Event: Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING
Date: May 19th, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Marvelous Nico Channel

As I dive back into recent Joshi wrestling events, this one really caught my attention. Marvelous is low-key one of my favorite Joshi promotions, as they have a handful of entertaining wrestlers and tend to put on shorter but quality events. Watching them generally isn’t free, but as long as the action is good I certainly don’t mind forking over a little money. This is my first time watching Hibiki since she started acting a little “crazy” so I am interested in seeing how that goes, and the main event is a banger. Here is the match line-up, I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches on the card:

• Maria vs. Ai Houzan
• Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo
• DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

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

Maria vs. Ai Houzan

Houzan asks for a handshake before the match, Maria turns her back on her so Houzan schoolboys Maria for two. A few more get the same result, elbows by Houzan but Maria runs her off the ropes and hits an armdrag. Houzan comes back with a dropkick and throws down Maria by the air, but Maria cartwheels out of it and kicks Houzan in the chest. Now it is Maria that twists the hair and throws Houzan into the corner, kick to the arm by Maria and she kicks her arm again while she is against the ropes. More arm-focused offense by Maria before she kicks Houzan in the face, Houzan tries to fight back but gets kicks in the face again. Fujiwara Armbar by Maria but Houzan quickly wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Maria picks up Houzan and Irish whips her, but Houzan hits a jumping crossbody.

Another crossbody by Houzan and a few more, she eventually keeps one on for a cover but it only gets two. Houzan goes for a slam but Maria blocks it, elbows by Houzan and she hits a dropkick. Another dropkick by Houzan and she covers Maria for two. Scoop slam by Houzan, but again her cover gets a two count. Houzan picks up Maria but Maria elbows her as the two trade strikes, dropkick by Maria and she covers Houzan for two. Maria quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, she traps Houzan’s leg as well but Houzan gets to the ropes for the break. Boot by Maria but Houzan quickly schoolboys her for two. Houzan goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, snapmare by Maria and she delivers a sliding kick, but Houzan again cradles her. Front dropkick by Maria, she quickly picks up Houzan and applies a cross armbreaker. Houzan struggles for a moment but has to tap out! Maria is the winner.

Maria is a bit of a mystery to me as whenever I watch Marvelous, she looks solid enough but doesn’t really seem to be focused on very often by the promotion like Mei and Mikoto are. She gave Houzan a fair amount of offense here, and even though limb-based offense is rare in a rookie opener it was nice to see some type of story being told. Houzan would sometimes shrug off offense too quickly to go to her flash pins, probably something she should work on, but she has time. Nothing too memorable but Houzan seems to have the basics down pat and Maria led her well enough, a decent opener.

Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo

Itsuki and Mei start the match, Itsuki talks a bit as she does and she eats a dropkick. Mikoto helps Mei as they double team Itsuki, she eventually leaves and Itsuki punches Mei in the stomach. Itsuki puts Mei in the ropes and applies a chinlock, she lets go and delivers a running double knee to Mei’s back. Mei stomps on Itsuki’s foot to regain the advantage, she gets Itsuki in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Mei picks up Itsuki, Irish whip and she hits another dropkick before tagging Mikoto. Itsuki pokes Mikoto in the eyes and hits a hard shoulderblock, she tags in Tomoko and they double team Mikoto in the corner. Scoop slam by Tomoko and she hits an elbow drop off the second rope for a two count cover. Tomoko picks up Mikoto, Mikoto fights back with elbows but Tomoko hits a short-range lariat. Irish whip by Tomoko but Mikoto connects with a dropkick, giving her time to tag Mei. Tomoko greets Mei with a boot but Mei ends up on the apron and dropkicks Tomoko through the ropes. Mei puts Tomoko in a submission hold but Tomoko gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Mei but Itsuki kicks her from the apron, she holds Mei for Tomoko but Mei moves out of the way and dropkicks Tomoko into Itsuki.

Mei goes for a scoop slam but Tomoko blocks it, hard elbow by Mei but Tomoko kicks her in the shin. Kick to the leg by Tomoko but Mei blocks the Irish whip attempt, Mikoto runs in and kicks Tomoko but Tomoko hits a backwards jump springboard on both of them. She tags Itsuki, shoulderblock by Itsuki to Mei and she hits a face crusher followed by a double kneedrop for two. Mei fights back as they trade elbows until Itsuki elbows Mei hard to the mat, Itsuki picks up Mei but Mei slides off her shoulders and stomps on her foot. Lariat by Itsuki but Mei avoids the next one and dropkicks Itsuki from the apron. Running dropkick by Mei and she tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Itsuki and she covers her for two. Mikoto goes for a scoop slam but Itsuki blocks it and hits one of her own, Irish whip by Itsuki but Mei runs in and they both dropkick her for two. Running elbow by Mikoto to Itsuki and she dropkicks her in the corner, corner dropkick by Mikoto and she hits the scoop slam for a two count. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a Samoan Drop, she tags in Tomoko who comes in the ring with a body press off the second turnbuckle.

Mikoto gets her feet up however so that backfires, Mei runs in and stomps Tomoko but Itsuki cuts her off. Itsuki stacks both opponents in the corner and hits a lariat followed by a Tomoko body avalanche, Mikoto and Mei stagger to the middle of the ring and both are bit with stereo body avalanches. Falling body press by Itsuki on both, they then stack Mikoto on top of Mei before Tomoko hits a body press of her own. Scoop slam by Tomoko to Mikoto, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press, but Mikoto barely kicks out. Tomoko picks up Mikoto but Mikoto get away and dropkicks her in the back, another dropkick by Mikoto and she cradles Tomoko for two. Mikoto picks up Tomoko and hits a springboard dropkick, Mei hits a dropkick as well before Mikoto delivers a swandive sunset flip for a two count. Itsuki runs in and lariats Mikoto, Tomoko follows with a lariat of her own but Mikoto reverses it into a flash pin. She goes off the ropes but Tomoko levels her with a lariat, cover by Tomoko and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe are the winners.

This was a pretty by-the-numbers tag match but still had more good than bad. Tomoko played her role well as grumpy vet, as she mostly dominated while in the ring but did let Mikoto have quite a run on her before killing her with a lariat so it was far from lopsided. Mei’s offense isn’t overly interesting but both she and Mikoto are more than capable so everything was smooth both in the one on one match-ups and tag moves. Itsuki didn’t get too much of a chance to shine here but brought her usual energy. A perfectly fine mid-card tag match, but nothing more than that.

DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU

Hibiki won’t even get in the ring to start the match, jawing at both KAORU and Chisako, so they start without her. Dropkick by Chisako but Hibiki trips her from the floor when she goes off the ropes, this gives KAORU time to kick Chisako and hit a vertical suplex for two. Hibiki gets in the ring but quickly bails, Chisako and KAORU trade elbows but turn their attention back to Hibiki as KAORU kicks her through the ropes. This stuns Hibiki, allowing Chisako to charge from in the ring and hit a dropkick through the ropes on her. KAORU and Chisako both leave the ring to get Hibiki but Hibiki runs away and into the back. Hibiki reemerges from the other side and gets in the ring, but Chisako catches her with a missile dropkick. She follows with another dropkick, KAORU comes in with a piece of table board and hits Hibiki in the head with it. Chisako and take turns striking Hibiki, double Irish whip and they hit a double boot followed by a double vertical suplex. Assisted footstomp by Chisako, they wait for Hibiki to get up and take turns booting her.

Chisako and KAORU go up to opposite corner, Hibiki avoids KAORU’s Valkyrie Splash but rolls right into a diving footstomp by Chisako. Cover by Chisako, KAORU tries to break it up with the board but Chisako moves and she hits Hibiki instead. Cover by KAORU, Chisako tries to break it up with a chair but she too ends up hitting Hibiki. KAORU goes back up top but Hibiki recovers and knocks her out of the ring down to the floor. Hard elbow by Hibiki to Chisako but she elbows her back as they trade blows, Chisako goes for a Northern Lights Suplex but Hibiki blocks it. Knees by Chisako but Hibiki catches her with a lariat, cover by Hibiki but KAORU is back and breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Hibiki but Hibiki hits a spear on both of them, she goes off the ropes again but is hit with both a chair and piece of board at the same time. Chisako goes up top while KAORU picks up Hibiki, but Hibiki slams KAORU and tosses Chisako back into the ring (and on top of KAORU). Hibiki goes to the top turnbuckle but both wrestlers avoids her diving senton, Hibiki gets a white powder and throws it into KAORU’s face. Chisako comes over to help with a chair but she hits KAORU by accident, Hibiki quickly dropkicks Chisako and schoolboys KAORU for the three count! Hibiki is the winner.

A short match but still fun to watch and it progressed Hibiki’s unique story. For a match that wasn’t very long, it had a lot of shenanigans and hard hits, as all three did their part to put over what they were doing. Hibiki out-maneuvering her opponents in what was essentially a 2 vs. 1 match was well done as it felt smart rather than cheap. Hibiki took a fair beating on her way to victory to earn it, and she is definitely not wrestling as a comedic gimmick but rather unhinged. For a short three way match, I thought they delivered what they were going for and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Hibiki in the future.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

Rin and Mika jaw before the match can even start and start trading blows, while their two teammates look on, letting them go at it. Rin temporarily wins but Mika battles back, dropkick by Rin and she covers Mika for two. Rin tags Mio, kicks by Mio in the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Mio gets Mika up and applies a rolling front necklock, but releases the hold so she can dropkick her in the back of the head. Mio tags Rin back in, scoop slam by Rin and she mushes Mika’s head. Enzuigiri by Mika and she kicks Rin against the ropes before tagging in Chihiro. Hard shoulderblock by Chihiro, she scoop slams Rin and hits a running somersault senton. Mika returns, kicks by Mika and she applies a headlock. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Rin, starting to focus on her arm. snapmare by Mika and she kicks Rin in the back, she tags in Chihiro who puts Rin in an abdominal stretch. Mio breaks it up with a dropkick, Chihiro picks up Rin but Rin fights back with elbows. Chihiro elbows her back to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but Mio breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Rin and yanks on her arm before tagging in Mika, Irish whip by Mika but Rin delivers a jumping lariat.

Quick kick by Rin and she makes it to her corner to tag Mio. Mio comes in the ring with a diving crossbody, sliding kick by Mio but Chihiro kicks her from the apron. Chihiro gets in to help but Mio throws Chihiro into Mika and then hurricanranas Chihiro onto Mika. Dropkick by Mio to Chihiro, she goes back to Mika and hits a sliding kick for a two count. Mika shakes Mio off and hits a high knee in the corner, snapmare by Mika and she kicks Mio in the back. Mio ducks the PK but Mika kicks her in the head anyway and tags in Chihiro. Lariat by Chihiro in the corner and she hits a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Chihiro gets Mio on her shoulders before Mika comes in and delivers a head kick. Double Irish whip to Mio, Mio tries to get out of it but is slammed for her efforts. Mika then flips Chihiro onto Mio, picking up a two count. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and nails a somersault senton, but Mio gets a shoulder up. Chihiro picks up Mio but Mio slides away, lariat by Chihiro but Mio fires back with a dropkick. Chihiro hits another lariat but Mio lands on her feet on the suplex attempt, hard elbow by Chihiro but Mio hits a twisting headscissors takedown for two. Mio makes the tag to Rin, Rin goes up top and connects with a missile dropkick. Elevated DDT by Rin and she hits a sliding kick for two. Rin goes off the ropes but Chihiro spears her, she tags in Mika and Mika kicks Rin into the corner.

More kicks by Mika and she applies the cross armbreaker, Rin wiggles out of it so Mika switches it to an armtrap crossface. Mio breaks that up but Chihiro throws her out of the ring, Mika picks up Rin but Rin kicks her in the head. Mika returns the favor, more kicks by Mika and she covers Rin for a two count. More kicks by Mika but Mio breaks up the next cover, Mika picks up Rin and goes to the turnbuckles but Mio grabs her from the apron. Rin pulls Mika back into the ring, missile dropkick by Mio and Rin hits a diving footstomp for two. Rin gets on the top turnbuckle but Mika avoids the somersault senton, they trade elbows as they get up until Chihiro runs in and hits a lariat. Jackknife cover by Mika, but Rin kicks out. Mika waits for Rin to get up but Rin ducks the high kick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Rin goes for another cradle but Mika blocks it, Mio dropkicks Mika in the head but Rin can still only get two. Strike combination by Mika and she covers Rin, but Mio breaks it up. Mio dropkicks Chihiro when she comes in too but Mika kicks Mio, high kick by Mika to Rin but Rin barely gets a shoulder up. Mika goes off the ropes but Rin kicks he, crucifix slam by Rin but Mika is too close to the ropes. She hits a second one, and this time she holds down Mika for the three count! Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura are the winners!

One could never accuse these four of not being hard hitting, they certainly were holding nothing back in this match. Lots and lots of kicks so if you like kicks, this is the match for you. I wish that Mio and Chihiro did more as they felt almost like the side attractions, particularly Chihiro who didn’t get to do much that was memorable as Mika was the focus. But they have to save something for GAEA. Mika and Rin did a good job conveying disdain for each other and even though the arm work was shrugged off, at least they did go back to it towards the end so it wasn’t a meaningless exercise. I don’t love a match like this having a “trading flash pins” part, which seems to now be a requirement in every Joshi match even if it doesn’t fit, but at least they got over it and didn’t end the match in that manner. Not long enough to wear out its welcome (I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few minutes longer), an entertaining match and a good prelude to their match next month.  Recommended

The post Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 5/19/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “SQUARE JUNGLE”
Date: April 3rd, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,450

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Hey look, the GAEA Japan Project still exists! Moving on to the next show, not a lot of this one was released on TV as it aired on a one hour event on GAORA, but we will watch what they showed. The main event wasn’t broadcasted, as GAEA Japan chose to focus on their younger wrestlers. Here is the full televised card:

• KAORU vs. Meiko Satomura
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Sonoko Kato vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Michiko Nagashima

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

KAORU vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko attacks KAORU right at the start and gets her into a cross armbreaker, but KAORU gets into the ropes for the break. Dropkicks by Meiko and she snaps KAORU’s arm over her shoulder a few times before going for the Fujiwara Armbar. KAORU quickly gets to the ropes again, Meiko goes back to the arm but KAORU pushes her away and hits a backdrop suplex. They both get back up and get into a knucklelock, KAORU tosses Meiko to the mat and applies a cross-arm submission but Meiko is too close to the ropes. Meiko dropkicks KAORU and elbows her into the corner, but KAORU switches positions with her and hits a series of chops. Scoop slam by KAORU and she covers Meiko for two. KAORU stomps on Meiko’s leg and applies a cross kneelock, but Meiko eventually makes it to the ropes. KAORU drags Meiko back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Meiko. KAORU kicks Meiko into the corner but Meiko tackles her and hits a series of mounted elbows. Meiko applies a cross kneelock but lets go after a moment as they are close to the ropes, stomps by Meiko but KAORU sneaks in a small package for two.

Charging elbow by Meiko and she hits some more from a mounted position, she goes for the cross armbreaker but KAORU is too close to the ropes and gets out of it. Back up, elbows by Meiko and she hits a jumping shoulderblock, another one by Meiko and she covers KAORU for two. Crab hold by KAORU but Meiko gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip attempt by KAORU but Meiko reverses it and hits an elbow. She goes for another one but KAORU boots her back, Meiko snaps KAORU’s arm over her shoulder but KAORU plants her with a release German. KAORU picks up Meiko and hits a scoop slam near the corner, she goes up top but Meiko recovers and joins her, sending her back to the mat with a cross armbreaker takedown. KAORU lands near the ropes and quickly gets there for the break, Meiko goes up top and she hits a diving shoulderblock for two. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner but KAORU jumps out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick. German suplex hold by KAORU, but Meiko kicks out and immediately applies an armbar. KAORU gets to the ropes for the break, back up Meiko hits a couple elbows but KAORU slaps her. Big Boot by KAORU and she slams Meiko in front of the corner, moonsault by KAORU but Meiko bridges out of the cover. Brainbuster by KAORU, she goes to the ropes and on the second try she hits the swandive moonsault for the three count! KAORU is the winner.

I’m surprised how even this match was, considering their age and experience difference. Meiko brought all she had here but KAORU didn’t seem that interested, aside from being willing to give Meiko lots of offense. KAORU didn’t really have a focus it seemed or showed much emotion, she just occasionally hit a little offense between Meiko’s flurries that didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to them. Botching the ending didn’t help much, mistakes happen but they are amplified a bit when its the finish. Meiko showed some growth and fire, but just a little too meandering for my tastes.

Sonoko Kato vs. Toshie Uematsu

We join this one in progress, as Sonoko picks up Toshie and throws her down by the hair. Toshie sneaks in a cradle and throws Sonoko into the corner, connecting with a running elbow. Mounted punches by Toshie and she drives Sonoko’s head into the mat, scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko reverses it and hits an elbow, Toshie throws Sonoko into the corner and flips off of her before hitting some elbows. Sonoko gets Toshie on her shoulders but Toshie slides off and applies a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for two. Headlock takedown by Toshie but Sonoko blocks the next and hits a bulldog. Another bulldog by Sonoko and she covers Toshie for two. Sonoko connects with a pair of Lou Thesz Presses, elbows by Sonoko on the mat but Toshie returns the favor. Hard slap by Sonoko but Toshie avoids the leg drop and applies a Victory Roll for two. Dropkicks by Toshie, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Scoop slam by Toshie, she goes up top again but Sonoko gets her knees up on the diving body press and applies a sleeper. Toshie eventually gets to the ropes for the break, Sonoko picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a pair of dropkicks, but again her cover gets two. She goes for a lariat but Toshie avoids it, Sonoko slams her to the mat anyway but Toshie kicks out of the cover. Leg drop by Sonoko, she Irish whips Toshie but Toshie hits a crossbody. Toshie picks up Sonoko, Sonoko throws her into the corner but Toshie cradles Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko catches her with a bulldog out of the corner, cover by Sonoko but the time expires. The match is a… Draw?

Well no one is happy with that so they give them an overtime period. Tie-up to start but Toshie quickly gets Sonoko in a Fujiwara Armbar. Sonoko gets into the ropes for the break, Toshie goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sonoko twice in the arm. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, rebound crossbody by Toshie out the corner but Sonoko bridges out of the pin. Scoop slam by Toshie and she hits four elbow drops for a two count. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before applying the Fujiwara Armbar again but Sonoko gets to the ropes, Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko schoolboys her for two. Sonoko picks up Toshie but Toshie gets her back, Toshie rolls Sonoko to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker. Sonoko gets a toe on the ropes for the break, and again the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a….. Draw?

No, we are going to another overtime period. Toshie stomps on Sonoko before she can get up, but Sonoko sneaks in a backslide for a two count. Toshie picks up Sonoko and throws her towards the corner, reversed by Sonoko and Sonoko dropkicks Toshie as she goes for the corner crossbody. Irish whip by Sonoko but Toshie reverses it and cradles Sonoko for two. Sleeper by Sonoko but Toshie gets the break, snapmare by Sonoko but Toshie tosses Sonoko to the mat and applies the cross armbreaker. Sonoko wiggles herself to the ropes to get the break, Toshie approaches Sonoko but Sonoko cradles her for two. Scoop slam by Toshie, but her cover gets a two count. Irish whip by Toshie, reversed by Sonoko and Sonoko goes for the Kamikaze, but Toshie reverses that into a cover for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a crossbody, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is officially a Draw.

The effort was definitely there, I will give them that. Obviously, Sonoko and Toshie were still early in their careers at this point and it showed at times, as there were a few miscommunications and awkward spots even with the match being clipped. But I liked the general story they told, with Toshie being desperate to get a win to advance to the Finals in the tournament and Sonoko trying her best to hold her off. Both overtime periods were exciting and they did a good job conveying a sense of urgency. While rough around the edges, still a pretty solid match between these two young wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Michiko Nagashima

Chikayo dropkicks Michiko before the match starts and keeps dropkicking her, but Michiko stays on her feet. Hard dropkick by Michiko, she picks up Chikayo and rubs her face across the top rope. Michiko slams Chikayo’s face into the mat and hits a scoop slam, running sentons by Michiko but Sonoko Kato breaks up the cover. Apparently, Sonoko dislikes Michiko. Chikayo elbows Sonoko until she leaves the ring, boot by Michiko to Chikayo and she boots her again. Michiko throws down Chikayo by the hair a few times but Chikayo schoolboys her for two. Michiko starts on Chikayo’s arm and applies an armbar, but Chikayo gets into the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Michiko but Chikayo drops her with a Stunner, front roll attacks by Chikayo and she covers Michiko for two. Michiko takes back over and drills Chikayo with a front dropkick for two. Michiko throws Chikayo into the mat and flings her around by the hair before choking her with her knee. Irish whip by Michiko, Chikayo goes for a sunset flip but Michiko blocks it and punches her. Michiko puts Chikayo in the ropes and pulls back on her head, while taunting Sonoko at the same time. Irish whip by Michiko but Chikayo hits a headscissors out of the corner. Dropkicks by Chikayo and she finally sends Michiko to the mat with one, scoop slam by Chikayo and she goes to the top turnbuckle to hit a missile dropkick. Cover by Chikayo, but it gets a two count.

Chikayo charges Michiko in the corner but Michiko moves and kicks Chikayo out of the ring. She goes out after her and throws Chikayo into the guard rail, Sonoko comes over but Michiko throws a chair at her. She throws one at Chikayo as well before taking her up into the bleachers and slamming Chikayo into the wall. Sonoko goes over to comfort Chikayo but Chikayo pushes her away and returns to the ring, where Michiko is waiting for her. Irish whip by Michiko and she his a jumping neck drop, she gets a kendo stick and whacks Chikayo with it. Sonoko runs in and tries to take it from her but Chikayo gets mad again at the help and dropkicks Sonoko out of the ring. Backdrop suplex by Michiko to Chikayo, but Chikayo barely kicks out of the cover. She goes for another backdrop suplex but Chikayo lands on her feet, she cradles Michiko but it gets a two count. Chikayo goes for a crossbody but Michiko ducks and jumps down on her back, backdrop suplex hold by Michiko but Sonoko breaks up the cover. The referee gets Sonoko out of the ring while Michiko goes up top, but again Sonoko grabs Michiko from the apron. Michiko pulls Sonoko into the ring and dropkicks her, she then dropkicks Chikayo as well and slams her in front of the corner. Michiko goes up top again but Chikayo avoids the diving senton, scoop slam by Chikayo but Michiko gets her knees up when she goes for a diving crossbody. Michiko returns to the top and this time nails the diving senton, picking up the three count cover! Michiko Nagashima is the winner.

One downside of not knowing Japanese and watching matches from 25 years ago is I have no idea what Sonoko Kato’s issue was. Chikayo didn’t even want her help but she kept helping anyway, obviously some side story going on there. It was a good match, as Michiko was dominate while at the same time still giving Chikayo some offense and nearfalls so it wasn’t completely lopsided. Chikayo hit everything well and came across as a rookie with a ton of potential and perhaps ready to make that next step in her career. Fast paced and entertaining, I can see why they put this match last, the Sonoko situation sometimes hurt the flow but overall a good match.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “SQUARE JUNGLE” on 4/3/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Masha Slamovich vs. Mikoto Shindo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HIRO’e vs. Mio Momono

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

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

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

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

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Event: GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!“
Date: March 8th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,200

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

GAEA Japan returns to Korakuen Hall for the second straight show, and this one is a doozy. We get the continuation of the eternal Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament, plus Fukuoka swings by for some tag team action. In the main event, Chigusa Nagayo faces off against Saki Hasegawa in a very special match, as Saki is on her retirement tour. Saki Hasegawa had a solid career in All Japan Women but due to various injuries announced her retirement at only 26 years old. Hasegawa is the first AJW wrestler to appear on GAEA Japan, so it was a pretty big deal for her to appear on the event and wrestle the GAEA Japan Ace in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura
• Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato
• KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

I am watching the commercial release of the event, so all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato

They charge each other to start, both go for dropkicks but they both miss. They trade elbow drop attempts until Toshie hits one, Irish whip by Toshie but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop followed by a kneedrop for two. Snapmares by Chihiro and she applies a side headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a headscissors. They trade submissions until Chihiro locks in a crab hold, but Toshie gets to the ropes for the break. Chihiro applies a leg submission and then a headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a front headlock. Bodyscissors by Toshie, she lets go after a moment and knocks down Chihiro with a shoulderblock. dropkicks by Toshie, and she covers Chihiro for two. Sleeper by Toshie but Chihiro slides out of it and applies a hammerlock, armdrag by Toshie and she goes for a cross armbreaker. Chihiro gets away and applies a stretch hold, they end up back on their feet and Toshie knocks over Chihiro with a couple weak shoulderblocks. Scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Chihiro for two.

Toshie applies a guillotine but Chihiro slams out of it and hits a series of elbow strikes. Dropkick by Chihiro and she hits a scoop slam, picking up a two count. Snapmares by Toshie and she applies a side headlock on the mat, she picks up Chihiro and hits another shoulderblock. Toshie elbows Chihiro and delivers a face crusher, cover by Toshie but it gets a two count. Chihiro throws Toshie into the corner and hits a knee, but Toshie avoids the next one and somewhat dropkicks her. Chihiro and Toshie trade cradles before Chihiro applies a kneelock, she lets go after a moment and hits a pair of jumping knees. Toshie avoids the next one and goes for a slam, but Chihiro reverses it into a cradle for two. Chihiro picks up Toshie and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top and delivers a diving kneedrop for a two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Toshie and she hits a second one, but Chihiro bridges out of the pin. Toshie goes up top but Chihiro grabs her from behind and slams her to the mat. Chihiro picks up Toshie but Toshie slides away and delivers an over-the-shoulder powerslam. Diving elbow drop by Toshie, and she picks up the three count! Toshie Sato is the winner!

For a rookie match, this was pretty fun. Chihiro and Toshie both show a lot of early talent, and while Toshie Sato went on to have a better known career (as Sugar Sato) at this stage they were pretty even. Nagayo trained her wrestlers to go for it regardless of their experiences so it wasn’t just dropkicks which we frequently see in rookie matches today, and it was a pretty exciting back and forth. You could tell they were rookies from watching this, but a good effort from both.  Mildly Recommended

Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko and Makie start by jockeying for position on the mat, kick to the chest by Makie and she kicks Meiko again. Scoop slam by Makie but Meiko fires back with elbows, scoop slam by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Meiko works a headlock but Makie reverses it into a headscissors. Meiko gets the headlock re-applied and she picks up Makie, rolling her back to the mat with a front guillotine. Makie gets out of it and elbows Meiko in the chest, Irish whip by Meiko and she hits a forearm smash. Meiko picks up Makie, snapmare by Meiko and she applies a front facelock. Makie gets to the ropes for the break, Meiko picks her up but Makie cradles her for two. Meiko picks up Makie but Makie pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Meiko gets to the ropes but Makie drags her to the middle of the ring and re-applies the hold. Meiko gets to the ropes again and this time forces the break, kicks by Makie to Meiko and she covers Meiko for two. Makie applies a bodyscissors but Meiko gets out of it and applies a kneelock, she goes for Makie’s arm but Makie gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Makie but Meiko ducks a kick and pushes Makie to the mat.

Scoop slam by Meiko, Irish whip by Meiko but Makie kicks her in the face. Knees by Makie and she kicks Meiko in the back, cover by Makie but it gets two. Makie picks up Meiko but Meiko elbows her and applies a sunset flip for two. Meiko goes off the ropes and hits a series of jumping shoulderblocks, elbow drop by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner and she hits a jumping elbow, she goes for another one but Makie avoids it and cradles Meiko. Meiko kicks Makie but Makie returns to her feet and kicks her back, Meiko goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Makie quickly gets to the ropes. Meiko goes up top but Makie avoids her dive, Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Meiko gets a foot on the ropes. Kicks by Makie to the chest, she goes up top but Meiko elbows her before she can jump off. Makie hits a sunset flip anyway, but it only gets two. Makie goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets a two count as well. She goes for the sleeper again but Meiko rolls through it and goes for Makie’s arm, but Makie is too close to the ropes. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner, Makie reverses it but Meiko snaps her arm over her shoulder. Cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko, and she keeps the hold applied for the submission victory! Meiko Satomura is the winner.

Not a bad match but a step down from the previous one. Makie Numao doesn’t have the skill of the other three wrestlers we have seen so far, and her action is a bit clunky at times. Meiko Satomura of course is full of fire as a teenager the same as she is today, which helped the match but it was still a bit disjointed and didn’t really flow. Its hard to get too mad at rookies as not every match is going to land, but a skippable match.

Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato

Bomber and Sonoko circle each other, Bomber pushes Sonoko into the ropes and gives her a hard elbow. Sonoko elbows her back, she goes for an Irish whip by Bomber blocks it and headbutts her. Bodyblock by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Bomber runs over Sonoko but Sonoko avoids the body press, stomps by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick. Bomber doesn’t budge of course, Sonoko tries again but it doesn’t work. Finally Sonoko knocks over Bomber but Bomber quickly returns to her feet and hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Bomber which she keeps on for quite awhile, Sonoko almost gets to the ropes so Bomber lets go and stomps on her. Scoop slam by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she hits a second one before applying a headscissors. Sonoko gets out of it and applies a submission, but Bomber quickly gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third for a two count cover. Crab hold by Sonoko, she lets go after a moment and puts Bomber in a stretch hold. Sonoko releases the hold and hits a leg drop to Bomber’s back, snapmare by Sonoko and she covers Bomber for two. Sonoko throws down Bomber by the hair, she goes to do it again but Bomber blocks it. Hard shoulderblock by Bomber and she applies a bodyscissors, she lets go after a moment but Sonoko dropkicks her to the mat. Another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third, she then hits a fourth dropkick before covering Bomber for two.

Scoop slam by Sonoko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Bomber gets her knees up when Sonoko dives off. Bomber picks up Sonoko but Sonoko drives her back into the corner, elbows by Sonoko but Bomber delivers a powerslam. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she goes for another one but Sonoko avoids it and hits a bulldog. Cover by Sonoko, but it gets a two count. Sonoko picks up Bomber but Bomber blocks it when she goes for a bulldog out of the corner, Lou Thesz Press by Sonoko but Bomber kicks out of the cover. Sonoko throws Bomber into the corner but Bomber reverses it, Bomber slams Sonoko off the second turnbuckle but Sonoko gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Bomber drags Sonoko to her feet and slams her in front of the corner, Reverse Splash by Bomber but Sonoko gets a foot on the ropes. Irish whip by Bomber and she throws Sonoko to the mat before hitting mounted elbow strikes. Bomber picks up Sonoko and gives her the Airplane Spin, she grabs Sonoko and throws her over her head. Bomber does it a second time, cover by Bomber but Sonoko bridges out of the pin attempt. Bomber picks up Sonoko and slams her in the middle of the ring, she goes up top and hits a diving headbutt. She picks her up before the referee can count to three on the pin, she picks up Sonoko but Sonoko fights back with elbows. Bomber smacks her back and nails the Over The Top for the three count! Bomber Hikari is the winner.

At first it looked like Bomber was just going to squash Sonoko but in the end, the rookie got a fair amount of offense and survived some of Bomber’s bigger moves. Sonoko still never felt like she was going to win and didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls, but at least it wasn’t completely one-sided. A little too all-over-the-place to recommend as they didn’t seem to have much of a game plan going in, but there didn’t seem to be any miscommunications and Bomber gave Sonoko plenty before putting her down.

KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima

Toshie and Chikayo attack their opponents from behind to start the match, they both hit headscissors before isolating KAORU. Double knee to KAORU and the rookies both dropkick her, double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU hits a crossbody on both of them. KAORU elbows Chikayo and puts her in a facelock but Chikayo reverses it into a hammerlock. They trade holds but KAORU gets the advantage and tags Fukuoka, Fukuoka bounces Chikayo off the ropes and boots her. Dropkick by Fukuoka and she kicks Chikayo in the back, backdrop by Fukuoka and she applies a figure four leglock. Toshie breaks it up, Fukuoka throws Chikayo into the corner so that Toshie can tag in, Fukuoka kicks Toshie in the back before tagging in KAORU. Toshie gets KAORU to the mat and applies an ankle hold, but KAORU gets out of it. Toshie goes for dropkicks but KAORU doesn’t budge, she finally knocks KAORU off her feet but KAORU bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick of her own. KAORU stomps on Toshie’s leg and puts her in a Mexican Surfboard, but Chikayo breaks it up. KAORU smacks Chikayo before tagging Fukuoka, Toshie hits a crossbody on Fukuoka and tags Chikayo. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka and she hits another one, but Chikayo swats aside the next attempt and applies a submission hold.

Toshie eventually breaks it up, Chikayo tries to fight back but Fukuoka elbows her hard in the chest for her trouble. KAORU is tagged in but Chikayo hits a hurricanrana and tags Toshie. Dropkick by Toshie to KAORU and she applies a crab hold, she switches it to a stretch hold but KAORU gets out of it. Snapmare by Toshie and she tags Chikayo, Chikayo kicks on KAORU’s leg and puts her in a kneelock. Toshie comes in too and puts a kneelock on KAORU’s other leg, they let go after a moment but KAORU sneaks in a pin attempt for two. Irish whip by KAORU and she hits Chikayo with a back elbow, Jackhammer by KAORU but Chikayo breaks up the cover. KAORU tags in Fukuoka, double wrist armsault by Fukuoka but again Toshie breaks it up. Fukuoka picks up Chikayo but Chikayo hits a crossbody, Irish whip by Chikayo and she delivers a front roll into a headbutt for two. Chikayo tries to throw down Fukuoka but the hair but Fukuoka blocks it and tosses Chikayo instead, dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo gets to the ropes when she goes for a cover. Backdrop suplex by Fukuoka, but Chikayo bridges out of the pin. She tags in KAORU but KAORU lets Toshie tag in, hard elbow by KAORU to Toshie and she hits a double underhook suplex. Bridging suplex by KAORU, but Chikayo breaks up the cover.

KAORU tags Fukuoka but Toshie runs up Fukuoka in the corner and delivers an elbow. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka but Fukuoka dropkicks both of them and tags KAORU. KAORU charges Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a sunset flip for two. She tags Chikayo, roll-up by Chikayo to KAORU but that gets two as well. KAORU goes for the Space Rolling Elbow but Chikayo avoids it and hits a monkey flip. Step-over sunset flip by Chikayo, but KAORU lands in the ropes. She goes for it again but KAORU throws her to the mat, Fukuoka comes in and she hits a Space Rolling Elbow on Chikayo in the corner. DDT by Fukuoka and KAORU hits a swandive footstomp for a two count. KAORU picks up Chikayo and tags Fukuoka, missile dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo lands near her corner and tags Toshie. Headscissors by Toshie and she goes for a pin, but Fukuoka pushes her off. Dropkick by Toshie, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody. Chikayo goes up top next but KAORU comes in and kicks her down to the floor, suplex by Fukuoka to Toshie and she slams her near the corner. KAORU goes up top and nails a moonsault, Fukuoka follows with a moonsault of her own and she covers Toshie for two. Fukuoka picks up Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a backslide for two. KAORU comes back in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick to Toshie, Fukuoka plants her with a Tiger Driver and she picks up the three count! KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka are the winners.

KAORU and Fukuoka are both so good, KAORU in particular really looked great here. Chikayo and Toshie held her own but clearly were a step below. Which isn’t a knock on them of course, the teams were just lopsided by design. KAORU and Fukuoka did a good job of working with the rookies and gave them plenty of hope spots. I don’t think that Toshie was supposed to kick out after the moonsaults, but Chikayo was late breaking up the pin. A fast paced and entertaining match, but KAORU as she tends to do stole the show.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

Hasegawa attacks Nagayo from behind before the match starts, Hasegawa goes for a Uranage but Nagayo elbows her off. Hasegawa throws Nagayo out of the ring, she goes for a tope con hilo but comes up a bit short. Nagayo taunts her as Hasegawa gets back in the ring, she tries again and this time successfully delivers the move. Hasegawa gets back in the ring and waits for Nagayo, Nagayo returns and the two lock knuckles. Kicks by Nagayo but Hasegawa kicks her back, knees by Hasegawa but Nagayo blocks the double underhook. Hasegawa goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Nagayo quickly gets to the ropes, Nagayo takes Hasegawa to the mat and applies a facelock. Nagayo then switches to Hasegawa’s arm, but Hasegawa blocks her from locking in the armbreaker. Hasegawa gets Nagayo’s back and goes for an armbreaker of her own, she gets it locked in but Nagayo rolls out of it. Bodyscissors by Hasegawa and she applies a facelock, but Nagayo gets out of the hold. Hasegawa applies a seated armbar and snaps Nagayo’s arm over her shoulder, dropkick by Hasegawa but Nagayo returns to her feet and challenges her for more. Chops by Hasegawa and she dropkicks Nagayo again, missile dropkick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two.

They end up back on the mat as Hasegawa applies a STF, but Nagayo crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Hasegawa hits a leg drop on Nagayo’s arm before picking her up, but Nagayo sweeps her legs and applies a Scorpion Deathlock. Hasegawa gets to the ropes to force the break, Irish whip by Nagayo and she hits a heel kick. Irish whip again by Nagayo but Hasegawa ducks the heel kick and delivers a savate kick. High kick by Hasegawa and she hits another jumping savate kick followed by a third, another kick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two. Irish whip by Hasegawa and they both go for heel kicks, sending them both to the mat. Nagayo is up first but Hasegawa gets her back and applies a sleeper hold. Nagayo hits a backdrop suplex to try to get out of it but Hasegawa keeps the hold applied until Nagayo finally makes it to the ropes. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the powerbomb attempt, back bodydrop by Nagayo and she lariats Hasegawa into the corner. Nagayo drives Hasegawa’s head into the mat with her knee, cover by Nagayo but it gets a two count. Nagayo gets on the turnbuckles but Hasegawa kicks her from behind, sending Nagayo out of the ring. Hasegawa dives out onto Nagayo with a plancha suicida, she goes for a Uranage but Nagayo blocks it and delivers a kick.

Nagayo goes up top and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida of her own. Nagayo slides Hasegawa back in, she goes for a powerbomb but Hasegawa gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo and hits locomotive underhook suplexes, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo kicks out. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the Irish whip and applies a sleeper. Hasegawa knees her way out of it but Nagayo re-applies it until Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break. Nagayo picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa wiggles out of the Running Three, Nagayo armdrags out of the Uranage attempt but Hasegawa ducks her heel kick. Suplex by Nagayo, but Hasegawa quickly returns to her feet and delivers the Uranage. She picks up Nagayo and hits a second followed by a third, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes for another one but Nagayo elbows out of it, Nagayo gets Hasegawa up on her shoulders but Hasegawa sneaks in a roll-up for two. Hasegawa goes for a heel kick but Nagayo blocks it, she picks up Hasegawa and nails the Running Three for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is the winner.

After the match, Nagayo picks up Hasegawa and lays her on top of her, motioning for the referee to count to three. He does so, giving Hasegawa a visual pin to end the show.

I don’t know for sure what Hasegawa’s condition was going in but for a 20 minute match there wasn’t a lot to it. They spent a lot of time on the mat trading holds that didn’t go anywhere, which isn’t too unusual in main event matches but it lasted far longer than you’d expect with no real conclusion. Nagayo was a bit playful to start but did get serious as the match went on, but it was basically 18 minutes of not a lot happening with just an occasional burst of offense from one or the other. I’m sure this meant something for Hasegawa as she winded down her career but it wasn’t a great match as it was just too slow and at times had clunky execution. Probably a match worth watching for a huge fan of either wrestler but a disappointing main event.

The post GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!” on 3/8/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: January 12th, 2020
Location: Miyagino Ward Bunka Center in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Last year I tried to not review house shows, but this year I am turning over a new leaf so here we are at Sendai Girls’! This was a smaller show but some of these matches look intriguing. Any opportunity to see Sareee wrestle should be taken, plus the Jr. Championship features two young wrestlers that could have long and successful careers in Joshi if they stick with it. Here is the full card:

• Ayame Sasamura vs. Sakura Hirota
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo vs. Nanami and Sareee
• Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU
• Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship: Manami vs. Yurika Oka
• Battle Royal with KAORU, DASH Chisako, Sakura Hirota, Dalys la Caribeña, Sareee, Chihiro Hashimoto, Manami, Ayame Sasamura, Mikoto Shindo, Yurika Oka, Nanami, and Queen Aminata

Sendai Girls’ uploaded this event on their Youtube Channel for free, so all matches are shown in full. Wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Sakura Hirota

They circle each other to start before locking up, waistlock by Ayame and the two trade holds. They reach a stalemate and return to their feet, kick by Sakura and she grabs Ayame’s wrist as she goes to walk the ropes, but she eventually crotches herself on them. Sakura throws Ayame into the corner and hits the face crusher, she hops over Ayame a few times but Ayame gets her feet up on the falling headbutt attempt. Sakura lays down and challenges Ayame to do the same to her but she won’t, Sakura gets back up but Ayame kicks her and elbows Sakura in the corner. Sakura falls in the middle of the ring but Ayame still won’t hop over her, Sakura gets up and complains loudly as they all (with the referee) have a chat. Ayame does a little dance instead, they ask the crowd which they like better and they cheer louder for Ayame. This makes Sakura mad, Irish whip by Ayame and she hits a hard shoulderblock, sliding kick by Ayame and she covers Sakura for two.

Sakura slides behind Ayame but Ayame catches her with a slam for another two count. Ayame goes up top, Sakura runs over before she can jump off but Ayame grabs her wrist and walks the ropes. Ayame does Sakura’s trick right the first time but messes up the second. Sakura sets up Ayame in the ropes and hits the Oil Check, Sakura goes off the ropes and yells in Ayame’s ear. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame catches her with an armdrag and applies a sleeper. Sakura manages to get to the ropes to force the break, Ayame goes off the ropes but Sakura drop toeholds her into the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Sakura goes for the Shining Wizard but Ayame blocks it, Ayame goes for a few flash pins but Sakura kicks out. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame catches her with a STO, but Sakura reverses the cover. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame applies the Dumpling for the three count! Ayame Sasamura wins!

So I am on record of having two very different opinions of Sakura Hirota – I love it when she does cosplay of other wrestlers, but hate it when she just wrestles as her ‘normal’ comedy self. I’m just over wrestlers doing the exact same shtick for a decade, having a new opponent doesn’t really change it for me and no real effort was done to make it different. Now I get it, the crowd likes it and I’m not the target audience, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean I am going to find the match good for my own taste. Ayame looked solid so there is that though, she is growing into a quality wrestler, hopefully next time they will put her in a better match.

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo vs. Nanami and Sareee

Sareee and Chihiro start as the veterans go first, Chihiro pushes Sareee into the ropes but Sareee switches positions with her and hits a hard elbow before backing off. They lock knuckles and go into a Test of Strength, which Chihiro wins without too much issue. Irish whip by Chihiro but Sareee reverses it and hits an armdrag, hard shoulderblock by Chihiro and she gets Sareee to the mat, but Sareee quickly gets away and the two return to their feet. They tag in the kiddos, dropkicks immediately by Mikoto to Nanami but Nanami elbows her and the two trade blows. Irish whip by Nanami but Mikoto dropkicks her to the mat, cover by Mikoto but it gets two Mikoto tags in Chihiro, Chihiro chops Nanami in the corner and she covers Nanami for two. Chihiro stretches Nanami before deadlift suplexing her, she tags Mikoto back in and Mikoto tosses down Nanami by the hair. Dropkick by Mikoto in the corner and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Mikoto but she only gets two. Chihiro returns as the legal wrestler, Nanami elbows her but Chihiro clubs her to the mat. Camel Clutch by Chihiro, she lets go after a moment and and puts Nanami in a headlock.

Chihiro picks up Nanami, snapmare by Chihiro and she twists on Nanami’s neck. Nanami gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Chihiro but Nanami reverses it and applies a backslide for two. Dropkicks by Nanami and she tags in Sareee, Sareee and Chihiro both elbow each other until Sareee connects with a dropkick. She dropkicks Mikoto too before hitting a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy on Chihiro for two. Another dropkick by Sareee but Chihiro blocks the fisherman suplex and hits a vertical suplex of her own followed by a somersault senton for two. Chihiro tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Sareee for a two count. Mikoto picks up Sareee, she avoids Sareee’s charge and dropkicks her in the corner. Mikoto trips Sareee in the corner and dropkicks her again, cover by Mikoto but Sareee is too close to the ropes and forces the break. Mikoto hits a few elbows but Sareee dropkicks her, scoop slam by Sareee and she puts Mikoto in a modified Muta Lock. Chihiro breaks it up, Sareee picks up Mikoto and delivers a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sareee tags Nanami, Nanami goes off the ropes and she dropkicks Mikoto. Nanami goes for a slam but Mikoto blocks it, knees by Mikoto but Nanami schoolboys her for a two count.

A backslide and small package by Nanami get the same result, she picks up Mikoto but Mikoto blocks the scoop slam. Nanami eventually is able to hit it, she charges Mikoto but Mikoto dropkicks her and covers Nanami for two. Mikoto tags Chihiro, big spear by Chihiro but Sareee breaks up the cover. Sareee and Chihiro trade elbows, dropkicks by Sareee but Chihiro lariats her. Chihiro goes for a suplex but Sareee blocks it and stomps on her stomach, diving footstomp by Sareee and Nanami hits a diving body press off the second turnbuckle for two. Mikoto runs in and dropkicks Nanami, double Irish whip to Nanami but Sareee comes off the top with a crossbody to both opponents. They try to double team Chihiro but Chihiro lariats both of them, Mikoto goes up top and Chihiro helps her hit a somersault senton on Sareee and Nanami. Chihiro goes back to Nanami, Nanami elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her down. Chihiro picks up Nanami, Nanami gets away as Sareee comes in but Chihiro slams Sareee onto Nanami. Somersault senton by Chihiro, and she covers Nanami for two. Chihiro picks up Nanami and delivers the Modified Waterwheel Drop for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo are the winners.

I had set a pretty high bar for this match in my mind, and happily they met it. Even though Nanami was at an age and experience disadvantage, she still held her own in this match and it wasn’t a situation where she was just beaten up the whole time. Everyone got their shots in and it was a pretty 50/50 match, with the pairs switching out regularly so the action stayed refresh. I really liked how well both teams worked together, they aren’t regular partners but still had plenty of saves/double teams/etc. so it didn’t feel like a series of singles matches. Chihiro and Sareee didn’t hold back (not sure if they know how to) and made it feel like a bigger match than it was. For what it was, about as good as it could have been, both Mikoto and Nanami came out of the match looking great which is the main goal for this style of match. Really fun.  Recommended

Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU

Aminata and Chisako start the match, Aminata asks for a knucklelock but Chisako isn’t tall enough to reach. Chisako headbutts her instead, Irish whip by Chisako but Aminata applies a choke before swinging Chisako around. Chisako gets Aminata’s back but Aminata hip attacks her to the mat, dropkick by Chisako but Aminata returns to her feet and offers a handshake. Its a ruse though as Aminata kicks Chisako and connects with a couple hip attacks while Chisako is sitting on the mat. Aminata picks up Chisako but Chisako knees her in the midsection and slams her down. She tags in KAORU, Dalys comes in too and the Gaijin stack their opponents in the corner. Stinkface by Aminata, she picks up KAORU and tags in Dalys, but KAORU throws Dalys in the corner and delivers a boot. Kicks by KAORU and she brings Aminata into the ring, she puts both Dalys and Aminata in the same corner and and delivers a dropkick. KAORU and Chisako return the favor and give them both a Stinkface, KAORU picks up Aminata but Aminata kicks her.

Aminata elbows KAORU to the mat, she tags in Dalys (who I though was legal anyway) and Dalys rolls up KAORU for two. Dalys goes for a kick but KAORU ducks it, Dalys gets KAORU in the ropes and delivers a dropkick. KAORU inches to her corner and tags Chisako, Chisako goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.. Chisako elbows Dalys, armdrag by Dalys but Chisako moves when she goes for a swandive move and delivers a running knee. Chisako goes up top but Aminata pushes her off, Dalys grabs Chisako and pulls her repeatedly by the hair. Irish whip by Dalys but Chisako reverses it, Dalys slides out to the apron and hits a slingshot body press for two. Dalys puts Chisako on the turnbuckle and tags Aminata, Aminata and Dalys both take turns kicking Chisako until Dalys delivers a dropkick. Aminata and Chisako chop Dalys, Chisako finally rings the ring as Aminata goes for a cover, but KAORU breaks it up. Chisako gets away from Aminata and hits a cutter, giving her time to tag KAORU. KAORU has her board and hits both Aminata and Dalys with it, she puts it on the mat but Aminata reverses the suplex attempt. Cover by Aminata but KAORU bridges out of it, Dalys runs in but she lariats Aminata by accident.

Chisako strolls in the ring and they double team Aminata, cover by KAORU but it gets two. Chisako goes up top and hits an assisted somersault senton, but Aminata kicks out of the cover. KAORU goes up top but Dalys pulls her back into the ring, double Irish whip to KAORU but she cartwheels through them as Chisako runs in. Dalys takes care of Chisako but runs into Aminata by accident, KAORU gets a board while Chisako gets a chair and they both use their weapons. Dalys floors them both with a double lariat, Samoan driver by Aminata to KAORU but Chisako breaks it up. Aminata picks up KAORU and hits the swinging fisherman neckbreaker, but again Chisako breaks up the cover. KAORU quickly cradles Aminata for two, she grabs Aminata but Aminata delivers a superkick. Swinging fisherman neckbreaker to KAORU, Dalys runs in and goes for a lariat but KAORU ducks it. This gives Aminata time to schoolboy KAORU from behind and she picks up the three count! Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata win the match.

The effort was there, but you could tell that these two teams were not very familiar wrestling against each other (or even with each other, in the case of Aminata and Dalys). A fair amount of awkward moments, very little structure to it, and the ending felt out of nowhere. The execution of the moves themselves was generally fine, they didn’t come across as untrained or anything, just like they were working out the kinks in real time. Not much here to really recommend, I am sure they could have a better match if they had more time together in the ring first.

(c) Manami vs. Yurika Oka
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

Yurika runs over and dropkicks Manami as soon as the bell rings, more dropkicks by Yurika but Manami avoids one and hits a dropkick of her own. Manami gets Yurika’s back and tosses her to the mat. They jockey for position, Yurika applies a hammerlock but Manami returns to her feet. Side headlock takedown by Yurika but Manami reverses it, Yurika inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. They end up on the mat again and trade mounted elbows, Yurika goes for a cross armbreaker bu Manami quickly gets a foot on the ropes. Stomps by Yurika and she applies a wristlock, but Manami gets Yurika o the mat and applies a side headlock. Yurika struggles back up and Irish whips out of the hold, hard shoulderblock by Manami but Yurika comes back with a dropkick for two. Yurika pushes Manami into the corner, Irish whip by Yurika but Manami reverses it and hits a monkey flip out of the corner. Dropkick by Manami and she goes for a crab hold, but Yurika quickly gets into the ropes. Manami picks up Yurika and they trade elbows, Manami knocks Yurika down first and goes for a scoop slam, but Yurika reverses it into one of her own.

Yurika picks up Manami and hits a dropkick, Irish whip by Yurika and she schoolboys Manami for two. Manami goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, two more dropkicks by Manami and she covers Yurika for two. Crab hold by Manami but Yurika inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Manami picks up Yurika but Yurika blocks the slam attempt, backslide by Manami and she puts Yurika in the Cattle Mutilation. Manami picks up Yurika while still holding her arms and cradles her for two, Yurika quickly goes for a few flash pins of her own but she gets two counts as well. Yurika goes off the ropes but Manami rolls through it and applies a small package for two. Yurika goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a dropkick, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for another two count. Manami quickly puts Yurika in a crab hold, she switches it to a single leg crab hold and Yurika has no choice but to submit! Manami wins and retains the championship.

With wrestlers of this age, there are really only two things I am looking for – if they have the basics down pat and if they show any fire. These two succeeded in both of those areas, which is particularly impressive in Yurika’s case since she has only been wrestling for a few months. Even though they didn’t do anything overly complicated, everything was smooth and they never felt lost or confused at any point. The dropkicks had pretty good elevation and Manami’s submissions are snug. Obviously you can’t really compare this to a match with veterans (and adults), but considering their experience levels I thought they did a really solid job.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal
with KAORU, DASH Chisako, Sakura Hirota, Dalys la Caribeña, Sareee, Chihiro Hashimoto, Manami, Ayame Sasamura, Mikoto Shindo, Yurika Oka, Nanami, and Queen Aminata

Hirota is cosplaying as Meiko Satomura for the Battle Royal, since she is not around for the show. Since everyone starts in the ring, needless to say it starts pretty slow, with Hirota being targeted first. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle to hit Hirota but falls out of the ring (for reasons I am not sure of). KAORU is eliminated. Yurika and Manami start to elbow each other since they are still fired up, but they are interrupted by Aminata and Dalys. They get rid of them and go back at it, Manami pins Yurika and everyone helps her hold down the rookie for the three count, but then they flip it over and hold down Manami as well for three. Manami and Yurika Oka are eliminated. Chihiro turns her attention back to Hirota, they create a wristlock chain while Hirota grabs Sareee’s wrist at the end of the chain while she tries to walk the ropes. They send a wave down the line to knock Hirota off the ropes, Sareee and Nanami go after Ayame but DASH Chisako helps her out while everyone else watches. Nanami tries to pin Sareee from behind which does not amuse her senior, Sareee smacks Nanami in the head and all eight wrestlers hit running strikes on Nanami in the corner. Sareee covers Nanami (with some help) and she gets the three count. Nanami is eliminated.

Chihiro still seems annoyed about Hirota but Hirota directs her attention to Aminata, the wrestlers pair up and everyone takes part in a submission hold on the mat (either doing the hold or being in one). They all let go after a moment, Dalys and Aminata go for Hirota as they both go up on different turnbuckles, but they are knocked out to the apron. Double Oil Check by Hirota, and both wrestlers fall down to the floor. Dalys and Aminata are eliminated. Ayame slaps Hirota in the head but Hirota knocks her to the mat, she goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but misses. Cover by Ayame, but everyone breaks it up. Ayame dropkicks Chisako and Chihiro, but Chihiro levels her with a lariat and everyone covers her for the three count. Ayame Sasamura is eliminated. Sareee and Chihiro start trading elbows but Hirota tells them to stop, so they both take turns doing Chihiro’s pose instead. Things get heated so Chisako interrupts them, they both kick Chisako but are tripped from the floor by KAORU. Double dropkick by Chisako, Hirota tries to pick up Chihiro but gets flattened instead. Somersault senton by Chihiro but Mikoto jackknifes over her and Sareee helps hold Chihiro down for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is eliminated. We are down to Sareee, Mikoto Shindo, Hirota (as Meiko Satomura), and DASH Chisako. Hirota offers here hand to Sareee and they go after their opponents, Sareee then starts working with Chisako (so she isn’t picky who her friend is) but Hirota catches them with a double DDT and double face crusher. She goes for a Shining Wizard on Sareee but she crotches herself on Sareee’s knee, sunset flip by Mikoto to Hirota and she gets the three count! Sakura Hirota is eliminated.

Chisako and Sareee go after Mikoto until Chisako dropkicks both of them, Chisako goes up top but misses everyone when she goes for a missile dropkick. Double dropkick to Chisako, Mikoto goes up top and Sareee helps her hit a somersault senton. Chisako reverses her cover attempt however, and she holds down Mikoto for the three count! Mikoto Shindo is eliminated. That leaves just Sareee and DASH Chisako. Sareee and Chisako trade elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it gets a two count. Chisako goes up top but Sareee smacks her before she can jump off and tosses her back into the ring. Release German by Chisako but Sareee quickly returns to her feet, release German by Sareee but Chisako gets back up as well. Sareee goes off the ropes but Chisako schoolboys her for two, Frankensteiner by Chisako but the referee only counts to two even though Sareee didn’t kick out. Chisako quickly cradles Sareee again, and this time she gets the three count! DASH Chisako is the winner!

The fact the referee messed up the ending on a goofy Battle Royal match is pretty funny. This accomplished its goal, it had some comedy, some real action, and most importantly it didn’t drag out as they kept the eliminations coming. A fun way to end the show, nothing beyond the norm but they don’t do Battle Royals like this in Joshi very often so its a nice change of pace. Even if they did botch the final elimination.

The post Sendai Girls’ on 1/12/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “WAR IS A FRIDAY NIGHT”
Date: February 16th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,850

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

GAEA returns to Korakuen Hall with a fun show, as for the first time since mid-1995 we have some wrestlers from LLPW to spice things up. In the main event, we have a big singles match between Combat Toyoda and KAORU! Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
• Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Jenn Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima
• Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. The three matches were squeezed into about 45 minutes, so there may be some clipping.

Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament

Makie starts the match on offense as she kicks Sonoko, but Sonoko fires back until Makie hits a leg sweep. Sonoko goes for a dropkick but Makie avoids it, kick to the chest by Makie and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Makie and she kicks Sonoko again, Makie flings Sonoko around before applying a wristlock. Sonoko reverses it but Makie reverses it back and kicks Sonoko in the face. Bodyscissors by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and snapmares her before going back to the arm. Makie applies an arm submission but Sonoko gets a boot on the ropes to get the break, Makie keeps the submission applied however and holds Sonoko on the mat. Again Sonoko gets to the ropes for the break, Makie goes for a back bodydrop but Sonoko reverses it into a sunset flip. Dropkicks by Sonoko and she puts Makie in a crab hold, but Makie gets into the ropes. Sonoko drags her to the middle of the ring and applies a modified deathlock, but once again Makie gets the break. Kneelock by Sonoko but Makie reverses it, Sonoko reverses it back into the single leg crab hold before letting go to hit a dropkick. Scoop slam by Sonoko, she picks up Makie and hits a snapmare, but Makie applies a backslide for two.

Kicks by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and hits a scoop slam for two. More kicks by Makie and she applies a side headlock, Sonoko reverses it into a headscissors but Makie gets out of it. Makie picks up Sonoko and kicks her in the midsection, scoop slam by Makie but Sonoko hits a hard elbow in the chest. Knees by Makie but Sonoko hits  Lou Thesz Press, another one by Sonoko and she hits a third for two. Sonoko goes off the ropes but Makie avoids the leg drop, stomps by Sonoko but Makie kicks her back. Makie goes for a high kick but Sonoko catches her leg and applies an ankle hold, Sonoko picks up Makie and delivers a bulldog. She goes for another but Makie blocks it, Makie goes for a kick but Sonoko swats her away. Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Sonoko gets a foot in the ropes, Makie goes up top and delivers a diving forearm to the chest. Makie picks up Sonoko but Sonoko ducks the enzuigiri, Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a Lou Thesz Press. She hits four more Lou Thesz Presses, but Makie barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Sonoko goes for a tornado bulldog but Makie pushes her away, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Sonoko avoids the diving bodypress. Sonoko picks up Makie but Makie cradles her for a two count. More kicks by Makie but Sonoko gets Makie on her shoulders and delivers the Kamikaze Bomb for the three count! Sonoko wins the match and gets one point in the tournament.

Even though I appreciate that she brings something a bit different to the table, Makie is still pretty rough around the edges. Sonoko is more smooth but struggled here at times to keep things in order, as there were quite a few awkward moments spread throughout the match. They also both don’t have a wide variety of moves so at times it felt repetitive. For two rookies, not offensive, but nothing I could ever recommend tracking down due to the general clunkiness that was present throughout.

Chigusa Nagayo, Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima

Team GAEA Japan attacks before the bell rings as we immediately fall into chaos, powerbomb by Nagayo to Yukari but Sawai clubs her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo to Sawai but Nagashima hits her with a kendo stick, Over The Top by Hikari to Nagashima but Yukari breaks up the cover. Sonoko and Yukari stay in as the legal wrestlers, lariat by Yukari to Sonoko but the pin is broken up. She tags in Nagashima, dropkick by Nagashima to Kato and she throws her around the ring by her hair. Yukari goes up top but Nagayo kicks her off, Yukari knocks Nagayo out of the ring and part of the teams brawl on the floor while Nagashima and Kato stay in. Nagashima gets a chain and bashes Kato in the head with it, busting the rookie open. Nagashima stomps on Kato before tossing her by the hair again, we get a look at Sawai beating up Nagayo at ringside as she is bleeding as well. Kato makes the hot tag to Hikari but Nagashima knocks her down and tags Yukari. German suplex hold by Yukari to Hikari, but it gets a two count. Yukari goes off the ropes but Hikari catches her with a powerslam, suplex by Hikari and she covers Yukari for two. Hikari goes up top and hits a diving headbutt, but Sawai breaks up the cover. Hikari tags Nagayo, Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Nagashima hits her in the midsection with a kendo stick.

Sawai is tagged in but Hikari and Kato both dropkick her, Sawai lariats both of them but Nagayo fires back with a lariat of her own. Sawai falls in her corner and tags Nagashima, Nagayo gets Nagashima on her shoulders while Kato goes up top to go for a crossbody, but Nagashima ducks and hits a Victory Roll, causing Kato to crash to the mat. Nagashima picks up Kato but Hikari comes in, double Irish whip to Nagashima but they are tripped from the floor. Nagashima beats both with a kendo stick while Yukari and Nagayo battle into the crowd. Yukari hits Nagayo with a chair while Sawai gets a table, Nagayo gets the better of Yukari as Nagashima sets up the table in the ring. Nagashima puts Kato on the table as Sawai rescues Yukari, Nagashima goes up top but Hikari knocks the table over and hits an avalanche powerslam for two. Double shoulderblock to Nagashima, suplex by Hikari to Nagashima and Kato hits a diving body press for two. Kamikaze Bomb by Kato to Nagashima, but the pin is broken up. Sawai scoop slams Kato, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Nagayo hits her from behind and joins her.

Avalanche backdrop suplex by Nagayo but Yukari hits her with a chair, she tries again but Nagayo trips her and hits all three of her opponents with the chair. Kato gets the chain and hits Nagashima in the head with it repeatedly, as things break down even further than they already were. Kato knocks Nagashima out of the ring but Nagashima throws her into the railing, while in the crowd Nagayo hits Yukari with chairs. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Kato to Nagashima but Nagashima chokes her. We get a clip of Nagayo taking Sawai who knows where, but they are in the back before emerging near the balcony at Korakuen. They battle up there while Nagashima keeps choking Kato in the ring, Hikari headbutts Yukari while all of this is going on as the referee tries to convince Nagashima to stop choking so much. Nagayo and Sawai somehow make it back into the ring as Nagayo stretches Sawai in the ropes, sleeper by Nagashima to Kato but Nagayo breaks it up. Sawai comes in and slams Nagayo to the mat, she picks up Kato and hits a powerbomb with a cover, and while Nagashima hits Nagayo with a kendo stick she is able to pick up the three count cover! Team LLPW wins!

The inter-promotional match on the last event felt lackluster, which Chigusa Nagayo must have realized as for this one they took it straight up to 100. For a midcard match I wasn’t expecting much, but I was wrong. This was a wild brawl with constant violence going on, either in the ring or somewhere around it. There was blood everywhere, weapons constantly being used, interference every 15 seconds, about all you could ask for from a hateful match. My only complaint was just the length, as I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit longer so that the end stretch could have been more fleshed out. Still, I loved the atmosphere and urgency of this match, and even though really it was a throw-away match they fought like they were in the main event at the Tokyo Dome. Probably my biggest surprise so far watching all the GAEA Japan events, really great stuff.  Highly Recommended

Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

We join his match in progress, same as we did with Combat Toyoda’s last singles match in GAEA Japan. Toyoda Irish whips KAORU, KAORU hits a crossbody but she bothers her apparently already injured knee in the process. Figure four leglock by Toyoda but KAORU rolls into the ropes to force the break. Toyoda picks up KAORU and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Toyoda but it gets two. Irish whip by Toyoda but KAORU reverses it, she hits a dropkick but Toyoda doesn’t budge. Toyoda fires back with a dropkick of her own, another dropkick by Toyoda and she covers KAORU for a two count. Backdrop suplex hold by Toyoda, but again KAORU kicks out. Toyoda slams KAORU in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits a diving body press, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. She goes up again but KAORU gets her knees up on her second attempt, hurting both Toyoda and herself in the process. Both wrestlers slowly get up but Toyoda hits a dropkick before KAORU can do anything, backdrop suplex by Toyoda but her covers only gets two. Toyoda picks up KAORU and drops her with a wheelbarrow German suplex, she gets KAORU up and hits a Liger Bomb, but KAORU won’t stay down. Toyoda goes to the top turnbuckle but KAORU recovers and joins her, slaps by KAORU and she nails an avalanche Fisherman Buster. KAORU picks up Toyoda and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault. She hobbles to the corner and goes back up again to hit a second moonsault, she goes for a third moonsault but this time Toyoda manages to roll out of the way. KAORU clubs her in the stomach, she goes up a fourth time and hits another moonsault. Again she goes up but this time she debuts the Valkyrie Splash, cover by KAORU and she gets the three count! KAORU wins!

So this match was completely ridiculous. We missed the first half, which I assume was mostly work on KAORU’s leg, but from what we saw it almost goes beyond even suspended belief that KAORU could have survived Toyoda’s offensive onslaught. She basically took the following moves in a row without being pinned: backdrop suplex hold, diving body press, backdrop suplex, wheelbarrow German, and a Liger Bomb. Its just a lot to take from someone of Toyoda’s size/strength. Then of course to keep Toyoda down, KAORU had to hit four or five top rope moves in a row (not sure if the “miss” was intentional) since she had done nothing to wear Toyoda down. At least she had to bust out a brand new move, the Valkyrie Splash, to get the three count. It was kinda fascinating in a way and a very “Chigusa Nagayo” style of booking a match, as the GAEA Japan wrestler overcame the odds. But it went a bit too far with it for my liking as instead of making KAORU look sympathetic it made her look like superwoman. An interesting spectacle for sure but I think they missed the mark a bit with the story they told.

The post GAEA Japan War Is A Friday Night on 2/16/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

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

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

Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
Bamboo Dumpling Scramble Match

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

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

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

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

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

Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata vs. Aja Kong and Yuu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

We have finally reached the final event of 1995! That took awhile. GAEA Japan returns to Korakuen Hall for their pre-Christmas show, with a big main event as Chigusa Nagayo takes on Combat Toyoda. We also get the first appearance by the legendary FMW wrestler Megumi Kudo here as well, as Team FMW takes on Team GAEA Japan. Three of the matches were shown on the one hour broadcast, here are the matches:

• Chihiro Nakano vs. Chikayo Nagashima 
• KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Toshie Uematsu vs. Megumi Kudo, Kaori Nakayama, and Yukari Ishikura
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Combat Toyoda
  

The main event in particular should be interesting as Chigusa Nagayo tends to bring her best when defending her home turf, although Toyoda isn’t always easy to work with. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Chihiro Nakano vs. Chikayo Nagashima

Chikayo and Chihiro circle each other to start, back bodydrop by Chihiro but Chikayo trips her and delivers a stomp. Chihiro gets Chikayo’s ankle but Chikayo slides away and hits a scoop slam. Kicks by Chikayo and she hits a few snapmares before applying a crossface. Chihiro gets into the ropes for the break but Chikayo applies a side headlock, Chihiro gets out of it and hits a scoop slam for two. Crab hold by Chihiro and she grabs Chikayo’s arm to further stretch her, armbar by Chihiro but Chikayo gets to the ropes. Chihiro elbows Chikayo’s arm and goes for across armbreaker, but Chikayo blocks it. Chikayo kicks Chihiro away and hits a pair of dropkicks, but Chihiro bridges out of the pin. Crossface by Chikayo, she throws Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro avoids her charge and pushes Chikayo out of the ring. Chihiro goes out after her but Chikayo moves when Chihiro goes for a knee, and Chihiro collides with the guard rail. Chikayo slides Chihiro back in and puts her in an ankle hold, but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Snapmare by Chikayo and she goes back to Chihiro’s leg, but Chihiro recovers and returns the favor as she goes for Chikayo’s leg as well.

Chikayo gets into the ropes, Chihiro picks her up but Chikayo hits a crossbody for two. Chikayo throws down Chihiro by the hair and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Chihiro for another two count. Front roll by Chikayo but Chihiro catches her and they trade quick pins. Back up, Stunner by Chikayo and she hits an Ace Crusher for two. Chikayo throws Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro jumps up the turnbuckles and hits a sunset flip for two. Chihiro goes for Chikayo’s leg but Chikayo quickly grabs the ropes, running knees by Chihiro and she covers Chikayo for a two count. Jumping knee in the corner by Chihiro but she accidentally flies out of the ring in the process, she quickly gets back in the ring and hits a scoop slam for two. Chihiro slams Chikayo in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop, but Chikayo kicks out of the cover again. She goes for Chikayo’s knee but Chikayo gets to the ropes, Chihiro picks up Chikayo but Chikayo snaps off a Corbata for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima wins the match!

They certainly get an A for effort, they were going all out in this match. Not always effectively, but they tried. The story was loose at best so its easier watching these matches remembering both are rookies, so you wouldn’t expect rookie wrestlers even in fake-world to have a real plan on winning. They are just doing the best they can with their limited knowledge. So even though it was all over the place, it was exciting and interesting throughout so its hard to have too many complaints. All things considered, a pretty entertaining way to kick off the TV airing.  Mildly Recommended

KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Uematsu vs. Megumi Kudo, Nakayama, and Yukari Ishikura

Meiko and Yukari start the match, armdrag by Meiko but Yukari puts her in a headscissors. Kaori runs in and they hit a double dropkick onto Meiko, Yukari tags in Kaori and she dropkicks Meiko again. Another dropkick by Kaori and she applies an armbar, she tags in KAORU and KAORU continues on Meiko’s arm. Yukari returns as Team FMW takes turns on Meiko’s arm, but knocks her back and makes the tag to Toshie. Dropkick by Toshie to Yukari and she rams her into the turnbuckles before applying a chinlock. Side headlock by Toshie and she puts Yukari in a Indian Deathlock, she tags in KAORU as Meiko comes in as well so they can all boot Yukari. Meiko and Toshie both come off the top with attacks to Yukari’s arm, arm wringer by KAORU to Yukari and she tags in Meiko. Meiko goes for a cross armbreaker but Kaori breaks it up, dropkick by Meiko to Yukari and she covers her for two. Meiko tags Toshie, Toshie stays on Yukari’s arm before delivering a jumping kick to her face. Yukari comes back with a dropkick and tags in Kudo, crossbody by Kudo to Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Kudo stretches Toshie and puts her in a camel clutch, Yukari and Kaori run in and stomp on Toshie while she is on the hold.

Kaori is tagged in, stomps to the leg by Kaori and she twists on Toshie’s leg. Kudo returns and puts Toshie in a figure four but Meiko breaks it up, Kudo slaps Meiko and goes back to Toshie as she throws her into the mat. She tags in Kaori, face crushers by Kaori but Toshie sneaks in an inside cradle for two. This gives her time to tag in KAORU, front dropkick by KAORU to Kaori and she puts her in a Camel Clutch. Meiko and Toshie come in and take turns dropkicking Kaori while she is in the hold, Mexican Surfboard by KAORU but Kudo eventually breaks it up. KAORU tags Meiko, elbows by Meiko and she covers Kaori for two. Kaori comes back with a Space Rolling Elbow but Meiko hits a running elbow smash and applies the cross armbreaker. Yukari quickly breaks it up, scoop slam by Meiko and KAORU goes up top to attempt a moonsault. Kaori moves out of the way however, Kudo dropkicks KAORU from behind and plants KAORU with a backdrop suplex. Kaori goes up top and hits a moonsault onto KAORU, she tags in Kudo and Kudo boots KAORU in the face. Enzuigiri by Kudo, she goes up top but Toshie grabs her from the apron. That gives KAORU time to recover, she gets Kudo on her shoulders but Kudo slides off and puts KAORU in a dragon sleeper.

That quickly gets broken up, Kudo picks up KAORU but Toshie and Meiko run in an dropkick her. Double missile dropkick by Meiko and Toshie, KAORU picks up Kudo and hits a leg clutch backdrop suplex hold for two. Scoop slam by KAORU and she nails the swandive moonsault, but Kaori breaks up the cover. KAORU tags Toshie, Meiko comes in too and all three attack Kudo in the corner. Toshie charges Kudo but Kudo puts her in a sleeper hold, she swings Toshie around while in the hold before dropping her to the mat. She tags in Yukari, dropkick by Yukari in the corner and Kaori hits a Space Rolling Elbow. Face crusher by Kudo, Yukari goes up top but Toshie recovers and joins her. Yukari pushes Toshie away and hits an avalanche sunset flip, but Meiko breaks up the cover. Kaori comes in and they double team Toshie, but again her cover is broken up. Kaori hits a diving crossbody on Toshie, Yukari goes up top as Kudo holds Toshie, but KAORU hits a swandive dropkick onto Kudo. Yukari dives off anyway but Toshie gets out of the way, Toshie crucifixes Yukari from behind and she picks up the three count! Team GAEA Japan wins!

I wouldn’t say this was the most fluid and smooth match, but it was fun. The rookies got confused a few times, which isn’t incredibly unusual, but they kept the pace up. Megumi Kudo, to the surprise of no one, controlled the match and team GAEA Japan was only able to win by getting a flash pin after knocking Kudo out of the way for a moment. Lots of style, a little bit of substance, but generally speaking they all came out of it looking fine and it made me want to see Megumi Kudo in a bigger match as she brought something a bit different to the table than we have seen recently in GAEA Japan.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Combat Toyoda

We join this match in progress, with Nagayo working over Toyoda’s leg on the mat. Figure four by Nagayo but Toyoda rolls to the ropes and grabs them to force a break. Scorpion Deathlock by Nagayo but again Toyoda gets to the ropes, kicks by Nagayo and she headbutts Toyoda, but Toyoda hulks up and absorbs the blows. Toyoda headbutts Nagayo repeatedly and they reach a stalemate, headbutt by Nagayo but Toyoda blocks the slam attempt. Nagayo finally manages to hit the slam, she challenges Toyoda to try to slam her back and Toyoda manages to do so. Vertical suplex by Toyoda, she covers Nagayo but it only gets two. Scorpion Deathlock by Toyoda but Nagayo gets out of it and rolls out of the ring, she returns after a moment but Toyoda tackles her soon after. Nagayo goes for Toyoda’s arm from the bottom and gets an armbar applied, Toyoda gets to the ropes so Nagayo picks her up and hits a heel kick.

She goes for another one but Toyoda catches her and hits a backdrop suplex, another backdrop suplex by Toyoda and she delivers a missile dropkick. Nagayo falls out of the ring, Toyoda goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with crossbody to the floor. Toyoda goes to get back in the ring but Nagayo grabs her from behind and hits a backdrop suplex onto the floor. Now it is Nagayo that goes up and dives out of the ring onto Toyoda with a crossbody, she gets back into the ring and waits for Toyoda to recover. Toyoda eventually returns, Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Toyoda blocks it. Head kicks by Nagayo but Toyoda fires back with a lariat, German suplex by Nagayo and she goes up top, delivering a diving heel kick. Cover by Nagayo, but it gets a two count. Nagayo puts Toyoda on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting an avalanche DDT for another two.

Nagayo goes for a kick but Toyoda catchers her leg and elbows her in the knee, she does it a second time and puts Nagayo in a sleeper. Nagayo backs Toyoda into the corner to get out of the hold, high kick by Nagayo and she gets on the turnbuckles, but Toyoda joins her and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex for a two count. Scoop slam by Toyoda, she goes up top and nails a diving body press for another two. Toyoda puts Nagayo on the top turnbuckle with Nagayo facing the crowd, Toyoda gets up with her and slams her back into the ring, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Nagayo recovers first and puts Toyoda in a sleeper, but Toyoda crawls to the ropes and gets there for the break. Elbow by Nagayo, she goes for the powerbomb but Toyoda lariats her to the mat. Toyoda gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagayo kicks her from behind, she gets Toyoda on her back and she nails the Running Three for the three count pinfall! Chigusa Nagayo is the winner!

We missed about half the match, so we basically went straight to the meat of the match and didn’t see how they introduced it. From what we saw, this was a very… Chigusa Nagayo match. If you like things such as selling big spots and transitions, this is not the match for you as they blew off things that usually have no business being blown off. Toyoda is really good at the hardcore style but an average “normal” match wrestler, I almost wish they had gone to more of a brawl style as it probably would have been a better match. It still had some drama and memorable sections, the effort was there to put on something special, but the work was lacking at times. I still liked it as I am a big Chigusa Nagayo fan and it did have the big match feel, I just wish it was a more cohesive match as not everything clicked.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Come On Hurry! XMAS Fighting” on 12/23/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

KAORU and Mikoto Shindo vs. Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami

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

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

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

Aiger and Sakura Hirota vs. Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mika Iwata vs. Yuu

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

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

Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Manami vs. Mari Manji

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

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

Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee

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

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

Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn

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

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

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

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

Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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