Event: 2AW “RINA SHINGAKI RETIREMENT SHOW”
Date: November 23rd, 2021
Location: Chiba 2AW Square in Chiba, Japan
Announced Attendance: 148
Broadcast: PPV on NicoPro and KIPz

As everyone knows, I kind of have a thing for retirement events. I enjoy the emotions and seeing what a wrestler’s vision of what their final match should be. Rina Shingaki debuted in 2018 and has mostly been a midcarder during her time in wrestling, but she is a submission-based wrestler so she has a decent fanbase from those that enjoy that style of wrestling. She  was a member of 2AW her entire career but also wrestled in various Joshi promotions such as Ice Ribbon, Diana, WAVE, and AgZ. For her retirement match, she is going back to where she started, as she wrestles Ayame Sasamura. Shingaki’s debut match was also against Sasamura, so its a fitting conclusion. I will only be reviewing the matches on the event with Joshi wrestlers involved, so here are the matches being reviewed:

• Itsuki Aoki and Ricky Fuji vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Shiori Asahi
• Asahi and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Totoro Satsuki and Tsukushi Haruka
• Rina Shingaki Retirement Match: Rina Shingaki vs. Ayame Sasamura

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

Itsuki Aoki and Fuji vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Shiori Asahi
To kick off the Joshi wrestler portion of the show, we start with… whatever this match is. Ricky Fuji is a pretty well known wrestler on the indie scene but is in his 50s, and while he was never a high-end wrestler his better days are certainly behind him. He teams with Itsuki Aoki, a young Joshi Freelancer that is always full of energy and spunk. They battle Kakeru Sekiguchi, representing AgZ (for now) who teams with male 2AW wrestler Shiori Asahi. Since 2AW only has two Joshi wrestlers (soon one), they frequently have Intergender matches but I’m not really sure how these four are going to mash up.

Fuji and Satsuki start the match, headlock by Fuji but Satsuki gets out of it and the two trade holds. They end up in a stalemate and both tag out, the action immediately gets more fast-paced and interesting as Kakeru and Itsuki get into a quick exchange. Drop toehold by Itsuki but Kakeru avoids her strike and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Asahi, both put pails over their heads and headbutt Itsuki. Asahi picks up Itsuki, elbows by Itsuki and she eventually shoulderblocks Asahi to the mat. She tags Fuji, Fuji punches Asahi in the head and delivers a delayed vertical suplex. He tags Itsuki, Itsuki picks up Asahi and throws him into the corner. Running back elbow by Itsuki and she hits a face crusher, body press by Itsuki and she covers Asahi for two. Itsuki picks up Asahi again, elbows by Itsuki and she goes off the ropes but Asahi catches her with a neckbreaker. This gives him time to tag Kakeru, dropkick by Kakeru to Itsuki and she hits another one in the corner. Another dropkick by Kakeru and she covers Itsuki for a two count. Kakeru applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Itsuki inches to the ropes and makes it for the break.

Kakeru sets up Itsuki in the ropes, she then goes out to the apron and dropkicks Itsuki in the arm. Back in the ring, elbow by Kakeru but Itsuki returns fire and the two trade blows. Itsuki trips Kakeru onto the second rope and jumps down on her back, bridging suplex by Itsuki but Kakeru kicks out. Running double kneedrop by Itsuki, but that gets a two as well. She tags in Fuji, Fuji punches Kakeru but Kakeru slides away and hits a dropkick. She tags Asahi, punches by Fuji to Asahi and he hits the Kamikaze. Cover by Fuji, but Kakeru breaks it up. Irish whip by Fuji, Asahi goes for a sunset flip but Asahi blocks it. Kakeru comes in and tries for a sunset flip but Fuji blocks that as well, however in the process Kakeru accidentally pulls his pants down. Fuji doesn’t care as he hits a few hip attacks on Asahi, but Asahi trips him and covers Fuji for two. Itsuki tries to help but Asahi hits her with the Cobra, Kakeru holds Fuji while Asahi forces Itsuki’s face into his bare ass. I really didn’t know this was this type of match. Schoolboy by Asahi to Fuji, and he picks up the three count! Kakeru Sekiguchi and Shiori Asahi are the winners!

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this match, but they still managed to surprise me. Maybe Fuji has an ass gimmick and I just wasn’t looped in, but that wasn’t the path I was expecting the match to take. Up to that point the match was pretty middling, nothing bad but nothing memorable or exciting either. I don’t know if Itsuki gets paid more for having her head shoved into a bare 56 year old ass. I hope so. I don’t have much else to say about this one, I’m sure that this is someone’s type of comedy (probably DDT fans) but not really my kind of thing.

Asahi and Fujimoto vs. Totoro Satsuki and Tsukushi Haruka
Next is an Ice Ribbon offer match! Ice Ribbon sent over some pretty good wrestlers here, with Fujimoto and Tsukushi being joined by two of the promotion’s less experienced wrestlers. Offer matches don’t tend be really high end as they don’t want to overshadow the home promotion’s matches, but I don’t think these four could have a bad match if they tried so it should still be pretty entertaining.

Tsukushi and Fujimoto start the match, they tie-up before Fujimoto applies a headlock, but Tsukushi Irish whips out of it before they trade armdrags. They end up back on their feet and tag out, shoulderblock by Satsuki to Asahi and she puts her in the ropes, but Fujimoto charges in and dropkicks Satsuki. Asahi and and Fujimoto double team Satsuki, with Tsukushi coming in but deciding to pose on top of her tag partner instead of helping. Typical Tsukushi. Satsuki elbows Fujimoto and Asahi before bopping Tsukushi on the head, Asahi runs from Satsuki but Satsuki catches her and throws her to the mat. Satsuki tags in Tsukushi, Tsukushi stands on Asahi’s hands before stomping down on them. Tsukushi sets up Asahi in the ropes and hits a dropkick to the back, picking up a two count. She tags Satsuki back in as the beatdown on Asahi continues, Satsuki throws Asahi in the corner but Asahi avoids her charge and sneaks in a schoolboy for two. This gives her time to tag in Fujimoto, dropkicks by Fujimoto to Satsuki but Tsukushi comes in to help Satsuki. Fujimoto dropkicks both of the before going back to Satsuki, putting her in an Octopus Hold. Satsuki gets to the ropes for the break, Fujimoto charges her but Satsuki catches Fujimoto with a scoop slam. Senton by Satsuki, and she covers Fujimoto for two. Satsuki tags Tsukushi, Tsukushi throws Fujimoto in the corner and delivers a dropkick.

Fujimoto fires back with her own dropkick and kicks Tsukushi in the back repeatedly, but Tsukushi ducks the PK and steps over her for a quick cradle. Fujimoto gets out of it and ends up near the ropes, Tsukushi charges her and hits the Murder Dropkick. Tsukushi picks up Fujimoto but Fujimoto gets away, cradle by Fujimoto but Fujimoto kips out of it and hits a PK. She tags Asahi, face crushers by Asahi, she picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi blocks her scoop slam attempt. Asahi quickly applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Tsukushi gets to the ropes for the break, Asahi goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Tsukushi ducks it. Asahi hits it anyway under the bottom rope, elbow by Asahi but Tsukushi returns fire as they trade shots. Tsukushi elbows Asahi hard to send her to the mat, more elbows by Tsukushi and she covers Asahi for two. Tsukushi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fujimoto runs over and grabs her, Tsukushi shakes her off but when she goes for her diving footstomp Asahi has already moved out of the way. Enzuigiri by Fujimoto to Tsukushi, Asahi hits a seated senton on Tsukushi but it gets two. Asahi puts Tsukushi in an armbar but Satsuki breaks it up, cradle by Tsukushi to Asahi and she hits a footstomp. Satsuki returns to the ring and Tsukushi jumps on her arms, before Satsuki falls backwards onto Asahi. Tsukushi goes to the top turnbuckle but Fujimoto grabs her again, Asahi joins Tsukushi but Tsukushi knocks her into a Tree of Woe before hitting a footstomp. Running elbow by Tsukushi, but Fujimoto breaks up the cover. Tsukushi quickly goes back to the top turnbuckle and dives off with a diving footstomp, cover by Tsukushi and she gets the three count! Totoro Satsuki and Tsukushi Haruka are the winners!

About what you’d expect from a midcard Ice Ribbon match, but pretty solid. Tsukushi and Tsukasa needless to say have great chemistry so anytime they were in the ring they put on a good show. Asahi is far less experienced but didn’t hold the match back, and Satsuki delivered her power moves when needed. Tsukushi is one of my favorite Ice Ribbon wrestlers so always a pleasure to see her, nothing mind-blowing but a good match.  Mildly Recommended

Rina Shingaki vs. Ayame Sasamura
Rina Shingaki Retirement Match
Time for Shingaki’s final match. Rina Shingaki may not be a big name in the Joshi scene, but in her three year career she has wrestled in a lot of different promotions and always seemed to be improving. A submission expert, Rina brought something a little different to the table than many other wrestlers and put on unique matches no matter where she was on the card. As 2AW has a limited number of Joshi wrestlers, Rina was active in Ice Ribbon, Diana, WAVE, and OZ Academy over her career which gave her exposure to a lot of different styles and a lot of fans. For her last match, she is wrestling the same wrestler she faced in her first match – Ayame Sasamura. Ayame is also a 2AW wrestler so its a fitting final match for her in what is sure to be an emotional affair for her and her fans.

They circle each other to start as they begin slow, they end up on the mat but quickly reach a stalemate. Side headlock by Ayame but Rina Irish whips out of it, they trade moves until Ayame knocks down Rina with a hard shoulderblock. Scoop slam by Ayame and she hits a second one, covering Rina for a two count. Ayame puts Rina in the corner and stomps on her, a bunch of other wrestlers come in the ring as is tradition and everyone hits a running strike on Rina in the corner. Ayame finishes the train with a running back elbow, snapmare by Ayame and she applies a sleeper. She switches to a camel clutch, but Rina gets to the ropes for the break. Ayame goes for a slam but sss blocks it and puts Ayame in a keylock. Ayame gets into the ropes for the break, Rina flings Ayame to the mat and puts Ayame in a Fujiwara Armbar. Ayame rolls out of it and kicks Rina, Ayame puts Rina on the second rope and jumps down on her back. Dropkick by Ayame and she covers Rina for two.

Rina and Ayame trade elbows until Rina re-applies the Fujiwara Armbar, but again Ayame gets to the ropes. Rina tries to get Ayame on her shoulders but Ayame blocks it, elbows by Ayame but Rina kicks her in the stomach. She goes off the ropes but Ayame delivers a hard shoulderblock. She goes to pick up Rina but Rina quickly applies a cross armbreaker, Ayame struggles as Rina switches it to a triangle choke hold, and eventually she is able to power out of the move and slam Rina into the corner. Ayame charges Rina but Rina moves and hits a double knee to Ayame’s arm. Rina returns to the Fujiwara Armbar, she switches it to a double armbar but Ayame forces the break. Rina picks up Ayame and gets her on her shoulders, delivering the Kamikaze for a two count. Ayame slides around Rina and drops her with a German Suplex, Ayame goes to the top turnbuckle but Rina recovers and joins her. Rina goes for Ayame’s arm but Ayame knocks her down into the Tree of Woe before delivering a footstomp for two.

Ayame picks up Rina and hits a side slam, but that gets a two count as well. Ayame waits for Rina to get up and they trade elbows, kick to the head by Ayame and Rina crashes back to the mat. Ayame waits for Rina again to get up, elbow by Rina and she slaps Ayame. Rina goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but it gets two. Fameasser by Rina, she picks up Ayame and puts her in a modified armbar. Ayame quickly gets to the ropes to force a break, Rina picks up Ayame but Ayame catches her with a release German. Slow cover by Ayame, but Rina kicks out. Ayame picks up Rina and hits a vertical suplex, she drags up Rina and connects with rolling German Suplexes. Ayame gets Rina to her feet and hits a bridging fallaway slam, but Rina gets a shoulder up. Ayame gets up Rina and nails a Tiger Suplex Hold, and she picks up the three count! Ayame Sasamura is the winner.

In the longest singles match of her career, Rina Shingaki put up a good fight but couldn’t overcome the younger but more experienced Ayame Sasamura. This was for the bulk of it a typical Shingaki match – lots of submission attempts from a lot of different angles, while trying to fight off her opponent’s offense. Ayame actually looked like the more impressive wrestler but that was likely by design, as Shingaki went out as many Joshi wrestlers do by making someone else look good. The end in particular was very dominate, as Ayame delivered a series of strong moves before holding down Shingaki for three. Aside from the usual corner gauntlet, they really didn’t lean heavily into the “retirement match” aspect, keeping it pretty on level with limited extra emotions. Overall a good match, maybe could have had a few minutes trimmed out of it but an enjoyable farewell for Rina Shingaki.  Mildly Recommended

The post 2AW “Rina Shingaki Retirement Show” on 11/23/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event: Ice Ribbon P’s Party #68
Date: March 10th, 2021
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 51
Broadcast Information: Streamed on Ice Ribbon Nico Channel

This show is a little older than the others I have been reviewing for the April Streaming Service Evaluation, but that is because Ice Ribbon at times doesn’t add events to their regular streaming service very quickly. They offer some events live (with timeshift viewing) for an extra fee, usually around $15, and then a month later put it on their Nico channel for all their other paying customers to watch. Can’t say I am a fan of the system, but if it works for them then who am I to complain. Ice Ribbon’s P’s Party events tend to be smaller shows and this one is no different, here is the full card:

• P’s League 2021 Tournament A Block: Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro
• P’s League 2021 Tournament B Block: Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana
• P’s League 2021 Tournament B Block: Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro
• Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi Haruka vs. Matsuya Uno, Rina Shingaki, and Suzu Suzuki

Short show, all matches will be shown in full. Wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro

Yuuki wants a knucklelock but regrets it as Yappy gets her to her knees, stomps by Yappy and she slams Yuuki’s head into the mat. Yappy sits on Yuuki and applies a double arm stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and throws Yuuki into the corner. Yappy runs Yuuki’s face across the top rope to get to the other corner and mushes her down to a seated position. Yappy chokes Yuuki and goes for a choke slam, but Yuuki slides away and hits a dropkick for a two count. Another dropkick by Yuuki and she throws Yappy into the corner, but Yappy hits her with her hip and applies a choke while sitting on the top turnbuckle. Yuuki armdrags Yappy off the top turnbuckles however and applies an arm submission, she switches it to a triangle choke but Yappy slams Yuuki to get out of it. Yappy charges Yuuki but Yuuki moves, stomps by Yuuki and she goes for the cover but Yappy is literally in the ropes. Yuuki pulls her to the middle of the ring but Yappy easily kicks out of the cover, dropkick to the back by Yuuki but that gets a two count as well. Yuuki gets on the second turnbuckle but Yappy catches her when she jumps off, backbreaker by Yappy and she hits a second one. Leg drop by Yappy and she covers Yuuki for two. Yappy goes for a chokeslam but Yuuki grabs her whole head to block it, Yappy gets out of the hold but Yuuki hits a crossbody off the second turnbuckle for two. Yuuki goes off the ropes but Yappy gets her on her shoulders, Yuuki slides off however and goes for a sunset flip. The two trade flash pins, and in the process Yuuki “accidentally” pokes Yappy in the eye. That gives her a momentary advantage and she holds down Yappy for the three count! Yuuki Mashiro wins the match and gets two points.

No matter what Ice Ribbon stans may want you to believe, Yuuki is showing some potential as a rookie but hasn’t really done anything to set herself apart from other wrestlers six months into her career. She’s no Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani, or Suzu Suzuki when it comes to instantly showing future stardom. Still, she is capable and doesn’t look awkward or out of place, so we’ll see where her career goes as she continues to log more match minutes. Yappy is what she is, fundamentally sound and a great asset to Ice Ribbon behind the scenes, but having her lose here was probably a good move as the 19 year old Yuuki needs to pass her sooner than later on the pecking order. Not a long match but pretty smartly worked, Yuuki’s reversals to Yappy’s various attacks were well done and they didn’t waste any time with meaningless spots as they understood the time constraints. A good way to open the show as Yuuki continues to gain live experience.

Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana

They quickly go to the mat with Honori on top, she works a headlock but Banny reverses it into a guillotine. They end up in the ropes so they return to their feet, double leg tackle by Honori but Banny switches positions with her and they reach a stalemate. Back up, Irish whip by Banny and she delivers a dropkick. Honori throws down Banny by the hair and mushes her face, scoop slam by Honori and she applies a crab hold. Banny gets to the ropes, stomps by Honori but Banny kicks her and snapmares Honori to the mat. Banny applies a choke submission with her leg and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Honori gets a foot on the ropes. Banny goes to the top turnbuckle but Honori tosses her to the mat, Banny jumps on Honori’s back however and applies a sleeper. Irish whip by Honori and she hits a running elbow, shoulderblocks by Honori and she covers Banny for two. Back up they trade strikes, head kick by Banny and she covers Honori for a two count. Banny goes for the cross armbreaker again but Honori is too close to the ropes, Irish whip by Banny but Honori elbows her repeatedly against the ropes. Honori charges Banny, Banny goes for a dropkick by Honori avoids it. Inside cradle by Banny, but it gets a two count. Banny grabs Honori’s arm but Honori gets away and kicks Banny, scoop slam by Honori and she covers Banny for two. Honori goes off the ropes and hits a spear, backdrop suplex by Honori and she covers Banny for the three count! Honori Hana wins and gets two points.

I’ve mentioned in past SEAdLINNNG reviews that Honori is coming along very very slowly and I maintain that opinion as over a year into her career she still looks awkward and doesn’t hit her moves smoothly. Even her signature moves like the spear and backdrop suplex looked rough, if nothing else she should have those down pat. Banny looked better as her ground game is solid, but her strategy was all over the place as she wasn’t doing anything to weaken the arm or Honori in general. A ground game is great but setting it up first is the key to really mastering the style, otherwise some of the meaning is lost. A watchable match but a step down from the last as the offense was clunky at times (on Honori’s end) and there wasn’t much method to their madness.

Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro

They circle each other before locking up, Satsuki pushes Madeline into the ropes but gives a clean break. Kick by Madeline and she goes for Satsuki’s arm, but Satsuki reverses things as they trade holds. Satsuki works a headlock, Madeline Irish whips out of it but Satsuki shoulderblocks her down. Satsuki stands on Madeline’s back before sitting on her and pulling back on her head. Satsuki stands on Madeline’s back again before pushing her into the ropes, but Madeline quickly applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. She lets go after a moment and tries to go after Satsuki’s arm back in the ring, but Satsuki hits a lariat followed by a senton. Satsuki picks up Madeline and hits a scoop slam, but Madeline avoids the body press. Madeline runs over Satsuki’s back a few times but Satsuki shrugs it off and hits the falling body press anyway for a two count. Satsuki picks up Madeline and gets her on her shoulders, but Madeline slides off and applies a schoolboy for two. PK by Madeline, but her cover gets another two count. Madeline picks up Satsuki and elbows her into the corner, Irish whip by Madeline but Satsuki reverses it. Lariat by Satsuki in the corner, she tries again but Madeline moves this time and cradles Satsuki for two. Madeline applies an armbar but Satsuki wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Madeline tries a few more flash pins with no luck, Madeline goes off the ropes but Satsuki catches her with a jumping crossbody for two. Diving senton by Satsuki off the second turnbuckle, and she covers Madeline for the three count! Satsuki Totoro wins and gets two points in the tournament.

This was fun, probably more fun than it had any right to be. Madeline manages to make everything watchable just by existing but her arm work on Satsuki was solid and she looked smooth throughout, I don’t know if she’ll ever be more than a “fun midcarder” but as long as she is being entertaining I’m ok with it. Satsuki has learned to work within her limitations which she showed here, she’s also unlikely to reach the top of any promotion but she knows how to wrestle with her size advantage and they meshed together really well. Nothing that will set anyone’s world on fire but a well structured and entertaining midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi vs. Uno, Shingaki, and Suzu Suzuki

Team Suzu attacks before the match but it quickly backfires as Team Tsukushi takes over, all all three hit scoop slams. Momo stays in with Rina as the legal wrestlers, snapmares by Momo but Rina blocks one and bops her on the head. Rina tags in Suzu, who applies a headlock while taunting Itsuki. Face crusher by Suzu and she applies a crab hold while raking Momo’s face. Rina and Matsuya come into “help” but all six end up in a submission hold chain until they all eventually break. Suzu stomps on Momo and tags in Matsuya, snapmare by Matsuya and with Rina they dropkick Momo. Matsuya tags Rina in, Rina clubs on Momo’s arm and twists it in the ropes. Irish whip by Rina but Momo reverses it, Rina avoids Momo’s dropkick however and stomps on her. Rina throws Momo into the corner but Momo jumps over her and hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. That gives her time to tag Itsuki, shoulderblock by Itsuki but Suzu dropkicks her. Tsukushi is in too and she attacks both Rina and Suzu, crossbody by Tsukushi to Rina and Suzu and Itsuki follows with a spear. Itsuki picks up Tsukushi and drops her onto both opponents, Suzu rolls out of the ring while Itsuki elbows Rina in the corner. Face crusher by Itsuki and she hits a falling body press for a two count. Scoop slam by Itsuki, she goes to the second turnbuckle but Rina recovers and gets Itsuki on her shoulders.

Kamikaze by Rina and she makes the tag to Suzu. Dropkick to the back by Suzu and she covers Itsuki for two. Suzu goes off the ropes but Itsuki gets her on her shoulders, Suzu slides off but Itsuki kicks her in the head. Suzu gets away from Itsuki and applies a waistlock, Itsuki elbows out of it and she hits a STO for a two count. Itsuki tags Tsukushi, she cradles Suzu to the mat and hits a footstomp. Elbow by Suzu and the two trade shots, they go off the ropes until Tsukushi catches Suzu with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Suzu flips herself back towards Tsukushi and hits a spear, picking up a two count. Suzu applies a submission while her partners keep the other opponents busy, but Tsukushi gets to the ropes. Suzu drags Tsukushi’s head over the apron and hits a dropkick. Cover by Suzu but it gets a two count. Suzu tags Matsuya, Matsuya spins Tsukushi around and applies an abdominal stretch. Tsukushi gets to the ropes for the break, Matsuya clubs on Tsukushi’s arm but Tsukushi puts her in a sleeper. Matsuya gets out of it, elbow by Tsukushi but Matsuya blocks the slam. Momo runs in to help but Rina comes in too as they go for vertical suplexes, eventually everyone but Tsukushi and Suzu are in the vertical suplex blob but Tsukushi runs over the top of it to hit a diving elbow onto Suzu. Momo and Itsuki successfully drop Rina and Matsuya with the suplex, Murder Dropkick by Tsukushi and she covers Matsuya for two.

Tsukushi tags Momo, dropkick by Momo and she hits a jumping crossbody for two. Momo applies a stretch hold but releases Matsuya after a moment, dropkick to the back by Momo but Matsuya blocks the slam attempt. Matsuya goes for the Fujiwara Armbar and gets it applied, but Momo gets to the ropes for the break. Matsuya goes off the ropes but Tsukushi comes in and dropkicks her with Momo, scoop slam by Momo to Matsuya but it only gets two. Momo goes off the ropes and hits a Tiger Feint Kick, but Matsuya pushes her away and applies a stretch submission. It gets broken up, Suzu runs in and spears Itsuki while Matsuya spears Tsukushi. Matsuya picks up Momo but Momo gets away from her, Rina comes in and they hit a face crusher on Momo. Matsuya picks up Momo and hits the F Crash, cover by Matsuya but Momo barely gets a shoulder up. Matsuya picks up Momo and goes for another one but Suzu kicks Matsuya in the head, inside cradle by Momo but it gets two. Itsuki hits a lariat on Matsuya, Momo covers Matsuya and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi

Momo acted after the win like she just won the lottery, even though she just covered someone after her partner finished them, but she doesn’t win every often. So I can understand her excitement. This was a really good match but the good parts were carried by Suzu and Tsukushi with everyone else being along for the ride. That doesn’t mean the other four weren’t good but in a sub-15 minute six wrestler match, obviously not everyone is going to get a chance to shine. Its just science. Momo was pretty impressive considering she doesn’t get a lot of chances against wrestlers that out-rank her, and really no one held the match back even though it would have been equally effective with four wrestlers in the match. The spot with Tsukushi running on the suplex blob was fun and they kept the action moving from bell to bell. An entertaining main event for a smaller show, I wouldn’t have minded if they went another five minutes but I enjoyed what they did.  Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon P’s Party #68 on 3/10/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1029
Date: March 14th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 553

Since I finally got around to updating the Ice Ribbon Roster, it seemed only fitting to review a recent Ice Ribbon show. Even though wrestling events are being delayed or cancelled around the world, that isn’t stopping Ice Ribbon as they return to Korakuen Hall. This is a big event, as we see Suzu Suzuki take on Tsukasa Fujimoto and Hiragi Kurumi challenge Maya Yukihi. Plus we have a four-way ladder match! Here is the full card:

• Banny Oikawa, Miku Aono, Thekla, and Yappy vs. Matsuya Uno, Rina Shingaki, Syuri, and Tae Honma
• Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi
• Aja Kong vs. Ibuki Hoshi
• Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Ram Kaicho vs. Rina Yamashita vs. Risa Sera vs. Satsuki Totoro
• ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi vs. Hiragi Kurumi

As this event aired on Samurai TV!, some matches will be clipped. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Banny Oikawa, Aono, Thekla, and Yappy vs. Uno, Shingaki, Syuri, and Honma

We join the match in progress, with Rina and Banny in the ring. Rina applies a kneelock with The Joint Army running in also as all four members put someone on the other side in a submission hold. We jump ahead to Syuri being in the ring with Banny, Banny ducks Syuri’s kick and schoolboys her for two. Kick to the chest by Syuri and she tags in Uno, shoulderblock by Uno but Banny reverses the scoop slam into a cradle. Dropkick by Banny and she makes the tag to Yappy. Running leg drop by Yappy and she hits a backbreaker on Uno for a two count. Yappy goes off the ropes but Uno avoids the lariat and applies a sleeper, Joint Army protects her but Yappy rams Uno back into the corner to break the hold. Her teammates run in as Uno is attacked by all of them, Final Cut by Yappy but Syuri breaks up the cover. Yappy picks up Uno and goes for a chokeslam, but Uno blocks it and Tae hits a missile dropkick on Yappy. Diving crossbody by Rina and Syuri hits Yappy with a running knee. Uno picks up Yappy and slams her to the mat, but the cover is broken up. Uno gets Yappy up again and applies the RE:BORN Lock (cross armbreaker), and Yappy quickly taps out! The Joint Army win the match.

This was obviously way too clipped to really get a vibe of the match, but what they showed was fine. The Joint Army seems to work together really well which I think is all they wanted us to get out of this, and they effectively hid what I am sure were some awkward moments from the losing team. I wouldn’t have minded seeing a bit more of this match but considering the card I’m not surprised this match got chopped up.

Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi

The Lovely Butchers attack before the bell rings and end up getting both opponents in opposite corners, but Maika and Tsukushi both make a comeback. Miyagi and Hoshi take the opportunity to pose, which Maika and Tsukushi don’t appreciate as they stomp on the Lovely Butchers. Things settle down with Tsukushi and Miyagi in the ring as the legal wrestlers, and Tsukushi stomps down on Miyagi’s hands. Tsukushi twists Miyagi’s leg in the second rope before tagging in Maika, Maika stomps Miyagi against the ropes and chokes her with her boot. Maika offers Miyagi her hand but its all a ruse as she hits a Mongolian Chop, Miyagi returns fire and throws Maika into the corner before hitting a body attack. Maika comes back with a lariat, elbow drops by Maika and she covers Miyagi for two. We jump ahead in the match to Tsukushi and Hoshi being in the ring, running body attack by Hoshi and she tags Miyagi. Miyagi sits down on Tsukushi and hits a seated senton, cover by Miyagi but it gets two. Hoshi comes in and they both hit Tsukushi with body blocks, Hoshi picks up Miyagi and tosses her onto Tsukushi for a two count. Miyagi picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away and applies a flying armbar. Maika comes in too and puts Hoshi in Argentine Backbreaker, but Miyagi gets into the ropes for the break.

Tsukushi elbows Miyagi but Miyagi elbows her back as they trade shots, Miyagi knocks Tsukushi down but Maika runs in and lariats her. Dropkick by Tsukushi while Miyagi is slouched against the ropes, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Hoshi comes in and lariats both Maika and Tsukushi, Miyagi recovers and they hit a double backdrop suplex on Tsukushi. Miyagi goes up on the second turnbuckle and hits a Reverse Splash, but Maika breaks up the cover. Hoshi goes to the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi avoids her body press, Miyagi also goes up top but Tsukushi joins her and hits a Frankensteiner for a two count. Maika goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, Tsukushi follows with a diving double footstomp but Hoshi breaks up the cover. Tsukushi picks up Miyagi but Miyagi blocks the Tiger Suplex, hurricanrana by Tsukushi but she lets go to hit footstomps. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Miyagi delivers the Mochiri Body Scissors, with Maika makes the save. Hoshi takes care of Maika, Miyagi picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away from her and applies a jackknife cover for two. Halcaze by Tsukushi, and she picks up the three count! Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi are the winners!

A pretty by-the-numbers midcard tag match, but perfectly watchable. This was Miyagi’s first full match since she suffered an injury last July, and she didn’t seem to have any ring rust as she was her usual self. Tsukushi is one of my favorite wrestlers in Ice Ribbon and she was a bundle of fun here as always, alternating smoothly between killer moves and slick pinning situations with no hesitation. Nothing overly memorable but certainly a good enough match for where it was on the card.

Aja Kong vs. Ibuki Hoshi

They lock to to start to the match, Kong pushes Hoshi into the ropes but Hoshi switches positions with her and hits a series of elbows. Kong just looks at her when she goes for an Irish whip and blocks it, more elbows by Hoshi but Kong throws her into the ropes. Hoshi goes for shoulderblocks but Kong doesn’t budge, finally Kong clubs Hoshi with a lariat and kicks the kid out of the ring. Kong goes out after her and hits a vertical suplex on the floor, Kong gets a chair and cracks it over Hoshi’s head. She hits Hoshi with the chair again, the match clips ahead with them back in the ring but Hoshi’s situation has not improved in the meantime. Hoshi tries to fight back but Kong headbutts her back to the mat, Kong picks up Hoshi but Hoshi blocks the suplex attempt and elbows Kong in the chest. Kong doesn’t go down and fires back with a hard elbow, Hoshi struggles back to her feet and elbows Kong again, but Kong clubs her down. Hoshi slowly returns to her feet but gets elbows to the mat again, again she gets up but gets slapped in the face.

Kong goes for a lariat, Hoshi ducks it and goes for a schoolboy, but Kong blocks it. Hoshi moves when Kong tries to sit on her and delivers the Hamu Roll, but it only gets a two count. Kong drops Hoshi with a backdrop suplex, she picks Hoshi back up but Hoshi reverses the brainbuster attempt into an inside cradle for two. Hoshi delivers a series of mounted elbow strikes, she goes off the ropes but Kong lariats her. Kong gets on the second turnbuckle but Hoshi recovers before she can jump off and hits Kong from behind before tossing her to the mat. Hoshi hits a hard elbow and finally knocks Kong off her feet, cover by Hoshi but it gets two. Hoshi goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving body press, but Kong kicks out of the cover. Hoshi picks up Kong and ducks the Uraken, elbow strike by Hoshi but her cover gets a two count. Hoshi goes up top but this time Kong avoids the diving body press, Kong gets her paint can and hits Hoshi in the head with it. Brainbuster by Kong, but Hoshi barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong positions Hoshi, she gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the back elbow drop for the three count! Aja Kong wins!

There are few things in life I enjoy more than Aja Kong beating up a younger and smaller wrestler. It just fills me with happiness. So I enjoyed the bulk of this match, with Kong going way beyond what was needed to defeat a child just to prove a point. In a way its a compliment to Hoshi that instead of just putting her in a crab hold and winning, she hit her with a chair and dropped her with a brainbuster before driving her elbow into her soul. My only complaint actually is I think Hoshi had maybe one or two too many hope spots. The first elbow that knocked over Kong was fine, and the diving body press, but throwing in the second elbow strike just felt like overkill. But its hard to complain about a veteran giving a younger wrestler a bit of an extra rub. This over-delivered what my expectations were, a really fun quasi-squash match.  Recommended

Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Suzu and Tsukasa tie-up and trade standing submissions, armdrag by Tsukasa but Suzu avoids her charge and rolls up Tsukasa for two. They end up reaching a stalemate, Tsukasa gets Suzu to the mat and puts her in a kneelock, but Suzu quickly reverses it. Tsukasa reverses it back and starts working over Suzu’s leg, she sets up Tsukasa in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Cover by Tsukasa, but it gets two. Tsukasa throws down Suzu by the hair but Suzu cartwheels out of it when she tries again and delivers a dropkick. Tsukasa bridges out of the pin attempt and hits a dropkick of her own, she throws Suzu into the corner and knees her in the face. Running cutter by Tsukasa, and she covers Suzu for two. Tsukasa kicks Suzu repeatedly in the back but Suzu catches the PK and hits a dragon screw. Suzu tries to roll up Tsukasa but Tsukasa rolls through it, she goes for a PK again but again Suzu catches it and hits another dragon screw. Suzu applies a kneelock, she grabs Tsukasa’s arm to try to slow her down but Tsukasa gets to the ropes for the break. Running shoulder tackle by Suzu in the corner, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Tsukasa hits her before she can jump off and flings her back to the mat. Tsukasa rolls through it and tosses Tsukasa into the corner, she charges Tsukasa but Tsukasa catches her with a dropkick. Suzu throws Tsukasa into the corner but Tsukasa flips out of it and dropkicks Suzu, she follows up with another dropkick before hitting a scoop slam for two. Tsukasa applies a crossface but Suzu inches to the ropes to get the break.

Tsukasa runs up the corner but Suzu slides out to the apron and grabs her, she tries to throw her off and finally manages to do so as Tsukasa lands on the apron. Tsukasa rolls out to the floor, Suzu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Suzu slides Tsukasa back into the ring and hits a swandive missile dropkick, cover by Suzu but it gets two. Octopus Hold by Suzu, but Tsukasa walks to the ropes to force the break. Suzu goes for a suplex but Tsukasa blocks it and puts Suzu in a cross-arm submission. Suzu gets a toe on the ropes to force Tsukasa to let go, Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tsukasa picks up Suzu but Suzu blocks the Yoshi Tonic, dropkick by Tsukasa and she hits a step-up enzuigiri. She goes off the ropes but Suzu catches her with a jumping front kick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Tsukasa and Suzu return to their feet and trade blows, spinning kick by Suzu and she hits a standing moonsault for two. Suzu picks up Tsukasa goes for a German suplex, but Tsukasa lands on her feet and kicks her in the back. PK by Tsukasa, but Suzu kicks out of the cover. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a diving neckbreaker, but the cover gets two. Tsukasa picks up Suzu but Suzu avoids the Infinity, jumping kick by Suzu and she covers Tsukasa for a two count. German suplex hold by Suzu, but Tsukasa gets a shoulder up. Suzu picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa quickly rolls her up, getting a two count. PK by Tsukasa, but that gets a two count as well so she hits another one. A third PK by Tsukasa, but Suzu won’t stay down for three. Tsukasa goes for the Venus Shoot but Suzu ducks it, cradle by Suzu but it gets two. Suzu picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa hits an enzuigiri, Infinity by Tsukasa but Suzu kicks out. Tsukasa goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Suzu reverses it into a front cradle for the three count! Suzu Suzuki wins!

Quite a big win so early in Suzu’s career. Even though she won with a cradle, it was a highly competitive match up to that point so it wasn’t a fluke victory. The match started a bit rough as the early exchanges weren’t great, but the next 15 minutes flew by. For someone at her experience level, Suzu is really smooth, the only thing she is missing is a ‘super’ finishing move but her offense feels fresh and she certainly does feel like a future star in the promotion. Tsukasa led her well, I wouldn’t say it was her best performance as she spent much of the match trying to make Suzu look good but she was solid. It needed more drama or suspense to really elevate to a high end match, but still very entertaining and a good showcase for Suzu Suzuki.  Recommended

Ram Kaicho vs. Rina Yamashita vs. Risa Sera vs. Satsuki Totoro

The match starts the ladder already set up in the ring, all four charge for it but they stop each other. Totoro knocks over the ladder for… reasons and gets into a tug-of-war over it with Rina, with Kaicho and Sera helping. We clip ahead to Totoro climbing the ladder, but Rina stops her and pulls her out of the ring. Kaicho and Sera then both climb the ladder but Kaicho flips off Sera once they reach the hop. Totoro and Rina both return and tip over the ladder, with Sera being “trapped” underneath it and Kaicho on top of it. Totoro and Rina trade shoulderblocks until Rina knocks over Totoro, she then grabs Kaicho off the ladder and puts her down. The ladder is set up in the middle with Kaicho and Rina going to climb it, but they are stopped by their opponents. Sera powerbombs Kaicho into the corner and hits a double knee strike, but Rina hits her from behind. She tries to suplex Sera onto the ladder but Sera blocks it and the two trade elbows. Knee by Rina but Sera gets her on her back and hits a Schwein onto a ladder. She picks Rina back up but Rina wiggles away and hits a backdrop suplex onto the ladder. They both get back up and Rina hits a hard lariat on Sera, but Sera comes back with a Samoan Driver and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Totoro gets on the second turnbuckle but Rina avoids the diving senton, Sera puts a ladder on top of Totoro and tries to suplex Rina on it, but it is blocked. Kaicho then runs over to help Rina, and they suplex Sera onto the ladder that is on top of Totoro. We clip ahead to Rina tries to climb the ladder, but Totoro grabs her from behind and hits the Kamikaze. Totoro goes to climb the ladder but Kaicho throws chalk in her face, Kaicho and Rina both climb the ladder but Sera stops Kaicho from behind. Kaicho dives off the ladder with a crossbody onto Sera, Rina keeps climbing and she gets one of the cards! Rina Yamashita moves on to the title match.

Kaicho quickly tries to climb the ladder but Sera grabs her from behind and drops her with a Schwein. She goes to climb the ladder but Totoro gets back in the ring and stops her. Totoro picks up Sera and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Totoro puts the ladder on top of Sera and goes up top, but Sera recovers and joins her. Superplex by Sera (partially on the ladder), Sera sets up the ladder near the corner and climbs up to the very top before delivering a diving double kneedrop. Sera pushes Totoro out of the way, she sets up the ladder and climbs to the top, grabbing the other card! Rina Yamashita and Risa Sera win the match and will advance to the title match in May.

I’m not saying this was the worst ladder match I’ve seen, but it is probably pretty close. There were a lot of things not to like here. Ranging from the lack of selling for the few “big” bumps of the match, the occasional comedy elements, the weird spot with Sera acting like she was pinned under the ladder when she wasn’t… it just had a lot of issues. On top of that, with a third of the match cut, it was hard to really get invested in whatever they were doing as there were constant jumps in the action. There were some quality wrestlers in this match, but the final product simply wasn’t very good.

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Hiragi Kurumi
ICExInfinity Championship

They get into a knuckle-lock to start, knees by Maya but Kurumi knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Maya trips Kurumi and dropkicks her, she goes off the ropes but Kurumi does too and Pounces her out of the ring. Maya gets back on the apron but Kurumi goes out to the apron also and drops her with a modified piledriver. Maya drops down to the floor with Kurumi joining her, Kurumi throws Maya into the chairs at ringside before picking her up and doing the same on the opposite side. Kurumi goes for a suplex on the floor but Maya blocks it, Kurumi clubs Maya but Maya ducks an elbow and Kurumi hits the ring post by accident. Maya wraps Kurumi’s arm around the post and pulls on it, she lets go but only to get a chair and press it into Kurumi’s arm. Maya slides Kurumi back in and kicks her in the back before going back to Kurumi’s arm. Maya charges Kurumi but Kurumi moves, Maya slides out onto the apron and snaps Kurumi’s arm over the top rope. Maya goes up top but Kurumi avoids her dive, STO by Kurumi and she hits a few footstomps on Maya.

Kurumi throws Maya into the corner and hits a lariat, she goes for a dropkick but Maya moves out of the way and hits a kneedrop onto her arm. PK by Maya and she applies a choke, but Kurumi gets to the ropes for the break. Maya goes off the ropes and knees Kurumi in the head, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Maya kicks Kurumi and goes off the ropes, but Kurumi catches her with a powerslam. Dropkick by Kurumi and she covers Maya for two. Kurumi picks up Maya but Maya elbows her and the two trade shots, kick combination by Maya but Kurumi catches her with a superkick. Kurumi ducks the enzuigiri attempt and hits a snap German, but Maya gets back up and delivers the enzuigiri, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. They slowly get up and trade elbows again, Maya takes Kurumi to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker but Kurumi prevents her from fully locking it in. Maya switches to a Triangle Choke attempt instead but Kurumi slams her way out of it, Nut Driver by Kurumi and she covers Maya for two. Kurumi goes up top but Maya avoids the diving body press, Omiwatari to the back by Maya and she kicks Kurumi in the arm. Superkicks by Maya and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick, cover by Maya but Kurumi gets a shoulder up.

Maya waits for Kurumi to get up and hits another Omiwatari, cover by Maya but that gets a two as well. Maya goes up top but Kurumi gets up before Maya can jump off and joins her, superplex by Kurumi but she is too hurt to capitalize. Maya recovers first and kicks at Kurumi, but Kurumi slaps her and stomps Maya into the mat. Turnbuckle Cannonball by Kurumi, she picks up Maya but Maya sneaks in a cradle for two. Kick by Maya and she kicks Kurumi in the arm, she goes off the ropes but Kurumi levels her with a lariat for a two count. Kurumi picks up Kurumi and nails the reverse piledriver, but Maya gets a shoulder up. Modified piledriver by Kurumi and she follows that with a German suplex hold, but it only gets a two count. Kurumi sets up Maya and goes to the top turnbuckle, she delivers a diving body press but Maya reverses the cover into a two count. Maya goes for another flash pin before putting Kurumi into a Triangle Choke. She rolls Kurumi over so she can apply the Icicle Back Triangle, and Kurumi has no choice but to submit! Maya Yukihi wins and retains the championship.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but this match was pretty damn great. Kurumi may be young but she has been wrestling for a long time so she knows what she is doing, and Maya Yukihi is one of the most under-rated in-ring wrestlers in Joshi right now. I loved the arm work and the constant focus on it, and Kurumi respected that by giving the occasional arm shake which is all it takes to remind viewers that her arm is hurting even if she is on offense. Both wrestlers really stayed on task, with Kurumi going for high impact moves while Maya just wanted to knock Kurumi loopy enough to lock on a submission hold. Even though the match was 21 minutes there was no downtime, and the ‘outside the ring’ part was short and they stayed active so it didn’t feel like just wasting time like we sometimes see. Hard hitting and well-executed, this was one of the better Joshi matches I’ve seen so far in 2020.  Highly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1029 on 3/14/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Pro Wrestling WAVE Ikinari Friday Night
Date: January 17th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

You can tell I am devoted to hitting each Joshi promotion in the month of January since I am reviewing this show. WAVE doesn’t “make tape” much so there aren’t a lot of options if I want to see what the promotion is up to. At least there are some quality Freelancers on this show, which is a big plus. To say that WAVE’s situation is dire would be an understatement as they are one of the smallest Joshi promotions with no real stars on their set roster to carry them and no young wrestlers with potential to lead them in the future. With that depressing introduction, here is the full card:

• Ayumi Hayashi and Yumi Ohka vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yuu
• Haruka Umesaki vs. Sakura Hirota
• HIROe vs. Sareee
• Hibiki, Nagisa Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha vs. Miyuki Takase, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri

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

Ayumi Hayashi and Yumi Ohka vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yuu

Ayumi and Ohka pump up the crowd to start the match while Yuu looks confused, they get Yuu to join in but then attack her and double team her. Yuu blocks the snapmare attempt by Ayumi and slams her to the mat, she tags in Miyazaki and Miyazaki tosses Ayumi around the ring. Yuu returns, she throws Ayumi into the corner and hits a running elbow strike followed by a monkey flip into an armbar. Ohka breaks that up, snapmare by Yuu and she hits a senton onto Ayumi’s arm. Yuu tags Miyazaki, vertical suplex by Miyazaki and she applies a chinlock. Miyazaki picks up Ayumi and bites on her arm, she wraps her arm in the ropes and twists on it before applying an armbar. Miyazaki tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she delivers a spinning sidewalk slam. Running senton by Yuu, and she covers Ayumi for two. Yuu chops Ayumi repeatedly in the chest but Ayumi ducks one and elbows her back, she goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Yuu doesn’t go down. More dropkicks by Ayumi have no impact, Yuu catches her crossbody attempt and tosses Ayumi down. Ohka comes in to help and they finally get Yuu off her feet, giving Ayumi time to tag Ohka.

Ohka boots Yuu and Miyazaki in the face and hits a double face crusher, Ohka throws Yuu to the corner and she hits a big boot. Ohka goes off the ropes and hits another boot, Ohka goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Yuu chops Ohka but Ohka boots her as they trade shots, with Ohka winning the battle as she boots Yuu to the mat. She goes for another one but Yuu catches her and hits a Buckle Bomb, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Ohka for two. Yuu picks up Ohka but Ohka kicks her away, she goes off the ropes but Yuu hits a judo toss. They both crawl to their corners but Yuu makes it first, lariat by Miyazaki but Ohka catches her with a German suplex. Ohka goes for a strike but Miyazaki ducks it, she sets her up for the Shy Hold but pushes her to the mat instead and jaws with Ayumi. Miyazaki goes after Ayumi but Ohka attacks her from behind, big boot by Ohka in the corner but Miyazaki fires back with a lariat. Ohka catches Miyazaki with a DDT and hits a heel drop, cover by Ohka but it gets two.

Ohka goes off the ropes but Miyazaki avoids her boot, Ayumi comes in and tries to help but Miyazaki kicks her away. Miyazaki gets Ayumi off of her and goes off the ropes, but Ohka hits a chokebomb and tags in Ayumi. Ayumi stomps on Miyazaki but Miyazaki shrugs it off, Ohka comes in but Miyazaki blocks their double team attempt and Yuu sends Ohka out of the ring. Miyazaki slams Ayumi to the mat, she sets her up and puts her in the Shy Hold. Ohka eventually comes in and breaks it up, they throw Miyazaki into the corner but Miyazaki avoids both of their attacks. Irish whip by Miyazaki to Ayumi and she hits a hard lariat, cover by Miyazaki but Ayumi gets a shoulder up. Miyazaki picks up Ayumi but Ayumi slides away and applies a flash pin for two. Ayumi goes for a cradle but Miyazaki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ayumi trips her and applies a jackknife cover for a two count. Ayumi goes up top but Miyazaki recovers and joins her, Ohka grabs Miyazaki from behind but Yuu pulls her away. Miyazaki kisses Ayumi while on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex, cover by Miyazaki but Ohka breaks it up. Miyazaki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the moonsault, cover by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Yuu and Yuki Miyazaki are the winners.

Yuu had an easy day, as she let Miyazaki do most of the heavy lifting. For a lot of this it felt like Ohka just trying to hold things other against two good wrestlers and a somewhat worthless partner, but Ayumi did enough here and there to at least attempt to pull her own weight. She was definitely the weak link and the focus of the match, and at times it felt like it was dragging. It picked up some by the end though, but I still wish Yuu was a bigger part of the match as I enjoy her more than I do Miyazaki. A decent opener but not enough here to recommend watching it.

Haruka Umesaki vs. Kyusei Haruka Umesaki (Sakura Hirota)

As soon as the bell rings, Haruka charges Hirota and delivers a dropkick, cover by Haruka and she picks up the three count! Haruka Umesaki wins the match!

Hirota gets on the microphone and while I don’t understand Japanese, it seems she wants to have the match re-started. She gets her wish as they get ready, the bell rings and this time Hirota charges Haruka and goes for her own dropkick. Haruka moves however and dropkicks Hirota, cover by Haruka and she gets the three count! Haruka Umesaki wins the match again!

Hirota asks for the mic and I assume appeals for another chance, and it is granted as the match is started yet again. They lock-up but let go so they can trade elbows, dropkick by Haruka and she cover Hirota, but this time Hirota kicks out. Mounted elbows by Haruka but Hirota returns the favor, they end up in the ropes and the referee gets them to break. After a bit of a delay they get back into it, headlock by Hirota and she takes Haruka to the mat. Haruka gets out of the hold, kick by Haruka but Hirota shoulderblocks her down. Hirota goes off the ropes, they both go for dropkicks but neither connects. Kick to the stomach by Haruka but Hirota ducks her crossbody attempt, Hirota then goes for a crossbody but Haruka kicks her in mid-air. Haruka charges Hirota and dropkicks her in the corner, but Hirota comes back with a face crusher. Hirota applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Haruka. Crab hold by Hirota but Haruka is too close to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Scoop slam by Hirota and she covers Haruka for two. Hirota knees Haruka in the back, Irish whip by Hirota but Haruka collapses to the mat. Hirota feels bad so she falls to the mat too, they both slowly get up and make the ten count. Running lariat by Haruka, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Hirota gets back up but Haruka scoop slams her, cover by Haruka but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Haruka and she applies a backslide, but Hirota gets out of it and cradles her for two. They trade flash pins with no luck, dropkick by Haruka and she applies a small package for two. La Magistral by Haruka but Hirota reverses it and holds down Haruka for the three count! Hirota wins the final match!

If I am going to watch a Hirota comedy match, this type of match is definitely my preference. Haruka was laughing at various times just with the ridiculousness of it all, and it was short enough that it never got old. A cute match, with it going in a slightly different direction than most Hirota matches which I appreciate.

HIROe vs. Sareee

HIROe and Sareee circle each other before tying up, Sareee gets HIROe in the ropes and she goes for an elbow, but HIROe moves and kicks her. Irish whip by HIROe but Sareee hits a jumping crossbody, HIROe bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick. Sareee bridges out of the pin as well and hits a hard elbow, Sareee grabs HIROe by the hair and flings her to the mat. Dropkick by Sareee but HIROe recovers and grabs Sareee by the hair, throwing her into the corner. HIROe picks up Sareee and the two trade elbows, which unsurprisingly Sareee gets the better of. Irish whip by Sareee and she dropkicks HIROe, scoop slam by Sareee and she puts HIROe in an Indian Deathlock. HIROe almost makes it to the ropes but Sareee pulls her back to the middle of the ring and puts her in the Muta Lock. She lets go after a moment and stomps on HIROe, Irish whip by Sareee but HIROe hits a dropkick. HIROe picks up Sareee and hits another dropkick, HIROe applies a crab hold but Sareee gets to the ropes. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee throws her into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Sareee tries to throw HIROe into the corner but HIROe reverses it and hits a running shoulder tackle. Vertical suplex by HIROe, and she covers Sareee for two. HIROe picks up Sareee and hits a Codebreaker, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sareee through the ropes and onto the apron. HIROe pulls her back in but Sareee blocks the suplex attempt and delivers a fisherman suplex hold for two.

Sareee goes for another suplex but HIROe blocks it, hard elbow by Sareee but HIROe elbows her back. Sareee goes off the ropes but HIROe levels her with a spear, cover by HIROe but it gets two. HIROe goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Northern Lights Suplex by HIROe but Sareee kicks out of the cover. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee gets behind her back and drops her with a release German. HIROe comes back with a German suplex hold, she picks up Sareee and hits a backdrop suplex. She gets on the top turnbuckle but Sareee recovers and grabs her from behind, hitting a German suplex from the corner. HIROe and Sareee trade elbows, dropkick by Sareee and she dropkicks HIROe again as the slumps against the ropes. STF by Sareee but HIROe gets to the ropes, Sareee picks her up but HIROe blocks the uranage. Sareee tries again but HIROe cradles her for two, Sareee goes for her own roll-up but she also gets a two count. Sareee goes off the ropes but HIROe delivers the Kasadora for two. She goes for another flash pin with no luck, she goes off the ropes and hits the spear, but that gets a two as well. HIROe picks up Sareee but Sareee pushes her off and drops her with a German suplex hold. Sareee picks up HIROe and nails a uranage, and she picks up the three count! Sareee is the winner.

This was a good sprint-style match, but not much more than that. Considering HIROe’s placement in Joshi I thought Sareee was quite generous, maybe too much so as they wrestled as equals for much of the match even though they clearly are not. Any selling of note went out the window but that was the style both were going for and since it went both ways I don’t mind it, but at times it really was just a series of moves without a real story behind them. I’m glad that Sareee didn’t win with one of her flash pin attempts as that would have been a flat way to end the match, and HIROe came out of it looking pretty good which I guess was the goal. A fine midcard match, but nothing really elevated it above that beyond Sareee just being her usual entertaining self.  Mildly Recommended

Hibiki, Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha vs. Takase, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri

Nozaki and Takase start the match, Takase elbows Nozaki but Nozaki elbows her back as they immediately get into it. Takase dropkicks Nozaki but Nozaki immediately boots her back, side headlock takedown by Nozaki but Takase quickly gets out of it and they reach a stalemate. Hibiki and Syuri tag in, headlock by Syuri and she gets Hibiki to the mat. Hibiki gets back up and Irish whips out of it, but Syuri knocks her over with a hard shoulderblock. Hibiki gets back up and delivers a shoulderblock of her own, she goes off the ropes but Syuri hits an armdrag. Snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Hibiki in the back, neck crank by Syuri and she tags Rina. Rina twists Hibiki’s arm in the ropes while Takase and Syuri help from the apron, Rina tags in Takase and she chops Hibiki in the corner. Syuri comes in next, she chokes Hibiki in the corner before stomping her in the back. She tags Rina back in, double knee to the arm by Rina and she applies a Fujiwara Armbar. Hibiki gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Rina but Hibiki hits a hard shoulderblock, giving her time to tag in Iroha. Iroha strikes all of her opponents, she goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her from the apron. Takase gets in the ring but Iroha throws Takase into Rina and kicks both of them. They for a suplex but it is blocked, Syuri and Nozaki come in the ring and Nozaki and Iroha suplex all three of their opponents.

Iroha gets back to Rina, she goes for a slam but Rina block it and applies an armbar. Iroha slams Rina into the corner to break it up, but Rina avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Takase, Iroha knocks Takase to the mat and connects with a series of kicks followed by a leg sweep and a PK. Dropkick by Iroha and she covers Takase for two. Iroha picks up Takase and hits a snap vertical suplex, she picks up Takase but Takase blocks the powerbomb. Syuri comes in and kicks Iroha, they throw her into the corner and along with Rina all three hit running strikes in the corner. Cover by Takase, but it gets a two count. Takase goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat, but Iroha kicks out of the cover. Takase gets Iroha up but Iroha slides away, superkick by Iroha and she tags in Hibiki. Hibiki goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, running senton by Hibiki and she covers Takase for two. Hibiki picks up Takase and the two trade elbows, headbutts by Hibiki and she hits a spear for a two count. Hibiki throws Takase into the corner but Takase rebounds out of it with a missile dropkick, lariat by Takase in the corner and she catches Hibiki with a powerslam. Takase tags Syuri, kicks by Syuri to Hibiki into the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Another knee by Syuri and she covers Hibiki for two. Syuri applies a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, Syuri goes off the ropes but Hibiki drives her into the corner. Running shoulder tackles by Hibiki and she covers Syuri for two. Hibiki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and she hits a spear.

Hibiki tags Nozaki, big boot by Nozaki in the corner and she boots her again. Nozaki goes off the ropes and delivers a running bootscrape, she goes out to the apron but Syuri kicks her down to the floor. Running knee by Syuri off the apron, she slides Nozaki back in and hits a double underhook suplex for two. Nozaki and Syuri trade elbows until Nozaki delivers a big boot, but Syuri catches her with a release German. Nozaki gets back up and boots Syuri, they trade strikes until Syuri knocks Nozaki to the mat with a head kick. Syuri tags Rina and she dropkicks Nozaki into the corner, another dropkick by Rina and she kicks Nozaki in the arm. Nozaki drop toeholds Rina into the ropes but Rina avoids her boot and kicks Nozaki in the arm. Rina applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Hibiki breaks it up, Rina goes up top but Nozaki recovers and joins her. Nozaki applies a guillotine choke until the referee gets her to stop, she then hits a superplex on Rina for a two count cover. Nozaki applies a sleeper but Rina gets out of it, Rina picks her up but Iroha comes in and suplexes her. Diving senton by Hibiki on Rina and Nozaki boots Rina in the head for a two count. Somato by Nozaki, but that gets a two count as well. Nozaki picks up Rina but Takase runs in and lariats her, jackknife cover by Rina but Nozaki kicks out. Iroha comes in and kicks Nozaki in the head, cover by Rina but Nozaki barely kicks out. Rina applies a quick cradle but that gets broken up, Rina grabs Nozaki but Nozaki gets away. Big boot by Nozaki, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Codebreaker by Syuri to Nozaki as all six wrestlers are in the ring, it clears after a moment and Nozaki drops Rina with a running knee strike. Nozaki waits for Rina to get up and nails a Noa Lancer High to the face, cover by Nozaki and she gets the three count! Hibiki, Nagisa Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha are the winners!

My biggest takeaway from this match is that Hibiki hasn’t lost a step during her hiatus from wrestling, she is still really good. I enjoyed this, even if each wrestler seemed to be doing their own thing instead of working together as as unit. Rina was working over arms, Syuri was all about the head kicks, Nagisa liked sleepers, Hibiki weakened up wrestler’s midsections, it was just all over the place in regards to strategies. This is the main difference between random tag teams and faction teams, the chemistry wasn’t really there. Luckily, all six are quality wrestlers on their own and the few with flaws could be hidden with all the action, so it was a fun match to watch. Nozaki has improved since last time I saw her and Syuri is always a treasure. While they didn’t really put on a cohesive six wrestler tag, for a small WAVE event it was a fitting conclusion that highlighted all six of the wrestlers well.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE Ikinari Friday Night on 1/17/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: OZ Academy Sparkling New Year 2020
Date: January 5th, 2020
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 326

In an effort to have a more diverse selection of Joshi reviews on the website, next we will jump over to Oz Academy. I don’t watch OZ Academy too often as I am not a big fan of the Ozaki-gun antics, but on this event that should just be confined to the main event and the other matches will have room to breathe. There is a lot to look forward to here, with Tae Honma getting a big singles match and the start of a mini-tournament to find a new #1 Contender. Here is the full card:

• OZ Academy Openweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament: Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yuu
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament: Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Aja Kong and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato
• AKINO vs. Tae Honma
• Ayame Sasamura, Rina Shingaki, and Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi, Mayumi Ozaki, and Yumi Ohka

All wrestlers on the card have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this event aired on NicoPro, it will be unclipped. It is just a one-camera setup, however there is no commentary box so that’s a plus. For information on how to sign up for NicoPro, please read my guide, only $5 a month for lots of great wrestling.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yuu

They start slow as they exchange holds but neither gets a clear advantage, takedown by Yuu but Kaho switches positions with her and rolls away. Another takedown by Yuu but Kaho gets her back, which Yuu quickly rolls out of. They end up back on their feet again, Kaho goes for an armdrag but she can’t get Yuu over. Hard chop by Yuu, she pushes Kaho into the ropes and chops her in the chest again. Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho hits a crossbody followed by a dropkick. Yuu falls out of the ring, Kaho gets a running start and dives out onto Yuu with a tope suicida. Kaho slides Yuu back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving hurricanrana. Dropkick by Kaho in the corner, she tosses Yuu to the mat and dropkicks her again for a two count cover. Kaho applies a key lock with a headscissors but Yuu gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Kaho twists Yuu’s arm in the ropes and knees her in the back of the head, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Yuu in the back. Kaho goes back to the arm as she twists and dropkicks it again, cover by Kaho but it gets two.

Kicks to the arm by Kaho and she hits a knee onto Yuu’s arm as well, Octopus Hold by Kaho but Yuu muscles out of it. Running elbow by Yuu and she hits a senton, cover by Yuu but it gets two. Yuu picks up Kaho and chops her in the chest, even though it hurts her own arm as well. She elbows her with her injured arm as well, Kaho quickly gets back up however and knocks Yuu to the mat. Yuu chops Kaho against the ropes, Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho applies the iron octopus. Yuu gets into the ropes for the break, running boot by Kaho but Yuu fires back with an elbow and they trade shots. Hard elbow by Yuu but Kaho gets up and elbows her back, Yuu elbows Kaho in the corner and chops her in the chest. Running senton by Yuu, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaho recovers and joins her. Frankensteiner by Kaho, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Kaho but it gets two. Kaho quickly goes back to the arm submission but Yuu gets into the ropes for the break, they return to their feet and trade strikes until Kaho goes for a hanging submission.

Yuu gets out of it and clubs Kaho in the head, hard elbow by Yuu and she covers Kaho for two. Enzuigiri by Kaho, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Yuu avoids the Gideon Splash. Kaho is up first and elbows Yuu, she goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a hip toss and applies a sleeper. Kaho rolls out of it and applies a crucifix, but it gets two. Kaho goes off the ropes but Yuu hits another hip toss, Irish whip by Yuu but Kaho reverses it. Yuu catches Kaho and slams her to the mat, Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Kaho reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Elbows by Kaho, she picks up Yuu and elbows her again before hitting a dropkick. Kaho picks up Yuu but Yuu hits a backdrop suplex, running kick by Yuu and she hits a cannonball in the corner. Last Ride Powerbomb by Yuu, and she covers Kaho for the three count! Yuu is the winner and advances in the tournament.

This match was structured very uniquely. Even though Yuu has the size advantage and wrestled this match with a “I could win at any moment with a big power move” vibe, Kaho was the veteran so she controlled the action and won a fair number of the strike exchanges. Kaho sticking to submissions and high flying moves was the way to go since she wasn’t going to out-power Yuu, it was the fact Kaho won so many strike battles that threw me off as Yuu should have been winning more of those if she was the “stronger wrestler” (even with the injured arm). It led to an interesting dynamic for sure. I did like Kaho’s arm work throughout the match and her game plan was sound, and since Yuu tends to win matches like this sometimes I have no issue with Kaho staying down for three after just a couple power moves in a row since that was the story they set up from the beginning. Overall I liked it, it may not have the pacing that some prefer but it was a hell of a way to begin a show, with a 20+ minute match with a slower build.  Recommended

Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

They both immediately try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks and elbows, they then trade lariats but both wrestlers stay standing. Finally Kuragaki knocks over Matsumoto with a lariat, lariats by Kuragaki in the corner and she stretches Matsumoto on the mat. Kuragaki picks up Matsumoto and delivers a delayed vertical suplex, cover by Kuragaki but it gets a two count. Kuragaki picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto blocks her attack and hits a back bodydrop, Matsumoto goes off the ropes but Kuragaki kicks her in the stomach. Matsumoto knocks Kuragaki back and goes for a lariat, Kuragaki stays up but Matsumoto suplexes her to the mat. Body Avalanche by Matsumoto in the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Matsumoto picks up Kuragaki but Kuragaki blocks the powerbomb attempt, lariat by Kuragaki while Matsumoto is against the ropes and she hits a body press off the second turnbuckle for two.

Kuragaki goes all the way up top but Matsumoto recovers and joins her, she goes for a superplex but Kuragaki tosses her back down to the mat. Diving body press by Kuragaki, but Matsumoto kicks out at two. Kuragaki clubs on Matsumoto and gets her up over her shoulders, but Matsumoto slides away and finally lariats Kuragaki off her feet. Kuragaki and Matsumoto trade elbows while on their knees, they keep elbowing each other on their feet until Matsumoto knocks down Kuragaki with a spinning back elbow for two. Backdrop suplex by Kuragaki and she hits a lariat for a two count. Another lariat by Kuragaki, but that gets two as well. Falcon Arrow by Kuragaki, but once again Matsumoto gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kuragaki goes up for the moonsault but Matsumoto rolls out of the way and delivers a sliding lariat, but Kuragaki reverses her cover attempt into one of her own. Matsumoto quickly returns the favor as she reverses Kuragaki’s next cradle attempt and holds down Kuragaki for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins and advances in the tournament.

It shows the level of respect that Matsumoto has for Kuragaki that Kuragaki was the one that controlled this match. Matsumoto is still one of the top Joshi wrestlers on the scene and is very accomplished, but Kuragaki stayed in the dominant position for the bulk of this match. It really felt like Kuragaki’s match to lose the entire time as Matsumoto only had some hope spots, even having issues just knocking Kuragaki off her feet. It was a way to protect the veteran I guess, but I am not sure if Kuragaki really needs protecting, her place in wrestling is cemented regardless of her match against Matsumoto. A pretty good power-style match even if the structure threw me off a bit, a straight-forward story but one easily understood anyway. A perfectly fine ‘power’ encounter, even if it feels off to see Matsumoto wrestling from underneath and needing a flash pin to win.  Mildly Recommended

Aja Kong and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato

Yoneyama and Kakeru start the match, drop down by Kakeru but Kato stomps on her back. Dropkick by Kakeru but Kong kicks her from the apron, she comes in the ring and Kong helps Yoneyama kick Kakeru to the mat. Kong and Yoneyama have a chat before Kong tries to slam Yoneyama onto Kakeru, but Kakeru moves out of the way. The action spills out of the ring as Kakeru dives off the apron with a crossbody onto Kong, she gets back in the ring with Kato and Yoneyama as Yoneyama is double teamed. Snapmare by Kakeru to Yoneyama and she applies a body scissors, she lets go after a moment and hits a scoop slam for two. Kakeru tags Kato, snapmare by Kato and she kicks Yoneyama in the back, but Yoneyama bridges out of the pin. Kato stops Yoneyama from tagging out and applies a camel clutch, but Kong comes in and breaks it up. Scoop slam by Kato and she hits a leg drop, Kakeru comes in and she scoop slams Yoneyama as well. Leg drop by Kato and Kakeru slams Yoneyama again before Kato hits another leg drop.

Kato gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and puts her in the corner, kicks to the chest by Kato and she hits a cannonball. Kato gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam before tagging in Kakeru. Dropkick by Kakeru and she applies a short armbar, but Yoneyama gets to the ropes. Yoneyama finally rolls to her corner and tags in Kong, Kakeru elbows Kong but Kong absorbs the blows and clubs Kakeru. Kong picks up Kakeru and clubs her again, kicks by Kong but Kakeru returns to her feet and tries to fight back. It doesn’t work, Kong puts Kakeru on the top turnbuckle but Kato grabs her from behind and pulls Kong back to the mat. Missile dropkick by Kakeru and she tags Kato, Kato kicks Kong repeatedly and applies a full nelson, but Kong quickly gets out of it. Yoneyama runs in but Kato drops her with a German suplex, she then German suplexes Kong as well before covering her for two. Kato goes up top but Kong avoids her dive, strikes by Kato and she goes for a suplex, but Kong blocks it.

Kakeru runs in to help but Kong suplexes both of them, Kong picks up Kato and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Kong tags Yoneyama, Yoneyama knees Kato in the back of the head and hits a series of Mongolian Chops. Northern Lights Suplex by Yoneyama, but Kato kicks out. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle but Kato avoids her dive, Kakeru runs in and she dropkicks Yoneyama. Kick by Kato and Kakeru dropkicks Yoneyama again, dragon suplex hold by Kato but Kong breaks it up. Kato gets Yoneyama up but Yoneyama wiggles away, Kong comes in with her paint can and hits Kato and Kakeru with it. Yoneyama goes up top while Kong gets on the second turnbuckle, Kong tries to superplex Yoneyama onto both their opponents but they move. Running STO by Kakeru to Yoneyama, Kato goes up top and hits the Guillotine Leg Drop. Cover by Kato, but Kong breaks it up. Kato charges Yoneyama but Yoneyama avoids her kick and cradles Kato for two. Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Kato catches her with a heel kick, she picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits a DDT. Kong drops Kakeru on top of Kato, jackknife hold by Yoneyama to Kato and she gets the three count! Beast Friend wins!

A good enough midcard match but nothing more. Beast Friend are an odd team as they try to be too cute, which you’d think two long time veterans would be better than doing. The spots like a wrestler trying to superplex her own partner onto their opponents is something I’d expect to see in a ROH dark match, not more established wrestlers as it breaks logic and reasoning that they would find that to be a good idea. I’d much prefer they just wrestle it straight, but I guess that is hard with Yoneyama around, as she is semi-comedy and has been for years. On the plus side, Kakeru looked good when they let her do anything and Kato was her usual solid self. Some individual parts were fun, like Kato getting Kong over for the suplex, but as a whole there just wasn’t enough to it to recommend with more annoying sections than I’d prefer.

AKINO vs. Tae Honma

Tae really wants a handshake to start the match, AKINO is hesitant but finally does so after much prompting, only to be cradled by Tae for her trouble. She kicks out but Tae gets in a few more flash pins without any luck scoring the quick victory. Tae throws AKINO into the corner and hits a running elbow, dropkick by Tae and she covers AKINO again for two. Tae goes for a short armbar but AKINO rolls through it, knee to the back by AKINO and she kicks Tae. Camel Clutch by AKINO as she pulls her on nose, showing each side of the ring before letting go and kneeing Tae in the back again. Scoop slam by AKINO and she facewashes Tae in the corner, spinebuster by AKINO and she hits a leg drop for two. AKINO quickly applies an armtrap crossface, but Tae gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Irish whip by AKINO but Tae reverses it and elbows AKINO, AKINO elbows her back and they trade blows. Waistlock by Tae but AKINO elbows out of it, Tae rolls AKINO to the mat and puts her in an ankle hold. AKINO gets out of it and applies a headscissors, but Tae reverses it into a cross armbreaker attempt.

AKINO blocks it and applies a cross kneelock, but Tae reverses it into a kneelock of her own. AKINO gets out of it and goes back to Tae’s leg, but Tae gets into the ropes for a break. Snapmare by AKINO and she kicks Tae in the back a few times but Tae catches a kick and slaps AKINO in the face. Tae goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tae quickly applies a Fujiwara Armbar, AKINO tries to rolls through it but Tae keeps it applied. AKINO eventually makes it into the ropes for the break, Tae goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick. Tae goes off the ropes again but AKINO kicks her in the head, kick combination by AKINO and she covers Tae for two. More kicks by AKINO, she picks up Tae and hits a backdrop suplex, but Tae barely gets a shoulder up. AKINO picks up Tae again but Tae gets away from her and sneaks in a quick flash pin. Tae goes for a few more but AKINO quickly reverses it, and she eventually holds down Tae for the three count! AKINO wins!

That is two matches on the card that ended with a cradle cutback of some sort, not overly creative here. I’m not completely sure what this match was going for, as AKINO didn’t really give enough to Tae to give her any type of rub. Sure, she had a few close submissions and close flash pins, but to be the semi-main you’d think it would have been more of an even affair. Tae was clearly over-matched here and they didn’t do anything to really convince me she could overcome the odds. This really should have been the opener and the Kaho/Yuu match in this spot, OZ Academy has weird match ordering sometimes. Not a whole lot to it and disappointing overall.

Ayame Sasamura, Shingaki, and Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi, Ozaki, and Yumi Ohka

To the surprise of no one, Ozaki-gun attacks before the match starts and they immediately take it outside the ring. Police (the guy, not the music group or law enforcement) is there to help make the odds uneven of course, as they stay in control around the ring. All four eventually get in the ring with Rina, Ozaki slams her on the mat and they stack chairs on her before tossing more at her. They focus the chair attacks on her leg before putting Rina in the ropes and taunting her. Ozaki gets her chain and chokes Rina with it, Syuri finally has seen enough and comes in to break everything up, but Maya knocks her out of the ring. Ohka comes in and hits Rina with a cat o’ nine tails a few times, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits Rina with it again before choking her. She tags in Maya who has her own more standard whip, and she chokes Rina with it while tossing her around the ring. Syuri breaks it up again, Maya whips Rina as the rookie beatdown continues for several more minutes, with Ohka eventually being tagged in so she didn’t feel left out. Rina finally dropkicks Maya and Ozaki to hit her first move of the match and smartly she tags in Syuri, Syuri kicks everyone (including Police but not including MIO), Irish whip by Syuri to the corner and she hits a jumping knee on Ohka. Another knee by Syuri, she covers Ohka but it gets two.

Syuri applies a kneelock but MIO helps Ohka get to the ropes for the break. Ohka knees Syuri and hits a quick DDT before delivering a heel drop for two. Ohka tags in Ozaki, she hits Syuri with the chain a couple times, Syuri tries to get the chain from her and they play tug of war. All six wrestlers eventually join in the tug of war, with Ozaki-gun winning once Police comes in to help. Ozaki throws Syuri into the corner and hits her with the chain, lariat by Police and Ohka hits a big boot. Jumping knee by Maya, Rina tries to help but Syuri elbows her by accident. Snapmare by Syuri to Ozaki and she kicks her, cover by Syuri but it gets a two count. Syuri tags in Ayame, hard shoulderblock by Ayame to Ozaki but Ozaki elbows her and they trade blows. Ayame gets Ozaki against the ropes and jumps down on her back, cover by Ayame but it gets two. Backfist by Ozaki to Ayame and she tags in Maya, Maya elbows Ayame and Ohka boots her in the head. Running kick to the chest by Maya, she throws Ayame but Ayame reverses it. Maya boots Ayame in the face but Ayame hits a dropkick off the second rope before tagging in Rina. Rina dropkicks Maya into the corner, another dropkick by Rina and she covers Maya for two. Armbar by Rina to Maya but Maya gets to the ropes for the break.

Rina goes off the ropes but Police pulls her out of the ring, he takes Rina up into the crowd and throws her into a row of chairs. Rina is eventually brought back into the ring, where Ozaki-gun is waiting as they take turns hitting her with weapons. Scoop slam by Maya in front of the corner, she goes up top but Syuri runs in and hits her before she can jump off and pulls her back into the ring. Rina goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Ohka breaks up the pin. Ohka eventually whips Maya by accident as things break down further, STO by Ayame to Maya and Syuri hits a running knee. Jackknife hold by Rina, but Police breaks it up. Rina slaps Police and with Ayame they both slap her again before Syuri kicks him. They set up Police so that Ayame can dropkick him in the uh lower groin area, Rina goes back to Maya and she puts Maya in a short armbar. Maya gets out of it, they trade flash pins with MIO counting much faster one way than the other way, but neither gets the three count. MIO trips Rina when she goes to go off the ropes and Maya hits a running knee, cover my Maya but it gets two. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, but Syuri breaks up the pin. Rina quickly rolls up Maya, but MIO never starts the count. High Kick by Maya and she delivers the Omiwatari (Pendulum Knee Strike) for the three count! Ozaki-gun win the match.

My issue (well main issue) here is I don’t even understand what the point was. Ozaki-gun beats up rookies for 20 minutes, they get a few hope spots, then Ozaki-gun wins and celebrates with the biased referee that got them the win. How exciting. I don’t love these matches in just about any situation, but at least sometimes the good guys overcome the odds so you can understand the story. Watching Rina get slowly beaten up for ten minutes via nefarious means isn’t particularly exciting to watch, and the end stretch wasn’t nearly good enough to make up for it. So if you enjoy large heel groups dominating inexperienced wrestlers for 20 minutes, this is your match, otherwise it didn’t really accomplish anything and was a flat way to end the show.

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• April 29th, 2019 in Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling – Hamuko Hoshi vs. Pork Tamako
• May 3rd, 2019 in WRESTLE-1 – Kyoko Inoue vs. Reika Saiki
• May 7th, 2019 in JUST TAP OUT – Maika vs. Mima Shimoda
• May 26th, 2019 in K-DOJO – Ayame Sasamura vs. Rina Shingaki
• June 2nd, 2019 in DDT – Mina Shirakawa vs. Saki Akai

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

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Pork Tamako
April 29th, 2019 in Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling

They start with a tie-up and some posing by Hamuko, she gets Tamako to pose too but Tamako is ashamed by her actions and Hamuko attacks her from behind. Hamuko throws Tamako into the corner and rubs her belly in her face, Hamuko bites on Tamako’s arm and then bites the referee too when he tries to get Hamuko off. Hamuko throws Tamako in the corner but Tamako kicks her and hits a diving crossbody off he second turnbuckle for two. Tamako goes for a scoop slam but Hamuko blocks it, Hamuko throws Tamako into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Butt bumps by Hamuko and she hits a bulldog for a two count. Crab hold by Hamuko but Tamako gets her pom poms and uses the extra motivation to get to the ropes. Back up, they trade elbows until Tamako gets Hamuko in the ropes and pulls back on her nose.

Hamuko returns the favor with the same move, Tamako fights back with an elbow and they exchange shots until Tamako applies an Octopus Hold. Hamuko gets to the ropes for the break, Tamako goes off the ropes and slams Hamuko’s face into the mat for a two count. Oil Check by Tamako, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Tamako goes for a suplex but Hamuko blocks it and hits a few belly bumps. Shining Onaka by Hamuko, she gets Tamako on her shoulders but Tamako slides off and cradles Hamuko for a two count. A few more flash pins gets the same result, Tamako finally scoop slams Hamuko and covers her, but Hamuko gets a shoulder up. Tamako goes off the ropes but Hamuko catches her with a lariat, Hamuko gets Tamako on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, bu Tamako kicks out. Hamuko goes up top and nails a diving body press, and she picks up the three count! Hamuko Hoshi wins!

I wouldn’t say I am a huge fan of Hamuko Hoshi as she is somewhat of a comedy/non-comedy tweener which can be annoying. This was a day off for her and she wrestled it as such, as they did the bare minimum to get by in this ten minute match. From what I could see of Tamako, she appears fundamentally sound but doesn’t show any special traits, which isn’t ideal two years into her career. But she hit her spots well and the pom pom spot was cute, so it wasn’t all bad. Fine to watch if you are just curious about a Joshi wrestler you may not have seen before but nothing beyond that to recommend.

Kyoko Inoue vs. Reika Saiki
May 3rd, 2019 in WRESTLE-1

They lock-up to start, Saiki pushes Inoue into the ropes and elbows her instead of giving a clean break. Saiki goes off the ropes but Inoue shoulderblocks her down, she tries again but gets the same result. Saiki gets Inoue’s back and schoolboys her for two, Inoue retorts with a hard lariat but Saiki continues to fight back. Lariat by Saiki but Inoue doesn’t go down, elbows by Saiki and she finally knocks Inoue off her feet. Saiki picks up Inoue and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Inoue blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Saiki hits a dropkick followed by a successful backdrop suplex. Inoue rolls out of the ring but Saiki quickly goes out after her and throws her into the chairs at ringside. She does it again on a different side of the crowd before getting on the apron, Inoue rolls back in the ring but Saiki goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Saiki tries to get Inoue on her shoulders but can’t get her up, she tries again but again collapses before she can finish. Saiki quickly goes up top but Inoue recovers and joins her before hitting a superplex for a two count. Inoue picks up Saiki but Saiki slides away, she goes off the ropes but Inoue catches her and hits a short-range lariat for two. Inoue waits for Saiki to get up and hits another lariat, but Saiki barely gets a shoulder up. Sit-down powerbomb by Inoue, and finally she gets the three count. Kyoko Inoue is your winner.

I really enjoyed the structure of the match, my only complaint is I wish Saiki got one last hope spot in at the end. I loved Saiki wrestling with such urgency, normally she is the power wrestler but here she had to use her speed and relentlessness and I thought she conveyed that very well. It felt like a real struggle just to get Inoue over, which she accomplished a few times but it felt like a big moment each time it happened. I wouldn’t have minded if Saiki did finally get Inoue on her shoulders as they were building to that, and I doubt we’ll see a follow-up match anytime soon to further that story, but I appreciate them putting effort into this match instead of coasting through it. Reika Saiki is really good at everything she does, and if she stays focused on wrestling she could be a major player down the road.  Recommended

Maika vs. Mima Shimoda
May 7th, 2019 in JUST TAP OUT

Maika immediately whips Shimoda to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker, but Shimoda gets to the ropes for the break and rolls out of the ring to re-group. She returns after a moment but is immediately stomped by Maika, Maika works a side headlock but Shimoda Irish whips out of it and boots Maika in the face. Another boot by Shimoda and she tosses down Maika by the hair. Cross-legged crab hold but Maika quickly gets to the ropes, Shimoda bounces Maika off the ropes before putting her in a Camel Clutch. Shimoda lets go and stomps on Maika’s feet, Shimoda applies another crab hold but Maika gets to the ropes again. Neckbreaker by Shimoda and she puts Maika in a singe leg crab hold, but once again Maika forces the break. Shimoda stomps at Maika and hits a scoop slam, Camel Clutch by Shimoda, she picks up Maika and applies an armbar, but Maika gets a toe on the ropes. Slaps by Shimoda in the corner and she headbutts Maika, Maika tries to lariat Shimoda but Shimoda boots her arm and hits a release German. Maika gets back up and elbows Shimoda repeatedly, armdrag by Maika and she hits a monkey flip followed by a judo toss. Another toss by Maika and she overs Shimoda for two. Maika picks up Shimoda but Shimoda takes Maika to the mat and applies a stretch hold. Maika gets out of the hold however and puts Shimoda in a cross armbreaker, and Shimoda quickly submits! Maika wins in her debut match!

I like the idea of what they were trying to do but sadly this match was just very boring. JUST TAP OUT needs to have credible wrestlers and winning a debut is so rare its something fans may notice, but I am not sure if Shimoda was the right choice (unless no one else would do it). Her offense here wasn’t creative or interesting, I figured it would be basic due to Maika’s experience but it was beyond basic and I have seen veterans have far more interesting matches with rookies. The end result may still come in handy if they try to push Maika but I have to see more of her to determine if the gamble will pay off, either way this was too dull to recommend.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Rina Shingaki
May 26th, 2019 in K-DOJO

They begin slow as they trade headlocks, but neither gets a clear advantage before Rina gets Ayame to the mat with a leg submission. Ayame spins out of it as they jockey for position, but they reach a stalemate and return to their feet. Ayame works a headlock, Rina Irish whips out of it and delivers a dropkick. Ayame quickly gets back up and hits a scoop slam, but Rina blocks her attempted second one and slams Ayame’s head into the mat. Ayame throws Rina in the corner but Rina avoids her charge and dropkicks Ayame in the back. Rina kicks Ayame’s arm in the ropes and applies an arm submission, she picks up Ayame and snaps her arm over her shoulder. Rina kicks at Ayame’s arm and knocks her down in the corner before choking her with her boot. Ayame punches Rina in the stomach but Rina applies a Fujiwara Armbar, Ayame quickly wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Irish whip by Rina but Ayame boots her back and hits a hard shoulderblock. Ayame throws Rina into the ropes and jumps down on her back, dropkick by Ayame and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner for a two count. Scoop slam by Ayame and she dropkicks Rina in the head, picking up another two. Rina whips down Ayame by the arm and applies the Fujiwara Armbar, Ayame tries to roll out of it but Rina keeps it on. Ayame eventually gets a foot on the ropes, Rina goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving crossbody for two. Rina picks up Ayame but Ayame gets away, slap by Rina but Ayame catches her with a Cutie Special for two. Rina rolls Ayame to the mat and applies the SBT Lock, and Ayame has no choice but to submit! Rina Shingaki wins!

I’m a sucker for a good submission game so Rina Shingaki is my type of wrestler. She was focused on the arm throughout and then won with an arm submission, its such a basic story but it works. The only complaint there is that Ayame didn’t really do anything to show her arm was hurting, but that wasn’t Rina’s fault. Ayame never felt like she had a chance here so Rina must be getting a bigger push due to her background, this was clearly her match to win. Simple but well done by Rina, perfectly fine match for the midcard.  Mildly Recommended

Mina Shirakawa vs. Saki Akai
June 2nd, 2019 in DDT

Saki gets a headlock applied off the start, Mina gets out of it but Saki quickly re-applies it. Mina takes down Saki but Saki escapes and the wrestlers return to their feet. Irish whip by Saki but Mina dropkicks her, Mina goes for the Mexican Surfboard but Saki quickly gets to the ropes. A dropkick by Mina sends Saki out of the ring, Mina goes to the apron but Saki kicks her in the stomach as she jumps off. Saki then gets on the apron and hits a PK while Mina is on the floor, Saki rolls Mina into the ring and covers her for two. Saki stomps Mina in the corner and chokes her with her boot, snapmare by Saki and she kicks Mina in the back before covering her for two. Mina fights back with elbows but Saki returns the favor and kicks Mina in the chest. Irish whip by Saki but Mina boots her, she goes off the ropes but Saki kicks her in the chest. Saki knocks Mina over before picking her back up, Irish whip by Saki but Mina hits a jumping elbow smash.

More elbows by Mina and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, running elbow by Mina and she sits down on Saki in the corner. Mina drags Saki out and puts her in the Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and applies a double leg submission, but Saki makes it into the ropes for the break. Mina picks up Saki but Saki ducks her lariat and applies a sleeper. Mina snapmares out of it but Saki kicks her in the chest, cover by Saki but Mina kicks out. Saki charges Mina but Mina boots her back, she does it again but Saki blocks the third attempt and hits an elbow. Running boot by Saki, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Mina avoids the diving crossbody. Dropkick to the head by Mina and she hits a spinning backfist, she goes for a DDT but Saki blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Mina recovers and goes for a few flash pins, but each one only gets a two. Mina goes off the ropes but Saki catches her with a high kick, but Mina barely gets a shoulder up. Saki picks up Mina and delivers the Quetzalcoatl for the three count pinfall! Saki Akai is the winner!

While I hoped this gravure model vs. photo model match would be full of great wrestling, sadly it was not. Saki is a great personality but a limited wrestler, and Mina is early enough in her career I am not writing her off yet but nothing here gave me a lot of hope that wrestling will be a long term job for her. Some real clunky parts, no real cohesive story, it felt like just a house show midcard match with no effort to make it special. Which is ok but if you are going to go basic, at least make the basic action smooth and this was not. Very skippable.

That’s all I have for now, in a few months I’ll check back in with more random Joshi matches to review!

The post Joshi Match Reviews from DDT, RDPW, WRESTLE-1, and more! appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: Diana Tag Team Championship, BBW Super Bodyweight Championship, BBW Women’s Championship, and the Ice Ribbon Triangle Ribbon Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• September 29th, 2018 vs. Makoto vs. Ayame Sasamura (title challenge)
• December 15th, 2019 with Syuri vs. AKINO and Sonoko Kato  (title challenge)
• November 19th, 2020 vs. Erina Yamanaka  (title win)
• November 21st, 2020 vs. Nagisa Nozaki  (title challenge)
• January 31st, 2021 with Ayame Sasamura vs. Haruka Umesaki and Miyuki Takase  (title challenge)
• October 17th, 2021 vs. Miku Aono vs. Totoro Sasaki  (title win)

Signature Moves:

• Armlock
• Dropkick
• Fujiwara Armbar

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• May 26th, 2019 – Ayame Sasamura vs. Rina Shingaki in K-DOJO
• January 5th, 2020 – Sasamura, Shingaki, and Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi, Ozaki, and Yumi Ohka in OZ Academy
• January 17th, 2020 – Hibiki, Nagisa Nozaki, and Iroha vs. Miyuki Takase, Shingaki, and Syuri in WAVE
• March 10th, 2021 – Aoki, Kohgo, and Tsukushi Haruka vs. Uno, Rina Shingaki, and Suzuki in Ice Ribbon
• September 29th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki in GLEAT

In Action:

Dropkick

Fujiwara Armbar

Back to Retired Wrestlers

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