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

Finally an Oz Academy event popped up on the Internet, so in order to have as many promotions represented as possible I had to review it as soon as possible. This event is a pretty big one for Oz Academy, as it has the return of Sonoko Kato as well as an Oz Academy Openweight Championship match. Here is the full card:

• AKINO vs. Sonoko Kato
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Miyako Matsumoto
• Kyusei Sakura Hirota and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Mio Shirai
• Dynamite Kansai, Aja Kong, and Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida, Syuri, and Kaho Kobayashi
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Kagetsu

All of the Joshi wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. This event aired on GAORA TV in a two hour block, so some matches will be clipped. 

AKINO vs. Sonoko Kato

AKINO starts off the match with a hurricanrana but it gets a two count. They trade elbows and then high kicks. Dragon screw by Kato and she kicks AKINO into the corner. Cannonball by Kato and she hits an avalanche cannonball for two. AKINO slaps on an armbar but Kato hits a neckbreaker and applies a Dragon Sleeper. Kato goes up top but AKINO hits a superplex. High kick by AKINO and she hits a backdrop suplex. Kato hits a dragon suplex hold, but it gets a two count. High kick by Kato and she boots AKINO in the head. Kicks by AKINO and they trade elbows as they slowly return to their feet. Kato picks up AKINO and hits the Kowloon’s Gate, but it only gets a two count. Kato goes for a kick but AKINO catches her with a powerbomb. They trade elbows, AKINO catches Kato with a running elbow smash and quickly covers her for the three count. AKINO is the winner!

The ending was a bit sudden as it felt like they still had a few more minutes in them, but it wasn’t a bad match. I guess since it was Kato’s return match from injury they wanted to just keep it simple. Not a bad way to open the show, it had some hard hitting action and no overkill.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Miyako Matsumoto

This match is Joined in Progress, proving that there is a God. We pick up as Matsumoto falls on top of Yoneyama and dances around the ring. Yoneyama then dances around and hits a back splash. Yoneyama goes to the second turnbuckle but Matsumoto moves and hits a Shining Wizard. Scoop slam by Matsumoto, she goes up top but Yoneyama gets her feet up when she jumps off. Northern Light Suplex by Yoneyama but it gets a two count. Yoneyama goes up top and hits a senton for another two. Yoneyama cradles Matsumoto from behind and she picks up the three count. Kaori Yoneyama wins.

This was painful but luckily it was really clipped.

Kyusei Sakura Hirota and Hamuko Hoshi vs. Mayumi Ozaki and Mio Shirai

This one is also Joined in Progress, with Shirai and Hirota in the ring. Ozaki is tagged in and she hits a senton onto Hirota for a two count. Hirota is whipped in the face and is literally attacked by everyone. Triple powerbomb to Hirota but Hirota slips away from Ozaki. DDT by Ozaki and she hits a sit-down powerbomb for a two. Chops by Hirota and she hits the Oil Check. Hirota kisses Ozaki and hits a suplex for a two count. Shirai accidentally hits her friends with her pole and Hirota hits a schoolboy on Ozaki for the three count. Hirota and Hoshi are the winners.

This match was equally not good, mid-card Oz can be brutal. I can’t believe this match was 18 minutes, that would have been the worst 18 minutes of my life if it had not been so heavily clipped.

Dynamite Kansai, Aja Kong, and Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida, Syuri, and Kaho Kobayashi

We start the match with Kansai and Kobayashi in the ring, Kong is in the ring too and they take turns slamming Kobayashi. Scoop slam by Toyota as well and everyone slams Kobayashi over and over. Toyota hits a double underhook slam and applies a cross arm submission. Toyota tags in Kong and everyone attacks Kobayashi in the corner. Piledriver by Kong but the cover is broken up. Kobayashi dropkicks Toyota but Toyota boots her and hits a dropkick. Toyota goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Toyota goes for a slam but Kobayashi rolls her up. Oklahoma Roll by Toyota but Kobayashi hits a dropkick and tags in Syuri. Kicks by Syuri to Toyota, Kong comes in but both Syuri and Shida dropkick them. Toyota is thrown in the corner, knee by Shida and Syuri hits one as well. PK by Syuri, cover, but Toyota kicks out. Syuri and Toyota trade elbows, an Toyota hits a German suplex. Heel drop by Toyota but it gets two. Kansai is tagged in and she lariats Syuri in the corner. Syuri gets away from Kansai and hits a backstabber following by a running knee. Shida comes in to help but Kansai hits a double lariat. Syuri knees Kansai and slaps on a cross armbreaker, but Kansai gets to the ropes. Syuri tags in Shida and Shida hits a missile dropkick. Jumping knee by Shida in the corner but Kansai catches the second one and flings Shida to the mat. Shida applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Kong breaks it up. Armbreaker by Shida but Kansai catches her with a backdrop suplex.

Kansai tags in Kong and she trades elbows with Shida. German suplex by Kong and she kicks Shida in the head. Hurricanrana by Shida and she hits Kong with a kendo stick repeatedly. Enzuigiri by Shida but Kansai runs in and lariats her. Vertical suplex by Shida and she hits a running leg kick for two. Shida hits Toyota and Kansai with her kendo stick but Kong hits her with a metal box. Shida tags in Kobayashi, and Kobayashi dropkicks Kong. More dropkicks by Kobayashi, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Syuri comes in and kicks Kong but Toyota comes in and kicks Kobayashi. Kansai lariats Syuri and scoop slams Kobayashi. Kong and Kansai run into each other and Shida hits them both with kendo sticks. Kobayashi goes up top but Kong kicks her in the stomach. Lariat by Kong but the pin is broken up. Kong drops Kobayashi on her head with a backdrop suplex, she then hits a Brainbuster on Kobayashi for the three count. Kansai, Kong, and Toyota are the winners.

I am not going to lie, I really loved this match. Kobayashi is so feisty and easy to root for, and both teams made the match seem really important by constantly inferring, breaking up pins, etc. Really it was Kobayashi that made the match as she takes monster offense so well, but the whole match just clicked for me. The time flew by and unlike what the last match would have been it was a great way to spend 15+ minutes. Only knock was the first few minutes were cut out, wish I could have seen the whole thing.  Highly Recommended

(c) Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Kagetsu
Oz Academy Openweight Championship

Kuragaki pushes Kagetsu into the ropes and she hits a shoulderblock. Dropkick by Kagetsu but Kuragaki hits a lariat. Body press by Kuragaki and she hits a pair of lariats in the corner. Kuragaki gets Kagetsu on the mat but Kagetsu gets to the ropes. Dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a vertical suplex. Lariat by Kuragaki and she hits an exploder. Kuragaki goes up top, Kagetsu joins her but Kagetsu slides out to the apron and kicks Kuragaki back to the mat. Kagetsu goes for a swandive move but Kuragaki hits her back out to the floor. They battle outside the ring and Kuragaki applies an Argentine Backbreaker. Kagetsu kicks Kuragaki and she grabs Kuragaki’s arm as she jumps off the second deck, snapping her arm over the railing. She then pulls Kuragaki back to the floor and slams her into the apron. Kagetsu kicks Kuragaki from the apron and Kagetsu hits a swandive plancha to the floor. Swandive dropkick back in the ring by Kagetsu but Kuragaki knocks Kagetsu to the mat. Kuragaki goes for a suplex but Kagetsu reverses it into a bulldog. Kicks by Kagetsu but Kuragaki slams Kagetsu to the mat.

Kuragaki goes up top but Kagetsu elbows her. Kuragaki throws Kagetsu to the floor and hits a missile dropkick. Scorpion Deathlock by Kuragaki but Kagetsu gets to the ropes. Kuragaki goes up top but Kagetsu rolls out of the way of the moonsault and kicks Kuragaki in the chest. Kagetsu goes up top and hits a diving double knee to Kuragaki’s arm. Armbar by Kagetsu but Kuragaki gets to the ropes. Kuragaki and Kagetsu trade elbows but Kagetsu hits a judo throw before applying the cross armbreaker. Kuragaki powerbombs out of it, she picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu rolls up Kuragaki for a two. Death valley bomb by Kagetsu and she hits a cross armbreaker takedown. La Magistral by Kagetsu but it gets a two count. High kick by Kagetsu but Kuragaki catches her with a backdrop suplex. Another backdrop suplex by Kuragaki and she hits a lariat. Kuragaki picks up Kagetsu and hits the Metal Wing. Kuragaki picks up Kagetsu and goes for it again but Kagetsu lands on her feet and kicked Kuragaki in the head. Lariat by Kuragaki, she picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away. Kuragaki levels her with another lariat and she hits a Falcon Arrow for the three count! Tsubasa Kuragaki wins and retains the championship.

A really solid match and a fun back and forth. I wish Kuragaki had sold the arm a bit at some point but Kagetsu stayed on it at least, and it was a good ‘power offensive vs. submission holds’ match dynamic. The time of the match felt just right and it wasn’t clipped. The show started really slow but ended with two entertaining matches. Recommended

event reviewed on 2/9/15

The post Oz Academy “The Wizard of OZ” on 1/11/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Lylah Lodge vs. Rabbit Miyu

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

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

Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Eiger

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dump Matsumoto and Keiko Aono vs. Megumi Yabushita and KAZUKI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase

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

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

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

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

review completed on 3/25/14

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

  

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2017, or any championship that was held when 2017 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using, because I disagree with it, is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration.

1. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Freelancer)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Openweight Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship, Sendai Girls’ World Championship, and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  with Kagetsu vs. Shida and Syuri on 1/25, with Kyona vs. Hojo and Bito on 3/5, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 6/10, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 7/15, vs. Yoshiko on 10/29
Best Match: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls’ on 6/10

What made 2017 so special for Hiroyo Matsumoto is not only did she dominate, but she dominated in multiple different promotions. Hiroyo held the top title in two different promotions (OZ Academy and Sendai Girls’) and held two additional titles in Stardom all during the year. Over the course of the year, she had singles wins over Kyoko Kimura, Meiko Satomura, Arisa Nakajima, Chihiro Hashimoto, AKINO, Hikaru Shida, and Mariko Yoshida. In addition to her success against a variety of opponents, in-ring she was on the top of her game, putting on high-end matches throughout the year. No one could have expected that Hiroyo would have the type of year she had in 2017, just showing how unpredictable the Joshi landscape can be.

2. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon ICExInfinity Championship and the Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Rina Yamashita on 3/26, vs. Akane Fujita on 5/28, vs. Maya Yukihi on 8/27, with Yukihi vs. Lovely Butchers on 10/29, vs. Kurumi on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Rina Yamashita in Ice Ribbon on 3/26

Risa Sera was the undisputed Ace of Ice Ribbon in 2017. She won the main title in the promotion, the ICExInfinity Championship, on the last day of 2016 and did not lose it until the last day of 2017. During that span, she had seven successful defenses against seven different opponents, including Rina Yamashita, Mochi Miyagi, and Maya Yukihi. In addition to the singles championship, she also won the tag team championship with Maya Yukihi in October and held it until the end of the year, with one successful defense during that time. Of all the wrestlers in 2017, none dominated their promotion like Risa Sera did in 2017, so while she didn’t go outside the promotion like I would have preferred for different types of challenges she still had a year to remember.

3. Io Shirai (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship, and the Artist of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Shayna Baszler on 2/23, vs. Kagetsu on 3/5, vs. Kairi Hojo on 3/20, with AZM and HZK vs. Oedo Tai on 4/15, vs. Toni Storm on 5/14, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 6/21, vs. Yoko Bito on 11/19
Best Match: vs. Mayu Iwatani in Stardom on 6/21

It was an interesting year for Io Shirai. She started on top, where she always seems to be, as she held both the Wonder of Stardom Championship and the Artist of Stardom Championship early in the year. Then the rumors started of her going to WWE, leading to her dropping all her titles in mid-June. But she didn’t go, and she ended up winning two more titles before the end of the year, as she concluded 2017 the Ace of Stardom just as she started it. All told, she had 19 title matches in 2017, with big wins over Viper, Shayna Baszler, Kagetsu, Kairi Hojo, and Yoko Bito. Io Shirai also continued being one of the top in-ring wrestlers in Japan, with many great and memorable matches.

4. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Aja Kong on 1/9, vs. Aja Kong on 4/6, vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto on 7/15, vs. Meiko Satomura on 9/24
Best Match: vs. Meiko Satomura in Sendai Girls’ on 9/24

By far the least experienced wrestler in the Top 10, Chihiro Hashimoto had a big year in 2017. She held the Sendai Girls’ World Championship three different times during the year and picked up some big wins along the way, including singles victories over Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Meiko Satomura. She also branched outside of Sendai Girls’, with fun matches against WAVE’s Rina Yamashita and Takumi Iroha from Marvelous. In-ring, Chihiro showed a lot of improvement in 2017 compared to 2016, and I expect her to continue working to solidify herself as one of the top Joshi wrestlers in 2018.

5. Manami Toyota (OZ Academy)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon Triangle Championship
Biggest Matches:  Gauntlet Match on 11/3
Best Match: vs. Aja Kong on 10/29

Placing Manami Toyota on this list was hard, as even though I knew she deserved to be on it, her 2017 arch was very different than everyone else. Manami Toyota is one of the most legendary female wrestlers in the world, period, and the impact she had on Joshi wrestling can not be overstated. Toyota announced early in the year that she was retiring on November 3rd, which lead to her having a lot of “farewell” style matches throughout the year. Her farewell tour was grand, as she made stops by virtually every promotion (with Stardom noteably missing) including OZ Academy, ZERO1, Big Japan, WAVE, Ice Ribbon, PURE J, and multiple wrestler produced shows. Along the way she had singles matches with many old foes and current stars, including Shinobu Kandori, Yumiko Hotta, Aja Kong, Takako Inoue, Hikaru Shida, Sonoko Kato, Nanae Takahashi, and many more. She ended her career with a very entertaining 50 Match Gauntlet, refusing to ease her way into retirement. A true living legend, Manami Toyota ended her career with a bang, and gave us many happy memories in the process.

6. Ryo Mizunami (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship, WAVE Tag Team Championship, and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Misaki Ohata on 2/11, with Ohata vs. Kurumi and Tsukushi on 3/26, vs. Rina Yamashita on 7/2
Best Match: with Ohata vs. Best Friends in SEAdLINNNG on 8/24

Ryo Mizunami had the longest run with WAVE’s biggest title in 2017, and for much of the year acted as the face of the company. She had stiff competition from Rina Yamashita and Misaki Ohata, but when also taking in considering her work in the Avid Rivals tag team, she had the best year of any wrestler in the promotion. Ryo entered the year with both the singles and multiple tag championships, but quickly lost the WAVE Tag Team Championship in January and then the Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championship in March. She held onto the singles championship until July however, and picked up wins over Misaki Ohata, Yuki Miyazaki, and Moeka Haruhi along the way. She cooled off the second half of the year however and lost singles matches to Nagisa Nozaki and Yumi Ohka, keeping her out of the title scene. Ryo will look to climb back to her old spot in 2018.

7.  Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: High Speed Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship, and the World of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Kairi Hojo on 5/14, vs. Io Shirai on 6/21, vs. Yoko Bito on 7/16, vs. Kagetsu on 8/13, vs. Yoko Bito on 9/23
Best Match: vs. Io Shirai on 6/21

Sometimes the perfect story gets spoiled by a force outside anyone’s control, which was the case for Mayu in 2017. She should be much higher on this list but fate was not on her side. The first half of the year was set up to position Mayu as a potential Ace of the company – she defeated Kairi Hojo for the Wonder of Stardom Championship in May and then beat Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship in June, making her the undisputed top wrestler in Stardom. But then Io Shirai didn’t leave for WWE as expected, and even worse, Mayu was injured in September and missed the rest of the year. So 2017 concluded with Mayu holding no titles, and Io Shirai back to resume her role as Ace. Mayu still had a very good year but it could have been better, she’ll look to rebuild in January 2018 when she returns from injury.

8.  Misaki Ohata (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship, International Ribbon Tag Team Championship, and the WAVE Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Ryo Mizunami on 2/11, with Mizunami vs. Kurumi and Tsukushi on 3/26, vs. Rina Yamashita on 10/9, vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 11/16
Best Match: with Ryo Mizunami vs. Best Friends in SEAdLINNNG on 8/24

Like Ryo Mizunami, Misaki Ohata entered the year with both the WAVE and Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championships. She also won the Regina Di WAVE Championship, defeating Rina Yamashita in October, but lost the belt before the end of the year against Yumi Ohka. Ohata was a very active champion however, and in less than three months had five successful defenses, including wins over Nagisa Nozaki and Manami Katsu. Ohata ended the year with no belts, so she’ll have her work cut out for her in 2018.

9.  Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J)

Championships Held: JWP Openweight Championship, JWP/Daily Sports Tag Team Championship, and the PURE-J Openweight Championship
Biggest Matches:  with Kimura vs. Bolshoi and Leon on 1/9, vs. Yoneyama on 3/8, vs. Kuragaki on 4/2, vs. Manami Katsu on 10/9, vs. DASH Chisako on 12/27
Best Match: vs. Manami Katsu on 10/9

Nakamori is in an interesting position, as she was the clear leader of a promotion with very little TV time, so most of her matches were not available for easy viewing. I purchased some JWP/PURE J DVDs just so I could keep up, but I certainly recognize that even more hardcore Joshi fans may have only seen a handful of Hanako matches in 2017. Still, she had a very good year, as she easily transitioned from being the JWP Openweight Champion to the PURE-J Openweight Champion when JWP officially closed and PURE-J was launched in its place. As JWP Champion, she had wins over Leon, Kaori Yoneyama, and Tsubasa Kuragaki, while she did not have any successful defenses with the PURE-J Championship before losing it to DASH Chisako. I wouldn’t consider Hanako a great in-ring wrestler, but she still had a year worth discussing as she helped lead the struggling promotion.

10.  Rina Yamashita (Daijo Pro/Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina di WAVE Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Risa Sera on 3/26, vs. Ohata on  6/4, vs. Mizunami on 7/2, vs. ASUKA on 9/17, vs. Misaki Ohata on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Yoshiko in WAVE on 8/12

While Rina Yamashita did not have the numerous title reigns of most others in the Top 10, she asserted herself in so many promotions in 2017 and really raised her stock overall more than perhaps any other wrestler. Rina invaded SEAdLINNNG, Marvelous, Ice Ribbon, and OZ Academy throughout the year, and had big matches against Yoshiko, Hikaru Shida, and Risa Sera. In WAVE, Rina won the Catch the WAVE Tournament, defeating Misaki Ohata, and then beat Ryo Mizunami in July for the Regina di WAVE Championship. She had three successful defenses before losing the title to Misaki Ohata in October, including wins over Yoshiko and ASUKA. On top of all that, Rina in-ring was fantastic in 2017, with many memorable matches. Keep an eye out for Rina Yamashita in 2018, her stock is only going to go up.

    

12. Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG) – Yoshiko had a resurgence in 2017, as she had success in a number of promotions outside of her home base. She feuded with Rina Yamashita from Pro Wrestling WAVE, Takumi Iroha in Marvelous, and Hiroyo Matsumoto in OZ Academy, with a fair amount of success whenever she went. She won the OZ Academy Openweight Championship in October, her first title since leaving Stardom in 2015.  Yoshiko has also continued to excel in ‘hoss’ style matches, with entertaining brawls against a variety of opponents throughout the year.

13. Yoko Bito (Stardom) – Bito had an interesting year and would have had a chance of being higher on the list, but she missed a few months due to injury and was simply outranked by too many other wrestlers in her own promotion. She did win two titles in the Stardom, including the Wonder of Stardom Championship which she won from Mayu Iwatani. Yoko Bito retired on December 24th, ending her wrestling career for a second time.

14. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon) – While still the veteran face of Ice Ribbon, Fujimoto took a bit of a back seat in 2017. She held the Triangle Ribbon belt for half the year, which is a less serious title in Ice Ribbon, while concentrating on building up the younger wrestlers such as the DATE sisters. She did do a ‘tour’ of other promotions with Arisa Nakajima as Best Friends, perhaps for the last time, and still was putting on high end matches even though she wasn’t in the main event scene.

15. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous) – After a quiet year as she trained and grew in Marvelous, Iroha branched outside the promotion more in 2017. She won her first title since leaving Stardom in 2015, winning the WAVE Tag Team Championship with Rin Kadokura in September and they kept the titles through the end of the year. She also challenged for both the Regina di WAVE Championship and the Wonder of Stardom Championship during the year. In-ring, Iroha continued to improve as well, and overall for someone that is affiliated with a promotion with no TV deal, she had a fair amount of exposure and success.

    

17. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls’) – Meiko Satomura took the Tsukasa Fujimoto route in 2017, letting the younger wrestlers take over Sendai Girls’ while she mostly took a back seat. Satomura had a high number of singles losses (compared to past years) and only once challenged for the Sendai Girls’ World Championship, losing to Chihiro Hashimoto. Still, Satomura continued to excel in match quality and is one of the top in-ring wrestlers in Joshi wrestling.

18. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer) – Shida mostly had success in the tag scene in 2017, with her and Syuri dominating the first half of the year. Unfortunately for Shida, Syuri stopped wrestling in July to concentrate on MMA, leaving Shida with less of a purpose. She challenged for the OZ Academy Openweight Championship in August, but failed, and that was her last title match in Japan for the rest of the year. Shida is still a force in the ring and had many entertaining matches, but she’ll need to find her place next year to have more success.

19. Arisa Nakajima (Freelancer/SEAdLINNNG) – When I was compiling this list and doing research, I was shocked to see how much of a drop Nakajima had in 2017 compared to past years. Nakajima had no titles in 2017 and only had one title match period, which was a failed defense at the Ice Ribbon Triangle Ribbon Championship. She is only on the list at all because her matches as part of Best Friends were great, and she had some entertaining matches in SEAdLINNNG. I don’t know what the future holds for Nakajima, but she is still a high-end wrestler so I hope we see more of her in 2018.

20. Reika Saiki (Freelancer/TJP) – I really wanted a wrestler from Tokyo Joshi Pro here since the promotion got more popular in 2017, but they didn’t have a real dominate wrestler and since their wrestlers rarely go outside the promotion, they have limited visibility. Reika Saiki won the Princess of Princess Championship on August 26th from Yuka Sakazaki and held the title the rest of the year, with two successful defenses. She also had a fair amount of exposure outside of the promotion, as she is also a body builder and model. Saiki is definitely one to keep an eye on next year, however I think Miyu Yamashita will likely have the bigger year so watch for her as well.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2017 appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

After a few long months we are returning to Oz! That might be a bad pun. Anyway this is an Oz Academy super show of sorts as it is a joint show with Pro Wrestling WAVE and Zuban (Zuban is the parent company of Pro Wrestling WAVE). So we get some matches from the Catch the Wave Tournament and other random matches as well as wrestlers from both promotions collide. Here is the full card:

• Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi vs. Kana and Konami
• Manami Toyota, AKINO, and Rina Yamashita vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, Hikaru Shida, and Sawako Shimono 
• CATCH THE WAVE 2015 Round 3: Cherry vs. Ryo Mizunami
• Aja Kong and Mei Lee vs. Dynamite Kansai and Fairy Nipponbashi
• Chikayo Nagashima and Ayako Hamada vs. Sonoko Kato and Yuu Yamagata
• CATCH THE WAVE 2015 Round 3: “Kyusei” Sakura Hirota vs. Misaki Ohata
• Mayumi Ozaki, Miyako Matsumoto, Mio Shirai, and Yumi Ohka vs. Moeka Haruhi, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Hiroe Nagahama, and Mika Iida

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

Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi vs. Kana and Konami

Konami and Kagetsu start off the match and they trade holds on the mat, Kagetsu gets the better of it and she throws Konami into the corner because she wants Kana.  Kana tags in, Kana gets Kagetsu to the mat but Kagetsu applies a side headlock.  Kana Irish whips out of it but fails at the shoulderblock.  They trade elbows but Kana hits a hip attack.  Kana picks up Kagetsu, Irish whip, but Kagetsu hits a dropkick.  Kagetsu tags in Kobayashi, dropkick by Kobayashi and she hits another one, but Kana stays up.  Kobayashi dropkicks Kana in the knee and then in the head, but Kana elbows her and kicks Kobayashi in the back.  Kana tags in Konami, and Kagetsu kicks Kobayashi in the corner.  Snapmare by Konami and she kicks Kobayashi, but Kobayashi hits a scoop slam.  Crab hold by Kobayashi but Konami makes it to the ropes.  Kobayashi tags in Kagetsu, Kagetsu knocks Kana off the apron and they both kick Konami.  Face crusher by Kobayashi and Kagetsu dropkicks Konami in the face.  Senton by Kobayashi and Kagetsu drops Kobayashi onto Konami.  Double elbow drop to Konami, Kagetsu picks up Konami and drives her into the corner before hitting a jumping elbow.  Konami fights back with kicks and she hits a schoolboy for two.  Konami tags in Kana and she hits a missile dropkick on Kagetsu. Kana kicks Kagetsu in the chest repeatedly, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a hip attack. 

Elbows by Kana and she applies a cross armbreaker, but Kobayashi breaks it up.  Kagetsu hits a high kick to Kana and she goes for a suplex, but Kana blocks it and spins her down into a short armbar.  Front necklock by Kana but Kagetsu suplexes out of it.  Kagetsu tags in Kobayashi and they trade elbows, Kobayashi grabs Kana but Kana gets the cross armbreaker applied.  Kagetsu quickly breaks it up and she rolls up Kana for a two count.  Fisherman suplex hold by Kobayashi, but Kana kicks out.  Kobayashi goes off the ropes but Kana hits a back kick followed by a sliding kick before tagging in Konami.  Konami kicks Kobayashi in the chest and she nails a high kick, she wraps up Kobayashi in a submission hold but Kagetsu breaks it up.  Konami applies an Octopus Hold to Kobayashi while Kana takes care of Kagetsu, but Kagetsu gets away from Kana and breaks it up.  Kana and Konami Irish whip Kobayashi but Kobayashi gets away and Kagetsu hits a swandive crossbody on both of them.  Senton by Kobayashi, she goes up top but Konami avoids the missile dropkick.  Schoolboy by Konami, but it gets two, as does the backslide.  Kick by Konami, she goes off the ropes but Kobayashi catches her with the 120% School Boy for the three count! Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi win!

This is one of the best openers I have seen in a good while.  First of all this was serious Kana, not face paint Kana, and while I enjoy her no matter what it is always nice to see her ass kicking side.  Lots of smart submissions and hard strikes here and the young wrestlers really held their own.  The only thing that hurt it was the one hard camera as the action was on point throughout, great way to start the show.  Recommended

Manami Toyota, AKINO, and Yamashita vs. Kuragaki, Hikaru Shida, and Sawako Shimono

Yamashita and Shimono start off but AKINO promptly come in to help and Shimono is double teamed.  Yamashita clubs Shimono and she hits a running double chop for a one count.  Back up they trade shots, lariat by Shimono but Yamashita returns the favor.  Judo throw by Shimono and she hits a seated senton for two.  Shimono tags in Shida and Shida hits a hip attack.  Irish whip by Shida but Yamashita blocks the next hip attack, hurricanrana by Shida and this time she connects with the hip attack.  Knees by Shida but Yamashita boots her for a two.  Yamashita tags in Toyota, Toyota wraps up Shida in the ropes but Shimono intercepts her.  Toyota puts her in the ropes also, but Kuragaki intercepts her this time.  Toyota hits a crossbody on all three of them as AKINO and Yamashita come in the ring, and all three hit dropkicks.  Shida hits an enzuigiri on Toyota but Toyota catches the hip attack.  Shida hits a vertical suplex and she tags in Kuragaki.  Jawbreaker by Kuragaki and she throws Toyota to the mat.  Toyota is triple teamed in the corner and Kuragaki hits a hard lariat.  Toyota rolls Kuragaki around the mat and she covers her for two.  Toyota goes up top and kills both herself and Kuragaki with a moonsault and she tags in AKINO. 

Missile dropkick by AKINO, she picks up Kuragaki but Kuragaki hits a backdrop suplex.  AKINO hits one of her own and she hits a bulldog.  Superkick by Kuragaki but AKINO hits a kick combination.  Lariats by Kuragaki but AKINO delivers a high kick.  Big lariat by Kuragaki and she tags in Shimono.  Shida runs in too as Shimono hits shoulderblocks on AKINO, Shimono picks up AKINO and she hits a Samoan Drop for two.  AKINO kicks Shimono in the head and she hits a backdrop suplex.  Cover, but it gets two.  AKINO goes for a PK but Shimono ducks it, AKINO applies a stretch hold but Shida hits her with a kendo stick.  Yamashita knocks Shimono into Shida, Toyota boots AKINO and Shimono applies a schoolboy for a two count.  Shimono positions AKINO, she goes up top but AKINO joins her.  Kuragaki throws AKINO back to the mat and Shimono hits a seated senton for two.  Shimono picks up AKINO but AKINO delivers a high kick.  Another kick by AKINO but Kuragaki breaks up the cover, the ring finally clears out, Shida hits AKINO from the floor with the kendo stick but AKINO snaps off a hurricanrana on Shimono for the three count! Manami Toyota, AKINO, and Rina Yamashita win the match.

This match way exceeded my expectations.  The middle section with Kuragaki and AKINO was just awesome.  Everyone looked good, it was fast paced, and it felt important.  Could have used more time and it took a bit of time to get going but still an entertaining tag match.  Recommended

Cherry vs. Ryo Mizunami

This match is part of the CATCH THE WAVE 2015 Tournament.  Mizunami hits a spear right off the bat, she then hits a leg lariat but it gets a two count.  Mizunami picks up Cherry and she hits a lariat, but Cherry fights back and hits a STO.  Mizunami hits a back bodydrop followed by a pair of leg drops but Cherry avoids the third. Dragon sleeper by Cherry and she hits a Final Cut for two.  Cherry goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Mizunami and she hits an armdrag. Northern Lights Suplex hold by Cherry but it gets a two count.  Elbows by Mizunami and she hits a spear for a two count.  Cherry goes off the ropes and she kicks Mizunami in the head, powerslam by Mizunami but Cherry rolls her up for a two count.  Mizunami gets Cherry up on her shoulders and she hits the Argentine Facebuster, but Cherry rebounds and hits a series of chops.  Lariat by Mizunami and she hits a dragon suplex hold for two.  Diving Guillotine Leg Drop by Mizunami and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami wins the match.

I won’t say this was a great match but a sprint was the right way to go.  Cherry doesn’t do much for me and if this was 15 minutes it wouldn’t have worked.  Mizunami is really good though and her moves were really on point. Too short to get excited about but still solid.

Aja Kong and Mei Lee vs. Dynamite Kansai and Fairy Nipponbashi

Kong and Nipponbashi start off but Kansai comes in the ring too and dancing around the ring. She gets Lee to dance too and it is Kong’s turn, but she leaves. They get her to come back but she won’t dance so Kansai kicks her.  Crossbody by Kong to Kansai and she pounds on Nipponbashi.  Kong tags in Lee so she can dance around with Nipponbashi.  Scoop slam by Nipponbashi and she hits a second one.  Nipponbashi tags in Kansai, and Lee and Kansai share a dance (this is not an overly serious match), but Lee punches her in the chest and tags in Kong.  Kong kicks at Kansai but Kansai takes off her mask and powers up.  Kansai and Kong trade lariats until Kansai knocks Kong off her feet.  Kansai picks up Kong and she delivers a high kick, but Nipponbashi gets her to put the mask back on.  Kansai covers Kong with the wand, but it gets two.  Kansai tags in Nipponbashi, Nipponbashi has the wand but Kong hits her and tags in Lee.  Nipponbashi throws around Lee with the wand so Lee tags Kong back in.  Nipponbashi tries the wand on Kong but Kong just shrugs.  Lee comes in, and she flies across the ring via wand wave.  It still doesn’t work on Kong but after a talking to, Kong finally is knocked over by the wand.  Kansai comes in and they all comfort Kong, and Nipponbashi gives Kong the wand to use.  Kong tries to use the wand but it doesn’t work for her, so she gets a metal box and hits them all in the head with it.  Kong hits a brainbuster on Nipponbashi, and she gets the three count! Aja Kong and Mei Lee win the match.

Ok so this was silly but Kong helped make this match by not playing along, finally doing it, and getting annoyed when no one else returned the favor.  So while it isn’t my thing it had a good story anyway, if you are a fan of Fairy’s comedy you’ll enjoy it.

Chikayo Nagashima and Ayako Hamada vs. Sonoko Kato and Yuu Yamagata

Nagashima and Kato start off and they lock knuckles, kicks by Kato and she hits a shoulderblock.  Kato kicks Nagashima in the back, Yamagata comes in the ring and Nagashima is double teamed.  Kato tags in Yamagata, Yamagata elbows Nagashima and she kicks Nagashima in the head.  Yamagata throws Nagashima into the corner but Nagashima applies an armbar over the top rope.  Nagashima tags in Hamada, Hamada headbutts Yamagata and she locks knuckles with her before stomping on Yamagata’s hands.  Hamada picks up Yamagata but Yamagata chops her.  They go back and forth  until Hamada knocks Yamagata into the corner, Yamagata ducks the rolling chop as Kato runs in but Hamada knocks Kato back.  Hamada grabs Yamagata’s arm, she walks the ropes and flips both Yamagata and Kato to the mat.  Nagashima runs in and hits a double face crusher, enzuigiri by Hamada but Yamagata hits a headscissors.  Yamagata tags in Kato, kicks by Kato to Hamada and she knocks her to the mat.  Nagashima grabs Kato from the apron to help, Kato ducks Hamada’s heel kick and Yamagata hits a jawbreaker on Hamada.  Cannonball by Kato to Hamada, she goes up top and Kato hits a cannonball off the top turnbuckle for a two.  Kato picks up Hamada, kick by Kato but Hamada punches her back.  Hamada wins the kick battle, she picks up Kato and hits a sit-down powerbomb for a two count.  Hamada tags in Nagashima, Nagashima goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick.  Cover, but it gets two.  Nagashima picks up Kato and knees her, she goes off the ropes but Kato catches her with a release German suplex.

Kato goes for a kick but Nagashima catches it and hits a quick leg whip.  Hamada runs in to help but she accidentally hits an enzuigiri on Nagashima.  Yamagata comes in and boots Nagashima, then Kato hits a rolling kick for two.  Kato goes to the second turnbuckle but Hamada rolls in and smacks her.  Nagashima climbs up with Kato and she hits a Frankensteiner.  Hamada goes up top and she hits a moonsault on Kato, Nagashima picks up Kato and she hits an uranage but the pin is broken up.  Nagashima goes off the ropes but Kato catches her with a powerbomb.  Head kick by Kato, cover, but it gets two.  Kato hits a dragon suplex hold by Nagashima, but the pin is broken up.  Yamagata is tagged in and she elbows Nagashima in the corner.  Yamagata goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick on Nagashima.  Nagashima catches Yamagata with an uranage, but Yamagata kicks out.  Nagashima picks up Yamagata, Hamada and Kato both run in, and Hamada helps Nagashima hit a tornado DDT.  Nagashima picks up Yamagata and she hits a fisherman buster, but Kato breaks it up.  Nagashima goes off the ropes and she hits a hurricanrana, but Kato breaks it up.  Head kick by Yamagata, she picks up Nagashima and she hits the Schwein, but Hamada breaks it up.  Enzuigiri by Yamagata to Nagashima but Nagashima rolls her up for two.  Kato goes up top and hits a diving leg drop on Nagashima, Yamagata picks up Nagashima and she delivers the La Ayakita for the three count! The winners are Sonoko Kato and Yuu Yamagata.

This started slow but really picked up by the end.  Lots of fun back and forths and the end was just chaos but in a good way.  It could have used some tightening up but all four of these women can go, definitely a fun watch.  Mildly Recommended

“Kyusei” Sakura Hirota vs. Misaki Ohata

This match is part of the CATCH THE WAVE 2015 Tournament.  Hirota and Ohata shake hands to start, they go to the mat but neither can get an advantage.  Back up they lock knuckles and Ohata flings Hirota to the mat.  Ohata boots Hirota in the corner but Hirota applies a grounded necklock.  Crab hold by Ohata and she gives Hirota a curb stomp for a two count.  Irish whip by Ohata but Hirota hits a back splash off the ropes, wristlock by Hirota but Ohata shrugs her off.  Small package by Hirota but it gets two.  Face crusher by Hirota, she grabs Ohata’s arm and walks the ropes and hits a springboard armdrag.  Ohata goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody, back elbow by Ohata and she hits a running crossbody in the corner.  Ohata goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody.  Waistlock by Ohata but Hirota rolls her up for a two count.  Ohata elbows Hirota but Hirota hits a lariat.  Hirota and Ohata trade elbows but Hirota applies a small package for two.  Irish whip by Hirota and she hits a rebound elbow strike.  Hirota kicks Ohata, she picks her up and Ohata hits a series of elbows.  Release German by Ohata and she hits a second one.  Another one by Ohata, she goes for a crucifix roll-up but Hirota blocks it.  Hirota goes to the ropes and hits a quebrada, but it only gets a two count.  Hirota goes up top and does a handstand but Ohata powerbombs her.  Ohata gets Hirota’s back and hits a crucifix bomb, but it gets a two count.  Ohata grabs Hirota and hits a fisherman buster, but Hirota barely gets a shoulder up.  Hirota trips Ohata and she hits an Oil Check, La Magistral by Hirota but it gets two.  Ohata picks up Hirota but Hirota hits a one arm suplex hold for two.  Hirota goes off the ropes, Ohata goes for a fisherman buster but Hirota cuts it back and rolls up Hirota for the three count! Sakura Hirota wins!

This is probably the best Hirota singles match I’ve seen, Ohata is great.  Hirota still had her silly moments and I don’t think she is a good wrestler, but Ohata controlled this one very well.  I liked the ending, cutbacks are a good way for underdogs to win and Hirota got in enough offense that it didn’t seem fluky.  Solid match, better than I expected.  Mildly Recommended

Mayumi Ozaki, Miyako Matsumoto, Mio Shirai, and Yumi Ohka 
vs. Moeka Haruhi, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Hiroe Nagahama, and Mika Iida

Matsumoto and Iida start off and they trade some introductory holds until Iida hits a dropkick.  Armdrag by Iida but all her teammates come in to help.  The action spills outside the ring, chairs are thrown around but it’s hard to see with the lighting.  Iida and Matsumoto return to the ring and Iida hits a missile dropkick for two.  Iida tags in Nagahama but Matsumoto beats down Nagahama and hits a scoop slam.  Iida tags in Shirai, and Nagahama is quadruple teamed in the corner.  Shirai grabs Nagahama and hits a vertical suplex for a two count.  Shirai applies a crab hold but it is broken up, Ohka gets in the ring and they take turns booting Nagahama.  Big boot by Ohka, cover, but Haruhi breaks it up.  Ohka tags in Matsumoto but Nagahama rolls up Matsumoto for a two count.  Dropkick by Nagahama and she tags in Fujimoto.  Fujimoto dropkicks all her opponents, snapmare to Matsumoto and she kicks her in the back.  Fujimoto tags in Haruhi and Haruhi applies a camel clutch to Matsumoto.  Haruhi tags in Iida, and Iida throws Matsumoto down by her hair.  Iida scoop slams Matsumoto and he does it a second time for a two count.  Iida tags in Nagahama, Nagahama slams Matsumoto and she delivers a dropkick.  Nagahama tags Haruhi and Haruhi throws down Matsumoto by her hair.  Iida is tagged in but Matsumoto gets away with help from interference and tags in Shirai.  Shirai boots Iida and covers her for two.  Short armbar by Shirai but Iida hits a reverse STO.  Dropkick by Iida but Ozaki chokes her with her whip.  Shirai goes for a kick but Iida catches her leg and applies an ankle hold. 

Shirai gets to the ropes, Iida hits a capture suplex hold but it gets two.  Iida tags in Fujimoto and she dropkicks Shirai in the corner.  Fujimoto picks up Shirai but Shirai elbows her and they trade shots.  Dropkick by Fujimoto but Shirai boots her back and applies a necklock over the top rope.  Shirai goes for a missile dropkick but Fujimoto moves out of the way.  Kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she hits a PK for a two count.  Fujimoto applies a crossface but it is quickly broken up.  Shirai gets a stick and bops people with it, cover by Shirai but it gets two.  Shirai tags in Ohka, Ohka stomps on Fujimoto but Fujimoto hits a dropkick.  Fujimoto applies a cross-arm submission but Ohka gets out of it.  Ohka swings Fujimoto around the ring, and Fujimoto is triple teamed against the ropes.  Diving Crossbody by Ohka, cover, but Fujimoto kicks out.  Ohka hits a heel drop but the pin is broken up.  Fujimoto fights back and tags in Haruhi, and Haruhi hits a diving crossbody on Ohka for a two count.  Haruhi hits a hurricanrana out of the corner and then she applies a headscissors into an armbar, but it is broken up.  Big boot by Ohka and she hits a backdrop suplex.  Ohka picks up Haruhi and she hits a brainbuster for another two.  Fujimoto runs in and hits a Shining Wizard, then Iida dropkicks Ohka against the ropes.  Haruhi hits a diving footstomp (lots of random stuff is happening, I’m keeping up the best I can), chaos ensues but things settle down with Haruhi and Ohka still in the ring.  Haruhi goes off the ropes but Ohka catches her with a chokebomb for two.  Big boot by Ohka, cover, and she gets the three count! Ozaki Army wins!

This was a bit crazy but it had to be as not all of these wrestlers are particularly great.  So it helped hide the flaws, even though the match did go so long that some of those flaws started peeking through anyway.  This could have been condensed but it is a very typical Oz main event, this is just the kind of match they enjoy.  Wrestling-wise it was pretty average but it kept my attention.

The post OZ Academy X ZABUN ~dagaya~ [ZEN] on 5/10/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

We haven’t checked in with OZ Academy in awhile, let’s see what they are up to. This is a pretty small event for them as it has no title matches, however all the stars are here. Manami Toyota has a big singles match with AKINO as she continues her road to retirement, and we get the unique tag team of Yoshiko and Hikaru Shida in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Aja Kong vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita
• Mayumi Ozaki, Yumi Ohka, and Alex Lee vs. Sonoko Kato, Syoko Sekiguchi, and Kaho Kobayashi
• Manami Toyota Retirement Road: AKINO vs. Manami Toyota
• Hikaru Shida and Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki

As always, you can click on the names above to go directly to the wrestler’s profile on the website. This aired on Nico Pro, so it will be unedited.

Aja Kong vs. Kaori Yoneyama

The match starts slowly, with Kaori trying to be the dominate wrestler without having much luck since Kong ignored everything she did. Kong knocks Kaori to the mat and stomps her against the ropes, she puts Kaori in the corner and chops her in the chest. Lariat by Kong and she covers Kaori with one foot for a two count. Chinlock by Kong but Kaori bites her arm to get out of it, Kong steps on both of Kaori’s hands before stomping down on them. Scoop slam by Kong and she hits an elbow drop for a two count cover. Kaori swats at Kong but Kong shrugs her off and punches her to the mat, Kong picks up Kaori but Kaori goes for a sunset flip. Kong blocks it and tries to sit on Kaori, but Kaori moves and dropkicks Kong in the back. Kaori goes for a slam but Kong blocks it, Kaori slides away and jumps on Kong’s back and puts her in a sleeper, but Kong drives her into the corner to get her off. Kaori applies a waistlock but she can’t get Kong over, she goes for a crossbody before hitting a DDT. Running knee to the back of the head by Kaori but Kong kicks her in the head, lariat by Kong and she covers Kaori for two. Scoop slam by Kong, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaori grabs her from behind and tosses her to the mat. German suplex hold by Kaori, but Kong gets a shoulder up. Kaori gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but that gets a two count as well. Kaori goes all the way up the next time but Kong avoids her dive, Kong gets her paint can and hits Kaori in the head with it. Backdrop suplex by Kong, but Kaori barely kicks out of the pin. Kong picks up Kaori and drops her with a brainbuster, but that gets a two count as well. Kong picks up Kaori but Kaori ducks the backfist, Kaori blocks Kong’s kick and knees her in the chest. Jackknife cover by Kaori, and she picks up the three count! Kaori Yoneyama wins the match.

The story was sound, but it took time to get going. This was basically Aja Kong 101, a common theme in a lot of her matches is the feisty underdog failing at first to get her off her feet before finally succeeding as the match goes on. Kaori is easy to root for so it generally worked, but she is enough of a veteran that it didn’t feel out of the realm of practical that she could hit moves like the German suplex. I am surprised that Aja Kong lost, not that it matters in this case but she so rarely gets pinned. An interesting way to start the show, it had a tight story and a fun surprise ending.  Mildly Recommended

Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita

Aoi grabs Rina from behind and quickly schoolboys her for two, she tries a few more flash pins but none have any luck. Suplex by Aoi, she goes up top but Rina rolls out of the way of the swivel body press. Rina picks up Aoi but Aoi hits a series of Mongolian Chops, snapmare by Aoi and she puts Rina in a rolling bodyscissors. Aoi eventually lets Rina go, Irish whip by Aoi but Rina reverses it and Aoi falls to the mat. Giant Swing by Rina and she puts Aoi in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Aoi gets a hand in the ropes for the break. Rina throws Aoi into the corner and hits her with a few lariats, but Aoi runs out of the corner and hits a jumping lariat of her own. Aoi jumps out to the apron and snaps Rina’s neck on the top rope, Aoi goes up top and delivers a diving body press for a two count cover. Aoi picks up Rina and applies a side choke over her knee, but Rina gets out of it and boots Aoi in the head. Rina goes for a backdrop suplex but Aoi lands on top of her, she goes for another one but Aoi grabs the referee to stop from going over. Rina shakes Aoi free and hits the move anyway, but Aoi kicks out of the pin. Rina charges Aoi, Aoi avoids her and goes for another flash pin with no success. Lariat by Rina but Aoi cradles her for two, Aoi goes off the ropes but Rina hits another lariat for her own two count. Rina goes off the ropes and hits a final lariat, picking up the three count pinfall! Rina Yamashita wins the match.

I have trouble these days really getting into Aoi Kizuki matches, she went from one of my favorites a few years ago to just being nothing. She rarely wins big matches so I don’t take her seriously, and her offense (such as the Mongolian Chops and jumping lariat) lack any impact whatsoever. Rina is a lot of fun to watch but she wasn’t able to save this match. I don’t know what is going on with Aoi or if it can be fixed, but most of her matches these days are skippable.

Mayumi Ozaki, Ohka, and Alex Lee vs. Sonoko Kato, Sekiguchi, and Kaho Kobayashi

Kaho and company attack before Ozaki Army even makes it to the ring, and both teams brawl around the floor. They drag Ohka into the ring and triple team her until Ozaki comes in with a whip to help. The action goes right back to the floor again, with Ozaki Army in control this time, as Police makes it a 4 vs. 3 affair. Ohka and Syoko return to the ring as Ohka whips the rookie, Ozaki comes in to help even though Ohka had things well in control. Ohka tags in Alex Lee, who has a whip of her own which she uses to choke Syoko. Lee kicks Syoko in the head with a Buzzsaw Kick, cover by Lee but Kaho breaks it up. Lee tags Ozaki as they continue on Syoko, its interesting as usually Kaho is the Face in Peril but I guess with Syoko there she gets the day off. Ozaki suplexes Syoko and gets a chain, she drives Syoko’s head into the chain a few times before hitting her in the head with it. Police gets on the apron to help (again, not really necessary under the circumstances), Ozaki hits Syoko with the chain in the corner before throwing her into Ohka’s boot. Ozaki tags Ohka as the abuse of Syoko continues, Syoko finally manages to dropkick Ohka but Ohka stops her from making the hot tag. Knees by Ohka but Syoko hits another dropkick and tags in Sonoko. Kaho comes in too and Ohka is double teamed in the corner, catapult footstomp to Ohka and Sonoko kicks Ohka in the face. Another kick by Sonoko, but her cover only gets a two. Sonoko goes up top and hits a cannonball, but it gets a two count as well.

Kicks by Sonoko and she tags in Syoko, dropkicks by Syoko and she hits a STO, but Ohka kicks out of the cover. Syoko goes off the ropes but she is hit by Lee from the apron, Ozaki comes in but Kaho dives into the ring with a crossbody onto both opponents. Sonoko kicks Ohka but Ohka gets her whip and hits Sonoko in the face with it. Backdrop suplex by Ohka, and she covers Sonoko for two. Ohka tags in Lee, Lee kicks Sonoko into the corner and hits a jumping knee followed by a spin-out slam for a two count. Sonoko ducks a lariat and hits a release German, kick to the head by Sonoko but Ohka breaks up the cover. Sonoko picks up Lee but Lee wiggles away, head kick by Sonoko but Lee returns the favor. Lee slams Sonoko in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, but Kaho breaks up the pin. Lee tags in Ozaki, Ozaki goes for the Tequila Sunrise but Sonoko blocks it. Sonoko hits a back bodydrop, she gets Ozaki behind her back but Ozaki applies a sunset flip for two. Kaho runs in to clear out Ozaki Army, running kick by Sonoko to Ozaki and she goes up top, hitting the diving guillotine legdrop. Her pin attempt is broken up so she tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. She goes up top again, she knocks Police off the apron before hitting another missile dropkick. A third missile dropkick by Kaho, she elbows Ozaki but is tripped from the apron when she goes off the ropes and pulled out of the ring by Police.

A crazy brawl ensues at ringside, most of which we can’t see well since the event is filmed with just a hard cam, until Kaho is rolled back into the ring. Kaho gets away from Ozaki but eats a chop to the chest, Ozaki tags in Ohka who takes a moment to whip Kaho. Sonoko comes in and kicks Ohka, dropkick by Syoko and Kaho hits the Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Kaho and Ohka trade elbows until Ohka hits a DDT, heel drop by Ohka and she covers Kaho for two. Ohka whips Kaho, then Ozaki hits her with a chain before Police hits Kaho with a chair. Powerbomb by Ozaki to Kaho, but the referee won’t count since everyone is standing in the ring with weapons. Ohka picks up Kaho but Kaho reverses the chokebomb into a hurricanrana for two. She goes for a bodyscissors roll-up but Ohka blocks it, Ohka goes off the ropes but Kaho hits it on the second try. Ozaki hits Kaho in the head with the chain, lariat by Police and Lee drops Kaho with a chokebomb. Ohka then hits a chokebomb of her own, but Sonoko breaks up the cover. Police lariats Ohka by accident, La Magistral by Kaho to Ohka but Police breaks it up. Police stomps Kaho but Kato comes in to neutralize him, dragon suplex by Kato to Ohka and Kaho goes up top, but Ozaki joins her and hits a superplex. Ohka tosses Kaho over her head before hitting a big boot, but Syoko breaks up the pin. Brainbuster by Ohka but she lifts up Kaho before the referee can count three, she goes off the ropes and nails a big boot for the three count pinfall! Ozaki Army wins.

I can’t pretend to really enjoy matches like these, as they simply aren’t my preferred match style. At least Ozaki Army lost their own biased referee (MIO) so its not quite as unfair, but the constant interference by Police just takes me out of it a bit. I lived through WCW doing this match style for years and it officially burned me out apparently forever. Even beyond that it was way too long, the Syoko segment lasted an eternity but ultimately didn’t matter so it just felt like time filler. It also makes the weapons like the chain less special when they are used throughout the match with little long term impact, I don’t mind them cheating but sometimes less is more. A few exciting parts and its always fun to see Kaho, but overall just too long and predictable.

AKINO vs. Manami Toyota

AKINO schoolboys Toyota right after the handshake, ending the pleasantries, but Toyota comes back with a crossbody and kicks AKINO into the ropes. Stomps by Toyota but AKINO fires back with a dropkick, kicks to the back by AKINO and she flings down Toyota by the hair. PK by AKINO and she rakes at Toyota’s face, but Toyota gets away and stomps AKINO in the lower midsection. She does it a second time before throwing AKINO into the mat, cross leg submission by Toyota and she puts AKINO in a Muta Lock. She lets her go after a moment and puts AKINO in the ropes, dropkick by Toyota but AKINO kicks her and returns the favor by dropkicking Toyota while she is tied up in the ropes. AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Toyota gets back up and goes for the Rolling Cradle. AKINO blocks it but Toyota kicks AKINO in the head, Toyota gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She hits a second one and a third but AKINO keeps getting back up, so Toyota delivers a fourth missile dropkick for a two count cover. Toyota gets on the top turnbuckle but AKINO avoids the moonsault, AKINO goes up top but Toyota boots her off and down to the floor. Toyota gets on the top turnbuckle but AKINO rolls back in, Toyota climbs back down but AKINO kicks her. AKINO kicks Toyota in the leg and chest, release German by AKINO but Toyota ducks the PK. Rolling Cradle by Toyota, but AKINO kicks out at two. Both wrestlers slowly get up, heel drop by Toyota and she covers AKINO for another two count. Toyota goes up top and nails the moonsault, but AKINO gets a shoulder up on the pin. Toyota picks up AKINO but AKINO spins away from her, they trade strikes until AKINO knocks Toyota to her knees with a high kick. Buzzsaw Kick by AKINO, she covers Toyota but it gets a two count. AKINO goes for an exploder but Toyota blocks it, high kick by AKINO but Toyota boots her back. Toyota gets AKINO on her shoulders but AKINO slides off, AKINO goes for a schoolboy but Toyota sits on her for two. AKINO pushes Toyota down and puts her in La Magistral, picking up the three count! AKINO wins!

Needless to say, AKINO and Toyota can’t “go” like they could 10 years ago, but both still know how to structure a match to make it entertaining. The ending was a bit flat as I’d have preferred after all of that they ended it with something bigger than a cradle, but they kept the action up and Toyota hit most of her big setup moves. I don’t mind a good veteran match now and then, not everything was hit crisp but it was still a fun watch. Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida and Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki

Hiroyo and Yoshiko start the match, they trade holds before trying to knock each other over, with Hiroyo having the first success. Yoshiko returns the favor and knocks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a running boot but Hiroyo greets her with an elbow. Hiroyo snaps Yoshiko’s neck on the top rope, elbows by Hiroyo and she dropkicks Yoshiko in the head. She tags in Kuragaki, Kuragaki throws Yoshiko into the corner and she hits a couple lariats. Crab hold by Kuragaki but Hikaru runs in to break it up, Kuragaki keeps the hold applied though until Yoshiko makes it to the ropes for the break. She tags Hiroyo back in, scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits a double kneedrop to Yoshiko’s stomach. Kuragaki returns, she throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko rebounds out of it with a diving lariat. That gives her time to tag in Hikaru, elbows by Hikaru to Kuragaki and she hits an enzuigiri. Hikaru gets her kendo stick, she hits Hiroyo in the head with it before rolling Kuragaki to the mat for a two count. Dropkick by Hikaru and she goes for a suplex, but she can’t get Kuragaki over. Yoshiko comes in to try to help but Kuragaki suplexes both of them and makes the tag to Hiroyo. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Hikaru, backbreaker by Hiroyo and she puts Hikaru in the Argentine Backbreaker before hitting a gutbuster for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Hikaru and applies a sleeper, but Hikaru snapmares out of the hold. Elbows by Hiroyo but Hikaru catches her with a hurricanrana, running knee by Hikaru and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Running knee by Hikaru, but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Hikaru rolls to her corner and tags Yoshiko, senton by Yoshiko to Hiroyo but Hiroyo blocks the Samoan Drop attempt. Strike combination by Yoshiko and she kicks Hiroyo in the head, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Hiroyo for two. Cobra Twist by Yoshiko but Kuragaki quickly breaks it up, Hikaru and Yoshiko pick up Hiroyo but Hiroyo catches them with a double backdrop suplex.

Reverse double kneedrop by Hiroyo out of the corner, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Hiroyo goes back up top but Yoshiko elbows her and goes up as well, Hiroyo headbutts her off but Yoshiko headbutts her back. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, but Hiroyo rolls through it and they trade quick pin attempts. Yoshiko picks up Hiroyo and hits a fireman’s carry slam, she goes up top but Kuragaki runs in and joins her. Yoshiko blocks the superplex attempt but Hiroyo helps them out by powerbombing Kuragaki, sending everyone to the mat. Body avalanche by Hiroyo but Yoshiko blocks the powerbomb, elbow by Hiroyo but Yoshiko slides away and hits a Codebreaker. Spinning back elbow by Hiroyo, and both wrestlers are on the mat. Hiroyo recovers first and tags in Kuragaki, backdrop suplex by Kuragaki to Yoshiko and she goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up. Yoshiko tries to tag out but Hiroyo knocks Hikaru off the apron, Yoshiko lariats Hiroyo before sending Kuragaki on top of Hiroyo and hitting a senton. Kuragaki recovers and trades elbows with Yoshiko, Hikaru kicks Kuragaki from the apron and Yoshiko delivers a lariat for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Hikaru comes in with her kendo stick and hits Hiroyo with it, but Kuragaki grabs it. Yoshiko tries to hold Kuragaki for Hikaru, but Hikaru hits Yoshiko with the kendo stick by mistake. Kuragaki then lariats both of them, another lariat by Kuragaki to Yoshiko but Hikaru breaks up the cover. Hiroyo returns and drops Hikaru with a backdrop suplex, she then picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt and puts Hiroyo in a sleeper. Kuragaki breaks it up but Yoshiko then puts her in the sleeper, Kuragaki gets out of it and Hiroyo greets Yoshiko with a hard elbow. Assisted powerbomb by Hiroyo to Yoshiko, Kuragaki follows with a lariat and covers Yoshiko for two. Falcon Arrow by Kuragaki to Yoshiko, and she picks up the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto and Tsubasa Kuragaki are the winners!

An interesting booking choice, I’d never have expected Kuragaki to pin Yoshiko as the match result. This was enjoyable, a fast paced heavyweight match with four quality wrestlers. I wouldn’t have minded more Hikaru Shida since she is one of my favorites, but the story of the match centered around Yoshiko so she had to take a back seat. The team of Hiroyo and Kuragaki being dominate throughout the match surprised me, Kuragaki is one of those wrestlers that won’t win anything major but is a very respected veteran that can dominate just about anyone at any given time. Hiroyo’s power was impressive as always and while the heel/face dynamic didn’t exist it was still fun to watch. A fitting main event for a smaller show.  Recommended

The post OZ Academy “Dolphin” on 9/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Soon as I saw this card I knew I had to watch it at the earliest possible moment, so much potential for goodness. First, we have the end of the ULTRA-7 Tournament, which features four quality wrestlers in Mio Momono, Yoshiko, Takumi Iroha, and Sareee. We also get a very special match between Nanae Takahashi and Great Sasuke in a TLC match, which is obviously insane. On top of that, we also get Best Friends! Here is the full card:

• Kaho Kobayashi vs. Manami Toyota vs. Maruko Nagasaki
• ULTRA U-7 Tournament Semi Final: Mio Momono vs. Yoshiko
• ULTRA U-7 Tournament Semi Final: Sareee vs. Takumi Iroha
• TLC Match: Great Sasuke vs. Nanae Takahashi
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
• ULTRA U-7 Tournament Final: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their name to go straight to it. Since this event aired on Nico Pro, all matches are shown in full.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Manami Toyota vs. Maruko Nagasaki

Kaho and Maruko double team the legend to start the match but with little success initially. They deliver a double dropkick to get Manami on the mat, they both try to cover her but they only get two counts. They take turns covering Manami until they tire themselves out running off the ropes, Manami puts both of her opponents in the ropes and dropkicks them in the back. Manami covers Maruko, but Natsuki doesn’t count since she didn’t go off the ropes first. Manami puts Maruko in a leglock, Kaho tries to help by dropkicking Manami, but each time she does it just puts more pressure on Maruko. Kaho puts Manami in an octopus hold but Manami pushes her off, Maruko jumps on Manami’s back but Kaho schoolboys her for two. Kaho and Maruko both go off the ropes, Kaho tries to dropkick Manami but connects with Maruko by accident. Rolling Cradle by Manami, but Kaho grabs Natsuki while she is rolling around and flings the referee out of the ring. Manami chases Natsuki around the outside of the ring but isn’t able to catch her. Manami trips everyone, she gets up on the top turnbuckle but everyone runs away before she can dive off. They return to the ring, Maruko and Kaho trade elbows until Maruko connects with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Maruko but Kaho hits an enzuigiri, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Manami finally gets off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick to Kaho, Maruko rolls up Manami but it gets two. Big boot by Manami to Maruko, and she drops her with the Japanese Ocean Queen Bomb. Manami goes off the ropes before making the cover, and she gets the three count! Manami Toyota is the winner.

Its really hard to dislike High Speed matches, they are silly as hell but the wrestlers are having so much fun. Manami of course is multifaceted, she can do goofy matches like this or drop you on your head, it doesn’t matter too much to her. I miss Natsuki so its always nice to see her get involved in matches, and the match was short enough that it didn’t get old. Nothing that needs to be hunted down but a fine way to start the show.

Mio Momono vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko gets Mio to the mat but Mio springs back to her feet before they trade arm holds. Yoshiko applies a side headlock, Mio gets out of it and hits an armdrag, but Yoshiko blocks the next one and hits an armdrag of her own. Yoshiko drives Mio into the corner but Mio slides out of the ring, Mio crawls under the ring and pops out the other side, Yoshiko chases her around but can’t catch her. They finally both get back in the ring, stomps by Mio but Yoshiko swats aside her dropkick and applies a chinlock. Bodyscissors by Yoshiko and she sits on Mio’s chest, Yoshiko picks up Mio but Mio avoids her attempt to sit on her and hits a couple dropkicks. Mio finally gets Yoshiko off her feet, Mio goes for a scoop slam but Yoshiko blocks it. Yoshiko hits her own scoop slam but Mio fires back with elbows, dropkick by Mio and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mio goes up top and goes for a diving crossbody, but Yoshiko catches her and hits a backbreaker. Yoshiko dropkicks Mio out of the ring and goes out after her, Yoshiko throws Mio into the chairs at ringside and lariats her against the wall. Yoshiko brings Mio back to the ringside to throw her into more chairs, she drags Mio back into the ring and covers her for two. Yoshiko picks up Mio but Mio wiggles away, elbows by Mio but Yoshiko catches her in a sleeper. She keeps the hold in for several moments but Mio will not submit as she finally makes it to the ropes, Yoshiko sits on Mio’s chest but Mio pushes her off before the three count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, and the bell rings as the 15 minutes has expired.

Since this is a tournament, you can’t have a draw, so after a brief recovery the bell rings again and the match continues. Mio goes for a backslide but it only gets a two count, she goes for a few more quick pins but Yoshiko kicks out. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko but Mio avoids the running senton, crucifix cover by Mio but it gets a two as well. Mio picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a Samoan Drop, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Mio for a two count. Kick to the stomach by Yoshiko bu Mio reverses the cover into one of her own, Mio goes off the ropes but Yoshiko kicks her in the chest. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, and she picks up the three count! Yoshiko wins the match and reaches the Finals of the tournament.

I liked the story they were telling, but it felt like they were going for the draw as in the first 15 minutes neither went for anything that felt like a match ending move. That’s a long time to have what basically amounts to filler, very little happened during the first portion of the match. They wrestled with more urgency in the Overtime Period, no issues there, but the first chunk just felt empty. The brawling around the ring was well done and Mio looked good in her hope spots, it was just longer than it needed to be to tell the same basic story. Not a bad match, just too stretched out and Mio isn’t quite good enough yet to look convincing in a match of this length.

Sareee vs. Takumi Iroha

Takumi and Sareee trade waistlocks to start, Takumi goes for a cross armbreaker but Sareee blocks it. Takumi eventually gets it locked on but Sareee quickly gets to the ropes, headlock by Takumi but Sareee applies a headscissors and both wrestlers get to their feet again. Leg sweep by Takumi and she kicks Sareee in the chest, Sareee kicks her back and kicks Takumi repeatedly on the mat. Takumi gets back up and hits a snap vertical suplex, cover by Takumi but it gets a two count. Kicks to the chest by Takumi and she charges Sareee, but Sareee holds down the ropes and Takumi lands on the apron. Sareee dropkicks Takumi out of the ring, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody down to the floor. Sareee slides Takumi back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before dropkicking Takumi again. Waistlock by Sareee but Takumi reverses it, roll-up by Sareee and she hits a footstomp to Takumi’s midsection. Sareee goes up top again but Takumi joins her, Sareee pushes her off and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count. Sareee slides away from Takumi but Takumi hits a superkick, German suplex hold by Sareee but Takumi kicks out at two. Sareee picks up Takumi but Takumi blocks the uranage, she goes off the rope but Sareee grabs her again. Sareee goes off the ropes but Takumi catches her with a heel kick, German suplex hold by Takumi but Sareee gets a shoulder up. Sareee and Takumi trade elbows while on their knees, they keep trading shots as they return to their feet, heel kick by Sareee and both wrestlers knock each other down at the same time. Sareee goes for the uranage again but Takumi blocks it, hurricanrana by Sareee but it gets a two count. Hard elbow by Sareee, she picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a superkick. High kick by Takumi, she drags up Sareee and drops her with a sit-down powerbomb for a two count. Takumi picks up Sareee again, Running Three by Takumi and she gets the three count! Takumi Iroha wins and reaches the Finals of the tournament.

A more low-key match than you’d expect from these two, probably due to the circumstances, but still a good match. Takumi and Sareee are both really crisp with their strikes, lots of great kicks and their exchanges were well done. Sareee never did hit her uranage, so they kept that in their pocket for a future encounter, and it was a convincing finish by Takumi. I wouldn’t say it was a great match as it felt like they were holding back, but an entertaining midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Great Sasuke vs. Nanae Takahashi

They begin with simple holds, ignoring the weapons propped up in each corner. Sasuke sets up some chairs in front of the corner with the table, he then puts the ladder in front of the chairs but Nanae throws him into the stack. Chops by Nanae and she chokes Sasuke in the corner, but Sasuke pushes her down and goes for Nanae’s leg. Snapmare by Sasuke and she puts a ladder across the top rope, he climbs on top and puts the ladder around his neck, but Nanae pulls him off the turnbuckles and he goes head and ladder first into the mat. Nanae puts the ladder on her neck but Sasuke kicks her into the corner, she tries to hit Nanae with a chair but she ducks. Nanae hits Sasuke in the head with the ladder, she puts some chairs down on the mat before hitting Sasuke with one. Nanae slams Sasuke onto the chairs, she goes up top but Sasuke recovers and joins her. Vertical suplex by Sasuke onto the pile of chairs, cover by Sasuke but it gets a two count. Sasuke puts a chair in the corner, he then sets up a table before throwing Nanae into the corner with the chairs stuck in it. Sasuke sets up a tower of chairs on the table, he then puts the ladder up near the tables and climbs up it for reasons unknown, which leads to Nanae pushing the ladder over. Sasuke face plants instead of going through the table/chair setup, Nanae hits Sasuke with a chair and then dropkicks a chair into Sasuke’s head, cover by Nanae but it gets two. Nanae puts more chairs on the mat but Sasuke back bodydrops her onto the pile, he sets up more chairs near the corner and puts Nanae on the chairs as he goes up top, but Nanae recovers and joins him. Nanae slides around Sasuke and powerbombs him spine-first onto the chairs, cover by Nanae but it gets a two count.  Nanae puts a chair onto Sasuke, she climbs up to the top of the ladder and hits the Refrigerator Bomb, but Sasuke gets a shoulder up on the cover. Nanae puts the ladder on its side, she drops Sasuke onto it with the Nana☆Racka, picking up the three count pinfall! Nanae Takahashi is your winner!

The only way to describe this match is “fascinating.” It wasn’t good, or bad, but just captivating. Great Sasuke was going out of his way to take bumps no 48 year old person should, and it was like he was Wile E Coyote as each time he set up a contraption he was the one that got hurt by it. The bulk of the match was “Sasuke sets up spot, gets hurt, Sasuke sets up spot, gets hurt” until it ended. Typically I dislike this match style but on some level it was still interesting since each time Great Sasuke would set up a spot all you can do is shake your head and wonder how it will backfire. More a unique spectacle than anything else.

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

Ohata and Tsukasa start the match but Arisa immediately runs in to help, they put Ohata in the ropes and pour salt and pepper on it. I’m sure for a good reason. Back in the ring, Ohata elbows Tsukasa and throws her into the corner, she drags Arisa into the ring and drives her head repeatedly into the mat. Curb stomp by Ohata and she tags in Ryo, Ryo goes off the ropes and she hits a hard shoulderblock on Arisa. Another shoulderblock by Ryo and she hits a scoop slam followed by a quick legdrop for two. Wristlock by Ryo and she bites Arisa’s arm, they struggle for position on the mat but Ryo manages to tag in Ohata. Ohata kicks down Arisa in the corner but Arisa pushes her off and they two trade strikes. Hard mounted elbows by Ohata and she tags Ryo, Irish whip by Ryo but Arisa reverses it and hits a Sling Blade. Ohata comes in and Arisa is double teamed, lariats by Ryo while Arisa is against the ropes and she covers her for a two count. Ohata is tagged back in and she puts Arisa in a camel clutch, she then hits a trio of curb stomps before Ryo returns to the ring as the legal wrestler.

Arisa greets Ryo with elbows but Ryo hits a back bodydrop, she puts Arisa in the corner but Arisa dropkicks her when she charges in. Tsukasa comes in and dropkicks Ryo as well, tornado DDT by Arisa and with Tsukasa they hit Ryo with a double dropkick. Arisa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she tags in Tsukasa but Ohata comes in too. Tsukasa pushes Ryo into Ohata and footstomps Ryo onto her, PK by Tsukasa and she covers Ryo for two. Cross-arm submission by Tsukasa but Ryo muscles out of it, Anaconda Vice by Ryo but Tsukasa eventually gets a foot on the ropes. Ryo tags in Ohata, low crossbody by Ohata and she goes up top, Tsukasa tries to join her but Ohata pushes her down and hits a Tree of Woe Footstomp. Ryo comes in and they double team Tsukasa, Stunner by Ohata but Tsukasa kicks her in the back. Arisa comes in and hits a release German on Ohata, cover by Tsukasa but it gets a two count. Tsukasa picks up Ohata and hits a strike combination, Ohata pushes her off when she goes for a flip powerbomb however and Ryo runs in and hits a leg drop. Hurricanrana by Tsukasa, but Ohata barely gets a shoulder up. Tsukasa quickly dropkicks Ohata and tags in Arisa, rolling Germans by Arisa but Ohata kicks out of the fourth when Arisa holds it for a pin.

Ohata grabs the ropes to block the Half and Half, Arisa goes for a kick but Ohata ducks it before Ryo hits Arisa from the apron. Kicks by Ohata and the two trade elbows, Ohata knocks Arisa to the mat first and covers her for two. Cutie Special by Arisa, but Ohata kicks out. Arisa goes up top but Ohata joins her, Tsukasa dropkicks Ohata from behind and Arisa knocks Ohata to the mat. Ohata avoids Arisa’s doublestomp, Ryo puts Arisa on her shoulders and throws her to the mat before Ohata hits a diving body press for two. Ohata picks up Arisa and hits a crucifix bomb, she drags Arisa to her feet but Arisa quickly hits a release dragon suplex. Kick to the head by Arisa, she delivers the package German but it only gets a two count. Tsukasa is in the ring but Ryo lariats both Tsukasa and Arisa, Arisa elbows Ohata until Ohata applies a quick roll-up for two. All four are in the ring elbowing each other, Ohata and Arisa both hit German suplexes on their respective opponents before trading elbows again. Ohata picks up Arisa, Ryo lariats Arisa before Ohata hits a German suplex hold, but Tsukasa breaks it up. Assisted cutter to Tsukasa, Ohata drops Arisa with a fisherman buster but Arisa barely gets a shoulder up. Ryo comes back over but Tsukasa dropkicks both of them, Arisa gets Ohata in a suplex but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

I loved this match, even it not having a conclusive ending didn’t bother me since it was just so fast paced and entertaining. Both of these teams work so well both with their teammates and with each other, its amazing the pace they can go at and still be so smooth. The speed in which they do everything, even after a pinfall kick out there were no pauses as they quickly went back in again. I think most wrestling chants are silly but these two would deserve the “Fight Forever” chant, as it just felt like a battle of attrition from bell to bell. This match had great teamwork, strike battles, suplexes, and a sense of urgency you don’t always see in wrestling these days. A great match between two great tag teams.  Highly Recommended

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

Takumi kicks Yoshiko in the back before the match starts, kicks by Takumi and she throws Yoshiko hard into the turnbuckles. Heel kick by Takumi, and she covers Yoshiko for a two count. Kicks by Takumi and she applies a Scorpion Deathlock, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes for the break. Takumi drapes Yoshiko on the top rope and goes to the turnbuckle, hitting a footstomp to Yoshiko’s back. Takumi picks up Yoshiko and hits a strike combination, but Yoshiko avoids a kick and hits a Codebreaker. Kick to the chest by Yoshiko and she hits a quick senton before putting Takumi in a sleeper hold. Takumi gets into the ropes for the break, Takumi slides away from Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex and elbows her off. Superkick by Takumi and she hits a butterfly suplex hold, but Yoshiko kicks out at two. Takumi goes up top but Yoshiko hits her before she can jump off, Yoshiko joins her and the two trade elbows. Yoshiko gets Takumi on her shoulders and hits an avalanche Samoan Drop, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle but Takumi avoids the diving senton, crab hold by Takumi but Yoshiko inches to the ropes to force a break. Takumi goes up top but Yoshiko rolls out of the way of the Swanton Bomb, they both slowly get up and trade elbows on their feet. High kick by Takumi and she hits three superkicks, cover by Takumi but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Takumi goes up top again, frog flash by Takumi and she immediately goes up top again, nailing the Swanton Bomb for a two count. Takumi goes for the Running Three but Yoshiko slides away and puts Takumi in the sleeper. Takumi almost goes out but manages to get a toe on the bottom rope, Yoshiko picks up Takumi and hits a Samoan side slam for two. Diving senton by Yoshiko off the second turnbuckle, but Takumi kicks out at two again. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but Takumi ducks it and delivers a high kick, Takumi gets Yoshiko up and hits a sit-down powerbomb, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Takumi drags Yoshiko to her feet and hits a release German, but Yoshiko rolls to her feet and hits a lariat. Another lariat by Yoshiko, she gets up on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving senton for the three count! Your winner of the match and the tournament is Yoshiko!

Like both of their respective midcard matches, this one didn’t have that real sense of importance that you may have hoped for. It was still a good match, you can tell the influence that Chigusa Nagayo has on Takumi Iroha as she has a pretty old-school style. She uses a fair amount of submissions, then mixes in kicks before using power moves like the powerbombs to keep her opponent down, the only difference is she also has some top rope moves like the Swanton Bomb as well. It felt like it ended a bit too soon, it was a pretty even match and I wouldn’t have minded another lariat or two to further weaken Takumi. Solid, but it was a step down from the previous match, maybe my exceptions were too high but I was expecting a bit more from two talented young wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Summer Blast on 8/24/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Yako Fujigasaki vs. Yua Hayashi

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

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

(c) Rabbit Miu vs. Eri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KAORU vs. Kayoko Haruyama

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

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

Hanako Nakamori vs. Kana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

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

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

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

event reviewed on 1/6/15

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

Since a fair number of OZ Academy shows air on GAORA, it isn’t unusual for us to be a bit behind in watching the promotion’s more significant events. This show just recently aired and is a big one, as it takes place at the famous Korakuen Hall and has two title matches on top. Here is the full card:

• Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita and Yako Fujigasaki
• Konami vs. Sonoko Kato
• Aja Kong, Yoshiko, and Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Yumi Ohka
• Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue
• OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: Syuri and Hikaru Shida vs. AKINO and Kaho Kobayashi
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile page on Joshi City. As this aired on GAORA there is likely heavy clipping, I’ll make a note of any match that is noticeably missing content.

Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki vs. Rina Yamashita and Yako Fujigasaki

We join this one well in progress as Aoi and Yamashita are in the ring, Aoi applies a cobra clutch over her knee but Yamashita avoids the senton and kicks Aoi in the head for a two count. Yamashita goes for a backdrop suplex but Aoi blocks it, back up Aoi hits a lariat and she tags in Kaori. Kaori knees Yamashita in the back but Yamashita blocks the suplex attempt and hits a lariat for two. Yamashita tags in Yako and they double team Kaori in the corner, Yako goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Yako picks up Kaori and hits the double wrist armsault, but Aoi breaks up the cover. Yako goes up top but Kaori avoids the swivel both press, Aoi runs in and sentons Yako with Kaori following with a senton of her own. Kaori goes for a suplex but Yako blocks it, Yamashita runs in to help but she accidentally kicks Yako. Aoi sails off the top with a crossbody onto both of them, they put Yako in front of the corner and both hit diving sentons on Yako. Cover by Kaori and she gets the three count! Kaori Yoneyama and Aoi Kizuki win.

Clipped down to two minutes so not a whole lot to say about it. Fun home stretch though, Kaori and Aoi worked well together. Way too clipped to recommend but what they showed was fine.

Konami vs. Sonoko Kato

This match is also joined in progress as Kato is going for a suplex, but Konami blocks it. Uppercut by Kato and she hits a rolling fireman’s carry, picking up a two count cover. Kato gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, but that gets a two count as well. Kato kicks Konami into the corner and hits the cannonball, she goes up top but Konami kicks her before she can jump off. Konami applies the sleeper but Kato gets into the ropes, schoolboy by Konami and she applies the cross kneelock. Kato manages to get into the ropes to force the break again, release German by Konami and she kicks Kato in the head for a two count. Konami drags Kato up but Kato catches her kick and hits a dragon screw. Konami charges Kato but Kato kicks her in the head, she goes for a Dragon Sleeper but Konami kicks her off. Kato kicks Konami in the back and applies it anyway, but Konami gets a foot on the ropes. Kato goes up top but Konami avoids the diving legdrop and quickly re-applies the sleeper. Kato throws her off this time and kicks Konami in the head, but Konami retorts with her own head kick. Another head kick by Kato but Konami hits another as well, as both wrestlers are woozy. Konami finally ducks a head kick and hits a pair of her own, but Kato quickly kicks out of the cover and delivers a heel kick for a two count. German suplex hold by Kato, she picks up Konami and nails the Kowloon’s Gate for the three count! Sonoko Kato is the winner.

Even though this was cut in half, I still really enjoyed it. Konami is one of the best wrestlers in the world with only two years experience, she has come along so well and is so smooth with her moves. I love how often she chains moves together, no waiting and thinking, just bang-bang-bang with the offense which is rare these days. Kato was game for everything and really put over Konami’s head kicks, this was a really close match which Kato didn’t have to allow it to be considering her level in the promotion. A really solid match, I just wish we saw more of it.  Mildly Recommended

Aja Kong, Yoshiko, and Kuragaki vs. Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Yumi Ohka

This one is joined in progress also, as poor Kuragaki is being whipped by Ohka. Kuragaki is triple teamed for a bit until everyone but Ozaki leaves, Kuragaki promptly drops her with two backdrop suplexes but Ozaki hits a spinning chop and tags in Ohka. Crossbody by Ohka and she whips Kuragaki before choking her, but Kuragaki tosses her to the mat. She goes for a moonsault but Ohka moves and hits a heel drop, Ohka goes off the ropes but Kuragaki ducks the boot. Kick by Ohka but Kuragaki levels her with a lariat, she goes off the ropes but Ohka hits the chokebomb for a two count. Now Ohka goes off the ropes but Kuragaki hits another lariat and makes the tag to Yoshiko. Maya is tagged in too and she whips Yoshiko in the leg, more whips by Maya and she chokes Yoshiko with it. PK by Maya, but the referee won’t count due to all the whip usage. Yoshiko gets the whip and hits Maya with it, running boot by Yoshiko and she covers Maya for two. Mounted choke by Yoshiko, she picks up Maya and elbows her, but Police hits Yoshiko with a chair from the floor. Ohka and Ozaki come in and Yoshiko is triple teamed, Maya goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count cover. Maya tags Ozaki who comes in with her chain, Ozaki hits Yoshiko in the head with it a few times but Yoshiko grabs it and they play tug of war.

They trade shots with the chain but Yoshiko hits a lariat, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Ozaki for two. Yoshiko tags in Kong, Kong comes in with her metal can and hits everyone with it. Brainbuster onto the can by Kong, but again the referee won’t count since she used a weapon. Scoop slam by Kong and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but Police grabs her from the apron. Maya runs in too as everyone ends up in the ring, Kuragaki ends up with all three opponents in the corner and gets them all on her shoulders. Kuragaki tosses her to the mat and her team all hit lariats on their opponents before isolating Ozaki. Backdrop suplex by Kong to Ozaki, but Police breaks up the cover. Irish whip by Police and he goes for a lariat, but Kong slaps him in the face. Maya comes in and kicks Kong but Kuragaki lariats her, Ozaki tries to spray mist into Kong’s face but she sprays Ohka by accident. She ducks Kong’s backfist and mists her successfully the second time, Alex lee suddenly appears and she kicks Kong in the head. Schoolboy by Ozaki and she gets the three count! Ozaki Army win!

I don’t mind this match getting clipped a bit. As I mentioned at the top, not my cup of tea, but Kuragaki of all people came out looking like the star as multiple times she fought off Ozaki Army and had the most memorable offense in what they showed. Alex Lee joining Ozaki Army is really lackluster, she is a pretty average wrestler and doesn’t bring much to the table besides being another lackey to interfere in their matches. Some decent action and weapon shots, but quite a bit was missing and the big reveal at the end fell flat to me.

Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue

Toyota dropkicks Takako just as the match starts, she hops up on the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving armdrag, but Takako kicks her and hits a DDT. Another DDT by Takako and she applies a sleeper, but Toyota gets out of it by biting her foot. Toyota tickles Takako to get her to release the bodyscissors, she picks up Takako but Takako hits an armdrag. Wristlock by Takako and she steps on Toyota’s hand, she throws Toyota into the turnbuckles but Toyota gets away and rolls her up for two. Toyota twists Takako’s hair and throws her down by it, Toyota stomps on Takako near the ropes but Takako recovers and kicks Toyota in the leg. DDT by Takako and she boots Toyota in the head, but Toyota blocks the next one and bops her. Another boot by Takako, she goes up top but Toyota avoids the Takako Panic and applies the Manami Cradle Roll for a two count. Toyota quickly goes up top but Takako recovers and slams her back to the mat, cover by Takako but it gets two. Now Takako goes up top but Toyota joins her, avalanche chokeslam by Takako but Toyota barely gets a shoulder up. Takako goes up top and nails the Takako Panic, but again it only gets a two. Toyota ducks the backfist attempt and boots Takako in the face, big boot by Toyota and she nails the moonsault, but Takako barely kick out of the pin. Toyota goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Takako gets away, she goes for the spinning backfist but Toyota ducks it. Suplex by Takako and she hits Toyota with a night stick, Takako Night Night by Takako but that gets a two as well. Takako goes up top and hits another Takako Panic, but she can’t keep Toyota down. Another Takako Night Night doesn’t do the trick either, Takako goes up top but Toyota boots her off and she falls to the floor. Toyota goes up top but Takako quickly rolls back in and joins her, but Toyota slaps her back to the mat and hits a missile dropkick. Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex by Toyota, but Takako kicks out at two. Toyota picks up Takako and hits the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota is your winner.

Needless to say, this was a “Legends” style match, which meant a bit of playing around but still with some quality action. Toyota and Takako are past their prime of course, and Takako doesn’t wrestle a normal schedule, but both are still in shape and had no issues putting on a ten minute match. They were spamming finishers a bit but I can see it being their last ever singles match so they wanted to put on a good show. An enjoyable match if you go in with the right expectations, the effort was definitely there and it was fun to see them going at it probably for the last time.

(c) Syuri and Hikaru Shida vs. AKINO and Kaho Kobayashi
OZ Academy Tag Team Championship

Syuri and Shida are deadly serious for this match, which doesn’t bode well for AKINO and Kaho. Syuri and Kaho start off, Kaho gets Syuri into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Syuri kicks her anyway and applies a headlock. Kaho gets out of it, shoulderblock by Kaho but Kaho kips up and hits a pair of armdrags. Dropkick by Kaho, AKINO comes in and Syuri is double teamed, but Shida grabs AKINO from the floor and pulls her out of the ring. Syuri gets out onto the apron and hits a jumping knee off of it onto AKINO, Kaho goes for a double crossbody but she is caught and thrown at AKINO. Shida battles Kaho around the ring while AKINO and Syuri end up in the bleachers, Syuri kicks AKINO in the head before coming back to ringside to help Shida double team Kaho. Shida stays in as the legal wrestler and hits a backbreaker on Kaho, Shida stretches Kaho over her shoulder before hitting another backbreaker. Syuri comes in but Kaho ducks their kick and they hit each other, AKINO dives in with a crossbody on both of them before Kaho applies a quick cover to Shida for two. Kaho tags AKINO, missile dropkick by AKINO but Syuri comes in to help. Syuri elbows Shida by accident, kicks by AKINO to Shida but Shida lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt and hits a hurricanrana. Knee by Shida in the corner and she tags Syuri, kicks by Syuri and she hits a spinning headscissors. PK by Syuri, but AKINO kicks out of the cover.

Jawbreaker by AKINO and she delivers a few kicks, but Syuri ducks one and rolls her up. Syuri goes for a kick but AKINO blocks it, Syuri reverses AKINO’s hold into an ankle lock but AKINO reverses that into an armbreaker. AKINO charges Syuri but Syuri hits a jumping knee followed by a cross armbreaker takedown. Kaho breaks it up before Shida can get to her, kicks to the chest by Syuri to AKINO but AKINO catches her jumping knee attack and slams Syuri to the mat. AKINO locks in a deep headscissors but Shida breaks it up, kicks by AKINO and she covers Syuri for two. AKINO picks up Syuri but Syuri gets away and delivers a jumping knee. Kick combination by Syuri but AKINO elbows her and they trade shots until both collapse to the mat. AKINO tags in Kaho before Syuri can reach her corner, dropkicks by Kaho but Syuri kicks her in the chest and makes the tag to Shida. Shida goes for a suplex, Kaho gets out of it but Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Kaho reverses the Falcon Arrow into a DDT, she goes up top but Shida throws the kendo stick at her, she joins Kaho up top but Kaho lands on top of her when she goes for a suplex. Kaho and AKINO both go up top together, Syuri runs in and hits a Backstabber on AKINO, but Kaho jumps off the top with a missile dropkick/body press combination on both opponents.

Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Shida barely gets a shoulder up. Kaho goes off the ropes and goes for a roll-up, Shida blocks it but AKINO runs in and kicks her. Cover by Kaho, but Syuri breaks it up. Dropkick by Kaho, she goes off the ropes but Shida nails a jumping knee. Shida picks up Kaho and hits a vertical suplex, Three Count by Shida and Syuri follows with a PK. Another kick by Syuri and they both knee Kaho, but AKINO breaks up the pin. Shida goes off the ropes but Kaho catches her with a Frankensteiner, but Shida rolls through it. Jackknife cover by Kaho, she goes for La Magistral but Shida kicks her off. High kick by Shida but AKINO kicks her and Kaho hits a Codebreaker. 120% Schoolboy by Kaho, but Syuri breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but it caught by a powerslam, Three Count by Shida but Kaho kicks out. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but AKINO breaks the pin up. She eats a double knee for her trouble as does Kaho, but again Kaho gets a shoulder up. Tamashi No Three Count by Shida, and she finally gets the three count pinfall! Syuri and Hikaru Shida are still the champions!

What a match. This was just a 15 minute strike filled sprint, with little time to breath or relax. I don’t mind matches that start with submission holds or feeling out, but I do enjoy when a match does something different as this one had none of that. Kaho is so easy to get behind, she got her ass kicked the whole match and even though I knew the ending, I still leaned forward when she got the 120% Schoolboy locked in, rooting her on even though I knew it wouldn’t work. She took an amazing amount of abuse here but kept on chugging along, until Shida finally found the right combination to put her away. Both teams are real tag teams, not just thrown together, and were constantly helping each other out without it feeling excessive or like one team was cheating. Just an incredible tag team match and one of my favorite ones of 2017 so far.  Highly Recommended

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu
OZ Academy Openweight Championship

This match starts a bit slower, until Kagetsu drives Hiroyo into the corner and hits a running elbow smash. More elbows by Kagetsu and she hits a dropkick in the corner, Hiroyo recovers and they get into a double wristlock. Hiroyo chops Kagetsu in the chest but Kagetsu dropkicks her and the two trade elbows. Hiroyo throws Kagetsu out of the ring and throws her into the crowd, Hiroyo gets Kagetsu on her back before tossing her to the floor. Hiroyo throws Kagetsu into the ring post but Kagetsu moves when Hiroyo charges in, Kagetsu gets on the apron and kicks Hiroyo in the chest. Kagetsu throws Hiroyo back into the ring and puts her in a headscissors, Kagetsu kicks Hiroyo in the back but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam. Elbow drops to the back by Hiroyo, Hiroyo gets Kagetsu on her back and stretches her with a backbreaker. Kagetsu grabs the ropes to get out of it, she slides out to the apron but Hiroyo grabs her when she goes for a swandive move and throws Kagetsu back to the mat. Body avalanche by Hiroyo in the corner, she goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Elevated crab hold by Hiroyo, but Kagetsu crawls to the ropes and reaches them for the break. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double knee to Kagetsu’s back, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she covers Kagetsu for two. Kagetsu fights back with elbows, she goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it. Kagetsu jumps up on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, Kagetsu goes for a kick but Hiroyo catches it. Deadlift German by Hiroyo, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kagetsu springboards up to her and dropkicks Hiroyo out of the ring. Kagetsu runs up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Hiroyo (and Rina Yamashita too), Kagetsu returns to the ring and waits for Hiroyo to recover. Kagetsu grabs Hiroyo as she gets on the apron but can’t suplex her back in, Hiroyo snaps Kagetsu’s neck over the top rope and climbs back into the ring.

Hiroyo elbows Kagetsu in the knee, she goes up top but Kagetsu joins her and hits a superplex. Kagetsu keeps the hold applied and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Kagetsu but it gets two. Strike combination by Kagetsu and she hits an Ebisu Drop, cover by Kagetsu but Hiroyo gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu hits a second one but she gets another two count, she jumps on Hiroyo’s back but Hiroyo blocks the sunset flip bomb and hits a hard lariat. Kagetsu kips up and kicks Hiroyo twice in the head, she goes for another high kick in the corner but Hiroyo ducks it and plants her with a powerbomb. Kagetsu recovers and hits another Ebisu Drop, but she can’t keep Hiroyo down for three. Hiroyo goes for a lariat but Kagetsu kicks her arm away, she goes for a backdrop suplex but instead drives Kagetsu face-first into the mat. Sliding Lariat by Hiroyo and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Hiroyo recovers first and elbows Kagetsu, Kagetsu elbows her back and the two trade blows. Roaring elbow by Hiroyo and she lariats Kagetsu, but Kagetsu stays up. Hard elbow by Hiroyo and she chops Kagetsu in the chest, she goes for a powerbomb but Kagetsu back bodydrops out of it. High kick by Kagetsu and she rolls up Hiroyo with a jackknife, but Hiroyo gets out of it. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with an elbow, she goes for a cover but Kagetsu reverses it into a cover of her own. Kagetsu goes for a hurricanrana but Hiroyo catches her, hitting a sit-down powerbomb for two. Hiroyo picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt, high kick by Kagetsu and she applies a jackknife hold for two. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Hiroyo nails a hard lariat, Hiroyo picks up Kagetsu and delivers the backdrop suplex for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is still the champion.

I enjoyed this as both are just so smooth at their execution and they hit hard, but both blowing off moves so quickly eventually got on my nerves. It was constant, but one example was Hiroyo being “out” at ringside, but upon getting on the apron hits the first move and is back in control. Both “reversed” covers after eating their opponent’s bigger moves a few times, and generally the transitions were non-existent for half the match. Still, I can’t say the match wasn’t exciting as it certainly was, and they just went non-stop for the end stretch. An enjoyable and intense main event, just lacking in some areas.  Recommended

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