Event: Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~
Date: March 3rd, 2021
Location: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 3,318
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on PPV and Samurai TV!

It is time for what will likely be the biggest Joshi event of the year! Since Bushiroad purchased Stardom, one of their goals was to have Stardom run in bigger buildings when the time was right, which leads them to Nippon Budokan for All-Star Dream Cinderella. They went all-out for the show, as SEAdLINNNG invades with big singles matches involving Nanae Takahashi and Yoshiko. Also, there is a Rumble with former wrestlers returning, and a total of five title matches. This review will be long so strap in, here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Natsupoi
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• All-Star Rumble with Momoe Nakanishi, Mima Shimoda, Chigusa Nagayo, Kyoko Inoue, Kikutaro, Gokigen Death, Emi Sakura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Miho Wakizawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, Yoko Bito, Yuuri Haruka, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Hiromi Mimura, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Bea Priestley, Ruaka, Mei Hoshizuki, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Saya Iida, and Lady C
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Konami
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship, Hair Vs. Hair Match: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

I will be watching the live broadcast, so matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

(c) AZM vs. Natsupoi
High Speed Championship

They charge each other and get right into a fast exchange, they avoid each others dropkicks and after some flash pins attempts they end up back on their feet. Kick by Natsupoi and she throws AZM into the corner, dropkicking her down to the floor. She goes up top but AZM quickly recovers and gets onto the apron before kicking Natsupoi in the head. Natsupoi falls to the floor, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a double footstomp. AZM rolls Natsupoi back in and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by AZM but it gets two. She applies the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes, Natsupoi throws AZM into the corner but AZM avoids her charge. Kick to the chest by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but AZM rolls through it and applies a submission.

Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes again, AZM goes up top and nails a diving double footstomp for two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits La Mistica, but Natsupoi rolls out of it. Head kick by AZM, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits La Mistica again. Natsupoi gets to the ropes, AZM runs to the corner but when she goes for the triple jump attack, she is greeted by a dropkick from Natsupoi. AZM and Natsupoi trade elbows as they return to their feet, AZM goes off the ropes but Natsupoi catches her with a kick. Backlash by Natsupoi, but AZM kicks out. Waistlock by Natsupoi and she nails a German suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Natsupoi goes up top and delivers the twisting body press, but the cover gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM but AZM elbows her off, rolling inside cradle by AZM but it gets a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, so Natsupoi superkicks AZM in the face. Natsupoi drags up AZM and hits rolling German suplexes, but the third only gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM and nails a Cross-Arm German Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Natsupoi wins and is the new champion!

A really fun way to kick off the show. Not everything was super smooth but the energy helped make up for that as it was just go-go-go from the opening bell. Fans that only watch Stardom may not been as familar with what Natsumi has been up to in recent years but she is fantastic, and she got a pretty dominating win here as by the end of the match she was firmly in control. AZM hit some killer footstomps and stayed in the match, but it almost felt like a coming-out party for Natsumi and I assume she’ll hold the title for awhile. A quality match to begin the big event.  Recommended

(c) Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai jump DDM before the match starts and isolate Maika, double teaming her. Saki stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Himeka before tagging in Natsuko, bootscrapes by Natsuko but Himeka kicks her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover and she tags Himeka, Himeka and Natsuko trade shoulderblocks with Himeka winning the battle. Saki runs in but Himeka stacks them both in the corner and hits a lariat. She puts both up on the turnbuckle and places them in an Argentine Backbreaker together before dropping them to the mat. Himeka picks up Natsuko and delivers a Jumping Knee, but Natsuko kicks out of the cover. Himeka tags Maika, Maika tosses Natsuko around the mat before hitting a STO for a two count. Stomps by Maika and she hits a lariat, but she didn’t notice that Saki blind tagged herself in. Saki jumps in the ring with a bulldog to Maika, Maika is thrown into the corner and Saki hits a running knee. Saki gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a headscissors into a cradle, picking up a two count.

Natsuko is tagged back in, she stacks both opponents in the corner and delivers a cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, she tags Saki and Saki hits a diving footstomp. She quickly tags Natsuko back in, diving body press by Natsuko but Maika kicks out of the cover. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but that gets a two count as well. Natsuko picks up Maika but Himeka runs in to help, Saki kicks Himeka however and she falls out of the ring. Natsuko tags Saki, flying headscissors by Saki to Maika but Himeka cuts her off with a knee. Himeka and Maika charge Saki but accidentally lariat each other, scoop slam by Saki to Maika and she goes up top but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika to Saki, she picks her back up and hits a STO but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Himeka comes in and with Maika they hit a lariat on Saki followed by a sliding lariat for a two count. Maika picks up Saki but Saki slides away and pins her down for a two count. Natsuko has found her way back in but she eats a double chokeslam, Maika picks up Saki and nails a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Donna del Mondo win and retain the championship.

Normally I like title matches to be a little longer than this, but considering the participants and the fact this was a pre-show match, I don’t mind it as much here. This was pretty well-worked, nothing mind blowing but a good match within their limitations. Maika and Himeka are a bundle of fun, I could watch them all day as they bring something fresh and interesting to Stardom’s matches. Saki really brought her A game today which helped elevate the match, and Natsuko didn’t do much which is for the best. Oedo Tai wrestled the match oddly straight besides from the pre-bell jumping, with no cheating which surprised me. A solid match to keep the show rolling along, even if it was nothing special.

Stardom All-Star Rumble

Starlight Kid and Mei Hoshizuki are the first two in the match. They start pretty traditionally as they trade holds, armdrag by Starlight Kid, Mei catches her crossbody attempt but Starlight Kid spins it around into a cradle for two. Dropkick by Mei as Gokigen Death comes down, but she just poses while the other two keep fighting. They get tired of this and jump her, but Starlight Kid and Death end up double teaming Mei. Momoe Nakanishi is the next wrestler to enter the match, she goes up top but Death and Starlight Kid shake the ropes to knock her off. Irish whip to Momoe but she runs over all three opponents and poses on the mat with Death. The veterans stay in control and pose on Starlight Kid and Mei, as Koguma enters the match! First time we have seen Koguma wrestling in almost six years. Koguma hits a falling body press on Death and Starlight Kid before they all get into a fast exchange. Meanwhile the next wrestler is already on their way to the ring, Unagi Sayaka! Starlight Kid is attacked by everyone in the corner but is able to knock back Unagi, Unagi is stomped on by everyone while Saya Iida enters the match. Saya chops everyone, and while she is doing that Mina Shirakawa comes down as the next wrestler in the match.

By now there are too many people in the ring, a common issue in Battle Royal style matches. The Stardom wrestlers get into an exchange while Yuna Manase enters the match. Yuna and Saya exchange shots, Starlight Kid comes over to help but Yuna lariats both of them. Suddenly all of Gatoh Move appear on the ramp as Emi Sakura is the next wrestler down, Emi immediately goes after Momoe and hits a crossbody in the corner. Everyone watches as Emi and Momoe trade dropkick attempts before they hug, but we take a break as Lady C is wrestler #11 to join the match. Lady C snapmares Emi and puts her in a headscissors, and you know what is coming as this starts a giant headscissors chain with all the wrestlers (except Momoe, who runs over all of them instead of joining them). яндекс As it is broken up, Kyoko Inoue enters the ring but she is immediately attacked by everyone. She fights back but Lady C drops her with a chokeslam, everyone covers Kyoko but she kicks out. Lariat by Kyoko to Lady C, and she covers her for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

Ruaka is the next wrestler, she shoulderblocks Kyoko to the mat and boots her, but Kyoko fires back with a lariat for the three count! Ruaka is eliminated. Rina Kadokura enters the match while Emi tricks Kyoko and gets everyone to cover her again, this time getting the three count! Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. We get some Random Chaos in the ring a Hiroyo Matsumoto is the next entry, she is in no rush to enter but eventually makes it into the ring. Miho Wakizawa is wrestler #16, while in the ring Hiroyo is beating everyone with a giant tawashi. Or something like one. Momoe is set up in the ropes to get a rubber band snapped in her face, but it accidentally gets sent back into Miho by mistake. Mima Shimoda comes into the match and dumps Yuna Manase over the top rope! Yuna Manase is eliminated. The legend Bea Priestley enters but Emi chops her in the chest and everyone tries to throw her out of the ring. She hangs on as Yuuri Haruka makes her entrance, meanwhile Mima is thrown over the top rope along with Bea in quick succession. Mima Shimoda and Bea Priestley are eliminated!

Yuuri applies an armbar to Death but it gets broken up, the camera pans to the stage and we see Hiromi Mimura is on her way down. Before she gets in the ring, Emi helps dump Yuuri over the top rope to the floor! Yuuri Haruka is eliminated. Hiromi winds up for an attack but is kicked by Miho, but Starlight Kid comes to the rescue. Hiroyo whacks Hiromi with a backpack, Miho puts Hiromi in the Backslide and she gets the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated. Yoko Bito is the 21st entry, while Hiroyo dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Miho hits a Frankensteiner on Emi onto all the tawashis, and Emi is covered by multiple wrestlers for the three count. Emi Sakura is eliminated. Miho is slow to recover so everyone covers her as well, picking up another three count! Miho Wakizawa is eliminated. Not done yet, the mob rolls up Hiroyo, keeping her down for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is eliminated. That clears the ring a little bit. Yuzuki Aikawa enters as the next wrestler, and she still looks the same as she did when she retired eight years ago. As she slowly walks down, Saya and Starlight Kid work together to throw Rin over the top rope. Rin Kadokura is eliminated. Not wasting time, Chigusa Nagayo quickly follows as she enters the match, Saya Iida greets her and the two trade blows. While they duke it out, the final wrestler enters the match – Kikutaro! 

Back in the ring (which most wrestlers aren’t even in anymore as they stand on the apron) Chigusa drops Saya with a Death Valley Bomb but Saya kicks out of the cover. Chigusa picks up Saya and drops her with a heel kick, but again Saya gets a shoulder up. Saya hulks up and knocks over Chigusa with a double chop, but her cover gets two as Chigusa puts Saya in an armlock. No one helps her and Saya submits! Saya Iida is eliminated. Yuzuki comes in the ring finally and challenges Chigusa, kicks by Yuzuki but Chigusa blocks the heel drop and punches her in the stomach. Yuzuki throws Chigusa into the corner and hits a body avalanche, as everyone else joins in attacking Chigusa in the corner. Yuzuki and Yoko both kick Chigusa, cover by Yuzuki but it gets a two count. She tries again with everyone else helping her, but that gets a two count as well. Chigusa gets back up but is schoolboyed from behind, and finally she is held down for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is eliminated.

Kikutaro still hasn’t entered the ring but finally does so, he’s in full creeper mode as everyone runs away from him. He grabs Unagi but Mina attacks him, Kikutaro covers both of them but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Starlight Kid attacks at Kikutaro, he gets away but Chigusa jaws at him from the apron. Chigusa takes one for the team as Kikutaro grabs her… intimately, she gets back in the ring and hits him with an elbow. Everyone else joins in stomping down Kikutaro, Momo☆Latch by Momoe and she holds down Kikutaro for the three count! Kikutaro is eliminated. Moonsault by Momoe to Death, and she holds her down for the three count as well! Gokigen Death is eliminated. Starlight Kid and Momoe go after each other, Momoe jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Starlight Kid pushes her off before she can hit a move. She keeps hitting Momoe as she dangles on the top rope, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Momoe crashes to the floor. Momoe Nakanishi is eliminated. Snapmare by Yoko to Koguma, she picks her up but Koguma snaps off a DDT. Starlight Kid grabs Koguma and holds her for Yoko, but Koguma ducks and Yoko kicks Starlight Kid by accident. Yoko charges Kid but Kid holds down the top rope, sending Yoko to the apron. Koguma runs over and kicks Yoko, sending her to the floor! Yoko Bito is eliminated. 

We are down to five wrestlers! Cutter by Koguma on Starlight Kid and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Koguma and Unagi trade flash pins, but Unagi gets help from Mina and Yuzuki as they hold down Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated. We are down to three – Mina Shirakawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, and Unagi Sayaka. Yuzuki fights off both Cosmic Angels before getting into an elbow exchange with Mina, slap by Mina but Yuzuki slaps her back. Mina elbows Yuzuki against the ropes and charges her, but Yuzuki avoids the dropkick and hits a heel drop. Yuzuki goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi saves Mina, Mina then returns the favor but Yuzuki nails Mina with a heel kick and delivers the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is eliminated. Yuzuki charges Unagi but Unagi dumps her onto the apron, she goes for a kick but Yuzuki gets her out onto the apron with her. Kicks by Yuzuki as they both stand on the apron but Unagi catches one, heel drop to the back by Unagi and she hits another one to send Yuzuki to the floor. Yuzuki Aikawa is eliminated.  Unagi Sayaka is the last wrestler standing and is the winner!

Its always hard to ‘rate’ Battle Royals, and ones that take place in Japan tend to be even more difficult due to the more lighthearted atmosphere. There was a lot of wrestlers standing out of the way while the planned spots were going on, with some wrestlers such as Koguma disappearing for long periods of time. Some of the exchanges were really enjoyable though, such as Chigusa Nagayo/Saya Iida and the final threesome, and it was really nice of Chigusa Nagayo to “take one for the team” with Kikutaro as I can only imagine the Internet’s reaction if he had done that to Starlight Kid. It was great seeing Yuzuki again in particular, and none of the returning wrestlers looked too out of place. Its a long match with stretches of nothing, but still enough fun moments that long time Joshi fans will likely find something to enjoy.

Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo and Nanae face off and trade slaps, Nanae pushes Momo into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Momo avoids one and kicks Nanae in the head, she hits her own elbows but Nanae gets her back and hits a German suplex. Nanae elbows Momo while she is against the ropes, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor but Nanae catches the PK attempt and hits a dragon screw. Lariat by Nanae but Momo fires back with a dropkick, she dropkicks Nanae down in the corner and delivers a hard dropkick to the chest. More dropkicks by Momo and she kicks Nanae repeatedly in the chest. Nanae eventually catches one but Momo slaps her, headbutts by Nanae and she kicks Momo onto the apron. Nanae picks up Momo and hits a short range lariat, elbows by Nanae and she slams Momo to the mat for a two count cover. Nanae goes off the ropes but Momo nails a head kick, elbows by Momo and she kicks Nanae in the head. Momo goes off the ropes and hits the Somato, but Nanae kicks out of the cover.

Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but again Nanae kicks out. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Nanae and hits the B Driver, but Nanae rolls through it and hits one of her own for a two count. Both wrestlers slowly get up, jumping kick by Nanae and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Momo avoids the Refrigerator Bomb and hits a knee to the back of the head. Momo goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but it gets two. Momo goes back up again but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and this time nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae picks up Momo but Momo slides away and delivers a Tequila Sunrise for two. Momo drags up Nanae but Nanae gets away and hits an elbow. Head kick by Momo, she goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a lariat. Nanae picks up Momo and drops her with the Nana☆Racka but Momo barely kicks out. Nanae picks Momo back up and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

While this match was “good,” something felt like it was missing. Maybe due to the length or placement on the card, it didn’t have that pop I was expecting and never really felt like it elevated itself. If not for the history between Nanae and Stardom, it would have felt like a pretty standard veteran vs. young star match. Which probably isn’t fair, there was nothing “wrong” with the match at all, it just didn’t feel special either. Even with their limited time they seemed to run of out ideas, with lots of Somatos and elbows, and it makes you wonder if they just aren’t too familar with each other and decided to keep it simple. Hard hitting for sure, and Momo held her own, it just felt more like an introduction than an all out war. A decent enough match, but ultimately nothing that will leave a lasting impression once the show ends.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Konami
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They circle each other to start before grappling for position on the mat, Syuri goes for the armbreaker but Konami easily blocks it and goes for one of her own. Syuri gets to the ropes to break the hold, sliding kick by Konami and Syuri falls out to the floor. Natsuko comes over but Konami pushes her away and slides Syuri back in, stomps by Konami and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Konami quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, Syuri rolls out of it but Konami keeps a hold on the arm. Syuri rolls out again and gets a hold of Konami’s ankle, but Konami reverses it and applies her own ankle hold. Konami gets Syuri’s back in a crucifix before driving her to the mat, she gets a stretch hold locked in but Syuri gets to the ropes. Strike combination by Konami and she delivers a head kick, but Syuri fires back with a release German. Konami hits a suplex of her own and applies a sleeper, Syuri gets up but Konami plants her with a Sleeper Suplex for two. Konami goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Syuri catches her leg and hits a double knee gutbuster.

Konami quickly connects with a head kick but is too hurt to capitalize, they slowly get to their knees and trade elbows. They trade kicks as they return to their feet, running knee by Syuri and she covers Konami for two. Syuri applies a guillotine before putting Konami’s feet on the top rope and dropping her with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami slides away and applies a cross armbreaker. Syuri quickly gets out of it and applies a Stretch Muffler, but Konami gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri gets Konami on her shoulders and hits a modified Emerald Frosion, but Konami kicks out of the cover and quickly applies a modified armbar. Syuri muscles out of it and gets the Stretch Muffler re-applied, but modifies it to also tie up Konami’s arm (Stardom called this move the “White Tiger”). Konami struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Syuri wins the match and retains the championship.

Konami shook Syuri’s hand after the match and gave her a hug, showing a level of post-match respect that is rare for a member of Oedo Tai. This definitely had a different feel than most matches in Stardom, as it was a very ground-based and submission focused match. It really did feel like a match these two would have had against each other in 2016, obviously Konami is more polished now than she was back then but the structure reminded me of the older days of Konami. As far as mat-based matches go, this was pretty fun to watch and very fluid, and you could tell they are very comfortable with each other as nothing looked forced. I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement in the closing stretch as it ended with little warning, but still an enjoyable match that probably meant more to the wrestlers than it meant to anyone else.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mayu into the ropes and gives a clean break. Kick by Mayu but Yoshiko blocks the armdrag, hitting one of her own. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she picks up Mayu and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running boot, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko quickly applies a headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Yoshiko picks up Mayu and kicks her in the back. Yoshiko keeps stomping on Mayu’s back before picking her up and applying a stretch hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Mayu reverses it and hits a headscissors. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Yoshiko with a dropkick, sending the SEAdLINNNG wrestler out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and sails out onto Yoshiko (mostly missing) with a plancha suicida, she slowly recovers and slides Yoshiko back in the ring. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt, low kick by Mayu but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mayu crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yoshiko quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton onto Mayu’s back, she goes back up to the second turnbuckle and connects with a regular diving senton for a two count cover.

Yoshiko picks up Mayu but Mayu gets her to the mat with a reverse hurricanrana. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets to the ropes to block the dragon suplex, Mayu pulls her off the ropes but Yoshiko elbows her off. Mayu ducks a lariat and drops Yoshiko with a release German, Yoshiko gets back up but Mayu delivers the dragon suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up to block the move. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they trade strikes when they return to their feet until Yoshiko knocks Mayu back to the mat. Mayu gets back up but eats another hard elbow for her trouble, Mayu returns to her feet and temporarily knocks Yoshiko to her knees before eating two hard lariats. Yoshiko picks up Mayu and slams her to the mat from a fireman’s carry, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko positions Mayu and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the diving senton but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko drags up Mayu but Mayu gets her back and applies a schoolboy for two. Superkick by Mayu and she kicks Yoshiko in the head, another superkick by Mayu and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mayu picks up Yoshiko and delivers the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the winner.

There was a lot to enjoy here, a really entertaining match. Its kinda amazing these two still have such great chemistry after all these years, and everything they did here clicked. Yoshiko’s work on Mayu’s back was top notch, probably good enough it could have used a little more long term selling by Mayu but Mayu constantly looks in pain so it still worked out. I really loved the ending, with Mayu not wasting a second before going to the moonsault. No slow dramatic climb up the turnbuckles and pointing to the crowd, just quickly taking advantage of a hurt Yoshiko who is not the easiest wrestler to pin. The time just flew by and I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few more minutes, but they told their story and told it well. I don’t know where Stardom and SEAdLINNNG’s relationship is going from here, but this was a great hard hitting match that delivered on the expectations.  Highly Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
World of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Saya quickly kicks her and they lock-up before trading holds, they go through an exchange off the ropes ending with Utami dropkicking Saya in the chest. Utami picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami puts Saya in the ropes and delivers a sliding kick to the back, double kneedrop to the back by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami applies a Camel Clutch but Saya inches to the ropes for the break. Utami stomps at Saya and boots her in the corner, Utami picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Saya fights back but Utami avoids her dropkick and kicks Saya in the back. Saya fires back with a dropkick of her own, hurricanrana by Saya and Utami falls out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes and dives out onto Utami with a tope con hilo, she picks up Utami and tosses her back into the ring. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and the two trade shots. Utami wins the battle, she picks up Saya and goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Saya and she covers Utami for a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and delivers a sliding kick.

Utami picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a Canadian Destroyer, scoop slam by Saya and she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind and knocks her onto the apron. Saya comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, she picks up Utami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and hits a release German. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya spins off and delivers a heel kick. Saya picks up Utami and drops her with a fisherman sitout slam, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami avoids the Phoenix Splash. Utami applies a sleeper but Saya drives her back into the corner to break it up, Saya charges Utami but Utami gets her on her shoulders and nails the Air Raid Crash. Utami gets the sleeper on but Saya gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Saya and gets her onto her shoulders, she spins Saya around and slams her to the mat for a two count. Utami picks up Saya and gets her up in a crucifix, but Saya hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Utami recovers first and picks up Saya, rocking her with a hard lariat. Another lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and nails the Hijack Bomb (Spinning BT Bomb) for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

While the last match was great, this one was even better. Even though Saya wasn’t an A+ challenger, she still brought everything she had and she has never looked better than she did here. Everything she hit was smooth as butter and her selling was top-notch, as she made everything Utami did look like death. She did so well in the match, I actually was buying into the nearfalls which is the biggest compliment I can give to a match that on paper had a clear winner. The dynamic between Utami’s power and Saya’s finesse created constantly entertaining back and forths, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire match as there was no telling what they were going to do. The ending was definitive as Utami threw Saya right through the ring, a fitting ending to an evenly contested match. These two are the future of Stardom if they stick with wrestling, easily the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career and a great showing from Utami as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After circling each other they start tracking strikes, waistlock by Giulia and they trade holds. Tam gets Giulia to the mat but Giulia applies a headscissors, Tam slaps Giulia before returning to her feet. Tam goes for a cutter but Giulia applies a sleeper, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. Giulia goes for a dropkick but Tam moves and applies a sleeper, Giulia tries to get out of it with a backdrop suplex but Tam lands on top of her. They trade elbows until Tam knocks Giulia to the mat, Giulia rolls out of the ring to recover while Tam waits for her in the ring. Giulia returns after a moment and picks up Tam, but Tam wiggles away. Release German by Giulia with Tam ending up on the apron, Giulia goes out to the apron as well and kicks Tam in the head. Giulia goes for a suplex but Tam blocks it, big boot by Giulia and she hits a cutter onto the apron. Tam falls out of the ring with Giulia going out after her, Giulia twists Tam in the guardrail and chokes her. Giulia stops choking her long enough to throw Tam into the railing, big boot by Giulia and she throws Tam into the rail again. Giulia gets a table and sets it up at ringside, she grabs Tam and pulls her up onto the table with her. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her onto the table with a piledriver, she returns to the ring while Tam slowly follows behind her. Giulia plants a sliding kick on Tam, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count.

Giulia gets on the top turnbuckle but Tam slowly gets up and joins her, Giulia grabs her head however and applies a guillotine choke while still on the turnbuckles. She lets go after a moment and Tam flops back to the mat, she goes for a missile dropkick but Tam avoids it. Tam goes for a knee but Giulia catches it, she gets Tam up in a Glorious position but Tam reverses it with Reverse DDT. Giulia recovers first and mounts Tam, slapping her in the face. Hard elbow by Giulia and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Giulia falls out of the ring, Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. Tam slides Giulia back in, Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks her suplex attempt, getting to the ropes. Tam pulls her away and hits Giulia’s Glorious Driver, but it gets a two count. Tam drags up Giulia and kicks her repeatedly in the head, but Giulia ducks a kick and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam pushes her away, headbutt by Giulia and she delivers a Glorious Driver for a two count cover. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, Tam connects with a series of slaps before knocking Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and returns the favor, heel kick by Tam and she hits a second one. Giulia comes at Tam but Tam picks her up and drills Giulia with a Sitout Tam Screwdriver for a two count. Tam drags Giulia back up and nails the Twilight Dream, and she keeps Giulia down for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is the new Wonder of Stardom Champion!

There is a lot to digest here. First, the emotion was certainly there and it just had a more urgent feeling than the last few matches. They weren’t really focused on trading bombs but having a real struggle, full of one-upmanship and emotion that was tangible. They still had a couple big moves but honestly they weren’t needed, the table spot was neat but added little to the match as that wasn’t what the match was about. Its harder to rate matches that are more about story and heart than smooth wrestling and big moments, but when considering all things this was a very captivating and memorable match. They didn’t fall into the ‘trading 2.999 nearfalls’ trap that many “epic” matches fall into, so each pinfall felt meaningful. Tam killed Giulia at the end, which was needed as a non-definitive ending just wouldn’t have worked to end this match and feud. A fitting way to end one of the best Joshi events in years, a very entertaining match that will be talked about in Stardom circles for years to come.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella on 3/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!“
Date: March 8th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,200

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

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

GAEA Japan returns to Korakuen Hall for the second straight show, and this one is a doozy. We get the continuation of the eternal Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament, plus Fukuoka swings by for some tag team action. In the main event, Chigusa Nagayo faces off against Saki Hasegawa in a very special match, as Saki is on her retirement tour. Saki Hasegawa had a solid career in All Japan Women but due to various injuries announced her retirement at only 26 years old. Hasegawa is the first AJW wrestler to appear on GAEA Japan, so it was a pretty big deal for her to appear on the event and wrestle the GAEA Japan Ace in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura
• Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato
• KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

I am watching the commercial release of the event, so all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato

They charge each other to start, both go for dropkicks but they both miss. They trade elbow drop attempts until Toshie hits one, Irish whip by Toshie but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop followed by a kneedrop for two. Snapmares by Chihiro and she applies a side headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a headscissors. They trade submissions until Chihiro locks in a crab hold, but Toshie gets to the ropes for the break. Chihiro applies a leg submission and then a headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a front headlock. Bodyscissors by Toshie, she lets go after a moment and knocks down Chihiro with a shoulderblock. dropkicks by Toshie, and she covers Chihiro for two. Sleeper by Toshie but Chihiro slides out of it and applies a hammerlock, armdrag by Toshie and she goes for a cross armbreaker. Chihiro gets away and applies a stretch hold, they end up back on their feet and Toshie knocks over Chihiro with a couple weak shoulderblocks. Scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Chihiro for two.

Toshie applies a guillotine but Chihiro slams out of it and hits a series of elbow strikes. Dropkick by Chihiro and she hits a scoop slam, picking up a two count. Snapmares by Toshie and she applies a side headlock on the mat, she picks up Chihiro and hits another shoulderblock. Toshie elbows Chihiro and delivers a face crusher, cover by Toshie but it gets a two count. Chihiro throws Toshie into the corner and hits a knee, but Toshie avoids the next one and somewhat dropkicks her. Chihiro and Toshie trade cradles before Chihiro applies a kneelock, she lets go after a moment and hits a pair of jumping knees. Toshie avoids the next one and goes for a slam, but Chihiro reverses it into a cradle for two. Chihiro picks up Toshie and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top and delivers a diving kneedrop for a two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Toshie and she hits a second one, but Chihiro bridges out of the pin. Toshie goes up top but Chihiro grabs her from behind and slams her to the mat. Chihiro picks up Toshie but Toshie slides away and delivers an over-the-shoulder powerslam. Diving elbow drop by Toshie, and she picks up the three count! Toshie Sato is the winner!

For a rookie match, this was pretty fun. Chihiro and Toshie both show a lot of early talent, and while Toshie Sato went on to have a better known career (as Sugar Sato) at this stage they were pretty even. Nagayo trained her wrestlers to go for it regardless of their experiences so it wasn’t just dropkicks which we frequently see in rookie matches today, and it was a pretty exciting back and forth. You could tell they were rookies from watching this, but a good effort from both.  Mildly Recommended

Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko and Makie start by jockeying for position on the mat, kick to the chest by Makie and she kicks Meiko again. Scoop slam by Makie but Meiko fires back with elbows, scoop slam by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Meiko works a headlock but Makie reverses it into a headscissors. Meiko gets the headlock re-applied and she picks up Makie, rolling her back to the mat with a front guillotine. Makie gets out of it and elbows Meiko in the chest, Irish whip by Meiko and she hits a forearm smash. Meiko picks up Makie, snapmare by Meiko and she applies a front facelock. Makie gets to the ropes for the break, Meiko picks her up but Makie cradles her for two. Meiko picks up Makie but Makie pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Meiko gets to the ropes but Makie drags her to the middle of the ring and re-applies the hold. Meiko gets to the ropes again and this time forces the break, kicks by Makie to Meiko and she covers Meiko for two. Makie applies a bodyscissors but Meiko gets out of it and applies a kneelock, she goes for Makie’s arm but Makie gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Makie but Meiko ducks a kick and pushes Makie to the mat.

Scoop slam by Meiko, Irish whip by Meiko but Makie kicks her in the face. Knees by Makie and she kicks Meiko in the back, cover by Makie but it gets two. Makie picks up Meiko but Meiko elbows her and applies a sunset flip for two. Meiko goes off the ropes and hits a series of jumping shoulderblocks, elbow drop by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner and she hits a jumping elbow, she goes for another one but Makie avoids it and cradles Meiko. Meiko kicks Makie but Makie returns to her feet and kicks her back, Meiko goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Makie quickly gets to the ropes. Meiko goes up top but Makie avoids her dive, Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Meiko gets a foot on the ropes. Kicks by Makie to the chest, she goes up top but Meiko elbows her before she can jump off. Makie hits a sunset flip anyway, but it only gets two. Makie goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets a two count as well. She goes for the sleeper again but Meiko rolls through it and goes for Makie’s arm, but Makie is too close to the ropes. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner, Makie reverses it but Meiko snaps her arm over her shoulder. Cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko, and she keeps the hold applied for the submission victory! Meiko Satomura is the winner.

Not a bad match but a step down from the previous one. Makie Numao doesn’t have the skill of the other three wrestlers we have seen so far, and her action is a bit clunky at times. Meiko Satomura of course is full of fire as a teenager the same as she is today, which helped the match but it was still a bit disjointed and didn’t really flow. Its hard to get too mad at rookies as not every match is going to land, but a skippable match.

Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato

Bomber and Sonoko circle each other, Bomber pushes Sonoko into the ropes and gives her a hard elbow. Sonoko elbows her back, she goes for an Irish whip by Bomber blocks it and headbutts her. Bodyblock by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Bomber runs over Sonoko but Sonoko avoids the body press, stomps by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick. Bomber doesn’t budge of course, Sonoko tries again but it doesn’t work. Finally Sonoko knocks over Bomber but Bomber quickly returns to her feet and hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Bomber which she keeps on for quite awhile, Sonoko almost gets to the ropes so Bomber lets go and stomps on her. Scoop slam by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she hits a second one before applying a headscissors. Sonoko gets out of it and applies a submission, but Bomber quickly gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third for a two count cover. Crab hold by Sonoko, she lets go after a moment and puts Bomber in a stretch hold. Sonoko releases the hold and hits a leg drop to Bomber’s back, snapmare by Sonoko and she covers Bomber for two. Sonoko throws down Bomber by the hair, she goes to do it again but Bomber blocks it. Hard shoulderblock by Bomber and she applies a bodyscissors, she lets go after a moment but Sonoko dropkicks her to the mat. Another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third, she then hits a fourth dropkick before covering Bomber for two.

Scoop slam by Sonoko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Bomber gets her knees up when Sonoko dives off. Bomber picks up Sonoko but Sonoko drives her back into the corner, elbows by Sonoko but Bomber delivers a powerslam. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she goes for another one but Sonoko avoids it and hits a bulldog. Cover by Sonoko, but it gets a two count. Sonoko picks up Bomber but Bomber blocks it when she goes for a bulldog out of the corner, Lou Thesz Press by Sonoko but Bomber kicks out of the cover. Sonoko throws Bomber into the corner but Bomber reverses it, Bomber slams Sonoko off the second turnbuckle but Sonoko gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Bomber drags Sonoko to her feet and slams her in front of the corner, Reverse Splash by Bomber but Sonoko gets a foot on the ropes. Irish whip by Bomber and she throws Sonoko to the mat before hitting mounted elbow strikes. Bomber picks up Sonoko and gives her the Airplane Spin, she grabs Sonoko and throws her over her head. Bomber does it a second time, cover by Bomber but Sonoko bridges out of the pin attempt. Bomber picks up Sonoko and slams her in the middle of the ring, she goes up top and hits a diving headbutt. She picks her up before the referee can count to three on the pin, she picks up Sonoko but Sonoko fights back with elbows. Bomber smacks her back and nails the Over The Top for the three count! Bomber Hikari is the winner.

At first it looked like Bomber was just going to squash Sonoko but in the end, the rookie got a fair amount of offense and survived some of Bomber’s bigger moves. Sonoko still never felt like she was going to win and didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls, but at least it wasn’t completely one-sided. A little too all-over-the-place to recommend as they didn’t seem to have much of a game plan going in, but there didn’t seem to be any miscommunications and Bomber gave Sonoko plenty before putting her down.

KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima

Toshie and Chikayo attack their opponents from behind to start the match, they both hit headscissors before isolating KAORU. Double knee to KAORU and the rookies both dropkick her, double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU hits a crossbody on both of them. KAORU elbows Chikayo and puts her in a facelock but Chikayo reverses it into a hammerlock. They trade holds but KAORU gets the advantage and tags Fukuoka, Fukuoka bounces Chikayo off the ropes and boots her. Dropkick by Fukuoka and she kicks Chikayo in the back, backdrop by Fukuoka and she applies a figure four leglock. Toshie breaks it up, Fukuoka throws Chikayo into the corner so that Toshie can tag in, Fukuoka kicks Toshie in the back before tagging in KAORU. Toshie gets KAORU to the mat and applies an ankle hold, but KAORU gets out of it. Toshie goes for dropkicks but KAORU doesn’t budge, she finally knocks KAORU off her feet but KAORU bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick of her own. KAORU stomps on Toshie’s leg and puts her in a Mexican Surfboard, but Chikayo breaks it up. KAORU smacks Chikayo before tagging Fukuoka, Toshie hits a crossbody on Fukuoka and tags Chikayo. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka and she hits another one, but Chikayo swats aside the next attempt and applies a submission hold.

Toshie eventually breaks it up, Chikayo tries to fight back but Fukuoka elbows her hard in the chest for her trouble. KAORU is tagged in but Chikayo hits a hurricanrana and tags Toshie. Dropkick by Toshie to KAORU and she applies a crab hold, she switches it to a stretch hold but KAORU gets out of it. Snapmare by Toshie and she tags Chikayo, Chikayo kicks on KAORU’s leg and puts her in a kneelock. Toshie comes in too and puts a kneelock on KAORU’s other leg, they let go after a moment but KAORU sneaks in a pin attempt for two. Irish whip by KAORU and she hits Chikayo with a back elbow, Jackhammer by KAORU but Chikayo breaks up the cover. KAORU tags in Fukuoka, double wrist armsault by Fukuoka but again Toshie breaks it up. Fukuoka picks up Chikayo but Chikayo hits a crossbody, Irish whip by Chikayo and she delivers a front roll into a headbutt for two. Chikayo tries to throw down Fukuoka but the hair but Fukuoka blocks it and tosses Chikayo instead, dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo gets to the ropes when she goes for a cover. Backdrop suplex by Fukuoka, but Chikayo bridges out of the pin. She tags in KAORU but KAORU lets Toshie tag in, hard elbow by KAORU to Toshie and she hits a double underhook suplex. Bridging suplex by KAORU, but Chikayo breaks up the cover.

KAORU tags Fukuoka but Toshie runs up Fukuoka in the corner and delivers an elbow. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka but Fukuoka dropkicks both of them and tags KAORU. KAORU charges Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a sunset flip for two. She tags Chikayo, roll-up by Chikayo to KAORU but that gets two as well. KAORU goes for the Space Rolling Elbow but Chikayo avoids it and hits a monkey flip. Step-over sunset flip by Chikayo, but KAORU lands in the ropes. She goes for it again but KAORU throws her to the mat, Fukuoka comes in and she hits a Space Rolling Elbow on Chikayo in the corner. DDT by Fukuoka and KAORU hits a swandive footstomp for a two count. KAORU picks up Chikayo and tags Fukuoka, missile dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo lands near her corner and tags Toshie. Headscissors by Toshie and she goes for a pin, but Fukuoka pushes her off. Dropkick by Toshie, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody. Chikayo goes up top next but KAORU comes in and kicks her down to the floor, suplex by Fukuoka to Toshie and she slams her near the corner. KAORU goes up top and nails a moonsault, Fukuoka follows with a moonsault of her own and she covers Toshie for two. Fukuoka picks up Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a backslide for two. KAORU comes back in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick to Toshie, Fukuoka plants her with a Tiger Driver and she picks up the three count! KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka are the winners.

KAORU and Fukuoka are both so good, KAORU in particular really looked great here. Chikayo and Toshie held her own but clearly were a step below. Which isn’t a knock on them of course, the teams were just lopsided by design. KAORU and Fukuoka did a good job of working with the rookies and gave them plenty of hope spots. I don’t think that Toshie was supposed to kick out after the moonsaults, but Chikayo was late breaking up the pin. A fast paced and entertaining match, but KAORU as she tends to do stole the show.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

Hasegawa attacks Nagayo from behind before the match starts, Hasegawa goes for a Uranage but Nagayo elbows her off. Hasegawa throws Nagayo out of the ring, she goes for a tope con hilo but comes up a bit short. Nagayo taunts her as Hasegawa gets back in the ring, she tries again and this time successfully delivers the move. Hasegawa gets back in the ring and waits for Nagayo, Nagayo returns and the two lock knuckles. Kicks by Nagayo but Hasegawa kicks her back, knees by Hasegawa but Nagayo blocks the double underhook. Hasegawa goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Nagayo quickly gets to the ropes, Nagayo takes Hasegawa to the mat and applies a facelock. Nagayo then switches to Hasegawa’s arm, but Hasegawa blocks her from locking in the armbreaker. Hasegawa gets Nagayo’s back and goes for an armbreaker of her own, she gets it locked in but Nagayo rolls out of it. Bodyscissors by Hasegawa and she applies a facelock, but Nagayo gets out of the hold. Hasegawa applies a seated armbar and snaps Nagayo’s arm over her shoulder, dropkick by Hasegawa but Nagayo returns to her feet and challenges her for more. Chops by Hasegawa and she dropkicks Nagayo again, missile dropkick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two.

They end up back on the mat as Hasegawa applies a STF, but Nagayo crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Hasegawa hits a leg drop on Nagayo’s arm before picking her up, but Nagayo sweeps her legs and applies a Scorpion Deathlock. Hasegawa gets to the ropes to force the break, Irish whip by Nagayo and she hits a heel kick. Irish whip again by Nagayo but Hasegawa ducks the heel kick and delivers a savate kick. High kick by Hasegawa and she hits another jumping savate kick followed by a third, another kick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two. Irish whip by Hasegawa and they both go for heel kicks, sending them both to the mat. Nagayo is up first but Hasegawa gets her back and applies a sleeper hold. Nagayo hits a backdrop suplex to try to get out of it but Hasegawa keeps the hold applied until Nagayo finally makes it to the ropes. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the powerbomb attempt, back bodydrop by Nagayo and she lariats Hasegawa into the corner. Nagayo drives Hasegawa’s head into the mat with her knee, cover by Nagayo but it gets a two count. Nagayo gets on the turnbuckles but Hasegawa kicks her from behind, sending Nagayo out of the ring. Hasegawa dives out onto Nagayo with a plancha suicida, she goes for a Uranage but Nagayo blocks it and delivers a kick.

Nagayo goes up top and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida of her own. Nagayo slides Hasegawa back in, she goes for a powerbomb but Hasegawa gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo and hits locomotive underhook suplexes, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo kicks out. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the Irish whip and applies a sleeper. Hasegawa knees her way out of it but Nagayo re-applies it until Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break. Nagayo picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa wiggles out of the Running Three, Nagayo armdrags out of the Uranage attempt but Hasegawa ducks her heel kick. Suplex by Nagayo, but Hasegawa quickly returns to her feet and delivers the Uranage. She picks up Nagayo and hits a second followed by a third, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes for another one but Nagayo elbows out of it, Nagayo gets Hasegawa up on her shoulders but Hasegawa sneaks in a roll-up for two. Hasegawa goes for a heel kick but Nagayo blocks it, she picks up Hasegawa and nails the Running Three for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is the winner.

After the match, Nagayo picks up Hasegawa and lays her on top of her, motioning for the referee to count to three. He does so, giving Hasegawa a visual pin to end the show.

I don’t know for sure what Hasegawa’s condition was going in but for a 20 minute match there wasn’t a lot to it. They spent a lot of time on the mat trading holds that didn’t go anywhere, which isn’t too unusual in main event matches but it lasted far longer than you’d expect with no real conclusion. Nagayo was a bit playful to start but did get serious as the match went on, but it was basically 18 minutes of not a lot happening with just an occasional burst of offense from one or the other. I’m sure this meant something for Hasegawa as she winded down her career but it wasn’t a great match as it was just too slow and at times had clunky execution. Probably a match worth watching for a huge fan of either wrestler but a disappointing main event.

The post GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!” on 3/8/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “WAR IS A FRIDAY NIGHT”
Date: February 16th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,850

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

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

GAEA returns to Korakuen Hall with a fun show, as for the first time since mid-1995 we have some wrestlers from LLPW to spice things up. In the main event, we have a big singles match between Combat Toyoda and KAORU! Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
• Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Jenn Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima
• Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. The three matches were squeezed into about 45 minutes, so there may be some clipping.

Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament

Makie starts the match on offense as she kicks Sonoko, but Sonoko fires back until Makie hits a leg sweep. Sonoko goes for a dropkick but Makie avoids it, kick to the chest by Makie and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Makie and she kicks Sonoko again, Makie flings Sonoko around before applying a wristlock. Sonoko reverses it but Makie reverses it back and kicks Sonoko in the face. Bodyscissors by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and snapmares her before going back to the arm. Makie applies an arm submission but Sonoko gets a boot on the ropes to get the break, Makie keeps the submission applied however and holds Sonoko on the mat. Again Sonoko gets to the ropes for the break, Makie goes for a back bodydrop but Sonoko reverses it into a sunset flip. Dropkicks by Sonoko and she puts Makie in a crab hold, but Makie gets into the ropes. Sonoko drags her to the middle of the ring and applies a modified deathlock, but once again Makie gets the break. Kneelock by Sonoko but Makie reverses it, Sonoko reverses it back into the single leg crab hold before letting go to hit a dropkick. Scoop slam by Sonoko, she picks up Makie and hits a snapmare, but Makie applies a backslide for two.

Kicks by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and hits a scoop slam for two. More kicks by Makie and she applies a side headlock, Sonoko reverses it into a headscissors but Makie gets out of it. Makie picks up Sonoko and kicks her in the midsection, scoop slam by Makie but Sonoko hits a hard elbow in the chest. Knees by Makie but Sonoko hits  Lou Thesz Press, another one by Sonoko and she hits a third for two. Sonoko goes off the ropes but Makie avoids the leg drop, stomps by Sonoko but Makie kicks her back. Makie goes for a high kick but Sonoko catches her leg and applies an ankle hold, Sonoko picks up Makie and delivers a bulldog. She goes for another but Makie blocks it, Makie goes for a kick but Sonoko swats her away. Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Sonoko gets a foot in the ropes, Makie goes up top and delivers a diving forearm to the chest. Makie picks up Sonoko but Sonoko ducks the enzuigiri, Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a Lou Thesz Press. She hits four more Lou Thesz Presses, but Makie barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Sonoko goes for a tornado bulldog but Makie pushes her away, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Sonoko avoids the diving bodypress. Sonoko picks up Makie but Makie cradles her for a two count. More kicks by Makie but Sonoko gets Makie on her shoulders and delivers the Kamikaze Bomb for the three count! Sonoko wins the match and gets one point in the tournament.

Even though I appreciate that she brings something a bit different to the table, Makie is still pretty rough around the edges. Sonoko is more smooth but struggled here at times to keep things in order, as there were quite a few awkward moments spread throughout the match. They also both don’t have a wide variety of moves so at times it felt repetitive. For two rookies, not offensive, but nothing I could ever recommend tracking down due to the general clunkiness that was present throughout.

Chigusa Nagayo, Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima

Team GAEA Japan attacks before the bell rings as we immediately fall into chaos, powerbomb by Nagayo to Yukari but Sawai clubs her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo to Sawai but Nagashima hits her with a kendo stick, Over The Top by Hikari to Nagashima but Yukari breaks up the cover. Sonoko and Yukari stay in as the legal wrestlers, lariat by Yukari to Sonoko but the pin is broken up. She tags in Nagashima, dropkick by Nagashima to Kato and she throws her around the ring by her hair. Yukari goes up top but Nagayo kicks her off, Yukari knocks Nagayo out of the ring and part of the teams brawl on the floor while Nagashima and Kato stay in. Nagashima gets a chain and bashes Kato in the head with it, busting the rookie open. Nagashima stomps on Kato before tossing her by the hair again, we get a look at Sawai beating up Nagayo at ringside as she is bleeding as well. Kato makes the hot tag to Hikari but Nagashima knocks her down and tags Yukari. German suplex hold by Yukari to Hikari, but it gets a two count. Yukari goes off the ropes but Hikari catches her with a powerslam, suplex by Hikari and she covers Yukari for two. Hikari goes up top and hits a diving headbutt, but Sawai breaks up the cover. Hikari tags Nagayo, Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Nagashima hits her in the midsection with a kendo stick.

Sawai is tagged in but Hikari and Kato both dropkick her, Sawai lariats both of them but Nagayo fires back with a lariat of her own. Sawai falls in her corner and tags Nagashima, Nagayo gets Nagashima on her shoulders while Kato goes up top to go for a crossbody, but Nagashima ducks and hits a Victory Roll, causing Kato to crash to the mat. Nagashima picks up Kato but Hikari comes in, double Irish whip to Nagashima but they are tripped from the floor. Nagashima beats both with a kendo stick while Yukari and Nagayo battle into the crowd. Yukari hits Nagayo with a chair while Sawai gets a table, Nagayo gets the better of Yukari as Nagashima sets up the table in the ring. Nagashima puts Kato on the table as Sawai rescues Yukari, Nagashima goes up top but Hikari knocks the table over and hits an avalanche powerslam for two. Double shoulderblock to Nagashima, suplex by Hikari to Nagashima and Kato hits a diving body press for two. Kamikaze Bomb by Kato to Nagashima, but the pin is broken up. Sawai scoop slams Kato, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Nagayo hits her from behind and joins her.

Avalanche backdrop suplex by Nagayo but Yukari hits her with a chair, she tries again but Nagayo trips her and hits all three of her opponents with the chair. Kato gets the chain and hits Nagashima in the head with it repeatedly, as things break down even further than they already were. Kato knocks Nagashima out of the ring but Nagashima throws her into the railing, while in the crowd Nagayo hits Yukari with chairs. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Kato to Nagashima but Nagashima chokes her. We get a clip of Nagayo taking Sawai who knows where, but they are in the back before emerging near the balcony at Korakuen. They battle up there while Nagashima keeps choking Kato in the ring, Hikari headbutts Yukari while all of this is going on as the referee tries to convince Nagashima to stop choking so much. Nagayo and Sawai somehow make it back into the ring as Nagayo stretches Sawai in the ropes, sleeper by Nagashima to Kato but Nagayo breaks it up. Sawai comes in and slams Nagayo to the mat, she picks up Kato and hits a powerbomb with a cover, and while Nagashima hits Nagayo with a kendo stick she is able to pick up the three count cover! Team LLPW wins!

The inter-promotional match on the last event felt lackluster, which Chigusa Nagayo must have realized as for this one they took it straight up to 100. For a midcard match I wasn’t expecting much, but I was wrong. This was a wild brawl with constant violence going on, either in the ring or somewhere around it. There was blood everywhere, weapons constantly being used, interference every 15 seconds, about all you could ask for from a hateful match. My only complaint was just the length, as I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit longer so that the end stretch could have been more fleshed out. Still, I loved the atmosphere and urgency of this match, and even though really it was a throw-away match they fought like they were in the main event at the Tokyo Dome. Probably my biggest surprise so far watching all the GAEA Japan events, really great stuff.  Highly Recommended

Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

We join his match in progress, same as we did with Combat Toyoda’s last singles match in GAEA Japan. Toyoda Irish whips KAORU, KAORU hits a crossbody but she bothers her apparently already injured knee in the process. Figure four leglock by Toyoda but KAORU rolls into the ropes to force the break. Toyoda picks up KAORU and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Toyoda but it gets two. Irish whip by Toyoda but KAORU reverses it, she hits a dropkick but Toyoda doesn’t budge. Toyoda fires back with a dropkick of her own, another dropkick by Toyoda and she covers KAORU for a two count. Backdrop suplex hold by Toyoda, but again KAORU kicks out. Toyoda slams KAORU in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits a diving body press, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. She goes up again but KAORU gets her knees up on her second attempt, hurting both Toyoda and herself in the process. Both wrestlers slowly get up but Toyoda hits a dropkick before KAORU can do anything, backdrop suplex by Toyoda but her covers only gets two. Toyoda picks up KAORU and drops her with a wheelbarrow German suplex, she gets KAORU up and hits a Liger Bomb, but KAORU won’t stay down. Toyoda goes to the top turnbuckle but KAORU recovers and joins her, slaps by KAORU and she nails an avalanche Fisherman Buster. KAORU picks up Toyoda and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault. She hobbles to the corner and goes back up again to hit a second moonsault, she goes for a third moonsault but this time Toyoda manages to roll out of the way. KAORU clubs her in the stomach, she goes up a fourth time and hits another moonsault. Again she goes up but this time she debuts the Valkyrie Splash, cover by KAORU and she gets the three count! KAORU wins!

So this match was completely ridiculous. We missed the first half, which I assume was mostly work on KAORU’s leg, but from what we saw it almost goes beyond even suspended belief that KAORU could have survived Toyoda’s offensive onslaught. She basically took the following moves in a row without being pinned: backdrop suplex hold, diving body press, backdrop suplex, wheelbarrow German, and a Liger Bomb. Its just a lot to take from someone of Toyoda’s size/strength. Then of course to keep Toyoda down, KAORU had to hit four or five top rope moves in a row (not sure if the “miss” was intentional) since she had done nothing to wear Toyoda down. At least she had to bust out a brand new move, the Valkyrie Splash, to get the three count. It was kinda fascinating in a way and a very “Chigusa Nagayo” style of booking a match, as the GAEA Japan wrestler overcame the odds. But it went a bit too far with it for my liking as instead of making KAORU look sympathetic it made her look like superwoman. An interesting spectacle for sure but I think they missed the mark a bit with the story they told.

The post GAEA Japan War Is A Friday Night on 2/16/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “HEARTFUL BODY LANGUAGE IN NAGOYA”
Date: January 28th, 1996
Location: Nagoya City Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,500

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

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

We continue our march with GAEA Japan with this smaller even in Nagayo. Not necessarily smaller in regards to attendance, but this event didn’t really have the big matches that the last few shows have had. We are getting two more matches in the Neo Energy Queen History Tournament, which lasted for months, so at least we will get to see the rookies in singles action. Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Toshie Sato vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Makie Numao
• Chigusa Nagayo, Meiko Satomura, and Sonoko Kato vs. Combat Toyoda, Kaori Nakayama, and Yukari Ishikura

All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. There may be some clipping but hopefully it will be minimal since none of these matches were super long anyway.

Toshie Sato vs. Toshie Uematsu
Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament

Uematsu and Sato tie-up, Sato bumps Uematsu to the mat before kicking her. Uematsu comes back with a dropkick and applies a headlock, she picks up Sato and applies a grounded necklock. Sato gets out of it, snapmare by Sato and she puts Uematsu in a crossface. Uematsu gets back up and hits a back elbow in the corner, another elbow by Uematsu and she mounts Sato in the corner before delivering a couple punches. Scoop slam by Uematsu and she covers Sato for two. Sato sneaks in an inside cradle, dropkick by Sato and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Wristlock by Sato and she kicks Uematsu’s arm in the ropes, armdrag by Sato and she goes for a cross armbreaker. She gets it locked in but Uematsu quickly gets to the ropes and forces the break, Sato picks up Uematsu and goes back to work on her arm. Armbar by Sato but Uematsu applies an inside cradle for two. Irish whip by Sato but Uematsu hits a jumping crossbody for another two count. Uematsu trips Sato and puts her in a crab hold, she stretches Sato before covering her for two. Uematsu goes for a snapmare but Sato reverses it into a backside, stomps by Sato and she hits a scoop slam.

Sato puts Uematsu in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and goes for a back bodydrop, but Uematsu jumps over her and the two trade flash pins. Uematsu goes off the ropes but Sato catches her from behind and rolls her up for two. Sato throws Uematsu into the corner but Uematsu avoids her charge and does a kick flip. Cradle by Uematsu, but it gets a two. Sato charges Uematsu in the corner but Uematsu cradles her for another two count, Sato slams Uematsu to the mat and hits a neckbreaker. Another neckbreaker by Sato, she picks up Uematsu but Uematsu hits a side headlock takedown. Scoop slam by Uematsu, she goes up top and hits a diving body press but it only gets two. Face Crusher by Sato, she throws Uematsu to the ropes and hits a hard shoulderblock. Sato goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, shoulder powerslam by Sato and she hits a pair of elbow drops for a two count. Sato goes up top but Uematsu hits her from behind, Japanese Leg Roll Clutch by Uematsu and she picks up the three count! Toshie Uematsu is the winner and gets a point.

Even for a rookie match, this was really basic. I’ve seen both of these wrestlers do more, maybe they really do need a veteran in the ring to string together something more complex as this was basically just submission holds and cradles. Pretty much a nothing match, both went on to have solid careers but almost one year into their careers they weren’t ready yet to put on an entertaining match on their own.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Makie Numao
Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament

Chikayo quickly gets Makie to the mat and stomps her, Makie comes back with kicks and hits a back bodydrop for two. They return to their feet, kick by Makie and she kicks Chikayo in the chest. Snapmare by Makie and a kick to the back, scoop slam by Makie and she covers Chikayo for two. Makie whips around Chikayo by the hair before applying a headlock, she lets her go after a moment and Chikayo knocks her down with a pair of dropkicks. Scoop slam by Chikayo, and she covers Makie for two. Chikayo stomps on Makie’s leg and puts her in a crab hold, but Makie crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Scoop slam by Chikayo and she throws down Makie by the hair, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Makie for two. Irish whip by Chikayo but Makie reverses it and kicks Chikayo in the chest. Bodyscissors by Makie but Chikayo gets a foot on the ropes, snapmare by Makie and she kicks Chikayo in the back. Scoop slam by Makie, she picks up Chikayo but Chikayo throws her into the corner and hits a monkey flip. Chikayo charges Makie but Makie moves and kicks Chikayo out of the ring, Makie goes out after her and throws Chikayo into the guard rail. Chikayo returns the favor and tosses Makie into the opposite railing before returning to the ring, Makie follows her but Chikayo dropkicks her into the corner.

Snapmare by Chikayo and she applies a chinlock, camel clutch by Chikayo and she switches it into a bodyscissors. Makie gets into the ropes for the break, Chikayo picks up Makie but Makie sneaks in a cradle for two. Kicks to the chest by Makie, cover by Makie but it gets a two count. Snapmare by Makie and she applies a wristlock, armdrags by Makie but Chikayo hits a quick crossbody. Irish whip by Chikayo and she hits a series of front rolls into headbutts, high kick by Chikayo but Makie blocks the next one and kicks Chikayo in the back. Cover by Makie, but Chikayo gets a foot in the ropes. Irish whip by Makie but Chikayo reverses it and hits a cutter, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Chikayo goes off the ropes but Makie puts her in a dragon sleeper, but Chikayo quickly gets in the ropes. Kick to the chest by Makie and she goes for the sleeper again, but Chikayo gets in the ropes Makie goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Chikayo barely kicks out. Irish whip by Makie but Chikayo rolls her up for a two count, kick by Makie but Chikayo catches the next one. Irish whip by Chikayo but Makie knees her in the stomach, more kicks by Makie and she covers Chikayo for two. Makie goes up top but Chikayo catches her with an armbar when she jumps off. Makie gets a foot in the ropes, Chikayo charges her and hits the Corbata for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima wins and gets one point in the tournament.

This was a step up from the last match but still a bit clunky. The issue here is that they both have very different styles, which is fine for veterans but rookies have more issues meshing with someone doing something totally different than they are. So the transitions were rough between spots and they used a lot of the same moves to switch who was on offense. Still, Makie has a nice dragon sleeper and Chikayo looked the best of the four rookies we saw today as she is smooth with her offense. Not a great match but a watchable one between two rookies.

Chigusa Nagayo, Satomura, and Kato vs. Combat Toyoda, Nakayama, and Ishikura

Toyoda and Nagayo start the match, they lock knuckles and get into a shoulderblock battle until Nagayo takes Toyoda to the mat. Sonoko and Meiko both come in and dropkick Nagayo, Nagayo tags in Sonoko while Meiko stays in the ring too but Toyoda rams their heads together. Scoop slam by Toyoda and she hits a bodyblock, lariat by Toyoda in the corner on Sonoko and she tosses Sonoko over her head. Cover by Toyoda, but Meiko breaks it up. She tags in Yukari, dropkick by Yukari but Sonoko reverses a back bodydrop attempt into a sunset flip and tags in Meiko. Running elbow by Meiko to Yukari and she hits a second one, cover by Meiko but it gets two. Meiko charges Yukari but Yukari tackles her, stomps by Yukari and she tags in Kaori. Kaori snapmares Meiko around the ring and slams her head into the mat a few times, but Meiko gets away and tags in Nagayo. Kicks by Nagayo and she hits a vertical suplex, but Yukari breaks up the cover. Nagayo picks up Kaori and hits a uranage, she tags in Sonoko and Sonoko dropkicks Kaori in the corner. Another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a scoop slam, but Kaori fights back and tags in Toyoda. Irish whip by Toyoda and she floors Sonoko back a back elbow, backbreaker by Toyoda and she gives Sonoko and airplane spin before tossing her to the mat. Toyoda charges Sonoko in the corner but Sonoko moves out of the way and kicks her, she tosses Toyoda into the corner and tags in Nagayo.

High kick by Nagayo but Toyoda ducks the heel kick and tags in Yukari. Yukari goes for a missile dropkick but hits Toyoda by accident, Nagayo lariats Toyoda but Kaori runs in and with Yukari they double team Nagayo. Space Rolling Elbow by Kaori in the corner but Nagayo kicks Yukari back and throws her into the corner. Toyoda tags in, she clubs Nagayo but Nagayo kicks her and hits a powerbomb. Piledriver by Nagayo and she covers Toyoda for a two count. Nagayo kicks Toyoda but Toyoda blocks one and applies a sleeper, but Meiko breaks it up. Both Nagayo and Toyoda’s teammates run in and hit dropkicks, Meiko and Kaori are both tagged in and Meiko dropkicks Kaori. Kaori comes back with a cutter, diving crossbody by Yukari and she slams mm in front of the corner so that Kaori can hit a moonsault. Kaori picks up Meiko but Meiko applies a seated armbar, Kaori quickly gets to the ropes but Meiko applies an armbreaker in the middle of the ring. Toyoda breaks it up, Yukari and Sonoko are both tagged in and Sonoko hits a Lou Thesz Press. Bulldog by Sonoko but Yukari delivers a diving crossbody, double underhook suplexes by Yukari but Meiko breaks up the cover. Toyoda comes in and lariats both Meiko and Sonoko, she then drops Sonoko with a backdrop suplex. Toyoda picks up Sonoko while Yukari goes up top, and together they hit a powerbomb/diving crossbody combination for a two count when Nagayo breaks it up. Nagayo suplexes Toyoda and then hits a sidewalk slam on Yukari, Kaori dropkicks Meiko but Sonoko scoops up Yukari and nails the Kamikaze Bomb for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo, Meiko Satomura, and Sonoko Kato win!

While the match had some hot moments, generally it just felt really disorganized and not in the good way. There wasn’t a lot of rhyme or reason to what they were doing, the tags didn’t have any heat and at times the transitions were non-existent. On the plus side, anytime Toyota and Nagayo squared off it felt like a big deal, and also whenever the rookies got one better on their veteran counterparts. On the low end of the GAEA Japan multi-woman main events they have had since they opened shop, it wasn’t bad but didn’t feel particularly fresh or captivating.

The post GAEA Japan HEARTFUL BODY LANGUAGE on 1/28/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

Finally I have made it to 1996! Attendance is up a bit for this one, maybe fans were excited for a new year of Joshi to begin. This event had a one night tag tournament but we will only be seeing the finals, as the bulk of the one hour taping focuses on the big 12 woman Captain Falls Elimination Match. We still have no titles in GAEA Japan at this point, so gimmicks such as big elimination matches and promotional wars is how they are maintaining fan interest. Here is the full card:

• Original Captain Fall Match: Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
• Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima 

I had to make some more profiles but now everyone wrestling on the show has one, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. There will definitely be some clipping here, lets see how it goes.

Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
Original Captain Fall Match

As soon as the bell rings all 12 wrestlers start brawling, Saburo catches Makie Numao with a chokeslam and she covers her for the three count! Makie Numao is eliminated. Poor rookie. The match resets while they roll Makie out of the ring, Saburo and Fukuoka stay in as the legal wrestlers and Saburo throws Fukuoka in he corner before tagging in Bolshoi. Bolshoi walks the ropes while holding Fukuoka’s wrist before hitting an armdrag, another armdrag by Bolshoi and she hits a dropkick. Fukuoka dropkicks her back and tags Suzuki, tombstone by Suzuki and she covers Bolshoi for two. Dragon Sleeper by Suzuki, she lets go as Ozaki comes in and Ozaki also puts Bolshoi in a sleeper. Nagayo eventually breaks it up, Ozaki tags in Kaoru and Kaoru hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Kaoru but she eventually lets go and tags Ozaki back in, Bolshoi hits a trio of crossbodies on Ozaki until Ozaki catches her and swings Bolshoi around by her neck. Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a powerbomb, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, her team runs in to block the other team and Ozaki picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid is eliminated.

Ozaki stays in and powerbombs Sugo, a second powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers her for the three count! Hiromi Sugo is eliminated as we get rid of the lower ranked wrestlers. Saburo comes in but Ozaki DDTs her, she tags in Kaoru but Saburo hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Everyone takes turns headbutting Kaoru, Saburo goes up top but Masami grabs her from the apron and pulls her out of the ring. Kaoru goes off the ropes but Bomber hits her from the apron and then dives out of the ring onto Masami. The other wrestlers see this as a challenge as they all take turns doing dives out of the ring, moonsault by Kaoru out of the ring and Nagayo is the final one as she dives out with a crossbody onto Kaoru. Nagayo slides both Kaoru and Saburo back in the ring, swandive missile dropkick by Kaoru and she nails a tombstone piledriver. Swandive moonsault by Kaoru, and she covers Saburo for the three count! Saburo is eliminated. Things are not going well for Chigusa Nagayo’s team. The teams huddle before Masami and Nagayo come in, Masami boots Nagayo in her already injured shoulder before tagging in Kaoru. Kaoru focuses on the shoulder as well but Nagayo avoids her legdrop, kicks to the leg by Nagayo but Kaoru tags in Ozaki. Ozaki applies a seated armbar and then a Fujiwara Armbar, but it gets broken up. Suzuki is tagged in and she also applies an armbar, she tags Fukuoka and Fukuoka elbows Nagayo in the arm. Nagayo gets away and applies a sleeper, but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Nagayo tags in Kansai, headscissors by Fukuoka to Kansai and she tags in Ozaki. Kansai quickly drops Ozaki with a backdrop suplex, she pulls Ozaki off the turnbuckles but is overwhelmed by Ozaki’s teammates. Kansai is stomped by all five of them, German suplex by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki tags Masami but Kansai avoids her senton attempt, she tags in Nagayo and Bomber comes in too as they all stomp on Masami. Nagayo puts Masami in a sleeper but lets go after a moment and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but it gets interrupted, Kansai puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but Masami recovers and goes for a legdrop. Kansai moves out of the way, she goes for Splash Mountain and nails it, getting the three count! Devi Masami is eliminated. Kansai and Fukuoka are the next wrestlers in, piledriver by Kansai but it gets broken up. Kansai tags in Bomber, Bombs Away by Bomber and she hits the Reverse Splash, but her pin is broken up. Bomber picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka slides away and they trade elbows. Fukuoka knocks Bomber off her feet and covers her for two, Fukuoka charges Bomber but Bomber hits a powerslam. Bomber goes up top, Kansai and Nagayo both come in and hit lariats on Fukuoka. Diving headbutt by Bomber, but her cover is broken up. Hard elbow by Bomber, she picks up Fukuoka as Nagayo and Kansai come in, but they elbow their own partner by accident. Ozaki and Suzuki run in to take care of Kansai and Nagayo, Rider Kick by Fukuoka to Bomber and she covers her for the three count! Bomber Hikaru is eliminated.

We are now at 4 vs. 2, Nagayo squares off with Fukuoka and hits a leg sweep. Fukuoka moonsaults over Nagayo and hits a headscissors, Kaoru comes in and hits a front dropkick on Nagayo but Nagayo fires back with a lariat on her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo on Fukuoka but Kaoru tags in, Nagayo goes for a suplex on her as well but Kaoru blocks it and lands on top of her. Kaoru goes for a swandive move but Nagayo moves, leg sweep by Nagayo and she hits a powerbomb. She goes for another powerbomb but Kaoru reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Kaoru tags in Suzuki but Nagayo catches her with a heel kick and tags in Kansai. Kansai picks up Suzuki but Suzuki applies a dragon sleeper, she lets go of it after a moment and hits a release German. Ozaki and Fukuoka both hit release Germans as well, dragon suplex by Suzuki to Kansai but Nagayo breaks it up. Suzuki goes up top but Kaoru kicks her as she jumps off, Ozaki comes in and powerbombs Kansai before Fukuoka hits a moonsault. Double footstomp by Suzuki and Ozaki, then Fukuoka goes back up top and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Nagayo breaks up Suzuki’s cover. Suzuki and Ozaki both go up top of one corner while Kaoru and Fukuoka go to a different corner and all four hit diving headbutts, but once again Nagayo breaks up the pin attempt. Suzuki and Ozaki go back up top again and hit a double jumping knee to the back but the cover is interrupted. They go up top AGAIN but this time accidentally hit their own partners, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain on Suzuki but Suzuki reverses into a cradle and picks up the three count! Dynamite Kansai is eliminated! And… the bell rings and the match is over! But who won?

Look, I don’t know what is going on. Once the bell rings, the referee raises Chigusa Nagayo’s hand as her team looks really happy, even though her partner just got pinned and she was the only one left on her team. My only theory, and its just a theory, is that there was a time limit and that at the end of the time if one team wasn’t completely eliminated, it defaulted to if the captain was eliminated, and if Devil Masami was the captain then that would mean her team lost (assuming Nagayo was also a captain). But I have no idea if that is true, they didn’t flash up a winner/match time after the match like they always do so I can’t say for sure, and I can’t understand Japanese to know if the commentators explained it.

Anyway. This was a really fun match, non-explainable ending aside. There were a few slower periods but generally the action was fast paced, especially at the end. They were just throwing bombs at each other, I’m not sure how Kansai survived everything being done to her. Obviously some of the wrestlers were focused on more than others, but that was generally based on rank and emphasizing the wrestlers that the fans came to see. The dive sequence was memorable and they kept the eliminations coming at a decent pace so it never felt like it was dragging. While I wish I had more details on the ending, still a really entertaining match with all the high flying chaos I was hoping for.  Recommended

Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu

Toshie dropkicks Hiromi from behind, she kicks off of her in the corner and hits an elbow. Another running elbow by Toshie but Hiromi applies a cradle and elbows Toshie in the head. Snapmares by Hiromi and she applies a headlock, Hiromi gets Toshie’s back and applies a bodyscissors. Hiromi switches it into a seated armbar and applies a cross armbreaker, but Toshie wiggles to the ropes before she can fully lock it in to get the break. Irish whip by Hiromi and she hits an armdrag, but Toshie switches positions with her and hits a snapmare before applying an armbar. Cross armbreaker by Toshie but Hiromi immediately rolls out of it, front necklock by Toshie but Hiromi slams out of it and covers Toshie for two. Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie avoids her charge and rolls her up for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, another back elbow by Toshie and she covers Hiromi for two. Toshie applies a stretch submission before putting Hiromi in an Indian Deathlock, she goes back to a stretch hold but Hiromi gets out of it and hits a German suplex.

Hiromi picks up Toshie, Toshie throws Hiromi into the corner but Hiromi avoids her charge and applies a kneelock. Toshie gets in the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie reverses it, she goes for a Leg Roll Clutch but Hiromi blocks it. Knee to the midsection by Hiromi but Toshie cradles her for a two count. Side headlock takedown by Toshie and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes up top again but Hiromi catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar when she jump off. Armdrag by Hiromi but Toshie rolls her up for two, Hiromi quickly gets Toshie to the mat and applies a kneelock. Back up, Toshie gets another quick roll-up but it gets two. Judo toss by Hiromi, she picks up Toshie and drops her on her head with a backdrop suplex. Hiromi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes up again but Toshie recovers and dropkicks her before she can jump off. Toshie joins Hiromi but Hiromi slides down her back and hits a sunset flip powerbomb for the three count! Hiromi Yagi wins!

This was a good match, but oddly structured which happens with younger wrestlers sometimes. It was basically just a random mesh of flash pins and submission holds, without a lot of transitions or method to get from one to another. The submissions never felt particularly deadly and didn’t play into the finish at all, even if it is clear from this match that Hiromi Yagi is a skilled submission machine. The backdrop suplex was very head drop-y so I am glad that Toshie was ok, not sure if they went to the end quicker because of it. Perfectly fine for a casual watch, nothing wrong with the action itself, it just didn’t have a clear direction so it was hard to get invested.

Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki and Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima
Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final

• Semi Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki defeated Toshie Sato and Kanako Motoya
• Semi Final: Chikayo Nagashima and Tomoko Kuzumi defeated Chiharu Nakano and Reiko Amano

Which set up this match to end the event. All four of these wrestlers are basically rookies, with the JWP wrestlers being slightly more experienced as Miyazaki debuted in January 1995 and Kuzumi (better known today as Azumi Hyuga) debuted in December of 1994. The teams are mixed between promotions but that won’t matter here as they all are feisty and want to win the tournament. Not a lot of time is left on this broadcast so I assume this match will be very clipped.

We join this match in progress, with Sonoko being double teamed. Yuki comes in to help as Sonoko gets Tomoko up in an airplane spin, Chikayo cradles Sonoko from behind however and picks up a two count. Chikayo stomps on Sonoko and hits a cutter, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Chikayo but Sonoko reverses it and hits a bulldog. Tomoko runs in and dropkicks Sonoko, Chikayo tags Tomoko but Sonoko hits a hard elbow. Tomoko flips herself out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by Tomoko but it gets two. Sonoko escapes Tomoko and hits a bulldog, giving her time to tag in Yuki. Hip attacks by Yuki to Tomoko, she picks her up but after a collision the advantage is regained by Tomoko. Swandive dropkick by Tomoko and she stomps at Yuki, Yuki goes for a leg clutch but Tomoko blocks it and tags Chikayo. Stunner by Chikayo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Chikayo picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sunset flip for two. She tags in Sonoko but Chikayo catches Sonoko with the Corbata for two. Chikayo goes off the ropes but Sonoko pushes her off and hits four leg drops for a two count. Sonoko picks up Chikayo and hits a running bulldog, Acid Drop by Sonoko but Chikayo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Chikayo, Sonoko then delivers a diving Lou Thesz Press but Tomoko breaks up the cover. Sonoko gets Chikayo on her shoulders but she wiggles off and rolls up Sonoko for the three count! Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima win the match and the tournament.

This was too clipped to get a great feel of, only 5 of 17 minutes was shown, but what we did see was fine. Very fast paced, lots going on, no real downtime as these younger wrestlers haven’t really started working on “pacing” yet so its constant action. The fact three of these four are still active today is pretty cool (and rare), and its fun to see them back when they were still learning. Tomoko looked great as she always does but there were no real weak links here, everyone did their part well and it was the type of match you couldn’t look away or you’d miss something. I liked what I saw, just wish that I could have seen more.

The post GAEA Japan SPLASH J and RUNNING G II on 1/14/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

We have finally reached the final event of 1995! That took awhile. GAEA Japan returns to Korakuen Hall for their pre-Christmas show, with a big main event as Chigusa Nagayo takes on Combat Toyoda. We also get the first appearance by the legendary FMW wrestler Megumi Kudo here as well, as Team FMW takes on Team GAEA Japan. Three of the matches were shown on the one hour broadcast, here are the matches:

• Chihiro Nakano vs. Chikayo Nagashima 
• KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Toshie Uematsu vs. Megumi Kudo, Kaori Nakayama, and Yukari Ishikura
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Combat Toyoda
  

The main event in particular should be interesting as Chigusa Nagayo tends to bring her best when defending her home turf, although Toyoda isn’t always easy to work with. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Chihiro Nakano vs. Chikayo Nagashima

Chikayo and Chihiro circle each other to start, back bodydrop by Chihiro but Chikayo trips her and delivers a stomp. Chihiro gets Chikayo’s ankle but Chikayo slides away and hits a scoop slam. Kicks by Chikayo and she hits a few snapmares before applying a crossface. Chihiro gets into the ropes for the break but Chikayo applies a side headlock, Chihiro gets out of it and hits a scoop slam for two. Crab hold by Chihiro and she grabs Chikayo’s arm to further stretch her, armbar by Chihiro but Chikayo gets to the ropes. Chihiro elbows Chikayo’s arm and goes for across armbreaker, but Chikayo blocks it. Chikayo kicks Chihiro away and hits a pair of dropkicks, but Chihiro bridges out of the pin. Crossface by Chikayo, she throws Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro avoids her charge and pushes Chikayo out of the ring. Chihiro goes out after her but Chikayo moves when Chihiro goes for a knee, and Chihiro collides with the guard rail. Chikayo slides Chihiro back in and puts her in an ankle hold, but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Snapmare by Chikayo and she goes back to Chihiro’s leg, but Chihiro recovers and returns the favor as she goes for Chikayo’s leg as well.

Chikayo gets into the ropes, Chihiro picks her up but Chikayo hits a crossbody for two. Chikayo throws down Chihiro by the hair and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Chihiro for another two count. Front roll by Chikayo but Chihiro catches her and they trade quick pins. Back up, Stunner by Chikayo and she hits an Ace Crusher for two. Chikayo throws Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro jumps up the turnbuckles and hits a sunset flip for two. Chihiro goes for Chikayo’s leg but Chikayo quickly grabs the ropes, running knees by Chihiro and she covers Chikayo for a two count. Jumping knee in the corner by Chihiro but she accidentally flies out of the ring in the process, she quickly gets back in the ring and hits a scoop slam for two. Chihiro slams Chikayo in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop, but Chikayo kicks out of the cover again. She goes for Chikayo’s knee but Chikayo gets to the ropes, Chihiro picks up Chikayo but Chikayo snaps off a Corbata for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima wins the match!

They certainly get an A for effort, they were going all out in this match. Not always effectively, but they tried. The story was loose at best so its easier watching these matches remembering both are rookies, so you wouldn’t expect rookie wrestlers even in fake-world to have a real plan on winning. They are just doing the best they can with their limited knowledge. So even though it was all over the place, it was exciting and interesting throughout so its hard to have too many complaints. All things considered, a pretty entertaining way to kick off the TV airing.  Mildly Recommended

KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Uematsu vs. Megumi Kudo, Nakayama, and Yukari Ishikura

Meiko and Yukari start the match, armdrag by Meiko but Yukari puts her in a headscissors. Kaori runs in and they hit a double dropkick onto Meiko, Yukari tags in Kaori and she dropkicks Meiko again. Another dropkick by Kaori and she applies an armbar, she tags in KAORU and KAORU continues on Meiko’s arm. Yukari returns as Team FMW takes turns on Meiko’s arm, but knocks her back and makes the tag to Toshie. Dropkick by Toshie to Yukari and she rams her into the turnbuckles before applying a chinlock. Side headlock by Toshie and she puts Yukari in a Indian Deathlock, she tags in KAORU as Meiko comes in as well so they can all boot Yukari. Meiko and Toshie both come off the top with attacks to Yukari’s arm, arm wringer by KAORU to Yukari and she tags in Meiko. Meiko goes for a cross armbreaker but Kaori breaks it up, dropkick by Meiko to Yukari and she covers her for two. Meiko tags Toshie, Toshie stays on Yukari’s arm before delivering a jumping kick to her face. Yukari comes back with a dropkick and tags in Kudo, crossbody by Kudo to Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Kudo stretches Toshie and puts her in a camel clutch, Yukari and Kaori run in and stomp on Toshie while she is on the hold.

Kaori is tagged in, stomps to the leg by Kaori and she twists on Toshie’s leg. Kudo returns and puts Toshie in a figure four but Meiko breaks it up, Kudo slaps Meiko and goes back to Toshie as she throws her into the mat. She tags in Kaori, face crushers by Kaori but Toshie sneaks in an inside cradle for two. This gives her time to tag in KAORU, front dropkick by KAORU to Kaori and she puts her in a Camel Clutch. Meiko and Toshie come in and take turns dropkicking Kaori while she is in the hold, Mexican Surfboard by KAORU but Kudo eventually breaks it up. KAORU tags Meiko, elbows by Meiko and she covers Kaori for two. Kaori comes back with a Space Rolling Elbow but Meiko hits a running elbow smash and applies the cross armbreaker. Yukari quickly breaks it up, scoop slam by Meiko and KAORU goes up top to attempt a moonsault. Kaori moves out of the way however, Kudo dropkicks KAORU from behind and plants KAORU with a backdrop suplex. Kaori goes up top and hits a moonsault onto KAORU, she tags in Kudo and Kudo boots KAORU in the face. Enzuigiri by Kudo, she goes up top but Toshie grabs her from the apron. That gives KAORU time to recover, she gets Kudo on her shoulders but Kudo slides off and puts KAORU in a dragon sleeper.

That quickly gets broken up, Kudo picks up KAORU but Toshie and Meiko run in an dropkick her. Double missile dropkick by Meiko and Toshie, KAORU picks up Kudo and hits a leg clutch backdrop suplex hold for two. Scoop slam by KAORU and she nails the swandive moonsault, but Kaori breaks up the cover. KAORU tags Toshie, Meiko comes in too and all three attack Kudo in the corner. Toshie charges Kudo but Kudo puts her in a sleeper hold, she swings Toshie around while in the hold before dropping her to the mat. She tags in Yukari, dropkick by Yukari in the corner and Kaori hits a Space Rolling Elbow. Face crusher by Kudo, Yukari goes up top but Toshie recovers and joins her. Yukari pushes Toshie away and hits an avalanche sunset flip, but Meiko breaks up the cover. Kaori comes in and they double team Toshie, but again her cover is broken up. Kaori hits a diving crossbody on Toshie, Yukari goes up top as Kudo holds Toshie, but KAORU hits a swandive dropkick onto Kudo. Yukari dives off anyway but Toshie gets out of the way, Toshie crucifixes Yukari from behind and she picks up the three count! Team GAEA Japan wins!

I wouldn’t say this was the most fluid and smooth match, but it was fun. The rookies got confused a few times, which isn’t incredibly unusual, but they kept the pace up. Megumi Kudo, to the surprise of no one, controlled the match and team GAEA Japan was only able to win by getting a flash pin after knocking Kudo out of the way for a moment. Lots of style, a little bit of substance, but generally speaking they all came out of it looking fine and it made me want to see Megumi Kudo in a bigger match as she brought something a bit different to the table than we have seen recently in GAEA Japan.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Combat Toyoda

We join this match in progress, with Nagayo working over Toyoda’s leg on the mat. Figure four by Nagayo but Toyoda rolls to the ropes and grabs them to force a break. Scorpion Deathlock by Nagayo but again Toyoda gets to the ropes, kicks by Nagayo and she headbutts Toyoda, but Toyoda hulks up and absorbs the blows. Toyoda headbutts Nagayo repeatedly and they reach a stalemate, headbutt by Nagayo but Toyoda blocks the slam attempt. Nagayo finally manages to hit the slam, she challenges Toyoda to try to slam her back and Toyoda manages to do so. Vertical suplex by Toyoda, she covers Nagayo but it only gets two. Scorpion Deathlock by Toyoda but Nagayo gets out of it and rolls out of the ring, she returns after a moment but Toyoda tackles her soon after. Nagayo goes for Toyoda’s arm from the bottom and gets an armbar applied, Toyoda gets to the ropes so Nagayo picks her up and hits a heel kick.

She goes for another one but Toyoda catches her and hits a backdrop suplex, another backdrop suplex by Toyoda and she delivers a missile dropkick. Nagayo falls out of the ring, Toyoda goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with crossbody to the floor. Toyoda goes to get back in the ring but Nagayo grabs her from behind and hits a backdrop suplex onto the floor. Now it is Nagayo that goes up and dives out of the ring onto Toyoda with a crossbody, she gets back into the ring and waits for Toyoda to recover. Toyoda eventually returns, Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Toyoda blocks it. Head kicks by Nagayo but Toyoda fires back with a lariat, German suplex by Nagayo and she goes up top, delivering a diving heel kick. Cover by Nagayo, but it gets a two count. Nagayo puts Toyoda on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting an avalanche DDT for another two.

Nagayo goes for a kick but Toyoda catchers her leg and elbows her in the knee, she does it a second time and puts Nagayo in a sleeper. Nagayo backs Toyoda into the corner to get out of the hold, high kick by Nagayo and she gets on the turnbuckles, but Toyoda joins her and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex for a two count. Scoop slam by Toyoda, she goes up top and nails a diving body press for another two. Toyoda puts Nagayo on the top turnbuckle with Nagayo facing the crowd, Toyoda gets up with her and slams her back into the ring, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Nagayo recovers first and puts Toyoda in a sleeper, but Toyoda crawls to the ropes and gets there for the break. Elbow by Nagayo, she goes for the powerbomb but Toyoda lariats her to the mat. Toyoda gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagayo kicks her from behind, she gets Toyoda on her back and she nails the Running Three for the three count pinfall! Chigusa Nagayo is the winner!

We missed about half the match, so we basically went straight to the meat of the match and didn’t see how they introduced it. From what we saw, this was a very… Chigusa Nagayo match. If you like things such as selling big spots and transitions, this is not the match for you as they blew off things that usually have no business being blown off. Toyoda is really good at the hardcore style but an average “normal” match wrestler, I almost wish they had gone to more of a brawl style as it probably would have been a better match. It still had some drama and memorable sections, the effort was there to put on something special, but the work was lacking at times. I still liked it as I am a big Chigusa Nagayo fan and it did have the big match feel, I just wish it was a more cohesive match as not everything clicked.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Come On Hurry! XMAS Fighting” on 12/23/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

Believe it or not, I have not forgotten about this Project! I have been having issues with ‘time’ lately but I will make a strong attempt to review one GAEA Japan event each week going forward. Since we have a long way to go. This is a smaller show for GAEA Japan and takes place outside of Korakuen Hall for the first time since September. Only two matches were shown on the one hour broadcast, here are the matches:

• Bad Nurse Nakamura and Miwa Sato vs. Bomber Hikari and Chikayo Nagashima
• Chigusa Nagayo and Toshie Uematsu vs. KAORU and Sonoko Kato

Even though this wasn’t a major event, we still have to watch it because 1. I am not skipping shows and 2. you never know where there may be a hidden gem that no one knew existed. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Bad Nurse Nakamura and Miwa Sato vs. Bomber Hikari and Chikayo Nagashima

The GAEA Japan team attacks before the bell rings but the advantage lasts about two seconds until Team FMW gets Bomber isolated. Bomber hits a crossbody on both of them and Chikayo comes back to help as the double team Team FMW. Bomber and Sato stay in the ring as legal, scoop slam by Bomber and she covers Sato, but Sato bridges out of it. Another slam by Bomber and she hits another one, crab hold by Bomber but Nakamura breaks it up. Bodyblock by Bomber and she tags Chikayo, snapmare by Chikayo and she starts on Sato’s leg. Crab hold by Chikayo but Sato gets out of it, Sato avoids her dropkick and she tags in Nakamura. Scoop slam by Nakamura and she dropkicks Chikayo, another dropkick by Nakamura and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Chikayo is double teamed in the ropes, Nakamura steps on Chikayo’s hands and both she and Sato stomp on Chikayo. Sato stays in as legal and stomps on Chikayo while she is in the Tree of Woe, Sato sits down on Chikayo when she goes for a sunset flip as Team FMW stays in control, Nakamura is tagged back in and she is double teamed in the corner. Sato teases letting Chikayo tag out but twists her arm instead, cradle by Sato but it gets a two count. Sato tags in Nakamura and she hits a back elbow, scoop slam by Nakamura and she tags in Sato. Chikayo snaps off a Stunner and tags in Bomber, Bomber goes off the ropes but Nakamura hits her from the apron.

Sato gets a weighted cloth of some sort and beats Bomber with it, she tags in Nakamura and Nakamura cracks Bomber in the head with a soda can. Double Irish whip by Bomber and she gets hit with two cans, but Sato eventually hits Nakamura by accident, Bomber gets the can and hits Nakamura in the head repeatedly with it. Bomber takes Nakamura out of the ring and tosses her into the railing, they return to the ring and Chikayo hits a missile dropkick on Nakamura for a two count. Front roll into a headbutt by Chikayo followed by a headscissors, catapult missile dropkick by Chikayo but Nakamura bridges out of the pin. Chikayo tags Bomber but Sato chokes Bomber from behind, Sato stays in and tosses around Bomber by the neck. Bomber is double teamed in the corner, scoop slam by Sato and she hits a leg drop for two. Nakamura returns, jumping neck drop by Sato on Bomber so she hits a second one, cradle by Nakamura to Bomber but it gets a two count. Rolling cradle by Nakamura to Bomber, but that gets a two count as well. Nakamura puts Bomber in the STF but Chikayo breaks it up, scoop slam by Bomber but Nakamura kicks out. Over The Top by Bomber, she picks up Nakamura and goes for a backdrop suplex but Nakamura reverses it into a roll-up for two.

Spin-out powerbomb by Bomber, but Sato breaks up the cover. Bomber picks up Nakamura and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top but Nakamura avoids the Reverse Splash. Diving knee strike by Nakamura, but Chikayo breaks up the pin attempt. Nakamura tags in Sato, she brings in a chair and DDTs Bomber onto it before putting the chair into the corner and driving Bomber’s head in it. Chikayo comes in and takes the chair, hitting both Nakamura and Sato with it. Chikayo tags in, scoop slam by Chikayo onto Sato but Sato shakes her off and boots Chikayo in the face. Sato goes for a suplex but Chikayo reverses it into a cradle, front roll into a headbutt by Chikayo but Nakamura trips her from the floor. Scoop slams by Sato to Chikayo and she hits a backdrop suplex hold for two. Sato goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Sato but Bomber breaks it up. Nakamura comes in with a chain and jokes Bomber, Sato suplexes Chikayo but Chikayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Double arm suplex by Sato, she picks up Chikayo and hits another suplex but pulls up her head again on the cover. Backdrop suplex by Sato but she stops the pin as she taunts Bomber, powerbomb by Sato and she finally keeps her covered for the three count! Bad Nurse Nakamura and Miwa Sato win the match.

This match started too slow for me to get excited about but the end stretch was really good. I don’t mind long beatdown segments but in this case the beatdown wasn’t very interesting, as the offense stayed basic. They picked things up dramatically once Team FMW started using weapons and Chikayo was tagged back in for the last few minutes as she showed a lot of fire. I loved the ending with Sato just repeatedly dropping Chikayo while taunting Bomber and then pinning Chikayo anyway, as the normal wrestling thing to do would be to give Chikayo a hope spot while instead she just destroyed her. Slightly more good than bad, it just took a bit too long to get going.

Chigusa Nagayo and Toshie Uematsu vs. KAORU and Sonoko Kato

Sonoko and Toshie start the match, shoulderblock by Sonoko but Toshie comes back with a dropkick. They reach a stalemate and tag out, Nagayo and KAORU play to the crowd until KAORU hits an armdrag. Nagayo comes back with her own armdrag and they also reach a stalemate, Nagayo attacks KAORU from behind and Toshie runs in so they can double team her. Belly to belly suplex by Nagayo but KAORU bridges out of the pin, Toshie is tagged in but KAORU catches her with a powerslam and tags in Sonoko. Sonoko dropkicks Toshie in the corner, Toshie comes back with snapmares and she applies a headlock, but Sonoko rolls out of it. Toshie tags Nagayo, Nagayo locks knuckles with Sonoko and gets her to the mat, Sonoko tries to get Nagayo off of her but Nagayo kicks her hard in the back. Sonoko gets Nagayo’s arm but Nagayo gets into the ropes, dropkicks by Sonoko but Nagayo levels her with a clothesline and tags in Toshie. Dropkicks by Toshie to Sonoko but Sonoko sneaks in a cradle and makes the tag to KAORU. Toshie tries to elbow KAORU over and finally does so, but KAORU quickly gets back up and delivers a dropkick. Crab hold by KAORU but Toshie gets to the ropes for the break, KAORU grapevines Toshie’s leg and applies the Muta Lock, bridging fallaway slam by KAORU but Toshie kicks out at two. KAORU tags in Sonoko, Lou Thesz Presses by Sonoko, scoop slam by Sonoko and she covers Toshie for two.

Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick, Sonoko tags in KAORU but Toshie dropkicks her as well. Toshie tags Nagayo, spinning heel kick by Nagayo and she hits a second one for a two count. Nagayo Irish whips KAORU but KAORU puts her in a sleeper, Nagayo rolls into the ropes and she manages to force the break. Nagayo manages to tag in Toshie, Toshie puts KAORU in a crab hold but KAORU quickly gets into the ropes. Toshie puts KAORU in a stretch hold but KAORU rolls out of it, she tags Sonoko and Sonoko delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Sonoko to Toshie and she covers her for two. Scoop slam by Sonoko but Toshie bridges out of the pin and hits a side headlock takedown. Sonoko picks up Toshie and KAORU comes off the top turnbuckle with a lariat, missile dropkick by KAORU but Toshie falls back into her own corner and tags Nagayo. Nagayo catches KAORU with a sit-down powerbomb but Sonoko breaks up the cover, KAORU hits a trio of German suplexes on Nagayo before hitting a moonsault on Nagayo for a two count cover. Sonoko goes up top and hits a missile dropkick but Toshie runs in and dropkicks her, Nagayo kicks KAORU out of the ring and goes out onto the top turnbuckle, diving out of the ring onto KAORU.

Nagayo rolls KAORU back into the ring and slams her to the mat, but Sonoko breaks up the cover. Nagayo picks up KAORU but KAORU rolls away and tags Sonoko, but Nagayo greets Sonoko with a lariat. Nagayo tags Toshie, diving crossbody by Toshie but Sonoko comes back with a bulldog. Another bulldog by Sonoko and she hits a leg drop, picking up a two count. Sonoko tries to throw Toshie in the corner but Toshie reverses it and runs up Sonoko, she goes off the ropes but Sonoko hits a Lou Thesz Press. Seated senton by KAORU, she puts Toshie on her shoulders while Sonoko goes to the top turnbuckle, and Sonoko hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Sonoko but Nagayo breaks up the cover. Nagayo hits a heel kick on Sonoko and hits a sidewalk slam, Toshie cover Sonoko but KAORU breaks up the cover. Nagayo kicks KAORU out of the ring, Toshie picks up Sonoko and applies the Japanese Rolling Clutch, but Sonoko rolls through it. Nagayo returns and gets Sonoko up in a powerbomb position, Toshie goes up top and hits a crossbody while Nagayo delivers the powerbomb, and Toshie picks up the three count pinfall! Chigusa Nagayo and Toshie Uematsu win!

The dynamic here was a common one in the early days of GAEA Japan – veteran wrestlers leading the rookies to a decent match by making them do the bulk of the work. It was a necessary step in their growth as the rookies weren’t going to grow unless they got these opportunities, however it does make the matches feel a bit same-y while they got in the experience. When KAORU and Nagayo were both legal at the same time the match was more diverse and fast paced, but that rarely happened as they wanted Sonoko and Toshie to do the work. Sonoko and Toshie both looked good and had some solid offense, but obviously not at the level of their tag partners. The ending stretch was fast paced and hectic and overall I thought the match was entertaining as it was really crisp with occasional moments of excitement, but in the grand scheme of life pretty forgettable even with the killer ending. Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “The World” on 12/2/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Finally! WAVE uploaded this event on the WAVE Network last month, but the website was down for awhile so it just took me time to first get the show and then have time to watch it. This is the biggest Pro Wrestling WAVE event in a long time, with over 2,000 people in attendance for their 10th Anniversary. Many big matches on this show, including a series of matches with GAMI vs. Chigusa Nagayo and a big title match between Yoshiko and Rina Yamashita. Here are the matches I’ll be watching:

• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
• Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura
• Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki
• Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T
• Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Takumi Iroha
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
• ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

Two matches from the show I won’t be reviewing – the Y Dress Battle Royal was not added to the WAVE Network for whatever reason, and the Kashin/Michinoku vs. Togo/Goto match I am skipping since I am focusing on the Joshi matches. All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go directly to it.

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo kicks GAMI in the leg to start the match, GAMI immediately retreats to the corner and asks for an ice pack for it. She comes back out while limping, chop to the chest by Nagayo but GAMI gets her noise maker and hits the referee in the head with it. She then tosses it to Nagayo and claims it was Nagayo that hit the referee, GAMI kicks Nagayo and bounces her off the ropes. Kick to the chest by GAMI, and she covers Nagayo for two. GAMI gets her weapon and hits Nagayo a couple times with it, Nagayo gets to the ropes and the referee gives her a moment to recover. Kicks by Nagayo and she punches GAMI in the chest, cover by Nagayo but GAMI kicks out. Wristlock by GAMI, she climbs up the corner and walks the top rope, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok look, you have to watch matches like these from a different perspective. Clearly, ‘workrate’ wise this was not a good match. GAMI is no longer an active wrestler, while Nagayo is 52 years old and a bit broken. But they were having fun and the crowd enjoyed seeing two classic wrestlers mixing it up. We aren’t done seeing them yet as they are having a match series, for their next match they will be in tag action. This is really only for long time fans that just want to see Nagayo and GAMI lock up, everyone else can safely skip it.

(c) Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Hiroe and Kaori start the match, Kaho quickly comes in to help her partner and they stomp down Kaori. Double dropkick to Kaori but Cherry breaks things up, Hiroe is now double teamed until Kaori tags in Cherry. Cherry rolls Hiroe to the mat and elbows her, slaps by Cherry and she kicks Hiroe into the ropes. Kaori is tagged back in and she throws down Hiroe by the hair, Cherry returns as they take turns on the young WAVE wrestler. Hiroe fights back with a crossbody and makes the hot tag to Kaho, Kaho dropkicks both Cherry and Hiroe and goes for a double crossbody, but she gets caught. Kaho flings them both to the mat anyway, Kaho throws Cherry into the corner and she hits a dropkick. Running senton by Kaho, but Cherry bridges out of the pin. Back up they trade elbows, eye poke by Cherry and she forces the referee to help her out. Cover by Cherry, but Kaho kicks out at two. Kaho elbows Cherry and goes off the ropes, but Cherry catches her with Cutie Special for another two.

Cherry tags Kaori, Kaori knees Kaho in the back of the head but Kaho blocks her chops. Kick by Kaori and she goes off the ropes, but Kaho delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags Hiroe, dropkicks by Hiroe and she goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Hiroe picks up Kaori and hits the Northern Lights Suplex, but Cherry breaks it up. Cherry and Kaori are stacked in the corner but they avoid Hiroe’s charge and send Kaho out of the ring. Hiroe is slammed near the corner, diving senton by Kaori and Cherry follows with the Swanton Bomb, but Kaho returns in time to break up the cover. Cherry and Kaori pick up Hiroe but Kaho runs in again and dropkicks both of them, they avoid Kaho’s next dropkick and they cradle Hiroe, but Kaho once again breaks it up. Kaori goes for the Chaos Theory but Hiroe blocks it, Cherry chops Kaori by accident and Hiroe cradles Kaori for two. Kaho kicks Kaori from the apron, Hiroe quickly puts Kaori in the Hiroe Special and she picks up the three count! Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi are the new champions!

My love of Kaho helped this match entertain me more than it probably should, but both teams did work well together and they kept the action flowing. This is the first title in Hiroe’s career and she was clearly very excited to win it, even if it was a bit fluky. Fast paced and interesting, but overall not incredibly memorable for a title change.  Mildly Recommended

Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota
vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura

Hana and Hirota start the match, dropkick by Hana and she covers her for the three count! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Hirota gets on the mic and I am assuming wants the match to re-start, and she eventually gets her wish. Hirota and Mio Momono start the rematch, dropkick by Mio and she covers Hirota for three once again! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Well Hirota still isn’t satisfied so the match re-starts again with Rin and Hirota, dropkick by Rin and she covers Hirota, but this time Hirota barely kicks out. Hirota Oil Checks Rin and tags out, Hikaru tags in too but she is double teamed by Ranmaru and Mii. Hikaru gets her kendo stick and tries to hit Ranmaru with it, eventually succeeding. Ranmaru rolls out of the ring while Fairy gets in it with her wand, and she uses it to deflect Hikaru’s kendo stick. Fairy flings all her opponents with the wand, Hirota comes in while all their opponents are lying on the ring, she goes off the ropes and hits a running splash of sorts onto everyone. Both teams ram into each other in the middle of the ring, almost causing them all to be counted down for three, but the eight wrestlers get their shoulders up. They trade finishers with each other until Hikaru is in the ring with Mii, Tamashi no Three Count by Hikaru to Mii and she picks up the three count! Hana Kimura and friends officially finally win the match!

This match was, as the kids would say, a Nothing Burger. Even though it was Hirota’s first official match since 2015, it certainly didn’t feel special in any way. I so rarely get to see Hibiscus Mii and Ranmaru that I wish the action wasn’t so short, as it didn’t give anyone time to make an impact. I guess it functioned as a cute little midcard match, but even comedy lovers probably would want a bit more than what we were given here.

Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki

Aoi and Yuki start the match, Yuki pushes Aoi against the ropes but Nagisa comes in to help even things out. Yuki lariats both of them for their trouble, Mika comes in and puts on Aoi’s wings while Yuki puts Aoi in a compromising position. Nagisa comes in to break up the fun, Mika stays in with Aoi and hits a pair of falling headbutts. Yuki walks back over and covers Aoi for two, Irish whip by Yuki but Aoi hits a jumping lariat. Yuki doesn’t go down however and dropkicks Aoi in the head, Mika then comes in and she dropkicks Aoi as well. Yuki picks up Aoi but Aoi snaps off a German suplex, jumping lariat by Aoi and she hits the double wrist clutch suplex for a two count. Aoi goes up top but Yuki avoids the swivel body press, Mika comes in but Aoi moves when Yuki tries to slam Mika onto her. Aoi puts Yuki in a stretch hold with Nagisa’s help, but Yuki fights them both off. German by Yuki but Aoi pops back to her feet and hits a German of her own. Aoi tags in Nagisa, Nagisa goes for a kick but Yuki shoves her to the mat. Elbows by Nagisa but Yuki fires back with a lariat, Yuki goes up top but Aoi grabs her from the apron, allowing Nagisa to German her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.

Nagisa goes up top but Yuki joins her before suplexing Nagisa back down, DDT by Yuki and this time she succeeds in slamming Mika on top of her. Yuki goes up top but Nagisa avoids the moonsault, Nagisa goes off the ropes but Yuki catches her with a Samoan Driver. Yuki tags in Mika, uppercut by Mika and she then hits a running uppercut. Nagisa and Mika trade elbows, big boot by Nagisa but Mika avoids her charge in the corner and snaps her arm over the top rope. Mika boots Nagisa in the head but Nagisa puts her in a sleeper, Yuki grabs Nagisa from behind and suplexes her into the turnbuckles. Dropkick by Mika to Nagisa, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Aoi comes in to get Nagisa back in control, butterfly suplex by Nagisa and she covers Mika for two. Sleeper by Nagisa but Mika rolls out of it, Nagisa charges Mika and nails a running knee, but Yuki breaks up the cover. Nagisa hits a modified STO before cranking on Mika’s arm, but Yuki breaks up the submission. Nagisa goes for a boot but Mika ducks and puts Nagisa in a short armbar, cross armbreaker by Mika but Nagisa gets a foot on the ropes. Mika goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the face, she goes for another boot but Yuki comes in and distracts the referee. Modified sunset flip by Mika, and she holds down Nagisa for the three count! Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki win the match.

I will give Nagisa credit – she looked a little rusty but she was in the bulk of the match and took a lot of big bumps, so she wasn’t taking it easy. Nagisa was never, in my opinion, a high end wrestler but she is good at submissions/strikes and can hang with most wrestlers. Really, the other three aren’t high end wrestlers either so it was a fair pairing, a decent midcard match but nothing overly exciting.

Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T

GAMI and Chigusa charges Matsumoto and Zap T as they come through the curtain and they brawl on the stage, which quickly backfires as Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head. Matsumoto brings GAMI back to ringside and into the ring, where she hits GAMI in the head with a kendo stick. Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head some while GAMI bleeds, Zap T comes in too and puts GAMI in a camel clutch of sorts. Zap T stays in as the legal wrestler but GAMI elbows her against the ropes, scoop slam by GAMI and she tags in Chigusa. Elbows by Chigusa but Zap T kicks her back, Matsumoto gets Chigusa in the corner and tries to stab her, but Chigusa blocks it. Zap T clubs Chigusa while Matsumoto gets her paint can, but she hits Zap T by accident. GAMI and Chigusa double team Zap T, Chigusa then trips Matsumoto and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock of sorts. Around this time the bell mercifully rings, as the five minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok so I said I love Matsumoto, and I do, but her physical condition has gotten worse since I last saw her and she had trouble even standing. GAMI is still pretty spry as is Watanabe, but Matsumoto’s situation just dragged down the match. I still love her and always will, but even with my strongest nostalgic goggles I can’t recommend this.

Ayako Hamada, Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Iroha

Satsuki and Meiko begin for their teams and quickly trade elbows, they go into a tie-up and Meiko takes Satsuki to the mat. Satsuki gets to the ropes to force a break, Meiko quickly applies a short armbar but again Satsuki reaches the ropes. Meiko isn’t done schooling the rookie as she puts Satsuki in a kneelock, but Satsuki breaks the hold for the third time. Meiko tags in Nanae and elbows Satsuki in the corner, chops by Nanae and she hits a leg drop. Nanae tags in Hamada, kicks by Hamada and she covers Satsuki for two. Short armbar by Hamada and she puts Satsuki in a stretch hold, but Iroha runs in to break it up. Satsuki finally hits a move as she delivers a crossbody, giving her time to tag in Iroha. Iroha kicks Hamada to the mat but Hamada hits a vertical suplex before tagging in Meiko. Iroha elbows Meiko in the corner but Meiko elbows her back, kicks by Meiko and she shoves the referee down when she tries to slow down Meiko’s assault. Iroha fires back with kicks and she puts Meiko in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Nanae breaks it up with a hard slap. Lariat by Nanae to Iroha and Meiko delivers the cartwheel kneedrop, Meiko tags in Nanae and Nanae slaps Iroha into the corner, lariat by Nanae but Iroha kicks her in the chin. Suplex by Nanae and she goes for an ankle hold, but Chihiro breaks it up. Lariats by Nanae and she drops Iroha with a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits an elbow.

Superkick by Iroha, she goes up top and nails a Swanton Bomb, but Nanae barely kicks out. Iroha tags in Chihiro, somersault sentons by Chihiro and she covers Nanae for two. Nanae slaps Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro fires back, lariat by Chihiro but Nanae knocks her down with a lariat of her own. Nanae goes off the ropes but Chihiro lariats Nanae to the mat, Iroha comes in but Nanae lariats both of them. Nanae tags in Hamada, Hamada goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Chihiro gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nanae and Meiko both get in the ring and they help Hamada take over the match. Chihiro gets Hamada’s back and drops her with a release German, giving her time to tag in Satsuki. Shoulderblocks by Satsuki but Hamada kicks out of the cover, Nanae comes in to try to help but she kicks Hamada by accident. Satsuki and Chihiro both hit sentons, Satsuki goes up top and she hits a somersault senton onto Hamada for a two count. All six wrestlers end up in the ring and Team Hamada all hit signature moves, powerbomb by Hamada to Iroha and Meiko hits a diving bodypress. Chihiro spears both Hamada and Meiko but Hamada ends up alone with Satsuki again, superkick by Hamada but the cover is broken up. Another superkick by Hamada, and this time she gets the three count! Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi pick up the win!

I still have no idea why an Ice Ribbon rookie that hasn’t shown a lot so far in her career was in this match, but what can you do. Any section with Satsuki suffered a bit but when she was on the apron, everyone fought with the passion and hard strikes you’d expect from this collection of wrestlers. Meiko doesn’t know how to chill in general and Chihiro’s suplex on Hamada was fantastic, so the match definitely had its memorable moments. Having an obvious wrestler to take the fall hurt the suspense, but with all the strike exchanges and anger I still enjoyed it overall.  Mildly Recommended

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

Misaki and Tsukasa start the match but Arisa kicks Misaki from behind, double dropkick to Misaki but Ryo comes in to help as well. Ryo and Misaki both hit running strikes in the corner but Tsukasa dropkicks them out of the ring, Arisa and Tsukasa go to different corners and dive out of the ring onto their opponents. Tsukasa slides Misaki back in and puts Misaki in the ropes, dropkick by Tsukasa to the back and she covers Misaki for two. Misaki bridges out of it and rolls up Tsukasa, but Tsukasa kicks out of it and delivers a dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out, boots by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo fires back with elbows. Hard shoulderblock by Ryo but Tsukasa runs in and dropkicks her, running knee by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo avoids their kick and Misaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody. Double spear by Ryo and she lariats Arisa in the corner, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Misaki, low crossbody by Misaki and she goes for a Stunner, but Arisa blocks it and hits a release German. Misaki comes right back with a German of her own, but Arisa hits a footstomp to her stomach and both wrestlers get back up to trade elbows. Spinning back chop by Misaki but Arisa catches her with the Cutie Special for a two count. Arisa tags Tsukasa, missile dropkick by Tsukasa and she nails Misaki with a dropkick in the corner. Tsukasa goes for a PK but Misaki catches her leg, Arisa boots Misaki and Tsukasa delivers a PK for a two count. Tsukasa charges the corner but Misaki grabs her by the waist, she goes for a German but Tsukasa lands on her feet. Tsukasa gets Misaki on her shoulders but Misaki slides away, Arisa hits a German suplex onto Misaki and Tsukasa applies a jackknife for a two count.

Tsukasa goes for the Venus Shoot but Ryo breaks it up, she gets Tsukasa on her shoulders and tosses her to the mat while Misaki hits a diving crossbody. Ryo lariats Arisa and Misaki covers her for two before rolling to her corner to tag in Ryo. Spear by Ryo but Tsukasa boots her, overhead suplex by Ryo but Tsukasa blocks the dragon suplex. Arisa hits a missile dropkick onto Ryo and Ryo eats a double kick to the head, but she kicks out of the pin attempt. Uranage by Ryo to Tsukasa for two, she goes up top but Tsukasa joins her and armdrags Ryo to the mat. Arisa hits a diving footstomp onto Ryo, cover by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Infinity by Tsukasa, but Ryo barely kicks out. Tsukasa gets Ryo on her shoulders but Ryo slides off, Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Misaki runs in and hits a German suplex. Hard lariat by Ryo and she nails a dragon suplex hold, but Arisa breaks it up. Ryo picks up Tsukasa but Arisa elbows her, Arisa goes off the ropes but she is caught with the 3D. Reverse Hurricanrana into a roll-up by Tsukasa, but it only gets a two count. Enzuigiri by Tsukasa but Ryo fires back with a lariat, Tsukadora by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Misaki and Ryo hit a double tombstone piledriver onto Tsukasa, Ryo goes up top and nails the guillotine legdrop, but Arisa breaks up her cover. Misaki takes care of Arisa while Ryo picks up Tsukasa and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Avid Rivals win!

The only knock on this match is the fact it wasn’t very long, but man was it fun. I love teams that actually function as teams and these two work together so well. Its chaotic but it doesn’t feel messy, all four wrestlers were constantly getting involved but it never felt out of control. Lots of suplexes and hard strikes, and I loved that double tombstone piledriver as both teams have a handful of creative double team moves. Fast paced and entertaining, hopefully as the series continues they’ll get a bit more time as I think they can do even better.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo traps GAMI in the corner and hits a hard elbow, more strikes by Nagayo but she can’t get GAMI off her feet. GAMI pushes Nagayo into the corner and punches her, mounted punches by GAMI and she spits water on her. A Count Down begins as the two wrestlers start wrestling in slow motion, they trade lariats (still in slow motion) until GAMI stomps on Nagayo’s foot. Lariat by Nagayo as the Count Down expires and they go back to full speed, Nagayo puts GAMI in the Scorpion Deathlock but lets her go after a moment. Heel kick by Nagayo but GAMI ducks the second one, small package by GAMI and she picks up the three count! GAMI wins!

The surprising thing here was simply that they had a pinfall instead of going to a Draw like everyone assumed. Nothing much to it and the slow motion part was a bit odd since in theory it wasn’t a comedy match, but it was really just nostalgic filler. A good time was had by all, but not exactly a high-end wrestling affair.

(c) Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
Regina di WAVE Championship

They start slowly with a tie-up and trading holds, Rina bites Yoshiko and they end up back at a stalemate. Yoshiko tosses down Rina by the hair and bootscrapes her in the corner, but Rina fires back with an elbow and returns the favor. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko snapmares her and puts Rina in a chinlock, Yoshiko bites Rina again before putting her in a side headlock. Rina Irish whips out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Yoshiko gets out of it and they collide into each other with neither going down. Rina finally shoulderblocks Yoshiko to the mat, she picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko springs out of the corner with a lariat and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Rina falls out of the ring but Yoshiko goes out after her, hitting a seated senton from the apron to the floor. Yoshiko goes for a running senton but Rina rolls out of the way and hits a senton of her own, she then grabs Nanae Takahashi and suplexes her onto Yoshiko. Rina gets a really really long running start and hits a senton still on the floor, she gets Yoshiko back into the ring and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Yoshiko makes it to the ropes for the break. Running knee by Rina, she gets out on the apron and knees Yoshiko in the head again before covering her for a two count. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a strike combination before connecting with the senton for a two count. Rina quickly applies the sleeper hold, Yoshiko gets out of it and she lariats Rina in the corner.

Rina picks up Yoshiko and slams her into the opposite corner, lariats by Rina and she hits a vertical suplex. Rina gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, but the cover gets two. Rina goes all the way up this time but Yoshiko recovers and joins her, Yoshiko gets Rina on her shoulders but Rina slides off and back to the mat. Rina goes for the powerbomb and eventually gets it, cover by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a back bodydrop before kicking Rina in the chest. Senton by Yoshiko, she picks up Rina but Rina wiggles away and hits a superkick. Both wrestlers go off the ropes but Yoshiko levels Rina with a lariat, she picks up Rina and delivers a fireman’s carry slam for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes to the top turnbuckle but Rina rolls out of the way of the diving senton, both wrestlers slowly get up and they trade elbows. They then start trading lariats until Rina clubs Yoshiko to the mat, sliding lariat by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Yoshiko to get up and charges her, but Yoshiko ducks and hits a short-range lariat. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but Rina reverses her cover into one of her own for two. Yoshiko blocks one Rina lariat but not the second one, Rainmaker by Rina but it gets a two count cover. Rina goes off the ropes and nails another lariat, but Yoshiko won’t stay down. Another lariat by Rina, and this time she gets the three count! Rina Yamashita is still the champion.

If you like “hoss” battles than this is the match for you. These two know each other well enough that they don’t mind really laying in the strikes, some of the lariats were extremely snug but that’s just the way they operate. A few parts seemed out of place, like the super long running sentons they both went for, but for the most part they stayed focused on what they do well. A good change of pace also since no other match on the card was designed like this one, and a quality title match for their biggest show in years.  Recommended

ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

ASUKA and Ohka quickly end up on the mat to trade holds, ASUKA applies a front necklock but Ohka quickly gets out of it and applies a side headlock. They end up facing off on their feet again, wristlock by Ohka but ASUKA reverses it. Ohka gets the headlock re-applied but ASUKA gets out of it, headscissors by ASUKA and she kips up, but Ohka ducks the springboard crossbody. Ohka throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA moonsaults out of it, Ohka stomps ASUKA anyway before ASUKA goes for a Space Rolling Elbow, but Ohka kicks her in the back to block it. Running boot by Ohka in the corner but ASUKA comes back with an elbow, another boot by Ohka and she covers ASUKA for two. Ohka picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits the springboard crossbody this time, Ohka returns with a cross-arm slam but ASUKA puts her in a crucifix armbar. Ohka reverses that into the Stretch Muffler but ASUKA reverses it back again as they trade submission holds until they end up in the ropes. Ohka is up first and boots ASUKA in the head, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka goes off the ropes again but ASUKA duck the boot this time and applies an ankle hold, but Ohka quickly gets out of it.

Ohka applies a hanging headscissors over the top rope, she then brings ASUKA to the middle of the ring and applies a cross-arm submission, but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Ohka goes up top but ASUKA smacks her before she can jump off, ASUKA joins her but Ohka knocks ASUKA back to the mat. ASUKA joins Ohka again, Ohka knocks her off but ASUKA hits a springboard side slam. Standing moonsault attempt by ASUKA, but Ohka reverses it into an armbar necklock submission. ASUKA gets in the ropes, Ohka picks her up but ASUKA blocks the suplex attempt and drops Ohka onto the apron. Ohka keeps a hold on ASUKA to snap her over the top rope, heel drop by Ohka on the apron and she goes to the floor before hitting a sliding kick to ASUKA’s head. Ohka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Ohka goes up top again but ASUKA dropkicks her off the turnbuckle down to the floor, ASUKA goes off the ropes and sails out onto Ohka with a tope con hilo. Back in the ring, missile dropkick by ASUKA but her cover only gets two. ASUKA goes for a moonsault but Ohka gets her feet up to block it, Ohka picks up ASUKA and the two trade strikes. Superkick by ASUKA but Ohka nails a big boot, Ohka picks up ASUKA and drops her with a DDT. Cover by Ohka, but ASUKA kicks out.

Ohka goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a chokeslam, ASUKA goes off the ropes but Ohka grabs her and hits a chokebomb for two. Ohka and ASUKA trade elbows and then trade boots, dropkick by ASUKA and she gets a two count cover. Chokeslam by Ohka but ASUKA hits a rolling fireman’s carry toss, ASUKA goes up top but Ohka grabs her from behind. Running boot by Ohka, she joins ASUKA and she hits a superplex. Ohka goes to the turnbuckle as ASUKA kips up, dropkick by ASUKA and she hits a superkick followed by a gutwrench suplex. ASUKA goes off the ropes and goes for the springboard moonsault, but Ohka kicks her as she goes for the move. Running boot by Ohka, she picks up ASUKA and delivers a brainbuster for a two count. Ohka goes for a tiger suplex but ASUKA blocks it, running boot by Ohka but ASUKA ducks the next one and hits a superkick. Chokeslam by ASUKA, she goes up top and nails the moonsault, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. ASUKA goes up top again and this time delivers a Shooting Star Press, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA wins!

While I am still a bit confused on why this was the main event over the title match, it was a really good match. Ohka sometimes doesn’t do much for me but she lead ASUKA really well here and everything felt fluid, which I have to give her a lot of the credit for as the veteran. ASUKA hit everything perfectly and didn’t seem to be intimidated by the grand stage, and anytime a match ends with a Shooting Star Press I am a happy camper. I don’t know long term what WAVE’s plans are with ASUKA, but she delivered as well as anyone could have hoped for. It was still a bit repetitive at times as Ohka doesn’t have a wide move set, but between the excitement of ASUKA’s wrestling style and Ohka setting the match structure, it was very entertaining and a fitting main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE 10th Anniversary “Never Ending Story” 8/12/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18 Women Battle Royal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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