Event: Various GLEAT Shows
Dates: July 25th, 2021 to September 29th, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Various
Broadcast: Streamed on NicoPro and Youtube

Time to spread some GLEAT love! What is GLEAT? GLEAT is a uniquely named puroresu promotion that is owned by Lidet Entertainment, which created the promotion after they sold Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2020. GLEAT has two sub-brands, but we are focusing on their “pro wrestling” brand which has more traditional wrestling. GLEAT airs on NicoPro and also puts their events on Youtube, so they are fairly easy to watch if you are so inclined. They have two Joshi wrestlers on their regular roster – Michiko Miyagi, better known to many fans as Andras Miyagi, and Yukari Hosokawa who is better known as RinRin. Yukari hasn’t had any matches in GLEAT yet, so this review series will focus on Michiko Miyagi, as GLEAT brings in outsiders to wrestle both with and against her. I am going to review her matches from the last four months, here is the line-up:

• July 25th, 2021 – Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
• August 4th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
• September 1st, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
• September 29th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki

All wrestlers on the event have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s see how good GLEAT is.

Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 1 on July 25th, 2021
We start the match review series with GLEAT wrestler Michiko Miyagi against Actwres girl’Z wrestler Ayano Irie. Miyagi has had an interesting career so far, going from Sendai Girls’ to Stardom to falling off the map. Once she started wrestling more often, she eventually landed in GLEAT (and is now appearing in Sendai Girls’ again as well), which feels like a step down but sometimes smaller promotions are a better fit for people. Ayano Irie is in her third year and is 25 years old, she has no notable wins in her career but she isn’t a rookie, so hopefully they can pull together something fun for us.

Ayano manages to trick Michiko into hyping up the crowd to start the match, giving her a chance to sneak in a quick schoolboy for a two count. She rolls up Michiko a few more times with no luck, Ayano throws Michiko into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. She does it again before hitting a snapmare and putting Michiko in a bodyscissors. She eventually lets go and puts Michiko in an inverted crab hold, she lets go of that as well and picks up Michiko but Michiko delivers a scoop slam into a backbreaker. Michiko lifts Ayano back up and hits a scoop slam to the mat, Michiko stomps Ayano down in the corner before putting her in a chinlock. Ayano crawls to the ropes to try to slow down Michiko, but Michiko clubs her in the corner, Ayano fights back with elbows but Michiko boots her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Michiko and she hits a second one, she picks up Ayano and delivers a delayed scoop slam for a two count. Michiko goes for a crab hold but Ayano reverses it into a roll-up, she goes for a few more flash pins but each gets a two count. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she rolls into an inverted crab hold but Michiko gets to the ropes for the break. Michiko gets back in control and quickly puts Ayano in a crab hold, Ayano almost gets to the ropes but Michiko pulls her back to the middle of the ring. Ayano struggles for another moment but has to tap out! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

This was… pretty simple. Ayano isn’t a very good wrestler, I am sure someone on Twitter will get mad at me saying that but its just the simple truth. So her offense was either really basic, weak, or goofy and she never felt like she was in a position to win this match. Michiko always works better when she has a quality foil, she is fundamentally very sound and her offense looked fine, but there just wasn’t much to the match until Michiko put away Ayano with a crab hold. Hopefully Michiko gets more interesting competition for the rest of the review series.

Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 2 on August 4th, 2021
Next, Miyagi wrestles Momoka Hanazono! If you are not familar with Momoka, don’t feel too bad, as she wrestles in pretty small promotions. She wrestles most frequently in Dotonbori Pro but also wrestles in Colega Pro, plus occasionally she visits OZ Academy and wrestler produced events. She’s never wrestled for a title or anything like that, and is pretty under-the-radar on the Joshi scene. While this isn’t a big match either, she does get to wrestle a proven wrestler on a show that is readily available to view so that’s something, lets see if she can impress.

Momoka asks Michiko for a handshake to start, but its all a ruse as she applies a small package for a quick two count. She tries a few more flash pins but Michiko kicks out of each, Michiko throws Momoka into the corner but Momoka rebounds out with an attempted hurricanrana. Michiko catches her however and hits a sit-down powerbomb, picking up a two count. Michiko stomps on Momoka while she is near the ropes, she picks up Momoka and puts her in the tree of woe. Dropkick by Michiko and she pinches Momoka’s belly (I guess that would hurt), Michiko stomps on Momoka but Momoka elbows her back. Momoka hits a few more elbows but Michiko boots her in the face for her trouble, Michiko goes for a crab hold but Momoka blocks it and cradles Michiko for two. Momoka goes for a bodyscissors but Michiko catches her, she throws Momoka into the mat and puts her in the crab hold. Momoka gets to the ropes for the break, Michiko picks her up and goes off the ropes but Michiko catches her with a cross armbreaker takedown. Michiko quickly gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Momoka goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick for a two count. Momoka picks up Michiko but Michiko blocks the suplex, Momoka gets Michiko’s back however and applies a sleeper hold. Michiko drives Momoka into the corner to break the hold but Momoka jumps off the turnbuckle with a diving hurricanrana before applying a small package for two. Sunset flip into a jackknife by Momoka but Michiko gets out of the hold and applies a Backslide for the three count! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

What I liked about this one compared to the last is even though it was pretty simple, I got the real sense that Momoka could pull of the upset victory. She had several convincing nearfalls and got in some legitimate offense, so even though she was never in control for long she had enough spots that it didn’t feel like she was totally outmatched. As everyone knows, I love a good cross armbreaker takedown, so that helped. Michiko continues to be sound if not overly interesting, but she got a little desperate here which gave her a chance to show a bit more emotion. Nothing earth shattering but a solid little match.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 3 on September 1st, 2021
This one is a little different from the other matches in the series. Not only does Michiko Miyagi have new wrestlers to interact with but all three of these are at a different level than we have seen leading up to this match. Rina Yamashita is a veteran of the Joshi scene, she was best known for her work in WAVE but since leaving WAVE has found success in SEAdLINNNG and Ice Ribbon. Ryo Mizunami is the most seasoned of the bunch, she also had a lot of success in WAVE before going Freelance a few years ago. Yuu started her career in Tokyo Joshi Pro but left the promotion to go Freelance, currently she reps Pro Wrestling EVE. There is no weak link here as all four are quality wrestlers, this may get a little goofy at times but if they stay focused this could be a stealthy good match.

Rina and Yuu start the match, headlock by Rina but Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Yuu finally manages to knock Rina off her feet after they battle a few times, but Rina hits a lariat in the corner and tags in Michiko. Michiko tries to suplex Yuu but can’t get her over, Rina comes in to help but Yuu ends up suplexing both of them. Yuu tags Ryo, Ryo clubs on Michiko before Michiko goes for shoulderblocks, but Ryo doesn’t go down. Kick by Ryo and she delivers a hard shoulderblock that is successful, Ryo chops Michiko in the corner before doing her slow charge-up for a running lariat. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she delivers a spinning sidewalk slam for a two count. Running senton by Yuu, but Rina breaks up the cover. Yuu picks up Michiko and repeatedly chops her, Michiko blocks one but Yuu chops her again anyway and covers her for two. Yuu gets Michiko on her shoulder but Michiko slides away and hits a vertical suplex, giving her time to tag in Rina.

Running knee by Rina and she delivers a scoop slam, but she goofs around for too long and eats a chop from Yuu. More chops by Yuu but Rina drops her with a DDT, Rina goes for a German suplex but Yuu lands on top of her for a two count. Jumping kick by Rina but Yuu hits a hip toss, she rolls to her corner and tags in Ryo. Ryo picks up Rina but Rina knees her in the head as the two trade strikes. They both try to lariat the other over until Rina gets Ryo to the mat, she goes for a sliding lariat but Ryo kicks her in the face and both end up flat on their back after a double lariat. Rina tags in Michiko, elbows by Michiko to Ryo but Ryo blocks the suplex and they trade shots. Rina comes in but Ryo shoulderblocks both of them, cannonball by Yuu in the corner and Ryo hits a lariat on Michiko. Ryo picks up Michiko but Michiko slides away, cradling her for two. A schoolboy also gets a two count, Yuu tries to help but Michiko throws Ryo into Yuu. Ryo quickly recovers and hits a lariat, Hot Limit by Ryo on Michiko and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Yuu are the winners.

These four could have a match like this in their sleep, so while it was a perfectly fine tag match it didn’t exactly break any new ground either. I find it interesting that in this series of matches that Michiko Miyagi has been wrestling underneath most of the wrestlers. She has a fair amount of experience and has had high profile spots in her career, but it appears that GLEAT is almost having her start from the bottom and work her way back up. The action here was all good, they kept the goofiness to a minimum and didn’t waste time with meaningless submission holds, it was pretty much all offense from start to finish. I enjoyed it but not a whole lot can be said about it, its a solid match that you’d expect from them that stayed active from bell to bell.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 6 on September 29th, 2021
We wrap up this series of matches as Michiko Miyagi takes on Rina Shingaki. Rina Shingaki wrestles out of 2AW, she has already announced her intention to retire in November so this is a bit of a farewell tour for her. Her career mostly stayed under the radar – she won a few titles in BBW but no one watches that and she had limited success both in her home promotion and during her visits to other places. She’s been a semi-regular in Ice Ribbon and OZ Academy however and is a solid hand, the type of wrestler that may not pop off the page but every promotion needs to keep things rolling. Michiko edges her in experience but she hasn’t been wrestling like it in GLEAT, so we’ll see what they put together.

They circle each other to start, wristlock by Rina and she gets Michiko to the mat. Rina focuses on Michiko’s arm as she attacks it in the ropes, kick to the arm by Rina and she knocks Michiko into the corner. Rina twists Michiko’s arm in the ropes some more, Michiko charges Rina but Rina moves and Michiko falls in the corner again. Double knee to the arm by Rina, she picks up Michiko and flips her to the mat before applying an armbar. Michiko quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Rina picks up Michiko but Michiko gets way and sneaks in a DDT. Michiko quickly puts Rina’s legs on the top rope and hits a cyclone neckbreaker, Michiko picks up Rina and goes for a tombstone but Rina slides away and slams Michiko’s arm into the mat. Kick by Rina but Michiko elbows her back, they trade strikes until Michiko catches Rina and drops her with a tombstone piledriver. Slow cover by Michiko, but Rina has recovered and slaps on a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches it to a double armbar but Michiko gets too close to the ropes, so Rina pulls her back to the middle of the ring and applies the SBT Lock 2. Michiko barely struggles before she quickly submits! Rina Shingaki wins the match!

The way that Michiko is wrestling in GLEAT is fascinating to me. Its like she really is starting from scratch as she was dominated here by a wrestler with far less experience and successes. Rina is a respected midcard submission wrestler but to so methodically defeat Michiko in Michiko’s promotion is not what I was expecting. The arm work was really well done, and Michiko’s selling was great, so I enjoyed everything about their execution. It needed a few more minutes and maybe another “hope” spot or two by Michiko to look like maybe she would win (she never seemed close to victory), but the action itself was really well done. Rina’s retirement won’t send major ripples or anything but she does have a style that isn’t common on the Joshi scene so those that enjoy submission-based offense will no doubt miss her. Probably the best match of this series, nothing earth shattering but an entertaining match.  Mildly Recommended

The post GLEAT Joshi Match Reviews (July 2021 to September 2021) appeared first on Joshi City.

I haven’t done a review in quite awhile but with the excitement over Stardom I felt it was time to hop back into it. A lot has changed in Stardom since my last review back in September. Utami Hayashishita has officially made her presence felt in Stardom as she has won multiple championships and is already main eventing her 4th Korakuen Hall event. Oedo Tai has been teasing a new member who will debut on this show, plus Hazuki is well into her reign as High Speed Champion with her second defense tonight. Here is the full card:

• Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Rina vs. Leo Onozaki and Saya Iida
• Alex Gracia and Saki Kashima vs. Bobbi Tyler and Hana Kimura
• Jamie Hayter vs. Konami
• High Speed Championship: Hazuki vs. AZM
• Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Kagetsu and X
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita vs. Arisa Hoshiki and Mayu Iwatani

I am watching the show on Samurai TV which is a two hour program, so there may be clipping. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it (including X if you want to spoil the surprise). Let’s get to it.

Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Rina vs. Leo Onozaki and Saya Iida

The first three in are Saya, Starlight Kid, and Hina, they do a triple knuckle lock and Saya ends up in a double wristlock. Starlight Kid and Hina knock down Saya and all three take turns schoolboying each other with no luck. Hanan, Leo, and Rina tag in, Leo is isolated in the corner and everyone come sin to dropkick her (except her teammate of course). Saya eventually comes in to help but gets tied up in the ropes instead with Leo, double STO by Hina and Rina and with Hanan they all put Leo in a submission hold. Saya recovers to help her partner break out of the holds, Leo and Rina trade strikes until Leo elbows Rina to the mat for two. She tags in Saya, Saya dropkicks Hanan and Rina before putting Rina in a crab hold, but Rina gets to the ropes for the break. Hanan comes in and trades elbows with Saya, but Hina helps her out and puts Saya in a camel clutch. Hanan goes off the ropes but dropkicks her sister, she tags in Starlight Kid and Starlight Kid hits a standing moonsault onto Hina. Saya breaks up her cover but Starlight Kid dropkicks her, Leo runs in and knocks Starlight Kid in the corner before hitting a cutter. Saya covers Starlight Kid, but the pin is broken up. Rina and Hina judo toss Leo and Saya, they grab Hanan but Hanan avoids their charge and Starlight Kid hits a diving crossbody off the top onto both of them. Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid onto Saya, STO by Hanan and Starlight Kid nails a cyclone suplex, but her cover is broken up. Starlight Kid quickly goes up top and nails a swivel body press on Saya, and she picks up the three count! Hanan and Starlight Kid win.

My main thought going into this match is it was a waste of Starlight Kid, who has really turned it on the last six months, but at least she was featured and got to show off a bit. Rina and Hina at times cooperating with their sister made sense, although ultimately didn’t stick, and aside from a few minor hiccups everything went smoothly. This match could be reduced to just a long GIF and you’d get everything needed, but a perfectly fine opener to get some of the younger wrestlers some experience.

Alex Gracia and Saki Kashima vs. Bobbi Tyler and Hana Kimura

Saki and Hana start things off, they trade elbows in the ropes until Saki knocks down Hana with a dropkick. Alex comes in and they hit a double face crusher onto Hana, Saki goes off the ropes but Bobbi hits her from the apron and Hana delivers a dropkick. Slam by Hana, Bobbi gets in the ring and Saki is double teamed. Bobbi gets back on the apron so that Hana can tag her in, Bobbi slowly wears down Saki but Saki gets away and hits a tilt-a-whirl armdrag followed by a dropkick. That gives her time to tag in Alex, dropkicks by Alex but Bobbi avoids the Tiger Feint Kick, Bobbi charges Alex but Alex moves out of the way and hits a Backstabber for two. Shining Wizard by Alex, but Bobbi barely gets a shoulder up. Bobbi fires back with a superkick and tags in Hana while Saki is also tagged in, Saki ducks Hana’s boots and hits a dropkick, covering her for two. Saki goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, Alex runs in with a Tiger Feint Kick and Saki finishes Hana with a double arm suplex hold, but Bobbi breaks it up. Saki goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick, running boot by Hana and she nails Saki with a second one. Hana picks up Saki but Saki sneaks in an inside cradle for two, Hana quickly grabs Saki again and hits a vertical suplex. Saki gets away and tags in Alex, neck snaps by Alex to Hana and she covers her for two. Alex goes off the ropes but Bobbi runs in with a ropes-assisted reverse STO, double vertical suplex to Alex and Hana boots her in the head. Hana goes up top and nails the missile dropkick, cover by Hana and she gets the three count! Hana Kimura and Bobbi Tyler win!

If this match is any indication it is understandable why Saki was knocked back down the card a bit, she just isn’t as fluid as most other Stardom wrestlers and at times felt a bit out of place. Generally the action was fine but uninspired, Bobbi and Alex both looked solid and Hana got her spots in, but outside of some fun moments there wasn’t anything memorable. For just casual undercard fodder it was good enough but no one really stood out which is usually all you can hope for in this situation.

Jamie Hayter vs. Konami

Jamie gets Konami to the mat first but can’t do anything meaningful as they return to their feet, snapmare by Konami and she kicks Jamie in the back. Jamie returns the favor but Konami does it to her again before connecting with a sliding kick for two. Konami goes off the ropes but Jamie catches her with an uppercut and a running knee, she puts Konami in a half camel clutch but lets her go and kicks stomps her against the ropes. Jamie tosses Konami to the mat and kicks her in the back, quick cover but it gets a two count. Jamie picks up Konami and knocks her into the corner, Jamie goes for a jumping knee but Konami moves and hits an elbow. Jamie suplexes Konami into the turnbuckles and nails a running knee, cover by Jamie but Konami kicks out. Jamie sits on Konami in the ropes, back in the middle of the ring she hits a few hard strikes but Konami comes back with a springboard kick to the chest. Konami picks up Jamie, kicks by Konami and she knocks Jamie to the mat. Sliding kick by Konami, she goes out to the apron and dropkicks Jamie while her head is hanging over the ropes. Cross armbreaker by Konami into a choke but Jamie buckle bombs out of it, Irish whip by Jamie but Konami hops on the top turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar. Jamie powerbombs out of the hold again, Jamie charges Konami but Konami catches her arm and applies a cross armbreaker. Jamie fights off Konami and hits a side slam onto her knee, high kick by Jamie and she delivers a backdrop suplex hold for two. Knees by Jamie, she goes off the ropes and nails the sliding knee but Konami barely kicks out of the cover. Jamie picks up Konami but Konami slides away, she goes for a suplex but Jamie elbows out of it and hits a German suplex hold of her own for two. Knees by Jamie, she gets Konami on her shoulders but Konami slides off and puts Jamie in the Triangle Lancer, leading to the quick tap out! Konami is the winner.

It started slow as Jamie’s opening control segment wasn’t overly interesting, but once they got through that I enjoyed it. The build-up into the match was that the Triangle Lancer always wins matches for Konami, so her goal was to weaken Jamie enough to get it applied. Which worked out for her, helping put over both Konami and the move in the process. I really liked Jamie’s reversals to get out of sticky situations and her knees were on point, I haven’t seen a lot of her but she was impressive here. Konami still needs to show more in-ring charisma and presence but from a skill-level she is ready for a bigger push in Stardom, technically speaking this match was really well done and a fun watch.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hazuki vs. AZM
High Speed Championship

Hazuki and AZM immediately get to it with a high speed exchange (fitting considering the title) which ends with an AZM dropkick and kip-up. AZM goes off the ropes but Hazuki trips her and hits a slingshot footstomp to her back. Irish whip by Hazuki, AZM goes for a dropkick but Hazuki shrugs it off and boots her in the chest. Bootscrapes by Hazuki against the ropes followed by a running boot, scoop slam by Hazuki but AZM kicks out of the cocky cover. AZM fires back with elbows but Hazuki knocks her back down, Irish whip by Hazuki but AZM applies a tilt-a-whirl armbar. AZM rolls Hazuki to the mat and hits a dropkick, kicks by AZM and she starts working on Hazuki’s arm. Short armbar by AZM but Hazuki gets to the ropes, back up they trade elbows until AZM sneaks in a few flash covers for two counts. Vertical suplex by AZM, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Dropkick by AZM in the corner, she goes all the way up this time and hits a diving footstomp, but Hazuki kicks out of the cover. AZM goes for a tilt-a-whirl armbar but Hazuki pushes her off, AZM rolls Hazuki to the mat and goes off the ropes again and this time applies La Mística, but she lets go after a moment when Hazuki doesn’t submit. AZM goes for the triple jump crossbody out of the corner but Hazuki kicks her before she can jump off and hits a running elbow in the corner. Sliding kick by Hazuki, but AZM kicks out of the cover. Armtrap crossface by Hazuki but AZM gets a foot on the ropes, Hazuki charges AZM but AZM snaps off a hurricanrana. AZM goes for a kick but Hazuki ducks it and delivers a Pump Kick, running boot by Hazuki and she hits a Michinoku Driver. Brainbuster by Hazuki, and she picks up the three count! Hazuki is still the High Speed Champion!

I didn’t love this as much as some but it was a decent mid-level title match. Hazuki wasn’t losing here so it was more about AZM putting up a fight to show she wasn’t just a throw-away defense, and while I liked the arm/shoulder work I wouldn’t have minded if Hazuki had shown more damage from it since it was such a focus of the match. They had one noticeable mistake with them slipping on the first La Mística attempt but they covered for it well which is all you can ask for, and Hazuki adding the Brainbuster to her list of deadly moves was a nice touch. More good than bad overall and a good effort by both.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Kagetsu and X (Andras Miyagi)

Kyona and Natsuko attack their opponents before the bell rings to get the upper hand, Kagetsu is isolated in the ring and double teamed by both members of the Jungle Assault Nation. Natsuko and Jungle are pulled out of the ring by other Oedo Tai members as the action spills out into the crowd, with Miyagi attacking Jungle with chairs. Kagetsu and Miyagi get back in the ring with Natsuko and double team her, Miyagi tags in as the legal wrestler and she scoop slams Natsuko near the corner. She tags in Kagetsu as they go back and forth on Natsuko, Kagetsu spits water in everyone’s face (except Miyagi of course) before Miyagi returns to the ring to choke Natsuko in the corner. Miyagi forces Natsuko to head bang with her before elbowing her in the corner and hitting a bulldog for a two count. Miyagi goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with a spinebuster and tags in Jungle. Jungle and Miyagi trade shoulderblock attempts until Miyagi sends Jungle to the mat, Kagetsu comes in but Jungle blocks the double suplex attempt and suplexes both of her opponents instead. Sliding lariat by Jungle to Miyagi followed by a slingshot body splash for a two count. Jungle tags Natsuko back in, Natsuko slams Miyagi to the mat and applies a submission, but it gets broken up. Jungle returns and elbows Miyagi into the corner, Miyagi flips herself out to the apron and snaps Jungle’s neck on the top rope.

Miyagi jumps back into the ring and dropkicks Jungle before tagging in Kagetsu, Kagetsu charges Jungle but Jungle moves as Natsuko comes in. Kagetsu dropkicks both of them and hits a slingshot dropkick onto Jungle, picking up a two count. Kagetsu applies a submission on Jungle but Jungle gets out of it and hits a powerslam, sliding lariats by Jungle but Kagetsu kicks out of the cover. High kick by Kagetsu but Jungle fires back with a lariat and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Natsuko and Miyagi tag in, elbows by Natsuko but Miyagi boots her in the head. Natsuko goes for a spear but Miyagi blocks it and hits a DDT, Kagetsu comes in and Natsuko is double teamed. Miyagi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Miyagi but Jungle breaks it up. Miyagi goes off the ropes but Natsuko elbows her, Miyagi elbows her back but Jungle runs in and hits a lariat. Spear by Natsuko, Kagetsu tries to come in and help but Jungle elbows her in the face. Kagetsu and Miyagi are put in opposite corners and hit with strikes, Natsuko and Jungle go up to opposite corners and both hit diving body presses. Natsuko picks up Miyagi and hits a swinging side slam, but Kagetsu breaks up the cover. Jungle and Natsuko grab Miyagi and hit a double suplex, Natsuko goes up top and hits the body press before hitting a second one, but Kagetsu breaks it up by spitting green mist in her face. She spits it at Jungle as well before getting a sign and hitting Natsuko in the head with it, Samoan Driver by Miyagi to Natsuko but Natsuko barely gets a shoulder up. Miyagi goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Senton Bomb, cover by Miyagi and she picks up the three count! Kagetsu and Andras Miyagi win!

Just considering the in-ring action itself, this was pretty standard, but for storyline reasons it was a necessary way to introduce Miyagi with a win in her debut with Oedo Tai. Natsuko Tora is still a bit clunky and at 28 years old has probably reached her height in the promotion, however she is fine in matches like this where there is no pressure for her to be memorable. Miyagi was solid, she’s not a high end technician but has impactful strikes and a great character. An exciting development for the promotion to be sure and a decent enough match to debut her to a new crowd.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita vs. AMA (Arisa Hoshiki and Mayu Iwatani)
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Momo and Arisa start things off, they exchange kicks until Arisa knocks Momo to the mat. Elbows by Arisa, Mayu runs in to stomp Momo and she cuts off Utami when she tries to help her partner. Momo and Utami eat dropkicks, Arisa tags in Mayu and Mayu kicks Momo in the back before hitting a standing body press. AMA stays in control on Momo until Momo slaps a kneelock on Arisa while Utami plays defense. Momo picks up Arisa but Arisa pushes her back and they trade elbows, they knock each other into their respective corners and both tag out. Mayu tries to shoulderblock Utami over but is unable to do so, hard shoulderblock by Utami but Mayu connects with a kick combination followed by a spinning elbow. Dropkick by Utami, Momo comes in and they drop Mayu with a double flapjack. Utami tags Momo back in, dropkicks by Momo in the corner and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for two. Side slam by Momo and she delivers the Somato, but Mayu kicks out. Momo gets back on the second turnbuckle but Mayu recovers and joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner. Sliding Knee by Mayu, and she covers Momo for a two count. Scoop slam by Mayu in front of the corner, she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind.

Mayu kicks Utami in the head and hits a slingshot dropkick onto Momo, Momo and Mayu trade elbows until Mayu sneaks in a hurricanrana. Kick to the head by Mayu and she tags Arisa, Arisa boots Utami off the apron before nailing Momo with a jumping knee. Arisa goes up top but Momo avoids the 1399 and hits a diving Somato for two. Momo picks up Arisa, Arisa gets away but Utami runs in judo tosses her to the mat. Buzzsaw Kick by Momo, but Arisa kicks out. Utami goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, B Driver by Momo but Mayu breaks up the pin. Arisa recovers, Mayu runs in and superkicks Momo and Arisa pushes Momo out of the ring before hitting a jumping kick off the apron to the floor. Arisa gets Momo back in, Brazilian Kick by Arisa but Utami barely breaks up the cover. Arisa picks up Momo and hits a running double knee, but it only gets two. Mayu goes up top and hits a diving crossbody on Momo, 1399 by Arisa but Momo barely kicks out again. Back up, Momo gets in a high kick and hits the Tequila Sunrise, but Mayu breaks it up. Utami runs in, she puts Mayu on her shoulders before spinning her around into a release German suplex. Momo picks Arisa up and nails the Peach Sunrise, and she picks up the three count! Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita are still the champions.

While this didn’t reach the levels I was hoping, it was still a really entertaining match. Mayu is just a bump machine, she makes all offense against her look deadly and if I was a wrestler I would love to have matches against her as I know win or lose I’d come out looking great. Arisa is a few steps above Saki Kashima so I am glad that she passed her on the STARS hierarchy, she still is the least smooth of the four in the match but didn’t hold anyone back either. My main complaint is that Utami was only the legal wrestler for less than two minutes, it was the Momo show and while I like Momo I wanted to see more of the Super Rookie. The ending was also really sudden, Arisa was kicking Momo’s ass and suddenly Momo hits a few moves and its over. I would have liked a longer end stretch, maybe a comeback attempt by Arisa to make it feel more fleshed out. The match was under 15 minutes so they still had some time to spare. Anyway, the action itself was great fun and these are four of the best that Stardom has to offer, it just didn’t have that epic feel you may hope for from a Korakuen Hall main event.  Recommended

The post Stardom Queen’s Fes on 2/17/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I haven’t been keeping up with current wrestling shows as much as I’d prefer, due to real life stuff like my job getting in the way, but show event seemed worth the watch. Sendai Girls’ is a promotion that doesn’t ‘make air’ very often, but when they do they tend to go all out. This show not only has a big title match between Ayako Hamada and Chihiro Hashimoto but also a special singles match between Meiko Satomura and Io Shirai as their eternal feud continues. Here is the full card:

• Ami Sato vs. Manami
• Sakura Hirota and Eiger vs. Solo Darling and KAORU
• Cassandra Miyagi, Heidi Katrina, Sammii Jayne, and Aja Kong vs. DASH Chisako, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Mio Momono, and Alex Lee
• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Iwata
• Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura
• Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Ayako Hamada

All wrestlers above have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this was shown on Samurai TV some matches may be clipped.

Ami Sato vs. Manami

They jockey for position to start and trade elbows in the ropes, monkey flip by Manami and she covers Ami for two. Manami applies a body scissors into a stretch hold but Ami gets to the ropes for the break. Camel Clutch by Ami, she lets go after a moment and hits a front roll into an elbow strike for a two count. Crab hold by Ami, she picks Manami up and hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Manami slides away and they trade flash pins, dropkick by Manami but Ami kicks her in the stomach, backslide by Manami but Ami kicks out. Manami applies the Cattle Mutilation and then cradles Ami, but it gets two. Manami goes off the ropes but Ami catches her with an elbow, shoulderblock by Ami but Manami blocks the crab hold attempt. Manami charges Ami but Ami slides behind her and applies a school boy for the three count! Ami Sato is the winner.

As I mentioned at the top, Sendai Girls’ doesn’t produce bad wrestlers, never has. Its basic, but both wrestlers know them well as this was smoother than other matches I’ve seen with long time veterans. Sendai Girls’ typically brings rookies along slow (unless you are Chihiro Hashimoto), but show early potential.

Sakura Hirota and Eiger vs. Solo Darling and KAORU

Eiger and KAORU start the match and do some comedy bits with KAORU getting the upper hand, Solo runs in but so does Sakura. Sakura is booted by both her opponents but Eiger recovers and stacks Solo and KAORU in the corner. Sakura tries to jump off of Eiger’s knee but slips and crotches herself instead, KAORU gets her board and eventually manages to hit Eiger in the head with it. Eiger avoids the next shot but gets hit with it again anyway, Solo stays in as legal and hits a cutter out of the corner for a two count. Eiger gets Solo’s back and zombies her, KAORU comes in with the board but she hits Solo by accident. Eiger hits KAORU with the board, Sakura then kisses her and applies a cradle, but KAORU kicks out. Eiger goes spit dust in KAORU’s face, KAORU blocks it at first but Eiger just waits until she lowers the board and spits dust in her face anyway. Roll-up by Sakura, and she holds down KAORU for the three count! Sakura Hirota and Eiger win!

This was mercifully clipped, almost to the point it is hard to know what was really going on. It had the standard Sakura and Eiger comedy so if that is your thing, you’ll enjoy this. A harmless opening-style match.

Cassandra Miyagi, Katrina, Sammii Jayne, and Kong vs. DASH Chisako, Matsumoto, Momono, and Alex Lee

Things immediately break down as the match starts as the action spills out to the floor, Chisako goes up top and dives down onto a pile of wrestlers before Miyagi dives out with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Mio and Miyagi appear to the the legal wrestlers as Mio hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Miyagi hides behind the referee before booting Mio in the face, she goes off the ropes but Mio rolls her up for two as they trade flash pins. Mio tags in Chisako, cutter by Chisako to Miyagi but Miyagi holds down the rope when Chisako charges and Chisako falls out of the ring. Miyagi goes out after her and throws Chisako into the ring post, she gets a push cart and gets on it while Heidi pushes her around. Whatever they had planned didn’t work as Chisako hits Miyagi with a chair, Chisako slides Miyagi back into the ring and hits a missile dropkick. Another dropkick by Chisako and she covers Miyagi for a two count. Miyagi and Chisako trade shots, Chisako goes off the ropes but Miyagi boots her in the head. Kong comes in and hits Chisako with a paint can, she lariats both Mio and Alex and then smacks Hiroyo to the mat for good measure. Miyagi tries to boot Chisako but kicks Kong by accident, Kong forgives her as with Miyagi they hit a double shoulderblock onto Chisako. Kong tries to lariat Chisako but hits Miyagi by accident, Chisako goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp onto Miyagi for a two count. She quickly goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and she picks up the three count! Chisako, Matsumoto, Momono, and Alex Lee are the winners.

Even though I love many of the wrestlers in this match, it was just too clipped and disjointed to really get into. They focused on the right wrestlers with the clipping as Miyagi and Chisako are both great, but the match just had too many wrestlers as they didn’t even show Sammii doing anything that I can recall. Just filler, which is a shame since I’d have loved to have seen some of them with a bigger spotlight.

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Iwata

They tie-up to start, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes but she gives a mostly clean break. They trade strikes, dropkick by Mika but Hana dropkicks her back. Hana avoids Mika’s dropkick and stomps on her, scoop slam by Hana and she covers Mika for two. Crab hold by Hana but Mika gets to the ropes for the break, Hana stomps on Mika’s back and kicks her repeatedly as Mika starts getting up. Mika does make it back to her feet but Hana boots her in the face, Muta Lock by Hana but she lets go after a moment and stomps on her some more. Hana goes back to the crab hold but Mika gets to the ropes, Irish whip by Hana but Mika hits a face crusher followed by a superkick for a two count. Mika goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick, boot by Hana and she hits a second while Mika is against the ropes for a two count cover. Hana applies the Ground Manjikatame but Mika wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Elbows by Mika and she kicks Hana into the corner, jumping knee by Mika but Hana boots her in the face in return. Running knee by Mika and she hits the Codebreaker, but she is too hurt to capitalize. They both slowly get up, elbows by Hana but Mika delivers a knee followed by a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. High kick by Mika but Hana grabs her from behind and applies the sleeper hold, but Mika gets to the ropes.

Hana goes for a boot but Mika avoids it and rolls up Hana, she then applies the Rolling Clutch but she gets another two count. Boots and stomps by Hana but Mika delivers a superkick, Mika goes up top but Hana dropkicks her in the stomach as she dives off. Delayed vertical suplex by Hana and she puts Mika in a cross armbreaker, but Mike gets a toe on the ropes to get out of the hold. Hana goes up top but Mika elbows her before she can jump off, Mika joins Hana and she delivers a superplex. Mika and Hana trade elbows while they are on their knees, high kick by Mika but Hana headbutts her. Hana goes up top but Mika avoids the missile dropkick, Hana applies a seated armbar and reverts it into a cross armbreaker, but Mika is too close to the ropes and gets the break. High kick by Mika, she picks up Hana and nails a Buzzsaw Kick, but Hana barely gets a shoulder up. Mika drags up Hana and hits another high kick, Triangle Kick out of the corner by Mika but Hana grabs the bottom rope to break up the cover. One final Buzzsaw Kick by Mika, and she picks up the three count! Mika Iwata is the winner.

I have some mixed feelings about this match. I love the intensity they have and it feels like a hated feud and not just two wrestlers going through their usual routine, which is always a plus. Hana’s offense has expanded a lot, which is great, but the problem is that not all of her offense really fits together. She threw a ton of boots, stomped on Mika’s back a bit, went for her back with crab holds but by the end was going after her arm with armbreakers before going back to the missile dropkick to try to win. So it just didn’t feel very focused and connected, while Mika’s offense was more straight forward. Both are entertaining wrestlers and their future is bright, it just may have been a bit too much time than they are able to fill right now at their level. Overall a fun match but not without its flaws, I look forward to them continuing to grow not only individually but as a feud as well as I think they will do even better down the road.  Mildly Recommended

Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura

They lock knuckles to begin as they feel each other out, they end up on the mat and trade holds but eventually reach a stalemate. Meiko slings Io to the mat but Io reverses things and takes Meiko down with a side headlock. Snapmare by Io and she puts Meiko in a stretch hold, but Meiko reverses it into a stretch hold of her own. Meiko puts Io in a wrist hold and kicks her repeatedly in the chest, knee by Meiko and she covers Io for two. Scoop slam by Io and she hits a double knee, Io picks up Meiko and throws her into the corner, Meiko jumps on on the turnbuckles but Io dropkicks her out of the ring down to the floor. Io goes to do a tope suicida but Meiko elbows her before she can complete the move, slingshot footstomp by Meiko and she applies a seated armbar, but Io grabs the ropes to get out of it. Meiko goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but Io moves and dropkicks Meiko, armtrap crossface by Io and she knees Meiko in the face. Io kicks Meiko into the corner and hits a double knee, she charges Meiko but Meiko catches her with a lariat. Rebound armdrag by Meiko and she puts Io in a STF, Meiko switches it to an armtrap crossface but Io eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Meiko slaps Io but Io slaps her back, Irish whip by Meiko but Io flips away from her and hits a dropkick. Meiko falls out of the ring, Io gets a running start and dives out onto her with a tope suicida. Io slides Meiko into the ring and hits the Tiger Feint Kick, swandive missile dropkick by Io and she covers Meiko for two. Io goes for a kick but Meiko blocks it and applies a sleeper, Io gets out of it but Meiko drops her with a backdrop suplex.

Another backdrop suplex by Meiko and she drops her with a DDT, cartwheel kneedrop by Meiko and she goes for the Death Valley Bomb, but Io flips out of it and hits a palm strike. Package German by Io, but it gets two. Running double knee by Io in the corner, she goes up top but Meiko gets her knees up on the moonsault attempt. They both are slow to recover, they trade elbows back on their feet until Meiko nails Io with a heel kick. Meiko picks up Io and nails a high kick, another kick to the head by Meiko and Io falls out of the ring to the floor. Meiko joins her and kicks Io repeatedly in the chest before sliding her back in, but Io swings around the bottom rope and kicks Meiko back down onto the floor. Io goes up top and delivers a moonsault onto Meiko, Io returns to the ring and waits for Meiko to recover. Meiko beats the count and gets back in the ring, elbows by Io and she hits a series of palm strikes. Double underhook facebuster by Io, but her cover only gets two. Io goes towards the corner but Meiko grabs her leg, Pele Kick by Meiko and she goes for the Death Valley Bomb, but Io slides down her back and hits a tombstone piledriver. Io goes up top but Meiko kicks her leg out form under her and hits another Pele Kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but Io barely kicks out of the pin in time. Scorpion Rising by Meiko, but the bell rings just as she makes the cover as the time expires. The match is a Draw.

A fantastically structured and executed match, it doesn’t get much better than Meiko Satomura and Io Shirai going at it. There was so much to love here, everything they did made sense and had a purpose. The know each other so well that there were constant blocks and reversals, as Meiko was hell bent on Io Shirai never hitting the moonsault as she knew that may lead to her demise. But each time she blocked the moonsault she did it a different way, so it never felt repetitive. And Io in turn got out of the Death Valley Bomb twice, but after the third time she was well on the way to losing if she hadn’t been saved by the bell. Even though it went to a Draw it didn’t feel like they were stretching out the match to get to the Draw, which happens sometimes, and it stayed captivating from bell to bell. I hope we don’t have to wait another two years to watch these two wrestle again, they have great chemistry and deliver every time.  Highly Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Ayako Hamada
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

After your traditional feeling out process (that lasted a bit longer than I was expecting), Ayako works a headlock until Chihiro gets out of it and applies a headlock of her own. Ayako gets out of it and they both go for shoulderblocks, but neither can knock the other down. Ayako finally wins the shoulderblock battle, she picks up Chihiro but Chihiro returns the favor and knocks Ayako to the mat. Back up they trade elbows, double underhook suplex by Chihiro and she covers Ayako for two. Chihiro applies a stretch hold but Ayako gets out of it, stomps by Chihiro and she shoulder tackles Ayako into the corner. Irish whip by Chihiro but Ayako avoids her charge, they trade waistlocks until Ayako slaps Chihiro in the corner. High kick by Ayako but Chihiro hits a body avalanche, she goes for a slam but Ayako blocks it. Chihiro tosses down Ayako and hits a pair of running somersault sentons, front fireman’s carry slam by Chihiro but Ayako avoids her somersault senton from the turnbuckles. Kick to the head by Ayako and she kicks Chihiro some more, but Chihiro kicks out of the cover. Ayako applies a short armbar but Chihiro gets a foot on the bottom rope, enzuigiri by Ayako but Chihiro fires back with a spear.

Chihiro gets Ayako up and hits the waterwheel drop, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the somersault senton for a two count. Chihiro charges Ayako but Ayako holds down the ropes and Chihiro tumbles out of the ring, Ayako gets on the apron but Chihiro grabs her before she can perform the Asai Moonsault and pulls her down to the floor with her. Ayako throws Chihiro into the ringside chairs, they both get up onto the apron and trade strikes until Ayako slams Chihiro’s head into the apron. Chihiro ends up back in the ring, Ayako goes up top but Chihiro joins her and hits a powerslam to the mat. Chihiro drags up Ayako and lariats her in the back, but Ayako hits a back kick followed by a lariat of her own. Ayako goes off the ropes but Chihiro levels her with a lariat, Chihiro picks up Ayako and hits another lariat followed by two more for a two count cover. Chihiro picks up Ayako but Ayako blocks the suplex attempt, lariat by Chihiro and she finally nails the release German. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Ayako catches her with the Samoan Driver. Chihiro recovers first and goes for another suplex, but Ayako lands on her feet and connects with a strike combination. Heel kick by Ayako, she covers Chihiro but Chihiro barely kicks out. AP Cross by Ayako, and she holds down Chihiro for the three count! Ayako Hamada is the new champion!

There was something missing here to put it over the edge to being a match I can really recommend. The initial ‘feeling out’ section just felt like it went on forever, I can get it in storyline that they hadn’t fought each other in a singles match so they were being careful, it just wasn’t overly interesting. My bigger issue is that it just felt like Chihiro went down too easy. Unless someone has a normal flash way of winning, I prefer if the champion is a bit harder to beat than Chihiro was here, not that Ayako didn’t hit a notable series of moves but the end stretch didn’t feel long or hot enough for such a big match. Chihiro is still growing as a wrestler and I see no issue with her losing to a respected seasoned veteran (well, Ayako would get stripped of the title less than a month later but that’s another story), but she seemed over-matched here which was an interesting dynamic. The middle portion of the match was entertaining though and Chihiro is a beast, the beginning and end just left room for improvement. A good match, but it never went beyond that which is disappointing for a title match. Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 4/19/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Anytime a Joshi event airs in a timely fashion, I try to watch it, and this one certainly arrived quickly. Sendai Girls’ doesn’t run Korakuen Hall very often so they tend to put their best foot forward when they do, with several big matches on the card. We get a young wrestler battle between Hana and Mika that is bound to be good, and the tag team of Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura that doesn’t sound very fair. Then, in the main event there is a tag title defense, with Chisako and KAORU defending against Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi. Here is the full card:

• Ami Sato vs. Manami
• Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota
• Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi

Since this aired on Samurai TV, it may be slightly clipped. All the wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Ami Sato vs. Manami

Manami immediately dropkicks Ami into the corner, elbows by Manami but Ami switches positions with her and elbows her back. Armdrag by Ami, she picks up Manami but Manami snapmares her and applies a bodyscissors. Ami gets out of it and puts Manami in a camel clutch, she lets go after a moment and hits a series of shoulderblocks for a two count. Elbows by Ami but Manami dropkicks her into the corner, Ami fights back with an elbow and the two trade blows. Front roll into an elbow by Ami, but Manami kicks out of the cover. Ami applies a crab hold but Manami crawls to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Ami but Manami ducks the lariat and delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Manami and a third, a final dropkick by Manami and she covers Ami for a two count. Ami kicks Manami and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a crab hold but Manami blocks it and rolls up Ami for two. Manami tries a few more flash pins with no luck, she goes off the ropes but Ami avoids her charge and schoolboys her for the three count! Ami Sato wins!

Basic, as one would expect, but fundamentally sound. This wasn’t clipped, so they wrestled for six-plus minutes without making any mistakes which is a real plus when dealing with wrestlers this inexperienced. Nothing exciting but a good rookie opener.

Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota

They waste no time confusing me on what they are doing, as Eiger plays with a cloth before putting it over Sakura’s head and hitting a DDT. Eiger creeps out Sakura before hitting a lariat, but the cover only gets two. Sakura responds with a face crusher, she puts Eiger in the ropes and delivers the Oil Check. Sakura bounces around in a comedic way before hitting a headbutt, but Eiger kicks out of the cover. I am normally against clipping matches but I am not sure if I’ve ever seen a full Eiger or Sakura comedy match and I’m not sure if I needed to. Sakura bounces off the ropes before kissing Eiger, she grabs Eiger’s arm and walks the ropes, but she eventually crotches herself and Eiger pushes her out of the ring. Eiger does a fake dive before blowing dust into Sakura’s face, they some comedy bits around the crowd before the referee fusses at them and tells them to get back in the ring. They do so, backslide by Sakura but it gets two. After more Eiger shenanigans, she finally hits a lariat and she pins Sakura for the three count! Eiger wins the match.

This match really really didn’t need to be shown in full. I think Eiger is generally funny, and Sakura is sometimes funny, but ten minutes of their shtick was too much. There is certainly a place for this type of match on a card, it just needs to either be shorter or have a non-comedy wrestler to help as both Eiger and Sakura are too “gimmick” to even have normal sections in their matches. An easy skip from me.

Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto

We join this one very slightly in progress with Ami being triple teamed, but it quickly switches to Rosa Negra being on the wrong end of a beatdown. Shida stays in with Rosa Negra, armdrag by Rosa Negra and both wrestlers dropkick each other. Backbreaker by Shida and she tags in Ami, elbows by Ami but Shida tags in Mio. Mio and and Ami trade elbows until Ami connects with her rolling elbow smash for a two count. Ami tags in Shida, Mio goes for a crossbody but Shida catches her and puts Mio in the corner. Alex Lee comes in so that Shida can suplex her onto Mio, Shida picks up Mio but Mio blocks the suplex attempt and hits a series of elbows. Shida finally blocks one but Mio smacks her repeatedly in the head, she goes off the ropes but Shida nails a jumping knee. Shida tags in Lee, kicks by Lee to Mio and she hits a hip toss for two. Lee chokes Mio but Rosa Negra kicks her from behind, Lee superkicks Rosa Negra but Mio rolls up Lee for a two count. Mio dropkicks Lee and tags in Hiroyo, body avalanche by Hiroyo and she goes up top, but Ami grabs her from the apron. Shida comes over and superplexes Hiroyo into the ring, Lee goes up top and she hits a diving footstomp onto Hiroyo for a two count cover. Ami is tagged back in and tries to shoulderblock Hiroyo over, Shida runs in and hits an enzuigiri as she tries to help Ami knock over Hiroyo, and finally she succeeds before covering Hiroyo for two. Ami scoop slams Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her back and hits a backbreaker. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, crab hold by Hiroyo but it gets broken up. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Lee and Shida, Rosa Negra comes in and dives out of the ring onto everyone but Hiroyo and Ami with a tope suicida. In the ring, Hiroyo picks up Ami but Ami rolls her up for two. Ami goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a hard elbow, vertical suplex by Hiroyo and she covers Ami for two. Hiroyo puts Ami in an Argentine Backbreaker, and Ami taps out! La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners.

It didn’t pop as much as I was hoping, but it was still a fun match. Ami shows a lot of fire, which is probably why they put her in the match, and everyone got a bit of a chance to shine. I really liked the Mio/Shida segment, Mio is definitely one to watch and Shida is always a pleasure. A bit all over the place but a good match with some memorable spots throughout.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They tie-up to start, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes but slaps her face instead of doing a clean break. Mika kicks her back and gives her a slap of her own, more slaps by Hana and she flings down Mika by the hair. Hana picks up Mika and hits a dropkick, Mika dropkicks her back but Hana hits another dropkick for a two count cover. Hana picks up Mika but Mika pushes her away, kicks by Mika and she hits a Codebreaker for two. Mika kicks Hana into the corner but Hana ducks one and headbutts her, superkick by Mika and she nails Hana in the face with another one for a two count. Double wrist-clutch suplex by Mika, but that gets a two as well. High kick by Mika, she goes up top but Hana dropkicks her in mid-air when she dives off. Sliding Kick by Hana, and she covers Mika for two. Hana gets up on the second turnbuckle and nails a missile dropkick, running boot by Hana and she covers Mika for the three count! Hana Kimura wins!

Even though the match was only about five minutes, I loved every moment of it. These two went into it hard, with stiff slaps, kicks, and a killer headbutt by Hana. With the time constraints, everything had to matter and it did, and even though the match was short it still felt right. Hana is starting to combine having a great personality with on-point offense and an attitude, if she sticks with Joshi I can really see her being one of the biggest stars in a few years at her current trajectory. One of the better five minute matches I’ve seen in awhile, check it out.  Recommended

Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada

Chihiro and Satomura start the match, Chihiro takes Satomura to the mat but Satomura puts Chihiro in an ankle hold. Chihiro rolls into the ropes for the break, back up Satomura kicks Chihiro in the leg before letting Chihiro up. Chihiro drives Satomura into the corner and hits a body avalanche, but Satomura slaps her back and knocks her into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she tags in Kong, Kong and Chihiro trade holds on the mat, Kong gets the better of it and kicks Chihiro in the back. Chihiro scoop slams Kong and makes the tag to Hamada, Hamada and Kong trade strikes until Kong chops Hamada to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Kong, and she covers Hamada for two when Hamada gets a foot on the ropes. Kong tags in Satomura, kicks by Satomura but Hamada snapmares her and kicks Satomura in the back of the head. Running boots by Hamada and they trade slaps, Satomura goes off the ropes but Hamada delivers a heel kick. Satomura heel kicks her back, she tries to rebound out of the corner with an elbow strike but Hamada catches her with a dropkick. Hamada goes off the ropes but Kong throws her paint can at her head, cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura and she tags in Kong. Hamada grabs Kong’s arm and jumps up to the turnbuckle the ropes, Satomura meanders in the ring so that Hamada can hit an armdrag/headscissors combination on them. Hamada tries to knock down Kong with lariats and finally does so, Kong gets back up and they trade strikes until both end up hurt on the mat. Hamada recovers first and tags Chihiro, Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a waterwheel drop for two.

Chihiro grabs Kong around the waist but Kong slides away, Chihiro kicks her however and delivers the somersault senton. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle but Kong avoids the diving somersault senton, Kong snaps Chihiro’s neck and slaps her hard in the face. Kong tags in Satomura, Satomura kicks Chihiro repeatedly in the chest before kicking her in the head, but Hamada runs in and slams Satomura to the mat. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton, gutwrench suplex by Chihiro and she covers Satomura for two. Chihiro goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, Satomura recovers and the two trade elbows until Chihiro lariats Satomura in the back of the head to win the duel. Chihiro picks up Satomura and nails a powerbomb, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Satomura kicks her before she can jump off and delivers a Pele Kick. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, Kong hits a diving elbow drop and Satomura hits another Death Valley Bomb, but Hamada breaks up the cover. Satomura drags up Hamada, Kong tries to backfist Chihiro but Chihiro ducks and she hits Satomura by accident. Release German by Chihiro to Kong, she picks up Satomura and hits a German suplex hold but Kong breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, superkick by Hamada to Satomura but when she goes for a heel kick she hits Chihiro by mistake. Scorpion Rising by Satomura to Chihiro, she picks her up and finishes her off with a Death Valley Bomb for the three count! Meiko Satomura and Aja Kong win the match!

To be honest, Chihiro didn’t take the beating I was expecting, although her getting pinned was in line with my thoughts of the veterans wanting to show her they weren’t ready to roll over quite yet. The first half of the match had some really shaky transitions and it felt like they were just running through spots with no regard, but about halfway through it got cleaned up. Chihiro is a beast, loved her suplexes here and at least Hamada tried to help her throughout and didn’t just watch from the apron. A good match, I was hoping for a bit more but you can’t go too wrong with these four.  Mildly Recommended

(c) DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

Chisako and Cassandra start for their teams, Chisako gets Cassandra into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Cassandra gets Chisako to the mat and applies a crab hold, but Chisako reverses it into a crab hold of her own until Cassandra gets into the ropes. Chisako and Cassandra trade elbows until Chisako avoids one and applies a short armbar, but Cassandra gets to the ropes for the break. Chisako gets Cassandra to the mat again and schools her a bit, but Cassandra gets out of it and both wrestlers reach a stalemate again. Heidi tags in, she slams Chisako to the mat but Chisako springs back up, armdrag by Heidi and she hits an elbow drop. KAORU attacks Heidi from behind but Heidi dropkicks both of them before tagging Cassandra back in. Cassandra slaps at Chisako and boots Chisako in the head, cover by Cassandra but Chisako kicks out. Heidi returns and elbows Chisako hard in the face, another elbow by Heidi and she covers Chisako for two. Heidi drops Chisako to the mat again before tagging Cassandra, Cassandra comes in the ring with a slingshot leg drop before elbowing Chisako hard for a two count cover. Cassandra goes off the ropes but Chisako drop toeholds her, KAORU comes in and she puts Cassandra in a camel clutch. Chisako goes off the ropes and dropkicks Cassandra, Heidi comes in but she gets double teamed as well and dumped out of the ring. Chisako and KAORU leave the ring too as things have broken down, with KAORU beating Heidi into the stands. Cassandra and Heidi eventually swing the tide and Cassandra hits a double missile dropkick off the apron, she then finds a ladder and sets it up at ringside.

She starts to climb it but Chisako promptly pushes it over, Chisako puts Cassandra near the bleachers before jumping off of them with a double footstomp. Heidi helps Cassandra back into the ring so they don’t get counted out, double Irish whip to Cassandra and she eats a double boot from Chisako and KAORU. Chisako tags in KAORU and the double teaming of Cassandra continues. KAORU knees Cassandra before hitting a vertical suplex, but Cassandra fights back with a jumping elbow and a boot and makes the hot tag to Heidi. Heidi shoulderblocks KAORU and hits a suplex, side Russian leg sweep by Heidi and she covers KAORU for two. Heidi goes for a lariat but KAORU dropkicks her in the knee and cradles her for two, Heidi then hits her lariat before booting KAORU in the chest. KAORU lands in her corner and tags in Chisako, missile dropkick by Chisako and KAORU boots Heidi in the corner. Double face crusher to Heidi, and Chisako covers her for a two count. Knee lift by Heidi and she dropkicks Chisako, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving legdrop. Heidi tags in Cassandra, dropkicks by Cassandra to Chisako and she connects with a missile dropkick for two. Cassandra goes off the ropes but KAORU grabs her, running elbow by Chisako but on the second attempt she hits KAORU by accident. Cassandra knocks Chisako out of the ring, Heidi holds open the ropes for Cassandra and Cassandra sails out of the ring onto KAORU and Chisako with a tope suicida. Fallaway Slam by Heidi and she gives Chisako the Giant Swing, Cassandra goes up up and hits a missile dropkick, but Chisako kicks out of the cover.

Airplane Spin into a Samoan Driver by Cassandra, she goes off the ropes but KAORU trips her from the floor and Chisako hits a dropkick. Brainbuster by KAORU to Cassandra and Chisako follows with a diving footstomp, but the cover only gets two. Chisako goes back up top but Cassandra joins her, Chisako elbows her off but Cassandra hits a dropkick before climbing back up. Superplex by Cassandra, back up she trade elbows with Chisako until Chisako beats Cassandra down to the mat. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra kicks her in the head, cover by Cassandra but it gets two. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra catches her with a tombstone, but KAORU breaks up the cover. Cassandra picks up Chisako but Chisako lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and cradles Cassandra for a two count. More flash pins by Chisako with no luck, KAORU comes in the ring and they hit Cassandra with a catapult dropkick. German suplex by Chisako, but Cassandra blocks her crucifix attempt and hits a Samoan Drop. Cassandra goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, Chisako joins Cassandra up top and nails an avalanche Ace Crusher, but Heidi breaks up the cover. Chisako goes back up top while KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle, Chisako gets onto KAORU’s shoulders and hits a diving senton, but Cassandra barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako quickly goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and this time she gets the three count! DASH Chisako and KAORU are still the champions!

Due to the participants I wanted to love this match, but it was just a bit too disjointed for my tastes. Longer tag matches need a hook and this match didn’t really have one – it didn’t have a super worker to tie everything together, it didn’t have a sympathetic babyface the crowd was really behind, it didn’t have fast paced sections, it didn’t have but a few memorable spots. Heidi isn’t a bad wrestler but she doesn’t have a lot of chemistry yet with Chisako or KAORU, making some parts of the match a bit rocky, and really only the Cassandra/Chisako parts had any pop to them. That being said, the home stretch was really good as they finally started going all out, lots of brutal moves done to Cassandra and they finally hit their rhythm. It just took too long to get there. A hot ending gives the match some value, just not enough to make it worth going too far out of your way to see.  Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 11/17/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*Over the next few months, I will be slowly bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying.*

As far as Joshi events go, this one is pretty massive. The attendance for the show is one of the higher attendances for a Joshi event so far this year, with a very respectable crowd for Korakuen Hall. Sendai Girls and Stardom have had an unofficial feud for the last six months but this is their first official promotion vs. promotion clash, which is something you rarely see these days. Invading wrestlers are normal, but a full blown six vs. six elimination match is another story. Here is the full card:

– Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima
– Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett
– Sendai vs. Stardom 6 x 6 Elimination: Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, and Sendai Sachiko vs. Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe

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

Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima

The entire card is not Sendai vs. Stardom, as this is more of a normal opener. Kimura is a Freelancer that frequently wrestles in Stardom, while Sareee hails from Diana. Alex Lee is a Freelancer but wrestles in Stardom a lot, while Nagashima is a Freelancer as well that bounces around to different promotions. So no real storyline going on here, just a match to warm up the crowd.

Looks like this match is joined in progress, which I am perfectly ok with. I know I complain about it sometimes but only if it is an important match, openers being clipped isn’t a big deal. We pick things up with Sareee and Lee in the ring, Lee tags in Nagashima but Sareee gets away and tags Kimura. Nagashima and Kimura trade boots, Lee comes back in to help but Kimura pokes them both in the eyes and hits a double facecrusher. Lee schoolboys Kimura from behind for two (is she legal?), Kimura is double teamed again while Sareee watches, as Lee hits a jumping knee. Tilt-a-whirl DDT by Nagashima, then Lee hits a tornado DDT. Chokebomb by Lee, but Sareee breaks up the cover. Sareee hits a German suplex on Lee, big boot by Kimura and she hits another one on Lee for the three count! Kimura and Sareee win the match.

There wasn’t much to this one, between it being clipped and most of the action being meddling. Some of these wrestlers are good but none really got a chance to shine, which is a bit of a shame but this show is about the big main event and I have my doubts that any other match will be memorable on this card.

Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett

Another random wrestlers type of match, at least on one side. Ray and Hirota are certainly not a regular team, as Ray is a serious talented wrestler while Hirota mostly does comedy shtick. Matsumoto and Garrett were not a regular team until a few weeks ago, but have been teaming recently in Stardom.  This is going to be a major styles clash and I am not sure exactly what to expect.

We join this one as Matsumoto is beating on Hirota (thank goodness it is clipped), and Matsumoto applies a crab hold. Hirota eventually gets to the ropes to force a break, but Garrett comes in the ring and puts Hirota in the Muta Lock. Ray breaks that up, and we jump ahead in the match to Ray and Matsumoto being in the ring together. German suplex by Ray and she tags in Hirota. Hirota grabs Matsumoto’s arm and runs up the corner, she walks the ropes but Matsumoto crotches her to knock her back to the ring. Hirota drops Matsumoto into the ropes and gives her the Oil Check, tiger feint kick by Ray and Hirota hits the half hatch suplex for a two count. Garrett comes in to help and hits a superkick on Hirota, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto and she picks up the three count! Your winners are Garrett and Matsumoto.

I said that I was glad it was clipped because Hirota comedy gets old to me pretty quick, so the shorter the match the better. Nothing against the other wrestlers but any match with Hirota in it just kinda becomes her style of match. But this was too short to even get an opinion on, I enjoy both Ray and Matsumoto quite a bit but they did very little here. Safe to skip, although that Oil Check was vicious.

Team Sendai Girls (Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Satomura, Iwata, and Sachiko)
vs. Team Stardom (Mimura, Io Shirai, Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Watanabe)

This is a 6 vs. 6 Elimination Match. Each team starts with one wrestler in the ring, when a wrestler is pinned the next wrestler from that team comes in. This is repeated until a team is out of wrestlers. There is a ten minute time limit for each pairing, so if the time expires then both wrestlers are eliminated and the next two come in. There is no time limit if the contest comes down to just two wrestlers. Now that I got the rules out of the way, this is a big match as it is rare to have any promotion or factions battle that feel this important. The teams are pretty even, as both teams range from the best in the promotion to a couple less experienced wrestlers, so it balances out. I’m excited about it, let’s see how it plays out.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Momo Watanabe

Hashimoto immediately picks up Watanabe and puts her in the corner, Irish whip by Hashimoto and she hits a body avalanche. Watanabe comes back with a dropkick and hits another one, cover by Watanabe but it gets a two count. Hashimoto gets Watanabe to the mat and puts her in a leg submission, but Watanabe inches to the ropes to force a break. Watanabe goes off the ropes and hits a few dropkicks, but Hashimoto picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Another slam by Hashimoto and she covers Watanabe for two. Watanabe elbows Hashimoto but Hashimoto elbows her back and they trade blows.  Reverse STO by Watanabe and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Watanabe nails the Somato, but Hashimoto barely gets a shoulder up. Watanabe goes for a crossbody off the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto catches her and slams Watanabe to the mat.  Hashimoto deadlifts Watanabe back up and slams her again, and this time she gets the three count cover! Momo Watanabe is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is winning the series 6-5.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiromi Mimura

Mimura comes in next for Stardom, she takes it to Hashimoto as soon as the bell rings, finally knocking her down with a series of dropkicks. Back up, spear by Hashimoto and she applies an armtrap headlock, Hashimoto picks up Mimura and applies a backbreaker before dropping Mimura to the mat. Fireman’s carry rolling slam by Hashimoto, she picks up Mimura and she hits a second one, but Mimura sneaks in a crucifix pin for a two count. The La Magistral gets the same result, dropkicks by Mimura but Hashimoto hits a judo throw and slaps on the cross armbreaker, forcing Mimura to tap! Mimura is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is up 6-4.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Kris Wolf

Wolf is the next wrestler down for Stardom. Wolf snapmares Hashimoto and kicks her in the back, but Hashimoto blocks her kick and applies a headlock on the mat. Wolf gets out of it but Hashimoto applies a full nelson, Wolf reverses it but Hashimoto quickly gets out of it. Kick by Wolf and she knees Hashimoto into the corner, kick to the back by Wolf and she covers Hashimoto for two. Wolf goes to the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto grabs her from behind, Wolf wiggles away however and hits a dropkick.  Wolf goes up top but Hashimoto avoids the dive and she delivers a Waterwheel Drop for the three count! Wolf is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is now up 6-3.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Io Shirai

Shirai is the next Stardom wrestler to try to beat the dominating rookie. Hip attack by Hashimoto but Shirai kicks her when she goes for a second one, Hashimoto fires back with a series of hip attacks and covers she covers Shirai for two. Irish whip by Hashimoto but Shirai hits a dropkick out of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. She hits another missile dropkick, cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Shirai applies a double underhook, Hashimoto gets out of it and hits a rolling shoulder powerslam for two. Hashimoto picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away and kicks Hashimoto twice in the head.  Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she tries to go up top but Hashimoto grabs her leg. Hashimoto charges Shirai but Shirai flips out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Double knee by Shirai in the corner, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Hashimoto is eliminated, Sendai Girls’ is up 5-3.

Io Shirai vs. Mika Iwata

Shirai draws another Sendai Girls rookie, the young Iwata. Iwata is fired up but Shirai absorbs her blows, Shirai returns fire with elbows but Iwata hasn’t given up and elbows her back. A dropkick by Iwata finally sends Shirai to the mat, she picks up Shirai but Shirai blocks the dropkick, kicks by Iwata but Iwata pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Double knee to the back by Shirai and she hits a standing moonsault before applying a sleeper, camel clutch by Shirai but she releases the hold after a moment. Shirai kicks Iwata into the corner but Iwata moves when she charges in and kicks Shirai in the chest.  Dropkick by Iwata and she puts Shirai in a leg trap chinlock, but Shirai makes it to the ropes. Scoop slams by Iwata, she picks up Shirai and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Iwata tries to kick Shirai in the back but Shirai catches it, Iwata gets away from Shirai and she hits a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Kick to the back by Iwata and she kicks Shirai in the head for another two. This is fantastically fun by the way, I’d love to see them wrestle a longer match at some point. Iwata picks up Shirai but Shirai grabs her and hits an Air Raid Crash. Dropkick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iwata and hits the package German suplex for the three count! Iwata is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is up 4-3.

Io Shirai vs. Sendai Sachiko

They trade strikes to start their pairing, Sachiko knocks Shirai out of the ring and goes after her, but Shirai throws Sachiko into the crowd. Vertical suplex by Sachiko on the floor, and back in the ring Sachiko starts working on Shirai’s back. DDT by Sachiko and she hits another one, German suplex hold by Sachiko but it gets two. Sachiko goes up top but Shirai gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt, Sachiko stays in control at first but Shirai front flips away and hits a dropkick. Sachiko falls out of the ring, Shirai goes to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. Back in, swandive dropkick by Shirai followed by the tiger feint kick, she goes for another swandive move but she falls off and crashes to the floor. Sachiko goes out to get her and brings Shirai back in the ring, but Shirai hits a scoop slam and this time connects with the swandive bodypress. Shirai goes up top but Sachiko headscissors her back to the mat and hits a jumping DDT. Superkicks by Sachiko and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Sachiko goes up top and she delivers the diving body press, but Shirai kicks out of the cover. Mounted elbows by Sachiko and she applies the sleeper, cover by Sachiko but it gets a two count. Palm thrust by Shirai and she kicks Sachiko in the head, tombstone by Shirai but Sachiko gets a shoulder up on the cover. A German suplex hold by Sachiko gets the same result, superkick by Sachiko and she hits a suplex hold of her own. They quickly trade pins and submissions as the time is getting close, but neither can get the win before the bell rings. The match is a draw, and both wrestlers are eliminated. Sendai Girls’ is leading Stardom 3-2.

Meiko Satomura vs. Kairi Hojo

The two rivals are the next two wrestlers in for their teams, they roughly feel each other out until Satomura kicks Hojo into the corner. Spinning chop by Hojo and she charges Satomura, hitting a spear and then a rolling neckbreaker for two. Hojo goes for another spear but Satomura catches her and applies a front necklock. Spinning kick by Satomura and she covers Hojo for a two count. Satomura goes for the Death Valley Bomb, Hojo slides away and she hits the Sliding D to Satomura. A Wing Clutch pin by Hojo gets two, she goes up top and hits a diving elbow strike. Sliding D by Hojo in the corner, she goes up top again but Satomura recovers and joins her. Hojo knocks Satomura to the mat but Satomura delivers a high kick and re-joins Hojo, but Hojo knocks Satomura to the floor. Satomura gets back on the apron and kicks Hojo in the head, Satomura gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a superplex back into the ring for two. Kicks by Satomura, and she levels Hojo with a high kick. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Satomura and she applies the sleeper, but Hojo gets to the ropes. Satomura goes up top but Hojo gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt.  Jumping footstomp by Hojo, she gets Satomura up and hits the Alabama Slam. Hojo goes up top and nails the beautiful diving elbow drop, cover by Hojo but Satomura gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top again but Satomura rolls out of the way this time, death valley bomb by Satomura but the pin attempt gets a two. She hits a second one, she tries to do a third but Hojo grabs her leg. While they struggle, the bell rings and the match is a draw. Both Hojo and Satomura are eliminated, leaving Sendai Girls with two wrestlers remaining and Stardom with one.

DASH Chisako vs. Mayu Iwatani

The next two representatives come in, Chisako dropkicks Iwatani but Iwatani blocks the hurricanrana attempt and applies a crab hold. Snapmare by Iwatani and she kicks Chisako hard in the back, but Chisako slaps her and they trade blows. Chisako wins the battle and dropkicks Iwatani in the face, Chisako clubs on Iwatani and dropkicks her again before attempting a pin. Iwatani regains the advantage and dropkicks Chisako out of the ring, she goes up top and dives out after her but Chisako moves and she lands on Shirai instead. Opps.  Chisako stomps on both of them before sliding Iwatani back in, dropkick by Chisako and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Another dropkick by Chisako and she hits a cutter, but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Diving footstomp by Chisako, she goes up top and hits another one, but Iwatani bridges out of the cover.  Superkick by Iwatani and she snaps off a release Dragon suplex, they both slowly get up and Iwatani applies a crucifix pin for two. Kick to the head by Iwatani, she goes up top but Chisako recovers and joins her. Iwatani knocks Chisako off but Chisako climbs back and hits a Frankensteiner. Diving footstomp by Chisako, cover, but it gets two. She goes up top again but Iwatani avoids the diving body press, cradle by Iwatani but it gets two. They trade quick pin attempts as the time is running low, but neither gets a successful pinfall. Back up they trade elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it also gets two. Back up, superkick by Iwatani, and she quickly hits the Fubukirana to get the three count! Chisako is eliminated, leaving the last two wrestlers.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Cassandra Miyagi

There is no time limit for the final pairing, the winner wins the main for their team.  Due to Iwatani just having wrestled for almost ten minutes, Miyagi controls the early potion of the match, throwing Iwatani around the ring. Iwatani fights back and hits a split legged armdrag off the ropes, but Miyagi avoids the dropkick and she knocks Iwatani to the floor. Miyagi takes Iwatani into the stands and tosses her around the bleachers, Miyagi brings Iwatani back to ringside and slams her onto the floor. Miyagi gets a stick but the referee stops her, then Satomura takes the stick from her as she doesn’t want Miyagi to get DQed. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Miyagi and she hits a front suplex before applying a stretch submission hold.  She picks up Miyagi but Iwatani hits two quick dropkicks, Miyagi throws Iwatani into the corner and she hits a jumping elbow. Face crusher by Miyagi and she kicks Iwatani in the head for two.  Elbow drops by Miyagi and she hits a backdrop suplex, delayed vertical suplex and she covers Iwatani for another two count.  Miyagi goes off the ropes but Iwatani catches her with a superkick, diving footstomp by Iwatani and she covers Miyagi for two. Iwatani goes up top but Miyagi avoids the bodypress, Miyagi now goes up top but Iwatani joins her and suplexes her to the mat. Crucifix slam by Iwatani, she picks up Miyagi but Miyagi blocks the dragon suplex and hits the ‘ol airplane spin. Miyagi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, backdrop suplex by Miyagi but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Miyagi hits three more but Iwatani fires back with the Sling Blade and they trade elbows as they slowly get up.  Superkicks by Iwatani, she goes up top and she delivers a diving footstomp for a two count.  Iwatani picks up Miyagi and she nails her version of the dragon suplex hold, picking up the three count pinfall! Team Stardom wins the match!

I am not even sure how to fairly evaluate a match like this, but I can say that it was a lot of fun to watch. Some of the pairings worked better than others. The rookies all looked good, especially Hashimoto, so even though those segments were short they were still solid and worth watching. The highlight was Shirai vs. Sachiko as I thought they had great chemistry, but I thought that Satomura/Hojo was the worst of the three times they have met in singles matches this year (but still good). The biggest issue is that while I really enjoy Miyagi’s character, she isn’t ready yet for a 15 minute singles match of this much importance. Iwatani was great, but Miyagi was clearly a few steps below and she is still a bit awkward in her wrestling. Which is normal for rookies, but rookies aren’t usually put in this type of situation. So while I though the match started strong, and peaked in the middle, the ending was a bit lackluster and predictable. Course that could also just be general exhaustion after watching an hour long match. One thing I loved is that while the teams stayed at ringside, there was no cheating. If this match happened in WWE there would have been run-ins, ref bumps, and all kinds of shenanigans. This was just two teams seeing which team was better, no extra craziness needed. I should also point out that it either wasn’t clipped at all or very very slightly, I didn’t time it but it was really long and there was no noticeable clippings. Entertaining and it had an epic feel to it, but certainly not without its fault.  Recommended
event reviewed on 12/1/15

The post Sendai Girls’ “Sendai Girls’ vs. Stardom” on 11/12/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

If I was to ask the more casual fan which promotion has the biggest attendances each year, they’d probably guess Stardom, however they would be wrong. No promotion pops a big crowd like Sendai Girls’, and this show is no exception with over 2,000 fans in attendance. Its a massive show for Sendai Girls’, as both of their titles are up for grabs. We also get a rare Jaguar Yokota sighting, as well as Meiko Satomura teaming with Aja Kong and Nanae Takahashi. Here is the full card:

• Jaguar Yokota vs. Manami
• Eiger vs. Hana Kimura vs. Rydeen Hagane
• Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU
• Aja Kong, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Mika Shirahime, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

Sadly, this aired on Samurai TV which means they squeezed all of these matches into two hours. Most of the wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Jaguar Yokota vs. Manami

They tie-up to start, Jaguar pushes Manami into the ropes but she gives a clean break. She does the same thing the second time, Manami asks Jaguar to lock knuckles but she elbows the legend instead. Three dropkicks by Manami sends Jaguar to the mat, but Jaguar sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Side headlock takedown by Jaguar, Manami gets out of it but Jaguar puts pressure on her legs before applying a crab hold. Manami gets to the ropes to force a break, rolling front headlock takedown by Jaguar and she puts Manami in a body scissors. Jaguar picks up Manami and applies a wristlock, Manami reverses it but Jaguar takes her back to the mat with a side headlock takedown. Chinlock by Jaguar but Manami gets out of it and applies a hammerlock, Jaguar reverse it back however and picks Manami back up off the mat. Manami sneaks in a backslide for two, Jaguar slaps her but Manami catches Jaguar with a dropkick. Two more dropkicks by Manami and another, but Jaguar stays on her feet. Finally Manami knocks Jaguar over, cover by Manami but Jaguar easily kicks out. Jaguar picks up Manami and elbows her in the chest, scoop slam by Jaguar and she hits a somersault legdrop for two. Double underhook suplex by Jaguar, but Manami gets a shoulder up on the cover. Elbows by Jaguar, Manami returns fire but Jaguar puts her in the Cobra Twist and Manami submits! Your winner is Jaguar Yokota.

As I figured, this was mostly just Jaguar helping to teach Manami how to chain wrestle and things like that. It went longer than you’d expect, over eight minutes, I guess Jaguar wanted to give the 12 year old an extended session. Technically solid since its Jaguar, but a pretty normal rookie vs. veteran match.

Eiger vs. Hana Kimura vs. Rydeen Hagane

We join this in progress, with Eiger doing her bit with Hana while Rydeen tries to tell Hana where Eiger is. Rydeen throws the referee at Eiger to free Hana, Rydeen and Hana both attack Eiger but she rolls under their lariat attempt and hits a DDT onto Rydeen. She then DDTs Hana as well, Eiger gets on the second turnbuckle while Rydeen hits Hana with a shoulderblock. Rydeen elbows Hana while Eiger returns, Eiger falls on top of Hana but Rydeen breaks up the cover. Waistlock by Rydeen by Eiger, Eiger reverses it but Hana rolls up Rydeen from behind for two. Hana rolls up both of them for another two count, she goes off the ropes but eats a kick from Rydeen and Eiger. Chokeslam by Eiger to Hana, Rydeen Irish whips Eiger but Eiger stares at her. Hana dropkicks Rydeen on top of Eiger, and Rydeen picks up the three count! Rydeen Hagane wins!

This was heavily clipped, which is fine. Eiger is funny, I enjoy the bit but I don’t need to see it for too long. A decent enough comedy match but I wish that Hana Kimura could have had a bigger match, seemed like a bit of a waste of her skills. If you like Eiger, a non-offensive way to spend four minutes but that’s about it.

Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU

We join this match in progress as Lee covers Aasa, she picks her up and knees Aasa repeatedly in the head. Kicks the Lee but Aasa returns with a dropkick, more dropkicks by Aasa and she covers Lee for two. Lee knees Aasa but Aasa hits a back bodydrop, scoop slam by Aasa and she covers Lee for two. Aasa tags in KAORU, KAORU comes in with her board and hits Lee in the head with it before hitting a vertical suplex. The referee won’t count the pin due to shenanigans, KAORU puts Lee in front of the corner and pretends like she is going to drop the board onto her, but she jumps down and hits Lee in the head with it instead. Lee comes back with knees, jumping knee by Lee in the corner and she hits a double underhook suplex for two. Lee picks up KAORU but Aasa runs in and hits her from behind, Lee breaks through the double team and kicks both of them before hitting a double face crusher. Kick by Lee, and she covers KAORU for two. Lee tags in Heidi, elbows by Heidi and she hits a butterfly suplex for a two count cover. Lee comes in but Aasa does too and knocks Lee out of the ring, cradle by KAORU to Heidi and she hits Heidi with the board. KAORU goes up top but Heidi grabs her from behind, she goes for a powerbomb but KAORU reverses it with a hurricanrana. She hits Heidi with the board before tagging in Aasa, running body blocks by Aasa and she covers Heidi for two. Aasa goes off the ropes but Heidi kicks her in the stomach, Giant Swing by Heidi and she covers Aasa for two. Over the shoulder slam by Heidi, but KAORU breaks up the cover. Lee throws KAORU out of the ring and tries to kick Aasa, but she nails Heidi in the head by accident. KAORU then tries to hit Heidi with the board piece but hits her own partner by mistake, Heidi runs up to Aasa but Aasa cradles her for two. Aasa goes off the ropes but Heidi hits a hard shoulderblock, Heidi slams Aasa in front of the corner and Lee comes off the top with a diving footstomp. Heidi then goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers the Diving Guillotine Drop, and she picks up the three count! Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina win!

I’ve only watched a few matches with Heidi but I continue to be impressed with her. I haven’t seen her yet in a big singles match but she always looks good in tag matches. This was the best I’ve seen Alex look as well, so while the match was clipped she looked more natural than in the past. Aasa still has a ways to go and KAORU was mostly gimmick here, so I wouldn’t say it was a high end match or anything, but a perfectly watchable midcard tag.

Aja Kong, Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Mika Shirahime, Momono, and Rin Kadokura

The match begins with Rin against Nanae, Nanae tosses Rin around the ring and throws her into the corner before hitting a series of chops. Lariat by Nanae, she picks up Rin but Rin Irish whips her only to eat a shoulderblock. Takedown by Nanae but Rin gets out of it and both women return to their feet. They tag out as Mika and Meiko come in, they trade kick attempts until Meiko lands one to the midsection. Meiko tosses Mika to the mat and puts her in a side headlock, Mika gets out of it but Meiko slams her back into the corner and applies a front headlock. Mika suplexes out of the hold and they both return to their feet, tagging in the last pair of wrestlers. Mio looks so tiny next to Kong, she goes for elbows but Kong pushes her back and asks for Mika. Mika tags in, Kong knees her in the midsection but Mika avoids her charge and delivers a head kick. Mika tags Rin, they go for a double suplex but Kong reverses it and suplexes both of them. Kong tags in Meiko, jumping elbow by Meiko in the corner and she rebounds out of the opposite corner with another elbow to the face. Backdrop suplex by Meiko to Rin, but it gets a two count. Elbow drop by Meiko but Rin avoids her elbow and rolls her up, dropkick by Rin but Meiko follows with a heel kick. Meiko tags Kong back in, knees by Kong to Rin and she hits a series of dropkicks, but Kong doesn’t budge. Kong throws Rin into the ropes but Rin hits a hurricanrana, picking up a two count pinfall. Kong punches Rin in the face for her troubles, she goes for a lariat but Rin ducks it and jumps on Kong’s back. Kong drops down with a Samoan Drop, Irish whip by Kong but Rin tags in Mio. Rin and Mio hit a double dropkick to send Kong to the mat, they then take turns back and forth dropkicking Kong. Kong eventually gets tired of this and hits a hard lariat on Mio, she picks her up but Mio pushes her away and goes for a sunset flip.

Kong blocks it by sitting on Mio, backdrop suplex by Kong but Mio gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong tags in Nanae, hard elbows by Nanae but Mio fires back. Dropkick by Mio but Nanae delivers a jumping kick to the head, she drops Mio onto her knee but Rin breaks up the cover. Meiko comes in to take care of Rin but Mika hits a crossbody onto Nanae, missile dropkick by Rin and Mio covers Nanae with a bridge for two. Mika is tagged in and she dropkicks Nanae in the corner, Nanae and Mika trade elbows, kicks to the chest by Mika but Nanae hits a hard shoulderblock. Nanae charges Mika but Mika kicks her in the chest, vertical suplex by Mika and she covers Nanae for two. Mika goes up top but Nanae recovers and joins her, superplexing Mika back into the ring. Nanae tags in Meiko, uppercut by Meiko to Mika and she kicks Mika in the back of the head for a two count cover. Meiko kicks Mika against the ropes but Mika delivers a superkick, she picks up Meiko but Nanae and Kong run in. Kong cleans house but accidentally lariats Meiko as well, footstomp by Mio onto Meiko and Mika suplexes Rin on top of Meiko. Mika goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Kong breaks up the pin by hitting Mika with her metal tin. Team Meiko hits a suplex on all three of their opponents, Nanae goes up top while Meiko puts Mika on her shoulders, but Mika ducks her dive and cradles Meiko for two. Jackknife cover by Mika, but that gets a two as well. High kick by Mika, she goes off the ropes but Meiko connects with a high kick of her own. Cartwheel kneedrop by Meiko, she drops Mika with the Death Valley Bomb and picks up the three count pinfall! Meiko Satomura, Aja Kong, and Nanae Takahashi win!

So much murder. I almost feel bad enjoying this match as much as I did, it was just an entertaining match from start to finish. Aja Kong is one of the best in the world and don’t let anyone tell you differently, she is so good at what she does (killing people) but still takes bumps and lets the young wrestlers get the upper-hand at times so she isn’t just selfishly mowing through them. The young team tried so hard but each time they got a run going, one of the veterans would just crush their body and spirit. The match went a decent amount of time but it didn’t feel long when watching it, everything just flowed really well and there was always something going on. One of my favorite six wrestler tag matches of the year, I loved it.  Recommended

(c) Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

Miyagi and Chisako attack before the match starts, and the action immediately spills outside the ring. Miyagi puts Shida against the railing and hits a cannonball, while Chisako grabs a chair and hits Shida in the head with it. Syuri tries to help but is ultimately unsuccessful, Miyagi brings Shida into the ring before draping her over the ropes so she can hit a missile dropkick. Chisako comes in too and they double team Shida, Chisako covers Shida but it gets a two count. Shida goes off the ropes but Syuri trips her form the floor, Shida drags Chisako’s head over the apron and delivers a running knee. Shida tags in Syuri, kicks to the chest by Syuri, stomps by Syuri and she tags Shida back in. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Shida and she puts Chisako in a crab hold, Shida release her so that she can hit another backbreaker. Syuri returns and goes for Chisako’s arm, she gets the cross armbreaker applied but Chisako gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Syuri tags Shida back in before hitting an ax handle off the top turnbuckle, as Chisako continues being the Face In Peril. Well she isn’t really a face, its an interesting dynamic. Miyagi finally helps out her partner and gets the hot tag, dropkicks by Miyagi to Syuri and she covers her for two. Another dropkick by Miyagi, she picks up Syuri but Syuri gets her back and hits a Backstabber. PK by Syuri, and she makes the tag to Shida. Jumping knee by Shida in the corner, she sets up Miyagi in the corner and then suplexes Chisako onto Miyagi. Miyagi and Shida trade elbows and eye pokes, Syuri grabs Miyagi from the apron but Chisako grabs Shida in return. Shida gets her kendo stick but Miyagi stops her from using it, they both go for it but Miyagi gets it first and hits Shida in the head with the kendo stick. Air Raid Crash by Miyagi, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Miyagi tags in Chisako, running elbow by Chisako in the corner but Shida joins her when she goes up top. Miyagi comes in and throws Shida back to the mat, assisted diving senton by Chisako to Shida but the cover only gets a two count.

Chisako picks up Shida and hits a Northern Lights Suplex but Shida comes back with an enzuigiri, vertical suplex by Shida and she delivers a running knee for a two count. Shida tags in Syuri, kicks to the chest by Syuri and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Suplex by Syuri, but Chisako kicks out of the cover. Syuri quickly applies a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, Shida comes in the ring but Chisako dropkicks both of them out of it. Miyagi gets in the ring and dives out onto Shida and Syuri, Chisako then goes up top and jumps down onto both of them as well. Chisako slides Syuri back in and she is double teamed in the corner, diving footstomp by Chisako but Syuri gets a shoulder up on the cover. Chisako goes back up top but Shida runs in and smacks her, Shida suplexes Chisako down to the mat and with Syuri they take turns kicking her. Double kicks to Chisako, but Syuri’s cover gets a two count. Syuri holds Chisako for Shida, Chisako ducks Shida’s kick but Miyagi hits Chisako by accident and Syuri hits a release German on her. Running knee by Syuri to Chisako, but the cover gets two. Kicks by Syuri but Chisako catches one and hits her, boot to the face by Chisako and Miyagi runs in to hit a big boot. Chisako goes up top  and nails the Hormone Splash, but Shida breaks up the cover by throwing a kendo stick at her. Chisako goes off the ropes but Syuri hits a jumping knee, they trade elbows until Syuri kicks Chisako in the head. Cover by Syuri, but Miyagi breaks it up. Shida comes in and hits Miyagi in the head with the kendo stick, then she and Syuri hit running knees on Miyagi and Chisako. Syuri goes for the Buzzsaw Kick by Chisako ducks it, Harumaru by Chisako and she picks up the three count! Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako are the new champions!

Another really good match, as was to be expected. Miyagi has improved ten fold in the last year, she still isn’t a high end wrestler but the pieces are starting to come together and she looked really good here. Shida and Syuri work together so well, they have similar move sets and everything blends together such that they feel like one unit. I liked Chisako and Miyagi taking the action to the floor to start just trying to get an advantage, with Shida and Syuri being so dominating they had to take any opportunity they could. Fast paced and fun, a really solid conclusion to their match series and it was nice to see Miyagi finally win a title (which she vacated a few days later because she decided she didn’t care about it).  Recommended

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

They start slow as they trade holds on the mat with neither getting a clear advantage. They go into a Test of Strength, Hiroyo wins the battle and chops Chihiro into the corner. Chihiro boots Hiroyo back and slams Hiroyo back into the corner, body avalanche by Chihiro and she hits hip attacks in the corner. They trade elbows, scoop slam by Hiroyo but Chihiro hits a jumping hip attack. Hiroyo falls out of the ring but Chihiro waits for her, Hiroyo rolls back in and pushes Chihiro against the ropes before slapping her in the face. Chihiro elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her back, Hiroyo wins the duel and throws Chihiro out of the ring. Hiroyo goes out after her and throws Chihiro into the ring post, vertical suplex by Hiroyo out on the floor and she returns to the ring to wait for Chihiro. Chihiro makes it back in after a moment, Hiroyo tries to suplex her over the ropes but Chihiro blocks it and they trade elbows while Chihiro is on the apron. Shoulder tackle by Chihiro, she goes up top but Hiroyo joins her and hits a superplex. Cover by Hiroyo, but it gets two. Hiroyo goes for the powerbomb but Chihiro blocks it, Hiroyo rolls it into a crab hold instead, she then applies a Texas Cloverleaf but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Chihiro slides around her back and plants her with a release German. Chihiro picks up Hiroyo and gets her on her shoulders, rolling fireman’s carry slam by Chihiro and she delivers the somersault senton for a two count.

Chihiro goes back up top and nails a somersault senton, but Hiroyo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Chihiro grabs Hiroyo around the waist but Hiroyo gets into the ropes, hard lariat by Hiroyo but Chihiro comes back with a spear. Hiroyo goes for a backdrop suplex but Chihiro blocks it, lariat by Hiroyo and she hits the sliding lariat for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Chihiro but Chihiro again blocks the backdrop suplex so Hiroyo hits a German suplex hold instead for two. Front suplex slam by Hiroyo, but again her cover gets a two count. Hiroyo drags up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner, Hiroyo slides around Chihiro however and delivers a sitout powerbomb. Hiroyo hits a series of short range lariats, she goes for the backdrop suplex but Chihiro gets out of it with a judo toss. Chihiro applies a Cobra Twist but Hiroyo gets into the ropes, Chihiro keeps Hiroyo locked up however and suplexes her to the mat. Powerbomb by Chihiro, but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Roaring elbow by Hiroyo but Chihiro ducks the next one and hits a release German, Hiroyo returns to her feet but Chihiro lariats her back to the mat again. Another lariat by Chihiro, she drags up Hiroyo and nails the German suplex hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is the new champion!

I don’t usually re-watch old matches to compare, but I think this is the best match of Chihiro Hashimoto’s career. They took some elements from their last match and built up on it, Chihiro looked so strong and dominate and it really felt like she was on the same level as someone with much more experience than her. Hiroyo was great too, her facial expressions put over how important the match was and I loved how they protected the backdrop suplex. I love a good hoss match, just two strong wrestlers throwing suplexes and lariats with no regard for tomorrow, and this match delivered that type of action in spades. I am not a big fan of Chihiro winning the title three times in nine months and hopefully they find something more interesting to do booking-wise, but that doesn’t change the fact that this was a fantastic and must-watch match.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata on 7/15/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sendai Girls’ is one of those promotions I try to check in with at least once a month, as while their roster is very small they have some quality wrestlers. This is a big event for them, as Chihiro Hashimoto is challenging Aja Kong in an attempt to win back the Sendai Girls’ World Championship. We also get Meiko Satomura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, plus a Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship match! Here is the full card:

• Konami vs. Mika Shirahime
• Hana Kimura vs. Mio Momono
• KAORU, Alex Lee, and Emi Sakura vs. Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura
• #1 Contender of Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. DASH Chisako and Cassandra Miyagi
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Aja Kong vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

A very full card, which means some of these matches will definitely be clipped. As always, you can click on the wrestlers’ name above to go to their profile.

Konami vs. Mika Shirahime

They circle each other until Konami tackles Mika, they jockey for position on the mat until Konami gets the ankle lock applied but Mika gets to the ropes. Konami twists Mika’s legs in the bottom rope before kicking her, PK by Konami and she covers Mika for a two count. Fisherman suplex by Konami and she puts Mika back in the ankle hold but Mika gets into the ropes again. Konami goes off the ropes but Mika nails her with a high kick, cover by Mika but Konami barely kicks out. Rolling Northern Lights Suplexes by Mika, she picks up Konami and she hits a pair of high kicks for another two. Mika goes up top but Konami avoids the diving body press, Konami then goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Fisherman suplex hold by Konami, but Mika bridges out of the pin. Konami goes for a high kick but Mika ducks it and rolls up Mika for two. Konami picks up Mika and goes for a suplex, but Mika reverses it into a cradle for the three count! Mika Shirahime is the winner!

A bit clipped, I think we missed the middle of the match that helped set up the finishing stretch. I liked everything they showed though, Konami and Mika have similar styles and they meshed together really well. I was surprised Mika won since she hasn’t had a lot of luck lately, but the cradle win helped keep Konami strong as well. Even for a a clipped opener match, I thought it was pretty solid and a fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mio Momono

Hana and Mio trade holds to start, Mio gets Hana to the mat first but Hana returns to her feet and puts Mio in a headlock. Mio gets out of it but Hana shoulderblocks her to the mat, Mio kips up however and dropkicks Hana. Irish whip by Mio but Hana dropkicks her, Hana ties up Mio’s legs and puts her in the Muta Lock. Hana goes for a crab hold but Mio reverses it, inside cradle by Mio and a backslide but each move gets a two count. Mio hits a pair of jumping crossbodies but her cover gets another two, she picks up Hana and she hits a scoop slam. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Hana bridges out of the pin. Mio goes off the ropes but Hana slaps on a sleeper. Mio gets into the ropes for the break, Hana picks up Mio and she hits a vertical suplex. Hana goes off the ropes but Mio catches her with a bodyscissors roll-up for two. After she kicks out, Hana nails Mio in the face with a big boot, she then goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Cover by Hana, and she gets the three count! Hana Kimura wins the match.

A bit on the short side but I liked this one too. Mio is coming along nicely, her offensive is still pretty simple but she hits everything well and showed a bit of fire. Hana doesn’t wrestle in her Oedo Tai attire in Sendai Girls’ but still was showing a bit of an edge, she knocked off Mio’s head with one of the boots and glared at her after the match instead of offering a handshake. A fun match between two young wrestlers, nothing too memorable but nothing wrong with it.

KAORU, Alex Lee, and Emi Sakura vs. Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger

Eiger and company attack before the match can even start, and the action spills out of the ring and into the stands. We clip ahead to Lee and Eiger in the ring together and they go right into some Eiger comedy, complete with a full creepy zombie chain with all the wrestlers participating. KAORU ends up scaring everyone, she gets her piece of table but Eiger spits dust into her face and hits a diving body press. Nicole hits a diving body press as well, Rose follows with a Swanton Bomb onto KAORU and she covers her for the three count! Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger are the winners.

The match was clipped from 12 minutes to 2 minutes and was basically just the Eiger comedy. I’m not complaining the match was clipped, something had to be and it was the least critical match on the card, but even if you are a fan of any of these wrestlers there still isn’t anything here to get excited about.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura

They lock knuckles to start, Meiko gets Hiroyo to the mat but Hiroyo switches positions with her and they jockey for position. Meiko kicks Hiroyo against the ropes before puling her back to the middle of the ring, Meiko throws Hiroyo against the ropes but Hiroyo knocks her down with a shoulderblock. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and chops her into the corner, Meiko charges Hiroyo but Hiroyo snaps her neck over the top rope. Hiroyo is a bit too proud of herself on the apron, giving Meiko time to recover and kick her in the head. Hiroyo falls out of the ring and Meiko goes out after her, where she proceeds to kick Hiroyo around the floor. Hiroyo eventually fights back and scoop slams Meiko on the floor, Hiroyo slides Meiko back in and goes up top but Meiko kicks her before she can jump off. Meiko Pele Kicks Hiroyo off the top turnbuckle and kicks Hiroyo into the corner, Hiroyo slowly gets back up and the two trade strikes. Meiko knees Hiroyo and takes her to the mat, she applies a crossface before releasing the hold and kicking Hiroyo in the chest. Meiko goes up top but Hiroyo elbows her before she can jump off, Hiroyo joins Meiko but Meiko pushes her off. Hiroyo quickly hits a Roaring Elbow before re-joining Meiko, hitting a superplex to the mat. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and puts her across the second rope, body avalanche by Hiroyo and she goes up top to hit a missile dropkick for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and gets her on her shoulders, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she delivers the reverse double kneedrop.

Hiroyo picks up Meiko and goes for the powerbomb, Meiko reverses it with a back bodydrop and kicks Hiroyo in the head. Kneedrop by Meiko, she goes up top but again Hiroyo recovers and walks to the corner. Meiko slides out to the apron and elbows Hiroyo back, she goes back up top and goes for a diving body press, but Hiroyo gets her knees up. Kicks by Meiko, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a body block followed by a lariat for two. Hiroyo picks up Meiko but Meiko hits a heel kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Meiko drags Hiroyo to a seated position and applies a sleeper, she reverts it into a trapped choke but Hiroyo gets to the ropes. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Meiko, she picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo blocks it when Meiko tries to pick her up. Meiko charges Hiroyo in the corner but Hiroyo catches her and hits a powerbomb. Spinning sit-down powerbomb by Hiroyo, but the cover only gets two. Hiroyo goes for a backdrop suplex but Meiko blocks it and hits a backdrop suplex of her own, Hiroyo gets back to her feet but Meiko nails her with a high kick. Roaring Elbow by Hiroyo but Meiko comes back with a Pele Kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but the cover gets a two count. Meiko goes off the ropes but Hiroyo levels her with a back elbow, lariat by Hiroyo and she picks up the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins!

Even though this was a midcard match, it may as well been the main event as they wrestled as if it was. The match had everything you’d expect – hard hits, passion, big suplexes, and a satisfying ending. The end stretch in particular was great, these two both rarely get pinned so it was logical they’d have to trade bombs before one of them went down for the three count. They don’t have a lot of history together but had really good chemistry anyway, and the 15 minutes just flew by. Really high end match and worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They start the match slowly as they lock-up, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes and elbows her instead of giving a clean break. Mika returns the favor and they trade elbows back and forth until Mika hits a dropkick for two. Mika picks up Hana but Hana elbows her and works a side headlock. Hana takes Mika to the mat but Mika gets her in a headscissors, Hana gets out of it and goes back to the headlock but Mika rolls her up for two. Hana twists Mika’s leg but Mika kicks her and does the same to her. After they are done trading leglocks, Hana goes off the ropes but Mika catches her with a double wrist armsault for a two count. Mika kicks Hana into the corner and hits a snap vertical suplex, she picks up Hana but Hana blocks the next suplex attempt and kicks Mika in the stomach. Hana throws Mika into the corner and hits a double knee strike, dropkick by Hana and she covers Mika for two. Hana grabs Mika and goes for a suplex, but Mika blocks it and applies a guillotine choke. Hana gets out of it, Mika kicks Hana in the head and she gets a two count cover. Mika goes for another kick but Hana ducks it and applies a sleeper, Mika gets to the ropes but Hana quickly hits a running boot for a two count. Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, another cover by Hana but Mika gets a shoulder up. Hana goes for another sleeper but Mika drills her with a high kick, both wrestlers slowly get up and Mika connects with a series of hard elbows. Mika bounces Hana off the ropes and rolls her up with a wing clutch hold for two, she goes off the ropes but Hana nails a big boot. Another big boot by Hana and she hits a third one, picking up the three count pinfall! Hana Kimura is your winner.

This was a really solid match between potentially two big Joshi stars down the road. Hana Kimura already has “it” as the crowds love her and her in-ring ability is above the level you’d expect from someone a year in, but Mika showed a lot of passion and has really grown a lot in the last six months. She always had the kicks but now she is also tying that into a personality, which is obviously just as important. They kept it pretty simple but everything was executed well, the crowd was into it and now Hana gets to go after a title in another promotion. A fun match between two young and hungry wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. DASH Chisako and Cassandra Miyagi

Miyagi and Shida are the first two in, Miyagi headbangs at Shida but Shida shoulderblocks her to the mat. Shida throws Miyagi into the corner and hits a jumping knee, she slides out to the apron as Syuri comes in and charges Miyagi, but Miyagi holds down the rope and Syuri ends up on the apron with Shida. Miyagi falls out of the ring, Shida and Syuri go for jumping knees off the apron but Miyagi avoids it. Chisako goes up top and dives out onto the floor onto both Shida and Syuri, Miyagi slides Shida back in the ring and Chisako knees her against the ropes. Chisako goes to charge at Shida but Syuri trips her from the floor, she hangs her head over the apron and both she and Shida hitting running kneelifts. Shida stands on Chisako in the corner while taunting Meiko Satomura, she picks up Chisako after a moment and tags in Syuri. Syuri kicks Chisako repeatedly in the chest but Chisako catches one and slaps Syuri in the face. Big kick by Chisako and she tags in Miyagi, running elbow by Miyagi in the corner and she hits a bulldog on Syuri. Missile dropkick by Miyagi, Syuri rolls out of the ring but Miyagi goes up the apron and hits another missile dropkick down to the floor. Back in the ring, slingshot legdrop by Miyagi and she covers Syuri for two. Miyagi charges Syuri but Syuri drop toeholds her into the second rope, giving her a chance to make the tag to Shida. Shida and Miyagi trade elbows, eye poke by Miyagi and she levels Shida with a big boot. Samoan Drop by Miyagi, and she covers Shida for a two count. Syuri runs in but she knees Shida by accident, Chisako dropkicks Syuri out of the ring while Miyagi delivers the Samoan Driver onto Shida for another two.

She tags in Chisako, missile dropkick by Chisako but Shida hits an enzuigiri. She tries to tag in Shida but Miyagi pulls Syuri off the apron, Miyagi slams Shida in front of the corner and Chisako hits a diving footstomp for two. Chisako goes back up top but she gets a kendo stick thrown at her, knocking her to the floor. Shida tries to superplex Chisako back in the ring but Chisako blocks it and smacks her with a chair, Chisako puts the chair on Shida and nails the Hormone Splash, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Chisako puts Shida on the top turnbuckle and goes for an avalanche cutter, but Shida pushes her off. Shida suplexes Chisako before superplexing Miyagi onto Chisako, Syuri joins her and they both hitting running knees for two. Chisako eats a double running knee, cover by Shida but Chisako barely kicks out. Miyagi comes in and dropkicks Shida, cradle by Chisako to Shida but it gets two. Chisako goes for a hurricanrana but Shida catches her and hits a powerbomb, Falcon Arrow by Shida but Miyagi breaks up the pin. Syuri takes care of Miyagi, Shida goes off the ropes and hits the running knee onto Chisako, but Chisako reverses the cover into her own two count. Hurricanrana by Chisako, but Shida rolls through it and with Syuri they hit a double running knee for two. Shida waits for Chisako to get to a knee, she goes off the ropes and nails the Tamashii no Three Count for the three count! Shida and Syuri remain the champions.

One of the great things when two wrestlers stay together for a good chunk of time is they get really familiar with each other and feed off of each other constantly throughout the match, which is what Syuri and Shida did here. Chisako and Miyagi both were good but it was Syuri and Shida that really pop out as they are always helping each other and getting involved to make the match more exciting. Miyagi is still mostly character but the character is quality and in-ring she is slowly getting better. While its odd that Chisako/Miyagi got another title shot, it was still a very good championship match even if the winning team was never really in doubt.  Recommended

(c) Aja Kong vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

The match starts with them feeling each other out, and doesn’t step up a notch until Kong starts biting on Chihiro’s arm. Kong punches Chihiro into the corner, she lets Chihiro out and Chihiro takes Kong back to the mat. Kong gets into the ropes but Chihiro keeps kicking at her, she finally lets Kong up and Kong knees Chihiro in the stomach. Chihiro goes for a takedown but Kong blocks it and puts Chihiro in a sleeper. Chihiro gets out of it and returns to her feet, short range hip attacks by Chihiro but Kong lariats her when she goes off the ropes. Chihiro comes back with a lariat of her own, she charges Kong again but Kong moves and Chihiro falls out of the ring. Kong goes out after her but Chihiro kicks her and slams Kong into the ring post. Chihiro picks up Kong and delivers a waterwheel drop on the floor, she slides Kong back in but Kong lariats Chihiro to the mat. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam, somersault sentons by Chihiro and she covers Kong for two. Chihiro picks up Kong but Kong slides down and kicks Chihiro in the head, Chihiro charges Kong but Kong swats her to the mat. Kong takes Chihiro out to the floor and throws her into the crowd before throwing a chair at her head.

Kong tosses Chihiro around on the floor and into the bleachers, she throws a chair at her again before finally sliding Chihiro back into the ring. Kong picks up Chihiro and drops her with a backdrop suplex, cover by Kong but it gets a two count. Kong picks up Chihiro and drills her with a brainbuster, but again the cover gets two. Kong gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a falling elbow drop, she picks up Chihiro and hits a Stunner. Kong goes up top again but Chihiro grabs her from behind and powerbombs her to the mat for a two count. Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a waterwheel drop, she drags her back up and hits a second one, covering Kong for two. Chihiro goes for a suplex but Kong drops down and puts Chihiro in an ankle hold, but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Kong then puts Chihiro in a cross kneelock, but again Chihiro gets a hand into the ropes. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro blocks the Uraken and drops Kong with a release German. Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a second release German suplex, she grabs her a third time but Kong catches her with a Uraken. They both slowly get up, Kong backfists Chihiro but Chihiro punches her in the face and hits a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is the new champion!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this match. When it was ‘on’ it worked really well, I really enjoyed Kong brutalizing Chihiro around the floor and Chihiro’s ability to look credible throwing lariats and suplexes against Kong says a lot about her at this stage of her career. But the match was way too long and had some real filler, and Kong’s leg submission holds 15 minutes into the match really slowed it down for no reason. The ending was also botched, mistakes happen but they are more noticeable when its the end stretch and is in the big title match. I enjoy both Kong and Chihiro but both are limited for different reasons, and I don’t think a 20+ minute match was the way to go. More good than bad, but as it is I can’t really recommend it since I fear anyone not invested in Sendai Girls’ or Chihiro would lose interest before the ending.

The post Sendai Girls’ on 4/6/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sendai Girls’ is a promotion that doesn’t make air very often, but when they do they tend to deliver. This is a packed show, no title matches but a big singles match between Syuri and Meiko Satomura, plus a main event with four high quality wrestlers. Here is the full card:

• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Eiger vs. KAORU
• Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose vs. Alex Lee, Hikaru Shida, and Konami
• Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri
• Aja Kong and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako

You can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City for more information. This event was shown in full, lets hop to it.

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They trade waistlocks and wristlocks to start, they end up on the mat with Hana in control. Hana locks in a headlock as she tries to get Mika back up but Mika reverses it, Hana gets in the mount and goes for a cross armbreaker but Mika blocks it and gets to the ropes. Stomps by Hana and they trade elbows, Hana puts Mika in a Camel Clutch before picking her up and hitting a scoop slam. Another slam by Hana and she hits a few more, crab hold by Hana but Mike gets into the ropes. Elbows by Hana and she throws Mika from the corner, but Mika reverses it and hits a dropkick. High kick attempt by Mika but Hana blocks it, dropkick by Mika and she covers Hana for two. Back up they trade elbows, Hana goes off the ropes but Mika kicks her in the midsection. Mika kicks Hana into the corner and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Mika but it gets two. Mika goes up top but Hana avoids her bodypress, Hana applies a sleeper but Mika gets into the ropes. Hana picks up Mika but Mika sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Kick to the head by Mika, she picks up Hana and kicks her in the stomach. Northern Lights Suplex by Mika which gets a two, she picks up Hana but Hana quickly hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Hana and she jumps on Mika’s back before getting her to the mat with it, but Mika again gets into the ropes for the break. Running boot by Hana while Mika is on the ropes, she covers Mika but Mika barely gets a shoulder up. Hana goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes for the Big Boot but Mika blocks it and rolls up Hana with a bridge for two. High kicks by Mika, and she gets the three count! Mika Shirahime is the winner.

A really solid opening ‘rookie’ match. My only real complaint is the ending felt rushed, as Hana had been controlling the match, but I guess two kicks from Mika is enough to end the match at any moment. But they did protect Hana’s finisher (Big Boot) which was a nice touch in a low importance match. Hana’s move set is slowly expanding as she gets more experience so the match stayed interesting, and even though both are young they both show a lot of promise. Always a plus to see rookie-style matches get plenty of time, good way to start the show.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Eiger vs. KAORU

KAORU and Nagashima go at it first while Eiger watches and plays along, until all three face off again. Nagashima and KAORU both attack Eiger but Eiger hits a double lariat, Eiger gets KAORU’s back and all four (including the referee) eventually do the zombie walk.  KAORU ends up being the butt of the joke, which she doesn’t like, and she knocks Eiger out of the ring. Nagashima knocks over KAORU but KAORU bridges out of the pin, Nagashima dropkicks her into the corner but KAORU boots Nagashima when she charges in. KAORU puts Nagashima in the Surfboard but Eiger crawls in and covers KAORU while she still has Nagashima in the hold, causing her to release it. Eiger goes off the ropes but KAORU kicks her, Eiger applies The Claw to first KAORU and then also to Nagashima before hitting a DDT on KAORU. Eiger goes up top but trips, Nagashima is thrown into the corner but Eiger scares her. Eiger gets the table piece from KAORU but Rin takes it from her, Nagashima then gets the table piece but she is tripped from ringside before she can hit KAORU with it. Eiger gets KAORU up and hits a spinning crucifix sit-down powerbomb, but KAORU manages to get the piece of table and hit Eiger with it to break up the cover. Nagashima puts KAORU on top of Eiger and hits a footstomp onto KAORU’s back, double cover by Nagashima but it gets two. Nagashima grabs Eiger but KAORU hits her in the back with the table piece, KAORU and Eiger fight over it but Nagashima kicks it away. Eiger ends up hitting Nagashima with it by accident, she tosses the table piece to KAORU and spits dust in her face. Inside cradle by Eiger and she gets the three count! Eiger wins!

As far as comedy matches go, this was well done. Some of the spots were really well choreographed, they put a fair amount of effort into a short early-card match. Eiger is quite funny in small doses, not all comedy gimmicks do a lot for me but she is pretty amusing. A fun match with some memorable spots, about all you could hope for.

Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose vs. Alex Lee, Shida, and Konami

Nyla and Nicole charge their opponents before the match starts, but they avoid their charge and both Nyla and Nicole end up out of the ring. Miyagi is isolated now and is triple teamed under her friends return and clear the ring. Now Konami is isolated and put in a double crab hold, dropkick by Miyagi to Konami and she covers her for two. Miyagi tags in Nyla, Nyla picks up Konami and she hits a vertical suplex. Nyla tags in Nicole as the beatdown on Konami continues, Miyagi returns and bulldogs her before stomping her in the back. Konami is triple teamed in the ropes, dropkick to the back by Miyagi and she tags in Nyla. Konami finally gets away after kicking Nyla in the head, making the hot tag to Shida, who comes in with her kendo stick. She hits Nicole and Miyagi but Nyla blocks her attempt and throws Shida to the mat. Shida recovers and hits her anyway, they trade elbows and Shida goes for a jumping knee, but Nyla blocks it. Hurricanrana by Shida but Nyla comes back with a side slam, she goes off the ropes and hits a running bodypress for a two count. Nyla tags in Nicole, lariat by Nicole and she covers Shida for two. Handstand press by Nicole, she picks up Shida but Shida pokes her in the eyes.

Shida tries to get her kendo stick but Nicole takes it, leading to Shida bailing out of the ring. She gets tosses back in but gets her kendo stick back, enzuigiri by Shida and she nails a running knee for a two count. Shida tags in Lee, running footstomps by Lee and Shida helps with a jumping knee. Double jumping knee to Nicole, Lee goes up top and hits a diving footstomp for a two count. Lee picks up Nicole but Nicole avoids her dropkick, Lee and Nicole trade strikes until Nicole hits a DDT. Nicole tags Miyagi, big boot by Miyagi and she hits a Samoan Drop for two. Lee comes back with a kick to the head, she rolls to her corner and tags in Konami. Miyagi and Konami trade elbows, rolling ankle hold by Konami but Miyagi gets into the ropes. High Kick by Konami and she hits a second one, Shida and Lee come in too and help attack Miyagi. Konami picks up Miyagi but Miyagi pushes her away, schoolboy by Konami but it gets two. Konami goes off the ropes but she gets grabbed by Nicole from the floor, Nicole and Nyla both come in and they take turns on Konami in the corner. Miyagi slams Konami to the mat, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Nicole and Nyla come in and hit Konami with a double lariat, SBR by Miyagi (Samoan Driver) and she gets the three count! Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose are your winners.

Better than I was expecting, as I wasn’t sure how these six would mesh. Really no issues with miscommunications or awkwardness, they tagged in and out enough that no one wrestler was relied on and everyone got a chance to do their thing. It was far from perfect as one of the issues with all the tagging in and out is the match never really had a rhythm, but it was still an above average match overall and not a bad watch.

Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri

Syuri quickly tackles Satomura to the mat but lets her back up, headlock by Satomura but Syuri gets in the mount position as they struggle for position. Kicks by Syuri to the chest but Satomura pushes her down and starts working on Syuri’s ankle. Back up, shoulderblock by Satomura but Syuri suplexes her, Syuri goes for a PK but Satomura ducks it and applies an ankle hold. Syuri reverses it but they both roll into the ropes and the referee forces a break. Kicks by Syuri but Satomura elbows her, jumping knee by Syuri and she kicks Satomura in the back. Running kick to the chest by Syuri and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Satomura blocks it and delivers a few kicks. Knees by Satomura and she applies a crossface, slingshot footstomp by Satomura and she elbows Syuri in the face. Satomura goes off the ropes but Syuri hits a jumping knee, Irish whip by Syuri but Satomura nails her with a heel kick. Back up they trade kicks, Syuri goes for the cross armbreaker again but Satomura blocks it.

Knee to the chest by Satomura, she goes up top and hits a diving bodypress for a two count. Back up, headlock by Satomura and she goes off the ropes, but Syuri kicks her in the chest. Satomura comes back with her own strikes and delivers a backdrop suplex for two. High kick by Syuri, Satomura gets up and they trade elbows again until Syuri hits a high kick. Satomura retorts with a Pele Kick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Satomura applies a sleeper before putting Syuri in a choke, she lets go after a moment and delivers the cartwheel kneedrop. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, but Syuri gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes for another one but Syuri slides off and applies a sleeper, cross armbreaker takedown by Syuri and she puts Satomura in a seated armbar. Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri, but Satomura kicks out of the pin. Syuri goes back to the seated armbar but Satomura gets to the ropes, high kick by Satomura but Syuri delivers a running knee. Kneelift by Syuri and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick, she nails a second one and she covers Satomura for the three count! Syuri is the winner!

If you enjoy watching two really crisp wrestlers in a tightly worked submission and striking match, this is the one for you. Both Syuri and Satomura are so good, which everyone knows, but they also work together really well. From Satomura being stubborn on Syuri’s cross armbreaker attempts to the smooth transitions on the mat, everything here worked. Mat wrestling to me is the hardest style to hold my attention, it has to be done almost perfectly and here it was, it always felt like both were actively doing something to try to win. Add in the on point strikes and the surprise (to me) ending, and the match really clicked. A high end match for sure between two of the best.  Highly Recommended

Aja Kong and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako

Kong and Chihiro are the first two in, Chihiro gets Kong to the mat but Kong switches positions with her which lands them in the ropes. Stiff kicks by Kong, Chihiro gets back up, Kong slaps her against the ropes and makes the tag to Matsumoto. Chihiro and Matsumoto lock knuckles, Matsumoto pushes Chihiro to the mat and chops her in the corner. They trade waistlocks until Chihiro locks in cobra twist, Matsumoto hiptosses out of it but Chihiro gets Matsumoto to the mat. Chisako comes in and dropkicks Matsumoto while she is on the hold, Chihiro tags in Chisako and they double team Matsumoto in the corner. Chisako dropkicks Matsumoto in the corner, dropkick to the knee by Chisako and she applies a crucifix submission. Kong comes in and breaks it up, Chisako elbows Matsumoto but when Chihiro tries to help Chisako elbows her by accident. Chihiro falls to the floor, Matsumoto picks up Chisako and throws her over the top rope down onto Chihiro. Kong strolls over and attacks Chihiro around the floor, while Matsumoto does the same to Chisako. Matsumoto and Chisako return to the ring, Matsumoto goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Matsumoto tags in Kong and she scoop slams Chisako and hits an elbow drop. Kong puts Chisako in a camel clutch, Matsumoto comes in and she runs the ropes before slapping Chisako in the face.

Matsumoto puts Chisako in a camel clutch now, Kong points to Chihiro and she kicks Chisako in the chest. Cover by Kong, but it gets a two count. Kong picks up Chisako and drops her with a piledriver, but Chisako barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong stomps Kong from tagging out but Chisako blocks the backdrop suplex, Chisako goes for a schoolboy but Kong sits on her. Chihiro runs in to help, double Irish whip to Kong and Chisako hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Chisako makes the tag to Chihiro, hip attacks by Chihiro but Kong levels her with a lariat. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam, she goes for a somersault senton but Kong moves out of the way and kicks Chihiro in the chest. Snap backdrop suplex by Kong, she picks up Chihiro and Chihiro goes for a spear, but Kong knees her to block it and tags in Matsumoto. Body block by Matsumoto, she picks up Chihiro but Chisako runs in to try to help. It doesn’t work as Matsumoto hits a double Samoan Drop/Fallaway Slam on both of them, Kong jumps on Matsumoto’s back and Matsumoto hits a double kneedrop onto Chihiro. Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, but Chisako breaks up the pin. Matsumoto picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop, they trade short range lariats until Chihiro gets Matsumoto up and Chisako runs in to assist with a slam.

Chisako goes up top and hits a diving footstomp, Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a somersault senton for a two count. Matsumoto hits a double backdrop suplex on both of them, Matsumoto picks up Chihiro but Chihiro snaps off a release German. Chihiro goes up top but Kong comes in and joins Chihiro, Chisako runs in too but Matsumoto has recovered by now and throws Chisako out of the ring. Kong tries to superplex Chihiro but can’t get her over, so Matsumoto helps by powerbombing Kong which lead to Chihiro getting superplexed. Sliding Lariat by Matsumoto, but it gets a two count. Matsumoto goes off the ropes but Chihiro levels her with a spear, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the cover gets two. Roaring Elbow by Matsumoto and she hits a bodyblock in the corner, Matsumoto puts Chihiro on the second turnbuckle and nails a sit-down powerbomb, but Chisako breaks up the cover. Kong comes in with her metal paint can and hits Chisako in the head with it, Kong and Matsumoto measure up Chihiro but Chihiro moves and they hit each other by accident. Matsumoto comes back with a lariat to Matsumoto, Kong tries to backfist Chihiro but she hits Matsumoto by accident. Chisako runs in and dropkicks Kong, while Chihiro grabs Matsumoto and delivers the German Suplex Hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako win!

Another really good match on the show and a fitting way to end it. Hiroyo Matsumoto is the secret MVP of Joshi, she has really stepped up the last year or so and constantly delivers. Kong is still great as well, she is limited but works within those limitations as well as any other wrestler I can think of. Chihiro got the big win here, assisted, but still a big one early in her career that continues to put her towards the top of Sendai Girls’. I don’t mean to exclude Chisako, she was her usual solid self, but the others stood out more. Even though the match was almost 20 minutes there was no wasted time/rest holds, and there were a number of memorable spots spread throughout the match. The stretch run is one of the best I’ve seen all year, the last minute or so of the match was perfect and the ending couldn’t have been better constructed. The match was mostly about Kong vs. Chihiro since they face off in a few weeks, but everyone brought their “A” game, definitely worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 3/11/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

In my attempt in 2017 to stay as ‘current’ as I can with Joshi, it is time for Sendai Girls’! I’d have watched this event anyway because it is chock-full of things I enjoy. My favorite Freelancers all have matches (Shida, Syuri, Konami, and Matsumoto) which is a big plus, and on top of that we have Kyoko Kimura’s last match in Sendai Girls’ and Hashimoto defending her title against Aja Kong! Big show, and it will be shown in full since it aired on Nico Nico. Here is the full card:

• Mika Shirahime and Syuri vs. Mio Momono and Konami
• Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hikaru Shida
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger vs. Meiko Satomura and Alex Lee
• Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Aja Kong

Click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City if you want to know more about them. This is a very early contender for potential Show of The Year, let’s see how it plays out.

Mika Shirahime and Syuri vs. Mio Momono and Konami

Konami and Mika start the match, knees by Mika and she takes Konami to the mat. Konami quickly applies a headscissors as they jockey for position, Mika drives Konami in the corner before hitting a suplex. Mika goes off the ropes but Konami kicks her in the chest and tags in Mio. Mio throws down Mika by the hair before dropkicking her, but Mika quickly turns the tide and elbows Mio in the corner. Dropkick by Mika but Mio fights back and they trade elbows. Mika stags in Syuri, Syuri takes Mio to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker but Mio gets into the ropes just as she locks it on to get the break. Syuri stomps down Mio and hits a running knee in the corner, cover by Syuri but it gets two. Syuri picks up Mio and slams her, cross armbreaker attempt by Syuri but Mio rolls over. Syuri applies a seated armbar instead but Mio gets into the ropes, Syuri picks up Mio and makes the tag to Mika. Mio and Mika trade elbows, quick roll-up by Mio and she makes the tag to Konami. Kicks to the chest by Konami but Mika blocks the fisherman suplex, Syuri runs in to help but Konami fights them both off and dropkicks them in the corner. Konami tries to suplex Mika but Mika blocks it and rolls her up for two.

Dropkick by Mika, and she tags in Syuri. Syuri knees Konami into the corner and hits a jumping knee followed by a butterfly suplex for a two count cover. Konami elbows Syuri and they trade shots, kicks by Konami but Syuri connects with the running knee and kicks Konami hard in the back. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami quickly applies a kneelock, which Mio breaks up. Head kick by Konami and she hits the fisherman suplex hold on Syuri for a two count. Konami tags in Mio, running crossbodies by Mio to Syuri and she covers her for two. Mio goes up top but Syuri recovers and tosses her off. Mio ducks the PK attempt and applies the Figure Four Leglock, but Syuri gets to the ropes to force a break. Mio goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the chest and tags in Mika. Kicks by Mika, she goes off the ropes but Mio catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Mio and she hits a few more, Mio picks up Mika but Mika elbows her and they trade shots. Mika wins the battle and hits a snap vertical suplex, Mika slams Mio in front of the corner and goes up top, but Konami runs over and kicks her from the apron. Mio dropkicks Mika, Konami runs in and hits a release German suplex. Diving crossbody by Mio, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Mio goes off the ropes and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Mika shrugs her off. Konami tries to kick Mika in the head but hits Mio by accident, roll-up by Mika but Konami breaks up the cover. Syuri connects with a head kick to Mio, roundhouse kick by Mika and she picks up the three count! Mika Shirahime and Syuri are your winners.

The only thing holding this match back was Mio Momono. Which I don’t really blame her for, she is an 18 year old that debuted less than a year ago, but she was the least smooth of the bunch and a few of her sections looked a bit cringe-y. Everyone else was great though, I enjoyed the Konami vs. Syuri parts since Kana had such a long feud with Syuri and this felt like an extension of that. Mika’s kicks are great, hopefully she gets to climb up the card soon, she is too good to toil away in opening matches. A fun match but with a clear weak link that brought things down a bit.  Mildly Recommended

Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hikaru Shida

Miyagi headbangs as the match starts but Shida kicks her, they trade holds until Shida applies a grounded necklock. Miyagi gets out of it but Shida nails her in the head with a hip attack. Another hip attack by Shida and she hits a third, Shida picks up Miyagi and attacks her in the corner but Miyagi kicks her when she goes up top. Miyagi snaps Shida’s neck on the top rope but Shida avoids the slingshot legdrop and pulls Miyagi out to the apron. She goes for the running kneelift but Miyagi avoids it and hits a cannonball off the apron. Miyagi attacks Shida around the ring and into the crowd, she gets some water and spits it into Shida’s face. Shida doesn’t like that and elbows her repeatedly in the head, they make their way back into the ring, where Miyagi maintains control. Miyagi swats away the hip attack and sets up Shida in the ropes, chops to the butt by Miyagi and she dropkicks Shida in the back. Body avalanche by Miyagi and she hits a face crusher, cover by Miyagi but it gets a two. Miyagi goes up top but Shida avoids the missile dropkick and knees Miyagi in the back of the head with the Three Count.

Vertical suplex by Shida and she puts Miyagi in a crab hold, she releases it after a moment and delivers the fireman’s carry backbreaker for a two count. Shida gets her kendo stuck but Miyagi avoids the blow and knocks it away from her, enzuigiri by Shida but Miyagi gets the kendo stick and hits her in the stomach with it. Backdrop suplex by Miyagi, and she covers Shida for two. Samoan Driver by Miyagi, but again her cover gets a two count. Miyagi picks up Shida and goes for a piledriver, but Shida back bodydrops out of it. Back up they trade elbows, eye poke by Miyagi and she applies an inside cradle for two. Shida pushes Miyagi away and hits a jumping knee, Three Count by Shida but it gets a two count. Shida goes for the Falcon Arrow but Miyagi blocks it and rolls her up for two. A schoolboy by Miyagi also gets a two, she grabs Shida’s kendo stick but Shida takes it form her and hits Miyagi in the head. Falcon Arrow by Shida, she goes off the ropes and nails the Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida wins!

I really enjoyed this match, it was a lot of fun. Miyagi is slowly growing as a wrestler but she has the character down pat, her mannerisms and randomness are very amusing. Shida is great and has some of the best knees and backbreakers in the business, and I like that Miyagi had a full competitive match with Shida. Miyagi isn’t quite at the level to beat someone like Shida but is close, and if her wrestling gets on the same level as her personality she will be a force to be reckoned with. The right combination of playful and hard hitting, solid match all the way around.  Recommended

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger vs. Meiko Satomura and Alex Lee

Eiger insists on starting the match for her team against Satomura, but Satomura promptly kicks her in the head for a two count. Satomura goes for a lariat but Eiger rolls underneath it and does Eiger things. Satomura tags in Lee but Lee doesn’t want to wrestle Eiger and takes Satomura back in. Eiger crawls to her corner and tags in Matsumoto, they struggle for position until Matsumoto throws Satomura to the mat. Shoulderblock by Matsumoto and she puts Satomura in a stretch hold, but Satomura gets out of it and they trade holds. Satomura tags in Lee, kicks to the back by Lee and she hits a pair of running footstomps for a two count. Vertical suplex by Matsumoto and she tags in Eiger, headbutt by Eiger but Lee avoids the falling headbutt. Kicks to the chest by Lee and she dropkicks Eiger before tagging in Satomura. Lee and Satomura take turns kicking Eiger, Eiger gets Lee’s back and Matsumoto runs in to help, but Eiger gets her back as well. Matsumoto finally realizes that Eiger is behind her and pops her in the head, double face crusher by Lee but Eiger hits a DDT on Satomura. Eiger goes up top but Matsumoto tags herself in, she elbows Satomura and hits a body avalanche against the ropes. Matsumoto and Satomura trade elbows until Eiger grabs Satomura from the apron.

Satomura gets away from her and hits a heel kick on Matsumoto, she goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but Matsumoto moves out of the way and hits a backdrop suplex. Matsumoto goes for a Reverse Splash but Satomura gets her knees up, back elbow by Matsumoto and she covers Satomura for two. Satomura kicks Matsumoto in the stomach and then in the head, cover by Satomura but it gets a two count. Cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, and she makes the tag to Lee. Lee kicks Matsumoto in the chest and hits a jumping knee followed by a double underhook suplex for two. Lee goes for a kick but Matsumoto ducks it, she then goes for a powerbomb but Lee back bodydrops out of it and kicks Matsumoto in the head. Lee goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Lee but it gets two. Satomura comes in but Matsumoto suplexes both of them, sliding lariat by Matsumoto to Lee and she covers Lee for two. Matsumoto hits the reverse double kneedrop, but Satomura breaks up the cover. Matsumoto grabs Lee but Satomura kicks her, high kick by Lee to Matsumoto and Eiger spits dust into Satomura’s face. Satomura then high kicks Lee by accident, lariat by Matsumoto to Lee and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger win the match.

I’m not too sure what to think of this match. Lee is an average wrestler while Eiger is mostly comedy, while Matsumoto and Satomura are two of the best Joshi wrestlers currently on the scene. So it was an odd pairing. The Matsumoto/Satomura pairings were great, lots of hard hits, and the Eiger comedy spots were sparse so they didn’t control the match. But they were still there and it was an odd dynamic. It was a fun match but I’d rather they split the two ideas into two matches as it was just hard for them to get into a flow of things with such a diverse group. Worth watching for Matsumoto/Satomura but a bit too all over the place for me overall.

Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU

Bolshoi and Chisako start the match, they trade headlocks until Chisako hits a dropkick. They trade quick trips before returning to their feet, and both tag out. KAORU and Kyoko are slow to engage but eventually do so, and Kyoko pushes KAORU to the mat. Chisako comes in and they double team Kyoko, KAORU slams Kyoko’s head into the mat and tags Chisako back in. Kyoko comes back with a scoop slam and tags Bolshoi, Bolshoi gets Chisako on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker. Bolshoi applies a camel clutch, Kyoko comes in and they double team Chisako. Kyoko boots Chisako in the back, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp onto Chisako’s back for a two count. Kyoko puts Chisako in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and tags in Bolshoi. Backdrop suplex by Bolshoi, and she covers Chisako for two. Dropkick by Chisako and she hits a front flip neckbreaker, she rolls to her corner and tags in KAORU. KAORU hits a crossbody on both Kyoko and Bolshoi, she gets her table piece and hits Bolshoi with it. KAORU then suplexes Bolshoi onto it, but the referee won’t count the cover due to the excessive cheating. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle and tries to drop it onto Bolshoi, but Bolshoi moves and dropkicks KAORU. Fujiwara Armbar by Bolshoi, but KAORU gets a foot in the ropes. Bolshoi picks up KAORU and hits a palm strike, but Chisako runs in and dropkicks her. Double front suplex by Chisako and KAORU, brainbuster by KAORU and she covers Bolshoi for two. Missile dropkick by Chisako but Bolshoi lands in her corner and tags in Kyoko. Kyoko and Chisako trade elbows, Kyoko picks up Chisako and she hits a backbreaker. Stretch hold by Kyoko, she picks up Chisako and knees her into the corner. Kyoko charges Chisako but Chisako moves, KAORU comes in and they double team Kyoko in the corner.

Chisako goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick on Kyoko for two. Kyoko gets Chisako’s back and applies a sleeper, KAORU comes in to help but Bolshoi puts her in a sleeper as well. Chisako eventually gets to the ropes to force the break, Kyoko covers the sleepy Chisako but it gets a two count. Kyoko kicks at Chisako but Chisako returns to her feet, Bolshoi runs in and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick on Chisako. Running boot by Kyoko, but Chisako gets a shoulder up. Kyoko gets Chisako on her shoulders and hits an assisted Gory Bomb with Bolshoi, but the cover is broken up. Kyoko goes off the ropes but Chisako ducks the boot and hits Kyoko with a piece of table. Kyoko headbutts Chisako in return, and they both fall to the mat. They trade strikes while still on their knees, they return to their feet and Chisako hits a Stunner. Elbows by Chisako but Kyoko boots her in the head, hurricanrana by Chisako which gets her a two count. Crucifix takeover by Chisako, she goes off the ropes but Kyoko boots her in the head for a two count. Kyoko picks up Chisako and hits a Chokebomb, but Chisako gets a shoulder up. Kyoko goes up top but KAORU hits her with a piece of table, Chisako joins Kyoko and delivers an avalanche bulldog, crucifix cover by Chisako but it gets two. Kyoko comes in and hits the Excalibur, Chisako goes up top as does KAORU and KAORU superplexes Chisako onto Kyoko, but Bolshoi breaks up the pin. Chisako goes up top and nails the Hormone Splash while KAORU hits the Valkyrie Splash onto Bolshoi, and Chisako gets the three count pinfall! DASH Chisako and KAORU are the winners.

After the match, everyone hugs Kyoko and says goodbye to her.

On one hand, this match was a bit too long and five minutes could have easily been chopped off and it would have helped the match. On the other hand, these four are friends and this is the last time they’d ever be in the ring together, so who can blame them for going a bit longer than necessary. All of them are long time veterans and know how to put on a good show, no issues with sloppiness here as the action was tight throughout. And it had some memorable spots, such as the superplex landing on Kyoko. It certainly dragged in a few sections as some moments such as the sleeper hold lasted a bit too long, but overall it was still a solid match and a fitting Sendai Girls’ farewell to Kyoko Kimura.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Aja Kong
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

They circle each other to start, Kong gets Chihiro to the mat but Chihiro gets the top position and they struggle for position. Back on their feet, Chihiro takes Kong back down but Kong applies an ankle hold. Kong pushes Chihiro to the mat and rolls her out of the ring, Kong goes out after her and throws her into the crowd. Kong hits Chihiro repeatedly with chairs while beating her around the floor before finally bringing her back into the ring, lariat by Kong and she covers Chihiro for two. Kong picks up Chihiro and drops her with a backdrop suplex, cover by Kong but Chihiro gets a shoulder up. Body slam by Chihiro and she hits a pair of somersault sentons for a two count. Chihiro picks up Kong but Kong knees her off, Chihiro goes for lariats but Kong doesn’t go down. Kong rams Chihiro into the corner and hits a back bodydrop, Kong gets on the second turnbuckle but Chihiro recovers and powerbombs her to the mat.

Cover by Chihiro, but Kong gets a shoulder up. Chihiro picks up Kong and charges her, but Kong moves and Chihiro falls out of the ring. Kong goes out after her but Chihiro picks her up and hits a waterwheel drop on the floor. Chihiro and Kong return to the ring, Chihiro slams Kong and hits another waterwheel drop, but Kong barely kicks out of the cover. Kong drops down and kicks Chihiro in the head, Kong hits Chihiro with a paint can before delivering a brainbuster. Kong picks up Chihiro and hits a German suplex, but Chihiro returns to her feet and nails a spear. They both slowly get up, Kong applies an ankle hold but Chihiro gets to the ropes. Chihiro picks up Kong but she drops her, Uraken by Kong but Chihiro rolls her up when Kong goes for a cover. Waterwheel Drop by Chihiro, she goes for a German suplex but Kong blocks it and hits a Uraken, picking up the three count! Aja Kong is the new champion!

I don’t know if this felt like a big championship match but it was still pretty fun. The match was a bit slow paced, with two different ‘brawling outside the ring’ segments which there wasn’t really time for. Add in the long ankle hold that had no meaning, and there was a bit more time killing than I’d prefer in a 15 minute match. That being said, the rest of the action was top notch, as Kong threw around Chihiro like she was a child but Chihiro did enough to show she wasn’t a push-over. In fact, since she never hit the move she used to beat Satomura (German Suplex), she still has a ‘move in the hole’ if needed at a later date that Kong has never kicked out of. I liked Chihiro’s fire and Kong’s suplexes which took it up a notch, but still a bit lacking for a championship match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 1/9/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Almost every promotion has their “WrestleMania” level show, and this is that show for Sendai Girls’. With Stardom falling off from their heyday in 2013, it is Sendai Girls’ that has the most attended event of the year with over 2,000 fans piling into the Sendai Sun Plaza for Sendai Girls’ Anniversary Show. This is a big event for a few reasons, as new Tag Team Champions will be crowned and the rookie Chihiro Hashimoto challenges Meiko Satomura for the Sendai Girls’ World Championship! Here is the full card:

• Mika Shirahime (formally Mika Iwata) vs. Yako Fujigasaki
• Eiger and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Rydeen Hagane and Dynamite Kansai
• Ayako Hamada, Mika Shirahime, and Mio Momono vs. Alex Lee, Hana Kimura, and Kyoko Kimura
• Aja Kong and Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Ryo Mizunami
• Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Hikaru Shida and Syuri
• Sendai Girls World Championship: Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

I really wanted to wait and review this once the DVD comes out, as thus far it has only been released via the two hour show on Samurai TV! so it is clipped. Once I get the DVD, I will update this review as a show like this you want to see all of, not just a cut up version. But the main two matches will be shown in full so its still worth watching now.

Mika Shirahime vs. Yako Fujigasaki

They tie-up to start, kicks by Shirahime and she hits a triple jump armdrag out of the corner. More kicks by Shirahime but Fujigasaki avoids a dropkick and hits a hip attack for two. Camel clutch by Fujigasaki, she picks up Shirahime but Shirahime slides away and hits an enzuigiri. Shirahime goes up top and hits a diving body press, but it only gets a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Shirahime but that gets a two as well, Fujigasaki pushes Shirahime away and dropkicks her in the back. Fujigasaki works over Shirahime on the mat before hitting another hip attack, Fujigasaki goes up top and hits a second rope diving body press for two. Fujigasaki goes up top again and delivers the swivel diving press, picking up the three count! Fujigasaki wins the match.

A good bit of this was clipped but it proves my point about the name change – it just doesn’t feel like the right time. Shirahime can’t even beat a young wrestler from another promotion, she is so far down the totem pole she is underground. Which isn’t really a big deal just one year into her career, but it feels like she should have waited to re-invent herself. Anyway this was too clipped to get a feel for, it just established that Mika still has a ways to go.

Eiger and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Rydeen Hagane and Dynamite Kansai

We join the match with Eiger and Kansai having a creepy handshake, Hagane comes in but she is not willing to engage with Eiger so Kansai returns. Eiger goes off the ropes and tries to shoulderblock Kansai but has no luck, Eiger gets Kansai’s back and zombie walks behind her, but Kansai isn’t effected by her mind games. Claw Hold by Kansai and she pushes Eiger out of the ring, she returns and Kansai kicks Eiger in the back. Eiger spits dust into Kansai’s face which blinds her, Matsumoto runs in but Eiger accidentally spits dust into her face as well. Matsumoto is blinded and accidentally suplexes Eiger, Kansai then hits a lariat on both of them. Green Fall by Kansai on Eiger, and she picks up the three count! Kansai and Hagane are the winners.

About ten minutes of this match wasn’t shown, and pretty much all they did show was Kansai and Eiger’s interactions. This match may have had some ‘real’ action but we wouldn’t know it. Eiger can be amusing gimmick but even for Eiger fans not enough was shown to get excited about.

Ayako Hamada, Shirahime, and Momono vs. Alex Lee, Hana Kimura, and Kyoko Kimura

We join the match in progress with Kyoko toying with Shirahime, hard elbow by Kyoko but Shirahime delivers a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Hamada. Kicks by Hamada to Kyoko, Lee comes in to help but Hamada kicks her as well. Springboard armdrag/headscissors combination by Hamada, double dropkick by Hamada and she elbows Kyoko against the ropes. Hamada charges Kyoko but Kyoko hits a big boot before putting Hamada in a stretch hold. Kyoko tags in Hana as she was begging for the tag, double knee by Hana and she dropkicks Hamada to the mat. Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana goes for a suplex but Hamada blocks it and the two trade elbows. Hamada gets the better of that battle at first but Hana fires back, she goes for a suplex and this time she hits it for two. Sleeper by Hana but Hamada quickly throws her off, Kyoko comes in but she gets double teamed in the corner by Hamada and Momono. Backdrop suplex by Hamada and Shirahime hits a diving bodypress for two. Northern Lights Suplex by Shirahime to Kyoko, but the cover is broken up. Kyoko drops Shirahime to the mat while DDTing Hamada at the same time, Lee comes in but she kicks Kyoko by accident. Hamada comes in but heel kicks Shirahime by mistake, suplex by Kyoko to Shirahime but Shirahime bridges out of the pin. Lee goes up top and hits a diving footstomp onto Shirahime, Kyoko puts Shirahime in a modified camel clutch and Shirahime submits! Lee and Double Kimura win!

What does it say about Shirahime that she is tagging with a younger rookie from another promotion but she still is the one that gets pinned? Maybe they are doing the “losing streak to build character” thing with her but a year ago she was being competitive with Kairi Hojo so it seems like a big step down for her. I absolutely love Double Kimura and it is great to see a young wrestler doing so well, Hamada showed Hana a lot of respect and its always nice to see the next generation improve as much as Hana has. Ten minutes was cut so I can’t recommend a match with so much missing, but some solid action here as the better wrestlers controlled the action in what was shown.

Aja Kong and Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Ryo Mizunami

Miyagi and Nagahama kick things off, Miyagi confuses the youngster with some headbanging before kicking her in the stomach. Nagahama kicks her back and hits a few elbows, dropkick by Nagahama and she hits two more for a two count cover. Miyagi throws down Nagahama by the hair and tags Kong, elbows by Nagahama but they have no impact on Kong, double chop to the chest by Kong and she hits an elbow drop. Kong beats Nagahama for a few minutes as Kong is on too high of a level for Nagahama, she tags Miyagi back in and Miyagi stretches Nagahama in the ropes. Dropkick by Miyagi and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Nagahama dropkicks Miyagi and makes the hot tag to Mizunami, spear by Mizunami to Miyagi but Kong blocks it when she goes for one on her as well. Mizunami back bodydrops Kong before slamming Miyagi on top of Kong, elbow by Mizunami in the corner to Miyagi which she follows with a lariat. Kong is tagged in, lariat by Kong and she hits a backdrop suplex on Mizunami for two. Kong gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagahama grabs her from the apron, Mizunami recovers and suplexes Kong back into the ring. Spear by Mizunami, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving leg drop, but Miyagi breaks up the cover.

Nagahama kicks Miyagi out of the ring, Mizunami picks up Kong but Kong knees her off. Slap by Kong but Mizunami elbows her and both wrestlers fall to the mat. Nagahama and Miyagi are both tagged in, Miyagi elbows Nagahama into the corner and hits a face crusher. Missile dropkick by Miyagi, she goes back up top but Mizunami hits her from the apron. Nagahama tosses Miyagi off the turnbuckle and hits a dropkick, crossbody by Nagahama and she gets a two count. Miyagi blocks the suplex attempt but Mizunami runs in and lariats her, Northern Lights Suplex by Nagahama but it gets two. Nagahama goes off the ropes but Kong kicks her, scoop slam by Miyagi but Mizunami comes in to help Nagahama. Kong runs in and lariats both of them, Kong picks up Nagahama and slams her in position for Miyagi’s slingshot somersault legdrop. Nagahama comes back with a few flash pins, but Kong breaks it up. Kong hits Mizunami with her paint can while Miyagi picks up Nagahama, but Nagahama slides off and applies the Cassandra for two. Nagahama goes off the ropes but Miyagi boots her in the face, backdrop suplex by Miyagi but Mizunami breaks up the cover. Steel Ball Run by Miyagi, and she picks up the three count! Kong and Miyagi are your winners.

I enjoyed this match, I liked the dynamic that both teams showed and it was very fast paced. Nagahama having no luck against Kong was logical but Mizunami had more success, so it wasn’t a situation of Kong just not being in the mood like she has sometimes done in the past. Miyagi I am happy to report is improving in-ring, she always had the personality to be successful but I think her wrestling is starting to catch up. A fun mid-card tag match.  Mildly Recommended

DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Hikaru Shida and Syuri
Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship

Chisako and KAORU attack before the bell rings, isolating Shida for a double beatdown. Chisako stays in with Shida and hits a dropkick, KAORU returns and Shida is double teamed some more in the ropes. Shida recovers and trades elbows with Chisako, Chisako knocks Shida to her knees and dropkicks her, but Syuri trips Chisako from the floor. Knee lift by Shida and Syuri continues lending a hand, Shida drags Chisako back in the ring and makes the tag to Syuri. Kicks to the chest by Syuri and she kicks Chisako in the back, Syuri applies a cross armbreaker before going for a seated armbar, but Chisako gets into the ropes. Chisako knees Syuri and hits a quick footstomp, she tags in KAORU and KAORU hits a backdrop suplex. KAORU puts Syuri in a surfboard, she lets her go after a moment and applies a crab hold, but Syuri gets in the ropes. Syuri boots KAORU when she charges in and hits a spinning headscissors, kick by Syuri and she tags in Shida. Hip Attack by Shida but KAORU boots her in the face and gets her wooden board, she hits Shida with it a few times before hitting a suplex onto the board. The referee isn’t interested in counting the cover due to the weapon usage, KAORU tries to drop the board onto Shida but Shida rolls out of the way.

Shida slams KAORU in front of the corner and gets her kendo stick, she drops it onto KAORU but KAORU catches it. Boot by KAORU, Chisako comes in but Shida puts her in the corner and then suplexes KAORU onto Chisako. Shida tags Syuri, knees by Syuri to KAORU and she hits a jumping knee followed by a double underhook suplex for two. Cross armbreaker by Syuri but KAORU gets a foot on the ropes to get a break. Syuri picks up KAORU but KAORU applies a sleeper, Syuri breaks out of it but KAORU boots her twice in the face. Delayed brainbuster by KAORU, she picks up Syuri but Syuri hits a Backstabber. PK by Syuri, but KAORU bridges out of the pin and rolls up Syuri for two. KAORU tags Chisako, Chisako dropkicks Syuri in the knee and then in the face, KAORU returns and Syuri is double teamed. Chisako picks up Syuri and they trade elbows, jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Syuri tags Shida, Chisako ducks Shida’s knee so Shida knees her in the back of the head instead. Syuri comes in and they take turns striking Chisako, cover by Shida but KAORU breaks it up. Chisako gets away and throws Shida into Syuri, she goes up top but Shida joins her. KAORU comes in and suplexes Shida from behind, Shida gets tosses her kendo stick and she throws it at Chisako. Shida goes outside the ring and hits Chisako with the kendo stick some more while KAORU and Syuri battle over KAORU’s wooden board.

The referee is accidentally knocked out while all four battle at ringside, Chisako and Shida get back in the ring but Syuri joins them as all four have their weapons. The referee recovers and takes Shida’s kendo stick, allowing Chisako to hit a missile dropkick for two. KAORU boots Shida in the corner, dropkick by Chisako and Shida is dropped with a double front suplex. Chisako goes up top and nails the diving footstomp, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Chisako and KAORU go up to opposite corners, but Syuri and Shida avoid both of their dives. Shida hits Chisako with two straight running knees, but she is too hurt to capitalize. They both slowly recover and trade elbows, jumping knee by Shida but Chisako quickly kicks out. Backbreaker by Shida and she nails the Three Count, cover by Shida but it gets two. Falcon Arrow by Shida, Syuri comes in and they hit a double running knee on Chisako. Shida picks up Chisako and hits an enzuigiri, she goes off the ropes but KAORU knees her from the apron. Schoolboy by Chisako, but Syuri breaks it up. Syuri goes for a high kick on Chisako but hits Shida by accident, hurricanrana by Chisako but it gets a two count. Chisako grabs Shida and quickly applies the Spring Round, and she picks up the three count! Chisako and KAORU are the new champions!

Well this was certainly action packed. First, I liked that the ‘weapons’ section was short, you knew it was coming but it was confined to just a few quick parts and beyond that it was a more regular wrestling match. Shida and Syuri are two of my favorites, which is well documented, and both looked great here with their strikes. KAORU was a bit out of place at times, both literally and figuratively, she is still a solid wrestler but seemed a step behind a few times. Chisako having to ‘overcome’ at the end worked, since she is a Sendai Girls’ wrestler and she needed that redemption since she never lost her tag title in the first place. Really good match, maybe a bit long but entertaining throughout.  Recommended

(c) Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

Satomura and Hashimoto quickly go to the mat and jockey for position, but neither can get the clear advantage. Satomura goes for Hashimoto’s arm and applies a keylock, they return to their feet and Satomura hits a snap vertical suplex. Armbar by Satomura and she applies a cross armbreaker, but Hashimoto gets a toe on the ropes to force a break. Kicks to the chest by Hashimoto but Hashimoto picks up Satomura and slams her to the mat. Armtrap Headlock by Hashimoto, she picks up Satomura and drives her back into the corner. Shoulder tackles by Hashimoto but Satomura takes back over and elbows Hashimoto before hitting a backdrop suplex. Headlock by Satomura but Hashimoto reverses it, Cobra Twist by Satomura and she uppercuts Hashimoto against the ropes. Satomura charges Hashimoto but Hashimoto hits a body avalanche followed by a judo throw, she goes for Satomura’s arm but Satomura slides away. Headlock by Satomura but Hashimoto gets a foot on the ropes, uppercuts by Satomura but Hashimoto ducks the heel kick and hits a spear. Hip attacks by Hashimoto and she hits a pair of somersault sentons, but Satomura grabs her and applies a crucifix submission. Hashimoto reaches the ropes to get the break, kicks to the chest by Satomura and she drills Hashimoto in the head, sending the rookie out of the ring. She returns after a moment and elbows Satomura, but Satomura elbows her back and they trade strikes.

DDT by Satomura and she goes up top, but Hashimoto rolls out to the apron and joins Satomura. Satomura slides back into the ring and hits a Pele Kick, high kick by Satomura and she kicks Hashimoto some more in the corner. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, but Hashimoto kicks out at two. Satomura picks up Hashimoto but Hashimoto fires off a lariat, Hashimoto gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton for a two count. Satomura elbows Hashimoto and applies a sleeper, but Hashimoto quickly gets out of it. Hashimoto goes for a tackle but Satomura blocks it, heel kick by Satomura and both wrestlers are hurt on the mat. Satomura is up first and goes for a kick, but Hashimoto catches it and hits a lariat. Release German suplex by Hashimoto, she picks up Satomura and hits a powerbomb. The referee is particularly concerned with Satomura and stops Hashimoto from doing her next move, Satomura manages to get back up and Hashimoto hits a lariat. Hashimoto picks up Satomura but Satomura delivers a pair of high kicks, Hashimoto comes back with a spear before hitting the Waterwheel Drop for two. Lariats by Hashimoto but Satomura ducks one and hits a Pele Kick. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, but Hashimoto gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kick to the head by Satomura and she puts Hashimoto in a sleeper, but Hashimoto inches to the ropes to force a break. Cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, she picks up Hashimoto but Hashimoto blocks the Death Valley Bomb and hits a release German. Satomura jumps to her feet but Hashimoto hits a German Suplex Hold, and Hashimoto gets the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is the new champion!

There are different ways I could go with a match like this, but first I will say that I was surprised by the result. Sendai Girls’ is a smaller promotion and the Sendai Girls’ Championship is a new belt, but it is unusual in any promotion in the world for a rookie to hold a promotion’s highest ranking title. I can understand what they are going for, Satomura doesn’t need a title at this stage of her career and Hashimoto has shown a lot of promise, but its still a gutsy move to give a title to a wrestler as the first win of any note in their career. As for the match itself, it was pretty basic for the first part, the ground game is what Hashimoto does well so that was the bulk of what they did the first five minutes. Business picked up from there, the action was really crisp and Satomura led Hashimoto well and the whole match was very fluid. Even though it wasn’t a short match, the ending seemed a bit sudden as its rare to get a pin right after a ‘fighting spirit’ spot, it caught the crowd by surprise as well. Overall it was a very good match, perhaps a historic match, and probably about as good as it could have been even though it was far from a must-see classic.  Recommended

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