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

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

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

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

SAKI vs. Yako Fujigasaki

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

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

Eri and KAZUKI vs. Hanako Nakamori and Kana

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

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

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

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hikaru Shida

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Kayoko Haruyama vs. Command Bolshoi

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

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

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

The post JWP “Crunchy Hurricane in Shinjuku” on 7/11/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: AJW Championship, Daily Sports Tag Team Championship, International Ribbon Tag Team Championship, Japanese Tag Team Championship, JWP Jr. Championship, JWP Openweight Championship, and the JWP Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: JWP Tag League The Best (2011 and 2015)
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• July 19th, 2009 vs. Kyoko Kimura
• December 23rd, 2010 with Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Aja Kong and Sachie Abe
• April 22nd, 2012 vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki
• January 6th, 2013 with Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Arisa Nakajima and Command Bolshoi
• March 2nd, 2014 vs. Yumi Ohka
• April 5th, 2015 vs. Arisa Nakajima

Signature Moves:

• Diving Guillotine Leg Drop
• Kayoko Special
• Keene Hammer
• Orange Buster
• Orange Blossom
• Orange Tomahawk

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Kayoko Haruyama appeared first on Joshi City.

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

Even though JWP has had many events in 2014, this is the first event I have been able to track down for the year. I am sure more will pop up later, or I will just have to hunt around a little bit harder to find them, one or the other.  JWP has a small army of their own wrestlers but as you can see here they also use a lot of ‘outside talent’ as well. This was a big card for them as we have three title matches and other ‘big’ singles matches to help end the year in style. Here is the full card:

– Yako Fujigasaki vs. Yua Hayashi
– JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship: Rabbit Miu vs. Eri
– Jaguar Yokota, KAZUKI, and Raideen Hagane vs. Manami Toyota, Tsukushi, and Neko Nitta
– KAORU vs. Kayoko Haruyama
– Hanako Nakamori vs. Kana
– JWP Tag Team Championship and Daily Sports Tag Team Championship: Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. Leon and Ray
– JWP Openweight Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

I’m not sure I have seen all these ladies before, so it will be interesting to see how this event turns out.

Yako Fujigasaki vs. Yua Hayashi

They circle to start before going straight to trading elbows, they trade elbows near the ropes and Hayashi gets Fujigasaki into the corner.  Irish whip by Hayashi and she connects with a heel kick, she goes for a kick but Fujigasaki catches it.  Hayashi kicks her in the chest anyway, then hits a second kick and a third.  Hayashi goes off the ropes and delivers another kick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Armbar by Hayashi and she kicks Fujigasaki in the back.  Irish whip by Hayashi but Fujigasaki hits a dropkick.  Another dropkick by Fujigasaki and she hits a third dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Fujigasaki picks up Hayashi and goes for a slam but Hayashi lands on top of her for a two count.  Takedown by Hayashi and she applies a cross armbreaker but Fujigasaki gets a foot on the bottom rope.  Kicks to the side by Hayashi, she goes off the ropes but Fujigasaki connects with a dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Fujigasaki picks up Hayashi but Hayashi gets away, backslide by Hayashi but it gets two.  School boy by Hayashi, but it gets a two count as well.  Hayashi picks up Fujigasaki but Fujigasaki slaps her and puts her in a wing clutch hold for a two count.  Dropkick by Fujigasaki, cover, but it gets a two count.  Fujigasaki picks up Hayashi and delivers a Double-Wrist Armsault, and she picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Yako Fujigasaki

The results I found called it a “double-wrist armsault,” I’d have just called it a wrist-clutch northern lights suplex.  But no one asked me.  This was really basic and not good, I mean first one wrestler hit the same move four straight times, then the other hit the same move three straight times, not really thinking outside of the box here.  I don’t know much about either of these two and maybe this is all they are capable of, but a really short and not overly entertaining opener.

(c) Rabbit Miu vs. Eri

This match is for the JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship.  Eri and Miu lock knuckles, Eri pushes Miu down but Miu comes back and throws Eri to the mat.  Wristlock by Miu, reversed by Eri, Miu rolls out of it and hits a series of knees.  Irish whip by Miu and she delivers a dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a one count.  Scoop slam by Miu and Miu applies a crab hold.  Miu picks up Eri and throws her into the corner before throwing her down by her hair.  Eri throws Miu to the mat by her hair and chokes her in the corner.  Eri picks up Miu and Eri hits a scoop slam.  Another scoop slam by Eri, cover, but it gets a two count.  Eri applies a cross armbreaker but Miu throws Eri to the mat.  Miu chokes Eri against the ropes, Irish whip by Miu but Eri hits an elbow smash.  Irish whip by Eri and she dropkicks Miu into the corner.  Irish whip by Eri, reversed, and Miu hits a jumping elbow.  Kick to the stomach by Eri and she hits a DDT, but Miu gets up and hits her own DDT.  Another DDT by Eri but Miu hits another one as well.  Elevated DDT by Eri, she goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Eri charges Miu but Miu pulls down the top rope, sending Eri to the apron.  Miu then gets a running start and dropkicks Eri out of the ring.  Miu goes out to the apron and hits a dropkick off the apron to the floor.  Miu slides Eri back into the ring, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.

Miu applies a choke before pulling back on Eri’s hair.  Eri gets to the ropes to force a break, Miu goes off the ropes and hits a running knee.  Brainbuster by Miu, cover, but it gets two.  Miu picks up Eri, waistlock by Miu, Eri elbows her off and hits a DDT.  Eri picks up Miu but Miu ducks the lariat and hits a release German suplex.  Miu goes up to the top turnbuckle but Eri dropkicks her, sending Miu crashing to the floor.  Eri goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody down to the floor.  Eri picks up Miu and slides her into the ring, Eri goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick.  A second dropkick by Eri and she hits a third.  Cover by Eri, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Eri picks up Miu and hits a hard elbow but Miu elbows her back and they trade blows.  Eri and Miu trade lariats, until Eri punches Miu in the face.  Cover by Eri, but Miu gets a shoulder up.  Eri picks up Miu and hits a suplex, Eri goes up to the top turnbuckle but Miu recovers and joins her up top.  Superplex by Miu, she goes off the ropes and hits a running cannonball for a two count.  Miu picks up Eri and applies a waistlock, roll-up by Eri but it gets a two count.  Eri picks up Miu and she punches Miu in the head, cover, but it gets two.  Eri picks up Miu, backfist by Eri and she hits a few elbows.  Big boot by Miu, cover, but it gets a two count.  Waistlock by Miu and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Miu picks up Eri and she hits the Rabbit Suplex Hold for a three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Rabbit Miu

This was a pretty good match and it had some cute spots.  Lots of DDTs, but I guess if you have to spam a move it may as well be one that you can hit from a lot of different angles.  I’m not sure if I had seen Eri before but she shows promise, she is still quite young.  It was in the right spot on the card, even though it was a title match they both are still young and figuring out how to structure matches.  Considering their age this was solid, and they really did go all out to put on an entertaining match. Mildly Recommended

Jaguar Yokota, KAZUKI, and Raideen Hagane vs. Manami Toyota, Tsukushi, and Neko Nitta

Hagane and Nitta start things off.  Waistlock by Nitta, reversed by Hagane but Nitta elbows out of it.  Hagane grabs Nitta by the tail and hits it with her elbow.  She then hands the tail to Yokota, and Yokota bites it.  KAZUKI then yanks the tail over the top rope, Hagane grabs her and throws Nitta down by the tail.  Yokota comes in and hits an elbow on Nitta in the corner, as does KAZUKI.  Hagane and KAZUKI apply wristlocks to Nitta, Yokota then comes in the ring and they post on Nitta.  Toyota and Tsukushi come in and break it up, Irish whip by Hagane to Nitta but Nitta hits a springboard armdrag.  Nitta tags in Tsukushi while Hagane tags in Yokota, and Tsukushi dropkicks Yokota.  Irish whip by Tsukushi but Yokota avoids the dropkick, Yokota goes off the ropes but Tsukushi dropkicks her.  Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Yokota hits a lariat followed by a delayed scoop slam.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Tsukushi clubs Yokota in the chest but Yokota elbows her back and they trade strikes.  Elbows by Tsukushi but Yokota elbows her hard to the mat and tags in KAZUKI.  Drop toehold by Tsukushi to KAZUKI and she knocks Hagane and Yokota off the apron.  Toyota and Nitta come in the ring and everyone runs over KAZUKI’s back, Tsukushi ties up Hagane in the ropes and Nitta hits a dropkick.  Toyota then hits a dropkick as well, with Tsukushi ending with one.  Crossbody by Tsukushi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Tsukushi goes off the ropes but KAZUKI knees her in the midsection.  Double knee drop by KAZUKI, cover, but it gets a two count.  KAZUKI tags in Hagane, Hagane picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi blocks the slam.  Irish whip by Tsukushi, reversed, but Hagane knocks Tsukushi to the mat.  Hagane picks up Tsukushi in a press slam and drops her to the mat.  Cover by Hagane, but it gets a two count.  Hagane picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away, roll-up by Tsukushi but it gets a two count.  Tsukushi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hagane recovers and joins her up top.  Tsukushi gets on Hagane’s back and applies a stretch hold while they are still on the top turnbuckle.  Tsukushi tries to pull Hagane off the turnbuckle and finally slams her to the mat with Nitta’s help.  Scoop slam by Tsukushi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Tsukushi tags in Toyota, and Toyota comes off the top with a missile dropkick.

Toyota picks up Hagane, Irish whip, but Hagane can’t shoulderblock Toyota down.  She tries again with no luck, and Toyota hits a big boot.  Scissors kick by Toyota, cover, but it is broken up.  Toyota picks up Hagane but KAZUKI kicks her from behind.  Double Irish whip to Toyota but Toyota ducks the lariat and Tsukushi comes off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody.  Hagane and KAZUKI catch her, but Toyota pushes them to the mat.  Toyota picks up Hagane, Irish whip, but Hagane hits a lariat.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Hagane tags in Yokota, Yokota charges Toyota but Toyota hits a snapmare.  Yokota returns the favor and applies the Octopus Hold, Irish whip by Yokota to the corner, reversed, but Yokota hits a hurricanrana when Toyota charges in.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Irish whip by Yokota, reversed, and Toyota hits the Oklahoma Roll.  Waistlock by Yokota but Toyota reverses it and hits a German suplex. Toyota tags in Nitta, Nitta goes up top but Yokota punches her and joins her.  Superplex by Yokota, cover, but it gets a two count.  Yokota picks up Nitta but Nitta dropkicks her in the knee.  Nitta hits Yokota with her tail, she goes off the ropes and performs a victory roll for a two count.  Irish whip by Nitta, reversed, and Yokota hits a backdrop suplex.  Yokota picks up Nitta and hits a fisherman suplex, and she tags in KAZUKI.  Hagane comes in too and Hagane hits a moonsault off the top turnbuckle.  KAZUKI then comes off the top with a diving double kneedrop, cover, but Toyota breaks it up.  KAZUKI goes off the ropes but Tsukushi cuts her off with a dropkick.  Nitta slaps Hagane, Tsukushi comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Hagane but Hagane hits a double lariat.  KAZUKI picks up Nitta and hits a K-Crusher, cover, but Nitta gets a shoulder up.  KAZUKI picks up Nitta and puts her onto her shoulders, but Nitta slides away.  Nitta hits a sidewalk slam to KAZUKI, then Tsukushi comes off the top turnbuckle with an assisted senton.  Nitta goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a corkscrew senton, cover, but it is broken up.  La Magistral by Nitta, but again it is broken up.  Nitta goes off the ropes but KAZUKI gets her onto her shoulders.  Nitta slides off her back and she rolls up KAZUKI for a two count.  KAZUKI hits a jawbreaker on Nitta, she gets her onto her shoulders and hits the Death by Roderick.  Cover, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners:  Jaguar Yokota, KAZUKI, and Raideen Hagane

I gotta admit, they didn’t have to ‘bring it’ but they did, to the best of their ability anyway.  For an undercard match with some legends I thought they would just be coasting, until they started hitting moonsaults and diving kneedrops and everything else.  I don’t want to overpraise it as there wasn’t much structure and it wasn’t very long, but for what they did it was quite entertaining.  I guess I would consider this a pleasant undercard surprise, when you go in expecting nothing and they hold your attention throughout the match.  Good effort all around.  Mildly Recommended

KAORU vs. Kayoko Haruyama

KAORU and Haruyama tie-up to start but they break cleanly.  Tie-up again but again they break.  KAORU stomps Haruyama on the foot, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, but Haruyama stops charging when KAORU gets her foot up.  Lariats in the corner by Haruyama once she puts her foot down, Haruyama goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat.  Cover, but it gets a two count. KAORU gets a board and tries to hit Haruyama with it, but Haruyama ducks.  KAORU finally pops Haruyama with it and hits hers again, KAORU picks up Haruyama but Haruyama hits a DDT.  Haruyama kicks KAORU in the face and connects with another high kick, she goes off the ropes but KAORU hits her with the board.  Cover, but the referee doesn’t count due to the shenanigans.  KAORU throws Haruyama out of the ring and goes out after her, and KAORU throws Haruyama into the ring post.  KAORU throws Haruyama into a bunch of chairs, she slides her back into the ring but Haruyama snaps off a German suplex.  Underhook facebuster by Haruyama, she picks up KAORU and she hits a second one.  Haruyama picks up KAORU and she hits a third one, German suplex hold by Haruyama but it gets a two count.  Back kick by Haruyama, she picks up KAORU and hits a scoop slam.  Haruyama goes up to the top turnbuckle but KAORU rolls out of the way of the leg drop and kicks Haruyama in the face.  KAORU goes up to the top turnbuckle but Haruyama rolls out of the way of the moonsault.  Haruyama charges KAORU but KAORU ducks it, Haruyama hits the lariat on the second try and picks up a two count.  A second lariat by Haruyama, but it gets another two count.  Haruyama picks up KAORU, she goes for a slam but KAORU slides away and hits the Excalibur.  KAORU picks up Haruyama and hits a second one, KAORU picks up Haruyama and she hits a third Excalibur.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Hurricanrana by KAORU, cover, but it gets another two.  La Magistral by KAORU, and she picks up the three count.  Your winner:  KAORU

What an odd little match.  KAORU hits her finisher three times, then a hurricanrana… then wins with La Magistral?  I was expecting a Haruyama hope spot or something, but there was nothing like that.  There was no lack of effort but the structure was head scratching from start to finish, I am not even sure what they were going for.  Maybe I didn’t get it, but it wasn’t for me even though the action itself was solid for the most part.

Hanako Nakamori vs. Kana

Kana offers a handshake to start the match but Nakamori kicks her in the head.  Nakamori kicks Kana into the corner, Irish whip, but Kana kicks Nakamori back.  She kicks her again but Nakamori delivers a high kick.  Nakamori grabs Kana but Kana blocks the slam attempt, elbows by Nakamori and she goes off the ropes, but Kana takes her to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker.  Nakamori struggles in the hold but eventually gets a foot on the bottom rope.  Kicks to the chest by Kana, she picks up Nakamori but Nakamori chops her in the chest.  Slap by Nakamori but Kana catches her arm and applies an armbar.  Kana reverts it into a cross armbreaker but Nakamori rolls to the ropes and gets a foot on the ropes again.  Kana wraps Nakamori’s arm in the ropes and stomps down on it.   Kick to the chest by Kana and she kicks Nakamori in the back.  More kicks to the chest by Kana but Nakamori hits an enzuigiri.  Sliding kick by Kana, she goes off the ropes but Nakamori delivers a high kick.  Sliding kick by Nakamori, cover, but it gets a two count.  Nakamori picks up Kana but Kana slaps her, Nakamori catches a kick by Kana and she hits a scoop DDT.  Cover, but it gets two.

Nakamori pulls Kana to the mat and applies a modified armbar, but Kana reverses it into an ankle hold.  Nakamori gets into the ropes to get the break, Kana picks her up but Nakamori elbows out of it.  Kana gets Nakamori’s back and she applies an Octopus Hold, she rolls Nakamori to the mat and she gets a two count.  Kick to the head by Kana, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakamori hits her and joins her up top.  Kana elbows Nakamori back to the mat but Nakamori hits a high kick.  Nakamori goes back up tight and hits a vertical suplex.  Nakamori goes for another kick but Kana ducks it, headbutt by Nakamori but Kana hits a trio of backfists followed by a high kick.  Cover by Kana, but it gets a two count.  German suplex hold by Kana, but that gets a two count as well.  Kana kicks Nakamori as she sits on the mat, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kana quickly applies the cross armbreaker, Nakamori rolls out of it but Kana applies a crossface chicken wing.  Nakamori gets out of it and she kicks Kana in the head, Kana goes off the ropes but Nakamori blocks the sliding kick before hitting one of her own.  Shining Wizard by Nakamori and she hits another one, cover, but it gets a two count.  Nakamori goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a jumping knee to Kana’s face.  Cover, but Kana barely gets a shoulder up.  Nakamori picks up Kana but Kana gets her back and slaps on the Kana Lock.  Nakamori struggles but it doesn’t matter, she is out and the referee stops the match.  Your winner:  Kana

Hmmm Kana.  Anyway, once I got over my affection for my favorite Joshi wrestler, I realized this was a good match but far from great.  Nakamori really took it to Kana, I will give her that, but so much of the offense ended up not really meaning that much.  There were tons of kicks to the heads, lots of arm submissions, but really all Kana needed was the Kana Lock in the middle of the ring and Nakamori was done.  I didn’t feel that Kana really wore down Nakamori to prepare for that move as it is a ‘put you to sleep’ move, not a ‘snap your arm’ move.  The strikes were generally snug and it was an even match so it was anyone’s game, I just wish the action through the match had some connection to the ending.  I still liked it, since it set a good pace and I couldn’t look way due to the Kana Factor, but it was really only a solid mid-card match at best.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. Leon and Ray

This match is for the JWP Tag Team Championship and Daily Sports Tag Team Championship.  Leon and Ray attack their opponents from behind to start the match, and they go outside the ring to battle it out.  Leon and Ray take their opponents near the stage and both jump off of it onto their opponents.  Leon throws Bolshoi into a row of chairs before taking her up into the crowd but Bolshoi and Kimura take back over.  Bolshoi gets on Kimura’s shoulders and they beat on Leon.  Bolshoi takes Leon back to the ringside area and they get back into the ring.  Bolshoi picks up Leon, Irish whip to the corner and Kimura hits a jumping elbow.  Bolshoi wraps Leon in the ropes and applies a stretch hold, but the referee gets her to break the hold.  Bolshoi tags in Kimura, Kimura picks up Leon and hits an armbreaker.  Kimura elbows Leon in the arm and then kicks her before choking Leon with her boot.  Kimura applies an armbar on the mat, but Ray breaks it up.  Kimura grabs Leon’s arm and tags in Bolshoi.  Bolshoi kicks Leon and clubs her in the back of the head.  Bolshoi kicks Leon back but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.  Leon tags in Ray and Ray hits a cartwheel elbow in the corner. Ray goes off the ropes and hits a Sling Blade on Bolshoi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Ray picks up Bolshoi, she goes off the ropes but Bolshoi kicks her.  Irish whip by Bolshoi, reversed, Kimura comes in the ring but Ray gets past them and hits a double dropkick.  Kimura and Bolshoi fall out of the ring, and both Leon and Ray dive out of the ring on them to the floor.  Ray slides Bolshoi back into the ring, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a cartwheel kick off the ropes to Bolshoi’s legs.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Ray picks up Bolshoi, waistlock by Ray but Bolshoi elbows out of it.  Bolshoi drops Ray onto the bottom rope, she goes off the ropes but Leon cuts her off.  Tiger Feint Kick by Ray, cover, but Bolshoi kicks out at two.  Ray positions Bolshoi in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Bolshoi gets her knees up when Ray goes for a moonsault.  Palm thrust by Bolshoi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Bolshoi tags in Kimura, Kimura grabs Ray and knees her into the corner.  Kimura puts Ray over the second rope and kicks Ray in the chest.  Slingshot doublestomp by Kimura and she kicks Leon off the apron.  Kimura picks up Ray and hits a shoulder breaker.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Kimura goes off the ropes but Ray avoids the doublestomp.  High kick by Ray and she hits another one followed by an enzuigiri.  Ray tags in Leon but Kimura kicks Leon as she charges in.  Elbow by Leon but Kimura elbows her back and they trade shots.  Kimura gets the better of it, Leon goes off the ropes but Kimura hits a bit boot.  Bolshoi runs in to attack Leon as well, swinging kick by Bolshoi and Kimura hits a running boot to the face.  Cover, but it gets a two count.

Kimura picks up Leon but Leon lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and drops Kimura onto her knee.  Leon goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura is up and joins her.  Kimura picks up Leon but Leon slides down her back and lands on her feet.  Ray kicks Kimura from the apron, Leon grabs Kimura and picks her up, holding her in the hair.  Ray then comes off the top turnbuckle and slams Kimura’s head back into the mat.  Cover by Leon but Kimura kicks out at two.  Leon goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura moves when she goes for the senton.  Kimura applies the sleeper to Leon while Bolshoi holds back Ray, Kimura waits for Leon to get up and delivers a headbutt, and she makes the tag to Bolshoi.  Bolshoi hits a palm thrust onto Leon but Leon hits a backbreaker.  Leon charges Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a Tiger Feint Kick.  Tilt-a-whirl slam by Leon, cover, but it gets a two count.  Leon goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a frog splash, cover, but Kimura breaks it up.  Ray drops Kimura with a German suplex, Leon goes up to the top turnbuckle but Bolshoi hits a palm thrust.  Kimura and Bolshoi get their opponents up in different corners, Kimura hits a superplex and then Bolshoi hits an avalanche armdrag.  Cover by Bolshoi but it gets a two count.  Bolshoi hits a tiger suplex hold on Leon, but it gets another two.  Bolshoi goes off the ropes, Leon ducks the lariat, Bolshoi holds Leon for Kimura but Leon ducks and Kimura kicks Bolshoi.  Leon runs into Bolshoi, cover, but it gets a two count. Leon picks up Bolshoi and hits a scoop slam, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a rope walk dropkick onto Kimura.  Ray and Leon both superkick Bolshoi and then kick Kimura as well, they both go up top to different turnbuckles and hit stereo moonsaults/sentons.  Cover by Leon to Bolshoi, but it gets a two count.  Leon picks up Bolshoi and hits a fisherman buster, cover, but Kimura breaks it up.  Leon picks up Bolshoi again and goes for a second one but Bolshoi reverses it into a DDT.  Leon and Bolshoi trade slaps, Ray grabs Bolshoi from behind but Bolshoi moves when Leon charges in, causing Leon to hit Ray.  Bolshoi knocks over Leon, and both wrestlers are down on the mat.  Bolshoi charges Leon but Leon rolls up Bolshoi for a two count.  Kimura comes in, she headbutts Leon and then Bolshoi hits a jumping knee onto Leon.  Cover, but Ray breaks it up.  Bolshoi waits for Leon to get up but Leon catches her with a Capture Buster.  Leon quickly picks up Bolshoi and goes for a second one, Bolshoi briefly reverses it with a small package but Leon rolls through it and plants Bolshoi with another Capture Buster.  Cover, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners and new champions:  Leon and Ray

This was pretty hit and miss.  At times the moves looked great, but at other times moves were sloppy and just poorly hit.  It was almost like a toned down version of Sabu match – just try a bunch of cool stuff and as long as you hit 90% of it you’re doing ok.  But I get so spoiled by Joshi I just don’t expect to see mistakes. The spots they did hit did look really good and they were flying around the ring in a very exciting manner.  They also kept it going, it wasn’t a short match but there was no wasted time.  I wish it was more smooth from start to finish but it still had it’s entertaining parts.

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

This match is for the JWP Openweight Championship.  They get straight to it as they charge into each other, side headlock takedown by Nakajima but Fujimoto gets out of it, trip by Fujimoto but Nakajima bridges up.  Fujimoto throws Nakajima into the corner, reversed, Fujimoto jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Nakajima knocks her off and down to the floor.  Nakajima attacks Fujimoto with chairs up in the crowd and they walk up to the upper aisle.  Snapmare by Nakajima and she kicks Fujimoto in the face.  Fujimoto rolls Nakajima to the ground and returns the favor, Irish whip by Nakajima into the wall and Fujimoto delivers a dropkick.  Fujimoto picks up Nakajima and takes her back to ringside, and Fujimoto hits Nakajima with a chair.   Nakajima and Fujimoto trade elbows, and Fujimoto slides Nakajima back into the ring.  Fujimoto twists Nakajima in the ropes and she delivers a dropkick.  Fujimoto kicks Nakajima in the chest repeatedly and she throws Nakajima into the corner.  Fujimoto chokes Nakajima with her knee and she goes for a cutter, but Nakajima reverses it with a backdrop suplex.  Knee to the head by Nakajima and she knees Fujimoto repeatedly in the corner.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto, Fujimoto goes for an enzuigiri but Nakajima ducks and hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fujimoto joins her, Nakajima knocks Fujimoto down into the tree of woe and she hits a doublestomp off the top turnbuckle.  Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving doublestomp.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto and knees Fujimoto in the face.  Nakajima goes off the ropes but Fujimoto delivers a dropkick. Dropkick by Fujimoto in the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two.  Fujimoto applies a crossface and then a cross armed submission hold, but Nakajima makes it to the ropes.  Kicks to the back by Fujimoto, she goes for an armdrag but Nakajima blocks it.  Waistlock by Nakajima but Fujimoto gets out of it, Fujimoto hits an enzuigiri and then kicks Nakajima in the head.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Fujimoto picks up Nakajima, she runs up the ropes in the corner but Nakajima kicks her down to the apron.  Nakajima then climbs up to the top turnbuckle and grabs Fujimoto’s head, slamming it into the apron as she jumps to the floor.  Nakajima returns to the ring with Fujimoto slowly following, but Nakajima kicks Fujimoto as she gets on the apron.  Nakajima then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a doublestomp all the way down to the floor.

Nakajima gets back in the ring but her leg is hurt, so people at ringside check her out while Fujimoto is still lying on the floor.  She gets checked on too as Nakajima gets back up, and the referee starts a count.  Fujimoto slowly makes it back into the ring in time, Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and she dropkicks Fujimoto.  She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick.  Up goes Nakajima a third time and she again dropkicks Fujimoto in the head.  Cover, but Fujimoto gets a shoulder up.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto and hits a backfist, Nakajima goes for a dragon suplex but Fujimoto rolls her up for a two count. Knee to the back of the head by Nakajima and she kicks Fujimoto in the face.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto but Fujimoto hits a scoop slam.  Kicks to the head by Fujimoto, she picks up Nakajima and hits two crucifix slams, but both get two counts.  Fujimoto picks up Nakajima, she runs up the corner and she kicks Nakajima in the head.  Fujimoto then goes off the ropes but Nakajima catches her and suplexes her to the mat.  Both wrestlers slowly get up and they trade elbows, Fujimoto ducks one and hits a series of uninterrupted elbows, sending Nakajima to the mat.  Fujimoto runs up the corner but Nakajima ducks the kick and punts her in the face, busting Fujimoto’s lip badly in the process.  Nakajima goes off the ropes but Fujimoto does also and applies the Venus Screw for a two count.  Fujimoto goes off the ropes, elbow by Nakajima but Fujimoto returns the favor.  Cutie Special by Nakajima, but it gets a two count.  Fujimoto goes off the ropes and hits a PK, cover, but it gets two.  Another PK, but again Nakajima kicks out.  Fujimoto and Nakajima trade slaps, elbows by Nakajima and she sends Fujimoto to the mat.  Cover, but Fujimoto barely kicks out.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto and hits a trapped German suplex, but it only gets a two count.  Nakajima picks up Fujimoto again and she delivers the dragon suplex hold, and this time she gets the three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Arisa Nakajima

What a brutal match. And not brutal in a bad way, I mean it in a “Fujimoto needs medical attention” kind of way. I have to first make a small complaint – I know this happens in smaller promotions with less cameras, but I was annoyed the camera missed the doublestomp out to the floor. You could still kinda see it through the crowd but an epic spot like that needs more attention, especially considering I think it legitimately hurt both of them. But then Nakajima punted the hell out of Fujimoto’s face just for added drama anyway. Besides the brutality, the energy they showed was astounding, I got tired just watching them as even late in the match they were still going full tilt. Towards the end some of their strikes looked like they stopped having as much impact (such as the PKs) but I can chalk that up to exhaustion since it was very late in the match, and since ultimately those strikes didn’t lead to the end of the match it didn’t make either look weak. I really liked just about everything about this match, it just had that big time feel you want from the main event of a promotions’s biggest show of the year, and they put everything on the line and left me in awe. Just fantastic. Highly Recommended

event reviewed on 1/6/15

The post JWP “Climax 2014” on 12/28/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

When I am going through my catalog with hundreds of Joshi events, there are different reasons that I may pick any given event to review. Sometimes I want to review something quick, other times I want to review a show with Kana. This event I picked because of one move, a move you have probably seen a GIF of before and is one of the craziest spots of the last decade in wrestling. But besides that spot, this was one of JWP’s biggest events of the year and features three Championship matches plus other special matches. Here is the full card:

• JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship: Misaki Ohata vs. Pinky Mayuka
• Over the Maximum Summer Bout: Atsuko Emoto, Tomoka Nakagawa, and Hailey Hatred vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, Keito, and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Super Heel Uematsu 2nd Bout Special Tag Match: Super Heel Uematsu and KAZUKI vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Sachie Abe
• Best of Pure-Wrestling: Azumi Hyuga vs. Tojuki Leon
• JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women’s Tag Team Championship: Command Bolshoi and Yabushita vs. Yoneyama and Emi Sakura
• JWP Openweight Championship: Kayoko Haruyama vs. Kyoko Kimura

Lots to be excited about, the event was presented on a two hour telecast on Samurai! TV so there will be some clipping.

(c) Misaki Ohata vs. Pinky Mayuka
JWP Jr. Championship and POP Championship

They tie-up to start, Mayuka pushes Ohata into the ropes and the two trade elbows back and forth. Mayuka throws down Ohata by the hair but Ohata avoids the dropkick and returns the favor. Dropkick by Ohata, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Ohata goes to the top turnbuckle again and hits a diving body press, picking up a two count cover. Mayuka goes for a roll-up but Ohata blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Mayuka catches her with an arm trap dragon sleeper. Ohata inches to the ropes and gets her foot on them to force a break, Mayuka picks her up but Ohata sneaks in a backslide for two. Ohata applies an ankle hold but Mayuka gets to the ropes, Ohata goes back to the ankle but Mayuka blocks it this time and covers her for two. A schoolboy by Mayuka doesn’t work, Ohata grabs her and hits a German suplex hold for two. Low crossbody by Ohata, she picks up Mayuka and nails the Hanamaru Dokkan for the three count! Ohata is still the champion.

This was slightly clipped, which would explain the lack of match structure. But these were also two young wrestlers that still weren’t 100% sure what they were doing, in Joshi the “Jr.” title refers to age/experience, not size. So expectations were lower. Ohata showed a lot of promise though and I loved Mayuka’s dragon sleeper, so definitely a few bright points even if overall it was a bit flat.

Atsuko Emoto, Nakagawa, and Hailey Hatred vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, Keito, and Matsumoto

Nakagawa and company attack their opponents before match starts and takes them out of the ring as both teams brawl around on the floor. Back in the ring, Emoto chokes Keito with a chair and kicks her into the corner, Hailey comes in and they hit Keito with a double lariat. Keito is triple teamed in the ropes, Kuragaki comes in but she is hit in the face with a chair before having the chair dropkicked into her head. Kuragaki gets busted open on the bridge of the nose during all this, Matsumoto grabs Emoto from ringside which helps Kuragaki recover. Backbreaker by Kuragaki, she then gets both Emoto and Nakagawa on her back but Hailey breaks it up. Kuragaki stays in with Emoto and hits her with a lariat before tagging in Keito, kicks by Keito but Emoto gets away and hits a springboard elbow.

Emoto goes up top but Matsumoto grabs her from the apron, Keito tosses Emoto to the mat and hits a PK for a two count. She goes off the ropes again but Emoto catches her with a heel kick, giving her time to tag in Nakagawa. Scoop slam by Nakagawa and she tags in Hailey, Nakagawa goes up top and Hailey helps her hit a diving footstomp. Nakagawa stays in, Matsumoto tries to help Emoto but Nakagawa rolls up Emoto for two. Falcon Arrow by Keito, but the pin is broken up when Emoto hits Keito with a chair. Nakagawa gets the chair but hits Emoto by accident, high kick by Keito to Nakagawa but Hailey runs in and elbow Keito. Crucifix cover by Nakagawa but it is broken up, she charges Keito but Keito hits a high kick. Kick by Keito, but Nakagawa barely gets a shoulder up. Keito drags up Nakagawa and hits another high kick, Schwein by Keito and she gets the three count! Kuragaki, Keito, and Matsumoto win!

A bit too much of this was clipped but what they showed was fine. The problem with having a six wrestler tagged trimmed down to seven minutes is it makes having so many wrestlers unnecessary. I don’t know if Hailey and Matsumoto did more, but in what they showed they did hardly anything and were non-essential to the match. Kuragaki was hit with some really hard chair shots and her face showed that, pretty brutal for a match so early on the card. Some entertaining parts but not enough substance was shown.

Super Heel Uematsu and KAZUKI vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Sachie Abe

Uematsu and Abe are the first two in, Abe kicks Uematsu around the ring until Uematsu bails and glares at the crowd. KAZUKI runs in to attack Abe, Uematsu then pulls Abe out of the ring and throws her into the crowd. Uematsu attacks Ran with chairs at ringside, she finally gets back into the ring and waits for Abe. Abe returns and hits a jumping seated senton onto Uematsu before making the tag to Ran. KAZUKI comes in to take Uematsu’s place, Uematsu gets a kendo stick and hits Ran with it. Running kick by Uematsu while Ran is against the ropes, she then pulls Abe off the apron and slams her into the floor. Uematsu pretends she is going to do a dive but instead slides out of the ring and hits Ran and Abe with her stick some more. Abe and Ran are double teamed at ringside until Ran and Abe fight back, Uematsu gets on the apron but Ran slides back into the ring before she can dive out. Uematsu returns also and they trade kick attempts, enzuigiri by Ran but Uematsu avoids the next attack and hit a missile dropkick. Uematsu goes for a moonsault but Ran moves, running knee by Ran and she covers Uematsu for two. Ran gets Uematsu on her back but Uematsu jumps off, dropkick by KAZUKI and Uematsu tags in KAZUKI. Running knee by KAZUKI but Abe snaps off a hurricanrana, KAZUKI reverses it but the referee is too hurt to make a cover.

Somato by KAZUKI, but Abe kicks out at two. KAZUKI tags in Uematsu, Uematsu picks up Abe but Abe drops her with a snap German. Uematsu returns to her feet, Abe lands her on feet when Uematsu goes for a dragon suplex but Uematsu dropkicks her. Missile dropkicks by Uematsu, she goes up top again but this time she dives out of the ring onto Ran. Uematsu gets back in and goes up top, Abe joins her but Uematsu chokes Abe and tosses her back to the mat. Ran comes in but Uematsu hits her with a lariat, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Abe avoids the corkscrew senton. Abe goes for a hurricanrana but Uematsu catches her and hits a powerbomb. Uematsu picks up Abe and hits a dragon suplex hold, but Ran breaks it up. Uematsu drops her with a dragon suplex also, but Ran gets back up and hits Uematsu when she gets on the second turnbuckle. Abe jumps up with Uematsu and hits a Frankensteiner, but the cover is broken up. Backdrop suplex hold by Abe, but Uematsu kicks out at two. Abe picks up Uematsu again and goes off the ropes, La Magistral by Abe but again the cover is broken up. Bodyscissors into a roll-up by Abe, Uematsu kicks out and KAZUKI hits Abe with a Codebreaker. Fisherman Driver by Uematsu, and she gets the three count! Uematsu and KAZUKI are the winners.

This was an interesting period in Uematsu’s career. She was getting a bit of a push in 2008 and 2009, and having two personas was part of her renewed interest. But like a lot of gimmicks, sometimes it doesn’t stick and resonate with the crowd, and I think that is why Uematsu isn’t really remembered today as one of the high end wrestlers of the last ten years. But she was quite good, her suplexes were all on point, she reminded me of a Cassandra Miyagi type character but one that has more wrestling skills. The match was mostly about her as KAZUKI didn’t do much, and five minutes or so were clipped, but Abe and Ran looked good as well. Too much was clipped but I actually did enjoy Uematsu’s style in this match, I thought it fit her well.  Mildly Recommended (for Uematsu)

Azumi Hyuga vs. Tojuki Leon

They start with some mat work, Hyuga gets Leon’s back and applies a chinlock before applying a leglock. Leon gets into the ropes, Hyuga slams Leon’s knee into the mat and puts her in a surfboard, she lets Leon go and hits a jumping knee in the corner. Leon jumps over Hyuga and hits a backbreaker, Leon tries to pick up Hyuga but Hyuga punches her away. Underhook into a backbreaker by Hyuga but Leon pushes Hyuga into the ropes, she charges her but Hyuga flips her onto the apron before kicking her in the head to send Leon to the floor. Hyuga goes up top but Leon jumps onto the apron and hits a springboard dropkick. Hyuga falls to the floor as Leon gets back into the ring and sails out onto her with a springboard dive off the top rope. Leon slides Hyuga back in and goes up top, hitting a rope walking dropkick followed by a spear in the corner. Leon goes to the top once again and hits the diving body press, but Hyuga kicks out of the cover. Leon picks up Hyuga but Hyuga gets her back and hits a suplex. Leon recovers and applies a backbreaker and slams Hyuga to the mat, Leon goes off the ropes but Hyuga dropkicks her in the head. Rolling Germans by Hyuga and she hits a backbreaker, Leon rolls her to the mat but Hyuga reverses it and delivers a head kick.

Leon falls out of the ring, Hyuga goes out to the apron and jumps off with a knee attack. Hyuga rolls Leon back in and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hyuga but it gets two. Armtrap Crossface by Hyuga, but Leon wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Hyuga picks up Leon but Leon blocks the Michinoku Driver and slams Hyuga into her knee. Big spinning slam by Leon, she goes up top and hits a somersault legdrop for a two count. Leon picks up Hyuga and goes off the ropes, but Hyuga elbows her in the chest and they trade shots. Hyuga catches Leon’s heel kick and hits a suplex, knee to the back of the head by Hyuga and she hits the Michinoku Driver, but Leon barely kicks out. Hyuga puts Leon on the top turnbuckle and joins her, Spider German by Hyuga but Leon lands on her feet. Leon goes for a spear while Hyuga is still hanging but Hyuga pulls herself up in time, Leon re-joins Hyuga and she hits an avalanche capture suplex. Hyuga and Leon slowly get up, half nelson suplex by Leon and she kicks Hyuga in the head. Leon goes out to the apron and hits a swandive heel kick, Leon picks up Hyuga and nails the Capture Buster, but Hyuga somehow kicks out. Leon drags Hyuga up and goes for another one, but Hyuga blocks it and rolls up Leon for two. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, Hyuga kicks Leon in the head and hits the Michinoku Driver, but it gets two. Hyuga goes up top and nails the Takako Panic, cover by Hyuga and she gets the three count! Azumi Hyuga is the winner.

I enjoyed this match quite a bit, both really brought their A game. Lots of big moves, ranging from dives to killer suplexes, and they really kept the match moving for the entire 15 minutes. Hyuga had a fair number of injuries in her career but could still go as you wouldn’t have known from watching this match, and this is one of the better Leon singles matches I’ve seen. Really fun and a pleasant surprise. Recommended

(c) Command Bolshoi and Megumi Yabushita vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Emi Sakura
JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women’s Tag Team Championship

Yoneyama and Sakura attack before the match starts, but Bolshoi and Yabushita throw them out of the ring and both teams battle on the floor. They return after a moment with Bolshoi and Yabushita in control, they both roll their opponents to the mat and apply submission holds. Bolshoi picks up Yoneyama and hits a vertical suplex before tagging Yabushita, scoop slam by Yabushita and she hits a double kneedrop near the ropes. Yabushita picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama rolls up Yabushita, she tries to tag Sakura but Yabushita grabs her leg and applies an ankle hold. She tags in Bolshoi, Bolshoi kicks Yoneyama but Yoneyama schoolboys her for two and makes the hot tag to Sakura. Mongolian Chops by Sakura and she attacks both Bolshoi and Yabushita in the corner, Yoneyama returns and they double team Bolshoi. Sakura picks up Bolshoi and hits a double underhook backbreaker, another backbreaker by Sakura but Yabushita grabs her from the apron. Yoneyama grabs Bolshoi too as Yabushita applies a hanging armbar to Sakura, Bolshoi runs over to Sakura but Sakura avoids the double dropkick attempt. Sakura crossbodies both Yabushita and Bolshoi off the apron, Yoneyama runs over and she dives out onto both of her opponents with a somersault attack. Bolshoi is rolled back in, footstomp by Sakura but Bolshoi blocks the second one and applies a triangle choke. Sakura gets out of it and elbows Bolshoi, Bolshoi applies a reverse armbar but Sakura gets into the ropes. Bolshoi tags Yabushita, Yabushita puts Sakura in a choke but Yoneyama comes in and breaks it up.

Senton by Yoneyama, Sakura rolls Yabushita to the mat and applies a submission, but Yabushita gets a foot in the ropes. Sakura tags in Yoneyama, Yoneyama comes in with a diving crossbody and she goes for a cover, but Yabushita blocks it and applies a triangle choke. Yabushita picks up Yoneyama and goes to the second turnbuckle, but Yoneyama gets away from her and tosses her off with a judo throw of sorts. Sakura comes in and hits a moonsault, Yoneyama follows with her own moonsault and both wrestlers hit another one, but Bolshoi breaks up Yoneyama’s cover. Cross armbreaker takedown by Yabushita while Bolshoi puts Sakura in an ankle hold, but Yoneyama manages to get into the ropes for a break. Yabushita tags in Bolshoi, chop by Bolshoi and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick, but Yoneyama hits the Chaos Theory for two. Yoneyama goes up top but Bolshoi smacks her before she can jump off, Bolshoi joins Yoneyama and hits an avalanche uranage for a two count. Bolshoi picks up Yoneyama and hits a tiger suplex hold, but that gets two as well. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Yoneyama hits a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster, double Reverse Splash to Bolshoi and Yoneyama goes back up top to hit a diving senton, but Yabushita breaks up the cover. Yoneyama picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi hits a way and hits a Shotei. Everyone is hurt, they slowly get up as Bolshoi goes for a flash pin, but Yoneyama reverses it. Sakura tosses Yabushita out of the ring but she comes back in with a springboard knee to Yoneyama’s arm, double reverse armbar by Bolshoi to Yoneyama but Sakura breaks it up. Reverse STO by Sakura to Bolshoi, Yoneyama delivers the Yone-ZOU and she picks up the three count! Yoneyama and Sakura are your new champions!

I’m not really sure what to say about this match. I liked it, but it just had no cohesion whatsoever. There wasn’t a structure or a feeling that either team had a plan, it was just random moves. One time in particular Yabushita had a solid submission locked in, but she just released it for no reason to go for something else, which no doubt didn’t work since neither team had a control segment worth mentioning. It was really fast paced and most things were hit really smooth, but it was a bit too unfocused for my personal preferences. Some good parts and exciting moves, it just didn’t feel like a championship match and was a step down from the match we just saw in terms of excitement and suspense.

(c) Kayoko Haruyama vs. Kyoko Kimura
JWP Openweight Championship

No pleasantries here as they start off trading hard elbows, they trade shoulderblock attempts until Haruyama knocks Kyoko to the mat. She goes off the ropes again but is pulled out of the ring by Emoto (Kyoko’s crew is Emoto, Hailey, and Nakagawa from the previous match), Kyoko goes out too and she throws Haruyama into the bleachers. She takes Haruyama into the bleachers and hits her with a weapon before bringing her back towards ringside, but instead of taking her into the ring she takes her up into the bleachers again and rams her head into the wall. Haruyama is bleeding at this point while Kyoko bites her in the head, she finally brings Haruyama back to the ring and stabs her in the head repeatedly with scissors. Kyoko gets her chain and chokes Haruyama with it, Kyoko charges Haruyama but Haruyama drops her onto the apron. Kyoko wraps the chain around Haruyama’s neck and gets a chair, Haruyama ducks the shot and goes off the ropes, but Kyoko doesn’t miss the second time as she hits Haruyama with the chair. She gets her scissors but Haruyama gets the chair and hits Kyoko with it, she throws the chair out of the ring and kicks Kyoko repeatedly while she kneels on the mat. Punches by Haruyama and she lariats Kyoko in the corner, mounted punches by Haruyama and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Haruyama hits a second one, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Kyoko avoids the diving guillotine legdrop. Kyoko then goes up top but Haruyama hits her before she can jump off and joins her, delivering an avalanche powerslam for a two count cover. Kyoko is slid her chain and she hits Haruyama in the head with it, she throws Haruyama out of the ring and Haruyama is attacked by Kyoko’s crew. JWP wrestler try to help to even the odds, but they ultimately get beaten down too. During all this, Kyoko has climbed all the way up to the high balcony at Korakuen (not the one that Io likes jumping off of, but on the other side), Kyoko is fed the chain and she hangs Haruyama from the balcony. Haruyama is freed, but she is laid down on the bleachers while Kyoko is perched above. Kyoko then dives off the balcony, hitting a diving footstomp over 20 feet down onto Haruyama’s midsection why she is lying on a wooden bleacher.

   

Kyoko goes back into the ring and sets up a barbed wire board across two chairs while she waits for Haruyama. Haruyama finally makes it back in, Kyoko puts Haruyama on the top turnbuckle and she superplexes Haruyama through the barbed wire board. Cover by Kyoko, but Haruyama barely kicks out. Running boot to the face by Kyoko, she goes up top but Haruyama gets a bundle of lighttubes and hits Kyoko in the head with it. Keene Hammer by Haruyama, but Kyoko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kyoko and Haruyama trade elbows, they go off the ropes and Haruyama levels Kyoko with a lariat. Sliding lariat by Haruyama, but Kyoko grabs the ropes when Haruyama goes for the pin. Kyoko headbutts Haruyama and hits a big boot, another big boot by Kyoko and she covers Haruyama for two. Kyoko goes off the ropes, but Haruyama grabs her and slams Kyoko to the mat. A second Keene Hammer by Haruyama, and she picks up the three count! Kayoko Haruyama is still the champion!

Rating a match like this is hard, but I will say that it was very brutal and violent, one of the more violent matches you will see in a non-deathmatch promotion. I mean we had Haruyama hung by a chain, hit with a chain, put through barbed wire, stabbed with scissors, hit repeatedly with chairs, and on top of that a little balcony dive footstomp that no one else in the world is crazy enough to do. The only knock of sorts on the match is the ending, as after all that brutality they went though the usual ‘trade finishers’ conclusion that works fine in most matches but seemed a bit out of place here. Also, the brawling outside the ring by the two factions looked weak at times and didn’t really aid the match. But I still really enjoyed it, the match was a hell of a spectacle, even though I never want to see a match quite like it happen again. Once was the perfect number. Recommended

The post JWP Pure Slam 2009 on 7/19/09 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

NEO Ladies was a Joshi promotion that had many re-starts but was running in some form from 1998 to 2010. Originally it was a break-off promotion from All Japan Women, and the name was supposed to be Nippon Women’s Wrestling but they had a trademark issue with New Japan Pro Wrestling.  So they went with NEO Ladies instead as the promotion name. Kyoko Inoue was the Ace of the promotion, but over the years many wrestlers made their name in NEO including Natsuki Taiyo, Nanae Takahashi, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ayako Hamada, and others.

This show was condensed down to one hour on Samurai TV, but luckily instead of showing all the matches heavily clipped, they opted to just show the three main matches. This was a big event for NEO, as it featured a defense of both of their major titles as well as the Retirement Match of Yuka Nakamura. Here are the matches we’ll be watching:

• NEO Tag Team Championship: Kyoko Inoue and Etsuko Mita vs. Amazing Kong and Kyoko Kimura
• NWA Women’s Pacific Championship and NEO Singles Championship: Yoshiko Tamura vs. Kayoko Haruyama
• Yuka Nakamura Retirement Match: Yuka Nakamura vs. Mima Shimoda

This wasn’t the match order on the show live, but was re-arranged on the broadcast so that the retirement match went last.

(c) Kyoko Inoue and Etsuko Mita vs. Amazing Kong and Kyoko Kimura
NEO Tag Team Championship

Kimura and Kong attack Mita and Inoue from behind before the match starts and both hit running strikes in the corner before pulling their opponents out of the ring. Kong and Kimura throw Mita and Inoue into the chairs at ringside, Kimura gets a chain and she chokes Inoue with it while Mita manages to fight back against Kong with chair shots. Kimura drags around Inoue with the chain before choking her with it from the apron, they finally get back into the ring as Kimura goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Inoue. Kimura hits Inoue with the chain some more, Inoue finally fights back and goes for a powerbomb but Kimura gets out of it by repeatedly hitting her in the head with the chain. We jump ahead in the match to Mita and Kimura trading strikes, sunset flip by Kimura but it gets two. Kong comes in and kicks Mita, Inoue then comes in too and hits a German suplex onto Kimura while Mita applies a jackknife for a two count. Mita picks up Kimura and hits the Death Valley Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Mita drags up Kimura, Kong comes in but she accidentally hits Kimura with a Uraken. Mita picks up Kimura but Kimura whips off a backdrop suplex, backfist by Kong and Kimura hits another backdrop suplex but Inoue breaks up the cover. Kimura goes up top, Kong picks up Mita but Mita gets away from her and joins Kimura. Avalanche Electric Chair by Mita, but Kong breaks up the cover by kicking the referee. Inoue runs in but she lariats Mita by accident, Big Boot by Kimura but Mita barely gets a shoulder up. Kimura goes off the ropes, Mita blocks the Big Boot and goes for a Death Valley Bomb, but Kong pushes them over. Kimura gets her chain and hits Mita in the face with it, Big Boot by Kimura and she gets the three count! Amazing Kong and Kyoko Kimura are your new champions!

This was way too clipped to get excited about as only about 6 minutes of 23 were shown, but I liked what I saw. I mean there would be no excuse to show anything that wasn’t entertaining when the match is condensed by that much, but it seems like they kept the entire beginning and end uncut so it didn’t just feel like a highlights collection. Kimura was one of the baddest wrestlers in Joshi for a decade, whether it was diving off of balconies or hitting people with chains, she didn’t mess around. Everyone played their role well and none came out of the match looking weak (although we didn’t see much from Kong). A fun condensed match but too clipped to recommend.

(c) Yoshiko Tamura vs. Kayoko Haruyama
NWA Women’s Pacific Championship and NEO Singles Championship

We join this match well in progress, with Haruyama dragging Tamura to her feet off the mat. Tamura elbows Haruyama and hits an Alabama Slam, cover by Tamura but it gets a two count. Tamura picks up Haruyama but Haruyama blocks a suplex and hits a trio of STOs. Haruyama picks up Tamura but Tamura hits a quick DDT, backdrop suplex by Tamura and she covers Haruyama for two. Tamura picks up Haruyama but Haruyama avoids her charge and clubs her repeatedly in the corner. Haruyama puts Tamura on the top turnbuckle before joining her, but Tamura elbows Haruyama off. Haruyama re-joins her but Tamura hits an avalanche side slam, Tamura quickly goes back up top and she hits a somersault senton for a two count. Tamura picks up Haruyama, elbows by Tamura but Haruyama ducks one and kicks Tamura in the head. Haruyama goes up top but Tamura elbows her before she can jump off and joins her. Knees by Haruyama while they are still up top and Haruyama jumps off with Orange☆Tomahawk. A diving leg drop follows, cover by Haruyama but it gets a two count. Haruyama goes up top once again but Tamura kicks her in the head and goes up as well, avalanche backdrop suplex by Tamura and she slowly covers Haruyama for two. The referee checks on Haruyama as she seems out of it but Tamura kicks him out of the way and hits a series of elbows. Cocky cover by Tamura, and Haruyama barely gets a shoulder up. Haruyama ducks Tamura’s high kick and hits the Keene Hammer, but Tamura kicks out. Haruyama drags Tamura to her feet and goes for another one, but Tamura gets out of it and rolls up Haruyama for a two count. Heel kicks by Tamura but Haruyama lariats her in the back of the head, she goes off the ropes but Tamura nails an elbow smash. Tamura picks up Haruyama and delivers a cobra clutch suplex, another cobra clutch suplex by Tamura and she hits a third, but Haruyama kicks out of the pin. Tamura picks up Haruyama and connects with elbows, she takes off her elbow pad and hits one final elbow smash, picking up the three count! Yoshiko Tamura is still the champion.

On one hand, I liked that they just cut the match in half and showed the last ten minutes in its entirety, as I hate it when clipped matches just do clip-clip-clip so its hard to get into a match. The downside is that we joined them after both were already hurt/exhausted but without seeing anything that made them hurt which took some of the fun out of it. Tamura is one of the better Joshi wrestlers from the 2000s that many fans don’t know much about, she was a great striker and had an aura to her that either a wrestler has or they don’t. They went to the top turnbuckle a bit more often than seemed necessary, it felt like every 30 seconds someone was going up top for some reason or another, but this was the main event of the show and the title match so you can understand both wrestlers going “all out” to pick up the win. I liked it as I enjoy the head-drop suplexes and snug elbows, but I do wish I could have seen the match in full instead of just the long home stretch.  Mildly Recommended

Yuka Nakamura vs. Mima Shimoda
Yuka Nakamura Retirement Match

After a feeling out process and basic limb work, Shimoda boots Nakamura in the chest and puts her in a camel clutch. Shimoda gets Nakamura into the corner and chokes her with her boot, Shimoda throws Nakamura to the mat but Nakamura catches her with a jumping lariat. Shimoda returns the favor, she picks up Nakamura but Nakamura knocks her down with a jumping knee. Nakamura picks up Shimoda and throws her into the corner, jumping knee by Nakamura but Shimoda boots her in the chest. Shimoda gets on the second turnbuckle but Nakamura kicks her out of the ring, Nakamura goes up top and dives onto Shimoda with a diving crossbody to the floor. Face crusher by Nakamura and she puts Shimoda in a camel clutch with a bit of hair pulling, she lets go after a moment and stretches out Shimoda’s back. Stomps by Nakamura and she hits running boots to the head, cover by Nakamura but it gets a two count. Shimoda slaps Nakamura and they get into a slap battle, which Nakamura wins as she sends Shimoda crashing to the mat.

Nakamura picks up Shimoda but Shimoda elbows her off, Nakamura gets on the second turnbuckle and she delivers a Tornado DDT for a two count cover. Heel drop by Nakamura but Shimoda hits one of her own, another one by Nakamura and she hits a release German suplex. Seven more heel drops by Nakamura, she goes up top and she nails the diving footstomp for a two count cover. Nakamura goes up top but Shimoda joins her, Nakamura knocks Shimoda off but Shimoda avoids her dive and applies a folding backslide for two. Shimoda picks up Nakamura but Nakamura blocks the suplex attempt, Nakamura applies a couple flash pins but both get a two. Running knees by Nakamura, she covers Shimoda but Shimoda barely gets a shoulder up. Nakamura goes up top but Shimoda recovers and approaches the corner, Nakamura hits a modified Calf Branding and Shimoda falls out to the floor. Nakamura goes back to the top turnbuckle jumps out of the ring with a diving footstomp to the floor, she gets back in the ring and patiently waits for Shimoda to recover. She finally drags her back in, Nakamura goes to the top and hits another diving footstomp, but Shimoda kicks out of the cover. Nakamura picks up Shimoda but Shimoda whips out a backdrop suplex, they trade elbows until Nakamura crumples to the mat. Heel drop by Shimoda, and she covers Nakamura for two. Shimoda puts Nakamura on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Nakamura elbows her off. Shimoda moves when Nakamura jumps off the top, but Nakamura delivers a running knee and applies the Romantic Clutch for the three count! Yuka Nakamura wins the match.

The post-match ceremony was condensed since they had to squeeze it onto a one hour show, but included wrestlers saying farewell to Nakamura, a bell salute, and of course lots of streamers. This was a unique retirement match as Nakamura not only won, but controlled the bulk of the action. Not that Shimoda needed the win but most of the time a retiring wrestler loses their last match. Nakamura hit all of her signature moves, including the always fun diving footstomp out to the floor, and held nothing back in her final wrestling match. An entertaining match and a fitting end to Nakamura’s career.  Recommended

The post NEO Summer Stampede 2006 on 7/17/06 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

In the last 10 years, since the fall of Joshi’s popularity in Japan, it has been rare for a Joshi event to air live on TV as usually it is shown either delayed on TV or live on niconico. It is even more rare for a promotion with no TV deal at all to get such a spot, but the retirement of Joshi legend Devil Masami was able to pull it off. MARVELOUS NIGHT V was shown live on GAORA in its entirety, with the show clocking in at almost three hours. Much of that was Masami’s retirement ceremony (approximately 45 minutes worth) but there was a full event as well as different promotions came together to send off Masami in style. Masami herself wrestled twice on the card, including in the opening against Nagayo, who come out of retirement (hold in your laughter) to take on her old foe. Here is the full card:

• Chigusa Nagayo, Yumiko Hotta, and Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami, Dump Matsumoto, and KAORU
• DASH Chisako and Sendai Sachiko vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yukari Ishino
• Ayako Sato and Hanako Kobayashi vs. Ray and Misaki Ohata
• Kana, Yumi Ohka, Cherry, and Moeka Haruhi vs. GAMI, Kyoko Kimura, Shuu Shibutani, and Bullfighter Sora
• Misae Genki vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Azumi Hyuga, Leon, and Arisa Nakajima vs. Kayoko Haruyama, Command Bolshoi, and Kaori Yoneyama
• Noriyo Tateno vs. Takako Inoue
• Chikayo Nagashima and Sonoko Kato vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota
• Devil Masami Retirement Match: Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, and Carlos Amano vs. Aja Kong, Ran Yu-Yu, and Toshie Uematsu

Chigusa Nagayo, Hotta, and Satomura vs. Devil Masami, Dump Matsumoto, and KAORU

Nagayo and Masami start the match and they trade strikes, Masami shrugs off Nagayo’s strikes but Nagayo hits an armdrag. Masami goes all evil and scares Nagayo into the corner, she tags in Matsumoto who comes in with a kendo stick, which she uses to hit Nagayo repeatedly. Nagayo eventually grabs it and Hotta comes in and smacks Matsumoto in the face. Nagayo tags in Satomura but KAORU runs in and hits Satomura with a piece of table. Hotta returns and they double team Matsumoto, but Matsumoto comes back with a lariat to Satomura and tags in KAORU. KAORU hits Satomura with the table piece but Satomura hits a rebound elbow out of the corner followed by the Pele Kick. Hotta becomes legal somehow and elbows KAORU, Nagayo struts in and kicks KAORU in the head. Tiger Driver by Hotta to KAORU, but the pin is broken up when Matsumoto hits the referee with the kendo stick. Nagayo stays in with KAORU but Masami lariats her from the apron and comes in to hit a leg drop. Moonsault by KAORU, Masami picks up Nagayo but Nagayo uppercuts her, Nagayo goes off the ropes but KAORU hits her with the table piece. Matsumoto comes in while the crowd squeals, and Matsumoto stabs Nagayo in the head. She keeps stabbing Nagayo until she starts bleeding, Masami covers Nagayo but it gets a two count. Satomura comes in and they take turns kicking Masami, lariat by Nagayo but it gets a two count as Masami does a zombie kick out. Hotta tries to help but it backfires, KAORU comes in to spray mist at Nagayo but she misses and hits Masami by accident. Uppercut by Nagayo but Masami headbutts her, Fire Valley by Masami and she gets the three count! Masami, Matsumoto, and KAORU win!

After the match they all spoke and laughed with each other, so no hard feelings between the veterans. This is a really odd match as it was more of an exhibition, it was under eight minutes and the tag rules were rather loose to put it mildly. I really don’t think KAORU and Satomura were needed, the crowd was into anything with Nagayo, Masami, and Matsumoto and the rest were just filler to get the participant number up. Even watching it eight years later I completely get the fun of seeing Nagayo in there with Matsumoto and it was a unique way to start the show as it allowed Masami time to rest up before her real retirement match (plus a chance to retire the ‘gimmick’ character). I thought it was lighthearted and fun, but not much of a ‘real’ match in the traditional sense.  Mildly Recommended

DASH Chisako and Sendai Sachiko vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yukari Ishino

Chisako and Mizunami are the first two in, Chisako grabs Mizunami’s arm and Sachiko comes down off the top turnbuckle onto it. Mizunami puts Sachiko in a headlock and tags in Ishino, dropkicks by Ishino and she covers Sachiko for two. Back up they trade elbows, Sachiko wins the dual and she tags in her sister, who works over Ishino in the corner. Dropkicks by Chisako but Ishino quickly rolls her up for a two count before hitting a series of dropkicks. Ishino tags in Mizunami, scoop slam by Mizunami and she hits quick legdrops for a two count cover. Chisako comes back with dropkicks, Sachiko goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Mizunami. Even more dropkicks by Sachiko (lots of dropkicks in this match) and she hits a DDT, but Mizunami gets Sachiko up and hits a shoulder breaker. Mizunami tags in Ishino but Chisako runs in and dropkicks her, double dropkick to Ishino and Sachiko covers her for two. Sachiko jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hit a tornado DDT, Northern Lights Suplex by Sachiko but it gets a two count. Ishino gets Sachiko up on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, she picks her up again but this time Sachiko wiggles away and hits a DDT. Scoop slam by Sachiko, Chisako comes in and Sachiko suplexes Chisako onto Ishino. Somersault senton by Sachiko, but Ishino bridges out of the cover. Sachiko picks up Ishino, Chisako boots Ishino in the head and Sachiko delivers a German suplex hold for the three count! Chisako and Sachiko are the winners.

It is interesting that Sendai Girls’ sent their babies for the offer match, but considering the match they had to follow it was probably for the best. Lots of rookie-based offense here, meaning lots of dropkicks and the like, but occasionally they would throw in something different to show they weren’t complete novices. Chisako and Sachiko were already working well together, they teamed for seven more years after this match so you can imagine how much better they got. A fun easy to watch opener-style match.

Ayako Sato and Hanako Kobayashi vs. Ray and Misaki Ohata

Ray and Sato begin the match, hard shoulderblock by Ray and she hits a springboard armdrag. Ray cartwheels away from Sato and both wrestlers go for dropkicks, Ray gets Sato in the ropes and chops her in the chest. Ray tags in Ohata, Ohata goes for a cross armbreaker but Sato gets into the ropes. Dropkick by Sato as Kobayashi comes in, and Ohata is double teamed. Dropkicks by Sato, and she covers Ohata for a two count. Ohata starts her comeback but Sato slips away and tags in Kobayashi, missile dropkick by Kobayashi but Ray kicks her from the apron. Kobayashi is double teamed and covered by Ohata for a two count, armdrag by Ohata and she hits a low crossbody. Ray goes up top and hits a cartwheel kick off the ropes, she picks up Kobayashi and hits an enzuigiri. Ray goes up top as does Ohata, but both wrestlers miss moonsaults. Kobayashi hits a diving crossbody on Ray, then Sato follows with a missile dropkick. Kobayashi picks up Ray and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but it gets a two count. Kobayashi goes up top but Ohata hits her before she can jump off, Ray goes up with her but Kobayashi pushes Ray to the mat and hits a diving crossbody. Ray hits a German suplex on Kobayashi, jumping kick by Ray and she nails a moonsault for the three count! Ohata and Ray are the winners.

A simple match, nothing bad but utterly forgettable. Ray was a great flyer and got a few chances to show it here, but no one else made much of an impression. With only six minutes they didn’t have much time anyway, mostly just filler.

Kana, Yumi Ohka, Cherry, and Haruhi vs. GAMI, Kimura, Shibutani, and Bullfighter Sora

Sora and Haruhi start off, Cherry comes in too but Sora hits a crossbody on both of them. Kana runs in and starts hip attacking everyone, until Kimura boots her in the head. Ohka comes in to help but so does GAMI, and GAMI hits everyone in the head with a horn. She gets dropkicked, then Team Kana pose on Gama and Sora. Team GAMI end up back in control as they do the triple leg submission hold spot in a circle as they run through the indy wrestling cliche spots until things settle back down with Sora and Haruhi still the legal wrestlers. They tag in Kana and Kimura, they trade elbows until Kimura headbutts Kana to send her to the mat. Shibutani missile dropkicks Kana, but Kana falls into her corner and tags in Cherry. Cherry hits a jumping lariat on Shibutani and tags in Haruhi, jumping seated sentons by Haruhi and she covers Shibutani for two.

DDT by Shibutani and she dropkicks Cherry before tagging in GAMI. GAMI is reluctant to go up top but eventually does so, she walks the ropes while holding Haruhi’s arm but eventually falls and crotches herself. GAMI picks up Haruhi but Haruhi puts her in a hanging submission, but GAMI gets into the ropes. Ohka is tagged in but GAMI catches her with a side Russian leg sweep and GAMI tags in Sora. Ohka boots Sora in the face and then boots GAMI, backdrop suplex by Ohka to GAMI and she covers her for two. Ohka goes up top but Shibutani grabs her, giving GAMI time to recover, Frankensteiner by GAMI and she covers Ohka for two. Atomic drop by Ohka to GAMI but GAMI levels her with a lariat. Fisherman buster by GAMI, but the cover is broken up. GAMI picks up Ohka but Ohka gets away, Sora tries to help but she hits GAMI by accident. Kimura then headbutts GAMI by accident and Ohka boots GAMI in the head for a two count. Tiger Suplex Hold by Ohka, and she gets the three count! Team Kana win!

A bit sloppy and disjointed for a match with wrestlers that are in theory familar with each other. Lots of comedy spots although it wasn’t all comedy, as Kimura and Kana had a nice exchange that ended way too quickly. Some miscommunications and nothing that really popped out, maybe everyone was told to keep it mild to not upstage the purpose of the evening. Another not bad but not special match which may be a recurring theme.

Misae Genki vs. Yuki Miyazaki

Miyazaki starts the match with a springboard armdrag but Genki blocks her dropkick, trip by Miyazaki and she catches Genki with a dropkick on the second try. Scoop slam by Miyazaki and the pair trade strikes, Genki throws Miyazaki in the corner and hits a series of chops. Big boot by Genki, and she covers Miyazaki for a two count. Genki goes for a chokeslam but Miyazaki blocks it and hits a chokeslam of her own. Miyazaki goes up top but Genki grabs her and chokeslams Miyazaki to the mat for two. Miyazaki grabs Genki around the waist and hits a German suplex hold, but it gets a two count. Tiger suplex hold by Miyazaki but that gets a two as well, Miyazaki goes up top but Genki avoids the moonsault attempt. Sliding Kick by Miyazaki but Genki levels her with a lariat. Another lariat by Genki, she picks up Miyazaki and she hits an Emerald Frosion. Genki picks up Miyazaki again and nails the G-Driller, picking up the three count cover! Misae Genki wins the match.

Too short to get excited about but the action itself was good. Genki was a quality power wrestler, never outstanding but really solid and everything was hit convincingly. The transitions were bad enough to be annoying, no real meaningful selling until the last few moves, but with a five minute match what else can ya do. Not bad but it didn’t leave much of an impression.

Azumi Hyuga, Leon, and Arisa Nakajima vs. Haruyama, Command Bolshoi, and Yoneyama

Bolshoi and Hyuga start for their teams and trade quick holds on the mat with neither getting a clean advantage. Nakajima and Yoneyama tag in, Hyuga stays in to help but Yoneyama armdrags them both out of the ring. Leon then gets a running start in the ring, jumps up to the top rope and sails out onto everyone with a plancha suicida. Back in the ring, Yoneyama is triple teamed in the corner before Nakajima hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Nakajima tags Leon, spear by Leon and she hits two more for a two count of her own. Leon goes for a suplex but Yoneyama slides away and hits the Chaos Theory. Yoneyama tags in Haruyama, Stunner by Haruyama but Leon catches her with a backbreaker slam. Nakajima and Hyuga run in while Leon goes up top and hits a diving body press for two. Leon tags Hyuga who hits a double underhook unto a backbreaker, she goes up top and knocks down Haruyama with a missile dropkick. Hyuga picks up Haruyama but Haruyama lariats her in the back of the head and tags in Bolshoi. Hurricanrana by Bolshoi to Hyuga, she picks her up and hits a drop toehold into the ropes so that Haruyama and Yoneyama can dropkick her. Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and she goes for a satellite headscissors, but Hyuga blocks it and hits a backbreaker.

Running knee to the back of the head by Hyuga and she hits rolling German suplexes for a two count. Yoneyama runs in and kicks Hyuga, La Mistica by Bolshoi to Hyuga but it is quickly broken up. Nakajima comes in but Bolshoi rolls her to the mat and applies a kneelock until Leon breaks it up. Bolshoi tags in Haruyama, kick by Haruyama but Nakajima catches her with a bridging fallaway suplex. Elbows by Nakajima but Haruyama blocks the German suplex. More elbows by Nakajima but Haruyama levels her with a lariat.  Haruyama goes up top but Leon grabs her, giving Nakajima time to join Haruyama. Nakajima suplexes Haruyama off the top turnbuckle, Leon then hits a Swanton Bomb and Nakajima finishes with a diving footstomp for a two count cover. German suplex hold by Nakajima to Haruyama, but that gets a two as well. Nakajima goes up top but Yoneyama joins her and suplexes her back off. Haruyama picks up Nakajima and deliver the Keene Hammer but Leon breaks it up. Yoneyama goes up top and is fed Leon’s legs by Haruyama, they together hit an assisted double underhook facebuster on Leon while Yoneyama also sentons Leon. Haruyama goes back up and hits a diving legdrop, but Hyuga breaks up the pin. The bell rings just as she does so, and the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was definitely the best match on the card we’ve seen as far as wrestling goes, all six of them brought their A Game and were flying around the ring in impressive fashion. They seemed to always be on the same page and worked well together, nothing felt off or forced. With a ten minute time limit I don’t think six wrestlers were needed, four would have been fine as there wasn’t really time to showcase all the wrestlers, but everything they did was well done. It felt more like an exhibition which in a way it was, but it was still fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

Noriyo Tateno vs. Takako Inoue

Takako kicks Tateno into the corner right off the bat, kick to the chest by Takako and she hits a DDT. More kicks by Takako but Tateno fights back with elbows, Mexican Surfboard by Tateno and she applies a facelock. Tateno stomps down on Takako’s hands and sends her off the ropes, but Takako snaps off a DDT. STF by Takako, she grabs Tateno by the hair but Tateno gets her back and goes for a suplex. Takako grabs the ropes to break it up, lariat by Tateno and she hits two more, German suplex hold by Tateno but it gets a two count. Tateno goes up top but Takako recovers and joins her, hitting an avalanche armdrag for two. Takako goes up top but Tateno avoids the Takako Panic, lariat by Tateno and she hits a diving body press for two. Tateno picks up Takako but Takako slides away and hits a backfist. Tateno blocks the next one however and drops Takako with a Death Valley Bomb, she picks Takako up but Takako slides away and rolls her up for the three count! Takako Inoue is the winner.

Another shorter match and probably the worst one on the show. It was pretty slow with some longer submissions for a match that wasn’t really long enough to sustain it. The match also ended really suddenly, it never felt like it really got going before it was suddenly over. A couple good moves and they worked well together, just not a very exciting match.

Chikayo Nagashima and Sonoko Kato vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota

Like any Ozaki match, the action quickly spills out to the floor as Toyota takes Nagashima up into the crowd. Both teams battle up near the entrance way and in the bleachers, they get back near ringside and Toyota dives off the top turnbuckle onto both Nagashima and Kato. They finally get back into the ring, Ozaki gets a chair and she hits Kato, Toyota then goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Ozaki gets a chain and hits Kato with that as well, but Kato ducks the next attempt and hits a release German suplex. She tags in Nagashima but Nagashima is tripped from the floor, Toyota comes in but Nagashima hits a double springboard armdrag on both of them. Kato slams Ozaki in front of the corner and Nagashima delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Ozaki slaps Nagashima and tags in Toyota, Toyota goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. She hits another one before putting Nagashima in the ropes so she can be attacked by the entire Ozaki Army. Toyota gets Nagashima on her shoulders but she wiggles away and hits a release German suplex. Diving leg drop by Kato, and she covers Toyota for a two count.

Kato goes for the dragon suplex but Toyota blocks it and rolls Kato around the ring. Toyota goes up top but Kato grabs her from behind and hits a release German. Dragon suplex hold by Kato to Toyota, but it only gets a two count. Toyota gets away from Kato as Ozaki throws a chain at Kato, German suplex hold by Toyota but it gets two. Toyota goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kato avoids her moonsault and hits a punt. She tags in Nagashima but Ozaki is also tagged in, sit-down powerbomb by Ozaki but it gets two. Ozaki gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagashima catapults up there and hits a Frankensteiner. Fisherman buster by Nagashima, but Toyota breaks up the cover. Toyota missile dropkicks Nagashima and Ozaki drops her with a dragon suplex hold for two. Ozaki goes for a Shining Wizard, Nagashima blocks it but Ozaki delivers the spinning backfist for a two count. Ozaki picks up Nagashima but Nagashima rolls her up for two. Hurricanrana by Nagashima, but Ozaki rolls through it, fisherman buster by Nagashima but Toyota breaks up the cover. The bell then rings, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Well this was definitely action packed, they used every minute as best they could to put on an entertaining show. Not the type of match for people that are fans of long term selling, but it had tons of big moves and brutality like you would expect from an Ozaki match. All four got a chance to shine, with Toyota in particular looking really impressive as always. A really solid match, I wish it could have gotten more time so it could have had a real conclusion but still an enjoyable heavyweight sprint.  Recommended

Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, and Carlos Amano vs. Aja Kong, Ran Yu-Yu, and Toshie Uematsu

Masami and Yu-Yu start the match off, they start off politely until Uematsu comes in to help her partner. Masami shrugs off their chops and headbutts both of them, but Kong comes in and lariats Masami to the mat. Kong takes Masami out of the ring and chucks a chair at her, as all six wrestlers brawl at ringside. Kansai and Uematsu end up in the aisle near the balcony while Kong throws the steel plate from the barricade at Amano while somehow Masami made it back into the ring with Yu-Yu and puts her in a sleeper. Masami tags in Kansai, vertical suplex by Kansai to Yu-Yu and she covers her for two. Scorpion Deathlock by Kansai but Yu-Yu crawls to the ropes and she forces the break. Kansai tags in Amano and they hit Yu-Yu with a double shoulderblock, but Yu-Yu pushes back to her corner and tags in Kong. Kong chops Amano against the ropes and hits a lariat in the corner, cover by Kong but it gets two. Amano tries to fight back with headbutts but Kong smacks her to the mat and tags in Uematsu. Uematsu rakes Amano’s face and stomps her down in the corner, Irish whip by Uematsu but Amano hits a jumping lariat and tags in Kansai. Kansai grabs Uematsu and hits a lariat in the corner, but Uematsu dropkicks her in the knee and Yu-Yu runs in too so they can hit a double dropkick. Uematsu stays in but Kansai puts them both in the claw, she slams Yu-Yu to the mat but Uematsu blocks her slam and hits a suplex. Kansai fires back with a suplex of her own, Uematsu tags in Kong but Masami is tagged in as well. Kong kicks Masami in the mouth and hits a back bodydrop, but Masami avoid the elbow drop.

Kansai comes in but Kong lariats both of them. Kong tags in Yu-Yu, jumping elbow of sorts by Yu-Yu to Masami and she hits her with a knee. Yu-Yu tries to pick up Masami but Masami blocks it, knee by Yu-Yu but Masami throws her to the mat. Kong runs over and lariats Masami, Uematsu comes in and kicks Masami in the head which swings the advantage back to Yu-Yu, kick out of the corner by Yu-Yu and she covers Masami for two. Amano jumps off the top turnbuckle with a lariat to Yu-Yu, Uematsu comes in but Masami suplexes Uematsu onto Yu-Yu. Amano stays in and kicks Yu-Yu but Yu-Yu returns fire with an elbow and knocks Amano to the mat. Yu-Yu goes off the ropes but Amano hits a roaring elbow, she picks up Yu-Yu and hits a jumping lariat, but Yu-Yu knees her when she goes off the ropes again. Another knee by Yu-Yu and she hits a release German suplex, picking up a two count. Yu-Yu tags in Kong, Kong punches Amano to the mat but Amano fights back with headbutts. Kong has none of that and hits a hard lariat, she picks up Amano and delivers the brainbuster but the cover is broken up. Kong slams Amano in front of the corner, she goes up top but Masami pushes her back to the mat. Jumping lariat by Amano to Kong and she tags in Kansai. Kansai kicks Kong but Kong catches her with a backdrop suplex, but Kansai kicks out of the cover. Kansai goes up top, Kong goes to join her but Kansai slides out to the apron and kicks Kong in the head.

Splash Mountain by Kansai, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Kansai goes up top but Kong avoids the footstomp and Uematsu comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Shining Wizard by Kong to Kansai, but the cover gets two. Kong goes up top but Kansai avoids the elbow drop, Kansai goes up again and this time she hits the diving footstomp, but Uematsu breaks up the cover. Masami is tagged in, she picks up Kong as Amano goes for a missile dropkick, but she hits Masami on accident. Kong tags in Uematsu, dragon suplex hold by Uematsu but Masami gets a shoulder up. Hard elbow by Yu-Yu to Masami but Masami fires up and lariats all three of her opponents. Masami picks up Uematsu but Uematsu slides away and Kong lariats Masami. Uematsu gets on Yu-Yu’s shoulders and hits a diving body press on Masami, but the cover gets two. Uematsu goes up top but Masami hits her before she can jump off, Yu-Yu runs in and grabs Masami however and Uematsu hits a missile dropkick. Masami pops up and lariats both of them, Kansai comes in and starts kicking people as Masami picks up Uematsu and hits a Liger Bomb for a two count. Yu-Yu has recovered but Masami scoops her up and nails the Fire Valley. She then hits it on Uematsu, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Kong picks up Masami and hits her with a backfist, Uematsu gets behind Masami and nails a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Kong, Yu-Yu, and Uematsu are your winners!

After the match, Devil Masami had a Retirement Ceremony that lasted 45 minutes. It included wrestlers saying farewell with flowers, testimonials, and of course the streamers at the end. Masami couldn’t have looked happier, and it was a fitting end to a long and storied career.

It is really really hard to evaluate a match like this with star ratings. It isn’t designed to be a ‘great’ match in the traditional sense of the word, as the retiring wrestler generally has her friends or people she enjoyed working with in the match to make it enjoyable for them. I will say that the wrestlers were putting in maximum effort to send off their friend in style, we still had Splash Mountains and Diving Footstomps and everything between, they were in no way coasting. And it was nice that Masami got the loss as that is normal tradition, giving the win to the younger Uematsu. Overall I liked it due to not just the emotion but the effort level, not a high end match work-wise but still fun to watch and a match I am sure Masami was proud of.  Recommended

The post Marvelous “Devil Masami Retirement” on 12/30/08 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

This is not a large event, and it may seem to be an odd one to pick out of a hat. My main interest was seeing Kana in a new environment, but I also like to sometimes watch the smaller shows as that is a better representation of what a promotion is all about. Almost all promotions can put on a good show once a year at their largest event, but watching wrestlers on the ‘off days’ shows what they are really made of. This event took place in their familiar Itabashi Green Hall, in front of 170 fans. Here is the full card:

• Leon and Risa Sera vs. Nana Kawasa and Raideen Hagane
• Kayoko Haruyama vs. Sareee
• Kana vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki
• JWP Tag League The Best – Block B: Manami Katsu and Rabbit Miu [0] vs. Sachie Abe and KAZUKI [1]
• JWP Tag League The Best – Block A: Arisa Nakajima and Command Bolshoi [2] vs. Hanako Nakamori and Morii [2]

This taping is not clipped, which is good since it wasn’t very long in the first place. Onto the fun.

Leon and Risa Sera vs. Nana Kawasa and Raideen Hagane

Hagane and Sera start the match, as the veteran Leon watches from the apron. Hagane is quite a bit bigger than Sera and uses her size to get an early advantage until she tags in Kawasa. Kawasa has Sera beat in the size department too (Sera isn’t micro sized but is a bit smaller than most) and works Sera over, Sera fights back after a moment and the two trade blows. Shoulderblocks by Kawasa but Sera blocks the suplex, Hagane comes in but so does Leon, and both Leon and Sera hit dropkicks on their opponents. Sera tags in Leon, dropkick by Leon to Kawasa but Kawasa back bodydrops her. Backbreaker by Leon and she starts on Kawasa’s back until Hagane lends a hand to turn the match into Kawasa’s favor. Back up they trade blows, powerslam by Kawasa and she gets a two count.

Kawasa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press, but that gets two as well. Hagane is tagged in, she shoulderblocks Leon around and she hits a backdrop suplex for two. Hagane goes up top but Sera grabs her, Leon recovers and tosses Hagane to the mat. Springboard bulldog by Leon and she hits a spear in the corner, followed by a missile dropkick. Leon tags Sera, dropkicks by Sera but Hagane hits a pair of dropkicks on her own. Judo throw by Hagane and she hits two more before applying a side choke. Leon breaks that up, Hagane picks up Sera and she hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Kawasa runs in and hits a second rope body press, Hagane goes up top but Sera avoids the dive. Sera tries to pick up Hagane by fails, shoulderblock by Hagane but she can’t keep Sera down for a three count. Leon runs in and spears Hagane, Sera picks up Hagane and hits the Ayers Rock for the three count! Leon and Sera win the match.

This was a bit sloppy to put it mildly. Part of that can be attributed to their ages/skill levels but I think another part was not a lot of effort was put into structuring a match that opened on a small show. There were just a lot of miscommunications throughout, some small but some bigger, that prevented the match from ever getting a flow. A few of the moves were hit well and it never was overly boring, it was just dull and uneventful.

Kayoko Haruyama vs. Sareee

Sareee dropkicks Haruyama as soon as the bell rings and throws her down by her hair before stomping Haruyama in the corner. Haruyama has had enough and takes back over, chopping Sareee mercilessly in the corner. Sleeper by Haruyama but Sareee slips through it and hits mounted forearms. Dropkicks by Sareee, she is getting a lot more offense in this match then I expected. Another dropkick by Sareee but Haruyama slaps on a side headlock on the mat. Haruyama controls the next few minutes of the match until Sareee jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a dropkick. Dropkick to the knee by Sareee and she dropkicks Haruyama a few more times, she goes up top but Haruyama joins her. Sareee pushes her off and hits a missile dropkick, another missile dropkick by Sareee and she gets a two count. Haruyama finally catches a dropkick and hits a facebuster, she goes for a suplex but Sareee hits a bulldog. Kick to the head by Haruyama but Sareee sneaks in a cradle for two. Back up they trade blows, Haruyama hits a backdrop suplex and she hits a missile dropkick of her own. Sareee reverses the suplex attempt and sneaks in a few more pin attempts with no luck. Lariat by Haruyama, she goes up top and she nails a Diving Guillotine Drop for the three count! Haruyama is your winner.

I think in a bigger arena this would have been more of a hit, as Sareee played the part of underdog well and Haruyama was shockingly willing to bump around for her. This was basically a 50/50 match which was the last thing I was expecting, and aside from from a miscommunication at the end it was very smooth. Sareee was still new to wrestling at this point but had the basics down pat, and Haruyama led her well. I like when rookies show spunk against veterans so I liked the match, but with a more vocal crowd it would have made more of a lasting impression. Mildly Recommended

Kana vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki

This one starts slow, as they spent the early portion of the match feeling each other out on the mat. I thought this one would be a bit more heated but apparently Kana hadn’t gone heel at this point in the JWP storyline, it seems that comes a bit later. Kana briefly gets the cross armbreaker locked on but Kuragaki gets to the ropes, Kana starts working on Kuragaki’s arm but Kuragaki gets away and starts working a side headlock. Kuragaki hits a thrust kick but Kana fires back with a knee, dropkick by Kuragaki but Kana catches her arm as she charges in and applies a short armbar. Back up, Kuragaki goes for a suplex but Kana takes her back down with an armbar but Kuragaki gets to the ropes. Strikes by Kana in the corner and she hits a dropkick, but Kuragaki fires back with a lariat. Helicopter Toss by Kuragaki and she goes up top, Kana joins her but Kuragaki gets Kana on her shoulder. Kana slides off while still up top and applies a headlock, but Kuragaki gets out of it and slams Kana to the mat.

Second turnbuckle body press by Kuragaki, but it only gets two. Scorpion Deathlock by Kuragaki with a headlock, but Kana gets to the ropes. Back up they trade elbows, Kuragaki gets Kana on her back but Kana rolls off and applies an ankle hold. Kuragaki gets out of it but Kana goes back to the armbar, Kuragaki inches to the ropes and makes it to force the break. Kana grabs Kuragaki but Kuragaki whips off a backdrop suplex, release German by Kana but Kuragaki blocks her kick and hits a short range lariat. Kuragaki goes for a powerbomb but Kana slides away and hits a buzzsaw kick. Backdrop suplex by Kuragaki, Kana retorts with a high kick but Kuragaki plants her with a lariat. Kana slowly gets up first but Kuragaki hits another backdrop suplex, she goes up top and nails the moonsault, but Kana barely kicks out of the cover.  She picks up Kana but the bell rings, as time expires. The match is a Draw.

This was a really solid match between the veterans and smartly worked. It started slow so I was a bit worried, but then they got into it with Kana focusing on the arm while Kuragaki was going for power moves to put Kana away. Kuragaki sold the arm just enough, it didn’t need excessive selling since Kana wasn’t able to focus on it for long before being cut off. There was no hatred here at all, just two well schooled wrestlers putting on a clinic, with it climaxing at just the right time. I’m not a big fan of draws outside of points-based tournaments, but I thought this match delivered and is on the high end of my ‘Recommended’ scale.  Recommended

Manami Katsu and Rabbit Miu vs. Sachie Abe and KAZUKI

Miu and Abe kick things off, Miu is so itty bitty next to Abe (and still technically a child at this point), and the match starts slow as they all yell at each other. I don’t speak Japanese, maybe they are making fun of her for being old. We finally get started as both teams go for quick pins before Abe throws Miu down by her hair and stomps her in the corner. Katsu comes in to help but it backfires pretty quickly, KAZUKI comes in and they stack Miu and Katsu in the corner before KAZUKI hits a reverse double knee drop. Double underhook suplex by Abe to Miu, but it gets two. Quick pin attempt by Miu followed by dropkicks, Miu hits a vertical suplex and tags in Katsu. Hard shoulderblock by Katsu to Abe (Katsu is young but massive) and they trade elbows, Katsu gets the better of the exchange and hits a backbreaker near the corner. Katsu goes for a reverse splash but Abe rolls out of the way, Abe goes for a quick pin but Katsu reverses it. Sling Blade by Abe and she tags in KAZUKI, Katsu kicks KAZUKI and hits a bridging suplex for two. Miu goes up top but KAZUKI pushes Katsu into her.

Miu hits a missile dropkick anyway, reverse splash by Katsu but it gets two. Samoan Drop by Katsu and she tags in KAZUKI while Miu comes in also, footstomp by KAZUKI and she hits a double kneedrop for two. Miu gets out of the backbreaker and hits her own footstomps, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Abe grabs her. KAZUKI gets Miu up on her shoulders but Katsu comes in and helps Miu hit a DDT. Tornado DDT by Miu followed by missile dropkicks by both wrestlers, Katsu gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a reverse splash. Diving body press but Miu, but Abe breaks up the cover. Codebreaker by KAZUKI and she suplexes Miu, getting a two count. Miu gets on KAZUKI’s shoulders but KAZUKI slams her to the mat, Miu avoids the diving kneedrop but KAZUKI plants her with a cutter for a two count. Katsu runs in and elbows KAZUKI, they trade roll-ups but neither gets the three count. Abe goes up top, KAZUKI puts Miu on her shoulders but Miu rolls through it. Abe trips KAZUKI by accident, she goes to help her but Miu pushes Abe onto KAZUKI and covers her for a three count! Katsu and Miu get two points in the tournament.

Really awkward ending aside, this wasn’t a bad match but it wasn’t good either. Katsu and Miu were a bit rough around the edges, perfectly acceptable for their ages but noticeable nonetheless, with not everything coming off smoothly. Add in the time wasting in the beginning and the general lack of structure, and I had trouble getting into the match. I liked the young wrestlers getting over on the veterans and the strategies by both teams were sound, it was just missing something to put it all together. Not unwatchable and not boring, but not what I’d consider entertaining.

Arisa Nakajima and Command Bolshoi vs. Hanako Nakamori and Morii

No time for pleasantries as they brawl to start, with Nakamori and Morii gaining the first advantage. Bolshoi  takes back over and tags in Nakajima, and Nakajima stands on Nakamori near the ropes. Nakamori hits a crossbody and tags in Morii, DDT by Nakajima and she kicks Morii in the head. Bolshoi is tagged in but Morii shoulderblocks her and they trade chops. Rolling suplexes by Bolshoi but Morii hits a suplex of her own for a two count. Irish whip by Morii but Bolshoi kicks her and hits a modified DDT for a two count. Bolshoi tags in Nakajima, elbow by Nakajima but Morii elbows her back and they trade strikes. Sliding kick by Nakajima which sends Morii to the floor, Nakajima gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a plancha. They battle around the ring, mostly off-camera, until Nakajima and Morii return to the ring. Missile dropkick by Nakajima and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Knees by Nakajima but Morii slams her to the mat for a two count.

Nakajima and Morii trade chops, Morii tags in Nakajima and she kicks Nakajima in the head. Nakamori goes up top and hits a diving knee while Morii slams Nakajima for a two count cover. Nakamori goes up top again but Nakajima moves and hits a bridging suplex for a two count. Rolling Germans by Nakajima but Morii breaks up the cover. Hard elbow by Nakajima and she tags in Bolshoi, dropkick by Bolshoi but Bolshoi is double teamed. Nakamori kicks Morii by accident and Bolshoi kicks Morii out of the ring. Tiger suplex hold by Bolshoi to Nakamori, she goes up top but Nakamori joins her, hitting an avalanche fisherman buster for two. Morii goes up top and hits a diving senton, Nakamori picks up Bolshoi and delivers a fisherman buster, but Nakajima breaks it up. Nakamori goes up top but Bolshoi joins her and hits an Avalanche Uranage. Now Nakajima and Morii go up top, Morii is pulled down and with Bolshoi they hit and double footstomp to both their opponents for two counts. Bolshoi hits a palm strike on Nakamori but Morii breaks up the pinfall. Backfist by Bolshoi but Morii hits her with a lariat.Requiem Driver by Nakamori to Bolshoi, but she barely gets a shoulder up. Back up, Bolshoi gets away but Nakajima elbows Bolshoi by accident and Nakamori applies La Magistral for the three count! Nakamori and Morii win two points!

This was a fun fast paced match, what it lacked in structure it made up for with non-stop action from bell to bell. The tag rules were pretty loose here as they didn’t waste time with limbs or beatdown segments, it had a nice chaotic feel of two teams just trying to see who could hit the biggest move last to win the match for their team. It probably isn’t for everyone as structure pretty much went out the window, but the “miscommunication” ending into a quick roll-up was a fitting ending for this style of match. It wouldn’t have been on any end of year ballots but still solid.  Recommended

The post JWP “Pure Violence Road 5” on March 31, 2013 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Back in the early 90s, FMW was the first predominantly male promotion in Japan to have a women’s division, as up to that point men and women were separated into different promotions. That is largely how it still is today with large promotion, however many indy promotions have men and women wrestling together (now they wrestle against each other, however in FMW the divisions were kept separate). FMW died back in 2001, but the latest version popped up this year and use many of the same wrestlers that old school FMW did.

Since it wouldn’t be a true FMW event without women wrestling on the card as well, two of the seven matches featured Joshi wrestlers. This included a “inter-promotional match” with FMW facing off against JWP. Here are the two Joshi matches I will be reviewing:

– Kayoko Haruyama and Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Miss Mongol and Miss Koharu
– Ayako Hamada vs. Ray

This naturally won’t be a long review, but since women were an important part of FMW I did not want to neglect the event altogether. Let’s get right into it.

Kayoko Haruyama and Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Miss Mongol and Miss Koharu

Team FMW attacks before the bell rings but it immediately backfires, as Haruyama isolates young Koharu for a beatdown. Kuragaki takes a turn as well but Koharu hits a headscissors on Kuragaki and tags in Miss Mongol. Haruyama comes in the ring too but Mongol lariats both of them while the crowd voices their approval. Haruyama and Mongol trade strikes but they crush the referee in the corner, Mongol goes for the Bronco Buster on Haruyama but Haruyama moves and the referee is hit instead. The referee is hit again as he has now taken the most damage in the match, but he recovers pretty quickly as the action continues. Koharu comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex on Haruyama, but Haruyama hulks back up as Kuragaki comes in the ring. Double shoulderblock to Koharu and they put her in a double backbreaker, Mongol runs in but Haruyama takes Koharu so Kuragaki can put Mongol in a backbreaker as well. Diving leg drop by Haruyama to Koharu, but Mongol breaks up the pin. Mongol gets the whip but hits Koharu by accident, double underhook facebuster by Haruyama to Koharu but Koharu barely gets a shoulder up. Koharu sneaks in a backslide for two, Mongol comes back in but Kuragaki suplexes her. Haruyama goes up top as does Kuragaki, moonsault by Kuragaki and Haruyama hits a diving guillotine legdrop for the three count! Team JWP win the match.

This one started really slow but it picked up and the last few minutes were solid. Koharu is this adorable little thing and she almost didn’t fit in with three power wrestlers, which meant of course she was the one taking damage most of the match. Some of the transitions and strike portions didn’t look great as they weren’t being snug, but for a midcard tag match there was nothing wrong with it. Haruyama and Kuragaki are still awesome, Haruyama will be missed when she retires.

Ayako Hamada vs. Ray

This match was pretty clipped, which is disappointing since I enjoy both wrestlers. After feeling each other out (they didn’t clip that part), Hamada kicks Ray hard in the face for the first big move of the match. Hamada quickly goes for the moonsault but Ray moves, now Ray goes up top but Hamada gets her feet on on the moonsault attempt. High backdrop suplex by Hamada but Ray gets out of the powerbomb and they trade kicks. Tiger feint kick by Ray and this time she hits the moonsault, but Hamada kicks out of the cover. Hamada roars back with a lariat, sit-down powerbomb by Hamada but the cover gets two. AP Cross by Hamada, and she gets the three count! Hamada wins the match.

I am not sure what was clipped as only half of the match was shown, but it may explain why we went from “feeling out” to “dropping bombs” with no middle portion. What we saw was fine, both are quality wrestlers and Ray still flies around very well. A good showing by both but I can’t recommend a match clipped in half.

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