Keiko Aono Archives - Joshi City https://joshicity.com/tag/keiko-aono/ Reviews and Wrestler Profiles from Joshi Wrestling Tue, 10 Dec 2019 12:54:25 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.7 https://i0.wp.com/joshicity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Keiko Aono Archives - Joshi City https://joshicity.com/tag/keiko-aono/ 32 32 93679598 Diana 3rd Anniversary Show ~ Danger Zone on 4/29/14 Review https://joshicity.com/diana-3rd-anniversary-show-danger-zone-april-29-2014-review/ Sun, 01 Apr 2018 23:59:11 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?p=10691 Featuring a Cage Death Match!

The post Diana 3rd Anniversary Show ~ Danger Zone on 4/29/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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Event: Diana 3rd Anniversary Show ~ Danger Zone
Date: April 29th, 2014
Location: Kawasaki City Gymnasium in Kawasaki, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Anyone that has followed me on Twitter for any length of time may remember that I have talked about this DVD for awhile. The only place that sells it is Diana’s official shop, but its 6,000 yen and they don’t ship to the US so it takes extra money to get it ordered/delivered. Right when I was about to pull the trigger on getting it last fall, their shop was down for about four months, but luckily it came back so I finally purchased it. Diana very rarely releases their shows and hasn’t had one of their own produced full events air on TV since 2011. This event was only available on DVD and showcases one of the biggest events in their history. In the main event we get a cage match, which is the most recent cage match in Joshi as there hasn’t been one since. Here is the full card:

All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name to go straight to it. Since we are watching this on DVD, all matches are shown in full.


Lylah Lodge vs. Rabbit Miyu

This is a classic gaijin vs. native match, the story here will be can the underdog crowd favorite overcome the odds and beat the more experienced wrestler double her size. The most recent results I could find with Lylah are from 2015 so she may be retired, she mostly wrestled in smaller promotions in the Midwest but did have a handful of matches in Diana around this time period. Rabbit Miyu is an itty bitty wrestler who at the time wrestled in JWP but is now retired.

Lylah trash talks Miyu so Miyu pushes her, but Lylah pushes Miyu down in the corner. Miyu avoids Lylah and dropkicks her in the knee, another dropkick by Miyu but Lylah blocks the scoop slam. Lylah hits a slam of her own, another one by Lylah and she covers Miyu for two. Miyu bridges out of the pin and boots Lylah repeatedly in the head, she applies a waistlock but Lylah turns out of it. Elbows by Miyu and she hits a DDT, running boot by Miyu and she goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and goes for another one, but Lylah absorbs the blow. Miyu goes off the ropes but Lylah hits a hard shoulderblock, another one by Lylah and she covers Miyu for a two count. Leg drop by Lylah and she hits a running hip attack in the corner, she hits a second one but Miyu gets out of the corner and they trade elbows. Scoop slam by Lylah and she connects with the running senton, bur Miyu kicks out of the cover. Lylah picks up Miyu and drops her with a running powerslam, she goes up top to the second turnbuckle and nails the diving senton for the three count! Lylah Lodge is the winner.

So I wasn’t completely right about the match layout. They did do a lot of big vs. little spots but Miyu had a lot of offense in this match, it was just about 50/50. I was expecting her just to get a few hope spots but then lose in convincing fashion. Too short to be offensive but nothing memorable to kick off the show.


Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Eiger

While Eiger’s matches can be a bit predictable, I’m really looking forward to seeing some Crazy Mary Dobson. Dobson is better known today as Sarah Logan in WWE, where she wrestles on the Smackdown brand. Back in 2014 however she was just a young wrestler trying to find her place in wrestling, at this point in her career she hadn’t won any titles yet. Eiger is Mizuki Endo as a ghost zombie character, mostly for comedy but she has some wrestling skills also which she shows off when needed.

Eiger starts fast as she tries to catch Mary, but Mary generally is able to avoid all her charges. Eiger gets her back however, Mary spins around but Eiger screams and scares Mary out of the ring to the floor. Eiger goes out after her and plays with the crowd, they return to the ring but Mary has her Jason Mask and uses it to scare Eiger. She gets a staple gun but Eiger takes it from her, but the referee gets it before she gets to use it. Mary grabs Eiger from behind and hits a release German, Irish whip by Mary and she elbows Eiger in the chest. Eiger gets back in control and twists on Mary’s hair, Irish whip by Eiger but Mary flips herself out to the apron and hits a diving crossbody from the top for two. Knee by Mary, she argues with the referee for a bit which gives Eiger time to recover. Kneedrop by Eiger, she waits for Mary to get up but Mary kicks her in the head when she charges in. Eiger rolls out of the ring but Mary goes out after her and throws her into the ring post. Back in the ring, Eiger headbutts Mary and goes up top, but Mary uppercuts her before she can jump off. Eiger starts acting freaky so Mary gets her mask and staple gun to even the odds. Eiger kicks the referee and throws him out of the ring, she spits dust at Mary and kicks her down in the corner. She gets the staple gun and staples Mary’s face, Mary bails out of the ring but Eiger follows her out and throws her around in the crowd. They finally return to the ring, Eiger gets Mary by the throat and hits a chokeslam, but Mary kicks out of the cover. Eiger gets on the second turnbuckle but Mary elbows her and joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner. Mary grabs Eiger and hits a headbutt, powerslam by Mary and she goes for a moonsault, but Eiger moves out of the way. Eiger grabs Mary but Mary applies a schoolboy for the three count! Crazy Mary Dobson wins!

I wouldn’t say that long Eiger matches is my thing, but it was fun to see Mary Dobson against someone equally crazy. They played it pretty well and there were fun spots throughout the match, I wouldn’t have minded a few less minutes but I can’t say it ever was boring as they did their best to keep it interesting. A change of pace is rarely a bad thing, I wouldn’t want a card full of bizarre comedy matches but no complaints here since Eiger in particular is good at what she does.  Mildly Recommended


Arisa Nakajima, Yuiga, and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Cherry, Jessica James, and Raideen Hagane

This match is a bit of a hodge podge random assortment. Arisa Nakajima at the time was the ace of JWP, now she is a member of SEAdLINNNG. Yuiga was (and is) a Freelancer that rarely wrestles, while Hamuko Hoshi represents Ice Ribbon. On the other team, Cherry is a popular DDT wrestler while Raideen wrestles in JWP. Jessica James I am not sure is still active, she did wrestle last summer in a dark match during the Mae Young Classic but otherwise match results for her are scarce.

Raideen and Yuiga start off, hard shoulderblock by Hamuko and she tags  in Jessica. Jessica and Raideen trade holds until they end up on the mat, Raideen tags in Arisa and they double team Jessica in the corner. Dropkick by Arisa and she hits a side slam before covering lll for a two count. Arisa tags in Hamuko, belly bump by Hamuko to Jessica and she puts Jessica in a crab hold. Jessica gets to the ropes for the break, Hamuko tags in Yuiga and she suplexes Jessica. Jessica gets triple teamed in the ropes, kicks by Yuiga and she knees Jessica in the face. Hamuko returns but Jessica hits her with a hurricanrana and dropkick, giving her time to tag in Raideen. Hard shoulderblocks by Raideen to everyone, she picks up Hamuko and puts her in a backbreaker. Raideen goes up top but Arisa grabs her from the apron, giving Hamuko time to recover and toss Raideen to the mat. Hamuko pushes Raideen to the mat and nails a running belly bump, but Raideen kicks out of the cover. Hamuko tags in Arisa, kicks to the face by Arisa but Arisa gets a chair and kicks it into Raideen. Hamuko and Yuiga both come in and help Arisa dropkick a chair into Raideen’s head, cover by Arisa but it gets a two count.

Raideen drives Arisa back into the corner and hits a series of lariats, cover by Raideen but it gets two. Raideen tags in Cherry, lariat by Cherry and she hits a double wrist clutch armsault for a two count. Arisa elbows Cherry back and hits a release German, Cutie Special by Arisa and she makes the tag to Hamuko. Hamuko gets Cherry up but Cherry wiggles away, palm strikes by Hamuko and she hits a body avalanche. Cutter by Hamuko, and she covers Cherry for two. Hamuko goes up top but Cherry avoids her diving body press, cradle by Cherry but the cover is broken up. Back chop by Cherry but Hamuko roars back with a lariat, and she makes the tag to Yuiga while Jessica is tagged in as well. Jessica dropkicks Yuiga in the knee and hits a hurricanrana, kick to the head by Jessica and she covers Yuiga for two. Yuiga kicks Jessica in the head and hits a cyclone suplex, Hamuko comes in and she hits a lariat onto Jessica. Big boot by Arisa, Yuiga grabs Jessica and she delivers a German suplex hold for two. Raideen and Cherry end up in the ring with everyone else, moonsault by Raideen to Yuiga and Cherry nails the Cherry Bomb. Jessica then goes up top and hits a moonsault, cover by Jessica and she gets the three count! Cherry, Jessica James, and Raideen Hagane are the winners.

This is one of those matches that its hard to even have a strong opinion on. It was a perfectly fine and watchable midcard match, everyone got a bit of a chance to shine and everyone looked good, aside from a few small miscues from Jessica James. A good shortish tag match but nothing too special.


Dump Matsumoto and Keiko Aono vs. Megumi Yabushita and KAZUKI

Dump! Any match with Dump Matsumoto I am probably going to love my default, as she is one of the most legendary heels in Joshi history. Her partner Keiko is a regular in Diana, she is a long time respected veteran. On the other team, Megumi has mostly wrestled in small promotions during her career as a Freelancer, while KAZUKI is a long time fixture of JWP. At their ages and/or skill levels, this won’t be a workrate match but it should still be fun anyway.

Dump and Megumi kick things off, Dump bumps Megumi to the mat and the action spills out onto the floor with Team Dump dominating. They return into the ring after a moment, Megumi tries to elbow Dump but Dump elbows her back and flings Megumi by the hair. Keiko returns just to give Dump assistance that she didn’t need, Keiko stays in as legal and gets a chain, choking Megumi with it. Dump comes in with a kendo stick to jab Megumi with it, KAZUKI things of coming in to help but Dump hits her with the stick to knock her back to the floor. Scoop slam by Keiko to Megumi and she chokes her, Irish whip by Dump and she lariats Megumi for a two count. Dump returns, Megumi avoids her kendo stick accounts and she applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. Megumi goes up top but Dump avoids her dive, German suplex by Dump and she covers Megumi for two. Dump tags in Keiko, but Megumi cradles her and hits a double knee off the ropes. That gives her time to tag in KAZUKI, she tags in too as they double team Keiko. KAZUKI putts Keiko in the corner and hits a reverse double knee, cover by KAZUKI but Dump hits her with the kendo stick. Keiko comes back with a face crusher and tags in Dump, who never left the ring in the first place, so Keiko keeps kicking KAZUKI. Keiko covers KAZUKI even though Dump is still standing there, KAZUKI tags Megumi and Megumi hits a hip toss onto Keiko.

Megumi slams Keiko near the corner, she charges Dump but Dump moves and Megumi falls out of the ring. They end up on the floor again as Dump tosses Megumi onto a table and into some chairs, Keiko and Megumi return to the ring and Keiko hits a tornado DDT. Kick to the head by Keiko but Megumi catches her next kick attempt, Dump comes in and hits her with a kendo stick however and Keiko kicks Megumi in the chest. Heel drop by Keiko but Megumi puts her in a cross armbreaker, that gets broken up pretty quickly as Dump mostly roams the ring hitting random people with kendo sticks. Megumi gets away and tags KAZUKI, cutter by KAZUKI to Keiko but the referee is too busy with Dump to make the count. KAZUKI picks up Keiko again and hits a backdrop suplex, diving body press by Megumi and KAZUKI follows up with a diving kneedrop for two. Megumi and KAZUKI go to Dump and try to suplex her but she blocks it and hits a double lariat. Shining Wizard by Keiko to KAZUKI, but Megumi breaks up her cover. Dump starts whacking people with the kendo stick again, high kick by Keiko to KAZUKI and she delivers the Falcon Arrow for the three count! Dump Matsumoto and Keiko Aono win!

I’m not sure if Dump took any bumps in this match, so a pretty normal Dump match. Look, I don’t pretend these are impressive matches in the technical sense, particularly considering Dump wouldn’t even go out to the apron, but these types of matches are still a guilty pleasure since they are so random. Like the Eiger match, I wouldn’t watch an event full of matches like this but everyone was trying hard (Dump in her own special way) and I enjoyed it despite its flaws.  Mildly Recommended


Kaoru Ito, Command Bolshoi, and Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee, Kagetsu, and Kaho Kobayashi

Now here is a fun collection of wrestlers. All six names should be recognizable to any serious Joshi fan, as all still are wrestling and most have a higher status now than they did in 2014. Meiko is the leader of Sendai Girls’, while at the time of the match Kagetsu was in Sendai Girls’ as well. Kaho Kobayashi was only a year into her career at the time and mostly wrestled in Pro Wrestling WAVE. Kaoru Ito and Sareee both were (and still are) affiliated with Diana, while Bolshoi hailed from JWP (now she is in PURE-J). All six are good to great wrestlers, and since the match got enough time I’m expecting this to be pretty entertaining.

Sareee and Bolshoi start, but Kaho quickly runs in to help along with Kagetsu and they triple team Bolshoi in the corner. Ito and Meiko even the odds as the veterans stack their opponents in the corner and Ito hits a running body avalanche. Bolshoi grabs Sareee’s wrist and she walks the ropes, armdrag by Bolshoi and she chokes Sareee with her boot. Meiko comes in and Sareee eats a double shoulderblock, cover by Bolshoi but Sareee bridges out of it and tags in Kaho. Bolshoi elbows Kaho in the head and tags in Ito, Ito lariats Kaho in the corner and she puts Kaho in a crab hold. Camel clutch by Ito but Kaho avoids her charge in the corner and she hits a series of dropkicks. Elbows by Kaho but Ito doesn’t go down, Kaho finally dropkicks Ito to the mat and she covers Ito for two. Lariat by Ito and she tags in Bolshoi, Bolshoi picks up Kaho and she kicks her to the mat. Kagetsu grabs Bolshoi from the apron to help, elbows by Kaho and she dropkicks Bolshoi. Sareee runs in and dropkicks Bolshoi, sunset flip by Kaho to Bolshoi and she tags in Kagetsu. Bolshoi grabs Kagetsu to the ground and puts her in an armbar, but Kagetsu muscles out of it and spins around Bolshoi in an airplane spin. Running elbows by Kagetsu in the corner but Bolshoi hits a palm strike, Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and she hits a running palm strike for a two count. Meiko comes in and kicks Kagetsu in the chest, Sareee and Kaho both come in and dropkick Meiko but Meiko fights them all off, kick to the head by Meiko to Kagetsu and she slams Sareee on top of Kagetsu. Bolshoi then hits a footstomp on the pair, Meiko stacks Kaho on top of both Kagetsu and Sareee and Ito follows with a running footstomp of her own. Meiko knees Kagetsu and hits a suplex, cover by Meiko but it gets two. Meiko goes up top but Kagetsu quickly joins her and hits a superplex. Kagetsu tags in Sareee, dropkicks by Sareee to Meiko and she cradles Meiko for a two count.

Sareee goes off the ropes but Meiko kicks her in the head, cartwheel kneedrop by Meiko and she tags in Ito. Footstomp and a senton by Ito, she picks up Sareee and drops her with a uranage. Kaho and Kagetsu run in and dropkick Ito, but Ito lariats both of them. Everyone but Ito goes outside the ring, emphatic baseball slide by Ito to her opponents and Sareee is slid back into the ring. Bolshoi and Meiko get in the ring too but they are tripped from the floor by Kaho and Kagetsu, the young rising stars team all hit dropkicks and go up top, with both Kaho and Kagetsu hitting missile dropkicks. Sareee follows with a missile dropkick onto Ito, then she and Kaho go to opposite corners while Kagetsu goes on the apron and all three hit simultaneous missile dropkicks onto Ito. Sareee picks up Ito but Ito blocks the suplex attempt, she tries again but still can’t get her over. Ito drives Sareee back into the corner Kaho comes off the top with a diving Somato. Swandive missile dropkick by Kagetsu and Sareee finally gets Ito over with the German suplex, but Bolshoi breaks up the cover. Sareee picks up Ito and tries again but Bolshoi grabs her from behind, Meiko kicks Sareee in the head and Bolshoi delivers her own German suplex. Sit-down powerbomb by Ito to Sareee, but the cover gets broken up. Ito quickly picks up Sareee and hits a spinning sit-down powerbomb this time, but again her cover is broken up by Sareee’s friends. Meiko and Bolshoi come in and drop Kagetsu and Kaho with suplexes so they’ll stop interfering, Ito picks up Sareee but this time Sareee blocks the powerbomb attempt. Sareee spins down Ito’s back and rolls her up with a cradle, but Ito barely kicks out. Back up, hard lariat by Ito and she goes up top, palm strike by Bolshoi to Sareee and Meiko kicks Sareee in the chest. Diving footstomp by Ito to Sareee, and she covers her for the three count! Kaoru Ito, Command Bolshoi, and Meiko Satomura are the winners!

While the story they were telling was simple, it was still told very well. The whole match revolved around the “feisty young wrestlers vs. grumpy veterans” storyline, and all six did a great job telling it. Ito always delivers in these types of matches and put over Sareee pretty well (before beating her of course), and even in defeat the young wrestlers came out looking strong. Really enjoyable match, its no surprise from watching this this Kaho, Kagetsu, and Sareee have continued to be three of the best young wrestlers on the scene.  Recommended


Jaguar Yokota and Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda and Takako Inoue

One of the themes of Diana events is they use a lot of ‘legend’ wrestlers as the bulk of their roster is from the heyday of Joshi. Jaguar Yokota and Takako Inoue are both regulars in Diana and need no introduction as they are two of the most well-known Joshi wrestlers ever. Manami Toyota, who retired last November, is considered by many as the best Joshi wrestler in history (with Jaguar Yokota on that list as well), and fits right in with the product that Diana presents. Mima Shimoda is best known as one half of LCO with Etsuko Mita (one of the top tag teams in Joshi history), she is mostly retired but still wrestles in Diana as well. Quite a group, and while all are no longer in their primes they still wrestle with the same passion they always did.

Shimoda and Yokota begin the match for their teams, hard shoulderblock by Shimoda but Yokota armdrags Shimoda out of the ring and hits a cannonball off the apron. Yokota returns with Shimoda slowly following as well, Inoue comes in to help and they both lariat Yokota. Shimoda officially tags in Inoue, Inoue works Yokota’s arm but Yokota puts her in a wristlock and tags in Toyota. Armdrag by Toyota, Yokota comes in and headbutts Inoue while Toyota puts Inoue in a leg lock. Toyota applies the Muta Lock on Inoue but Inoue gets into the ropes for the break, Toyota steps on Inoue’s hand in return but Inoue knocks Toyota to the mat and tags in Shimoda. Shimoda bounces Toyota off the ropes and boots her, jumping neck drop by Shimoda and she covers Toyota for two. Bodyscissors by Shimoda but Toyota gets out of it and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick for a two count. Toyota tags in Yokota and Yokota puts Shimoda into an Octopus Hold, cradle by Yokota and she puts Shimoda in a figure four leglock. Toyota comes off the top with a body press while Shimoda is still in the hold, but Shimoda eventually makes it to the ropes. Yokota jumps down on Shimoda’s leg before tagging in Toyota, Shimoda boots Toyota back and makes the hot tag to Inoue. Inoue boots Toyota repeatedly in the head, DDT by Inoue and she puts Toyota in a STF. Toyota crawls to the ropes to force the break, Inoue Irish whips Toyota but Toyota reverses it and rolls up Inoue for two. Toyota tags in Yokota, Yokota kicks back Inoue but Inoue hits a backdrop suplex hold. Yokota tackles Inoue and kicks her in the leg, piledriver by Yokota and she covers Inoue, but Inoue barely kicks out. Yokota picks up Inoue and puts her in the Cobra Twist, Irish whip by Yokota but Inoue hits an armdrag. Shimoda comes in but Yokota hits a headlock/headscissors takedown on both of them, double DDT by Yokota and she hits a somersault legdrop onto both of them.

Inoue boots Yokota back and hits a double underhook suplex, but Yokota hits a dragon screw leg whip and tags Toyota. Toyota picks up Inoue but Inoue hits a boot and a DDT. Toyota gets back up and applies the rolling cradle for two. Toyota goes up top but Inoue avoids the moonsault, she then goes up top but Toyota smacks her and joins her on the turnbuckle. Inoue chokeslams Toyota to the mat, she goes up top but Toyota avoids the Takako Panic. Spinning backfist by Inoue followed by a head kick, but Toyota barely kicks out of the cover. Inoue tags in Shimoda, she picks up Toyota and she hits a jumping neck drop. Shimoda goes up top but Toyota joins her, Shimoda pushes Toyota back down however and delivers the missile dropkick. Boot by Toyota and she gets Shimoda on her shoulders, Shimoda wiggles away but Toyota hits a German suplex. Toyota goes up top and nails the moonsault, but Shimoda kicks out. Yokota gets on the second turnbuckle before she is tagged in, hitting a somersault legdrop for two. Toyota boots Shimoda, fisherman buster by Yokota and she covers Shimoda for a two count. Yokota picks up Shimoda, Shimoda slides away and she cradles for two. Inoue runs in and boots Yokota, Toyota takes care of her but Shimoda hits a German suplex onto Toyota. Tiger suplex hold by Shimoda to Yokota, she drags her up but Toyota boots Shimoda again. Yokota and Shimoda trade flash pins, until Yokota holds down Shimoda long enough for the three count! Jaguar Yokota and Manami Toyota win!

What stood out the most about this match is that Jaguar Yokota is still a beast. At 52 years old she was still doing cannonballs off the apron, somersault leg drops, and everything else. All four were giving maximum effort, as I mentioned above even though none are spring chickens anymore they still wrestle with the same amount of energy as they always have and clearly love to do it. The ending being off a flash pin wasn’t a big deal since both teams hit some of their big moves prior, and all four got a chance to show off a bit. A fun legends tag team match, these four are probably all in the Top 50 Joshi Wrestlers of All Time list and its great they still are able to bring it.  Recommended


Kyoko Inoue and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Yumiko Hotta and Mask de Sun
Cage Death Match

And we have finally reached the moment we have all been waiting for! They showed a recap before the match started to show the buildup, but these teams have been battling in some form as far back as 2012, leading to this match. Inoue and Watanabe won the tag team titles from Yumiko Hotta (and Keiko Aono) in late 2013 but Mask de Sun (Kyoko Kimura) won the singles championship from Kyoko Inoue just two weeks later, so beyond just being a blood feud they had feuded for Diana’s titles as well. Inoue, Watanabe, and Hotta are no strangers to cage matches, as they were all in several back in their AJW days, and Mask de Sun has had her share of violent matches as well.

The match is under typical Joshi cage rules, meaning in order to win both members of the team must climb over the top of the cage and hit the floor. If they return for some reason (which happens), they then must re-exit the cage again to count as escaped. There are no tag rules of course since they are in a cage, and there are other weapons in the ring including a table and a ladder. I am going to buck my usual tradition of referring to wrestlers by their name in the match and refer to Mask de Sun going forward as Kyoko Kimura, because it is easier to type and will probably be easier to read. Since this match will be pure chaos the play by play will be less precise than usual, I’m just going to make sure I hit the big stuff.

Inoue and Watanabe get the first advantage in the match and quickly try to escape the cage, but they get grabbed before they can successfully make it out. Kimura gets a chain and starts beating Watanabe with it, busting her open in the process. So we get our first blood approximately 30 seconds into the match. Hotta gets a board and whacks both opponents with it, Kimura and Hotta then rake their opponent’s faces into the cage. The weapons focused beat down by Hotta and Kimura continues as Hotta gets a chain as well, Watanabe is bleeding everywhere as her partner Inoue begins to fight back.  Inoue finally gets the upper hand on Hotta while Watanabe rams Kimura’s head into the cage, Watanabe tries to bail out of the ring but Kimura pulls her back to the apron. Inoue gets the board and hits Hotta with it (Inoue naturally is bleeding as well by now), Watanabe then does the same to Kimura until the board breaks. Hotta and Kimura get chains to take back over, Hotta then gets the ladder and props it up in the corner. Inoue tries to leave again and gets to the top of the cage, but Kimura joins her as they straddle the top and trade punches.

Hotta drags Inoue back down, Kimura returns too but Watanabe recovers and both she and Inoue lariat Hotta in the corner. Kimura is next getting a series of lariats, double suplexes by Watanabe and Inoue and Watanabe hits a splash from the top rope. Inoue and Watanabe decide its time to leave and start climbing, but immediately are grabbed from behind and tosses back in the ring. Hotta starts throwing chairs at Inoue and Watanabe while Kimura wrapping them in chains, she then gets the ladder and slams it down onto them. Hotta and Kimura go to leave but Watanabe and Inoue quickly recover and stop them, Hotta gets a ladder and wraps a chain around it while the chains are still attached to Inoue and Watanabe, pulling them both to the mat. This gives Kimura time to escape, leaving Hotta alone with Watanabe and Inoue. Watanabe and Inoue immediately jump on Hotta and double team her, Watanabe and Inoue both go to escape the cage with Watanabe making it over. From the outside, Kimura prevents Inoue from getting over the top, which for the moment leaves Hotta and Inoue alone in the ring. Inoue and Hotta grab different ends of the chain, but end up hitting each other at the same time, leaving both on the mat. Inoue is up first but Hotta punches her in the face, Hotta goes to escape but Inoue joins her and suplexes Hotta down to the mat.

It should be noted that at some point, someone has propped up a ladder leaving against the cage outside the ring, to make it easier for one of the two to climb out. Hotta throws a ladder at Inoue, Hotta starts to climb the ladder but Inoue pushes her backwards, with the ladder landing on Hotta. Hotta is out of commission from that so Kimura climbs back up to stop Inoue from escaping, Hotta miraculously recovers and suplexes Inoue to the mat. Hotta sets up a table near the corner and puts Inoue on it, Kimura is perched on the top of the cage and she dives back into the ring with a diving footstomp onto Inoue. Which doesn’t break the table so Inoue just rolls to the mat. Hotta goes to escape but Inoue already is back up and grabs her leg, Watanabe climbs the ladder from outside the ring to further block Hotta from escaping. Kimura has re-escaped in the meantime while Hotta pushes Inoue back down to the mat, Hotta climbs over the top of the cage and onto the ladder but Inoue grabs her from inside the ring before she can hit the floor. Hotta spits green mist at Inoue to get her to let go, and Hotta hits the floor! Yumiko Hotta and Mask de Sun are the winners.

It probably goes without saying that this match had an insane amount of violence. Everyone not wearing a mask was bleeding, and some of the spots were brutal, particularly Hotta falling with the ladder on top of her from the turnbuckles. I loved the carnage and the chaos, not a lot of promotions do matches like this anymore so it felt like a breath of fresh air. The main issue of the match is a common one in Joshi cage matches – wrestlers recover way too quickly from some of the bigger moves. I am not sure how Hotta could still stand after her ladder bump but she was up very quickly with no side effects, as was Inoue after the table footstomp. It makes the matches more exciting since that way we don’t sit through minutes of the wrestlers just lying on the mat, or climbing the cage in super silly slow motion, but it does defy logic that they can recover that quickly. Aside from that critique I loved it, maybe partially because it felt so different from what I’ve been watching recently but it was about all I could have hoped for. If you like cage carnage like I do, I couldn’t recommend it enough.  Highly Recommended

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GAEA Japan “Second Battle Story” on 5/14/95 Review https://joshicity.com/gaea-japan-second-battle-story-may-14-1995-review/ Thu, 25 May 2017 02:06:33 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?p=7900 Satomura and Nagayo take on LLPW!

The post GAEA Japan “Second Battle Story” on 5/14/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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Event: GAEA Japan “Second Battle Story”
Date: May 14th, 1995
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,100
Air Date: June 17th, 1995

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

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

Since for the moment I am reviewing what was broadcast on TV and not what was released on commercial tapes, this airing only showed half of the event. The TV show that GAEA aired on, called Champ Forum, was only one hour long so some condensing was necessary. This event features an LLPW invasion, as four wrestlers from the promotion participate in the top two matches. Here are the matches from the event that made air:

I have added profiles for all the wrestlers above, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Some wrestlers had double duty on this event as GAEA Japan was still in the process of fleshing out their roster.

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Satomura, Tomoko Kuzumi, and Toshie Sato vs. Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Kato

You may not know some of these names, but you probably know the wrestlers. Tomoko Kuzumi is better known as Azumi Hyuga, one of the top wrestlers in the history of JWP. Here she was just starting out there, having debuted in 1994. On the other side, Yasuko Kuragaki is known today as Tsubasa Kuragaki, she is still an active Freelancer on the scene. Meiko, both Toshie’s, and Sonoko were all GAEA rookies in their second career matches here, but everyone was relatively inexperienced so its a fair pairing.

gaea5-19-1We join this in progress, with Meiko taking it to Uematsu with shoulderblocks. Snapmares by Meiko and she applies the cross armbreaker, but Kato quickly breaks it up. Meiko tags in Sato while Kuragaki also tags in, Sato repeatedly shoulderblocks Kuragaki to the mat before tagging Meiko back in. Dropkicks by Meiko and she twists Kuragaki’s arm, but Kuragaki reverses it and tags in Kato. Slap by Kato and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Sato breaks it up. Kato goes for an armdrag but Meiko reverses it into a cross armbreaker, Kato gets to the ropes but Meiko hits mounted punches before tagging in Sato. Face crusher by Sato to Kato and she hits a second one, covering her for two. Kato manages to hit a pair of bulldogs and tags in Uematsu, diving crossbody by Uematsu but Kuzumi breaks it up. Sato hits a neckbreaker and tags in Kuzumi, schoolboy by Uematsu and she dropkicks Kuzumi to the mat. Kuzumi gets the schoolboy applied the next time, she gets on the second rope but is knocked back into the mat. She tags in Meiko, Meiko clubs everyone but is tripped from the floor. Kato comes in but so does Sato and Kuzumi, evening things up. Kuragaki knees Meiko from the apron, she clears their opponents off the apron while Uematsu connects with a diving crossbody onto Meiko for the three count! Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Sonoko Kato win!

Only about a third of the match was shown, but it wasn’t bad for a rookie match. Some miscommunications, but remember that for four of them this was their second ever match and first tag team match, so some issues were bound to creep up. Interesting to watch just knowing how big of stars they would later become, but not a very good match.

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Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura vs. Eagle Sawai and Keiko Aono

An LLPW Invasion, as Chigusa Nagayo continues getting help from old friends/enemies to fill up GAEA Japan cards. Eagle Sawai was the Ace of LLPW, giving her some big opportunities in her career even though LLPW was a clear 3rd during the early 90s behind AJW and JWP. Keiko Aono, who still wrestles today in Diana, debuted just a few months prior so she was an even match for Meiko, who was pulling double duty here after being in the opener (she wasn’t in back to back matches, the middle of the card just wasn’t aired). Meiko teams with the leader of GAEA Japan, as Chigusa Nagayo takes a bit of a step back in the second event to let other wrestlers have the spotlight.

After the pre-match handshake, Keiko nicely goes out to the apron while Eagle attacks both of her opponents from behind. Eagle grabs Nagayo and bits a bodyblock, but Nagayo doesn’t go down. Nagayo’s heel kick has the same effect, both wrestlers go for lariats and they knock each other to the mat. The rookies come into the ring to help, Meiko stays in with Eagle and goes for dropkicks, but she can’t knock Eagle over. Eagle slaps Meiko in the chest and hits a bodyblock, she picks up Meiko and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Keiko. Back elbow by Keiko and she hits a bodyslam, she covers Meiko but it gets two. Irish whip by Keiko but Meiko hits a few shoulderblocks, she throws down Keiko by the hair and hits an elbow in the corner. More elbows by Meiko while Nagayo cheers her on, but Keiko switches positions with her and hits her own elbows. Keiko asks for a tag but Eagle isn’t interested, Meiko Irish whips Keiko and hits a few more jumping shoulderblocks. She asks for a tag but Nagayo wants her to stay in too, she shoulderblocks Keiko again and tries to tag Nagayo again, but Nagayo refuses. Note the crowd is cheering this, it is not Nagayo being mean but rather wanting the rookie to get experience and fight.

gaea5-19-2Keiko comes back with her own shoulderblock and finally Nagayo allows Meiko to tag her, Keiko elbows Nagayo into the corner and dropkicks her to the mat. Dropkick by Keiko and a hard shoulderblock, she covers Nagayo but it only gets two. Nagayo finally plants Keiko with a high kick, more kicks by Nagayo and she covers Keiko for two. Irish whip by Nagayo and she delivers a spinning heel kick, she picks up Keiko and tosses her into her own corner so Eagle can come in. Nagayo goes for a sleeper but Eagle drives her back into the corner, Eagle then goes for a powerbomb but Nagayo reverses it with a back bodydrop. Nagayo tags in Meiko, dropkicks by Meiko and she goes for the cross armbreaker, but Eagle grabs the ropes to block it. Meiko tries to knock Eagle over and eventually half succeeds, but Eagle knocks her back to the mat. The crowd is really getting behind Meiko as she tries to knock over Eagle, but she can’t get Eagle completely off her feet. Meiko is pretty gassed at this point as Eagle scoop slams her in front of the corner and tags in Keiko, scoop slam by Keiko and she covers Meiko for two. Dropkicks by Keiko and she coop slams Meiko, but Meiko bridges out of the pin. Meiko goes off the ropes and hits a couple shoulderblocks, she applies the cross armbreaker and Keiko quickly submits! Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura are the winners.

This is one of those matches that to appreciate, you have to look at it as it was presented in 1995. Chigusa Nagayo and Eagle Sawai were the mentors here for their rookie tag team partners – it wasn’t about them. That’s why it wasn’t the main event. Nagayo thought very highly of Meiko and was coaching her from the apron, but she wanted her to do it herself so she could learn and grow. Eagle was doing the same thing. The crowd was very supportive of this and was cheering young Meiko on, it was a very effective tactic by Chigusa Nagayo to give Meiko a bit of a rub in this manner. Now in a vacuum, it was still two rookies with very minimal move sets and experience doing the bulk of the work so it wasn’t particularly creative, but they definitely accomplished their goal and with so many rookies on the roster, this type of match was needed to try to start elevating them in the eyes of the crowd. I enjoyed it, nothing that would compare to a match with more veterans in it but still fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

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KAORU and Sonoko Kato vs. Miki Handa and Michiko Nagashima

It is time for the main event, which partially follows the pattern from the last match as the veteran GAEA Japan wrestler KAORU teams with the rookie Sonoko Kato to help push her along. Miki and Michiko both represent LLPW and are no rookies, both started their careers in the late 80s so they have a big edge on Kato. Neither Miki nor Michiko had a lot of success in LLPW however and were mostly midcarders with an occasional tag title run, so its not quite as lopsided as it may look on paper.

Nagashima and Handa attack before the match starts and they immediately take the match out to the floor. Kato is tosses into various objects before Nagashima brings her back into the ring and tags in Handa. Handa tosses around Kato while preventing her from tagging in KAORU, Nagashima returns and they double team Kato in the ropes. Kato is beaten around the ring and generally treated like a low ranked rookie for several minutes, until she finally gets close enough to her corner and tags in KAORU. KAORU tosses Nagashima around the ring and stomps her down in the corner, Handa runs in to help her partner but KAORU dispatches her and gets back to Nagashima. Vertical suplex by KAORU, but the cover gets two. KAORU applies a chinlock and then a bodyscissors, but Nagashima gets out of it. KAORU slaps Nagashima and tags in Kato, dropkicks by Kato but Nagashima kicks her and tags in Handa. Handa tosses Kato in her corner so that KAORU can tag in, jumping neck drop by Handa and she tosses KAORU to the mat. Handa goes for KAORU’s leg but KAORU gets into the mat, Handa tags in Nagashima and Nagashima stays on the offense, as now KAORU is the Face in Peril. Handa returns and hits a diving crossbody on KAORU, but KAORU finally manages to roll up Handa and tags in Kato. Double dropkick to Handa and Kato hits a scoop slam, swandive body press by KAORU and Kato tosses around Handa by the hair. Dropkicks by Kato but Handa punches her and hits an elbow to the back of the head.

gaea5-19-3Vertical suplex by Handa, but the cover to Kato gets two. Handa tags in Nagashima, who dropkicks Kato in the face. Kato rolls out of the ring but KAORU hits Nagashima with a missile dropkick, she tosses Nagashima out of the ring but Handa sails in with a missile dropkick of her own. KAORU dumps Handa out of the ring and goes off the ropes, but Nagashima trips her from the floor and pulls KAORU out with her. KAORU is hit with chairs by both of her opponents, KAORU and Handa go up into the stands while Nagashima kicks Kato in the ring. Handa returns first and helps Nagashima double team Kato, who by this point is busted open. KAORU finally returns and tries to help Kato, but is kicked in the back of the head for her trouble and hit with a double neck drop. Nagashima goes up top but misses the missile dropkick on Kato, bulldog by Kato and she hits a second one for a two count. Kato slams Nagashima in front of the corner and tags in KAORU, who hits a moonsault onto Nagashima for two. She goes up top again but Nagashima rolls out of the way of the second moonsault attempt, KAORU lands on he feet but is hit from behind by Handa. Nagashima gets a kendo stick and hits KAORU with it, but KAORU knocks it away from her.

Handa distracts KAORU while allows Nagashima to hit a backdrop suplex, Nagashima tags Handa but KAORU avoids Handa’s dive and rolls her up for two. Scoop slam by KAORU in front of the corner, she goes up top but Nagashima hits her with the kendo stick before she can jump off. Nagashima hits KAORU a few more times, KAORU tags in Kato so Nagashima starts hitting her with it instead. Kato finally gets the stick from it, KAORU takes it and hits Nagashima with it repeatedly. Handa runs in with a chair as things break down again, and all four end up on the floor with Nagashima and Handa in control. Nagashima throws chairs at KAORU while Handa takes Kato up into the bleachers to beat on her. Meanwhile, Nagashima puts KAORU on a table, she gets on up the smaller stage and dives down onto her with a body press, breaking the table. Handa returns to the ring with Kato with Nagashima joining her, and both hit Kato with missile dropkicks. Nagashima pins Kato but pulls her up so that she can drop Kato with a backdrop suplex. Again she pulls up Kato instead of pinning her, scoop slam by Nagashima in front of the corner and she delivers a diving senton. She finally covers the not-moving Kato, and she picks up the three count. The winners are Miki Handa and Michiko Nagashima

A very interesting match, I am not quite sure how to describe it. Nagashima and Handa were both great in their roles as evil invaders, not just using weapons but bloodying the rookie and refusing to pin her until putting in maximum damage. I think Kato was legitimately knocked a bit loopy as she didn’t budge on the diving senton, when normally wrestlers at least brace for the impact a bit. It was probably a bit longer than it needed to be as parts did drag, but since it was the main event they probably felt an obligation to reach a certain time mark. But I thought for her second match, Kato looked really good and took a hell of a beating, and both teams worked together really well. It was chaotic without much of a structure, but overall I’d say it was pretty enjoyable and probably the best match on the card. Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Second Battle Story” on 5/14/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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Diana Debut Show on 4/17/11 Review https://joshicity.com/diana-debut-show-april-17-2011-review/ Sun, 24 Jul 2016 01:40:18 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?p=4085 First ever event for the reclusive promotion!

The post Diana Debut Show on 4/17/11 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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Event: World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Debut Show
Date: April 17th, 2011
Location: Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 794

World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana is an active Joshi promotion with over 150 events in the last five years, and yet I have never reviewed one of their events. Why is that? Because this debut show is the only solo Diana event to ever be televised (they have had other joint events with other promotions televised but under the other promotion’s slot). Not only are they not televised but I am not sure if they are even always taped, except for a big event once a year which they sell on their website in DVD form (clips from their events sometimes air on Battlemen as well). So Diana is by far the most underground active Joshi promotion, not counting itty bitty promotions like Tokyo Joshi and Actress girl’Z.

Anyway, I wanted to review a Diana event and it was the only one available so here we are! Diana is promoted by Joshi legend Kyoko Inoue, and even though they don’t record their shows they do actually have their own rookies and affiliated wrestlers. On this event, one of their current young stars makes her debut at only 15 years old – Sareee. Beyond that, most of the roster in Diana are wrestlers that made their mark back in the 1990s and 2000s, such as Kaoru Ito and Mariko Yoshida. Here is the full line-up for their debut event:

  • Aya Yuuki vs. Ayako Sato
  • Keiko Aono vs. Mariko Yoshida
  • Nagisa Nozaki vs. Nanae Takahashi
  • Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee
  • Aya Yuuki and Kyoko Inoue vs. Ayako Sato and Kaoru Ito

Let’s get to the fun!

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Aya Yuuki vs. Ayako Sato

Before joining up with Diana, Ayako Sato wrestled in a lot of different promotions since she debuted in 2006, including Ice Ribbon, LLPW, and NEO. Sato left wrestling in the summer of 2011 as she was expecting a child, but hasn’t wrestled since so it is unknown if she will return. Aya Yuuki is better known to recent fans of Joshi as Hatsuhinode Kamen, and she wrestled in Stardom up until last year. I actively don’t like the Kamen gimmick so it will be interesting to see her wrestle without any restrictions.

diana-1After feeling each other out to start, Yuuki tosses Sato to the mat and kicks her hard in the head. Elbow by Yuuki in the corner and she scoop slams Sato, atomic drop by Yuuki but Sato blocks the next one as she lands on top of Yuuki. Yuuki scoops up Sato and hits another atomic drop. Irish whip by Yuuki but Sato hits an armdrag before dropkicking Yuuki in the back of the head. Double underhook suplex by Sato, she picks up Yuuki and the pair trade elbows. Yuuki chokes Sato before tossing her to the mat, cover by Yuuki but Sato gets a shoulder up. Scoop slam by Yuuki, she goes up top but Sato recovers and joins her. Yuuki elbows her back to the mat and goes for a diving elbow drop, but Sato avoids it and hits a series of dropkicks. Sato goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and she hits a second one. Cover by Sato, but Yuuki kicks out. Sato charges Yuuki but Yuuki hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, Yuuki picks up Sato but Sato applies a bodyscissors into a front roll for a two count. Sato goes for it again but Yuuki catches her and hits a German suplex. Sato goes for a few quick pins with no luck, she goes up top but Yuuki slugs her and gets Sato on her shoulders. Sato slides away from her and applies a quick roll-up, German suplex hold by Sato but it only gets a two. Sato goes for a dragon suplex but Yuuki gets out of it and hits a German suplex hold of her own for a two count. Sato goes off the ropes but Yuuki hits a big boot, Death Valley Bomb by Yuuki and she gets the three count! Aya Yuuki is the winner!

Not a bad way to start the first ever Diana event. The match was pretty basic in a lot of ways but well worked, they stayed focused and the match was very clean. Sato kept trying to win with cute bridges and roll-ups, which works sometimes but not in this case and once Yuuki planted her with the Death Valley Bomb it was all over. Both of these wrestlers are also in the main event but they didn’t seem to be holding back here which is a plus, overall a pretty solid match even if it wasn’t too original or memorable.

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Keiko Aono vs. Mariko Yoshida

Not that they knew it at the time, this would end up being one of the last televised matches of Yoshida’s career. Yoshida had a successful career in AJW, however she may be best remembered for her run in ARSION, where she was the head trainer and was one of the biggest stars in the promotion. Keiko Aono is still active in Diana, where she has wrestled consistently since 2011. She wrestled in a lot of different promotions in her career but only had title success in JWP, where she won the tag team championship with Yumiko Hotta in 2009 (she also had a tag title run again with Hotta in Diana in 2013). Aono is slightly younger than Yoshida but Yoshida has had far more success in her career, leading to an interesting match-up in just their second ever singles match that I could find on record.

diana-2Soon after the bell rings they end up on the mat, Yoshida applies a keylock but Aono get into the ropes. Yoshida goes off the ropes but Aono boots her in the chest, head kick by Aono and Yoshida is out on the mat. Aono picks up Yoshida and hits a Falcon Arrow, and she covers Yoshida for two. Yoshida quickly puts Aono in the Spider Twist, Aono almost goes out but she inches to the ropes and manages a break. Double underhook facebuster by Yoshida, but the cover gets a two. Aono blocks the next one and kicks Yoshida in the head, PK by Aono and she gets a two count cover. Cross armbreaker by Yoshida and then she applies an ankle hold, but Aono gets a hand on the ropes. Heel drop by Aono, she picks up Yoshida and she kicks her in the head again. Shining Kick by Aono, but Yoshida kicks out of the cover. Kicks to the chest by Aono and she knees Yoshida right in the head, another kick by Aono and she gets a two count. She goes off the ropes but Yoshida catches her with a boot, she charges Aono again but Aono hits a heel kick. Two more kicks to the head by Aono, and she covers Yoshida for the three count! The winner is Keiko Aono.

I loved some parts of this match. Yoshida’s submissions were really tight (that is her specialty) and some of Aono’s kicks really delivered. Not everything Aono did connected well however, whether it was age or not being as familiar with each other some of the strikes just looked a bit off. Yoshida was so smooth I am inclined to say it is worth watching, especially since it was one of her last matches, but don’t go in with too high of expectations.  Mildly Recommended

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Nagisa Nozaki vs. Nanae Takahashi

If Nagisa Nozaki is not someone you are familar with, don’t feel bad, as even though she had pretty long career she never really did anything of note. She spent the first chunk of her career in NEO before wrestling some in Ice Ribbon; she eventually ended her career wrestling in WNC. She never won any titles however and generally stayed around the midcard, her biggest match was perhaps reaching the finals of the WNC Women’s Title Tournament in 2013 before losing to Syuri. Takahashi doesn’t need much of an introduction, she was repping Stardom in this match and all the little Stardom babies were there to provide emotional support. A lopsided match, hopefully Nozaki shows something against the accomplished veteran.

diana-3Nozaki kicks Takahashi against the ropes early and stomps her down, Takahashi fights back with elbows and works a headlock before shoulderblocking Nozaki to the mat. Takahashi applies a backbreaker and rams Nozaki into the corner, body avalanche by Takahashi and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Takahashi slowly works over Nozaki’s arm, they then trade wristlocks before Nozaki gets a sleeper applied. Knees by Nozaki but Takahashi hits a vertical suplex, Takahashi goes for a lariat but Nozaki avoids it and applies a Cobra Twist. Takahashi gets to the ropes, boots by Nozaki and she dropkicks Takahashi in the head. High knee by Nozaki in the corner but Takahashi catches her leg when she goes for a PK. High kick by Takahashi, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Takahashi recovers first and hits a lariat followed by a backdrop suplex for two. Takahashi goes up top but Nozaki boots her before she can jump off and tosses her to the mat. Running boot by Nozaki, but Takahashi shoulderblocks her to the mat and covers her for two. Another boot by Nozaki, she goes off the ropes and… you guessed it, hits four more boots to the head for a tow count cover. Takahashi gets Nozaki to the mat and applies an arm trap crossface, but Nozaki gets out of it and applies a sleeper. Takahashi gets a hand on the ropes to break the hold, knee to the head by Nozaki and she covers Takahashi for two. Nozaki goes for a boot but Takahashi avoids it and hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Back up, slaps by Takahashi and she connects with a jumping kick to the head. She goes up top again, Takahashi delivers the Refrigerator Bomb and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

I can’t say this was a good match. Takahashi didn’t seem very interested during the middle portion of the match, doing somewhat lazy submissions and winning exchanges in not overly exciting fashion. Nozaki seemed to be trying but did not have a very captivating moveset, with way too many running boots. Her knees were generally on point, but that is about the only thing she did offensively that looked impressive. Maybe it was just a chemistry issue, but the match just felt flat overall.

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Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee

Imagine being a 15 year old, nervous, about to wrestle in your first ever wrestling match. Then imagine that your first wrestling match is against one of the more feared wrestlers in recent memory. That is how Sareee felt on April 17th, 2011, except for her it was about to become a reality. In a way it is a compliment, if a promotion sees a lot of potential in a new wrestler they sometimes start them off against a seasoned veteran to help ‘show them the ropes’ so to speak, and to see if they have the heart to bounce back. I am not sure if Sareee was seeing that side of it on this day though, as she knew she was going to get her ass kicked.

diana-4Satomura works the headlock to start the match until Sareee gets to the ropes, kicks by Sareee but Satomura kicks Sareee repeatedly in the leg. Armlock by Satomura, she picks up Sareee and delivers a scoop slam. Crab hold by Satomura, Sareee makes it to the ropes and she reverses Satomura’s backdrop suplex attempt. Sareee now puts Satomura in a crab hold but Satomura gets out of it, she picks up Sareee but Sareee sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Dropkicks by Sareee but Satomura stays on her feet, Irish whip by Sareee and she dropkicks Satomura in the corner. Satomura finally avoids a dropkick and she kicks Sareee hard in the chest, more hard strikes by Satomura and she kicks Sareee in the stomach. Jumping crossbody by Sareee but Satomura immediately rolls her over and applies an armtrap headlock. Satomura picks up Sareee and hits a hard elbow in the corner, she goes up top but Sareee recovers and tosses her off. Dropkicks by Sareee and she goes for a schoolboy, but Satomura grabs her arm and applies an armbreaker. Sareee gets to the ropes, Satomura charges her and destroys her with a cartwheel kneedrop. Cover by Satomura and she gets the three count! Meiko Satomura wins the match.

I hope that Sareee learned something from this as it hurt me just watching. Some of the kicks from Satomura were super stiff, which is what you’d expect from her, and she really cranked in a few of the submission holds. But it wasn’t a squash through and through, as Sareee did have a handful of successful moves and Satomura was respectful after the match. Sareee’s dropkicks were pretty weak, if they were filming a documentary for GAEA she may have been in trouble, but Satomura didn’t punish her for it. Overall I enjoyed it, maybe not for everyone but entertaining nonetheless.  Mildly Recommended

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Aya Yuuki and Kyoko Inoue vs. Ayako Sato and Kaoru Ito

Main event time! This is a Two out of Three Falls Match. Kyoko Inoue is a legendary wrestler from back in the AJW days, and has had 27 total title reigns in her career in many different promotions. She also happens to be the owner of Diana so naturally she is going to be in the big spotlight. Kaoru Ito also is a well known wrestler from AJW’s heyday, she won the AJW Championship twice and also twice won the JWP Tag Team Championship. Ito and Inoue were both around 40 at the time of this match and well past their prime, but both were still game to put on a good show. Yuuki and Sato we saw in the opening match, so they are pulling double duty tonight.

Sato immediately dropkicks Yuuki repeatedly as soon as the match starts, Ito tries to help by holding Yuuki but it backfires and Sato dropkicks Ito by accident. Inoue comes in but Ito trips both her opponents from the floor and pull them both out of the ring. Sato goes out top and dives out onto both her opponents, Ito then gets in the ring and hits a double baseball slide. We clip ahead to Sato and Inoue in the ring, and Sato hits a dropkick. Sato tags in Ito and the former AJW superstars trade lariat attempts until they both knock each other down. The action spills to the floor again and they battle around the floor with the older wrestlers trading elbows with each other. Sato hits a suplex on Yuuki on the floor while Ito hits Inoue with a chair until Inoue and Ito finally return to the ring. Running footstomps by Ito and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Inoue regains the advantage and goes for a powerbomb, but Ito back bodydrops out of it. Ito goes up top but Inoue avoids the diving footstomp, missile dropkick from Sato to Inoue and she hits another after Ito puts Inoue on her shoulders. Cover by Ito, but Inoue kicks out.

diana-5Ito tags in Sato, lots of dropkicks by Sato but Inoue eventually catches her and hits a German suplex. She tags in Yuuki, fireman’s carry slam by Yuuki and she hits a vertical suplex. Yuuki goes up top and delivers a diving elbow drop, Inoue then goes up top and she hits a diving elbow drop as well. Death Valley Bomb by Yuuki, but Ito breaks up the cover. Sato snaps off a German suplex and tags in Ito, chokeslam by Ito to Yuuki but Yuuki quickly recovers and throws Ito to the mat. Saito Suplex by Ito, Yuuki slowly gets back up however and she boots Ito before hitting a quick suplex. Yuuki goes up top but Ito hits her, Sato comes in but so does Inoue. Ito is on the top turnbuckle but Inoue joins her and hits a big superplex. Diving elbow drop by Yuuki to Ito, but Sato breaks up the cover. Yuuki gets Ito on her shoulders and hits a Death Valley Bomb, cover by Yuuki but Sato barely breaks it up. Yuuki picks up Ito but Ito applies a short armbar, but Inoue stomps her so she releases the hold. Yuuki goes up top but Ito joins her and hits an avalanche Fisherman Buster, cover by Ito but Inoue breaks it up. Ito goes up top, Inoue tries to join her but Sato throws Inoue on top of Yuuki. Ito then hits a diving footstomp onto Inoue, she goes back up top and delivers one to Yuuki to pick up the three count pinfall. Ito and Sato win the first fall.

Yuuki and Ito stay in as the legal wrestlers as Ito hits a quick lariat, she goes for a powerbomb but Inoue lariats Ito. Inoue tosses Sato and Ito onto the ramp, Inoue fights off both of them and hits a double lariat. Ito returns to the ring after a moment, Yuuki boots her until Ito falls down to the mat. Yuuki eventually manages to get Ito on her shoulders, she hits the Death Valley Bomb but Sato breaks up the cover. Sato drops Yuuki with a release German suplex but Inoue comes in and hits a suplex on her. Ito had climbed on the top turnbuckle but Yuuki grabs her and gets Ito on her shoulders. Death Valley Bomb by Yuuki to Ito, and she gets a three count cover! Yuuki and Inoue win the second fall.

Yuuki and Sato remain in the ring, dropkicks by Sato to Yuuki and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Sato and Yuuki trade elbows, shoulderblock by Yuuki but Sato applies a sunset flip for two. Release German by Sato and she rolls up Yuuki with a bridge for another two count. Missile dropkick by Sato and she tags in Ito, Ito goes for a powerbomb but Yuuki drives her back into the corner. Lariat by Ito but Inoue hits her from the apron, Yuuki tags in Inoue but Ito plants Inoue with a lariat. Inoue goes for a powerbomb but Sato breaks it up with a missile dropkick, quick roll-up by Inoue but Sato breaks that up too. Inoue and Ito trade punches as they ascend to the top turnbuckle, Ito flips over Inoue’s back and she hits a powerbomb for a two count. Ito tags in Sato, double Irish whip to Inoue but Inoue knocks them both down with a lariat. Inoue goes for a powerbomb but Sato wiggles away, she goes off the ropes but Inoue flips her inside out with a lariat. Inoue goes for a powerbomb but Ito breaks it up with a lariat, Sato goes up top but Inoue gets her feet up when Sato dives off. Folding Powerbomb by Inoue, but Ito breaks up the cover. She goes for another one but Sato rolls flips behind her back and applies a sunset flip for the three count! Ito and Sato win the final fall and the match!

This was definitely a spectacle. It wasn’t always worked smartly, wrestlers would go up to the top turnbuckle for no reason, wrestlers no sold randomly for no reason, just all kinds of things that aren’t ideal in most matches. Still, I couldn’t help but be hooked into it, watching two aging former major stars still giving it everything they have and probably doing moves they shouldn’t be doing just to put on a good show. Ito put over the ‘younger’ wrestler better than Inoue did, but Inoue did get pinned which is a statement in of itself. Not the most logical match so you can’t go into it expecting a traditional back and forth, but not bad and a good example of what Diana would go on to be with the main story being older stars still looking for their turn in the spotlight.  Mildly Recommended

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Keiko Aono https://joshicity.com/joshi-wrestler-profiles/keiko-aono/ Tue, 26 Jan 2016 19:02:15 +0000 http://joshicity.com/?page_id=1617 Profile for Joshi wrestler Keiko Aono.

The post Keiko Aono appeared first on Joshi City.

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Birth: April 8th, 1973
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 155 lbs.
Background: Trained in LLPW
Debut: February 10th, 1995
Retired: October 7th, 2018
Other Identities: ECO

Championships Held: LLPW 6-Woman Tag Team Championship, JWP Tag Team Championship, WWWD World Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

  • April 15th, 2007 vs. Command Bolshoi vs. Tojyuki Leon
  • April 17th, 2011 vs. Mariko Yoshida
  • April 29th, 2013 with Hotta vs. Ito and Watanabe

Signature Moves:

  • Falcon Arrow
  • Shining Wizard

In Action:

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