Event: PURE-J “Fight Together”
Date: July 12th, 2020
Location: Kame Dojo in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 30

While some promotions are just slowly adding wrestling events to their schedule in this new pandemic world we live in, PURE-J is ramping them up as they have already had five events since the beginning of June. This is a very recent show of theirs and was distributed on their new streaming website. Not a big card as there are no title matches, but it does have three singles matches which I tend to prefer. Here is the full card:

• Crea vs. Rydeen Hagane
• AKARI and Leon vs. KAZUKI and Momo Tani
• Hanako Nakamori vs. HIRO’e
• Manami Katsu vs. Mari Manji

All matches are shown in full, the wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City and you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Crea vs. Rydeen Hagane

They trade waistlocks to start, Rydeen gets Crea to the mat and puts her in a stretch hold. Crea gets out of it and the two return to their feet, kick by Rydeen and she applies a wristlock. Crea reverses it but Rydeen reverses it back as they trade holds, Rydeen slams Crea’s head into the mat before stomping on her. Rydeen throws down Crea by the hair and kicks her into the corner, she goes for a slam but Crea reverses it into a cradle for two. Crea sits on Rydeen’s back before putting her loosely in a submission hold, Rydeen gets back up and hits a trio of hard shoulderblocks for two. Scoop slam by Rydeen and she hits a body press for another two count, she picks up Crea and throws her into the corner. Irish whip by Rydeen and she hits a body avalanche, she goes for a powerbomb but Crea gets out of it. She goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a backbreaker, crab hold by Rydeen but Crea gets into the ropes for the break. Rydeen butt bombs Crea to the mat before rolling her over for a two count, she picks up Crea but Crea hits a series of elbows. Rydeen clubs her to the mat for her trouble, Crea fights back again but eats another club to the back. Irish whip by Rydeen but Crea hits a dropkick, she hits a second and a third but Rydeen stays on her feet. Elbows by Crea and she hits an armbreaker, she goes for a second but Rydeen blocks it and applies a sleeper. Crea quickly gets out of it and dropkicks Rydeen in the corner, jumping elbow by Crea and she finally dropkicks Rydeen off her feet for a two count cover.

Crea goes for the cross armbreaker, Rydeen blocks it so Crea applies a seated armbar instead. Rydeen muscles out of the hold but Crea kicks her in the arm, Crea gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Crea but it gets a two. Crea quickly applies a double armbar, she lets go after a moment and goes for the double wrist armsault but Rydeen blocks it. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a powerslam for a two count. Rydeen picks up Crea but Crea elbows out of the uranage, she goes off the ropes but Rydeen spins her onto her shoulders and puts her in the Argentine Backbreaker. She tosses her off after a moment and hits a lariat, Samoan Drop by Rydeen and she positions Crea in front of the corner. Rydeen gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the Reverse Splash, but Crea barely kicks out. Rydeen goes all the way up but Crea avoids the Reverse Splash attempt, lariat by Rydeen but Crea schoolboys her into the ropes. Crea goes for another cradle, but this time she gets a two count. Crea picks up Rydeen and delivers the double wrist armsault, but Rydeen barely gets a shoulder up. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen pushes her off and hits a lariat, she picks up Crea but Crea quickly rolls her up for two. Crea goes off the ropes but Rydeen hits her with a hard lariat, she picks up Crea and drops her with the uranage for the three count! Rydeen Hagane is the winner.

This was clunky at times but in the end probably accomplished its goal which was to make Crea look somewhat credible before losing to the veteran. There is a reason that Rydeen never really elevated up the card – she is solid enough but not great, and struggles to elevate less experienced wrestlers. Her power moves look good but some of the transitions and sequences didn’t come off well and it was pretty disjointed. It probably went a tad longer than it needed to, at almost 12 minutes, as they didn’t have a ton of ideas. Crea did get her spots in and had some nearfalls, its too early in her career to know if she will be a quality wrestler down the road but she isn’t quite there yet. Not bad for an opener, but still a skippable match.

AKARI and Leon vs. KAZUKI and Momo Tani

Momo and AKARI start things off, they trade holds but ultimately reach a stalemate. Armdrag by Momo and she applies a reverse chinlock, but AKARI gets into the ropes for the break. Shoulderblocks by AKARI but Momo kicks out of the cover, and AKARI tags in Leon. Leon throws Momo into the corner and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Leon and she hits a somersault senton for two. Leon picks up Momo but Momo reverses the slam attempt into a cradle, dropkick by Momo and she tags KAZUKI. Knees by KAZUKI in the corner as she knees Leon around the ring, AKARI comes in however and with Leon they dropkick KAZUKI off her feet. Running kneedrop by Leon and AKARI hits one as well, Leon tags AKARI and AKARI delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by AKARI but KAZUKI quickly kicks out of the cover, she goes for a slam but KAZUKI blocks it and hits one of her own. KAZUKI tags Momo, Irish whip to the corner by Momo and she hits a jumping knee. AKARI blocks the slam attempt but KAZUKI comes in to help, they both go for a vertical suplex but AKARI blocks it.

Leon comes in but KAZUKI and Momo both hit Codebreakers on their respective opponents, running double knees by KAZUKI and Momo and they both drop knees onto one opponent’s back. Double Irish whip and both Momo and KAZUKI hit knees, Leon rolls out of the ring and Momo knees AKARI in the back of the head. Cover by Momo, but AKARI kicks out. Momo goes off the ropes but AKARI hits a drop toehold, she keeps Momo’s legs wrapped up in a submission but Momo makes it to the ropes. Northern Lights Suplex by AKARI, but it gets a two count. She tags Leon, shoulder tackle by Leon in the corner but Momo blocks the double underhook. Knees by Leon but Momo elbows her back, hard elbow by Leon and the two trade blows. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon and she puts Momo in a crab hold but it gets broken up, Leon goes off the ropes but KAZUKI knees her from the apron. Backstabber by Momo to Leon and she puts her in a stretch hold, but AKARI breaks it up. Momo grabs Leon and hits a swinging neckbreaker, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double knee for two. She tags in KAZUKI but Leon knees her, KAZUKI knees her back but Leon tosses her into the corner.

Leon goes up top but KAZUKI avoids her dive, spear by Leon and she covers KAZUKI for two. Leon tags AKARI, AKARI goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. AKARI goes for the cross armbreaker but KAZUKI gets out of it, stomp by KAZUKI but AKARI elbows her in the corner. She goes for a suplex but KAZUKI blocks it, knees by KAZUKI but AKARI hits a pump kick. AKARI rolls KAZUKI to the mat and applies a kneelock, but Momo quickly breaks it up. KAZUKI gets AKARI onto her shoulders and hits a cutter, cover by KAZUKI but Leon breaks it up. KAZUKI drags AKARI to the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but AKARI avoids her double knee and cradles her for two. Leon spears KAZUKI, AKARI follows with a Tiger Feint Kick before cradling KAZUKI again for a two count. Momo distracts Leon and AKARI, giving KAZUKI time to recover and hit a Codebreaker on both of them. Double running knee strike by KAZUKI and Momo, and KAZUKI covers AKARI for two. KAZUKI goes off the ropes and drills AKARI with the K Sword, and she gets the three count! KAZUKI and Momo Tani are the winners!

This was a step up from the last match. Momo wrestling like a mini-KAZUKI is interesting, they have teamed before so clearly she has rubbed off on her as they hit similar moves. KAZUKI throws a lot of knees but not all of them well, for a move to spam honestly the knee to the midsection isn’t the most interesting so I wish there was a bit more variety in her offense. Leon looked great as she tends to, the match just kinda lacked a story or flow to it. For a midcard tag it was perfectly fine but probably forgettable at the end of the day.

Hanako Nakamori vs. HIRO’e

HIRO’e gets a jump on Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the corner and throws HIRO’e down by the hair. HIRO’e returns the favor, they trade kicks and shoulderblocks until HIRO’e shoulderblocks Hanako to the mat. HIRO’e picks up Hanako and hits a vertical suplex, cover by HIRO’e but it barely gets two. Back up, kick by Hanako and she snapmares HIRO’e before kicking her in the back. Kick to the chest and leg drop by Hanako, she picks up HIRO’e and kicks her in the corner. Hanako charges HIRO’e but HIRO’e moves, elbow by HIRO’e but Hanako avoids her shoulder tackle attempt. HIRO’e rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody for two, she picks up Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the leg. HIRO’e elbows her back as they trade strikes, Codebreaker by HIRO’e and she dropkicks Hanako while she is against the ropes. HIRO’e picks up Hanako but Hanako blocks the Northern Lights Suplex, HIRO’e goes off the ropes but Hanako drops her onto the second rope and boots her from the apron. Hanako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Hanako but it gets two. Hanako applies an armbar but HIRO’e gets to the ropes, running boot by Hanako and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but HIRO’e elbows her before she can jump off.

They trade elbows while Hanako is still sitting on the top turnbuckle, headbutt by Hanako and she goes for a powerbomb out of the corner, but HIRO’e blocks it and hits a Codebreaker. HIRO’e goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Northern Lights Suplex by HIRO’e but Hanako kicks out. HIRO’e picks up Hanako, Hanako blocks the suplex at first but HIRO’e eventually hits the German suplex. Hanako immediately gets up and hits a German suplex of her own, but HIRO’e returns with a backdrop suplex followed by a German suplex for a two count cover.  Elbows by HIRO’e and hits the spear, but Hanako gets a shoulder up. Sunset flip by HIRO’e, but that gets a two count as well. Kasadora by HIRO’e, but again Hanako kicks out. Boot by Hanako and she kicks HIRO’e in the head again, but HIRO’e reverses her cover attempt into one of her own for two. After a failed cradle, HIRO’e charges Hanako but Hanako kicks her in the head. Another head kick by Hanako, but her cover only gets two. Hanako picks up HIRO’e and drops her with the Requiem Driver, and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori wins!

I am not sure the nice way to say this, nor am I sure if I should even bother try to say it nicely, but there is a reason HIRO’e stayed in the WAVE midcard for her entire 5+ year career. She is spectacularly average, bringing little to the table. That’s not to say she is bad, as her fundamentals are solid and unlike in the last two matches there weren’t any miscommunications or times where a wrestler looked out of place. But she doesn’t leave a strong impression. They tried to tell a bit of a story, with the underdog HIRO’e trying to sneak in a win against the highly ranked Hanako, but Hanako wasn’t really bothering with any sort of long term selling so most of her hope spots were quickly dashed when Hanako easily took back over control. She was “trying” to make HIRO’e look good but in the end she didn’t really, since none of HIRO’e’s offense had any impact beyond the moment. The ending came out of nowhere, as HIRO’e had been in pretty good shape, which just hammers in my previous point. Overall it wasn’t bad, but in the end neither one came out looking any better than they came in and if this was anyone’s first exposure to Hanako they wouldn’t be too impressed.

Manami Katsu vs. Mari Manji

They circle before tying up, Mari gets Manami into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Manami grabs her and the two take turns with elbows, Mari throws Manami into the corner and delivers a running back elbow. Manami fires back with a lariat and a running boot, rolling cradle by Manami and she holds down Mari for a two count cover. Mari is pretty dizzy after being rolling around for so long as Manami stomps on her, she picks up Mari and they try to shoulderblock each other over. Mari eventually grabs Manami and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Manami lands on top of her. Mari goes off the ropes and finally shoulderblocks Manami over, she picks up Manami but Manami reverses the backdrop suplex attempt into a bulldog. Double underhook by Manami but Mari gets out of it and the two trade strikes. Manami charges Mari but Mari chops her to the mat, she picks up Manami and puts her on the top turnbuckle before joining her, applying a modified dragon sleeper. She lets go after a moment and brings Manami back to the ring with a backdrop suplex, cover by Mari but it gets two. She puts Manami in an armbar but Manami gets to the ropes for the break, Mari picks up Manami and hits a side Russian leg sweep. Another leg sweep by Mari and a third, she puts Manami in a submission hold but again Manami gets to the ropes.

Mari picks up Manami but Manami pushes her off and hits a Stunner, boot by Manami and she hits a lariat. Running boot by Manami while Mari is against the ropes but Mari avoids the next one, Mari charges Manami and delivers a running elbow. Boot by Mari and she hits another one, followed by a dropkick. Mari picks up Manami but Manami snaps off a Samoan Drop, lariat by Manami and she covers Mari for two. Manami puts Mari in front of the corner and hits a Reverse Splash, cover by Manami but it gets a two count. Manami grabs Mari but Mari gets away and hits a vertical suplex, she rolls over Manami but Manami covers her for two. Jawbreaker by Mari and she rolls over Manami again, this time holding her down for a two count. Mari picks up Manami and hits a back bodydrop, she goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton for two. Mari picks up Manami and levels her with a back elbow, but Manami kicks out of the cover. Mari goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a lariat, sliding lariat by Manami but Mari reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Manami kicks Mari in the head, she picks her up and hits a German suplex for a two count. Back up, uppercut by Manami and she nails the Orange☆Blossom for the three count! Manami Katsu is the winner.

This was the best match on the card, which may be a low bar but it was a fitting main event for a small dojo-style show. Its interesting that they are having Mari basically go 50/50 with Manami. Mari is actually older than Manami and has a slight size advantage, which may play into their thinking, or they think long term she has more potential as a title challenger. She’s pretty good in the ring, PURE-J doesn’t really do high workrate matches so she fits in well in the promotion that focuses on the basics. A good enough match, nothing that will blow you away but it flowed well and ended before it felt too stretched out.  Mildly Recommended

The post PURE-J Fight Together on 7/12/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: PURE-J Fight Together!
Date: June 7th, 2020
Location: Kame Dome in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 30

PURE-J isn’t a promotion I review very often, and there are a few reasons for this. One is, they normally don’t make tape a whole lot so they have less events available to review. They also aren’t very popular to Western fans, so no one reads the reviews. And finally, they are a very ‘basic’ promotion with no frills and limited talented wrestlers. While those are all good reasons, I am reviewing them today to try out their new streaming service on Filmuy. An expensive service, but a service nonetheless. One additional perk is this was actually filmed in front of a (small) audience, who I am sure will make little to no noise but its still nice to see them. Here is the full card:

• AKARI vs. Mari Manji
• Kurea vs. Rydeen Hagane
• Hanako Nakamori and KAZUKI vs. Leon and Manami Katsu

As this aired on PURE-J’s new streaming service, all matches are shown in full. You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

AKARI vs. Mari Manji

Mari gets AKARI in a wristlock to start, AKARI reverses it but Mari switches it back. Headscissors by Mari but AKARI gets out of it, snapmare by Mari and she applies a bodyscissors. AKARI reverses the hold into a front necklock and applies a leg submission hold, but Mari gets to the ropes for the break. AKARI goes for a slam but Mari blocks it and hits one of her own, elbow drops to the back by Mari and she throws down AKARI by the head. She throws her down again, Irish whip by Mari and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Another shoulderblock by Mari and she hits a third, crab hold by Mari but AKARI gets to the ropes to force a break. Mari throws AKARI into the corner and elbows her in the chest, Irish whip by Mari and she hits a running elbow. AKARI returns the favor in the opposite corner, AKARI applies an armbar over the top rope but lets go after a moment and the two trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Chops by Mari and she Irish whips AKARI, but AKARI hits a front dropkick. AKARI hits two more dropkicks, cover by AKARI but it gets a two count. AKARI picks up Mari but Mari blocks the suplex attempt, waistlock by Mari but AKARI elbows out of it. Mari goes for another suplex but AKARI blocks it, Mari drives AKARI back into the corner and she chops her in the chest.

Mari puts AKARI on the top turnbuckle and joins her, she puts Mari in a reverse necklock before letting go and dropkicking AKARI when she falls down into the Tree of Woe. Mari gets AKARI back to the mat and hits a side Russian leg sweep, she hits a second one before putting AKARI in a submission hold. AKARI inches to the ropes but Mari puts her in a crucifix cover for two. Mari goes for a backdrop suplex but AKARI reverses it and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment, AKARI picks up Mari and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. AKARI gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a front dropkick, she goes all the way up the next time and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Armtrap crossface by AKARI but Mari manages to get a toe on the ropes for the break. AKARI picks up Mari but Mari blocks the suplex attempt and hits a vertical suplex of her own. They trade elbows as they slowly return to their feet, Irish whip by Mari but AKARI dropkicks her. Boot by AKARI and she cradles Mari for a two count cover. AKARI picks up Mari and hits a hard elbow, Tiger Feint Kick by AKARI and she puts Mari in La Magistral for two. AKARI goes off the ropes but Mari avoids her boot and delivers a backdrop suplex for two. Mari picks up AKARI hits hits a hard elbow, rolling cover by Mari and she picks up the three count! Mari Manji is the winner.

Mari and AKARI are both fundamentally sound, and this match showed that. There were some structure issues, like submission holds released for no reason to get to the next spot and an awkward moment or two, but when they got to the action it was solid. Their progression will be slow due to being in a lower level promotion but both can hold their own and aren’t the worst less experienced wrestlers I’ve seen this year. Nothing overly memorable but perfectly fine for an opener with newer wrestlers.

Kurea vs. Rydeen Hagane

They get right into it trading holds, wristlock by Kurea buy Rydeen rolls out of it and snapmares Kurea. Kurea applies a quick crucifix pin which Rydeen kicks out of, Rydeen grabs Kurea and tosses her down by the hair. Irish whip by Rydeen and she hits a hard shoulderblock before putting Kurea in a Camel Clutch, she lets go after a moment and elbows Kurea in the chest. Kurea returns fire but Rydeen knocks her back to the mat, Kurea gets to her feet but is knocked down again. Irish whip by Rydeen and she hits a dropkick, cover by Kurea but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Rydeen and she hits a running body press for two. Rydeen picks up Kurea, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a body avalanche. She tries to Irish whip Kurea again but Kurea reverses it and hits an elbow, dropkicks by Kurea but Rydeen doesn’t go down. Hard shoulderblock by Rydeen but Kurea gets away from her and dropkicks Rydeen in the knee. Kurea dropkicks Rydeen while she is sitting on the mat, Irish whip by Kurea but Rydeen catches her with a backbreaker. Rydeen gets Kurea on her shoulders and puts her hanging in the corner, body avalanche by Rydeen and she hits a lariat. Crab hold by Rydeen, Kurea crawls to the ropes but Rydeen eventually lets go and picks her up.

Elbows by Kurea but Rydeen hits her to the mat, Kurea returns and elbows Rydeen repeatedly in the chest but she is knocked down again. More elbows by Kurea while Rydeen absorbs the blows, she goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a powerslam for two. Rydeen picks up Kurea but Kurea avoids the Rainmaker and kicks Rydeen in the arm, she does it a second time before twisting her arm in the top rope. Kurea takes down Rydeen and slaps on the cross armbreaker, Rydeen wiggles around Kurea ends up with a reverse armbreaker instead. Rydeen gets a foot on the ropes to force the break, Kurea goes up top and nails a missile dropkick, cover by Kurea but it gets two. Fujiwara Armbar by Kurea but Rydeen gets to the ropes for the break, Kurea picks up Rydeen but Rydeen blocks the double wrist armsault. Kurea elbows Rydeen’s arm and applies an armbar, but Rydeen muscles her up onto her shoulders with an Argentine Backbreaker. She tosses her off after a moment and hits a lariat against the ropes, Reverse Splash by Rydeen but Kurea barely kicks out. Kurea sneaks in a schoolboy for two, she goes for another flash pin but it gets two as well. Kurea applies an armtrap crossface but Rydeen is too close to the ropes, Kurea goes off the ropes but Rydeen drops her with a hard lariat. Rydeen goes for a sliding lariat but Kurea ducks, Kurea charges Rydeen but Rydeen catches her with a backdrop suplex for two. Rydeen picks up Kurea and gets her on her shoulders, sit-down powerbomb by Rydeen and she picks up the three count! Rydeen Hagane is the winner!

At first I was concerned as the match started really slow and plodding, looking like the type of match a wrestler may have in their debut. But about halfway through they kicked it up a notch, Kurea started fighting back with a plan and the rest of the way was pretty good. The arm work by Kurea was well done and was a realistic way for her to win, not trying to out-power Rydeen but taking a limb instead. Rydeen always looks competent with her power moves, she isn’t a high end wrestler but she can get by. If the whole match was at the tempo of the second half I could give the match a solid recommendation, but even as it is I was pleasantly surprised by the end result.  Mildly Recommended

Hanako Nakamori and KAZUKI vs. Leon and Manami Katsu

Manami and KAZUKI insist on starting the match, they lock up and Manami pushes KAZUKI into the ropes before giving a somewhat clean break. Side headlock by Manami but KAZUKI Irish whips out of it, they both try to knock each other over until KAZUKI succeeds. KAZUKI throws Manami into the corner, Irish whip but Manami prevents her charge. They tag out, Hanako and Leon circle each other and trade holds until they reach a stalemate. Back on their feet they trade strikes, Hanako goes off the ropes but Manami kicks her from the apron and gets in the ring. Hanako is double teamed in the corner, double boot by Leon and Manami and they put Hanako in the ropes so they can chop her from the apron. Scoop slam by Leon and she covers Hanako for two. Leon picks up Hanako and applies a sleeper, Hanako gets back to her feet but Leon tags in Manami. Scoop slam by Manami and she puts Hanako in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and applies a Camel Clutch. She picks up Hanako and hits a double underhook into a backbreaker, Leon is tagged back in and she stomps Hanako around the ring. Leon throws Hanako into the corner and hits a running back elbow, Manami returns but KAZUKI comes in too and hits a double Codebreaker on both of them.

This gives Hanako a chance to tag her in, KAZUKI knees Manami against the ropes before hitting a running knee on Leon. Leon and Manami get the upper hand and hits a double shoulderblock, kneedrop by Leon to KAZUKI and Manami hits one as well. KAZUKI is thrown into the corner but she knees both of her opponents, KAZUKI clubs on Leon and gets her on her shoulders, but Leon blocks the cutter attempt and hits a double footstomp. She tags in Manami who hits a running footstomp as well, Manami goes off the ropes and boots KAZUKI in the side of the head. She tries to do it again but KAZUKI catches her foot, knees by KAZUKI and she tags Hanako. Hanako boots Manami repeatedly in the face, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits a second one, cover by Hanako but it gets a two count. Fisherman Buster by Hanako and she hits a Shining Wizard, but Manami gets a foot on the ropes to break up the cover. Hanako goes up top but Manami ducks her dive, Leon runs in and kicks Hanako to the mat. Manami and Leon both put one opponent in a submission hold, they let go after a moment and Manami boots Hanako repeatedly in the head. Manami hits a Samoan Drop in front of the corner, Reverse Splash by Manami and she covers Hanako for two. German suplex hold by Manami, but KAZUKI breaks it up. Leon charges Hanako in the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles, double underhook by Leon but Hanako spins out of it. Elbows by Leon, she goes off the ropes and elbows Hanako hard in the chest.

Hanako gets back up and kicks Leon, the two trade strikes until Leon gets Hanako to the mat and kicks her in the back. Head kick by Leon and she puts Hanako in the Texas Cloverleaf, but KAZUKI quickly breaks it up. Leon picks up Hanako, knees by Hanako and they trade elbows. Manami and KAZUKI tag themselves in when their teammates fall into their corner, face crusher by Manami but KAZUKI back bodydrops out of the double underhook. Manami returns the favor but KAZUKI hits another back bodydrop as well, hard elbow by Manami but KAZUKI returns fire with knees to the midsection. An elbow by Manami sends KAZUKI to the mat, she picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI blocks the German suplex. Hanako kicks Manami in the head and KAZUKI follows with a Code Breaker, running knee by KAZUKI and she covers Manami for two. KAZUKI goes up top but Manami uppercuts her and climbs the turnbuckle as well, Hanako grabs Manami from behind however and pulls her back into the ring. Diving Double Kneedrop by KAZUKI, but Leon breaks up the cover. Knees by KAZUKI but Manami catches her with a backfist, lariat by Manami and she covers KAZUKI for two. Manami goes up top and nails the diving elbow drop, but Hanako breaks up the cover. Knee by Hanako to Manami but Leon spears her, KAZUKI trades flash pins with Manami but neither can get the three count. Sliding lariat by Manami, she picks up KAZUKI and hits an uppercut. Lariat by Manami, and she covers KAZUKI for the three count! Leon and Manami Katsu are the winners.

One interesting thing is a match like this normally may have had a long ‘outside the ring’ brawling period, but since they are staying in the ring due to having the crowd there, they were almost forced to be more focused for almost 20 minutes. Aside from being unable to do dives (which isn’t really PURE-J’s style anyway) they weren’t holding back any and the pace stayed pretty high from bell to bell. There was lots of teamwork, as would be expected, and since they are all on about the same level there wasn’t a long control segment which led to more consistent action. Really solid match between four wrestlers that know what they are doing, it never really rose to the level of must-see action (probably not helped by the single cam setup) but a fitting main event for a small show.  Recommended

The post PURE-J Fight Together! on 6/7/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Diana at Shin-Kiba
Date: February 22nd, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sareee didn’t have many matches left in Japan after this one before joining the WWE, and this will likely be her last Joshi match released to the public. So, obviously I had to watch it as we bid her farewell. Diana cards aren’t very deep, and this one is even less-so as Kyoko Inoue missed the event due to an injury, but there are a lot of little things I am looking forward to on this event. The opener has a shot at being a lot of fun, and Sareee vs. Yoshiko should be amazing. I am really interested in the main event as well, as the super veterans take on a young team from PURE-J. Its great to see Diana events finally ‘making tape’ so I am not going to complain either way. Here is the full card:

• Haruka Umesaki vs. Miyuki Takase
• Ayako Sato, Jaguar Yokota, and Madeline vs. HIROe, Nanami, and Yumi Ohka
• Sareee vs. Yoshiko
• World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Tag Team Championship: Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Manami Katsu and Mari Manji

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. As always, all the wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Onto the matches!

Haruka Umesaki vs. Miyuki Takase

Haruka and Miyuki tie-up to start, Miyuki pushes Haruka into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Haruka elbows her as she backs off however and they start trading strikes, Miyuki chops Haruka against the ropes and then into the corner. Rapid fire chops by Miyuki and she tries to toss Haruka by the hair, but Haruka cartwheels out of it and dropkicks Miyuki into the corner. Chops by Haruka and she hits a scoop slam, snapmare by Haruka and she applies a bodyscissors. Miyuki quickly gets out of it and puts Haruka in a stretch hold, she picks up Haruka while having her in a headlock but Haruka spins out of it and applies a guillotine. Miyuki reverses that into a wristlock as they trade holds, Miyuki gets Haruka to the mat but Haruka gets into the ropes for the break. Scoop slam by Miyuki and she applies a crab hold, but Haruka gets into the ropes for the break. Stomps by Miyuki, she picks up Haruka and puts her upside down in the corner. Miyuki gets a running start and dropkicks Haruka in the back, she puts Haruka back into the crab hold but Haruka quickly gets to the ropes again. Miyuki puts Haruka in the corner, Irish whip by Miyuki but Haruka reverses it. Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a missile dropkick, she charges Haruka but Haruka avoids her charge and connects with a series of dropkicks.

Haruka goes for a crossbody but Miyuki catches her and hits a backbreaker, single leg crab hold by Miyuki but Haruka manages to get a break as she crawls to the ropes. Miyuki goes up top but Haruka hits her before she can jump off and tosses Miyuki back to the mat. Haruka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Haruka but it gets two. Scoop slam by Haruka, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the missile dropkick, but Miyuki kicks out of the cover. Haruka goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat, Miyuki gets Haruka on her shoulders and his a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Guillotine leg drop by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle, but Haruka barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki picks up Haruka but Haruka gets away, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a powerslam. Miyuki goes off the ropes and delivers a lariat, but the cover only gets two. Miyuki picks up Haruka but Haruka sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Haruka tries a few more flash pins with no luck, Haruka goes off the ropes but Miyuki takes off her head with a lariat. Miyuki picks up Haruka and hits the brainbuster, cover by Miyuki and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase is the winner.

This didn’t reach the level I was hoping it would, but for an opener it was decent enough. Haruka’s hope spots were all well done and helped elevate the match, but Miyuki’s offense was just more repetitive than I’d have liked. Crab holds are a traditional way to beat young wrestlers but she kept going for it with little effort to set up Haruka for it, and by the third one I had had enough of the hold. And then she won with a brainbuster, which has nothing to do with anything a crab hold weakens, rendering the work meaningless. There was really no long-term selling in general as they were going from spot to spot, and there was a tiny botch in the middle. I am still impressed by Haruka’s poise as she has no issue standing up to wrestlers above her in the pecking order, but they didn’t do enough here to make it memorable in any way.

Ayako Sato, Yokota, and Madeline vs. HIROe, Nanami, and Yumi Ohka

Yokota and friends attack before the match starts as the action quickly spills outside the ring, with Yokota and HIROe closest to the camera as the legend pummels the young WAVE wrestler. Yokota and HIROe return to the ring, elbow by Yokota and she rakes HIROe’s face over the top rope. She tags in Sato, Sato tosses HIROe down by the hair and boots her in the corner. Back bodydrop by Sato and she covers HIROe for a two count. She throws HIROe into the corner so that Madeline can help, Sato tags in Madeline and Madeline puts HIROe in a Fujiwara Armbar. HIROe quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Madeline to the corner but HIROe rebounds out of it with a crossbody. Madeline and HIROe trade elbows, hard shoulderblock by HIROe and she tags Ohka. Ohka throws Madeline into the corner and delivers a big boot, she pushes her boot into Madeline’s face while taunting Madeline’s teammates. More boots by Ohka and she stands on Madeline’s back, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka tags Nanami as HIROe comes in too, as all three attack Madeline in the corner. Dropkick by Nanami, she snapmares Madeline and applies a bodyscissors. Nanami rolls Madeline around the ring while maintaining the hold, she stops to hold down Madeline for the cover but it gets two.

Madeline finally fights back against the kid and hits a scoop slam, but Nanami elbows her and the two trade strikes. Nanami connects with a series of dropkicks, cover by Nanami but it gets two. Nanami goes off the ropes again but Madeline catches her with an elbow, kick by Nanami and she scoop slams Madeline for a two count. Nanami tags HIROe, HIROe throws Madeline into the corner but Madeline avoids her charge and connects with some elbows. Dropkick by Madeline and she goes for the armbar, but HIROe rolls out of it. Madeline stays in a dominate position as she goes for a choke, but HIROe wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Irish whip by Madeline but HIROe hits a hard shoulderblock, shoulder tackles by HIROe in the corner and she hits a vertical suplex for two. HIROe picks up Madeline but Madeline gets away and rolls up HIROe for two. Irish whip by HIROe but Madeline cartwheels out of the way and hits a crossbody. This gives her time to tag in Sato, dropkick by Sato and she hits a jumping kick in the corner. HIROe retorts with a shoulder tackle, she goes off the ropes and delivers a spear for a two count. HIROe goes up top but Sato recovers and joins her, HIROe jumps back to the mat and hits a German suplex. HIROe picks up Sato but Sato snaps off a double wrist armsault for a two count. Sato goes off the ropes but HIROe hits a quick suplex, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by HIROe, but Sato gets a shoulder up. HIROe tags in Ohka, running boot by Ohka and she hits a backdrop suplex. Ohka picks up Sato and boots her, she goes off the ropes but Sato hits her with a trash can lid.

Dropkick with the lid by Sato, she covers Ohka but it gets two. Sato goes off the ropes and goes for a bodyscissors, but Ohka catches her and hits a German suplex. Big boot by Ohka, but Sato kicks out of the cover. Ohka goes for the Tiger Suplex but Sato blocks it, Madeline comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex on Ohka followed by a double dropkick. Sato goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Sato but it gets two. Yokota comes in with a chair and hits the child Nanami with it, she stays in as the legal wrestler and hits Ohka in the head with the chair. Sato gets her trash can lid and hits Ohka as well, Yokota sits down Ohka in the chair while Madeline hits her with a metal stick. Yokota gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault kick, cover by Yokota but the pin is broken up. Yokota goes off the ropes but HIROe stops her with a shoulder tackle, DDT by Ohka to Yokota and she hits a heel drop. Ohka goes off the ropes and delivers the big boot, cover by Ohka but Yokota gets a shoulder up. Yokota tags Nanami, Nanami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press for two. Nanami goes off the ropes but Sato kicks her from the apron, HIROe does the same to Yokota and Nanami cradles Yokota for two. Swinging neckbreaker by Nanami, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Yokota recovers and joins her. Superplex by Yokota, but Ohka breaks up the cover. Yokota picks up Nanami but HIROe runs in and elbows her, Ohka clears the ring and hits a chokebomb on Yokota. Nanami goes for another swinging neckbreaker but Yokota reverses it into a Backslide for the three count! Jaguar Yokota, Madeline, and Ayako Sato win!

This match was quite a combination of good, bad, and ugly. Yokota was great in this match. She didn’t do much but she uses weapons, which I like, and she gave quite a bit of offense to a 13 year old which is admirable. Unfortunately, the 13 year old isn’t good. I know, she’s a child, but she’s a child I have to watch wrestle and bad is bad. Her strikes are laughable, she is sometimes out of position and she doesn’t show the fire that we just saw from Haruka in the match before. I was surprised Madeline was the Ricky Morton in this match, she’s a new-ish wrestler but to see her getting thrown around by Nanami of all wrestlers was quite something. The match dragged at times in the middle, and the few fun parts were too spread out to get a good run going. A watchable midcard tag match, but nothing here I could really recommend.

Sareee vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Sareee gets Yoshiko into the ropes and gives her a hard elbow. Yoshiko returns fire as they trade shots, Yoshiko throws down Sareee by the hair but Sareee returns the favor. They trade strikes again before ending up in the ropes, with the referee finally getting them to separate. Sareee asks for a knuckle lock and Yoshiko obliges, they go into a Test of Strength which Yoshiko gets the better of, but Sareee hits an armdrag. Yoshiko swats away the dropkick and kicks Sareee in the ribs, Sareee goes for another armdrag but Yoshiko blocks it and hits one of her hard. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she snapmares Sareee and puts her in a chinlock. Yoshiko lets go before Sareee gets to the ropes and kicks her, but Sareee returns the favor and kicks Yoshiko in the back repeatedly. Irish whip by Sareee but Yoshiko hits a hard elbow, Sareee goes for a crossbody but Yoshiko catches her and slams Sareee to the mat. Cover by Yoshiko, but Sareee bridges out of it and dropkicks Yoshiko. Irish whip by Sareee but Yoshiko hits a hard shoulderblock and puts Sareee in a stretch hold. She lets go after a moment and kick Sareee out of the ring, she goes out after her and throws Sareee into the chairs at ringside. Yoshiko takes Sareee up high in the bleachers and slams her into the wall, which we can at least somewhat see since they are on the hard cam side.

They return to the ring after a couple minutes as Yoshiko sits down on Sareee for a two count. She quickly applies a choke hold but Sareee gets a toe on the ropes to force the break. Sareee rolls out of the ring but Yoshiko goes out to the apron and jumps down onto Sareee with what I assume was a footstomp. Slightly off camera. Yoshiko returns to the ring with Sareee following, Yoshiko goes back to the choke but Sareee quickly rolls to the ropes for the break. Yoshiko picks up Sareee, Sareee chargers her in the corner but Yoshiko moves and smacks her over the ropes. Yoshiko sets up Sareee in the ropes and kicks her in the head repeatedly, but Sareee avoids one and elbows Yoshiko in the chest. Sareee elbows Yoshiko off the apron to the floor, she goes out to the apron and hits a crossbody down to the floor. Sareee throws Yoshiko into the chairs at ringside and fights her up into the crowd, she gets back in the ring after a moment and goes up top as Yoshiko returns as well, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Sareee picks up Yoshiko and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Sareee trips Yoshiko and puts her in the STF, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes for the break. Sareee knees Yoshiko in the back and goes for a German suplex, but Yoshiko blocks it. Roll-up by Sareee into a double footstomp, she goes off the ropes and goes for a dropkick but Yoshiko moves and kicks her in the head.

Yoshiko picks up Sareee but Sareee elbows her and they trade shots. Dropkick by Sareee, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Yoshiko again while she is leaning against the ropes. She goes for the Uranage but Yoshiko blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before applying a sleeper hold. She lets go after a moment and picks up Sareee, but Sareee cradles her for two. Sareee goes off the ropes and applies a tilt-a-whirl roll-up, but that gets a two as well. She goes off the ropes yet again but this time eats a lariat, they trade headbutts and Yoshiko hits another lariat for two. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko gets up on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Sareee gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko picks up Sareee but Sareee nails her with a jumping back kick, she goes off the ropes and delivers a hurricanrana for two. Uranage by Sareee, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Back up, headbutt by Sareee and she hits another Uranage, but Yoshiko lands too close to the ropes and gets a foot on the bottom one. Wrist-clutch Uranage by Sareee, she crawls to Yoshiko and covers her, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Sareee picks up Yoshiko and goes for another one, but Yoshiko elbows her off. Big lariat by Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat for a two count. The bell rings before she can do anything else, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

A pretty fitting final televised match for Sareee. I really loved the first portion and final portion of the match. They came out on fire with the hard strikes and passion, which you’d expect from these two, and it had that rough style that has been a staple of Yoshiko’s matches since soon after she debuted. The middle portion lost me a bit as they did a lot of crowd brawling, which not only was hard to see with the single cam setup but felt more like wasting time to reach the time limit. Once they returned to the ring though I went back to loving it, with both just throwing bombs to try to pick up the win before time expired. Overall I really enjoyed it, a few adjustments here and there would have made it a true MOTYC, but even as it is its a pretty damn good match.  Recommended

(c) Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Katsu and Mari Manji
World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Tag Team Championship

The PURE-J team attacks before the bell rings as they kick the champions out of the ring. The veterans take control on the floor before Watanabe and Mari return to the ring, vertical suplex by Watanabe and she hits a scoop slam followed by an elbow drop off the ropes. She tags in Ito, Ito throws Mari in the corner and hits a lariat. Single leg crab hold by Ito but Mari makes it to the ropes to force the break. Watanabe strolls in and they double team Mari, cover by Ito but it gets a two count. Watanabe throws Mari into the corner, Mari elbows her but Watanabe lariats Mari to the mat. Scorpion Deathlock by Watanabe, Manami tries to break it up but Watanabe just ignores her kicks and keeps the hold applied. Mari eventually makes it to the ropes for the break, Watanabe tags in Ito and hits a footstomp on Mari’s leg. Ito applies a single leg crab hold, Manami has the same lack of luck in getting the hold broken but Mari makes the ropes again. Ito applies a Camel Clutch while taunting Manami, she lets go just so she can put Mari in a crab hold. Mari gets to the ropes again, Watanabe comes in and Ito tries to catapult Mari to her, but Mari splats to the mat instead. Watanabe picks up Mari and hits a lariat anyway, Ito tags in Watanabe as Mari fights back with elbows. Watanabe absorbs the blows, Mari schoolboys Watanabe but they land in the rope. Watanabe grabs Mari by the leg and applies a STF, but Mari gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Ito is tagged back in and she goes back to the crab hold (this match isn’t very interesting so far), but once again Mari makes it to the ropes. Watanabe returns and they drop Mari with a double vertical suplex, Watanabe applies a crab hold over by her own corner this time while Ito steps on her hands. Mari gets to the ropes, Watanabe picks her up but Mari sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Mari finally makes the tag to Manami, Ito comes in as well but Manami hits a face crusher on both of them. Knees by Manami to Watanabe and she throws her into the corner, Mari returns and elbows Watanabe but Manami hits a superkick. They continue to double team Watanabe before Mari leaves the ring, Manami picks up Watanabe but Watanabe hits a back bodydrop. They take turns trying to lariat each other over until Manami finally sends Watanabe to the mat, Watanabe returns the favor however and tags in Ito. Running footstomp by Ito and she hits a senton, cover by Ito but Manami kicks out. Ito grabs Manami but Manami gets into the ropes, Mari comes in and they both attack Ito while she is against the ropes. Running boots by Manami and she delivers a sliding kick to Ito, Manami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse splash for two. Manami tags Mari, Mari tries to shoulderblock Ito over but Ito doesn’t budge. Hard elbow by Ito and she sends Mari to the mat with a lariat, but Manami kicks Ito from the apron and Mari finally manages to shoulderblock Ito down. Mari hits a side Russian leg sweep and puts Ito in a submission hold. Cover by Mari but Ito can reach the ropes for the break.

Mari goes for a backdrop suplex but Ito blocks it, Uranage by Ito and she tags in Watanabe. Watanabe picks up Mari but Manami comes in, Watanabe goes for a springboard move but Mari and Manami push her out of the ring. Ito takes the opportunity to hit a crossbody on both of them, Manami and Mari both fall out of the ring and Ito sends them down to the floor with a baseball slide. Mari is brought back into the ring and is hit with a double lariat, Watanabe slams Mari in front of the corner but Manami runs in as Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle. Watanabe hits a diving body press anyway, but Manami breaks up the cover. Watanabe goes all the way up top but Mari elbows her before she can jump off. Mari joins Watanabe but Ito grabs Mari from behind to help Watanabe hit a seated senton. Cover by Watanabe, but Mari barely gets a shoulder up. Manami runs in but she lariats Mari by accident, Ito comes in but she hits Watanabe by mistake, allowing Mari to put Watanabe in a modified Dragon Sleeper. Ito breaks it up, she goes to pick up Mari but Manami lariats her. Watanabe had gone up top but Manami joins her and hits a superplex, Mari puts Watanabe in the modified Dragon Sleeper while Manami goes up top. Mari lets go so that Manami can hit a diving elbow drop, cover by Mari but Ito breaks it up. Mari goes for another quick pin, but Watanabe kicks out. Ito comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving footstomp to Mari, Screwdriver by Watanabe to Mari, but Manami breaks up the cover. Watanabe picks up Mari and nails the Cannonball Buster, cover by Watanabe and she picks up the three count! Tomoko Watanabe and Kaoru Ito win and retain the championship.

I really wanted to enjoy this match, but I could not. While it is logical that Watanabe and Ito go at a slower pace than they did in their heyday, the first half of the match just wasn’t fun to watch. It needed someone super sympathetic or charismatic to be taking the beating and Mari is neither of those things, so it was just dull. Manami tried to be the veteran of her team but was overwhelmed by Watanabe and Ito, so it just came across as a mismatch with the PURE-J team never being a believable force against their seniors. The end stretch was better, almost by default, but didn’t last long enough to justify the wait to get there. I still love Ito but this wasn’t the best performance from any of them, and ultimately it was just disappointing.

The post Diana at Shin-Kiba on 2/22/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Even though I am months behind in reviews, I had to jump ahead to take a look at this recent event from PURE-J. I am watching this event on NicoPro, a streaming service in Japan that streams wrestling events from a wide range of wrestling promotions (the show is no longer available on the service at the time of this review, since shows are only available for seven days). I have written a guide on how to sign up for NicoPro, highly recommended! Both the service and the guide. PURE-J Pure Slam Vol. 8 may not be the biggest show of the year for the promotion, but it does feature a championship match. Here is the full card:

• KAZUKI vs. Momo Tani
• AKARI and Kurea vs. Makoto and Moeka Haruhi
• Drake Morimatsu vs. Rydeen Hagane
• Leon and Miyuki Takase vs. Manami Katsu and Mari Manji
• PURE-J Openweight Championship: Hanako Nakamori vs. Rina Yamashita

As this aired on NicoPro, the matches are unclipped. It also has that annoying commentary box in the corner, which I will tolerate. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

KAZUKI vs. Momo Tani

They circle each other to start before tying up, they trade wristlocks until KAZUKI cranks on a headlock. Momo Irish whips out of it but KAZUKI shoulderblocks her down, KAZUKI picks up Momo but Momo dropkicks her to the mat. More dropkicks by Momo and she goes for a sleeper hold, she gets it locked in but KAZUKI doesn’t seem too bothered and wiggles out of it. Front necklock by KAZUKI, she lets go after a moment and clubs Momo in the back. Scoop slam by KAZUKI and she hits a running double kneedrop for a two count cover. Crab hold by KAZUKI, she lets go after a moment and flings around Momo by her hair. Snapmare by KAZUKI and she applies a sleeper, she then puts Momo in a bodyscissors before slamming her head-first into the mat. KAZUKI goes for a double underhook but Momo blocks it, knee to the stomach by KAZUKI but Momo boots her from behind. More knees by KAZUKI but Momo hits a running double knee strike while KAZUKI is against the ropes. KAZUKI recovers and knees Momo again, but Momo schoolboys her from behind for two. Back up they trade elbows, Backstabber by Momo and she hits a running double knee to the back of KAZUKI’s head. Multiple double kneedrops by Momo to KAZUKI’s back follow and she puts KAZUKI in a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and dropkicks KAZUKI in the side. More double kneedrops by Momo and she stretches KAZUKI again, she covers KAZUKI but it gets a two count.

Momo goes for a scoop slam but KAZUKI blocks it and hits one of her own, Momo throws KAZUKI into the corner but KAZUKI avoids her charge and knees her in the midsection. Another knee by KAZUKI, she puts Momo across the second rope in the corner and hits a double kneedrop to her midsection. Reverse double kneedrop by KAZUKI, but Momo kicks out of the cover. KAZUKI gets Momo on her shoulders but Momo slides off and hits a Codebreaker, but KAZUKI comes back with own of her own. KAZUKI picks up Momo but Momo slides away and hits the Somato for a two count. Momo goes off the ropes and hits another Somato, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop for two. Momo picks up KAZUKI and knees her in the head, she goes off the ropes but KAZUKI gets her on her shoulders. Momo slides off and applies a sleeper hold, KAZUKI slams Momo back into the corner to get her off but Momo slides out to the apron and applies the sleeper over the top rope. Tessy gets her to break the hold, Momo gets back in the ring and cradles KAZUKI to the mat for two. Momo goes for another Somato but KAZUKI moves and knees Momo in the back of the head, double underhook facebuster onto her knee by KAZUKI but Momo barely kicks out of the cover. KAZUKI picks up Momo and delivers a Somato, but Momo again kicks out. KAZUKI positions Momo, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving kneedrop for the three count! KAZUKI is the winner.

So many knees in this match. Lots of knees. If you like knees, this is the match for you! This may be the first I’ve seen of Momo and she seems fine, KAZUKI is probably not the easiest wrestler to work with as Momo can’t do the same things to her she may be able to do to the Actwres girl’Z wrestlers, but there weren’t any noticeable mistakes or miscommunications. For a knee-fest it was decent enough, not a lot of rhyme or reason to it but not a bad way to open up the event.

AKARI and Kurea vs. Makoto and Moeka Haruhi

The rookies attack the veterans from behind before the match starts because of course they did, they isolate Makoto and both hit dropkicks. AKARI stays in with Makoto and applies an Argentine Backbreaker, but Moeka breaks it up. AKARI grabs Makoto and puts her in a stretch hold while tied up in the ropes, she lets go after a moment and covers her for two. Makoto fires back with a big boot and tags in Moeka, Moeka tosses AKARI down by the hair but AKARI knocks her to the mat with a shoulderblock. Armdrag by AKARI and she dropkicks Moeka near her corner before tagging in Kurea. Kurea applies a headscissors but Moeka gets out of it and applies a headlock, she brings Kurea to her corner and tags in Makoto. Makoto stands on Kurea’s midsection before bouncing her off the ropes, cover by Makoto but it gets a two count. Moeka is tagged back in and hits an ex handle to Kurea’s back, Moeka goes off the ropes and hits a footstomp for two. Moeka throws Kurea in the corner and tags in Makoto, Makoto throws Kurea into the corner and delivers a big boot. double kneedrops by Makoto and she covers Kurea for two. Makoto kicks at Kurea but Kurea comes back with a dropkick, she goes for a scoop slam and finally hits it for a two count. Kurea gets the hot tag to AKARI, dropkick by AKARI but Makoto boots her. AKARI gets on the second turnbuckle and applies an armbar, she lets go and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Irish whip by Makoto but AKARI blocks it and rolls her to the mat with kneelock. Makoto wiggles to the ropes to get the break, AKARI goes off the ropes but Makoto catches her with a double underhook suplex.

Cartwheel double kneedrop by Makoto, she covers AKARI but AKARI barely kicks out. Makoto tags Moeka, running knee by Moeka in the corner and the two trade elbows. AKARI applies a short armbar, Moeka tries to roll out of it but AKARI applies La Magistral for a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by AKARI, but that gets a two count as well. AKARI tags Kurea, lariat by Kurea and she hits a shoulderblock on Moeka for two. Kurea goes for a cross armbreaker but Moeka blocks it and applies a single leg crab hold. AKARI eventually breaks it up, Makoto comes in too but the veterans both eat dropkicks. Kurea stomps on Moeka but Moeka knees her in the stomach, cross armbreaker takedown by Kurea but Makoto breaks it up. Kurea gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, AKARI hits one as well and Kurea follows up with a final missile dropkick for a two count. Kurea goes off the ropes but Moeka drop toeholds her onto the second rope, she ties up Kurea and both she and Makoto kick her in the back. Running footstomp by Moeka, but Kurea kicks out of the cover. Moeka picks up Kurea but Kurea sneaks in a small package for two. Kurea tries a few more flash pins with no luck, wrist-clutch Northern Lights Suplex by Moeka but Kurea bridges out of the hold. Moeka gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp, but AKARI breaks up the cover. Makoto runs in to spear AKARI, Moeka goes up to the top turnbuckle this time and hits the diving footstomp for the three count cover! Makoto and Moeka Haruhi are the winners.

To be honest, this was far better than I was expecting. Sometimes having low expectations is the way to go. AKARI and Kurea both looked pretty smooth here considering their experience and they didn’t wrestle like rookies as they had a variety of moves at their disposal (especially AKARI) and had several near falls. Moeka can afford to be giving to rookies since no one takes her seriously anyway but I was surprised that Makoto was equally generous, it made for a far more even and competitive fight than I assumed it would be. Both teams worked together well and the match hummed along at a decent pace, they got enough time without it feeling like it went too long. For an undercard match with two rookies I was surprisingly entertained by this, AKARI and Kurea will stay under the radar as long as they are in PURE-J but both seem to have a pretty solid base knowledge of wrestling. All in all, pretty solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Drake Morimatsu vs. Rydeen Hagane

Drake and Rydeen give a halfhearted handshake before the match before attempting to shoulderblock each other over with neither having any luck. Drake clubs Rydeen but Rydeen finally manages to shoulderblock her down, with Drake immediately rolling out of the ring. Rydeen goes out after her but Drake throws her into the chairs at ringside, she rolls Rydeen back in and hits her with a baseball bat. Irish whip by Drake and she hits Rydeen with the baseball bat again, the referee chastises her but doesn’t do anything besides that. Rydeen kicks the baseball bat away from her and the two trade elbows, Drake wins the battle and kicks Rydeen against the ropes. Hammerlock by Drake, she twists Rydeen’s arm in the top rope and yanks down on it. Drake stomps on Rydeen’s arm before hitting a legdrop on it, Drake applies a submission hold but Rydeen gets a foot on the ropes. Wristlock by Drake, she lets go after a moment and elbows Rydeen in the head. Irish whip by Drake but Rydeen reverses it and hits a hip toss. Running body press by Rydeen, but Drake kicks out of it. Stomps by Rydeen, she goes off the ropes but Drake catches her with a lariat. Cover by Drake, but it gets a two count.

Drake keeps on Rydeen’s arm but Rydeen eventually throws her into the corner and hits a lariat. Rydeen goes for a powerbomb but Drake back bodydrops out of it, Rydeen grabs Drake again but Drake elbows her off. Rydeen hits a lariat but Drake stays up, Drake tries too but gets the same result. They both go off the ropes and lariat each other to the mat, Drake is up first and she gets a chair, hitting Rydeen in the back with it. Rydeen tries to take it from her but Drake doesn’t let her as the chair slides away, lariat by Drake but Rydeen literally drops her with a sidewalk slam. Rydeen goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse splash, but Drake gets a hand on the ropes. Rydeen goes all the way up top this time but Drake recovers and hits her, tossing Rydeen back to the mat. Facebuster by Drake, she cradles Rydeen but Rydeen gets a shoulder up. Drake picks up Rydeen but Rydeen hits a lariat, backdrop suplex by Rydeen and she covers Drake for two. Rydeen positions Drake and goes up top, but Drake rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt. Lariat by Drake, but Rydeen kicks out of the pin. Drake picks up Rydeen and delivers the Michinoku Driver, cover by Drake and she gets the three count! Drake Morimatsu wins!

That was the longest ten minutes of my life. Its confusing to me that PURE-J would have Drake Morimatsu come in, a relic from the past but still a bit of a name for hardcore fans, and just have her pretty easily beat one of their better veteran hands. Its one thing if she beat a rookie, that’s part of the process, but Rydeen is no rookie. And it wasn’t a good match anyway, with Drake wasting a chunk of the match doing arm work that meant nothing, some awkward parts, and little in the way of drama. I’m not sure why this existed but it didn’t need to, no one needs to watch this unless they are just really curious to see Drake Morimatsu wrestle in 2019.

Leon and Miyuki Takase vs. Manami Katsu and Mari Manji

The opening handshake doesn’t go well as Manami and Mari immediately go on the attack, they double team their opponents in the corner and both hit body avalanches. Miyuki is isolated but Leon returns and she helps Miyuki take back control. Miyuki and Leon chop Mari repeatedly in the chest before Miyuki dropkicks Mari in the back, legdrop by Miyuki and she tags in Leon. Snapmare by Leon and she puts Mari in a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and dropkicks Mari into the corner. Mari recovers and the two trade chops, Irish whip by Leon but Mari sneaks in a schoolboy for two. This gives Mari time to tag in Manami, Manami drives Leon into the mat and puts her in the Mexican Surfboard, she lets go and elbow drops Leon in the back before covering her for two. Snapmare by Manami and she puts Leon in a bodyscissors, she rolls Leon around the ring while she is in the hold before stopping the roll for a two count pin attempt.  Manami goes for a backdrop suplex but Leon kicks off the ropes and hits a bulldog, giving her time to tag in Miyuki. Miyuki dropkicks Manami in the corner but Manami fires back with a lariat, big boot by Manami but Miyuki blocks the Bulldog and dropkicks her in the back. Sling Blade by Miyuki, Leon comes in and they both hit running strikes in the corner, double vertical suplex to Manami and Miyuki covers her for two.

Manami gets up and the two trade elbows, they reach as stalemate until Manami hits a Stunner followed by a Bulldog. superkick by Manami and she covers Miyuki for two. Manami tags Mari, shoulderblocks by Mari to Miyuki and she covers her for a two count. Mari goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam, she rolls to her corner and tags Leon. Leon hits a running shoulder tackle in the corner, Mari pushes her away but Leon delivers the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Leon but Manami breaks it up, Leon picks up Mari and hits the butterfly suplex for two. Manami kicks Leon from the apron, Mari hits a side Russian leg sweep on Leon and puts her in a submission hold. Mari picks up Leon but Leon blocks the backdrop suplex, elbows by Mari and she knocks down Leon with a back elbow. Mari tags Manami, facebuster by Manami to Leon and she hits a double underhook facebuster. Manami then hits a slingshot double underhook suplex, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Leon avoids the Reverse Splash attempt. Mari comes in and they hit the Magic Killer, lariat by Manami to Leon but her cover only gets two. Manami goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop, but Miyuki breaks up the cover.

Manami picks up Leon but Miyuki runs in and dropkicks her, shoulder tackle by Leon to Manami and Miyuki delivers a missile dropkick. Leon hits a missile dropkick of her own, cover by Leon but Manami kicks out. Leon goes for the Capture Buster but Manami blocks it and hits a Stunner, Mari comes in but Leon hits a spear on both of them. Miyuki comes back and hits slams Manami in front of the corner before Leon delivers a Frog Splash, but Mari breaks up the pin. Leon picks up Manami, she goes off the ropes but Manami avoids her spear and hits a superkick. Uppercut by Manami, Leon goes off the ropes but Manami fists her in the face and tags Mari. Miyuki is also tagged in, elbow by Mari and she covers Miyuki for two. Mari throws Miyuki into the corner but Miyuki rebounds out of it with a missile dropkick, lariat by Miyuki and she hits a diving forearm off the second turnbuckle. Miyuki picks up Mari but Mari slides way, superkick by Manami to Miyuki but Leon kicks Mari. Backdrop suplex by Mari to Miyuki, she picks her up but Miyuki cradles her for two. Manami boots Miyuki to help, Mari cradles Miyuki but that gets a two as well. Mari goes off the ropes but Leon hits her with a shoulder tackle, lariat by Miyuki but the cover is broken up. Miyuki picks up Mari and hits a vertical suplex, but Mari gets her foot on the ropes when she goes for the pin. Miyuki positions Mari and goes to the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving legdrop for the three count! Leon and Miyuki Takase win the match.

A fun fast-paced match, with all the wrestlers doing their part. It was the good type of that Joshi tag team chaos, with wrestlers running in at will and the referee not really doing anything to discourage it, making the match pretty much non-stop action. This type of match rarely makes any ‘year end’ lists but are great for the midcard as they keep the viewers captivated. Miyuki looked great as she always does but no one felt like they were lagging behind, and Leon did a solid job of keeping everything together. There really was nothing wrong with it that I can think of, obviously the structure was all over the place and there really wasn’t a “story” (isolating the weakest wrestler, etc.), but still an enjoyable match to just sit back and watch.  Recommended

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

Hanako and Rina start the match respectfully, no one is getting jumped in this one as they go into a knuckle-lock. Hard shoulderblock by Rina, she charges Hanako again but Hanako holds down the rope and Rina lands on the apron. Rina snaps Hanako’s neck on the top rope but Hanako dropkicks her in the back, sending Rina out of the ring. Hanako goes out after her and tosses Rina around ringside, she goes for a kick but Rina ducks and Hanako kicks the ring post. Lariat by Rina while Hanako is against the apron, she slides her back in and tosses Hanako down by the hair. Hanako doesn’t like that and snapmares Rina before kicking her in the back, Rina gets to her feet and elbows Hanako, she voluntarily sits down and lets Hanako kick her in the back in return. They go back and forth in such a manner until Hanako wins the duel, she picks up Rina but Rina scoop slams her. Rina puts Hanako in the ropes and knees her in the back, Rina elbows Hanako in the corner but Hanako avoids her charge and hits a heel kick. Big boot by Hanako but Rina fires back with a lariat, another lariat by Rina and she covers Hanako for two. Rina picks up Hanako but Hanako kicks her and tosses Rina into the ropes, Hanako goes to the apron and kicks Rina in the head, she gets up on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Hanako twists Rina into a submission but Rina gets into the ropes, Hanako picks up Rina but Rina hits a vertical suplex.

Hanako goes off the ropes and kicks Rina in the chest, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Rina recovers and joins her. Hanako sends back to the mat with a chokeslam, she waits for Rina to get up and delivers a Shining Wizard for a two count. Hanako goes up top again and nails the Destiny Hammer, but again Rina kicks out of the cover. Hanako ascends the turnbuckle again but this time Rina rolls out of the way as she goes for a diving legdrop, they both are slow to recover and trade elbows when they return to their feet. High kick by Hanako and she hits a second one, she covers Rina but it gets a two count. Rina quickly gets Hanako’s back and applies a sleeper hold, but Hanako wiggles to the ropes and gets there to force a break. Rina kicks Hanako and hits a lariat, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat for a two count cover. Rina picks up Hanako but Hanako pushes her away, enzuigiri by Rina but Hanako fires back with one of her own. Release German by Rina, she picks up Hanako but Hanako hits a fisherman buster. Both are slow to get to their knees as they trade elbows, Hanako ducks a Rainmaker attempt but Rina still levels her with a lariat for two. Rina picks up Hanako and goes for Splash Mountain, but Hanako slides away. Hanako applies a short armbar but Rina rolls out of it, Hanako kicks Rina in the head but Rina knocks her down with a lariat. Jumping kick by Hanako, she picks up Rina and kicks her in the head. Buzzsaw Kick by Hanako, but Rina kicks out of the cover. Hanako picks up Rina and nails the Requiem Driver, and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori wins and retains the championship!

As expected, this was an entertaining and hard hitting match. If you’ve seen any matches from these two, you know what to expect – lots of hard strikes with an occasional suplex or power move mixed in for good measure. They didn’t waste time with pointless submissions or limb work that would go nowhere, it was just two wrestlers throwing everything at each other for 20 minutes. There were some selling issues late, as there tends to be with this match style, and some of the transitions of control were suspect (or didn’t exist at all), but the time passed quickly and it felt like it ended about when it should have which this event has been good for. I also liked that Rina never hit the Splash Mountain, that’s her killer move and teasing it without landing it was the right way to go. A great main event for a smaller PURE-J show.  Recommended

The post PURE-J Pure Slam Vol. 8 on 11/4/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Manami vs. Mari Manji

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

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

Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee

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

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

Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn

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

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

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

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

Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Occasionally I like to review an odd event that wasn’t televised, so today I decided to give PURE-J some love. PURE-J was born out of JWP when JWP shut down last spring, it has the same wrestlers and set-up, they just lost the rights to the name and the JWP titles. On this show, we have a six team tag tournament plus a special singles match featuring Yumiko Hotta! Here is the full card:

• Dream Tag Tournament Quarter Final: KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Saori Anou
• Dream Tag Tournament Quarter Final: Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki vs. Hikari Shimizu and Syoko Sekiguchi
• Dream Tag Tournament Semi Final: KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Leon and Miyuki Takase
• Dream Tag Tournament Semi Final: Command Bolshoi and Tae Honma vs. Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki
• Manami Katsu vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Dream Tag Tournament Final: Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki vs. KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane

All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Since I am watching this on DVD, all matches will be shown in full.

KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Saori Anou

Rydeen and Saori start the match but Yako attacks Rydeen from behind, Rydeen stacks them both into the corner and hits a body avalanche before putting Saori in a backbreaker. Yako breaks it up but Rydeen hits a double backdrop suplex, Rydeen puts both of them in crab holds but lets go after a moment. Yako leaves the ring and Rydeen puts Saori into her own crab hold, but Saori gets into the ropes. Saori gets away from Rydeen but Rydeen drops her with a backbreaker, body press by Rydeen and she gets a two count. Rydeen picks up Saori but Saori reverses the backdrop suplex, kick by Saori but Rydeen judo tosses her to the mat and tags in KAZUKI. KAZUKI flings Saori down and goes for her arm, but Yako quickly breaks it up. KAZUKI throws both Yako and Saori in the corner and hits a running knee, another knee by KAZUKI and she stacks both Yako and Saori across the ropes in the corner before hitting a double kneedrop. Saori clubs on KAZUKI but KAZUKI knees her, sidewalk slam by Saori and she covers KAZUKI for two. KAZUKI knees Saori again and the two trade shots, backslide with a bridge by Saori but KAZUKI kicks out. Saori tags in Yako, hip attacks by Yako to KAZUKI and she gets KAZUKI on her shoulders, but Rydeen breaks it up.

Yako kicks Rydeen out of the ring, she goes back to Yako and hits a wrist clutch suplex. Missile dropkick by Yako, and she covers KAZUKI for a two count. Saori comes in while Yako goes up top, she tries to help Yako hit a senton but KAZUKI rolls out of the way. KAZUKI tags Rydeen, lariat by Rydeen and she covers Yako for two. Saori runs in but Rydeen lariats both of them, Rydeen picks up Yako and drops her with a German suplex. Reverse Splash by Rydeen and she hits a second one, but Saori breaks up the cover. Lariat by Rydeen in the corner and she hits a second one, more lariats by Rydeen and she covers Yako, but Yako gets a shoulder up. Knees by Rydeen but Yako avoids the lariat and cradles Rydeen for a two count. Another roll-up by Yako but KAZUKI breaks it up, Yako picks up Rydeen and with Saori they hit a double backdrop suplex. Yako goes up top and hits a swivel body press, but the pin is broken up. Saori tries to help but hits Yako by accident, German suplex by Rydeen to Yako and she nails her with a lariat for the three count! KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane win and continue in the tournament.

Even though it was just a reasonably short opener, I really liked this match. Rydeen has really developed into a beast, she was tossing around and lariating both Yako and Saori at will and I really enjoy power wrestling done well. Really she was the main force here, KAZUKI did a few things but she was mostly letting the younger wrestler do the work while she saved her energy for the rest of the tournament. Yako continues to improve, she looks a bit better each time I see her, and Saori is always a pleasure. A solid way to kick off the event.  Mildly Recommended

Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki vs. Hikari Shimizu and Syoko Sekiguchi

Hikari and Natsumi begin the match, they both go off the ropes and have a quick exchange but they end up on their feet again. Syoko runs in and with Hikari they dropkick Natsumi, but Hanako comes in and helps even things out. Natsumi tags in Hanako and they double team Hikari, Hanako snapmares Hikari and kicks her in the back. Hikari returns the favor, Hanako knees Hikari in the corner but Hikari dropkicks her and tags in Syoko. Hanako swats away Syoko’s dropkick and puts Syoko in a stretch hold, Syoko gets into the ropes but Hanako tosses her down with an armdrag out of the corner. Hanako stomps on Syoko and she covers the rookie for a two count. Syoko dropkicks Hanako, she picks her up but Hanako blocks the slam attempt and knees Syoko in the head. Another dropkick by Syoko and she hits a face crusher, she tags in Hikari and Hikari dropkicks Hanako. Irish whip by Hikari and she armdrags Hanako out of the corner, elbow by Hikari but Hanako elbows her back as they trade shots. Hanako kicks Hikari in the chest to send her to the mat, Hikari goes off the ropes and she delivers a bulldog. PK by Hikari, and she covers Hanako for a two count.

Fisherman suplex by Hanako, she goes off the ropes but Syoko hits her from the apron. Syoko comes in but Hanako dropkicks both of them, she tags in Natsumi and Natsumi elbows Hikari against the ropes. Cartwheel armdrag by Natsumi and she dropkicks Hikari for a two count. Natsumi picks up Hikari and slams her in front of the corner, Natsumi gets on the second rope and hits a diving sunset flip for another two. Hikari kicks Natsumi in the chest and hits a leg sweep, cover by Hikari but Natsumi kicks out. Hikari tags in Syoko, dropkicks by Syoko and Hikari returns so they both can dropkick Natsumi. Syoko goes for a STO but Natsumi blocks it, Natsumi and Syoko trade elbows until Syoko delivers the STO for a two count. Syoko picks up Natsumi and elbows her into the corner, dropkick by Natsumi but Syoko hits another STO. Syoko gets on the second turnbuckle but Natsumi tosses her back to the mat, front flipping neckbreaker by Natsumi but Syoko kicks out. Missile dropkick by Hanako, Natsumi gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving body press. Natsumi goes for the swinging neckbreaker but Syoko blocks it, cradle by Syoko but it gets a two count. Syoko goes off the ropes but Natsumi avoids her charge, Hanako boots Syoko and Natsumi nails the Neck Twist for the three count! Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki win and continue in the tournament.

I’m not sure if I can say this match as ‘good’ but it was rather exciting. It was pretty simple in structure, which is expected with two rookies, but they kept the action moving so it never got dull. I’m not a big fan of Hanako and think she was a bit clunky in parts, but Natsumi looked great which helped make up for that. There was only one notable botch, which isn’t bad considering the experience levels, and most of it was pretty smooth. Who knows if Hikari and Syoko will stick around long term, but neither looked too out of place which is always a plus. Overall a bit lacking but it had some fun parts.

KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane vs. Leon and Miyuki Takase

Leon and Miyuki attack KAZUKI and Rydeen before the match starts, they knock KAZUKI out of the ring before hitting a double dropkick onto Rydeen. Miyuki stays in as legal and hits a few dropkicks, Rydeen scoops her up but Miyuki slides around and applies a sleeper. Rydeen drives Miyuki into the corner to try to get her off, but Miyuki gets her to the mat and applies a headscissors. Miyuki drives Rydeen’s head into the mat until KAZUKI comes in and puts Miyuki in a headscissors also. Leon breaks that up, KAZUKI and Rydeen both judo toss their opponents to the mat before Rydeen starts flinging Miyuki around the ring. Rydeen scoops up Miyuki and puts her in a backbreaker, she puts Miyuki in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Lariat by Rydeen and she hits a vertical suplex, Miyuki goes off the ropes with attempted shoulderblocks but Rydeen doesn’t go down. Diving elbow smash by Miyuki, and she covers Rydeen for a two count. Miyuki tags in Leon, running shoulder tackle by Leon and she hits a bulldog off the ropes. Leon goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Leon but Rydeen kicks out. Leon goes off the ropes but Rydeen blocks the spear, she gets Rydeen up in a press slam before dropping Leon to the mat. Lariat by Rydeen and she hits a powerslam, but Leon gets a hand on the ropes.

Rydeen tags in KAZUKI but Leon cradles her for a two, leg clutch backdrop suplex by KAZUKI, but that gets a two count as well. KAZUKI gets up on the turnbuckles but Miyuki grabs her from the apron, Leon joins KAZUKI and she hits a fisherman suplex down to the mat. Knees by KAZUKI and she hits a Codebreaker, she goes off the ropes but Leon delivers the spear for two. Leon tags Miyuki, Miyuki picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI avoids her dropkick and hits a running knee. Rydeen comes in and lariats Miyuki in the corner, running knee by KAZUKI and Rydeen hits a backbreaker. Another running knee by KAZUKI, but Leon breaks up the cover. KAZUKI and Rydeen go to attack Miyuki but Leon pushes her out of the way and hits a spear on both of her opponents. Miyuki picks up KAZUKI and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam, frog splash by Leon and Miyuki follows with a guillotine legdrop. Miyuki goes off the ropes but KAZUKI catches her with a cutter, Rydeen hits a reverse splash and KAZUKI follows with a reverse double kneedrop. Cover by KAZUKI, but Leon barely breaks it up. KAZUKI picks up Miyuki and goes off the ropes, but Leon knees KAZUKI before Miyuki rolls her up for two. Rydeen picks up Miyuki and hits a backdrop suplex, KAZUKI goes up top and nails a diving kneedrop for the three count! KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane win and advance to the Finals.

Another fun match from WANTED ’14, they are a quality team. Leon is a very respected veteran for a reason, everything she did here was so crisp and she guided Miyuki to the point that she didn’t feel like a rookie at all. They also felt like a real team, constantly working together, which is impressive considering they don’t usually interact. Rydeen has really gotten over as a power house and got to show off a bit more here, although KAZUKI was far more involved as she took over the last half of the match. A really entertaining midcard tag match, this tournament has over-delivered so far.  Recommended

Command Bolshoi and Tae Honma vs. Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki

Tae and Natsumi start the match, Tae pushes Natsumi into the ropes and Bolshoi comes in to help, but it ultimately backfires. Tae trips Natsumi and puts her in a cross kneelock, but Hanako comes in and breaks it up. Tae tags in Bolshoi, Natsumi and Bolshoi trade strikes until Bolshoi rolls Natsumi to the mat and puts her in a kneelock. Hanako breaks it up again, she tags Natsumi to her corner so that she can tag in. Hanako kicks Bolshoi into the corner, Irish whip by Hanako but Bolshoi grabs her arm and applies an armbar over the ropes. Bolshoi twists Hanako’s arm in the top rope before tagging in Tae, dropkick to the arm by Tae but Hanako hits a fisherman suplex. Hanako puts Tae in a crab hold, but Tae crawls to the ropes and gets the break. Hanako tags in Natsumi and hits a series of dropkicks onto Tae, Tae trips Natsumi however and puts her in a kneelock. Natsumi gets into the ropes, Tae tags Bolshoi and Bolshoi hits a vertical suplex. Bolshoi picks up Natsumi and puts Natsumi in an ankle hold, Hanako comes in to help but Bolshoi puts her into an ankle hold also. Bolshoi wraps their legs together and with Tae they put both their opponents into crab holds. They leg go after a moment, uranage by Bolshoi to Natsumi and she covers her for two. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Hanako hits her from the apron, cartwheel into a cradle by Natsumi but Bolshoi kicks out. Natsumi tags in Hanako, boots by Hanako and she goes up top, but Bolshoi runs over and hits a palm strike.

Bolshoi tries to suplex Hanako back in the ring but Hanako blocks it and hits a leg drop, Hanako goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Hanako goes for a fisherman suplex but Bolshoi blocks it, palm strikes by Bolshoi but Hanako kicks her in the chest. Triangle choke by Bolshoi but Hanako gets a foot in the ropes for a break, Bolshoi tags in Tae and Tae goes for the cross armbreaker but Hanako blocks it. Tae picks up Hanako and goes for the short armbar, but Natsumi breaks it up. Natsumi dropkicks Tae, Bolshoi elbows Natsumi and hits a Tiger Feint Kick onto Hanako. Tae quickly covers Hanako, but it gets a two count. Tae picks up Hanako but Bolshoi lariats both Tae and Bolshoi, Neck Twist by Natsumi to Tae and Hanako boots Tae in the face for a two count. Hanako hits a legdrop off the second turnbuckle, Natsumi then hits a diving body press before Hanako ends the chain with a Shining Wizard. Cover, but Bolshoi breaks it up. Hanako picks up Tae but Tae blocks the fisherman buster, cross armbreaker takedown by Tae but Hanako gets a foot on the ropes. Tae picks up Hanako, palm strike by Bolshoi and Tae rolls up Hanako for a two count. Tae goes off the ropes but Hanako kicks her in the head, head kick by Hanako but Bolshoi breaks up the cover. Hanako picks up Tae and nails the fisherman buster, and she picks up the three count! Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki win the match and go to the tournament Finals.

Another solid match, nothing on this event is blowing me away but its been very steady since the start. Bolshoi was all over the place here, in a good way, as she was always involving herself and doing her damnedest to get her team the win. You’d think it would be tempting for a vet to coast a bit on a small non-televised show, but she certainly wasn’t. The leg work on Natsumi was good, ultimately not important to the conclusion but both wrestlers kept at it and I thought Tae showed a lot here. Still not thrilled with Hanako but she didn’t do anything here to hurt the match, she isn’t the fastest or most crisp wrestler but Natsumi was generally the focus. A fun match, worth a casual watch.  Mildly Recommended

Manami Katsu vs. Yumiko Hotta

Manami attacks Hotta before the match starts with elbows in the corner, Hotta elbows her back and the two trade blows. Manami tries to shoulderblock Hotta with no luck, Hotta lariats Manami to the mat and finally gets to take her coat off. Single leg crab hold by Hotta but Manami quickly gets to the ropes. Hotta kicks Manami out of the ring, she goes out after her and tosses Manami around the floor. Hotta returns to the ring with Manami slowly following, kicks by Hotta and she throws Manami to the mat before putting her in a chinlock. Hotta bites Manami in the head but Manami hits a lariat in the corner, more lariats by Manami but Hotta blocks the bulldog. Hotta boots Manami in the head, but Manami recovers and the two trade elbows. Manami knees Hotta in the back to get her to the mat, crab hold by Manami but Hotta gets into the ropes for the break. Hotta goes for a sleeper but Manami quickly gets to the ropes, Hotta kicks Manami in the chest and covers her for two. Manami rolls Hotta to the mat and applies a kneelock, but Hotta is in the ropes already and easily gets the break. Back up, Katsu ducks a lariat and re-applies the rolling kneelock, but again Hotta gets to the ropes. Hotta rolls out of the ring but Manami goes out after her and throws a chair at her, Manami throws another chair at Hotta before taking her up into the crowd so she can ram Hotta’s head into the wall. Manami spits water at Hotta and brings her back into the ring, Samoan Drop by Manami and she boots Hotta while she is against the ropes. Another boot by Manami and she hits a third, lariat by Manami but Hotta doesn’t go down. Elbows by Hotta and she palm strikes Manami, Manami gets up and elbows Hotta but Hotta applies a sleeper. She lets Manami go and kicks her in the head, Hotta puts Manami in a rear naked choke and Manami quickly taps out! Yumiko Hotta is the winner.

I understand what they were trying to do here, but the results were a bit iffy. Try as she might, Manami just wasn’t able to elevated by Hotta, it just felt like a fly annoying a lion. It didn’t help that there were a few miscommunications and they even had to re-do a move, which is never ideal. But even though Manami got in offense it just felt like she was delaying the inevitable more than anything else. Not a bad match, just too predictable with nothing particularly memorable.

Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki vs. KAZUKI and Rydeen Hagane

Hanako and Natsumi attack before the match starts, Hanako and Natsumi both go for armdrags out of the corner but Rydeen and KAZUKI knock them both out of the ring instead. Rydeen and KAZUKI brawl around the floor before sliding Natsumi back in, double Irish whip by Rydeen and KAZUKI and they hit a double shoulderblock. Rydeen and KAZUKI stretch Natsumi until Hanako breaks it up, KAZUKI tosses Natsumi down by the hair and hits a kneedrop, cross leglock by KAZUKI, but Natsumi wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Scoop slam by KAZUKI and she hits a kneedrop, cover by KAZUKI but Natsumi kicks out. KAZUKI tags Rydeen, Rydeen puts Natsumi in a crab hold but Hanako breaks it up. Natsumi gets back up and trades elbows with Rydeen, hard shoulderblock by Rydeen and she covers Natsumi for two. Rydeen tags in KAZUKI, knees by KAZUKI and she taunts Hanako on the apron. KAZUKI applies a sleeper but Natsumi gets a toe on the ropes, Irish whip by KAZUKI but Natsumi hits a jumping crossbody and makes the hot tag to Hanako. Kicks by Hanako to KAZUKI but KAZUKI knees her in the back, knees to the stomach by KAZUKI and she covers Hanako for two. Hanako kicks KAZUKI in the head to regain the advantage, she goes up top and hits a combination armdrag/headscissors on both opponents. Hanako tags in Natsumi, dropkicks by Natsumi to KAZUKI and she applies a hanging armbar. Schoolboy by Natsumi, but KAZUKI kicks out. Natsumi goes up top but Rydeen grabs her from the apron, KAZUKI puts Natsumi on her shoulders but Natsumi wiggles away. Footstomp by KAZUKI and she hits a double underhook gutbuster, cover by KAZUKI but Natsumi barely gets a shoulder up. KAZUKI tags in Rydeen, Rydeen lariats Natsumi in the corner before she hits a second one. More lariats by Rydeen but Natsumi rolls over her shoulders and covers her for two.

Rydeen scoops up Natsumi and applies a backbreaker, but Hanako breaks it up. Rydeen hits a backdrop suplex on both Natsumi and Hanako, double lariat by Rydeen and she goes back to concentrating on Natsumi. Rydeen picks up Natsumi and press slams her onto Hanako, backdrop suplex by Rydeen to Natsumi and she hits a pair of reverse splashes for a two count. Rydeen goes up top but Natsumi avoids the body press, Hanako kicks Rydeen and Natsumi covers her for two. Natsumi tags Hanako, Hanako picks up Rydeen but Rydeen hits a powerslam. Rydeen goes up top but Hanako recovers and kicks her before she can jump off, Hanako joins Rydeen and hits a fisherman suplex down to the mat. Diving body press by Natsumi and Hanako delivers the Shining Wizard, but Rydeen barely kicks out. Hanako goes up top but Rydeen avoids the diving legdrop, Codebreaker by KAZUKI to Hanako and Rydeen hits a sliding lariat. KAZUKI goes up top and nails the diving double kneedrop, Rydeen then goes up top and hits the diving body press, but Natsumi breaks up the cover. Headbutt by Hanako to Rydeen but KAZUKI knees her, Natsumi dropkicks KAZUKI but Rydeen lariats Natsumi. Lariat by Rydeen to Natsumi, she picks up Hanako and hits a fireman’s carry slam for a two count. Rydeen goes off the ropes but Hanako kicks her in the head, another head kick by Hanako but Rydeen fires back with a lariat. Natsumi kicks Rydeen in the stomach, fisherman buster by Natsumi but KAZUKI breaks up her cover. Running kick to the head by Hanako and she delivers a Buzzsaw Kick to Rydeen, but Rydeen gets a shoulder up on the pin. Hanako goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving guillotine leg drop, and she picks up the three count! The winners of the match and the tournament are Hanako Nakamori and Natsumi Maki!

Since I have been less enthused with Hanako so far in this tournament, I have to say that she did step up here and looked pretty good in the Final. I really enjoyed this, considering it was their third match of the night they didn’t slow down at all or show any signs of wear. Even though Hanako and Natsumi aren’t a regular team, they still wrestled like one, and they all worked together really well. It was chaotic, and there wasn’t a lot of structure to it, but it was certainly exciting to watch. Normally I do like a bit more ‘meaning’ behind things but a thrown together tournament tends to be a bit more laid back, they were just trying to put on a fun show and I think they accomplished that. No obvious flaws, a fun match and a fitting end to the tournament.  Recommended

The post PURE-J “JxA Dream Tag Tournament” on 7/14/17 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

The post JWP on 1/9/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship and the JWP Jr./POP Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• December 24th, 2012 vs. Rabbit Miu  (title win)
• August 18th, 2013 vs. Eri Susa  (title defense)
• December 15th, 2013 vs. Rydeen Hagane  (title defense)
• October 20th, 2016 vs. Kyoko Kimura  (title challenge)
• August 11th, 2018 vs. Hanako Nakamori   (title challenge)
• February 20th, 2020 with Mari Manji vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe  (title challenge)
• January 13th, 2025 vs. Yuuki Mashiro   (title win)

Signature Moves:

• Big Splash
• Blockbuster
• Diving Elbow Drop
• Leg Lariat
• Orange Blossom
• Somersault Neckbreaker

In Action:

Back to Ice Ribbon Roster

The post Manami Katsu appeared first on Joshi City.

Normally, I don’t like to review an event that took place prior to an event I already reviewed for that promotion, but this is a special circumstance. I found a website online that sells JWP DVDs and I wanted to see this show so I could watch Kyoko Kimura take on Arisa Nakajima. It arrived today and works great, so I figured I may as well review the show as well. Here is the full card:

• KAZUKI vs. Yuina Onasaka
• Hanako Nakamori and Natsu Sumire vs. Syuri and Yako Fujigasaki
• Manami Katsu vs. Rydeen Hagane
• Command Bolshoi and Rabbit Miu vs. Leon and Sareee
• JWP Openweight Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Kyoko Kimura

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile if I have one here on Joshi City. While this event was not filmed for TV, the matches all still got a decent amount of time so this is not your average house show. There is only one camera but its being operated, so its not just a static hard cam setup.

KAZUKI vs. Yuina Onasaka

KAZUKI and Yuina tie-up to start, elbows by Yuina but she can’t knock KAZUKI off her feet. They trade wristlocks, headlock by KAZUKI and she takes the rookie to the mat. Yuina struggles to the ropes to force a break but KAZUKI throws her down by the hair and scoop slams her for a two count cover. Leglock by KAZUKI and she applies a camel clutch, after a moment she releases the hold and knees Yuina in the back. Irish whip by KAZUKI but Yuina hits a crossbody, stomps by Yuina and she applies a chinlock. KAZUKI gets out of it and hits a scoop slam, running knee drop by KAZUKI and she covers Yuina for two. KAZUKI puts Yuina into the corner and hits a series of knees, KAZUKI charges Yuina but Yuina moves and hits a dropkick. Yuina and KAZUKI trade elbows, Yuina elbows KAZUKI against the ropes but KAZUKI knees her in the stomach. Dropkick by Yuina and she hits a seated senton, picking up a two. Yuina picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI hits a scoop slam before putting Yuina in a crab hold. Yuina gets a hand on the ropes to force the break, running knee to the back by KAZUKI and puts Yuina across the second rope in the corner. Kneedrop by KAZUKI from the top turnbuckle, she then goes back up top and delivers a reverse splash kneedrop, but Yuina kicks out of the cover. KAZUKI goes up top again but this time Yuina avoids her dive and hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Yuina gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving seated senton, but it only gets a two. Yuina goes off the ropes, KAZUKI picks her up but Yuina slides away and sneaks in a sunset flip. Yuina tries an inside cradle and backslide as well with no luck, KAZUKI scoops up Yuina and tosses her onto the mat. Crab hold by KAZUKI but Yuina gets into the ropes, STF by KAZUKI but again Yuina is able to force the break. KAZUKI picks up Yuina and hits a backdrop suplex, she goes up top and she delivers the diving kneedrop for the three count pinfall! KAZUKI is your winner.

I normally say matches are too short, but this one felt like it had a bit too much time. They didn’t have a ton of interesting things to do so the match just felt like it dragged even though it only went ten minutes. I do not know if Yuina has a future in Joshi but nothing from this match gave me any reason to think she will be a star, although KAZUKI is a tough draw as she isn’t the ideal pairing for a rookie due to her straight-forward and bland style. No mistakes or awkwardness, it was just a bit listless and dull.

Hanako Nakamori and Natsu Sumire vs. Syuri and Yako Fujigasaki

Syuri and Nakamori kick things off, Irish whip by Syuri but Nakamori shoulderblocks her to the mat. Armdrag by Syuri but Nakamori hits an armdrag of her own and both wrestlers return to their feet. Running kick by Nakamori but Syuri gets up and kicks her back, they trade snapmares and kicks which Syuri naturally gets the better of. Fujigasaki runs in and they double team Nakamori, Syuri hops on Fujigasaki’s back but Nakamori rolls out of the way of the body press attempt. Nakamori tags in while Syuri yells at Fujigasaki, Syuri tags Fujigasaki but Natsu promptly attacks her. Natsu and Nakamori double team Fujigasaki in the corner, Nakamori is tagged in and she hits Fujigasaki with a leg drop. Fujigasaki is beat down for awhile, first by Nakamori and then by Natsu, Natsu boots Fujigasaki repeatedly before covering her for two. Figure Four Necklock by Natsu but Fujigasaki gets to the ropes to force a break, running boot by Natsu but Fujigasaki hits a hip attack to start her comeback. Missile dropkick by Fujigasaki and she makes the tag to Syuri, knees by Syuri to Natsu and she hits a running knee in the corner. Double underhook suplex by Syuri and she puts Natsu in a cross armbreaker, Natsu gets out of it but Syuri hits a PK for a two count. Fujigasaki comes in, Syuri gets on her back and they walk over Natsu a few times before Fujigasaki hits a body press. Cover by Syuri, but Natsu kicks out. Syuri goes off the ropes but Natsu hits a jumping lariat, boot by Natsu and she hits a Bronco Buster in the corner.

Bridging suplex by Natsu, but Syuri kicks out at two. Natsu goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, she tags in Nakamori and Nakamori boots Syuri in the head. Kicks by Nakamori but Syuri kicks her back and hits a release German. Nakamori springs to her feet and quickly hits a Shining Wizard, she goes up top but Syuri avoids her dive and kicks her in the chest. German suplex hold by Syuri, but Natsu breaks it up. Syuri tags Fujigasaki, Fujigasaki goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Fujigasaki goes up again and hits a second missile dropkick, cover by Fujigasaki but it gets a two count. Fujigasaki hits rolling double wrist-clutch suplexes, but Nakamori kicks out of that as well. She goes for another one but Nakamori blocks it, kick to the stomach by Nakamori but Fujigasaki blocks the fisherman suplex. Scoop slam by Fujigasaki, she goes up top but Nakamori gets her knees up when Fujigasaki dives off. Natsu runs in and kicks Fujigasaki, big boot by Nakamori and they drop Fujigasaki with a double lariat. Nakamori picks up Fujigasaki and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, but Fujigasaki barely gets a shoulder up. Nakamori goes up top but Syuri kicks her from the apron, this gives Fujigasaki time to recover and Fujigasaki joins Nakamori before suplexing her down to the mat. Fujigasaki picks up Nakamori but Nakamori kicks her in the stomach, Syuri runs in but so does Natsu to even the odds. Fujigasaki covers Nakamori with a jackknife for two, she tries a few other flash pins but nothing works. Syuri returns and kicks Nakamori in the head, sunset flip by Fujigasaki but Natsu breaks it up. Fujigasaki goes off the ropes but Nakamori hits a big boot, Shining Wizard by Nakamori but Syuri breaks up the cover. Nakamori goes up top and she nails the Destiny Hammer, picking up the three count! Hanako Nakamori and Sumire Natsu are your winners.

Its hard to describe in words why this match is so bad. I’d say “you’d have to watch it to understand” but I don’t want you to have to watch it to understand. It was just really disjointed and basic, there were times they clearly didn’t know what was going on and besides Syuri all of their default moves were “running kick.” Not a big boot, just running up and kicking their opponent in the stomach. There were so many of those, and its not a real move, its a filler/confusion move that is just really obvious. So there was a lot of that, no real story being told, nothing to tie everything together. Syuri was fine as always but there was no way she could save this match, Nakamori I don’t think will ever develop as this is normal for her, Natsu hopefully will but for me they are a tag team from hell as I don’t think they could have an entertaining match as a team. Anyway, don’t watch this, even if you love Syuri you’ll come away from it annoyed.

Manami Katsu vs. Rydeen Hagane

They start with a shoulderblock battle that Hagane gets the better of, Hagane throws Katsu into the corner and she hits a lariat for a two count. Scoop slam and a running body press by Hagane and she puts Katsu in a camel clutch. Katsu gets out of it and bites Hagane’s arm, kicks by Katsu and she slams Hagane’s head into the mat before putting Hagane in a camel clutch of her own. Katsu rolls it into a bodyscissors, Hagane gets out of it and they trade elbows back on their feet. Katsu goes off the ropes but Hagane catches her with a swinging backbreaker, Hagane applies a single leg crab hold but Katsu gets to the ropes. Hagane picks up Katsu but Katsu knees her in the back and applies a crab hold but Hagane forces the break. Katsu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, covering Hagane for two. Katsu picks up Hagane but Hagane elbows her off, snap release German by Katsu and she hits a Reverse Splash. Katsu goes for a second one but Hagane gets her feet up, Samoan Drop by Hagane and she hits a Reverse Splash of her own. Another Reverse Splash by Hagane, but Katsu kicks out of the cover. Hagane goes up top again and this time hits a diving bodypress, but Katsu barely gets a shoulder up. Hagane picks up Katsu but Katsu slides down her back and applies a sunset flip, Katsu goes off the ropes and hits a jumping knee by Hagane for a two count. Katsu picks up Hagane, Hagane goes for a Rainmaker but Katsu blocks it and both wrestlers elbow each other. Lariat by Hagane, she picks up Katsu and she delivers the Rainmaker, but Katsu barely kicks out. Hagane goes off the ropes but Katsu catches her with a spinning back elbow, German suplex hold by Katsu but it gets a two count. Katsu goes up top and she hits a diving elbow drop, Katsu picks up Hagane and sits her on the top turnbuckle. Katsu joins Hagane  and hits an avalanche release Orange Blossom suplex, she follows that with the regular Orange Blossom and she picks up the three count! Manami Katsu is the winner!

I have to give them credit, this match started dull like the last match and then something switched in their heads and suddenly they were throwing bombs like it was 1998 All Japan. It no longer was just a standard midcard match when people are kicking out of Rainmakers, diving bodypresses, and everything else. I think that Hagane shows the most promise of these two, she is a bit bigger which is harder to find in Joshi but still can do the same moves, and her power moves all have impact. I can’t give the match a super recommendation since it started so slow and in a meandering fashion, but the last few minutes were a great heavyweight sprint.  Mildly Recommended

Command Bolshoi and Rabbit Miu vs. Leon and Sareee

Leon and Bolshoi start off the match, Leon goes off the ropes as Bolshoi does as well and Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Sareee comes in, Bolshoi goes for a double crossbody and is assisted by her partner Miu. All four stay in with Bolshoi and Miu getting the advantage, vertical suplex by Bolshoi to Leon and she covers her for two. Camel Clutch by Bolshoi, she lets the hold go and tags in Miu. Cutter by Miu and she snaps Leon’s arm, she throws Leon into the corner but Leon jumps over her head and dropkicks Miu into the corner. Leon tags in Sareee, scoop slam by Sareee to Miu and she puts her in a the Muta Lock. She picks up Miu as Leon comes in, and they both hit a dropkick. Miu changes the momentum with an armdrag and a crossbody, giving her a chance to tag in Bolshoi. Bolshoi gets Sareee on her shoulders and stretches her, dropkick to the knee by Sareee and she rolls up Bolshoi for two. Sareee charges Bolshoi but Bolshoi applies a hanging armbar, she tags Sareee’s arm and walks the ropes while Miu does the same to Leon in the opposite corner. They both hit armdrags off the ropes, more double team moves by Bolshoi and Miu as they are dominating their opponents. Miu stays in with Sareee and stretches her on the mat, Sareee gets out of it and the two trade elbows. DDT by Miu, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Sareee elbows Miu away and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count.

She rolls to her corner and tags in Leon, running shoulder tackle by Leon in the corner but Miu gets out of the double underhook. Another shoulder tackle by Leon, she goes up top and hits the missile dropkick for two. Leon goes up top but she is grabbed from the apron, Miu joins Leon but Sareee suplexes her from behind. Leon delivers a rope walking dropkick, cover by Leon but Miu kicks out. Stunner by Miu and she hits a lariat, picking up a two count cover. Miu goes off the ropes but Sareee kicks her from the apron, Sareee comes in but Miu hits a DDT on Leon anyway. Sliding D by Miu and she tags in Bolshoi. Bolshoi picks up Leon but Bolshoi catches her when she goes off the ropes and applies an armbar. Leon gets out of that but Bolshoi quickly puts her in another submission until Sareee breaks it up. Leon spears both of her opponents, she goes up top but Bolshoi avoids the dive. Leon lands on her feet and drops Bolshoi with a tilt-a-whirl slam, Sareee goes up top and she delivers a diving bodypress. Leon then does the same, but Miu breaks up the cover. Leon picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi pushes her away, Miu tries to help but she elbows Bolshoi by accident. Heel kick by Leon to Bolshoi, but Bolshoi barely kicks out of the cover. Bolshoi reverses the Capture Buster into an inside cradle for two, palm strike by Bolshoi but Sareee runs in and dropkicks her. Miu takes care of Sareee, Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi to Leon and she rolls up Leon for two. Bolshoi charges Leon but Leon pushes her away and applies a jackknife for two. They trade quick pins with neither getting the win, Bolshoi goes for La Magistral but Leon blocks it and puts her in the Clutch de Gao for the three count! Leon and Sareee win!

A fun match, it never really reached the next level but what they did was solid. All four of these women can wrestle, which helps a lot, and everyone came out of it looking no worse than they went in. The match just lacked memorable moments, I just watched it 15 minutes ago and I already can’t think of many individual spots in the match as everything was just ‘good’ with nothing being ‘excellent.’ Technically fine and an easy watch, I just wish they did something special to make it stand out a bit and not just another above average midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Kyoko Kimura
JWP Openweight Championship

Kyoko quickly gets Arisa to the mat after the bell rings and the two jockey for position, they get back up but reach a stalemate. They slow down as they trade holds while still on their feet, they soon start trading elbows before Kyoko flings Arisa out of the ring by her hair. Kyoko goes out after her and they trade elbows out on the floor, our vision is blocked by what is happening however since the crowd is standing. Kyoko apparently won the battle as she returns to the ring first, she kicks Arisa as she returns and starts working on her arm. Arisa ducks Kyoko’s big boot attempt and hits the Sling Blade, running boot by Arisa and she hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Arisa goes back up top and hits a second one, cover by Arisa but it gets two. DDT by Arisa, she goes for a suplex but Kyoko grabs the ropes to block it. Arisa goes for an elbow but Kyoko catches her arm and applies a short armbar, Arisa briefly gets out of it but Kyoko re-applies the hold. Arisa gets a foot on the ropes to break the hold, kicks by Kyoko and she snaps Arisa’s arm over the top rope. Kyoko gets back in the ring and applies a keylock, but Arisa forces the break. Kyoko tries to get Arisa to the mat but Arisa blocks it, she goes for a big boot but Arisa catches her leg and applies an ankle hold. Kyoko rolls out of it and applies an ankle hold of her own, but Arisa reverses it back again. Kyoko gets to the ropes to force a break, running boots to the head by Arisa and she goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Kyoko bumps the ropes before Arisa can jump off.

Kyoko joins Arisa but Arisa slides between her legs and applies an ankle hold, she lets go of Kyoko and suplexes her off the turnbuckles to the mat. Diving footstomp by Arisa to Kyoko’s back, she goes up top again and hits a second diving footstomp to Kyoko’s stomach for a two count cover. Rolling Germans by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa goes off the ropes but Kyoko catches her with a chokebomb, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They slowly get up and trade strikes, big boot by Kyoko but Arisa dropkicks her in the knee and rolls her up for a two count. Arisa goes off the ropes but Kyoko avoids the dropkick this time and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Arisa blocks it and applies a stretch muffler. Kyoko reverses it into a reverse armbar, but Arisa gets into the ropes to force a break. Kyoko picks up Arisa and hits a Saito Suplex, a second Saito Suplex by Kyoko and she drops Arisa with a third for a two count cover. Kyoko goes for Arisa’s arm but she quickly gets into the ropes, Kyoko boots at Arisa’s head but Arisa catches her with a bridging fallaway slam. Package German by Arisa, but Kyoko gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up Kyoko and hits a series of elbows, dragon suplex hold by Arisa but again Kyoko kicks out. Arisa goes for the DxD but Kyoko blocks it so Arisa rolls her to the mat and applies an ankle hold. Kyoko gets a hand on the ropes to force a break. Arisa goes for a suplex but Kyoko headbutts her away, Arisa goes off the ropes but Kyoko levels her with a big boot. Elbows by Arisa and she goes off the ropes, but Kyoko jumps up at her and applies the cross armbreaker. Arisa is too far away from the ropes and has to submit! Your winner and new champion: Kyoko Kimura

Probably a bit more ‘based’ than one would expect from a long championship match, but I thought it was well structured even if sometimes the storytelling wasn’t consistent. Kyoko started the arm work early and kept at it throughout the match when she could, the only issue there was that Arisa didn’t do much to sell the arm damage when Kyoko wasn’t focused on it. Similarly, Arisa targeted Kyoko’s leg as a backup if the suplexes wouldn’t work, but Kyoko didn’t seem bothered by it if Arisa wasn’t actively working on it. Those small (and common) issues aside I enjoyed the match, they mixed up the offense so it never got dull and neither are shy about laying in the strikes. And anytime a match ends with a submission that the wrestler had been working since early on, I am probably going to appreciate it. Not a high end Arisa match but definitely a solid one, a bit low key but entertaining nonetheless.  Recommended

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