I’ll provide context before each match if there is anything noteworthy I can find, although of course not all matches in wrestling have a set purpose (especially with Freelancers like Kana). All the matches below took place in Pro Wrestling WAVE in 2008.

• March 20th, 2008 – Kana vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• April 4th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Hikaru and Saki Maemura
• May 4th, 2008 – Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Shuu Shibutani and Kanjuro Matsuyama
• May 13th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata
• May 25th, 2008 – Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino vs. Kyoko Kimura, Yumi Ohka, and Moeka Haruhi
• June 4th, 2008 – Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. GAMI and Moeka Haruhi

Most of the Joshi wrestlers on the DVD have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to their profile for additional information.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kana

The DVD starts with a match between two young wrestlers that would go on to have fantastic careers. Neither Hiroyo nor Kana were signed to WAVE, Kana wrestled there regularly but Hiroyo far less often with only three matches in the promotion during 2008. This is actually the first ever singles match between the two, they have only had two total as their paths just rarely crossed. Both have a similar level of experience, so it should be a pretty even match.

Kana and Hiroyo have no chill, so they immediately the other by the hair and pull each other around the ring. Hiroyo throws Kana into the corner and kicks her, but Kana grabs her hair and tosses her to the mat. Kana kicks Hiroyo in the corner but Hiroyo pushes her off and returns the favor, scoop slam by Hiroyo and she covers Kana for one. Mounted elbows by Hiroyo but Kana switches positions with her and elbows her back before putting her into a crab hold. Hiroyo gets out of it after a moment, Kana stomps Hiroyo into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Hiroyo tackles Kana and puts her in a stretch hold, she eventually lets her go and hits a scoop slam. Kana recovers and dropkicks Hiroyo in the corner, another dropkick by Kana and she covers Hiroyo for two. Crab hold by Kana but Hiroyo crawls to the ropes and gets the break, Kana picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a crossbody. Mounted elbows by Hiroyo, she picks up Kana and Kana goes for a shoulderblock, but Hiroyo doesn’t budge. Hiroyo shoulderblocks Kana to the mat in return, Kana gets back up and the two trade elbows. Hiroyo knocks Kana down with a hard elbow, but Kana jumps up on the second turnbuckle and delivers a hip attack. Irish whip by Kana and she hits another hip attack, cover by Kana but it gets a two count. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a backbreaker, she gets Kana up on her shoulders but Kana slides off and rolls up Hiroyo for two.

Cross-legged submission by Kana, she reverts it into a modified STF but Hiroyo gets to the ropes for the break. Stomps by Kana and she goes for a suplex, but Hiroyo elbows her off. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Lariat by Hiroyo into the corner, she gets Kana on her shoulders and drops her with a gutbuster. Kana quickly recovers and hits a release German, but Hiroyo gets back to her feet and elbows Kana to the mat. Hiroyo collapses too as both wrestlers are down, they both slowly get up and Kana hits a reverse DDT for two. Kana gets on the top turnbuckle but Hiroyo avoids the diving hip attack, big boot by Hiroyo and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kana joins her and nails an avalanche DDT. German suplex hold by Kana, but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Sliding hip attack by Kana, but again Hiroyo gets a shoulder up. Kana picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo pushes her off, Kana applies an inside cradle but it gets two. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo nails her with a back elbow, she picks up Kana but Kana blocks the backdrop suplex. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, but again Kana blocks the backdrop suplex. Hiroyo gets Kana up onto her shoulders and drops her with a gutbuster, getting a two count. Hiroyo drags Kana to her feet, elbows by Hiroyo and she nails the backdrop suplex for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

Kana and Hiroyo Matsumoto were far from household names in the Joshi community in 2008 but just from this match you could tell that they were destined for greatness. They had no real reason to put as much effort into this match as they did, it was just a midcard match on a small non-televised event, but they were going at each other like they were in the main event of Korakuen Hall. Big strikes, killer suplexes, and just non-stop offensive from bell to bell – everything you could ask for from two professional wrestlers. Besides the fact I wish it had gotten more time of course, a really entertaining match between two young wrestlers that would grow into legends.  Recommended

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Hikaru and Saki Maemura

We skip ahead just a few weeks to see Kana in tag team action. This was actually the main event of the show, so I am sure they will all bring it. Hikaru and Saki Maemura may not be familiar names to newer Joshi fans as they retired awhile ago, but at the time both were respected young veterans with title reigns under their belts so they wouldn’t have been seen as big underdogs against Yumi Ohka and the far less experienced Kana.

Kana and Ohka attack before the match starts but Saki and Hikaru hit double dropkicks and the action spills out of the ring. Saki dives off the top turnbuckle with a plancha onto both opponents, Hikaru and Ohka trade elbows on the floor before Hikaru rams Ohka into a chair. Hikaru charges Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss and slides Hikaru back into the ring. Ohka returns as well, Irish whip attempt by Ohka but Hikaru blocks it and they trade elbows. Irish whip by Hikaru and she hits a hip toss followed by a dropkick, giving her time to tag in Saki. Ohka throws Saki into the corner and nails her with a big boot, she tags in Kana and Kana stomps down Saki in the corner. Kana rams Saki repeatedly in the turnbuckles before throwing her down by the hair and hitting a dropkick. Irish whip by Kana and she delivers a hip attack, two more hip attacks by Kana but Saki kicks out of the cover. Kana tags Ohka, Irish whip by Ohka but Saki hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Saki tags Hikaru, double Irish whip to Ohka and they hit a double dropkick. Hikaru throws down Ohka by the hair, snapmare by Hikaru and she applies a sleeper hold. Back up, Hikaru throws Ohka into the corner and hits a front dropkick, snapmare by Hikaru and she tags Saki.

Saki rams Ohka into the mat before putting her in a Camel Clutch, she lets go as Hikaru returns, and Hikaru hits a scoop slam. Hikaru elbows Ohka but Ohka elbows her back as they trade shots, dropkick by Hikaru and she tags Saki. Double vertical suplex to Ohka, and Saki covers her for two. Saki charges Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss and makes the hot tag to Kana, Kana throws Saki into the corner but Saki avoids the hip attack and slaps her. Kana boots Saki and connects with the hip attack, cover by Kana but it gets two. Saki fires back with elbow, she goes off the ropes but Kana hits another hip attack. Elbows by Kana, Ohka comes in the ring and they hit a double face crusher onto Saki. Double elbow drop to Saki, Kana gets on the top turnbuckle but Saki avoids the diving hip attack. They trade waistlocks, dropkick to the knee by Saki and she delivers a neckbreaker before tagging in Hikaru. Hikaru picks up Kana and hits a Samoan Drop, she goes up top but Ohka grabs her from the apron. Kana tosses Hikaru back to the floor, standing hip attacks by Kana but Hikaru ducks the next attempt and rolls her up for two. Kana hits a hip attack anyway, waistlock by Kana but Hikaru elbows her off and hits a dropkick. Hikaru picks up Kana and goes off the ropes, but Kana catches her with a hard elbow for two. Waistlock by Kana and she delivers a German suplex hold, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Kana tags in Ohka, boot by Ohka but Hikaru blocks the backdrop suplex attempt.

Ohka goes off the ropes but Hikaru dropkicks her, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Hikaru picks up Ohka and hits a backdrop suplex, but Ohka springs up and hits a backdrop suplex of her own. Hikaru returns the favor but Ohka hits another one as well for a two count. Ohka picks up Hikaru and applies a sleeper but Hikaru drives her back into the corner, Ohka gets on the second turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar. Ohka stays on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and delivers a falling elbow drop for a two count. Ohka applies a cross-arm submission but Saki breaks it up, Kana tosses Saki out of the ring while Ohka drags up Hikaru, hitting the Chokebomb for two. Ohka goes up top again but Saki elbows her from the apron, this gives Hikaru time to recover and she joins Ohka. Avalanche Falcon Arrow by Hikaru, but Kana breaks up the cover. Ohka and Hikaru both slowly recover as they trade elbows, Hikaru nails Ohka with a Shining Wizard and makes the tag to Saki. Saki goes off the ropes but Ohka levels her with a big boot, Kana comes in but Hikaru grabs Kana and pulls her out of the ring. Ohka goes off the ropes but Saki ducks her boot, she goes off the ropes but Ohka hits the Chokebomb for two. Ohka picks up Saki and drops her with the brainbuster, but Saki barely kicks out. Ohka picks up Saki again but Saki blocks the suplex attempt, Kana goes up top but she missile dropkicks Ohka by accident. Saki drives Kana’s head into the mat while Hikaru gets Ohka on her shoulders, Saki goes up top and hits a diving lariat for a two count cover. Uranage by Hikaru to Ohka, Saki hits a German suplex hold but Ohka gets a shoulder up. Saki quickly picks up Ohka, she puts her in the Alcatraz suplex and she picks up the three count! Hikaru and Saki Maemura are the winners!

That’s two straight quality matches, this one was even better than the last. Its matches like this that I watch and just can’t understand why some wrestling fans just hand-wave Joshi as a whole. Besides being sexist, the match quality can be just off the charts. This was a non-televised show from a small promotion but they were just going all out, the action never stopped for a second as they were flying outside the ring, inside the ring, and everywhere else. Hikaru casually hit an Avalanche Falcon Arrow like it was just a thing to do and yet it never felt like they were being excessive, everything felt natural and flowed perfectly. I can’t really find any faults in the match, everyone was on their game and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Kana wasn’t the star here but she played her role well, and overall just a fantastic match between four very skilled wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Shuu Shibutani and Kanjuro Matsuyama

We don’t need too much of an introduction for this one since its going to be a comedy match. Kamen and Matsuyama are both known more for their comedy wrestling than anything else, and it wasn’t unusual for Shuu to be paired to Matsuyama in some way. This was just the second match on the card, so it wasn’t really designed to be a show stealer but rather just a fun way to start off the event.

Shuu and Kana start the match, Kana pushes Shuu into the ropes and hits a series of hard elbows. Kana tosses down Shuu by the hair before hitting a dropkick, but Shuu comes back with a jumping elbow strike. Scoop slam by Shuu and she hits a a couple running sentons, cover by Shuu but it gets two. Irish whip by Shuu but Kana hits a hip attack, another hip attack by Kana and she gets a two count pinfall. Kana stomps Shuu but Shuu hits a DDT followed by a dropkick, she goes to her corner and tags in Matsuyama. Kamen tags in too, Matsuyama goes off the ropes but Kamen trips him. Lariats by Kamen in the corner but Matsuyama hits a lariat of his own, Kamen does some break dancing before doing the Osaka Hop. Kamen tags in Kana who seems unhappy to be paired against Matsuyama, Matsuyama grabs at Kana but Kana drops to the mat to protect herself. Kana gets back up and reluctantly locks knuckles, but Matsuyama lets go so he can hug Kana to the mat, which is broken up by his own tag partner. Matsuyama clubs Kana and hits a scoop slam, cover by Matsuyama but it gets two. Matsuyama goes back to Kana and hits another scoop slam, but lets go before the referee can count to three for reasons I can’t explain. Matsuyama argues with the referee but Kana schoolboys him from behind for two, leading to Matsuyama going back to complain to the referee. Kicks by Kana and she stomps on Matsuyama, Irish whip by Kana but Matsuyama reverses it. Matsuyama goes towards Kana but Kana kicks him back, standing hip attacks by Kana, she picks up Matsuyama and delivers the rope-walk armdrag.

She tags in Kamen as Shuu also comes in, hard elbow by Shuu but Kamen gets back up  and challenges her to it again. He backs up in pain with the delayed sell when she comes at him, Shuu springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits a twisting crossbody followed by a cradle for two. Shuu tags Matsuyama, who attacks Kamen with a fan until Kamen takes it from him and returns the favor. Matsuyama and Kamen do the slap routine until Matsuyama walks towards Kana, who slaps him in the face. Mounted slaps by Kana until Shuu breaks it up, Matsuyama picks up Kana but all four wrestlers end up running into each other. Matsuyama gets Kamen on his shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam followed by an elbow drop. Matsuyama charges Kamen, Kamen drops him on the apron however and chops him to the floor. Kamen goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault, Kana and Shuu get in the ring and start trading elbows. Hip attack by Kana but Matsuyama connects with a strike, Kana holds Shuu for Kamen but Shuu boots Kamen out of the ring. Kana hits a reverse DDT anyway, running hip attack by Kana but it gets a two count cover. Kana goes off the ropes but Shuu recovers and hits the Complete Shot. She goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Shuu but it gets two. Tornado DDT by Shuu, she holds Kana for Matsuyama who has a streamer gun, but Kana moves and Matsuyama streamers Shuu by accident. Kana gets Shuu’s back and nails a German suplex hold, picking up the three count! Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen are the winners.

It is hard to recommend a match where one of the storylines is a male wrestler trying to grab the breasts of a female wrestler, but even without that there wasn’t too much here to get excited about. The segments with Kana and Shuu were really good but there weren’t very many, and while Kamen is pretty great he didn’t get much of a chance to shine. This was a very Matsuyama match, for better or worse (mostly worse). The only bright spot was the final German suplex looked fantastic with the streamers flying, but otherwise a skippable match.

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata

With under 100 people in attendance, to say this was a small show would be an understatement. Still, Kana was in the main event with some quality wrestlers, and knowing them they will not be taking it easy even on a non-televised show. No real storylines or anything important leading into it, just a hopefully entertaining way to close out the event.

Kana and Shuu begin the match and immediately charge each other to lock up, Irish whip by Shuu but Kana hits a hip attack. Armdrag by Shuu and she kicks Kana, Irish whip to the corner and Shuu hits a jumping elbow. Scoop slam by Kana and she throws down Shuu by the hair, dropkick by Kana but Yuu tags herself in and they double team Kana. Yuu kicks at Kana, Irish whip by Kana but Yuu reverses it and hits a dropkick. Yuu tags Shuu back in, Irish whip by Shuu and she hits a jumping crossbody for two. Irish whip by Shuu again but Kana reverses it, boot by Kana and she hits a face crusher. This gives her time to tag in Ohka, and Ohka tosses down Shuu by the hair. Kana comes back in and they double team Shuu, ending with a double elbow drop for two. Delayed scoop slam by Ohka to Shuu and she puts her in a crab hold, but she releases it after a moment and hits an elbow drop to Shuu’s back. Irish whip by Ohka and she hits a hip toss for a two count cover. Ohka tags Kana, Irish whip by Kana and she hits a hip attack followed by an elbow drop. Kana throws Shuu into the corner, Shuu goes for a crossbody but Kana ducks it and hits a series of standing hip attacks. Sliding hip attack by Kana, but Shuu kicks out of the pin.

Kana schoolboys Shuu before rolling it into a STF, but Shuu makes it to the ropes for the break. Kana picks up Shuu, Shuu fights back and the two trade elbows. Shuu snaps off a DDT and makes the tag to Yuu, Yuu boots both her opponents before hitting a dropkick on Ohka and slamming Kana on top of her. Yuu picks up Kana but Kana elbows her, Kana charges Yuu but Yuu shoves her to the mat and applies an armbar. After Kana gets out of the hold, Yuu picks her up but Kana blocks the suplex attempt and hits a reverse DDT. Dragon Sleeper by Kana but Yuu quickly gets out of it, hip attack by Kana and she tags in Ohka. Ohka boots Yuu but Yuu blocks the backdrop suplex attempt and the two trade punches and elbows. Ohka boots Yuu to the mat but Yuu gets back up, release German by Ohka but Yuu fires back with an enzuigiri and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Yuu recovers first and tags in Shuu, Shuu chops Ohka into the corner and delivers a jumping elbow followed by a Tornado DDT for two. Shuu goes to the apron but Ohka ducks her springboard move, Kana kicks Shuu from the apron to distract her but Ohka accidentally boots Kana when she charges in.

Tornado DDT off the ropes by Shuu, and she covers Ohka for a two count. Shuu picks up Ohka but Ohka throws her into the corner and Kana runs in with a hip attack. Big boot by Ohka, she puts Shuu on the top turnbuckle, Ohka joins her but Shuu pushes her off. Ohka charges back with a big boot and joins her again, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Ohka jumps up to the top turnbuckle and hits a falling elbow drop, cover by Ohka but Yuu breaks it up. Ohka applies a cross-arm submission but Yuu breaks it up again by tossing Kana onto Ohka. Yuu kicks Ohka in the head, cradle by Shuu but it gets two. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka boots her in the head and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Ohka gets Shuu on her shoulders while Kana gets on the top turnbuckle, but Shuu avoids the diving attack and Yuu knocks Kana out of the ring with a missile dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Shuu, but Ohka kicks out. Shuu goes up top but Ohka avoids her diving senton, Ohka holds Shuu for Kana but Kana accidentally hits Ohka with the diving hip attack. Hurricanrana by Shuu to Ohka, and she keeps her down for the three count! Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata win the match.

Comparing it to other matches on this DVD, this was a good match but not at the level of the first two matches we watched. It started a bit clunky as it felt like they were feeling each other out and trying to get into a rhythm, but once it got going about halfway through it was entertaining the rest of the way. Shuu was the star here, she was so smooth in everything she did and helped hold the match together. Kana wasn’t asked to do as much as the main story on their side was how Ohka and Kana kept on having miscommunications and accidentally hitting each other. A pretty good match overall, it just didn’t reach the highs we have seen thus far.  Mildly Recommended

Kana, Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino vs. Kyoko Kimura, Ohka, and Moeka Haruhi

Another main event slot for Kana, as she wrestles in a multi-wrestler match to close out the show. In the last match, Shuu and Kana were on opposite teams so that just shows how random these teams are, there is rarely any method to the madness. There is one slight exception in this match however, as Kana and Kyoko Kimura are known enemies so they should have some fun interactions here. We also get an appearance by Sayuri Okino from LLPW in what would turn out to be her final year in wrestling.

All six immediately go at it, with Kyoko and Kana naturally pairing up. Shuu ends up isolated in the ring and gets triple teamed, but eventually things calm down with Shuu facing off with Moeka. Dropkicks by Moeka but Shuu connects with a DDT and a dropkick of her own for a two count. She tags in Kana, Irish whip by Kana and she hits a hip attack. Another hip attack by Kana and she covers Moeka for two. Kana sets up Moeka in the ropes and she hip attacks her in the back, Kana tags in Okino and Okino hits Moeka with a chain. Okino wraps the chain around Moeka’s neck and chokes her with it, Kana and Shuu come into the ring as they triple team Moeka. Fisherman suplex hold by Okino, but Moeka kicks out. Okino doesn’t appreciate this so she gets a stick and hits Moeka repeatedly with it, Irish whip by Okino and she hits Moeka with it again. She finally gets rid of the stick and goes for a scoop slam, but Moeka blocks it and tags in Ohka. Kimura comes in too as they both boot their opponents, suplexes by Kimura and Ohka before Ohka hits an elbow drop on Okino for two. Ohka goes off the ropes but Okino catches her with a DDT onto her chain. Okino then hits Ohka with the chain but she lands in her corner and tags in Kimura. Okino hits Kimura with the chain but Kimura grabs the other end of it as they struggle for control. Backdrop suplex by Kimura, she goes up top but Okino joins her, hitting an avalanche armdrag. Okino boots Kimura but Kimura kicks her back as they trade strikes, with Okino eventually winning the battle. Okino tags in Kana, elbows by Kana but Kimura boots her back when she charges in. More boots by Kimura and she kicks Kana repeatedly, hip attack by Kana and she hits a hard elbow. Kana eventually elbows Kimura off her feet, standing hip attacks by Kana but Kimura catches one a drops Kana face-first into the mat. Headbutt by Kimura, and she covers Kana for two. Kimura tags in Ohka, Ohka boots Kana in the corner before hitting a second boot for a two count cover.

Ohka goes for a suplex but Kana elbows out of it, so Ohka boots her in the face again. Okino hits Ohka from the apron, giving Kana time to recover and hit a reverse DDT. She tags in Shuu, Shuu throws Ohka into the corner and hits a jumping elbow strike. Tornado DDT by Shuu and she covers Ohka for two. Ohka knees Shuu in the midsection and connects with a backdrop suplex, but Shuu gets her hand on the ropes when she goes for the cover. Okino hits Ohka with her stick from the apron, Shuu cradles Ohka but Ohka kicks out. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her with the chokebomb, she tags in Moeka and Moeka hits a diving crossbody onto Shuu. Moeka applies an armlock but Shuu wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Kimura goes up top and hits a footstomp onto Shuu’s arm, Moeka applies an armlock again while Ohka hits Shuu with an elbow drop, but the hold is eventually broken up. Kana comes in and throws Moeka into the corner, Okino hits Moeka with her stick before Kana hits a hip attack. Elbow by Shuu to Moeka but Kimura kicks Shuu from behind, armbreaker by Kimura to Shuu and Moeka puts Shuu in a hanging armbar. That gets broken up too, Moeka goes up top but Shuu recovers and joins her. Ohka suplexes Shuu to the mat but Okino hits a suplex on her, Kimura runs in but Okino suplexes her as well. Meanwhile, Kana has joined Moeka on the top turnbuckle and hits a DDT to the mat, Okino grabs Moeka and drops her with a uranage. Shuu gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving senton, cover by Shuu and she gets the three count! Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino win the match!

Having Okino and Moeka added something fresh to this match than we’ve seen on the DVD up to this point, between Okino’s constant use of weapons and Moeka’s submissions. The styles here varied dramatically, which at times led to some non-fluid moments but I enjoyed the chaos of it all even if everything didn’t work perfectly. I was hoping for more Kimura/Kana interactions but it was pretty minimal here, as the focus was elsewhere. I loved the ending, with Moeka just eating a series of moves before getting pinned without a real hope spot, sometimes a definite ending really works and I thought it did here. Overall a fun match, nothing that will blow anyone away but an enjoyable watch.  Mildly Recommended

Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. GAMI and Moeka Haruhi

The final match of the DVD is from WAVE’s small event on June 4th. This was actually the opening match but from looking at the match time, it didn’t really matter as they still got plenty of time. This is the first we have seen of GAMI on this DVD, she was the owner of Pro Wrestling WAVE but mostly took a back seat at this stage of her career, wrestling in a lot of comedy matches and letting others take the spotlight. This shouldn’t be a comedy match though, at least not in its entirety, as everyone else in the match primarily wrestles a serious style. With the time given, hopefully they end the DVD with a bang and put on a good show.

Shuu and Moeka begin the match and lock knuckles, but GAMI runs in the ring and hits Shuu in the back of the head. They both shoulderblock Shuu before knocking her out of the ring, and the teams brawl on the floor. Kana hits a diving hip attack off the apron to the floor at one point, Shuu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto both of her opponents. Shuu brings Moeka back into the ring and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Shuu and she dropkicks Moeka. She tags in Kana, Kana stomps Moeka and tosses her down by the hair. Dropkick by Kana and she stomps Moeka around the ring. Kana tags Shuu back in, dropkick by Shuu and she hits a scoop slam. Running sentons by Shuu and she applies a chinlock, but Moeka wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Shuu clubs Moeka and tags Kana, Kana Irish whips Moeka and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Crab hold by Kana but GAMI breaks it up, Kana stomps on Moeka’s leg and tags Shuu. GAMI comes in again to help Moeka and they double team Shuu, Irish whip by Moeka and she hits a dropkick. Irish whip by Moeka but Shuu avoids the dropkick, GAMI runs in and hits a lariat and Moeka dropkicks Shuu in the corner. Shuu avoids GAMI’s lariat as Kana runs in with a hip attack, double dropkick to Moeka and Shuu slams Moeka.

They then go to GAMI and try to suplex her onto Moeka, but Moeka moves and goes for a double crossbody. She gets caught however and thrown at GAMI, Moeka elbows Shuu but Shuu hits a DDT followed by a dropkick. Shuu goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Shuu but Moeka bridges out of the pin. Kana comes in but Moeka avoids their attack, double vertical suplex by Moeka and she dropkicks Shuu. She finally tags in GAMI, GAMI cleans house before hitting a jawbreaker on Shuu. GAMI goes off the ropes but gets tripped from the floor, Shuu dropkicks GAMI before hitting a jumping elbow in the corner. Shuu goes off the ropes and hits a jumping DDT, tornado DDT by Shuu off the ropes and she covers GAMI for two. Shuu goes up top and nails the diving senton, but GAMI reverses the cover into one of her own for a two count. Shuu goes off the ropes but GAMI catches her with a powerbomb, Kana hits GAMI with a hip attack but GAMI drops Shuu with a German suplex hold for two. GAMI picks up Shuu and goes for a pump handle slam, but Shuu reverses it into a DDT and tags in Kana. Kana comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, but GAMI falls in her corner and tags Moeka. Moeka dropkicks Kana and elbows her into the corner, Irish whip by Moeka and she hits a dropkick. Kana comes back with a hip attack and a face crusher, another hip attack by Kana and she covers Moeka for two.

Back up they trade elbows, Moeka goes off the ropes and she catches Kana’s arm with a Fujiwara Armbar. Kana gets to the ropes for the break, Moeka goes for a step-up armbar but Kana blocks it. Dropkick by Moeka and GAMI snaps Kana’s arm over the top rope, step-up armbar by Moeka while GAMI holds back Shuu but Kana gets to the ropes again for the break. Moeka goes off the ropes but Kana catches her with a German suplex hold for two. Kana gets on the second turnbuckle but GAMI grabs her from the apron, Moeka recovers and joins Kana before hitting a Frankensteiner for two. Moeka tags in GAMI, she grabs Kana and hits a pump handle shoulder breaker. Seated armbar by GAMI but Shuu breaks it up, GAMI throws Shuu out of the ring and puts Kana on the top turnbuckle, but Kana gets away and elbows GAMI. They end up on the top turnbuckle again and Kana hits an Avalanche DDT, Moeka flies in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick and Kana delivers the Billiken for a two count. Kana goes off the ropes but GAMI catches the hip attack and hits a release German, Kana gets back up but GAMI puts her in a double armbar. GAMI switches it to an armtrap crossface, she lets go after a moment and hits a pump-handle slam for a two count. GAMI goes up top but Kana avoids the diving elbow drop, Kana goes off the ropes but GAMI catches her with a lariat. GAMI picks up Kana but Shuu hits her with a missile dropkick, GAMI lariats Shuu and Kana before covering Kana for two. GAMI picks up Kana but Okino comes in the ring and hits her with her stick, Billiken by Kana and she covers GAMI for the three count! Kana and Shuu Shibutani win!

This was definitely different feeling than the other matches we saw on this DVD, as GAMI added a new element since we haven’t seen much from “power” wrestlers so far. While I appreciate that they got a lot of time, it probably was a bit too long as it lagged in a few parts, cutting a few minutes off of it probably would have helped. GAMI was annoying at times as seasoned veterans sometimes are as she had stints where she was mowing over people in an invincible manner, but in the end she took the pinfall so its hard to get too mad about it. Shuu and Kana taking turns trying to take down GAMI worked as the main dynamic of the match and Kana looked really good here, it just felt disjointed at times since Moeka and GAMI had totally different game plans. Almost as if at times we were watching two different matches. Even with those flaws I enjoyed it as a complete package though, a solid way to close out the DVD.  Mildly Recommended

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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.

I’ll provide context before each match if there is anything noteworthy I can find, although of course not all matches in wrestling have a set purpose (especially with Freelancers like Kana). All the matches below took place in Pro Wrestling WAVE and are from the first quarter of 2008.

• January 16th, 2008 – Kana vs. Kyoko Kimura
• February 2nd, 2008 – Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Yumi Ohka vs. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura
• February 23rd, 2008 – Kana vs. Yumi Ohka
• March 1st, 2008 – Kana and Yumiko Hotta vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Shuu Shibutani
• March 12th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• March 20th, 2008 – Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. Hanako Kobayashi and Misaki Ohata

All wrestlers on the DVD have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to their profile for additional information.

Kana vs. Kyoko Kimura

I am not sure why Kana and Kyoko Kimura hated each other coming into the match, but they sure did start with the fire. This is their first in-ring encounter I could find, however Kyoko Kimura and Kana were both in NEO (once Kana returned) and Kyoko was a heel so that is likely where the bad blood started. Even though this was an itty bitty WAVE show that wasn’t taped for TV, Kyoko and Kana have no chill so they wrestled the same as if they were in front of a world wide audience.

Kana attacks Kyoko before the match starts, but Kyoko throws her out of the ring and they trade elbows out on the floor. Kyoko throws Kana into chairs at ringside, Kana fights back and clubs Kyoko but she is send into the chairs again for her trouble. Kyoko drags Kana back into the ring by her hair before flinging her down, but Kana gets back up and they trade elbows. Kana gets Kyoko to the mat but Kyoko applies a kneelock, she goes for Kana’s arm but Kana blocks the armbreaker attempt. Kyoko and Kana trade mounted elbows, slaps by Kyoko and she goes for the sleeper. Swinging sleeper by Kyoko and she locks on the hold on the mat, but Kana eventually gets a hand on the ropes for the break. Kyoko knees Kana and boots her in the head, she goes for a running boot but Kana blocks it. Kana goes for a hip attack but Kyoko gets a boot up, she headbutts Kana’s next attempt but Kana applies a German suplex hold for two. Boot to the head by Kyoko in return, and she covers Kana for her own two count. Kana gets up and hits elbows but Kyoko elbows her against the ropes, they trade slaps until Kyoko headbutts Kana, but Kana hits her own headbutt. Another headbutt by Kyoko and she applies a sleeper, and this time Kana can’t reach the ropes and goes to sleep! Kyoko Kimura is the winner!

Its fun to watch Kana on the wrong end of a this type of beatdown, since later in her career she was known more as the bully. Kyoko doesn’t mess around and all her offense looks so snug, it felt more like Kana trying to survive than anything else. Constant action and even though I still don’t know the basis of their hate, you could still feel it with every strike. Not a long match but very to the point and entertaining, these types of matches is what helped develop Kana into the ass-kicker she soon became known for being.  Recommended

Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Yumi Ohka vs. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura

Warning: This Match Is Heavily Clipped. Finding old Pro Wrestling WAVE news/results is not the easiest thing in the world to do as in 2008 they were one of the smallest Joshi promotions (still are), so I can’t really explain the backstory behind the match. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko were clearly the heels here though as they refuse to shake hands before the match (and as we saw in the prior match, Kyoko is pretty vicious). The GAMI trio became a regular group in November of 2007 and since the match was billed as “Revenge WAVE” we can assume this match will bring some hate. It was also the main event of the evening, ramping up the pressure to put on a good show so the fans went home happy.

Kana and Kyoko immediately go to the floor trading elbows, while KAORU is singled out in the ring by Shuu and Ohka. We clip ahead to Kana in the ring with Kyoko, headbutt by Kyoko and she covers Kana for two. Boots by Kyoko and she tags in GAMI, pump-handle slam attempt by GAMI but Kana reverses it into a DDT. We jump ahead to GAMI hitting a German suplex onto Kana and GAMI rakes her eyes with her boots. Kyoko comes in to help as GAMI hits a lariat onto Kana, pump-handle slam by GAMI but the cover is broken up. GAMI goes up top but Kana avoids her dive, cradle by Kana but it gets a two count. Kyoko comes in but Kana swings Kyoko into GAMI, Kyoko and Kana trade elbows as GAMI comes over, but Kyoko headbutts GAMI by accident. German suplex hold by Kana to GAMI, but it gets a two count. Kana goes off the ropes and nails the Billiken, but that cover gets two as well. KAORU comes in and hits Kana with a piece of board, Shuu tries to help but KAORU catches her with a backbreaker. Fisherman Buster by GAMI to Kana, and she gets the three count! GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura win!

Obviously this was too clipped up to get excited about. Kyoko and Kana continued their heated exchanges and everything they showed was fine, but with only 20% of the match shown, hard to really good a feel of it.

Kana vs. Yumi Ohka

Even though these two teamed just a few weeks prior, it was more of a “random team” situation than a bunch of friends getting together. Even though Ohka began wrestling in 2001, she was mostly an upper midcard gatekeeper at this point in her career and had never won any titles. She still outranked Kana however, as Kana was not only a Freelancer but had only recently returned from a long layoff and had to work her way back to bigger matches. This match was actually second from the bottom on the card, and while match order isn’t everything, it does show that both of them weren’t yet a major story in the promotion (which would change just a few years later).

Kana and Ohka lock up to start, Kana gets Ohka into the ropes and hits a few elbows, but Ohka comes back with a dropkick. Kana hits a dropkick of her own, snapmare by Kana and she puts Ohka in a bodyscissors. Ohka gets out of it and puts Kana in a stretch hold, rolling guillotine by Ohka but Kana gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Ohka gets into the ropes for a break, armdrag by Ohka and she puts Kana in a crucifix hold. Kana gets a foot on the ropes, Ohka chokes Kana but Kana sneaks in a sunset flip for two. Crab hold by Kana but Ohka gets to the ropes again, Ohka throws Kana into the corner but Kana hits a second turnbuckle hip attack. Another hip attack by Kana and she hits a third for a two count. Knees by Kana but Ohka hits a hip toss and puts Kana in a short armbar. Kana gets a foot on the ropes, Ohka chokes Kana and elbows her against the ropes. Ohka charges Kana but Kana holds down the top rope, sending Ohka to the floor. Ohka gets on the apron but Kana hip attacks her back down, Kana goes out to the apron and she hits a diving hip attack to the floor. Kana elbows Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss on the floor, Ohka picks up Kana and slides her back into the ring.

Ohka throws Kana into the corner and hits a big boot, another big boot by Ohka and she covers Kana for two. Double underhook suplex by Ohka, she picks up Kana and they trade waistlocks. Reverse DDT by Kana, she goes up top but Ohka avoids the diving hip attack attempt. Ohka goes for a big boot but Kana ducks it and schoolboys Ohka for a two count. Kana applies a modified STF but Ohka crawls to the ropes for the break, hip attack by Kana in the corner but Ohka avoids the second one and applies a cross arm submission over the top rope. Ohka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Ohka but Kana kicks out. Ohka picks up Kana but Kana hits a DDT, German suplex hold by Kana but Ohka gets a shoulder up. Kana picks up Ohka but Ohka elbows her off, Ohka and Kana trade elbows until Ohka sends Kana to the mat. Kana quickly gets back up and hits a hard elbow of her own, she goes off the ropes and nails the Billiken, but her cover only gets two. She goes off the ropes again but Ohka delivers the big boot, Ohka goes up top but Kana slaps her before she can jump off and joins her. Avalanche DDT by Kana, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. Cutie Special by Kana, but that gets a two count as well. Kana goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her hip attack attempt and hits a German suplex, Ohka picks up Kana and she hits a vertical suplex. Ohka picks up Kana again and delivers the choke bomb, and she picks up the three count! Yumi Ohka wins the match.

For a random midcard match, these two really brought everything they had. Lots of excitement and big moves, and they mixed up the action as they had strike exchanges, submissions, suplexes, and aerial moves spread throughout. By early 2008 Kana was already pretty great, and her offense used to be a lot more varied before she got her style nailed down. Ohka was good here too though, probably one of my favorite singles matches of her. All things considered, this really over-delivered and was a really entertaining match.  Recommended

Kana and Yumiko Hotta vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Shuu Shibutani

Even though Kana and Yumiko Hotta would later be in Passion Red together, this match slightly pre-dates that as Passion Red wasn’t officially formed until a month after this show (and Hotta didn’t join the group until September 2008).  Like Kana, Hotta was a Freelancer at the time and wrestled in SUN, NEO, and many other places. Ran Yu-Yu was also a Freelancer, but best known for her work in OZ Academy, while Shuu Shibutani was a young WAVE wrestler.

Kana and Shuu start the match and get right into it with dropkicks and elbow strikes, Hotta comes in to help and they double team young Shuu. We clip ahead to Yu-Yu in the ring with Hotta, Hotta goes for Yu-Yu’s arm but Shuu quickly breaks things up. Hotta tags in Kana, hip attacks by Kana to Yu-Yu and Shuu and she hits Yu-Yu with a diving hip attack for a two count. Kana goes to run off the ropes but Yu-Yu grabs her from behind, knee by Yu-Yu and she kicks Kana in the ribs. Yu-Yu gets Kana on her shoulders and gives her the airplane spin, but Kana slides off and rolls her up for two. Modified STF by Kana, Shuu tries to break it up but Hotta stops her and puts Shuu in an ankle hold. Yu-Yu eventually gets into the ropes for the break, the match jumps to Shuu in the ring with Kana and she applies a cradle for two. A Northern Lights Suplex by Shuu gets a two count as well, Shuu goes off the ropes but Kana blocks her bodyscissors takedown and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. DDT by Shuu, she goes off the ropes but Kana catches her with a lariat. Kana picks up Shuu and hits the Cutie Special, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Hotta wants the tag, Kana doesn’t want to tag her in so Hotta blind tags in herself. Billiken by Kana, Hotta picks up Shuu and she nails the Pyramid Driver for the three count! Kana and Yumiko Hotta are the winners!

One of the fun things about these matches is just seeing Kana with a different move set, as again she hit the Cutie Special which is a move she hasn’t done in a long time. This was pretty clipped up so impossible to get a feel for, but Kana looked great and Hotta being her usual stubborn self added an extra element to it. The full match was probably a lot of fun since their chemistry was solid, good for what they showed but too condensed to recommend.

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Hiroyo Matsumoto

In case you can’t tell from the attendances, WAVE wasn’t exactly the biggest Joshi promotion, but it was a good place for Kana to hone her craft against a variety of opponents. Here she teams with Ohka, who she wrestled the month before, as she faces Shuu Shibutani again. Hiroyo Matsumoto is the new element to this match, she was still early in her career but was being pushed stronger than most young wrestlers right out of the gate as she showed a lot of potential from the start.

Kana and Hiroyo start the match, they tie-up and Kana elbows Hiroyo into the ropes. Hiroyo elbows her back but Kana delivers a dropkick, Ohka comes in but Shuu hits a diving crossbody onto both of her opponents. Shuu and Hiroyo both attack Kana in the corner, senton by Shuu and Hiroyo hits a leg drop on Kana for a two count. Shuu stays in with Kana, she throws Kana into the ropes and delivers a sliding boot. Scoop slam by Shuu and she hits mounted elbows, she goes for a cross armbreaker but Ohka breaks it up. Shuu keeps on Kana’s arm but Kana rolls her up for two, Irish whip by Kana and she delivers a dropkick for two. Kana tags in Ohka, big boot by Ohka to Shuu and she hits two more for a quick cover. Scoop slam by Ohka and she puts Shuu in a crab hold, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Ohka puts Shuu in a bodyscissors and applies a sleeper hold, cross armbreaker attempt by Ohka but Shuu blocks it so she applies a triangle choke instead. Shuu gets a foot on the ropes to force the break, Ohka throws Shuu into the corner but Shuu rebounds out with a crossbody and tags in Hiroyo. Shoulderblocks by Hiroyo to Ohka, she goes off the ropes but Ohka tosses her to the mat. Ohka tags in Kana, stomps by Kana to Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a hard shoulderblock. Kana hits a jumping hip attack in the corner and stomps on Hiroyo, but Hiroyo switches positions with her and returns the favor. Kana grabs Hiroyo from behind as they go back and forth with strikes, hip attack by Kana and she slaps Hiroyo in the face. Backbreaker by Hiroyo but Kana hits a reverse DDT before tagging in Ohka. Ohka boots Hiroyo in the face but Hiroyo catches her with a side slam, Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Hiroyo tries to get Ohka on her shoulders but Ohka blocks it, armdrag by Ohka and she puts Hiroyo in a crucifix armbar.

Shuu tries to break it off but Kana comes in too and trades elbows with her. Hiroyo eventually gets to the ropes for the break, big boot by Ohka to Hiroyo in the corner and Kana drops her with a face crusher. Springboard elbow drop by Ohka, but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Shuu comes in with a swandive dropkick to Ohka, double atomic drop to Ohka and Shuu hits a DDT. Hiroyo picks up Ohka and gets her on her shoulders, Kana comes in but Hiroyo throws Ohka onto her. Shuu returns but Ohka blocks the suplex attempt, she goes for a suplex but Shuu gets out of it and hits a DDT. Jumping DDT by Shuu, but Ohka gets a foot on the ropes on the cover. Ohka tosses down Shuu and nails a big boot, Hiroyo comes in and hits Ohka from behind, allowing Shuu to roll her up for two. DDT by Shuu, she goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her when she goes for a hurricanrana and hits a powerbomb. Ohka tags in Kana, Kana comes in the ring with a diving hip attack off the top turnbuckle, but her cover gets two. Kana picks up Shuu, Ohka boots her and Kana hits a German suplex hold for two. Kana goes off the ropes but Shuu ducks the Billiken and rolls up Kana for a two count. Kana picks up Shuu but Shuu avoids her charge and snaps Kana’s neck over the top rope. Shuu goes up top but Ohka grabs her from the apron, Kana joins Shuu and hits a couple hip attacks. Hiroyo tosses Kana back to the mat and Shuu delivers the missile dropkick, shoulderblock by Hiroyo and Shuu hits the Northern Lights Suplex for two. Shuu goes up top and nails the diving senton, but Ohka breaks up the pin. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka boots her, Ohka puts Shuu on the top turnbuckle and Kana hits an avalanche DDT. Reverse elbow drop by Ohka off the top turnbuckle, Kana picks up Shuu and hits the cross-legged Cutie Special, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Hiroyo lariats Kana, cradle by Shuu on Kana but that gets two also. Ohka boots Shuu, Hiroyo tries to help but she missile dropkicks Shuu by accident. Choke Bomb by Ohka to Shuu, Kana then nails her with the Billiken for the three count! Kana and Yumi Ohka are the winners!

Not quite as good as some of the other matches on this DVD, but still entertaining. It felt less organized and structured than I expected, these are small shows with thrown together teams and it never really felt like a cohesive tag match. The wrestlers all looked good, Shuu is probably better than she gets credit for since she never really got too high on the card and wrestled in smaller promotions most of her career. Kana and Hiroyo’s exchanges were fun, and Ohka is always willing to boot off someone’s head when needed. It didn’t have the heat that the matches with Kyoko Kimura had which hurt it a bit, but I enjoyed it just for the action.  Mildly Recommended

Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. Hanako Kobayashi and Misaki Ohata

Pro Wrestling WAVE had two events on March 20th, and this was the opening match on the “bigger” show of the two. Misaki Ohata debuted in December 2006 while Hanako Kobayashi (better known today as Hanako Nakamori) debuted in July 2006, so both still were pretty early into their careers. After being on the wrong side against Shuu the last few months, here Kana is back teaming with her, just further showing that many of these tags teams are just randomly put together for our amusement.

Hanako and Misaki charge their opponents as the match starts, getting out to the early advantage. They isolate Kana, Kana tries to jump on the top turnbuckle but loses her balance. Luckily she grabs the rope so she doesn’t tumble out of the ring and they get back into a groove, as Kana dropkicks Hanako in the corner. Kana tags in Shuu, scoop slam by Shuu to Hanako and she covers her for two. Bodyscissors by Shuu and she goes for Hanako’s arm, but Hanako gets away and stomps on Shuu. Hanako tags in Misaki and Misaki throws down Shuu by the hair before dropkicking her. Chinlock by Misaki but Shuu gets out of it, Shuu tags in Kana and Kana drops Misaki with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kana, and she covers Misaki for two. Kana puts Misaki in a stretch hold, but Hanako runs in to break it up. Misaki sneaks in a backslide which gives her time to tag in Hanako, Hanako flings Kana to the mat and hits a running crossbody for a two count. Irish whip by Hanako but Kana hits a dropkick, she tags in Shuu and Shuu scoop slams Hanako before putting her in a crab hold. Hanako gets into the ropes for the break, Shuu goes for a crossbody out of the corner but Hanako ducks it and they trade elbows. Misaki comes in but Shuu avoids their dropkick and hits a senton on Misaki while Kana hits an elbow drop onto Hanako. Kana stays in and with Misaki they hit a double atomic drop onto Hanako, elbow by Kana and Shuu drops Hanako with a DDT for a two count. Kana is tagged back in and she hits a hip attack, another hip attack by Kana and she covers Hanako for two. Kana boots back Hanako repeatedly but Hanako hits the neck drop followed by a jumping crossbody. Another crossbody by Hanako and one more, cover by Hanako but Kana gets a shoulder up. Kana tries to dropkick Hanako when she goes for a crossbody but the timing is off and she misses, Kana applies a Scorpion Deathlock but Misaki breaks it up.

Kana elbows Misaki as Shuu and Hanako come in, Kana and Shuu are stacked in the corner and Kana is repeatedly dropkicked. Hanako tags in Misaki, Irish whip by Misaki and she hits a crossbody onto Kana for a two count. Kana comes back with a hip attack in the corner, she then gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes back up top and his a second missile dropkick, but Misaki bridges out of the pin. Misaki pushes Kana away and applies a cross armbreaker, but Shuu runs in to break it up. Hanako positions Kana while Misaki goes up top and hits a diving body press onto Kana’s arm, cross armbreaker takedown by Misaki but Kana gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Misaki goes off the ropes but Kana ducks her elbow, reverse DDT by Kana and she covers Misaki for two. Kana gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving hip attack, but Misaki barely kicks out of the pin. Kana tags in Shuu, DDT by Shuu but Hanako runs in to help Misaki regain control. Misaki goes off the ropes but Shuu avoids the lariat and drops Misaki with a DDT for two. Shuu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Misaki catches her with an armdrag and applies an armbar. Shuu gets to the ropes for the break, Misaki picks up Shuu and applies a cradle for two. She goes for another one but Shuu sits down to block it, Hanako comes in and they both dropkick Shuu. Misaki goes up top and hits the diving body press, but Shuu barely gets a shoulder up. Misaki goes off the ropes but Shuu hits a Northern Lights Suplex, Shuu gets on the top turnbuckle but Hanako tosses her back to the mat. Now it is Misaki that goes up top but Shuu gets her feet up on the diving body press, Hanako boots Shuu while Kana runs in and hits the Billiken onto Misaki. Shuu goes to the top turnbuckle and she nails the diving senton, picking up the three count! Kana and Shuu Shibutani win!

The effort was there, but this was the first match that had some really noticeable mistakes. Kana was in on two of them (although with one spot it was hard to tell who was at fault), but it wasn’t just her as multiple parts just looked awkward or done poorly. This isn’t incredibly rare of course with young wrestlers that don’t face off too often against each other, but of all the matches on the DVD, this was the only match that so many issues. A decent match otherwise, but the occasional mistake really hurt the overall flow and brought it down a notch or two.

The post Kana Special #1 DVD Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: JWP Tag Team Championship, Twin Stars of ARSION Championship, LLPW Trios Championship, WAVE Tag Team Championship, and the GWC Six Man Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: Catch the WAVE Tournament (2010), Twin Stars of ARSION League (2001)
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• May 14th, 1997 with Carol Midori and Yasha Kurenai vs. Eagle Sawai, Michiko Nagashima, and Shark Tsuchiya
• December 9th, 2001 vs. Azumi Hyuga
• June 18th, 2006 vs. Amazing Kong
• December 5th, 2010 vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• June 17th, 2012 with Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Ayumi Kurihara and Kana
• November 10th, 2013 vs. Dynamite Kansai

Signature Moves:

• Dragon Suplex Hold
• Kentucky Bomb
• Poki
• X-Tornado

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post GAMI 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.

Time to review a new promotion! Major Girl’s Fighting AtoZ (short for “ARISON to Zenjo”) was a short-lived wrestling promotion that ran shows from 2003 to 2006. ARISON was a popular Joshi promotion that went out of business in 2003, it was taken over by Yumiko Hotta who changed the name to AtoZ. “Zenjo” was a nickname for AJW, which is where Hotta originally wrestled, hence the name. Anyway, Hotta led the promotion with Mariko Yoshida, and current Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa was involved backstage as well. The promotion did not have a lot of its own contracted wrestlers but did have a world title, and also was the starting place for many future stars including Arisa Nakajima and Kana/Asuka. Finding information on the shows is difficult as they were one of many smaller Joshi promotions at the time, but I’ll do the best I can to gather the information available.

I picked this event to review for two reasons. First, it is the earliest recorded match I could find in Kana’s career, as she just debuted the month prior in AtoZ. Second, this was a major show for the promotion as it had a number of big singles matches, a retirement road match, and what may be a classic main event. Here is the full card:

• Bullfighter Sora vs. Ofune
• Flesh Girl’s Fighting: Kana vs. Natsumi Mizushima
• Battle of J-Connection: Sachie Abe and Teruko Kagawa vs. The Bloody and Maru
• Rie Tamada Retirement Road 3rd: Rie Tamada, GAMI, and PIKO vs. Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki
• Future Manifest: Mirai vs. Saki Maemura
• Revive Violence: Amazing Kong vs. Mima Shimoda
• Battle of A-Connection: Leona vs. Mariko Yoshida
• Battle of Z-Connection: Mika Nishio vs. Takako Inoue
• CLIMAX: Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi vs. Yumiko Hotta and Kumiko Maekawa

They somehow squeezed all this into a two hour show, so I think it is safe to assume there will be clipping. Hopefully not in the matches I want to see the most.

Bullfighter Sora vs. Ofune

The match is Joined in Progress with Sora body blocking Ofune, but Ofune kicks out of the cover. Sora goes up top but Ofune shakes the ropes and Sora falls out of the ring. She returns after a moment, tornado DDT by Ofune but the cover gets two. Ofune chops Sora but Sora headbutts her, vertical suplex by Sora and she covers Ofune for another two count. Sora runs up the corner and goes for a diving elbow but Ofune moves, Ofune goes up top and hits a diving knee strike for two. Ofune picks up Sora but Sora hits a backdrop suplex, Ofune quickly rolls up Sora and she gets the three count! Ofune wins the match.

As I figured, pretty clipped, but at least the ending stretch was all shown in full instead of just doing random cuts. Ofune was a rather beloved wrestler the few years she was around so its always fun to see her, but not enough was shown to be memorable.

Kana vs. Natsumi Mizushima

Kana and Mizushima get right into it as the bell rings, trading elbows until Mizushima throws down Kana by the hair. Kana boots Mizushima and dropkicks her, snapmares by Kana and she starts working on Mizushima’s arm. Mizushima gets away and dropkicks Kana, knees by Mizushima but Kana hits mounted elbows. Mizushima returns fire and headbutts Kana before throwing her down by the hair, modified Camel Clutch by Mizushima  but Kana applies a backslide for two. Dropkick by Kana, she picks up Mizushima and dropkicks her into the corner before dropkicking her some more. Mizushima finally is tired of being dropkicked and headbutts Kana in the gut, she goes up top but Kana pulls her back into the ring. Hip attack by Kana and she hits another one, they trade chops until Mizushima hits a scoop slam. Mizushima gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving headbutt, cover by Mizushima but it gets a two count. Mizushima picks up Kana but Kana sneaks in a schoolboy for two, Irish whip by Kana but Mizushima applies a backslide. Mizushima goes up top but Kana joins her, Mizushima headbutts Kana back to the mat and hits a diving headbutt for the three count! Natsumi Mizushima is the winner.

They actually showed the bulk of this match as only a couple minutes were clipped. This was a really solid match considering both were rookies, both showed fire with their strikes and the action was pretty smooth. I won’t say the obnoxious “from watching this match it is no surprise both turned out to be big stars” as that would be silly, but I will say that both showed a natural ability early in their careers. A fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Sachie Abe and Teruko Kagawa vs. The Bloody and Maru

Bloody and Abe start the match for their teams and quickly end up in a strike battle, Abe elbows Bloody into the corner but Bloody kicks her in the head. Abe gets back in control and hits mounted elbows on Bloody, but Bloody hits a release German suplex. Abe dropkicks Bloody and throws her into the corner, Bloody jumps up onto the second turnbuckle but Abe joins her. Bloody stretches Abe on the top turnbuckle, she lets go after a moment and Abe hits a springboard elbow followed by a missile dropkick for a two count. Abe gets on the top turnbuckle but Bloody avoids the diving body press, Bloody boots Abe but Abe flips her out to the apron before kicking her out of the ring. Abe goes out after her while Kagawa gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto Bloody. Abe then goes up top and dives out onto Bloody and Maru, Bloody is slid back into the ring and Abe hits a diving victory roll for a two count. Snap dragon suplexes by Bloody to Abe, she kicks Abe in the head before tagging in Maru. This quickly backfires as Abe applies quick flash pins for two, Abe puts Maru in the Victory A Clutch and Maru has no choice but to submit! Abe and Kagawa are the winners.

While I love me some Bloody, the match was too short and random. I am assuming the end was clipped and Maru wasn’t literally pinned 30 seconds after getting into the ring, I’ll forgive the oddness of the layout if it wasn’t the wrestlers’ fault. Abe and Bloody both looked good with their high spots, but we didn’t get to see much from Kagawa and Maru. Just too clipped to be good.

Rie Tamada, GAMI, and PIKO vs. Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki

Tamada and Hyuga are the first two in, after some shenanigans dealing with GAMI things settle down with Hyuga being triple beamed in a comedic way. For a ‘Retirement Road” match this one didn’t start overly serious. GAMI puts Tamura in a crab hold, they do the thing where someone at ringside grabs GAMI’s arm to provide extra pressure but they do it in a chain all the way into the crowd and up into the balcony. GAMI eventually lets go, PIKO goes for a dive out of the ring but Misae and Tamura catch her before sliding her back into the ring. Tamada and Hyuga end up in the ring, tornado DDT by Tamada and she tags in PIKO. PIKO applies an armbar before rolling up Hyuga, and we clip ahead to Tamada being in the ring with Misae. Release German by Tamada, and we clip ahead again to Tamada and GAMI double teaming Hyuga. PIKO comes in too and they triple team Misae in the corner, Frankensteiner by GAMI and PIKO hits a diving hurricanrana. German suplex hold by Tamada, but the cover gets broken up. Tamada goes for another suplex but Misae blocks it, Tamada goes off the rope but Misae catches her with a chokeslam. Tamura runs in and elbows Tamada, G-Driver by Misae and she covers Tamada for a two count. Misae picks up Tamada but Tamada ducks the discus lariat and hits a German suplex hold for two. GAMI tries to help but it backfires, another G-Driver by Misae and she gets the three count! Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki are the winners.

Too odd of a match for my personal tastes, when matches try to be a hybrid of comedy and straight up wrestling it tends to not really work out. The clipping didn’t help of course, as if there was any type of structure to it we wouldn’t know from the way the match aired. I liked Misae Genki a lot and appreciated she took the match back to a more serious level, but I was hoping for a bit more in one of Rie Tamada’s last wrestling matches.

Mirai vs. Saki Maemura

They lock knuckles which the much taller Mirai easily gets the better of, Mirai takes down Maemura with a headlock but Maemura quickly reverses it. Mirai gets in the mount and rains down elbows while Maemura applies a bodyscissors, Mirai chokes Maemura to get her to release the hold before hitting a pair of jumping lariats. Back up they trade strikes, atomic drop by Mirai and she hits the Giant Swing on her smaller opponent. Bridging scoop suplex by Mirai, she goes up top but Maemura ducks the diving crossbody. Maemura dropkicks Mirai out of the ring, she gets out on the apron and hits a missile dropkick. She then goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving plancha, she slides Mirai back in before going back up top and hitting a missile dropkick. Diving body press by Maemura, but Mirai kicks out of the cover. Mirai elbows out of the German and chops Maemura, Maemura slaps her however and hits a release fisherman suplex. Hard chop to the chest by Mirai and she applies an Octopus Hold before rolling Maemura to the mat while keeping it applied, but Maemura gets a foot onto the ropes. Mirai quick re-applies it, she lets go after a moment and goes for a scoop slam, but Maemura reverses it into a roll-up. Mirai chops Maemura into the corner but Maemura ducks one and hits a release German suplex, fisherman suplex hold by Maemura and she picks up the three count! Saki Maemura wins the match.

This was a really fun match, I enjoy watching two young wrestlers that have passion for wrestling going non-stop with a variety of strikes and suplexes. Mirai used her height and size advantage well, winning a few exchanges with it, but Maemura was too slick to keep down and her high flying moves helped make the difference. A bit clipped but a good percentage of it was shown, no real complaints as it was an entertaining match bell to bell.  Mildly Recommended

Amazing Kong vs. Mima Shimoda

Shimoda attacks Kong before the match starts and the streamers fly, pink streamers are literally everywhere as Kong and Shimoda battle at ringside. Kong takes Shimoda into the crowd and throws her around before they return to the ring, she goes for a powerbomb but Shimoda reverses it with a back bodydrop. Kong fires back with a lariat, Shimoda drives Kong into the corner but Kong avoids he charge and nails a Buckle Bomb. Shimoda takes back over with kicks to the back of Kong’s head, Shimoda stomps down Kong in the corner and takes her out of the ring before assaulting her with chairs. Shimoda slides some chairs in the ring and brings Kong in with her, Shimoda throws Kong onto the chair pile and goes up top, hitting a diving footstomp onto Kong. Kong blocks the slam attempt and lands on top of Shimoda, and we get a good shot of Shimoda’s face which at some point got busted up all the hell. Shimoda goes up top but Kong pushes her out of the ring to the floor, Kong goes out after her and takes her up onto the balcony (Joshi promotions during this time period loved the balcony at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium), she tries to throw Shimoda off of it but Shimoda hangs on by the railing.

Kong goes back down to the floor to try to pull Shimoda off the railing, but Shimoda kicks Kong away and with help drops down to the floor unscathed. Kong isn’t on the defense for long and she rolls Shimoda into the ring before going to get a table, she sets up the table at ringside before continuing to toss Shimoda around the floor. Kong brings Shimoda up onto the apron and tries to powerbomb her through the table, but she partially misses it and Shimoda barely touches it before going straight down to the floor. Somehow she isn’t injured, she gets on the apron but Kong lariats her from inside the ring. Double underhook facebuster by Kong, Kong get on the second turnbuckle but Shimoda avoids the body press. Lariat by Kong, she goes for a powerbomb but Shimoda reverses it with a hurricanrana. Kong hits another lariat, she goes up top but Shimoda hits her before she can jump off. Shimoda joins Kong and tosses her to the mat, somersault legdrop to the back of the head by Shimoda but Kong kicks out of the cover. Shimoda picks up Kong but Kong pushes her off, both wrestlers connect with punches but Kong connects better as Shimoda is knocked out. She barely makes the referee’s count, Kong promptly lariats her before hitting a Uraken. Powerbomb by Kong, she goes up top and she nails the diving body press for the three count cover! Your winner is Amazing Kong!

Well I enjoyed the hell out of this match. Kong at the time was still pretty raw, she was a solid wrestler but was mostly a brawler as she wasn’t always super smooth with her moves. Shimoda being the underdog was fun as normally she is the one using weapons and being the heel, here she was outdone by Kong in both of those departments. These types of matches work well as a change of pace, lots of brawling and chair shots and general chaos. Kong almost killed Shimoda with the missed powerbomb and the balcony spots always add a degree of excitement since you never know what will happen. An entertaining crowd brawling match, with a convincing win by Amazing Kong.  Recommended

Leona vs. Mariko Yoshida

Yoshida quickly takes Leona to the mat but Leona repeatedly wiggles away from her, Yoshida generally stays in control but she can’t get a hold locked in. Yoshida finally gets a kneelock applied while also kicking Leona in the back, but Leona gets a hand in the ropes to force a break. Yoshida takes Leona back down and kicks her in the back, Irish whip by Yoshida but Leona reverses it before Yoshida flips Leona out to the apron. Diving armdrag by Leona, Yoshida falls out of the ring and Leona dropkicks her when Yoshida gets on the apron. Leona charges the ropes, she jumps straight to the top rope and springboards out onto Yoshida with a Plancha. Back in the ring, diving somersault senton by Leona but it gets a two count. We jump ahead to Yoshida being back in control, Air Raid Crash by Yoshida but Leona barely gets a shoulder up on the somewhat cocky cover. Yoshida goes to pick up Leona but Leona puts her in the Spider Twist, which is one of Yoshida’s finishing moves. Yoshida gets a toe on the ropes, back up Yoshida kicks Leona in the chest but Leona hits a spear for a two count. German suplex hold by Leona, she goes off the ropes but Yoshida boots her hard in the chest. Yoshida picks up Leona in a vertical suplex position before dropping her with a kneeling tombstone piledriver, picking up the three count! Mariko Yoshida wins!

Since I have not seen Yoshida finish a match with that move, I will assume that was her way of sticking it to Leona for trying to take her finishing move. Leona put up more of a fight than I was expecting, which made the match a lot more fun to watch as she is a really solid high speed wrestler. The match was too short/clipped to make it worth seeking out, but it was a fun back and forth match and Yoshida’s reaction when Leona put on the Spider Twist showed that she realized Leona wasn’t going to be as easy to beat as she may have originally thought. Overall entertaining, I just wish more was shown.  Mildly Recommended

Mika Nishio vs. Takako Inoue

Takako and Nishio circle to start, armdrag by Takako and she attacks Nishio in the corner. Kicks by Takako from the apron and she hits a double underhook suplex, picking up a two count. DDT by Takako but Nishio fires back with elbows, they trade slaps until Takako sends Nishio to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Takako but Nishio ducks the spinning backfist, Takako connects with the next one and goes for the Takako Panic, but Nishio ducks it and hits a jumping heel kick. Nishio picks up Takako but Takako blocks the suplex, another jumping heel kick by Nishio and she gets another two count. German suplex hold by Nishio and she picks up Takako, but Takako rolls her to the mat and covers her for two. Back up, tiger suplex hold by Nishio but Takako gets a shoulder up. She goes for another one and hits it, but again it gets a two count. Nishio goes off the ropes but Takako nails her with a spinning backfist, she hits a second one and covers Nishio for the three count! Takako Inoue is the winner.

A step down from the last few matches but still not a bad one. It was just a bit disjointed, the transitions were shaky at best as they seemed to mostly take turns hitting moves on each other with little rhyme or reason. Nishio must not have had a deep pool of moves as she kept going for the same two or three during the last half of the match, and without a ‘bigger’ finishing move it was hard to believe she would beat Takako. Some solid parts and its always good to see Takako, but overall a bit underwhelming.

Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi vs. Yumiko Hotta and Kumiko Maekawa

Nanae and Momo have no time for streamers and attack Hotta and Maekawa before the match starts, as the battle spills out of the ring. Nanae and Momo control the action on the floor and into the crowd, eventually they bring Hotta back into the ring but Hotta hits a double face crusher on them. Hotta gets her chain but Momo dropkicks her in the knee, elbow drop by Nanae and they both attack Hotta in the corner. Momo stays in but Maekawa gives Hotta her chain again and she hits Momo in the head with it. More chain shots by Hotta, she wraps it around Momo’s neck and applies a choke with it while Maekawa kicks Momo in the chest. Maekawa is tagged in and she kicks Momo in the face, but Nanae comes in and they both dropkick Maekawa. Missile dropkick by Nanae but Maekawa kicks her into the corner and tags in Hotta. Nanae greets Hotta with elbows but Hotta applies a sleeper until Momo breaks it up. Well she tries anyway but Hotta keeps it locked in while Maekawa grabs Momo, Momo gets away from Maekawa and chokes Hotta with her own chain until she lets go of Nanae. Nanae elbows Hotta against the ropes but Hotta comes back with a spinning heel kick, she hits a second one before Maekawa chokes Nanae in the corner with the chain. Hotta Irish whips Nanae but instead of bouncing off the ropes she sails out of the ring with a tope suicida onto Maekawa. Momo comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and dives out onto Maekawa while Nanae hits a backdrop suplex onto Hotta. Dropkick by Nanae to Hotta, she goes for the Reverse Splash but Hotta moves and kicks her in the head. Tiger Driver by Hotta, but Nanae kicks out at two. Maekawa comes in but Nanae gets away from her and they trade strikes, big boot by Maekawa but Nanae fires back with a shoulderblock. A superkick sends Nanae to the mat but she pops back up and hits a lariat for a two count cover. Hotta comes in and kicks Nanae, they both boot Nanae in the stomach but she avoids Maekawa’s rolling kick. Maekawa hits a high kick anyway, Nanae finally hits the Reverse Splash but Maekawa bridges out of the pin and kicks Nanae out of the ring. Momo lays out Maekawa on the floor, she slides her back in and Nanae hits a reverse double footstomp for a two count.

Momo stays in and dropkicks Maekawa in the head, but Maekawa comes back with a high kick. Jumping kick by Maekawa, and she covers Momo for two. Rolling kick by Maekawa, but this time Nanae breaks up the cover. Drop down kick by Maekawa and she hits a running boot in the corner, she goes up top but Momo joins her, Nanae comes in and she superplexes Maekawa. Diving body press by Momo, Nanae picks up Maekawa and delivers a backdrop suplex. Lariat by Nanae, German suplex hold by Momo but Maekawa kicks out. Mom picks up Maekawa but Hotta runs in and slaps her, kick by Maekawa and she tags in Hotta. Hotta comes in with her chain and shoves down the referee, but Momo sneaks in a victory roll for two. Maekawa returns but Nanae does too and they dropkick Hotta and Maekawa. Momo goes up top and goes for a diving body press, but Hotta gets her feet up. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo slides away and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Momo picks up Hotta again and dumps her out of the ring, but Maekawa runs in and hoots Momo out of the ring as well. Maekawa then kicks Nanae out of the ring and follows her out, as all four brawl on the floor. Maekawa grabs she chairs and throws them in the ring for Hotta, Momo is slid back in and Hotta puts her on the second turnbuckle. Hotta joins her and hits a German suplex down onto the pile of chairs, cover by Hotta but the referee is not interested in counting due to all the cheating. Nanae runs in and lariats Hotta, Momo and Hotta trade elbows until Hotta punches her in the face and hits a Liger Bomb for a two count. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo gets away, punch by Hotta as Maekawa runs in but Maekawa boots Hotta by accident. German suplex by Nanae to Hotta, Momo jackknifes over Hotta as she picks up a two count. Momo☆OK by Momo and she hits a second one, but Hotta kicks out of the cover. Momo☆Latch by Momo, but Hotta barely gets a shoulder up. Momo picks up Hotta she is hit by a fireball from Hotta’s help at ringside, Hotta picks up Momo and drops her with the Pyramid Driver. Momo comes back with another Momo☆OK but Hotta hits her with the chain. Pyramid Driver by Hotta, but Momo gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo elbows her, Nanae tries to help but Hotta swats her away. A Momo☆Latch gets a two count, Hotta gets Momo up on her shoulder and she nails a Pyramid Driver EX for the three count! Hotta and Maekawa are the winners!

I don’t even know where to begin for a match like this. It had an old school feel, lots of being stubborn and generally not selling things nearly long enough considering what they were doing to each other. Hotta has a reputation as being a selfish worker, likely deserved, and its just odd watching her as its like a relic from the old days where wrestlers didn’t want to ever look weak. She wasn’t uncooperative, she just wasn’t putting a lot of effort into making her opponents look good. Momo and Nanae were the better team as they were putting a lot more effort into making the match entertaining, Maekawa was fine but was mostly just doing kicks and otherwise letting Hotta do the heavy lifting. I enjoyed parts of it, rolled my eyes during other parts and scratched my head more than once, just an oddly put together match. More good than bad for sure but not exactly a classic, watching Hotta is a bit of a chore in of itself unless she is in the ring with someone that doesn’t put up with her shit, which wasn’t really an option for Momo and Nanae. Maybe worth a watch but mostly for Momo and Nanae.  Mildly Recommended

The post AtoZ “1st Anniversary Mainstream” on 7/19/04 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

There is not a ton of information online about THE WOMAN, however it was at least partially funded by All Japan Pro Wrestling with GAMI as the Producer/Booker for the shows. It came to life shortly after AtoZ announced they were closing their doors and the promotion shared many wrestlers with M’s Style as both promotions used mostly Freelancers. But they did use a lot of quality Freelancers as most of the wrestlers on the card are still active today or just recently retired. The promotion never had any titles nor much of a purpose, however not long after THE WOMAN stopped running shows, GAMI founded Pro Wrestling WAVE so in a way THE WOMAN was her practice promotion. The event was shrunk down to a one hour show on SamuraiTV, here is the card:

• Friday Battle Tag Tournament Round 2: Emi Sakura and Mai Ichii vs. Ran Yu-Yu and GAMI
• Friday Battle Tag Tournament Round 2: Kaoru Ito and Ayako Sato vs. Michiko Omukai and Cherry
• Policewoman vs. Sarubobo Mask
• Bullfighter Sora and Kyoko Kimura vs. Rebecca Knox and Yuri Urai
• Friday Battle Tag Tournament Final: Michiko Omukai and Cherry vs. Ran Yu-Yu and GAMI

This show has the conclusion of the Friday Battle Tag Tournament, some of the early matches in the tournament can be found in my last review of the promotion. Just to remind everyone, I don’t understand the rules of the tournament matches. The matches are clipped and each match was won in a different time with a different number of falls. Because the matches are clipped I can’t figure out when points are given as sometimes it isn’t shown. So I am just going to call the matches as they happen which is all I can do.

Emi Sakura and Mai Ichii vs. Ran Yu-Yu and GAMI
Friday Battle Tag Tournament Round 2

GAMI and Sakura start off, Sakura goes for a few quick pins but GAMI reverses one and picks up a pinfall for her team! GAMI and Yu-Yu are up 1-0. Sakura isn’t happy and clubs GAMI, armdrags by Sakura and she applies La Magistral for the three count! The teams are tied 1-1. Sakura tags in the very excited Ichii, she rolls up GAMI but GAMI kicks out. Crossbody out of the corner by Ichii but GAMI comes back with a lariat. Ichii dumps GAMI out of the ring, she runs to the corner and hits a triple jump plancha down to the floor. We jump ahead to Sakura and GAMI being in the ring, and GAMI is double teamed. GAMI comes back with a boot to the face and a STO before tagging in Yu-Yu, Yu-Yu goes up top but she only fakes attacking Sakura so that GAMI can hit a German suplex. GAMI hits both her opponents with her horn, knee by Yu-Yu to Sakura and she covers her for a two count. Sakura DDTs Yu-Yu and rams her head into the mat, GAMI tries to hit Sakura but she hits Yu-Yu by accident. Sakura slams Yu-Yu and tags in Ichii, dropkicks by Ichii but Yu-Yu kicks out of the pin. Yu-Yu knees Ichii and dropkicks her, Ichii fights back with elbows but Yu-Yu hits a high kick. Dropkick by Ichii and she hits a trio of jumping kicks, but Yu-Yu barely kicks out of the pin. Ichii picks up Yu-Yu but Yu-Yu ducks the kick, Sakura runs in but GAMI takes care of her. They try to double team Ichii but it backfires, Sakura dives out of the ring onto GAMI while Ichii hits the Triangle Kick on Yu-Yu. Victory roll by Ichii, but it gets a two count. Running knee by Yu-Yu, but Sakura breaks up the cover. Yu-Yu picks up Ichii and plants her with a cutter, but Ichii won’t stay down for the count. Ichii high kicks Yu-Yu repeatedly, she rolls up Yu-Yu but Yu-Yu kicks out. Running elbow smash by Yu-Yu, and she picks up the three count! GAMI and Ran Yu-Yu are the winners and reach the finals of the tournament.

Ignoring the fact they have some type of points system that doesn’t seem to make any sense, the action here was really solid. Ichii shows a lot of ability, shame she didn’t really continue her career in wrestling as it appears she had a lot of passion for it. I liked the match but there were just so many flash pin attempts which can kill the momentum, and while the running elbow is one of Yu-Yu’s finishing moves it wasn’t set up and came out of nowhere so it made the match end in an anti-climatic fashion. A good way to kick off the show as all four are fun to watch, although not without its flaws.  Mildly Recommended

Kaoru Ito and Ayako Sato vs. Michiko Omukai and Cherry
Friday Battle Tag Tournament Round 2

Sato and Cherry start as the legal wrestlers, quick dropkicks by Sato and she slams Cherry to the mat for a two count. Cherry comes back with her own dropkick but she eats another dropkick for her trouble, they trade elbows until Sato knocks Cherry to the mat with one. Sato goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again as Ito comes in the ring and hits a second missile dropkick for two. Sato tags in Ito, Cherry tries to slam her but Ito is having none of that and hits a scoop slam followed by a footstomp and an elbow drop for a two count cover. Omukai comes in and attacks Ito from behind but Ito lariats both of them, and she covers Cherry for a three count! Ito and Sato are up 1-0. We clip ahead a bit as Cherry hits a missile dropkick, but Ito roars back with a lariat. Powerbomb by Ito, and she gets a three count pinfall! Ito and Sato are up 2-0. Sato comes back in but Omukai kicks her from the apron, giving Cherry time to tag in Omukai. Knee by Omukai but Sato dropkicks her, she goes up top and tries to missile dropkick Omukai but hits Ito by accident. Omukai tags in Cherry, airplane spin by Sato to Cherry but Cherry avoids It’s diving footstomp. Omukai comes in but she kicks Cherry by accident, Sato picks up Cherry but Ito accidentally lariats Sato. German suplex hold by Cherry to Sato, but Ito breaks up the cover. Northern Lights Suplex by Cherry, but Ito breaks it up again. Cherry gets on the top turnbuckle and hit the Cherry Bomb, cover by Cherry and she gets the three count! Cherry and Omukai somehow win 5-2 and advance to the finals.

I really wish I understood their points system, that would be nice. This was another fun match, I liked Omukai letting the less experienced Cherry do most of the work and only coming in to help when needed. Similar on the other side, the veterans were letting their partners do the bulk of the work which seems logical, I’d do the same thing. For a newer wrestler, Cherry looked good here as she didn’t mess up anything, and the action was solid. Too short (about six minutes) to recommend but not a bad match to watch.

Policewoman vs. Sarubobo Mask

Sarubobo Mask pushes Policewoman into the ropes as the match starts but Policewoman applies a Cobra Twist which is reversed by Sarubobo Mask. Sarubobo Mask jumps up into the corner but Policewoman hits repeated Oil Checks, she tries to shoulderblock Sarubobo Mask off the apron but Sarubobo Mask avoids her charge and hits a sunset flip for two. Elbows by Sarubobo Mask and she hits a German suplex hold, but Policewoman gets a shoulder up. Sarubobo Mask goes up top but Policewoman gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt, Policewoman rolls to the floor to get a plastic bin and she hits a DDT onto it for a two count cover. Policewoman hits a release German suplex of her own, she goes up top but Sarubobo Mask avoids the moonsault goes for a few flash pins with no luck. Policewoman picks up Sarubobo Mask and hits a Samoan Driver, La Magistral by Policewoman and she gets the three count! Policewoman wins the match.

A short match that was slightly clipped further. These types of matches don’t do much for me, it wasn’t comedic enough to be a comedy match but neither were putting a lot of effort into putting on a cohesive and entertaining match. Both wrestlers are much better when they aren’t wrestling under a mask. Midcard filler at best, but definitely skippable.

Bullfighter Sora and Kyoko Kimura vs. Rebecca Knox and Yuri Urai

Sora and Knox are the first two in, Knox gets the early advantage but Sora rams her with her horns. Kyoko comes in and they hit a double atomic drop before both spank Knox until Urai comes in. She gets the same treatment, we clip ahead and Kyoko is in the ring with Knox. Knox avoids a headbutt and hits a headscissors, dropkick by Knox and she hits a monkey flip out of the corner. Kyoko rolls Knox to the mat and applies a Kimura, she gets to the ropes and hits a release fisherman suplex for a two count. Knox tags in Urai, Urai goes for a crossbody but Kyoko catches her. She tries again with the same luck, hard elbow by Kyoko but Urai keeps getting back up. Urai finally stays down and Kyoko tags in Sora, Sora charges Urai but Urai blocks her charge and hits a pair of dropkicks. Sora rams Urai and they take turns with strikes, Kyoko holds Urai but Sora hits Kyoko by accident. Shoulderblocks by Sora, she tags in Knox and Knox comes in with a diving crossbody. Fisherman suplex hold by Knox, but Sora gets a shoulder up. Knox picks up Sora but Sora gets into the ropes, backdrop suplex by Sora and she covers Knox for two. Kyoko comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex on Knox, Sora picks up Knox but Knox gets away and hits a hurricanrana. Kyoko runs in but Knox flips Sora over so that Kyoko kicks Sora by accident, Knox then flips Sora back so her shoulders are on the mat and she picks up the three count! Rebecca Knox and Yuri Urai win!

You can tell how low Sora was on the pecking order when she loses to a rookie and an unknown 19 year old gaijin. There were a few cute spots here and it was overall a well done match, considering the wrestlers lack of familiarity with each other. It was fun seeing Lynch so early in her career, she was too young to be able to say “she’ll be champion one day!” but generally everything she did looked crisp. A short match but not a bad one.

Michiko Omukai and Cherry vs. Ran Yu-Yu and GAMI
Friday Battle Tag Tournament Final

Yu-Yu immediately hits a German suplex hold and then La Magistral on Cherry, but both covers get a two count. Enzuigiri by Yu-Yu, she picks up Cherry but Cherry sneaks in a schoolboy which GAMI breaks up. GAMI and Cherry go at it as the legal wrestlers but Omukai comes in and kicks GAMI, double lariat to GAMI and Cherry tags in Omukai. Yu-Yu come in too but Omukai throws her down by the hair, she then grabs GAMI and slams her face-first into the mat. Cherry returns, Yu-Yu boots Cherry in the face and GAMI does as well. GAMI tags in Yu-Yu, kicks by Yu-Yu to Cherry and GAMI gets her shots in on Cherry as well. Omukai trips Yu-Yu and GAMI from ringside, she pulls them out of the ring as Cherry goes up top and hits a diving plancha onto both of them. Cherry and Yu-Yu return to the ring as does GAMI, Yu-Yu elbows GAMI by accident and Cherry hits a face crusher onto Yu-Yu. Omukai is tagged in, she boots Yu-Yu and then hits a double lariat on both of her opponents. GAMI grabs Omukai’s arm and walks the ropes before applying a hanging armbar. She releases it after a moment, lariat by GAMI and she tags in Yu-Yu. Yu-Yu knees Omukai in the stomach but Omukai elbows her off, package German by Yu-Yu but Omukai kicks out. Yu-Yu goes up top but Omukai avoids the diving kneedrop, spinning heel kick by Omukai and she covers Yu-Yu for two. Heel Drop by Omukai, but again Yu-Yu gets a shoulder up.

Omukai tags in Cherry, missile dropkick by Cherry and she hits two more, getting a two count cover. Yu-Yu elbows Cherry away, Omukai tries to help but Cherry elbows her by accident. Yu-Yu puts Cherry on the second turnbuckle but Cherry kicks her and hits a tornado DDT. GAMI hits Cherry with her horn, Yu-Yu tags in GAMI and GAMI goes for the pump-handle slam, but Cherry slides away. Yu-Yu comes in and kicks Cherry in the head, German suplex hold by GAMI but Omukai breaks it up. GAMI goes up top but Cherry avoids her dive, Cherry goes for a bodyscissors roll-up but GAMI blocks it and applies an armtrap crossface. Cherry gets into the ropes, GAMI puts Cherry on the second turnbuckle, Cherry goes for a tornado DDT but GAMI blocks it. Omukai grabs GAMI from behind and hits the Splash Mountain, Cherry Bomb by Cherry but Yu-Yu breaks up the cover. Cherry picks up GAMI but GAMI gets her back and with Yu-Yu’s help she hits a release German. GAMI and Cherry trade slaps, Cherry goes off the ropes but GAMI levels her with a lariat. Pump-handle sit-down slam by GAMI, but Cherry barely gets a shoulder up. Fisherman Buster by GAMI, but Omukai breaks up the cover. GAMI picks up Cherry but Cherry slides away and connects with a German suplex hold. Omukai boots GAMI, Yu-Yu fights off both Cherry and Omukai, she grabs Cherry but Omukai runs over and boots her in the face. Cherry elbows GAMI, then Omukai hits her with a Shining Wizard. Hurricanrana by Cherry to GAMI, and she picks up the three count! Omukai and Cherry win the match and the tournament!

Cherry with her winnings

The post THE WOMAN Volume 5: One Night in Heaven on 5/5/06 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ayako Sato and Hanako Kobayashi vs. Ray and Misaki Ohata

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

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

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

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

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

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

Misae Genki vs. Yuki Miyazaki

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noriyo Tateno vs. Takako Inoue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As I continue my journey of experiencing new wrestlers and new promotions, next up is Joshi promotion ARSION. ARSION was founded by Aja Kong in 1998 with Rossy Ogawa acting as President, a name many will recognize as the owner of Stardom. By 2001 things had changed a bit, as Aja Kong left the promotion after disagreements with management and Lioness Asuka took over the book. This lead to new wrestlers being pushed and a change in the overall feel of the promotion, which we are jumping right in the middle of with this review. The promotion had three titles, two of which will be defended on this show. Here is the full card:

• Ai Fujita vs. Yuu Yamagata
• Chaparita ASARI and Faby Apache vs. Rie Tamada and Rena Takase
• Bionic J vs. GAMI
• TWINSTAR OF ARSION Championship: Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda vs. PIKA and POKO
• Lioness Asuka vs. Mariko Yoshida
• QUEEN OF ARSION Championship: Ayako Hamada vs. Michiko Omukai

Since this was shown on TV in a two hour block, a few of the matches will be clipped.

Ai Fujita vs. Yuu Yamagata

We join in progress as Fujita scoop slams Yamagata before putting her in a crab hold. Yamagata makes it to the ropes, Irish whip by Fujita and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Fujita keeps it on the mat as she applies a sleeper, but Yamagata gets a foot on the ropes. Yamagata fights back with a pair of dropkicks but Fujita rocks her with an elbow and ducks Yamagata’s crossbody attempt. Fujita throws Yamagata in the corner and hits a Space Rolling Avalanche, standing moonsault by Fujita but it only gets two. Jumping lariat by Fujita, she picks up Yamagata but Yamagata rebounds out of the corner with a triple jump crossbody. Fujita levels her with another elbow, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Fujita picks up Yamagata and hits a release German, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault for the three count! Fujita is your winner.

A short match clipped shorter, but not a bad opener. Yamagata showed flashes of ability, just from this I wouldn’t have known she’d be as good as she ended up being but I am not surprised either. Fujita was known for her high flying offense, she mostly stayed grounded here however she did hit a nice looking moonsault. Decent showcase for both wrestlers.

Chaparita ASARI and Faby Apache vs. Rie Tamada and Rena Takase

This match is also joined in progress, with Tamada in the ring with Faby. Takase randomly runs in and spears Faby but Faby avoids Tamada’s missile dropkick. Faby tags in ASARI but Tamada catches her with a Stunner, Tamada goes off the ropes but ASARI pushes her out of the ring. ASARI then goes up top and sails out of the ring down onto both Tamada and Takase, they return to the ring and both ASARI and Faby hit missile dropkicks. Tamada blocks a Northern Lights Suplex but Faby lariats Tamada, helping ASARI hit the move. Frankensteiner by ASARI to Tamada, but the cover gets two. ASARI goes up top but Tamada grabs her from behind and throws ASARI to the mat. German suplex by ASARI but Tamada is back up and hits a roaring elbow. That gives her time to tag in Takase while Faby is tagged in as well, and Faby puts Takase in a Mexican Surfboard. Tamada helps from the apron which allows Takase to apply a quick cross armbreaker, but Faby gets a toe on the ropes.

Takase knocks Faby out of the ring, she then goes up top and dives out of the ring onto ASARI and Faby. Takase gets a chair but the referee tries to get it from her, while the referee is distracted Tamada grabs another chair and whacks Faby with it. Tamada then sets up Faby near the ropes and props the chair against her before hitting a dropkick into the chair from the top turnbuckle. Takase grabs Faby and hits a German suplex hold, but Faby barely kicks out. Takase goes up top but hits a crossbody on Tamada on accident, Faby goes off the ropes but Tamada trips her from the apron. Faby recovers and hits a jumping heel kick on Takase, she goes up top but Takase avoids the diving headbutt. Missile dropkick by Tamada, Takase goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for two. Takase goes off the ropes but Faby levels her with a lariat, Takase sneaks in a backslide but Faby hits another heel kick. Liger Bomb by Faby, and she gets the three count! ASARI and Faby Apache win the match.

What an odd match. Now about four minutes were clipped which can hurt a match in regards to flow and it making sense, but even without that it was probably all over the place. Faby played such an odd role, she really didn’t sell anything long term and each time she hit a big move she would do the ‘cocky’ cover as if she had been winning the whole match. When Faby wasn’t driving me nuts, everything else was great though. Love Takase, she showed a lot of promise and ability for such a young wrestler, and Tamada was on point. ASARI must have been clipped out, as she wasn’t shown as much and played a bit role. Overall I still enjoyed it, lots of solid action, I just wish it was a bit tighter in presentation.  Mildly Recommended

Bionic J vs. GAMI

As we join the match, Bionic J is kneeing GAMI, Irish whip by Bionic J and she hits GAMI in the stomach with a nunchuck. GAMI takes it from her but Bionic J delivers a superkick, she goes for a shoulder tackle but GAMI catches her with a guillotine. GAMI gets Bionic J to the mat but she gets into the ropes, GAMI puts Bionic J on the top turnbuckle and she hits a Frankensteiner, but Bionic jumps to her feet and hits a lariat. Cutter by Bionic J but GAMI bounces up from that and hits a lariat followed by a STO. GAMI goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop, picking up a two count. Chokeslam by Bionic J and she applies a Texas Cloverleaf, but GAMI gets into the ropes. Bionic J throws GAMI into the corner but GAMI drop toeholds her when she charges in and kicks her in the face. GAMI goes for a pump handle but Bionic J blocks it and hits a double underhook facebuster. Bionic J gets on the second turnbuckle but GAMI avoids the diving leg drop and hits a lariat. Pump handle sitout slam by GAMI, but Bionic J kicks out of the cover. GAMI punches Bionic J in the face and puts her in a cross necklock, forcing Bionic J to submit! GAMI is your winner.

Not a whole lot to this one, some good power moves by both but also some random no-selling that didn’t really add anything to the match. It wasn’t a bad watch, as long as you don’t mind some of the more silly aspects of ‘fighting spirit’ cropping up.

(c) Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda vs. PIKA and POKO

PIKA and POKO start off with the advantage as they hit dives out of the ring, but one backfires as one of the clowns takes out the other clowns. Shimoda stays in the ring with with, we’ll say PIKA, and pokes her in the eyes, but the other two clowns come in the ring and confuse Shimoda on which one she had really poked in the eyes. Frankensteiner by POKO, then PIKA hits a sunset flip for a two count. PIKA goes for lariats and finally knocks Shimoda over, sunset flip by PIKA and she rolls her around the ring for a two count. Shimoda gets on the top turnbuckle but PIKA avoids her somersault and applies La Magistral for a two count. PIKA goes up top but Shimoda avoids the moonsault, kick by Shimoda and she covers PIKA for two. Shimoda tags in Mita but PIKA rolls her up for two. She gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a cannonball, picking up two again. She goes for another dive but Mita gets her feet up. POKO comes in the ring and distracts Mita, missile dropkick by… PIKA we will say but Mita hits a double chop to the chest. All three clowns pick up Mita but Mita gets out of it, La Magistral by… POKO but it gets a two count. Shimoda comes off the top with a double missile dropkick, Mita picks up POKO and hits a folding powerbomb for two. Mita goes for a powerbomb but she gets hit in the head with a fan, POKO goes for a hurricanrana but Mita blocks it and hits a Death Valley Bomb for the three count! LCO retain their championship.

This was a really odd way to use LCO. LCO are known for being brutal (they were generally heels) but here they are doing shtick. Not being overly cooperative but they still had to take part in it. A few cute spots but I can’t say I enjoyed it as I’d much rather see LCO in a real tag match and keep the clowning around more towards the bottom of the card. Not a good match at all.

Lioness Asuka vs. Mariko Yoshida

They jockey for position to start and end up on the mat, but after a moment they return to their feet. They return to the mat with Asuka on top, Yoshida goes for a triangle choke but Asuka gets out of it and they end up in the ropes. Yoshida goes for a cross armbreaker but Asuka blocks it and gets back up before kicking Yoshida. Asuka baseball slides Yoshida in the leg and drags her out of the ring, throwing Yoshida into a row of chairs forcefully. She goes for a suplex on the floor but Yoshida lands her her feet, snapmare by Asuka and she kicks Yoshida in the back. Asuka slides a table in the ring and then slides Yoshida back in as well, kicks by Asuka and she slaps Yoshida in the face. Asuka slams Yoshida into the table, she then puts the table across Yoshida’s chest and hits a footstomp off the top turnbuckle onto it. Liger Bomb by Asuka, but Yoshida barely gets her shoulder up. Asuka goes for a high kick but Yoshida catches her foot and applies an ankle hold, she then grabs Asuka around the neck before applying a cross armbreaker.

Asuka gets into the ropes, Yoshida picks her up but Asuka hits a lariat. Yoshida comes back with a German suplex but Asuka blocks the Spider Twist, Yoshida gets the triangle choke locked in but Asuka powerbombs out of it. Asuka gets on the top turnbuckle but jumps back off and stomps Yoshida, she goes up again but Yoshida punches her and joins Asuka up top. Superplex by Yoshida but Asuka hits a quick Blue Thunder Driver. Yoshida comes back and drops Asuka with the Air Raid Crash, but Asuka kicks out of the pin attempt. Cross armbreaker by Yoshida but Asuka gets a foot on the ropes, Yoshida hits another Air Raid Crash but again it gets a two count. Yoshida goes off the ropes but Asuka delivers a high kick, Asuka goes to pick up Yoshida but Yoshida slaps her in an armtrap crossface. La Magistral by Yoshida into the Spider Twist, but Asuka inches to the ropes to force the break. Yoshida goes for another Air Raid Crash but Asuka blocks it and hits the Towerhacker Bomb for a two count. Asuka slides Yoshida out of the ring and throws her into the crowd, she removes the mat at ringside and sets up her table. Asuka puts Yoshida on the table and goes up top, hitting a footstomp down to the floor and through the table. Yoshida is quickly slid back into the ring, Liger Bomb by Asuka but Yoshida barely gets a shoulder up. Heel kick by Asuka, she picks up Yoshida and drops her with the LSD II for the three count! Lioness Asuka is the winner!

It is hard to be mad about a match this entertaining but it certainly had its issues. First of all, the result is what it had to be if Asuka was going to be taken seriously, but she has a reputation as being a selfish worker for a reason as she survived every one of Yoshida’s normal signature moves and then sprinted around the ring like nothing happened to win the match. Asuka was feeling no ill effects during the home stretch, which is classic Asuka but made Yoshida look weak in the process. That being said I liked it anyway, Yoshida is so slick with her submissions and Asuka’s style is a bit different as it mixes in fast pace with brutality very effectively. Definitely worth the watch but better if you know what you are getting into, long-term selling is not Asuka’s strong suit.  Recommended

(c) Ayako Hamada vs. Michiko Omukai

Omukai dropkicks Hamada instead of shaking hands as they start with a bang, Hamada tosses Omukai out of the ring and then sails out onto her with an Asai Moonsault, but Omukai hits her with a chair as she jumps out. Hamada gets the chair from Omukai and hits her with it, Hamada slides Omukai back in the ring and she hits a swandive missile dropkick. Springboard crossbody by Hamada but Omukai rocks her with an elbow, Hamada elbows Omukai back and they exchange hard strikes. They finally slow down as Hamada hits a vertical suplex and she puts Omukai in a modified cloverleaf, but Omukai gets out of it and hits an armdrag. She applies a submission but Hamada gets to the ropes, kicks by Omukai to the head of Hamada and she hits a palm thrust to send Hamada to the mat. Omukai pounds on Hamada’s face in the mount position, busting open Hamada in the process. Omukai focuses on Hamada’s bleeding head, she goes for a powerbomb but Hamada pushes her off.

Suplex by Omukai but Hamada headbutts her, more headbutts by Hamada and she hits mounted headbutts until Omukai is bleeding too. Omukai is bleeding everywhere as they trade headbutts, hard elbow by Omukai and she covers Hamada for two. Hamada puts Omukai in an Octopus Hold, she takes it to the mat but Omukai gets a foot on the ropes. Bodyscissors into a submission by Hamada and they trade submissions until Omukai gets to the ropes. Hamada goes for a powerbomb, Omukai blocks it and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Hamada blocks that and puts Omukai on the top turnbuckle. Hamada then joins her and hits a face crusher to the mat, cover by Hamada but it gets two. Hamada charges Omukai but Omukai catches her in a triangle choke, Hamada struggles but manages to make it to the ropes. Omukai picks up Hamada but Hamada slides away and hits a palm strike. Shining Kick by Omukai, she covers Hamada but Hamada gets a foot on the ropes. Spinning backfists by Omukai but Hamada ducks one and slaps her. Spiral Bomb by Hamada, but Omukai barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Jumping heel kick by Hamada, and she picks up the three count! Your winner and still champion: Ayako Hamada!

Now this was a great match, I loved it. Omukai has great looking and convincing submissions, while Hamada brought lots of fire. The blood loss worked here as both wrestlers snapped a bit once they were busted open, particularly Hamada, and it helped the match go from trading spots to two trying to kill each other. The time went by quickly and nothing felt excessive or out of place. Considering how early Hamada was into her career, she clearly “got it” at a young age, if you are a Hamada fan you really need to track this match down. Perfect way to end the card, it started slow but definitely ended with a bang.  Highly Recommended

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