Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 1 Details:

Official Title: Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 1
Release: February 1st, 2012
Pages: 84
Cost: ¥1,200
Where to Buy: Third Party Vendors (eBay, Mercari, Buyee, etc.)

The first volume of Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa featured the following wrestlers:

• Yoko Bito
• Kana
• Mio Shirai
• Hikaru Shida
• Makoto
• Yuzuki Aikawa

Its interesting to see that eight years later, these are still some of the most popular wrestlers on the current or recently-current scene, with the only exception being Aikawa as she retired back in 2013. For the ‘gravure’ section, approximately 40 pages were devoted to the six above wrestlers, with each getting several pictures to themselves. As the photos were taken separately there are no group pictures, as at the time all were in different promotions aside from Yuzuki and Yoko who were both wrestling out of Stardom.

The rest of the magazine includes other Joshi content, including a section highlighting Bull Nakano’s retirement event and an article about Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki. While the target audience will be those that enjoy the modeling photoshoots, there is plenty of other content in this edition as well that may interest a wide variety of fans. The bulk of the pictures are in color (including all the gravure pictures), however some other pages are in black and white. Considering the popularity of some of the wrestlers involved, this is a quality magazine even for modern Joshi fans. Here is a sample of pictures from the magazine:

The post Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 1 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2019, or any championship that was held when 2019 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and match importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2019.

Before we get into it, a couple very established veterans that normally would make this kind of list I wasn’t able to justify including this year – Tsukasa Fujimoto and Meiko Satomura. I realize this opens the list to easy criticism but keep in mind this list isn’t a “best wrestler” list and isn’t influenced by past success – it is based solely on what happened in 2019. Both Fujimoto and Satomura largely took a back seat in their respective promotions last year, allowing the younger wrestlers to take the lead. Which is great! But it makes it harder to rank them with only twenty spots available. So before anyone asks, I didn’t forget them, they just didn’t have enough in regards to in-ring accomplishments or visibility in Japan during the year to make the Top 20. So save any vitriol for a more worthwhile cause.

Without further ado and procrastinating, onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019!

1. Sareee (Diana)

Championships Held: Diana World Championship (233 days) and the Sendai Girls’ World Championship (127 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 1/6, vs. Aja Kong on 2/11, vs. Meiko Satomura on 4/16, vs. Aja Kong on 5/12, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 6/18, vs. DASH Chisako on 7/7, and vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

To say it is difficult to be the top Joshi wrestler of the year when your home promotion literally had zero events available to watch would be an understatement, but Sareee managed to pull it off. What set Sareee apart from others wasn’t just her title success in Sendai Girls’, but the high quality of her matches throughout the year in a variety of promotions. Her matches against Meiko Satomura and against Chihiro Hashimoto (in June) were two of the best Joshi matches of the year, as she went from relative unknown to many newer Joshi fans to one of the most popular wrestlers on the scene. Depending on where her career goes in 2020 she may just be a “one year wonder” in regards to being this high on fans’ Wrestler of the Year list, but what a year it was.

2. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (322 days), International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (161 days), OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (105 days), and the Triangle Ribbon Championship (52 days)
Biggest Matches: with Risa Sera vs. Kyuri and Ozaki on 3/17, vs. Tsukushi on 3/31, with Saori Anou vs. Beast Friend on 5/12, vs. Giulia on 5/25, vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 8/3, vs. Risa Sera on 9/14, and with Risa Sera vs. Giulia and Tequila Saya on 9/23
Best Match: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto in Ice Ribbon on August 3rd, 2019

It is hard not to respect a wrestler with as many title wins in one year as Maya Yukihi had, as it just shows an enormous amount of faith that the promotion has in her. Few wrestlers dominated their promotion in 2019 as Maya did, not just with her success with the ICExInfinity Championship but with her constant main event presence in some capacity. The focus remained so strongly on her that it was difficult for any other Ice Ribbon wrestlers to really get noticed in 2019. She also continued to have success in OZ Academy as well with her more ‘evil’ side, as she changed her personality depending on which promotion she was in. While consistent match quality wouldn’t land her in the Top 5 for the year, her success just can’t be ignored as she seems poised to be the Ice Ribbon Ace for the foreseeable future.

3. Arisa Hoshiki (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (229 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 4/29, vs. Tam Nakano on 6/16, vs. Hazuki on 7/24, vs. Jungle Kyona on 8/10, vs. Kagetsu on 10/14, with Tam Nakano vs. Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter on 11/15, and vs. Konami on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on June 16th, 2019

Sometimes, the number of titles a wrestler held doesn’t tell the whole story. 2019 in Stardom was all about Arisa Hoshiki’s rise from “surprise return wrestler” to being one of the top wrestlers in the promotion. She won the Cinderella Tournament in April and went on to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She held the title for the rest of the year with eight defenses, making her one of the most active champions on the Joshi scene. She also was involved in one of the more memorable Joshi storylines of 2019, as she slowly converted her enemy Tam Nakano into her friend over a seven month period, ending in a touching scene after they won the Stardom Goddesses of Tag League together. On top of that, her in-ring quality greatly improved as the year progressed as by the end she was putting together some high end matches. Arisa will have some stiff competition from Mayu in 2020, so we’ll see if she can keep up her momentum.

4. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship (229 days), Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (146 days), and the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Championship (95 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Sareee on 1/6, with Mika Iwata vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Sareee on 2/3, vs. Sareee on 6/8, vs. Yoshiko on 7/7, and vs. Sareee on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Sareee in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

For the third straight year, Chihiro Hashimoto was the main force in Sendai Girls’, as their smaller roster doesn’t give them a lot of options. Just four years into her career she is already on her fifth title reign, as Meiko Satomura takes a lesser role and no other younger wrestler is ready to step up. She had a great series of matches against Sareee in 2019, and just for variety sake also had success in DDT as well. Combined with her tag title run, its hard to deny that Chihiro had a great year and further cemented her place as one of the best young wrestlers on the Joshi scene, but hopefully Sendai Girls’ can find a way to mix it up a bit in 2020.

5. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (112 days) and the Regina Di WAVE Championship (167 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Nanae Takahashi on 5/29, vs. Nagisa Nozaki vs. Ryo Mizunami on 7/15, vs. Arisa Nakajima on 9/18, vs. Ryo Mizunami on 10/5, vs. Chigusa Nagayo on 12/8, and vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on May 29th, 2019

Another solid year by the young Ace of Marvelous – Takumi Iroha. Even though Marvelous doesn’t really have its own titles, Takumi still won two titles anyway in 2019 as she visited other promotions. She won the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship from Nanae Takahashi in May and won the Regina Di WAVE Championship against Nagisa Nozaki and Ryo Mizunami in July. She capped off her year by defeating Chigusa Nagayo in a singles match, the first time she has faced off against her mentor in a one vs. one match. Takumi’s future is hard to determine due to her situation in Marvelous, but she will continue to be their Ace as well as traveling to other promotions to take their belts.

6. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: ROH Women of Honor Word Championship (55 days), Artist of Stardom Championship, (162 days) and the World of Stardom Championship (57 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 2/24, with Saki Kashima and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami on 6/23, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/7, vs. Momo Watanabe on 9/22, vs. Bea Priestley on 11/4, and vs. Kagetsu on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Kagetsu in Stardom on December 24th, 2019

Mayu Iwatani won the Tokyo Sports Award Women’s Award in 2019, which was well deserved but that doesn’t mean she had the best year. This ranking is influenced by my own personal biases, not Joshi politics. Still, she did have a great year. She started the year as part of the Artist of Stardom Championship, a title she held for almost half the year total. Even though technically I am not considering matches outside of Japan, I still have to mention that she had a title match at Madison Square Garden, a massive achievement in any wrestler’s career. She ended the year hot, as she won the World of Stardom Championship in November and still held the belt as the year concluded. When considering how she closed the year and the number of high end matches she had, Mayu is easily a Top 10 wrestler for the year, and judging from how it ended I imagine she will be even higher next year.

7. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (104 days) and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship (115 days)
Biggest Matches: with Sae vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 3/20, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 4/28, vs. Takumi Iroha on 9/18, and vs. Nanae Takahashi on 11/2
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on November 2nd, 2019

After a quiet 2018, Arisa Nakajima came back with a bang in 2019 as she took over SEAdLINNNG. Arisa had two tag title reigns during the year, although both were short, and won the Beyond The Sea Championship in September before holding it for the rest of the year. She also had one of the best Joshi matches of 2019 against Nanae Takahashi in November 2nd. Arisa only had 45 matches in 2019 which hurt her a bit, otherwise she would have been higher, but she is still one of the best in-ring competitors in Japan. If she wrestles more outside of SEAdLINNNG in 2020, she could easily be a Top 5 wrestler next year.

8. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Freelancer)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (79 days), SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship (186 days), OZ Tag Team Championship (131 days), and the Blast Queen Championship (7 days)
Biggest Matches: with Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maya Yukihi and Saori Anou on 5/12, with Yoshiko vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 6/28, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 8/18, vs. Mayumi Ozaki on 8/25, vs. Hanako Nakamori on 9/29, and with DASH Chisako vs. Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Mayumi Ozaki in OZ Academy on August 25th, 2019

Like Arisa Nakajima, Hiroyo Matsumoto didn’t have a great 2018 but had a much better year in 2019. She found her most success in the tag team division, as she ended the year holding two tag team championships. She was very active with 120 matches in twelve different Japanese promotions, so even though she didn’t get any long runs at the top of a promotion this year she stayed visible. Hiroyo didn’t have any noted MOTYC type matches but was very consistent in-ring, and considering she is a Freelancer it was a very solid year overall.

9. Momo Watanabe (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (135 days), Goddesses of Stardom Championship (195 days), and the Artist of Stardom Championship (38 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tam Nakano on 1/14, vs. Jungle Kyona on 3/3, vs. Arisa Hoshiki on 5/16, with Utami Hayashishita vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami on 7/15, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/1, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 9/22, and with AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Andras Miyagi, Kagetsu, and Natsu Sumire on 11/23
Best Match: vs. Jungle Kyona in Stardom on March 3rd, 2019

Momo did the opposite of Arisa and Mayu in 2019, which always impacts one’s impression of a wrestler – she started the year hot but disappeared for the last half of the year as she faded more into the second tier. As 2019 began she held both the Wonder of Stardom and Goddesses of Stardom Championship, but both titles were gone by the summer. She didn’t win any tournaments but did win the Artist of Stardom Championship in November so at least she didn’t end the year with no titles at all. That being said, in the first half of the year she had some great title defenses, and even though she wasn’t always winning she had some really quality matches in the fall as well so her in-ring performances stayed at a high level. Momo may have been passed by both Arisa and Mayu in 2019, with with wrestlers like Utami, Hana Kimura, and Giulia in the wings she may have trouble climbing back to the top.

10. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling)

Championships Held: Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship (122 days) and the SHINE Championship (31 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Maki Itoh on 1/4, vs. Yuka Sakazaki on 3/31, vs. Shoko Nakajima on 5/3, vs. Allysin Kay on 5/6, and with Miu Watanabe vs. Misao and Sakisama on 8/25
Best Match: vs. Shoko Nakajima in Tokyo Joshi Pro on May 3rd, 2019

Tokyo Joshi Pro didn’t have one dominate wrestler in 2019 as their main title was divided between three wrestlers through the year, but Miyu Yamashita still felt like their superstar. She entered the year the Princess of Princess Champion and kept it until May, oddly enough she did not get a rematch for the rest of the year and even lost in the first round of the Tokyo Princess Cup. She did get one tag title shot, but her team lost. Still, she did hold the title for 25% of the year with three successful defenses and continued putting on high quality matches as she always does which helped her sneak into the Top 10 and over her fellow Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers.

   11. Saori Anou (Actwres girl’Z) – The undisputed Ace of Actwres girl’Z in 2019, Saori also saw title success outside the promotion for the first time as she held the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship for over 100 days. She lost the AgZ Championship and OZ Academy Tag Team Championship in August however and was more under the radar the rest of the year, as her future went into limbo as she announced she was leaving AgZ in December. As of the time of this review, we still don’t know what her future holds, and that will be the determining factor on where she is on this list next year. If she is on it at all.

12. Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J) – Like last year, Hanako took control of being the Ace of the seldom seen PURE-J promotion. More of her matches seemed to “make tape” in 2019 than 2018 however, her main issue this year is that due to the retirement of Command Bolshoi she wasn’t really the focus the first quarter of the year. Once she won the PURE-J Openweight Championship in April she held it to the conclusion of 2019, with five successful defenses. Hopefully more PURE-J is available to watch in 2020.

13. Mayumi Ozaki (OZ Academy) – Even though I find Mayumi Ozaki’s match style to be predictable and not overly entertaining, I can’t deny her success in 2019 as she led OZ Academy. She held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship from April until the end of the year, and won the Blast Queen Championship as well. She wasn’t as active as most wrestlers on this list with only 46 matches however, which isn’t a surprise considering her age, and none of her matches were highly ranked. She deserves being on the list just due the stranglehold she held on OZ Academy, but hopefully in 2020 a younger wrestler with a different wrestling style will take over.

14. Riho (Gatoh Move/Stardom) – Riho found a good deal of success in AEW in 2019, but even beyond that she had a good year in Japan. She was the Ace of Gatoh Move for the first half of the year, holding both the Super Asia Championship and the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship. After joining AEW in late summer, Riho still wrestled in Japan and won the High Speed Championship in Stardom. Riho may be focusing more on AEW in 2020, but for 2019 she still did enough in Japan to make the top 20 Joshi wrestlers of the year.

15. Kagetsu (Stardom) – In her final full year as a professional wrestler, Kagetsu continued to put out great matches in 2019. She opened the year as World of Stardom Champion, holding the title for four months. From then on her championship success was more limited, with just a short Artist of Stardom run, but she was constantly involved in the title scene and had great matches with Hazuki, Toni Storm, Konami, Jungle Kyona, Arisa Hoshiki, and Mayu Iwatani. In a promotion where it is easy to fade in the background, Kagetsu never did and stayed a visible and popular wrestler for the entire year.

16. Shoko Nakajima (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Shoko had the longest Princess of Princess title reign of 2019, holding the title for over 180 days. She didn’t have the same level of matches as Miyu Yamashita, and was also often overshadowed by other fan favorites like Maki Itoh and Yuka Sakazaki. Still, she did have four successful defenses and stayed in bigger matches even outside her title reign, so even though she was sometimes overlooked she still had a really solid year for the promotion.

17. ASUKA (Freelancer) – ASUKA had an interesting year, as even though she did not win any major titles she was a force to be reckoned with wrestling in the male-dominated promotions DDT and ZERO1. She took part in the Fire Festival in 2019, and even though she didn’t do great in the tournament she did have a big win over Masato Tanaka. She also battled Akito in DDT for the DDT Extreme Championship, considered by many to be a stealth MOTYC candidate. ASUKA set her own path in 2019, one not many Joshi wrestlers have attempted, and came away with a very memorable year. As a Freelancer, its always hard to predict her future, but being a regular in DDT made her in 2019 one of the most visible Joshi wrestlers in Japan and the quality of her matches proved that she belongs in the big leagues.

18. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom) – Utami dealt with some injury issues in 2019 but still collected titles like few others can. She held five championships during the year, four in Stardom and one from EVE, and for the year she had a total of 21 title matches. She ended the year still holding three belts, as she seems poised to move up the ladder further if she can stay healthy.

19. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon) – I really didn’t want to only have one Ice Ribbon wrestler on the list, and Risa Sera seemed like the most deserving to also be included. Risa had two tag title reigns in 2019, plus she held the Blast Queen Championship for the first month and a half of the year. She had one shot at the ICExInfinity Championship, but lost, and ended the year with no titles. Her match quality continued to be high however, making it easier to justify placing her on this list.

20. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer) – Hikaru Shida held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship until April of 2019, but did not win any other titles the rest of the year. To many she was still considered one of the best in-ring wrestlers in Japan, however, and she had over 90 matches in Japan for the year even though she left in October to join AEW. Hikaru may not be eligible for this list for awhile if things go well in AEW, but she earned her spot this year with her versatility in the ring and general popularity.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019 appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

Finally an Oz Academy event popped up on the Internet, so in order to have as many promotions represented as possible I had to review it as soon as possible. This event is a pretty big one for Oz Academy, as it has the return of Sonoko Kato as well as an Oz Academy Openweight Championship match. Here is the full card:

• AKINO vs. Sonoko Kato
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Miyako Matsumoto
• Kyusei Sakura Hirota and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Mio Shirai
• Dynamite Kansai, Aja Kong, and Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida, Syuri, and Kaho Kobayashi
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Kagetsu

All of the Joshi wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. This event aired on GAORA TV in a two hour block, so some matches will be clipped. 

AKINO vs. Sonoko Kato

AKINO starts off the match with a hurricanrana but it gets a two count. They trade elbows and then high kicks. Dragon screw by Kato and she kicks AKINO into the corner. Cannonball by Kato and she hits an avalanche cannonball for two. AKINO slaps on an armbar but Kato hits a neckbreaker and applies a Dragon Sleeper. Kato goes up top but AKINO hits a superplex. High kick by AKINO and she hits a backdrop suplex. Kato hits a dragon suplex hold, but it gets a two count. High kick by Kato and she boots AKINO in the head. Kicks by AKINO and they trade elbows as they slowly return to their feet. Kato picks up AKINO and hits the Kowloon’s Gate, but it only gets a two count. Kato goes for a kick but AKINO catches her with a powerbomb. They trade elbows, AKINO catches Kato with a running elbow smash and quickly covers her for the three count. AKINO is the winner!

The ending was a bit sudden as it felt like they still had a few more minutes in them, but it wasn’t a bad match. I guess since it was Kato’s return match from injury they wanted to just keep it simple. Not a bad way to open the show, it had some hard hitting action and no overkill.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Miyako Matsumoto

This match is Joined in Progress, proving that there is a God. We pick up as Matsumoto falls on top of Yoneyama and dances around the ring. Yoneyama then dances around and hits a back splash. Yoneyama goes to the second turnbuckle but Matsumoto moves and hits a Shining Wizard. Scoop slam by Matsumoto, she goes up top but Yoneyama gets her feet up when she jumps off. Northern Light Suplex by Yoneyama but it gets a two count. Yoneyama goes up top and hits a senton for another two. Yoneyama cradles Matsumoto from behind and she picks up the three count. Kaori Yoneyama wins.

This was painful but luckily it was really clipped.

Kyusei Sakura Hirota and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Mio Shirai

This one is also Joined in Progress, with Shirai and Hirota in the ring. Ozaki is tagged in and she hits a senton onto Hirota for a two count. Hirota is whipped in the face and is literally attacked by everyone. Triple powerbomb to Hirota but Hirota slips away from Ozaki. DDT by Ozaki and she hits a sit-down powerbomb for a two. Chops by Hirota and she hits the Oil Check. Hirota kisses Ozaki and hits a suplex for a two count. Shirai accidentally hits her friends with her pole and Hirota hits a schoolboy on Ozaki for the three count. Hirota and Hoshi are the winners.

This match was equally not good, mid-card Oz can be brutal. I can’t believe this match was 18 minutes, that would have been the worst 18 minutes of my life if it had not been so heavily clipped.

Dynamite Kansai, Aja Kong, and Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida, Syuri, and Kaho Kobayashi

We start the match with Kansai and Kobayashi in the ring, Kong is in the ring too and they take turns slamming Kobayashi. Scoop slam by Toyota as well and everyone slams Kobayashi over and over. Toyota hits a double underhook slam and applies a cross arm submission. Toyota tags in Kong and everyone attacks Kobayashi in the corner. Piledriver by Kong but the cover is broken up. Kobayashi dropkicks Toyota but Toyota boots her and hits a dropkick. Toyota goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Toyota goes for a slam but Kobayashi rolls her up. Oklahoma Roll by Toyota but Kobayashi hits a dropkick and tags in Syuri. Kicks by Syuri to Toyota, Kong comes in but both Syuri and Shida dropkick them. Toyota is thrown in the corner, knee by Shida and Syuri hits one as well. PK by Syuri, cover, but Toyota kicks out. Syuri and Toyota trade elbows, an Toyota hits a German suplex. Heel drop by Toyota but it gets two. Kansai is tagged in and she lariats Syuri in the corner. Syuri gets away from Kansai and hits a backstabber following by a running knee. Shida comes in to help but Kansai hits a double lariat. Syuri knees Kansai and slaps on a cross armbreaker, but Kansai gets to the ropes. Syuri tags in Shida and Shida hits a missile dropkick. Jumping knee by Shida in the corner but Kansai catches the second one and flings Shida to the mat. Shida applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Kong breaks it up. Armbreaker by Shida but Kansai catches her with a backdrop suplex.

Kansai tags in Kong and she trades elbows with Shida. German suplex by Kong and she kicks Shida in the head. Hurricanrana by Shida and she hits Kong with a kendo stick repeatedly. Enzuigiri by Shida but Kansai runs in and lariats her. Vertical suplex by Shida and she hits a running leg kick for two. Shida hits Toyota and Kansai with her kendo stick but Kong hits her with a metal box. Shida tags in Kobayashi, and Kobayashi dropkicks Kong. More dropkicks by Kobayashi, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Syuri comes in and kicks Kong but Toyota comes in and kicks Kobayashi. Kansai lariats Syuri and scoop slams Kobayashi. Kong and Kansai run into each other and Shida hits them both with kendo sticks. Kobayashi goes up top but Kong kicks her in the stomach. Lariat by Kong but the pin is broken up. Kong drops Kobayashi on her head with a backdrop suplex, she then hits a Brainbuster on Kobayashi for the three count. Kansai, Kong, and Toyota are the winners.

I am not going to lie, I really loved this match. Kobayashi is so feisty and easy to root for, and both teams made the match seem really important by constantly inferring, breaking up pins, etc. Really it was Kobayashi that made the match as she takes monster offense so well, but the whole match just clicked for me. The time flew by and unlike what the last match would have been it was a great way to spend 15+ minutes. Only knock was the first few minutes were cut out, wish I could have seen the whole thing.  Highly Recommended

(c) Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Kagetsu
Oz Academy Openweight Championship

Kuragaki pushes Kagetsu into the ropes and she hits a shoulderblock. Dropkick by Kagetsu but Kuragaki hits a lariat. Body press by Kuragaki and she hits a pair of lariats in the corner. Kuragaki gets Kagetsu on the mat but Kagetsu gets to the ropes. Dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a vertical suplex. Lariat by Kuragaki and she hits an exploder. Kuragaki goes up top, Kagetsu joins her but Kagetsu slides out to the apron and kicks Kuragaki back to the mat. Kagetsu goes for a swandive move but Kuragaki hits her back out to the floor. They battle outside the ring and Kuragaki applies an Argentine Backbreaker. Kagetsu kicks Kuragaki and she grabs Kuragaki’s arm as she jumps off the second deck, snapping her arm over the railing. She then pulls Kuragaki back to the floor and slams her into the apron. Kagetsu kicks Kuragaki from the apron and Kagetsu hits a swandive plancha to the floor. Swandive dropkick back in the ring by Kagetsu but Kuragaki knocks Kagetsu to the mat. Kuragaki goes for a suplex but Kagetsu reverses it into a bulldog. Kicks by Kagetsu but Kuragaki slams Kagetsu to the mat.

Kuragaki goes up top but Kagetsu elbows her. Kuragaki throws Kagetsu to the floor and hits a missile dropkick. Scorpion Deathlock by Kuragaki but Kagetsu gets to the ropes. Kuragaki goes up top but Kagetsu rolls out of the way of the moonsault and kicks Kuragaki in the chest. Kagetsu goes up top and hits a diving double knee to Kuragaki’s arm. Armbar by Kagetsu but Kuragaki gets to the ropes. Kuragaki and Kagetsu trade elbows but Kagetsu hits a judo throw before applying the cross armbreaker. Kuragaki powerbombs out of it, she picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu rolls up Kuragaki for a two. Death valley bomb by Kagetsu and she hits a cross armbreaker takedown. La Magistral by Kagetsu but it gets a two count. High kick by Kagetsu but Kuragaki catches her with a backdrop suplex. Another backdrop suplex by Kuragaki and she hits a lariat. Kuragaki picks up Kagetsu and hits the Metal Wing. Kuragaki picks up Kagetsu and goes for it again but Kagetsu lands on her feet and kicked Kuragaki in the head. Lariat by Kuragaki, she picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away. Kuragaki levels her with another lariat and she hits a Falcon Arrow for the three count! Tsubasa Kuragaki wins and retains the championship.

A really solid match and a fun back and forth. I wish Kuragaki had sold the arm a bit at some point but Kagetsu stayed on it at least, and it was a good ‘power offensive vs. submission holds’ match dynamic. The time of the match felt just right and it wasn’t clipped. The show started really slow but ended with two entertaining matches. Recommended

event reviewed on 2/9/15

The post Oz Academy “The Wizard of OZ” on 1/11/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Gatoh Move Japan Tour #438 ~ Last Song For You
Date: July 2nd, 2019
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 420

I recognize that reviews on the site have slowed down to a crawl, and until I have the time and desire to start doing them again that will probably continue to be the case. However, I got this DVD a few weeks ago and decided to hell with it, I had to do a review. Gatoh Move Last Song For You features Riho’s “graduation” from Gatoh Move, as this was her last match with the promotion before moving on to AEW and Freelancing. There are a few other big matches as well, as Gatoh Move put on a fun show for Riho’s farewell. Here are all the Joshi matches on the show:

• An Chamu, Hagane Shinnou, and Makoto vs. Antonio Honda, SAKI, and Sayaka Obihiro
• Haruka Umesaki vs. Mei Suruga
• Ryo Mizunami vs. Yuna Mizumori
• Hikaru Shida vs. Mitsuru Konno
• Emi Sakura vs. Riho

Since I am watching the commercial DVD, all matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

An Chamu, Hagane Shinnou, and Makoto vs. Antonio Honda, SAKI, and Sayaka Obihiro

They brawl to start, Hagane and SAKI start as the legal wrestlers and Hagane hits a hard shoulderblock. SAKI replies with a shoulderblock of her own, Makoto comes in but SAKI drops her with a rebound crossbody. Chamu gets in the ring and with Makoto they double team SAKI, but Antonio helps his partner and clears the ring. He goes for a dive but trips, leading to him grabbing a mic and cutting a promo. Makoto, Hagane, and Chamu return to the ring as Antonio talks to them, Antonio pokes all three in the eyes but Chamu fights back and hits a jumping elbow. Tilt-a-whirl schoolboy by Chamu, but it gets a two count. Chamu applies a headscissors in the corner, she lets go and gets on the top turnbuckle, hitting a diving crossbody onto Antonio for a two count. Chamu tags Hagane, punches by Hagane to Antonio but Antonio punches him back in the stomach and makes the tag to Sayaka. Chops by Sayaka to Hagane, she goes for a spear but Hagane catches it and hits a vertical suplex. He tags in Makoto, Makoto throws Sayaka into the corner and hits a big boot for two. Double underhook by Makoto but Sayaka blocks the suplex and cradles Makoto for a two count. Sayaka chops Makoto into the corner, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Makoto to the mat.

Scoop slam by Makoto but Antonio pulls Sayaka out of the ring to help her avoid the cartwheel double kneedrop. SAKI gets in as the legal wrestler and kicks Makoto into the corner, but Makoto knocks her back and hits a diving crossbody for two. Makoto picks up SAKI and hits a bridging double underhook suplex, but that gets a two as well. Makoto tags in Chamu, Hagane also comes in and SAKI is triple teamed. Shining Wizard by Chamu to SAKI, but the cover is broken up. Chamu picks up SAKI and hits a hip attack, as does Makoto and Hagane. They all go off the ropes but Hagane and Sayaka trip the helpers from the corner while SAKI catches Chamu with an atomic drop. SAKI and friends all punch their opponents but team SAKI returns the favor, all six trade punches with SAKI’s team getting the better of it. Double atomic drop to Chamu, Sayaka goes off the ropes and dives out onto Makoto and Hagane (after hopping on the apron first). SAKI picks up Chamu and hits a vertical suplex, cover by SAKI and she gets the three count!

Nothing about this will blow anyone away, but for an early-card match it was sufficient. None of the wrestlers got a real chance to shine, and there weren’t any higher end wrestlers here anyway (except maybe Makoto, depending on your tastes), so it just hummed along until it ended. Not offensive or boring, just a match to fill out the card before the bigger matches happened.

Haruka Umesaki vs. Mei Suruga

Mei and Haruka circle to start, they struggle for position until Mei gets Haruka into the corner, but she gives a clean break. Haruka elbows her in the chest, Mei rebounds out of the corner and grabs Haruka’s wrist, she jumps off the ropes but Haruka gets her in a guillotine. Mei quickly gets out of it, they trade trips and covers before reaching a stalemate. Drop toehold by Mei, she applies a headlock but Haruka gets out of it and they trade holds. Mei works a headlock and then applies a wristlock, she jumps off the ropes before hitting an armdrag. Snapmare by Mei and she applies a bodyscissors, she rolls Haruka around while maintaining the hold before stopping with Haruka’s shoulders down for a two count. Mei picks up Haruka, hard elbow by Mei but Haruka dropkicks Mei in the corner. Jumping crossbody by Haruka and she puts Mei in a submission hold, she stretches Mei before letting go and stomping her. Mei goes for a scoop slam but Haruka blocks it, they go back and forth until Mei delivers a scoop slam.

Mei picks up Haruka and rams her head-first into the turnbuckles, she does it a second time before covering Haruka for two. Mei applies a stretch hold before letting Haruka go and putting her in a crab hold. Haruka quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Mei goes off the ropes but Haruka avoids her dropkick and hits one of her own. Haruka hits three more dropkicks and covers Mei, but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Haruka, she goes for multiple covers but Mei kicks out each time. Haruka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but again her cover gets two. Crab hold by Haruka but Mei inches herself to the ropes to get the break. Haruka goes off the ropes but Mei catches her with a takedown, schoolboy by Haruka but it gets two. An inside cradle and backslide by Haruka don’t work either, she charges Mei and hits a dropkick. She goes for La Magistral but Mei blocks it, dropkick by Mei and she covers Haruka for two. Mei jumps on Haruka’s back and she applies the Houkiboshi for the three count pinfall! Mei Suruga wins!

The match probably went a smidge too long considering Haruka’s experience level, but it was a fine little match. Very simple, lots of strikes and cradles, but Haruka has some spunk to her and Mei has great presence. If I was trying to sell someone on either of these young wrestlers I doubt this is a match I would recommend, but for where they are in their careers I have no real complaints.

Ryo Mizunami vs. Yuna Mizumori

Yuna tries to knock over Ryo with shoulderblocks to start the match but has no luck, Ryo kicks Yuna and shoulderblocks her down to the mat. Yuna immediately gets up and elbows Ryo from behind, and she finally knocks over Ryo with a shoulderblock. She picks up Ryo but Ryo hits a scoop slam and hits a quick legdrop for a two count. Camel Clutch by Ryo, she lets go after a moment and stomps Yuna in the back. Ryo chops Yuna into the corner but Yuna catches one to block it, Ryo goes off the ropes but Yuna knocks her into the corner. Elbows by Yuna, she dances a bit but Ryo moves out of the way when she charges her. Chops by Ryo in the corner, now its her turn to do a dance as she charges up but Yuna blocks her lariat. Kick by Ryo and she elbows Yuna repeatedly, lariat by Ryo and she hits a legdrop for two.

Anaconda Vice by Ryo, Yuna elbows out of it and tosses Ryo over her back. Body press by Yuna, but it only gets a two count. Running crossbody by Yuna and she hits two more, but again her cover gets two. Yuna goes for a handstand senton but Ryo moves out of the way and hits a running leg lariat. She quickly goes up top but Yuna recovers and grabs her, slamming Ryo into the opposite corner. Shoulder tackle by Yuna and she delivers the handstand senton for two. Yuna charges Ryo and tries to jump on her but Yuna gets her feet up, heel kicks by Yuna but Ryo kicks out of the cover. Dropkick by Yuna and she hits a double jump bodypress out of the corner for another two count. Yuna charges Ryo but Ryo catches her with a hard lariat, she goes off the ropes and hits a second lariat for two. Ryo waits for Yuna to get up and delivers a spear, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the guillotine legdrop for the three count! Ryo Mizunami is the winner.

An odd little match. Ryo wrestled from the dominate position but it was far from a squash as Yuna got in about a third of the offense and had several nearfalls. I am not a huge fan of Ryo’s goofiness so naturally I am not a big fan of Yuna’s goofiness either, but at least they were both on the same page. The end stretch of the match was solid, not necessarily heated but both were hitting their moves well and their exchanges were well done. A solid midcard match and Ryo made sure to put over Yuna’s bigger moves, Yuna doesn’t seem from this match to be the smoothest wrestler but overall an easy watch. Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida vs. Mitsuru Konno

Hikaru and Mitsuru tie-up to start, Hikaru pushes Mitsuru into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They tie-up again, again Hikaru gets Mitsuru into the ropes and breaks clean, but Mitsuru charges right back at her. They keep struggling, Mitsuru finally gets Hikaru in the ropes and hits a series of elbows. Scoop slam by Hikaru but Mitsuru quickly gets back up but Hikaru pushes her to the ropes and knees her in the head. Hikaru hangs Mitsuru’s head over the apron and hits a kneelift, she gets back in the ring and hits a backbreaker for two. Camel Clutch by Hikaru but Mitsuru gets into the ropes for the break. Hikaru picks up Mitsuru but Mitsuru elbows her, eye poke by Hikaru and she throws Mitsuru into the corner, but Mitsuru kicks her back. Hikaru hits a jumping knee anyway but Mitsuru fires back with a dropkick and a jumping kick. Single leg crab hold by Mitsuru, she lets go after a moment and picks up Hikaru, but Hikaru knees her in the stomach. Knee to the back of the head by Hikaru, she picks up Mitsuru and delivers a vertical suplex for a two count.

Hikaru goes off the ropes but Mitsuru schoolboys her for two, Mitsuru tries a few more flash pins but Hikaru blocks them. Hikaru knees Mitsuru hard in the face, the referee starts a ten count but Mitsuru makes it to her feet. Elbows by Mitsuru but Hikaru knees her in the head again, Mitsuru again comes back with elbows and the two exchange blows. Mitsuru boots Hikaru out of the ring, she goes out after her and tosses Hikaru into the chairs at ringside. Mitsuru slides Hikaru back in the ring, she picks her up and hits a bridging suplex for two. Mitsuru goes off the ropes and boots Hikaru in the head, she picks her up but Hikaru pushes her away and delivers a jumping knee. Mitsuru quickly recovers and boots Hikaru, but Hikaru hits an enzuigiri before slamming Mitsuru into the mat. They trade flash pins with neither getting the three count, Hikaru goes off the ropes but Mitsuru hits a lariat for two. Mitsuru picks up Hikaru but Hikaru pokes her in the eyes and applies an inside cradle. Three Count by Hikaru, and she picks up the three count! Hikaru Shida is the winner.

This was really fun, enjoyed it thoroughly. For two wrestlers not overly familiar with each other it was pretty smooth, just one noticeable miscommunication, and Mitsuru definitely brought her best with her as she went toe to toe with Hikaru for the bulk of the match. Hikaru’s strikes are a thing of beauty as always but I liked Mitsuru not necessarily wrestling from the weak position which would have been assumed going into it considering their experience levels, it felt more like a struggle for both and not Hikaru sleepwalking through a lesser wrestler. I wouldn’t have minded a longer final stretch run, but otherwise a solid match to lead us to the main event.  Recommended

Emi Sakura vs. Riho

They start with a knuckle-lock and a Test of Strength, Emi pushes Riho down but Riho bridges back up and gets out of the hold. She goes for a crossbody but Emi slams her to the mat, Riho bridges out of the pin attempt but Emi flings her back down and goes for a submission. Riho quickly gets out of it and goes for a Mexican Surfboard, but she can’t get Emi up so she puts her in a Camel Clutch instead. Riho puts Emi in the corner and hits a jumping knee, another knee by Riho but Emi pushes her back and hits a series of Mongolian Chops. Emi throws down Riho by the hair and puts her in the Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and goes for a Tiger Driver, but Riho gets out of it and delivers a spinning headscissors. Emi falls out of the ring, Riho goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a crossbody to the floor. Riho rolls Emi back in, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits another diving crossbody for a two count. Emi gets Riho on her shoulders but Riho slides off and dropkicks her in the back, she goes for the 619 but Emi moves out of the way and hits a backbreaker. Emi picks up Riho and hits a double underhook into another backbreaker, cover by Emi but it gets a two count. Emi chops Riho but Riho drop toeholds her into the ropes and hits the 619. Northern Lights Suplex by Riho, but it gets a two count. Riho goes up to the top turnbuckle but Emi avoids the diving footstomp, cradle by Riho and she hits a footstomp to Emi’s midsection.

Running knee to the back by Riho and she puts Emi in a single leg crab hold, but Emi gets into the ropes to force the break. Punches to the back by Riho, she picks up Emi but Emi grabs her and slams Riho to the mat. Emi charges Riho in the corner and hits a crossbody, reverse double kneedrop by Emi and she goes for a Vader Bomb, but Riho gets her knees up. Diving footstomp by Riho, but her cover only gets two. Riho charges Emi but Emi ducks the Somato and cradles Riho for two. Both wrestlers elbow each other as they return to their feet, Emi wins the battle and follows up with a dropkick. Riho doesn’t stay down, elbow by Emi but Riho fires back with a jumping knee. Emi hits a knee as well but Riho hits a crossbody in the corner, leaving both wrestlers on the mat. Riho goes up top but Emi recovers and joins her, Riho knocks Emi into the Tree of Woe and delivers a diving double knee. Riho goes for the Somato but Emi ducks it again and cradles Riho for two. Emi goes for La Magistral but Riho reverses it into one of her own, she finally hits the Somato but Emi barely kicks out of the cover. Riho picks up Emi but Emi snaps off a German suplex, Emi picks up Riho and hits the Tiger Driver for a two count. Emi chops Riho in the chest but Riho fires back with a lariat, Riho charges Emi but Emi applies La Magistral for the three count! Emi Sakura wins the match.

A fitting match for Riho’s ‘graduation’ from Gatoh Move, as with their chemistry and in-ring history these two aren’t capable of having a bad match together. It started a little slow and some of the submissions felt disjointed, but once they got rolling the match was fast paced and captivating. Emi Sakura can still go at 43 years old, she had no issues keeping up with Riho and hit everything smoothly, including her usual innovative backbreakers. I just wish the match had about five more minutes to it as it felt like they had more they could have done, particularly with Emi Sakura since she didn’t have a segment towards the end with convincing nearfalls that could have added some drama. This won’t be the last time these two interact in the ring so there was no need to go “all out” with it, an entertaining match between the student and the master.  Recommended

The post Gatoh Move Last Song For You on 7/2/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

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

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

Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
Bamboo Dumpling Scramble Match

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

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

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

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

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

Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata vs. Aja Kong and Yuu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event: Hikaru Shida Produce “10th Anniversary ~ REvenge”
Date: October 9th, 2018
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 550

From time to time I review something that is special and difficult to find, and this is one of those times. Last fall, Hikaru Shida produced her own event which took place at the famed Korakuen Hall. The event was released (obviously, since I am reviewing it), but only on DVD and was only sold by Hikaru Shida at live events. I’ve kept my eye out online for the last six months hoping to find it with no luck, however a friend recently went to Japan and he picked up the DVD for me. So I finally get to watch it! As with most wrestler produce events, it has a very unique line-up with unusual pairings. Here is the full card:

• Kaori Yoneyama and Koharu Hinata vs. Mio Momono and Rina Yamashita
• Buffalo, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Misaki Ohata vs. Gabai Ji-chan, Toru Owashi, and Yako Fujigasaki
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Maika Ozaki
• Aja Kong and TARU vs. Hagane Shinnou and Risa Sera
• Hikaru Shida vs. Naomichi Marufuji

All the Joshi wrestlers have profiles on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. As this was released on DVD, all matches will be shown in full.

Kaori Yoneyama and Koharu Hinata vs. Mio Momono and Rina Yamashita

Mio and Kaori start the match, kick by Mio as they go into a fast exchange as they trade armdrags and trips before reaching a stalemate. Koharu and Rina are tagged in, Koharu asks for a knucklelock but then can’t reach Rina’s hands. Kaori comes in and puts Koharu on her shoulders, so Mio comes in also and gets on Rina’s shoulders as well to make things even. Koharu slides off Kaori’s back and they attack Rina, double Irish whip to Rina and they hit a double dropkick. Rina is put into the ropes and slapped in the chest by both of them, Koharu returns to the ring with Rina and grabs her wrist so she can walk the ropes. She walks over halfway around the ring before hitting an armdrag, tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Koharu and she goes for a slam, but Rina blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Rina gives Koharu the Giant Swing, Mio comes in and ‘jumps rope’ with Koharu’s body as she swings around until she finally trips on her. Rina snapmares Koharu and puts her in a chinlock, Mio comes in and pulls on Rina’s hair to give her more torque, which Rina didn’t overly appreciate. Mio goes off the ropes before dropkicking Koharu, Rina tags in Mio and Mio throws Koharu into the corner.

Mio throws down Koharu by the hair and dropkicks her, she does it again before Rina comes over and helps her step down on Koharu’s face. Rina gets in the ring, she kicks Mio and throws her at Koharu but Koharu moves out of the way. Mio and Rina keep messing with each other as they hurt the other with Koharu taking the brunt of whatever they are doing, Mio picks up Koharu but Koharu dropkicks her and tags in Kaori. Kaori goes for a senton but Mio moves, Rina comes in but Kaori avoids their charges and throws Mio into Rina before hitting a senton/dropkick combination. Kaori drop toeholds Rina onto Koharu, running senton by Kaori and she picks up Mio so she can chop her. Mio rolls away and hits a spinning headscissors followed by a dropkick, she goes up top but Koharu runs over and grabs her from the apron. Rina comes in too and gets rid of Koharu, she helps Mio go for a senton but Kaori moves out of the way. Mio cradles Kaori and hits a footstomp, she elbows Rina to tag her in and Rina lariats Kaori in the corner. Cover by Rina, but it gets a two count.

Rina picks up Kaori but Kaori lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt, Kaori goes for a crossbody but Rina catches her. Koharu dropkicks them over, Northern Lights Suplex by Kaori but it gets a two count. Kaori tags Koharu, dropkick by Koharu and she applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. She lets go after a moment and hits a diving bodypress, Kaori then hits a diving senton before Koharu goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp but Mio breaks up the cover. Koharu dropkicks Rina into the corner but Mio dropkicks her, vertical suplex by Rina to Koharu but Koharu kicks out of the cover. She goes for another one but Koharu blocks it, backslide by Koharu but Mio breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Mio but she hits a headscissors/side headlock takedown combination, double lariat by Rina and she kicks Koharu in the face. Rina goes off the ropes and nails Koharu with a lariat, and she picks up the three count! Rina Yamashita and Mio Momono win!

Humor in wrestling is pretty hard to hit with me, but Mio Momono is one of the few that does it right. Her interactions with Rina were amusing throughout, but she can also back it up with the wrestling as well which is more important. The match alternated between being funny and serious but the bulk of the humor was between teammates, not between teams so it never brought down the premise that both teams were trying to win at all times. A good way to kick off the event, its sure to be a quirky show but Mio does “quirky” right and is a pleasure to watch.  Mildly Recommended

Buffalo, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Misaki Ohata vs. Gabai Ji-chan, Toru Owashi, and Fujigasaki

They talk on the microphone for awhile to start, whatever they said must have pissed off Ohata as she mounts Yako and elbows the hell out of her. Yako returns the favor as they go back and forth, Toru separates them however and they end up doing a six wrestler chain. Gabai Ji-chan grabs Hiroyo’s butt which makes her mad so she suplexes him, curb stomp by Misaki to Yako as she is still mad about whatever she said before. Things settle down with Buffalo staying in the ring with Yako as the legal wrestlers, elbow by Buffalo and he applies a chinlock while ripping at Yako’s face. Buffalo stomps Yako and puts her in the ropes so he can stretch her some more, Irish whip by Buffalo and he hits a back elbow before covering her for two. Buffalo tags in Hiroyo, he stays in the ring and they hold Yako so that Misaki can run in and pull on her nose. Yako fights Hiroyo off with elbows but Misaki hits her from the apron, she comes in and Hiroyo picks up Misaki to assist her in kicking Yako. Buffalo jumps on Hiroyo’s back, then Misaki jumps on too before Hiroyo hits a double kneedrop onto Hiroyo. Hiroyo picks up Yako and clubs her, she goes for a powerbomb but Yako blocks it and hits a back bodydrop. Hip attack by Yako, and she makes the hot tag to Toru. Toru fights off everyone by himself, he chops Hiroyo but Hiroyo chops her back. They trade chops back and forth and then take turns trying to shoulderblock the other over until Hiroyo sends Toru to the mat.

Hiroyo tags in Buffalo while Gabai Ji-chan is also tagged in, Gabai Ji-chan hits Buffalo with his cane but Buffalo hits a vertical suplex. Cover by Buffalo, but it gets two. Misaki and Hiroyo come in and hit running strikes on Gabai Ji-chan in the corner, Buffalo goes to do one but Gabai Ji-chan collapses before he can hit a move. Toru and Yako come in and double team Buffalo, Gabai Ji-chan goes for a powerbomb but is too weak to pick up Buffalo. Buffalo tags Misaki, Misaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Gabai Ji-chan. She goes for a suplex but Gabai Ji-chan grabs the ropes with his cane to prevent himself from going over. Gabai Ji-chan trips Misaki and hits her in the butt with the cane, Toru jumps in with Yako but Buffalo and Misaki also come in. Yako hits a super oil check (with a mini drill of some sort) on both of them, Misaki drops Yako with a Stunner and gets the oil drill but Toru puts on a mask of Makoto Oishi (Misaki’s husband) and jumps in the way of Gabai Ji-chan. Misaki gives him an oil check anyway, she does the same to Gabai Ji-chan but Gabai Ji-chan drops his cane in the process and runs off the ropes, hitting a dropkick. He grabs the hand drill and gives Misaki an oil check, but Misaki blocks it and hits a standing crucifix bomb for the three count!  Buffalo, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Misaki Ohata win.

While the last match was the type of comedy I can handle, this one landed with me far less. It was 75% comedy and some of it got a chuckle out of me, but most of it just seemed overly silly and I’d have rather seen Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata do something more serious. Maybe a few laughs if this is your type of thing, but pretty skippable fare for me.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Maika Ozaki

They lockup to start but break cleanly, takedown by Chihiro and she applies an ankle lock. She switches to a side headlock, Maika Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. They take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over until Chihiro succeeds, she picks up Maika and puts her in a Fujiwara Armbar. She changes the hold to an armbreaker but Maika inches to the ropes and makes it to force the break. Chihiro applies an armlock and tosses Maika to the mat, cover by Chihiro but it gets a two count. Wristlock by Chihiro and she goes back to the armbar but Maika reaches the ropes. Chihiro throws Maika to the corner and hits a body avalanche, scoop slam by Chihiro and she hits a somersault senton. Another senton by Chihiro, and she covers Maika for two. Maika tries to get Chihiro on her shoulders but Chihiro blocks it and applies a Cobra Twist, but Maika gets out of it and hits a fireman’s carry slam.

Elbow drops by Maika and she hits a senton, picking up a two count. Maika picks up Chihiro and both wrestlers go for lariats, but both stay on their feet. They trade lariat attempts until Chihiro knocks down Maika, she goes off the ropes but Maika fires up with a lariat of her own for a two count. Maika gets Chihiro on her shoulders and applies an Argentine Backbreaker, she spins Chihiro to the mat and covers her for two. Maika goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Chihiro kicks out of the pin. Maika goes all the way up but Chihiro avoids the diving senton, spear by Chihiro and she covers Maika for a two count. Chihiro picks up Maika and they trade elbows, big release German by Chihiro and she positions Maika in front of the corner. Diving somersault senton by Chihiro, but Maika barely kicks out of the pin. Chihiro picks up Maika and hits the waterwheel drop, cover by Chihiro and she gets the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto wins!

A basic but fundamentally sound match. This was an odd one for this show, as neither have a real connection with Hikaru Shida or each other so I am not sure how it came about. Even though Chihiro was clearly winning, she did give Maika a few spots before putting her away. The German suplex was beautiful and painful, easily the highlight of the match. There was nothing wrong with this at all, they worked together well and everything was smooth, it just felt a bit like an exhibition for the bulk of it before business picked up in the last two minutes. Perfectly watchable but nothing memorable.

Aja Kong and TARU vs. Hagane Shinnou and Risa Sera

Things immediately break down with Hagane and Risa in control, they have a ladder and they hit TARU with it. Risa puts the ladder on TARU and hits a running kneedrop, Risa grabs TARU’s leg and puts him in the ropes while Hagane gets a giant sword, but TARU avoids the sword strike. Hagane drops the sword and gets in the ring, but Kong trips him the floor and throws Hagane into chairs at ringside. TARU goes outside the ring with Risa and stabs her in the head with I think some scissors, while Kong hits Hagane with a chair. Risa is naturally bleeding as TARU stabs her with what I have now decided is a carving fork, meanwhile Kong takes Hagane into the crowd and slams him into a wall. TARU and Risa have returned to the ring as TARU beats her with a stick before choking her with it. They exit the ring again and battle up into the crowd, Hagane finally gets the better of Kong and hits her with a chair. TARU and Risa are up by the balcony now as Mio Momono tries to shield the crowd from a rumbling TARU, as we go back to ringside where Kong is beating up Hagane. Risa and TARU return to the ring, he gets a kendo stick with barbed wire wrapped around it and pushes it into Risa’s head, Risa gets back to her feet and elbows TARU but TARU snapmares her and digs at her wounds.

Hagane come in the ring but so does Kong and she hits him with a paint can. She hits Risa with it too for good measure, Kong and TARU start to argue on who should beat up Risa with TARU finally picking her up. Risa fires up and elbows both of them but she eats a double vertical suplex for her trouble, Kong grabs Risa and bites her on the forehead. Kong hits Risa with the paint can again, cover by Kong but Risa kicks out. Risa elbows Kong but Kong absorbs the blows and smacks Risa back to the mat. Hagane comes in the ring but Kong rakes him in the eyes, she tags in TARU (guess we are doing tags now) and TARU strikes Risa in the corner. TARU chokes Risa with some wrist tape while Kong knocks Hagane off the apron for no reason, TARU goes for a suplex but Risa lands on her feet and schoolboys TARU for two. She gets the barbed wire kendo stick and hits TARU with it before tagging in Hagane, Hagane cleans house and hits a swandive dropkick onto TARU. He gets the giant sword and uses it to drive TARU into the corner. He launches off the sword and kicks TARU in the head, Hagane puts TARU on the mat and stacks a few chairs on top of him. He put the giant sword in the corner so he can stand on it up top, but Kong grabs him from the apron before he can jump off. TARU joins Hagane and hits a superplex onto the chairs, he picks up Hagane and hits a chokebomb for a two count. TARU tags in Kong, Kong picks up Hagane and drops him with a backdrop suplex for a two count.

She picks up Hagane again and hits a brainbuster, but Hagane gets a shoulder up. Kong calls for the Uraken but Hagane ducks it and hits a lariat, Kong doesn’t go down as they trade lariat attempts until Hagane finally sends Kong to the mat. This gives him time to tag in Risa, Risa throws Kong into the corner and hits a running elbow strike. She chucks a chair at Kong and then hits a running double knee into it, Risa puts a chair on Kong’s chest and hits a reverse kneedrop for two. She gets the ladder and props it in the corner, she gets a surfboard out and gets on the ladder with it, riding the surfboard down the ladder and hitting a splash of sorts. Risa picks up Kong but Kong slaps her, Kong grabs the surfboard and cracks Risa in the head with it. TARU returns and lariats Risa in the corner, Kong follows with her own lariat and gets her paint can, but Risa ducks and she accidentally hits TARU. Risa puts a few chairs on the mat while Hagane sets up a table at ringside, Risa suplexes Kong onto the chairs and covers her for two. TARU is put on the table while Risa sets up the ladder in the ring, Hagane gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a splash through the table to TARU while Risa jumps off the ladder with a double kneedrop to Kong. Cover by Risa, but Kong kicks out. Risa grabs Kong but Kong snaps off a brainbuster, but before she can cover Risa the bell rings as time expires. The match is a Draw.

This was an experience. First of all, I don’t love the Draw here. Its useful and necessary sometimes but this was a non-televised produce show, no real reason that someone couldn’t have been pinned as no one needed protecting. Anyway, this was one of those chaotic hardcore matches where you aren’t sure if they really had a plan going into it as the violence was prevalent but random. Neither team really worked together much, as predicted, and the match mostly focused on Aja Kong and TARU beating people up. Some of the spots worked and some didn’t, but I will say it was rather captivating and Risa Sera is great. Certainly not a traditional match, but worth a watch as long as you go in with the right expectations.  Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida vs. Naomichi Marufuji

Tie-up to start, Marufuji pushes Shida into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Shida chops him in the chest. Marufuji gets Shida in the corner and chops her hard in the chest, Shida gets back up and fires off a few elbows while avoiding Marufuji as he goes for knee strikes. Headlock by Marufuji, Shida eventually gets out of it but Marufuji shoulderblocks her down. Kip-up by Shida and she hits a hurricanrana followed by a knee while Marufuji is against the ropes. Shida drags Marufuji’s head over the apron, she goes out to the floor and delivers a kneelift. Shida throws Marufuji into the ring post, she set up a chair at ringside and jumps off of it to hit a jumping knee to Marufuji. Shida slides Marufuji back in, she goes for a vertical suplex but Marufuji blocks it and chops her in the chest. More chops by Marufuji, he kicks Shida in the head before covering her for two. Marufuji dumps Shida out of the ring and goes out after her, hard chops by Marufuji around the ring and he goes back in to wait for Shida. Shida rolls in too, Irish whip by Marufuji but Shida hits a step-up enzuigiri.

She goes off the ropes but Marufuji boots her in the face, chinlock by Marufuji but Shida gets a foot on the ropes. Shida fights back with elbows but Marufuji knocks her down with a lariat, he puts Shida in the corner and chops her in the chest some more. Jumping elbow by Marufuji but Shida blocks the suplex attempt and hits a vertical suplex of her own. Shida charges Marufuji but Marufuji moves, Shida tosses Marufuji out to the apron and hits a kneelift. Marufuji falls out of the ring, Shida goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a crossbody. Shida rolls Marufuji back in, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up again and hits another missile dropkick before hitting a third, she climbs the turnbuckles one last time and hits a final missile dropkick for a two count cover. Shida goes for the Falcon Arrow but Marufuji blocks it, chop by Marufuji but Shida slaps him and hits a high knee. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but Marufuji kicks out of the pin. Shida goes off the ropes but Marufuji blocks the knee, strike combination by Marufuji and Shida falls hard to the mat.

The referee starts a count but Shida returns to her feet, knee by Marufuji and he goes up top but Shida recovers and joins him. Marufuji headbutts Shida back down but Shida joins him again, superplex by Shida and she covers Marufuji for two. Marufuji chops Shida but Shida fires back with elbows as they trade blows, Marufuji goes off the ropes but Shida nails him with a jumping knee for two. Three Count by Shida, but again Marufuji kicks out. Shida picks up Marufuji and hits more knees, she goes off the ropes and hits the Tamashii no Three Count but Marufuji barely gets a shoulder up. Shida goes up top and his a Diving Somato, but the pin gets another two. She goes off the ropes but Marufuji kicks her back, jumping knee by Marufuji and he covers Shida for a two count. Another knee by Marufuji, he gets Shida to her knees and knees her in the back of the head. Marufuji waits for Shida to get up and plants her with the Ko-oh, cover by Marufuji and he gets the three count! Naomichi Marufuji is the winner.

Matches like this are going to get a wide range of reactions. Due to Marufuji’s status in wrestling (he has had competitive matches against the likes of Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, Okada, Tanahashi, etc.), he was going to be the dominating wrestler in the match one way or the other. So a fair chunk of the match was Marufuji in control, turning Shida’s chest into hamburger and shrugging off Shida’s attempts to fight back. Its not a different dynamic than we saw earlier with Risa Sera and Aja Kong, but since they are different genders it will make some people squirm anyway. But that doesn’t mean it was just an extended squash as it clearly was not, Shida got in a fair amount of offense and several nearfalls, it was just a constant battle for her to get one over on Marufuji. Shida played a very sympathetic wrestler here, trying to win against someone who humiliated her a year ago at her own produced show, and the crowd was behind her attempts to right that wrong. A hard hitting affair but nothing that crossed the line to feeling inappropriate or excessive, overall an entertaining match even if the end result was never in question.  Recommended

The post Hikaru Shida “10th Anniversary ~ REvenge” on 10/9/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: April 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 998

I don’t normally review events the moment they become available, but I was a little excited for this show. Sendai Girls’ flies under the radar for the bulk of the year but a few times a year they pop in for a major show such as this one. For Korakuen Hall they give us a special treat as this event is a real banger, with the last four matches in particular all having a real chance of being memorable. Jordynne Grace is the special guest here as she challenges Chihiro Hashimoto, plus we get Sareee facing off against Meiko Satomura! Here is the full card:

• KAORU and Mikoto Shindo vs. Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami
• Aiger and Sakura Hirota vs. Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid
• Sendai Girls Junior Championship: Millie McKenzie vs. Manami
• Mika Iwata vs. Yuu
• Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee
• DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly
• Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jordynne Grace

This show was broadcast on Samurai TV so some matches may be clipped to fit into the two hour block. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

KAORU and Mikoto Shindo vs. Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami

We join this one in progress with Mei and Mikoto in the ring, they both attempt scoop slams until Mikoto hits one and covers Mei for two. Dropkick by Mikoto and she tags in KAORU, KAORU boots Mei in the face but Mei gets away from her and rams KAORU head-first into the turnbuckles. She tries to do it a second time but KAORU blocks it, dropkick by Mei and she twists on KAORU’s arm before springboarding around the ring into an armdrag. Ryo comes in, she picks up Mei and rams her into KAORU for another two count. Mei tags Ryo, spear by Ryo to KAORU and she chops her into the corner. Mikoto gets tired of watching Ryo and attacks her from behind, but Mei come in too to even the odds. Mei and Ryo both attack their opponents in opposite corners before posing in the middle of the ring, Ryo goes back to KAORU but KAORU elbows her off. Lariat by Ryo and she covers KAORU, but the pin is broken up. Double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU cartwheels through it, she gets her board and hits Ryo in the head with it. Excalibur by KAORU, but Ryo gets a shoulder up on the cover.

KAORU goes up top but Mei hits her from the apron, Mikoto runs over to grab Mei and KAORU goes for the Valkyrie, but Ryo rolls out of the way. Lariat by Ryo,  but KAORU bridges out of the pin and cradles Ryo for two. KAORU goes off the ropes and hits a Frankensteiner, but Mei breaks up the cover. KAORU tags in Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she tries to slam Ryo, but Ryo blocks it. Scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a leg drop for a quick two. Crab hold by Ryo but KAORU comes in with her board and hits Ryo in the head with it. Big boot by KAORU, she grabs Mikoto and suplexes her onto Ryo. Mikoto picks up Ryo and stomps her foot before finally scoop slamming her, cover by Mikoto but Ryo kicks out. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Mei hits her from the apron, Ryo charges in but she hits Mei by accident. Mikoto locks in a few flash pins but Ryo kicks out each time, KAORU helps with a big boot but Mei breaks up the cover. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her with a powerslam, hard lariat by Ryo but Mikoto barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Ryo locks in a deep crab hold and Ryo has no choice but to submit! Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami are the winners.

For a clipped opener, this was actually really good. As I suspected, KAORU and Ryo are two that don’t mind giving rookies some offense and this is the best I have seen from both Mikoto and Mei as they were able to do more than just intro-level offense. Even though the veterans maintained their dominance, the rookies both had segments where they got over on the veterans, making it feel like a more even exchange than it really was. KAORU played it straight, which was appreciated, and Mei is a treasure to watch. Really solid way to begin the show.  Mildly Recommended

Aiger and Sakura Hirota vs. Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid

Needless to say, this won’t be your traditional match. Bolshoi Kid and Alex get the early advantage, Bolshoi Kid and Sakura both get an opponents wrist and walks the ropes, but while Bolshoi Kid successfully hits an armdrag per usual Sakura crotches herself on the top rope. Bolshoi Kid goes off the ropes to do a dive but poses in the ring instead, meanwhile Aiger chases Alex around the floor. Bolshoi Kid joins the fun too and drags Sakura around ringside, but eventually she gets back in the ring with Alex and Sakura. Sakura is double teamed in the corner, Alex stays in with Sakura and kicks her into the corner. Alex charges Sakura but Sakura gets her to stop, face crusher by Sakura and she rolls out of the ring as Aiger comes in as legal. Bolshoi Kid comes in too, Aiger uses her creepy zombie tactic and hits a DDT, but is too slow to capitalize so Bolshoi Kid knocks her to the mat. Bolshoi Kid snaps a rope into Aiger’s face chokes her with it, but Aiger gets a chair and hits everyone with it. Bolshoi Kid gets the chair from her and sits down on it, leading to all four wrestlers trying to sit in the chair.

They play Musical Chairs but they all sit in the chair together again, Bolshoi Kid tries to sit in the chair again but Sakura pulls it out from under her and covers Bolshoi Kid for two. Alex and Sakura remain in the ring, suplex by Alex and she kicks Sakura in the chest. Sakura drop toeholds Alex into the ropes and gives her the Oil Check, Sakura jumps over Alex repeatedly but Alex rolls out of the way when she tries to chop her. Or elbow her, not sure. Sakura convinces Alex to try to do the same and Alex complies but Sakura kicks her in the stomach before she can finish. Bolshoi Kid comes in and also tries to get over on Sakura, but Sakura schoolboys her. Aiger gets on the top turnbuckle and scares Bolshoi Kid before biting her hand, Sakura Oil Checks Bolshoi Kid but Aiger then spits dust into Sakura’s face. Sakura falls on top of Bolshoi Kid with the cover, but Bolshoi Kid kicks out. Aiger holds Alex for Sakura but Alex moves and Sakura kisses Aiger by mistake, high kick by Alex to Sakura and Bolshoi Kid hits Sakura with a Tiger Feint Kick. Oil Check by Bolshoi Kid to Sakura, she applies La Magistral and she picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid and  Alex Lee win!

This isn’t my favorite type of match and honestly I wish it had been clipped (which it was not). Having Bolshoi Kid involved added something a bit different to it but otherwise it was just your standard Aiger and Sakura Hirota match we have all seen a hundred times. Skippable early-card fodder for me, but if you enjoy these matches then its probably worth the watch.

(c) Millie McKenzie vs. Manami
Sendai Girls’ Junior Championship

Manami dropkicks Millie in the back before the match starts, she knocks Millie into the corner and takes her to the mat, putting Millie in a headlock. Millie recovers and puts Manami in a headlock of her own, but Manami switches it into a headscissors. Millie stretches Manami’s legs before putting her in an ankle hold, Manami crawls to the ropes and she forces the break. Millie goes for a snapmare but Manami reverses it into one of her own, bodyscissors by Manami and she stretches Millie’s back. Manami picks up Millie but Millie hits a scoop slam, Manami fires back with elbows and she hits a dropkick. Millie kicks Manami in the midsection and drops her with a swinging neckbreaker, cover by Millie and she gets a two count. Millie picks up Manami but Manami dropkicks her, sunset flip by Manami but Millie kicks out. Manami tries a few more flash pins with no success, Manami gets Millie’s back and puts her in the Cattle Mutilation , she pulls Millie back up and cradles her but Millie kicks out. Manami goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Manami but Millie avoids the next one and gets Manami’s back. Manami elbows away and hits another dropkick, but Millie comes back with a spear and she picks up the three count! Millie McKenzie wins and retains the championship.

I was really enjoying this until it ended so suddenly. For wrestlers their age/lack of familiarity with each other, the mat wrestling was really smooth and even though it was a short match they both showed natural ability. The ending was out of left field, it felt like the match was still crescendoing when it was abruptly over. A lot of fun while it lasted, I haven’t seen much of Millie McKenzie previously but just from this five minutes she seems to show a lot of promise.  Mildly Recommended

Mika Iwata vs. Yuu

They tie-up to start, Yuu gets Mika to the mat but Mika returns to her feet only to eat a hard shoulderblock. Chops by Yuu and she puts Mika in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but its reversed and Mika hits a jumping knee. Hard kick to the back by Mika and she hits a PK for a two count. Mika picks up Yuu but Yuu catches her with a swinging sidewalk slam followed by a running senton for two. Yuu deadlifts Mika up and hits a powerslam, Yuu goes to pick up Mika but Mika elbows her back and the two trade blows. Mika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with an elbow, Yuu charges Mika but Mika delivers a superkick. Back up they jockey for position, Mika rolls up Yuu but it gets two. Kicks to the chest by Mika but Yuu catches one and tosses Mika to the mat. Dropkick by Yuu in the corner, she rolls Mika to the middle for of the ring and covers her for two. Yuu picks up Mika and chops her but Mika kicks her back, Mika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a judo toss. Yuu goes for a sleeper but Mika elbows out of it, she goes off the ropes but Yuu again catches her with a judo throw. Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Mika reverses it into a cross armbreaker, but Yuu lifts Mika up and powerbombs her way out of the hold. Yuu goes for a chop but Mika kicks her arm, Yuu comes back with a lariat and both wrestlers are down. Yuu tries to pick up Mika but her arm gives out on her, she ducks Mika’s high kick but Mika connects with her second attempt. Mika quickly jumps up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a high kick, cover by Mika and she picks up the three count! Mika Iwata is the winner!

Another good match, and one of the things I liked about it is that it told an old school story that you don’t see much these days. Limb work is common, limb work that actually prevents a wrestler from doing a big move and they lose because of it happens far less often and I appreciate that attention to detail. I wouldn’t say they had great chemistry, which isn’t too surprising, but they worked well enough together and clearly had a plan that they stuck to. Yuu is a beast but the story here was more Mika’s attempts to neutralize her, which she was able to do. Straight-forward but well done, and even though it was a bit short I thought they both did a great job with the time constraints. Not a MOTYC type match but a really solid midcard match.  Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee

They begin with a tie-up, Satomura pushes Sareee into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They go into a Test of Strength, Satomura gets Sareee to the mat but Sareee applies a headscissors as they trade holds. Satomura gets the better of things on the mat and stops Sareee from reaching the ropes, she kicks Sareee in the chest repeatedly but Sareee hits a springboard armdrag followed by a dropkick. Sareee puts Satomura in her modified Muta Lock, she lets go after a moment and hits jumping footstomps. Sareee picks up Satomura but Satomura kicks her in the head with her heel, kicks to the leg by Satomura and she puts Sareee in a leg submission. Sareee gets into the ropes for the break, Satomura picks her up but Sareee delivers an elbow and the two trade shots. Satomura goes off the ropes but Sareee nails her with a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee but Satomura drops her with a backdrop suplex. Satomura kicks Sareee into the corner, but Sareee ducks a kick and hits rapid fire elbows. Satomura knocks Sareee to the mat, Irish whip by Satomura and she nails a jumping heel kick. Kick to the head by Satomura and Sareee rolls out of the ring before collapsing on the floor. Satomura goes out after her and slides Sareee back into the ring, Sareee goes for a kick but Satomura catches it and hits a leg sweep. Seated armbar by Satomura but Sareee rolls to the ropes and gets the break.

Satomura picks up Sareee and she hits a vertical suplex, hard elbow by Satomura but Sareee jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a dropkick. Sareee goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes to the top turnbuckle again but Satomura hits a Pele Kick on her before she can jump off. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Satomura goes for a choke but Sareee slides away, Satomura kicks her in the chest but Sareee fires up and elbows her. She eats a hard elbow for her trouble, Satomura goes off the ropes but Sareee ducks her heel kick and delivers a thrust kick. She then goes off the ropes but Satomura kicks her in the head, cover by Satomura but Sareee bridges out of the pin. Satomura immediately drops her with a Death Valley Bomb, she picks up Sareee but Sareee slides away and hits a Uranage. Sareee picks up Satomura but Satomura snaps off a DDT, she goes off the ropes and hits the cartwheel kneedrop. Satomura positions Sareee and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Sareee recovers and tosses Satomura back to the mat. Kicks to the chest by Sareee but Satomura kicks her in the head, another high kick by Satomura and she nails a Death Valley Bomb, but Sareee barely kicks out of the cover. Satomura picks up Sareee but Sareee quickly hits a Uranage, one final Uranage by Sareee and she covers Satomura for the three count! Sareee is the winner!

This is a peak Meiko Satomura match. The style isn’t for everyone, but it should be as its a no-nonsense hard hitting style that barely gives you a chance to breath during the home stretch. I really hope this is built upon as its a big deal for Sareee to beat Meiko Satomura, who isn’t the unbeatable force she used to be but still is one of the top active Joshi wrestlers across the entire scene. Every time Satomura drilled Sareee, Sareee was right there to drill her back and everything she gave to Sareee, Sareee had an answer. The kicks were brutal and the suplexes were really snug, as neither was going to allow the other to be the tougher wrestler. Wrestling is cooperative of course but I do believe there are times wrestlers give their opponents a little extra and I think both were doing that here, the last five minutes were just bombs and big strikes until Sareee hit the right combination to hold down Satomura barely long enough for the three count. I wouldn’t go as far as say this was an official torch passing, its too early to know for sure, but its a big moment in Sareee’s career and she delivered. A must-see match from two of the most entertaining wrestlers in all of wrestling.  Highly Recommended

DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly

Hiroyo and Hikaru start the match for their respective teams, hard shoulderblock by Hiroyo but Hikaru kips up and hits a hurricanrana. Hikaru goes for a jumping knee but Hiroyo catches her, she throws Hikaru into the corner but Hikaru avoids her charge and they reach a stalemate. Kelly and Chisako tag in, leg kicks by Kelly but Chisako trips her and goes for Kelly’s ankle. Kelly kicks Chisako away and hits an uppercut in the corner, knees by Kelly and she nails a pump kick for a two count. Irish whip by Kelly but Chisako boots her, Hiroyo comes in and she helps Chisako take out Kelly. Hikaru jumps in to help but gets a double dropkick for her trouble, Hiroyo throws Kelly into the corner and chops her in the chest. Hiroyo throws Kelly into the corner but Kelly avoids her charge, elbows by Hiroyo but Kelly catches one and headbutts her. Double underhook suplex by Kelly and she dropkicks Hiroyo in the corner, giving her time to tag in Hikaru. Hikaru knees Hiroyo in the corner, she puts her across the second rope and suplexes Chisako into Hiroyo. Vertical suplex by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo blocks the knee to the head.

Enzuigiri by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her hurricanrana attempt and applies a crab hold. Hikaru gets to the ropes for the break, Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the reverse double kneedrop, but Hikaru kicks out of the cover. Chisako is tagged in and she hits a missile dropkick to Hikaru, another dropkick by Chisako and she covers Hikaru for two. Hard elbow by Chisako but Hikaru nails her with a jumping knee. Hikaru goes for another knee but Chisako moves, Hikaru gets Chisako’s back and knees her in the back of the head. Running knee by Hikaru, but it gets a two count cover. Hikaru tags in Kelly, kick to the gut by Kelly and she hits a gutwrench suplex. Kelly picks up Chisako and puts her on the top turnbuckle, Kelly joins her and applies a hanging guillotine. She legs go after a moment and gets back into the ring, she puts Chisako in the Tree of Woe before hitting a dropkick for two. Chisako falls out of the ring, Kelly gets on the apron but Chisako blocks the PK attempt. Hikaru gets on the apron too but Chisako avoids both of their strikes and Hiroyo knocks them both down to the floor. Hiroyo picks up Chisako and press slams her out of the ring down onto the floor, Hiroyo slides Chisako and Kelly back into the ring and Chisako hits a running elbow.

Dropkick by Chisako, and she covers Kelly for two. Chisako goes up top but Kelly recovers and joins her, Chisako headbutts Kelly but Hikaru runs in and superplexes Chisako to the mat. PK by Kelly to Chisako, cover by Kelly but it gets two. Kelly and Chisako trade elbows, Chisako goes off the ropes but Kelly nails a big boot. Kelly and Chisako slowly get up, head kick by Kelly and Hikaru runs in to knee Chisako in the face. Fisherman suplex hold by Kelly, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Hiroyo boots Kelly and hits a short range lariat, Hiroyo tosses Chisako at Kelly for a catapult dropkick and Chisako covers her for a two count. Chisako goes for a suplex but Kelly blocks it, Chisako slides away and Hiroyo drops Kelly with a backdrop suplex. Chisako goes up top but Hikaru runs in and joins her, Hiroyo grabs Hikaru from behind however and powerbombs her while Chisako hits Kelly with the diving footstomp. Cover by Chisako, but Kelly barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako quickly goes back up top again and this time she nails the Hormone Splash, picking up the three count! DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners.

Even though this was the longest match on the card, the time just flew by as the action was non-stop. Hikaru Shida and Chisako don’t have any ‘slowdown’ in them so anything they were involved the pace was hectic, while Hiroyo and Kelly were able to keep up without any real issues. Kelly looked a bit awkward at times but generally didn’t look out of place, her moveset is unique so it helped the match feel fresh. While it wasn’t chock-full of ring psychology or a deeper meaning, sometimes four wrestlers going all-out to entertain is all you need. A simple story, but a very fun match to watch nonetheless.  Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jordynne Grace
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

Jordynne and Chihiro jockey for position to start, they briefly take it to the mat but quickly return to their feet. Chihiro pushes Jordynne into the ropes but Jordynne switches positions with her before hitting a side headlock takedown. Chihiro gets out of it and they reach another stalemate, they go into a Test of Strength which Chihiro gets the better of at first. Jordynne bridges back up and they trade wristlocks, side headlock by Jordynne but Chihiro Irish whips out of it and they collide with neither wrestler going down. They both try to knock each other over until Jordynne finally succeeds, snapmare by Jordynne and she connects with a sliding lariat for two. Jordynne goes for a stretch hold but Chihiro reverses it, Chihiro gets Jordynne’s waist and takes her to the mat, putting her in a modified choke. Chihiro throws Jordynne into the corner but Jordynne elbows her as she charges in, Jordynne tosses Chihiro out to the apron and punches her through the ropes, but Chihiro blocks the suplex attempt. Jordynne slides out of the ring and slams Chihiro face-first into the apron, she puts Chihiro against the ring post and chops her. Jordynne slides Chihiro back in the ring, cover by Jordynne but it gets a two count.

Jordynne picks up Chihiro but Chihiro scoop slams her, rolling senton by Chihiro and she covers Jordynne for two. Both wrestlers slowly get up, Jordynne kicks Chihiro when she charges in and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Chihiro recovers and joins her. Jordynne flips over Chihiro’s back and nails a powerbomb, but Chihiro gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Jordynne grabs Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her off, alternative lariats by Jordynne and she covers Chihiro for two. Jordynne kicks Chihiro and lariats her in the chest, Irish whip by Jordynne and she delivers a spinebuster. Jordynne pulls Chihiro near the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Chihiro grabs her from behind and drops her with a release German. Lariat by Chihiro but Jordynne isn’t phased and fires back with her own lariat, both wrestlers are very slow to return to their feet and they trade elbows once both manage to do so. Lariat by Chihiro but Jordynne slams Chihiro for a two count. Jordynne picks up Chihiro and throws her into the corner, she puts her on the top turnbuckle and goes for a Muscle Buster, but Chihiro slides away. Chihiro picks up Jordynne and nails a hard powerbomb, German suplex hold by Chihiro and she gets the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto wins and retains the championship.

A pretty good match and a fine conclusion for this event. It went about as you’d expect and how it should have gone, two strong wrestlers slamming into each other repeatedly until someone went down. Lots of power moves, hard lariats, and general toughness. Even though the match was on the short side for a main event title match it didn’t feel like it ended prematurely, they had the time to tell the story they were going to tell. Some of the drama was taken out simply because there wasn’t really any chance Chihiro was losing, but it was an even match with both getting their shots in. Overall entertaining, it didn’t reach the levels of Satomura/Sareee but still a match that fans of either won’t be disappointed in. Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 4/16/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: March 9th, 2019
Location: Miyagino Ward Cultural Center in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Announced Attendance: 295

For reasons unknown to everyone, even though Sendai Girls’ has an online subscription service, instead of uploading events to that they have started uploading their events free on Youtube. And not just old events but recent events like this one, which was uploaded just a few days after it took place. Even though I question this decision I am happy for it as it allows me to watch recent Sendai Girls’ events for free. This isn’t a big show for the promotion, no title matches, but it does feature a handful of my favorite wrestlers in all of Joshi. Here is the full card:

• Manami vs. Mari Manji
• Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee
• Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn
• Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Even though they didn’t include any fluff like graphics or backstage interviews, all matches will be shown in full. If you are not familiar with one of the wrestlers, you can click on their names above to to straight to their profile on Joshi City.

Manami vs. Mari Manji

Mari and Manami circle each other to start and trade wristlocks, dropkick by Manami and she knocks Mari down into the corner. Irish whip by Manami but Mari kicks her in the chest, she goes for a crab hold but Manami gets into the ropes. Judo tosses by Mari and she hits an armdrag and keeps an arm hold applied on the mat but Manami make it to the ropes. Armbreaker by Mari but Manami comes back with a pair of dropkicks, elbows by Manami but Mari knocks her back to the mat. Manami returns to her feet and the two trade elbows, a battle which Mari wins. Manami throws Mari into the corner and hits a dropkick, cover by Manami but it gets a two count. Elbows by Manami but Mari fires back with hard shoulderblocks, crab hold by Mari but Manami inches to the ropes for the break. Scoop slam attempt by Mari but Manami reverses it into a short armbar, Mari rolls out of it but Manami dropkicks her. Irish whip by Manami and she sneaks in a backslide for a two count. Cattle Mutilation by Manami but Mari gets into the ropes, Manami goes off the ropes but Mari hits a hard elbow. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mari and she wraps up Manami in a stretch submission hold, and Manami has no choice but to submit! Mari Manji is the winner.

Even with Manami almost two years into her career, due to her age (14 at the time of this match) she is still going to be losing for awhile. She showed some fire and smoothness, anyone that makes it through training with Meiko Satomura is going to know what they are doing, and there may be some potential there. Mari was mostly in “abuse the child” mode which is a unique position for her, the offense wasn’t always exciting but it was methodical anyway. A good rookie opener.

Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee

Mikoto and Sareee circle each other but reach an early stalemate, knucklelock by Sareee and she flings Mikoto into the corner. They trade wristlocks and headlocks, Sareee goes off the ropes and they exchange armdrags. Dropkick by Mikoto but Sareee pushes her into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. Bodyscissors by Sareee and she elbows Mikoto hard in the chest, snapmares by Sareee and she hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Sareee but Mikoto inches to the ropes for the break, dropkick to the back by Sareee and she puts Mikoto in a modified Muta Lock. She lets go after a moment and stomps Mikoto in the back, Irish whip to the corner by Sareee but Mikoto reverses it and hits a dropkick. Elbows by Mikoto but Sareee returns the favor and the two trade shots until Sareee sends Mikoto to the mat with a hard elbow. Mikoto gets back up but Sareee knocks her down again, Mikoto goes for a crossbody but Sareee catches her and hits a backbreaker. Crab hold by Sareee but Mikoto again gets to the ropes for the break, Sareee pulls her back to the middle but Mikoto rolls up Sareee for two. Dropkicks by Mikoto but Sareee dropkicks her back, Mikoto goes for a few flash pins but Sareee kicks out a two each time. Dropkicks by Mikoto, she picks up Sareee and hits a scoop slam for a quick cover. Back up, dropkick by Sareee and she drills Mikoto with another one while she is against the ropes, Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick, but Mikoto barely kicks out of the cover. Sareee goes up top again and delivers a second missile dropkick, and this time she gets the three count! Sareee is the winner.

Even though it didn’t quite reach my hopes and dreams, this was still a fun early-card match. Sareee kept it basic for the rookie and didn’t do her full range of offense, she even seemed reluctant to do the dropkick against the ropes until she got frustrated that she hadn’t won yet. I do love the modified Muta Lock that Sareee uses, great looking move that she could probably use as a finisher if she wanted to. Mikoto didn’t get a chance to show much but was fine with what she did, as the year progresses hopefully she’ll continue to grow. Like the first match, nothing exciting but perfectly acceptable.

Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn

Alex and Ray start the match, they are slow to engage but finally do as they trade holds. Alex punches Ray and gets her down to the mat, but Ray returns to her feet and applies a wristlock. Alex works a headlock but Ray gets out of it, hard shoulderblock by Alex and she throws Ray into the corner, but Ray avoids her charge and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. They trade trips and covers but reach a stalemate as both return to their feet. Hikaru and KAORU tag in, Hikaru charges KAORU but KAORU holds down the top rope and Hikaru tumbles out of the ring. KAORU goes out after her as Ray comes over to help, Alex runs over two and both teams brawl around the floor. KAORU and Hikaru return, KAORU slams Hikaru in front of the corner and goes up top with her board, but Hikaru moves when she tries to drop it on her. KAORU picks the board up but Hikaru kicks it out of her hand, Hikaru slams KAORU in front of the corner and get on the turnbuckle with her kendo stick and drops it onto KAORU. KAORU is supposed to catch it but misses, so she ends up getting hit with it.

They have a chuckle, KAORU picks the kendo stick back up but the referee takes it from her and Hikaru hits a missile dropkick. She tags in Alex, kick by Alex and she throws KAORU into the corner, but KAORU boots her when she charges in and hits a big boot before tagging in Ray. Ray hits a DDT on Alex for a two count, she goes for a cutter but Alex pushes her away. They trade kicks until Alex tosses Ray to the mat and kicks her in the head for a two count cover. She tags in Hikaru, Hikaru knees Ray in the back of the head but Ray blocks the suplex attempt and connects with a series of kicks. Hikaru regains control and hits a vertical suplex, she throws Ray into the corner and delivers a jumping knee. Ray returns the favor with a knee of her own, another jumping knee by Hikaru but again Ray fires back with another knee. Ray goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Ray but Hikaru kicks out. Ray tags in KAORU who comes in with her board, but Hikaru gets her kendo stick to even the odds.

KAORU knocks the kendo stick out of Hikaru’s hand and hits her repeatedly with the board, backdrop suplex by KAORU and she goes up top, but Alex grabs her before she can hit the moonsault. KAORU boots Hikaru into the corner and into Alex before both she and Ray connect with running strikes, double vertical suplex to Hikaru and KAORU covers her for two. KAORU goes up top but Hikaru knocks her onto the apron and suplexes her back into the ring, she crawls to her corner and makes the hot tag to Alex. Alex kicks KAORU into the corner and hits a jumping knee, release German by Alex and she delivers a buzzsaw kick, but Ray breaks up the cover. Alex slams KAORU in front of he corner, she goes up top but KAORU avoids the footstomp attempt. KAORU gets her board but Hikaru grabs it from her, double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU cartwheels away and boots Alex in the head. Scoop slam by KAORU, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Alex rolls out of the way of the Valkyrie Splash. Alex goes for a chokebomb but KAORU reverses it into a cradle for two, high kick by Alex but again KAORU sneaks in a flash pin for a two count. Hikaru runs in with a knee to KAORU, another buzzsaw kick by Alex but KAORU bridges out of the pin and cradles her for the three count! KAORU and Ray Lyn win the match!

While there were some talented wrestlers here, this felt very “small match mid-card”-y in execution. There was nothing really wrong with it, everyone got their spots in and Hikaru Shida was great the few times she got to do something, but it didn’t have any sense of urgency or meaning. I didn’t really like KAORU just bridging out of the pin after taking signature moves from both Alex Lee and Shida, it just felt a bit lazy for her to basically no-sell it to get the win. I like the bridging spot in general, it just didn’t really work for me there. A fundamentally fine but generally forgettable match.

Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko and Manami lock knuckles to start but Meiko quickly gets Manami to the mat, they struggle for position until Meiko lets Manami go and both wrestlers return to their feet. Manami works a headlock, Meiko reverses it but Manami knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Manami puts Meiko in the Romero Special before letting to to drop an elbow on Meiko’s back. Manami applies a chinlock and then a bodyscissors, but Meiko spins out of it and elbows Manami in the face. Meiko gets Manami’s ankle but Manami gets into the ropes, Meiko elbows Manami into the corner and connects with a jumping elbow smash, but Manami returns the favor with her own elbows. Kicks by Meiko and she hits a vertical suplex, but Manami snaps off a Stunner and a kick to the head. Running boots by Manami and she hits a sliding knee, cover by Manami but it gets two.

Manami picks up Meiko but Meiko uppercuts her, kicks to the chest by Meiko and she delivers a spin kick to Manami’s head. Meiko goes for a cross armbreaker, but Manami blocks it and gets a foot on the ropes. Kick by Meiko but Manami hits a Samoan Drop, backdrop suplex by Manami but Meiko keeps a hold of her head with a headlock. Meiko applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Manami gets out of it, kicks by Meiko and she snaps Manami’s arm over her shoulder. She tries to do it again but Manami grabs Meiko around the neck and applies a Dragon Sleeper. Short range lariat by Manami, she goes off and hits a second lariat before covering Meiko for a two count. Manami connects with a spinning backfist, she picks up Meiko but Meiko spins away from her and delivers a high kick. Hard elbow by Meiko, Irish whip by Meiko and she hits a spinning heel kick. Death Valley Bomb by Meiko, and she picks up the three count! Meiko Satomura wins the match.

A straight-forward match, but a good one. I felt going in that Manami Katsu had no chance of winning this match and unfortunately they didn’t do anything to try to change my mind as Meiko kept things in control. She didn’t even need a lot of her bigger signature moves to put down Manami, a heel kick and one Death Valley Bomb was enough as the young Manami went down fairly easily. Manami did get in her shots, it was certainly not a squash, but it felt more like a Meiko clinic than a typical back-and-forth affair. A decent match but I am surprised that Meiko Satomura didn’t give Manami Katsu a bit more to work with.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Chisako and Chihiro are the first two in, they quickly end up on the mat but return to their feet as they struggle for control. Chisako boots Chihiro against the ropes, Hiroyo comes in as does Mika and the veteran team wins the exchange. Footstomp by Chisako to Chihiro, she throws her into the corner but Chihiro fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock. Mika gets back in and flips Chihiro onto Chisako, Chihiro tags Mika and Mika kicks Chisako in the back. Chisako elbows Mika and the two trade blows, Chisako boots Mika to the mat but Mika gets back up leading to more elbows being thrown. Chisako knocks Mika to the mat again and tags Hiroyo, Hiroyo knocks Chihiro off the apron and chops Mika into the corner. Hiroyo sets up Mika in the corner and hits a body avalanche, Mika fights back with elbows but Chisako runs in and she is double teamed. Chisako is tagged back in, face crusher by Chisako to Mika but Mika superkicks her and tags in Chihiro. Chihiro picks up Chisako but Chisako slides away and rolls her up for two, giving her time to tag Hiroyo. Chihiro knocks out both of them and tosses Chisako onto Hiroyo before hitting a somersault senton for a two count on Hiroyo.

Chihiro picks up Hiroyo and puts her in a stretch hold but Hiroyo reverses it, they trade lariat attempts until Hiroyo knocks Chihiro to the mat. Hiroyo goes off the ropes but Chihiro returns the favor with her own hard lariat, and both wrestlers are down. They slowly get up, another lariat by Chihiro and she covers Hiroyo for two. Chihiro tags Mika, kicks by Mika to Hiroyo but when Chihiro tries to help she elbows Chihiro by accident. Chisako comes in then but Mika kicks both of them, she goes off the ropes but eats a double dropkick. Hiroyo tags Chisako, Chisako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick followed by a sliding kick for a two count. Chisako picks up Mika but Mika knees her, jumping knee by Mika and she covers Chisako for two. Mika goes for a PK but Chisako ducks, Mika kicks her anyway however and after a second kick to the chest she covers her for a two count. Mika rolls to her corner and tags Chihiro, spear by Chihiro and she hits the Waterwheel Drop for two. Chihiro goes for a powerbomb but Chisako gets out of it, Hiroyo runs in and elbows Chihiro and Chisako knocks her in the ropes with a sliding kick. Chisako goes up top but Mika runs in and joins her, superplex by Mika and Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle, but Hiroyo comes in and goes for her own superplex.

Chihiro elbows her before the move can be hit but Chisako joins Chihiro and delivers a Frankensteiner. Sliding elbow by Hiroyo to Chihiro, Chisako follows with a Northern Lights Suplex but Chihiro kicks out at two. Chisako goes back up and hits a diving footstomp, but again Chihiro barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako goes for the Hormone Splash but Chihiro rolls out of the way, Mika comes in to help but Hiroyo drops them both with a backdrop suplex. Chisako and Hiroyo Irish whip Chihiro but Chihiro lariats them both, diving body press by Mika and Chihiro follows with a diving somersault senton for two. Mika kicks Hiroyo in the head to get rid of her, Chihiro grabs Chisako and drops her with a release German. Chihiro picks up Chisako and nails a powerbomb, cover by Chihiro but Chisako kicks out. Chihiro grabs Chisako by the waist but Chisako gets into the ropes, Chihiro goes off the ropes but Chisako wraps her up and cradles Chihiro for the three count! DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto win!

For a smaller show main event, this was a solid match. Chihiro is such a beast, I really enjoyed all of her segments as she has such a commanding presence and her strength is really impressive. All four got a chance to shine but Chihiro stuck out above the rest. The match had a clear line where they went from preliminary offense to a more urgent pace, and once they crossed that line the match stayed hot until the ending. The ending was a bit of a damper, not that Chisako isn’t at the level to pin the champion but I’d have preferred a more conclusive ending for the final match on the card. Still, an entertaining match featuring four really good wrestlers, any combination of these four brings quality wrestling every time.  Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 3/9/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

In the last few years, more Joshi wrestlers have gotten the chance to show their abilities to new fans in America than ever before. AEW already made arrangements with other Joshi wrestlers to appear in their promotion, but they really hit the Joshi jackpot when they signed one of the top Joshi wrestlers in Japan – Hikaru Shida.

The Start of Hikaru Shida’s Career

From her debut on July 20th, 2008, Hikaru Shida always showed special talent that most wrestlers could only dream of. Wrestling for Ice Ribbon from her debut until 2014, she won her first major title in 2010, teaming with Tsukasa Fujimoto to win the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship. During her Ice Ribbon run she won the tag title four times and their main singles championship once, holding the title for over 250 days.

During this time period, Hikaru Shida showed her range as an entertainer by also appearing in movies and television programs. Most notably, she appeared on a sports variety program called Muscle Venus. These early years carved Hikaru Shida into the superstar she is today, as she excelled both in the ring and in front of the camera.

Hikaru Shida’s First Voyage to America

If the name Hikaru Shida sounds familiar to you even if you haven’t followed her career in Japan, it is likely because this will not be her first time wrestling in the States. From 2013 to 2017, Shida had 13 matches in SHIMMER, a major women’s promotion based in Illinois. While in SHIMMER she faced the top female wrestlers in North America, including Mia Yim, Kimber Lee, Nicole Matthews, Cheerleader Melissa, and Nicole Savoy. She was such a significant part of the promotion that she even got a title shot in 2017, losing to Mercedes Martinez. Getting opportunities against a wide variety of opponents is key to any wrestler’s growth, and Shida’s experience in the United States will only aid her when she becomes a regular in AEW.

Moving on from Ice Ribbon to Becoming a Freelancer

After leaving Ice Ribbon, Shida decided not to sign with another promotion and instead became a Freelancer. This gave her the freedom to call her own shots and wrestle in whichever promotions she worked out a deal with. Shida was among the most successful Freelancers during her run, winning titles in four different promotions. She appeared most frequently in OZ Academy, where she is currently their champion, however she was also a regular fixture in Pro Wrestling WAVE and REINA.

In 2017, she teamed with Syuri to dominate the tag division in every promotion they appeared in, and they held the tag titles in both Sendai Girls’ and OZ Academy. All told, Shida has had a total of 15 title reigns, five of which lasted over 200 days. Shida also promoted her own events, bringing her own unique vision of wrestling to the world. Along with her success in traditional wrestling, she also participated in a promotion called MAKAI, which combines wrestling with stage acting. Hikaru Shida not only is comfortable with the “entertainment” side of wrestling but has actively sought it out her entire career, showing she is ready for AEW’s unique brand of wrestling.

Hikaru Shida’s Fighting Style

You didn’t click on this column just for a history lesson, but to learn what to expect when Shida joins AEW. Shida has three ways of destroying opponents – breaking their back, kneeing off their head, and bashing them with a kendo stick. All are very effective. She is also a beast, able to deadlift wrestlers over the top rope or drop them with a Falcon Arrow. For back breaking, Shida has a wide variety of backbreakers she utilizes, as seen below:

Top Matches of Hikaru Shida

If you want to see her in action, I have many matches of Shida’s ready to watch! Click the link and it will take you straight to the video:

• July 11th, 2015 – Arisa Nakajima vs. Hikaru Shida in JWP
• May 3rd, 2016 – Hikaru Shida vs. Rina Yamashita in WAVE
• July 31st, 2016 – Hikaru Shida vs. Kotori vs. Mayu Iwatani at Matsumoto “10th Anniversary”
• February 26th, 2017 – Kagetsu vs. Hikaru Shida in OZ Academy
• April 12th, 2017 – Syuri and Hikaru Shida vs. AKINO and Kaho Kobayashi in OZ Academy
• May 28th, 2017 – Hikaru Shida vs. Kaho Kobayashi in OZ Academy
• August 20th, 2017 – Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida in OZ Academy
• October 9th, 2017 – Hana Kimura vs. Hikaru Shida in A.C.E.
• May 20th, 2018 – Yoshiko and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Kuragaki in OZ Academy
• June 3rd, 2018 – Yoshiko vs. Hikaru Shida in OZ Academy
• November 2nd, 2018 – Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hikaru Shida in Sendai Girls’
• March 11th, 2019 – DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Mika Iwata in Sendai Girls’

Shida’s Future in AEW

What does this mean for Hikaru Shida in AEW? To put it in the simplest terms, AEW signed the most complete and versatile Joshi wrestler to their roster. Shida is a ten year veteran, has acted in movies and television shows, and has done live stage performances. She held the top singles title in three different promotions and the top tag team title in five promotions. She succeeded in regular matches, comedy matches, hardcore matches, and intergender matches. On top of all that, her English is pretty damn good too. You’d be hard pressed to find a Joshi wrestler more ready to take on this challenge. So what is her limit? Whatever AEW has in mind for her, she will reach it and exceed it. And I predict within a year, she will be considered by American fans as one of the best in the world.

The post Hikaru Shida: Elite Joshi Wrestler and Future Star of AEW appeared first on Joshi City.

  

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2018, or any championship that was held when 2018 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using, because I disagree with it, is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan.

1. Momo Watanabe (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Io Shirai on 5/23, vs. Jungle Kyona on 6/26, vs. Kagetsu on 9/30, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 10/30, with Utami vs. Kyona and Tora on 11/23
Best Match: vs. Io Shirai on 5/23 in Stardom

2018 was a unique year, as there wasn’t a clear-cut #1 wrestler as we have sometimes seen in the past. Deciding on the top wrestler wasn’t easy, but I went with Momo Watanabe for a number of reasons. She had a fistful of matches in the ****+ range, with her matches against Jungle Kyona and Io Shirai topping the list. She excelled in both singles and tag competition, winning major titles in both divisions and winning a tournament as both a singles and tag wrestler as well (Cinderella and Goddess of Stardom Tag League, respectively). At only 18 years old (she started the year only 17) she is poised to be the Ace of Stardom for years to come, as long as she can fend off her tag team partner Utami Hayashishita.

2. Misaki Ohata (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Yumi Ohka on 1/20, vs. Arisa Nakajima on 2/12, vs. Rina Yamashita on 6/3, with Mizunami vs. BORDERLESS on 11/1, vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 12/9, vs. Ryo Mizunami on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Arisa Nakajima on 2/12 in Pro Wrestling WAVE

The “retirement” bump in rankings strikes again as it tends to, and while Misaki’s retirement did contribute to her great year it was not the only factor. From a title standpoint, Misaki held the top title in WAVE for about half of the year, with wins over Arisa Nakajima and Rina Yamashita along the way. Even though she did not hold any tag titles, she continued to team with Ryo Mizunami and took their entertaining act to many different promotions as a farewell tour, including Diana, Ice Ribbon, Michinoku Pro, YMZ, DDT, and SEAdLINNNG. In regards to just pure match quality, it can be argued that no wrestler surpassed Ohata as she had multiple ****+ matches, including against Arisa Nakajima (twice), Yumi Ohka, and Takumi Iroha. From an emotional and output standpoint, Ohata had a hell of a run for her last year as a professional wrestler.

3. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon ICExInfinity Championship and the Ice Ribbon Triangle Ribbon Championship
Biggest Matches: with Nakajima vs. Yamashita and Yoshiko on 5/16, vs. Hamuko Hoshi on 6/16, vs. Maya Yukihi on 8/26, vs. Risa Sera on 12/2, vs. Misaki Ohata on 12/9, vs. Yukihi on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Maya Yukihi on 8/26 in Ice Ribbon

Tsukasa Fujimoto won the Tokyo Sports Award for top women’s wrestler, and well deserved. Tsukasa’s year started a bit slow but once it got into swing in the summer, she was one of the best in Japan for the rest of the way. Tsukasa had two great matches with Maya Yukihi during the year, in August and in December, and she showed her versatility as she also wrestled in a Blast Queen (exploding bat) match as well. She teamed with her best friend Arisa Nakajima off and on all year, and even though they didn’t win any titles, their match quality was still top notch and they did reach the finals of the SEAdLINNNG tournament to crown their first tag champions. Overall, from her controlling Ice Ribbon for half the year to putting on a variety of entertaining matches, it was a banner year for the 35 year old veteran.

4. Kagetsu (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches: with Natsu Sumire vs. Nakano and Shirai on 4/1, vs. Toni Storm on 6/9, with Hazuki vs. Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani on 6/17, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 8/12, vs. Hana Kimura on 10/23
Best Match: with Hazuki vs. DASH Chisako and Chihiro Hashimoto on 11/16 in Sendai Girls’

What a year for the Oedo Tai leader. As Stardom’s roster continued to change, Kagetsu took full advantage as she won her first singles championship in the promotion when she defeated Toni Storm for the World of Stardom Championship. She also stood atop the tag division for half of the year, and had a memorable feud with former member Hana Kimura for the last few months of 2018. Kagetsu also took part in one of the most unique matches in Stardom history, a Current Blast Exploding Death Match. Kagetsu was frequently overshadowed by Momo Watanabe as she did not have much success on the tournament scene, but overall she was one of the most consistent wrestlers and focuses of the promotion and looks to continue that in 2019 as she still holds the World of Stardom Championship.

5. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro)

Championships Held: TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Reika Saiki on 1/4, with Maki Itoh and Mizuki vs. Azusa Christie, Sakisama, and Yoshiko-sama, vs. Rika Tatsumi on 5/3, vs. Yuu on 8/25
Best Match: vs. Rika Tatsumi in Tokyo Joshi Pro

The undisputed Ace of Tokyo Joshi Pro, Miyu Yamashita dominated singles action in the promotion in 2018. Miyu won the Princess of Princess Championship at the start of the year and ended the year with it as well, with a total of six successful defenses. Miyu had less luck in tournaments (losing in the second round of the Tokyo Princess Cup) and tag division (one unsuccessful attempt to win the tag champion) which hurt her year a bit, but her year-long run with the top title of the promotion can’t be ignored. She also had several matches highly regarded, with her singles matches against Rika and Yuu in particularly getting high marks. As Miyu entered 2019 still the champion, she will look to build on her successes in a new year.

6. Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship, OZ Academy Tag Team Championship, Blast Queen Championship, and the OZ Academy Openweight Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Mayumi Ozaki on 3/17, vs. Hikaru Shida on 6/3, with Yamashita vs. Takahashi and Fujimoto on 7/25, with Yamashita vs. Yukihi and Ozaki on 9/17, with Yamashita vs. Matsumoto and Yoneyama on 12/2
Best Match: vs. Hikaru Shida on 6/3 in OZ Academy

Yoshiko continued her return to relevance after a great 2017 with an even better 2018, as she was a force to be reckoned with in several promotions. In her home promotion of SEAdLINNNG, she became the first holder of the Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship (along with partner Rina Yamashita) as they held the titles for 141 days before losing them late in the year. She also held the OZ Academy tag titles with Rina as well, as the two were one of the top tag teams in Japan. In singles action, she held the Oz Academy Openweight Championship for the first half of the year before losing it to Hikaru Shida, and was also the Blast Queen Champion for six months. Overall, Yoshiko had 13 title matches in 2018 as she stayed very active. Yoshiko dipped her toe in DDT as well, as she was one of the most-traveled women in Japan with appearances in seven different Japanese promotions.

7. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship and the Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Ayako Hamada on 4/19, vs. DASH Chisako on 6/24, with Iwata vs. Miyagi and Katrina, with Chisako vs. Kagetsu and Hazuki on 11/16, vs. Meiko Satomura on 11/17
Best Match: with Chisako vs. Kagetsu and Hazuki on 11/16 in Sendai Girls’

Chihiro Hashimoto cemented her place as Ace of Sendai Girls’ on 2018, as she made her mark in both the singles and tag team division. She held the Sendai Girls’ World Championship for 10 of the 12 months of the year, and also won the tag team championship with Mika Iwata in September which they held through the end of the year. The only thing holding Chihiro back is a variety of challengers, as since Sendai Girls’ has a smaller roster she is running out of new wrestlers to beat. Sendai Girls’ online streaming service being a flop in 2018 didn’t help, as she had less matches that “made TV” in 2018 than most of the wrestlers around her on this list. Still, Chihiro continued to improve in the ring and put on some quality hoss matches during the year, hopefully she’ll get more of a chance to show her skills to a wider audience in 2019.

8. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Openweight Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Rina Yamashita on 3/17, vs. Yoshiko on 6/3, vs. Aja Kong on 9/17, vs. Risa Sera on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Aja Kong on 9/17 in OZ Academy

The top Freelancer on the list, Hikaru Shida seemed to be everywhere in 2018. Freelancers are known for having very up and down years, disappearing from this list at a whim, as their successes are so reliant on promotions they are not affiliated with giving them an opportunity. OZ Academy was Shida’s main home for the year, where she won the OZ Academy Openweight Championship against Yoshiko. She also had what is considered by many the top Joshi match of 2018 in OZ Academy against Aja Kong on September 17th in a defense of the title. Beyond OZ Academy, she also had high end matches in Ice Ribbon (including a hardcore match) and Sendai Girls’. Between her great matches and success in OZ Academy, Shida is easily one of the top ten wrestlers of the year.

9. Rina Yamashita (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Tag Team Championship and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Misaki Ohata on 6/3, with Yoshiko vs. Takahashi and Fujimoto on 7/25, with Yoshiko vs. Yukihi and Ozaki on 9/17, vs. Arisa Nakajima on 10/3
Best Match: vs. Misaki Ohata on 6/3 in Pro Wrestling WAVE

2018 was an interesting year for Rina Yamashita. She had no singles titles and only had one challenge, however she (along with Yoshiko) had a lot of success in the tag division. Yamashita held tag titles in two different promotions and had a number of memorable matches in the process, including a great match against Avid Rival. Even though she didn’t win a championship as a singles wrestler, she had great singles matches against Arisa Nakajima and Misaki Ohata and also won the Catch the WAVE Tournament. Yamashita goes into 2019 becoming a Freelancer with no belts, so she’ll have an upward battle to maintain a Top 10 ranking.

10. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: Goddesses of Stardom Championship and the Artist of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches: vs. Toni Storm on 4/1, with Kashima vs. Oedo Tai on 6/3, vs. Kagetsu on 8/12, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 9/24, with Kashima and Nakano vs. JAN on 9/30, vs. Momo Watanabe on 10/23
Best Match: vs. Utami Hayashishita on 9/24 in Stardom

Even though Mayu Iwatani has been officially skipped over to becoming the Ace of Stardom, she still had a really solid year. She held both the tag titles and trio titles in Stardom, and most importantly she also won the 5STAR Grand Prix. The Finals of the tournament is considered by some as one of the top Joshi matches of the year, as she defeated rookie phenom Utami Hayashishita. Her feud with Oedo Tai and Kagetsu continued and kept her in the spotlight, however she did go 0-3 in singles title matches. Mayu will always be a fan favorite and will continue to put on great matches, but she may be eternally in the upper mid-card role going forward.

12. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG) – Nakajima only held one title in 2018, and she didn’t win it until December, but in regards to match quality she was among the best. She had really well regarded singles matches throughout the year against a variety of opponents, including against Misaki Ohata, Rina Yamashita, Mio Momono, Command Bolshoi, and Nanae Takahashi. She also continued wrestling with Tsukasa Fujimoto as Best Friends, one of the most talented tag teams in the world. While Nakajima doesn’t seem to be overly concerned with winning titles, as she ended the year with one hopefully that success will continue.

13. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon) – Maya Yukihi slowly is making her case to become the true Ace of Ice Ribbon. Yukihi has two personalities – in Ice Ribbon she is the fan favorite while in OZ Academy she is part of the evil Ozaki Army and wields a whip. She has success as both versions of herself which is a big plus, and even though she isn’t regularly putting on high end matches she makes a point to shine at least a few times a year. Yukihi won the ICExInfinity Championship on the last day of 2018, as she goes into 2019 the top wrestler in the promotion.

14. ASUKA (Pro Wrestling WAVE) – ASUKA made history in 2018, becoming the first openly transgender wrestler to win the top title in a Joshi promotion. She won the Regina Di WAVE Championship from Takumi Iroha in June and held it until December, with two successful defenses between. She also teamed with Hana Kimura in WRESTLE-1, and overall participated in 10 different Japanese promotions over the course of the year. ASUKA became a Freelancer in 2019, opening up her options and she will have plenty of opportunities to grow in new environments as her career continues to move forward.

15. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous) – My personal bias may be coming through a bit, but I really love Takumi Iroha’s wrestling style as she always feels fresh in whatever promotion she is participating in. She did hold two Joshi titles during the year, including the top singles championship in Pro Wrestling WAVE. She was also the top wrestler in her home promotion of Marvelous, which thanks to their streaming service is an easy promotion to watch. I’m not sure what Iroha’s ceiling is with her current situation, but since Chigusa Nagayo has a good relationship with most promotions I am sure we will be seeing much more of her next year.

17. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon) – Risa Sera fell from her throne of Ice Ribbon Ace, but what really set her apart in 2018 was her willingness and ability to go outside the box. Whether it be in a death match or a hardcore match, Risa Sera always kept things interesting and put on matches that you were going to remember. She had some title success as well as part of Azure Revolution with Maya Yukihi and ended the year as the Blast Queen, but the main factor that got her on this list was that she brings something different to the table. She may never become the consistent Ace of Ice Ribbon but she will always put on a entertaining show.

18. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls’) – Aside from a brief run as the DDT KO-D Openweight Champion, Meiko Satomura was mostly quiet in Japan in 2018 as she took her talents outside of the country for a good percentage of the year. She still was on Sendai Girls’ events as well, but she mostly took a back seat to Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata. Satomura is still one of the top wrestlers in Japan skill-wise, however with her limited number of televised singles matches in Japan (six) she didn’t have as much of a chance to shine. Satomura will continue to be one of the best wrestlers in Joshi for years to come, but at 39 years old her time as the top wrestler in a promotion are likely over.

19. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom) – I will get some flack for putting a rookie with four months experience on this list, but I can handle it. Utami took the Joshi world by storm after her debut on August 12th, and just a month into her career had one of the best matches of the year against Mayu Iwatani. She didn’t miss a beat after the loss as she joined up with Momo Watanabe to win the Goddesses of Stardom League and then the belts themselves in November. Joshi hasn’t seen a wrestler like Utami in a long time, and at just 20 years old her potential is limitless. Barring an injury, I fully expect Utami to be in the Top 5 next year.

20. Maki Itoh (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Maki Itoh is still developing in-ring and isn’t known for her technical abilities, but it is hard to deny the impact that she has had on fans just with her personality and charisma. She did win the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship so she wasn’t title-less for the year, however she made a couple attempts at the Tokyo Princess Tag Team Championship with no success. Still, it is her presence that draws people to her, and if she can improve her wrestling skills (and doesn’t retire) she may move up this ranking next year.

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