Event: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
Date: August 27th, 2022
Location: MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: None (FanCam via YouTube)

I never thought I’d be reviewing a WWE house show match, but here we are. Why am I reviewing this, you ask. Well, the reason is that in all the years Asuka and IYO SKY could have had singles matches against each other while both wrestled in Japan – they never did. Believe it or not, they have had tag matches against each other, but no singles matches in their long careers. Once they started feuding on RAW in early August, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they finally squared off one on one. Well it didn’t take long to happen, as on August 27th they would have their first ever singles match – on a house show.

The match may still happen at some point on RAW (or maybe a PLE!), but as of early September this is their only singles match to date. Normally, we’d never be able to watch it, but some wonderful person in the crowd did a FANCAM of the ENTIRE MATCH. Watching a FanCam takes me back, as there are some Puroresu shows from the early 90s that only exist (or existed, unsure if they were ever released officially) on a FanCam. But I haven’t watched a FanCam match in years because its not something people really do anymore, as they are too busy taking selfies or TikToks. So once I saw the match not only happened, but was uploaded to YouTube, I grabbed it real quick so I could save it forever and also review it for the site. Needless to say, I will only be watching their match in this review, so here is the match list:

• Asuka vs. IYO SKY

Woot, a one match review! Both Asuka and IYO have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it.

Asuka vs. IYO SKY

As for why they are feuding now, Io Shirai debuted as IYO SKY on the main roster of WWE when she showed up at SummerSlam with Bayley. Showing up as heels to face off against Bianca and Becky, Bayley’s group of IYO and Dakota Kai seemed intent on taking over RAW. Unfortunately, Becky got hurt at SummerSlam and was put on the shelf, so Asuka ended up in the feud. Its unknown of course if it was always the plan, but either way Bianca needed two buddies to even the odds so she got Asuka and Alexa Bliss. Since now they are in feuding factions, that led to this house show match, which hopefully will lead to a singles match on a major show down the road. Now that we got the backstory out of the way, let’s get to the match!

To begin the match, IYO avoids Asuka’s attempts to tie-up, just to solidify their roles as ‘crowd favorite’ and ‘taunting heel.’ Asuka finally gets a hold of IYO’s arm but IYO reverses it, they end up on the mat but reach a stalemate. Back up, hard shoulderblock by Asuka and she stomps at IYO’s head, she goes to run off the ropes but IYO trips her and returns the favor. IYO goes off the ropes but Asuka does as well, IYO goes for a handstand but Asuka kicks her in the stomach. IYO throws Asuka into the corner and charges, but Asuka tosses her onto the apron. IYO goes for a shoulderblock through the ropes but Asuka moves and kicks her, she then goes off the ropes and hip attacks IYO down to the floor. IYO delays returning to the ring while Asuka calls her a chicken, Asuka finally goes after IYO but IYO returns to the ring and taunts her. Asuka gets on the apron and grabs IYO, but IYO snaps her neck over the top rope. She then goes out to the apron and hits a DDT onto it, giving IYO control of the match. IYO returns to the ring, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a running elbow.

IYO trips Asuka and stomps her down in the corner before hitting a double knee strike. Cover by IYO, but it gets two. IYO kicks Asuka in the leg before applying a chinlock, she releases it for a moment only to switch to a stretch hold. Asuka hulks out of it but IYO quickly hits a dropkick, cover by IYO but it gets a two count. IYO slams Asuka’s head into the mat repeatedly, she kicks at Asuka but Asuka fires back with a strike exchange. Sliding head kick by Asuka, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Asuka is up first, IYO charges her but Asuka knocks her back with an elbow. Jumping lariat by Asuka and she hits a hip attack in the corner, she goes for a German suplex but IYO blocks it. Backfist by Asuka and she now can hit the German suplex, sliding kick by Asuka and she covers IYO for two. Asuka goes for IYO’s arm but IYO quickly grabs the ropes, Asuka charges IYO but IYO drops her head-first into the turnbuckle. Running double knee strike by IYO, she goes to the stop turnbuckle but Asuka recovers before she can jump off and pulls out Io’s leg.

Io ends up dangling on the top turnbuckle, Asuka joins her and goes for a superplex, but IYO headbutts her. IYO goes for the sunset flip powerbomb but Asuka blocks it, IYO slides away and instead German suplexes Asuka off the second turnbuckle to the mat. Cover by IYO, but Asuka barely kicks out. IYO goes for the 619 but Asuka moves, cross armbreaker takedown by Asuka but IYO stops her from locking it in and applies a crossface. Asuka rolls out of it and applies the Asuka Lock, but IYO gets out of it and delivers a palm strike. IYO goes for the double underhook facebuster but Asuka reverses it into a backslide for two. Asuka tosses IYO up and knees her in the face, but her cover only gets two. Asuka picks up IYO but IYO drives her back into the corner, Asuka goes for a kick but IYO ducks it and schoolboys Asuka. IYO puts her legs on the ropes for extra leverage, and she picks up the three count! IYO SKY is the winner!

First, I just have to note that Asuka and IYO did not wrestle this like it was a meaningless midcard house show match. Maybe they are practicing spots for a future match on a bigger event, maybe they just have too much pride, but neither were holding back. I’ve seen wrestlers coast when they were on a small or non-televised event, this wasn’t that. Both were going for it and were hitting some bigger moves, including the German off the second rope and the DDT on the apron. They have really solid chemistry, as one would expect from their years wrestling as a team in Japan, and everything from their rope exchanges to their strike exchanges looked smooth. The ending was a little disappointing but a heel cheating to win isn’t exactly unusual, and was probably the right way to go even on a house show. If they did this same match on RAW (or a PLE with just a couple extra minutes added) it would not look out of place at all, a really entertaining back and forth match between two of the best in the world.  Recommended

The post Asuka vs. IYO SKY at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on 8/27/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 3 Details:

Official Title: Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 3
Release: January 30th, 2013
Pages: ~80
Cost: ¥1,200
Where to Buy: Third Party Vendors (eBay, Mercari, Buyee, etc.)

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

• Yuzuki Aikawa
• Kana
• Makoto
• Bambi
• Kairi Hojo
• Nagisa Nozaki

Volume 3 of the series brings back Aikawa from Volume 2, with the other five wrestlers being different from the previous magazine. This would be Aikawa’s last year as the feature as she retired just a few months after this magazine came out, which would open things up for new wrestlers to appear on the cover. Like in past years, we get a good mixture here of stars (at the time) and newer wrestlers, with the most interesting addition to current fans being Kairi Hojo, later known in the WWE as Kairi Sane.

The pictures themselves are as you’d imagine as this is a gravure photoshoot after all. As in past years, Aikawa from Stardom has the most pictures as she is the star. Makoto and Nagisa Nozaki both wrestled in WNC at the time so this was good publicity for the smaller promotion, although Nagisa would leave wrestling soon after this magazine came out (she returned years later and still wrestles today). Bambi still wrestles as well, currently with 2AW but then out of K-DOJO. Kana of course needs no introduction as one of the most popular female wrestlers in the world, and in 2013 she was fairly popular as well. All and all a quality group of wrestlers as all are still active today except for Aikawa (giving Kairi a pass since her career is a bit in flux), which is impressive considering the magazine is seven years old and Joshi wrestlers tend to have short careers. Here is a sample of pictures from the magazine:

The post Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. 3 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ll provide context before each match if there is anything noteworthy I can find, although of course not all matches in wrestling have a set purpose (especially with Freelancers like Kana). All the matches below took place in Pro Wrestling WAVE in 2008.

• March 20th, 2008 – Kana vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• April 4th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Hikaru and Saki Maemura
• May 4th, 2008 – Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Shuu Shibutani and Kanjuro Matsuyama
• May 13th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata
• May 25th, 2008 – Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino vs. Kyoko Kimura, Yumi Ohka, and Moeka Haruhi
• June 4th, 2008 – Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. GAMI and Moeka Haruhi

Most of the Joshi wrestlers on the DVD have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to their profile for additional information.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kana

The DVD starts with a match between two young wrestlers that would go on to have fantastic careers. Neither Hiroyo nor Kana were signed to WAVE, Kana wrestled there regularly but Hiroyo far less often with only three matches in the promotion during 2008. This is actually the first ever singles match between the two, they have only had two total as their paths just rarely crossed. Both have a similar level of experience, so it should be a pretty even match.

Kana and Hiroyo have no chill, so they immediately the other by the hair and pull each other around the ring. Hiroyo throws Kana into the corner and kicks her, but Kana grabs her hair and tosses her to the mat. Kana kicks Hiroyo in the corner but Hiroyo pushes her off and returns the favor, scoop slam by Hiroyo and she covers Kana for one. Mounted elbows by Hiroyo but Kana switches positions with her and elbows her back before putting her into a crab hold. Hiroyo gets out of it after a moment, Kana stomps Hiroyo into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Hiroyo tackles Kana and puts her in a stretch hold, she eventually lets her go and hits a scoop slam. Kana recovers and dropkicks Hiroyo in the corner, another dropkick by Kana and she covers Hiroyo for two. Crab hold by Kana but Hiroyo crawls to the ropes and gets the break, Kana picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a crossbody. Mounted elbows by Hiroyo, she picks up Kana and Kana goes for a shoulderblock, but Hiroyo doesn’t budge. Hiroyo shoulderblocks Kana to the mat in return, Kana gets back up and the two trade elbows. Hiroyo knocks Kana down with a hard elbow, but Kana jumps up on the second turnbuckle and delivers a hip attack. Irish whip by Kana and she hits another hip attack, cover by Kana but it gets a two count. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a backbreaker, she gets Kana up on her shoulders but Kana slides off and rolls up Hiroyo for two.

Cross-legged submission by Kana, she reverts it into a modified STF but Hiroyo gets to the ropes for the break. Stomps by Kana and she goes for a suplex, but Hiroyo elbows her off. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Lariat by Hiroyo into the corner, she gets Kana on her shoulders and drops her with a gutbuster. Kana quickly recovers and hits a release German, but Hiroyo gets back to her feet and elbows Kana to the mat. Hiroyo collapses too as both wrestlers are down, they both slowly get up and Kana hits a reverse DDT for two. Kana gets on the top turnbuckle but Hiroyo avoids the diving hip attack, big boot by Hiroyo and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kana joins her and nails an avalanche DDT. German suplex hold by Kana, but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Sliding hip attack by Kana, but again Hiroyo gets a shoulder up. Kana picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo pushes her off, Kana applies an inside cradle but it gets two. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo nails her with a back elbow, she picks up Kana but Kana blocks the backdrop suplex. Kana goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, but again Kana blocks the backdrop suplex. Hiroyo gets Kana up onto her shoulders and drops her with a gutbuster, getting a two count. Hiroyo drags Kana to her feet, elbows by Hiroyo and she nails the backdrop suplex for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

Kana and Hiroyo Matsumoto were far from household names in the Joshi community in 2008 but just from this match you could tell that they were destined for greatness. They had no real reason to put as much effort into this match as they did, it was just a midcard match on a small non-televised event, but they were going at each other like they were in the main event of Korakuen Hall. Big strikes, killer suplexes, and just non-stop offensive from bell to bell – everything you could ask for from two professional wrestlers. Besides the fact I wish it had gotten more time of course, a really entertaining match between two young wrestlers that would grow into legends.  Recommended

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Hikaru and Saki Maemura

We skip ahead just a few weeks to see Kana in tag team action. This was actually the main event of the show, so I am sure they will all bring it. Hikaru and Saki Maemura may not be familiar names to newer Joshi fans as they retired awhile ago, but at the time both were respected young veterans with title reigns under their belts so they wouldn’t have been seen as big underdogs against Yumi Ohka and the far less experienced Kana.

Kana and Ohka attack before the match starts but Saki and Hikaru hit double dropkicks and the action spills out of the ring. Saki dives off the top turnbuckle with a plancha onto both opponents, Hikaru and Ohka trade elbows on the floor before Hikaru rams Ohka into a chair. Hikaru charges Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss and slides Hikaru back into the ring. Ohka returns as well, Irish whip attempt by Ohka but Hikaru blocks it and they trade elbows. Irish whip by Hikaru and she hits a hip toss followed by a dropkick, giving her time to tag in Saki. Ohka throws Saki into the corner and nails her with a big boot, she tags in Kana and Kana stomps down Saki in the corner. Kana rams Saki repeatedly in the turnbuckles before throwing her down by the hair and hitting a dropkick. Irish whip by Kana and she delivers a hip attack, two more hip attacks by Kana but Saki kicks out of the cover. Kana tags Ohka, Irish whip by Ohka but Saki hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Saki tags Hikaru, double Irish whip to Ohka and they hit a double dropkick. Hikaru throws down Ohka by the hair, snapmare by Hikaru and she applies a sleeper hold. Back up, Hikaru throws Ohka into the corner and hits a front dropkick, snapmare by Hikaru and she tags Saki.

Saki rams Ohka into the mat before putting her in a Camel Clutch, she lets go as Hikaru returns, and Hikaru hits a scoop slam. Hikaru elbows Ohka but Ohka elbows her back as they trade shots, dropkick by Hikaru and she tags Saki. Double vertical suplex to Ohka, and Saki covers her for two. Saki charges Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss and makes the hot tag to Kana, Kana throws Saki into the corner but Saki avoids the hip attack and slaps her. Kana boots Saki and connects with the hip attack, cover by Kana but it gets two. Saki fires back with elbow, she goes off the ropes but Kana hits another hip attack. Elbows by Kana, Ohka comes in the ring and they hit a double face crusher onto Saki. Double elbow drop to Saki, Kana gets on the top turnbuckle but Saki avoids the diving hip attack. They trade waistlocks, dropkick to the knee by Saki and she delivers a neckbreaker before tagging in Hikaru. Hikaru picks up Kana and hits a Samoan Drop, she goes up top but Ohka grabs her from the apron. Kana tosses Hikaru back to the floor, standing hip attacks by Kana but Hikaru ducks the next attempt and rolls her up for two. Kana hits a hip attack anyway, waistlock by Kana but Hikaru elbows her off and hits a dropkick. Hikaru picks up Kana and goes off the ropes, but Kana catches her with a hard elbow for two. Waistlock by Kana and she delivers a German suplex hold, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Kana tags in Ohka, boot by Ohka but Hikaru blocks the backdrop suplex attempt.

Ohka goes off the ropes but Hikaru dropkicks her, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Hikaru picks up Ohka and hits a backdrop suplex, but Ohka springs up and hits a backdrop suplex of her own. Hikaru returns the favor but Ohka hits another one as well for a two count. Ohka picks up Hikaru and applies a sleeper but Hikaru drives her back into the corner, Ohka gets on the second turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar. Ohka stays on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and delivers a falling elbow drop for a two count. Ohka applies a cross-arm submission but Saki breaks it up, Kana tosses Saki out of the ring while Ohka drags up Hikaru, hitting the Chokebomb for two. Ohka goes up top again but Saki elbows her from the apron, this gives Hikaru time to recover and she joins Ohka. Avalanche Falcon Arrow by Hikaru, but Kana breaks up the cover. Ohka and Hikaru both slowly recover as they trade elbows, Hikaru nails Ohka with a Shining Wizard and makes the tag to Saki. Saki goes off the ropes but Ohka levels her with a big boot, Kana comes in but Hikaru grabs Kana and pulls her out of the ring. Ohka goes off the ropes but Saki ducks her boot, she goes off the ropes but Ohka hits the Chokebomb for two. Ohka picks up Saki and drops her with the brainbuster, but Saki barely kicks out. Ohka picks up Saki again but Saki blocks the suplex attempt, Kana goes up top but she missile dropkicks Ohka by accident. Saki drives Kana’s head into the mat while Hikaru gets Ohka on her shoulders, Saki goes up top and hits a diving lariat for a two count cover. Uranage by Hikaru to Ohka, Saki hits a German suplex hold but Ohka gets a shoulder up. Saki quickly picks up Ohka, she puts her in the Alcatraz suplex and she picks up the three count! Hikaru and Saki Maemura are the winners!

That’s two straight quality matches, this one was even better than the last. Its matches like this that I watch and just can’t understand why some wrestling fans just hand-wave Joshi as a whole. Besides being sexist, the match quality can be just off the charts. This was a non-televised show from a small promotion but they were just going all out, the action never stopped for a second as they were flying outside the ring, inside the ring, and everywhere else. Hikaru casually hit an Avalanche Falcon Arrow like it was just a thing to do and yet it never felt like they were being excessive, everything felt natural and flowed perfectly. I can’t really find any faults in the match, everyone was on their game and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Kana wasn’t the star here but she played her role well, and overall just a fantastic match between four very skilled wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Shuu Shibutani and Kanjuro Matsuyama

We don’t need too much of an introduction for this one since its going to be a comedy match. Kamen and Matsuyama are both known more for their comedy wrestling than anything else, and it wasn’t unusual for Shuu to be paired to Matsuyama in some way. This was just the second match on the card, so it wasn’t really designed to be a show stealer but rather just a fun way to start off the event.

Shuu and Kana start the match, Kana pushes Shuu into the ropes and hits a series of hard elbows. Kana tosses down Shuu by the hair before hitting a dropkick, but Shuu comes back with a jumping elbow strike. Scoop slam by Shuu and she hits a a couple running sentons, cover by Shuu but it gets two. Irish whip by Shuu but Kana hits a hip attack, another hip attack by Kana and she gets a two count pinfall. Kana stomps Shuu but Shuu hits a DDT followed by a dropkick, she goes to her corner and tags in Matsuyama. Kamen tags in too, Matsuyama goes off the ropes but Kamen trips him. Lariats by Kamen in the corner but Matsuyama hits a lariat of his own, Kamen does some break dancing before doing the Osaka Hop. Kamen tags in Kana who seems unhappy to be paired against Matsuyama, Matsuyama grabs at Kana but Kana drops to the mat to protect herself. Kana gets back up and reluctantly locks knuckles, but Matsuyama lets go so he can hug Kana to the mat, which is broken up by his own tag partner. Matsuyama clubs Kana and hits a scoop slam, cover by Matsuyama but it gets two. Matsuyama goes back to Kana and hits another scoop slam, but lets go before the referee can count to three for reasons I can’t explain. Matsuyama argues with the referee but Kana schoolboys him from behind for two, leading to Matsuyama going back to complain to the referee. Kicks by Kana and she stomps on Matsuyama, Irish whip by Kana but Matsuyama reverses it. Matsuyama goes towards Kana but Kana kicks him back, standing hip attacks by Kana, she picks up Matsuyama and delivers the rope-walk armdrag.

She tags in Kamen as Shuu also comes in, hard elbow by Shuu but Kamen gets back up  and challenges her to it again. He backs up in pain with the delayed sell when she comes at him, Shuu springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits a twisting crossbody followed by a cradle for two. Shuu tags Matsuyama, who attacks Kamen with a fan until Kamen takes it from him and returns the favor. Matsuyama and Kamen do the slap routine until Matsuyama walks towards Kana, who slaps him in the face. Mounted slaps by Kana until Shuu breaks it up, Matsuyama picks up Kana but all four wrestlers end up running into each other. Matsuyama gets Kamen on his shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam followed by an elbow drop. Matsuyama charges Kamen, Kamen drops him on the apron however and chops him to the floor. Kamen goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault, Kana and Shuu get in the ring and start trading elbows. Hip attack by Kana but Matsuyama connects with a strike, Kana holds Shuu for Kamen but Shuu boots Kamen out of the ring. Kana hits a reverse DDT anyway, running hip attack by Kana but it gets a two count cover. Kana goes off the ropes but Shuu recovers and hits the Complete Shot. She goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Shuu but it gets two. Tornado DDT by Shuu, she holds Kana for Matsuyama who has a streamer gun, but Kana moves and Matsuyama streamers Shuu by accident. Kana gets Shuu’s back and nails a German suplex hold, picking up the three count! Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen are the winners.

It is hard to recommend a match where one of the storylines is a male wrestler trying to grab the breasts of a female wrestler, but even without that there wasn’t too much here to get excited about. The segments with Kana and Shuu were really good but there weren’t very many, and while Kamen is pretty great he didn’t get much of a chance to shine. This was a very Matsuyama match, for better or worse (mostly worse). The only bright spot was the final German suplex looked fantastic with the streamers flying, but otherwise a skippable match.

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata

With under 100 people in attendance, to say this was a small show would be an understatement. Still, Kana was in the main event with some quality wrestlers, and knowing them they will not be taking it easy even on a non-televised show. No real storylines or anything important leading into it, just a hopefully entertaining way to close out the event.

Kana and Shuu begin the match and immediately charge each other to lock up, Irish whip by Shuu but Kana hits a hip attack. Armdrag by Shuu and she kicks Kana, Irish whip to the corner and Shuu hits a jumping elbow. Scoop slam by Kana and she throws down Shuu by the hair, dropkick by Kana but Yuu tags herself in and they double team Kana. Yuu kicks at Kana, Irish whip by Kana but Yuu reverses it and hits a dropkick. Yuu tags Shuu back in, Irish whip by Shuu and she hits a jumping crossbody for two. Irish whip by Shuu again but Kana reverses it, boot by Kana and she hits a face crusher. This gives her time to tag in Ohka, and Ohka tosses down Shuu by the hair. Kana comes back in and they double team Shuu, ending with a double elbow drop for two. Delayed scoop slam by Ohka to Shuu and she puts her in a crab hold, but she releases it after a moment and hits an elbow drop to Shuu’s back. Irish whip by Ohka and she hits a hip toss for a two count cover. Ohka tags Kana, Irish whip by Kana and she hits a hip attack followed by an elbow drop. Kana throws Shuu into the corner, Shuu goes for a crossbody but Kana ducks it and hits a series of standing hip attacks. Sliding hip attack by Kana, but Shuu kicks out of the pin.

Kana schoolboys Shuu before rolling it into a STF, but Shuu makes it to the ropes for the break. Kana picks up Shuu, Shuu fights back and the two trade elbows. Shuu snaps off a DDT and makes the tag to Yuu, Yuu boots both her opponents before hitting a dropkick on Ohka and slamming Kana on top of her. Yuu picks up Kana but Kana elbows her, Kana charges Yuu but Yuu shoves her to the mat and applies an armbar. After Kana gets out of the hold, Yuu picks her up but Kana blocks the suplex attempt and hits a reverse DDT. Dragon Sleeper by Kana but Yuu quickly gets out of it, hip attack by Kana and she tags in Ohka. Ohka boots Yuu but Yuu blocks the backdrop suplex attempt and the two trade punches and elbows. Ohka boots Yuu to the mat but Yuu gets back up, release German by Ohka but Yuu fires back with an enzuigiri and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Yuu recovers first and tags in Shuu, Shuu chops Ohka into the corner and delivers a jumping elbow followed by a Tornado DDT for two. Shuu goes to the apron but Ohka ducks her springboard move, Kana kicks Shuu from the apron to distract her but Ohka accidentally boots Kana when she charges in.

Tornado DDT off the ropes by Shuu, and she covers Ohka for a two count. Shuu picks up Ohka but Ohka throws her into the corner and Kana runs in with a hip attack. Big boot by Ohka, she puts Shuu on the top turnbuckle, Ohka joins her but Shuu pushes her off. Ohka charges back with a big boot and joins her again, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Ohka jumps up to the top turnbuckle and hits a falling elbow drop, cover by Ohka but Yuu breaks it up. Ohka applies a cross-arm submission but Yuu breaks it up again by tossing Kana onto Ohka. Yuu kicks Ohka in the head, cradle by Shuu but it gets two. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka boots her in the head and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Ohka gets Shuu on her shoulders while Kana gets on the top turnbuckle, but Shuu avoids the diving attack and Yuu knocks Kana out of the ring with a missile dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Shuu, but Ohka kicks out. Shuu goes up top but Ohka avoids her diving senton, Ohka holds Shuu for Kana but Kana accidentally hits Ohka with the diving hip attack. Hurricanrana by Shuu to Ohka, and she keeps her down for the three count! Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata win the match.

Comparing it to other matches on this DVD, this was a good match but not at the level of the first two matches we watched. It started a bit clunky as it felt like they were feeling each other out and trying to get into a rhythm, but once it got going about halfway through it was entertaining the rest of the way. Shuu was the star here, she was so smooth in everything she did and helped hold the match together. Kana wasn’t asked to do as much as the main story on their side was how Ohka and Kana kept on having miscommunications and accidentally hitting each other. A pretty good match overall, it just didn’t reach the highs we have seen thus far.  Mildly Recommended

Kana, Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino vs. Kyoko Kimura, Ohka, and Moeka Haruhi

Another main event slot for Kana, as she wrestles in a multi-wrestler match to close out the show. In the last match, Shuu and Kana were on opposite teams so that just shows how random these teams are, there is rarely any method to the madness. There is one slight exception in this match however, as Kana and Kyoko Kimura are known enemies so they should have some fun interactions here. We also get an appearance by Sayuri Okino from LLPW in what would turn out to be her final year in wrestling.

All six immediately go at it, with Kyoko and Kana naturally pairing up. Shuu ends up isolated in the ring and gets triple teamed, but eventually things calm down with Shuu facing off with Moeka. Dropkicks by Moeka but Shuu connects with a DDT and a dropkick of her own for a two count. She tags in Kana, Irish whip by Kana and she hits a hip attack. Another hip attack by Kana and she covers Moeka for two. Kana sets up Moeka in the ropes and she hip attacks her in the back, Kana tags in Okino and Okino hits Moeka with a chain. Okino wraps the chain around Moeka’s neck and chokes her with it, Kana and Shuu come into the ring as they triple team Moeka. Fisherman suplex hold by Okino, but Moeka kicks out. Okino doesn’t appreciate this so she gets a stick and hits Moeka repeatedly with it, Irish whip by Okino and she hits Moeka with it again. She finally gets rid of the stick and goes for a scoop slam, but Moeka blocks it and tags in Ohka. Kimura comes in too as they both boot their opponents, suplexes by Kimura and Ohka before Ohka hits an elbow drop on Okino for two. Ohka goes off the ropes but Okino catches her with a DDT onto her chain. Okino then hits Ohka with the chain but she lands in her corner and tags in Kimura. Okino hits Kimura with the chain but Kimura grabs the other end of it as they struggle for control. Backdrop suplex by Kimura, she goes up top but Okino joins her, hitting an avalanche armdrag. Okino boots Kimura but Kimura kicks her back as they trade strikes, with Okino eventually winning the battle. Okino tags in Kana, elbows by Kana but Kimura boots her back when she charges in. More boots by Kimura and she kicks Kana repeatedly, hip attack by Kana and she hits a hard elbow. Kana eventually elbows Kimura off her feet, standing hip attacks by Kana but Kimura catches one a drops Kana face-first into the mat. Headbutt by Kimura, and she covers Kana for two. Kimura tags in Ohka, Ohka boots Kana in the corner before hitting a second boot for a two count cover.

Ohka goes for a suplex but Kana elbows out of it, so Ohka boots her in the face again. Okino hits Ohka from the apron, giving Kana time to recover and hit a reverse DDT. She tags in Shuu, Shuu throws Ohka into the corner and hits a jumping elbow strike. Tornado DDT by Shuu and she covers Ohka for two. Ohka knees Shuu in the midsection and connects with a backdrop suplex, but Shuu gets her hand on the ropes when she goes for the cover. Okino hits Ohka with her stick from the apron, Shuu cradles Ohka but Ohka kicks out. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her with the chokebomb, she tags in Moeka and Moeka hits a diving crossbody onto Shuu. Moeka applies an armlock but Shuu wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Kimura goes up top and hits a footstomp onto Shuu’s arm, Moeka applies an armlock again while Ohka hits Shuu with an elbow drop, but the hold is eventually broken up. Kana comes in and throws Moeka into the corner, Okino hits Moeka with her stick before Kana hits a hip attack. Elbow by Shuu to Moeka but Kimura kicks Shuu from behind, armbreaker by Kimura to Shuu and Moeka puts Shuu in a hanging armbar. That gets broken up too, Moeka goes up top but Shuu recovers and joins her. Ohka suplexes Shuu to the mat but Okino hits a suplex on her, Kimura runs in but Okino suplexes her as well. Meanwhile, Kana has joined Moeka on the top turnbuckle and hits a DDT to the mat, Okino grabs Moeka and drops her with a uranage. Shuu gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving senton, cover by Shuu and she gets the three count! Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Sayuri Okino win the match!

Having Okino and Moeka added something fresh to this match than we’ve seen on the DVD up to this point, between Okino’s constant use of weapons and Moeka’s submissions. The styles here varied dramatically, which at times led to some non-fluid moments but I enjoyed the chaos of it all even if everything didn’t work perfectly. I was hoping for more Kimura/Kana interactions but it was pretty minimal here, as the focus was elsewhere. I loved the ending, with Moeka just eating a series of moves before getting pinned without a real hope spot, sometimes a definite ending really works and I thought it did here. Overall a fun match, nothing that will blow anyone away but an enjoyable watch.  Mildly Recommended

Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. GAMI and Moeka Haruhi

The final match of the DVD is from WAVE’s small event on June 4th. This was actually the opening match but from looking at the match time, it didn’t really matter as they still got plenty of time. This is the first we have seen of GAMI on this DVD, she was the owner of Pro Wrestling WAVE but mostly took a back seat at this stage of her career, wrestling in a lot of comedy matches and letting others take the spotlight. This shouldn’t be a comedy match though, at least not in its entirety, as everyone else in the match primarily wrestles a serious style. With the time given, hopefully they end the DVD with a bang and put on a good show.

Shuu and Moeka begin the match and lock knuckles, but GAMI runs in the ring and hits Shuu in the back of the head. They both shoulderblock Shuu before knocking her out of the ring, and the teams brawl on the floor. Kana hits a diving hip attack off the apron to the floor at one point, Shuu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto both of her opponents. Shuu brings Moeka back into the ring and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Shuu and she dropkicks Moeka. She tags in Kana, Kana stomps Moeka and tosses her down by the hair. Dropkick by Kana and she stomps Moeka around the ring. Kana tags Shuu back in, dropkick by Shuu and she hits a scoop slam. Running sentons by Shuu and she applies a chinlock, but Moeka wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Shuu clubs Moeka and tags Kana, Kana Irish whips Moeka and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Crab hold by Kana but GAMI breaks it up, Kana stomps on Moeka’s leg and tags Shuu. GAMI comes in again to help Moeka and they double team Shuu, Irish whip by Moeka and she hits a dropkick. Irish whip by Moeka but Shuu avoids the dropkick, GAMI runs in and hits a lariat and Moeka dropkicks Shuu in the corner. Shuu avoids GAMI’s lariat as Kana runs in with a hip attack, double dropkick to Moeka and Shuu slams Moeka.

They then go to GAMI and try to suplex her onto Moeka, but Moeka moves and goes for a double crossbody. She gets caught however and thrown at GAMI, Moeka elbows Shuu but Shuu hits a DDT followed by a dropkick. Shuu goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Shuu but Moeka bridges out of the pin. Kana comes in but Moeka avoids their attack, double vertical suplex by Moeka and she dropkicks Shuu. She finally tags in GAMI, GAMI cleans house before hitting a jawbreaker on Shuu. GAMI goes off the ropes but gets tripped from the floor, Shuu dropkicks GAMI before hitting a jumping elbow in the corner. Shuu goes off the ropes and hits a jumping DDT, tornado DDT by Shuu off the ropes and she covers GAMI for two. Shuu goes up top and nails the diving senton, but GAMI reverses the cover into one of her own for a two count. Shuu goes off the ropes but GAMI catches her with a powerbomb, Kana hits GAMI with a hip attack but GAMI drops Shuu with a German suplex hold for two. GAMI picks up Shuu and goes for a pump handle slam, but Shuu reverses it into a DDT and tags in Kana. Kana comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, but GAMI falls in her corner and tags Moeka. Moeka dropkicks Kana and elbows her into the corner, Irish whip by Moeka and she hits a dropkick. Kana comes back with a hip attack and a face crusher, another hip attack by Kana and she covers Moeka for two.

Back up they trade elbows, Moeka goes off the ropes and she catches Kana’s arm with a Fujiwara Armbar. Kana gets to the ropes for the break, Moeka goes for a step-up armbar but Kana blocks it. Dropkick by Moeka and GAMI snaps Kana’s arm over the top rope, step-up armbar by Moeka while GAMI holds back Shuu but Kana gets to the ropes again for the break. Moeka goes off the ropes but Kana catches her with a German suplex hold for two. Kana gets on the second turnbuckle but GAMI grabs her from the apron, Moeka recovers and joins Kana before hitting a Frankensteiner for two. Moeka tags in GAMI, she grabs Kana and hits a pump handle shoulder breaker. Seated armbar by GAMI but Shuu breaks it up, GAMI throws Shuu out of the ring and puts Kana on the top turnbuckle, but Kana gets away and elbows GAMI. They end up on the top turnbuckle again and Kana hits an Avalanche DDT, Moeka flies in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick and Kana delivers the Billiken for a two count. Kana goes off the ropes but GAMI catches the hip attack and hits a release German, Kana gets back up but GAMI puts her in a double armbar. GAMI switches it to an armtrap crossface, she lets go after a moment and hits a pump-handle slam for a two count. GAMI goes up top but Kana avoids the diving elbow drop, Kana goes off the ropes but GAMI catches her with a lariat. GAMI picks up Kana but Shuu hits her with a missile dropkick, GAMI lariats Shuu and Kana before covering Kana for two. GAMI picks up Kana but Okino comes in the ring and hits her with her stick, Billiken by Kana and she covers GAMI for the three count! Kana and Shuu Shibutani win!

This was definitely different feeling than the other matches we saw on this DVD, as GAMI added a new element since we haven’t seen much from “power” wrestlers so far. While I appreciate that they got a lot of time, it probably was a bit too long as it lagged in a few parts, cutting a few minutes off of it probably would have helped. GAMI was annoying at times as seasoned veterans sometimes are as she had stints where she was mowing over people in an invincible manner, but in the end she took the pinfall so its hard to get too mad about it. Shuu and Kana taking turns trying to take down GAMI worked as the main dynamic of the match and Kana looked really good here, it just felt disjointed at times since Moeka and GAMI had totally different game plans. Almost as if at times we were watching two different matches. Even with those flaws I enjoyed it as a complete package though, a solid way to close out the DVD.  Mildly Recommended

The post Kana Special #4 DVD Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine on 8/25/10
Released August 11th, 2010

Background: In 2010, Kana was a Freelancer and frequently appeared in Tajiri’s new promotion, SMASH. On June 25th, 2010, Kana and Syuri wrestled in the main event of SMASH.4, with Syuri winning. In this interview, Kana is discussing her upcoming rematch with Syuri, which was set to take place at SMASH.5 on July 24th, 2010.

— Translation begins below —

Click to Expand

Interview Introduction: The severe battle at the last tournament between Syuri and Kana demolished stereotypes that existed in the world of female professional wrestling. They are fighting again at 7.24 (starting at 12) on SMASH.5. Kana, demanding a rematch is in possession of serious intents. She is ready to surpass her limits and her plan is to showcase her most severe fighting skills during the rematch. But what is the “Manifesto” Kana is talking about? Let’s try to look at the true intent of this maverick facing the final battle. (Interview and editorial works: Fumio Tokita)

Interviewer: Right after your last battle, you said that you want revenge…

Kana: Well… I’ve had that fight with Syuri and that made me feel like I was able to show everything I had been talking about in response to her. Meanwhile, right after the battle, I thought of having a rematch before the fire inside me goes out.

Interviewer: So that was a certain self-esteem, telling you that there should be another fight between Syuri and Kana?

Kana: Exactly. So I’ve been talking about this since the beginning, but Syuri was a wrestler who didn’t know much about female professional wrestling, therefore we had this fight.

Interviewer: I know that opinions vary, but this must have been your best fight, right?

Kana: That’s right. This was my best fight. Even though I lost… it was a pity, but I’ve gained a lot of things and these were more important to me than the fact of losing the game. What’s more, it was a fight during which I could showcase many things to other female professional wrestlers.

Interviewer: In this sense, the establishment of the SMASH organization is definitely a fortunate thing for you, isn’t it?

Kana: Undoubtedly. Without SMASH these things would have been impossible to showcase and there would have been no place to use these properly. There were places rejecting me saying that they are not willing to accept someone saying such things. I received various feedback from various places, therefore I’m grateful to SMASH and to TAJIRI who accepted me.

Interviewer: The hatred from Syuri towards you seems to be ceasing. Your strategies in the rematch will be very different, right? Don’t you have any apprehensions?

Kana: Not really, I thought that if we have a fight Syuri’s feelings will change. What, did she say something about this? She was moved emotionally, wasn’t she? I thought that this will inevitably happen. Rather, she likes me too much and I think things will happen against her will. (laughs) Didn’t she say this?

Interviewer: No she did not!

Kana: Oh… really? That’s weird.

Interviewer: In the first place, because you don’t hate Syuri, do you?

Kana: I like her! I like her! There is nothing I can do about this (laughs). I’ll sacrifice her, that’s it. But the fact that her hatred disappeared happened according to my expectations. We’ll collide in a different way, and the battle will change forms. I think this will be interesting. I’m planning to use that thing I obtained in the last fight and my ideas will manifest in the ring. In other words, my plan is to perform the last rites that are understood only ​in the small world of female professional wrestling.

Interviewer: Asking for a rematch within such a short period of time is not common. Were you certain that you would get the green light when you told your intentions to TAJIRI?

Kana: I was pretty sure that TAJIRI would understand me. When I contacted TAJIRI, I was told the following: “I know that you are not saying that you want to repeat it, because losing the battle made you feel frustrated, so let’s give it another try!”. When I heard this, I was sure that we were thinking in the same way.

Interviewer: In this regard, there was something else that caused troubles. Is it appropriate to think of the thing so-called “Manifesto” as something that has already been ready in you and your plan is to showcase it soon?

Kana: Correct. This is the clear manifestation of my intentions. I’m going to showcase the manifestation of my ideas that’s essential for the creation of the Second World during the next event.

Interviewer: When exposing this to a third party, there must be unjust suspicions about professional wrestling taboos or that is to say latent destructive elements.

Kana: Well… doesn’t this make you guys more excited?

Interviewer: Since when did you have the idea of showcasing the “Manifesto”?

Kana: Since the last battle, when I grasped that response. Because, you know… I had been hearing in past tournaments that she is a little troublemaker and that was it. I was supposed to show it in these tournaments, but I was told otherwise. Therefore, even though I was supposed to present a theme, I didn’t have the chance. I think the opportunity to show it on the SMASH stage is a good thing.

Interviewer: It might be an inappropriate request, but would you mind us writing a special issue about the “Manifesto” in the Professional Wrestling Weekly Magazine?

Kana: Well… Let me think about it!

The post Translation of Kana’s Interview in Weekly Pro Wrestling on 8/25/10 appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Photobook Details

Title: ビジュアルショックス!! (Visual Shocks!! Sexy Queens Shots in Women’s Pro-Wrestling) Sakura Mook 70
Release: June 18th, 2004
Pages: 96
Cost: ¥1,575 (at release in 2004)
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

While in 2019 we are used to the Stardom-style of photobooks, this mook (magazine + book, as the name implies it is between the size you’d expect from a magazine and a book) is quite different. To start, the following wrestlers are featured in the mook:

• Kana
• Michiko Omukai
• Mika Nishio
• Mirai
• Sachie Abe
• Emi Tojo

All six wrestlers had about the same number of photos in the mook, and in addition to the wrestler photos there are also about six pages with interviews. The whole mook is in color and full-sized, however it is soft-cover like a magazine. The pictures inside are, I think most would agree, less “appropriate” than the photos seen in the photobooks released today. There is still no nudity (although some may think Michiko Omukai is straddling the line), however there are a lot of “crotch” pictures included for each wrestler. Many zoomed in to ensure that is the only part of the body one could reasonably look at by looking at the photo. These photos may make some uncomfortable, but luckily there are photos for each wrestler that do not follow the crotch-focused theme.

The bigger deal with this mook is it is the first time that Kana was involved in any gravure-style pictures, and the only release of hers before her retirement in 2005. Kana had 12 photos in the book so she is well represented, and its a unique peek back into her past. She was well over 18 at the time of the photobook, as was everyone involved, so no issues there as I know that is a concern for many Western fans. Overall just for that purpose this is a mook I’d recommend tracking down if you are a collector of such things, but just keep in mind that its not something you’d want to leave on the coffee table if company was coming over. Below is a sample of the photos, to keep the website at least somewhat SFW, I did not include the more risque pictures:

The post Visual Shocks!! (ビジュアルショックス!!) Sakura Mook 70 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I’ll provide context before each match if there is anything noteworthy I can find, although of course not all matches in wrestling have a set purpose (especially with Freelancers like Kana). All the matches below took place in NEO in 2009, directly after the matches on the Kana Special #2 review.

• August 29th, 2009 – Kana and Nanae Takahashi vs. Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• September 20th, 2009 – Kana vs. Ayumi Kurihara
• October 10th, 2009 – Kana and Nanae Takahashi vs. Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• November 22nd, 2009 – Kana and Nanae Takahashi vs. Natsuki Taiyo and Passion Ray

All wrestlers on the DVD have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to their profile for additional information.

(c) Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kana and Nanae Takahashi
NEO Tag Team Championship

We kick off this DVD with a tag team championship match! Kana and Nanae Takahashi started teaming in 2008 as part of a group called “Passion Red,” however this is their first shot at a title together. Kyoko and Hiroyo won the titles on March 29th, 2009 against Kyoko Kimura and Atsuko Emoto, and this is their second defense of the title. Up to this point, Kana had never held a championship, and she looks to change that by winning the NEO Tag Team Championship. It should be noted this was just a midcard match on a smaller show, not the main event, which was a cage death match.

Hiroyo and Kana start the match and immediately start trading strikes, hard shoulderblock by Hiroyo but Kana drop toeholds her into the corner and Nanae runs in and dropkicks Hiroyo. Hip attack by Kana but Kyoko comes in to help, as Kana eats a double shoulderblock. Hiroyo tosses Kana down by the hair and hits a bodyblock, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kana avoids the dropkick and kicks Hiroyo repeatedly in the chest. Kana goes for a hip attack and gets stuck in the ropes, dropkick by Hiroyo and she tags in Kyoko. Hip attacks by Kyoko and she flings down Kana by the hair, butt smash by Kyoko but Kana fights back with strikes. Kyoko puts Kana in a single leg crab hold but with Nanae’s help she makes it to the ropes, Kyoko tags in Hiroyo, scoop slam by Hiroyo to Kana and she hits a second one. Backbreaker by Hiroyo and she puts Kana in a crab hold, but it is quickly broken up. Hard elbows by Kana to Hiroyo and she hits a dropkick before tagging in Nanae, shoulderblock by Nanae and she hits an elbow drop. Nanae puts Hiroyo in the corner upside down and hits a body avalanche, crab hold by Nanae and Kana kicks Hiroyo in the chest while she is in the hold. Dropkick by Hiroyo and she makes the tag to Kyoko, Kyoko and Nanae take turns trying to knock each other over with lariats until Nanae dumps Kyoko over the top rope to the floor. Kana gets on the apron and uses a hip attack down onto Kyoko, Hiroyo wonders over and Nanae dives onto her with a tope suicida. Back in the ring with Kyoko, Kana hits a diving hip attack and Nanae follows with a reverse splash for two. Nanae hangs Kyoko over the top rope so both she and Kana and hit running strikes on her, Hiroyo comes in to help however and dumps Nanae over the top rope to the floor onto Kana. Hiroyo goes up top and dives out onto the ring on both her opponents, and she and Kyoko attack both of their opponents around the ring and into the stands. Kyoko and Nanae return to the ring, Kyoko gets Nanae on her shoulders and tosses her onto Hiroyo’s knee. She then throws Kana on top of Nanae, Hiroyo gets Kyoko on her shoulders and tosses her onto both of their opponents. Cover by Kyoko, but Nanae kicks out. Kyoko puts Nanae in submission but lets her go after a moment and tags in Hiroyo, STF by Hiroyo but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break. Stomps by Hiroyo and she tags in Kyoko, vertical suplex by Kyoko and she hits a second one before putting Nanae in a modified camel clutch.

Nanae gets away and tags in Kana, kicks to the leg by Kana and she stretches Kyoko’s leg. Kana mounts Kyoko and goes for the armbreaker, but Kyoko blocks it and gets Kana back to her feet. Kana goes for a hip attack but Kyoko doesn’t budge, she tries again but has no luck. Waistlock by Kana but Kyoko gets out of it, elbows by Kana and she sneaks in a schoolboy for two. She goes for another hip attack but Kyoko catches her and hits a release German, she picks up Kana but Kana slaps her. Kana catches Kyoko’s arm and applies a short armbar, but Kyoko gets to the ropes for the break. Kana keeps on Kyoko’s arm before applying a Dragon Sleeper, but Hiroyo breaks it up. PK by Kana, but Kyoko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kicks by Kana but Kyoko delivers a hard lariat, she tags in Hiroyo and Hiroyo comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Cover by Hiroyo, but it gets two. Hiroyo picks up Kana and gets her on her back, but Nanae runs in and kicks her. Hip attack by Kana and she dropkicks Hiroyo in the knee, hard kick by Kana and the referee temporarily stops the match so he can check on Hiroyo’s face. She’s determined able to continue, more kicks by Kana and she goes for an armbar, but Hiroyo blocks it and hits a series of elbows. Hiroyo kicks Kana in the face to make them even, Hiroyo gets Kana on her back but Kana slides off and applies an ankle hold, but it is broken up. Nanae hits a cutter onto Hiroyo, German suplex hold by Kana but Hiroyo kicks out. Nanae stays in and lariats Hiroyo, Kyoko lariats Nanae from the apron and Hiroyo hits a missile dropkick, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae goes for a diving lariat but Hiroyo kicks her arm, she goes off the ropes but Kana runs in and Hiroyo is hit with a double dropkick. Nanae goes for a reverse splash but Hiroyo catches her on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. Kana and Nanae both kick Hiroyo, Nanae puts Hiroyo in an armtrap crossface while Kana has Kyoko in an armbar, Nanae changes her hold to a sleeper, but Hiroyo gets a toe on the ropes for the break.

Nanae goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a hard elbow, Hiroyo gets Nanae on her shoulders and hits a gutbuster but Nanae kicks out of the pin. Kyoko jumps on Hiroyo’s back to give more weight to her double kneedrop, but again Nanae kicks out. Hiroyo goes for the backdrop suplex but Nanae blocks it and hits a lariat, she picks up Hiroyo and nails the Falcon Arrow, but Kyoko breaks up the pin. Kana holds down Kyoko while Nanae picks up Hiroyo, Kana tries to kick Hiroyo but she kicks Nanae by accident. Backdrop Driver by Hiroyo to Nanae, but Kana breaks up the cover. Lariat by Kyoko to Nanae, she picks her up but Kana kicks Kyoko from behind. Nanae and Kana both attack Kyoko but Kyoko lariats both of them, Kyoko picks up Nanae and she nails a powerbomb for a two count. Kana runs in but Kyoko fights them both off, kicks by Nanae and Kana and Nanae covers Kyoko for two. Sliding Kick by Nanae to Kyoko, she goes up top but Kyoko joins her and hits a superplex. Kyoko picks up Nanae and nails a sit-down powerbomb, but Nanae gets a shoulder up. Kana runs in and hits a hip attack, Sliding Kick by Nanae but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Hiroyo and Kana trade strikes but end up knocking each other down, Nanae hits Kyoko with a pair of backdrop suplexes and she hits a lariat, but Hiroyo breaks up the pin. Nanae goes up top and delivers the Refrigerator Bomb, but Kyoko barely gets a shoulder up. Nanae picks up Kyoko but Kyoko nails a lariat, Nanae hits a lariat of her own but Kyoko rolls her up for two. Kyoko and Nanae trade lariat attempts, Hiroyo runs in and hits a backdrop suplex on Nanae, but the bell rings as the 30 Minute Time Limit expires. The match is a Draw, Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto remain the champions.

For what really was just a midcard match that was clearly not the big attraction on the show, this was better than I was expecting. They started really slow, and the first ten minutes or so of the match was pretty uneventful as they had to waste some time to get to 30 minutes, but once the match got cracking it was pretty great. Kyoko is a stubborn wrestler but she has incorporated that into her gimmick, which makes it all the more special/memorable when her opponent does get one over on her. Kana and Hiroyo, while still fairly early into their careers, were both fantastic and all four have solid chemistry. I generally am not a big fan of draws but it was part of a bigger story here, and both teams were so close to winning in the long end stretch of the match. Overall an entertaining match with a lot more highs than lows, once they got past the slow start.  Recommended

Kana vs. Ayumi Kurihara

For NEO’s event at Korakuen Hall, Kana faces off against future best friend Ayumi Kurihara. Down the road, these two became a regular tag team as KanAyu, but at this point hey were still both young wrestlers trying to march their way up the card in NEO. This was a big show for NEO, but this match was the third match on the event so it wasn’t considered a big attraction.

Ayumi and Kana quickly start trading elbows and kicks, they bounce off the ropes and Ayumi dropkicks Kana as she goes for a hip attack. Kana gets an armbar applied but Ayumi reverses it into a front necklock, Kana gets out of the hold and she applies an ankle hold. Ayumi gets to the ropes to force the break, Kana jumps on the second turnbuckle but Ayumi slaps her and joins her. Ayumi applies an Octopus Hold while on the top turnbuckle, she releases it after a moment and dropkicks Kana while she is in the corner. Ayumi goes for a springboard move but Kana kicks her in the stomach, they trade waistlocks until Kana gets Ayumi to the mat with an armbar. Ayumi gets to the ropes for the break, kicks by Kana but Ayumi catches one and hits an elbow. Kana slaps her back, suplex by Kana but Ayumi gets her hand on the ropes to breaks up the pin. Kana kicks Ayumi into the corner and kicks her in the head, cover by Kana but it gets two. Ayumi drops Kana with an uranage, they slowly get up and Ayumi rocks Kana with an elbow. Dropkicks by Ayumi, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Ayumi goes for another uranage but Kana blocks it and hits a release German. Kana kicks Ayumi in the head but Ayumi elbows her back and covers Kana for two. Back kick by Kana and she kicks Ayumi in the head, she goes off the ropes but Ayumi ducks the hip attack and cradles Kana for two. Elbow by Ayumi, Kana goes for a suplex but Ayumi blocks it and they trade flash pin attempts. Ayumi grabs Kana and hits another uranage, but Kana kicks out of the cover. High kick by Kana, she picks up Ayumi but Ayumi applies an inside cradle for two. Head kicks by Kana, she goes off the ropes and nails the Billiken, but Ayumi barely kicks out of the cover. The bell then rings, as the Ten Minute Time Limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even though it wasn’t a very long match, it still had a lot of fun elements to it. Kana and Ayumi have great chemistry and were always comfortable working with each other, as the match had a lot of stiff strikes and suplexes. The uranages in particular were brutal but some of Kana’s kicks had just as much impact as they just laid into each other. Even though it wasn’t an important match they still were out there to impress, I wish they had more time but they worked well with that they were given. Overall a solid match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kana and Nanae Takahashi
NEO Tag Team Championship

Since their last match (the first match on this DVD) ended in a Draw, we get a re-match! The match is still not in the main event, just as it wasn’t last time, with a hardcore match featuring LCO getting the nod on this show. No real further explanation needed, as Kana again looks to win the first title in her young career.

Kyoko and Nanae immediately hit lariats to Kana and Hiroyo as the match starts, they face off and trade elbows until both are schoolboyed from behind. No idea who is legal or if it matters. Nanae goes after Hiroyo and both she and Kana connect with running strikes in the corner, snapmare by Nanae to Hiroyo and she stomps her repeatedly. Hard shoulderblock by Nanae, she tosses Hiroyo to the mat and puts her in a Camel Clutch. Nanae tags in Kana, she eats an elbow though before Hiroyo dropkicks her to the mat. Kyoko comes in and they shoulderblock Kana, double bodyblock  and Hiroyo hits another one in the corner. Kyoko does the same, Hiroyo then gets on the second turnbuckle and connects with the missile dropkick. Kyoko is tagged in, snap vertical suplex by Kyoko and she puts Kana in the Mexican Surfboard. Hiroyo comes in and boots Kana in the chest, Kyoko charges Kana but Kana kicks her back and goes for Kyoko’s arm. Kyoko pushes her away, running elbow by Kana and she cover Kyoko for two. Back kick by Kana and she hits a hip attack, sending Kyoko out of the ring. Hiroyo joins Kyoko down on the floor, Kana goes on the second turnbuckle and dives down onto Kyoko with a hip attack. Kyoko is rolled back in the ring, Nanae and Kana put her hanging on the top turnbuckle before both hit running strikes. Missile dropkick by Kana, Nanae then hits the Reverse Splash and Kana finishes the series with a PK. Cover, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Hiroyo stays in but Kana spits at her and rolls up Kyoko for two. Kana goes for a hip attack but Kyoko catches her and hits a German suplex, lariat by Kyoko and she tags in Hiroyo. Missile dropkick by Hiroyo, she elbows Kana against the ropes but Kana catches her arm and takes Hiroyo to the mat. Hiroyo gets into the ropes for the break, kicks by Kana and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Kana goes for the Billiken but Kyoko intercepts her with a lariat, but Nanae runs in and helps Kana dropkick Hiroyo. Cutter by Nanae, and Kana drops Hiroyo with a German suplex hold for two. Irish whip by Nanae and she hits a body avalanche in the corner, Hiroyo returns with one of her own but Nanae hits another one. Hiroyo tosses Nanae onto the apron but Kana comes in with a reverse DDT to Hiroyo.

Refrigerator Bomb by Nanae, but Hiroyo barely gets a shoulder up. Nanae goes for the Reverse Splash but Hiroyo gets her feet up, Kyoko comes in and puts Nanae on her shoulders while Hiroyo does the same to Kana. Gutbuster by Kana, Hiroyo then tosses Nanae onto Hiroyo’s knee for a backbreaker, hurting Hiroyo in the process. Kyoko stays on Nanae and puts her in a crab hold while the referee checks on Hiroyo’s leg, but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break. Back up, Nanae and Kyoko trade strikes and lariats until Kyoko sends Nanae to the mat, Kyoko picks up Nanae but Nanae snaps off a backdrop suplex. Kana comes in and kicks Kyoko in the head, allowing Nanae to hit a second backdrop suplex for a two count cover. Nanae picks up Kyoko and puts her on the top turnbuckle, she goes for the Muscle Buster but Kyoko punches her off. Hiroyo is back (on one leg) but doesn’t help much, Nanae joins Kyoko up top and she hits a superplex. Cover by Nanae, but it gets two. Nanae goes back up top but Kyoko joins her and hits a superplex, Kyoko picks up Nanae but Kana kicks Kyoko in the leg. Kyoko punches Kana back before powerbombing Nanae, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Kyoko drags up Nanae but Nanae hits a jumping kick, elbows by Kyoko but Kana kicks Kyoko in the leg.  Double Irish whip to Kyoko but Kyoko lariats both of them, Hiroyo limps over and hits a backdrop suplex on Kana while Kyoko hits a sit-down powerbomb on Nanae for a two count. Nanae gets up and trades lariats with Kyoko, a battle which Kyoko wins but Kana breaks up her cover attempt. Kyoko picks up Nanae but Nanae blocks the powerbomb attempt and hits a backdrop suplex. Kana and Nanae hit simultaneous kicks on Kyoko, Billiken by Kana and Nanae delivers a Sliding Kick for a two count. Nanae slams Kyoko to the mat, she picks her back up but Kyoko hits a short range lariat for two. Jumping kick by Nanae, Hiroyo comes in and elbows Nanae but Kana catches her with a German suplex. Kyoko is distracted by Kana, giving Nanae a chance to deliver a lariat. High kick by Kana to Kyoko, Nanae follows with a lariat and covers Kyoko for two. Another lariat by Nanae, and this time she gets the three count! Kana and Nanae Takahashi are the new champions!

Hiroyo was legitimately hurt with a torn ligament in her ankle (she missed about a month of action), which made the last five minutes of this match really disjointed since they had to do things on the fly. I doubt it changed the end result, but there were signs of miscommunication while they figured out what to do, and a fair amount of repeated spots. Up to that point I was really enjoying it, they didn’t waste any time getting the action sped up as they picked up where they left off a few months prior. Nanae “winning” the lariat battle and pinning Kyoko was a nice moment, and storyline-wise it kept Kyoko strong since she basically was fighting off both Kana and Nanae by herself by the end. Disappointing just due to Hiroyo’s injury, still a fun watch but not as good as the last match we saw between these teams.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kana and Nanae Takahashi vs. Natsuki Taiyo and Passion Ray
NEO Tag Team Championship

Sometimes, your friend has something you want, and you just have to try to take it. All four of these wrestlers are in the Passion Red faction, with Nanae Takahashi and Natsuki Taiyo in particular being good friends. But championships are the most important thing in wrestling so those nice feelings are set aside as Natsuki and Passion Ray challenge for the belts. This is Kana and Nanae Takahashi’s first defense of the titles they won on October 10th from Kyoko Inoue and Nanae Takahashi.

Ray and Natsuki attack before the bell rings, they isolate Kana in the ring but she dropkicks Natsuki while Nanae hits a missile dropkick on Ray. All four trade strikes in the ring, Natsuki fights off both of her opponents before a recovered Ray hits a dropkick. The action spills to the floor, Ray gets on the apron and flips off of it onto Kana and Nanae. Natsuki then hits a triple jump plancha down onto both of them as well, Kana is rolled back into the ring and double teamed, ending with a double elbow drop. Kana drop toeholds Natsuki into the corner and tags in Nanae, dropkick by Nanae to Natsuki and she applies a front necklock, but Natsuki reverses it. Natsuki tags in Ray, Nanae and Ray lock knuckles until Nanae pushes Ray to the mat. Nanae picks Ray up with a headlock, shoulderblock by Nanae and the two trade elbows and slaps. Dropkick by Ray but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Natsuki is tagged in and she dropkicks Nanae repeatedly, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before putting Nanae in a modified Camel Clutch. She switches the hold to a bodyscissors but Nanae gets out of it and applies a leg lock, headbutt by Nanae and she hits an elbow drop for two. Nanae tags in Kana, she goes for a hip attack but Natsuki rolls out of the way. She tries again and succeeds this time, kicks by Kana but Natsuki knocks her down and they trade kneelocks. They end up in the ropes for a break, Irish whip by Kana but Natsuki hits a jumping elbow strike.

Kicks by Natsuki and she tags in Ray, knees by Ray and she ties up Kana in the ropes so that she and Natsuki can attack her from the apron. Back in the ring, Ray picks up Kana but Kana kicks her into the ropes, Ray charges Kana but Kana delivers a dropkick. Hip attack by Kana but Ray slides out to the apron and hits a slingshot elbow drop for a two count. Kneedrops by Ray and she hits a running somersault senton, Kana fights back with slaps before punching Ray against the ropes. Running kick to the chest by Kana and they trade holds until Kana hits a reverse DDT. Kana tags in Nanae, lariats by Nanae in the corner but Ray kicks her back and chops her repeatedly. Space Rolling Elbow attempt by Ray but Nanae catches her and slams Ray to the mat. She goes for the Reverse Splash but Ray moves out of the way, Natsuki comes in and both hit slingshot dropkicks onto Nanae. Ray goes up top, Nanae charges in but Ray jumps down to the mat and applies a waistlock. Nanae elbows out of it but Ray snaps off a hurricanrana, Tiger Feint Kick by Ray and she covers Nanae for two. Ray goes up top but Nanae gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, high kick by Kana to Ray and Nanae hits a backdrop suplex. Nanae goes up top and nails the Refrigerator Bomb, she picks up Ray but Ray flips out of the suplex attempt and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Ray tags in Natsuki, Natsuki picks up Nanae but Nanae avoids the powerbomb. Kick to the back by Natsuki, she goes for a sunset flip but Nanae blocks it. Lariat by Nanae but Natsuki hits a release German, Nanae quickly returns to her feet and hits a jumping kick but Ray hits her from the apron when she gets on the top turnbuckle.

Natsuki joins Nanae and hits a powerbomb to the mat, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Hard lariat by Nanae and she tags in Kana, knees by Kana and she kicks Natsuki in the chest. Kana picks up Natsuki and hits a neckbreaker, dropkick to the knee by Kana but Natsuki catches her next kick and goes for the Iguchi Bomb. Nanae breaks it up before she can hit the move, Kana goes up top but Natsuki armdrags her back to the mat. Natsuki goes up top and hits a moonsault while Ray also hits one on Nanae, but it gets a two count. Natsuki picks up Kana but Kana kicks her and applies the short armbar, Natsuki rolls out of it but Kana puts her in a crucifix hold. Natsuki gets to the ropes for the break, kicks by Kana and the two trade slaps. Spinning backfist by Kana, and she covers Natsuki for a two count. Kana picks up Natsuki and hits a few knees, Ray come sin and delivers her cartwheel powerbomb before Natsuki kicks Kana in the head for two. A rolling cradle by Natsuki also gets two, she goes off the ropes but Nanae cuts her off with a lariat. Nanae and Kana both hit running kicks onto Natsuki, but Ray breaks up the cover. Kana goes to kick Natsuki but kicks Nanae by accident, Momo☆Latch by Natsuki but Nanae breaks up the cover. Natsuki goes for the Taiyo-chan☆Bomb but Nanae kicks her in the chest before she can finish the move, high kicks by Kana and she covers Natsuki for the three count! Kana and Nanae Takahashi retain the championship.

One of the amusing things of watching these Kana and Nanae Takahashi matches now is that they really weren’t a great team in regards to teamwork. They noticeably aren’t on the same page, sometimes as part of the match but other times not related to the story they are telling. Natsuki and Ray are both really fun to watch, they actually did show a lot of quality teamwork and they kept the pace of the match up. The ending seemed pretty sudden, not that Kana’s head kicks aren’t deadly but for a main event title match I expected more of a hot end run. Overall it was good but not great, sold action throughout but felt a bit disjointed.  Mildly Recommended

The post Kana Special #3 DVD Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I’ll provide context before each match if there is anything noteworthy I can find, although of course not all matches in wrestling have a set purpose (especially with Freelancers like Kana). All the matches below took place in NEO during the summer of 2009.

• July 5th, 2009 – Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• July 5th, 2009 – Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Yoshiko Tamura and Fuka
• July 25th, 2009 – Kana vs. Aya Yuki
• August 8th, 2009 – Kana, Natsuki Taiyo, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Kyoko Inoue, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Fuka
• August 15th, 2009 – Kana, Nanae Takahashi, and Natsuki Taiyo vs. Yoshiko Tamura, Mio Shirai, and Io Shirai

All wrestlers on the DVD have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to their profile for additional information.

Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto

We kick off the DVD with a pair of matches for the Mid Summer Tag Tournament in NEO. This was the first tournament match on the show, pitting Kana and her friend Kurihara (known as a team as KanAyu) against veteran Kyoko Inoue and young wrestler Hiroyo Matsumoto. Kyoko was one of the top wrestlers in NEO in 2009, and while Hiroyo was only three years into her career she already had several title wins so she was no slouch either. Kanayu started teaming in 2009 so they were still a new team, they would continue tagging until Ayumi retired in 2013.

Ayumi and Hiroyo start things off, Hiroyo tosses Ayumi into the corner before squashing her with her rear end. Inoue comes in and they double team Ayumi, but Ayumi gets away from them as Kana comes in to help. With Ayumi in control now, she Irish whips Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a shoulderblock. Sidewalk slam by Hiroyo, and she covers Ayumi for two. She tags Inoue but Ayumi avoids Inoue’s charge in the corner, she goes for a double knee but Inoue blocks it. Ayumi drop toeholds Inoue into the corner, Kana runs in and hits a hip attack but Ayumi delivers a dropkick. Kana and Ayumi both try to suplex Inoue but Inoue reverses it into a double vertical suplex, Inoue throws Ayumi into the corner but Ayumi applies an armbar over the top rope. Ayumi gets on the top turnbuckle but Hiroyo grabs her from the apron, Inoue joins Ayumi and Inoue hits a superplex. Cover by Inoue, but Ayumi gets a shoulder up. Back up they trade blows, vertical suplex by Inoue but Ayumi quickly gets back up only to eat another vertical suplex. Big lariat by Inoue, she goes for a powerbomb but Ayumi slides away and hits a fisherman suplex. Ayumi tags Kana and Kana comes in with a diving hip attack, Seated armbar by Kana and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Inoue blocks it. Kana goes for a triangle choke instead but Inoue slides out of it and kicks Kana. Inoue quickly applies an ankle hold but Hiroyo breaks it up, Inoue knocks Kana against the corner but Ayumi snaps Inoue’s neck on the top rope.

Hip attack by Kana, she goes for a German suplex on Inoue but Inoue blocks it. Ayumi elbows Inoue to help but Inoue still blocks it, both Ayumi and Kana attack Inoue but Inoue lariats both of them. Inoue picks up Kana but Kana blocks the powerbomb, knee by Kana but Inoue hits another lariat and goes for the powerbomb again. Ayumi breaks it up but Inoue hits a double lariat before tagging in Hiroyo. Hiroyo elbows Kana, body avalanche by Hiroyo to Kana but Kana kicks her in the stomach. Kana tags Ayumi, Ayumi cradles Hiroyo but it gets two. Double knee facebreaker by Ayumi, Kana runs in and hits Hiroyo with a hip attack. Dropkick by Ayumi, Kana hits Hiroyo with a German suplex and Ayumi delivers a missile dropkick for two. Ayumi picks up Hiroyo and hits another double knee facebreaker, hip attack by Kana but Inoue breaks up Ayumi’s cover. Inoue tosses Kana out of the ring, Inoue and Hiroyo hit a double shoulderblock on Ayumi, they pick up Ayumi and swing her down to the mat. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two. Hiroyo picks up Ayumi but Ayumi slides away, Inoue lariats Ayumi and Hiroyo hits a body avalanche for two. Inoue puts Ayumi on her shoulders and drops her back-first onto Hiroyo’s knee, Argentine Backbreaker by Hiroyo and she flips Ayumi into a gutbuster, but Ayumi barely kicks out. Backdrop Suplex by Hiroyo, but Kana breaks up the cover. Hiroyo picks up Inoue and goes for a Liger Bomb, but Ayumi reverses it into a cradle for the three count! Kana and Ayumi Kurihara win and advance in the tournament.

For an early match on the card this was good, but Kyoko Inoue really brought the match down. Inoue is known for being a bit selfish and she was at her worst here, winning just about every battle with Kana and Ayumi and giving them nothing. For example, Kana teased the German suplex on Inoue, Ayumi even came in to help, Kana tried again, but Inoue just lariats both of them and never gives that rub back. So that was disappointing, but the other three were fantastic and I really enjoyed it when they were the ones interacting. Ayumi was a great wrestler that sadly retired before I really got into Joshi, but I love going back and watching her. Kana of course was Kana, and Hiroyo’s moves have so much impact. A quality match that was dragged down by an uncooperative veteran.  Mildly Recommended

Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Yoshiko Tamura and Fuka

The next match on the DVD is part of the tournament on the same night as the previous match. In the Semi Final, Kana and Ayumi Kurihara face off against two of the better wrestlers in NEO – Yoshiko Tamura and Fuka. Tamura was the most successful wrestler in NEO history, with over 1,500 days holding either the singles or tag team championship. She retired when NEO closed on the last day of 2010. Fuka everyone knows today as the trainer in Stardom, she didn’t have the title success of her partner but gained a large following and produced many of her own shows. In the first round, Tamura and Fuka defeated Aya Yuki and Minori Makiba to reach the Semi Final.

Kana and Tamura start off, knees by Kana and they trade slaps back and forth. Kana gets Tamura to the mat but Tamura reverses positions with her, Kana gets Tamura in a headscissors and both wrestlers return to their feet to trade strikes again. Kana wins the battle and tags in Ayumi, dropkick by Ayumi and she elbows Tamura in the corner. Tamura elbows her back and they trade strikes, knees by Tamura but Ayumi puts her in an Octopus Hold. Fuka tries to break it up but Kana cuts her off and puts Fuka in a Scorpion Deathlock. Ayumi releases the hold after a moment, she goes off the ropes but Tamura catches her with a DDT and tags in Fuka. Fuka comes in the ring with a missile dropkick but Ayumi lands in her corner and tags in Kana, kicks by Kana to Fuka but Fuka kicks her in return and they trade blows. Kana wins that battle too and delivers a Buzzsaw Kick, she picks up Fuka but Fuka kicks her in the head for a two count cover. Fuka tags in Tamura, dropkick by Tamura to Kana and she hits a neckbreaker. Tamura goes to pick up Kana but Kana rolls her to the mat and hits a reverse DDT. Kana applies a choke but Fuka breaks it up, Kana goes for the German but Tamura blocks it. Ayumi runs in with a double knee facebuster to Tamura, and this time Kana is able to hit the release German on Tamura. Dropkick by Ayumi to Tamura, Kana follows with the hip attack but Fuka breaks up the cover. Kana picks up Tamura but Tamura elbows her off, Ayumi flies in with a missile dropkick but Fuka comes in and kicks both of them. Tamura takes out both Ayumi and Kana, Fuka comes in but she kicks Tamura by accident. Cradle by Kana to Tamura, but Tamura barely kicks out. Kana picks up Tamura but Tamura elbows her, Tamura swings Kana to the mat and rolls her up for two. Ayumi comes in but Tamura gets rid of her, Fuka grabs Ayumi while Tamura DDTs Kana. Tamura picks up Kana, Kana gets away but Fuka kicks Kana in the head. Running elbow smash by Tamura on Kana, and she picks up the three count! Yoshiko Tamura and Fuka win, advancing to the Finals of the tournament.

While this was a shorter match than the last one, it was certainly better. Tamura is the opposite of Inoue – those spots that Inoue wouldn’t do, Tamura actually did in this match even though she is the Ace of NEO. Kana won strike battles with Tamura and in general, Kana and Ayumi dominated the match. Tamura still showed that she was the best wrestler and overcame them to get the win, but it felt like a real battle, not like a veteran going through the motions. Fast paced with lots of solid strikes, everyone came out of it looking strong. Really entertaining match.  Recommended

Kana vs. Aya Yuki

Jumping ahead 20 days, Kana opened the second night of the Summer Night Fire tour against Aya Yuki. Aya is better known to many fans as Hatsuhinode Kamen, a more comedic wrestler that was a regular in Stardom for a couple years. She had a quiet career with only two title wins, however she hold the NEO Tag Team Championship toward the end of the promotion’s run.

Kana and Aya immediately start trading elbows, kicks by Kana but Aya hits a shoulderblock. Hip attack by Kana but Aya blocks the second one and stomps Kana to the mat. Shoulderblock by Aya and she applies a headlock, Kana gets out of it and they jockey for position. Kana gets in the mount and applies a guillotine but Aya gets out of it, Kana stays in dominate position and goes for Aya’s ankle, applying an ankle hold. Aya tries to reverse it but Kana blocks it and goes back to Aya’s leg, applying a single leg crab hold. Aya gets out of it and goes for Kana’s leg, Kana blocks that but Aya gets into the mount and elbows Kana repeatedly in the chest. They finally return to their feet, elbows by Kana and she hits a hip attack in the corner. Aya comes back with a hard shoulderblock, another one by Aya but Kana avoids the third and applies a front guillotine. Kana rolls Aya to the mat and applies a short armbar, Aya gets out of it and tosses Kana down before hitting a second turnbuckle diving shoulderblock for two. STF by Aya but Kana gets a hand on the bottom rope, Aya picks up Kana but Kana hits her with a hip attack. Schoolboy by Kana, Aya kicks out but Kana drops her with a reverse DDT. A high kick by Kana is blocked, vertical suplex by Aya and she hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam for two. Kana snaps off a German suplex hold, they trade slaps back on their feet until Aya boots Kana to the mat. Another kick by Aya, she goes off the ropes but Kana blocks the boot and hits a hard elbow. Kana puts Aya in the Wakigatame, really pulling back on the arm and Aya has no choice but to submit! Kana wins!

A pretty simple match, lots of mat work that didn’t go anywhere but as the opening match that wasn’t too surprising. Some of the ground game was pretty awkward, definitely not the smoothest and I was happy when they returned to their feet. Kana looked the better of the two with crisper strikes and a more entertaining variety of moves, I wouldn’t call it a bad match but it was certainly lacking in some areas. Worst match on the DVD so far, and from looking at the matches coming up I assume it will stay that way.

Kana, Natsuki Taiyo, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Kyoko Inoue, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Fuka

The next night of the tour saw Kana teaming with Passion Red teammates Natsuki Taiyo and Nanae Takahashi. Passion Red formed in 2008 with these three as the founding members, they also promoted their own shows as well before Kana left the group in early 2010. They are against grumpy veteran Kyoko Inoue, the young but already impressive Hiroyo Matsumoto, and the striker Fuka. Since this was the main event of the show, I expect a bit more out of Inoue than we saw earlier and hopefully an entertaining match.

Kana and Fuka kick things off, they trade strikes and holds until Takahashi and Taiyo run in to help dropkick Fuka. Kana tags in Takahashi but Fuka gets Takahashi to the mat in an ankle hold, Hiroyo comes in and helps double team Takahashi. Inoue gets in on it too as Takahashi eats a double shoulderblock, but Takahashi grabs Hiroyo by the hair and throws her to the mat. They trade elbows, Irish whip by Takahashi and she hits a sidewalk slam on Hiroyo for two. She tags in Taiyo, dropkicks by Taiyo and she stands on Hiroyo in the corner. Taiyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Taiyo but it gets two. Hiroyo comes back with a lariat and a dropkick of her own, giving her time to tag in Inoue. Taiyo jumps over Inoue’s back and rolls up Inoue for two, she runs up the corner and goes for a crossbody, but Inoue ducks. Inoue stretches Taiyo but it gets broken up, Takahashi and Taiyo go to suplex Inoue but Inoue blocks it. Kana kicks Inoue from behind as Inoue tries to fight them off, Inoue avoid the triple dropkick and tags in Fuka. Fuka knees Taiyo but Taiyo dropkicks her and tags in Kana. Kicks by Kana but Fuka hits a pump kick, boot by Fuka and she covers Kana for a two count. Kicks by Fuka but Kana drop toeholds her into the corner before her teammates come in to help triple team Fuka. They leave after a moment, Kana goes for a hip attack but Fuka moves and kicks Kana in the head. Knees by Fuka but Kana catches her with a release German and tags in Taiyo. Running elbow by Taiyo, she avoids Fuka’s kicks and hits a leg sweep followed by a dropkick.

Fuka kicks Taiyo back, more kicks by Fuka before Hiroyo and Inoue both come in to beat down Taiyo. Taiyo is thrown in the corner but she avoids all three of her opponents, she knees Inoue before hitting an armdrag/dropkick combination out of the corner. Powerbomb by Taiyo to Fuka, but Fuka kicks out. Fuka comes back with a DDT, jumping knee by Fuka and she covers Taiyo for two. She tags in Hiroyo, missile dropkick by Hiroyo but Taiyo blocks the crab hold attempt. Taiyo spins away but Hiroyo hits a spinning gutbuster, crab hold by Hiroyo but Takahashi breaks it up. Elbows by Hiroyo, Taiyo tries to run over her back but Hiroyo briefly blocks it, Taiyo rolls her up anyway but it gets two. She makes the hot tag to Takahashi, Takahashi goes for a powerbomb on Hiroyo but Hiroyo back bodydrops out of it. Back up they trade elbows, hard shoulderblock by Hiroyo and Inoue comes in as they both hit lariats onto Takahashi. Inoue gets Takahashi on her shoulders and throws her back-first onto Hiroyo’s knee, gutbuster by Hiroyo and Inoue jumps on her back for a super double kneedrop. Hiroyo goes for a backdrop suplex but Takahashi elbows out of it, Fuka comes in and kicks Takahashi in the head, and Hiroyo delivers her backdrop suplex for a two count when the pin is broken up. Hiroyo tags in Inoue, Inoue and Takahashi trade elbows and then trade lariats, with Takahashi eventually lariating Inoue to the mat for two. Takahashi goes up top as Taiyo comes in but Inoue pushes Taiyo away and joins Takahashi. Superplex by Inoue to Takahashi, she goes up top as Hiroyo comes in the ring, but Takahashi fights off Hiroyo and joins Inoue, hitting a superplex of her own.

Taiyo then hits a diving body press onto Inoue, Takahashi follows with one of her own but Inoue barely kicks out. Inoue lariats Takahashi, she goes off the ropes but Kana runs in with a hip attack. Sliding Kick by Takahashi to Inoue, but her cover is broken up. Takahashi picks up Inoue and hits a backdrop suplex, cover by Takahashi but Inoue kicks out. Takahashi tags in Kana, diving hip attack by Kana and she schoolboys Inoue for two. Kana quickly applies an ankle hold but Fuka and Hiroyo break it up, Billiken by Kana but again the cover is broken up. Takahashi sails out of the ring onto Hiroyo with a tope suicida, while in the ring Kana puts Inoue in a choke. Inoue gets a toe on the ropes to break it up, Kana goes off the ropes but Inoue reverses the hip attack attempt with a release German suplex. Inoue picks up Kana but things break down as both teams run into the ring, Inoue and Kana are left alone and Inoue hits a lariat. Powerbomb by Inoue, but Taiyo breaks up the cover. Inoue picks up Kana again but Taiyo dropkicks her, Takahashi clears the ring and helps Kana with Inoue, Buzzsaw Kick by Kana to Inoue but the cover gets two. Kana picks up Inoue but Inoue hits a short range lariat, Inoue picks up Kana and nails the Niagara Driver for the three count! Kyoko Inoue, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Fuka are the winners.

To give credit where credit is due – Inoue had on her working boots on this night (as much as she ever did at this point in her career) and bumped around quite a bit to help Passion Red look stronger. My main complaint about the match is a selfish one, as I just wish that Kana was in the match more since Takahashi did the bulk of the work. But I enjoyed much of what they did, Hiroyo and Inoue work really well together and had some quality sections, and Taiyo is always a bundle of constant motion. It wouldn’t have been a bad main event for a small show, but nothing really popped out as overly memorable even though it stayed entertaining from start to finish. A fun match from Passion Red.  Recommended

Kana, Nanae Takahashi, and Natsuki Taiyo vs.  Yoshiko Tamura, Mio Shirai, and Io Shirai

Unlike the last match, this one was in the midcard, but still has some heavy hitters. Kana is joined again by her Passion Red teammates, but their opponents are quite different than the week before. Yoshiko Tamura was the undisputed Ace of NEO and their top wrestler, she was no spring chicken in 2009 but hadn’t lost a step. She is joined by two sisters that current Joshi fans may be familiar with – Stardom’s Ace Io Shirai and the legendary Mio Shirai. Well, legendary to me. This was pretty early in both of their careers, as they were still honing their skills. Anytime I get to watch young Io and Mio I am excited, and since the match got plenty of time I have high expectations.

Kana and Mio start the match and immediately trade kicks, Irish whip by Kana but Mio delivers a dropkick and tags in Io. Io dropkicks Kana a few times but Kana swats one away and kicks Io in the back. Dropkick by Kana and she tags in Taiyo, and Taiyo throws down Io by the hair. Taiyo slides out to the apron, Io goes for a Tiger Feint Kick around the ring post but Taiyo moves and kicks Io out of the ring. Back in the ring, Taiyo stays in control before tagging in Takahashi, Taiyo comes in too and they triple team Io. Snapmare by Takahashi and she puts Io in a camel clutch, she lets go after a moment and applies a crab hold instead. Mio eventually comes in and breaks it up, Irish whip by Takahashi and she hits Io with a hard shoulderblock. Suplex by Takahashi, but Io breaks out of the cover. Takahashi tags in Kana, Irish whip by Kana but Io hits a crossbody and tags in Tamura. Knees by Tamura, Kana fights back and takes Tamura to the mat, but Tamura puts her in an armbar. Kana manages to roll out of it and applies a guillotine, dropkick by Kana and she tags Takahashi. Takahashi stomps on Tamura but Tamura kicks her back and drops Takahashi with an Ace Crusher. Knees by Tamura and she tags in Mio, dropkick by Mio to Takahashi but Takahashi absorbs the blow and elbows Mio. Body Avalanche by Takahashi in the corner but Mio blocks her second attempt and kicks Takahashi. Takahashi catches one and the two trade blows, backdrop suplex by Takahashi and she covers Mio for two. Taiyo grabs Mio from the apron and Mio eats a triple dropkick, they all end up on the floor and Taiyo dives out onto the crowd with a triple jump plancha, but she ends up only landing on her own partners.

Io then goes up top and dives out onto Passion Red with a plancha of her own, Takahashi is slide into the ring and triple teamed until Tamura and Io finally go back to the apron. Tornado DDT by Mio out of the corner, and she tags in Tamura. Dropkick by Tamura and she plants Takahashi with a DDT, knees by Takahashi but Tamura knees her back and hits a cutter. Tamura charges Takahashi in the corner but Takahashi avoids her and hits a release German suplex, Takahashi goes for a backdrop suplex but Tamura blocks it. Lariat by Takahashi but Tamura fires back with an elbow smash, jumping kick by Takahashi and she tags in Kana. Kana kicks Tamura and applies a schoolboy into an ankle hold, but Tamura gets to the ropes for the break. Kana goes for an Irish whip but Tamura blocks it and applies a kneelock, Kana inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Suplex by Tamura, she picks up Kana but Kana hits a reverse DDT for two. Elbows by Tamura but Kana returns fire with kicks, cover by Kana but Mio breaks it up. Kana drags up Tamura and hits a German suplex hold, she quickly applies a Wakigatame but Tamura gets a foot on the ropes. Io and Mio run in and kick Kana, Tamura picks up Kana and hits a DDT. Full nelson slam by Tamura, but Takahashi breaks up the cover. Tamura tags in Io, Irish whip by Io to the corner and Mio hits a jumping knee on Kana. Tamura hits a knee as well before Io follows with a Space Rolling Elbow and a face crusher.

Armtrap Crossface by Io, but Takahashi comes in and breaks it up. Kana slaps Io, Io slaps her back but Kana catches her with a hip attack. Another hip attack by Kana and she kicks Io repeatedly before pushing her against the ropes with her boot. Sliding hip attack by Kana, she covers Io but she gets a shoulder up. Kana tags in Taiyo, missile dropkick by Taiyo and she delivers the Iguchi Bomb for two. Taiyo goes for a kick but Io avoids it and rolls up Taiyo, Tamura snaps Taiyo’s neck on the top rope before Io hits a springboard body press. Swandive dropkick by Io and she delivers a Tiger Feint Kick for two. Io tags in Mio, kicks by Mio to Taiyo and she hits a STO for a two count. Kick by Mio but Taiyo avoids the next one, she goes for the Iguchi Bomb but Io runs in to help Mio block it. Mio and Io both slam Taiyo before Tamura dropkicks her, Mio picks up Taiyo and kicks her some more, but Taiyo dropkicks Mio in the knee. Heel kick by Mio in the corner, Kana goes up top and jumps off with a diving hip attack onto Mio. Jackknife cover by Taiyo, but Tamura breaks it up. Taiyo goes up top but Mio kicks her and pulls Taiyo back to the mat, Tamura elbows Taiyo and Mio follows with a high kick. Io comes in and they hit the assisted DDT, Tamura then goes up top and hits a somersault senton, but Takahashi breaks up Mio’s cover. Mio picks up Taiyo but Taiyo ducks the enzuigiri and cradles Mio for two. Thrust kick by Taiyo, but Io breaks up her cover. Kana and Taiyo get on the second turnbuckle and lariat Mio while Taiyo hits a powerbomb, diving body press by Taiyo and she picks up the three count! Passion Red win the match!

This one was missing something from the last match I can’t put my finger on, but it was still a good match. Young Io and Mio are always entertaining, they aren’t necessarily refined yet but all the pieces are there. I think the match just had too many parts where they appeared to not know what was next or they were filling time, lots of stomping/kicking sections that felt like filler. Not everything felt like it had a purpose, and parts of the middle dragged. But it really picked up by the end and I like that both teams worked together so well, like they were real units and not just randomly thrown together for a match. The wrestler quality was certainly there and generally the action was exciting, but it definitely felt more like a midcard match (which it was) than a main event.  Mildly Recommended

The post Kana Special #2 DVD Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

For the third time in 2015, I had to purchase an event directly from Japan in order to review it. But this isn’t just any event, this is Kana’s biggest show of the year so far for her own produced events. Several different promotions participated in the festivities, including TripleSix, Union, All Japan, Reina, NOAH, and more. Here is the full card:

• Kanjuro Matsuyama vs. Shuu Shibutani
• Buffalo vs. Pro-Wrestling Mania Mask
• Kana vs. Konami Takemoto
• Hercules Senga and Isami Kodaka vs. Taiji Ishimori and Tsutomu Oosugi
• Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Ryuichi Sekine
• Jun Kasai and Kengo Mashimo vs. KENSO and SUSUMU
• Katsuhiko Nakajima and Yuko Miyamoto vs. Koji Kanemoto and Shinjiro Otani
• REINA World Tag Team Championship: Arisa Nakajima and Kana vs. Hikaru Shida and Syuri

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Onto the fun!

Kanjuro Matsuyama vs. Shu Shibutani

This is a comedy match, just to be clear.  Matsuyama starts with a wristlock but Shibutani reverses it.  They trade trips and pin attempts with no luck, Shibutani goes off the ropes but Matsuyama trips her.  Shibutani returns the favor, Matsuyama grabs her arm and goes up to the top turnbuckle before walking the ropes and hitting an armdrag.  Shibutani attacks Matsuyama while he poses, she grabs his arm and she walks the ropes, hitting an armdrag of her own.  Shibutani poses for the crowd but Matsuyama hits the Oil Check (I hope that is what he was checking) and throws Shibutani into the corner.  Irish whip by Matsuyama and he hits a Space Rolling Elbow.  Double underhook facebuster by Matsuyama, but the cover gets two.  Matsuyama picks up Shibutani but Shibutani hits a Stunner, Mongolian Chops by Shibutani and she elbows Matsuyama.  She goes for a tornado DDT but Matsuyama throws her off and hits a footstomp.  Matsuyama positions Shibutani and lies on top of her, getting a two count.  Matsuyama picks up Shibutani and Shibutani slaps Matsuyama but Matsuyama outsmarts her and punches Shibutani in the head.  Matsuyama trips Shibutani but Shibutani blocks a roll-up.  Running cutter by Shibutani and she imitates his way of covering, but it gets a two.  Matsuyama goes for a lariat but Shibutani applies the Time Machine ni Notte for the three count! Shuu Shibutani wins!

This match made me laugh three times which for a eight minute comedy match isn’t a horrible ratio.  Matsuyama is limited but amusing in small doses.  Not a bad way to start things off.

Buffalo vs. Pro-Wrestling Mania Mask

They jockey to start, Mania Mask takes Buffalo to the mat and goes for the leg but Mania Mask reverses positions with him.  Headscissors takedown by Mania Mask and he hits a second one.  Buffalo throws Mania Mask out of the ring and goes out after him, and Buffalo throws Mania Mask into the crowd.  Buffalo hits Mania Mask with a chair, they get back in the ring and Buffalo hits a back elbow.  Buffalo punches Mania Mask in the corner and he hits another running elbow strike.  Vertical suplex by Buffalo and he hits a leg drop for another two count.  Buffalo goes off the ropes but Mania Mask hits a cartwheel into a crossbody.  Mania Mask applies an ankle hold but Buffalo gets to the ropes.  Buffalo hits a backdrop suplex and he covers Mania Mask for two.  Irish whip by Buffalo and he hits a lariat, he puts Mania Mask’s head over the bottom rope and Buffalo hits a leg drop.  Dropkick by Buffalo, he tries to pick up Mania Mask but Mania Mask is out.  The referee starts a count, but then music plays over the speaker, and it fires Mania Mask up (it is Liger’s music)!  Mania Mask Irish whips Buffalo and he hits a Shotei in the corner.  Liger Bomb by Mania Mask, cover, but Buffalo gets a shoulder up.  Irish whip by Mania Mask and he hits an elbow followed by a heel kick.  Mania Mask goes up top and he hits a missile dropkick to the downed Buffalo.  They are tested my knowledge of theme music, as they are playing different music and Mania Mask is doing moves from that wrestler.  The last one I am guessing was Great Sasuke, Mania Mask goes up top and goes for a tornado DDT but Buffalo throws him off.  Lariat by Buffalo and he punches Mania Mask in the head.  Buffalo rips off Mania Mask’s mask, and the referee calls for the DQ since that is mean. Pro-Wrestling Mania Mask is the winner.

This was… cute at times but to me a bit of a waste of Buffalo.  I adore Buffalo and obviously this was more about Mania Mask, the brawling never really got too interesting until the sillier stuff with Mania Mask started.  This would have been better with Kikutaro or someone like that, I didn’t think it meshed very well even though I like both Buffalo and Yuko Miyamoto (aka Mania Mask).

Kana vs. Konami

Konami is Kana’s young trainee, just in case you didn’t know.  Wristlock by Kana but Konami takes her to the mat, Konami goes for the arm but Kana blocks it.  Waistlock by Kana but Konami applies a cross kneelock.  Kana reverses it but Konami gets into the ropes to force a break.  Bodyscissors takedown by Konami and she applies an armlock, but Kana reverses it into a cross armbreaker.  Konami gets a foot on the ropes, and back up they trade elbows.  Kana gets the better of that with a hard slap, and Kana kicks Konami in the chest.  Konami catches one and slaps her, kicks by Konami and they trade slaps.  Kana pushes Konami into the ropes, Irish whip, but Konami hits a dropkick.  Another dropkick by Konami but Kana avoids the third, Irish whip by Kana, reversed, and Konami dropkicks Kana into the corner.  Another dropkick by Konami, cover, but it gets two.  Kicks to the chest by Konami, high kick by Konami and she applies a leglock.  Kana reverses it into a cross armbreaker, but Konami is too close to the ropes.  Kana and Konami trade elbows, Kana goes off the ropes but Konami sneaks in a schoolboy for two.  Backslide by Konami but that gets two as well, and she applies a short armbar.  Kana gets back up and she hits a neckbreaker, cover, but it gets two.  Kana goes off the ropes and hits a sliding kick, cover, but Konami gets a shoulder up.  Armbar by Kana, she applies a hammerlock and puts Konami in the Chicken-wing Face Lock.  Konami can’t get out of that and she has to submit! Kana wins!

For someone with six months experience, Konami is very smooth.  I am sure it helps facing her trainer, they have probably done a match like that a hundred times but she looked good.  The end was never in doubt but it was a fun master/mentor type of match, Kana gave Konami quite a bit so it wasn’t a squash before she put her away.  Mildly Recommended

Isami Kodaka and Hercules Senga vs. Taiji Ishimori and Tsutomu Oosugi

I have no idea why Oosugi and Senga are on different teams, for the record.  Ishimori and Senga are the first two legal men and Ishimori hits a hurricanrana.  Senga falls out of the ring and Ishimori does a fake dive before tagging in Oosugi  Senga tags in Kodaka, Irish whip by Oosugi and he hits a jumping elbow.  Oosugi avoids Kodaka in the corner and hits a swandive armdrag, Kodaka falls out of the ring but Oosugi does a fake dive also.  Senga kicks Oosugi low from behind as Kodaka returns, and Kodaka tags in Senga.  Senga elbows Oosugi low again and he dumps him out of the ring.  They return after a moment and Senga dropkicks Oosugi in the back of the head.  Oosugi goes off the ropes but Senga throws a bag at his face before pouring water on him.  Senga throws Oosugi into the corner and he tags in Kodaka.  Kodaka kicks Oosugi in the back and he covers him for two.  Kodaka tags Senga back in and he hits mounted punches in the corner.  Dropkick by Senga, cover, but it gets two.  Senga steps on Oosugi on the way to tagging in Kodaka, Kodaka picks up Oosugi but Oosugi slides away.  Jumping heel kick by Oosugi and he tags in Ishimori.  Ishimori hits a double knee to Kodaka in the corner followed by a second one, Senga comes in but Ishimori hits him with a handspring kick.  Kodaka kicks Ishimori but Ishimori kicks him back, Ishimori goes for a suplex but Kodaka blocks it.  Kodaka hits a vertical suplex and he tags in Senga, Senga goes up top but Oosugi grabs him from the apron and Ishimori throws him off.  Ishimori tags in Oosugi and Senga is double teamed.  Assisted neckbreaker to Senga and Oosugi covers him for two.  Ishimori hits a double knee to Senga and Oosugi follows with a running knee.  Cover, but Kodaka breaks it up.  Kodaka armdrags Oosugi out of the ring, then Ishimori dropkicks Ishimori out of the ring also.  Kodaka goes off the ropes and he hits a tope suicida onto Ishimori.  Oosugi then goes up top and hits a plancha suicida down to the floor, Senga acts like he is going to do a dive but he flicks off everyone instead.  Oosugi gets back in the ring but Senga hits a low blow, small package by Senga but it gets a two count.  Senga goes off the ropes but Ishimori kicks him from the apron, elevated DDT by Oosugi and he picks up the three count! Ishimori and Oosugi are the winners.

Not much to this one, just a pretty average mid-card match.  The action was generally solid but sluggish, and no real memorable spots you may hope for from these guys.  Even though it wasn’t a ‘big’ match on the card still a bit disappointing.

Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Ryuichi Sekine

This doesn’t seem fair.  Sekine pushes Kanehara into the ropes but Kanehara slaps him, high kick by Kanehara and he hits some knees.  Scissors kick by Kanehara and he drops a knee onto Sekine.  Kanehara goes for Sekine’s arm but Sekine gets out of it and hits mounted elbows.  Kanehara gets the cross armbreaker applied but Sekine gets out of it.  Back up Sekine gets Kanehara on his shoulders and hits a fireman’s carry slam and he covers him for two.  Sekine elbows Kanehara in the corner but Kanehara knocks him back, kicks by Kanehara and he puts Sekine in the Mexican Surfboard.  He releases the hold and slaps in a rear naked choke, and Sekine goes to sleep! Hiromitsu Kanehara wins the match.

This was an odd match, there is no way that Sekine was winning here against Kanehara and it was pretty short.  It was a decent submission-style match and worked on a mid-card, but still skippable unless you really want to see Kanehara handle someone.

Jun Kasai and Kengo Mashimo vs. KENSO and SUSUMU

KENSO and SUSUMU attack before the match starts and the action spills outside of the ring.  Kasai gets the better of KENSO as they battle into the crowd, slamming each other into the column.  After battling around the crowd and SUSUMU diving off the ramp onto everyone, they finally make it back into the ring.  SUSUMU and Kasai are the pair that get in the ring as the legal wrestlers, and SUSUMU kicks Kasai to the mat.  Running knee by SUSUMU, cover, but it gets two.  SUSUMU tags in KENSO, slaps by KENSO to Kasai in the corner but Kasai fights back with lariats.  Another slap by KENSO but Kasai finally knocks over KENSO with a lariat and tags in Mashimo.  Mashimo elbows KENSO in the corner, snapmare by Mashimo and he hits a PK.  Cover, but it gets two.  STO by KENSO and he tags in SUSUMU, SUSUMU and Mashimo trade kicks and SUSUMU delivers a heel kick. SUSUMU charges Mashimo in the corner but Mashimo catches him and slams SUSUMU to the mat.  Mashimo tags in Kasai, but SUSUMU avoids them both in the corner.  Kasai holds SUSUMU for Mashimo but Mashimo elbows Kasai by accident.  Kasai and Mashimo trade pushes, and Kasai lariats Mashimo.  KENSO comes in, SUSUMU holds Kasai but Kasai moves and KENSO slaps SUSUMU by accident.  Mashimo gets in the ring and trades chops with Kasai, while SUSUMU hits a headscissors on KENSO.  Kasai knocks Mashimo out of the ring and lariats SUSUMU, double underhook  facebuster by Kasai on SUSUMU but it gets two.  Scoop slam by Kasai, he goes up top and he nails the Pearl Harbor Splash for the three count! Jun Kasai and Kengo Mashimo win!

The teammates being random pairs that stopped getting along was fun but the bulk of the match was just crowd brawling.  So since it wasn’t a long match, not a whole lot happened.

Post match:  KENSO jaws on the mic, so Kana comes out, kicks him in the balls and takes his belt.  Because it is Kana’s show and she does what she wants to do.

Shinjiro Otani and Koji Kanemoto vs. Yuko Miyamoto and Katsuhiko Nakajima

I’m not even sure what to expect from this one.  Miyamoto and Kanemoto start off and they soon start trading chops before exchanging kicks to the back.  Back up Kanemoto goes for Miyamoto’s leg but Miyamoto tags in Nakajima.  Nakajima pushes Kanemoto in the ropes and then they trade elbows.  Kanemoto throws Nakajima into the corner and he tags in Otani, Otani throws Nakajima in the corner and he chops him.  Otani and Nakajima trade elbows, Otani tells Nakajima to kick him I the chest and he does, but Otani  catches ones and elbows Nakajima in the leg. Nakajima finally kicks Otani to the mat and he kicks Otani in the leg.  Nakajima tags in Miyamoto but Otani bites Miyamoto’s hand and tags in Kanemoto.  Well Kanemoto just kinda came in the ring.  Kanemoto elbows Miyamoto in the head, knee by Kanemoto and he delivers a back kick.  Kanemoto puts Miyamoto in the tree of woe, Otani comes in and both hit sliding dropkicks.  Scoop slam by Kanemoto, he holds Miyamoto for Otani, and Otani bounces off the ropes a bunch of times before dropkicking Miyamoto. Kanemoto kicks Miyamoto in the chest and Kanemoto dropkicks him all while Otani is holding him.  Kanemoto picks up Miyamoto and chops him in the chest, then Otani rakes at Miyamoto’s face.  Otani goes off the ropes but Miyamoto hits an overhead belly to belly suplex.  Miyamoto tags in Nakajima, Nakajima boots Otani and he elbows Kanemoto.  This pisses off Kanemoto so Kanemoto comes in the ring and he hits Nakajima from behind.  Double Irish whip to Nakajima but Nakajima avoids their charge and kicks both to the mat.  Nakajima goes up top and he hits a missile dropkick on Otani for a two count.  Nakajima goes for a facewash in the corner but Otani has none of that and boots Nakajima.  Facewashes by Otani to Nakajima, Kanemoto comes in and he does it to Nakajima too.

Miyamoto walks in the ring so he is thrown in the same corner and Kanemoto hits the running boot which sends Miyamoto back out.  Miyamoto stands up at ringside but Otani boots him through the ropes, Matsuyama gets too close to the ropes and he hits kicked too.  Kanemoto then goes off the ropes and hits a tope suicida onto both men.  Otani picks up Nakajima and he chops him in the corner.  Big boot by Otani and he tags in Kanemoto.  Kanemoto boots Nakajima in the corner and he applies an ankle hold, Miyamoto tries to break it up but Kanemoto puts him in the ankle hold also.  Kanemoto puts Nakajima on the top turnbuckle, he joins him and he hits a Frankensteiner.  Kanemoto goes up top and he hits a diving headbutt, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kanemoto and Nakajima trade elbows and slaps, and then they trade kicks to the chest.  Back kick by Kanemoto but Nakajima hits a dragon screw leg whip.  Nakajima tags in Miyamoto, Miyamoto goes up top and he hits a diving chop to the top of the head.  Miyamoto and Kanemoto trade elbows and Miyamoto hits a double knee in the corner.  Dropkick by Miyamoto and he stomps on Kanemoto repeatedly, Irish whip by Miyamoto but the referee stands in the way and he goes down.  Miyamoto then drop toeholds Kanemoto into the referee, so now he is really down.  Otani comes in and holds Miyamoto for the referee, but Miyamoto moves and the referee lariats Otani.  Nakajima and Miyamoto kick Kanemoto, PK by Nakajima and Miyamoto covers him for two.  Miyamoto picks up Kanemoto, scoop slam by Miyamoto, he goes up top and he hits a moonsault.  Otani comes in but he gets kicked, Nakajima goes up top as Miyamoto holds Kanemoto but Kanemoto elbows him off.  Kanemoto goes up top but Miyamoto puts Kanemoto on his shoulders, but Otani throws Nakajima off the top turnbuckle.  Kanemoto rolls off Miyamoto’s shoulders and he applies an ankle hold, and Miyamoto taps out! Shinjiro Otani and Koji Kanemoto win the match.

I thought that 95% of this match worked and it had some great memorable spots.  Otani and Kanemoto are a fun grumpy veteran team and the other two played their parts fine.  The referee involvement towards the end was a bit off as it didn’t really fit the storyline up to that point, and the match ended quite suddenly, but overall I thought it was an enjoyable match.  Recommended

(c) Kana and Arisa Nakajima vs. Syuri and Hikaru Shida
REINA World Tag Team Championship

Nakajima and Syuri start off the match and they end up on the mat with Syuri on top.  Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Nakajima blocks it.  Back up, Irish whip by Nakajima but Syuri snapmares her and kicks Nakajima in the back.  Nakajima ducks the PK and she rolls up Syuri for two, kick to the chest by Syuri and she dropkicks Nakajima for two.  Syuri kicks Nakajima in the chest and she tags in Shida.  Shida jaws with Kana and they grab each other, but Nakajima slaps Shida as Kana runs into the ring and dropkicks her.  Kana and Shida trade elbows, Irish whip by Shida and she hits the first hip attack. Kana comes back with her own hip attack then they both go for hip attacks with no effect.  Nakajima runs in and they both dropkick Shida, they go for a suplex but Shida hits a double vertical suplex on both of them.  Shida tags in Syuri, Syuri gets Kana to the mat but Kana gets out of it and slaps her.  Back up they trade strikes, Irish whip by Kana but Syuri kicks her repeatedly in the leg.  More kicks by Syuri, Shida comes in but Kana dropkicks Shida and throws Syuri into the same corner.  Nakajima runs in but Syuri boots Nakajima back, but Kana catapults off Nakajima’s back with a dropkick. Nakajima tags Kana by slapping her (not happy being used as a catapult), and Nakajima trades blows with Syuri. Bridging suplex by Nakajima, but it gets a two count. Nakajima picks up Syuri but Syuri elbows her off and they exchange elbows, knees by Syuri and she applies a cross armbreaker. Kana runs in to help but Shida puts her in a short armbar, but Nakajima makes it to the ropes. Syuri and Shida double team Nakajima, ending with a double dropkick and a hard kick to the back by Syuri.

Syuri tags in Shida and Shida hits a jumping knee in the corner. Shida goes for a lariat but Nakajima ducks it and hits an elbow. Body scissors into a footstomp by Nakajima and she delivers a sliding kick. Drop toehold by Shida and she hits a sliding kick of her own, Shida goes for a suplex but Nakajima gets out of it and they trade elbows. German suplex by Nakajima but Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl slam, Shida hits a backbreaker and covers Nakajima for two. Shida tags in Syuri and Syuri kicks Nakajima in the chest. Jumping knee by Syuri in the corner and she hits a running knee, cover by Syuri but it gets a two count. Single arm suplex by Syuri and she hits a knee, but Kana breaks up the count. Syuri kicks Kana out of the ring and goes off the ropes, but Nakajima hits a bridging fallaway slam for two. Kana comes in and they double team Syuri, German suplex hold by Nakajima but Syuri kicks out. Nakajima goes for the trapped German but Syuri blocks it, Nakajima goes off the ropes but Syuri delivers a jumping kick to the face. Rolling Germans by Nakajima, but Shida breaks it up. Kana takes care of Shida while Nakajima kicks Syuri against the ropes and hits a pair of running boots to the face. Shida tries to help but Nakajima knocks her off the apron, Nakajima goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Nakajima tags in Kana and Kana kicks Syuri in the chest. Syuri catches one and kicks her back and they trade slaps. Kick to the back by Kana but Syuri plants her with a German suplex. Kana returns the favor, another one by Syuri but Kana hits a sliding kick. Kana goes off the ropes but Syuri catches her with a kick and both wrestlers are down. Shida comes off the top with a missile dropkick to Kana but Nakajima does the same to Shida. Syuri suplexes Nakajima but Kana kicks first Syuri and then Shida. Shida hits a vertical suplex on Kana and all four wrestlers are on the mat.

Syuri and Kana start trading elbows, backfists by Kana and she covers Syuri for two. Kana goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the head and hits a German suplex hold for two. Another kick to the head by Syuri, but Kana blocks the next and hits a heel kick. Shida runs in and hits a running knee on Kana, she picks her up and hits a backbreaker for two.  Tamashii no Three Count by Shida but Nakajima breaks it up by hitting a German suplex on Shida. She suplexes Syuri too, Kana and Nakajima go up top and they hit a double missile dropkick on Shida. Cover by Kana but it gets two, Nakajima goes up top and she nails a diving footstomp on Shida. Buzzsaw Kick by Kana, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Kana goes up top but Syuri pushes her down to the apron, Shida then gets on the second turnbuckles and suplexes Kana back into the ring. Shida and Syuri both kick Kana, but Nakajima breaks up the cover. Shida picks up Kana and hits the Falcon Arrow, but Kana rolls through it and applies a cross armbreaker. Shida rolls out of it, Kana goes for the chickenwing armlock but Shida gets out of it. They trade kick attempts with no luck, roll-up by Shida but Kana gets out of it and hits a head kick. Small package by Kana but Syuri breaks it up. Shida hits an enzuigiri on Nakajima, Syuri kicks Kana and Shida hits the Falcon Arrow. Three Count by Shida to Kana, and she picks up the three count! Syuri and Shida are your new champions!

I would rate this match a step down from the main event of the other Kana Pro event I reviewed (on 3/8) but it was still a really fun match. There was great teamwork throughout and the action never stopped, I tried not to type everything but the play by play still ended up a bit long. Also the strikes were generally very on point and the end stretch was good without going into overkill. There were some moves here and there that were sloppy, not everything was hit fluidly in the middle section and not all the moves probably came out as well in reality as they did on paper. Still, for a 20 minute match those moments were few and far between, and overall it was still a very fitting main event. Worth a watch for sure. Recommended

event reviewed on 6/18/15

The post Kana Produce Promania: Advance on 2/25/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

As far as JWP events go, this is a pretty big one. First of all, Kana is on the card, which automatically elevates it. More importantly there is also a Hikaru Shida singles match as well as two title matches. How did I not review this event sooner? It sounds heavenly. Here is the full card:

– SAKI vs. Yako Fujigasaki
– Eri and KAZUKI vs. Hanako Nakamori and Kana
– Arisa Nakajima vs. Hikaru Shida
– JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Tag Team Championship: Leon and Ray vs. Rabbit Miyu and Rydeen Hagane
– JWP Openweight Championship: Kayoko Haruyama vs. Command Bolshoi

All the wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

SAKI vs. Yako Fujigasaki

They tie-up to kick things off and trade elbows before SAKI throws down Fujigasaki by her hair. Fujigasaki returns the favor but SAKI throws down Fujigasaki by her hair again. SAKI stomps on Fujigasaki but Fujigasaki hits a diving double chop for a two count cover. Fujigasaki applies a Muta Lock but SAKI gets out of it and hits a trio of snapmares before applying a stretch hold. Fujigasaki kicks SAKI and throws her into the corner, Irish whip by Fujigasaki and she dropkicks SAKI. Face crusher by SAKI, cover, but it gets a two count. SAKI applies a crab hold, she releases the hold and goes for a reverse splash off the ropes, but Fujigasaki moves out of the way. Scoop slam by Fujigasaki and she covers SAKI for two. SAKI and Fujigasaki trade elbows until Fujigasaki hits a trio of dropkicks, Fujigasaki picks up SAKI but SAKI blocks the scoop slam. Backslide by SAKI, but Fujigasaki kicks out at two. SAKI applies a bodyscissors and rolls Fujigasaki around the ring before applying a Camel Clutch. Fujigasaki wiggles to the ropes to get the break, SAKI picks her up and hits a snapmare but Fujigasaki jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a sunset flip for a two count. A backslide doesn’t work either, Fujigasaki goes off the ropes but SAKI grabs her and applies a stretch hold. SAKI puts Fujigasaki in the Rocking Horse, she picks up Fujigasaki and hits a scoop slam. SAKI goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fujigasaki avoids the reverse splash. Fujigasaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she grabs SAKI and hits a wrist-clutch Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Scoop slam by Fujigasaki, she goes up top but SAKI avoids the diving bodypress. SAKI goes off the ropes and hits a pair of shoulderblocks. Another shoulderblock by SAKI and she covers Fujigasaki for two. SAKI picks up Fujigasaki but Fujigasaki sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Wing Clutch Hold by Fujigasaki, but it gets a two as well. Irish whip by Fujigasaki but SAKI hits a vertical suplex. SAKI slams Fujigasaki near the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse senton splash for the three count! SAKI wins!

I wouldn’t say this was good, I can’t really think of any positive words to say actually. There were a lot of things here that didn’t quite work, and when a vertical suplex is the big setup move for the finish it is not a great sign. It went longer than it needed to as they ran out of things to do around minute four, and aside from a unique finish there is no real reason to watch this one.

Eri and KAZUKI vs. Hanako Nakamori and Kana

Nakamori and Eri begin the match and Nakamori tosses Eri to the mat. Nakamori tosses her down again but KAZUKI kicks her from the apron. KAZUKI gets in the ring, they throw Nakamori into the corner and both hit running strikes. DDT by Eri and Nakamori eats a double dropkick. Eri and KAZUKI apply leg submission holds before letting the hold go, snapmares by Eri to Nakamori but Nakamori boots her to the mat and tags in Kana. Kana and Eri have an elbow battle that doesn’t go well for Eri, and Kana dropkicks Eri to the mat. They trade elbows again, dropkick by Eri but Kana stays up. Kana kicks Eri in the chest a few times but Eri catches one and applies an ankle hold. Kana rolls out of it but Eri gets the hold re-applied, Kana suplexes her way out of the hold but Eri hits a tornado DDT for a two count. Eri tags in KAZUKI and KAZUKI kicks Kana in the leg. Reverse double kneedrop by KAZUKI near the corner, she goes up top but Kana avoids the diving kneedrop. Nakamori comes in but KAZUKI kicks Nakamori back, Kana catapults off Nakamori’s back and kicks KAZUKI in the corner. Kana kicks KAZUKI and goes for the chickenwing, but KAZUKI gets out of it. KAZUKI picks up Kana but Kana blocks the cutter and kicks KAZUKI in the head for a two count cover. Crossface chickenwing by Kana but Eri gets by Nakamori to break it up. Kana tags in Nakamori, Nakamori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on KAZUKI.

Nakamori goes up again and hits another missile dropkick, fisherman suplex by Nakamori to KAZUKI and it gets a two count. Nakamori kicks KAZUKI in the leg and goes off the ropes, but KAZUKI knees her in the stomach. KAZUKI goes up top but Nakamori kicks her and joins her. Eri comes in but Kana also runs in and she suplexes Eri. Avalanche Fisherman Buster by Nakamori to KAZUKI, but KAZUKI barely gets a shoulder up. Nakamori goes for a Capture Buster by KAZUKI blocks it, Kana comes in but KAZUKI ducks their kicks. KAZUKI drops Nakamori onto Kana, she picks Nakamori back up and slams her to the mat for a two count. KAZUKI tags in Eri and Eri dropkicks Nakamori. DDT by Eri, she picks up Nakamori but Nakamori hits a fisherman suplex. Eri comes back with another DDT, but the cover gets two. Codebreaker by KAZUKI to Nakamori, and Eri rolls up Nakamori for a two count. Eri and Nakamori trade strikes, Eri goes off the ropes but Kana elbows her. KAZUKI knocks down Kana and then hits a backdrop suplex onto Nakamori. Eri tries a few quick pins on Nakamori with no luck, Eri goes off the ropes but Nakamori boots her. KAZUKI boots Nakamori so that Eri can roll her up, but Kana breaks up the count. Kana and Nakamori both kick Eri, but KAZUKI breaks up the pin. Shining Wizard by Nakamori to Eri, but Eri barely gets a shoulder up. Nakamori picks up Eri and she plants her with the Chinkonka Driver, and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori and Kana are your winners.

This had some good moments but the flow just felt off. It was utterly non-gripping in terms of being captivating, I think partly because it had no structure to speak of. It was just random action until the match randomly ended with no real drama or emotion. I love Kana but I still can’t recommend this match, just pretty average all things considered.

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hikaru Shida

After trading holds for a bit, armdrag by Shida but Nakajima armdrags her back. Irish whip by Shida and she knocks down Nakajima with a hip attack. Another hip attack by Shida and she hits a backbreaker. Shida punches Nakajima in the back, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a jumping knee for a two count. Shida applies a crab hold but Nakajima crawls to the ropes to force the break. Backbreaker by Shida but Nakajima plants her with a DDT followed by a dropkick. Nakajima applies a kneelock and then a single leg crab hold before pulling on Shida’s hair. Knee by Nakajima and she hits another one in the corner, Irish whip by Nakajima and she jumps up on the top turnbuckle, but Shida pushes her to the apron. Shida joins Nakajima on the apron and they trade elbows, a battle that Nakajima gets the better of as Shida crashes to the mat. Nakajima gets on the top turnbuckle but Shida throws a kendo stick at her to knock her to the floor. Nakajima gets a hair and hits Shida with it, and they trade blows with their respective weapons. Shida surprisingly gets the better of it and she hits Nakajima repeatedly with the stick. They battle around the ring, with Shida slamming Nakajima’s back into the apron. Nakajima throws Shida into the chairs as a retort before slamming her head into the ring post. Nakajima then gets on the apron and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, Nakajima slides Shida back in and hits another missile dropkick. Shida elbows Nakajima as they trade shots, release German suplex by Nakajima and she knees Shida against the ropes. Running boot by Nakajima and she hits a footstomp to Shida’s stomach. Rolling Germans by Nakajima, she goes up top but Shida joins her and knocks Nakajima to the apron. Shida grabs Shida while on the second turnbuckle and suplexes Nakajima back into the ring. Shida goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Shida but it gets two.

Shida goes off the ropes and hits an enzuigiri, facebuster by Shida and she applies a chinlock. Nakajima gets to the ropes to get the break, Shida picks her up and hits a backbreaker. Shida picks up Nakajima again but Nakajima slides away and sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Release German suplex by Nakajima and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They trade elbows as they return to their feet, Shida goes off the ropes but Nakajima blocks the knee. Shida blocks Nakajima’s kick also but Nakajima drops her with a release dragon suplex. Elbows by Nakajima, she picks up Shida but Shida blocks the suplex. Nakajima goes off the ropes but Shida hits a jumping knee. Shida puts Nakajima on the top turnbuckle, she joins her but Nakajima headbutts her off. Shida avoids the diving footstomp however and knees Nakajima in the back, Three Count by Shida but Nakajima gets a shoulder up. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but again the cover gets two. Shida knees Nakajima in the head a few times, she tries to go off the ropes but Nakajima hits a package suplex for a two count. Nakajima goes for a dragon suplex but Shida blocks it and applies an inside cradle for two. Nakajima charges Shida but Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Fireman’s carry backbreaker by Nakajima, she puts Nakajima on the top turnbuckle and drops her back-first onto the top turnbuckle. Cover by Shida, but Nakajima barely kicks out. Shida goes off the ropes and hits a Three Count, but Nakajima quickly rolls her up for two. German suplex by Nakajima but Shida hits a Three Count. Shida nails the Tamashii no Three Count, and she gets the three count pinfall! Hikaru Shida wins the match!

This was pretty fantastic. Nakajima and Shida are both high-level wrestlers and they got plenty of time here to do what they wanted to do. Shida’s focus on Nakajima’s back was well done as she did a ton of damage to it, and the weapon usage outside of the ring was brief but showed how serious both wrestlers were. They were both very on point with their strikes/suplexes and it stayed heated from bell to bell. A great match, check it out.  Highly Recommended

(c) Leon and Ray vs. Rabbit Miyu and Rydeen Hagane

This match is for the JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Tag Team Championship. Miyu and Hagane attack before the match starts and isolate Leon in the ring. Leon kicks Hagane away and scoop slams Miyu on top of her before hitting a footstomp on her. Ray runs in and they hit a double dropkick on Hagane, cover by Leon but it gets two. Leon tries to slam Hagane with no luck, and Hagane slams her instead. Body press by Hagane but Leon easily kicks out. Hagane tags in Miyu and Miyu dropkicks Leon. Miyu throws Leon into the corner and stands on her, Irish whip by Miyu but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Leon tags in Ray, and Ray knocks down Miyu in the corner, she puts Miyu in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Ray covers Miyu but Miyu bridges out of it, she goes off the ropes but Leon kicks her from the apron. Miyu armdrags both of them, Hagane lariats Ray and Miyu hits a tornado DDT. Vertical suplex by Miyu and she tags in Hagane. Hagane dropkicks Ray but Ray hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Leon goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Hagane, she covers Hagane but it gets two. Hagane goes for a suplex but Leon lands on her feet, Leon goes for a spear but Hagane blocks it. Leon rolls behind Hagane’s back and dropkicks her in the head, and back up they trade elbows. Hagane goes off the ropes but Leon picks her up and drives Hagane into the corner so that Ray can hit a slingshot dropkick. Leon charges Hagane and hits a shoulder tackle, double Irish whip to Hagane but she hits a double lariat. Hagane picks up Leon and puts her upside down in the corner before hitting a body avalanche.

Miyu comes in to help and they double team Leon, Hagane goes to the corner and she hits a reverse splash for a two count. Hagane goes up top but Leon avoids the dive, knees by Leon but Hagane catches her with a powerslam. Hagane tags in Miyu and Miyu hits a missile dropkick. Miyu goes up top and hits another missile dropkick to Leon, but Leon kicks out of the cover. Miyu slaps Leon but Leon picks her up and tosses Miyu out of the ring. Hagane runs in but she gets dumped to the floor also, Ray goes for a moonsault but Hagane pulls her out of the ring, Miyu then goes up top and she dives out onto both Leon and Ray with a plancha suicida. Hagane gets on the apron, she picks up Miyu in a press slam and throws her onto both their opponents. Hagane rolls Leon back in, Miyu goes up top and she goes off Hagane’s shoulders with a senton. Hard elbow by Miyu, and she covers Leon for another two count. Miyu goes up top but Ray runs in and kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Leon joins Miyu up top and she hits an avalanche fisherman buster, cover by Leon but Miyu gets a shoulder up. Leon picks up Miyu but Miyu gets away, Leon destroys Miyu with a spear but Hagane breaks up the cover. Quick roll-up by Miyu for two, but Leon hits a heel kick.

Miyu ducks the next one, elbows by Miyu and she nails the Rabbit Suplex Hold but it is broken up by Ray. Spinning kick by Leon and she makes the tag to Ray while Hagane is also tagged in. Ray hits the Space Rolling Elbow in the corner followed by the Sling Blade, Ray picks up Hagane as Leon comes back in but Hagane hits a double backdrop suplex. Lariat by Hagane to Ray, Miyu goes up top as does Hagane, and Ray jumps off Hagane’s back with a footstomp. Reverse Splash by Hagane, but Leon barely breaks up the cover. Hagane goes up top again and she nails the diving body press, but Ray gets a shoulder up. Leon runs in and spears Hagane, with Ray following with a tiger feint kick. Ray picks up Hagane as Miyu goes up top, but Miyu missile dropkicks Hagane by accident. Leon goes up top and hits a Swanton Bomb, Ray follows with a moonsault but Miyu breaks up the cover. Miyu suplexes Ray and hits a cutter onto Leon, lariat by Hagane to Ray but it only gets two. Hagane goes for the Rainmaker but Ray ducks it and hits a hurricanrana, but Hagane rolls through it. Leon breaks that up, double superkick to Hagane and Leon hits another spinning heel kick as does Ray. Ray goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the Skytwister Press, picking up the three count pinfall! Leon and Ray are still your champions.

Another high caliber match, maybe a step below the last one but not by much. They didn’t waste time here doing things that didn’t matter, it was just constant action with strikes, suplexes, spears, and everything else. It was perfectly fluid as there weren’t any noticeable mistakes, and all four were smooth as they all showed great teamwork. Leon and Ray are really fun to watch, if you haven’t seen them wrestle before then you need to.  Recommended

(c) Kayoko Haruyama vs. Command Bolshoi

This match is for the JWP Openweight Championship. Haruyama knocks down Bolshoi right as the match starts but Bolshoi returns to her feet and they lock knuckles. Bolshoi goes for Haruyama’s arm but Haruyama gets out of it, Bolshoi applies a sleeper but Haruyama rolls away. Bolshoi goes for a triangle choke but that doesn’t work either as Haruyama slams Bolshoi to the mat to get out of it. Waistlock by Bolshoi and she applies a short armbar, Haruyama gets out of it and she hits a lariat. Irish whip by Haruyama and she blocks Bolshoi’s headscissors attempt. Haruyama applies a double underhook and hits a facebuster, she then picks up Bolshoi and hits a second one. Haruyama goes for a third but Bolshoi blocks it and they trade elbows. Lariat by Haruyama, she goes up top but Bolshoi smacks her and joins her. Haruyama snaps Bolshoi over the top rope and knocks her back into the ring, Haruyama goes up top but Bolshoi recovers and joins her again. Avalanche uranage by Bolshoi, cover, but Haruyama gets a shoulder up. Back up, Haruyama kicks Bolshoi into the corner and hits repeated short range lariats. Haruyama puts Bolshoi on the top turnbuckle but Bolshoi grabs her arm and applies an armbar. Bolshoi stays up top but Haruyama hits her and goes up as well, hitting a powerslam to the mat. Haruyama goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Haruyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a tiger feint kick followed by a palm strike. Another tiger feint kick and Bolshoi applies La Mistica, double reverse armbar by Bolshoi and she covers Haruyama for two. Tiger suplex hold by Bolshoi, but that gets two as well. Bolshoi picks up Haruyama and tries to get her on her shoulders, but Haruyama knees out of it. Dragon screw leg whip by Bolshoi but Haruyama hits a few lariats. Palm strike by Bolshoi, she gets Haruyama on her shoulders and she hits a Samoan Driver for a two count.

Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Haruyama picks her up and hits a modified Emerald Frosion for two. Haruyama stomps Bolshoi and goes up top but Bolshoi hits a palm strike. Haruyama hits a diving guillotine legdrop, she goes back up top and hits another one but Bolshoi barely kicks out. Haruyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a hurricanrana, but Haruyama rolls through it for two. Haruyama kicks Bolshoi, she picks her up but Bolshoi slides away and hits a palm strike. Lariats by Haruyama and she hits one final one for a two count. Haruyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a crucifix hold for two. Bolshoi charges Haruyama and delivers the Piko Knee Smash, she runs at Haruyama and hits a second one. One final Piko Knee Smash by Bolshoi, cover, but Haruyama barely gets a shoulder up. Bolshoi picks up Haruyama and hits a Michinoku Driver, but Haruyama again kicks out. Bolshoi goes off the ropes and hits a palm strike, but Haruyama fires back with a lariat. Another palm strike by Bolshoi but Haruyama hits a lariat. Haruyama and Bolshoi trade blows, with Haruyama hitting a lariat to win the battle. Haruyama goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, sliding lariat by Haruyama but the cover gets a two count. Haruyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi gets on her shoulders, and she hits the Limelight for the three count! Bolshoi is the new champion!

And yet another high end match, this event really killed it with the last three matches. I am actually not a big fan of Haruyama but Bolshoi was on point the entire match, she brought the energy and the action that it needed and Haruyama played her part. Big moves, hard suplexes, and like the last few matches they didn’t waste a lot of time doing moves that didn’t matter. No real resting to speak of as Bolshoi is a physical specimen, they just went for it. Haruyama is a bit lumbering but Bolshoi made up for it, a great title match.  Recommended

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