocks Takumi out of the ring, she goes up top and dives down onto Takumi with a missile dropkick. ASUKA slides Takumi back into the ring, she goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by ASUKA, she picks up Takumi and goes for a suplex, but Takumi blocks it. Superkick by ASUKA and she hits a running shooting star press. She then goes for a Lionsault but Takumi gets her knees up, jumping heel kick by Takumi but ASUKA blocks the suplex attempt. ASUKA goes for a boot but Takumi catches her leg and hits a dragon screw, figure four leglock by Takumi but ASUKA eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Takumi goes up top but ASUKA smacks her before she can jump off  and slams Takumi down to the mat. Dropkick by ASUKA and she hits the big boot in the corner, gutwrench suplex by ASUKA and she covers Takumi for two. ASUKA picks up Takumi but Takumi blocks the chokeslam and hits a kick combination.

Release German by Takumi, she goes up top but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while on the top turnbuckle, Takumi jumps over ASUKA and powerbombs her to the mat for two. Takumi positions ASUKA and goes up top, diving body press by Takumi and she quickly goes up top again to delivers a somersault senton, but ASUKA barely bridges up. Takumi goes for the Running Three but ASUKA slides away and hits a snap German. Kick to the head by ASUKA, she picks up Takumi and hits a German suplex hold for two. ASUKA picks up Takumi and delivers a chokeslam, she goes up top but Takumi joins her. Takumi brings ASUKA back down with a superplex, but ASUKA kicks out of the pinfall. Takumi and ASUKA trade elbows back on their feet, slaps by ASUKA and she superkicks Takumi for a one count cover. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Takumi catches her with a high kick, kick combination by Takumi and she nails a high kick for a two count. Liger Bomb by Takumi, but ASUKA kicks out of that as well. Takumi goes for an elbow but ASUKA catches her with one first, chokeslam by ASUKA near the corner but her cover gets two. ASUKA goes up to the top turnbuckle, Takumi grabs her ankles so ASUKA hops back off to hit a series of elbows. ASUKA goes up again and delivers the moonsault, but Takumi barely gets a shoulder up. ASUKA positions Takumi and goes up top again, and this time nails the Shooting Star Press! Cover by ASUKA, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA is the new champion!

Minor quibbles aside, this was a great match. They waited until just the right time with ASUKA to give her the top belt in WAVE, as over the last three years her offensive arsenal has grown significantly and she has grown into an excellent wrestler. I would have just cut out the leg work and just kept it as a strike/suplex type battle it then turned into, Takumi doesn’t really have any finishers to target the leg and ASUKA blew it off immediately anyway so it didn’t serve a real long term purpose. Beyond that though everything worked well, and I loved the ending with Takumi grabbing at ASUKA’s leg so she just elbows Takumi a bunch of times until she stays down for good. The high spots were kept to a reasonable amount so they always felt meaningful, and it was an even back and forth with both respecting the other with their exchanges so it felt like a real struggle. This is a match worth tracking down (or subscribing to the WAVE Network for a month) as it not only is a big deal for a transgender wrestler to hold a top Joshi title, but even without the historical meaning it was a great match as well.  Highly Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Anivarsario WAVE” on 8/19/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

Notable Matches:

• June 16th, 2018 vs. Satsuki Totoro
• August 1st, 2018 vs. Tsukushi

Signature Moves:

• Fujiwara Armbar
• School Boy
• Shoulderblock

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• None yet

In Action:

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