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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event: Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE”
Date: May 23rd, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 714
Broadcast: Streamed on FITE TV

Reviewing wrestling events can bring many different emotions, but an emotion you never want to have is sadness. I knew, like many others, that watching this event was going to be hard. A year ago today, Hana Kimura tragically passed away, and her death impacted people across the globe. Hana had everything – she was a great wrestler, charismatic, had a great look, and had fans invested in everything she did. But more importantly she was a great, loving, and incredible person that had her whole life in front of her. Having her Memorial show on the one year anniversary is fitting, as it brought new attention to the circumstances of her death and gave her friends a way to publicly celebrate her life, which I 100% support. But its going to be hard, the hardest wrestling event I’ve watched in 30 years of being a wrestling fan. Here is the card:

• HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose
• Battle Royal with Menso-re Oyaji, Tsutomu Oosugi, Hagane Shinnou, Yuko Miyamoto, Shotaro Ashino, Banana Senga, Gabai Ji-chan, Lingerie Muto, Yusuke Kodama, Super Delfin, Fuminori Abe, Miyuki Takase, Mika Iwata, DASH Chisako, Chihiro Hashimoto, Hanako Nakamori, Ram Kaicho, Cherry, Moeka Haruhi, Yuki Miyazaki, Eiger, Andras Miyagi, Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota), Jun Kasai, Masato Tanaka, Jinsei Shinzaki, and CIMA
• Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH Yama-san vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono
• ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

As you can see, a very interesting cast but it is filled with wrestlers that had a real life connection with Hana Kimura or her mother Kyoko Kimura (or both) as this memorial event is as much for them as it is for us, to say their final goodbyes. You’ll note only a few active Stardom wrestlers make an appearance, which is at least partly because Stardom opted to run an event on the same day, but that’s another topic for another time. I’m not going to do my typical review for this one as I’m probably going to be too emotionally into the event to be typing constantly, but I hope to not only discuss the matches but help newer fans that may not watch a lot of Joshi matches with who all the wrestlers are. As always, you can click on the Joshi wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

After a musical and dance opening, the show began after a quick video montage of Hana Kimura.

HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose

I haven’t watched men’s promotions in Japan with any regularity in probably five or six years, so this was a fun throwback for me as I remember these guys from when I used to review every small underground indie promotion I could find. These six all are seasoned vets and know their way around the ring, and a six wrestler tag is a pretty straight-forward opener. Shota played the Face in Peril here which made sense – its not about the quality of wrestler but everyone loves wrestlers with masks and Shota probably had the least intimidating look of everyone in the match. So he got beaten for the first third of the match by HUB and Shisao in particular until the crowd finally spurred him to get out of the match.

They wrestled this under Lucha Tag Rules, meaning a wrestler didn’t have to make a tag to no longer be the legal wrestler, they just had to bail out of the ring and reach the floor. I wish the commentators had explained this as new fans were no doubt confused on why wrestlers weren’t always tagging, but in a laid back affair like this one I doubt anyone was too concerned. After five minutes they gave up with the “focus on one wrestler” plan which was for the best as all six of these guys have cool looking moves so no reason to not show off. HUB whipping everyone with his mask tail was entertaining as was HUB in general, Hana had good taste in wrestlers as HUB was always my favorite small-time indie wrestler. Great look, great wrestler. The match ended up being the HUB Show which was the way I would I gone too, honestly he at any point in his career could have been a player in a larger promotion. In the end, HUB planted Mil Mongoose into the mat and picked up the easy three count. The winners are HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8!

For an opener, I enjoyed it, but honestly they didn’t even need the first five minutes. The Shota beatdown segment was fine but was really just filler as once that was over, they just started quickly changing the legal wrestlers while everyone got a chance to hit their moves. That part of the match was quite enjoyable, the “lucharesu” style is entertaining with its quick speed and all six know the style well so there were no hiccups. HUB was and is great, so him being featured was a big plus not just for me personally but also considering his background with Hana Kimura. Overall a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal

A quick run-down of the Joshi wrestlers among the opening group:

• Miyuki Takase – The Ace of Actwres girl’Z, frequently wrestles in WAVE and Diana as well
• Mika Iwata – Young wrestler from Sendai Girls’, had a feud with Hana Kimura from 2017 to 2018 that led to several fun matches
• DASH Chisako – Veteran wrestler from Sendai Girls’
• Chihiro Hashimoto – The Ace of Sendai Girls’
• Ram Kaicho – Started as a child wrestler in Triple Six and went to school with Hana Kimura, she is still affiliated with Triple Six but also wrestles in Ice Ribbon
• Cherry – Long time veteran wrestler that wrestled most of her career in DDT, currently a Freelancer
• Yuki Miyazaki – Long time veteran wrestler from Pro Wrestling WAVE
• Hanako Nakamori – The Ace of PURE-J
• Moeka Haruhi – Long time Freelancer

With more wrestlers to come, it is assumed there would be some surprise entries from Hana and/or Kyoko’s past as the match progressed. In fact before the match could even start we got our first surprise, as Super Delfin makes his way down to the match. Super Delfin is a legend from indie wrestling’s past and also wrestled in New Japan, everyone knows and loves Super Delfin which I think is safe to assume includes Hana as well. The match starts pretty standard and playful, it should be noted that Battle Royals in Japan tend to be more lighthearted affairs than those in the US. But soon we get three new entries as Eiger, Andras Miyagi, and Yusuke Kodama come down! Quick recap of the Joshi wrestlers:

• Eiger (or Aiger) – A “ghost” wrestler who officially hails from LLPW-X but mostly wrestles in Sendai Girls’, likes to scare children
• Andras Miyagi – Also known as Cassandra Miyagi, current a Freelancer but known for her work in Sendai Girls’ and Stardom

They immediately go after Moeka, who is creeped out by the group and in short order is eliminated by them. Ram Kaicho appears to join them as they all pose together, they turn to Gabai Ji-chan but he outsmarts them and with help he pins Eiger and Yusuke Kodama, so they are eliminated as well. Ji-chan loses his cane and turns it on, as everyone in the match stands around and watches his brand of comedy. They help him eliminated Miyagi, and then hold down Ji-chan so that both are eliminated. Hana Kimura’s music starts playing as someone dressed as her comes down to the ring, and it turns out to be the cosplay legend Sakura Hirota! 

• Sakura Hirota – Veteran from WAVE, best known for being a comedy wrestler and sometimes cosplaying as her opponents

Once Sakura is in the ring, things settle down as we get the usual Battle Royal fare (big group moves, isolated strike-fests, and the like). We do get a Super Delfin Tornado DDT and Delfin Clutch though on Menso-re Oyaji to eliminate him, which is always a pleasure, before he is quickly pinned himself. Iwata and Hirota trade kicks which is fitting as Iwata is a wrestler that had a feud with Hana Kimura, but everyone breaks them up and Sakura is the next one eliminated (along with Lingerie Muto). While I definitely appreciate Sakura’s contribution to the match, eliminating her quickly was probably a good move as once she did her Hana tribute it may have felt a little too ‘off’ to have someone in Hana’s gear hanging around the match long term.

After Miyuki Takase is eliminated a minute later, some new music plays as Jun Kasai comes down to the ring! One of the biggest hardcore legends still active in Japan, Kasai comes in with his skewers (to jam in people’s heads) which leads to the ring clearing out. Mika Iwata returns first but asks him for an autograph, which he gives before he is attacked from behind. Chihiro Hashimoto and Shotaro Ashino pair up in a Hoss Battle, but the ring slowly fills back up as Chihiro and Shotaro slam everyone. Deadlift German by Chihiro but the blob covers both of them after the move, so both are eliminated! While this happens, more music plays as ZERO1 veteran Masato Tanaka comes down to the ring!

Tanaka cleans house a bit as he eliminates Shinnou and Kodama, Miyazaki puts him in the Shy Hold but it gets broken up. Cherry gets involved but she is covered by the wrestler blob and is eliminated. Music plays again, as another legend comes to the ring – Jinsei Shinzaki! Shinzaki is from Michinoku Pro but has wrestled in WWE and New Japan as well. He goes for one of his signature moves on the majority of the wrestlers at the same time, the rope walk, but gets pushed out of the ring for his trouble and is eliminated. No one appreciates Banana Senga and Tsutomu Oosugi eliminating Shinzaki so quickly everyone pins them, eliminating the tag team as well. We get music over the loudspeaker which means a new participant – CIMA!

That is all the wrestlers we are getting as CIMA goes after Abe and eliminates him. Miyazaki goes after CIMA but gets knocked out of the ring and eliminated, and then CIMA eliminates Nakamori. CIMA doing God’s work and clearing the ring a bit as we are down to seven wrestlers. Chisako appears with a chair but Miyamoto takes it from her, Tanaka then takes the chair from him but Kasai takes it from Tanaka. Chisako dropkicks the chair into Kasai but Mika Iwata saves him. Pearl Harbor Splash by Kasai to Chisako and he gets the three count! DASH Chisako is eliminated. Miyamoto hits Iwata and Kasai with the chair but Kasai takes it and hits Miyamoto in the head with it. Iwata cradles Miyamoto afterwards, and he is eliminated! Iwata high fives Kasai but then kicks him low and tosses him from the ring, as Jun Kasai is eliminated. CIMA and Tanaka dump Iwata out of the ring to eliminate her, leaving us with three wrestlers – CIMA, Masato Tanaka, and Ram Kaicho.

Kaicho steps right up to them while CIMA and Tanaka trade shoves, they push her out of the way and continue going at it. DDT by Tanaka but CIMA hits a Lung Blower, Tanaka gets CIMA onto the apron but Ram Kaicho pushes CIMA to the apron as well. Ram Kaicho gets a running start and she dropkicks them both to the floor! Ram Kaicho is the last woman standing and is the winner!

As I mentioned a few times, Battle Royals in Japan are not serious, as no one is really claiming that Ram Kaicho could beat CIMA or Masato Tanaka in a regular match. But there is no shame in being defeated in a Battle Royal, and giving Hana’s old childhood friend the win was a touching tribute. There were fun spots throughout the match (loved seeing Super Delfin and Jinsei Shinzaki), and the surprising Mika Iwata/Jun Kasai subplot was entertaining. These matches are a little too long for my taste considering the entertaining sections are so spread out, but there were many fun moments and for fans that are familar with the wrestlers I am sure there will be something here that fans will enjoy.

Up to this point, the event has been pretty lighthearted. We started with music and dancing, a lucharesu match, and a mostly comedic Battle Royal. The tone is going to change a bit, as while the next two matches won’t be ‘downers’ they will be more serious with wrestlers that have more of a recent connection with Hana Kimura. We knew going into the show that Kagetsu was making a one-time appearance after retiring over a year ago, but we didn’t know she was bringing a special friend with her to really honor Hana the best way they knew how.

Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono

They are against four quality wrestlers with various connections to Hana. ASUKA was the closest to Hana, as they were also a tag team (when Hana wrestled outside of Stardom) and were friends. They are joined by Stardom wrestlers Natsupoi (formally Natsumi Maki) and Syuri, along with Mio Momono from Marvelous. All eight of these wrestlers are great and I am expecting a combination of tributes to Hana and the fast paced Joshi action that we are all accustomed to.

Kagetsu and Hazuki both have incorporated tie dye into their gear as a homage to Hana, giving them a fitting different look. One thing you should know about these wrestlers is that even though its a memorial match for Hana Kimura, and they are here for her, they are also incredibly competitive and no one was going to take it easy. While it is true that DEATH is more of a comedy gimmick and she did bring that to the table, at the end of the day she was far from the focus of the match as the others went in hard on each other. Seeing Hazuki again is such a treat as she was one of the most exciting wrestlers in Stardom, and the fact she seemed to have lost her passion for wrestling but still prepared for this event just really puts over how important it was to her to take part.

Kagetsu hasn’t missed a beat either and its kinda amazing that they are so good to not show an ounce of ring rust. If fans coming into the show didn’t know about the retirements, you’d have thought they were still active competitors. They didn’t go heavy with Hana-related spots, although Jungle Kyona did make a surprise appearance to pose with Konami and DEATH as she was in Tokyo Cyber Squad as well (she is currently unable to wrestle due to an injury). The fact they opted to not just make this a tribute match from bell to bell made the moments more special when they did honor Hana. Every segment was great – Kagetsu and Syuri had a quality exchange as did Mio Momono and Hazuki, and seeing Hazuki and Kagetsu do a final double tope suicida was an incredible moment. ASUKA being the wrestler that had to “overcome the odds” was a smart move due to their close connection to Hana Kimura, and their final exchange with Hazuki was well done. In the end, ASUKA took out everyone and made the cover on Hazuki, picking up the three count! Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono are the winners!

For fans of Stardom back in 2018, this really felt like an Oedo Tai throwback match with Kagetsu and Hazuki leading the way (with a little bit of cheating from Kyoko Kimura). I’ve said before that eight wrestler tags can make it hard for some wrestlers to shine and that was still the case here, as while Natsupoi and Syuri both hit their spots well and contributed, there are only so many opportunities and the match was simply laid out to make others shine. ASUKA, Hazuki, and Kagetsu all looked incredible and you’d have thought from watching this that these eight had wrestled many times before, due to the fluidity and pace they kept up. Mio Momono was the stealth star of the match, she not only is fierce but is sneakily charismatic and draws attention to whatever she is doing. While this may have been a bit better as a six wrestler tag due to the length of the match, the Oedo Tai/Tokyo Cyber Squad team needed four to really salute Hana Kimura so no complaints from me. This would have been an A+ match from me regardless just for the joy of seeing Kagetsu and Hazuki again, but when taking into account the meaning behind the match both for fans and the participants, its a no-breaker recommendation to watch.  Highly Recommended

On paper, that was the main event of the evening, but ASUKA had other plans. After the match, they challenged Kagetsu to a singles match, which needed approval from Kyoko Kimura and the crowd. All parties naturally agreed, so we are ending the show with a special first-time singles match between ASUKA and Kagetsu!

ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

ASUKA and Kagetsu clearly felt the best way to honor Hana Kimura was to put on a banger, and that is exactly what they did. Kagetsu was flying outside the ring like it was 2019 all over again, and ASUKA laid in the strikes hard. I have to respect their cardio as both were just in a match, then immediately jumped into a singles match without missing a beat. Kagetsu went out of her way to put over ASUKA, as ASUKA handled all of her offense while dishing out plenty in return. Which shows the level of unselfishness that Kagetsu has – she frequently put other wrestlers over even when she didn’t “have” to and knowing she is retired, she lost nothing by taking all of ASUKA’s offense. That’s not to say it was a one-side match as it was far from it – Kagetsu got to use the Oedo Tai board and nailed the Oedo Coaster for old time’s sake as they went back and forth, but once ASUKA got back in control the match was over. After a Blue Thunder Bomb, heel kick, chokeslam, and the Benibana Koromo, ASUKA was able to hold down Kagetsu for the three count. ASUKA is the winner!

A really entertaining sprint as they took their short time and did everything with it. ASUKA’s kiss to the sky before drilling Kagetsu with the Benibana Koromo was the perfect tribute, as they treated the match like a “regular” match but the meaning was always there – this was for Hana. Kagetsu returning from retirement to put on two great matches is pretty incredible, and she delivered everything in this match. The strikes, the pace, the heart, everything was there. And ASUKA was able to keep up, they have really been killing it the last couple years and hopefully this will give ASUKA more attention which is no doubt what Kagetsu wanted, and also what Hana Kimura would have wanted. A fantastic match to end a very memorable event.  Highly Recommended

After the main event, things got very emotional as Kagetsu spoke and a longer video package was shown with clips from Hana Kimura’s career. Once the video package was over, back to a live view of the ring, Kyoko Kimura was standing alone and holding a photo of Hana. Jungle Kyona performed the ten bell salute while the wrestlers stood at ringside, with their heads down as they no doubt were saying their own silent goodbyes. The video concluded with a video package with dozens of wrestlers from around the globe saying “Matane,” in memory of Hana.

The post Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE” on 5/23/21 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: Diana at Shin-Kiba
Date: February 9th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Well it must be my birthday, as Diana has released a full show! This is their first televised/streamed event in many years, and their first event released at all since a DVD was sold for an event in October of 2018. Hopefully this is not just a one off appearance. While Diana doesn’t have the best roster, I still like to watch all the different Joshi promotions so the more that make it to air, the better! Here is the full card:

• Banny Oikawa vs. Nanami
• Ayako Sato vs. Sakura Hirota
• Jaguar Yokota and Madeline vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tomoko Watanabe
• Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Meiko Satomura vs. Haruka Umesaki, Kaoru Ito, and Kyoko Inoue

Short show! Originally Sareee was on the event as well, but sadly she was out due to illness. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. We will have to put up the NicoPro Commentary Box during this event, which sucks, but we will deal with it the best we can.

Banny Oikawa vs. Nanami

Banny and Nanami circle each other to start and tie-up, the larger Nanami pushes Banny into the ropes and gives a clean break. They lock-up again and trade wristlocks, headlock by Nanami but Banny reverses it. Snapmare by Banny and she goes for a PK, but Nanami ducks it and schoolboys Banny for two. Dropkick by Banny and she throws Nanami into the corner, cartwheel by Banny and she hits a mule kick for two. Banny goes for Nanami’s arm but she quickly gets into the ropes, Irish whip by Banny but Nanami dropkicks her. Three more dropkicks by Nanami, she picks up Banny but Banny blocks the scoop slam. Banny goes off the ropes and his a dropkick, but Nanami applies a bodyscissors. Nanami stretches Banny before goes for a schoolboy, but Banny rolls through it and applies an armtrap crossface. Nanami rolls into the ropes for the break, Banny picks her up and the two trade elbows. Jumping crossbody by Nanami, but Banny kicks out of the cover. Nanami picks up Banny and hits the scoop slam, she picks up Banny but Banny sneaks in a backslide for two. Kicks to the chest by Banny, she goes off the ropes and hits a jumping crossbody for a two count. Banny goes off the ropes and applies a sunset flip, but she can’t get Nanami’s shoulders down. Camel Clutch by Banny but she lets go after a moment, she goes off the ropes and hits the sunset flip, but Nanami reverses it and the two trade flash pins. Backslide by Banny, and she picks up the three count! Banny Oikawa is the winner!

Even by rookie standards, this was rough. I mean, really rough. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sunset flip botched before so that was impressive, but the bulk of it was disjointed in a non-entertaining way. From what I’ve seen of Banny I don’t see a big future in wrestling for her, Nanami is too young to really evaluate but she certainly isn’t a natural at it. Possibly the most poorly executed match from a technical standpoint that I’ve watched in the last decade, please keep them as far apart as possible in the future.

Ayako Sato vs. Sakura Hirota

One of Sakura’s kids seems unwilling to leave the ring, so he starts in the corner clinging to the ropes. This seems safe. They tie-up, Sakura pushes Ayako into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Ayako kicks her to the mat. She gets a server tray and hits Sakura with it a few times, Irish whip by Ayako and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Kid is still in the ring. Sakura throws Ayako into the corner and hits a face crusher, wristlock by Sakura and she runs to the corner to walk the ropes. Which she does, until she misses her hop and crotches herself on the top rope. Ayako goes off the ropes but Sakura drop toeholds her into the second rope, the referee holds the kid while Sakura gives Ayako an Oil Check. Sakura hops over Ayako with theatrics but Ayako kicks her before she can complete her move, Sato brings her kicks in the ring (so now three kids are in the ring) and the kids jump over Sakura before hitting a poor version of Sakura’s signature move. Another one of Sakura’s kids gets in so we are up to four children now, but they finally get all the kids out of the ring.

Sakura throws Ayako into the corner but Ayako hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Ayako and she hits a double underhook suplex for a two count. Ayako goes up top but Sakura recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Sakura grabs Ayako as if to powerbomb her but instead just places her on the opposite turnbuckle, Ayako kicks her away and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Ayako picks up Sakura but Sakura snaps off a DDT, she goes off the ropes and hits the Oil Check. Tiger Feint Kick by Sakura, she goes for the Shining Wizard but Ayako blocks it and hits a Double Wrist Armsault for two. Sakura gets Ayako’s back and hits another Oil Check, she goes for a few cradles but Ayako kicks out of each. Ayako gets the server tray and hits Sakura with it, they struggle over the tray until the referee takes it from them. Sakura Oil Checks the referee by accident, Ayako hits Sakura with the tray but Sakura delivers a hurricanrana. The referee is too hurt to make the count, Ayako dropkicks the tray into Sakura’s face and nails a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Ayako Sato is the winner.

So this was a pretty normal Sakura match, for better or worse. Not really my cup of tea, although it was nice to see Ayako Sato in action. She seems pretty solid, when she got a chance to do some actual wrestling she looked good. Better than the first match for sure, but still so-so even for a comedy match.

Jaguar Yokota and Madeline vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tomoko Watanabe

Yokota and Mikoto start off, Yokota pushes Mikoto into the ropes and she elbows her in the chest instead of giving a clean break. Mikoto elbows Yokota back but Yokota pushes her into the corner, Irish whip by Yokota but Mikoto reverses it and hits a series of dropkicks. Mikoto picks up Yokota but Yokota blocks the slam attempt and hits one of her own, back elbow by Yokota and she steps on Mikoto’s chest before tagging Madeline. Madeline stomps Mikoto and applies a chinlock, she switches it to an ankle hold but Mikoto gets to the ropes. Back up, elbows by Mikoto and she hits a hard dropkick, giving her time to tag Watanabe. Madeline tries to tackle Watanabe but Watanabe just looks at her funny, dropkicks by Madeline but Watanabe absorbs the blows. Vertical suplex by Watanabe and she puts Madeline in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Yokota gets a chair and hits Watanabe repeatedly in the head with it to break up the hold. Yokota puts Watanabe in the chair, dropkick by Madeline and she puts Watanabe in an armbar, but Watanabe quickly reverses it. Madeline ends up in the ropes to get a break, Watanabe tags Mikoto and Mikoto delivers a a pair of dropkicks. Scoop slam by Mikoto but Madeline kicks out of the cover. Mikoto puts Madeline in a stretch hold, she lets her go after a moment and Irish whips her, but Madeline hits a dropkick and tags Yokota. Yokota tosses Mikoto around the ring before putting her in an Octopus Hold, but Watanabe breaks it up.

Yokota tags Madeline, Madeline applies a modified armbar while biting Mikoto repeatedly, as the referee tries to get her to stop. Cross armbreaker by Madeline but Mikoto gets into the ropes for the break. Madeline kicks Mikoto in the leg but Mikoto dropkicks her and tags Watanabe. Watanabe throws Madeline into the corner and hits a body avalanche, Mikoto returns and she dropkicks Madeline. Madeline sneaks in an inside cradle to Watanabe, it only gets two but it gives her time to tag Yokota. DDT by Yokota to Watanabe, she throws her to the ropes but Watanabe reverses it. Yokota blocks Watanabe’s lariat and goes for the Octopus Hold, but Watanabe pushes her off and hits a lariat for a two count. Watanabe picks up Yokota but Yokota hits a DDT, somersault legdrop by Yokota and she tags Madeline. Double Irish whip to Watanabe and they hit her with a metal stick, Madeline gets too excited however which gives Watanabe time to recover and hits a lariat. Mikoto comes in and Watanabe picks her up to kick Madeline, scoop slam by Watanabe and she hits an elbow drop off the second rope. Mikoto comes in again, Watanabe picks her up and drops her onto Madeline. Cover by Watanabe, but Yokota kicks the referee to break it up. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle but Yokota tosses her to the mat, Mikoto throws Yokota in the corner and with Watanabe they hit a double vertical suplex on Madeline. Watanabe tags in Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto to Madeline and she covers her for two.

Scoop slam by Mikoto and a second one, but Madeline kicks out of the cover again. Mikoto applies a crab hold but Yokota breaks it up, Mikoto picks up Madeline and throws her into the corner before hitting a dropkick. Irish whip by Mikoto but Madeline reverses it and kicks her. Mikoto elbows Madeline in the corner before hitting a dropkick, but Yokota knees Mikoto from the apron. Madeline applies an armbar but Watanabe breaks it up, Mikoto and Madeline trade elbows until Madeline kicks Mikoto to the mat. Madeline goes for the armbar but Mikoto is too close to the ropes, Watanabe comes in and she slams Madeline before hitting a diving body press off the second turnbuckle. Cover by Mikoto, but Yokota breaks it up. Mikoto picks up Madeline but Madeline applies the Fujiwara Armbar, but Mikoto gets to the ropes. Madeline tags Yokota, vertical suplex by Yokota and she covers Mikoto for two. Backdrop suplex by Yokota, but Watanabe breaks up her cover. Yokota picks up Mikoto and drops her with the Fisherman Buster, she drags Mikoto up again but Watanabe runs in and hits a lariat. Sunset flip by Mikoto, but Yokota kicks out. Madeline runs in and dropkicks Mikoto, Watanabe lariats Madeline but she also accidentally lariats Mikoto. La Magistral by Yokota to Mikoto, and she picks up the three count! Jaguar Yokota and Madeline win!

While at times it was disjointed and dragged too much, I still couldn’t help but enjoy this. Yokota is such a treasure, she isn’t just going through the motions even 40 years into her career as she was actively involved in the match. Watanabe did her part too and when Yokota or Watanabe was in the ring, I had a great time watching it, they just know how to do all the small things right. The match only suffered when Madeline and Mikoto were paired up, they didn’t seem to have talked it out before the match and don’t have the experience to freestyle something cohesive. Madeline in particular is a charming personality with lots of charisma, but still needs to be led in the ring. A fun and unique match, but the parts with Watanabe or Yokota were certainly the highlight.  Mildly Recommended

Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Satomura vs. Umesaki, Kaoru Ito, and Inoue

Haruka and Chihiro start the match, Haruka dropkicks Chihiro but Chihiro doesn’t go down. Haruka elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her to the mat, Haruka goes for a crossbody but Chihiro catches her and slams her to the mat. Chihiro gets Haruka around the waist and suplexes her to the mat, scoop slam by Chihiro and she covers Haruka for two. Chihiro tags Chisako, Chisako stomps on Haruka and the two trade elbows, which Chisako naturally gets the better of. Irish whip by Chisako but Haruka dropkicks her and tags in Inoue. Chisako hits a Stunner on Inoue and tags Satomura, Satomura and Inoue don’t rush into locking up but eventually do as Inoue pushes Satomura into the corner. Inoue throws down Satomura by the hair and butt smushes her in the corner, snap vertical suplex by Inoue and she tags Ito. Ito throws Satomura into the corner, Irish whip by Ito and she hits a lariat. Single leg crab hold by Ito, but Satomura inches to the ropes to force the break. Ito stomps on Satomura’s back, Haruka comes in the ring and they both slam Satomura’s knees into the mat. Ito tags in Haruka and Haruka keeps at Satomura’s leg, Satomura blocks the crab hold for a moment but Haruka eventually locks it in. Satomura gets into the ropes again, Haruka picks her up but Satomura hits a hard elbow followed by a scoop slam. Elbow drop by Satomura and she tags Chihiro, snapmare by Chihiro and she cranks on Haruka’s neck.

Chihiro applies a cross armbreaker but Haruka quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Chihiro picks her up and yanks on Haruka’s arm. Chihiro tags Chisako, who keeps working on Haruka’s arm with wristlocks and stomps. Chisako applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Ito breaks it up, Chisako wraps Haruka’s arm in the ropes and twists it. Chihiro is tagged back in to continue the arm work, then Satomura comes in and kicks Haruka repeatedly in the chest. Irish whip by Satomura to the corner and she hits a jumping elbow, but Haruka ducks the next one and hits a neck drop. Missile dropkick by Haruka and she makes the hot tag to Inoue. Lariats by Inoue to everyone, Satomura fights back with kicks but Inoue elbows her. A spinning heel kick sends Inoue to the mat, Satomura tags Chihiro and Chihiro hits a somersault senton for two. Waistlock by Chihiro and she applies a stretch hold, but Inoue gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Chihiro but Inoue reverses it, she goes for a lariat but Inoue stays up. Chihiro tries a few more times and finally knocks over Inoue with a lariat, but Inoue gets back up and sends Chihiro to the mat with a lariat of her own. Inoue tags Ito and Ito immediately hits a running footstomp followed by a senton for a two count. Ito picks up Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her off and the two trade blows. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Ito knocks her down with a lariat, Ito picks up Chihiro but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop. Spear by Chihiro and she makes the tag to Chisako.

Chisako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, sliding kick by Chisako and she covers Ito for two. Chisako picks up Ito and goes for a crucifix, but Ito falls back and lands on top of her. A side suplex by Ito sends Chisako out of the ring, Chihiro and Satomura are knocked out also and Ito connects with a baseball slide on all of them. Chisako is rolled back in the ring as Inoue gets in as well, and she hits a double lariat with Ito. Powerbomb by Ito and she tags in Haruka. Haruka goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, two more dropkicks by Haruka but Chisako avoids the next one and boots her in the face. Satomura and Chihiro both come in the ring as they all hit running strikes on Haruka in the corner, cannonball by Chisako and she covers Haruka for two. Chisako goes up top but Inoue strolls in the ring and joins her, hitting a superplex. Ito gets on the second turnbuckle and connects with a diving footstomp, jackknife hold by Haruka but the cover is broken up. Haruka goes for another flash pin with no luck, she picks up Chisako and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Haruka, Ito comes in but Chisako pushes Haruka into Ito and dropkicks her. Satomura comes in and kicks Ito, meanwhile Haruka hits a jumping crossbody on Chisako. Chihiro lariats Haruka and hits a waterwheel drop, diving footstomp by Chisako but Ito breaks up the cover. Chisako picks up Haruka and hits the Northern Lights Suplex, but Haruka gets the shoulder up. Chisako positions Haruka and goes to the top turnbuckle, Hormone Splash by Chisako and she picks up the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, and Meiko Satomura are the winners.

Even though they followed the pattern you’d expect with a rookie in the match, it was just fun to get to see Kaoru Ito and Kyoko Inoue again. Their interactions with Chihiro and Chisako were solid, but they weren’t as giving as Satomura was to Haruka. Shocking, I know. Ito in particular wasn’t overly helpful to Chihiro or Chisako, but cranky old veterans being cranky is entertaining in its own way so I’m not really complaining. The end stretch was fast paced and entertaining, and unlike the last match it didn’t feel like it dragged at any point. While the limb work naturally didn’t go anywhere, the rest of it made sense and the teams worked together well. For a smaller Diana show, a fitting way to end things but I wish that Sareee wasn’t sick as she would have been a fun inclusion in the match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Diana at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 2/9/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: January 12th, 2020
Location: Miyagino Ward Bunka Center in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Last year I tried to not review house shows, but this year I am turning over a new leaf so here we are at Sendai Girls’! This was a smaller show but some of these matches look intriguing. Any opportunity to see Sareee wrestle should be taken, plus the Jr. Championship features two young wrestlers that could have long and successful careers in Joshi if they stick with it. Here is the full card:

• Ayame Sasamura vs. Sakura Hirota
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo vs. Nanami and Sareee
• Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU
• Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship: Manami vs. Yurika Oka
• Battle Royal with KAORU, DASH Chisako, Sakura Hirota, Dalys la Caribeña, Sareee, Chihiro Hashimoto, Manami, Ayame Sasamura, Mikoto Shindo, Yurika Oka, Nanami, and Queen Aminata

Sendai Girls’ uploaded this event on their Youtube Channel for free, so all matches are shown in full. Wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Sakura Hirota

They circle each other to start before locking up, waistlock by Ayame and the two trade holds. They reach a stalemate and return to their feet, kick by Sakura and she grabs Ayame’s wrist as she goes to walk the ropes, but she eventually crotches herself on them. Sakura throws Ayame into the corner and hits the face crusher, she hops over Ayame a few times but Ayame gets her feet up on the falling headbutt attempt. Sakura lays down and challenges Ayame to do the same to her but she won’t, Sakura gets back up but Ayame kicks her and elbows Sakura in the corner. Sakura falls in the middle of the ring but Ayame still won’t hop over her, Sakura gets up and complains loudly as they all (with the referee) have a chat. Ayame does a little dance instead, they ask the crowd which they like better and they cheer louder for Ayame. This makes Sakura mad, Irish whip by Ayame and she hits a hard shoulderblock, sliding kick by Ayame and she covers Sakura for two.

Sakura slides behind Ayame but Ayame catches her with a slam for another two count. Ayame goes up top, Sakura runs over before she can jump off but Ayame grabs her wrist and walks the ropes. Ayame does Sakura’s trick right the first time but messes up the second. Sakura sets up Ayame in the ropes and hits the Oil Check, Sakura goes off the ropes and yells in Ayame’s ear. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame catches her with an armdrag and applies a sleeper. Sakura manages to get to the ropes to force the break, Ayame goes off the ropes but Sakura drop toeholds her into the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Sakura goes for the Shining Wizard but Ayame blocks it, Ayame goes for a few flash pins but Sakura kicks out. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame catches her with a STO, but Sakura reverses the cover. Sakura goes off the ropes but Ayame applies the Dumpling for the three count! Ayame Sasamura wins!

So I am on record of having two very different opinions of Sakura Hirota – I love it when she does cosplay of other wrestlers, but hate it when she just wrestles as her ‘normal’ comedy self. I’m just over wrestlers doing the exact same shtick for a decade, having a new opponent doesn’t really change it for me and no real effort was done to make it different. Now I get it, the crowd likes it and I’m not the target audience, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean I am going to find the match good for my own taste. Ayame looked solid so there is that though, she is growing into a quality wrestler, hopefully next time they will put her in a better match.

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo vs. Nanami and Sareee

Sareee and Chihiro start as the veterans go first, Chihiro pushes Sareee into the ropes but Sareee switches positions with her and hits a hard elbow before backing off. They lock knuckles and go into a Test of Strength, which Chihiro wins without too much issue. Irish whip by Chihiro but Sareee reverses it and hits an armdrag, hard shoulderblock by Chihiro and she gets Sareee to the mat, but Sareee quickly gets away and the two return to their feet. They tag in the kiddos, dropkicks immediately by Mikoto to Nanami but Nanami elbows her and the two trade blows. Irish whip by Nanami but Mikoto dropkicks her to the mat, cover by Mikoto but it gets two Mikoto tags in Chihiro, Chihiro chops Nanami in the corner and she covers Nanami for two. Chihiro stretches Nanami before deadlift suplexing her, she tags Mikoto back in and Mikoto tosses down Nanami by the hair. Dropkick by Mikoto in the corner and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Mikoto but she only gets two. Chihiro returns as the legal wrestler, Nanami elbows her but Chihiro clubs her to the mat. Camel Clutch by Chihiro, she lets go after a moment and and puts Nanami in a headlock.

Chihiro picks up Nanami, snapmare by Chihiro and she twists on Nanami’s neck. Nanami gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Chihiro but Nanami reverses it and applies a backslide for two. Dropkicks by Nanami and she tags in Sareee, Sareee and Chihiro both elbow each other until Sareee connects with a dropkick. She dropkicks Mikoto too before hitting a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy on Chihiro for two. Another dropkick by Sareee but Chihiro blocks the fisherman suplex and hits a vertical suplex of her own followed by a somersault senton for two. Chihiro tags Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Sareee for a two count. Mikoto picks up Sareee, she avoids Sareee’s charge and dropkicks her in the corner. Mikoto trips Sareee in the corner and dropkicks her again, cover by Mikoto but Sareee is too close to the ropes and forces the break. Mikoto hits a few elbows but Sareee dropkicks her, scoop slam by Sareee and she puts Mikoto in a modified Muta Lock. Chihiro breaks it up, Sareee picks up Mikoto and delivers a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sareee tags Nanami, Nanami goes off the ropes and she dropkicks Mikoto. Nanami goes for a slam but Mikoto blocks it, knees by Mikoto but Nanami schoolboys her for a two count.

A backslide and small package by Nanami get the same result, she picks up Mikoto but Mikoto blocks the scoop slam. Nanami eventually is able to hit it, she charges Mikoto but Mikoto dropkicks her and covers Nanami for two. Mikoto tags Chihiro, big spear by Chihiro but Sareee breaks up the cover. Sareee and Chihiro trade elbows, dropkicks by Sareee but Chihiro lariats her. Chihiro goes for a suplex but Sareee blocks it and stomps on her stomach, diving footstomp by Sareee and Nanami hits a diving body press off the second turnbuckle for two. Mikoto runs in and dropkicks Nanami, double Irish whip to Nanami but Sareee comes off the top with a crossbody to both opponents. They try to double team Chihiro but Chihiro lariats both of them, Mikoto goes up top and Chihiro helps her hit a somersault senton on Sareee and Nanami. Chihiro goes back to Nanami, Nanami elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her down. Chihiro picks up Nanami, Nanami gets away as Sareee comes in but Chihiro slams Sareee onto Nanami. Somersault senton by Chihiro, and she covers Nanami for two. Chihiro picks up Nanami and delivers the Modified Waterwheel Drop for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto and Mikoto Shindo are the winners.

I had set a pretty high bar for this match in my mind, and happily they met it. Even though Nanami was at an age and experience disadvantage, she still held her own in this match and it wasn’t a situation where she was just beaten up the whole time. Everyone got their shots in and it was a pretty 50/50 match, with the pairs switching out regularly so the action stayed refresh. I really liked how well both teams worked together, they aren’t regular partners but still had plenty of saves/double teams/etc. so it didn’t feel like a series of singles matches. Chihiro and Sareee didn’t hold back (not sure if they know how to) and made it feel like a bigger match than it was. For what it was, about as good as it could have been, both Mikoto and Nanami came out of the match looking great which is the main goal for this style of match. Really fun.  Recommended

Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata vs. DASH Chisako and KAORU

Aminata and Chisako start the match, Aminata asks for a knucklelock but Chisako isn’t tall enough to reach. Chisako headbutts her instead, Irish whip by Chisako but Aminata applies a choke before swinging Chisako around. Chisako gets Aminata’s back but Aminata hip attacks her to the mat, dropkick by Chisako but Aminata returns to her feet and offers a handshake. Its a ruse though as Aminata kicks Chisako and connects with a couple hip attacks while Chisako is sitting on the mat. Aminata picks up Chisako but Chisako knees her in the midsection and slams her down. She tags in KAORU, Dalys comes in too and the Gaijin stack their opponents in the corner. Stinkface by Aminata, she picks up KAORU and tags in Dalys, but KAORU throws Dalys in the corner and delivers a boot. Kicks by KAORU and she brings Aminata into the ring, she puts both Dalys and Aminata in the same corner and and delivers a dropkick. KAORU and Chisako return the favor and give them both a Stinkface, KAORU picks up Aminata but Aminata kicks her.

Aminata elbows KAORU to the mat, she tags in Dalys (who I though was legal anyway) and Dalys rolls up KAORU for two. Dalys goes for a kick but KAORU ducks it, Dalys gets KAORU in the ropes and delivers a dropkick. KAORU inches to her corner and tags Chisako, Chisako goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.. Chisako elbows Dalys, armdrag by Dalys but Chisako moves when she goes for a swandive move and delivers a running knee. Chisako goes up top but Aminata pushes her off, Dalys grabs Chisako and pulls her repeatedly by the hair. Irish whip by Dalys but Chisako reverses it, Dalys slides out to the apron and hits a slingshot body press for two. Dalys puts Chisako on the turnbuckle and tags Aminata, Aminata and Dalys both take turns kicking Chisako until Dalys delivers a dropkick. Aminata and Chisako chop Dalys, Chisako finally rings the ring as Aminata goes for a cover, but KAORU breaks it up. Chisako gets away from Aminata and hits a cutter, giving her time to tag KAORU. KAORU has her board and hits both Aminata and Dalys with it, she puts it on the mat but Aminata reverses the suplex attempt. Cover by Aminata but KAORU bridges out of it, Dalys runs in but she lariats Aminata by accident.

Chisako strolls in the ring and they double team Aminata, cover by KAORU but it gets two. Chisako goes up top and hits an assisted somersault senton, but Aminata kicks out of the cover. KAORU goes up top but Dalys pulls her back into the ring, double Irish whip to KAORU but she cartwheels through them as Chisako runs in. Dalys takes care of Chisako but runs into Aminata by accident, KAORU gets a board while Chisako gets a chair and they both use their weapons. Dalys floors them both with a double lariat, Samoan driver by Aminata to KAORU but Chisako breaks it up. Aminata picks up KAORU and hits the swinging fisherman neckbreaker, but again Chisako breaks up the cover. KAORU quickly cradles Aminata for two, she grabs Aminata but Aminata delivers a superkick. Swinging fisherman neckbreaker to KAORU, Dalys runs in and goes for a lariat but KAORU ducks it. This gives Aminata time to schoolboy KAORU from behind and she picks up the three count! Dalys la Caribeña and Queen Aminata win the match.

The effort was there, but you could tell that these two teams were not very familiar wrestling against each other (or even with each other, in the case of Aminata and Dalys). A fair amount of awkward moments, very little structure to it, and the ending felt out of nowhere. The execution of the moves themselves was generally fine, they didn’t come across as untrained or anything, just like they were working out the kinks in real time. Not much here to really recommend, I am sure they could have a better match if they had more time together in the ring first.

(c) Manami vs. Yurika Oka
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

Yurika runs over and dropkicks Manami as soon as the bell rings, more dropkicks by Yurika but Manami avoids one and hits a dropkick of her own. Manami gets Yurika’s back and tosses her to the mat. They jockey for position, Yurika applies a hammerlock but Manami returns to her feet. Side headlock takedown by Yurika but Manami reverses it, Yurika inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. They end up on the mat again and trade mounted elbows, Yurika goes for a cross armbreaker bu Manami quickly gets a foot on the ropes. Stomps by Yurika and she applies a wristlock, but Manami gets Yurika o the mat and applies a side headlock. Yurika struggles back up and Irish whips out of the hold, hard shoulderblock by Manami but Yurika comes back with a dropkick for two. Yurika pushes Manami into the corner, Irish whip by Yurika but Manami reverses it and hits a monkey flip out of the corner. Dropkick by Manami and she goes for a crab hold, but Yurika quickly gets into the ropes. Manami picks up Yurika and they trade elbows, Manami knocks Yurika down first and goes for a scoop slam, but Yurika reverses it into one of her own.

Yurika picks up Manami and hits a dropkick, Irish whip by Yurika and she schoolboys Manami for two. Manami goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, two more dropkicks by Manami and she covers Yurika for two. Crab hold by Manami but Yurika inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Manami picks up Yurika but Yurika blocks the slam attempt, backslide by Manami and she puts Yurika in the Cattle Mutilation. Manami picks up Yurika while still holding her arms and cradles her for two, Yurika quickly goes for a few flash pins of her own but she gets two counts as well. Yurika goes off the ropes but Manami rolls through it and applies a small package for two. Yurika goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a dropkick, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for another two count. Manami quickly puts Yurika in a crab hold, she switches it to a single leg crab hold and Yurika has no choice but to submit! Manami wins and retains the championship.

With wrestlers of this age, there are really only two things I am looking for – if they have the basics down pat and if they show any fire. These two succeeded in both of those areas, which is particularly impressive in Yurika’s case since she has only been wrestling for a few months. Even though they didn’t do anything overly complicated, everything was smooth and they never felt lost or confused at any point. The dropkicks had pretty good elevation and Manami’s submissions are snug. Obviously you can’t really compare this to a match with veterans (and adults), but considering their experience levels I thought they did a really solid job.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal
with KAORU, DASH Chisako, Sakura Hirota, Dalys la Caribeña, Sareee, Chihiro Hashimoto, Manami, Ayame Sasamura, Mikoto Shindo, Yurika Oka, Nanami, and Queen Aminata

Hirota is cosplaying as Meiko Satomura for the Battle Royal, since she is not around for the show. Since everyone starts in the ring, needless to say it starts pretty slow, with Hirota being targeted first. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle to hit Hirota but falls out of the ring (for reasons I am not sure of). KAORU is eliminated. Yurika and Manami start to elbow each other since they are still fired up, but they are interrupted by Aminata and Dalys. They get rid of them and go back at it, Manami pins Yurika and everyone helps her hold down the rookie for the three count, but then they flip it over and hold down Manami as well for three. Manami and Yurika Oka are eliminated. Chihiro turns her attention back to Hirota, they create a wristlock chain while Hirota grabs Sareee’s wrist at the end of the chain while she tries to walk the ropes. They send a wave down the line to knock Hirota off the ropes, Sareee and Nanami go after Ayame but DASH Chisako helps her out while everyone else watches. Nanami tries to pin Sareee from behind which does not amuse her senior, Sareee smacks Nanami in the head and all eight wrestlers hit running strikes on Nanami in the corner. Sareee covers Nanami (with some help) and she gets the three count. Nanami is eliminated.

Chihiro still seems annoyed about Hirota but Hirota directs her attention to Aminata, the wrestlers pair up and everyone takes part in a submission hold on the mat (either doing the hold or being in one). They all let go after a moment, Dalys and Aminata go for Hirota as they both go up on different turnbuckles, but they are knocked out to the apron. Double Oil Check by Hirota, and both wrestlers fall down to the floor. Dalys and Aminata are eliminated. Ayame slaps Hirota in the head but Hirota knocks her to the mat, she goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but misses. Cover by Ayame, but everyone breaks it up. Ayame dropkicks Chisako and Chihiro, but Chihiro levels her with a lariat and everyone covers her for the three count. Ayame Sasamura is eliminated. Sareee and Chihiro start trading elbows but Hirota tells them to stop, so they both take turns doing Chihiro’s pose instead. Things get heated so Chisako interrupts them, they both kick Chisako but are tripped from the floor by KAORU. Double dropkick by Chisako, Hirota tries to pick up Chihiro but gets flattened instead. Somersault senton by Chihiro but Mikoto jackknifes over her and Sareee helps hold Chihiro down for the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto is eliminated. We are down to Sareee, Mikoto Shindo, Hirota (as Meiko Satomura), and DASH Chisako. Hirota offers here hand to Sareee and they go after their opponents, Sareee then starts working with Chisako (so she isn’t picky who her friend is) but Hirota catches them with a double DDT and double face crusher. She goes for a Shining Wizard on Sareee but she crotches herself on Sareee’s knee, sunset flip by Mikoto to Hirota and she gets the three count! Sakura Hirota is eliminated.

Chisako and Sareee go after Mikoto until Chisako dropkicks both of them, Chisako goes up top but misses everyone when she goes for a missile dropkick. Double dropkick to Chisako, Mikoto goes up top and Sareee helps her hit a somersault senton. Chisako reverses her cover attempt however, and she holds down Mikoto for the three count! Mikoto Shindo is eliminated. That leaves just Sareee and DASH Chisako. Sareee and Chisako trade elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it gets a two count. Chisako goes up top but Sareee smacks her before she can jump off and tosses her back into the ring. Release German by Chisako but Sareee quickly returns to her feet, release German by Sareee but Chisako gets back up as well. Sareee goes off the ropes but Chisako schoolboys her for two, Frankensteiner by Chisako but the referee only counts to two even though Sareee didn’t kick out. Chisako quickly cradles Sareee again, and this time she gets the three count! DASH Chisako is the winner!

The fact the referee messed up the ending on a goofy Battle Royal match is pretty funny. This accomplished its goal, it had some comedy, some real action, and most importantly it didn’t drag out as they kept the eliminations coming. A fun way to end the show, nothing beyond the norm but they don’t do Battle Royals like this in Joshi very often so its a nice change of pace. Even if they did botch the final elimination.

The post Sendai Girls’ on 1/12/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata
Date: June 8th, 2019
Location: Niigata City Gymnasium in Niigata, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Sometimes a show happens in Japan that I know I have to watch the minute it releases. This is one of those events. Sendai Girls’ tends to really go all out for their big events, and there are several matches on this show I really wanted to see. Sareee is one of my favorite wrestlers but a lot of her matches don’t ‘make TV’ so I’m excited to get to see her again, this is a huge match for her as she has a rare title vs. title match against Chihiro Hashimoto. Here is the full card:

• Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship: Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
• Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
• Alex Lee, Heidi Katrina, and KAORU vs. Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga
• Aja Kong and Yuu vs. Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship/World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Sareee

As we are watching the Samurai TV! airing of the event, some matches may be clipped. All wrestlers have a profile on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Manami vs. Mikoto Shindo
Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship

They circle to start before and lockup, they trade holds until Manami gets Mikoto to the mat. Leg submission by Manami and she rolls it into a headlock, Mikoto reverses it but Manami gets away. She goes for a dropkick by Mikoto swats her down, Mikoto goes off the ropes but Manami catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Manami but Mikoto avoids the next and applies a camel clutch crossface, she lets go after a moment and elbows Manami into the corner. Irish whip by Mikoto and she hits a dropkick, four more dropkicks by Mikoto and she covers Manami for two. Crab hold by Mikoto but Manami inches to the ropes to get the break, she puts Manami right back in the crab hold but Manami gets to the ropes again. Mikoto picks up Manami but Manami blocks the slam attempt, they trade elbows until Mikoto drops Manami with a dropkick. Cover by Mikoto, but it gets a two count. Mikoto goes for another crab hold but Manami reverses it into a cradle, schoolboy by Manami but that gets a two as well. Back up they trade elbows, Mikoto knocks Manami to the mat and hits more mounted elbows. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Manami elbows her and applies an inside cradle for two. Dropkick by Manami but Mikoto hits a back bodydrop, she picks up Manami but Manami hits a sunset flip for two. She goes for a jackknife cover but Mikoto blocks it, she holds down Manami and picks up the three count! Mikoto Shindo wins and is the new champion!

Pretty basic, as expected. I will say that Mikoto Shindo is a bundle of fun, she has a bit of a mean streak to her and wrestlers like she has a chip on her shoulder, which probably wasn’t necessary since she was wrestling a child but at least it shows she cared. I wouldn’t have minded if the ending was a bit more conclusive, not that cradle wins aren’t legitimate wins but for a title match something with more substance would have been nice. For an opener with younger wrestlers, nothing wrong with it but it didn’t do much to elevate itself to title match status.

Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota
Bamboo Dumpling Scramble Match

We start with Hirota feeding Aiger what I am assuming is a Bamboo Dumpling, which are strung up over the ring in a X. They both go to opposite corners to try to reach them but can’t, and while I don’t really know what is going on I don’t think with these two that it really matters. Both fail to reach it, they go into the regular Aiger zombie spots before they collide and knock each other out. Hirota is up first and tries to jump off of Aiger’s knee to reach the dumplings, but fails. Aiger tries too with the same result, suplex by Hirota but Aiger delivers a release German suplex. Both wrestlers are down on the mat, they lower the dumplings but raise them before the wrestlers can return to their feet. More comedy spots, this time running through Hirota’s bits until Aiger hits a lariat for a two count. Aiger goes up top and scares Hirota, but Hirota kisses her to even the odds. Hirota goes for a powerbomb but Aiger lands on top of her, picking up the three count! Aiger wins! After the match is over, Aiger throws the referee on top of Hirota, stands on top of them and finally gets some dumplings before leaving the ring.

Slightly clipped, but not enough. The crowd enjoys this so I’m not suggesting it shouldn’t exist, it just isn’t for me. Its literally the same three or four spots every time repeated. I enjoy Sakura Hirota when she is doing cosplay as that can be entertaining, but this is just skippable affair. Unless you are really into one of these two wrestlers (or have never seen either before), nothing worth seeing here.

Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga vs. Alex Lee, Heidi Katrina, and KAORU

We join this one in progress, with Katrina beating up Mei. Vertical suplex by Katrina, and she covers Mei for two. Katrina picks up Mei, Mei goes for a crossbody but Katrina catches her and hits a fallaway slam. Giant Swing by Katrina and she hits a leg drop, but Shida breaks up her cover. Irish whip by Katrina but Mei jumps on her back, Katrina drives her back into the corner to get her off but Mei avoids her charge and hits a dropkick. Cradle by Mei, but Katrina kicks out. Mei tags in Hyan, dropkick by Katrina and she tags Lee. Lee kicks Hyan into the corner and nails a high knee, release German by Lee and she kicks Hyan in the face. Another kick by Lee but Hyan blocks the slam, springboard armdrag by Hyan and she hits a side Russian leg sweep. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Hyan, but it only gets a two count. Hyan tags in Shida, Shida trades elbows with Lee but Mei and Hyan both run in to attack Lee in the corner. Jumping knee by Shida, she sets up Lee in the corner before grabbing KAORU and suplexing her into Lee. Shida grabs Lee but Katrina hits her from behind, KAORU runs in and boots Shida before Lee delivers a Buzzsaw Kick. Lee picks up Shida and slams her to the mat, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Shida avoids the footstomp. Dropkick by Mei, both teams run in and trade strikes with each other, ending with a Lee high kick to Shida for a two count. Lee picks up Shida and knees her, but Shida blocks the chokebomb. KAORU tries to hit Shida with a board but hits Lee by accident, Michinoku Driver by Shida to Lee but Lee kicks out. Tamashii no Three Count by Shida, and she picks up the three count pinfall! Hikaru Shida, Hyan, and Mei Suruga win!

This was clipped up, and what they showed us was hit and miss. Lee and Hyan are probably the least familiar wrestlers with each other in the match and it showed during their segment, just really clunky. I would have liked to see more of KAORU, she never got tagged in at all during what was shown, and focusing on Lee and Katrina impacted some of the match quality. Mei just randomly running in to attack people was fun and Shida was great, it was just too inconsistent to recommend hunting it down.

Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata vs. Aja Kong and Yuu

Iwata and Yuu kick things off, Iwata gets Yuu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Headlock by Iwata but Yuu Irish whips out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock. Iwata kips up and kicks Yuu in the arm, snapmare by Iwata and she kicks Yuu in the back before hitting a PK. Iwata tags in Satomura, Satomura trips Yuu and applies an armbar into a headlock but Yuu struggles back to her feet. Snapmare by Satomura and she applies a stretch hold, Yuu inches to the ropes and she makes it to force the break. Satomura tags Iwata back in who arrives and with ax handle to Yuu’s arm, elbows by Iwata but Yuu catches her with a hard chop. More chops by Yuu, she scoops up Iwata and hits a powerslam for a two count. Yuu tags Kong, chops by Kong to Iwata’s chest and she chops Iwata to the mat. Elbow drop by Kong, and she covers Iwata for two. Armtrap crossface by Kong, she lets go after a moment and kicks Iwata in the back. Kong tags Yuu in, Yuu chops Iwata into the corner with Kong and they both knock Iwata to the mat. Cover by Yuu, but Satomura breaks it up. Kong returns as the legal wrestler, piledriver by Kong but Iwata gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt.

Iwata tries to fight back but Kong slaps her in the face, Kong picks up Iwata but Iwata delivers a strike combination. She rolls to her corner and tags Satomura, Satomura knocks Yuu off the apron but Kong slaps her in the face. Heel kick by Satomura and she goes for a cartwheel kneedrop, but Kong moves out of the way. Kong tags Yuu, sidewalk slam by Yuu and she hits a running senton on Satomura for two. Yuu goes off the ropes but Satomura delivers a high kick, another head kick by Satomura and she tags Iwata. Kicks to the chest by Iwata and she hits a Codebreaker, superkick by Iwata and she covers Yuu for two. Iwata goes for a jumping knee but Yuu catches her and tosses her to the mat, front dropkick by Yuu to the corner and she hits the cannonball. Yuu applies a choke but Iwata elbows out of it, high kick by Iwata but Yuu hits a judo toss. This gives her time to tag Kong while Satomura is tagged in as well, Satomura and Kong trade elbows until Kong sends Satomura to the mat.

Irish whip by Kong but Satomura blocks it and hits an uppercut, cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, she goes for a kick but Kong catches it and slaps Satomura. Iwata runs in and kicks Kong in the chest, Satomura joins in but Kong lariats both of them. Kong gets her paint can and hits both Iwata and Satomura in the head with it, backdrop suplex by Kong to Satomura and she covers her for two. Kong picks up Satomura but Satomura ducks he Uraken, Pele Kick by Satomura and she tries to get Kong on her shoulders, but Kong blocks it. Yuu comes in to try to help but shoulderblocks Kong by accident, Satomura grabs Kong again and this time hits the Death Valley Bomb for two. Elbow drop by Satomura, she goes up top and goes for a diving body press, but Kong gets both feet up. Scoop slam by Kong, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the elbow drop, but Satomura gets a shoulder up. Kong picks up Satomura but Iwata comes in and kicks her, Death Valley Bomb by Satomura but Kong hulks up and returns to her feet. Pele Kick by Satomura, she waits for Kong to get to one knee and nails the Scorpion Rising for the three count! Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata are the winners.

As expected, this was a really fun match. Even though it was a midcard match, Satomura and Kong have no chill regardless and were really laying it into each other. Not everything landed perfectly and the ending felt a bit sudden in that Yuu kinda disappeared for the final stretch, but I’m not complaining too much as I didn’t expect Kong to be the one to take the pin so it caught me off guard in a good way. Yuu fit right in here and I hope she becomes a semi-regular in Sendai Girls’, her and Iwata had good chemistry and the match never slowed down as all of them were going 100%. The ending could have been tighter but still an enjoyable match between four quality wrestlers.  Recommended

(c) Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

McKenzie and Chisako start the match, Chisako gets McKenzie in the ropes and she gives a mostly clean break. They lock up again and Chisako gives another clean break which just seems to annoy McKenzie, they trade elbows and flash pins before reaching a stalemate. Matsumoto and Evans tag in, they immediately run into each other and take turns attempting to shoulderblock each other over until Evans pulls down Matsumoto by the hair and hits a low crossbody. Body Avalanche by Matsumoto in the corner and she hits a hard shoulderblock for a two count cover. Matsumoto picks up Evans but Evans rakes her eyes, Chisako runs in however and they double team Evans. Matsumoto tags Chisako, Chisako kicks down Evans in the corner and hits a front dropkick. Chisako drags up Evans, Chisako drops Evans on the apron and then dropkicks her off of it to the floor. Chisako gets on the apron but Evans catches her PK attempt and slams Chisako into the apron. McKenzie then gets in the ring and dives out with a tope suicida, they toss Chisako back in and Evans covers her for two. Evans tosses down Chisako by the hair and tags McKenzie, Chisako fights back but McKenzie hits a hard elbow and slaps her on the mat. McKenzie elbows Chisako into the corner and tags Evans, chops by Evans and she snapmares Chisako before kicking her in the back.

Evans applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and elbows Matsumoto on the apron. Chisako elbows Evans and hits a dropkick, she goes to make a tag but McKenzie runs in and knocks Matsumoto off the apron. Evans stomps Chisako in the back and tags McKenzie, superkick by Evans and McKenzie covers Chisako for two. McKenzie picks up Chisako and applies a headlock, but Chisako gets a foot on the ropes to get a break. Chisako snaps off a cutter and finally tags in Matsumoto, Matsumoto shoulderblocks both her opponents but McKenzie blocks the backdrop suplex attempt. Matsumoto is whipped into the corner but stacks both Evans and McKenzie in the turnbuckles before hitting a Body Avalanche. Evans and McKenzie both roll out of the ring, Chisako gets in the ring so that Matsumoto can pick her up and toss her down onto both of them. Chisako rolls McKenzie back in, Matsumoto suplexes McKenzie and covers her for two. McKenzie fights back with elbows but Matsumoto blocks the spear attempt, McKenzie blocks Matsumoto’s vertical suplex and hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. She tags in Evans, kicks by Evans to Matsumoto but Matsumoto blocks the PK and elbows Evans in the face. Matsumoto knees Evans as they trade blows back and forth, superkicks by Evans but Matsumoto levels her with a lariat. Matsumoto crawls to her corner and tags Chisako while McKenzie is tagged as well, they trade elbows until Chisako delivers a dropkick. McKenzie throws Chisako in the corner but Chisako slides out to the apron and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Sliding kick by Chisako and she covers McKenzie for two.

Chisako picks up McKenzie but McKenzie gets her back, they trade waistlocks until Matsumoto runs in and helps Chisako. Backdrop suplex/cutter combination to McKenzie, but she kicks out of the cover. Chisako goes up top but Evans grabs her from the apron, Matsumoto elbows Evans off the apron but McKenzie avoids Chisako’s diving footstomp. McKenzie dropkicks Chisako in the leg and hits a sliding uppercut, cover by McKenzie but it gets a two count. Chisako gets back up as they exchange strikes, hard elbows by Chisako but McKenzie superkicks her when she goes off the ropes. McKenzie picks up Chisako but Matsumoto runs in and elbows her, Evans goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Matsumoto. Spear by McKenzie to Matsumoto, she goes back to Chisako and drops her with a double underhook facebuster for a two count. McKenzie picks up Chisako but Chisako rolls her up for two, Matsumoto comes in and lariats McKenzie before she catapults Chisako at McKenzie for a dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako followed by a Matsumoto reverse double kneedrop, Chisako goes up top but Evans joins her. Matsumoto powerbombs Evans onto McKenzie, diving footstomp by Chisako but McKenzie barely kicks out of the cover. Chisako goes up top and nails the Hormone Splash, but McKenzie reverses her cover into a cradle for the three count! Medusa Complex remain the champions.

It took a few minutes to get going, but once they did this was pretty fantastic. Chisako and Matsumoto are so so good, I can’t put enough emphasis on how they carried (I mean that in a good way) two less experienced wrestlers through a smooth and well-worked match. Chisako just is so vicious, often times for no reason, and I love her strikes. Evans was the least involved of the four but hit her spots well, and the end stretch was fire as it was just constant action. My only real critique is I didn’t love the ending – I never like it when a wrestler just blows off another wrestler doing their finisher to reverse it into a pin, even though McKenzie sold it after she did basically no-sell the Hormone Splash and all the other offense just done to her. I get they wanted a kinda fluky win since Chisako out-ranks McKenzie but I’d preferred just a traditional cradle if that was the direction they were going, or off some other type of sneaky deception. Still, a hard hitting and entertaining match, it makes me want to hunt down more of McKenzie as she really held her own against two of the best wrestlers in Joshi.  Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. (c) Sareee
Diana World Championship and Sendai Girls’ World Championship

After sizing each other up they tie-up, Chihiro pushes Sareee into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Knuckle lock by Chihiro and they go into a Test of Strength, Chihiro pushes Sareee to the mat but Sareee gets out of it and hits an armdrag. Hard lariat by Chihiro but Sareee quickly kicks out of the cover and they are back on their feet. They struggle for position, Chihiro gets Sareee down and goes for an armbreaker, but Sareee quickly gets out of it. Rolling headlock by Sareee but they end up in the ropes, Chihiro lets up Sareee as the match resets. Chihiro applies a cross-arm submission before picking up Sareee and applying a guillotine. Delayed vertical suplex by Chihiro, and she covers Sareee for a two count. Sareee elbows Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her back as they trade blows, Sareee rebounds off the ropes with an armdrag before dropkicking Chihiro. Sareee goes off the ropes but Chihiro drives her into the corner, Irish whip by Chihiro but Sareee jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a dropkick. Chihiro puts Sareee in a Cobra Twist before tossing her to the mat, deadlift by Chihiro and she hits a scoop slam followed by a somersault senton for two.

Chihiro slams Sareee in front of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Sareee avoids the senton and kicks her repeatedly in the back. She goes for a PK but Chihiro catches it, crab hold by Chihiro but she lets go as Sareee gets close to the ropes. Chihiro stretches Sareee before stomping her in the back, she goes off the ropes but Sareee rolls her to the mat before hitting a footstomp. Footstomp from the second turnbuckle by Sareee, she then goes all the way up and hits a second diving footstomp, picking up a two count cover. Elbows by Sareee, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro hits a lariat. Sareee charges Chihiro but Chihiro hits a spear, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Sareee hits her with a dropkick, a second dropkick sends Chihiro out of the ring and Sareee goes up top to dive out onto Chihiro. She then gets on the apron and hits a diving footstomp to the floor, she goes to return to the ring but Chihiro grabs her and powerbombs her onto the floor. Chihiro returns to the ring while Sareee tries to recover, she eventually gets back in and Chihiro covers her for two. Chihiro picks up Sareee and hits a series of hard lariats, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton for a two count. Chihiro goes up top but Sareee recovers and joins her, Chihiro knocks her back down but Sareee snaps back up and headbutts Chihiro.

Another headbutt by Sareee and she drops Chihiro with a release German, Chihiro gets back up but Sareee hits another German suplex for a two count. Chihiro gets Sareee’s back and hits a German suplex of her own, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both slowly get up and trade elbows, they then trade slaps until Chihiro floors Sareee with a lariat. Chihiro picks up Sareee but Sareee reverses the powerbomb attempt into a hurricanrana for two. Tilt-a-whirl schoolboy by Sareee, but that gets a two as well. She goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her and hits a release German, lariat by Chihiro and she gets a two count cover. Chihiro picks up Sareee and hits a belly to belly suplex, she drags her back up and drops her with a powerbomb. Chihiro gets Sareee around the waist but Sareee elbows away, Chihiro goes off the ropes but Chihiro nails a uranage. Sareee picks up Chihiro and hits a second uranage, cover by Sareee but Chihiro barely gets a shoulder up. Sareee goes for a third but Chihiro grabs the ropes to block it, she rolls up Chihiro but it gets a two count. Chihiro rams Sareee down and hits a series of short-range lariats, but Sareee nails another uranage for two. Sareee picks up Chihiro and kicks her in the jaw, hammerlock uranage by Sareee and she picks up the three count! Sareee is now a double champion!

My gut reaction after watching this match was that this is my favorite match of 2019, period. To say I loved it would be an understatement, and it went beyond just Sareee being great as Chihiro Hashimoto matched her step for step. Chihiro isn’t flashy but she does so many little things right – just for two examples, I loved that she let go of a submission before Sareee could get a break to pull her out so she could apply another submission, and her cutting off the “trading running strikes” spot with a spear was a nice change of pace from the norm. She is an incredibly smart worker and her strength is impressive, she just isn’t like most other Joshi wrestlers. Sareee delivered too of course, her strikes are so on point and I love her uranages. It says a lot that this wasn’t a short match but it left me wanting more, they could have gone another ten minutes and I wouldn’t have complained, but sometimes less is more which is a lesson I think more wrestlers could learn. It felt like a real struggle with tangible urgency and it kept me captivated, they were just throwing bombs and I was loving every minute of it. I know “must see” is thrown around a lot but this is legitimately a must-see match, even for wrestling fans that aren’t normally into Joshi. Its that damn good. I’d give this ***** without blinking an eye, I don’t see how any match will top this in my end-of-year ranking, an instant classic.  Highly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ Big Show In Niigata on 6/8/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: April 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 998

I don’t normally review events the moment they become available, but I was a little excited for this show. Sendai Girls’ flies under the radar for the bulk of the year but a few times a year they pop in for a major show such as this one. For Korakuen Hall they give us a special treat as this event is a real banger, with the last four matches in particular all having a real chance of being memorable. Jordynne Grace is the special guest here as she challenges Chihiro Hashimoto, plus we get Sareee facing off against Meiko Satomura! Here is the full card:

• KAORU and Mikoto Shindo vs. Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami
• Aiger and Sakura Hirota vs. Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid
• Sendai Girls Junior Championship: Millie McKenzie vs. Manami
• Mika Iwata vs. Yuu
• Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee
• DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly
• Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jordynne Grace

This show was broadcast on Samurai TV so some matches may be clipped to fit into the two hour block. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

KAORU and Mikoto Shindo vs. Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami

We join this one in progress with Mei and Mikoto in the ring, they both attempt scoop slams until Mikoto hits one and covers Mei for two. Dropkick by Mikoto and she tags in KAORU, KAORU boots Mei in the face but Mei gets away from her and rams KAORU head-first into the turnbuckles. She tries to do it a second time but KAORU blocks it, dropkick by Mei and she twists on KAORU’s arm before springboarding around the ring into an armdrag. Ryo comes in, she picks up Mei and rams her into KAORU for another two count. Mei tags Ryo, spear by Ryo to KAORU and she chops her into the corner. Mikoto gets tired of watching Ryo and attacks her from behind, but Mei come in too to even the odds. Mei and Ryo both attack their opponents in opposite corners before posing in the middle of the ring, Ryo goes back to KAORU but KAORU elbows her off. Lariat by Ryo and she covers KAORU, but the pin is broken up. Double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU cartwheels through it, she gets her board and hits Ryo in the head with it. Excalibur by KAORU, but Ryo gets a shoulder up on the cover.

KAORU goes up top but Mei hits her from the apron, Mikoto runs over to grab Mei and KAORU goes for the Valkyrie, but Ryo rolls out of the way. Lariat by Ryo,  but KAORU bridges out of the pin and cradles Ryo for two. KAORU goes off the ropes and hits a Frankensteiner, but Mei breaks up the cover. KAORU tags in Mikoto, dropkicks by Mikoto and she tries to slam Ryo, but Ryo blocks it. Scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a leg drop for a quick two. Crab hold by Ryo but KAORU comes in with her board and hits Ryo in the head with it. Big boot by KAORU, she grabs Mikoto and suplexes her onto Ryo. Mikoto picks up Ryo and stomps her foot before finally scoop slamming her, cover by Mikoto but Ryo kicks out. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Mei hits her from the apron, Ryo charges in but she hits Mei by accident. Mikoto locks in a few flash pins but Ryo kicks out each time, KAORU helps with a big boot but Mei breaks up the cover. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her with a powerslam, hard lariat by Ryo but Mikoto barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Ryo locks in a deep crab hold and Ryo has no choice but to submit! Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami are the winners.

For a clipped opener, this was actually really good. As I suspected, KAORU and Ryo are two that don’t mind giving rookies some offense and this is the best I have seen from both Mikoto and Mei as they were able to do more than just intro-level offense. Even though the veterans maintained their dominance, the rookies both had segments where they got over on the veterans, making it feel like a more even exchange than it really was. KAORU played it straight, which was appreciated, and Mei is a treasure to watch. Really solid way to begin the show.  Mildly Recommended

Aiger and Sakura Hirota vs. Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid

Needless to say, this won’t be your traditional match. Bolshoi Kid and Alex get the early advantage, Bolshoi Kid and Sakura both get an opponents wrist and walks the ropes, but while Bolshoi Kid successfully hits an armdrag per usual Sakura crotches herself on the top rope. Bolshoi Kid goes off the ropes to do a dive but poses in the ring instead, meanwhile Aiger chases Alex around the floor. Bolshoi Kid joins the fun too and drags Sakura around ringside, but eventually she gets back in the ring with Alex and Sakura. Sakura is double teamed in the corner, Alex stays in with Sakura and kicks her into the corner. Alex charges Sakura but Sakura gets her to stop, face crusher by Sakura and she rolls out of the ring as Aiger comes in as legal. Bolshoi Kid comes in too, Aiger uses her creepy zombie tactic and hits a DDT, but is too slow to capitalize so Bolshoi Kid knocks her to the mat. Bolshoi Kid snaps a rope into Aiger’s face chokes her with it, but Aiger gets a chair and hits everyone with it. Bolshoi Kid gets the chair from her and sits down on it, leading to all four wrestlers trying to sit in the chair.

They play Musical Chairs but they all sit in the chair together again, Bolshoi Kid tries to sit in the chair again but Sakura pulls it out from under her and covers Bolshoi Kid for two. Alex and Sakura remain in the ring, suplex by Alex and she kicks Sakura in the chest. Sakura drop toeholds Alex into the ropes and gives her the Oil Check, Sakura jumps over Alex repeatedly but Alex rolls out of the way when she tries to chop her. Or elbow her, not sure. Sakura convinces Alex to try to do the same and Alex complies but Sakura kicks her in the stomach before she can finish. Bolshoi Kid comes in and also tries to get over on Sakura, but Sakura schoolboys her. Aiger gets on the top turnbuckle and scares Bolshoi Kid before biting her hand, Sakura Oil Checks Bolshoi Kid but Aiger then spits dust into Sakura’s face. Sakura falls on top of Bolshoi Kid with the cover, but Bolshoi Kid kicks out. Aiger holds Alex for Sakura but Alex moves and Sakura kisses Aiger by mistake, high kick by Alex to Sakura and Bolshoi Kid hits Sakura with a Tiger Feint Kick. Oil Check by Bolshoi Kid to Sakura, she applies La Magistral and she picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid and  Alex Lee win!

This isn’t my favorite type of match and honestly I wish it had been clipped (which it was not). Having Bolshoi Kid involved added something a bit different to it but otherwise it was just your standard Aiger and Sakura Hirota match we have all seen a hundred times. Skippable early-card fodder for me, but if you enjoy these matches then its probably worth the watch.

(c) Millie McKenzie vs. Manami
Sendai Girls’ Junior Championship

Manami dropkicks Millie in the back before the match starts, she knocks Millie into the corner and takes her to the mat, putting Millie in a headlock. Millie recovers and puts Manami in a headlock of her own, but Manami switches it into a headscissors. Millie stretches Manami’s legs before putting her in an ankle hold, Manami crawls to the ropes and she forces the break. Millie goes for a snapmare but Manami reverses it into one of her own, bodyscissors by Manami and she stretches Millie’s back. Manami picks up Millie but Millie hits a scoop slam, Manami fires back with elbows and she hits a dropkick. Millie kicks Manami in the midsection and drops her with a swinging neckbreaker, cover by Millie and she gets a two count. Millie picks up Manami but Manami dropkicks her, sunset flip by Manami but Millie kicks out. Manami tries a few more flash pins with no success, Manami gets Millie’s back and puts her in the Cattle Mutilation , she pulls Millie back up and cradles her but Millie kicks out. Manami goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Manami but Millie avoids the next one and gets Manami’s back. Manami elbows away and hits another dropkick, but Millie comes back with a spear and she picks up the three count! Millie McKenzie wins and retains the championship.

I was really enjoying this until it ended so suddenly. For wrestlers their age/lack of familiarity with each other, the mat wrestling was really smooth and even though it was a short match they both showed natural ability. The ending was out of left field, it felt like the match was still crescendoing when it was abruptly over. A lot of fun while it lasted, I haven’t seen much of Millie McKenzie previously but just from this five minutes she seems to show a lot of promise.  Mildly Recommended

Mika Iwata vs. Yuu

They tie-up to start, Yuu gets Mika to the mat but Mika returns to her feet only to eat a hard shoulderblock. Chops by Yuu and she puts Mika in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but its reversed and Mika hits a jumping knee. Hard kick to the back by Mika and she hits a PK for a two count. Mika picks up Yuu but Yuu catches her with a swinging sidewalk slam followed by a running senton for two. Yuu deadlifts Mika up and hits a powerslam, Yuu goes to pick up Mika but Mika elbows her back and the two trade blows. Mika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with an elbow, Yuu charges Mika but Mika delivers a superkick. Back up they jockey for position, Mika rolls up Yuu but it gets two. Kicks to the chest by Mika but Yuu catches one and tosses Mika to the mat. Dropkick by Yuu in the corner, she rolls Mika to the middle for of the ring and covers her for two. Yuu picks up Mika and chops her but Mika kicks her back, Mika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a judo toss. Yuu goes for a sleeper but Mika elbows out of it, she goes off the ropes but Yuu again catches her with a judo throw. Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Mika reverses it into a cross armbreaker, but Yuu lifts Mika up and powerbombs her way out of the hold. Yuu goes for a chop but Mika kicks her arm, Yuu comes back with a lariat and both wrestlers are down. Yuu tries to pick up Mika but her arm gives out on her, she ducks Mika’s high kick but Mika connects with her second attempt. Mika quickly jumps up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a high kick, cover by Mika and she picks up the three count! Mika Iwata is the winner!

Another good match, and one of the things I liked about it is that it told an old school story that you don’t see much these days. Limb work is common, limb work that actually prevents a wrestler from doing a big move and they lose because of it happens far less often and I appreciate that attention to detail. I wouldn’t say they had great chemistry, which isn’t too surprising, but they worked well enough together and clearly had a plan that they stuck to. Yuu is a beast but the story here was more Mika’s attempts to neutralize her, which she was able to do. Straight-forward but well done, and even though it was a bit short I thought they both did a great job with the time constraints. Not a MOTYC type match but a really solid midcard match.  Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Sareee

They begin with a tie-up, Satomura pushes Sareee into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They go into a Test of Strength, Satomura gets Sareee to the mat but Sareee applies a headscissors as they trade holds. Satomura gets the better of things on the mat and stops Sareee from reaching the ropes, she kicks Sareee in the chest repeatedly but Sareee hits a springboard armdrag followed by a dropkick. Sareee puts Satomura in her modified Muta Lock, she lets go after a moment and hits jumping footstomps. Sareee picks up Satomura but Satomura kicks her in the head with her heel, kicks to the leg by Satomura and she puts Sareee in a leg submission. Sareee gets into the ropes for the break, Satomura picks her up but Sareee delivers an elbow and the two trade shots. Satomura goes off the ropes but Sareee nails her with a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee but Satomura drops her with a backdrop suplex. Satomura kicks Sareee into the corner, but Sareee ducks a kick and hits rapid fire elbows. Satomura knocks Sareee to the mat, Irish whip by Satomura and she nails a jumping heel kick. Kick to the head by Satomura and Sareee rolls out of the ring before collapsing on the floor. Satomura goes out after her and slides Sareee back into the ring, Sareee goes for a kick but Satomura catches it and hits a leg sweep. Seated armbar by Satomura but Sareee rolls to the ropes and gets the break.

Satomura picks up Sareee and she hits a vertical suplex, hard elbow by Satomura but Sareee jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a dropkick. Sareee goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes to the top turnbuckle again but Satomura hits a Pele Kick on her before she can jump off. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, but Sareee kicks out of the cover. Satomura goes for a choke but Sareee slides away, Satomura kicks her in the chest but Sareee fires up and elbows her. She eats a hard elbow for her trouble, Satomura goes off the ropes but Sareee ducks her heel kick and delivers a thrust kick. She then goes off the ropes but Satomura kicks her in the head, cover by Satomura but Sareee bridges out of the pin. Satomura immediately drops her with a Death Valley Bomb, she picks up Sareee but Sareee slides away and hits a Uranage. Sareee picks up Satomura but Satomura snaps off a DDT, she goes off the ropes and hits the cartwheel kneedrop. Satomura positions Sareee and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Sareee recovers and tosses Satomura back to the mat. Kicks to the chest by Sareee but Satomura kicks her in the head, another high kick by Satomura and she nails a Death Valley Bomb, but Sareee barely kicks out of the cover. Satomura picks up Sareee but Sareee quickly hits a Uranage, one final Uranage by Sareee and she covers Satomura for the three count! Sareee is the winner!

This is a peak Meiko Satomura match. The style isn’t for everyone, but it should be as its a no-nonsense hard hitting style that barely gives you a chance to breath during the home stretch. I really hope this is built upon as its a big deal for Sareee to beat Meiko Satomura, who isn’t the unbeatable force she used to be but still is one of the top active Joshi wrestlers across the entire scene. Every time Satomura drilled Sareee, Sareee was right there to drill her back and everything she gave to Sareee, Sareee had an answer. The kicks were brutal and the suplexes were really snug, as neither was going to allow the other to be the tougher wrestler. Wrestling is cooperative of course but I do believe there are times wrestlers give their opponents a little extra and I think both were doing that here, the last five minutes were just bombs and big strikes until Sareee hit the right combination to hold down Satomura barely long enough for the three count. I wouldn’t go as far as say this was an official torch passing, its too early to know for sure, but its a big moment in Sareee’s career and she delivered. A must-see match from two of the most entertaining wrestlers in all of wrestling.  Highly Recommended

DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly

Hiroyo and Hikaru start the match for their respective teams, hard shoulderblock by Hiroyo but Hikaru kips up and hits a hurricanrana. Hikaru goes for a jumping knee but Hiroyo catches her, she throws Hikaru into the corner but Hikaru avoids her charge and they reach a stalemate. Kelly and Chisako tag in, leg kicks by Kelly but Chisako trips her and goes for Kelly’s ankle. Kelly kicks Chisako away and hits an uppercut in the corner, knees by Kelly and she nails a pump kick for a two count. Irish whip by Kelly but Chisako boots her, Hiroyo comes in and she helps Chisako take out Kelly. Hikaru jumps in to help but gets a double dropkick for her trouble, Hiroyo throws Kelly into the corner and chops her in the chest. Hiroyo throws Kelly into the corner but Kelly avoids her charge, elbows by Hiroyo but Kelly catches one and headbutts her. Double underhook suplex by Kelly and she dropkicks Hiroyo in the corner, giving her time to tag in Hikaru. Hikaru knees Hiroyo in the corner, she puts her across the second rope and suplexes Chisako into Hiroyo. Vertical suplex by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo blocks the knee to the head.

Enzuigiri by Hikaru, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her hurricanrana attempt and applies a crab hold. Hikaru gets to the ropes for the break, Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the reverse double kneedrop, but Hikaru kicks out of the cover. Chisako is tagged in and she hits a missile dropkick to Hikaru, another dropkick by Chisako and she covers Hikaru for two. Hard elbow by Chisako but Hikaru nails her with a jumping knee. Hikaru goes for another knee but Chisako moves, Hikaru gets Chisako’s back and knees her in the back of the head. Running knee by Hikaru, but it gets a two count cover. Hikaru tags in Kelly, kick to the gut by Kelly and she hits a gutwrench suplex. Kelly picks up Chisako and puts her on the top turnbuckle, Kelly joins her and applies a hanging guillotine. She legs go after a moment and gets back into the ring, she puts Chisako in the Tree of Woe before hitting a dropkick for two. Chisako falls out of the ring, Kelly gets on the apron but Chisako blocks the PK attempt. Hikaru gets on the apron too but Chisako avoids both of their strikes and Hiroyo knocks them both down to the floor. Hiroyo picks up Chisako and press slams her out of the ring down onto the floor, Hiroyo slides Chisako and Kelly back into the ring and Chisako hits a running elbow.

Dropkick by Chisako, and she covers Kelly for two. Chisako goes up top but Kelly recovers and joins her, Chisako headbutts Kelly but Hikaru runs in and superplexes Chisako to the mat. PK by Kelly to Chisako, cover by Kelly but it gets two. Kelly and Chisako trade elbows, Chisako goes off the ropes but Kelly nails a big boot. Kelly and Chisako slowly get up, head kick by Kelly and Hikaru runs in to knee Chisako in the face. Fisherman suplex hold by Kelly, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Hiroyo boots Kelly and hits a short range lariat, Hiroyo tosses Chisako at Kelly for a catapult dropkick and Chisako covers her for a two count. Chisako goes for a suplex but Kelly blocks it, Chisako slides away and Hiroyo drops Kelly with a backdrop suplex. Chisako goes up top but Hikaru runs in and joins her, Hiroyo grabs Hikaru from behind however and powerbombs her while Chisako hits Kelly with the diving footstomp. Cover by Chisako, but Kelly barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako quickly goes back up top again and this time she nails the Hormone Splash, picking up the three count! DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners.

Even though this was the longest match on the card, the time just flew by as the action was non-stop. Hikaru Shida and Chisako don’t have any ‘slowdown’ in them so anything they were involved the pace was hectic, while Hiroyo and Kelly were able to keep up without any real issues. Kelly looked a bit awkward at times but generally didn’t look out of place, her moveset is unique so it helped the match feel fresh. While it wasn’t chock-full of ring psychology or a deeper meaning, sometimes four wrestlers going all-out to entertain is all you need. A simple story, but a very fun match to watch nonetheless.  Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jordynne Grace
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

Jordynne and Chihiro jockey for position to start, they briefly take it to the mat but quickly return to their feet. Chihiro pushes Jordynne into the ropes but Jordynne switches positions with her before hitting a side headlock takedown. Chihiro gets out of it and they reach another stalemate, they go into a Test of Strength which Chihiro gets the better of at first. Jordynne bridges back up and they trade wristlocks, side headlock by Jordynne but Chihiro Irish whips out of it and they collide with neither wrestler going down. They both try to knock each other over until Jordynne finally succeeds, snapmare by Jordynne and she connects with a sliding lariat for two. Jordynne goes for a stretch hold but Chihiro reverses it, Chihiro gets Jordynne’s waist and takes her to the mat, putting her in a modified choke. Chihiro throws Jordynne into the corner but Jordynne elbows her as she charges in, Jordynne tosses Chihiro out to the apron and punches her through the ropes, but Chihiro blocks the suplex attempt. Jordynne slides out of the ring and slams Chihiro face-first into the apron, she puts Chihiro against the ring post and chops her. Jordynne slides Chihiro back in the ring, cover by Jordynne but it gets a two count.

Jordynne picks up Chihiro but Chihiro scoop slams her, rolling senton by Chihiro and she covers Jordynne for two. Both wrestlers slowly get up, Jordynne kicks Chihiro when she charges in and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Chihiro recovers and joins her. Jordynne flips over Chihiro’s back and nails a powerbomb, but Chihiro gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Jordynne grabs Chihiro but Chihiro elbows her off, alternative lariats by Jordynne and she covers Chihiro for two. Jordynne kicks Chihiro and lariats her in the chest, Irish whip by Jordynne and she delivers a spinebuster. Jordynne pulls Chihiro near the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Chihiro grabs her from behind and drops her with a release German. Lariat by Chihiro but Jordynne isn’t phased and fires back with her own lariat, both wrestlers are very slow to return to their feet and they trade elbows once both manage to do so. Lariat by Chihiro but Jordynne slams Chihiro for a two count. Jordynne picks up Chihiro and throws her into the corner, she puts her on the top turnbuckle and goes for a Muscle Buster, but Chihiro slides away. Chihiro picks up Jordynne and nails a hard powerbomb, German suplex hold by Chihiro and she gets the three count! Chihiro Hashimoto wins and retains the championship.

A pretty good match and a fine conclusion for this event. It went about as you’d expect and how it should have gone, two strong wrestlers slamming into each other repeatedly until someone went down. Lots of power moves, hard lariats, and general toughness. Even though the match was on the short side for a main event title match it didn’t feel like it ended prematurely, they had the time to tell the story they were going to tell. Some of the drama was taken out simply because there wasn’t really any chance Chihiro was losing, but it was an even match with both getting their shots in. Overall entertaining, it didn’t reach the levels of Satomura/Sareee but still a match that fans of either won’t be disappointed in. Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 4/16/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KAORU vs. Ray Lyn, Maria, and Rin Kadokura

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

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

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

Tomoko Watanabe vs. ZAP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hiroe Nagahama and Miyuki Takase vs. Mikoto Shindo and Tsukushi

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

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

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

Himeka Arita vs. Nagisa Nozaki

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASUKA vs. Hikaru Shida
20 Minute Iron Woman Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jaguar Yokota vs. Sakura Hirota

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

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

Mikoto Shindo vs. Yoshiko

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

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

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

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

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