Event: Marigold New Years Golden Garden 2025
Date: February 7th, 2025
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 356
Broadcast: Wrestle Universe

The last time I watched Marigold was their debut show, and a lot has changed since then. The biggest change of course is Giulia is gone, as she joined WWE a few months after Marigold was launched (which was always the plan). There are also a fistful of new rookies since last May, including the latest Super Rookie – Seri Yamaoka. We also have titles now, with one being defended in the main event. This isn’t a huge show for Marigold but is still a mid-sized one with all the major players present. Here is the full card:

• Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura
• CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara
• Megaton vs. MIRAI
• Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami
• Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka
• Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada
• Marigold Superfly Championship: Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui

My first full show review in almost a year, let’s see how long it takes me to get through it. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Onto the show!

Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura

Ryoko and Nao tie-up, wristlock by Nao but Ryoko reverses it and the two trade holds. Dueling wristlocks goes on for a bit, side headlock by Nao but Ryoko Irish whips out of it. Shoulderblock by Nao and she hits an elbow drop for two. Camel clutch by Nao, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Ryoko’s back. Irish whip by Nao but Ryoko hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Ryoko but Nao absorbs the blow and stomps on Ryoko. Nao picks up Ryoko and goes off the ropes, hitting a shoulderblock. Crab hold by Nao but Ryoko crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Nao picks up Ryoko and throws her into the ropes, but Ryoko hits a dropkick. Nao doesn’t go down so Ryoko hits a few more dropkicks. Ryoko finally sends Nao to the mat, cover by Ryoko and she gets a two count. Ryoko goes to pick up Nao but Nao pushes her off, elbows by Nao and the two trade blows. Nao elbows Ryoko hard to the mat, Nao picks up Ryoko but Ryoko sneaks in an inside cradle for two. A schoolboy by Ryoko also gets two, she puts Nao in a submission hold but Nao gets to the ropes. Ryoko charges Nao but Nao catches her with a scoop slam for two. Nao picks up Ryoko and she hits a delayed bodyslam for the three count! Nao Ishikawa is the winner.

These matches are important for a wrestler’s development but can have limited entertainment value. Ryoko is only two months in so I’m not going to judge her yet, although if she threw those same dropkicks in GAEA Japan her face would have been bloody soon thereafter. Nao has average-level skill and that showed here as she didn’t really assert herself as the dominate veteran before winning with a bodyslam. Good enough to be an opener, curious to see how Ryoko develops over the next six months.

CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara

Rea and CHIAKI start the match, CHIAKI works a headlock and slams Rea into the corner. Running boot by CHIAKI, she covers Rea with one foot but it gets a two count. CHIAKI picks up Rea but Rea elbows her away, chop by CHIAKI and she boots Rea to the mat for two. CHIAKI tags Nagisa, Nagisa kicks Rea against the ropes and then again from the apron. Back in the ring, vertical suplex by Nagisa but Rea avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick followed by a facebuster. Rea applies the Cattle Mutilation but CHIAKI quickly breaks it up, Rea picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her. Nagisa swats away Rea’s dropkick attempt but Rea avoids the sliding kick and delivers a dropkick. Neckbreaker drop by Rea and she tags in Riara. Dropkick by Riara and she hits a second one, a third dropkick by Riara and she covers Nagisa for two. Riara goes to the second turnbuckle but Nagisa avoids her dive and boots Riara in the head. Riara comes back with elbows but Nagisa dropkicks her into the corner, big boot by Nagisa and CHIAKI hits one of her own from the apron.

CHIAKI comes in the ring but Rea runs in with a double neckbreaker drop, dropkick by Riara to Nagisa and she covers her for two. Ankle hold by Riara but Nagisa gets to the ropes for the break. Rea goes to the top turnbuckle and rides Nagisa face-first into the mat, diving footstomp by Riara but CHIAKI breaks up the cover. CHIAKI gets rid of Rea and hits a Codebreaker onto Riara, sleeper by Nagisa to Riara but Rea eventually breaks it up. Kick to the ribs by Nagisa to Riara, she goes off the ropes and hits a Somato for two. Kick to the face by Nagisa, but Rea breaks up the cover. Nagisa and CHIAKI grab Rea and both kick her in the side of the head, Nagisa goes back to Riara and kicks her in the chest. Nagisa drags Riara up and nails the Noa Lancer High (running knee strike), and she picks up the three count! CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki are the winners.

This was honestly better then I was expecting, always good to go into matches with an open mind. Nagisa played the veteran here but not at all selfishly (we’ll see that later in the show in Nanae’s match), while she was in the dominate position she gave the younger wrestlers a lot of offense and bumped around for them. Everything was hit crisply, with both Rea and Riara looking solid in defeat. Fast paced solid action from these four, for a house show style event a good effort by all involved.

Megaton vs. MIRAI

MIRAI charges Megaton as the match starts and kicks her in the stomach, she goes for an Irish whip but Megaton doesn’t budge. Megaton sits on the mat and challenges MIRAI to join her, MIRAI does and applies a cross armbreaker but Megaton gets to the ropes and rolls out of the ring. MIRAI eventually goes after her but Megaton punches her as she does so, Megaton gets a chain and she jokes MIRAI with it. Megaton licks MIRAI’s hair for reasons unknown, she eventually rolls MIRAI back in but MIRAI gets her feet up as she goes for a body press. Megaton charges MIRAI but MIRAI jumps over her, she avoids her next charge as well and MIRAI gets out of the ring. She slides back in as Megaton chases her, Megaton gets tired of the game and sits down in the middle of the ring.

MIRAI returns and kicks her in the back, but MIRAI quickly bails again as Megaton chases her. They do this routine for a bit until MIRAI gets back in the ring, Megaton is too tired to get back in the ring so she gets the little ring steps out to help her. MIRAI dropkicks her in the head as she gets to the apron, MIRAI slides Megaton back into the ring and chops her in the chest. Megaton elbows her back as they trade shots, a battle that MIRAI wins. Megaton yells at MIRAI to stun her, she goes for a few quick pins but MIRAI kicks out. Megaton picks up MIRAI and chops her, body avalanche against the ropes and Megaton drops on MIRAI with a body splash for two. Megaton picks up MIRAI but MIRAI punches her in the face, she puts Megaton in a modified double armbar and Megaton has to submit! MIRAI is the winner!

Before we discuss this goofy match, I first just want to acknowledge the work that MIRAI has done on her fitness. She looks great, and its the type of dedication you like to see from a wrestler that down the road may have a leading role in the promotion. As for the match, Megaton mostly does comedy and for better or worse (depending on how you feel about it), MIRAI had to wrestle at her level. Some of the bits were silly or just time wasting, although I will admit I did laugh when I saw Megaton was getting out the little steps to get into the ring after MIRAI ran her around. There was very little substance here and not how I’d ideally get to watch a MIRAI match, I can’t say it was “bad” but it didn’t do a lot for me either.

Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami

They tie-up to start, side headlock by Utami but Minami reverses it. Irish whip by Utami but Minami hits a dropkick, however Utami stays on her feet. Minami tries again with no luck, she goes off the ropes again but Utami dropkicks her in the midsection. Scoop slam by Utami and she applies a crab hold, but Minami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami returns to her feet and fights back, but Utami knocks her down with a hard elbow. Irish whip by Utami and she swats aside Minami’s dropkick attempt, she goes off the ropes but this time Minami catches her and knocks Utami down.

Minami throws Utami to the mat and hits another dropkick, Minami applies a guillotine with a hammerlock but Utami slams her into the corner to break the hold. Dropkick to the arm by Minami and she re-applies the hold, but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami picks up Utami and goes for the hold again, but Utami is too close to the ropes. Minami goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Minami but it gets a two count. Utami levels Minami with a lariat, another lariat by Utami and she hits a sliding lariat for two. Utami picks up Minami and hits the Air Raid Crash, but Minami reverses the cover into her own cradle for two. Minami charges Utami but Utami hits an Argentine Backbreaker Drop. Utami drags Minami up and hits a German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Utami Hayashishita is the winner.

Maybe now I understand why Minami didn’t get more a push out of the gate, as while she did have training in both Ice Ribbon and Marigold she still looks really green and needs more seasoning before anyone could take her as a threat. Minami spamming the same submission finisher was a sign she doesn’t have the deepest moveset and there wasn’t a lot for Utami to work with here so the match stayed really basic. Minami is still young, in no way am I writing her off but a year into her career she still has a ways to go.

Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka

Seri and Showzuki start the match, they jockey for position on the mat with Seri getting the eventual advantage with a kneelock. Showzuki can’t reach the ropes so Chika breaks it up and hits an atomic drop, running knee by Showzuki to Seri and she covers her for two. Showzuki tags Chika, Chika grabs Seri and hits a scoop slam. Another scoop slam by Chika and she hits another one followed by a hip attack. Running hip attack by Chika and she tags Showzuki, dropkick by Showzuki and she hits Seri with a second one. Showzuki drops a double knee on Seri’s back, she picks her up but Seri tries to fight back. It doesn’t work, Irish whip by Showzuki but Seri hits a gutwrench suplex and tags Nanae. Nanae and Showzuki trade elbows until Nanae hits a hard shoulderblock. Chops by Nanae in the corner but Chika runs in to break it up, Nanae throws Chika in the corner with Showzuki and gives her some chops as well. Showzuki sneaks around to Nanae’s back to get her to stop chopping Chika, but Nanae lariats her in the corner.

Chika charges in but Nanae tosses her down and slams Showzuki on top of Chika. Nanae still as dominate as ever. Back to Showzuki, Nanae picks her up but Showzuki lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt and kicks Nanae in the back. She challenges Nanae to kick her back and she does, Showzuki goes for a PK but Nanae catches her leg and kicks her in the chest. Showzuki gets Nanae’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, Nanae gets to the ropes. Showzuki tags Chika, she hits a running knee on Nanae in the corner with Chika following with one as well. Chika charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and hits a lariat. Nanae gets on the second turnbuckle but Showzuki grabs her from the apron, giving Chika time to recover. Chika grabs Nanae and hits her a quick Giant Swing, Showzuki goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop onto Nanae. Chika follows with a sliding lariat, but Seri breaks up the cover. Chika picks up Nanae but Nanae slaps her and rolls her to the mat before applying a crossface. Chika gets a toe on the ropes to force a break, Nanae picks up Chika and throws her into the corner. Lariat by Nanae and she tags Seri, Seri drives Chika into the corners but Chika wiggles away. Seri goes off the ropes but Chika hits a big boot, she goes for a crab hold but Seri lifts her way out of it. Chika grabs Seri around the waist and swings her around, facebuster by Chika but Nanae breaks up the cover.

Nanae stays in but Showzuki runs in too to even the odds. Chika chokeslams Seri, cover by Chika but Nanae breaks it up. Nanae lariats both Showzuki and Chika, Seri recovers and they hit a double sidewalk slam on Chika for two. Seri picks up Chika but Chika elbows out of the waistlock, she scoops up Seri but Seri wiggles away. Showzuki kicks Seri in the back, Chika slams Seri and covers her for two. Chika picks up Seri but Nanae grabs her and hits a backdrop suplex. Seri picks up Chika so Nanae can hit a lariat, jackknife cover by Seri but it gets broken up. Hard lariat by Nanae to Showzuki, Seri picks up Chika and hits a hammerlock suplex for two. Seri picks up Chika and nails a German suplex, cover by Seri and she gets the three count! Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka are the winners!

I may not always like Nanae’s methods but her type of style is going to be missed when all the mid-90s stars are retired. The way she dominated both opponents in portions of this match would seem off if that just wasn’t the Nanae Experience, and she did give most of it back so it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Seri didn’t get as much of a chance to shine but everything she did looked well executed, I can understand what Rossy sees her in as she seems to have the complete package even this early in her career. Chika and Showzuki both were solid, hitting everything smoothly even if neither really stood out. A good match, engaging from start to finish even if it wasn’t trying to set the world on fire.  Mildly Recommended

Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada

Chanyota and Miku start the match, they trade shoulderblock attempts until Miku finally knocks Chanyota to the mat. Irish whip by Chanyota and she hits another one, covering Miku for two. Both wrestlers tag out, Naho and Mai lock-up, Mai pushes Naho into the ropes and gives a clean break. They trade waistlocks, headlock by Mai but Naho gets out of it and reverses it. Mai gets the headlock re-applied but Naho gets out of it and they return to their feet. Naho goes for a dropkick but Mai swats her aside, Mai goes off the ropes but Miku kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Naho and both she and Miku dropkick Mai. Double Irish whip to Mai but Mai hits a dropkick on both opponents and tags Chanyota. Chanyota and Mai both attack Naho in the corner, scoop slam by Chanyota and with Mai they elbow drop Naho. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho kicks out. Chanyota picks up Naho and tags Mai, Mai throws Naho into the corner and rams her head into the turnbuckle. Running boot by Mai and she hits a scoop slam, Mai picks up Naho but Naho fights back with elbows.

Irish whip by Mai but Naho delivers a dropkick and rolls to her corner to tag Miku. Chanyota runs in to help her partner but Miku fights off both of them, dropkick by Miku to Mai and she hits a PK. Miku picks up Mai but Chanyota lariats Miku, suplex by Mai to Miku and she applies a cross armbreaker. Miku gets to the ropes for the break, Mai goes off the ropes and boots Miku in the head. Mai picks up Miku but Miku hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Mai recovers and tries to cut her off. Mai joins Miku and hits a superplex, shining kick by Mai and she covers Miku for two. STO by Mai, she picks up Miku but Miku drops her with a lariat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, big boot by Mai but Miku hits a lariat. Mai fires back with a jumping knee, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Mai manages to tag Chanyota, shoulderblocks by Chanyota in the corner and she covers Miku for two. Irish whip by Miku but Chanyota hits a jumping shoulderblock, Chanyota goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam.

Miku tags Naho, dropkicks by Naho and she hits a neckbreaker. Naho picks up Chanyota but Chanyota kicks her in the knee and drops her o the mat. Lariat by Chanyota and Mai hits a big boot, another lariat and big boot to Naho and they hit a double vertical suplex. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho gets a shoulder up. Chanyota picks up Naho but Naho gets away, high kick by Miku and Naho hits a Stunner. Lariat by Miku and Naho covers Chanyota for two. Naho applies a headscissors with a bridge, but Mai breaks it up. Miku and Naho go to Mai but Chanyota drops them both with a double lariat. Mai kicks Naho out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. She rolls Naho back into the ring where Chanyota is waiting, Chanyota gets Naho on her shoulders while Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and they hit a Samoan Drop/Missile Dropkick combination. Chanyota picks up Naho and goes off the ropes but Naho cradles her for a two count. Naho charges Chanyota but Chanyota drops her with a lariat, Chanyota drags up Naho and nails the Jackhammer for the three count! Mai Sakurai and Chanyota are the winners!

Another solid tag team match. The greatest compliment I can give a sub-15 minute non-stakes midcard tag match is it held my attention and was well executed, which this match was. I came away with the match fairly impressed with all four of them, although Naho lagged a bit behind the other three in regards to execution. Interestingly, the match seemed for a vehicle to put over Chanyota since she isn’t even a Marigold wrestler, but the fact she is challenging for a singles title soon explains that process and in that regard they were successful. Good stuff all-around.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui
Marigold Superfly Championship

Yuzuki and Misa both charge each other to start and go into a fast exchange, armdrag by Yuzuki and she delivers a dropkick. Misa bridges out of the cover and hits a dropkick of her own, she picks up Yuzuki and throws her into the corner. Misa throws down Yuzuki by the hair, she does it again and a third time. Misa picks up Yuzuki and elbows her but Yuzuki elbows her back, scoop slam by Misa but Yuzuki hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, Yuzuki kips up however and delivers her own dropkick for a two count. Crossface by Yuzuki, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Stomps by Yuzuki but Misa regains the advantage and puts Yuzuki in the Stretch Muffler. Yuzuki gets to the ropes to force the break, Misa picks her up and hits an elbow in the corner. Misa goes for a suplex but Yuzuki blocks it, Misa goes off the ropes but Yuzuki delivers a side slam followed by a double wrist-clutch suplex for a two count.

Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa drop toeholds her onto the second rope, Misa charges in but Yuzuki avoids her charge as Misa ends up on the apron. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa to the floor, she goes out after Misa and stomps on her but Misa fights back and the two trade blows while outside the ring. Yuzuki goes for a suplex but Misa blocks it, Misa puts Yuzuki’s feet on the apron and nails a hanging DDT to the floor. Misa goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Yuzuki with a plancha. Misa slides Yuzuki back in, she goes off the ropes and delivers a sliding kick for a two count. Misa picks up Yuzuki and delivers the MKD, but Yuzuki kicks out of the cover and returns to her feet with an elbow to Misa. Misa elbows her back as they exchange shots, Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa boots her in the head. Headbutt by Yuzuki and she hits a backdrop suplex, Misa ends up against the ropes and Yuzuki nails her with the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Yuzuki, but it gets two.

Crossface by Yuzuki before she switches it to a stretch hold, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa in the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle before hitting a missile dropkick. Yuzuki picks up Misa but Misa reverses a suplex attempt into a cradle. Footstomp by Misa, she kicks Yuzuki against the ropes and delivers a low crossbody. Scoop slam by Misa, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for two. Misa goes for a few flash pins with no luck, running knee by Misa and she hits a cross-leg suplex hold for two. Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Yuzuki fires back with a superkick. Cross-arm German Suplex by Yuzuki, but it only gets two. Yuzuki hits a backbreaker in front of the corner, she follows with a trio of moonsaults out of the corner before covering Misa for the three count! Yuzuki retains her championship!

I hate to be that guy so a disclaimer: I have no issue with no selling/fighting spirit spots. I think they are great! But they work better if its even, or there is a delayed sell, or the fighting spirit wrestler gets their comeuppance moments later. That being said, I really didn’t like the Yuzuki no-sell/fighting spirit spot at the end because it had none of those elements. She eats a lot of Misa offense and then just pops up from a missile dropkick, hits a series of moves and wins the match. It came across as more of a really lazy transition then a normal fighting spirit spot and made Misa look like a chump to have Yuzuki brush aside her offense like it was nothing. She did the same thing after Misa hit the MKD. Took me out of the match a bit. Everything besides that element was great though, Misa was really impressive (arguably more impressive than Yuzuki) with her execution and felt like the stronger wrestler. Loved the variety of offensive moves from both as it kept the match interesting, and with their pacing there was never a dull moment. Overall I enjoyed it, really fun match but just with one really obvious flaw.  Mildly Recommended

The post Marigold New Years Golden Garden on 2/7/25 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Marigold Fields Forever
Date: May 20th, 2024
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance:  1,539
Broadcast: Streamed on Wrestle Universe

If there was one thing that the wrestling landscape in Japan needed, it was a new promotion! Marigold was formed after Rossy Ogawa left/was fired from Stardom and decided he wasn’t quite done being involved with wrestling. With his influence and money, Ogawa was able to sign for Marigold several of the top wrestlers on the Joshi scene, as well as other talented young wrestlers to be the future of the promotion. Ogawa also secured a distribution deal, as their events will air on Wrestle Universe! An exciting time, except for fans of Actress girl’Z as Marigold took their best young wrestlers. Here is the full card!

• Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki
• Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa
• CHIAKI vs. MIRAI
• Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace
• Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui
• Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. Onto the show!

Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki

The tie-up to start, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Tie-up again, this time Yuzuki gets Takahashi in the ropes and she slaps Takahashi. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi avoids the dropkick and slaps Yuzuki back. Kicks by Takahashi, she picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Takahashi gets back up and they lock knuckles, Takahashi wins that battle and applies a wristlock. They trade holds, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes and chops her in the chest. Sidewalk Slam by Takahashi and she applies a chinlock, elbow to the back by Takahashi and she hits a scoop slam. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki elbows her, Takahashi tells her to keep elbowing her but Takahashi eventually knocks her down with a shoulderblock for a two count. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki gets her back with a sleeper, Takahashi gets out of it but Yuzuki keeps her in a bodyscissors. Takahashi gets out of it and puts Yuzuki in a single leg crab hold, but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break. Takahashi randomly bites Yuzuki’s hand before picking her up and chopping her in the corner. Irish whip by Takahashi but Yuzuki reverses it, Takahashi boots Yuzuki but Yuzuki grabs Takahashi’s wrist.

Before she can do anything, Takahashi swats Yuzuki away and the two trade elbows. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi absorbs the dropkick, elbows by Yuzuki and she goes for a springboard move while holding Takahashi’s wrist, but she loses her footing and flops to the mat. Ever the pro, Takahashi hits a leg drop on Yuzuki and covers her for two. Armtrap crossface by Takahashi but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break, Takahashi picks her up but Yuzuki blocks the slam attempt. Yuzuki tries to slam Takahashi and finally manages to do so, mounted elbows by Yuzuki but Takahashi switches positions with her and returns the favor. They go back and forth until returning to their feet, lots of dropkicks by Yuzuki as she finally gets Takahashi off her feet with strikes. Takahashi finally has had enough of this and hits a hard elbow, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi applies a stretch submission but Yuzuki quickly gets to the ropes, Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki slaps her. Lots of slaps by Yuzuki but Takahashi slaps her back, Yuzuki ducks Takahashi’s kick however and hits a trio of kicks of her own. Yuzuki goes for a slam but Takahashi blocks it, so she applies a small package for two. Knee by Takahashi and she hits a short range lariat, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki and delivers a backdrop suplex, cover by Takahashi but Yuzuki barely gets a shoulder up. Takahashi positions Yuzuki and goes to the top turnbuckle, Refrigerator Bomb by Takahashi and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

Aside from the botch during Yuzuki’s offensive comeback that immediately killed said comeback, this was an acceptable opener. Nanae gave more here than she usually does, which is a low bar but she did let Yuzuki get in some offense before immediately cutting her off. I wish Yuzuki had some type of convincing nearfall, not that anyone thought she was winning but at no point in a 15 minute match did she seem like she was even close to winning, a hot 30 second stretch of her hitting some bigger moves to get a semi-close three count would have been fun to watch. I can’t say it was a good match but it set some groundwork for Yuzuki in Marigold and I’m looking forward to see how she continues to improve.

Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa

Miku quickly gets the advantage as she applies a headlock, Nao gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock but Miku kips back up to her feet. Nao throws Miku into the corner and tosses her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Nao but Miku dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Another dropkick by Miku and she kicks Nao hard in the back. Kick to the chest by Miku but Nao fires up and elbows Miku. Nao delivers her own kicks to the back, she picks up Miku but Miku kicks Nao in the ankle after blocking the double underhook. Miku picks up Nao and hits a kneebreaker, kicks by Miku but Nao catches one and hits a dragon screw. Ankle lock by Nao but Miku makes it to the ropes for the break. Running elbow by Nao in the corner and she delivers a double underhook suplex for two. Hard elbow by Nao, she goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam. Miku goes off the ropes and kicks Nao in the ribs, lariat by Miku and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Missile dropkick by Miku and she covers Nao for a two count. Miku elbows Nao but Nao weakly elbows her back, slap by Nao but Miku slaps her back. Miku goes off the ropes but Nao catches her with a German suplex, sit-out slam by Nao and she covers Miku for two. Nao picks up Miku and hits a half and half bridging suplex hold, but Miku barely kicks out. Nao picks up Miku but this time Miku gets away and lariats Nao in the back of the head. Irish whip by Miku and she hits another lariat for a two count cover. Miku goes for a kick but Nao ducks, bridging cover by Nao but it gets two. Miku kicks Nao in the head, she picks her up and nails the Styles Clash for the three count! Miku Aono is the winner.

It is hard to “recommend” matches like this but they are an important part of any wrestling show. Well worked, not too long to wear out its welcome, and it helped showcase two wrestlers that may be stuck in midcard hell for the next year but have the ability to be called up if needed. In this short showing, Miku looked like the better wrestler but both were fairly crisp and they kept the action going from bell to bell so it never dragged. Simple, but effective and non-offensive.

CHIAKI vs. MIRAI

They run into each other to start the match before trading elbows, shoulder tackle by CHIAKI but MIRAI ducks on her next charge and CHIAKI flies out of the ring. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle but MIRAI grabs her from the apron and tosses her back into the ring. CHIAKI grabs MIRAI and slams her back into the corner, CHIAKI trips MIRAI and hits her with the bootscrapes. Running boot by CHIAKI, she goes of the ropes and hits a cartwheel double kneedrop. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a fisherman suplex but MIRAI blocks it and kicks CHIAKI in the best. MIRAI charges CHIAKI and hits a back elbow, she hits another followed by a lariat. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by MIRAI but it gets two. Neck crank by MIRAI and she hits a snapmare, dropkick by MIRAI but CHIAKI starts fighting back with elbows.

MIRAI welcomes this as the two trade shots, palm strike by CHIAKI and she hits a shoulderblock. MIRAI hits a shoulderblock of her own, CHIAKI goes off the ropes and she delivers a spear. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits rolling fisherman suplexes, but MIRAI blocks the last one and hits a reverse STO. MIRAI waits for CHIAKI to get up but CHIAKI snaps off a fisherman suplex hold for two. CHIAKI gets MIRAI on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker before slamming her to the mat for a two count cover. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI but MIRAI wiggles away, applying a submission hold. CHIAKI gets a toe on the ropes, MIRAI goes off the ropes but CHIAKI catches her with a powerslam. Backdrop suplex by MIRAI, both wrestlers slowly get up but CHIAKI knocks over MIRAI with a dropkick. She goes off the ropes but MIRAI hits a lariat, MIRAI drags up CHIAKI and hits a fireman’s carry slam for two. MIRAI goes off the ropes and rocks CHIAKI with a hard lariat, cover by MIRAI and she gets the three count! MIRAI wins!

This was a really good showcase for MIRAI, who clearly has been putting in work recently to be her best self in Marigold. Her strikes and power moves are still snug but she also had more speed and agility then she did early in her career, keeping up a fast pace or the entire match. CHIAKI looked fine as well, she clearly is below MIRAI but put up a good fight and had a strong showing. I love strike and suplex battles and these two are both well versed in that style, so I was very entertained. My only real complaint is I wish it was longer and it lacked some drama since the winner was never in doubt. Looking forward to seeing more of MIRAI in this new environment, the sky is the limit for her if she is given the opportunities (which I am sure she will get).  Mildly Recommended

Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace

Steel and Grace start the match, they tie-up and trade holds, ending with a Grace La Magistral for two. Steel goes for her own pin as they trade flash pin attempts, neither has any luck as Steel tags Mai. Grace fights off both of them and hits a double dropkick, Grace drops Mai with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and tags Nozaki. Mai boots Nozaki as she gets in the ring, snapmare by Nozaki but Mai ducks the PK. Curb Stomp by Nozaki on Mai and she hits a second one, cover by Nozaki but it gets two. Nozaki throws Mai into the corner and stomps her down, Nozaki picks her back up and slaps Mai in the chest repeatedly. Mai fights back with elbows but Nozaki knocks her back to the mat and applies a camel clutch. She switches it to a facelock but Mai wiggles to the ropes for the break. Mai gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nozaki grabs Mai around the neck and tags Grace. Elbows by Grace but Mai returns fire, jumping lariat by Grace and she hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Grace goes off the ropes but Mai delivers a jumping kick, she ties up Grace in a pretzel and makes the tag to Steel. Mai mouths off to Nozaki, giving Grace time to recover but Steel retains the advantage and chops Grace while she is in the ropes.

Modified Code Breaker by Steel, she picks up Grace and elbows her against the ropes. Irish whip attempt by Steel but Grace slides through her legs and kicks her in the head. Splits legdrop by Grace, but it gets two. Grace picks up Steel, Steel ends up in the corner and Grace hits a 619. Tornado DDT by Grace, and she covers Steel for a two count. Grace tags Nozaki but Steel delivers a kick combination, Nozaki kicks her back however and delivers a vertical suplex. Running boot by Nozaki in the corner and she hits another one, Nozaki kicks Steel again while she is hanging over the second rope before joining her on the apron. Steel and Nozaki trade kicks while still on the apron, until Steel delivers a Code Breaker. Nozaki falls out of the ring, Steel gets a running start and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Steel slides Nozaki back in, cover by Steel but it gets two. Steel picks up Nozaki and drives her into the corner, running knee by Steel and she spins Nozaki to the mat before kicking her in the back. Steel tags Mai, Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick.

Mai goes off the ropes and boots Nozaki in the head, Mai chokes Nozaki with her leg while applying a seated armbar but has to release the hold as Nozaki is too close to the ropes. Mai picks up Nozaki but Nozaki fires off a series of elbows, Mai returns fire but Nozaki plants a boot on her face. Nozaki picks up Mai, Grace runs in and hits Mai with a backdrop suplex. Double superkick to Mai, but it gets two. Nozaki puts Mai in a sleeperhold but Steel breaks it up, Nozaki goes off the ropes and kicks Mai in the face for a two count. Nozaki picks up Mai but Mai knocks her back and hits a legdrop for two. Bridging vertical suplex by Mai, but that gets a two as well. Mai drops Nozaki to the mat and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Nozaki avoids the diving elbow drop and kicks Mai in the face. Another boot by Nozaki, but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating, but the main issue is that it felt like they didn’t even plan for an ending. By that I mean there wasn’t a nearfall stretch or anything that felt like a wrestler was in real trouble, they structured it like it was an exhibition match going to a Draw. Which it was, but the wrestlers shouldn’t wrestle like its a planned Draw, there was no sense of urgency or trying to win as time was running out. The tag team partners also interacted with each other very little, so it felt more like a series of singles matches than a meaningful tag match. The action itself was generally pretty fluid, no real signs of miscommunications which is a plus. It just didn’t hit any high notes or present anything memorable.

Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui

Kouki and Misa start, Kouki asks Misa to lock knuckles but Misa can’t reach her hands. Misa kicks Kouki but Kouki applies a side headlock, Misa Irish whips out of it but Kouki cartwheels away. They continue a fast back-and-forth but they reach a stalemate and stare each other down. Natsumi and Goto tag in, elbows by Natsumi but Goto elbows her back and they trade blows. Natsumi applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Goto wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Natsumi tags Misa, and Misa throws down Goto by the hair. Misa picks up Goto and works over her arm in the corner, running knee by Misa and she applies an arm submission on the mat. Natsumi comes in and kicks Goto in the arm to help out, Misa releases the hold and tags Natsumi who hits a rebound double kneedrop off the ropes. Goto tries to fight back but eats knees for her trouble, Natsumi goes off the ropes but Goto grabs her and spins her around in a Giant Swing. This gives Goto time to tag Kouki, Kouki goes off the ropes and boots Natsumi in the head. Kouki goes off the ropes again but Natsumi ducks the lariat, Misa boots Kouki from the apron and Natsumi follows with a boot of her own for two. Natsumi picks up Kouki but Kouki ducks the head kick and slams Natsumi to the mat for a two count. Kouki positions Natsumi and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Natsumi avoids the Amethyst Butterfly and delivers a running knee for two.

Kick by Natsumi, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double kneedrop for a two count. Natsumi tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Misa puts Kouki on the ropes and drops he with a DDT, but Kouki barely kicks out of the cover. Misa goes to run off the ropes but Kouki grabs her, Misa rolls Kouki to the mat however and hits a series of footstomps. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a body press while Kouki is against the ropes, Natsumi runs in and hits a running knee before both hit jumping knees on Kouki. Cover by Misa, but again Kouki barely gets a shoulder up. Misa goes off the ropes but Goto runs in and plants her with a chokeslam. Kouki recovers and both grab Misa, dropping her to the mat. Kouki and Misa slowly recover, hard elbow by Kouki but Misa elbows her back. Misa goes off the ropes but Kouki hits a powerslam, cover by Kouki but Misa bridges out of it and applies a flash pin. It quickly gets broken up, Natsumi tries to help Misa but Kouki drops them both to the mat. Kouki picks up Misa and hits a Samoan Drop, but the cover only gets two. Kouki positions Misa and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the Amethyst Butterfly and picks up the three count! Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto are the winners!

Now this is my kind of wrestling. Everything wasn’t perfectly executed but they made up with that with great fluid tag team action. Unlike the last match, both of these teams worked as actual teams and not individuals, leading to fast paced and attention grabbing action from bell to bell. There was always something happening and it was a great display by all four to what is likely mostly a new audience. Kouki looked like a star but Natsumi was the most “clean” of the group, her age and experience really shone through as she hit everything hard and fast. I don’t want to over-hype a 12 minute mid-card tag match, but it did its goal of presenting four wrestlers they no doubt hope will become stars in the new promotion.  Recommended

Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

Sareee and Giulia start the match, they tie-up and end up in the ropes but Sareee gives a hard elbow instead of a break. They trade strike attempts with neither connecting as they reach a stalemate, and both wrestlers tag out. Utami and Bozilla circle each other, Bozilla tosses Utami down a couple times but Utami delivers a dropkick after Giulia distracts Bozilla. Giulia is tagged in, they both try to Irish whip Bozilla but they can’t get her to budge. Giulia and Utami take turns striking Bozilla until they get her to her knees, but Bozilla gets back up and eats Giulia’s strikes. Bozilla gets Giulia on her shoulders but Giulia applies a hanging armbar, Bozilla gets out of it so Utami runs in to help, but Bozilla slams them both to the mat. Sareee comes in as they kick Giulia and Utami out of the ring, Bozilla gets Sareee up in a press and tosses her out of the ring and down onto both opponents. Bozilla gets out of the ring and tosses Giulia around the ring while Sareee does the same to Utami, Utami regains the advantage on Sareee and the two trade shots. Bozilla and Giulia gets back in the ring and Bozilla delivers a vertical suplex, cover by Bozilla but it gets two. Bozilla tags Sareee, Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.

Sickle Hold by Sareee, she switches to a leg submission but Giulia gets to the ropes for the break. Giulia snaps off a vertical suplex, Irish whip by Giulia to Sareee and Giulia delivers a dropkick. Giulia tags Utami, running elbow by Utami and she kicks Sareee in the back. Utami picks up Sareee but Sareee elbows her, Bozilla comes in but Utami fights off both of them and hits a lariat on Sareee for two. Utami picks up Sareee and hits an Argentine Backbreaker Slam, she picks her up again but Sareee hits a double footstomp and tags Bozilla. Bozilla throws Utami into the corner and hits a Body Avalanche, she throws Utami to the mat and covers her for two. Bozilla picks up Utami and runs into her, Utami stays up and elbows Bozilla but Bozilla sends her to the mat with a body attack. Utami knocks Bozilla into the corner but Bozilla picks her up, Utami slides away and she punches Bozilla in the face. Rolling elbow by Utami, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Bozilla recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Running shoulderblock by Bozilla and she covers Utami for two. Bozilla puts Utami on the top turnbuckle to get Utami on her shoulders, but Utami wiggles away and applies a sleeper. Bozilla slams Utami into the corner to break out of it, but Utami quickly re-applies it. Bozilla gets out of it again and hits a running senton, picking up a two count. Bozilla picks up Utami and hits a Fallaway Slam, she gets on the second turnbuckles and delivers a Reverse Splash, but the cover is broken up.

Bozilla picks up Utami but Utami gets her around the waist, hitting a release German suplex. This gives her time to tag Giulia while Sareee also tags in, hard boot by Giulia but Sareee elbows her back and the two trade shots. Giulia goes off the ropes but Sareee catches her with a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee but Giulia blocks the fisherman suplex and applies a STF. Sareee gets to the ropes to force a break, Giulia picks up Sareee and suplexes her for a two count. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Bozilla grabs her, this gives Sareee time to join Giulia and she hits an avalanche fisherman suplex for two. Sareee goes up top again but Utami slows her down, Giulia hits Sareee and joins her, delivering an avalanche underhook suplex. Giulia goes to boot Sareee but Sareee moves, they trade waistlocks until Utami runs in and dropkicks Sareee. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle while Utami gets Sareee on her shoulders and they hit a missile dropkick/Argentine Backbreaker Slam combo for a two count. Giulia puts Sareee in a double armbar  but Bozilla breaks free of Utami and breaks up the hold. Bozilla grabs Giulia and hits a powerbomb, Sareee goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp but Utami breaks up the cover. Bozilla goes up top and with Sareee’s help goes for a somersault senton, but Utami pulls Giulia out of the way. Lariat by Utami to Sareee and she drops her with a German suplex, another release German by Utami to Sareee and all four wrestlers are down on the mat.

Giulia and Sareee slowly get to their knees and trade elbows, they continue trading strikes once on their feet until Giulia headbutts Sareee to her knees. Giulia goes for a suplex but Sareee kicks her in the head, hard elbows by Giulia but Sareee hits a German suplex hold for two. Giulia fires back with a Saito Suplex, knee strike by Giulia and she covers Sareee for two. Giulia applies a hammerlock before nailing the Glorious Driver, cover by Giulia but Bozilla breaks it up. Giulia picks up Sareee but Sareee gets away, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla knocks Giulia over with a shoulderblock. Bozilla stays in the ring and challenges Giulia and Utami, double Irish whip attempt to Bozilla but Bozilla hits a lariat on both of them. Sareee picks up Giulia and drops her with a uranage, cover by Sareee but Utami breaks it up. Sareee picks up Giulia but Bozilla snaps off a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla shoulderblocks her again, giving Sareee time to hit a second uranage. She nails Giulia with a third, she picks up Giulia and hits one more but Giulia barely kicks out of the cover. Bozilla goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault on Giulia, Sareee picks up Giulia and delivers one last uranage for the three count! Bozilla and Sareee are the winners!

A lot to unpack here, but a great match. The big question mark going in was Bozilla but they used her really smart here as while she is limited she is good at what she does. And what she does well is hit hard. Sareee did the bulk of the “work” but that wasn’t a problem for her as she’s one of the top Joshi wrestlers, so with Sareee putting in the minutes and Bozilla contributing the boom they worked as a solid team. Utami and Giulia of course are both fantastic, they cooperated when they needed to but at the same time they didn’t pretend to be best buddies since we all know they aren’t (in storyline). The super hot crowd really helped as that elevates any match, and it was the hard hitting/hard dropping affair you’d expect. I wouldn’t put it at full MOTYC status as it felt like something was missing from the end stretch (where did Utami go?) and there were a few miscommunications/awkward moments but still a fantastic match and a fitting ending to Marigold’s debut show.  Highly Recommended

The post Marigold Fields Forever on 5/20/2024 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: PURE-J Fight Together
Date: April 11th, 2021
Location: Itabashi Green Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 110
Broadcast Information: Streamed on PURE-J Filmuy Channel

Excited to take a look at PURE-J for the April Streaming Service Evaluation, an often forgotten Joshi promotion. PURE-J has a pretty solid streaming service and uploads most of their shows, which is great as otherwise we wouldn’t get to watch them very often. This is actually a big event for the promotion, with a notable singles match for Hanako Nakamori and a championship title match. Here is the full card:

• Chie Ozora vs. Megumi Yabushita
• KAZUKI vs. Misa Matsui
• AKARI and Mari vs. Crea and Makoto
• Hanako Nakamori vs. Yumi Ohka
• PURE-J Openweight Championship: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rydeen Hagane

All matches were shown in full. To visit a wrestler’s profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above.

Chie Ozora vs. Megumi Yabushita

Chie goes for a dropkick right off the start but Yabushita swats her away, stomps by Yabushita and she hits a dropkick of her own for two. Chie goes off the ropes and connects with the dropkick this time, snapmare by Chie and she applies a sleeper hold. She lets go after a moment and switches to a bodyscissors, but Yabushita gets out of it and applies a cross-leg submission. Yabushita picks up Chie and hits a snapmare before flinging Chie around by the hair. Sleeper by Yabushita but Chie gets a toe on the ropes to force the break. Yabushita picks up Chie and hits a scoop slam, double kneedrop by Yabushita and she hits a couple more scoop slams for two. Chie fights back with an elbow and the two trade shots, Yabushita gets Chie down and puts her in an armbar. Chie again gets to the ropes for a break, Yabushita grabs Chie’s arm and applies an armbar hanging over the top rope. She lets go after a moment, Chie reverses a wristlock into one of her own but Yabushita reverses it back.

Chie regains the advantage and tries to walk the ropes while holding Yabushita’s arm, but she falls off (not on purpose). Back in the ring, Chie rolls Yabushita to the mat and applies an ankle hold, but Yabushita makes it to the ropes. Small package by Chie and she applies a kneelock, but Yabushita rights out of it and puts Chie in a crab hold. She switches it to a cross armbreaker attempt, but Chie gets to the ropes for the break. Chie gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Chie but it gets a two count. Chie charges Yabushita and goes over her back for a cradle, but Yabushita kicks out again. Rolling Cradle by Chie, but that gets two as well. Chie picks up Yabushita and hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Yabushita gets a shoulder up. Chie goes off the ropes but Yabushita catches her with a judo toss, armbreaker by Yabushita but Chie gets to the ropes. Yabushita picks up Chie but Chie sneaks in a few more flash pins for two. Bridging suplex by Yabushita, she quickly puts Chie in a cross armbreaker and Chie submits! Megumi Yabushita is the winner.

I’m surprised about how even this match was, which probably says more for Yabushita than it does for Chie. Yabushita is a pretty entry-level veteran so she doesn’t really lose anything by giving a rookie so much offense. Chie is still early in her career so no judgement here, but the botches always stick out and I’m just glad she wasn’t hurt when she slipped off the ropes. Otherwise she looked fine although she didn’t pop off the screen either. A decent opener in the sense that Chie got some experience and Yabushita was a good base for showing her around the ring in a competent manner.

KAZUKI vs. Misa Matsui

They lock up to start, Misa gets KAZUKI into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Misa steps on KAZUKI’s foot but KAZUKI kicks her in the stomach, Misa gets KAZUKI to the mat and delivers a sliding kick. Misa goes for a scoop slam but KAZUKI blocks it, hitting a scoop slam of her own for a two count. Crab hold by KAZUKI but Misa inches to the ropes to force the break. KAZUKI grabs Misa by the hair but Misa lands on her feet on the hair whip attempt, snapmare by Misa and she applies a bodyscissors. She lets go after a moment, knee to the stomach by KAZUKI and she throws Misa into the corner. Irish whip by KAZUKI and she hits a running knee, another Irish whip by KAZUKI but this time Misa flips over her and hits a dropkick. More dropkicks by Misa but KAZUKI stays up, elbows by Misa but KAZUKI blocks the suplex attempt. Knee by KAZUKI but Misa hits a jumping crossbody for two. Armbar by Misa but she lets go after a moment and stomps on KAZUKI. Misa goes off the ropes but KAZUKI knees her in the stomach, another knee to the stomach by KAZUKI (that’s kinda her thing) but Misa grabs her arm and goes for an armbar. KAZUKI gets to the ropes for a break, knee by KAZUKI and she hits another one.

KAZUKI picks up Misa and hits a double underhook slam onto her knee for a two count cover. KAZUKI picks up Misa and puts her in the corner across the ropes, she then gets on the top turnbuckle but Misa slides out to the apron. She tries to slam KAZUKI into the turnbuckle but KAZUKI blocks it, Misa returns the favor however and elbows KAZUKI. Misa gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Fisherman suplex hold by Misa, but that gets a two as well. Misa goes up top but KAZUKI avoids her diving footstomp, Misa quickly applies an Octopus Hold but KAZUKI gets to the ropes. Misa charges KAZUKI and hits a low crossbody, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count. Waistlock by Misa but KAZUKI gets to the ropes, Misa charges KAZUKI but KAZUKI drops her with a Codebreaker. Running double knee by KAZUKI and she hits a reverse double kneedrop for a two count. KAZUKI picks up Misa but Misa slides away, backdrop suplex by KAZUKI and she covers Misa for two. KAZUKI picks up Misa but Misa slides off and goes for a sunset flip, but KAZUKI blocks it. Misa goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, Samoan Cutter by KAZUKI but Misa barely kicks out of the cover. KAZUKI goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving kneedrop, cover by KAZUKI but Misa bridges out of the pin. KAZUKI quickly goes all the way up to the top turnbuckle and hits another diving kneedrop, and this time she picks up the three count! KAZUKI is the winner.

I’ve mentioned before that I like when wrestlers focus on a certain aspect of offensive strategy but KAZUKI takes it a little too far. I am just imagining her waking up one day and saying “I am going to only knee people in the stomach, that’s my thing now.” In her defense, at least her finishing moves also focus on knees to the stomach, but I just wish she had more ‘set up’ moves than the common kitchen sink. It just gets a bit repetitive. Misa looked good here, hit all her spots well and has a nice variety of offense. I really enjoyed the match when Misa was on offense, and if KAZUKI would just change her offense up this would have been a sneaky good match. Its still solid though and a good showcase for Misa, she certainly has potential.  Mildly Recommended

AKARI and Mari vs. Crea and Makoto

AKARI and Crea start the match, they trade wristlocks until AKARI gets Crea to the mat. Crea gets away and they reach a stalemate, they lock knuckles and go into a quick exchange which ends with a AKARI dropkick. Mari comes in but so does Makoto and she helps Crea get the advantage. AKARI is thrown into the corner and double teamed, cover by Crea but it gets a two count. Crea tags Makoto, Makoto stomps on AKARI and she hits a springboard crossbody. Double kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers AKARI for two. Irish whip by Makoto but AKARI hits a dropkick, giving her time to tag in Mari. PK by Mari but Makoto kicks her back, dropkick by Makoto and she covers Mari for two. Makoto goes off the ropes and boots Mari, she grabs Mari but Mari throws her to the mat and applies a leglock. Crea breaks it up, boots by Mari to Makoto but Makoto drop toeholds her into the second rope. Stomps by Makoto and she tags Crea, she tries to shoulderblock Mari to the mat but Mari stays on her feet. Kick to the stomach by Mari but Crea ducks the high kick and finally shoulderblocks Mari to the mat. Crea puts Mari in a Sickle Hold but Makoto holds back AKARI, but AKARI gets free and breaks up the hold.

Crea picks up Mari but Mari kicks her in the leg, Crea elbows her back and the two trade shots. Crea hits a series of elbows but Mari returns with a series of kicks, she knocks Crea to the mat and follows with a PK for two. Mari picks up Crea and gets her on her shoulders, hitting a Samoan Drop for a close two count. Mari picks up Crea but Crea catches her kick and applies an ankle hold. Mari gets to the ropes for the break, dropkick to the back by Crea and she covers Mari for two. She tags Makoto, Makoto knees Mari in the stomach and boots her twice for a two count cover. Makoto throws Mari into the corner but Mari kicks her back and hits a facecrusher. Mari puts Makoto in a Rocking Horse, but she lets go after a moment and goes for a Gory Special. Makoto blocks that and hits a DDT, kick to the ribs by Makoto and she hits the handstand double kneedrop for two. Makoto picks up Mari but Mari blocks the double underhook, high kicks by Mari and she covers Makoto for a two count. Mari tags AKARI, AKARI throws Makoto into the corner and hits a running elbow. Makoto avoids the next one and knees AKARI, but AKARI slides out to the apron and with Mari’s help she hits a missile dropkick for a two count.

Northern Lights Suplex Hold by AKARI, but that gets a two as well. AKARI picks up Makoto but Makoto hits an armdrag, she applies an armbar but AKARI gets to the ropes for the break. Makoto picks up AKARI and hits a suplex, she goes to the corner and tags Crea. Crea goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Crea but AKARI kicks out. AKARI blocks the suplex and hits a Pump Kick, but Crea boots her back for a two count. Crea applies an armbar, but Mari breaks it up. Drop toehold by AKARI and she hits Crea with a Tiger Feint Kick, she quickly applies an armtrap crossface but Crea gets out of it and applies a crossface of her own. Mari breaks it up, Crea goes off the ropes but AKARI catches her with a cradle for two. La Magistral gets a two as well, Crea then tries her own flash pin but that also gets two. Makoto spears AKARI, Crea goes off the ropes and hits a bodyscissors takedown for a two count. Crea goes off the ropes again but this time AKARI catches her with a vertical suplex, AKARI applies Muy Bien and Crea quickly taps out! AKARI and Mari are the winners!

This match is peak PURE-J. Pretty well worked, technically sound wrestlers and a decent pace, but nothing particularly spectacular or memorable. I’ve always liked Mari, she has a good look and wrestles with a sense of urgency, she is kinda hiding in Actwres girl’Z but she’s a bundle of fun. The rest all looked fine, just a few minor hiccups but generally the match flowed well from bell to bell. I’m not as sold on Crea as I am on Mari but she didn’t do anything to stand out in a bad way, which sometimes is all you can ask for with less experienced wrestlers. A good match, no major complaints even if it never reached the next level.  Mildly Recommended

Hanako Nakamori vs. Yumi Ohka

They quickly get into it as Ohka hits a hip toss, but Nakamori fires back with a lariat and they end up with a stalemate. They lock knuckles but break cleanly, elbow by Ohka but Nakamori kicks her when she charges in. Elbow by Ohka and she hits a big boot in the corner, another boot by Ohka and she covers Nakamori for two. Ohka picks up Nakamori and slams her face into the mat, she stands on Nakamori’s back and does a little dance. Double kneedrop by Ohka, she picks up Nakamori and hits a scoop slam. Headscissors by Ohka but Nakamori gets to the ropes, Irish whip attempt by Ohka but Nakamori blocks it and kicks her in the back. Kick to the chest by Nakamori and she hits a legdrop, she puts Ohka in the ropes and goes out to the apron so she can kick her repeatedly in the chest. Running kick to the back by Nakamori and she covers Ohka for two. Nakamori picks up Ohka but Ohka stomps on her foot, knees by Ohka and she puts Nakamori in the ropes. Repeated kicks to the face from the apron by Ohka, she get back into the ring and does the same on the other side of the ring.

Irish whip by Ohka to the corner and she delivers a running boot, she tries another Irish whip but Nakamori reverses it and kicks her in the corner. Ohka comes back with another boot but Nakamori returns with a lariat, they trade waistlocks until Nakamori drops down and kicks Ohka in the head. Nakamori drops Ohka onto the second rope and boots her from the apron, Nakamori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Nakamori applies a modified armbar but Ohka gets to the ropes, Nakamori charges Ohka and boots her into the ropes. She charges Ohka again but Ohka drops her onto the top rope, boot by Ohka and she hits another one from the apron. Back in, running boot by Ohka and she covers Nakamori for two. Ohka picks up Nakamori but Nakamori blocks the suplex, kick combination by Nakamori and she ends with a PK. Nakamori goes up top but Ohka avoids her charge, cross-arm Backstabber by Ohka and she keeps the hold applied on the mat. She lets go after a moment, Ohka goes off the ropes and boots Nakamori in the face for a two count. Ohka goes up top but Nakamori recovers and joins her, but Ohka elbows her back to the mat. Nakamori gets back up and re-joins her, hitting a superplex but she is too hurt to make a cover.

Nakamori is up first and kicks Ohka, but Ohka kicks her back and they trade boots. Ohka wins the boots duel, she goes off the ropes but Nakamori hits an enzuigiri. Ohka quickly hits a backdrop suplex but Nakamori drops her with a fisherman buster. Ohka fires back with a brainbuster, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both slowly get back up, headbutt by Nakamori but Ohka boots her to the mat. Ohka picks up Nakamori but Nakamori delivers a strike combination, running kick by Nakamori and she covers Ohka for two. Nakamori goes up top and nails the Destiny Hammer, but Ohka barely kicks out of the cover. Nakamori drags up Ohka, she goes off the ropes but Ohka nails the Choke Bomb for two. Heel drop by Ohka, but Nakamori gets a leg on the ropes to break up the pin. Ohka goes off the ropes and boots Nakamori in the face, but Nakamori recovers and they trade flash pins. Buzzsaw Kick by Nakamori, but Ohka kicks out. Nakamori picks up Ohka but Ohka hits a release Dragon Suplex. Big boot by Ohka but the bell has rung as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Certainly an interesting match, I will give them that. They started a little slow as veterans tend to do but at a certain point one of them must have yelled ITS GO TIME as they went straight to no selling and bomb throwing like they were wrestling at Budokan. I’ll give them credit for not dogging it on a small non-televised event but if you like selling and what not this is not the match for you as no matter what move was being done to them it may as well have been a finger poke. They went back to a more reasonable speed at the end, either because they were legitimately tired or they knew time was coming and had to get to the right spot, which was actually nice as it would make sense that they wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace they had for a few minutes there. All in all I enjoyed it, the no selling was both ways so no one was being disrespected and they went out there with the goal of putting on something memorable. Which it was and will likely overshadow the main event. A very strike-heavy but entertaining match, all things considered.  Recommended

(c) Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rydeen Hagane
PURE-J Openweight Championship

Kaori applies a waistlock but Rydeen shakes her off, she tries again but Rydeen shoulderblocks her down. Rydeen goes for a body press but Kaori moves and hits a running senton. Kaori goes off the ropes but Rydeen catches her with a hip toss, lariat by Rydeen in the corner and she hits a second more. Short-range lariats by Rydeen and she applies a crab hold, but Kaori gets to the ropes for the break. Rydeen sits down on Kaori’s back before picking her up and clubbing Kaori in the back. Rydeen gets Kaori on her back but Kaori slides away and applies a waistlock, Rydeen drives Kaori into the corner to get her off but Kaori avoids her lariat attempt. Kaori twists Rydeen’s leg in the second rope and dropkicks it, elbow drops to the leg by Kaori and she twists on Rydeen’s knee. She lets go after a moment and hits a senton on Rydeen’s leg, but Rydeen elbows her and hits a sidewalk slam for two. Rydeen picks up Kaori but Kaori cradles her to the mat and applies a kneelock. Rydeen crawls to the ropes and forces the break, running knee to the back by Kaori and she hits a satellite DDT for two. Kaori picks up Rydeen and applies a waistlock, Rydeen gets out of it and drops Kaori with a Samoan Drop. Lariat by Rydeen and she hits a second one, cover by Rydeen but it gets two.

Rydeen goes for a powerbomb but Kaori gets out of it, superkick by Rydeen and she delivers a heel kick. Rydeen positions Kaori and goes to the second turnbuckle, hitting a reverse splash senton for a two count cover. Rydeen goes all the way up the next time but Kaori avoids the moonsault, Kaori rolls Rydeen to the mat and applies a cross kneelock. Rydeen barely gets a boot on the ropes to force a break, knee to the back of the head by Kaori and she hits one from the front. More running knees by Kaori and she covers Rydeen for a two count. Kaori picks up Rydeen but Rydeen reverses the sunset flip powerbomb. Rydeen goes back up top but Kaori recovers and grabs her leg from behind. Kaori manages to toss Rydeen back down to the mat, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving senton but Rydeen barely gets her shoulder up. Kaori returns to the top turnbuckle but Rydeen joins her, Kaori gets Rydeen’s back but Rydeen blocks the sunset flip powerbomb attempt by sitting down on Kaori. Rydeen picks up Kaori and tosses her with a backdrop suplex, lariat by Rydeen but Kaori applies a crucifix cover for two. Rydeen stomps Kaori’s run with a lariat, Samoan Driver by Rydeen but Kaori kicks out. Rydeen picks up Kaori and nails the Shouten Kai, cover by Rydeen and she gets the three count! Rydeen Hagane is the new champion!

A lot of little things to look at here. First, its interesting that this was the 4th longest match on a five match card, not that any of the matches on the show were long but clearly they thought a shorter and more compact match was the way to go here. Yoneyama did everything she could to help get Rydeen over which she was in the perfect place to do, her losing does nothing to her legacy and by beating an outsider it gives Rydeen a handful of fresh challenges so she can prove she’s the best in PURE-J. Rydeen hit all her power spots well, and it helped that Yoneyama is small so the moves looked more impressive. Yoneyama’s leg work was good but Rydeen did nothing to sell it when a move wasn’t being applied, it was a logical story to tell so I’m not faulting it but I wouldn’t have minded if Rydeen struggled a bit doing… anything in the latter half of the match due to the knee work. Overall a perfectly fine match, Rydeen got to show off her power moves and won decisively which is all one can hope for. Hopefully she can have a meaningful run after waiting so long to win the title and prove it wasn’t just a fluke win over a veteran outsider.  Recommended

The post PURE-J Fight Together on 4/11/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: PURE-J Fight Together 2021
Date: February 7th, 2021
Location: Itabashi Green Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 85
Broadcast Information: Streamed on PURE-J’s Streaming Service

Sometimes I like to take a step back and review a smaller show that may not be talked about that much around Joshi circles online, and this is one of those times. PURE-J, to put it nicely, is at the lowest level of Joshi promotions. They already were struggling, then lost Manami Katsu and Mari Manji to make the situation worse. What they lack in quality wrestlers they try to make up for with solid fundamentals and bringing in wrestlers from other promotions to help. This event does have a title match, as AKARI faces Momo Tani in the finale of a tournament to crown a new Princess of Pro Wrestling Champion after it was vacated by Suzu Suzuki. Here is the full card:

• Misa Matsui vs. Rydeen Hagane
• KAZUKI vs. Makoto
• Chie Ozora and Leon vs. Hanako Nakamori and Madeline
• Princess Of Pro Wrestling Championship: AKARI vs. Momo Tani

As this streamed on PURE-J’s own streaming service, matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Misa Matsui vs. Rydeen Hagane

They tie-up to start, Rydeen pushes Misa towards the ropes but Misa hits a series of elbows. Dropkick by Misa and she tries to toss Rydeen by the hair, but Rydeen blocks it and hits an elbow. Rydeen throws Misa by the hair into the corner and stomps her down, scoop slam by Rydeen and she hits a running body press for two. Rydeen picks up Misa and slaps her in the back repeatedly, Irish whip by Rydeen but Misa avoids her charge and hits a dropkick. She goes for a crossbody but Rydeen catches her and slams Misa to the mat, Misa avoids the body press however and hits a double footstomp on Rydeen’s back. Hard elbow by Rydeen but Misa jumps out to the apron, she goes to the top turnbuckle but jumps off when Rydeen charges in and puts Rydeen in a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches it to a cross armbreaker attempt, but Rydeen mostly blocks it and slams Misa into the corner to break the hold. Lariat by Rydeen and she hits a second one, she goes for a powerbomb but Misa wiggles away. Backbreaker by Rydeen and she puts Misa in a crab hold, but Misa gets to the ropes for the break. Rydeen charges Misa and hits a body avalanche to Rydeen’s back, but Misa returns fire with a dropkick.

She goes for another crossbody, Rydeen catches her but Misa hits a DDT. Dropkick by Misa and she covers Rydeen for two. Misa picks up Rydeen and applies an Octopus Hold, but Rydeen muscles out of it. She goes for a lariat but Misa ducks it and promptly re-applies the Octopus Hold, but Rydeen gets to the ropes to force the break. Misa goes off the ropes and dropkicks Rydeen in the back, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody. Misa goes all the way up top and drops Rydeen with a missile dropkick, but Rydeen barely kicks out of the cover. Misa picks up Rydeen but can’t get her over with a suplex, elbows by Misa but Rydeen delivers a superkick. Rydeen charges Misa and hits a lariat, cover by Rydeen but Misa gets a shoulder up. Rydeen positions Misa and hits a twisting Reverse Splash out of the corner, but Misa kicks out of that as well. Rydeen drags up Misa, Misa slides away from the suplex attempt however and cradles Rydeen for two. Rydeen fires back with a sliding lariat, she picks up Misa but Misa sneaks in another flash pin for a two count. After another failed flash pin, Misa goes off the ropes but Rydeen hits a lariat. Rydeen picks up Misa and delivers a Uranage for the three count! Rydeen Hagane wins the match.

You know, this was a pretty solid match. Rydeen may never be a superstar but she is very serviceable and stays within her limitations, in the right situation she rarely has a bad match. Misa showed a lot of spunk and fire, actually controlling more of the match than I was expecting but she did it with speed which was the way to go. The match fell apart a little bit at the end as Misa was holding her own enough that I didn’t think going the ‘flash pin’ method repeatedly was necessary, but overall a good way to open up the show.  Mildly Recommended

KAZUKI vs. Makoto

KAZUKI knees Makoto to the mat to start and applies a wristlock, but Makoto rolls out of it and reverses it. They trade holds until Makoto hits an armdrag and applies an armbar, but KAZUKI rolls to the ropes for the break. Snapmare by Makoto and she dropkicks KAZUKI in the back, she picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI knees her in the stomach. Double kneedrop by KAZUKI, she snapmares Makoto and applies a sleeper hold. She lets go after a moment so she can throw down Makoto by the hair, knees by KAZUKI in the corner and she applies a single leg crab hold. Makoto gets to the ropes to break the hold, KAZUKI picks her up and throws Makoto into the corner. Irish whip by KAZUKI to the corner but Makoto avoids her charge, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving crossbody. Double kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers KAZUKI for two. Makoto picks up KAZUKI but KAZUKI knees her and the two trade blows. KAZUKI catches a kick and throws Makoto into the corner, knees by KAZUKI and she puts Makoto across the middle rope.

KAZUKI climbs to the top turnbuckle and hits a double kneedrop to Makoto’s stomach, KAZUKI picks up Makoto but Makoto slides away and dropkicks KAZUKI in the knee. Schoolboy by Makoto and she puts KAZUKI in a kneelock, but KAZUKI gets to the ropes. Double underhook suplex by Makoto and she knees KAZUKI in the ribs for a two count. Makoto tries to get KAZUKI on her shoulders but KAZUKI knees her, spear by Makoto and she covers KAZUKI for two. Makoto waits for KAZUKI to get up and charges, but KAZUKI knees Makoto in the stomach. Running double knee by KAZUKI, she hits a reverse double kneedrop off the second turnbuckle but Makoto kicks out of the cover. KAZUKI goes all the way up top and nails a diving single kneedrop, but Makoto gets a shoulder up. KAZUKI picks up Makoto but Makoto blocks the suplex attempt and hits a back bodydrop. Makoto kicks KAZUKI in the head, cradle by Makoto but it gets a two count. Makoto goes off the ropes but KAZUKI catches her in a sunset flip and they trade flash pins. KAZUKI monkey flips Makoto to the mat and cradles her for the three count pinfall! KAZUKI is the winner.

So we are 2/2 on matches ending with a flourish of flash pins. Its not that I don’t see the use in flash pins, they can come in quite handy, but its a kinda lazy way to do the end stretch of a match that up to that point was more based on power moves and strikes than speed and cunning. This was a tiny step down from the last match but still pretty good, my main issue is just the lack of cohesion between their offensive tactics. I would have loved if KAZUKI had won with some sort of back or gut impact move, but that didn’t happen, and Makoto was all over the place. This was just two vets going through a ten minute match they can probably do in their sleep, and while it was perfectly watchable it wasn’t overly inspired either.

Chie Ozora and Leon vs. Hanako Nakamori and Madeline

Madeline and Chie start the match, both go for dropkicks but neither connect. They trade strikes, Irish whip by Chie but Madeline hits a crossbody. Chie bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick, cover by Chie but it gets two. They trade mounted elbows, arm drag by Madeline and she tags in Nakamori. Snapmare by Nakamori and she kicks Chie in the back, she throws Chie into the corner and delivers a series of kicks. Chie avoids her charge however and goes for a schoolboy, giving her time to tag in Leon. Leon and Nakamori tie-up but break cleanly, they trade holds but neither gets a clear advantage. Leon avoids Nakamori’s kick and hits a footstomp on her back, running elbow by Leon in the corner but Nakamori returns the favor with a kick in the other corner. Madeline comes in the ring and they double team Leon, armdrag by Leon to Nakamori and she delivers a dropkick. Leon tags Chie, dropkicks by Chie but Nakamori shrugs them off and boots Chie around the ring. Running boot by Nakamori and she covers Chie for two. Madeline returns but Leon does as well and both Chie and Leon hit dropkicks. Leon throws Nakamori into the corner, dropkick by Chie and Leon hits one as well. Leon leaves, Chie slams Nakamori and covers her for two. Irish whip by Chie but Nakamori blocks it and hits a neckbreaker. Leg drop by Nakamori, she picks up Chie and tags in Madeline. Madeline applies a hanging armbar over the top rope but is forced to break it after a moment, Irish whip by Madeline but Chie hits a dropkick and tags Leon.

Scoop slam by Leon, she goes off the ropes and hits a somersault senton for two. Leon puts Madeline in a stretch hold but releases her so she can deliver a series of chops. Irish whip attempt by Leon but Madeline reverses it and hits a front flip into a high kick in the corner. Leon isn’t amused and spears Madeline, she goes for a double underhook but Madeline gets out of it. Leon elbows Madeline to the mat as Madeline tries to fight back, Madeline goes for a crossbody but Leon catches her and slams her to the mat. Drop toehold by Madeline and she runs on Leon’s back, Madeline goes off the ropes but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Leon puts Madeline in a crab hold but Nakamori breaks it up, Leon and Nakamori get into it until Madeline schoolboys Leon from behind for two. Leon drives Madeline into the corner but Madeline sneaks in a sunset flip which gives her time to tag Nakamori. Nakamori boots Leon and delivers a kick combination, she gets Leon on her shoulders and tosses her off before delivering a kick to the chest. Shining Wizard by Nakamori, but Leon gets a shoulder up. Nakamori picks up Leon but Leon hits a DDT, Nakamori fires back with a kick however and the two trade blows. Leon catches Nakamori with a capture suplex, spear to the back by Leon and she puts Nakamori in a stretch hold. She lets go and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick to Nakamori’s back for a two count. Leon goes for a capture buster but Nakamori blocks it and hits an enzuigiri, tilt-a-whirl slam by Leon and she goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a Frog Splash for two. Leon picks up Nakamori but Nakamori fights her off, high kick by Nakamori and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They slowly get up and trade elbows, Leon goes off the ropes but Nakamori avoids her charge and kicks Leon in the chest. Madeline runs in as things break down.

High kick by Nakamori but Leon levels her with a spear, and she makes the tag to Chie. Jumping shoulder tackles by Chie to Nakamori and she covers her for two. Chie goes off the ropes but Nakamori kicks her in the chest, Nakamori drops Chie on the second rope and hoots her from the apron. Nakamori goes up top but Chie recovers and joins her, Nakamori pushes Chie back down however but Leon runs in and hits a spear on Nakamori after she jumps off. Chie goes off the ropes but Nakamori boots her in the face, high kick by Nakamori and she covers Chie, but Leon breaks it up. Nakamori tags Madeline, dropkicks by Madeline to Chie and she covers her for two. Madeline applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Chie rolls out of it, stomps by Madeline and she goes for a powerbomb, but Chie blocks it. Leon elbows Madeline and Chie puts Madeline in a kneelock, but Nakamori breaks it up. Chie picks up Madeline but Madeline pushes her off, and the two trade strikes. Jumping shoulder tackle by Chie and she covers Madeline, but it gets two. Chie goes off the ropes but Nakamori kicks her, both Madeline and Nakamori kick Chie again before Madeline delivers a suplex for two. Nakamori and Leon trade high kicks while Chie and Madeline keep at it, Irish whip by Madeline but Chie hits a sunset flip for two. They go back and forth with flash pins until Nakamori breaks the exchange up, Leon comes in and spears both Madeline and Nakamori. Fisherman Suplex Hold by Chie to Madeline, but Nakamori breaks it up. She goes for another one but Madeline reverses it into a small package for two. Madeline quickly puts Chie in another cradle pin, and this time she gets the three count! Hanako Nakamori and Madeline are the winners!

This is why you don’t have every match end with trading cradle pins, it just loses some of its excitement at some point. They got plenty of time here and all four wrestlers got a chance to shine (or at least a chance to show what they had), which in these matches is about all you can hope for. I wouldn’t say this was the most well structured match and there were some slow moments, but that is to be expected with some less experienced wrestlers involved. Leon and Nakamori’s exchanges were quality however as they have good chemistry, and when the vets were in control the match clicked. As was the case with the last match I’d have preferred a more definitive ending, but overall it was a pretty entertaining mid-card tag match.  Mildly Recommended

AKARI vs. Momo Tani
Princess Of Pro Wrestling Championship

They circle each other to start before trading holds, Irish whip by Momo but AKARI hits a hard shoulderblock. Dropkick by AKARI but Momo hits an armdrag, Momo throws down AKARI by the hair a few times and stomps AKARI down in the corner. Momo flings AKARI around the ring some more before covering her for a quick two count. Momo applies a crab hold but AKARI crawls to the ropes to force the break. Momo goes off the ropes and knees AKARI in the back, but AKARI returns with a dropkick and hits a scoop slam for two. AKARI applies an armtrap facelock but Momo gets to the ropes, AKARI chops Momo in the corner and hits a running elbow. Momo avoids her next charge and hits a running knee, but AKARI gets on the turnbuckle and chokes Momo. AKARI applies a Tarantula over the second rope, she lets go after a moment and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. AKARI goes for a suplex but Momo pushes her away, running knee by Momo and she slams AKARI’s head into the mat. Double kneedrops to the back by Momo, she goes off the ropes and hits a running double knee strike. Momo applies a stretch hold but AKARI gets out of it, boot by Momo but AKARI hits a drop toehold.

AKARI keeps Momo’s legs trapped in a submission but Momo gets to the ropes, back up they trade elbows until Momo hits a swinging neckbreaker. Running double kneedrop by Momo, but her cover gets two. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a jumping knee strike, she goes off the ropes but AKARI drop toeholds her into the second rope and hits a Tiger Feint Kick. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by AKARI, but Momo gets a shoulder up. AKARI rolls Momo to the mat and applies a kneelock, but Momo gets into the ropes. Codebreaker by Momo but AKARI hits a pump kick, AKARI charges Momo but Momo catches her with a flash pin for two. Running double knee by Momo in the corner and she hits a reverse double kneedrop, but AKARI kicks out at two. Diving double kneedrop by Momo, but that gets a two as well. Momo goes up top again but AKARI elbows her and tosses her back to the mat. AKARI rolls Momo to the mat and applies La Magistral, they trade flash pins but neither gets the two count. Vertical suplex by AKARI but Momo hits a Backstabber, Somato by Momo but AKARI reverses the cover. Momo goes off the ropes but AKARI catches her with a lariat, AKARI takes Momo to the mat and puts her in the Muy Bien. Momo struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! AKARI wins the match and the Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship!

A fitting main event for a smaller show, although on a “normal” Joshi event this would be sitting firmly in the midcard. Pretty well-worked and I really like Momo’s double knee based offense. She is very consistent with it which I appreciate and she had enough different ways to attack that it never got stale or felt overused. AKARI continues to get better each time I see her and they had good chemistry even though they are from different promotions. It was a little short to give too high of a recommendation to but there was nothing really wrong here at all, and hopefully its the start of making the Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship a little more meaningful again.  Recommended

The post PURE-J Fight Together 2021 on 2/7/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka
Date: October 18th, 2020
Location: Osaka 176BOX in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Its been a long time since I reviewed an AgZ event on the site, over a year and a half in fact, so I figured we were long overdue. AgZ has changed quite a bit since then as they’ve had issues lately keeping wrestlers. Which is a common issue with smaller promotions, they build stars and then they move on to bigger and better things. Luckily for them they still have Miyuki Takase, the star of the promotion, who is a great wrestler. They also still (for now) employ Sekiguchi and Tae Honma, plus they are using Freelancer Andras Miyagi. So there are some good wrestlers on their roster, but a lot of them are still learning so its best to go in with lower expectations. But I’m still looking forward to it, here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Yoshiko Hasegawa
• Andras Miyagi vs. Mari
• Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani
• Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI
• AgZ Championship: Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches should be shown in full. The wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Hasegawa

Ayano and Hasegawa start the match, they go into a knucklelock but Mai comes in to help her partner as Ayano is double teamed. Yuko runs in to even the odds, she then joins Ayano in double teaming Hasegawa. Ayano snapmares Hasegawa and dropkicks hers, cover by Ayano but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuko, snapmare by Yuko and she applies a headscissors. Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break, Yuko picks her up and slams her into the mat. She tags Ayano, Ayano puts Hasegawa in a crab hold but Hasegawa gets into the ropes again. Ayano goes off the ropes but Hasegawa drop toeholds her into the second rope and Mai kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Hasegawa and she rolls to her corner to tag Mai, Mai boots Ayano and elbows Yuko when she runs in to help her partner. Mai throws Ayano into Yuko, boot to Ayano but Ayano elbows Mai in the chest.

Drop toehold by Mai but Ayano avoids the elbow drop, dropkick by Ayano and she covers Mai for two. Ayano tags Yuko, shoulderblock by Yuko and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Yuko and she covers Mai for two. Scoop slam attempt by Yuko but Mai blocks it, Mai goes off the ropes but Yuko catches her with a scoop slam for a two count. Mai gets away from Yuko and boots her in the head, she tags in Hasegawa and they throw Yuko into the corner. Dropkick by Hasegawa and Mai follows with a boot, snapmare by Hasegawa and she hits a PK for a two count. Elbows by Hasegawa, Yuko picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa gets her back for a sleeper hold. Ayano quickly breaks it up, double Irish whip to Hasegawa and Hasegawa is hit with a double dropkick. Yuko applies a Cobra Twist but it gets broken up by Mai, Mai stays in and helps set up their opponents so that Hasegawa can hit a double crossbody. Yuko avoids Hasegawa’s kick and rolls her up for two, Hasegawa goes for a flash pin but Yuko reverses it into her own cover for the three count! Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai are the winners!

The good news here is that no one looked like they didn’t belong. Some of the movements were stiff but the match flowed along without any major issues. The bad news is that no one really stood out here either. Hasegawa looked probably the best from an overall package standpoint but generally speaking they came across as competent wrestlers but nothing more. Which probably is why they are where they are. A decent enough way to open the show but overall pretty skippable.

Andras Miyagi vs. Mari

Mari wastes time to start, which is one of her fun things to do, but they finally get into it as Mari kicks Andras repeatedly. They trade waistlocks until Mari puts Andras in a stretch hold, Rocking Horse by Mari and she lets go only to stomp on Andras’ back. Single leg crab hold by Mari but Andras rolls out of the ring, Mari goes out to the apron but Andras ducks her kick. Mari kicks her anyway and goes out to the floor, kicking Andras in the head. Mari slides Andras back in the ring and kicks her in the head again, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and puts her on her shoulders, but Mari slides off and schoolboys Mari for two. An inside cradle also gets a two count for Andras, she charges Mari but Mari kicks her back and delivers a superkick. Mari picks up Andras and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and goes for a backslide, but Andras blocks it and applies her own backslide for two. Schoolboy by Andras but Mari rolls through it, Andras throws Mari into the referee and schoolboys her again for the three count! Andras Miyagi is the winner!

Its so odd just seeing Andras with this new “style.” She didn’t really even do an offensive move in this match, Mari just kicked her around until she finally was successful with a flash pin. I don’t even know what to think about it. Mari looked really good, for someone who hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities in wrestling I like her a lot. Her offense was tight and well done, I’m just eternally confused on what Andras is even bringing to the table these days. Maybe worth watching to see Mari but Andras didn’t do enough for me to recommend the match as a whole.

Hikari Shimizu and Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani

Hikari and Tani start the match and go right into a fast exchange, eventually reaching a stalemate. They tag in Misa and Kohgo, footstomp by Misa and she puts Kohgo in an armbar. She lets go after a moment and throws Kohgo into the corner, Misa stomps down Kohgo as Hikari helps from the apron. Misa picks up Kohgo and tags Hikari, snapmares my Hikari and she tags Misa back in. Irish whip by Misa and she hits a dropkick, footstomp by Misa and she covers Kohgo for two. Scoop slam by Misa and she tags Hikari, footstomp by Hikari and she tosses Kohgo down by the hair. Hikari applies a crab hold to Kohgo but she eventually lets go, Irish whip by Hikari but Kohgo reverses it and hits a dropkick. She rolls to her corner and tags Tani, running knee by Tani and she knees Hikari from the apron. Double kneedrops to Hikari’s back by Tani but Misa strolls in and kicks her from behind. Double Irish whip to Tani but Tani hits a double Codebreaker followed by a double running knee to both opponents. Tani goes back to Hikari’s back but Hikari kicks her and snapmares Tani before delivering a series of kicks. Hikari puts Tani in a choke hold but it gets broken up, Hikari throws Tani into the corner and hits a step-up kick for a two count. Hikari tags Misa, jumping crossbody by Misa and she gets a two count. Tani swats away a dropkick as they both return to their feet and trade strikes.

DDT by Misa and she covers Tani for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Misa connects with a Backstabber, double knee to Misa’s back by Tani and she puts Misa in a stretch hold. Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Tani gets on the second rope and hits a diving double knee to Misa’s back. Tani goes back to the stretch hold but this time Hikari quickly breaks it up, Tani tags Kohgo and Kohgo dropkicks Misa a few times. Scoop slam by Kohgo and she covers Misa for two. Kohgo applies a crab hold but Hikari breaks up the hold, Tani comes in two and Misa is double teamed in the corner. Kohgo picks up Misa but Misa gets away, putting Kohgo in the Octopus Hold. That gets broken up, Misa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Misa picks up Kohgo but Kohgo blocks the suplex attempt, sunset flip by Kohgo but Misa reverses it and the two trade flash pin attempts. Hikari kicks Kohgo in the back before Misa delivers a low crossbody for a two count. Misa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but Kohgo kicks out of the cover. She goes all the way up the next time but Kohgo avoids the footstomp attempt, schoolboy by Kohgo but it gets two as does La Magistral. Kohgo goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, low crossbody by Misa and she hits two more. Cover by Misa, but Kohgo gets a shoulder up. Misa drags up Kohgo and she nails the MARU X MARU Suplex, picking up the three count! Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui are the winners.

This match won’t blow anyone away, but it was smartly worked and all four played their parts well. I really enjoyed Misa’s work on her opponents’ back, really any type of body part-focused offense I am going to be fan of if it is done well and they certainly were trying to tell a story. The Hikari/Misa team seemed to be the only one with a path to victory as the Momos weren’t doing much effective, looking mostly for flash pins and what not to try to win. So even though the presentation was a little lopsided, it never got boring over the 15 minutes and there was a definitive winner which I like. For a midcard tag match, they went a little beyond what I was expecting and put on a solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI

Tae and SAKI start the match, SAKI works a headlock but Tae Irish whips out of it and rolls SAKI to the mat. Tae goes for a dropkick but SAKI avoids it, cradle by Tae but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae slides away, schoolboy by Tae but that gets two as well. They tag out as Rina and Ami run in, SAKI returns as well and Ami is double teamed. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina throws down Ami by the hair and hits a scoop slam, she tags in SAKI and SAKI stomps on Ami. SAKI tags Rina back in, Rina tries to shoulderblock Ami over but Ami stays up. They both try to knock each other over with no luck until Rina finally sends Ami to the mat. Back up they trade chops, Rina chops Ami into the corner but Ami hits a shoulderblock and tags Tae. Tae comes in the ring with a missile dropkick but Rina connects with a body avalanche in the corner followed by a shoulderblock. She goes for a running senton but Tae moves, body press by Tae and Ami jumps on Tae’s back before Ami hits another body press. Cover by Tae, but it gets a two count.

Rina chops Tae and goes off the ropes, but Tae catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar. Rina gets to the ropes for the break, hard shoulderblock by Rina to Tae and she hits a senton. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina makes the tag to SAKI, rolling cradle by SAKI but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away, knee by SAKI and she puts Tae across the ropes in the corner. Running knee to the midsection by SAKI but Tae hits a running elbow in the other corner followed by a dropkick. Fujiwara Armbar by Tae and she switches it to a double armbar, but SAKI gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes off the ropes and dropkicks SAKI, she tags in Ami but SAKI boots Ami in the chest. Ami elbows SAKI and the two trade shots, knee by SAKI and she kicks Ami to the mat for two. SAKI goes for a suplex but Tae breaks it up, double Irish whip to SAKI but SAKI fights them both off. SAKI puts Ami in a crab hold, but Ami gets to the ropes for the break.

SAKI goes to the second turnbuckle but Ami rolls out of the way of the Reverse Splash, dropkick by Ami but SAKI blocks the scoop slam and puts Ami in a stretch hold. Rocking Horse by SAKI but Tae breaks it up, Rina comes in but Ami throws SAKI into Rina and hits a dropkick. Tae goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on both opponents, Ami picks up Rina and scoop slams her. Double chop by Ami to SAKI, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam for two. Ami goes to pick up SAKI but SAKI cradles her for two, big boot by SAKI but Tae elbows her in the chest. SAKI boots Tae before Rina hits a somersault senton on her, but Ami dropkicks SAKI. Ami Irish whips SAKI but SAKI blocks it and hits a snap vertical suplex. SAKI positions Ami and goes to the second turnbuckle, nailing the Reverse Splash for the three count! SAKI and Rina Amikura win!

Even though the bulk of this match was fine, something was missing. Unlike the last match there wasn’t really a focus or story told in any way, it was mostly just random action as they didn’t do much to even play up the experience dynamic. Even though SAKI is decent enough there is a reason she is an eight year pro wrestling in the mid-card of AgZ – there is little special about her and some of her offense is lackluster. I couldn’t get a great feel of the less experienced wrestlers but Ami seemed fine, and though I like Tae she didn’t do a whole lot in this match. Overall a perfectly watchable match but one with nothing memorable about it whatsoever as they seemed to just be going through the basic motions for the bulk of it.

(c) Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru elbows Miyuki instead of shaking her hand, Miyuki avoids her dropkick however and stomps Kakeru in the back. The two trade elbows until Miyuki hits a DDT, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a scoop slam followed by a leg drop for two. Miyuki applies a single leg crab hold but Kakeru gets to the ropes, Miyuki stands on Kakeru’s back but Kakeru elbows her and they trade shots. Kakeru goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki reverses it into one of her own, Miyuki applies a guillotine choke but Kakeru gets out of it and the two end up in the ropes. They both get back up, takedown by Kakeru but Miyuki quickly gets in the dominate position and puts Kakeru in a submission hold. Kakeru quickly gets to the ropes, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and hits a dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Miyuki dives off the second turnbuckle but Kakeru catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar, but Miyuki gets into the ropes. Kakeru twists on Miyuki’s arm and dropkicks her arm from the apron before snapping her arm over the top rope. Kakeru pulls Miyuki out of the ring and throws her into the ring post, Kakeru puts Miyuki’s hand on the apron and jumps down onto Miyuki’s arm.

Kakeru finally slides Miyuki back in but Miyuki pushes her off, scoop slam by Kakeru and she covers Miyuki for two. Kakeru applies an armlock but Miyuki wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Miyuki elbows Kakeru and the two trade strikes, Kakeru wins the battle and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Slingshot doublestomp to the arm by Kakeru and she rolls Miyuki to the mat as she goes to the arm, but Miyuki lands too close to the ropes. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam for two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru slides away and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Miyuki blocks it. Kakeru goes for a choke but Miyuki powerbombs out of it, Miyuki gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Miyuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru sneaks in a cradle for two, another cradle by Kakeru but that gets a two as well. Judo tosses by Kakeru and she hits a STO, picking up another two count. Kakeru picks up Miyuki and hits another STO, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat. Jackhammer by Miyuki, but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes out of it holding her arm so she is slow to capitalize, Kakeru is up first but Miyuki elbows her against the ropes. Miyuki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Kakeru for two.

Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru reverses the Jackhammer attempt into a guillotine choke. Miyuki manages to get a foot on the ropes for the break, Kakeru goes off the ropes and delivers the running STO for two. Kakeru stomps at Miyuki but Miyuki grabs her leg as she tries to go up top, Kakeru finally makes it but Miyuki joins her and hits a series of headbutts. Superplex by Miyuki and she puts Kakeru in a modified headscissors, but Kakeru gets a foot on the ropes. Miyuki picks up Kakeru and lariats her while she is against the ropes, cover by Miyuki but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki gets Kakeru up and drops he with a Jackhammer, but again Kakeru kicks out. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits another one, but Kakeru reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a lariat, she gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Driver. Miyuki drags Kakeru to her feet and nails the Jackhammer, and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and retains the championship.

A pretty great match between two quality young wrestlers. Kakeru’s arm work was really well done and Miyuki didn’t (completely) forget about the damage as she’d occasionally signal that it was bothering her throughout the match. Miyuki’s strategy seemed to be lariats and power moves, and the two meshed their two different win strategies together well to make a cohesive match. Nothing they did felt wasted and the 17 minutes went by pretty quickly, it felt like it ended at about the right time. The last few minutes were a bit too big-move-spammy which happens sometimes in title matches, it didn’t put a major damper on the match as a whole but it probably could have been tightened up a bit. Still, a great title match and a fitting conclusion to the event.  Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka on 10/18/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You!
Date: June 13th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

More new wrestling! As promotions start ramping back up again, I am going to try to keep up the best I can as I’m excited to finally have Joshi back. This is a big card for SEAdLINNNG, as we get ASUKA challenging Arisa Nakajima for the championship in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana
• Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase
• Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko
• Battle Royal with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA

This aired on Samurai TV and was live so matches should be shown in full. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana

Tie-up to start, Hiroyo pushes Honori into the ropes but Honori knocks her back with elbows. Side headlock by Hiroyo but Honori whips out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Hiroyo just bulldozers over her. Chinlock by Hiroyo, she lets go after a moment and picks up Honori, biting on her arm. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Hiroyo throws Honori into the corner but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo doesn’t go down however and stomps on Honori. Elbows by Honori and she dropkicks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a scoop slam but Hiroyo blocks it. Scoop slam by Hiroyo, and she covers Honori for two. Hiroyo goes for the crab hold but Honori quickly gets into the ropes, back up Honori elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her hard back. Honori goes off the ropes but a shoulderblock doesn’t work, she tries a few more times until Hiroyo knocks her over with her own shoulderblock. Crab hold by Hiroyo but Honori inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Honori and throws her into the corner, chop by Hiroyo but Honori avoids her charge and cradles Hiroyo for two. Backslide by Honori, but that gets a two as well. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, she picks up Honori but Honori blocks the backdrop suplex and cradles Hiroyo for two. Irish whip by Hiroyo but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo stays up but a second sends her to her knees. Scoop slam by Honori, and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she puts Honori in a crab hold, Honori tries to get to the ropes but can’t make it, eventually tapping out! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

This was a ‘by the numbers’ veteran vs. rookie match, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t have minded a change here and there to the formula, but there is a reason its been this way for decades as it works. Hiroyo soundly stopped Honori’s offense at the start but slowly as the match built up, Honori finally was able to knock Hiroyo off her feet and even get a nearfall or two in the process. Its early in Honori’s career, her dropkicks still need work and she has a ways to go, but the basics seem to be there. A good way to kick off the show.

Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase

Misa and Miyuki attack before the match starts, double dropkicks by team AgZ but they both eat a shoulderblock for their trouble. Yuu and Miyuki stay in the ring, shoulderblock by Yuu and she puts Miyuki in a front headlock. She tags in Makoto, Makoto twists on Miyuki’s hair before throwing her down by it. Makoto rakes Miyuki’s head across the top rope and boots her in the head a few times, but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Misa. Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto scoop slams her, footstomp by Makoto and she covers Misa for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Misa. Running senton by Yuu, but Miyuki breaks up her cover. Yuu picks up Misa and chops her in the chest, body press by Yuu but again Miyuki breaks up the pin. Misa sneaks in a small package but it only gets two, scoop slam by Yuu but Misa avoids the senton this time and hits a dropkick. She hits another dropkick as Yuu doesn’t go down, dropkick to the knee by Misa and she finally knocks Yuu over. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she clubs Yuu against the ropes. Irish whip by Miyuki but Yuu elbows her in the face, they trade strikes until Yuu chops Miyuki to the mat. Miyuki returns to her feet but Yuu chops her down again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu chops Miyuki in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick.

Lariat by Miyuki but Yuu stays up, she tries again with the same result but Miyuki finally knocks her off her feet and gets a two count cover. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a hip toss, she tags in Makoto and Makoto boots Miyuki in the corner. Face crusher by Makoto and she hits a running kneedrop for a two count. Makoto picks up Miyuki but Miyuki spins away, they both struggle to hit suplexes until Miyuki gets Makoto over. Miyuki tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Dropkick by Misa and she goes for Makoto’s arm, but Makoto quickly gets to the ropes. Makoto chops Misa in the chest but Misa puts her in an Octopus Hold until Yuu breaks it up. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a trio of low crossbodies, she picks up Makoto and goes for a suplex but Makoto blocks it. Elbows by Misa, she goes off the ropes but Makoto drop toeholds her into the bottom rope. Big boot by Makoto and she delivers the cartwheel double kneedrop for a two count. Makoto waits for Misa to get up but Miyuki cuts her off with a dropkick, Miyuki gets Makoto on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Misa goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Misa but Yuu breaks it up. Miyuki gets rid of Yuu, Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a double underhook suplex. Yuu returns and dropkicks Misa into the corner, big boot by Makoto and Yuu runs in with the Cannonball. Spear by Makoto to Misa, and she picks up the three count! Makoto and Yuu are the winners.

This was really fun. One of the advantages of Misa being new but over a year into her career is while she was the weak link, she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t get in her licks as well. Yuu is always a breath of fresh air in these matches, there aren’t a lot of younger “hoss” Joshi wrestlers and it just opens up so many more options for a match’s direction. Makoto is a pro and hit all her spots well, and both teams showed good chemistry which is impressive since they aren’t regular opponents and they just had a lay-off due to the pandemic. I also loved the ending, just move-move-move-dead, not every match needs a bunch of hope spots and 2.9 nearfalls. All four delivered, a fast paced and hard hitting match that may have not been high end but delivered as much as one could hope for from a midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko

Ryo and Kaho start the match, Ryo pushes Kaho into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Kaho gets Ryo to the mat and applies a front headlock, Ryo gets out of it and puts Kaho in a wristlock before elbowing her in the arm. Ryo applies a side headlock, Kaho reverses it but Ryo Irish whips out of the hold. Dropkick by Kaho, but Ryo stays on her feet and knocks over Kaho with a hard shoulderblock. Ryo tags Aoki and they both shoulderblock Kaho, legdrop by Ryo and Aoki hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Aoki gets Kaho in the ropes and hits a body avalanche, she then jumps down onto Kaho’s back but Kaho retorts with a dropkick and tags in Yoshiko. Yoshiko picks up Aoki and throws her down by the hair, facewashes by Yoshiko and she delivers a running boot. Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. She tags Kaho back in, Kaho puts Aoki in the ropes and rakes on her face. Dropkick to the back by Kaho and she covers Aoki for a two count. Kaho tags Yoshiko and she stands on Aoki’s back, Irish whip by Yoshiko to the corner but Aoki avoids her charge, she tries to tag in Ryo but Yoshiko cuts her off. Back bodydrop by Aoki and she makes the tag, leg lariat by Ryo to Yoshiko and she shoulderblocks Kaho. Kaho tries to keep helping but Ryo delivers a double spear, she picks up Yoshiko and chops her into the corner.

Kaho again tries to help but ends up getting chopped in the same corner for her trouble, she leaves the ring and Ryo goes back to chopping Yoshiko. Aoki holds Yoshiko so Ryo can fire herself up before she finally hits a lariat on Yoshiko for a two count cover. Ryo and Yoshiko both go for lariats with both staying up, Irish whip by Ryo but Yoshiko finally wins the lariat battle as she sends Ryo to the mat. She tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Ryo, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Kaho spins Ryo around but Ryo gets her on her shoulders, Kaho slides off an hits an enzuigiri, but Ryo levels her with a lariat and tags Aoki. Aoki hits a running elbow on Kaho in the corner before hitting a face crusher, body press by Aoki and she covers Kaho for two. Aoki slams Kaho in front of the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kaho avoids the footstomp attempt. Kaho gets Aoki to the mat and wraps her up in a modified armbar, Yoshiko blocks Ryo from helping but Aoki wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Kaho picks up Aoki and keeps working on her arm, dropkick by Kaho and she covers Aoki for two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Aoki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ryo finally gets free of Yoshiko and lariats Kaho.

Aoki grabs Kaho and hits a bridging vertical suplex, but it gets a two count. Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine leg drop, Aoki then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for two. Aoki gets Kaho on her shoulders but Kaho slides off, Kaho kicks Aoki in the leg and drops her with a DDT. Yoshiko comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving senton, Kaho then goes all the way up and with Yoshiko’s help hits a somersault senton but Ryo breaks up the cover. Elbows by Kaho and she goes for a cradle, but Aoki blocks it and covers her for two. Elbows by Aoki but Kaho blocks the suplex attempt, Yoshiko elbows Aoki and then Ryo lariats Aoki by accident. Jackknife by Kaho, but Ryo breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a lariat, dropkick to the face by Kaho and she hits a enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Aoki barely gets the shoulder up. Another Fisherman suplex by Kaho, but this time she wraps up Aoki’s legs and keeps her down for the three count! Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko win!

I can’t decide if I like or love the ending. It was a little awkward but I see what they were going for, that it took a ‘better’ version of Kaho’s normal finisher to pick up the win. Anyway this was pretty great, while I expect good performances from the other three I was really impressed with Aoki. I haven’t seen her wrestle in awhile, and while she didn’t control the match, her personality really came through and she held her own with wrestlers with far more experience than she has. I know Yoshiko isn’t incredibly popular with Western fans but she’s so good in the ring, and there was a lot of ‘power’ based wrestling here which I really enjoy. Kaho is one of the best sellers in Joshi and only has one pace, so she kept everyone else moving fast as well. It didn’t feel like a 20 minute match as the time flew by, as the match never slowed down. Really good match between three quality veterans and an up-and-comer starting to show what she can do.  Recommended

Battle Royal
with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana

They all brawl to start, as is usually the case lots of randomness as the bulk of the wrestlers get stacked in the corner so that Kaho can be launched at all of them. Hiroyo and Yoshiko try to launch Yuu but they can’t toss her, leading to her landing on them. The wrestlers take turns stomping each other until they all suddenly leave the ring, brawling on the floor. Hiroyo and Kaho get back into the ring and trade strikes, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo and she puts Kaho in a headscissors. You know what that means, as all the wrestlers slowly return to the ring to stretch out the headscissors chain, as it stretches across the ring and under the ropes. Aoki is the last one so she grabs Kaho’s legs to turn them over, which doesn’t fully work since not everyone is even in the ring. Things get back to normal as Aoki and Misa trade elbows, a battle which Aoki wins with little effort. Ryo and Miyuki get involved as they stack both of them in the corner, but they get distracted and start dancing. Finally Miyuki tries to attack Misa but Misa had gone into an invisible box, sending Miyuki flying. Everyone covers Miyuki, and she is held down for the three count! Miyuki Takase is eliminated.

Ryo moves the invisible box and tosses it out of the ring, but is kicked for her trouble. She spears both Aoki and Misa, the other wrestlers join in to cover them and both are held down for the three count. Misa Mitsui and Aoki Itsuki are eliminated. Kaho and Yoshiko go after Makoto but she drives them across the second rope, she gets everyone else on the second rope and kicks it into their chest, but her attempt to cover everyone for the pin doesn’t work. Yuu elbows Makoto in the corner then tosses Ryo, Yuu dropkicks Makoto while also hitting a senton on Ryo before getting on the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving body press on Makoto. Everyone else helps her with the cover, and she gets the three count! Makoto is eliminated. She does the same to Ryo and everyone again helps with the cover, keeping her down for three as well. Ryo Mizunami is eliminated. Yuu slams Honori in front of the corner to repeat the process to her as well, but Hiroyo and Yoshiko run over and knock her over the top rope to the ring! Yuu is eliminated. Natsuko Taiyo suddenly decides to get involved and hits a missile dropkick onto Hiroyo, Kaho and Yoshiko trade pins but nether are held down for there. Hiroyo goes after Natsuki but Yoshiko grabs her from behind, Natsuki helps Yoshiko attack Hiroyo and they both attack her in the ropes, but Natsuki is knocked over the top rope to the floor. But technically not eliminated since she wasn’t in the match in the first place.

She returns (she is the referee after all) while the four remaining wrestlers brawl, Hiroyo and Honori shoulderblock Yoshiko but Honori schoolboys Hiroyo for a two count. Hiroyo bullies Honori but Natsuki kicks her from behind, Kaho runs over but Hiroyo picks her up and press slams her out of the ring. Kaho Kobayashi is eliminated. Honori dropkicks Hiroyo with Natsuki’s help, cover by Honori but it gets a two count. Honori goes for a roll-up but Hiroyo sits down to block it, pinning Honori’s shoulders to the mat and getting a quick three count from Natsuki. Honori Hana is eliminated. We are left with just the tag team partners, Yoshiko and Hiroyo Matsumoto. They immediately go for lariats on each other with Hiroyo winning the battle. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle to go to the Reverse Splash, but Yoshiko knocks her out to the apron. Yoshiko struggles to knock Hiroyo off the apron to the floor but ends up on the apron herself, with all the eliminated wrestlers trying to pull them off. Natsuki dropkicks Hiroyo and Yoshiko gets free, she gets back in the ring while Hiroyo continues to struggle and gives her a final dropkick to loosen her grip. Hiroyo flops out to the floor, and is eliminated. Yoshiko is the winner!

A typical Battle Royal, with more style than substance. I like Natsuki Taiyo getting so involved because its a silly match anyway, and she’s still just as good as she was before she retired. A few cute moments, like them tricking Yuu, but overall not a whole lot to it. It acted as a nice buffer before the title match and to stretch out the card since they had to fill two hours, but if you are on a time crunch it can be skipped.

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship

They trade holds to start as they jockey for position, ASUKA applies a headscissors but Arisa gets out of it and both wrestlers return to their feet. ASUKA gets Arisa back to the mat and rolls her around with a guillotine, but Arisa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. ASUKA kicks at Arisa but Arisa slaps her and the two trade strikes, headbutt by ASUKA and she chokes Arisa in the corner. ASUKA toys with Arisa in the corner before grabbing her by the hair and flinging her into the opposite corner. Single leg takedown by Arisa and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but ASUKA blocks it and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment, headbutt by ASUKA and she slams Arisa’s head into the mat. Camel Clutch by ASUKA, she releases the hold and tosses Arisa out of the ring. She gets back in but is met with boots, Irish whip by ASUKA but Arisa catches her with a DDT. Dropkick by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA boots her in the midsection. Irish whip by Arisa to the corner but ASUKA avoids her charge, ASUKA ends up on the apron but Arisa goes to the top turnbuckle and slams her head down onto the apron. Arisa picks up ASUKA and slides her back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick.

She goes up top again and hits another one followed by a third to the knee, Arisa picks up ASUKA and cradles her before applying a Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets out of it and applies an armbar but Arisa reverses the hold back instead of reaching for the ropes. ASUKA struggles back to her feet and gets away, knees by Arisa and she hits a release German suplex. Running boot by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA and rolls her to the mat while applying a knee lock. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Arisa kicks her leg and goes off the ropes, but ASUKA catches her with a jumping kick to the face. ASUKA picks up Arisa and drops her with a release German followed by a second one, running kick by ASUKA and she covers Arisa for two. ASUKA positions Arisa and goes up top, but Arisa recovers and joins her, suplexing ASUKA off the top turnbuckle. Arisa goes for a cradle but ASUKA reverses it, Arisa avoids ASUKA’s footstomp attempt however and applies an ankle hold. ASUKA kicks Arisa off and slaps her, but Arisa delivers a trapped German suplex for a two count. Arisa picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits a hard elbow followed by a boot to the face for two. Kick to the chest by ASUKA but Arisa fires back with a kick of her own, Arisa goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a spinning heel kick.

Mounted elbows by ASUKA, she gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for the moonsault, but Arisa rolls out of the way and cradles her for two. Running kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while up top until Arisa snaps ASUKA’s neck over the top rope, she goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Dragon suplex hold by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa drags ASUKA up, she wraps ASUKA’s leg around her but ASUKA hits a Stunner to get out of the suplex hold. Powerbomb by ASUKA, she picks up Arisa and nails a Liger Bomb for a two count cover. ASUKA goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Arisa barely gets the shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Arisa but Arisa reverses the side slam into a DDT, elbows by Arisa and a hard elbow sends ASUKA to the mat for two. Arisa wraps ASUKA’s leg around her waist and nails the modified German suplex, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up ASUKA and goes for the half and half suplex, ASUKA blocks it but Arisa keeps her momentum going and cradles ASUKA for the three count! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

There is a lot to unwrap here but just as a first reaction, this was a great match. ASUKA is no longer in the ‘learning” or “developing” phase, she knows what she is doing and has grown into being a high end wrestler at just 21 years old. Not only are her moves on point but her selling has improved as well, and she had no issues here keeping up Arisa and the structure of the match. I liked the leg work a lot, I wish it had played into the end a bit as it kinda got dropped but I did like the ending with the veteran Arisa taking the blocked move and turning it into a complicated cradle. Its the kind of craftiness you’d expect from a 14 year vet and while it may not have been a ‘killer move’ ending it fit well with her general experience and intelligence. Like the other matches on the card, it felt like it went the right amount of time, not feeling short but not over-staying its welcome with move spamming. All and all a really entertaining match, I could nitpick things and maybe it won’t end up the MOTY, but a damn fine effort from both in one of the biggest Joshi matches post-peak pandemic so far.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You! on 6/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: CMLL/LADYS RING Ring Numero 2
Date: January 22nd, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 250

As any regular visitor to the site knows, sometimes I review really obscure events that may not be readily available to Western fans. This is one of those times, as I take a look at CMLL and LADYS RINGS Numero 2! This is a joint event between CMLL and the magazine LADYS RING, featuring wrestlers from CMLL in Mexico and Joshi wrestlers. Ice Ribbon has sent a couple participants for the fun, plus we have wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z, JTO, and various Freelancers as well. The main event sees Mina Shirakawa face off against Dalys la Caribena to crown the first CMLL-Japan Women’s champion! Here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Misa Matsui vs. Ayumi Hayashi and Mari
• Risa Sera vs. An Chamu
• Makoto and Mima Shimoda vs. Maika and Tae Honma
• La Jarochita vs. Tsukushi
• CMLL-Japan Women’s Championship: Dalys la Caribeña vs. Mina Shirakawa

As I am watching this event on DVD, all matches will be shown in full. Every wrestler on the card has a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Misa Matsui vs. Ayumi Hayashi and Mari

Misa and Ayano try a few sneaky flash pins during the opening handshake but it doesn’t work, Ayano and Misa deliver dropkicks but Mari and Ayumi retain the advantage with armdrags. Ayano and Misa fall out of the ring, their opponents go to do a dive but do a pose instead. Things setting down with Ayano and Ayumi as the legal wrestlers, Ayumi tosses Ayano down by her mask and tags in Mari. Mari puts Ayano in the ropes, Ayumi returns and they double team her. Mari kicks Ayano in the back, cover by Mari but it gets two. Irish whip by Mari but Ayano catches her with a dropkick and makes the tag to Misa. Misa dropkicks Mari, Ayumi comes in but Misa dropkicks her as well. Misa hits a double crossbody but Mari catches her with a sidewalk slam. Mari wraps up Misa in a submission hold but Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Mari charges Misa in the corner but Misa moves out of the way. Mari kicks Misa back but Misa slides off her shoulders and hits a low crossbody for two. She tags Ayano, dropkick by Ayano and she puts Mari in a crab hold.

Mari quickly gets to the ropes for the break, snapmare by Ayano but Mari avoids her dropkick attempt. Mari puts Ayano in a Rocking Horse before dropping her back to the mat, Mari goes off the ropes but Misa kicks her from the apron. She comes in the ring and they drop Mari with a double dropkick, Ayano snapmares Mari and she eats another double dropkick. Ayano picks up Mari, scoop slam by Mari and she superkicks Ayano in the head for a two count cover. Mari tags Ayumi, snapmares my Ayumi but Ayano dropkicks her. Scoop slam by Ayano and she tags Misa, footstomp by Misa and she covers Ayumi for two. Dropkick by Misa, she goes off the ropes and hits a jumping crossbody for two. Misa and Ayumi trade elbows, dropkick by Ayumi and she rolls up Misa for a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Ayano comes in and they both dropkick Ayumi in the corner. Misa picks up Ayumi and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, but Mari breaks it up. Mari stays in and helps out, Ayumi dropkicks Misa and she hits a back bodydrop. Misa hits a diving crossbody out of the corner, she goes up top  and hits a missile dropkick for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Mari runs in and superkicks her, Samoan Drop by Mari and Ayumi applies a jackknife hold for the three count! Ayumi Hayashi and Mari are the winners!

Skill-wise, these aren’t the best wrestlers but they gave it their all. Mari is pretty good, I always enjoy getting to watch her but the other three still have a ways to go and realistically at least a couple of them may have gone as far as they are going to go in wrestling. Still, they have the basics down for the most part and since they are familar with each other the action was pretty fluid. Seeing them in masks raised the fun of it all some, and they didn’t go too long. Good enough for an opener, but I don’t expect to see them moving up the card anytime soon.

Risa Sera vs. An Chamu

An Chamu gets Risa into the ropes to start but gives a clean break, while posing in the process. An Chamu rolls away from Risa and poses again, this time in the corner, and slides out onto the apron when Risa charges in. Elbow by An Chamu, she gets back in the ring and Risa drops down, but An Chamu jumps over her and does another cute pose. Risa gets tired of this and hits her from behind, Risa applies a crab hold before putting An Chamu in the Rocking Horse. Double kneedrop by Risa to An Chamu’s back, cover by Risa but it gets two. Giant Swing by Risa and she covers An Chamu for a two count once she drops her. Irish whip by Risa but An Chamu hits a spinning headscissors, she charges Risa but Risa moves and knocks her to the mat. Backbreaker by Risa and she throws An Chamu into the corner, An Chamu reverses the Irish whip and applies a headscissors in the corner. Double knee strike by An Chamu and she hits a few hip attacks for a two count cover. An Chamu sits down on Risa a few times but Risa finally avoids one, she goes for a slam but An Chamu blocks it. Irish whip by Risa but An Chamu blocks it and goes for a cross armbreaker. Risa keeps her from locking it in so An Chamu applies a cross kneelock instead before switching it to a modified STF. Risa gets into the ropes for the break, An Chamu goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. An Chamu picks up Risa but Risa elbows her off and the two trade blows. Risa tosses An Chamu down and applies a high angle crab hold, she lets go after a moment and powerbombs An Chamu into the corner. Running double knee by Risa and she covers An Chamu for two. Risa gets An Chamu on her shoulders but An Chamu slides off and cradles her for two. An Chamu goes for a few schoolboys but each one gets a two count, An Chamu goes for an elbow but Risa blocks it and drops her with a Schwein. Risa applies the high angle crab hold and An Chamu quickly submits! Risa Sera is the winner.

This was probably a smidge better than I was expecting. An Chamu hasn’t been wrestling long but she has a lot of personality and connects well with the crowd. Risa wrestled a pretty basic match, which isn’t too surprising and it definitely felt like ‘just a midcard match’ at times. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but neither were really doing anything to elevate the match. Perfectly acceptable wrestling and not a bad match, but nothing particularly memorable about it either.

Makoto and Mima Shimoda vs. Maika and Tae Honma

Makoto and Maika start the match, they trade wristlocks and headlocks until Makoto locks on a hammerlock. Makoto goes back to the headlock, Maika Irish whips out of it and delivers an armdrag. Makoto armdrags her back and both wrestlers tag out, they lock knuckles but Shimoda pushes Tae’s hands to the mat and tries to stomp on them. Tae moves out of the way and hits an armdrag, she throws Shimoda to the mat a few more times and they trade leg trips before reaching a stalemate. Takedown by Shimoda and she puts Tae in a crab hold, she switches it to a stretch hold before hitting a neckbreaker. Shimoda picks up Tae and throws her back to the mat, stomps by Shimoda and she tags in Makoto. Makoto kicks Maika off the apron and throws Tae into the corner, putting her in the Tarantula. She lets go after a moment and stands on Tae’s back, she tags Shimoda back in and they both boot Tae. Cover by Shimoda, but it gets two. Snapmare by Shimoda and she elbows Tae in the head, she puts her in a modified seated armbar, she picks her up and tags in Makoto.

Makoto yanks on Tae’s arm and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Tae gets to the ropes to force the break. Scoop slam by Makoto and she covers Tae for two. Shimoda returns but Tae throws her into Makoto and hits a cross armbreaker takedown on Makoto, but Shimoda breaks it up. Maika runs in and dropkicks Shimoda while Tae gets the armbreaker back on Makoto, but Makoto gets to the ropes for the break. Double Irish whip to Makoto as she is double teamed, but Makoto avoids Tae’s lariat and boots Maika out of the ring. Double underhook suplex by Makoto to Tae, and she tags Shimoda. Makoto kicks at Tae repeatedly but Tae rolls her to the mat and delivers a dropkick. This gives her time to tag in Maika, Maika picks up Shimoda and the two trade blows. Elbow by Maika but Shimoda returns fire and hits a release German suplex. Heel drop by Shimoda, and she covers Maika for two. Shimoda picks up Maika and hits a side Russian leg sweep, she quickly puts her in a submission hold but Tae breaks it up. Shimoda elbows Tae but Maika catches her with a toss and tags in Tae. Shimoda throws Tae into the corner but Tae grabs her arm and applies a hanging armbar, she lets go and hits a missile dropkick for a two count.

Tae goes off the ropes but Makoto kicks her from the apron, Shimoda tags Makoto in and Makoto boots Tae in the corner. Makoto slams Tae to the mat, but Tae kicks out of the cover. Makoto picks up Tae but Tae rolls her up and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Maika, Maika tosses Makoto around the ring and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Makoto gets out of the hold. Maika applies a stretch hold but Makoto gets into the ropes for the break, Tae comes in but she is tripped from the floor. Spear by Makoto to Maika, but Tae breaks up the cover. Shimoda comes in to take care of Tae but Tae dropkicks her out of the ring, she goes to the apron and hits a crossbody down to the floor. Back in the ring,  Maika catches Makoto with a side slam and covers her for two. STO by Maika, but Makoto gets a shoulder up. Maika picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a boot to the face, she waits for Maika to get up and kicks her in the face again for a two count. Before she can do anything else, the bell expires as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

While I am generally against having a Draw in a random non-televised mid-card match, this was still entertaining. All four held their own and Maika continues to really improve less than a year into her career. Its easy to think of Makoto as just a pretty face since she does so many gravure videos, but she’s a solid wrestler that had no issues trading holds with her more technical opponents, and they kept the action going so things never slowed down. Both teams worked well together so it didn’t feel like they were just randomly created teams, as they were constantly helping each other out instead of just watching from the apron. A really solid match with four talented wrestlers, but I wish it had more of a conclusion.  Recommended

La Jarochita vs. Tsukushi

They lock-up to start, Jarochita pushes Tsukushi into the corner but she gives a clean break. They lock-up again but Jarochita pushes Tsukushi to the mat before taunting her, a third lock-up follows but this time Tsukushi gets Jarochita into the corner and gives a clean break as well. Jarochita asks for a Test of Strength but gets Tsukushi’s back instead, she flings Tsukushi to the mat and goes for a submission, but Tsukushi rolls out of it. Armdrag by Jarochita but Tsukushi returns the favor, as both wrestlers returned to their feet. Armdrag by Tsukushi and they trade leg trips, headscissors by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Jarochita. Jarochita kicks her against the ropes, snapmare by Jarochita and she kicks Tsukushi in the back. Jarochita bites on Tsukushi’s head before picking her up and throwing her out of the ring, she goes out after her and kicks Tsukushi into a row of chairs. Jarochita wraps Tsukushi around the ring post and pulls her into it. Jarochita slams Tsukushi into the apron before rolling her back into the ring, cover by Jarochita but it gets a two count. Jarochita throws Tsukushi into the corner and hits a lariat, running boot by Jarochita and she covers Tsukushi for a two count. Jarochita applies a STF but Tsukushi inches to the ropes to force the break. Irish whip by Jarochita but Tsukushi ducks the lariat attempt, she goes for a crossbody but Tsukushi catches her and hits a backbreaker. Running knee by Jarochita, and she covers Tsukushi for two. Irish whip by Jarochita but Tsukushi applies a tilt-a-whirl armbar, but Jarochita gets into the ropes.

Tsukushi charges Jarochita but Jarochita hits a dropkick, Jarochita puts Tsukushi on the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi hits a diving hurricanrana followed by the Murder Dropkick. Tsukushi takes Jarochita out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a plancha suicida onto Jarochita. Tsukushi rolls Jarochita back in and covers her, but it only gets two. Tsukushi sets up Jarochita in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, she goes up top but Jarochita recovers and joins her. Tsukushi gets on Jarochita’s back and applies a stretch submission while perched on the top turnbuckle, she lets go after a moment and they trade elbows back in the middle of the ring. Tsukushi charges Jarochita in the corner but Jarochita drop toeholds her into the turnbuckle and hits a running double knee to Tsukushi’s back. Jarochita picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi sneaks in a cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Jarochita delivers a lariat for her own two count. Gory Special by Jarochita, but Tsukushi barely kicks out of the cover. Jarochita goes off the ropes but Tsukushi does as well and hits a hurricanrana, but Jarochita rolls through it and the two trade flash pins. Tsukushi gets Jarochita’s back and cradles her with a jackknife, but Jarochita kicks out. Tsukushi runs to the ropes and delivers the Harukaze, but Jarochita kicks out again. Tsukushi goes up top and nails the diving footstomp, but Jarochita gets a shoulder up on the cover. The bell rings in the middle of the pin attempt anyway, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This is part of the issue with doing a Draw in the last match, as with this one it may have a storyline reason but it just feels a bit deflating to have a Draw in two straight matches. Anyway, this was fun. Tsukushi is only 22 years old but is so good (I mean, she is a ten year vet so I guess it makes some sense), all her moves are really smooth and they played off each other well. Jarochita was solid too, nothing looked awkward and she matched Tsukushi’s intensity. Too short and inconclusive to get excited about (it was just a ten minute time limit), but still a really good match that is worth a casual watch.  Mildly Recommended

Dalys la Caribeña vs. Mina Shirakawa
CMLL-Japan Women’s Championship, Two out of Three Falls

They jockey for position to start, armdrag by Mina and she puts Dalys in an armbar. Dalys quickly rolls out of it and tries to slam Mina to the mat, but Mina blocks it and remains on her feet. They lock knuckles with Mina applying a wristlock, but Dalys quickly reverses it and gets Mina to the mat. Dalys applies a stretch hold and then gets Mina into the Rocking Horse, but Mina reverses it and goes for the Romero Special, but Dalys gets into the ropes before she can apply the move. Mina goes off the ropes but Dalys dropkicks her, she throws Mina into the corner and kicks her in the leg. Mina fires back with her own dropkick and sits on Dalys in the corner, Irish whip by Mina and she gets Dalys down before applying a cross armbreaker. Dalys quickly submits, and Mina wins the first fall! Mina Shirakawa is up 1-0.

After a brief pause the second fall begins, armdrag by Mina but Dalys kicks her in the gut. Dalys puts Mina in the ropes and kicks her in the back, she bullies the referee a bit before snapmaring Mina and kicking her in the back. Dalys yells at the referee some more, she goes back to Mina and pulls her by the hair in the corner. Hair toss by Dalys, and she covers Mina for two. Mina sneaks in a few flash pins for two counts of her own, Irish whip by Mina but Dalys grabs her when she charges in and puts Mina on the top turnbuckle. Mina pushes Dalys away and dives off, but Dalys catches her and delivers a swinging side slam for the three count cover! They are now tied 1-1.

Time for the final fall. Mina and Dalys face off and trade blows, Irish whip by Mina and she hits an arm drag of sorts for a two count cover. Mina throws Dalys into the corner but Dalys flips out to the apron and pulls down Mina by the hair. Slingshot body press by Dalys, but Mina gets a hand on the ropes when Dalys goes for the cover. Dalys picks up Mina and goes to slam Mina, but Mina blocks it and rolls up Dalys for two. Dalys and Mina trade chops while on their knees, elbows by Mina and she knees Dalys in the stomach. Running double chops by Mina but Dalys rolls out of the ring to prevent a cover attempt. Mina kicks Dalys from the apron and jumps down with a seated senton, she slides Dalys back into the ring and hits a dropkick while Dalys is against the ropes. Cover by Mina, but Dalys kicks out. Mina picks up Dalys and delivers a spinning chop, she goes off the ropes and hits a Lou Thesz Press. Both wrestlers go for flash pins before Mina hits a dropkick, Irish whip by Mina to the corner but Dalys throws her out to the apron when she charges in. Mina knocks Dalys back and goes up top, but Dalys catches her when she goes for a crossbody. Dalys avoids Mina’s dropkick attempt before picking her up and delivers a sit-down powerbomb for the three count! Dalys la Caribeña wins and is the first CMLL-Japan Women’s Champion!

They tried but this just didn’t work on several levels. Their lack of chemistry was noticeable, as there were several awkward spots during the match. The match was too short for a three falls match, as there were constant breaks in the action but no real long run of wrestling to give them a chance to get rolling again. The finish was rough as well, as Mina went from in control to being defeated quickly, and the final move wasn’t hit smoothly. Add in Dalys’ randomly yelling at the referee for no reason and it just came across as a match not planned out very well. I appreciate the effort, but for a main event and title match, a disappointing way to end the show.

The post CMLL/LADYS RING Numero 2 on 1/22/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG New Leaf!
Date: March 10th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 360

For a brief period in March, a few wrestling promotions in Japan held events in front of fans, and this was one of those shows. The crowd is small for a Korakuen Hall show but its still a nice break from watching events with empty stands. For the special occasion, SEAdLINNNG is putting on a big five match card, with a championship match and tag matches with some of the best Joshi Freelancers current available. Here is the full card:

• Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami
• ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. This show has the annoying commentary box in the corner that I hate, but I will get through it the best I can.

Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

They go to shake hands to start, Honori goes for a headbutt but Tsukasa quickly ducks out of the way. Tsukasa starts on Honori’s arm but Honori reverses it a the two trade holds, they go off the ropes and Tsukasa takes down Honori with a side headlock but Honori gets out of it and the two return to their feet. Tsukasa boots Honori and hits a snapmare before kicking her in the back, Tsukasa applies a sleeper before switching it into a Camel Clutch. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Honori’s back, she tosses down Honori by the hair before ramming her into the corner a couple times. Honori finally has enough and elbows Tsukasa in the chest, but Tsukasa returns fire. Tsukasa charges Honori in the corner but Honori moves and schoolboys Tsukasa for two. Dropkicks by Honori, and she covers Tsukasa for two. Honori goes for a scoop slam but Tsukasa blocks it and puts Honori in an Octopus Hold. Honori gets into the ropes for the break but Tsukasa ties her up in the ropes and pulls on her nose. Dropkick to the back by Tsukasa, and she covers Honori for two.

Tsukasa throws Honori into the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she charges Honori but Honori levels her with a shoulderblock. Honori pushes Tsukasa into the corner but Tsukasa avoids the headbutt, elbows by Honori but Tsukasa elbows her back as they trade shots. Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Honori dropkicks her, cover by Honori but it gets two. They trade waistlocks until Tsukasa rolls up Honori for two, Tsukasa quickly puts Honori in a crab hold but Honori makes it to the ropes for the break. Tsukasa stomps on Honori and drills her with a dropkick, she goes up top but Honori avoids the missile dropkick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Headbutt by Honori and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Honori but it gets two. Honori picks up Tsukasa and goes off the ropes, but Tsukasa connects with a dropkick. Tsukasa kicks Honori repeatedly in the back before hitting a PK, but Honori gets a shoulder up on the corner. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but again her cover gets two. Tsukasa puts Honori in the Gokuraku Hold, and Honori has to submit! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner.

Pretty basic as one would assume but decent enough. Honori got in more offense than I expected, she has more size than the average Joshi wrestler so that is likely why could hang better with Tsukasa even with her low experience. Building up to the headbutt spot was a unique aspect of a rookie match and they seem to be already putting that over as her big move, since headbutts are still seen as a bit risky I am curious to see if she sticks with that. I probably would have liked it better if Tsukasa has taken it to her a bit more, but not a bad opener.

Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi and Taiyo are goofing around in the corner as the match starts, Leon goes over to get them to stop and Misa dropkicks her from behind. Leon is briefly double teamed but it doesn’t last one, they all go for lariats but none are able to connect. Tsukushi dropkicks both of her opponents but Misa kicks her and applies a side headlock. Hard shoulderblock by Misa but Tsukushi kips up and hits an armdrag. She goes off the ropes and tries for the cover, but Misa kicks out. Tsukushi applies a submission but Leon breaks it up, Leon picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon but schoolboys her for two, Leon throws Tsukushi into the corner and then does the same with Misa. Leon charges in, Misa moves but Tsukushi eats the shoulder tackle. Leon and Misa Irish whip Tsukushi and Leon helps Misa boot her before they both take turns running over Tsukushi. Leon applies a crab hold to Tsukushi while Misa puts her in a chinlock, but Taiyo breaks it up. This makes Leon made and she elbows Taiyo, Irish whip by Leon but Taiyo applies the Momo Latch. Tsukushi runs in and dropkicks Taiyo, Misa goes for a cover on Leon but Leon reverses it into a kneelock. Tsukushi puts Leon in a headscissors at the same time while Taiyo is too hurt to do anything, but Misa makes it to the ropes to get the break.

Tsukushi and Leon trade elbow, Leon gets Tsukushi up but Tsukushi gets away with a side headlock takedown (she takes out Taiyo at the same time with a headscissors), Tsukushi dropkicks Leon while she is against the ropes before going up top and hitting a missile dropkick. Tsukushi applies a figure four leglock but Misa goes up top and debates who to dive down onto to. She eventually decides on hitting a diving footstomp onto Leon, they both stomp on Leon before squaring off against each other. Dropkicks by Misa, she goes off the ropes and hits a low crossbody. She goes off the ropes a few times and covers Tsukushi, but it gets a two count. Misa picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Misa applies a pin of her own but Leon breaks it up, Irish whip by ll to Misa but Misa puts Leon in an Octopus Hold. Tsukushi comes over and schoolboys both of them, but it only gets two. Leon goes for a suplex but Misa schoolboys her while she is in the middle of the move, Leon elbows Misa and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Tsukushi. Leon hits a spear on both opponents, she goes up top but Taiyo armdrags her back down to the mat. Dropkick by Taiyo to Leon, Misa and Tsukushi both go off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids Misa’s dropkick and applies La Magistral for the three count! Tsukushi is the winner! She jumps into Taiyo’s arms after the match so possible this was a rigged result.

Natsuki Taiyo has gotten more and more out of control in these matches, at some point she may as well just become an actual participant. This was what you’d expect, some people really enjoy these high speed matches and if you fall in that category you’ll probably enjoy this one too. Tsukushi is pretty great so anytime she is in a match I won’t complain too loudly, but there really isn’t a lot of substance to these matches. Perfectly fine for what it is and where it is on the card, just mindless fun.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Syuri tries to prove to Hiroyo that she is committed to their team by stomping on a MAX VOLTAGE shirt after dancing around with them, but Hiroyo isn’t convinced as Miyuki and Ryo both attack Syuri. Syuri gets stomped down while Hiroyo watches, double Irish whip to Syuri and she gets hit with a double shoulderblock. Syuri is chopped into the corner by Miyuki and Ryo but take a break to dance some before Ryo hits a lariat. Ryo tags in Miyuki, lariat by Miyuki to Syuri and Ryo hits a scoop slam. Leg drop by Miyuki and she covers Syuri for two. Miyuki picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Miyuki in the back. Syuri tries to tag in Hiroyo and Hiroyo relents, shoulderblock by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she chops her in the chest. Hiroyo goes off the ropes, Ryo tries to help but Miyuki hits her by accident. Miyuki then gets Hiroyo up on her shoulders and tosses her out of the ring down onto Ryo on the floor. Syuri comes over too and helps Hiroyo beat up MAX VOLTAGE, Hiroyo rolls Miyuki back in the ring and covers her for two. Hiroyo tags in Syuri, Syuri stomps down Miyuki in the corner, she brings Miyuki back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. Miyuki gets to the ropes so Syuri tags in Hiroyo, knee by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she covers her for two, Syuri backs back in and she jumps on Hiroyo’s back before Hiroyo hits a double kneedrop, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two.

Crab hold by Hiroyo but Miyuki crawls to the corner and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, she tags in Syuri and Syuri takes Miyuki to the mat. Syuri picks up Miyuki and Irish whips her, Miyuki goes for a dropkick but Syuri swats it aside. Miyuki grabs Syuri’s leg and elbows her, more elbows by Miyuki but Syuri knees her in the midsection. Syuri knees Miyuki into the corner, Irish whip by Syuri but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a missile dropkick. This gives her time to tag in Ryo, shoulderblock by Ryo to Syuri and she plans her with a powerslam. She goes off the ropes but Syuri delivers a knee, kicks by Syuri and she covers Ryo for two. Syuri tags Hiroyo, lariat by Hiroyo to Ryo but Ryo lariats her back. Vertical suplex by Hiroyo, she picks up Ryo but Ryo elbows her and they trade shots. Ryo finally knocks Hiroyo over with a spear, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she chops Hiroyo into the corner. Irish whip by Miyuki and she hits a lariat in the corner, but Hiroyo knocks her back. Elbows by Miyuki and she delivers a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Miyuki tries to go off the ropes but Hiroyo grabs her, Miyuki frees herself but Hiroyo drops her with a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo tags Syuri, Syuri kicks Miyuki into the corner and hits a jumping knee, double underhook suplex by Syuri and she covers Miyuki for two. Syuri applies a crab hold with Hiroyo’s protection, but Ryo gets free and breaks up the hold. Hiroyo gets back to Ryo and puts her in a stretch hold while Syuri stays on Miyuki’s leg, but Ryo breaks free and clubs Syuri.

Double Irish whip to Ryo but Ryo hits a double spear, Miyuki picks up Syuri and both she and Ryo hit lariats. Spear by Ryo to Syuri, Miyuki picks her up and hits a vertical suplex, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Miyuki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving leg drop, but Syuri barely kicks out of the cover. Miyuki drags Syuri to her feet and hits another lariat, but Syuri ducks the next one and delivers a head kick. Both wrestlers crawl to their corners and tag out, hard lariat by Ryo and she covers Hiroyo for two. Ryo grabs Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her off, they trade lariat attempts but neither wrestler goes down. The struggle continues until Hiroyo finally knocks Ryo to the mat, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and lariats her again, she goes for a powerbomb bur Ryo blocks it and Miyuki hits a missile dropkick. Hiroyo drops them both with a backdrop suplex, Syuri runs in and she knees Ryo in the corner. Hiroyo hits a reverse double kneedrop, running knee by Syuri and Hiroyo follows with a lariat, but Ryo barely kicks out of the cover. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and goes for the backdrop suplex, but Ryo blocks it. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Ryo blocks it again, Syuri comes in but Ryo catches her with a Uranage. She hits one on Hiroyo as well, cover by Ryo but it gets two. Ryo goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a back elbow, they get up and both hit a lariat on the other, which sends both crashing to the mat. While they are lying there, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even without a winner, this was a quality match. They kept it simple which worked well – no outside the ring brawling, very little in the way of submission holds, they just took turns hitting each other for twenty minutes. For a non-title midcard tag match, that’s all that was needed here and they executed it. Miyuki can more than hold her own with these three wrestlers and it shows how much and how quickly she has grown, she’s certainly ready to break out and get higher on the Joshi Wrestler pecking order. Very few wrestlers hit as hard as Syuri, Hiroyo, and Ryo and none mind getting hit either, so I am sure that all were sore the next day. The commentary box in the corner of the screen will always be annoying, but still an entertaining match with hard hitting action.  Recommended

ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu

Yuu and Shimoda start the match, Yuu pushes Shimoda into the ropes and goes for a lariat, but Shimoda ducks it. Yuu knocks her over with a shoulderblock anyway, they trade chops until Yuu hits another lariat, hard shoulderblock by Yuu and she tags in Kaho. Shimoda tags ASUKA, ASUKA and Kaho go into a fast exchange as Kaho goes for a spinning headscissors, but ASUKA lands on her feet. Yoshiko tags herself in but ASUKA bails out of the ring, Makoto comes in as the legal wrestler but Yoshiko knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Yoshiko tosses down Makoto by her hair and hits some bootscrapes followed by a running boot. Yoshiko goes for another one but ASUKA trips her from the floor, she gets in the ring with Shimoda and they all boot Yoshiko in the face. Makoto takes control of the match before tagging in Shimoda, Shimoda throws Yoshiko to the mat and pulls back on her hair. Shimoda steps on Yoshiko’s hands and tags in ASUKA, ASUKA goes up top and hits an ax handle onto Yoshiko’s arm. Snapmare by ASUKA and she delivers a sliding kick to Yoshiko’s face, picking up a two count cover. ASUKA and Yoshiko trade strikes, ASUKA throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko rebounds out with a lariat and makes the tag to Yuu.

Yuu clears the ring with shoulderblocks, Makoto and Shimoda try to help but Kaho gets in too and Las Fresa de Egoistas are all attacked in the corner. Yuu stays in and covers ASUKA, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers ASUKA for two. Yuu chops ASUKA repeatedly in the chest but ASUKA hits a jumping kick and makes the tag to Makoto. Makoto boots Yuu in the corner and goes for a suplex, but Yuu drives her back into the corner. Diving crossbody by Makoto and she hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Yuu dropkicks Makoto back into the corner and nails the Cannonball, cover by Yuu but Makoto gets a shoulder up. Yuu tags in Kaho, Kaho picks up Makoto and trips her before hitting a dropkick. Kaho puts Makoto in an arm submission hold while her team protects her, but Makoto gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Kaho but Makoto reverses it and hits a double underhook suplex. Cartwheel kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers Kaho for two. Makoto tags Shimoda, they throw Kaho into the corner but Kaho gets away and armdrags Shimoda. Dropkick by Kaho to Makoto, she goes back to Shimoda but Shimoda traps her for a two count cover. Kaho kicks Shimoda in the leg and delivers a DDT, she picks up Shimoda but Shimoda blocks the fisherman suplex attempt and boots her. Yuu runs in and lariats Shimoda, dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags in Yoshiko, boot by Yoshiko and she hits a senton on Shimoda for two. Yoshiko picks up Shimoda but Shimoda wiggles away, Yoshiko goes for a stretch hold but ASUKA comes in and breaks it up.

Yoshiko throws Shimoda into the corner but ASUKA cuts her off with a kick and Shimoda delivers a missile dropkick. Shimoda tags ASUKA, running boot by ASUKA and she hits a dropkick. Yoshiko goes after ASUKA but ASUKA punches her, moonsault off the ropes by ASUKA and her teammates come in so they can all hit running strikes in the corner. German suplex by ASUKA to Yoshiko, and she covers her for two. ASUKA picks up Yoshiko and goes for the chokeslam, but Yoshiko blocks it and they trade elbows. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Yuu runs in and tosses her, Yoshiko slams ASUKA to the mat but ASUKA kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but the cover gets broken up. Shimoda and Makoto stay in but Yoshiko lariats both of them, lariat by Yoshiko to ASUKA and she covers her for two. Senton by Yoshiko, but again ASUKA kicks out of the pin attempt. Yoshiko goes for another lariat but ASUKA ducks it, superkick by ASUKA and she nails a spinning heel kick. Chokeslam by ASUKA in front of the corner, she goes up top but Yoshiko avoids the moonsault. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but ASUKA ducks it, ASUKA goes for the Asuka Fantasy but Yoshiko cuts it back into a cover and gets the three count! Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, and Yuu are the winners.

A solid tag team match, with lots of teamwork from both sides so it didn’t feel like two random teams thrown together. This was really just done to further the ASUKA/Yoshiko feud and it was effective in that regard, with the two having several entertaining exchanges throughout the match. Its easy for wrestlers to get lost in six wrestler tags that don’t get a lot of time, as Yuu and Shimoda didn’t leave a strong impression, but neither held the match back either. There just wasn’t enough time for everyone since Yoshiko and Asuka were the focus. Fast paced and well worked, an entertaining match but ultimately nothing overly memorable.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the SEA Singles Championship

Rina attacks Arisa before the match starts while she still has her robe on, Rina elbows Arisa against the ropes but Arisa reverses an Irish whip and hits a snap dragon suplex. She finally gets her robe off and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Arisa gets a bottle of water but Rina takes it from her and pours the water over Arisa’s head before spitting water in her face. Rina boots Arisa and elbows her in the corner, lariats by Rina and she covers Arisa with her boot for a one count. Scorpion Deathlock by Rina but Arisa makes it to the ropes for the break, Rina goes off the ropes and knees Arisa in the back. Cover by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina kicks Arisa but Arisa fight back, scoop slam by Rina and she walks over Arisa. Rina goes for a backdrop suplex but Arisa lands on her feet and hits the Sling Blade. Arisa kicks Rina and boots her in the head, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, German suplex hold by Arisa and she gets a two count. Arisa goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, Arisa jumps off the turnbuckle however to the floor, snapping Rina’s neck on the ropes in the process. Arisa goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa kicks Rina around the ring and knees her against the ropes, she picks up Rina but Rina fires off a strike combination. Rina picks up Arisa and elbows her, but Arisa elbows her back and they trade blows.

After a minute they both end up sending the other to the mat, and the referee begins the ten count. Both make the count and go back to trading blows, with Rina switching to lariats now and Arisa hitting boots. Arisa wins the battle and gets on the top turnbuckle, but Rina grabs her from behind and throws her into the turnbuckles. Rina waits for Arisa to get up but Arisa kicks away her lariat attempt, Rina nails one anyway but Arisa blocks the sliding lariat attempt. Arisa goes off the ropes but Rina hits another lariat, she follows with a short-range lariat but her cover gets two. Rina picks up Arisa but Arisa slides away from the Splash Mountain attempt and hits a trapped German suplex for two. Arisa kicks Rina in the chest and delivers a dragon suplex hold, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Arisa positions Rina and goes up top, moonsault by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa drags Rina to her feet, she traps her leg but Rina elbows out of the suplex attempt. Arisa goes for a hurricanrana but Rina reverses it with a powerbomb, sliding lariat by Rina but Arisa kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Arisa to get up and delivers a lariat, but again Arisa kicks out. Rina picks up Arisa and goes for Splash Mountain, but Arisa reverses it into a cradle for two. Arisa quickly picks up Rina, traps her leg and delivers a German suplex hold for the three count pinfall! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

I think the real impact of matches like these is lost some due to the one camera set up and the NicoPro box, but its still a really damn good match. These two just beat the hell out of each other, it is just hard to really appreciate it with the circumstances, which isn’t their fault of course but diminishes some of the enjoyment. The story was simple but well told, with Rina using lariats to set up the Splash Mountain that she was never able to hit, while Arisa finally wore down Rina enough to get the win with her version of the German suplex. With a different presentation this may have been one of the best Joshi matches of the year, but as it is, its still an enjoyable match that is worth your time.  Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG New Leaf! on 3/10/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act 37
Date: March 14th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Occasionally I do this obnoxious thing where I review an event that I have on DVD, that is not anywhere online so only a small handful of people in the US have access to it. But I feel its important to shine a light on events that no one has seen, even though I know it can be annoying if I pimp a match that isn’t readily available. I picked this event because it was a pretty big one for Actwres girl’Z, with a title match in the main event. Actwres girl’Z is a smaller promotion based in Tokyo, they very rarely air on TV or online but do sell all of their events on DVD on their website. Check out the Actwres girl’Z Roster for a look at the wrestlers, here is the full card:

• Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui
• Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono
• Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma
• AgZ Championship: Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

Since this is an official DVD, all matches are shown in full. Wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui

Tie-up to start, Ayumi works the headlock and snapmares Misa around before applying a bodyscissors. Misa rolls out of it and applies a single leg crab hold, but Ayumi gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Misa but Ayumi dropkicks her, they trade elbows until Ayumi knocks down Misa with another dropkick. Scoop slam attempt by Ayumi but Misa reverses it into a cradle for a quick two count. Back up, drop toehold by Misa and she hits a crossbody. A second crossbody by Misa, she picks up Ayumi and hits a scoop slam for two. Crab hold by Misa, Ayumi inches to the ropes and finally makes it to force the break. Misa charges Ayumi but Ayumi drop toeholds her into the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Stomps by Ayumi but Misa avoids her dropkick and hits a running back elbow. Dropkick by Misa but Ayumi blocks the scoop slam, bridging cover by Ayumi but Misa kicks out. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Japanese Rolling Clutch by Misa and she picks up the three count! Misa Matsui wins.

Even though Misa won, I thought that Ayumi looked a bit better. Ayumi’s elbows were better, her dropkicks had more impact and she didn’t botch the ending of the match like Misa did. That doesn’t mean Misa won’t become better down the road but four months into it there is still plenty of room for improvement. A simple match, fine for an opener but nothing here to recommend watching.

Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono

They struggle with a tie-up to start, Ayano gets Miku in the ropes and elbows her, but Miku returns the favor. Ayano and Miku trade waistlocks until Miku applies an armbar on the mat, but Ayano gets out of it and applies a wristlock. Side headlock takedown by Ayano but Miku reverses it with a headscissors, Ayano quickly gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Miku gets to the ropes for the break but Ayano stretches Miku before putting her in a camel clutch. Miku tosses Ayano over her head to get out of it, Ayano goes for a slam but Miku blocks it and hits a slam of her own. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, Miku doesn’t go down so Ayano hits another one. Miku still stays up, she absorbs a third before dropkicking Ayano to the mat. Dropkick by Miku in the corner and she kicks Ayano in the chest for a two count. Ayano fights back with elbows but Miku gets away and applies a backslide, schoolboys by Ayano but she gets two counts. A dropkick by Ayano knocks Miku over, scoop slam by Ayano and she covers Miku for two. Ayano goes off the ropes but Miku lariats her and hits a kneebreaker. Modified crab hold by Miku, and Ayano taps out! Miku Anou is the winner.

This was more even than I was expecting based off their experience levels, but at least I got the winner right. Miku was fairly impressive, her dropkicks are solid and I liked her modified crab hold she used to win. Overall this was more fluid than the last match, they worked together well and it was smooth. Still a pretty basic match but I could see either of these two having a decent career if they stick with it, both showed a little something special here even though they still are putting on pretty simple matches.

Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta

Mii starts in the ring first with Hotta, she asks for a knucklelock and gets it, which Hotta easily wins. Momo attacks Hotta from behind and both of the young wrestlers take turns dropkicking Hotta in the corner. Momo struggles with Hotta so Mii helps her out with a dropkick to the back, Momo and Mii both dropkick Hotta again before celebrating. Momo tries to slam Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge, scoop slam by Hotta and she puts Momo in a camel clutch while Mii watches. Mii decides to start kicking Momo while Hotta looks amused, Hotta eventually lets go of Momo and congratulates Mii on her hard work. They both knocks Momo to the mat together, cover by Mii but it gets two. Mii runs over Momo before hitting a footstomp, but Momo hits a Backstabber. Hotta starts helping Momo now as she picks up Momo to help her kick Mii, crab hold by Momo but Mii gets into the ropes for the break. Momo puts the crab hold back on but again Mii gets into the ropes, Hotta comes in and she puts Mii in a camel clutch.

Momo kicks at Mii while she is in the hold, Mii reaches the ropes but Momo stomps on her hand. Hotta eventually picks up Mii, elbows by Mii to Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge. Mii goes for a top toehold, it doesn’t work but Momo gets on the mat to help and they get Hotta over. Mii and Momo take turns running over Hotta’s back, Mii goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Momo knocks Mii away and gets a two count cover of her own, Momo and Mii start trading elbows while Hotta recovers. Hotta hits both of them, she stacks her opponents in the corner but when she charges in she only hits Momo. Mii schoolboys Hotta from behind for two, she suplexes Momo in the middle of the ring and covers her for a two count. Waistlock by Mii but Momo gets out of it, Hotta elbows Momo in the chest and Mii scoop slams Momo near the corner. Mii gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mii but Hotta breaks it up. Momo throws Mii at Hotta, Somato by Momo to Mii but Hotta breaks up her cover. Momo and Mii trade flash pins while Hotta watches, until Momo finally pins down Mii long enough to get the three count! Momo Tani wins the match.

This was an interesting match. Hotta was clearly not trying to win but just to get some in-ring time with the less experienced wrestlers, as at times she was just watching until she decided it was time to get involved for some reason or another. I liked the parts with Mii and Momo double teaming Hotta and if there was more of that it would have been a better match, but in the end it just felt unusual more than good. Some cute spots with Hotta, but not really a great match.

Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma

Hikari and Tae begin the match for their teams, Tae gets Hikari to the mat but Hikari kips up and applies a wristlock. Tae reverses it as they trade holds, armdrag by Tae but Hikari cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Miyuki and Himeka come in the ring but Hikari hits a crossbody on both of them, SAKI and Bonita enter and they all pose on top of Himeka. Tae and Miyuki recover to help, they trey to pose on Hikari but Hikari collapses. The action spills out to the floor with Bonita choking Tae, Miyuki runs up the stairs and hits an elbow on Hikari. Hikari fires back with elbows to Miyuki and hits her own elbow after running down the stairs, Hikari then tosses Miyuki into a row of chairs at ringside. Miyuki slides Hikari back into the ring and the two trade chops, rapid fire chops by Miyuki in the corner but all the other wrestlers in the match get in the ring and get stacked up in the corner. Himeka charges in and hits a body avalanche on the whole lot (except SAKI who dove out of the way), and SAKI puts Himeka in a Rocking Horse. After a moment she lets go, SAKI picks up Himeka but Himeka gets away and hits a shoulderblock. SAKI doesn’t go over, she then tries to shoulderblock Himeka but Himeka stays on her feet. SAKI kicks Himeka but Himeka finally knocks her down with a shoulderblock, crab hold by Himeka but SAKI is too close to the ropes and forces a break. Snapmare by Himeka but SAKI avoids her knee, takedown by SAKI and she puts Himeka in a Scorpion Deathlock.

Himeka quickly gets out of it and gets SAKI on her shoulders, but SAKI slides away. Hikari runs in and hits a crossbody on Himeka to get her over on a sunset flip attempt, but the cover only gets two. Bonita is tagged in, she picks up Himeka and slams her to the mat. Miyuki trips Bonita from the floor, Himeka tosses her into the corner but Bonita avoids her charge and hits a knee. Swinging neckbreaker by Bonita, but he cover only gets two. Himeka fights back and hits a running knee, she gets Bonita on her shoulders in a backbreaker but SAKI and Hikari run in to rescue her. Himeka picks up Bonita again and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Himeka but Bonita kicks out. Himeka tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits a diving elbow smash off the second turnbuckle for a two count cover. Heel kick by Bonita and she dropkicks Miyuki, giving her time to tag in Hikari. Bonita stays in as SAKI comes in also and all three hit running strikes on Miyuki, PK by Hikari and she covers Miyuki for two. Hikari applies a choke but Miyuki gets out of it, Hikari goes for a crossbody but Miyuki elbows her in midair and gets a two count cover. Rolling fireman’s carry slam by Miyuki, but Hikari avoids the diving legdrop attempt. Chops and elbows by Miyuki in the corner but Hikari avoids one and slides out to the apron. She charges back in but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Tae. Tae gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a front dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Bonita comes in and stomps Tae, but Tae throws Bonita into Hikari.

SAKI runs in and boots Tae in the head, kicks to the back by Hikari to Tae but Tae avoids the PK. Tae and Hikari trade elbows until Hikari hits a scoop slam, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. She tags in SAKI, SAKI boots Tae in the head and they start to do the “all six wrestlers suplex each other” spot but Hikari is in no mood and breaks it up with a kick. Vertical suplex by SAKI to Tae, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Himeka grabs her from behind and brings her back into the ring. SAKI hits a double facebuster on Himeka and Tae, SAKI goes for a boot but Tae catches her leg and goes for an ankle hold. SAKI quickly gets to the ropes, Tae dropkicks SAKI in the leg and covers her but SAKI is too close to the ropes. Tae trips SAKI and puts her in a cross kneelock, but the hold is broken up. Himeka and Miyuki come in and double team SAKI, Tae goes up top but Tae accidentally dropkicks her own partners. suplex by Bonita to Tae, Hikari gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. SAKI follows with a reverse splash, but the cover is broken up. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away and rolls up SAKI for two. Himeka shoulderblocks Hikari but Bonita chops her in the face, lariat by Miyuki to SAKI and Tae connects with a missile dropkick on SAKI for two. Tae holds SAKI but SAKI kicks Miyuki away and hits a vertical suplex onto both of them. Assisted footstomp by Hikari to Tae, SAKI picks up Tae and hits a vertical suplex for the three count pinfall! Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita are the winners!

This match not only met my expectations but exceeded them, a really fun match. You can tell they have been wrestling together for awhile as they have great chemistry, and both Hikaru Shimizu and Miyuki Takase have very bright futures in wrestling if they stay active. Matches with six wrestlers are generally too chaotic to tell a story and they embraced that here as there was constantly action going on and wrestlers running in to help their teammates. A fast paced and well executed match and the exact type you want in this slot to get the crowd excited for the main event coming up.  Recommended

(c) Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru pushes away Saori’s handshake attempt and elbows her repeatedly in the corner, Irish whip by Kakeru but Saori reverses it. Saori lands out on the apron but quickly gets back into the ring and boots Kakeru to the mat. Saori works a headlock but Kakeru quickly gets out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Saori avoids the move and hits a heel drop. Headlock by Saori but Kakeru inches to the ropes and gets there to force a break. Saori goes off the ropes and boots Kakeru in the face, she charges Kakeru but Kakeru hits a judo throw followed by series of dropkicks for a two count cover. Sleeper by Kakeru but Saori gets a foot on the ropes to get the hold released. Kakeru knocks Saori into the corner but Saori avoids he charges and hits an enzuigiri. Saori goes for a chop but Kakeru ducks it and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Kakeru while Saori is against the ropes and she snaps Saori’s head into the apron. Kakeru slams her head into the apron again before returning to the ring, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by Kakeru, she goes for the cover but Saori kicks out. Kakeru picks up Saori but Saori elbows her back and the two trade blows.

Slap by Saori and she hits an enzuigiri, Kakeru comes back with more elbows and she delivers a dropkick. Kakeru charges Saori but Saori snaps off German suplex, Kakeru gets back up however and plants Saori with a STO for a two count. Saori goes for a boot but Kakeru ducks it and schoolboys Saori for a two count. Kakeru gets the sleeper re-applied, she lets go to cover Saori but Saori kicks out. Kakeru jumps at Saori and drops her to the mat with a grounded front necklock, but Saori doesn’t fully go to sleep so Kakeru releases it. Kakeru drives Saori’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and re-applying the hold, but this time Saori is too close to the ropes and she forces a break. Kakeru doesn’t let go of the hold so Saori stands back up while still in it and slams Kakeru into the mat. This gets them even more in the ropes and the referee finally manages to break them up, Kakeru drags Saori to her feet and goes off the ropes, nailing a STO for a close two count. Saori goes off the ropes again but this time Saori snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kakeru goes for the front necklock but this time Saori slams her to the mat to block it, Kakeru goes for a cradle but Saori kicks out. Kakeru goes off the ropes and hits another STO, but again it only gets two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Saori goes behind her back and delivers a Wheelbarrow German Suplex Hold for two. Enzuigiri by Saori and she delivers a Dragon Suplex Hold, picking up the three count! Saori Anou is the winner and still the champion.

Even though I wish the match was a bit longer, it was still an enjoyable match. Kakeru’s STOs are fantastic, loads of impact and it is a perfectly reasonable finisher with the way that she executes it. I do wish that she wouldn’t just release submission holds for no reason, its a tough spot but if a submission isn’t going to work then its probably better to do a rope break or some other reversal as releasing them without victory isn’t overly logical. It really was Kakeru’s match as Saori was in despair for the bulk of it, but her move combination at the end felt definitive enough that it didn’t feel like a cheap victory. Overall I liked it, both are good wrestlers, even if it wasn’t completely without its flaws and was a little shorter than I’d prefer a main event title match to be.  Mildly Recommended

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Championships Held: None
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• None

Signature Moves:

• Dropkick

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• None

In Action:

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