Event: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
Date: August 27th, 2022
Location: MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: None (FanCam via YouTube)

I never thought I’d be reviewing a WWE house show match, but here we are. Why am I reviewing this, you ask. Well, the reason is that in all the years Asuka and IYO SKY could have had singles matches against each other while both wrestled in Japan – they never did. Believe it or not, they have had tag matches against each other, but no singles matches in their long careers. Once they started feuding on RAW in early August, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they finally squared off one on one. Well it didn’t take long to happen, as on August 27th they would have their first ever singles match – on a house show.

The match may still happen at some point on RAW (or maybe a PLE!), but as of early September this is their only singles match to date. Normally, we’d never be able to watch it, but some wonderful person in the crowd did a FANCAM of the ENTIRE MATCH. Watching a FanCam takes me back, as there are some Puroresu shows from the early 90s that only exist (or existed, unsure if they were ever released officially) on a FanCam. But I haven’t watched a FanCam match in years because its not something people really do anymore, as they are too busy taking selfies or TikToks. So once I saw the match not only happened, but was uploaded to YouTube, I grabbed it real quick so I could save it forever and also review it for the site. Needless to say, I will only be watching their match in this review, so here is the match list:

• Asuka vs. IYO SKY

Woot, a one match review! Both Asuka and IYO have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it.

Asuka vs. IYO SKY

As for why they are feuding now, Io Shirai debuted as IYO SKY on the main roster of WWE when she showed up at SummerSlam with Bayley. Showing up as heels to face off against Bianca and Becky, Bayley’s group of IYO and Dakota Kai seemed intent on taking over RAW. Unfortunately, Becky got hurt at SummerSlam and was put on the shelf, so Asuka ended up in the feud. Its unknown of course if it was always the plan, but either way Bianca needed two buddies to even the odds so she got Asuka and Alexa Bliss. Since now they are in feuding factions, that led to this house show match, which hopefully will lead to a singles match on a major show down the road. Now that we got the backstory out of the way, let’s get to the match!

To begin the match, IYO avoids Asuka’s attempts to tie-up, just to solidify their roles as ‘crowd favorite’ and ‘taunting heel.’ Asuka finally gets a hold of IYO’s arm but IYO reverses it, they end up on the mat but reach a stalemate. Back up, hard shoulderblock by Asuka and she stomps at IYO’s head, she goes to run off the ropes but IYO trips her and returns the favor. IYO goes off the ropes but Asuka does as well, IYO goes for a handstand but Asuka kicks her in the stomach. IYO throws Asuka into the corner and charges, but Asuka tosses her onto the apron. IYO goes for a shoulderblock through the ropes but Asuka moves and kicks her, she then goes off the ropes and hip attacks IYO down to the floor. IYO delays returning to the ring while Asuka calls her a chicken, Asuka finally goes after IYO but IYO returns to the ring and taunts her. Asuka gets on the apron and grabs IYO, but IYO snaps her neck over the top rope. She then goes out to the apron and hits a DDT onto it, giving IYO control of the match. IYO returns to the ring, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a running elbow.

IYO trips Asuka and stomps her down in the corner before hitting a double knee strike. Cover by IYO, but it gets two. IYO kicks Asuka in the leg before applying a chinlock, she releases it for a moment only to switch to a stretch hold. Asuka hulks out of it but IYO quickly hits a dropkick, cover by IYO but it gets a two count. IYO slams Asuka’s head into the mat repeatedly, she kicks at Asuka but Asuka fires back with a strike exchange. Sliding head kick by Asuka, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Asuka is up first, IYO charges her but Asuka knocks her back with an elbow. Jumping lariat by Asuka and she hits a hip attack in the corner, she goes for a German suplex but IYO blocks it. Backfist by Asuka and she now can hit the German suplex, sliding kick by Asuka and she covers IYO for two. Asuka goes for IYO’s arm but IYO quickly grabs the ropes, Asuka charges IYO but IYO drops her head-first into the turnbuckle. Running double knee strike by IYO, she goes to the stop turnbuckle but Asuka recovers before she can jump off and pulls out Io’s leg.

Io ends up dangling on the top turnbuckle, Asuka joins her and goes for a superplex, but IYO headbutts her. IYO goes for the sunset flip powerbomb but Asuka blocks it, IYO slides away and instead German suplexes Asuka off the second turnbuckle to the mat. Cover by IYO, but Asuka barely kicks out. IYO goes for the 619 but Asuka moves, cross armbreaker takedown by Asuka but IYO stops her from locking it in and applies a crossface. Asuka rolls out of it and applies the Asuka Lock, but IYO gets out of it and delivers a palm strike. IYO goes for the double underhook facebuster but Asuka reverses it into a backslide for two. Asuka tosses IYO up and knees her in the face, but her cover only gets two. Asuka picks up IYO but IYO drives her back into the corner, Asuka goes for a kick but IYO ducks it and schoolboys Asuka. IYO puts her legs on the ropes for extra leverage, and she picks up the three count! IYO SKY is the winner!

First, I just have to note that Asuka and IYO did not wrestle this like it was a meaningless midcard house show match. Maybe they are practicing spots for a future match on a bigger event, maybe they just have too much pride, but neither were holding back. I’ve seen wrestlers coast when they were on a small or non-televised event, this wasn’t that. Both were going for it and were hitting some bigger moves, including the German off the second rope and the DDT on the apron. They have really solid chemistry, as one would expect from their years wrestling as a team in Japan, and everything from their rope exchanges to their strike exchanges looked smooth. The ending was a little disappointing but a heel cheating to win isn’t exactly unusual, and was probably the right way to go even on a house show. If they did this same match on RAW (or a PLE with just a couple extra minutes added) it would not look out of place at all, a really entertaining back and forth match between two of the best in the world.  Recommended

The post Asuka vs. IYO SKY at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on 8/27/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: NOMADS’ Freelance Summit
Date: May 20th, 2022
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 470
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko

One of the more interesting developments in the last six months or so in the world of Joshi is wrestlers creating Freelancer stables that also put on their own events. We have COLOR’S, PROMINANCE, Rebel X Enemy, and here we get to watch my personal favorite: NOMADS’. NOMADS’ comprises of four wrestlers: Natsu Sumire, Maya Yukihi, Rina Yamashita, and Miyuki Takase. All are great. Course, as Freelancers, they are welcome and encouraged to wrestle all around the world on their own schedule, but they work together behind the scenes and will occasionally put on their own Freelance shows. Like this one, which is the first! As all four are very respected on the scene, they have a fair amount of influence to bring in the top Freelancers for the event. Particularly special about this card, besides the surprise match from Natsu Sumire, is the return of Kaho Kobayashi! Kaho is my stealth favorite and has been out of action for a year, so its great to see her back. Here is the full card:

• Exhibition Match: Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
• Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma
• Hikari Shimizu, Rina Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Maika Ozaki, and Makoto
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou
• Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

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

Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
Exhibition Match

Natsu attacks Takase before the match starts and stomps on her, Natsu picks up Takase but Takase blocks the slam attempt and hits a snapmare. Another snapmare by Takase and a third, she puts Natsu in a bodyscissors and rolls her around the ring. She eventually lets go, scoop slam by Takase and she covers Natsu for two. Takase puts Natsu in the corner, she tries to pull her back out but Natsu holds on for dear life. Natsu asks for a breather and gets some water, the referee keeps Takase at bay while Natsu composes herself. Natsu finally recovers, she throws Takase into the opposite corner and hits a back elbow. Natsu calls for and attempts her famous Bronco Buster, but Takase slides under it and cradles Natsu for two. Takase stomps Natsu, Irish whip by Takase and Natsu collapses near the ropes. Dropkick by Takase, she gets Natsu on her shoulders but Natsu slides off and hits a jumping neckdrop. Natsu boots Takase in the face twice while she is against the ropes, cover by Natsu but it gets two. Natsu picks up Takase, Takase chops her and goes off the ropes but Natsu delivers a big boot. Natsu goes for the cover but the bell rings as she does so, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

A five minute exhibition is clearly going to end in a Draw, but it was still great to see Natsu in the right place (both mind and body) to wrestle again. Natsu was never a high end wrestler and wouldn’t have beaten Takase anyway, but she is entertaining and has the charisma that not many wrestlers possess. Natsu has a lot of fans around the world that appreciate the qualities she brings to the table, as she is a fun change of pace that has comedic elements to her character but isn’t a full-blown comedy wrestler that is limited in what she can do. A fun way to kick off the show and it would be hard to complain about an unadvertised match anyway, nothing but positives to take away from a surprise Natsu Sumire match even if it was short with an obvious conclusion.

Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma

They both hype the crowd before Momoka decides to attack Tae from behind, they circle each other before tying up. Momoka gets Tae to the mat and twists her hair before throwing her into the corner. She gets a… bubble maker and holds it into Tae’s face, spraying her with bubbles. Momoka picks up Tae and slams her face into the mat, she gets the bubble maker again along with her plastic flower and sits on Tae’s back while spraying bubbles everywhere and choking her. I’m not really sure how to describe it so that’s the best I got. Momoka puts her toys away and Irish whips her, the referee decides to help and assists Momoka in kicking Tae in the chest. Momoka throws the referee to the mat before jumping off his back, hitting a footstomp on Tae for a two count. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae avoids the dropkick attempt and hits one of her own. Tae snaps Momoka’s arm, she picks up Momoka but Momoka elbows her and the two trade blows. Momoka kicks Tae in the shin and flips off everyone, but Tae kicks her in the shin back. Gut punch by Momoka, they do some shenanigans around the referee before Momoka hits a big spear on Tae for a two count. Momoka goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets two as well. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae blocks it, she flings Momoka to the mat and puts her in an armbar. Momoka tries to get a hand on the ropes but Tae captures that arm too, Momoka keeps inching however and gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Tae picks up Momoka and gets her back in the Fujiwara Armbar, she applies the Tae Lock and Momoka has no choice but to submit! Tae Honma is the winner.

I think this is the first full match I’ve seen of Momoka, I like her methods. She is a little goofy but she can wrestle, and she got serious when she needed to. Fun personality, solid wrestling skills, maybe one to keep an eye on if she finds a better opportunity to shine down the road. Tae is really good of course and for a sub-ten match this was pretty entertaining as they kept things interesting and Tae’s focus on the arm was consistent. Nothing that will blow you away, but for an opener not given a lot of time I think it delivered.  Mildly Recommended

Hikari Shimizu, Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto

COLOR’S attack before the bell rings, they stack their opponents in the corner but the veterans soon take back over and isolate Amikura in the ring. They pose on Amikura, Shimizu and Yuko briefly pose with them before they help their tag partner out of the situation. Yoneyama is isolated in the ring as all three of COLOR’S run over her before hitting a triple body press. Things settle down with Yuko and Yoneyama as the legal wrestlers, Yoneyama grabs Yuko by the nose and chops it before tagging in Maika. Lariat by Maika in the corner and she hits an elbow drop for two. Maika puts Yuko in a camel clutch but it is quickly broken up, Yuko then puts Maika in a camel clutch but Maika muscles out of it. Irish whip by Maika but Yuko hits a dropkick and tags Amikura. Amikura and Maika take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over with no luck, kick by Maika but Amikura clubs her in the chest and finally shoulderblocks her to the mat. Amikura picks up Maika and chops her a few times, she gets Maika into the corner but Maika fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock, giving her time to tag Makoto.

Big boot by Makoto in the corner and she hits a double kneedrop for two. Makoto picks up Amikura, Amikura gets away but Amikura missing the senton attempt and Makoto is back on offense. Makoto goes off the ropes but Amikura clubs her and hits a twisting senton for two. She makes the tag to Shimizu, Shimizu comes in the ring with a diving crossbody which also gets a two count. Shimizu picks up Makoto, they go back and forth until Makoto blocks a Shimizu cradle attempt and hits a heel drop. Double underhook suplex by Makoto, but Shimizu kicks out of the cover. Makoto kicks Shimizu around but Amikura catches her with a powerslam, Shimizu then hits a footstomp off of Amikura’s back. Shimizu picks up Makoto, knee by Shimizu but Makoto drills her with a boot. Makoto picks up Shimizu but Shimizu slides away, superkick by Shimizu but Makoto delivers a spear. She goes off the ropes but Shimizu slams her, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They roll to their own corners and tag in Yuko and Yoneyama, shoulderblock by Yuko to Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits Mongolian Chops.

Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Yuko hits a scoop slam, she tries to go off the ropes but Maika hits her from the apron. Maika comes in, Yuko fights them off briefly but ultimately Maika and Yoneyama run through some double team moves successfully. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle but hits her before she can jump off, Amikura gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and puts her upside down in the opposite corner. All three COLOR’S members attack Yoneyama, Yuko covers Yoneyama but it gets two. Yuko picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama cradles her, Yuko gets a Dragon Sleeper applied before hitting the Final Cut, but the cover is broken up. All six wrestlers end up in the ring, the veterans get the upper hand and Yoneyama cradles Yuko for the three count! Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto are the winners.

This was a little rough around the edges but not actively bad. There were bound to be some issues here – the COLOR’S team are generally well trained and solid enough wrestlers, but they aren’t high end wrestlers either and sometimes there were some awkward moments. Facing off against new opponents no doubt didn’t help, as the chemistry wasn’t really there. The veteran team clearly had the experience edge but they didn’t really “control” the action as they probably should have, with the exception of Makoto who is pretty entertaining. The hot ending helped and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive, but if this match wasn’t on the show at all I don’t think it would have hurt anything as it just came across as midcard fodder.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi

Kaho kicks Hiroyo during the handshake and starts on Hiroyo’s wrist, headlock by Kaho but Hiroyo Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Hiroyo goes off the ropes as does Kaho, jumping shoulderblock by Kaho but Hiroyo stays up and knocks over Kaho with her own shoulderblock. Kaho kips up and hits an armdrag off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring. Kaho goes off the ropes to do a dive but rolls back into the ring instead before posing to the crowd. Hiroyo seems annoyed as she returns to the ring, front necklock by Kaho but Hiroyo blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and puts her across the second rope in the corner, she charges in and knees Kaho in the midsection. Double kneedrop by Hiroyo and she covers Kaho for two. Hiroyo stomps on Kaho and chops her in the corner, she chops Kaho around the ring as Kaho takes the abuse and asks for more. Kaho eventually Flair Flops, Hiroyo approaches Kaho but Kaho cradles her for two. Dropkick by Kaho and she stomps on Hiroyo’s foot repeatedly, Hiroyo blocks a slam attempt but Kaho wiggles away from her and dropkicks Hiroyo in the arm. Kaho gets Hiroyo on her shoulders but collapses under the weight, both wrestlers slowly get up and Kaho knocks over Hiroyo with a dropkick.

Another dropkick by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring, Kaho goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Hiroyo with a plancha suicida. Kaho slides Hiroyo into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Kaho picks up Hiroyo, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo blocks the cradle and hits a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and the two trade elbows, Kaho goes to stomp on Hiroyo’s foot but Hiroyo does so first and slams Kaho face-first into the mat. Reverse double kneedrop out of the corner by Hiroyo, but Kaho kicks out of the cover. Kaho fires up but Hiroyo elbows her, she goes for the Liger Bomb but Kaho gets away from her and hits a hurricanrana for two. La Magistral by Kaho, but that gets a two as well. Kick to the face by Kaho and she hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Hiroyo kicks out. Kaho goes off the ropes but Hiroyo levels her with a back elbow, but Kaho rolls through the cover. Kaho goes for the 120% Schoolboy but Hiroyo rolls through it, elbows by Kaho but Hiroyo elbows her back. Step-up Enzuigiri by Kaho and she goes off the ropes, but Hiroyo levels her with a lariat. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and nails the Liger Bomb, cover by Hiroyo and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner!

While the match wasn’t long, it certainly hit all the right notes. Kaho hasn’t lost a beat as she really brought it to Hiroyo, she couldn’t match her strength so instead she focused on speed and wit. In the end, Hiroyo’s power was too much and she put away the smaller wrestler, but Kaho had several close nearfalls so it was certainly not a lopsided affair. Kaho using the Flair Flop as a possum move was great as it made me go from “well that was kind of goofy” to respecting her methodology. I loved that even though she was the higher ranked wrestler that Hiroyo still respected Kaho’s finisher (120% Schoolboy) by not kicking out of it, leaving it as a move that Kaho still had in her back pocket up to the end to get a flash win. Fast paced and entertaining from bell to bell, a typical Kaho match that may not end up being the match everyone remembers from the show but a really fun contribution to the event as we roll onto the big matches.  Recommended

ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou

ASUKA and Anou start the match, they do a pose off as they compete for the crowd’s attention, but that doesn’t last long as ASUKA hits Anou with a hard elbow. Anou elbows her back and they trade shots, headbutt by ASUKA but Anou avoids her boot and hits one of her own. Anou throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA hops on the top turnbuckle, leading to Anou backing off. She tags in SAKI while Yuu also tags in, Yuu and SAKI lock up and Yuu pushes SAKI into the corner. SAKI responds to her kindness with elbows, hard shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI avoids her senton and hits a boot. She tags Anou but stays in the ring, they try to double team Yuu but Yuu hits a double crossbody on both of them. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA chokes Anou with her boot in the corner with some help from Makoto who is at ringside. Sliding kick by ASUKA to Anou, and she covers her for two. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou catches her leg and hits a dragon screw. Anou starts on ASUKA’s leg but Yuu breaks things up, ASUKA picks up Anou and tags Yuu in. Yuu picks up Anou and hits a running elbow in the corner, cross armbreaker attempt by Yuu as SAKI tries to help her partner but ASUKA holds her back. Anou makes it to the ropes anyway, elbow drop by Yuu but Anou bridges out of the cover. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA kicks Anou around the ring before putting her in Paradise Lock and posing on her.

Yuu sits on Anou which actually gets Anou out of the Paradise Lock, annoying ASUKA. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou rolls away and hits a step-up enzuigiri, giving her time to tag SAKI. SAKI kicks ASUKA and hits a vertical suplex, SAKI knees ASUKA in the corner and hits a Reverse Splash for two. SAKI picks up ASUKA but ASUKA pokes her in the eyes and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Yuu, shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI lands in her corner and tags Anou. Missile dropkick by Anou, she goes for a slam but Yuu blocks it. SAKI comes in to help but Yuu hits a vertical suplex on both of them, Yuu puts Anou in a crab hold but Anou gets to the ropes for the break. Senton by Yuu and she covers Anou for a two count. Yuu gets up on the second turnbuckle but SAKI grabs her from the apron, running elbow by Anou and she joins Yuu. Frankensteiner attempt by Anou but Yuu catches her, Anou recovers and hits the Frankensteiner anyway followed by a sliding kick for two. Anou tags SAKI, SAKI goes to suplex Yuu but she can’t get her up. SAKI gets Yuu to the mat and puts her in an armtrap crossface, but Yuu gets a boot on the ropes for the break. SAKI goes off the ropes but Yuu tosses her to the mat, SAKI charges Yuu but Yuu hits a jumping crossbody. Yuu charges SAKI and delivers a cannonball, cover by Yuu but SAKI gets a shoulder up.

Yuu picks up SAKI but Anou runs in and boots her in the face, SAKI drives Yuu’s head into the mat and both wrestlers tag out. ASUKA and Anou trade boots, Anou gets ASUKA’s back and drops her with a release German. Anou picks up ASUKA and hits a step-up enzuigiri, superkick by ASUKA and she hits a second one for a two count. SAKI comes in but ASUKA hits a springboard moonsault off the ropes onto both opponents, with both falling out of the ring. Yuu gets in the ring, she drops down and rolls out onto both SAKI and Anou. ASUKA goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a moonsault, but SAKI and Anou both move out of the way. Anou and SAKI attempt to double team ASUKA but it backfires, and ASUKA hits Anou repeatedly with chairs. Anou regains the advantage as the brawl at ringside continues, ASUKA and Anou end up in the crowd while SAKI and Yuu follow. The referee eventually figures he has given them enough leeway returning to the ring and calls for the bell. The match is a Double Count Out.

While I am not a big fan of moderately random matches on shows like this not having a conclusive ending, this was still pretty good. I do think there are storyline reasons where count outs, draws, etc. are fine, but as a general rule if the match doesn’t have a *reason* for a non-ending I’d rather it have one, it just gives fans a more satisfying feeling. I am not sure if we’ll ever see a pay-off from this and if we don’t, what was the point? That aside, the action was solid but something was missing. There were multiple stories going on (ASUKA and Yuu not always getting along, Saori/ASUKA hating each other, random limb work?) but it didn’t really mesh into a cohesive tag match. The pieces were there, they just never really joined them together so the match didn’t have a lot of flow to it. Still a good match as these four couldn’t have a bad match if they tried, but a little disappointing as I feel it could have been even better.  Mildly Recommended

Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Takase and Maya start the match and start off trading holds, snapmare by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back. Takase wants more so Maya kicks her again, more kicks by Maya but Takase ducks the PK. Irish whip by Maya and but Takase hits an armdrag, kick to the chest by Maya but Takase kips up and chops Maya in the chest. They end up in a stalemate and both tag out, bringing in Ryo and Rina. Ryo and Rina lock knuckles, headlock by Ryo and she gets Rina to the mat. Rina gets back up and reverses the hold, they try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks with Rina eventually sending Ryo down. Rina knocks Takase off the apron as Maya comes in the ring, and they both attack Ryo while she is tied up in the ropes. Rina tags in Maya, kicks by Maya but Ryo elbows her back and the two trade blows. Maya gets the better of things, Rina returns and they go for a suplex but Ryo blocks it. Ryo knocks over both of them and stacks her opponents in the corner, lots of chops by Ryo and she hits a lariat on Maya. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. She tags Takase but Maya kicks Takase and hits a backbreaker. Bootscrapes by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back, they trade strikes until Takase gets Maya against the ropes.

Lariat by Takase but Maya ducks the next one and hits a kick combination. Trip by Maya and she delivers a sliding kick, she tags in Rina and Rina lariats Takase in the corner. Scoop slam by Rina, Takase gets back up and Rina hits a hard elbow. Takase chops her in return but Rina hits another elbow and goes for a Sleeper. Takase runs into the corner to get out of the hold, Rina goes off the ropes but Takase catches her with a DDT followed by a cutter. Irish whip by Takase out of the corner, reversed, but Takase rebounds off the turnbuckle with a missile dropkick for two. Takase goes for a suplex but Rina easily reverses it into one of her own, she goes off the ropes but Takase hits a powerslam for a two count. She tags in Ryo, Rina and Ryo both connect with strikes until Ryo drops Rina with an overhead suplex. Rina quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex, sliding lariat by Rina and she covers Takase for two. Lariat by Rina, and she covers Ryo for two. Rina picks up Ryo but Ryo slides away and both wrestlers lariat each other to the mat. Rina tags in Maya, Maya goes to the top turnbuckle and comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Jumping knee by Maya and she kicks Ryo in the chest for a quick two count. Maya rolls Ryo to the mat and applies a submission hold, but Ryo gets a toe on the ropes to force a break. Maya goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her boot and Takase levels Maya with a spear.

Dropkick by Takase and she assists Ryo with a side slam, Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle as Takase hits a Kamikaze. Diving legdrop by Ryo, but Rina breaks up the cover. All four wrestlers trade running strikes, Rina lariats Maya by accident but on the second attempt she successfully lariats Ryo and Takase (and knocks out Maya in the process). Maya recovers and hits a dual superkick to Ryo, Rina goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Running knee by Maya, but Takase breaks up the cover. Maya charges Ryo but Ryo moves, strike combination by Maya but Ryo hits a hard lariat. Maya pops up just to eat another lariat, Ryo charges Maya but Maya kicks her to the mat. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, and she covers Ryo for two. Sliding knee by Maya, but again Takase breaks up the cover. Maya picks up Ryo but Ryo blocks the Tiger Driver, high kick by Maya but Ryo blocks it again. Uranage by Ryo and she hits a spear, picking up a two count. Ryo goes off the ropes and delivers a hard lariat, she drags Maya back to her feet and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Miyuki Takase are the winners!

One can’t help but compare this match to the one that came before it, as both had Freelance tag teams and went about the same amount of time. This match was much better, and a number of things helped it. First, both of the teams wrestled like they were a real team, lots of team work and fluid setups that kept the match interesting. It also had a real ending, which I appreciate, and there was more of a sense of urgency with all four of them. It didn’t hurt that Maya really brought her A Game, she is really underappreciated as far as in-ring ability goes and she was firing on all cylinders here. Ryo was more grounded, which I liked, and both Rina and Miyuki looked great as well. Just four talented wrestlers beating the hell out of each other for twenty minutes, what is not to love? Easily the best match on the card and worth watching, its going to slot below other matches in 2022 that maybe had more of a backstory and emotion behind it but as far as in-ring action goes it doesn’t get much better than this.  Highly Recommended

The post NOMADS’ “Freelance Summit” on 5/20/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2021, or any championship that was held when 2021 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and match importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2021.

2021 continued to be impacted by the pandemic, even as many promotions returned to a more normal schedule. The trend of “more Joshi” being available via streaming methods continued, which is great, but also made it harder to keep up with everything. I did my best to do so however, and attempted to come up with a Top 20 list that I feel best shows who in lead the Joshi landscape during these unusual times.

Onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2021!

1. Syuri (Stardom)

Championships Held: SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship (365 days), Goddess of Stardom Championship (272 days), and the World of Stardom Championship (3 days)
Biggest Matches: with Giulia vs. Himeka and Maika on 4/4, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 6/12, vs. Momo Watanabe on 9/25, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Utami Hayashishita in Stardom on June 12th, 2021

14 years after she debuted in professional wrestling, Syuri finally had the year that her fans always knew she was capable of. After years of being a Freelancer or focusing on her MMA career, Syuri finally got the chance to take over in Stardom and she did not disappoint. Syuri had a dominant year in both singles and tag matches, going 13-0-1 in title matches. She also won the Stardom FIVE STAR GP, the most prestigious annual tournament in Joshi. As far as match quality, she had one of the best matches of the year against Utami in June, and had five matches rated **** or higher by the Wrestling Observer (all singles matches). She capped off the year winning the World of Stardom Championship, as she goes into 2022 as the top wrestler in the promotion. A hell of a year for Syuri, and one that her fans have long been waiting for.

2. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship (363 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Bea Priestly on 4/4, vs. Syuri on 6/12, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/25, vs. Takumi Iroha on 10/9, vs. Syuri on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Syuri in Stardom on June 12th, 2021

Even though Utami Hayashishita only held one title in 2021, it happened to be the top title in Stardom and she held it for virtually the entire year. In her title reign she had a number of high-end defenses, including wins over Bea Priestley, Takumi Iroha, Hazuki, and Maika. She only stumbled when facing Syuri, as she went 0-2-2 against her in singles matches, which is the reason Syuri ranking over her was an easy decision. At only 23 years old, Utami is poised to lead Stardom for many years to come if that is the path she decides to take in her career.

3. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro)

Championships Held: Tokyo Joshi Pro Princess Of Princess Championship (242 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Rika Tatsumi on 5/4, vs. Yuka Sakazaki on 6/6, vs. Sakisama on 6/26, vs. Mizuki on 7/31, vs. Maki Itoh on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Maki Itoh in Tokyo Joshi Pro on October 9th, 2021

What really puts Miyu Yamashita over the top isn’t just her success in Tokyo Joshi Pro, but her popularity and her ability to put on high-end matches against a variety of opponents. She had four successful title defenses in 2021, and over the course of the year she was 18-1 in singles matches, with her only loss being against Mizuki in the Tokyo Princess Cup. To show her level of popularity in Japan, she finished 4th in the Weekly Pro Magazine fan voting for Joshi MVP, the highest of any non-Stardom wrestler.

4. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (294 days) and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (16 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Rina Yamashita on 2/20, with Tsukushi vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki on 2/21, vs. Maya Yukihi on 3/27, vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto on 8/9, vs. Tsukushi Haruka on 11/13
Best Match: vs. Tsukushi Haruka in Ice Ribbon on November 13th, 2021

With Ice Ribbon going through some turmoil in 2021, their long time Ace took back over as she won the ICExInfinity Championship for the first time since 2018 and held it for the bulk of the year. She was an extremely active champion, with 11 title defenses and wins over Hiroyo Matsumoto, Tsukushi Haruka, and Maya Yukihi along the way. She also had a brief run with the tag titles, although she had no successful defenses of the belt. Tsukasa Fujimoto was the undisputed leader of Ice Ribbon in 2021, showing that even at 38 years old she is one of the best in Joshi wrestling.

5. Tam Nakano (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (301 days) and the Artist of Stardom Championship (276 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Giulia on 3/3, with Cosmic Angels vs. STARS on 3/7, vs. Natsupoi on 4/4, with Cosmic Angels vs. Queen’s Quest on 7/6, vs. Starlight Kid on 7/21, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 10/9, vs. Saya Kamitani on 11/27
Best Match: vs. Giulia in Stardom on March 3rd, 2021

Tam Nakano had a hell of a year in 2021. She entered the year as one of the Artist of Stardom champions, but her big moment came when she finally defeated Giulia in a Title vs. Hair match in March to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She held the title for almost the rest of the year, with successful defenses against Natsupoi, Starlight Kid, and Mina Shirakawa before losing the belt to Saya Kamitani. As the leader of the Cosmic Angels, Tam was frequently in major storylines and was a constant focus of the promotion. Easily the biggest year of her career, Tam showed in 2021 she has what it takes to lead a promotion.

6. Maya Yukihi (Freelancer)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Openweight Championship (137 days) and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (257 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 3/27, with Maika Ozaki vs. Dropkicks on 4/11, vs. Kaori Yoneyama on 7/18, with Sera vs. Matsumoto and Fujimoto on 8/9, vs. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Saori Anou vs. Yumi Ohka on 8/18, with Sera vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki on 11/13, vs. Yuu on 12/30
Best Match: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto in Ice Ribbon on March 27th, 2021

Maya Yukihi is a constant force in Joshi, as even though she is a Freelancer she has a regular home in both Ice Ribbon and OZ Academy. As a regular, that gives her more consistent opportunities in both promotions, and she took full advantage in 2021 as she found success in both places. In OZ Academy, she won the Openweight Championship in August and held it the rest of the year, with one successful defense against Yuu. Over in Ice Ribbon, her “nicer” persona won the tag titles twice, with nine successful defenses between her two reigns. Being one of the top wrestlers in two different promotions is quite a feat, and I expect that trend to continue in 2022.

7. Rina Yamashita (Freelancer)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon FantastICE Championship (187 days), Daily Sports Tag Team Championship (241 days), King of FREEDOM Tag Team Championship (107 days), and the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (2 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 2/20, vs. ASUKA on 3/17, vs. Risa Sera on 6/27, vs. Suzu Suzuki on 8/9, vs. with Nakamori vs. Cherry and Leon on 8/29, with Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Aoki and Kuragaki on 12/30
Best Match: vs. Suzu Suzuki in Ice Ribbon on August 9th, 2021

I love Rina Yamashita. She is capable of wrestling such a diverse style, and is so well-respected by promotions that she held titles in 2021 in FOUR different promotions. OZ Academy and Ice Ribbon were her primary homes in 2021, as she won the hardcore-friendly FantastICE Championship in Ice Ribbon and ended the year winning the OZ Academy Tag Championship with Hiroyo Matsumoto. She also held titles in PURE-J and FREEDOMS, showing her versatility. More wild and unpredictable than your average Joshi wrestler, Yamashita brings a sense of danger to all her matches and is captivating to watch. Yamashita may not ever find a permanent home but she is doing quite well for herself as one of the most popular Freelancers on the Joshi market.

8. Giulia (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (62 days) and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship (272 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Starlight Kid on 2/13, vs. Tam Nakano on 3/3, with Syuri vs. Himeka and Maika on 4/4, with Syuri vs. Mayu and Starlight Kid on 5/15, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 8/1
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on March 3rd, 2021

The only thing that held Giulia back in 2021 was an injury that kept her out for a few months, but she still stayed in the spotlight in Stardom as one of their most important wrestlers. She had a great match in March against Tam Nakano, in which she ended up losing her hair. Giulia had no issue rocking the “short hair” look however and never really missed a beat, as she held the tag titles with Syuri for the bulk of the year. As the leader of DDM she was the focus of multiple major storylines, and ended the year defeating Konami in Konami’s last match before going on a long-term break. Even a “down” year for Giulia is a damn good one, and she’ll look to rebound in 2022.

9. Mei Suruga (Gatoh Move)

Championships Held: Asia Dream Tag Championship (365 days) and the Princess Tag Team Championship (175 days)
Biggest Matches: with Akki vs. Emi Sakura and Fujita on 3/27, with Sakisama vs. Tenma and Aino on 4/17, with Sakisama vs. BeeStar on 5/4, vs. Minoru Fujita on 6/12, with Sakisama vs. Maki Itoh and Yamashita on 6/17, vs. Emi Sakura on 8/9/21, with Sakisama vs. Sugar Rabbits on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Emi Sakura in Gatoh Move on August 9th, 2021

When I was compiling the ranking, I really struggled with the rest of the list as almost every wrestler has a different justification for being ranked ahead of another. What put Mei over the the top for me (if I can be permitted to put kayfabe aside) is her run in Tokyo Joshi Pro. As Mei Saint-Michel, Mei won the tag titles with Sakisama and together they had two successful defenses during their 175 day run. It also helps that Mei’s matches are extremely accessible, which builds up her popularity and makes all her bigger matches available to watch. In Gatoh Move, Mei held the tag titles for the entire year, with nine successful defenses. Mei may have reached her ceiling if she remains primarily in Gatoh Move, but even though she is in a smaller promotion she still puts on great matches and has a wide fanbase that spans the globe.

10. Miyuki Takase (AgZ)

Championships Held: AgZ Championship (94 days) and the Diana Tag Team Championship (289 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. SAKI on 4/4, with Umesaki vs. 3A on 4/18, vs. Rin Kadokura on 7/1, vs. Leon on 12/13
Best Match: vs. Mio Momono in WAVE on June 1st, 2021

Miyuki Takase gained more visibility in 2021 due to wrestling in more promotions and AgZ regularly updating their streaming service, but she was hurt by missing a chunk of the year due to an injury. Miyuki only had 60 matches during the year but made the most of it, as she held titles in two different promotions. Miyuki’s epic run as AgZ Champion ended in 2021, but she continued to be the best wrestler in the promotion. In WAVE, she won the Catch the WAVE Tournament, which is still one of the most prestigious Joshi tournaments even though WAVE itself has dropped in popularity. In Diana, Miyuki had two runs with their tag team championship, although she had a lack of defenses due to missing so much time. As the year ended, AgZ folded their wrestling division so Miyuki officially became a Freelancer. Hopefully she can turn that into a successful 2022 as she is well regarded in several Joshi promotions from her work over the years.

11. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’) – Chihiro again fails to crack the Top 10 for the same reason as last year – visibility. Sendai Girls’ doesn’t run as many shows as other promotions, and not as many of their events “make air” as they don’t have a dedicated streaming service. Hopefully next year we will get to see more of Chihiro as the matches we have seen (vs. Mio Momono and vs. Takumi Iroha in particular) were great and she deserves more attention.

12. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG) – The only thing holding back Arisa Nakajima is she continues to have a light schedule, with only 32 matches on the year. Seven of those matches were title matches however, so when Arisa did wrestle she wrestled with a purpose. Over the course of the year she held three titles (SEAdLINNNG singles, SEAdLINNNG tag, and PURE-J tag) and continued to put on high-end matches. I’d like to see more of Arisa, but she seems to be happy with her current situation and she has certainly earned the lighter workload after the long career she has had.

13. Starlight Kid (Stardom) – In regards to growth in 2021, few wrestlers had the success of Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid has been a great wrestler for years, but she stepped up her game in 2021 not only by winning the High Speed Championship but turning on her friends and joining Oedo Tai. Ever since she became more…. dark, she’s become one of the stars of the promotion as she was immediately thrust into several major storylines. She is still a little young and undersized to expect a climb to the top in 2022, but I’m not going to be the one to doubt her as she has shown she is capable of anything.

14. Maki Itoh (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Like Starlight Kid, Maki Itoh is here on the list due to her growth in popularity. Arguably the most popular wrestler in Tokyo Joshi Pro, Itoh didn’t win any titles in 2021 but did win the Tokyo Princess Cup when she defeated Shoko Nakajima in the Finals. She challenged twice for the Princess of Princess Championship without success, so even though she didn’t win as many matches as she’d have liked, she stayed in the main event scene. Itoh’s career path is one of the harder ones to predict, but I don’t see her popularity waning anytime soon.

15. Leon (PURE-J) – Leon dominated PURE-J in 2021, holding both the Openweight Championship and the PURE-J Tag Team Championship. At 41 years old, Leon is still a very good wrestler but doesn’t put on the high end matches anymore that many others on this list do. Still, she provided the old school promotion with stability and due to their streaming services, virtually all of her big matches were available for fans to watch.

16. ASUKA/Veny (Freelancer) – ASUKA was everywhere in 2021, as they wrestled in over a dozen promotions over the course of the year. ASUKA’s main home was SEAdLINNNG, where they won both the singles and tag team championship. A very active Freelancer that puts on high end matches wherever they go, even though in some ways this was a down year for ASUKA I am sure they will rebound next year and find even more success.

17. Nagisa Nozaki (Pro Wrestling WAVE) – Nagisa continues to lead a promotion that no one watches, due to WAVE not having a regular streaming service and most of their events only being available via PPV. Nagisa won the Regina Di WAVE Championship in August and held it for the rest of the year, however she only had one successful defense in that time. She is a very solid wrestler, not spectacular but whenever her matches do become available they are generally entertaining. I hated to have a promotion with no representation and Nagisa is the best pick from WAVE, but if you haven’t seen any of her matches from 2021 I assure you that you are not alone.

18. Tsukushi Haruka (Ice Ribbon) – Now that Suzu Suzuki is gone from Ice Ribbon, Tsukushi becomes the wrestler most likely to take the role of Ace from Tsukasa Fujimoto. She started that process by winning the ICExInfinity Championship in November – she has held many titles in Ice Ribbon before but this time it feels more serious as Tsukushi is now an adult and has started using her last name. A spunky murder machine, Tsukushi is poised for a big 2022 if she can keep up her current momentum.

19. Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Rika started the year hot but cooled off a bit as it came to a close. She came into 2021 the Princess of Princess Champion but lost the title in May and did not even challenge for any other titles for the rest of the year. She is only ranked at all based on her being the top title holder for the first quarter, but by the end of the year she had been passed by several other Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. Rika is going to have to re-find that magic in 2022 or she will likely drop off the list altogether.

20. Suzu Suzuki (Ice Ribbon/Prominence) – Suzu gets the final spot this year (there are a dozen wrestlers that could have a legitimate argument for being on this list that aren’t) mostly due to her love of being blown up. Suzu turned to hardcore wrestling in 2021, which apparently is her true love and she wrestled anyone she could find that didn’t mind some extra pain. Her love for deathmatches helped lead to her leaving Ice Ribbon and forming her own group, which needless to say was a major step for the young wrestler. It remains to be seen if her venture will be a success, but I respect her willingness to risk it all by giving up her comfy Ice Ribbon “future Ace” role for the less steady realm of Joshi hardcore wrestling.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2021 appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE”
Date: May 23rd, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 714
Broadcast: Streamed on FITE TV

Reviewing wrestling events can bring many different emotions, but an emotion you never want to have is sadness. I knew, like many others, that watching this event was going to be hard. A year ago today, Hana Kimura tragically passed away, and her death impacted people across the globe. Hana had everything – she was a great wrestler, charismatic, had a great look, and had fans invested in everything she did. But more importantly she was a great, loving, and incredible person that had her whole life in front of her. Having her Memorial show on the one year anniversary is fitting, as it brought new attention to the circumstances of her death and gave her friends a way to publicly celebrate her life, which I 100% support. But its going to be hard, the hardest wrestling event I’ve watched in 30 years of being a wrestling fan. Here is the card:

• HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose
• Battle Royal with Menso-re Oyaji, Tsutomu Oosugi, Hagane Shinnou, Yuko Miyamoto, Shotaro Ashino, Banana Senga, Gabai Ji-chan, Lingerie Muto, Yusuke Kodama, Super Delfin, Fuminori Abe, Miyuki Takase, Mika Iwata, DASH Chisako, Chihiro Hashimoto, Hanako Nakamori, Ram Kaicho, Cherry, Moeka Haruhi, Yuki Miyazaki, Eiger, Andras Miyagi, Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota), Jun Kasai, Masato Tanaka, Jinsei Shinzaki, and CIMA
• Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH Yama-san vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono
• ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

As you can see, a very interesting cast but it is filled with wrestlers that had a real life connection with Hana Kimura or her mother Kyoko Kimura (or both) as this memorial event is as much for them as it is for us, to say their final goodbyes. You’ll note only a few active Stardom wrestlers make an appearance, which is at least partly because Stardom opted to run an event on the same day, but that’s another topic for another time. I’m not going to do my typical review for this one as I’m probably going to be too emotionally into the event to be typing constantly, but I hope to not only discuss the matches but help newer fans that may not watch a lot of Joshi matches with who all the wrestlers are. As always, you can click on the Joshi wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

After a musical and dance opening, the show began after a quick video montage of Hana Kimura.

HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose

I haven’t watched men’s promotions in Japan with any regularity in probably five or six years, so this was a fun throwback for me as I remember these guys from when I used to review every small underground indie promotion I could find. These six all are seasoned vets and know their way around the ring, and a six wrestler tag is a pretty straight-forward opener. Shota played the Face in Peril here which made sense – its not about the quality of wrestler but everyone loves wrestlers with masks and Shota probably had the least intimidating look of everyone in the match. So he got beaten for the first third of the match by HUB and Shisao in particular until the crowd finally spurred him to get out of the match.

They wrestled this under Lucha Tag Rules, meaning a wrestler didn’t have to make a tag to no longer be the legal wrestler, they just had to bail out of the ring and reach the floor. I wish the commentators had explained this as new fans were no doubt confused on why wrestlers weren’t always tagging, but in a laid back affair like this one I doubt anyone was too concerned. After five minutes they gave up with the “focus on one wrestler” plan which was for the best as all six of these guys have cool looking moves so no reason to not show off. HUB whipping everyone with his mask tail was entertaining as was HUB in general, Hana had good taste in wrestlers as HUB was always my favorite small-time indie wrestler. Great look, great wrestler. The match ended up being the HUB Show which was the way I would I gone too, honestly he at any point in his career could have been a player in a larger promotion. In the end, HUB planted Mil Mongoose into the mat and picked up the easy three count. The winners are HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8!

For an opener, I enjoyed it, but honestly they didn’t even need the first five minutes. The Shota beatdown segment was fine but was really just filler as once that was over, they just started quickly changing the legal wrestlers while everyone got a chance to hit their moves. That part of the match was quite enjoyable, the “lucharesu” style is entertaining with its quick speed and all six know the style well so there were no hiccups. HUB was and is great, so him being featured was a big plus not just for me personally but also considering his background with Hana Kimura. Overall a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal

A quick run-down of the Joshi wrestlers among the opening group:

• Miyuki Takase – The Ace of Actwres girl’Z, frequently wrestles in WAVE and Diana as well
• Mika Iwata – Young wrestler from Sendai Girls’, had a feud with Hana Kimura from 2017 to 2018 that led to several fun matches
• DASH Chisako – Veteran wrestler from Sendai Girls’
• Chihiro Hashimoto – The Ace of Sendai Girls’
• Ram Kaicho – Started as a child wrestler in Triple Six and went to school with Hana Kimura, she is still affiliated with Triple Six but also wrestles in Ice Ribbon
• Cherry – Long time veteran wrestler that wrestled most of her career in DDT, currently a Freelancer
• Yuki Miyazaki – Long time veteran wrestler from Pro Wrestling WAVE
• Hanako Nakamori – The Ace of PURE-J
• Moeka Haruhi – Long time Freelancer

With more wrestlers to come, it is assumed there would be some surprise entries from Hana and/or Kyoko’s past as the match progressed. In fact before the match could even start we got our first surprise, as Super Delfin makes his way down to the match. Super Delfin is a legend from indie wrestling’s past and also wrestled in New Japan, everyone knows and loves Super Delfin which I think is safe to assume includes Hana as well. The match starts pretty standard and playful, it should be noted that Battle Royals in Japan tend to be more lighthearted affairs than those in the US. But soon we get three new entries as Eiger, Andras Miyagi, and Yusuke Kodama come down! Quick recap of the Joshi wrestlers:

• Eiger (or Aiger) – A “ghost” wrestler who officially hails from LLPW-X but mostly wrestles in Sendai Girls’, likes to scare children
• Andras Miyagi – Also known as Cassandra Miyagi, current a Freelancer but known for her work in Sendai Girls’ and Stardom

They immediately go after Moeka, who is creeped out by the group and in short order is eliminated by them. Ram Kaicho appears to join them as they all pose together, they turn to Gabai Ji-chan but he outsmarts them and with help he pins Eiger and Yusuke Kodama, so they are eliminated as well. Ji-chan loses his cane and turns it on, as everyone in the match stands around and watches his brand of comedy. They help him eliminated Miyagi, and then hold down Ji-chan so that both are eliminated. Hana Kimura’s music starts playing as someone dressed as her comes down to the ring, and it turns out to be the cosplay legend Sakura Hirota! 

• Sakura Hirota – Veteran from WAVE, best known for being a comedy wrestler and sometimes cosplaying as her opponents

Once Sakura is in the ring, things settle down as we get the usual Battle Royal fare (big group moves, isolated strike-fests, and the like). We do get a Super Delfin Tornado DDT and Delfin Clutch though on Menso-re Oyaji to eliminate him, which is always a pleasure, before he is quickly pinned himself. Iwata and Hirota trade kicks which is fitting as Iwata is a wrestler that had a feud with Hana Kimura, but everyone breaks them up and Sakura is the next one eliminated (along with Lingerie Muto). While I definitely appreciate Sakura’s contribution to the match, eliminating her quickly was probably a good move as once she did her Hana tribute it may have felt a little too ‘off’ to have someone in Hana’s gear hanging around the match long term.

After Miyuki Takase is eliminated a minute later, some new music plays as Jun Kasai comes down to the ring! One of the biggest hardcore legends still active in Japan, Kasai comes in with his skewers (to jam in people’s heads) which leads to the ring clearing out. Mika Iwata returns first but asks him for an autograph, which he gives before he is attacked from behind. Chihiro Hashimoto and Shotaro Ashino pair up in a Hoss Battle, but the ring slowly fills back up as Chihiro and Shotaro slam everyone. Deadlift German by Chihiro but the blob covers both of them after the move, so both are eliminated! While this happens, more music plays as ZERO1 veteran Masato Tanaka comes down to the ring!

Tanaka cleans house a bit as he eliminates Shinnou and Kodama, Miyazaki puts him in the Shy Hold but it gets broken up. Cherry gets involved but she is covered by the wrestler blob and is eliminated. Music plays again, as another legend comes to the ring – Jinsei Shinzaki! Shinzaki is from Michinoku Pro but has wrestled in WWE and New Japan as well. He goes for one of his signature moves on the majority of the wrestlers at the same time, the rope walk, but gets pushed out of the ring for his trouble and is eliminated. No one appreciates Banana Senga and Tsutomu Oosugi eliminating Shinzaki so quickly everyone pins them, eliminating the tag team as well. We get music over the loudspeaker which means a new participant – CIMA!

That is all the wrestlers we are getting as CIMA goes after Abe and eliminates him. Miyazaki goes after CIMA but gets knocked out of the ring and eliminated, and then CIMA eliminates Nakamori. CIMA doing God’s work and clearing the ring a bit as we are down to seven wrestlers. Chisako appears with a chair but Miyamoto takes it from her, Tanaka then takes the chair from him but Kasai takes it from Tanaka. Chisako dropkicks the chair into Kasai but Mika Iwata saves him. Pearl Harbor Splash by Kasai to Chisako and he gets the three count! DASH Chisako is eliminated. Miyamoto hits Iwata and Kasai with the chair but Kasai takes it and hits Miyamoto in the head with it. Iwata cradles Miyamoto afterwards, and he is eliminated! Iwata high fives Kasai but then kicks him low and tosses him from the ring, as Jun Kasai is eliminated. CIMA and Tanaka dump Iwata out of the ring to eliminate her, leaving us with three wrestlers – CIMA, Masato Tanaka, and Ram Kaicho.

Kaicho steps right up to them while CIMA and Tanaka trade shoves, they push her out of the way and continue going at it. DDT by Tanaka but CIMA hits a Lung Blower, Tanaka gets CIMA onto the apron but Ram Kaicho pushes CIMA to the apron as well. Ram Kaicho gets a running start and she dropkicks them both to the floor! Ram Kaicho is the last woman standing and is the winner!

As I mentioned a few times, Battle Royals in Japan are not serious, as no one is really claiming that Ram Kaicho could beat CIMA or Masato Tanaka in a regular match. But there is no shame in being defeated in a Battle Royal, and giving Hana’s old childhood friend the win was a touching tribute. There were fun spots throughout the match (loved seeing Super Delfin and Jinsei Shinzaki), and the surprising Mika Iwata/Jun Kasai subplot was entertaining. These matches are a little too long for my taste considering the entertaining sections are so spread out, but there were many fun moments and for fans that are familar with the wrestlers I am sure there will be something here that fans will enjoy.

Up to this point, the event has been pretty lighthearted. We started with music and dancing, a lucharesu match, and a mostly comedic Battle Royal. The tone is going to change a bit, as while the next two matches won’t be ‘downers’ they will be more serious with wrestlers that have more of a recent connection with Hana Kimura. We knew going into the show that Kagetsu was making a one-time appearance after retiring over a year ago, but we didn’t know she was bringing a special friend with her to really honor Hana the best way they knew how.

Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono

They are against four quality wrestlers with various connections to Hana. ASUKA was the closest to Hana, as they were also a tag team (when Hana wrestled outside of Stardom) and were friends. They are joined by Stardom wrestlers Natsupoi (formally Natsumi Maki) and Syuri, along with Mio Momono from Marvelous. All eight of these wrestlers are great and I am expecting a combination of tributes to Hana and the fast paced Joshi action that we are all accustomed to.

Kagetsu and Hazuki both have incorporated tie dye into their gear as a homage to Hana, giving them a fitting different look. One thing you should know about these wrestlers is that even though its a memorial match for Hana Kimura, and they are here for her, they are also incredibly competitive and no one was going to take it easy. While it is true that DEATH is more of a comedy gimmick and she did bring that to the table, at the end of the day she was far from the focus of the match as the others went in hard on each other. Seeing Hazuki again is such a treat as she was one of the most exciting wrestlers in Stardom, and the fact she seemed to have lost her passion for wrestling but still prepared for this event just really puts over how important it was to her to take part.

Kagetsu hasn’t missed a beat either and its kinda amazing that they are so good to not show an ounce of ring rust. If fans coming into the show didn’t know about the retirements, you’d have thought they were still active competitors. They didn’t go heavy with Hana-related spots, although Jungle Kyona did make a surprise appearance to pose with Konami and DEATH as she was in Tokyo Cyber Squad as well (she is currently unable to wrestle due to an injury). The fact they opted to not just make this a tribute match from bell to bell made the moments more special when they did honor Hana. Every segment was great – Kagetsu and Syuri had a quality exchange as did Mio Momono and Hazuki, and seeing Hazuki and Kagetsu do a final double tope suicida was an incredible moment. ASUKA being the wrestler that had to “overcome the odds” was a smart move due to their close connection to Hana Kimura, and their final exchange with Hazuki was well done. In the end, ASUKA took out everyone and made the cover on Hazuki, picking up the three count! Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono are the winners!

For fans of Stardom back in 2018, this really felt like an Oedo Tai throwback match with Kagetsu and Hazuki leading the way (with a little bit of cheating from Kyoko Kimura). I’ve said before that eight wrestler tags can make it hard for some wrestlers to shine and that was still the case here, as while Natsupoi and Syuri both hit their spots well and contributed, there are only so many opportunities and the match was simply laid out to make others shine. ASUKA, Hazuki, and Kagetsu all looked incredible and you’d have thought from watching this that these eight had wrestled many times before, due to the fluidity and pace they kept up. Mio Momono was the stealth star of the match, she not only is fierce but is sneakily charismatic and draws attention to whatever she is doing. While this may have been a bit better as a six wrestler tag due to the length of the match, the Oedo Tai/Tokyo Cyber Squad team needed four to really salute Hana Kimura so no complaints from me. This would have been an A+ match from me regardless just for the joy of seeing Kagetsu and Hazuki again, but when taking into account the meaning behind the match both for fans and the participants, its a no-breaker recommendation to watch.  Highly Recommended

On paper, that was the main event of the evening, but ASUKA had other plans. After the match, they challenged Kagetsu to a singles match, which needed approval from Kyoko Kimura and the crowd. All parties naturally agreed, so we are ending the show with a special first-time singles match between ASUKA and Kagetsu!

ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

ASUKA and Kagetsu clearly felt the best way to honor Hana Kimura was to put on a banger, and that is exactly what they did. Kagetsu was flying outside the ring like it was 2019 all over again, and ASUKA laid in the strikes hard. I have to respect their cardio as both were just in a match, then immediately jumped into a singles match without missing a beat. Kagetsu went out of her way to put over ASUKA, as ASUKA handled all of her offense while dishing out plenty in return. Which shows the level of unselfishness that Kagetsu has – she frequently put other wrestlers over even when she didn’t “have” to and knowing she is retired, she lost nothing by taking all of ASUKA’s offense. That’s not to say it was a one-side match as it was far from it – Kagetsu got to use the Oedo Tai board and nailed the Oedo Coaster for old time’s sake as they went back and forth, but once ASUKA got back in control the match was over. After a Blue Thunder Bomb, heel kick, chokeslam, and the Benibana Koromo, ASUKA was able to hold down Kagetsu for the three count. ASUKA is the winner!

A really entertaining sprint as they took their short time and did everything with it. ASUKA’s kiss to the sky before drilling Kagetsu with the Benibana Koromo was the perfect tribute, as they treated the match like a “regular” match but the meaning was always there – this was for Hana. Kagetsu returning from retirement to put on two great matches is pretty incredible, and she delivered everything in this match. The strikes, the pace, the heart, everything was there. And ASUKA was able to keep up, they have really been killing it the last couple years and hopefully this will give ASUKA more attention which is no doubt what Kagetsu wanted, and also what Hana Kimura would have wanted. A fantastic match to end a very memorable event.  Highly Recommended

After the main event, things got very emotional as Kagetsu spoke and a longer video package was shown with clips from Hana Kimura’s career. Once the video package was over, back to a live view of the ring, Kyoko Kimura was standing alone and holding a photo of Hana. Jungle Kyona performed the ten bell salute while the wrestlers stood at ringside, with their heads down as they no doubt were saying their own silent goodbyes. The video concluded with a video package with dozens of wrestlers from around the globe saying “Matane,” in memory of Hana.

The post Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE” on 5/23/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG 2021 Opening Match
Date: January 11th, 2021
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 467
Broadcast Information: Aired on Samurai TV! on 1/17/21

As I finally begin my 2021 Joshi viewing, lets start with SEAdLINNNG. I don’t watch near as much SEAdLINNNG as I should, which is something I hope to fix in 2021 as they pretty consistently put on quality shows. Their ‘home’ roster is very small but solid, featuring Arisa Nakajima, Nanae Takahashi, and Yoshiko. The best Freelancers also tend to swing by SEAdLINNNG, such as Rina Yamashita and ASUKA, giving them generally pretty complete events. This show has a big main event, as Best Friends take on Yoshiko and Sareee! Here is the full card:

• AKARI vs. Chikayo Nagashima vs. Ibuki Hoshi vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Leon vs. Tsukushi Haruka
• Aja Kong, Honori Hana, and Rina Yamashita vs. ASUKA, Makoto, and Riko Kaiju
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Tsukushi Haruka
• Itsuki Aoki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Miyuki Takase and Nanae Takahashi
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Sareee and Yoshiko

All wrestlers on the event have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s get to the fun.

AKARI vs. Nagashima vs. Ibuki Hoshi vs. Kobayashi vs. Leon vs. Tsukushi Haruka

They start with a melee as they pair up with each other, with wrestlers from the same promotion generally working together. Everyone gets made at Natsuki and attack her in the corner before singling out AKARI, but Leon helps her promotion-mate out. Leon gets attacked for her trouble as they try to throw her out of the ring, but she lands on the apron. While that is going on, Nagashima and Ibuki go into an exchange as they are left alone in the ring, they trade holds but neither can get an advantage. AKARI and Kaho run in and dropkick them so they can go at it, hard shoulderblock by AKARI but Kaho kips up. Armdrag by AKARI but Kaho returns the favor, both go for dropkicks but they both miss. Leon and Tsukushi trip them from the floor so they can take their turn, armdrag by Tsukushi but Leon cartwheels out of the next one. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Tsukushi, she goes off the ropes but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Ibuki  and Tsukushi take turns hitting Leon but AKARI runs in and dropkicks both of them. Leon and AKARI both apply submission holds but Kaho and Nagashima schoolboy them for two counts. Armdrag by Kaho to Nagashima and she applies an armbar, but Nagashima gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Kaho goes after Natsuki but Nagashima interrupts them, hurricanrana but Kaho but Nagashima rolls through it and they trade cradles. Tsukushi returns and they Irish whip Nagashima, making her go back and forth off the ropes before Kaho hits a dropkick. Tsukushi quickly cradles Kaho, but it only gets a two count. AKARI and Leon come in but they accidentally collide into each other, drop toehold by Tsukushi to Ibuki and she cradles her for the three count! Tsukushi wins and advances to the next match.

After a brief reset the remaining five get back into it, all five go for random cradles but none get a three count. AKARI wraps up Kaho in a submission, Ibuki tries to break it up but fails. Nagashima finally is able to free Kaho, AKARI and Leon double team Nagashima but Nagashima fights them off tries to kick Leon out of the ring. Nagashima is cradled from behind before she succeeds, senton by Kaho to Nagashima as all four wrestlers stomp out Nagashima. Nagashima fights them off with elbows before hitting a double lariat on Kaho and Natsuki (poor Natsuki), Leon dropkicks Nagashima on the apron and comes off the top but accidentally hits a missile dropkick on AKARI. Leon throws Kaho into the corner but Kaho drops her onto the apron when she charges in, Leon knocks Kaho back but Kaho avoids the Frog Splash. Kaho kicks Nagashima but Ibuki shoulderblocks her to the mat, diving crossbody by Ibuki to Kaho but AKARI dropkicks her. AKARI gets Kaho up but Kaho flips away from her, schoolboy by Kaho but Nagashima breaks it up with a footstomp. AKARI goes for a series of pins with no success on Nagashima, Nagashima reverses one into a cradle of her own and she gets the three count! Chikayo Nagashima wins and advances to the next match later tonight!

While I always viewed the High Speed matches as harmless fun, at best, sometimes I think “less is more” and this show may lean too far on the “more” side. Natsuki Taiyo has gone from occasionally getting involved in these matches to being almost an active participant, and there wasn’t a ton of substance to this match beyond the wrestlers from the same promotion tending to work together. If this was just the opener, no harm done, but since we have another High Speed match now later, it feels like a little too much of a gimmick that is cute but nothing more. Even on the High Speed match scale, this wasn’t their best effort.

Aja Kong, Honori Hana, and Rina Yamashita vs. ASUKA, Makoto, and Riko Kaiju

Rina and Makoto start the match, they trade wristlocks until Rina shoulderblocks Makoto to the mat. Makoto bridges out of the pin and hits a crossbody off the ropes, leading to Rina tagging in Kong while Riko also tags in. Riko tries to elbow Kong but it has no impact, Kong moves out of the way of Riko’s dropkick and kicks her in the ribs. Riko has had enough and tags in ASUKA, ASUKA slowly gets in the ring and lures Kong into a false sense of security before schoolboying her for two. Her teammates come in as they all stomp on Kong, but Kong fights them all off. We clip ahead to Makoto and Rina back in the ring, knee by Rina but Makoto delivers a Pump Kick. She tags in ASUKA, boots by both ASUKA and Makoto to Rina and ASUKA covers her for two. ASUKA picks up Rina but Rina gets her back, she goes for a suplex but ASUKA lands on her feet and connects with an elbow. Rina fires back with a hard lariat and tags in Kong, Kong goes for a suplex but ASUKA blocks it and hits a moonsault off the ropes for a two count. ASUKA grabs Kong but Kong ducks down and kicks her in the head. Kong goes for a lariat but ASUKA ducks it, punch by Kong and she plants ASUKA with a backdrop suplex for two. They trade strikes until ASUKA lands two kicks and nails a German suplex for a two count.

ASUKA goes to the top turnbuckle but Kong gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, both wrestlers struggle to crawl to their corners as they tag in Honori and Riko. Honori shoulderblocks Riko to the mat, she picks her up but Riko fights back and they trade elbows. Irish whip by Riko but Honori ducks the lariat and hits a shoulderblock. Dropkick by Riko, she elbows Honori into the corner but Honori reverses the Irish whip and hits a running elbow. ASUKA kicks Honori from the apron and gets in the ring, Makoto comes in too as all three boot Honori in the head. Riko goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Rina breaks up the cover. Superkick by Rina to Riko, Kong comes in and hits a lariat. Honori gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Honori but ASUKA breaks it up. Heel kick by ASUKA to Rina and she goes for Kong, but Kong blocks the suplex attempt. Makoto comes in to help but Kong suplexes both of them, spear by Honori to Riko but Riko gets the shoulder up. Honori goes for a couple flash pins with no luck, she picks up Riko and hits a scoop slam for two. Riko throws Honori into the corner but Honori avoids her charge, she goes for a cradle but Riko reverses it into a triangle choke. She struggles for a moment but has to tap out! ASUKA, Makoto, and Riko Kaiju are the winners.

This was a perfectly acceptable midcard match. While most of it was just your standard fare, they mixed in some fun moments such as ASUKA suplexing Kong to at least make you pay attention when the big hitters were in the match. I still am not sold on Honori and maybe SEAdLINNNG isn’t either, since she took the pin to the newer wrestler. Something just isn’t really clicking with her. But the veterans all looked good and it wasn’t long enough to get stale. Nothing special but nothing bad either.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Tsukushi Haruka

They get right into it with a kick from Tsukushi, Irish whip by Nagashima and she hits an armdrag. Tsukushi gets a few quick pin attempts with no luck, Tsukushi flies in to Nagashima but Nagashima catches her with a backdrop suplex. Rolling cradle by Nagashima, but it gets a two count. Nagashima picks up Tsukushi and knees her, she goes off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids her charge. They take turns running the ropes with Taiyo helping, but Tsukushi rolls out of the ring to try to catch her breath. Tsukushi returns but is met with a boot, scoop slam by Nagashima and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but Tsukushi recovers and knocks her out to the apron. Nagashima elbows Tsukushi and goes to the top turnbuckle, but again Tsukushi recovers and tosses Nagashima to the mat. Now it is Tsukushi that goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick, she runs off the ropes before applying a cover but it only gets a two count. Footstomp by Tsukushi and she goes to Taiyo for help, but Taiyo powerbombs her. Not sure why. Nagashima picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi cradles her, Taiyo kicks Tsukushi instead of counting and Nagashima hits a lariat for a two count. Nagashima goes for a suplex but Tsukushi gets out of it, elbows by Tsukushi and she goes after Taiyo. Taiyo avoids her for a bit until Tsukushi catches her and elbows Taiyo off the apron. Nagashima charges Tsukushi but Tsukushi holds down the top rope, leading to Nagashima landing on the apron. Tsukushi tries to kick of Nagashima but Taiyo helps her hang on, finally Tsukushi is able to kick them both off the apron and the match is over! Tsukushi wins by Over The Top.

I assume there were some elements to this match that I didn’t get just parachuting in, with Taiyo helping Nagashima when she normally helps Tsukushi, but for a midcard nothing match it wasn’t worth my trouble scrolling through websites to try to figure it out. Or it was just random anyway, who knows. I am sure some will love it but for me its just midcard filler, just too random and short to get excited about.

Itsuki Aoki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Miyuki Takase and Nanae Takahashi

Miyuki and Itsuki start off, they lock-up and exchange holds until Miyuki gets Itsuki to the mat with a headlock. Itsuki gets out of it and the two return to their feet, quickly going into an elbow exchange. Hard shoulderblock by Itsuki, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a dropkick. They tag out as Nanae and Ryo come in, they lock knuckles and go into a Test of Strength but break cleanly. Waistlock by Ryo but Nanae gets away and gets Ryo to the mat, kicks to the leg by Nanae and she puts Ryo in a necklock. Nanae tags Miyuki, Ryo quickly gets in control however and tags in Itsuki. Itsuki sets up Miyuki in the ropes and hits a body avalanche, double knee strike to the back by Itsuki and she covers Miyuki for two. She tags in Ryo, Ryo chops Miyuki into the corner and invites Itsuki to hold Miyuki so she can dance her way into a running lariat. Ryo picks up Miyuki but Miyuki fights back with elbows, Irish whip by Ryo to the corner but Miyuki rebounds out with a missile dropkick. Nanae runs in and they both chop Ryo in the corner, lariat by Miyuki but Ryo fights them both off with shoulderblocks and a double spear.

Elbows by Ryo to Miyuki but Miyuki hits a headbutt and applies a modified armbar on the mat. Itsuki tries to break it up but Nanae cuts her off, Miyuki keeps the hold on but Ryo eventually makes it to the ropes. Dropkick off the second rope by Miyuki and she hits a lariat followed by a cutter for a two count. Miyuki tags Nanae, lariat by Nanae in the corner but Ryo blocks the backdrop suplex attempt. Chops by Nanae but Ryo returns fire, jumping kick by Nanae and she covers Ryo for two. Lariat by Nanae but Ryo headbutts her, Ryo goes for a suplex but Nanae elbows her off. Overhead belly to belly suplex by Ryo and she hits a spear on Nanae for a two count. Ryo goes off the ropes but Nanae avoids her charge and hits a release German. Ryo quickly gets up and levels Nanae with a lariat, but Nanae returns the favor and both wrestlers end up down on the mat. Ryo gets to her corner and tags Itsuki, Itsuki throws Nanae in the corner and hits an elbow followed by a face crusher. Nanae chops Itsuki but Itsuki hits a lariat in the corner, she goes to the apron but Miyuki grabs her before she can do anything. This gives Nanae time to recover, she joins Itsuki and hits a superplex for a two count. Miyuki comes into the ring and hits a Kamikaze in front of the corner, Nanae goes for a body splash but Itsuki rolls out of the way.

STO by Itsuki but Nanae gets back to her feet quickly only to get hit with a side slam from Ryo. Ryo and Itsuki both grab Nanae and slam her to the mat, Miyuki runs in but she gets thrown on top of Nanae. Itsuki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Itsuki but Nanae gets a shoulder up. Bridging vertical suplex by Itsuki, but that gets a two count as well. Itsuki gets Nanae on her shoulders but Nanae wiggles off, Miyuki comes in but Nanae kicks her in the face by accident. Spear by Itsuki to Nanae, and she covers her for two. Backdrop suplex by Nanae, she goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a lariat for another two count. Itsuki goes off the ropes but Nanae hits a hard lariat of her own, Nanae picks up Itsuki but Ryo runs in. Nanae lariats Ryo while Miyuki comes in and hits a spear onto Itsuki. Nanae goes back to Itsuki and drops her with a reverse piledriver, but Ryo breaks up the cover. Lariat by Nanae to Itsuki, and she covers her for the three count! Nanae Takahashi and Miyuki Takase are the winners!

Even though this won’t end up on anyone’s MOTY list, it was a solid match. The best thing I can say about it is that even though it was 18+ minutes, the match never slowed down or had any moments that dragged, they just kept the action going from bell to bell. Nanae Takahashi is an acquired taste – she still has an old school 90s mindset and no-sells quite a bit, and long term selling isn’t really her thing. That is not to say she doesn’t sell at all, she does, but its on her own terms. I’d have liked for one of the younger wrestlers to get the pin rather than Nanae, but again that’s part of the deal too. Anyway, a good fast paced match with four quality wrestlers, even if the structure may not have been perfect.  Mildly Recommended

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Sareee and Yoshiko

Sareee and Arisa start the match, they go into a Test of Strength with Sareee ending up with a wristlock. Arisa gets out of it and applies a side headlock, Sareee tries to Irish whip out of it but Arisa keeps a hold of her hair. Irish whip by Arisa but Sareee blocks it and hits an elbow, with Arisa quickly returning the favor. Dropkick by Sareee, she goes off the ropes but Tsukasa runs in and Best Friends dropkick Sareee. Yoshiko also comes in and lariats both opponents, sending them out of the ring. Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto Arisa and Tsukasa, Sareee slides Arisa back into the ring and delivers a dropkick. Scoop slam by Sareee, and she covers Arisa for two. Sareee tags Yoshiko, Yoshiko grabs Arisa by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she delivers a running boot to Arisa’s face, she picks up Arisa but Arisa kicks her in the stomach. Arisa goes off the ropes but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, Sareee runs in and hops on Yoshiko’s back while Yoshiko hits a splash. Sareee goes back to the apron so that Yoshiko can tag her in, kicks by Sareee to Arisa but Arisa blocks the suplex attempt as the two trade footstomps. Stomps by Sareee and she puts Arisa in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and stomps more on Arisa. Dropkick by Sareee and she tags Yoshiko, kicks by Yoshiko to Arisa and she hits a running knee. Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko picks up Arisa, strike combination by Yoshiko but Arisa catches her with a bridging powerslam for two.

This gives her time to tag in Tsukasa, dropkick by Tsukasa to Yoshiko as Sareee runs in, but Tsukasa fights them both off. Tsukasa stacks them in the corner and hits a dropkick, kicks to the back by Tsukasa to Yoshiko but Yoshiko ducks the PK. Arisa runs in and boots Yoshiko instead, German suplex by Arisa to Yoshiko and Tsukasa applies a jackknife cover for two. Tsukasa goes for the Infinity but Yoshiko blocks it, Yoshiko gets Tsukasa on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop while Sareee hits a neckbreaker. Sareee gets on the second turnbuckle while Yoshiko hits a running senton, following with a diving footstomp. Reverse Splash by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko tags Sareee, dropkick by Sareee to Tsukasa but Tsukasa flips away from her and kicks her in the chest. Sareee and Tsukasa trade elbows until Sareee catches Tsukasa with a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sickle Hold by Sareee to Tsukasa while Yoshiko keeps Arisa busy, Sareee lets go after a moment and stomps on Tsukasa. Sareee goes for a suplex but Tsukasa lands on her feet and kicks Sareee in the back. Tsukasa gets Sareee on her shoulders but Yoshiko comes in and saves her, Yoshiko throws Sareee at Tsukasa but Tsukasa dropkicks both of them. PK by Tsukasa to Sareee and she tags Arisa, Arisa goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. German suplexes by Arisa to Sareee, but the last one she holds only gets two.

Arisa goes up top but Yoshiko grabs her from the apron, Sareee joins Arisa but Tsukasa runs in and dropkicks Sareee from behind. Arisa plants Yoshiko with a DDT on the apron, while Tsukasa goes up top with Sareee and hits a footstomp while Sareee is in the Tree of Woe. Arisa goes back up and hits a diving footstomp, but Sareee gets a shoulder up on the cover. Arisa knees Sareee while she picks her up, Arisa and Sareee trade elbows, lariat by Arisa but Sareee nails a dropkick. Sareee hits two more dropkicks before Yoshiko hits one as well from the apron, Sareee goes up top and hits a diving footstomp onto Arisa for a two count. Yoshiko rolls in and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Tsukasa runs over and kicks her off before she can do anything. Running double knee by Arisa to Sareee and she hits a trapped German for two. Yoshiko lariats Tsukasa but Tsukasa drops her with the Infinity, and all four wrestlers are down on the mat. Sareee and Arisa trade elbows as they get back up, German suplex hold by Sareee but Arisa kicks out. Sareee drops Arisa with a pair of Uranages, but again she can only get a two. Yoshiko comes in and holds Arisa while Sareee goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Sareee then picks up Arisa so that Yoshiko can hit a diving lariat, cover by Sareee but Tsukasa breaks it up. Sareee grabs Arisa but Arisa elbows her off, Yoshiko tries to help but she lariats Sareee by accident. Arisa catches Sareee with a half and half suplex hold for two. Arisa picks up Sareee and hits her with elbows, Tsukasa handles Yoshiko while Arisa hits a German suplex. Leg clutch suplex by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa drags Sareee to her feet and plants her with the DxD Suplex Hold, and she picks up the three count! Best Friends win!

I wouldn’t have minded if they had gone a few more more minutes, but this was a great match. Understandably since it was her Anniversary match, Arisa Nakajima did the bulk of the work for her team while Sareee did the same for hers, with Yoshiko and Tsukasa being pushed back to support roles. For a sub-20 minute match, they squeezed a lot into it, and even though I called the last match non-stop action this one took it to another level. What is impressive is not just the constant violence but how smooth it all was, with not a miscommunication or awkward moment in sight as there was just always something going on. And of course the hits were snug and the suplexes tight, as there was no weak link in this match when it comes to execution. I wouldn’t quite put it at the MOTYC level as it felt like they had more to give (especially since two partners still felt fresh), but still a very entertaining match.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG 2021 Opening Match on 1/11/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG Heart is Near ~ Close To You
Date: July 13th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 401

In my quest to find a recent Joshi event to review that isn’t Stardom, this show caught my eye. The lead-up to the main looks a bit pedestrian, but the main event has potential to be pretty damn great. Here is the full card:

• Riko Kaiju vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Ayame Sasamura vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Tsukushi
• ASUKA and Makoto vs. Honori Hana and Yumiko Hotta
• Hiroyo Matsumoto, Rina Yamashita, and Yuu vs. Itsuki Aoki, Miyuki Takase, and Ryo Mizunami
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Yoshiko

This aired on Samurai TV! so its a two hour show, but SEAdLINNNG is pretty good about not clipping more than necessary so I suspect most matches will be shown in full (or close to it). All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, including the debuting Riko Kaiju, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Riko Kaiju vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Riko dropkicks Tsukasa as soon as the match starts and goes for a quick cover, but it only gets a two count. Side headlock by Tsukasa and she hits an armdrag, she gets Riko to the mat but Riko escapes and they reach a stalemate. They lock knuckles and trade wristlocks , snapmare by Tsukasa and she kicks Riko in the back. Camel clutch by Tsukasa, she lets go after a moment and knocks Riko against the ropes. Tsukasa throws down Riko by the hair and applies a crab hold, but Riko gets to the ropes for the break. Tsukasa chops Riko in the corner, Irish whip by Tsukasa but Riko jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a crossbody for two. Riko dropkicks Tsukasa but Tsukasa blocks the scoop slam and puts Tsukasa in an Octopus Hold. Riko gets into the ropes for the break, Tsukasa wraps up Riko in the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Cover by Tsukasa, but it gets two. Tsukasa gets on the second turnbuckle but Riko avoids her dropkick and cradles Tsukasa for two. Riko tries a few more flash pins with no luck, elbow by Riko but Tsukasa elbows her back and they trade shots. Riko goes off the ropes and dropkicks Tsukasa, but Tsukasa rebounds off the ropes and dropkicks Riko to the mat. Tsukasa throws Riko into the corner and hits another dropkick, Riko lands in a seated position and Tsukasa dropkicks Riko full in the chest. Bodyslam by Tsukasa and she puts Riko in an armtrap crossface, but Riko gets to the ropes for the break. Kick by Riko and she applies a sunset flip, but it gets two. Riko goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she hits two more but Tsukasa stays on her feet. Finally on the fifth dropkick she gets Tsukasa to one knee, she hits three more kicks but Tsukasa doesn’t go all the way to the mat. Finally Riko knocks her over, cover by Riko but it gets a two count. Kick to the stomach by Tsukasa and she kicks Riko repeatedly in the back, PK by Tsukasa and she covers Riko for two. Elbows by Tsukasa and she dropkicks Riko for two. Tsukasa goes up top and nails a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukasa and she gets the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner!

Considering the dynamics, I am surprised that this match lasted as long as it did. Its hard to know in advance how much the veteran wrestler will give a wrestler debuting, but Tsukasa was rather generous here, perhaps almost too much so. It was far from a 50/50 match but Riko was in control for a few parts here and there for longer than just a hope spot, and she had several (flash pin) nearfalls. Tsukasa was pretty gentle with the rookie, aside from a dropkick in the corner that looked particularly hurt-y, and won with a move other than a submission hold which is a little unusual in a debuting match. A fun watch as the young Riko seems to show some early promise, just not the structure that I was really expecting.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi is double teamed off the bat but she avoids both opponents as they get into a high speed exchange, but they end up in a stalemate. They both go after Tsukushi again, dropkick by Kaho and Ayame hits a running elbow. Double Irish whip to Tsukushi as the double teaming continues and they put Tsukushi in a double armbar. They put Tsukushi in the ropes so they can both pose around her while pulling on her nose, dropkick to the back by Kaho and Ayame hits a dropkick as well. Kaho and Ayame sit on Tsukushi with submission holds, but Taiyo has seen enough with his boring action and kicks both of them. Kaho dropkicks Taiyo, she throws Tsukushi and Taiyo into the corner but Taiyo rebounds out with a crossbody. Catapult dropkick by Tsukushi to Ayame, but Ayame and Kaho avoids their next attack as Ayame schoolboys Kaho for two. She apologizes to Kaho which gives Tsukushi time to dropkick Kaho, Ayame flies out of the ring while Kaho recovers and trades elbows with Tsukushi. Dropkick by Kaho, she picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi blocks the fisherman suplex. Cradle by Tsukushi, but Ayame quickly breaks it up. Ayame picks up Tsukushi and hits a delayed vertical suplex, she goes off the ropes twice and covers Tsukushi for two. Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Tsukushi, she goes up top again but Ayame quickly schoolboys Tsukushi for two. Kaho fusses at Ayame, Tsukushi goes for a crossbody on both of them and Taiyo pushes them over when Tsukushi is initially caught. All three trade flash pins with no luck, Kaho chops both Tsukushi and Ayame (and Taiyo) before dropkicking both opponents. She goes off the ropes but eats a triple dropkick, Ayame goes for cradles on Tsukushi but only gets two counts. La Magistral by Tsukushi on Ayame, and she gets the three count! Tsukushi wins!

The best part of these matches is just seeing Natsuki Taiyo getting involved, she’s the best. The formula for this one was a little bit different from usual as the goal was to double team Tsukushi, partially because her and Taiyo are somewhat in cahoots so its already lopsided against her opponents. Some good exchanges but overall it was pretty simple even for a High Speed Match, they really didn’t do anything in-ring different or memorable. A decent enough watch but not enough to really differentiate itself from what you’d expect and Tsukushi wasn’t as evil in the match as I was hoping she’d be.

ASUKA and Makoto vs. Honori Hana and Yumiko Hotta

We join this one in progress as Makoto attacks Honori in the corner, she grabs Honori by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Boot by Makoto and she sits on Honori for a two count. Makoto applies a kneelock, Honori tries to get out of it but Makoto bites her. Makoto tags ASUKA, punches by ASUKA but Honori elbows her back. ASUKA knocks Honori to the mat and stomps on her head, Irish whip by ASUKA but Honori reverses it and hits a dropkick. Honori tags Hotta, Hotta throws ASUKA into the corner and Honori returns as both hit running strikes on ASUKA in the corner. Another dropkick by Honori and a third while Hotta encourages her, she finally leaves the ring and Hotta picks up ASUKA, but ASUKA rakes her in the eyes. Springboard moonsault by ASUKA and she stomps on Hotta, Makoto comes in to stomp on Hotta too, ASUKA goes for a boot but Hotta catches it. Honori tries to help but Hotta elbows her by mistake, Makoto is still around but Hotta hits a face crusher on both of them. Hotta and Honori put an opponent in a camel clutch and pose, they let go after a moment and Hotta tags Honori. Honori dropkicks ASUKA a few times but ASUKA stays up and dropkicks Honori in return. ASUKA tags Makoto, scoop slam by Makoto and she covers Honori for two. Makoto picks up Honori but Hotta lariats her, cover by Honori to Makoto but it gets a two count. Makoto chops Honori in the chest and delivers a boot, handstand double kneedrop by Makoto and she covers Honori for a two count. Makoto waits for Honori to get up and nails the Blazing Kick, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA and Makoto are the winners!

This was clipped in half but what they showed was fine. I liked Hotta basically being Honori’s cheerleader, since she was the head trainer in Actwres girl’Z it makes sense that she’d be comfortable in the mentoring role. Of course, Honori had to lose, but she showed some fire even though her dropkicks still need work. Not enough made TV to get a real feel of the match, but an effective midcard tag match.

Hiroyo Matsumoto, Yamashita, and Yuu vs. Aoki, Takase, and Mizunami

We start this one slightly in progress, with Yuu in the ring with Ryo. Ryo chops Yuu into the corner with some theatrics, lariat by Ryo and she covers Yuu for two. Ryo goes for a scoop slam but Yuu blocks it, hitting a slam of her own. Body press by Yuu, and she covers Ryo for two. Yuu tags Hiroyo, Rina comes in also and they both elbow Ryo to the mat. Rina jumps on Hiroyo’s back while Hiroyo hits a double knee drop, Yuu then comes in to have a turn so she hops on Hiroyo’s back for a second double kneedrop. Cover by Hiroyo, but it gets two. She tags in Rina, Rina clubs on Ryo and lariats her in the corner. Knee to the back by Rina but Ryo recovers and elbows Rina as the two trade strikes. Bodyslam by Ryo and she tags in Aoki, stomps by Aoki to Rina  and she hits a pair of running elbows in the corner. Face crusher by Aoki and she hits a falling body press for two. Aoki picks up Rina and slams her in front of the corner, she goes for a footstomp but Rina moves out of the way and delivers a sliding kick. Rina goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a Samoan Drop, picking up two.

She makes the tag to Miyuki but Hiroyo and Yuu run in and all three attack Miyuki in the corner. Miyuki’s teammates help her swing the match back in her favor, chop by Miyuki but Rina kicks her in the head. Rina tags Hiroyo, Hiroyo gets Miyuki on her shoulders and throws her out of the ring onto everyone else. Hiroyo brings Miyuki back in with a delayed vertical suplex, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Miyuki but Miyuki elbows her, Hiroyo elbows her back and goes for a powerbomb, but Miyuki blocks it and plants her with a DDT. Miyuki picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo goes off the ropes, Miyuki does as well and hits a satellite DDT. Missile dropkick off the second but Miyuki and she makes the hot tag to Ryo, lariat by Ryo but Hiroyo ducks the kick attempt. Lariat by Ryo, and she covers Hiroyo for two. Ryo applies the rolling Anaconda Vice, but it gets broken up. Ryo goes up top but Hiroyo recovers and joins her, superplex by Hiroyo and she makes the tag to Yuu. Yuu chops Ryo repeatedly and hits a swinging sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers Ryo for two.

Yuu picks up Ryo but Ryo blocks the powerbomb, Aoki runs in and elbows Yuu but Yuu drops her with a lariat. Miyuki comes in but Yuu knocks her down as well, she goes back to Ryo but Ryo gets her back. Miyuki and Aoki go for a double shoulderblock but floor Ryo by accident, Hiroyo lariats both of them while Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle. Rina and Yuu lift Yuu and help her hit a diving body press, but Ryo kicks out of the cover. Yuu picks up Ryo and goes for the powerbomb, but Ryo reverses it with a back bodydrop. Lariat by Ryo, but her cover gets two. Ryo picks up Yuu but Yuu elbows her and dropkicks Ryo into the corner. Cannonball by Yuu but Ryo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle but Ryo avoids her diving senton, lariat to the back by Ryo but Yuu blocks the Uranage attempt. Chops by Yuu but Ryo chops her back and plans her with the Uranage for two. Ryo waits for Yuu to get up and hits the spear, cover by Ryo but Yuu kicks out. Ryo goes up top and nails the Diving Guillotine Leg Drop, and she picks up the three count! MAX VOLTAGE are the winners!

All six of these wrestlers are good, but matches like this are always conflicting for me. Six wrestlers is too many for a ~15 minute match for everyone to shine, in this case Aoki was the odd woman out as she didn’t do a whole lot in the match. There wasn’t really a story behind the match, which isn’t a deal breaker but it makes it harder to really get invested. It was also a little odd that the last several minutes were really just Ryo and Yuu one on one, you expect some Joshi Chaos in the home stretch but it wasn’t there. That all being said, the action itself was solid from bell to bell and it stayed moving, so it never felt like it was dragging. A good match with six quality wrestlers, but nothing memorable which is a shame since in a slightly different circumstance this combination of wrestlers could put on a banger.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Yoshiko
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship

They start slow as they trade holds, Yoshiko pushes Arisa into the ropes and chops her hard in the chest. Arisa doesn’t like that and slaps her, the two trade strikes until Yoshiko shoulderblocks Arisa to the mat. Kicks by Yoshiko and she pushes Arisa into the ropes, snapmare by Yoshiko and she applies a chinlock. Arisa gets into the ropes for the break, Yoshiko throws down Arisa by the hair and hits a few facewashes, but Arisa avoids the running boot and knees Yoshiko repeatedly in the head. Yoshiko tosses Arisa to the mat but Arisa hits an armdrag, another armdrag by Arisa and Yoshiko falls out of the ring. Arisa goes up top but Yoshiko quickly gets back in the ring and knocks Arisa onto the apron. Elbows by Arisa and she gets back into the ring with a cradle into a footstomp, running boot by Arisa and Yoshiko falls out of the ring again. Arisa goes to the apron and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, she then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Yoshiko with a plancha. Arisa throws Yoshiko back in and throws her down by the hair, double underhook by Arisa but Yoshiko blocks her move attempt and hits a back bodydrop. Arisa reverses it into a sunset flip and applies a submission hold, she lets go after a moment and starts working on Yoshiko’s arm. Yoshiko eventually fights back with elbows but Arisa slaps her, she goes off the ropes and goes for a cradle, but Yoshiko reverses it.

Arisa rolls out of the ring and Yoshiko goes out after her, hitting a running senton on the floor. Yoshiko throws Arisa into the guardrail a couple times before returning to the ring, Arisa slowly follows and Yoshiko kicks her in the back. Kicks by Yoshiko and she puts Arisa in a sleeper, but Arisa gets a foot in the ropes. More kicks by Yoshiko but Arisa snaps off a hurricanrana for two. She puts Yoshiko in an ankle hold, but Yoshiko wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Waistlock by Arisa but Yoshiko gets out of it, the two trade strikes until Arisa hits the Sling Blade. Arisa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and she hits a second one for a two count. Arisa positions Yoshiko and goes up top again, but Yoshiko recovers and joins her as the two trade elbows. Arisa pushes Yoshiko into the Tree of Woe and hits a quick footstomp, Arisa returns to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count. Arisa goes up again and considers the moonsault, but Yoshiko elbows her from behind before she can jump off. Yoshiko goes up too and grabs Arisa around the waist, hitting a German suplex down to the mat. Yoshiko gets Arisa on her shoulders and slams her to the mat, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Senton by Yoshiko, she hits a Reverse Splash followed quickly by a senton off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle again and hits a senton, but once again it gets two.

Yoshiko goes all the way up next time but Arisa rolls out of the way of the diving senton, Arisa goes up top but Yoshiko gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt. Both wrestlers slowly get up and trade elbows, release dragon suplex by Arisa and she boots Yoshiko in the face. Another dragon suplex by Arisa and she kicks Yoshiko in the head again, La Magistral by Arisa but it gets a two count. She goes for another flash pin with no luck, she picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt. Arisa hits a trapped German suplex hold anyway, but it gets two. Arisa picks up Yoshiko and delivers the dragon suplex hold, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Arisa quickly goes up top and nails the moonsault, but again Yoshiko kicks out. Arisa drags up Yoshiko and hits a series of elbows, Yoshiko elbows her back and levels Arisa with a lariat. Yoshiko goes up top and nails the diving senton, cover by Yoshiko but Arisa bridges out of the pin. Yoshiko goes off the ropes and hits another hard lariat, a third lariat by Yoshiko but Arisa returns to her feet. Release German by Yoshiko but Arisa fires back with a half and half suplex, but she is slow to the cover and Yoshiko kicks out. Arisa picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the next suplex attempt, Arisa goes for a hurricanrana but Yoshiko catches her with a powerbomb for two. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Yoshiko then goes all the way up top and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoshiko and she picks up the three count! Yoshiko is the new champion!

This was a pretty amazing match. I loved the whole dynamic, where Yoshiko started off with her usual bully act but Arisa is a bully too and gave it right back to her, leading to an entertaining opening stretch with both trying to get in control. The submission holds were sold in the moment but not long term, which was fine since that wasn’t really their focus point of the match, and once they got into the home stretch they were just throwing bombs. The German suplex off the ropes by Yoshiko looked great, and both just had that “I’m not backing down” aura that made it feel like a real clash. No real obvious flaws, just a hard hitting and intense match from bell to bell with very little downtime. A must see match, one of my favorites so far in 2020.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Close To You on 7/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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: Gatoh Move ChocoPro #16
Date: May 23rd, 2020
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

I don’t normally review just one match from an event, but this will be an exception. There were only two matches on the show, but I decided to skip the other as it didn’t look like my cup of tea and went straight to the main event as the Freelancer Asuka invades Gatoh Move to challenge their brightest young star – Mei Suruga. Here is the match we will be watching today:

• Asuka vs. Mei Suruga

As this aired live on Youtube, the match will be shown in full. You can click on the wrestlers’ names above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

Asuka vs. Mei Suruga

Asuka won’t shake hands with Mei before the bell, setting the early tone. They lock knuckles but Asuka pushes Mei down, Mei gets back to her feet but can’t reach Asuka’s hand to lock up again. Mei stomps on Asuka’s foot and applies a waistlock, she leaps over Asuka and grabs her arm, jumping off the window and going for an armdrag. Asuka doesn’t go over, she picks up Mei and does an armdrag off the window herself before doing a sexy dance. Mei does a dance as well, which disgusts both Asuka and the referee Emi Sakura, Mei gets Asuka to the mat and puts her in a bodyscissors. Mei rolls around Asuka while keeping in the hold before keeping the cradle applied for a two count. Mei runs over Asuka’s back but eventually trips over Asuka, Asuka bops Mei in the head before throwing her down by the hair. Mei gets back up and grabs Asuka by the hair but Asuka flings her head forward, sending Mei crashing to the mat. Kicks to the head by Asuka, she picks up Mei and hits a scoop slam. Elbow drop by Asuka and she covers Mei with one boot for a one count. Asuka picks up Mei and hits another scoop slam before putting Mei in a crab hold, but Mei reaches the edge of the mat to force a break (there are no ropes).

Asuka applies an arm wringer and then a side headlock, she switches it to a guillotine hold on the mat but Mei reaches the edge again for the break. Asuka mounts Mei and chokes her, she picks her up and puts Mei in a stretch hold. Mei reaches the wall which also forces a break (slightly different rules here), Asuka picks up Mei but Mei connects with a series of elbows. Low dropkick by Mei but Asuka blocks it when she goes for a cradle and applies an ankle hold. Mei manages to get the break, Asuka picks her up and goes for a chokeslam, but Mei blocks it and hits an armdrag. She grabs Asuka’s wrist and jumps off the window sill with another armdrag, kicks by Mei and she stands on a stool so she can club Asuka in the back. Mei jumps up into the other window and rides over to her to deliver a hurricanrana, dropkicks by Mei but Asuka returns to her feet. Asuka goes for a dropkick but Mei swats her away and rams her head-first into the wall. Dropkick by Mei, and she covers Asuka for a two count. Asuka trips Mei and goes back to the ankle hold, but Mei rolls to the wall for the break. Mei grabs Asuka’s ankle and goes for a hold of her own, but Asuka reaches the wall so Mei has to let go.

Mei charges Asuka but Asuka dropkicks her as she charges in, Asuka picks up Mei and slaps her. Back kick by Asuka and she covers Mei for a two count. Asuka picks up Mei but Mei ducks the elbow, boot by Asuka but Mei elbows her in the chest. Asuka knocks Mei to the mat, she picks her back up as Mei continues trying to fight back. Asuka sends Mei down again with another hard elbow, cover by Asuka but it gets a two count. Asuka knees Mei in the head and kicks her around the mat, vertical suplex by Asuka and she hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Asuka circles Mei before picking her back up, but Mei quickly applies a small package for two. Mei goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, she ducks Asuka’s boot attempt and hits her with a kendo stick. They both slowly get up, Mei charges Asuka but Asuka catches her with a heel kick. Cover by Asuka, but Mei bridges out of the pin. Asuka picks up Mei but Mei blocks the chokeslam and rolls Asuka into a pin attempt for two. Schoolboy by Mei, but that gets a two count as well. Mei goes for a cradle but Asuka rolls through it and applies an ankle hold, but Mei reaches the edge of the mat to force a break. Asuka picks up Mei but Mei slips away, she goes for a cover but Asuka pushes her off as the bell rings due to time expiring. The match is a Draw.

It is easy to dismiss a match that takes place on a mat inside a small room as goofy, especially since sometimes the style in Gatoh Move leans towards comedy, but this was a legitimately good match. They used the unique surroundings when appropriate but not excessively, as the bulk of the match was the same style as if they were in an actual ring. Asuka adapted well and they mixed in typical action with the occasional Gatoh Move-style cuteness in a way that really worked. I wish of course it wasn’t a Draw but I get it in cases like this, and Mei more than put up a fight so it wasn’t a mercy Draw where she was about to lose to the more experienced outsider. It wasn’t perfect, things like the ankle holds just felt like killing time and I wish Mei had a non-flash pin nearfall or two, but overall a really entertaining effort by both.  Recommended

The post Asuka vs. Mei Suruga in Gatoh Move on 5/23/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG New Leaf!
Date: March 10th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 360

For a brief period in March, a few wrestling promotions in Japan held events in front of fans, and this was one of those shows. The crowd is small for a Korakuen Hall show but its still a nice break from watching events with empty stands. For the special occasion, SEAdLINNNG is putting on a big five match card, with a championship match and tag matches with some of the best Joshi Freelancers current available. Here is the full card:

• Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami
• ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. This show has the annoying commentary box in the corner that I hate, but I will get through it the best I can.

Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

They go to shake hands to start, Honori goes for a headbutt but Tsukasa quickly ducks out of the way. Tsukasa starts on Honori’s arm but Honori reverses it a the two trade holds, they go off the ropes and Tsukasa takes down Honori with a side headlock but Honori gets out of it and the two return to their feet. Tsukasa boots Honori and hits a snapmare before kicking her in the back, Tsukasa applies a sleeper before switching it into a Camel Clutch. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Honori’s back, she tosses down Honori by the hair before ramming her into the corner a couple times. Honori finally has enough and elbows Tsukasa in the chest, but Tsukasa returns fire. Tsukasa charges Honori in the corner but Honori moves and schoolboys Tsukasa for two. Dropkicks by Honori, and she covers Tsukasa for two. Honori goes for a scoop slam but Tsukasa blocks it and puts Honori in an Octopus Hold. Honori gets into the ropes for the break but Tsukasa ties her up in the ropes and pulls on her nose. Dropkick to the back by Tsukasa, and she covers Honori for two.

Tsukasa throws Honori into the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she charges Honori but Honori levels her with a shoulderblock. Honori pushes Tsukasa into the corner but Tsukasa avoids the headbutt, elbows by Honori but Tsukasa elbows her back as they trade shots. Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Honori dropkicks her, cover by Honori but it gets two. They trade waistlocks until Tsukasa rolls up Honori for two, Tsukasa quickly puts Honori in a crab hold but Honori makes it to the ropes for the break. Tsukasa stomps on Honori and drills her with a dropkick, she goes up top but Honori avoids the missile dropkick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Headbutt by Honori and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Honori but it gets two. Honori picks up Tsukasa and goes off the ropes, but Tsukasa connects with a dropkick. Tsukasa kicks Honori repeatedly in the back before hitting a PK, but Honori gets a shoulder up on the corner. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but again her cover gets two. Tsukasa puts Honori in the Gokuraku Hold, and Honori has to submit! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner.

Pretty basic as one would assume but decent enough. Honori got in more offense than I expected, she has more size than the average Joshi wrestler so that is likely why could hang better with Tsukasa even with her low experience. Building up to the headbutt spot was a unique aspect of a rookie match and they seem to be already putting that over as her big move, since headbutts are still seen as a bit risky I am curious to see if she sticks with that. I probably would have liked it better if Tsukasa has taken it to her a bit more, but not a bad opener.

Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi and Taiyo are goofing around in the corner as the match starts, Leon goes over to get them to stop and Misa dropkicks her from behind. Leon is briefly double teamed but it doesn’t last one, they all go for lariats but none are able to connect. Tsukushi dropkicks both of her opponents but Misa kicks her and applies a side headlock. Hard shoulderblock by Misa but Tsukushi kips up and hits an armdrag. She goes off the ropes and tries for the cover, but Misa kicks out. Tsukushi applies a submission but Leon breaks it up, Leon picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon but schoolboys her for two, Leon throws Tsukushi into the corner and then does the same with Misa. Leon charges in, Misa moves but Tsukushi eats the shoulder tackle. Leon and Misa Irish whip Tsukushi and Leon helps Misa boot her before they both take turns running over Tsukushi. Leon applies a crab hold to Tsukushi while Misa puts her in a chinlock, but Taiyo breaks it up. This makes Leon made and she elbows Taiyo, Irish whip by Leon but Taiyo applies the Momo Latch. Tsukushi runs in and dropkicks Taiyo, Misa goes for a cover on Leon but Leon reverses it into a kneelock. Tsukushi puts Leon in a headscissors at the same time while Taiyo is too hurt to do anything, but Misa makes it to the ropes to get the break.

Tsukushi and Leon trade elbow, Leon gets Tsukushi up but Tsukushi gets away with a side headlock takedown (she takes out Taiyo at the same time with a headscissors), Tsukushi dropkicks Leon while she is against the ropes before going up top and hitting a missile dropkick. Tsukushi applies a figure four leglock but Misa goes up top and debates who to dive down onto to. She eventually decides on hitting a diving footstomp onto Leon, they both stomp on Leon before squaring off against each other. Dropkicks by Misa, she goes off the ropes and hits a low crossbody. She goes off the ropes a few times and covers Tsukushi, but it gets a two count. Misa picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Misa applies a pin of her own but Leon breaks it up, Irish whip by ll to Misa but Misa puts Leon in an Octopus Hold. Tsukushi comes over and schoolboys both of them, but it only gets two. Leon goes for a suplex but Misa schoolboys her while she is in the middle of the move, Leon elbows Misa and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Tsukushi. Leon hits a spear on both opponents, she goes up top but Taiyo armdrags her back down to the mat. Dropkick by Taiyo to Leon, Misa and Tsukushi both go off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids Misa’s dropkick and applies La Magistral for the three count! Tsukushi is the winner! She jumps into Taiyo’s arms after the match so possible this was a rigged result.

Natsuki Taiyo has gotten more and more out of control in these matches, at some point she may as well just become an actual participant. This was what you’d expect, some people really enjoy these high speed matches and if you fall in that category you’ll probably enjoy this one too. Tsukushi is pretty great so anytime she is in a match I won’t complain too loudly, but there really isn’t a lot of substance to these matches. Perfectly fine for what it is and where it is on the card, just mindless fun.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Syuri tries to prove to Hiroyo that she is committed to their team by stomping on a MAX VOLTAGE shirt after dancing around with them, but Hiroyo isn’t convinced as Miyuki and Ryo both attack Syuri. Syuri gets stomped down while Hiroyo watches, double Irish whip to Syuri and she gets hit with a double shoulderblock. Syuri is chopped into the corner by Miyuki and Ryo but take a break to dance some before Ryo hits a lariat. Ryo tags in Miyuki, lariat by Miyuki to Syuri and Ryo hits a scoop slam. Leg drop by Miyuki and she covers Syuri for two. Miyuki picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Miyuki in the back. Syuri tries to tag in Hiroyo and Hiroyo relents, shoulderblock by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she chops her in the chest. Hiroyo goes off the ropes, Ryo tries to help but Miyuki hits her by accident. Miyuki then gets Hiroyo up on her shoulders and tosses her out of the ring down onto Ryo on the floor. Syuri comes over too and helps Hiroyo beat up MAX VOLTAGE, Hiroyo rolls Miyuki back in the ring and covers her for two. Hiroyo tags in Syuri, Syuri stomps down Miyuki in the corner, she brings Miyuki back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. Miyuki gets to the ropes so Syuri tags in Hiroyo, knee by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she covers her for two, Syuri backs back in and she jumps on Hiroyo’s back before Hiroyo hits a double kneedrop, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two.

Crab hold by Hiroyo but Miyuki crawls to the corner and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, she tags in Syuri and Syuri takes Miyuki to the mat. Syuri picks up Miyuki and Irish whips her, Miyuki goes for a dropkick but Syuri swats it aside. Miyuki grabs Syuri’s leg and elbows her, more elbows by Miyuki but Syuri knees her in the midsection. Syuri knees Miyuki into the corner, Irish whip by Syuri but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a missile dropkick. This gives her time to tag in Ryo, shoulderblock by Ryo to Syuri and she plans her with a powerslam. She goes off the ropes but Syuri delivers a knee, kicks by Syuri and she covers Ryo for two. Syuri tags Hiroyo, lariat by Hiroyo to Ryo but Ryo lariats her back. Vertical suplex by Hiroyo, she picks up Ryo but Ryo elbows her and they trade shots. Ryo finally knocks Hiroyo over with a spear, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she chops Hiroyo into the corner. Irish whip by Miyuki and she hits a lariat in the corner, but Hiroyo knocks her back. Elbows by Miyuki and she delivers a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Miyuki tries to go off the ropes but Hiroyo grabs her, Miyuki frees herself but Hiroyo drops her with a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo tags Syuri, Syuri kicks Miyuki into the corner and hits a jumping knee, double underhook suplex by Syuri and she covers Miyuki for two. Syuri applies a crab hold with Hiroyo’s protection, but Ryo gets free and breaks up the hold. Hiroyo gets back to Ryo and puts her in a stretch hold while Syuri stays on Miyuki’s leg, but Ryo breaks free and clubs Syuri.

Double Irish whip to Ryo but Ryo hits a double spear, Miyuki picks up Syuri and both she and Ryo hit lariats. Spear by Ryo to Syuri, Miyuki picks her up and hits a vertical suplex, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Miyuki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving leg drop, but Syuri barely kicks out of the cover. Miyuki drags Syuri to her feet and hits another lariat, but Syuri ducks the next one and delivers a head kick. Both wrestlers crawl to their corners and tag out, hard lariat by Ryo and she covers Hiroyo for two. Ryo grabs Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her off, they trade lariat attempts but neither wrestler goes down. The struggle continues until Hiroyo finally knocks Ryo to the mat, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and lariats her again, she goes for a powerbomb bur Ryo blocks it and Miyuki hits a missile dropkick. Hiroyo drops them both with a backdrop suplex, Syuri runs in and she knees Ryo in the corner. Hiroyo hits a reverse double kneedrop, running knee by Syuri and Hiroyo follows with a lariat, but Ryo barely kicks out of the cover. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and goes for the backdrop suplex, but Ryo blocks it. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Ryo blocks it again, Syuri comes in but Ryo catches her with a Uranage. She hits one on Hiroyo as well, cover by Ryo but it gets two. Ryo goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a back elbow, they get up and both hit a lariat on the other, which sends both crashing to the mat. While they are lying there, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even without a winner, this was a quality match. They kept it simple which worked well – no outside the ring brawling, very little in the way of submission holds, they just took turns hitting each other for twenty minutes. For a non-title midcard tag match, that’s all that was needed here and they executed it. Miyuki can more than hold her own with these three wrestlers and it shows how much and how quickly she has grown, she’s certainly ready to break out and get higher on the Joshi Wrestler pecking order. Very few wrestlers hit as hard as Syuri, Hiroyo, and Ryo and none mind getting hit either, so I am sure that all were sore the next day. The commentary box in the corner of the screen will always be annoying, but still an entertaining match with hard hitting action.  Recommended

ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu

Yuu and Shimoda start the match, Yuu pushes Shimoda into the ropes and goes for a lariat, but Shimoda ducks it. Yuu knocks her over with a shoulderblock anyway, they trade chops until Yuu hits another lariat, hard shoulderblock by Yuu and she tags in Kaho. Shimoda tags ASUKA, ASUKA and Kaho go into a fast exchange as Kaho goes for a spinning headscissors, but ASUKA lands on her feet. Yoshiko tags herself in but ASUKA bails out of the ring, Makoto comes in as the legal wrestler but Yoshiko knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Yoshiko tosses down Makoto by her hair and hits some bootscrapes followed by a running boot. Yoshiko goes for another one but ASUKA trips her from the floor, she gets in the ring with Shimoda and they all boot Yoshiko in the face. Makoto takes control of the match before tagging in Shimoda, Shimoda throws Yoshiko to the mat and pulls back on her hair. Shimoda steps on Yoshiko’s hands and tags in ASUKA, ASUKA goes up top and hits an ax handle onto Yoshiko’s arm. Snapmare by ASUKA and she delivers a sliding kick to Yoshiko’s face, picking up a two count cover. ASUKA and Yoshiko trade strikes, ASUKA throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko rebounds out with a lariat and makes the tag to Yuu.

Yuu clears the ring with shoulderblocks, Makoto and Shimoda try to help but Kaho gets in too and Las Fresa de Egoistas are all attacked in the corner. Yuu stays in and covers ASUKA, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers ASUKA for two. Yuu chops ASUKA repeatedly in the chest but ASUKA hits a jumping kick and makes the tag to Makoto. Makoto boots Yuu in the corner and goes for a suplex, but Yuu drives her back into the corner. Diving crossbody by Makoto and she hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Yuu dropkicks Makoto back into the corner and nails the Cannonball, cover by Yuu but Makoto gets a shoulder up. Yuu tags in Kaho, Kaho picks up Makoto and trips her before hitting a dropkick. Kaho puts Makoto in an arm submission hold while her team protects her, but Makoto gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Kaho but Makoto reverses it and hits a double underhook suplex. Cartwheel kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers Kaho for two. Makoto tags Shimoda, they throw Kaho into the corner but Kaho gets away and armdrags Shimoda. Dropkick by Kaho to Makoto, she goes back to Shimoda but Shimoda traps her for a two count cover. Kaho kicks Shimoda in the leg and delivers a DDT, she picks up Shimoda but Shimoda blocks the fisherman suplex attempt and boots her. Yuu runs in and lariats Shimoda, dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags in Yoshiko, boot by Yoshiko and she hits a senton on Shimoda for two. Yoshiko picks up Shimoda but Shimoda wiggles away, Yoshiko goes for a stretch hold but ASUKA comes in and breaks it up.

Yoshiko throws Shimoda into the corner but ASUKA cuts her off with a kick and Shimoda delivers a missile dropkick. Shimoda tags ASUKA, running boot by ASUKA and she hits a dropkick. Yoshiko goes after ASUKA but ASUKA punches her, moonsault off the ropes by ASUKA and her teammates come in so they can all hit running strikes in the corner. German suplex by ASUKA to Yoshiko, and she covers her for two. ASUKA picks up Yoshiko and goes for the chokeslam, but Yoshiko blocks it and they trade elbows. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Yuu runs in and tosses her, Yoshiko slams ASUKA to the mat but ASUKA kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but the cover gets broken up. Shimoda and Makoto stay in but Yoshiko lariats both of them, lariat by Yoshiko to ASUKA and she covers her for two. Senton by Yoshiko, but again ASUKA kicks out of the pin attempt. Yoshiko goes for another lariat but ASUKA ducks it, superkick by ASUKA and she nails a spinning heel kick. Chokeslam by ASUKA in front of the corner, she goes up top but Yoshiko avoids the moonsault. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but ASUKA ducks it, ASUKA goes for the Asuka Fantasy but Yoshiko cuts it back into a cover and gets the three count! Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, and Yuu are the winners.

A solid tag team match, with lots of teamwork from both sides so it didn’t feel like two random teams thrown together. This was really just done to further the ASUKA/Yoshiko feud and it was effective in that regard, with the two having several entertaining exchanges throughout the match. Its easy for wrestlers to get lost in six wrestler tags that don’t get a lot of time, as Yuu and Shimoda didn’t leave a strong impression, but neither held the match back either. There just wasn’t enough time for everyone since Yoshiko and Asuka were the focus. Fast paced and well worked, an entertaining match but ultimately nothing overly memorable.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the SEA Singles Championship

Rina attacks Arisa before the match starts while she still has her robe on, Rina elbows Arisa against the ropes but Arisa reverses an Irish whip and hits a snap dragon suplex. She finally gets her robe off and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Arisa gets a bottle of water but Rina takes it from her and pours the water over Arisa’s head before spitting water in her face. Rina boots Arisa and elbows her in the corner, lariats by Rina and she covers Arisa with her boot for a one count. Scorpion Deathlock by Rina but Arisa makes it to the ropes for the break, Rina goes off the ropes and knees Arisa in the back. Cover by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina kicks Arisa but Arisa fight back, scoop slam by Rina and she walks over Arisa. Rina goes for a backdrop suplex but Arisa lands on her feet and hits the Sling Blade. Arisa kicks Rina and boots her in the head, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, German suplex hold by Arisa and she gets a two count. Arisa goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, Arisa jumps off the turnbuckle however to the floor, snapping Rina’s neck on the ropes in the process. Arisa goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa kicks Rina around the ring and knees her against the ropes, she picks up Rina but Rina fires off a strike combination. Rina picks up Arisa and elbows her, but Arisa elbows her back and they trade blows.

After a minute they both end up sending the other to the mat, and the referee begins the ten count. Both make the count and go back to trading blows, with Rina switching to lariats now and Arisa hitting boots. Arisa wins the battle and gets on the top turnbuckle, but Rina grabs her from behind and throws her into the turnbuckles. Rina waits for Arisa to get up but Arisa kicks away her lariat attempt, Rina nails one anyway but Arisa blocks the sliding lariat attempt. Arisa goes off the ropes but Rina hits another lariat, she follows with a short-range lariat but her cover gets two. Rina picks up Arisa but Arisa slides away from the Splash Mountain attempt and hits a trapped German suplex for two. Arisa kicks Rina in the chest and delivers a dragon suplex hold, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Arisa positions Rina and goes up top, moonsault by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa drags Rina to her feet, she traps her leg but Rina elbows out of the suplex attempt. Arisa goes for a hurricanrana but Rina reverses it with a powerbomb, sliding lariat by Rina but Arisa kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Arisa to get up and delivers a lariat, but again Arisa kicks out. Rina picks up Arisa and goes for Splash Mountain, but Arisa reverses it into a cradle for two. Arisa quickly picks up Rina, traps her leg and delivers a German suplex hold for the three count pinfall! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

I think the real impact of matches like these is lost some due to the one camera set up and the NicoPro box, but its still a really damn good match. These two just beat the hell out of each other, it is just hard to really appreciate it with the circumstances, which isn’t their fault of course but diminishes some of the enjoyment. The story was simple but well told, with Rina using lariats to set up the Splash Mountain that she was never able to hit, while Arisa finally wore down Rina enough to get the win with her version of the German suplex. With a different presentation this may have been one of the best Joshi matches of the year, but as it is, its still an enjoyable match that is worth your time.  Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG New Leaf! on 3/10/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2019, or any championship that was held when 2019 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and match importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2019.

Before we get into it, a couple very established veterans that normally would make this kind of list I wasn’t able to justify including this year – Tsukasa Fujimoto and Meiko Satomura. I realize this opens the list to easy criticism but keep in mind this list isn’t a “best wrestler” list and isn’t influenced by past success – it is based solely on what happened in 2019. Both Fujimoto and Satomura largely took a back seat in their respective promotions last year, allowing the younger wrestlers to take the lead. Which is great! But it makes it harder to rank them with only twenty spots available. So before anyone asks, I didn’t forget them, they just didn’t have enough in regards to in-ring accomplishments or visibility in Japan during the year to make the Top 20. So save any vitriol for a more worthwhile cause.

Without further ado and procrastinating, onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019!

1. Sareee (Diana)

Championships Held: Diana World Championship (233 days) and the Sendai Girls’ World Championship (127 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 1/6, vs. Aja Kong on 2/11, vs. Meiko Satomura on 4/16, vs. Aja Kong on 5/12, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 6/18, vs. DASH Chisako on 7/7, and vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

To say it is difficult to be the top Joshi wrestler of the year when your home promotion literally had zero events available to watch would be an understatement, but Sareee managed to pull it off. What set Sareee apart from others wasn’t just her title success in Sendai Girls’, but the high quality of her matches throughout the year in a variety of promotions. Her matches against Meiko Satomura and against Chihiro Hashimoto (in June) were two of the best Joshi matches of the year, as she went from relative unknown to many newer Joshi fans to one of the most popular wrestlers on the scene. Depending on where her career goes in 2020 she may just be a “one year wonder” in regards to being this high on fans’ Wrestler of the Year list, but what a year it was.

2. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (322 days), International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (161 days), OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (105 days), and the Triangle Ribbon Championship (52 days)
Biggest Matches: with Risa Sera vs. Kyuri and Ozaki on 3/17, vs. Tsukushi on 3/31, with Saori Anou vs. Beast Friend on 5/12, vs. Giulia on 5/25, vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 8/3, vs. Risa Sera on 9/14, and with Risa Sera vs. Giulia and Tequila Saya on 9/23
Best Match: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto in Ice Ribbon on August 3rd, 2019

It is hard not to respect a wrestler with as many title wins in one year as Maya Yukihi had, as it just shows an enormous amount of faith that the promotion has in her. Few wrestlers dominated their promotion in 2019 as Maya did, not just with her success with the ICExInfinity Championship but with her constant main event presence in some capacity. The focus remained so strongly on her that it was difficult for any other Ice Ribbon wrestlers to really get noticed in 2019. She also continued to have success in OZ Academy as well with her more ‘evil’ side, as she changed her personality depending on which promotion she was in. While consistent match quality wouldn’t land her in the Top 5 for the year, her success just can’t be ignored as she seems poised to be the Ice Ribbon Ace for the foreseeable future.

3. Arisa Hoshiki (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (229 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 4/29, vs. Tam Nakano on 6/16, vs. Hazuki on 7/24, vs. Jungle Kyona on 8/10, vs. Kagetsu on 10/14, with Tam Nakano vs. Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter on 11/15, and vs. Konami on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on June 16th, 2019

Sometimes, the number of titles a wrestler held doesn’t tell the whole story. 2019 in Stardom was all about Arisa Hoshiki’s rise from “surprise return wrestler” to being one of the top wrestlers in the promotion. She won the Cinderella Tournament in April and went on to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She held the title for the rest of the year with eight defenses, making her one of the most active champions on the Joshi scene. She also was involved in one of the more memorable Joshi storylines of 2019, as she slowly converted her enemy Tam Nakano into her friend over a seven month period, ending in a touching scene after they won the Stardom Goddesses of Tag League together. On top of that, her in-ring quality greatly improved as the year progressed as by the end she was putting together some high end matches. Arisa will have some stiff competition from Mayu in 2020, so we’ll see if she can keep up her momentum.

4. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship (229 days), Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (146 days), and the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Championship (95 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Sareee on 1/6, with Mika Iwata vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Sareee on 2/3, vs. Sareee on 6/8, vs. Yoshiko on 7/7, and vs. Sareee on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Sareee in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

For the third straight year, Chihiro Hashimoto was the main force in Sendai Girls’, as their smaller roster doesn’t give them a lot of options. Just four years into her career she is already on her fifth title reign, as Meiko Satomura takes a lesser role and no other younger wrestler is ready to step up. She had a great series of matches against Sareee in 2019, and just for variety sake also had success in DDT as well. Combined with her tag title run, its hard to deny that Chihiro had a great year and further cemented her place as one of the best young wrestlers on the Joshi scene, but hopefully Sendai Girls’ can find a way to mix it up a bit in 2020.

5. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (112 days) and the Regina Di WAVE Championship (167 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Nanae Takahashi on 5/29, vs. Nagisa Nozaki vs. Ryo Mizunami on 7/15, vs. Arisa Nakajima on 9/18, vs. Ryo Mizunami on 10/5, vs. Chigusa Nagayo on 12/8, and vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on May 29th, 2019

Another solid year by the young Ace of Marvelous – Takumi Iroha. Even though Marvelous doesn’t really have its own titles, Takumi still won two titles anyway in 2019 as she visited other promotions. She won the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship from Nanae Takahashi in May and won the Regina Di WAVE Championship against Nagisa Nozaki and Ryo Mizunami in July. She capped off her year by defeating Chigusa Nagayo in a singles match, the first time she has faced off against her mentor in a one vs. one match. Takumi’s future is hard to determine due to her situation in Marvelous, but she will continue to be their Ace as well as traveling to other promotions to take their belts.

6. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: ROH Women of Honor Word Championship (55 days), Artist of Stardom Championship, (162 days) and the World of Stardom Championship (57 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 2/24, with Saki Kashima and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami on 6/23, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/7, vs. Momo Watanabe on 9/22, vs. Bea Priestley on 11/4, and vs. Kagetsu on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Kagetsu in Stardom on December 24th, 2019

Mayu Iwatani won the Tokyo Sports Award Women’s Award in 2019, which was well deserved but that doesn’t mean she had the best year. This ranking is influenced by my own personal biases, not Joshi politics. Still, she did have a great year. She started the year as part of the Artist of Stardom Championship, a title she held for almost half the year total. Even though technically I am not considering matches outside of Japan, I still have to mention that she had a title match at Madison Square Garden, a massive achievement in any wrestler’s career. She ended the year hot, as she won the World of Stardom Championship in November and still held the belt as the year concluded. When considering how she closed the year and the number of high end matches she had, Mayu is easily a Top 10 wrestler for the year, and judging from how it ended I imagine she will be even higher next year.

7. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (104 days) and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship (115 days)
Biggest Matches: with Sae vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 3/20, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 4/28, vs. Takumi Iroha on 9/18, and vs. Nanae Takahashi on 11/2
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on November 2nd, 2019

After a quiet 2018, Arisa Nakajima came back with a bang in 2019 as she took over SEAdLINNNG. Arisa had two tag title reigns during the year, although both were short, and won the Beyond The Sea Championship in September before holding it for the rest of the year. She also had one of the best Joshi matches of 2019 against Nanae Takahashi in November 2nd. Arisa only had 45 matches in 2019 which hurt her a bit, otherwise she would have been higher, but she is still one of the best in-ring competitors in Japan. If she wrestles more outside of SEAdLINNNG in 2020, she could easily be a Top 5 wrestler next year.

8. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Freelancer)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (79 days), SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship (186 days), OZ Tag Team Championship (131 days), and the Blast Queen Championship (7 days)
Biggest Matches: with Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maya Yukihi and Saori Anou on 5/12, with Yoshiko vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 6/28, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 8/18, vs. Mayumi Ozaki on 8/25, vs. Hanako Nakamori on 9/29, and with DASH Chisako vs. Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Mayumi Ozaki in OZ Academy on August 25th, 2019

Like Arisa Nakajima, Hiroyo Matsumoto didn’t have a great 2018 but had a much better year in 2019. She found her most success in the tag team division, as she ended the year holding two tag team championships. She was very active with 120 matches in twelve different Japanese promotions, so even though she didn’t get any long runs at the top of a promotion this year she stayed visible. Hiroyo didn’t have any noted MOTYC type matches but was very consistent in-ring, and considering she is a Freelancer it was a very solid year overall.

9. Momo Watanabe (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (135 days), Goddesses of Stardom Championship (195 days), and the Artist of Stardom Championship (38 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tam Nakano on 1/14, vs. Jungle Kyona on 3/3, vs. Arisa Hoshiki on 5/16, with Utami Hayashishita vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami on 7/15, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/1, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 9/22, and with AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Andras Miyagi, Kagetsu, and Natsu Sumire on 11/23
Best Match: vs. Jungle Kyona in Stardom on March 3rd, 2019

Momo did the opposite of Arisa and Mayu in 2019, which always impacts one’s impression of a wrestler – she started the year hot but disappeared for the last half of the year as she faded more into the second tier. As 2019 began she held both the Wonder of Stardom and Goddesses of Stardom Championship, but both titles were gone by the summer. She didn’t win any tournaments but did win the Artist of Stardom Championship in November so at least she didn’t end the year with no titles at all. That being said, in the first half of the year she had some great title defenses, and even though she wasn’t always winning she had some really quality matches in the fall as well so her in-ring performances stayed at a high level. Momo may have been passed by both Arisa and Mayu in 2019, with with wrestlers like Utami, Hana Kimura, and Giulia in the wings she may have trouble climbing back to the top.

10. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling)

Championships Held: Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship (122 days) and the SHINE Championship (31 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Maki Itoh on 1/4, vs. Yuka Sakazaki on 3/31, vs. Shoko Nakajima on 5/3, vs. Allysin Kay on 5/6, and with Miu Watanabe vs. Misao and Sakisama on 8/25
Best Match: vs. Shoko Nakajima in Tokyo Joshi Pro on May 3rd, 2019

Tokyo Joshi Pro didn’t have one dominate wrestler in 2019 as their main title was divided between three wrestlers through the year, but Miyu Yamashita still felt like their superstar. She entered the year the Princess of Princess Champion and kept it until May, oddly enough she did not get a rematch for the rest of the year and even lost in the first round of the Tokyo Princess Cup. She did get one tag title shot, but her team lost. Still, she did hold the title for 25% of the year with three successful defenses and continued putting on high quality matches as she always does which helped her sneak into the Top 10 and over her fellow Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers.

   11. Saori Anou (Actwres girl’Z) – The undisputed Ace of Actwres girl’Z in 2019, Saori also saw title success outside the promotion for the first time as she held the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship for over 100 days. She lost the AgZ Championship and OZ Academy Tag Team Championship in August however and was more under the radar the rest of the year, as her future went into limbo as she announced she was leaving AgZ in December. As of the time of this review, we still don’t know what her future holds, and that will be the determining factor on where she is on this list next year. If she is on it at all.

12. Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J) – Like last year, Hanako took control of being the Ace of the seldom seen PURE-J promotion. More of her matches seemed to “make tape” in 2019 than 2018 however, her main issue this year is that due to the retirement of Command Bolshoi she wasn’t really the focus the first quarter of the year. Once she won the PURE-J Openweight Championship in April she held it to the conclusion of 2019, with five successful defenses. Hopefully more PURE-J is available to watch in 2020.

13. Mayumi Ozaki (OZ Academy) – Even though I find Mayumi Ozaki’s match style to be predictable and not overly entertaining, I can’t deny her success in 2019 as she led OZ Academy. She held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship from April until the end of the year, and won the Blast Queen Championship as well. She wasn’t as active as most wrestlers on this list with only 46 matches however, which isn’t a surprise considering her age, and none of her matches were highly ranked. She deserves being on the list just due the stranglehold she held on OZ Academy, but hopefully in 2020 a younger wrestler with a different wrestling style will take over.

14. Riho (Gatoh Move/Stardom) – Riho found a good deal of success in AEW in 2019, but even beyond that she had a good year in Japan. She was the Ace of Gatoh Move for the first half of the year, holding both the Super Asia Championship and the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship. After joining AEW in late summer, Riho still wrestled in Japan and won the High Speed Championship in Stardom. Riho may be focusing more on AEW in 2020, but for 2019 she still did enough in Japan to make the top 20 Joshi wrestlers of the year.

15. Kagetsu (Stardom) – In her final full year as a professional wrestler, Kagetsu continued to put out great matches in 2019. She opened the year as World of Stardom Champion, holding the title for four months. From then on her championship success was more limited, with just a short Artist of Stardom run, but she was constantly involved in the title scene and had great matches with Hazuki, Toni Storm, Konami, Jungle Kyona, Arisa Hoshiki, and Mayu Iwatani. In a promotion where it is easy to fade in the background, Kagetsu never did and stayed a visible and popular wrestler for the entire year.

16. Shoko Nakajima (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Shoko had the longest Princess of Princess title reign of 2019, holding the title for over 180 days. She didn’t have the same level of matches as Miyu Yamashita, and was also often overshadowed by other fan favorites like Maki Itoh and Yuka Sakazaki. Still, she did have four successful defenses and stayed in bigger matches even outside her title reign, so even though she was sometimes overlooked she still had a really solid year for the promotion.

17. ASUKA (Freelancer) – ASUKA had an interesting year, as even though she did not win any major titles she was a force to be reckoned with wrestling in the male-dominated promotions DDT and ZERO1. She took part in the Fire Festival in 2019, and even though she didn’t do great in the tournament she did have a big win over Masato Tanaka. She also battled Akito in DDT for the DDT Extreme Championship, considered by many to be a stealth MOTYC candidate. ASUKA set her own path in 2019, one not many Joshi wrestlers have attempted, and came away with a very memorable year. As a Freelancer, its always hard to predict her future, but being a regular in DDT made her in 2019 one of the most visible Joshi wrestlers in Japan and the quality of her matches proved that she belongs in the big leagues.

18. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom) – Utami dealt with some injury issues in 2019 but still collected titles like few others can. She held five championships during the year, four in Stardom and one from EVE, and for the year she had a total of 21 title matches. She ended the year still holding three belts, as she seems poised to move up the ladder further if she can stay healthy.

19. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon) – I really didn’t want to only have one Ice Ribbon wrestler on the list, and Risa Sera seemed like the most deserving to also be included. Risa had two tag title reigns in 2019, plus she held the Blast Queen Championship for the first month and a half of the year. She had one shot at the ICExInfinity Championship, but lost, and ended the year with no titles. Her match quality continued to be high however, making it easier to justify placing her on this list.

20. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer) – Hikaru Shida held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship until April of 2019, but did not win any other titles the rest of the year. To many she was still considered one of the best in-ring wrestlers in Japan, however, and she had over 90 matches in Japan for the year even though she left in October to join AEW. Hikaru may not be eligible for this list for awhile if things go well in AEW, but she earned her spot this year with her versatility in the ring and general popularity.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019 appeared first on Joshi City.