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

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

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

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kana

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

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

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

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

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Hikaru and Saki Maemura

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

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

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

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

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

Kana and Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Shuu Shibutani and Kanjuro Matsuyama

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

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

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

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

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Yuu Yamagata

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. GAMI and Moeka Haruhi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kana vs. Ayumi Kurihara

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stardom is another promotion that I am introducing myself to as I broaden my wrestling viewing a bit. I have heard good things about the promotion as they have some skilled wrestlers, so hopefully their first event to be taped for 2014 leaves a positive first impression. This is a big event for Stardom as three of their titles are being defended. Here is the full card:

• Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
• Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
• Takumi Iroha 10 Match Series 4th: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Let’s hop to it.

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase

A rookie match, although I am glad that Manase is over 18 with that outfit that she wears.  It was easy to tell these two are still learning, as they still haven’t mastered the staple of Puroresu – strike exchanges.  But besides the awkwardness of those it was not a bad match, just basic which is understandable.  Manase hit her kicks well (the Heel Drop was nice) and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive or anything.  Rookies need experience so while not a great match it wasn’t a bad way to start out the event.

Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Matsumoto, and Iwatani

I don’t care what all the results say on various websites, it was Matsumoto that got the pin, not Toyota… I know who Toyota is.   Only half of the match was shown but I assume we got the gist of it, I am not 100% sure what the significance of the brown bag is but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.  We didn’t really see enough of this to get a great feel for it, but what we saw was fine.  Compared to the last match you could tell these were more seasoned wrestlers as the moves were all hit smoothly and they kept the pace going.  Solid match, just not a lot of it was shown.

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

Looks like we only saw about half the match.  Yoshiko needs a new killer move, I am generally not a big fan of repeating big moves in a match unless its a big title match or something, especially if the move is just a set-up for the finisher.  Iroha is a rookie going through her ‘trial series’ so it is more about her learning than it is about her actually winning matches.  Maybe here she learned that trading strikes with someone twice your size is not a great idea.  Seemed fine for what we saw but I would have liked to have seen the first half of the match.

(c) Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with a big boot, Kimura goes off the ropes now but Takahashi hits a lariat.  Waistlock by Takahashi but Kimura elbows out of it.  Elbows by Takahashi and she applies another waistlock, Wakizawa comes in the ring to help and Takahashi is finally able to hit the backdrop suplex.  Cover, but Kimura gets a foot on the bottom rope.  We clip ahead as Alpha Female is in the ring and she lariats Wakizawa.  She and Takahashi both go off the ropes but Takahashi’s lariat hits the mark.  Takahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle, Wakizawa then runs in the ring and Wakizawa hurricanranas Takahashi onto Alpha Female.  German suplex hold by Wakizawa to Alpha Female but it gets a two count.  Wakizawa picks up Alpha Female but Alpha Female hits a short-arm lariat.  Alpha Female goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is back in the ring and hits Alpha Female.  Wakizawa then gets up, she joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex.  Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two.  Wakizawa stomps Alpha Female, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura runs up on the apron and stops her.  Takahashi knocks Kimura out of the ring, while Alpha Female joins Wakizawa on the top turnbuckle.  Wakizawa quickly jumps down and sits Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, Wakizawa then climbs back up and goes for a Frankensteiner, but Alpha Female catches her.  Kimura comes in the ring and holds Wakizawa, and Alpha Female comes off the top turnbuckle, slamming Wakizawa into the mat.  Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and hits a shoulder drop slam, cover, but again Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and puts her on her shoulders, but Wakizawa gets off and hits a backslide for a two count.  Wakizawa and Takahashi put their opponents lying in the ring, they both go up to the top turnbuckle and go for diving body presses, but both Kimura and Alpha Female get their knees up.  Alpha Female hits a lariat onto Wakizawa, cover, but Wakizawa barely kicks out.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and nails the Alpha Plex, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners and new champions:  Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female

A solid match, but the clips in the action made it hard for the wrestlers to really get a good flow going as it was disjointed in parts.  Not that it is their fault, it is just the way the match was presented which is disappointing for a title match.  The wrestling was generally solid although a bit silly at times (such as the ketchup usage and Wakizawa doing a Frankensteiner on her own partner).  There wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with the match, the skipping just hurt the structure.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and goes for a crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets a hand on the ropes.  Stomps to the back by Hojo, she puts Yasukawa on her shoulders but Yasukawa hops off and elbows Hojo in the chest.  Hojo elbows her back and they trade strikes, which Yasukawa gets the better of.  Hojo gets back up and elbows Yasukawa against the ropes, double chop by Hojo and she goes off the ropes, but Yasukawa catches her and slams Hojo to the mat.  Cover, but it gets a two.  Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hojo recovers in time and throws her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.  Hojo then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back.  Cover, but Yasukawa gets a shoulder up.  Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and cranks down, twisting Yasukawa’s back.  Yasukawa rakes Hojo in the face to break up the hold and hits Hojo in the head.  Hojo recovers first and elbows Yasukawa while they are still on their knees, and Hojo delivers a headbutt.  Cover, but  it only gets two.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa and elbows her in the head, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her with an STO.  Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a rolling senton, cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up.  Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo lands on her feet and elbows Yasukawa in the back of the head.  Jackknife hold by Hojo, but Yasukawa gets a foot on the ropes.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa, snapmare, she goes off the ropes but Yasukawa ducks the elbow and rolls her up for a two count.  Yasukawa quickly applies the Stretch Muffler, adding in a leg hook to apply more pressure.  Hojo fights it for several moments but she is stuck, and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner and still champion:  Act Yasukawa

This was a really good and well worked match.  The focus by Hojo on Yasukawa’s back was done really well as she never lost focus the entire match.  Yasukawa on her part also sold it the entire match and even failed to be able to apply her finishing move the first time because of it, something that I always enjoy seeing as it just shows that both wrestlers understand the psychology being used and won’t sacrifice that just to get a spot in.  Also the referee calling for the bell without Hojo submitting keeps her strong, as even though it was the right call she protested after the match and stayed crying in the ring while Yasukawa celebrated.  Just overall a really entertaining back and forth battle between these two.   Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
World of Stardom Championship

Taiyo goes back to the arm and goes for a jackknife hold, but Shirai pushes her way out of it.  Sit-down powerbomb by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.  Taiyo goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a dropkick.  Taiyo falls out of the ring, she tries to skin the cat but Shirai dropkicks her in the back.  Shirai bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Taiyo with a plancha through the ropes.  Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Taiyo as she was starting to get up.  Shirai throws Taiyo into the ring, she then goes on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick.  Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits another swandive dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Shirai waits for Taiyo to get up and goes for a kick, Taiyo blocks the first one but not the second one.  Kick to the side of the head by Shirai but Taiyo finally catches one and hits a powerbomb.  Shirai deflects Taiyo’s next attack and delivers another kick to the side of the head.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner and hits a standing moonsault, she then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, and finally she hits one off the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai goes up top again but Taiyo is up in plenty of time and jumps on top as well.  Taiyo goes for a German suplex off the top but Shirai lands on her feet and delivers a sliding kick to Taiyo.  Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and goes for a suplex but Taiyo slides between her legs.  They trade move attempts before getting into a strike battle, Taiyo grabs Shirai and hits the leg capture suplex hold for a two count.  Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double stomp, cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes and delivers the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb for a two count.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a hard elbow, but Taiyo returns fire as they trade shots.  Headbutt by Shirai and a slap sends Taiyo to her knees.  Sliding kick by Shirai, cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault doublestomp .  Shirai goes up top again and this time she hits a second incredibly accurate moonsault doublestomp.  Suplex de Io by Shirai and she picks up the three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Io Shirai

Well this was a match.  To get straight to the point I thought it was pretty amazing.  There were some little things here and there that didn’t work as they tried to get too cute, but considering the speed in which they go and having very little downtime some missteps here and there are expected.  It may stop the match from becoming an all-time classic but it doesn’t take away from all that they did right.  I have to admit any match with a perfect moonsault doublestomp automatically is good in my book, it is such an awesome looking move when hit properly like the second one was in this match.  I hadn’t seen either of these women before and Shirai is great fun to watch as she was just flying around everywhere.  They didn’t spend a lot of time with submission holds, just a few general ‘weaken your opponent’ ones and seemed content to just drop bombs and big moves on each other.  It felt like a big match, and it was as this was a big anniversary show for the promotion, so they were sure to end the event with a bang.  Overall just a great match, I can look past a few of the hiccups when a match is as exciting as this one, definitely a must-see.  Highly Recommended

review completed on 3/25/14

The post Stardom “Third Anniversary” on 1/26/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

• January 16th, 2008 – Kana vs. Kyoko Kimura
• February 2nd, 2008 – Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Yumi Ohka vs. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura
• February 23rd, 2008 – Kana vs. Yumi Ohka
• March 1st, 2008 – Kana and Yumiko Hotta vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Shuu Shibutani
• March 12th, 2008 – Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• March 20th, 2008 – Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. Hanako Kobayashi and Misaki Ohata

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 vs. Kyoko Kimura

I am not sure why Kana and Kyoko Kimura hated each other coming into the match, but they sure did start with the fire. This is their first in-ring encounter I could find, however Kyoko Kimura and Kana were both in NEO (once Kana returned) and Kyoko was a heel so that is likely where the bad blood started. Even though this was an itty bitty WAVE show that wasn’t taped for TV, Kyoko and Kana have no chill so they wrestled the same as if they were in front of a world wide audience.

Kana attacks Kyoko before the match starts, but Kyoko throws her out of the ring and they trade elbows out on the floor. Kyoko throws Kana into chairs at ringside, Kana fights back and clubs Kyoko but she is send into the chairs again for her trouble. Kyoko drags Kana back into the ring by her hair before flinging her down, but Kana gets back up and they trade elbows. Kana gets Kyoko to the mat but Kyoko applies a kneelock, she goes for Kana’s arm but Kana blocks the armbreaker attempt. Kyoko and Kana trade mounted elbows, slaps by Kyoko and she goes for the sleeper. Swinging sleeper by Kyoko and she locks on the hold on the mat, but Kana eventually gets a hand on the ropes for the break. Kyoko knees Kana and boots her in the head, she goes for a running boot but Kana blocks it. Kana goes for a hip attack but Kyoko gets a boot up, she headbutts Kana’s next attempt but Kana applies a German suplex hold for two. Boot to the head by Kyoko in return, and she covers Kana for her own two count. Kana gets up and hits elbows but Kyoko elbows her against the ropes, they trade slaps until Kyoko headbutts Kana, but Kana hits her own headbutt. Another headbutt by Kyoko and she applies a sleeper, and this time Kana can’t reach the ropes and goes to sleep! Kyoko Kimura is the winner!

Its fun to watch Kana on the wrong end of a this type of beatdown, since later in her career she was known more as the bully. Kyoko doesn’t mess around and all her offense looks so snug, it felt more like Kana trying to survive than anything else. Constant action and even though I still don’t know the basis of their hate, you could still feel it with every strike. Not a long match but very to the point and entertaining, these types of matches is what helped develop Kana into the ass-kicker she soon became known for being.  Recommended

Kana, Shuu Shibutani, and Yumi Ohka vs. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura

Warning: This Match Is Heavily Clipped. Finding old Pro Wrestling WAVE news/results is not the easiest thing in the world to do as in 2008 they were one of the smallest Joshi promotions (still are), so I can’t really explain the backstory behind the match. GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko were clearly the heels here though as they refuse to shake hands before the match (and as we saw in the prior match, Kyoko is pretty vicious). The GAMI trio became a regular group in November of 2007 and since the match was billed as “Revenge WAVE” we can assume this match will bring some hate. It was also the main event of the evening, ramping up the pressure to put on a good show so the fans went home happy.

Kana and Kyoko immediately go to the floor trading elbows, while KAORU is singled out in the ring by Shuu and Ohka. We clip ahead to Kana in the ring with Kyoko, headbutt by Kyoko and she covers Kana for two. Boots by Kyoko and she tags in GAMI, pump-handle slam attempt by GAMI but Kana reverses it into a DDT. We jump ahead to GAMI hitting a German suplex onto Kana and GAMI rakes her eyes with her boots. Kyoko comes in to help as GAMI hits a lariat onto Kana, pump-handle slam by GAMI but the cover is broken up. GAMI goes up top but Kana avoids her dive, cradle by Kana but it gets a two count. Kyoko comes in but Kana swings Kyoko into GAMI, Kyoko and Kana trade elbows as GAMI comes over, but Kyoko headbutts GAMI by accident. German suplex hold by Kana to GAMI, but it gets a two count. Kana goes off the ropes and nails the Billiken, but that cover gets two as well. KAORU comes in and hits Kana with a piece of board, Shuu tries to help but KAORU catches her with a backbreaker. Fisherman Buster by GAMI to Kana, and she gets the three count! GAMI, KAORU, and Kyoko Kimura win!

Obviously this was too clipped up to get excited about. Kyoko and Kana continued their heated exchanges and everything they showed was fine, but with only 20% of the match shown, hard to really good a feel of it.

Kana vs. Yumi Ohka

Even though these two teamed just a few weeks prior, it was more of a “random team” situation than a bunch of friends getting together. Even though Ohka began wrestling in 2001, she was mostly an upper midcard gatekeeper at this point in her career and had never won any titles. She still outranked Kana however, as Kana was not only a Freelancer but had only recently returned from a long layoff and had to work her way back to bigger matches. This match was actually second from the bottom on the card, and while match order isn’t everything, it does show that both of them weren’t yet a major story in the promotion (which would change just a few years later).

Kana and Ohka lock up to start, Kana gets Ohka into the ropes and hits a few elbows, but Ohka comes back with a dropkick. Kana hits a dropkick of her own, snapmare by Kana and she puts Ohka in a bodyscissors. Ohka gets out of it and puts Kana in a stretch hold, rolling guillotine by Ohka but Kana gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Ohka gets into the ropes for a break, armdrag by Ohka and she puts Kana in a crucifix hold. Kana gets a foot on the ropes, Ohka chokes Kana but Kana sneaks in a sunset flip for two. Crab hold by Kana but Ohka gets to the ropes again, Ohka throws Kana into the corner but Kana hits a second turnbuckle hip attack. Another hip attack by Kana and she hits a third for a two count. Knees by Kana but Ohka hits a hip toss and puts Kana in a short armbar. Kana gets a foot on the ropes, Ohka chokes Kana and elbows her against the ropes. Ohka charges Kana but Kana holds down the top rope, sending Ohka to the floor. Ohka gets on the apron but Kana hip attacks her back down, Kana goes out to the apron and she hits a diving hip attack to the floor. Kana elbows Ohka but Ohka hits a hip toss on the floor, Ohka picks up Kana and slides her back into the ring.

Ohka throws Kana into the corner and hits a big boot, another big boot by Ohka and she covers Kana for two. Double underhook suplex by Ohka, she picks up Kana and they trade waistlocks. Reverse DDT by Kana, she goes up top but Ohka avoids the diving hip attack attempt. Ohka goes for a big boot but Kana ducks it and schoolboys Ohka for a two count. Kana applies a modified STF but Ohka crawls to the ropes for the break, hip attack by Kana in the corner but Ohka avoids the second one and applies a cross arm submission over the top rope. Ohka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Ohka but Kana kicks out. Ohka picks up Kana but Kana hits a DDT, German suplex hold by Kana but Ohka gets a shoulder up. Kana picks up Ohka but Ohka elbows her off, Ohka and Kana trade elbows until Ohka sends Kana to the mat. Kana quickly gets back up and hits a hard elbow of her own, she goes off the ropes and nails the Billiken, but her cover only gets two. She goes off the ropes again but Ohka delivers the big boot, Ohka goes up top but Kana slaps her before she can jump off and joins her. Avalanche DDT by Kana, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. Cutie Special by Kana, but that gets a two count as well. Kana goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her hip attack attempt and hits a German suplex, Ohka picks up Kana and she hits a vertical suplex. Ohka picks up Kana again and delivers the choke bomb, and she picks up the three count! Yumi Ohka wins the match.

For a random midcard match, these two really brought everything they had. Lots of excitement and big moves, and they mixed up the action as they had strike exchanges, submissions, suplexes, and aerial moves spread throughout. By early 2008 Kana was already pretty great, and her offense used to be a lot more varied before she got her style nailed down. Ohka was good here too though, probably one of my favorite singles matches of her. All things considered, this really over-delivered and was a really entertaining match.  Recommended

Kana and Yumiko Hotta vs. Ran Yu-Yu and Shuu Shibutani

Even though Kana and Yumiko Hotta would later be in Passion Red together, this match slightly pre-dates that as Passion Red wasn’t officially formed until a month after this show (and Hotta didn’t join the group until September 2008).  Like Kana, Hotta was a Freelancer at the time and wrestled in SUN, NEO, and many other places. Ran Yu-Yu was also a Freelancer, but best known for her work in OZ Academy, while Shuu Shibutani was a young WAVE wrestler.

Kana and Shuu start the match and get right into it with dropkicks and elbow strikes, Hotta comes in to help and they double team young Shuu. We clip ahead to Yu-Yu in the ring with Hotta, Hotta goes for Yu-Yu’s arm but Shuu quickly breaks things up. Hotta tags in Kana, hip attacks by Kana to Yu-Yu and Shuu and she hits Yu-Yu with a diving hip attack for a two count. Kana goes to run off the ropes but Yu-Yu grabs her from behind, knee by Yu-Yu and she kicks Kana in the ribs. Yu-Yu gets Kana on her shoulders and gives her the airplane spin, but Kana slides off and rolls her up for two. Modified STF by Kana, Shuu tries to break it up but Hotta stops her and puts Shuu in an ankle hold. Yu-Yu eventually gets into the ropes for the break, the match jumps to Shuu in the ring with Kana and she applies a cradle for two. A Northern Lights Suplex by Shuu gets a two count as well, Shuu goes off the ropes but Kana blocks her bodyscissors takedown and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. DDT by Shuu, she goes off the ropes but Kana catches her with a lariat. Kana picks up Shuu and hits the Cutie Special, but Yu-Yu breaks it up. Hotta wants the tag, Kana doesn’t want to tag her in so Hotta blind tags in herself. Billiken by Kana, Hotta picks up Shuu and she nails the Pyramid Driver for the three count! Kana and Yumiko Hotta are the winners!

One of the fun things about these matches is just seeing Kana with a different move set, as again she hit the Cutie Special which is a move she hasn’t done in a long time. This was pretty clipped up so impossible to get a feel for, but Kana looked great and Hotta being her usual stubborn self added an extra element to it. The full match was probably a lot of fun since their chemistry was solid, good for what they showed but too condensed to recommend.

Kana and Yumi Ohka vs. Shuu Shibutani and Hiroyo Matsumoto

In case you can’t tell from the attendances, WAVE wasn’t exactly the biggest Joshi promotion, but it was a good place for Kana to hone her craft against a variety of opponents. Here she teams with Ohka, who she wrestled the month before, as she faces Shuu Shibutani again. Hiroyo Matsumoto is the new element to this match, she was still early in her career but was being pushed stronger than most young wrestlers right out of the gate as she showed a lot of potential from the start.

Kana and Hiroyo start the match, they tie-up and Kana elbows Hiroyo into the ropes. Hiroyo elbows her back but Kana delivers a dropkick, Ohka comes in but Shuu hits a diving crossbody onto both of her opponents. Shuu and Hiroyo both attack Kana in the corner, senton by Shuu and Hiroyo hits a leg drop on Kana for a two count. Shuu stays in with Kana, she throws Kana into the ropes and delivers a sliding boot. Scoop slam by Shuu and she hits mounted elbows, she goes for a cross armbreaker but Ohka breaks it up. Shuu keeps on Kana’s arm but Kana rolls her up for two, Irish whip by Kana and she delivers a dropkick for two. Kana tags in Ohka, big boot by Ohka to Shuu and she hits two more for a quick cover. Scoop slam by Ohka and she puts Shuu in a crab hold, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Ohka puts Shuu in a bodyscissors and applies a sleeper hold, cross armbreaker attempt by Ohka but Shuu blocks it so she applies a triangle choke instead. Shuu gets a foot on the ropes to force the break, Ohka throws Shuu into the corner but Shuu rebounds out with a crossbody and tags in Hiroyo. Shoulderblocks by Hiroyo to Ohka, she goes off the ropes but Ohka tosses her to the mat. Ohka tags in Kana, stomps by Kana to Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a hard shoulderblock. Kana hits a jumping hip attack in the corner and stomps on Hiroyo, but Hiroyo switches positions with her and returns the favor. Kana grabs Hiroyo from behind as they go back and forth with strikes, hip attack by Kana and she slaps Hiroyo in the face. Backbreaker by Hiroyo but Kana hits a reverse DDT before tagging in Ohka. Ohka boots Hiroyo in the face but Hiroyo catches her with a side slam, Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Hiroyo tries to get Ohka on her shoulders but Ohka blocks it, armdrag by Ohka and she puts Hiroyo in a crucifix armbar.

Shuu tries to break it off but Kana comes in too and trades elbows with her. Hiroyo eventually gets to the ropes for the break, big boot by Ohka to Hiroyo in the corner and Kana drops her with a face crusher. Springboard elbow drop by Ohka, but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Shuu comes in with a swandive dropkick to Ohka, double atomic drop to Ohka and Shuu hits a DDT. Hiroyo picks up Ohka and gets her on her shoulders, Kana comes in but Hiroyo throws Ohka onto her. Shuu returns but Ohka blocks the suplex attempt, she goes for a suplex but Shuu gets out of it and hits a DDT. Jumping DDT by Shuu, but Ohka gets a foot on the ropes on the cover. Ohka tosses down Shuu and nails a big boot, Hiroyo comes in and hits Ohka from behind, allowing Shuu to roll her up for two. DDT by Shuu, she goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her when she goes for a hurricanrana and hits a powerbomb. Ohka tags in Kana, Kana comes in the ring with a diving hip attack off the top turnbuckle, but her cover gets two. Kana picks up Shuu, Ohka boots her and Kana hits a German suplex hold for two. Kana goes off the ropes but Shuu ducks the Billiken and rolls up Kana for a two count. Kana picks up Shuu but Shuu avoids her charge and snaps Kana’s neck over the top rope. Shuu goes up top but Ohka grabs her from the apron, Kana joins Shuu and hits a couple hip attacks. Hiroyo tosses Kana back to the mat and Shuu delivers the missile dropkick, shoulderblock by Hiroyo and Shuu hits the Northern Lights Suplex for two. Shuu goes up top and nails the diving senton, but Ohka breaks up the pin. Shuu goes off the ropes but Ohka boots her, Ohka puts Shuu on the top turnbuckle and Kana hits an avalanche DDT. Reverse elbow drop by Ohka off the top turnbuckle, Kana picks up Shuu and hits the cross-legged Cutie Special, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Hiroyo lariats Kana, cradle by Shuu on Kana but that gets two also. Ohka boots Shuu, Hiroyo tries to help but she missile dropkicks Shuu by accident. Choke Bomb by Ohka to Shuu, Kana then nails her with the Billiken for the three count! Kana and Yumi Ohka are the winners!

Not quite as good as some of the other matches on this DVD, but still entertaining. It felt less organized and structured than I expected, these are small shows with thrown together teams and it never really felt like a cohesive tag match. The wrestlers all looked good, Shuu is probably better than she gets credit for since she never really got too high on the card and wrestled in smaller promotions most of her career. Kana and Hiroyo’s exchanges were fun, and Ohka is always willing to boot off someone’s head when needed. It didn’t have the heat that the matches with Kyoko Kimura had which hurt it a bit, but I enjoyed it just for the action.  Mildly Recommended

Kana and Shuu Shibutani vs. Hanako Kobayashi and Misaki Ohata

Pro Wrestling WAVE had two events on March 20th, and this was the opening match on the “bigger” show of the two. Misaki Ohata debuted in December 2006 while Hanako Kobayashi (better known today as Hanako Nakamori) debuted in July 2006, so both still were pretty early into their careers. After being on the wrong side against Shuu the last few months, here Kana is back teaming with her, just further showing that many of these tags teams are just randomly put together for our amusement.

Hanako and Misaki charge their opponents as the match starts, getting out to the early advantage. They isolate Kana, Kana tries to jump on the top turnbuckle but loses her balance. Luckily she grabs the rope so she doesn’t tumble out of the ring and they get back into a groove, as Kana dropkicks Hanako in the corner. Kana tags in Shuu, scoop slam by Shuu to Hanako and she covers her for two. Bodyscissors by Shuu and she goes for Hanako’s arm, but Hanako gets away and stomps on Shuu. Hanako tags in Misaki and Misaki throws down Shuu by the hair before dropkicking her. Chinlock by Misaki but Shuu gets out of it, Shuu tags in Kana and Kana drops Misaki with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kana, and she covers Misaki for two. Kana puts Misaki in a stretch hold, but Hanako runs in to break it up. Misaki sneaks in a backslide which gives her time to tag in Hanako, Hanako flings Kana to the mat and hits a running crossbody for a two count. Irish whip by Hanako but Kana hits a dropkick, she tags in Shuu and Shuu scoop slams Hanako before putting her in a crab hold. Hanako gets into the ropes for the break, Shuu goes for a crossbody out of the corner but Hanako ducks it and they trade elbows. Misaki comes in but Shuu avoids their dropkick and hits a senton on Misaki while Kana hits an elbow drop onto Hanako. Kana stays in and with Misaki they hit a double atomic drop onto Hanako, elbow by Kana and Shuu drops Hanako with a DDT for a two count. Kana is tagged back in and she hits a hip attack, another hip attack by Kana and she covers Hanako for two. Kana boots back Hanako repeatedly but Hanako hits the neck drop followed by a jumping crossbody. Another crossbody by Hanako and one more, cover by Hanako but Kana gets a shoulder up. Kana tries to dropkick Hanako when she goes for a crossbody but the timing is off and she misses, Kana applies a Scorpion Deathlock but Misaki breaks it up.

Kana elbows Misaki as Shuu and Hanako come in, Kana and Shuu are stacked in the corner and Kana is repeatedly dropkicked. Hanako tags in Misaki, Irish whip by Misaki and she hits a crossbody onto Kana for a two count. Kana comes back with a hip attack in the corner, she then gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes back up top and his a second missile dropkick, but Misaki bridges out of the pin. Misaki pushes Kana away and applies a cross armbreaker, but Shuu runs in to break it up. Hanako positions Kana while Misaki goes up top and hits a diving body press onto Kana’s arm, cross armbreaker takedown by Misaki but Kana gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Misaki goes off the ropes but Kana ducks her elbow, reverse DDT by Kana and she covers Misaki for two. Kana gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving hip attack, but Misaki barely kicks out of the pin. Kana tags in Shuu, DDT by Shuu but Hanako runs in to help Misaki regain control. Misaki goes off the ropes but Shuu avoids the lariat and drops Misaki with a DDT for two. Shuu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Misaki catches her with an armdrag and applies an armbar. Shuu gets to the ropes for the break, Misaki picks up Shuu and applies a cradle for two. She goes for another one but Shuu sits down to block it, Hanako comes in and they both dropkick Shuu. Misaki goes up top and hits the diving body press, but Shuu barely gets a shoulder up. Misaki goes off the ropes but Shuu hits a Northern Lights Suplex, Shuu gets on the top turnbuckle but Hanako tosses her back to the mat. Now it is Misaki that goes up top but Shuu gets her feet up on the diving body press, Hanako boots Shuu while Kana runs in and hits the Billiken onto Misaki. Shuu goes to the top turnbuckle and she nails the diving senton, picking up the three count! Kana and Shuu Shibutani win!

The effort was there, but this was the first match that had some really noticeable mistakes. Kana was in on two of them (although with one spot it was hard to tell who was at fault), but it wasn’t just her as multiple parts just looked awkward or done poorly. This isn’t incredibly rare of course with young wrestlers that don’t face off too often against each other, but of all the matches on the DVD, this was the only match that so many issues. A decent match otherwise, but the occasional mistake really hurt the overall flow and brought it down a notch or two.

The post Kana Special #1 DVD Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

As a fan of just about anything, you tend to get sad when someone you enjoy retires. That is true for actors, sports players, and of course in this case wrestlers. Generally you are happy for them as usually people retire to move on to something else they want to do, but we still miss them. This event is for the retirement of Natsuki*Taiyo, who had been wrestling for ten years. It is not uncommon in Joshi for wrestlers to retire when still in their 20s (Taiyo had just turned 30), a lot of them start young but burn out early, leaving either to pursue their career or to start a family. So we are happy to have had her, and sad to see her go. Here is the full card for the event:

• Stardom vs. Enemy Army Elimination Match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Miho Wakizawa, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Sayaka Obihiro
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
• Natsuki*Taiyo Retirement Match ~ Forever High Speed: Natsuki*Taiyo  vs. Nanae Takahashi

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

Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa

This is an elimination tag team match, but you can also be eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. Dino and Yoshiko start things off. Yoshiko pushes Dino but Dino pushes her back. Another push by Dino but Yoshiko pushes him in return and they trade pushes. Dino goes off the ropes but he can’t shoulderblock Yoshiko down. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but she also has no luck. Dino goes off the ropes but Yoshiko stays on her feet, Yoshiko does the same but finally Dino shoulderblocks her down. Yasukawa comes in the ring but Dino punches her back out of it. Hojo comes in, she gets punched as well. Koguma comes in next, punches by Dino but she ducks one and hits a series of elbows. Dino blocks one however and hits a series of headbutts, Dino goes off the ropes but Koguma delivers a dropkick. Yoshiko returns and she hits a big boot onto Dino. Facewashes in the corner by Yoshiko followed by a running kick. Yoshiko picks up Dino but Dino punches her off, he goes for the Testicular Claw but he has nothing to grab. Punches by Dino as his teammates come in the ring, and everyone hits running strikes in the corner. Snap vertical suplex by Dino and he pulls down his pants, Hojo comes in the ring and she slaps Dino, forcing Dino to sit on Yoshiko for a two count. Punch by Dino and he kicks Yoshiko into the corner. She rebounds out of it and almost falls into Dino’s tights, but stops herself. Dino and Yoshiko trade punches, Dino goes to go off the ropes but Hojo is standing in the way. She snaps his neck over the top rope, Dino goes to yell at Hojo outside the ring, allowing Yoshiko to send Dino crashing out of it. Danshoku Dino is eliminated.

Nakagawa comes in the ring next as does Koguma, and Nakagawa avoids Koguma’s dropkick. Nakagawa throws Koguma in the corner but Koguma avoids the charge and hits a monkey flip. Sunset flip by Koguma, but Nakagawa is in the ropes. Tornado DDT attempt by Koguma but Nakagawa shrugs her off as everyone comes in the ring to beat up Koguma. Kimura holds Koguma for Nakagawa but Koguma moves out of the way, she covers both Kimura and Nakagawa but it gets a two count. Face crusher/dropkick combination to Koguma, cover, but it gets a two count. Nakagawa hits a Fisherman Suplex on Koguma and then locks in the CRB, and Koguma has no choice but to submit. Koguma is eliminated.

Nakagawa stomps on Hojo, she picks her up and throws her in the corner before tagging in Alpha Female. Snapmare by Alpha Female and she clubs Hojo repeatedly in the chest. Alpha Female tags in Kimura, Kimura puts Hojo in the ropes and all three wrestlers press their boots into her face. Kimura goes off the ropes and jumps down onto Hojo, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo gets back up and clubs Kimura in the chest, but Kimura absorbs the blow. She does it again and a third time, but still with no luck. Repeated clubs by Hojo, she goes off the ropes and goes for a spear but Kimura catches her and applies a grounded facelock. Hojo eventually gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo tags in Nakagawa, Nakagawa picks up Hojo but Hojo applies an inside cradle for a two count. Waistlock by Nakagawa, reversed, and Yasukawa runs in the ring to attack everyone. Yoshiko hits a senton onto Nakagawa, and she tosses Hojo onto Nakagawa. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakagawa has recovered and elbows her. Nakagawa goes for a high kick, but she misses and goes over the top rope and onto the apron. Hojo hops back down into the ring and kicks Nakagawa off the apron to the floor. Tomoka Nakagawa is eliminated.

Alpha Female comes in and knocks Hojo to the mat, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Alpha Female picks up Hojo, Irish whip, Alpha Female tosses Hojo out to the apron but Hojo ducks when she charges in and jumps off the top turnbuckle to get back in the ring. Alpha Female gets Hojo on her shoulders but Hojo hits an armdrag, then Yoshiko runs in with a senton. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the diving elbow drop. Cover, but Kimura breaks it up. Yoshiko knocks Kimura out of the ring, Hojo goes off the ropes but Kimura kicks her from the apron and Alpha Female hits a lariat. Cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and nails the Alpha Plex Hold, picking up the three count. Kairi Hojo is eliminated.

Yoshiko and Yasukawa both run into the ring, and Kimura puts Yasukawa in a sleeper hold. Yoshiko eventually runs in to break it up, Alpha Female comes in as well and Alpha Female elbows Yoshiko. Yoshiko elbows her back but Kimura kicks Yoshiko from behind. They pick up Yoshiko, double Irish whip but Yoshiko hits a double lariat. Yoshiko positions Alpha Female in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse splash. Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle but Alpha Female rolls out of the way of the senton and Kimura kicks her in the head. Double Irish whip to Yoshiko into the corner, Alpha Female hits a lariat and Kimura follows with an elbow. Lariat by Alpha Female, cover, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Kimura picks up Yoshiko while Alpha Female goes up to the second turnbuckle, but Yoshiko gets away and punches Kimura into Alpha Female. Yoshiko joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, and Alpha Female dumps Yoshiko out to the apron. Yoshiko quickly gets up and pulls Alpha Female onto the apron with her, and both wrestlers hit lariats. They do it again, but Yoshiko ducks one and she knocks Alpha Female off the apron. Alpha Female is eliminated.

Dino gets on the apron and holds Yoshiko for Kimura, Kimura goes off the ropes but Yasukawa trips her from the floor. Yasukawa gets on the apron and holds Kimura for Yoshiko, Yoshiko charges in but Kimura moves. Yoshiko almost knocks Yasukawa off the apron but she stops in time, Kimura gets a running start and goes for a big boot but both Yasukawa and Yoshiko move out of the way and Kimura tumbles out of the ring. Kyoko Kimura is eliminated. Your winners of the match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma

For a 15 minute eight wrestler elimination tag match this was fine. My main complaint would simply be that this match had some of my favorite Stardom wrestlers (Hojo, Yasukawa, Kimura, and Alpha Female) but obviously in this style of match they really didn’t get much of a chance to shine. I’d rather have seen them get more time to do something. Having Dino in the match was fun since 80% of his offense is normally gay-based which doesn’t really work on women. But he was the first one eliminated and after that it was just your standard action in these types of matches. It was nothing bad since the wrestlers in the match were quality, it is just a limiting match stipulation that gave them more restrictions than I’d have preferred.

(c) Miho Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Obihiro
Artist of Stardom Championship

Yoneyama and company attack their opponents to start the match and they all attack Iwatani together before making a little pyramid with her. Matsumoto is having none of that and pelts all three with tawashis (see below for what the hell a tawashis is, y’all about to get educated), then they hit Kamen and Yoneyama with ribbons. Obihiro is put into the ropes so they can wrap the ribbons around her before running into the crowd to I assume try to kill her, but the ribbon snaps which sends everyone flying. This never works. Back in the ring Obihiro and Kamen hit running strikes on Iwatani in the corner, Obihiro goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving double chop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Obihiro chops Iwatani against the ropes, Irish whip, blocked, and Iwatani flips Obihiro to the mat. She applies a submission but it is quickly broken up, Iwatani goes off the ropes but Obihiro hits a sunset flip for a two count. Yoneyama grabs Iwatani and applies a leg submission but Wakizawa uses a rope to try to help Iwatani to the ropes. This doesn’t work of course, Irish whip by Yoneyama to Iwatani but Iwatani hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Kamen comes in the ring but Iwatani hits a springboard armdrag on both of them before tagging in Matsumoto. Matsumoto shoulderblocks all three of her opponents, Irish whip by Matsumoto to Yoneyama and she slams Yoneyama to the mat. Cover, but Yoneyama quickly gets out of it. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, but it only gets a two count. Matsumoto tags in Wakizawa, Matsumoto holds Yoneyama for Wakizawa but Yoneyama ducks and Wakizawa puts The Claw on Matsumoto.

Yoneyama rolls up Wakizawa from behind but it gets a two count. Yoneyama tags in Kamen, Wakizawa goes for The Claw on Kamen but it is blocked. Obihiro comes in the ring but Wakizawa bites her in the hand, Kamen kicks Wakizawa in the head but she only gets a two count. Kamen goes up to the top turnbuckle but Wakizawa recovers and joins her up top while Matsumoto dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Wakizawa hits a Frankensteiner into the pile, then Iwatani gets a big one and holds it against Kamen. Matsumoto charges in with a body avalanche, which hurts her just as much. Dropkick by Iwatani to Kamen, and Matsumoto puts the mega tawashi on her chest. Wakizawa and Iwatani get onto Matsumoto’s back and they all fall onto Kamen. Wakizawa goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Kamen, cover, but Obihiro breaks it up. Wakizawa picks up Kamen and she goes for a Fisherman Buster but Kamen blocks it. Kamen goes for a vertical suplex onto the mega tawashi, but Iwatani slides in and moves it so that Kamen actually lands on it and not Wakizawa. Wakizawa picks it up but Yoneyama grabs the tawashi from behind. Obihiro runs in and chops Wakizawa in the throat, inside cradle by Kamen but it gets a two count. Yoneyama throws the tawashi out of the ring, while in the ring Kamen puts Wakizawa on her shoulders. Yoneyama goes up top but Matsumoto hits her from the apron with a different tawashi, Backslide with Venom by Wakizawa to Kamen and she picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions: Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Iwatani!

True story – I have been wondering for the last year what those little brown balls they use in these matches were, but I looked online and no one seemed to reference what they were. I mean its not like there are tons of Stardom reviews in English on the Internet. So I finally figured I’d just ask one of the wrestlers and hope for a reply. I tweeted Kellie Skater, and within a few hours she advised that they are tawashis. A tawashi is a hard, rough scrubbing brush, so when they are rubbed against someone’s skin, as you can imagine that would hurt. So thanks to Kellie for answering this question that has been bothering Stardom fans for a long time. Anyway, as far as the match, it was pretty much the same as it always is, except at least now I know what is going on. I am glad these matches aren’t too long since they are generally comedy matches, and they did get a few chuckles out of me such as when Kamen accidentally landed on the tawashi when going for the vertical suplex. I think a few of these wrestlers actually are good but its so hard to tell in short comedy matches, all the action was crisp anyway. Exactly what you’d expect, I can’t score it low since it does what it is trying to do and it is funny at times, but it isn’t what I would consider high quality wrestling.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
World of Stardom Championship

Shirai slaps Iroha to start the match but Iroha slaps her back, she goes off the ropes and hits a heel kick. German suplex by Iroha and she hits a second one, she picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away. Kick by Iroha and she hits a vertical suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai but Shirai elbows her and they trade shots. Shirai goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a lariat, Iroha goes off the ropes but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iroha and hits a series of elbows. Iroha elbows Shirai as well and both wrestlers fall to their knees. Waistlock by Shirai, reversed by Iroha and Iroha applies a side headlock. Shirai eventually punches out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Iroha gets out of it but Shirai hits a cartwheel dropkick. Iroha falls out of the ring, Shirai goes off the far ropes and sails between the ropes onto Iroha with a plancha suicida. Shirai slides Iroha back into the ring and applies a stretch hold before throwing Iroha to the mat. Kicks to the face by Shirai and she chokes Iroha with her boot. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Iroha runs over and dropkicks her off, sending Shirai to the apron. Iroha goes out to the apron as well and chops Shirai repeatedly in the chest. Waistlock by Iroha but Shirai slides through her legs and hits a reverse DDT on the apron. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out to the floor with a plancha onto Iroha. Iroha recovers as she is pulled back to the ring and elbows Shirai before hitting a vertical suplex on the floor. Iroha slides Shirai back into the ring and applies a crab hold, but Shirai makes it to the ropes to force the break. Iroha stomps Shirai and charges her in the corner, but Shirai slides out to the apron and kicks her back. Shirai goes for a swandive move but Iroha uppercuts her mid-move and then hits a doublestomp to her back while Shirai is lying over the ropes. Cover, but it gets two. Iroha picks up Shirai and applies the Gory Special, she then releases the hold and goes for Shirai’s leg but Shirai kicks her back.

Spinning kick to the head by Shirai and she hits the Shinkansen Attack. Cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Arm trap crossface by Shirai but Iroha inches to the ropes and gets there to get the break. Shirai picks up Iroha, she puts Iroha on the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Swandive missile dropkick by Shirai, cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai positions Iroha in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iroha has recovered and hits her from behind. Slingshot suplex by Iroha and she holds on to Shirai to hit a second suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai around the waist but Shirai elbows free, Shirai goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana but Iroha blocks it and applies a crab hold. Shirai slowly inches to the ropes and eventually makes it there to force a break. Iroha positions Shirai, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai has slid out to the apron. Shirai climbs up top with Iroha and they trade punches and elbows. High kick by Shirai, she slides back out to the apron and then springboards back up to the top to hit a Frankensteiner. Standing moonsault by Shirai, then she hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and finally one off the top turnbuckle. Cover, but Iroha gets a shoulder up. Shirai picks up Iroha and hits the Shining Wizard. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai goes for a swinging kick but Iroha ducks it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Heel kick to the back of the head by Iroha, she picks up Shirai and she nails the powerbomb. Cover, but Shirai kicks out at two. Iroha goes for a Scorpion Deathlock but Shirai rolls through it and kicked Iroha in the face. La Magistral by Shirai, but Iroha kicks out at two. Elbow by Shirai but Iroha elbows her back and they trade shots back on their feet. Uppercut by Shirai but Iroha slaps her, but Shirai turns around and hits a running headbutt. Package German Suplex Hold by Shirai, and she picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Io Shirai

There must be some backstory on how Iroha got a title shot considering how young and inexperienced she is, but looking over the results I couldn’t get any clues. But it made for a good superstar vs. underdog dynamic, even if you knew that Iroha had no chance of winning. That hurt the crowd reactions a bit but it was still a really good match. From watching it you’d know that Iroha was an underdog but she didn’t act over-matched at all, she was exchanging strikes and getting nearfalls the same as any other challenger. Shirai didn’t take it easy either, which she could have done since this event already had a major attraction, as she was doing dives and spring boarding off of things just like she always does. Even with Iroha’s more limited experience the match was really crisp, I didn’t notice any awkward moments, and the match flowed really well with no real downtime. A predictable ending but a fun journey to get there for sure.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Nanae Takahashi

This is Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Match. They lock knuckles to start, side headlock by Taiyo but Takahashi gets out of it. Wristlock by Taiyo, Takahashi gets Taiyo to the mat but Taiyo wiggles away as they trade submission attempts. Both wrestlers return to their feet, tie-up, side headlock by Taiyo, Takahashi Irish whips out of it and hits a shoulderblock. Takahashi goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag, springboard by Taiyo and she hits an armdrag of her own. Takahashi falls out of the ring, Taiyo fakes a dive but ends up swinging herself back into the ring. Takahashi returns after a moment, elbows by Taiyo and she clubs Takahashi in the back. Taiyo and Takahashi trade elbows, armbar by Taiyo but Takahashi reverses it. Armdrag by Taiyo and she dropkicks Takahashi in the knee. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and kicks Takahashi in the arm. Knee to the arm by Taiyo and she yanks on Takahashi’s arm. Kicks to the arm by Taiyo and she twists it around her knee. Takahashi gets out of it and gets Taiyo’s ankle, applying an ankle hold. Taiyo flips out of the hold, elbow by Takahashi but Taiyo elbows her back. Taiyo throws Takahashi into the corner and elbows her some more, Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, Taiyo moves when Takahashi charges in and hits a palm thrust. Two more by Taiyo but Takahashi grabs her by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Dropkick to the knee by Takahashi and she applies a knee lock. Takahashi applies a stretch hold before going back to the leg, and she eventually applies a figure four leg lock. Taiyo gets into the ropes to force a break, Takahashi grabs her leg and hops down on it while it is propped on the bottom rope. Kicks to the head by Takahashi, Taiyo fights back but Takahashi knocks her back to the mat. Taiyo gets back up and they trade elbows, an exchange that Takahashi gets the better of. Takahashi throws Taiyo into the corner and chops her in the chest before hitting a lariat. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo quickly joins her, Takahashi catches Taiyo with a sleeper and tosses her back to the mat. Missile dropkick by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi goes up to the top again but Taiyo jumps up with her and hits an armdrag. Springboard moonsault by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Taiyo but Takahashi elbows out of it. They trade elbows, Takahashi charges Taiyo in the corner but Taiyo kicks her back and flips out to the apron. Trip by Taiyo and she hits a slingshot double stomp before kicking Takahashi out of the ring.

Taiyo gets a running start and hits a triple jump springboard plancha out of the ring onto Takahashi. Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, and Taiyo goes flying into a row of chairs. Takahashi throws her into some more chairs and a third time. Takahashi takes Taiyo to a different part of the arena and does the same thing, she then takes Taiyo up the aisle into the bleachers, but Taiyo starts fighting back. They trade elbows up in the crowd for a bit before Takahashi knocks Taiyo back down towards ringside, but Taiyo slaps Takahashi until she falls to the floor. Takahashi gets back up and they trade elbows again until both fall to ground. Takahashi gets back in the ring with Taiyo slowly following, Takahashi picks up Taiyo and elbows her, leading to another elbow exchange. Taiyo kicks Takahashi in the leg and then hits a dropkick, Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the missile dropkick. Dropkick in the corner by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi rolls out of the way of the double stomp and hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ankle hold by Takahashi but Taiyo is able to make it to the ropes. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and chops her in the corner, Irish whip, but Taiyo rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Taiyo and she applies an armbar to Takahashi. Takahashi makes it into the ropes for a break, Taiyo picks her up and goes for a powerbomb, but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo goes off the ropes, leapfrog, she kicks Takahashi and hits the Iguchi Bomb. Kick to the head by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her with a powerbomb and hits a sliding kick. Cover, but it only gets a two. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets into the ropes. Takahashi pulls her back and hits a backdrop suplex and then hits a second one. Lariat by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo, Taiyo fights her off and she goes for the sunset flip powerbomb but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo hits an armdrag before applying the Triple Taiyo☆Chan La Magistral for a two count.

Taiyo goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana, but Takahashi catches her and sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but Taiyo rolls through it for her own two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Takahashi gets away and slams Takahashi to the mat. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi and hits the leg trap German suplex hold for a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her and hits a second Nana☆Racka for a two count cover. Takahashi drags Taiyo to her feet, Taiyo gets away and kicks Takahashi in the stomach, back kick by Taiyo and she hits another one. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi hits a jumping kick to the face. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo rolls out of the way of the body press. Taiyo goes for the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb but Takahashi sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets away from her, knees by Taiyo and she hits a back kick. Taiyo☆Chan Bomb by Taiyo, but Takahashi barely gets a shoulder up. Momo☆Latch by Taiyo, but Takahashi kicks out again at two. Taiyo clubs Takahashi in the back and puts her up on the top turnbuckle, she joins her but Takahashi clubs her off. Diving body press by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi slowly goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo is up and knocks her to a seated position. Taiyo tries to join her, Takahashi knocks her back to the mat but Taiyo gets back up and jumps up to the top turnbuckle. Takahashi slides off however, Taiyo jumps off the top turnbuckle and hits the Momo☆Latch, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi, slaps by Taiyo, and she kicks Takahashi in the ribs. Headbutt by Takahashi and they trade elbows, Takahashi goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and she nails the One Second EX. Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up. Takahashi charges Taiyo but Taiyo knocks her back, Taiyo gets up on the top turnbuckle but Takahashi grabs her and hits the Nanaracka☆100. Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Nanae Takahashi

The match was probably a little bit longer than it needed to be as some parts of the match did drag (such as the battling up in the crowd section), but overall it was still a really good match. I have no idea how Taiyo can even concentrate as retirement matches can be so emotional, but for the most part the action was very crisp and fluid. The early limb work was ultimately blown off, but the limbs weren’t really targeted long enough to expect them to sell it for the rest of the match, so I won’t hold it against them. Taiyo has so much energy, even after a 30 minute match she was still springboarding around, things like that is why everyone loved her… she just has more gears than most humans do. Even though she lost, Taiyo didn’t go down easy as she took most of Takahashi’s big moves, some of them twice. Overall it was a fitting ending, shame she couldn’t get the win but generally in Japan wrestlers lose in their official retirement matches, that is just the way it goes. An emotional and exciting ending to the career of the original High Speed Champion.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Ceremony

I am not going to do a play by play of a Retirement Ceremony, but if you’ve never watched a Joshi Retirement Ceremony you really should sometime. First of all, from start to finish it was over 40 minutes long. It had a bit of everything, first Taiyo talked for a bit, they did some dancing, then all the Stardom wrestlers came down and gave Taiyo flowers one by one. It is pretty emotional as everyone is crying, so if you are an emotional person like me, don’t watch this with anyone else in the room as it will be really hard to explain. Along with the Stardom wrestlers, many legends came down to wish her well also, including Bull Nakano and Momoe Nakanishi. Some just gave flowers, some playfully attacked her, it likely depended on her personal relationships with them. Animal Hamaguchi came out last which got Taiyo the most emotional as he helped train her, and he talked a bit before leading the crowd in a cheer. It ends with everyone leaving the ring as the lights go down, and Taiyo gets her final farewell. Its a much more… personal retirement than most wrestlers get but its normal for long-time (and well liked) Joshi wrestlers. Probably too long for the common fan to sit through, especially if you don’t speak Japanese, but it does show that they know how to send people out the right way. I can’t imagine trying to do a wrestling match knowing all of this is coming, but that is why they are professionals and I just watch them while politely judging everything they do. But it was a really nice ceremony and you could tell from the emotions how much people will miss Taiyo, she was the life of Stardom at times and she will be hard to replace.

event originally reviewed on 1/5/15

The post Stardom “Natsuki Taiyo Retirement ~ High Speed Forever” on 6/1/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

As far as Joshi events go, this one is pretty massive. The attendance for the show is one of the higher attendances for a Joshi event so far this year, with a very respectable crowd for Korakuen Hall. Sendai Girls and Stardom have had an unofficial feud for the last six months but this is their first official promotion vs. promotion clash, which is something you rarely see these days. Invading wrestlers are normal, but a full blown six vs. six elimination match is another story. Here is the full card:

– Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima
– Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett
– Sendai vs. Stardom 6 x 6 Elimination: Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, and Sendai Sachiko vs. Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe

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

Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima

The entire card is not Sendai vs. Stardom, as this is more of a normal opener. Kimura is a Freelancer that frequently wrestles in Stardom, while Sareee hails from Diana. Alex Lee is a Freelancer but wrestles in Stardom a lot, while Nagashima is a Freelancer as well that bounces around to different promotions. So no real storyline going on here, just a match to warm up the crowd.

Looks like this match is joined in progress, which I am perfectly ok with. I know I complain about it sometimes but only if it is an important match, openers being clipped isn’t a big deal. We pick things up with Sareee and Lee in the ring, Lee tags in Nagashima but Sareee gets away and tags Kimura. Nagashima and Kimura trade boots, Lee comes back in to help but Kimura pokes them both in the eyes and hits a double facecrusher. Lee schoolboys Kimura from behind for two (is she legal?), Kimura is double teamed again while Sareee watches, as Lee hits a jumping knee. Tilt-a-whirl DDT by Nagashima, then Lee hits a tornado DDT. Chokebomb by Lee, but Sareee breaks up the cover. Sareee hits a German suplex on Lee, big boot by Kimura and she hits another one on Lee for the three count! Kimura and Sareee win the match.

There wasn’t much to this one, between it being clipped and most of the action being meddling. Some of these wrestlers are good but none really got a chance to shine, which is a bit of a shame but this show is about the big main event and I have my doubts that any other match will be memorable on this card.

Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett

Another random wrestlers type of match, at least on one side. Ray and Hirota are certainly not a regular team, as Ray is a serious talented wrestler while Hirota mostly does comedy shtick. Matsumoto and Garrett were not a regular team until a few weeks ago, but have been teaming recently in Stardom.  This is going to be a major styles clash and I am not sure exactly what to expect.

We join this one as Matsumoto is beating on Hirota (thank goodness it is clipped), and Matsumoto applies a crab hold. Hirota eventually gets to the ropes to force a break, but Garrett comes in the ring and puts Hirota in the Muta Lock. Ray breaks that up, and we jump ahead in the match to Ray and Matsumoto being in the ring together. German suplex by Ray and she tags in Hirota. Hirota grabs Matsumoto’s arm and runs up the corner, she walks the ropes but Matsumoto crotches her to knock her back to the ring. Hirota drops Matsumoto into the ropes and gives her the Oil Check, tiger feint kick by Ray and Hirota hits the half hatch suplex for a two count. Garrett comes in to help and hits a superkick on Hirota, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto and she picks up the three count! Your winners are Garrett and Matsumoto.

I said that I was glad it was clipped because Hirota comedy gets old to me pretty quick, so the shorter the match the better. Nothing against the other wrestlers but any match with Hirota in it just kinda becomes her style of match. But this was too short to even get an opinion on, I enjoy both Ray and Matsumoto quite a bit but they did very little here. Safe to skip, although that Oil Check was vicious.

Team Sendai Girls (Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Satomura, Iwata, and Sachiko)
vs. Team Stardom (Mimura, Io Shirai, Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Watanabe)

This is a 6 vs. 6 Elimination Match. Each team starts with one wrestler in the ring, when a wrestler is pinned the next wrestler from that team comes in. This is repeated until a team is out of wrestlers. There is a ten minute time limit for each pairing, so if the time expires then both wrestlers are eliminated and the next two come in. There is no time limit if the contest comes down to just two wrestlers. Now that I got the rules out of the way, this is a big match as it is rare to have any promotion or factions battle that feel this important. The teams are pretty even, as both teams range from the best in the promotion to a couple less experienced wrestlers, so it balances out. I’m excited about it, let’s see how it plays out.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Momo Watanabe

Hashimoto immediately picks up Watanabe and puts her in the corner, Irish whip by Hashimoto and she hits a body avalanche. Watanabe comes back with a dropkick and hits another one, cover by Watanabe but it gets a two count. Hashimoto gets Watanabe to the mat and puts her in a leg submission, but Watanabe inches to the ropes to force a break. Watanabe goes off the ropes and hits a few dropkicks, but Hashimoto picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Another slam by Hashimoto and she covers Watanabe for two. Watanabe elbows Hashimoto but Hashimoto elbows her back and they trade blows.  Reverse STO by Watanabe and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Watanabe nails the Somato, but Hashimoto barely gets a shoulder up. Watanabe goes for a crossbody off the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto catches her and slams Watanabe to the mat.  Hashimoto deadlifts Watanabe back up and slams her again, and this time she gets the three count cover! Momo Watanabe is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is winning the series 6-5.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiromi Mimura

Mimura comes in next for Stardom, she takes it to Hashimoto as soon as the bell rings, finally knocking her down with a series of dropkicks. Back up, spear by Hashimoto and she applies an armtrap headlock, Hashimoto picks up Mimura and applies a backbreaker before dropping Mimura to the mat. Fireman’s carry rolling slam by Hashimoto, she picks up Mimura and she hits a second one, but Mimura sneaks in a crucifix pin for a two count. The La Magistral gets the same result, dropkicks by Mimura but Hashimoto hits a judo throw and slaps on the cross armbreaker, forcing Mimura to tap! Mimura is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is up 6-4.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Kris Wolf

Wolf is the next wrestler down for Stardom. Wolf snapmares Hashimoto and kicks her in the back, but Hashimoto blocks her kick and applies a headlock on the mat. Wolf gets out of it but Hashimoto applies a full nelson, Wolf reverses it but Hashimoto quickly gets out of it. Kick by Wolf and she knees Hashimoto into the corner, kick to the back by Wolf and she covers Hashimoto for two. Wolf goes to the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto grabs her from behind, Wolf wiggles away however and hits a dropkick.  Wolf goes up top but Hashimoto avoids the dive and she delivers a Waterwheel Drop for the three count! Wolf is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is now up 6-3.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Io Shirai

Shirai is the next Stardom wrestler to try to beat the dominating rookie. Hip attack by Hashimoto but Shirai kicks her when she goes for a second one, Hashimoto fires back with a series of hip attacks and covers she covers Shirai for two. Irish whip by Hashimoto but Shirai hits a dropkick out of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. She hits another missile dropkick, cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Shirai applies a double underhook, Hashimoto gets out of it and hits a rolling shoulder powerslam for two. Hashimoto picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away and kicks Hashimoto twice in the head.  Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she tries to go up top but Hashimoto grabs her leg. Hashimoto charges Shirai but Shirai flips out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Double knee by Shirai in the corner, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Hashimoto is eliminated, Sendai Girls’ is up 5-3.

Io Shirai vs. Mika Iwata

Shirai draws another Sendai Girls rookie, the young Iwata. Iwata is fired up but Shirai absorbs her blows, Shirai returns fire with elbows but Iwata hasn’t given up and elbows her back. A dropkick by Iwata finally sends Shirai to the mat, she picks up Shirai but Shirai blocks the dropkick, kicks by Iwata but Iwata pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Double knee to the back by Shirai and she hits a standing moonsault before applying a sleeper, camel clutch by Shirai but she releases the hold after a moment. Shirai kicks Iwata into the corner but Iwata moves when she charges in and kicks Shirai in the chest.  Dropkick by Iwata and she puts Shirai in a leg trap chinlock, but Shirai makes it to the ropes. Scoop slams by Iwata, she picks up Shirai and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Iwata tries to kick Shirai in the back but Shirai catches it, Iwata gets away from Shirai and she hits a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Kick to the back by Iwata and she kicks Shirai in the head for another two. This is fantastically fun by the way, I’d love to see them wrestle a longer match at some point. Iwata picks up Shirai but Shirai grabs her and hits an Air Raid Crash. Dropkick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iwata and hits the package German suplex for the three count! Iwata is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is up 4-3.

Io Shirai vs. Sendai Sachiko

They trade strikes to start their pairing, Sachiko knocks Shirai out of the ring and goes after her, but Shirai throws Sachiko into the crowd. Vertical suplex by Sachiko on the floor, and back in the ring Sachiko starts working on Shirai’s back. DDT by Sachiko and she hits another one, German suplex hold by Sachiko but it gets two. Sachiko goes up top but Shirai gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt, Sachiko stays in control at first but Shirai front flips away and hits a dropkick. Sachiko falls out of the ring, Shirai goes to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. Back in, swandive dropkick by Shirai followed by the tiger feint kick, she goes for another swandive move but she falls off and crashes to the floor. Sachiko goes out to get her and brings Shirai back in the ring, but Shirai hits a scoop slam and this time connects with the swandive bodypress. Shirai goes up top but Sachiko headscissors her back to the mat and hits a jumping DDT. Superkicks by Sachiko and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Sachiko goes up top and she delivers the diving body press, but Shirai kicks out of the cover. Mounted elbows by Sachiko and she applies the sleeper, cover by Sachiko but it gets a two count. Palm thrust by Shirai and she kicks Sachiko in the head, tombstone by Shirai but Sachiko gets a shoulder up on the cover. A German suplex hold by Sachiko gets the same result, superkick by Sachiko and she hits a suplex hold of her own. They quickly trade pins and submissions as the time is getting close, but neither can get the win before the bell rings. The match is a draw, and both wrestlers are eliminated. Sendai Girls’ is leading Stardom 3-2.

Meiko Satomura vs. Kairi Hojo

The two rivals are the next two wrestlers in for their teams, they roughly feel each other out until Satomura kicks Hojo into the corner. Spinning chop by Hojo and she charges Satomura, hitting a spear and then a rolling neckbreaker for two. Hojo goes for another spear but Satomura catches her and applies a front necklock. Spinning kick by Satomura and she covers Hojo for a two count. Satomura goes for the Death Valley Bomb, Hojo slides away and she hits the Sliding D to Satomura. A Wing Clutch pin by Hojo gets two, she goes up top and hits a diving elbow strike. Sliding D by Hojo in the corner, she goes up top again but Satomura recovers and joins her. Hojo knocks Satomura to the mat but Satomura delivers a high kick and re-joins Hojo, but Hojo knocks Satomura to the floor. Satomura gets back on the apron and kicks Hojo in the head, Satomura gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a superplex back into the ring for two. Kicks by Satomura, and she levels Hojo with a high kick. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Satomura and she applies the sleeper, but Hojo gets to the ropes. Satomura goes up top but Hojo gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt.  Jumping footstomp by Hojo, she gets Satomura up and hits the Alabama Slam. Hojo goes up top and nails the beautiful diving elbow drop, cover by Hojo but Satomura gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top again but Satomura rolls out of the way this time, death valley bomb by Satomura but the pin attempt gets a two. She hits a second one, she tries to do a third but Hojo grabs her leg. While they struggle, the bell rings and the match is a draw. Both Hojo and Satomura are eliminated, leaving Sendai Girls with two wrestlers remaining and Stardom with one.

DASH Chisako vs. Mayu Iwatani

The next two representatives come in, Chisako dropkicks Iwatani but Iwatani blocks the hurricanrana attempt and applies a crab hold. Snapmare by Iwatani and she kicks Chisako hard in the back, but Chisako slaps her and they trade blows. Chisako wins the battle and dropkicks Iwatani in the face, Chisako clubs on Iwatani and dropkicks her again before attempting a pin. Iwatani regains the advantage and dropkicks Chisako out of the ring, she goes up top and dives out after her but Chisako moves and she lands on Shirai instead. Opps.  Chisako stomps on both of them before sliding Iwatani back in, dropkick by Chisako and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Another dropkick by Chisako and she hits a cutter, but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Diving footstomp by Chisako, she goes up top and hits another one, but Iwatani bridges out of the cover.  Superkick by Iwatani and she snaps off a release Dragon suplex, they both slowly get up and Iwatani applies a crucifix pin for two. Kick to the head by Iwatani, she goes up top but Chisako recovers and joins her. Iwatani knocks Chisako off but Chisako climbs back and hits a Frankensteiner. Diving footstomp by Chisako, cover, but it gets two. She goes up top again but Iwatani avoids the diving body press, cradle by Iwatani but it gets two. They trade quick pin attempts as the time is running low, but neither gets a successful pinfall. Back up they trade elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it also gets two. Back up, superkick by Iwatani, and she quickly hits the Fubukirana to get the three count! Chisako is eliminated, leaving the last two wrestlers.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Cassandra Miyagi

There is no time limit for the final pairing, the winner wins the main for their team.  Due to Iwatani just having wrestled for almost ten minutes, Miyagi controls the early potion of the match, throwing Iwatani around the ring. Iwatani fights back and hits a split legged armdrag off the ropes, but Miyagi avoids the dropkick and she knocks Iwatani to the floor. Miyagi takes Iwatani into the stands and tosses her around the bleachers, Miyagi brings Iwatani back to ringside and slams her onto the floor. Miyagi gets a stick but the referee stops her, then Satomura takes the stick from her as she doesn’t want Miyagi to get DQed. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Miyagi and she hits a front suplex before applying a stretch submission hold.  She picks up Miyagi but Iwatani hits two quick dropkicks, Miyagi throws Iwatani into the corner and she hits a jumping elbow. Face crusher by Miyagi and she kicks Iwatani in the head for two.  Elbow drops by Miyagi and she hits a backdrop suplex, delayed vertical suplex and she covers Iwatani for another two count.  Miyagi goes off the ropes but Iwatani catches her with a superkick, diving footstomp by Iwatani and she covers Miyagi for two. Iwatani goes up top but Miyagi avoids the bodypress, Miyagi now goes up top but Iwatani joins her and suplexes her to the mat. Crucifix slam by Iwatani, she picks up Miyagi but Miyagi blocks the dragon suplex and hits the ‘ol airplane spin. Miyagi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, backdrop suplex by Miyagi but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Miyagi hits three more but Iwatani fires back with the Sling Blade and they trade elbows as they slowly get up.  Superkicks by Iwatani, she goes up top and she delivers a diving footstomp for a two count.  Iwatani picks up Miyagi and she nails her version of the dragon suplex hold, picking up the three count pinfall! Team Stardom wins the match!

I am not even sure how to fairly evaluate a match like this, but I can say that it was a lot of fun to watch. Some of the pairings worked better than others. The rookies all looked good, especially Hashimoto, so even though those segments were short they were still solid and worth watching. The highlight was Shirai vs. Sachiko as I thought they had great chemistry, but I thought that Satomura/Hojo was the worst of the three times they have met in singles matches this year (but still good). The biggest issue is that while I really enjoy Miyagi’s character, she isn’t ready yet for a 15 minute singles match of this much importance. Iwatani was great, but Miyagi was clearly a few steps below and she is still a bit awkward in her wrestling. Which is normal for rookies, but rookies aren’t usually put in this type of situation. So while I though the match started strong, and peaked in the middle, the ending was a bit lackluster and predictable. Course that could also just be general exhaustion after watching an hour long match. One thing I loved is that while the teams stayed at ringside, there was no cheating. If this match happened in WWE there would have been run-ins, ref bumps, and all kinds of shenanigans. This was just two teams seeing which team was better, no extra craziness needed. I should also point out that it either wasn’t clipped at all or very very slightly, I didn’t time it but it was really long and there was no noticeable clippings. Entertaining and it had an epic feel to it, but certainly not without its fault.  Recommended
event reviewed on 12/1/15

The post Sendai Girls’ “Sendai Girls’ vs. Stardom” on 11/12/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: JWP Openweight Championship, JWP Tag Team Championship, NEO Tag Team Championship, SUN Championship, WAVE Tag Team Championship, REINA World Tag Team Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship, Goddesses of Stardom Championship, and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: Goddess of Stardom Tag Tournament (2013) and the Dual Shock Wave (2014)
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• July 17th, 2006 with Kong vs. Mita and Inoue
• September 23rd, 2006 with Isami vs. Ozaki and Miyamoto
• May 27th, 2007 vs. Natsuki Taiyo
• May 4th, 2008 vs. Yuko Miyamoto
• March 17th, 2013 with Hatred vs. Taiyo and Yoshiko
• November 4th, 2013 with Alpha Female and Amazon vs. Hojo, Yoneyama, and Yuhi
• January 26th, 2014 with Alpha Female vs. Takahashi and Wakizawa
• June 16th, 2016 with Kagetsu vs. Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani
• August 14th, 2016 with Hanako Nakamori vs. Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• October 9th, 2016 vs. Arisa Nakajima

Signature Moves:

• Big Book
• Kimura Lock
• Monster Crash

In Action:

Coming Soon

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Kyoko Kimura appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Yako Fujigasaki vs. Yua Hayashi

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

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

(c) Rabbit Miu vs. Eri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KAORU vs. Kayoko Haruyama

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

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

Hanako Nakamori vs. Kana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

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

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

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

event reviewed on 1/6/15

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

This event is not a lower level one like the recent Ice Ribbon show I reviewed, however it is also one that only came out on DVD. I picked this event because this is the last title match of Kyoko Kimura’s long career, and I wanted to watch it. But it also has some other interesting match-ups, such as Natsumi Maki teaming with Sareee and I get to watch Tam Nakano for the first time. Here is the full card:

• Tam Nakano vs. Yako Fujigasaki
• Megumi Yabushita vs. Rydeen Hagane
• KAZUKI vs. Sawako Shimono
• Sareee and Natsumi Maki vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Manami Katsu
• JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Championship: Hanako Nakamori and Kyoko Kimura vs. Command Bolshoi and Leon

You can click on the wrestler’s name above if I have their profile created, Tam Nakano will be added shortly. This event was shown in full, so we get to watch it in all its glory.

Tam Nakano vs. Yako Fujigasaki

Nakano and Yako circle to start, they trade holds and shoulderblocks until Nakano knocks Yako to the mat. Nakano goes for a suplex but Yako blocks it and hits a scoop slam, camel clutch by Yako and she puts Nakano in the ropes. Dropkick by Yako, she picks up Nakano and hits a facebuster before applying a Muta Lock. Nakano crawls to the ropes to force the break, Yako picks up Nakano but Nakano blocks the suplex and hits a heel kick. Body block by Nakano and she hits another one, a third body block by Nakano and she covers Yako for two. Yako goes for a Vertebreaker but Nakano gets out of it and hits a lariat in the corner. Another lariat by Nakano, and she covers Yako for two. Back up they trade elbows until Yako knocks Nakano to the mat, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by Yako, she goes up top a third time but Nakano avoids the Swivel Body Press. Kick to the chest by Nakano and she hits a pair of running sentons for a two count. Nakano picks up Yako and hits a Samoan Drop, she goes for another one but Yako blocks it. Crab hold by Yako, but Nakano crawls to the ropes to force the break. Yako goes for a double wrist armsault but Nakano reverses it and applies a jackknife for two. They trade flash pins with neither having success, lariat by Nakano and she gets a two count. Nakano goes off the ropes but Yako elbows her and hits the double wrist armsault. Diving body press by Yako, she goes up top again and nails the Swivel Body Press for the three count! Yako Fujigasaki is the winner.

Nakano is still a little rough around the edges, which isn’t shocking considering she hasn’t been wrestling long but is still worth noting. So this match has to be viewed more as a learning experience than anything else, although Yako looked solid as she continues to progress. I saw flashes of ability for Nakano so she isn’t a lost cause, she just isn’t very crisp yet. A more traditional opener as the young wrestlers get some live practice, but a pretty average match overall.

Megumi Yabushita vs. Rydeen Hagane

After feeling each other out a bit, Megumi gets Rydeen’s hands down onto the mat and stomps on both of them, before twisting her around by the hair. Megumi rolls Rydeen to the mat, Rydeen switches positions with her however and stands on Megumi’s stomach. Rydeen drags Megumi to the middle of the ring but Megumi applies an ankle hold, Megumi releases it after a moment and puts Rydeen in a crab hold. Rydeen gets to the ropes for the break, Megumi rolls Rydeen over and knees down onto her stomach. Megumi Irish whips Rydeen but Rydeen reverses it and hits a judo throw, she hits a couple more judo throws and joins Megumi on the mat, but Megumi quickly puts her in a headscissors. Megumi goes for the triangle choke but Rydeen squeezes out of it, sleeper by Megumi but Rydeen picks up Megumi and hits a back bodydrop.

Rydeen picks up Megumi but Megumi blocks the suplex attempt, Rydeen re-positions Megumi and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Megumi comes back with a face crusher and a dropkick, she gets on the second turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar when Rydeen charges in. Megumi comes off the top with a jumping knee to Rydeen, she picks her up and tries to throw Rydeen into the corner, but Rydeen reverses it and hits a lariat. Shoulderblock by Rydeen, and she covers Megumi for two. Rydeen goes for a powerbomb but Megumi reverses it into a sleeper hold, Rydeen drives Megumi into the corner to get out of it and hits a series of short range lariats. Rydeen goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, and she covers Megumi for a two count. Rydeen goes up top and hits a diving body press, but Megumi kicks out of the cover. Rydeen goes for the Rainmaker, but Megumi ducks it and applies a backslide for two. Megumi quickly puts Rydeen in a schoolboy, and she picks up the three count! Megumi Yabushita wins!

An odd little match. Not a bad one, I like Rydeen but Megumi is a unique pairing for her since their styles are very different. Megumi does more the sneaky veteran with some submission holds deal, while Rydeen is a power wrestler. It led to some entertaining moments for sure but it felt odd having Megumi controlling the action since Rydeen had such a size and strength advantage. Not bad for an early card match, but I think Rydeen could have better matches against other veterans.

KAZUKI vs. Sawako Shimono

They go into a battle of strength to start, Shimono gets the better of it as she shoulderblocks KAZUKI to the mat for a two count. Shimono sits down onto KAZUKI and applies a camel clutch, but KAZUKI quickly gets out of it and works over Shimono’s arm. Shimono rolls out to the apron but KAZUKI knocks her to the floor and twists Shimono’s arm in the ring post. KAZUKI gets on the apron and dives out onto Shimono with I assume a diving kneedrop, she picks up Shimono and throws her into the crowd. Back in the ring, KAZUKI knees Shimono in the arm and knocks her into the corner, she charges Shimono and hits a running knee to the stomach. Shimono comes back with a jumping knee and hits another one in the corner, but KAZUKI knocks her over when Shimono poses. The referee tries to separate them so they team up to attack the referee in the corner (that took a turn), Shimono and KAZUKI trade elbows until Shimono lariats KAZUKI against the ropes. Knees by KAZUKI but Shimono hits a Samoan Drop, she goes for a Raideen Drop but KAZUKI avoids it and hits a running double knee strike. Codebreaker by KAZUKI and she hits the double knee in the corner, she puts Shimono across the middle rope and hits a double kneedrop onto her stomach. Knee by KAZUKI, she goes off the ropes but Shimono catches her with a lariat. Raideen Drop by Shimono, she picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI sneaks in a sunset flip for two. Shimono applies an inside cradle, it only gets two but she levels KAZUKI with a lariat. Shimono goes up top but KAZUKI joins her, KAZUKI slides away and she slams Shimono to the mat. KAZUKI picks up Shimono and hits the TKO, but Shimono bridges out of the cover. KAZUKI goes up top and delivers the diving double kneedrop, and she gets the three count! KAZUKI wins.

Another match I’d consider above average, but nothing too special. It was well worked, both have their style down pat, but there is a reason that never really climbed the ranks. They are solid wrestlers but not overly exciting, nothing really special or memorable happened during the match. Decent enough but nothing beyond that.

Sareee and Natsumi Maki vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Manami Katsu

Natsumi and Yako start the match, with Yako immediately going on the attack and she throws around Natsumi by the hair. Scoop slam by Yako, she grabs Sareee and slams her onto Natsumi before hitting a footstomp. Yako attacks Natsumi in the ropes, she throws Natsumi in the corner but Natsumi avoids her charge and applies a sunset flip for two. She tags in Sareee, Sareee throws Yako by her hair and hits a scoop slam. Sareee applies an evil camel clutch version of the Muta Lock, she releases the hold after a moment and Irish whips Yako, but Yako hits a jumping double chop and tags in Manami. Manami throws Sareee into the mat before putting her in the Mexican Surfboard, Manami runs over Sareee’s back before covering her for two. Manami elbows Sareee in the corner and hits a double underhook into a backbreaker, running knee by Manami and she puts Sareee in a crab hold. Natsumi breaks it up but Manami shoulderblocks both of them, Sareee goes for a suplex but Manami blocks it. Manami goes off the ropes but Sareee nails the release German before tagging in Natsumi. Natsumi hits a few dropkicks but Manami shrugs them off, elbow by Manami but Natsumi cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Cover by Natsumi, but it gets two.

Manami kicks Natsumi and hits a face crusher, backdrop suplex by Manami and she covers Natsumi for a two count. Manami tags Yako, Yako goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by Yako and she puts Natsumi in a crab hold, but Natsumi gets to the ropes. Yako picks up Natsumi but Natsumi gets away and applies a satellite armbar, but Manami quickly breaks it up. Natsumi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Yako kicks out of the cover. Natsumi tags in Sareee, Sareee and Yako trade elbows until Yako knocks down Sareee with a hip attack. Sareee comes back with a dropkick, fisherman suplex hold by Sareee but Yako kicks out. Sareee goes for a German but Yako blocks it, double wrist armsault by Yako but it gets two. Yako gets Sareee on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker, but Natsumi breaks it up. Reverse Splash by Manami, Yako goes up top and she hits a diving body press, but Natsumi breaks up the pin. Yako tries to pick up Sareee but Sareee rolls her up with a jackknife for two. They trade flash pins, dropkick by Sareee and Natsumi comes in to hit the Backlash. German suplex hold by Sareee, but Manami breaks it up. Sareee Germans Manami, she then goes up top with Natsumi and they both hit diving body presses on Yako. Uranage by Sareee to Yako, and she picks up the three count! Sareee and Natsumi Maki pick up the big win!

I thought this match was quite fun, even if I think Manami brought it down a bit. Sareee is such a good wrestler, I watch her every chance I get as she is the total package. Natsumi is entertaining, not as crisp yet as Sareee but she’s still early in her career. Both teams worked together well, although Natsumi and Sareee had more double teaming/helping than their opponents did which is always a concern with thrown-together tag teams. An entertaining match, mostly due to Sareee but other wrestlers contributed to that as well, and Yako was solid in her second match of the night.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hanako Nakamori and Kyoko Kimura vs. Command Bolshoi and Leon
JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Championship

Leon and Nakamori start for their respective teams, they trade strikes until Leon goes for a spear which Nakamori avoids. Leon gets back to her feet and both wrestlers tag out, Kyoko and Bolshoi circle each other before finally tying up. They go back and forth with waistlocks with Bolshoi getting Kyoko to the mat first, Kyoko gets up but Bolshoi armdrags her back down before they face off again. Leon comes in and attacks Kyoko from behind, but Nakamori runs in too and evens the odds. Bolshoi and Leon get the better of it and attack both their opponents in the corner before applying stretch holds. Leon is tagged in and starts working on Kyoko’s arm, but Kyoko gets away and tags in Nakamori. Nakamori kicks Leon in the back and some more in the corner, big boot by Nakamori and she puts Leon and the ropes so Kyoko can help too. Scoop slam by Nakamori and she hits a leg drop before covering Leon for two. Nakamori tags Kyoko back in, backbreaker by Kyoko and she jumps down on Leon’s back. Crab hold by Kyoko but Leon eventually makes it to the ropes, kicks to the head by Kyoko and she knocks Leon into the ropes. Irish whip by Kyoko but Leon hits a spear which gives her time to tag in Bolshoi, Bolshoi dropkicks both Kyoko and Nakamori before going for a uranage on Kyoko, but Kyoko blocks it. Kyoko goes off the ropes but Bolshoi catches her leg and applies an ankle hold, Kyoko rolls out of it however and tosses Bolshoi to the mat. Cobra Twist by Bolshoi but Nakamori breaks it up, grounded necklock by Bolshoi but Kyoko muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Kyoko tags in Nakamori, boots by Nakamori and she goes up top, but Bolshoi knocks her onto the apron. Nakamori pushes her down and goes for the missile dropkick anyway, but Bolshoi sidesteps it and hits a palm thrust.

High kick by Nakamori and she hits a Shining Wizard, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Nakamori goes for another kick but Bolshoi catches it and hits a dragon screw, she tags in Leon who comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Nakamori blocks the Capture Buster but Leon spears her, Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and Leon hits another spear for a two count. Leon goes up top and hits a diving body press, but Kyoko breaks up the cover.  Leon goes back up but Nakamori avoids the Swanton Bomb, now Nakamori goes up top but Leon joins her before she can jump off. Kyoko comes in too and powerbombs Leon, who superplexes Nakamori in the process. Bolshoi comes in but both she and Kyoko strike each other at the same time, sending both to the mat. Leon and Nakamori slowly recover and trade elbows, knee by Nakamori and she kicks Leon in the head. Fisherman Buster by Nakamori, but the cover gets a two. Kick to the head by Nakamori, she goes up top but Leon avoids her dive. Kyoko runs in as both she and Nakamori headbutt their respective opponents, Kyoko picks up Leon and with Nakamori they hit an assisted Gory Bomb. Cover by Nakamori, but Leon kicks out. Michinoku Driver by Nakamori, she picks up Leon but Leon blocks the reverse powerslam. Capture Buster by Leon, but she is too hurt to make the cover. Leon picks up Nakamori and they trade high kicks, Nakamori goes off the ropes but Leon delivers a spear. Leon picks up Nakamori but Kyoko gets back in the ring, she tries to headbutt Leon but headbutts Nakamori by accident. Quick roll-up by Leon, bu tit gets two. Bolshoi runs in and hits the Piko Knee Smash, Capture Buster by Leon and she picks up the three count! Leon and Command Bolshoi are the new champions!

A bit slow moving at times, but overall I enjoyed it. It was probably a bit longer than it needed to be considering the pace, but with it being a title match and the main event it had to go a decent amount of time. The best compliment I can give the match is that everything was hit smoothly and nothing felt forced, all four of these wrestlers are veterans and you could tell from watching them. What it lacked was anything particularly exciting, it was sound throughout but it only had a few brief spurts of intense action. A good match and a necessary one to get the title off of Kyoko, nothing too memorable but a solid effort by all.  Mildly Recommended

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