At the last televised event for Stardom, the “World” team defeated the Stardom team in the main event which led to another skirmish here today at Korakuen Hall. Multiple titles are on the line for this big event, including all three of Stardom’s singles titles. Here is the complete card:

• Azumi, Haruka Kato, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maki Natsumi, Saori Anou, and Starlight Kid
• Chelsea Green vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Cat Power vs. Momo Watanabe
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Kellie Skater
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaitlin Diamond
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Viper

Some of these matches will be really clipped as eight matches is a ridiculous amount for a two hour televised show, but the main matches will likely all be shown in full or really close to it. Let’s get started.

Azumi, Haruka Kato, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maki Natsumi, Saori Anou, and Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid kick things off, they bounce off the ropes a bunch and both go for dropkicks with no luck. Azumi dropkicks Starlight Kid from behind so she tags in Natsumi, Natsumi works the arm of Azumi, but Azumi reverses it. Yoneyama and Kato come into the ring and triple team Natsumi, Yoneyama stays in the ring but Natsumi flips her to the mat. Spinning headscissors by Natsumi and she tags in Starlight Kid, she tosses Yoneyama to the mat before tagging in Anou. Anou tries the same but Yoneyama blocks it, Anou gets Yoneyama to the mat and applies a bridging leg lock while Starlight Kid and Natsumi pose nearby. Kato and Azumi run in to help, we clip ahead in the match to Starlight Kid dropkicking Yoneyama. La Magistral by Azumi to Starlight Kid, she kicks out, but Azumi quickly applies a rolling foot cradle for the three count! Azumi, Kato, and Yoneyama win the match.

They actually showed a bit more of this match than I was expecting, but still not a lot was shown. It was fun seeing the Actress girl’Z wrestlers though, always enjoyable to see some new younger wrestlers. Not enough substance here to get a good feel of the match but what they showed was fine.

Chelsea Green vs. Hiromi Mimura

Mimura attacks Green with elbows but Green withstands them and takes her to the mat. Mimura stomps on Green’s foot and jumps on her back to apply a sleeper, but Green flings her off. Mimura tries a few quick pins with no luck, knee by Green and she stomps Mimura in the chest. Jumping double footstomp by Green and she covers Mimura for three! Chelsea Green wins!

Not a whole lot to this, it was a short match that was clipped even further. Mimura never had any chance of winning as her flash pins weren’t having any luck, and Green won the match really easily (or they clipped the build-up). The finish didn’t look great and overall it was pretty lackluster.

Cat Power vs. Momo Watanabe

Cat Power looks really different, I am just assuming it is her since that is what the match listing says. Watanabe tries working on Cat Power’s arm but Cat Power shrugs it off, Watanabe goes for a dropkick but Cat Power swats it away. Cat Power stomps on Watanabe’s head and hits a lariat, she puts Watanabe in a Texas Cloverleaf but Watanabe gets to the ropes. Anaconda Buster by Cat Power, she picks up Watanabe and hits a lariat in the corner. Cat Power throws Watanabe in the corner but Watanabe jumps up in the corner and hits a missile dropkick. Somato by Watanabe, but Cat Power kicks out of the cover. Knee by Cat Power and she throws Watanabe hard into the corner. Hurricane Driver by Cat Power, and she picks up the three count! Cat Power is your winner.

Like the last few (and probably the next few) this was a basic match, it only went six minutes but was clipped down further than that. If Watanabe has a new attitude she didn’t get a chance to display it here as Cat Power was simply too much for her. Cat Power being on a Stardom show surprised me as normally she Freelancers elsewhere, it will be interesting to see if this leads to a longer stay or they just needed a Gaijin to beat a young Stardom wrestler. I thought Cat Power looked impressive here but too small a sample size to get excited about.

Jungle Kyouna vs. Kellie Skater

We join this one in progress as Kyouna throws Skater into the corner before hitting a face crusher. Camel clutch by Kyouna but Skater gets out of it and applies an ankle hold. Skater stomps on Kyouna and kicks her repeatedly, knee by Skater in the corner and she covers Kyouna for two. Kyouna blocks a slam and hits a back bodydrop, powerslam by Kyouna but it gets two. Kyouna goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Skater kicks out again. Kyouna goes all the way up this time but this time Skater is up and tosses her to the mat. Leg drop by Skater, she picks up Kyouna and nails a kick to the head. Skater picks up Kyouna but Kyouna pushes her off and hits a lariat. Kyouna goes off the ropes but Skater connects with a superkick, Cross Arm Russian Leg Sweep by Skater and she gets the three count! Kellie Skater is the winner.

Kyouna did get in a bit of offense here or there but it still never reached the point that it felt like she may win. Skater looked good as she always does, but the match was a bit clipped so it was a bit disjointed. I did like Kyouna hitting some of her moves, this was certainly not a squash as she got in quite a bit of offense, but Skater was always ready to kick her in the head when needed. The best match of the card so far and above average overall, but due to its length not something worth going out of your way to see.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaitlin Diamond

They start with a test of strength, Matsumoto gets the better of it and she shoulderblocks Diamond to the mat. Diamond comes back with a choke but Matsumoto elbows her and tosses her in the corner. Diamond throws the referee at Matsumoto and chokes her with a shirt, side Russian leg sweep by Diamond and Act helps her choke Matsumoto in the ropes. Matsumoto snaps Diamond’s neck on the to rope, Act pours sake on her but Matsumoto spits the sake back at Act. Matsumoto gets Diamond up in the Argentine Backbreaker before slamming her to the mat, cover by Matsumoto but it gets two. Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle but Diamond gets her knees up on the Reverse Splash attempt. Diamond picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto elbows her off and hits a release German suplex. Diamond blocks the lariat and hits a side slam, she picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto gets away and hits an elbow. Matsumoto gets Diamond up and powerbombs her into the corner, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins!

Clipping hurt this match too as the middle portion was missing, which is a shame as it looked it like had potential. Matsumoto is a solid veteran that very rarely has bad matches, and everything that we saw looked tight, especially the backdrop suplex at the end. Plus it is always a pleasure to see Act Yasukawa. I can’t with a clear conscious recommend a match that only six minutes was shown of but nothing bad here.

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie

After starting with wristlocks and rope running with neither getting the upper hand, they go back and forth until Evie flips Iwatani out to the apron and Iwatani does a split legged armdrag to return to the ring. Dropkick by Iwatani but Evie connects with a couple kicks and applies a stretch hold. Iwatani gets to the ropes but Evie slaps on a crab hold, Evie picks up Iwatani and Iwatani goes for a springboard move, but Evie kicks her in the head to block it. Evie gets on the apron and knees Iwatani in the head until Iwatani also falls onto the apron. Evie picks up Iwatani and slams her on the apron, sending Iwatani down to the floor. Evie slides Iwatani back into the ring and throws her into the corner, she sets up Iwatani across the ropes and hits a series of kicks before slamming Iwatani onto her knee for a two count. Evie charges Iwatani but Iwatani avoids the big boot and hits a high kick followed by a diving footstomp to the back.

Iwatani picks up Evie, Evie gets away but Iwatani still hits a Northern Lights Suplex. Iwatani goes off the ropes but Evie hits a side slam onto her knee, Evie goes up top but Iwatani recovers and joins her. Iwatani suplexes Evie back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. Iwatani goes up top herself and delivers the diving footstomp, she picks up Evie but Evie blocks the dragon suplex. High kick by Evie and she hits a trio of big boots in the corner, cover by Evie but Iwatani gets a shoulder up. Evie picks up Iwatani but Iwatani slides away and sneaks in a sunset flip for two. They both miss high kicks but Iwatani connects with one and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Superkick by Iwatani and she hits two more as Evie is on her knee. Buzzsaw Kick by Iwatani, she picks up Evie and nails the dragon suplex hold for a three count! Iwatani retains her High Speed Championship.

This was a condensed but very entertaining match. It was brutal (in a good way) without going over the top with it, there were some really stiff strikes from both but it never went into excess to make the viewer start to squirm. There was really no downtime here, it was just a fierce sprint, and Evie was really impressive as she held her own against Iwatani from start to finish. I wish it was a bit longer as they had great chemistry, a really fun back and forth match that is definitely worth a watch.  Highly Recommended

(c) Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo

Hojo wastes no time as she attacks Garrett from behind, elbows by Hojo but Garrett elbows her back. We jump ahead just a little bit as Garrett goes for a sunset flip, but Hojo kicks out. Big spear by Hojo, Garrett falls out of the ring and Hojo hits a jumping forearm off the apron. Back in the ring Hojo jumps down on Garrett’s back, she goes up top and hits a diving forearm smash for a two count cover. Chops by Hojo in the corner and she heel drops Garrett in the back for another two. Stretch hold by Hojo and she throws Garrett in the corner, she goes for a forearm but Garrett slides to the apron and rams Hojo into the turnbuckles. Diving armdrag by Garrett and she hits a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett and she thrust kicks Hojo out of the ring to the floor. Garrett goes off the ropes and dives out onto Hojo and others with a big tope suicida! Garrett boots Hojo after sliding her into the ring and applies an armbar over the second rope before finally returning to the ring herself. Garrett rolls onto Hojo and applies a stretch hold, Garrett releases he hold after a moment but stomping Hojo into the mat.

Garrett kicks Hojo in the arm but Hojo fights back with elbows, Hojo trips Garrett and she puts her in a crab hold, but Garrett makes it to the ropes. Hojo drags her to the middle of the ring but Garrett quickly rolls her up for a two count. Garrett snaps Hojo’s arm and hits a snap suplex, she goes for the Shining Star Press but Hojo rolls out of the way. Back up they go back and forth with elbows until Hojo hits a modified Final Cut. Hojo goes up top but Garrett recovers and goes for a headscissors. Hojo blocks that however, she knocks Garrett so she is hanging from the top rope before hitting a jumping double footstomp to her chest. Cover by Hojo, but Garrett gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes off the ropes and dropkicks Garrett in the back, Sliding D by Hojo but again Garrett kicks out. Hojo puts Garrett in the cross legged crab hold but releases it after a moment, she goes up top and she delivers a diving elbow drop to Garrett’s back. She goes up top again after turning Garrett over, but this time Garrett rolls out of the way. Hojo goes for a spinning back chop but Garrett ducks it and kicks Hojo in the head. Shining Star Press by Garrett, but Hojo barely kicks out before the three count. Garrett kicks Hojo, she gets Hojo in a sunset flip and applies a rolling cradle into a three count cover! Garrett wins the match and retains the Wonder of Stardom Championship.

A solid match with great effort shown by both. They weren’t as fluid as many Stardom pairings as Garrett doesn’t wrestle in Stardom as much, but they stayed focused on what their target areas were and there weren’t any noticeable miscues. It is interesting that both title matches Garrett has had in Stardom she has won with a roll-up or a cradle of sorts, not a bad thing but does give the impressive her normal ‘finishing’ moves aren’t effective against the top tier in Stardom. Poor Hojo, she put up a fight here and got everything in until missing the second diving elbow drop and it was over for her. I am not sure how much longer her losing streak will continue but the crowd is still behind her so no harm done yet. A step down from the last match but still quite good.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Viper

Viper won’t shake Shirai’s hand before the match, once the match starts she tosses Shirai into the ropes before flinging her to the mat. Body press by Viper and Shirai rolls out of the ring to try to recover. She rolls back in and goes for a suplex, but Viper blocks it, Viper chases Shirai around the ring but Shirai moves and hits a drop toehold. Dropkick by Shirai, Viper falls out of the ring but she catches Shirai when she goes for an Asai Moonsault. Viper throws Shirai into the ring post, she takes Shirai up into the bleachers and puts her in a backbreaker. Viper brings Shirai back to the ringside and throws her into the ring post before sliding Shirai in the ring.  Viper, Diamond, and Yasukawa all attack Shirai on the apron, Viper picks up Shirai but Shirai cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Shirai charges Viper but Viper hits a crossbody followed by a senton for a two count. Viper charges Shirai in the corner but Shirai slides out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick. Shirai goes for a sunset flip, Viper blocks it but Shirai slides away and hits another dropkick for two. Somato by Shirai and she puts Viper in an armtrap crossface, but Viper gets to the ropes.

Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive missile dropkick, she picks up Viper but Viper blocks the German suplex hold. Shirai goes for a backdrop suplex but Viper lands on top of her, she goes off the ropes and hits a bodypress for a two count cover. Viper charges Shirai but Shirai hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Buzzsaw Kick by Shirai, they slowly get up as they trade elbows, a battle which Viper easily wins. Michinoku Driver by Viper, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Shirai is up and hits a palm strike. Shirai joins Viper up top and hits a Frankensteiner, and Viper rolls out of the ring. Shirai sails out of the ring with a moonsault off the top turnbuckle, she slides Viper back in and delivers the Ryder Kick, but Viper doesn’t go down. Shirai elbows Viper and she slaps her repeatedly, Shirai goes up top but Viper grabs her from behind. Shirai slides away and kicks Viper, but Viper hits a big lariat. Viper picks up Shirai and hits an electric chair slam, cover by Viper but Shirai gets a shoulder up. Viper gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the Reverse Splash, but Shirai gets an arm in the ropes. Viper goes all the way up top but Shirai avoids the body press, uppercut by Shirai and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Shirai goes up top and hits a moonsault to Viper’s back, she goes up top again and hits another moonsault for the three count cover! Shirai wins and is still the World of Stardom Champion.

I liked this match more than I thought I would based on their past interactions, Viper has seemed solid in Stardom but I had not seen her in a longer singles match yet. Those fears were unnecessary as nothing lagged here and everything flowed well. This was pretty brutal as Viper was bleeding from the nose from Lord knows what, I didn’t re-watch it to find out but any of the hard strikes could have done it. It was what you’d expect along the smaller faster wrestler vs. bigger stronger wrestler theme, and even the moonsaults at the end were rougher than usual as Shirai landed both times with her knees onto Viper. A really solid defense by Shirai, the outside the ring action probably wasn’t needed and Shirai’s comebacks can be head tilting sometimes but overall I really enjoyed it.  Recommended

The post Stardom vs. World Selection #2 on February 21, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is JWP time! JWP is not nearly as big as it was back in the heyday of Joshi but it is still plugging along and has some quality wrestlers. This event starts their annual Tag League The Best Tournament, a single elimination tournament this year that has been a tradition in Joshi for decades. Off and on. Anyway here is the full card (wrestlers with profiles on this site are clickable if you need more information on the wrestler):

• Cat Power and Yako Fujigasaki vs. Kagetsu and Sawako Shimono
• JWP Tag League The Best Round 1: Akane Fujita and Leon vs. Konami and Syuri
• JWP Tag League The Best Round 1: KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Meiko Tanaka and Sareee
• Command Bolshoi and Makoto vs. Kyoko Kimura and Hanako Nakamori
• Arisa Nakajima vs. Rabbit Miu

All the matches got time so let’s see if any delivered.

Cat Power and Yako Fujigasaki vs. Kagetsu and Sawako Shimono

Kagetsu and Fujigasaki start off but Cat Power quickly comes in and Kagetsu is double teamed. Shimono joins her partner and they get the upper hand temporarily, but it doesn’t last long. Fujigasaki is double teamed again, Kagetsu kicks her in the back and tags in Shimono. Shimono puts Fujigasaki in a surfboard before tagging Kagetsu back in, scoop slam by Kagetsu and she covers Fujigasaki for two. Shimono comes back in as Fujigasaki is double teamed again while Cat Power watches from the apron, but she finally hits Kagetsu and Fujigasaki hits a missile dropkick for a two count. She tags in Cat Power as Shimono comes in too, but Cat Power lariats both of them. Lariat by Cat Power on Kagetsu, she picks up Kagetsu and hits a scoop slam. Elbow drop by Cat Power but Kagetsu fires back with a spear. She tags Shimono, lariat by Shimono in the corner but she can’t knock over Cat Power with shoulderblocks. She finally sends her to the mat but Cat Power slides away from her and applies a sleeper.

Shimono gets out of it but Cat Power kicks her in the chest. Superman Punch by Cat Power and she tags in Fujigasaki. Missile dropkick by Fujigasaki and she hits another one, covering Shimono for two. Shimono knees Fujigasaki but Fujigasaki hits a hard elbow followed by a double wrist suplex for a two count. Cat Power comes in and slams Shimono, diving body press by Fujigasaki but it gets a two count. Shimono is sent off the ropes but Kagetsu comes in with a double swandive missile dropkick on both opponents. Shimono and Kagetsu both elbow Fujigasaki, Samoan Drop by Shimono but it gets two. Cat Power tries to help but she lariats Fujigasaki by mistake, lariat by Shimono to Fujigasaki and she gets a two count cover. Fujigasaki sneaks in a backslide and a wing clutch hold cover, but neither can keep Shimono down. Fujigasaki goes off the ropes but Shimono catches her with a lariat, Kagetsu kicks Fujigasaki in the head and Shimono drops her with a Ebisu Drop for the three count! Kagetsu and Shimono win!

It is nice when promotions don’t have short meaningless openers but get straight to it with a well-structured match that gets a decent amount of time. This won’t rock anyone’s world but it was perfectly watchable and never slowed down throughout. Kagetsu was the standout here, which is no surprise, but no one really lagged behind even if not all of it was perfectly fluid. A straightforward and decent opener.

Akane Fujita and Leon vs. Konami and Syuri

Fujita and Konami are the first two in and start politely, but Syuri kicks Fujita from the apron and helps Konami kick Fujita around the ring. Fujita shoulderblocks Syuri as Leon comes in, and they both hit somersault sentons on Konami. Fujita tags Leon, Leon stomps Konami and applies a stretch hold on the mat.  Konami gets out of it and tags Syuri, Syuri grapples with Leon, scoop slam by Leon and she tags Fujita. Syuri quickly hits a Backstabber and tags Konami, kicks by Konami and she hits a PK for a two count cover. Fujita blocks a suplex and slams Konami, but Konami jumps on her back with a sleeper. Schoolboy by Konami, but Fujita kicks out.Elbow by Konami but Fujita catches her with a suplex and tags Leon. Running shoulder tackle by Leon in the corner, Konami comes back with kicks but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Leon but Syuri breaks it up, Konami gets Leon down and goes for the armbreaker but Leon blocks it. Leon tries to powerbomb out of the hold but Syuri pushes her over to help Konami lock it in, which Fujita quickly breaks up. Konami tags Syuri and Syuri kicks Leon repeatedly in the chest before hitting a jumping knee.

Single arm suplex by Syuri and she goes for a cross breaker, but Leon scoots to the ropes to force a break. Syuri goes to kick Leon but Leon moves, Fujita comes in and helps Leon hit a missile dropkick for two. Knee by Syuri but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Leon goes up top and nails a Frog Splash, but Konami breaks up the cover. Knees by Leon but Syuri blocks the Capture Buster and hits a jumping knee. Leon falls in her corner and tags Fujita, shoulderblocks by Fujita  and she hits a powerslam. Chop to the chest by Fujita and she applies a crab hold while Leon does the same to Konami but Syuri gets to the ropes. Syuri and Fujita trade elbows, running knee by Syuri but Fujita barely kicks out. Knee by Syuri to Fujita and she kicks her with Konami, but the cover gets two again. German suplex by Syuri, she goes for another one but Leon runs in with a spear. Michinoku Driver by Fujita, but she gets a two count. Fujita goes off the ropes but Syuri catches her with a high kick, Leon comes in but she gets one too. Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri, and she gets the three count! Syuri and Konami win the match and move on in the tournament.

This was fun, I liked it. The “good” about this match is the general presence of Syuri and just how smooth and snug she is with everything, she elevates just about any match she is in, but everyone here held their own. There was constantly something going on, moves were either being reversed or teammates were running in, which kept he pace at almost a fever pitch at times. That worked to the match’s detriment as well as there wasn’t a lot of structure, a lot of the time it was just random move after random move. Still an enjoyable watch though.  Mildly Recommended

KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Meiko Tanaka and Sareee

We start with Tanaka and Hagane, and Hagane promptly starts tossing Tanaka around the ring. Sareee kicks Hagane from the apron to help and Hagane is double teamed until KAZUKI makes the save. KAZUKI and Hagane take turns dropping knees on Tanaka, KAZUKI stays in as legal and puts Tanaka in a crab hold. Tanaka reaches the ropes, backdrop suplex by KAZUKI and she applies a bodyscissors. Tanaka bites KAZUKI’s foot to get out of it and tags Sareee, but KAZUKI elbows Sareee hard to the mat. She tags Hagane but Sareee slips away and applies a grounded front necklock. Hagane helps KAZUKI out of the situation but Tanaka comes in and KAZUKI is double teamed. Sareee sneaks in a roll-up for two, kick by Sareee but KAZUKI connects with a few knees before dropping Sareee with a double underhook lift into a gutbuster. She tags Hagane, Hagane picks up Sareee and delivers a military press slam for two. Sareee slides away from Hagane and hits a roll-up into a footstomp, but Hagane slams her again to the mat. Dropkick by Sareee and she connects with a second one, German suplex by Sareee and she tags Tanaka.

Tanaka tries to knock over Hagane with no luck, Hagane shoulderblocks Tanaka to the mat but Tanaka applies a sleeper. Lariats by Hagane in the corner and she hits a Reverse Splash, but Tanaka barely gets a shoulder up. Drop toehold by Tanaka, Sareee runs in and they both dropkick Hagane. Both then hit missile dropkicks, spear by Tanaka and Sareee goes up top to hit an assisted somersault senton. Tanaka goes up and they do the same thing, cover by Tanaka but KAZUKI barely breaks it up. Hagane fights back with a lariat on Tanaka and tags KAZUKI, but Tanaka picks up KAZUKI and hits a fireman’s carry roll. Tanaka goes up top and hits a dropkick after Sareee suplexes KAZUKI, but KAZUKI hits a double Codebreaker. Somato by KAZUKI to Tanaka, Hagane returns as they focus on Sareee, knocking her to the mat. Tanaka goes for a double spear but it is blocked, and they put her in a double Argentine Backbreaker. Sareee breaks it up but the Diana wrestlers are stacked in the corner before KAZUKI hits a double kneedrop. KAZUKI grabs Tanaka and delivers the Death-By-Roderick, getting the three count! Hagane and KAZUKI win the match and enter the next round in the tournament.

A much more traditional tag match than the last one. The first half followed the normal tag formula of isolating the weakest opponent, Tanaka in this case, until the hot tag happened and after that it turned more into what you’d expect from a Joshi tag. That being of course fast paced, lots of teammate assistance, and general chaos. I thought it worked since Tanaka was the natural one to target, and the big vs. little dynamic worked well here since Hagane really does carry herself as a monster wrestler even though she isn’t much bigger than her opponents. Overall a solid tag team match.  Mildly Recommended

Command Bolshoi and Makoto vs. Kyoko Kimura and Hanako Nakamori

Makoto and Nakamori begin, as Nakamori throws Makoto around like a child. She tags Bolshoi so Kimura also tags in, they grapple on the mat but neither gets an advantage. Both tag out again as we go back to the first pairing, kicks by Nakamori and she hits a leg drop. More kicks by Nakamori and she tags Kimura as the beatdown on Makoto is under way. as Kimura has no sympathy on Makoto. Nakamori kicks Makoto while she is twisted in the ropes, but Makoto hits a big boot on Nakamori and tags Bolshoi. Bolshoi palm strikes Nakamori and applies an ankle hold, but Kimura comes in and puts her in a sleeper. Makoto joins them and puts Kimura in a sleeper but Nakamori does the same to her. Bolshoi fights off both Kimura and Nakamori, but she goes down to a missile dropkick by Nakamori. Kimura is tagged in and Bolshoi applies an armbreaker over the ropes, she rolls Kimura back in and applies a grounded necklock.

Kimura reverses it into a kimura lock but Bolshoi reverses it back. Kimura boots Bolshoi but Bolshoi fights back and they trade blows. Bolshoi wins the exchange, she picks up Kimura but Kimura snaps off a backdrop suplex. Nakamori and Makoto are both tagged in, backdrop suplex by Nakamori but Makoto nails a big kick. Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and Makoto applies a double underhook suplex for a two count cover. Makoto goes up top but Nakamori avoids the crossbody, they trade quick pin attempts but they are broken up. Kimura headbutts Makoto and hits a chokebomb, Nakamori goes up top and she hits a diving knee strike but Bolshoi breaks up the cover. Nakamori knees Makoto and rolls her up but the pin is broken up again. Makoto goes on a spearing spree and hits a cartwheel kneedrop on Nakamori, but Kimura breaks up the cover. Kick to the head by Nakamori, she picks up Makoto but Makoto sneaks in a schoolboy. Another quick pin doesn’t work, and the bell rings signifying that time has expired. The match is a Draw.

My opinion of non-tournament draws is well documented, I don’t like them unless there is a storyline reason for it which there wasn’t here. This is a small event in front of 190 people, someone can take a fall to give the match a more satisfying conclusion, it wouldn’t hurt any of the wrestlers. Anyway this wasn’t bad but it took awhile to get going. The last three minutes or so were fast paced and flowed really well and there was some solid action here, but overall it was ‘just another match’ with nothing memorable.

Arisa Nakajima vs. Rabbit Miu

Miu immediately proves my point as she dropkicks Nakajima as her name is announced, starting the match with a bang. Miu even has a new outfit I haven’t seen before, perhaps showing her new serious side, but Nakajima quickly suplexes her and dropkicks Miu out of the ring. That was a fun burst while it lasted. Back in things slow down a bit as they go to the mat, Nakajima gets a sleeper applied but they roll into the ropes to force Nakajima to release her. Nakajima flings around Miu by her hair and goes for the sleeper again but Miu gets out of it, Nakajima gets an armbreaker applied but again Miu wiggles out of the hold. Elbows by Miu and now she is the one doing the hair throwing, but Nakajima hits a knee in the corner. She misses the next one and Miu dumps Nakajima out of the ring, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out out of the ring, but she misses Nakajima. Nakajima takes full advantage and beats Miu with chairs before putting a chair on her head and standing on it. Nakajima then gets on the apron, tosses a chair to Miu and then dropkicks it into her face.

Nakajima is no longer messing around, they return to the ring and Nakajima hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Nakajima boots Miu some more, Miu fights back with elbows and she knocks down Nakajima with a dropkick. Miu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, roll-up by Miu but it gets two. More elbows by Miu, Nakajima goes for a suplex but Miu lands on her feet and hits a trio of German suplexes of her own. Miu goes for a roll-up hurricanrana but Nakajima counters it with a powerbomb. Back up they trade elbows, Miu goes off the ropes but Nakajima catches her with a bridging fallaway slam for a two count. Rolling Germans by Nakajima, she picks up Miu and hits a high knee. Running knee by Nakajima, she goes up top but Miu joins her and hits a superplex. Knees by Miu and she nails the Rabbit Suplex but Nakajima barely gets a shoulder up. Miu elbows Nakajima but Nakajima elbows her back and sends Miu to the mat. Package German by Nakajima, but Miu kicks out at two. Dragon suplex hold by Nakajima, and she gets the three count! Arisa Nakajima is the winner.

A really good match, hurt more by the fact there was just one camera in the back filming than anything else. Most the action outside the ring was missed, which was a pivotal part of the match, and strikes just don’t have the same impact from so far away. I did like that Nakajima gave Miu everything here, Miu had several chances to win and hung tough with Nakajima, never looking out of her league. So even in defeat this will only help Miu, and certainly not hurt her. Very fluid match and nothing felt wasted, the 15 minutes went by quickly. I also loved how vicious Nakajima was being, this wasn’t a feel-good type of match, the veteran was really laying in the shots and it was great. A fun match and a fitting main event for the show, definitely worth watching for a fan of JWP or Joshi in general.  Recommended

The post JWP Recapture: Tag Tournament on January 31, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.