• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2020, or any championship that was held when 2020 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 match 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 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. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2020.

2020 was a very unusual year, not just for Joshi wrestling but for the world as the pandemic raged from March to December. This lead to some promotions trying new things to stay active, with other promotions drastically cutting down on events. OZ Academy, for example, only had 15 events for the entire year while Ice Ribbon had 102, just showing the different paths that promotions took. Due to that, the wrestlers in promotions with more visibility will do better in the ranking, even if in a normal year that may not have been the case. That makes this year’s list perhaps even more subjective than usual, and the bigger promotions that ran frequent events (particularly Stardom and Ice Ribbon) may be over-represented compared to prior (and hopefully future) years.

Onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2020!

1. Giulia (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (159 days) and the Artist of Stardom Championship (280 days)
Biggest Matches: with Syuri and Maika vs. AZM, Watanabe, and Hayashishita on 2/8, vs. Tam Nakano on 7/26, vs. Tam Nakano on 10/3, vs. Konami on 11/15, vs. Syuri on 12/20
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on October 3rd, 2020

There was no other wrestler I could have justified putting in this spot, 2020 was the Year of Giulia. She ticks all the boxes – a major championship, high end matches, popularity, recognition from Japanese media, major storylines – everything a wrestler could hope for was achieved by Giulia in 2020. Giulia also successfully led a new stable, Donna del Mondo, and had memorable feuds against Hana Kimura and Tam Nakano. All in all, a banner year for Giulia, and she will likely be a force to be reckoned with in Stardom for many years to come.

2. Yuka Sakazaki (Tokyo Joshi Pro)

Championship Held: Princess of Princess Championship (365 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Miyu Yamashita on 1/4, vs. Yuki Aino on 7/23, vs. Hyper Misao on 8/10, vs. Mizuki on 11/7
Best Match: vs. Mizuki in Tokyo Joshi Pro on November 7th, 2020

After years of being on the cusp of being the top wrestler in Tokyo Joshi Pro, Yuka Sakazaki finally ascended to the top in 2020 and once she was there she never left. Yuka won the Princess of Princess Championship in late 2019 and held it for the entire year, and even during the pandemic she was an active champion with four successful defenses. Two of those defenses were highly rated matches, against Miyu Yamashita and Mizuki. The fact she became known to more American fans from wrestling in AEW wasn’t considered for this ranking, but it still worth mentioning. A great year for Yuka, as she cemented her place in Tokyo Joshi Pro as she dominated in one of the top Joshi promotions.

3. Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (172 days) and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship (312 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Arisa Nakajima on 7/13, vs. Sareee on 9/24, with Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Best Friends on 10/3, vs. Aja Kong on 11/4, with Sareee vs. Best Friends on 11/27
Best Match: vs. Arisa Nakajima in SEAdLINNNG on July 13th, 2020

Most of the wrestlers in the Top 10 had a fair number of matches in 2020, all things considered. Yoshiko had less than the rest, as SEAdLINNNG did not run very often, but she did a lot with the opportunities she had. Yoshiko dominated SEAdLINNNG in 2020, as she held both the singles and tag team championship. Not only did Yoshiko hold the singles title the last half of the year but she did it against very stiff competition as she defeated Arisa Nakajima, Sareee, and Aja Kong. Teaming with Sareee, Yoshiko ended the year with her new partner beating Best Friends and MAX VOLTAGE, two of the top Joshi tag teams. On top of all that, she appeared in Stardom, as she plots to invade the promotion where she began her career. Even with the pandemic raging, it was a very successful year for Yoshiko.

4. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship (320 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Momo Watanabe on 1/19, with Kagetsu vs. Jungle Kyona and Momo Watanabe on 1/26, vs. Takumi Iroha on 2/8, vs. Jungle Kyona on 7/24, vs. Syuri on 10/3, vs. Takumi Iroha on 10/18, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 11/15
Best Match: vs. Takumi Iroha in Stardom on February 8th, 2020

The Icon may have been overshadowed in 2020 by Giulia, but she still had a great year and stayed a focal part of Stardom. She held one of the top titles in the promotion for the vast majority of the year, and had four successful defenses. She also had a great mini-feud with Takumi Iroha, as they put on two of the best Joshi matches of the year. Beyond her title success, Mayu also led the STARS faction and dealt with various comings and goings in the stable, keeping her in the spotlight. A high-end and popular wrestler, Mayu will likely maintain her high status in 2021, even though she goes into the year with no titles.

5. Suzu Suzuki (Ice Ribbon)

Championship Held: ICExInfinity Championship (145 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 3/14, vs. Maya Yukihi on 6/13, vs. Maya Yukihi on 8/9, vs. Tsukushi on 9/20, vs. Saori Anou on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Maya Yukihi in Ice Ribbon on August 9th, 2020

For the past few years Ice Ribbon has been slow to elevate talented young wrestlers, but they did not make the same mistake with Suzu Suzuki as at age 17 she won the ICExInfinity Championship. When 2020 started she immediately signaled she was ready for a bigger spotlight, as she defeated Tsukasa Fujimoto on March 14th. Unlike other promotions, Ice Ribbon did not take as long of a pause as they continued running events from their Dojo, giving Suzu a chance to tally more wins. After failing to win the ICExInfinity Championship in June, she came back in August and defeated Maya Yukihi for the championship. She had three successful defenses before the year closed, as she was an active champion. Between her age and skill set, if Ice Ribbon keeps her on the path she will likely be an Ace for the promotion for many years to come.

6. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)

Championships Held: SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship (26 days), Artist Of Stardom Championship (39 days), Future Of Stardom Championship (47 days), Goddesses Of Stardom Championship (154 days), and the World Of Stardom Championship (47 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Arisa Hoshiki on 1/19, with Saya Kamitani vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami on 7/26, with Saya Kamitani vs. AZM and Momo Watanabe on 11/14, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 11/15, vs. Momo Watanabe on 12/20, with Saya Kamitani vs. Bea Priestley and Konami on 12/26
Best Match: vs. Mayu Iwatani in Stardom on November 15th, 2020

As is her tradition, Utami Hayashishita was a Title Collector in 2020. At some point during the year, Utami held five different championships, and ended the year with one of the top titles in Stardom. She also put on a series of high end matches, including memorable fights against Momo Watanabe and Mayu Iwatani. On top of that, she also won the FIVE STAR GP, one of the biggest Joshi tournaments every year. Just a couple years into her career, Utami continues to gain more and more steam which is a trend that will likely continue.

7. Mayu Yukihi (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (222 days) and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (one day)
Biggest Matches: vs. Hamuko Hoshi on 5/31, vs. Suzu Suzuki on 6/13, vs. Suzu Suzuki on 8/9, vs. Risa Sera on 10/31, with Maika Ozaki vs. Frank Sisters on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Suzu Suzuki in Ice Ribbon on August 9th, 2020

Even though Maya in 2020 was (perhaps temporarily) passed in the promotion by Suzu Suzuki, she still had a great year. Maya held the main singles title for the majority of 2020, with successful defenses over Akane Fujita, Hiragi Kurumi, Suzu Suzuki, and Hamuko Hoshi. After losing the title in August, Maya then failed to win the FantastICE Championship from Risa Sera but rebounded by winning the tag titles on the last day of the year. Maya may start 2021 focused on the tag scene but will no doubt be back trying to regain the ICExInfinity Championship before long.

8. Miyuki Takase (Actwres girl’Z)

Championships Held: Actwres girl’Z Championship (365 days) and the Diana Tag Team Championship (124 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 3/15, vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 3/21, vs. Sareee on 10/5, vs. Andras Miyagi on 11/1, vs. Akane Fujita on 11/16
Best Match: vs. Sareee in Actwres girl’Z on October 5th, 2020

A sleeper pick to be this high, but I think well deserved. Even though Miyuki is based out of AgZ, she wrestled in many other promotions in 2020 to help build her visibility and put on quality matches against a variety of opponents. During the year she had five successful defenses of the AgZ Championship, including wins over Nagisa Nozaki and Andras Miyagi. In other promotions, she challenged for the Regina di WAVE Championship and successfully won the tag team titles in Diana. Miyuki is AgZ’s undisputed Ace, and since in the past they have had trouble hanging onto wrestlers with Miyuki’s popularity, it remains to be seen how much longer she will stay in the smaller promotion.

9. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (222 days) and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship (56 days)
Biggest Matches: with Tsukushi vs. Ram Kaicho and Rina Yamashita on 2/24, with Tsukushi vs. Hiragi Kurumi and Mochi Miyagi on 8/9, with Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Yoshiko on 8/26, with Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Yoshiko on 10/3, with Arisa Nakajima vs. Sareee and Yoshiko on 11/27
Best Match: with Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Yoshiko in SEAdLINNNG on August 26th, 2020

Tsukasa Fujimoto stayed out of the main title scene in Ice Ribbon for 2020, but she still was very active and had a successful year. Most of her notable victories and big matches were in the tag division, as she teamed with Tsukushi in Ice Ribbon and Arisa Nakajima in SEAdLINNNG to find title success. Particularly in her run for SEAdLINNNG, Best Friends had a number of high end matches against Hiroyo Matsumoto and Yoshiko, with the feud ending when Best Friends took the belts. Even at 37 years old, Tsukasa hasn’t lost a step as she continues to be an important part of Ice Ribbon.

10. Nagisa Nozaki (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championship Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship (362 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Miyuki Takase on 3/15, vs. Miyuki Takase on 3/21, vs. Yuki Miyazaki on 7/7, vs. Sareee on 8/30, vs. Sakura Hirota on 9/6, vs. Sakura Hirota on 12/27
Best Match:  vs. Miyuki Takase in Actwres girl’Z on March 15th, 2020

Pro Wrestling WAVE flies under the radar more often than not, but Nagisa Nozaki’s dominance of the promotion deserves attention. Nagisa held the Regina di WAVE Championship for almost the entire year, and had wins over Miyuki Takase, Sakura Hirota, and Rina Shingaki in defense of it. Her matches with Miyuki Takase were highly rated, and she had a special attraction match with WWE-bound Sareee over the summer. Nagisa was very loyal to WAVE in 2020 which impacted her visibility, hopefully in 2021 she is able to branch out more to other promotions.

11. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon) – Risa continued in 2020 to not have success at the very top of the card in Ice Ribbon, but she really increased her overall impact in the promotion with the birth of the FantastICE Championship. Risa won the title in August and had seven defenses, with all the matches having a fair amount of violence attached to them. Risa is making the most of her opportunities and goes into 2021 still the FantastICE Champion.

12. Mei Suruga (Gatoh Move) – It is hard to really describe Mei Suruga and the impact she has on her fans. Gatoh Move became a popular niche promotion in the West due to their ease to watch as they started regular Youtube shows during the pandemic. While most of the action is just fun casual viewing, Mei set herself apart by not only having a ton of charisma but being entertaining and talented to boot. She didn’t win any titles in 2020 until the last day, but her impact went beyond that and under the right circumstances she could become a real force in Joshi in a very short period of time.

13. Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – While Yuka Sakazaki dominated Tokyo Joshi Pro, Rika Tatsumi had a good year as well. She was one half of the Princess Tag Team Champions for the bulk of the year and continued to be one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion. Aside from losing in the Tokyo Princess Cup, Rika didn’t lose any singles matches in 2020, setting herself up for a big 2021.

14. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG) – Arisa wasn’t super active in 2020, with only 27 total matches, but when she did wrestle she made sure to make it memorable. Six of her 27 matches were title matches, as she had two runs with the SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship with Tsukasa Fujimoto. She also came into the year with the Beyond The Sea Championship until losing it to Yoshiko in July. Arisa continues to wrestle at a very high level as she goes into her 15th year as a wrestler, which boosted her some in this ranking as she is still one of the best in the world.

15. Syuri (Stardom) – Syuri started the year as a Freelancer and had big matches against Chihiro Hashimoto, Saori Anou, and Tsukasa Fujimoto before joining Stardom full time later in the year. In Stardom, she won the Trios titles and challenged for the World of Stardom Championship before winning the SWA Undisputed Championship in November. With her unique offense and infectious smile, it will be fun to see where Syuri’s career in Stardom takes her.

16. Rina Yamashita (Freelancer) – In a year as crazy as 2020, I have to give some love to the Broken Dumptruck. Rina Yamashita stayed very active in 2020, with almost 100 matches, and held the PURE-J tag title for half the year. She had several other memorable title challenges, including against Arisa Nakajima and Risa Sera. Rina was everywhere in 2020 and was entertaining wherever she went, showing that not even a pandemic could stop her from leaving a lasting impression with fans.

17. Mizuki (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Mizuki didn’t hold any titles in Joshi promotions during 2020, but she still had a solid year in Tokyo Joshi Pro. She won the Tokyo Princess Cup in the summer, defeating Shoko Nakajima in the Finals. She also had what many consider one of the best Joshi matches of the year against Yuka Sakazaki on November 7th. A popular wrestler with the Tokyo Joshi Pro fandom, Mizuki will look to build on a good 2020 to have an even better 2021.

18. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous) – Before her injury in October, Takumi was having a solid year. She didn’t hold any titles, but continued to lead Marvelous and had two really great matches against Stardom wrestler Mayu Iwatani. Takumi will be on the shelf for awhile, but hopefully she can fully recover and continue being one of the most entertaining wrestlers in Japan.

19. Tam Nakano (Stardom) – Tam Nakano didn’t have a lot of success in the title scene in 2020, but she still had a big impact in Stardom as she was regularly involved in the promotion’s biggest storylines. Between her feud with Giulia and her splitting away from STARS, Tam was hard not to notice as she was one of the most visible wrestlers in the promotion. Tam may never be the “Ace” of Stardom but she will be an important part of the promotion for the foreseeable future.

20. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’) – Chihiro is one of wrestlers hardest to place, due to the impact of COVID. Sendai Girls’ ran less shows than most other Joshi promotions, and even though Chihiro held the championship all year she only had one defense (which was back in March). Her ranking here isn’t a statement for her future in Joshi, and I expect her to rebound once the world returns to normal.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2020 appeared first on Joshi City.

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2019, or any championship that was held when 2019 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 match 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 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. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2019.

Before we get into it, a couple very established veterans that normally would make this kind of list I wasn’t able to justify including this year – Tsukasa Fujimoto and Meiko Satomura. I realize this opens the list to easy criticism but keep in mind this list isn’t a “best wrestler” list and isn’t influenced by past success – it is based solely on what happened in 2019. Both Fujimoto and Satomura largely took a back seat in their respective promotions last year, allowing the younger wrestlers to take the lead. Which is great! But it makes it harder to rank them with only twenty spots available. So before anyone asks, I didn’t forget them, they just didn’t have enough in regards to in-ring accomplishments or visibility in Japan during the year to make the Top 20. So save any vitriol for a more worthwhile cause.

Without further ado and procrastinating, onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019!

1. Sareee (Diana)

Championships Held: Diana World Championship (233 days) and the Sendai Girls’ World Championship (127 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 1/6, vs. Aja Kong on 2/11, vs. Meiko Satomura on 4/16, vs. Aja Kong on 5/12, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 6/18, vs. DASH Chisako on 7/7, and vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

To say it is difficult to be the top Joshi wrestler of the year when your home promotion literally had zero events available to watch would be an understatement, but Sareee managed to pull it off. What set Sareee apart from others wasn’t just her title success in Sendai Girls’, but the high quality of her matches throughout the year in a variety of promotions. Her matches against Meiko Satomura and against Chihiro Hashimoto (in June) were two of the best Joshi matches of the year, as she went from relative unknown to many newer Joshi fans to one of the most popular wrestlers on the scene. Depending on where her career goes in 2020 she may just be a “one year wonder” in regards to being this high on fans’ Wrestler of the Year list, but what a year it was.

2. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (322 days), International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (161 days), OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (105 days), and the Triangle Ribbon Championship (52 days)
Biggest Matches: with Risa Sera vs. Kyuri and Ozaki on 3/17, vs. Tsukushi on 3/31, with Saori Anou vs. Beast Friend on 5/12, vs. Giulia on 5/25, vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 8/3, vs. Risa Sera on 9/14, and with Risa Sera vs. Giulia and Tequila Saya on 9/23
Best Match: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto in Ice Ribbon on August 3rd, 2019

It is hard not to respect a wrestler with as many title wins in one year as Maya Yukihi had, as it just shows an enormous amount of faith that the promotion has in her. Few wrestlers dominated their promotion in 2019 as Maya did, not just with her success with the ICExInfinity Championship but with her constant main event presence in some capacity. The focus remained so strongly on her that it was difficult for any other Ice Ribbon wrestlers to really get noticed in 2019. She also continued to have success in OZ Academy as well with her more ‘evil’ side, as she changed her personality depending on which promotion she was in. While consistent match quality wouldn’t land her in the Top 5 for the year, her success just can’t be ignored as she seems poised to be the Ice Ribbon Ace for the foreseeable future.

3. Arisa Hoshiki (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (229 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 4/29, vs. Tam Nakano on 6/16, vs. Hazuki on 7/24, vs. Jungle Kyona on 8/10, vs. Kagetsu on 10/14, with Tam Nakano vs. Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter on 11/15, and vs. Konami on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on June 16th, 2019

Sometimes, the number of titles a wrestler held doesn’t tell the whole story. 2019 in Stardom was all about Arisa Hoshiki’s rise from “surprise return wrestler” to being one of the top wrestlers in the promotion. She won the Cinderella Tournament in April and went on to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She held the title for the rest of the year with eight defenses, making her one of the most active champions on the Joshi scene. She also was involved in one of the more memorable Joshi storylines of 2019, as she slowly converted her enemy Tam Nakano into her friend over a seven month period, ending in a touching scene after they won the Stardom Goddesses of Tag League together. On top of that, her in-ring quality greatly improved as the year progressed as by the end she was putting together some high end matches. Arisa will have some stiff competition from Mayu in 2020, so we’ll see if she can keep up her momentum.

4. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship (229 days), Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (146 days), and the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Championship (95 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Sareee on 1/6, with Mika Iwata vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Sareee on 2/3, vs. Sareee on 6/8, vs. Yoshiko on 7/7, and vs. Sareee on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Sareee in Sendai Girls’ on June 8th, 2019

For the third straight year, Chihiro Hashimoto was the main force in Sendai Girls’, as their smaller roster doesn’t give them a lot of options. Just four years into her career she is already on her fifth title reign, as Meiko Satomura takes a lesser role and no other younger wrestler is ready to step up. She had a great series of matches against Sareee in 2019, and just for variety sake also had success in DDT as well. Combined with her tag title run, its hard to deny that Chihiro had a great year and further cemented her place as one of the best young wrestlers on the Joshi scene, but hopefully Sendai Girls’ can find a way to mix it up a bit in 2020.

5. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (112 days) and the Regina Di WAVE Championship (167 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Nanae Takahashi on 5/29, vs. Nagisa Nozaki vs. Ryo Mizunami on 7/15, vs. Arisa Nakajima on 9/18, vs. Ryo Mizunami on 10/5, vs. Chigusa Nagayo on 12/8, and vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on May 29th, 2019

Another solid year by the young Ace of Marvelous – Takumi Iroha. Even though Marvelous doesn’t really have its own titles, Takumi still won two titles anyway in 2019 as she visited other promotions. She won the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship from Nanae Takahashi in May and won the Regina Di WAVE Championship against Nagisa Nozaki and Ryo Mizunami in July. She capped off her year by defeating Chigusa Nagayo in a singles match, the first time she has faced off against her mentor in a one vs. one match. Takumi’s future is hard to determine due to her situation in Marvelous, but she will continue to be their Ace as well as traveling to other promotions to take their belts.

6. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: ROH Women of Honor Word Championship (55 days), Artist of Stardom Championship, (162 days) and the World of Stardom Championship (57 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Konami on 2/24, with Saki Kashima and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami on 6/23, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/7, vs. Momo Watanabe on 9/22, vs. Bea Priestley on 11/4, and vs. Kagetsu on 12/24
Best Match: vs. Kagetsu in Stardom on December 24th, 2019

Mayu Iwatani won the Tokyo Sports Award Women’s Award in 2019, which was well deserved but that doesn’t mean she had the best year. This ranking is influenced by my own personal biases, not Joshi politics. Still, she did have a great year. She started the year as part of the Artist of Stardom Championship, a title she held for almost half the year total. Even though technically I am not considering matches outside of Japan, I still have to mention that she had a title match at Madison Square Garden, a massive achievement in any wrestler’s career. She ended the year hot, as she won the World of Stardom Championship in November and still held the belt as the year concluded. When considering how she closed the year and the number of high end matches she had, Mayu is easily a Top 10 wrestler for the year, and judging from how it ended I imagine she will be even higher next year.

7. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG)

Championships Held: SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship (104 days) and the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship (115 days)
Biggest Matches: with Sae vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 3/20, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 4/28, vs. Takumi Iroha on 9/18, and vs. Nanae Takahashi on 11/2
Best Match: vs. Nanae Takahashi in SEAdLINNNG on November 2nd, 2019

After a quiet 2018, Arisa Nakajima came back with a bang in 2019 as she took over SEAdLINNNG. Arisa had two tag title reigns during the year, although both were short, and won the Beyond The Sea Championship in September before holding it for the rest of the year. She also had one of the best Joshi matches of 2019 against Nanae Takahashi in November 2nd. Arisa only had 45 matches in 2019 which hurt her a bit, otherwise she would have been higher, but she is still one of the best in-ring competitors in Japan. If she wrestles more outside of SEAdLINNNG in 2020, she could easily be a Top 5 wrestler next year.

8. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Freelancer)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship (79 days), SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship (186 days), OZ Tag Team Championship (131 days), and the Blast Queen Championship (7 days)
Biggest Matches: with Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maya Yukihi and Saori Anou on 5/12, with Yoshiko vs. Himeka Arita and Miyuki Takase on 6/28, vs. Nanae Takahashi on 8/18, vs. Mayumi Ozaki on 8/25, vs. Hanako Nakamori on 9/29, and with DASH Chisako vs. Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie on 10/13
Best Match: vs. Mayumi Ozaki in OZ Academy on August 25th, 2019

Like Arisa Nakajima, Hiroyo Matsumoto didn’t have a great 2018 but had a much better year in 2019. She found her most success in the tag team division, as she ended the year holding two tag team championships. She was very active with 120 matches in twelve different Japanese promotions, so even though she didn’t get any long runs at the top of a promotion this year she stayed visible. Hiroyo didn’t have any noted MOTYC type matches but was very consistent in-ring, and considering she is a Freelancer it was a very solid year overall.

9. Momo Watanabe (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (135 days), Goddesses of Stardom Championship (195 days), and the Artist of Stardom Championship (38 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tam Nakano on 1/14, vs. Jungle Kyona on 3/3, vs. Arisa Hoshiki on 5/16, with Utami Hayashishita vs. Jungle Kyona and Konami on 7/15, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/1, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 9/22, and with AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Andras Miyagi, Kagetsu, and Natsu Sumire on 11/23
Best Match: vs. Jungle Kyona in Stardom on March 3rd, 2019

Momo did the opposite of Arisa and Mayu in 2019, which always impacts one’s impression of a wrestler – she started the year hot but disappeared for the last half of the year as she faded more into the second tier. As 2019 began she held both the Wonder of Stardom and Goddesses of Stardom Championship, but both titles were gone by the summer. She didn’t win any tournaments but did win the Artist of Stardom Championship in November so at least she didn’t end the year with no titles at all. That being said, in the first half of the year she had some great title defenses, and even though she wasn’t always winning she had some really quality matches in the fall as well so her in-ring performances stayed at a high level. Momo may have been passed by both Arisa and Mayu in 2019, with with wrestlers like Utami, Hana Kimura, and Giulia in the wings she may have trouble climbing back to the top.

10. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling)

Championships Held: Tokyo Princess of Princess Championship (122 days) and the SHINE Championship (31 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Maki Itoh on 1/4, vs. Yuka Sakazaki on 3/31, vs. Shoko Nakajima on 5/3, vs. Allysin Kay on 5/6, and with Miu Watanabe vs. Misao and Sakisama on 8/25
Best Match: vs. Shoko Nakajima in Tokyo Joshi Pro on May 3rd, 2019

Tokyo Joshi Pro didn’t have one dominate wrestler in 2019 as their main title was divided between three wrestlers through the year, but Miyu Yamashita still felt like their superstar. She entered the year the Princess of Princess Champion and kept it until May, oddly enough she did not get a rematch for the rest of the year and even lost in the first round of the Tokyo Princess Cup. She did get one tag title shot, but her team lost. Still, she did hold the title for 25% of the year with three successful defenses and continued putting on high quality matches as she always does which helped her sneak into the Top 10 and over her fellow Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers.

   11. Saori Anou (Actwres girl’Z) – The undisputed Ace of Actwres girl’Z in 2019, Saori also saw title success outside the promotion for the first time as she held the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship for over 100 days. She lost the AgZ Championship and OZ Academy Tag Team Championship in August however and was more under the radar the rest of the year, as her future went into limbo as she announced she was leaving AgZ in December. As of the time of this review, we still don’t know what her future holds, and that will be the determining factor on where she is on this list next year. If she is on it at all.

12. Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J) – Like last year, Hanako took control of being the Ace of the seldom seen PURE-J promotion. More of her matches seemed to “make tape” in 2019 than 2018 however, her main issue this year is that due to the retirement of Command Bolshoi she wasn’t really the focus the first quarter of the year. Once she won the PURE-J Openweight Championship in April she held it to the conclusion of 2019, with five successful defenses. Hopefully more PURE-J is available to watch in 2020.

13. Mayumi Ozaki (OZ Academy) – Even though I find Mayumi Ozaki’s match style to be predictable and not overly entertaining, I can’t deny her success in 2019 as she led OZ Academy. She held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship from April until the end of the year, and won the Blast Queen Championship as well. She wasn’t as active as most wrestlers on this list with only 46 matches however, which isn’t a surprise considering her age, and none of her matches were highly ranked. She deserves being on the list just due the stranglehold she held on OZ Academy, but hopefully in 2020 a younger wrestler with a different wrestling style will take over.

14. Riho (Gatoh Move/Stardom) – Riho found a good deal of success in AEW in 2019, but even beyond that she had a good year in Japan. She was the Ace of Gatoh Move for the first half of the year, holding both the Super Asia Championship and the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship. After joining AEW in late summer, Riho still wrestled in Japan and won the High Speed Championship in Stardom. Riho may be focusing more on AEW in 2020, but for 2019 she still did enough in Japan to make the top 20 Joshi wrestlers of the year.

15. Kagetsu (Stardom) – In her final full year as a professional wrestler, Kagetsu continued to put out great matches in 2019. She opened the year as World of Stardom Champion, holding the title for four months. From then on her championship success was more limited, with just a short Artist of Stardom run, but she was constantly involved in the title scene and had great matches with Hazuki, Toni Storm, Konami, Jungle Kyona, Arisa Hoshiki, and Mayu Iwatani. In a promotion where it is easy to fade in the background, Kagetsu never did and stayed a visible and popular wrestler for the entire year.

16. Shoko Nakajima (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Shoko had the longest Princess of Princess title reign of 2019, holding the title for over 180 days. She didn’t have the same level of matches as Miyu Yamashita, and was also often overshadowed by other fan favorites like Maki Itoh and Yuka Sakazaki. Still, she did have four successful defenses and stayed in bigger matches even outside her title reign, so even though she was sometimes overlooked she still had a really solid year for the promotion.

17. ASUKA (Freelancer) – ASUKA had an interesting year, as even though she did not win any major titles she was a force to be reckoned with wrestling in the male-dominated promotions DDT and ZERO1. She took part in the Fire Festival in 2019, and even though she didn’t do great in the tournament she did have a big win over Masato Tanaka. She also battled Akito in DDT for the DDT Extreme Championship, considered by many to be a stealth MOTYC candidate. ASUKA set her own path in 2019, one not many Joshi wrestlers have attempted, and came away with a very memorable year. As a Freelancer, its always hard to predict her future, but being a regular in DDT made her in 2019 one of the most visible Joshi wrestlers in Japan and the quality of her matches proved that she belongs in the big leagues.

18. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom) – Utami dealt with some injury issues in 2019 but still collected titles like few others can. She held five championships during the year, four in Stardom and one from EVE, and for the year she had a total of 21 title matches. She ended the year still holding three belts, as she seems poised to move up the ladder further if she can stay healthy.

19. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon) – I really didn’t want to only have one Ice Ribbon wrestler on the list, and Risa Sera seemed like the most deserving to also be included. Risa had two tag title reigns in 2019, plus she held the Blast Queen Championship for the first month and a half of the year. She had one shot at the ICExInfinity Championship, but lost, and ended the year with no titles. Her match quality continued to be high however, making it easier to justify placing her on this list.

20. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer) – Hikaru Shida held the OZ Academy Openweight Championship until April of 2019, but did not win any other titles the rest of the year. To many she was still considered one of the best in-ring wrestlers in Japan, however, and she had over 90 matches in Japan for the year even though she left in October to join AEW. Hikaru may not be eligible for this list for awhile if things go well in AEW, but she earned her spot this year with her versatility in the ring and general popularity.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2019 appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: OZ Academy Sparkling New Year 2020
Date: January 5th, 2020
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 326

In an effort to have a more diverse selection of Joshi reviews on the website, next we will jump over to Oz Academy. I don’t watch OZ Academy too often as I am not a big fan of the Ozaki-gun antics, but on this event that should just be confined to the main event and the other matches will have room to breathe. There is a lot to look forward to here, with Tae Honma getting a big singles match and the start of a mini-tournament to find a new #1 Contender. Here is the full card:

• OZ Academy Openweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament: Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yuu
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament: Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Aja Kong and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
• AKINO vs. Tae Honma
• Ayame Sasamura, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi, Mayumi Ozaki, and Yumi Ohka

All wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this event aired on NicoPro, it will be unclipped. It is just a one-camera setup, however there is no commentary box so that’s a plus. For information on how to sign up for NicoPro, please read my guide, only $5 a month for lots of great wrestling.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yuu

They start slow as they exchange holds but neither gets a clear advantage, takedown by Yuu but Kaho switches positions with her and rolls away. Another takedown by Yuu but Kaho gets her back, which Yuu quickly rolls out of. They end up back on their feet again, Kaho goes for an armdrag but she can’t get Yuu over. Hard chop by Yuu, she pushes Kaho into the ropes and chops her in the chest again. Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho hits a crossbody followed by a dropkick. Yuu falls out of the ring, Kaho gets a running start and dives out onto Yuu with a tope suicida. Kaho slides Yuu back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving hurricanrana. Dropkick by Kaho in the corner, she tosses Yuu to the mat and dropkicks her again for a two count cover. Kaho applies a key lock with a headscissors but Yuu gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Kaho twists Yuu’s arm in the ropes and knees her in the back of the head, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Yuu in the back. Kaho goes back to the arm as she twists and dropkicks it again, cover by Kaho but it gets two.

Kicks to the arm by Kaho and she hits a knee onto Yuu’s arm as well, Octopus Hold by Kaho but Yuu muscles out of it. Running elbow by Yuu and she hits a senton, cover by Yuu but it gets two. Yuu picks up Kaho and chops her in the chest, even though it hurts her own arm as well. She elbows her with her injured arm as well, Kaho quickly gets back up however and knocks Yuu to the mat. Yuu chops Kaho against the ropes, Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho applies the iron octopus. Yuu gets into the ropes for the break, running boot by Kaho but Yuu fires back with an elbow and they trade shots. Hard elbow by Yuu but Kaho gets up and elbows her back, Yuu elbows Kaho in the corner and chops her in the chest. Running senton by Yuu, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaho recovers and joins her. Frankensteiner by Kaho, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Kaho but it gets two. Kaho quickly goes back to the arm submission but Yuu gets into the ropes for the break, they return to their feet and trade strikes until Kaho goes for a hanging submission.

Yuu gets out of it and clubs Kaho in the head, hard elbow by Yuu and she covers Kaho for two. Enzuigiri by Kaho, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Yuu avoids the Gideon Splash. Kaho is up first and elbows Yuu, she goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a hip toss and applies a sleeper. Kaho rolls out of it and applies a crucifix, but it gets two. Kaho goes off the ropes but Yuu hits another hip toss, Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho reverses it. Yuu catches Kaho and slams her to the mat, Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Kaho reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Elbows by Kaho, she picks up Yuu and elbows her again before hitting a dropkick. Kaho picks up Yuu but Yuu hits a backdrop suplex, running kick by Yuu and she hits a cannonball in the corner. Last Ride Powerbomb by Yuu, and she covers Kaho for the three count! Yuu is the winner and advances in the tournament.

This match was structured very uniquely. Even though Yuu has the size advantage and wrestled this match with a “I could win at any moment with a big power move” vibe, Kaho was the veteran so she controlled the action and won a fair number of the strike exchanges. Kaho sticking to submissions and high flying moves was the way to go since she wasn’t going to out-power Yuu, it was the fact Kaho won so many strike battles that threw me off as Yuu should have been winning more of those if she was the “stronger wrestler” (even with the injured arm). It led to an interesting dynamic for sure. I did like Kaho’s arm work throughout the match and her game plan was sound, and since Yuu tends to win matches like this sometimes I have no issue with Kaho staying down for three after just a couple power moves in a row since that was the story they set up from the beginning. Overall I liked it, it may not have the pacing that some prefer but it was a hell of a way to begin a show, with a 20+ minute match with a slower build.  Recommended

Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

They both immediately try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks and elbows, they then trade lariats but both wrestlers stay standing. Finally Kuragaki knocks over Matsumoto with a lariat, lariats by Kuragaki in the corner and she stretches Matsumoto on the mat. Kuragaki picks up Matsumoto and delivers a delayed vertical suplex, cover by Kuragaki but it gets a two count. Kuragaki picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto blocks her attack and hits a back bodydrop, Matsumoto goes off the ropes but Kuragaki kicks her in the stomach. Matsumoto knocks Kuragaki back and goes for a lariat, Kuragaki stays up but Matsumoto suplexes her to the mat. Body Avalanche by Matsumoto in the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Matsumoto picks up Kuragaki but Kuragaki blocks the powerbomb attempt, lariat by Kuragaki while Matsumoto is against the ropes and she hits a body press off the second turnbuckle for two.

Kuragaki goes all the way up top but Matsumoto recovers and joins her, she goes for a superplex but Kuragaki tosses her back down to the mat. Diving body press by Kuragaki, but Matsumoto kicks out at two. Kuragaki clubs on Matsumoto and gets her up over her shoulders, but Matsumoto slides away and finally lariats Kuragaki off her feet. Kuragaki and Matsumoto trade elbows while on their knees, they keep elbowing each other on their feet until Matsumoto knocks down Kuragaki with a spinning back elbow for two. Backdrop suplex by Kuragaki and she hits a lariat for a two count. Another lariat by Kuragaki, but that gets two as well. Falcon Arrow by Kuragaki, but once again Matsumoto gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kuragaki goes up for the moonsault but Matsumoto rolls out of the way and delivers a sliding lariat, but Kuragaki reverses her cover attempt into one of her own. Matsumoto quickly returns the favor as she reverses Kuragaki’s next cradle attempt and holds down Kuragaki for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins and advances in the tournament.

It shows the level of respect that Matsumoto has for Kuragaki that Kuragaki was the one that controlled this match. Matsumoto is still one of the top Joshi wrestlers on the scene and is very accomplished, but Kuragaki stayed in the dominant position for the bulk of this match. It really felt like Kuragaki’s match to lose the entire time as Matsumoto only had some hope spots, even having issues just knocking Kuragaki off her feet. It was a way to protect the veteran I guess, but I am not sure if Kuragaki really needs protecting, her place in wrestling is cemented regardless of her match against Matsumoto. A pretty good power-style match even if the structure threw me off a bit, a straight-forward story but one easily understood anyway. A perfectly fine ‘power’ encounter, even if it feels off to see Matsumoto wrestling from underneath and needing a flash pin to win.  Mildly Recommended

Aja Kong and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato

Yoneyama and Kakeru start the match, drop down by Kakeru but Kato stomps on her back. Dropkick by Kakeru but Kong kicks her from the apron, she comes in the ring and Kong helps Yoneyama kick Kakeru to the mat. Kong and Yoneyama have a chat before Kong tries to slam Yoneyama onto Kakeru, but Kakeru moves out of the way. The action spills out of the ring as Kakeru dives off the apron with a crossbody onto Kong, she gets back in the ring with Kato and Yoneyama as Yoneyama is double teamed. Snapmare by Kakeru to Yoneyama and she applies a body scissors, she lets go after a moment and hits a scoop slam for two. Kakeru tags Kato, snapmare by Kato and she kicks Yoneyama in the back, but Yoneyama bridges out of the pin. Kato stops Yoneyama from tagging out and applies a camel clutch, but Kong comes in and breaks it up. Scoop slam by Kato and she hits a leg drop, Kakeru comes in and she scoop slams Yoneyama as well. Leg drop by Kato and Kakeru slams Yoneyama again before Kato hits another leg drop.

Kato gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and puts her in the corner, kicks to the chest by Kato and she hits a cannonball. Kato gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam before tagging in Kakeru. Dropkick by Kakeru and she applies a short armbar, but Yoneyama gets to the ropes. Yoneyama finally rolls to her corner and tags in Kong, Kakeru elbows Kong but Kong absorbs the blows and clubs Kakeru. Kong picks up Kakeru and clubs her again, kicks by Kong but Kakeru returns to her feet and tries to fight back. It doesn’t work, Kong puts Kakeru on the top turnbuckle but Kato grabs her from behind and pulls Kong back to the mat. Missile dropkick by Kakeru and she tags Kato, Kato kicks Kong repeatedly and applies a full nelson, but Kong quickly gets out of it. Yoneyama runs in but Kato drops her with a German suplex, she then German suplexes Kong as well before covering her for two. Kato goes up top but Kong avoids her dive, strikes by Kato and she goes for a suplex, but Kong blocks it.

Kakeru runs in to help but Kong suplexes both of them, Kong picks up Kato and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Kong tags Yoneyama, Yoneyama knees Kato in the back of the head and hits a series of Mongolian Chops. Northern Lights Suplex by Yoneyama, but Kato kicks out. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle but Kato avoids her dive, Kakeru runs in and she dropkicks Yoneyama. Kick by Kato and Kakeru dropkicks Yoneyama again, dragon suplex hold by Kato but Kong breaks it up. Kato gets Yoneyama up but Yoneyama wiggles away, Kong comes in with her paint can and hits Kato and Kakeru with it. Yoneyama goes up top while Kong gets on the second turnbuckle, Kong tries to superplex Yoneyama onto both their opponents but they move. Running STO by Kakeru to Yoneyama, Kato goes up top and hits the Guillotine Leg Drop. Cover by Kato, but Kong breaks it up. Kato charges Yoneyama but Yoneyama avoids her kick and cradles Kato for two. Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Kato catches her with a heel kick, she picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits a DDT. Kong drops Kakeru on top of Kato, jackknife hold by Yoneyama to Kato and she gets the three count! Beast Friend wins!

A good enough midcard match but nothing more. Beast Friend are an odd team as they try to be too cute, which you’d think two long time veterans would be better than doing. The spots like a wrestler trying to superplex her own partner onto their opponents is something I’d expect to see in a ROH dark match, not more established wrestlers as it breaks logic and reasoning that they would find that to be a good idea. I’d much prefer they just wrestle it straight, but I guess that is hard with Yoneyama around, as she is semi-comedy and has been for years. On the plus side, Kakeru looked good when they let her do anything and Kato was her usual solid self. Some individual parts were fun, like Kato getting Kong over for the suplex, but as a whole there just wasn’t enough to it to recommend with more annoying sections than I’d prefer.

AKINO vs. Tae Honma

Tae really wants a handshake to start the match, AKINO is hesitant but finally does so after much prompting, only to be cradled by Tae for her trouble. She kicks out but Tae gets in a few more flash pins without any luck scoring the quick victory. Tae throws AKINO into the corner and hits a running elbow, dropkick by Tae and she covers AKINO again for two. Tae goes for a short armbar but AKINO rolls through it, knee to the back by AKINO and she kicks Tae. Camel Clutch by AKINO as she pulls her on nose, showing each side of the ring before letting go and kneeing Tae in the back again. Scoop slam by AKINO and she facewashes Tae in the corner, spinebuster by AKINO and she hits a leg drop for two. AKINO quickly applies an armtrap crossface, but Tae gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Irish whip by AKINO but Tae reverses it and elbows AKINO, AKINO elbows her back and they trade blows. Waistlock by Tae but AKINO elbows out of it, Tae rolls AKINO to the mat and puts her in an ankle hold. AKINO gets out of it and applies a headscissors, but Tae reverses it into a cross armbreaker attempt.

AKINO blocks it and applies a cross kneelock, but Tae reverses it into a kneelock of her own. AKINO gets out of it and goes back to Tae’s leg, but Tae gets into the ropes for a break. Snapmare by AKINO and she kicks Tae in the back a few times but Tae catches a kick and slaps AKINO in the face. Tae goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tae quickly applies a Fujiwara Armbar, AKINO tries to rolls through it but Tae keeps it applied. AKINO eventually makes it into the ropes for the break, Tae goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick. Tae goes off the ropes again but AKINO kicks her in the head, kick combination by AKINO and she covers Tae for two. More kicks by AKINO, she picks up Tae and hits a backdrop suplex, but Tae barely gets a shoulder up. AKINO picks up Tae again but Tae gets away from her and sneaks in a quick flash pin. Tae goes for a few more but AKINO quickly reverses it, and she eventually holds down Tae for the three count! AKINO wins!

That is two matches on the card that ended with a cradle cutback of some sort, not overly creative here. I’m not completely sure what this match was going for, as AKINO didn’t really give enough to Tae to give her any type of rub. Sure, she had a few close submissions and close flash pins, but to be the semi-main you’d think it would have been more of an even affair. Tae was clearly over-matched here and they didn’t do anything to really convince me she could overcome the odds. This really should have been the opener and the Kaho/Yuu match in this spot, OZ Academy has weird match ordering sometimes. Not a whole lot to it and disappointing overall.

Ayame Sasamura, Shingaki, and Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi, Ozaki, and Yumi Ohka

To the surprise of no one, Ozaki-gun attacks before the match starts and they immediately take it outside the ring. Police (the guy, not the music group or law enforcement) is there to help make the odds uneven of course, as they stay in control around the ring. All four eventually get in the ring with Rina, Ozaki slams her on the mat and they stack chairs on her before tossing more at her. They focus the chair attacks on her leg before putting Rina in the ropes and taunting her. Ozaki gets her chain and chokes Rina with it, Syuri finally has seen enough and comes in to break everything up, but Maya knocks her out of the ring. Ohka comes in and hits Rina with a cat o’ nine tails a few times, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits Rina with it again before choking her. She tags in Maya who has her own more standard whip, and she chokes Rina with it while tossing her around the ring. Syuri breaks it up again, Maya whips Rina as the rookie beatdown continues for several more minutes, with Ohka eventually being tagged in so she didn’t feel left out. Rina finally dropkicks Maya and Ozaki to hit her first move of the match and smartly she tags in Syuri, Syuri kicks everyone (including Police but not including MIO), Irish whip by Syuri to the corner and she hits a jumping knee on Ohka. Another knee by Syuri, she covers Ohka but it gets two.

Syuri applies a kneelock but MIO helps Ohka get to the ropes for the break. Ohka knees Syuri and hits a quick DDT before delivering a heel drop for two. Ohka tags in Ozaki, she hits Syuri with the chain a couple times, Syuri tries to get the chain from her and they play tug of war. All six wrestlers eventually join in the tug of war, with Ozaki-gun winning once Police comes in to help. Ozaki throws Syuri into the corner and hits her with the chain, lariat by Police and Ohka hits a big boot. Jumping knee by Maya, Rina tries to help but Syuri elbows her by accident. Snapmare by Syuri to Ozaki and she kicks her, cover by Syuri but it gets a two count. Syuri tags in Ayame, hard shoulderblock by Ayame to Ozaki but Ozaki elbows her and they trade blows. Ayame gets Ozaki against the ropes and jumps down on her back, cover by Ayame but it gets two. Backfist by Ozaki to Ayame and she tags in Maya, Maya elbows Ayame and Ohka boots her in the head. Running kick to the chest by Maya, she throws Ayame but Ayame reverses it. Maya boots Ayame in the face but Ayame hits a dropkick off the second rope before tagging in Rina. Rina dropkicks Maya into the corner, another dropkick by Rina and she covers Maya for two. Armbar by Rina to Maya but Maya gets to the ropes for the break.

Rina goes off the ropes but Police pulls her out of the ring, he takes Rina up into the crowd and throws her into a row of chairs. Rina is eventually brought back into the ring, where Ozaki-gun is waiting as they take turns hitting her with weapons. Scoop slam by Maya in front of the corner, she goes up top but Syuri runs in and hits her before she can jump off and pulls her back into the ring. Rina goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Ohka breaks up the pin. Ohka eventually whips Maya by accident as things break down further, STO by Ayame to Maya and Syuri hits a running knee. Jackknife hold by Rina, but Police breaks it up. Rina slaps Police and with Ayame they both slap her again before Syuri kicks him. They set up Police so that Ayame can dropkick him in the uh lower groin area, Rina goes back to Maya and she puts Maya in a short armbar. Maya gets out of it, they trade flash pins with MIO counting much faster one way than the other way, but neither gets the three count. MIO trips Rina when she goes to go off the ropes and Maya hits a running knee, cover my Maya but it gets two. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Rina quickly rolls up Maya, but MIO never starts the count. High Kick by Maya and she delivers the Omiwatari (Pendulum Knee Strike) for the three count! Ozaki-gun win the match.

My issue (well main issue) here is I don’t even understand what the point was. Ozaki-gun beats up rookies for 20 minutes, they get a few hope spots, then Ozaki-gun wins and celebrates with the biased referee that got them the win. How exciting. I don’t love these matches in just about any situation, but at least sometimes the good guys overcome the odds so you can understand the story. Watching Rina get slowly beaten up for ten minutes via nefarious means isn’t particularly exciting to watch, and the end stretch wasn’t nearly good enough to make up for it. So if you enjoy large heel groups dominating inexperienced wrestlers for 20 minutes, this is your match, otherwise it didn’t really accomplish anything and was a flat way to end the show.

The post OZ Academy Sparkling New Year 2020 on 1/5/20 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.*

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.

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

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

Finally I have made it to 1996! Attendance is up a bit for this one, maybe fans were excited for a new year of Joshi to begin. This event had a one night tag tournament but we will only be seeing the finals, as the bulk of the one hour taping focuses on the big 12 woman Captain Falls Elimination Match. We still have no titles in GAEA Japan at this point, so gimmicks such as big elimination matches and promotional wars is how they are maintaining fan interest. Here is the full card:

• Original Captain Fall Match: Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
• Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima 

I had to make some more profiles but now everyone wrestling on the show has one, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. There will definitely be some clipping here, lets see how it goes.

Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
Original Captain Fall Match

As soon as the bell rings all 12 wrestlers start brawling, Saburo catches Makie Numao with a chokeslam and she covers her for the three count! Makie Numao is eliminated. Poor rookie. The match resets while they roll Makie out of the ring, Saburo and Fukuoka stay in as the legal wrestlers and Saburo throws Fukuoka in he corner before tagging in Bolshoi. Bolshoi walks the ropes while holding Fukuoka’s wrist before hitting an armdrag, another armdrag by Bolshoi and she hits a dropkick. Fukuoka dropkicks her back and tags Suzuki, tombstone by Suzuki and she covers Bolshoi for two. Dragon Sleeper by Suzuki, she lets go as Ozaki comes in and Ozaki also puts Bolshoi in a sleeper. Nagayo eventually breaks it up, Ozaki tags in Kaoru and Kaoru hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Kaoru but she eventually lets go and tags Ozaki back in, Bolshoi hits a trio of crossbodies on Ozaki until Ozaki catches her and swings Bolshoi around by her neck. Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a powerbomb, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, her team runs in to block the other team and Ozaki picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid is eliminated.

Ozaki stays in and powerbombs Sugo, a second powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers her for the three count! Hiromi Sugo is eliminated as we get rid of the lower ranked wrestlers. Saburo comes in but Ozaki DDTs her, she tags in Kaoru but Saburo hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Everyone takes turns headbutting Kaoru, Saburo goes up top but Masami grabs her from the apron and pulls her out of the ring. Kaoru goes off the ropes but Bomber hits her from the apron and then dives out of the ring onto Masami. The other wrestlers see this as a challenge as they all take turns doing dives out of the ring, moonsault by Kaoru out of the ring and Nagayo is the final one as she dives out with a crossbody onto Kaoru. Nagayo slides both Kaoru and Saburo back in the ring, swandive missile dropkick by Kaoru and she nails a tombstone piledriver. Swandive moonsault by Kaoru, and she covers Saburo for the three count! Saburo is eliminated. Things are not going well for Chigusa Nagayo’s team. The teams huddle before Masami and Nagayo come in, Masami boots Nagayo in her already injured shoulder before tagging in Kaoru. Kaoru focuses on the shoulder as well but Nagayo avoids her legdrop, kicks to the leg by Nagayo but Kaoru tags in Ozaki. Ozaki applies a seated armbar and then a Fujiwara Armbar, but it gets broken up. Suzuki is tagged in and she also applies an armbar, she tags Fukuoka and Fukuoka elbows Nagayo in the arm. Nagayo gets away and applies a sleeper, but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Nagayo tags in Kansai, headscissors by Fukuoka to Kansai and she tags in Ozaki. Kansai quickly drops Ozaki with a backdrop suplex, she pulls Ozaki off the turnbuckles but is overwhelmed by Ozaki’s teammates. Kansai is stomped by all five of them, German suplex by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki tags Masami but Kansai avoids her senton attempt, she tags in Nagayo and Bomber comes in too as they all stomp on Masami. Nagayo puts Masami in a sleeper but lets go after a moment and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but it gets interrupted, Kansai puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but Masami recovers and goes for a legdrop. Kansai moves out of the way, she goes for Splash Mountain and nails it, getting the three count! Devi Masami is eliminated. Kansai and Fukuoka are the next wrestlers in, piledriver by Kansai but it gets broken up. Kansai tags in Bomber, Bombs Away by Bomber and she hits the Reverse Splash, but her pin is broken up. Bomber picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka slides away and they trade elbows. Fukuoka knocks Bomber off her feet and covers her for two, Fukuoka charges Bomber but Bomber hits a powerslam. Bomber goes up top, Kansai and Nagayo both come in and hit lariats on Fukuoka. Diving headbutt by Bomber, but her cover is broken up. Hard elbow by Bomber, she picks up Fukuoka as Nagayo and Kansai come in, but they elbow their own partner by accident. Ozaki and Suzuki run in to take care of Kansai and Nagayo, Rider Kick by Fukuoka to Bomber and she covers her for the three count! Bomber Hikaru is eliminated.

We are now at 4 vs. 2, Nagayo squares off with Fukuoka and hits a leg sweep. Fukuoka moonsaults over Nagayo and hits a headscissors, Kaoru comes in and hits a front dropkick on Nagayo but Nagayo fires back with a lariat on her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo on Fukuoka but Kaoru tags in, Nagayo goes for a suplex on her as well but Kaoru blocks it and lands on top of her. Kaoru goes for a swandive move but Nagayo moves, leg sweep by Nagayo and she hits a powerbomb. She goes for another powerbomb but Kaoru reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Kaoru tags in Suzuki but Nagayo catches her with a heel kick and tags in Kansai. Kansai picks up Suzuki but Suzuki applies a dragon sleeper, she lets go of it after a moment and hits a release German. Ozaki and Fukuoka both hit release Germans as well, dragon suplex by Suzuki to Kansai but Nagayo breaks it up. Suzuki goes up top but Kaoru kicks her as she jumps off, Ozaki comes in and powerbombs Kansai before Fukuoka hits a moonsault. Double footstomp by Suzuki and Ozaki, then Fukuoka goes back up top and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Nagayo breaks up Suzuki’s cover. Suzuki and Ozaki both go up top of one corner while Kaoru and Fukuoka go to a different corner and all four hit diving headbutts, but once again Nagayo breaks up the pin attempt. Suzuki and Ozaki go back up top again and hit a double jumping knee to the back but the cover is interrupted. They go up top AGAIN but this time accidentally hit their own partners, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain on Suzuki but Suzuki reverses into a cradle and picks up the three count! Dynamite Kansai is eliminated! And… the bell rings and the match is over! But who won?

Look, I don’t know what is going on. Once the bell rings, the referee raises Chigusa Nagayo’s hand as her team looks really happy, even though her partner just got pinned and she was the only one left on her team. My only theory, and its just a theory, is that there was a time limit and that at the end of the time if one team wasn’t completely eliminated, it defaulted to if the captain was eliminated, and if Devil Masami was the captain then that would mean her team lost (assuming Nagayo was also a captain). But I have no idea if that is true, they didn’t flash up a winner/match time after the match like they always do so I can’t say for sure, and I can’t understand Japanese to know if the commentators explained it.

Anyway. This was a really fun match, non-explainable ending aside. There were a few slower periods but generally the action was fast paced, especially at the end. They were just throwing bombs at each other, I’m not sure how Kansai survived everything being done to her. Obviously some of the wrestlers were focused on more than others, but that was generally based on rank and emphasizing the wrestlers that the fans came to see. The dive sequence was memorable and they kept the eliminations coming at a decent pace so it never felt like it was dragging. While I wish I had more details on the ending, still a really entertaining match with all the high flying chaos I was hoping for.  Recommended

Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu

Toshie dropkicks Hiromi from behind, she kicks off of her in the corner and hits an elbow. Another running elbow by Toshie but Hiromi applies a cradle and elbows Toshie in the head. Snapmares by Hiromi and she applies a headlock, Hiromi gets Toshie’s back and applies a bodyscissors. Hiromi switches it into a seated armbar and applies a cross armbreaker, but Toshie wiggles to the ropes before she can fully lock it in to get the break. Irish whip by Hiromi and she hits an armdrag, but Toshie switches positions with her and hits a snapmare before applying an armbar. Cross armbreaker by Toshie but Hiromi immediately rolls out of it, front necklock by Toshie but Hiromi slams out of it and covers Toshie for two. Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie avoids her charge and rolls her up for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, another back elbow by Toshie and she covers Hiromi for two. Toshie applies a stretch submission before putting Hiromi in an Indian Deathlock, she goes back to a stretch hold but Hiromi gets out of it and hits a German suplex.

Hiromi picks up Toshie, Toshie throws Hiromi into the corner but Hiromi avoids her charge and applies a kneelock. Toshie gets in the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie reverses it, she goes for a Leg Roll Clutch but Hiromi blocks it. Knee to the midsection by Hiromi but Toshie cradles her for a two count. Side headlock takedown by Toshie and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes up top again but Hiromi catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar when she jump off. Armdrag by Hiromi but Toshie rolls her up for two, Hiromi quickly gets Toshie to the mat and applies a kneelock. Back up, Toshie gets another quick roll-up but it gets two. Judo toss by Hiromi, she picks up Toshie and drops her on her head with a backdrop suplex. Hiromi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes up again but Toshie recovers and dropkicks her before she can jump off. Toshie joins Hiromi but Hiromi slides down her back and hits a sunset flip powerbomb for the three count! Hiromi Yagi wins!

This was a good match, but oddly structured which happens with younger wrestlers sometimes. It was basically just a random mesh of flash pins and submission holds, without a lot of transitions or method to get from one to another. The submissions never felt particularly deadly and didn’t play into the finish at all, even if it is clear from this match that Hiromi Yagi is a skilled submission machine. The backdrop suplex was very head drop-y so I am glad that Toshie was ok, not sure if they went to the end quicker because of it. Perfectly fine for a casual watch, nothing wrong with the action itself, it just didn’t have a clear direction so it was hard to get invested.

Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki and Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima
Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final

• Semi Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki defeated Toshie Sato and Kanako Motoya
• Semi Final: Chikayo Nagashima and Tomoko Kuzumi defeated Chiharu Nakano and Reiko Amano

Which set up this match to end the event. All four of these wrestlers are basically rookies, with the JWP wrestlers being slightly more experienced as Miyazaki debuted in January 1995 and Kuzumi (better known today as Azumi Hyuga) debuted in December of 1994. The teams are mixed between promotions but that won’t matter here as they all are feisty and want to win the tournament. Not a lot of time is left on this broadcast so I assume this match will be very clipped.

We join this match in progress, with Sonoko being double teamed. Yuki comes in to help as Sonoko gets Tomoko up in an airplane spin, Chikayo cradles Sonoko from behind however and picks up a two count. Chikayo stomps on Sonoko and hits a cutter, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Chikayo but Sonoko reverses it and hits a bulldog. Tomoko runs in and dropkicks Sonoko, Chikayo tags Tomoko but Sonoko hits a hard elbow. Tomoko flips herself out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by Tomoko but it gets two. Sonoko escapes Tomoko and hits a bulldog, giving her time to tag in Yuki. Hip attacks by Yuki to Tomoko, she picks her up but after a collision the advantage is regained by Tomoko. Swandive dropkick by Tomoko and she stomps at Yuki, Yuki goes for a leg clutch but Tomoko blocks it and tags Chikayo. Stunner by Chikayo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Chikayo picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sunset flip for two. She tags in Sonoko but Chikayo catches Sonoko with the Corbata for two. Chikayo goes off the ropes but Sonoko pushes her off and hits four leg drops for a two count. Sonoko picks up Chikayo and hits a running bulldog, Acid Drop by Sonoko but Chikayo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Chikayo, Sonoko then delivers a diving Lou Thesz Press but Tomoko breaks up the cover. Sonoko gets Chikayo on her shoulders but she wiggles off and rolls up Sonoko for the three count! Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima win the match and the tournament.

This was too clipped to get a great feel of, only 5 of 17 minutes was shown, but what we did see was fine. Very fast paced, lots going on, no real downtime as these younger wrestlers haven’t really started working on “pacing” yet so its constant action. The fact three of these four are still active today is pretty cool (and rare), and its fun to see them back when they were still learning. Tomoko looked great as she always does but there were no real weak links here, everyone did their part well and it was the type of match you couldn’t look away or you’d miss something. I liked what I saw, just wish that I could have seen more.

The post GAEA Japan SPLASH J and RUNNING G II on 1/14/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I am continuing my trend of being somewhat current with watching Joshi, as its now time to see what OZ Academy has been up to (I typed this line when I started writing this review two weeks ago, so not necessarily still true). This is a pretty big event for the promotion, as both the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (held by Ozaki Army) and the OZ Academy Openweight Championship (held by Yoshiko) are on the line. Here is the full card:

• Alex Lee vs. Saori Anou
• Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Aoi Kizuki, AKINO, and Kaho Kobayashi
• Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Yumiko Hotta
• OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: Maya Yukihi and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Yoshiko vs. Hikaru Shida

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

Alex Lee vs. Saori Anou

We join this one in progress as Alex has Saori in the corner, slaps by Alex and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Alex picks up Saori, Saori gets away but she is tripped by Maya Yukihi when she goes off the ropes. Maya pulls her out of the ring and whips her before Mayumi Ozaki throws Saori into the ring post, Alex comes out and she scoop slams Saori onto the floor. Alex gets on the apron before jumping back to the floor with a footstomp onto Saori, she slides Saori back into the ring and hits a vertical suplex for two. Knees by Alex but Saori comes back with a boot, three more boots by Saori and Alex finally falls to her feet. Saori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Alex kicks out of the cover. Saori grabs Alex but Alex hits a suplex, Saori quickly gets back into control and delivers a fisherman suplex for a two count. Alex gets Saori’s back and hits a release German, kick to the head by Alex and she covers Saori for two. Kick by Alex and she whips Saori in the back, Saori avoids one shot however and gets the whip from Alex to return the favor. Mayumi comes in but she hits Alex with a chain by accident, backslide with a bridge by Saori and she picks up the three count! Saori Anou wins!

I’d like to say this match was good as I adore Saori Anou, but it was not good. Alex Lee is slightly better now that she has a heel gimmick but she still isn’t smooth in the ring, as her general movements are clunky and the transitions were rough around the edges. Saori is a solid young wrestler but she joined in the awkwardness here, and neither one came out of the match looking better than they came into it. Saori works better with wrestlers she is comfortable with and looks stronger in her home promotion, here it just didn’t work in any way.

Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Yoneyama vs. Aoi Kizuki, AKINO, and Kaho Kobayashi

Aoi is supposed to start the match but quickly changes her mind, throwing Kaho to the wolves instead. Kaho is triple teamed for a bit until Kong stays in as the legal wrestler, Kong picks up Kaho but Kaho hits a Codebreaker, Aoi and AKINO run in and they double team Kong. Kong pushes them all away as Kaori and Hiroyo come in, but MISSION K4 regains the advantage. They go back triple teaming Kong but Kong hits a jumping crossbody onto all of them and tags in Hiroyo. Body avalanche by Hiroyo to AKINO but AKINO hits a jawbreaker followed by a pair of kicks. Hiroyo blocks the third kick and the two trade blows, a battle that Hiroyo eventually wins with a spinning back elbow. She goes for a sliding lariat but AKINO catches her arm and hits a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo fires back with a lariat, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. AKINO tags in Kaho while Kaori is also tagged in, springboard armdrag by Kayo and she delivers a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. More dropkicks by Kaho, she goes to the top turnbuckle and drops Kaori with a missile dropkick before AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick as well. Aoi follows with a diving crossbody, fisherman suplex by Kaho but Kaori barely gets a shoulder up.

Kaho tags in Aoi, jumping lariat by Aoi and she covers Kaori for two. Mio Shirai (the referee) cheers on Aoi, which Kong doesn’t like so she tosses Aoi from the top turnbuckle to the mat. Hiroyo comes in and tries to powerbomb Kaori onto Aoi, but Aoi moves out of the way and AKINO kicks Hiroyo in the head. Aoi goes back up top and delivers the swivel body press, but Kong breaks up the cover. Aoi picks up Kaori and hits a running elbow, Kaho comes in and she dropkicks Kaori. Aoi picks up Kaori and hits a double wrist-clutch suplex, but ht only gets two. Aoi goes off the ropes but Hiroyo comes in and lariats her, AKINO and Kaho return but Hiroyo drops them both with a double backdrop suplex. Aoi and Kaori go back at it, cradle by Aoi but Kaori reverses it as they go back and forth. Kong lariats both Kaho and AKINO before slamming Kaori onto both of them, Hiroyo them slams Kaori onto Kaho before Kong picks up Kaori to try to slam her into Aoi. Aoi moves, Hiroyo holds Aoi for Kong as Kong gets her paint can, and Kong hits Aoi in the head with it. Hiroyo puts Kaori in a waistlock as Kaori puts Aoi in one, and Hiroyo suplexes both of them (Kaori is basically just being used as a weapon here). Kaori hits a senton onto Aoi, she goes up top and nails a diving senton, picking up the three count! MONSTERS win the match.

I probably enjoyed this match more than I should have, it was pretty basic but still had a certain charm to it. Mio encouraging Aoi Kizuki was cute, I think she was acting nice because Aoi announced she will be retiring soon. Kaori being used as a weapon was over-done but still different, and it was a short enough match that the offense never had time to feel stale. It had a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything due to the match length, and while its a match that isn’t memorable it still was entertaining for a lower-card match. A fun match between the veterans.  Mildly Recommended

Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Yumiko Hotta

We join this one in progress, which is a bit unusual for a six minute match. Kuragaki has Hotta in a front headlock before hitting a backdrop suplex, she goes up top but Hotta rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt. Kicks to the chest by Hotta but Kuragaki returns to her feet, sleeper by Hotta but Kuragaki drives her into the corner to release her grip. Hotta quickly goes for the sleeper again but Kuragaki flips her to the mat, rapid fire lariats by Kuragaki and she knocks Hotta to the mat with a final lariat. Kuragaki goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Hotta kicks out at two. Kuragaki picks up Hotta but Hotta pushes her off and goes for Kuragaki’s arm, Hotta goes for a powerbomb but Kuragaki quickly back bodydrops out of it. They both go for lariats until Kuragaki sends Hotta to the mat, Hotta gets back up however and catches Kuragaki in the head with a heel kick. Cover by Hotta, but Kuragaki gets a shoulder up. Jawbreaker by Kuragaki but Hotta palm thrusts her back, lariat by Kuragaki but Hotta kicks out. Superkick by Kuragaki but Hotta slaps her as they trade blows, lariat by Kuragaki but again it gets a two. Kuragaki goes for a suplex but Hotta reverses it into a cradle for two, Kuragaki then sneaks in a backslide but she gets a two as well. Hotta gets the sleeper back on, Kuragaki drops out of it but Hotta sits down on her and holds down Kuragaki for the three count! Yumiko Hotta wins!

This wasn’t quite the slobber-knocker that I was hoping for. There were moments where it looked like they were going to just start teeing off on each other, but it would always be interrupted. Them both deciding on flash pins being the way to go seemed unusual, and the sudden ending came across flat since the match hadn’t been very long up to that point. Too short and clunky to recommend, a Hoss Battle this was not.

(c) Maya Yukihi and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
OZ Academy Tag Team Championship

Maya and Sonoko start the match, they trade kicks with each other until Maya rakes Sonoko in the eyes. Uppercut by Sonoko and she hits a dragon screw before tagging in Kakeru. Kakeru and Sonoko Irish whip Maya and double team her until Mayumi comes in the ring with Police to take over the situation. The action spills out onto the floor with Ozaki Army in control, Maya whips Kakeru before rolling her back into the ring. Kakeru is attacked by all the members of Ozaki Army while Mio pretends to try to get them to stop, finally the ring clears with Mayumi staying in with Kakeru. Scoop slams by Mayumi, she tags in Maya and Mayu continues the assault on young Kakeru as Police continues to help from ringside. We clip ahead to Mayumi being in the ring with Sonoko, back bodydrop by Sonoko and she kicks Mayumi in the head. Kakeru comes in to help but Police pulls her out of the ring, Sonoko is brought out to the floor also as the Ozaki Army carnage continues. After the floor beatdown is over, Mayumi and Kakeru return to the ring as we see that Kakeru has been busted open. Alex Lee joins in on the fun too as Sonoko and Kakeru are attacked in the corner, Mayumi brings in her chain and hits Sonoko repeatedly in the head with it, Sonoko finally blocks a shot however and the two struggle over the chain. Mayumi hits Sonoko with an enzuigiri, but Sonoko catches Mayumi with a Samoan Driver for a two count. Sonoko goes up top but Mayumi joins her and hits a superplex, Alex Lee comes in but Kaho Kobayashi does as well so they cancel each other out. Kaho suplexes Mayumi as Sonoko goes up top, diving leg drop by Sonoko but Police runs in with a boot to Sonoko.

Maya tries to grab Mayumi but Kakeru kicks her in the face, dropkicks by Kakeru to Mayumi, she covers her but Mayumi gets a shoulder up. Kakeru picks up Mayumi but Mayumi throws her to the mat, Kakeru gets back up and hits a STO, but that gets a two as well. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Mio trips her on purpose, Maya comes in with her whip and hits everyone she sees while Mayumi gets her chain. Mayumi hits Kakeru in the head with the chain, cover by Mayumi but Kakeru kicks out of the one-foot cover. Mayumi hits Kakeru with her chain again but Sonoko runs in and knees her in the stomach, but Maya returns and whips Sonoko. Police and Alex Lee come in with chairs and throw them onto Kakeru, Mayumi slams Kakeru’s head into the mat but the cover gets two. Mayumi picks up Kakeru and goes for the Tequila Sunrise, but Kakeru blocks it before AKINO goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Mayumi. AKINO takes care of Police as well, Alex Lee comes in the ring but she eats a dropkick from Kaho. AKINO and Sonoko take turns kicking Mayumi, Kowloon’s Gate by Sonoko and Kakeru covers her, but Mio is too “distracted” to make the count. Police returns with a chair to clear the ring, cradle by Kakeru to Mayumi, but Mio makes a really slow count so it only gets two. Things break down again as they tend to do in Ozaki Army matches, Mayumi slaps Kakeru repeatedly as Maya returns and kicks Kakeru in the face. Mayumi immediately delivers the Tequila Sunrise, and she picks up the three count! Ozaki Army are still the champions.

So I was wrong about there not being clipping as about five minutes was missing. They probably clipped out the ‘slower’ non-carnage portions of the match. I’m on record as not really enjoying these matches as I really don’t like the “heel referee’ gimmick. I didn’t like it with the nWo and I don’t like it now, and since Ozaki Army usually win their matches its not a situation where the faces commonly get the upper-hand. Even though Kaho and AKINO got more involved at the end, for the bulk of it the Ozaki Army just did as they wished. The ending wasn’t very climatic as Kakeru didn’t really get a hope spot to cut off Ozaki Army and it never felt like the end result was in any doubt. That being said there were some things I enjoyed, Kakeru is feisty and while it came a bit late I did enjoy the rest of MISSION K4 getting involved to try to even the score. A decent enough chaos-filled match, its not a structure that is a personal favorite of mine but if you enjoy Ozaki Army matches a lot then you’ll enjoy this one too.

(c) Yoshiko vs. Hikaru Shida
OZ Academy Openweight Championship

They start the match slow as they feel each other out, Yoshiko knocks Hikaru to the mat first with a hard shoulderblock but Hikaru recovers and connects with a hurricanrana. Yoshiko rolls out of the ring but Hikaru goes out after her and throws Yoshiko into the chairs at ringside. Hikaru sets up a chair and goes to do a jumping knee off of it, but Yoshiko catches her in mid-air and throws Hikaru back into the chair. Yoshiko then picks up the chair and throws it at Hikaru before sliding her back into the ring, bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running kick to Hikaru’s head. Drop toehold by Yoshiko and she twists on Hikaru’s leg, but Hikaru gets to the ropes for the break. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Hikaru pulls down the top rope and Yoshiko falls out onto the apron. Hikaru elbows Yoshiko to the floor, she goes out to the apron but Yoshiko lariats her leg out from under her. Back in the ring Yoshiko keeps on Hikaru’s leg, she goes for a scoop slam but Hikaru blocks it. Vertical suplex by Hikaru and she rolls through it, suplexing Yoshiko again but this time into the turnbuckles. Hikaru throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko drops her onto the apron when she charges in, Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and tries to suplex Hikaru back into the ring, but Hikaru blocks it.

They both end up on the apron but Hikaru drops to the floor and trips Yoshiko before kneeing her in the head. Hikaru gets on the second turnbuckle from inside the ring and suplexes Yoshiko back into the ring, Hikaru elbows Yoshiko but Yoshiko elbows her back and they trade blows. Yoshiko goes for lariats but Hikaru knees her to block it, Yoshiko finally delivers one but Hikaru blocks the sliding lariat attempt. Knee to the head by Hikaru, and she covers Yoshiko for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Yoshiko levels her with a lariat. Another lariat by Yoshiko and a few more, but Hikaru keeps standing back up. Yoshiko finally sends down Hikaru long enough for a cover, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Hikaru kicks out at two. Yoshiko goes all the way up the next time but Hikaru recovers and suplexes her back to the mat. Yoshiko fires back with a lariat, she picks up Hikaru but Hikaru sneaks in a sunset flip for two. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but Hikaru catches it and headbutts her, knee strike by Hikaru and she connects with several more. The referee does a count for Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets up before she reaches ten, Hikaru promptly knees Yoshiko some more and covers her for two.

Hikaru picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko fires off a lariat, another lariat by Yoshiko but Hikaru gets a shoulder up on the cover. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but that gets a two count as well. Yoshiko picks up Hikaru and hits a fireman’s carry slam, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Hikaru slowly recovers and joins her. Hikaru goes for a Frankensteiner but Yoshiko blocks it, she gets Hikaru on her shoulders and tosses her back to the mat. Diving senton by Yoshiko, but Hikaru barely kicks out. Yoshiko goes up top again but Hikaru gets a knee up when Yoshiko goes for the diving senton, knee to the back of the head by Hikaru and she delivers the Falcon Arrow for two. Tamashii no Three Count by Hikaru, but Yoshiko grabs the ropes to break up the pin. Hikaru picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko punches her in the face, she goes off the ropes but Hikaru connects with a jumping knee. Lariat by Yoshiko but Hikaru delivers a jumping knee, she picks up Yoshiko but struggles to pick her up. Hikaru goes off the ropes and hits the Three Count, Hikaru picks up Yoshiko again and drops her with a vertical suplex lift into a side slam for two. Hikaru picks up Yoshiko and hits another Falcon Arrow, she goes off the ropes and nails the Tamashii no Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida is the new champion!

While this match wasn’t perfect, it was certainly entertaining. Hikaru Shida is one of my favorites so seeing her in a major singles match was great, and I think she really delivered here. Her knees were on point and frequent, which is all I ever want in life, and Yoshiko was her usual solid self. I didn’t love the early leg work immediately being forgotten, mostly because Yoshiko did a good job with it and it lasted for several minutes, sometimes just a bit of limping can go a long way. But aside from that, it was a hard hitting and well paced match that felt like it went just the right length for what they were going for. Overall a really solid match, not without its faults but still definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

The post OZ Academy “Rude In June” on 6/3/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

After a bit of a break, I am back to watching more GAEA Japan! This airing from GAORA TV is really interesting – they actually don’t air the main event from this show at all. The show ended with a big match between Chigusa Nagayo and Shark Tsuchiya, so while I don’t think there was an official reason why it never aired, either FMW didn’t give permission (less likely) or the match was really bad (more likely). In fact most of the matches from this show didn’t make the recording, as they only show two matches from the six match card. Here are the matches we will be watching:

• Meiko Satomura, Yuki Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
• Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka
  

The airing is still an hour long, so safe bet that one of these matches will be on the lengthy side. You can click on the names above to go directly to that wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City.

Meiko Satomura, Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
G & J 3 on 3 MIX

Yuki and Chihiro start the match but Amano quickly comes in to help before Kanako is tagged in. Kanako takes down Yuki and puts her in an armbar, but Toshie quickly breaks it up. Yuki tags in Toshie, kicks by Toshie to Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Chihiro and she nails a jumping knee, but that gets a two as well. She tags in Amano, dropkick by Amano and she scoop slams Toshie. Snapmare by Amano and she puts Toshie in a crab hold, but Yuki breaks it up. Meiko is tagged in and she trades elbows with Amano, running elbow by Meiko and she hits a scoop slam. Meiko tags in Yuki, dropkicks by Yuki but Kanako tags herself in. Crossbody by Yuki to Kanako and she puts her in a headscissors, she lets Yuki go after a moment and dropkicks her into the corner. Another dropkick by Kanako and she tags in Chihiro, snapmare by Chihiro and she puts Yuki in a crab hold. Yuki gets to the ropes for the break, Chihiro drags her back to the middle of the ring and starts working on her leg. Chihiro tags Kanako, crossbody by Kanako but Yuki kicks out. Yuki finally gets control of the match, snapmares by Yuki and she puts Kanako in a bodyscissors. Chihiro runs in and breaks it up, Kanako and Chihiro double team Yuki and Kanako dropkicks Toshie when she tries to help.

Kanako tags in Amano but Yuki avoids her diving body press, Amano tags Kanako back in and Kanako cradles Yuki for two. Meiko and Toshie come to to get Yuki back in control but she immediately hits a series of running boots from Kanako. Kanako tags Chihiro but Yuki slaps her against the ropes and delivers a hip attack. Another hip attack by Yuki and she tags in Toshie, face crusher by Toshie to Chihiro and she gets a two count cover. Irish whip by Toshie and she trades waistlocks with Chihiro until she delivers a neckbreaker. Chihiro quickly puts Toshie in a kneelock but it gets broken up, she tags in Amano while Meiko is tagged in as well. Amano tosses Meiko into the corner and hits an elbow, but Meiko returns the favor, jumping lariat by Amano but Yuki boots her in the head. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Amano, Toshie then hits one as well until Meiko delivers a diving lariat. Amano is dragged back to her corner so that Kanako can tag in, Yuki stays in too but Chihiro comes off the top with a knee to Toshie. We settle back to Meiko in the ring with Amano, they trade flash pins but neither can get the three count. Amano goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat, but Meiko avoids the next one and goes for Amano’s arm. Meiko goes for the cross armbreaker but Amano gets away, cradle by Meiko but Amano reverts it into a cross armbreaker and Meiko submits! Your winners are Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya!

When you put six young wrestlers in one match without any type of veteran to keep them under control, you are going to get chaos, which is what this match was. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a mid-card fast paced match but if you are looking for structure then this isn’t the match for you as they were just running in and out with no regard to traditional tag rules. Chihiro’s jumping knee was the most memorable thing about the match, it was hit very flush and she looked great here. Even though they are young and inexperienced, it was certainly an exciting match and they all showed potential to be great wrestlers down the road (which many did in fact become).  Mildly Recommended

Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka

We join the match in progress with Ozaki in the ring with KAORU, KAORU applies a sleeper but Ozaki gets out of it, she manages to tag in Masami but KAORU immediately jumps on her back and applies a sleeper to her as well. Fukuoka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Masami, but Masami fires back with a lariat out of instinct. Fukuoka still recovers first and puts Masami in a sleeper, Masami struggles for a few minutes until she finally reaches the ropes. Fukuoka picks up Masami and hits a German suplex hold, but Ozaki breaks it up. Fukuoka tags KAORU back in and KAORU puts Masami in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and hits a leg drop to Masami’s back. KAORU tags Fukuoka, Irish whip by Fukuoka but Masami blocks it and hits an overhead toss. This gives her time to tag in Ozaki, German suplex hold by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Liger Bomb by Ozaki, but that gets a two count as well. Ozaki goes up top and hits a twisting body press, but again Fukuoka kicks out. Short armbar by Ozaki, she picks up Fukuoka and snaps down on her arm. She goes back to the armbar before tagging Masami in, Irish whip by Masami but Fukuoka rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Rolling Cradle by Fukuoka, but Ozaki breaks up the eventual cover. Dragon sleeper by Fukuoka to Masami but Masami gets out of it, Irish whip by Masami and she slams Fukuoka. Fukuoka elbows Masami, Masami goes for a powerbomb but KAORU breaks it up before she can finish the move. Ozaki comes in to even the odds, Masami slams Fukuoka near the corner and she picks up Ozaki to powerbomb her onto Fukuoka, but KAORU dives off the top with a lariat to Ozaki instead. German suplex hold by Fukuoka to Masami, but Masami gets a shoulder up. Masami rolls out of the ring and Fukuoka goes out after her, but Masami slaps her hard in the chest and takes her up into the crowd. Masami tosses chairs at Fukuoka but Fukuoka gets behind her back and pushes Masami off the stage.

Masami lands on her feet but KAORU goes up on the stage and Fukuoka helps catapult her off the stage and onto Masami. Fukuoka then does a cartwheel on the stage before diving down onto both Masami and Ozaki with a crossbody. Back in the ring, Fukuoka tosses Masami into the corner and delivers the Space Rolling Elbow, she puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but when she goes for the Frankensteiner she gets powerbombed instead. Sleeper by Masami but KAORU breaks it up, Masami grabs KAORU and tosses her over the top rope to the floor. Masami picks up Fukuoka and hits a Liger Bomb, but it gets a two count. Masami goes back to the sleeper but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break, KAORU suddenly flies in the ring with a swandive dropkick to Masami’s back and she drags Fukuoka back to her corner so she can tag her. KAORU charges Masami but Masami hits a Samoan Drop, scoop slam by Masami and she goes up top, but KAORU dropkicks her before she can jump off and joins her. Ozaki runs over and slams KAORU to the mat, powerbomb by Ozaki and Masami comes off the top with a leg drop attempt, but KAORU moves. KAORU picks up Masami but Masami kicks her in the back of the head, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU slides off before Ozaki can connect with a dive. Ozaki stays in, cradle by KAORU to Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki applies a short armbar, Masami then dives off with a leg drop to KAORU’s arm before Ozaki covers KAORU for two. Masami powerbombs KAORU, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU armdrags Ozaki off the top turnbuckle before Fukuoka nails Ozaki with a Rider Kick. Space Rolling Elbow by Fukuoka to Ozaki followed by an assisted dropkick by KAORU, KAORU covers Masami but it gets a two count.

KAORU boots Masami in the head as does Fukuoka, KAORU picks up Masami and drops her with a brainbuster and she hits a second one, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up. Masami slowly gets up but eats a Rider Kick to the back of the head for her trouble, KAORU covers Masami but the referee won’t count it probably due to Fukuoka knocking her out when she wasn’t the legal wrestler. KAORU grabs Masami but Masami elbows her off of her, Ozaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a somersault but Fukuoka runs in and takes care of her. Scoop slam by KAORU to Masami and Fukuoka delivers a moonsault. Sleeper by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up, Fukuoka takes care of her however and then goes up top and nails a moonsault footstomp onto Masami. KAORU then goes up top and hits two moonsault footstomps to Masami, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks up the cover. KAORU applies a sleeper to Masami while sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Ozaki runs in and elbows her before Masami delivers an Electric Chair Drop. Masami picks up KAORU and nails a Liger Bomb, but Fukuoka breaks it up. Ozaki powerbombs Fukuoka, Masami covers KAORU again but Fukuoka rolls over to break it up again. Ozaki comes in and nails the Tequila Sunrise onto KAORU, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. Another Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, but KAORU gets her shoulder up again. Ozaki goes up top but KAORU recovers and joins her, Masami hits KAORU from behind and gets her on her shoulders before Ozaki dives off with a crossbody onto KAORU. Fukuoka breaks up her cover attempt, Ozaki picks up KAORU and goes for a powerbomb, but KAORU reverses it with a hurricanrana. Fukuoka goes up top while KAORU gets Ozaki on her shoulders, but Ozaki rolls up KAORU when Fukuoka goes for a Rider Kick. Masami powerbombs Fukuoka, Ozaki grabs KAORU and powerbombs her as well while Masami goes up top. Fukuoka feeds KAORU to Masami so that Masami can hit a leg drop on KAORU from the top turnbuckle, but the bell rings before she can make a cover. The match is a Draw.

This match started really slow since they were aiming for the 45 minute time limit but once it got going it stayed entertaining until the end. If anything they were doing too much, especially since it wasn’t the main event, with all the wrestlers hitting their finishers (or variations thereof) with not a lot of selling between moves. I was surprised how much offense Devil Masami took, she has a reputation of being selfish sometimes but here she was basically the “Face in Peril” during a good chunk of the match. Fukuoka is crazy and takes a lot of risks, she delivered the vast majority of the time here and it just added to the chaotic scene. This match wouldn’t look out of place even if it took place in 2018, they were ahead of the curve when it comes to fast paced hard hitting action and they delivered that here in spades.  Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Never Ending Bump” on 11/3/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

*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.

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