Event: Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING
Date: August 24th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sometimes I like to take a step back and review a smaller event to bring some eyeballs to promotions that may be off many fan’s radars. Marvelous is a promotion run by the legendary Chigusa Nagayo and they air the bulk of their events on their FRESH LIVE streaming service.  This event is more special than some of their shows as this is the first match by Mio Momono in the promotion since she suffered an injury last year. I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches on the card, here is the line-up:

• Masha Slamovich vs. Mikoto Shindo
• Hibiki, Maria, and Mei Hoshizuki vs. KAORU, Takumi Iroha, and Tomoko Watanabe
• HIRO’e vs. Mio Momono

As this aired on FRESH LIVE, all matches were shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. Let’s get to the matches!

Masha Slamovich vs. Mikoto Shindo

They tie-up to start and trade hammerlocks until Mikoto gets Masha to the mat and puts her in a headlock. Masha struggles back up and gets out of the hold, she gets Mikoto’s arm but Mikoto quickly gets to the ropes for the break. Back up, Masha applies a hammerlock but Mikoto elbows out of it, wristlock by Mikoto but Masha gets away and slams Mikoto to the mat. Mikoto returns to her feet as Masha asks for a knucklelock, Mikoto obliges as they go into a Test of Strength which Masha easily wins. Mikoto springs back up and armdrags Masha, Masha falls out of the ring and Mikoto dropkicks her as she tries to get back in. Mikoto goes out after her but Masha quickly rolls back in, Mikoto rolls in too but Masha kicks her as she does and hits a hard elbow. Scoop slam by Masha, she picks up Mikoto and elbows her in the chest for a two count.

Masha puts Mikoto in a stretch hold but Mikoto gets into the ropes for the break, Masha picks up Mikoto and hits a backdrop suplex, but that gets a two count as well. Masha puts Mikoto on the top turnbuckle and joins her, Masha clubs on Mikoto but Mikoto elbows her off and back to the mat. Mikoto boots Masha back and delivers a dropkick, more dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Masha for two. Masha recovers and clubs Mikoto as they trade blows, hard elbow by Masha but Mikoto lands on her feet on the attempted backdrop suplex. Masha grabs Mikoto and hits a German suplex hold anyway, but it gets two. Masha picks up Mikoto but Mikoto sneaks in a cradle, elbows by Mikoto and she dropkicks Masha in the corner. Another dropkick by Mikoto, she picks up Masha and hits a scoop slam for two. Mikoto goes to the apron and springboards in, but Masha catches her on her shoulders. Mikoto slides away but Masha catches her with a dragon suplex hold for two. Masha puts Mikoto on an Argentine Backbreaker and drops her to the mat, sliding lariat by Masha but Mikoto kicks out of the cover. Masha picks up Mikoto and elbows her into the corner, but Mikoto avoids her charge and schoolboys Masha for the three count! Mikoto Shindo is the winner.

A fun opener, what I found most interesting was that Mikoto was kicking out of pretty much all of Masha’s big offense. I really thought the dragon suplex hold would be it, or the sliding lariat but instead Mikoto kicks out and gets a cradle win just a moment later. This was sold as an upset/surprise win, nothing wrong with having the underdog when by sneaky means of course, but it was a pretty one-sided affair and just as a fan I’d have liked to have seen more from Mikoto in general. A good way to kick off the show though, they have good chemistry together and they put on solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Hibiki, Maria, and Hoshizuki vs. KAORU, Takumi Iroha, and Watanabe

The young ones attack before the match starts but the veterans soon get the advantage as they stack their opponents in the corner and deliver running strikes. Maria is isolated and attacked by all three, KAORU stays in as the legal wrestler and continues working over Maria. Watanabe is tagged in and she keeps doing the same as she attacks Maria’s arm, dropkick by Watanabe and she tags in Takumi. More of the same from Takumi, scoop slam by Takumi and she tags KAORU back in. Slam by KAORU, she tags in Watanabe who slams Maria as well, followed by Takumi taking her turn. Takumi kicks Maria and encourages her to fight back, but Takumi avoids Maria’s dropkick and kicks her in the chest for a two count. Snapmare by Takumi and she kicks Maria in the back. Hibiki comes in but Takumi slams her on top of Maria, she then grabs Mei and does the same before covering Maria for two. Takumi kicks Maria in the arm but Maria connects with a front roll into a dropkick, which gives her time to tag out. Mei and Hibiki both come in as Takumi is triple teamed, Watanabe comes in too but it backfires as they slam her on top of Takumi. Mei stays in as the legal wrestler and dropkicks Takumi, she drop toeholds Takumi into the ropes before going out to the apron to hit a dropkick. Another dropkick by Mei and she covers Takumi for two. Mei goes for a scoop slam but Takumi blocks it, elbows by Mei but Takumi elbows her back.

Kick combination by Takumi and she hits a sliding kick, Takumi picks up Mei but Hibiki comes in to help. Takumi isn’t phased and hits a double vertical suplex on both of them, vertical suplex by Takumi and she tags Watanabe. Watanabe comes in the ring with a diving body press off the second turnbuckle, picking up a two count. Watanabe picks up Mei but Mei reverses the backdrop suplex, Hibiki and Maria both run in and they all dropkick Watanabe. Mei goes for a scoop slam but Watanabe blocks it, Hibiki comes in and scoop slams Watanabe before helping Mei hit a footstomp on her. Mei succeeds on the scoop slam on her next try and dropkicks Watanabe in the head, she charges Watanabe but Watanabe dumps her onto the apron. Mei dropkicks Watanabe through the ropes and applies a jackknife cover for two. Mei tags in Hibiki, Hibiki drives Watanabe into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Hibiki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hibiki but Watanabe kicks out. Hibiki picks up Watanabe and hits the Kamikaze, she goes up top but Watanabe recovers and tosses her back to the mat. Watanabe picks up Hibiki and she hits a hard lariat, cover by Watanabe but it gets a two count. Mei and Maria run in and stomp on Watanabe, Irish whip to Watanabe but Watanabe hits a springboard crossbody on all three of them and tags in KAORU. KAORU comes in with her piece of board and hits all three of her opponents.

KAORU goes to the second turnbuckle but Mei cuts her off, Hibiki headbutts KAORU but KAORU headbutts her back. Another headbutt by Hibiki and she hits the spear, picking up a two count. Hibiki tags Maria, Mei also comes in and they both dropkick KAORU. More dropkicks to KAORU before Hibiki hits a shoulder tackle, cover by Maria but it gets a two count. Maria picks up KAORU but KAORU blocks the scoop slam, she also goes for one but Maria blocks her as well and finally hits her own scoop slam. She covers KAORU but KAORU bridges out of it, KAORU gets her board but she hits Watanabe by accident. Takumi then holds Maria for KAORU but KAORU hits Takumi with it by accident as well, Mei takes the board from KAORU and Maria dropkicks her. Mei and Maria both hit dropkicks on KAORU, cover by Maria but it gets a two count. Mei grabs KAORU and hits a scoop slam while Hibiki goes up top, but Watanabe grabs her from the apron. KAORU hits at Hibiki while Watanabe slams Maria on top of Mei, KAORU then goes up top with Hibiki and superplexes her onto both Mei and Maria. Takumi comes in and superkicks Maria, lariat by Watanabe and KAORU picks up Maria, but Maria quickly applies a cross armbreaker takedown and hits the hold applied for the quick tap out! Maria, Mei Hoshizuki, and Hibiki are the winners!

Even though the ending move was a little clunky in execution, which is unfortunate, it is still a big moment for Maria to tap out one of the veteran wrestlers like KAORU. The first half of the match was pretty slow going, with the beatdown on Maria, but once the younger wrestlers got in control it was a lot more fast paced and interesting. The young team constantly was cooperating and working together, which they had to do, which set them apart from their opponents who weren’t helping each other near as much. For a six wrestler midcard tag match this was probably a bit better than I was expecting, as the veteran team gave the young team quite a bit of offense once we got to the second half of the match. I wouldn’t have minded a few minutes trimmed from the Maria Beatdown portion but I understand what they were going for and overall it was pretty good. Mildly Recommended

HIRO’e vs. Mio Momono

They tie-up to start, HIRO’e pushes Mio into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Wristlock by HIRO’e but Mio reverses it as they trade holds until they reach a stalemate. Kick by HIRO’e and an Irish whip, but Mio flips over her and hits an armdrag. Spinning headscissors by Mio and she hits a dropkick before kipping back up to her feet. She goes for another dropkick by HIRO’e moves, stomp by HIRO’e and she throws down Mio by her hair. Snapmare by HIRO’e and she puts Mio in a stretch hold, she then switches it to a Camel Clutch but Mio bites her hand to get out of it. HIRO’e throws Mio into the corner and rams her head into the turnbuckle, but Mio sneaks in a cradle for two. Sliding kick by Mio, she picks up HIRO’e and applies a waistlock but lets go and hits an elbow. HIRO’e punches Mio in the gut in return, Irish whip by HIRO’e but Mio hits a spinning crossbody for two. Mio applies a Fujiwara Armbar into a double armbar but HIRO’e gets into the ropes for the break. Mio twists HIRO’e’s arm in the ropes and yanks on it, dropkick to the arm by Mio and she goes up top to hit a diving crossbody for two.

Mio goes back to HIRO’e’s arm and applies a modified armbar, she lets go after a moment and goes for the JK Bomb, but HIRO’e blocks it and slams Mio into the mat. Running shoulder tackle by HIRO’e in the corner, spear by HIRO’e and she covers Mio for a two count. Mio ends up against the ropes but HIRO’e dropkicks her in the face, she does it two more times before Mio tumbles out of the ring to the floor. HIRO’e goes up top but Mio gets back on the apron and back into the ring before HIRO’e can do a move. Mio goes for a powerbomb while HIRO’e is still up top but HIRO’e blocks it, hitting a Codebreaker. Vertical suplex by HIRO’e and she covers Mio for a two count. HIRO’e goes for a Northern Lights Suplex but Mio blocks it, elbows by Mio but HIRO’e hits a shoulder tackle. Backbreaker by HIRO’e and she puts Mio in a crab hold, but after Mio never submits HIRO’e lets go to figure out something else to do. HIRO’e stomps on Mio and goes to the second turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. HIRO’e picks up Mio and delivers the Northern Lights Suplex, but Mio kicks out at two.

HIRO’e goes for a backdrop suplex but Mio blocks it, Mio goes for a cradle but HIRO’e reverses it into a German suplex hold for a two count. HIRO’e goes to the second turnbuckle but Mio gets up and grabs her, slamming HIRO’e back to the mat. Mio goes off the ropes and applies a flying cradle into a footstomp, she keeps footstomping HIRO’e but HIRO’e kicks out of the cover. Mio goes off the ropes but HIRO’e catches her with a spear, release German by HIRO’e but she is too hurt to immediately capitalize. They trade elbows as they return to their knees, HIRO’e elbows Mio repeatedly in the back of the head but Mio ducks her lariat attempt. Spear by HIRO’e, but Mio gets a shoulder up on the cover. Another spear by HIRO’e for a two count, HIRO’e goes for a flash pin but Mio reverses it and the two go back and forth. HIRO’e goes off the ropes but Mio cradles her again for two, Mio goes off the ropes and nails the JK Bomb for the three count! Mio Momono is the winner!

A pretty good match between two motivated wrestlers. One thing about Mio is even though she has a lot of fans she is still an unpolished singles wrestler. In four years (less experience than that due to injuries) she has never won a singles title and doesn’t really have a lot of impactful offense, making her better suited for tag team wrestling with a partner that provides the “boom” so to speak. That was on display here, as HIRO’e was doing much of the painful looking moves while Mio was sneaking in cradles and other flash pins to try to win. Its not that she *has* to expand her moveset but she probably won’t be seen as a serious singles contender until she does. Anyway, this was probably stretched a little longer than it needed to be but it never slowed down as they kept the action moving. HIRO’e isn’t great but she did everything well here, and seemed to have some extra fire to her. The end stretch was well done and smooth, and while it didn’t feel like the “right” wrestler won its understandable that Mio would win in her home promotion. A fitting ending for a small streaming-only show, pretty entertaining match.  Recommended

The post Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 8/24/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: PURE-J “Fight Together”
Date: July 12th, 2020
Location: Kame Dojo in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 30

While some promotions are just slowly adding wrestling events to their schedule in this new pandemic world we live in, PURE-J is ramping them up as they have already had five events since the beginning of June. This is a very recent show of theirs and was distributed on their new streaming website. Not a big card as there are no title matches, but it does have three singles matches which I tend to prefer. Here is the full card:

• Crea vs. Rydeen Hagane
• AKARI and Leon vs. KAZUKI and Momo Tani
• Hanako Nakamori vs. HIRO’e
• Manami Katsu vs. Mari Manji

All matches are shown in full, the wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City and you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Crea vs. Rydeen Hagane

They trade waistlocks to start, Rydeen gets Crea to the mat and puts her in a stretch hold. Crea gets out of it and the two return to their feet, kick by Rydeen and she applies a wristlock. Crea reverses it but Rydeen reverses it back as they trade holds, Rydeen slams Crea’s head into the mat before stomping on her. Rydeen throws down Crea by the hair and kicks her into the corner, she goes for a slam but Crea reverses it into a cradle for two. Crea sits on Rydeen’s back before putting her loosely in a submission hold, Rydeen gets back up and hits a trio of hard shoulderblocks for two. Scoop slam by Rydeen and she hits a body press for another two count, she picks up Crea and throws her into the corner. Irish whip by Rydeen and she hits a body avalanche, she goes for a powerbomb but Crea gets out of it. She goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a backbreaker, crab hold by Rydeen but Crea gets into the ropes for the break. Rydeen butt bombs Crea to the mat before rolling her over for a two count, she picks up Crea but Crea hits a series of elbows. Rydeen clubs her to the mat for her trouble, Crea fights back again but eats another club to the back. Irish whip by Rydeen but Crea hits a dropkick, she hits a second and a third but Rydeen stays on her feet. Elbows by Crea and she hits an armbreaker, she goes for a second but Rydeen blocks it and applies a sleeper. Crea quickly gets out of it and dropkicks Rydeen in the corner, jumping elbow by Crea and she finally dropkicks Rydeen off her feet for a two count cover.

Crea goes for the cross armbreaker, Rydeen blocks it so Crea applies a seated armbar instead. Rydeen muscles out of the hold but Crea kicks her in the arm, Crea gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Crea but it gets a two. Crea quickly applies a double armbar, she lets go after a moment and goes for the double wrist armsault but Rydeen blocks it. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a powerslam for a two count. Rydeen picks up Crea but Crea elbows out of the uranage, she goes off the ropes but Rydeen spins her onto her shoulders and puts her in the Argentine Backbreaker. She tosses her off after a moment and hits a lariat, Samoan Drop by Rydeen and she positions Crea in front of the corner. Rydeen gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the Reverse Splash, but Crea barely kicks out. Rydeen goes all the way up but Crea avoids the Reverse Splash attempt, lariat by Rydeen but Crea schoolboys her into the ropes. Crea goes for another cradle, but this time she gets a two count. Crea picks up Rydeen and delivers the double wrist armsault, but Rydeen barely gets a shoulder up. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen pushes her off and hits a lariat, she picks up Crea but Crea quickly rolls her up for two. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen hits her with a hard lariat, she picks up Crea and drops her with the uranage for the three count! Rydeen Hagane is the winner.

This was clunky at times but in the end probably accomplished its goal which was to make Crea look somewhat credible before losing to the veteran. There is a reason that Rydeen never really elevated up the card – she is solid enough but not great, and struggles to elevate less experienced wrestlers. Her power moves look good but some of the transitions and sequences didn’t come off well and it was pretty disjointed. It probably went a tad longer than it needed to, at almost 12 minutes, as they didn’t have a ton of ideas. Crea did get her spots in and had some nearfalls, its too early in her career to know if she will be a quality wrestler down the road but she isn’t quite there yet. Not bad for an opener, but still a skippable match.

AKARI and Leon vs. KAZUKI and Momo Tani

Momo and AKARI start things off, they trade holds but ultimately reach a stalemate. Armdrag by Momo and she applies a reverse chinlock, but AKARI gets into the ropes for the break. Shoulderblocks by AKARI but Momo kicks out of the cover, and AKARI tags in Leon. Leon throws Momo into the corner and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Leon and she hits a somersault senton for two. Leon picks up Momo but Momo reverses the slam attempt into a cradle, dropkick by Momo and she tags KAZUKI. Knees by KAZUKI in the corner as she knees Leon around the ring, AKARI comes in however and with Leon they dropkick KAZUKI off her feet. Running kneedrop by Leon and AKARI hits one as well, Leon tags AKARI and AKARI delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by AKARI but KAZUKI quickly kicks out of the cover, she goes for a slam but KAZUKI blocks it and hits one of her own. KAZUKI tags Momo, Irish whip to the corner by Momo and she hits a jumping knee. AKARI blocks the slam attempt but KAZUKI comes in to help, they both go for a vertical suplex but AKARI blocks it.

Leon comes in but KAZUKI and Momo both hit Codebreakers on their respective opponents, running double knees by KAZUKI and Momo and they both drop knees onto one opponent’s back. Double Irish whip and both Momo and KAZUKI hit knees, Leon rolls out of the ring and Momo knees AKARI in the back of the head. Cover by Momo, but AKARI kicks out. Momo goes off the ropes but AKARI hits a drop toehold, she keeps Momo’s legs wrapped up in a submission but Momo makes it to the ropes. Northern Lights Suplex by AKARI, but it gets a two count. She tags Leon, shoulder tackle by Leon in the corner but Momo blocks the double underhook. Knees by Leon but Momo elbows her back, hard elbow by Leon and the two trade blows. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon and she puts Momo in a crab hold but it gets broken up, Leon goes off the ropes but KAZUKI knees her from the apron. Backstabber by Momo to Leon and she puts her in a stretch hold, but AKARI breaks it up. Momo grabs Leon and hits a swinging neckbreaker, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double knee for two. She tags in KAZUKI but Leon knees her, KAZUKI knees her back but Leon tosses her into the corner.

Leon goes up top but KAZUKI avoids her dive, spear by Leon and she covers KAZUKI for two. Leon tags AKARI, AKARI goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. AKARI goes for the cross armbreaker but KAZUKI gets out of it, stomp by KAZUKI but AKARI elbows her in the corner. She goes for a suplex but KAZUKI blocks it, knees by KAZUKI but AKARI hits a pump kick. AKARI rolls KAZUKI to the mat and applies a kneelock, but Momo quickly breaks it up. KAZUKI gets AKARI onto her shoulders and hits a cutter, cover by KAZUKI but Leon breaks it up. KAZUKI drags AKARI to the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but AKARI avoids her double knee and cradles her for two. Leon spears KAZUKI, AKARI follows with a Tiger Feint Kick before cradling KAZUKI again for a two count. Momo distracts Leon and AKARI, giving KAZUKI time to recover and hit a Codebreaker on both of them. Double running knee strike by KAZUKI and Momo, and KAZUKI covers AKARI for two. KAZUKI goes off the ropes and drills AKARI with the K Sword, and she gets the three count! KAZUKI and Momo Tani are the winners!

This was a step up from the last match. Momo wrestling like a mini-KAZUKI is interesting, they have teamed before so clearly she has rubbed off on her as they hit similar moves. KAZUKI throws a lot of knees but not all of them well, for a move to spam honestly the knee to the midsection isn’t the most interesting so I wish there was a bit more variety in her offense. Leon looked great as she tends to, the match just kinda lacked a story or flow to it. For a midcard tag it was perfectly fine but probably forgettable at the end of the day.

Hanako Nakamori vs. HIRO’e

HIRO’e gets a jump on Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the corner and throws HIRO’e down by the hair. HIRO’e returns the favor, they trade kicks and shoulderblocks until HIRO’e shoulderblocks Hanako to the mat. HIRO’e picks up Hanako and hits a vertical suplex, cover by HIRO’e but it barely gets two. Back up, kick by Hanako and she snapmares HIRO’e before kicking her in the back. Kick to the chest and leg drop by Hanako, she picks up HIRO’e and kicks her in the corner. Hanako charges HIRO’e but HIRO’e moves, elbow by HIRO’e but Hanako avoids her shoulder tackle attempt. HIRO’e rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody for two, she picks up Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the leg. HIRO’e elbows her back as they trade strikes, Codebreaker by HIRO’e and she dropkicks Hanako while she is against the ropes. HIRO’e picks up Hanako but Hanako blocks the Northern Lights Suplex, HIRO’e goes off the ropes but Hanako drops her onto the second rope and boots her from the apron. Hanako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hanako but it gets two. Hanako applies an armbar but HIRO’e gets to the ropes, running boot by Hanako and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but HIRO’e elbows her before she can jump off.

They trade elbows while Hanako is still sitting on the top turnbuckle, headbutt by Hanako and she goes for a powerbomb out of the corner, but HIRO’e blocks it and hits a Codebreaker. HIRO’e goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Northern Lights Suplex by HIRO’e but Hanako kicks out. HIRO’e picks up Hanako, Hanako blocks the suplex at first but HIRO’e eventually hits the German suplex. Hanako immediately gets up and hits a German suplex of her own, but HIRO’e returns with a backdrop suplex followed by a German suplex for a two count cover.  Elbows by HIRO’e and hits the spear, but Hanako gets a shoulder up. Sunset flip by HIRO’e, but that gets a two count as well. Kasadora by HIRO’e, but again Hanako kicks out. Boot by Hanako and she kicks HIRO’e in the head again, but HIRO’e reverses her cover attempt into one of her own for two. After a failed cradle, HIRO’e charges Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the head. Another head kick by Hanako, but her cover only gets two. Hanako picks up HIRO’e and drops her with the Requiem Driver, and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori wins!

I am not sure the nice way to say this, nor am I sure if I should even bother try to say it nicely, but there is a reason HIRO’e stayed in the WAVE midcard for her entire 5+ year career. She is spectacularly average, bringing little to the table. That’s not to say she is bad, as her fundamentals are solid and unlike in the last two matches there weren’t any miscommunications or times where a wrestler looked out of place. But she doesn’t leave a strong impression. They tried to tell a bit of a story, with the underdog HIRO’e trying to sneak in a win against the highly ranked Hanako, but Hanako wasn’t really bothering with any sort of long term selling so most of her hope spots were quickly dashed when Hanako easily took back over control. She was “trying” to make HIRO’e look good but in the end she didn’t really, since none of HIRO’e’s offense had any impact beyond the moment. The ending came out of nowhere, as HIRO’e had been in pretty good shape, which just hammers in my previous point. Overall it wasn’t bad, but in the end neither one came out looking any better than they came in and if this was anyone’s first exposure to Hanako they wouldn’t be too impressed.

Manami Katsu vs. Mari Manji

They circle before tying up, Mari gets Manami into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Manami grabs her and the two take turns with elbows, Mari throws Manami into the corner and delivers a running back elbow. Manami fires back with a lariat and a running boot, rolling cradle by Manami and she holds down Mari for a two count cover. Mari is pretty dizzy after being rolling around for so long as Manami stomps on her, she picks up Mari and they try to shoulderblock each other over. Mari eventually grabs Manami and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Manami lands on top of her. Mari goes off the ropes and finally shoulderblocks Manami over, she picks up Manami but Manami reverses the backdrop suplex attempt into a bulldog. Double underhook by Manami but Mari gets out of it and the two trade strikes. Manami charges Mari but Mari chops her to the mat, she picks up Manami and puts her on the top turnbuckle before joining her, applying a modified dragon sleeper. She lets go after a moment and brings Manami back to the ring with a backdrop suplex, cover by Mari but it gets two. She puts Manami in an armbar but Manami gets to the ropes for the break, Mari picks up Manami and hits a side Russian leg sweep. Another leg sweep by Mari and a third, she puts Manami in a submission hold but again Manami gets to the ropes.

Mari picks up Manami but Manami pushes her off and hits a Stunner, boot by Manami and she hits a lariat. Running boot by Manami while Mari is against the ropes but Mari avoids the next one, Mari charges Manami and delivers a running elbow. Boot by Mari and she hits another one, followed by a dropkick. Mari picks up Manami but Manami snaps off a Samoan Drop, lariat by Manami and she covers Mari for two. Manami puts Mari in front of the corner and hits a Reverse Splash, cover by Manami but it gets a two count. Manami grabs Mari but Mari gets away and hits a vertical suplex, she rolls over Manami but Manami covers her for two. Jawbreaker by Mari and she rolls over Manami again, this time holding her down for a two count. Mari picks up Manami and hits a back bodydrop, she goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton for two. Mari picks up Manami and levels her with a back elbow, but Manami kicks out of the cover. Mari goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a lariat, sliding lariat by Manami but Mari reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Manami kicks Mari in the head, she picks her up and hits a German suplex for a two count. Back up, uppercut by Manami and she nails the Orange☆Blossom for the three count! Manami Katsu is the winner.

This was the best match on the card, which may be a low bar but it was a fitting main event for a small dojo-style show. Its interesting that they are having Mari basically go 50/50 with Manami. Mari is actually older than Manami and has a slight size advantage, which may play into their thinking, or they think long term she has more potential as a title challenger. She’s pretty good in the ring, PURE-J doesn’t really do high workrate matches so she fits in well in the promotion that focuses on the basics. A good enough match, nothing that will blow you away but it flowed well and ended before it felt too stretched out.  Mildly Recommended

The post PURE-J Fight Together on 7/12/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Diana at Shin-Kiba
Date: February 22nd, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sareee didn’t have many matches left in Japan after this one before joining the WWE, and this will likely be her last Joshi match released to the public. So, obviously I had to watch it as we bid her farewell. Diana cards aren’t very deep, and this one is even less-so as Kyoko Inoue missed the event due to an injury, but there are a lot of little things I am looking forward to on this event. The opener has a shot at being a lot of fun, and Sareee vs. Yoshiko should be amazing. I am really interested in the main event as well, as the super veterans take on a young team from PURE-J. Its great to see Diana events finally ‘making tape’ so I am not going to complain either way. Here is the full card:

• Haruka Umesaki vs. Miyuki Takase
• Ayako Sato, Jaguar Yokota, and Madeline vs. HIROe, Nanami, and Yumi Ohka
• Sareee vs. Yoshiko
• World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Tag Team Championship: Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Manami Katsu and Mari Manji

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. As always, all the wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Onto the matches!

Haruka Umesaki vs. Miyuki Takase

Haruka and Miyuki tie-up to start, Miyuki pushes Haruka into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Haruka elbows her as she backs off however and they start trading strikes, Miyuki chops Haruka against the ropes and then into the corner. Rapid fire chops by Miyuki and she tries to toss Haruka by the hair, but Haruka cartwheels out of it and dropkicks Miyuki into the corner. Chops by Haruka and she hits a scoop slam, snapmare by Haruka and she applies a bodyscissors. Miyuki quickly gets out of it and puts Haruka in a stretch hold, she picks up Haruka while having her in a headlock but Haruka spins out of it and applies a guillotine. Miyuki reverses that into a wristlock as they trade holds, Miyuki gets Haruka to the mat but Haruka gets into the ropes for the break. Scoop slam by Miyuki and she applies a crab hold, but Haruka gets into the ropes for the break. Stomps by Miyuki, she picks up Haruka and puts her upside down in the corner. Miyuki gets a running start and dropkicks Haruka in the back, she puts Haruka back into the crab hold but Haruka quickly gets to the ropes again. Miyuki puts Haruka in the corner, Irish whip by Miyuki but Haruka reverses it. Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a missile dropkick, she charges Haruka but Haruka avoids her charge and connects with a series of dropkicks.

Haruka goes for a crossbody but Miyuki catches her and hits a backbreaker, single leg crab hold by Miyuki but Haruka manages to get a break as she crawls to the ropes. Miyuki goes up top but Haruka hits her before she can jump off and tosses Miyuki back to the mat. Haruka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Haruka but it gets two. Scoop slam by Haruka, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the missile dropkick, but Miyuki kicks out of the cover. Haruka goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat, Miyuki gets Haruka on her shoulders and his a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Guillotine leg drop by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle, but Haruka barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki picks up Haruka but Haruka gets away, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a powerslam. Miyuki goes off the ropes and delivers a lariat, but the cover only gets two. Miyuki picks up Haruka but Haruka sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Haruka tries a few more flash pins with no luck, Haruka goes off the ropes but Miyuki takes off her head with a lariat. Miyuki picks up Haruka and hits the brainbuster, cover by Miyuki and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase is the winner.

This didn’t reach the level I was hoping it would, but for an opener it was decent enough. Haruka’s hope spots were all well done and helped elevate the match, but Miyuki’s offense was just more repetitive than I’d have liked. Crab holds are a traditional way to beat young wrestlers but she kept going for it with little effort to set up Haruka for it, and by the third one I had had enough of the hold. And then she won with a brainbuster, which has nothing to do with anything a crab hold weakens, rendering the work meaningless. There was really no long-term selling in general as they were going from spot to spot, and there was a tiny botch in the middle. I am still impressed by Haruka’s poise as she has no issue standing up to wrestlers above her in the pecking order, but they didn’t do enough here to make it memorable in any way.

Ayako Sato, Yokota, and Madeline vs. HIROe, Nanami, and Yumi Ohka

Yokota and friends attack before the match starts as the action quickly spills outside the ring, with Yokota and HIROe closest to the camera as the legend pummels the young WAVE wrestler. Yokota and HIROe return to the ring, elbow by Yokota and she rakes HIROe’s face over the top rope. She tags in Sato, Sato tosses HIROe down by the hair and boots her in the corner. Back bodydrop by Sato and she covers HIROe for a two count. She throws HIROe into the corner so that Madeline can help, Sato tags in Madeline and Madeline puts HIROe in a Fujiwara Armbar. HIROe quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Madeline to the corner but HIROe rebounds out of it with a crossbody. Madeline and HIROe trade elbows, hard shoulderblock by HIROe and she tags Ohka. Ohka throws Madeline into the corner and delivers a big boot, she pushes her boot into Madeline’s face while taunting Madeline’s teammates. More boots by Ohka and she stands on Madeline’s back, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka tags Nanami as HIROe comes in too, as all three attack Madeline in the corner. Dropkick by Nanami, she snapmares Madeline and applies a bodyscissors. Nanami rolls Madeline around the ring while maintaining the hold, she stops to hold down Madeline for the cover but it gets two.

Madeline finally fights back against the kid and hits a scoop slam, but Nanami elbows her and the two trade strikes. Nanami connects with a series of dropkicks, cover by Nanami but it gets two. Nanami goes off the ropes again but Madeline catches her with an elbow, kick by Nanami and she scoop slams Madeline for a two count. Nanami tags HIROe, HIROe throws Madeline into the corner but Madeline avoids her charge and connects with some elbows. Dropkick by Madeline and she goes for the armbar, but HIROe rolls out of it. Madeline stays in a dominate position as she goes for a choke, but HIROe wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Irish whip by Madeline but HIROe hits a hard shoulderblock, shoulder tackles by HIROe in the corner and she hits a vertical suplex for two. HIROe picks up Madeline but Madeline gets away and rolls up HIROe for two. Irish whip by HIROe but Madeline cartwheels out of the way and hits a crossbody. This gives her time to tag in Sato, dropkick by Sato and she hits a jumping kick in the corner. HIROe retorts with a shoulder tackle, she goes off the ropes and delivers a spear for a two count. HIROe goes up top but Sato recovers and joins her, HIROe jumps back to the mat and hits a German suplex. HIROe picks up Sato but Sato snaps off a double wrist armsault for a two count. Sato goes off the ropes but HIROe hits a quick suplex, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by HIROe, but Sato gets a shoulder up. HIROe tags in Ohka, running boot by Ohka and she hits a backdrop suplex. Ohka picks up Sato and boots her, she goes off the ropes but Sato hits her with a trash can lid.

Dropkick with the lid by Sato, she covers Ohka but it gets two. Sato goes off the ropes and goes for a bodyscissors, but Ohka catches her and hits a German suplex. Big boot by Ohka, but Sato kicks out of the cover. Ohka goes for the Tiger Suplex but Sato blocks it, Madeline comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex on Ohka followed by a double dropkick. Sato goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Sato but it gets two. Yokota comes in with a chair and hits the child Nanami with it, she stays in as the legal wrestler and hits Ohka in the head with the chair. Sato gets her trash can lid and hits Ohka as well, Yokota sits down Ohka in the chair while Madeline hits her with a metal stick. Yokota gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault kick, cover by Yokota but the pin is broken up. Yokota goes off the ropes but HIROe stops her with a shoulder tackle, DDT by Ohka to Yokota and she hits a heel drop. Ohka goes off the ropes and delivers the big boot, cover by Ohka but Yokota gets a shoulder up. Yokota tags Nanami, Nanami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press for two. Nanami goes off the ropes but Sato kicks her from the apron, HIROe does the same to Yokota and Nanami cradles Yokota for two. Swinging neckbreaker by Nanami, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Yokota recovers and joins her. Superplex by Yokota, but Ohka breaks up the cover. Yokota picks up Nanami but HIROe runs in and elbows her, Ohka clears the ring and hits a chokebomb on Yokota. Nanami goes for another swinging neckbreaker but Yokota reverses it into a Backslide for the three count! Jaguar Yokota, Madeline, and Ayako Sato win!

This match was quite a combination of good, bad, and ugly. Yokota was great in this match. She didn’t do much but she uses weapons, which I like, and she gave quite a bit of offense to a 13 year old which is admirable. Unfortunately, the 13 year old isn’t good. I know, she’s a child, but she’s a child I have to watch wrestle and bad is bad. Her strikes are laughable, she is sometimes out of position and she doesn’t show the fire that we just saw from Haruka in the match before. I was surprised Madeline was the Ricky Morton in this match, she’s a new-ish wrestler but to see her getting thrown around by Nanami of all wrestlers was quite something. The match dragged at times in the middle, and the few fun parts were too spread out to get a good run going. A watchable midcard tag match, but nothing here I could really recommend.

Sareee vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Sareee gets Yoshiko into the ropes and gives her a hard elbow. Yoshiko returns fire as they trade shots, Yoshiko throws down Sareee by the hair but Sareee returns the favor. They trade strikes again before ending up in the ropes, with the referee finally getting them to separate. Sareee asks for a knuckle lock and Yoshiko obliges, they go into a Test of Strength which Yoshiko gets the better of, but Sareee hits an armdrag. Yoshiko swats away the dropkick and kicks Sareee in the ribs, Sareee goes for another armdrag but Yoshiko blocks it and hits one of her hard. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she snapmares Sareee and puts her in a chinlock. Yoshiko lets go before Sareee gets to the ropes and kicks her, but Sareee returns the favor and kicks Yoshiko in the back repeatedly. Irish whip by Sareee but Yoshiko hits a hard elbow, Sareee goes for a crossbody but Yoshiko catches her and slams Sareee to the mat. Cover by Yoshiko, but Sareee bridges out of it and dropkicks Yoshiko. Irish whip by Sareee but Yoshiko hits a hard shoulderblock and puts Sareee in a stretch hold. She lets go after a moment and kick Sareee out of the ring, she goes out after her and throws Sareee into the chairs at ringside. Yoshiko takes Sareee up high in the bleachers and slams her into the wall, which we can at least somewhat see since they are on the hard cam side.

They return to the ring after a couple minutes as Yoshiko sits down on Sareee for a two count. She quickly applies a choke hold but Sareee gets a toe on the ropes to force the break. Sareee rolls out of the ring but Yoshiko goes out to the apron and jumps down onto Sareee with what I assume was a footstomp. Slightly off camera. Yoshiko returns to the ring with Sareee following, Yoshiko goes back to the choke but Sareee quickly rolls to the ropes for the break. Yoshiko picks up Sareee, Sareee chargers her in the corner but Yoshiko moves and smacks her over the ropes. Yoshiko sets up Sareee in the ropes and kicks her in the head repeatedly, but Sareee avoids one and elbows Yoshiko in the chest. Sareee elbows Yoshiko off the apron to the floor, she goes out to the apron and hits a crossbody down to the floor. Sareee throws Yoshiko into the chairs at ringside and fights her up into the crowd, she gets back in the ring after a moment and goes up top as Yoshiko returns as well, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Sareee picks up Yoshiko and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Sareee trips Yoshiko and puts her in the STF, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes for the break. Sareee knees Yoshiko in the back and goes for a German suplex, but Yoshiko blocks it. Roll-up by Sareee into a double footstomp, she goes off the ropes and goes for a dropkick but Yoshiko moves and kicks her in the head.

Yoshiko picks up Sareee but Sareee elbows her and they trade shots. Dropkick by Sareee, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Yoshiko again while she is leaning against the ropes. She goes for the Uranage but Yoshiko blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before applying a sleeper hold. She lets go after a moment and picks up Sareee, but Sareee cradles her for two. Sareee goes off the ropes and applies a tilt-a-whirl roll-up, but that gets a two as well. She goes off the ropes yet again but this time eats a lariat, they trade headbutts and Yoshiko hits another lariat for two. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko gets up on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Sareee gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko picks up Sareee but Sareee nails her with a jumping back kick, she goes off the ropes and delivers a hurricanrana for two. Uranage by Sareee, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Back up, headbutt by Sareee and she hits another Uranage, but Yoshiko lands too close to the ropes and gets a foot on the bottom one. Wrist-clutch Uranage by Sareee, she crawls to Yoshiko and covers her, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Sareee picks up Yoshiko and goes for another one, but Yoshiko elbows her off. Big lariat by Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat for a two count. The bell rings before she can do anything else, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

A pretty fitting final televised match for Sareee. I really loved the first portion and final portion of the match. They came out on fire with the hard strikes and passion, which you’d expect from these two, and it had that rough style that has been a staple of Yoshiko’s matches since soon after she debuted. The middle portion lost me a bit as they did a lot of crowd brawling, which not only was hard to see with the single cam setup but felt more like wasting time to reach the time limit. Once they returned to the ring though I went back to loving it, with both just throwing bombs to try to pick up the win before time expired. Overall I really enjoyed it, a few adjustments here and there would have made it a true MOTYC, but even as it is its a pretty damn good match.  Recommended

(c) Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Katsu and Mari Manji
World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Tag Team Championship

The PURE-J team attacks before the bell rings as they kick the champions out of the ring. The veterans take control on the floor before Watanabe and Mari return to the ring, vertical suplex by Watanabe and she hits a scoop slam followed by an elbow drop off the ropes. She tags in Ito, Ito throws Mari in the corner and hits a lariat. Single leg crab hold by Ito but Mari makes it to the ropes to force the break. Watanabe strolls in and they double team Mari, cover by Ito but it gets a two count. Watanabe throws Mari into the corner, Mari elbows her but Watanabe lariats Mari to the mat. Scorpion Deathlock by Watanabe, Manami tries to break it up but Watanabe just ignores her kicks and keeps the hold applied. Mari eventually makes it to the ropes for the break, Watanabe tags in Ito and hits a footstomp on Mari’s leg. Ito applies a single leg crab hold, Manami has the same lack of luck in getting the hold broken but Mari makes the ropes again. Ito applies a Camel Clutch while taunting Manami, she lets go just so she can put Mari in a crab hold. Mari gets to the ropes again, Watanabe comes in and Ito tries to catapult Mari to her, but Mari splats to the mat instead. Watanabe picks up Mari and hits a lariat anyway, Ito tags in Watanabe as Mari fights back with elbows. Watanabe absorbs the blows, Mari schoolboys Watanabe but they land in the rope. Watanabe grabs Mari by the leg and applies a STF, but Mari gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Ito is tagged back in and she goes back to the crab hold (this match isn’t very interesting so far), but once again Mari makes it to the ropes. Watanabe returns and they drop Mari with a double vertical suplex, Watanabe applies a crab hold over by her own corner this time while Ito steps on her hands. Mari gets to the ropes, Watanabe picks her up but Mari sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Mari finally makes the tag to Manami, Ito comes in as well but Manami hits a face crusher on both of them. Knees by Manami to Watanabe and she throws her into the corner, Mari returns and elbows Watanabe but Manami hits a superkick. They continue to double team Watanabe before Mari leaves the ring, Manami picks up Watanabe but Watanabe hits a back bodydrop. They take turns trying to lariat each other over until Manami finally sends Watanabe to the mat, Watanabe returns the favor however and tags in Ito. Running footstomp by Ito and she hits a senton, cover by Ito but Manami kicks out. Ito grabs Manami but Manami gets into the ropes, Mari comes in and they both attack Ito while she is against the ropes. Running boots by Manami and she delivers a sliding kick to Ito, Manami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse splash for two. Manami tags Mari, Mari tries to shoulderblock Ito over but Ito doesn’t budge. Hard elbow by Ito and she sends Mari to the mat with a lariat, but Manami kicks Ito from the apron and Mari finally manages to shoulderblock Ito down. Mari hits a side Russian leg sweep and puts Ito in a submission hold. Cover by Mari but Ito can reach the ropes for the break.

Mari goes for a backdrop suplex but Ito blocks it, Uranage by Ito and she tags in Watanabe. Watanabe picks up Mari but Manami comes in, Watanabe goes for a springboard move but Mari and Manami push her out of the ring. Ito takes the opportunity to hit a crossbody on both of them, Manami and Mari both fall out of the ring and Ito sends them down to the floor with a baseball slide. Mari is brought back into the ring and is hit with a double lariat, Watanabe slams Mari in front of the corner but Manami runs in as Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle. Watanabe hits a diving body press anyway, but Manami breaks up the cover. Watanabe goes all the way up top but Mari elbows her before she can jump off. Mari joins Watanabe but Ito grabs Mari from behind to help Watanabe hit a seated senton. Cover by Watanabe, but Mari barely gets a shoulder up. Manami runs in but she lariats Mari by accident, Ito comes in but she hits Watanabe by mistake, allowing Mari to put Watanabe in a modified Dragon Sleeper. Ito breaks it up, she goes to pick up Mari but Manami lariats her. Watanabe had gone up top but Manami joins her and hits a superplex, Mari puts Watanabe in the modified Dragon Sleeper while Manami goes up top. Mari lets go so that Manami can hit a diving elbow drop, cover by Mari but Ito breaks it up. Mari goes for another quick pin, but Watanabe kicks out. Ito comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving footstomp to Mari, Screwdriver by Watanabe to Mari, but Manami breaks up the cover. Watanabe picks up Mari and nails the Cannonball Buster, cover by Watanabe and she picks up the three count! Tomoko Watanabe and Kaoru Ito win and retain the championship.

I really wanted to enjoy this match, but I could not. While it is logical that Watanabe and Ito go at a slower pace than they did in their heyday, the first half of the match just wasn’t fun to watch. It needed someone super sympathetic or charismatic to be taking the beating and Mari is neither of those things, so it was just dull. Manami tried to be the veteran of her team but was overwhelmed by Watanabe and Ito, so it just came across as a mismatch with the PURE-J team never being a believable force against their seniors. The end stretch was better, almost by default, but didn’t last long enough to justify the wait to get there. I still love Ito but this wasn’t the best performance from any of them, and ultimately it was just disappointing.

The post Diana at Shin-Kiba on 2/22/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Pro Wrestling WAVE Ikinari Friday Night
Date: January 17th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

You can tell I am devoted to hitting each Joshi promotion in the month of January since I am reviewing this show. WAVE doesn’t “make tape” much so there aren’t a lot of options if I want to see what the promotion is up to. At least there are some quality Freelancers on this show, which is a big plus. To say that WAVE’s situation is dire would be an understatement as they are one of the smallest Joshi promotions with no real stars on their set roster to carry them and no young wrestlers with potential to lead them in the future. With that depressing introduction, here is the full card:

• Ayumi Hayashi and Yumi Ohka vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yuu
• Haruka Umesaki vs. Sakura Hirota
• HIROe vs. Sareee
• Hibiki, Nagisa Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha vs. Miyuki Takase, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri

Another short show! All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Ayumi Hayashi and Yumi Ohka vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yuu

Ayumi and Ohka pump up the crowd to start the match while Yuu looks confused, they get Yuu to join in but then attack her and double team her. Yuu blocks the snapmare attempt by Ayumi and slams her to the mat, she tags in Miyazaki and Miyazaki tosses Ayumi around the ring. Yuu returns, she throws Ayumi into the corner and hits a running elbow strike followed by a monkey flip into an armbar. Ohka breaks that up, snapmare by Yuu and she hits a senton onto Ayumi’s arm. Yuu tags Miyazaki, vertical suplex by Miyazaki and she applies a chinlock. Miyazaki picks up Ayumi and bites on her arm, she wraps her arm in the ropes and twists on it before applying an armbar. Miyazaki tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she delivers a spinning sidewalk slam. Running senton by Yuu, and she covers Ayumi for two. Yuu chops Ayumi repeatedly in the chest but Ayumi ducks one and elbows her back, she goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Yuu doesn’t go down. More dropkicks by Ayumi have no impact, Yuu catches her crossbody attempt and tosses Ayumi down. Ohka comes in to help and they finally get Yuu off her feet, giving Ayumi time to tag Ohka.

Ohka boots Yuu and Miyazaki in the face and hits a double face crusher, Ohka throws Yuu to the corner and she hits a big boot. Ohka goes off the ropes and hits another boot, Ohka goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Yuu chops Ohka but Ohka boots her as they trade shots, with Ohka winning the battle as she boots Yuu to the mat. She goes for another one but Yuu catches her and hits a Buckle Bomb, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Ohka for two. Yuu picks up Ohka but Ohka kicks her away, she goes off the ropes but Yuu hits a judo toss. They both crawl to their corners but Yuu makes it first, lariat by Miyazaki but Ohka catches her with a German suplex. Ohka goes for a strike but Miyazaki ducks it, she sets her up for the Shy Hold but pushes her to the mat instead and jaws with Ayumi. Miyazaki goes after Ayumi but Ohka attacks her from behind, big boot by Ohka in the corner but Miyazaki fires back with a lariat. Ohka catches Miyazaki with a DDT and hits a heel drop, cover by Ohka but it gets two.

Ohka goes off the ropes but Miyazaki avoids her boot, Ayumi comes in and tries to help but Miyazaki kicks her away. Miyazaki gets Ayumi off of her and goes off the ropes, but Ohka hits a chokebomb and tags in Ayumi. Ayumi stomps on Miyazaki but Miyazaki shrugs it off, Ohka comes in but Miyazaki blocks their double team attempt and Yuu sends Ohka out of the ring. Miyazaki slams Ayumi to the mat, she sets her up and puts her in the Shy Hold. Ohka eventually comes in and breaks it up, they throw Miyazaki into the corner but Miyazaki avoids both of their attacks. Irish whip by Miyazaki to Ayumi and she hits a hard lariat, cover by Miyazaki but Ayumi gets a shoulder up. Miyazaki picks up Ayumi but Ayumi slides away and applies a flash pin for two. Ayumi goes for a cradle but Miyazaki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ayumi trips her and applies a jackknife cover for a two count. Ayumi goes up top but Miyazaki recovers and joins her, Ohka grabs Miyazaki from behind but Yuu pulls her away. Miyazaki kisses Ayumi while on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex, cover by Miyazaki but Ohka breaks it up. Miyazaki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the moonsault, cover by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Yuu and Yuki Miyazaki are the winners.

Yuu had an easy day, as she let Miyazaki do most of the heavy lifting. For a lot of this it felt like Ohka just trying to hold things other against two good wrestlers and a somewhat worthless partner, but Ayumi did enough here and there to at least attempt to pull her own weight. She was definitely the weak link and the focus of the match, and at times it felt like it was dragging. It picked up some by the end though, but I still wish Yuu was a bigger part of the match as I enjoy her more than I do Miyazaki. A decent opener but not enough here to recommend watching it.

Haruka Umesaki vs. Kyusei Haruka Umesaki (Sakura Hirota)

As soon as the bell rings, Haruka charges Hirota and delivers a dropkick, cover by Haruka and she picks up the three count! Haruka Umesaki wins the match!

Hirota gets on the microphone and while I don’t understand Japanese, it seems she wants to have the match re-started. She gets her wish as they get ready, the bell rings and this time Hirota charges Haruka and goes for her own dropkick. Haruka moves however and dropkicks Hirota, cover by Haruka and she gets the three count! Haruka Umesaki wins the match again!

Hirota asks for the mic and I assume appeals for another chance, and it is granted as the match is started yet again. They lock-up but let go so they can trade elbows, dropkick by Haruka and she cover Hirota, but this time Hirota kicks out. Mounted elbows by Haruka but Hirota returns the favor, they end up in the ropes and the referee gets them to break. After a bit of a delay they get back into it, headlock by Hirota and she takes Haruka to the mat. Haruka gets out of the hold, kick by Haruka but Hirota shoulderblocks her down. Hirota goes off the ropes, they both go for dropkicks but neither connects. Kick to the stomach by Haruka but Hirota ducks her crossbody attempt, Hirota then goes for a crossbody but Haruka kicks her in mid-air. Haruka charges Hirota and dropkicks her in the corner, but Hirota comes back with a face crusher. Hirota applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Haruka. Crab hold by Hirota but Haruka is too close to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Scoop slam by Hirota and she covers Haruka for two. Hirota knees Haruka in the back, Irish whip by Hirota but Haruka collapses to the mat. Hirota feels bad so she falls to the mat too, they both slowly get up and make the ten count. Running lariat by Haruka, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Hirota gets back up but Haruka scoop slams her, cover by Haruka but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Haruka and she applies a backslide, but Hirota gets out of it and cradles her for two. They trade flash pins with no luck, dropkick by Haruka and she applies a small package for two. La Magistral by Haruka but Hirota reverses it and holds down Haruka for the three count! Hirota wins the final match!

If I am going to watch a Hirota comedy match, this type of match is definitely my preference. Haruka was laughing at various times just with the ridiculousness of it all, and it was short enough that it never got old. A cute match, with it going in a slightly different direction than most Hirota matches which I appreciate.

HIROe vs. Sareee

HIROe and Sareee circle each other before tying up, Sareee gets HIROe in the ropes and she goes for an elbow, but HIROe moves and kicks her. Irish whip by HIROe but Sareee hits a jumping crossbody, HIROe bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick. Sareee bridges out of the pin as well and hits a hard elbow, Sareee grabs HIROe by the hair and flings her to the mat. Dropkick by Sareee but HIROe recovers and grabs Sareee by the hair, throwing her into the corner. HIROe picks up Sareee and the two trade elbows, which unsurprisingly Sareee gets the better of. Irish whip by Sareee and she dropkicks HIROe, scoop slam by Sareee and she puts HIROe in an Indian Deathlock. HIROe almost makes it to the ropes but Sareee pulls her back to the middle of the ring and puts her in the Muta Lock. She lets go after a moment and stomps on HIROe, Irish whip by Sareee but HIROe hits a dropkick. HIROe picks up Sareee and hits another dropkick, HIROe applies a crab hold but Sareee gets to the ropes. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee throws her into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Sareee tries to throw HIROe into the corner but HIROe reverses it and hits a running shoulder tackle. Vertical suplex by HIROe, and she covers Sareee for two. HIROe picks up Sareee and hits a Codebreaker, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sareee through the ropes and onto the apron. HIROe pulls her back in but Sareee blocks the suplex attempt and delivers a fisherman suplex hold for two.

Sareee goes for another suplex but HIROe blocks it, hard elbow by Sareee but HIROe elbows her back. Sareee goes off the ropes but HIROe levels her with a spear, cover by HIROe but it gets two. HIROe goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Northern Lights Suplex by HIROe but Sareee kicks out of the cover. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee gets behind her back and drops her with a release German. HIROe comes back with a German suplex hold, she picks up Sareee and hits a backdrop suplex. She gets on the top turnbuckle but Sareee recovers and grabs her from behind, hitting a German suplex from the corner. HIROe and Sareee trade elbows, dropkick by Sareee and she dropkicks HIROe again as the slumps against the ropes. STF by Sareee but HIROe gets to the ropes, Sareee picks her up but HIROe blocks the uranage. Sareee tries again but HIROe cradles her for two, Sareee goes for her own roll-up but she also gets a two count. Sareee goes off the ropes but HIROe delivers the Kasadora for two. She goes for another flash pin with no luck, she goes off the ropes and hits the spear, but that gets a two as well. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee pushes her off and drops her with a German suplex hold. Sareee picks up HIROe and nails a uranage, and she picks up the three count! Sareee is the winner.

This was a good sprint-style match, but not much more than that. Considering HIROe’s placement in Joshi I thought Sareee was quite generous, maybe too much so as they wrestled as equals for much of the match even though they clearly are not. Any selling of note went out the window but that was the style both were going for and since it went both ways I don’t mind it, but at times it really was just a series of moves without a real story behind them. I’m glad that Sareee didn’t win with one of her flash pin attempts as that would have been a flat way to end the match, and HIROe came out of it looking pretty good which I guess was the goal. A fine midcard match, but nothing really elevated it above that beyond Sareee just being her usual entertaining self.  Mildly Recommended

Hibiki, Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha vs. Takase, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri

Nozaki and Takase start the match, Takase elbows Nozaki but Nozaki elbows her back as they immediately get into it. Takase dropkicks Nozaki but Nozaki immediately boots her back, side headlock takedown by Nozaki but Takase quickly gets out of it and they reach a stalemate. Hibiki and Syuri tag in, headlock by Syuri and she gets Hibiki to the mat. Hibiki gets back up and Irish whips out of it, but Syuri knocks her over with a hard shoulderblock. Hibiki gets back up and delivers a shoulderblock of her own, she goes off the ropes but Syuri hits an armdrag. Snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Hibiki in the back, neck crank by Syuri and she tags Rina. Rina twists Hibiki’s arm in the ropes while Takase and Syuri help from the apron, Rina tags in Takase and she chops Hibiki in the corner. Syuri comes in next, she chokes Hibiki in the corner before stomping her in the back. She tags Rina back in, double knee to the arm by Rina and she applies a Fujiwara Armbar. Hibiki gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Rina but Hibiki hits a hard shoulderblock, giving her time to tag in Iroha. Iroha strikes all of her opponents, she goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her from the apron. Takase gets in the ring but Iroha throws Takase into Rina and kicks both of them. They for a suplex but it is blocked, Syuri and Nozaki come in the ring and Nozaki and Iroha suplex all three of their opponents.

Iroha gets back to Rina, she goes for a slam but Rina block it and applies an armbar. Iroha slams Rina into the corner to break it up, but Rina avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Takase, Iroha knocks Takase to the mat and connects with a series of kicks followed by a leg sweep and a PK. Dropkick by Iroha and she covers Takase for two. Iroha picks up Takase and hits a snap vertical suplex, she picks up Takase but Takase blocks the powerbomb. Syuri comes in and kicks Iroha, they throw her into the corner and along with Rina all three hit running strikes in the corner. Cover by Takase, but it gets a two count. Takase goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat, but Iroha kicks out of the cover. Takase gets Iroha up but Iroha slides away, superkick by Iroha and she tags in Hibiki. Hibiki goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, running senton by Hibiki and she covers Takase for two. Hibiki picks up Takase and the two trade elbows, headbutts by Hibiki and she hits a spear for a two count. Hibiki throws Takase into the corner but Takase rebounds out of it with a missile dropkick, lariat by Takase in the corner and she catches Hibiki with a powerslam. Takase tags Syuri, kicks by Syuri to Hibiki into the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Another knee by Syuri and she covers Hibiki for two. Syuri applies a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, Syuri goes off the ropes but Hibiki drives her into the corner. Running shoulder tackles by Hibiki and she covers Syuri for two. Hibiki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and she hits a spear.

Hibiki tags Nozaki, big boot by Nozaki in the corner and she boots her again. Nozaki goes off the ropes and delivers a running bootscrape, she goes out to the apron but Syuri kicks her down to the floor. Running knee by Syuri off the apron, she slides Nozaki back in and hits a double underhook suplex for two. Nozaki and Syuri trade elbows until Nozaki delivers a big boot, but Syuri catches her with a release German. Nozaki gets back up and boots Syuri, they trade strikes until Syuri knocks Nozaki to the mat with a head kick. Syuri tags Rina and she dropkicks Nozaki into the corner, another dropkick by Rina and she kicks Nozaki in the arm. Nozaki drop toeholds Rina into the ropes but Rina avoids her boot and kicks Nozaki in the arm. Rina applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Hibiki breaks it up, Rina goes up top but Nozaki recovers and joins her. Nozaki applies a guillotine choke until the referee gets her to stop, she then hits a superplex on Rina for a two count cover. Nozaki applies a sleeper but Rina gets out of it, Rina picks her up but Iroha comes in and suplexes her. Diving senton by Hibiki on Rina and Nozaki boots Rina in the head for a two count. Somato by Nozaki, but that gets a two count as well. Nozaki picks up Rina but Takase runs in and lariats her, jackknife cover by Rina but Nozaki kicks out. Iroha comes in and kicks Nozaki in the head, cover by Rina but Nozaki barely kicks out. Rina applies a quick cradle but that gets broken up, Rina grabs Nozaki but Nozaki gets away. Big boot by Nozaki, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Codebreaker by Syuri to Nozaki as all six wrestlers are in the ring, it clears after a moment and Nozaki drops Rina with a running knee strike. Nozaki waits for Rina to get up and nails a Noa Lancer High to the face, cover by Nozaki and she gets the three count! Hibiki, Nagisa Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha are the winners!

My biggest takeaway from this match is that Hibiki hasn’t lost a step during her hiatus from wrestling, she is still really good. I enjoyed this, even if each wrestler seemed to be doing their own thing instead of working together as as unit. Rina was working over arms, Syuri was all about the head kicks, Nagisa liked sleepers, Hibiki weakened up wrestler’s midsections, it was just all over the place in regards to strategies. This is the main difference between random tag teams and faction teams, the chemistry wasn’t really there. Luckily, all six are quality wrestlers on their own and the few with flaws could be hidden with all the action, so it was a fun match to watch. Nozaki has improved since last time I saw her and Syuri is always a treasure. While they didn’t really put on a cohesive six wrestler tag, for a small WAVE event it was a fitting conclusion that highlighted all six of the wrestlers well.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE Ikinari Friday Night on 1/17/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: WAVE Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• January 4th, 2015 with Yamagata vs. Kobayashi and Kana
• May 29th, 2015 vs. Maya Yukihi
• February 5th, 2017 vs. Yako Fujigasaki (title challenge)
• August 12th, 2017 with Kaho Kobayashi vs. Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama (title win)
• October 22nd, 2017 vs. Misaki Ohata (title challenge)
• February 12th, 2018 with Moeka Haruhi vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Yuki Miyazaki (title challenge)

Signature Moves:

• Dropkick
• Guillotine Leg Drop
• Kasadora
• Leg Hook Backdrop Suplex Hold
• Northern Lights Suplex Hold
• Spear

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• May 17th, 2016 – Hiroe Nagahama vs. Sareee in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• March 21st, 2017 – Hiroe Nagahama vs. Natsumi Maki in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• August 8th, 2017 – Hiroe Nagahama vs. Miki Tanaka in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• August 12th, 2017 – Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• November 4th, 2017 – Hiroe Nagahama vs. Mio Momono in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• January 14th, 2018 – Mio Momono, Fujita, Nagahama, and Ryo Mizunami vs. Saki Akai, Kurumi, Iroha, and Fujimoto in SEAdLINNNG
• March 11th, 2018 – Hiroe Nagahama vs. Misaki Ohata in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• October 22nd, 2018 – Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi in Pro Wrestling WAVE
• January 20th, 2019 – Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Ryo Mizunami, and Sae in SEAdLINNNG

In Action:

Leg Hook Backdrop Suplex Hold

Kasadora

Northern Lights Suplex Hold

Back to Retired Wrestlers

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