Event: Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~
Date: March 3rd, 2021
Location: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 3,318
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on PPV and Samurai TV!

It is time for what will likely be the biggest Joshi event of the year! Since Bushiroad purchased Stardom, one of their goals was to have Stardom run in bigger buildings when the time was right, which leads them to Nippon Budokan for All-Star Dream Cinderella. They went all-out for the show, as SEAdLINNNG invades with big singles matches involving Nanae Takahashi and Yoshiko. Also, there is a Rumble with former wrestlers returning, and a total of five title matches. This review will be long so strap in, here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Natsupoi
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• All-Star Rumble with Momoe Nakanishi, Mima Shimoda, Chigusa Nagayo, Kyoko Inoue, Kikutaro, Gokigen Death, Emi Sakura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Miho Wakizawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, Yoko Bito, Yuuri Haruka, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Hiromi Mimura, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Bea Priestley, Ruaka, Mei Hoshizuki, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Saya Iida, and Lady C
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Konami
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship, Hair Vs. Hair Match: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

I will be watching the live broadcast, so matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

(c) AZM vs. Natsupoi
High Speed Championship

They charge each other and get right into a fast exchange, they avoid each others dropkicks and after some flash pins attempts they end up back on their feet. Kick by Natsupoi and she throws AZM into the corner, dropkicking her down to the floor. She goes up top but AZM quickly recovers and gets onto the apron before kicking Natsupoi in the head. Natsupoi falls to the floor, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a double footstomp. AZM rolls Natsupoi back in and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by AZM but it gets two. She applies the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes, Natsupoi throws AZM into the corner but AZM avoids her charge. Kick to the chest by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but AZM rolls through it and applies a submission.

Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes again, AZM goes up top and nails a diving double footstomp for two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits La Mistica, but Natsupoi rolls out of it. Head kick by AZM, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits La Mistica again. Natsupoi gets to the ropes, AZM runs to the corner but when she goes for the triple jump attack, she is greeted by a dropkick from Natsupoi. AZM and Natsupoi trade elbows as they return to their feet, AZM goes off the ropes but Natsupoi catches her with a kick. Backlash by Natsupoi, but AZM kicks out. Waistlock by Natsupoi and she nails a German suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Natsupoi goes up top and delivers the twisting body press, but the cover gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM but AZM elbows her off, rolling inside cradle by AZM but it gets a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, so Natsupoi superkicks AZM in the face. Natsupoi drags up AZM and hits rolling German suplexes, but the third only gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM and nails a Cross-Arm German Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Natsupoi wins and is the new champion!

A really fun way to kick off the show. Not everything was super smooth but the energy helped make up for that as it was just go-go-go from the opening bell. Fans that only watch Stardom may not been as familar with what Natsumi has been up to in recent years but she is fantastic, and she got a pretty dominating win here as by the end of the match she was firmly in control. AZM hit some killer footstomps and stayed in the match, but it almost felt like a coming-out party for Natsumi and I assume she’ll hold the title for awhile. A quality match to begin the big event.  Recommended

(c) Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai jump DDM before the match starts and isolate Maika, double teaming her. Saki stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Himeka before tagging in Natsuko, bootscrapes by Natsuko but Himeka kicks her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover and she tags Himeka, Himeka and Natsuko trade shoulderblocks with Himeka winning the battle. Saki runs in but Himeka stacks them both in the corner and hits a lariat. She puts both up on the turnbuckle and places them in an Argentine Backbreaker together before dropping them to the mat. Himeka picks up Natsuko and delivers a Jumping Knee, but Natsuko kicks out of the cover. Himeka tags Maika, Maika tosses Natsuko around the mat before hitting a STO for a two count. Stomps by Maika and she hits a lariat, but she didn’t notice that Saki blind tagged herself in. Saki jumps in the ring with a bulldog to Maika, Maika is thrown into the corner and Saki hits a running knee. Saki gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a headscissors into a cradle, picking up a two count.

Natsuko is tagged back in, she stacks both opponents in the corner and delivers a cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, she tags Saki and Saki hits a diving footstomp. She quickly tags Natsuko back in, diving body press by Natsuko but Maika kicks out of the cover. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but that gets a two count as well. Natsuko picks up Maika but Himeka runs in to help, Saki kicks Himeka however and she falls out of the ring. Natsuko tags Saki, flying headscissors by Saki to Maika but Himeka cuts her off with a knee. Himeka and Maika charge Saki but accidentally lariat each other, scoop slam by Saki to Maika and she goes up top but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika to Saki, she picks her back up and hits a STO but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Himeka comes in and with Maika they hit a lariat on Saki followed by a sliding lariat for a two count. Maika picks up Saki but Saki slides away and pins her down for a two count. Natsuko has found her way back in but she eats a double chokeslam, Maika picks up Saki and nails a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Donna del Mondo win and retain the championship.

Normally I like title matches to be a little longer than this, but considering the participants and the fact this was a pre-show match, I don’t mind it as much here. This was pretty well-worked, nothing mind blowing but a good match within their limitations. Maika and Himeka are a bundle of fun, I could watch them all day as they bring something fresh and interesting to Stardom’s matches. Saki really brought her A game today which helped elevate the match, and Natsuko didn’t do much which is for the best. Oedo Tai wrestled the match oddly straight besides from the pre-bell jumping, with no cheating which surprised me. A solid match to keep the show rolling along, even if it was nothing special.

Stardom All-Star Rumble

Starlight Kid and Mei Hoshizuki are the first two in the match. They start pretty traditionally as they trade holds, armdrag by Starlight Kid, Mei catches her crossbody attempt but Starlight Kid spins it around into a cradle for two. Dropkick by Mei as Gokigen Death comes down, but she just poses while the other two keep fighting. They get tired of this and jump her, but Starlight Kid and Death end up double teaming Mei. Momoe Nakanishi is the next wrestler to enter the match, she goes up top but Death and Starlight Kid shake the ropes to knock her off. Irish whip to Momoe but she runs over all three opponents and poses on the mat with Death. The veterans stay in control and pose on Starlight Kid and Mei, as Koguma enters the match! First time we have seen Koguma wrestling in almost six years. Koguma hits a falling body press on Death and Starlight Kid before they all get into a fast exchange. Meanwhile the next wrestler is already on their way to the ring, Unagi Sayaka! Starlight Kid is attacked by everyone in the corner but is able to knock back Unagi, Unagi is stomped on by everyone while Saya Iida enters the match. Saya chops everyone, and while she is doing that Mina Shirakawa comes down as the next wrestler in the match.

By now there are too many people in the ring, a common issue in Battle Royal style matches. The Stardom wrestlers get into an exchange while Yuna Manase enters the match. Yuna and Saya exchange shots, Starlight Kid comes over to help but Yuna lariats both of them. Suddenly all of Gatoh Move appear on the ramp as Emi Sakura is the next wrestler down, Emi immediately goes after Momoe and hits a crossbody in the corner. Everyone watches as Emi and Momoe trade dropkick attempts before they hug, but we take a break as Lady C is wrestler #11 to join the match. Lady C snapmares Emi and puts her in a headscissors, and you know what is coming as this starts a giant headscissors chain with all the wrestlers (except Momoe, who runs over all of them instead of joining them). яндекс As it is broken up, Kyoko Inoue enters the ring but she is immediately attacked by everyone. She fights back but Lady C drops her with a chokeslam, everyone covers Kyoko but she kicks out. Lariat by Kyoko to Lady C, and she covers her for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

Ruaka is the next wrestler, she shoulderblocks Kyoko to the mat and boots her, but Kyoko fires back with a lariat for the three count! Ruaka is eliminated. Rina Kadokura enters the match while Emi tricks Kyoko and gets everyone to cover her again, this time getting the three count! Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. We get some Random Chaos in the ring a Hiroyo Matsumoto is the next entry, she is in no rush to enter but eventually makes it into the ring. Miho Wakizawa is wrestler #16, while in the ring Hiroyo is beating everyone with a giant tawashi. Or something like one. Momoe is set up in the ropes to get a rubber band snapped in her face, but it accidentally gets sent back into Miho by mistake. Mima Shimoda comes into the match and dumps Yuna Manase over the top rope! Yuna Manase is eliminated. The legend Bea Priestley enters but Emi chops her in the chest and everyone tries to throw her out of the ring. She hangs on as Yuuri Haruka makes her entrance, meanwhile Mima is thrown over the top rope along with Bea in quick succession. Mima Shimoda and Bea Priestley are eliminated!

Yuuri applies an armbar to Death but it gets broken up, the camera pans to the stage and we see Hiromi Mimura is on her way down. Before she gets in the ring, Emi helps dump Yuuri over the top rope to the floor! Yuuri Haruka is eliminated. Hiromi winds up for an attack but is kicked by Miho, but Starlight Kid comes to the rescue. Hiroyo whacks Hiromi with a backpack, Miho puts Hiromi in the Backslide and she gets the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated. Yoko Bito is the 21st entry, while Hiroyo dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Miho hits a Frankensteiner on Emi onto all the tawashis, and Emi is covered by multiple wrestlers for the three count. Emi Sakura is eliminated. Miho is slow to recover so everyone covers her as well, picking up another three count! Miho Wakizawa is eliminated. Not done yet, the mob rolls up Hiroyo, keeping her down for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is eliminated. That clears the ring a little bit. Yuzuki Aikawa enters as the next wrestler, and she still looks the same as she did when she retired eight years ago. As she slowly walks down, Saya and Starlight Kid work together to throw Rin over the top rope. Rin Kadokura is eliminated. Not wasting time, Chigusa Nagayo quickly follows as she enters the match, Saya Iida greets her and the two trade blows. While they duke it out, the final wrestler enters the match – Kikutaro! 

Back in the ring (which most wrestlers aren’t even in anymore as they stand on the apron) Chigusa drops Saya with a Death Valley Bomb but Saya kicks out of the cover. Chigusa picks up Saya and drops her with a heel kick, but again Saya gets a shoulder up. Saya hulks up and knocks over Chigusa with a double chop, but her cover gets two as Chigusa puts Saya in an armlock. No one helps her and Saya submits! Saya Iida is eliminated. Yuzuki comes in the ring finally and challenges Chigusa, kicks by Yuzuki but Chigusa blocks the heel drop and punches her in the stomach. Yuzuki throws Chigusa into the corner and hits a body avalanche, as everyone else joins in attacking Chigusa in the corner. Yuzuki and Yoko both kick Chigusa, cover by Yuzuki but it gets a two count. She tries again with everyone else helping her, but that gets a two count as well. Chigusa gets back up but is schoolboyed from behind, and finally she is held down for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is eliminated.

Kikutaro still hasn’t entered the ring but finally does so, he’s in full creeper mode as everyone runs away from him. He grabs Unagi but Mina attacks him, Kikutaro covers both of them but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Starlight Kid attacks at Kikutaro, he gets away but Chigusa jaws at him from the apron. Chigusa takes one for the team as Kikutaro grabs her… intimately, she gets back in the ring and hits him with an elbow. Everyone else joins in stomping down Kikutaro, Momo☆Latch by Momoe and she holds down Kikutaro for the three count! Kikutaro is eliminated. Moonsault by Momoe to Death, and she holds her down for the three count as well! Gokigen Death is eliminated. Starlight Kid and Momoe go after each other, Momoe jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Starlight Kid pushes her off before she can hit a move. She keeps hitting Momoe as she dangles on the top rope, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Momoe crashes to the floor. Momoe Nakanishi is eliminated. Snapmare by Yoko to Koguma, she picks her up but Koguma snaps off a DDT. Starlight Kid grabs Koguma and holds her for Yoko, but Koguma ducks and Yoko kicks Starlight Kid by accident. Yoko charges Kid but Kid holds down the top rope, sending Yoko to the apron. Koguma runs over and kicks Yoko, sending her to the floor! Yoko Bito is eliminated. 

We are down to five wrestlers! Cutter by Koguma on Starlight Kid and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Koguma and Unagi trade flash pins, but Unagi gets help from Mina and Yuzuki as they hold down Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated. We are down to three – Mina Shirakawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, and Unagi Sayaka. Yuzuki fights off both Cosmic Angels before getting into an elbow exchange with Mina, slap by Mina but Yuzuki slaps her back. Mina elbows Yuzuki against the ropes and charges her, but Yuzuki avoids the dropkick and hits a heel drop. Yuzuki goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi saves Mina, Mina then returns the favor but Yuzuki nails Mina with a heel kick and delivers the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is eliminated. Yuzuki charges Unagi but Unagi dumps her onto the apron, she goes for a kick but Yuzuki gets her out onto the apron with her. Kicks by Yuzuki as they both stand on the apron but Unagi catches one, heel drop to the back by Unagi and she hits another one to send Yuzuki to the floor. Yuzuki Aikawa is eliminated.  Unagi Sayaka is the last wrestler standing and is the winner!

Its always hard to ‘rate’ Battle Royals, and ones that take place in Japan tend to be even more difficult due to the more lighthearted atmosphere. There was a lot of wrestlers standing out of the way while the planned spots were going on, with some wrestlers such as Koguma disappearing for long periods of time. Some of the exchanges were really enjoyable though, such as Chigusa Nagayo/Saya Iida and the final threesome, and it was really nice of Chigusa Nagayo to “take one for the team” with Kikutaro as I can only imagine the Internet’s reaction if he had done that to Starlight Kid. It was great seeing Yuzuki again in particular, and none of the returning wrestlers looked too out of place. Its a long match with stretches of nothing, but still enough fun moments that long time Joshi fans will likely find something to enjoy.

Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo and Nanae face off and trade slaps, Nanae pushes Momo into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Momo avoids one and kicks Nanae in the head, she hits her own elbows but Nanae gets her back and hits a German suplex. Nanae elbows Momo while she is against the ropes, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor but Nanae catches the PK attempt and hits a dragon screw. Lariat by Nanae but Momo fires back with a dropkick, she dropkicks Nanae down in the corner and delivers a hard dropkick to the chest. More dropkicks by Momo and she kicks Nanae repeatedly in the chest. Nanae eventually catches one but Momo slaps her, headbutts by Nanae and she kicks Momo onto the apron. Nanae picks up Momo and hits a short range lariat, elbows by Nanae and she slams Momo to the mat for a two count cover. Nanae goes off the ropes but Momo nails a head kick, elbows by Momo and she kicks Nanae in the head. Momo goes off the ropes and hits the Somato, but Nanae kicks out of the cover.

Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but again Nanae kicks out. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Nanae and hits the B Driver, but Nanae rolls through it and hits one of her own for a two count. Both wrestlers slowly get up, jumping kick by Nanae and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Momo avoids the Refrigerator Bomb and hits a knee to the back of the head. Momo goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but it gets two. Momo goes back up again but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and this time nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae picks up Momo but Momo slides away and delivers a Tequila Sunrise for two. Momo drags up Nanae but Nanae gets away and hits an elbow. Head kick by Momo, she goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a lariat. Nanae picks up Momo and drops her with the Nana☆Racka but Momo barely kicks out. Nanae picks Momo back up and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

While this match was “good,” something felt like it was missing. Maybe due to the length or placement on the card, it didn’t have that pop I was expecting and never really felt like it elevated itself. If not for the history between Nanae and Stardom, it would have felt like a pretty standard veteran vs. young star match. Which probably isn’t fair, there was nothing “wrong” with the match at all, it just didn’t feel special either. Even with their limited time they seemed to run of out ideas, with lots of Somatos and elbows, and it makes you wonder if they just aren’t too familar with each other and decided to keep it simple. Hard hitting for sure, and Momo held her own, it just felt more like an introduction than an all out war. A decent enough match, but ultimately nothing that will leave a lasting impression once the show ends.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Konami
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They circle each other to start before grappling for position on the mat, Syuri goes for the armbreaker but Konami easily blocks it and goes for one of her own. Syuri gets to the ropes to break the hold, sliding kick by Konami and Syuri falls out to the floor. Natsuko comes over but Konami pushes her away and slides Syuri back in, stomps by Konami and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Konami quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, Syuri rolls out of it but Konami keeps a hold on the arm. Syuri rolls out again and gets a hold of Konami’s ankle, but Konami reverses it and applies her own ankle hold. Konami gets Syuri’s back in a crucifix before driving her to the mat, she gets a stretch hold locked in but Syuri gets to the ropes. Strike combination by Konami and she delivers a head kick, but Syuri fires back with a release German. Konami hits a suplex of her own and applies a sleeper, Syuri gets up but Konami plants her with a Sleeper Suplex for two. Konami goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Syuri catches her leg and hits a double knee gutbuster.

Konami quickly connects with a head kick but is too hurt to capitalize, they slowly get to their knees and trade elbows. They trade kicks as they return to their feet, running knee by Syuri and she covers Konami for two. Syuri applies a guillotine before putting Konami’s feet on the top rope and dropping her with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami slides away and applies a cross armbreaker. Syuri quickly gets out of it and applies a Stretch Muffler, but Konami gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri gets Konami on her shoulders and hits a modified Emerald Frosion, but Konami kicks out of the cover and quickly applies a modified armbar. Syuri muscles out of it and gets the Stretch Muffler re-applied, but modifies it to also tie up Konami’s arm (Stardom called this move the “White Tiger”). Konami struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Syuri wins the match and retains the championship.

Konami shook Syuri’s hand after the match and gave her a hug, showing a level of post-match respect that is rare for a member of Oedo Tai. This definitely had a different feel than most matches in Stardom, as it was a very ground-based and submission focused match. It really did feel like a match these two would have had against each other in 2016, obviously Konami is more polished now than she was back then but the structure reminded me of the older days of Konami. As far as mat-based matches go, this was pretty fun to watch and very fluid, and you could tell they are very comfortable with each other as nothing looked forced. I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement in the closing stretch as it ended with little warning, but still an enjoyable match that probably meant more to the wrestlers than it meant to anyone else.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mayu into the ropes and gives a clean break. Kick by Mayu but Yoshiko blocks the armdrag, hitting one of her own. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she picks up Mayu and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running boot, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko quickly applies a headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Yoshiko picks up Mayu and kicks her in the back. Yoshiko keeps stomping on Mayu’s back before picking her up and applying a stretch hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Mayu reverses it and hits a headscissors. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Yoshiko with a dropkick, sending the SEAdLINNNG wrestler out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and sails out onto Yoshiko (mostly missing) with a plancha suicida, she slowly recovers and slides Yoshiko back in the ring. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt, low kick by Mayu but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mayu crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yoshiko quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton onto Mayu’s back, she goes back up to the second turnbuckle and connects with a regular diving senton for a two count cover.

Yoshiko picks up Mayu but Mayu gets her to the mat with a reverse hurricanrana. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets to the ropes to block the dragon suplex, Mayu pulls her off the ropes but Yoshiko elbows her off. Mayu ducks a lariat and drops Yoshiko with a release German, Yoshiko gets back up but Mayu delivers the dragon suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up to block the move. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they trade strikes when they return to their feet until Yoshiko knocks Mayu back to the mat. Mayu gets back up but eats another hard elbow for her trouble, Mayu returns to her feet and temporarily knocks Yoshiko to her knees before eating two hard lariats. Yoshiko picks up Mayu and slams her to the mat from a fireman’s carry, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko positions Mayu and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the diving senton but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko drags up Mayu but Mayu gets her back and applies a schoolboy for two. Superkick by Mayu and she kicks Yoshiko in the head, another superkick by Mayu and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mayu picks up Yoshiko and delivers the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the winner.

There was a lot to enjoy here, a really entertaining match. Its kinda amazing these two still have such great chemistry after all these years, and everything they did here clicked. Yoshiko’s work on Mayu’s back was top notch, probably good enough it could have used a little more long term selling by Mayu but Mayu constantly looks in pain so it still worked out. I really loved the ending, with Mayu not wasting a second before going to the moonsault. No slow dramatic climb up the turnbuckles and pointing to the crowd, just quickly taking advantage of a hurt Yoshiko who is not the easiest wrestler to pin. The time just flew by and I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few more minutes, but they told their story and told it well. I don’t know where Stardom and SEAdLINNNG’s relationship is going from here, but this was a great hard hitting match that delivered on the expectations.  Highly Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
World of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Saya quickly kicks her and they lock-up before trading holds, they go through an exchange off the ropes ending with Utami dropkicking Saya in the chest. Utami picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami puts Saya in the ropes and delivers a sliding kick to the back, double kneedrop to the back by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami applies a Camel Clutch but Saya inches to the ropes for the break. Utami stomps at Saya and boots her in the corner, Utami picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Saya fights back but Utami avoids her dropkick and kicks Saya in the back. Saya fires back with a dropkick of her own, hurricanrana by Saya and Utami falls out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes and dives out onto Utami with a tope con hilo, she picks up Utami and tosses her back into the ring. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and the two trade shots. Utami wins the battle, she picks up Saya and goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Saya and she covers Utami for a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and delivers a sliding kick.

Utami picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a Canadian Destroyer, scoop slam by Saya and she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind and knocks her onto the apron. Saya comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, she picks up Utami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and hits a release German. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya spins off and delivers a heel kick. Saya picks up Utami and drops her with a fisherman sitout slam, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami avoids the Phoenix Splash. Utami applies a sleeper but Saya drives her back into the corner to break it up, Saya charges Utami but Utami gets her on her shoulders and nails the Air Raid Crash. Utami gets the sleeper on but Saya gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Saya and gets her onto her shoulders, she spins Saya around and slams her to the mat for a two count. Utami picks up Saya and gets her up in a crucifix, but Saya hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Utami recovers first and picks up Saya, rocking her with a hard lariat. Another lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and nails the Hijack Bomb (Spinning BT Bomb) for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

While the last match was great, this one was even better. Even though Saya wasn’t an A+ challenger, she still brought everything she had and she has never looked better than she did here. Everything she hit was smooth as butter and her selling was top-notch, as she made everything Utami did look like death. She did so well in the match, I actually was buying into the nearfalls which is the biggest compliment I can give to a match that on paper had a clear winner. The dynamic between Utami’s power and Saya’s finesse created constantly entertaining back and forths, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire match as there was no telling what they were going to do. The ending was definitive as Utami threw Saya right through the ring, a fitting ending to an evenly contested match. These two are the future of Stardom if they stick with wrestling, easily the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career and a great showing from Utami as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After circling each other they start tracking strikes, waistlock by Giulia and they trade holds. Tam gets Giulia to the mat but Giulia applies a headscissors, Tam slaps Giulia before returning to her feet. Tam goes for a cutter but Giulia applies a sleeper, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. Giulia goes for a dropkick but Tam moves and applies a sleeper, Giulia tries to get out of it with a backdrop suplex but Tam lands on top of her. They trade elbows until Tam knocks Giulia to the mat, Giulia rolls out of the ring to recover while Tam waits for her in the ring. Giulia returns after a moment and picks up Tam, but Tam wiggles away. Release German by Giulia with Tam ending up on the apron, Giulia goes out to the apron as well and kicks Tam in the head. Giulia goes for a suplex but Tam blocks it, big boot by Giulia and she hits a cutter onto the apron. Tam falls out of the ring with Giulia going out after her, Giulia twists Tam in the guardrail and chokes her. Giulia stops choking her long enough to throw Tam into the railing, big boot by Giulia and she throws Tam into the rail again. Giulia gets a table and sets it up at ringside, she grabs Tam and pulls her up onto the table with her. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her onto the table with a piledriver, she returns to the ring while Tam slowly follows behind her. Giulia plants a sliding kick on Tam, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count.

Giulia gets on the top turnbuckle but Tam slowly gets up and joins her, Giulia grabs her head however and applies a guillotine choke while still on the turnbuckles. She lets go after a moment and Tam flops back to the mat, she goes for a missile dropkick but Tam avoids it. Tam goes for a knee but Giulia catches it, she gets Tam up in a Glorious position but Tam reverses it with Reverse DDT. Giulia recovers first and mounts Tam, slapping her in the face. Hard elbow by Giulia and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Giulia falls out of the ring, Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. Tam slides Giulia back in, Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks her suplex attempt, getting to the ropes. Tam pulls her away and hits Giulia’s Glorious Driver, but it gets a two count. Tam drags up Giulia and kicks her repeatedly in the head, but Giulia ducks a kick and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam pushes her away, headbutt by Giulia and she delivers a Glorious Driver for a two count cover. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, Tam connects with a series of slaps before knocking Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and returns the favor, heel kick by Tam and she hits a second one. Giulia comes at Tam but Tam picks her up and drills Giulia with a Sitout Tam Screwdriver for a two count. Tam drags Giulia back up and nails the Twilight Dream, and she keeps Giulia down for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is the new Wonder of Stardom Champion!

There is a lot to digest here. First, the emotion was certainly there and it just had a more urgent feeling than the last few matches. They weren’t really focused on trading bombs but having a real struggle, full of one-upmanship and emotion that was tangible. They still had a couple big moves but honestly they weren’t needed, the table spot was neat but added little to the match as that wasn’t what the match was about. Its harder to rate matches that are more about story and heart than smooth wrestling and big moments, but when considering all things this was a very captivating and memorable match. They didn’t fall into the ‘trading 2.999 nearfalls’ trap that many “epic” matches fall into, so each pinfall felt meaningful. Tam killed Giulia at the end, which was needed as a non-definitive ending just wouldn’t have worked to end this match and feud. A fitting way to end one of the best Joshi events in years, a very entertaining match that will be talked about in Stardom circles for years to come.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella on 3/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Diana
Date: November 8th, 2020
Location: Diana Dojo in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sometimes, you are just in the mood to watch some Diana. For many years, Diana events literally never made TV and the only way to watch them was on “clips” shows or to purchase the one DVD they put out a year. But recently they have been having more events on NicoPro or Youtube, giving long time Diana fans a chance to finally see their shows. Diana is a very small promotion, with a tiny roster and limited broad appeal, but they do have some good wrestlers and their events tend to get straight to the point. Plus Sareee is back to wrestling in Diana so we get to see the best wrestler in the world, which is never a bad thing. Here is the full card:

• Ayako Sato vs. Nanami
• Jaguar Yokota vs. Madeline
• Haruka Umesaki and Kaoru Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue and Sareee

Only three matches, with the entire video being only an hour long. Just heavenly. As this aired on Youtube all matches will be shown in full, to visit the wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayako Sato vs. Nanami

They tie-up to start and trade waistlocks, Sato applies a full nelson but Nanami reverses it. Snapmares by Sato and she applies a sleeper, she then lets go to put Nanami in a stretch hold. Sato applies a bodyscissors but Nanami gets out of it and elbows Sato in the chest. Nanami stomps on Sato and throws her down by the hair a few times, boot to the chest by Sato and she hits a monkey flip. Wristlock by Sato and she applies an arm wringer, hammerlock by Sato but Nanami reverses it. Headlock by Sato and she gets Nanami to the mat, Nanami gets her in a headscissors but Sato quickly gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Sato and she hits an armdrag, Nanami goes for a crossbody but Sato blocks it with a knee. Running knee by Sato and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Sato but it gets a two count. Sato picks up Nanami and hits a back bodydrop, she covers Nanami again but she gets another two count.

Back on their feet they trade elbows, boot by Sato but Nanami shoulderblocks her to the mat. More shoulderblocks by Nanami, and she covers Sato for a near two count. Sato rakes Nanami in the eyes and mushes her with her boot, but Nanami fires up and throws down Sato by the hair. Rolling cradle by Nanami but Sato kicks out of the cover, she goes for a backslide but Sato rolls through it and dropkicks Nanami in the head. Knee by Sato but Nanami sneaks in a backslide for two. Sato throws Nanami towards the corner, Nanami reverses it but Sato hits a dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Sato goes off the ropes and knees Nanami, Sato delivers a series of running knees but Nanami barely kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Sato and she hits a front dropkick, double wrist clutch armsault by Sato but Nanami kicks out. Sato goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick, but that gets two as well. Sato picks up Nanami, she applies a modified cradle and she gets the three count! Ayako Sato is the winner.

The finishing move translated in Google Translate as “Sato Squared” but I’m not really confident in that being its real name. Anyway, Sato gave Nanami quite a bit of offense and Nanami did show some fire and ability, more than I’ve seen from her in the past anyway. Nanami did manage to mess up the rolling cradle, which was amusing, but otherwise the match went off without a hitch. If anything, the champion of the promotion gave the kid too much leeway with kicking out of her big moves, you’d think a 14 year old could be pinned after a half dozen running knees. A good experience for Nanami, maybe not all hope is lost with her but I’m still not overly optimistic.

Jaguar Yokota vs. Madeline

After an enthusiastic handshake, Madeline grabs a metal rod when Yokota isn’t looking and hits her from behind with it. The referee tries to get Madeline to stop as she chokes Yokota with it, but has little success. Madeline hits the referee with the rod before going back to Yokota, Madeline avoids Yokota’s lariat attempt and goes for her arm, getting the Fujiwara Armbar applied. Yokota gets to the ropes for the break, dropkick by Madeline but Yokota hits her with a hard elbow. Madeline takes down Yokota and attempts to apply a cross armbreaker, Yokota struggles to block it and gets to the ropes before Madeline could get it fully locked on. Madeline picks up Yokota and goes to the top turnbuckle while holding her wrist, walking the ropes before hitting an armdrag. Irish whip by Madeline to the corner and she hits the Space Rolling Elbow, she goes for it a second time but Yokota blocks it and hits a heel drop to Madeline’s head. Somersault double leg drop by Yokota, and she covers Madeline for two. Yokota picks up Madeline and puts her in a stretch hold, roll-up by Yokota but it gets a two count.

Irish whip by Yokota but Madeline cartwheels way, she goes for a crossbody but Yokota sidesteps it. Yokota gets a steel chair and hits Madeline in the head with it, she tries to choke Madeline but Madeline blocks it (somewhat) with the metal rod she had earlier. Yokota picks up Madeline but Madeline blocks the piledriver, drop toehold by Madeline and she walks over Yokota’s back. Madeline throws Yokota into the corner but Yokota avoids her charge, but Madeline applies a sunset flip for two. Madeline gets on the second turnbuckle but Yokota joins her, superplexing Madeline back to the mat. Cover by Yokota, but it gets a two count. Yokota picks up Madeline and hits a backdrop suplex, but that gets a two as well. Fisherman Buster by Yokota, she slowly covers Madeline but Madeline bridges out of it. Annoyed, Yokota gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault double leg drop, but Madeline kicks out. Yokota drags Madeline to her feet and drops her with a piledriver, cover by Yokota and she finally gets the three count! Jaguar Yokota is the winner.

Even though the in-ring work wasn’t exactly high end, there is something enduring about Madeline. She’s scrappy and resourceful, and while she wasn’t going to win the match she had a plan and wasn’t easy to put down. Yokota can do whatever she wants at this point but I have to laugh that here she is in a midcard match taking place at a dojo and she is still bopping Madeline in the head with a chair. I’m going to give this the slightest of recommendations because I love Madeline, but it may not be a match that someone parachuting in would appreciate the charm of.  Mildly Recommended

Haruka Umesaki and Kaoru Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue and Sareee

Haruka and Sareee start the match and tie-up, arm wringer by Haruka but Sareee flips out of it and sends Haruka to the mat. Irish whip by Sareee, reversed, and Haruka delivers a dropkick. Armdrag by Sareee and she dropkicks Haruka, she tags in Inoue who attacks Haruka in the corner. Inoue puts Haruka in a leg submission while Sareee stands guard, Inoue lets go after a moment and applies a chinlock. Inoue tags Sareee back in, and Sareee puts Haruka in a Sickle Hold. Sareee picks up Haruka and flings her down by the hair, she tags in Inoue and Inoue puts Haruka in an Argentine Backbreaker. She eventually lets Haruka out of the hold by flinging her to the mat, vertical suplex by Inoue and she tags Sareee. Dropkicks by Sareee to Haruka, she picks up Haruka and delivers a scoop slam for a two count. Haruka finally gets away from Sareee and hits a dropkick of her own, giving her time to tag in Ito. Ito elbows Sareee, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a lariat. Single leg crab hold by Ito, she switches it to a chinlock before Haruka comes in so they can slam Sareee’s knees into the mat.

Ito tags in Haruka, Haruka goes for a crab hold but Sareee blocks it. Elbows to the chest by Haruka but Sareee switches positions with her and hits elbows of her own before tagging in Inoue. Chops by Inoue to Haruka, Haruka hits a dropkick but Inoue stays up. Inoue swats aside the next dropkick attempt, Irish whip by Inoue but Haruka hits a jumping lariat. Haruka grabs Inoue and puts her in a stretch hold, stomps to the back by Haruka and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Haruka goes for a suplex but Inoue blocks it, Inoue goes for a powerbomb but Haruka gets away and dropkicks her in the knee. Front flip neckbreaker by Haruka and she tags in Ito, Ito grabs Inoue but Inoue elbows her off. They take turns trying to lariat the other down until Ito catches Inoue with a side slam, Sareee comes in but Ito hits a jumping crossbody on both of them. Haruka then gets in the ring but Inoue lariats both of her opponents, giving her time to tag Sareee. Sareee comes off the top with a missile dropkick to Ito, picking up a two count. Sareee goes for a German suplex but Ito blocks it, Ito goes for a lariat but Sareee ducks it and goes for the suplex again. Still no luck so Sareee elbows Ito, satellite schoolboy by Sareee but it gets a two count.

Sareee elbows Ito but Ito levels her with a lariat, senton by Ito and she covers Sareee for two. Ito tags Haruka, missile dropkick by Haruka but Sareee blocks the attempted suplex. Knees by Sareee but Haruka trips her and applies a modified figure four leglock. Sareee eventually makes it to the ropes for the break, stomps by Haruka but Sareee gets up and elbows her hard in the chest. Dropkick by Sareee but Haruka gets away from her suplex attempt, elbows by Haruka and she goes off the ropes, catching Sareee with a powerslam for a two count. Haruka picks up Sareee and rolls her to the mat, but Sareee rolls through it and hits a footstomp. Dropkick by Sareee while Haruka is against the ropes, Inoue comes in but she lariats Sareee by accident. Ito comes in too and knocks over both Inoue and Sareee, Haruka picks up Sareee and delivers double wrist-clutch armsault, but Inoue manages to break it up. Small package by Haruka but that gets a two as well, as does the schoolboy into a jackknife hold. Haruka goes off the ropes but Inoue hits her with a lariat, Ito comes in but Sareee greets her with a kick to the face. Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and with Inoue’s help she hits a front flip senton. Fisherman Suplex Hold by Sareee, but Haruka barely get a shoulder up. Sareee quickly picks up Haruka and delivers a German suplex hold, and this time she gets the three count! Sareee and Kyoko Inoue are the winners.

The thing that helped this match the most is it didn’t have any bad eggs to drag it down, so it wasn’t really ever going to have any dead moments or awkward exchanges. Ito and Inoue may be past their primes but they know their limitations and wrestle within them, and they don’t mind putting over the next generation when it is necessary to do so. Sareee was her usual on-point self, hitting all her moves flawlessly and not seeming to have lost a step after a pretty long layoff. Haruka doesn’t have the experience of everyone else but for a young wrestler she has a ton of potential and showed a lot of fire in this one. Both teams acted as units so it didn’t come across as a series of singles matches, which is always a plus. There wasn’t one particular ‘wow’ moment as they kept it more based, but they kept the action up to keep things interesting. The camera setup hurt the match as we missed the impact of some of the moves, but for a small dojo show I thought this match delivered pretty well and its always a pleasure watching Sareee.  Recommended

The post Diana on 11/8/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Diana at Shin-Kiba
Date: February 9th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Well it must be my birthday, as Diana has released a full show! This is their first televised/streamed event in many years, and their first event released at all since a DVD was sold for an event in October of 2018. Hopefully this is not just a one off appearance. While Diana doesn’t have the best roster, I still like to watch all the different Joshi promotions so the more that make it to air, the better! Here is the full card:

• Banny Oikawa vs. Nanami
• Ayako Sato vs. Sakura Hirota
• Jaguar Yokota and Madeline vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tomoko Watanabe
• Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Meiko Satomura vs. Haruka Umesaki, Kaoru Ito, and Kyoko Inoue

Short show! Originally Sareee was on the event as well, but sadly she was out due to illness. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. We will have to put up the NicoPro Commentary Box during this event, which sucks, but we will deal with it the best we can.

Banny Oikawa vs. Nanami

Banny and Nanami circle each other to start and tie-up, the larger Nanami pushes Banny into the ropes and gives a clean break. They lock-up again and trade wristlocks, headlock by Nanami but Banny reverses it. Snapmare by Banny and she goes for a PK, but Nanami ducks it and schoolboys Banny for two. Dropkick by Banny and she throws Nanami into the corner, cartwheel by Banny and she hits a mule kick for two. Banny goes for Nanami’s arm but she quickly gets into the ropes, Irish whip by Banny but Nanami dropkicks her. Three more dropkicks by Nanami, she picks up Banny but Banny blocks the scoop slam. Banny goes off the ropes and his a dropkick, but Nanami applies a bodyscissors. Nanami stretches Banny before goes for a schoolboy, but Banny rolls through it and applies an armtrap crossface. Nanami rolls into the ropes for the break, Banny picks her up and the two trade elbows. Jumping crossbody by Nanami, but Banny kicks out of the cover. Nanami picks up Banny and hits the scoop slam, she picks up Banny but Banny sneaks in a backslide for two. Kicks to the chest by Banny, she goes off the ropes and hits a jumping crossbody for a two count. Banny goes off the ropes and applies a sunset flip, but she can’t get Nanami’s shoulders down. Camel Clutch by Banny but she lets go after a moment, she goes off the ropes and hits the sunset flip, but Nanami reverses it and the two trade flash pins. Backslide by Banny, and she picks up the three count! Banny Oikawa is the winner!

Even by rookie standards, this was rough. I mean, really rough. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sunset flip botched before so that was impressive, but the bulk of it was disjointed in a non-entertaining way. From what I’ve seen of Banny I don’t see a big future in wrestling for her, Nanami is too young to really evaluate but she certainly isn’t a natural at it. Possibly the most poorly executed match from a technical standpoint that I’ve watched in the last decade, please keep them as far apart as possible in the future.

Ayako Sato vs. Sakura Hirota

One of Sakura’s kids seems unwilling to leave the ring, so he starts in the corner clinging to the ropes. This seems safe. They tie-up, Sakura pushes Ayako into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Ayako kicks her to the mat. She gets a server tray and hits Sakura with it a few times, Irish whip by Ayako and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Kid is still in the ring. Sakura throws Ayako into the corner and hits a face crusher, wristlock by Sakura and she runs to the corner to walk the ropes. Which she does, until she misses her hop and crotches herself on the top rope. Ayako goes off the ropes but Sakura drop toeholds her into the second rope, the referee holds the kid while Sakura gives Ayako an Oil Check. Sakura hops over Ayako with theatrics but Ayako kicks her before she can complete her move, Sato brings her kicks in the ring (so now three kids are in the ring) and the kids jump over Sakura before hitting a poor version of Sakura’s signature move. Another one of Sakura’s kids gets in so we are up to four children now, but they finally get all the kids out of the ring.

Sakura throws Ayako into the corner but Ayako hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Ayako and she hits a double underhook suplex for a two count. Ayako goes up top but Sakura recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Sakura grabs Ayako as if to powerbomb her but instead just places her on the opposite turnbuckle, Ayako kicks her away and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Ayako picks up Sakura but Sakura snaps off a DDT, she goes off the ropes and hits the Oil Check. Tiger Feint Kick by Sakura, she goes for the Shining Wizard but Ayako blocks it and hits a Double Wrist Armsault for two. Sakura gets Ayako’s back and hits another Oil Check, she goes for a few cradles but Ayako kicks out of each. Ayako gets the server tray and hits Sakura with it, they struggle over the tray until the referee takes it from them. Sakura Oil Checks the referee by accident, Ayako hits Sakura with the tray but Sakura delivers a hurricanrana. The referee is too hurt to make the count, Ayako dropkicks the tray into Sakura’s face and nails a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Ayako Sato is the winner.

So this was a pretty normal Sakura match, for better or worse. Not really my cup of tea, although it was nice to see Ayako Sato in action. She seems pretty solid, when she got a chance to do some actual wrestling she looked good. Better than the first match for sure, but still so-so even for a comedy match.

Jaguar Yokota and Madeline vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tomoko Watanabe

Yokota and Mikoto start off, Yokota pushes Mikoto into the ropes and she elbows her in the chest instead of giving a clean break. Mikoto elbows Yokota back but Yokota pushes her into the corner, Irish whip by Yokota but Mikoto reverses it and hits a series of dropkicks. Mikoto picks up Yokota but Yokota blocks the slam attempt and hits one of her own, back elbow by Yokota and she steps on Mikoto’s chest before tagging Madeline. Madeline stomps Mikoto and applies a chinlock, she switches it to an ankle hold but Mikoto gets to the ropes. Back up, elbows by Mikoto and she hits a hard dropkick, giving her time to tag Watanabe. Madeline tries to tackle Watanabe but Watanabe just looks at her funny, dropkicks by Madeline but Watanabe absorbs the blows. Vertical suplex by Watanabe and she puts Madeline in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Yokota gets a chair and hits Watanabe repeatedly in the head with it to break up the hold. Yokota puts Watanabe in the chair, dropkick by Madeline and she puts Watanabe in an armbar, but Watanabe quickly reverses it. Madeline ends up in the ropes to get a break, Watanabe tags Mikoto and Mikoto delivers a a pair of dropkicks. Scoop slam by Mikoto but Madeline kicks out of the cover. Mikoto puts Madeline in a stretch hold, she lets her go after a moment and Irish whips her, but Madeline hits a dropkick and tags Yokota. Yokota tosses Mikoto around the ring before putting her in an Octopus Hold, but Watanabe breaks it up.

Yokota tags Madeline, Madeline applies a modified armbar while biting Mikoto repeatedly, as the referee tries to get her to stop. Cross armbreaker by Madeline but Mikoto gets into the ropes for the break. Madeline kicks Mikoto in the leg but Mikoto dropkicks her and tags Watanabe. Watanabe throws Madeline into the corner and hits a body avalanche, Mikoto returns and she dropkicks Madeline. Madeline sneaks in an inside cradle to Watanabe, it only gets two but it gives her time to tag Yokota. DDT by Yokota to Watanabe, she throws her to the ropes but Watanabe reverses it. Yokota blocks Watanabe’s lariat and goes for the Octopus Hold, but Watanabe pushes her off and hits a lariat for a two count. Watanabe picks up Yokota but Yokota hits a DDT, somersault legdrop by Yokota and she tags Madeline. Double Irish whip to Watanabe and they hit her with a metal stick, Madeline gets too excited however which gives Watanabe time to recover and hits a lariat. Mikoto comes in and Watanabe picks her up to kick Madeline, scoop slam by Watanabe and she hits an elbow drop off the second rope. Mikoto comes in again, Watanabe picks her up and drops her onto Madeline. Cover by Watanabe, but Yokota kicks the referee to break it up. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle but Yokota tosses her to the mat, Mikoto throws Yokota in the corner and with Watanabe they hit a double vertical suplex on Madeline. Watanabe tags in Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Madeline and she covers her for two.

Scoop slam by Mikoto and a second one, but Madeline kicks out of the cover again. Mikoto applies a crab hold but Yokota breaks it up, Mikoto picks up Madeline and throws her into the corner before hitting a dropkick. Irish whip by Mikoto but Madeline reverses it and kicks her. Mikoto elbows Madeline in the corner before hitting a dropkick, but Yokota knees Mikoto from the apron. Madeline applies an armbar but Watanabe breaks it up, Mikoto and Madeline trade elbows until Madeline kicks Mikoto to the mat. Madeline goes for the armbar but Mikoto is too close to the ropes, Watanabe comes in and she slams Madeline before hitting a diving body press off the second turnbuckle. Cover by Mikoto, but Yokota breaks it up. Mikoto picks up Madeline but Madeline applies the Fujiwara Armbar, but Mikoto gets to the ropes. Madeline tags Yokota, vertical suplex by Yokota and she covers Mikoto for two. Backdrop suplex by Yokota, but Watanabe breaks up her cover. Yokota picks up Mikoto and drops her with the Fisherman Buster, she drags Mikoto up again but Watanabe runs in and hits a lariat. Sunset flip by Mikoto, but Yokota kicks out. Madeline runs in and dropkicks Mikoto, Watanabe lariats Madeline but she also accidentally lariats Mikoto. La Magistral by Yokota to Mikoto, and she picks up the three count! Jaguar Yokota and Madeline win!

While at times it was disjointed and dragged too much, I still couldn’t help but enjoy this. Yokota is such a treasure, she isn’t just going through the motions even 40 years into her career as she was actively involved in the match. Watanabe did her part too and when Yokota or Watanabe was in the ring, I had a great time watching it, they just know how to do all the small things right. The match only suffered when Madeline and Mikoto were paired up, they didn’t seem to have talked it out before the match and don’t have the experience to freestyle something cohesive. Madeline in particular is a charming personality with lots of charisma, but still needs to be led in the ring. A fun and unique match, but the parts with Watanabe or Yokota were certainly the highlight.  Mildly Recommended

Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Satomura vs. Umesaki, Kaoru Ito, and Inoue

Haruka and Chihiro start the match, Haruka dropkicks Chihiro but Chihiro doesn’t go down. Haruka elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her to the mat, Haruka goes for a crossbody but Chihiro catches her and slams her to the mat. Chihiro gets Haruka around the waist and suplexes her to the mat, scoop slam by Chihiro and she covers Haruka for two. Chihiro tags Chisako, Chisako stomps on Haruka and the two trade elbows, which Chisako naturally gets the better of. Irish whip by Chisako but Haruka dropkicks her and tags in Inoue. Chisako hits a Stunner on Inoue and tags Satomura, Satomura and Inoue don’t rush into locking up but eventually do as Inoue pushes Satomura into the corner. Inoue throws down Satomura by the hair and butt smushes her in the corner, snap vertical suplex by Inoue and she tags Ito. Ito throws Satomura into the corner, Irish whip by Ito and she hits a lariat. Single leg crab hold by Ito, but Satomura inches to the ropes to force the break. Ito stomps on Satomura’s back, Haruka comes in the ring and they both slam Satomura’s knees into the mat. Ito tags in Haruka and Haruka keeps at Satomura’s leg, Satomura blocks the crab hold for a moment but Haruka eventually locks it in. Satomura gets into the ropes again, Haruka picks her up but Satomura hits a hard elbow followed by a scoop slam. Elbow drop by Satomura and she tags Chihiro, snapmare by Chihiro and she cranks on Haruka’s neck.

Chihiro applies a cross armbreaker but Haruka quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Chihiro picks her up and yanks on Haruka’s arm. Chihiro tags Chisako, who keeps working on Haruka’s arm with wristlocks and stomps. Chisako applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Ito breaks it up, Chisako wraps Haruka’s arm in the ropes and twists it. Chihiro is tagged back in to continue the arm work, then Satomura comes in and kicks Haruka repeatedly in the chest. Irish whip by Satomura to the corner and she hits a jumping elbow, but Haruka ducks the next one and hits a neck drop. Missile dropkick by Haruka and she makes the hot tag to Inoue. Lariats by Inoue to everyone, Satomura fights back with kicks but Inoue elbows her. A spinning heel kick sends Inoue to the mat, Satomura tags Chihiro and Chihiro hits a somersault senton for two. Waistlock by Chihiro and she applies a stretch hold, but Inoue gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Chihiro but Inoue reverses it, she goes for a lariat but Inoue stays up. Chihiro tries a few more times and finally knocks over Inoue with a lariat, but Inoue gets back up and sends Chihiro to the mat with a lariat of her own. Inoue tags Ito and Ito immediately hits a running footstomp followed by a senton for a two count. Ito picks up Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her off and the two trade blows. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Ito knocks her down with a lariat, Ito picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop. Spear by Chihiro and she makes the tag to Chisako.

Chisako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, sliding kick by Chisako and she covers Ito for two. Chisako picks up Ito and goes for a crucifix, but Ito falls back and lands on top of her. A side suplex by Ito sends Chisako out of the ring, Chihiro and Satomura are knocked out also and Ito connects with a baseball slide on all of them. Chisako is rolled back in the ring as Inoue gets in as well, and she hits a double lariat with Ito. Powerbomb by Ito and she tags in Haruka. Haruka goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, two more dropkicks by Haruka but Chisako avoids the next one and boots her in the face. Satomura and Chihiro both come in the ring as they all hit running strikes on Haruka in the corner, cannonball by Chisako and she covers Haruka for two. Chisako goes up top but Inoue strolls in the ring and joins her, hitting a superplex. Ito gets on the second turnbuckle and connects with a diving footstomp, jackknife hold by Haruka but the cover is broken up. Haruka goes for another flash pin with no luck, she picks up Chisako and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Haruka, Ito comes in but Chisako pushes Haruka into Ito and dropkicks her. Satomura comes in and kicks Ito, meanwhile Haruka hits a jumping crossbody on Chisako. Chihiro lariats Haruka and hits a waterwheel drop, diving footstomp by Chisako but Ito breaks up the cover. Chisako picks up Haruka and hits the Northern Lights Suplex, but Haruka gets the shoulder up. Chisako positions Haruka and goes to the top turnbuckle, Hormone Splash by Chisako and she picks up the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Meiko Satomura are the winners.

Even though they followed the pattern you’d expect with a rookie in the match, it was just fun to get to see Kaoru Ito and Kyoko Inoue again. Their interactions with Chihiro and Chisako were solid, but they weren’t as giving as Satomura was to Haruka. Shocking, I know. Ito in particular wasn’t overly helpful to Chihiro or Chisako, but cranky old veterans being cranky is entertaining in its own way so I’m not really complaining. The end stretch was fast paced and entertaining, and unlike the last match it didn’t feel like it dragged at any point. While the limb work naturally didn’t go anywhere, the rest of it made sense and the teams worked together well. For a smaller Diana show, a fitting way to end things but I wish that Sareee wasn’t sick as she would have been a fun inclusion in the match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Diana at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 2/9/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

• April 29th, 2019 in Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling – Hamuko Hoshi vs. Pork Tamako
• May 3rd, 2019 in WRESTLE-1 – Kyoko Inoue vs. Reika Saiki
• May 7th, 2019 in JUST TAP OUT – Maika vs. Mima Shimoda
• May 26th, 2019 in K-DOJO – Ayame Sasamura vs. Rina Shingaki
• June 2nd, 2019 in DDT – Mina Shirakawa vs. Saki Akai

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

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Pork Tamako
April 29th, 2019 in Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling

They start with a tie-up and some posing by Hamuko, she gets Tamako to pose too but Tamako is ashamed by her actions and Hamuko attacks her from behind. Hamuko throws Tamako into the corner and rubs her belly in her face, Hamuko bites on Tamako’s arm and then bites the referee too when he tries to get Hamuko off. Hamuko throws Tamako in the corner but Tamako kicks her and hits a diving crossbody off he second turnbuckle for two. Tamako goes for a scoop slam but Hamuko blocks it, Hamuko throws Tamako into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Butt bumps by Hamuko and she hits a bulldog for a two count. Crab hold by Hamuko but Tamako gets her pom poms and uses the extra motivation to get to the ropes. Back up, they trade elbows until Tamako gets Hamuko in the ropes and pulls back on her nose.

Hamuko returns the favor with the same move, Tamako fights back with an elbow and they exchange shots until Tamako applies an Octopus Hold. Hamuko gets to the ropes for the break, Tamako goes off the ropes and slams Hamuko’s face into the mat for a two count. Oil Check by Tamako, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Tamako goes for a suplex but Hamuko blocks it and hits a few belly bumps. Shining Onaka by Hamuko, she gets Tamako on her shoulders but Tamako slides off and cradles Hamuko for a two count. A few more flash pins gets the same result, Tamako finally scoop slams Hamuko and covers her, but Hamuko gets a shoulder up. Tamako goes off the ropes but Hamuko catches her with a lariat, Hamuko gets Tamako on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, bu Tamako kicks out. Hamuko goes up top and nails a diving body press, and she picks up the three count! Hamuko Hoshi wins!

I wouldn’t say I am a huge fan of Hamuko Hoshi as she is somewhat of a comedy/non-comedy tweener which can be annoying. This was a day off for her and she wrestled it as such, as they did the bare minimum to get by in this ten minute match. From what I could see of Tamako, she appears fundamentally sound but doesn’t show any special traits, which isn’t ideal two years into her career. But she hit her spots well and the pom pom spot was cute, so it wasn’t all bad. Fine to watch if you are just curious about a Joshi wrestler you may not have seen before but nothing beyond that to recommend.

Kyoko Inoue vs. Reika Saiki
May 3rd, 2019 in WRESTLE-1

They lock-up to start, Saiki pushes Inoue into the ropes and elbows her instead of giving a clean break. Saiki goes off the ropes but Inoue shoulderblocks her down, she tries again but gets the same result. Saiki gets Inoue’s back and schoolboys her for two, Inoue retorts with a hard lariat but Saiki continues to fight back. Lariat by Saiki but Inoue doesn’t go down, elbows by Saiki and she finally knocks Inoue off her feet. Saiki picks up Inoue and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Inoue blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Saiki hits a dropkick followed by a successful backdrop suplex. Inoue rolls out of the ring but Saiki quickly goes out after her and throws her into the chairs at ringside. She does it again on a different side of the crowd before getting on the apron, Inoue rolls back in the ring but Saiki goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Saiki tries to get Inoue on her shoulders but can’t get her up, she tries again but again collapses before she can finish. Saiki quickly goes up top but Inoue recovers and joins her before hitting a superplex for a two count. Inoue picks up Saiki but Saiki slides away, she goes off the ropes but Inoue catches her and hits a short-range lariat for two. Inoue waits for Saiki to get up and hits another lariat, but Saiki barely gets a shoulder up. Sit-down powerbomb by Inoue, and finally she gets the three count. Kyoko Inoue is your winner.

I really enjoyed the structure of the match, my only complaint is I wish Saiki got one last hope spot in at the end. I loved Saiki wrestling with such urgency, normally she is the power wrestler but here she had to use her speed and relentlessness and I thought she conveyed that very well. It felt like a real struggle just to get Inoue over, which she accomplished a few times but it felt like a big moment each time it happened. I wouldn’t have minded if Saiki did finally get Inoue on her shoulders as they were building to that, and I doubt we’ll see a follow-up match anytime soon to further that story, but I appreciate them putting effort into this match instead of coasting through it. Reika Saiki is really good at everything she does, and if she stays focused on wrestling she could be a major player down the road.  Recommended

Maika vs. Mima Shimoda
May 7th, 2019 in JUST TAP OUT

Maika immediately whips Shimoda to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but Shimoda gets to the ropes for the break and rolls out of the ring to re-group. She returns after a moment but is immediately stomped by Maika, Maika works a side headlock but Shimoda Irish whips out of it and boots Maika in the face. Another boot by Shimoda and she tosses down Maika by the hair. Cross-legged crab hold but Maika quickly gets to the ropes, Shimoda bounces Maika off the ropes before putting her in a Camel Clutch. Shimoda lets go and stomps on Maika’s feet, Shimoda applies another crab hold but Maika gets to the ropes again. Neckbreaker by Shimoda and she puts Maika in a singe leg crab hold, but once again Maika forces the break. Shimoda stomps at Maika and hits a scoop slam, Camel Clutch by Shimoda, she picks up Maika and applies an armbar, but Maika gets a toe on the ropes. Slaps by Shimoda in the corner and she headbutts Maika, Maika tries to lariat Shimoda but Shimoda boots her arm and hits a release German. Maika gets back up and elbows Shimoda repeatedly, armdrag by Maika and she hits a monkey flip followed by a judo toss. Another toss by Maika and she overs Shimoda for two. Maika picks up Shimoda but Shimoda takes Maika to the mat and applies a stretch hold. Maika gets out of the hold however and puts Shimoda in a cross armbreaker, and Shimoda quickly submits! Maika wins in her debut match!

I like the idea of what they were trying to do but sadly this match was just very boring. JUST TAP OUT needs to have credible wrestlers and winning a debut is so rare its something fans may notice, but I am not sure if Shimoda was the right choice (unless no one else would do it). Her offense here wasn’t creative or interesting, I figured it would be basic due to Maika’s experience but it was beyond basic and I have seen veterans have far more interesting matches with rookies. The end result may still come in handy if they try to push Maika but I have to see more of her to determine if the gamble will pay off, either way this was too dull to recommend.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Rina Shingaki
May 26th, 2019 in K-DOJO

They begin slow as they trade headlocks, but neither gets a clear advantage before Rina gets Ayame to the mat with a leg submission. Ayame spins out of it as they jockey for position, but they reach a stalemate and return to their feet. Ayame works a headlock, Rina Irish whips out of it and delivers a dropkick. Ayame quickly gets back up and hits a scoop slam, but Rina blocks her attempted second one and slams Ayame’s head into the mat. Ayame throws Rina in the corner but Rina avoids her charge and dropkicks Ayame in the back. Rina kicks Ayame’s arm in the ropes and applies an arm submission, she picks up Ayame and snaps her arm over her shoulder. Rina kicks at Ayame’s arm and knocks her down in the corner before choking her with her boot. Ayame punches Rina in the stomach but Rina applies a Fujiwara Armbar, Ayame quickly wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Irish whip by Rina but Ayame boots her back and hits a hard shoulderblock. Ayame throws Rina into the ropes and jumps down on her back, dropkick by Ayame and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner for a two count. Scoop slam by Ayame and she dropkicks Rina in the head, picking up another two. Rina whips down Ayame by the arm and applies the Fujiwara Armbar, Ayame tries to roll out of it but Rina keeps it on. Ayame eventually gets a foot on the ropes, Rina goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving crossbody for two. Rina picks up Ayame but Ayame gets away, slap by Rina but Ayame catches her with a Cutie Special for two. Rina rolls Ayame to the mat and applies the SBT Lock, and Ayame has no choice but to submit! Rina Shingaki wins!

I’m a sucker for a good submission game so Rina Shingaki is my type of wrestler. She was focused on the arm throughout and then won with an arm submission, its such a basic story but it works. The only complaint there is that Ayame didn’t really do anything to show her arm was hurting, but that wasn’t Rina’s fault. Ayame never felt like she had a chance here so Rina must be getting a bigger push due to her background, this was clearly her match to win. Simple but well done by Rina, perfectly fine match for the midcard.  Mildly Recommended

Mina Shirakawa vs. Saki Akai
June 2nd, 2019 in DDT

Saki gets a headlock applied off the start, Mina gets out of it but Saki quickly re-applies it. Mina takes down Saki but Saki escapes and the wrestlers return to their feet. Irish whip by Saki but Mina dropkicks her, Mina goes for the Mexican Surfboard but Saki quickly gets to the ropes. A dropkick by Mina sends Saki out of the ring, Mina goes to the apron but Saki kicks her in the stomach as she jumps off. Saki then gets on the apron and hits a PK while Mina is on the floor, Saki rolls Mina into the ring and covers her for two. Saki stomps Mina in the corner and chokes her with her boot, snapmare by Saki and she kicks Mina in the back before covering her for two. Mina fights back with elbows but Saki returns the favor and kicks Mina in the chest. Irish whip by Saki but Mina boots her, she goes off the ropes but Saki kicks her in the chest. Saki knocks Mina over before picking her back up, Irish whip by Saki but Mina hits a jumping elbow smash.

More elbows by Mina and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, running elbow by Mina and she sits down on Saki in the corner. Mina drags Saki out and puts her in the Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and applies a double leg submission, but Saki makes it into the ropes for the break. Mina picks up Saki but Saki ducks her lariat and applies a sleeper. Mina snapmares out of it but Saki kicks her in the chest, cover by Saki but Mina kicks out. Saki charges Mina but Mina boots her back, she does it again but Saki blocks the third attempt and hits an elbow. Running boot by Saki, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Mina avoids the diving crossbody. Dropkick to the head by Mina and she hits a spinning backfist, she goes for a DDT but Saki blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Mina recovers and goes for a few flash pins, but each one only gets a two. Mina goes off the ropes but Saki catches her with a high kick, but Mina barely gets a shoulder up. Saki picks up Mina and delivers the Quetzalcoatl for the three count pinfall! Saki Akai is the winner!

While I hoped this gravure model vs. photo model match would be full of great wrestling, sadly it was not. Saki is a great personality but a limited wrestler, and Mina is early enough in her career I am not writing her off yet but nothing here gave me a lot of hope that wrestling will be a long term job for her. Some real clunky parts, no real cohesive story, it felt like just a house show midcard match with no effort to make it special. Which is ok but if you are going to go basic, at least make the basic action smooth and this was not. Very skippable.

That’s all I have for now, in a few months I’ll check back in with more random Joshi matches to review!

The post Joshi Match Reviews from DDT, RDPW, WRESTLE-1, and more! appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: PURE-J Bolshoi Retirement ~ Thank You!!
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,530

One of the neat and sad things about Joshi is that when wrestlers retire by their own choice (i.e. not counting the AJW forced retirements), they generally mean it. When a Joshi wrestler sets up a retirement show and goes through the whole ceremony, there is a pretty good chance the wrestler will never participate in another match, aside from maybe a farewell battle royal for another retiring wrestler. Command Bolshoi is a legend that first debuted in 1991, which made her one of the longest tenure Joshi wrestlers still on the scene. Since most Joshi careers seem to last 4 to 7 years (at best), having a 27 year career is monumental and the fact she stayed in JWP/PURE-J for her entire run makes her even more special. Last year, Bolshoi announced her plans to retire so she has done a farewell tour in 2019, with this event being her official retirement show. Here is the full card:

• Battle Royal: Aiger, Arisa Nakajima, Bolshoi Kid, Chihiro Hashimoto, Emi Sakura, Giulia, Jaguar Yokota, Kyoko Inoue, Makoto, Moeka Haruhi, Saori Anou, Shinobu Kandori, Tsubasa Kuragaki, Yumiko Hotta, and Yumi Ohka
• Manami Katsu, Mari Manji, and Yako Fujigasaki vs. AKARI, KAZUKI, and Rydeen Hagane
• PURE-J Openweight Championship: Leon vs. Hanako Nakamori
• Command Bolshoi Farewell Gauntlet Match
  • Command Bolshoi vs. Hanako Nakamori
  • Command Bolshoi vs. Kaori Yoneyama
  • Command Bolshoi vs. Mayumi Ozaki

This event was shown on Nico so there won’t be any match clipping. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. I know the PURE-J roster page needs a hug, I’ll get it updated this weekend.

Aiger, Arisa Nakajima, Bolshoi Kid, Chihiro Hashimoto, Emi Sakura, Giulia, Jaguar Yokota, Kyoko Inoue, Makoto, Moeka Haruhi, Saori Anou, Shinobu Kandori, Tsubasa Kuragaki, Yumiko Hotta, and Yumi Ohka
Battle Royal

The match starts with roughly half the wrestlers already in the ring, Bolshoi Kid is schoolboyed by Emi Sakura but the pin is broken up. They all kick at Emi for trying to pin Bolshoi Kid so early in the match, they make a knucklelock chain and Bolshoi walks the ropes with all of them tied up, but she gets pulled back off the ropes and they all start elbowing each other. Everyone jumps Kyoko Inoue and dumps her out of the ring, and Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. Yumiko Hotta is attacked by the wrestlers in the ring while she is in the corner, Ohka and Anou then boot Sakura but Ohka then boots Anou. Sakura puts Ohka in a Mexican Surfboard but Bolshoi covers Sakura while she has the move applied and picks up the three count! Emi Sakura is eliminated. At the moment only Hotta, Anou, Bolshoi, and Ohka are in the ring, Ohka tries to boot Anou but Anou holds down the top rope and Ohka tumbles out of it, so Yumi Ohka is eliminated. The majority of the rest of the wrestlers join the party so now the ring is quite full, Giulia and Anou get into it until Kuragaki, Bolshoi, and Haruhi start posing together.

Kuragaki and Hashimoto trade shoulderblocks, lariats by Kuragaki in the corner but Hashimoto knocks her down with a shoulderblock. Kuragaki and Hashimoto are attempted to be pinned with no luck, and things break down when Aiger finally gets in the ring. Giulia and Anou are so scared of Aiger they bail out of the ring, so Giulia and Saori Anou are eliminated! Hotta isn’t scared of her and they have an exchange, Aiger gets a chain and gives Hotta one end of it. They start a tug of war but all the other wrestlers help Hotta, they then all cover Hotta and pick up the three count! Yumiko Hotta is eliminated. Hotta is annoyed at Aiger for causing her to get pinned and faces off with her, Aiger wants none of it and runs out of the ring, taking herself out of the match. Aiger is eliminated! Everyone remaining creates a headscissors chain, Shinobu Kandori finally joins the festivities and she breaks up the chain. Kandori squares off against everyone but they wait to engage while Jaguar Yokota joins the match as well. Bolshoi shakes hands with both of them and they pose for pictures, but all three get schoolboyed from behind for their troubles. None work, Haruhi charges Kandori but Kandori puts her in an armbar and Haruhi quickly submits! Moeka Haruhi is eliminated. Makoto goes after Yokota, but Yokota slaps her in a Cobra Twist and Makoto taps out as well, Makoto is eliminated!

Arisa Nakajima and Bolshoi trade strikes, Bolshoi wins the battle and then armdrags all the wrestlers left in the ring. And the referee. Bolshoi kicks Nakajima and hops on Kuragaki’s back, directing Kuragaki around the ring as she lariats everyone. Bolshoi jumps on Kuragaki’s shoulders and delivers the Limelight, and she gets the three count! Tsubasa Kuragaki is eliminated. Nakajima drop toeholds Bolshoi into the ropes but she botches the Tiger Feint Kick (as a homage to Bolshoi), she lands on the apron and Hashimoto knocks her off to the floor! Arisa Nakajima is eliminated. We are down to Bolshoi, Hashimoto, Yokota, and Kandori. They attempt to knock Bolshoi off the apron and onto the floor, but both times wrestlers are ringside catch her and push her back onto the apron until Bolshoi is able to return to the ring. All the eliminated wrestlers return to the match so they can hit running strikes on Bolshoi in the corner, cover by Kandori but the cover is broken up. Nakajima goes up top and dives off, but lands on Kandori, Hashimoto, and Yokota on accident. The eliminated wrestlers run in and cover all three of them, Kuragaki sits Bolshoi on top of the pile and the referee counts to three! Shinobu Kandori, Chihiro Hashimoto, and Jaguar Yokota are all eliminated. Bolshoi Kid is the winner!

As I mentioned at the top, these are lighthearted affairs and not intended to be taken seriously. There were a lot of cute spots throughout and they kept the match quick enough that the shenanigans never got old. Everyone working together to help Bolshoi Kid win was a nice touch, and its always fun to see legends like Kandori and Yokota mixing it up with their old friends. A nice way to kick off the event and since retirement shows tend to get sad it was a good idea to start with a fun and easy-going match.  Mildly Recommended

Manami Katsu, Mari Manji, and Yako Fujigasaki vs. AKARI, KAZUKI, and Rydeen Hagane

Yako and Rydeen begin the match, Yako gets Rydeen into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Yako goes for a crossbody, Rydeen catches her but Yako’s teammates kicks her over and stays in the ring to triple team Rydeen. Eventually Rydeen’s team helps out and they shoulderblock their opponents over before Rydeen tags in AKARI. Yako armdrags AKARI but AKARI returns the favor and hits a pair of dropkicks, Yako comes back with a hard shoulderblock and she tags in Manami. AKARI elbows Manami but AKARI connects with a jumping shoulderblock, she puts Manami in a backbreaker but it gets broken up. Manami gets AKARI up and hits a Samoan Drop, superkick by Manami and she covers AKARI for two. AKARI tags Mari, elbows by Mari and she covers AKARI for a two count. Mounted elbows by Mari but AKARI puts Mari in an armbar, La Magistral by AKARI but Mari kicks out. Dropkick by AKARI and she tags in KAZUKI, Rydeen comes in too and they triple team Mari in the corner. Backbreaker by Rydeen and KAZUKI kicks Mari in the head, but Yako and Manami run in to even the odds. Team KAZUKI stays in control, they stack all three of their opponents across the ropes in the corner, and KAZUKI hits a reverse double kneedrop on them all. KAZUKI goes up top and hits a reverse double kneedrop on Mari, cover by KAZUKI but it is broken up. KAZUKI grabs Mari but Mari hits a back bodydrop, she applies an Octopus Hold (mostly) while her partners keep everyone else at bay, cover by Mari but it only gets two. Mari tags in Yako, hip attacks by Yako to KAZUKI and they trade knees to the midsection.

Deadlift bridging suplex by Yako, but KAZUKI kicks out. Yako goes up top but Rydeen comes in and elbows her before she can jump off, Rydeen grabs Yako and press slams her onto KAZUKI’s knees. Somato by KAZUKI to Yako, but Yako gets a shoulder up. Rydeen stays in, lariats by Rydeen to Yako and she hits a backdrop suplex. Rydeen goes for a Reverse Splash but Yako moves and hits a hip attack, Mari and Manami come in and assist on beating down Rydeen. Tiger suplex hold by Yako to Rydeen, but KAZUKI breaks it up. Manami stays in the ring and trades lariats with Rydeen, with neither wrestler going down. Rydeen finally knocks down Manami, sliding lariat by Rydeen but Manami kicks out of the cover. Rydeen gets on the turnbuckle but Manami grabs her from behind and hits a powerbomb, she goes up top but KAZUKI grabs her from the apron. Rydeen elbows Manami and joins her, superplex by Rydeen and AKARI hits a diving footstomp off the second turnbuckle. KAZUKI follows with a diving kneedrop, Rydeen then nails a moonsault but her cover is broken up. Rydeen picks up Manami and slams her to the mat, but again her cover is broken up. Rydeen positions Manami while KAZUKI goes up top, but Mari and Yako interrupt them before they can complete a move. Rydeen lariats both of them for their trouble, she goes back to Manami but Manami nails a backfist. Another backfist by Manami, she picks up Rydeen and she hits a hammerlock German Suplex for a two count. Manami goes up top and hits a jumping elbow strike, she quickly goes up again and nails a diving elbow drop for the three count! Manami Katsu, Mari Manji, and Yako Fujigasaki are the winners.

A little rough at times but overall fine. Not all of these wrestlers are “quality wrestlers” to put it nicely, the recent versions of JWP/PURE-J haven’t really churned out great wrestlers as they are so small it is probably hard for them to attract talented athletes. So we get wrestlers like Manami, Yako, and Mari who try hard but don’t have the natural ability to make everything look smooth. Rydeen and KAZUKI are both pretty good power wrestlers and the match was solid when they were in the ring, but there were other segments that just fell flat. Probably the right winner and I know they want to try to build up Manami, but she still isn’t quite there yet and there is no way of knowing for sure if she ever will be.

(c) Leon vs. Hanako Nakamori
PURE-J Openweight Championship

Leon works a headlock to start but Hanako gets away, they trade wristlocks until Hanako knocks down Leon with a kick combination. Leon chops Hanako into the corner but Hanako avoids her spear attempt, Hanako goes to the opposite corner but Leon connects with two running shoulder tackles. Leon goes up top, Hanako avoids her charge but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Leon gets Hanako on her back and applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and the two trade strikes. Leon dumps Hanako out of the ring to the floor, she goes up top and dives down onto Hanako with a plancha. Leon tells the crowd to move out of the way to give her running room and she spears Hanako against the apron. Leon slides Hanako back in the ring and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Leon but it gets two. Texas Cloverleaf by Leon but Hanako gets to the ropes, Leon charges Hanako but Hanako moves and kicks Leon in the stomach. Hanako goes off the ropes but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl slam, she goes up top but Hanako gets her feet up on the Frog Splash attempt. Hanako boots Leon over the top rope to the floor, she goes out to the apron and hits a jumping knee down to the floor.

Hanako slides Leon back in and delivers the Shining Wizard, cover by Hanako but it gets a two count. Hanako goes up top but Leon avoids her diving knee, she ducks Hanako’s kick attempt in the corner and joins Hanako on the top turnbuckle, but Hanako boots her into the Tree of Woe. Kicks by Hanako, she pulls Leon back up and hits a Fisherman Buster for a two count. Hanako returns to the top turnbuckle and nails the Destiny Hammer, cover by Hanako but Leon gets a shoulder up. Hanako goes for the Capture Buster but Leon pushes her away and hits a release German. Leon goes up top but Hanako kicks her before she can jump off, Hanako joins Leon but Leon spears her down to the mat. Spear by Leon, she covers Hanako but Hanako kicks out. Leon picks up Hanako and kicks her in the head, she goes off the ropes but Hanako hits a head kick of her own and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They slowly get back up and start trading elbows, spinning kick by Leon but Hanako hulks up and kicks Leon in the head. They trade kicks until Hanako knocks down Leon with a step-up kick, and again they are both down. Leon goes for a spear but Hanako moves, head kick by Hanako and she delivers the Chikonka Driver but Leon gets a shoulder up.

Hanako goes up top but Leon shakes the ropes before she can jump off and eventually joins her, headbutt by Leon and she tosses Hanako to the mat with a Spider German. Leon turns around and delivers the Frog Splash, she goes back up top again and hits the diving footstomp but Hanako kicks out of the cover. Leon drags Hanako up and drops her with the Capture Buster, but again Hanako manages to kick out. Leon goes off the ropes but Hanako knees her when she goes for the spear, Leon goes for another Capture Buster but Hanako blocks it. Leon reverses the block into a cradle, but it gets a two count. They both go for quick pins with no luck, Hanako goes for a kick but Leon ducks it and hits a German suplex. Leon goes off the ropes twice and levels Hanako with a spear, but Hanako rolls out of the cover. Leon picks up Hanako and goes for the Capture Buster, Hanako blocks it and catches her with a Chikonka Driver, but Leon rolls through it for a two count. Head kick by Hanako and she delivers a kick combination, La Rojo by Hanako and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori is the new champion!

Leon may be 38 years old but she can still go. This match far exceeded my expectations, Hanako Nakamori and Leon knew this may be the biggest crowd that PURE-J is ever in front of and they really brought it. Even though it went 15 minutes the action was non-stop, as they went at the fast pace that Joshi wrestling has become known for. Leon wrestled like the underdog as I figured she would, and really threw everything at Hanako, but once Hanako kicked out of her big moves she was in trouble. My only complaint is I wish that Hanako had to do a bit more at the end to put Leon away since Leon had such a long segment of big moves, but the Chikonka Driver/head kicks/La Rojo is a killer combination so it still didn’t feel like an “out of nowhere” win. I don’t say this often about PURE-J but this is a must-see match.  Highly Recommended

Command Bolshoi Retirement Series Gauntlet Match
Singles matches vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Kaori Yoneyama, and Hanako Nakamori

Command Bolshoi vs. Mayumi Ozaki – They circle each other to start before locking up, Ozaki gets Bolshoi in the ropes but she gives a clean break. Ozaki stomps on Bolshoi’s foot and scoop slams her, she gets her chain and hits Bolshoi in the head with it. More chain strikes by Ozaki but Bolshoi grabs her arm and applies an armbar over the top rope. Armbreaker by Bolshoi but Ozaki quickly puts her in a sleeper hold, Bolshoi struggles but eventually makes it to the ropes for the break. Ozaki puts Bolshoi in the ropes so that other members of the Ozaki Army could assist her as they pose for the crowd. Irish whip by Ozaki but Bolshoi slides away and hits a palm strike. Bolshoi rolls Ozaki to the mat and applies a kneelock, she reverts it into a modified figure four but Ozaki gets to the ropes (with some help) to get a break. Bolshoi picks up Ozaki but Ozaki gets her back and tosses Bolshoi to the mat. Ozaki gets her chain again and hits Bolshoi with it, but Bolshoi comes back with a palm strike as they trade blows. They fight over the chain until Bolshoi runs in with a Piko Knee Smash, cover by Bolshoi but it gets a two count. Bolshoi picks up Ozaki but Ozaki hits a backfist followed by a jumping kick, but her cover gets two as well. Bolshoi puts Ozaki in a modified Dragon Sleeper, but the bell rings as the five minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Command Bolshoi vs. Kaori Yoneyama – Yoneyama is crying as the match starts but it turns out to be a ruse as she quickly schoolboys Bolshoi for a two count. She tries a few more flash pins but they don’t work, she charges Bolshoi but Bolshoi puts her in a Fujiwara Armbar. Yoneyama tries to roll out of it but fails in her first few attempts so Bolshoi switches to a cross armbreaker and then into a seated armbar. Yoneyama gets into the ropes for a break, she begs off Bolshoi and Bolshoi allows her to get up. Yoneyama asks for a knucklelock but she steps on Bolshoi’s foot, Mongolian Chops by Bolshoi and both wrestlers punch each other in the stomach. Bolshoi and Yoneyama trade strikes, waistlock by Yoneyama but Bolshoi slides away. Northern Lights Suplex by Yoneyama, but it only gets a two count. Mounted elbows by Yoneyama, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving senton, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Knees by Yoneyama, she goes off the ropes but Bolshoi hits a knee of her own followed by an uppercut and a Tiger Feint Kick.  Bolshoi-shiki Wakigatame by Bolshoi in the middle of the ring, Bolshoi switches it into a cradle but the bell rings before the referee can complete her three count as time expires. The match is a Draw.

Command Bolshoi vs. Hanako Nakamori – They circle to start, kicks by Nakamori but Bolshoi catches one and applies an ankle lock. Nakamori gets out of the hold and applies a waistlock, but Bolshoi kicks out of it and palm strikes Nakamori in the face. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Nakamori catches her with a fisherman buster, head kick by Nakamori and she goes up top, but Bolshoi recovers and elbows Nakamori from the turnbuckle down to the floor. Bolshoi gets out on the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down onto Nakamori, she rolls her back in but Nakamori blocks the tiger suplex attempt. Palm strikes by Bolshoi but Nakamori fires back with a head kick, Bolshoi gets Nakamori in the ropes and hits the Tiger Feint Kick followed by another palm strike for a two count cover. Bolshoi nails Nakamori with the Piko Knee Smash, but Nakamori gets a shoulder up on the cover. Bolshoi picks up Nakamori but Nakamori blocks her suplex attempts and hits a Michinoku Driver. Nakamori drags Bolshoi up but Bolshoi quickly hits a Fisherman Buster, cover by Bolshoi but it gets two. Tiger suplex hold by Bolshoi, but that gets a two count as well. The two trade strikes on their knees before returning to their feet, palm strikes by Bolshoi and she knocks down Nakamori for two. Bolshoi picks up Nakamori but the bell rings before she can do anything else, as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Gauntlet matches are not an uncommon method for a wrestler to go out when retiring, but this one was set up a bit differently. Generally I really enjoyed it, the five minutes gave the wrestlers a bit more time to get something going so it wasn’t just a one minute sprint, and even though there was no winner I liked that Bolshoi was on the cusp of winning in all three matches so it felt like she could have won with just another minute or two. I wish that Yoneyama had wrestled more of a straight match, I know in YMZ and Stardom she has been more playful for awhile but for a retirement match I wouldn’t have complained if serious Yoneyama had shown up for one last run. Still, this was a fun walk down memory lane and Bolshoi was given a chance to shine against a nice variety of former opponents to close out her career.  Recommended

At the conclusion of the show, we have the retirement ceremony for Command Bolshoi, which is shown in full. Wrestlers can look very different in street clothes so I won’t try to identify all the wrestlers that came into the ring to wish Bolshoi a happy farewell, but some of those in attendance included Manami Toyota, Jumbo Hori, Yukari Omori, Dynamite Kansai, Cuty Suzuki, and many others. We also got a video message from Devil Masami, which shows how special Command Bolshoi was as Masami doesn’t show up very often at wrestling functions these days. Finally we get a photo montage, Bolshoi gets one final salute, and she is carried off into the sunset.

The post PURE-J Bolshoi Retirement ~ Thank You!! on 4/21/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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:

• Lylah Lodge vs. Rabbit Miyu
• Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Eiger
• Arisa Nakajima, Yuiga, and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Cherry, Jessica James, and Raideen Hagane
• Dump Matsumoto and Keiko Aono vs. Megumi Yabushita and KAZUKI
• Kaoru Ito, Command Bolshoi, and Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee, Kagetsu, and Kaho Kobayashi
• Jaguar Yokota and Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda and Takako Inoue
• Cage Death Match: Kyoko Inoue and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Yumiko Hotta and Mask de Sun

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

One thing that I am a complete sucker for is retirement shows. I love the atmosphere, the emotion, everything about them. Sure, not all wrestling retirements stick long term (looking at you, Chigusa Nagayo) but I still enjoy them anyway, as not only are they special events but the wrestlers tend to put a little more effort to make the send-off for their friend more memorable. I purchased this event on DVD as it didn’t air anywhere, I’ll only be reviewing the regular wrestling matches on the show. Here is the card:

• Debbie Malenko, Jaguar Yokota, and Kaoru Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, and Mariko Yoshida
• Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache vs. Leon, Mariko Yoshida, and Melissa
• Aoi Kizuki and Misaki Ohata vs. Bambi and Cherry
• Maruko Yoshida Retirement Match: Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

All the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. These matches won’t have a ton of backstory but I’ll at least fill in some gaps on who the wrestlers are and why they are on the card.

Debbie Malenko, Yokota, and Ito vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, and Mariko Yoshida

Yoshida and Malenko start the match, they grapple until Malenko gets Yoshida to the mat, but Yoshida switches positions with her as struggle for control. Malenko gets a short armbar applied but Yoshida quickly gets into the ropes for the break, Yoshida tags in Kyoko while Ito is also tagged in. Ito immediately hits a big lariat, she picks up Kyoko and the pair trade elbows. Short range lariat by Ito but Kyoko doesn’t go down, she returns fire as the veterans go back and forth with lariats. Kyoko wins the battle and tags in Takako, double Irish whip to Ito and she eats a double kick to the gut. Yoshida comes in too and poses on top of Ito, she stays in and tries to suplex Ito, but Ito blocks it and hits a back bodydrop. Ito throws Yoshida into the corner and hits a lariat, running senton by Ito and she covers Yoshida for two. Crab hold by Ito but she lets go after a moment, Irish whip by Ito but Yoshida flips over her back and cradles Ito for two. Yoshida tags in Takako, boots by Takako to Ito but Ito lariats her to the mat. Takako elbows Ito away and delivers a high kick, but Ito eventually has enough and drops her with a uranage. Ito tags in Yokota but Takako catches her with a backdrop suplex. Yoshida comes in but Yokota sends them both down, they recover however and Takako cradles Yokota for two. Yokota recovers and shoulderblocks Takako into the corner, Irish whip by Yokota but Takako hits a bridging backdrop suplex for two.

She tags in Kyoko, lariat by Kyoko but Ito runs in and lariats Kyoko. Things break down as all six come into the ring, Kyoko gets Yokota onto the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex for two. Kyoko picks up Yokota and goes for a powerbomb, but Yokota reverses it with a hurricanrana. Somersault legdrop by Yokota and she tags in Malenko, who comes in the ring with a diving face crusher for two. Running back elbow by Malenko and she hits a second one, but Kyoko chops her to the mat. Malenko goes for a cutter but Kyoko pushes her off and tags in Yoshida, double underhook facebuster by Yoshida and she covers Malenko for a two count. Irish whip by Yoshida but Yoshida is grabbed from the apron, giving Malenko a chance to deliver a boot. Yokota comes in and helps Malenko hit a double backdrop suplex onto Yoshida, before Ito follows with a diving footstomp. Malenko picks up Yoshida and delivers a Northern Lights Suplex, but the pin is broken up. STF by Malenko but Yoshida crawls to the ropes to get the break. Everyone runs in the ring as the action breaks down, Kyoko lariats both Ito and Malenko and Yoshida cradles Malenko for two. Yoshida picks up Malenko and puts her in the Spider Twist, and she has no choice but to submit! Double Inoue and Mariko Yoshida are the winners!

A fun way to kick off the show. What I loved the most was the maximum effort shown by everyone, I mean Kyoko hit a superplex while 56 year old Yokota was flying around with a hurricanrana and somersault legdrop, they didn’t hold anything back. Malenko looked great in her first official wrestling match since 1993, and Kaoru Ito is still really solid as well. Even though it was a ‘reunion’ match they didn’t wrestle like it as there were no lighthearted moments – they were all in from start to finish. Better than I would have imagined, enjoyable in every aspect.  Recommended

Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache vs. Leon, Mariko Yoshida, and Melissa

Yoshida and AKINO start the match, AKINO immediately sneaks in a backslide but it gets a two count. AKINO goes off the ropes but lll kicks her from the apron, Yoshida and AKINO grapple on the mat and trade submissions until they reach a stalemate. lll and Apache tag in, armdrag by lll but Apache returns the favor as they go back and forth. They reach a stalemate as well as they return to their feet, Irish whip by Apache but lll delivers the spear. lll tags in Melissa, elbow drop by Melissa and she applies the Kondo Clutch, but Apache gets into the ropes. Apache gets away from Melissa, Melissa goes for a scoop slam but Apache blocks it and lands on top of her. Heel kick by Apache and she tags in Kong, Irish whip by Kong but Melissa hits a lariat. Kong doesn’t budge, they both try to knock the other one over but Kong outsmarts Melissa and knocks her to her knees. Kong picks up Melissa but Melissa knocks Kong to the mat with a lariat, diving strike by Melissa and she tags in Yoshida. Kong punches Yoshida in the throat and kicks her in the head, she goes for a suplex but Yoshida lands on her feet and applies a sleeper. Kong almost goes to sleep but gets a hand on the ropes in time, Yoshida goes for a suplex but she can’t get Kong over. Leon comes in to help but Kong suplexes both of them instead, giving her time to tag in AKINO. Kicks by AKINO to Yoshida but Yoshida blocks a lariat attempt and puts AKINO in the Spider Twist.

AKINO rolls out of it and puts Yoshida in the Spider Twist instead, but Yoshida also rolls out of it and applies an ankle hold. AKINO gets out of it and puts Yoshida in a cross armbreaker, but Yoshida pins down AKINO’s shoulders for a two count. High kick by AKINO, Apache runs in but Yoshida blocks her powerbomb attempt and throws Apache out of the ring. AKINO has gone up top in the meantime but Melissa joins her and hits an avalanche Samoan Drop, Leon goes up top and nails a somersault senton onto AKINO for a two count. Leon picks up AKINO but AKINO blocks the Capture Buster, Apache runs in and lariats Leon before Kong drops her with a backdrop suplex. High kick by AKINO, she covers Leon but Yoshida breaks it up. AKINO picks up Leon but Leon slides away, she goes for a sunset flip but AKINO blocks it. Melissa runs in and elbows AKINO, double underhook facebuster by Yoshida to AKINO and Leon delivers her diving body press for another two count cover. Leon picks up AKINO but AKINO avoids her kick and punches Leon in the head. Yoshida tries to help but boots Leon by accident, Melissa comes in but she is shoulderblocked by Kong and Apache. Kong and Apache accidentally run into each other, Leon goes off the ropes and delivers a high kick, but AKINO snaps off a hurricanrana for the three count! Aja Kong, AKINO, and Mary Apache are the winners.

Not as good as the last match but still solid. There were some chemistry issues, which isn’t surprising since some of these wrestlers don’t wrestle each other very often (if ever), but it all came together for the home stretch. AKINO was the workhorse here, she was really on top of her game and helped tie the match together. Too disjointed to recommend too strongly but I still an easy and entertaining watch.  Mildly Recommended

Aoi Kizuki and Misaki Ohata vs. Bambi and Cherry

Aoi and Misaki attack before the match starts and double team their opponents in the corner, double vertical suplex to Bambi and they then suplex Cherry on top of her. Ohata and Cherry stay in as the legal wrestlers, Misaki tags in Aoi and Aoi hits Mongolian Chops onto Cherry. Elbow by Aoi in the corner and she hits a face crusher, running senton by Aoi and she covers Cherry for two. Misaki returns but Cherry hits a jumping neck drop on both of them, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi snaps her back over her knee before slamming Cherry fast-first into the match. Aoi goes for a diving senton but Cherry moves, Cherry goes for an armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Aoi quickly wiggles to the ropes for the break. Cherry tags Bambi, Bambi chops Aoi in the corner and Cherry returns as both hit running hip attacks onto Aoi. Irish whip by Bambi, reversed by Aoi but Bambi avoids her charge and hits a high kick. Running boot by Bambi, and she covers Aoi for two. Bambi charges Aoi but Aoi kicks her back and applies a sunset flip for two, Bambi goes off the ropes but Aoi chops her in the chest and hits the double wrist-clutch armsault. Jumping lariat by Aoi and she tags in Misaki, Misaki elbows Bambi in the corner and delivers the low crossbody. Misaki goes up top but Bambi ducks the crossbody and boots Misaki in the face. Misaki fights back and dropkicks Bambi in the face, she goes off the ropes but Bambi delivers a big boot again. Bambi tags Cherry, Cherry goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, double Irish whip to Misaki and she is knocked down by a double shoulderblock. Body press by Bambi, Cherry goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Swanton Bomb, but Aoi breaks up the cover. Cherry goes off the ropes but Aoi elbows her, Misaki cradles Cherry but it gets a two count. Bambi tries to help but boots Cherry by accident, lariat by Misaki to Cherry and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Misaki picks up Cherry and nails the Fisherman Buster, but Bambi breaks up the pin. Misaki picks up Cherry but Cherry gets away and chops her in the face, uranage by Cherry and both wrestlers are down. Cherry recovers first but Aoi dropkicks her, double Irish whip to Cherry but Cherry avoids them both and cradles Misaki for two. Bambi is back but Aoi throws her out of the ring, Misaki cradles Cherry from behind but Cherry reverses it as they trade flash pins. Spinning chop by Ohata and she applies a hammerlock into a cradle for the three count! Misaki Ohata and Cherry win the match.

This felt like a standard midcard tag match, which is to say it was perfectly fine but nothing memorable about it at all. Bambi can’t really keep up with Aoi and Misaki so the pace wasn’t quite what you’d expect, and some of the strikes were a bit loose. Cherry looked inspired though and had a lot of emotion, and generally speaking nothing was really wrong with it and they kept it short. Decent enough but nothing more than that.

Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
Mariko Yoshida Retirement Match

Yoshida asks for Matsumoto’s hand as the match starts, Matsumoto goes to shake it but Yoshida cradles her for a quick two count. Starting her retirement match with a bang. Kick to the stomach by Yoshida and she throws down Matsumoto by the hair, another kick by Yoshida and she covers Matsumoto for two. Choke by Yoshida and she puts Matsumoto in a headscissors, but Matsumoto quickly gets out of it. Bodyscissors by Yoshida but Matsumoto gets out of that as well and puts Yoshida in a crab hold, Yoshida crawls to the ropes and she reaches them to force the break. Chops by Matsumoto, she gets Yoshida on her shoulders and tries to decide where to toss her, with the wrestlers at ringside trying to discourage her. Matsumoto eventually tosses Yoshida out of the ring anyway and down onto the wrestling mob at ringside, but the wrestlers help out and hold Matsumoto out on the floor so that Yoshida can go to the top turnbuckle and dive down onto Matsumoto. Back in the ring, Matsumoto puts Yoshida in the corner and all the wrestlers at ringside come into the ring to take turns on Yoshida, with a variety of strikes, hugs, and even a kiss. Yoshida comes out of this two minutes later in pretty rough condition, Matsumoto covers her but she only gets a two count. Crab hold by Matsumoto but again Yoshida reaches the ropes, scoop slam by Matsumoto and she delivers the reverse double kneedrop, but Yoshida gets a shoulder up.

Matsumoto goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick, another cover but she only gets two. Yoshida slaps Matsumoto but Matsumoto slaps her back, Matsumoto goes for a powerbomb but Yoshida gets out of it and applies the sleeper hold. Spider Twist by Yoshida but Matsumoto gets up while still in the hold and slams Yoshida into the turnbuckles. Yoshida flips Matsumoto and applies a cross armbreaker, but Matsumoto gets to the ropes. Boots by Yoshida but Matsumoto hits a body avalanche against the ropes, she goes for the sliding lariat but Yoshida ducks it and puts Matsumoto in an armtrap facelock. Yoshida reverts it into the Spider Twist but after struggling for a bit, Matsumoto is able to make it to the ropes. Yoshida picks up Matsumoto and goes for the Air Raid Crash, but Matsumoto blocks it and goes for a powerbomb. Yoshida rolls out of it, Matsumoto goes for the backdrop suplex and eventually hits it, but is too hurt to make the cover. They slowly get up and trade strikes, with Matsumoto winning the battle with a hard club to the head. Matsumoto picks up Yoshida but knocks her back down with an elbow, she drags Yoshida to her feet and nails the powerbomb, but Yoshida gets a shoulder up. Matsumoto picks up Yoshida and goes for the backdrop suplex, but Yoshida reverses it with the Air Raid Crash! She’s too hurt to make the quick cover, she eventually does so but Matsumoto kicks out. Back up, hard lariats by Matsumoto and she nails the Backdrop Driver for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner!

As I mentioned at the top, I love retirement matches, and this one certainly hit the spot. Obviously Yoshida isn’t the force she was in her prime, but she still can bring it when she needs to and mostly kept up with one of the top Joshi wrestlers on the scene. Yoshida had a few really close calls, with the Air Raid Crash and Spider Twist, but realistically speaking she wasn’t going to win against her younger trainee even though she put up a good fight. The match was played pretty straight, as it went almost 20 minutes and only a few minutes of that was spent doing retirement match type spots, and they really delivered. Yoshida went out holding nothing back (and taking lots of damage in the process), showing why she in her heyday was one of the top female wrestlers in the world. Really entertaining match and worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

The post Mariko Yoshida Retirement Mariko Final – 11/19/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Kyoko Inoue and Hiroyo Matsumoto

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

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

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

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

Kana and Ayumi Kurihara vs. Yoshiko Tamura and Fuka

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

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

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

Kana vs. Aya Yuki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is hard to summarize how important Manami Toyota was and always will be to Joshi Wrestling. That’s another column for another day, but from her career in AJW to her continued role in wrestling she has left a mark that will never be forgotten. This retirement show does a match style that isn’t uncommon at anniversaries or retirements, nor is it the first gauntlet match of Manami Toyota’s career. The idea behind the match is Manami Toyota will have a long series of singles matches, the vast majority of which have a one minute time limit (except the first and last few matches). The list of wrestlers she will be against includes old friends, current enemies, and everyone between. Some pairings will be serious, some will be playful, but its really about giving the wrestlers a chance to say goodbye in their own way. Of course, it is filmed for our enjoyment as well. This will be the longest match list of any show I will ever review, here is what we have in store for us:

• Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Yumi Ohka, Maya Yukihi, and Alex Lee
• Manami Toyota vs. Tequila Saya
• Manami Toyota vs. Mochi Miyagi and Hamuko Hoshi
• Manami Toyota vs. Meiko Satomura
• Manami Toyota vs. Emi Sakura
• Manami Toyota vs. Rina Yamashita
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki
• Manami Toyota vs. AKINO
• Manami Toyota vs. Risa Sera
• Manami Toyota vs. Drake Morimatsu
• Manami Toyota vs. Cherry
• Manami Toyota vs. Aoi Kizuki
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bolshoi Kid
• Manami Toyota vs. Sakura Hirota and GAMI
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Manami Toyota vs. Sonoko Kato
• Manami Toyota vs. Leon
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuu Yamagata
• Manami Toyota vs. ASUKA
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida
• Manami Toyota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Ayako Hamada
• Manami Toyota vs. Chikayo Nagashima
• Manami Toyota vs. Ikuto Hidaka
• Manami Toyota vs.  Papillon Akemi
• Manami Toyota vs. Gabai-jichan
• Manami Toyota vs. Kanjyouro Matsuyama
• Manami Toyota vs. KID
• Manami Toyota vs. Small Antonio Inoki
• Manami Toyota vs. Otoko Sakari
• Manami Toyota vs. Isami Kodaka
• Manami Toyota vs. Ryuji Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Carlos Amano
• Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda
• Manami Toyota vs. Itsuki Yamazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bull Nakano
• Manami Toyota vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• Manami Toyota vs. Jaguar Yokota
• Manami Toyota vs. Mariko Yoshida
• Manami Toyota vs. Nanae Takahashi
• Manami Toyota vs. KAORU
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaoru Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Tomoko Watanabe
• Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota Retirement Match: Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

There also will be a retirement ceremony, which I won’t “review” but I will still discuss at the end of the article. As I mentioned, the vast majority of these matches have a one minute time limit, except for the opener and the final series of matches against Tsukasa Fujimoto. There is a method to the madness, as for some sections the string of wrestlers in a row is promotion-based, then with the older veterans from Toyota’s heyday going last.

The event starts with by far the least fair match of the night, as Manami Toyota faces off against all four members of Ozaki Army. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota have been battling since the early 90s in AJW and never stopped, as they had matches in GAEA Japan and of course OZ Academy as well. The other members have less of a connection, but they still happily join in as Toyota is beaten by all four of them (plus of course Police). The match goes better once Toyota isolates Ozaki, but it doesn’t last long as Toyota is quadruple teamed and tosses out of the ring. Ozaki Army takes the fight into the crowd and pummel Toyota, Ozaki returns to the ring as the referee counts and Toyota is counted out! Ozaki Army win the match.

So on a night that Manami Toyota has over 50 matches, she starts out getting beaten with chairs and whatever other weapons they can find. Toyota eventually does make it back into the ring, at first Ozaki throws the flowers at her but eventually does pick them up and nicely hands them to her. The other members of Ozaki Army follow suit, except for Police, who throws a chair at her instead. Police was always an asshole.

Tequila Saya is next. Saya is an Ice Ribbon wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years, with only a few tag matches between them. Toyota doesn’t seem to take Saya too seriously  as she sends her flying with a missile dropkick, moonsault by Toyota and she gets the three count! Manami Toyota defeats Tequila Saya. Toyota doesn’t get much of a chance to relax as its back to a handicap match, with Toyota facing off against the Lovely Butchers. They bring Manami a hat and instead of fighting, they all dance together. They even get Toyota do do their signature pose but they jump her while she is doing it and give her the double body block for the double pin three count! Manami Toyota falls for the second time tonight, but they still all pose together and no hard feelings are had.

Next down the ramp is the woman that has no chill – Meiko Satomura. Satomura and Toyota first wrestled in GAEA in the late 90s and had many encounters in the promotion of the years. Since GAEA Japan closed their paths have crossed a few times in Satomura’s Sendai Girls’ promotion. Satomura and Toyota have such a high level of respect for each other that it took time for them to lock up, Satomura eventually hits a DDT and cartwheel kneedrop but the minute has already expired and the match is a Draw. Gatoh Move wrestler and owner Emi Sakura enters the ring, Sakura immediately goes in with chops and delivers the low crossbody in the corner. Toyota slaps Emi Sakura, Riho runs in and with Toyota they pose over Sakura. Toyota puts Sakura in a camel clutch, and she submits! Manami Toyota gets her second win of the night.

Young WAVE wrestler Rina Yamashita is Toyota’s next challenger, Toyota boots her but Rina kicks out of her continuous covers. Rina connects with a hard shoulderblock but she is so excited she never covers Toyota and the time expires. They hug before Rina exits the ring and Tsubasa Kuragaki takes her turn. Kuragaki and Toyota began their battles in JWP back in 2006 and haven’t stopped, as they frequently were paired up in OZ Academy. Kuragaki gets Toyota in the corner and lariats her, she gets Toyota on her back in a backbreaker before she drops her to the mat. Kuragaki goes up top and nails a moonsault, but Toyota bridges out of the cover. Kuragaki picks up Toyota and lariats her, but the bell rings as the match is a Draw. Another hug, and fellow OZ Academy wrestler AKINO takes her spot.

Six matches down, lots more to go! AKINO is another common enemy and foe from OZ Academy, which was Toyota’s primary home the last several years. AKINO gets Toyota in the corner and bootscrapes her, but doesn’t go for the pin as time expires for the Draw. AKINO helps her up before Ice Ribbon wrestler Risa Sera charges the ring to take her shot at the retiring legend. A slew of Ice Ribbon wrestlers jump into the ring with Risa Sera and they all attack Toyota in the corner, Sera goes up top and she nails the diving kneedrop, she hits a second one but the bell rings before she can cover her so the match is a Draw. Almost all retirement matches at some point have a string where the retiring wrestler is attacked by tons of wrestlers in rapid succession, and it may not be the last time. But Toyota gets a special gift from the Ice Ribbon wrestlers after Sera’s match, and everyone poses for the camera.

Drake Morimatsu is next! You may not be familar with Drake, she current wrestles in GUTS WORLD, she started her career in FMW and is definitely an ‘old school’ veteran. She comes into the ring with a baseball bat and hits Toyota with it a few times, lariat by Drake and she covers Toyota, but pulls her up before the three count. Another lariat but she does the same thing, she hits a Samoan Driver but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Drake gets the bat again and hits Toyota with it, but the bell rings which saves Toyota from more carnage. I really enjoyed the feel of this one, very different as Drake showed her old FMW side with the weapon-based offense.

Cherry bops down to the ring, she repeatedly steps on Toyota’s toes and chops her in the face, but Toyota chops her back. Toyota wins the strike exchange but the bell rings, signifying the match is a Draw. Aoi Kizuki is next, Aoi is a young popular Freelancer that wrestles in a variety of promotions. Aoi immediately dropkicks Toyota and hits a jumping lariat, double wrist-clutch suplex by Aoi and she goes for the swivel body press, but Toyota gets her feet up. Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb by Toyota and she gets the three count! Toyota has won her third match of the evening. Aoi is laughing and smiling even as getting pinned, which is accepted in these situations as I am sure she was thrilled to be part of Toyota’s retirement show.

Next is Yuki Miyazaki, she charges Toyota but Toyota boots her. She goes up top but Yuki joins her and gives her a big ‘ol kiss. Superplex by Yuki and she puts Manami in a Compromising Position, where she stays until the bell rings for the One Minute Draw. Poor Toyota, that’s what happens when you wrestle Yuki. Bolshoi Kid comes down, this is I am assuming Command Bolshoi wrestling in her old gimmick, which is a more playful clown. Bolshoi Kid gives Toyota a little bag and they both throw things into the crowd, but Bolshoi Kid schoolboys her from behind for the three count! A rare loss for the gullible Manami Toyota, hopefully she learned something from this experience.

On paper, Manami Toyota vs. GAMI and Sakura Hirota looks normal, but it isn’t….. since both are dressed as Manami Toyota. So this is Manami Toyota vs. her two clones. The real Toyota is double teamed and imitated by the two impostors, Oil Check by Sakura and GAMI hits Toyota with her horn. Luckily for Toyota the bell rings and the match is a Draw. Up next is Kaori Yoneyama, she is affiliated with YMZ but wrestles in a bunch of promotions including OZ Academy and Stardom. Yoneyama wants Toyota to wave a flag she brought down to the ring, which she does, but Yoneyama schoolboys her from behind for a two count. Yoneyama goes for a roll-up but Toyota reverses it, getting the three count! Manami Toyota gets her fourth win of the night. OZ Academy wrestler Sonoko Kato takes her turn, lots of kicks by Kato as she is taking this one minute match very seriously. Cannonball by Kato and she nails the diving leg drop, but the bell rings as she makes the cover so the match is a Draw. Manami gives Kato a rolling cradle just for fun before Kato leaves the ring and the next wrestler enters.

Leon throws Toyota into the corner and spears her, another spear by Leon and she hits the Frog Splash, but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Heel drop by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, but Leon barely kicks out of the cover and the bell rings, as time has expired. Leon barely survives and other Pure Dream wrestlers get into the ring as they all give Manami Toyota their final goodbyes. Yuu Yamagata is next, these two have had very limited interactions over the years even though they are seasoned veterans, as Toyota rarely wrestled in Pro Wrestling WAVE. Enzuigiri by Yuu but Toyota hits a snap vertical suplex and a second one The bell rings soon thereafter as the time has expired, making the match a draw!

WAVE wrestler ASUKA comes down and she hits Toyota with a springboard moonsault, dropkick by ASUKA and Toyota falls out of the ring. ASUKA dives out onto her with a tope con hilo, she then goes back up top and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, in an homage to Toyota. Everyone is hurt outside the ring as the bell rings, as time has expired. ASUKA seems more hurt than Toyota as she likely regrets that spot, Toyota returns to the ring as my personal favorite Kaho Kobayashi enters. Kaho dropkicks Toyota and goes up top to hit a missile dropkick, elbows by Kaho and she covers Toyota for a two count. Boots by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota defeats her fifth wrestler so far today.

Hikaru Shida takes the next shot (this is the 21st match for Manami Toyota so far), while her friend Syuri watches from ringside. Shida goes for hip attacks, at first Toyota blocks them with her own hip but she finally connects with one. Syuri comes in the ring and with Shida they both kick Toyota, but Toyota breaks out of the cover. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but the bell rings before she can make a cover so the match is a Draw. Syuri returns and both present Toyota with flowers, once she is able to get back up. Hiroyo Matsumoto and her Godzilla mask is next, she shakes Toyota’s hand but kicks her before putting the Godzilla mask onto Toyota. Body avalanche by Hiroyo, she takes the mask off Toyota and hits a missile dropkick. Toyota slowly gets up, Hiroyo allows her to go up top and she hits a missile dropkick as the bell rings, giving Toyota another Draw.

Ayako Hamada is the next challenger, Hamada immediately dropkicks Toyota but she misses the heel kick. Enzuigiri by Hamada and she hits a DDT, superkick by Hamada but Toyota kicks out of the pinfall. Samoan Driver by Hamada, but the bell rings before she can finish the cover, as Toyota escapes another match with a Draw. The rest of the WAVE wrestlers get in the ring and they pose with Toyota for a photo-op, signifying the end of the WAVE string of challengers.

Veteran Freelancer Chikayo Nagashima is Toyota’s next opponent, she has a long history with Toyota as they fought in both GAEA and OZ Academy over the years. Chikayo hits Toyota repeatedly with her jacket and puts her in the rolling cradle, this takes literally the entire match until Chikayo stops just in time to get the three count pinfall! Chikayo Nagashima defeats Manami Toyota! Never know what is going to happen in these matches. Ikuto Hidaka is next, Hidaka is a ZERO1 wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years. Toyota dropkicks Hidaka as soon as the match starts but Hidaka strikes her back, snap German by Toyota and she hits a heel drop for a two count. Boots by Toyota but the bell rings before anything else of note happens, and the match is a Draw.

Things are going off the rails a bit, as Papillon Akemi is next. He wrestles in smaller promotions such as GUTS World and I have no idea how he got into this match. Kick and a snapmare by Akemi, but Toyota puts him in the rolling cradle, but the bell rings before she can finish the move for a cover. The match is a Draw. Gabai-jichan very very slowly comes down to the ring (he has an ‘old man’ gimmick so he can’t walk very fast), with Toyota getting impatient in the ring for him to hurry up. The referee starts the match and the 20 count, Toyota goes out to help Gabai-jichan get into the ring while they pose for pictures. Toyota helps roll Gabai-jichan into the ring but he knocks her back to the floor with his cane, and Toyota is counted out! Gabai-jichan wins by dubious means, but the crowd enjoyed it.

The series continues going down the wrong path as creepy wrestler Kanjyouro Matsuyama is the next one down. Matsuyama tries to attack Toyota with his fan, but she avoids it and hits him with it instead. They trade slaps until Matsuyama is thrown into the corner, she gets Toyota’s wrist and walks the ropes, but he falls off of them before he can finish the move. The bell rings, and the match is declared a Draw. KID is next, I can’t find anything online on who KID is, but Toyota promptly boots him in the face and gets the three count pinfall! Toyota gets her sixth win of the gauntlet. Small Antonio Inoki is next, we still have a few more goofy challengers, punches to the head by Small Inoki and he applies a Cobra Twist. He goes up top and hits the diving kneedrop, more kneedrops by Small Inoki and he hits an enzuigiri. He goes to put Toyota in an Octopus Hold but the bell rings, the match is a Draw!

Otoko Sakari (Alexander Otsuka) is the next opponent, as Toyota faces her second man of the night that is only wearing a thong. Strikes by Toyota, she goes for a sunset flip but Sakari blocks it. Sakari tries to get away but Toyota grabs him by the thong, pulling it down to expose Sakari. The referee finds this offensive so he rings for the bell, disqualifying Sakari, giving Toyota her seventh win so far! Isami Kodaka is next, he throws streamers at Toyota to distract her before kicking Toyota out of the ring and sailing out onto her with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Kodaka grabs Toyota’s hair but Toyota kicks him low and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold for the three count! Toyota gets her eighth win of the evening. Big Japan wrestler Ryuji Ito is the final male challenger in this intergender run of opponents, he comes down to the ring with a barbed wire board. He sets up the board in the corner but Toyota jumps him and tries to throw him into it. He blocks it and goes for a suplex, but Toyota reverses the suplex and puts the barbed wire board on the mat. Ito scoop slams Toyota onto the barbed wire board, but Toyota kicks out of the pin. Ito keeps her on the board, he goes up top and he nails the Dragon Splash for the three count! Manami Toyota is defeated by the Big Japan star.

Now we have reached a run of challengers from Toyota’s past. Retired wrestler Carlos Amano is first, Amano and Toyota held tag team championships together in both GAEA Japan and OZ Academy. They don’t want to wrestle, so they set up chairs in the ring and talk to each other instead. I can’t understand what they are saying, but they seem to be having a good time. Amano gives Toyota a letter, which she reads as the bell rings. The match is, obviously, a Draw. Mima Shimoda is next, with her friend and long time tag partner Etsuko Mita joining her at ringside. But Toyota won’t go at it alone, as old teammate and friend Toshiyo Yamada joins her at ringside as well to make everything fair. These four were friends and foes back in the mid-90s in AJW. Shimoda charges Toyota and hits a jumping neck drop, Mita runs in and chops Toyota in the chest as they both double team Toyota i the ropes. Yamada trips Shimoda from the floor, she gets in the ring as Toyota puts Shimoda in a camel clutch, kicking Shimoda in the chest. Around this time the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Mita brings in a big present for Toyota and all four pose together in the ring.

Itsuki Yamazaki is next, she may be the least-known wrestler to casual fans as she retired back in 1991. You may know her better as part of the Jumping Bomb Angels, a popular Joshi tag team in the late 80s. She and Toyota also wrestled at Toyota’s 25th Anniversary Show, so the two made a strong bond during their brief time in AJW together. Yamazaki gets Toyota to the mat and starts working over her arm, Irish whip by Yamazaki and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Yamazaki pulls Toyota out of the ring and poses her for a picture, they get back in but the bell rings before she can do anything else, as the match is a Draw. Up next is Bull Nakano, yes THE LEGENDARY BULL NAKANO which obviously is exciting for me as I love Bull Nakano and this is her first televised match of any sort in over five years. Nakano looks great, and comes down to the ring with her nunchucks. Once the bell rings, she hits Toyota in the stomach with the nunchucks, but Toyota avoids the next shot and schoolboys Nakano for the three count! Manami Toyota wins and picks up her ninth victory so far.

Very few wrestlers could follow Nakano and not be a drop down in status, but Chigusa Nagayo is next. Nagayo is still a fairly active wrestler, she currently owns and promotes the wrestling promotion Marvelous. Nagayo and Toyota worked together quite a bit in GAEA Japan, and Nagayo already is tearing up before she even gets into the ring. They tie-up as both are getting emotional, but Toyota hits a scoop slam and covers Nagayo for the three count! They hug on the mat, as Manami Toyota wins her 10th match. Equally legendary Jaguar Yokota is next, as we reach a big string of wrestlers. Nakano, Nagayo, and Yokota are three of the biggest names in Joshi over the last 30 years and it feels really special seeing them all here to help send Toyota into retirement. Yokota is more stone-faced as they lock-up, Yokota kicks Toyota in the head and hits a somersault kick but the bell rings before she can further capitalize. The match is a Draw.

Mariko Yoshida is the next challenger, she also has had a great career and is best known for her work in ARSION. She’s also already crying before the match starts, Yoshida throws Toyota in the corner and boots her in the face. Toyota ducks the next boot but Yoshida puts her in the Spider Twist, luckily for Toyota the bell rings before she can submit, so the match is a Draw. Nanae Takahashi is next, she and Toyota both were in AJW together in the late 90s. Nanae charges Toyota and knocks her to the mat, Natsuki Taiyo comes in and dropkicks Toyota in the corner. Nanae grabs Toyota but Toyota drops her with the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, Nanae returns to her feet however and hits a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb of her own for the three count! Nanae Takahashi wins the match!

It is now KAORU’s turn, KAORU is still an active wrestler and has battled with Toyota in a number of promotions over the years, ranging from AJW in the early 90s up to Marvelous and Diana just a few years ago. KAORU immediately hits Toyota repeatedly with her wooden panel, she picks up Toyota and suplexes her onto it but the referee won’t count the cover since she used the weapon. KAORU drags Toyota to the corner and tries to top the wood piece onto Toyota, but Toyota rolls out of the way as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as Kaoru Ito comes down, Ito and Toyota wrestled with and against each other many many times in the 1990s while wrestling AJW and also won the JWP Tag Team Championship together. Ito isn’t feeling the love as she immediately slams Toyota, Yoshida and another wrestler get in the ring and hit a double facecrusher. Diving footstomp by Ito, and she covers Toyota for the three count! Manami Toyota falls to Ito in painful fashion, but she gets a nice bouquet of flowers for her troubles.

The next challenger is Tomoko Watanabe, like Ito she wrestled with and against Toyota during much of their run in AJW in the 90s. The match starts but Watanabe wants a selfie with Toyota so they do that first. Lariat by Watanabe and she hits another one, a third lariat by Watanabe and a fourth, but as she goes for the cover the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Former AJW wrestler Takako Inoue is next, they were usually on opposing teams in the tag division and kept wrestling after AJW folded in LLPW, OZ Academy, and Diana. Takako shakes hands but then grabs her baton, Toyota ducks the shot but Takako hits a DDT instead. Takako goes up top as Toyota joins her, but Takako hits an avalanche chokeslam for two. DDT by Takako and she goes up top again, but Toyota ducks the Takako Panic as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as they end the match with an embrace.

Veteran wrestler Yumiko Hotta is next, she has her chain with her of course. Hotta was one of Toyota’s main foes in their AJW years, and they had multiple title matches in their heyday. Hotta gets right to kicking Toyota but Toyota pushes her against the ropes, she charges Hotta but Hotta nails her with a heel kick. Cover by Hotta, but Toyota barely kicks out. Hotta picks up Toyota but Toyota sneaks in a cradle, she goes off the ropes but Hotta delivers another heel kick for the three count! Yumiko Hotta is the winner, as I think all these matches is starting to wear on Toyota a bit. Takako Inoue’s long time tag partner Kyoko Inoue is next (no relation), as we have seen with this set of wrestlers these two used to be common enemies in AJW. They eventually tie-up and Kyoko flings Toyota to the mat, Pyramid Driver by Kyoko Inoue but the bell rings as time expires, the match being declared a Draw. Some of the veteran wrestlers return to the ring again and give Toyota more flowers, as she prepares for Tsukasa Fujimoto.

The one minute time limit is out the window now, as Manami Toyota faces her last opponent, Tsukasa Fujimoto. While Manami Toyota didn’t train Fujimoto, their careers crossed several times as far back as 2011. Toyota was impressed with Fujimoto’s abilities, and in 2015 it was Tsukasa Fujimoto that Manami Toyota endorsed as her ‘successor’ and gave her permission to use all of the Japanese Ocean moves. So this is a fitting final opponent, as Toyota has her last match against the wrestler she believes will best continue her legacy. Before the match starts, Aja Kong gives Toyota some flowers – Kong and Toyota had a long match in late October which is likely why she wasn’t in the Gauntlet. Shinobu Kandori then comes down and gives Toyota flowers as well, she had a ‘final’ match with Toyota on October 22nd.

Tsukasa Fujimoto finally arrives and the match begins, Fujimoto immediately dropkicks Toyota and tries to get Toyota on her shoulders, but Toyota blocks it. Dropkick by Fujimoto as they reach a stalemate, Toyota twists up Fujimoto in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Fujimoto falls out of the ring, Toyota goes up top but Fujimoto recovers before Toyota can jump off and knocks Toyota to the floor. Fujimoto then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Toyota, Toyota returns to the ring but Fujimoto connects with a missile dropkick. Toyota recovers and puts Fujimoto in the rolling cradle, Toyota lets go and goes up top, delivering a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, but Fujimoto springs back to her feet and hits a dropkick of her own. Fujimoto sits Toyota in the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Toyota blocks it and hits a heel drop. Cover by Toyota, but it gets a two count. Toyota gets up on the top turnbuckle and she nails the moonsault, but Fujimoto bridges out of the pin. Fujimoto gets up near the ropes but Toyota grabs her and goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. Fujimoto wiggles out of the hold and cradles Toyota for two, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she hits a PK for a two count. Fujimoto goes up top but Toyota hits her she can jump off and joins her, Fujimoto goes over her back and hits an avalanche sunset flip powerbomb for two. Fujimoto goes for the Venus Shoot, but Toyota grabs her from behind and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Manami Toyota wins!

The match immediately starts again, elbows by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but again Toyota joins her. Fujimoto knocks Toyota into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Fujimoto but Toyota kicks out. Venus Shoot attempt again by Fujimoto but Toyota blocks it the same way, Fujimoto slides off Toyota’s back this time and hits a series of jumping footstomps for two counts. Fujimoto gets Toyota on her shoulders and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Toyota gets a shoulder up. Heel drop by Toyota, she grabs Fujimoto and decapitates her with a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb. Both are slow to recover, Fujimoto picks up Toyota but Toyota snaps off a suplex. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits another Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota wins for the second time against Fujimoto.

Fujimoto quickly gets back up as the final match begins, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but Toyota boots her off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Toyota goes up top and dives down onto Fujimoto (and a slew of other wrestlers that wanted to be part of the last dive of Toyota’s career), she slides Fujimoto back in and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by Toyota, but it gets two. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Fujimoto gets a shoulder up. Toyota goes back up top but Fujimoto gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Fujimoto kips up and hits the Tsukka-chan☆Bomb, but Toyota kicks out. Fujimoto picks up Toyota and hits the PK, dropkick by Fujimoto and she hits a second one followed by a third. Fujimoto goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, which she follows with two more. Another missile dropkick by Fujimoto, she covers Toyota but it only gets a two count. Venus Shoot by Fujimoto, she grabs Toyota and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto wins the final match in Manami Toyota’s career.

Following the match, many of the wrestlers Toyota faced tonight surround the ring, while Toyota says her final words. She gives Fujimoto her final blessings, and Fujimoto speaks for a moment as well. After that, per her wishes, a chair is brought into the ring and Toyota has her hair cut shorter, with her hair being donated to use for wigs for people that lost their hair due to medical issues. A photo and video slideshow then appears on the big screen, highlighting Toyota throughout her career, which continues for several minutes.

 

The post Manami Toyota Retirement Show on 11/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It has been a long time since I reviewed a really random event, so here we go! CRYSIS is a faction led by Jaguar Yokota, one of the greatest wrestlers in Joshi history. It is a large stable, with wrestlers ranging from Chikayo Nagashima to TARU being part of the group.  Chigusa Nagayo also has a match, a rare televised appearance of the former AJW great and current owner of Marvelous. Also on the show, we get a wrestler debut (!) along with participation from Diana and WAVE. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ryo Mizunami and Megumi Yabushita
• Battle Royal with: Gabai-jichan, Hiroyo Matsumoto, KAORU, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, Mariko Yoshida, Mima Shimoda, Mochi Miyagi, and Yamada Man Pondo
• Choun Shiryu and Madoka vs. Kyoko Inoue and Kaoru Ito
• Street Fight: Chikayo Nagashima and KAZUKI vs. Jun Kasai and Buffalo
• Chigusa Nagayo, AKIRA, and Shiro Koshinaka vs. Seiji Miyane, Jaguar Yokota, and TARU

All of the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this aired on Nico Pro, the show is unclipped. For better or worse.

ASUKA and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ryo Mizunami and Megumi Yabushita

Ryo and Tsukasa start things off, they trade wristlocks until Ryo pounds Tsukasa to the mat. Hard shoulderblock by Ryo but Tsukasa comes back with a dropkick, scoop slam by Ryo but Tsukasa bridges out of the cover and hits a dropkick. Jumping elbow by Ryo in the corner, Megumi comes over and holds Tsukasa so that Ryo can hit a lariat. Ryo tags in Megumi, Megumi has a belt with her and hits Tsukasa repeatedly with it. Megumi chokes Tsukasa with it, scoop slam by Megumi and she covers Tsukasa for two. Megumi applies a leg submission and then a chinlock, but Tsukasa gets to the ropes for the break. Megumi picks up Tsukasa and hits a scoop slam, double kneedrop by Megumi and she applies a crab hold. ASUKA breaks it up, Megumi picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa hits a hurricanrana for two. Tsukasa tags in ASUKA, ASUKA boots Megumi repeatedly in the head before throwing her in the corner. ASUKA moonsaults over Megumi and dropkicks her, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA and she dropkicks Megumi in the head for a two count. Megumi quickly applies a cross armbreaker takedown but ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes, ASUKA goes off the ropes and hits a rebound crossbody for two. ASUKA tags in Tsukasa, Tsukasa kicks Megumi in the back but Megumi ducks the PK. Twisting bodypress by Tsukasa but Megumi puts her in a submission, Tsukasa wiggles to the ropes and manages to force the break. Tsukasa throws Megumi in the corner but Megumi applies a hanging armbar, Megumi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick to Tsukasa’s arm.

Tsukasa fires back with a dropkick but Ryo hits her from the apron and Megumi drops her with a judo throw. She tags in Ryo, spear by Ryo to Tsukasa but Tsukasa blocks the uranage. German suplex by Ryo and she hits a legdrop for a two count. Ryo goes off the ropes but ASUKA dives off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody, double Irish whip to Ryo and ASUKA dropkicks her. Tsukasa dropkicks Ryo too, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count cover. Tsukasa picks up Ryo but Ryo gets Tsukasa on her shoulders, Tsukasa flips off and rolls Megumi to the mat before hitting a PK. She tags in ASUKA, ASUKA goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Fireman’s carry takeover by ASUKA and she goes for Megumi’s arm, Megumi gets back up and hits a series of elbows. ASUKA charges Ryo but Ryo hits an overhead belly to belly, lariat by Ryo and she nails a uranage for a two count. Ryo drags up ASUKA but ASUKA blocks the full nelson, hard lariat by Ryo but ASUKA kicks out of the cover. Megumi comes in but ASUKA knocks them both down with a springboard moonsault, Tsukasa comes in and they both kick Ryo in the head. Gutwrench suplex by ASUKA, and she covers Ryo for two. Chokeslam by ASUKA, but Megumi breaks up the cover. ASUKA goes up top but Ryo rolls out of the way of the moonsault, superkick by ASUKA but Ryo knocks her down with a lariat. Megumi hits a German suplex onto Tsukasa while Ryo hits a lariat onto ASUKA, but ASUKA kicks out of the cover. Ryo picks up ASUKA and nails the Hot Limit, and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Megumi Yabushita get the win.

Another good thing about wrestler produced shows is there tends to be very little fluff. This is a midcard-caliber match under normal circumstances, so the show really starts off with a bang as everyone here has the experience to put on a fun match. ASUKA continues to improve, and both Tsukasa and Ryo have main-event level skills so it didn’t feel like an opener at all. Solid match all the way around.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal
With Gabai-jichan, Hiroyo Matsumoto, KAORU, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, Mariko Yoshida, Shimoda, Mochi Miyagi, & Yamada Man Pondo

Yoshida targets Hiroyo right off the bat, but all the wrestlers end up in a giant headscissors chain, Gabai-jichan strolls in the ring and tries to roll them into a crab hold but he is too old and weak to do so. Miyagi does it instead but they roll into the ropes, Pondo and Ranmaru go after Miyagi but Miyagi rolls under then and poses. Pondo hits Ranmaru with a Stop Sign and poses as well, but Miyagi whips him and with everyone else covers Pondo for the three count! Yamada Man Pondo is eliminated. Ranmaru immediately schoolboys Miyagi, everyone else joins in and she is held down for three! Mochi Miyagi is eliminated. KAORU gets her board and starts hitting people with it, she tries to drop it onto Shimoda but Shimoda moves out of the way. KAORU tries to to the same with Yoshida with the same result, Hiroyo is up next but she also rolls out of the way. They hold down Ranmaru and KAORU drops it on her (or slightly misses, the camera couldn’t really see it), Gabai-jichan comes in but he tosses his cane to KAORU which makes her act old herself.

She tosses it to Hiroyo, Shimoda gets the cane next and Gabai-jichan knocks over both KAORU and Shimoda. KAORU and Shimoda are covered by the other participants, and both are counted down for three! Mima Shimoda and KAORU are eliminated. Hiroyo and Yoshida target Ranmaru but she avoids their attack, Gabai-jichan pushes Hiroyo over but everyone attacks him. Gabai-jichan schoolboys Ranmaru, and he gets the three count! Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru is eliminated! Gabai-jichan pokes Hiroyo with his cane, Yoshida tries to boot Gabai-jichan but Gabai-jichan moves and she kicks Hiroyo by accident. Hiroyo snaps Gabai-jichan’s cane and throws it to the mat, Irish whip to Gabai-jichan but he speeds up and lariats both of them. Vertical suplex by Gabai-jichan to Hiroyo, he goes to Yoshida but he hurts his back going for a powerbomb. Yoshida holds Gabai-jichan but Hiroyo lariats her by accident, Gabai-jichan slams Hiroyo on top of Yoshida and covers her for the three count pinfall! Mariko Yoshida is eliminated. Just Gabai-jichan and Hiroyo are left now, lariat by Gabai-jichan to Hiroyo and she goes for a powerbomb but Hiroyo lands on hop of him for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins the Battle Royal!

As I mentioned above, Battle Royals in Japan are generally more humorous affairs. A few funny moments but overall not a whole lot to it, even if it is always nice to see Mariko Yoshida.

Choun Shiryu and Hagane Shinnou vs. Kyoko Inoue and Kaoru Ito

Inoue and Shiryu start the match and tie-up, Inoue pushes Shiryu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Shiryu goes off the ropes but Inoue hits a hard shoulderblock. Shiryu stomps on Inoue’s foot and tags in Shinnou, kicks to the chest by Madoka but Inoue pushes him into the corner. Inoue tags in Ito, lariat by Ito in the corner but Shinnou dropkicks her back. Ito doesn’t go down, Shinnou goes for a suplex but Ito reverses it into a suplex of her own. Shinnou tries to lariat Ito but fails, and Ito gives Shinnou a hard lariat instead. Ito puts Shinnou in a crab hold, but Shinnou gets into the ropes for a break. Ito stomps down on Shinnou’s back before tagging in Inoue, Ito stays in and they both suplex Shinnou. Inoue tosses Shinnou by his head and hits a vertical suplex, elbow drop by Inoue and she tags Ito back in. Camel Clutch by Ito but Shiryu breaks it up, Ito picks up Shinnou but Shinnou flips out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick. This gives him time to tag in Shiryu, Shiryu throws Ito into the corner and hits a running elbow followed by a pair of kicks and a diving thrust kick for a two count cover.

Ito knocks down Shiryu with a lariat and hits a footstomp, running splash by Ito and she covers Shiryu for two. Ito picks up Shiryu but Shiryu elbows her off, he goes off the ropes but Ito catches him with an uranage. Ito tags in Inoue, elbow by Inoue but Shiryu chops her back and they trade blows. Drop toehold by Shiryu and he goes for a Tiger Feint Kick, but Inoue catches him and drops Shiryu to the mat. Lariat by Inoue, and she covers Shiryu for a two count. Ito comes in to help but both she and Inoue run into each other by accident, dropkick dropkick to Inoue and Ito but Inoue hits a lariat on both Shiryu and Shinnou. They call out of the ring, Inoue goes out after them while Ito goes for a baseball slide, but she kicks Inoue by mistake. Shiryu gets in the ring and catapults off the referee and delivers a diving kick to Ito’s face. Inoue is slid back in and double teamed, cover by Shiryu but Ito breaks it up. Shiryu goes up top but Ito hits him before he can jump off, Inoue joins Shiryu and delivers a superplex. Diving footstomp by Ito, cover by Inoue but Shinnou breaks up the cover. Inoue picks up Shiryu and nails the Niagara Driver, cover by Inoue and she gets the three count! Kyoko Inoue and Kaoru Ito are the winners.

I enjoyed this match way more than I should have. Ito and Inoue are the ‘old school’ Joshi stars that don’t always feel the need to do things like sell for their opponents, and so few wrestlers do that these days it comes across as fresh and interesting. I don’t mean they are being jerks, its just the style, eventually Shinnou was able to knock over Ito which just made it a bigger moment. But for the most part Ito and Inoue were tossing around the male indie wrestlers so it had the opposite dynamic that you may think if you didn’t know the wrestlers. No complaints, Inoue and Ito can still go, an entertaining little match.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima and KAZUKI vs. Jun Kasai and Buffalo

Chikayo and KAZUKI attack before the match starts with chairs, Buffalo is isolated in the ring and double teamed with chair shots. KAZUKI puts a bucket over Buffalo’s head and kicks it, Kasai comes in the ring and trades strikes with Chikayo. KAZUKI attacks Kasai from behind with a chain but Kasai headbutts her, and the action spills out of the ring. Buffalo and Kasai take over on the floor, KAZUKI is put on a table while Kasai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving splash onto KAZUKI. Kasai gets a barbed wire bat and pushes it into Chikayo’s head, Buffalo rolls Chikayo back into the ring and hits her with a back elbow. Buffalo stomps Chikayo and elbows her into the corner, running elbow by Buffalo and he tags in Kasai. Big boot by Kasai and he slices Chikayo’s face with… a board of some sort, leg drop by Buffalo from the apron and he kicks Chikayo in the head. Cover by Kasai, but it gets a two count. Kasai picks up Chikayo and bites her head, piledriver by Kasai and he covers Chikayo for two. Kasai brings a ladder into the ring but Chikayo kicks him low and hits both Kasai and Buffalo with the metal bucket. Chikayo goes up top and hits a diving footstomp to Kasai’s groin, KAZUKI hits Kasai repeatedly with a chain before hanging him over the top rope with it. KAZUKI pulls Kasai back into the ring and hits a couple reverse double kneedrops for a two count.

KAZUKI brings the ladder to the middle of the ring but Kasai suplexes her on it, he tags in Buffalo but KAZUKI drops him with a Codebreaker. Chikayo comes in but Buffalo lariats both of them, he puts the ladder on his neck and helicopters it into both opponents. Buffalo tries to push Chikayo with the ladder but KAZUKI helps push Buffalo into the corner, kicks by Chikayo and she hits Buffalo with a chair. KAZUKI goes up top and slams the ladder down onto Buffalo, then Chikayo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp onto Buffalo and the pile of chairs/ladder. Chikayo grabs Buffalo but Buffalo kicks her in the stomach, Buffalo throws the ladder at Chikayo and makes the tag to Kasai. Kasai lariats Chikayo in the back of the head, another lariat by Kasai but KAZUKI breaks up the cover. Kasai picks up Chikayo and hits a scoop slam, he sets up the ladder and climbs it, but Chikayo joins him and spits red mist into his face. Kasai falls to the mat and Chikayo dives off the ladder with a footstomp. Cover, but Buffalo breaks it up. Fisherman Buster by Chikayo to Kasai, but Kasai kicks out. Chikayo gets a chair but Kasai blocks it and hits Chikayo with the chair instead. Kasai runs off the ropes repeatedly and hits a lariat, but the cover gets two. Kasai picks up Chikayo and delivers the double underhook facebuster, he scoop slams Chikayo in front of the ladder before climbing up and nailing the Pearl Harbor Splash. Cover by Kasai, and he gets the three count! Jun Kasai and Buffalo are the winners.

Like the last match, while I wouldn’t call this a MOTYC it was certainly really entertaining. Lots of brutal moves in this match, from the table splash to the footstomp to Kasai’s groin, as no one was holding back. Fast paced with never a dull moment, its one of those matches you can’t look away from. A nice change of pace from the type of action I usually see on Joshi shows, an enjoyable match overall if you’re into this sort of thing (crazy weapon-filled brawls).  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo, AKIRA, and Shiro Koshinaka vs. Seiji Miyane, Jaguar Yokota, and TARU

Yokota and Nagayo start the match, Nagayo pushes Yokota against the ropes and she gives a clean break. Irish whip by Nagayo but Yokota ducks the heel kick, scoop slam by Yokota and she covers Nagayo for two. They tag out as TARU and Koshinaka come in, TARU tries to shoulderblock Koshinaka over but Koshinaka delivers a hip attack. Chinlock by Koshinaka but TARU kicks him in the stomach and both wrestlers tag out as AKIRA and Miyane become the legal wrestlers. AKIRA and Miyane trade holds, they end up on the mat but Miyane gets away from AKIRA and they face off again. AKIRA goes for a suplex but Miyane blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of his own, Octopus Hold by Miyane but Nagayo breaks it up. AKIRA tags in Koshinaka, hip attacks by Koshinaka to Miyane and he tags in Nagayo. Chops by Nagayo, Miyane returns fire but Nagayo chops him to the mat and kicks him against the ropes. Nagayo tags AKIRA but TARU comes in to help Miyane, they both suplex AKIRA before Miyane makes the tag to Yokota. Nagayo tags in too but TARU hits Nagayo from the apron, Yokota hits Nagayo in the stomach with a rod before choking her with it. TARU stays in as the legal wrestler and starts on Nagayo’s arm, he takes Nagayo out of the ring and tosses her around in the crowd. Back in the ring, kicks by TARU to Nagayo but Nagayo fights back and the two trade shots. TARU tags in Yokota, Miyane comes in too and they triple team Nagayo in the corner.

Kicks by TARU but Nagayo catches him with a backdrop suplex and tags in Koshinaka. Hip attack by TARU, Yokota and Miyane come in but they get hip attacks as well. Koshinaka goes up top and hits a diving hip attack onto TARU, cover by Koshinaka but TARU kicks out. Koshinaka tags AKIRA, AKIRA goes up top and hits a diving body press, but Miyane breaks up the cover. AKIRA goes off the ropes but TARU catches him with a chokebomb and tags in Yokota, AKIRA kicks Yokota however and tags in Nagayo. Nagayo grabs Yokota and hits a vertical suplex, waistlock by Nagayo but Yokota gets out of it with a roll-up for two. Nagayo tosses Yokota into the corner but Yokota catches her coming in and kicks her in the head. Nagayo pulls Yokota back to the middle of the ring and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock, but TARU quickly breaks it up. Nagayo catches Yokota with a sidewalk slam, but TARU breaks up the cover. TARU and Yokota both suplex Nagayo, Miyane goes up top and hits Nagayo with a diving crossbody for a two count. Yokota then goes up top but Nagayo avoids her somersault senton, Koshinaka and AKIRA both come in and clear the ring so that just Nagayo and Miyane are left. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo to Miyane and she drops him with a snap piledriver, but Miyane gets a shoulder up. Scorpion Deathlock by Nagayo, and Miyane has no choice but to submit! Chigusa Nagayo, AKIRA, and Shiro Koshinaka win!

Unlike the other matches on this show with long-time veterans, this one was a bit too slow for my liking. It was just really by the numbers, the match was almost 20 minutes and the only interesting parts were when Chigusa Nagayo and Jaguar Yokota squared off. I am not sure of Miyane’s backstory but (obviously) he isn’t very good yet and negatively impacted the match during several of his segments. Its always a pleasure to see veteran wrestlers like Shiro Koshinaka or AKIRA, but the match was just a bit too long and listless. This would have worked better in the midcard, but as the main event it was a bit disappointing.

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