Event: Strong Style Pro Wrestling Vol. 18
Date: August 25th, 2022
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: NicoPro PPV

It has been awhile since we have visited Real Japan/Strong Style Pro Wrestling, lets see what they are up to. Strong Style Pro Wrestling is the rare hybrid puroresu promotion that has an almost equal number of men’s and women’s matches. Other promotions of course have both, but with SSPW it is generally split pretty evenly. That is the case here, with three Joshi matches to go along with the three men’s matches. SSPW only has a few contracted wrestlers, and mostly uses Freelancers or loans wrestlers from other promotions. That gives us some unique match-ups, as this card has wrestlers from Diana, PURE-J, COLOR’S, and some Freelancers. We also get a fun match with three masked wrestlers, as SSPW wrestler Tiger Queen takes on two invading evil wrestlers – Dark Cheetah and Dark Tiger. I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches on the event, here are the Joshi matches on the card:

• Leon vs. Nanami
• Itsuki Aoki and Jaguar Yokota vs. Sae and SAKI
• Dark Cheetah and Dark Tiger vs. Haruka Umesaki and Tiger Queen

Most wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s get to the fun.

Leon vs. Nanami

They circle each other before locking up, Leon pushes Nanami into the ropes but Nanami switches positions with her and hits a series of elbows. Irish whip by Nanami but Leon blocks it an elbows her, armdrag by Nanami and she dropkicks Leon. Snapmare by Nanami and she applies a bodyscissors, Nanami rolls Leon around the ring before holding her down for a two count. Back up, Leon throws Nanami into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Scoop slam by Leon and she hits a somersault senton for a two count. Camel Clutch by Leon, she lets go after a moment and hits an elbow drop. Leon sets up Nanami in the ropes, she then goes out to the apron and hits a series of chops. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Leon but the two collide with neither going down. Nanami goes off the ropes and tries to knock over Leon, but Leon kicks her. Nanami knocks Leon into the corner and finally hits a successful shoulderblock for a two count. Scoop slam by Nanami, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving bodypress for two.

Nanami picks up Leon but Leon knees her off, Nanami goes off the ropes but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Leon but Nanami crawls to the ropes to force the break. Leon pulls Nanami to the middle of the ring and clubs her in the back, she waits for Nanami to get up and Nanami hits a series of elbows. Leon knocks her back down with a hard elbow, she picks up Nanami and slams her into the corner. Running shoulder tackle by Leon, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Leon picks up Nanami but Nanami pushes her off and throws Leon to the mat. Leon quickly gets back up, she goes off the ropes but Nanami hits a shoulderblock followed by a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. She goes for another one but Leon blocks it, cradle by Nanami but Leon kicks out. Nanami goes for a couple more flash pins with no luck, Spear by Leon and she covers Nanami for two. Leon positions Nanami, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Mad Splash for the three count! Leon is the winner.

I seem to be watching a lot of Nanami matches lately. Completely not on purpose, although I guess she is improving some? Hard to tell. Leon is a really solid veteran that could have a good match with a broom, she isn’t flashy but she knows how to structure a match and keep it moving. Nothing here broke any new ground, it was a pretty standard veteran vs. child match, but Leon did give Nanami a near fall or two so it wasn’t a squash. Nothing special, but not awkward or disjointed which I guess is a win.

Itsuki Aoki and Jaguar Yokota vs. Sae and SAKI

Itsuki and Sae start the match, they go off the ropes trying to knock each other over until Sae knocks Itsuki to the mat. Itsuki quickly returns the favor, stomps by Itsuki and she tags Yokota. Yokota picks up Sae and rakes her face against the top rope, DDT by Yokota and she stomps Sae in the stomach. Yokota picks up Sae again and puts her in an Octopus Hold, but SAKI breaks it up. Snapmare by Yokota and she applies a sleeper, but Sae wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Yokota tags Itsuki, Itsuki elbows Sae in the chest and sets her up in the ropes. Body Avalanche by Itsuki, but Sae kicks out of the cover. Double kneedrops by Itsuki, she picks up Sae but Sae slams Itsuki and makes the tag to SAKI. Double Irish whip to Itsuki and she eats a double boot, SAKI picks up Itsuki but Itsuki hits a drop toehold followed by a sliding kick. Itsuki tags Yokota, Yokota stomps on SAKI’s head and throws her into the corner. Elbows by Yokota but SAKI reverses the Irish whip, Yokota boots SAKI as she charges in and follows up with a heel drop.

Yokota applies an abdominal stretch but Sae breaks it up, Yokota grabs them both and hits a sidelock takedown/headscissors combination followed by a somersault legdrop onto SAKI. She then tags Itsuki, Itsuki throws SAKI into the corner and hits a running elbow. Face crusher by Itsuki and she hits a bodypress for a two count. Itsuki picks up SAKI but SAKI elbows her to block a slam attempt, elbow by Itsuki but SAKI boots her back. They go back and forth until SAKI sends Itsuki to the mat with a boot, she tags in Sae and Sae promptly boots Itsuki in the face as well. Another boot by Sae and she covers Itsuki for two. Scoop slam by Sae and she hits a leg drop, but Itsuki kicks out of her cover again. Sae picks up Itsuki and boots her while she is against the ropes, she goes out to the apron as does SAKI but Itsuki avoids their double boot attempt and knocks them both to the floor. Itsuki joins them and holds both while Yokota dives off the apron with a cannonball. Sae is slid back in, running double knee by Itsuki and she hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Itsuki picks up Sae and goes off the ropes, but Sae avoids her elbow and hits a spear for two.

Sae gets Itsuki around the waist but Itsuki elbows out of it, STO by Itsuki and she makes the tag to Yokota. Somersault legdrop by Yokota, but SAKI breaks up the cover. Double Irish whip to Yokota, boot by SAKI and Sae delivers a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sae goes off the ropes but Itsuki cuts her off with a lariat, Yokota hits a fisherman suplex hold of her own but that also gets two. Yokota picks up Sae but Sae snaps off a DDT, running boot by Sae but Itsuki breaks up the cover. With all four in the ring, Yokota and Itsuki throw their opponents into each other and Yokota drops Sae with a suplex. She goes to the second turnbuckle but SAKI grabs her, this gives Sae time to cover and she joins Yokota. Itsuki runs over and tosses Sae back to the mat, giving Yokota time to hit a diving somersault legdrop for two. SAKI boots Yokota but Itsuki delivers a lariat, Itsuki dropkicks Sae in the knee and Yokota applies a Japanese leg-roll clutch hold for the three count! Jaguar Yokota and Itsuki Aoki are the winners!

This was… fine? The best thing I can say about it is that they kept the pace up, all four got a chance to shine, and both teams worked well together as teams. It didn’t feel like a thrown together random match, which is really to their credit since it was indeed a thrown together random match. Yokota seemed fired up and hit all her moves cleanly, and Itsuki Aoki is always a bundle of fun. Sae’s offense is really really repetitive and I would have liked to have seen more of SAKI, but there was enough going on that it didn’t get old. A pretty solid midcard match, it won’t set your world on fire but won’t make you sad either if you watch it.  Mildly Recommended

Dark Cheetah and Dark Tiger vs. Haruka Umesaki and Tiger Queen

Haruka and Cheetah start the match, they lock up and trade quick holds until Cheetah gets Haruka to the mat with a headlock. Haruka gets out of it but Cheetah hits a hard shoulderblock, they trade armdrags and Haruka dropkicks Cheetah to the mat. Haruka tags in Tiger Queen as Dark Tiger also tags in, Tiger Queen and Dark Tiger trade elbows until Dark Tiger rakes Tiger Queen in the eyes. Tiger Queen kips up and takes Dark Tiger to the mat, but Dark Tiger applies a headscissors. Tiger Queen kips out of it and kicks Dark Tiger in the chest, she tags in Haruka and Haruka hits a jumping lariat. Haruka positions Dark Tiger and applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and goes for a suplex, but Dark Tiger blocks it. Vertical suplex by Dark Tiger and she steps on Haruka’s face before tagging in Cheetah. Snapmare by Cheetah and she kneels on Haruka’s head until Tiger Queen runs in to knock her off. Cheetah knees Haruka again before throwing her into Panther’s boot (Panther jumped on the apron for the occasion), Cheetah tags Dark Tiger and Dark Tiger throws down Haruka by the hair. Dark Tiger taunts Tiger Queen but the referee tells her not to get in the ring, Dark Tiger picks up Haruka and throws her into the corner.

Haruka kicks Dark Tiger when she charges in and hits a hurricanrana, dropkick by Haruka and she makes the hot tag to Tiger Queen. Tiger Queen kicks both Dark Tiger and Cheetah, they fall out of the ring so Tiger Queen goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto them both with a moonsault. Tiger Queen slides Dark Tiger back in and follows her, she goes off the ropes and hits a diving double chop to the chest for a two count. Tiger Queen goes off the ropes but Panther trips her from ringside and pulls her out of the ring. Tiger Queen is stomped down by Cheetah and Panther, Panther slides Tiger Queen back in where Dark Tiger and Cheetah are waiting for her. Cheetah stays in as the legal wrestler and hits a missile dropkick on Tiger Queen, picking up a two count. Cheetah gets Tiger Queen on her shoulders but Tiger Queen slides off and applies a sleeper. She spins Cheetah around and hits a DDT, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Cheetah moves when she dives off. Tiger Queen rolls as she hits the mat for a quick recovery and drops Cheetah with a German suplex. Tiger Queen picks up Cheetah but Dark Tiger elbows her from behind, Haruka dropkicks Dark Tiger but Cheetah sends her out of the ring with a lariat. Jumping back kick by Tiger Queen to Cheetah and she makes the tag to Haruka, Dark Tiger also tags in but Haruka delivers a dropkick. Murder Dropkick by Haruka, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two.

Haruka picks up Dark Tiger but Dark Tiger applies a dragon sleeper, which is broken up by Tiger Queen. Cheetah kicks Tiger Queen from the apron, Dark Tiger grabs her as Haruka runs over to help but Dark Tiger moves and Haruka runs into Tiger Queen. Dark Tiger dropkicks both of them, she picks up Haruka and drills her with a vertical drop reverse DDT for a two count when Tiger Queen breaks it up. Dark Tiger picks up Haruka but Haruka sneaks in a cradle for two. Dark Tiger goes off the ropes but Haruka catches her with a suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the swivel bodypress for two. Haruka picks up Dark Tiger but Dark Tiger blocks the suplex attempt, Panther pulls the referee out of the ring (isn’t that illegal) and then comes in to help triple team Haruka. All three of the villains hit running strikes on Haruka in the corner, Dark Tiger gets a sword (it has its cover on) and hits Haruka in the stomach with it. Crucifix slam by Panther to Haruka, Dark Tiger picks up Haruka but Tiger Queen runs in and boots her. Tiger Queen is attacked by both Cheetah and Panther, Dark Tiger goes to pick up Haruka but Haruka applies a small package for two. Haruka goes off the ropes but Dark Tiger catches her with a TKO. Dark Tiger picks up Haruka and drops her with a double underhook facebuster for the three count! Dark Tiger and Dark Cheetah are the winners!

I was actually hoping this would be more chaotic, as the bulk of it was just a regular match. Which all four are capable of doing but if you put four (including Panther) quality wrestlers under a mask, let them be a little crazy, not work headlocks. A few times they did expand their methods, such as pulling out the referee and using the sword, but it just wasn’t as “extra” as I was expecting. That being said, the action was still really solid, with Dark Tiger in particular looking impressive. Very fluid match with Haruka only looking out of place since she didn’t have a mask on, she didn’t hold back the match even though she had the least amount of experience. It didn’t quite reach the level I was desiring, but the in-ring action was good and it did leave me wanting to see more of Dark Tiger which was probably the goal.  Recommended

The post Strong Style Pro Wrestling Vol. 18 on 8/25/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG Let’s Get d!!!
Date: January 20th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 717

As I catch back up with what is going on in the world of Joshi, it was necessary to check out a recent big event for SEAdLINNNG. When SEAdLINNNG first launched I wasn’t sure how long it would last or how big it would get, but they have been trucking along now for three years and even have both singles and tag team champions. The roster is still small (three wrestlers) but they have access to a lot of other wrestlers so all their events feel complete. This is a big show for them as it takes place at Korakuen Hall and features two title matches. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Himeka Arita
• Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tsukushi
• Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Ryo Mizunami, and Sae
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship: Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura vs. Miyuki Takase and Yumiko Hotta
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Nanae Takahashi vs. Yoshiko

As this aired on Nico Nico, all matches are shown in full. As always, all wrestlers on the event have profiles here at Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

ASUKA vs. Himeka Arita

ASUKA won’t shake Himeka’s hand before the match starts as she has no time for scrubs, Himeka gets ASUKA into the ropes and hits a series of hard elbows. She goes for an Irish whip but ASUKA doesn’t budge, so Himeka slaps her instead. More elbows by Himeka but ASUKA switches positions with her and slaps her, ASUKA works a headlock but Himeka gets out of it and the collide into each other. Hard shoulderblock by Himeka but ASUKA kips up and hits a shoulderblock of her own. Himeka retorts with another shoulderblock, body avalanche by Himeka in the corner and she hits a running knee for a two count cover. Himeka goes for a scoop slam but ASUKA blocks it, knees by ASUKA but Himeka catches her when she charges in and hits the slam. Shoulderblocks by Himeka, but ASUKA kicks out of the pin attempt. Himeka goes off the ropes but ASUKA nails her in the face with a dropkick, superkick by ASUKA and she hits a gutwrench suplex. ASUKA goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cocky cover by ASUKA and Himeka gets a shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Himeka but Himeka blocks the chokeslam attempt, slaps by Himeka and she delivers a Samoan Drop for two. Himeka goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a superkick, she then goes off the ropes but Himeka hits the jumping knee. Himeka charges ASUKA but ASUKA avoids the knee and delivers a strike combination, chokeslam by ASUKA but the cover only gets two. ASUKA quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by ASUKA and she gets the three count! ASUKA is the winner.

I wouldn’t say this match was “good” but it was serviceable. ASUKA gave Himeka quite a bit of offense, which was nice of her since Himeka is still basically an unknown while ASUKA is a former champion. Everything was hit well and was pretty smooth, aside from one clunky moment during the chokeslam block. Inoffensive but not much to it.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Hoshizuki vs. Tsukushi

They all circle each other to start but get right into it with a triple headlock spot before Tsukushi and Kaho trade armdrags. Mei feels left out and goes into an exchange with Kaho, which she gets the better off until Kaho flings her down with a springboard armdrag. Mei and Tsukushi both dropkick Kaho in the corner, Kaho goes off the ropes until she is exhausted and eats a double dropkick. Tsukushi kicks Mei when Mei is celebrating and puts her in a camel clutch. Kaho returns and dropkicks Tsukushi, now it is Kaho that puts Mei in the camel clutch but Tsukushi recovers and dropkicks her back. Natsuki fusses at Kaho for grabbing Tsukushi’s hair while Tsukushi oversells it, Natsuki throws Kaho to the mat and she is double teamed by Tsukushi and Mei. Double Irish whip to Kaho but Kaho dropkicks both of them, she lays them together on the mat and applies a double crab hold. Natsuki breaks it up for reasons unknown, she gets into it with Kaho but Natsuki lands on her ankle wrong and Kaho dropkicks her.

Mei and Tsukushi trade quick pins on Kaho with no luck, Kaho dropkicks Mei but Tsukushi helps her out and Mei puts Kaho in a figure four leglock. Tsukushi goes up top and his a diving footstomp onto Mei, Tsukushi goes back to Kaho and dropkicks her while she is against the ropes. Tilt-a-whirl crossbody by Tsukushi, but Kaho kicks out of the cover. Tsukushi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukushi but Mei breaks it up. Mei elbows Tsukushi and hits four dropkicks, but her cover only gets two. Mei picks up Tsukushi and knocks her against the ropes, but Mei avoids her dropkick and knocks Tsukushi out of the ring. Kaho returns, dropkick by Kaho and she hits a running senton. Kaho puts Mei in a modified armbar, she lets go after a moment but Mei blocks the fisherman buster and rolls her up for two. More flash pins by Mei have no luck, dropkick by Mei and two more, but Kaho catches her with a dropkick of her own. Kick to the head by Kaho, she goes up top but Tsukushi get back in and eats the missile dropkick instead. Mei dropkicks Kaho out of the ring, she goes to cover Tsukushi but Tsukushi reverses it into a cradle for the three count! Tsukushi wins!

I know some people love these matches and while I generally find them inoffensive, they don’t do a whole lot for me. They work better when there is more comedy since its a goofy match anyway but the funny bits here didn’t really land with me and it mostly was just running off the ropes and dropkicks. While it was great to see Kaho again and Tsukushi is one of of the better young wrestlers on the Joshi scene, there just wasn’t enough meat to the match for me to recommend seeking it out.

Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Fujimoto vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Ryo Mizunami, and Sae

Team Ryo attacks before the match starts and isolate Tsukasa, triple teaming her while referee looks on but makes little attempt to help. The other wrestlers finally leave and Ryo stays in with Tsukasa, leg drop by Ryo and she tags in Sae. Sae stomps on Tsukasa but Tsukasa fires up and trades blows with her. Tsukasa wins the battle and tags in Hamuko, Hamuko poses on the mat while Sae looks confused. Hamuko tags in Makoto, Makoto boots Sae and kicks the second rope into her chin. Springboard crossbody by Makoto, her partners come in to clear the apron and all three do rolls over Sae. Cover by Makoto, but it gets a two count. Makoto goes to throw Sae into the corner but Sae reverses it and hits a back elbow followed by a big boot. She tags Hiroe, dropkicks by Hiroe and she hits a snap vertical suplex for two. Makoto snaps off a DDT and delivers a pump kick, she tags in Hamuko and Hamuko belly mushes Hiroe in the corner. Hiroe slides away from Hamuko and the two trade elbows, dropkick by Hiroe and she hits another one while Hamuko is against the ropes. Makoto comes in to help, boot by Makoto but Hiroe hits a Codebreaker on Hamuko and rolls her up for two. She makes the hot tag to Ryo, spear by Ryo and she chops Hamuko into the corner. Rapid fire chops by Ryo and she hits a lariat after some theatrics for a two count cover.

Elbows by Ryo but Hamuko slaps her in the chest, lariat by Hamuko but Ryo doesn’t go down. Hard lariat by Ryo, she goes off the ropes but Hamuko knocks her over with a belly bump. Running belly smash by Hamuko and she tags in Tsukasa. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, another dropkick by Tsukasa but Ryo blocks the scoop slam and hits one of her own for two. Tsukasa bridges out of it and hits a dropkick, her friends clear the ring but Ryo catches her and delivers the dragon suplex hold for two. Lariat by Ryo, but Tsukasa barely kicks out. Ryo gets Tsukasa on her shoulders but Tsukasa sides away, they trade strikes until Ryo levels Tsukasa with a lariat for another two count. Ryo tags in Sae which doesn’t bode well, big boots by Sae and she applies the cover for two. Sae picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa throws her in the corner and hits a dropkick, diving crossbody by Makoto but Tsukasa’s cover is broken up. Kicks to the back by Tsukasa and she delivers the PK, but Sae kicks out. Tsukasa applies the armtrap crossface but Sae gets to the ropes for the break, Ryo comes back in and cuts off Tsukasa with a lariat before Hiroe delivers a spear. Boot by Sae, but Tsukasa kicks out of the pin. Northern Lights Suplex by Sae, but this time her cover is broken up. Hiroe stays in the ring but Tsukasa kicks them both back, dropkick by Tsukasa but Sae sneaks in a backslide with a bridge for two. Sae goes off the ropes and boots Tsukasa, but that gets a two as well. Sae goes off the ropes but Tsukasa has had enough and rolls her up before applying the Straight Jacket Clutch for the submission victory! Hamuko Hoshi, Makoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto are the winners.

This is just one of those cases where having so many wrestlers did nothing to enhance the match. Aside from a few spots here and there they didn’t all get involved too much since they were just thrown together teams and it felt disjointed at times. Sae was so obviously the fall person in this match that you knew when she tagged in it was time for the home stretch. For midcard fodder it was fine, as the wrestlers themselves are solid (aside from Sae who still needs some work), but it just felt like random moves until Tsukasa suddenly put away Sae with a submission out of nowhere. A decent match but utterly forgettable.

(c) Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura vs. Miyuki Takase and Yumiko Hotta
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship

The match begins with Miyuki and Ayame in the ring, they trade holds until Ayame shoulderblocks Miyuki to the mat. Ayame picks up Miyuki and throws her into the corner, but Miyuki boots her when she charges in and delivers a dropkick. After a quick exchange they end up at a stalemate, Ayame tags out while Miyuki pretends to but she attacks Arisa instead of tagging in Hotta. Arisa doesn’t appreciate this and boots her to the mat, Miyuki gets back up but Arisa knocks her into her corner and Hotta finally tags in. Arisa and Hotta trade elbows, dropkick by Arisa but Hotta stares her down. Slap by Arisa and they grab each other by the hair, both let go and Arisa tags Ayame. Ayame tries to elbow and slam Hotta but Hotta shrugs her off and kicks Ayame to the mat. She tags Miyuki, scoop slam by Miyuki and she applies a crab hold but Ayame quickly gets to the ropes. Dropkick by Miyuki and she drops a leg on Ayame’s back for a two count cover. She tags Hotta back in, double Irish whip to Ayame and she eats a double shoulderblock. Camel clutch by Hotta but Arisa breaks it up, Hotta then goes for Ayame’s arm but Arisa keeps kicking at her until she lets go. Hotta tags Miyuki, Miyuki and Ayame trade elbows until Miyuki knocks Ayame down and puts her in a crab hold. Ayame gets to the ropes to force the break, Miyuki picks her up but Ayame blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. Ayame tags in Arisa, Arisa boots Miyuki in the chest and hits Hotta as well before booting Miyuki again for a two count cover. Hotta kicks Arisa from the apron, Miyuki tries to hit Arisa but she elbows Hotta by mistake. She lands an elbow on Arisa anyway and tags in Hotta, heel kick by Hotta to Arisa and she gets a quick two count cover. Double underhook by Hotta but Arisa gets away and applies a cross kneelock.

Miyuki comes in but Ayame does too and tosses Miyuki to the floor, meanwhile Hotta has gotten to the ropes to get the break. Arisa boots Hotta out of the ring as well, she goes up top as Miyuki comes up to her but Arisa DDTs her into the apron. Ayame goes to the top turnbuckle to dive down onto Hotta, but Hotta moves and she lands on Arisa instead. All four battle around the crowd and floor, Hotta hits Arisa with a chair but Arisa ducks a shot and hits Hotta with the chair instead. Arisa tosses a bunch of chairs at Hotta before Miyuki comes over to help, but Arisa slams Miyuki on top of Hotta. Arisa returns to the ring with Hotta slowly following, she slides a chair into the ring as she gets in but Ayame dropkicks her from behind. Arisa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Arisa but Hotta kicks out. Mounted elbows by Arisa but Miyuki trips her from the apron, Arisa and Miyuki trade slaps while Hotta gets the chair back. She goes to hit Arisa but hits the referee by accident, she picks the chair back up and cracks Arisa over the head with it. Ayame tries to help but Hotta keeps knocking her back to continue going after Arisa as things have officially broken down. Hotta breaks a chair over Ayame’s head before getting her chain and using it to throw Arisa into the crowd. Arisa recovers and trades elbows with Hotta, but Hotta knocks her back down and hits her with the chain. She finally gets back into the ring while the wrestlers check on Ayame, who is bleeding everywhere, but Ayame makes it back into the ring as the referee finally wakes up. Piledriver by Hotta to Ayame, but Arisa breaks up the cover.

They switch wrestlers as Miyuki picks up Ayame and hits a fireman’s carry rolling slam followed by a leg drop. Tiger Driver by Hotta to Ayame, but again Arisa breaks up the pin. Cross armbreaker by Hotta to Ayame but Arisa is still close by and breaks that up too, schoolboy by Ayame to Hotta but Hotta gets a hand in the ropes. Ayame slams Hotta with the help of Arisa, she tags in Arisa and Arisa kicks Hotta repeatedly in the head. German suplex by Arisa, she goes up top but Miyuki joins her. Arisa elbows Miyuki down and hits the diving footstomp onto Hotta, but the cover gets two. Arisa goes for the dragon suplex but Hotta blocks it and hits a Tiger Driver for a two count. Hotta slowly gets up but Arisa blocks her second Tiger Driver attempt, Hotta falls back into her corner and Miyuki tags in. Miyuki knocks Arisa back and hits a lariat, she goes for another one but delivers the Cutie Special for two. High kick by Arisa and she boots Miyuki in the face, German suplex hold by Arisa but Hotta breaks it up. Ayame tries to get Hotta out of the ring but fails, Arisa goes for another suplex but Miyuki reverses it. Knee and a slap by Arisa and she hits the trapped German, but Hotta breaks it up by throwing a chain at Arisa. Ayame has seen enough and grabs the chain, running over and hitting Hotta repeatedly with it. This gives Arisa time to pick up Miyuki, she nails the dragon suplex hold and she picks up the three count! Arisa Nakajima and Ayame Sasamura are still the champions.

Even though the story was predictable, this was still a lot of fun. Hotta is one of the few wrestlers out there that you really can’t tell any given moment if she is being cooperative or just doing her own thing, part of which is from her reputation and part is from just the way she acts in the ring. She always seems to straddle the line between playing along and not being in the mood, and it makes her matches a bit unique to watch. Arisa wasn’t trying to put up with her shit but at times had no choice and they had some entertaining exchanges. Miyuki and Ayame both stepped up and looked really good, Ayame never really got one over on Hotta but by beating her with a chain to stop her from making the final pin breakup she still got the last laugh. It somehow felt both predictable and haphazard at the same time in its structure, certainly not your normal match and even though it didn’t peak very high it stayed amusing throughout. Worth a watch as Hotta is a legend and the young wrestlers both made their presence felt.  Recommended

(c) Nanae Takahashi vs. Yoshiko
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship

They start slow as they go into knuckle lock before transitioning into trading wristlocks, they reach a stalemate until Nanae shoulderblocks Yoshiko to the mat. Yoshiko regains the advantage by applying a keylock but Nanae inches to the ropes to force the break. Nanae rolls out of the ring to regroup but returns after a moment, Yoshiko greets her with a kick and continues working on the arm. Yoshiko starts choking Nanae with her own arm but Nanae gets away, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko slams her to the mat. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her ankle, running knee by Nanae but Yoshiko gets straight up and they trade elbows. Nanae gets the better of the battle and knocks Yoshiko into the corner before twisting her leg in the ropes. Kicks to the leg by Nanae and she puts Yoshiko in a figure four leglock, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes for the break. Nanae flings Yoshiko down by the hair but Yoshiko returns the favor, bootscrapes by Yoshiko but Nanae blocks the running kick attempt and hits a dragon screw. Yoshiko recovers and hits a running boot, Yoshiko kicks Nanae out of the ring and goes out after her but Nanae hits a vertical suplex on the floor. Nanae tosses Yoshiko into the crowd and throws chairs at her, but Yoshiko tosses Nanae into the ring post and hits a running senton. Back in the ring, Nanae puts Yoshiko in a sleeper but Yoshiko drives her into the corner and puts Nanae in an armbar. Nanae rolls out of it and they trade slaps, Yoshiko goes off the ropes but Nanae levels her with a lariat for two.

Backdrop suplex by Nanae, she goes up top but Yoshiko recovers and joins her, hitting an avalanche Samoan Drop. Running senton by Yoshiko, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko picks up Nanae but Nanae breaks away and hits a wrist-clutch backdrop suplex. She goes for the One Second EX but Yoshiko blocks it, jumping kick by Nanae but Yoshiko headbutts her. Nanae replies with a Superman Punch and both wrestlers go down to the mat. Nanae recovers first and elbows Yoshiko while still on her knees, but Yoshiko elbows her back as they slowly return to their feet. Lariat by Yoshiko and she hits a fireman’s carry slam, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes up top but Nanae rolls out of the way of the diving senton, Nanae picks up Yoshiko and struggles to hit the belly to back piledriver, eventually delivering the move for a two count. Nanae goes up top and nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but Yoshiko rolls through it and applies a keylock. Yoshiko sits down on Nanae’s chest, she goes off the ropes and hits the sliding lariat for a two count. Yoshiko goes up top but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex, cover by Nanae but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Nanae goes off the ropes and hits the Sliding D, she hits a second piledriver but that gets a two count as well. Nanae quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle, she delivers the Refrigerator Bomb and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi retains the championship.

Nanae Takahashi is an old school veteran and this match was laid out how you’d expect an old school match to be, but without the excitement and suspense. Yoshiko gets more credit than Nanae when it comes to the limb work as at least she did go back to the keylock, even though never made any effort to show they were having any trouble due to the limb work done to them. Limb work going nowhere is not an issue exclusive to this match but at least a little arm shake would be appreciated. It really felt like they were just taking turns as the transitions were shaky at best, and the finishing stretch didn’t have the bombs that would be required to make up for a match that never felt like it got going. Add in the botched piledriver (and I hate when wrestlers mess up a move and then just immediately re-do the same move) and there was a lot going on here that wasn’t ideal. While having an “ok” match on the midcard is forgivable, when its the main event at Korakuen a bit more is expected. The single cam setup probably didn’t help the presentation, but a disappointing main event.

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