Event: Marvelous 6th Anniversary
Date: May 1st, 2022
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko and Passmarket

I don’t get to watch a lot of Marvelous these days, which is a shame since they are a fun little promotion. Run by Chigusa Nagayo and led by Takumi Iroha, they have had a lot of issues the last few years with wrestlers leaving or getting injured, but they still plug along and put on entertaining events. This is a big show for them, as for their Anniversary event they are running Korakuen Hall. Its not a long event with only five matches (I’ll only be reviewing the Joshi matches, so four for our purposes), but that doesn’t mean it won’t deliver. Even though this is a Marvelous event, the titles for the revived GAEA Japan promotion will be defended, since Chigusa Nagayo is a big part of its occasional revival. Here is the Joshi portion of the card:

• An Chamu, Chikayo Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Miyako Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka
• Maria vs. Riko Kawahata
• AAAW Championship: Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
• AAAW Tag Team Championship: Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe

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

An Chamu, Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka

Team Matsumoto attack their opponents from behind to start the match, Chamu is isolated and triple teamed in the corner. Makoto and Nagashima eventually return to even the odds, and eventually Houzan stays in the ring with Chamu to become the legal wrestlers. Kick to the check by Chamu, she picks up Houzan while Nagashima comes in the ring so they can double team her. Chamu tags Makoto, kick by Makoto to Houzan and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Another shoulderblock by Makoto, and she covers Houzan for two. Makoto works a headlock, Houzan pushes her back into the corner and Makoto tags Nagashima and Nagashima keeps up the assault on Houzan, but Houzan eventually delivers a dropkick and tags Matsumoto. Matsumoto throws Nagashima into the corner but when she charges in, Nagashima puts her in a hanging armbar. She lets go and steps on Matsumoto’s hands, running kick by Nagashima and she covers Matsumoto for two. Nagashima goes for another kick but it gets blocked, Nagashima knocks Matsumoto to the mat but Matsumoto bridges out of the pin. Nagashima returns to the dominate position anyway, Complete Shot by Nagashima and she tags Chamu.

Chamu dropkicks Matsumoto before hitting a DDT for a two count. Schoolboy by Chamu and she applies a figure four, but Matsumoto gets to the ropes for the break. Chamu goes for a hip attack but Matsumoto moves, kick by Matsumoto and she delivers a Stunner followed by a Shining Wizard for two. Matsumoto tags Oka, lots of dropkicks by Oka and she covers Chamu for two. Face crusher by Oka, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagashima grabs her from the apron. This gives Chamu time to recover and she throws Oka back to the mat, hair toss by Chamu and she hits a running double knee in the corner. Chamu picks up Oka, Oka gets away from her but Chamu kicks Oka in the head. Fisherman suplex by Chamu, and she covers Oka for two. Makoto is tagged in, Makoto boots Oka in the corner and hits an armdrag. Makoto applies an armbar but it gets broken up, scoop slam by Oka and everyone on her team runs over Makoto’s stomach. Nagashima and Chamu eventually get in the ring to help their partner, spinning headscissors by Oka to Makoto and she hits a dropkick. Oka charges Makoto but Makoto drop toeholds her into the ropes and delivers a big boot for two. Drop toehold by Oka and she cradles Makoto for two. Dropkick by Oka and she tags Houzan, dropkicks by Houzan to Makoto and she covers her for two. Houzan picks up Makoto and hits a series of elbows, dropkick by Houzan but Makoto boots her in the throat.

Double kneedrop by Makoto, but it gets two. Makoto picks up Houzan but Houzan slides away, and the two trade flash pins for two counts. Double underhook suplex by Makoto and she tags Nagashima, boots by Nagashima to Houzan but Houzan gets away and delivers a few quick dropkicks. Houzan picks up Nagashima but Nagashima blocks her slam and hits one of her own. She goes off the ropes but Oka cuts her off with a dropkick, double dropkicks to Nagashima and Matsumoto kicks Nagashima in the back. Houzan goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Houzan but it gets two. Houzan goes back up top again with an assist from Oka, but Makoto boots Oka and tosses Houzan to the mat. Chamu kicks Houzan before Nagashima hits a suplex for two. Nagashima goes to the top turnbuckle but Houzan avoids the diving footstomp, Makoto tries to help but boots Nagashima by mistake. Cover by Houzan to Nagashima, but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Nagashima but Houzan rolls her up for two. Houzan goes off the ropes but Nagashima boots her in the head, Nagashima picks up Houzan and nails a Fisherman Buster for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima, Makoto, and An Chamu are the winners!

A perfectly fine multi-wrestler tag match. I haven’t seen Oka in awhile, she looked really good and is coming along well, she flies under the radar due to Sendai Girls’ not being talked about much these days but she certainly has all the basics down. It is difficult in a sub-15 minutes six wrestler match for everyone to get some shine, but no one looked out of place as the veterans controlled things and the young wrestlers got their moments. Ultimately not a match that will stick in the brain but nothing wrong with it either, pretty solid work by all.

Maria vs. Riko Kawahata

They are making it obvious from the start that there is a ten minute time limit, which is an ominous sign. Maria immediately goes for a dropkick but Riko moves, boot by Maria and she kicks Riko into the ropes. Running boot by Maria, she goes to the apron and hits a slingshot footstomp. Kick to the ribs by Maria and she hits a heel drop, Riko recovers but Maria hits a dragon screw. Maria hits Riko in the knee before applying an ankle hold, she lets go after a moment and hits a sliding kick. Maria keeps on Riko’s knee and slams her into the mat, she puts Riko in an armtrap crossface but eventually lets go and picks Riko up. Riko snaps off an enzuigiri and delivers a sliding kick of her own, covering Maria for two. Maria quickly puts Riko in a kneelock but Riko gets to the ropes for the break, Maria charges Riko but Riko moves, sunset flip by Maria and the two trade cradle pin attempts. Maria gets Riko’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, they end up on the ground as Maria pulls on Riko’s arm but Riko doesn’t submit. Maria kicks at Riko but Riko nails her with a superkick, Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Riko but it gets two.

Riko picks up Maria and hits a high kick, knee by Riko and she puts Maria in a cross armbreaker. Maria wiggles to the ropes to get the break, Riko goes off the ropes but Maria hits a dropkick. Cross armbreaker takedown by Maria and she keeps it locked in, but Riko rolls out of it so Maria applies an ankle hold instead. She switches to a cross kneelock and then a figure four leglock, but Riko gets to the ropes. Maria goes off the ropes but Riko boots her, they trade strikes until Maria knocks Riko off her feet. Maria picks up Riko and hits a snap suplex, but Riko returns fire with a release German. Just one minute left in the match as they go into high gear, trading flash pins with no success. Kick by Maria and she goes for Riko’s arm, but Riko rolls away and kicks Maria in the stomach. Head kick by Riko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Maria avoids the moonsault. Cradle by Maria, but Riko kicks out. Snap suplex by Maria, but the bell rings before she can do anything else as time expires. The match is a Draw.

For a match clearly designed to be a Draw (they kept the time up on the big screen and showed it throughout), this was really good. I’m a little behind in my Marvelous viewing but Maria is progressing really well, I don’t know why she isn’t getting more of a push somewhere but she has a lot of great moves and shows emotion. Her submission game is smooth, everything they did was fluid. Riko looked good as well but this felt more like a showcase for Maria, which makes sense as this is her home promotion. An entertaining match, would like to see these two get more time without a telegraphed end result.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
AAAW Championship

They tie-up to start, Yuu pushes Takumi into the ropes but she allows Takumi to get back up. They end up on the mat and trade holds, Takumi spins away from Yuu and slaps her back before retreating. Side headlock by Takumi, Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Takumi tries to shoulderblock Yuu over with no luck, she tries again but Yuu shoulderblocks her down. Scoop slam by Yuu but Takumi avoids her running senton, successful shoulderblock by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the chest. Cover by Takumi, but Yuu pushes her off with ease and returns to her feet. Snapmare by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the back, but Yuu gets up and chops Takumi in the chest. Spinning sidewalk slam by Yuu and she hits a senton, Takumi quickly rolls out of the ring and tries to recover. She eventually does so and gets on the apron, but Yuu knocks her back down to the floor. Yuu drops down in the ring and rolls out of it and over the apron, landing on top of Takumi. Yuu returns to the ring as Takumi slowly follows, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi kicks her, she goes for a suplex but Yuu pushes her away. Kick combination by Takumi and she hits a PK followed by a sliding kick. Snap vertical suplex by Takumi, she picks up Yuu and applies a sleeper hold. Yuu inches to the ropes and makes it to force a break, Takumi kicks Yuu in the corner and delivers a dropkick.

Another kick by Takumi but Yuu eventually catches one and chops Takumi in the chest. They trade blows until Yuu knocks Takumi to the mat, she picks her back up and hits a crossbody for a two count. Yuu gets on the second turnbuckle but Takumi recovers and hits an elbow, she joins Yuu and hits a superplex down to the mat. Takumi positions Yuu and goes to the top turnbuckle, diving senton by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Takumi throws Yuu into the corner and tries to pick her up, but Yuu won’t budge. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu knocks her to the mat, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Takumi for two. Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Takumi blocks it, slaps by Yuu but Takumi blocks the powerbomb again. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu slams her to the mat, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a Reverse Splash for a two count. Yuu goes up top but Takumi elbows her, Takumi joins Yuu but Yuu chops her back to the mat and hits a diving crossbody for two. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a back bodydrop, Yuu quickly hits a running senton though to stay in control. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a heel kick, chops by Yuu and she slaps Takumi to the mat. Another chop by Yuu but Takumi elbows her, kicks by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Kick combination by Takumi, she goes for a powerbomb but Yuu shrugs her off. More kicks by Takumi, she puts Yuu in the corner and positions her for the Running Three. Yuu blocks it so Takumi superkicks her in the face, she tries again and this time nails the Running Three for the three count! Takumi Iroha wins and retains the championship.

This was a really fun match, however it may have gone a few minutes longer than it needed to based on the setup. The story of the match was simple – Yuu was bigger and stronger than Takumi so Takumi slowly cut her down with strikes until she was weak enough to get up for the Running Three. Its a good story but a heavyweight hoss/strike battle doesn’t necessarily need to be 20+ minutes to tell it as it did get a little repetitive at times. Takumi’s kicks always deliver and the match felt like hers to lose from the start as Yuu didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls – the story was always about Takumi. A match I enjoyed for sure, a safe defense for Takumi but still a solid one.  Recommended

Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe
AAAW Tag Team Championship

The kids attack the vets before the match starts, Watanabe is then isolated and double teamed. Rin stays in as legal and snapmares Watanabe, hitting a sliding knee for a two count. Watanabe comes back with a suplex and hits a scoop slam, leg drop by Watanabe and she puts Rin in a crab hold. Rin gets out of it so Watanabe puts her in a Scorpion Deathlock instead, Ito comes in and stands on Rin’s hands before stomping on them. Watanabe lets go of the hold so she and Ito can drive Rin’s knees into the mat, Watanabe tags Ito and Ito lariats Watanabe in the corner. Crab hold by Ito, Itsuki tries to break it up but is unable to do so. Ito pulls on Rin’s hair but eventually stops and applies a chinlock, Itsuki tries to help again and eventually Ito lets go. Ito stands on Rin and applies a single leg crab hold, but Rin gets to the ropes for the break. Rin finally hits a move as she delivers a jumping neck drop, giving her time to tag Itsuki. Itsuki elbows Ito but Ito elbows her to the mat, Itsuki gets back up but promptly is elbowed down again. She keeps trying with no luck, but does manage to get Ito off her feet with a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki, but it gets two. Itsuki tries to pick up Ito but Ito blocks it, Irish whip by Ito and Itsuki tries to shoulderblock Ito over with no success. Hard shoulderblock by Ito and she hits a footstomp, running senton by Ito and she covers Itsuki for a two count. Ito tags Watanabe, Watanabe goes for a suplex but Rin attacks her from behind.

Double Irish whip to Watanabe but she hits a double rebound crossbody on both of her opponents, Itsuki manages to get Watanabe down with a drop toehold (with some help) and hits a sliding kick. Itsuki sets up Watanabe in the ropes and chargers in, but Ito grabs Itsuki from the apron and Watanabe hits a lariat. Watanabe goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a STO for two. Itsuki tags Rin, they pick up Watanabe but Ito runs in with a double lariat. Itsuki and Rin recover and hit a double superkick to Watanabe, diving body press by Itsuki from the second turnbuckle and Rin follows with a double footstomp for a two count. Rin picks up Watanabe but Ito returns again and hits a lariat. Ito tries again to help but she hits Watanabe by accident, release German by Rin to Watanabe but Watanabe returns to her feet. Rin plants her again, this time with a release Dragon Suplex, she hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold but Watanabe kicks out. Rin gets Watanabe’s back, Itsuki superkicks Watanabe and Rin hits a crucifix drop for two. Double superkick to Ito, Rin tries to superkick Watanabe but she hits Itsuki by accident. Lariat by Watanabe to Rin and she tags Ito. Lariat by Ito, and she covers Rin for two. Ito picks up Rin and nails a powerbomb, Itsuki runs in but Ito drops her with a uranage.

Rin and Itsuki end up outside the ring and Ito drills them both with a dropkick through the ropes, Watanabe throws Rin back in and Ito delivers a sit-out powerbomb but Itsuki breaks up the pin. Watanabe gets on the top turnbuckle, Ito feeds Rin to her and Watanabe hits a diving lariat. The cover is broken up again, Ito gets on the second turnbuckle but Itsuki elbows her before she can jump off. Watanabe takes care of Itsuki which allows Ito to hit a diving footstomp, but her cover is broken up. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press to Rin, Ito goes all the way up but Itsuki grabs her from the apron. Itsuki distracts Ito until Rin can recover, Rin joins Ito and hits a Frankensteiner. Rin waits for Ito to get up and hits a jumping DDT, but she is too hurt to capitalize and Ito is up first. Ito picks up Rin as Watanabe runs in, but Watanabe lariats Ito by mistake. Itsuki gets Rin on her shoulders and helps her set up for the crucifix slam on Ito, Rin hits the move on Ito and holds her down for the three count! Rin Kadokura and Itsuki Aoki are the new champions!

Poorly done ending aside, with Ito not even willing to keep her shoulders on the mat for a big title win up for grabs, this was a VERY Veteran vs. Young Underdog match. The entire structure was just Itsuki and Rin doing their damnedest to just knock their opponents off their feet, let along get a nearfall. Its not necessarily a bad story, and with Ito and Watanabe definitely not a surprising one, as that has been their go-to match setup for probably the last 15 years. But it led to some problems, like some really iffy transitions (for example when Ito recovered first after being dropped by Rin’s DDT) and the win coming across as a fluke lucky win. Rin and Itsuki are both exciting young wrestlers, so giving them a tiny bit more of a rub wouldn’t have hurt anything, although its surprising enough that Watanabe and Ito lost so I guess we have to take what we can get. I give Itsuki and Rin credit for trying hard, and Ito/Watanabe for mostly rolling with the punches, but it still would be disingenuous to say the match was good even if they got the winners right. It wasn’t bad, and is perfectly watchable, but predictable in structure and for such a big match it would have been nice if they had gone a little outside the box to surprise us.

The post Marvelous 6th Anniversary on 5/1/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “OSAKA SUPER WARS ~ OSAKA SUPER WOMEN’S WAR”
Date: December 18th, 2021
Location: Osaka Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,222
Broadcast: PPV and Stardom World

Even though I am a little behind (when am I not?), I still wanted to review this event just because its wacky. This show is very unique as Stardom isn’t generally known for crazy gimmick matches. Here though, several matches have a gimmick or an unusual quality to them, including a ladder match! Also we get a big elimination tag match, with the end result being either Momo Watanabe joining Oedo Tai or Starlight Kid being forced to unmask. Here is the full card:

• Gauntlet Match: Syuri vs Lady C, Mai Sakurai, and Waka Tsukiyama
• Artist of Stardom Championship and 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final: Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Takumi Iroha, Rin Kadokura, and Maria
• 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final: Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma vs. Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, and Mina Shirakawa
• Captain’s Fall Match: Konami, Starlight Kid, Saki Kashima, and Ruaka vs. Utami Hayashishita, Momo Watanabe, Saya Kamitani, and AZM
• Artist of Stardom Championship and10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Final, Elimination Ladder Match: Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma

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

Syuri vs Lady C, Mai Sakurai, and Waka Tsukiyama
Gauntlet Match
Syuri didn’t have anything to do on this event, so here she is in the opener in what will no doubt be a series of easy wins for her. In theory, a gauntlet match wouldn’t favor the wrestler that has to go against three different wrestlers in a row, but they made sure this was lopsided enough that we all know what is going to happen. Maybe this will be good experience for the newer wrestlers, but in the end I doubt this match will accomplish much.

Syuri vs. Waka Tsukiyama is the first match of the gauntlet. Syuri quickly takes down Waka and they trade holds on the mat, elbows by Waka but Syuri avoids the dropkick. Syuri gets Waka on her shoulders but Waka slides off, she tries a few flash pins but doesn’t have any luck. Waka gets Syuri’s back but Syuri flings her to the mat before kicking Waka in the back. Syuri throws Waka into the corner, Irish whip attempt by Syuri but Waka blocks it and slams her to the mat for two. Waka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and hits a series of elbows. Waka goes off the ropes but Syuri nails her with a head kick, cover by Syuri and she gets the three count! Syuri wins!

Syuri vs. Mai Sakurai starts immediately, strikes by Mai and she hits a drop toehold. STF by Mai but Syuri crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Mai goes off the ropes but Syuri knees her in the midsection, snap suplex by Syuri and she covers Mai for two. Syuri gets on the second turnbuckle but Waka elbows her before she can jump off, cutter by Mai back to the mat and she hits a diving elbow drop from the second turnbuckle for a two count cover. Syuri catches Mai with a STO, sleeper by Syuri and Mai taps out! Syuri wins again!

Syuri vs. Lady C again starts with no delay, boot by Lady C but Syuri avoids the next attempt. The two trade elbows in the middle of the ring, boots by Lady C and she hits a jumping neckdrop for a two count. Lady C picks up Syuri but Syuri blocks the chokeslam, DDT by Syuri and she puts Lady C in a figure four leglock. Lady C makes it to the ropes for the break, stomps by Syuri but Lady C ducks a kick and chops Syuri in the head. Lady C gets Syuri up and nails the chokeslam, cover by Lady C but it gets a two count. Lady C applies a modified chokehold but Syuri gets out of it, running knee by Syuri and she covers Lady C for two. Syuri pulls Lady C to the middle of the ring and re-applies the figure four leglock, and this time Lady C taps out! Syuri wins the final match of the gauntlet!

This went about how you’d expect. Syuri gave all three a little bit of offense but not enough to be meaningful before putting them away with relative ease. Since this was a pre-show match, it didn’t hurt anything to have it exist, but it certainly didn’t really do anything for any of the wrestlers long term either. Really just an exhibition to show that Syuri is a danger to lower-end wrestlers.

Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Takumi Iroha, Kadokura, and Maria
Artist of Stardom Championship and 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final
Marvelous invades Stardom to not only get a title shot but to take part in the 10 Million Yen Contest tournament. Since the Trios champions are in the tournament, the titles are also on the line for each match so whichever team wins the tournament will also end up the champs as well. The champions come in representing DDM, led by Giulia. The challengers all hail from Marvelous, a promotion run by Chigusa Nagayo and includes their ace in Iroha along with young wrestlers Kadokura and Maria. The champions come in the favorites but it still should be a solid match as all six are quality wrestlers with various skill sets.

Rin and Maika start the match and tie-up, but end up breaking cleanly. They get back into it and trade holds but again end up in a stalemate so they tag out as Himeka and Takumi come in. Irish whip by Takumi as they both try to shoulderblock each other over, with Himeka eventually winning as she sends Takumi to the mat. Takumi fires back with an uppercut and stomps on Himeka, she tags in Maria and Maria dropkicks Himeka in the head. Maria goes for a scoop slam but Himeka blocks it, hitting one of her own before she tags in Natsupoi. Stomps by Natsupoi and she dropkicks Maria in the back, elbows by Natsupoi but Maria catches her with a dropkick. Bootscrapes by Maria and she hits a slingshot footstomp, kick to the ribs by Maria and she covers Natsupoi for two. Maria tags Takumi, Takumi kicks Natsupoi in the chest and drops her with a scoop slam. Body press by Takumi, but Natsupoi kicks out of the cover. Takumi chops Natsupoi in the corner but Natsupoi fires back with elbows, leg kick by Takumi and she tags Rin. Snapmare by Rin and she delivers a sliding kick to Natsupoi’s chest, cover by Rin but Natsupoi kicks out.

Jumping lariat by Rin, she picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi flips away from her and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes off the ropes but Rin avoids her dropkick, Rin then goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick of her own. She goes for a slam but Natsupoi blocks it, the two trade elbows until Natsupoi kicks Rin in the midsection and connects with a neckbreaker. This gives her time to tag in Maika, shoulderblocks by Maika to all her opponents and she lariats Rin in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Maika to Rin, and she covers her for two. Maika goes off the ropes but Rin catches her with a superkick, vertical suplex by Rin and she covers Maika for two. Maika elbows Rin but Takumi tags herself in and nails a jumping heel kick on Maika. She goes for a kick but Maika catches it, the two trade elbows until Takumi superkicks Maika in the back of the head. Irish whip by Takumi to the corner, reversed, but Rin and Maria both run in and all three attack Maika in the corner. Maika fires out of the corner with a shoulderblock on Takumi, kick combination by Takumi to Maika and she delivers a sliding kick. Takumi picks up Maika and hits a snap vertical suplex, Takumi goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a powerslam.

She tags in Himeka as they triple team Takumi, PK by Himeka to Takumi and she covers her for two. High kick by Takumi to Himeka, Rin goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Assisted Fameasser by Rin to Himeka, cover by Takumi but it gets broken up. Takumi goes up top but Maika joins her and hits a superplex. Sliding lariat by Himeka, she goes off the ropes but Takumi grabs her arm and applies a Fujiwara Armbar. Himeka rolls out of it, Takumi drops her with a pair of head kicks and she tags in Maria. Dropkick by Maria and she applies a cross armbreaker, but it quickly gets broken up. Maria gets Himeka’s back but Himeka gets into the ropes to get a break, Himeka tries to get Maria on her shoulders but Maria slides off and applies a cradle for two. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Maria goes off the ropes but Maika and Natsupoi both run in to attack her. Diving crossbody by Natsupoi to Maria, cover by Himeka but Takumi breaks it up. Sliding lariat by Himeka and she hits a second hard lariat, she sets up Maria in the turnbuckle and grabs her, nailing a powerbomb for the three count! DDM retain their titles advances in the tournament!

A perfectly fine match, although ultimately forgettable. The chemistry wasn’t an issue, although they didn’t have the more complex spots you see from Stardom sometimes since the Stardom wrestlers are so familiar with each other that it probably takes a bit of an adjustment when Marvelous comes to town. While I like all six of these wrestlers, Maika and Himeka are two of my favorites so I wish they could have done more – luckily they will be wrestling again in the main event. Time went by pretty quick and everything clicked well, this combination of wrestlers couldn’t have a bad match if they tried, but while the action was solid it was missing that something something to put it over the top. Still fun though.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma vs. Nakano, Sayaka, and Shirakawa
10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final
This is the other Semi Final of the tournament, as we get ready for the Finals later tonight. Here we see STARS vs. Cosmic Angels, two of the other factions in Stardom. The STARS team is pretty stacked, with The Icon teaming with the recently returned Hazuki and Koguma. On the other team, Tam Nakano leads the Cosmic Angels and is the most accomplished of the trio, as she is joined by Sayaka and Shirakawa. In terms of overall ability I’d give the edge to the STARS team but anything can happen in a six woman tag.

Koguma and Mina start the match, Mina gets cute and poses but Koguma quickly cradles her from behind for two. Mina gets the last laugh as she poses on top of Koguma, Tam and Sayaka come in and they triple team Koguma. Cover by Mina, but it gets two. Mina puts Koguma in the Romero Special but lets her go after a moment before tagging in Tam. Tam hits a running elbow in the corner, kick combination by Tam and she delivers a heel drop for a two count. Tam throws Koguma in the corner and tags Sayaka, snapmare by Sayaka and she puts Koguma in a camel clutch. Sayaka picks up Koguma and boots her in the face, running facebuster by Sayaka and she covers Koguma for two. Sayaka goes off the ropes but Koguma trips her, dropkick by Koguma and she makes the hot tag to Mayu. Dropkick by Mayu and she kicks Sayaka in the stomach, Irish whip by Mayu and she hits a bridging suplex for two. Mayu goes off the ropes but Sayaka catches her with a Codebreaker, she goes for a leg drop but Mayu rolls out of the way.

Sayaka gets Mayu on her back with the Gory Special, but Hazuki breaks it up. Hazuki stays in but Sayaka drops both of them before hitting a double legdrop. Sayaka tags in Tam, Tam comes in the ring with a diving crossbody to Mayu for a two count. Tam picks up Mayu and elbows her into the corner, Tam charges but Mayu moves and delivers a sliding kick to Tam’s face. Tam slides away from Mayu and both miss high kicks, mid-kick by Mayu and she superkicks Tam in the head. She goes off the ropes but Sayaka snaps her neck over the top rope from the apron, German Suplex Hold by Tam but it gets broken up. Irish whip by Tam but Mayu hits a Sling Blade, giving her time to tag Hazuki. Hazuki hits a swandive missile dropkick on Tam before applying an armtrap crossface, but Tam gets into the ropes for the break. Hazuki goes for the boot but Tam moves, Backstabber by Hazuki and Koguma hits a DDT. Running senton by Hazuki, but Tam kicks out at two. Hard elbow by Hazuki but Tam returns fire and the two trade blows. Tam eventually ducks a Hazuki lariat and cradles her for two, backdrop suplex by Tam and both wrestlers are hurt on the mat. Tam is up first and tags in Mina, running elbow by Mina in the corner and she delivers a sliding kick for two.

Mina goes for a slam but Hazuki blocks it, Mayu runs in and superkicks Mina before Koguma hits a cutter. Pump Kick by Hazuki to Mina and she slams Mina for a two count. Koguma picks up Mina but Mina reverses the suplex, head kick by Tam to Hazuki and Sayaka hits a leg drop. Assisted face crusher by Mina to Hazuki, but the cover is broken up. Tam and Sayaka take care of Mayu and Koguma, sending both out of the ring. Tam then gets on the top rope and with help dives out onto all three opponents with a plancha. Sayaka slides Hazuki back in while Mina goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a diving forearm smash on Hazuki for two. Mina gets Hazuki up but Hazuki blocks the DDT, spinning backfist by Mina and she nails the elevated DDT this time. Cover by Mina, but it barely gets broken up by Mayu. Tam and Sayaka get rid of Mayu and Koguma again, they all go to Hazuki and deliver heel drops. Mina picks up Hazuki but Hazuki slides away and quickly applies the Hazukistral for the three count! STARS win the match and advance to the Finals.

The structure of this one was unique, as they did very few tags. I’m too lazy to count but I believe that STARS only had two tags all match and the Cosmic Angels didn’t have many more than that. Probably made it easier for planning purposes but it almost felt like a series of singles matches except for the constant teamwork. That chaos did make the match more entertaining and was its saving grace, as much of the 1 vs. 1 action was nothing special. Mina and Sayaka continue to improve since joining Stardom in what they showed here, and Mayu always takes over any match she is in. I’m not a huge trios fan in general for the reason this match showed, as with under 15 minutes I didn’t feel like I got to really enjoy any one wrestler as there wasn’t enough time for everyone to show off. The chaotic cooperation within each team helped make the match pretty enjoyable, but I wish it felt more like a tag match with the general structure.  Mildly Recommended

Konami, Starlight Kid, Kashima, and Ruaka vs. Hayashishita, Watanabe, Kamitani, and AZM
Captain’s Fall Elimination and Unit Change Match
In a match heavily built-up leading into the show, one of the factions in Stardom is about to change and maybe we get to see Starlight Kid’s face. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid have been feuding for months, climaxing with this match. There are several stipulations here – first, it is a Captain’s Fall Elimination Match, meaning the match can’t end until Momo or Starlight Kid are eliminated. Eliminations can take place via pinfall, submission, DQ, or Over The Top Rope. As this is also a Unit Change Match, the loser between Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid will be forced to join the other faction. AND if Starlight Kid loses, she must unmask. So a lot going on! This match is pretty packed with talent, the edge goes to Queen’s Quest but Starlight Kid has been on a tear since joining Oedo Tai.

All eight wrestlers brawl to start the match, Queen’s Quest gets the early advantage as they isolate Starlight Kid. Utami stays in as the legal wrestler, she tries to throw Starlight Kid out of the ring but Starlight Kid gets out of it and rolls up Utami. Scoop slam by Utami and she tags AZM, AZM throws Starlight Kid into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Cover by AZM, but it gets two. AZM goes off the ropes but Konami cuts her off, Starlight Kid hits a springboard crossbody and tags Konami into the match. Snapmare by Konami and she kicks AZM in the back, Konami applies a stretch hold but it gets broken up. Konami throws AZM into the corner and chokes her with her boot, she tags in Ruaka and Ruaka kicks at AZM. Irish whip by Ruaka but AZM snaps off a hurricanrana, dropkick by AZM and she tags Utami. Dropkick by Utami but Saki comes in to help Ruaka, Utami throws Ruaka into Saki however and dropkicks her. Irish whip by Utami, reversed, and the two both try to shoulderblock over the other. Ruaka wins the exchange and tags in Konami, running knee by Konami and she delivers a sliding kick. Konami picks up Utami but Utami gets Konami on her shoulders, Konami slides off and applies a submission but it gets quickly broken up. Utami quickly picks up Konami and hits a Samoan Drop, the rest of her teammates come in and all four of Queen’s Quest dropkick Konami. Utami gets Konami up and tries to throw her out of the ring, but Konami hang onto her arm to block as she dangles over the top rope. Konami keeps tugging and eventually falls out of the ring after her, as both wrestlers crash to the floor. Utami Hayashishita and Konami are both eliminated via Over The Top.

Momo and Starlight Kid come in as the legal wrestlers, Momo goes for a slam but Starlight Kid blocks it and sends Momo to the mat. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, she goes off the ropes and hits a spinning headscissors. The rest of Oedo Tai run in and deliver strikes in the corner, Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the Swivel Body Press but the pin is broken up. AZM dropkicks Starlight Kid, Momo follows with a Somato but it gets a two count. Momo goes for the B Driver and nails it, but Saki breaks up the cover. Momo tags Saya, knee by Saya in the corner to Starlight Kid and she delivers a dropkick. Saki tagged herself in from the apron and comes in with a headscissors on Saya, Irish whip by Saya to the corner but Saki flips her out to the apron. Saya goes for a springboard move but Saki pushes her back to the apron, she goes off the ropes but Saya recovers and hits a swandive crossbody. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Saya, but it gets broken up. Momo and Saya both get up in the same turnbuckle and hit jumping knees, Saya picks up Saki but Saki blocks the fisherman suplex and puts Saya in the Kishikaisei for two. Saki goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a jumping heel kick, Saya picks up Saki but Saki slides away and applies the Kishikaisei for the three count! Saya Kamitani is eliminated via pinfall.

AZM replaces Saya in the ring, she gets Saki to the mat and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Saki avoids the diving footstomp. Ruaka tags in and hits a hard shoulderblock, fisherman suplex attempt by Ruaka but AZM reverses it into a Fujiwara Armbar. Ruaka quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Momo comes in but Ruaka gets the better of things and hits a lariat on AZM. Cover by Ruaka, but Momo breaks it up. Ruaka goes to the top turnbuckle but AZM avoids the Freezer Bomb, dropkick by AZM and she goes up top to deliver a diving footstomp. Cover by AZM, but Ruaka barely gets a shoulder up. Momo comes back and they both dropkick Ruaka in the head, AZM goes off the ropes and puts Ruaka in the Numero Uno (modified armbar). Ruaka struggles for a moment but has to submit! Ruaka is eliminated.

Saki comes in as the new legal wrestler, she goes for the Kishikaisei but AZM blocks it and applies the Azumi Sushi for the three count! Saki Kashima is eliminated. The match is now Momo Watanabe and AZM vs. Starlight Kid.

Starlight Kid as the last wrestler left for Oedo Tai is the legal wrestler, and she is promptly double teamed by Momo and AZM. AZM goes up top but Konami gets on the apron to distract her, but that doesn’t stop Momo from hitting Starlight Kid with a PK. Ruaka trips Momo from the apron, giving Starlight Kid time to armdrag AZM off the top turnbuckle. AZM goes for the Azumi Sushi but Starlight Kid reverses it and the two trade flash pins with neither getting the three count. Momo returns and beats down Starlight Kid, she goes out to the apron so that AZM can tag her in. Kicks by Momo to Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid catches one and hits a dragon screw leg whip, she goes off the ropes but AZM kicks her from the apron. Assisted footstomp by AZM to Starlight Kid and she kicks her in the head, suplex by Momo to Starlight Kid but it only gets two. Momo drags on Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid blocks the Peach Sunrise, Momo then hits the Tequila Sunrise instead but the referee is pulled out of the ring while he tries to make the three count. Momo and AZM both kick Starlight Kid in the head, but Starlight Kid blocks the next attempt and AZM kicks Momo in the head by mistake. Victory roll by Starlight Kid, but it gets two. Starlight Kid picks up Momo and hits a side Russian leg sweep, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a moonsault. Starlight Kid drags up Momo and hits a modified Tombstone, but her cover is broken up. Starlight Kid gets a Oedo Tai briefcase tossed to her, but the referee takes it before she can use it. She then gets a chair instead, she tosses it to Momo and then dropkicks the chair into her. Momo stands up with the chair however, she acts like she is going to hit Starlight Kid but she hits AZM instead! She then hits the referee as well, leading to her being disqualified. Momo Watanabe is eliminated via DQ, and Oedo Tai wins the match!

I’m going to not talk about the action itself (it was fine?) and rant (again!) about the stupidity of these types of matches in wrestling. Stardom didn’t invent wrestlers turning on their teammates mid-match but they certainly have embraced it, and it has to be one of my least favorite wrestling tropes. Besides the lack of logic in Momo attacking her future teammates for 19 minutes, you then have the issue where the match could have ended many many times before that. If a wrestler is going to turn on their own team it should be early in the match, like the first time they tag in, not at the end of it. I don’t mind Momo going to Oedo Tai but I didn’t need a convoluted match with stipulations that ended on meaning nothing as Momo wanted to join them anyway. I don’t think that Stardom will ever stop doing these “forced to change factions” or worse the “forced to change factions but wait they wanted to change factions” matches like they’ve done twice now in 2021, but I won’t ever like it. Starlight Kid looked great in the match, I will give her that, her future is bright even if this match was dumb and the action was disjointed.

(c) Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma
Artist of Stardom Championship and10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Final, Elimination Ladder Match
More trios action, as we reach the Finals of the tournament in a ladder match! Not only is it a ladder match but its also a title match and an elimination match and a WINNER GETS 10 MILLION YEN match all wrapped into one. Stardom really went into gimmick overkill for this event and I am not really sure why, they have the best women’s roster of any promotion in the world and don’t have to fall back on such things to get attention. But I won’t deny it is fun to see a ladder match in Stardom, and both of these teams are really good. I hope they can adjust to the stipulation better than the last match did, I doubt they’d have the titles change hands on an overly gimmicky match but who knows what will happen on this event.

Koguma and Natsupoi start the match and immediately start climbing the ladder to get the briefcase, they get pulled off and all six wrestlers are already in the ring. Everyone clears out with Koguma and Natsupoi alone again, Natsupoi throws Koguma under the ladder before Koguma starts climbing it once again, but Natsupoi knocks her off and goes for the briefcase herself. Koguma pulls Natsupoi off the ladder, both wrestlers go off the ropes until Koguma tips the ladder on top of Natsupoi. Mayu and Hazuki come in the ring as they put the ladder down and triple team their opponent. Triple dropkick to Natsupoi, Koguma covers her (remember its also an elimination match) but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Koguma near the ropes and she runs on her back, footstomp by Koguma and she covers Natsupoi for two. Koguma tags in Mayu, chop by Mayu in the corner and she snapmares Natsupoi before kicking her in the back. Camel Clutch by Mayu but it gets broken up, Mayu throws Natsupoi into the corner and delivers a dropkick for two. Mayu tags Hazuki, scoop slam by Hazuki and she gives Natsupoi bootscrapes near the ropes followed by a big boot. Hazuki clubs on Natsupoi but Natsupoi flips out of the snapmare and hits a crossbody. She manages to tag in Himeka, shoulderblocks by Himeka but Koguma runs in to break up the Argentine Backbreaker. Himeka shoulderblocks both of them but Hazuki hits a Codebreaker before making the tag to Mayu.

Running strike by Mayu in the corner and she follows that with a sliding kick for a two count. Natsupoi and Maika come in to try to help but Mayu hits a springboard double armdrag on both of them, double dropkick by Mayu but Himeka attacks Mayu from behind. Himeka grabs the ladder and sets it up, she climbs it but Mayu climbs up the other side and the two trade blows at the top of it. Himeka jumps off and runs to Mayu’s side, she gets Mayu on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. The referee gets the ladder out of the way while Maika is tagged in, lariat by Maika to Mayu in the corner and she hits the Fallaway Slam for two. Maika picks up Mayu but Mayu slides away and delivers two kicks for a quick cover. Mayu gets the ladder and sets it up near the corner, she goes to the top of the ladder but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika off the ladder down to the mat, Maika slowly cover Mayu but Koguma breaks it up. Maika picks up Mayu and nails the cross-arm STO, but Mayu barely kicks out. Maika goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits her with a pump kick, cutter by Koguma and they throw Maika into the corner against the ladder. Catapult dropkick by Mayu, she then climbs up the ladder in the corner and nails the moonsault for the three count! Maika is eliminated.

Natsupoi comes in as the legal wrestler with a diving crossbody, she picks up Mayu but Mayu superkicks her into the corner with the ladder propped against it. She tags in Koguma, Koguma hits a body avalanche in the corner followed by a cutter for two. Koguma gets the ladder out of the corner and sets it up in the middle of the ring, she climbs it but Himeka grabs her from behind. All five wrestlers end up trying to climb the ladder at the same time, which naturally doesn’t work and all five end up back on the mat. The action spills out of the ring, Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out but accidentally lands on her own teammates. STARS quickly get back into the ring, they set up the ladder near the ropes and Koguma climbs to the top, diving down onto all three members of DDM. Hazuki and Mayu then get a running start in the ring and hit stereo tope suicidas, Natsupoi is rolled back into the ring while Koguma goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Himeka breaks up the cover. Koguma picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi blocks the suplex attempt and hits a release German of her own. Natsupoi tags in Himeka, Himeka picks up Koguma but Koguma cradles her for two. Koguma goes off the ropes but Himeka levels her with a lariat, she gets Koguma on her shoulders before slamming her to the mat. Hazuki breaks up the cover with the ladder, Koguma recovers first and goes up top but Himeka runs over and grabs her before she can jump off. Koguma blocks the powerbomb attempt and goes for a slam, but Himeka gets out of it and clubs on Koguma’s back. Lariat by Himeka, and she covers Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated.

Hazuki comes in and boots Himeka in the face, Himeka falls in her corner and tags in Natsupoi, who promptly dropkicks Hazuki. She goes for another one but Hazuki boots her in the face, Mayu comes in and they double team Natsupoi. Double boot to Natsupoi, Hazuki picks her up and hits the Michinoku Driver for a two count. Hazuki sets up the ladder and starts climbing it, but Natsupoi grabs her from being and drops her with a German suplex. Natsupoi starts climbing but Mayu grabs her, Himeka gets Mayu up in a powerbomb position and Natsupoi dives off the ladder with a crossbody onto Mayu. Natsupoi sets the ladder back up and climbs it, but Hazuki hits a swandive boot on the ladder to knock her off. Hazuki goes to get the ladder but Himeka comes up from behind and hits a backdrop suplex. Mayu comes in but Himeka plants her with a lariat, Himeka helps Natsupoi climb the ladder while Maika holds the ladder still, and Natsupoi gets the briefcase! DDM win the match, the money, and retain the championship!

This match just had way too much going on. It didn’t need to be both a ladder match and an elimination match and I don’t see what being an elimination match added to it except it gave the wrestlers an excuse to go for covers. The fact two were eliminated had no bearing on the results and it gave the match almost two halves, where for a bulk of it they wrestled it as just a straight match before remembering the ladder, which then was heavily featured in the second half. There were still positives though – the wrestlers have great chemistry and the “big” ladder spots all went off without a hitch. Since ladder matches are rare in Joshi, it does add a layer of excitement and I was impressed by Koguma’s fearlessness. I still mostly enjoyed myself watching this as they kept the action up and they are great wrestlers, but it was just over-gimmicked and had so much going on it distracted from the match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “OSAKA SUPER WARS” on 12/18/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final”
Date: July 1st, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 180
Broadcast: Streamed on Confetti Web

After a long break, I have finally grabbed a Pro Wrestling WAVE event to review! There are a few reasons I don’t watch WAVE often. A big one is as WAVE has no TV deal or regular streaming service, not as many of their shows are readily available. WAVE has been streaming off and on this year on a service called Confetti Web, but its expensive, ranging from $20 to $35 a show. Which I consider expensive due to the other reason I don’t watch much WAVE, which is that their base roster is lackluster so they depend on having quality wrestlers from other places to prop up their shows. Plus, some of their matches tend to be a bit too goofy for my personal taste. Luckily, for Catch the WAVE they did bring in quality outsiders, and this is a full event with six matches. So it could be fun. Here is the full card:

• Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
• Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Yumi Ohka
• Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Momo Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Final: Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this match streamed via an online service, all matches will be shown in full.

Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
We kick off the show with a very traditional veteran vs. rookie match. Tomoko Watanabe is on the Legend tier of veterans, as she has had over a dozen title reigns in a 30 year career. She comes in from Marvelous to take on WAVE’s newest wrestler, as Shizuku just debuted in April. She isn’t a kid, which will help her not get completely squashed, but this will likely still be a one-sided affair. But hopefully the rookie will learn a thing or two in defeat.

Shizuku offers a handshake to start but instead throws Watanabe into the corner, dropkick by Shizuku but Watanabe dropkicks her back. Scoop slam by Watanabe and she hits an elbow drop off the side ropes for a two count. Shizuku gets back up and elbows Watanabe to the ropes, dropkick by Watanabe but Watanabe stays up. Shizuku goes for a scoop slam but Watanabe blocks it, camel clutch by Watanabe but she lets go after a moment so she can apply a single leg crab hold. Shizuku crawls to the ropes to force the break, Watanabe picks up Shizuku and hits a vertical suplex. Watanabe puts the crab hold back on but Watanabe gets a foot on the ropes, Watanabe drags Shizuku back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. She switches to a bodyscissors but Shizuku rolls out of it and hits a series of mounted elbows. Shizuku picks up Watanabe but still can’t slam her, scoop slam by Watanabe and she knees Shizuku in the midsection. Watanabe picks up Shizuku, Shizuku fights back with elbows but again Watanabe slams her.

Shizuku returns to her feet quickly and hits more elbows, but gets slammed for her trouble. Shizuku slowly gets up and hits a few elbows, Watanabe goes for a slam but Shizuku lands on top of her. Dropkicks by Shizuku but Watanabe swats one away and puts her in a single leg crab hold. Shizuku gets to the ropes for the break, Watanabe pulls her back but Shizuku cradles her for two. Shizuku goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Watanabe boots her to the mat for a two count. Irish whip by Watanabe to the corner but Shizuku dropkicks her, cover by Shizuku but it gets two. Shizuku hops up to the second turnbuckle but Watanabe catches her crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Watanabe goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a bodypress, cover by Watanabe but it only gets two. Watanabe picks up Shizuku but Shizuku sneaks in a backslide for two, lariat by Watanabe and she puts Shizuku in a Sharpshooter. Shizuku doesn’t struggle for long before tapping out! Tomoko Watanabe is the winner.

This was a very “by the numbers” veteran vs. rookie match. Which isn’t necessarily bad, this has been the trusted formula since the beginning of wrestling to help bring along new wrestlers. Watanabe dominated, Shizuku got in some hope spots, but ultimately Watanabe was too much for the young wrestler and put her away. A simple but logical story. Too soon to tell what Shizuku’s future in wrestling will be, but not a bad way to start the event.

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
The next two matches will determine who will wrestle in the tournament finals later tonight. Even though Miyuki Takase is affiliated with Actwres girl’Z, she has always been connected with WAVE too as she has wrestled a lot in WAVE since her debut in 2017. In fact she has wrestled in WAVE more than Actwres girl’Z in her career and did some training there as well, so WAVE is her home away from home. She is against Nagisa Nozaki, who is one of the top wrestlers in this “new” version of WAVE and she held their top title for almost the entirety of 2020. Both Nagisa and Miyuki are talented and would fit in well in the Finals of the tournament.

They charge each other to start as they get right into it, Nagisa boots back Miyuki repeatedly but Miyuki catches one and dropkicks Nagisa in the knee. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa moves, and she dumps Miyuki out onto the apron. Nagisa goes for a big boot but Miyuki moves, with Nagisa’s leg getting caught over the top rope. Miyuki takes advantage of this and starts working on Nagisa’s leg, Nagisa falls out of the ring after a moment and Miyuki goes after her. Kick by Nagisa and she boots Miyuki in the head, she waits for Miyuki to get up and charges her but Miyuki delivers a powerslam. Miyuki slams Nagisa’s knee into the floor before sliding her back into the ring, Miyuki drags Nagisa’s leg to the ring post and slams her knee repeatedly into it. Back in, Miyuki keeps up the leg work, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her away, elbow by Miyuki but Nagisa slaps on the sleeper. Miyuki drives Nagisa into the corner to break up the hold, dropkick by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle and she hits a lariat in the corner. Second turnbuckle elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Nagisa elbows her and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Somato by Nagisa, but it gets a two count. A sliding kick by Nagisa follows, but that gets a two as well so Nagisa slaps on a sleeper hold. Miyuki struggles back up but Nagisa hits a STO before re-applying the hold. Miyuki is too close to the ropes however and makes it there for the break, kick to the ribs by Nagisa and she goes to the top turnbuckle.

Miyuki grabs her before she can jump off and climbs up as well, headbutt by Miyuki and she powerslams Nagisa back to the mat for a two count. Miyuki puts Nagisa in a submission but Nagisa is by the ropes and grabs the bottom one for the break. Miyuki charges Nagisa and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa and hits the Kamikaze, diving guillotine leg drop by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle but Nagisa barely kicks out. Vertical suplex by Miyuki, she drags up Nagisa but Nagisa fights her off. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa boots her in the face, Ripcord Boot by Nagisa and she hits another, but Miyuki blocks the third attempt and delivers a lariat. Both wrestlers are down on the mat and slowly get up at the same time, trading elbows in the process. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa blocks the lariat and rolls Miyuki to the mat, applying the sleeper. Miyuki almost goes out but gets a foot on the ropes right before doing so, Nagisa picks up Miyuki and nails a series of sliding kicks. Nagisa drags up Miyuki and hits a final sliding kick, but Miyuki barely kicks out. Nagisa waits for Miyuki to get up but Miyuki catches her with a Samoan Driver, lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki drags Nagisa near the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine legdrop, but Nagisa kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the head, getting a two count of her own. Nagisa goes off the ropes but eats a lariat, Nagisa strikes back with another jumping kick but Miyuki returns fire with a lariat. Twister vertical suplex by Miyuki, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the guillotine legdrop, picking up the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE 2021 Finale!

This match wasn’t without its issues but it was still entertaining. They went heavy into the move spam overkill, which is a little excessive for the second match on the card. I don’t mind overkill in the right situations but the repetitive moves and nearfalls is better suited for the main event. I also wish Nagisa had done a bit more to sell the leg with Miyuki’s work on it, but she didn’t seem phased a bit. That being said, this was a really fast paced and counter-full match and they have good chemistry together, so the action was smooth. Nagisa got a lot of very convincing nearfalls (and her sleeper is a legitimate finisher), so it felt like a very even match throughout that either wrestler could win. I think these two could do better, but still a solid match overall and a fitting Semi Final match for the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
Now the second match of the Catch the WAVE Semi Finals. These two are in very different phases of their careers. Kaori Yoneyama, better known to some fans as Fukigen Death in Stardom, is a respected veteran but has settled more into the “trainer” role that some vets opt for as she seems more interested in helping the next wave of wrestlers than going around and winning big matches. Which certainly is her choice to make, as she has been wrestling for over 20 years. Rin Kadokura is a young and far less experienced wrestler from Marvelous – she has had some injury issues in her career but has shown a lot of promise. Rin winning would make more sense, but its hard to count out someone with Yoneyama’s credentials.

Yoneyama quickly goes for a few flash pins as the bell rings, Irish whip by Yoneyama but Rin blocks it and hits an elbow. Jumping lariat by Rin and she charges Yoneyama, but Yoneyama holds down the top rope and Rin tumbles down to the floor. Yoneyama goes out to the apron and attacks Rin with a jumping knee, she slides Rin back in and knees her in the back of the head. Yoneyama goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but it gets a two count. She then goes all the way up but Rin recovers and joins her, Yoneyama knocks her back but Rin charges in again and this time hits the Frankensteiner. Rin goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but it gets a two count. Rin picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama blocks the suplex, superkick by Rin but Yoneyama connects with a jumping back kick for two. Rin shrugs off Yoneyama, schoolboy by Rin and the two trade cradle attempts until Rin holds down Yoneyama for the three count! Rin Kadokura wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE Finale!

Too short to get excited about, I wouldn’t have minded if they went a bit longer even if they were going to go the flash pin route. As its a fluky win, it doesn’t really do much to boost Rin, and Yoneyama isn’t generally a wrestler that cares too much about being protected. “Surprise” type wins are normal in tournaments but usually more so in the points round. Nothing wrong with it, but if you were looking for a long exciting match between these two, they opted not to go in that direction and basically gave Rin a free pass to the finals.

Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Ohka
WAVE is giving Miyuki Takase and Rin Kadokura a break before they have to wrestle again, so we are going to have two tag matches now as filler. Only Yumi Ohka here is affiliated with Pro Wrestling WAVE, as everyone else is a Freelancer or part of another promotion. This is really just a collection of wrestlers in the Catch The WAVE Tournament that didn’t reach the Semi Finals that they decided to throw together in a tag match. Which is a perfectly fine way to fill out a card, but I’m not expecting top level chemistry with teams that were randomly assigned using wrestlers from various places.

Ohka runs over and boots Itsuki before the match even starts, running boot by Ohka to Itsuki and she leaves the ring so Yappy can take over. Yappy attacks Itsuki in the corner before sitting on her for a two count cover. Yappy gets Itsuki on her shoulders but Itsuki gets away and hits a running elbow followed by a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki and she tags in Yuu. Yuu picks up Yappy and chops her repeatedly, but Yappy ducks one and hits an elbow as the two trade shots. Yuu throws Yappy into the corner but Yappy butts her in the face when she charges in, hip attacks by Yappy and she hits a running one of the corner. Seated senton by Yappy and she covers Yuu for a two count. Yappy tags in SAKI, SAKI hits a series of boots to the head but Yuu catches one and hits a chop. Yuu goes for a senton but SAKI moves, Itsuki and YAKO come in however and all three take turns attacking SAKI. YAKO is tagged in once she returns to the apron, hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids her charge in the corner and hits a series of knees. Vertical suplex by SAKI but YAKO blocks her kick attempt and hits a DDT. Hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids the next one and with Ohka they take turns booting YAKO in the head. SAKI picks up YAKO, double Irish whip but YAKO hits a hip attack on both of them.

YAKO talks a bit but Itsuki and Yuu don’t like whatever she is saying and both attack her. YAKO is thrown into the corner, and all five of the other wrestlers in the match hit running strikes. SAKI ends it with a big boot on YAKO, she tags in Ohka who boots YAKO again for a two count cover. Ohka goes for a brainbuster but YAKO blocks it and hits a Stunner, she charges Ohka but Ohka drops her with the Snake Eyes. Running boot by Ohka and Yappy follows with a seated senton, backdrop suplex by Ohka and she covers YAKO for two. Ohka picks up YAKO but YAKO blocks the suplex, DDT by Ohka and she hits a heel drop. Big boot by Ohka, she covers YAKO but YAKO barely kicks out. Chokebomb by Ohka, but Yuu breaks up the cover with a low crossbody. Itsuki takes care of Yappy before turning to Ohka, running strike by Itsuki and Yuu follows with a cannonball. Diving body press by Itsuki to Ohka and she throws YAKO on top of Ohka for the cover. Yappy tries to break it up but YAKO moves, and she ends up hitting a body press on Ohka by mistake. SAKI tries to help but has the same issue, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Ohka. YAKO then goes all the way up and nails the swivel body press, and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu are the winners.

This is one of those WAVE matches that just does little for me. Its a weird blend of goofy and serious, and admittedly since I don’t know Japanese I don’t know what caused the random YAKO attack in the middle but the whole situation is just too odd. YAKO took way too much offense while her teammates just watched, but then suddenly they wanted to win so they helped YAKO until she got the three count. These teams were random so they weren’t friends going in, but without a storyline I’d prefer just a solid six wrestler tag than one with sporadic shenanigans. The action was generally ok and a few of these wrestlers are quite good, but it was just meandering and didn’t really click as a cohesive match. Just midcard filler.

Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Miyazaki
I am not really sure how we got this combination of wrestlers. While the last match had a small amount of shenanigans and silliness, I am assuming this one will have even more. Miyazaki is a long time vet that can wrestle serious, but tends to sprinkle in more playful moments. Hibiscus Mii is the same way, and everyone knows Sakura Hirota’s manner of business. The other team has more “traditional” wrestlers, with two wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z and the delightful Mio Momono. I wish this match was clipped, but its not, so lets see what they put together.

Mii apparently wrestles in regular clothing with a bag over her shoulder, so not a great start to my dream of this match not being completely goofy. Mii and Ami start the match and naturally Mii is in a chatty mood so it takes time to get to any action. They eventually get to it as Ami hits a shoulderblock, scoop slam by Ami and Mii’s bag finally falls off as Ami hits a second one. A third slam by Ami and Mii rolls out of the ring to re-group. Hirota takes her place, chops by Ami to Hirota but Hirota blocks the Irish whip and hits a face crusher. Ami and Hirota trade lariats and Oil Checks, dropkick by Ami but Hirota gets her deep with her fingers and the two rolls out of the ring together. Mii has her bag back on as she comes in with Miyazaki to double team Momo, Hirota eventually returns and she grabs Momo’s wrist to do the rope walk. Momo pushes her off before Hirota can even get her to the corner, kick by Momo and she is the one that gets Hirota by the wrist to do the rope walk. She gets to the middle of the ropes and goes for Hirota’s second rope bounce trick, but struggles to execute it. Hirota gets her back in the ring and tells her she did a good try (I assume), Hirota lays down and lets Momo do the Hirota Hop over her.

Momo goes for a second one but Hirota jumps up and kicks her, and they talk some more. Put me out of my misery please. Momo challenges Hirota to put her fingers up her butt but Ami cuts her off with a dropkick, Ami then drives Hirota’s face into Momo’s butt repeatedly. Ami stays in and they both dropkick Hirota, Ami picks up Hirota but Hirota does some goofy stuff as she runs around and slips on all the ropes. Hirota takes herself out of the match so Mii comes in, but she talks a bit when Ami tries to engage her. Ami finally hits a body avalanche in the corner, shoulderblock by Ami and she covers Mii for two. Ami tags in Mio, diving crossbody by Mio and she dropkicks Mii. Another dropkick by Mio and she elbows Mii repeatedly before putting her in a stretch hold. The seconds around the ring all beat on the mat, with the vibration eventually knocking over Mio, giving Mii a chance to tag in Miyazaki. Miyazaki is triple teamed in the corner, missile dropkick by Mio and she covers Miyazaki for two. Mio ducks under Miyazaki’s lariat and hits a spinning headscissors, dropkick by Mio and she knocks Hirota off the apron. Miyazaki kicks Mio and applies multiple cradles, but each on gets a two count.

Mio goes up top but Mii grabs her from the apron, Momo and Ami both run in to help but Miyazaki lariats both of them. She then joins Mio up top but Mio hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Mio goes off the ropes but Miyazaki shrugs her off, elbows by Mio but Miyazaki goes for the Shy Hold. Mio blocks it and gets away, but Miyazaki threatens to put the hold on Ami or Momo so Mio ends up letting her put the hold on to protect them. Ami and Momo try to break it up but are held back, Mii gets a microphone and starts singing until Ami and Momo finally break it up. Miyazaki positions Mio and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Mio avoids the moonsault attempt. She goes for the JK Bomb but Miyazaki prevents her from fulling hitting the move, Mii and Hirota both try to help Miyazaki but botch their way into the ring. This gives Mio a chance to hit the JK Bomb on Miyazaki, and she gets the three count! Ami Miura, Mio Momono and Momo Kohgo are the winners!

I had to read a guide online just to get some of the comedy spots, which is way too much trouble for a comedy match. I don’t mind some comedy in my wrestling viewing but 17 minutes was just too much of it, and at the end of the day I’d rather see the Mio team in a more serious match as all three are fun to watch. I realize this is more catered to WAVE’s dedicated fanbase, which I can respect, but its not really my cup of tea. A few funny spots but too much “wrestling comedy” for me.

Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Final
Time for the tournament final! As I mentioned above, even though Miyuki is technically an outsider, she wrestles in WAVE as much as she does AgZ so to fans she is seen as one of their regulars. Rin is a true outsider, but equally skilled as Miyuki and ready for a big win. I like how even they made the Final as even though Miyuki does have an edge, Rin is equally qualified which should lead to a close and entertaining match.

They shake hands before the match but Rin charges Miyuki before the bell can ring and knocks her down in the corner. Cannonball by Rin, she quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Suplex by Rin and she hits a footstomp, but Miyuki levels her with a lariat. Rin gets back up and they trade elbows, chops by Miyuki but Rin hits a jumping strike followed by the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Rin, but it gets two. Rin goes up top but Miyuki recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex back to the mat. Miyuki waits for Rin to get up but Rin catches her lariat attempt and goes for an armbreaker. Miyuki slams her way out of the hold, elbows and chops by Miyuki followed by two lariats for a quick cover. Miyuki gets Rin on her shoulders but Rin slides away, sliding kick by Rin but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam. Miyuki goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Rin lands in the opposite corner and Miyuki connects with a lariat. Diving elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Rin for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits the Kamikaze, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving guillotine legdrop for two.

Miyuki picks up Rin but Rin hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes to the second turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for another two count. DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, but Miyuki hulks up and hits a suplex of her own. Rin comes back with another suplex and both wrestlers are down on the mat, Miyuki is up first and hits a fourth vertical suplex of this suplex battle. Rin is naturally up first and returns with a suplex but Miyuki hits another one too, Rin tries to return with a suplex but Miyuki reverses it into her own suplex, seemingly ending the vertical suplex exchange. Jumping DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex (I was wrong) for a close two count cover. Rin tries to get to the turnbuckle but Miyuki keeps grabbing her leg, she finally makes it but Miyuki recovers and joins her. Rin pushes Miyuki back to the mat but Miyuki elbows her and climbs back up, hitting a powerslam down to the mat for a two count.

Miyuki and Rin both slowly get up, they charge into each other and Miyuki hits a hard elbow. Another elbow by Miyuki and she hits a lariat for a two count. Rin gets up quickly but eats a double chop, tornado vertical suplex but Miyuki but Rin kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Rin catches her with a superkick, another superkick by Rin and she covers Miyuki for barely two. Rin gets Miyuki’s back and hits a crucifix slam, but Miyuki kicks out of the pin. Rin drags up Miyuki and gets on her back again, but Miyuki spins her off and hits a lariat. Rin fires back with a lariat but Miyuki delivers a Samoan Driver for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving guillotine legdrop for the three count! Miyuki Takase wins the match and the Catch The WAVE 2021 Tournament!

A very good match, but didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for. Rin and Miyuki are both very talented wrestlers and when they were just trading strikes or bombs, the match was really entertaining. Their cardio is not an issue so they kept the pace up, and it was an even match from start to finish. The part I didn’t like was the trading vertical suplexes in the middle. I am generally a fan of the ‘trading moves’ spot but the vertical suplex is just a slower move to set up and deliver, and it just killed the pace of the match for a couple minutes. Nothing before or after really lined up to it so it felt disjointed and without a real purpose, except to hurt the match flow. If I took out those few minutes, everything else delivered. Overall an entertaining match that could have been even better with just a few small changes.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final” on 7/1/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition
Date: June 12th, 2021
Location: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,240
Broadcast: Streamed on Stardom World

I tend to fall behind in my Joshi watching and rarely get around to reviewing “new” events, so for me this is a quick turnaround. This was a huge event for Stardom on several levels. First, just in its presentation as not only was it live on PPV but for the first time they had live English commentary, making the event far more accessible for Western fans. Second, the long delayed ending of the Cinderella Tournament is taking place, with both the Semi Finals and Finals happening tonight. To top it all off, we also have a killer main event as Utami Hayashishita and Syuri battle for the World of Stardom Championship! Plus a few fun tag matches to fill out the rest of the show, as even those are filled with high-end talent. Here is the full card:

As this streamed on both PPV and on Stardom World, 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. I will be reviewing the PPV version of the event, with the only major difference being the PPV did not have the dark match.

Maika vs. Unagi Sayaka
Cinderella Tournament Semi Final

They immediately start trading elbows after the bell rings, Unagi gets Maika in the corner but Maika gets her foot up on the charge. Unagi catches it however and hits a running boot to Maika’s apparently already injured leg (its wrapped up), she flings Maika to the mat and covers her for two. Unagi keeps working on Maika’s leg, she picks up Maika but Maika plants her with a side slam. Vertical suplex by Maika, she goes off the ropes but Unagi catches her with an elbow. A dropkick by Unagi sends Maika to the apron, Unagi charges her again but Maika avoids her slide and hits a double footstomp. Maika returns to the ring and hits a scoop slam, sliding elbow by Maika and she applies a sleeper. Unagi gets to the ropes for the break, Maika picks her up and the two trade elbows. Judo toss by Maika but Unagi blocks the monkey flip attempt and hits a leg drop.

Unagi picks up Maika and she hits a running facecrusher, double legdrop by Unagi and she covers Maika for two. Unagi positions Maika and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Maika recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Maika joins Unagi and hits a delayed superplex back to the mat, but Unagi kicks out of the pin attempt. Maika picks up Unagi but Unagi pushes her off and hits a spinebuster. Unagi goes back up top and hits a Frog Splash, but Maika barely gets a shoulder up. Unagi goes off the ropes but Maika levels her with a lariat, cross-arm STO by Maika but her cover gets two. Maika picks up Unagi but Unagi wiggles away and schoolboys her for two. Heel drop by Unagi, she picks up Maika but Maika spins away and applies a sleeper. Cover by Maika, but it gets a two count. Maika drags Unagi to her feet and delivers a Michinoku Driver, and she picks up the three count! Maika is the winner and advances to the Finals.

The effort was there but this was a bit sloppy. Unagi tries hard but she is a bit loose when it comes to her mechanics, as several moves here were either not hit clean or looked awkward. Maika was the grounded force she always is, keeping things together with her simple but impactful offense. The right wrestler definitely won, maybe Unagi’s time will come but its not here yet. I won’t drag it too much as they kept the pace up and the end stretch went well, but not a high-end match.

Himeka vs. Saya Kamitani
Cinderella Tournament Semi Final

They get right into it as they go into a fast paced exchange, dropkick by Saya but Himeka boots her and goes for a scoop slam. Saya slides away and hits another dropkick, she hangs Himeka over the second rope and goes out to the apron to deliver an ax kick. Back in the ring, neck crank by Saya and she lets go so she can apply a full nelson. Himeka gets to the ropes to force the break, Saya throws Himeka into the corner but Himeka moves when she charges in and gets Saya on her shoulders. She dumps her over the top rope onto the apron, Himeka charges her but Saya springboards back into the ring. Himeka stays in control and delivers a backbreaker, crab hold by Himeka but Saya gets to the ropes for the break. Himeka picks up Saya and gets her in an Argentine Backbreaker, she slams Saya to the mat and covers her for two. Himeka goes off the ropes but Saya delivers a big boot, leaving both wrestlers on the mat.

Himeka recovers first and elbows Saya, Saya returns fire as they trade shots while still on their knees. They keep trading back on their feet, Saya goes off the ropes and hits a spinning heel kick. Saya picks up Himeka but Himeka blocks the suplex attempt and plants Saya with a short-range lariat. Sliding lariat by Himeka, and she covers Saya for two. Himeka picks up Saya and drops her with a powerbomb, but Saya barely kicks out. Himeka picks up Saya and throws her into the corner, lariat to the back by Himeka before she sets up Saya for a powerbomb, but it is blocked. Saya slides out to the apron and hits a swandive crossbody, but Himeka kicks out. Dropkick by Saya, she picks up Himeka but Himeka drills her with a short-range lariat. Saya quickly returns to her feet and hits another heel kick, Fisherman Suplex Hold by Saya but it gets two. Saya gets Himeka back up and delivers the Star Crusher, and she picks up the three count! Saya Kamitani wins and advances to the Finals.

I could watch these two wrestle all day. Its interesting that neither match went with the Over The Top cop-out victory, showing both Maika and Saya Kamitani were the better wrestlers and not just the luckiest. A good mixture of hard hitting and high flying, the time flew by as they kept the action interesting. My one quibble is Saya no-selling the lariat and immediately going into the end stretch of the match. I don’t mind no-selling or delayed selling if its returned by the opponent, but here it was more Saya completely shrugging off a big move and dominating from there until she won. Not the end of the world, but certainly a smoother transition could have been used. Overall a solid match though.  Mildly Recommended

AZM and Natsupoi vs. Giulia and Nakano vs. Shirakawa and Watanabe

All seem to have accepted their short term tag partners as the match begins, with the legal wrestlers being Tam, Natsupoi, and Mina. Tam and Natsupoi lock up first while Mina messes with her partner Momo, Momo decides to pose like Mina but gets knocked off the apron for her efforts. Mina is double teamed but shoulderblocks both Natsupoi and AZM, Momo comes in the ring and helps Mina out. Tam breaks things up and tries to steal a cover, but she only gets a two count. Tam and Mina have an exchange, elbow by Mina and with Momo they both hit running strikes on Tam. Mina goes off the ropes but Giulia hits her from the apron, Giulia holds Mina but Momo holds Tam. Natsupoi and AZM come in and take care of both pairs, Giulia gets in the ring as maybe the legal wrestler (who knows) and plays around with Natsupoi. Tam tries to help but doublestomps Giulia by accident, dropkick by Natsupoi to Tam and she lands on Giulia in the process. Natsupoi asks Giulia for forgiveness but Giulia kicks her in the face, cover by Giulia but AZM breaks it up.

Tam and Giulia both hit backdrop suplexes before going to the top turnbuckle, but AZM and Natsupoi joins them in their respective corners. Giulia and Tam both get them back and deliver diving moves, but the pin is broken up. Now it is Momo and Mina’s turn but they eat a dropkick by Giulia, Tam randomly elbows Giulia but Giulia elbows her back and the partners trade shots while everyone else watches. Mina and Momo interrupt them with dropkicks, Momo throws Giulia in the corner and hits another dropkick. High kick by Tam to Momo, Giulia recovers and fights over who can beat up Momo with Tam. They eventually both kick Momo before Giulia picks up Tam and slams her onto Momo for a two count. Sliding Kick by Giulia but AZM suddenly returns and hits a triple jump crossbody out of the corner. Momo reemerges and trades elbows with AZM, vertical suplex by Momo but it gets two. Irish whip by Momo but AZM delivers La Mistica, Momo rolls out of it but AZM hits a vertical suplex.

Natsupoi comes in to help but Tam and Giulia interrupt them, they get Tam and Giulia to their knees before Natsupoi jumps off their backs and hits a footstomp. Mina tries to do the same trick but trips, everyone gets annoyed at her and stomps Mina out. Mina is thrown into the corner but Mina avoids their charges and takes out all four of her opponents. Mina and Natsupoi are alone for a moment, high kick by Natsupoi but Mina drops her with a powerslam for two. Momo finally comes back to help her partner but AZM comes in too and they deliver dropkicks. Natsupoi and AZM both go up the same turnbuckle and hit double… double footstomps, but Momo hits them both with a Somato. She goes up top but Giulia joins her, Tam comes over to help as they create a suplex tower down to the mat. Natsupoi gets Mina’s back, AZM tries to help but kicks her own partner by mistake. AZM goes for La Mistica, Mina rolls through it but AZM applies the A. Cyclone for the three count! AZM and Natsupoi win!

They certainly leaned more into the silly than the serious with this one, which isn’t totally surprising considering the way the match was formed. Even with that though there still was plenty of hard hitting action as well, as when it gets down to it all of these wrestlers enjoy inflicting violence (even if on their own partner, in the case of Tam and Giulia). There were a lot of cute spots but needless to say it was pure chaos, with the referee not even attempting to keep things under control. Maybe a little more random and meandering than my personal preference would be but it did make me laugh a few times and they seemed to be having a good time. An interesting match, I enjoyed it as a one time thing but hopefully it doesn’t become a recurring gimmick.  Mildly Recommended

Hanan, Koguma, Iwatani, Starlight Kid, and Kadokura vs. Fukigen Death, Konami, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima
Elimination Match, Loser Must Join Other Faction

STARS attack Oedo Tai before the bell rings as both teams brawl, Mayu gets isolated in the ring and all of Oedo Tai take turns attacking Mayu. Natsuko stays in as the legal wrestler, she throws Mayu in the corner and tags Saki. Stomps by Saki and she connects with a series of mounted elbows, she tags in Ruaka as the Mayu beatdown continues. Konami is next as she comes in and kicks Mayu in the back, she goes off the ropes but Hanan runs in and hits a judo toss. This gives Mayu time to tag in Rin, dropkick by Rin to Konami and Koguma comes in too so they can double team her. All of STARS eventually join in the fun as they attack various Oedo Tai members, but things finally calm back down with Rin and Konami alone in the ring. Cross armbreaker takedown by Konami but it gets broken up, she hits a sliding kick on Rin before connecting with a vertical suplex. She tags in Saki, hurricanrana by Saki on Rin and she delivers a big boot. Saki charges Rin but eats a superkick, Saki boots her back however and makes the tag to Ruaka. Hanan is tagged as well, dropkick by Hanan but Ruaka hits a shoulderblock. Ruaka and Hanan trade elbows, drop toehold by Hanan and Starlight Kid flies in with a 619. Hanan tags Mayu, dropkick by Mayu as Starlight Kid and Koguma get in the ring as well. Ruaka’s teammates take care of Koguma and Starlight Kid for her, Mayu is thrown in the corner and all the members of Oedo Tai deliver running strikes. Ruaka goes up top and hits the diving body press, but Hanan breaks up the cover. Ruaka goes back up top but Rin joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner down to the mat. Double superkicks to Ruaka, Mayu hits the Dodonpa on Ruaka while Rin dropkicks her, and Mayu gets the three count cover! Ruaka is eliminated.

Konami runs in as the legal wrestler and hits a release German on Mayu, knees by Konami but Koguma runs in and dropkicks her. This gives Mayu time to recover and tags in Koguma, dropkick by Koguma and she stomps on Konami. Footstomps by Koguma against the ropes, she picks up Konami but Konami gets away and kicks her in the midsection. Throat Trust by Death on Koguma, Konami plants Koguma with a Fisherman Suplex Hold but it only gets two (Koguma didn’t kick out though). The match breaks down as both teams charge the ring, Starlight Kid hits a double diving crossbody and Koguma follows with a missile dropkick on Konami. Mayu jumps on Koguma’s shoulders, Starlight Kid then gets on the top turnbuckle to stand on Mayu’s shoulders, hitting a diving body press down onto Konami. Mayu follows with a diving footstomp, German suplex hold by Koguma to Konami and she picks up the three count! Konami is eliminated.

Death enters but Koguma plants her with a DDT, she tags in Hanan but Death swats away her dropkick attempt. Crossbody from Hanan out of the corner and she hits a monkey flip for two. She goes for the cross armbreaker but it gets broken up quickly, Natsuko picks up Hanan and Saki boots her. Diving senton by Death to Hanan, and she covers her for the three! Hanan is eliminated. Koguma quickly runs in and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold on Death, but it gets a two count. Rin goes to the top turnbuckle but Konami kicks her from the apron, sending Rin to the apron. Death charges Rin but Rin holds down the rope, so Death ends up on the apron with her. They battle on the apron until Mayu dropkicks Death, which sends both her and Rin crashing to the floor! Fukigen Death and Rin Kadokura are both eliminated.

Saki and Koguma come in as the legal wrestlers, drop toehold by Koguma and she hits a dropkick. She puts Saki in the corner, Irish whip by Koguma and she hits a body avalanche followed by a face crusher for two. Starlight Kid and Mayu get in the ring and they triple team Saki, cover by Koguma but Natsuko breaks it up. Koguma picks up Saki but Saki quickly puts her in the Kishikaisei and picks up the three count! Koguma is eliminated. The wrestlers left are Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid, Saki Kashima, and Natsuko Tora. Mayu and Saki trade strikes, superkick by Mayu and she drops Saki with a tombstone piledriver. Mayu goes up top but Saki avoids the moonsault, Kishikaisei by Saki but the cover is broken up. Mayu picks up Saki and hits a headbutt, she goes for the Tiger Suplex but Saki blocks it and applies the Kishikaisei again, picking up the three count! Mayu Iwatani is eliminated.

Natsuko comes in when Starlight Kid does and attacks her in the corner, cannonball by Natsuko while Saki goes to the top turnbuckle. Diving footstomp by Saki, and she covers Starlight Kid for a two count. Saki picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids their charge, goes for a few flash pins on Saki before finally holding her down for the three count! Saki Kashima is eliminated. Natsuko goes for a senton but Starlight Kid avoids it, she can’t avoid the sliding elbow however and Natsuko covers her for two. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and gets her on her shoulders, but Starlight Kid slides off. Starlight Kid charges Natsuko but Natsuko plants her with a Black Hole Slam for a two count. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and goes off the ropes, but Starlight Kid trips her and applies a fireman’s carry cover, but Oedo Tai pulls the referee out of the ring. Konami and Saki return to the ring to attack Starlight Kid, Natsuko goes up top and hits the diving body press on Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid barely gets a shoulder up. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and hits a Death Valley Bomb, she follows up with a second one and covers Starlight Kid for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated and must join Oedo Tai.

Putting aside my thoughts on the stipulation, which I’ve already kvetched about, this was a fun match but not without its issues. Having a ten wrestler elimination match go only 17 minutes means some eliminations and spots are going to be rushed, and not everyone is going to get a chance to shine. There are also more chances for mistakes with all the chaos going on, like with what looked like Koguma not kicking out of a cover because I assume she thought it would be broken up by a teammate. That being said, there were a lot of good spots throughout the match and having so many wrestlers helped protect those in the match that aren’t really on that high of a level. Even with the match being too short to give them time to do anything too memorable, still an entertaining sprint.  Mildly Recommended

Maika vs. Saya Kamitani
Cinderella Tournament 2021 Final

They charge each other to start as Saya immediately takes out Maika’s injured leg and starts working it over. Saya applies the Sickle Hold but Maika gets into the ropes for the break, stomps by Saya and she throws Maika into the corner. Saya charges Maika but Maika moves, Saya slides out of the ring however and slams Maika’s knee into the ring post. Saya returns to the ring and picks up Maika, she goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a backbreaker. Maika picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, single leg crab hold by Maika but Saya gets to the ropes. Maika throws Saya into the corner and elbows her repeatedly in the back, stomps by Maika and she hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Maika but Saya gets to the ropes again, Maika charges Saya but Saya goes off the ropes as well as they trade move attempts. Saya wins the battle as she dropkicks Maika in the back, she then puts Maika’s leg on the second rope and kicks it. Saya gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers another dropkick to the knee, she goes to the apron and goes for a swandive crossbody but Maika catches her and hits a Fallaway Slam. Lariat by Maika, she charges Saya and hits a second one for a two count.

Maika picks up Saya but Saya slides out of the suplex attempt and hits a double kneedrop to Maika’s leg. Running Shooting Star Press by Saya, and she covers Maika for two. Saya goes up to the top turnbuckle but Maika hits her from behind, Saya kicks her back and keeps climbing but Maika elbows her again before she can jump off. Maika joins Saya and delivers a superplex down to the mat, she is too hurt to make a cover however and the two trade shots as they slowly stand back up. They keep exchanging elbows once on their feet, a battle ultimately won by Maika. Saya gets back up but Maika plants her with a backdrop suplex, picking up a two count cover. Maika applies a chinlock while controlling Saya’s wrist, but Saya gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Maika picks up Saya and hits the cross-arm STO, cover by Maika but Saya barely gets a shoulder up. Maika gets Saya up but Saya spins way, Maika levels her with a lariat but Saya returns with a big boot. Both wrestlers get back up and Maika hits another lariat, she goes off the ropes but Saya reverses her lariat with a moonsault side slam for a two count. Fisherman Driver by Saya, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Phoenix Splash for the three count! Saya Kamitani wins the match and is the 2021 Cinderella Winner!

This was a great match. Its been really fun watching both Saya and Maika grow so much over the last year, and while Stardom may be overly stacked with quality wrestlers right now they seem determined to continue to grow these two young talents. Saya’s entire game plan was on point, as it was logical to go after Maika’s leg, while Maika tried to keep Saya grounded with power moves and the occasional submission. Saya was a little sloppy early in her career but she has figured it out, as all her high spots were delivered flawlessly, including a real impressive Phoenix Splash. Fast paced with many convincing nearfalls, I really have nothing bad to say about the match. I could nitpick Maika not selling the leg more considering Saya’s work on it, but it wasn’t distracting and since Maika doesn’t fly around the ring anyway it didn’t hurt the match. Overall just a really entertaining match and a good showcase for two great young wrestlers.  Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri
World of Stardom Championship

They start slow as they get into a long lockup, Utami gets Syuri in the ropes but she gives a clean break. Syuri gets Utami into the ropes on the second tie-up, she goes for a kick but Utami ducks out of the way. Armdrag by Syuri and she keeps the armbar applied, but Utami gets out of it and the two trade holds. They end up breaking cleanly and returning to their feet, takedown by Syuri and she gets a front necklock applied. Utami gets out of it and applies a wristlock but Syuri reverses it, they trade standing holds until Syuri gets Utami back to the mat. Utami wiggles away as they get to their feet again, side headlock by Syuri but Utami hits a hard shoulderblock. Syuri gets the headlock re-applied and goes for a few covers, but she can’t keep Utami down. Back up they trade waistlocks, snapmare by Syuri and she hits an armdrag, but Utami returns the favor. They reach a stalemate as they get back up, hard elbow by Syuri but Utami elbows her back as they trade blows. Syuri tackles Utami through the ropes and down to the floor, stomps by Syuri and she gets on the apron to hit Utami with a running kick. She follows up with a hurricanrana down to the floor, stomps by Syuri but Utami catches a kick and slams Syuri knee-first into the ring apron. Utami slides Syuri back in the ring and keeps on Syuri’s leg, cross kneelock by Utami but Syuri gets to the ropes for the break. Utami goes back to the leg but Syuri knees her in the corner, Utami avoids her lariat however and pulls Syuri back to the middle of the ring. Syuri trips her and applies a submission, she goes for the cross armbreaker but Utami quickly gets to the ropes.

Snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Utami in the back, she sits up Utami and kicks her in the chest. More kicks by Syuri, she throws Utami into the corner and stomps her into a seated position. Running knee by Syuri and she goes for the cross armbreaker, Utami blocks it so Syuri goes for a Triangle Choke instead. Utami stands up and gets out of the hold by slamming Syuri into the corner, running elbow by Utami and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Lariat by Utami and she delivers a sliding lariat for a two count. Utami picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her repeatedly, head kick by Syuri and she punts Utami in the face. Utami rolls out of the ring while the referee checks on her, Syuri gets tired of waiting and comes out after her, sliding Utami back in the ring. Cover by Syuri, but Utami barely kicks out. Dropkick into the corner by Syuri and she hits a running knee, Syuri goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop to Utami’s back for two. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami gets her back and German suplexes Syuri into the turnbuckles. Lariat by Utami in the corner and she sits Syuri on the top turnbuckle, she joins her and hits Syuri on her shoulders. Avalanche Air Raid Crash attempt by Utami but Syuri flips out of it, allowing her to kick Utami in the face. Syuri gets Utami on her shoulders and connects with a double knee gutbuster, but again Utami rolls out of the ring before Syuri can cover her. Syuri goes to the apron but Utami avoids her running kick, as Syuri splats down to the floor. They both slowly return to the apron and trade elbows, kicks by Syuri but Utami catches one and drops Syuri with an Air Raid Crash on the apron. Utami returns to the thing but Syuri rolls back up, Utami goes after her but Syuri hits a front dropkick.

Tilt-a-whirl slam by Syuri and she follows with a DDT (which is likely what she was going for the first time), and both wrestlers are down on the floor. Syuri tries to get back in the ring but Utami grabs her from behind and German suplexes her neck-first into the edge of the apron. Utami gets back in as Syuri follows, Utami goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Sleeper by Utami but she lets go so she can hit a backdrop suplex for a two count. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her on her shoulders, she spins Syuri around but Syuri reverses it with a DDT. Knees by Syuri to the midsection and she applies a cross armbreaker takedown, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Syuri scoops up Utami but Utami slides off to apply the sleeper, she gets Syuri to the mat while keeping the hold applied but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Utami puts Syuri on the top turnbuckle and suplexes her back down to the mat, she picks up Syuri but Syuri slaps her in the face. They trade strikes with Syuri winning the exchange, Syuri goes off the ropes but Utami strikes her to the mat. Release German by Utami and she delivers the Air Raid Crash, cover by Utami but it gets a two count. Utami gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri slides off and cradles Utami for two. Rolling cradle by Syuri, but that gets a two count as well. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami blocks the head kick and hits a short-range lariat. They both get up, jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a series of elbows. Utami elbows her back, but while they struggle to stand the bell rings, as time has expired! The match is a Draw.

Syuri isn’t satisfied and gets on the microphone, clearly wanting the match to continue. Utami agrees, and after OKing it with Rossy Ogawa, the match continues! Syuri and Utami charge each other and immediately start trading elbows, Utami elbows Syuri to the mat but Syuri connects with a series of knees. Syuri picks up Utami and darts her head-first into the turnbuckle, Syuri grabs her and plants Utami with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Utami, Utami fights back but Syuri delivers a kick combination. Cross armbreaker takedown by Syuri and she switches it to a seated armbar. Utami rolls out of it and puts Syuri in a sleeper hold, but Syuri gets out of it with a jawbreaker. Kicks by Syuri but Utami avoids her charge and hits a release German. Slaps by Utami but Syuri slaps her back and the two trade shots. Takedown by Syuri and she hits mounted slaps, she goes for the cross armbreaker but Utami blocks it. Syuri goes for a PK but Utami ducks, she gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri hops off. Elbows by Utami but Syuri hits the Codebreaker, but Utami lands on top of Syuri for a two count cover. They both slowly get up, head kick by Syuri and she puts Utami in the Stretch Muffler. Utami is too close to the ropes and makes it for the break, Syuri grabs Utami and deadlifts her up before dropping her back to the mat for a two count. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami dropkicks her, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Syuri recovers and joins her.

Avalanche modified armdrag by Syuri and she applies a Kimura, but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Syuri and hits a German suplex, she gets Syuri on her shoulders and delivers the Torture Rack Bomb for a two count cover. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her up in the crucifix, she spins her around but Syuri breaks free and puts Utami in a cross armbreaker. Seated armbar by Syuri but Utami again inches to the ropes, so Syuri switches the hold to a double armbar. Utami finally makes it to the bottom rope for the break, Syuri sits up Utami and nails a running knee but Utami gets a shoulder up on the cover. Syuri gets Utami on one shoulder and drops her with the Emerald Frosion, cover by Syuri but again it gets two. Syuri waits for Utami to sit up but Utami catches her kick attempt and hits a powerbomb. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her up, nailing the Hijack Bomb but Syuri lands too close to the ropes and grabs the bottom one to break the cover. Utami picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her in the head, clubbing blows by Utami but Syuri nails a series of spinning backfists. High kick by Syuri but Utami fires back with a lariat, Syuri gets up and delivers a Buzzsaw Kick but she collapses to the mat along with Utami. The referee starts a count and makes it to ten, counting down both wrestlers. The match is declared a Draw due to a Double Knockout, and Utami Hayashishita retains the championship!

A lot has already been said about this match, but I am going to say a little bit more. First, I have no issue with the ending. These two gave literally everything over 40+ minutes and its perfectly believable that they used up every ounce of energy they had. I was beyond impressed that after such a physical match, Utami was still hitting the Torture Rack Bomb and the Hijack Bomb, showing how strong she is and how great both of their cardio is. They had every right to be puddles of goo by the end after going at each other so hard, but they kept a surprisingly fast pace up for much of the match. Normally matches that are Draws can drag for me but this match never did, as the early mat work stayed interesting and they spaced out the big spots so there was rarely a chance to let your guard down.

Utami’s early work on Syuri’s leg and later work on her neck was so well done it almost was unbelievable that Syuri was still functioning, and Syuri has some of the hardest strikes in the business as Utami at times seemed to be legitimately feeling the effects. There were one or two small miscues but its hard to really focus on those in a 45 minute match, and none had any real impact on what they were doing. The subtle and random violence like Syuri darting Utami into the turnbuckles or Syuri getting suplexed head-first into the ring apron were nice little surprises in an already enthralling match, and to say both gave it everything they had would be an understatement. This match may be what finally puts Utami over the edge into super stardom, a spot she has been destined for since she debuted just a few years ago, and Syuri showed she is still one of the best at what she does. A must-see match and one that will likely be remembered by Joshi fans for years to come, an instant must-see classic.  Very Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition on 6/12/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING
Date: May 19th, 2021
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Marvelous Nico Channel

As I dive back into recent Joshi wrestling events, this one really caught my attention. Marvelous is low-key one of my favorite Joshi promotions, as they have a handful of entertaining wrestlers and tend to put on shorter but quality events. Watching them generally isn’t free, but as long as the action is good I certainly don’t mind forking over a little money. This is my first time watching Hibiki since she started acting a little “crazy” so I am interested in seeing how that goes, and the main event is a banger. Here is the match line-up, I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches on the card:

• Maria vs. Ai Houzan
• Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo
• DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

As this streamed on the Marvelous’ streaming service, all 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.

Maria vs. Ai Houzan

Houzan asks for a handshake before the match, Maria turns her back on her so Houzan schoolboys Maria for two. A few more get the same result, elbows by Houzan but Maria runs her off the ropes and hits an armdrag. Houzan comes back with a dropkick and throws down Maria by the air, but Maria cartwheels out of it and kicks Houzan in the chest. Now it is Maria that twists the hair and throws Houzan into the corner, kick to the arm by Maria and she kicks her arm again while she is against the ropes. More arm-focused offense by Maria before she kicks Houzan in the face, Houzan tries to fight back but gets kicks in the face again. Fujiwara Armbar by Maria but Houzan quickly wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Maria picks up Houzan and Irish whips her, but Houzan hits a jumping crossbody.

Another crossbody by Houzan and a few more, she eventually keeps one on for a cover but it only gets two. Houzan goes for a slam but Maria blocks it, elbows by Houzan and she hits a dropkick. Another dropkick by Houzan and she covers Maria for two. Scoop slam by Houzan, but again her cover gets a two count. Houzan picks up Maria but Maria elbows her as the two trade strikes, dropkick by Maria and she covers Houzan for two. Maria quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, she traps Houzan’s leg as well but Houzan gets to the ropes for the break. Boot by Maria but Houzan quickly schoolboys her for two. Houzan goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, snapmare by Maria and she delivers a sliding kick, but Houzan again cradles her. Front dropkick by Maria, she quickly picks up Houzan and applies a cross armbreaker. Houzan struggles for a moment but has to tap out! Maria is the winner.

Maria is a bit of a mystery to me as whenever I watch Marvelous, she looks solid enough but doesn’t really seem to be focused on very often by the promotion like Mei and Mikoto are. She gave Houzan a fair amount of offense here, and even though limb-based offense is rare in a rookie opener it was nice to see some type of story being told. Houzan would sometimes shrug off offense too quickly to go to her flash pins, probably something she should work on, but she has time. Nothing too memorable but Houzan seems to have the basics down pat and Maria led her well enough, a decent opener.

Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mei Hoshizuki and Mikoto Shindo

Itsuki and Mei start the match, Itsuki talks a bit as she does and she eats a dropkick. Mikoto helps Mei as they double team Itsuki, she eventually leaves and Itsuki punches Mei in the stomach. Itsuki puts Mei in the ropes and applies a chinlock, she lets go and delivers a running double knee to Mei’s back. Mei stomps on Itsuki’s foot to regain the advantage, she gets Itsuki in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Mei picks up Itsuki, Irish whip and she hits another dropkick before tagging Mikoto. Itsuki pokes Mikoto in the eyes and hits a hard shoulderblock, she tags in Tomoko and they double team Mikoto in the corner. Scoop slam by Tomoko and she hits an elbow drop off the second rope for a two count cover. Tomoko picks up Mikoto, Mikoto fights back with elbows but Tomoko hits a short-range lariat. Irish whip by Tomoko but Mikoto connects with a dropkick, giving her time to tag Mei. Tomoko greets Mei with a boot but Mei ends up on the apron and dropkicks Tomoko through the ropes. Mei puts Tomoko in a submission hold but Tomoko gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Mei but Itsuki kicks her from the apron, she holds Mei for Tomoko but Mei moves out of the way and dropkicks Tomoko into Itsuki.

Mei goes for a scoop slam but Tomoko blocks it, hard elbow by Mei but Tomoko kicks her in the shin. Kick to the leg by Tomoko but Mei blocks the Irish whip attempt, Mikoto runs in and kicks Tomoko but Tomoko hits a backwards jump springboard on both of them. She tags Itsuki, shoulderblock by Itsuki to Mei and she hits a face crusher followed by a double kneedrop for two. Mei fights back as they trade elbows until Itsuki elbows Mei hard to the mat, Itsuki picks up Mei but Mei slides off her shoulders and stomps on her foot. Lariat by Itsuki but Mei avoids the next one and dropkicks Itsuki from the apron. Running dropkick by Mei and she tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Itsuki and she covers her for two. Mikoto goes for a scoop slam but Itsuki blocks it and hits one of her own, Irish whip by Itsuki but Mei runs in and they both dropkick her for two. Running elbow by Mikoto to Itsuki and she dropkicks her in the corner, corner dropkick by Mikoto and she hits the scoop slam for a two count. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a Samoan Drop, she tags in Tomoko who comes in the ring with a body press off the second turnbuckle.

Mikoto gets her feet up however so that backfires, Mei runs in and stomps Tomoko but Itsuki cuts her off. Itsuki stacks both opponents in the corner and hits a lariat followed by a Tomoko body avalanche, Mikoto and Mei stagger to the middle of the ring and both are bit with stereo body avalanches. Falling body press by Itsuki on both, they then stack Mikoto on top of Mei before Tomoko hits a body press of her own. Scoop slam by Tomoko to Mikoto, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press, but Mikoto barely kicks out. Tomoko picks up Mikoto but Mikoto get away and dropkicks her in the back, another dropkick by Mikoto and she cradles Tomoko for two. Mikoto picks up Tomoko and hits a springboard dropkick, Mei hits a dropkick as well before Mikoto delivers a swandive sunset flip for a two count. Itsuki runs in and lariats Mikoto, Tomoko follows with a lariat of her own but Mikoto reverses it into a flash pin. She goes off the ropes but Tomoko levels her with a lariat, cover by Tomoko and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki and Tomoko Watanabe are the winners.

This was a pretty by-the-numbers tag match but still had more good than bad. Tomoko played her role well as grumpy vet, as she mostly dominated while in the ring but did let Mikoto have quite a run on her before killing her with a lariat so it was far from lopsided. Mei’s offense isn’t overly interesting but both she and Mikoto are more than capable so everything was smooth both in the one on one match-ups and tag moves. Itsuki didn’t get too much of a chance to shine here but brought her usual energy. A perfectly fine mid-card tag match, but nothing more than that.

DASH Chisako vs. Hibiki vs. KAORU

Hibiki won’t even get in the ring to start the match, jawing at both KAORU and Chisako, so they start without her. Dropkick by Chisako but Hibiki trips her from the floor when she goes off the ropes, this gives KAORU time to kick Chisako and hit a vertical suplex for two. Hibiki gets in the ring but quickly bails, Chisako and KAORU trade elbows but turn their attention back to Hibiki as KAORU kicks her through the ropes. This stuns Hibiki, allowing Chisako to charge from in the ring and hit a dropkick through the ropes on her. KAORU and Chisako both leave the ring to get Hibiki but Hibiki runs away and into the back. Hibiki reemerges from the other side and gets in the ring, but Chisako catches her with a missile dropkick. She follows with another dropkick, KAORU comes in with a piece of table board and hits Hibiki in the head with it. Chisako and take turns striking Hibiki, double Irish whip and they hit a double boot followed by a double vertical suplex. Assisted footstomp by Chisako, they wait for Hibiki to get up and take turns booting her.

Chisako and KAORU go up to opposite corner, Hibiki avoids KAORU’s Valkyrie Splash but rolls right into a diving footstomp by Chisako. Cover by Chisako, KAORU tries to break it up with the board but Chisako moves and she hits Hibiki instead. Cover by KAORU, Chisako tries to break it up with a chair but she too ends up hitting Hibiki. KAORU goes back up top but Hibiki recovers and knocks her out of the ring down to the floor. Hard elbow by Hibiki to Chisako but she elbows her back as they trade blows, Chisako goes for a Northern Lights Suplex but Hibiki blocks it. Knees by Chisako but Hibiki catches her with a lariat, cover by Hibiki but KAORU is back and breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Hibiki but Hibiki hits a spear on both of them, she goes off the ropes again but is hit with both a chair and piece of board at the same time. Chisako goes up top while KAORU picks up Hibiki, but Hibiki slams KAORU and tosses Chisako back into the ring (and on top of KAORU). Hibiki goes to the top turnbuckle but both wrestlers avoids her diving senton, Hibiki gets a white powder and throws it into KAORU’s face. Chisako comes over to help with a chair but she hits KAORU by accident, Hibiki quickly dropkicks Chisako and schoolboys KAORU for the three count! Hibiki is the winner.

A short match but still fun to watch and it progressed Hibiki’s unique story. For a match that wasn’t very long, it had a lot of shenanigans and hard hits, as all three did their part to put over what they were doing. Hibiki out-maneuvering her opponents in what was essentially a 2 vs. 1 match was well done as it felt smart rather than cheap. Hibiki took a fair beating on her way to victory to earn it, and she is definitely not wrestling as a comedic gimmick but rather unhinged. For a short three way match, I thought they delivered what they were going for and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Hibiki in the future.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura

Rin and Mika jaw before the match can even start and start trading blows, while their two teammates look on, letting them go at it. Rin temporarily wins but Mika battles back, dropkick by Rin and she covers Mika for two. Rin tags Mio, kicks by Mio in the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Mio gets Mika up and applies a rolling front necklock, but releases the hold so she can dropkick her in the back of the head. Mio tags Rin back in, scoop slam by Rin and she mushes Mika’s head. Enzuigiri by Mika and she kicks Rin against the ropes before tagging in Chihiro. Hard shoulderblock by Chihiro, she scoop slams Rin and hits a running somersault senton. Mika returns, kicks by Mika and she applies a headlock. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Rin, starting to focus on her arm. snapmare by Mika and she kicks Rin in the back, she tags in Chihiro who puts Rin in an abdominal stretch. Mio breaks it up with a dropkick, Chihiro picks up Rin but Rin fights back with elbows. Chihiro elbows her back to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but Mio breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Rin and yanks on her arm before tagging in Mika, Irish whip by Mika but Rin delivers a jumping lariat.

Quick kick by Rin and she makes it to her corner to tag Mio. Mio comes in the ring with a diving crossbody, sliding kick by Mio but Chihiro kicks her from the apron. Chihiro gets in to help but Mio throws Chihiro into Mika and then hurricanranas Chihiro onto Mika. Dropkick by Mio to Chihiro, she goes back to Mika and hits a sliding kick for a two count. Mika shakes Mio off and hits a high knee in the corner, snapmare by Mika and she kicks Mio in the back. Mio ducks the PK but Mika kicks her in the head anyway and tags in Chihiro. Lariat by Chihiro in the corner and she hits a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Chihiro gets Mio on her shoulders before Mika comes in and delivers a head kick. Double Irish whip to Mio, Mio tries to get out of it but is slammed for her efforts. Mika then flips Chihiro onto Mio, picking up a two count. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and nails a somersault senton, but Mio gets a shoulder up. Chihiro picks up Mio but Mio slides away, lariat by Chihiro but Mio fires back with a dropkick. Chihiro hits another lariat but Mio lands on her feet on the suplex attempt, hard elbow by Chihiro but Mio hits a twisting headscissors takedown for two. Mio makes the tag to Rin, Rin goes up top and connects with a missile dropkick. Elevated DDT by Rin and she hits a sliding kick for two. Rin goes off the ropes but Chihiro spears her, she tags in Mika and Mika kicks Rin into the corner.

More kicks by Mika and she applies the cross armbreaker, Rin wiggles out of it so Mika switches it to an armtrap crossface. Mio breaks that up but Chihiro throws her out of the ring, Mika picks up Rin but Rin kicks her in the head. Mika returns the favor, more kicks by Mika and she covers Rin for a two count. More kicks by Mika but Mio breaks up the next cover, Mika picks up Rin and goes to the turnbuckles but Mio grabs her from the apron. Rin pulls Mika back into the ring, missile dropkick by Mio and Rin hits a diving footstomp for two. Rin gets on the top turnbuckle but Mika avoids the somersault senton, they trade elbows as they get up until Chihiro runs in and hits a lariat. Jackknife cover by Mika, but Rin kicks out. Mika waits for Rin to get up but Rin ducks the high kick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Rin goes for another cradle but Mika blocks it, Mio dropkicks Mika in the head but Rin can still only get two. Strike combination by Mika and she covers Rin, but Mio breaks it up. Mio dropkicks Chihiro when she comes in too but Mika kicks Mio, high kick by Mika to Rin but Rin barely gets a shoulder up. Mika goes off the ropes but Rin kicks he, crucifix slam by Rin but Mika is too close to the ropes. She hits a second one, and this time she holds down Mika for the three count! Mio Momono and Rin Kadokura are the winners!

One could never accuse these four of not being hard hitting, they certainly were holding nothing back in this match. Lots and lots of kicks so if you like kicks, this is the match for you. I wish that Mio and Chihiro did more as they felt almost like the side attractions, particularly Chihiro who didn’t get to do much that was memorable as Mika was the focus. But they have to save something for GAEA. Mika and Rin did a good job conveying disdain for each other and even though the arm work was shrugged off, at least they did go back to it towards the end so it wasn’t a meaningless exercise. I don’t love a match like this having a “trading flash pins” part, which seems to now be a requirement in every Joshi match even if it doesn’t fit, but at least they got over it and didn’t end the match in that manner. Not long enough to wear out its welcome (I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few minutes longer), an entertaining match and a good prelude to their match next month.  Recommended

The post Marvelous at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 5/19/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~
Date: March 3rd, 2021
Location: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 3,318
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on PPV and Samurai TV!

It is time for what will likely be the biggest Joshi event of the year! Since Bushiroad purchased Stardom, one of their goals was to have Stardom run in bigger buildings when the time was right, which leads them to Nippon Budokan for All-Star Dream Cinderella. They went all-out for the show, as SEAdLINNNG invades with big singles matches involving Nanae Takahashi and Yoshiko. Also, there is a Rumble with former wrestlers returning, and a total of five title matches. This review will be long so strap in, here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Natsupoi
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• All-Star Rumble with Momoe Nakanishi, Mima Shimoda, Chigusa Nagayo, Kyoko Inoue, Kikutaro, Gokigen Death, Emi Sakura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Miho Wakizawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, Yoko Bito, Yuuri Haruka, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Hiromi Mimura, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Bea Priestley, Ruaka, Mei Hoshizuki, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Saya Iida, and Lady C
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Konami
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship, Hair Vs. Hair Match: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

I will be watching the live broadcast, so matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

(c) AZM vs. Natsupoi
High Speed Championship

They charge each other and get right into a fast exchange, they avoid each others dropkicks and after some flash pins attempts they end up back on their feet. Kick by Natsupoi and she throws AZM into the corner, dropkicking her down to the floor. She goes up top but AZM quickly recovers and gets onto the apron before kicking Natsupoi in the head. Natsupoi falls to the floor, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a double footstomp. AZM rolls Natsupoi back in and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by AZM but it gets two. She applies the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes, Natsupoi throws AZM into the corner but AZM avoids her charge. Kick to the chest by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but AZM rolls through it and applies a submission.

Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes again, AZM goes up top and nails a diving double footstomp for two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits La Mistica, but Natsupoi rolls out of it. Head kick by AZM, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits La Mistica again. Natsupoi gets to the ropes, AZM runs to the corner but when she goes for the triple jump attack, she is greeted by a dropkick from Natsupoi. AZM and Natsupoi trade elbows as they return to their feet, AZM goes off the ropes but Natsupoi catches her with a kick. Backlash by Natsupoi, but AZM kicks out. Waistlock by Natsupoi and she nails a German suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Natsupoi goes up top and delivers the twisting body press, but the cover gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM but AZM elbows her off, rolling inside cradle by AZM but it gets a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, so Natsupoi superkicks AZM in the face. Natsupoi drags up AZM and hits rolling German suplexes, but the third only gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM and nails a Cross-Arm German Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Natsupoi wins and is the new champion!

A really fun way to kick off the show. Not everything was super smooth but the energy helped make up for that as it was just go-go-go from the opening bell. Fans that only watch Stardom may not been as familar with what Natsumi has been up to in recent years but she is fantastic, and she got a pretty dominating win here as by the end of the match she was firmly in control. AZM hit some killer footstomps and stayed in the match, but it almost felt like a coming-out party for Natsumi and I assume she’ll hold the title for awhile. A quality match to begin the big event.  Recommended

(c) Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai jump DDM before the match starts and isolate Maika, double teaming her. Saki stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Himeka before tagging in Natsuko, bootscrapes by Natsuko but Himeka kicks her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover and she tags Himeka, Himeka and Natsuko trade shoulderblocks with Himeka winning the battle. Saki runs in but Himeka stacks them both in the corner and hits a lariat. She puts both up on the turnbuckle and places them in an Argentine Backbreaker together before dropping them to the mat. Himeka picks up Natsuko and delivers a Jumping Knee, but Natsuko kicks out of the cover. Himeka tags Maika, Maika tosses Natsuko around the mat before hitting a STO for a two count. Stomps by Maika and she hits a lariat, but she didn’t notice that Saki blind tagged herself in. Saki jumps in the ring with a bulldog to Maika, Maika is thrown into the corner and Saki hits a running knee. Saki gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a headscissors into a cradle, picking up a two count.

Natsuko is tagged back in, she stacks both opponents in the corner and delivers a cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, she tags Saki and Saki hits a diving footstomp. She quickly tags Natsuko back in, diving body press by Natsuko but Maika kicks out of the cover. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but that gets a two count as well. Natsuko picks up Maika but Himeka runs in to help, Saki kicks Himeka however and she falls out of the ring. Natsuko tags Saki, flying headscissors by Saki to Maika but Himeka cuts her off with a knee. Himeka and Maika charge Saki but accidentally lariat each other, scoop slam by Saki to Maika and she goes up top but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika to Saki, she picks her back up and hits a STO but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Himeka comes in and with Maika they hit a lariat on Saki followed by a sliding lariat for a two count. Maika picks up Saki but Saki slides away and pins her down for a two count. Natsuko has found her way back in but she eats a double chokeslam, Maika picks up Saki and nails a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Donna del Mondo win and retain the championship.

Normally I like title matches to be a little longer than this, but considering the participants and the fact this was a pre-show match, I don’t mind it as much here. This was pretty well-worked, nothing mind blowing but a good match within their limitations. Maika and Himeka are a bundle of fun, I could watch them all day as they bring something fresh and interesting to Stardom’s matches. Saki really brought her A game today which helped elevate the match, and Natsuko didn’t do much which is for the best. Oedo Tai wrestled the match oddly straight besides from the pre-bell jumping, with no cheating which surprised me. A solid match to keep the show rolling along, even if it was nothing special.

Stardom All-Star Rumble

Starlight Kid and Mei Hoshizuki are the first two in the match. They start pretty traditionally as they trade holds, armdrag by Starlight Kid, Mei catches her crossbody attempt but Starlight Kid spins it around into a cradle for two. Dropkick by Mei as Gokigen Death comes down, but she just poses while the other two keep fighting. They get tired of this and jump her, but Starlight Kid and Death end up double teaming Mei. Momoe Nakanishi is the next wrestler to enter the match, she goes up top but Death and Starlight Kid shake the ropes to knock her off. Irish whip to Momoe but she runs over all three opponents and poses on the mat with Death. The veterans stay in control and pose on Starlight Kid and Mei, as Koguma enters the match! First time we have seen Koguma wrestling in almost six years. Koguma hits a falling body press on Death and Starlight Kid before they all get into a fast exchange. Meanwhile the next wrestler is already on their way to the ring, Unagi Sayaka! Starlight Kid is attacked by everyone in the corner but is able to knock back Unagi, Unagi is stomped on by everyone while Saya Iida enters the match. Saya chops everyone, and while she is doing that Mina Shirakawa comes down as the next wrestler in the match.

By now there are too many people in the ring, a common issue in Battle Royal style matches. The Stardom wrestlers get into an exchange while Yuna Manase enters the match. Yuna and Saya exchange shots, Starlight Kid comes over to help but Yuna lariats both of them. Suddenly all of Gatoh Move appear on the ramp as Emi Sakura is the next wrestler down, Emi immediately goes after Momoe and hits a crossbody in the corner. Everyone watches as Emi and Momoe trade dropkick attempts before they hug, but we take a break as Lady C is wrestler #11 to join the match. Lady C snapmares Emi and puts her in a headscissors, and you know what is coming as this starts a giant headscissors chain with all the wrestlers (except Momoe, who runs over all of them instead of joining them). яндекс As it is broken up, Kyoko Inoue enters the ring but she is immediately attacked by everyone. She fights back but Lady C drops her with a chokeslam, everyone covers Kyoko but she kicks out. Lariat by Kyoko to Lady C, and she covers her for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

Ruaka is the next wrestler, she shoulderblocks Kyoko to the mat and boots her, but Kyoko fires back with a lariat for the three count! Ruaka is eliminated. Rina Kadokura enters the match while Emi tricks Kyoko and gets everyone to cover her again, this time getting the three count! Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. We get some Random Chaos in the ring a Hiroyo Matsumoto is the next entry, she is in no rush to enter but eventually makes it into the ring. Miho Wakizawa is wrestler #16, while in the ring Hiroyo is beating everyone with a giant tawashi. Or something like one. Momoe is set up in the ropes to get a rubber band snapped in her face, but it accidentally gets sent back into Miho by mistake. Mima Shimoda comes into the match and dumps Yuna Manase over the top rope! Yuna Manase is eliminated. The legend Bea Priestley enters but Emi chops her in the chest and everyone tries to throw her out of the ring. She hangs on as Yuuri Haruka makes her entrance, meanwhile Mima is thrown over the top rope along with Bea in quick succession. Mima Shimoda and Bea Priestley are eliminated!

Yuuri applies an armbar to Death but it gets broken up, the camera pans to the stage and we see Hiromi Mimura is on her way down. Before she gets in the ring, Emi helps dump Yuuri over the top rope to the floor! Yuuri Haruka is eliminated. Hiromi winds up for an attack but is kicked by Miho, but Starlight Kid comes to the rescue. Hiroyo whacks Hiromi with a backpack, Miho puts Hiromi in the Backslide and she gets the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated. Yoko Bito is the 21st entry, while Hiroyo dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Miho hits a Frankensteiner on Emi onto all the tawashis, and Emi is covered by multiple wrestlers for the three count. Emi Sakura is eliminated. Miho is slow to recover so everyone covers her as well, picking up another three count! Miho Wakizawa is eliminated. Not done yet, the mob rolls up Hiroyo, keeping her down for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is eliminated. That clears the ring a little bit. Yuzuki Aikawa enters as the next wrestler, and she still looks the same as she did when she retired eight years ago. As she slowly walks down, Saya and Starlight Kid work together to throw Rin over the top rope. Rin Kadokura is eliminated. Not wasting time, Chigusa Nagayo quickly follows as she enters the match, Saya Iida greets her and the two trade blows. While they duke it out, the final wrestler enters the match – Kikutaro! 

Back in the ring (which most wrestlers aren’t even in anymore as they stand on the apron) Chigusa drops Saya with a Death Valley Bomb but Saya kicks out of the cover. Chigusa picks up Saya and drops her with a heel kick, but again Saya gets a shoulder up. Saya hulks up and knocks over Chigusa with a double chop, but her cover gets two as Chigusa puts Saya in an armlock. No one helps her and Saya submits! Saya Iida is eliminated. Yuzuki comes in the ring finally and challenges Chigusa, kicks by Yuzuki but Chigusa blocks the heel drop and punches her in the stomach. Yuzuki throws Chigusa into the corner and hits a body avalanche, as everyone else joins in attacking Chigusa in the corner. Yuzuki and Yoko both kick Chigusa, cover by Yuzuki but it gets a two count. She tries again with everyone else helping her, but that gets a two count as well. Chigusa gets back up but is schoolboyed from behind, and finally she is held down for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is eliminated.

Kikutaro still hasn’t entered the ring but finally does so, he’s in full creeper mode as everyone runs away from him. He grabs Unagi but Mina attacks him, Kikutaro covers both of them but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Starlight Kid attacks at Kikutaro, he gets away but Chigusa jaws at him from the apron. Chigusa takes one for the team as Kikutaro grabs her… intimately, she gets back in the ring and hits him with an elbow. Everyone else joins in stomping down Kikutaro, Momo☆Latch by Momoe and she holds down Kikutaro for the three count! Kikutaro is eliminated. Moonsault by Momoe to Death, and she holds her down for the three count as well! Gokigen Death is eliminated. Starlight Kid and Momoe go after each other, Momoe jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Starlight Kid pushes her off before she can hit a move. She keeps hitting Momoe as she dangles on the top rope, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Momoe crashes to the floor. Momoe Nakanishi is eliminated. Snapmare by Yoko to Koguma, she picks her up but Koguma snaps off a DDT. Starlight Kid grabs Koguma and holds her for Yoko, but Koguma ducks and Yoko kicks Starlight Kid by accident. Yoko charges Kid but Kid holds down the top rope, sending Yoko to the apron. Koguma runs over and kicks Yoko, sending her to the floor! Yoko Bito is eliminated. 

We are down to five wrestlers! Cutter by Koguma on Starlight Kid and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Koguma and Unagi trade flash pins, but Unagi gets help from Mina and Yuzuki as they hold down Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated. We are down to three – Mina Shirakawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, and Unagi Sayaka. Yuzuki fights off both Cosmic Angels before getting into an elbow exchange with Mina, slap by Mina but Yuzuki slaps her back. Mina elbows Yuzuki against the ropes and charges her, but Yuzuki avoids the dropkick and hits a heel drop. Yuzuki goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi saves Mina, Mina then returns the favor but Yuzuki nails Mina with a heel kick and delivers the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is eliminated. Yuzuki charges Unagi but Unagi dumps her onto the apron, she goes for a kick but Yuzuki gets her out onto the apron with her. Kicks by Yuzuki as they both stand on the apron but Unagi catches one, heel drop to the back by Unagi and she hits another one to send Yuzuki to the floor. Yuzuki Aikawa is eliminated.  Unagi Sayaka is the last wrestler standing and is the winner!

Its always hard to ‘rate’ Battle Royals, and ones that take place in Japan tend to be even more difficult due to the more lighthearted atmosphere. There was a lot of wrestlers standing out of the way while the planned spots were going on, with some wrestlers such as Koguma disappearing for long periods of time. Some of the exchanges were really enjoyable though, such as Chigusa Nagayo/Saya Iida and the final threesome, and it was really nice of Chigusa Nagayo to “take one for the team” with Kikutaro as I can only imagine the Internet’s reaction if he had done that to Starlight Kid. It was great seeing Yuzuki again in particular, and none of the returning wrestlers looked too out of place. Its a long match with stretches of nothing, but still enough fun moments that long time Joshi fans will likely find something to enjoy.

Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo and Nanae face off and trade slaps, Nanae pushes Momo into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Momo avoids one and kicks Nanae in the head, she hits her own elbows but Nanae gets her back and hits a German suplex. Nanae elbows Momo while she is against the ropes, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor but Nanae catches the PK attempt and hits a dragon screw. Lariat by Nanae but Momo fires back with a dropkick, she dropkicks Nanae down in the corner and delivers a hard dropkick to the chest. More dropkicks by Momo and she kicks Nanae repeatedly in the chest. Nanae eventually catches one but Momo slaps her, headbutts by Nanae and she kicks Momo onto the apron. Nanae picks up Momo and hits a short range lariat, elbows by Nanae and she slams Momo to the mat for a two count cover. Nanae goes off the ropes but Momo nails a head kick, elbows by Momo and she kicks Nanae in the head. Momo goes off the ropes and hits the Somato, but Nanae kicks out of the cover.

Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but again Nanae kicks out. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Nanae and hits the B Driver, but Nanae rolls through it and hits one of her own for a two count. Both wrestlers slowly get up, jumping kick by Nanae and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Momo avoids the Refrigerator Bomb and hits a knee to the back of the head. Momo goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but it gets two. Momo goes back up again but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and this time nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae picks up Momo but Momo slides away and delivers a Tequila Sunrise for two. Momo drags up Nanae but Nanae gets away and hits an elbow. Head kick by Momo, she goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a lariat. Nanae picks up Momo and drops her with the Nana☆Racka but Momo barely kicks out. Nanae picks Momo back up and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

While this match was “good,” something felt like it was missing. Maybe due to the length or placement on the card, it didn’t have that pop I was expecting and never really felt like it elevated itself. If not for the history between Nanae and Stardom, it would have felt like a pretty standard veteran vs. young star match. Which probably isn’t fair, there was nothing “wrong” with the match at all, it just didn’t feel special either. Even with their limited time they seemed to run of out ideas, with lots of Somatos and elbows, and it makes you wonder if they just aren’t too familar with each other and decided to keep it simple. Hard hitting for sure, and Momo held her own, it just felt more like an introduction than an all out war. A decent enough match, but ultimately nothing that will leave a lasting impression once the show ends.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Konami
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They circle each other to start before grappling for position on the mat, Syuri goes for the armbreaker but Konami easily blocks it and goes for one of her own. Syuri gets to the ropes to break the hold, sliding kick by Konami and Syuri falls out to the floor. Natsuko comes over but Konami pushes her away and slides Syuri back in, stomps by Konami and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Konami quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, Syuri rolls out of it but Konami keeps a hold on the arm. Syuri rolls out again and gets a hold of Konami’s ankle, but Konami reverses it and applies her own ankle hold. Konami gets Syuri’s back in a crucifix before driving her to the mat, she gets a stretch hold locked in but Syuri gets to the ropes. Strike combination by Konami and she delivers a head kick, but Syuri fires back with a release German. Konami hits a suplex of her own and applies a sleeper, Syuri gets up but Konami plants her with a Sleeper Suplex for two. Konami goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Syuri catches her leg and hits a double knee gutbuster.

Konami quickly connects with a head kick but is too hurt to capitalize, they slowly get to their knees and trade elbows. They trade kicks as they return to their feet, running knee by Syuri and she covers Konami for two. Syuri applies a guillotine before putting Konami’s feet on the top rope and dropping her with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami slides away and applies a cross armbreaker. Syuri quickly gets out of it and applies a Stretch Muffler, but Konami gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri gets Konami on her shoulders and hits a modified Emerald Frosion, but Konami kicks out of the cover and quickly applies a modified armbar. Syuri muscles out of it and gets the Stretch Muffler re-applied, but modifies it to also tie up Konami’s arm (Stardom called this move the “White Tiger”). Konami struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Syuri wins the match and retains the championship.

Konami shook Syuri’s hand after the match and gave her a hug, showing a level of post-match respect that is rare for a member of Oedo Tai. This definitely had a different feel than most matches in Stardom, as it was a very ground-based and submission focused match. It really did feel like a match these two would have had against each other in 2016, obviously Konami is more polished now than she was back then but the structure reminded me of the older days of Konami. As far as mat-based matches go, this was pretty fun to watch and very fluid, and you could tell they are very comfortable with each other as nothing looked forced. I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement in the closing stretch as it ended with little warning, but still an enjoyable match that probably meant more to the wrestlers than it meant to anyone else.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mayu into the ropes and gives a clean break. Kick by Mayu but Yoshiko blocks the armdrag, hitting one of her own. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she picks up Mayu and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running boot, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko quickly applies a headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Yoshiko picks up Mayu and kicks her in the back. Yoshiko keeps stomping on Mayu’s back before picking her up and applying a stretch hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Mayu reverses it and hits a headscissors. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Yoshiko with a dropkick, sending the SEAdLINNNG wrestler out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and sails out onto Yoshiko (mostly missing) with a plancha suicida, she slowly recovers and slides Yoshiko back in the ring. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt, low kick by Mayu but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mayu crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yoshiko quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton onto Mayu’s back, she goes back up to the second turnbuckle and connects with a regular diving senton for a two count cover.

Yoshiko picks up Mayu but Mayu gets her to the mat with a reverse hurricanrana. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets to the ropes to block the dragon suplex, Mayu pulls her off the ropes but Yoshiko elbows her off. Mayu ducks a lariat and drops Yoshiko with a release German, Yoshiko gets back up but Mayu delivers the dragon suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up to block the move. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they trade strikes when they return to their feet until Yoshiko knocks Mayu back to the mat. Mayu gets back up but eats another hard elbow for her trouble, Mayu returns to her feet and temporarily knocks Yoshiko to her knees before eating two hard lariats. Yoshiko picks up Mayu and slams her to the mat from a fireman’s carry, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko positions Mayu and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the diving senton but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko drags up Mayu but Mayu gets her back and applies a schoolboy for two. Superkick by Mayu and she kicks Yoshiko in the head, another superkick by Mayu and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mayu picks up Yoshiko and delivers the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the winner.

There was a lot to enjoy here, a really entertaining match. Its kinda amazing these two still have such great chemistry after all these years, and everything they did here clicked. Yoshiko’s work on Mayu’s back was top notch, probably good enough it could have used a little more long term selling by Mayu but Mayu constantly looks in pain so it still worked out. I really loved the ending, with Mayu not wasting a second before going to the moonsault. No slow dramatic climb up the turnbuckles and pointing to the crowd, just quickly taking advantage of a hurt Yoshiko who is not the easiest wrestler to pin. The time just flew by and I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few more minutes, but they told their story and told it well. I don’t know where Stardom and SEAdLINNNG’s relationship is going from here, but this was a great hard hitting match that delivered on the expectations.  Highly Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
World of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Saya quickly kicks her and they lock-up before trading holds, they go through an exchange off the ropes ending with Utami dropkicking Saya in the chest. Utami picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami puts Saya in the ropes and delivers a sliding kick to the back, double kneedrop to the back by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami applies a Camel Clutch but Saya inches to the ropes for the break. Utami stomps at Saya and boots her in the corner, Utami picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Saya fights back but Utami avoids her dropkick and kicks Saya in the back. Saya fires back with a dropkick of her own, hurricanrana by Saya and Utami falls out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes and dives out onto Utami with a tope con hilo, she picks up Utami and tosses her back into the ring. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and the two trade shots. Utami wins the battle, she picks up Saya and goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Saya and she covers Utami for a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and delivers a sliding kick.

Utami picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a Canadian Destroyer, scoop slam by Saya and she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind and knocks her onto the apron. Saya comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, she picks up Utami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and hits a release German. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya spins off and delivers a heel kick. Saya picks up Utami and drops her with a fisherman sitout slam, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami avoids the Phoenix Splash. Utami applies a sleeper but Saya drives her back into the corner to break it up, Saya charges Utami but Utami gets her on her shoulders and nails the Air Raid Crash. Utami gets the sleeper on but Saya gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Saya and gets her onto her shoulders, she spins Saya around and slams her to the mat for a two count. Utami picks up Saya and gets her up in a crucifix, but Saya hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Utami recovers first and picks up Saya, rocking her with a hard lariat. Another lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and nails the Hijack Bomb (Spinning BT Bomb) for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

While the last match was great, this one was even better. Even though Saya wasn’t an A+ challenger, she still brought everything she had and she has never looked better than she did here. Everything she hit was smooth as butter and her selling was top-notch, as she made everything Utami did look like death. She did so well in the match, I actually was buying into the nearfalls which is the biggest compliment I can give to a match that on paper had a clear winner. The dynamic between Utami’s power and Saya’s finesse created constantly entertaining back and forths, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire match as there was no telling what they were going to do. The ending was definitive as Utami threw Saya right through the ring, a fitting ending to an evenly contested match. These two are the future of Stardom if they stick with wrestling, easily the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career and a great showing from Utami as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After circling each other they start tracking strikes, waistlock by Giulia and they trade holds. Tam gets Giulia to the mat but Giulia applies a headscissors, Tam slaps Giulia before returning to her feet. Tam goes for a cutter but Giulia applies a sleeper, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. Giulia goes for a dropkick but Tam moves and applies a sleeper, Giulia tries to get out of it with a backdrop suplex but Tam lands on top of her. They trade elbows until Tam knocks Giulia to the mat, Giulia rolls out of the ring to recover while Tam waits for her in the ring. Giulia returns after a moment and picks up Tam, but Tam wiggles away. Release German by Giulia with Tam ending up on the apron, Giulia goes out to the apron as well and kicks Tam in the head. Giulia goes for a suplex but Tam blocks it, big boot by Giulia and she hits a cutter onto the apron. Tam falls out of the ring with Giulia going out after her, Giulia twists Tam in the guardrail and chokes her. Giulia stops choking her long enough to throw Tam into the railing, big boot by Giulia and she throws Tam into the rail again. Giulia gets a table and sets it up at ringside, she grabs Tam and pulls her up onto the table with her. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her onto the table with a piledriver, she returns to the ring while Tam slowly follows behind her. Giulia plants a sliding kick on Tam, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count.

Giulia gets on the top turnbuckle but Tam slowly gets up and joins her, Giulia grabs her head however and applies a guillotine choke while still on the turnbuckles. She lets go after a moment and Tam flops back to the mat, she goes for a missile dropkick but Tam avoids it. Tam goes for a knee but Giulia catches it, she gets Tam up in a Glorious position but Tam reverses it with Reverse DDT. Giulia recovers first and mounts Tam, slapping her in the face. Hard elbow by Giulia and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Giulia falls out of the ring, Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. Tam slides Giulia back in, Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks her suplex attempt, getting to the ropes. Tam pulls her away and hits Giulia’s Glorious Driver, but it gets a two count. Tam drags up Giulia and kicks her repeatedly in the head, but Giulia ducks a kick and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam pushes her away, headbutt by Giulia and she delivers a Glorious Driver for a two count cover. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, Tam connects with a series of slaps before knocking Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and returns the favor, heel kick by Tam and she hits a second one. Giulia comes at Tam but Tam picks her up and drills Giulia with a Sitout Tam Screwdriver for a two count. Tam drags Giulia back up and nails the Twilight Dream, and she keeps Giulia down for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is the new Wonder of Stardom Champion!

There is a lot to digest here. First, the emotion was certainly there and it just had a more urgent feeling than the last few matches. They weren’t really focused on trading bombs but having a real struggle, full of one-upmanship and emotion that was tangible. They still had a couple big moves but honestly they weren’t needed, the table spot was neat but added little to the match as that wasn’t what the match was about. Its harder to rate matches that are more about story and heart than smooth wrestling and big moments, but when considering all things this was a very captivating and memorable match. They didn’t fall into the ‘trading 2.999 nearfalls’ trap that many “epic” matches fall into, so each pinfall felt meaningful. Tam killed Giulia at the end, which was needed as a non-definitive ending just wouldn’t have worked to end this match and feud. A fitting way to end one of the best Joshi events in years, a very entertaining match that will be talked about in Stardom circles for years to come.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella on 3/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Like most people with a soul, I adore Mio Momono. Not only is she a talented wrestler but she also has an over-abundance of joy and playfulness to her that one can’t help but love and respect. Unfortunately, Mio tore her ACL in December and will be out of action for awhile, however she still shows up a Marvelous events when she is able to. To keep her active, Mio Momono was given a chance to produce her own show, and to show my support I am going to review it as I try to get the word out about special young wrestlers. Here is the full card:

• Chikayo Nagashima and Yuu Yamagata vs. DASH Chisako and Megumi Yabushita
• Mikoto Shindo and Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tae Honma and Miyuki Takase
• KAORU vs. Ray Lyn, Maria, and Rin Kadokura
• “Tomoko Watanabe” vs. ZAP
• Bryan Idol, Takumi Iroha, and Leo Isaka vs. Yuki Miyazaki, Nene D.a.i., and Batten BlaBla

That is quite an assortment of wrestlers. It should be noted this will mostly be a playful affair as Mio is a playful person, so this isn’t an event aiming for your traditional Five Stars Classic matches. All Joshi wrestlers listed above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. Lets get rolling.

Chikayo Nagashima and Yuu Yamagata vs. DASH Chisako and Megumi Yabushita

Chisako and Megumi attack from behind before the match officially starts and they start double teaming Chikayo. They do a moment to imitate Mio Momono’s pose and Chikayo takes advantage, kicking both of them and leaving just Megumi in the ring with her. Megumi runs the ropes but Chikayo trips her, kicks by Chikayo but Megumi rolls her up for a two count. Megumi runs the ropes again but Chikayo does too until Megumi sneaks away to tag in Chisako. Chikayo and Chisako lock knuckles, wristlock by Chikayo but Chisako gets out of it. Yuu and Megumi both come in the ring, Yuu leaves after a moment and Megumi runs the ropes with Chisako and Chikayo. Now Chikayo runs the ropes and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Chikayo but it gets a two count. Chikayo and Chisako both grab chairs, Chikayo knocks away Chisako’s chair but Chisako dropkicks Chikayo’s own chair into her. Facebuster by Chisako to Chikayo, she goes off the ropes and hits a footstomp. Chisako tags Megumi and Megumi whips Chikayo in the back with a belt. Chikayo eventually slides away from Megumi’s belt and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, dropkick by Chikayo but Chisako comes in to help her partner. Yuu tries to help Chikayo also but it backfires and Megumi puts Chikayo in a submission hold, but she needs to run the ropes before winning. She does as Chikayo gets up, both both of them get tired from the rope running.

Chikayo jumps up in the corner and applies a hanging headscissors, Chikayo goes off the ropes and puts Megumi in a Stretch Muffler, but there wasn’t enough rope running so the referee doesn’t react. Megumi gets up, runs the ropes a few times and lets Chikayo put the move back on, but Chisako breaks it up. KAORU comes in the ring and runs the ropes before leaving, as Yuu is finally tagged in. Yuu puts Megumi in a leg lock and grabs Chisako when she comes in, hitting a vertical suplex. Megumi gets away from Yuu and tags Chisako, Chisako goes to the top turnbuckle and connects with the missile dropkick. Dropkick in the corner by Chisako and she kicks Yuu down near the corner, she goes up top again but Chikayo runs over and prevents her from jumping off. Megumi goes over and gets rid of Chikayo, Hormone Splash by Chisako but Chikayo trips her when she goes off the ropes. Chisako goes for a German suplex, Chikayo tosses Yuu a belt to try to guide her to the ropes but the idea doesn’t work. Yuu gets mad so Chikayo whips her, Chikayo hits a diving footstomp on her own partner and Chisako follows up with an assisted splash. All three of them run off the ropes and do Mio’s pose, Chisako goes off the ropes again and she attempts to cradle Yuu, but Yuu reverses the cradle into her own three count victory! Yuu Yamagata (and technically Chikayo Nagashima) are the winners.

This was an interesting idea as in a way its a parody of a comedic wrestling match, taking it to the next level of ridiculousness. The wrestlers didn’t really want to be in the match but they made the best of their situation, and the mixed teams almost made it through the match before things broke down. So clearly this was a silly match, your mileage will vary on if it was good but it was definitely unique to see them try to pull off a High Speed match with some success but mostly awkwardness and confusion. Perfectly fine for an opener.

Mikoto Shindo and Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tae Honma and Miyuki Takase

Miyuki and Tae kick their opponents before the match starts, Mikoto is knocked out of the ring and Miyuki stays in to focus on Mei. Scoop slam by Miyuki and she starts on Mei’s back, she tags in Tae and Tae continues where she left off. Mikoto comes in to help by making loud noises with a spoon and pan, giving Mei time to tag her in, and together they dropkick Tae. Mikoto puts Tae in the ropes but Miyuki runs in to help. Miyuki gets put in the ropes too by both rookies and they rub washcloths into their face for reasons I’m unsure of. But it doesn’t look pleasant anyway. Mei and Mikoto both deliver dropkicks, cover by Mikoto but Tae kicks out. Scoop slam by Mikoto and she puts Tae in a camel clutch before Mei comes in and puts a frying pan on her head before hitting the pan with a ladle. Mikoto tags Mei, Mei hits a series of dropkicks on Tae for a two count. Tae flips Mei onto the apron but Mei lands on her feet and slides under the bottom rope, dropkick by Mei but Tae has had enough and hits a series of elbows. Running elbow by Tae in the corner, Miyuki tosses Tae a hand brush and she uses it on Mei’s face. Tae gets a marker and draws on Mei’s face as well. Snapmare by Tae and she dropkicks Mei for a two count.

Armbar by Tae but Mei gets a foot on the ropes for the break, dropkick to the back by Tae and she tags in Miyuki. Miyuki goes out to the apron and chops Mei repeatedly in the chest, back in the ring she hits a scoop slam before covering her for two. Miyuki goes off the ropes but gets tripped, Mei gets the frying pan but Miyuki blocks her from slamming her onto it. Miyuki picks up Mei and slams her onto the pan, she picks it up and tries to bend it, but can’t. She tries to hit Mei but Mei steals it from her and hits Miyuki in the head. Mei gets the marker and draws on Miyuki’s face, dropkicks by Mei and Mikoto to Miyuki and Mikoto covers her for a two count. Mikoto grabs the ladle and hits Miyuki in the leg with it, Miyuki elbows Mikoto into the corner but Mikoto schoolboys her for two. She goes for a few more flash pins with no luck, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki levels her with a lariat. Miyuki picks up Mikoto and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam, she gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the guillotine leg drop, but Mei barely breaks up the cover. Miyuki picks up Mikoto and deliver the spinning Samoan Driver, and she picks up the three count! Tae Honma and Miyuki Takase win!

While I can’t explain the meaning behind the various “weapons” used in this match, when they were focused on the wrestling itself you can tell that all four have a lot of potential. They are all young and early in their careers but their timing is on-point and they show an ability to entertain both with their in-ring work and playing with the crowd. In a normal situation I wouldn’t have minded a bit more “substance” so they could show off a bit more, but on a show booked by Mio Momono its going to be more carefree just be default. Decent enough, although nothing overly memorable.

KAORU vs. Ray Lyn, Maria, and Rin Kadokura

KAORU is jumped by all three before the match starts but they miss a triple dropkick which gives KAORU time to get her board. Rin dropkicks the board back into her before Maria and Ray hit dropkicks as well, Maria and Ray leave the ring to leave Rin as the legal wrestler. Rin tags in Maria but KAORU boots her in the chest, vertical suplex by KAORU and she covers Maria, but Rin breaks it up. KAORU and the rest of W-FIX pose with Maria in the ropes, but Rin and Ray come over and break things up. Maria dropkicks KAORU in the back as does Ray, Rin follows with her own dropkick and Maria covers KAORU for two. Ray is tagged in, kick combination by Ray and she hits a seated senton for two. Ray gets KAORU in the corner and hits a running knee, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for another two count. Ray goes off the ropes but is tripped from the floor, KAORU knocks Rin and Maria off the apron and W-FIX attacks all three around the ring while KAORU rests inside. They eventually all get back into the ring as the W-FIX assault continues, they finally leave the ring and KAORU suplexes all three of her opponents on the mat near the corner. KAORU then goes up top and nails the Valkyrie Splash on all three of them, cover on Ray but she kicks out at two.

Ray recovers and kicks KAORU in the head, she tags in Rin and Rin comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Rin, but Chikayo Nagashima breaks it up by throwing a chair at her. Rin is sat down in the chair and kicked by Nagashima, Chisako, and Yabushita, delayed brainbuster by KAORU but Ray breaks up the cover. KAORU puts Rin on the top turnbuckle and tries to join her, but Maria and Ray pull her back to the mat, allowing Rin to hit a missile dropkick. Chisako hits a missile dropkick to Rin’s back, Ray and Maria try to help but Chisako dropkicks them as well. Maria tags herself in, double vertical suplex to Maria, and KAORU covers her for two. Irish whip by KAORU to Maria but Rin grabs her from the apron, allowing Maria to hit a dropkick. More dropkicks by Maria and she hits a body slam, she goes off the ropes but Yabushita whips her from the floor. Ray and Rin come in, KAORU eats a double superkick and Rin goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick onto KAORU. Maria goes for flash pins but KAORU kicks out of each one, Chisako and Nagashima both return and suplex Rin and Ray from behind. Maria grabs KAORU and hits a scoop slam, but KAORU bridges out of the pin and rolls up Maria for the three count! KAORU is the winner.

I have to give them credit as this was more entertaining than I was expecting. I have no issue with W-FIX interfering a lot since it was a 3 vs. 1 match in the first place, leaving KAORU alone the bulk of the time. They gave Maria a lot more offense than I was expecting and most of the exchanges were pretty even all thing considered. The ending was great as KAORU won with just a cradle on a child rookie, showing she had to grab the win whenever she could since Rin and Ray were always lurking around to break up pins. Overall one of better laid-out 3 vs. 1 handicap matches I’ve seen in recent memory, really fun match.  Recommended

Tomoko Watanabe vs. ZAP

I will say I have respect for wrestlers that don’t mind wrestling Sakura Hirota wearing a fat suit making fun of them. They talk for a bit before ZAP gets mad and starts tossing “Watanabe” around, but “Watanabe” comes back with a face crusher and does the Mutoh pose. Irish whip to the corner by “Watanabe” but she takes too long to do a move and ZAP kicks her. Scoop slam by ZAP but “Watanabe” avoids the leg drop and runs the ropes over her, she goes to fall onto ZAP but ZAP gets her feet up. “Watanabe” stays on the mat and encourage ZAP to go off the ropes and jump over her, which she finally does, but “Watanabe” gives her a quick Oil Check and rolls up ZAP for two. Face crusher by “Watanabe” and she grabs ZAP’s arm, she goes and walks the ropes but eventually slips and crotches them. ZAP goes off the ropes but “Watanabe” drop toeholds her into them, “Watanabe” sets up ZAP in the ropes and delivers a running Oil Check. ZAP rolls out of the ring and “Watanabe” goes off the ropes, but she gets stuck in the ropes while going for a dive. ZAP takes “Watanabe” up into the stands and beats her up, she finally rolls her back into the ring but “Watanabe” pushes her off and hits few headbutts. She knocks herself out doing this, ZAP picks up “Watanabe” and throws her to the ropes, “Watanabe” goes for a springboard move but ZAP moves. “Watanabe” goes for an Oil Check but “Watanabe” flips her off of her, Lariat by ZAP but “Watanabe” kicks out. ZAP picks up “Watanabe” and goes for a powerbomb, but “Watanabe” is too fat and falls on top of her. “Watanabe” kisses ZAP, she goes off the ropes but ZAP falls on top of her due to the kiss and “Watanabe” gets pinned for the three count! ZAP wins!

For what it was, this was fine. I’m not the biggest fan of Sakura Hirota but her cosplay matches are pretty harmless. They all follow the same pattern and have the same spots but the live crowd always enjoys it so it has its place. A bit interesting just to see Tomoko Watanabe playing along but that’s about it for me.

Bryan Idol, Takumi Iroha, and Leo Isaka vs. Yuki Miyazaki, Nene D.a.i., and Batten BlaBla

Takumi and Batten start the match, Takumi throws down Batten by the hair and kicks him in the corner. They trade holds, Takumi gets the better of it as Batten wiggles around on the mat, which Takumi has no time for as she throws Batten in the corner so her team can all hit running elbow strikes. Cover by Takumi, but it gets two. Takumi tags Leo, Batten chops Leo in the throat and stomps on his chest. Batten tags Nene, Nene and Leo trade elbows and armdrags before reaching a stalemate. Idol and Yuki are tagged in, Yuki kicks Idol in the shin and puts Idol in the crotch stretcher, Idol gets out of it and Yuki quickly tags in Batten. Batten and Idol mess around a bit until Batten throws Idol in the corner and delivers a running chop to the throat. Batten goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, cover by Batten but it gets two. Batten tags Nene, Nene gives Idol a kiss which leads to Idol chopping him to the mat. Nene goes for an inside cradle but Idol blocks it and hits a suplex, knees by Idol and he hits a double underhook suplex.

Idol tags Leo, Idol picks up Leo and tosses him down onto Nene. Leg sweep by Leo and he connects with a running knee, he goes for a springboard move but Nene catches him with a cutter. Scoop slam by Nene, he goes up top and hits a slingshot crossbody for two. Nene tags Yuki, sliding kick by Yuki but Leo gets Yuki’s back. Yuki gets away but Leo connects with a step-up enzuigiri and tags in Takumi. Yuki suplexes Takumi and drives her face repeatedly into her rear, Leo comes in but he gets the same treatment. Idol felt left out and comes in, he gets on the mat and gets it as well. Yuki goes out and gets Mio Momono, she brings her into the ring and grabs her by the end with her legs, driving her head into her rear end as well. Mio is unconscious and is rolled nicely back out of the ring, Takumi kicks Yuki in the leg but Yuki goes for a kiss, which is blocked. She blocks it a second time and punches Yuki in the face, kick combination by Takumi and she goes off the ropes, but Yuki catches her with a Samoan Driver.

Leo runs in and hits a sliding kick on Yuki as things break down, Idol comes in too and he spears Batten off the apron. Leo gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a moonsault, Idol rolls in Batten and he covers him for two. Not sure how they are legal but we have loose rules here. Batten chops Idol in the throat but Idol catches him with a tombstone piledriver. Idol runs to the corner and goes for a moonsault, but Batten rolls out of the way. Takumi tags back in and hits a head kick, missile dropkick by Leo to Batten and Takumi hits a vertical suplex. Takumi goes up top but Yuki comes in and joins her, Yuki kisses Takumi before hitting a superplex. Nene comes in and picks up Takumi, scoop slam by Nene and he hits a somersault senton for two. Headscissors by Nene, Batten and Yuki both come in and go for elbow drops but Takumi kicks them both back. Takumi hits a low blow on all three of her opponents, buzzsaw kick to Batten but Batten barely kicks out of the cover. Takumi goes up top and nails the Swanton Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Bryan Idol, Takumi Iroha, and Leo Isaka are the winners.

There is a lot to unpack here. First, its an absolutely bizarre combination of wrestlers, which is part of the charm but will also leave most Western fans confused as these are not wrestlers most people are even familiar with. I don’t know the real life connection or how they ended up here but it definitely gave the match a unique feel. I wouldn’t say most of the in-ring work was crisp, although Idol hit all his spots well and left a positive impression. I also liked Mio getting involved, even if not necessarily by choice, since it was her show after all. Much of this match was pretty uneventful however as aside from a few memorable spots not a lot was happening that sticks in your brain. There was no rhyme or reason to it whatsoever and tags meant nothing, it was more like Mio Momono’s brain just exploded in the ring and this is what hopped out of it for reasons unknown. A unique spectacle but not something I could ever put a rating on.

The post Marvelous “Mio Momono Produce” on 3/18/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE is really on top of uploading events to the WAVE Network, and the last few months they seem to have really put a focus on making the service worth the money. They have already added several events from the last two months, but we are going to skip ahead to the most recent event as it has a handful of matches I really want to see. I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches, here is the line-up:

• Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi
• Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki
• Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki
• 20 Minute Iron Woman Match: ASUKA vs. Hikaru Shida
• WAVE Tag Team Championship: Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami

Since this aired on the WAVE Network there shouldn’t be any clipping. As always, all the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi

Hiroe and Mikoto start the match, Hiroe pushes Mikoto into the ropes but Mikoto fires back with elbows. Hiroe avoids the dropkick and hits a few of her own, vertical suplex by Hiroe and she covers Mikoto for two. Hiroe tags Miyuki, stomps by Miyuki but Mikoto dropkicks her from behind and tags Tsukushi. Tsukushi bites Miyuki and throws her down by the hair, Irish whip by Tsukushi but Miyuki delivers a dropkick. Hiroe comes in to help as Tsukushi is double teamed in the corner, cover by Miyuki but Tsukushi kicks out. Miyuki applies a bodyscissors and rolls Tsukushi around the ring before ending in a cradle, Miyuki goes to pick up Tsukushi but Tsukushi kicks her and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Tsukushi in the corner and she hits a drop toehold as Mikoto comes in. Mikoto and Tsukushi take turns running onto Miyuki, Tsukushi sets up Miyuki in the ropes and pulls back on her nose. Tsukushi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Miyuki in the back, cover by Tsukushi but it gets two. Tsukushi tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Miyuki for a two count. Mikoto goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki blocks it and hits one of her own, Mikoto quickly gets back up and elbows Miyuki but again her scoop slam attempt is reversed. Mikoto finally connects with the scoop slam, but Miyuki kicks out of her cover attempts. Mikoto goes for a dropkick but Miyuki blocks it and hits a scoop slam, leg drop by Miyuki and she gets on the second turnbuckle to hit a diving forearm smash. Miyuki tags Hiroe, dropkick by Hiroe and she hits a vertical suplex. Crab hold by Hiroe but Tsukushi breaks it up, Hiroe goes up top but Tsukushi smacks her from the apron.

This gives Mikoto time to recover as she tosses Hiroe back to the mat, dropkicks by Mikoto and she hits a scoop slam. Mikoto goes off the ropes  and applies a backslide, but that gets a two as well. Hiroe goes for a lariat but Mikoto cradles her, Mikoto goes off the ropes and dropkicks Hiroe before tagging in Tsukushi. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a diving bodypress onto Hiroe, she goes for a second one but Hiroe joins her. Tsukushi gets on Hiroe’s back and applies a stretch hold while they are on the turnbuckles, Tsukushi then goes for a powerbomb but Hiroe blocks it until Mikoto hits Hiroe from the apron. Hiroe still prevents Tsukushi from taking her over, vertical suplex by Hiroe but Tsukushi fires back with an elbow and they trade shots. Spear by Hiroe, but Tsukushi barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes in and slams Tsukushi in front of the corner, diving leg drop by Miyuki and Hiroe follows with the Northern Lights Suplex, but Mikoto breaks it up. Hiroe goes off the ropes but Mikoto catches her with a dropkick, Tsukushi follows with a dropkick of her own and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Mikoto comes in again but Hiroe spears both of them, Hiroe goes for a backdrop suplex but Tsukushi rolls her up for two. A hurricanrana by Tsukushi is reversed as Hiroe and Tsukushi trade flash pins, Tsukushi throws in some footstomps between covers but she only gets a two each time. Denden Mushi by Tsukushi, and she picks up the three count! Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi are the winners!

This was a pretty simply laid out match but easy enough to watch. Mikoto just debuted a couple months ago so her offense is really basic, and since the match was built around her everyone else followed suit. Tsukushi threw in some fun tricks, she’s really unique and a pleasure to watch, but other than a few of her spots there wasn’t a whole lot to it. Perfectly fine for an opener but nothing overly memorable or special about it.

Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki

The taller Himeka asks for a Test of Strength and Nagisa agrees, which Himeka gets the better of. Nagisa applies a headlock but Himeka Irish whips out of it and shoulderblocks Nagisa down. She goes off the ropes but Nagisa hits a drop toehold and goes for a submission, with Himeka quickly getting into the ropes. Stomps by Nagisa but Himeka hits a scoop slam, crab hold by Himeka but Nagisa gets into the ropes for the break. Himeka stomps on Nagisa’s back but Nagisa blocks the Irish whip and hits a boot. She goes for another one but Himeka moves, Nagisa lands out on the apron and she snaps Himeka’s neck on the top rope. Nagisa slaps Himeka in the chest repeatedly but Himeka blocks the suplex attempt, big boot by Nagisa in the corner and she sets up Himeka before booting her in the head again. Nagisa goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Nagisa but it gets two. Nagisa picks up Himeka and puts her in a sleeper, but Himeka twists out of it. Nagisa kicks Himeka into the corner but Himeka avoids the boot attempt and hits a body avalanche. Shoulderblock by Himeka, she picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her and the two trade blows. Himeka eventually knocks down Nagisa with a shoulderblock for two, she picks her back up but Nagisa slides away and hits a series of knees. Boot by Nagisa and she hits a double underhook suplex, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding kick for two. Nagisa knees Himeka and goes off the ropes, but Himeka swats away the boot attempt and schoolboys her for two. Running knee by Himeka, but that gets a two as well. She next tries a jumping knee, but has the same result. Himeka gets Nagisa on her shoulders but Nagisa applies a sleeper, she reverts it into a Dragon Sleeper and Himeka taps out! Nagisa Nozaki is the winner!

If you are using the “big boot” as your part of a strike exchange, I’m probably not going to take it too seriously. Anyway this match was bizarre as I was not expecting Himeka to be the dominate fighter as while she is a big bigger than Nagisa, she isn’t really enough bigger to act like its a major advantage. I get that she ‘wrestles big’ but I wasn’t expecting it to this extent. Nagisa is an average wrestler and Himeka was actually more impressive than the veteran, to say Nagisa’s offense is repetitive would be an understatement. While it is good to see Himeka progressing, this match didn’t do a whole lot for me.

Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha vs. Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki

Rin and Sakura start but Sakura immediately tags in Yuki before they both roll out of the ring. We are off to a great start. Rin and Takumi go out after them and they battle around the floor, mostly out of the camera’s view since show was shot with one hard side camera. Its manned, but they still can’t really move aside from going side to side. Sakura gets Takumi by the wrist and walks the guard rail before hitting an armdrag. More things happen we can’t really see until Yuki and Rin finally make it back to the ring, with Yuki quickly putting Rin in a Compromising Position until Takumi breaks it up. Rin elbows Yuki in the chest but Yuki swats her dropkick aside. She wants her to tag in Takumi but she won’t, scoop slam by Yuki and she throws Rin into the corner so Takumi will tag. Takumi does so, high kick by Takumi and she dropkicks Yuki. Takumi goes for a suplex but Yuki reverses it, back up Takumi punches Yuki in the head and delivers a kick combination, but Yuki ducks one and drives Takumi’s head repeatedly into her backside. She takes Takumi out of the ring as Sakura gets in it, Sakura goes for a dive but catches the second rope and bounces back into the ring. Yuki and Takumi return, kick by Takumi but Yuki delivers a sliding kick and tags in Sakura. Sakura puts Takumi into a couple submission holds while Yuki dropkicks her, she goes for the Shining Wizard but Takumi blocks it and hits a roaring elbow. Takumi goes for a suplex but Sakura lands on her feet and hits an Oil Check, she goes off the ropes but Takumi kicks her in the stomach. Sakura goes for a hurricanrana but Takumi catches her and delivers a powerbomb for a two count.

Takumi goes off the ropes but Yuki trips her from the floor and pulls Takumi out of the ring, Sakura goes for another dive but again she catches the second rope  and lands back in the ring. She tries again and has the same result, this time landing out on the floor. They battle out of our view but return after a moment, both Sakura and Yuki have green on their face so I assume they got misted along the way. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Sakura followed directly by a Takumi German suplex, catapult leg drop by Rin and Takumi hits a buzzsaw kick, but Sakura gets a shoulder up on the cover. Takumi picks up Sakura but Sakura cradles her for two, Irish whip by Sakura but Takumi delivers a heel kick. Jackknife cover by Rin (she silently tagged in), but it gets two. Rin dropkicks Sakura while she is against the ropes, she goes up top but Yuki pushes Sakura out of the way and eats the missile dropkick instead. Yuki and Sakura hug, Rin kicks Yuki as Takumi returns but Yuki lariats both of them. Yuki flings Sakura onto Rin and Takumi, but Rin blocks their next attempt. Takumi gets up and with Rin they superkick Yuki into the corner, she slams Sakura near the corner as well and hits a cannonball onto Yuki while Takumi nails the senton bomb off the top onto Sakura. Cover by Rin, but Yuki breaks it up. Takumi high kicks Sakura, Rin goes off the ropes but Sakura falls on top of her for two. Yuki picks up Rin and kisses her, she then throws both her opponents in different corners and with Sakura takes turns delivering running kisses. Don’t ask, I don’t know. Sakura and Yuki then both hit such vicious Oil Checks that Takumi and Rin spray red mist, Shining Wizard by Sakura but Rin barely kicks out. Sakura goes off the ropes but Rin spins and falls on top of her, picking up the three count! Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha win!

Even if Sakura Hirota and Yuki Miyazaki were my cup of tea (they aren’t), we still missed about 25% off the match which happened off camera so regardless its a disappointment. The few parts they really started to wrestle it was fine, and its always a pleasure to watch Rin Kadokura and Takumi Iroha, but between the action we couldn’t see and the tired comedy its not a match I can really recommend watching.

ASUKA vs. Hikaru Shida
20 Minute Iron Woman Match

They get into a fast paced exchange right off the bat but reach a stalemate, ASUKA gets Hikaru to the mat as they jockey for position until ASUKA applies a stretch hold. Hikaru struggles back up but ASUKA maintains a side headlock, Hikaru finally gets out of it but ASUKA stomps her when she pancakes. Armdrag by Hikaru and she charges ASUKA, but ASUKA holds down the ropes and Hikaru falls out of the ring. ASUKA goes to do a dive but flips back into the ring instead and does a little dance, Hikaru returns but ASUKA slams her to the mat. Another slam by ASUKA and a third, she goes off the ropes but Hikaru catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Hikaru stomps on ASUKA near the ropes before picking her up and hitting a backbreaker, cover by Hikaru but it gets two. Hikaru picks up ASUKA but ASUKA elbows her and the two trade shots until Hikaru hits a vertical suplex. Hikaru goes off the ropes but ASUKA ducks the knee and hits a rebound crossbody off the ropes. ASUKA picks up Hikaru but Hikaru knees her, ASUKA backflips from Hikaru and delivers the Space Rolling Elbow. ASUKA jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Hikaru pushes her off, sending ASUKA crashing to the floor. Hikaru goes after her and takes her around the ring (luckily on the same side as the camera), they both get up on a table as Hikaru goes for a suplex, but ASUKA blocks it and boots Hikaru off the table to the floor. ASUKA then tosses chairs over and over down onto Hikaru (so we assume, we can see ASUKA tossing the chairs but not Hikaru’s body from our view), she eventually gets down but keeps throwing chairs at Hikaru. Hikaru recovers and goes for a suplex on the floor but ASUKA reverses it, she rolls Hikaru back into the ring and hits a superkick for a two count. ASUKA picks up Hikaru and hits a German suplex hold, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. ASUKA goes up top but Hikaru hits her from behind and suplexes ASUKA to the mat. Hikaru grabs ASUKA but ASUKA knocks her back, ASUKA goes for a chokeslam but Hikaru blocks it and knees ASUKA in the back. Falcon Arrow by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but ASUKA superkicks her and delivers the chokeslam for two. ASUKA goes up top but Hikaru avoids the moonsault and hits a running knee for two. They trade cradles with no result, Hikaru goes off the ropes and she nails the Tamashi no Three Count for the three count! Hikaru Shida is up 1-0 at 12:24 in the match.

The break is very brief as Hikaru goes back after ASUKA but ASUKA elbows her and the two trade shots. Hikaru goes for a suplex but ASUKA lands on her feet, Hikaru blocks the chokeslam attempt but ASUKA hits a superkick. Hikaru ducks ASUKA’s boot and bails out of the ring, ASUKA goes after her but Hikaru quickly rolls back in. Hikaru kicks ASUKA as she returns and knees her in the leg while it is in the ropes before applying the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Hikaru picks her up and hits a knee breaker to set up the Stretch Muffler again. Again ASUKA gets to the ropes (we are at about 16:30 now) so Hikaru applies a sleeper, ASUKA tosses her off and elbows Hikaru but Hikaru grabs her arm and applies a short armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to break it, Hikaru drives ASUKA into the ropes with her knee, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA catches her with a flying knee. ASUKA goes off the ropes and hits a springboard bodypress, she then follows that with a quebrada but again Hikaru rolls out of the ring before ASUKA can cover. ASUKA goes out to the apron and boots Hikaru while she is still on the floor, another boot by ASUKA and she goes up top before nailing a moonsault down to the floor. ASUKA rolls Hikaru back in and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by ASUKA, but it gets two. Hikaru gets away and hits an enzuigiri, eye poke by Hikaru and she cradles ASUKA for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but ASUKA slides behind her and hits a snap German, superkick by ASUKA and she covers Hikaru for a two count. ASUKA boots Hikaru and quickly covers her again as time is running low, but Hikaru kicks out. ASUKA quickly goes up top and she nails the moonsault, cover by ASUKA and she gets the three count! The score is now tied 1-1 at 19:24.

ASUKA goes up top again as Hikaru hasn’t moved and goes for another moonsault, but Hikaru gets her knees up. Hikaru knees ASUKA in the face and covers her, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. The bell rings before either wrestler can do anything else, as the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was a really entertaining match for a number of reasons. First, both ASUKA and Hikaru are talented wrestlers with solid chemistry, so the action was crisp and varied throughout the twenty minutes. I loved that they wrestled different, especially Hikaru, with the rules in place. If you are up 1-0 with five minutes left, you should be doing long submission holds and leaving the ring when you need a breather, its a simple story but a necessary one or the match stipulation doesn’t mean anything. The sense of urgency in the last few minutes from ASUKA was palpable and she conveyed well how badly she needed a pinfall in a very short amount of time. I wouldn’t mind seeing these two in a title match/longer time limit situation as I feel they have even more they could show, but this was a really good match that had the elements needed for an “Iron Woman” match. Recommended

(c) Mio Momono and Yumi Ohka vs. Misaki Ohata and Ryo Mizunami
WAVE Tag Team Championship

Yumi and Misaki kick things off, Misaki catches Yumi when she goes for a crossbody but Misaki drops her with a DDT. Dropkick by Misaki but Mio runs in to help Yumi, Yumi picks up Mio and slams her down onto Misaki. Double Irish whip to Misaki but Misaki pushes them both into the corner. Misaki elbows Yumi, Mio comes over but she dropkicks Yumi by accident. Yumi boots Misaki into the corner and lawn darts Mio at her, she tags in Mio and Mio hits repeated dropkicks. Misaki eventually avoids one and tags in Ryo, double Irish whip to Mio and Avid Rival run through a double team combination. Ryo chops Mio into the corner and hits a running elbow, she goes for a second one but Yumi runs in to cut her off. Ryo knocks Yumi back and hits the elbow anyway, cover to Mio but it gets a two count. Ryo goes for a uranage, Mio blocks it but Ryo drops her with a release German. Leg lariat by Ryo, but it gets a two count. Mio fights back but Ryo catches her with a powerslam, she tags in Misaki and Misaki delivers a low crossbody while Mio is against the ropes. Misaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Misaki but Mio gets a shoulder up. Misaki picks up Mio but Mio slides away, Mio quickly regains control however and hits a sliding kick. Irish whip by Misaki but Mio elbows her, they take turns stomping each other’s foot before Mio knocks over Misaki with a dropkick. Armdrag by Mio and she applies an armbar, but Ryo breaks it up. Ryo stays in but Mio outsmarts both of them, dropkicking them both and tagging in Yumi. Yumi boots Misaki in the head but Misaki comes back with an elbow and they trade shots, heel drop by Yumi and she covers Misaki for two.

Yumi picks up Misaki and goes for a DDT but Misaki reverses it into a bridging suplex for two. Backstabber by Misaki, Mio comes in and they both attack Misaki while she is against the ropes. Backdrop suplex by Yumi, but it gets two. Brainbuster by Yumi, but Ryo breaks up the cover. Yumi goes off the ropes but Ryo runs in and they hit the 3D, Ryo helps Misaki run up the ropes and flings her onto Yumi for a two count. Misaki tags Ryo and they both elbow Yumi while she is against the ropes. Ryo picks up Yumi and hits a series of elbows, lariat by Ryo and Misaki comes in to hit a standing crucifix bomb. Uranage by Ryo to Yumi, she goes off the ropes and hits a hard lariat, but Mio breaks up the cover. Ryo gets Mio on her shoulders but Mio slides off and footstomps Ryo in the stomach, Yumi helps Mio hit another footstomp followed by an assisted senton, Yumi covers Ryo but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Yumi goes for a suplex, Ryo blocks it but Yumi delivers a chokebomb instead. Mio comes back and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Misaki grabs her from behind and hits a German suplex. Misaki picks up Yumi and with Ryo hits a German suplex/lariat combination, Ryo goes up top and delivers the guillotine leg drop, but the cover is broken up. Ryo picks up Yumi but Yumi gets away from her and hits a big boot. Ryo fires back with a lariat, she waits for Yumi to get up and hits another lariat, but Mio breaks up the cover. Mio gets Ryo in the Yoshi Tonic while Yumi boots Misaki, big boot by Yumi to Ryo but Misaki breaks up the pin. Mio hits an assisted Asai Moonsault onto Misaki before rolling her out of the ring, Yumi picks up Ryo but Ryo drops her with a dragon suplex. Ryo goes off the ropes but Yumi boots her in the head, she goes off the ropes and delivers a final big boot for the three count! BOSS to Mammy are still the champions!

Avid Rival seem hell bent to go out with a bang, as even though they lost they still put on a great show. The best thing about both of these teams is how well they work together, with not only constantly helping each other but doing so in an incredibly smooth and believable way. At times it was chaotic but it was a good chaos as there was constant excitement from bell to bell. Yumi Ohka sometimes drags down matches for me if she is the focus due to her limited offense but she didn’t here, as Mio did most the heavy lifting and Yumi played her part very well when needed. Overall my only complaint is that it went only 14 minutes which is short for a main event, a thoroughly entertaining match between two of the best tag teams on the current Joshi scene.  Recommended

The post WAVE Weekday WAVE Vol. 119 ~Thanks 2~ on 10/22/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Marvelous hasn’t added this event to their streaming service yet (and maybe never will) but it was too big of an event for me to neglect so I tracked it down anyway. Marvelous is a smaller Joshi promotion run by Chigusa Nagayo, they have no TV deal but most of their roster is recognizable to fans as they wrestle in other promotions such as WAVE and SEAdLINNNG. This is the first Korakuen Hall event for Marvelous so they went all out to put on not only the best show they could but a show that exhibits everything that Marvelous stands for. Mayu Iwatani from Stardom has shown up to aid in the main event, here is the full card (I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches):

• Chikayo Nagashima, DASH Chisako, KAORU, and Megumi Yabushita vs. Natsumi Maki, Sahara Seven, Tomoko Watanabe, and Yuu Yamagata
• Jaguar Yokota vs. Sakura Hirota
• Mikoto Shindo vs. Yoshiko
• Kyuri, Mio Momono, and Nyla Rose vs. Rina Yamashita, Rin Kadokura, and Sareee
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

As this was released on a double DVD set, matches are shown unclipped. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s get to the show!

Chikayo Nagashima, Chisako, KAORU, and Yabushita vs. Natsumi Maki, Sahara Seven, Watanabe, and Yamagata

The factions start to brawl before the bell rings with LEVEL5 getting the early advantage, they stack W-FIX in the corners as they take turns hitting running strikes. W-FIX gets back at them by all applying hanging armbars over the top rope, Sahara Seven stays in the ring as level as she is kicked by all four members of W-FIX. Things settle down with Chikayo and Sahara Seven in the ring, Sahara Seven knocks down Chikayo in the corner and hits a running hip attack. Sahara Seven tags in Natsumi, Natsumi knocks Chikayo out of the ring and tries to dive out onto W-FIX, but W-FIX moves and she lands on her own partners instead. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto LEVEL5, both teams then battle around the ring with W-FIX staying in control. Chikayo and Natsumi return to the ring, vertical suplex by Chikayo and she puts Natsumi onto a stack of chairs. Chikayo goes up top but Yuu smacks her and throws her down onto the chairs, dropkicks by Natsumi to Chikayo and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Natsumi goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, Chikayo joins Natsumi but Tomoko grabs her from behind and pulls her back to the ring. Natsumi goes for a crossbody but Chikayo ducks, and in the process hits a hurricanrana onto Tomoko. Chikayo tags Chisako, Chisako comes in with a chair but Natsumi avoids her swing and dropkicks it out of her hand. Chisako throws Natsumi in the corner but Natsumi avoids her charge and kicks her with Yuu. Sahara Seven kicks Chisako as well before Natsumi hits a cyclone neckbreaker with a bridge for a two count. Natsumi tags Yuu, Yuu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Chikayo and Megumi come in but Yuu hits a Codebreaker on both of them. KAORU hits Yuu with a piece of board, she boots Yuu in the corner before helping Chisako hit a catapult dropkick.

Megumi is tagged in and she dropkicks Yuu, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Yuu dropkicks her as she dives off. Natsumi runs in and hits a neckbreaker, double superkick to Megumi and Yuu covers her for two. Yuu kicks Megumi in the head but her cover again gets two as it gets broken up, Tomoko picks up Megumi but Megumi avoids the suplex attempt. Tomoko hits a lariat anyway and hits a dragon screw onto Chikayo, but Megumi quickly applies a cross armbreaker. Natsumi breaks that up, KAORU comes in with a board and hits everyone moving with it. Megumi sets up two chairs in the ring, they sit Tomoko and Sahara Seven in the chairs and all four W-FIX members hit superkicks. Chisako and Megumi grab Tomoko and both hit her with chairs, KAORU goes up top but Tomoko quickly recovers and joins her. KAORU slides away, Chisako gets on top with Tomoko and she hits a Frankensteiner. Diving Footstomp by Chikayo, cover by KAORU but it gets broken up. All four W-FIX members go up top to hit diving moves on different members of LEVEL5, three of which connect but Yuu avoids Chikayo and superkicks her. This allows her to break up KAORU’s cover onto Tomoko, KAORU picks up Tomoko but Tomoko snaps off a Screwdriver for two. KAORU gets up and drops Tomoko with the Excalibur, but that gets a two as well. Lariat by Tomoko, KAORU bridges out of the pin and she hits a hurricanrana, but Tomoko rolls KAORU over into a two count. Chisako goes up top and hits Tomoko with a missile dropkick, Chikayo cracks her with a chair and KAORU follows by breaking the board over Tomoko’s head. Tomoko shrugs it off and lariats KAORU, Screwdriver by Tomoko but KAORU kicks out of the pin. Tomoko picks up KAORU and delivers a Fire Thunder Driver for the three count! LEVEL5 are your winners.

This was a fun way to kick off the show. Normally I’d complain about having eight wrestlers in a 12 minute match, as it didn’t give all the wrestlers a chance to shine, but in a chaotic match like this it works out a bit better. Tomoko was the beast here, since she is an old school legend I have no issue her just shrugging off moves and crushing everyone. The lack of structure really worked well with these two teams, and while its not the type of match that will stick in your brain long term its still quite entertaining and a good way to get the crowd fired up to start the event.  Mildly Recommended

Jaguar Yokota vs. Sakura Hirota

They circle each other to start, Hirota goes for leg kicks but Yokota just shrugs them off. Yokota elbows Hirota into the corner but Hirota hits a face crusher and does the Mutoh Pose (she can’t help herself). Hirota grabs Yokota’s arm and goes up to the turnbuckle to walk the ropes, she successfully does her ropes hop the first time but fails on try number two and falls back into the ring. Yokota charges Hirota but Hirota drop toeholds her into the middle rope, she sets up Yokota and goes for the Oil Check, but Yokota moves out of the way. Uppercuts by Hirota, she goes off the ropes but Yokota ignores her attempt at a heel kick. Yokota lays down on the mat to try to help Hirota, Hirota goes off the ropes a few times but Yokota gets her feet up before she can hit a move. Hirota tells Yokota to do the same thing, so Hirota lays down on the mat and Yokota hops over her back and forth before also missing the move as Hirota rolls out of the way. Hirota goes for the Scorpion Deathlock but she has no idea how to do the move, so she asks the real Chigusa Nagayo to get into the ring. Nagayo does and she puts Yokota in the Scorpion Deathlock (after apologizing to her), Hirota goes off the ropes repeatedly but tires herself out before she does a move. Nagayo lets go of Yokota, they both Irish whip her and punch Yokota in the stomach. Nagayo tries to catapult Hirota onto Yokota but Yokota gets her feet up and pushes Hirota back. Now it is Nagayo and Yokota that Irish whip Hirota and punch her in the stomach, but they celebrate too long and get hit with a double Oil Check. They roll out of the ring and invite Hirota to do a dive, but Hirota gets caught on the ropes and bounces back into the ring. Yokota re-joins her and hits a front flip double legdrop, she picks up Hirota but Hirota gets away and goes for the Oil Check. Yokota catches her uh fingers and flings her to the mat, Yokota then kisses Hirota and puts her in the Octopus Hold. Hirota struggles for just a second but quickly submits! Jaguar Yokota is the winner!

I think its impossible to “rate” comedy matches with a traditional scoring system, but I will say this one was good for some laughs. Chigusa Nagayo getting in the ring and playing along was a nice surprise, and Yokota has no issues being an active participant in this style of match. The crowd loved it, which is the most important thing, and I don’t have any complaints. Sakura Hirota wrestling as Chigusa Nagayo was the right way to go for this event, and it achieved its goal of providing some comic relief before the bigger matches on the show happen.

Mikoto Shindo vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mikoto to the mat repeatedly but Mikoto keeps getting back up. Yoshiko pushes Mikoto into the ropes and gives a clean break, elbows by Mikoto but Yoshiko easily elbows Mikoto to the mat. Mikoto gets up and elbows her some more with the same result, snapmare by Yoshiko and she kicks Mikoto in the back. Knees by Yoshiko, Mikoto applies a side headlock but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock. Two more shoulderblocks by Yoshiko, and she covers Mikoto for two. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mikoto eventually makes it to the ropes for the break, Yoshiko stomps Mikoto and throws her hard into the corner. Yoshiko tosses down Mikoto by the hair and hits bootscrapes in the corner, cover by Yoshiko but Mikoto barely kicks out. More stomps by Yoshiko, she picks up Mikoto and hits a scoop slam. She goes for the senton but Mikoto rolls out of the way, dropkicks by Mikoto and she knocks Yoshiko off her feet. Cover by Mikoto, but Yoshiko kicks out. Mikoto goes for a crossbody but Yoshiko catches her, Mikoto reverses it into a cover and then a backslide, but each pin attempt gets two. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Yoshiko hits a body avalanche followed by a kick right to the head, cover by Yoshiko but Mikoto gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko picks up Mikoto and hits a Samoan Drop, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Mikoto for the three count! Yoshiko wins the match.

No result on this card was more obvious than this one. In a way you could tell the match was kinda thrown together, I think that Yoshiko was having some issues coming up with offense that wouldn’t look like it would immediately beat a tiny rookie, so the middle potion of the match had a lot of stomps just to stretch out the match. I liked Mikoto’s run on offense towards the end, even though we all knew it wouldn’t work, as at least that stopped it from just being a squash match and Yoshiko was pretty giving in making sure the rookie didn’t look completely out of her element. For a debut match it was fine, but a pretty random match to have on such a major event.

Kyuri, Mio Momono, and Nyla Rose vs. Rina Yamashita, Rin Kadokura, and Sareee

Rina Yamashita’s team attacks as the match starts and get an early advantage, until Nyla clears out all three of them by herself. Nyla tags in Mio, Kyuri comes in too as they double team Rina. One Kyuri leaves, Rina gets back in control of Mio and hits a knee to the back of the head. Elbows by Mio and she hits a swinging headscissors, dropkick by Mio and she tags in Nyla. Scoop slam by Nyla to Rina but Rina blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. She tags in Sareee, dropkick by Sareee to Nyla but Nyla blocks the German suplex attempt. Nyla grabs Sareee and hits a wheelbarrow suplex, running kick by Nyla and she covers Sareee for two. Sareee gets back up and the two trade elbows, Kyuri pulls down the rope to send Sareee out to the floor while Rina and Rin get in the ring just to be hit by Nyla with a lariat. Nyla goes outside the ring with their opponents, first Kyuri dives out of the ring onto them from the top turnbuckle and Mio follows behind her. Nyla then gets up to the top turnbuckle but everyone bails before she can jump off, they get back in the ring as Kyuri and Mio drape Sareee over the top rope. Nyla is still waiting on the top turnbuckle so she dives off with a kneedrop to Sareee, and Nyla tags in Kyuri. Cyclone neckbreaker by Kyuri and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Sareee quickly gets into the ropes. Codebreaker by Kyuri to Sareee, but Sareee bridges out of the pin and hits a dropkick.

Fisherman suplex hold by Sareee and she tags in Rin, missile dropkick by Rin but Kyuri lands on her corner and tags Mio. Diving crossbody by Mio, Nyla comes in too and she helps Mio hit a diving footstomp before tossing Mio down onto Rin for a two count cover. Mio goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Rin blocks it, Rin and Mio trade elbows until Mio kicks Rin in the head. Rina and Sareee run in to help as they double team Mio, dropkick by Rin to Mio and she covers her for two. Rin goes up top but Nyla comes in and tosses Rin from the top turnbuckle, Kyuri then goes up top and with Nyla she hits an assisted senton. Mio gets on Nyla’s shoulders and hits a senton as well, cover by Mio but it gets broken up. Mio charges Rin but Rin quickly schoolboys her for two, rolling schoolboy by Rin but Mio kicks out again. Rin goes off the ropes and hits the hurricanrana, Mio reverses it but Sareee dropkicks Mio in the head. Nyla comes in but Sareee drops her with a German suplex, Rina comes in too with Sareee and they clear the ring out to leave just Rin and Mio. Mio cradles Rin for a quick two count, she picks her back up and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Rina lariats her from behind. Elevated DDT by Rin, Rina then hits a lariat and Sareee follows with a diving footstomp. Jackknife cover by Rin, but Mio kicks out. Rin jumps on Mio’s shoulders and nails the standing crucifix bomb, and she picks up the three count! Rin Kadokura, Rina Yamashita, and Sareee are the winners!

My only complaint here is the match was way too short. When you have six wrestlers as good as these six are, with no weak links so the action is always entertaining, ten minutes simply isn’t enough. Especially when its so high up the card, just one from the top. So I am not sure what led to that decision, if they were running out of time as they had a lot of non-wrestling segments as well, but it was still a bit of a disappointment. That being said, everything they did was really fun and oddly cohesive for a hectic match, Mabutachi 2 Manjimanji work great together with a variety of double and triple team moves and they feel like a real unit and not something just thrown together. An entertaining match, it just didn’t get the time that it deserved.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

They tie-up to start, Takumi pushes Mayu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles again as they go into a Test of Strength, Takumi gets Mayu’s back and they jockey for control. Takumi works a side headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Irish whip by Takumi and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Springboard armdrag by Mayu but Takumi hits an armdrag of her own and they end up at a stalemate again. Takumi picks up Mayu but Mayu gets away and kicks her, headscissors by Mayu and she dropkicks Takumi while she is against the ropes. Takumi falls out of the ring, Mayu goes up top but Takumi rolls back in and tosses Mayu to the mat. Takumi picks up Mayu and hits a snap vertical suplex before twisting her neck, Takumi tosses Mayu into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Takumi goes for a submission but Mayu quickly gets to the ropes, kicks to the back by Takumi and she applies a crossface. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Mayu, she goes off the ropes but Mayu catches her with a Sling Blade. Takumi goes for a kick but Mayu catches it and hits a dragon screw, Mayu charges Takumi in the corner but Takumi moves out of the way. Mayu rolls Takumi out of the corner and delivers a kick, Northern Lights Suplex by Mayu but she lands on her own head and is too hurt to cover Takumi. They both slowly get up, Mayu goes for a standing crucifix bomb but Takumi blocks it. Mayu applies an ankle hold but Takumi makes it to the ropes for the break. Mayu twists Takumi’s leg in the ropes and dropkicks it, Takumi rolls out of the ring but Mayu goes after her and takes her up into the crowd. They end up near the balcony (naturally) as Takumi hits a hard elbow, she slams Mayu at the bottom of the balcony before climbing up onto the ledge and hitting a Senton Bomb down onto Mayu (which the camera didn’t get a great shot of).

Takumi returns to the ring with Mayu very slowly following, Takumi greets her with kicks but Mayu catches one and delivers a superkick when Takumi goes off the ropes. Mayu dropkicks Takumi in the knee and applies the figure four leglock, but Takumi gets to the rope for the break. Standing crucifix bomb by Mayu, but Takumi gets a shoulder up on the cover. Mayu picks up Takumi and goes for the dragon suplex, but Takumi blocks it and delivers a heel kick. Buzzsaw Kick by Takumi, she picks up Mayu and puts her in the Sleeper Hold. Mayu quickly gets to the ropes to break it up, Takumi grabs Mayu but Mayu snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Question Mark kick by Takumi and she nails a German suplex hold, but Mayu kicks out. Takumi goes up top but Mayu recovers and joins her and goes for a Frankensteiner. Takumi blocks it and powerbombs Mayu from the top turnbuckle to the mat, but her cover gets two. Takumi goes back up top but Mayu rolls out of the way of the Senton Bomb, Mayu recovers first and hits a double jump reverses hurricanrana for a two count. Mayu picks up Takumi and hits the dragon suplex hold, but again Takumi barely kicks out. Mayu goes for her special version of the dragon suplex but Takumi blocks it, Doctor Bomb by Takumi but it gets two. Takumi quickly picks up Mayu and nails the Running Three, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Takumi slowly drags Mayu up but the bell rings before she can hit another move, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

The result was never in question, especially with only 20 minutes allotted to them, but the journey to get there was still entertaining. Mayu continues to be the craziest bumper on the Joshi scene, everything she took here looked deadly, even simple things like climbing over the guard rail she made look dangerous. Which may not be good for long term health but it is entertaining to watch. The leg work felt meaningful as Takumi would at least occasionally indicate it was bothering her throughout the match, and they did a lot of big spots to make the match memorable. Since the event was in Marvelous I think it was the right move to have Takumi so close to getting the win, and when Mayu wins the big belt in Stardom I assume there will be a rematch down the road. I would have preferred the show to end with a match with a more conclusive ending since this was a bit predictable, but still a thoroughly enjoyable match with great selling by both and constant excitement from bell to bell.  Highly Recommended  

The post Marvelous at Korakuen Hall on 8/8/18 Entire Show Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I realize I should be reviewing something from Stardom, and maybe I will later, but first…. Marvelous! Marvelous is a smaller indie promotion that is run by Joshi legend Chigusa Nagayo. They show all their events on Fresh! TV for a small fee, and I try to catch up with them from time to time as they have some great young wrestlers and the events aren’t long so they are an easy watch Here is the full card:

• Natsumi Maki vs. Sakura Hirota
• Mio Momono and Sahara Seven vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Yuu Yamagata
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Nyla Rose
• KAORU, Megumi Yabushita, and Pandita vs. Rin Kadokura, Takumi Iroha, and Leo Isaka

All Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. All matches are shown in full.

Natsumi Maki vs. Sakura Hirota

They start with wristlocks, Natsumi flips out of Sakura’s but when Hirota tries to do a handstand she flops to the mat with an injured shoulder. She recovers after a moment, dropkicks by Natsumi and she covers Sakura for two. Sakura comes back with her own dropkicks but has issues knocking Natsumi over, Sakura slaps Natsumi and they discuss things for a bit. Course I can’t understand Japanese so no idea what they are discussing, but the crowd seems to enjoy it. Sakura talks Natsumi into doing a few bumps on her own, but it was all a nefarious trap as she quickly covers Natsumi for a two count. Delayed scoop slam by Sakura, she bounces off the ropes a few times but instead of doing a normal move she screams in Natsumi’s ear. Natsumi cartwheels away from Sakura and hits an armdrag, snapmare by Natsumi and she puts Sakura in a bodyscissors. Natsumi picks up Sakura  and dropkicks her in the corner, but Sakura comes back with a face crusher.

Wristlock by Sakura and she gets on the top turnbuckle to walk the ropes, but after one successful trick move on the ropes she accidentally crotches herself on them. Natsumi charges Sakura but Sakura drops her into the second rope and pulls on her nose. Snapmare by Sakura, but Natsumi kicks out of the cover. Sakura goes off the ropes and gives Natsumi the Oil Check, dropkick by Natsumi but Sakura hits a second delayed scoop slam. Sakura gets on the second rope but Natsumi recovers and hits a scoop slam. Front flip slam by Natsumi, but Sakura gets a shoulder up. Natsumi gets on the top turnbuckle but Sakura grabs her and puts Natsumi on top of a different turnbuckle instead. Diving crossbody by Natsumi, but Sakura kicks out. Dropkick by Natsumi but Sakura quickly applies La Magistral for two. Natsumi goes for a superkick but Sakura ducks it and kisses her, Natsumi delivers the superkick on the second try but Sakura falls on top of her and gets the three count cover! Sakura Hirota is the winner!

I’m not necessarily the target audience for these types of matches, but its always a pleasure to see Natsumi Maki. Some funny bits and fine for a casual watch, but nothing really special or outside of the ordinary. Decent enough for an opener but I wish I could have seen Natsumi in a match that showed off more of her skills.

Mio Momono and Sahara Seven vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Yuu Yamagata

Mio and Yuu kick things off, Mio gets an early advantage before bailing out of the ring when Yuu recovers. Yuu runs out after her and finally catches Mio, she brings Mio back into the ring but Mio greets her with elbows. Yuu pushes Mio into the corner and slaps her hard in the chest, she tags in Tomoko and Tomoko hits a scoop slam. Springboard elbow drop by Tomoko and she follows that with a leg drop for two. Tomoko puts Mio in a camel clutch before letting her go to tag in Yuu, Yuu slaps Mio in the belly but Mio dropkicks her in the leg. A few more dropkicks by Mio and she makes the hot tag to Sahara, Sahara and Yuu trade chops until Sahara rams Yuu’s head into her knees. Mio runs in and dropkicks Yuu, running hip attack by Sahara but Yuu tosses her down and hits a footstomp. She tags Tomoko but Mio re-enters the ring, Mio and Sahara try to kick Tomoko but she doesn’t budge. Mio dropkicks Tomoko off her feet, Sahara drives Tomoko’s head into the mat with her leg, but the cover is broken up. Mio dropkicks Tomoko out of the ring but Tomoko crawls under it to get away from Mio. Mio goes under the ring with her, eventually they both emerge with Tomoko in control.

Mio somehow got black marks on her face from being under the mat, which Tomoko proudly shows the crowd until they return to the ring. Lariats by Tomoko, she covers Mio but Mio kicks out. Tomoko picks up Mio but Mio slides away and hits a pair of spinning crossbodies for a two. Mio picks up Tomoko and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top but Yuu kicks Mio in the head. Tomoko grabs Mio but Mio cradles her for a two count. A schoolboy by Mio also gets two as does her next cradle attempt, Sahara comes in but Tomoko hits a springboard move on both of them and tags in Yuu. Yuu elbows Mio in the corner and hits a reverse double knee drop, Mio slides away from Yuu and hits a diving crossbody off the top turnbuckle. She goes back up top but Tomoko grabs her from the apron, Yuu joins Mio but Sahara attacks her from behind. Sahara helps Mio hits a senton, but her cover is broken up. Mio goes off the ropes but Tomoko catches her with a lariat, kick to the head by Yuu but Mio barely kicks out. Yuu goes off the ropes but Mio rolls her up before hitting a footstomp. Another footstomp by Mio and she holds down Yuu, but it only gets two. Mio goes for another cradle but Tomoko comes in to break things up, Sahara holds back Tomoko but lets her go and Mio trips over Tomoko. Yuu quickly grabs Mio and applies a modified cradle, keeping Mio down for the three count! Tomoko Watanabe and Yuu Yamagata are the winners!

After the match, Sahara joined LEVEL 5 so I am not sure if they are implying she intentionally let Tomoko go or if it was just a happy coincidence. Anyway, this one had a fair amount of miscommunications or just little blips, nothing major happened but you could tell there were some chemistry issues. Mio’s new gear is solid and she’s a bundle of fun, she still needs some fine-tuning but the potential is there. A decent enough match, nothing offensive but it didn’t click enough for me to recommend you go out of your way to see.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Nyla Rose

They lock-up to start with Nyla pushing Chikayo to the mat, Chikayo avoids Nyla’s boot however and delivers a spinning headscissors. Chikayo jumps on the second turnbuckle to get away from Nyla, but Nyla sits her on the top before press slamming her to the mat for a two count. Nyla picks up Chikayo and press slams her again, Chikayo rolls out of the ring but Nyla goes out after her. Chikayo returns to the ring but Nyla hits an ax handle before delivering a third press slam for a two count cover. Nyla throws Chikayo into the corner and hits a lariat, another lariat by Nyla and she goes up top, but Chikayo recovers and smacks Nyla. Nyla kicks Chikayo back however and hits a diving shoulderblock, Nyla picks up Chikayo but Chikayo slides down her back and applies a waistlock. Nyla elbows out of it but Chikayo applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. Chikayo goes up up but Nyla tosses her down to the mat and hits a body press for two. Nyla goes for a powerbomb but Chikayo reverses it into a facebuster, running kicks by Chikayo and she nails a German suplex hold for a two count.

Chikayo goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, but again her cover gets two. Chikayo picks up Nyla but Nyla hits a belly to belly suplex, she puts Chikayo over the top rope and goes up top to deliver a diving knee to Chikayo’s back. Cover by Nyla, but Chikayo kicks out. Nyla quickly applies an armtrap crossface, but Chikayo gets out of the hold. Dragon screw by Chikayo and she applies a figure four leglock, but Nyla grabs the ropes for the break. Nyla catches Chikayo with a backbreaker, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Chikayo joins her and hits a Frankensteiner. They both slowly get up, uranage by Chikayo and she covers Nyla, but Nyla gets a shoulder up. Chikayo goes for a fisherman suplex but Nyla blocks it and hits a series of short-arm lariats. Nyla goes up top but Chikayo avoids the Senton Bomb, now it is Chikayo that goes up but Nyla grabs her from behind and goes for a powerbomb. Chikayo blocks it at first but Nyla delivers the powerbomb anyway, cover by Nyla but Chikayo kicks out at one. Nyla goes for another powerbomb but Chikayo reverses it into a roll-up, she goes off the ropes but Nyla catches her with a superkick. Sit-down powerbomb by Nyla, and she picks up the three count! Nyla Rose wins!

I like that Marvelous is pushing Nyla, she brings something different to the table and they all seem to have a good deal of respect for her. This match wasn’t perfect but it still worked, Chikayo can still go at 42 years old and Nyla hits her power moves very well. I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit longer but everything they did was logical and they worked well together. Overall an entertaining match, and a bit different from what we see in most Joshi matches due to Nyla’s strength.  Mildly Recommended

KAORU, Megumi Yabushita, and Pandita vs. Rin Kadokura, Iroha, and Leo Isaka

They start brawling as the bell rings and all six wrestlers end up out on the floor. They battle around the stands until Megumi and kkk return to the ring with Leo as he gets triple teamed near the ropes. Megumi stays in with Leo and whips him in the chest before tagging in Pandita, headlock by Pandita and he lets go to tag in KAORU. KAORU works over Leo’s arm until Takumi breaks things up, KAORU grabs Leo and makes the tag to Pandita. Enzuigiri by Leo and he hits a running elbow smash, giving him time to tag in Rin. Rin and Leo double team Pandita, Rin picks up Pandita and she drops him with a DDT. Lariat by Rin, and she covers Pandita for two. Rin throws Pandita into the corner but Pandita avoids her charge and grabs Rin’s wrist before walking the ropes. Pandita jumps off and clubs on Rin’s arm and tags in Megumi, Megumi whips Rin but Rin dropkicks Megumi in the leg. Another dropkick by Rin and she delivers a third, Rin picks up Megumi and drops her with a scoop slam for a two count. Rin picks up Megumi but Megumi grabs her arm and applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. She lets go after a moment, Rin escapes and she makes the tag to Leo. Elbow by Leo to Megumi and he hits a slingshot senton, but Megumi gets her foot on the ropes to break up the pin. Leo goes for a chokeslam but Megumi reverses it into a cross armbreaker, she tags in KAORU and KAORU hits Leo repeatedly with a board. Vertical suplex by KAORU to Leo, but the referee won’t count since KAORU used a weapon. Back up they trade strikes until KAORU hits a hurricanrana, she goes back to her board and cracks Leo in the head with it.

KAORU goes up top but Takumi kicks her from the apron to knock her back down, running Shooting Star Press by Leo and he makes the tag to Takumi. Kick by Takumi and she knocks over KAORU with a sliding kick, Takumi picks up KAORU and she hits a snap vertical suplex. Rin comes in but KAORU flips away from them and with Megumi they both hit boots to their opponents. Nagashima comes in with a belt and they choke Takumi while KAORU hits her in the head with the board. Brainbuster by KAORU to Takumi, but she barely gets a shoulder up. Megumi comes in as does Pandita as they all attack Takumi in the corner, but Takumi knocks over KAORU with a heel kick. KAORU bridges out of the pin but Takumi hits a powerbomb, Takumi picks up KAORU and nails the Last Ride Powerbomb, but Megumi breaks up the pin. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before Takumi hits a release German, but KAORU lands in her corner and Pandita tags himself in. Pandita lariats Takumi and drops her with a backdrop suplex, but Rin breaks up the cover. Leo comes in to help and ends up sailing out of the ring onto KAORU and Megumi with a somersault plancha, back in the ring Rin hits a tornado DDT onto Pandita before Pandita eats a triple superkick. Takumi goes up top and delivers the Frog Splash, but the referee is pulled out of the ring as she makes the count. Takumi drops Pandita with a high kick, KAORU comes in to try to hit Takumi with the board but she hits Pandita by accident. Takumi goes back up top and nails the Swanton Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Your winners are Rin Kadokura, Takumi Iroha, and Leo Isaka.

In my ideal world, Pandita and Leo would have been cut from the match as it wasn’t really long enough to allow all six to do much anyway, but it was still an entertaining match. Takumi and Rin are the two of the better Joshi wrestlers that no one talks about, due to them being affiliated with a smaller Joshi promotion, and they are always a joy to watch. KAORU though is a beast, she is so over-the-top violent and I love it, a real old school wrestler that brings something different to the table. The action kept up from bell to bell, which is one of the benefits of a six wrestler match, and everything was fluid as they have good chemistry together. A solid way to end a smaller Marvelous event.  Recommended

The post Marvelous on 5/13/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.