Event: NOMADS’ Freelance Summit
Date: May 20th, 2022
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 470
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko

One of the more interesting developments in the last six months or so in the world of Joshi is wrestlers creating Freelancer stables that also put on their own events. We have COLOR’S, PROMINANCE, Rebel X Enemy, and here we get to watch my personal favorite: NOMADS’. NOMADS’ comprises of four wrestlers: Natsu Sumire, Maya Yukihi, Rina Yamashita, and Miyuki Takase. All are great. Course, as Freelancers, they are welcome and encouraged to wrestle all around the world on their own schedule, but they work together behind the scenes and will occasionally put on their own Freelance shows. Like this one, which is the first! As all four are very respected on the scene, they have a fair amount of influence to bring in the top Freelancers for the event. Particularly special about this card, besides the surprise match from Natsu Sumire, is the return of Kaho Kobayashi! Kaho is my stealth favorite and has been out of action for a year, so its great to see her back. Here is the full card:

• Exhibition Match: Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
• Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma
• Hikari Shimizu, Rina Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Maika Ozaki, and Makoto
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou
• Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

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

Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
Exhibition Match

Natsu attacks Takase before the match starts and stomps on her, Natsu picks up Takase but Takase blocks the slam attempt and hits a snapmare. Another snapmare by Takase and a third, she puts Natsu in a bodyscissors and rolls her around the ring. She eventually lets go, scoop slam by Takase and she covers Natsu for two. Takase puts Natsu in the corner, she tries to pull her back out but Natsu holds on for dear life. Natsu asks for a breather and gets some water, the referee keeps Takase at bay while Natsu composes herself. Natsu finally recovers, she throws Takase into the opposite corner and hits a back elbow. Natsu calls for and attempts her famous Bronco Buster, but Takase slides under it and cradles Natsu for two. Takase stomps Natsu, Irish whip by Takase and Natsu collapses near the ropes. Dropkick by Takase, she gets Natsu on her shoulders but Natsu slides off and hits a jumping neckdrop. Natsu boots Takase in the face twice while she is against the ropes, cover by Natsu but it gets two. Natsu picks up Takase, Takase chops her and goes off the ropes but Natsu delivers a big boot. Natsu goes for the cover but the bell rings as she does so, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

A five minute exhibition is clearly going to end in a Draw, but it was still great to see Natsu in the right place (both mind and body) to wrestle again. Natsu was never a high end wrestler and wouldn’t have beaten Takase anyway, but she is entertaining and has the charisma that not many wrestlers possess. Natsu has a lot of fans around the world that appreciate the qualities she brings to the table, as she is a fun change of pace that has comedic elements to her character but isn’t a full-blown comedy wrestler that is limited in what she can do. A fun way to kick off the show and it would be hard to complain about an unadvertised match anyway, nothing but positives to take away from a surprise Natsu Sumire match even if it was short with an obvious conclusion.

Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma

They both hype the crowd before Momoka decides to attack Tae from behind, they circle each other before tying up. Momoka gets Tae to the mat and twists her hair before throwing her into the corner. She gets a… bubble maker and holds it into Tae’s face, spraying her with bubbles. Momoka picks up Tae and slams her face into the mat, she gets the bubble maker again along with her plastic flower and sits on Tae’s back while spraying bubbles everywhere and choking her. I’m not really sure how to describe it so that’s the best I got. Momoka puts her toys away and Irish whips her, the referee decides to help and assists Momoka in kicking Tae in the chest. Momoka throws the referee to the mat before jumping off his back, hitting a footstomp on Tae for a two count. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae avoids the dropkick attempt and hits one of her own. Tae snaps Momoka’s arm, she picks up Momoka but Momoka elbows her and the two trade blows. Momoka kicks Tae in the shin and flips off everyone, but Tae kicks her in the shin back. Gut punch by Momoka, they do some shenanigans around the referee before Momoka hits a big spear on Tae for a two count. Momoka goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets two as well. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae blocks it, she flings Momoka to the mat and puts her in an armbar. Momoka tries to get a hand on the ropes but Tae captures that arm too, Momoka keeps inching however and gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Tae picks up Momoka and gets her back in the Fujiwara Armbar, she applies the Tae Lock and Momoka has no choice but to submit! Tae Honma is the winner.

I think this is the first full match I’ve seen of Momoka, I like her methods. She is a little goofy but she can wrestle, and she got serious when she needed to. Fun personality, solid wrestling skills, maybe one to keep an eye on if she finds a better opportunity to shine down the road. Tae is really good of course and for a sub-ten match this was pretty entertaining as they kept things interesting and Tae’s focus on the arm was consistent. Nothing that will blow you away, but for an opener not given a lot of time I think it delivered.  Mildly Recommended

Hikari Shimizu, Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto

COLOR’S attack before the bell rings, they stack their opponents in the corner but the veterans soon take back over and isolate Amikura in the ring. They pose on Amikura, Shimizu and Yuko briefly pose with them before they help their tag partner out of the situation. Yoneyama is isolated in the ring as all three of COLOR’S run over her before hitting a triple body press. Things settle down with Yuko and Yoneyama as the legal wrestlers, Yoneyama grabs Yuko by the nose and chops it before tagging in Maika. Lariat by Maika in the corner and she hits an elbow drop for two. Maika puts Yuko in a camel clutch but it is quickly broken up, Yuko then puts Maika in a camel clutch but Maika muscles out of it. Irish whip by Maika but Yuko hits a dropkick and tags Amikura. Amikura and Maika take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over with no luck, kick by Maika but Amikura clubs her in the chest and finally shoulderblocks her to the mat. Amikura picks up Maika and chops her a few times, she gets Maika into the corner but Maika fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock, giving her time to tag Makoto.

Big boot by Makoto in the corner and she hits a double kneedrop for two. Makoto picks up Amikura, Amikura gets away but Amikura missing the senton attempt and Makoto is back on offense. Makoto goes off the ropes but Amikura clubs her and hits a twisting senton for two. She makes the tag to Shimizu, Shimizu comes in the ring with a diving crossbody which also gets a two count. Shimizu picks up Makoto, they go back and forth until Makoto blocks a Shimizu cradle attempt and hits a heel drop. Double underhook suplex by Makoto, but Shimizu kicks out of the cover. Makoto kicks Shimizu around but Amikura catches her with a powerslam, Shimizu then hits a footstomp off of Amikura’s back. Shimizu picks up Makoto, knee by Shimizu but Makoto drills her with a boot. Makoto picks up Shimizu but Shimizu slides away, superkick by Shimizu but Makoto delivers a spear. She goes off the ropes but Shimizu slams her, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They roll to their own corners and tag in Yuko and Yoneyama, shoulderblock by Yuko to Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits Mongolian Chops.

Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Yuko hits a scoop slam, she tries to go off the ropes but Maika hits her from the apron. Maika comes in, Yuko fights them off briefly but ultimately Maika and Yoneyama run through some double team moves successfully. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle but hits her before she can jump off, Amikura gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and puts her upside down in the opposite corner. All three COLOR’S members attack Yoneyama, Yuko covers Yoneyama but it gets two. Yuko picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama cradles her, Yuko gets a Dragon Sleeper applied before hitting the Final Cut, but the cover is broken up. All six wrestlers end up in the ring, the veterans get the upper hand and Yoneyama cradles Yuko for the three count! Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto are the winners.

This was a little rough around the edges but not actively bad. There were bound to be some issues here – the COLOR’S team are generally well trained and solid enough wrestlers, but they aren’t high end wrestlers either and sometimes there were some awkward moments. Facing off against new opponents no doubt didn’t help, as the chemistry wasn’t really there. The veteran team clearly had the experience edge but they didn’t really “control” the action as they probably should have, with the exception of Makoto who is pretty entertaining. The hot ending helped and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive, but if this match wasn’t on the show at all I don’t think it would have hurt anything as it just came across as midcard fodder.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi

Kaho kicks Hiroyo during the handshake and starts on Hiroyo’s wrist, headlock by Kaho but Hiroyo Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Hiroyo goes off the ropes as does Kaho, jumping shoulderblock by Kaho but Hiroyo stays up and knocks over Kaho with her own shoulderblock. Kaho kips up and hits an armdrag off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring. Kaho goes off the ropes to do a dive but rolls back into the ring instead before posing to the crowd. Hiroyo seems annoyed as she returns to the ring, front necklock by Kaho but Hiroyo blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and puts her across the second rope in the corner, she charges in and knees Kaho in the midsection. Double kneedrop by Hiroyo and she covers Kaho for two. Hiroyo stomps on Kaho and chops her in the corner, she chops Kaho around the ring as Kaho takes the abuse and asks for more. Kaho eventually Flair Flops, Hiroyo approaches Kaho but Kaho cradles her for two. Dropkick by Kaho and she stomps on Hiroyo’s foot repeatedly, Hiroyo blocks a slam attempt but Kaho wiggles away from her and dropkicks Hiroyo in the arm. Kaho gets Hiroyo on her shoulders but collapses under the weight, both wrestlers slowly get up and Kaho knocks over Hiroyo with a dropkick.

Another dropkick by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring, Kaho goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Hiroyo with a plancha suicida. Kaho slides Hiroyo into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Kaho picks up Hiroyo, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo blocks the cradle and hits a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and the two trade elbows, Kaho goes to stomp on Hiroyo’s foot but Hiroyo does so first and slams Kaho face-first into the mat. Reverse double kneedrop out of the corner by Hiroyo, but Kaho kicks out of the cover. Kaho fires up but Hiroyo elbows her, she goes for the Liger Bomb but Kaho gets away from her and hits a hurricanrana for two. La Magistral by Kaho, but that gets a two as well. Kick to the face by Kaho and she hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Hiroyo kicks out. Kaho goes off the ropes but Hiroyo levels her with a back elbow, but Kaho rolls through the cover. Kaho goes for the 120% Schoolboy but Hiroyo rolls through it, elbows by Kaho but Hiroyo elbows her back. Step-up Enzuigiri by Kaho and she goes off the ropes, but Hiroyo levels her with a lariat. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and nails the Liger Bomb, cover by Hiroyo and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner!

While the match wasn’t long, it certainly hit all the right notes. Kaho hasn’t lost a beat as she really brought it to Hiroyo, she couldn’t match her strength so instead she focused on speed and wit. In the end, Hiroyo’s power was too much and she put away the smaller wrestler, but Kaho had several close nearfalls so it was certainly not a lopsided affair. Kaho using the Flair Flop as a possum move was great as it made me go from “well that was kind of goofy” to respecting her methodology. I loved that even though she was the higher ranked wrestler that Hiroyo still respected Kaho’s finisher (120% Schoolboy) by not kicking out of it, leaving it as a move that Kaho still had in her back pocket up to the end to get a flash win. Fast paced and entertaining from bell to bell, a typical Kaho match that may not end up being the match everyone remembers from the show but a really fun contribution to the event as we roll onto the big matches.  Recommended

ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou

ASUKA and Anou start the match, they do a pose off as they compete for the crowd’s attention, but that doesn’t last long as ASUKA hits Anou with a hard elbow. Anou elbows her back and they trade shots, headbutt by ASUKA but Anou avoids her boot and hits one of her own. Anou throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA hops on the top turnbuckle, leading to Anou backing off. She tags in SAKI while Yuu also tags in, Yuu and SAKI lock up and Yuu pushes SAKI into the corner. SAKI responds to her kindness with elbows, hard shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI avoids her senton and hits a boot. She tags Anou but stays in the ring, they try to double team Yuu but Yuu hits a double crossbody on both of them. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA chokes Anou with her boot in the corner with some help from Makoto who is at ringside. Sliding kick by ASUKA to Anou, and she covers her for two. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou catches her leg and hits a dragon screw. Anou starts on ASUKA’s leg but Yuu breaks things up, ASUKA picks up Anou and tags Yuu in. Yuu picks up Anou and hits a running elbow in the corner, cross armbreaker attempt by Yuu as SAKI tries to help her partner but ASUKA holds her back. Anou makes it to the ropes anyway, elbow drop by Yuu but Anou bridges out of the cover. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA kicks Anou around the ring before putting her in Paradise Lock and posing on her.

Yuu sits on Anou which actually gets Anou out of the Paradise Lock, annoying ASUKA. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou rolls away and hits a step-up enzuigiri, giving her time to tag SAKI. SAKI kicks ASUKA and hits a vertical suplex, SAKI knees ASUKA in the corner and hits a Reverse Splash for two. SAKI picks up ASUKA but ASUKA pokes her in the eyes and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Yuu, shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI lands in her corner and tags Anou. Missile dropkick by Anou, she goes for a slam but Yuu blocks it. SAKI comes in to help but Yuu hits a vertical suplex on both of them, Yuu puts Anou in a crab hold but Anou gets to the ropes for the break. Senton by Yuu and she covers Anou for a two count. Yuu gets up on the second turnbuckle but SAKI grabs her from the apron, running elbow by Anou and she joins Yuu. Frankensteiner attempt by Anou but Yuu catches her, Anou recovers and hits the Frankensteiner anyway followed by a sliding kick for two. Anou tags SAKI, SAKI goes to suplex Yuu but she can’t get her up. SAKI gets Yuu to the mat and puts her in an armtrap crossface, but Yuu gets a boot on the ropes for the break. SAKI goes off the ropes but Yuu tosses her to the mat, SAKI charges Yuu but Yuu hits a jumping crossbody. Yuu charges SAKI and delivers a cannonball, cover by Yuu but SAKI gets a shoulder up.

Yuu picks up SAKI but Anou runs in and boots her in the face, SAKI drives Yuu’s head into the mat and both wrestlers tag out. ASUKA and Anou trade boots, Anou gets ASUKA’s back and drops her with a release German. Anou picks up ASUKA and hits a step-up enzuigiri, superkick by ASUKA and she hits a second one for a two count. SAKI comes in but ASUKA hits a springboard moonsault off the ropes onto both opponents, with both falling out of the ring. Yuu gets in the ring, she drops down and rolls out onto both SAKI and Anou. ASUKA goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a moonsault, but SAKI and Anou both move out of the way. Anou and SAKI attempt to double team ASUKA but it backfires, and ASUKA hits Anou repeatedly with chairs. Anou regains the advantage as the brawl at ringside continues, ASUKA and Anou end up in the crowd while SAKI and Yuu follow. The referee eventually figures he has given them enough leeway returning to the ring and calls for the bell. The match is a Double Count Out.

While I am not a big fan of moderately random matches on shows like this not having a conclusive ending, this was still pretty good. I do think there are storyline reasons where count outs, draws, etc. are fine, but as a general rule if the match doesn’t have a *reason* for a non-ending I’d rather it have one, it just gives fans a more satisfying feeling. I am not sure if we’ll ever see a pay-off from this and if we don’t, what was the point? That aside, the action was solid but something was missing. There were multiple stories going on (ASUKA and Yuu not always getting along, Saori/ASUKA hating each other, random limb work?) but it didn’t really mesh into a cohesive tag match. The pieces were there, they just never really joined them together so the match didn’t have a lot of flow to it. Still a good match as these four couldn’t have a bad match if they tried, but a little disappointing as I feel it could have been even better.  Mildly Recommended

Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Takase and Maya start the match and start off trading holds, snapmare by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back. Takase wants more so Maya kicks her again, more kicks by Maya but Takase ducks the PK. Irish whip by Maya and but Takase hits an armdrag, kick to the chest by Maya but Takase kips up and chops Maya in the chest. They end up in a stalemate and both tag out, bringing in Ryo and Rina. Ryo and Rina lock knuckles, headlock by Ryo and she gets Rina to the mat. Rina gets back up and reverses the hold, they try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks with Rina eventually sending Ryo down. Rina knocks Takase off the apron as Maya comes in the ring, and they both attack Ryo while she is tied up in the ropes. Rina tags in Maya, kicks by Maya but Ryo elbows her back and the two trade blows. Maya gets the better of things, Rina returns and they go for a suplex but Ryo blocks it. Ryo knocks over both of them and stacks her opponents in the corner, lots of chops by Ryo and she hits a lariat on Maya. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. She tags Takase but Maya kicks Takase and hits a backbreaker. Bootscrapes by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back, they trade strikes until Takase gets Maya against the ropes.

Lariat by Takase but Maya ducks the next one and hits a kick combination. Trip by Maya and she delivers a sliding kick, she tags in Rina and Rina lariats Takase in the corner. Scoop slam by Rina, Takase gets back up and Rina hits a hard elbow. Takase chops her in return but Rina hits another elbow and goes for a Sleeper. Takase runs into the corner to get out of the hold, Rina goes off the ropes but Takase catches her with a DDT followed by a cutter. Irish whip by Takase out of the corner, reversed, but Takase rebounds off the turnbuckle with a missile dropkick for two. Takase goes for a suplex but Rina easily reverses it into one of her own, she goes off the ropes but Takase hits a powerslam for a two count. She tags in Ryo, Rina and Ryo both connect with strikes until Ryo drops Rina with an overhead suplex. Rina quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex, sliding lariat by Rina and she covers Takase for two. Lariat by Rina, and she covers Ryo for two. Rina picks up Ryo but Ryo slides away and both wrestlers lariat each other to the mat. Rina tags in Maya, Maya goes to the top turnbuckle and comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Jumping knee by Maya and she kicks Ryo in the chest for a quick two count. Maya rolls Ryo to the mat and applies a submission hold, but Ryo gets a toe on the ropes to force a break. Maya goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her boot and Takase levels Maya with a spear.

Dropkick by Takase and she assists Ryo with a side slam, Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle as Takase hits a Kamikaze. Diving legdrop by Ryo, but Rina breaks up the cover. All four wrestlers trade running strikes, Rina lariats Maya by accident but on the second attempt she successfully lariats Ryo and Takase (and knocks out Maya in the process). Maya recovers and hits a dual superkick to Ryo, Rina goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Running knee by Maya, but Takase breaks up the cover. Maya charges Ryo but Ryo moves, strike combination by Maya but Ryo hits a hard lariat. Maya pops up just to eat another lariat, Ryo charges Maya but Maya kicks her to the mat. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, and she covers Ryo for two. Sliding knee by Maya, but again Takase breaks up the cover. Maya picks up Ryo but Ryo blocks the Tiger Driver, high kick by Maya but Ryo blocks it again. Uranage by Ryo and she hits a spear, picking up a two count. Ryo goes off the ropes and delivers a hard lariat, she drags Maya back to her feet and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Miyuki Takase are the winners!

One can’t help but compare this match to the one that came before it, as both had Freelance tag teams and went about the same amount of time. This match was much better, and a number of things helped it. First, both of the teams wrestled like they were a real team, lots of team work and fluid setups that kept the match interesting. It also had a real ending, which I appreciate, and there was more of a sense of urgency with all four of them. It didn’t hurt that Maya really brought her A Game, she is really underappreciated as far as in-ring ability goes and she was firing on all cylinders here. Ryo was more grounded, which I liked, and both Rina and Miyuki looked great as well. Just four talented wrestlers beating the hell out of each other for twenty minutes, what is not to love? Easily the best match on the card and worth watching, its going to slot below other matches in 2022 that maybe had more of a backstory and emotion behind it but as far as in-ring action goes it doesn’t get much better than this.  Highly Recommended

The post NOMADS’ “Freelance Summit” on 5/20/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Various GLEAT Shows
Dates: July 25th, 2021 to September 29th, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Various
Broadcast: Streamed on NicoPro and Youtube

Time to spread some GLEAT love! What is GLEAT? GLEAT is a uniquely named puroresu promotion that is owned by Lidet Entertainment, which created the promotion after they sold Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2020. GLEAT has two sub-brands, but we are focusing on their “pro wrestling” brand which has more traditional wrestling. GLEAT airs on NicoPro and also puts their events on Youtube, so they are fairly easy to watch if you are so inclined. They have two Joshi wrestlers on their regular roster – Michiko Miyagi, better known to many fans as Andras Miyagi, and Yukari Hosokawa who is better known as RinRin. Yukari hasn’t had any matches in GLEAT yet, so this review series will focus on Michiko Miyagi, as GLEAT brings in outsiders to wrestle both with and against her. I am going to review her matches from the last four months, here is the line-up:

• July 25th, 2021 – Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
• August 4th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
• September 1st, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
• September 29th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki

All wrestlers on the event have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s see how good GLEAT is.

Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 1 on July 25th, 2021
We start the match review series with GLEAT wrestler Michiko Miyagi against Actwres girl’Z wrestler Ayano Irie. Miyagi has had an interesting career so far, going from Sendai Girls’ to Stardom to falling off the map. Once she started wrestling more often, she eventually landed in GLEAT (and is now appearing in Sendai Girls’ again as well), which feels like a step down but sometimes smaller promotions are a better fit for people. Ayano Irie is in her third year and is 25 years old, she has no notable wins in her career but she isn’t a rookie, so hopefully they can pull together something fun for us.

Ayano manages to trick Michiko into hyping up the crowd to start the match, giving her a chance to sneak in a quick schoolboy for a two count. She rolls up Michiko a few more times with no luck, Ayano throws Michiko into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. She does it again before hitting a snapmare and putting Michiko in a bodyscissors. She eventually lets go and puts Michiko in an inverted crab hold, she lets go of that as well and picks up Michiko but Michiko delivers a scoop slam into a backbreaker. Michiko lifts Ayano back up and hits a scoop slam to the mat, Michiko stomps Ayano down in the corner before putting her in a chinlock. Ayano crawls to the ropes to try to slow down Michiko, but Michiko clubs her in the corner, Ayano fights back with elbows but Michiko boots her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Michiko and she hits a second one, she picks up Ayano and delivers a delayed scoop slam for a two count. Michiko goes for a crab hold but Ayano reverses it into a roll-up, she goes for a few more flash pins but each gets a two count. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she rolls into an inverted crab hold but Michiko gets to the ropes for the break. Michiko gets back in control and quickly puts Ayano in a crab hold, Ayano almost gets to the ropes but Michiko pulls her back to the middle of the ring. Ayano struggles for another moment but has to tap out! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

This was… pretty simple. Ayano isn’t a very good wrestler, I am sure someone on Twitter will get mad at me saying that but its just the simple truth. So her offense was either really basic, weak, or goofy and she never felt like she was in a position to win this match. Michiko always works better when she has a quality foil, she is fundamentally very sound and her offense looked fine, but there just wasn’t much to the match until Michiko put away Ayano with a crab hold. Hopefully Michiko gets more interesting competition for the rest of the review series.

Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 2 on August 4th, 2021
Next, Miyagi wrestles Momoka Hanazono! If you are not familar with Momoka, don’t feel too bad, as she wrestles in pretty small promotions. She wrestles most frequently in Dotonbori Pro but also wrestles in Colega Pro, plus occasionally she visits OZ Academy and wrestler produced events. She’s never wrestled for a title or anything like that, and is pretty under-the-radar on the Joshi scene. While this isn’t a big match either, she does get to wrestle a proven wrestler on a show that is readily available to view so that’s something, lets see if she can impress.

Momoka asks Michiko for a handshake to start, but its all a ruse as she applies a small package for a quick two count. She tries a few more flash pins but Michiko kicks out of each, Michiko throws Momoka into the corner but Momoka rebounds out with an attempted hurricanrana. Michiko catches her however and hits a sit-down powerbomb, picking up a two count. Michiko stomps on Momoka while she is near the ropes, she picks up Momoka and puts her in the tree of woe. Dropkick by Michiko and she pinches Momoka’s belly (I guess that would hurt), Michiko stomps on Momoka but Momoka elbows her back. Momoka hits a few more elbows but Michiko boots her in the face for her trouble, Michiko goes for a crab hold but Momoka blocks it and cradles Michiko for two. Momoka goes for a bodyscissors but Michiko catches her, she throws Momoka into the mat and puts her in the crab hold. Momoka gets to the ropes for the break, Michiko picks her up and goes off the ropes but Michiko catches her with a cross armbreaker takedown. Michiko quickly gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Momoka goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick for a two count. Momoka picks up Michiko but Michiko blocks the suplex, Momoka gets Michiko’s back however and applies a sleeper hold. Michiko drives Momoka into the corner to break the hold but Momoka jumps off the turnbuckle with a diving hurricanrana before applying a small package for two. Sunset flip into a jackknife by Momoka but Michiko gets out of the hold and applies a Backslide for the three count! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

What I liked about this one compared to the last is even though it was pretty simple, I got the real sense that Momoka could pull of the upset victory. She had several convincing nearfalls and got in some legitimate offense, so even though she was never in control for long she had enough spots that it didn’t feel like she was totally outmatched. As everyone knows, I love a good cross armbreaker takedown, so that helped. Michiko continues to be sound if not overly interesting, but she got a little desperate here which gave her a chance to show a bit more emotion. Nothing earth shattering but a solid little match.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 3 on September 1st, 2021
This one is a little different from the other matches in the series. Not only does Michiko Miyagi have new wrestlers to interact with but all three of these are at a different level than we have seen leading up to this match. Rina Yamashita is a veteran of the Joshi scene, she was best known for her work in WAVE but since leaving WAVE has found success in SEAdLINNNG and Ice Ribbon. Ryo Mizunami is the most seasoned of the bunch, she also had a lot of success in WAVE before going Freelance a few years ago. Yuu started her career in Tokyo Joshi Pro but left the promotion to go Freelance, currently she reps Pro Wrestling EVE. There is no weak link here as all four are quality wrestlers, this may get a little goofy at times but if they stay focused this could be a stealthy good match.

Rina and Yuu start the match, headlock by Rina but Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Yuu finally manages to knock Rina off her feet after they battle a few times, but Rina hits a lariat in the corner and tags in Michiko. Michiko tries to suplex Yuu but can’t get her over, Rina comes in to help but Yuu ends up suplexing both of them. Yuu tags Ryo, Ryo clubs on Michiko before Michiko goes for shoulderblocks, but Ryo doesn’t go down. Kick by Ryo and she delivers a hard shoulderblock that is successful, Ryo chops Michiko in the corner before doing her slow charge-up for a running lariat. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she delivers a spinning sidewalk slam for a two count. Running senton by Yuu, but Rina breaks up the cover. Yuu picks up Michiko and repeatedly chops her, Michiko blocks one but Yuu chops her again anyway and covers her for two. Yuu gets Michiko on her shoulder but Michiko slides away and hits a vertical suplex, giving her time to tag in Rina.

Running knee by Rina and she delivers a scoop slam, but she goofs around for too long and eats a chop from Yuu. More chops by Yuu but Rina drops her with a DDT, Rina goes for a German suplex but Yuu lands on top of her for a two count. Jumping kick by Rina but Yuu hits a hip toss, she rolls to her corner and tags in Ryo. Ryo picks up Rina but Rina knees her in the head as the two trade strikes. They both try to lariat the other over until Rina gets Ryo to the mat, she goes for a sliding lariat but Ryo kicks her in the face and both end up flat on their back after a double lariat. Rina tags in Michiko, elbows by Michiko to Ryo but Ryo blocks the suplex and they trade shots. Rina comes in but Ryo shoulderblocks both of them, cannonball by Yuu in the corner and Ryo hits a lariat on Michiko. Ryo picks up Michiko but Michiko slides away, cradling her for two. A schoolboy also gets a two count, Yuu tries to help but Michiko throws Ryo into Yuu. Ryo quickly recovers and hits a lariat, Hot Limit by Ryo on Michiko and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Yuu are the winners.

These four could have a match like this in their sleep, so while it was a perfectly fine tag match it didn’t exactly break any new ground either. I find it interesting that in this series of matches that Michiko Miyagi has been wrestling underneath most of the wrestlers. She has a fair amount of experience and has had high profile spots in her career, but it appears that GLEAT is almost having her start from the bottom and work her way back up. The action here was all good, they kept the goofiness to a minimum and didn’t waste time with meaningless submission holds, it was pretty much all offense from start to finish. I enjoyed it but not a whole lot can be said about it, its a solid match that you’d expect from them that stayed active from bell to bell.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 6 on September 29th, 2021
We wrap up this series of matches as Michiko Miyagi takes on Rina Shingaki. Rina Shingaki wrestles out of 2AW, she has already announced her intention to retire in November so this is a bit of a farewell tour for her. Her career mostly stayed under the radar – she won a few titles in BBW but no one watches that and she had limited success both in her home promotion and during her visits to other places. She’s been a semi-regular in Ice Ribbon and OZ Academy however and is a solid hand, the type of wrestler that may not pop off the page but every promotion needs to keep things rolling. Michiko edges her in experience but she hasn’t been wrestling like it in GLEAT, so we’ll see what they put together.

They circle each other to start, wristlock by Rina and she gets Michiko to the mat. Rina focuses on Michiko’s arm as she attacks it in the ropes, kick to the arm by Rina and she knocks Michiko into the corner. Rina twists Michiko’s arm in the ropes some more, Michiko charges Rina but Rina moves and Michiko falls in the corner again. Double knee to the arm by Rina, she picks up Michiko and flips her to the mat before applying an armbar. Michiko quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Rina picks up Michiko but Michiko gets way and sneaks in a DDT. Michiko quickly puts Rina’s legs on the top rope and hits a cyclone neckbreaker, Michiko picks up Rina and goes for a tombstone but Rina slides away and slams Michiko’s arm into the mat. Kick by Rina but Michiko elbows her back, they trade strikes until Michiko catches Rina and drops her with a tombstone piledriver. Slow cover by Michiko, but Rina has recovered and slaps on a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches it to a double armbar but Michiko gets too close to the ropes, so Rina pulls her back to the middle of the ring and applies the SBT Lock 2. Michiko barely struggles before she quickly submits! Rina Shingaki wins the match!

The way that Michiko is wrestling in GLEAT is fascinating to me. Its like she really is starting from scratch as she was dominated here by a wrestler with far less experience and successes. Rina is a respected midcard submission wrestler but to so methodically defeat Michiko in Michiko’s promotion is not what I was expecting. The arm work was really well done, and Michiko’s selling was great, so I enjoyed everything about their execution. It needed a few more minutes and maybe another “hope” spot or two by Michiko to look like maybe she would win (she never seemed close to victory), but the action itself was really well done. Rina’s retirement won’t send major ripples or anything but she does have a style that isn’t common on the Joshi scene so those that enjoy submission-based offense will no doubt miss her. Probably the best match of this series, nothing earth shattering but an entertaining match.  Mildly Recommended

The post GLEAT Joshi Match Reviews (July 2021 to September 2021) appeared first on Joshi City.

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

Notable Matches:

• November  29th, 2020 vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Signature Moves:

• Dropkick
• Spear

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• None Yet

In Action:

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