Event: Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final”
Date: July 1st, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 180
Broadcast: Streamed on Confetti Web

After a long break, I have finally grabbed a Pro Wrestling WAVE event to review! There are a few reasons I don’t watch WAVE often. A big one is as WAVE has no TV deal or regular streaming service, not as many of their shows are readily available. WAVE has been streaming off and on this year on a service called Confetti Web, but its expensive, ranging from $20 to $35 a show. Which I consider expensive due to the other reason I don’t watch much WAVE, which is that their base roster is lackluster so they depend on having quality wrestlers from other places to prop up their shows. Plus, some of their matches tend to be a bit too goofy for my personal taste. Luckily, for Catch the WAVE they did bring in quality outsiders, and this is a full event with six matches. So it could be fun. Here is the full card:

• Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
• Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Yumi Ohka
• Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Momo Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Final: Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this match streamed via an online service, all matches will be shown in full.

Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
We kick off the show with a very traditional veteran vs. rookie match. Tomoko Watanabe is on the Legend tier of veterans, as she has had over a dozen title reigns in a 30 year career. She comes in from Marvelous to take on WAVE’s newest wrestler, as Shizuku just debuted in April. She isn’t a kid, which will help her not get completely squashed, but this will likely still be a one-sided affair. But hopefully the rookie will learn a thing or two in defeat.

Shizuku offers a handshake to start but instead throws Watanabe into the corner, dropkick by Shizuku but Watanabe dropkicks her back. Scoop slam by Watanabe and she hits an elbow drop off the side ropes for a two count. Shizuku gets back up and elbows Watanabe to the ropes, dropkick by Watanabe but Watanabe stays up. Shizuku goes for a scoop slam but Watanabe blocks it, camel clutch by Watanabe but she lets go after a moment so she can apply a single leg crab hold. Shizuku crawls to the ropes to force the break, Watanabe picks up Shizuku and hits a vertical suplex. Watanabe puts the crab hold back on but Watanabe gets a foot on the ropes, Watanabe drags Shizuku back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. She switches to a bodyscissors but Shizuku rolls out of it and hits a series of mounted elbows. Shizuku picks up Watanabe but still can’t slam her, scoop slam by Watanabe and she knees Shizuku in the midsection. Watanabe picks up Shizuku, Shizuku fights back with elbows but again Watanabe slams her.

Shizuku returns to her feet quickly and hits more elbows, but gets slammed for her trouble. Shizuku slowly gets up and hits a few elbows, Watanabe goes for a slam but Shizuku lands on top of her. Dropkicks by Shizuku but Watanabe swats one away and puts her in a single leg crab hold. Shizuku gets to the ropes for the break, Watanabe pulls her back but Shizuku cradles her for two. Shizuku goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Watanabe boots her to the mat for a two count. Irish whip by Watanabe to the corner but Shizuku dropkicks her, cover by Shizuku but it gets two. Shizuku hops up to the second turnbuckle but Watanabe catches her crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Watanabe goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a bodypress, cover by Watanabe but it only gets two. Watanabe picks up Shizuku but Shizuku sneaks in a backslide for two, lariat by Watanabe and she puts Shizuku in a Sharpshooter. Shizuku doesn’t struggle for long before tapping out! Tomoko Watanabe is the winner.

This was a very “by the numbers” veteran vs. rookie match. Which isn’t necessarily bad, this has been the trusted formula since the beginning of wrestling to help bring along new wrestlers. Watanabe dominated, Shizuku got in some hope spots, but ultimately Watanabe was too much for the young wrestler and put her away. A simple but logical story. Too soon to tell what Shizuku’s future in wrestling will be, but not a bad way to start the event.

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
The next two matches will determine who will wrestle in the tournament finals later tonight. Even though Miyuki Takase is affiliated with Actwres girl’Z, she has always been connected with WAVE too as she has wrestled a lot in WAVE since her debut in 2017. In fact she has wrestled in WAVE more than Actwres girl’Z in her career and did some training there as well, so WAVE is her home away from home. She is against Nagisa Nozaki, who is one of the top wrestlers in this “new” version of WAVE and she held their top title for almost the entirety of 2020. Both Nagisa and Miyuki are talented and would fit in well in the Finals of the tournament.

They charge each other to start as they get right into it, Nagisa boots back Miyuki repeatedly but Miyuki catches one and dropkicks Nagisa in the knee. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa moves, and she dumps Miyuki out onto the apron. Nagisa goes for a big boot but Miyuki moves, with Nagisa’s leg getting caught over the top rope. Miyuki takes advantage of this and starts working on Nagisa’s leg, Nagisa falls out of the ring after a moment and Miyuki goes after her. Kick by Nagisa and she boots Miyuki in the head, she waits for Miyuki to get up and charges her but Miyuki delivers a powerslam. Miyuki slams Nagisa’s knee into the floor before sliding her back into the ring, Miyuki drags Nagisa’s leg to the ring post and slams her knee repeatedly into it. Back in, Miyuki keeps up the leg work, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her away, elbow by Miyuki but Nagisa slaps on the sleeper. Miyuki drives Nagisa into the corner to break up the hold, dropkick by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle and she hits a lariat in the corner. Second turnbuckle elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Nagisa elbows her and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Somato by Nagisa, but it gets a two count. A sliding kick by Nagisa follows, but that gets a two as well so Nagisa slaps on a sleeper hold. Miyuki struggles back up but Nagisa hits a STO before re-applying the hold. Miyuki is too close to the ropes however and makes it there for the break, kick to the ribs by Nagisa and she goes to the top turnbuckle.

Miyuki grabs her before she can jump off and climbs up as well, headbutt by Miyuki and she powerslams Nagisa back to the mat for a two count. Miyuki puts Nagisa in a submission but Nagisa is by the ropes and grabs the bottom one for the break. Miyuki charges Nagisa and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa and hits the Kamikaze, diving guillotine leg drop by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle but Nagisa barely kicks out. Vertical suplex by Miyuki, she drags up Nagisa but Nagisa fights her off. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa boots her in the face, Ripcord Boot by Nagisa and she hits another, but Miyuki blocks the third attempt and delivers a lariat. Both wrestlers are down on the mat and slowly get up at the same time, trading elbows in the process. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa blocks the lariat and rolls Miyuki to the mat, applying the sleeper. Miyuki almost goes out but gets a foot on the ropes right before doing so, Nagisa picks up Miyuki and nails a series of sliding kicks. Nagisa drags up Miyuki and hits a final sliding kick, but Miyuki barely kicks out. Nagisa waits for Miyuki to get up but Miyuki catches her with a Samoan Driver, lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki drags Nagisa near the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine legdrop, but Nagisa kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the head, getting a two count of her own. Nagisa goes off the ropes but eats a lariat, Nagisa strikes back with another jumping kick but Miyuki returns fire with a lariat. Twister vertical suplex by Miyuki, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the guillotine legdrop, picking up the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE 2021 Finale!

This match wasn’t without its issues but it was still entertaining. They went heavy into the move spam overkill, which is a little excessive for the second match on the card. I don’t mind overkill in the right situations but the repetitive moves and nearfalls is better suited for the main event. I also wish Nagisa had done a bit more to sell the leg with Miyuki’s work on it, but she didn’t seem phased a bit. That being said, this was a really fast paced and counter-full match and they have good chemistry together, so the action was smooth. Nagisa got a lot of very convincing nearfalls (and her sleeper is a legitimate finisher), so it felt like a very even match throughout that either wrestler could win. I think these two could do better, but still a solid match overall and a fitting Semi Final match for the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
Now the second match of the Catch the WAVE Semi Finals. These two are in very different phases of their careers. Kaori Yoneyama, better known to some fans as Fukigen Death in Stardom, is a respected veteran but has settled more into the “trainer” role that some vets opt for as she seems more interested in helping the next wave of wrestlers than going around and winning big matches. Which certainly is her choice to make, as she has been wrestling for over 20 years. Rin Kadokura is a young and far less experienced wrestler from Marvelous – she has had some injury issues in her career but has shown a lot of promise. Rin winning would make more sense, but its hard to count out someone with Yoneyama’s credentials.

Yoneyama quickly goes for a few flash pins as the bell rings, Irish whip by Yoneyama but Rin blocks it and hits an elbow. Jumping lariat by Rin and she charges Yoneyama, but Yoneyama holds down the top rope and Rin tumbles down to the floor. Yoneyama goes out to the apron and attacks Rin with a jumping knee, she slides Rin back in and knees her in the back of the head. Yoneyama goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but it gets a two count. She then goes all the way up but Rin recovers and joins her, Yoneyama knocks her back but Rin charges in again and this time hits the Frankensteiner. Rin goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but it gets a two count. Rin picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama blocks the suplex, superkick by Rin but Yoneyama connects with a jumping back kick for two. Rin shrugs off Yoneyama, schoolboy by Rin and the two trade cradle attempts until Rin holds down Yoneyama for the three count! Rin Kadokura wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE Finale!

Too short to get excited about, I wouldn’t have minded if they went a bit longer even if they were going to go the flash pin route. As its a fluky win, it doesn’t really do much to boost Rin, and Yoneyama isn’t generally a wrestler that cares too much about being protected. “Surprise” type wins are normal in tournaments but usually more so in the points round. Nothing wrong with it, but if you were looking for a long exciting match between these two, they opted not to go in that direction and basically gave Rin a free pass to the finals.

Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Ohka
WAVE is giving Miyuki Takase and Rin Kadokura a break before they have to wrestle again, so we are going to have two tag matches now as filler. Only Yumi Ohka here is affiliated with Pro Wrestling WAVE, as everyone else is a Freelancer or part of another promotion. This is really just a collection of wrestlers in the Catch The WAVE Tournament that didn’t reach the Semi Finals that they decided to throw together in a tag match. Which is a perfectly fine way to fill out a card, but I’m not expecting top level chemistry with teams that were randomly assigned using wrestlers from various places.

Ohka runs over and boots Itsuki before the match even starts, running boot by Ohka to Itsuki and she leaves the ring so Yappy can take over. Yappy attacks Itsuki in the corner before sitting on her for a two count cover. Yappy gets Itsuki on her shoulders but Itsuki gets away and hits a running elbow followed by a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki and she tags in Yuu. Yuu picks up Yappy and chops her repeatedly, but Yappy ducks one and hits an elbow as the two trade shots. Yuu throws Yappy into the corner but Yappy butts her in the face when she charges in, hip attacks by Yappy and she hits a running one of the corner. Seated senton by Yappy and she covers Yuu for a two count. Yappy tags in SAKI, SAKI hits a series of boots to the head but Yuu catches one and hits a chop. Yuu goes for a senton but SAKI moves, Itsuki and YAKO come in however and all three take turns attacking SAKI. YAKO is tagged in once she returns to the apron, hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids her charge in the corner and hits a series of knees. Vertical suplex by SAKI but YAKO blocks her kick attempt and hits a DDT. Hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids the next one and with Ohka they take turns booting YAKO in the head. SAKI picks up YAKO, double Irish whip but YAKO hits a hip attack on both of them.

YAKO talks a bit but Itsuki and Yuu don’t like whatever she is saying and both attack her. YAKO is thrown into the corner, and all five of the other wrestlers in the match hit running strikes. SAKI ends it with a big boot on YAKO, she tags in Ohka who boots YAKO again for a two count cover. Ohka goes for a brainbuster but YAKO blocks it and hits a Stunner, she charges Ohka but Ohka drops her with the Snake Eyes. Running boot by Ohka and Yappy follows with a seated senton, backdrop suplex by Ohka and she covers YAKO for two. Ohka picks up YAKO but YAKO blocks the suplex, DDT by Ohka and she hits a heel drop. Big boot by Ohka, she covers YAKO but YAKO barely kicks out. Chokebomb by Ohka, but Yuu breaks up the cover with a low crossbody. Itsuki takes care of Yappy before turning to Ohka, running strike by Itsuki and Yuu follows with a cannonball. Diving body press by Itsuki to Ohka and she throws YAKO on top of Ohka for the cover. Yappy tries to break it up but YAKO moves, and she ends up hitting a body press on Ohka by mistake. SAKI tries to help but has the same issue, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Ohka. YAKO then goes all the way up and nails the swivel body press, and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu are the winners.

This is one of those WAVE matches that just does little for me. Its a weird blend of goofy and serious, and admittedly since I don’t know Japanese I don’t know what caused the random YAKO attack in the middle but the whole situation is just too odd. YAKO took way too much offense while her teammates just watched, but then suddenly they wanted to win so they helped YAKO until she got the three count. These teams were random so they weren’t friends going in, but without a storyline I’d prefer just a solid six wrestler tag than one with sporadic shenanigans. The action was generally ok and a few of these wrestlers are quite good, but it was just meandering and didn’t really click as a cohesive match. Just midcard filler.

Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Miyazaki
I am not really sure how we got this combination of wrestlers. While the last match had a small amount of shenanigans and silliness, I am assuming this one will have even more. Miyazaki is a long time vet that can wrestle serious, but tends to sprinkle in more playful moments. Hibiscus Mii is the same way, and everyone knows Sakura Hirota’s manner of business. The other team has more “traditional” wrestlers, with two wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z and the delightful Mio Momono. I wish this match was clipped, but its not, so lets see what they put together.

Mii apparently wrestles in regular clothing with a bag over her shoulder, so not a great start to my dream of this match not being completely goofy. Mii and Ami start the match and naturally Mii is in a chatty mood so it takes time to get to any action. They eventually get to it as Ami hits a shoulderblock, scoop slam by Ami and Mii’s bag finally falls off as Ami hits a second one. A third slam by Ami and Mii rolls out of the ring to re-group. Hirota takes her place, chops by Ami to Hirota but Hirota blocks the Irish whip and hits a face crusher. Ami and Hirota trade lariats and Oil Checks, dropkick by Ami but Hirota gets her deep with her fingers and the two rolls out of the ring together. Mii has her bag back on as she comes in with Miyazaki to double team Momo, Hirota eventually returns and she grabs Momo’s wrist to do the rope walk. Momo pushes her off before Hirota can even get her to the corner, kick by Momo and she is the one that gets Hirota by the wrist to do the rope walk. She gets to the middle of the ropes and goes for Hirota’s second rope bounce trick, but struggles to execute it. Hirota gets her back in the ring and tells her she did a good try (I assume), Hirota lays down and lets Momo do the Hirota Hop over her.

Momo goes for a second one but Hirota jumps up and kicks her, and they talk some more. Put me out of my misery please. Momo challenges Hirota to put her fingers up her butt but Ami cuts her off with a dropkick, Ami then drives Hirota’s face into Momo’s butt repeatedly. Ami stays in and they both dropkick Hirota, Ami picks up Hirota but Hirota does some goofy stuff as she runs around and slips on all the ropes. Hirota takes herself out of the match so Mii comes in, but she talks a bit when Ami tries to engage her. Ami finally hits a body avalanche in the corner, shoulderblock by Ami and she covers Mii for two. Ami tags in Mio, diving crossbody by Mio and she dropkicks Mii. Another dropkick by Mio and she elbows Mii repeatedly before putting her in a stretch hold. The seconds around the ring all beat on the mat, with the vibration eventually knocking over Mio, giving Mii a chance to tag in Miyazaki. Miyazaki is triple teamed in the corner, missile dropkick by Mio and she covers Miyazaki for two. Mio ducks under Miyazaki’s lariat and hits a spinning headscissors, dropkick by Mio and she knocks Hirota off the apron. Miyazaki kicks Mio and applies multiple cradles, but each on gets a two count.

Mio goes up top but Mii grabs her from the apron, Momo and Ami both run in to help but Miyazaki lariats both of them. She then joins Mio up top but Mio hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Mio goes off the ropes but Miyazaki shrugs her off, elbows by Mio but Miyazaki goes for the Shy Hold. Mio blocks it and gets away, but Miyazaki threatens to put the hold on Ami or Momo so Mio ends up letting her put the hold on to protect them. Ami and Momo try to break it up but are held back, Mii gets a microphone and starts singing until Ami and Momo finally break it up. Miyazaki positions Mio and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Mio avoids the moonsault attempt. She goes for the JK Bomb but Miyazaki prevents her from fulling hitting the move, Mii and Hirota both try to help Miyazaki but botch their way into the ring. This gives Mio a chance to hit the JK Bomb on Miyazaki, and she gets the three count! Ami Miura, Mio Momono and Momo Kohgo are the winners!

I had to read a guide online just to get some of the comedy spots, which is way too much trouble for a comedy match. I don’t mind some comedy in my wrestling viewing but 17 minutes was just too much of it, and at the end of the day I’d rather see the Mio team in a more serious match as all three are fun to watch. I realize this is more catered to WAVE’s dedicated fanbase, which I can respect, but its not really my cup of tea. A few funny spots but too much “wrestling comedy” for me.

Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Final
Time for the tournament final! As I mentioned above, even though Miyuki is technically an outsider, she wrestles in WAVE as much as she does AgZ so to fans she is seen as one of their regulars. Rin is a true outsider, but equally skilled as Miyuki and ready for a big win. I like how even they made the Final as even though Miyuki does have an edge, Rin is equally qualified which should lead to a close and entertaining match.

They shake hands before the match but Rin charges Miyuki before the bell can ring and knocks her down in the corner. Cannonball by Rin, she quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Suplex by Rin and she hits a footstomp, but Miyuki levels her with a lariat. Rin gets back up and they trade elbows, chops by Miyuki but Rin hits a jumping strike followed by the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Rin, but it gets two. Rin goes up top but Miyuki recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex back to the mat. Miyuki waits for Rin to get up but Rin catches her lariat attempt and goes for an armbreaker. Miyuki slams her way out of the hold, elbows and chops by Miyuki followed by two lariats for a quick cover. Miyuki gets Rin on her shoulders but Rin slides away, sliding kick by Rin but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam. Miyuki goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Rin lands in the opposite corner and Miyuki connects with a lariat. Diving elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Rin for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits the Kamikaze, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving guillotine legdrop for two.

Miyuki picks up Rin but Rin hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes to the second turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for another two count. DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, but Miyuki hulks up and hits a suplex of her own. Rin comes back with another suplex and both wrestlers are down on the mat, Miyuki is up first and hits a fourth vertical suplex of this suplex battle. Rin is naturally up first and returns with a suplex but Miyuki hits another one too, Rin tries to return with a suplex but Miyuki reverses it into her own suplex, seemingly ending the vertical suplex exchange. Jumping DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex (I was wrong) for a close two count cover. Rin tries to get to the turnbuckle but Miyuki keeps grabbing her leg, she finally makes it but Miyuki recovers and joins her. Rin pushes Miyuki back to the mat but Miyuki elbows her and climbs back up, hitting a powerslam down to the mat for a two count.

Miyuki and Rin both slowly get up, they charge into each other and Miyuki hits a hard elbow. Another elbow by Miyuki and she hits a lariat for a two count. Rin gets up quickly but eats a double chop, tornado vertical suplex but Miyuki but Rin kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Rin catches her with a superkick, another superkick by Rin and she covers Miyuki for barely two. Rin gets Miyuki’s back and hits a crucifix slam, but Miyuki kicks out of the pin. Rin drags up Miyuki and gets on her back again, but Miyuki spins her off and hits a lariat. Rin fires back with a lariat but Miyuki delivers a Samoan Driver for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving guillotine legdrop for the three count! Miyuki Takase wins the match and the Catch The WAVE 2021 Tournament!

A very good match, but didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for. Rin and Miyuki are both very talented wrestlers and when they were just trading strikes or bombs, the match was really entertaining. Their cardio is not an issue so they kept the pace up, and it was an even match from start to finish. The part I didn’t like was the trading vertical suplexes in the middle. I am generally a fan of the ‘trading moves’ spot but the vertical suplex is just a slower move to set up and deliver, and it just killed the pace of the match for a couple minutes. Nothing before or after really lined up to it so it felt disjointed and without a real purpose, except to hurt the match flow. If I took out those few minutes, everything else delivered. Overall an entertaining match that could have been even better with just a few small changes.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final” on 7/1/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

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

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

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

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

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

Every now and then, there are Joshi matches on non-Joshi shows that sometimes fly under the radar. Promotions such as DDT, K-DOJO, Mr. Gannosuke, FMW, and FREEDOMS all either have Joshi wrestlers on their roster or frequently bring in Joshi wrestlers for special matches. Once a few Joshi matches have taken place in various non-Joshi promotions, I will review them to help get some exposure for some of the lesser-known wrestlers that don’t make TV as often. Plus you never know, there may be a hidden gem that is just waiting to be uncovered.

I am a bit behind in doing this, so I have a lot of recent matches to review today! I will be reviewing:

• June 21st, 2016 – Dump Matsumoto vs. Miss Mongol on FMW “June Blood”
• July 13th, 2016 – Ayako Hamada and Ryo Mizunami vs. GENTARO and The Winger on FREEDOMS “Tokyo Death Match Carnival 2016”
• July 19th, 2016 – Manami Kanda vs. Micro on GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016”
• July 19th, 2016 – Drake Morimatsu vs. Konaka = Pehlwan on GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016”
• July 21st, 2016 – Emi Sakura and Hibiscus Mii vs. Riho, Kotori, and Sayaka Obihiro on HEAT-UP “Dream-Up 2016”
• July 26th, 2016 – Koharu Hinata vs. Micro on Mr. Gannosuke Produce “Kishindo Returns 20”
• July 29th, 2016 – Hana Kimura vs. Reika Saiki on WRESTLE-1 “Symbol Tour”
• July 31st, 2016 – Alex Lee and Tiran Shisa vs. Ayumu Honda and Bambi on K-DOJO “Super In TKO Garden City Chiba”
• August 28th, 2016 – Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hyper Misao, Syoko Nakajima, and Yuu on DDT “Ryogoku Peter Pan 2016”

Lots of wrestling! Sleaze! Hardcore! Intergender! Babies! Everything you could ask for.

Dump Matsumoto vs. Miss Mongol
FMW “June Blood” on June 21st, 2016

Mongol attacks Matsumoto outside the ring before the match starts, which quickly backfires as Matsumoto hits Mongol with a kendo stick and stabs her repeatedly in the head with a spike. We clip ahead to them being in the ring and Mongol hitting Matsumoto with a metal pin, cover by Mongol but it gets two. We jump to Matsumoto trying to throw Mongol into the barbed wire, but Mongol slides down to stop her momentum. Matsumoto does care and rakes her into the barbed wire anyway before Irish whipping her into the barbed wire ropes on the other side. Koharu Hinata runs in to try to help Mongol but she elbows Mongol by accident, leading to Mongol kicking Hinata out of the ring while Matsumoto watches. Lariat by Matsumoto and she hits a body press, but Hinata breaks up the cover. Matsumoto gets mad and approaches Hinata, but Mongol sneaks up from behind and pushes her into the barbed wire ropes. Inside Cradle by Mongol, and she picks up the three count! Miss Mongol wins!

This was a six minute match clipped down to two minutes, so obviously not enough was shown to get excited about. It is always fun to see Matsumoto though, she moves slower than she used to but she still has that violent streak that we know and love. A few fun spots and both took a ride into the barbed wire so the pain felt evenly distributed. I enjoyed it for what it was.

Ayako Hamada and Ryo Mizunami vs. GENTARO and The Winger
FREEDOMS “Tokyo Death Match Carnival 2016” on July 13th, 2016

Hamada and Mizunami charge their opponents to start but the idea quickly backfires as they are both attacked with chairs. They set up chairs in the corners but Hamada and Mizunami throw them into the chairs, Hamada grabs Winger and tries walking the ropes, but she is knocked out of the ring. Mizunami is thrown out of the ring too but Hamada takes the chair from GENTARO and throws him into the ring post. Winger avenges GENTARO by doing the same to Hamada and then chokes her with a chair, while GENTARO gets another chair and hits Mizunami in the head with it. Hamada boots GENTARO and goes to check on Mizunami, while the men return to the ring to wait. Hamada gets in too and takes the chair from GENTARO, but she gets double teamed before GENTARO covers her for two. Mizunami gets in the ring, bleeding from the head, which GENTARO makes worse by biting her. Winger picks up Mizunami and he bites Mizunami in the head too, DDT by Winger onto a chair and he covers her for two. GENTARO returns and hits a splash on Mizunami, but he gets a two count as well. GENTARO goes for a piledriver but Mizunami blocks it with a back bodydrop. Mizunami hits GENTARO with a chair but Winger runs in and attacks her from behind.

GENTARO picks up Mizunami and goes for a chair shot, but Mizunami ducks it and spears him. Lariat by Mizunami in the corner, Hamada comes in with a chair while GENTARO is put in the Tree of Woe. Hamada throws the chair at Winger before hitting a baseball slide on GENTARO. They then use the chairs to hit Winger low before doing the same to GENTARO, Mizunami picks up GENTARO and slams him to the mat before going up top and deliver the diving leg drop for a two count. Lariat by Mizunami to Winger, they set up chairs in the ring and sit both GENTARO and Winger onto them, but when they charge them they are drop toeholed onto the chairs. GENTARO throws Mizunami out of the ring and picks up Hamada, hitting a brainbuster onto the chair for a two count. Double flapjack to Hamada onto a chair, cover by GENTARO but Mizunami breaks it up. Mizunami is thrown out of the ring while Winger breaks a lighttube into the ring, but Hamada takes it from him and hits Winger in the head. Hamada grabs a chair before going up top, and she nails a moonsault onto Winger with the chair. Cover by Hamada, but Winger gets a shoulder up. Hamada picks up Winger and she delivers the AP Cross on the chair, picking up the three count pinfall! Hamada and Mizunami are the winners.

That was definitely a crazy match. It was a little over ten minutes long but never slowed down for a second, there was constantly someone being hit with a chair or having some other act of violence done against them. Mizunami and Hamada are about the same size as GENTARO and Winger so it never felt like an uneven match, Hamada is more than capable of holding her own which she showed by easily putting away Winger. The amount of chairs used was due to it being GENTARO’s primary weapon of choice but it just made it all the more meaningful the one time a lighttube was used as it felt like something fresh. A chaotic and fun bloody brawl.  Recommended

Manami Kanda vs. Micro
GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016” on July 19th, 2016

They tie-up to start, Kanda kicks Micro and she bounces the little one off the ropes. Kanda throws down Micro by her hair and slams her head into the mat before applying a Camel Clutch. Irish whip by Kanda but Micro hits a trio of crossbodies for a quick two count. Micro throws Kanda into the corner and hits a dropkick, but Kanda comes back with a lariat and hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Kanda but Micro gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Kanda but Micro rolls her up for a two count. Micro picks up Kanda but Kanda hits a scoop slam, she goes off the ropes and hits a bodypress for two. Kanda throws Micro into the corner and hits an elbow followed by a face crusher, Kanda gets on the second turnbuckle but Micro shakes the ropes to send her back to the mat. Now Micro goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Micro but Kanda gets a shoulder up. Kanda and Micro trade elbows, shoulderblock by Kanda and she covers Micro for two. Kanda picks up Micro but Micro applies an inside cradle for two. Micro tries a few more quick pins with no luck, hard shoulderblock by Kanda but Micro applies a crucifix pin for two. Micro tries more quick pins but can’t hold Kanda down, running footstomp by Kanda and she knocks down Micro with a lariat. Sliding lariat by Kanda, and she gets the three count! Manami Kanda wins!

All I can say is that this was an actively average and bland match. It was just not engaging or interesting in any way, there is probably a reason that they have stayed on smaller indies. Neither were bad, there weren’t any mistakes, but there was nothing really positive about it either. Thoroughly skippable.

Drake Morimatsu vs. Konaka = Pehlwan
GUTS World “Vol. 98: Bukotsu War 2016” on July 19th, 2016

The match starts really slow as they are in no rush to get started, Drake finally stops messing around and hits Konaka with a baseball bat. Chops by Drake and she chokes Konaka against the ropes before throwing him down into the corner. Drake starts on Konaka’s arm as I regret watching this match, chinlock by Drake but Konaka gets into the ropes. Now it is Konaka that works on Drake’s arm but Drake snapmares him and hits a leg drop. Konaka kicks Drake back and applies a necklock over the top rope, swandive chop to the head by Konaka and he does a quick post before going for the cross armbreaker. Drake gets into the ropes but Konaka quickly applies an armbar, Drake again inches to the ropes and she forces another break. Stomps by Konaka but Drake fires back with a lariat, Konaka rolls out of the ring but Drake goes out after him. Konaka attacks Drake from behind but Drake chops him and they battle into the stands. They return to the ring and Drake hits Konaka with a chair but Konaka takes it from her, Drake takes it back and tosses the chair out of the ring before hitting a lariat. Another lariat by Drake and she covers Konaka, but picks him up before the three count. Samoan Driver by Drake, she picks up Konaka and hits a Michinoku Driver, but Konaka grabs her arm when she goes for a cover and applies an armbar. Drake struggles for a moment before she taps out! Konaka = Pehlwan wins the match.

No lie, this match kinda bored me to tears. Konaka doesn’t show a lot of emotion and Drake is obviously limited so for a ten minute match not a whole hell of a lot happened. I am not sure who the target audience for this match is but it wasn’t me, just a flat mid-card match.

Emi Sakura and Hibiscus Mii vs. Riho, Kotori, and Sayaka Obihiro
HEAT-UP “Dream-Up 2016” on July 21st, 2016

Sakura is jumped before the match starts and is triple teamed, Mii comes in the ring to help but Kotori requests her to leave so she does. I bet being able to understand the pre-match talking would have helped. Sakura comes back and hits a crossbody on all three before tagging in Mii, Kotori stays in to face her and immediately puts Mii in the cross armbreaker. Mii gets into the ropes but Sakura runs up the corner and hits an armdrag before tagging in Obihiro. Obihiro floors Mii but Mii bridges out of the cover, elbow by Obihiro but Mii bridges out again. They go through this a few times until Mii collapses, Mii manages to hit a Stunner and she dropkicks Obihiro in the head. Sakura isn’t around for her to tag while Riho is also tagged in, Kotori comes in too and they all roll over Mii. Mii gets away and manages to tag Sakura this time, and they double team Riho. Riho dropkicks Mii out of the ring and tags in Kotori, Obihiro also comes in but Sakura rams them into each other and hits a crossbody in the corner on them both. Double underhook slam attempt by Sakura but Kotori slides down her back and applies a sleeper. Mii runs in but Riho grabs her, Obihiro comes in but Sakura kicks her away. Riho and Kotori get on the second turnbuckle and hit dual footstomps onto Sakura, cover by Kotori but it gets two. Kotori goes off the ropes but Sakura catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, giving her time to tags in Mii. Riho is also tagged in and slaps Mii, dropkick by Riho and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Eye poke by Mii but Kotori hits a diving crossbody as does Riho for a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Riho, but Mii kicks out again, Riho throws Mii in the corner but Mii slides out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick. Mii tags Sakura, she picks up Riho and hits the double underhook backbreaker. Sakura goes up top but Riho moves when she goes for a senton, tilt-a-whirl roll-up by Riho but Sakura kicks out. Kotori comes in and hits a judo throw on Sakura, Somato by Riho and she covers Sakura for the three count! Riho, Kotori, and Obihiro win!

This was a cute short little mid-card match. Kotori and Riho are a lot of fun to watch, I always enjoy it when I get a chance to watch them. Two young wrestlers with a lot of potential. Sakura and Mii are great too, and the match was really fluid for a crazy match with tons of interference and quick offense. Not a ton of substance but enjoyable.  Mildly Recommended

Koharu Hinata vs. Micro
Mr. Gannosuke Produce “Kishindo Returns 20” on July 26th, 2016

Unlike the last match, this one starts slowly as they feel each other out with Micro hitting the first move of the match with a bodyslam. She picks up Hinata and throws her down by her hair, but Hinata returns the favor and stomps down Micro in the corner. Scoop slam by Micro and she puts Hinata in a crab hold, but Hinata crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Micro at one point trapped Hinata’s arms too so she couldn’t grab the ropes, which is a smarter tactic than I am used to seeing in my pro wres. Hinata comes back with a kick, Micro scoops her up but Hinata falls on top of Micro for a two count. Now it is Hinata that puts Micro in the crab hold, she then lets it go only to put Micro in a Surfboard. Back up they trade elbows, Micro goes off the ropes but Hinata catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Hinata, she picks up Micro and hits a few slaps before kicking her again. Scoop slam by Hinata and she covers Micro for a two. Knees by Hinata and she kicks Micro out of the corner, diving crossbody by Hinata but that gets a two as well. Bodyscissors into a roll-up by Hinata and she also tries an inside cradle as well as a backslide, but Micro kicks out each time. Micro charges Hinata and grabs her by the leg, she hits a unique leg sweep roll-up and she gets the three count! Micro wins!

I enjoyed this a bit more than I probably should have, it wasn’t anything special and wasn’t overly exciting, but Micro does so many little things that I had a good time watching it. Trapping the arms when putting on a crab hold is so smart but rarely done, and I loved the leg sweep pin which I have never seen before. Hinata was solid too, both wrestlers are itty bitty so they are limited in what they can do, but overall it was still a pretty solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Reika Saiki
WRESTLE-1 “Symbol Tour” on July 29th, 2016

They begin with a knuckle lock and a Test of Strength which Hana gets the better of. Hana applies a headlock on the mat before applying a leg submission, Hana then gets in the mount position and goes for an armbreaker but Reika gets to the ropes. Scoop slam by Hana and she applies a crab hold, but again Reika gets to the ropes to force a break. Back up they trade elbows, dropkick by Reika and she dropkicks Hana into the corner. Kicks to the chest by Reika and she hits a scoop slam, kicks by Reika to Hana’s leg and she hits another slam for a two count cover. Reika goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Hana bridges out of the pin. Hana applies a stretch hold before tossing Reika off and slams her into the corner. Double knee to the back by Hana and she dropkicks Reika for a two count cover. Hana picks up Reika but Reika sneaks in an inside cradle, kicks by Reika and she nails an enzuigiri for a two. Head kick by Reika, and she picks up the three count pinfall! The winner of the match is Reika Saiki.

This was a very rookiesque match. A little rough around the edges, pretty basic, and nothing incredibly exciting. Some moves were executed really well, Reika has nice kicks and Hana’s ground game is solid, but other moves looked a bit weaker and they seemed to get a bit lost at least once. A necessary match for their growth but not something I could recommend.

Alex Lee and Tiran Shisa vs. Ayumu Honda and Bambi
K-DOJO “Super In TKO Garden City Chiba” on July 31st, 2016

Shisa starts with Honda, they bounce off the ropes until Shisa hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Lee and Bambi are tagged in and trade wristlocks, they both go for shoulderblocks until Lee knocks Bambi to the mat. Lee tags in Shisa, he goes for a scoop slam but Bambi lands on top of him. Honda comes in the ring and they both boot Shisa, Bambi puts Shisa into the ropes and both she and Honda kick Shisa in the chest. Bambi tags in Honda, Honda dropkicks Shisa and hits an armbreaker followed by a body press onto Shisa’s arm. He tags Bambi back in, kicks by Bambi and she covers Shisa for a two count. Bambi gets her whip and chokes Shisa with it, she lets go just to whip him and makes the tag to Honda. Honda dropkicks Shisa in the corner, another dropkick by Honda and he tags Bambi. Shisa kicks Bambi when she charges her and delivers a dropkick, giving him time to tag in Lee. Lee knees Bambi but Honda hits her from the apron, he comes in the ring but Lee kicks them before hitting a double face crusher. Kick to the face by Lee, and she covers Bambi for two. Lee and Bambi trade elbows, Lee goes off the ropes but Bambi catches her with a boot. Another boot by Bambi, and she gets a two count cover. Bambi applies a double reverse armbar, but Lee gets a foot on the bottom rope. Bambi tags in Honda, armbreaker by Honda and he hits a hammerlock Backstabber. Lee kicks Honda in the chest and hits a high kick, she tags in Shisa and Shisa hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Running seated senton by Shisa in the corner and he hits a gutwrench suplex for two. Shisa goes off the ropes but Honda catches him with a kick, Northern Lights Suplex by Shisa but Honda kicks out. Shisa goes for a corkscrew quebrada but Honda avoids he, he knocks Lee off the apron as Bambi comes in the ring, and they double team Shisa. Bambi hits a running knee on Shisa, Honda gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick, but Lee breaks up the cover. Shisa sneaks in a schoolboy on Honda for a two count, he also tries a backslide and La Magistral but those get a two count as well. Shisa charges Honda but Honda hits a cross armbreaker takedown, and Shisa submits! Ayumu Honda and Bambi win the match!

As everyone that knows me is aware I have a natural liking of wrestlers in wrestling masks, so I naturally thought that Shisa was by far the most impressive wrestler in this match. Bambi and Lee are both pretty stiff/awkward, they are competent wrestlers but don’t really do anything to set themselves apart. Honda wasn’t impressing me until the cross armbreaker takedown, which I will admit looked really nice, but otherwise this was just a match on a small show that felt like it went a bit too long. Some solid moments but overall lackluster.

Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hyper Misao, Syoko Nakajima, and Yuu
DDT “Ryogoku Peter Pan 2016” on August 28th, 2016

Nakajima and Yamashita are the first two in, Nakajima takes Yamashita to the mat but Yamashita applies a headscissors. Nakajima bridges out of it, knee by Yamashita and she tags in Akane. Yuu tags in too, Yuu and Akane try to shoulderblock each other over which Yuu gets the better of. She tags in Misao but Akane catches her crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Akane tags in Sakazaki, spinning headscissors by Sakazaki but Misao chokes her with a handkerchief. Snapmare by Misao and she puts Sakazaki in the Rocking Horse, cover by Misao but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuu, Yuu chops Sakazaki and she hits a spinning side slam. She tags in Nakajima, flipping neckbreaker by Nakajima but Sakazaki elbows her away. Nakajima stops her from tagging out though, Sakazaki tries to shoot a streamer gun at Nakajima but Nakajima reverses it. Dropkick by Sakazaki and she makes the hot tag to Akane, Akane shoulderblocks everyone and hits a double lariat on Nakajima and Misao. Nakajima comes back with a springboard armdrag, Nakajima puts Akane in a few quick pins but Akane kicks out each time. Nakajima goes for a double underhook but Akane back bodydrops out of it, hurricanrana by Nakajima and she tags in Yuu. Yamashita tags in too, chops by Yuu and she hits the Oklahoma Stampede for a two count. High kick by Yamashita but Yuu catches her with a Judo Throw and tags in Misao. Jumping crossbody by Misao and she hits a few weak uppercuts, another crossbody by Misao and she slams Yamashita onto her knee for a two count. Misao gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but Yamashita rolls through it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick for two. Misao tags in Nakajima, Akane comes in and she blocks Nakajima’s Tiger Feint Kick. Akane holds Nakajima so that Yamashita can hit her Magical Girl Kick, jumping lariat by Yamashita to Misao and she nails the Attitude Adjustment for the three count! Akane Miura, Miyu Yamashita, and Yuka Sakazaki are the winners!

I really love the Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers, they all have unique characters and show a strong ability on the mat to go with their flashy moves to wow the crowd. Misao was the clear weak link of the teams as she got lost once and has weak strikes, but everyone else looked solid. Yamashita is someone that more Joshi fans would be talking about if she “made TV” more often, hopefully DDT will allow/encourage them to take bookings other places at some point so she can get out in the wild a bit more. A fun exhibition match with memorable spots and some quality wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

The post Joshi Match Review Medley: FMW, DDT, WRESTLE-1, and K-DOJO! appeared first on Joshi City.

And we are back with more Catch the WAVE! WAVE is releasing these matches in a random way, as they tend to do, and these matches are not on the WAVE Network for reasons unknown. But I tracked them down anyway. These tournament matches are from different days but I will put the date before the match listing. I am also reviewing one match that wasn’t in the tournament because I love both participants. Here are the matches being reviewed (in chronological order):

May 3rd

• Catch the WAVE: Hikaru Shida vs. Rina Yamashita
• Catch the WAVE: Ayako Hamada vs. Yoshiko

May 10th

• Catch the WAVE: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Meiko Tanaka
• Catch the WAVE: Cherry vs. Rabbit Miu
• Catch the WAVE: DASH Chisako vs. Hibiscus Mii
• Catch the WAVE: Hikaru Shida vs. Kaori Yoneyama

May 15th

• Konami vs. Misaki Ohata
• Catch the WAVE: ASUKA vs. DASH Chisako

May 17th

• Catch the WAVE: Melanie Cruise vs. Tsukushi
• Catch the WAVE: Misaki Ohata vs. Yuuka
• Catch the WAVE: Hiroe Nagahama vs. Sareee

These matches are all clipped, just a heads up.

Hikaru Shida vs. Rina Yamashita

They start fast as Yamashita lariats Shida out to the apron, Shida goes up top but she misses the missile dropkick. Mounted elbows by Yamashita but Shida returns fire and they go back and forth. Back up, hip attack by Shida and she hits a second one before sliding Yamashita’s head over the apron and hitting a knee lift. Backbreaker by Shida, and she covers Yamashita for two. Back up the two trade elbows, Shida goes off the ropes but Yamashita clubs her in the chest. Knee by Yamashita and she lariats Shida twice in the corner before covering her for a two count. Yamashita applies the sleeper but Shida quickly gets out of it and hits a series of knees. Yamashita gets the sleeper re-applied, but Shida rolls into the ropes to force a break. Shida blocks the backdrop suplex but Yamashita hits a vertical suplex instead before hitting the backdrop suplex for a two. Yamashita goes up top but Shida joins her and superplexes Yamashita back into the ring. Three Count by Shida, but Yamashita gets a shoulder up. Falcon Arrow by Shida, she goes off the ropes but Yamashita catches her with a lariat.She goes off the ropes but Shida this time catches her with a backbreaker before applying the Stretch Muffler. Shida picks up Yamashita and hits a backbreaker from a fireman’s carry, but the cover gets a two count. Shida puts Yamashita on the top turnbuckle, she goes for the backbreaker onto the turnbuckles but Yamashita slides away. Yamashita grabs Shida from behind and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex for a two count. Quick hurricanrana by Shida but Yamashita blocks the jumping knee and hits a lariat. Another lariat by Yamashita and she hits the Rainmaker for a two count. Yamashita bounces off the ropes multiple times before hitting Shida with a hard lariat, and she picks up the three count! Yamashita is the winner and gets two points in the tournament.

This match was borderline fantastic and perfect. Yamashita has really been impressing me the last few months, it helps she is against a seasoned and skilled veteran but she really stepped up and is showing more dimensions than I knew she had. Everything here was hit hard and looked great and it was just non-stop (only a minute or two was clipped at the most). I wish it was longer as its hard to call a ten minute match one of the best matches I’ve seen in awhile, but it really was pretty much flawless in the amount of time that they had. Definitely worth hunting down, especially if you have not seen Yamashita wrestle before.  Highly Recommended

Ayako Hamada vs. Yoshiko

After a slow start, Yoshiko gets the first advantage as she slams Hamada’s head into the mat. Both wrestles go for shoulderblocks with no luck, they start trading elbows until Hamada hits a release German suplex. Front roll into a slap by Hamada but Yoshiko hits a lariat out of the corner before hitting some bootscrapes. Running boot by Yoshiko but Hamada applies an abdominal stretch, Yoshiko reverses it however and goes for a running senton, but Hamada rolls out of the way. PK by Hamada, and she covers Yoshiko for a two count. Hamada goes for a moonsault but Yoshiko rolls out of the way, enzuigiri by Hamada and Yoshiko rolls out of the ring. Hamada goes up top but Yoshiko quickly returns to the ring and joins her, Hamada flips over her and she hits a powerbomb. She goes for another one but Yoshiko gets out of it with a back bodydrop, big lariat by Yoshiko and she covers Hamada for two. Hamada comes back with her own lariat, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko picks her up and hits a Samoan Drop. Running senton by Yoshiko, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Hamada avoids the diving senton. Hamada charges Yoshiko but ends up on the apron, and Yoshiko knocks her to the floor. Yoshiko gets on the apron and charges Hamada but Hamada lariats her in the leg, sending Yoshiko out to the floor as well. Hamada takes Yoshiko up on the apron and hits a DDT, Yoshiko falls to the floor as Hamada goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko moves and Hamada lands on Takahashi instead. They pair battle on the floor as Yoshiko hits a running senton, but during this the time limit expires. The match is a Double Countout, so Yoshiko gets one point since she is the younger wrestler.

Generally speaking, this was a solid match. There were a few minor communication issues which happens sometimes with two wrestlers not as familar with each other, but they recovered well when it did happen. They did a good job showing they didn’t like each other with all the brawling after the match ended, not sure why they don’t like each other but it doesn’t matter as long as they are good at conveying it. Lots of hard hits and entertaining back and forth action with both coming out of the match looking strong.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Meiko Tanaka

Tanaka attacks Nagashima before the bell rings, as young underdogs tend to do, and she hits a pair of hard shoulder tackles in the corner. Nagashima slides away from Tanaka and hits a big boot before kicking Tanaka out of the ring. Nagashima goes out after her and throws Tanaka into the chairs at ringside before sliding her back in the ring, Nagashima gets on the apron but Tanaka shoulder tackles her back to the floor. Tanaka tries to prevent Nagashima from returning to the ring before the count but she barely makes it, they trade elbows until Tanaka hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam for a two count. Tanaka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, headbutts by Tanaka but Nagashima boots her in the head. Uranage by Nagashima, and she covers Tanaka for two. Nagashima goes up top but Tanaka avoids the footstomp, sunset flip by Nagashima but Tanaka rolls out of it. Tanaka catches Nagashima’s rana attempt and hits the rolling fireman’s carry roll again, she goes up top but she misses the diving senton. Big boot by Nagashima and she nails the Fisherman Buster for the three count! Nagashima wins and gets two points in the tournament.

Probably my favorite part of the match was Tanaka trying so hard to win by count out, she knew her chances of beating the veteran via pinfall or submission were a bit slim. The match had a lot of repeated moves for a match that wasn’t very long, I liked the amount of fire that Tanaka showed but the action itself was a bit lackluster. Not a bad match but definitely a step down from the last two we watched.

Cherry vs. Rabbit Miu

Cherry quickly goes for an armbreaker and a triangle choke, but Miu gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Miu sends Cherry out of the ring and dives out to the floor with a plancha suicida, Miu tries to stop Cherry from returning to the ring but she eventually manages to do so. Vertical suplex by Miu, she goes up top and she hits a diving footstomp for a two count. They trade pins with no luck for either, Stunner by Miu and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Dragon screw by Cherry and she applies a figure four, Miu rolls out onto the entrance way ramp but Cherry keeps the hold applied. She releases it and tries to get back into the ring, but Miu stops her and hits a hard elbow, sending Cherry off the ramp. Cherry tries to slide back in the ring but she doesn’t make the count as the bell rings. The match is a Double Countout, Miu gets one point since she is the younger wrestler.

It is an interesting strategy we saw in the last two matches, as honestly getting one point isn’t probably going to be enough to help a wrestler win the Block anyway. but I guess one point is better than no points. Too short to get excited about and I think both of these wrestlers hover around the ‘average’ line, but nothing was done poorly. Overall not a bad match but utterly forgettable.

DASH Chisako vs. Hibiscus Mii

Chisako dropkicks Mii before she can even get into the ring, she takes Mii up onto the ramp and attacks her near the entrance. Back into the ring, Chisako slams Mii into the mat and hits multiple footstomps, but Mii comes back with a heel kick. We clip ahead to Chisako being back in control, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it gets a two count. Chisako goes up top and hits a diving footstomp, Chisako charges her in the apron but Mii slides out onto the apron and hits a diving crossbody off the top turnbuckle. STO by Mii, she goes up top again but Chisako gets her feet up when she dives off. Crucifix slam by Chisako and she dropkicks Mii while she is in the corner. Chisako goes up top but Mii rolls out of the way of the Hormone Splash, La Magistral by Mii but it gets two. Big lariat by Mii, she goes up top but Chisako joins her all the way on the top turnbuckle to hit an avalanche cutter. Chisako goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and she picks up the three count! Chisako wins the match and gets two points in the tournament.

Chisako is so fantastic, she really didn’t get all the credit she deserved as for years she has been seen as just a tag team wrestler. This was too short/clipped to get excited about but everything that they showed us was really good. Mii stepped up and they were both hitting big moves to show how important these two points were, it wasn’t just your average mid-card match with nothing on the line. Not long enough to recommend but still fun to watch.

Hikaru Shida vs. Kaori Yoneyama

After the usual opening back and forth, Shida hits the big move of the match as she delivers a hurricanrana and hip attacks Yoneyama in the head. She goes for a knee lift but Yoneyama moves out of the way and hits a jumping knee off the apron. Yoneyama goes up top and dropkicks Shida in the back, she applies an ankle hold but Shida gets into the ropes. Shida rolls out to the entrance ramp but Yoneyama goes after her and the two trade elbows. Vertical suplex by Shida, she pulls Yoneyama to the turnbuckle as she gets on the second turnbuckle and she superplexes Yoneyama back into the ring. Backbreaker by Shida and she hits a second one before covering Yoneyama for two. Shida puts Yoneyama in the corner and hits a running knee, she goes up top but Yoneyama joins her and tosses her to the mat. They trade strikes with Yoneyama ending the exchange with two running knees, she gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a diving senton for two. She goes for a diving senton off the top but Shida moves and hits a Three Count. Fireman’s carry into a backbreaker by Shida, but Yoneyama barely gets a shoulder up. Shida puts Yoneyama on the top turnbuckle but Yoneyama slides away from her and applies a jackknife hold for two. Chaos Theory by Yoneyama, but Shida again kicks out. Jumping knee by Shida and she hits the Falcon Arrow, but it gets a two count cover. They both go for quick pins and Shida hits a suplex, but the bell rings as the time as expired. The match is a Draw, Shida gets one point in the tournament as she is the younger wrestler.

Everything I watch needs two Shida matches, she is just so good. Yoneyama is good as well so this was a quality match, I wish that more of it was shown but what they showed was great. They never slowed down or gave the fans a chance to become too relaxed as suddenly they’d hit a big move like the Chaos Theory or Three Count to make you pay attention. Lots of convincing nearfalls, while a Draw here worked it didn’t feel like they were going for the Draw the entire match. More clipped than I would prefer but still a really solid match.  Recommended

Konami vs. Misaki Ohata

Konami goes for Ohata’s arm straight away and puts her in a cross armbreaker, but Ohata rolls to the ropes to get a break. Ohata flings down Konami by her hair and hits a Curb Stomp, cover by Ohata but it gets a two. Irish whip by Ohata but Konami kicks her in the chest and delivers a dropkick. More kicks by Konami and she hits a PK, back up they trade elbows until Ohata hits a running crossbody while Konami is crouched against the ropes. Missile dropkick by Ohata and she goes for a diving body press, but Konami rolls out of the way and hits a running knee for a two count. Konami applies an ankle hold but Ohata gets out of it, high kick by Konami and she applies a fisherman suplex hold for two. Konami goes off the ropes but Ohata catches her with an elbow, rolling double chop by Ohata and she hits a German suplex hold for the three count! Misaki Ohata is the winner.

This was a short match by design more so than heavily clipped, but I still enjoyed it. Ohata and Konami are both so crisp, nothing felt awkward or out of place as they kept the pace up from bell to bell. Both have high impact offense, I would love to see them in a longer match but what they did was still entertaining. I can’t really find anything bad to say about it aside from just the length, keep an eye out for Konami as she continues to develop.  Mildly Recommended

ASUKA vs. DASH Chisako

We join this one in progress with Chisako attacking ASUKA in the corner, nailing her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Chisako and she hits a cutter, she goes to the top turnbuckle but ASUKA avoids the diving footstomp. Irish whip by ASUKA and she dropkicks Chisako into the corner, Space Rolling Elbow by Asuka and she dropkicks Chisako for a two count. Hard elbows by Chisako and she dropkicks ASUKA right in the face, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it gets a two count. Chisako goes up top again and this time she nails the diving footstomp, cover by Chisako but ASUKA bridges out of it. Chisako goes for the Hormone Splash but ASUKA rolls out of the way, elbows by Chisako but ASUKA knocks her to the mat with a hard elbow of her own. Scoop slams by ASUKA, she goes up top but Chisako avoids the moonsault. Rolling bodyscissors cover by Chisako for a two, she goes off the ropes but ASUKA kicks her in the head. More superkicks by ASUKA and she hits a gutwrench suplex, but Chisako kicks out of the cover. ASUKA picks up Chisako but Chisako quickly applies a cross armbreaker and she picks up the three count! Chisako wins the match and gets two points.

One of the more clipped matches in this airing, but I can say with some confidence that ASUKA is steadily improving. She has always shown a good amount of promise, she missed it here but she has a beautiful moonsault, and Chisako is the type of veteran that will only make her look even better. ASUKA has been wrestling less than a year so there are going to be some growing pains but she looked as good here as you could hope from a 17 year old rookie. Too clipped, but solid action.

Melanie Cruise vs. Tsukushi

Cruise teases Tsukushi with her height advantage, the referee gets down so that Tsukushi can stand on his back but Cruise pulls her down and tosses Tsukushi across the ring. Tsukushi goes for dropkicks but Cruise shrugs them off at first, they finally start having an impact but Cruise avoids her missile dropkick. Delayed vertical suplex by Cruise and she chokes Tsukushi in the corner, leg drop by Cruise and she covers Tsukushi for two. Backbreaker by Cruise but Tsukushi sends her to the mat with a spinning headscissors, missile dropkick by Tsukushi and she hits a Stunner, elbows by Tsukushi and she boots Cruise in the head. Dropkick by Tsukushi but Cruise catches her when she goes for a missile dropkick. Cruise slams Tsukushi to the mat, Tsukushi goes for a rana but Cruise catches her. Tsukushi rolls down Cruise’s back and applies a wheelbarrow victory roll, but it only gets two. She goes off the ropes again but Cruise boots her in the face. Monster chokeslam but Cruise, and she picks up the three count! Melanie Cruise wins the match and gets two points in the tournament.

A bit of a lopsided match, the 18 year old 4’10” wrestler didn’t stand much of a chance against the giant gaijin, but she put up a good fight anyway. Tsukushi got in a few hope spots but I never thought she had a real chance of winning here, Cruise was just too much to overcome. Not quite at squash levels but pretty close, not much to this one aside from Cruise’s great chokeslam.

Misaki Ohata vs. Yuuka

They immediately start trading elbows, dropkick by Yuuka and Ohata falls out of the ring. Yuuka goes up top but Ohata elbows her to the floor and the pair battle around the ring. Back in, dropkick by Yuuka and she elbows Ohata to the mat before hitting a running Angel Thunder for two. Ohata snaps off a DDT and hits a crossbody while Yuuka is against the ropes, getting a two count of her own. Ohata hits her own Angel Thunder, she goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody. Tornado DDT by Yuuka, she goes up top and she hits her own diving crossbody for two. She goes up top again but Ohata avoids the Angel Thunder, Ohata goes up but Yuuka joins her and hits a Frankensteiner. Yuuka gets on the top turnbuckle and hits the Angel Thunder, but Ohata gets a shoulder up on the cover. Ohata hits a quick headscissors roll-up and a low crossbody, but Yuuka rolls through it. Rolling German suplexes by Ohata but Yuuka applies a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Running elbow by Yuuka and she nails a Jaguar Backdrop Hold, but Ohata gets a shoulder up. Back up they trade elbows and chops, spinning double chop by Ohata and she hits a German suplex hold for two. DDT by Yuuka and she rolls up Ohata with a bridge for a two count, Ohata retakes control and she nails the Sky Blue Suplex Hold for the three count! Misaki Ohata wins the match and gets two points in the tournament.

I am not sure if this match or Shida/Yamashita was my favorite match on the show, I may give the opener the nod but this was still a great match. So many awesome suplexes, I am on record of loving the Angel Thunder as a unique but effective looking move, and these two worked really well together. I wish that more of it was shown, they had great chemistry and everything felt so smooth. High end match between two very talented wrestlers.  Recommended

Hiroe Nagahama vs. Sareee

The young pair start off fast as they trade elbows, both wrestlers throw each other down by the hair until Nagahama hits a dropkick in the corner. Nagahama applies a bodyscissors but Sareee quickly gets out of it, kneelock by Sareee but Nagahama reverses it. Single leg crab hold by Nagahama, but Sareee gets a hand on the ropes. Scoop slam by Sareee but Nagahama hits a few dropkicks, cover by Nagahama but Sareee bridges out of it and hits a dropkick of her own. Back up they trade elbows, jumping elbow by Nagahama and she covers Sareee for two. Sareee shrugs off the suplex and rolls up Nagahama before hitting a quick footstomp. Sareee goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she gets on the top turnbuckle again and she hits a second one. Both wrestlers go for quick pins with no luck, Northern Lights Suplex by Nagahama but it gets a two. Sareee goes off the ropes and dropkicks Nagahama, but Nagahama comes back with the Kasadora for a two count. German suplex hold by Sareee, she picks up Nagahama and she nails the uranage for the three count! Sareee wins the match and gets two points in the tournament.

A step down from what we have seen so far today, but that is more of a compliment to the rest of the show as this match was solid too. Nagahama has been showing a lot of fire lately and has really stepped up for the tournament, and Sareee was great as always. Love her suplexes, her strikes…. just about everything about her. The match ended a bit suddenly but it was clipped a bit so we may have missed some of the lead up to the final move. Overall just a fun match between two young wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

The post WAVE “Catch The WAVE 2016” Part 2 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Hikaru Shida Produce “The 3rd Synopsium Of Mythology ~ Sublimation & Universality”
Date: May 1st, 2016
Location: Nishi Kumin Center in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 234

Occasionally I like to take a step out of the normal world of Joshi and into the dark underbelly, where wrestlers put on their own unique shows that fit their own tastes. Hikaru Shida is a Freelancer that occasionally enjoys putting on her own events, then invites all her friends to have unusual matches you’d never see anywhere else. This line-up definitely fits that description. Here is the full card:

• Kagetsu and Mika Iida vs. Koharu Hinata and Rina Yamashita
• Hibiscus Mii vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Hiroto Okubo vs. TORU
• Gabaiji-chan vs. Manami Toyota
• Aoi Kizuki vs. Syuri
• Hikaru Shida, Jun Kasai, and Toru Owashi vs. Sawako Shimono, Magnitude Kishiwada, and Tadasuke

I realize these shows are not as well known but dammit someone has to review them so it may as well be me. I don’t have a lot of the profiles for the above wrestlers on Joshi City but the ones I do are active links if you want to know a bit more about the Joshi wrestlers.

Kagetsu and Mika Iida vs. Koharu Hinata and Rina Yamashita

Yamashita and Iida start for their teams and trade some quick holds, big shoulderblock by Yamashita and Hinata jumps on her back to help Yamashita hit a double kneedrop. Yamashita tags in Hinata, elbows by Hinata to Iida but Iida returns the favor. Iida bounces Hinata around the ring and throws her down by the hair, cover by Iida but it gets two. Iida tags Kagetsu and Kagetsu kicks Hinata in the back, Yamashita runs in to help but Iida tosses her out of the ring. Kagetsu puts Hinata in the ropes and chops her before hitting a dropkick, running elbow by Kagetsu but Hinata fights back with elbows. Kagetsu knocks Hinata back to the mat but Hinata hops up and hits a spinning headscissors. This gives her time to tag Yamashita, Iida comes in too but Yamashita shoulderblocks both of them down. Kagetsu and Yamashita trade elbows, Kagetsu springboards up to the top trope and knocks over Yamashita with a missile dropkick.

Running elbow by Kagetsu in the corner but Yamashita hits a hard knee followed by a kick to the head for a two count cover. Kagetsu catches Yamashita with a dropkick and tags in Iida, Iida throws Yamashita in the corner and hits a running uppercut. More uppercuts by Iida but Yamashita hits a lariat followed by a backdrop suplex. Yamashita tags in Hinata, Hinata gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving crossbody on Iida, but Iida moves and Yamashita catches her. Yamashita throws Hinata at Kagetsu, Hinata grabs Iida but she eats an uppercut. Hinata kicks Iida and delivers a tornado DDT, she goes up top and hits the diving crossbody for a two count. Hinata goes for a bodyscissors roll-up by Iida blocks it and applies an abdominal stretch. Dropkick by Iida and she puts Hinata in a cross armbreaker, but Hinata makes it to the ropes. Iida dropkicks Hinata and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but Yamashita breaks up the cover. Hinata sneaks in a few quick pins with no luck, Iida finally blocks one and puts Hinata in the Mudo, Hinata struggles but has no choice but to submit! Iida and Kagetsu are the winners.

A perfectly acceptable opener, even if it didn’t do anything overly memorable. Everything was pretty smooth here, which I wasn’t sure would happen with Hinata in there (Hinata is young and adorable, but still honing her skills). I was hoping with Kagetsu and Iida in there they would do something a bit more special but it stayed pretty mellow throughout. Not a bad way to start but pretty forgettable.

Hibiscus Mii vs. Yako Fujigasaki
TORU vs. Hiroto Okubo

All four wrestlers begin the match in the ring and tie-up, but they all end up knocking each other over. Even though it appears to be two singles matches, they are also interacting with each other randomly as well, just to make it more confusing. Mii gets Fujigasaki in a submission while TORU does the same to Okubo, and they both cover their opponents for two. TORU dropkicks Okubo out of the ring, he goes to do a dive but at that moment Mii suplexes Fujigasaki in his path and he trips. Mii kicks TORU for getting in her way before hitting a sliding kick on Fujigasaki, Mii wants to do a dive but Okubo puts TORU in a submission hold in her way. He slowly inches out of her way, Fujigasaki and Okubo attack their opponents in opposite corners and Fujigasaki attacks both TORU and Fujigasaki, but then Fujigasaki and Okubo start to fight. This allows Mii and TORU time to recover, and they roll up their opponents as both get a three count! Mii and TORU are your respective winners.

I don’t have a lot to say about this weird little match. There were some cute spots with both ‘matches’ interacting with each other, but besides that it was just a few minutes of strike battles before a quick ending. Very unique but still safe to skip.

Gabaiji-chan vs. Manami Toyota

As you probably guess, this match is pretty much all shtick and takes several minutes to get going. Gabaiji-chan gets the advantage over Toyota and hits her with his cane, but it doesn’t as long as he is old and tripped. Toyota puts Gabaiji-chan in the Muta Lock but Gabaiji-chan gets his cane on the ropes to break the hold. Gabaiji-chan slowly gets to the top rope, he grabs Toyota’s arm and slowly walks the ropes but Toyota knocks his cane away and he crotches himself on the top rope. Gabaiji-chan drops his cane however and suddenly wrestles with the ability of a young man, as he hits a dropkick followed by a swandive crossbody for a two count. Gabaiji-chan goes for a chokeslam but Toyota elbows out of it, Toyota kicks Gabaiji-chan into the corner and he grabs his cane which kills his youth again. Toyota gets Gabaiji-chan on her shoulders but Gabaiji-chan catches his cane on the top rope to block the hold. Toyota goes up top but Gabaiji-chan holds his cane up so that Toyota can’t hit the moonsault. Gabaiji-chan tries to hit Toyota with his cane but Toyota blocks it and kicks Gabaiji-chan. Gabaiji-chan’s cane is knocked away from him, allowing him to hit Toyota with a chokeslam. Gabaiji-chan goes up to the top turnbuckle but Toyota rolls out of the way of the somersault senton. Gabaiji-chan slides away from Toyota but he hurts his back when he tries to pick her up. Toyota gets Gabaiji-chan on her shoulders and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Toyota is the winner.

Like the last match, this was just about what you’d expect it to be, but Toyota played along and it did have some funny spots. Gabaiji-chan is a good character and is an entertaining act, but purely as a midcard type of act of course as there isn’t much more you can do it with. Toyota was fun as well, overall not a bad watch but clearly just a comedy match.

Aoi Kizuki vs. Syuri

After Syuri gets Kizuki to the mat with a headlock, Syuri puts Kizuki in a wristlock but Kizuki reverses it. Kizuki boots down Syuri in the corner and hits a series of chops before putting Syuri in a camel clutch. She then puts Syuri in a stretch hold but Syuri comes back with a Backstabber and stomps on Kizuki on the mat. Kicks by Syuri to the chest and back, but Kizuki hits a crossbody for two. Mongolian Chops by Kizuki and she hits a series of running sentons, but Syuri avoids one and kicks Kizuki into the corner. Jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a double arm suplex for a two count. Cross armbreaker by Syuri but Kizuki gets a foot on the rope, back up Kizuki regains control and puts Syuri in a backbreaker. Kizuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Syuri kicks out of the cover. Knees by Syuri but Kizuki hits a jumping lariat, suplex by Kizuki and she gets a two count.

Kizuki goes up top and delivers the swivel body press, but Syuri gets a shoulder up. Syuri snaps off a German suplex but Kizuki gets up and hits a German suplex of her own. Jumping lariat by Kizuki but Syuri returns with a jumping knee, Syuri takes down Kizuki and puts her in a seated armbar. Back on their feet they trade elbows, kick by Syuri and she drops Kizuki with a knee lift. Kizuki hits a quick German suplex hold for two, Kizuki sneaks in a series of quick pinfalls but Syuri kicks out each time. Kizuki goes off the ropes but Syuri catches her with a high kick. After trading pin attempts, Kizuki goes for a crossbody but Syuri rolls through it. Jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a German suplex hold, but Kizuki kicks out. Kicks by Syuri but Kizuki catches one and hits a dragon screw, inside cradle by Syuri but it gets a two count. Jumping lariat by Kizuki but Syuri hits a high kick as the bell rings, signifying time has expired. The match is a Draw.

The best match of the night so far, although I don’t think it reached its full potential. I am not really sure what happened to Kizuki as I was enjoying her a lot more last year, she seems to have slipped down a bit into silly offense so it was hard to take her as a serious threat to Syuri. Syuri was great of course but even this felt like a toned down version of Syuri as she didn’t hit as much of her signature offense. It just felt oddly flat, even though much of the action flowed nicely. A good match but a step below what I would hope to see from Syuri, overall solid but nothing more than that.  Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida, Kasai, and Owashi vs. Shimono, Kishiwada, and Tadasuke

Shida begins the match against KISHIWADA AKA BIG BOSS MA-G-MA and I am already excited. They trade chops, which Kishiwada gets the better of, Shida goes for a hip attack but Kishiwada doesn’t budge. Kishiwada throws Shida to her corner so she can tag in someone else, and Kasai comes in as the legal wrestler. Tadasuke tags in too, he runs the ropes with Kasai but neither gets an advantage so they tag in Shimono and Owashi. Owashi taunts Shimono so Shimono stomps on his foot, drop toehold by Shimono and she shoulderblocks Owashi to the mat. She can’t slam him though, as Owashi lands on top of her, which gives him a chance to tag in Kasai. Kasai drops Shimono with a piledriver and tags in Shida, backbreakers by Shida to Shimono and she puts her in a crab hold but Shimono crawls to the ropes to break it up.

Shida puts Shimono on her shoulders and spins her down into a backbreaker, but the cover is broken up. Shida’s teammates come into the ring to help, as do Gabaiji-chan and Toyota, but Gabaiji-chan takes so long to do an attack that Shimono recovers and tosses all of them one by one. The action spills out of the ring (with Gabaiji-chan still alone in it), but they eventually return with Shida being stomped by Kishiwada and Tadasuke. Kishiwada hits a body avalanche in the corner before hitting a suplex, he tags in Shimono who continues the beatdown. Team Kishiwada take turns tagging in as Shida is the Face in Peril on her own show, Kasai comes in to help but Shimono takes care of him. Kishiwada goes for a suplex by Shida blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of her own. Hip attack by Shida and she tags in Owashi, Tadasuke tags in too but Owashi drops him with a dragon screw.

Tadasuke comes back with a vertical suplex, Kishiwada and Kasai are tagged in and they trade lariats with neither wrestler going down. Kasai finally wins that battle but Kishiwada gets back up and lariats Kasai to the mat. They tag in Shimono and Shida, enzuigiri by Shida but Shimono knocks her to the mat and hits a seated senton for two. Kishiwada and Tadasuke come in the ring and Tadasuke rocks Shida with a hart lariat. Brainbuster by Kishiwada to Shida, but Shida gets a shoulder up on the cover. Fire Thunder Driver by Kishiwada, but this time the cover is broken up. Kishiwada hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, he picks up Shida but she reverses the powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana. Shida is triple teamed in the corner but her teammates come in and help clear the ring. Hip attack by Shida to Shimono, Kasai goes up top and hits the Pearl Harbor Splash, but the group pin is broken up. Shida sits up Shimono and hits a running knee, but Shimono reverses the cover into her own two count. Shida slams Shimono to the mat but Shimono sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Jumping knee by Shida and she drops Shimono with a Falcon Arrow. Three Count by Shida, and she gets the victory!

Well this was certainly quite the spectacle. The best thing about cards like these is the random assortment of wrestlers. The chances of getting a ‘five star match’ on a produced show are slim to none, but you get fun stuff like this. Shida and Kishiwada are two of my favorites so I enjoyed watching them mix it up quite a bit. Everyone got in a bit of a chance to shine, however I still would have preferred the match just be a two on two match as until the end there weren’t any longer segments so two wrestlers could get a real rhythm together. I enjoyed it for the uniqueness and getting to see Shida in a different environment, but not exactly a must see.  Recommended

The post Hikaru Shida “3rd Synopsium of Mythology” on 5/1/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship (3x), FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship (3x)
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• July 8th, 2006 with YOSHIYA vs. Oishi and Asahi vs. TAKA and TAKU Michinoku vs. Bambi and TOMO Michinoku
• October 1st, 2006 vs. PSYCHO
• May 22nd, 2011 vs. Bambi
• August 21st, 2014 with Ranmaru vs. Iida and Hirota

Signature Moves:

• Apple Sleeper
• Applebuster
• Ringokotari

In Action:

Coming Soon

Back to Other Affiliated Wrestlers

The post Hibiscus Mii appeared first on Joshi City.