Anytime a Joshi event airs in a timely fashion, I try to watch it, and this one certainly arrived quickly. Sendai Girls’ doesn’t run Korakuen Hall very often so they tend to put their best foot forward when they do, with several big matches on the card. We get a young wrestler battle between Hana and Mika that is bound to be good, and the tag team of Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura that doesn’t sound very fair. Then, in the main event there is a tag title defense, with Chisako and KAORU defending against Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi. Here is the full card:

• Ami Sato vs. Manami
• Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota
• Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi

Since this aired on Samurai TV, it may be slightly clipped. All the wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Ami Sato vs. Manami

Manami immediately dropkicks Ami into the corner, elbows by Manami but Ami switches positions with her and elbows her back. Armdrag by Ami, she picks up Manami but Manami snapmares her and applies a bodyscissors. Ami gets out of it and puts Manami in a camel clutch, she lets go after a moment and hits a series of shoulderblocks for a two count. Elbows by Ami but Manami dropkicks her into the corner, Ami fights back with an elbow and the two trade blows. Front roll into an elbow by Ami, but Manami kicks out of the cover. Ami applies a crab hold but Manami crawls to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Ami but Manami ducks the lariat and delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Manami and a third, a final dropkick by Manami and she covers Ami for a two count. Ami kicks Manami and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a crab hold but Manami blocks it and rolls up Ami for two. Manami tries a few more flash pins with no luck, she goes off the ropes but Ami avoids her charge and schoolboys her for the three count! Ami Sato wins!

Basic, as one would expect, but fundamentally sound. This wasn’t clipped, so they wrestled for six-plus minutes without making any mistakes which is a real plus when dealing with wrestlers this inexperienced. Nothing exciting but a good rookie opener.

Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota

They waste no time confusing me on what they are doing, as Eiger plays with a cloth before putting it over Sakura’s head and hitting a DDT. Eiger creeps out Sakura before hitting a lariat, but the cover only gets two. Sakura responds with a face crusher, she puts Eiger in the ropes and delivers the Oil Check. Sakura bounces around in a comedic way before hitting a headbutt, but Eiger kicks out of the cover. I am normally against clipping matches but I am not sure if I’ve ever seen a full Eiger or Sakura comedy match and I’m not sure if I needed to. Sakura bounces off the ropes before kissing Eiger, she grabs Eiger’s arm and walks the ropes, but she eventually crotches herself and Eiger pushes her out of the ring. Eiger does a fake dive before blowing dust into Sakura’s face, they some comedy bits around the crowd before the referee fusses at them and tells them to get back in the ring. They do so, backslide by Sakura but it gets two. After more Eiger shenanigans, she finally hits a lariat and she pins Sakura for the three count! Eiger wins the match.

This match really really didn’t need to be shown in full. I think Eiger is generally funny, and Sakura is sometimes funny, but ten minutes of their shtick was too much. There is certainly a place for this type of match on a card, it just needs to either be shorter or have a non-comedy wrestler to help as both Eiger and Sakura are too “gimmick” to even have normal sections in their matches. An easy skip from me.

Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto

We join this one very slightly in progress with Ami being triple teamed, but it quickly switches to Rosa Negra being on the wrong end of a beatdown. Shida stays in with Rosa Negra, armdrag by Rosa Negra and both wrestlers dropkick each other. Backbreaker by Shida and she tags in Ami, elbows by Ami but Shida tags in Mio. Mio and and Ami trade elbows until Ami connects with her rolling elbow smash for a two count. Ami tags in Shida, Mio goes for a crossbody but Shida catches her and puts Mio in the corner. Alex Lee comes in so that Shida can suplex her onto Mio, Shida picks up Mio but Mio blocks the suplex attempt and hits a series of elbows. Shida finally blocks one but Mio smacks her repeatedly in the head, she goes off the ropes but Shida nails a jumping knee. Shida tags in Lee, kicks by Lee to Mio and she hits a hip toss for two. Lee chokes Mio but Rosa Negra kicks her from behind, Lee superkicks Rosa Negra but Mio rolls up Lee for a two count. Mio dropkicks Lee and tags in Hiroyo, body avalanche by Hiroyo and she goes up top, but Ami grabs her from the apron. Shida comes over and superplexes Hiroyo into the ring, Lee goes up top and she hits a diving footstomp onto Hiroyo for a two count cover. Ami is tagged back in and tries to shoulderblock Hiroyo over, Shida runs in and hits an enzuigiri as she tries to help Ami knock over Hiroyo, and finally she succeeds before covering Hiroyo for two. Ami scoop slams Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her back and hits a backbreaker. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, crab hold by Hiroyo but it gets broken up. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Lee and Shida, Rosa Negra comes in and dives out of the ring onto everyone but Hiroyo and Ami with a tope suicida. In the ring, Hiroyo picks up Ami but Ami rolls her up for two. Ami goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a hard elbow, vertical suplex by Hiroyo and she covers Ami for two. Hiroyo puts Ami in an Argentine Backbreaker, and Ami taps out! La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners.

It didn’t pop as much as I was hoping, but it was still a fun match. Ami shows a lot of fire, which is probably why they put her in the match, and everyone got a bit of a chance to shine. I really liked the Mio/Shida segment, Mio is definitely one to watch and Shida is always a pleasure. A bit all over the place but a good match with some memorable spots throughout.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They tie-up to start, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes but slaps her face instead of doing a clean break. Mika kicks her back and gives her a slap of her own, more slaps by Hana and she flings down Mika by the hair. Hana picks up Mika and hits a dropkick, Mika dropkicks her back but Hana hits another dropkick for a two count cover. Hana picks up Mika but Mika pushes her away, kicks by Mika and she hits a Codebreaker for two. Mika kicks Hana into the corner but Hana ducks one and headbutts her, superkick by Mika and she nails Hana in the face with another one for a two count. Double wrist-clutch suplex by Mika, but that gets a two as well. High kick by Mika, she goes up top but Hana dropkicks her in mid-air when she dives off. Sliding Kick by Hana, and she covers Mika for two. Hana gets up on the second turnbuckle and nails a missile dropkick, running boot by Hana and she covers Mika for the three count! Hana Kimura wins!

Even though the match was only about five minutes, I loved every moment of it. These two went into it hard, with stiff slaps, kicks, and a killer headbutt by Hana. With the time constraints, everything had to matter and it did, and even though the match was short it still felt right. Hana is starting to combine having a great personality with on-point offense and an attitude, if she sticks with Joshi I can really see her being one of the biggest stars in a few years at her current trajectory. One of the better five minute matches I’ve seen in awhile, check it out.  Recommended

Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada

Chihiro and Satomura start the match, Chihiro takes Satomura to the mat but Satomura puts Chihiro in an ankle hold. Chihiro rolls into the ropes for the break, back up Satomura kicks Chihiro in the leg before letting Chihiro up. Chihiro drives Satomura into the corner and hits a body avalanche, but Satomura slaps her back and knocks her into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she tags in Kong, Kong and Chihiro trade holds on the mat, Kong gets the better of it and kicks Chihiro in the back. Chihiro scoop slams Kong and makes the tag to Hamada, Hamada and Kong trade strikes until Kong chops Hamada to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Kong, and she covers Hamada for two when Hamada gets a foot on the ropes. Kong tags in Satomura, kicks by Satomura but Hamada snapmares her and kicks Satomura in the back of the head. Running boots by Hamada and they trade slaps, Satomura goes off the ropes but Hamada delivers a heel kick. Satomura heel kicks her back, she tries to rebound out of the corner with an elbow strike but Hamada catches her with a dropkick. Hamada goes off the ropes but Kong throws her paint can at her head, cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura and she tags in Kong. Hamada grabs Kong’s arm and jumps up to the turnbuckle the ropes, Satomura meanders in the ring so that Hamada can hit an armdrag/headscissors combination on them. Hamada tries to knock down Kong with lariats and finally does so, Kong gets back up and they trade strikes until both end up hurt on the mat. Hamada recovers first and tags Chihiro, Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a waterwheel drop for two.

Chihiro grabs Kong around the waist but Kong slides away, Chihiro kicks her however and delivers the somersault senton. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle but Kong avoids the diving somersault senton, Kong snaps Chihiro’s neck and slaps her hard in the face. Kong tags in Satomura, Satomura kicks Chihiro repeatedly in the chest before kicking her in the head, but Hamada runs in and slams Satomura to the mat. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton, gutwrench suplex by Chihiro and she covers Satomura for two. Chihiro goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, Satomura recovers and the two trade elbows until Chihiro lariats Satomura in the back of the head to win the duel. Chihiro picks up Satomura and nails a powerbomb, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Satomura kicks her before she can jump off and delivers a Pele Kick. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, Kong hits a diving elbow drop and Satomura hits another Death Valley Bomb, but Hamada breaks up the cover. Satomura drags up Hamada, Kong tries to backfist Chihiro but Chihiro ducks and she hits Satomura by accident. Release German by Chihiro to Kong, she picks up Satomura and hits a German suplex hold but Kong breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, superkick by Hamada to Satomura but when she goes for a heel kick she hits Chihiro by mistake. Scorpion Rising by Satomura to Chihiro, she picks her up and finishes her off with a Death Valley Bomb for the three count! Meiko Satomura and Aja Kong win the match!

To be honest, Chihiro didn’t take the beating I was expecting, although her getting pinned was in line with my thoughts of the veterans wanting to show her they weren’t ready to roll over quite yet. The first half of the match had some really shaky transitions and it felt like they were just running through spots with no regard, but about halfway through it got cleaned up. Chihiro is a beast, loved her suplexes here and at least Hamada tried to help her throughout and didn’t just watch from the apron. A good match, I was hoping for a bit more but you can’t go too wrong with these four.  Mildly Recommended

(c) DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

Chisako and Cassandra start for their teams, Chisako gets Cassandra into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Cassandra gets Chisako to the mat and applies a crab hold, but Chisako reverses it into a crab hold of her own until Cassandra gets into the ropes. Chisako and Cassandra trade elbows until Chisako avoids one and applies a short armbar, but Cassandra gets to the ropes for the break. Chisako gets Cassandra to the mat again and schools her a bit, but Cassandra gets out of it and both wrestlers reach a stalemate again. Heidi tags in, she slams Chisako to the mat but Chisako springs back up, armdrag by Heidi and she hits an elbow drop. KAORU attacks Heidi from behind but Heidi dropkicks both of them before tagging Cassandra back in. Cassandra slaps at Chisako and boots Chisako in the head, cover by Cassandra but Chisako kicks out. Heidi returns and elbows Chisako hard in the face, another elbow by Heidi and she covers Chisako for two. Heidi drops Chisako to the mat again before tagging Cassandra, Cassandra comes in the ring with a slingshot leg drop before elbowing Chisako hard for a two count cover. Cassandra goes off the ropes but Chisako drop toeholds her, KAORU comes in and she puts Cassandra in a camel clutch. Chisako goes off the ropes and dropkicks Cassandra, Heidi comes in but she gets double teamed as well and dumped out of the ring. Chisako and KAORU leave the ring too as things have broken down, with KAORU beating Heidi into the stands. Cassandra and Heidi eventually swing the tide and Cassandra hits a double missile dropkick off the apron, she then finds a ladder and sets it up at ringside.

She starts to climb it but Chisako promptly pushes it over, Chisako puts Cassandra near the bleachers before jumping off of them with a double footstomp. Heidi helps Cassandra back into the ring so they don’t get counted out, double Irish whip to Cassandra and she eats a double boot from Chisako and KAORU. Chisako tags in KAORU and the double teaming of Cassandra continues. KAORU knees Cassandra before hitting a vertical suplex, but Cassandra fights back with a jumping elbow and a boot and makes the hot tag to Heidi. Heidi shoulderblocks KAORU and hits a suplex, side Russian leg sweep by Heidi and she covers KAORU for two. Heidi goes for a lariat but KAORU dropkicks her in the knee and cradles her for two, Heidi then hits her lariat before booting KAORU in the chest. KAORU lands in her corner and tags in Chisako, missile dropkick by Chisako and KAORU boots Heidi in the corner. Double face crusher to Heidi, and Chisako covers her for a two count. Knee lift by Heidi and she dropkicks Chisako, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving legdrop. Heidi tags in Cassandra, dropkicks by Cassandra to Chisako and she connects with a missile dropkick for two. Cassandra goes off the ropes but KAORU grabs her, running elbow by Chisako but on the second attempt she hits KAORU by accident. Cassandra knocks Chisako out of the ring, Heidi holds open the ropes for Cassandra and Cassandra sails out of the ring onto KAORU and Chisako with a tope suicida. Fallaway Slam by Heidi and she gives Chisako the Giant Swing, Cassandra goes up up and hits a missile dropkick, but Chisako kicks out of the cover.

Airplane Spin into a Samoan Driver by Cassandra, she goes off the ropes but KAORU trips her from the floor and Chisako hits a dropkick. Brainbuster by KAORU to Cassandra and Chisako follows with a diving footstomp, but the cover only gets two. Chisako goes back up top but Cassandra joins her, Chisako elbows her off but Cassandra hits a dropkick before climbing back up. Superplex by Cassandra, back up she trade elbows with Chisako until Chisako beats Cassandra down to the mat. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra kicks her in the head, cover by Cassandra but it gets two. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra catches her with a tombstone, but KAORU breaks up the cover. Cassandra picks up Chisako but Chisako lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and cradles Cassandra for a two count. More flash pins by Chisako with no luck, KAORU comes in the ring and they hit Cassandra with a catapult dropkick. German suplex by Chisako, but Cassandra blocks her crucifix attempt and hits a Samoan Drop. Cassandra goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, Chisako joins Cassandra up top and nails an avalanche Ace Crusher, but Heidi breaks up the cover. Chisako goes back up top while KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle, Chisako gets onto KAORU’s shoulders and hits a diving senton, but Cassandra barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako quickly goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and this time she gets the three count! DASH Chisako and KAORU are still the champions!

Due to the participants I wanted to love this match, but it was just a bit too disjointed for my tastes. Longer tag matches need a hook and this match didn’t really have one – it didn’t have a super worker to tie everything together, it didn’t have a sympathetic babyface the crowd was really behind, it didn’t have fast paced sections, it didn’t have but a few memorable spots. Heidi isn’t a bad wrestler but she doesn’t have a lot of chemistry yet with Chisako or KAORU, making some parts of the match a bit rocky, and really only the Cassandra/Chisako parts had any pop to them. That being said, the home stretch was really good as they finally started going all out, lots of brutal moves done to Cassandra and they finally hit their rhythm. It just took too long to get there. A hot ending gives the match some value, just not enough to make it worth going too far out of your way to see.  Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 11/17/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

If I was to ask the more casual fan which promotion has the biggest attendances each year, they’d probably guess Stardom, however they would be wrong. No promotion pops a big crowd like Sendai Girls’, and this show is no exception with over 2,000 fans in attendance. Its a massive show for Sendai Girls’, as both of their titles are up for grabs. We also get a rare Jaguar Yokota sighting, as well as Meiko Satomura teaming with Aja Kong and Nanae Takahashi. Here is the full card:

• Jaguar Yokota vs. Manami
• Eiger vs. Hana Kimura vs. Rydeen Hagane
• Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU
• Aja Kong, Meiko Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Mika Shirahime, Mio Momono, and Rin Kadokura
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

Sadly, this aired on Samurai TV which means they squeezed all of these matches into two hours. Most of the wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Jaguar Yokota vs. Manami

They tie-up to start, Jaguar pushes Manami into the ropes but she gives a clean break. She does the same thing the second time, Manami asks Jaguar to lock knuckles but she elbows the legend instead. Three dropkicks by Manami sends Jaguar to the mat, but Jaguar sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Side headlock takedown by Jaguar, Manami gets out of it but Jaguar puts pressure on her legs before applying a crab hold. Manami gets to the ropes to force a break, rolling front headlock takedown by Jaguar and she puts Manami in a body scissors. Jaguar picks up Manami and applies a wristlock, Manami reverses it but Jaguar takes her back to the mat with a side headlock takedown. Chinlock by Jaguar but Manami gets out of it and applies a hammerlock, Jaguar reverse it back however and picks Manami back up off the mat. Manami sneaks in a backslide for two, Jaguar slaps her but Manami catches Jaguar with a dropkick. Two more dropkicks by Manami and another, but Jaguar stays on her feet. Finally Manami knocks Jaguar over, cover by Manami but Jaguar easily kicks out. Jaguar picks up Manami and elbows her in the chest, scoop slam by Jaguar and she hits a somersault legdrop for two. Double underhook suplex by Jaguar, but Manami gets a shoulder up on the cover. Elbows by Jaguar, Manami returns fire but Jaguar puts her in the Cobra Twist and Manami submits! Your winner is Jaguar Yokota.

As I figured, this was mostly just Jaguar helping to teach Manami how to chain wrestle and things like that. It went longer than you’d expect, over eight minutes, I guess Jaguar wanted to give the 12 year old an extended session. Technically solid since its Jaguar, but a pretty normal rookie vs. veteran match.

Eiger vs. Hana Kimura vs. Rydeen Hagane

We join this in progress, with Eiger doing her bit with Hana while Rydeen tries to tell Hana where Eiger is. Rydeen throws the referee at Eiger to free Hana, Rydeen and Hana both attack Eiger but she rolls under their lariat attempt and hits a DDT onto Rydeen. She then DDTs Hana as well, Eiger gets on the second turnbuckle while Rydeen hits Hana with a shoulderblock. Rydeen elbows Hana while Eiger returns, Eiger falls on top of Hana but Rydeen breaks up the cover. Waistlock by Rydeen by Eiger, Eiger reverses it but Hana rolls up Rydeen from behind for two. Hana rolls up both of them for another two count, she goes off the ropes but eats a kick from Rydeen and Eiger. Chokeslam by Eiger to Hana, Rydeen Irish whips Eiger but Eiger stares at her. Hana dropkicks Rydeen on top of Eiger, and Rydeen picks up the three count! Rydeen Hagane wins!

This was heavily clipped, which is fine. Eiger is funny, I enjoy the bit but I don’t need to see it for too long. A decent enough comedy match but I wish that Hana Kimura could have had a bigger match, seemed like a bit of a waste of her skills. If you like Eiger, a non-offensive way to spend four minutes but that’s about it.

Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina vs. Aasa Maika and KAORU

We join this match in progress as Lee covers Aasa, she picks her up and knees Aasa repeatedly in the head. Kicks the Lee but Aasa returns with a dropkick, more dropkicks by Aasa and she covers Lee for two. Lee knees Aasa but Aasa hits a back bodydrop, scoop slam by Aasa and she covers Lee for two. Aasa tags in KAORU, KAORU comes in with her board and hits Lee in the head with it before hitting a vertical suplex. The referee won’t count the pin due to shenanigans, KAORU puts Lee in front of the corner and pretends like she is going to drop the board onto her, but she jumps down and hits Lee in the head with it instead. Lee comes back with knees, jumping knee by Lee in the corner and she hits a double underhook suplex for two. Lee picks up KAORU but Aasa runs in and hits her from behind, Lee breaks through the double team and kicks both of them before hitting a double face crusher. Kick by Lee, and she covers KAORU for two. Lee tags in Heidi, elbows by Heidi and she hits a butterfly suplex for a two count cover. Lee comes in but Aasa does too and knocks Lee out of the ring, cradle by KAORU to Heidi and she hits Heidi with the board. KAORU goes up top but Heidi grabs her from behind, she goes for a powerbomb but KAORU reverses it with a hurricanrana. She hits Heidi with the board before tagging in Aasa, running body blocks by Aasa and she covers Heidi for two. Aasa goes off the ropes but Heidi kicks her in the stomach, Giant Swing by Heidi and she covers Aasa for two. Over the shoulder slam by Heidi, but KAORU breaks up the cover. Lee throws KAORU out of the ring and tries to kick Aasa, but she nails Heidi in the head by accident. KAORU then tries to hit Heidi with the board piece but hits her own partner by mistake, Heidi runs up to Aasa but Aasa cradles her for two. Aasa goes off the ropes but Heidi hits a hard shoulderblock, Heidi slams Aasa in front of the corner and Lee comes off the top with a diving footstomp. Heidi then goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers the Diving Guillotine Drop, and she picks up the three count! Alex Lee and Heidi Katrina win!

I’ve only watched a few matches with Heidi but I continue to be impressed with her. I haven’t seen her yet in a big singles match but she always looks good in tag matches. This was the best I’ve seen Alex look as well, so while the match was clipped she looked more natural than in the past. Aasa still has a ways to go and KAORU was mostly gimmick here, so I wouldn’t say it was a high end match or anything, but a perfectly watchable midcard tag.

Aja Kong, Satomura, and Nanae Takahashi vs. Mika Shirahime, Momono, and Rin Kadokura

The match begins with Rin against Nanae, Nanae tosses Rin around the ring and throws her into the corner before hitting a series of chops. Lariat by Nanae, she picks up Rin but Rin Irish whips her only to eat a shoulderblock. Takedown by Nanae but Rin gets out of it and both women return to their feet. They tag out as Mika and Meiko come in, they trade kick attempts until Meiko lands one to the midsection. Meiko tosses Mika to the mat and puts her in a side headlock, Mika gets out of it but Meiko slams her back into the corner and applies a front headlock. Mika suplexes out of the hold and they both return to their feet, tagging in the last pair of wrestlers. Mio looks so tiny next to Kong, she goes for elbows but Kong pushes her back and asks for Mika. Mika tags in, Kong knees her in the midsection but Mika avoids her charge and delivers a head kick. Mika tags Rin, they go for a double suplex but Kong reverses it and suplexes both of them. Kong tags in Meiko, jumping elbow by Meiko in the corner and she rebounds out of the opposite corner with another elbow to the face. Backdrop suplex by Meiko to Rin, but it gets a two count. Elbow drop by Meiko but Rin avoids her elbow and rolls her up, dropkick by Rin but Meiko follows with a heel kick. Meiko tags Kong back in, knees by Kong to Rin and she hits a series of dropkicks, but Kong doesn’t budge. Kong throws Rin into the ropes but Rin hits a hurricanrana, picking up a two count pinfall. Kong punches Rin in the face for her troubles, she goes for a lariat but Rin ducks it and jumps on Kong’s back. Kong drops down with a Samoan Drop, Irish whip by Kong but Rin tags in Mio. Rin and Mio hit a double dropkick to send Kong to the mat, they then take turns back and forth dropkicking Kong. Kong eventually gets tired of this and hits a hard lariat on Mio, she picks her up but Mio pushes her away and goes for a sunset flip.

Kong blocks it by sitting on Mio, backdrop suplex by Kong but Mio gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong tags in Nanae, hard elbows by Nanae but Mio fires back. Dropkick by Mio but Nanae delivers a jumping kick to the head, she drops Mio onto her knee but Rin breaks up the cover. Meiko comes in to take care of Rin but Mika hits a crossbody onto Nanae, missile dropkick by Rin and Mio covers Nanae with a bridge for two. Mika is tagged in and she dropkicks Nanae in the corner, Nanae and Mika trade elbows, kicks to the chest by Mika but Nanae hits a hard shoulderblock. Nanae charges Mika but Mika kicks her in the chest, vertical suplex by Mika and she covers Nanae for two. Mika goes up top but Nanae recovers and joins her, superplexing Mika back into the ring. Nanae tags in Meiko, uppercut by Meiko to Mika and she kicks Mika in the back of the head for a two count cover. Meiko kicks Mika against the ropes but Mika delivers a superkick, she picks up Meiko but Nanae and Kong run in. Kong cleans house but accidentally lariats Meiko as well, footstomp by Mio onto Meiko and Mika suplexes Rin on top of Meiko. Mika goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Kong breaks up the pin by hitting Mika with her metal tin. Team Meiko hits a suplex on all three of their opponents, Nanae goes up top while Meiko puts Mika on her shoulders, but Mika ducks her dive and cradles Meiko for two. Jackknife cover by Mika, but that gets a two as well. High kick by Mika, she goes off the ropes but Meiko connects with a high kick of her own. Cartwheel kneedrop by Meiko, she drops Mika with the Death Valley Bomb and picks up the three count pinfall! Meiko Satomura, Aja Kong, and Nanae Takahashi win!

So much murder. I almost feel bad enjoying this match as much as I did, it was just an entertaining match from start to finish. Aja Kong is one of the best in the world and don’t let anyone tell you differently, she is so good at what she does (killing people) but still takes bumps and lets the young wrestlers get the upper-hand at times so she isn’t just selfishly mowing through them. The young team tried so hard but each time they got a run going, one of the veterans would just crush their body and spirit. The match went a decent amount of time but it didn’t feel long when watching it, everything just flowed really well and there was always something going on. One of my favorite six wrestler tag matches of the year, I loved it.  Recommended

(c) Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

Miyagi and Chisako attack before the match starts, and the action immediately spills outside the ring. Miyagi puts Shida against the railing and hits a cannonball, while Chisako grabs a chair and hits Shida in the head with it. Syuri tries to help but is ultimately unsuccessful, Miyagi brings Shida into the ring before draping her over the ropes so she can hit a missile dropkick. Chisako comes in too and they double team Shida, Chisako covers Shida but it gets a two count. Shida goes off the ropes but Syuri trips her form the floor, Shida drags Chisako’s head over the apron and delivers a running knee. Shida tags in Syuri, kicks to the chest by Syuri, stomps by Syuri and she tags Shida back in. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Shida and she puts Chisako in a crab hold, Shida release her so that she can hit another backbreaker. Syuri returns and goes for Chisako’s arm, she gets the cross armbreaker applied but Chisako gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Syuri tags Shida back in before hitting an ax handle off the top turnbuckle, as Chisako continues being the Face In Peril. Well she isn’t really a face, its an interesting dynamic. Miyagi finally helps out her partner and gets the hot tag, dropkicks by Miyagi to Syuri and she covers her for two. Another dropkick by Miyagi, she picks up Syuri but Syuri gets her back and hits a Backstabber. PK by Syuri, and she makes the tag to Shida. Jumping knee by Shida in the corner, she sets up Miyagi in the corner and then suplexes Chisako onto Miyagi. Miyagi and Shida trade elbows and eye pokes, Syuri grabs Miyagi from the apron but Chisako grabs Shida in return. Shida gets her kendo stick but Miyagi stops her from using it, they both go for it but Miyagi gets it first and hits Shida in the head with the kendo stick. Air Raid Crash by Miyagi, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Miyagi tags in Chisako, running elbow by Chisako in the corner but Shida joins her when she goes up top. Miyagi comes in and throws Shida back to the mat, assisted diving senton by Chisako to Shida but the cover only gets a two count.

Chisako picks up Shida and hits a Northern Lights Suplex but Shida comes back with an enzuigiri, vertical suplex by Shida and she delivers a running knee for a two count. Shida tags in Syuri, kicks to the chest by Syuri and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Suplex by Syuri, but Chisako kicks out of the cover. Syuri quickly applies a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, Shida comes in the ring but Chisako dropkicks both of them out of it. Miyagi gets in the ring and dives out onto Shida and Syuri, Chisako then goes up top and jumps down onto both of them as well. Chisako slides Syuri back in and she is double teamed in the corner, diving footstomp by Chisako but Syuri gets a shoulder up on the cover. Chisako goes back up top but Shida runs in and smacks her, Shida suplexes Chisako down to the mat and with Syuri they take turns kicking her. Double kicks to Chisako, but Syuri’s cover gets a two count. Syuri holds Chisako for Shida, Chisako ducks Shida’s kick but Miyagi hits Chisako by accident and Syuri hits a release German on her. Running knee by Syuri to Chisako, but the cover gets two. Kicks by Syuri but Chisako catches one and hits her, boot to the face by Chisako and Miyagi runs in to hit a big boot. Chisako goes up top  and nails the Hormone Splash, but Shida breaks up the cover by throwing a kendo stick at her. Chisako goes off the ropes but Syuri hits a jumping knee, they trade elbows until Syuri kicks Chisako in the head. Cover by Syuri, but Miyagi breaks it up. Shida comes in and hits Miyagi in the head with the kendo stick, then she and Syuri hit running knees on Miyagi and Chisako. Syuri goes for the Buzzsaw Kick by Chisako ducks it, Harumaru by Chisako and she picks up the three count! Cassandra Miyagi and DASH Chisako are the new champions!

Another really good match, as was to be expected. Miyagi has improved ten fold in the last year, she still isn’t a high end wrestler but the pieces are starting to come together and she looked really good here. Shida and Syuri work together so well, they have similar move sets and everything blends together such that they feel like one unit. I liked Chisako and Miyagi taking the action to the floor to start just trying to get an advantage, with Shida and Syuri being so dominating they had to take any opportunity they could. Fast paced and fun, a really solid conclusion to their match series and it was nice to see Miyagi finally win a title (which she vacated a few days later because she decided she didn’t care about it).  Recommended

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

They start slow as they trade holds on the mat with neither getting a clear advantage. They go into a Test of Strength, Hiroyo wins the battle and chops Chihiro into the corner. Chihiro boots Hiroyo back and slams Hiroyo back into the corner, body avalanche by Chihiro and she hits hip attacks in the corner. They trade elbows, scoop slam by Hiroyo but Chihiro hits a jumping hip attack. Hiroyo falls out of the ring but Chihiro waits for her, Hiroyo rolls back in and pushes Chihiro against the ropes before slapping her in the face. Chihiro elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her back, Hiroyo wins the duel and throws Chihiro out of the ring. Hiroyo goes out after her and throws Chihiro into the ring post, vertical suplex by Hiroyo out on the floor and she returns to the ring to wait for Chihiro. Chihiro makes it back in after a moment, Hiroyo tries to suplex her over the ropes but Chihiro blocks it and they trade elbows while Chihiro is on the apron. Shoulder tackle by Chihiro, she goes up top but Hiroyo joins her and hits a superplex. Cover by Hiroyo, but it gets two. Hiroyo goes for the powerbomb but Chihiro blocks it, Hiroyo rolls it into a crab hold instead, she then applies a Texas Cloverleaf but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Chihiro slides around her back and plants her with a release German. Chihiro picks up Hiroyo and gets her on her shoulders, rolling fireman’s carry slam by Chihiro and she delivers the somersault senton for a two count.

Chihiro goes back up top and nails a somersault senton, but Hiroyo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Chihiro grabs Hiroyo around the waist but Hiroyo gets into the ropes, hard lariat by Hiroyo but Chihiro comes back with a spear. Hiroyo goes for a backdrop suplex but Chihiro blocks it, lariat by Hiroyo and she hits the sliding lariat for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Chihiro but Chihiro again blocks the backdrop suplex so Hiroyo hits a German suplex hold instead for two. Front suplex slam by Hiroyo, but again her cover gets a two count. Hiroyo drags up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner, Hiroyo slides around Chihiro however and delivers a sitout powerbomb. Hiroyo hits a series of short range lariats, she goes for the backdrop suplex but Chihiro gets out of it with a judo toss. Chihiro applies a Cobra Twist but Hiroyo gets into the ropes, Chihiro keeps Hiroyo locked up however and suplexes her to the mat. Powerbomb by Chihiro, but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Roaring elbow by Hiroyo but Chihiro ducks the next one and hits a release German, Hiroyo returns to her feet but Chihiro lariats her back to the mat again. Another lariat by Chihiro, she drags up Hiroyo and nails the German suplex hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is the new champion!

I don’t usually re-watch old matches to compare, but I think this is the best match of Chihiro Hashimoto’s career. They took some elements from their last match and built up on it, Chihiro looked so strong and dominate and it really felt like she was on the same level as someone with much more experience than her. Hiroyo was great too, her facial expressions put over how important the match was and I loved how they protected the backdrop suplex. I love a good hoss match, just two strong wrestlers throwing suplexes and lariats with no regard for tomorrow, and this match delivered that type of action in spades. I am not a big fan of Chihiro winning the title three times in nine months and hopefully they find something more interesting to do booking-wise, but that doesn’t change the fact that this was a fantastic and must-watch match.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata on 7/15/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details

Title: Week Pre-net Extra #569
Release: May 2017
Pictures Featuring Mika Shirahime: 18
Cost: ¥ 1,080
Where to Buy: www.grajapa.shueisha.co.jp

These picture were only available digitally, and all are originally sized at 850 x 1280. For the photo shoot, Weekly Playboy paired each wrestler with another wrestler to do pictures together. Mika Shirahime is a young wrestler from the Sendai Girls’ promotion, and she was paired with Kairi Hojo, a wrestler then from Stardom but currently wrestling in WWE as Kairi Sane. Mika’s photos included sets of her in various locations and in different attires, as can be seen below. There were a total of 18 pictures involving Mika in the photo set, here are a sample of the pictures:

The post Mika Shirahime in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra” appeared first on Joshi City.

I don’t normally do full review for just one match, but I love all four of these wrestlers and if I am going to watch it, I may as well talk about it. Fortune Dream is produced by wrestling legend Kenta Kobashi, they don’t have shows very often but they tend to be pretty entertaining. There is always one Joshi match on the show, often featuring the same wrestler or two as Kobashi has his favorite Joshi wrestlers just like we do. Here is the Joshi match on the show:

• Meiko Satomura and Mika Shirahime vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Konami

Konami and Mika start the match, Konami elbows Mika against the ropes but Mika catches her with a dropkick. Meiko comes in and they both kick Konami, cover by Mika but it gets two. Mika knocks Konami into the corner but Konami gets around her and dropkicks Mika in the head, giving her time to tag in Hiroyo. Hiroyo clubs on Mika and hits a hard shoulderblock, she throws down Mika by the hair and stomps her down into the corner. Hiroyo sets Mika across the ropes in the corner, Konami comes in and dropkicks Mika before Hiroyo hits a running body avalanche for a two count. Hiroyo slaps Mika but Mika fires back with mounted elbows, which Hiroyo reverses into a single leg crab hold. Meiko breaks it up by kicking Hiroyo in the back, Konami runs in to take care of her while Mika reverses a backdrop suplex into a cradle for two. Elbows by Mika but Hiroyo elbows her back, she goes off the ropes but Mika catches her with a superkick. Enzuigiri by Mika and she tags in Meiko, Meiko trades elbows with Hiroyo and she elbows her in the corner.

Meiko comes back with a rebound elbow smash, Mika runs in and kicks Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a backdrop suplex on both of them. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, but Meiko kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Hiroyo but Meiko hits a heel kick, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo delivers a back elbow. Hiroyo tags in Konami, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Meiko. Konami kicks Meiko in the chest but Meiko kicks her back, elbow by Meiko and she kicks Konami into the corner. Backdrop suplex by Meiko, and she covers Konami for two. Meiko tells Konami to fight back but it doesn’t go well for her, Hiroyo grabs Meiko from the apron but Mika kicks Konami from the apron to even things off. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Meiko, she goes up top but Konami hits her before she can jump off and dumps her back into the ring. Now Konami goes up but Meiko uppercuts her and pulls her to the center of the ring, she goes for the Death Valley Bomb but Konami reverses it into a cross kneelock. Mika tries to break it up but Hiroyo puts her in a backbreaker before tossing her to the mat, however Meiko makes it to the ropes for the break. Kick to the head by Konami, and she covers Meiko for a two count. Pele Kick by Meiko and she kicks Konami again in the head, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko and she picks up the three count! Meiko Satomura and Mika Shirahime win the match.

Even though the match was early on in the card, the veterans Meiko and Hiroyo only know one way to wrestle (Konami’s lip got busted at some point from Meiko’s kicks) so it felt like a bigger match than it was. While I do wish that it was longer, it was still entertaining with all four getting a bit of a chance to shine. Meiko really took it to Konami in the last section of the match, they haven’t wrestled in two years so I guess they had time to make up for. Overall a well paced and hard hitting match, nothing that will blow you away but a good effort by all of them, and if anyone in the crowd was new to Joshi I hope they came away impressed with what they saw.  Recommended

The post Joshi Wrestling at Fortune Dream 4 on 6/14/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details

Title: Week Pre-net Extra #569
Release: May 2017
Pictures Featuring Kairi Hojo: 18
Cost: ¥ 1,080
Where to Buy: www.grajapa.shueisha.co.jp

These picture were only available digitally, and all are size 850 x 1280. For the photo shoot, Weekly Playboy paired each wrestler with one other wrestler to do some pictures together. Kairi Hojo was paired with Mika Shirahime, a wrestler from Sendai Girls’. Kairi’s photos included sets of her in various locations and in different attires, as can be seen below. There were a total of 18 pictures involving Kairi Hojo in the photo set, here are a sample of the pictures:

The post Kairi Hojo in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra” appeared first on Joshi City.

The post Joshi Wrestlers in Weekly Playboy Magazine on 5/29/17 appeared first on Joshi City.

Sendai Girls’ is one of those promotions I try to check in with at least once a month, as while their roster is very small they have some quality wrestlers. This is a big event for them, as Chihiro Hashimoto is challenging Aja Kong in an attempt to win back the Sendai Girls’ World Championship. We also get Meiko Satomura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, plus a Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship match! Here is the full card:

• Konami vs. Mika Shirahime
• Hana Kimura vs. Mio Momono
• KAORU, Alex Lee, and Emi Sakura vs. Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura
• #1 Contender of Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. DASH Chisako and Cassandra Miyagi
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Aja Kong vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

A very full card, which means some of these matches will definitely be clipped. As always, you can click on the wrestlers’ name above to go to their profile.

Konami vs. Mika Shirahime

They circle each other until Konami tackles Mika, they jockey for position on the mat until Konami gets the ankle lock applied but Mika gets to the ropes. Konami twists Mika’s legs in the bottom rope before kicking her, PK by Konami and she covers Mika for a two count. Fisherman suplex by Konami and she puts Mika back in the ankle hold but Mika gets into the ropes again. Konami goes off the ropes but Mika nails her with a high kick, cover by Mika but Konami barely kicks out. Rolling Northern Lights Suplexes by Mika, she picks up Konami and she hits a pair of high kicks for another two. Mika goes up top but Konami avoids the diving body press, Konami then goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Fisherman suplex hold by Konami, but Mika bridges out of the pin. Konami goes for a high kick but Mika ducks it and rolls up Mika for two. Konami picks up Mika and goes for a suplex, but Mika reverses it into a cradle for the three count! Mika Shirahime is the winner!

A bit clipped, I think we missed the middle of the match that helped set up the finishing stretch. I liked everything they showed though, Konami and Mika have similar styles and they meshed together really well. I was surprised Mika won since she hasn’t had a lot of luck lately, but the cradle win helped keep Konami strong as well. Even for a a clipped opener match, I thought it was pretty solid and a fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mio Momono

Hana and Mio trade holds to start, Mio gets Hana to the mat first but Hana returns to her feet and puts Mio in a headlock. Mio gets out of it but Hana shoulderblocks her to the mat, Mio kips up however and dropkicks Hana. Irish whip by Mio but Hana dropkicks her, Hana ties up Mio’s legs and puts her in the Muta Lock. Hana goes for a crab hold but Mio reverses it, inside cradle by Mio and a backslide but each move gets a two count. Mio hits a pair of jumping crossbodies but her cover gets another two, she picks up Hana and she hits a scoop slam. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Hana bridges out of the pin. Mio goes off the ropes but Hana slaps on a sleeper. Mio gets into the ropes for the break, Hana picks up Mio and she hits a vertical suplex. Hana goes off the ropes but Mio catches her with a bodyscissors roll-up for two. After she kicks out, Hana nails Mio in the face with a big boot, she then goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Cover by Hana, and she gets the three count! Hana Kimura wins the match.

A bit on the short side but I liked this one too. Mio is coming along nicely, her offensive is still pretty simple but she hits everything well and showed a bit of fire. Hana doesn’t wrestle in her Oedo Tai attire in Sendai Girls’ but still was showing a bit of an edge, she knocked off Mio’s head with one of the boots and glared at her after the match instead of offering a handshake. A fun match between two young wrestlers, nothing too memorable but nothing wrong with it.

KAORU, Alex Lee, and Emi Sakura vs. Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger

Eiger and company attack before the match can even start, and the action spills out of the ring and into the stands. We clip ahead to Lee and Eiger in the ring together and they go right into some Eiger comedy, complete with a full creepy zombie chain with all the wrestlers participating. KAORU ends up scaring everyone, she gets her piece of table but Eiger spits dust into her face and hits a diving body press. Nicole hits a diving body press as well, Rose follows with a Swanton Bomb onto KAORU and she covers her for the three count! Nyla Rose, Big Bang Nicole, and Eiger are the winners.

The match was clipped from 12 minutes to 2 minutes and was basically just the Eiger comedy. I’m not complaining the match was clipped, something had to be and it was the least critical match on the card, but even if you are a fan of any of these wrestlers there still isn’t anything here to get excited about.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura

They lock knuckles to start, Meiko gets Hiroyo to the mat but Hiroyo switches positions with her and they jockey for position. Meiko kicks Hiroyo against the ropes before puling her back to the middle of the ring, Meiko throws Hiroyo against the ropes but Hiroyo knocks her down with a shoulderblock. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and chops her into the corner, Meiko charges Hiroyo but Hiroyo snaps her neck over the top rope. Hiroyo is a bit too proud of herself on the apron, giving Meiko time to recover and kick her in the head. Hiroyo falls out of the ring and Meiko goes out after her, where she proceeds to kick Hiroyo around the floor. Hiroyo eventually fights back and scoop slams Meiko on the floor, Hiroyo slides Meiko back in and goes up top but Meiko kicks her before she can jump off. Meiko Pele Kicks Hiroyo off the top turnbuckle and kicks Hiroyo into the corner, Hiroyo slowly gets back up and the two trade strikes. Meiko knees Hiroyo and takes her to the mat, she applies a crossface before releasing the hold and kicking Hiroyo in the chest. Meiko goes up top but Hiroyo elbows her before she can jump off, Hiroyo joins Meiko but Meiko pushes her off. Hiroyo quickly hits a Roaring Elbow before re-joining Meiko, hitting a superplex to the mat. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and puts her across the second rope, body avalanche by Hiroyo and she goes up top to hit a missile dropkick for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Meiko and gets her on her shoulders, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she delivers the reverse double kneedrop.

Hiroyo picks up Meiko and goes for the powerbomb, Meiko reverses it with a back bodydrop and kicks Hiroyo in the head. Kneedrop by Meiko, she goes up top but again Hiroyo recovers and walks to the corner. Meiko slides out to the apron and elbows Hiroyo back, she goes back up top and goes for a diving body press, but Hiroyo gets her knees up. Kicks by Meiko, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a body block followed by a lariat for two. Hiroyo picks up Meiko but Meiko hits a heel kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but Hiroyo kicks out of the cover. Meiko drags Hiroyo to a seated position and applies a sleeper, she reverts it into a trapped choke but Hiroyo gets to the ropes. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Meiko, she picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo blocks it when Meiko tries to pick her up. Meiko charges Hiroyo in the corner but Hiroyo catches her and hits a powerbomb. Spinning sit-down powerbomb by Hiroyo, but the cover only gets two. Hiroyo goes for a backdrop suplex but Meiko blocks it and hits a backdrop suplex of her own, Hiroyo gets back to her feet but Meiko nails her with a high kick. Roaring Elbow by Hiroyo but Meiko comes back with a Pele Kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but the cover gets a two count. Meiko goes off the ropes but Hiroyo levels her with a back elbow, lariat by Hiroyo and she picks up the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins!

Even though this was a midcard match, it may as well been the main event as they wrestled as if it was. The match had everything you’d expect – hard hits, passion, big suplexes, and a satisfying ending. The end stretch in particular was great, these two both rarely get pinned so it was logical they’d have to trade bombs before one of them went down for the three count. They don’t have a lot of history together but had really good chemistry anyway, and the 15 minutes just flew by. Really high end match and worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They start the match slowly as they lock-up, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes and elbows her instead of giving a clean break. Mika returns the favor and they trade elbows back and forth until Mika hits a dropkick for two. Mika picks up Hana but Hana elbows her and works a side headlock. Hana takes Mika to the mat but Mika gets her in a headscissors, Hana gets out of it and goes back to the headlock but Mika rolls her up for two. Hana twists Mika’s leg but Mika kicks her and does the same to her. After they are done trading leglocks, Hana goes off the ropes but Mika catches her with a double wrist armsault for a two count. Mika kicks Hana into the corner and hits a snap vertical suplex, she picks up Hana but Hana blocks the next suplex attempt and kicks Mika in the stomach. Hana throws Mika into the corner and hits a double knee strike, dropkick by Hana and she covers Mika for two. Hana grabs Mika and goes for a suplex, but Mika blocks it and applies a guillotine choke. Hana gets out of it, Mika kicks Hana in the head and she gets a two count cover. Mika goes for another kick but Hana ducks it and applies a sleeper, Mika gets to the ropes but Hana quickly hits a running boot for a two count. Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, another cover by Hana but Mika gets a shoulder up. Hana goes for another sleeper but Mika drills her with a high kick, both wrestlers slowly get up and Mika connects with a series of hard elbows. Mika bounces Hana off the ropes and rolls her up with a wing clutch hold for two, she goes off the ropes but Hana nails a big boot. Another big boot by Hana and she hits a third one, picking up the three count pinfall! Hana Kimura is your winner.

This was a really solid match between potentially two big Joshi stars down the road. Hana Kimura already has “it” as the crowds love her and her in-ring ability is above the level you’d expect from someone a year in, but Mika showed a lot of passion and has really grown a lot in the last six months. She always had the kicks but now she is also tying that into a personality, which is obviously just as important. They kept it pretty simple but everything was executed well, the crowd was into it and now Hana gets to go after a title in another promotion. A fun match between two young and hungry wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hikaru Shida and Syuri vs. DASH Chisako and Cassandra Miyagi

Miyagi and Shida are the first two in, Miyagi headbangs at Shida but Shida shoulderblocks her to the mat. Shida throws Miyagi into the corner and hits a jumping knee, she slides out to the apron as Syuri comes in and charges Miyagi, but Miyagi holds down the rope and Syuri ends up on the apron with Shida. Miyagi falls out of the ring, Shida and Syuri go for jumping knees off the apron but Miyagi avoids it. Chisako goes up top and dives out onto the floor onto both Shida and Syuri, Miyagi slides Shida back in the ring and Chisako knees her against the ropes. Chisako goes to charge at Shida but Syuri trips her from the floor, she hangs her head over the apron and both she and Shida hitting running kneelifts. Shida stands on Chisako in the corner while taunting Meiko Satomura, she picks up Chisako after a moment and tags in Syuri. Syuri kicks Chisako repeatedly in the chest but Chisako catches one and slaps Syuri in the face. Big kick by Chisako and she tags in Miyagi, running elbow by Miyagi in the corner and she hits a bulldog on Syuri. Missile dropkick by Miyagi, Syuri rolls out of the ring but Miyagi goes up the apron and hits another missile dropkick down to the floor. Back in the ring, slingshot legdrop by Miyagi and she covers Syuri for two. Miyagi charges Syuri but Syuri drop toeholds her into the second rope, giving her a chance to make the tag to Shida. Shida and Miyagi trade elbows, eye poke by Miyagi and she levels Shida with a big boot. Samoan Drop by Miyagi, and she covers Shida for a two count. Syuri runs in but she knees Shida by accident, Chisako dropkicks Syuri out of the ring while Miyagi delivers the Samoan Driver onto Shida for another two.

She tags in Chisako, missile dropkick by Chisako but Shida hits an enzuigiri. She tries to tag in Shida but Miyagi pulls Syuri off the apron, Miyagi slams Shida in front of the corner and Chisako hits a diving footstomp for two. Chisako goes back up top but she gets a kendo stick thrown at her, knocking her to the floor. Shida tries to superplex Chisako back in the ring but Chisako blocks it and smacks her with a chair, Chisako puts the chair on Shida and nails the Hormone Splash, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Chisako puts Shida on the top turnbuckle and goes for an avalanche cutter, but Shida pushes her off. Shida suplexes Chisako before superplexing Miyagi onto Chisako, Syuri joins her and they both hitting running knees for two. Chisako eats a double running knee, cover by Shida but Chisako barely kicks out. Miyagi comes in and dropkicks Shida, cradle by Chisako to Shida but it gets two. Chisako goes for a hurricanrana but Shida catches her and hits a powerbomb, Falcon Arrow by Shida but Miyagi breaks up the pin. Syuri takes care of Miyagi, Shida goes off the ropes and hits the running knee onto Chisako, but Chisako reverses the cover into her own two count. Hurricanrana by Chisako, but Shida rolls through it and with Syuri they hit a double running knee for two. Shida waits for Chisako to get to a knee, she goes off the ropes and nails the Tamashii no Three Count for the three count! Shida and Syuri remain the champions.

One of the great things when two wrestlers stay together for a good chunk of time is they get really familiar with each other and feed off of each other constantly throughout the match, which is what Syuri and Shida did here. Chisako and Miyagi both were good but it was Syuri and Shida that really pop out as they are always helping each other and getting involved to make the match more exciting. Miyagi is still mostly character but the character is quality and in-ring she is slowly getting better. While its odd that Chisako/Miyagi got another title shot, it was still a very good championship match even if the winning team was never really in doubt.  Recommended

(c) Aja Kong vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

The match starts with them feeling each other out, and doesn’t step up a notch until Kong starts biting on Chihiro’s arm. Kong punches Chihiro into the corner, she lets Chihiro out and Chihiro takes Kong back to the mat. Kong gets into the ropes but Chihiro keeps kicking at her, she finally lets Kong up and Kong knees Chihiro in the stomach. Chihiro goes for a takedown but Kong blocks it and puts Chihiro in a sleeper. Chihiro gets out of it and returns to her feet, short range hip attacks by Chihiro but Kong lariats her when she goes off the ropes. Chihiro comes back with a lariat of her own, she charges Kong again but Kong moves and Chihiro falls out of the ring. Kong goes out after her but Chihiro kicks her and slams Kong into the ring post. Chihiro picks up Kong and delivers a waterwheel drop on the floor, she slides Kong back in but Kong lariats Chihiro to the mat. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam, somersault sentons by Chihiro and she covers Kong for two. Chihiro picks up Kong but Kong slides down and kicks Chihiro in the head, Chihiro charges Kong but Kong swats her to the mat. Kong takes Chihiro out to the floor and throws her into the crowd before throwing a chair at her head.

Kong tosses Chihiro around on the floor and into the bleachers, she throws a chair at her again before finally sliding Chihiro back into the ring. Kong picks up Chihiro and drops her with a backdrop suplex, cover by Kong but it gets a two count. Kong picks up Chihiro and drills her with a brainbuster, but again the cover gets two. Kong gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a falling elbow drop, she picks up Chihiro and hits a Stunner. Kong goes up top again but Chihiro grabs her from behind and powerbombs her to the mat for a two count. Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a waterwheel drop, she drags her back up and hits a second one, covering Kong for two. Chihiro goes for a suplex but Kong drops down and puts Chihiro in an ankle hold, but Chihiro gets to the ropes for the break. Kong then puts Chihiro in a cross kneelock, but again Chihiro gets a hand into the ropes. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro blocks the Uraken and drops Kong with a release German. Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a second release German suplex, she grabs her a third time but Kong catches her with a Uraken. They both slowly get up, Kong backfists Chihiro but Chihiro punches her in the face and hits a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is the new champion!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this match. When it was ‘on’ it worked really well, I really enjoyed Kong brutalizing Chihiro around the floor and Chihiro’s ability to look credible throwing lariats and suplexes against Kong says a lot about her at this stage of her career. But the match was way too long and had some real filler, and Kong’s leg submission holds 15 minutes into the match really slowed it down for no reason. The ending was also botched, mistakes happen but they are more noticeable when its the end stretch and is in the big title match. I enjoy both Kong and Chihiro but both are limited for different reasons, and I don’t think a 20+ minute match was the way to go. More good than bad, but as it is I can’t really recommend it since I fear anyone not invested in Sendai Girls’ or Chihiro would lose interest before the ending.

The post Sendai Girls’ on 4/6/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

After two long months, we are back to Pro Wrestling WAVE! WAVE events don’t appear in full too often, but this show was recently added to the Pro Wrestling WAVE Network in a very timely fashion. This is one of their biggest shows of the first quarter, as they visit Korakuen Hall. WAVE never draws great at Korakuen but not due to lack of effort, as we get ten matches with many having a real chance of being excellent. They use wrestlers from a lot of different promotions (and Freelancers) to put on a lot of unique match-ups that either we haven’t seen before, or don’t see very often. Here is the full card:

• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Ryo Mizunami
• Cherry vs. Maya Yukihi
• ERINA vs. Kagetsu
• Hiroe Nagahama vs. Natsumi Maki
• Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Mika Shirahime
• SAKI vs. Sareee
• Rin Kadokura vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Misaki Ohata vs. Yoshiko
• Natsu Sumire vs. Takumi Iroha
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

If I have a profile for the wrestler on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Lots of Joshi to watch, and it is worth noting that all matches have a ten minute time limit for this event.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Ryo Mizunami

The two champions tie-up to start, Hiroyo pushes Ryo into the ropes but she gives a mostly clean break. Waistlock by Ryo as they trade holds, they end up on the mat but quickly reach a stalemate as they return to their feet. They get into a Test of Strength, Ryo goes off the ropes and she shoulderblocks Hiroyo to the mat. Shoulder tackles by Ryo in the corner and she hits a lariat, she picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo slides away and throws Ryo into the corner. Hiroyo puts Ryo across the second rope and hits a body avalanche, reverse double knee by Hiroyo and she covers Ryo for a two count. Hiroyo waits for Ryo to get up but Ryo blocks the lariat attempt and hits a running leg lariat, she picks up Hiroyo and hits a powerslam for a two. Anaconda Vice by Ryo, but Hiroyo reverses the hold and applies a keylock. Ryo gets into the ropes to force the break, they both go for lariats but neither wrestler goes down. Body Block by Hiroyo but Ryo sends her to the mat with a lariat, she waits for Hiroyo to get up and hits a second one, dragon suplex hold by Ryo but Hiroyo barely kicks out. Ryo picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo slides away, she goes for a powerbomb but Ryo back bodydrops out of it. Ryo charges Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a lariat, she goes for the backdrop suplex but Ryo blocks it. Hiroyo trips Ryo and hits a deadlift German, sliding lariat by Hiroyo but the cover only gets a two. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and hits a lariat, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo but Ryo gets a hand on the bottom rope to break up the pin. Hiroyo picks up Ryo but Ryo snaps off a dragon suplex, lariat by Ryo but the bell rings as she goes for the cover. The match is a Draw.

I normally don’t like Draws but I am fine with it here. With two champions in a match with a ten minute limit, it makes perfect sense that neither could put the other away that quickly. They certainly tried though, as after about a minute of “feeling out” the bulk of the match was them throwing everything they could at each other. Hiroyo’s deadlift German was beautiful, and all the lariats had impact. Both came out looking strong since neither dominated, and it just made you want to see a longer match between them with a definitive ending. A really solid match and a good way to kick off the show.  Recommended

Cherry vs. Maya Yukihi

I’m not going to count down the “48 counts” but I’ll let you know when we are getting close. Maya hits the first move of the match with a dropkick, headlock by Cherry and she shoulderblocks Maya to the mat. Cherry comes back with an armdrag and the they trips/quick counts before returning to their feet. Cherry grabs Maya by the hair and throws her into the corner, running elbow by Cherry and she hits a face crusher for a two count. Dropkick by Cherry but Maya hits a STO, running boot to the head by Maya and she covers Cherry for two. Bodyscissors by Maya and she rolls Cherry around the ring, occasionally stopping to get two count covers. Superkick by Maya, but Cherry barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Maya goes up top but Cherry avoids the senton bomb, she rolls up Maya but Maya reverses it as the two trade flash pin attempts. Maya goes off the ropes and they both go for a backslide, Cherry gets it applied but it only gets two. A Northern Lights Suplex by Cherry gets a two count, she goes off the ropes but Maya cuts her off and connects with a series of kicks for a two count. Maya picks up Cherry but Cherry blocks the scoop slam, jumping lariat by Cherry and she puts Maya in a cross armbreaker. Maya gets out of it and goes off the ropes, but Cherry uses the referee to help her hit a lariat. She then throws the referee on top of Maya and hits a footstomp, cover by Cherry and the reluctant referee counts two. That puts us at 47 counts! Double chop by Cherry but Maya kicks out of the pin before the one count, superkick by Maya but Cherry kicks out before the one as well. Maya goes off the ropes but Cherry avoids the lariat attempt and trips her. Spring Night Love by Cherry, and the bell rings as soon as the referee counts to one since that is 48 counts! Cherry wins!

I’m not sure if under the best case scenario that Cherry and Maya could have a great match together, but they certainly couldn’t in these conditions. The 48 Count thing isn’t offensive but it was the focus of the match as both were going for a lot more covers than usual since they had to get a high count number before the match became a Draw, otherwise the gimmick would have been meaningless. The schoolgirl outfits were fine but also was a focus at times instead of the actual wrestling. For an undercard match there was nothing horribly wrong with it, the action was just lackluster and the gimmicks didn’t enhance the match.

ERINA vs. Kagetsu

ERINA dropkicks Kagetsu as the match starts, she goes for a crossbody but Kagetsu catches her and slams ERINA to the mat. Dropkick by Kagetsu and she snapmares ERINA a few times before applying a camel clutch, but ERINA gets a hand onto the ropes. Hard elbow by Kagetsu and she scoop slams ERINA, another slam by Kagetsu and she covers ERINA for two. Kagetsu goes back to the half camel clutch but ERINA gets to the ropes again, dropkick by Kagetsu and she puts ERINA into a hammerlock. Cross arm submission by Kagetsu but ERINA gets a toe on the ropes, Kagetsu puts ERINA in the ropes and stretches the rookie. Kicks by Kagetsu and she dropkicks ERINA in the back for a two count cover. Kagetsu picks up ERINA but ERINA jumps up onto Kagetsu and hits a DDT. Jumping crossbodies by ERINA and she kicks Kagetsu back before hitting a tornado DDT out of the corner. ERINA gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but Kagetsu kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu picks up ERINA but ERINA elbows her off, running elbow by Kagetsu and she delivers a PK for two. Kagetsu picks up ERINA but ERINA sneaks in an inside cradle, she tries a couple more flash pins but neither gets the pinfall. ERINA goes off the ropes but Kagetsu kicks her in the stomach and hits a vertical suplex. Cross armbreaker by Kagetsu in the middle of the ring, and ERINA has no choice but to submit! Kagetsu is the winner.

This was a very “rookie opener” style of match as it was a little rough and not a lot of note happened. ERINA got in her spots so it was far from a squash, but Kagetsu was firmly in control. There were a few clunky transitions, likely just due to ERINA’s inexperience (especially wrestling outside of K-DOJO), and the ending was really sudden with no setup. Not a great match, but hopefully ERINA learned a thing or two that she’ll use as she moves forward in her career.

Hiroe Nagahama vs. Natsumi Maki

They tie-up to start, Natsumi pushes Hiroe into the ropes and hits a few elbows but Hiroe fires back with a lariat. Hiroe goes for a snapmare but Natsumi cartwheels out of it and hits a dropkick. Irish whip by Natsumi but Hiroe reverses it and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Hiroe and she covers Natsumi for two.  Natsumi goes off the ropes, she cartwheels off of Hiroe and hits an armdrag. Dropkick by Natsumi and she hits two more, Natsumi goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsumi picks up Hiroe and goes off the ropes, but Hiroe delivers a running elbow. Hiroe picks up Natsumi and elbows her into the corner, rebound crossbody by Hiroe and she gets a two count. Elbows by Hiroe but Natsumi dropkicks her, back kick by Natsumi and she nails the cyclone suplex with a bridge but Hiroe barely gets a shoulder up. Elbows by Natsumi but Hiroe elbows her back and hits a dropkick, Natsumi goes off the ropes but Hiroe hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Vertical suplex by Hiroe and she hits the Sakura Otoshi for the three count! Hiroe Nagahama is your winner.

A pretty simple match, but not a bad one. Natsumi was on point here, sometimes she isn’t completely smooth but she hit everything well and seems to be improving. Hiroe is solid, nothing that really lights up the room but fundamentally sound. Short and to the point, but with some bright spots.

Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Mika Shirahime

Nipponbashi dances around the ring, but Mika has none of it and kicks her to the mat. Crab hold by Mika, but Nipponbashi makes it to the ropes. Mika elbows Nipponbashi into the corner but Nipponbashi gets her wand and hits Mika in the knee with it. Face crusher by Nipponbashi, she tries to toss Mika with the magic of her wand but Mika doesn’t budge. Nipponbashi tosses the referee to show Mika what she is supposed to do, but Mika still isn’t impacted by the wand. Nipponbashi throws the referee again with the magical wand, and finally Nipponbashi is able to send Mika across the ring by the wand. Mika gets up, Nipponbashi gives her the wand to try but nothing happens when she tries to use it and Nipponbashi laughs at her. Mika kicks Nipponbashi a few times in retaliation, vertical suplex by Mika and she gets a two count. Mika goes up top but Nipponbashi puts her hands up and talks Mika down fro the turnbuckle. Nipponbashi lies back down, Mika goes up top again but Nipponbashi avoids her dive and rolls up Mika for two. Inside Cradle by Nipponbashi and a backslide, but those both gets a two count as well. Mika picks up Nipponbashi and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold, but Nipponbashi gets a shoulder up. Mika picks up Nipponbashi and hits a superkick, rounded roundhouse kick by Mika and she gets the three count! Mika Shirahime is the winner!

The issue with Nipponbashi is her matches are all pretty much the same, so once you’ve seen the shtick the only amusement is how her opponent plays along. Its more funny when it is someone like Aja Kong, but while Mika played the part fine it wasn’t anything special. A skippable match, not my cup of tea.

SAKI vs. Sareee

SAKI charges Sareee right as the bell starts, Sareee avoids her and goes for a quick schoolboy but SAKI rolls through it and kicks Sareee in the face. Sareee bridges out of the pin attempt and hits three dropkicks, she picks up SAKI but SAKI puts her in a stretch hold. SAKI tosses Sareee down by the hair but Sareee returns the favor, Irish whip by Sareee but SAKI hits a shoulderblock. Two more shoulderblocks by SAKI, and she covers Sareee for two. Sareee comes back with a dropkick but SAKI hits a face crusher, single leg crab hold by SAKI but Sareee gets into the ropes. SAKI puts Sareee in a suspension submission hold, she lets her go and goes for a suplex, but Sareee blocks it. SAKI goes off the ropes but Sareee rolls her up and hits a footstomp to SAKI’s stomach. Dropkick by Sareee while SAKI is against the ropes, fisherman suplex hold by Sareee but SAKI kicks out at two. Sareee goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, another missile dropkick by Sareee and she covers SAKI for two. Sareee goes up top again but this time SAKI recovers and tosses Sareee off the turnbuckle, SAKI then gets on the second rope and hits a Reverse Splash for a two count. Back up they trade elbows, Sareee gets the better of it but SAKI catches her with a vertical suplex. SAKI goes for a pump-handle slam but Sareee reverses it into an inside cradle for two, SAKI boots Sareee in the head but she gets a two count as well. SAKI goes for a lariat but Sareee ducks it and hits a German suplex hold, Sareee quickly picks up SAKI and nails the Sareee Special Suplex Hold for the three count! Sareee wins!

This was a hell of a sprint. Its hard to take a regular seven minute match and say “YOU GOTTA GO SEE THIS” but for a sub-10 minute match it did about all you could hope for. Sareee is next-level good, and if she continues wrestling in a variety of promotions (which it appears she will be) she will only get better and get more exposure. SAKI was game here as well, I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep up with Sareee but she did, even though it was Sareee’s match to lose I thought SAKI came out looking impressive. A really fun match, I’d love to see them get a chance to go a bit longer sometime down the road.  Recommended

Rin Kadokura vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Rin jumps Tsukasa before the bell starts and dropkicks her, she tries a few quick pins but Tsukasa kicks out each time. Tsukasa gets her robe off and throws it at Rin, snapmare by Tsukasa and she kicks Rin in the back. Scoop slam by Tsukasa and she kicks Rin in the back, she puts Rin in the ropes and dropkicks Rin in the back for a two count. Rin comes back with a few dropkicks of her own, Tsukasa returns to her feet and elbows Rin, but Rin elbows her hard to the mat. Scoop slam by Rin, she goes up top but Tsukasa tosses her off. Tsukasa then goes up top but Rin returns the favor and throws her off as well, Rin gets on the turnbuckle but again she is tossed to the mat. It happens again to Tsukasa, Rin goes off the ropes but Tsukasa hits a drop toehold and applies a crab hold. Rin gets to the ropes to break the hold, Tsukasa puts Rin in the corner and she nails Rin with a dropkick. Scoop slam by Tsukasa and she kicks Rin repeatedly in the back, but Rin ducks the PK and rolls up Tsukasa for two. Rin tries a few more flash pins but Tsukasa regains the advantage and applies a crossface. She reverts it to a cross-arm submission, but Rin wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Tsukasa gets Rin on her shoulders but Rin gets out of it with a victory roll for two. Hurricanrana by Rin, but Tsukasa rolls through it and they trade quick pins. Enzuigiri by Tsukasa and she hits the PK, she goes up top and drops Rin with a missile dropkick. Tsukasa gets Rin on her shoulders again and this time she delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold, and she gets the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner.

A solid veteran vs. rookie match, as I figured Tsukasa gave the virtually unknown rookie quite a bit of offense (maybe too much) to make it a pretty even match. I liked Rin attacking Tsukasa before the match even started, its a classic move by the underdog but Tsukasa bumped like a demon on the dropkick and it helped establish that Rin was there to win. If anything, the match felt a little too back and forth as Tsukasa never had a long control segment on the rookie, and Rin was even savvy enough to reverse/block many of Tsukasa’s bigger moves which is unusual for this match style. Rin kept up pretty well however, and it didn’t have the miscommunication issues that we saw some in the ERINA/Kagetsu match. Overall a pretty fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Misaki Ohata vs. Yoshiko

They stare each other down to start, Yoshiko pushes Ohata into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Yoshiko kneels in a taunting way but Ohata dropkicks her and kicks Yoshiko into the ropes, she charges Yoshiko but Yoshiko ducks the crossbody attempt. Yoshiko avoids another crossbody and hits a hard shoulderblock, facewashes by Yoshiko in the corner and she hits a running boot. Yoshiko goes for an Irish whip by Ohata reverses it, she kicks Yoshiko back and hits a crossbody off the second turnbuckle. Ohata mocks Yoshiko’s pose and goes for another crossbody, Yoshiko catches her but Ohata hits a DDT and kicks Yoshiko out of the ring. Baseball slide by Ohata, she goes out after Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits her with a chair. Yoshiko gets up on the apron and jumps down onto Ohata with a seated senton, she gets on the apron to pose but Ohata throws a chair at her. Ohata gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Ohata but it gets two. Ohata picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko hits a strike combination, running boot to the head by Yoshiko but Ohata kicks out of the cover.

Yoshiko Irish whips Ohata and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, she applies a stretch hold before hitting a pump-handle slam for two. Yoshiko picks up Ohata but Ohata slides away and hits a Stunner, she knocks Yoshiko against the ropes and hits a low crossbody for a two count cover. Ohata goes up top and hits a diving body press, but that gets a two as well. Ohata goes for a suplex but Yoshiko blocks it, hard elbow by Yoshiko but Ohata elbows her back. Rolling Germans by Ohata and she holds the last one for a two count, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko catches her with a chokebomb. Yoshiko picks up Ohata and sits down on her, sliding lariat by Yoshiko and she covers Ohata for two. Fireman’s Carry Slam by Yoshiko, she goes to the second turnbuckle but Ohata avoids the diving senton. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, Ohata applies a few quick pins but Yoshiko kicks out of each one. Ohata goes off the ropes but Yoshiko levels her with a lariat, Yoshiko picks up Ohata and gets her on her shoulders but Ohata hits a crucifix slam. Ohata goes for the Blue Dahlia but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a lariat, sliding lariat by Yoshiko but Ohata reverses the cover to a two count of her own. Ohata is up first, but the bell rings as the time expires. The match is a Draw.

Another entertaining match, only hurt by the 10 minute limit. I don’t mind the Draws as this show is mostly just showcasing wrestlers from many different promotions and likely setting up storylines down the road at the same time. Ohata and Yoshiko had solid chemistry, everything looked really smooth and they were really laying it in there. I liked that neither hit their finisher, it keeps something for a potential rematch and since they only went ten minutes, it shows that they both needed a bit longer than that to wear down each other enough to end the match. There were times that they appeared to recover too fast from offense, likely because they needed to get to the next spot to get everything they wanted to do in the match. I enjoyed it, both are quality wrestlers and they went all out to put on a good show.  Recommended

Natsu Sumire vs. Takumi Iroha

Natsu is the MC for this event anyway so she talks to Takumi before the match, but she talks too long and gets kicked in the head. More kicks by Takumi and she throws Natsu out of the ring, she goes out after her but Natsu throws Iroha to the ground. Natsu goes up top and dives out onto Takumi with a splash plancha, she gets off her shirt and chokes Takumi with it. Takumi gets out of it and they trade elbows, Natsu throws Takumi back into the ring and she kicks Takumi against the ropes. Bronco Buster by Natsu in the corner and she goes for diving crossbody, but Takumi ducks it. Takumi picks up Natsu but Natsu gets away, hard elbow by Takumi and she nails the Running Three for the three count pinfall! Takumi Iroha is the winner.

This wasn’t long enough to get excited about (less than four minutes), but they packed a lot in with the time they had. Takumi continued to show her “no nonsense” attitude, and while the ending was a bit sudden it put over how much she has grown in the last year. To her credit, Natsu mostly wrestled it straight (not counting the Bronco Buster) and tried her best to keep up, but it was mostly the Takumi Show. More a storyline match as Ryo Mizunami came out afterwards to jaw with Takumi, but not a bad watch.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

They start with a battle of strength with neither getting a clear victory, Chihiro takes Rina to the mat and goes for Rina’s arm but Rina gets out of it and they return to their feet. Headlock by Rina but Chihiro gets out of it and they trade shoulderblocks until Chihiro sends Rina to the mat. Hip attacks by Chihiro, and she covers Rina for two. Chihiro picks up Rina but Rina fires off her own hard shoulderblock, Rina applies a Scorpion Deathlock but Chihiro gets to the ropes for a break. Back up, knee by Rina but Chihiro picks her up and slams Rina into the corner. Body avalanche by Chihiro, she picks up Rina and hits a scoop slam. Chihiro goes for a rolling senton but Rina rolls out of the way and applies a sleeper. Chihiro gets out of it with a judo throw and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Rina gets a foot on the ropes. Chihiro slams Rina in front of the corner and hits a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle, she picks up Rina but Rina pushes her off and they trade elbows. Rina goes for the sleeper but Chihiro elbows her away and they both hit lariats on each other with neither going down. Rina hits a bunch of short range lariats, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro sends her to the mat with her own lariat for a two count. Chihiro goes for a suplex but Rina blocks it and hits a Stunner, kick by Rina and she hits a backdrop suplex for two. Rina picks up Chihiro but Chihiro lariats her, she picks up Rina but Rina lariats her back for another two count. Rina hits another lariat but again Chihiro gets a shoulder up on the cover, Rina goes off the ropes but Chihiro nails a spear. Before she can fully capitalize, the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Unlike the other Draws on this event, I never felt like this one really got fully cooked. They started slow, which was fine, but it went straight from trading holds to trading lariats without much to really build to that, and with the way the end was going it felt like they would have needed another ten minutes to reach a conclusion. I enjoy a good Hoss match and they were certainly throwing bombs at the end, it just felt like an incomplete match. I enjoyed what they did, it just didn’t quite reach the level that I was hoping.  Mildly Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “JOSHIPRO Festival” on 3/21/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sendai Girls’ is a promotion that doesn’t make air very often, but when they do they tend to deliver. This is a packed show, no title matches but a big singles match between Syuri and Meiko Satomura, plus a main event with four high quality wrestlers. Here is the full card:

• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Eiger vs. KAORU
• Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose vs. Alex Lee, Hikaru Shida, and Konami
• Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri
• Aja Kong and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako

You can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City for more information. This event was shown in full, lets hop to it.

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They trade waistlocks and wristlocks to start, they end up on the mat with Hana in control. Hana locks in a headlock as she tries to get Mika back up but Mika reverses it, Hana gets in the mount and goes for a cross armbreaker but Mika blocks it and gets to the ropes. Stomps by Hana and they trade elbows, Hana puts Mika in a Camel Clutch before picking her up and hitting a scoop slam. Another slam by Hana and she hits a few more, crab hold by Hana but Mike gets into the ropes. Elbows by Hana and she throws Mika from the corner, but Mika reverses it and hits a dropkick. High kick attempt by Mika but Hana blocks it, dropkick by Mika and she covers Hana for two. Back up they trade elbows, Hana goes off the ropes but Mika kicks her in the midsection. Mika kicks Hana into the corner and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Mika but it gets two. Mika goes up top but Hana avoids her bodypress, Hana applies a sleeper but Mika gets into the ropes. Hana picks up Mika but Mika sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Kick to the head by Mika, she picks up Hana and kicks her in the stomach. Northern Lights Suplex by Mika which gets a two, she picks up Hana but Hana quickly hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Hana and she jumps on Mika’s back before getting her to the mat with it, but Mika again gets into the ropes for the break. Running boot by Hana while Mika is on the ropes, she covers Mika but Mika barely gets a shoulder up. Hana goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes for the Big Boot but Mika blocks it and rolls up Hana with a bridge for two. High kicks by Mika, and she gets the three count! Mika Shirahime is the winner.

A really solid opening ‘rookie’ match. My only real complaint is the ending felt rushed, as Hana had been controlling the match, but I guess two kicks from Mika is enough to end the match at any moment. But they did protect Hana’s finisher (Big Boot) which was a nice touch in a low importance match. Hana’s move set is slowly expanding as she gets more experience so the match stayed interesting, and even though both are young they both show a lot of promise. Always a plus to see rookie-style matches get plenty of time, good way to start the show.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Eiger vs. KAORU

KAORU and Nagashima go at it first while Eiger watches and plays along, until all three face off again. Nagashima and KAORU both attack Eiger but Eiger hits a double lariat, Eiger gets KAORU’s back and all four (including the referee) eventually do the zombie walk.  KAORU ends up being the butt of the joke, which she doesn’t like, and she knocks Eiger out of the ring. Nagashima knocks over KAORU but KAORU bridges out of the pin, Nagashima dropkicks her into the corner but KAORU boots Nagashima when she charges in. KAORU puts Nagashima in the Surfboard but Eiger crawls in and covers KAORU while she still has Nagashima in the hold, causing her to release it. Eiger goes off the ropes but KAORU kicks her, Eiger applies The Claw to first KAORU and then also to Nagashima before hitting a DDT on KAORU. Eiger goes up top but trips, Nagashima is thrown into the corner but Eiger scares her. Eiger gets the table piece from KAORU but Rin takes it from her, Nagashima then gets the table piece but she is tripped from ringside before she can hit KAORU with it. Eiger gets KAORU up and hits a spinning crucifix sit-down powerbomb, but KAORU manages to get the piece of table and hit Eiger with it to break up the cover. Nagashima puts KAORU on top of Eiger and hits a footstomp onto KAORU’s back, double cover by Nagashima but it gets two. Nagashima grabs Eiger but KAORU hits her in the back with the table piece, KAORU and Eiger fight over it but Nagashima kicks it away. Eiger ends up hitting Nagashima with it by accident, she tosses the table piece to KAORU and spits dust in her face. Inside cradle by Eiger and she gets the three count! Eiger wins!

As far as comedy matches go, this was well done. Some of the spots were really well choreographed, they put a fair amount of effort into a short early-card match. Eiger is quite funny in small doses, not all comedy gimmicks do a lot for me but she is pretty amusing. A fun match with some memorable spots, about all you could hope for.

Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose vs. Alex Lee, Shida, and Konami

Nyla and Nicole charge their opponents before the match starts, but they avoid their charge and both Nyla and Nicole end up out of the ring. Miyagi is isolated now and is triple teamed under her friends return and clear the ring. Now Konami is isolated and put in a double crab hold, dropkick by Miyagi to Konami and she covers her for two. Miyagi tags in Nyla, Nyla picks up Konami and she hits a vertical suplex. Nyla tags in Nicole as the beatdown on Konami continues, Miyagi returns and bulldogs her before stomping her in the back. Konami is triple teamed in the ropes, dropkick to the back by Miyagi and she tags in Nyla. Konami finally gets away after kicking Nyla in the head, making the hot tag to Shida, who comes in with her kendo stick. She hits Nicole and Miyagi but Nyla blocks her attempt and throws Shida to the mat. Shida recovers and hits her anyway, they trade elbows and Shida goes for a jumping knee, but Nyla blocks it. Hurricanrana by Shida but Nyla comes back with a side slam, she goes off the ropes and hits a running bodypress for a two count. Nyla tags in Nicole, lariat by Nicole and she covers Shida for two. Handstand press by Nicole, she picks up Shida but Shida pokes her in the eyes.

Shida tries to get her kendo stick but Nicole takes it, leading to Shida bailing out of the ring. She gets tosses back in but gets her kendo stick back, enzuigiri by Shida and she nails a running knee for a two count. Shida tags in Lee, running footstomps by Lee and Shida helps with a jumping knee. Double jumping knee to Nicole, Lee goes up top and hits a diving footstomp for a two count. Lee picks up Nicole but Nicole avoids her dropkick, Lee and Nicole trade strikes until Nicole hits a DDT. Nicole tags Miyagi, big boot by Miyagi and she hits a Samoan Drop for two. Lee comes back with a kick to the head, she rolls to her corner and tags in Konami. Miyagi and Konami trade elbows, rolling ankle hold by Konami but Miyagi gets into the ropes. High Kick by Konami and she hits a second one, Shida and Lee come in too and help attack Miyagi. Konami picks up Miyagi but Miyagi pushes her away, schoolboy by Konami but it gets two. Konami goes off the ropes but she gets grabbed by Nicole from the floor, Nicole and Nyla both come in and they take turns on Konami in the corner. Miyagi slams Konami to the mat, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Nicole and Nyla come in and hit Konami with a double lariat, SBR by Miyagi (Samoan Driver) and she gets the three count! Big Bang Nicole, Cassandra Miyagi, and Nyla Rose are your winners.

Better than I was expecting, as I wasn’t sure how these six would mesh. Really no issues with miscommunications or awkwardness, they tagged in and out enough that no one wrestler was relied on and everyone got a chance to do their thing. It was far from perfect as one of the issues with all the tagging in and out is the match never really had a rhythm, but it was still an above average match overall and not a bad watch.

Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri

Syuri quickly tackles Satomura to the mat but lets her back up, headlock by Satomura but Syuri gets in the mount position as they struggle for position. Kicks by Syuri to the chest but Satomura pushes her down and starts working on Syuri’s ankle. Back up, shoulderblock by Satomura but Syuri suplexes her, Syuri goes for a PK but Satomura ducks it and applies an ankle hold. Syuri reverses it but they both roll into the ropes and the referee forces a break. Kicks by Syuri but Satomura elbows her, jumping knee by Syuri and she kicks Satomura in the back. Running kick to the chest by Syuri and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Satomura blocks it and delivers a few kicks. Knees by Satomura and she applies a crossface, slingshot footstomp by Satomura and she elbows Syuri in the face. Satomura goes off the ropes but Syuri hits a jumping knee, Irish whip by Syuri but Satomura nails her with a heel kick. Back up they trade kicks, Syuri goes for the cross armbreaker again but Satomura blocks it.

Knee to the chest by Satomura, she goes up top and hits a diving bodypress for a two count. Back up, headlock by Satomura and she goes off the ropes, but Syuri kicks her in the chest. Satomura comes back with her own strikes and delivers a backdrop suplex for two. High kick by Syuri, Satomura gets up and they trade elbows again until Syuri hits a high kick. Satomura retorts with a Pele Kick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Satomura applies a sleeper before putting Syuri in a choke, she lets go after a moment and delivers the cartwheel kneedrop. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, but Syuri gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes for another one but Syuri slides off and applies a sleeper, cross armbreaker takedown by Syuri and she puts Satomura in a seated armbar. Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri, but Satomura kicks out of the pin. Syuri goes back to the seated armbar but Satomura gets to the ropes, high kick by Satomura but Syuri delivers a running knee. Kneelift by Syuri and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick, she nails a second one and she covers Satomura for the three count! Syuri is the winner!

If you enjoy watching two really crisp wrestlers in a tightly worked submission and striking match, this is the one for you. Both Syuri and Satomura are so good, which everyone knows, but they also work together really well. From Satomura being stubborn on Syuri’s cross armbreaker attempts to the smooth transitions on the mat, everything here worked. Mat wrestling to me is the hardest style to hold my attention, it has to be done almost perfectly and here it was, it always felt like both were actively doing something to try to win. Add in the on point strikes and the surprise (to me) ending, and the match really clicked. A high end match for sure between two of the best.  Highly Recommended

Aja Kong and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako

Kong and Chihiro are the first two in, Chihiro gets Kong to the mat but Kong switches positions with her which lands them in the ropes. Stiff kicks by Kong, Chihiro gets back up, Kong slaps her against the ropes and makes the tag to Matsumoto. Chihiro and Matsumoto lock knuckles, Matsumoto pushes Chihiro to the mat and chops her in the corner. They trade waistlocks until Chihiro locks in cobra twist, Matsumoto hiptosses out of it but Chihiro gets Matsumoto to the mat. Chisako comes in and dropkicks Matsumoto while she is on the hold, Chihiro tags in Chisako and they double team Matsumoto in the corner. Chisako dropkicks Matsumoto in the corner, dropkick to the knee by Chisako and she applies a crucifix submission. Kong comes in and breaks it up, Chisako elbows Matsumoto but when Chihiro tries to help Chisako elbows her by accident. Chihiro falls to the floor, Matsumoto picks up Chisako and throws her over the top rope down onto Chihiro. Kong strolls over and attacks Chihiro around the floor, while Matsumoto does the same to Chisako. Matsumoto and Chisako return to the ring, Matsumoto goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Matsumoto tags in Kong and she scoop slams Chisako and hits an elbow drop. Kong puts Chisako in a camel clutch, Matsumoto comes in and she runs the ropes before slapping Chisako in the face.

Matsumoto puts Chisako in a camel clutch now, Kong points to Chihiro and she kicks Chisako in the chest. Cover by Kong, but it gets a two count. Kong picks up Chisako and drops her with a piledriver, but Chisako barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong stomps Kong from tagging out but Chisako blocks the backdrop suplex, Chisako goes for a schoolboy but Kong sits on her. Chihiro runs in to help, double Irish whip to Kong and Chisako hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Chisako makes the tag to Chihiro, hip attacks by Chihiro but Kong levels her with a lariat. Kong picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam, she goes for a somersault senton but Kong moves out of the way and kicks Chihiro in the chest. Snap backdrop suplex by Kong, she picks up Chihiro and Chihiro goes for a spear, but Kong knees her to block it and tags in Matsumoto. Body block by Matsumoto, she picks up Chihiro but Chisako runs in to try to help. It doesn’t work as Matsumoto hits a double Samoan Drop/Fallaway Slam on both of them, Kong jumps on Matsumoto’s back and Matsumoto hits a double kneedrop onto Chihiro. Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, but Chisako breaks up the pin. Matsumoto picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop, they trade short range lariats until Chihiro gets Matsumoto up and Chisako runs in to assist with a slam.

Chisako goes up top and hits a diving footstomp, Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a somersault senton for a two count. Matsumoto hits a double backdrop suplex on both of them, Matsumoto picks up Chihiro but Chihiro snaps off a release German. Chihiro goes up top but Kong comes in and joins Chihiro, Chisako runs in too but Matsumoto has recovered by now and throws Chisako out of the ring. Kong tries to superplex Chihiro but can’t get her over, so Matsumoto helps by powerbombing Kong which lead to Chihiro getting superplexed. Sliding Lariat by Matsumoto, but it gets a two count. Matsumoto goes off the ropes but Chihiro levels her with a spear, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the cover gets two. Roaring Elbow by Matsumoto and she hits a bodyblock in the corner, Matsumoto puts Chihiro on the second turnbuckle and nails a sit-down powerbomb, but Chisako breaks up the cover. Kong comes in with her metal paint can and hits Chisako in the head with it, Kong and Matsumoto measure up Chihiro but Chihiro moves and they hit each other by accident. Matsumoto comes back with a lariat to Matsumoto, Kong tries to backfist Chihiro but she hits Matsumoto by accident. Chisako runs in and dropkicks Kong, while Chihiro grabs Matsumoto and delivers the German Suplex Hold for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto and DASH Chisako win!

Another really good match on the show and a fitting way to end it. Hiroyo Matsumoto is the secret MVP of Joshi, she has really stepped up the last year or so and constantly delivers. Kong is still great as well, she is limited but works within those limitations as well as any other wrestler I can think of. Chihiro got the big win here, assisted, but still a big one early in her career that continues to put her towards the top of Sendai Girls’. I don’t mean to exclude Chisako, she was her usual solid self, but the others stood out more. Even though the match was almost 20 minutes there was no wasted time/rest holds, and there were a number of memorable spots spread throughout the match. The stretch run is one of the best I’ve seen all year, the last minute or so of the match was perfect and the ending couldn’t have been better constructed. The match was mostly about Kong vs. Chihiro since they face off in a few weeks, but everyone brought their “A” game, definitely worth tracking down.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 3/11/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

In my attempt in 2017 to stay as ‘current’ as I can with Joshi, it is time for Sendai Girls’! I’d have watched this event anyway because it is chock-full of things I enjoy. My favorite Freelancers all have matches (Shida, Syuri, Konami, and Matsumoto) which is a big plus, and on top of that we have Kyoko Kimura’s last match in Sendai Girls’ and Hashimoto defending her title against Aja Kong! Big show, and it will be shown in full since it aired on Nico Nico. Here is the full card:

• Mika Shirahime and Syuri vs. Mio Momono and Konami
• Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hikaru Shida
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger vs. Meiko Satomura and Alex Lee
• Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Aja Kong

Click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City if you want to know more about them. This is a very early contender for potential Show of The Year, let’s see how it plays out.

Mika Shirahime and Syuri vs. Mio Momono and Konami

Konami and Mika start the match, knees by Mika and she takes Konami to the mat. Konami quickly applies a headscissors as they jockey for position, Mika drives Konami in the corner before hitting a suplex. Mika goes off the ropes but Konami kicks her in the chest and tags in Mio. Mio throws down Mika by the hair before dropkicking her, but Mika quickly turns the tide and elbows Mio in the corner. Dropkick by Mika but Mio fights back and they trade elbows. Mika stags in Syuri, Syuri takes Mio to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker but Mio gets into the ropes just as she locks it on to get the break. Syuri stomps down Mio and hits a running knee in the corner, cover by Syuri but it gets two. Syuri picks up Mio and slams her, cross armbreaker attempt by Syuri but Mio rolls over. Syuri applies a seated armbar instead but Mio gets into the ropes, Syuri picks up Mio and makes the tag to Mika. Mio and Mika trade elbows, quick roll-up by Mio and she makes the tag to Konami. Kicks to the chest by Konami but Mika blocks the fisherman suplex, Syuri runs in to help but Konami fights them both off and dropkicks them in the corner. Konami tries to suplex Mika but Mika blocks it and rolls her up for two.

Dropkick by Mika, and she tags in Syuri. Syuri knees Konami into the corner and hits a jumping knee followed by a butterfly suplex for a two count cover. Konami elbows Syuri and they trade shots, kicks by Konami but Syuri connects with the running knee and kicks Konami hard in the back. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami quickly applies a kneelock, which Mio breaks up. Head kick by Konami and she hits the fisherman suplex hold on Syuri for a two count. Konami tags in Mio, running crossbodies by Mio to Syuri and she covers her for two. Mio goes up top but Syuri recovers and tosses her off. Mio ducks the PK attempt and applies the Figure Four Leglock, but Syuri gets to the ropes to force a break. Mio goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the chest and tags in Mika. Kicks by Mika, she goes off the ropes but Mio catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Mio and she hits a few more, Mio picks up Mika but Mika elbows her and they trade shots. Mika wins the battle and hits a snap vertical suplex, Mika slams Mio in front of the corner and goes up top, but Konami runs over and kicks her from the apron. Mio dropkicks Mika, Konami runs in and hits a release German suplex. Diving crossbody by Mio, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Mio goes off the ropes and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Mika shrugs her off. Konami tries to kick Mika in the head but hits Mio by accident, roll-up by Mika but Konami breaks up the cover. Syuri connects with a head kick to Mio, roundhouse kick by Mika and she picks up the three count! Mika Shirahime and Syuri are your winners.

The only thing holding this match back was Mio Momono. Which I don’t really blame her for, she is an 18 year old that debuted less than a year ago, but she was the least smooth of the bunch and a few of her sections looked a bit cringe-y. Everyone else was great though, I enjoyed the Konami vs. Syuri parts since Kana had such a long feud with Syuri and this felt like an extension of that. Mika’s kicks are great, hopefully she gets to climb up the card soon, she is too good to toil away in opening matches. A fun match but with a clear weak link that brought things down a bit.  Mildly Recommended

Cassandra Miyagi vs. Hikaru Shida

Miyagi headbangs as the match starts but Shida kicks her, they trade holds until Shida applies a grounded necklock. Miyagi gets out of it but Shida nails her in the head with a hip attack. Another hip attack by Shida and she hits a third, Shida picks up Miyagi and attacks her in the corner but Miyagi kicks her when she goes up top. Miyagi snaps Shida’s neck on the top rope but Shida avoids the slingshot legdrop and pulls Miyagi out to the apron. She goes for the running kneelift but Miyagi avoids it and hits a cannonball off the apron. Miyagi attacks Shida around the ring and into the crowd, she gets some water and spits it into Shida’s face. Shida doesn’t like that and elbows her repeatedly in the head, they make their way back into the ring, where Miyagi maintains control. Miyagi swats away the hip attack and sets up Shida in the ropes, chops to the butt by Miyagi and she dropkicks Shida in the back. Body avalanche by Miyagi and she hits a face crusher, cover by Miyagi but it gets a two. Miyagi goes up top but Shida avoids the missile dropkick and knees Miyagi in the back of the head with the Three Count.

Vertical suplex by Shida and she puts Miyagi in a crab hold, she releases it after a moment and delivers the fireman’s carry backbreaker for a two count. Shida gets her kendo stuck but Miyagi avoids the blow and knocks it away from her, enzuigiri by Shida but Miyagi gets the kendo stick and hits her in the stomach with it. Backdrop suplex by Miyagi, and she covers Shida for two. Samoan Driver by Miyagi, but again her cover gets a two count. Miyagi picks up Shida and goes for a piledriver, but Shida back bodydrops out of it. Back up they trade elbows, eye poke by Miyagi and she applies an inside cradle for two. Shida pushes Miyagi away and hits a jumping knee, Three Count by Shida but it gets a two count. Shida goes for the Falcon Arrow but Miyagi blocks it and rolls her up for two. A schoolboy by Miyagi also gets a two, she grabs Shida’s kendo stick but Shida takes it form her and hits Miyagi in the head. Falcon Arrow by Shida, she goes off the ropes and nails the Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida wins!

I really enjoyed this match, it was a lot of fun. Miyagi is slowly growing as a wrestler but she has the character down pat, her mannerisms and randomness are very amusing. Shida is great and has some of the best knees and backbreakers in the business, and I like that Miyagi had a full competitive match with Shida. Miyagi isn’t quite at the level to beat someone like Shida but is close, and if her wrestling gets on the same level as her personality she will be a force to be reckoned with. The right combination of playful and hard hitting, solid match all the way around.  Recommended

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger vs. Meiko Satomura and Alex Lee

Eiger insists on starting the match for her team against Satomura, but Satomura promptly kicks her in the head for a two count. Satomura goes for a lariat but Eiger rolls underneath it and does Eiger things. Satomura tags in Lee but Lee doesn’t want to wrestle Eiger and takes Satomura back in. Eiger crawls to her corner and tags in Matsumoto, they struggle for position until Matsumoto throws Satomura to the mat. Shoulderblock by Matsumoto and she puts Satomura in a stretch hold, but Satomura gets out of it and they trade holds. Satomura tags in Lee, kicks to the back by Lee and she hits a pair of running footstomps for a two count. Vertical suplex by Matsumoto and she tags in Eiger, headbutt by Eiger but Lee avoids the falling headbutt. Kicks to the chest by Lee and she dropkicks Eiger before tagging in Satomura. Lee and Satomura take turns kicking Eiger, Eiger gets Lee’s back and Matsumoto runs in to help, but Eiger gets her back as well. Matsumoto finally realizes that Eiger is behind her and pops her in the head, double face crusher by Lee but Eiger hits a DDT on Satomura. Eiger goes up top but Matsumoto tags herself in, she elbows Satomura and hits a body avalanche against the ropes. Matsumoto and Satomura trade elbows until Eiger grabs Satomura from the apron.

Satomura gets away from her and hits a heel kick on Matsumoto, she goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but Matsumoto moves out of the way and hits a backdrop suplex. Matsumoto goes for a Reverse Splash but Satomura gets her knees up, back elbow by Matsumoto and she covers Satomura for two. Satomura kicks Matsumoto in the stomach and then in the head, cover by Satomura but it gets a two count. Cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, and she makes the tag to Lee. Lee kicks Matsumoto in the chest and hits a jumping knee followed by a double underhook suplex for two. Lee goes for a kick but Matsumoto ducks it, she then goes for a powerbomb but Lee back bodydrops out of it and kicks Matsumoto in the head. Lee goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Lee but it gets two. Satomura comes in but Matsumoto suplexes both of them, sliding lariat by Matsumoto to Lee and she covers Lee for two. Matsumoto hits the reverse double kneedrop, but Satomura breaks up the cover. Matsumoto grabs Lee but Satomura kicks her, high kick by Lee to Matsumoto and Eiger spits dust into Satomura’s face. Satomura then high kicks Lee by accident, lariat by Matsumoto to Lee and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto and Eiger win the match.

I’m not too sure what to think of this match. Lee is an average wrestler while Eiger is mostly comedy, while Matsumoto and Satomura are two of the best Joshi wrestlers currently on the scene. So it was an odd pairing. The Matsumoto/Satomura pairings were great, lots of hard hits, and the Eiger comedy spots were sparse so they didn’t control the match. But they were still there and it was an odd dynamic. It was a fun match but I’d rather they split the two ideas into two matches as it was just hard for them to get into a flow of things with such a diverse group. Worth watching for Matsumoto/Satomura but a bit too all over the place for me overall.

Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU

Bolshoi and Chisako start the match, they trade headlocks until Chisako hits a dropkick. They trade quick trips before returning to their feet, and both tag out. KAORU and Kyoko are slow to engage but eventually do so, and Kyoko pushes KAORU to the mat. Chisako comes in and they double team Kyoko, KAORU slams Kyoko’s head into the mat and tags Chisako back in. Kyoko comes back with a scoop slam and tags Bolshoi, Bolshoi gets Chisako on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker. Bolshoi applies a camel clutch, Kyoko comes in and they double team Chisako. Kyoko boots Chisako in the back, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp onto Chisako’s back for a two count. Kyoko puts Chisako in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and tags in Bolshoi. Backdrop suplex by Bolshoi, and she covers Chisako for two. Dropkick by Chisako and she hits a front flip neckbreaker, she rolls to her corner and tags in KAORU. KAORU hits a crossbody on both Kyoko and Bolshoi, she gets her table piece and hits Bolshoi with it. KAORU then suplexes Bolshoi onto it, but the referee won’t count the cover due to the excessive cheating. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle and tries to drop it onto Bolshoi, but Bolshoi moves and dropkicks KAORU. Fujiwara Armbar by Bolshoi, but KAORU gets a foot in the ropes. Bolshoi picks up KAORU and hits a palm strike, but Chisako runs in and dropkicks her. Double front suplex by Chisako and KAORU, brainbuster by KAORU and she covers Bolshoi for two. Missile dropkick by Chisako but Bolshoi lands in her corner and tags in Kyoko. Kyoko and Chisako trade elbows, Kyoko picks up Chisako and she hits a backbreaker. Stretch hold by Kyoko, she picks up Chisako and knees her into the corner. Kyoko charges Chisako but Chisako moves, KAORU comes in and they double team Kyoko in the corner.

Chisako goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick on Kyoko for two. Kyoko gets Chisako’s back and applies a sleeper, KAORU comes in to help but Bolshoi puts her in a sleeper as well. Chisako eventually gets to the ropes to force the break, Kyoko covers the sleepy Chisako but it gets a two count. Kyoko kicks at Chisako but Chisako returns to her feet, Bolshoi runs in and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick on Chisako. Running boot by Kyoko, but Chisako gets a shoulder up. Kyoko gets Chisako on her shoulders and hits an assisted Gory Bomb with Bolshoi, but the cover is broken up. Kyoko goes off the ropes but Chisako ducks the boot and hits Kyoko with a piece of table. Kyoko headbutts Chisako in return, and they both fall to the mat. They trade strikes while still on their knees, they return to their feet and Chisako hits a Stunner. Elbows by Chisako but Kyoko boots her in the head, hurricanrana by Chisako which gets her a two count. Crucifix takeover by Chisako, she goes off the ropes but Kyoko boots her in the head for a two count. Kyoko picks up Chisako and hits a Chokebomb, but Chisako gets a shoulder up. Kyoko goes up top but KAORU hits her with a piece of table, Chisako joins Kyoko and delivers an avalanche bulldog, crucifix cover by Chisako but it gets two. Kyoko comes in and hits the Excalibur, Chisako goes up top as does KAORU and KAORU superplexes Chisako onto Kyoko, but Bolshoi breaks up the pin. Chisako goes up top and nails the Hormone Splash while KAORU hits the Valkyrie Splash onto Bolshoi, and Chisako gets the three count pinfall! DASH Chisako and KAORU are the winners.

After the match, everyone hugs Kyoko and says goodbye to her.

On one hand, this match was a bit too long and five minutes could have easily been chopped off and it would have helped the match. On the other hand, these four are friends and this is the last time they’d ever be in the ring together, so who can blame them for going a bit longer than necessary. All of them are long time veterans and know how to put on a good show, no issues with sloppiness here as the action was tight throughout. And it had some memorable spots, such as the superplex landing on Kyoko. It certainly dragged in a few sections as some moments such as the sleeper hold lasted a bit too long, but overall it was still a solid match and a fitting Sendai Girls’ farewell to Kyoko Kimura.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Aja Kong
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

They circle each other to start, Kong gets Chihiro to the mat but Chihiro gets the top position and they struggle for position. Back on their feet, Chihiro takes Kong back down but Kong applies an ankle hold. Kong pushes Chihiro to the mat and rolls her out of the ring, Kong goes out after her and throws her into the crowd. Kong hits Chihiro repeatedly with chairs while beating her around the floor before finally bringing her back into the ring, lariat by Kong and she covers Chihiro for two. Kong picks up Chihiro and drops her with a backdrop suplex, cover by Kong but Chihiro gets a shoulder up. Body slam by Chihiro and she hits a pair of somersault sentons for a two count. Chihiro picks up Kong but Kong knees her off, Chihiro goes for lariats but Kong doesn’t go down. Kong rams Chihiro into the corner and hits a back bodydrop, Kong gets on the second turnbuckle but Chihiro recovers and powerbombs her to the mat.

Cover by Chihiro, but Kong gets a shoulder up. Chihiro picks up Kong and charges her, but Kong moves and Chihiro falls out of the ring. Kong goes out after her but Chihiro picks her up and hits a waterwheel drop on the floor. Chihiro and Kong return to the ring, Chihiro slams Kong and hits another waterwheel drop, but Kong barely kicks out of the cover. Kong drops down and kicks Chihiro in the head, Kong hits Chihiro with a paint can before delivering a brainbuster. Kong picks up Chihiro and hits a German suplex, but Chihiro returns to her feet and nails a spear. They both slowly get up, Kong applies an ankle hold but Chihiro gets to the ropes. Chihiro picks up Kong but she drops her, Uraken by Kong but Chihiro rolls her up when Kong goes for a cover. Waterwheel Drop by Chihiro, she goes for a German suplex but Kong blocks it and hits a Uraken, picking up the three count! Aja Kong is the new champion!

I don’t know if this felt like a big championship match but it was still pretty fun. The match was a bit slow paced, with two different ‘brawling outside the ring’ segments which there wasn’t really time for. Add in the long ankle hold that had no meaning, and there was a bit more time killing than I’d prefer in a 15 minute match. That being said, the rest of the action was top notch, as Kong threw around Chihiro like she was a child but Chihiro did enough to show she wasn’t a push-over. In fact, since she never hit the move she used to beat Satomura (German Suplex), she still has a ‘move in the hole’ if needed at a later date that Kong has never kicked out of. I liked Chihiro’s fire and Kong’s suplexes which took it up a notch, but still a bit lacking for a championship match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 1/9/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.