Since I am hellbent on Joshi City not becoming Stardom City, lets watch something else from 2018 – SEAdLINNNG! This was a big event for SEAdLINNNG, as not only is it at Korakuen Hall but the event aired on Samurai TV. Nanae Takahashi was not able to wrestle on the show due to an injury sustained at WAVE the week prior, and Sareee is gone, but they still have enough talent available to them from other promotions to put on a full show. SEAdLINNNG’s events are more “inter-promotional” than anything else since their roster has exactly two active wrestlers, as this event features four Ice Ribbon wrestlers, three Marvelous wrestlers, and six WAVE wrestlers. Anyway, here is the card:

• Rin Kadokura vs. Satsuki Totoro
• ASUKA vs. Mika Iida vs. SUGI
• Captain’s Fall Tag Match: Mio Momono, Akane Fujita, Nagahama, and Ryo Mizunami vs. Saki Akai, Kurumi, Takumi Iroha, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Arisa Nakajima vs. Misaki Ohata
• Ayako Hamada vs. Yoshiko

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. I think all the matches are shown in full even though its on Samurai TV, but if any are too clipped I’ll make a note in the review.

Rin Kadokura vs. Satsuki Totoro

Satsuki immediately goes after Rin and hits a shoulderblock, but Rin gets back up and the two trade elbows. Dropkick by Rin and she hits two more, Satsuki ends up against the ropes and Rin dropkicks her two more times. Scoop slam by Rin, and she covers Satsuki for two. Rin goes up top but Satsuki recovers and elbows her, headbutt by Rin and she connects with the missile dropkick. Rin jumps on Satsuki’s back but Satsuki shakes her off, Rin flings Satsuki to the mat and covers her for two. Hurricanrana by Rin, but that gets a two as well. Satsuki knocks down Rin with a lariat, sentons by Satsuki and she covers Rin for a two count. Satsuki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, she then goes all the way up top but Rin jumps up and elbows her before she can jump off. Rin throws Satsuki to the mat and the two trade flash pins with neither getting the three. Sloppy La Magistral of sorts by Rin, and she gets the three count! Rin Kadokura is the winner.

My opinion of Satsuki remains unchanged. Just a really rough match, lots of mistakes, and a botched ending. Since Rin is generally pretty solid, I’ll assume most of the blame goes to Satsuki, this felt like a match with two debuting wrestlers which both are past by now. Sub-par way to start the show.

ASUKA vs. Mika Iida vs. SUGI

ASUKA boots Taiyo before the match even starts for reasons unknown while SUGI and Mika go at it, ASUKA comes over but SUGI flips away from both of them. Mika gets the better of things and puts ASUKA in a figure four, SUGI tries to break it up but he misses, leading to Mika putting him in a facelock while still maintaining the figure four. She lets go after a moment, SUGI and ASUKA both attack Mika and drop her with a double vertical suplex. ASUKA hits a body press on Mika, both she and SUGI bounce off the ropes until SUGI hits a swandive hurricanrana. ASUKA lands on out of the ring, SUGI goes off the ropes but does a fake dive instead of sailing out of the ring. Mika and ASUKA trade elbows on the floor, Mika gets on the apron and snaps SUGI’s arm over the top rope. ASUKA goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, dropkick by ASUKA and she chokes SUGI in the corner. SUGI throws ASUKA into the other corner but ASUKA springboards out of it with a moonsault, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA but Mika returns and knocks her to the mat. SUGI puts a submission on Mika over the top rope but ASUKA boots him, Mikai dropkicks ASUKA while she is against the ropes and she trade elbows with SUGI. SUGI wins the battle but Mika breaks up the cover, drop toehold by Mika and she dropkicks SUGI in the head. SUGI kips up but Mika hits him with a running uppercut, SUGI kips up again and he superkicks Mika in the head. SUGI goes off the ropes but Mika rolls him up for two, another cradle by Mika but SUGI reverses it and they go back and forth. ASUKA gets back in and dropkicks Mika, but Mika drops her and SUGI with a DDT/reverse STO combination. Octopus Hold by Mika but ASUKA breaks it up with a missile dropkick, ASUKA picks them up and goes for a double chokeslam, but they push her off. ASUKA superkicks SUGI before hitting a gutwrench suplex, she goes off the ropes but Taiyo trips her. Cradle by Mika to ASUKA but that gets two as well, victory roll by Mika to ASUKA and she gets the three count! Mika Iida wins!

Even by High Speed standards, this was pretty lackluster. It didn’t have the charm that most of the High Speed matches have, no real “sprint” moments and Taiyo was less a part of it than she usually is. While I enjoy seeing SUGI again, a disappointing match.

(c) Mio Momono, Akane Fujita, Nagahama, and Ryo Mizunami vs. (c) Saki Akai, Kurumi, Takumi Iroha, and Fujimoto
Captain’s Fall Match

Mio and Saki start the match but Mio immediately bails out of the ring and Saki is triple teamed by the rest of her team instead. After getting dropkicked repeatedly, Mio is brought back into the ring and Ryo throws Mio onto Saki for a two count cover. Mio goes off the ropes but Saki catches her with The Claw, Mio breaks free however and delivers a dropkick. Mio tries for multiple covers with no luck, Kurumi runs in and decks her, giving Fujimoto time to drag Saki to her corner so she can tag in. Hiroe also is tagged in and she dropkicks Fujimoto, another dropkick by Hiroe and she hits two more for a quick cover. A Northern Lights Suplex but Hiroe also gets a two, she goes for a backdrop suplex but Fujimoto lands on her feet and rolls up Hiroe before kicking her in the chest. Fujimoto goes up top but Hiroe avoids the diving body press, scoop slam by Hiroe and she tags in Akane. Akane hits a scoop slam as well, Ryo is then tagged in and she does the same. Mio tries a slam as well but Fujimoto cradles her for a two count, Mio is collected by her team as Ryo returns as the legal wrestler and chops Fujimoto into the corner. Fujimoto switches positions with her and hits chops of her own but Ryo takes back over, jumping elbow by Ryo in the corner and she hits a lariat. Cover by Ryo, but Fujimoto kicks out. Ryo tags in Hiroe, snap verticals by Hiroe and her team runs in to help, but Fujimoto dropkicks all of them and tags in Kurumi.

Shoulderblocks by Kurumi to Mio’s team but she can’t knock over Ryo as the two go back and forth with shoulderblock attempts. Kurumi wins the battle, body avalanche by Kurumi and she hits the somersault senton for a two count. Kurumi tries to pick up Ryo but Ryo slides away, hard elbow by Ryo but Kurumi catches her with a swinging side slam. Kurumi tags in Takumi, Saki comes in too and they both kick Ryo. Release German by Takumi but Ryo ducks the superkick and hits a series of elbows. Irish whip by Ryo but Takumi connects with a spinning heel kick, Takumi goes up top but Ryo joins her and hits an avalanche powerslam. Ryo picks up Takumi but Takumi elbows her off, kick by Takumi but Ryo hits an overhead suplex followed by a lariat. Uranage by Ryo and she tags in Akane, chops by Akane against the ropes and she tosses Takumi to the mat. Hiroe and Mio come in to help, elbow drop by Akane and she covers Takumi for two. Takumi delivers a kick combination, Fujimoto comes in and they double team Akane. Ryo tags in Saki and Saki boots Akane in the corner, the rest of her team also comes in to attack Akane in the corner before Saki kicks Akane in the head. Akane ducks the next kick attempt and hits a modified Samoan Drop, Akane picks her back up and hits an over-the-shoulder powerslam for two.

Akane puts Saki in a choke but Takumi breaks it up, things break down as both teams are in the ring trading blows. Takumi and Kurumi both go up top and hit body presses, Fujimoto dropkicks Mio in the corner but Mio takes down both Fujimoto and Saki. Mio is tagged in, she cradles Saki but it gets two. Mio goes off the ropes but Takumi grabs her from the apron, Saki goes for a boot but Mio moves out of the way. Mio goes up top but Kurumi grabs her from the apron, Hiroe tosses down Saki and helps Mio hit a senton for two. Knee by Mio but Takumi superkicks her when she goes for the Code Red, everyone jumps on Kurumi’s back as she hits a body press onto Mio, cover by Saki but Mio gets a shoulder up. Saki picks up Mio and hits a strike combination, she goes off the ropes but Akane runs in and chops her. Lariat by Ryo, Mio covers Saki but it gets broken up. Fujimoto goes up top but she dropkicks Saki by accident, roll-ups by Mio but Saki keeps kicking out. Mio goes off the ropes but Saki boots her in the face, pump kick by Saki as Mio gets up and she covers her for the three count! Team Saki Akai are the winners!

So I am not too sure what the point was of having this as a “Captain’s Fall” match since the first person pinned was a captain, but wrestling is weird sometimes. This match was a bit hit and miss but it had more highs than lows, as overall the story was well told. The action was constant with lots of interference, which I have no issue with in a match like this, as both teams were constantly helping when necessary. A bit chaotic but it kept things interesting. Kurumi and Takumi both looked great, the match would have been tighter if it was 3 vs. 3 as not everyone was really necessary but everyone still got a bit of a chance to shine. As a somewhat lighthearted midcard match, I enjoyed it, although in the grand scheme of things not something that will stick in your brain for very long.  Mildly Recommended

Arisa Nakajima vs. Misaki Ohata

They feel each other out to start, Arisa gets Misaki to the mat first but Misaki switches positions with her as they jockey for position. They trade wristlocks until they end up on the mat again, they trade headlocks but reach a stalemate as they return to their feet. After trading elbows, Sling Blade by Arisa but Misaki shoves her to the mat and knees Arisa in the midsection before flinging her down by the hair. She does it again, stretch hold by Misaki and she delivers a curb stomp. Another curb stomp by Misaki, she kicks at Arisa as she returns to her feet and elbows her into the corner, Misaki knocks Arisa out to the apron but Arisa knocks her back and slingshots back into the ring. Dropkick by Arisa and she boots Misaki in the head, dropkick by Arisa and she goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by Arisa, but it gets a two count. Arisa knees Misaki but Misaki rolls her up for two, elbow by Misaki and she hits a low crossbody while Arisa is against the ropes. Misaki gets on the top turnbuckle but Arisa hits her before she can jump off and joins her, elbows by Arisa but Misaki elbows her back and crossbodies her down to the mat. German suplex hold by Misaki, she rolls Arisa up and hits two more, but Arisa gets a shoulder up on the last one.

Misaki picks up Arisa but Arisa delivers the Cutie Special, knees by Arisa but Misaki slides her to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker. Arisa gets out of it, sunset flip by Arisa but Ohata reverses it. Arisa puts Misaki in a submission but lets go after a moment, running boot by Arisa and she connects with the double underhook facebuster. Arisa goes up top and nails a diving footstomp, cover by Arisa but it gets a two count. Arisa goes back up top and goes for a moonsault, but Misaki gets her feet up. Both wrestlers slowly get up and begin trading elbows, Package German by Nakajima but it gets two. Arisa goes for a full nelson suplex but Misaki blocks it and hits a full nelson suplex of her own, they get up and trade elbows again, Arisa goes off the ropes but Misaki catches her with a spinning backfist. Fisherman Buster by Misaki, but Arisa barely gets a shoulder up. Misaki picks up Arisa but Arisa slides away, Misaki cradles Arisa but Arisa kicks out. Misaki goes for a backfist but Arisa comes back with elbows, kick to the head by Arisa and she delivers he full nelson suplex for a two count. Arisa goes for the DxD but Misaki blocks it and hits the Schwein, she picks up Arisa but Arisa rolls away and kicks Misaki in the head. Release dragon suplex by Arisa and she nails the DxD Suplex for the three count! Arisa Nakajima wins the match!

The only real knock on this match is that I wish it was longer, as these are two great wrestlers with lots of chemistry. The match started a bit slow, as you’d expect if it was a much longer match, but once they got into it everything was nonstop. Every strike and suplex was so crisp, and they did a good job mixing it up so it always felt fresh. The last few minutes in particular were hot as both had convincing nearfalls leading to the conclusive ending. Misaki Ohata has flown under the radar due to the fact WAVE doesn’t make air very often, but she is one of the better Joshi wrestlers and deserves more attention. Entertaining match.  Recommended

Ayako Hamada vs. Yoshiko

Yoshiko acts like she is going to shake Hamada’s hand but pulls her down to the mat instead, Hamada gets back up and they go into a Test of Strength. Hamada gets the better of it and applies a leg submission into a STF, but Yoshiko gets into the ropes. Irish whip by Hamada but Yoshiko springboards out of the corner with a lariat, she charges Hamada but Hamada moves and Yoshiko tumbles out of the ring. Hamada goes out after her and tosses Yoshiko into the crowd as they make a tour around the ringside area. Hamada takes Yoshiko up onto the stage but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt and hits a vertical suplex of her own. They eventually both make it back to the ring and trade elbows, kick by Hamada and both go for shoulderblocks with no success. Yoshiko finally knocks over Hamada with a shoulderblock, bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she boots Hamada in the face. Kick by Yoshiko and she hits a running senton, she picks up Hamada but Hamada applies a standing armbar. Yoshiko gets out of it and applies an abdominal stretch, but Hamada reverses the hold. Hamada reverts it to an Octopus Hold and rolls Yoshiko to the mat as she also applies a headscissors, Yoshiko gets out of the hold, Hamada goes off the ropes but Yoshiko catches her with a Samoan Drop. Running senton by Yoshiko, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Hamada avoids the diving senton. Kick by Hamada, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a moonsault. She then goes all the way up but Yoshiko recovers and tries to powerbomb her, but Hamada reverses it into a hurricanrana for two.

High kick by Hamada, Yoshiko falls out of the ring and Hamada goes up top, but Yoshiko pulls her down onto the apron. Hamada drops Yoshiko face-first onto the apron, she goes up top again but Yoshiko rolls back into the ring and joins her. Yoshiko gets Hamada on her shoulders and hits an Avalanche Samoan Drop, she quickly gets on the second turnbuckle but Hamada shakes the ropes so she doesn’t jump off. Hamada joins Yoshiko but Yoshiko headbutts her and flips over her before dropping Hamada with a powerbomb. Lariat by Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat, but Hamada kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes of the ropes but Hamada catches her with a heel kick, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, high kick by Hamada and she delivers a lariat for a two count. Hamada picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko levels her with a lariat of her own, she picks up Hamada but Hamada catches her with a Liger Bomb for two. Hamada quickly drags up Yoshiko and hits another powerbomb, but Yoshiko again kicks out. Hamada drags Yoshiko to her feet but Yoshiko hits a chokebomb, lariat by Yoshiko but Hamada kicks out at one. Yoshiko drives Hamada to the mat with a fireman’s carry slam, she goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Hamada doesn’t go down. High kick by Hamada and she hits two more, with a final heel kick sending Yoshiko to the mat. Another jumping kick by Hamada and she nails the AP Cross for the three count! Ayako Hamada wins!

My main issue with matches like this, and perhaps it is because I watch too much wrestling, is it followed a predictable pattern. The brawling segment around the crowd wasn’t needed as it had nothing to do with the story – as soon as both got into the ring it was as if nothing happened and they continued on as usual. Both wrestlers were at fault of at times recovering way too quickly, whether it be from a long submission hold or power move, and it felt like they were just going back and forth with little story. That being said, the action itself was solid and both were putting in maximum effort, with lots of hard strikes and exciting moments. The end stretch felt a bit too stretched but was probably necessary to make sure Yoshiko looked strong even in defeat. Certainly not a bad match, but not as entertaining as the last few matches, as it felt like they were trying to put on an epic match that never fully clicked.

The post SEAdLINNNG “Now or Never” on 1/14/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is pretty rare for Pro Wrestling WAVE to upload a full event to their WAVE Network, so when they do I feel obligated to review it. This is a big show for WAVE, with multiple title matches, a hardcore match, and an appearance by Chihiro Hashimoto! I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches, here is the card:

• Hiroe Nagahama, Mika Iida, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Miyuki Takase, SAKI, and Tae Honma
• Fairy Nihonbashi and Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru vs. Miki Tanaka and Sakura Hirota
• ASUKA vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
• Hardcore Match: Ayako Hamada and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Ryo Mizunami and Rina Yamashita
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Misaki Ohata vs. Nagisa Nozaki

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

Hiroe Nagahama, Mika Iida, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Miyuki Takase, SAKI, and Tae Honma

Mika and SAKI start the match and trade elbows, SAKI gets Mika to the mat first but Mika comes back with a side Russian leg sweep. Dropkick by Mika and she tags in Moeka, Hiroe comes in too and they both dropkick SAKI. Everyone poses on SAKI before Moeka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a crossbody for two. SAKI sneaks in an atomic drop and tags in Tae, Tae pushes Moeka into her corner so Miyuki and SAKI can help attack her. Elbows by Tae but Moeka elbows her back and hits a running footstomp, she tags Mika back in and Mika hits a series of uppercuts. Tae avoids an elbow and applies a short armbar, but Mika quickly gets out of it. Irish whip by Mika but Tae hits a DDT, she picks up Mika but Mika rolls her to the mat and applies an ankle hold. Tae reverses it into an ankle hold of her own but Mika reverses it back, Miyuki eventually breaks things up and Tae drags Mika to the mat with a cross armbreaker takedown. That gets broken up as well, Tae tags in Miyuki and Miyuki dropkicks Mika a few times in the chest. Uppercut by Mika and she nails a sliding uppercut before making the tag to Hiroe. Dropkick by Hiroe and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Back up they trade strikes, Miyuki wins the exchange and Tae and SAKI both come in as they triple team Hiroe. Headbutt by Miyuki, she gets Hiroe on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry for a two count. Miyuki gets on the second turnbuckle but Hiroe rolls out of the way of her dive, Moeka runs in and she hits a double wrist-clutch suplex. Dropkick by Mika to Moeka, and Hiroe follows with a missile dropkick for a two count. Hiroe picks up Miyuki and delivers a spear, but Miyuki barely kicks out of the cover. Backdrop suplex hold by Hiroe, and this time she gets the three count! Hiroe Nagahama, Mika Iida, and Moeka Haruhi win!

As much as a pleasure it is to see Hiroe Nagahama slowly grow into a solid wrestler, this match was a bit rough around the edges. Tae and Miyuki are still early enough in their careers that they could be great wrestlers one day, but they aren’t yet, and Moeka still has issues on some of the fundamentals. It was too short to be offensive, but a pretty skippable opener even though it was more painfully average than bad.

Fairy Nihonbashi and Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru vs. Miki Tanaka and Sakura Hirota

Now before the match starts, they switch teams, so it ends up being Ranmaru and Miki vs. Fairy and Sakura. I’m not sure how they officially handled this for their official results, but since it is a comedy match it doesn’t really matter. They end up switching again as Miki and and Fairy stand on the same side, but that also ends up backfiring and all four stare at each other again. They are taking “goofy” to a whole new level, I have no doubt this appeals to some people but I am not one of them. The teams go back to how we started, Fairy does Fairy things and Miki follows suit with a fairy dance of her own. Ranmaru comes in, shoulderblock by Miki to Ranmaru and Ranmaru does some slow motion comedy ala Kikutaro/Kamen. Fairy comes in with her wand and tries to toss Miki with it but Miki doesn’t go over. Sakura tags in and Fairy promptly throws her around with the wand, Sakura grabs Fairy’s arm and goes to walk the ropes, but Fairy breaks away and tries to wand her off the turnbuckle. Sakura ends up crotching herself on the top rope, she tags in Miki and Miki hits a few shoulderblocks onto Fairy. Ranmaru comes in but gets knocked to the mat as well, Sakura returns and Miki catapults her onto Ranmaru and Fairy. Miki and Sakura are thrown into each other, Miki chops all three of them in the head before pushing all three opponents to the mat. Miki covers all three with a single foot, and she picks up the three count! Miki Tanaka and Sakura Hirota win the match.

Even by Fairy and Sakura standards this seemed subpar, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to watch this match.

ASUKA vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

They tie-up to start and jockey for position, but neither can get a clear advantage. They go at it again, both wrestlers end up on the mat switching positions until Chihiro applies a guillotine. ASUKA gets out of it and Chihiro goes for a fireman’s carry, but ASUKA lands on her feet. ASUKA goes for one on Chihiro but Chihiro returns the favor, Chihiro goes for a stretch hold but ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Fireman’s carry takeover by ASUKA and she applies an armbar, but Chihiro gets to the ropes. Back up, waistlock by Chihiro and she applies a modified abdominal stretch, but ASUKA gets the break. Gutwrench suplex by Chihiro and she covers ASUKA, getting a two count. She goes for a second but ASUKA reverses it into a suplex of her own, she goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick followed by the Space Rolling Elbow. Dropkick by ASUKA, and she covers Chihiro for two. Chihiro drives ASUKA into the corner and hits a few shoulderblocks, scoop slam by Chihiro and she delivers a couple sentons for a two count cover. Chihiro picks up ASUKA but ASUKA slides away and hits a superkick, dropkick by ASUKA and Chihiro rolls out of the ring. ASUKA goes off the ropes and sails out onto Chihiro with a tope con hilo, ASUKA slides Chihiro back in and hits a series of elbows. Boot by ASUKA but Chihiro flips her to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but the bell rings as the ten minute time limit has expired. The match is a Draw. They continue to fight after the bell until they are finally separated, ASUKA wants five more minutes and it is granted, so the match re-starts!

Chihiro immediately tackles ASUKA and hits a rolling fireman’s carry, she gets on the second turnbuckle but ASUKA avoids the senton and dropkicks Chihiro into the corner. ASUKA goes for a moonsault out of the corner but Chihiro moves, ASUKA lands on her feet and she hits a dropkick followed by a springboard moonsault for a two count. ASUKA and Chihiro trade elbows, body block by Chihiro and she goes for a German suplex, but ASUKA lands on her feet and hits a suplex for two. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Chihiro hits a spear, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the somersault senton for a two count. Chihiro scoops up ASUKA but ASUKA slides away, lariat by Chihiro but the cover gets two. Chihiro goes off the ropes but ASUKA dropkicks her, she goes off the ropes again but Chihiro lariats her and hits the waterwheel drop, but ASUKA barely gets a shoulder up. Chihiro goes up top and nails a diving somersault senton, but ASUKA applies a quick crucifix pin for two. Chihiro drags up ASUKA but ASUKA blocks the suplex and rolls up Chihiro for a two count. Boot by ASUKA and she slams Chihiro in front of the corner, she goes up top but Chihiro rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt. Short range lariats by Chihiro but she can’t get the three count, another lariat by Chihiro but the bell rings before she can attempt another cover. The match is officially a Draw.

This match started slow and they made it too obvious they were going for a Draw, but once it picked up it really got going. The best part of the match was the five minute overrun, as they went from feeling each other out earlier in the match to just throwing bombs and trying everything to win. Both are still developing as wrestlers but they are getting there quickly, and in this case I don’t mind the Draw as it is a good starting point if they battle again later on. A quality midcard match, it had its flaws but overall it was entertaining.  Recommended

Ayako Hamada and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Ryo Mizunami and Rina Yamashita
Hardcore Match

In the ring with the wrestlers is already a table and various other weapons, so they won’t be wasting any time. There appears to not be tag rules as immediately start battling on the floor, throwing various weapons at each other. Miyazaki puts a ladder in the ring while Hamada takes Mizunami up into the crowd and tosses her into a wall. Miyazaki sets up a table at ringside, she drags Yamashita onto the table with her and drills her with a piledriver through it. Mizunami fights back against Hamada but gets kicked in the head for her troubles, she sets up Mizunami on a chair and goes for a lariat, but Mizunami moves and drop toeholds Hamada onto it. Yamashita has regained the advantage on her end and gets the push cart, Mizunami grabs a tire and hits Hamada with it. They finally all end up back at ringside, Mizunami hits Hamada with a trash can lid but Hamada boots her in the face. They all get in the ring with Hamada and Miyazaki in control, they both sit their opponents into a chair before delivering dropkicks. Yamashita is bleeding pretty good at this point while Miyazaki throws a chair at Mizunami’s head, Hamada lays the ladder over the top rope, she tries to throw Mizunami into it but Mizunami slams on the breaks. Hamada gets a chair while Mizunami gets the trash can lid, Hamada throws the chair at Mizunami’s head again and throws Mizunami face-first into the ladder. Mizunami gets hit in the head again with a chair as she is bleeding also, she gets tossed out of the ring while Hamada stays in with Yamashita, but Yamashita throws Hamada into a chair. Miyazaki returns and DDTs Yamashita, she gets the ladder and pins Yamashita into the corner with it but slips when she tries to run up the ladder. She hits Yamashita anyway before setting up and climbing the ladder, but Yamashita recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Knee to the back of the head by Yamashita, she gets a board and cracks Miyazaki repeatedly in the head with it.

Yamashita goes up top while Mizunami feeds her a trash can, Yamashita puts on the trash can but Miyazaki moves when she goes for a dive. Miyazaki goes up top and tries to hit Yamashita with a sign, but she hits Hamada by accident. Mizunami finally gets back into the ring and helps double team Hamada, elbows by Mizunami to Hamada and Yamashita delivers a superkick. Lariat by Mizunami and she covers Hamada, but it gets a two count. Mizunami and Yamashita set up a table and a ladder in opposite corners, Hamada charges Mizunami but Mizunami suplexes her onto the ladder. Miyazaki returns with a chair and knocks down both her opponents, Miyazaki picks up Yamashita but Yamashita suplexes her onto a chair. Mizunami goes up top and tries to catapult the ladder into Miyazaki, which misses. Yamashita hits a backdrop suplex anyway for a two count, Mizunami puts the table across the corner and goes up top while Yamashita feeds her Miyazaki, but Miyazaki recovers and elbows Mizunami. Miyazaki gets Mizunami on her shoulders while standing on the table and hits an avalanche Samoan Driver, but Yamashita breaks up the cover. Miyazaki goes up top but Mizunami avoids the moonsault, Miyazaki blocks her lariat attempts with a chair until Mizunami punches through it, nailing Miyazaki in the head. She goes for a dragon suplex but Hamada runs in and breaks it up, lariat by Mizunami to Miyazaki and Yamashita follows with one of her own. Dragon suplex by Mizunami, but Hamada breaks it up. Mizunami picks up Miyazaki but Hamada tosses Yamashita into her, Miyazaki picks up Mizunami but Hamada kicks Miyazaki in the head by accident. Lariat by Yamashita to Miyazaki, Mizunami picks her up but Miyazaki sneaks in a kiss/cradle for two. Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki, and she picks up the three count! Ayako Hamada and Yuki Miyazaki are the winners.

While I do appreciate some variety on my wrestling cards, this one really didn’t hit the mark. It had some good spots in it, but also had some very noticeable mistakes and wrestlers would just disappear for long chunks of time. The ending was also really anti-climatic for a hardcore match, while it was a typical way for Miyazaki to win, I wouldn’t have minded something a bit more memorable to fit the match stipulation. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just random carnage with little purpose.

(c) Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Takumi and Mio start the match, Takumi takes Mio to the mat and applies a side headlock before pushing her into the ropes. Rin comes in and they both elbow Mio, drop toehold/dropkick combination by NEW-TRA and Takumi hits a scoop slam. Snap vertical by Takumi, and she covers Mio for two. Takumi tags in Rin, Rin twists up Mio in the ropes and delivers a dropkick to the back. Another dropkick by Rin, Takumi comes in but Mio avoids a double dropkick and sends both her opponents to the mat. This gives her time to tag in Ohka, Ohka boots Rin a few times in the face but Rin snaps off a DDT before dropkicking Ohka. Ohka comes back and boots Rin again in the corner, Ohka tags in Mio and Mio scoop slams Rin. Rin blocks the next one and hits a slam of her own, but Mio grabs her and hits another scoop slam before applying a short armbar. Cross armbreaker by Mio but Takumi breaks it up, Mio tags in Ohka and Ohka puts Rin in a camel clutch. Mio runs in and dropkicks Rin, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka tags Mio back in, assisted dropkick to Rin and Ohka slams Mio onto Rin for a two count cover. The beatdown of Rin continues until Mio accidentally dropkicks Ohka (twice), cannonball by Rin to Ohka and she covers the veteran for two. Rin tags Takumi, shoulderblock by Takumi to Ohka but Mio comes in to try to help. She doesn’t and Takumi handles both of them, kicks and elbows by Takumi to Ohka until a superkick sends Ohka to the mat.

Takumi picks up Ohka but Ohka switches positions with her and hits a DDT. Heel drop by Ohka and she boots Takumi in the face for two. Ohka tags in Mio, Mio goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody onto Takumi. Running crossbody by Mio, but Takumi kicks out of the cover. Takumi gets Mio on her shoulders and hits a helicopter slam, she goes for a powerbomb but Mio gets out of it. Superkick by Takumi and she goes for another powerbomb, but Mio slides down her back with a cradle for two. Mio goes off the ropes and applies the bodyscissors cradle, but Rin breaks it up. Mio charges Takumi and goes for the Code Red, but Takumi blocks it and drops Mio with the B Driver. Takumi tags in Rin, jumping DDT by Rin and she delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Ohka comes in and boots Rin, Mio goes for another Code Red but Rin blocks it and slams Mio onto Ohka. Takumi comes in and they hit a catapult Fameasser, cover by Rin but Mio gets a shoulder up. Rin goes off the ropes and cradles Mio, but Ohka breaks it up. Hurricanrana by Rin, but that gets broken up as well. Mio sneaks in a cradle of her own for two, Takumi tries to kick Mio but she hits Rin by accident. Chokebomb by Ohka to Rin, Mio applies a jackknife but Takumi breaks it up. Ohka gets Rin up and hits a delayed vertical suplex, Code Red by Mio but Takumi breaks it up again. Mio jumps on Ohka’s shoulders but Rin avoids it when Ohka tosses Mio down onto her, Mio goes off the ropes but Rin pops her up so that Takumi can hit a superkick. Rin grabs Mio and delivers a standing crucifix bomb for the three count! Rin Kadokura and Takumi Ohka are still the champions!

A decent match but I think they over-played the Mio/Ohka miscommunications to the point it was almost comical. Not all the spots were timed well so it looked like Mio was intentionally hitting her own partner, and there was just a lack of chemistry in general between Mio and Ohka. NEW-TRA looked good as they tend to however, and when they were in control the match was solid. Rin continues to improve and I think she has quite a future if she keeps at it as her moveset is really fun. Certainly more good than bad, the Mio/Ohka dynamic just took me out of the match a few times with how over-the-top or awkward some of their interactions were.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Misaki Ohata vs. Nagisa Nozaki
Regina Di WAVE Championship

Nozaki asks for a handshake but pulls in Ohata in the process to go for a choke, Ohata rolls out of it however and goes for a lariat, but Nozaki ducks it and goes for the choke again. Ohata bounces off the ropes to break out of the hold and hits a hard elbow, cover by Ohata but Nozaki applies the sleeper. Ohata manages to slide out of the ring to get out of it, Ohata snaps Nozaki’s neck over the top rope as she gets back in the ring but Nozaki applies a choke while Ohata is still on the apron. The referee forces her to break the hold, back in the ring Nozaki slaps Ohata in the chest but Ohata chokes her before slamming Nozaki’s head into the mat. Nozaki takes back over and puts Ohata in an abdominal stretch, single leg crab hold by Nozaki but Ohata gets to the ropes for the break. Kicks by Nozaki and she puts Ohata in a modified camel clutch, she lets go after biting Ohata’s arm but Ohata blocks her elbow attempt and stomps on Nozaki’s foot. Nozaki avoids Ohata’s dropkick attempts and applies a sleeper, but Ohata quickly gets into the ropes. Running boot by Nozaki, she goes onto the apron and tries to kick Ohata in the back of the head, but Ohata catches her leg and applies an ankle hold through the ropes. The referee eventually gets her to let go and she knocks Nozaki down to the floor, Ohata goes up top and dives down onto Nozaki with a plancha suicida. Back in the ring, Ohata goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, picking up a two count cover.

Ohata gets on the second turnbuckle but Nozaki recovers and joins her, Ohata slides under her and delivers a powerbomb for two. Ohata quickly goes back up top and hits a diving body press, but Nozaki kicks out of the cover again. Stunner by Ohata and she hits a low crossbody against the ropes, she charges Nozaki again but Nozaki hits her with a big boot. Another boot by Nozaki and she snaps off an underhook suplex for a two count. Nozaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes for a suplex but Ohata pushes her off and the two trade strikes. Nozaki finally wins the battle with a big boot, she kicks Ohata in the back of the head before applying a roll into the sleeper hold. Ohata appears to go limp, Nozaki covers her but Ohata gets a shoulder up. Somato by Nozaki, but that gets a two count as well. She goes for the sleeper again but Ohata kicks her in the head and hits a release German, Nozaki pops up but Ohata drops her with a second release German suplex. Back fist by Ohata but Nozaki blocks the suplex attempt and slaps on the sleeper. Ohata rolls out of it this time and holds down Nozaki for a two count, boot to the face by Nozaki but Ohata kicks out of the cover. Nozaki goes off the ropes but Ohata avoids the boot and hits a back fist, Fisherman Buster by Ohata and she covers Nozaki for two. Ohata picks up Nozaki but Nozaki slides away, Ohata catches her with the Schwein however before nailing the Sky Blue Suplex Hold for the three count! Misaki Ohata is still the champion.

First, the good stuff. Misaki Ohata is a treat to watch and I’m happy she finally got a run of big matches in WAVE as she has deserved it for awhile. She has a variety of ways to beat down an opponent and her arsenal keeps her matches interesting. The pair have pretty good chemistry and there weren’t any noticeable miscommunications or issues. Now the not so good stuff – while I think it is cool that Nagisa Nozaki came back to Joshi, she really isn’t good enough for this level of match. Her offense is extremely one dimensional as the bulk of her moves are either boots or sleeper attempts. I hate when wrestlers release their submission holds for no reason, she beat Mizunami with the sleeper so why would she let go of it against Ohata? It just got a bit repetitive with her continually going for the same move, and because of that the match felt a bit too long (even though it wasn’t a long match). Overall I enjoyed it as it was pretty well-worked and exciting, I just hope that Nozaki grows her arsenal a bit before she has more high level matches.  Mildly Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Topaz” on 11/26/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi vs. Kana and Konami

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cherry vs. Ryo Mizunami

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Kyusei” Sakura Hirota vs. Misaki Ohata

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally! WAVE uploaded this event on the WAVE Network last month, but the website was down for awhile so it just took me time to first get the show and then have time to watch it. This is the biggest Pro Wrestling WAVE event in a long time, with over 2,000 people in attendance for their 10th Anniversary. Many big matches on this show, including a series of matches with GAMI vs. Chigusa Nagayo and a big title match between Yoshiko and Rina Yamashita. Here are the matches I’ll be watching:

• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
• Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura
• Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki
• Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T
• Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Takumi Iroha
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI
• Regina Di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
• ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

Two matches from the show I won’t be reviewing – the Y Dress Battle Royal was not added to the WAVE Network for whatever reason, and the Kashin/Michinoku vs. Togo/Goto match I am skipping since I am focusing on the Joshi matches. All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go directly to it.

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo kicks GAMI in the leg to start the match, GAMI immediately retreats to the corner and asks for an ice pack for it. She comes back out while limping, chop to the chest by Nagayo but GAMI gets her noise maker and hits the referee in the head with it. She then tosses it to Nagayo and claims it was Nagayo that hit the referee, GAMI kicks Nagayo and bounces her off the ropes. Kick to the chest by GAMI, and she covers Nagayo for two. GAMI gets her weapon and hits Nagayo a couple times with it, Nagayo gets to the ropes and the referee gives her a moment to recover. Kicks by Nagayo and she punches GAMI in the chest, cover by Nagayo but GAMI kicks out. Wristlock by GAMI, she climbs up the corner and walks the top rope, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok look, you have to watch matches like these from a different perspective. Clearly, ‘workrate’ wise this was not a good match. GAMI is no longer an active wrestler, while Nagayo is 52 years old and a bit broken. But they were having fun and the crowd enjoyed seeing two classic wrestlers mixing it up. We aren’t done seeing them yet as they are having a match series, for their next match they will be in tag action. This is really only for long time fans that just want to see Nagayo and GAMI lock up, everyone else can safely skip it.

(c) Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Hiroe and Kaori start the match, Kaho quickly comes in to help her partner and they stomp down Kaori. Double dropkick to Kaori but Cherry breaks things up, Hiroe is now double teamed until Kaori tags in Cherry. Cherry rolls Hiroe to the mat and elbows her, slaps by Cherry and she kicks Hiroe into the ropes. Kaori is tagged back in and she throws down Hiroe by the hair, Cherry returns as they take turns on the young WAVE wrestler. Hiroe fights back with a crossbody and makes the hot tag to Kaho, Kaho dropkicks both Cherry and Hiroe and goes for a double crossbody, but she gets caught. Kaho flings them both to the mat anyway, Kaho throws Cherry into the corner and she hits a dropkick. Running senton by Kaho, but Cherry bridges out of the pin. Back up they trade elbows, eye poke by Cherry and she forces the referee to help her out. Cover by Cherry, but Kaho kicks out at two. Kaho elbows Cherry and goes off the ropes, but Cherry catches her with Cutie Special for another two.

Cherry tags Kaori, Kaori knees Kaho in the back of the head but Kaho blocks her chops. Kick by Kaori and she goes off the ropes, but Kaho delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags Hiroe, dropkicks by Hiroe and she goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Hiroe picks up Kaori and hits the Northern Lights Suplex, but Cherry breaks it up. Cherry and Kaori are stacked in the corner but they avoid Hiroe’s charge and send Kaho out of the ring. Hiroe is slammed near the corner, diving senton by Kaori and Cherry follows with the Swanton Bomb, but Kaho returns in time to break up the cover. Cherry and Kaori pick up Hiroe but Kaho runs in again and dropkicks both of them, they avoid Kaho’s next dropkick and they cradle Hiroe, but Kaho once again breaks it up. Kaori goes for the Chaos Theory but Hiroe blocks it, Cherry chops Kaori by accident and Hiroe cradles Kaori for two. Kaho kicks Kaori from the apron, Hiroe quickly puts Kaori in the Hiroe Special and she picks up the three count! Hiroe Nagahama and Kaho Kobayashi are the new champions!

My love of Kaho helped this match entertain me more than it probably should, but both teams did work well together and they kept the action flowing. This is the first title in Hiroe’s career and she was clearly very excited to win it, even if it was a bit fluky. Fast paced and interesting, but overall not incredibly memorable for a title change.  Mildly Recommended

Fairy Nihonbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru, and Sakura Hirota
vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura

Hana and Hirota start the match, dropkick by Hana and she covers her for the three count! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Hirota gets on the mic and I am assuming wants the match to re-start, and she eventually gets her wish. Hirota and Mio Momono start the rematch, dropkick by Mio and she covers Hirota for three once again! Hana Kimura and friends win!

Well Hirota still isn’t satisfied so the match re-starts again with Rin and Hirota, dropkick by Rin and she covers Hirota, but this time Hirota barely kicks out. Hirota Oil Checks Rin and tags out, Hikaru tags in too but she is double teamed by Ranmaru and Mii. Hikaru gets her kendo stick and tries to hit Ranmaru with it, eventually succeeding. Ranmaru rolls out of the ring while Fairy gets in it with her wand, and she uses it to deflect Hikaru’s kendo stick. Fairy flings all her opponents with the wand, Hirota comes in while all their opponents are lying on the ring, she goes off the ropes and hits a running splash of sorts onto everyone. Both teams ram into each other in the middle of the ring, almost causing them all to be counted down for three, but the eight wrestlers get their shoulders up. They trade finishers with each other until Hikaru is in the ring with Mii, Tamashi no Three Count by Hikaru to Mii and she picks up the three count! Hana Kimura and friends officially finally win the match!

This match was, as the kids would say, a Nothing Burger. Even though it was Hirota’s first official match since 2015, it certainly didn’t feel special in any way. I so rarely get to see Hibiscus Mii and Ranmaru that I wish the action wasn’t so short, as it didn’t give anyone time to make an impact. I guess it functioned as a cute little midcard match, but even comedy lovers probably would want a bit more than what we were given here.

Aoi Kizuki and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki

Aoi and Yuki start the match, Yuki pushes Aoi against the ropes but Nagisa comes in to help even things out. Yuki lariats both of them for their trouble, Mika comes in and puts on Aoi’s wings while Yuki puts Aoi in a compromising position. Nagisa comes in to break up the fun, Mika stays in with Aoi and hits a pair of falling headbutts. Yuki walks back over and covers Aoi for two, Irish whip by Yuki but Aoi hits a jumping lariat. Yuki doesn’t go down however and dropkicks Aoi in the head, Mika then comes in and she dropkicks Aoi as well. Yuki picks up Aoi but Aoi snaps off a German suplex, jumping lariat by Aoi and she hits the double wrist clutch suplex for a two count. Aoi goes up top but Yuki avoids the swivel body press, Mika comes in but Aoi moves when Yuki tries to slam Mika onto her. Aoi puts Yuki in a stretch hold with Nagisa’s help, but Yuki fights them both off. German by Yuki but Aoi pops back to her feet and hits a German of her own. Aoi tags in Nagisa, Nagisa goes for a kick but Yuki shoves her to the mat. Elbows by Nagisa but Yuki fires back with a lariat, Yuki goes up top but Aoi grabs her from the apron, allowing Nagisa to German her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.

Nagisa goes up top but Yuki joins her before suplexing Nagisa back down, DDT by Yuki and this time she succeeds in slamming Mika on top of her. Yuki goes up top but Nagisa avoids the moonsault, Nagisa goes off the ropes but Yuki catches her with a Samoan Driver. Yuki tags in Mika, uppercut by Mika and she then hits a running uppercut. Nagisa and Mika trade elbows, big boot by Nagisa but Mika avoids her charge in the corner and snaps her arm over the top rope. Mika boots Nagisa in the head but Nagisa puts her in a sleeper, Yuki grabs Nagisa from behind and suplexes her into the turnbuckles. Dropkick by Mika to Nagisa, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Aoi comes in to get Nagisa back in control, butterfly suplex by Nagisa and she covers Mika for two. Sleeper by Nagisa but Mika rolls out of it, Nagisa charges Mika and nails a running knee, but Yuki breaks up the cover. Nagisa hits a modified STO before cranking on Mika’s arm, but Yuki breaks up the submission. Nagisa goes for a boot but Mika ducks and puts Nagisa in a short armbar, cross armbreaker by Mika but Nagisa gets a foot on the ropes. Mika goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the face, she goes for another boot but Yuki comes in and distracts the referee. Modified sunset flip by Mika, and she holds down Nagisa for the three count! Mika Iida and Yuki Miyazaki win the match.

I will give Nagisa credit – she looked a little rusty but she was in the bulk of the match and took a lot of big bumps, so she wasn’t taking it easy. Nagisa was never, in my opinion, a high end wrestler but she is good at submissions/strikes and can hang with most wrestlers. Really, the other three aren’t high end wrestlers either so it was a fair pairing, a decent midcard match but nothing overly exciting.

Chigusa Nagayo and GAMI vs. Dump Matsumoto and Zap T

GAMI and Chigusa charges Matsumoto and Zap T as they come through the curtain and they brawl on the stage, which quickly backfires as Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head. Matsumoto brings GAMI back to ringside and into the ring, where she hits GAMI in the head with a kendo stick. Matsumoto stabs GAMI in the head some while GAMI bleeds, Zap T comes in too and puts GAMI in a camel clutch of sorts. Zap T stays in as the legal wrestler but GAMI elbows her against the ropes, scoop slam by GAMI and she tags in Chigusa. Elbows by Chigusa but Zap T kicks her back, Matsumoto gets Chigusa in the corner and tries to stab her, but Chigusa blocks it. Zap T clubs Chigusa while Matsumoto gets her paint can, but she hits Zap T by accident. GAMI and Chigusa double team Zap T, Chigusa then trips Matsumoto and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock of sorts. Around this time the bell mercifully rings, as the five minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Ok so I said I love Matsumoto, and I do, but her physical condition has gotten worse since I last saw her and she had trouble even standing. GAMI is still pretty spry as is Watanabe, but Matsumoto’s situation just dragged down the match. I still love her and always will, but even with my strongest nostalgic goggles I can’t recommend this.

Ayako Hamada, Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro, and Iroha

Satsuki and Meiko begin for their teams and quickly trade elbows, they go into a tie-up and Meiko takes Satsuki to the mat. Satsuki gets to the ropes to force a break, Meiko quickly applies a short armbar but again Satsuki reaches the ropes. Meiko isn’t done schooling the rookie as she puts Satsuki in a kneelock, but Satsuki breaks the hold for the third time. Meiko tags in Nanae and elbows Satsuki in the corner, chops by Nanae and she hits a leg drop. Nanae tags in Hamada, kicks by Hamada and she covers Satsuki for two. Short armbar by Hamada and she puts Satsuki in a stretch hold, but Iroha runs in to break it up. Satsuki finally hits a move as she delivers a crossbody, giving her time to tag in Iroha. Iroha kicks Hamada to the mat but Hamada hits a vertical suplex before tagging in Meiko. Iroha elbows Meiko in the corner but Meiko elbows her back, kicks by Meiko and she shoves the referee down when she tries to slow down Meiko’s assault. Iroha fires back with kicks and she puts Meiko in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Nanae breaks it up with a hard slap. Lariat by Nanae to Iroha and Meiko delivers the cartwheel kneedrop, Meiko tags in Nanae and Nanae slaps Iroha into the corner, lariat by Nanae but Iroha kicks her in the chin. Suplex by Nanae and she goes for an ankle hold, but Chihiro breaks it up. Lariats by Nanae and she drops Iroha with a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits an elbow.

Superkick by Iroha, she goes up top and nails a Swanton Bomb, but Nanae barely kicks out. Iroha tags in Chihiro, somersault sentons by Chihiro and she covers Nanae for two. Nanae slaps Chihiro into the corner but Chihiro fires back, lariat by Chihiro but Nanae knocks her down with a lariat of her own. Nanae goes off the ropes but Chihiro lariats Nanae to the mat, Iroha comes in but Nanae lariats both of them. Nanae tags in Hamada, Hamada goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Chihiro gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nanae and Meiko both get in the ring and they help Hamada take over the match. Chihiro gets Hamada’s back and drops her with a release German, giving her time to tag in Satsuki. Shoulderblocks by Satsuki but Hamada kicks out of the cover, Nanae comes in to try to help but she kicks Hamada by accident. Satsuki and Chihiro both hit sentons, Satsuki goes up top and she hits a somersault senton onto Hamada for a two count. All six wrestlers end up in the ring and Team Hamada all hit signature moves, powerbomb by Hamada to Iroha and Meiko hits a diving bodypress. Chihiro spears both Hamada and Meiko but Hamada ends up alone with Satsuki again, superkick by Hamada but the cover is broken up. Another superkick by Hamada, and this time she gets the three count! Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi pick up the win!

I still have no idea why an Ice Ribbon rookie that hasn’t shown a lot so far in her career was in this match, but what can you do. Any section with Satsuki suffered a bit but when she was on the apron, everyone fought with the passion and hard strikes you’d expect from this collection of wrestlers. Meiko doesn’t know how to chill in general and Chihiro’s suplex on Hamada was fantastic, so the match definitely had its memorable moments. Having an obvious wrestler to take the fall hurt the suspense, but with all the strike exchanges and anger I still enjoyed it overall.  Mildly Recommended

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

Misaki and Tsukasa start the match but Arisa kicks Misaki from behind, double dropkick to Misaki but Ryo comes in to help as well. Ryo and Misaki both hit running strikes in the corner but Tsukasa dropkicks them out of the ring, Arisa and Tsukasa go to different corners and dive out of the ring onto their opponents. Tsukasa slides Misaki back in and puts Misaki in the ropes, dropkick by Tsukasa to the back and she covers Misaki for two. Misaki bridges out of it and rolls up Tsukasa, but Tsukasa kicks out of it and delivers a dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out, boots by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo fires back with elbows. Hard shoulderblock by Ryo but Tsukasa runs in and dropkicks her, running knee by Arisa to Ryo but Ryo avoids their kick and Misaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody. Double spear by Ryo and she lariats Arisa in the corner, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Misaki, low crossbody by Misaki and she goes for a Stunner, but Arisa blocks it and hits a release German. Misaki comes right back with a German of her own, but Arisa hits a footstomp to her stomach and both wrestlers get back up to trade elbows. Spinning back chop by Misaki but Arisa catches her with the Cutie Special for a two count. Arisa tags Tsukasa, missile dropkick by Tsukasa and she nails Misaki with a dropkick in the corner. Tsukasa goes for a PK but Misaki catches her leg, Arisa boots Misaki and Tsukasa delivers a PK for a two count. Tsukasa charges the corner but Misaki grabs her by the waist, she goes for a German but Tsukasa lands on her feet. Tsukasa gets Misaki on her shoulders but Misaki slides away, Arisa hits a German suplex onto Misaki and Tsukasa applies a jackknife for a two count.

Tsukasa goes for the Venus Shoot but Ryo breaks it up, she gets Tsukasa on her shoulders and tosses her to the mat while Misaki hits a diving crossbody. Ryo lariats Arisa and Misaki covers her for two before rolling to her corner to tag in Ryo. Spear by Ryo but Tsukasa boots her, overhead suplex by Ryo but Tsukasa blocks the dragon suplex. Arisa hits a missile dropkick onto Ryo and Ryo eats a double kick to the head, but she kicks out of the pin attempt. Uranage by Ryo to Tsukasa for two, she goes up top but Tsukasa joins her and armdrags Ryo to the mat. Arisa hits a diving footstomp onto Ryo, cover by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Infinity by Tsukasa, but Ryo barely kicks out. Tsukasa gets Ryo on her shoulders but Ryo slides off, Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Misaki runs in and hits a German suplex. Hard lariat by Ryo and she nails a dragon suplex hold, but Arisa breaks it up. Ryo picks up Tsukasa but Arisa elbows her, Arisa goes off the ropes but she is caught with the 3D. Reverse Hurricanrana into a roll-up by Tsukasa, but it only gets a two count. Enzuigiri by Tsukasa but Ryo fires back with a lariat, Tsukadora by Tsukasa but Misaki breaks it up. Misaki and Ryo hit a double tombstone piledriver onto Tsukasa, Ryo goes up top and nails the guillotine legdrop, but Arisa breaks up her cover. Misaki takes care of Arisa while Ryo picks up Tsukasa and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Avid Rivals win!

The only knock on this match is the fact it wasn’t very long, but man was it fun. I love teams that actually function as teams and these two work together so well. Its chaotic but it doesn’t feel messy, all four wrestlers were constantly getting involved but it never felt out of control. Lots of suplexes and hard strikes, and I loved that double tombstone piledriver as both teams have a handful of creative double team moves. Fast paced and entertaining, hopefully as the series continues they’ll get a bit more time as I think they can do even better.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. GAMI

Nagayo traps GAMI in the corner and hits a hard elbow, more strikes by Nagayo but she can’t get GAMI off her feet. GAMI pushes Nagayo into the corner and punches her, mounted punches by GAMI and she spits water on her. A Count Down begins as the two wrestlers start wrestling in slow motion, they trade lariats (still in slow motion) until GAMI stomps on Nagayo’s foot. Lariat by Nagayo as the Count Down expires and they go back to full speed, Nagayo puts GAMI in the Scorpion Deathlock but lets her go after a moment. Heel kick by Nagayo but GAMI ducks the second one, small package by GAMI and she picks up the three count! GAMI wins!

The surprising thing here was simply that they had a pinfall instead of going to a Draw like everyone assumed. Nothing much to it and the slow motion part was a bit odd since in theory it wasn’t a comedy match, but it was really just nostalgic filler. A good time was had by all, but not exactly a high-end wrestling affair.

(c) Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko
Regina di WAVE Championship

They start slowly with a tie-up and trading holds, Rina bites Yoshiko and they end up back at a stalemate. Yoshiko tosses down Rina by the hair and bootscrapes her in the corner, but Rina fires back with an elbow and returns the favor. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko snapmares her and puts Rina in a chinlock, Yoshiko bites Rina again before putting her in a side headlock. Rina Irish whips out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Yoshiko gets out of it and they collide into each other with neither going down. Rina finally shoulderblocks Yoshiko to the mat, she picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko springs out of the corner with a lariat and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Rina falls out of the ring but Yoshiko goes out after her, hitting a seated senton from the apron to the floor. Yoshiko goes for a running senton but Rina rolls out of the way and hits a senton of her own, she then grabs Nanae Takahashi and suplexes her onto Yoshiko. Rina gets a really really long running start and hits a senton still on the floor, she gets Yoshiko back into the ring and puts her in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Yoshiko makes it to the ropes for the break. Running knee by Rina, she gets out on the apron and knees Yoshiko in the head again before covering her for a two count. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a strike combination before connecting with the senton for a two count. Rina quickly applies the sleeper hold, Yoshiko gets out of it and she lariats Rina in the corner.

Rina picks up Yoshiko and slams her into the opposite corner, lariats by Rina and she hits a vertical suplex. Rina gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, but the cover gets two. Rina goes all the way up this time but Yoshiko recovers and joins her, Yoshiko gets Rina on her shoulders but Rina slides off and back to the mat. Rina goes for the powerbomb and eventually gets it, cover by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out. Rina picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a back bodydrop before kicking Rina in the chest. Senton by Yoshiko, she picks up Rina but Rina wiggles away and hits a superkick. Both wrestlers go off the ropes but Yoshiko levels Rina with a lariat, she picks up Rina and delivers a fireman’s carry slam for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes to the top turnbuckle but Rina rolls out of the way of the diving senton, both wrestlers slowly get up and they trade elbows. They then start trading lariats until Rina clubs Yoshiko to the mat, sliding lariat by Rina but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Yoshiko to get up and charges her, but Yoshiko ducks and hits a short-range lariat. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, but Rina reverses her cover into one of her own for two. Yoshiko blocks one Rina lariat but not the second one, Rainmaker by Rina but it gets a two count cover. Rina goes off the ropes and nails another lariat, but Yoshiko won’t stay down. Another lariat by Rina, and this time she gets the three count! Rina Yamashita is still the champion.

If you like “hoss” battles than this is the match for you. These two know each other well enough that they don’t mind really laying in the strikes, some of the lariats were extremely snug but that’s just the way they operate. A few parts seemed out of place, like the super long running sentons they both went for, but for the most part they stayed focused on what they do well. A good change of pace also since no other match on the card was designed like this one, and a quality title match for their biggest show in years.  Recommended

ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

ASUKA and Ohka quickly end up on the mat to trade holds, ASUKA applies a front necklock but Ohka quickly gets out of it and applies a side headlock. They end up facing off on their feet again, wristlock by Ohka but ASUKA reverses it. Ohka gets the headlock re-applied but ASUKA gets out of it, headscissors by ASUKA and she kips up, but Ohka ducks the springboard crossbody. Ohka throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA moonsaults out of it, Ohka stomps ASUKA anyway before ASUKA goes for a Space Rolling Elbow, but Ohka kicks her in the back to block it. Running boot by Ohka in the corner but ASUKA comes back with an elbow, another boot by Ohka and she covers ASUKA for two. Ohka picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits the springboard crossbody this time, Ohka returns with a cross-arm slam but ASUKA puts her in a crucifix armbar. Ohka reverses that into the Stretch Muffler but ASUKA reverses it back again as they trade submission holds until they end up in the ropes. Ohka is up first and boots ASUKA in the head, cover by Ohka but it gets two. Ohka goes off the ropes again but ASUKA duck the boot this time and applies an ankle hold, but Ohka quickly gets out of it.

Ohka applies a hanging headscissors over the top rope, she then brings ASUKA to the middle of the ring and applies a cross-arm submission, but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Ohka goes up top but ASUKA smacks her before she can jump off, ASUKA joins her but Ohka knocks ASUKA back to the mat. ASUKA joins Ohka again, Ohka knocks her off but ASUKA hits a springboard side slam. Standing moonsault attempt by ASUKA, but Ohka reverses it into an armbar necklock submission. ASUKA gets in the ropes, Ohka picks her up but ASUKA blocks the suplex attempt and drops Ohka onto the apron. Ohka keeps a hold on ASUKA to snap her over the top rope, heel drop by Ohka on the apron and she goes to the floor before hitting a sliding kick to ASUKA’s head. Ohka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Ohka goes up top again but ASUKA dropkicks her off the turnbuckle down to the floor, ASUKA goes off the ropes and sails out onto Ohka with a tope con hilo. Back in the ring, missile dropkick by ASUKA but her cover only gets two. ASUKA goes for a moonsault but Ohka gets her feet up to block it, Ohka picks up ASUKA and the two trade strikes. Superkick by ASUKA but Ohka nails a big boot, Ohka picks up ASUKA and drops her with a DDT. Cover by Ohka, but ASUKA kicks out.

Ohka goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a chokeslam, ASUKA goes off the ropes but Ohka grabs her and hits a chokebomb for two. Ohka and ASUKA trade elbows and then trade boots, dropkick by ASUKA and she gets a two count cover. Chokeslam by Ohka but ASUKA hits a rolling fireman’s carry toss, ASUKA goes up top but Ohka grabs her from behind. Running boot by Ohka, she joins ASUKA and she hits a superplex. Ohka goes to the turnbuckle as ASUKA kips up, dropkick by ASUKA and she hits a superkick followed by a gutwrench suplex. ASUKA goes off the ropes and goes for the springboard moonsault, but Ohka kicks her as she goes for the move. Running boot by Ohka, she picks up ASUKA and delivers a brainbuster for a two count. Ohka goes for a tiger suplex but ASUKA blocks it, running boot by Ohka but ASUKA ducks the next one and hits a superkick. Chokeslam by ASUKA, she goes up top and nails the moonsault, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. ASUKA goes up top again and this time delivers a Shooting Star Press, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA wins!

While I am still a bit confused on why this was the main event over the title match, it was a really good match. Ohka sometimes doesn’t do much for me but she lead ASUKA really well here and everything felt fluid, which I have to give her a lot of the credit for as the veteran. ASUKA hit everything perfectly and didn’t seem to be intimidated by the grand stage, and anytime a match ends with a Shooting Star Press I am a happy camper. I don’t know long term what WAVE’s plans are with ASUKA, but she delivered as well as anyone could have hoped for. It was still a bit repetitive at times as Ohka doesn’t have a wide move set, but between the excitement of ASUKA’s wrestling style and Ohka setting the match structure, it was very entertaining and a fitting main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE 10th Anniversary “Never Ending Story” 8/12/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE surprises us by uploading an event pretty quickly onto their WAVE Network. I reward them for doing this by reviewing the event and pointing people to their service if they want to see the event too. Everyone wins! This show has no title matches but a couple big matches anyway, with the highlights being Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita and Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Mika Iida
• Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata
• Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita
• Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka
• Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

Isami Kodaka vs. Keisuke Goto was on the card too, but I’m skippin’ it.

ASUKA vs. Mika Iida

They circle each other to start before locking up, Mika gets ASUKA to the mat first but ASUKA gets out of it and puts Mika in a headlock. They trade submission attempts before returning to their feet, quick takedown by Mika and she puts ASUKA in an armbar. Crossface by Mika and she twists ASUKA’s arm before applying a seated armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, takedown by Mika but ASUKA puts her in a guillotine. Knees by ASUKA and she hits a scoop slam, another scoop slam by ASUKA and she puts Mika in a guillotine, Mika gets out of it and the two trade elbows. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mika and she puts ASUKA in a submission hold, but ASUKA rolls out of it. Takedown by ASUKA and she returns the favor by contorting Mika into a submission, but Mika gets out of it and puts ASUKA in the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA reverses it into a reverse armbar but Mika gets a foot on the ropes, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA but Mika catches her with an uppercut, rebound crossbody by ASUKA and she covers Mika for two. ASUKA goes for a kick but Mika reverses it and rolls ASUKA to the mat, kimura by Mika but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Running dropkick by Mika while ASUKA is still against the ropes, uppercut by Mika and she goes for the short armbar, but ASUKA rolls out of it tosses Mika to the mat from her shoulders. ASUKA picks up Mika but Mika reverses the waistlock and sneaks in two flash pins for two. Mika goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a thrust kick, she goes for a chokeslam but Mika blocks it. Mika tries to roll up ASUKA but ASUKA kips out of it and hits a superkick, suplex by ASUKA in front of the corner and she nails the moonsault for the three count! ASUKA is the winner!

This was basic but sound. It started slow, which isn’t unusual for an opener but picked up some about five minutes in and stayed interesting the rest of the way. ASUKA is coming along really well, even though she got early press as the first transgender wrestler to join a Joshi promotion they haven’t exploited that fact and treat her like everyone else that has to work their way up the rankings. Beating Mika is definitely a good sign for her growth though, and now that she is 18 and two years into her career I expect her to start picking up more wins going forward. Not a bad opener.

Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Yoneyama, and Ohata

Ohata and Nagahama start the match but Ohata is immediately jumped from behind and triple teamed by all her opponents. Yoneyama and Cherry finally come in to help and now it is Nagahama getting triple teamed, curb stomp by Ohata to Nagahama and she covers her for two. She takes in Yoneyama, Yoneyama stomps down Nagahama in the corner and with Ohata’s help attacks her while she is caught up in the ropes. Yoneyama stretches Nagahama before tagging in Cherry, monkey flip by Cherry and she rams Nagahama’s head into the mat repeatedly. Nagahama fights back with a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Aoi, Yoneyama comes in too but Aoi and Moeka hit a double crossbody onto both of them. They do the same three more times to Cherry, double cover to Cherry but it gets a two count. They continue to double team Cherry until Cherry hits a double neck drop, she puts Aoi on top of Moeka and hits a double stomp onto her back. Nagahama runs in but she gets the same treatment, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi stretches Cherry over her knee. Cherry quickly hits a bridging suplex, she goes off the ropes but Aoi delivers a jumping lariat. Backfist by Cherry and she tags in Ohata, while Moeka is tagged in as well. They trade elbows, a battle which Ohata wins, crossbody by Ohata and she gets a two count cover.

Moeka ducks a spinning chop and hits a hurricanrana, hanging armbar by Moeka and her teammates come in to play defense. Aoi helps Moeka hits a double suplex, cover by Moeka but it gets two. Moeka tags Nagahama, dropkick by Nagahama in the corner and she delivers two more dropkicks for a quick cover. Nagahama picks up Ohata and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner, but Ohata kicks out at two. Nagahama picks up Ohata but Ohata slides down her back and they trade flash pins. Stunner by Ohata, she goes off the ropes but Nagahama does too and goes for a bodyscissors roll-up. Ohata blocks it and hits a suplex, low crossbody by Ohata and she tags in Cherry. Yoneyama also comes in and they double team Nagahama in the corner, double face crusher to Nagahama and both Yoneyama and Cherry get onto the top turnbuckle. Nagahama avoids Yoneyama’s diving senton however, Aoi then gets up top and hits a swivel body press onto Yoneyama. Diving footstomp by Moeka onto Yoneyama, Nagahama grabs her and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, but the cover is broken up. After some chaos with all six wrestlers in the ring, Nagahama gets a few more flash pins but Yoneyama sneaks in an assisted jackknife hold and picks up the three count! Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata win!

Just mindless fun. The match was actually better when they weren’t trying to be serious, the general chaos with wrestlers running in whenever they wanted to worked well with the skill sets of some of the participants. A good match for this part of the card, a short multi-tag sprint never hurt anyone as long as it isn’t presented as too important which this wasn’t.

Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire

SAKI and Natsu start the match, SAKI immediately trips Natsu and the two trade armdrags. They square off again, kick by Natsu and she stretches SAKI in the ropes. Running elbow by Natsu and she tags Maya, kicks by Maya and she covers SAKI for two. Maya goes up top but Heidi grabs her from the apron, SAKI recovers and she tosses Maya to the mat. Reverse Splash by SAKI and she puts Maya in a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but it quickly gets broken up. Maya kicks SAKI but SAKI kicks her back and tags Heidi, Heidi elbows Maya in the corner and gives her the Giant Swing. Leg drop by Heidi, but Natsu stops the referee from making the count. Heidi charges Maya but Maya hits a superkick, giving her time to tag in Natsu. Boots by Natsu but Heidi catches one and hits a headbutt, Heidi goes off the ropes but Maya hits her from the apron. Running boot by Natsu to Heidi, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsu and Heidi struggle for position, Maya runs in to help and with Natsu they suplex Heidi. Double boot to Heidi, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu picks up Heidi and applies a sunset flip for two, she goes off the ropes but Heidi catches her with an over the shoulder powerslam drop for the three count! Heidi Katrina and SAKI win!

I don’t want to say the match was bad, since it was too short to be offensive, but it certainly wasn’t good. The ending was incredibly out of nowhere, I assume the commentary team held up their pen and they went to the finish early since nothing was really happening. Much of the action wasn’t overly crisp, although Heidi looked pretty polished. Just a nothing midcard tag match.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

They circle each other to start, Rina pushes Chihiro into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Chihiro takes down Rina and they struggles for position on the mat. Chihiro applies an ankle hold but Rina kicks her off, Chihiro puts Rina in a stretch hold but Rina gets out of it. They both go for shoulderblocks but neither budges, Chihiro finally knocks Rina off her feet but Rina returns the favor. Rina throws Chihiro into the corner and hits a lariat, she puts Chihiro into a Scorpion Deathlock but eventually gets to the ropes for a break. Rina mushes Chihiro against the bottom rope with her boot, Rina picks up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner and hits shoulder tackles. Body avalanche by Chihiro, and she covers Rina for a two count. Scoop slam by Chihiro and she hits a rolling senton, another senton by Chihiro and she covers Rina for two. Chihiro picks up Rina but Rina slides off her back and goes for a sleeper, which Chihiro quickly gets out of it by slamming Rina into the mat. Rina and Chihiro trade elbows until Chihiro hits a vertical suplex, Chihiro picks up Rina and hits a fireman’s carry roll followed by a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle. Chihiro goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, they trade elbows until Rina superplexes Chihiro down to the mat. Rina applies a sleeper but Chihiro gets to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and she knees Chihiro in the back for a two count. Rina elbows Chihiro repeatedly, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her with a spear. Back up they trade elbows and lariats, Chihiro finally knocks Rina to the mat but Rina blocks her suplex attempt. Back bodydrop by Rina but Chihiro comes back with a lariat, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the bell rings as she goes for the cover.  The match is a Draw.

While I don’t really love draws, at least here there is a reason behind it. Last match they had was a 10 minute draw, while this one was a 15 minute draw. Both are the future leaders of their respective promotions, so they are really building up to a big match down the road, ideally for one of their titles. This just keeps the interest up, we’ve established they are very equal and hit extremely hard, but neither can wear down their opponent enough with a shorter time constraint. It leaves me hyped for a rematch, even if it doesn’t happen for awhile. But a very hard hitting and entertaining match, it wasn’t fast paced but never felt like it was dragging, and they both showed a lot of emotion. Sometimes a slow simmer is the way to go, and as long as the relationship between Sendai Girls’ and WAVE doesn’t fizzle, we are in store for an epic match at a future date judging by their interactions so far.  Recommended

Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka

Yumi and Mio start off the match, Yumi immediately boots Mio and goes for the cover, but Kyuri breaks it up. Yumi goes for a tiger suplex but Mio reverses in a backslide, she tries a few more quick pins but Yumi kicks out of each. Hard shoulderblock by Yumi and she tags in Miyazaki, Miyazaki picks up Mio but Mio wiggles away and tags Kyuri. Kyuri goes for a crossbody but Miyazaki catches her, legdrop by Miyazaki but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Mio runs in to help but gets pushed away, crab hold by Miyazaki to Kyuri but Kyuri eventually gets to the ropes. Miyazaki picks up Kyuri and hits a DDT, she tags in Yumi and Yumi knees Kyuri repeatedly in the head. Running boot by Yumi, but Kyuri kicks out at two. Judo toss by Kyuri and she tags in Mio, dropkicks by Mio and she finally gets Yumi to the mat, but the pin only gets a one count. Scoop slam by Mio and she continually covers Yumi, but Yumi won’t stay down for the two count. Mio charges Yumi in the corner but she keeps booting her back, dropkick to the knee by Mio but Yumi boots her when she climbs to the top turnbuckle. Big boot by Ohka in the corner and she hits a second one, cover by Ohka but Mio barely gets a shoulder up. Yumi immediately puts her in an armtrap crossface, Mio gets to the ropes but Ohka boots her in the face again. Mio tries to roll-up Yumi and does with Kyuri’s help, but Yumi kicks out at one. Another roll-up by Mio and she dropkicks Ohka, Mio tags in Kyuri and Kyuri hits a series of neck drops for a one count. Kyuri picks up Yumi and hits a few elbows, but Yumi snaps off a DDT and covers her for two. Kyuri rolls through the cover and goes for a submission, but Yumi is too close to the ropes. Diving crossbody by Kyuri, she picks up Yumi but Yumi blocks the fisherman buster and hits a heel drop for a two count.

Backstabber by Kyuri and she rolls up Yumi a few more times, but each time gets a one count. Yumi suplexes Mio, Mio manages to tag in Kyuri but Miyazaki comes in too. Kyuri is double teamed until Yumi tags in Miyazaki, the action spills to the outside where Kaori Yoneyama and Cherry lend a hand to Kyuri. Miyazaki gets back in the ring while Yumi comes in with Kyuri, they hit the Magic Killer onto Kyuri but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Miyazaki, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mio comes in and pushes Miyazaki over the top rope. She tries to pull her down (remember they can win by Over The Top), but Miyazaki pushes them away and gets back into the ring. A quick roll-up by Kyuri gets a one count, as does a leg clutch hold. Yumi runs in but she boots Miyazaki by accident, cover by Kyuri but Yumi breaks it up. Fisherman suplex by Kyuri, but Yumi breaks that up as well. Eye poke by Miyazaki, Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Miyazaki and Yumi now have one pinfall, they need one more to win the match. Kyuri grabs Miyazaki around the waist but Miyazaki trips her, quick roll-up by Kyuri but Miyazaki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Kyuri tags in Mio, Mio tries to pin over Miyazaki repeatedly but each time she gets a one count. Mio picks up Miyazaki but Miyazaki kicks her and delivers a dropkick. Miyazaki grabs up Mio and hits a Samoan Driver, but Kyuri breaks up the cover. Miyazaki picks up Mio but Kyuri runs in and grabs her, backslide by Mio but it gets a one count. Around this time the bell rings, as time has expired. As the rules stipulated, due to the match being a draw, Mio Momono and Kyuri win!

Matches tend to suffer when there are so many stipulations, and this one was no different. It was a cute concept, the two young wrestlers getting the rules advantage against two wrestlers much more experienced, but I think they just over-did it a bit. They could have just done the rule that Yumi/Yuki needed two pinfalls and that the young team only needed a draw, no need for the two count pinfalls or Over The Top Rules to get their point across. The action was ok but nothing too memorable. Probably a more fun match live but a bit too weighed down by stipulations for my preference.

Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

They start with trading holds, Ryo gets Hikaru to the mat and shoulderblocks her, but Hikaru kips up. Hikaru trips Ryo but Ryo avoids the dropkick, they trade strike attempts but neither can connect. They get into a knuckle lock, Ryo pushes Hikaru to the mat and knocks Hikaru against the ropes. Ryo applies a front necklock but Hikaru gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a quick legdrop for two. Camel Clutch by Ryo, she drives Hikaru back into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Hikaru boots Ryo back and elbows her in the corner, she goes for a jumping knee but Ryo catches her and throws Hikaru to the mat. Ryo rams Hikaru’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and hitting a lariat in the corner. Ryo knocks Hikaru off the apron to the floor, but Hikaru throws a kendo stick at her and hits a running knee. Hikaru picks up Ryo and drops her onto a steel chair, she brings Ryo over to a table and suplexes her on it. Hikaru knees Ryo repeatedly in the chest, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Hikaru, but it gets a two count. Hikaru applies a crab hold, Ryo gets to the ropes but Hikaru hits a running knee. Ryo falls out to the apron but Hikaru suplexes her back into the ring, cover by Hikaru but Ryo kicks out. Ryo fires back with elbows but Hikaru hits an armdrag and delivers a Falcon Arrow for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her knee, Hikaru connects with the next one but Ryo hits a lariat.

Ryo lariats Hikaru in the back of the head but Hikaru snaps off a hurricanrana, she goes off the ropes but Ryo hits a powerslam for two. Jumping knee by Hikaru, but Ryo quickly rolls her up for two before applying an Anaconda Vice. Hikaru gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, spear by Ryo but Hikaru slides off her back and hits an enzuigiri. Uranage by Ryo, she covers Hikaru but it gets a two count. Ryo picks up Hikaru but Hikaru gets way again and rolls up Ryo for two, Hikaru gets her kendo stick and hits Ryo in the head with it. Hikaru hits a pair of running knees, but Ryo gets a foot on the bottom rope to break up the pinfall count. Hikaru puts Ryo on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Ryo pushes her off. Ryo goes for the diving leg drop but Hikaru avoids it, two more running knees by Hikaru but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Hikaru tries to hit Ryo with her kendo stick but Ryo blocks it, dragon suplex hold by Ryo but it gets two. Big lariat by Ryo, she goes up top and nails the diving leg drop, but that gets a two count as well. Hikaru pokes Ryo in the eyes and applies in an inside cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her and delivers the Hot Limit. Before she can make the cover, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was an oddly structured match but I think they accomplished their goal of putting on a good show while protecting both. I didn’t love that Ryo kept kicking out of Shida’s Three Count knees, but then Hikaru kicked out of the diving leg drop so it was just one of those matches that neither was going to stay down under any circumstances. I’m not sure what the point was as Shida isn’t really in the main event scene, but if they just wanted to put on an entertaining match for the fans I’d preferred the match have a more conclusive ending as a Draw leaves you wanted more that isn’t imminently coming. The action was really solid, Ryo was sandbagging Hikaru some which was interesting, not sure if there was a backstory there or just an effort to make her look tougher since WAVE is her promotion. I enjoyed it, I wish it had a real ending since the last two matches also went to the time limit, but both are great wrestlers and they put on a fun main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE “Weekday WAVE Vol. 108” on 6/22/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Time to check in with Pro Wrestling WAVE! Full WAVE events don’t pop up too often so I am contractually obligated to watch them when they do. This is a somewhat playful event as there is a wet t-shirt match and a giant chicken, but we also get a big defense of the WAVE Tag Team Championship. Here is the full card:

• New Year Battle Royal with Aoi Kizuki, Cherry, Fairy Nipponbashi, Hiroe Nagahama, Manami Toyota, Moeka Haruhi, Rina Yamashita, SAKI, Tsubasa Kuragaki, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Sumire Natsu and Maya Yukihi vs. Syuri and Tsukushi
• Yumi Ohka, Mika Iida, Hikaru Shida, and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Yuu Yamagata, Kaori Yoneyama, Sawako Shimono, and ASUKA
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu

There was also one non-Joshi match on the card, but for time reasons I will skip it in the review. As always, you can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile if there is one on the site. Let’s hop to it.

New Year Battle Royal

Nipponbashi rolls up Kuragaki from behind with no luck, Kuragaki picks up Nipponbashi in a press slam and throws her over the top, but Nipponbashi lands on the apron. She hangs onto Kuragaki as Toyota comes into the ring, she dumps Kuragaki over the top rope, eliminating both Kuragaki and Nipponbashi! Toyota picks up Cherry but Cherry gets away, Toyota grabs Fujimoto and she puts her in the rolling cradle. Fujimoto kicks out of the cover when Toyota finally stops, Toyota gets on the second turnbuckle but Fujimoto dropkicks her. Fujimoto, Rina, and Cherry all try to knock Toyota out of the ring, with a Fujimoto dropkicking sending Toyota to the floor! Manami Toyota is eliminated. Only Cherry, Rina, and Fujimoto are left, Rina is double teamed first and they put her on the apron, but Rina holds down the rope when they charge and both end up on the apron. They run around on the apron until Rina is trapped again, they try to throw Rina to the floor but she blocks it. Fujimoto dropkicks Rina but the force of her blow sends Cherry dangling from the top rope, Fujimoto kicks her in the back and Cherry falls to the floor! Cherry is eliminated.

This leaves just Rina and Fujimoto, they return to the ring and Fujimoto kicks Rina to the mat. Kicks by Fujimoto in the corner and she puts Rina in a cross-arm submission, but Rina gets out of it and kicks Fujimoto in the chest. Rina hits a backdrop suplex onto Fujimoto and puts her in the sleeper, but Fujimoto rolls out of it and kicks Rina in the back. PK by Fujimoto, they return elbows back on their feet until Fujimoto hits an enzuigiri. Crucifix slam by Fujimoto, she goes for the Venus Shoot but Rina stops her and hits a suplex for two. Rina charges Fujimoto but Fujimoto puts her in the Tarantula, Rina quickly gets out of it and charges Fujimoto but she ends up on the apron with her. They trade elbows on the apron, Rina puts Fujimoto in a sleeper but Fujimoto pushes out of it and stomps on Rina. Rina manages to not fall to the floor, dropkick by Fujimoto while still on the apron and she stomps on her stomach. They both get up, body block by Rina and Fujimoto falls to the floor! Rina Yamashita wins the Battle Royal!

Battle Royals are a bit more playful in Japan than they are in WWE and are rarely taken seriously, but this one was a bit more serious than usual. Sure we had Nipponbashi and Aoi acting silly, but other wrestlers such as Kuragaki, Fujimoto, and Rina were treating it as if it mattered who won. Its not the type of match I’d really ever recommend since it just designed to be a fun opener, but the last few minutes was pretty well done even if it dragged a bit overall.

Sumire Natsu and Maya Yukihi vs. Syuri and Tsukushi

All four brawl to start as the referee loses control from the get-go, but things settle down with Tsukushi in the ring with Sumire. Syuri comes in and they take turn running on Sumire’s back, Tsukushi puts Natsu in the ropes and pulls on her nose. Tsukushi charges Sumire but Sumire moves, Maya runs in but Syuri helps her partner out. Sumire ends up on the apron and her own partner accidentally knocks her to the floor, leading to Sumire getting sprayed with water guns. Back in the ring, Tsukushi elbows Maya but Mayu catches her with a backbreaker. Tsukushi goes off the ropes and rolls up Maya before hitting a footstomp, she goes to the corner and tags in Syuri. Kick by Syuri and she knees Mayu into the corner, jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a double arm suplex. Syuri goes for the cross armbreaker but Maya blocks it, she finally gets it locked in but Maya gets into the ropes. Meanwhile Sumire is still getting shot with water guns as Maya is double teamed in the other corner, Syuri trades elbows with Maya as they partners both run into the ring. Sumire and Maya both put in sleepers, but Yuki Miyazaki emerges for reasons I am not sure of and starts attacking Sumire and Maya. Sumire falls out of the ring and once again gets the water gun treatment, she is the main one getting it, while Miyazaki turns her attention to Syuri. So she is just attacking everyone. Miyazaki puts Natsu in a potentially embarrassing submission several times, she then kicks Tsukushi as she has effectively cleared the ring. Sumire steals a water gun and sprays Rina Yamashita with it, as the match has officially broken down. Syuri and Sumire get back into the ring, cross armbreaker takedown by Syuri but Sumire rolls out of it. Running knee by Syuri, but Maya breaks up the cover. Kick by Syuri but Sumire sneaks in an inside cradle for two. High Kick by Syuri, and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick for the three count! Syuri and Tsukushi are your winners!

I don’t really understand what happened here, since I do not know why Miyazaki came down and started randomly wrecking people. I am sure she had a reason, I just don’t know what it was. So this wasn’t an overly serious match, between the water guns and Miyazaki running rampant, and honestly even if I was watching for wet t-shirts they didn’t really show that much either. So it wasn’t titillating and it wasn’t an entertaining match, making it a general failure.

Yumi Ohka, Mika Iida, Hikaru Shida, and Miyazaki vs. Yuu Yamagata, Kaori Yoneyama, Shimono, and ASUKA
Two Out of Three Falls Match

Miyazaki and Yamagata start the match, Miyazaki takes Yamagata to the mat but Yamagata rolls through it and kicks Miyazaki in the back. She tags in Kaori and Miyazaki tags Iida, Kaori’s teammates all run in and Iida is dropkicked by all four of them. ASUKA stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Iida in the face, Iida eventually rakes ASUKA in the eyes and stomps her in the corner. Iida throws down ASUKA by the hair and tags in Shida, jumping knee by Shida and Shida’s team takes on all of ASUKA’s team as they run into the ring to try to help. Things settle back down and Shida tags in Ohka, she stays in the ring and helps Ohka choke ASUKA. Ohka knees ASUKA repeatedly before tagging in Miyazaki, and Miyazaki keeps the pressure on ASUKA as she puts her in a submission hold. She tags Shida back in, ASUKA goes for a Space Rolling Elbow but Shida kicks her in the back. Backbreaker by Shida, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA spins out of the backbreaker attempt and hits a rebound crossbody. That gives her time to tag in Yamagata but Shida punches Yamagata as Iida comes in too, but Shimono runs in to help Yamagata take back over. Yamagata jumps at Shida but Shida catches her and dumps her on the apron. Shida goes for a superplex but Shimono lariats her, Yamagata goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Yamagata tags in Kaori as Miyazaki is also tagged in, DDT by Kaori and she knees Miyazaki in the back of the head. Iida knees Kairi from the apron, Ohka boots Kairi and Miyazaki drops her with an Samoan Driver. Miyazaki goes up top but Yamagata grabs her from the apron, she shakes free but Kaori avoids the moonsault attempt. Seated senton by Shimono to Miyazaki, and Kaori applies a jackknife for the three count! Kaori and company win the first fall.

As the second fall starts, Miyazaki hits a German suplex onto Kairi, she then flips Iida onto Kaori with a body press. She does the same with Shida, Ohka is next as all three hit the catapult splash. Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! The teams are now tied 1-1.

All eight brawl to start the final fall and they all end up outside the ring. After they clash around ringside and up into the stands, Kaori and Miyazaki return to the ring with Kaori in control until Ohka comes back in to help. Kaori tags in Shimono, elbows to the back by Shimono but Miyazaki hits a DDT and tags in Iida. Stomps by Iida but Shimono hits a body avalanche in the corner, she goes for the seated senton but Iida moves out of the way and dropkicks her. Uppercut by Iida and she delivers a running uppercut for a two count. Iida goes for a lariat but Shimono blocks it and tags in ASUKA, Space Rolling Elbow by Asuka but Ohka knees her from the apron when she goes off the ropes. Ohka gets in the ring but ASUKA hits a springboard moonsault on both of them, cover by ASUKA but Shida breaks it up. Miyazaki comes in to try to help but she kisses Iida by accident and ASUKA hits a release German on Iida. ASUKA goes for an Irish whip but Iida blocks it and puts her in seated armbar, cross armbreaker by Iida but ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Iida goes off the ropes but ASUKA superkicks her, reverse STO by Iida and she tags in Ohka, while ASUKA tags in Yamagata. Codebreaker by Yamagata but Ohka ducks the enzuigiri, Backstabber by Yamagata but Ohka knees her in the head. Dropkick by Yamagata but Ohka hits a chokebomb for a two count. Ohka picks up Yamagata but Yamagata gets her in a crossface, Kaori helps her out but Shida breaks up the hold. With Ohka in the corner, everyone hits running strikes but Ohka avoids Yamagata’s. Yamagata hits a Backstabber anyway, she goes up top but Shida runs in and hits a superplex. Shida picks up Yamagata and lets Ohka boot her in the head, another running boot by Ohka but Kaori breaks up the cover. Every other wrestler runs in as they take turns knocking each other out of the ring, Buzzsaw Kick by Yamagata to Ohka but Miyazaki comes in and distracts Yamagata with a loving kiss. Big boot by Ohka to Yamagata, and she covers her for the three count! Yuma Ohka, Mika Iida, Hikaru Shida, and Yuki Miyazaki win!

I thought this match was… fine. It had some solid action since there were a fair number of quality wrestlers in the match, it was just a bit all over the place. Having a Two Out of Three Falls Match where two of the falls happen within a minute of each other is a bit silly, I am not sure why they couldn’t have just had it be One Fall at that point. ASUKA continues to improve, she debuted in the summer of 2015 but she didn’t look out of place with a ring full of veterans which is always a good sign. I just can’t really recommend this match with a clear conscious, it wasn’t bad but ultimately it is a forgettable match with mostly random moves until Yamagata was done in by a kiss (which seems a bit out of place in a non-comedy match). Some good parts for sure but nothing special.

(c) Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu

Ohata and Kagetsu start things out, armdrag by Ohata but Kagetsu comes back with an armdrag of her own. Dropkick by Ohata, and both wrestlers tag in their partners. Kyoko and Mizunami pose for awhile but eventually engage, shoulderblock by Mizunami but Kyoko boots her when she charges in. Ohata helps hold Kyoko in the corner but Kyoko boots Mizunami back again, Octopus Hold by Kyoko and she puts Ohata in a submission as well. Kyoko tags in Kagetsu, Mizunami scoop slams her and hits a leg drop. Ohata helps out for a bit as they take turns on Kagetsu, until Kagetsu dropkicks Ohata in the face and makes the tag to Kyoko. Kyoko chops Ohata and scoop slams her, crab hold by Kyoko which she releases to put Ohata in an armbar. Ohata gets to the ropes to force the break, Kagetsu goes up top and she hits a double ax handle onto Ohata. Camel Clutch by Kagetsu to Ohata, she releases the hold and kicks Ohata in the back for a two count. Kagetsu picks up Ohata but Ohata rolls away, Ohata goes for a crossbody but Kagetsu catches her. Ohata gets out of her grasp with a DDT before hitting a dropkick and making the tag to Mizunami. Spear by Mizunami to Kagetsu and she hits Kyoko with one as well, double spear by Mizunami and she lariats Kagetsu in the corner. Kagetsu springboards out of the corner with a dropkick, jumping elbow by Kagetsu and she kicks Mizunami in the chest. Mizunami fires back with elbows but Kagetsu boots her in the arm, Kagetsu goes for an armbar but Mizunami gets into the ropes. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Mizunami flips her inside out with a lariat, she crawls to her corner and tags in Ohata. Kyoko is also tagged in and the two trade elbows, a battle that Kyoko wins. Kagetsu kicks Ohata from the apron and gets in the ring to help Kyoko boot Ohata in the face. Double boot to Ohata, and Kyoko covers her for a two count.

Kyoko goes up top but Mizunami runs in and puts Kyoko on her shoulders, Ohata goes up top and after Mizunami slams Kyoko, Ohata dives off with a diving body press. Sleeper by Kyoko, but Ohata gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Boots to the face by Kyoko but Mizunami runs in and lariats her, more lariats by Mizunami and once Ohata recovers she assists in the attack. Ohata boots Kyoko and hits a spinning double chop, cover by Ohata but it gets two. Kagetsu runs in and slams Ohata into the corner, she sits her on the top turnbuckle and Kyoko climbs up too. They go for the Assisted Avalanche Gory Bomb, the timing is off but Ohata gets planted anyway. Cover by Kyoko, but Mizunami breaks it up. Kyoko picks up Ohata but Mizunami runs in and lariats Kyoko, Kagetsu comes in to trade elbows with Mizunami but she is dropped by the 3-D. German suplex hold by Ohata to Kyoko, Mizunami then hits one as well and Ohata delivers one more but Kagetsu breaks it up. Fisherman Buster by Ohata, but Kyoko barely gets a shoulder up. Ohata goes for the Blue Dahlia but Kyoko gets out of it and nails a Big Boot. Mizunami walks in but Kagetsu spears her, Kyoko headbutts Ohata and goes for the Gory Bomb, but Ohata reverses it with a Blue Dahlia for a two count. Buzzsaw Kick by Kagetsu to Ohata but Mizunami drops her with a release Dragon Suplex, Ohata chops Kyoko but Kyoko headbutts her. Blue Dahlia by Ohata, but Kyoko barely kicks out. Ohata quickly picks up Kyoko and nails the Blue Sky Suplex Hold, and she picks up the three count! Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami are still the champions!

This one took a little bit of time to get rolling, but once it did I thought it was a really good match. I love Mizunami and Ohata’s teamwork, both were encouraging each other and constantly intercepting their opponents before something bad happened, I enjoy it when a team acts like a real team and not two individuals. Kyoko and Kagetsu are the same way but to a lesser extent, they work together but they don’t have that bond that is palpable with Mizunami and Ohata. At times it felt a bit too back and forth with some transitions that didn’t really work, and there were a couple miscommunications which is rare, but the end stretch was really entertaining. A solid match and a fitting main event, worth the watch.  Recommended

The post WAVE “Happy New Year WAVE 2017” on 1/8/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Even though WAVE did not upload the full event, they were kind enough to put the tournament matches up on the new Wave Network. This show jumps ahead to the Quarterfinals, with the Block winners moving on to the Knockout Round. The matches were ‘random’ at this stage and were not based on how many points the wrestler had during Block matches. Here are the Quarterfinal matches:

• DASH Chisako vs. Ryo Mizunami
• Hanako Nakamori vs. Yoshiko
• Sareee vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Mika Iida vs. Rina Yamashita

The Semifinals and Finals will both take place on June 5th. Onto the matches!

DASH Chisako vs. Ryo Mizunami

They start off politely as they trade holds, but after a moment they end up in a stalemate. Chisako knocks Mizunami to the mat and dropkicks her in the face, Mizunami falls out of the ring but Chisako gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down on top of her. Back in the ring, Chisako charges Mizunami but Mizunami throws her out to the apron and shoulderblocks her to the floor. Chisako pulls Mizunami out of the ring with her and starts hitting Mizunami with chairs, she then puts a chair on her chest and gets on the apron before hitting a footstomp. Back in the ring again Chisako works over Mizunami in the corner, focusing on the leg. Dropkick by Chisako and she hits another one in the corner, cutter by Chisako and she goes up top, but Mizunami recovers and joins her. Headbutts and elbows by Mizunami and she powerslams Chisako to the mat for a two count. Mizunami puts Chisako on her shoulders but Chisako slides off. Chisako goes off the ropes but Mizunami catches her with a powerslam, legdrop by Mizunami and she hits a German suplex.

Jumping legdrop by Mizunami, and she covers Chisako for another two. Mizunami charges Chisako but Chisako hits a quick cutter before elbowing Mizunami in the corner. Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and she delivers a diving footstomp for a two. German suplex by Chisako but Mizunami drops her with an uranage, she picks up Chisako and hits three more uranages, but Chisako kicks out of the pin. Lariat by Mizunami, she applies a full nelson but Chisako gets out of it. Hard elbows by Mizunami, she goes up top, but Chisako recovers and dropkicks her. Chisako snaps Mizunami’s neck on the top rope, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp. She goes for the Hormone Splash, but Mizunami gets her feet up as she dives off. Chisako and Mizunami trade elbows, Mizunami charges Chisako but Chisako applies a crucifix pin for two. Mizunami gets Chisako on her shoulders but Chisako slides off and rolls her up for another two. Chisako’s quick pins continue to not work, she goes off the ropes and Mizunami levels her with a lariat. Dragon Suplex by Mizunami, but Chisako barely gets a shoulder up in time. Lariat by Mizunami, she goes up top and she nails the diving legdrop for the three count! Mizunami wins and moves on in the tournament.

This was a hell of a way to kick off the tournament, as both really brought their A Game. For many fans, Sachiko was the preferred wrestler in the Jumonji Sisters team but Chisako is pretty fantastic and is having a solid run since her sister retired in January. Mizunami is no slouch either and is one of the biggest stars in WAVE. This was a very fast paced and hard hitting match with very little wasted time or movement. It went a little under 15 minutes but felt long enough to tell their story, and overall is one of the better matches I have seen in awhile. Really solid from start to finish.  Highly Recommended

Hanako Nakamori vs. Yoshiko

They get right to it as they rapidly trade wristlocks, shoulderblock by Yoshiko but Nakamori comes back with kicks in the corner. Lariats by Yoshiko and she bootscrapes Nakamori, she goes for a running kick but Nakamori moves and Yoshiko lands out on the floor. Nakamori gets on the apron and jumps down onto Yoshiko before throwing a chair at her, but Yoshiko chokes her against the post. Back in the ring, Nakamori puts Yoshiko in a submission hold but Yoshiko gets into the ropes to force a break. Yoshiko knocks down Nakamori and puts her in a crab hold, she then puts her in a choke but Nakamori gets in the ropes. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she hits the running kick this time, Nakamori doesn’t move so Yoshiko blasts her with another one. Nakamori comes back with a big boot, another big boot by Nakamori and she covers Yoshiko for two. Nakamori goes for the fisherman buster but Yoshiko blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Kicks by Nakamori but Yoshiko jumps on the second turnbuckle and dives off with a lariat. Samoan Drop by Yoshiko and she hits a pair of sentons, but Nakamori rolls out of the way of the third. Legdrop by Nakamori and she puts Yoshiko in a choke submission, but Yoshiko wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Big boot by Nakamori and she hits two more, cover by Nakamori but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. She goes for a Shining Wizard but Yoshiko blocks it, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Yoshiko and she hits a running senton. Yoshiko puts Nakamori in a backbreaker before slamming her to the mat, sliding Lariat by Yoshiko but the cover gets two. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle but Nakamori avoids the diving senton, headbutts by Nakamori and she hits the Shining Wizard for a two count. High kick by Nakamori but Yoshiko fires back with a lariat, fisherman buster by Nakamori but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover. Nakamori goes up top but Yoshiko avoids her when she dives off and applies a sleeper choke. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes but Nakamori hits a high kick. Head kick by Nakamori but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt and hits a short arm lariat. Yoshiko goes off the ropes and lariats Nakamori again, cover by Yoshiko and she gets the three count! Yoshiko moves on in the Catch the WAVE Tournament.

Love her or hate her, Yoshiko is a damn good wrestler. When she was on offense this one was great, as Yoshiko has great strikes and a nice variety of moves so it always stays fresh. Nakamori isn’t as good with her strikes as they tend to lack impact, and she isn’t very athletic, so she has to be carried a bit which Yoshiko did her best to do. The match dragged a bit in parts due to Nakamori but overall was a fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Sareee vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Being the plucky underdog, Sareee dropkicks Fujimoto before she can even get into the ring, she goes for a diving body press but Fujimoto moves out of the way. Dropkick by Fujimoto and she kicks Sareee in the back, she puts Sareee in a leg submission but Sareee quickly gets out of it. Dropkick by Sareee and the duo trade elbows until Sareee chops Fujimoto to the mat. Sareee attacks Fujimoto in the corner but Fujimoto puts Sareee in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Sareee bridges out of the pin and hits her own dropkick, Sareee tries to roll-up Fujimoto but Fujimoto kips up and kicks Sareee in the head. Dropkick by Fujimoto and she dropkicks Sareee again in the corner, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Crossface by Fujimoto, but Sareee quickly gets into the ropes. German suplex by Sareee and she dropkicks Fujimoto while she is against the ropes, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for two. Fujimoto blocks the next German suplex attempt but Sareee applies a couple quick pins. Fujimoto rolls through one and hits a PK before putting Sareee in a cross-arm suplex. Fujimoto goes up top and hits a diving neckbreaker, covering Sareee for two. Fujimoto gets Sareee on her shoulders but Sareee slides off and rolls up the veteran for two. German suplex hold by Sareee, but Fujimoto kicks out. Fujimoto blocks the uranage, elbows by Sareee and she hits a running bodyscissors roll-up for two. Uranage by Sareee, she covers Fujimoto but Fujimoto gets a shoulder up. Fujimoto blocks the next attempt but Sareee blocks the Yoshi Tonic. Fujimoto gets Sareee up on her shoulders and she nails the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold for the three count! Fujimoto wins the match and moves on in the tournament.

A shorter match but still really entertaining. Sareee is just vicious with her dropkicks and uranages, I winced a few times as she was giving Fujimoto everything she had. Fujimoto doesn’t mind dishing it out either, and this was a really hard hitting sub-ten minute match. Sareee had a few really close falls and you wouldn’t know from watching the match that she was so much less experienced, she really holds her own no matter who she is against. I wish it was longer but overall a high end match from these two.  Recommended

Mika Iida vs. Rina Yamashita

I predict lots of lariats! After the introductory exchanging of holds, Yamashita hits a hard shoulderblock which sends Iida flying to the mat. Yamashita throws Iida in the corner and hits a series of chops, but Iida puts her in short armbar. Yamashita gets into the ropes to force a break, Iida keeps working on the arm before re-applying an armbar. Knees by Iida and she hits an armbreaker, but Yamashita slides behind her and applies a sleeper. Iida quickly gets out of it and goes back to Yamashita’s arm, but Yamashita picks her up and hits a bodyslam. Iida manages to slap on the cross armbreaker, but Yamashita gets a boot on the bottom rope. Yamashita slams Iida in the corner but Iida avoids her charge and snaps her arm over the top rope. Iida goes up top but Yamashita lariats her, sending Iida crashing out of the ring. Yamashita goes out after her and goes for a lariat, but Iida ducks and Yamashita lariats the ring post. Back in the ring, Iida goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick for two. Rolling Fisherman Suplexes by Iida, she uppercuts Yamashita but Yamashita avoids the dropkick. Lariat by Yamashita in the corner and she hits a backdrop suplex, but Iida gets back in control and goes back to the arm. Dropkick by Iida while Yamashita is against the ropes and she hits a second one, followed by a third. Iida goes off the ropes but this time Yamashita catches her with a lariat. They both slowly get up and trade strikes, lariats by Yamashita, kick to the chest by Yamashita and she covers Iida for two. Yamashita gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, getting another two count. Yamashita goes off the ropes, Iida avoids her charge but Yamashita hits a backdrop suplex anyway. Sleeper by Yamashita but Iida rolls out of it and applies a quick pin for two. Iida goes off the ropes but Yamashita hits a quick lariat, she goes for another one but Iida avoids it. Sliding Lariat by Yamashita, but Iida barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Another lariat by Yamashita, and this time she picks up the three count! Rina Yamashita is your winner and moves on in Catch the WAVE.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one, but overall I enjoyed it. I thought that Iida’s arm work was really good and was a logical way to go against someone like Yamashita, and it did keep Yamashita from throwing her usual number of lariats. But then she won the match with two lariats and never really did anything to show her arm was hurting her, which did negate a bit the work that Iida had done. I don’t think selling limbs is the end-all be-all but if it is the focus of one of the wrestler’s offense I prefer the wrestler being hurt actually shows that targeting the limb meant something. But even with that, I was still entertained throughout and this is one of the better Yamashita matches I have seen, as it was a tight match with hard hits and lots of emotion shown by Yamashita. I preferred the Chisako/Mizunami match on this card, but this was a close second and a solid way to end the show.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch the WAVE” on 6/2/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Thanks to the wonderful new WAVE Network that launched today (I wrote a guide on how to sign up here), I am finally able to watch the Catch the WAVE Tournament! This year the tournament is massive, with 32 wrestlers participating. They are split into eight blocks of four wrestlers, and within each block every wrestler will wrestle everyone else in their block once. A win is worth two points, and in the case of a Draw (15 minute time limit) then the younger wrestler in the match gets one point. After all the block matches are done, the winner of each block go into the eight wrestler single elimination knockout round until a winner is crowned! Here are the blocks:

Needless to say, it is a long tournament. The first night of the tournament kicked off with a bang, at the famous Korakuen Hall! Here is the full match list:

• Hiroe Nagahama, Rabbit Miyu, and Yuuka vs. Meiko Tanaka, Natsu Sumire, and Tsukushi
• Ayako Hamada, Nagashima, Fairy Nipponbashi, Fujigasaki, and Yuu Yamagata vs.  ASUKA, Hikaru Shida, Kobayashi, Haruhi, and Shimono
• Catch the WAVE Silver Gray Block: Kagetsu vs. Yoshiko
• Catch the WAVE Pompadour Pink Block: Cherry vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Catch the WAVE African Violet Block: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rina Yamashita
• Catch the WAVE Mandarin Orange Block: DASH Chisako vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Catch the WAVE Regatta Blue Block: LEON vs. Mika Iida
• Catch the WAVE Chrome Yellow Block: Aoi Kizuki vs. Ryo Mizunami
• Catch the WAVE Orion Blue Block: Hanako Nakamori vs. Misaki Ohata
• Catch the WAVE Italian Red Block: Sareee vs. Yumi Ohka

That is a lot of matches! Many of them will be short though, which is normal in tournaments like this so its not as massive as it looks. As always, you can click on the wrestler’s name to go to their profile if I have one for them here on Joshi City.

Hiroe Nagahama, Rabbit Miyu, and Yuuka vs. Meiko Tanaka, Sumire, and Tsukushi

Nagahama and Tanaka are the first two in, Tanaka gets the early advantage but Nagahama’s teammates run in to help. Tanaka’s come in too and we end up with a triple suplex spot, with Tanaka’s team winning the battle. Nagahama is temporarily isolated but she suplexes Tanaka and tags in Yuuka. Tornado DDT by Yuuka, but Tanaka kicks out of the cover. Tanaka tries Yuuka into the corner and hits a running shoulder tackle, missile dropkick by Tanaka and she puts Yuuka on her shoulders, but Yuuka slides away. They exchange elbows until Tanaka hits a big spear, cover by Tanaka but it gets two. Tanaka tags Tsukushi, dropkick by Tsukushi and she hits the Unprettier followed by a low dropkick against the ropes. Crossbody by Tsukushi, but it gets a two count. Yuuka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she tags in Miyu but Tsukushi bulldogs her. Hard kick to the head by Miyu and she hits a vertical suplex on Tsukushi, picking up a two count. Elbows by Miyu but Tsukushi elbows her back and hits a missile dropkick for two. She tags Sumire, elbows by Miyu to Sumire as Nagahama comes in, but Tanaka comes in too and spears both of them. Diving crossbody by Tsukushi, then Sumire hits one too for a two count on Miyu. Elbow by Miyu but Sumire sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Miyu takes back over and goes up top, hitting a diving footstomp. Cover, but Sumire’s teammates break it up. German suplex hold by Miyu and she gets the three count! Nagahama, Miyu, and Yuuka win.

I don’t want to over-hype an opener match, but this one was really fun. Tsukushi is fantastic and while not all the wrestlers here are top notch, they did a good job of focusing on the ones that are. Very fast paced, no real pause in the action for the whole match. This to me is what an opener should be – something to get the crowd excited with solid fast paced action. A nice way to kick things off, there is a lot of young talent in this match that will be a big deal in Joshi within the next few years.

Hamada, Nagashima, Nipponbashi, Fujigasaki, and Yamagata vs.  ASUKA, Shida, Kobayashi, Haruhi, and Shimono

The first two in are Nipponbashi and Kobayashi. I have to say that it pains me to see two of my favorites, Kobayashi and Shida, stuck in a ten wrestler tag that likely won’t be overly serious or memorable. Not a whole lot happens to start the match, until ASUKA and Hamada are tagged in and they trade holds. Hamada ducks ASUKA’s springboard crossbody but ASUKA ducks Hamada’s heel kick and delivers a dropkick. Hamada takes back over and hits a lariat, they tag out as Haruhi and Nagashima come in. Haruhi hits a nice hurricanrana and a Northern Lights Suplex but Nagashima boots her in the face and hits a face crusher. Shimono comes in to help but Hamada comes in and lariats both of them, Nagashima goes off the ropes but she boots Hamada by accident. Shida and Fujigasaki are tagged in, and Shida hits a hip attack. Yamagata comes in and trades strikes with Shida, backbreaker by Shida but Yamagata ducks the running knee. Code Breaker by Yamagata and she tags Nipponbashi, she brings in a light saber while Shida gets her kendo stick. They battle it out with their weapons with neither getting an advantage, but Nipponbashi knocks Shida out of the ring. We clip ahead with Kobayashi being set up for a double team move, but Nipponbashi hits Hamada by accident. ASUKA runs in and hits a springboard crossbody, she picks up Nipponbashi and she hits a suplex. We clip ahead again as Haruhi hits a diving footstomp on Nipponbashi, Kobayashi goes to pick up Nipponbashi but she gets an Oil Check from Fujigasaki. Yamagata slams Kobayashi, Hamada goes up top and they hit an assisted footstomp on her. Denden Clutch by Nipponbashi on Kobayashi and she gets the three count! Team Hamada wins the match.

For a slightly clipped (about four minutes) ten wrestler tag, this one had some good spots. ASUKA looks good for a rookie, Kobayashi is always a treat, and the Nipponbashi comedy was kept to a minimal. Fine for an undercard match but nothing more than that, skippable unless you’re a die hard fan of one of the wrestlers.

Kagetsu vs. Yoshiko

Yoshiko works the headlock to start, Kagetsu gets out of it and she hits a springboard armdrag. Yoshiko tags Kagetsu to the mat and works her over with stomps, she picks her up but Kagetsu catches her with a dropkick. Kicks by Kagetsu and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner, dropkick by Kagetsu and she applies an arm submission hold. Yoshiko gets to the ropes, Kagetsu flips out to the apron but Yoshiko blocks the swandive dropkick and drags Kagetsu back into the ring. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko and she hits a running senton, diving senton attempt by Yoshiko but Kagetsu moves out of the way. Kagetsu slams Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a Codebreaker. Cross armbreaker takedown by Kagetsu but Yoshiko slams her way out of it, Kagetsu charges Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a fireman’s carry slam. Short armbar by Kagetsu but Yoshiko gets into the ropes, high kick by Kagetsu and she hits a Ebisu Drop. Kagetsu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets away and destroys Kagetsu with a lariat. Cover by Yoshiko and she gets the three count! Yoshiko gets two points in the tournament.

This was a short match, made even shorter by slight clipping, but I loved what I saw. They played off each other really well, with Yoshiko using her strength and Kagetsu using her speed, and the ending was great as it was such a hard hit that it was understandable that she could hold down Kagetsu long enough to get the three. I also liked that when Kagetsu blew a spot, she just moved on. You could actually see her thinking about re-doing the spot and making Yoshiko wait, which would have been silly, but changing her mind and just skipping it. Some wrestlers never learn that, I don’t mind when a wrestler missteps, it only annoys me when they immediately do the spot again. Overall about as good as a five minute match can be.  Mildly Recommended

Cherry vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Cherry immediately gets Fujimoto to the mat, Fujimoto gets up but Cherry applies a triangle choke. Fujimoto gets a foot in the ropes and puts Cherry in a cross-arm submission, but this time it is Cherry that gets a foot on the bottom rope. Dropkick by Fujimoto in the corner and she hits another one, scoop slam by Fujimoto and she covers Cherry, but Cherry applies an armbreaker. Northern Lights Suplex by Cherry, she goes off the ropes but Fujimoto rolls her up for two. Fujimoto picks up Cherry and kicks her, they trade quick pin attempts on the mat but neither have any luck. Both wrestlers go off the ropes, Fujimoto wraps up Cherry in the Tsukadora and picks up the three count! Fujimoto wins the match and gets two points.

This match was super short but good. These little sprints are fun to watch, they work well in a tournament setting on a card with lots of matches… it wouldn’t be satisfactory on a five match card but here it didn’t feel out of place. Seeing Cherry wrestle seriously is always a treat (in DDT a lot of her matches have comedy elements) and Fujimoto was on fire as always. An easy watch between two seasoned veterans, as Fujimoto is set up well for the next round. Too short to recommend but still entertaining.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rina Yamashita

They charge each other right as the bell rings as Yamashita hits a lariat, Yoneyama comes back with a roll-up but Yamashita hits another lariat in the corner. Yoneyama bridges out of the pin and knees Yamashita, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Knee to the back of the head by Yoneyama, she picks up Yamashita but Yamashita hits a lariat followed by a backdrop suplex. Yamashita goes up top but Yoneyama recovers and joins her, suplexing Yamashita back to the mat. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but Yamashita kicks out. Yoneyama goes all the way up this time but Yamashita gets her feet up on the senton attempt and hits a lariat for a two count. Sleeper by Yamashita but Yoneyama rolls out of it. Another lariat by Yamashita, she picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama kicks her in the head. Yamashita kicks her back but Yoneyama quickly hits the Yone-ZOU for the three count! Yoneyama wins and gets two points in the tournament.

My main issue with Yamashita is that she is a lariat spammer. I like her in tag matches where she can just hit her spots and tag out, but even in this super short match she hit more lariats than I feel like counting. Yoneyama was great here and hit everything well, but I am generally not a fan of wrestlers hitting the same move over and over as just gets old, so a skippable match overall.

DASH Chisako vs. Yuki Miyazaki

This one starts quick (or was well clipped) as Chisako hits a hurricanrana on Miyazaki and dropkicks her in the back, face crusher by Chisako and she covers Miyazaki for two. Dropkick by Chisako in the corner but Miyazaki blocks the cutter, kick to the arm by Chisako and she applies a short armbar. Miyazaki gets to the ropes but Chisako re-applies it only for Miyazaki to get to the ropes again. They trade elbows, Chisako sneaks in the cutter and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Chisako goes up top but Miyazaki avoids the footstomp and suplexes Chisako into the turnbuckles. Ebisu Drop by Miyazaki, she goes on the second turnbuckle but Chisako recovers and joins her. Frankensteiner by Chisako but Miyazaki rolls through it, quick diving footstomp by Chisako off the second turnbuckle and then from the top turnbuckle, but Miyazaki barely kicks out of the cover. Chisako goes up top a third time but Miyazaki gets her feet up and dropkicks Chisako in the head. German suplex hold by Miyazaki, but it gets a two. DDT by Miyazaki, she goes up top but Chisako avoids the moonsault and applies an inside cradle for two. Wheelbarrow suplex by Miyazaki, they both get up and Miyazaki applies a quick pin for two. Miyazaki gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, but Chisako somehow barely gets a shoulder up. Time is running out as Chisako goes for a quick pin, but Miyazaki levels her with a lariat. Tiger suplex hold by Miyazaki, but that gets a two as well. Before they do can anything else, the bell rings as the time expires. The match is a Draw, Chisako gets one point because she is the younger wrestler.

This was the best clipped in half match I have ever seen. Now I recognize with eight minutes missing that they easily could clip out the slower parts, or any awkward moments, but what they showed was just fantastic. So many big moves, the footstomps, moonsault, tiger suplex… you’d think this was a title match and not just a mid-card tournament. This is the best I have seen Miyazaki look since returning and Chisako was on point. A high end heavily clipped encounter.  Recommended

LEON vs. Mika Iida

Iida goes to shake LEON’s hand but attacks her instead, quick pin attempts by both wrestlers but neither can get three. Iida catches LEON with an armbar and then a cross armbreaker, but LEON gets a foot in the ropes. Dropkick by Iida while she is against the ropes and she hits a missile dropkick, picking up a two count. Uppercuts by Iida but LEON catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, Texas Cloverleaf by LEON but Iida gets out of it. LEON gets on the top turnbuckle and walks the ropes before dropkicking Iida, and she covers her for two. Iida goes for a quick roll-up but LEON kicks out and then slams Iida to the mat. LEON goes up top and hits a diving body press, but it gets two. After Iida tries more pin attempts without getting a three, Iida goes off the ropes but LEON decks her with a spear. Iida blocks the Capture Buster but LEON hits a heel kick, Capture Buster by LEON and she gets the three count! LEON wins and gets two points in the tournament.

While this match had some really hard hits, there wasn’t a whole lot to it. It was a short match that was slightly clipped further, and mostly was comprised of quick pin attempts with a few strikes and submission holds between. It was obviously pretty fast paced and nothing was bad about it, just not long enough to really recommend.

Aoi Kizuki vs. Ryo Mizunami

Kizuki attacks Mizunami before the match starts with elbows but Mizunami comes back with a spear, lariat by Mizunami but Kizuki rolls her up for two. Powerslam by Mizunami and she hits a quick legdrop, she goes to run off the ropes but Kizuki grabs her. Elbows by Mizunami but Kizuki bridges out of the cover and hits a running senton. Jumping lariat by Kizuki and she applies a backbreaker over her knee, German suplex hold by Kizuki but it gets two. Another jumping lariat by Kizuki and hits a German suplex, but Mizunami springs to her feet and hits a lariat. Lariat to the back by Mizunami but Kizuki sneaks in an inside cradle for a quick two. Kizuki goes off the ropes but Mizunami catches her with a lariat, Kizuki rolls up Mizunami and this time she gets the three count! Mizunami is the winner and gets two points in the tournament.

This was the shortest match of the night and not long enough to get excited about. I will say though that it is nice to see Kizuki wrestling more seriously as she has been throwing in more comedy spots in her matches lately, looks like everyone is bringing their best for this tournament. Some hard hits but not enough action due to the sub-three minute time.

Hanako Nakamori vs. Misaki Ohata

Nakamori and Ohata quickly get into a strike exchange until Ohata hits a German suplex, sliding crossbody by Ohata and she hits a few more German suplexes. Nakamori comes back with kicks and hits a Shining Wizard, and she covers Ohata for two. Nakamori picks up Ohata and kicks her hard in the face, more kicks by Nakamori and she kicks Ohata against the ropes. Nakamori applies a submission hold on the mat but Ohata gets a foot on the ropes, Nakamori picks up Ohata but Ohata connects with a DDT. Ohata kicks Nakamori into the corner and hits a sliding crossbody, tornado DDT by Ohata and she covers Nakamori for a two count. Ohata goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again but this time Nakamori recovers and joins her. Elbows by Ohata and she crossbodies Nakamori down to the mat, but Nakamori hits an enzuigiri. Running kick by Nakamori and she delivers a fisherman buster for a two count cover. Nakamori picks up Ohata but Ohata hits a crucifix bomb, spinning chop by Ohata and she hits a fisherman buster for two. Ohata picks up Nakamori but Nakamori sneaks in a schoolboy. Spinning chop by Ohata, she goes off the ropes but Nakamori catches her with a high kick. Another hard kick to the head by Nakamori, and she covers Ohata for the three count! Nakamori wins the match and picks up two points in the tournament.

Surprising result, but tournaments should have surprises. I don’t think that Nakamori is a very good wrestler, she is a solid hand but not much more then that. Ohata is great, her offense is hard hitting and pretty diverse, and she keeps her matches interesting. Nakamori in her defense was really on point with some of her strikes, and with a slight clipping the match stayed intense. A pretty entertaining albeit short match.  Mildly Recommended

Sareee vs. Yumi Ohka

Sareee swats Ohka’s hand away as she is in no mood for a friendly handshake, dropkicks by Sareee and she follows those with a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick and she hits a third, cover by Sareee but it gets two. Ohka blocks the uranage and drops Sareee onto the top rope before booting her in the face. Another boot by Ohka while Sareee is in the ropes and she kicks her a third time before mushing her into the corner. They trade boots and dropkicks, fisherman suplex hold by Sareee and she gets a two count. Ohka blocks the German and the pair trade elbows, boot by Ohka and she hits Sareee with a series of knees. Sareee comes back with mounted elbows but Ohka boots her again, she goes for another but Sareee swats her away and hits a German suplex. Ohka blocks the uranage again but Sareee rolls her up and hits a footstomp. Another dropkick by Sareee while Ohka is against the ropes but Ohka connects with a backdrop suplex. Ohka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, she applies an armbreaker but Sareee is too close to the ropes. Kick to the head by Ohka, Sareee goes for a quick pin but Ohka blocks it. Heel drop by Ohka, she goes off the ropes but Sareee rolls her up for two. Sareee tries more quick covers with no luck, Ohka grabs Sareee and drops her with a brainbuster. Ohka goes off the ropes but Sareee catches her with an uranage, cover by Sareee but Ohka barely kicks out. Sareee goes off the ropes but Ohka hits a Chokebomb, big boot by Ohka and she gets the three count cover! Ohka wins the match and picks up two points in the tournament.

I think that Ohka is a bit limited in her move set, but in shorter type sprints it isn’t quite as bad. Sareee is just a great young wrestler, so much fire and while she throws a lot of dropkicks she also has a variety of suplexes she uses as well. It really felt like she was a going to pick up the upset at various times, and even though she wasn’t able to, she put on a solid performance in the main event at Korakuen Hall. I wouldn’t have minded if it went a little longer and it was slightly clipped, but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Mildly Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch the WAVE” on 4/10/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Hikaru Shida Produce “The 3rd Synopsium Of Mythology ~ Sublimation & Universality”
Date: May 1st, 2016
Location: Nishi Kumin Center in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 234

Occasionally I like to take a step out of the normal world of Joshi and into the dark underbelly, where wrestlers put on their own unique shows that fit their own tastes. Hikaru Shida is a Freelancer that occasionally enjoys putting on her own events, then invites all her friends to have unusual matches you’d never see anywhere else. This line-up definitely fits that description. Here is the full card:

• Kagetsu and Mika Iida vs. Koharu Hinata and Rina Yamashita
• Hibiscus Mii vs. Yako Fujigasaki and Hiroto Okubo vs. TORU
• Gabaiji-chan vs. Manami Toyota
• Aoi Kizuki vs. Syuri
• Hikaru Shida, Jun Kasai, and Toru Owashi vs. Sawako Shimono, Magnitude Kishiwada, and Tadasuke

I realize these shows are not as well known but dammit someone has to review them so it may as well be me. I don’t have a lot of the profiles for the above wrestlers on Joshi City but the ones I do are active links if you want to know a bit more about the Joshi wrestlers.

Kagetsu and Mika Iida vs. Koharu Hinata and Rina Yamashita

Yamashita and Iida start for their teams and trade some quick holds, big shoulderblock by Yamashita and Hinata jumps on her back to help Yamashita hit a double kneedrop. Yamashita tags in Hinata, elbows by Hinata to Iida but Iida returns the favor. Iida bounces Hinata around the ring and throws her down by the hair, cover by Iida but it gets two. Iida tags Kagetsu and Kagetsu kicks Hinata in the back, Yamashita runs in to help but Iida tosses her out of the ring. Kagetsu puts Hinata in the ropes and chops her before hitting a dropkick, running elbow by Kagetsu but Hinata fights back with elbows. Kagetsu knocks Hinata back to the mat but Hinata hops up and hits a spinning headscissors. This gives her time to tag Yamashita, Iida comes in too but Yamashita shoulderblocks both of them down. Kagetsu and Yamashita trade elbows, Kagetsu springboards up to the top trope and knocks over Yamashita with a missile dropkick.

Running elbow by Kagetsu in the corner but Yamashita hits a hard knee followed by a kick to the head for a two count cover. Kagetsu catches Yamashita with a dropkick and tags in Iida, Iida throws Yamashita in the corner and hits a running uppercut. More uppercuts by Iida but Yamashita hits a lariat followed by a backdrop suplex. Yamashita tags in Hinata, Hinata gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving crossbody on Iida, but Iida moves and Yamashita catches her. Yamashita throws Hinata at Kagetsu, Hinata grabs Iida but she eats an uppercut. Hinata kicks Iida and delivers a tornado DDT, she goes up top and hits the diving crossbody for a two count. Hinata goes for a bodyscissors roll-up by Iida blocks it and applies an abdominal stretch. Dropkick by Iida and she puts Hinata in a cross armbreaker, but Hinata makes it to the ropes. Iida dropkicks Hinata and hits a fisherman suplex hold, but Yamashita breaks up the cover. Hinata sneaks in a few quick pins with no luck, Iida finally blocks one and puts Hinata in the Mudo, Hinata struggles but has no choice but to submit! Iida and Kagetsu are the winners.

A perfectly acceptable opener, even if it didn’t do anything overly memorable. Everything was pretty smooth here, which I wasn’t sure would happen with Hinata in there (Hinata is young and adorable, but still honing her skills). I was hoping with Kagetsu and Iida in there they would do something a bit more special but it stayed pretty mellow throughout. Not a bad way to start but pretty forgettable.

Hibiscus Mii vs. Yako Fujigasaki
TORU vs. Hiroto Okubo

All four wrestlers begin the match in the ring and tie-up, but they all end up knocking each other over. Even though it appears to be two singles matches, they are also interacting with each other randomly as well, just to make it more confusing. Mii gets Fujigasaki in a submission while TORU does the same to Okubo, and they both cover their opponents for two. TORU dropkicks Okubo out of the ring, he goes to do a dive but at that moment Mii suplexes Fujigasaki in his path and he trips. Mii kicks TORU for getting in her way before hitting a sliding kick on Fujigasaki, Mii wants to do a dive but Okubo puts TORU in a submission hold in her way. He slowly inches out of her way, Fujigasaki and Okubo attack their opponents in opposite corners and Fujigasaki attacks both TORU and Fujigasaki, but then Fujigasaki and Okubo start to fight. This allows Mii and TORU time to recover, and they roll up their opponents as both get a three count! Mii and TORU are your respective winners.

I don’t have a lot to say about this weird little match. There were some cute spots with both ‘matches’ interacting with each other, but besides that it was just a few minutes of strike battles before a quick ending. Very unique but still safe to skip.

Gabaiji-chan vs. Manami Toyota

As you probably guess, this match is pretty much all shtick and takes several minutes to get going. Gabaiji-chan gets the advantage over Toyota and hits her with his cane, but it doesn’t as long as he is old and tripped. Toyota puts Gabaiji-chan in the Muta Lock but Gabaiji-chan gets his cane on the ropes to break the hold. Gabaiji-chan slowly gets to the top rope, he grabs Toyota’s arm and slowly walks the ropes but Toyota knocks his cane away and he crotches himself on the top rope. Gabaiji-chan drops his cane however and suddenly wrestles with the ability of a young man, as he hits a dropkick followed by a swandive crossbody for a two count. Gabaiji-chan goes for a chokeslam but Toyota elbows out of it, Toyota kicks Gabaiji-chan into the corner and he grabs his cane which kills his youth again. Toyota gets Gabaiji-chan on her shoulders but Gabaiji-chan catches his cane on the top rope to block the hold. Toyota goes up top but Gabaiji-chan holds his cane up so that Toyota can’t hit the moonsault. Gabaiji-chan tries to hit Toyota with his cane but Toyota blocks it and kicks Gabaiji-chan. Gabaiji-chan’s cane is knocked away from him, allowing him to hit Toyota with a chokeslam. Gabaiji-chan goes up to the top turnbuckle but Toyota rolls out of the way of the somersault senton. Gabaiji-chan slides away from Toyota but he hurts his back when he tries to pick her up. Toyota gets Gabaiji-chan on her shoulders and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Toyota is the winner.

Like the last match, this was just about what you’d expect it to be, but Toyota played along and it did have some funny spots. Gabaiji-chan is a good character and is an entertaining act, but purely as a midcard type of act of course as there isn’t much more you can do it with. Toyota was fun as well, overall not a bad watch but clearly just a comedy match.

Aoi Kizuki vs. Syuri

After Syuri gets Kizuki to the mat with a headlock, Syuri puts Kizuki in a wristlock but Kizuki reverses it. Kizuki boots down Syuri in the corner and hits a series of chops before putting Syuri in a camel clutch. She then puts Syuri in a stretch hold but Syuri comes back with a Backstabber and stomps on Kizuki on the mat. Kicks by Syuri to the chest and back, but Kizuki hits a crossbody for two. Mongolian Chops by Kizuki and she hits a series of running sentons, but Syuri avoids one and kicks Kizuki into the corner. Jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a double arm suplex for a two count. Cross armbreaker by Syuri but Kizuki gets a foot on the rope, back up Kizuki regains control and puts Syuri in a backbreaker. Kizuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Syuri kicks out of the cover. Knees by Syuri but Kizuki hits a jumping lariat, suplex by Kizuki and she gets a two count.

Kizuki goes up top and delivers the swivel body press, but Syuri gets a shoulder up. Syuri snaps off a German suplex but Kizuki gets up and hits a German suplex of her own. Jumping lariat by Kizuki but Syuri returns with a jumping knee, Syuri takes down Kizuki and puts her in a seated armbar. Back on their feet they trade elbows, kick by Syuri and she drops Kizuki with a knee lift. Kizuki hits a quick German suplex hold for two, Kizuki sneaks in a series of quick pinfalls but Syuri kicks out each time. Kizuki goes off the ropes but Syuri catches her with a high kick. After trading pin attempts, Kizuki goes for a crossbody but Syuri rolls through it. Jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a German suplex hold, but Kizuki kicks out. Kicks by Syuri but Kizuki catches one and hits a dragon screw, inside cradle by Syuri but it gets a two count. Jumping lariat by Kizuki but Syuri hits a high kick as the bell rings, signifying time has expired. The match is a Draw.

The best match of the night so far, although I don’t think it reached its full potential. I am not really sure what happened to Kizuki as I was enjoying her a lot more last year, she seems to have slipped down a bit into silly offense so it was hard to take her as a serious threat to Syuri. Syuri was great of course but even this felt like a toned down version of Syuri as she didn’t hit as much of her signature offense. It just felt oddly flat, even though much of the action flowed nicely. A good match but a step below what I would hope to see from Syuri, overall solid but nothing more than that.  Mildly Recommended

Hikaru Shida, Kasai, and Owashi vs. Shimono, Kishiwada, and Tadasuke

Shida begins the match against KISHIWADA AKA BIG BOSS MA-G-MA and I am already excited. They trade chops, which Kishiwada gets the better of, Shida goes for a hip attack but Kishiwada doesn’t budge. Kishiwada throws Shida to her corner so she can tag in someone else, and Kasai comes in as the legal wrestler. Tadasuke tags in too, he runs the ropes with Kasai but neither gets an advantage so they tag in Shimono and Owashi. Owashi taunts Shimono so Shimono stomps on his foot, drop toehold by Shimono and she shoulderblocks Owashi to the mat. She can’t slam him though, as Owashi lands on top of her, which gives him a chance to tag in Kasai. Kasai drops Shimono with a piledriver and tags in Shida, backbreakers by Shida to Shimono and she puts her in a crab hold but Shimono crawls to the ropes to break it up.

Shida puts Shimono on her shoulders and spins her down into a backbreaker, but the cover is broken up. Shida’s teammates come into the ring to help, as do Gabaiji-chan and Toyota, but Gabaiji-chan takes so long to do an attack that Shimono recovers and tosses all of them one by one. The action spills out of the ring (with Gabaiji-chan still alone in it), but they eventually return with Shida being stomped by Kishiwada and Tadasuke. Kishiwada hits a body avalanche in the corner before hitting a suplex, he tags in Shimono who continues the beatdown. Team Kishiwada take turns tagging in as Shida is the Face in Peril on her own show, Kasai comes in to help but Shimono takes care of him. Kishiwada goes for a suplex by Shida blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of her own. Hip attack by Shida and she tags in Owashi, Tadasuke tags in too but Owashi drops him with a dragon screw.

Tadasuke comes back with a vertical suplex, Kishiwada and Kasai are tagged in and they trade lariats with neither wrestler going down. Kasai finally wins that battle but Kishiwada gets back up and lariats Kasai to the mat. They tag in Shimono and Shida, enzuigiri by Shida but Shimono knocks her to the mat and hits a seated senton for two. Kishiwada and Tadasuke come in the ring and Tadasuke rocks Shida with a hart lariat. Brainbuster by Kishiwada to Shida, but Shida gets a shoulder up on the cover. Fire Thunder Driver by Kishiwada, but this time the cover is broken up. Kishiwada hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, he picks up Shida but she reverses the powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana. Shida is triple teamed in the corner but her teammates come in and help clear the ring. Hip attack by Shida to Shimono, Kasai goes up top and hits the Pearl Harbor Splash, but the group pin is broken up. Shida sits up Shimono and hits a running knee, but Shimono reverses the cover into her own two count. Shida slams Shimono to the mat but Shimono sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Jumping knee by Shida and she drops Shimono with a Falcon Arrow. Three Count by Shida, and she gets the victory!

Well this was certainly quite the spectacle. The best thing about cards like these is the random assortment of wrestlers. The chances of getting a ‘five star match’ on a produced show are slim to none, but you get fun stuff like this. Shida and Kishiwada are two of my favorites so I enjoyed watching them mix it up quite a bit. Everyone got in a bit of a chance to shine, however I still would have preferred the match just be a two on two match as until the end there weren’t any longer segments so two wrestlers could get a real rhythm together. I enjoyed it for the uniqueness and getting to see Shida in a different environment, but not exactly a must see.  Recommended

The post Hikaru Shida “3rd Synopsium of Mythology” on 5/1/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: WAVE “Yokohama WAVE”
Date: January 9th, 2016
Location: Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 182

We finally get to check in with WAVE, as their first full event of the year has been aired. This is a small show in most respects, it is at a smaller venue and has no title matches. However the matches all got a decent amount of time and all the major stars of WAVE are here, so there is still potential for the event to deliver. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA and Yumi Ohka vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Moeka Haruhi
• Natsu Sumire vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Hikaru Shida vs. Mika Iida
• Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Miyako Matsumoto
• Ayako Hamada and Yuu Yamagata vs. Meiko Tanaka and Sareee
• Kaho Kobayashi and Rina Yamashita vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

A pretty full show, let’s get right to it.

ASUKA and Yumi Ohka vs. Hiroe Nagahama and Moeka Haruhi

ASUKA and Nagahama are the first two in but Haruhi soon runs in and helps Nagahama out. This brings in Ohka and now it is Nagahama being double teamed as she is stomped on the mat, scoop slams by ASUKA and she tags in Ohka. Ohka and ASUKA take turns slamming Nagahama, elbow drop by Ohka and she covers Nagahama for two. Nagahama finally fights back and Haruhi comes off the top with a dropkick, giving Nagahama time to tag in Haruhi. Haruhi dropkicks ASUKA, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Haruhi picked up ASUKA but ASUKA hits a rebound crossbody and tags in Ohka. Ohka boots Haruhi in the corner and does it again, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for two. Haruhi whips off a hurricanrana, quick footstomp by Haruhi and she hits a diving footstomp for a two count. Nagahama is tagged in, she dropkicks Ohka around the ring and covers her. Ohka and Nagahama trade elbows, jumping elbow by Ohka but Nagahama dropkicks her. Ohka gets Nagahama’s back and applies a cross arm stretch hold, big boot by Ohka and she hits another big boot but Nagahama gets a hand on the ropes on the attempted cover. Ohka tags ASUKA, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA and she follows with a dropkick. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Nagahama catches her with a suplex. Ohka comes back and they hit a double vertical suplex on Nagahama, they then drop Haruhi on her as well. Missile dropkick by ASUKA, she goes up top but Nagahama avoids the moonsault. Ohka boots ASUKA by accident, Nagahama quickly puts ASUKA in the Kasadora and she picks up the three count! Nagahama and Haruhi are your winners.

This wasn’t a bad way to start the show. Ohka is good at one thing, booting people in the face, and she did that well here as the big veteran presence. The other wrestlers looked fine, they tagged in and out (and just randomly ran in and out) enough to keep the action fresh. ASUKA continues to come along well for someone that just debuted four months prior, and Nagahama is finally starting to show some spunk as well. Overall a simple but fine way to begin.

Natsu Sumire vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

After trading elbows to begin, Fujimoto gets Sumire to the mat but Sumire switches positions with her and applies a camel clutch. Sumire dropkicks Fujimoto but Fujimoto dropkicks her back and hits a cutter for a two count cover. Crossface by Fujimoto, she puts Sumire in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Fujimoto rolls Sumire around the ring but Sumire sneaks in a backslide for two. Fujimoto kicks Sumire in the back but Sumire ducks the PK and hits a dropkick. Fujimoto fires back with a dropkick and hits another one in the corner, but Sumire hits a jumping lariat. Dropkick by Sumire and she goes up top, hitting a diving crossbody for two. Kick by Fujimoto and she kicks Sumire in the chest, Sumire sneaks in a roll-up but she gets a two count. Dropkick by Fujimoto and she hits a scoop slam, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Gokurakugatame by Fujimoto, and she picks up the three count! Fujimoto wins the match.

One reason that Sumire is still having issues moving up the card is she is developing very slowly. Here she wasn’t bad but she wasn’t particularly good either, a bit clunky and stiff, and the match didn’t ever really click. Much of the action was ok but it was just basic, mostly dropkicks and the like. Not actively bad but still a skippable match, Sumire is still a bit away from making a real impact.

Hikaru Shida vs. Mika Iida

They play nice to start with wristlocks and armdrags, Iida gets Shida to the mat but Shida slides away and applies a Stretch Muffler. Iida reverses it into a cross armbreaker but Shida slams her in the corner to get out of it. Hip attack by Shida but Iida rolls her up before hitting a reverse STO. Seated armbar by Iida and she starts working on Shida’s arm, but Shida rolls away from her and hits a hurricanrana followed by a hip attack. Shida pulls Iida’s head over the apron and hits a running knee lift, they return to the ring and Shida applies a rolling single leg crab hold. Backbreaker by Shida and she then puts Iida in a crab hold again, but Iida gets to the ropes. Vertical suplex by Shida and she throws Iida to the corner, but Iida slides out to the apron and snaps Shida’s arm on the top rope. Iida goes up top and snaps her arm again, but Shida boots her when she goes to the top turnbuckle again and suplexes Iida back into the ring. Running knee to the back of the head by Shida but Iida blocks the next attempt and applies a cross armbreaker. Shida gets to the ropes but Iida dropkicks her in the head and then hits a missile dropkick. Shida blocks the fisherman suplex and hits a jumping knee, Shida goes off the ropes but Iida trips her and rolls up Shida for two. Shida gets Iida on her shoulders and hits a backbreaker, running knee by Shida but Iida barely kicks out of the cover. Iida goes for a bodyscissors but Shida slams her way out of it and hits a Falcon Arrow. Three Count by Shida, she picks up Iida and delivers the Go To Sleep. Three Count by Shida, and she gets the three count cover! Shida is your winner.

A solid midcard match, I enjoyed it. Shida did what she does well, focus on the back before knocking off Iida’s head, and Iida at least planned for the arm and stuck with the plan for the entire match. Shida didn’t do a lot to sell the arm between sets, but Iida didn’t do a lot of real damage to it either aside from the late cross armbreaker. This was a bit of a dialed back Shida match but it was still fun, and Iida put up a tough fight.  Worth a casual watch for sure.  Mildly Recommended

Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Miyako Matsumoto

For the first time in my life I am not going to do anything resembling play by play for this match, as there is no point. There was lots of dancing, posing, and things like that because that is what both of these wrestlers do anyway. The most interesting part was Mio, as Mio got involved several times including getting physical with both wrestlers. It was done in a comedic way of course, as they got Mio to do a bit of a dance herself and occasionally refusing to count. The match ended after the wrestlers had each other in submissions at the same time and both taped out, Mio thought about it for a moment and eventually called the match a No Contest.

The only reason to watch this is for Mio Shirai. I don’t really love this type of comedy, Nipponbashi and Matsumoto are a bit too goofy for my tastes. But Mio interjecting herself throughout added a different element to the match that did help it a bit. Not a good match, but if you miss Mio it is worth a watch.

Meiko Tanaka and Sareee vs. Las Aventureras (Ayako Hamada and Yuu Yamagata)

The Diana team attacks before the match starts and isolate Hamada in the ring until Yamagata charges back in to help her partner. Yamagata and Tanaka stay in as the legal wrestlers, chops by Yamagata and Hamada comes off the top with an ax handle. Hamada slaps Tanaka in the corner and hits a rolling senton, Yamagata comes back in as Tanaka tries to get on offense with limited success. Hamada takes her turn dominating Tanaka until Sareee finally comes in to assist, Tanaka puts Hamada in a crab hold but Yamagata breaks it up. Hamada and Tanaka trade shots with Tanaka standing strong against the veteran, but Hamada eventually knocks her to the mat. Boot by Hamada but Tanaka headbutts her before tagging in Sareee. Dropkicks by Sareee to Hamada but she swats away the missile dropkick attempt, Yamagata comes in but Team Diana both dropkick their opponents. Hamada and Sareee trade elbows, Hamada again wins the exchange and she covers Sareee for two. Hamada goes for a moonsault but Sareee moves out of the way, German suplex by Sareee to Hamada and she goes up top, but Hamada kicks her as she jumps off. Slingshot stomp by Yamagata, Hamada picks up Sareee and hits a backdrop suplex for two.

Codebreaker by Yamagata to Sareee but Sareee fights back as they trade chops. In a recurring theme, the veteran wins the duel but Sareee snaps off a vertical suplex followed by a footstomp. Dropkick by Sareee while Yamagata is in the ropes, fisherman suplex hold but Sareee but Yamagata gets a shoulder up. Sareee tags in Tanaka, shoulder tackles by Tanaka in the corner but Yamagata hits an enzuigiri. The pair trade dropkicks, jumping elbow by Yamagata and she goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Hamada comes in and kicks Tanaka in the head but Tanaka spears both of them, Sareee then jumps off the apron with a crossbody down onto Hamada. Sareee returns and both she and Tanaka dropkick Yamagata. Missile dropkick by Sareee and Tanaka, cover by Tanaka but it gets two. Assisted senton by Sareee, Tanaka goes up top and nails the diving senton, but Hamada breaks up the pin. Yamagata slides away from Tanaka and hits a Backstabber, enzuigiri by Hamada and Yamagata follows with a buzzsaw kick. Sareee comes in but gets double teamed for her trouble, Yamagata positions Tanaka and Hamada goes up top and hits a diving footstomp. Dual running kicks to Tanaka and Yamagata hits a Somato for two. Yamagata picks up Tanaka and nails the Air Raid Crash, and she gets the three count! Yamagata and Hamada win!

This was a fun match with a well done young wrestler/veteran dynamic throughout. The story was simple, the WAVE team was clearly better as they kept winning the exchanges, but the Diana team was spunky and had several really close falls as they were hard to put down for good. They showed Tanaka some respect with her taking so much offense at the end before getting pinned, and all four had a chance to shine with Tanaka being the most impressive. This is actually probably the best match I have seen with Tanaka, really solid performance by her here. Best match of the night so far, check it out.  Recommended

Kaho Kobayashi and Rina Yamashita vs. Avid Rivals (Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami)

Kobayashi and Ohata are the first two legal wrestlers and they quickly go to the mat before trading armdrags with neither getting a clear advantage. Yamashita and Mizunami are tagged in, they take turns trying to knock each other over which Mizunami gets the better of. Yamashita returns the favor and tags Kobayashi, Kobayashi goes for dropkicks but Mizunami is a brick wall. Ohata is tagged in and they take turns beating the smaller Kobayashi for several minutes, as Kobayashi is the perfect rag doll. After Kobayashi eats a variety of offense, including double leg drops and a curb stomp, she finally hits a dropkick on Mizunami and makes the hot tag. Yamashita cleans house with shoulderblocks and a double lariat, suplex by Yamashita and she covers Mizunami for a two count. Yamashita and Mizunami trade elbows, Ohata comes in and she hits a sliding crossbody on Yamashita in the corner. Tornado DDT by Ohata, she goes up top but Yamashita ducks the diving crossbody. Yamashita goes for a kick but Ohata catches it and applies an ankle hold. Seated armbar by Ohata to Yamashita but she gets out of it and hits a lariat.

Backdrop suplex by Yamashita and she tags Kobayashi, missile dropkick by Kobayashi to Ohata, Yamashita comes in and they hit Ohata with a double shoulderblock, but Mizunami runs in and helps. Kobayashi is double teamed, crossbody by Ohata but it gets a two count. Rolling Germans by Ohata and she holds the last one on Kobayashi for two. Ohata tags Mizunami, Mizunami picks up Kobayashi and she hits an overhead suplex. Running leg drop by Mizunami and she quickly applies an Anaconda Vice but it is broken up, Kobayashi dropkick Mizunami but Mizunami slams Kobayashi to the mat and Ohata hits a diving body press. Mizunami goes up top but Yamashita joins her and hits a superplex. Mizunami is double teamed, fisherman suplex hold by Kobayashi but it only gets two. Mizunami comes back with a lariat, another lariat by Mizunami but Kobayashi kicks out of the cover. Yamashita returns and elbows Mizunami, hurricanrana by Kobayashi but Ohata breaks up the pin. 120% School Boy by Kobayashi, but that is broken up as well. Kobayashi goes off the ropes but Mizunami hits a lariat, dragon suplex hold by Mizunami but the bell rings as time as expired. The match is a Draw.

I don’t love draws that seem to not have a real purpose, neither of these teams are champions and it is not a tournament, for such a small show it would have nice to have had a real conclusion to it. But I enjoyed the action itself, Kobayashi and Ohata are two of my favorites and any time they were both in the ring it was heavenly. Yamashita and Mizunami are solid too and the action flowed really well, especially in the last few minutes of the match. Sometimes things can get a little awkward when wrestlers are flying everywhere but everything was really smooth here. A really fun match, just with a disappointing end results. Mildly Recommended

The post WAVE Yokohama WAVE on January 9th, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.