Event: Stardom Cinderella Summer In Tokyo
Date: July 26th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 483

After a summer of setting up new storylines, much of it leads to a climax here in Tokyo! This is a big seven match card with three title matches, including the crowning of a new Wonder of Stardom Championship and Goddesses of Stardom Championship as both were vacated prior to this event. Beyond the three title matches, we also get some special attraction style matches featuring Donna del Mondo and Natsu Sumire gets to wrestle a child which is in her Stardom contract for big events. Here is the full card:

• Hina vs. Saki Kashima
• Death Yama-san and Rina vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire
• Maika vs. Momo Watanabe
• Himeka and Syuri vs. Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida
• High Speed Championship: Riho vs. AZM vs. Starlight Kid
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

As this streamed on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Hina vs. Saki Kashima

Hina charges Saki to start and elbows her against the ropes, but Saki drop toeholds her into the ropes and kicks her in the back of the head. Saki picks up Hina and slams her head into the turnbuckle, she flings Hina to the mat and puts her in a stretch hold. Cover by Saki, but it gets a two count. Saki kicks Hina towards the corner before picking her up, Hina elbows her but Saki kicks her back to the mat. Hina keeps fighting back and eventually is able to sneak in a schoolboy for two, Saki boots Hina and goes off the ropes, but Hina catches her with a judo toss. Hina goes for a slam but Saki blocks it, toss by Hina and she delivers the scoop slam for a two count. Hina picks up Saki and elbows her against the ropes, Irish whip by Hina but Saki slides out to the apron and kicks Hina when she charges in. Saki goes up top but Hina avoids her diving footstomp and puts her in the Gedo Clutch for two. Hina goes off the ropes but Saki catches her with a double underhook facebuster, but Hina sneaks in a small package. Saki has finally had enough and drops Hina with the My Emblem, picking up the three count! Saki Kashima is the winner.

The “surprise cradle after taking a big move” is such a weird spot, but particularly when its a 13 year old doing it. I’m not going to really sweat it in an opener, but Hina blowing off the double underhook facebuster to get a flash pin attempt is one of those things that promotions need to be more careful about. Anyway, for an opener there was nothing wrong with this, Hina got in her hope spots as you’d expect before Saki put her away without taking much damage. I hope they find a better spot for Saki down the road, but a reasonable way to kick things off.

Death Yama-san and Rina vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire

Natsuko and Death start the match, Death goes right to posing until Natsuko finally attacks her from behind. Natsu comes in and they double team Death, running senton by Natsuko and she covers Death for two. Rina gets on the apron and elbows Natsuko, Death tags Rina but Natsuko avoids her dropkick attempt. Elbow by Natsuko and she throws down Rina by the hair before delivering a running bootscrape. Natsuko tags in Natsu, Natsu stomps on Rina and elbows her in the corner. Natsu gets Rina down in a seated position so she can deliver her gyrating Bronco Buster, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu nudges Rina against the ropes and chokes her with her boot, Rina fights back with elbows but Natsu knees her and boots her in the face. Natsu picks up Rina but Rina hits a scoop slam, giving her time to tag in Death.

Death charges Natsu but Natsu boots her back, she boots her a second and third time but Death hits a throat thrust. Natsu avoids her running senton though and boots her in the back of the head, Natsuko hits Death from the apron and Natsu connects with a bridging suplex for two. Natsuko is tagged in but Death avoids her charge and makes the tag to Rina. Rina dropkicks Natsuko a few times but can’t knock Natsuko over, elbows by Rina and she finally dropkicks Natsuko over. STO by Rina, and she covers Natsuko for two. A schoolboy by Rina gets two as well as does a backslide, jackknife by Rina but that also gets a two count. Rina goes for the Hydrangea and gets it applied, but Natsu breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Natsu but Natsu hits a double jumping lariat, Natsuko picks up Rina and hits the Kamikaze. She goes up top and nails the diving body press, cover by Natsuko and she gets the three count! Oedo Tai are the winners.

Besides the general humor of Natsuko struggling at times against Rina, not a whole lot to this one. Some of the usual comedy sections you’d expect in a match with Death and Natsu, but not every many as they mostly played it straight. I like Yoneyama but I’m not a huge fan of the Death gimmick, I just think they could get more out of her skills than being a goofy character that isn’t taken seriously. Rina looked pretty good and didn’t look out of place at all, not sure if that says more about her or the other wrestlers in the match. For where it was on the card, nothing really wrong with it but a pretty forgettable match overall.

Maika vs. Momo Watanabe

Maika and Momo circle each other before locking up, Momo pushes Maika into the ropes and gives a clean break. Waistlock by Maika but Momo reverses it as they trade holds, they reach a stalemate but Momo quickly delivers a running kick to Maika’s chest. Scoop slam by Momo and she kicks at Maika, snapmare by Momo and she kicks Maika in the back. Another kick to the back by Momo, Maika returns fire with elbows but Momo knocks Maika back to the mat. Snapmare by Momo but Maika catches her kick attempt and puts her in an ankle old. Momo quickly rolls away but Maika stays on the offense as she gets the hold re-applied. Momo gets to the ropes to force the break, Maika puts her leg in the ropes before delivering a running kick to it. Kneelock by Maika but again Momo gets to the ropes, Maika puts Momo’s leg over the second rope and kicks it repeatedly. Irish whip by Maika to the corner but Momo avoids her charge and kicks her in the chest.

Maika boots Momo in the head but Momo comes right back with a dropkick, another dropkick by Momo and she delivers a third in the corner. Vertical suplex by Momo, and she covers Maika for two. Momo picks up Maika, Maika wiggles away but Momo kicks her in the chest. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Momo but it only gets a two count. Momo goes all the way up but Maika recovers and tosses her back to the mat, Maika flings around Momo by the arm before hitting a side slam for a two count. Fujiwara Armbar by Maika but Momo rolls out of it, Momo goes for a kick but Maika catches it and puts Momo in an ankle hold. Sleeper by Maika, Momo almost goes out but gets a hand in the ropes for the break. Maika goes off the ropes but Momo kicks her in the head and hits a uranage. Somato by Momo, but it only gets two. Momo quickly goes up top and nails the diving Somato, and she picks up the three count! Momo Watanabe is the winner.

Limb work is always tough in a ten minute match, and I would have preferred they just not bother as it looks a bit off when Maika works on the leg for 20% of the match but five seconds later Momo is running around the ring hitting dropkicks. Then she never went back to it. Not that its a major infraction, its just an easily avoidable one and was a bit of a distraction. Momo is stealthily one of the best wrestlers in Stardom, she isn’t getting the push right now but she will again, and she’ll be ready. Maika kept up pretty well, but this was mostly about Momo asserting herself as still a force to be reckoned with. A fun little match, not without its flaws but Momo delivered as she tends to do.  Mildly Recommended

Himeka and Syuri vs. Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida

Syuri and Mayu start the match, Mayu goes for Syuri’s leg but Syuri easily gets out of it as they jockey for position. Syuri gets away from Mayu as they both return to their feet and tag in their partners. Saya asks for a knuckle lock and the much taller Himeka obliges, pushing Saya to the mat. Side headlock by Himeka but Saya reverses it, shoulderblock by Himeka but Saya manages to stay on her feet. Saya tries to shoulderblock Himeka over but fails to do so, as Himeka sends her to the mat again. Syuri comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex on Saya, cover by Himeka but it gets two. Himeka throws Saya in the corner and tags Syuri, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Saya in the back for two. Syuri sets up Saya in the ropes so that Himeka can assist in the attack, Syuri throws Saya to the mat before tagging Himeka. Scoop slam by Himeka and she applies a crab hold but Saya makes it to the ropes for the break. Himeka stomps on Saya but Saya dropkicks her in the knee and hits a hard shoulderblock. This gives her time to tag in Mayu, dropkick by Mayu but she bounces off Himeka. Irish whip by Himeka but Mayu reverses it and kicks her in the midsection, superkick by Mayu but Syuri comes in and kicks her. Double Irish whip to Mayu but she blocks it and hits a double springboard armdrag before dropkicking both of them. Irish whip by Mayu, reversed, and Himeka hits a lariat in the corner. Saya runs in but Himeka throws Saya in the same corner as Mayu, she then grabs them and puts both on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker.

She can’t really hold it as they crumble to the mat, Himeka goes off the ropes and levels Mayu with a hard lariat. Cover by Himeka, but it gets two. Himeka rolls to her corner and tags Syuri, kicks to the chest by Syuri and she knees Mayu. Double underhook suplex by Syuri, and she covers Mayu for two. Syuri picks up Mayu and the two trade elbows, Mayu elbows Syuri to her knees but Syuri knees her. Mayu fires back with a dropkick, Saya comes in and they both chop Syuri. Sliding Kick by Mayu and Saya hits a Northern Lights Suplex, Mayu goes up top and nails the Frog Splash but Himeka breaks up the cover. Mayu picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her in the head, Mayu kicks her back however and hits a German suplex. Syuri rolls through it and hits a suplex of her own, both wrestlers get up and both hit head kicks, sending them crashing to the mat. Mayu tags in Saya, she goes up top and hits Syuri with a missile dropkick for two. Saya picks up Syuri, elbows by Saya and she hits a scoop slam for two. Saya goes off the ropes but Himeka kicks her from the apron, DDT by Syuri and Himeka drops Saya with a Samoan Drop. Running knee by Syuri, but Saya gets a shoulder up on the corner. Syuri goes for Saya’s arm and applies a seated armbar, but Mayu breaks it up. Footstomp by Saya, she picks up Syuri but Syuri blocks the Northern Lights Suplex. She gets Saya on her shoulders and hits a double knee gutbuster, but Mayu breaks up the pin. Syuri goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Saya blocks it, she goes for a few flash pins including the Iida Bridge, but she isn’t able to get to three. Saya goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the head, Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri and she covers Saya for the three count! Syuri and Himeka are the winners.

While I’m not a huge fan of tag matches with an obvious fall person, its a staple of Japanese Wrestling so it seems silly to complain about. At times this was a bit awkward and they never really got into a strong rhythm since the wrestlers have such different styles. Himeka failing in her feat of strength was probably due to the wrestlers being stacked backwards (I imagine she’d want Mayu on the bottom), but it took some of the wind out of the match. Syuri and Mayu are both great and their pairings were the best parts of the match, but they weren’t paired very often. A step down from the last match, not a bad one but it really only existed so that Syuri could challenge Mayu for the red belt.

(c) Riho vs. AZM vs. Starlight Kid
High Speed Championship

This may be a bit fast paced. Riho is attacked first as they quickly get into a fast paced exchange, Starlight Kid hits a double crossbody but both opponents bridge out of the pin. They eventually reach a stalemate, AZM is double teamed and hit with a double knee to the back by both opponents. Cover by Riho, but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Riho and Starlight Kid trade elbows, dropkick by Riho to Starlight Kid and she hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Riho throws Starlight Kid into the corner and hits a jumping knee, AZM runs in and dropkicks Starlight Kid. AZM knocks Riho into the corner and kicks trips Starlight Kid into her, she then grabs Starlight Kid’s wrist and hits an armdrag/headscissors combination. AZM picks up Riho but Riho kicks her, rebound armdrag by AZM and she applies a reverse double armbar. Riho gets a toe on the ropes to force the break, AZM charges Riho but Riho drops her onto the apron. AZM quickly gets back in but Starlight Kid arrives and jackknifes Riho for a two count.

Riho drop toeholds AZM into the ropes and goes for the Tiger Feint Kick, AZM catches it but Starlight Kid hits a Tiger Feint Kick on both of them. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid on both of them, she picks up AZM but AZM kicks her in the head. Riho knees Starlight Kid in the head and then knees AZM as well, and all three wrestlers end up on the mat. The all kip-up and get back into it, Starlight Kid elbows Riho but AZM catches Starlight Kid with La Mistica. Starlight Kid quickly gets to the ropes for the break, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle but Riho walks over and joins her. Starlight Kid recovers but she gets booted back, Riho and AZM both go for footstomps on Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid moves. AZM hits a PK on Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid ducks Riho’s Somato attempt. Diving footstomp by AZM to Riho, but Starlight Kid breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid boots AZM, she goes back to Riho and hits the Ki-chan Bomb, but AZM breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid and AZM trade flash pins, but AZM gets the Azumi Sushi applied and picks up the three count! AZM is the winner and the new champion!

Always a bit of a downer when the champion isn’t pinned to lose their title, but politics may have gotten in the way here. This was as fast paced as you’d expect and 99% of it they hit very smoothly. AZM and Starlight Kid are clearly very familar with each other but Riho fit in fine, with lots of segments with all three flying around going off without a hitch. I’m happy for AZM finally winning a singles title but I wouldn’t have complained if Starlight Kid had won as she is fantastic, maybe now they will feud so the belt actually gets defended. A high energy entertaining match even if it wasn’t terribly long, certainly worth a casual watch.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Saya and Jungle are the first two in, they trade wristlocks until Jungle knocks over Saya with a shoulderblock. Jungle goes off the ropes but Utami grabs her from the apron, allowing Saya to hit a dropkick. Utami comes in but she dropkicks Utami while Konami kicks Saya, they end up out of the ring and Konami hits a double baseball slide. Jungle then goes to the ropes and dives out onto both opponents with a pescado, Jungle picks up Utami and throws her into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Jungle twists on Saya’s arm some before tagging in Konami. Konami stays on Saya’s arm, she throws Saya into her corner and tags Jungle back in. Scoop slam by Jungle and she hits a body press onto Saya’s arm, cover by Jungle but it gets two. Seated armbar by Jungle but Saya inches to the ropes and forces the break. Jungle kicks at Saya’s arm before tagging in Konami, Konami kicks Saya in the arm and holds it so that Jungle can club her arm, Jungle is tagged in as Saya finally starts to fight back. It ends poorly for her as Jungle clubs her to the mat, Jungle goes off the ropes but Saya cartwheels past her and hits a dropkick.

This gives her time to tag Utami, dropkick by Utami and she knocks Konami off the apron. Utami throws Jungle into the corner and hits a running elbow, dropkick to the back of the head by Utami and she covers Jungle for two. Konami runs in but Utami throws Jungle into Konami and Saya hits a spinning heel kick on both of them. Utami picks up Jungle and hits a STO, elbow drop by Utami and she covers Jungle for two. Sleeper by Utami but Jungle drops backwards to get out of it, both wrestlers go for a lariat but they remain on their feet. Utami finally knocks down Jungle with a lariat, Saya comes in and they go for a double vertical suplex, eventually hitting it. Jungle gets up quickly however and hits a double lariat, Konami arrives and they both deliver running strikes. Jungle gets Utami up in a powerbomb and nails the move right as Konami hits a missile dropkick, but Utami barely gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Jungle goes for the Hammerthrow Bomb but Utami blocks it, running elbow by Utami but Jungle hits a hard elbow. Jungle tags Konami, Konami stomps Utami from tagging out and hits a head kick followed by a release German. Buzzsaw Kick by Konami, but the cover gets two.

Konami applies the Triangle Lancer but Saya quickly breaks it up, Jungle takes care of her while Konami picks up Utami, but Utami avoids her kick and applies a reverse neckbreaker. Schwein by Utami, but Konami kicks out of the cover. Utami goes off the ropes but Jungle hits her from the apron, sunset flip by Konami but Jungle lariats Konami by accident. Backdrop suplex by Utami to Konami and Saya hits the running Shooting Star Press, deadlift German suplex by Utami but Konami barely kicks out. Utami picks up Konami and puts her in the Argentine Backbreaker, she spins Konami into a powerbomb but Jungle breaks up the cover. Utami drags Konami to her feet, Jungle comes in but again she accidentally lariats Konami. Saya dropkicks Jungle out of the ring, they pick up Konami and deliver the Magic Killer. Utami puts Konami on her shoulders before spinning her to the front and delivering a German suplex hold for the three count! Utami Hayashishita and Saya Kamitani are the winners and new champions!

Now this was an entertaining match. One thing I love about Stardom is if they see potential in a wrestler, they go ahead and push them instead of making them “work their way” up the card. We saw it with Utami and now we are seeing it with Saya Kamitani, as she wins her first title just 50 matches into her career. Even with the miscommunications, Jungle and Konami have such great chemistry and I liked both were going for Saya’s arm as they were on the same page on what the easiest path to victory was. It just didn’t work out, and I also liked that Utami never tagged Saya back in once she finally tagged out. So often we see the ‘face in peril’ immediately get tagged back in after finally getting the hot tag, but its much smarter to just let the injured wrestler stay on the apron. The ending was exciting as all four were in the ring together more often than not, giving the match that Joshi Chaos feel that we all love and enjoy. Overall a great effort by all four, I wouldn’t have complained if it was a little longer but everything they did clicked.  Recommended

Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They start slow as they fight for control, Giulia pushes Tam into the ropes and she bops Tam in the head before backing off. They lock knuckles, Tam pushes Giulia to the mat and slaps her, leading to Giulia returning to her feet as the two trade elbows. Reverse cutter by Tam, she grabs Giulia and hits a scoop slam. Tam stomps on Giulia’s leg and kicks her in the head, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. More kicks to the leg by Tam and she applies an inverted figure four leglock, Giulia crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Sliding kick to the leg by Tam and Giulia rolls out of the ring, Tam goes up top and dives out onto Giulia with a plancha. Tam picks up Giulia and hits a German suplex hold, hurting both Giulia and herself in the process. Tam recovers first and picks up Giulia, but Giulia throws her into the railing before hitting a big boot. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her in the floor with the Glorious Driver. Giulia slides back in the ring to beat the count with Tam following behind, Giulia rolls Tam to the mat and applies a guillotine but Tam gets into the ropes. Giulia picks up Tam and hits a neckbreaker, but Tam bridges out of the pin and hits a running neckbreaker.

Kick to the head by Tam, she picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks the suplex attempt. Backdrop suplex by Tam, she goes up top but Giulia recovers and joins her before she can jump off. They trade elbows while on the second turnbuckle, superplex by Giulia but Tam quickly recovers. Giulia drops Tam with a release German and follows up with a dropkick for a two count cover. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam kicks her in the leg, Giulia boots her back as they trade strikes. Tam kicks Giulia in the leg until she collapses to the mat, she picks her back up but Giulia boots her in the head when she goes off the ropes. Tam grabs Giulia and connects with a heel kick, they both kick each other in the head which sends them both crashing to the mat. They slowly get up, Tam goes for a shoulderblock but Giulia stays up. Tam finally manages to shoulderblock Giulia, she applies a cross kneelock but Giulia gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Tam but Giulia collapses, knee to the back of the head by Tam and she covers Giulia for two. Tam goes up top and nails the Destiny Hammer, she picks up Giulia but Giulia lands on her feet on the attempted German suplex. Waistlock by Giulia and she elbows Tam in the back of the head before hitting a heel drop. Giulia throws Tam into the corner, she sets up Tam over the second rope before hitting a neckbreaker. Giulia gets up Tam and hits the Glorious Buster, but it only gets a two count. Giulia goes up top but Tam recovers and grabs her from behind, avalanche German suplex by Tam but she is too hurt to take advantage.

They both slowly get up and start trading elbows, hard slap by Giulia but Tam headbutts her. Giulia gets Tam’s back and applies an armbar, she drags Tam to the mat while keeping an armbreaker applied, but Tam muscles up and slams Giulia to get out of the hold. Tam goes for a Tiger Suplex but Giulia blocks it, they trade cradles but neither can get the three count. Boot by Giulia, she picks up Tam and hits a backdrop suplex. Another backdrop suplex by Giulia and a third, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a jumping boot to the head. Sliding kick by Giulia, and she covers Tam for a two count. Glorious Driver by Giulia, but Tam kicks out of the cover. Giulia goes for the Stealth Viper but Giulia rolls out of it and hits a running knee, another running knee by Tam and she hits a third. Tam goes up top and delivers a diving kick, she picks up Giulia and hits a Tiger Suplex Hold for a two count. Tam gets Giulia back up but Giulia blocks the suplex attempt, Tam charges Giulia and kicks her in the head. Superkick by Tam but Giulia catches her with a Michinoku Driver. Giulia puts Tam in a headscissors before applying an armbreaker, she switches positions after a moment to get a better grip on Tam’s arm, using her leg for extra pressure. Giulia reaches over to choke Tam while keeping a hold on the arms, and after Tam stops responding, the referee calls for the bell! Giulia is the winner and the new champion!

There is a lot to unpack here. First, my quick reaction to the match is that I enjoyed it, it went off mostly without a hitch and both are fun wrestlers. It probably didn’t need to be quite this long but it didn’t really drag anywhere, and they have enough offense variety to keep things interesting. The leg work by Tam generally was well done and Giulia sold it the appropriate amount, you can’t expect a wrestler to limp forever but they never completely forgot about it either. The early “outside the ring” bit probably came too early and wasn’t timed great, as the Glorious Driver was done too late in the count it wasn’t really sold by Tam. In general the transitions weren’t well laid out, a lot of examples of one wrestler hitting a big move and the other quickly recovering (and not in the “fighting spirit” way). Nothing overly egregious, I just would have preferred a bit more selling of the bigger spots.

I’m not really sure what happened with the ending, or if something that sounded great on paper just didn’t execute properly. I’m still not completely sure if that was supposed to be an armbreaker or a choke, as she definitely wrapped the arms up but the referee reacted as if she was unconscious. I am guessing Giulia wanted the Stealth Viper but couldn’t get it applied from that position so she improvised. Either way it was a little deflating but didn’t take away the effort put in up to that point, as both were really laying in the strikes and suplexes for 28 minutes with very little downtime or opportunity to breath. All in all this was a very good match, and certainly exciting, but not without areas of improvement. These two may be feuding for awhile, so I’m interested to see what adjustments they make in future matches to make the action tighter and reach that high level we have come to expect from Stardom championship matches.  Recommended

The post Stardom Cinderella Summer In Tokyo on 7/26/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “New Summer” Day 1
Date: July 11th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 140

Since Stardom is currently the most popular Joshi promotion among Western fans, for the sake of general interest in my reviews its a good idea if I give them extra attention. Its not a hard decision anyway, since I like so many of Stardom’s wrestlers and they rarely put on a bad show. This isn’t a big event, as there are no title matches, but with wrestling finally back in swing these shows are important to set up storylines. Plus we get Syuri vs. Starlight Kid, what’s not to love about that. Here is the full card:

• Death Yama-san and Rina vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami
• Saya Iida and Tam Nakano vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita
• Starlight Kid vs. Syuri
• AZM and Momo Watanabe vs. Mayu Iwatani and Riho
• Giulia, Himeka, and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora, Natsu Sumire, and Saki Kashima

As this aired on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Death Yama-san and Rina vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami

Kyona and Death start the match, Death poses around the ring but kicks Kyona when she gets her to do the same. Hard shoulderblocks by Kyona and she hits a body press for a two count. Kyona throws Death into the corner but Death avoids her charge and makes the tag to Rina. Double Irish whip to Kyona and she eats a double boot, they pick up Kyona but Kyona hits a double vertical suplex. Wristlock by Kyona to Rina and she gets her to the mat with an armbar, she keeps twisting on the wrist before feeding her to Konami so that Konami can apply an armbar over the top rope. She lets go after a moment and Kyona tags her in, Konami keeps on Rina’s arm and puts her in a stretch hold. She lets go and covers Rina, but it gets a two count. Konami picks up Rina but Rina fights back with elbows, she goes for a judo toss but Konami blocks it. Scoop slam by Rina and she tags Death, but Konami avoids Death’s running senton. Kyona comes in but Death avoids both of them and hits a senton/dropkick combination on both opponents before hitting a running senton on both of them. Kyona leaves the ring, Death picks up Konami but Konami catches her in a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches to a cross armbreaker but Rina breaks it up, Death tags in Rina and Rina dropkicks Konami in the corner. STO by Rina and a second one, cover by Rina but Konami kicks out. Rina picks up Konami but Konami gets away from her, backslide by Rina switched into a jackknife hold but it gets two. Rina goes for the Hydrangea and gets it applied still on their feet, but Konami gets into the ropes for the break. Kyona comes in to help and hits a sliding lariat, Konami picks up Rina but Rina avoids the Triangle Lancer and schoolboys Konami for two. Kick to the chest by Konami, she picks up Rina and applies the Triangle Lancer. Rina struggles for a moment but has to tap out! Jungle Kyona and Konami are the winners!

Somewhat interesting the effort they made to ease Kyona back into it, not only putting her in the short opener but having Konami pick up the win. Nothing I’d look into too deep and probably a good idea, as she took Hana’s death the toughest of the current roster members. A pretty short match, not a whole lot to it. Rina doesn’t look out of place which is probably the best compliment I can give her at this point in her career, and everything was smooth. A step better than your average opener and an easy watch to start the show.

Saya Iida and Tam Nakano vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita

Tam and Kamitani start the match, they lock knuckles and go into a Test of Strength which Kamitani wins as she pins Tam down to the mat. Tam pushes her off and they both bridge before returning to their feet, headlock by Tam but Kamitani Irish whips out of it. Armdrag by Kamitani but Tam returns the favor and the two reach a stalemate. They both tag out, Utami pushes Iida into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They tie-up again, this time Iida gets Utami into the ropes and she elbows her repeatedly in the chest. Irish whip by Iida but Utami hits a hard shoulderblock, Kamitani comes in and they double team Iida. Kamitani leaves the ring as Utami stomps on Iida, Utami tags Kamitani back in and Kamitani stomps down Iida in the corner. Kamitani picks up Iida and hits a scoop slam, cover by Kamitani but it gets a two count. Kamitani applies a leg submission while Utami protects her she lets go after a moment and puts Iida in a Sickle Hold. She releases it so she can apply a crab hold, but Iida crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Kamitani tags Utami, scoop slam by Utami and she hits a second one. Iida pushes Utami back but Utami tags in Kamitani, scoop slam by Kamitani but Iida dropkicks her twice. This gives her time to tag Tam, Tam goes off the ropes but Kamitani avoids her running boot. Utami comes in to help but Tam fights them both off, ending with her hitting a cutter on Utami. Cartwheel into a double kneedrop by Tam to Kamitani, and she covers her for two.

Back up, Kamitani elbows Tam off and they trade blows, back kick by Tam but Kamitani knocks her down with a heel kick. She tags in Utami, shoulderblock by Utami to Tam and she hits a running elbow in the corner followed by a dropkick for a two count. Utami picks up Tam but Tam slides away from her, Tam goes for a suplex but Utami blocks it as they struggle for position. Tam gets away but Utami hits a Samoan Drop, sleeper by Utami but Tam wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Utami picks up Tam in a waistlock but Tam blocks the suplex, kicks by Utami but Tam gets her back and hits a backdrop suplex. She makes the hot tag to Iida, dropkick by Iida to Utami and she chops her in the chest. A double chop by Iida sends Utami to the mat, she goes off the ropes and hits a running back elbow for two. Tam gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the Destiny Hammer, Iida then goes up and hits a missile dropkick for two. Iida picks up Utami but Utami blocks the Northern Lights Suplex, she gets Iida’s back but Iida gets away and puts Utami in the Iida Bridge for two. Superkick by Tam to Utami, Iida delivers the Northern Lights Suplex but Kamitani breaks it up. Iida goes off the ropes but Kamitani dropkicks her, lariat by Utami and she covers Iida for two when Tam breaks it up. Utami and Kamitani take care of Tam, Utami goes back to Iida and with Kamitani they hit the Magic Killer. German suplex hold by Utami, and she gets the three count! Utami Hayashishita and Saya Kamitani are the winners!

Even though the end result was obvious, I’ll give Stardom credit for how quickly they have elevated Kamitani up the card. It doesn’t feel forced, she fits right in with Tam and Utami, aided of course by her size and general demeanor in the ring. Iida has her fans but her ceiling is Hiromi Mimura, so there really isn’t any reason for them to give her much focus in a match like this where the others have stories to tell. She kept up however, which helped make the Queen’s Quest team look stronger in the end. For a lower card match, this was pretty entertaining and maybe a sign of things to come with Utami and Kamitani if they continue to rack up wins.  Mildly Recommended

Starlight Kid vs. Syuri

They circle each other to start, Syuri slams Starlight Kid into the corner but Starlight Kid switches positions with her and gives a clean break. Waistlock by Syuri, reversed by Starlight Kid but Syuri reverses it back and gets Starlight Kid to the mat. Starlight Kid quickly returns to her feet as they go through a quick exchange, but they reach a stalemate. Armdrag by Starlight Kid and she hits another off the ropes before dropkicking Syuri out of the ring, she goes to do a dive but feints back into the ring instead. Syuri elbows Starlight Kid as she gets back on the apron, she returns to the ring and catches Starlight Kid’s crossbody attempt. Syuri slams Starlight Kid to the mat, stomps by Syuri and she snapmares Starlight Kid before kicking her in the back for a two count cover. Syuri twists Starlight Kid’s arm around the top rope, she lets go after a moment and kicks Starlight Kid in the back. She goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Starlight Kid quickly gets to the ropes to force the break. Stomps by Syuri, she picks up Starlight Kid and throws her into the corner. Running knee by Syuri, she pulls Starlight Kid back to the the middle of the ring and covers her for two. Syuri applies an armlock but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes again, stomp by Syuri and she knees Starlight Kid in the midsection.

Irish whip by Syuri but Starlight Kid ducks the lariat and delivers the tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Tiger Feint Kick attempt by Starlight Kid, Syuri ducks down but Starlight Kid hits it anyway over the bottom rope. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, but it only gets a two count. Starlight Kid picks up Syuri but Syuri blocks the suplex attempt, elbows by Starlight Kid but Syuri knees her in the gut. Syuri connects with a DDT, she goes for the cross armbreaker again but Starlight Kid blocks it so she switches to a seated armbar. Starlight Kid inches to the ropes until she gets the break, Syuri picks her up and hits a double underhook suplex for two. Syuri goes off the ropes but Starlight Kid does too and hits a satellite DDT, she goes up top and connects with the diving crossbody. Starlight Kid quickly grabs Syuri and nails the cross legged suplex, but Syuri barely kicks out. Starlight Kid gets Syuri up and hits the cyclone neckbreaker, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the swivel body press, but again Syuri kicks out. Starlight Kid goes for the Ki-chan Bomb but Syuri blocks it and hits a running knee for two. Syuri goes for the Buzzsaw Kick but Starlight Kid ducks it, Syuri picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid applies a sunset flip for two. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Starlight Kid goes off the ropes bu Syuri drills her with a head kick. Cover by Syuri, but Starlight Kid kicks out. Syuri gets Starlight Kid on her shoulders and drops her with a double knee gutbuster, she puts Starlight Kid in the Suzaku Armbar and Starlight Kid is forced to submit! Syuri is the winner.

This was straight-forward, but still solid. The match was structured exactly how you would have expected, which I guess isn’t a big surprise for a random midcard match. If they ever want to go outside the box with these two, this probably wasn’t the time. So it has the Syuri control segment, some Starlight Kid hope spots and nearfalls, then Syuri regaining control and getting the tap out. Just because its predictable doesn’t mean it wasn’t good, but the first part did seem to be going at a slower speed before they really got into it. Starlight Kid is so smooth, I’ll always have nice things to say about her, but nothing here was really special. Just her usual fun self. A good midcard match, but nothing more than that.  Mildly Recommended

AZM and Momo Watanabe vs. Mayu Iwatani and Riho

AZM and Riho start the match, they immediately go into a fast exchange but they end up in a stalemate. They tag out, Mayu and Momo circle each other more methodically and tie-up, Momo pushes Mayu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They trade waistlocks and then wristlocks, they end up on the mat but Momo quickly gets away from Mayu as they return to their feet. Snapmare by Mayu and she kicks Momo in the back, she then stands on Momo’s back before stomping down on it. Mayu picks up Momo and tags Riho, Riho throws down Momo by the hair before stomping her in the corner. Riho puts Momo in a Camel Clutch as Mayu comes in to pose with her, double knee to the back by Riho and she tags Mayu back in. Scoop slam by Mayu and she covers Riho for a two count. Armdrag by Mayu and she puts Momo in a stretch submission hold, AZM comes in to try to help but Riho cuts her off. Mayu lets go after a moment and stomps on Momo’s back, kick to the back by Mayu and she tags Riho. Dropkick by Riho, and she covers Momo for a two count. Riho goes for a suplex but Momo blocks it, Riho goes off the ropes but Momo kicks her in the chest and makes the tag to AZM. Dropkick by AZM, Mayu comes in but AZM stacks them both in the corner and hits a dropkick. AZM tosses them both to the mat and connects with a double dropkick, cover by AZM to Riho but it gets a two count. Riho goes off the ropes but AZM cradles her and the two trade flash pins. Knee by Riho but AZM kicks her in the head before tagging in Momo.

Momo gets Riho up for the B Driver but Riho wiggles away, she drop toeholds Momo onto the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. She rolls over to her corner and tags Mayu, Irish whip by Mayu to the corner but Momo reverses it. Mayu slides out to the apron when Momo charges in but Momo kicks her back into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Momo, she picks up Mayu and hits a vertical suplex for two. Momo applies an armlock but Riho breaks it up, Irish whip by Riho to Momo and both she and Mayu dropkick her. Mayu picks up Momo and hits a dragon screw, Scorpion Deathlock by Mayu but AZM breaks it up. Mayu picks up Momo and they trade kick attempts, high kick by Momo but Mayu delivers a superkick and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Momo makes the tag first, AZM cuts off Mayu from tagging out and hits a vertical suplex for two. Fujiwara Armbar by AZM, she switches it to a double armbar but Mayu gets into the ropes for the break. AZM goes up top and delivers a diving double footstomp, she picks up Mayu and hits the La Mistica but Riho quickly breaks it up. Momo takes care of Riho, she tries to catapult AZM onto Mayu but Mayu moves out of the way. Riho returns to even the odds, they take care of Momo before hitting a double suplex on AZM. Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu to AZM, but AZM kicks out of the cover. Mayu goes up top and connects with the Frog Splash, but Momo breaks up the cover. Riho knees Momo in the face, Mayu picks up AZM and she applies the Child Crusher (modified Dragon Sleeper), leading to the quick tap out! Mayu Iwatani and Riho win!

I can’t think of any other time Mayu has won with that dragon sleeper than against AZM since it requires a tiny person to put it on, but it does look really good. This match got a fair amount of praise online which I think says more for Stardom than anything else as its a pretty standard tag match. But, its a standard tag match with four quality wrestlers that know how to put on a tight and entertaining match, even though there were no particular blow-away moments. Its just solid from bell to bell, well-worked with a nice variety of offense to keep it going for 13 minutes. In a way this is a “normal” meaningless tag match in Stardom but “normal” is better than most promotions can pull off on their best day. A fun match and a key one for Riho as it shows she can hang with the Stardom wrestlers without any issue.  Recommended

Giulia, Himeka, and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora, Natsu Sumire, and Saki Kashima

Natsuko and Giulia start the match, punch to the guy by Natsuko but Giulia quickly gets her to the mat with a headlock. Natsuko reverses it into a hammerlock as the two struggle for position, Natsuko pulls on Giulia’s hair to get an armlock applied but Giulia pushes Natsuko into the ropes. Armdrag by Giulia but Natsuko trips her and the two end up in a stalemate. They tag out as Maika and Saki come in, Saki throws down Maika by the hair but Maika gets her in a Fujiwara Armbar. It quickly gets broken up but Giulia and Himeka both run in the ring to help. Maika gets the hold sunk back in but Saki gets to the ropes for the break, Maika stomps on Saki’s arm and throws her into the corner so her teammates can help with the beatdown. She tags Giulia, Giulia applies a choke before eventually letting Saki go and hitting a scoop slam. Giulia tags Himeka who hits a slam before tagging Maika, who hits a slam as well. Donna del Mondo take turns on Saki until Giulia ends up the legal wrestler again, Natsuko tries to help Saki but Giulia tosses her out of the ring and Saki is triple teamed. Giulia goes off the ropes but Natsuko trips her from ringside, giving Saki time to tag her in. Natsuko bootscrapes Giulia and nails a running boot, she tags in Natsu who come in with her whip. Natsu hits Giulia with the whip a few times until she tosses it out of the ring, she kicks at Giulia before tagging in Saki. Saki throws Giulia down by the hair a couple times and stands on her neck, she tags in Natsuko who comes in the ring with her chain.

Natsuko puts the chain in the middle of the ring, she slams Giulia on the chain and covers her for two. She tags Natsu, snapmare by Natsu and she applies a headscissors. She lets go after a moment, Giulia elbows her but Natsu boots her back and the two trade shots. Natsu gets Giulia in the corner and goes for the Bronco Buster, but Giulia greets her with a boot and tags in Himeka. Hard shoulderblock by Himeka to Natsu, Himeka picks her up but Natsuko comes in to help. She fails, as Himeka stacks them in the corner and hits a lariat, Himeka then scoops up both Natsu and Saki and puts them on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker. Natsuko breaks it up, Himeka goes off the ropes and hits a running knee on Natsu for a two count. Himeka goes off the ropes again but Natsu catches her with a small package for two. Natsu gets Himeka in the corner and nails the gyrating Bronco Buster, but Himeka muscles out of it and goes for a powerbomb. Natsu slides away but Himeka lariats her, but Natsu drops her with a sit-down double arm DDT. Both wrestlers tag out as Maika and Natsuko arrive, eye rake by Natsuko but Maika applies a Fujiwara Armbar, she switches it to an attempted cross armbreaker but can’t get it locked in. Natsuko gets into the ropes to get Maika off of her, Maika goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with an elbow. Powerslam by Maika but Natsuko nails a spear, she tags in Saki and Saki boots Maika in the head.

Irish whip by Saki and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, running boot by Saki but Maika tosses her to the mat. Cover by Himeka, but it gets a two count. Himeka tags Giulia, Giulia picks up Saki but Saki throws her into the corner as her Oedo Tai teammates come in. Backbreaker by Natsu to Giulia and she hold she holds her there so that Natsuko can hit a leg drop. Double arm suplex by Saki, but it gets a two count. Drop toehold by Giulia and she applies a STF, but Natsuko breaks it up. Natsuko clears the ring and Giulia is triple teamed, Saki goes up top and hits a diving footstomp on Giulia for a two count. Saki grabs Giulia and hits a double underhook facebuster, but Giulia kicks out. Giulia spins away from Saki and Maika tosses her to the mat, lariat by Himeka to Saki and Giulia hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Giulia picks up Saki but Saki blocks the Glorious Driver, Natsuko comes in but she lariats Saki by accident. Maika and Himeka chokeslam Natsu and Natsuko, they go to Saki and elevate her before dropping her onto Giulia’s knee. Giulia picks up Saki and hits a Falcon Arrow, but it only gets a two count. Giulia grabs Saki and goes for the Glorious Driver, but Saki gets away and applies a crucifix pin for the three count! Oedo Tai win!

I’m really not sold on this version of Oedo Tai. As far as in-ring goes, this is probably the least talented group of wrestlers that Oedo Tai has ever had, with all being serviceable but none really elevating beyond that. They also don’t seem to have a unifying style, with all three wrestling different (the “badass,” the comedy/playful wrestler, and the sneaky underdog) which leads to them not really meshing as a unit. I almost wish Natsuko had just made her own faction with a different name, but I guess I’ll just have to separate them in my own mind from the past versions of Oedo Tai and just pretend they aren’t the same so I stop holding them to a standard they can’t reach.

Anyway, the match was fine but nothing beyond that. As I mentioned above, with so many different styles in the ring they never really got into a rhythm, with the only particularly good parts being when one team or the other was controlling the ring with triple teams and working together so they felt like real factions. Giulia was by far the best wrestler in the match and held it together, but there were lots of just stomps and poor transitions throughout as they didn’t seem equipped to go 20 minutes. I like Maika but she didn’t add much, just some tosses and random arm submissions, and she didn’t leave much of an impression. I can get why Saki picked up the fluke win as it gets in Giulia’s head but even though I’m not a fan of long undefeated streaks I think they could have at least had her drop her first fall on a bigger show. As much as I love, love, love Giulia I didn’t love this match, it was just ‘decent’ at best and a bit boring and meandering at worst. Should have been a 10 to 12 minute midcard match, not a 20 minute main event, it would have worked better that way.

The post Stardom New Summer on 7/11/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom FC My Stardom ~ Stardom Is Again!
Date: June 21st, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 100

It has been almost three months since we last saw Stardom. To say a lot has changed in that time would be a tragic understatement. First, on May 20th, Arisa Hoshiki announced she was retiring from wrestling due to persistent injuries. As she was the Wonder of Stardom Champion and one of the most pushed wrestlers in the promotion, this was a sudden and unfortunate development that saddened fans worldwide. That news quickly felt insignificant however on May 23rd, when Hana Kimura passed away. Hana’s death was heartbreaking and devastating, not only to fans but more importantly to her friends, family, and co-workers. But here we are, almost a month after Hana’s passing, as Stardom still honors and remembers her but hopes to pick up where they left off as the promotion was really gaining steam before the pandemic hit. This isn’t a big show, as there are no title matches and some key wrestlers are not here, but it still should be a fun and emotional one. Here is the full card:

• Hina vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Rina
• Death Yama-san vs. Saki Kashima
• Konami vs. Natsuko Tora
• AZM and Momo Watanabe vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita
• Giulia, Maika, Syuri, and X vs. Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida, Starlight Kid, and Tam Nakano

As this aired on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. To go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City (including X), click on their names above to go straight to it.

Hina vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Rina

The sisters go after Natsu to start and pull on her arms until Natsu gets to the ropes, double Irish whip to Natsu but she hits a crossbody on both of them. Natsu stomps on them, she kicks Hina down in the corner and then does the same to Rina in the same corner. Natsu gets a running start and hits the gyrating Bronco Buster on both of them (see, I told you), she picks up Rina but Rina blocks her suplex attempt and her sister Hina helps her suplex Natsu to the mat. Rina monkey flips Natsu, they then hit a double monkey flip and Hina dropkicks Natsu, but Rina then dropkicks her sister. Rina throws down Hina by the hair a few times, but Natsu returns and hits Rina from behind. Natsu picks up Rina and hits a scoop slam, running boot by Natsu and she covers Rina for two. Rina puts a bag over the referee’s head and spins him around to get him out of the way, she grabs her whip and hits Rina in the midsection with it. Natsu puts Rina in the ropes and nails a running facewash, bridging vertical suplex by Natsu but Hina breaks it up. Stomps by Hina and she elbows Natsu in the chest, but Natsu hits her back and they trade blows. Hina tosses Natsu to the mat three times and covers her, but she only gets two. Gedo Clutch by Hina, but that gets a two count as well. Hina charges Natsu but Natsu boots her back and chokes her with the whip, Rina comes in and grabs the whip from her before putting Natsu in the Hydrangea. Hina breaks it up, she picks up Rina and goes for a toss but Rina drops her with a STO. She then puts Hina in the Hydrangea, and Hina submits! Rina is the winner.

Rumor has it that Natsu Sumire is still smiling to this day. All kidding aside, if you just are looking at the in-ring content, this wasn’t very good. Hina and Rina are 13 years old and I am never one to criticize children excessively, but they still have a ways to go. Rina does show the personality to excel, so there is that anyway, and her winning the match with Hana Kimura’s move made her understandably emotional. Natsu isn’t anywhere near good enough to elevate the children, and she didn’t really try to anyway. A skippable opener, aside from just seeing that Rina will continue to wrestle in a style that Hana would surely approve of.

Death Yama-san vs. Saki Kashima

Describing what happens in a match with Death is always difficult since she isn’t your traditional wrestler. She poses for the crowd to start but Saki attacks her from behind and she throws down Death by the hair into the corner. Saki picks up Death and throws her into the ropes on each side of the ring, allowing her to pose at each stop before kicking her. The referee gets into it too but Saki pulls down Death by the hair and chokes her. Saki knocks Death down in the corner and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, she picks her up after a moment and pushes her into the ropes. Saki goes for a scoop slam but Death blocks it, Saki kicks Death into the corner but Death reverses the Irish whip. Saki boots Death when she charges in twice, another boot by Saki but Death ducks her lariat attempt and thrusts her to the mat. Running senton by Death and she applies a chinlock while forcing Saki to do her pose. Death picks up Saki but Saki snaps off a vertical suplex, she goes off the ropes and delivers a running facewash. Saki goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Saki but it only gets a two count. Double underhook by Saki but Death reverses it into a Backslide for two. Double underhook facebuster by Saki, but again Death kicks out. Saki goes for My Emblem but Death reverses it into a crucifix pin for the three count! Death Yama-san is the winner.

Unless the goal here was to give Tokyo Cyber Squad a win in each match to honor Hana, I’m not really sure what this accomplished. Saki Kashima just joined Oedo Tai not long before the pandemic and seemed to be getting a bit of a push from the midcard she was stuck in, but losing to a comedy act (although also a respected veteran) feels like an odd decision. The action wasn’t overly smooth or inventive anyway, with a lot of stomps and posing before it suddenly ended at just over five minutes. An odd choice for a big return show, seems like they could have found a better spot for both wrestlers.

Konami vs. Natsuko Tora

They circle to start, takedown by Konami and they jockey for position on the mat. Natsuko gets to the ropes and Konami picks her up, the pair trade elbows until Konami elbows Natsuko to the mat. Natsuko rakes Konami in the eyes and goes off the ropes, but Konami catches her with a kick to the stomach. Natsuko pulls Konami to the mat and hits a series of running sentons, Natsuko throws down Konami by the hair and kicks her against the ropes. Natsuko throws Konami by the hair again and facewashes her before delivering a boot to the head. Natsuko gets her chain but the referee stops her from using it, stomps by Natsuko but Konami blocks the Irish whip out of the corner. Hard elbow by Natsuko and she Irish whips Konami, but Konami reverses it. Natsuko avoids Konami’s charge however and chops her in the chest. More chops by Natsuko and she clubs Konami to her knees, she goes off the ropes but Konami catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches it to a cross armbreaker attempt but just as she gets it locked in, Natsuko gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Konami kicks Natsuko repeatedly in the chest, sliding kick by Konami and Natsuko falls out of the ring. Konami slides Natsuko back in and puts her in a choke, sleeper suplex by Konami and she delivers a Buzzsaw Kick. Konami picks up Natsuko and goes off the ropes, but Natsuko pushes the referee into Konami and hits an uppercut. Kamikaze by Natsuko and she gets her chain, putting it on Konami’s chest. Natsuko goes up top and hits the diving body press, cover by Natsuko but the referee sees what she did and doesn’t do the count. Natsuko pushes down the referee and hits a lariat with the chain, she starts choking Konami with it while using the ropes for extra leverage. The referee recovers and finally has seen enough, calling for the DQ. Konami wins!

For what they were going for, I thought this went pretty well. Natsuko isn’t a high end in-ring wrestler and probably never will be, so she needs to really get over her character if she is going to be seen as the leader of Oedo Tai. Its going to take some time for the act to really gain steam but having her go full-chain is a good idea, even though the entire faction is still struggling since Saki as we just saw isn’t really doing well and Natsu is more of a comedy wrestler. Konami held the match together as far as the action went, and her offense looked smooth and impactful as always. I’m willing to keep an open mind and see where this goes, but Stardom will have to really stick with it if it is going to work, if Natsuko has too many matches where she is just another random person in a six wrestler tag the character will never succeed beyond the midcard.  Mildly Recommended

AZM and Momo Watanabe vs. Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita

Utami and AZM kick things off, Utami pushes AZM to the mat and goes off the ropes as they get into a fast pace exchange. AZM hits a hurricanrana and a dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Utami catches her with a dropkick of her own. Saya comes in and they both shoulderblock AZM, Utami puts AZM in a Camel Clutch and Saya dropkicks her. Utami picks up AZM and tags Saya, scoop slam by Saya and she hits a second one. Irish whip by Saya to the corner but AZM avoids her charge, Momo runs in and dropkicks Saya and AZM puts her in a Camel Clutch so that Momo can kick her repeatedly. AZM throws down Saya by the hair and tags Momo, Momo stomps Saya in the corner and she hits a scoop slam. Saya tries to fight back but gets kicked in the chest for her troubles, they trade elbows until Saya cartwheels out of Momo’s way and hits a dropkick. She tags in Utami, shoulderblock by Utami and she throws AZM at Momo in the corner. Running back elbow by Utami and she dropkicks Momo in the back for a two count. Utami picks up Momo but Momo slides away and kicks her in the chest. Momo tags AZM but Utami drops her with a sidewalk slam before tagging in Saya. Saya throws AZM in the corner but AZM slips out to the apron, she quickly gets back in and temporarily gets control until Saya dropkicks her in the knee.

Sickle Hold by Saya, she lets go after a moment and applies a single leg crab hold but AZM eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Saya quickly pulls AZM to the middle of the ring and puts her in a full crab hold, but Momo breaks it up. Scoop slam by Saya, she’d get on the second turnbuckle but AZM armdrags her back to the mat. Vertical suplex by AZM, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp. La Mistica by AZM into a seated armbar, but Utami quickly breaks it up. Utami hits a Samoan Drop on AZM, dropkick by Saya and she covers AZM for two. Saya goes for a running Shooting Star Press but AZM moves, Saya trips her and hits a handstand into a double kneedrop. Pele Kick by Saya but AZM kicks her back and the two are both down on the mat. AZM tags in Momo before Saya can tag out herself, Momo grabs Saya but Saya blocks the B Driver. Dropkick by Saya and she tags in Utami, Utami throws Momo into the corner but Momo avoids her charge and hits a dropkick. Hard shoulderblock by Utami, Momo gets back up quickly and the two trade elbows. Momo gets Utami’s back and applies a crossface chickenwing, Utami gets out of it however and puts Momo in a reverse neckbreaker. She finally drops Momo with the Schwein, Saya comes in and Utami helps her hits a standing moonsault. They pick up Momo and hit a double vertical suplex, cover by Utami but it gets a two count. Utami picks up Momo and applies a sleeper, but Momo gets out of it and AZM kicks Utami in the head. B Driver by Momo and AZM hits a diving footstomp, Momo waits for Utami to get up and kicks her in the head.

Cover by Momo, but it gets a two count when Saya breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Saya and she eats a double dropkick after failing to cartwheel her way out of it, Momo puts Utami in the crossface chickenwing, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Momo picks up Utami and nails a half and half suplex, Somato by Momo but Saya breaks up the cover. AZM runs in to take care of Saya, Momo goes for the Peach Sunrise on Utami but Utami rolls out of it and hit a short range lariat. AZM comes in and with Momo they kick Utami in the head, Momo gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the Diving Somato, but Saya breaks up the cover. Momo picks up Utami but Utami gets her back, missile dropkick by Saya to Momo and Utami goes up top to hit a missile dropkick of her own. Utami picks up Momo and delivers a deadlift German, but AZM breaks it up. Momo and Utami trade elbows while on their knees, head kicks by Momo and she nails the Peace Sunrise, but Saya barely breaks it up in time. AZM kicks Saya out of the ring, head kick by Momo to Utami but the bell rings before she can do anything as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Normally I am somewhat critical of the Draw cop-out, but it makes sense here since it just shows that both sides of Queen’s Quest are strong. I like when rookie wrestlers are ‘extra’ and Saya is definitely that, not everything she hits looks perfect and she looked out of place a few times, but its hard to argue that she isn’t fun to watch. AZM of course is a seasoned vet at this point and wrestles like one even she is only 17. I held my breath when Utami went for the missile dropkick but she managed to connect without hurting anyone, and they didn’t look too rusty considering that all had a few months off. Some of the transitions were iffy when they switched which wrestler was in control and I would have preferred that Momo wasn’t so dominate at the end as it would have been nice if it was more back-and-forth leading to the bell, but overall this was an entertaining match with three quality wrestlers and one overly ambitious rookie.  Recommended

Giulia, Maika, Syuri, and Himeka vs. Iwatani, Saya Iida, Starlight Kid, and Nakano

Himeka and Saya begin the match, Himeka pushes Saya into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Saya goes for a takedown but Himeka blocks it, Saya gets Himeka into the ropes this time and she gives a clean break as well. Himeka asks for a Test of Strength but Saya knows better, side headlock by Saya but Himeka reverses it. Himeka keeps the hold applied on the mat but Saya reverses it into a headscissors, but Himeka gets out of it and they tag out as Starlight Kid and Syuri come in. They go through a quick exchange but reach a stalemate, spinning headscissors by Starlight Kid but Syuri avoids the Tiger Feint Kick. Armdrag by Starlight Kid and she dropkicks Syuri, all of STARS come in and all four take turns on Syuri. Four way dropkick to Syuri, standing moonsault by Starlight Kid and she covers Syuri for two. Starlight Kid stomps on Syuri but she is kneed from the apron, snapmare by Syuri to Starlight Kid and she kicks her in the back. Syuri tags in Maika, Maika works on Starlight Kid’s arm and puts her in an armbar, but Maika lets go after a moment and tags Himeka. Himeka picks up Starlight Kid and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Himeka and she hits a third. She tags in Giulia, neckbreaker by Giulia and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Giulia works on Starlight Kid’s mask a bit just to mess with her, kick by Giulia and she tags Maika. Irish whip by Maika and she puts Starlight Kid in a Fujiwara Armbar, but Tam breaks it up.

Giulia tosses Tam out of the ring, Maika twists Starlight Kid in the ropes and continues working on the arm. Syuri returns, she covers for a few covers on Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid kicks out each time. She tags Giulia, Giulia picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid elbows her. Giulia boots Starlight Kid back to the mat and chokes her near the ropes, she throws Starlight Kid into her corner and tags in Maika. Syuri and Himeka come in too and all four attack Starlight Kid, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika quickly transitions to a cross armbreaker, she picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid rebounds off the ropes with a crossbody and makes the hot tag to Mayu. Maika avoids Mayu’s dropkick but Mayu gets her wrist and hits a springboard armdrag out of the corner. Maika avoids Mayu’s charge but Mayu slides out to the ropes and rolls Maika to the mat before hitting a dropkick. Back kick by Mayu but Maika catches her with a side slam and tags in Giulia. Giulia boots Mayu in the face but she lands back in her corner and tags in Tam. Tam and Giulia face off and pull each other’s hair, Tam slaps her but Giulia slaps her back. Elbows by Giulia and she hoots Tam to the mat, Tam ends up by the ropes and Giulia drills her with Hana’s charged up running boot. She does it again for extra measure, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count. Giulia goes up top but Saya stops her from jumping off, Tam tosses Giulia back to the mat and goes up top herself, hitting the 1399 for a two count. Tam picks up Giulia and they trade elbows, head kicks by Tam but Giulia catches her with a Michinoku Driver.

Both wrestlers tag out as Starlight Kid and Syuri come in, elbows by Starlight Kid and Syuri knees her into the corner. Dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits a jumping lariat, cover by Starlight Kid but it gets a two count. Starlight Kid picks up Syuri but Syuri puts her in an armbar, Maika and Himeka come in also to put other members of the opposing team in submission holds but Starlight Kid eventually makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Double underhook suplex by Syuri, she picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid elbows her off and hits a spinning neckbreaker. Starlight Kid tags in Saya, dropkick by Saya and she chops Syuri repeatedly in the chest. Double chop by Saya and she delivers a spinning elbow to Syuri for a two count. Saya picks up Syuri, snapmare by Starlight Kid and she hits a PK. Syuri tags Himeka, body avalanche by Himeka and she covers Saya for two. Himeka puts Saya in a crab hold but Saya quickly gets to the ropes, Himeka knees Saya in the back and covers her for two. Himeka gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya slides off, Mayu superkicks Himeka and Tam hits a German suplex hold. Jackknife by Saya to Himeka, but it gets a two count. All of Donna del Mondo end up against the ropes and all four eat dropkicks, they fall out of the ring and Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle, she tries to dive down onto Donna del Mondo but she lands on her STARS teammates instead. Himeka slides Saya back in, crab hold by Himeka but Saya gets to the ropes for the break. Himeka gets Saya up but Saya wiggles away, she puts Himeka in the Iida Bridge but it gets broken up. The other six wrestlers all come in and exchange moves, everyone ends up on the mat before Himeka levels Saya with a lariat. Himeka picks up Saya and drops her with a running powerbomb, but Mayu breaks up the cover. Himeka grabs Saya and and with Maika they lift up Saya before dropping her while Giulia and Syuri deliver kicks to Saya’s midsection. Argentine Backbreaker by Himeka, and Saya has to submit! Donna del Mondo are the winners!

Eight wrestler tags have their pros and cons. The main advantage of them is there is always something going on, with constant action as new wrestlers tag in and out and Stardom wrestlers have boundless energy. The main con is that its hard to really get into a rhythm or tell a story, as at times it felt directionless. Some parts were great, I enjoyed whenever the teams worked together as the multi-wrestler spots were all well done, and I always enjoy watching Giulia and Starlight Kid. For an introduction for Himeka it was fine but she didn’t get to do too much as Donna del Mondo had such an even split with who was legal. Overall I enjoyed it even though it was far from a MOTYC, the time flew by and there were enough fun moments spread throughout to keep it going. I am interested, however, to see what they do going forward to give Maika and Himeka more of a chance to get over on their own.  Recommended

The post Stardom FC My Stardom ~ Stardom Is Again! on 6/21/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act 37
Date: March 14th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Occasionally I do this obnoxious thing where I review an event that I have on DVD, that is not anywhere online so only a small handful of people in the US have access to it. But I feel its important to shine a light on events that no one has seen, even though I know it can be annoying if I pimp a match that isn’t readily available. I picked this event because it was a pretty big one for Actwres girl’Z, with a title match in the main event. Actwres girl’Z is a smaller promotion based in Tokyo, they very rarely air on TV or online but do sell all of their events on DVD on their website. Check out the Actwres girl’Z Roster for a look at the wrestlers, here is the full card:

• Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui
• Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono
• Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma
• AgZ Championship: Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

Since this is an official DVD, all matches are shown in full. Wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui

Tie-up to start, Ayumi works the headlock and snapmares Misa around before applying a bodyscissors. Misa rolls out of it and applies a single leg crab hold, but Ayumi gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Misa but Ayumi dropkicks her, they trade elbows until Ayumi knocks down Misa with another dropkick. Scoop slam attempt by Ayumi but Misa reverses it into a cradle for a quick two count. Back up, drop toehold by Misa and she hits a crossbody. A second crossbody by Misa, she picks up Ayumi and hits a scoop slam for two. Crab hold by Misa, Ayumi inches to the ropes and finally makes it to force the break. Misa charges Ayumi but Ayumi drop toeholds her into the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Stomps by Ayumi but Misa avoids her dropkick and hits a running back elbow. Dropkick by Misa but Ayumi blocks the scoop slam, bridging cover by Ayumi but Misa kicks out. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Japanese Rolling Clutch by Misa and she picks up the three count! Misa Matsui wins.

Even though Misa won, I thought that Ayumi looked a bit better. Ayumi’s elbows were better, her dropkicks had more impact and she didn’t botch the ending of the match like Misa did. That doesn’t mean Misa won’t become better down the road but four months into it there is still plenty of room for improvement. A simple match, fine for an opener but nothing here to recommend watching.

Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono

They struggle with a tie-up to start, Ayano gets Miku in the ropes and elbows her, but Miku returns the favor. Ayano and Miku trade waistlocks until Miku applies an armbar on the mat, but Ayano gets out of it and applies a wristlock. Side headlock takedown by Ayano but Miku reverses it with a headscissors, Ayano quickly gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Miku gets to the ropes for the break but Ayano stretches Miku before putting her in a camel clutch. Miku tosses Ayano over her head to get out of it, Ayano goes for a slam but Miku blocks it and hits a slam of her own. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, Miku doesn’t go down so Ayano hits another one. Miku still stays up, she absorbs a third before dropkicking Ayano to the mat. Dropkick by Miku in the corner and she kicks Ayano in the chest for a two count. Ayano fights back with elbows but Miku gets away and applies a backslide, schoolboys by Ayano but she gets two counts. A dropkick by Ayano knocks Miku over, scoop slam by Ayano and she covers Miku for two. Ayano goes off the ropes but Miku lariats her and hits a kneebreaker. Modified crab hold by Miku, and Ayano taps out! Miku Anou is the winner.

This was more even than I was expecting based off their experience levels, but at least I got the winner right. Miku was fairly impressive, her dropkicks are solid and I liked her modified crab hold she used to win. Overall this was more fluid than the last match, they worked together well and it was smooth. Still a pretty basic match but I could see either of these two having a decent career if they stick with it, both showed a little something special here even though they still are putting on pretty simple matches.

Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta

Mii starts in the ring first with Hotta, she asks for a knucklelock and gets it, which Hotta easily wins. Momo attacks Hotta from behind and both of the young wrestlers take turns dropkicking Hotta in the corner. Momo struggles with Hotta so Mii helps her out with a dropkick to the back, Momo and Mii both dropkick Hotta again before celebrating. Momo tries to slam Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge, scoop slam by Hotta and she puts Momo in a camel clutch while Mii watches. Mii decides to start kicking Momo while Hotta looks amused, Hotta eventually lets go of Momo and congratulates Mii on her hard work. They both knocks Momo to the mat together, cover by Mii but it gets two. Mii runs over Momo before hitting a footstomp, but Momo hits a Backstabber. Hotta starts helping Momo now as she picks up Momo to help her kick Mii, crab hold by Momo but Mii gets into the ropes for the break. Momo puts the crab hold back on but again Mii gets into the ropes, Hotta comes in and she puts Mii in a camel clutch.

Momo kicks at Mii while she is in the hold, Mii reaches the ropes but Momo stomps on her hand. Hotta eventually picks up Mii, elbows by Mii to Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge. Mii goes for a top toehold, it doesn’t work but Momo gets on the mat to help and they get Hotta over. Mii and Momo take turns running over Hotta’s back, Mii goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Momo knocks Mii away and gets a two count cover of her own, Momo and Mii start trading elbows while Hotta recovers. Hotta hits both of them, she stacks her opponents in the corner but when she charges in she only hits Momo. Mii schoolboys Hotta from behind for two, she suplexes Momo in the middle of the ring and covers her for a two count. Waistlock by Mii but Momo gets out of it, Hotta elbows Momo in the chest and Mii scoop slams Momo near the corner. Mii gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mii but Hotta breaks it up. Momo throws Mii at Hotta, Somato by Momo to Mii but Hotta breaks up her cover. Momo and Mii trade flash pins while Hotta watches, until Momo finally pins down Mii long enough to get the three count! Momo Tani wins the match.

This was an interesting match. Hotta was clearly not trying to win but just to get some in-ring time with the less experienced wrestlers, as at times she was just watching until she decided it was time to get involved for some reason or another. I liked the parts with Mii and Momo double teaming Hotta and if there was more of that it would have been a better match, but in the end it just felt unusual more than good. Some cute spots with Hotta, but not really a great match.

Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma

Hikari and Tae begin the match for their teams, Tae gets Hikari to the mat but Hikari kips up and applies a wristlock. Tae reverses it as they trade holds, armdrag by Tae but Hikari cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Miyuki and Himeka come in the ring but Hikari hits a crossbody on both of them, SAKI and Bonita enter and they all pose on top of Himeka. Tae and Miyuki recover to help, they trey to pose on Hikari but Hikari collapses. The action spills out to the floor with Bonita choking Tae, Miyuki runs up the stairs and hits an elbow on Hikari. Hikari fires back with elbows to Miyuki and hits her own elbow after running down the stairs, Hikari then tosses Miyuki into a row of chairs at ringside. Miyuki slides Hikari back into the ring and the two trade chops, rapid fire chops by Miyuki in the corner but all the other wrestlers in the match get in the ring and get stacked up in the corner. Himeka charges in and hits a body avalanche on the whole lot (except SAKI who dove out of the way), and SAKI puts Himeka in a Rocking Horse. After a moment she lets go, SAKI picks up Himeka but Himeka gets away and hits a shoulderblock. SAKI doesn’t go over, she then tries to shoulderblock Himeka but Himeka stays on her feet. SAKI kicks Himeka but Himeka finally knocks her down with a shoulderblock, crab hold by Himeka but SAKI is too close to the ropes and forces a break. Snapmare by Himeka but SAKI avoids her knee, takedown by SAKI and she puts Himeka in a Scorpion Deathlock.

Himeka quickly gets out of it and gets SAKI on her shoulders, but SAKI slides away. Hikari runs in and hits a crossbody on Himeka to get her over on a sunset flip attempt, but the cover only gets two. Bonita is tagged in, she picks up Himeka and slams her to the mat. Miyuki trips Bonita from the floor, Himeka tosses her into the corner but Bonita avoids her charge and hits a knee. Swinging neckbreaker by Bonita, but he cover only gets two. Himeka fights back and hits a running knee, she gets Bonita on her shoulders in a backbreaker but SAKI and Hikari run in to rescue her. Himeka picks up Bonita again and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Himeka but Bonita kicks out. Himeka tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits a diving elbow smash off the second turnbuckle for a two count cover. Heel kick by Bonita and she dropkicks Miyuki, giving her time to tag in Hikari. Bonita stays in as SAKI comes in also and all three hit running strikes on Miyuki, PK by Hikari and she covers Miyuki for two. Hikari applies a choke but Miyuki gets out of it, Hikari goes for a crossbody but Miyuki elbows her in midair and gets a two count cover. Rolling fireman’s carry slam by Miyuki, but Hikari avoids the diving legdrop attempt. Chops and elbows by Miyuki in the corner but Hikari avoids one and slides out to the apron. She charges back in but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Tae. Tae gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a front dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Bonita comes in and stomps Tae, but Tae throws Bonita into Hikari.

SAKI runs in and boots Tae in the head, kicks to the back by Hikari to Tae but Tae avoids the PK. Tae and Hikari trade elbows until Hikari hits a scoop slam, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. She tags in SAKI, SAKI boots Tae in the head and they start to do the “all six wrestlers suplex each other” spot but Hikari is in no mood and breaks it up with a kick. Vertical suplex by SAKI to Tae, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Himeka grabs her from behind and brings her back into the ring. SAKI hits a double facebuster on Himeka and Tae, SAKI goes for a boot but Tae catches her leg and goes for an ankle hold. SAKI quickly gets to the ropes, Tae dropkicks SAKI in the leg and covers her but SAKI is too close to the ropes. Tae trips SAKI and puts her in a cross kneelock, but the hold is broken up. Himeka and Miyuki come in and double team SAKI, Tae goes up top but Tae accidentally dropkicks her own partners. suplex by Bonita to Tae, Hikari gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. SAKI follows with a reverse splash, but the cover is broken up. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away and rolls up SAKI for two. Himeka shoulderblocks Hikari but Bonita chops her in the face, lariat by Miyuki to SAKI and Tae connects with a missile dropkick on SAKI for two. Tae holds SAKI but SAKI kicks Miyuki away and hits a vertical suplex onto both of them. Assisted footstomp by Hikari to Tae, SAKI picks up Tae and hits a vertical suplex for the three count pinfall! Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita are the winners!

This match not only met my expectations but exceeded them, a really fun match. You can tell they have been wrestling together for awhile as they have great chemistry, and both Hikaru Shimizu and Miyuki Takase have very bright futures in wrestling if they stay active. Matches with six wrestlers are generally too chaotic to tell a story and they embraced that here as there was constantly action going on and wrestlers running in to help their teammates. A fast paced and well executed match and the exact type you want in this slot to get the crowd excited for the main event coming up.  Recommended

(c) Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru pushes away Saori’s handshake attempt and elbows her repeatedly in the corner, Irish whip by Kakeru but Saori reverses it. Saori lands out on the apron but quickly gets back into the ring and boots Kakeru to the mat. Saori works a headlock but Kakeru quickly gets out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Saori avoids the move and hits a heel drop. Headlock by Saori but Kakeru inches to the ropes and gets there to force a break. Saori goes off the ropes and boots Kakeru in the face, she charges Kakeru but Kakeru hits a judo throw followed by series of dropkicks for a two count cover. Sleeper by Kakeru but Saori gets a foot on the ropes to get the hold released. Kakeru knocks Saori into the corner but Saori avoids he charges and hits an enzuigiri. Saori goes for a chop but Kakeru ducks it and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Kakeru while Saori is against the ropes and she snaps Saori’s head into the apron. Kakeru slams her head into the apron again before returning to the ring, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by Kakeru, she goes for the cover but Saori kicks out. Kakeru picks up Saori but Saori elbows her back and the two trade blows.

Slap by Saori and she hits an enzuigiri, Kakeru comes back with more elbows and she delivers a dropkick. Kakeru charges Saori but Saori snaps off German suplex, Kakeru gets back up however and plants Saori with a STO for a two count. Saori goes for a boot but Kakeru ducks it and schoolboys Saori for a two count. Kakeru gets the sleeper re-applied, she lets go to cover Saori but Saori kicks out. Kakeru jumps at Saori and drops her to the mat with a grounded front necklock, but Saori doesn’t fully go to sleep so Kakeru releases it. Kakeru drives Saori’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and re-applying the hold, but this time Saori is too close to the ropes and she forces a break. Kakeru doesn’t let go of the hold so Saori stands back up while still in it and slams Kakeru into the mat. This gets them even more in the ropes and the referee finally manages to break them up, Kakeru drags Saori to her feet and goes off the ropes, nailing a STO for a close two count. Saori goes off the ropes again but this time Saori snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kakeru goes for the front necklock but this time Saori slams her to the mat to block it, Kakeru goes for a cradle but Saori kicks out. Kakeru goes off the ropes and hits another STO, but again it only gets two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Saori goes behind her back and delivers a Wheelbarrow German Suplex Hold for two. Enzuigiri by Saori and she delivers a Dragon Suplex Hold, picking up the three count! Saori Anou is the winner and still the champion.

Even though I wish the match was a bit longer, it was still an enjoyable match. Kakeru’s STOs are fantastic, loads of impact and it is a perfectly reasonable finisher with the way that she executes it. I do wish that she wouldn’t just release submission holds for no reason, its a tough spot but if a submission isn’t going to work then its probably better to do a rope break or some other reversal as releasing them without victory isn’t overly logical. It really was Kakeru’s match as Saori was in despair for the bulk of it, but her move combination at the end felt definitive enough that it didn’t feel like a cheap victory. Overall I liked it, both are good wrestlers, even if it wasn’t completely without its flaws and was a little shorter than I’d prefer a main event title match to be.  Mildly Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act 37 on 3/14/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG Let’s Get d!!!
Date: January 20th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 717

As I catch back up with what is going on in the world of Joshi, it was necessary to check out a recent big event for SEAdLINNNG. When SEAdLINNNG first launched I wasn’t sure how long it would last or how big it would get, but they have been trucking along now for three years and even have both singles and tag team champions. The roster is still small (three wrestlers) but they have access to a lot of other wrestlers so all their events feel complete. This is a big show for them as it takes place at Korakuen Hall and features two title matches. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Himeka Arita
• Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tsukushi
• Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Ryo Mizunami, and Sae
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship: Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura vs. Miyuki Takase and Yumiko Hotta
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Nanae Takahashi vs. Yoshiko

As this aired on Nico Nico, all matches are shown in full. As always, all wrestlers on the event have profiles here at Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

ASUKA vs. Himeka Arita

ASUKA won’t shake Himeka’s hand before the match starts as she has no time for scrubs, Himeka gets ASUKA into the ropes and hits a series of hard elbows. She goes for an Irish whip but ASUKA doesn’t budge, so Himeka slaps her instead. More elbows by Himeka but ASUKA switches positions with her and slaps her, ASUKA works a headlock but Himeka gets out of it and the collide into each other. Hard shoulderblock by Himeka but ASUKA kips up and hits a shoulderblock of her own. Himeka retorts with another shoulderblock, body avalanche by Himeka in the corner and she hits a running knee for a two count cover. Himeka goes for a scoop slam but ASUKA blocks it, knees by ASUKA but Himeka catches her when she charges in and hits the slam. Shoulderblocks by Himeka, but ASUKA kicks out of the pin attempt. Himeka goes off the ropes but ASUKA nails her in the face with a dropkick, superkick by ASUKA and she hits a gutwrench suplex. ASUKA goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cocky cover by ASUKA and Himeka gets a shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Himeka but Himeka blocks the chokeslam attempt, slaps by Himeka and she delivers a Samoan Drop for two. Himeka goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a superkick, she then goes off the ropes but Himeka hits the jumping knee. Himeka charges ASUKA but ASUKA avoids the knee and delivers a strike combination, chokeslam by ASUKA but the cover only gets two. ASUKA quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by ASUKA and she gets the three count! ASUKA is the winner.

I wouldn’t say this match was “good” but it was serviceable. ASUKA gave Himeka quite a bit of offense, which was nice of her since Himeka is still basically an unknown while ASUKA is a former champion. Everything was hit well and was pretty smooth, aside from one clunky moment during the chokeslam block. Inoffensive but not much to it.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tsukushi

They all circle each other to start but get right into it with a triple headlock spot before Tsukushi and Kaho trade armdrags. Mei feels left out and goes into an exchange with Kaho, which she gets the better off until Kaho flings her down with a springboard armdrag. Mei and Tsukushi both dropkick Kaho in the corner, Kaho goes off the ropes until she is exhausted and eats a double dropkick. Tsukushi kicks Mei when Mei is celebrating and puts her in a camel clutch. Kaho returns and dropkicks Tsukushi, now it is Kaho that puts Mei in the camel clutch but Tsukushi recovers and dropkicks her back. Natsuki fusses at Kaho for grabbing Tsukushi’s hair while Tsukushi oversells it, Natsuki throws Kaho to the mat and she is double teamed by Tsukushi and Mei. Double Irish whip to Kaho but Kaho dropkicks both of them, she lays them together on the mat and applies a double crab hold. Natsuki breaks it up for reasons unknown, she gets into it with Kaho but Natsuki lands on her ankle wrong and Kaho dropkicks her.

Mei and Tsukushi trade quick pins on Kaho with no luck, Kaho dropkicks Mei but Tsukushi helps her out and Mei puts Kaho in a figure four leglock. Tsukushi goes up top and his a diving footstomp onto Mei, Tsukushi goes back to Kaho and dropkicks her while she is against the ropes. Tilt-a-whirl crossbody by Tsukushi, but Kaho kicks out of the cover. Tsukushi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukushi but Mei breaks it up. Mei elbows Tsukushi and hits four dropkicks, but her cover only gets two. Mei picks up Tsukushi and knocks her against the ropes, but Mei avoids her dropkick and knocks Tsukushi out of the ring. Kaho returns, dropkick by Kaho and she hits a running senton. Kaho puts Mei in a modified armbar, she lets go after a moment but Mei blocks the fisherman buster and rolls her up for two. More flash pins by Mei have no luck, dropkick by Mei and two more, but Kaho catches her with a dropkick of her own. Kick to the head by Kaho, she goes up top but Tsukushi get back in and eats the missile dropkick instead. Mei dropkicks Kaho out of the ring, she goes to cover Tsukushi but Tsukushi reverses it into a cradle for the three count! Tsukushi wins!

I know some people love these matches and while I generally find them inoffensive, they don’t do a whole lot for me. They work better when there is more comedy since its a goofy match anyway but the funny bits here didn’t really land with me and it mostly was just running off the ropes and dropkicks. While it was great to see Kaho again and Tsukushi is one of of the better young wrestlers on the Joshi scene, there just wasn’t enough meat to the match for me to recommend seeking it out.

Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Fujimoto vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Ryo Mizunami, and Sae

Team Ryo attacks before the match starts and isolate Tsukasa, triple teaming her while referee looks on but makes little attempt to help. The other wrestlers finally leave and Ryo stays in with Tsukasa, leg drop by Ryo and she tags in Sae. Sae stomps on Tsukasa but Tsukasa fires up and trades blows with her. Tsukasa wins the battle and tags in Hamuko, Hamuko poses on the mat while Sae looks confused. Hamuko tags in Makoto, Makoto boots Sae and kicks the second rope into her chin. Springboard crossbody by Makoto, her partners come in to clear the apron and all three do rolls over Sae. Cover by Makoto, but it gets a two count. Makoto goes to throw Sae into the corner but Sae reverses it and hits a back elbow followed by a big boot. She tags Hiroe, dropkicks by Hiroe and she hits a snap vertical suplex for two. Makoto snaps off a DDT and delivers a pump kick, she tags in Hamuko and Hamuko belly mushes Hiroe in the corner. Hiroe slides away from Hamuko and the two trade elbows, dropkick by Hiroe and she hits another one while Hamuko is against the ropes. Makoto comes in to help, boot by Makoto but Hiroe hits a Codebreaker on Hamuko and rolls her up for two. She makes the hot tag to Ryo, spear by Ryo and she chops Hamuko into the corner. Rapid fire chops by Ryo and she hits a lariat after some theatrics for a two count cover.

Elbows by Ryo but Hamuko slaps her in the chest, lariat by Hamuko but Ryo doesn’t go down. Hard lariat by Ryo, she goes off the ropes but Hamuko knocks her over with a belly bump. Running belly smash by Hamuko and she tags in Tsukasa. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, another dropkick by Tsukasa but Ryo blocks the scoop slam and hits one of her own for two. Tsukasa bridges out of it and hits a dropkick, her friends clear the ring but Ryo catches her and delivers the dragon suplex hold for two. Lariat by Ryo, but Tsukasa barely kicks out. Ryo gets Tsukasa on her shoulders but Tsukasa sides away, they trade strikes until Ryo levels Tsukasa with a lariat for another two count. Ryo tags in Sae which doesn’t bode well, big boots by Sae and she applies the cover for two. Sae picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa throws her in the corner and hits a dropkick, diving crossbody by Makoto but Tsukasa’s cover is broken up. Kicks to the back by Tsukasa and she delivers the PK, but Sae kicks out. Tsukasa applies the armtrap crossface but Sae gets to the ropes for the break, Ryo comes back in and cuts off Tsukasa with a lariat before Hiroe delivers a spear. Boot by Sae, but Tsukasa kicks out of the pin. Northern Lights Suplex by Sae, but this time her cover is broken up. Hiroe stays in the ring but Tsukasa kicks them both back, dropkick by Tsukasa but Sae sneaks in a backslide with a bridge for two. Sae goes off the ropes and boots Tsukasa, but that gets a two as well. Sae goes off the ropes but Tsukasa has had enough and rolls her up before applying the Straight Jacket Clutch for the submission victory! Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto are the winners.

This is just one of those cases where having so many wrestlers did nothing to enhance the match. Aside from a few spots here and there they didn’t all get involved too much since they were just thrown together teams and it felt disjointed at times. Sae was so obviously the fall person in this match that you knew when she tagged in it was time for the home stretch. For midcard fodder it was fine, as the wrestlers themselves are solid (aside from Sae who still needs some work), but it just felt like random moves until Tsukasa suddenly put away Sae with a submission out of nowhere. A decent match but utterly forgettable.

(c) Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura vs. Miyuki Takase and Yumiko Hotta
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship

The match begins with Miyuki and Ayame in the ring, they trade holds until Ayame shoulderblocks Miyuki to the mat. Ayame picks up Miyuki and throws her into the corner, but Miyuki boots her when she charges in and delivers a dropkick. After a quick exchange they end up at a stalemate, Ayame tags out while Miyuki pretends to but she attacks Arisa instead of tagging in Hotta. Arisa doesn’t appreciate this and boots her to the mat, Miyuki gets back up but Arisa knocks her into her corner and Hotta finally tags in. Arisa and Hotta trade elbows, dropkick by Arisa but Hotta stares her down. Slap by Arisa and they grab each other by the hair, both let go and Arisa tags Ayame. Ayame tries to elbow and slam Hotta but Hotta shrugs her off and kicks Ayame to the mat. She tags Miyuki, scoop slam by Miyuki and she applies a crab hold but Ayame quickly gets to the ropes. Dropkick by Miyuki and she drops a leg on Ayame’s back for a two count cover. She tags Hotta back in, double Irish whip to Ayame and she eats a double shoulderblock. Camel clutch by Hotta but Arisa breaks it up, Hotta then goes for Ayame’s arm but Arisa keeps kicking at her until she lets go. Hotta tags Miyuki, Miyuki and Ayame trade elbows until Miyuki knocks Ayame down and puts her in a crab hold. Ayame gets to the ropes to force the break, Miyuki picks her up but Ayame blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. Ayame tags in Arisa, Arisa boots Miyuki in the chest and hits Hotta as well before booting Miyuki again for a two count cover. Hotta kicks Arisa from the apron, Miyuki tries to hit Arisa but she elbows Hotta by mistake. She lands an elbow on Arisa anyway and tags in Hotta, heel kick by Hotta to Arisa and she gets a quick two count cover. Double underhook by Hotta but Arisa gets away and applies a cross kneelock.

Miyuki comes in but Ayame does too and tosses Miyuki to the floor, meanwhile Hotta has gotten to the ropes to get the break. Arisa boots Hotta out of the ring as well, she goes up top as Miyuki comes up to her but Arisa DDTs her into the apron. Ayame goes to the top turnbuckle to dive down onto Hotta, but Hotta moves and she lands on Arisa instead. All four battle around the crowd and floor, Hotta hits Arisa with a chair but Arisa ducks a shot and hits Hotta with the chair instead. Arisa tosses a bunch of chairs at Hotta before Miyuki comes over to help, but Arisa slams Miyuki on top of Hotta. Arisa returns to the ring with Hotta slowly following, she slides a chair into the ring as she gets in but Ayame dropkicks her from behind. Arisa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Arisa but Hotta kicks out. Mounted elbows by Arisa but Miyuki trips her from the apron, Arisa and Miyuki trade slaps while Hotta gets the chair back. She goes to hit Arisa but hits the referee by accident, she picks the chair back up and cracks Arisa over the head with it. Ayame tries to help but Hotta keeps knocking her back to continue going after Arisa as things have officially broken down. Hotta breaks a chair over Ayame’s head before getting her chain and using it to throw Arisa into the crowd. Arisa recovers and trades elbows with Hotta, but Hotta knocks her back down and hits her with the chain. She finally gets back into the ring while the wrestlers check on Ayame, who is bleeding everywhere, but Ayame makes it back into the ring as the referee finally wakes up. Piledriver by Hotta to Ayame, but Arisa breaks up the cover.

They switch wrestlers as Miyuki picks up Ayame and hits a fireman’s carry rolling slam followed by a leg drop. Tiger Driver by Hotta to Ayame, but again Arisa breaks up the pin. Cross armbreaker by Hotta to Ayame but Arisa is still close by and breaks that up too, schoolboy by Ayame to Hotta but Hotta gets a hand in the ropes. Ayame slams Hotta with the help of Arisa, she tags in Arisa and Arisa kicks Hotta repeatedly in the head. German suplex by Arisa, she goes up top but Miyuki joins her. Arisa elbows Miyuki down and hits the diving footstomp onto Hotta, but the cover gets two. Arisa goes for the dragon suplex but Hotta blocks it and hits a Tiger Driver for a two count. Hotta slowly gets up but Arisa blocks her second Tiger Driver attempt, Hotta falls back into her corner and Miyuki tags in. Miyuki knocks Arisa back and hits a lariat, she goes for another one but delivers the Cutie Special for two. High kick by Arisa and she boots Miyuki in the face, German suplex hold by Arisa but Hotta breaks it up. Ayame tries to get Hotta out of the ring but fails, Arisa goes for another suplex but Miyuki reverses it. Knee and a slap by Arisa and she hits the trapped German, but Hotta breaks it up by throwing a chain at Arisa. Ayame has seen enough and grabs the chain, running over and hitting Hotta repeatedly with it. This gives Arisa time to pick up Miyuki, she nails the dragon suplex hold and she picks up the three count! Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura are still the champions.

Even though the story was predictable, this was still a lot of fun. Hotta is one of the few wrestlers out there that you really can’t tell any given moment if she is being cooperative or just doing her own thing, part of which is from her reputation and part is from just the way she acts in the ring. She always seems to straddle the line between playing along and not being in the mood, and it makes her matches a bit unique to watch. Arisa wasn’t trying to put up with her shit but at times had no choice and they had some entertaining exchanges. Miyuki and Ayame both stepped up and looked really good, Ayame never really got one over on Hotta but by beating her with a chain to stop her from making the final pin breakup she still got the last laugh. It somehow felt both predictable and haphazard at the same time in its structure, certainly not your normal match and even though it didn’t peak very high it stayed amusing throughout. Worth a watch as Hotta is a legend and the young wrestlers both made their presence felt.  Recommended

(c) Nanae Takahashi vs. Yoshiko
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship

They start slow as they go into knuckle lock before transitioning into trading wristlocks, they reach a stalemate until Nanae shoulderblocks Yoshiko to the mat. Yoshiko regains the advantage by applying a keylock but Nanae inches to the ropes to force the break. Nanae rolls out of the ring to regroup but returns after a moment, Yoshiko greets her with a kick and continues working on the arm. Yoshiko starts choking Nanae with her own arm but Nanae gets away, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko slams her to the mat. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her ankle, running knee by Nanae but Yoshiko gets straight up and they trade elbows. Nanae gets the better of the battle and knocks Yoshiko into the corner before twisting her leg in the ropes. Kicks to the leg by Nanae and she puts Yoshiko in a figure four leglock, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes for the break. Nanae flings Yoshiko down by the hair but Yoshiko returns the favor, bootscrapes by Yoshiko but Nanae blocks the running kick attempt and hits a dragon screw. Yoshiko recovers and hits a running boot, Yoshiko kicks Nanae out of the ring and goes out after her but Nanae hits a vertical suplex on the floor. Nanae tosses Yoshiko into the crowd and throws chairs at her, but Yoshiko tosses Nanae into the ring post and hits a running senton. Back in the ring, Nanae puts Yoshiko in a sleeper but Yoshiko drives her into the corner and puts Nanae in an armbar. Nanae rolls out of it and they trade slaps, Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Nanae levels her with a lariat for two.

Backdrop suplex by Nanae, she goes up top but Yoshiko recovers and joins her, hitting an avalanche Samoan Drop. Running senton by Yoshiko, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko picks up Nanae but Nanae breaks away and hits a wrist-clutch backdrop suplex. She goes for the One Second EX but Yoshiko blocks it, jumping kick by Nanae but Yoshiko headbutts her. Nanae replies with a Superman Punch and both wrestlers go down to the mat. Nanae recovers first and elbows Yoshiko while still on her knees, but Yoshiko elbows her back as they slowly return to their feet. Lariat by Yoshiko and she hits a fireman’s carry slam, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes up top but Nanae rolls out of the way of the diving senton, Nanae picks up Yoshiko and struggles to hit the belly to back piledriver, eventually delivering the move for a two count. Nanae goes up top and nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but Yoshiko rolls through it and applies a keylock. Yoshiko sits down on Nanae’s chest, she goes off the ropes and hits the sliding lariat for a two count. Yoshiko goes up top but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex, cover by Nanae but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Nanae goes off the ropes and hits the Sliding D, she hits a second piledriver but that gets a two count as well. Nanae quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle, she delivers the Refrigerator Bomb and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi retains the championship.

Nanae Takahashi is an old school veteran and this match was laid out how you’d expect an old school match to be, but without the excitement and suspense. Yoshiko gets more credit than Nanae when it comes to the limb work as at least she did go back to the keylock, even though never made any effort to show they were having any trouble due to the limb work done to them. Limb work going nowhere is not an issue exclusive to this match but at least a little arm shake would be appreciated. It really felt like they were just taking turns as the transitions were shaky at best, and the finishing stretch didn’t have the bombs that would be required to make up for a match that never felt like it got going. Add in the botched piledriver (and I hate when wrestlers mess up a move and then just immediately re-do the same move) and there was a lot going on here that wasn’t ideal. While having an “ok” match on the midcard is forgivable, when its the main event at Korakuen a bit more is expected. The single cam setup probably didn’t help the presentation, but a disappointing main event.

The post SEAdLINNNG Let’s Get d!!! on 1/20/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE is really on top of uploading events to the WAVE Network, and the last few months they seem to have really put a focus on making the service worth the money. They have already added several events from the last two months, but we are going to skip ahead to the most recent event as it has a handful of matches I really want to see. I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches, here is the line-up:

• Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi
• Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki
• Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki
• 20 Minute Iron Woman Match: ASUKA vs. Hikaru Shida
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

Since this aired on the WAVE Network there shouldn’t be any clipping. As always, all the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi

Hiroe and Mikoto start the match, Hiroe pushes Mikoto into the ropes but Mikoto fires back with elbows. Hiroe avoids the dropkick and hits a few of her own, vertical suplex by Hiroe and she covers Mikoto for two. Hiroe tags Miyuki, stomps by Miyuki but Mikoto dropkicks her from behind and tags Tsukushi. Tsukushi bites Miyuki and throws her down by the hair, Irish whip by Tsukushi but Miyuki delivers a dropkick. Hiroe comes in to help as Tsukushi is double teamed in the corner, cover by Miyuki but Tsukushi kicks out. Miyuki applies a bodyscissors and rolls Tsukushi around the ring before ending in a cradle, Miyuki goes to pick up Tsukushi but Tsukushi kicks her and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Tsukushi in the corner and she hits a drop toehold as Mikoto comes in. Mikoto and Tsukushi take turns running onto Miyuki, Tsukushi sets up Miyuki in the ropes and pulls back on her nose. Tsukushi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Miyuki in the back, cover by Tsukushi but it gets two. Tsukushi tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Miyuki for a two count. Mikoto goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki blocks it and hits one of her own, Mikoto quickly gets back up and elbows Miyuki but again her scoop slam attempt is reversed. Mikoto finally connects with the scoop slam, but Miyuki kicks out of her cover attempts. Mikoto goes for a dropkick but Miyuki blocks it and hits a scoop slam, leg drop by Miyuki and she gets on the second turnbuckle to hit a diving forearm smash. Miyuki tags Hiroe, dropkick by Hiroe and she hits a vertical suplex. Crab hold by Hiroe but Tsukushi breaks it up, Hiroe goes up top but Tsukushi smacks her from the apron.

This gives Mikoto time to recover as she tosses Hiroe back to the mat, dropkicks by Mikoto and she hits a scoop slam. Mikoto goes off the ropes  and applies a backslide, but that gets a two as well. Hiroe goes for a lariat but Mikoto cradles her, Mikoto goes off the ropes and dropkicks Hiroe before tagging in Tsukushi. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a diving bodypress onto Hiroe, she goes for a second one but Hiroe joins her. Tsukushi gets on Hiroe’s back and applies a stretch hold while they are on the turnbuckles, Tsukushi then goes for a powerbomb but Hiroe blocks it until Mikoto hits Hiroe from the apron. Hiroe still prevents Tsukushi from taking her over, vertical suplex by Hiroe but Tsukushi fires back with an elbow and they trade shots. Spear by Hiroe, but Tsukushi barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes in and slams Tsukushi in front of the corner, diving leg drop by Miyuki and Hiroe follows with the Northern Lights Suplex, but Mikoto breaks it up. Hiroe goes off the ropes but Mikoto catches her with a dropkick, Tsukushi follows with a dropkick of her own and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Mikoto comes in again but Hiroe spears both of them, Hiroe goes for a backdrop suplex but Tsukushi rolls her up for two. A hurricanrana by Tsukushi is reversed as Hiroe and Tsukushi trade flash pins, Tsukushi throws in some footstomps between covers but she only gets a two each time. Denden Mushi by Tsukushi, and she picks up the three count! Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi are the winners!

This was a pretty simply laid out match but easy enough to watch. Mikoto just debuted a couple months ago so her offense is really basic, and since the match was built around her everyone else followed suit. Tsukushi threw in some fun tricks, she’s really unique and a pleasure to watch, but other than a few of her spots there wasn’t a whole lot to it. Perfectly fine for an opener but nothing overly memorable or special about it.

Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki

The taller Himeka asks for a Test of Strength and Nagisa agrees, which Himeka gets the better of. Nagisa applies a headlock but Himeka Irish whips out of it and shoulderblocks Nagisa down. She goes off the ropes but Nagisa hits a drop toehold and goes for a submission, with Himeka quickly getting into the ropes. Stomps by Nagisa but Himeka hits a scoop slam, crab hold by Himeka but Nagisa gets into the ropes for the break. Himeka stomps on Nagisa’s back but Nagisa blocks the Irish whip and hits a boot. She goes for another one but Himeka moves, Nagisa lands out on the apron and she snaps Himeka’s neck on the top rope. Nagisa slaps Himeka in the chest repeatedly but Himeka blocks the suplex attempt, big boot by Nagisa in the corner and she sets up Himeka before booting her in the head again. Nagisa goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Nagisa but it gets two. Nagisa picks up Himeka and puts her in a sleeper, but Himeka twists out of it. Nagisa kicks Himeka into the corner but Himeka avoids the boot attempt and hits a body avalanche. Shoulderblock by Himeka, she picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her and the two trade blows. Himeka eventually knocks down Nagisa with a shoulderblock for two, she picks her back up but Nagisa slides away and hits a series of knees. Boot by Nagisa and she hits a double underhook suplex, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding kick for two. Nagisa knees Himeka and goes off the ropes, but Himeka swats away the boot attempt and schoolboys her for two. Running knee by Himeka, but that gets a two as well. She next tries a jumping knee, but has the same result. Himeka gets Nagisa on her shoulders but Nagisa applies a sleeper, she reverts it into a Dragon Sleeper and Himeka taps out! Nagisa Nozaki is the winner!

If you are using the “big boot” as your part of a strike exchange, I’m probably not going to take it too seriously. Anyway this match was bizarre as I was not expecting Himeka to be the dominate fighter as while she is a big bigger than Nagisa, she isn’t really enough bigger to act like its a major advantage. I get that she ‘wrestles big’ but I wasn’t expecting it to this extent. Nagisa is an average wrestler and Himeka was actually more impressive than the veteran, to say Nagisa’s offense is repetitive would be an understatement. While it is good to see Himeka progressing, this match didn’t do a whole lot for me.

Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki

Rin and Sakura start but Sakura immediately tags in Yuki before they both roll out of the ring. We are off to a great start. Rin and Takumi go out after them and they battle around the floor, mostly out of the camera’s view since show was shot with one hard side camera. Its manned, but they still can’t really move aside from going side to side. Sakura gets Takumi by the wrist and walks the guard rail before hitting an armdrag. More things happen we can’t really see until Yuki and Rin finally make it back to the ring, with Yuki quickly putting Rin in a Compromising Position until Takumi breaks it up. Rin elbows Yuki in the chest but Yuki swats her dropkick aside. She wants her to tag in Takumi but she won’t, scoop slam by Yuki and she throws Rin into the corner so Takumi will tag. Takumi does so, high kick by Takumi and she dropkicks Yuki. Takumi goes for a suplex but Yuki reverses it, back up Takumi punches Yuki in the head and delivers a kick combination, but Yuki ducks one and drives Takumi’s head repeatedly into her backside. She takes Takumi out of the ring as Sakura gets in it, Sakura goes for a dive but catches the second rope and bounces back into the ring. Yuki and Takumi return, kick by Takumi but Yuki delivers a sliding kick and tags in Sakura. Sakura puts Takumi into a couple submission holds while Yuki dropkicks her, she goes for the Shining Wizard but Takumi blocks it and hits a roaring elbow. Takumi goes for a suplex but Sakura lands on her feet and hits an Oil Check, she goes off the ropes but Takumi kicks her in the stomach. Sakura goes for a hurricanrana but Takumi catches her and delivers a powerbomb for a two count.

Takumi goes off the ropes but Yuki trips her from the floor and pulls Takumi out of the ring, Sakura goes for another dive but again she catches the second rope  and lands back in the ring. She tries again and has the same result, this time landing out on the floor. They battle out of our view but return after a moment, both Sakura and Yuki have green on their face so I assume they got misted along the way. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Sakura followed directly by a Takumi German suplex, catapult leg drop by Rin and Takumi hits a buzzsaw kick, but Sakura gets a shoulder up on the cover. Takumi picks up Sakura but Sakura cradles her for two, Irish whip by Sakura but Takumi delivers a heel kick. Jackknife cover by Rin (she silently tagged in), but it gets two. Rin dropkicks Sakura while she is against the ropes, she goes up top but Yuki pushes Sakura out of the way and eats the missile dropkick instead. Yuki and Sakura hug, Rin kicks Yuki as Takumi returns but Yuki lariats both of them. Yuki flings Sakura onto Rin and Takumi, but Rin blocks their next attempt. Takumi gets up and with Rin they superkick Yuki into the corner, she slams Sakura near the corner as well and hits a cannonball onto Yuki while Takumi nails the senton bomb off the top onto Sakura. Cover by Rin, but Yuki breaks it up. Takumi high kicks Sakura, Rin goes off the ropes but Sakura falls on top of her for two. Yuki picks up Rin and kisses her, she then throws both her opponents in different corners and with Sakura takes turns delivering running kisses. Don’t ask, I don’t know. Sakura and Yuki then both hit such vicious Oil Checks that Takumi and Rin spray red mist, Shining Wizard by Sakura but Rin barely kicks out. Sakura goes off the ropes but Rin spins and falls on top of her, picking up the three count! Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha win!

Even if Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki were my cup of tea (they aren’t), we still missed about 25% off the match which happened off camera so regardless its a disappointment. The few parts they really started to wrestle it was fine, and its always a pleasure to watch Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha, but between the action we couldn’t see and the tired comedy its not a match I can really recommend watching.

ASUKA vs. Hikaru Shida
20 Minute Iron Woman Match

They get into a fast paced exchange right off the bat but reach a stalemate, ASUKA gets Hikaru to the mat as they jockey for position until ASUKA applies a stretch hold. Hikaru struggles back up but ASUKA maintains a side headlock, Hikaru finally gets out of it but ASUKA stomps her when she pancakes. Armdrag by Hikaru and she charges ASUKA, but ASUKA holds down the ropes and Hikaru falls out of the ring. ASUKA goes to do a dive but flips back into the ring instead and does a little dance, Hikaru returns but ASUKA slams her to the mat. Another slam by ASUKA and a third, she goes off the ropes but Hikaru catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Hikaru stomps on ASUKA near the ropes before picking her up and hitting a backbreaker, cover by Hikaru but it gets two. Hikaru picks up ASUKA but ASUKA elbows her and the two trade shots until Hikaru hits a vertical suplex. Hikaru goes off the ropes but ASUKA ducks the knee and hits a rebound crossbody off the ropes. ASUKA picks up Hikaru but Hikaru knees her, ASUKA backflips from Hikaru and delivers the Space Rolling Elbow. ASUKA jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Hikaru pushes her off, sending ASUKA crashing to the floor. Hikaru goes after her and takes her around the ring (luckily on the same side as the camera), they both get up on a table as Hikaru goes for a suplex, but ASUKA blocks it and boots Hikaru off the table to the floor. ASUKA then tosses chairs over and over down onto Hikaru (so we assume, we can see ASUKA tossing the chairs but not Hikaru’s body from our view), she eventually gets down but keeps throwing chairs at Hikaru. Hikaru recovers and goes for a suplex on the floor but ASUKA reverses it, she rolls Hikaru back into the ring and hits a superkick for a two count. ASUKA picks up Hikaru and hits a German suplex hold, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. ASUKA goes up top but Hikaru hits her from behind and suplexes ASUKA to the mat. Hikaru grabs ASUKA but ASUKA knocks her back, ASUKA goes for a chokeslam but Hikaru blocks it and knees ASUKA in the back. Falcon Arrow by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but ASUKA superkicks her and delivers the chokeslam for two. ASUKA goes up top but Hikaru avoids the moonsault and hits a running knee for two. They trade cradles with no result, Hikaru goes off the ropes and she nails the Tamashi no Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida is up 1-0 at 12:24 in the match.

The break is very brief as Hikaru goes back after ASUKA but ASUKA elbows her and the two trade shots. Hikaru goes for a suplex but ASUKA lands on her feet, Hikaru blocks the chokeslam attempt but ASUKA hits a superkick. Hikaru ducks ASUKA’s boot and bails out of the ring, ASUKA goes after her but Hikaru quickly rolls back in. Hikaru kicks ASUKA as she returns and knees her in the leg while it is in the ropes before applying the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Hikaru picks her up and hits a knee breaker to set up the Stretch Muffler again. Again ASUKA gets to the ropes (we are at about 16:30 now) so Hikaru applies a sleeper, ASUKA tosses her off and elbows Hikaru but Hikaru grabs her arm and applies a short armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to break it, Hikaru drives ASUKA into the ropes with her knee, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA catches her with a flying knee. ASUKA goes off the ropes and hits a springboard bodypress, she then follows that with a quebrada but again Hikaru rolls out of the ring before ASUKA can cover. ASUKA goes out to the apron and boots Hikaru while she is still on the floor, another boot by ASUKA and she goes up top before nailing a moonsault down to the floor. ASUKA rolls Hikaru back in and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by ASUKA, but it gets two. Hikaru gets away and hits an enzuigiri, eye poke by Hikaru and she cradles ASUKA for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but ASUKA slides behind her and hits a snap German, superkick by ASUKA and she covers Hikaru for a two count. ASUKA boots Hikaru and quickly covers her again as time is running low, but Hikaru kicks out. ASUKA quickly goes up top and she nails the moonsault, cover by ASUKA and she gets the three count! The score is now tied 1-1 at 19:24.

ASUKA goes up top again as Hikaru hasn’t moved and goes for another moonsault, but Hikaru gets her knees up. Hikaru knees ASUKA in the face and covers her, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. The bell rings before either wrestler can do anything else, as the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was a really entertaining match for a number of reasons. First, both ASUKA and Hikaru are talented wrestlers with solid chemistry, so the action was crisp and varied throughout the twenty minutes. I loved that they wrestled different, especially Hikaru, with the rules in place. If you are up 1-0 with five minutes left, you should be doing long submission holds and leaving the ring when you need a breather, its a simple story but a necessary one or the match stipulation doesn’t mean anything. The sense of urgency in the last few minutes from ASUKA was palpable and she conveyed well how badly she needed a pinfall in a very short amount of time. I wouldn’t mind seeing these two in a title match/longer time limit situation as I feel they have even more they could show, but this was a really good match that had the elements needed for an “Iron Woman” match. Recommended

(c) Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Yumi and Misaki kick things off, Misaki catches Yumi when she goes for a crossbody but Misaki drops her with a DDT. Dropkick by Misaki but Mio runs in to help Yumi, Yumi picks up Mio and slams her down onto Misaki. Double Irish whip to Misaki but Misaki pushes them both into the corner. Misaki elbows Yumi, Mio comes over but she dropkicks Yumi by accident. Yumi boots Misaki into the corner and lawn darts Mio at her, she tags in Mio and Mio hits repeated dropkicks. Misaki eventually avoids one and tags in Ryo, double Irish whip to Mio and Avid Rival run through a double team combination. Ryo chops Mio into the corner and hits a running elbow, she goes for a second one but Yumi runs in to cut her off. Ryo knocks Yumi back and hits the elbow anyway, cover to Mio but it gets a two count. Ryo goes for a uranage, Mio blocks it but Ryo drops her with a release German. Leg lariat by Ryo, but it gets a two count. Mio fights back but Ryo catches her with a powerslam, she tags in Misaki and Misaki delivers a low crossbody while Mio is against the ropes. Misaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Misaki but Mio gets a shoulder up. Misaki picks up Mio but Mio slides away, Mio quickly regains control however and hits a sliding kick. Irish whip by Misaki but Mio elbows her, they take turns stomping each other’s foot before Mio knocks over Misaki with a dropkick. Armdrag by Mio and she applies an armbar, but Ryo breaks it up. Ryo stays in but Mio outsmarts both of them, dropkicking them both and tagging in Yumi. Yumi boots Misaki in the head but Misaki comes back with an elbow and they trade shots, heel drop by Yumi and she covers Misaki for two.

Yumi picks up Misaki and goes for a DDT but Misaki reverses it into a bridging suplex for two. Backstabber by Misaki, Mio comes in and they both attack Misaki while she is against the ropes. Backdrop suplex by Yumi, but it gets two. Brainbuster by Yumi, but Ryo breaks up the cover. Yumi goes off the ropes but Ryo runs in and they hit the 3D, Ryo helps Misaki run up the ropes and flings her onto Yumi for a two count. Misaki tags Ryo and they both elbow Yumi while she is against the ropes. Ryo picks up Yumi and hits a series of elbows, lariat by Ryo and Misaki comes in to hit a standing crucifix bomb. Uranage by Ryo to Yumi, she goes off the ropes and hits a hard lariat, but Mio breaks up the cover. Ryo gets Mio on her shoulders but Mio slides off and footstomps Ryo in the stomach, Yumi helps Mio hit another footstomp followed by an assisted senton, Yumi covers Ryo but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Yumi goes for a suplex, Ryo blocks it but Yumi delivers a chokebomb instead. Mio comes back and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Misaki grabs her from behind and hits a German suplex. Misaki picks up Yumi and with Ryo hits a German suplex/lariat combination, Ryo goes up top and delivers the guillotine leg drop, but the cover is broken up. Ryo picks up Yumi but Yumi gets away from her and hits a big boot. Ryo fires back with a lariat, she waits for Yumi to get up and hits another lariat, but Mio breaks up the cover. Mio gets Ryo in the Yoshi Tonic while Yumi boots Misaki, big boot by Yumi to Ryo but Misaki breaks up the pin. Mio hits an assisted Asai Moonsault onto Misaki before rolling her out of the ring, Yumi picks up Ryo but Ryo drops her with a dragon suplex. Ryo goes off the ropes but Yumi boots her in the head, she goes off the ropes and delivers a final big boot for the three count! BOSS to Mammy are still the champions!

Avid Rival seem hell bent to go out with a bang, as even though they lost they still put on a great show. The best thing about both of these teams is how well they work together, with not only constantly helping each other but doing so in an incredibly smooth and believable way. At times it was chaotic but it was a good chaos as there was constant excitement from bell to bell. Yumi Ohka sometimes drags down matches for me if she is the focus due to her limited offense but she didn’t here, as Mio did most the heavy lifting and Yumi played her part very well when needed. Overall my only complaint is that it went only 14 minutes which is short for a main event, a thoroughly entertaining match between two of the best tag teams on the current Joshi scene.  Recommended

The post WAVE Weekday WAVE Vol. 119 ~Thanks 2~ on 10/22/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Pro Wrestling WAVE’s online streaming service can be hit or miss, but they have been on a roll this summer as they have been very timely with their updates. WAVE is in a rough situation right now, there is no other way to say it. They recently lost Ayako Hamada to a drug scandal, Misaki Ohata is retiring at the end of the year, Fairy Nihonbashi is leaving, and on top of all of that the promotion is temporarily closing at the end of the year to “restructure” behind the scenes before re-launching. They already have among the lowest Korakuen Hall attendance averages among all Joshi promotions (this event did a great number for them), and closing for a few months likely won’t help that. But even with all these issues going on, this is a very solid card up and down as they celebrate their anniversary with two big singles match and two title matches. Here is the full card (I am only reviewing the Joshi matches):

• Aoki Itsuki and Mikoto Shindo vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase
• Cherry and Fairy Nihonbashi vs. Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota
• Hiragi Kurumi vs. Rina Yamashita
• Misaki Ohata vs. Ryo Mizunami
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Nagisa Nozaki and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Takumi Iroha vs. ASUKA

As this aired on the WAVE Network, matches will be unclipped. All wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it.

Aoki Itsuki and Mikoto Shindo vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase

Mikoto and Hiroe kick things off, they lock up as Hiroe gets Mikoto in the ropes, but she gives a clean break. Mikoto quickly locks back up with her, this time Mikoto gets Hiroe in the ropes and hits a series of elbows. Back in the middle of the ring, Hiroe tosses Mikoto into the corner and throws her down by the hair. Miyuki helps (even though Hiroe doesn’t need it), snaomare by Hiroe and she puts Mikoto in a bodyscissors. She picks her up after a moment and puts Mikoto into the corner, Irish whip to Mikoto and Hiroe hits a dropkick. Miyuki follows with an assisted elbow strike, Aoki tries to help but immediately gets kicked out of the ring by Miyuki. Mikoto dropkicks Hiroe and quickly rolls her up for two, another dropkick by Mikoto and she makes the hot tag to Aoki. Shoulderblocks by Aoki, she picks up Hiroe and hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Aoki goes off the ropes but Miyuki kicks her from the apron, she gets in the ring and with Hiroe they hit a double dropkick. More dropkicks by Hiroe, she picks up Aoki and hits a vertical suplex for two. Aoki blocks the suplex attempt but Hiroe delivers a spear before tagging in Miyuki. Miyuki picks up Aoki but Aoki blocks the slam attempt and punches Miyuki in the stomach.

Miyuki comes back with a dropkick, legdrop by Miyuki and she covers Aoki for two. Back up, they trade strikes until Aoki chops Miyuki to the mat. Aoki goes off the ropes by Miyuki hits a lariat, Miyuki gets Aoki on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam, but Aoki avoids the diving legdrop. Hiroe comes in and spears Aoki, Miyuki picks up Aoki but Aoki lariats both of them. Short-arm lariats by Aoki, but Miyuki kicks out of the cover. Aoki tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Miyuki and she covers her for two. Scoop slam by Mikoto but Miyuki continues to kick out of Mikoto’s covers, Miyuki elbows Mikoto but Mikoto elbows her back. Mikoto elbows Miyuki into the corner but Miyuki connects with a dropkick out of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving elbow smash for a two count. Miyuki picks up Mikoto while Hiroe gets on the top turnbuckle, but Aoki knocks Hiroe off and Mikoto cradles Miyuki for two. A schoolboy by Mikoto gets two as well, she tries a few more flash pins but none get the three count. Powerslam by Miyuki to Mikoto, she picks her up and hits a vertical suplex but Aoki breaks up the cover. Miyuki waits for Mikoto to get up and hits a lariat, cover by Miyuki and she gets the three count Your winners are Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase!

Considering the experience levels of those involved, this was a really solid opener. It wasn’t complicated but it didn’t need to be and everyone played their roles well without any awkwardness. The mid-match strike exchange was probably a tad too long and ultimately meaningless since the “loser” was immediately back on offense, but beyond that it never felt like it dragged. Mikoto is a firecracker as I assumed, and if she sticks with it/continues training under Chigusa Nagayo she could be something special down the road. A good way to start the show and get the crowd into it without trying to overshadow the action to come.

Cherry and Fairy Nihonbashi vs. Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota

Its hard to do play by play on silly comedy matches but I will try my best. Fairy and Himeka begin but Fairy starts doing Fairy things so no action actually takes place. Himeka is not in the mood and puts Fairy in a Argentine Backbreaker, but her own teammate breaks it up as this is not proper Fairy procedure. Hard shoulderblock by Himeka but Fairy gets her wand, she tries to use it on Himeka but Himeka doesn’t budge. It finally works, Fairy dances around and she covers Himeka for two. Fairy goes to tag out but Himeka hits her from behind and scoop slams her, Sakura comes in but Himeka slams her on top of Fairy. Himeka tags Sakura as she makes it back to the corner, Irish whip by Sakura and everyone comes in to deliver running strikes on Fairy in the corner. Including her own partner. Sakura then tries but Fairy hits her in the head with her wand, they go through the whole thing again but it has the same end result for Sakura. Sakura gets Fairy’s arm and goes to walk the ropes, but Fairy gets away and tries to wand Sakura off the top turnbuckle. Sakura walks the ropes instead and almost makes it to the next turnbuckle, but falls off. With her its hard to tell when her crash and burns are planned.

Anyway Cherry is finally tagged in and they both chop Sakura in the chest, double Irish whip but it is reversed and Cherry ends up going into the ropes. She lariats both of them, including her own partner, but Cherry makes her feel better by giving Fairy her wand. She uses it on Sakura, Cherry covers Sakura with the wand but it gets a two count. Cherry chokes Sakura into the corner but Sakura is still under Fairy’s spell so she isn’t moving too well. Headstand by Sakura on the turnbuckle which sucks everyone towards her, until Fairy hits Sakura low with the wand. Face crusher by Sakura to Cherry but Cherry slams her into the mat as they go back and forth with face crushers. Sakura tags in Himeka while Fairy is also tagged in, shoulderblock by Himeka and she his a second one. Fairy goes for a wand shot but Himeka moves and hits a jumping knee, but Cherry breaks up the cover. Fairy hits Himeka in the head with the wand, Cherry then tries to hit Himeka also but she hits Fairy by accident. Sakura comes in but she ends up kissing Fairy before Cherry accidentally hits Fairy again. Fairy tries to hit Cherry with the wand but it rebounds back and she hits herself, Himeka puts Fairy in the Argentine Backbreaker and Fairy submits! Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota are the winners.

This was exactly as advertised. Maybe a new wrinkle or two but it was basically a Sakura Hirota and Fairy Nihonbashi comedy match combined into one. If you like it, more power to you, but its old hat to me and I’m happy to move onto the next match which is much more up my alley.

Hiragi Kurumi vs. Rina Yamashita

They start off trading tie-ups with neither getting the clear advantage, they try to shoulderblock each other over until Kurumi ultimately wins the battle. Rina rolls out of the ring but Kurumi goes out after her and scoop slams Rina onto the floor. Rina gets some of the cold spray and sprays Kurumi with it, she takes Kurumi around the ring and throws her into some chairs at ringside. Rina sits Kurumi in a chair, she goes all the way up into the bleachers before charging at Kurumi, but Kurumi had plenty of time to recover and greets Rina with a lariat. Kurumi slides Rina back into the ring and hits a body avalanche in the corner, cover by Kurumi but it gets two. Crab hold by Kurumi but Rina gets to the ropes for the break, scoop slam by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton for a two count. Kurumi tries to knock Rina over but Rina stays up, Rina goes off the ropes and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Rina picks up Kurumi and eventually hits a scoop slam, cover by Rina but it gets two. Rina picks up Kurumi and throws her into the corner, lariat by Rina and she hits a second one before kneeing Kurumi in the back of the head for a two count. Kicks by Rina, she picks up Kurumi and hits a backdrop suplex for another two.

Sleeper by Rina but Kurumi hiptosses out of it, they trade elbows until Kurumi dropkicks Rina to the mat. Cannonball by Kurumi, she gets back up but Rina manages to re-apply the sleeper. Kurumi struggles but eventually makes it to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and hits a kick to the head, but Kurumi ducks the lariat and delivers a release German. Rina returns to her feet but Kurumi connects with a second German, which keeps Rina on the mat. They both slowly get up and trade lariats, with Kurumi winning the battle as she knocks Rina down. Kurumi picks up Rina but Rina wiggles away, she goes for the sleeper but Kurumi quickly grabs the ropes. Rina goes off the ropes but Kurumi floors her with a lariat for a two count. Kurumi drags Rina to the corner, she goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her. Superplex by Rina, she slowly covers Kurumi but Kurumi gets a shoulder up. Rina picks up Kurumi and nails the sliding lariat, but again Kurumi kicks out. Rina charges Kurumi but Kurumi catches her with a cradle belly to belly piledriver. Kurumi picks up Rina and goes off the ropes, but Rina catches her with a lariat. Rina goes to pick up Kurumi, Kurumi hits a back bodydrop but Rina turns it into a cradle for two. Lariat by Kurumi, she picks up Rina and hits a second belly to belly piledriver, but the bell rings before she can make a cover as the time has expired. The match is a Draw!

Even though it felt like they were going for the draw with the slower portions early in the match, I still enjoyed it. I was surprised how much Kurumi was shown as an equal to Rina, even getting the better of her on several occasions, but Rina has always been good at giving her opponents a lot to make the matches more competitive. Kurumi flies under the radar a bit since Ice Ribbon isn’t as popular among Western fans but at only 18 she is already great at the “hoss” style and will continue to get better. Some unique spots and numerous ‘strength’ battles makes this one worth watching, and hopefully they will get a chance to do it again sooner than later.  Recommended

Misaki Ohata vs. Ryo Mizunami

They tie-up to start, Ohata gets Mizunami into the ropes but she gives her friend a clean break. Wristlock by Ohata but Mizunami reverses it, armdrag by Ohata and they trade positions on the mat. Mizunami works a headlock and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a leg drop but Ohata moves out of the way and hits a dropkick. Mizunami stomps on Ohata’s foot but Ohata hits a jawbreaker and stomps on her foot back, she goes off the ropes but Mizunami catches Ohata with a powerslam. Mizunami chops Ohata into the corner and hits a jumping elbow smash, but Ohata dropkicks her when she messes around too much and hits an elbow in the corner. Ohata mimics Mizunami before hitting another elbow, Ohata goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Stunner by Ohata and she hits a tornado DDT, low crossbody by Ohata and she nails a sliding kick for a two count cover. German suplex hold by Ohata, but Mizunami kicks out. Back up they trade strikes until Mizunami hits an overhead belly to belly suplex, lariat by Mizunami and she hits a German suplex. Jumping leg lariat by Mizunami, but her cover gets a two count. Mizunami picks up Ohata and hits an elbow combination, Ohata fires back with slaps but Mizunami hits a lariat.

Ohata charges Mizunami but Mizunami hits a lariat, another lariat by Mizunami and she covers Ohata for two. Mizunami picks up Ohata but Ohata quickly hits the Blue Dahlia, she follows with the Fisherman Buster but Mizunami gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Ohata goes off the ropes but Mizunami gets Ohata onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat. They headbutt each other on their knees before trading elbows, Ohata finally chops Mizunami to the mat and she hits a hard elbow for a two count. Ohata goes for the Sky Blue Suplex but Mizunami rolls out of it, Ohata kicks Mizunami in the head and hits a second Blue Dahlia, but she again only gets two. Sky Blue Suplex Hold by Ohata, but Mizunami barely gets her shoulder up. Ohata goes for a second one but Mizunami blocks it and hits a uranage, Mizunami goes for the Hot Limit but Ohata blocks it as she goes for a series of flash pins. Ohata goes off the ropes but Mizunami hits a pair of lariats, dragon suplex hold by Mizunami but it gets two. Mizunami picks up Ohata and she nails the Hot Limit, cover by Mizunami but Ohata kicks out at one. Mizunami picks up Ohata and delivers a second one, a third Hot Limit by Mizunami and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami is the winner!

This match was good but something felt a bit off. Its like they were going for that epic feel but it was just a midcard match with under 15 minutes of action so there were built-in limitations. Both were going through their finishers which I have no issue with but there wasn’t a lot of build-up to it, for Ohata to kick out of the Hot Limit and Mizunami to kick out of the Blue Sky Suplex Hold it just would have been nice for them to have a slower lead-up to that. Still, these two have great chemistry obviously so everything they did was smooth and hard hitting, and the match certainly never dragged. Hopefully this match is just a primer for a bigger match between them before Ohata retires, but still an enjoyable match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Nagisa Nozaki and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
WAVE Tag Team Championship 

Yuki and Mio begin for their teams, they lock knuckles but Mio spins away and hits a series of elbows. She goes for a crossbody but Yuki catches her and hits a slam, she goes to put Mio in an unfortunate situation but Ohka breaks it up. Ohka slams Mio on top of Yuki, Mio tags in Ohka and Ohka delivers a hip toss slam for two. Ohka picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sliding kick and tags Nagisa. Yuki stays in and helps Nagisa for a moment double team Ohka, Nagisa chops Ohka in the corner before putting her in a sleeper. Ohka quickly gets to the ropes to break it up, Nagisa charges Ohka but Ohka moves out of the way and hits a big boot. Another boot by Ohka and she tags in Mio, Mio stomps down Nagisa in the corner but Nagisa fires back with a big boot, cover by Nagisa but Mio bridges out of it. Nagisa pulls down Mio by the hair, Mio goes for a dropkick but Nagisa swats her away and applies the sleeper. Mio drives back into the corner to break it up, Ohka comes in and she stomps on Nagisa’s foot repeatedly. Nagisa tries to boot Mio but she boots Ohka by accident, Mio then accidentally dropkicks Ohka but she recovers and boots Nagisa into the corner. Ohka launches Mio at Nagisa for a dropkick, cover by Mio but it gets two. Mio applies an ankle hold but Nagisa quickly gets to the ropes, Mio keeps the hold applied anyway until Yuki knocks her off. Dropkick by Mio, and she covers Nagisa for two. Mio goes off the ropes but Nagisa drops her with a big boot, Somato by Nagisa and she tags in Yuki.

Yuki dropkicks Mio, she picks her up but Mio slides away and dropkicks Yuki in the knee. Yuki and Mio trade flash pins, they get back up but Mio ducks Yuki’s lariat attempt and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Mio and she rolls Yuki to the mat before hitting a footstomp to the chest. Mio goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Yuki blocks it, Ohka comes in and hits a chokebomb on Yuki before she gets tagged in and drops Yuki with a cross-arm DDT. Ohka goes for a suplex but Yuki blocks it and kicks her in the head, Yuki picks up Ohka but Ohka wiggles away. Ohka knocks Nagisa off the apron and boots Yuki in the head, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka goes off the ropes but Nagisa trips her and pulls her out of the ring, meanwhile on the other side Mio pulls Yuki to the floor as both teams brawl. Mio goes up top and dives out onto both opponents, they return to the ring but Sakura Hirota gets in the ring too and helps Yuki with Ohka. That quickly backfires, Ohka drops Yuki with a backdrop suplex and she covers her for a two count. Mio comes in and stands on Ohka’s shoulders for an assisted senton, cover by Ohka but Nagisa breaks it up. Mio and Ohka try to suplex Yuki but Yuki reverses it, Yuki suplexes Ohka into the turnbuckles and she goes up top, but Ohka avoids the moonsault. Samoan Driver by Yuki, but Ohka kicks out. Yuki tags Nagisa, boot by Nagisa to Ohka and she drives her into the corner. Nagisa sets up Ohka in the corner and hits a boot, another boot by Nagisa and she covers Ohka for two.

Nagisa goes for the sleeper but Ohka quickly gets out of it and they trade boots until Ohka knocks Nagisa to the mat. Ohka calls for Mio, they pick up Nagisa and Ohka hits a brainbuster while Mio distracts Yuki. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Yuki, Ohka then goes up but Nagisa recovers and joins her. Mio grabs Nagisa from behind but Yuki tosses her aside, Yuki then helps Nagisa superplex Ohka but Mio breaks up Nagisa’s cover. Mio goes up top but Yuki joins her and gives her a kiss, which knocks Mio to the mat. Yuki wraps up Mio near the corner but Ohka breaks it up, Nagisa rolls up Ohka from behind and puts her in a grounded dragon sleeper, but Mio breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Mio but Mio tosses both opponents down and dropkicks Nagisa in the head. Yuki kisses Mio again and goes for a wheelbarrow slam, but Mio blocks. Boot by Nagisa to Ohka, but it gets two. Nagisa goes off the ropes but Ohka hits a big boot of her own, Nagisa boots her back and hits another one, but Mio breaks up the pin. Nagisa goes for a sleeper but Ohka kicks his way out of it, Mio comes in and hits the Yoshi Tonic on Nagisa and Ohka hits a boot. Ohka goes off the ropes and hits a final big boot, and she picks up the three count! Yumi Ohka and Mio Momono are the new champions!

While I am beyond excited for Mio Momono getting her first title as she is a lot of fun to watch, I can’t say that this match did a lot for me. Yuki Miyazaki is best in small doses, if at all, as while she does provide a veteran presence and can help keep things together, her offense is pretty bland and her segments tend to drag. Ohka is better but still is mostly just big boots, and Nagisa wasn’t able to do what she does best here (set up submissions) as the match wasn’t about her wrestling preferences. So a 20 minute match with the only highlights being Mio-related feels like an eternity, the wrestlers worked together well but the structure was just all over the place with Yuki’s occasional comedy. Not a match I would recommend unless you love all parties involved but still a big moment in Mio Momono’s young career.

(c) Takumi Iroha vs. ASUKA
Regina Di WAVE Championship

They tie-up to start, Takumi pushes ASUKA into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They go into a Test of Strength and go to the mat, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate and return to their feet. Knees by ASUKA and she kicks Takumi in the arm, ASUKA goes for a boot but Takumi moves out of the way and kicks ASUKA down in the corner. Dropkick by Takumi and she hits a dragon screw leg whip as she starts working over ASUKA’s leg. Scoop slam by Takumi and she hits a body press, covering ASUKA for two. Takumi goes back to ASUKA’s leg as she goes for the Stretch Muffler, but ASUKA gets into the ropes before she can get it fully applied. More kicks to the leg by Takumi but ASUKA absorbs the blows and kicks her back. Takumi gets the better of it at first but ASUKA knocks Takumi out of the ring, she goes up top and dives down onto Takumi with a missile dropkick. ASUKA slides Takumi back into the ring, she goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by ASUKA, she picks up Takumi and goes for a suplex, but Takumi blocks it. Superkick by ASUKA and she hits a running shooting star press. She then goes for a Lionsault but Takumi gets her knees up, jumping heel kick by Takumi but ASUKA blocks the suplex attempt. ASUKA goes for a boot but Takumi catches her leg and hits a dragon screw, figure four leglock by Takumi but ASUKA eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Takumi goes up top but ASUKA smacks her before she can jump off  and slams Takumi down to the mat. Dropkick by ASUKA and she hits the big boot in the corner, gutwrench suplex by ASUKA and she covers Takumi for two. ASUKA picks up Takumi but Takumi blocks the chokeslam and hits a kick combination.

Release German by Takumi, she goes up top but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while on the top turnbuckle, Takumi jumps over ASUKA and powerbombs her to the mat for two. Takumi positions ASUKA and goes up top, diving body press by Takumi and she quickly goes up top again to delivers a somersault senton, but ASUKA barely bridges up. Takumi goes for the Running Three but ASUKA slides away and hits a snap German. Kick to the head by ASUKA, she picks up Takumi and hits a German suplex hold for two. ASUKA picks up Takumi and delivers a chokeslam, she goes up top but Takumi joins her. Takumi brings ASUKA back down with a superplex, but ASUKA kicks out of the pinfall. Takumi and ASUKA trade elbows back on their feet, slaps by ASUKA and she superkicks Takumi for a one count cover. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Takumi catches her with a high kick, kick combination by Takumi and she nails a high kick for a two count. Liger Bomb by Takumi, but ASUKA kicks out of that as well. Takumi goes for an elbow but ASUKA catches her with one first, chokeslam by ASUKA near the corner but her cover gets two. ASUKA goes up to the top turnbuckle, Takumi grabs her ankles so ASUKA hops back off to hit a series of elbows. ASUKA goes up again and delivers the moonsault, but Takumi barely gets a shoulder up. ASUKA positions Takumi and goes up top again, and this time nails the Shooting Star Press! Cover by ASUKA, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA is the new champion!

Minor quibbles aside, this was a great match. They waited until just the right time with ASUKA to give her the top belt in WAVE, as over the last three years her offensive arsenal has grown significantly and she has grown into an excellent wrestler. I would have just cut out the leg work and just kept it as a strike/suplex type battle it then turned into, Takumi doesn’t really have any finishers to target the leg and ASUKA blew it off immediately anyway so it didn’t serve a real long term purpose. Beyond that though everything worked well, and I loved the ending with Takumi grabbing at ASUKA’s leg so she just elbows Takumi a bunch of times until she stays down for good. The high spots were kept to a reasonable amount so they always felt meaningful, and it was an even back and forth with both respecting the other with their exchanges so it felt like a real struggle. This is a match worth tracking down (or subscribing to the WAVE Network for a month) as it not only is a big deal for a transgender wrestler to hold a top Joshi title, but even without the historical meaning it was a great match as well.  Highly Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Anivarsario WAVE” on 8/19/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• January 25th, 2018 vs. Natsumi Maki
• March 20th, 2019 with Miyuki Takase vs. Arisa Nakajima and Sae  (title challenge)
• April 28th, 2019 with Miyuki Takase vs. Arisa Nakajima and Sae  (title win)
• July 15th, 2019 with Miyuki Takase vs. Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki  (title challenge)
• November 6th, 2019 vs. Miyuki Takase  (title challenge)

Signature Moves:

• Argentine Backbreaker
• Bodyslam
• JP Coaster
• Jumping Knee
• Samoan Drop
• Shoulder Tackle

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• August 19th, 2018 – Cherry and Fairy Nihonbashi vs. Himeka Arita and Sakura Hirota in WAVE
• October 22nd, 2018 – Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki in WAVE
• January 20th, 2019 – ASUKA vs. Himeka Arita in SEAdLINNNG
• March 19th, 2019 – Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Arita, Takase, and Honma in Actwres girl’Z

In Action:

Argentine Backbreaker

Jumping Knee

Samoan Drop

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Himeka “Jumbo” Arita appeared first on Joshi City.