Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

After a bit of a break, I am back to watching more GAEA Japan! This airing from GAORA TV is really interesting – they actually don’t air the main event from this show at all. The show ended with a big match between Chigusa Nagayo and Shark Tsuchiya, so while I don’t think there was an official reason why it never aired, either FMW didn’t give permission (less likely) or the match was really bad (more likely). In fact most of the matches from this show didn’t make the recording, as they only show two matches from the six match card. Here are the matches we will be watching:

• Meiko Satomura, Yuki Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
• Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka
  

The airing is still an hour long, so safe bet that one of these matches will be on the lengthy side. You can click on the names above to go directly to that wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City.

Meiko Satomura, Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
G & J 3 on 3 MIX

Yuki and Chihiro start the match but Amano quickly comes in to help before Kanako is tagged in. Kanako takes down Yuki and puts her in an armbar, but Toshie quickly breaks it up. Yuki tags in Toshie, kicks by Toshie to Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Chihiro and she nails a jumping knee, but that gets a two as well. She tags in Amano, dropkick by Amano and she scoop slams Toshie. Snapmare by Amano and she puts Toshie in a crab hold, but Yuki breaks it up. Meiko is tagged in and she trades elbows with Amano, running elbow by Meiko and she hits a scoop slam. Meiko tags in Yuki, dropkicks by Yuki but Kanako tags herself in. Crossbody by Yuki to Kanako and she puts her in a headscissors, she lets Yuki go after a moment and dropkicks her into the corner. Another dropkick by Kanako and she tags in Chihiro, snapmare by Chihiro and she puts Yuki in a crab hold. Yuki gets to the ropes for the break, Chihiro drags her back to the middle of the ring and starts working on her leg. Chihiro tags Kanako, crossbody by Kanako but Yuki kicks out. Yuki finally gets control of the match, snapmares by Yuki and she puts Kanako in a bodyscissors. Chihiro runs in and breaks it up, Kanako and Chihiro double team Yuki and Kanako dropkicks Toshie when she tries to help.

Kanako tags in Amano but Yuki avoids her diving body press, Amano tags Kanako back in and Kanako cradles Yuki for two. Meiko and Toshie come to to get Yuki back in control but she immediately hits a series of running boots from Kanako. Kanako tags Chihiro but Yuki slaps her against the ropes and delivers a hip attack. Another hip attack by Yuki and she tags in Toshie, face crusher by Toshie to Chihiro and she gets a two count cover. Irish whip by Toshie and she trades waistlocks with Chihiro until she delivers a neckbreaker. Chihiro quickly puts Toshie in a kneelock but it gets broken up, she tags in Amano while Meiko is tagged in as well. Amano tosses Meiko into the corner and hits an elbow, but Meiko returns the favor, jumping lariat by Amano but Yuki boots her in the head. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Amano, Toshie then hits one as well until Meiko delivers a diving lariat. Amano is dragged back to her corner so that Kanako can tag in, Yuki stays in too but Chihiro comes off the top with a knee to Toshie. We settle back to Meiko in the ring with Amano, they trade flash pins but neither can get the three count. Amano goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat, but Meiko avoids the next one and goes for Amano’s arm. Meiko goes for the cross armbreaker but Amano gets away, cradle by Meiko but Amano reverts it into a cross armbreaker and Meiko submits! Your winners are Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya!

When you put six young wrestlers in one match without any type of veteran to keep them under control, you are going to get chaos, which is what this match was. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a mid-card fast paced match but if you are looking for structure then this isn’t the match for you as they were just running in and out with no regard to traditional tag rules. Chihiro’s jumping knee was the most memorable thing about the match, it was hit very flush and she looked great here. Even though they are young and inexperienced, it was certainly an exciting match and they all showed potential to be great wrestlers down the road (which many did in fact become).  Mildly Recommended

Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka

We join the match in progress with Ozaki in the ring with KAORU, KAORU applies a sleeper but Ozaki gets out of it, she manages to tag in Masami but KAORU immediately jumps on her back and applies a sleeper to her as well. Fukuoka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Masami, but Masami fires back with a lariat out of instinct. Fukuoka still recovers first and puts Masami in a sleeper, Masami struggles for a few minutes until she finally reaches the ropes. Fukuoka picks up Masami and hits a German suplex hold, but Ozaki breaks it up. Fukuoka tags KAORU back in and KAORU puts Masami in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and hits a leg drop to Masami’s back. KAORU tags Fukuoka, Irish whip by Fukuoka but Masami blocks it and hits an overhead toss. This gives her time to tag in Ozaki, German suplex hold by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Liger Bomb by Ozaki, but that gets a two count as well. Ozaki goes up top and hits a twisting body press, but again Fukuoka kicks out. Short armbar by Ozaki, she picks up Fukuoka and snaps down on her arm. She goes back to the armbar before tagging Masami in, Irish whip by Masami but Fukuoka rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Rolling Cradle by Fukuoka, but Ozaki breaks up the eventual cover. Dragon sleeper by Fukuoka to Masami but Masami gets out of it, Irish whip by Masami and she slams Fukuoka. Fukuoka elbows Masami, Masami goes for a powerbomb but KAORU breaks it up before she can finish the move. Ozaki comes in to even the odds, Masami slams Fukuoka near the corner and she picks up Ozaki to powerbomb her onto Fukuoka, but KAORU dives off the top with a lariat to Ozaki instead. German suplex hold by Fukuoka to Masami, but Masami gets a shoulder up. Masami rolls out of the ring and Fukuoka goes out after her, but Masami slaps her hard in the chest and takes her up into the crowd. Masami tosses chairs at Fukuoka but Fukuoka gets behind her back and pushes Masami off the stage.

Masami lands on her feet but KAORU goes up on the stage and Fukuoka helps catapult her off the stage and onto Masami. Fukuoka then does a cartwheel on the stage before diving down onto both Masami and Ozaki with a crossbody. Back in the ring, Fukuoka tosses Masami into the corner and delivers the Space Rolling Elbow, she puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but when she goes for the Frankensteiner she gets powerbombed instead. Sleeper by Masami but KAORU breaks it up, Masami grabs KAORU and tosses her over the top rope to the floor. Masami picks up Fukuoka and hits a Liger Bomb, but it gets a two count. Masami goes back to the sleeper but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break, KAORU suddenly flies in the ring with a swandive dropkick to Masami’s back and she drags Fukuoka back to her corner so she can tag her. KAORU charges Masami but Masami hits a Samoan Drop, scoop slam by Masami and she goes up top, but KAORU dropkicks her before she can jump off and joins her. Ozaki runs over and slams KAORU to the mat, powerbomb by Ozaki and Masami comes off the top with a leg drop attempt, but KAORU moves. KAORU picks up Masami but Masami kicks her in the back of the head, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU slides off before Ozaki can connect with a dive. Ozaki stays in, cradle by KAORU to Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki applies a short armbar, Masami then dives off with a leg drop to KAORU’s arm before Ozaki covers KAORU for two. Masami powerbombs KAORU, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU armdrags Ozaki off the top turnbuckle before Fukuoka nails Ozaki with a Rider Kick. Space Rolling Elbow by Fukuoka to Ozaki followed by an assisted dropkick by KAORU, KAORU covers Masami but it gets a two count.

KAORU boots Masami in the head as does Fukuoka, KAORU picks up Masami and drops her with a brainbuster and she hits a second one, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up. Masami slowly gets up but eats a Rider Kick to the back of the head for her trouble, KAORU covers Masami but the referee won’t count it probably due to Fukuoka knocking her out when she wasn’t the legal wrestler. KAORU grabs Masami but Masami elbows her off of her, Ozaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a somersault but Fukuoka runs in and takes care of her. Scoop slam by KAORU to Masami and Fukuoka delivers a moonsault. Sleeper by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up, Fukuoka takes care of her however and then goes up top and nails a moonsault footstomp onto Masami. KAORU then goes up top and hits two moonsault footstomps to Masami, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks up the cover. KAORU applies a sleeper to Masami while sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Ozaki runs in and elbows her before Masami delivers an Electric Chair Drop. Masami picks up KAORU and nails a Liger Bomb, but Fukuoka breaks it up. Ozaki powerbombs Fukuoka, Masami covers KAORU again but Fukuoka rolls over to break it up again. Ozaki comes in and nails the Tequila Sunrise onto KAORU, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. Another Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, but KAORU gets her shoulder up again. Ozaki goes up top but KAORU recovers and joins her, Masami hits KAORU from behind and gets her on her shoulders before Ozaki dives off with a crossbody onto KAORU. Fukuoka breaks up her cover attempt, Ozaki picks up KAORU and goes for a powerbomb, but KAORU reverses it with a hurricanrana. Fukuoka goes up top while KAORU gets Ozaki on her shoulders, but Ozaki rolls up KAORU when Fukuoka goes for a Rider Kick. Masami powerbombs Fukuoka, Ozaki grabs KAORU and powerbombs her as well while Masami goes up top. Fukuoka feeds KAORU to Masami so that Masami can hit a leg drop on KAORU from the top turnbuckle, but the bell rings before she can make a cover. The match is a Draw.

This match started really slow since they were aiming for the 45 minute time limit but once it got going it stayed entertaining until the end. If anything they were doing too much, especially since it wasn’t the main event, with all the wrestlers hitting their finishers (or variations thereof) with not a lot of selling between moves. I was surprised how much offense Devil Masami took, she has a reputation of being selfish sometimes but here she was basically the “Face in Peril” during a good chunk of the match. Fukuoka is crazy and takes a lot of risks, she delivered the vast majority of the time here and it just added to the chaotic scene. This match wouldn’t look out of place even if it took place in 2018, they were ahead of the curve when it comes to fast paced hard hitting action and they delivered that here in spades.  Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Never Ending Bump” on 11/3/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

For the first time, I am reviewing a GAEA Japan COMM release! GAEA Japan generally aired on GAORA TV, but they also put out commercial tapes as well. Most of their later commercial tapes are compilations, but in 1995 and 1996 they released several that showed entire events. This isn’t their first commercial tape of 1995, however I decided to just review the TV broadcast of the other shows. This event was never shown on TV, however, and since I didn’t want to miss any events I tracked down the commercial DVD (you can get it too at the link above). The show featured a one night six woman tag team tournament, here is the full card:

• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament: Chigusa Nagayo, Chikayo Nagashima, and Kobayashi vs. Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya
• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament: Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, and Yasuko Kuragaki vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
• Battle Royal with Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, Chihiro Nakano, Chikayo Nagashima, Cuty Suzuki, Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, Mayumi Ozaki, Rieko Amano, Saburo, Tomoko Miyaguchi, Tomori Kobayashi, Toshie Sato, Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Final: Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi

Since this was shown on tape and not on TV, nothing will be clipped. You can click on the names above to go directly to that wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City.

Chigusa Nagayo, Chikayo, and Tomori Kobayashi vs. Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko, and Kanako Motoya
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Semi Final

Chikayo and Kanako start the match but Tomori quickly tags in and they double team Kanako in the corner. Kanako swats them away when they go for a double dropkick and tags in Sonoko, Fukuoka comes in too but Nagayo gets in the ring and clears house. She starts working over Sonoko and hits a suplex, but Fukuoka breaks up the cover. Nagayo casually slaps Kanako before tagging in Tomori, Tomori works a headlock on Sonoko but Sonoko suplexes her to the mat and throws her into the corner. She tags in Fukuoka, Kanako comes in too and they both dropkick Tomori. Fukuoka whips Tomori around the ring while kicking her, stretch hold by Fukuoka but Chikayo eventually comes in to break it up. Fukuoka tags in Kanako, dropkick by Kanako and she covers Tomori for two. Kanako goes for a sleeper but Tomori quickly gets out of it and tags in Chikayo. Dropkick by Chikayo and she hits Kanako with two more, she picks up Kanako and applies a crossface before tagging in Nagayo. Nagayo throws Kanako into the opposite corner so that Fukuoka can tag in, kicks by Nagayo and she drills Fukuoka with a heel kick. Fukuoka catches the next kick attempt and apples a cross kneelock, but Tomori and Chikayo both run in to break it up.

Kanako and Sonoko take care of them, Kanako goes to help Fukuoka but Tomori and Chikayo run in again. They still can’t free Nagayo as Fukuoka and Kanako won’t let go, finally Nagayo reaches the ropes and both Kanako and Fukuoka release the hold. Fukuoka tags Sonoko, Sonoko applies a kneelock but Nagayo laughs it off (literally) and slaps Sonoko to get out of it. Nagayo tags Tomori, body blocks by Tomori to Sonoko and she covers her for two. Tomori wants Fukuoka so she tags in, Fukuoka elbows Tomori to the mat but Tomori keeps firing back. Tomori tosses Fukuoka to the mat and tags in Nagayo, piledriver by Nagayo but Kanako breaks up the cover. Giant Swing by Nagayo, Tomori comes in and she gives Fukuoka the Giant Swing as well. Tomori tags Chikayo and she does the same, as Fukuoka is probably pretty dizzy by now. Cover by Chikayo, but Kanako and Sonoko break it up. Kanako and Sonoko both put Chikayo in the Giant Swing now, which is easier since Chikayo is an itty bitty wrestler, Fukuoka returns to the ring and gives Chikayo one final Giant Swing before Kanako tags in and covers Chikayo for two. Chikayo bridges out of the next pin attempt and hits the front roll push, but Fukuoka hits her from behind with a missile dropkick.

Chikayo stumbles to her corner and tags in Tomori, Bubba Bomb by Tomori and Chikayo hits an assisted crossbody onto Kanako before Tomori covers her for two. Running kick by Kanako and she tags in Sonoko, bulldog by Sonoko to Tomori but Tomori blocks the next one. Fukuoka attacks Tomori from behind, but Nagayo kicks Sonoko in the head from the apron. Tomori tags in Nagayo, heel kick by Nagayo to Sonoko but the cover is broken up. Kicks by Nagayo, Fukuoka tags in and goes for a suplex, but Nagayo blocks it. Spinning headscissors by Fukuoka, she goes for a hurricanrana but Nagayo catches her and hits a powerbomb. Nagayo tags Chikayo, roll-up by Chikayo but Fukuoka kicks out. Fukuoka goes for a Space Rolling Elbow but Chikayo moves, Tomori tries to help with a missile dropkick but she hits Chikayo by accident. Moonsault by Fukuoka to Chikayo, but Nagayo breaks it up. Fukuoka picks up Chikayo and gives her an airplane spin, but again the cover is broken up by Chikayo’s friends. Powerbomb by Fukuoka to Chikayo, she goes up top and nails the Rider Kick to Chikayo’s chest for the three count! Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya win!

This was an incredibly fun match and a great way to kick things off. Everything clicked so well, the rookies were going 100% from bell to bell and Fukuoka/Nagayo did their bits when needed to support them. Nagayo was a bit of a dick but only towards her own trainees, as she generally respected Fukuoka’s offense and sold her injured leg for as long as one could expect. Everyone got a chance to shine and they kept up the pace to keep it interesting. Really solid six woman match to open the show.  Recommended

Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, and Yasuko Kuragaki vs. KAORU, Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Semi Final

Kansai throws her rookie teammates at their opponents before the bell rings to give them an early advantage, they stack their opponents in the corner but KAORU quickly gains the advantage and hits a moonsault on Kansai for a two count. Kansai quickly gets back to her feet and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, KAORU and Kansai trade strikes until Makie and Yasuko come into the ring to help. Yasuko stays in as legal but KAORU quickly takes over and tags in Tomoko. Yasuko snapmares Tomoko around and tags in Makie, dropkicks by Makie and she covers Tomoko for two. Tomoko tags in Meiko, jumping shoulderblocks by Meiko and she covers Makie for a two count. Meiko applies a bodyscissors, she then puts Makie in a camel clutch but Yasuko breaks it up. Meiko tags in Tomoko, dropkicks by Tomoko but Makie slides around her and applies a schoolboy for two. Makie tags in Yasuko, Yasuko tosses Tomoko around the ring and hits a scoop slam. Headscissors by Yasuko and she drives Tomoko’s head into the mat, Kansai returns and she kicks Tomoko around the ring. Sleeper by Kansai, she throws Tomoko into the corner and tells KAORU to tag in. KAORU does, backdrop suplex by Kansai and she covers KAORU for two. Kansai puts KAORU in a Scorpion Deathlock, KAORU’s teammates try to break it up but Kansai doesn’t budge.

They finally get Kansai off, Kansai tags in Makie and Makie delivers a diving crossbody. KAORU slaps Makie and kicks her repeatedly before tagging in Meiko, Meiko applies a cross armbreaker, KAORU comes in and applies a cross armbreaker on the other arm too, but it gets broken up. Yasuko tags in while Meiko tags in KAORU, dropkick by KAORU and she covers Yasuko for two. KAORU applies a crab hold but Yasuko eventually gets to the ropes, KAORU tags in Tomoko and hits a jumping crossbody for a two count. Yasuko hits a dropkick and tags in Kansai, sunset flip by Tomoko to Kansai and she tags in KAORU. Lariat by Kansai in the corner but KAORU ducks the next one, KAORU tries to rebound out of the corner but can’t complete the move so she applies an ankle hold instead. Kansai gets to the ropes for the break, KAORU tags in Tomoko and Tomoko dropkicks Kansai repeatedly in the leg. Meiko comes in and they both dropkick Kansai, but Kansai falls in her own corner and tags in Makie. Tomoko elbows Makie but Makie puts her in a Dragon Sleeper, Meiko tries to break up the second one but Yasuko dropkicks her. Missile dropkick by Yasuko to Tomoko, and with Makie they slam Tomoko to the mat. Yasuko kicks Tomoko into the corner but Tomoko sneaks in a sunset flip for two.

Meiko is tagged in and she hits jumping shoulderblocks to Yasuko, Meiko goes up top but Yasuko avoids her dive and dropkicks her in the back of the head. Yasuko goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, giving Meiko time to pull Yasuko off the top turnbuckle and apply a cross armbreaker. Short armbar by Meiko but Kansai breaks it up, things break down a bit with some of the action spilling to the floor. Yasuko and Meiko stay in the ring, Yasuko slams Meiko but KAORU breaks up the cover. Yasuko picks up Meiko but Meiko applies a short armbar, she lets go and charges Yasuko but Yasuko slaps her and tags in Makie. Irish whip by Makie and she hits a back bodydrop, cover by Makie but Meiko bridges out of it. KAORU hits Makie from the apron and Meiko tags in Tomoko, Tomoko stomps on Makie and she hits a swandive missile dropkick. Swandive crossbody by Tomoko, but her cover is broken up by both her other opponents. Meiko comes in and cradles Makie, but she isn’t legal so the referee just looks at her funny. Tomoko recovers, she goes out to the apron and hits a swandive sunset flip, picking up the three count! KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi are the winners and continue to the finals.

This wasn’t as smooth as the opening match, pretty clunky in parts. It wasn’t bad, but it went a bit too long and not enough really happened to justify its length. Tomoko looked really good and Meiko showed her usual fire, so the issue wasn’t with the wrestlers themselves, it just really didn’t tell a story and didn’t have the same exciting feeling that the opener had. Decent enough, and the rookies are really coming along nicely, but just too back-and-forth with not enough substance to really hold my attention.

18 Women Battle Royal

The match starts with Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, Chihiro Nakano, Chikayo Nagashima, Cuty Suzuki, Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, Mayumi Ozaki, Rieko Amano, Saburo, Tomoko Miyaguchi, Tomomi Kobayashi, Toshie Sato, Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Yuki Miyazaki all in the ring. I am not going to do normal play by play for this since its chaotic, but the first part of the match is mostly ganging up on the veterans since that is the only way to pin someone like Nagayo or Devil Masami. Let’s jump ahead to the final three, which are Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, and Saburo. Bolshoi Kid is double teamed by Saburo and Bomber, Bomber goes up top but Bolshoi pushes her from behind. Bomber thinks that Saburo did it and fusses at her, Saburo charges Bolshoi but Bolshoi pushes Saburo into Bomber. This makes Bomber mad again, giving Bolshoi a chance to hit a missile dropkick to the back of Bomber’s head.

Bomber and Bolshoi end up double teaming Saburo, Bomber goes up top but she has to keep directing Bolshoi where to slam Saburo so she can dive onto her. Bolshoi finally does it right, diving double jump bodypress by Bomber, but Saburo kicks out. Saburo goes up top but Bomber slams her off, Bolshoi breaks up the pin for reasons unknown but Bomber drops Saburo with the Bombs Away. Bomber goes up top while Bolshoi positions Saburo, diving headbutt by Bomber but Bolshoi quickly covers Saburo for the three count behind Bomber’s back. Saburo is eliminated, leaving just Bolshoi and Bomber. Bolshoi wants to part of Bomber so she bails out of the ring, she finally gets back in and Bomber drops Bolshoi with the Bombs Away for a two count. Bomber goes for it again but Bolshoi reverses it into a cradle for two. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Bomber catches her with a powerslam, rebound crossbody by Bolshoi out of the corner but Bomber kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Bomber but Bolshoi avoids her stomps, rebound elbow by Bolshoi and she covers Bomber for two. Bolshoi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but that gets a two count as well. Bolshoi tries to slam Bomber but Bomber blocks it and puts Bolshoi in an airplane spin, but Bolshoi quickly recovers. Misteriorana by Bolshoi, and she picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid wins the Battle Royal!

As I mentioned above, this type of match isn’t something you’d have high expectations for. The veterans had fun, allowing the young wrestlers to do well but it was all with a smile on their face as losing in these matches means nothing. Bolshoi Kid back in the mid-90s was mostly comedy, she could wrestle but stayed within her gimmick most of the time. Mindless fun but nothing more than that.

Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Final

KAORU and Fukuoka start the match and waste no time getting right to it, as Fukuoka hits a lariat but KAORU follows with a dropkick. Fukuoka cartwheels away from KAORU and hits another dropkick, and both wrestlers return to their feet to face off again. Fukuoka tags in Sonoko while Meiko also tags in, and both wrestlers kick each other. Dropkicks by Sonoko and she hits a scoop slam, crab hold by Sonoko but Meiko gets to the ropes for the break. Kanako tags in and she bounces Meiko off the ropes, dropkick by Kanako and she covers Meiko for two. Meiko comes back with a hard elbow and tags in Tomoko, dropkicks by Tomoko and she slams Kanako. Sleeper by Tomoko and she then applies a bodyscissors, but Kanako gets to the ropes. Tomoko tags in KAORU, suplex by KAORU and she covers Kanako for two. Another suplex by KAORU and she applies a camel clutch until Sonoko breaks it up, Fukuoka comes in too and she puts KAORU in a figure four leglock. Meiko tries to break it up but Fukuoka keeps the hold on anyway, KAORU eventually gets out of it but Fukuoka slams her to the mat and tags in Sonoko. Kneelock by Sonoko and Kanako puts KAORU in a kneelock as well, then Fukuoka puts KAORU in a headscissors. Kanako stays in as legal, KAORU finally gets a move in and makes the tag to Tomoko. Crossbody by Tomoko, but Kanako bridges out of the pin. Tomoko grabs her to stop the bridge and puts Kanako in a crab hold, Kanako gets out of it and she boots Tomoko in the chest. Another boot by Kanako and she slams Tomoko in front of the corner before tagging in Fukuoka. Fukuoka comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, but Tomoko falls in her corner and tags in Meiko.

Meiko eats a dropkick too, cover by Fukuoka but it gets two. Double wrist-clutch armsault by Fukuoka, but the cover is broken up. Side headlock by Fukuoka, she picks up Meiko and chokes her before slamming Meiko to the mat. Fukuoka tags Sonoko and they both shoulderblock Meiko, Sonoko snapmares Meiko and puts her in a headscissors. Meiko fires back with elbows and hits a running elbow smash in the corner before tagging in KAORU. Scoop slam by KAORU and she puts Sonoko in a Mexican Surfboard until Fukuoka pushes them over, Irish whip by Meiko to Sonoko and she hits a jumping shoulderblock. Another one by Meiko and she hits a third, one final shoulderblock by Meiko and she covers Sonoko for two. Double swandive missile dropkick to Sonoko, but Sonoko bridges out of the pin. Cross armbreaker by Meiko, but Kanako breaks it up. Space Rolling Elbow by Fukuoka to Meiko but Meiko avoids the second one, cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes. Meiko tags KAORU, KAORU goes up top but Fukuoka rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Sonoko comes up from behind and hits a bulldog, missile dropkick by Kanako to KAORU and she covers her for two. KAORU is put into the Tree of Woe and triple teamed, Kanako goes to pick up KAORU but KAORU blocks her and hits a piledriver.

Elbows by KAORU to Kanako but Kanako applies a wheelbarrow roll-up for a two count. Kanako tags in Sonoko, bulldog by Sonoko and she hits the Acid Drop out of the corner. Sonoko picks up KAORU and goes for a second one, but KAORU pushes her off and boots Sonoko in the face. She goes for another boot but Sonoko catches her leg, hard slap by KAORU but Sonoko rolls her up from behind. Sonoko tags Fukuoka, and Fukuoka comes in the ring with a diving crossbody. KAORU rolls through it and tags in Tomoko, Fukuoka gets Tomoko on her shoulders but Tomoko slides off and rolls her up for two. KAORU flies into the ring with a missile dropkick, Meiko goes up top and hits a diving bodypress before Tomoko hits one of her own. Moonsault by KAORU, but Fukuoka bridges out of the pin. KAORU picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka avoids the brainbuster and hits an Aztec Suplex Hold for a two count. Sonoko and Kanako both hit diving bodypresses onto KAORU, moonsault by Fukuoka and she quickly hits two more moonsaults, but Meiko breaks up the cover. Sonoko and Kanako put KAORU on the top turnbuckle, Fukuoka then charges her and DDTs KAORU from the top turnbuckle to the mat. Rider Kick by Fukuoka, but again the cover is broken up. Fukuoka goes back up top and dives out of the ring onto Meiko and Tomoko, she returns to the ring and goes to the top turnbuckle, but KAORU avoids the moonsault footstomp and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Fukuoka tries to go up top but is grabbed by Meiko and Tomoko, avalanche armdrag by KAORU to Fukuoka and she puts her in La Magistral, but they end up in the ropes. While all of this is happening there is constantly interference and action around the ring, Fukuoka goes up top but KAORU dropkicks her in the middle of her moonsault attempt. Brainbuster by KAORU to Fukuoka and she nails the swandive moonsault for the three count! KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi win the tournament!

This match took a bit to get going, but the last five minutes were crazy. It should be noted that even though they all had wrestled earlier, they still were going 100% full tilt the entire match, without any signs of being tired. Their cardio is insane. KAORU and Fukuoka provided the ‘veteran base’ really well and hit all their high spots, both were flying all over the place to keep the match excitement up. The double and triple team spots looked good and while I think the tag rules were pretty loose it didn’t hurt the match any since both sides were doing it. The ending stretch was just constantly something happening, and they hardly gave the viewer a chance to catch their breath with all the action going on. Maybe a smidge too long as it was almost 25 minutes, and we had already seen two similarly structured six woman tag matches, but still a fun match overall.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Splash J & Running G” on 9/23/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: AAAW Tag Team Championship, JWP Tag Team Championship, TWF World Tag Team Championship, LLPW Six Woman Tag Team Championship, Oz Academy Openweight Championship, Oz Academy Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: High Spurt 600 Tournament (2004)
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• August 10th, 1996 vs. Tomoko Kuzumi
• May 11th, 2002 vs. Aja Kong
• September 20th, 2004 with Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong and Amazing Kong
• November 14th, 2004 vs. Ran Yu-Yu
• January 13th, 2008 vs. Aja Kong
• May 2nd, 2010 with Manami Toyota vs. AKINO and Ran Yu-Yu
• July 11th, 2010 vs. KAORU
• June 26th, 2011 with Manami Toyota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tomoka Nakagawa

Signature Moves:

• Carlos Gone
• Cross Armbreaker
• Jumping Clothesline
• Tiger Suplex

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Carlos Amano appeared first on Joshi City.

In the last 10 years, since the fall of Joshi’s popularity in Japan, it has been rare for a Joshi event to air live on TV as usually it is shown either delayed on TV or live on niconico. It is even more rare for a promotion with no TV deal at all to get such a spot, but the retirement of Joshi legend Devil Masami was able to pull it off. MARVELOUS NIGHT V was shown live on GAORA in its entirety, with the show clocking in at almost three hours. Much of that was Masami’s retirement ceremony (approximately 45 minutes worth) but there was a full event as well as different promotions came together to send off Masami in style. Masami herself wrestled twice on the card, including in the opening against Nagayo, who come out of retirement (hold in your laughter) to take on her old foe. Here is the full card:

• Chigusa Nagayo, Yumiko Hotta, and Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami, Dump Matsumoto, and KAORU
• DASH Chisako and Sendai Sachiko vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yukari Ishino
• Ayako Sato and Hanako Kobayashi vs. Ray and Misaki Ohata
• Kana, Yumi Ohka, Cherry, and Moeka Haruhi vs. GAMI, Kyoko Kimura, Shuu Shibutani, and Bullfighter Sora
• Misae Genki vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Azumi Hyuga, Leon, and Arisa Nakajima vs. Kayoko Haruyama, Command Bolshoi, and Kaori Yoneyama
• Noriyo Tateno vs. Takako Inoue
• Chikayo Nagashima and Sonoko Kato vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota
• Devil Masami Retirement Match: Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, and Carlos Amano vs. Aja Kong, Ran Yu-Yu, and Toshie Uematsu

Chigusa Nagayo, Hotta, and Satomura vs. Devil Masami, Dump Matsumoto, and KAORU

Nagayo and Masami start the match and they trade strikes, Masami shrugs off Nagayo’s strikes but Nagayo hits an armdrag. Masami goes all evil and scares Nagayo into the corner, she tags in Matsumoto who comes in with a kendo stick, which she uses to hit Nagayo repeatedly. Nagayo eventually grabs it and Hotta comes in and smacks Matsumoto in the face. Nagayo tags in Satomura but KAORU runs in and hits Satomura with a piece of table. Hotta returns and they double team Matsumoto, but Matsumoto comes back with a lariat to Satomura and tags in KAORU. KAORU hits Satomura with the table piece but Satomura hits a rebound elbow out of the corner followed by the Pele Kick. Hotta becomes legal somehow and elbows KAORU, Nagayo struts in and kicks KAORU in the head. Tiger Driver by Hotta to KAORU, but the pin is broken up when Matsumoto hits the referee with the kendo stick. Nagayo stays in with KAORU but Masami lariats her from the apron and comes in to hit a leg drop. Moonsault by KAORU, Masami picks up Nagayo but Nagayo uppercuts her, Nagayo goes off the ropes but KAORU hits her with the table piece. Matsumoto comes in while the crowd squeals, and Matsumoto stabs Nagayo in the head. She keeps stabbing Nagayo until she starts bleeding, Masami covers Nagayo but it gets a two count. Satomura comes in and they take turns kicking Masami, lariat by Nagayo but it gets a two count as Masami does a zombie kick out. Hotta tries to help but it backfires, KAORU comes in to spray mist at Nagayo but she misses and hits Masami by accident. Uppercut by Nagayo but Masami headbutts her, Fire Valley by Masami and she gets the three count! Masami, Matsumoto, and KAORU win!

After the match they all spoke and laughed with each other, so no hard feelings between the veterans. This is a really odd match as it was more of an exhibition, it was under eight minutes and the tag rules were rather loose to put it mildly. I really don’t think KAORU and Satomura were needed, the crowd was into anything with Nagayo, Masami, and Matsumoto and the rest were just filler to get the participant number up. Even watching it eight years later I completely get the fun of seeing Nagayo in there with Matsumoto and it was a unique way to start the show as it allowed Masami time to rest up before her real retirement match (plus a chance to retire the ‘gimmick’ character). I thought it was lighthearted and fun, but not much of a ‘real’ match in the traditional sense.  Mildly Recommended

DASH Chisako and Sendai Sachiko vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yukari Ishino

Chisako and Mizunami are the first two in, Chisako grabs Mizunami’s arm and Sachiko comes down off the top turnbuckle onto it. Mizunami puts Sachiko in a headlock and tags in Ishino, dropkicks by Ishino and she covers Sachiko for two. Back up they trade elbows, Sachiko wins the dual and she tags in her sister, who works over Ishino in the corner. Dropkicks by Chisako but Ishino quickly rolls her up for a two count before hitting a series of dropkicks. Ishino tags in Mizunami, scoop slam by Mizunami and she hits quick legdrops for a two count cover. Chisako comes back with dropkicks, Sachiko goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Mizunami. Even more dropkicks by Sachiko (lots of dropkicks in this match) and she hits a DDT, but Mizunami gets Sachiko up and hits a shoulder breaker. Mizunami tags in Ishino but Chisako runs in and dropkicks her, double dropkick to Ishino and Sachiko covers her for two. Sachiko jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hit a tornado DDT, Northern Lights Suplex by Sachiko but it gets a two count. Ishino gets Sachiko up on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, she picks her up again but this time Sachiko wiggles away and hits a DDT. Scoop slam by Sachiko, Chisako comes in and Sachiko suplexes Chisako onto Ishino. Somersault senton by Sachiko, but Ishino bridges out of the cover. Sachiko picks up Ishino, Chisako boots Ishino in the head and Sachiko delivers a German suplex hold for the three count! Chisako and Sachiko are the winners.

It is interesting that Sendai Girls’ sent their babies for the offer match, but considering the match they had to follow it was probably for the best. Lots of rookie-based offense here, meaning lots of dropkicks and the like, but occasionally they would throw in something different to show they weren’t complete novices. Chisako and Sachiko were already working well together, they teamed for seven more years after this match so you can imagine how much better they got. A fun easy to watch opener-style match.

Ayako Sato and Hanako Kobayashi vs. Ray and Misaki Ohata

Ray and Sato begin the match, hard shoulderblock by Ray and she hits a springboard armdrag. Ray cartwheels away from Sato and both wrestlers go for dropkicks, Ray gets Sato in the ropes and chops her in the chest. Ray tags in Ohata, Ohata goes for a cross armbreaker but Sato gets into the ropes. Dropkick by Sato as Kobayashi comes in, and Ohata is double teamed. Dropkicks by Sato, and she covers Ohata for a two count. Ohata starts her comeback but Sato slips away and tags in Kobayashi, missile dropkick by Kobayashi but Ray kicks her from the apron. Kobayashi is double teamed and covered by Ohata for a two count, armdrag by Ohata and she hits a low crossbody. Ray goes up top and hits a cartwheel kick off the ropes, she picks up Kobayashi and hits an enzuigiri. Ray goes up top as does Ohata, but both wrestlers miss moonsaults. Kobayashi hits a diving crossbody on Ray, then Sato follows with a missile dropkick. Kobayashi picks up Ray and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but it gets a two count. Kobayashi goes up top but Ohata hits her before she can jump off, Ray goes up with her but Kobayashi pushes Ray to the mat and hits a diving crossbody. Ray hits a German suplex on Kobayashi, jumping kick by Ray and she nails a moonsault for the three count! Ohata and Ray are the winners.

A simple match, nothing bad but utterly forgettable. Ray was a great flyer and got a few chances to show it here, but no one else made much of an impression. With only six minutes they didn’t have much time anyway, mostly just filler.

Kana, Yumi Ohka, Cherry, and Haruhi vs. GAMI, Kimura, Shibutani, and Bullfighter Sora

Sora and Haruhi start off, Cherry comes in too but Sora hits a crossbody on both of them. Kana runs in and starts hip attacking everyone, until Kimura boots her in the head. Ohka comes in to help but so does GAMI, and GAMI hits everyone in the head with a horn. She gets dropkicked, then Team Kana pose on Gama and Sora. Team GAMI end up back in control as they do the triple leg submission hold spot in a circle as they run through the indy wrestling cliche spots until things settle back down with Sora and Haruhi still the legal wrestlers. They tag in Kana and Kimura, they trade elbows until Kimura headbutts Kana to send her to the mat. Shibutani missile dropkicks Kana, but Kana falls into her corner and tags in Cherry. Cherry hits a jumping lariat on Shibutani and tags in Haruhi, jumping seated sentons by Haruhi and she covers Shibutani for two.

DDT by Shibutani and she dropkicks Cherry before tagging in GAMI. GAMI is reluctant to go up top but eventually does so, she walks the ropes while holding Haruhi’s arm but eventually falls and crotches herself. GAMI picks up Haruhi but Haruhi puts her in a hanging submission, but GAMI gets into the ropes. Ohka is tagged in but GAMI catches her with a side Russian leg sweep and GAMI tags in Sora. Ohka boots Sora in the face and then boots GAMI, backdrop suplex by Ohka to GAMI and she covers her for two. Ohka goes up top but Shibutani grabs her, giving GAMI time to recover, Frankensteiner by GAMI and she covers Ohka for two. Atomic drop by Ohka to GAMI but GAMI levels her with a lariat. Fisherman buster by GAMI, but the cover is broken up. GAMI picks up Ohka but Ohka gets away, Sora tries to help but she hits GAMI by accident. Kimura then headbutts GAMI by accident and Ohka boots GAMI in the head for a two count. Tiger Suplex Hold by Ohka, and she gets the three count! Team Kana win!

A bit sloppy and disjointed for a match with wrestlers that are in theory familar with each other. Lots of comedy spots although it wasn’t all comedy, as Kimura and Kana had a nice exchange that ended way too quickly. Some miscommunications and nothing that really popped out, maybe everyone was told to keep it mild to not upstage the purpose of the evening. Another not bad but not special match which may be a recurring theme.

Misae Genki vs. Yuki Miyazaki

Miyazaki starts the match with a springboard armdrag but Genki blocks her dropkick, trip by Miyazaki and she catches Genki with a dropkick on the second try. Scoop slam by Miyazaki and the pair trade strikes, Genki throws Miyazaki in the corner and hits a series of chops. Big boot by Genki, and she covers Miyazaki for a two count. Genki goes for a chokeslam but Miyazaki blocks it and hits a chokeslam of her own. Miyazaki goes up top but Genki grabs her and chokeslams Miyazaki to the mat for two. Miyazaki grabs Genki around the waist and hits a German suplex hold, but it gets a two count. Tiger suplex hold by Miyazaki but that gets a two as well, Miyazaki goes up top but Genki avoids the moonsault attempt. Sliding Kick by Miyazaki but Genki levels her with a lariat. Another lariat by Genki, she picks up Miyazaki and she hits an Emerald Frosion. Genki picks up Miyazaki again and nails the G-Driller, picking up the three count cover! Misae Genki wins the match.

Too short to get excited about but the action itself was good. Genki was a quality power wrestler, never outstanding but really solid and everything was hit convincingly. The transitions were bad enough to be annoying, no real meaningful selling until the last few moves, but with a five minute match what else can ya do. Not bad but it didn’t leave much of an impression.

Azumi Hyuga, Leon, and Arisa Nakajima vs. Haruyama, Command Bolshoi, and Yoneyama

Bolshoi and Hyuga start for their teams and trade quick holds on the mat with neither getting a clean advantage. Nakajima and Yoneyama tag in, Hyuga stays in to help but Yoneyama armdrags them both out of the ring. Leon then gets a running start in the ring, jumps up to the top rope and sails out onto everyone with a plancha suicida. Back in the ring, Yoneyama is triple teamed in the corner before Nakajima hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Nakajima tags Leon, spear by Leon and she hits two more for a two count of her own. Leon goes for a suplex but Yoneyama slides away and hits the Chaos Theory. Yoneyama tags in Haruyama, Stunner by Haruyama but Leon catches her with a backbreaker slam. Nakajima and Hyuga run in while Leon goes up top and hits a diving body press for two. Leon tags Hyuga who hits a double underhook unto a backbreaker, she goes up top and knocks down Haruyama with a missile dropkick. Hyuga picks up Haruyama but Haruyama lariats her in the back of the head and tags in Bolshoi. Hurricanrana by Bolshoi to Hyuga, she picks her up and hits a drop toehold into the ropes so that Haruyama and Yoneyama can dropkick her. Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and she goes for a satellite headscissors, but Hyuga blocks it and hits a backbreaker.

Running knee to the back of the head by Hyuga and she hits rolling German suplexes for a two count. Yoneyama runs in and kicks Hyuga, La Mistica by Bolshoi to Hyuga but it is quickly broken up. Nakajima comes in but Bolshoi rolls her to the mat and applies a kneelock until Leon breaks it up. Bolshoi tags in Haruyama, kick by Haruyama but Nakajima catches her with a bridging fallaway suplex. Elbows by Nakajima but Haruyama blocks the German suplex. More elbows by Nakajima but Haruyama levels her with a lariat.  Haruyama goes up top but Leon grabs her, giving Nakajima time to join Haruyama. Nakajima suplexes Haruyama off the top turnbuckle, Leon then hits a Swanton Bomb and Nakajima finishes with a diving footstomp for a two count cover. German suplex hold by Nakajima to Haruyama, but that gets a two as well. Nakajima goes up top but Yoneyama joins her and suplexes her back off. Haruyama picks up Nakajima and deliver the Keene Hammer but Leon breaks it up. Yoneyama goes up top and is fed Leon’s legs by Haruyama, they together hit an assisted double underhook facebuster on Leon while Yoneyama also sentons Leon. Haruyama goes back up and hits a diving legdrop, but Hyuga breaks up the pin. The bell rings just as she does so, and the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was definitely the best match on the card we’ve seen as far as wrestling goes, all six of them brought their A Game and were flying around the ring in impressive fashion. They seemed to always be on the same page and worked well together, nothing felt off or forced. With a ten minute time limit I don’t think six wrestlers were needed, four would have been fine as there wasn’t really time to showcase all the wrestlers, but everything they did was well done. It felt more like an exhibition which in a way it was, but it was still fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

Noriyo Tateno vs. Takako Inoue

Takako kicks Tateno into the corner right off the bat, kick to the chest by Takako and she hits a DDT. More kicks by Takako but Tateno fights back with elbows, Mexican Surfboard by Tateno and she applies a facelock. Tateno stomps down on Takako’s hands and sends her off the ropes, but Takako snaps off a DDT. STF by Takako, she grabs Tateno by the hair but Tateno gets her back and goes for a suplex. Takako grabs the ropes to break it up, lariat by Tateno and she hits two more, German suplex hold by Tateno but it gets a two count. Tateno goes up top but Takako recovers and joins her, hitting an avalanche armdrag for two. Takako goes up top but Tateno avoids the Takako Panic, lariat by Tateno and she hits a diving body press for two. Tateno picks up Takako but Takako slides away and hits a backfist. Tateno blocks the next one however and drops Takako with a Death Valley Bomb, she picks Takako up but Takako slides away and rolls her up for the three count! Takako Inoue is the winner.

Another shorter match and probably the worst one on the show. It was pretty slow with some longer submissions for a match that wasn’t really long enough to sustain it. The match also ended really suddenly, it never felt like it really got going before it was suddenly over. A couple good moves and they worked well together, just not a very exciting match.

Chikayo Nagashima and Sonoko Kato vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota

Like any Ozaki match, the action quickly spills out to the floor as Toyota takes Nagashima up into the crowd. Both teams battle up near the entrance way and in the bleachers, they get back near ringside and Toyota dives off the top turnbuckle onto both Nagashima and Kato. They finally get back into the ring, Ozaki gets a chair and she hits Kato, Toyota then goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Ozaki gets a chain and hits Kato with that as well, but Kato ducks the next attempt and hits a release German suplex. She tags in Nagashima but Nagashima is tripped from the floor, Toyota comes in but Nagashima hits a double springboard armdrag on both of them. Kato slams Ozaki in front of the corner and Nagashima delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Ozaki slaps Nagashima and tags in Toyota, Toyota goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. She hits another one before putting Nagashima in the ropes so she can be attacked by the entire Ozaki Army. Toyota gets Nagashima on her shoulders but she wiggles away and hits a release German suplex. Diving leg drop by Kato, and she covers Toyota for a two count.

Kato goes for the dragon suplex but Toyota blocks it and rolls Kato around the ring. Toyota goes up top but Kato grabs her from behind and hits a release German. Dragon suplex hold by Kato to Toyota, but it only gets a two count. Toyota gets away from Kato as Ozaki throws a chain at Kato, German suplex hold by Toyota but it gets two. Toyota goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kato avoids her moonsault and hits a punt. She tags in Nagashima but Ozaki is also tagged in, sit-down powerbomb by Ozaki but it gets two. Ozaki gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagashima catapults up there and hits a Frankensteiner. Fisherman buster by Nagashima, but Toyota breaks up the cover. Toyota missile dropkicks Nagashima and Ozaki drops her with a dragon suplex hold for two. Ozaki goes for a Shining Wizard, Nagashima blocks it but Ozaki delivers the spinning backfist for a two count. Ozaki picks up Nagashima but Nagashima rolls her up for two. Hurricanrana by Nagashima, but Ozaki rolls through it, fisherman buster by Nagashima but Toyota breaks up the cover. The bell then rings, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Well this was definitely action packed, they used every minute as best they could to put on an entertaining show. Not the type of match for people that are fans of long term selling, but it had tons of big moves and brutality like you would expect from an Ozaki match. All four got a chance to shine, with Toyota in particular looking really impressive as always. A really solid match, I wish it could have gotten more time so it could have had a real conclusion but still an enjoyable heavyweight sprint.  Recommended

Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, and Carlos Amano vs. Aja Kong, Ran Yu-Yu, and Toshie Uematsu

Masami and Yu-Yu start the match off, they start off politely until Uematsu comes in to help her partner. Masami shrugs off their chops and headbutts both of them, but Kong comes in and lariats Masami to the mat. Kong takes Masami out of the ring and chucks a chair at her, as all six wrestlers brawl at ringside. Kansai and Uematsu end up in the aisle near the balcony while Kong throws the steel plate from the barricade at Amano while somehow Masami made it back into the ring with Yu-Yu and puts her in a sleeper. Masami tags in Kansai, vertical suplex by Kansai to Yu-Yu and she covers her for two. Scorpion Deathlock by Kansai but Yu-Yu crawls to the ropes and she forces the break. Kansai tags in Amano and they hit Yu-Yu with a double shoulderblock, but Yu-Yu pushes back to her corner and tags in Kong. Kong chops Amano against the ropes and hits a lariat in the corner, cover by Kong but it gets two. Amano tries to fight back with headbutts but Kong smacks her to the mat and tags in Uematsu. Uematsu rakes Amano’s face and stomps her down in the corner, Irish whip by Uematsu but Amano hits a jumping lariat and tags in Kansai. Kansai grabs Uematsu and hits a lariat in the corner, but Uematsu dropkicks her in the knee and Yu-Yu runs in too so they can hit a double dropkick. Uematsu stays in but Kansai puts them both in the claw, she slams Yu-Yu to the mat but Uematsu blocks her slam and hits a suplex. Kansai fires back with a suplex of her own, Uematsu tags in Kong but Masami is tagged in as well. Kong kicks Masami in the mouth and hits a back bodydrop, but Masami avoid the elbow drop.

Kansai comes in but Kong lariats both of them. Kong tags in Yu-Yu, jumping elbow of sorts by Yu-Yu to Masami and she hits her with a knee. Yu-Yu tries to pick up Masami but Masami blocks it, knee by Yu-Yu but Masami throws her to the mat. Kong runs over and lariats Masami, Uematsu comes in and kicks Masami in the head which swings the advantage back to Yu-Yu, kick out of the corner by Yu-Yu and she covers Masami for two. Amano jumps off the top turnbuckle with a lariat to Yu-Yu, Uematsu comes in but Masami suplexes Uematsu onto Yu-Yu. Amano stays in and kicks Yu-Yu but Yu-Yu returns fire with an elbow and knocks Amano to the mat. Yu-Yu goes off the ropes but Amano hits a roaring elbow, she picks up Yu-Yu and hits a jumping lariat, but Yu-Yu knees her when she goes off the ropes again. Another knee by Yu-Yu and she hits a release German suplex, picking up a two count. Yu-Yu tags in Kong, Kong punches Amano to the mat but Amano fights back with headbutts. Kong has none of that and hits a hard lariat, she picks up Amano and delivers the brainbuster but the cover is broken up. Kong slams Amano in front of the corner, she goes up top but Masami pushes her back to the mat. Jumping lariat by Amano to Kong and she tags in Kansai. Kansai kicks Kong but Kong catches her with a backdrop suplex, but Kansai kicks out of the cover. Kansai goes up top, Kong goes to join her but Kansai slides out to the apron and kicks Kong in the head.

Splash Mountain by Kansai, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Kansai goes up top but Kong avoids the footstomp and Uematsu comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Shining Wizard by Kong to Kansai, but the cover gets two. Kong goes up top but Kansai avoids the elbow drop, Kansai goes up again and this time she hits the diving footstomp, but Uematsu breaks up the cover. Masami is tagged in, she picks up Kong as Amano goes for a missile dropkick, but she hits Masami on accident. Kong tags in Uematsu, dragon suplex hold by Uematsu but Masami gets a shoulder up. Hard elbow by Yu-Yu to Masami but Masami fires up and lariats all three of her opponents. Masami picks up Uematsu but Uematsu slides away and Kong lariats Masami. Uematsu gets on Yu-Yu’s shoulders and hits a diving body press on Masami, but the cover gets two. Uematsu goes up top but Masami hits her before she can jump off, Yu-Yu runs in and grabs Masami however and Uematsu hits a missile dropkick. Masami pops up and lariats both of them, Kansai comes in and starts kicking people as Masami picks up Uematsu and hits a Liger Bomb for a two count. Yu-Yu has recovered but Masami scoops her up and nails the Fire Valley. She then hits it on Uematsu, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Kong picks up Masami and hits her with a backfist, Uematsu gets behind Masami and nails a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Kong, Yu-Yu, and Uematsu are your winners!

After the match, Devil Masami had a Retirement Ceremony that lasted 45 minutes. It included wrestlers saying farewell with flowers, testimonials, and of course the streamers at the end. Masami couldn’t have looked happier, and it was a fitting end to a long and storied career.

It is really really hard to evaluate a match like this with star ratings. It isn’t designed to be a ‘great’ match in the traditional sense of the word, as the retiring wrestler generally has her friends or people she enjoyed working with in the match to make it enjoyable for them. I will say that the wrestlers were putting in maximum effort to send off their friend in style, we still had Splash Mountains and Diving Footstomps and everything between, they were in no way coasting. And it was nice that Masami got the loss as that is normal tradition, giving the win to the younger Uematsu. Overall I liked it due to not just the emotion but the effort level, not a high end match work-wise but still fun to watch and a match I am sure Masami was proud of.  Recommended

The post Marvelous “Devil Masami Retirement” on 12/30/08 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

The last classic event that I reviewed, Jd’ Stir The Blood 1997, saw Lioness Asuka in the main event against Jaguar Yokota. While Asuka was tearing it up in Jd’, her old partner Chigusa Nagayo was still putting on high quality matches as well since returning from retirement in 1993. Here she invades JWP at their biggest event of the year at the famous Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Joshi was still booming in 1995, and even though AJW had the lion’s share of the market, JWP was still a well respected promotion that had many big stars including Dynamite Kansai, Devil Masami, Candy Okutsu, Cutie Suzuki, and many others. Interestingly there was only one title match on the show, however it is still an event with lots of potential. Here is the full card:

• Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita vs. Tomoko Kuzumi, Tomomi Kobayashi, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Fusayo Nouchi and Kumiko Maekawa vs. Rie Tamada and Kanako Motoya
• Rookie of the Year Tournament Final: Rieko Amano vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi
• Bomber Hikari and Sumiya Toyama vs. Toshie Sato and Yasuko Kuragaki
• Bolshoi Kid vs. Cutie Suzuki
• JWP Jr. Championship Gauntlet Match: Candy Okutsu vs. Hiromi Yagi vs. Hiromi Sugo
• Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dynamite Kansai

A long show, however for the release it was condensed to two hour so some matches will be clipped. But it still will take me forever to do this review as I have a lot of research to do, so I hope the 20 or so people that will read it will enjoy it. There are a handful of inter-promotional matches, which I’ll be sure to point out when they take place. Also this is the worst quality video-wise I have ever reviewed for the site, so apologies in advance.

Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita vs. Kuzumi, Kobayashi, and Yuki Miyazaki

We join this one in progress, with Kuzumi dropkicking Narita and putting her in a crab hold. Narita is triple teamed until she gets away and tags in Kato, Kato goes after Kuzumi’s arm but Kuzumi’s teammates run in and break it up. Kato is isolated for several minutes as Kobayashi works her over with various submission holds until Narita comes in to assist. This gives Kato time to tag in Nagashima, Kuzumi is tagged in too and Nagashima hits front rolls into headbutts until Kuzumi sneaks in a backslide for two She tags Kobayashi back in, and Kobayashi hits a series of body blocks until Nagashima tags in Kato. A lot is happening but not a lot is happening, if that makes sense. Kato’s team runs in and everyone dropkicks Kobayashi in the corner, bulldog by Kato and she covers Kobayashi for two.

Kato goes up top and hits a diving body press, but that cover is broken up as well. Kobayashi hits a Butt Bomb and tags in Miyazaki, hip attacks by Miyazaki to Kato and she covers her for two. Narita blind tags in and hits a couple one legged monkey flips until Kuzumi comes in to help. Narita gets dropkicked by everyone then eats a triple big boot, but she gets away and drops Miyazaki with a running powerslam for a two count. Missile dropkick by Miyazaki and both teams trade missile dropkicks (well, Narita fell off when she went for hers, but what can ya do). More dropkicks! The time limit expires but they fight on! All six brawl in the ring, things settle back down with Kobayashi hitting body blocks on Nagashima. All three hit diving body presses on Nagashima, but the cover is broken up. Nagashima and Kobayashi stay in the ring while everyone else fights outside of it, Irish whip by Kobayashi but Nagashima quickly rolls her up and she gets the three count! Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita win!

Just your typical fast paced rookie opener. No one got too much of a chance to shine but all looked solid, Narita had the only slip up of the match but they recovered well and kept on moving. Kato looked the best here so no surprise she ended up being so good down the road, but no one looked bad either. Not a bad way to start a show, giving young wrestlers a chance to wrestle at Sumo Hall is never a bad thing.

The next tag match wasn’t included on the release I have, so we will move right onto the Rookie of the Year Final.

Rieko Amano vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi

We join this in one in progress as Amano has Miyaguchi in a leg hold, but Miyaguchi gets to the ropes. Jumping crossbody by Miyaguchi and she puts Amano in a stretch hold, they return to their feet and Miyaguchi hits a dropkick. Amano avoids the next dropkick and goes up top but Miyaguchi knocks her off the top to the floor. Miyaguchi goes out after her and slams Amano into the apron before they return to the ring, sunset flip by Amano but she gets a two count. They trade slaps, Amano mounts Miyaguchi and rains down elbows onto her chest. Diving crossbody by Amano, but it gets two. Amano goes up top but Miyaguchi flings her back to the mat. Miyaguchi goes for a running boot but Amano catches her leg and takes her down, Miyaguchi lands in the ropes however and gets her own leglock applied. Both wrestlers trade quick pin attempts, mounted slaps by Amano but Miyaguchi sneaks in a backslide. Miyaguchi goes to run off the ropes but Amano grabs her from behind and rolls her up for the three count! Amano wins the Tournament!

Clipped down but I liked what I saw. Amano in particular seemed really on point, the submissions were smooth and she showed a lot of fire with her strikes. Miyaguchi looked fine but was a bit upstaged in what they showed, but still was pretty crisp with her offense and neither looked out of place. Only a few minutes was missing, one of the better rookie vs. rookie matches I have seen in awhile and both would go on to have great careers.  Mildly Recommended

Bomber Hikari and Sumiya Toyama vs. Toshie Sato and Yasuko Kuragaki

This match is only slightly joined in progress, with Hikari in the ring with Kuragaki. Kuragaki tags in Sato but Sato has no luck with Hikari as she eats a headbutt. Sato tags Kuragaki and Kuragaki connects with a dropkick, Sato returns and they both dropkick Hikari to the mat. Kuragaki applies a single leg crab hold but Hikari gets out of it and tags in Toyama. Hard shoulderblock by Toyama and she hits a scoop slam, covering Kuragaki for a two count. Kuragaki fires back with an elbow and tags in Sato, dropkick by Sato and she covers Toyama for two. Shoulderblocks by Sato and she hits a neckbreaker, but Toyama kicks out of the cover. Kuragaki and Hikari end up in the ring too with Sato and Kuragaki maintaining control, Toyama hits a judo throw on Sato and she tags in Hikari. Sato tags in Kuragaki, Hikari powerslams Kuragaki and Toyama comes in so they can drop Kuragaki with a double military press. Kuragaki dropkicks Hikari three times, and she covers Hikari for two. Fireman’s carry slams by Kuragaki and Sato hits a missile dropkick. Hikari lands by her corner and tags in Toyama, and Toyama boots Kuragaki in the chest for two. Side Russian Leg Sweeps by Toyama and she tags Hikari back in, missile dropkick by Toyama and both Hikari and Toyama slam Kuragaki and Sato. Diving headbutt by Hikari, and she covers Sato for the three count! Hikari and Toyama are the winners.

While all four wrestlers looked good here, the match structure was all over the place. To say that the transitions were iffy would be a compliment, at any given moment the winning team could shift to the other team for really no reason. So there wasn’t much of a flow, the carnage was good but I prefer carnage that has a bit more of a purpose. Solid action but just a bit meandering.

Bolshoi Kid vs. Cutie Suzuki

Suzuki is mad as hell at Bolshoi and I have no idea why, as she attacks her before the match starts and knocks her out of the ring. Suzuki dives out onto her with a jumping knee before sitting Bolshoi on the apron and pulling at her goofy hat. Back in the ring, Bolshoi finally gets away from Suzuki and she hits a quick hurricanrana for two. Bolshoi goes up top and hits a diving chop to the head, but Suzuki dropkicks Bolshoi out of the ring and hits a jumping knee from the apron down to the floor. Suzuki returns to the ring and waits for Bolshoi, German suplex hold by Suzuki but it gets two. Package German by Suzuki, but that gets a two count as well. Suzuki puts Bolshoi up top and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex, she goes up top again and hits a diving footstomp. Bolshoi hits a headscissors takedown and snaps off a quick suplex, she dropkicks Suzuki out of the ring and sails out after her with a plancha suicida. In the ring, Bolshoi hits a missile dropkick but Suzuki rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Avalanche Uranage by Bolshoi Kid, but Suzuki bridges out of the pin. German suplex hold by Bolshoi, but it gets two. Bolshoi goes up top but again she misses the moonsault, missile dropkick by Suzuki and she hits a second one before dropping Bolshoi with a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Cutie Suzuki is the winner.

I liked this match quite a bit. Really fast paced, hard hitting, high flying… about all you could ask for. Suzuki was more vicious here than I remember, although I haven’t seen a ton of her matches. So either this is normal for her and I didn’t know, or she just really hates clowns. It felt like it got the right amount of time and was a really good showcase for someone that they really wanted the crowd to take seriously as a wrestler even though she was an idol as well. Quality midcard match and worth a watch.  Recommended

Candy Okutsu vs. Hiromi Yagi vs. Hiromi Sugo

Hiromi Yagi and Hiromi Sugo are the first two in the match. Yagi quickly puts Sugo in a short armbar and stomps on her, jumping knee by Sugo in the corner but Yagi comes back with a rebound crossbody. Judo throws by Yagi and she goes for Sugo’s arm, but Sugo dropkicks her and hits a series of stomps. Sugo rams Yagi into the turnbuckles, Yagi goes for a quick roll-up but Sugo blocks it and holds down Yagi for the three count! Sugo wins the pairing and goes on to face Okutsu.

Sugo attacks Okutsu before their match starts but Okutsu kicks Sugo in the head and hits a missile dropkick. Okutsu runs up the corner and goes for another one, but Sugo swats her away. Sugo goes up top but Okutsu quickly joins her and hits a suplex to the mat for the three count! Okutsu wins the pairing and goes on to face Yagi.

Yagi quickly armdrags Okutsu as their match starts and applies a cross kneelock, but Okutsu gets a hand onto the ropes. Wing Clutch Hold by Okutsu, she picks up Yagi and she hits a backdrop suplex. Yagi blocks the next attempt and gets the kneelock re-applied, but again Okutsu gets to the ropes for a break. Missile dropkick by Okutsu and she hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner for two. Okutsu goes off the ropes but Yagi catches her arm with a short armbar, Okutsu inches to the ropes and gets a toe on the bottom one to get a break. Jumping elbow by Yagi but Okutsu hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Running kicks by Okutsu and she hits a snap German suplex, Irish whip by Okutsu but Yagi rolls her up for a two count. German suplex by Yagi, she goes up top but Okutsu gets her knees up on the diving body press. Irish whip by Okutsu, she springs out to the apron and goes up top but Yagi armdrags her off the top turnbuckle to the mat. Yagi goes up top but Okutsu quickly joins her and hits a big suplex to the mat, but Yagi bridges out of the pin. Okutsu goes for a suplex but Yagi slides away and hits a pair of suplexes. Okutsu grabs Yagi’s leg a however and applies a kneelock, and Yagi submits! Your winner and new champion is Candy Okutsu!

I love the speed and smoothness of the match, I just wish it lasted longer as the whole thing clocked in at well under ten minutes. Okutsu’s method of getting to the top turnbuckle was flawlessly done, perhaps overdone, but it is still a neat trick she does apparently on command. I also really liked Yagi’s throws and submissions, she looked polished for someone so inexperienced. The ending was sudden and didn’t make a ton of sense as Okutsu hadn’t done any work to the leg at all, but this was during the age where armbreakers/leglocks were getting more respect as instant finishers. Overall I liked it, it just deserved more time for such a big occasion on a massive card for JWP.  Mildly Recommended

Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU

Fukuoka and KAORU immediately hit stereo hurricanranas as the match starts, they go to double team Masami but she headbutts both of them. Ozaki comes in and powerbombs KAORU, then Masami slams Fukuoka on top of KAORU for extra measure. Masami and KAORU stay in, but they reach a stalemate and tag in their partners. Fukuoka suplexes Ozaki but Ozaki comes back with a jumping lariat, powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers Fukuoka for a two count. Headscissors by Fukuoka to Masami and she hits a hurricanrana for two, but Masami avoids the moonsault out of the corner and KAORU knocks her down with a missile dropkick. Moonsault by KAORU, Fukuoka goes up top but Ozaki hits her and Fukuoka suplexes Fukuoka to the mat for a two count. Masami tags in Ozaki, Fukuoka slides away from Ozaki and throws her to the mat before tagging in KAORU. KAORU flips out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick on Ozaki, but Ozaki bridges out of the pin. Spinning backbreaker by KAORU, but Masami breaks up the cover. Double diving attack to Ozaki, KAORU covers her but again it gets two. KAORU goes for a quebrada but Ozaki gets her knees up, she quickly tags in Fukuoka while Masami runs in and they hit suplexes on Masami and Ozaki. Masami and Ozaki roll out of the ring to re-group but Fukuoka and KAORU dive out of the ring onto them, KAORU and Ozaki return to the ring and KAORU hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Brainbuster by KAORU, but Masami breaks up the cover.

Fukuoka picks up Ozaki but KAORU hits her with a moonsault by accident, Masami then goes up top and hit a diving leg drop onto KAORU. Masami picks up Fukuoka but hits a sit-down powerbomb, getting a two count cover. She quickly hits three more powerbombs on Fukuoka, but the pin attempt is broken up. KAORU comes in and drags Masami but Fukuoka elbows KAORU by accident. Masami goes for another powerbomb but KAORU knocks her over before she can hit the move, Fukuoka slams Masami and KAORU hits a moonsault. Fukuoka then goes up top too and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Ozaki breaks up the cover. Fukuoka goes up top again and is fed Masami but Masami suplexes her to the mat. Masami tags Ozaki, somersault senton by Ozaki to Fukuoka but KAORU breaks up the pin. Running boots by Ozaki and she hits a stunner. Elbow by Ozaki and she drops Fukuoka with a sit-down powerbomb, she goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron. Fukuoka joins her but Ozaki slams her down to the mat for a two count cover. Masami is in the ring but KAORU hits a hurricanrana on her, Ozaki knocks KAORU out of the ring and then sails out onto her with a springboard somersault senton. Masami then picks up Fukuoka and tosses her out of the ring onto KAORU, Ozaki rolls Fukuoka back into the ring and hits the Tequila Sunrise for a two count. Tiger suplex hold by Ozaki, but KAORU breaks it up. Masami takes care of KAORU, she picks up Fukuoka and Ozaki hits her with an assisted lariat, but again the cover is broken up. Masami throws KAORU out of the ring again, she sits on the top turnbuckle and Ozaki stands on her shoulders. Diving footstomp by Ozaki and Masami following with a diving legdrop, Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki on Fukuoka and she gets the three count! Ozaki and Masami are the winners.

Another really solid match, JWP is going all out to deliver on their big Sumo Hall show. What this match lacked in time (it went about 13 minutes) it made up for by being constant motion. Masami looked great with her power moves, she hits a mean powerbomb, and the rest were all on point with their aerial assaults. They hit all their big moves much to the crowd’s delight and certainly nothing was held back, just an exciting and hard hitting match from bell to bell. A really fun match.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dynamite Kansai

They cautiously shake hands before the match starts but the pleasantries don’t last long as Nagayo kicks Kansai to the mat. Head kick by Nagayo and she goes for a powerbomb, but Kansai slides away and kicks Nagayo’s leg out from under her. Mounted elbows by Kansai and she kicks Nagayo in the head but Nagayo whips off a belly to belly suplex. They lock knuckles as they get to their feet, Kansai goes for Nagayo’s arm and applies an armbreaker, but Nagayo gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Kicks by Kansai, which Nagayo tries with little luck to block, Nagayo finally manages to catch one and she applies a leglock. Kansai reaches the ropes, Nagayo goes for a heel kick but Kansai catches it. Hard kick to the ribs/lower back area by Nagayo, which sends Nagayo crumbling to the mat in pain. Kansai takes full advantage and she continues kicking Nagayo in the lower back, but Nagayo fires back with a high kick, more kicks by Nagayo to the head and she waits for Kansai to get back up. Nagayo gets Kansai to the mat and applies a sleeper but Kansai gets out of it and hits mounted elbows. Nagayo recovers and gets the sleeper re-applied, kick to the head by Nagayo and she drills Kansai with another one. Kansai comes back with a backdrop suplex and she hits a jumping knee, high angle backdrop suplex by Kansai and she covers Nagayo for two.

Kansai goes up top but Nagayo kicks her in the head, sending Kansai out to the floor. Nagayo goes outside as well but Kansai nails her with a lariat. Kick to the head by Nagayo, Nagayo gets in the ring as Kansai gets on the apron and both wrestlers lariat each other. Nagayo applies an armbar but Kansai gets to the ropes, Nagayo applies a sleeper before planting Kansai with a piledriver. Nagayo comes up top but Kansai kicks her from behind, Kansai joins her and goes for Splash Mountain but Nagayo blocks it. Nagayo dives off the top and drives Kansai’s face into the mat, elbow drop by Nagayo and she covers Kansai for two. Nagayo goes up top again but again Kansai kicks her, she goes for Splash Mountain again but Nagayo blocks it and knees Kansai back down to the mat. Nagayo picks up Kansai but Kansai gets out of the Running Three attempt, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain but Nagayo wiggles away. Kansai kicks her in the head for her trouble, she goes for a powerbomb but Nagayo blocks it and hits a high kick. Kansai sweeps out Nagayo’s legs, she picks up Nagayo and she delivers a backdrop suplex for a two count. Nagayo fires back with her own backdrop suplex, she picks up Kansai and she nails the Running Three, but Kansai kicks out of the cover. Kansai gets a second wind and elbows Nagayo repeatedly in the corner, Kansai picks up Nagayo and she delivers the Splash Mountain, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Head kick by Kansai, she drags Nagayo to her feet and hits another Splash Mountain for the three count! Dynamite Kansai is the winner!

Well this was certainly a hell of a match, doubt either one were feeling 100% in the morning. Lots and lots of hard strikes, so if hard kicks are your thing then this match is for you. It wasn’t perfect but it was what it needed to be, this is both wrestler’s styles so they were going to put on the best version of their style that they could. Kansai working on the lower back/ribs area of Nagayo was logical since that is the area that Splash Mountain hits, and Nagayo’s kicks to the head were on point. My main squabble would be basically Kansai’s ‘fighting spirit’ spot leading directly to the end after Nagayo hit her big signature move, but since it is the main event of JWP’s biggest event of the year with their hometown star, those types of things are a bit more forgivable. It didn’t reach that ‘epic’ level but it was incredibly stiff and full of action, a perfect way to cap off the show. A solid “four star” match for sure.  Highly Recommended

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