Event: Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata
Date: June 8th, 2019
Location: Niigata City Gymnasium in Niigata, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sometimes a show happens in Japan that I know I have to watch the minute it releases. This is one of those events. Sendai Girls’ tends to really go all out for their big events, and there are several matches on this show I really wanted to see. Sareee is one of my favorite wrestlers but a lot of her matches don’t ‘make TV’ so I’m excited to get to see her again, this is a huge match for her as she has a rare title vs. title match against Chihiro Hashimoto. Here is the full card:

• Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship: Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
• Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
• Alex Lee, Heidi Katrina, and KAORU vs. Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga
• Aja Kong and Yuu vs. Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship/World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Sareee

As we are watching the Samurai TV! airing of the event, some matches may be clipped. All wrestlers have a profile on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

They circle to start before and lockup, they trade holds until Manami gets Mikoto to the mat. Leg submission by Manami and she rolls it into a headlock, Mikoto reverses it but Manami gets away. She goes for a dropkick by Mikoto swats her down, Mikoto goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Manami but Mikoto avoids the next and applies a camel clutch crossface, she lets go after a moment and elbows Manami into the corner. Irish whip by Mikoto and she hits a dropkick, four more dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Manami for two. Crab hold by Mikoto but Manami inches to the ropes to get the break, she puts Manami right back in the crab hold but Manami gets to the ropes again. Mikoto picks up Manami but Manami blocks the slam attempt, they trade elbows until Mikoto drops Manami with a dropkick. Cover by Mikoto, but it gets a two count. Mikoto goes for another crab hold but Manami reverses it into a cradle, schoolboy by Manami but that gets a two as well. Back up they trade elbows, Mikoto knocks Manami to the mat and hits more mounted elbows. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Manami elbows her and applies an inside cradle for two. Dropkick by Manami but Mikoto hits a back bodydrop, she picks up Manami but Manami hits a sunset flip for two. She goes for a jackknife cover but Mikoto blocks it, she holds down Manami and picks up the three count! Mikoto Shindo wins and is the new champion!

Pretty basic, as expected. I will say that Mikoto Shindo is a bundle of fun, she has a bit of a mean streak to her and wrestlers like she has a chip on her shoulder, which probably wasn’t necessary since she was wrestling a child but at least it shows she cared. I wouldn’t have minded if the ending was a bit more conclusive, not that cradle wins aren’t legitimate wins but for a title match something with more substance would have been nice. For an opener with younger wrestlers, nothing wrong with it but it didn’t do much to elevate itself to title match status.

Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
Bamboo Dumpling Scramble Match

We start with Hirota feeding Aiger what I am assuming is a Bamboo Dumpling, which are strung up over the ring in a X. They both go to opposite corners to try to reach them but can’t, and while I don’t really know what is going on I don’t think with these two that it really matters. Both fail to reach it, they go into the regular Aiger zombie spots before they collide and knock each other out. Hirota is up first and tries to jump off of Aiger’s knee to reach the dumplings, but fails. Aiger tries too with the same result, suplex by Hirota but Aiger delivers a release German suplex. Both wrestlers are down on the mat, they lower the dumplings but raise them before the wrestlers can return to their feet. More comedy spots, this time running through Hirota’s bits until Aiger hits a lariat for a two count. Aiger goes up top and scares Hirota, but Hirota kisses her to even the odds. Hirota goes for a powerbomb but Aiger lands on top of her, picking up the three count! Aiger wins! After the match is over, Aiger throws the referee on top of Hirota, stands on top of them and finally gets some dumplings before leaving the ring.

Slightly clipped, but not enough. The crowd enjoys this so I’m not suggesting it shouldn’t exist, it just isn’t for me. Its literally the same three or four spots every time repeated. I enjoy Sakura Hirota when she is doing cosplay as that can be entertaining, but this is just skippable affair. Unless you are really into one of these two wrestlers (or have never seen either before), nothing worth seeing here.

Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga vs. Alex Lee, Heidi Katrina, and KAORU

We join this one in progress, with Katrina beating up Mei. Vertical suplex by Katrina, and she covers Mei for two. Katrina picks up Mei, Mei goes for a crossbody but Katrina catches her and hits a fallaway slam. Giant Swing by Katrina and she hits a leg drop, but Shida breaks up her cover. Irish whip by Katrina but Mei jumps on her back, Katrina drives her back into the corner to get her off but Mei avoids her charge and hits a dropkick. Cradle by Mei, but Katrina kicks out. Mei tags in Hyan, dropkick by Katrina and she tags Lee. Lee kicks Hyan into the corner and nails a high knee, release German by Lee and she kicks Hyan in the face. Another kick by Lee but Hyan blocks the slam, springboard armdrag by Hyan and she hits a side Russian leg sweep. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Hyan, but it only gets a two count. Hyan tags in Shida, Shida trades elbows with Lee but Mei and Hyan both run in to attack Lee in the corner. Jumping knee by Shida, she sets up Lee in the corner before grabbing KAORU and suplexing her into Lee. Shida grabs Lee but Katrina hits her from behind, KAORU runs in and boots Shida before Lee delivers a Buzzsaw Kick. Lee picks up Shida and slams her to the mat, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Shida avoids the footstomp. Dropkick by Mei, both teams run in and trade strikes with each other, ending with a Lee high kick to Shida for a two count. Lee picks up Shida and knees her, but Shida blocks the chokebomb. KAORU tries to hit Shida with a board but hits Lee by accident, Michinoku Driver by Shida to Lee but Lee kicks out. Tamashii no Three Count by Shida, and she picks up the three count pinfall! Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga win!

This was clipped up, and what they showed us was hit and miss. Lee and Hyan are probably the least familiar wrestlers with each other in the match and it showed during their segment, just really clunky. I would have liked to see more of KAORU, she never got tagged in at all during what was shown, and focusing on Lee and Katrina impacted some of the match quality. Mei just randomly running in to attack people was fun and Shida was great, it was just too inconsistent to recommend hunting it down.

Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata vs. Aja Kong and Yuu

Iwata and Yuu kick things off, Iwata gets Yuu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Headlock by Iwata but Yuu Irish whips out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock. Iwata kips up and kicks Yuu in the arm, snapmare by Iwata and she kicks Yuu in the back before hitting a PK. Iwata tags in Satomura, Satomura trips Yuu and applies an armbar into a headlock but Yuu struggles back to her feet. Snapmare by Satomura and she applies a stretch hold, Yuu inches to the ropes and she makes it to force the break. Satomura tags Iwata back in who arrives and with ax handle to Yuu’s arm, elbows by Iwata but Yuu catches her with a hard chop. More chops by Yuu, she scoops up Iwata and hits a powerslam for a two count. Yuu tags Kong, chops by Kong to Iwata’s chest and she chops Iwata to the mat. Elbow drop by Kong, and she covers Iwata for two. Armtrap crossface by Kong, she lets go after a moment and kicks Iwata in the back. Kong tags Yuu in, Yuu chops Iwata into the corner with Kong and they both knock Iwata to the mat. Cover by Yuu, but Satomura breaks it up. Kong returns as the legal wrestler, piledriver by Kong but Iwata gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt.

Iwata tries to fight back but Kong slaps her in the face, Kong picks up Iwata but Iwata delivers a strike combination. She rolls to her corner and tags Satomura, Satomura knocks Yuu off the apron but Kong slaps her in the face. Heel kick by Satomura and she goes for a cartwheel kneedrop, but Kong moves out of the way. Kong tags Yuu, sidewalk slam by Yuu and she hits a running senton on Satomura for two. Yuu goes off the ropes but Satomura delivers a high kick, another head kick by Satomura and she tags Iwata. Kicks to the chest by Iwata and she hits a Codebreaker, superkick by Iwata and she covers Yuu for two. Iwata goes for a jumping knee but Yuu catches her and tosses her to the mat, front dropkick by Yuu to the corner and she hits the cannonball. Yuu applies a choke but Iwata elbows out of it, high kick by Iwata but Yuu hits a judo toss. This gives her time to tag Kong while Satomura is tagged in as well, Satomura and Kong trade elbows until Kong sends Satomura to the mat.

Irish whip by Kong but Satomura blocks it and hits an uppercut, cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, she goes for a kick but Kong catches it and slaps Satomura. Iwata runs in and kicks Kong in the chest, Satomura joins in but Kong lariats both of them. Kong gets her paint can and hits both Iwata and Satomura in the head with it, backdrop suplex by Kong to Satomura and she covers her for two. Kong picks up Satomura but Satomura ducks he Uraken, Pele Kick by Satomura and she tries to get Kong on her shoulders, but Kong blocks it. Yuu comes in to try to help but shoulderblocks Kong by accident, Satomura grabs Kong again and this time hits the Death Valley Bomb for two. Elbow drop by Satomura, she goes up top and goes for a diving body press, but Kong gets both feet up. Scoop slam by Kong, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the elbow drop, but Satomura gets a shoulder up. Kong picks up Satomura but Iwata comes in and kicks her, Death Valley Bomb by Satomura but Kong hulks up and returns to her feet. Pele Kick by Satomura, she waits for Kong to get to one knee and nails the Scorpion Rising for the three count! Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata are the winners.

As expected, this was a really fun match. Even though it was a midcard match, Satomura and Kong have no chill regardless and were really laying it into each other. Not everything landed perfectly and the ending felt a bit sudden in that Yuu kinda disappeared for the final stretch, but I’m not complaining too much as I didn’t expect Kong to be the one to take the pin so it caught me off guard in a good way. Yuu fit right in here and I hope she becomes a semi-regular in Sendai Girls’, her and Iwata had good chemistry and the match never slowed down as all of them were going 100%. The ending could have been tighter but still an enjoyable match between four quality wrestlers.  Recommended

(c) Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

McKenzie and Chisako start the match, Chisako gets McKenzie in the ropes and she gives a mostly clean break. They lock up again and Chisako gives another clean break which just seems to annoy McKenzie, they trade elbows and flash pins before reaching a stalemate. Matsumoto and Evans tag in, they immediately run into each other and take turns attempting to shoulderblock each other over until Evans pulls down Matsumoto by the hair and hits a low crossbody. Body Avalanche by Matsumoto in the corner and she hits a hard shoulderblock for a two count cover. Matsumoto picks up Evans but Evans rakes her eyes, Chisako runs in however and they double team Evans. Matsumoto tags Chisako, Chisako kicks down Evans in the corner and hits a front dropkick. Chisako drags up Evans, Chisako drops Evans on the apron and then dropkicks her off of it to the floor. Chisako gets on the apron but Evans catches her PK attempt and slams Chisako into the apron. McKenzie then gets in the ring and dives out with a tope suicida, they toss Chisako back in and Evans covers her for two. Evans tosses down Chisako by the hair and tags McKenzie, Chisako fights back but McKenzie hits a hard elbow and slaps her on the mat. McKenzie elbows Chisako into the corner and tags Evans, chops by Evans and she snapmares Chisako before kicking her in the back.

Evans applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and elbows Matsumoto on the apron. Chisako elbows Evans and hits a dropkick, she goes to make a tag but McKenzie runs in and knocks Matsumoto off the apron. Evans stomps Chisako in the back and tags McKenzie, superkick by Evans and McKenzie covers Chisako for two. McKenzie picks up Chisako and applies a headlock, but Chisako gets a foot on the ropes to get a break. Chisako snaps off a cutter and finally tags in Matsumoto, Matsumoto shoulderblocks both her opponents but McKenzie blocks the backdrop suplex attempt. Matsumoto is whipped into the corner but stacks both Evans and McKenzie in the turnbuckles before hitting a Body Avalanche. Evans and McKenzie both roll out of the ring, Chisako gets in the ring so that Matsumoto can pick her up and toss her down onto both of them. Chisako rolls McKenzie back in, Matsumoto suplexes McKenzie and covers her for two. McKenzie fights back with elbows but Matsumoto blocks the spear attempt, McKenzie blocks Matsumoto’s vertical suplex and hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. She tags in Evans, kicks by Evans to Matsumoto but Matsumoto blocks the PK and elbows Evans in the face. Matsumoto knees Evans as they trade blows back and forth, superkicks by Evans but Matsumoto levels her with a lariat. Matsumoto crawls to her corner and tags Chisako while McKenzie is tagged as well, they trade elbows until Chisako delivers a dropkick. McKenzie throws Chisako in the corner but Chisako slides out to the apron and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Sliding kick by Chisako and she covers McKenzie for two.

Chisako picks up McKenzie but McKenzie gets her back, they trade waistlocks until Matsumoto runs in and helps Chisako. Backdrop suplex/cutter combination to McKenzie, but she kicks out of the cover. Chisako goes up top but Evans grabs her from the apron, Matsumoto elbows Evans off the apron but McKenzie avoids Chisako’s diving footstomp. McKenzie dropkicks Chisako in the leg and hits a sliding uppercut, cover by McKenzie but it gets a two count. Chisako gets back up as they exchange strikes, hard elbows by Chisako but McKenzie superkicks her when she goes off the ropes. McKenzie picks up Chisako but Matsumoto runs in and elbows her, Evans goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Matsumoto. Spear by McKenzie to Matsumoto, she goes back to Chisako and drops her with a double underhook facebuster for a two count. McKenzie picks up Chisako but Chisako rolls her up for two, Matsumoto comes in and lariats McKenzie before she catapults Chisako at McKenzie for a dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako followed by a Matsumoto reverse double kneedrop, Chisako goes up top but Evans joins her. Matsumoto powerbombs Evans onto McKenzie, diving footstomp by Chisako but McKenzie barely kicks out of the cover. Chisako goes up top and nails the Hormone Splash, but McKenzie reverses her cover into a cradle for the three count! Medusa Complex remain the champions.

It took a few minutes to get going, but once they did this was pretty fantastic. Chisako and Matsumoto are so so good, I can’t put enough emphasis on how they carried (I mean that in a good way) two less experienced wrestlers through a smooth and well-worked match. Chisako just is so vicious, often times for no reason, and I love her strikes. Evans was the least involved of the four but hit her spots well, and the end stretch was fire as it was just constant action. My only real critique is I didn’t love the ending – I never like it when a wrestler just blows off another wrestler doing their finisher to reverse it into a pin, even though McKenzie sold it after she did basically no-sell the Hormone Splash and all the other offense just done to her. I get they wanted a kinda fluky win since Chisako out-ranks McKenzie but I’d preferred just a traditional cradle if that was the direction they were going, or off some other type of sneaky deception. Still, a hard hitting and entertaining match, it makes me want to hunt down more of McKenzie as she really held her own against two of the best wrestlers in Joshi.  Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. (c) Sareee
Diana World Championship and Sendai Girls’ World Championship

After sizing each other up they tie-up, Chihiro pushes Sareee into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Knuckle lock by Chihiro and they go into a Test of Strength, Chihiro pushes Sareee to the mat but Sareee gets out of it and hits an armdrag. Hard lariat by Chihiro but Sareee quickly kicks out of the cover and they are back on their feet. They struggle for position, Chihiro gets Sareee down and goes for an armbreaker, but Sareee quickly gets out of it. Rolling headlock by Sareee but they end up in the ropes, Chihiro lets up Sareee as the match resets. Chihiro applies a cross-arm submission before picking up Sareee and applying a guillotine. Delayed vertical suplex by Chihiro, and she covers Sareee for a two count. Sareee elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her back as they trade blows, Sareee rebounds off the ropes with an armdrag before dropkicking Chihiro. Sareee goes off the ropes but Chihiro drives her into the corner, Irish whip by Chihiro but Sareee jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a dropkick. Chihiro puts Sareee in a Cobra Twist before tossing her to the mat, deadlift by Chihiro and she hits a scoop slam followed by a somersault senton for two.

Chihiro slams Sareee in front of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Sareee avoids the senton and kicks her repeatedly in the back. She goes for a PK but Chihiro catches it, crab hold by Chihiro but she lets go as Sareee gets close to the ropes. Chihiro stretches Sareee before stomping her in the back, she goes off the ropes but Sareee rolls her to the mat before hitting a footstomp. Footstomp from the second turnbuckle by Sareee, she then goes all the way up and hits a second diving footstomp, picking up a two count cover. Elbows by Sareee, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro hits a lariat. Sareee charges Chihiro but Chihiro hits a spear, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Sareee hits her with a dropkick, a second dropkick sends Chihiro out of the ring and Sareee goes up top to dive out onto Chihiro. She then gets on the apron and hits a diving footstomp to the floor, she goes to return to the ring but Chihiro grabs her and powerbombs her onto the floor. Chihiro returns to the ring while Sareee tries to recover, she eventually gets back in and Chihiro covers her for two. Chihiro picks up Sareee and hits a series of hard lariats, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton for a two count. Chihiro goes up top but Sareee recovers and joins her, Chihiro knocks her back down but Sareee snaps back up and headbutts Chihiro.

Another headbutt by Sareee and she drops Chihiro with a release German, Chihiro gets back up but Sareee hits another German suplex for a two count. Chihiro gets Sareee’s back and hits a German suplex of her own, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both slowly get up and trade elbows, they then trade slaps until Chihiro floors Sareee with a lariat. Chihiro picks up Sareee but Sareee reverses the powerbomb attempt into a hurricanrana for two. Tilt-a-whirl schoolboy by Sareee, but that gets a two as well. She goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her and hits a release German, lariat by Chihiro and she gets a two count cover. Chihiro picks up Sareee and hits a belly to belly suplex, she drags her back up and drops her with a powerbomb. Chihiro gets Sareee around the waist but Sareee elbows away, Chihiro goes off the ropes but Chihiro nails a uranage. Sareee picks up Chihiro and hits a second uranage, cover by Sareee but Chihiro barely gets a shoulder up. Sareee goes for a third but Chihiro grabs the ropes to block it, she rolls up Chihiro but it gets a two count. Chihiro rams Sareee down and hits a series of short-range lariats, but Sareee nails another uranage for two. Sareee picks up Chihiro and kicks her in the jaw, hammerlock uranage by Sareee and she picks up the three count! Sareee is now a double champion!

My gut reaction after watching this match was that this is my favorite match of 2019, period. To say I loved it would be an understatement, and it went beyond just Sareee being great as Chihiro Hashimoto matched her step for step. Chihiro isn’t flashy but she does so many little things right – just for two examples, I loved that she let go of a submission before Sareee could get a break to pull her out so she could apply another submission, and her cutting off the “trading running strikes” spot with a spear was a nice change of pace from the norm. She is an incredibly smart worker and her strength is impressive, she just isn’t like most other Joshi wrestlers. Sareee delivered too of course, her strikes are so on point and I love her uranages. It says a lot that this wasn’t a short match but it left me wanting more, they could have gone another ten minutes and I wouldn’t have complained, but sometimes less is more which is a lesson I think more wrestlers could learn. It felt like a real struggle with tangible urgency and it kept me captivated, they were just throwing bombs and I was loving every minute of it. I know “must see” is thrown around a lot but this is legitimately a must-see match, even for wrestling fans that aren’t normally into Joshi. Its that damn good. I’d give this ***** without blinking an eye, I don’t see how any match will top this in my end-of-year ranking, an instant classic.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata on 6/8/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Ami Sato vs. Manami

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

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

Sakura Hirota and Eiger vs. Solo Darling and KAORU

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

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

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

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

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

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Iwata

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

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

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

Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ami Sato vs. Manami

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

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

Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota

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

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

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

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

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

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Championships Held: REINA-CMLL International Championship and the Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• September 25th, 2016 vs. Chica Tormenta ((title win)
• November 17th, 2017 with Cassandra Miyagi vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU (title challenge)
• March 11th, 2018 with Cassandra Miyagi vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU (title win)

Signature Moves:

• Diving Legdrop
• Double Underhook Suplex
• Side Russian Leg Sweep
• Spear

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• June 22nd, 2017 – Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire in WAVE
• July 15th, 2017 – Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU in Sendai Girls’
• November 17th, 2017 – Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU in Sendai Girls’
• April 19th, 2018 – Cassandra Miyagi, Heidi Katrina, Jayne, and Aja Kong vs. DASH Chisako, Matsumoto, Momono, and Alex Lee in Sendai Girls’

In Action:

Diving Leg Drop

Double Underhook Suplex

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post Heidi Katrina appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Jaguar Yokota vs. Manami

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

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

Eiger vs. Hana Kimura vs. Rydeen Hagane

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

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

Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE surprises us by uploading an event pretty quickly onto their WAVE Network. I reward them for doing this by reviewing the event and pointing people to their service if they want to see the event too. Everyone wins! This show has no title matches but a couple big matches anyway, with the highlights being Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita and Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Mika Iida
• Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata
• Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita
• Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka
• Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

Isami Kodaka vs. Keisuke Goto was on the card too, but I’m skippin’ it.

ASUKA vs. Mika Iida

They circle each other to start before locking up, Mika gets ASUKA to the mat first but ASUKA gets out of it and puts Mika in a headlock. They trade submission attempts before returning to their feet, quick takedown by Mika and she puts ASUKA in an armbar. Crossface by Mika and she twists ASUKA’s arm before applying a seated armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, takedown by Mika but ASUKA puts her in a guillotine. Knees by ASUKA and she hits a scoop slam, another scoop slam by ASUKA and she puts Mika in a guillotine, Mika gets out of it and the two trade elbows. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mika and she puts ASUKA in a submission hold, but ASUKA rolls out of it. Takedown by ASUKA and she returns the favor by contorting Mika into a submission, but Mika gets out of it and puts ASUKA in the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA reverses it into a reverse armbar but Mika gets a foot on the ropes, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA but Mika catches her with an uppercut, rebound crossbody by ASUKA and she covers Mika for two. ASUKA goes for a kick but Mika reverses it and rolls ASUKA to the mat, kimura by Mika but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Running dropkick by Mika while ASUKA is still against the ropes, uppercut by Mika and she goes for the short armbar, but ASUKA rolls out of it tosses Mika to the mat from her shoulders. ASUKA picks up Mika but Mika reverses the waistlock and sneaks in two flash pins for two. Mika goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a thrust kick, she goes for a chokeslam but Mika blocks it. Mika tries to roll up ASUKA but ASUKA kips out of it and hits a superkick, suplex by ASUKA in front of the corner and she nails the moonsault for the three count! ASUKA is the winner!

This was basic but sound. It started slow, which isn’t unusual for an opener but picked up some about five minutes in and stayed interesting the rest of the way. ASUKA is coming along really well, even though she got early press as the first transgender wrestler to join a Joshi promotion they haven’t exploited that fact and treat her like everyone else that has to work their way up the rankings. Beating Mika is definitely a good sign for her growth though, and now that she is 18 and two years into her career I expect her to start picking up more wins going forward. Not a bad opener.

Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Yoneyama, and Ohata

Ohata and Nagahama start the match but Ohata is immediately jumped from behind and triple teamed by all her opponents. Yoneyama and Cherry finally come in to help and now it is Nagahama getting triple teamed, curb stomp by Ohata to Nagahama and she covers her for two. She takes in Yoneyama, Yoneyama stomps down Nagahama in the corner and with Ohata’s help attacks her while she is caught up in the ropes. Yoneyama stretches Nagahama before tagging in Cherry, monkey flip by Cherry and she rams Nagahama’s head into the mat repeatedly. Nagahama fights back with a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Aoi, Yoneyama comes in too but Aoi and Moeka hit a double crossbody onto both of them. They do the same three more times to Cherry, double cover to Cherry but it gets a two count. They continue to double team Cherry until Cherry hits a double neck drop, she puts Aoi on top of Moeka and hits a double stomp onto her back. Nagahama runs in but she gets the same treatment, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi stretches Cherry over her knee. Cherry quickly hits a bridging suplex, she goes off the ropes but Aoi delivers a jumping lariat. Backfist by Cherry and she tags in Ohata, while Moeka is tagged in as well. They trade elbows, a battle which Ohata wins, crossbody by Ohata and she gets a two count cover.

Moeka ducks a spinning chop and hits a hurricanrana, hanging armbar by Moeka and her teammates come in to play defense. Aoi helps Moeka hits a double suplex, cover by Moeka but it gets two. Moeka tags Nagahama, dropkick by Nagahama in the corner and she delivers two more dropkicks for a quick cover. Nagahama picks up Ohata and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner, but Ohata kicks out at two. Nagahama picks up Ohata but Ohata slides down her back and they trade flash pins. Stunner by Ohata, she goes off the ropes but Nagahama does too and goes for a bodyscissors roll-up. Ohata blocks it and hits a suplex, low crossbody by Ohata and she tags in Cherry. Yoneyama also comes in and they double team Nagahama in the corner, double face crusher to Nagahama and both Yoneyama and Cherry get onto the top turnbuckle. Nagahama avoids Yoneyama’s diving senton however, Aoi then gets up top and hits a swivel body press onto Yoneyama. Diving footstomp by Moeka onto Yoneyama, Nagahama grabs her and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, but the cover is broken up. After some chaos with all six wrestlers in the ring, Nagahama gets a few more flash pins but Yoneyama sneaks in an assisted jackknife hold and picks up the three count! Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata win!

Just mindless fun. The match was actually better when they weren’t trying to be serious, the general chaos with wrestlers running in whenever they wanted to worked well with the skill sets of some of the participants. A good match for this part of the card, a short multi-tag sprint never hurt anyone as long as it isn’t presented as too important which this wasn’t.

Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire

SAKI and Natsu start the match, SAKI immediately trips Natsu and the two trade armdrags. They square off again, kick by Natsu and she stretches SAKI in the ropes. Running elbow by Natsu and she tags Maya, kicks by Maya and she covers SAKI for two. Maya goes up top but Heidi grabs her from the apron, SAKI recovers and she tosses Maya to the mat. Reverse Splash by SAKI and she puts Maya in a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but it quickly gets broken up. Maya kicks SAKI but SAKI kicks her back and tags Heidi, Heidi elbows Maya in the corner and gives her the Giant Swing. Leg drop by Heidi, but Natsu stops the referee from making the count. Heidi charges Maya but Maya hits a superkick, giving her time to tag in Natsu. Boots by Natsu but Heidi catches one and hits a headbutt, Heidi goes off the ropes but Maya hits her from the apron. Running boot by Natsu to Heidi, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsu and Heidi struggle for position, Maya runs in to help and with Natsu they suplex Heidi. Double boot to Heidi, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu picks up Heidi and applies a sunset flip for two, she goes off the ropes but Heidi catches her with an over the shoulder powerslam drop for the three count! Heidi Katrina and SAKI win!

I don’t want to say the match was bad, since it was too short to be offensive, but it certainly wasn’t good. The ending was incredibly out of nowhere, I assume the commentary team held up their pen and they went to the finish early since nothing was really happening. Much of the action wasn’t overly crisp, although Heidi looked pretty polished. Just a nothing midcard tag match.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

They circle each other to start, Rina pushes Chihiro into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Chihiro takes down Rina and they struggles for position on the mat. Chihiro applies an ankle hold but Rina kicks her off, Chihiro puts Rina in a stretch hold but Rina gets out of it. They both go for shoulderblocks but neither budges, Chihiro finally knocks Rina off her feet but Rina returns the favor. Rina throws Chihiro into the corner and hits a lariat, she puts Chihiro into a Scorpion Deathlock but eventually gets to the ropes for a break. Rina mushes Chihiro against the bottom rope with her boot, Rina picks up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner and hits shoulder tackles. Body avalanche by Chihiro, and she covers Rina for a two count. Scoop slam by Chihiro and she hits a rolling senton, another senton by Chihiro and she covers Rina for two. Chihiro picks up Rina but Rina slides off her back and goes for a sleeper, which Chihiro quickly gets out of it by slamming Rina into the mat. Rina and Chihiro trade elbows until Chihiro hits a vertical suplex, Chihiro picks up Rina and hits a fireman’s carry roll followed by a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle. Chihiro goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, they trade elbows until Rina superplexes Chihiro down to the mat. Rina applies a sleeper but Chihiro gets to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and she knees Chihiro in the back for a two count. Rina elbows Chihiro repeatedly, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her with a spear. Back up they trade elbows and lariats, Chihiro finally knocks Rina to the mat but Rina blocks her suplex attempt. Back bodydrop by Rina but Chihiro comes back with a lariat, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the bell rings as she goes for the cover.  The match is a Draw.

While I don’t really love draws, at least here there is a reason behind it. Last match they had was a 10 minute draw, while this one was a 15 minute draw. Both are the future leaders of their respective promotions, so they are really building up to a big match down the road, ideally for one of their titles. This just keeps the interest up, we’ve established they are very equal and hit extremely hard, but neither can wear down their opponent enough with a shorter time constraint. It leaves me hyped for a rematch, even if it doesn’t happen for awhile. But a very hard hitting and entertaining match, it wasn’t fast paced but never felt like it was dragging, and they both showed a lot of emotion. Sometimes a slow simmer is the way to go, and as long as the relationship between Sendai Girls’ and WAVE doesn’t fizzle, we are in store for an epic match at a future date judging by their interactions so far.  Recommended

Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka

Yumi and Mio start off the match, Yumi immediately boots Mio and goes for the cover, but Kyuri breaks it up. Yumi goes for a tiger suplex but Mio reverses in a backslide, she tries a few more quick pins but Yumi kicks out of each. Hard shoulderblock by Yumi and she tags in Miyazaki, Miyazaki picks up Mio but Mio wiggles away and tags Kyuri. Kyuri goes for a crossbody but Miyazaki catches her, legdrop by Miyazaki but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Mio runs in to help but gets pushed away, crab hold by Miyazaki to Kyuri but Kyuri eventually gets to the ropes. Miyazaki picks up Kyuri and hits a DDT, she tags in Yumi and Yumi knees Kyuri repeatedly in the head. Running boot by Yumi, but Kyuri kicks out at two. Judo toss by Kyuri and she tags in Mio, dropkicks by Mio and she finally gets Yumi to the mat, but the pin only gets a one count. Scoop slam by Mio and she continually covers Yumi, but Yumi won’t stay down for the two count. Mio charges Yumi in the corner but she keeps booting her back, dropkick to the knee by Mio but Yumi boots her when she climbs to the top turnbuckle. Big boot by Ohka in the corner and she hits a second one, cover by Ohka but Mio barely gets a shoulder up. Yumi immediately puts her in an armtrap crossface, Mio gets to the ropes but Ohka boots her in the face again. Mio tries to roll-up Yumi and does with Kyuri’s help, but Yumi kicks out at one. Another roll-up by Mio and she dropkicks Ohka, Mio tags in Kyuri and Kyuri hits a series of neck drops for a one count. Kyuri picks up Yumi and hits a few elbows, but Yumi snaps off a DDT and covers her for two. Kyuri rolls through the cover and goes for a submission, but Yumi is too close to the ropes. Diving crossbody by Kyuri, she picks up Yumi but Yumi blocks the fisherman buster and hits a heel drop for a two count.

Backstabber by Kyuri and she rolls up Yumi a few more times, but each time gets a one count. Yumi suplexes Mio, Mio manages to tag in Kyuri but Miyazaki comes in too. Kyuri is double teamed until Yumi tags in Miyazaki, the action spills to the outside where Kaori Yoneyama and Cherry lend a hand to Kyuri. Miyazaki gets back in the ring while Yumi comes in with Kyuri, they hit the Magic Killer onto Kyuri but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Miyazaki, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mio comes in and pushes Miyazaki over the top rope. She tries to pull her down (remember they can win by Over The Top), but Miyazaki pushes them away and gets back into the ring. A quick roll-up by Kyuri gets a one count, as does a leg clutch hold. Yumi runs in but she boots Miyazaki by accident, cover by Kyuri but Yumi breaks it up. Fisherman suplex by Kyuri, but Yumi breaks that up as well. Eye poke by Miyazaki, Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Miyazaki and Yumi now have one pinfall, they need one more to win the match. Kyuri grabs Miyazaki around the waist but Miyazaki trips her, quick roll-up by Kyuri but Miyazaki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Kyuri tags in Mio, Mio tries to pin over Miyazaki repeatedly but each time she gets a one count. Mio picks up Miyazaki but Miyazaki kicks her and delivers a dropkick. Miyazaki grabs up Mio and hits a Samoan Driver, but Kyuri breaks up the cover. Miyazaki picks up Mio but Kyuri runs in and grabs her, backslide by Mio but it gets a one count. Around this time the bell rings, as time has expired. As the rules stipulated, due to the match being a draw, Mio Momono and Kyuri win!

Matches tend to suffer when there are so many stipulations, and this one was no different. It was a cute concept, the two young wrestlers getting the rules advantage against two wrestlers much more experienced, but I think they just over-did it a bit. They could have just done the rule that Yumi/Yuki needed two pinfalls and that the young team only needed a draw, no need for the two count pinfalls or Over The Top Rules to get their point across. The action was ok but nothing too memorable. Probably a more fun match live but a bit too weighed down by stipulations for my preference.

Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

They start with trading holds, Ryo gets Hikaru to the mat and shoulderblocks her, but Hikaru kips up. Hikaru trips Ryo but Ryo avoids the dropkick, they trade strike attempts but neither can connect. They get into a knuckle lock, Ryo pushes Hikaru to the mat and knocks Hikaru against the ropes. Ryo applies a front necklock but Hikaru gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a quick legdrop for two. Camel Clutch by Ryo, she drives Hikaru back into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Hikaru boots Ryo back and elbows her in the corner, she goes for a jumping knee but Ryo catches her and throws Hikaru to the mat. Ryo rams Hikaru’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and hitting a lariat in the corner. Ryo knocks Hikaru off the apron to the floor, but Hikaru throws a kendo stick at her and hits a running knee. Hikaru picks up Ryo and drops her onto a steel chair, she brings Ryo over to a table and suplexes her on it. Hikaru knees Ryo repeatedly in the chest, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Hikaru, but it gets a two count. Hikaru applies a crab hold, Ryo gets to the ropes but Hikaru hits a running knee. Ryo falls out to the apron but Hikaru suplexes her back into the ring, cover by Hikaru but Ryo kicks out. Ryo fires back with elbows but Hikaru hits an armdrag and delivers a Falcon Arrow for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her knee, Hikaru connects with the next one but Ryo hits a lariat.

Ryo lariats Hikaru in the back of the head but Hikaru snaps off a hurricanrana, she goes off the ropes but Ryo hits a powerslam for two. Jumping knee by Hikaru, but Ryo quickly rolls her up for two before applying an Anaconda Vice. Hikaru gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, spear by Ryo but Hikaru slides off her back and hits an enzuigiri. Uranage by Ryo, she covers Hikaru but it gets a two count. Ryo picks up Hikaru but Hikaru gets way again and rolls up Ryo for two, Hikaru gets her kendo stick and hits Ryo in the head with it. Hikaru hits a pair of running knees, but Ryo gets a foot on the bottom rope to break up the pinfall count. Hikaru puts Ryo on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Ryo pushes her off. Ryo goes for the diving leg drop but Hikaru avoids it, two more running knees by Hikaru but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Hikaru tries to hit Ryo with her kendo stick but Ryo blocks it, dragon suplex hold by Ryo but it gets two. Big lariat by Ryo, she goes up top and nails the diving leg drop, but that gets a two count as well. Hikaru pokes Ryo in the eyes and applies in an inside cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her and delivers the Hot Limit. Before she can make the cover, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was an oddly structured match but I think they accomplished their goal of putting on a good show while protecting both. I didn’t love that Ryo kept kicking out of Shida’s Three Count knees, but then Hikaru kicked out of the diving leg drop so it was just one of those matches that neither was going to stay down under any circumstances. I’m not sure what the point was as Shida isn’t really in the main event scene, but if they just wanted to put on an entertaining match for the fans I’d preferred the match have a more conclusive ending as a Draw leaves you wanted more that isn’t imminently coming. The action was really solid, Ryo was sandbagging Hikaru some which was interesting, not sure if there was a backstory there or just an effort to make her look tougher since WAVE is her promotion. I enjoyed it, I wish it had a real ending since the last two matches also went to the time limit, but both are great wrestlers and they put on a fun main event.  Recommended

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