When COVID hit in 2020, one of the side effects was wrestling companies having to figure out new ways to stay in business. Without live crowds, the lack of gate clearly impacted profits, which led to promotions looking for other ways to bring in money. Different promotions went in different directions, but almost all found new ways to make their events available to fans to watch at home since they couldn’t go to the arena. With that in mind, I wanted to quickly give a run down of where you can watch Joshi wrestling this month.

First, I am going to start with the regular streaming services, either on Youtube or via a platform with a flat monthly fee. These were further covered in my recap from April 2021, so check that column out for a lot more details.

Joshi Wrestling Non-PPV Streaming Services

Promotion: PURE-J
Streaming Service: Filmuy
Cost: 1,040 yen
Website: https://filmuy.com/pure-j

Promotion: Actwres girl’Z
Service: Actwres girl’Z Nets
Cost: 1,000 yen
Website: https://actwresgirlz.net/app

Promotion: YMZ
Service: Filmuy
Cost: 999 yen
Website: https://filmuy.com/ymz

Promotion: Marvelous
Service: NicoNico
Cost: 990 yen
Website: https://ch.nicovideo.jp/marvelouspro

Promotion: Stardom
Service: Stardom World
Cost: 920 yen
Website: https://www.stardom-world.com

Promotion: Tokyo Joshi Pro
Service: Wrestle Universe
Cost: 900 yen
Website: https://www.ddtpro.com/universe

Promotion: Various
Service: NicoPro NicoNico
Cost: 550 yen
Website: https://ch.nicovideo.jp/nicopro

Promotion: Ice Ribbon
Service: NicoNico
Cost: 550 yen
Website: https://ch.nicovideo.jp/iceribbon

Promotion: Diana
Service: Youtube
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.youtube.com/c/dianaofficial/

Promotion: Gatoh Move
Service: Youtube
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.youtube.com/c/GatohMove

Promotion: Sendai Girls’ 
Service: Youtube
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/sendaigirls

So those are all the services that fans are pretty familiar with, as they have been around for awhile. Now we will dive into which promotions are using the PPV model, and where their PPVs are airing as there are a lot of different options. Most of these services should be available to International fans and most I have used successfully, but it may depend on your credit card settings. Also, some services do have an easier process than others for Western fans.

Joshi Wrestling PPV Options

Promotion: SEAdLINNNG
Service: SEAdLINNNG LIVE
Cost (may vary): 3000 Yen
Website: https://seadlinnnglive.com
Upcoming or Available Event(s): July 11th

SEAdLINNNG gets a special mention as the only one with a dedicated website of their own for their PPVs. Just makes it easier to find what you are looking for. SEAdLINNNG offers a live streaming option for their PPVs, and the events are archived afterwards if you missed it live (or want to watch it again). The event will remain available to watch an unlimited number of time for seven days. They don’t have every event available as a PPV but offer one fairly regularly, so if you are a fan of SEAdLINNNG you don’t have to miss their shows. They tend to announce upcoming events on their Twitter account, @SLinnng, in English to make sure International fans are in the loop.

Promotion: Stardom
Service: Pia
Cost (may vary): 4400 Yen
Website: https://w.pia.jp/t/stardom-pls
Upcoming or Available Event(s): None

Stardom, like a couple other promotions we will get to, have both a monthly streaming service and also offer events on live PPV. Every show Stardom provides as a live PPV will be added later to Stardom World, you don’t have to buy their PPVs to watch the show. So if you can’t watch it live, may as well wait a few days and watch it on Stardom World as they only archive the PPV for a couple days after it airs on Pia. Stardom also recently started having English Commentary for their live PPVs, so we’ll see if that trend continues. The easiest way to find out when an event will be on PPV and to get the link to purchase is to follow their twitter account, @we_are_stardom.

Promotion: Ice Ribbon
Service: NicoNico
Cost (may vary): 1000 Yen to 3000 Yen
Website: https://ch.nicovideo.jp/iceribbon
Upcoming or Available Event(s): 10th, 14th, 21st, and 28th
*I haven’t personally tested this service yet but I assume it works for International fans*

Ice Ribbon is the first promotion we’ll discuss that airs PPVs on NicoNico (or affiliated website). This is not to be confused with their regular streaming service, even though its the same channel. Their PPVs have two prices, one for those that are members of their monthly streaming service and one for those that aren’t, generally a 500 yen price difference.  They do have PPVs very regularly, so if you are anxious to watch a certain match and don’t want to wait a month for the event to appear on their regular streaming service, its worth keeping an eye on. The easiest way to find out when an event will be on PPV and to get the link to purchase is to follow their English twitter account, @IceRibbon_eng.

Promotion: Actwres girl’Z
Service: KIPz (also NicoPro)
Cost (may vary): 2000 Yen
Website: https://kipz.fun
Upcoming or Available Event(s): June 30th (event is still available for purchase at the time of posting)

Actwres girl’Z also pulls double duty, as they have a monthly flat fee streaming service plus sometimes air PPVs. These also air on NicoNico but for Western fans, I would recommend using KIPz. KIPz is more friendly to foreign fans and is better quality. Events are available for around two weeks if purchased through KIPz after the event has aired, so there is plenty of time to watch if you miss it live. Actwres girl’Z events are randomly shown on PPV, and I wouldn’t consider it a regular occurrence. The easiest way to find out when an event will be on PPV and to get the link to purchase is to follow the NicoPro English twitter account, @nicopro_english.

Promotion: Diana
Service: KIPz (also NicoPro)
Cost (may vary): 2000 Yen
Website: https://kipz.fun
Upcoming or Available Event(s): July 4th (event is still available for purchase at the time of posting)

Diana is another promotion that very occasionally utilizes KIPz to show PPVs, even though the bulk of their events available to watch online are put on Youtube for free. This is far from a regular occurrence and like AgZ, the easiest way to know when one is coming up is to keep an eye on the NicoPro English twitter account, @nicopro_english.

Promotion: Pro Wrestling WAVE
Service: Confetti Web
Cost (may vary): 2500 Yen to 3500 Yen
Website: https://www.confetti-web.com
Upcoming or Available Event(s): None

I recently learned about this one as I don’t keep an eye on WAVE very closely. WAVE airs PPVs on a service called Confetti Web. They also sell tickets to go see WAVE in-person on this site, so its important to only purchase events that list the venue as “Confetti Streaming Theater.” At the moment they don’t have any upcoming events, but most (if not all) of the Catch The WAVE events did air as single events on PPV. Typically, events are available for one week after their live streaming date. Confetti Web is a little more tricky to sign up for as it requires a Japanese address, however my US credit card was accepted as payment. I’m not sure the easiest way to know when things are coming to the Confetti Streaming Theater, although WAVE’s twitter would probably be the best place to watch, @p_w_wave.

Promotion: Marvelous
Service: Passmarket
Cost (may vary): 3000 Yen
Website: https://passmarket.yahoo.co.jp
Upcoming or Available Event(s): July 19th and August 8th

Marvelous has been using Passmarket sporadically over the last year, so it seems to be their preferred PPV provider. They have two upcoming events that online tickets are available for, including KAORU’s retirement show. Unknown if these shows will also be added to their NicoNico channel, and if so how much of a delay there will be. Events are available for one week after their air if you miss the live viewing. Again I am going to recommend Twitter as the easiest way to know about upcoming events (if you don’t have Twitter, just make an account to follow Joshi promotions and of course me), their English Twitter account @marvelousinter sends out information on what events are coming and they provide a link to order.

Promotion: OZ Academy
Service: Mahocast
Cost (may vary): 3000 Yen
Website: https://www.mahocast.com/at/live/1149
Upcoming or Available Event(s): July 11th

OZ Academy streams a fair number of their events on Mahocast. Since OZ Academy doesn’t have a monthly streaming service and doesn’t air as often as other promotions, this is the best way to keep up with their product if you are a fan. The events are available for two weeks after they air, so if you miss it live you can come back and watch it later. Their social media game is a little lackluster so I’d recommend just bookmarking the link I have above as that is the landing page for all their events.

Promotion: Sendai Girls’
Service: Zaiko
Cost (may vary): 3500 Yen
Website: https://sendaigirlspro.zaiko.io
Upcoming or Available Event(s): July 11th
*I haven’t personally tested this service yet but I assume it works for International fans*

Finally, Sendai Girls’ has another method of streaming their shows, this one called Zaiko. Sendai Girls’ has tried a lot of different streaming options in the last few years, so no promises that this one will stick, however they have been using this service for PPVs since last November. Events are available for three days after purchase, so if you miss it live, don’t dilly dally in watching it or you may lose access. Sendai Girls’ appear to have abandoned their English Twitter account, but they do mention upcoming events on their regular Twitter account, @senjo2006.

The post Where to Watch Joshi Wrestling Online – July 2021 Edition appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’ Spring Easter
Date: April 11th, 2021
Location: Kariya City Industrial Promotion Center in Kariya, Aichi, Japan
Announced Attendance: None
Broadcast: Streamed on Sendai Girls’ Youtube Channel

In the past year, Sendai Girls’ has not uploaded or aired a lot of their events, so when I saw one was fully added I had to watch it. This is not a big event for the promotion – just four matches and no titles in sight. But it does have some wrestlers that I really enjoy and haven’t seen much of lately, so I am sure it will be a fun watch. Here is the full card:

• Kanon vs. Mei Hoshizuki
• Mio Momono vs. Yurika Oka
• DASH Chisako vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Yuu vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Manami

As this streamed on Youtube, all matches will be shown in full. For more information on the wrestlers on the event, you can click on their name above to go to their profile.

Kanon vs. Mei Hoshizuki

Kanon dropkicks Mei as she is getting in the ring, elbows by Kanon but Mei fights back and the two trade blows. Kanon goes for a suplex but Mei blocks it, dropkick by Kanon and she covers Mei for two. Kanon picks up Mei but Mei elbows her, Irish whip by Mei and she kicks Kanon into the ropes. Mei goes out to the apron and hits a dropkick under the middle rope back into the ring, cover by Mei but it gets two. Mei hits a series of snapmares before putting Kanon in a crab hold, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Kanon’s back. Mei throws Kanon in the ropes but Kanon returns with a dropkick, Mei hits a dropkick of her own followed by a second one for two. Ankle hold by Mei but Kanon gets into the ropes for the break, so Mei applies a grapevined ankle hold instead. Kanon gets to the ropes again, stomps by Mei but Kanon blocks the Irish whip.

Mei finally tosses Kanon to the rope and hits a dropkick, she back bodydrops Kanon onto the apron but Kanon quickly returns and hits a dropkick. Kanon continues hitting more dropkicks on Mei before covering her for a two count. Kanon picks up Mei but Mei elbows her as they go back and forth, Mei stomps on Kanon’s foot repeatedly but Kanon sneaks in a small package for two. A schoolboy for Kanon doesn’t work either, Jackhammer by Kanon and she covers Mei for a two count. Kanon keeps trying to pin Mei but Mei gets into the ropes, Kanon charges Mei but Mei catches her with a dropkick. Elbow by Mei, she goes out to the apron and kicks Kanon through the ropes. Figure four leglock by Mei, but Kanon gets to the ropes for the break. Kanon sneaks in a flash pin but Mei reverses it and the two trade covers until Mei holds down Kanon with a Schoolboy for the three count! Mei Hoshizuki is the winner.

Chigusa Nagayo does a good job with her wrestlers but I haven’t seen as much out of Mei as I have from Mikoto, Maria, or Mio. She’s solid, but her offense still hasn’t really developed and since she is 19 I’d have just expected a bit more out of her in this situation. Meanwhile Kanon is over there hitting Jackhammers, so she isn’t missing a beat. A really simply laid out match, fundamentally sound and good practice for Kanon but a pretty basic opener.

Mio Momono vs. Yurika Oka

Mio offers a handshake before the match but Yurika slaps her instead, Yurika goes for a dropkick but Mio swats her away and hits a series of elbows. Mio gets Yurika to the mat and elbows her some more as she is clearly remembering the slap from 20 seconds before, Yurika manages to get back up and fights back. Yurika goes off the ropes and hits a few dropkicks but Mio doesn’t go down and instead drops Yurika with a sliding kick. Headlock by Mio and she drives Yurika to the mat, Yurika Irish whips out of it but Mio knocks her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Mio and she covers Yurika for two. Mio throws Yurika into the corner and stomps her down before throwing Yurika around by her hair. Mio keeps Yurika on the mat and stomps on her, she throws Yurika into the ropes and chokes her until the referee tells her to stop. Mio hits a cutter before delivering a sliding dropkick while Yurika is hanging over the second rope, cover by Mio back in the ring but it gets two. Yurika tries to fight back but Mio kicks her in the head, dropkick by Mio but Yurika avoids the Murder Dropkick and hits a dropkick of her own. Headscissors by Yurika and she follows with a jumping crossbody for two. Yurika goes for a suplex but Mio blocks it, Yurika puts Mio in a submission hold but Mio gets to the ropes for the break.

Yurika twists Mio’s arm in the top rope before dropkicking her in the arm a few times, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Mio again for a two count cover. Yurika gets on the second turnbuckle but Mio dropkicks her as she jumps off, Mio then goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody. Sliding kick by Mio and she hits the Murder Dropkick, she puts Yurika in an armtrap crossface but Yurika gets to the ropes. Vertical suplex by Mio, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Yurika avoids the diving body press. Hard elbow by Mio but Yurika elbows her back, they trade strikes until Yurika cradles Mio to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker. Mio gets to the ropes before she can fully lock it in, stomps by Yurika and she hits a scoop slam. Yurika gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Mio kicks out of the cover. Yurika goes off the ropes but Mio catches her with a hard elbow, Yurika rolls up Mio but it gets a two count. Elbows by Yurika, she goes off the ropes but so does Mio and she cradles Yurika to the mat before hitting a series of footstomps. Strike combination by Mio, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Mio, but Yurika gets a shoulder up. Mio quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving body press, picking up the three count pinfall! Mio Momono is the winner.

The most interesting thing about this match to me was Mio wrestling as grumpy veteran instead of the happy bubbly persona she normally has, it was fun to see. Instead of being the undersized underdog, she was the dominate force while Yurika struggled to get the upper-hand. Yurika had plenty of offense however and her arm work was pretty good, she showed a lot for someone at her age and experience level. Hopefully once she turns 18 and presumably finishes school, she’ll get to move up the card a bit. A pretty good match, but made better just with the role reversal from what I am used to seeing from Mio Momono.  Mildly Recommended

DASH Chisako vs. Kaho Kobayashi

Tie-up to start, Kaho gets Chisako into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They tie-up again and this time Chisako gets Kaho in the ropes, she kicks Kaho however and goes for an Irish whip, but Kaho blocks it. Armdrag by Chisako and she boots Kaho in the face, Irish whip by Chisako but Kaho hits an armdrag of her own followed by a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kaho, and she covers Chisako for two. Kaho applies a stretch hold but Chisako gets out of it, elbow by Chisako but Kaho kicks her back. Kaho puts Chisako in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Kaho throws Chisako in the corner, Irish whip by Kaho but Chisako avoids her charge and delivers a jumping kick. Chisako puts Kaho in the ropes and stretches her face, face crusher by Chisako and she applies an armtrap crossface. Kaho gets to the ropes for the break, stomps by Chisako but Kaho kicks her repeatedly in the shin. Kaho goes off the ropes but Chisako boots her in the face, Kaho kips back up but gets booted in the face again. Another kip up by Kaho but she collapses back to the mat, Chisako goes for a cover but Kaho rolls her up for two. Both go off the ropes with Kaho hitting a dropkick, another dropkick by Kaho but Chisako elbows her in the chest. Kaho avoids the sliding kick and knocks Chisako into the ropes, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but it gets two.

Kaho positions Chisako and goes up top, but Chisako recovers and joins her. Superplex by Chisako, and she covers Kaho for two. Chisako drags up Kaho but Kaho elbows her off, Chisako hits a backdrop suplex anyway and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kaho avoids the diving footstomp and applies a few flash pins for two counts. Kaho goes for an enzuigiri but Chisako catches her leg and applies an ankle hold. Kaho gets to the ropes, backdrop suplex by Chisako but Kaho returns with an enzuigiri and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Back up they trade elbows, Kaho goes off the ropes but Chisako boots her in the face. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Chisako, but Kaho gets a shoulder up. Chisako goes to the turnbuckles but Kaho grabs her and hits a German suplex, shining enzuigiri by Kaho and she covers Chisako for two. Kaho picks up Chisako but Chisako slams her to the mat, she goes for the Harumaru but Kaho rolls through it. Kaho goes off the ropes but Chisako boots her in the head for a two count. Chisako goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp, cover by Chisako but Kaho barely kicks out. Chisako quickly goes back up top and she delivers the Hormone Splash for the three count! DASH Chisako wins!

These two could have a solid and entertaining match in their sleep, so there was no real way they could disappoint even if the match never reached that next level of excitement. Chisako has been around for awhile now but she hasn’t lost her speed and pace, and Kaho works fast too so a lot happened in a relatively short match. I enjoyed that every time it looked like Kaho was getting the upper hand, Chisako would just boot her in the face. She has a solid big boot and Kaho sells everything well as she is tiny, so it always came across as a definitive cut-off move. Kaho didn’t go down easy but this always felt like Chisako’s match to win, Kaho could have won via fluke but nothing else was going to work as Chisako was rarely damaged significantly. A pretty good match, the hard cam setup takes some of the impact out of their strikes but still an enjoyable encounter between two seasoned vets.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Yuu vs. Matsumoto and Manami

Chihiro and Manami start the match, they quickly end up on the mat and Chihiro applies an ankle hold. She switches it to a headlock but Manami Irish whips out of it, hard shoulderblock by Chihiro and the two reach a stalemate. Kick by Manami and she goes for a monkey flip, but Chihiro catches her and applies a crab hold. Manami quickly gets to the ropes, Chihiro goes to charge her but Hiroyo knees Chihiro from the apron. Manami delivers the monkey flip followed by a dropkick, giving her time to tag in Hiroyo. Chihiro and Hiroyo lockup but break cleanly, Hiroyo gets Chihiro into the corner and stomps her in the stomach. Hiroyo boots Chihiro and goes for a shoulderblock, but Chihiro does’t go down. They trade elbows, lariat by Chihiro and she applies a side headlock. Hiroyo reverses it but Chihiro hits a scoop slam before making the tag to Yuu. Shoulderblock by Yuu to Hiroyo but she falls in her corner and tags Manami, Manami comes in and she dropkicks Yuu while Hiroyo stays in to help. Hiroyo leaves and Yuu ends up chopping Manami in the corner, Yuu goes for a cross armbreaker but Manami quickly gets to the ropes. Chihiro comes in and they both shoulderblock Manami, body press by Yuu and Chihiro hits one as well on top of both of them before they pose on Manami. Cover by Yuu, but it gets a two count. Yuu tags Chihiro, Manami tries to fight back but Chihiro throws her into the corner.

Snapmare by Chihiro and she covers Manami, but it gets two. She tags Yuu, Manami tries to fight back but Yuu absorbs her blows and delivers a chop. Yuu goes off the ropes but Manami avoids her senton attempt, cradle by Manami but it gets two. Dropkick by Manami but Yuu doesn’t budge, she tries again but Yuu stays up. Yuu swats aside the next one and hits the senton, picking up a two count. Yuu picks up Manami and throws her into the corner, chops by Yuu but Manami jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Manami tags Hiroyo, lariat by Hiroyo and she knocks Chihiro off the apron. Yuu elbows Hiroyo and delivers a series of chops, Hiroyo slides out to the apron and snaps Yuu’s neck over the top rope. Missile dropkick by Hiroyo and she covers Yuu for two, she goes for a powerbomb but Yuu back bodydrops out of it. Kick by Hiroyo but Yuu dropkicks her into the corner, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Yuu gets to her corner and tags Chihiro, lariat by Chihiro to Hiroyo but Hiroyo blocks the suplex. Chihiro applies a stretch hold but Manami breaks it up with a dropkick, they double team Chihiro before Hiroyo hits a sliding elbow for a two count. Hiroyo goes to the second turnbuckle but Chihiro quickly recovers and grabs her, Hiroyo slides away and they trade lariat attempts. Vertical suplex by Hiroyo and she levels Chihiro with a lariat, giving her time to tag Manami. Manami stomps on Chihiro and hits a dropkick, more dropkicks by Manami and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Manami picks up Chihiro and the two trade elbows until Chihiro nails a lariat.

Chihiro goes off the ropes and hits a spear, Yuu runs in and hits a senton and Chihiro follows with a somersault senton for two. Chihiro positions Manami and hits a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle, but Hiroyo breaks it up. Yuu comes in to get Hiroyo while Chihiro picks up Manami, elbows by Chihiro and she covers Manami for two. Chihiro gets Manami on her shoulders but Manami slides down and puts Chihiro in an Octopus Hold, she gets Chihiro to the ground while Hiroyo comes in and hits a reverse double kneedrop. Seated armbar by Manami but Chihiro eventually gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Manami goes off the ropes and nails a jumping knee, but Yuu breaks up the cover. Manami picks up Chihiro, Chihiro sits down on Manami but Hiroyo runs in with a sliding lariat. Cradle by Manami, but Chihiro barely kicks out. Manami goes off the ropes but Chihiro decks her with a lariat, but Hiroyo is there to break up the pin. Chihiro picks up Manami and hits the waterwheel drop, but Hiroyo breaks up that cover as well. Yuu gets rid of Hiroyo, she picks up Manami and both she and Chihiro hit body avalanches. Lariat by Chihiro, but Manami barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Chihiro picks up Manami and plants her with a powerbomb, and she picks up the three count! Team 200kg are the winners!

The only thing that hurt this match was the one camera setup as we couldn’t really feel the impact of the moves, but otherwise this was great. Yuu and Chihiro Hashimoto are so good at hurt-y hoss violence and Manami took everything they had like a champ, God bless her. Hiroyo chipped in sometimes but this match was all about Team 200kg tossing Manami around the ring. Not that Manami didn’t get in some offense as she had Chihiro in trouble a few times towards the end so it wasn’t just a long squash. But this was mostly about Team 200kg looking awesome so in that regard the match was a big success. Its hard to give a super high recommendation to a match shot from so far from the ring but I can still easily recommend watching it, an entertaining match with some great wrestlers and a very game child wrestler.  Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ Spring Easter on 4/11/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am going to review each day of the tournament as they take place and update this page, since Sendai Girls’ uploaded the first round to their Youtube page I am sure they will release the rest as well. There may be some delay due to the pandemic, but hopefully the tournament will still be completed at some point. Onto the first round!

Event: Sendai Girls’ Jaja Uma 2020 Day 1
Date: March 28th, 2020
Location: Miyagino Ward Bunka Center in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

The first day of the tournament features all six first round matches. Here is the card:

• AKARI (PURE-J) vs. Mikoto Shindo (Marvelous)
• Maria (Marvelous) vs. Mei Hoshizuki (Marvelous)
• Honori Hana (SEAdLINNNG) vs. Mei Suruga (Gatoh Move)
• Kurea (PURE-J) vs. Natsuho Kaneko (Sendai Girls’)
• Haruka Umesaki (Diana) vs. Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls’)
• Manami (Sendai Girls’) vs. Nanami (Diana)

All wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this aired on their Youtube channel, all matches will be shown in full.

AKARI vs. Mikoto Shindo

AKARI pushes Mikoto into the ropes to start but she gives a clean break, they trade holds until AKARI applies an ankle hold. Mikoto quickly gets out of it and applies a kneelock of her own but AKARI kicks her off as they trade submission holds. Back up, headlock by Mikoto and she takes AKARI to the mat with it but AKARI reverses it into a headscissors. Mikoto gets out of it and kicks AKARI’s leg, she throws AKARI into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. She throws her by the hair again, dropkick by Mikoto and she covers AKARI for two. Mikoto applies a camel clutch but lets go after a moment, she sets up AKARI in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back for a two count. Mikoto goes off the ropes but AKARI hits a hard shoulderblock followed by a dropkick. Mikoto elbows AKARI and the two trade blows, Mikoto throws AKARI into the corner but AKARI grabs her arm and applies an armbar while sitting on the top rope. She lets go after a moment and hits a missile dropkick, cover by AKARI but it gets two.

Mikoto goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Mikoto and she hits a third for a two count. Mounted elbows by Mikoto and she applies a crab hold, but AKARI crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Mikoto puts her back in a crab hold but AKARI gets to the ropes again, Mikoto goes off the ropes but AKARI catches her with a dropkick. AKARI throws Mikoto into the corner but Mikoto pushes her off and hits a dropkick. Running elbow by Mikoto, she trips AKARI in the corner and hits a dropkick. Scoop slam by Mikoto and she hits a few elbows, dropkick by Mikoto and she covers AKARI for two. More elbows by Mikoto and she hits a dropkick. Mikoto goes to the apron and hits a swandive sunset flip, but she can’t get the three count. AKARI takes down Mikoto with a Fujiwara Armbar, but Mikoto is too close to the ropes and gets the break. AKARI gets on the second turnbuckle but Mikoto avoids the missile dropkick, she cradles AKARI but AKARI barely kicks out. Mikoto goes off the ropes and applies a small package for the three count! Mikoto Shindo is the winner.

So many dropkicks. Dropkicks are of course a staple of younger wrestlers but they really laid it in thick here. The nicest thing I can say is AKARI didn’t look out of place, I was concerned Mikoto would out-work her but it was pretty even in that regard. There were a few awkward moments but nothing excessive, the main issue was just that it wasn’t overly interesting. Nothing really wrong with it for an opener, but nothing memorable.

Maria vs. Mei Hoshizuki

Maria charges Mei soon as the match starts and knocks her into the corner, stomps by Maria but Mei fires back with elbows and the two trade blows. Irish whip attempt by Mei but Maria knees her int he stomach, Mei throws down Maria by the hair as both wrestlers go off the ropes, eventually reaching a stalemate. They lock knuckles but Mei stomps on Maria’s feet, Mei tosses Maria down by the hair but Maria fires back with elbows before throwing Mei across the ring by her hair. Maria kicks Mei in the arm but Mei knocks her down and puts her in a crab hold. Maria crawls to the ropes to force the break, Irish whip by Mei to the corner but Maria kicks her back and goes for a scoop slam. Mei blocks it but Maria dropkicks her, Mei dropkicks Maria back however and puts her in a crab hold. Maria gets to the ropes for the break, Mei goes off the ropes but Maria drops her and hits a dropkick.

Footstomp by Maria, and she covers Mei for two. Maria goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, more dropkicks by Maria and she puts Mei in a Fujiwara Armbar. Maria picks up Mei and throws her into the corner, dropkick by Maria but Mei avoids the next one and stomps her in the back. Maria applies a headscissors with an armbar but lets go after a moment, Maria goes off the ropes but Mei trips her into the drops. Mei goes to the apron and dropkicks Maria, she quickly gets back in the ring and dropkicks Maria in the knee before applying a few quick flash pins for two. Back up they trade elbows, Maria slaps Mei and applies a hanging armbar but Mei gets into the ropes for a break. Maria goes off the ropes but Mei sneaks in a cradle for two. Thy trade quick pins with neither having any luck, Mei goes off the ropes but Maria hits a front dropkick. Mei goes for a jackknife, Maria rolls though it but Mei keeps the momentum going and cradles Maria for the three count! Mei Hoshizuki wins!

As suspected, these two had great chemistry and aside from the more simplistic moves used it didn’t feel like a “rookie vs. rookie” encounter. At close to ten minutes long, it was as smooth as you’d expect from a match between two vets and at their current pace both have a good future in wrestling. I’m looking forward to when Chigusa Nagayo lets them broaden their move sets a bit but both are still really fun to watch. A good match between two promising wrestlers.  Recommended

Honori Hana vs. Mei Suruga

Mei immediately goes for a schoolboy but it only gets two, dropkick by Honori but Mei blocks the scoop slam attempt. They trade elbows, Honori goes off the ropes but Mei grabs her wrist and springboards off the ropes before schoolboying Honori again for two. Dropkick by Mei while Honori is against the ropes, kicks to the leg by Mei but she can’t pull Honori away from the ropes. She finally gets her to let go of them so she can apply a crab hold, but Honori quickly gets out of it and applies a crab hold of her own. Mei crawls to the ropes to force the break, Honori picks her up and hits a scoop slam for two. Honori goes off the ropes but Mei trips her and runs over her back. Mei gets on Honori’s back but Honori pushes her off, snapmare by Mei and she applies a bodyscissors. Mei rolls Honori around the ring while maintaining the bodyscissors, and she holds down Honori for a two count. Mei rams Honori head-first into the turnbuckles, Irish whip by Mei but Honori avoids her charge and applies a schoolboy for two. Backslide by Honori, but that gets a two as well. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Honori goes off the ropes and she hits a shoulderblock. More shoulderblocks by Honori and she goes for the cover, but it gets two. Honori picks up Mei but Mei blocks the scoop slam, schoolboy by Mei but it gets two. Propeller Clutch by Mei, and she picks up the three count! Mei Suruga wins and advances!

For someone that just debuted in December, Honori seems pretty solid. No mistakes or awkward transitions, which is sometimes all you can ask for early in someone’s career. Mei was her usual self, although slightly dumbed down since she was wrestling someone with significantly less experience. Lots of quick pins, as to be expected, and the right person won. Mei Suruga has been in better matches, but for a rookie tournament this was still a perfectly fine match.

Kurea vs. Natsuho Kaneko

Natsuho immediately tries to shoulderblock Kurea over but is unable to do so, Natsuho elbows Kurea into the corner and hits a running elbow. Another running elbow by Natsuho, she picks up Kurea but Kurea blocks the scoop slam. Irish whip by Natsuho but Kurea hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Kurea and she covers Natsuho for two. Headscissors by Kurea, but Natsuho inches to the ropes and gets there to force the break. Back up, elbows by Kurea but Natsuho elbows her back. Kurea elbows Natsuho to the mat but Natsuho gets back up, Kurea elbows her to the mat again but again Natsuho returns to her feet. More elbows by Kurea but Natsuho connects with a back elbow, another elbow by Natsuho but Kurea stays up. Dropkick by Kurea and she hits another one, she connects with two more dropkicks before covering Natsuho, but Natsuho bridges out of the pin. Kurea goes for the double wrist armsault but Natsuho blocks it and cradles Kurea for two. Natsuho goes for a schoolboy but that gets a two as well, back elbows by Natsuho but Kurea remains on her feet. Natsuho goes off the ropes and the two collide, with Natsuho crashing to the mat. Kurea gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Kurea but it gets two. Double wrist armsault by Kurea, and she picks up the three count! Kurea wins and advances.

Its kinda wild to see Kurea, who just debuted herself last August, dominate a match like this. Natsuho didn’t knock her over all match, it was like a seasoned veteran vs. rookie match. Its hard to get a real feel of Natsuho just from this but there was only one miscommunication so that feels like a win, even if Kurea didn’t give her a lot to work with. A decent enough debut, we’ll have to see where Natsuho’s career goes from here.

Haruka Umesaki vs. Yurika Oka

Yurika pretends to go for the handshake but kicks Haruka instead, dropkick by Yurika but Haruka pulls down Yurika by the hair. Yurika fires back with another dropkick, Yurika picks up Haruka but Haruka elbows her and the two trade blows. Irish whip attempt by Yurika but Haruka blocks it and slaps her, dropkick by Haruka but Yurika hits mounted punches. Haruka returns the favor, she picks up Yurika and throws her down by the hair. Haruka tosses Yurika by the hair again but Yurika schoolboys her for a two count. Haruka puts Yurika in a crab hold but Yurika gets to the ropes to force the break. Haruka stomps Yurika but Yurika connects with a dropkick, more dropkicks by Yurika until she knocks Haruka over for a two count cover. Yurika goes for a scoop slam but Haruka blocks it, she finally manages to slam Haruka and covers her for two. Yurika goes off the ropes but Haruka delivers a dropkick, mounted elbows by Haruka and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Haruka goes up top but Yurika avoids the missile dropkick and cradles her for two. Yurika goes off the ropes and rolls up Haruka for two, as the two trade flash pins. Dropkick by Yurika and she applies La Magistral, but Haruka gets a shoulder up. Haruka returns the favor with a La Magistral of her own, and she picks up the three count! Haruka Umesaki wins and advances.

My second favorite match of the show so far. Even though the match was short, they kept the pace up and both showed some of that passion that you always want to see out of younger wrestlers. Their strikes were harder than we’ve seen in most of the matches so far and neither came across as wrestlers with so little experience. For a rookie match, a solid match between two wrestlers that we probably should keep an eye on.  Mildly Recommended

Manami vs. Nanami

Nanami dropkicks Manami right off the start but Manami dropkicks her back, elbows by Nanami and she schoolboys Manami for two. Kick by Manami and she snapmares Nanami before applying a bodyscissors. Nanami gets to the ropes to force a break, Manami stomps down Nanami and tosses her to the mat by her arm. Manami goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Nanami quickly gets to the ropes. Wristlock by Manami and she twists Nanami’s arm in the ropes, Irish whip by Manami but Nanami hits a jumping crossbody. Two more crossbodies by Nanami, and she covers Manami for two. Dropkick by Nanami and she stomps on Manami, crab hold by Nanami but Manami gets to the ropes for the break. Nanami picks up Manami but Manami elbows her to the mat, Irish whip by Manami but Nanami reverses it and applies a Backslide for two. Scoop slam attempt by Nanami but Manami blocks it, swinging neckbreaker by Nanami but her covers gets a two count. Nanami positions Manami and gets on the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving body press for two. Nanami picks up Manami but Manami elbows her, Nanami elbows her back and the two trade shots. Nanami sneaks in a small package for two, Manami responds by kicking Nanami into the corner and after a back-and-forth exchange Manami applies the Butterfly Lock for the three count! Manami wins the match and advances in the tournament!

Nanami didn’t look out of place, which is the greatest compliment that I can give to this match. Its clear from watching this that Manami is more experienced as she led the match, but Nanami kept up fine and her strikes looking better than I’ve seen on past shows. The offense was generally basic, of course, but was smooth and the match felt pretty even. I wouldn’t have minded if the ‘final’ tournament match on the show was a bit longer or had a more conclusive ending, but otherwise this was perfectly watchable considering their levels.

The post Sendai Girls’ Jaja Uma 2020 Tournament 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.

Seven different Joshi promotions ran events in the last week, time for the the weekly Joshi Recap and Results!

Actwres girl’Z

Event: AgZ Color’s
Date: April 15th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Where to Watch: Not televised, likely DVD release

• Natsu Sumire defeats Ayumi Hayashi (8:43)
• Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) defeats Yuko Sakurai (6:48)
• Kaori Yoneyama and Miku Aono defeat Ayano Irie and Misa Matsui (10:25)
• Rina Yamashita defeats Mari (11:40)
• SAKI and Yuna Mizumori defeat Mii and Riho (14:40)

Gatoh Move

Event: Gatoh Move “Command Bolshoi Special”
Date: April 18th, 2019
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 70
Where to Watch: Not televised, possible DVD release

• Yuna Mizumori defeats An Chamu (7:00)
• Masahiro Takanashi defeats Baliyan Akki and Mitsuru Konno (6:37)
• Command Bolshoi and Riho defeat Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga (13:06)

Event: Gatoh Move Japan Tour #421
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 79
Where to Watch: Not televised, possible DVD release

• Chon Shiryu DRAWS Yuna Mizumori (10:00)
• Baliyan Akki and SAKI defeat Emi Sakura and Sawasdee Kamen (9:10)
• Mitsuru Konno and Riho defeat Hikaru Shida and Mei Suruga (13:19)

Ice Ribbon

Event: Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #955”
Date: April 20th, 2019
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 90
Where to Watch: Not televised, likely DVD release

• Matsuya Uno and Mochi Miyagi defeat Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki (12:09)
• Akane Fujita defeats Asahi (5:56)
• Giulia DRAWS Tsukushi (10:00)
• Hamuko Hoshi, Miyako Matsumoto, and Tsukasa Fujimoto defeat Chabela, Ibuki Hoshi, and Maya Yukihi (17:39)

Marvelous

Event: Marvelous in Osaka
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Azalea Taisho Hall in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Where to Watch: Streamed on freshlive.tv

• Maria defeats Momoka Hanazono (5:30)
• Leo Isaka and MIKAMI defeat Pandita and Takahiro Katori (13:00)
• DASH Chisako and Hyan defeat Hiroe Nagahama and Mei Hoshizuki (12:46)
• Tomoko Watanabe and Yuu Yamagata defeat May Lee and Mikoto Shindo (15:10)
• Rin Kadokura, Takumi Iroha, and Sakura Hirota defeat Chikayo Nagashima, KAORU, and Megumi Yabushita (18:31)

PURE-J

Event: PURE-J Bolshoi Retirement ~ Thank You!!
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,530
Where to Watch: Not televised, likely DVD release

• Battle Royal: Bolshoi Kid Wins. Other participants included Arisa Nakajima, Chihiro Hashimoto, Eiger, Emi Sakura, Giulia, Jaguar Yokota, Kyoko Inoue, Makoto, Moemoe Bolshoi (Moeka Haruhi), Saori Anou, Shinobu Kandori, Western Pioneer Bolshoi (Tsubasa Kuragaki), Yumiko Hotta, and Yumi Ohka (14:17)
• Manami Katsu, Mari Manji, and Yako Fujigasaki defeat AKARI, KAZUKI, and Rydeen Hagane (13:13)
• PURE-J Openweight Championship: Hanako Nakamori defeats Leon (c) (15:32) – TITLE CHANGE
• Command Bolshoi Gauntlet Match vs. Hanako Nakamori, Kaori Yoneyama, and Mayumi Ozaki
  • Command Bolshoi DRAWS Hanako Nakamori (5:00)
  • Command Bolshoi DRAWS Kaori Yoneyama (5:00)
  • Command Bolshoi DRAWS Mayumi Ozaki (5:00)

Sendai Girls’

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: April 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 998
Where to Watch: Airing on Samurai TV! on 4/27/19

• Mei Suruga and Ryo Mizunami defeat KAORU and Mikoto Shindo (12:10)
• Alex Lee and Bolshoi Kid defeat Eiger and Sakura Hirota (12:05)
• Sendai Girls’ Jr. Championship: Millie McKenzie (c) defeats Manami (5:50)
• Mika Iwata defeats Yuu (8:34)
• Sareee defeats Meiko Satomura (15:30)
• DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto defeat Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly (18:32)
• Sendai Girls’ World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto (c) defeats Jordynne Grace (13:41)

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: April 17th, 2019
Location: Diamond Hall in Nagayo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 220
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Yuu defeats Manami (4:12)
• Hikaru Shida and KAORU defeat Alex Lee and Sakura Hirota (10:30)
• Sendai Girls Junior Championship: Command Bolshoi defeats Millie McKenzie (c) (10:09) – TITLE CHANGE
• Jordynne Grace, Mei Suruga, and Sareee defeat Chihiro Hashimoto, Killer Kelly, and Mikoto Shindo (12:11)
• DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto defeat Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata (14:26)

Stardom

Event: Stardom Glory Stars Day 3 (Afternoon)
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Osaka World Pavilion in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 212
Where to Watch: Event will be uploaded to Stardom World

• Tam Nakano defeats Leo Onozaki (4:59)
• Hazuki DRAWS Starlight Kid (7:31)
• Andras Miyagi defeats Rebel Kel (7:52)
• AZM, Bea Priestley, and Momo Watanabe defeat Arisa Hoshiki, Saki Kashima, and Saya Iida (11:37)
• Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami defeat Kagetsu, Natsuko Tora, and Natsu Sumire (14:56)

Event: Stardom Glory Stars Day 3 (Evening)
Date: April 21st, 2019
Location: Osaka World Pavilion in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 208
Where to Watch: Event will be uploaded to Stardom World

• Bea Priestley and Leo Onozaki defeat Saya Iida and Starlight Kid (9:08)
• Saki Kashima defeats Natsu Sumire (6:26)
• Hazuki and Natsuko Tora defeat Arisa Hoshiki and Tam Nakano (10:37)
• Andras Miyagi and Kagetsu defeat Hana Kimura and Rebel Kel (10:26)
• Jungle Kyona and Konami defeat AZM and Momo Watanabe (14:21)

Special thanks to Cagematch, Wrestlingdata, DramaticDDT, Stardom, PURE-J, Ice Ribbon, OZ Academy, SEAdLINNNG, Gatoh Move, and Diana for assistance gathering information.

The post Weekly Joshi Recap and Results for April 23rd, 2019 appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: March 9th, 2019
Location: Miyagino Ward Cultural Center in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Announced Attendance: 295

For reasons unknown to everyone, even though Sendai Girls’ has an online subscription service, instead of uploading events to that they have started uploading their events free on Youtube. And not just old events but recent events like this one, which was uploaded just a few days after it took place. Even though I question this decision I am happy for it as it allows me to watch recent Sendai Girls’ events for free. This isn’t a big show for the promotion, no title matches, but it does feature a handful of my favorite wrestlers in all of Joshi. Here is the full card:

• Manami vs. Mari Manji
• Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee
• Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn
• Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura
• Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Even though they didn’t include any fluff like graphics or backstage interviews, all matches will be shown in full. If you are not familiar with one of the wrestlers, you can click on their names above to to straight to their profile on Joshi City.

Manami vs. Mari Manji

Mari and Manami circle each other to start and trade wristlocks, dropkick by Manami and she knocks Mari down into the corner. Irish whip by Manami but Mari kicks her in the chest, she goes for a crab hold but Manami gets into the ropes. Judo tosses by Mari and she hits an armdrag and keeps an arm hold applied on the mat but Manami make it to the ropes. Armbreaker by Mari but Manami comes back with a pair of dropkicks, elbows by Manami but Mari knocks her back to the mat. Manami returns to her feet and the two trade elbows, a battle which Mari wins. Manami throws Mari into the corner and hits a dropkick, cover by Manami but it gets a two count. Elbows by Manami but Mari fires back with hard shoulderblocks, crab hold by Mari but Manami inches to the ropes for the break. Scoop slam attempt by Mari but Manami reverses it into a short armbar, Mari rolls out of it but Manami dropkicks her. Irish whip by Manami and she sneaks in a backslide for a two count. Cattle Mutilation by Manami but Mari gets into the ropes, Manami goes off the ropes but Mari hits a hard elbow. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mari and she wraps up Manami in a stretch submission hold, and Manami has no choice but to submit! Mari Manji is the winner.

Even with Manami almost two years into her career, due to her age (14 at the time of this match) she is still going to be losing for awhile. She showed some fire and smoothness, anyone that makes it through training with Meiko Satomura is going to know what they are doing, and there may be some potential there. Mari was mostly in “abuse the child” mode which is a unique position for her, the offense wasn’t always exciting but it was methodical anyway. A good rookie opener.

Mikoto Shindo vs. Sareee

Mikoto and Sareee circle each other but reach an early stalemate, knucklelock by Sareee and she flings Mikoto into the corner. They trade wristlocks and headlocks, Sareee goes off the ropes and they exchange armdrags. Dropkick by Mikoto but Sareee pushes her into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. Bodyscissors by Sareee and she elbows Mikoto hard in the chest, snapmares by Sareee and she hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Sareee but Mikoto inches to the ropes for the break, dropkick to the back by Sareee and she puts Mikoto in a modified Muta Lock. She lets go after a moment and stomps Mikoto in the back, Irish whip to the corner by Sareee but Mikoto reverses it and hits a dropkick. Elbows by Mikoto but Sareee returns the favor and the two trade shots until Sareee sends Mikoto to the mat with a hard elbow. Mikoto gets back up but Sareee knocks her down again, Mikoto goes for a crossbody but Sareee catches her and hits a backbreaker. Crab hold by Sareee but Mikoto again gets to the ropes for the break, Sareee pulls her back to the middle but Mikoto rolls up Sareee for two. Dropkicks by Mikoto but Sareee dropkicks her back, Mikoto goes for a few flash pins but Sareee kicks out a two each time. Dropkicks by Mikoto, she picks up Sareee and hits a scoop slam for a quick cover. Back up, dropkick by Sareee and she drills Mikoto with another one while she is against the ropes, Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick, but Mikoto barely kicks out of the cover. Sareee goes up top again and delivers a second missile dropkick, and this time she gets the three count! Sareee is the winner.

Even though it didn’t quite reach my hopes and dreams, this was still a fun early-card match. Sareee kept it basic for the rookie and didn’t do her full range of offense, she even seemed reluctant to do the dropkick against the ropes until she got frustrated that she hadn’t won yet. I do love the modified Muta Lock that Sareee uses, great looking move that she could probably use as a finisher if she wanted to. Mikoto didn’t get a chance to show much but was fine with what she did, as the year progresses hopefully she’ll continue to grow. Like the first match, nothing exciting but perfectly acceptable.

Hikaru Shida and Alex Lee vs. KAORU and Ray Lyn

Alex and Ray start the match, they are slow to engage but finally do as they trade holds. Alex punches Ray and gets her down to the mat, but Ray returns to her feet and applies a wristlock. Alex works a headlock but Ray gets out of it, hard shoulderblock by Alex and she throws Ray into the corner, but Ray avoids her charge and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. They trade trips and covers but reach a stalemate as both return to their feet. Hikaru and KAORU tag in, Hikaru charges KAORU but KAORU holds down the top rope and Hikaru tumbles out of the ring. KAORU goes out after her as Ray comes over to help, Alex runs over two and both teams brawl around the floor. KAORU and Hikaru return, KAORU slams Hikaru in front of the corner and goes up top with her board, but Hikaru moves when she tries to drop it on her. KAORU picks the board up but Hikaru kicks it out of her hand, Hikaru slams KAORU in front of the corner and get on the turnbuckle with her kendo stick and drops it onto KAORU. KAORU is supposed to catch it but misses, so she ends up getting hit with it.

They have a chuckle, KAORU picks the kendo stick back up but the referee takes it from her and Hikaru hits a missile dropkick. She tags in Alex, kick by Alex and she throws KAORU into the corner, but KAORU boots her when she charges in and hits a big boot before tagging in Ray. Ray hits a DDT on Alex for a two count, she goes for a cutter but Alex pushes her away. They trade kicks until Alex tosses Ray to the mat and kicks her in the head for a two count cover. She tags in Hikaru, Hikaru knees Ray in the back of the head but Ray blocks the suplex attempt and connects with a series of kicks. Hikaru regains control and hits a vertical suplex, she throws Ray into the corner and delivers a jumping knee. Ray returns the favor with a knee of her own, another jumping knee by Hikaru but again Ray fires back with another knee. Ray goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Ray but Hikaru kicks out. Ray tags in KAORU who comes in with her board, but Hikaru gets her kendo stick to even the odds.

KAORU knocks the kendo stick out of Hikaru’s hand and hits her repeatedly with the board, backdrop suplex by KAORU and she goes up top, but Alex grabs her before she can hit the moonsault. KAORU boots Hikaru into the corner and into Alex before both she and Ray connect with running strikes, double vertical suplex to Hikaru and KAORU covers her for two. KAORU goes up top but Hikaru knocks her onto the apron and suplexes her back into the ring, she crawls to her corner and makes the hot tag to Alex. Alex kicks KAORU into the corner and hits a jumping knee, release German by Alex and she delivers a buzzsaw kick, but Ray breaks up the cover. Alex slams KAORU in front of he corner, she goes up top but KAORU avoids the footstomp attempt. KAORU gets her board but Hikaru grabs it from her, double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU cartwheels away and boots Alex in the head. Scoop slam by KAORU, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Alex rolls out of the way of the Valkyrie Splash. Alex goes for a chokebomb but KAORU reverses it into a cradle for two, high kick by Alex but again KAORU sneaks in a flash pin for a two count. Hikaru runs in with a knee to KAORU, another buzzsaw kick by Alex but KAORU bridges out of the pin and cradles her for the three count! KAORU and Ray Lyn win the match!

While there were some talented wrestlers here, this felt very “small match mid-card”-y in execution. There was nothing really wrong with it, everyone got their spots in and Hikaru Shida was great the few times she got to do something, but it didn’t have any sense of urgency or meaning. I didn’t really like KAORU just bridging out of the pin after taking signature moves from both Alex Lee and Shida, it just felt a bit lazy for her to basically no-sell it to get the win. I like the bridging spot in general, it just didn’t really work for me there. A fundamentally fine but generally forgettable match.

Manami Katsu vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko and Manami lock knuckles to start but Meiko quickly gets Manami to the mat, they struggle for position until Meiko lets Manami go and both wrestlers return to their feet. Manami works a headlock, Meiko reverses it but Manami knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Manami puts Meiko in the Romero Special before letting to to drop an elbow on Meiko’s back. Manami applies a chinlock and then a bodyscissors, but Meiko spins out of it and elbows Manami in the face. Meiko gets Manami’s ankle but Manami gets into the ropes, Meiko elbows Manami into the corner and connects with a jumping elbow smash, but Manami returns the favor with her own elbows. Kicks by Meiko and she hits a vertical suplex, but Manami snaps off a Stunner and a kick to the head. Running boots by Manami and she hits a sliding knee, cover by Manami but it gets two.

Manami picks up Meiko but Meiko uppercuts her, kicks to the chest by Meiko and she delivers a spin kick to Manami’s head. Meiko goes for a cross armbreaker, but Manami blocks it and gets a foot on the ropes. Kick by Meiko but Manami hits a Samoan Drop, backdrop suplex by Manami but Meiko keeps a hold of her head with a headlock. Meiko applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Manami gets out of it, kicks by Meiko and she snaps Manami’s arm over her shoulder. She tries to do it again but Manami grabs Meiko around the neck and applies a Dragon Sleeper. Short range lariat by Manami, she goes off and hits a second lariat before covering Meiko for a two count. Manami connects with a spinning backfist, she picks up Meiko but Meiko spins away from her and delivers a high kick. Hard elbow by Meiko, Irish whip by Meiko and she hits a spinning heel kick. Death Valley Bomb by Meiko, and she picks up the three count! Meiko Satomura wins the match.

A straight-forward match, but a good one. I felt going in that Manami Katsu had no chance of winning this match and unfortunately they didn’t do anything to try to change my mind as Meiko kept things in control. She didn’t even need a lot of her bigger signature moves to put down Manami, a heel kick and one Death Valley Bomb was enough as the young Manami went down fairly easily. Manami did get in her shots, it was certainly not a squash, but it felt more like a Meiko clinic than a typical back-and-forth affair. A decent match but I am surprised that Meiko Satomura didn’t give Manami Katsu a bit more to work with.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata vs. DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Chisako and Chihiro are the first two in, they quickly end up on the mat but return to their feet as they struggle for control. Chisako boots Chihiro against the ropes, Hiroyo comes in as does Mika and the veteran team wins the exchange. Footstomp by Chisako to Chihiro, she throws her into the corner but Chihiro fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock. Mika gets back in and flips Chihiro onto Chisako, Chihiro tags Mika and Mika kicks Chisako in the back. Chisako elbows Mika and the two trade blows, Chisako boots Mika to the mat but Mika gets back up leading to more elbows being thrown. Chisako knocks Mika to the mat again and tags Hiroyo, Hiroyo knocks Chihiro off the apron and chops Mika into the corner. Hiroyo sets up Mika in the corner and hits a body avalanche, Mika fights back with elbows but Chisako runs in and she is double teamed. Chisako is tagged back in, face crusher by Chisako to Mika but Mika superkicks her and tags in Chihiro. Chihiro picks up Chisako but Chisako slides away and rolls her up for two, giving her time to tag Hiroyo. Chihiro knocks out both of them and tosses Chisako onto Hiroyo before hitting a somersault senton for a two count on Hiroyo.

Chihiro picks up Hiroyo and puts her in a stretch hold but Hiroyo reverses it, they trade lariat attempts until Hiroyo knocks Chihiro to the mat. Hiroyo goes off the ropes but Chihiro returns the favor with her own hard lariat, and both wrestlers are down. They slowly get up, another lariat by Chihiro and she covers Hiroyo for two. Chihiro tags Mika, kicks by Mika to Hiroyo but when Chihiro tries to help she elbows Chihiro by accident. Chisako comes in then but Mika kicks both of them, she goes off the ropes but eats a double dropkick. Hiroyo tags Chisako, Chisako goes up top and hits a missile dropkick followed by a sliding kick for a two count. Chisako picks up Mika but Mika knees her, jumping knee by Mika and she covers Chisako for two. Mika goes for a PK but Chisako ducks, Mika kicks her anyway however and after a second kick to the chest she covers her for a two count. Mika rolls to her corner and tags Chihiro, spear by Chihiro and she hits the Waterwheel Drop for two. Chihiro goes for a powerbomb but Chisako gets out of it, Hiroyo runs in and elbows Chihiro and Chisako knocks her in the ropes with a sliding kick. Chisako goes up top but Mika runs in and joins her, superplex by Mika and Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle, but Hiroyo comes in and goes for her own superplex.

Chihiro elbows her before the move can be hit but Chisako joins Chihiro and delivers a Frankensteiner. Sliding elbow by Hiroyo to Chihiro, Chisako follows with a Northern Lights Suplex but Chihiro kicks out at two. Chisako goes back up and hits a diving footstomp, but again Chihiro barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako goes for the Hormone Splash but Chihiro rolls out of the way, Mika comes in to help but Hiroyo drops them both with a backdrop suplex. Chisako and Hiroyo Irish whip Chihiro but Chihiro lariats them both, diving body press by Mika and Chihiro follows with a diving somersault senton for two. Mika kicks Hiroyo in the head to get rid of her, Chihiro grabs Chisako and drops her with a release German. Chihiro picks up Chisako and nails a powerbomb, cover by Chihiro but Chisako kicks out. Chihiro grabs Chisako by the waist but Chisako gets into the ropes, Chihiro goes off the ropes but Chisako wraps her up and cradles Chihiro for the three count! DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto win!

For a smaller show main event, this was a solid match. Chihiro is such a beast, I really enjoyed all of her segments as she has such a commanding presence and her strength is really impressive. All four got a chance to shine but Chihiro stuck out above the rest. The match had a clear line where they went from preliminary offense to a more urgent pace, and once they crossed that line the match stayed hot until the ending. The ending was a bit of a damper, not that Chisako isn’t at the level to pin the champion but I’d have preferred a more conclusive ending for the final match on the card. Still, an entertaining match featuring four really good wrestlers, any combination of these four brings quality wrestling every time.  Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 3/9/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

A big week in Joshi Wrestling, lets jump right into the weekly Joshi Recap!

Stardom

Event: Stardom “Glory Stars Day 1”
Date: April 13th, 2019
Location: Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 230
Where to Watch: Event will be uploaded to Stardom World

• Hanan, Rina, and Hana defeat Kaori Yoneyama, Leo Onozaki, and Saya Iida (4:48)
• Saki Kashima defeats Starlight Kid (7:19)
• Three Way Match: Bea Priestley defeats Hana Kimura and Rebel Kel (8:05)
• Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano defeats Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora (11:44)
• Two out of Three Match: Momo Watanabe, Konami, and AZM defeat Kagetsu, Hazuki, and Natsu Sumire (18:06)
  • Kagetsu defeats Momo Watanabe (10:38)
  • AZM defeats Natsu Sumire (2:15)
  • Momo Watanabe defeats Kagetsu (5:13)

The main event had a unique stipulation – with Queen’s Quest putting up their masks and Oedo Tai putting up their pre-match dancing. Whichever team lost would no longer be allowed to do their pre-match ritual. With Queen’s Quest winning, Oedo Tai will no longer dance before matches for all events going forward.

Event: Stardom “Glory Stars Day 2”
Date:  April 14th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 401
Where to Watch: Event will be uploaded to Stardom World

• Rina defeats Hina (4:43)
• Three Way Match: Tam Nakano defeats Hanan and Rebel Kel (5:52)
• Hazuki, Andras Miyagi, and Natsu Sumire defeats Natsuko Tora, Leo Onozaki, and Saya Iida (10:28)
• Arisa Hoshiki, Saki Kashima, and Starlight Kid defeats Bea Priestley, Konami, and AZM (12:25)
• 5 Way Draft Nomination Order Determination Match with Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, Kagetsu, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe
  • Mayu wins first pick by throwing Kagetsu over the top rope
  • Momo wins second pick by throwing Kagetsu over the top rope
  • Kagetsu wins third pick by throwing Hana over the top rope
  • Hana wins fourth pick by throwing Jungle Kyona over the top rope
  • Kyona loses and her faction is forced to disband

For the second year, Stardom had a draft for their factions. For the main event, the five faction leaders took part to determine the picking order for the draft. The big catch this year is that whichever wrestler was left at the end, their group would have to disband as only four factions would continue in Stardom. Jungle Kyona was the last wrestler remaining, forcing her faction Jungle Assault Nation to disband, with Jungle Kyona becoming a draftable wrestler. Here are the results from the draft that took place after the main event:

Ice Ribbon

Event: Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #954 in SKIP City”
Date: April 14th, 2019
Location: SKIP City Multipurpose Hall in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 225
Where to Watch: Airs on Nico Nico on 4/22/19

• Suzu Suzuki and Tsukushi defeat Asahi and Ibuki Hoshi (8:02)
• Tae Honma defeats Matsuya Uno (9:43)
• Tequila Saya defeats Satsuki Totoro (6:19)
• Kyuri, Maika Ozaki, and Tsukasa Fujimoto defeat Akane Fujita, Hiragi Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi (15:13)
• Rina Yamashita defeats Giulia (15:03)
• International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera (c) defeat Makoto and Miyako Matsumoto (15:20)

PURE-J

Event: PURE-J Bolshoi Final Series
Date: April 10th, 2019
Location: Asakusa Hanayashiki in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 90
Where to Watch: Not televised, likely DVD release

• Rydeen Hagane defeats Himeka Arita (12:04)
• KAZUKI defeats Momo Tani (8:59)
• Manami Katsu defeats Yako Fujigasaki (12:59)
• Command Bolshoi defeats Mari Manji (5:45)
• Rematch: Command Bolshoi defeats Mari Manji (4:50)
• Rematch: Command Bolshoi defeats Mari Manji (0:59)
• Leon and Moeka Haruhi defeat Hanako Nakamori and Makoto (17:38)

Event: PURE-J Bolshoi Final Series
Date: April 14th, 2019
Location: Itabashi Green Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 117
Where to Watch: Not televised, likely DVD release

• SAKI defeats Mari Manji (10:15)
• KAZUKI defeats Yako Fujigasaki (10:17)
• Command Bolshoi defeats AKARI (9:36)
• Kaori Yoneyama and Leon defeat Mei Suruga and Riho (12:29)
• Chikayo Nagashima and Hanako Nakamori defeat Manami Katsu and Rydeen Hagane (17:49)

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Spring Tour ’19 ~ Ready Set, Go!”
Date: April 13th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 250
Where to Watch: DDT Universe

• Rika Tatsumi and Haruna Neko defeated Pom Harajuku and Mahiro Kiryu (8:57)
• Reika Saiki defeated YUMI (7:20)
• Natsumi Maki and Hikari Noa defeated Yuki Kamifuku and Mina Shirakawa (7:41)
• Yuka Sakazaki and Mizuki defeated Yuna Manase and Himawari Unagi (12:02)
• Sakisama and Misao defeated Miu Watanabe and Raku (14:09)
• Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, and Marika Kobashi defeated Maki Itoh, Nodoka Tenma, and Yuki Aino (14:46)

SEAdLINNNG

Event: SEAdLINNNG Shin-Kiba 11th NIGHT
Date: April 12th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 238
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Kaori Yoneyama defeats Sae (6:02)
• Mei Hoshizuki and Mei Suruga defeat ASUKA and Maria (7:51)
• Hiroyo Matsumoto, Makoto and Yoshiko defeat Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Saori Anou (13:45)
• Amazon and Takumi Iroha vs. Nanae Takahashi and Ryo Mizunami – Time Limit Draw (20:00)
• Arisa Nakajima defeats Command Bolshoi (19:50)

OZ Academy

Event: OZ Academy “It Is The Dawn Of The Era”
Date: April 14th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 883
Where to Watch: Airs on GAORA TV on 4/30/19

• Maya Yukihi and Yumi Ohka defeat Aoki Itsuki and Yoshiko (12:41)
• Tsubasa Kuragaki defeats Cherry (8:19)
• Aja Kong and Gabai Ji-chan defeat Command Bolshoi and Kyusei Hirota Command Bolshoi (Sakura Hirota) (9:51)
• Sonoko Kato defeats Ryo Mizunami (14:51)
• OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kaori Yoneyama (c) defeat AKINO and Kakeru Sekiguchi (18:56)
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Mayumi Ozaki defeats Hikaru Shida (c) (19:03) – TITLE CHANGE

With it being announced that Hikaru Shida signed with AEW, Mayumi Ozaki wasted no time in getting the belt back to the promotion as she defeats Shida to reclaim the title.

Sendai Girls’

Event: Sendai Girls’
Date: April 13th, 2019
Location: Osaka World Pavilion in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 195
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Mika Iwata defeats Mikoto Shindo (6:00)
• Three Way Match: Manami defeats KAORU and Sakura Hirota (7:27)
• DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto defeat Alex Lee and Hikaru Shida (9:36)
• Meiko Satomura defeats Millie McKenzie (11:54)
• Jordynne Grace and Sareee defeat Chihiro Hashimoto and Killer Kelly (12:49)

Gatoh Move

Event: Gatoh Move Japan Tour #420
Date: April 13th, 2019
Location: Ichigaya Chocolate Hiroba in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 56
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Tetsuya Izuchi defeats IMABAYASHI (6:19)
• Baliyan Akki and SAKI defeat Mei Suruga and TAMURA (9:50)
• Riho and Yuna Mizumori defeat Mitsuru Konno and Sawasdee Kamen (12:38)

Diana

Event: Diana
Date: April 14th, 2019
Location: Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 70
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Jaguar Yokota defeats Haruka Umesaki (11:15)
• Ayako Sato and Kyoko Inoue vs. Kaoru Ito and Sareee – Time Limit Draw (20:00)

Yumiko Hotta Produce

Event: Yumiko Hotta Produce Runaway Rally ~ Spring Wind
Date: April 14th, 2019
Location: Itabashi Green Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 230
Where to Watch: No announced release

• Leon defeats Kakeru Sekiguchi (7:04)
• Pretty Ota defeats Mr. Buddhaman (0:46)
• Pretty Ota defeats Mr. Buddhaman (2:40)
• Pretty Ota defeats Mr. Buddhaman (1:11)
• Arisa Nakajima and Manami Katsu defeat Mari and SAKI (21:56)
• Nanae Takahashi defeats Miyuki Takase (12:22)
• Saori Anou and Yumiko Hotta defeat Himeka Arita and Yoshiko (12:27)

Special thanks to Cagematch, Wrestlingdata, DramaticDDT, Stardom, PURE-J, Ice Ribbon, OZ Academy, SEAdLINNNG, Gatoh Move, and Diana for assistance gathering information.

The post Weekly Joshi Recap and Results for April 15th, 2019 appeared first on Joshi City.

I haven’t been keeping up with current wrestling shows as much as I’d prefer, due to real life stuff like my job getting in the way, but show event seemed worth the watch. Sendai Girls’ is a promotion that doesn’t ‘make air’ very often, but when they do they tend to go all out. This show not only has a big title match between Ayako Hamada and Chihiro Hashimoto but also a special singles match between Meiko Satomura and Io Shirai as their eternal feud continues. Here is the full card:

• Ami Sato vs. Manami
• Sakura Hirota and Eiger vs. Solo Darling and KAORU
• Cassandra Miyagi, Heidi Katrina, Sammii Jayne, and Aja Kong vs. DASH Chisako, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Mio Momono, and Alex Lee
• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Iwata
• Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura
• Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Ayako Hamada

All wrestlers above have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this was shown on Samurai TV some matches may be clipped.

Ami Sato vs. Manami

They jockey for position to start and trade elbows in the ropes, monkey flip by Manami and she covers Ami for two. Manami applies a body scissors into a stretch hold but Ami gets to the ropes for the break. Camel Clutch by Ami, she lets go after a moment and hits a front roll into an elbow strike for a two count. Crab hold by Ami, she picks Manami up and hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Manami slides away and they trade flash pins, dropkick by Manami but Ami kicks her in the stomach, backslide by Manami but Ami kicks out. Manami applies the Cattle Mutilation and then cradles Ami, but it gets two. Manami goes off the ropes but Ami catches her with an elbow, shoulderblock by Ami but Manami blocks the crab hold attempt. Manami charges Ami but Ami slides behind her and applies a school boy for the three count! Ami Sato is the winner.

As I mentioned at the top, Sendai Girls’ doesn’t produce bad wrestlers, never has. Its basic, but both wrestlers know them well as this was smoother than other matches I’ve seen with long time veterans. Sendai Girls’ typically brings rookies along slow (unless you are Chihiro Hashimoto), but show early potential.

Sakura Hirota and Eiger vs. Solo Darling and KAORU

Eiger and KAORU start the match and do some comedy bits with KAORU getting the upper hand, Solo runs in but so does Sakura. Sakura is booted by both her opponents but Eiger recovers and stacks Solo and KAORU in the corner. Sakura tries to jump off of Eiger’s knee but slips and crotches herself instead, KAORU gets her board and eventually manages to hit Eiger in the head with it. Eiger avoids the next shot but gets hit with it again anyway, Solo stays in as legal and hits a cutter out of the corner for a two count. Eiger gets Solo’s back and zombies her, KAORU comes in with the board but she hits Solo by accident. Eiger hits KAORU with the board, Sakura then kisses her and applies a cradle, but KAORU kicks out. Eiger goes spit dust in KAORU’s face, KAORU blocks it at first but Eiger just waits until she lowers the board and spits dust in her face anyway. Roll-up by Sakura, and she holds down KAORU for the three count! Sakura Hirota and Eiger win!

This was mercifully clipped, almost to the point it is hard to know what was really going on. It had the standard Sakura and Eiger comedy so if that is your thing, you’ll enjoy this. A harmless opening-style match.

Cassandra Miyagi, Katrina, Sammii Jayne, and Kong vs. DASH Chisako, Matsumoto, Momono, and Alex Lee

Things immediately break down as the match starts as the action spills out to the floor, Chisako goes up top and dives down onto a pile of wrestlers before Miyagi dives out with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Mio and Miyagi appear to the the legal wrestlers as Mio hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Miyagi hides behind the referee before booting Mio in the face, she goes off the ropes but Mio rolls her up for two as they trade flash pins. Mio tags in Chisako, cutter by Chisako to Miyagi but Miyagi holds down the rope when Chisako charges and Chisako falls out of the ring. Miyagi goes out after her and throws Chisako into the ring post, she gets a push cart and gets on it while Heidi pushes her around. Whatever they had planned didn’t work as Chisako hits Miyagi with a chair, Chisako slides Miyagi back into the ring and hits a missile dropkick. Another dropkick by Chisako and she covers Miyagi for a two count. Miyagi and Chisako trade shots, Chisako goes off the ropes but Miyagi boots her in the head. Kong comes in and hits Chisako with a paint can, she lariats both Mio and Alex and then smacks Hiroyo to the mat for good measure. Miyagi tries to boot Chisako but kicks Kong by accident, Kong forgives her as with Miyagi they hit a double shoulderblock onto Chisako. Kong tries to lariat Chisako but hits Miyagi by accident, Chisako goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp onto Miyagi for a two count. She quickly goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and she picks up the three count! Chisako, Matsumoto, Momono, and Alex Lee are the winners.

Even though I love many of the wrestlers in this match, it was just too clipped and disjointed to really get into. They focused on the right wrestlers with the clipping as Miyagi and Chisako are both great, but the match just had too many wrestlers as they didn’t even show Sammii doing anything that I can recall. Just filler, which is a shame since I’d have loved to have seen some of them with a bigger spotlight.

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Iwata

They tie-up to start, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes but she gives a mostly clean break. They trade strikes, dropkick by Mika but Hana dropkicks her back. Hana avoids Mika’s dropkick and stomps on her, scoop slam by Hana and she covers Mika for two. Crab hold by Hana but Mika gets to the ropes for the break, Hana stomps on Mika’s back and kicks her repeatedly as Mika starts getting up. Mika does make it back to her feet but Hana boots her in the face, Muta Lock by Hana but she lets go after a moment and stomps on her some more. Hana goes back to the crab hold but Mika gets to the ropes, Irish whip by Hana but Mika hits a face crusher followed by a superkick for a two count. Mika goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick, boot by Hana and she hits a second while Mika is against the ropes for a two count cover. Hana applies the Ground Manjikatame but Mika wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Elbows by Mika and she kicks Hana into the corner, jumping knee by Mika but Hana boots her in the face in return. Running knee by Mika and she hits the Codebreaker, but she is too hurt to capitalize. They both slowly get up, elbows by Hana but Mika delivers a knee followed by a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. High kick by Mika but Hana grabs her from behind and applies the sleeper hold, but Mika gets to the ropes.

Hana goes for a boot but Mika avoids it and rolls up Hana, she then applies the Rolling Clutch but she gets another two count. Boots and stomps by Hana but Mika delivers a superkick, Mika goes up top but Hana dropkicks her in the stomach as she dives off. Delayed vertical suplex by Hana and she puts Mika in a cross armbreaker, but Mike gets a toe on the ropes to get out of the hold. Hana goes up top but Mika elbows her before she can jump off, Mika joins Hana and she delivers a superplex. Mika and Hana trade elbows while they are on their knees, high kick by Mika but Hana headbutts her. Hana goes up top but Mika avoids the missile dropkick, Hana applies a seated armbar and reverts it into a cross armbreaker, but Mika is too close to the ropes and gets the break. High kick by Mika, she picks up Hana and nails a Buzzsaw Kick, but Hana barely gets a shoulder up. Mika drags up Hana and hits another high kick, Triangle Kick out of the corner by Mika but Hana grabs the bottom rope to break up the cover. One final Buzzsaw Kick by Mika, and she picks up the three count! Mika Iwata is the winner.

I have some mixed feelings about this match. I love the intensity they have and it feels like a hated feud and not just two wrestlers going through their usual routine, which is always a plus. Hana’s offense has expanded a lot, which is great, but the problem is that not all of her offense really fits together. She threw a ton of boots, stomped on Mika’s back a bit, went for her back with crab holds but by the end was going after her arm with armbreakers before going back to the missile dropkick to try to win. So it just didn’t feel very focused and connected, while Mika’s offense was more straight forward. Both are entertaining wrestlers and their future is bright, it just may have been a bit too much time than they are able to fill right now at their level. Overall a fun match but not without its flaws, I look forward to them continuing to grow not only individually but as a feud as well as I think they will do even better down the road.  Mildly Recommended

Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura

They lock knuckles to begin as they feel each other out, they end up on the mat and trade holds but eventually reach a stalemate. Meiko slings Io to the mat but Io reverses things and takes Meiko down with a side headlock. Snapmare by Io and she puts Meiko in a stretch hold, but Meiko reverses it into a stretch hold of her own. Meiko puts Io in a wrist hold and kicks her repeatedly in the chest, knee by Meiko and she covers Io for two. Scoop slam by Io and she hits a double knee, Io picks up Meiko and throws her into the corner, Meiko jumps on on the turnbuckles but Io dropkicks her out of the ring down to the floor. Io goes to do a tope suicida but Meiko elbows her before she can complete the move, slingshot footstomp by Meiko and she applies a seated armbar, but Io grabs the ropes to get out of it. Meiko goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but Io moves and dropkicks Meiko, armtrap crossface by Io and she knees Meiko in the face. Io kicks Meiko into the corner and hits a double knee, she charges Meiko but Meiko catches her with a lariat. Rebound armdrag by Meiko and she puts Io in a STF, Meiko switches it to an armtrap crossface but Io eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Meiko slaps Io but Io slaps her back, Irish whip by Meiko but Io flips away from her and hits a dropkick. Meiko falls out of the ring, Io gets a running start and dives out onto her with a tope suicida. Io slides Meiko into the ring and hits the Tiger Feint Kick, swandive missile dropkick by Io and she covers Meiko for two. Io goes for a kick but Meiko blocks it and applies a sleeper, Io gets out of it but Meiko drops her with a backdrop suplex.

Another backdrop suplex by Meiko and she drops her with a DDT, cartwheel kneedrop by Meiko and she goes for the Death Valley Bomb, but Io flips out of it and hits a palm strike. Package German by Io, but it gets two. Running double knee by Io in the corner, she goes up top but Meiko gets her knees up on the moonsault attempt. They both are slow to recover, they trade elbows back on their feet until Meiko nails Io with a heel kick. Meiko picks up Io and nails a high kick, another kick to the head by Meiko and Io falls out of the ring to the floor. Meiko joins her and kicks Io repeatedly in the chest before sliding her back in, but Io swings around the bottom rope and kicks Meiko back down onto the floor. Io goes up top and delivers a moonsault onto Meiko, Io returns to the ring and waits for Meiko to recover. Meiko beats the count and gets back in the ring, elbows by Io and she hits a series of palm strikes. Double underhook facebuster by Io, but her cover only gets two. Io goes towards the corner but Meiko grabs her leg, Pele Kick by Meiko and she goes for the Death Valley Bomb, but Io slides down her back and hits a tombstone piledriver. Io goes up top but Meiko kicks her leg out form under her and hits another Pele Kick, Death Valley Bomb by Meiko but Io barely kicks out of the pin in time. Scorpion Rising by Meiko, but the bell rings just as she makes the cover as the time expires. The match is a Draw.

A fantastically structured and executed match, it doesn’t get much better than Meiko Satomura and Io Shirai going at it. There was so much to love here, everything they did made sense and had a purpose. The know each other so well that there were constant blocks and reversals, as Meiko was hell bent on Io Shirai never hitting the moonsault as she knew that may lead to her demise. But each time she blocked the moonsault she did it a different way, so it never felt repetitive. And Io in turn got out of the Death Valley Bomb twice, but after the third time she was well on the way to losing if she hadn’t been saved by the bell. Even though it went to a Draw it didn’t feel like they were stretching out the match to get to the Draw, which happens sometimes, and it stayed captivating from bell to bell. I hope we don’t have to wait another two years to watch these two wrestle again, they have great chemistry and deliver every time.  Highly Recommended

(c) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Ayako Hamada
Sendai Girls’ World Championship

After your traditional feeling out process (that lasted a bit longer than I was expecting), Ayako works a headlock until Chihiro gets out of it and applies a headlock of her own. Ayako gets out of it and they both go for shoulderblocks, but neither can knock the other down. Ayako finally wins the shoulderblock battle, she picks up Chihiro but Chihiro returns the favor and knocks Ayako to the mat. Back up they trade elbows, double underhook suplex by Chihiro and she covers Ayako for two. Chihiro applies a stretch hold but Ayako gets out of it, stomps by Chihiro and she shoulder tackles Ayako into the corner. Irish whip by Chihiro but Ayako avoids her charge, they trade waistlocks until Ayako slaps Chihiro in the corner. High kick by Ayako but Chihiro hits a body avalanche, she goes for a slam but Ayako blocks it. Chihiro tosses down Ayako and hits a pair of running somersault sentons, front fireman’s carry slam by Chihiro but Ayako avoids her somersault senton from the turnbuckles. Kick to the head by Ayako and she kicks Chihiro some more, but Chihiro kicks out of the cover. Ayako applies a short armbar but Chihiro gets a foot on the bottom rope, enzuigiri by Ayako but Chihiro fires back with a spear.

Chihiro gets Ayako up and hits the waterwheel drop, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the somersault senton for a two count. Chihiro charges Ayako but Ayako holds down the ropes and Chihiro tumbles out of the ring, Ayako gets on the apron but Chihiro grabs her before she can perform the Asai Moonsault and pulls her down to the floor with her. Ayako throws Chihiro into the ringside chairs, they both get up onto the apron and trade strikes until Ayako slams Chihiro’s head into the apron. Chihiro ends up back in the ring, Ayako goes up top but Chihiro joins her and hits a powerslam to the mat. Chihiro drags up Ayako and lariats her in the back, but Ayako hits a back kick followed by a lariat of her own. Ayako goes off the ropes but Chihiro levels her with a lariat, Chihiro picks up Ayako and hits another lariat followed by two more for a two count cover. Chihiro picks up Ayako but Ayako blocks the suplex attempt, lariat by Chihiro and she finally nails the release German. Chihiro goes off the ropes but Ayako catches her with the Samoan Driver. Chihiro recovers first and goes for another suplex, but Ayako lands on her feet and connects with a strike combination. Heel kick by Ayako, she covers Chihiro but Chihiro barely kicks out. AP Cross by Ayako, and she holds down Chihiro for the three count! Ayako Hamada is the new champion!

There was something missing here to put it over the edge to being a match I can really recommend. The initial ‘feeling out’ section just felt like it went on forever, I can get it in storyline that they hadn’t fought each other in a singles match so they were being careful, it just wasn’t overly interesting. My bigger issue is that it just felt like Chihiro went down too easy. Unless someone has a normal flash way of winning, I prefer if the champion is a bit harder to beat than Chihiro was here, not that Ayako didn’t hit a notable series of moves but the end stretch didn’t feel long or hot enough for such a big match. Chihiro is still growing as a wrestler and I see no issue with her losing to a respected seasoned veteran (well, Ayako would get stripped of the title less than a month later but that’s another story), but she seemed over-matched here which was an interesting dynamic. The middle portion of the match was entertaining though and Chihiro is a beast, the beginning and end just left room for improvement. A good match, but it never went beyond that which is disappointing for a title match. Mildly Recommended

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