Atsuko Emoto Archives - Joshi City https://joshicity.com/tag/atsuko-emoto/ Reviews and Wrestler Profiles from Joshi Wrestling Sun, 27 Nov 2016 05:23:21 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.6 https://i0.wp.com/joshicity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Atsuko Emoto Archives - Joshi City https://joshicity.com/tag/atsuko-emoto/ 32 32 93679598 JWP Pure Slam 2009 on 7/19/09 Review https://joshicity.com/jwp-pure-slam-july-19-2009-review/ Fri, 28 Oct 2016 07:43:39 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?p=5117 Featuring one of the sickest moves in Joshi history!

The post JWP Pure Slam 2009 on 7/19/09 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

]]>
Event: JWP “Pure Slam 2009”
Date: July 19th, 2009
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 830

When I am going through my catalog with hundreds of Joshi events, there are different reasons that I may pick any given event to review. Sometimes I want to review something quick, other times I want to review a show with Kana. This event I picked because of one move, a move you have probably seen a GIF of before and is one of the craziest spots of the last decade in wrestling. But besides that spot, this was one of JWP’s biggest events of the year and features three Championship matches plus other special matches. Here is the full card:

  • JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship: Misaki Ohata vs. Pinky Mayuka
  • Over the Maximum Summer Bout: Atsuko Emoto, Tomoka Nakagawa, and Hailey Hatred vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, Keito, and Hiroyo Matsumoto
  • Super Heel Uematsu 2nd Bout Special Tag Match: Super Heel Uematsu and KAZUKI vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Sachie Abe
  • Best of Pure-Wrestling: Azumi Hyuga vs. Tojuki Leon
  • JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women’s Tag Team Championship: Command Bolshoi and Yabushita vs. Yoneyama and Emi Sakura
  • JWP Openweight Championship: Kayoko Haruyama vs. Kyoko Kimura

Lots to be excited about, the event was presented on a two hour telecast on Samurai! TV so there will be some clipping.

jwp7-19-1
(c) Misaki Ohata vs. Pinky Mayuka
JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship

Misaki Ohata should be a name anyone reading this site will recognize, as she is currently a tag team champion in both WAVE and Ice Ribbon, but back in the summer of 2009 she was less than three years into her career. She defeated Hiroyo Matsumoto for the dual Jr. Heavyweight titles on May 31st, and this was her second defense of the title after defeating Io Shirai on July 12th. Pinky Mayuka is a far less known name as she has not been active in many years and never did anything notable, and going into the match she had a full year less experience than the champion Ohata.

jwp7-19-1They tie-up to start, Mayuka pushes Ohata into the ropes and the two trade elbows back and forth. Mayuka throws down Ohata by the hair but Ohata avoids the dropkick and returns the favor. Dropkick by Ohata, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Ohata goes to the top turnbuckle again and hits a diving body press, picking up a two count cover. Mayuka goes for a roll-up but Ohata blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Mayuka catches her with an arm trap dragon sleeper. Ohata inches to the ropes and gets her foot on them to force a break, Mayuka picks her up but Ohata sneaks in a backslide for two. Ohata applies an ankle hold but Mayuka gets to the ropes, Ohata goes back to the ankle but Mayuka blocks it this time and covers her for two. A schoolboy by Mayuka doesn’t work, Ohata grabs her and hits a German suplex hold for two. Low crossbody by Ohata, she picks up Mayuka and nails the Hanamaru Dokkan for the three count! Ohata is still the champion.

This was slightly clipped, which would explain the lack of match structure. But these were also two young wrestlers that still weren’t 100% sure what they were doing, in Joshi the “Jr.” title refers to age/experience, not size. So expectations were lower. Ohata showed a lot of promise though and I loved Mayuka’s dragon sleeper, so definitely a few bright points even if overall it was a bit flat.

jwp7-19-09-2
Atsuko Emoto, Nakagawa, and Hailey Hatred vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, Keito, and Matsumoto

A rare Hailey Hatred sighting! Well not rare back then but she hasn’t been seen in awhile. Emoto is better known to fans as Bullfighter Sora, she was a regular tag team partner of Nakagawa while Hatred was a popular Freelancer that wrestled about everywhere. Kuragaki and Matsumoto still wrestle and are very accomplished, while Keiko is better known as Keiko Aono and wrestles almost exclusively now in Diana. Six fairly well known wrestlers, with all having titles throughout their respective careers.

jwp7-19-2Nakagawa and company attack their opponents before match starts and takes them out of the ring as both teams brawl around on the floor. Back in the ring, Emoto chokes Keito with a chair and kicks her into the corner, Hailey comes in and they hit Keito with a double lariat. Keito is triple teamed in the ropes, Kuragaki comes in but she is hit in the face with a chair before having the chair dropkicked into her head. Kuragaki gets busted open on the bridge of the nose during all this, Matsumoto grabs Emoto from ringside which helps Kuragaki recover. Backbreaker by Kuragaki, she then gets both Emoto and Nakagawa on her back but Hailey breaks it up. Kuragaki stays in with Emoto and hits her with a lariat before tagging in Keito, kicks by Keito but Emoto gets away and hits a springboard elbow.

kuragakibloodEmoto goes up top but Matsumoto grabs her from the apron, Keito tosses Emoto to the mat and hits a PK for a two count. She goes off the ropes again but Emoto catches her with a heel kick, giving her time to tag in Nakagawa. Scoop slam by Nakagawa and she tags in Hailey, Nakagawa goes up top and Hailey helps her hit a diving footstomp. Nakagawa stays in, Matsumoto tries to help Emoto but Nakagawa rolls up Emoto for two. Falcon Arrow by Keito, but the pin is broken up when Emoto hits Keito with a chair. Nakagawa gets the chair but hits Emoto by accident, high kick by Keito to Nakagawa but Hailey runs in and elbow Keito. Crucifix cover by Nakagawa but it is broken up, she charges Keito but Keito hits a high kick. Kick by Keito, but Nakagawa barely gets a shoulder up. Keito drags up Nakagawa and hits another high kick, Schwein by Keito and she gets the three count! Kuragaki, Keito, and Matsumoto win!

A bit too much of this was clipped but what they showed was fine. The problem with having a six wrestler tagged trimmed down to seven minutes is it makes having so many wrestlers unnecessary. I don’t know if Hailey and Matsumoto did more, but in what they showed they did hardly anything and were non-essential to the match. Kuragaki was hit with some really hard chair shots and her face showed that, pretty brutal for a match so early on the card. Some entertaining parts but not enough substance was shown.

jwp7-19-09-3
Super Heel Uematsu and KAZUKI vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Sachie Abe

So a bit of an explanation on the emphasis on the “Super Heel” for Uematsu. In 2008, Devil Masami retired, and her evil persona was “Super Heel.” Before she retired, she ‘passed down’ the Super Heel name to Uematsu, and Uematsu was the wrestler that pinned Masami in her retirement match. So this is the second time she used the Super Heel persona, which makes her more calculated and ruthless. Uematsu and Yu-Yu were Freelancers at the time, while KAZUKI and Abe were JWP wrestlers.

Uematsu and Abe are the first two in, Abe kicks Uematsu around the ring until Uematsu bails and glares at the crowd. KAZUKI runs in to attack Abe, Uematsu then pulls Abe out of the ring and throws her into the crowd. Uematsu attacks Ran with chairs at ringside, she finally gets back into the ring and waits for Abe. Abe returns and hits a jumping seated senton onto Uematsu before making the tag to Ran. KAZUKI comes in to take Uematsu’s place, Uematsu gets a kendo stick and hits Ran with it. Running kick by Uematsu while Ran is against the ropes, she then pulls Abe off the apron and slams her into the floor. Uematsu pretends she is going to do a dive but instead slides out of the ring and hits Ran and Abe with her stick some more. Abe and Ran are double teamed at ringside until Ran and Abe fight back, Uematsu gets on the apron but Ran slides back into the ring before she can dive out. Uematsu returns also and they trade kick attempts, enzuigiri by Ran but Uematsu avoids the next attack and hit a missile dropkick. Uematsu goes for a moonsault but Ran moves, running knee by Ran and she covers Uematsu for two. Ran gets Uematsu on her back but Uematsu jumps off, dropkick by KAZUKI and Uematsu tags in KAZUKI. Running knee by KAZUKI but Abe snaps off a hurricanrana, KAZUKI reverses it but the referee is too hurt to make a cover.

jwp7-19-3Somato by KAZUKI, but Abe kicks out at two. KAZUKI tags in Uematsu, Uematsu picks up Abe but Abe drops her with a snap German. Uematsu returns to her feet, Abe lands her on feet when Uematsu goes for a dragon suplex but Uematsu dropkicks her. Missile dropkicks by Uematsu, she goes up top again but this time she dives out of the ring onto Ran. Uematsu gets back in and goes up top, Abe joins her but Uematsu chokes Abe and tosses her back to the mat. Ran comes in but Uematsu hits her with a lariat, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Abe avoids the corkscrew senton. Abe goes for a hurricanrana but Uematsu catches her and hits a powerbomb. Uematsu picks up Abe and hits a dragon suplex hold, but Ran breaks it up. Uematsu drops her with a dragon suplex also, but Ran gets back up and hits Uematsu when she gets on the second turnbuckle. Abe jumps up with Uematsu and hits a Frankensteiner, but the cover is broken up. Backdrop suplex hold by Abe, but Uematsu kicks out at two. Abe picks up Uematsu again and goes off the ropes, La Magistral by Abe but again the cover is broken up. Bodyscissors into a roll-up by Abe, Uematsu kicks out and KAZUKI hits Abe with a Codebreaker. Fisherman Driver by Uematsu, and she gets the three count! Uematsu and KAZUKI are the winners.

This was an interesting period in Uematsu’s career. She was getting a bit of a push in 2008 and 2009, and having two personas was part of her renewed interest. But like a lot of gimmicks, sometimes it doesn’t stick and resonate with the crowd, and I think that is why Uematsu isn’t really remembered today as one of the high end wrestlers of the last ten years. But she was quite good, her suplexes were all on point, she reminded me of a Cassandra Miyagi type character but one that has more wrestling skills. The match was mostly about her as KAZUKI didn’t do much, and five minutes or so were clipped, but Abe and Ran looked good as well. Too much was clipped but I actually did enjoy Uematsu’s style in this match, I thought it fit her well.  Mildly Recommended (for Uematsu)


Azumi Hyuga vs. Tojuki Leon

Hyuga! As I watch Joshi from before I got interested in it, Hyuga is one of my favorites so I always get excited when I get to watch one of her matches. She had a dozen title reigns in her career in JWP and was one of their top wrestlers before she retired in December of 2009. Leon still wrestles in JWP, in 2009 she had far less achievements than Hyuga but would go on to win the JWP Openweight Championship in 2011.

They start with some mat work, Hyuga gets Leon’s back and applies a chinlock before applying a leglock. Leon gets into the ropes, Hyuga slams Leon’s knee into the mat and puts her in a surfboard, she lets Leon go and hits a jumping knee in the corner. Leon jumps over Hyuga and hits a backbreaker, Leon tries to pick up Hyuga but Hyuga punches her away. Underhook into a backbreaker by Hyuga but Leon pushes Hyuga into the ropes, she charges her but Hyuga flips her onto the apron before kicking her in the head to send Leon to the floor. Hyuga goes up top but Leon jumps onto the apron and hits a springboard dropkick. Hyuga falls to the floor as Leon gets back into the ring and sails out onto her with a springboard dive off the top rope. Leon slides Hyuga back in and goes up top, hitting a rope walking dropkick followed by a spear in the corner. Leon goes to the top once again and hits the diving body press, but Hyuga kicks out of the cover. Leon picks up Hyuga but Hyuga gets her back and hits a suplex. Leon recovers and applies a backbreaker and slams Hyuga to the mat, Leon goes off the ropes but Hyuga dropkicks her in the head. Rolling Germans by Hyuga and she hits a backbreaker, Leon rolls her to the mat but Hyuga reverses it and delivers a head kick.

jwp7-19-4Leon falls out of the ring, Hyuga goes out to the apron and jumps off with a knee attack. Hyuga rolls Leon back in and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hyuga but it gets two. Armtrap Crossface by Hyuga, but Leon wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Hyuga picks up Leon but Leon blocks the Michinoku Driver and slams Hyuga into her knee. Big spinning slam by Leon, she goes up top and hits a somersault legdrop for a two count. Leon picks up Hyuga and goes off the ropes, but Hyuga elbows her in the chest and they trade shots. Hyuga catches Leon’s heel kick and hits a suplex, knee to the back of the head by Hyuga and she hits the Michinoku Driver, but Leon barely kicks out. Hyuga puts Leon on the top turnbuckle and joins her, Spider German by Hyuga but Leon lands on her feet. Leon goes for a spear while Hyuga is still hanging but Hyuga pulls herself up in time, Leon re-joins Hyuga and she hits an avalanche capture suplex. Hyuga and Leon slowly get up, half nelson suplex by Leon and she kicks Hyuga in the head. Leon goes out to the apron and hits a swandive heel kick, Leon picks up Hyuga and nails the Capture Buster, but Hyuga somehow kicks out. Leon drags Hyuga up and goes for another one, but Hyuga blocks it and rolls up Leon for two. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, Hyuga kicks Leon in the head and hits the Michinoku Driver, but it gets two. Hyuga goes up top and nails the Takako Panic, cover by Hyuga and she gets the three count! Azumi Hyuga is the winner.

I enjoyed this match quite a bit, both really brought their A game. Lots of big moves, ranging from dives to killer suplexes, and they really kept the match moving for the entire 15 minutes. Hyuga had a fair number of injuries in her career but could still go as you wouldn’t have known from watching this match, and this is one of the better Leon singles matches I’ve seen. Really fun and a pleasant surprise. Recommended

jwp7-19-5
(c) Command Bolshoi and Megumi Yabushita vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Emi Sakura
JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women’s Tag Team Championship

The first of two title matches on the show. This is Bolshoi and Yabushita’s second defense of the title, they won the belts against Hotta and Keito on April 12th. Yoneyama debuted in JWP in 1999 and by 2009 had already held the JWP Tag Team Championship twice, while Emi Sakura represented Ice Ribbon. Emi Sakura was a regular participant in JWP and had some experience with Yoneyama, so they were not a thrown together tag team but legitimate challengers for JWP’s tag team titles.

Yoneyama and Sakura attack before the match starts, but Bolshoi and Yabushita throw them out of the ring and both teams battle on the floor. They return after a moment with Bolshoi and Yabushita in control, they both roll their opponents to the mat and apply submission holds. Bolshoi picks up Yoneyama and hits a vertical suplex before tagging Yabushita, scoop slam by Yabushita and she hits a double kneedrop near the ropes. Yabushita picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama rolls up Yabushita, she tries to tag Sakura but Yabushita grabs her leg and applies an ankle hold. She tags in Bolshoi, Bolshoi kicks Yoneyama but Yoneyama schoolboys her for two and makes the hot tag to Sakura. Mongolian Chops by Sakura and she attacks both Bolshoi and Yabushita in the corner, Yoneyama returns and they double team Bolshoi. Sakura picks up Bolshoi and hits a double underhook backbreaker, another backbreaker by Sakura but Yabushita grabs her from the apron. Yoneyama grabs Bolshoi too as Yabushita applies a hanging armbar to Sakura, Bolshoi runs over to Sakura but Sakura avoids the double dropkick attempt. Sakura crossbodies both Yabushita and Bolshoi off the apron, Yoneyama runs over and she dives out onto both of her opponents with a somersault attack. Bolshoi is rolled back in, footstomp by Sakura but Bolshoi blocks the second one and applies a triangle choke. Sakura gets out of it and elbows Bolshoi, Bolshoi applies a reverse armbar but Sakura gets into the ropes. Bolshoi tags Yabushita, Yabushita puts Sakura in a choke but Yoneyama comes in and breaks it up.

jwp7-19-5Senton by Yoneyama, Sakura rolls Yabushita to the mat and applies a submission, but Yabushita gets a foot in the ropes. Sakura tags in Yoneyama, Yoneyama comes in with a diving crossbody and she goes for a cover, but Yabushita blocks it and applies a triangle choke. Yabushita picks up Yoneyama and goes to the second turnbuckle, but Yoneyama gets away from her and tosses her off with a judo throw of sorts. Sakura comes in and hits a moonsault, Yoneyama follows with her own moonsault and both wrestlers hit another one, but Bolshoi breaks up Yoneyama’s cover. Cross armbreaker takedown by Yabushita while Bolshoi puts Sakura in an ankle hold, but Yoneyama manages to get into the ropes for a break. Yabushita tags in Bolshoi, chop by Bolshoi and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick, but Yoneyama hits the Chaos Theory for two. Yoneyama goes up top but Bolshoi smacks her before she can jump off, Bolshoi joins Yoneyama and hits an avalanche uranage for a two count. Bolshoi picks up Yoneyama and hits a tiger suplex hold, but that gets two as well. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Yoneyama hits a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster, double Reverse Splash to Bolshoi and Yoneyama goes back up top to hit a diving senton, but Yabushita breaks up the cover. Yoneyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a way and hits a Shotei. Everyone is hurt, they slowly get up as Bolshoi goes for a flash pin, but Yoneyama reverses it. Sakura tosses Yabushita out of the ring but she comes back in with a springboard knee to Yoneyama’s arm, double reverse armbar by Bolshoi to Yoneyama but Sakura breaks it up. Reverse STO by Sakura to Bolshoi, Yoneyama delivers the Yone-ZOU and she picks up the three count! Yoneyama and Sakura are your new champions!

I’m not really sure what to say about this match. I liked it, but it just had no cohesion whatsoever. There wasn’t a structure or a feeling that either team had a plan, it was just random moves. One time in particular Yabushita had a solid submission locked in, but she just released it for no reason to go for something else, which no doubt didn’t work since neither team had a control segment worth mentioning. It was really fast paced and most things were hit really smooth, but it was a bit too unfocused for my personal preferences. Some good parts and exciting moves, it just didn’t feel like a championship match and was a step down from the match we just saw in terms of excitement and suspense.

jwp7-19-6
(c) Kayoko Haruyama vs. Kyoko Kimura
JWP Openweight Championship

It is time for what we came for, as the crazy and brutal Kyoko goes for Haruyama’s championship. Haruyama defeated Azumi Hyuga on March 29th, 2008 to win the championship and this was her 6th defense of the title. Kyoko Kimura during this period was just insane, using weapons and any tactics necessary to defeat her opponents. Coming into the match, Kyoko had only won a few tag team titles in other promotions and was the underdog, but due to her hardcore style she was always ready for war. A win here would further cement Haruyama as the Ace of JWP, a role that Hyuga had held for years but was now up for grabs.

jwp7-19-6No pleasantries here as they start off trading hard elbows, they trade shoulderblock attempts until Haruyama knocks Kyoko to the mat. She goes off the ropes again but is pulled out of the ring by Emoto (Kyoko’s crew is Emoto, Hailey, and Nakagawa from the previous match), Kyoko goes out too and she throws Haruyama into the bleachers. She takes Haruyama into the bleachers and hits her with a weapon before bringing her back towards ringside, but instead of taking her into the ring she takes her up into the bleachers again and rams her head into the wall. Haruyama is bleeding at this point while Kyoko bites her in the head, she finally brings Haruyama back to the ring and stabs her in the head repeatedly with scissors. Kyoko gets her chain and chokes Haruyama with it, Kyoko charges Haruyama but Haruyama drops her onto the apron. Kyoko wraps the chain around Haruyama’s neck and gets a chair, Haruyama ducks the shot and goes off the ropes, but Kyoko doesn’t miss the second time as she hits Haruyama with the chair. She gets her scissors but Haruyama gets the chair and hits Kyoko with it, she throws the chair out of the ring and kicks Kyoko repeatedly while she kneels on the mat. Punches by Haruyama and she lariats Kyoko in the corner, mounted punches by Haruyama and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Haruyama hits a second one, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Kyoko avoids the diving guillotine legdrop. Kyoko then goes up top but Haruyama hits her before she can jump off and joins her, delivering an avalanche powerslam for a two count cover. Kyoko is slid her chain and she hits Haruyama in the head with it, she throws Haruyama out of the ring and Haruyama is attacked by Kyoko’s crew. JWP wrestler try to help to even the odds, but they ultimately get beaten down too. During all this, Kyoko has climbed all the way up to the high balcony at Korakuen (not the one that Io likes jumping off of, but on the other side), Kyoko is fed the chain and she hangs Haruyama from the balcony. Haruyama is freed, but she is laid down on the bleachers while Kyoko is perched above. Kyoko then dives off the balcony, hitting a diving footstomp over 20 feet down onto Haruyama’s midsection why she is lying on a wooden bleacher.

jwpbalcony1 jwpbalcony jwpbalcony4 jwpbalcony3

While Haruyama recovers – this spot was beyond crazy. Usually when a wrestler dives from high off something, either they are caught (ideally by more then one person) to break the fall, or the wrestler goes through a table to break the fall. They had none of that here, as Haruyama was on a hard bleacher, so she had no ‘give’ to take some of the move. To make it worse, Kyoko missed Haruyama with her feet as either intentionally or unintentionally she fell in a way that protected herself but decimated Haruyama. Kyoko barely grazed Haruyama with her feet and in reality sat down directly on Haruyama’s chest after jumping off the balcony. As you can see in the GIFs, it was very high impact and Haruyama is lucky to have only broken a few ribs. There is a reason this spot has never been done since even though Korakuen is wrestled in all the time – it was extremely dangerous and insane.

Kyoko goes back into the ring and sets up a barbed wire board across two chairs while she waits for Haruyama. Haruyama finally makes it back in, Kyoko puts Haruyama on the top turnbuckle and she superplexes Haruyama through the barbed wire board. Cover by Kyoko, but Haruyama barely kicks out. Running boot to the face by Kyoko, she goes up top but Haruyama gets a bundle of lighttubes and hits Kyoko in the head with it. Keene Hammer by Haruyama, but Kyoko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kyoko and Haruyama trade elbows, they go off the ropes and Haruyama levels Kyoko with a lariat. Sliding lariat by Haruyama, but Kyoko grabs the ropes when Haruyama goes for the pin. Kyoko headbutts Haruyama and hits a big boot, another big boot by Kyoko and she covers Haruyama for two. Kyoko goes off the ropes, but Haruyama grabs her and slams Kyoko to the mat. A second Keene Hammer by Haruyama, and she picks up the three count! Kayoko Haruyama is still the champion!

Rating a match like this is hard, but I will say that it was very brutal and violent, one of the more violent matches you will see in a non-deathmatch promotion. I mean we had Haruyama hung by a chain, hit with a chain, put through barbed wire, stabbed with scissors, hit repeatedly with chairs, and on top of that a little balcony dive footstomp that no one else in the world is crazy enough to do. The only knock of sorts on the match is the ending, as after all that brutality they went though the usual ‘trade finishers’ conclusion that works fine in most matches but seemed a bit out of place here. Also, the brawling outside the ring by the two factions looked weak at times and didn’t really aid the match. But I still really enjoyed it, the match was a hell of a spectacle, even though I never want to see a match quite like it happen again. Once was the perfect number. Recommended

The post JWP Pure Slam 2009 on 7/19/09 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

]]>
5117
NEO Women’s Wrestling Carnival 2009 on 12/31/09 Review https://joshicity.com/neo-womens-pro-wrestling-carnival-december-31-2009-review/ Mon, 19 Sep 2016 02:29:31 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?p=4612 Featuring Kana, Io Shirai, Mio Shirai, and Hikaru Shida!

The post NEO Women’s Wrestling Carnival 2009 on 12/31/09 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

]]>
Event: NEO “Women’s Pro-Wrestling Carnival 2009”
Date: December 31st, 2009
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 976

NEO Ladies was a Joshi promotion that had many re-starts but was running in some form from 1998 to 2010. Originally it was a break-off promotion from All Japan Women, and the name was supposed to be Nippon Women’s Wrestling but they had a trademark issue with New Japan Pro Wrestling.  So they went with NEO Ladies instead. Kyoko Inoue was the Ace of the promotion, but over the years other wrestlers made their name in NEO including Natsuki Taiyo, Nanae Takahashi, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ayako Hamada, and many others.

This show took place towards the end of NEO’s run, but they still had a great roster. A bit of everything is here, including a title match, some comedy, some legends, a debut, and Kenny Omega in an Intergender Match. Here is the card:

  • Aya Yuki vs. Natsumi Kawano
  • Fuka and Asami Kawasaki vs. Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto
  • Dump Matsumoto vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto
  • Kenny Omega vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
  • Mima Shimoda, Kyoko Kimura, Atsuko Emoto, and Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Makoto, Mio Shirai, Io Shirai, and Yukari Ishino
  • Emi Sakura vs. Kyoko Inoue
  • NEO Tag Team Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Kana vs. Yoshiko Tamura and Ayumi Kurihara

I am skipping one match since it is a battle royal against West Gate Pro Wrestling, a promotion I am not overly familiar with and it was more of a comedy match anyway. Since the event was squeezed down to two hours, some matches will be clipped.

NEO12.31.09-1
Aya Yuuki vs. Natsumi Kawano

This is Natsumi Kawano’s Debut Match. Don’t feel too bad if you are not familiar with these wrestlers as they are a bit obscure. Yuki actually still wrestles today, although not frequently and she mostly stays in smaller promotions, if you are a Stardom fan than you will know her better as Hatsuhinode Kamen. Kawano had a very short career, this was her debut but she later retired from NEO, she re-appeared in REINA but retired from REINA due to an injury in 2012. As far as I know she hasn’t been seen since.

NEO12.31.09-1Yuuki pushes Kawano to the ropes to start, Kawano fires back with an elbow but Yuuki throws her around by her hair. Kawano sneaks in a schoolboy but it doesn’t work, dropkicks by Kawano and she covers Yuuki for two. Scoop slam by Yuuki, she picks up Kawano and boots her in the chest before posing to the crowd. Shoulderblock by Yuuki and she hits a second one, a third shoulderblock by Yuuki and she covers the rookie for a two count. Running elbow drop by Yuuki, but again Kawano kicks out of the cover. Yuuki chokes Kawano and throws her to the mat, rolling fireman’s carry slam by Yuuki and she gets the three count! Aya Yuuki wins!

Even though it was short it was actually more even at the beginning than I was expecting. Either Yuuki is ranked even lower than I thought or they had some hopes for Kawano, as the veteran took it pretty easy on her. Kawano didn’t show anything here to make you think she’d be a star, her dropkicks wouldn’t have passed the Meiko Satomura Test, but it was only her first match after all. Nothing much to it.

NEO12.31.09-2
Fuka and Asami Kawasaki vs. Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto
Super Dimension Encounter ~ Athtress vs. Muscle Venus

I feel I should explain, Athtress was a term made up by Joshi promotion Jd’ Star, which as it appears was a combination of “athlete” and “actress.” Basically it was wrestlers that were also attractive, with the idea that they would able to also have careers as actresses or models. Jd’ Star was gone before this match started, but the name stuck around for a bit and Fuka was arguable the most successful Athtress from the Jd’ Star days. Hikaru Shida and Fujimoto ironically were actresses at the time, as the “Muscle Venus” stable name came from the television series sharing the same name.

NEO12.31.09-2Kawasaki and Shida start off the match but both are promptly jumped from behind, Shida and Fujimoto isolate Fuka but Kawasaki returns to help her partner out. Fuka and Kawasaki both hit knees to the chest but things settle back down, judo throw by Shida to Kawasaki and she hits a second one. Kawasaki kicks Shida in the back but Shida ducks the PK, another judo throw by Shida and she tags in Fujimoto. Fujimoto hits a rebound crossbody on Kawasaki but Kawasaki levels her with a boot to the face. Northern Lights Suplex by Kawasaki, but it gets a two count. Fujimoto sends Kawasaki into the ropes but Fuka kicks her from the apron, giving Kawasaki time to recover. Kawasaki tags in Fuka, kicks by Fuka to Fujimoto but Fujimoto hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Sunset flip by Fujimoto but Fuka reverses it and they go back and forth with quick pins. Tiger Feint Kick by Fujimoto, she covers Fujimoto but Fujimoto bridges out of the pin. We clip ahead to Shida being in the ring with Fuka, lariat by Shida and Fujimoto hits Fuka with a Tiger Feint Kick. Shida picks up Fuka but Fuka kicks her, Kawasaki comes in but Kawasaki kicks Fuka in the head by accident. Shida picks up Fuka and hits a delayed vertical suplex, but Fuka kicks out of the cover. Kawasaki walks over and hits Shida with a heel drop, Fuka picks up Shida and she delivers the Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Fujimoto breaks up the cover. Fuka picks up Shida and hits the F Crash for the three count! Fuka and Kawasaki are the winners.

I am not sure if this is a sacrilegious thing to say but I have never been really impressed with Fuka in-ring. Very attractive, apparently a solid trainer, but her strikes never had a lot of impact and the F Crash is not a good finisher since it looks weaker than what we expect from wrestlers in Japan. Its a WWE-looking finisher if you will. I am not too familar with Kawasaki but she looked good here, solid kicks, and Shida is always a treat. A short match made shorter by clipping, a few fun moments but that is about it.

NEO12.31.09-3
Dump Matsumoto vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto
Matsumoto #1 Decision Match

The battle of the Matsumotos! This was just done for fun of course. Dump Matsumoto was still fairly active in 2009, wrestling as a Freelancer in a variety of promotions. Miyako Matsumoto was (and still is) a mostly comedic Ice Ribbon wrestler while Hiroyo Matsumoto is also a Freelancer that today wrestles primarily in OZ Academy and Stardom.

NEO12.31.09-3Dump goes right after Miyako and levels her with a lariat, body press by Dump and she kicks Miyako out of the ring. She turns to Hiroyo, Hiroyo tries to knock over Dump but Dump absorbs her blows. Hiroyo tries to pick up Dump but can’t, Miyako returns and tries to help Dump but Dump shoulderblocks Miyako back to the mat. Dump flings Miyako by her hair and Hiroyo dropkicks Miyako, Miyako keeps sliding to the apron to escape but Dump pulls her back in so that Hiroyo can hit another dropkick. Hiroyo dropkicks Dump but it has no impact, release German by Dump to Hiroyo but Miyako has returned and tries to elbow Dump. Meanwhile Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Dump, finally knocking her to the mat. Miyako dances around while Hiroyo holds down Dump, Dump eventually gets up and gets her kendo stick, hitting both Hiroyo and Miyako. Miyako rolls out of the ring but Dump goes out after her and throws her into the stands. Miyako runs away from Dump and returns to the ring, she celebrates but Hiroyo grabs Miyako from behind and hits the backbreaker into a gutbuster for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins and is the best Matsumoto.

As I mentioned this was more goofy filler than anything else, Dump Matsumoto does a lot of ‘comedy matches while still killing people with weapons’, it is almost one of her things these days. I always enjoy seeing Dump and Hiroyo is great, but just a short match with limited valuable aside from a few possible laughs.

NEO12.31.09-4
Kenny Omega vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
High Speed Alternate World

If you asked the average fan online which wrestler was best known for Intergender matches in Japan, they’d likely say Omega. Not because he has the most, but he has the most famous when he had a match against 9 year old Haruka in Stardom. But it is a match style that Omega is clearly comfortable with as he has faced off against many Joshi wrestlers over the years. Here he is against Taiyo, who looks like a child but was 25 at the time the match took place. Taiyo was a regular in NEO, she later went on to star in Stardom before retiring in 2014. Currently she is affiliated with SEAdLINNNG, acting as their director and occasionally a referee.

NEO12.31.09-4Omega tosses Taiyo to the mat after the bell rings and poses, Omega applies a wristlock but Taiyo reverses it before Omega throws her to the mat again. Armdrag by Taiyo and she hits another one, Omega applies a front necklock but Taiyo gets onto the ropes to force a break. The referee tries to step in but Taiyo pushes him away, armdrag by Taiyo and she hits a dropkick. Taiyo kicks Omega into the corner, Irish whip but Omega flips away from her. Omega goes for a hurricanrana but Taiyo reverses it into a powerbomb for a two count. Kicks and slaps by Taiyo but Omega comes back with a jumping kick of his own, Aoi Shoudou by Omega but Taiyo kicks out of the cover. Headbutts and another jumping kick by Omega, he goes to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick to Taiyo’s back. Snap dragon suplex hold by Omega, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up. Omega picks up Taiyo, slaps by Taiyo but Omega hits a release snap dragon suplex. The referee starts a ten count, Taiyo tries to get up but he can’t, and she gets counted down. Kenny Omega wins by KO.

This was too clipped down to recommend, since the match went almost ten minutes I assume that Taiyo got in a bit more offense than this. As it was, the point was for Taiyo to show how tough she is and she did, kicking out of several of Omega’s moves and almost making the ten count at the end. Omega has never minded selling for much smaller wrestlers since he is one of the few that understands it helps everyone to make your opponent look good, and everything they showed was crisp. In full this may have been a match worth hunting down, but not so much in this abridged form.

NEO12.31.09-5
Mima Shimoda, Kimura, Emoto, and Nakagawa vs. Makoto, Mio Shirai, Io Shirai, and Ishino
Shimoda and Amandora Blitz Union

I’m excited for this match, just knowing how all of the wrestlers on the “young” team turned out to be such quality wrestlers down the road. The Shimoda team are the bad guys in this match, as Shimoda generally was, although none were officially affiliated with NEO. The other team was not just some of the best young wrestlers in 2009 but they turned into the future stars of Joshi, with Makoto and Io Shirai the current Aces of their promotions (REINA and Stardom, respectively). Mio Shirai was one of the top Freelancers in Joshi before retiring last year, and Ishino is better known as Kagetsu, a current champion in Stardom. At the time of the match though none had reached near that level of success and were looking for an upset against the veterans.

NEO12.31.09-5Shimoda and company attack before the match starts and there are still streamers everywhere, Shimoda stays in with Io and she kicks her in the chest. Shimoda chokes Io in the ropes and throws her down by the hair, her teammates come in the ring and they all post on Io. We clip ahead to Io hitting a missile dropkick on Shimoda, giving her time to tag in Makoto. Armdrag by Makoto and she kicks Shimoda in the chest, jumping kick by Makoto and she covers Shimoda for two. Makoto goes for a double underhook but Shimoda gets out of it, roll-up by Makoto but it gets two. Shimoda’s teammates keep trying to help but it backfires each time, Io sails in with a missile dropkick on Shimoda and Nakagawa and they all stomp on Shimoda. The young underdogs take turns attacking Shimoda in the corner, handstand kneedrop by Makoto and she hits a second one for a two count. Makoto picks up Shimoda and nails the cross arm fisherman suplex hold, but Shimoda barely gets a shoulder up. Makoto’s friends return but they all miss dropkicks, then Shimoda kicks each one of them in the head. German suplex by Shimoda to Makoto and she hits a heel drop for a two count. Shimoda picks up Makoto and hits a tiger suplex hold, but Io breaks up the cover. Shimoda’s friends clear the ring while she puts Makoto on the top turnbuckle, avalanche suplex by Shimoda and she gets the three count! Shimoda and friends win the match.

As is a recurring theme on this show, it was just too clipped to get a real feel of the action. The only legal wrestlers we saw the entire match were Shimoda, Io, and Makoto, which is disappointing when there were five other wrestlers around (I am assuming in a 15 minute match that there were more tags than that). It was fun to watch, a few things were silly like everyone waiting for Shimoda’s heel drops and not everything was smooth, but I always enjoy seeing Joshi babies. Not great since Shimoda was the focus but not bad either.

NEO12.31.09-6
Emi Sakura vs. Kyoko Inoue
Joshi Puroresu MVP

In 2009, Emi Sakura was voted as the Joshi MVP by both Tokyo Sports and Nikkan Sports. I couldn’t find the complete results, so I can’t say for sure if Inoue also placed in the polls or she just challenged Sakura to show she was the real MVP. Emi Sakura at the time was the leader of Ice Ribbon, both as a wrestler and as the owner/head trainer, while Inoue was one of the founders of NEO.

NEO12.31.09-7Sakura dropkicks Inoue right as the bell rings which sends Inoue to the floor, Sakura gets on the top turnbuckle and sails out onto her with a plancha suicida before sliding back into the ring and hitting a tope suicida. Sakura gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down to the floor, making three dives by Sakura in the first 20 seconds of the match. Sakura puts Inoue on a table at ringside and goes up to the top turnbuckle, she hits the Nyan Nyan Press but the table doesn’t break, probably making it even more painful for both. Sakura doesn’t care and gets back in the ring, Inoue joins her and Sakura hits a somersault senton for a two count. Sakura goes up top again but Inoue has had enough and clubs her in the head, Inoue joins Sakura but Sakura hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Sakura goes up top again but again Inoue joins her, and this time Inoue delivers a superplex. Lariat by Inoue, she picks up Sakura but Sakura chops her in the chest. Inoue absorbs the blows and floors Sakura with a hard elbow, Sakura gets back up but Inoue hits a lariat. Big powerbomb by Inoue, but Sakura kicks out of the cover. Inoue picks up Sakura but Sakura slides away and applies La Magistral for a two count. Lariat by Inoue, she waits for Sakura to get up but Sakura ducks the lariat attempt and hits a low flying crossbody for the three count! Emi Sakura wins!

This match wasn’t clipped, it was just a short match. Sakura sure knows how to get the most out of a match that goes less than five minutes, hitting half a dozen high spots within the first 30 seconds of action. It was an entertaining heavyweight sprint, a spotfest for sure but it came across as a special attraction match between two veterans. Inoue getting beaten like this shows the respect she had for Sakura, since technically she was the founder of a rival promotion. I actually enjoyed it for what it was, as I like seeing Sakura fly around the ring, but not long enough to get too excited about.  Mildly Recommended

NEO12.31.09-7
(c) Nanae Takahashi and Kana vs. Yoshiko Tamura and Ayumi Kurihara
NEO Tag Team Championship Match

Takahashi and Kana, part of a stable called Passion Red, won the tag team titles from Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kyoko Inoue on October 10th, 2009 when Takahashi pinned Inoue. This match is their second defense of the title, after defeating their friends Taiyo and Passion Ray on November 22nd, 2009 in NEO for their first defense. Tamura was one of the lead wrestlers in NEO and had already won the title twice before, but up to this point the young Kurihara had never won a championship in her career. This match has to deliver, since the other matches on the show were too clipped and nothing has really stood out up to this point.

NEO12.31.09-8aKana and Kurihara begin the match and immediately trade strikes, Kana jumps on the second turnbuckle but Kurihara dropkicks her out of the ring. Kurihara goes up top and dives out of the ring onto both Kana and Takahashi, she slides Kana back in where Tamura is waiting and they both attack Kana in the corner. Double cutter to Kana but Kana avoids the double vertical suplex only to eat a STO. Takahashi has also come in the ring, they are tied together on the mat and both are dropkicked in the head. Tamura stays in with Kana and hits a bridging vertical suplex, picking up a two count. Kana fights back with elbows and kicks but Tamura blocks one and hits a DDT. Suplex by Tamura, she picks up Kana but Kana slaps her in the face and kicks her in the chest. Kick to the head by Kana, and she covers Tamura for two. Kana tags in Takahashi, lariat by Takahashi in the corner but Tamura avoids the next one and delivers a high kick. Kurihara runs in and dropkicks Takahashi, Takahashi lariats out of the ring while Kana knocks Tamura out as well. Kana hits a hip attack off the apron onto Tamura, Takahashi gets a running start in the ring and sails out onto both of her opponents with a tope suicida. Kana waits while Tamura is slid back in and hits a diving hip attack onto Tamura off the top. Takahashi then goes up top and hits the Refrigerator Bomb, but Tamura gets a shoulder up. Takahashi goes for a backdrop suplex but Tamura lands on top of her and then hits a backdrop suplex of her own. Takahashi quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex but Tamura then hits another one. A final backdrop suplex by Takahashi ends the series as both are slow to get up, both wrestlers elbow each other until Takahashi hits a lariat for a two count. Tamura blocks the next lariat attempt and rolls Takahashi to the mat, fancy inside cradle by Tamura but it gets a two count. Tamura picks up Takahashi but Takahashi drives her back into the corner, neckbreaker by Tamura and she goes up top, but Takahashi joins her. Avalanche side slam by Tamura, Kurihara goes up top and Tamura helps her hit a somersault senton. Cobra Clutch Suplex by Tamura and she covers Takahashi, but Kana breaks it up.

NEO12.31.09-8bTamura tags in Kurihara, Kurihara goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Double knee by Kurihara in the corner and she slaps Takahashi to the mat, dropkick by Kurihara but Takahashi kicks her back and slaps her hard in the face. Cutter by Takahashi, but Kurihara kicks out. Takahashi goes for the reverse splash but Kurihara gets her knees up and hits a Codebreaker. Dropkick by Kurihara while Takahashi is against the ropes, Kana runs in to kick Kurihara and she trips Kurihara while Takahashi hits a lariat. Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kurihara sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Kana comes in but she kicks Takahashi by accident, Tamura then comes in and she elbows Takahashi. Dropkick by Kurihara to Takahashi, but the cover gets two. Kurihara goes off the ropes but Takahashi levels her with a lariat, Takahashi kicks Kurihara in the head but Tamura breaks up the cover. Takahashi tags in Kana, Kana picks up Kurihara and kicks her into the corner. Kana kicks the shit out of Kurihara for a bit but Kurihara catches one and slaps Kana in the face. German suplex hold by Kana, but Kurihara gets a shoulder up. Takahashi comes in and they both hit running kicks to Kurihara, punt kick by Kana and she hits a second one, but Tamura breaks up the cover. Kana goes off the ropes but Tamura intercepts her with an elbow, Takahashi tries to help but she lariats Kana by accident. Uranage by Kurihara, but Takahashi breaks up the pin. Jumping kick to the back of the head by Takahashi to Kurihara, then she hits a Blue Thunder Driver on Tamura. Spinning backfist by Kana to Kurihara, but Kurihara barely kicks out of the cover. Kana goes for a high kick but Kurihara ducks it and hits a uranage, she then drops Takahashi with one as well. Kurihara picks up Kana and hits another uranage, Tamura comes in and they nail the Tamashii wo Hitotsu Ni (Kudo Driver/Back to Belly Piledriver) that I’ve never seen done in my life. Cover on Kana, but Takahashi breaks it up. Kurihara waits for Kana to get up and nails an elevated running double knee strike, and she picks up the three count pinfall! Your winners and new champions are Yoshiko Tamura and Ayumi Kurihara

tamurakuriharachampions

I mentioned this match had to deliver, and God did they. This was just as stiff as you may imagine, but what was more impressive was that they just went non-stop from bell to bell while keeping the action smooth. I loved that the younger/less experienced wrestlers got the chance to shine by leading the final stretch of the match, and while Tamura was towards the end of her career here her skills had not diminished. The match had everything I could ask for – high flying, Kana kicks, suplexes, “Holy Shit” moments, and suspense. A high end tag match for sure, it is no surprise that Kurihara and Kana’s success and popularity continued to grow after this, both were great in this match. Definitely worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

The post NEO Women’s Wrestling Carnival 2009 on 12/31/09 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

]]>
4612