Event: NOMADS’ Freelance Summit
Date: May 20th, 2022
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 470
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko

One of the more interesting developments in the last six months or so in the world of Joshi is wrestlers creating Freelancer stables that also put on their own events. We have COLOR’S, PROMINANCE, Rebel X Enemy, and here we get to watch my personal favorite: NOMADS’. NOMADS’ comprises of four wrestlers: Natsu Sumire, Maya Yukihi, Rina Yamashita, and Miyuki Takase. All are great. Course, as Freelancers, they are welcome and encouraged to wrestle all around the world on their own schedule, but they work together behind the scenes and will occasionally put on their own Freelance shows. Like this one, which is the first! As all four are very respected on the scene, they have a fair amount of influence to bring in the top Freelancers for the event. Particularly special about this card, besides the surprise match from Natsu Sumire, is the return of Kaho Kobayashi! Kaho is my stealth favorite and has been out of action for a year, so its great to see her back. Here is the full card:

• Exhibition Match: Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
• Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma
• Hikari Shimizu, Rina Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Maika Ozaki, and Makoto
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou
• Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

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

Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
Exhibition Match

Natsu attacks Takase before the match starts and stomps on her, Natsu picks up Takase but Takase blocks the slam attempt and hits a snapmare. Another snapmare by Takase and a third, she puts Natsu in a bodyscissors and rolls her around the ring. She eventually lets go, scoop slam by Takase and she covers Natsu for two. Takase puts Natsu in the corner, she tries to pull her back out but Natsu holds on for dear life. Natsu asks for a breather and gets some water, the referee keeps Takase at bay while Natsu composes herself. Natsu finally recovers, she throws Takase into the opposite corner and hits a back elbow. Natsu calls for and attempts her famous Bronco Buster, but Takase slides under it and cradles Natsu for two. Takase stomps Natsu, Irish whip by Takase and Natsu collapses near the ropes. Dropkick by Takase, she gets Natsu on her shoulders but Natsu slides off and hits a jumping neckdrop. Natsu boots Takase in the face twice while she is against the ropes, cover by Natsu but it gets two. Natsu picks up Takase, Takase chops her and goes off the ropes but Natsu delivers a big boot. Natsu goes for the cover but the bell rings as she does so, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

A five minute exhibition is clearly going to end in a Draw, but it was still great to see Natsu in the right place (both mind and body) to wrestle again. Natsu was never a high end wrestler and wouldn’t have beaten Takase anyway, but she is entertaining and has the charisma that not many wrestlers possess. Natsu has a lot of fans around the world that appreciate the qualities she brings to the table, as she is a fun change of pace that has comedic elements to her character but isn’t a full-blown comedy wrestler that is limited in what she can do. A fun way to kick off the show and it would be hard to complain about an unadvertised match anyway, nothing but positives to take away from a surprise Natsu Sumire match even if it was short with an obvious conclusion.

Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma

They both hype the crowd before Momoka decides to attack Tae from behind, they circle each other before tying up. Momoka gets Tae to the mat and twists her hair before throwing her into the corner. She gets a… bubble maker and holds it into Tae’s face, spraying her with bubbles. Momoka picks up Tae and slams her face into the mat, she gets the bubble maker again along with her plastic flower and sits on Tae’s back while spraying bubbles everywhere and choking her. I’m not really sure how to describe it so that’s the best I got. Momoka puts her toys away and Irish whips her, the referee decides to help and assists Momoka in kicking Tae in the chest. Momoka throws the referee to the mat before jumping off his back, hitting a footstomp on Tae for a two count. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae avoids the dropkick attempt and hits one of her own. Tae snaps Momoka’s arm, she picks up Momoka but Momoka elbows her and the two trade blows. Momoka kicks Tae in the shin and flips off everyone, but Tae kicks her in the shin back. Gut punch by Momoka, they do some shenanigans around the referee before Momoka hits a big spear on Tae for a two count. Momoka goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets two as well. Irish whip by Momoka but Tae blocks it, she flings Momoka to the mat and puts her in an armbar. Momoka tries to get a hand on the ropes but Tae captures that arm too, Momoka keeps inching however and gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Tae picks up Momoka and gets her back in the Fujiwara Armbar, she applies the Tae Lock and Momoka has no choice but to submit! Tae Honma is the winner.

I think this is the first full match I’ve seen of Momoka, I like her methods. She is a little goofy but she can wrestle, and she got serious when she needed to. Fun personality, solid wrestling skills, maybe one to keep an eye on if she finds a better opportunity to shine down the road. Tae is really good of course and for a sub-ten match this was pretty entertaining as they kept things interesting and Tae’s focus on the arm was consistent. Nothing that will blow you away, but for an opener not given a lot of time I think it delivered.  Mildly Recommended

Hikari Shimizu, Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto

COLOR’S attack before the bell rings, they stack their opponents in the corner but the veterans soon take back over and isolate Amikura in the ring. They pose on Amikura, Shimizu and Yuko briefly pose with them before they help their tag partner out of the situation. Yoneyama is isolated in the ring as all three of COLOR’S run over her before hitting a triple body press. Things settle down with Yuko and Yoneyama as the legal wrestlers, Yoneyama grabs Yuko by the nose and chops it before tagging in Maika. Lariat by Maika in the corner and she hits an elbow drop for two. Maika puts Yuko in a camel clutch but it is quickly broken up, Yuko then puts Maika in a camel clutch but Maika muscles out of it. Irish whip by Maika but Yuko hits a dropkick and tags Amikura. Amikura and Maika take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over with no luck, kick by Maika but Amikura clubs her in the chest and finally shoulderblocks her to the mat. Amikura picks up Maika and chops her a few times, she gets Maika into the corner but Maika fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock, giving her time to tag Makoto.

Big boot by Makoto in the corner and she hits a double kneedrop for two. Makoto picks up Amikura, Amikura gets away but Amikura missing the senton attempt and Makoto is back on offense. Makoto goes off the ropes but Amikura clubs her and hits a twisting senton for two. She makes the tag to Shimizu, Shimizu comes in the ring with a diving crossbody which also gets a two count. Shimizu picks up Makoto, they go back and forth until Makoto blocks a Shimizu cradle attempt and hits a heel drop. Double underhook suplex by Makoto, but Shimizu kicks out of the cover. Makoto kicks Shimizu around but Amikura catches her with a powerslam, Shimizu then hits a footstomp off of Amikura’s back. Shimizu picks up Makoto, knee by Shimizu but Makoto drills her with a boot. Makoto picks up Shimizu but Shimizu slides away, superkick by Shimizu but Makoto delivers a spear. She goes off the ropes but Shimizu slams her, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They roll to their own corners and tag in Yuko and Yoneyama, shoulderblock by Yuko to Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits Mongolian Chops.

Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Yuko hits a scoop slam, she tries to go off the ropes but Maika hits her from the apron. Maika comes in, Yuko fights them off briefly but ultimately Maika and Yoneyama run through some double team moves successfully. Yoneyama gets on the second turnbuckle but hits her before she can jump off, Amikura gets Yoneyama on her shoulders and puts her upside down in the opposite corner. All three COLOR’S members attack Yoneyama, Yuko covers Yoneyama but it gets two. Yuko picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama cradles her, Yuko gets a Dragon Sleeper applied before hitting the Final Cut, but the cover is broken up. All six wrestlers end up in the ring, the veterans get the upper hand and Yoneyama cradles Yuko for the three count! Yoneyama, Ozaki, and Makoto are the winners.

This was a little rough around the edges but not actively bad. There were bound to be some issues here – the COLOR’S team are generally well trained and solid enough wrestlers, but they aren’t high end wrestlers either and sometimes there were some awkward moments. Facing off against new opponents no doubt didn’t help, as the chemistry wasn’t really there. The veteran team clearly had the experience edge but they didn’t really “control” the action as they probably should have, with the exception of Makoto who is pretty entertaining. The hot ending helped and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive, but if this match wasn’t on the show at all I don’t think it would have hurt anything as it just came across as midcard fodder.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi

Kaho kicks Hiroyo during the handshake and starts on Hiroyo’s wrist, headlock by Kaho but Hiroyo Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Hiroyo goes off the ropes as does Kaho, jumping shoulderblock by Kaho but Hiroyo stays up and knocks over Kaho with her own shoulderblock. Kaho kips up and hits an armdrag off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring. Kaho goes off the ropes to do a dive but rolls back into the ring instead before posing to the crowd. Hiroyo seems annoyed as she returns to the ring, front necklock by Kaho but Hiroyo blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and puts her across the second rope in the corner, she charges in and knees Kaho in the midsection. Double kneedrop by Hiroyo and she covers Kaho for two. Hiroyo stomps on Kaho and chops her in the corner, she chops Kaho around the ring as Kaho takes the abuse and asks for more. Kaho eventually Flair Flops, Hiroyo approaches Kaho but Kaho cradles her for two. Dropkick by Kaho and she stomps on Hiroyo’s foot repeatedly, Hiroyo blocks a slam attempt but Kaho wiggles away from her and dropkicks Hiroyo in the arm. Kaho gets Hiroyo on her shoulders but collapses under the weight, both wrestlers slowly get up and Kaho knocks over Hiroyo with a dropkick.

Another dropkick by Kaho and Hiroyo falls out of the ring, Kaho goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Hiroyo with a plancha suicida. Kaho slides Hiroyo into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a missile dropkick for two. Kaho picks up Hiroyo, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo blocks the cradle and hits a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and the two trade elbows, Kaho goes to stomp on Hiroyo’s foot but Hiroyo does so first and slams Kaho face-first into the mat. Reverse double kneedrop out of the corner by Hiroyo, but Kaho kicks out of the cover. Kaho fires up but Hiroyo elbows her, she goes for the Liger Bomb but Kaho gets away from her and hits a hurricanrana for two. La Magistral by Kaho, but that gets a two as well. Kick to the face by Kaho and she hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Hiroyo kicks out. Kaho goes off the ropes but Hiroyo levels her with a back elbow, but Kaho rolls through the cover. Kaho goes for the 120% Schoolboy but Hiroyo rolls through it, elbows by Kaho but Hiroyo elbows her back. Step-up Enzuigiri by Kaho and she goes off the ropes, but Hiroyo levels her with a lariat. Hiroyo picks up Kaho and nails the Liger Bomb, cover by Hiroyo and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner!

While the match wasn’t long, it certainly hit all the right notes. Kaho hasn’t lost a beat as she really brought it to Hiroyo, she couldn’t match her strength so instead she focused on speed and wit. In the end, Hiroyo’s power was too much and she put away the smaller wrestler, but Kaho had several close nearfalls so it was certainly not a lopsided affair. Kaho using the Flair Flop as a possum move was great as it made me go from “well that was kind of goofy” to respecting her methodology. I loved that even though she was the higher ranked wrestler that Hiroyo still respected Kaho’s finisher (120% Schoolboy) by not kicking out of it, leaving it as a move that Kaho still had in her back pocket up to the end to get a flash win. Fast paced and entertaining from bell to bell, a typical Kaho match that may not end up being the match everyone remembers from the show but a really fun contribution to the event as we roll onto the big matches.  Recommended

ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou

ASUKA and Anou start the match, they do a pose off as they compete for the crowd’s attention, but that doesn’t last long as ASUKA hits Anou with a hard elbow. Anou elbows her back and they trade shots, headbutt by ASUKA but Anou avoids her boot and hits one of her own. Anou throws ASUKA into the corner but ASUKA hops on the top turnbuckle, leading to Anou backing off. She tags in SAKI while Yuu also tags in, Yuu and SAKI lock up and Yuu pushes SAKI into the corner. SAKI responds to her kindness with elbows, hard shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI avoids her senton and hits a boot. She tags Anou but stays in the ring, they try to double team Yuu but Yuu hits a double crossbody on both of them. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA chokes Anou with her boot in the corner with some help from Makoto who is at ringside. Sliding kick by ASUKA to Anou, and she covers her for two. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou catches her leg and hits a dragon screw. Anou starts on ASUKA’s leg but Yuu breaks things up, ASUKA picks up Anou and tags Yuu in. Yuu picks up Anou and hits a running elbow in the corner, cross armbreaker attempt by Yuu as SAKI tries to help her partner but ASUKA holds her back. Anou makes it to the ropes anyway, elbow drop by Yuu but Anou bridges out of the cover. Yuu tags ASUKA, ASUKA kicks Anou around the ring before putting her in Paradise Lock and posing on her.

Yuu sits on Anou which actually gets Anou out of the Paradise Lock, annoying ASUKA. ASUKA charges Anou but Anou rolls away and hits a step-up enzuigiri, giving her time to tag SAKI. SAKI kicks ASUKA and hits a vertical suplex, SAKI knees ASUKA in the corner and hits a Reverse Splash for two. SAKI picks up ASUKA but ASUKA pokes her in the eyes and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Yuu, shoulderblock by Yuu but SAKI lands in her corner and tags Anou. Missile dropkick by Anou, she goes for a slam but Yuu blocks it. SAKI comes in to help but Yuu hits a vertical suplex on both of them, Yuu puts Anou in a crab hold but Anou gets to the ropes for the break. Senton by Yuu and she covers Anou for a two count. Yuu gets up on the second turnbuckle but SAKI grabs her from the apron, running elbow by Anou and she joins Yuu. Frankensteiner attempt by Anou but Yuu catches her, Anou recovers and hits the Frankensteiner anyway followed by a sliding kick for two. Anou tags SAKI, SAKI goes to suplex Yuu but she can’t get her up. SAKI gets Yuu to the mat and puts her in an armtrap crossface, but Yuu gets a boot on the ropes for the break. SAKI goes off the ropes but Yuu tosses her to the mat, SAKI charges Yuu but Yuu hits a jumping crossbody. Yuu charges SAKI and delivers a cannonball, cover by Yuu but SAKI gets a shoulder up.

Yuu picks up SAKI but Anou runs in and boots her in the face, SAKI drives Yuu’s head into the mat and both wrestlers tag out. ASUKA and Anou trade boots, Anou gets ASUKA’s back and drops her with a release German. Anou picks up ASUKA and hits a step-up enzuigiri, superkick by ASUKA and she hits a second one for a two count. SAKI comes in but ASUKA hits a springboard moonsault off the ropes onto both opponents, with both falling out of the ring. Yuu gets in the ring, she drops down and rolls out onto both SAKI and Anou. ASUKA goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a moonsault, but SAKI and Anou both move out of the way. Anou and SAKI attempt to double team ASUKA but it backfires, and ASUKA hits Anou repeatedly with chairs. Anou regains the advantage as the brawl at ringside continues, ASUKA and Anou end up in the crowd while SAKI and Yuu follow. The referee eventually figures he has given them enough leeway returning to the ring and calls for the bell. The match is a Double Count Out.

While I am not a big fan of moderately random matches on shows like this not having a conclusive ending, this was still pretty good. I do think there are storyline reasons where count outs, draws, etc. are fine, but as a general rule if the match doesn’t have a *reason* for a non-ending I’d rather it have one, it just gives fans a more satisfying feeling. I am not sure if we’ll ever see a pay-off from this and if we don’t, what was the point? That aside, the action was solid but something was missing. There were multiple stories going on (ASUKA and Yuu not always getting along, Saori/ASUKA hating each other, random limb work?) but it didn’t really mesh into a cohesive tag match. The pieces were there, they just never really joined them together so the match didn’t have a lot of flow to it. Still a good match as these four couldn’t have a bad match if they tried, but a little disappointing as I feel it could have been even better.  Mildly Recommended

Maya Yukihi and Rina Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Takase and Maya start the match and start off trading holds, snapmare by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back. Takase wants more so Maya kicks her again, more kicks by Maya but Takase ducks the PK. Irish whip by Maya and but Takase hits an armdrag, kick to the chest by Maya but Takase kips up and chops Maya in the chest. They end up in a stalemate and both tag out, bringing in Ryo and Rina. Ryo and Rina lock knuckles, headlock by Ryo and she gets Rina to the mat. Rina gets back up and reverses the hold, they try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks with Rina eventually sending Ryo down. Rina knocks Takase off the apron as Maya comes in the ring, and they both attack Ryo while she is tied up in the ropes. Rina tags in Maya, kicks by Maya but Ryo elbows her back and the two trade blows. Maya gets the better of things, Rina returns and they go for a suplex but Ryo blocks it. Ryo knocks over both of them and stacks her opponents in the corner, lots of chops by Ryo and she hits a lariat on Maya. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. She tags Takase but Maya kicks Takase and hits a backbreaker. Bootscrapes by Maya and she kicks Takase in the back, they trade strikes until Takase gets Maya against the ropes.

Lariat by Takase but Maya ducks the next one and hits a kick combination. Trip by Maya and she delivers a sliding kick, she tags in Rina and Rina lariats Takase in the corner. Scoop slam by Rina, Takase gets back up and Rina hits a hard elbow. Takase chops her in return but Rina hits another elbow and goes for a Sleeper. Takase runs into the corner to get out of the hold, Rina goes off the ropes but Takase catches her with a DDT followed by a cutter. Irish whip by Takase out of the corner, reversed, but Takase rebounds off the turnbuckle with a missile dropkick for two. Takase goes for a suplex but Rina easily reverses it into one of her own, she goes off the ropes but Takase hits a powerslam for a two count. She tags in Ryo, Rina and Ryo both connect with strikes until Ryo drops Rina with an overhead suplex. Rina quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex, sliding lariat by Rina and she covers Takase for two. Lariat by Rina, and she covers Ryo for two. Rina picks up Ryo but Ryo slides away and both wrestlers lariat each other to the mat. Rina tags in Maya, Maya goes to the top turnbuckle and comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Jumping knee by Maya and she kicks Ryo in the chest for a quick two count. Maya rolls Ryo to the mat and applies a submission hold, but Ryo gets a toe on the ropes to force a break. Maya goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her boot and Takase levels Maya with a spear.

Dropkick by Takase and she assists Ryo with a side slam, Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle as Takase hits a Kamikaze. Diving legdrop by Ryo, but Rina breaks up the cover. All four wrestlers trade running strikes, Rina lariats Maya by accident but on the second attempt she successfully lariats Ryo and Takase (and knocks out Maya in the process). Maya recovers and hits a dual superkick to Ryo, Rina goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Running knee by Maya, but Takase breaks up the cover. Maya charges Ryo but Ryo moves, strike combination by Maya but Ryo hits a hard lariat. Maya pops up just to eat another lariat, Ryo charges Maya but Maya kicks her to the mat. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, and she covers Ryo for two. Sliding knee by Maya, but again Takase breaks up the cover. Maya picks up Ryo but Ryo blocks the Tiger Driver, high kick by Maya but Ryo blocks it again. Uranage by Ryo and she hits a spear, picking up a two count. Ryo goes off the ropes and delivers a hard lariat, she drags Maya back to her feet and nails the Hot Limit for the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Miyuki Takase are the winners!

One can’t help but compare this match to the one that came before it, as both had Freelance tag teams and went about the same amount of time. This match was much better, and a number of things helped it. First, both of the teams wrestled like they were a real team, lots of team work and fluid setups that kept the match interesting. It also had a real ending, which I appreciate, and there was more of a sense of urgency with all four of them. It didn’t hurt that Maya really brought her A Game, she is really underappreciated as far as in-ring ability goes and she was firing on all cylinders here. Ryo was more grounded, which I liked, and both Rina and Miyuki looked great as well. Just four talented wrestlers beating the hell out of each other for twenty minutes, what is not to love? Easily the best match on the card and worth watching, its going to slot below other matches in 2022 that maybe had more of a backstory and emotion behind it but as far as in-ring action goes it doesn’t get much better than this.  Highly Recommended

The post NOMADS’ “Freelance Summit” on 5/20/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1101 ~ Yokohama Ribbon 2021
Date: February 23rd, 2021
Location: Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 150
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on Nico Nico PPV

It has been awhile since I checked in with Ice Ribbon, so let’s see what they are up to. Like with all promotions, 2020 was challenging for Ice Ribbon but they pushed through to still put on a lot of events and grew their International fan base in the process as they made most of their shows easily accessible. They continued that momentum in 2021 and started to have PPVs more often, which this event was, on Nico Nico. There is only one title on the line on this show, with Tsukushi Haruka taking on Thekla in the main event, but all the major wrestlers in the promotion are present. Here is the full card:

• Akane Fujita, Risa Sera, and Yappy vs. Banny Oikawa, Hiragi Kurumi, and Tae Honma
• Hamuko Hoshi vs. Miku Aono vs. Mochi Miyagi
• Rina Yamashita and Yuuki Mashiro vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki
• Maika Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Ram Kaicho vs. Matsuya Uno, Totoro Satsuki, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• IW-19 Championship: Tsukushi Haruka vs. Thekla

All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it. As this aired on PPV, all matches will be shown in full.

Akane Fujita, Risa Sera, and Yappy vs. Oikawa, Kurumi, and Honma

Team Yappy attacks before the match and triple team their opponents, as they all stack on Tae and Banny for a two count cover. Risa and Banny stay in as the legal wrestlers as Risa puts Banny in the Rocking Horse until Tae and Kurumi break it up. Double knee to the back by Risa and she covers Banny for two. Risa tags Akane, Akane throws Banny into the corner and hits a running shoulderblock. Elbow drop by Akane and she covers Banny for a two count. Akane tags Yappy but Banny throws Yappy into the corner, Banny charges Yappy but Yappy bumps her back and chokes her while sitting on the top turnbuckle. Yappy sits on Banny, but Banny kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Yappy but Banny dropkicks her and makes the hot tag to Kurumi. Kurumi shoulderblocks Yappy, Akane and Risa come in to help but Kurumi throws them into each other. They try to knock over Kurumi but Kurumi hits a double lariat, she goes back to Yappy but Yappy blocks the powerbomb attempt and hits a back bodydrop. Leg drops by Yappy and she covers Kurumi for two. Yappy tags Risa, running elbow by Risa in the corner but Kurumi blocks the suplex attempt and the two trade elbows. Kurumi jumps on Risa’s back but Risa hits a Schwein for a two count cover. Risa picks up Kurumi but Kurumi throws her into the corner, body avalanche by Kurumi and she dropkicks Risa in the head.

Kurumi tags Tae, Banny comes in too and they double team Risa. Tae puts Risa in a kneelock but Risa gets to the ropes for the break, kicks to the leg by Tae and she dropkicks Risa in the knee. Risa gets away from her and puts Tae in an elevated crab hold, she flips Tae up and powerbombs her in the corner before hitting a running double knee strike. Reverse double knee drop by Risa out of the corner, Akane is tagged in and she joins Risa in shoulderblocking Tae. Akane slams Tae to the mat and covers her, but it gets two. Tae gets Akane down with a Fujiwara Armbar but Akane gets a foot on the ropes for the break, DDT by Tae and she covers Akane for a two count. Tae tags Banny, dropkick by Banny in the corner and she applies a modified armbar. Banny switches it to a cross armbreaker attempt but Akane gets into the ropes for the break. Banny goes up top but Risa hits her from the apron, giving Akane time to recover. Akane gets Banny on her shoulders but Banny slides off. Akane sits on her however, she goes for a cover but Tae dropkicks Akane to break it up. Armtrap crossface by Banny to Akane, but Yappy breaks it up. Banny goes off the ropes but Akane hits a shoulderblock, Yappy runs in with a seated senton before Risa hits a diving double knee drop off the second rope. Texas Cloverleaf by Akane, but Kurumi breaks it up with a superkick. Banny picks up Akane and kicks her in the head, Akane fires back with a shoulderblock however and covers Banny for two. Powerslam by Akane and she puts Banny in a cross-arm Camel Clutch, leading to the tap out! Risa Sera, Akane Fujita, and Yappy are the winners.

A generally inoffensive opener. Not everyone in this match is a great wrestler… not naming names so that Ice Ribbon Twitter doesn’t come after me but at times the action dragged a little bit and there were some awkward moments. Risa Sera shined the brightest, which is no surprise since she is so good, and Tae looked solid when she was in the ring. Nothing memorable in the slightest but not the worst way to begin an event.

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Miku Aono vs. Mochi Miyagi

All three circle to start, Miku is singled out first by the friends Mochi and Hamuko as they double team her in the corner. Double Irish whip to Miku but Miku rolls away and does the Hamuko pose on the mat. Mochi and Hamuko get on the mat and pose as well, they trade schoolboy covers but no one gets the three count and they end up posing again. Mochi and Hamuko go back to double teaming Miku before turning attention to each other, they both try to shoulderblock each other over until Hamuko finally sends Mochi to the mat. Crab hold by Hamuko but Miku interrupts things and trades strikes with Mochi. Dropkick by Miku in the corner and she kicks Mochi in the back a few times. Crab hold by Miku but Hamuko breaks it up, Hamuko throws Miku into the corner and rubs her belly on her. Miku goes for a scoop slam by Hamuko blocks it, Miku eventually delivers the slam anyway and applies a leg submission hold. Mochi helps as she rakes at Hamuko’s face, they both release Hamuko before Mochi attacks Miku from behind and covers both of them for two.

Hamuko recovers and she and Mochi both hit body avalanches on Miku, Mochi slams Hamuko onto Miku and both wrestlers try to cover Miku with no luck. Hamuko and Mochi push each other which gives Miku time to cover and hit a lariat on both of them. High kick by Miku on Hamuko and she lariats Mochi for a two count. Suplex by Miku to Mochi, but Hamuko breaks it up. Miku and Hamuko wait for Mochi to get up and both hit lariats, they go for a double vertical suplex but Mochi blocks it and DDTs both of them. Mochi positions Miku and Hamuko near the corner and goes for a Reverse Splash, but Hamuko moves and Mochi only ends up hitting Miku. Footstomp by Mochi to Miku, but Hamuko breaks up the cover. Body avalanche by Hamuko to Mochi and she nails the Shining Onaka for a two count. Hamuko goes off the ropes but Mochi hits the Lou Thesz Press, also getting a two count. Miku runs in but she gets a Lou Thesz Press as well, Mochi goes back to Hamuko but Hamuko reverses the press into a cradle for two. Onna no Shuunen (modified cradle) by Hamuko to Mochi, and she picks up the three count! Hamuko Hoshi is the winner.

My issues with Hamuko have probably been stated enough – she’s a solid enough wrestler but the blurry line between comedy and non-comedy makes it hard for me to take her seriously. Mochi is a hair better but not by much, so the ceiling for their matches for me is “mindless fun.” This match didn’t even reach that level as with the three way match rules it was just random offense with some mixed in flash pins with little of substance. I wouldn’t necessarily say the match was “bad” but it definitely was meaningless.

Rina Yamashita and Mashiro vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki

Rina and Suzu start the match, Suzu works a headlock but Rina Irish whips out of it and avoids Suzu’s dropkick. Headlock by Rina, Suzu gets out of it but Rina hits a hard shoulderblock. Rina poses which gives Suzu time to kick her from behind, and both wrestlers tag out. Saori and Mashiro circle each other, Mashiro asks for a knucklelock and gets it, which quickly backfires. Saori dances on Mashiro’s hands and throws her into the corner, Irish whip by Saori and she elbows Mashiro in the corner. Rina runs in and attacks Saori from behind, Rina jumps on Mashiro’s back but Mashiro collapses. Saori stumps on Rina and goes back to Mashiro, putting her in a chinlock. Stretch hold by Saori, Rina comes in but Suzu takes care of her. Saori lets go of Mashiro and tags Suzu, dropkick to the back by Suzu and she covers Mashiro for two. Suzu slams Mashiro repeatedly in the corner before driving her into the mat, she picks up Mashiro but Mashiro blocks the German suplex and dropkicks her in the back. This gives her time to tag in Rina, Suzu kicks Rina as Saori runs in but Rina suplexes both of them. Rina stomps on Suzu and goes for a suplex, but Suzu blocks it and elbows Rina in the chest. Rina elbows her back as they trade shots, Suzu goes for a high kick but Rina blocks it. Rina kicks Suzu in the head, cover by Rina but it gets a two count. Rina picks up Suzu but Suzu hits a jawbreaker and dropkicks Rina in the face for a two count. Irish whip by Suzu and she hits a spear, but that gets a two as well.

Suzu tags in Saori, Saori goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Saori charges Rina but Rina moves, Rina ducks the enzuigiri but Saori lands on her feet when Rina goes for a backdrop suplex. Anou boots Rina in the head before Suzu connects with a sliding dropkick from the apron, cover by Saori but it gets two. Rina kicks Saori but Saori delivers the enzuigiri, Rina fires back with a hard lariat however and both are down on the mat. Rina manages to tag Mashiro, Mashiro dropkicks Saori a few times and covers her for two. Mashiro gets on the second turnbuckle but Saori hits her before she can jump off, Rina grabs Saori from behind but Suzu then grabs Rina. They all end up on the mat except for Mashiro, Mashiro jumps down and picks up Saori, delivering a series of elbows. Boot by Saori, she picks up Mashiro but Mashiro blocks the Fisherman Suplex attempt. Rina cuts off Saori, giving Mashiro time to recover and apply an armlock. Suzu breaks it up, Mashiro gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Mashiro goes off the ropes but Saori catches her with a sidewalk slam, but Mashiro barely kicks out. Saori goes up top but Rina runs in and joins her, hitting a superplex. Rina picks up Mashiro but Suzu dropkicks Rina from behind, double Irish whip to Rina and she gets booted in the chest. Saori goes back to Mashiro and Mashiro quickly applies a few flash pins for a two count. Saori finally grabs Mashiro and delivers the Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Mashiro kicks out. Saori quickly applies the Potering, and she gets the three count!  Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki are the winners.

It didn’t reach the heights I was hoping for, but a perfectly watchable midcard tag match. Really the main thing holding the match together was just the quality of the wrestlers themselves, as it was a bit disjointed at times and they didn’t seem to have a real structure planned. Part of that was Mashiro, who is obviously still a work in progress, but even when she wasn’t in the ring something really didn’t click. Some of the pairings were fun, particularly when Suzu squared off with Rina, and the ending was exciting. Still the best match on the card up to this point, but nothing they did really elevated it beyond just another midcard match.

Maika Ozaki, Yukihi, and Kaicho vs. Matsuya Uno, Satsuki, and Fujimoto

Maya and Tsukasa start the match, they trade wristlocks until Maya gets a headlock applied but Tsukasa Irish whips out of it. Back kick by Maya but Tsukasa hits an armdrag, Maya returns the favor and the two eventually reach a stalemate. Tsukasa dropkicks Maya in the corner and tags Totoro, Totoro goes for a slap but Maya blocks it and hits a drop toehold. Dropkick by Maya and she tags in Kaicho. Mounted elbows by Kaicho, Maya and Maika come in the ring and they triple team Totoro. Ram puts Totoro in a Camel Clutch with the help of Maika while Maya kicks Totoro in the face. Tsukasa eventually breaks things up, Kaicho goes off the ropes but Totoro catches her before dropping her to the mat. Totoro and her friends all stand on Kaicho’s back Totoro picks up Kaicho and slams her face into the mat. Totoro stands on Kaicho’s back before covering Kaicho for a two count. Totoro tags Matsuya and Matsuya puts Kaicho in a leglock, but Maya breaks it up. Matsuya grabs Kaicho and puts her in an abdominal stretch, but Kaicho gets into the ropes for the break. Kaicho chops Matsuya but Matsuya elbows her back and the two trade shots. Matsuya punches Kaicho into the corner, Irish whip by Matsuya but Kaicho kicks her back and hits a face crusher.

Kaicho can’t get to her corner as Matsuya puts her in an ankle hold, but Maika breaks it up. Dropkick by Kaicho and she finally makes it to her corner to tag Maya, kick to the chest by Maya and she puts Matsuya in an Anaconda Vice. Matsuya gets out of it and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Maya slides away. Matsuya re-applies the hold but Maya gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Matsuya goes off the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle but Maya trips her when she goes off the ropes again. Matsuya trips her back and applies an ankle hold, schoolboy by Matsuya but it gets two. Maya goes back to the ankle but Maika breaks it up, spear by Matsuya and she covers Maya for two. Matsuya tags Tsukasa, Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Dropkick by Tsukasa in the corner and she covers Maya for two. Maya and Tsukasa jockey for position until Tsukasa applies an Octopus Hold but Maya gets into the ropes. Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Maya hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, running knee by Maya and she delivers a PK. Maya picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa reverses the suplex attempt into guillotine choke. Maya muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex anyway, cover by Maya but it gets a two count. Tsukasa trips Maya and hits a PK, senton by Totoro and Tsukasa goes for the Infinity but Maya blocks it. Kaicho runs in and hits a Codebreaker on Tsukasa, hard shoulderblock by Maika and Maya delivers an enzuigiri to Tsukasa for a two count.

Maya picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa nails an elevated Infinity, leaving both on the mat. Both wrestlers tag out as Maika and Totoro come in, elbows by Totoro but Maika hits a body avalanche in the corner. Hard shoulderblock by Maika, she picks up Totoro and tries to get her on her shoulders, but Totoro blocks it. Totoro gets Maika up but Maika slides away, Kaicho runs in but Matsuya grabs her from the apron. Scoop slam by Totoro by Maika and Tsukasa hits a PK, body press by Totoro but Maika kicks out. Maika goes off the ropes but Maya runs in and boots her, Tiger Feint Kick by Kaicho and Maika gets Totoro up on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker. Matsuya breaks it up, Maika gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton to Totoro for a two count. Maika goes off the ropes but Totoro grabs her, Maika gets away however and hits a lariat for a two count. Maika goes up to the top turnbuckle but both Tsukasa and Matsuya run in to interrupt her, Totoro gets Maika on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze for a nearfall. Matsuya hits a spear on Maika, Totoro gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Maika gets a shoulder up on the cover. Totoro goes all the way up while Matsuya and Tsukasa hold her arms, helping her hit a somersault senton but the pin is broken up. Totoro scoops up Maika and drops her with a modified Samoan Driver and she picks up the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto, Matsuya Uno, and Totoro Satsuki are the winners!

I have some mixed feelings about this match but definitely more good than bad. First the good – Totoro and Maika are both limited wrestlers but they stayed within their limits here and did what they do well, so they added to the match rather than taking away from it. Also, the segments with Maya and Tsukasa were really good as they have great chemistry. I didn’t love the inclusion of Matsuya, as she wrestles a completely different style and it didn’t mesh with everyone else. It felt like five of the wrestlers were on the same page while Matsuya was applying random submission holds that had no connection or meaning. Not that her style isn’t one that has a place in wrestling, of course it does, it just didn’t vibe here. Also, while I love Ram Kaicho, she seems to have lost some of her personality since wrestling regularly in Ice Ribbon, she’s talented but she feels more like ‘just another wrestler.’ No posing, flipping off anyone, etc. as she just blended in with everyone else. An enjoyable match overall, just with some flow issues due to Matsuya not fitting in.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Tsukushi Haruka vs. Thekla
IW-19 Championship

Thekla jumps off the top turnbuckle as the bell rings but Tsukushi greets her with a dropkick, Tsukushi works a headlock but Thekla Irish whips out of it and they go into a high speed exchange. Thekla hits an armdrag out of the corner but Tsukushi hits an armdrag of her own, Thekla goes off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids the dropkick as they eventually reach a stalemate. Thekla sits on the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi dropkicks her and throws her back to the mat. Tsukushi stomps on Thekla’s hand repeatedly and puts her in Camel Clutch, she lets go after a moment and ties up Thekla in the ropes. Dropkick to the back by Tsukushi and she covers Thekla for two. Tsukushi throws Thekla into the corner but Thekla avoids her charge and hits a hard dropkick. Monkey Flip by Thekla and she covers Tsukushi for two. Thekla stomps on Tsukushi and throws her face into the mat, eye rake by Thekla and she hits a few bootscrapes. Irish whip by Thekla but Tsukushi avoids her charge and slides to the apron, Thekla goes for a lariat but Tsukushi slides back in and elbows Thekla in the head. Knee to the midsection by Thekla and she kicks Tsukushi back, Thekla gets tied up in the ropes but she avoids Tsukushi’s dropkick and kicks her in the back for a two count. Thekla goes up top but Tsukushi joins her before she can jump off, she knocks Thekla off so she is hanging from the ropes over the apron and delivers a diving footstomp. Tsukushi quickly gets back into the ring and hits a running elbow on Thekla, cover by Tsukushi but it gets a two count.

Tsukushi goes up top but Thekla jumps up as well and suplexes Tsukushi down to the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, head kick by Thekla but Tsukushi fires back with a release German Suplex. They elbow each other as they slowly return to their feet, Tsukushi knocks Thekla to the mat first and kicks her when she tries to bridge up. Thekla quickly hits a series of vertical suplexes, but Tsukushi kicks out of the cover. Spear by Thekla, but Tsukushi barely kicks out of the cover. Thekla applies a bridging leglock, but Tsukushi gets into the ropes for the break. Thekla applies a double underhook but Tsukushi gets away, head kick by Thekla and she follows with a Buzzsaw Kick. Elbows by Thekla and she toys with Tsukushi, but Tsukushi elbows her hard and attacks Thekla while she is on the mat. Thekla gets to the ropes to try to escape but Tsukushi keeps on her, she drags Thekla back into the ring and drills her with a dropkick. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukushi but Thekla kicks out. Tsukushi goes up top again but Thekla avoids the diving footstomp and hits a chop block. Thekla now goes up top and hits a diving footstomp of her own, covering Tsukushi for two. Double underhook into a slam by Thekla, she goes up top but Tsukushi gets her knees up on the body press attempt. Tsukushi quickly cradles Thekla and then goes for a La Magistral, but her pin attempts are unsuccessful. Thekla goes for some flash pins as well with the same result, Tsukushi cradles Thekla to the mat and hits a series of footstomps. Double underhook facebuster by Tsukushi, she goes up top and nails a diving footstomp for a two count. Tsukushi drags up Thekla and delivers a Tiger Suplex Hold, and she picks up the three count! Tsukushi Haruka wins and retains the championship!

A solid match, nothing that will blow you away but entertaining. Tsukushi has been an underrated talent for many years, as due to her age and the fact she was generally stuck in the midcard she didn’t get a ton of notice. She’s been great for awhile though and continues to be, I can’t call her a murder child anymore as she is an adult now but she hasn’t lost her aggression. The match was pretty non-stop as Tsukushi only has one speed, and Thekla was able to keep up. This is the first long singles matches I’ve seen with Thekla, she isn’t as crisp as Tsukushi but has a quality move arsenal and didn’t do anything to slow the match down or hold it back. The match was about 15 minutes and felt like it ended at the right time, no need to stretch something out just because its the main event. A good outing and first defense by Tsukushi, hopefully she continues to impress this year and gets more chances in big matches.  Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon #1101 Yokohama Ribbon 2021 on 2/23/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka
Date: October 18th, 2020
Location: Osaka 176BOX in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Its been a long time since I reviewed an AgZ event on the site, over a year and a half in fact, so I figured we were long overdue. AgZ has changed quite a bit since then as they’ve had issues lately keeping wrestlers. Which is a common issue with smaller promotions, they build stars and then they move on to bigger and better things. Luckily for them they still have Miyuki Takase, the star of the promotion, who is a great wrestler. They also still (for now) employ Sekiguchi and Tae Honma, plus they are using Freelancer Andras Miyagi. So there are some good wrestlers on their roster, but a lot of them are still learning so its best to go in with lower expectations. But I’m still looking forward to it, here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Yoshiko Hasegawa
• Andras Miyagi vs. Mari
• Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani
• Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI
• AgZ Championship: Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches should be shown in full. The wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Hasegawa

Ayano and Hasegawa start the match, they go into a knucklelock but Mai comes in to help her partner as Ayano is double teamed. Yuko runs in to even the odds, she then joins Ayano in double teaming Hasegawa. Ayano snapmares Hasegawa and dropkicks hers, cover by Ayano but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuko, snapmare by Yuko and she applies a headscissors. Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break, Yuko picks her up and slams her into the mat. She tags Ayano, Ayano puts Hasegawa in a crab hold but Hasegawa gets into the ropes again. Ayano goes off the ropes but Hasegawa drop toeholds her into the second rope and Mai kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Hasegawa and she rolls to her corner to tag Mai, Mai boots Ayano and elbows Yuko when she runs in to help her partner. Mai throws Ayano into Yuko, boot to Ayano but Ayano elbows Mai in the chest.

Drop toehold by Mai but Ayano avoids the elbow drop, dropkick by Ayano and she covers Mai for two. Ayano tags Yuko, shoulderblock by Yuko and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Yuko and she covers Mai for two. Scoop slam attempt by Yuko but Mai blocks it, Mai goes off the ropes but Yuko catches her with a scoop slam for a two count. Mai gets away from Yuko and boots her in the head, she tags in Hasegawa and they throw Yuko into the corner. Dropkick by Hasegawa and Mai follows with a boot, snapmare by Hasegawa and she hits a PK for a two count. Elbows by Hasegawa, Yuko picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa gets her back for a sleeper hold. Ayano quickly breaks it up, double Irish whip to Hasegawa and Hasegawa is hit with a double dropkick. Yuko applies a Cobra Twist but it gets broken up by Mai, Mai stays in and helps set up their opponents so that Hasegawa can hit a double crossbody. Yuko avoids Hasegawa’s kick and rolls her up for two, Hasegawa goes for a flash pin but Yuko reverses it into her own cover for the three count! Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai are the winners!

The good news here is that no one looked like they didn’t belong. Some of the movements were stiff but the match flowed along without any major issues. The bad news is that no one really stood out here either. Hasegawa looked probably the best from an overall package standpoint but generally speaking they came across as competent wrestlers but nothing more. Which probably is why they are where they are. A decent enough way to open the show but overall pretty skippable.

Andras Miyagi vs. Mari

Mari wastes time to start, which is one of her fun things to do, but they finally get into it as Mari kicks Andras repeatedly. They trade waistlocks until Mari puts Andras in a stretch hold, Rocking Horse by Mari and she lets go only to stomp on Andras’ back. Single leg crab hold by Mari but Andras rolls out of the ring, Mari goes out to the apron but Andras ducks her kick. Mari kicks her anyway and goes out to the floor, kicking Andras in the head. Mari slides Andras back in the ring and kicks her in the head again, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and puts her on her shoulders, but Mari slides off and schoolboys Mari for two. An inside cradle also gets a two count for Andras, she charges Mari but Mari kicks her back and delivers a superkick. Mari picks up Andras and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and goes for a backslide, but Andras blocks it and applies her own backslide for two. Schoolboy by Andras but Mari rolls through it, Andras throws Mari into the referee and schoolboys her again for the three count! Andras Miyagi is the winner!

Its so odd just seeing Andras with this new “style.” She didn’t really even do an offensive move in this match, Mari just kicked her around until she finally was successful with a flash pin. I don’t even know what to think about it. Mari looked really good, for someone who hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities in wrestling I like her a lot. Her offense was tight and well done, I’m just eternally confused on what Andras is even bringing to the table these days. Maybe worth watching to see Mari but Andras didn’t do enough for me to recommend the match as a whole.

Hikari Shimizu and Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani

Hikari and Tani start the match and go right into a fast exchange, eventually reaching a stalemate. They tag in Misa and Kohgo, footstomp by Misa and she puts Kohgo in an armbar. She lets go after a moment and throws Kohgo into the corner, Misa stomps down Kohgo as Hikari helps from the apron. Misa picks up Kohgo and tags Hikari, snapmares my Hikari and she tags Misa back in. Irish whip by Misa and she hits a dropkick, footstomp by Misa and she covers Kohgo for two. Scoop slam by Misa and she tags Hikari, footstomp by Hikari and she tosses Kohgo down by the hair. Hikari applies a crab hold to Kohgo but she eventually lets go, Irish whip by Hikari but Kohgo reverses it and hits a dropkick. She rolls to her corner and tags Tani, running knee by Tani and she knees Hikari from the apron. Double kneedrops to Hikari’s back by Tani but Misa strolls in and kicks her from behind. Double Irish whip to Tani but Tani hits a double Codebreaker followed by a double running knee to both opponents. Tani goes back to Hikari’s back but Hikari kicks her and snapmares Tani before delivering a series of kicks. Hikari puts Tani in a choke hold but it gets broken up, Hikari throws Tani into the corner and hits a step-up kick for a two count. Hikari tags Misa, jumping crossbody by Misa and she gets a two count. Tani swats away a dropkick as they both return to their feet and trade strikes.

DDT by Misa and she covers Tani for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Misa connects with a Backstabber, double knee to Misa’s back by Tani and she puts Misa in a stretch hold. Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Tani gets on the second rope and hits a diving double knee to Misa’s back. Tani goes back to the stretch hold but this time Hikari quickly breaks it up, Tani tags Kohgo and Kohgo dropkicks Misa a few times. Scoop slam by Kohgo and she covers Misa for two. Kohgo applies a crab hold but Hikari breaks up the hold, Tani comes in two and Misa is double teamed in the corner. Kohgo picks up Misa but Misa gets away, putting Kohgo in the Octopus Hold. That gets broken up, Misa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Misa picks up Kohgo but Kohgo blocks the suplex attempt, sunset flip by Kohgo but Misa reverses it and the two trade flash pin attempts. Hikari kicks Kohgo in the back before Misa delivers a low crossbody for a two count. Misa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but Kohgo kicks out of the cover. She goes all the way up the next time but Kohgo avoids the footstomp attempt, schoolboy by Kohgo but it gets two as does La Magistral. Kohgo goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, low crossbody by Misa and she hits two more. Cover by Misa, but Kohgo gets a shoulder up. Misa drags up Kohgo and she nails the MARU X MARU Suplex, picking up the three count! Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui are the winners.

This match won’t blow anyone away, but it was smartly worked and all four played their parts well. I really enjoyed Misa’s work on her opponents’ back, really any type of body part-focused offense I am going to be fan of if it is done well and they certainly were trying to tell a story. The Hikari/Misa team seemed to be the only one with a path to victory as the Momos weren’t doing much effective, looking mostly for flash pins and what not to try to win. So even though the presentation was a little lopsided, it never got boring over the 15 minutes and there was a definitive winner which I like. For a midcard tag match, they went a little beyond what I was expecting and put on a solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI

Tae and SAKI start the match, SAKI works a headlock but Tae Irish whips out of it and rolls SAKI to the mat. Tae goes for a dropkick but SAKI avoids it, cradle by Tae but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae slides away, schoolboy by Tae but that gets two as well. They tag out as Rina and Ami run in, SAKI returns as well and Ami is double teamed. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina throws down Ami by the hair and hits a scoop slam, she tags in SAKI and SAKI stomps on Ami. SAKI tags Rina back in, Rina tries to shoulderblock Ami over but Ami stays up. They both try to knock each other over with no luck until Rina finally sends Ami to the mat. Back up they trade chops, Rina chops Ami into the corner but Ami hits a shoulderblock and tags Tae. Tae comes in the ring with a missile dropkick but Rina connects with a body avalanche in the corner followed by a shoulderblock. She goes for a running senton but Tae moves, body press by Tae and Ami jumps on Tae’s back before Ami hits another body press. Cover by Tae, but it gets a two count.

Rina chops Tae and goes off the ropes, but Tae catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar. Rina gets to the ropes for the break, hard shoulderblock by Rina to Tae and she hits a senton. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina makes the tag to SAKI, rolling cradle by SAKI but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away, knee by SAKI and she puts Tae across the ropes in the corner. Running knee to the midsection by SAKI but Tae hits a running elbow in the other corner followed by a dropkick. Fujiwara Armbar by Tae and she switches it to a double armbar, but SAKI gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes off the ropes and dropkicks SAKI, she tags in Ami but SAKI boots Ami in the chest. Ami elbows SAKI and the two trade shots, knee by SAKI and she kicks Ami to the mat for two. SAKI goes for a suplex but Tae breaks it up, double Irish whip to SAKI but SAKI fights them both off. SAKI puts Ami in a crab hold, but Ami gets to the ropes for the break.

SAKI goes to the second turnbuckle but Ami rolls out of the way of the Reverse Splash, dropkick by Ami but SAKI blocks the scoop slam and puts Ami in a stretch hold. Rocking Horse by SAKI but Tae breaks it up, Rina comes in but Ami throws SAKI into Rina and hits a dropkick. Tae goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on both opponents, Ami picks up Rina and scoop slams her. Double chop by Ami to SAKI, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam for two. Ami goes to pick up SAKI but SAKI cradles her for two, big boot by SAKI but Tae elbows her in the chest. SAKI boots Tae before Rina hits a somersault senton on her, but Ami dropkicks SAKI. Ami Irish whips SAKI but SAKI blocks it and hits a snap vertical suplex. SAKI positions Ami and goes to the second turnbuckle, nailing the Reverse Splash for the three count! SAKI and Rina Amikura win!

Even though the bulk of this match was fine, something was missing. Unlike the last match there wasn’t really a focus or story told in any way, it was mostly just random action as they didn’t do much to even play up the experience dynamic. Even though SAKI is decent enough there is a reason she is an eight year pro wrestling in the mid-card of AgZ – there is little special about her and some of her offense is lackluster. I couldn’t get a great feel of the less experienced wrestlers but Ami seemed fine, and though I like Tae she didn’t do a whole lot in this match. Overall a perfectly watchable match but one with nothing memorable about it whatsoever as they seemed to just be going through the basic motions for the bulk of it.

(c) Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru elbows Miyuki instead of shaking her hand, Miyuki avoids her dropkick however and stomps Kakeru in the back. The two trade elbows until Miyuki hits a DDT, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a scoop slam followed by a leg drop for two. Miyuki applies a single leg crab hold but Kakeru gets to the ropes, Miyuki stands on Kakeru’s back but Kakeru elbows her and they trade shots. Kakeru goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki reverses it into one of her own, Miyuki applies a guillotine choke but Kakeru gets out of it and the two end up in the ropes. They both get back up, takedown by Kakeru but Miyuki quickly gets in the dominate position and puts Kakeru in a submission hold. Kakeru quickly gets to the ropes, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and hits a dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Miyuki dives off the second turnbuckle but Kakeru catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar, but Miyuki gets into the ropes. Kakeru twists on Miyuki’s arm and dropkicks her arm from the apron before snapping her arm over the top rope. Kakeru pulls Miyuki out of the ring and throws her into the ring post, Kakeru puts Miyuki’s hand on the apron and jumps down onto Miyuki’s arm.

Kakeru finally slides Miyuki back in but Miyuki pushes her off, scoop slam by Kakeru and she covers Miyuki for two. Kakeru applies an armlock but Miyuki wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Miyuki elbows Kakeru and the two trade strikes, Kakeru wins the battle and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Slingshot doublestomp to the arm by Kakeru and she rolls Miyuki to the mat as she goes to the arm, but Miyuki lands too close to the ropes. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam for two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru slides away and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Miyuki blocks it. Kakeru goes for a choke but Miyuki powerbombs out of it, Miyuki gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Miyuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru sneaks in a cradle for two, another cradle by Kakeru but that gets a two as well. Judo tosses by Kakeru and she hits a STO, picking up another two count. Kakeru picks up Miyuki and hits another STO, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat. Jackhammer by Miyuki, but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes out of it holding her arm so she is slow to capitalize, Kakeru is up first but Miyuki elbows her against the ropes. Miyuki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Kakeru for two.

Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru reverses the Jackhammer attempt into a guillotine choke. Miyuki manages to get a foot on the ropes for the break, Kakeru goes off the ropes and delivers the running STO for two. Kakeru stomps at Miyuki but Miyuki grabs her leg as she tries to go up top, Kakeru finally makes it but Miyuki joins her and hits a series of headbutts. Superplex by Miyuki and she puts Kakeru in a modified headscissors, but Kakeru gets a foot on the ropes. Miyuki picks up Kakeru and lariats her while she is against the ropes, cover by Miyuki but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki gets Kakeru up and drops he with a Jackhammer, but again Kakeru kicks out. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits another one, but Kakeru reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a lariat, she gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Driver. Miyuki drags Kakeru to her feet and nails the Jackhammer, and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and retains the championship.

A pretty great match between two quality young wrestlers. Kakeru’s arm work was really well done and Miyuki didn’t (completely) forget about the damage as she’d occasionally signal that it was bothering her throughout the match. Miyuki’s strategy seemed to be lariats and power moves, and the two meshed their two different win strategies together well to make a cohesive match. Nothing they did felt wasted and the 17 minutes went by pretty quickly, it felt like it ended at about the right time. The last few minutes were a bit too big-move-spammy which happens sometimes in title matches, it didn’t put a major damper on the match as a whole but it probably could have been tightened up a bit. Still, a great title match and a fitting conclusion to the event.  Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka on 10/18/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Tae Honma in Mexico Photobook Details:

Official Title: Tae en Mexico Official Photobook
Release: October 31st, 2019
Pages: ~50
Cost: ¥2,000
Where to Buy: Champion Shop

Joshi wrestlers having photobooks is far from a novel concept, but I do enjoy when we get a surprise or unexpected photobook from a more “under the radar” wrestler. This photobook certainly qualifies, as Tae Honma is not as well known to most fans even though at the time this was released she had been wrestling for over four years. She is a member of Actwres girl’Z and for the first several years was not highlighted in the promotion, but recently has gotten a chance to shine in other promotions and her stock is rising in Actwres girl’Z as well. In 2019 she traveled to Mexico and took part in some CMLL events, which is what this photobook features.

If you are only a fan of ‘sexy’ photobooks, this isn’t the photobook for you. While Tae Honma is an attractive woman, this photobook focuses on her sightseeing in Mexico and training in CMLL. Her attire ranges from casual to her in-ring gear, with nothing more scandalous than that. As a change of pace, I enjoyed it, as not every photobook has to feature bikinis and skin to be worthwhile. Still, its worth noting since it is a departure from the norm and from what some fans may be expecting. The photobook is full size and all in color, and provides plenty of content for the relatively low price. Here is a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post Tae Honma in Mexico Official Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: CMLL/LADYS RING Ring Numero 2
Date: January 22nd, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 250

As any regular visitor to the site knows, sometimes I review really obscure events that may not be readily available to Western fans. This is one of those times, as I take a look at CMLL and LADYS RINGS Numero 2! This is a joint event between CMLL and the magazine LADYS RING, featuring wrestlers from CMLL in Mexico and Joshi wrestlers. Ice Ribbon has sent a couple participants for the fun, plus we have wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z, JTO, and various Freelancers as well. The main event sees Mina Shirakawa face off against Dalys la Caribena to crown the first CMLL-Japan Women’s champion! Here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Misa Matsui vs. Ayumi Hayashi and Mari
• Risa Sera vs. An Chamu
• Makoto and Mima Shimoda vs. Maika and Tae Honma
• La Jarochita vs. Tsukushi
• CMLL-Japan Women’s Championship: Dalys la Caribeña vs. Mina Shirakawa

As I am watching this event on DVD, all matches will be shown in full. Every wrestler on the card has a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Misa Matsui vs. Ayumi Hayashi and Mari

Misa and Ayano try a few sneaky flash pins during the opening handshake but it doesn’t work, Ayano and Misa deliver dropkicks but Mari and Ayumi retain the advantage with armdrags. Ayano and Misa fall out of the ring, their opponents go to do a dive but do a pose instead. Things setting down with Ayano and Ayumi as the legal wrestlers, Ayumi tosses Ayano down by her mask and tags in Mari. Mari puts Ayano in the ropes, Ayumi returns and they double team her. Mari kicks Ayano in the back, cover by Mari but it gets two. Irish whip by Mari but Ayano catches her with a dropkick and makes the tag to Misa. Misa dropkicks Mari, Ayumi comes in but Misa dropkicks her as well. Misa hits a double crossbody but Mari catches her with a sidewalk slam. Mari wraps up Misa in a submission hold but Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Mari charges Misa in the corner but Misa moves out of the way. Mari kicks Misa back but Misa slides off her shoulders and hits a low crossbody for two. She tags Ayano, dropkick by Ayano and she puts Mari in a crab hold.

Mari quickly gets to the ropes for the break, snapmare by Ayano but Mari avoids her dropkick attempt. Mari puts Ayano in a Rocking Horse before dropping her back to the mat, Mari goes off the ropes but Misa kicks her from the apron. She comes in the ring and they drop Mari with a double dropkick, Ayano snapmares Mari and she eats another double dropkick. Ayano picks up Mari, scoop slam by Mari and she superkicks Ayano in the head for a two count cover. Mari tags Ayumi, snapmares my Ayumi but Ayano dropkicks her. Scoop slam by Ayano and she tags Misa, footstomp by Misa and she covers Ayumi for two. Dropkick by Misa, she goes off the ropes and hits a jumping crossbody for two. Misa and Ayumi trade elbows, dropkick by Ayumi and she rolls up Misa for a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Ayano comes in and they both dropkick Ayumi in the corner. Misa picks up Ayumi and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, but Mari breaks it up. Mari stays in and helps out, Ayumi dropkicks Misa and she hits a back bodydrop. Misa hits a diving crossbody out of the corner, she goes up top  and hits a missile dropkick for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Mari runs in and superkicks her, Samoan Drop by Mari and Ayumi applies a jackknife hold for the three count! Ayumi Hayashi and Mari are the winners!

Skill-wise, these aren’t the best wrestlers but they gave it their all. Mari is pretty good, I always enjoy getting to watch her but the other three still have a ways to go and realistically at least a couple of them may have gone as far as they are going to go in wrestling. Still, they have the basics down for the most part and since they are familar with each other the action was pretty fluid. Seeing them in masks raised the fun of it all some, and they didn’t go too long. Good enough for an opener, but I don’t expect to see them moving up the card anytime soon.

Risa Sera vs. An Chamu

An Chamu gets Risa into the ropes to start but gives a clean break, while posing in the process. An Chamu rolls away from Risa and poses again, this time in the corner, and slides out onto the apron when Risa charges in. Elbow by An Chamu, she gets back in the ring and Risa drops down, but An Chamu jumps over her and does another cute pose. Risa gets tired of this and hits her from behind, Risa applies a crab hold before putting An Chamu in the Rocking Horse. Double kneedrop by Risa to An Chamu’s back, cover by Risa but it gets two. Giant Swing by Risa and she covers An Chamu for a two count once she drops her. Irish whip by Risa but An Chamu hits a spinning headscissors, she charges Risa but Risa moves and knocks her to the mat. Backbreaker by Risa and she throws An Chamu into the corner, An Chamu reverses the Irish whip and applies a headscissors in the corner. Double knee strike by An Chamu and she hits a few hip attacks for a two count cover. An Chamu sits down on Risa a few times but Risa finally avoids one, she goes for a slam but An Chamu blocks it. Irish whip by Risa but An Chamu blocks it and goes for a cross armbreaker. Risa keeps her from locking it in so An Chamu applies a cross kneelock instead before switching it to a modified STF. Risa gets into the ropes for the break, An Chamu goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. An Chamu picks up Risa but Risa elbows her off and the two trade blows. Risa tosses An Chamu down and applies a high angle crab hold, she lets go after a moment and powerbombs An Chamu into the corner. Running double knee by Risa and she covers An Chamu for two. Risa gets An Chamu on her shoulders but An Chamu slides off and cradles her for two. An Chamu goes for a few schoolboys but each one gets a two count, An Chamu goes for an elbow but Risa blocks it and drops her with a Schwein. Risa applies the high angle crab hold and An Chamu quickly submits! Risa Sera is the winner.

This was probably a smidge better than I was expecting. An Chamu hasn’t been wrestling long but she has a lot of personality and connects well with the crowd. Risa wrestled a pretty basic match, which isn’t too surprising and it definitely felt like ‘just a midcard match’ at times. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but neither were really doing anything to elevate the match. Perfectly acceptable wrestling and not a bad match, but nothing particularly memorable about it either.

Makoto and Mima Shimoda vs. Maika and Tae Honma

Makoto and Maika start the match, they trade wristlocks and headlocks until Makoto locks on a hammerlock. Makoto goes back to the headlock, Maika Irish whips out of it and delivers an armdrag. Makoto armdrags her back and both wrestlers tag out, they lock knuckles but Shimoda pushes Tae’s hands to the mat and tries to stomp on them. Tae moves out of the way and hits an armdrag, she throws Shimoda to the mat a few more times and they trade leg trips before reaching a stalemate. Takedown by Shimoda and she puts Tae in a crab hold, she switches it to a stretch hold before hitting a neckbreaker. Shimoda picks up Tae and throws her back to the mat, stomps by Shimoda and she tags in Makoto. Makoto kicks Maika off the apron and throws Tae into the corner, putting her in the Tarantula. She lets go after a moment and stands on Tae’s back, she tags Shimoda back in and they both boot Tae. Cover by Shimoda, but it gets two. Snapmare by Shimoda and she elbows Tae in the head, she puts her in a modified seated armbar, she picks her up and tags in Makoto.

Makoto yanks on Tae’s arm and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Tae gets to the ropes to force the break. Scoop slam by Makoto and she covers Tae for two. Shimoda returns but Tae throws her into Makoto and hits a cross armbreaker takedown on Makoto, but Shimoda breaks it up. Maika runs in and dropkicks Shimoda while Tae gets the armbreaker back on Makoto, but Makoto gets to the ropes for the break. Double Irish whip to Makoto as she is double teamed, but Makoto avoids Tae’s lariat and boots Maika out of the ring. Double underhook suplex by Makoto to Tae, and she tags Shimoda. Makoto kicks at Tae repeatedly but Tae rolls her to the mat and delivers a dropkick. This gives her time to tag in Maika, Maika picks up Shimoda and the two trade blows. Elbow by Maika but Shimoda returns fire and hits a release German suplex. Heel drop by Shimoda, and she covers Maika for two. Shimoda picks up Maika and hits a side Russian leg sweep, she quickly puts her in a submission hold but Tae breaks it up. Shimoda elbows Tae but Maika catches her with a toss and tags in Tae. Shimoda throws Tae into the corner but Tae grabs her arm and applies a hanging armbar, she lets go and hits a missile dropkick for a two count.

Tae goes off the ropes but Makoto kicks her from the apron, Shimoda tags Makoto in and Makoto boots Tae in the corner. Makoto slams Tae to the mat, but Tae kicks out of the cover. Makoto picks up Tae but Tae rolls her up and delivers a dropkick. She tags in Maika, Maika tosses Makoto around the ring and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Makoto gets out of the hold. Maika applies a stretch hold but Makoto gets into the ropes for the break, Tae comes in but she is tripped from the floor. Spear by Makoto to Maika, but Tae breaks up the cover. Shimoda comes in to take care of Tae but Tae dropkicks her out of the ring, she goes to the apron and hits a crossbody down to the floor. Back in the ring,  Maika catches Makoto with a side slam and covers her for two. STO by Maika, but Makoto gets a shoulder up. Maika picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a boot to the face, she waits for Maika to get up and kicks her in the face again for a two count. Before she can do anything else, the bell expires as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

While I am generally against having a Draw in a random non-televised mid-card match, this was still entertaining. All four held their own and Maika continues to really improve less than a year into her career. Its easy to think of Makoto as just a pretty face since she does so many gravure videos, but she’s a solid wrestler that had no issues trading holds with her more technical opponents, and they kept the action going so things never slowed down. Both teams worked well together so it didn’t feel like they were just randomly created teams, as they were constantly helping each other out instead of just watching from the apron. A really solid match with four talented wrestlers, but I wish it had more of a conclusion.  Recommended

La Jarochita vs. Tsukushi

They lock-up to start, Jarochita pushes Tsukushi into the corner but she gives a clean break. They lock-up again but Jarochita pushes Tsukushi to the mat before taunting her, a third lock-up follows but this time Tsukushi gets Jarochita into the corner and gives a clean break as well. Jarochita asks for a Test of Strength but gets Tsukushi’s back instead, she flings Tsukushi to the mat and goes for a submission, but Tsukushi rolls out of it. Armdrag by Jarochita but Tsukushi returns the favor, as both wrestlers returned to their feet. Armdrag by Tsukushi and they trade leg trips, headscissors by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Jarochita. Jarochita kicks her against the ropes, snapmare by Jarochita and she kicks Tsukushi in the back. Jarochita bites on Tsukushi’s head before picking her up and throwing her out of the ring, she goes out after her and kicks Tsukushi into a row of chairs. Jarochita wraps Tsukushi around the ring post and pulls her into it. Jarochita slams Tsukushi into the apron before rolling her back into the ring, cover by Jarochita but it gets a two count. Jarochita throws Tsukushi into the corner and hits a lariat, running boot by Jarochita and she covers Tsukushi for a two count. Jarochita applies a STF but Tsukushi inches to the ropes to force the break. Irish whip by Jarochita but Tsukushi ducks the lariat attempt, she goes for a crossbody but Tsukushi catches her and hits a backbreaker. Running knee by Jarochita, and she covers Tsukushi for two. Irish whip by Jarochita but Tsukushi applies a tilt-a-whirl armbar, but Jarochita gets into the ropes.

Tsukushi charges Jarochita but Jarochita hits a dropkick, Jarochita puts Tsukushi on the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi hits a diving hurricanrana followed by the Murder Dropkick. Tsukushi takes Jarochita out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out with a plancha suicida onto Jarochita. Tsukushi rolls Jarochita back in and covers her, but it only gets two. Tsukushi sets up Jarochita in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, she goes up top but Jarochita recovers and joins her. Tsukushi gets on Jarochita’s back and applies a stretch submission while perched on the top turnbuckle, she lets go after a moment and they trade elbows back in the middle of the ring. Tsukushi charges Jarochita in the corner but Jarochita drop toeholds her into the turnbuckle and hits a running double knee to Tsukushi’s back. Jarochita picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi sneaks in a cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Jarochita delivers a lariat for her own two count. Gory Special by Jarochita, but Tsukushi barely kicks out of the cover. Jarochita goes off the ropes but Tsukushi does as well and hits a hurricanrana, but Jarochita rolls through it and the two trade flash pins. Tsukushi gets Jarochita’s back and cradles her with a jackknife, but Jarochita kicks out. Tsukushi runs to the ropes and delivers the Harukaze, but Jarochita kicks out again. Tsukushi goes up top and nails the diving footstomp, but Jarochita gets a shoulder up on the cover. The bell rings in the middle of the pin attempt anyway, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This is part of the issue with doing a Draw in the last match, as with this one it may have a storyline reason but it just feels a bit deflating to have a Draw in two straight matches. Anyway, this was fun. Tsukushi is only 22 years old but is so good (I mean, she is a ten year vet so I guess it makes some sense), all her moves are really smooth and they played off each other well. Jarochita was solid too, nothing looked awkward and she matched Tsukushi’s intensity. Too short and inconclusive to get excited about (it was just a ten minute time limit), but still a really good match that is worth a casual watch.  Mildly Recommended

Dalys la Caribeña vs. Mina Shirakawa
CMLL-Japan Women’s Championship, Two out of Three Falls

They jockey for position to start, armdrag by Mina and she puts Dalys in an armbar. Dalys quickly rolls out of it and tries to slam Mina to the mat, but Mina blocks it and remains on her feet. They lock knuckles with Mina applying a wristlock, but Dalys quickly reverses it and gets Mina to the mat. Dalys applies a stretch hold and then gets Mina into the Rocking Horse, but Mina reverses it and goes for the Romero Special, but Dalys gets into the ropes before she can apply the move. Mina goes off the ropes but Dalys dropkicks her, she throws Mina into the corner and kicks her in the leg. Mina fires back with her own dropkick and sits on Dalys in the corner, Irish whip by Mina and she gets Dalys down before applying a cross armbreaker. Dalys quickly submits, and Mina wins the first fall! Mina Shirakawa is up 1-0.

After a brief pause the second fall begins, armdrag by Mina but Dalys kicks her in the gut. Dalys puts Mina in the ropes and kicks her in the back, she bullies the referee a bit before snapmaring Mina and kicking her in the back. Dalys yells at the referee some more, she goes back to Mina and pulls her by the hair in the corner. Hair toss by Dalys, and she covers Mina for two. Mina sneaks in a few flash pins for two counts of her own, Irish whip by Mina but Dalys grabs her when she charges in and puts Mina on the top turnbuckle. Mina pushes Dalys away and dives off, but Dalys catches her and delivers a swinging side slam for the three count cover! They are now tied 1-1.

Time for the final fall. Mina and Dalys face off and trade blows, Irish whip by Mina and she hits an arm drag of sorts for a two count cover. Mina throws Dalys into the corner but Dalys flips out to the apron and pulls down Mina by the hair. Slingshot body press by Dalys, but Mina gets a hand on the ropes when Dalys goes for the cover. Dalys picks up Mina and goes to slam Mina, but Mina blocks it and rolls up Dalys for two. Dalys and Mina trade chops while on their knees, elbows by Mina and she knees Dalys in the stomach. Running double chops by Mina but Dalys rolls out of the ring to prevent a cover attempt. Mina kicks Dalys from the apron and jumps down with a seated senton, she slides Dalys back into the ring and hits a dropkick while Dalys is against the ropes. Cover by Mina, but Dalys kicks out. Mina picks up Dalys and delivers a spinning chop, she goes off the ropes and hits a Lou Thesz Press. Both wrestlers go for flash pins before Mina hits a dropkick, Irish whip by Mina to the corner but Dalys throws her out to the apron when she charges in. Mina knocks Dalys back and goes up top, but Dalys catches her when she goes for a crossbody. Dalys avoids Mina’s dropkick attempt before picking her up and delivers a sit-down powerbomb for the three count! Dalys la Caribeña wins and is the first CMLL-Japan Women’s Champion!

They tried but this just didn’t work on several levels. Their lack of chemistry was noticeable, as there were several awkward spots during the match. The match was too short for a three falls match, as there were constant breaks in the action but no real long run of wrestling to give them a chance to get rolling again. The finish was rough as well, as Mina went from in control to being defeated quickly, and the final move wasn’t hit smoothly. Add in Dalys’ randomly yelling at the referee for no reason and it just came across as a match not planned out very well. I appreciate the effort, but for a main event and title match, a disappointing way to end the show.

The post CMLL/LADYS RING Numero 2 on 1/22/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi

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

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

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

Aja Kong vs. Ibuki Hoshi

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

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

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

Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Hiragi Kurumi
ICExInfinity Championship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yuu

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

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

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

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

Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

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

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

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

Aja Kong and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Sekiguchi and Sonoko Kato

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

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

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

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

AKINO vs. Tae Honma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post OZ Academy Sparkling New Year 2020 on 1/5/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Since I am behind a few hundred events, I asked Twitter which event I should review next and this show won. So here we are! I am watching this event on NicoPro, a streaming service in Japan that streams wrestling events from a wide range of wrestling promotions (the show is no longer available on the service at the time of this review, since shows are only available for seven days). I have written a guide on how to sign up for NicoPro, highly recommended! Both the service and the guide. Ice Ribbon #1008 isn’t one of Ice Ribbon’s bigger events, however it does have two title matches so it is not your average house show either. Here is the full card:

• Asahi vs. Tequila Saya
• Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho vs. Nao Kakuta and Yappy
• Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi vs. Miku Aono and Satsuki Totoro
• Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma vs. Risa Sera, Tsukasa Fujimoto, and Tsukushi
• Triangle Ribbon Championship: Matsuya Uno vs. Banny Oikawa vs. Cherry
• ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi vs. Suzu Suzuki

As this aired on NicoPro, the matches are unclipped. It also has that annoying commentary box in the corner, which I will tolerate. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Asahi vs. Tequila Saya

They circle other to start before trading wristlocks, Saya kicks Asahi and works a headlock, but Asahi reverses it. Snapmare by Saya and she slams Asahi’s head into the mat before hitting a kneedrop to the face for a two count. Saya puts Asahi in the ropes and presses her boot against her face, she lets go after a moment but Asahi quickly returns the favor and does the same to her. Saya throws Asahi into the corner and hits a running back elbow, another one by Saya but Asahi knocks her back with a dropkick. Saya throws Asahi into the corner but Asahi flips out onto the apron, she comes back in with a sunset flip before slamming Saya’s head repeatedly into the mat. Short armbar by Asahi but Saya gets into the ropes, Asahi goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Saya moves out of the way and hits a crossbody. Scoop slam by Saya, she picks up Asahi but Asahi elbows her and the two trade shots. Asahi goes off the ropes but Saya catchers her with a knee, low crossbody by Saya and she drives Asahi’s face into the mat with her knees for a two count cover. Saya gets on the top turnbuckle but Asahi avoids her dive and connects with a series of dropkicks. Scoop slam by Asahi, and she covers Saya for two. Cross armbreaker by Asahi, but Saya quickly gets to the ropes for the break. Tiger Feint Kick by Asahi and she covers Saya for two. Asahi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets a two count as well. Asahi goes off the ropes but Saya avoids the dropkick, they trade flash pins but both get two counts. Both wrestlers get up, Saya quickly applies the Gran Maestro de Tequila for the three count! Tequila Saya is the winner.

I am generally out of the loop with Ice Ribbon so I blame Ice Ribbon Twitter for me not knowing that Asahi is pretty damn solid for a 17 year old. She is in good condition so she had no issues keeping up with the slightly more veteran Saya, and she has a wide variety of moves that she does very smoothly. Since Saya is retiring they should have just had Asahi win, she doesn’t really have any big wins in the promotion and while this wouldn’t have counted as “big” it would have been something. Saya is who she is, perfectly capable but she wouldn’t blow anyone away with this match as she kept it basic. A good opener but I’d like to see Asahi in a more advanced match to see if she as good as she appeared to be here.

Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho vs. Nao Kakuta and Yappy

Maika and Yappy start off, Yappy gets Maika into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Yappy and Maika try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks until Maika wins the battle, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika clubs Yappy in the back a couple times, she goes for a shoulderblock but Yappy comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock of her own. This gives her time to tag in Nao, mounted elbows by Nao and she chokes Maika while the poor referee (Mio Shirai) tries to get her to stop. She finally does, she picks up Maika but Maika drops Nao with a scoop slam and tags in Kaicho. Kaicho ducks a lariat and flips off Nao, but Nao grabs her and they struggle for control. Kaicho stomps on Nao’s hands and hits a jumping crossbody, she throws Nao into the corner and hits a running elbow. Kaicho throws Nao into the other corner but Nao jumps on the second turnbuckle, she grabs Kaicho and applies a hanging necklock. Nao snaps Kaicho’s neck on the top rope, she gets back in the ring and hits a DDT for a two count. Nao tags Yappy, Yappy picks up Kaicho and applies a swinging front necklock slam. Cover by Yappy, but it only gets two. Back up, Yappy throws Kaicho into the corner and hits a lariat, Nao returns and boots Kaicho in the face.

Yappy picks up Kaicho and sets her up in the ropes but Kaicho avoids her charge and hits a Tiger Feint Kick. Irish whip by Kaicho and she hits a double chop to the chest, she crawls to Yappy and covers her for two. Kaicho tags in Maika, and both of them take turns stomping on on Yappy. Maika picks up Kaicho and slams her onto Yappy, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika puts Yappy in a crab hold but Yappy crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Maika picks up Yappy but Yappy elbows Maika off of her and delivers a backbreaker. Maika lands against the ropes, hip attacks by Yappy and she hits a seated senton for two. Yappy tags Nao, boot to the face by Nao and she boots her again for a two count. Yappy returns, side Russian leg sweep by Nao and Yappy hits a running leg drop. Nao goes off the ropes but Maika gets her on her shoulders, Nao slides off and applies a rolling cradle for two. Crossface by Nao, but Kaicho gets past Yappy and breaks it up. Nao tries to get Maika on her shoulders but can’t, Kaicho comes in and nails the Rainmaker on Nao. Diving senton by Maika, but Yappy barely breaks up the cover. Maika goes off the ropes and levels Nao with a lariat, but Nao barely kicks out. Maika drags up Nao and gets her on her shoulders, Argentine Buster by Maika and she picks up the three count! Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho win!

Another fun match. I love Kaicho so I am biased from the start, but all four here played their roles well and the time passed quickly. Not everyone in the match is a great wrestler and most (if not all) will never be main event wrestlers, but they stuck to what they knew how to do, kept the action fast enough, and kept the wrestlers fresh so no one was exposed. Another relatively simply laid out match but still a good one, so far this card is shaping up very well.

Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi vs. Miku Aono and Satsuki Totoro

Kurumi and Satsuki start off, Miku immediately comes in to help but Kurumi shoulderblocks them both down. Akane comes in the ring as Kurumi gets Miku on her back, Akane jumps on her back as well as they go for a body press onto Satsuki but Satsuki moves out of the way. Satsuki puts Kurumi in a camel clutch but Akane breaks it up, footstomp by Kurumi to Satsuki and she tags in Akane. Akane puts Satsuki in the camel clutch, Kurumi returns to the ring and she dropkicks Satsuki in the face while she is still in the hold. Cover by Akane, but it gets two. Akane picks up Satsuki but Satsuki blocks the scoop slam, Kurumi holds Satsuki for Akane and she hits a running shoulderblock for two. Irish whip to the corner by Akane but Satsuki fires out of the corner with a shoulderblock and tags in Miku. Dropkicks by Miku to Akane, more kicks by Miku and she throws Akane into the corner. Miku charges at Akane but Kurumi intercepts her, Satsuki also is in the ring by now and Akane lariats her in the corner. Satsuki and Miku are stacked in the corner but Miku avoids their opponent’s charge, leading to Satsuki getting hit instead. Miku kicks Akane in the back repeatedly, cover by Miku but it gets two. Double underhook by Miku, she can’t pick up Akane up however and Akane chops her to the mat. Akane tags Kurumi, dropkick by Kurumi to Miku and she covers her for two.

Satsuki gets in the ring to help Miku hit a vertical suplex, cover by Miku but it gets a two count. Miku goes off the ropes but Kurumi hits a body avalanche, Miku comes back with a dropkick however and makes the tag to Satsuki. Satsuki goes off the ropes and hits a running senton on Kurumi, body press by Satsuki and she gets a two count. Satsuki goes for a seated senton but Kurumi moves, Kurumi hits a seated senton of her own and holds down Satsuki for two. Kurumi picks up Satsuki and kicks her in the head, jumping crossbody by Satsuki but it only gets two. Miku comes in and hits a fisherman suplex on Kurumi, Satsuki picks up Kurumi and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Satsuki goes up to the top turnbuckle while Miku stands in the corner, Miku tries to assist Satsuki in hitting a senton but Kurumi moves. Kurumi and Satsuki trade elbows, Satsuki goes off the ropes but Akane runs in and drops her with a shoulderblock. Cannonball by Kurumi to Satsuki, but Satsuki barely kicks out of the cover. Akane gets Satsuki on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, footstomp by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton for two. Kurumi goes off the ropes and levels Satsuki with a lariat, but again Satsuki gets a shoulder up. Kurumi goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving body press, and she picks up the three count! Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi are the winners.

Not unwatchable but a step down from the last two matches. With the wrestlers in this match one could only expect so much, Satsuki and Akane are pretty average wrestlers (although Akane can be fun in hardcore matches) and with this being Miku’s first Ice Ribbon match there was going to be some feeling things out. For a shorter match it took too long to get going, and then they went straight to Joshi Chaos which is fine but it was more fast-paced than really entertaining. Nothing really wrong with it but the definition of a match that is “just there.”

Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma vs. Risa Sera, Fujimoto, and Tsukushi

Team Tsukasa attacks before the bell rings, they stack their opponents in the corner and Tsukasa’s teammates kneel in front of them so she can catapult off their backs with a dropkick. Things calm down with Tsukasa and Ibuki staying in as the legal wrestlers, with Tsukasa putting Ibuki in a submission hold. Risa is tagged in and she takes over on Ibuki, putting her in the Rocking Horse while Tsukasa plays defense. Double kneedrop by Risa, and she covers Ibuki for two. Tsukushi is tagged next as Ibuki continues getting beat down, while Syuri finally gets free and breaks it up. Tsukasa returns, she puts Ibuki in the ropes and with Tsukushi they both dropkick her in the back. Irish whip by Tsukasa but Ibuki hits a quick crossbody, Tsukasa bridges out of the pin and kicks Ibuki to the mat. Tsukasa goes off the ropes and she elbows Ibuki in the chest, cover by Tsukasa but it gets two. Scoop slam attempt by Tsukasa but Ibuki reverses it into a slam of her own, giving her time to tag in Tae. Diving crossbody by Tae, Tsukushi and Risa come in but Tae dropkicks both of them. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Tae to Tsukasa, Tae goes for a strike but Tsukasa blocks it and applies in Octopus Hold. Tae slowly walks to the ropes and forces the break, snapmare by Tsukasa and she kicks Tae in the back. More kicks by Tsukasa, she goes for a PK but Tae blocks it and elbows Tsukasa in the knee. Tae goes off the ropes but so does Tsukasa and she cradles Tae to the mat before kicking her in the chest.

Tsukasa tags in Risa, Risa elbows Tae in the chest and the two trade blows. Tae applies a short armbar but Risa quickly rolls out of it, Irish whip by Tae to the corner and she hits a running elbow followed by a dropkick. Tae gets the short armbar re-applied, but Risa gets to the ropes for the break. Tae goes up top but she is grabbed from the apron by Tsukasa, Risa gets Tae on her shoulders while Tsukasa goes up to the top turnbuckle while Syuri runs in the ring. Tsukasa jumps off the top turnbuckle and catapults off Tae’s back to hit a diving crossbody on Syuri, Tae wiggles off Risa’s back however and puts her in a submission hold. Risa gets to the ropes for the break, Tae tags in Syuri as Tsukasa also comes in, but Syuri fights them both off. Knee by Syuri to Risa in the corner, cover by Syuri but it gets two. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Tsukushi quickly breaks it up, Syuri stomps on Risa’s back but Risa elbows her. The two trade elbows and knees, dropkick by Risa and she drops Syuri with the Schwein for a two count. Risa quickly gets a reverse double kneedrop off the ropes, but that gets a two as well. Risa tags in Tsukushi, dropkick by Tsukushi and Tsukasa comes in to slam Tsukushi onto Syuri. Tsukushi picks up Syuri, elbows by Tsukushi and she catches Syuri with a knee. Murder Dropkick by Tsukushi while Syuri is against the ropes, Tsukushi goes off the ropes again but she is kicked from ringside.

Double underhook suplex by Syuri, Tae dropkicks Tsukushi and Syuri connects with a kick to the chest for two. Syuri tags in Ibuki, Ibuki and Tsukushi trade elbows until Tsukushi knocks down Ibuki for a two count. Tsukushi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ibuki avoids the diving footstomp, Tae runs in and drops Tsukushi with a DDT. Running knee by Syuri, Ibuki slams Tsukushi to the mat but her cover is broken up by both Tsukasa and Risa. Ibuki goes up top but Tsukushi avoids the diving body press, Tsukasa nails Ibuki with a missile dropkick and Risa hits a double knee strike in the corner. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she covers Ibuki but Syuri breaks it up. Tsukasa and Tsukushi both dropkick Syuri and then Tae out of the ring, Tsukushi knees Ibuki repeatedly in the head before stomping her. Tsukushi goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving footstomp, cover by Tsukushi but Ibuki barely bridges out of the cover. Tsukushi picks up Ibuki but Tae gets out of the double underhook, cradle by Tsukushi but Ibuki reverses it and the two trade flash pins. Jumping footstomp by Tsukushi and she goes for the Harukaze, but Ibuki rolls through it and holds down Tsukushi for the three count! Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma are the winners.

They took the easy way out by having Ibuki be the focus of the match, but this was still pretty damn good. Tsukasa is probably the best Joshi wrestler that Western fans don’t talk about much, she is fantastic at everything she does and all her segments were quality. Tsukushi has so much anger and fierceness, you’d have thought her opponents owed her money the way she fights, and she was fun to watch as well. Everyone else kind of blended in together, Syuri and Risa Sera both looked fine but mostly just came in for a few spots, same with Tae Honma. A match designed to have a rookie/child beatdown doesn’t need six wrestlers, but it did keep the action fast paced and everything was crisp. Even though I would have changed the format a bit, Tsukasa and Tsukushi alone made this match worth watching.  Recommended

(c) Matsuya Uno vs. Banny Oikawa vs. Cherry
Triangle Ribbon Championship

All three lock knuckles to start, they do a wristlock chain until the Ice Ribbon wrestlers stop to double team Cherry. It doesn’t work as Cherry fights them both off, Cherry and Matsuya have a chat until Cherry chokes Matsuya into the corner. Banny dropkicks Cherry and then Matsuya, another dropkick by Banny but Cherry covers her for two. Banny and Cherry argue, Matsuya breaks that up and they run through a sequence ending with Matsuya dropkicking both of her opponents. Matsuya puts both opponents in the ropes and takes turns chopping them, she picks up Banny and slams her head-first into the mat. She then puts Cherry on top of her and applies a submission to both, she lets go after a moment and stacks both in the corner. Matsuya charges in but Cherry moves, she still hits Banny but Cherry grabs her from behind and hits a monkey flip followed by mounted elbow strikes. Cherry goes for a scoop slam but Matsuya blocks it and hits one of her own, Cherry quickly goes for a Triangle Choke but Banny breaks it up. Banny dropkicks Cherry and Matsuya in different corners, she stacks them in one corner and hits a final dropkick.

Banny picks up Matsuya and kicks her in the chest a few times, jumping back kick by Banny but Cherry grabs her from the apron. Matsuya tries to dropkick Banny but Banny moves, cradle attempts by Banny but Matsuya kicks out of each. Banny goes up top as Cherry gets back in the ring, she eventually just falls off while Cherry beats down Matsuya. Cherry drop toeholds Banny onto Matsuya, Cherry covers her but it gets a two count. Cherry cradles Matsuya and hits mounted punches, but Banny picks her up from behind and they trade waistlocks. A double schoolboy attempt by Matsuya gets a two count, dropkick by Matsuya to Banny but Banny blocks the F Crash so Matsuya rolls her up instead for another two. Banny puts Matsuya in a crossface, she lets go and attempts a few flash pins, but Cherry breaks it up. Cherry tries to pin both Banny and Matsuya but can’t get the three count, she slams Banny in front of the corner and then slams Matsuya next to her. Cherry goes up top but both avoids the Swanton Bomb, Cherry is sent out of the ring and Banny schoolboys Matsuya for two. Matsuya quickly puts Banny in a cradle of her own, and she gets the three count! Matsuya Uno wins and retains the championship.

Since this title has been around forever there is clearly an audience for this style of match, but I am not the audience. I’m not a huge fan of triple threats and I’m not a huge fan of the vast majority of comedy matches, so if you combine those two together its not really my cup of tea. No one really got a chance to show off as the match was relatively short, although there weren’t any noticeable issues which is a plus. The match was exactly what I expected, if you enjoy these types of matches you’ll like it as there was nothing wrong with the action but skippable for me.

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Suzu Suzuki
ICExInfinity Championship

Suzu dropkicks Maya right out of the gate but Maya dropkicks her back, running knee by Maya in the corner and she knees Suzu in the back. Backbreaker by Maya and she hits a few more knees before covering Suzu for two. Maya stretches Suzu for a moment, back up Suzu goes for a slam but Maya blocks it. Chops to the chest by Maya, Suzu goes for a dropkick but Maya sidesteps her. Maya picks up Suzu but Suzu reverses the scoop slam into one of her own, Suzu goes off the ropes and she hits a series of dropkicks. Irish whip by Suzu and she hits another dropkick, she charges Maya in the corner and hits a shoulder tackle. Suzu goes for a swandive move but Maya hits her before she can jump off, she grabs Suzu while she is still on the apron and brings her into the ring with a backbreaker. Maya knees Suzu while she is against the ropes and charges her, but Suzu moves out of the way and dropkicks Maya from the apron. Cover by Suzu, but it gets two. Suzu goes up top but Maya hits her before she can jump off, she tosses Suzu back in the ring but Suzu rolls to her feet and goes for a spear. Maya blocks it but Suzu slides behind her back and the two trade elbows. Suzu bridges to avoid an elbow and hits a spear, cover by Suzu but it gets a two count.

Suzu picks up Maya and goes for a suplex, but Maya blocks it and applies a Cobra Twist. Maya slams Suzu to the mat to end the hold before putting her in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Suzu crawls to the ropes for the break. Maya charges Suzu while she is against the ropes and nails a running knee, Maya goes up top but Suzu avoids the missile dropkick and hits a modified reverse STO. Suzu goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, cover by Suzu but it gets two. She goes out to the apron and delivers a swandive dropkick, cover by Suzu but it gets another two count. Suzu goes for the German Suplex but Maya grabs the ropes to block it, elbows by Suzu but Maya kicks Suzu in the chest. Suzu recovers and goes for a few flash pins, but Maya kicks out of each. Kicks to the chest by Maya and she hits a vertical suplex, Scorpion Deathlock by Maya, but Suzu makes it to the ropes. Maya picks up Suzu but Suzu slides away and she plants Maya with a release German Suplex. Suzu picks up Maya and nails the German Suplex Hold, but Maya gets a shoulder up. Strike combination by Maya, Suzu tries a cradle but Maya rolls through it and kicks Suzu in the head. Crystal of Snow by Maya, but Suzu gets a shoulder up on the cover. Maya picks up Suzu and delivers the Tiger Driver, and she picks up the three count! Maya Yukihi wins and retains the championship.

For a match with an obvious conclusion, still a pretty solid defense for Maya. As expected, Maya spent the bulk of the match on offense and focused on Suzu’s back, which was done well as she has a good variety of offense to stay on task. Suzu’s hope spots were few but solid, and when she finally hit the German Suplex Hold it was almost a believable nearfall. Sadly that was the climax for Suzu as she went down soon after, with Maya finishing her off without too much of an issue at that point. Both wrestlers are fun to watch and Maya looked good as she always does, it didn’t really feel like a championship match but it was enjoyable nonetheless and was probably a fitting main event for a smaller show.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1008 on 11/23/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act 37
Date: March 14th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Occasionally I do this obnoxious thing where I review an event that I have on DVD, that is not anywhere online so only a small handful of people in the US have access to it. But I feel its important to shine a light on events that no one has seen, even though I know it can be annoying if I pimp a match that isn’t readily available. I picked this event because it was a pretty big one for Actwres girl’Z, with a title match in the main event. Actwres girl’Z is a smaller promotion based in Tokyo, they very rarely air on TV or online but do sell all of their events on DVD on their website. Check out the Actwres girl’Z Roster for a look at the wrestlers, here is the full card:

• Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui
• Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono
• Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma
• AgZ Championship: Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

Since this is an official DVD, all matches are shown in full. Wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui

Tie-up to start, Ayumi works the headlock and snapmares Misa around before applying a bodyscissors. Misa rolls out of it and applies a single leg crab hold, but Ayumi gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Misa but Ayumi dropkicks her, they trade elbows until Ayumi knocks down Misa with another dropkick. Scoop slam attempt by Ayumi but Misa reverses it into a cradle for a quick two count. Back up, drop toehold by Misa and she hits a crossbody. A second crossbody by Misa, she picks up Ayumi and hits a scoop slam for two. Crab hold by Misa, Ayumi inches to the ropes and finally makes it to force the break. Misa charges Ayumi but Ayumi drop toeholds her into the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Stomps by Ayumi but Misa avoids her dropkick and hits a running back elbow. Dropkick by Misa but Ayumi blocks the scoop slam, bridging cover by Ayumi but Misa kicks out. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Japanese Rolling Clutch by Misa and she picks up the three count! Misa Matsui wins.

Even though Misa won, I thought that Ayumi looked a bit better. Ayumi’s elbows were better, her dropkicks had more impact and she didn’t botch the ending of the match like Misa did. That doesn’t mean Misa won’t become better down the road but four months into it there is still plenty of room for improvement. A simple match, fine for an opener but nothing here to recommend watching.

Ayano Irie vs. Miku Aono

They struggle with a tie-up to start, Ayano gets Miku in the ropes and elbows her, but Miku returns the favor. Ayano and Miku trade waistlocks until Miku applies an armbar on the mat, but Ayano gets out of it and applies a wristlock. Side headlock takedown by Ayano but Miku reverses it with a headscissors, Ayano quickly gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Miku gets to the ropes for the break but Ayano stretches Miku before putting her in a camel clutch. Miku tosses Ayano over her head to get out of it, Ayano goes for a slam but Miku blocks it and hits a slam of her own. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, Miku doesn’t go down so Ayano hits another one. Miku still stays up, she absorbs a third before dropkicking Ayano to the mat. Dropkick by Miku in the corner and she kicks Ayano in the chest for a two count. Ayano fights back with elbows but Miku gets away and applies a backslide, schoolboys by Ayano but she gets two counts. A dropkick by Ayano knocks Miku over, scoop slam by Ayano and she covers Miku for two. Ayano goes off the ropes but Miku lariats her and hits a kneebreaker. Modified crab hold by Miku, and Ayano taps out! Miku Anou is the winner.

This was more even than I was expecting based off their experience levels, but at least I got the winner right. Miku was fairly impressive, her dropkicks are solid and I liked her modified crab hold she used to win. Overall this was more fluid than the last match, they worked together well and it was smooth. Still a pretty basic match but I could see either of these two having a decent career if they stick with it, both showed a little something special here even though they still are putting on pretty simple matches.

Mii vs. Momo Tani vs. Yumiko Hotta

Mii starts in the ring first with Hotta, she asks for a knucklelock and gets it, which Hotta easily wins. Momo attacks Hotta from behind and both of the young wrestlers take turns dropkicking Hotta in the corner. Momo struggles with Hotta so Mii helps her out with a dropkick to the back, Momo and Mii both dropkick Hotta again before celebrating. Momo tries to slam Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge, scoop slam by Hotta and she puts Momo in a camel clutch while Mii watches. Mii decides to start kicking Momo while Hotta looks amused, Hotta eventually lets go of Momo and congratulates Mii on her hard work. They both knocks Momo to the mat together, cover by Mii but it gets two. Mii runs over Momo before hitting a footstomp, but Momo hits a Backstabber. Hotta starts helping Momo now as she picks up Momo to help her kick Mii, crab hold by Momo but Mii gets into the ropes for the break. Momo puts the crab hold back on but again Mii gets into the ropes, Hotta comes in and she puts Mii in a camel clutch.

Momo kicks at Mii while she is in the hold, Mii reaches the ropes but Momo stomps on her hand. Hotta eventually picks up Mii, elbows by Mii to Hotta but Hotta doesn’t budge. Mii goes for a top toehold, it doesn’t work but Momo gets on the mat to help and they get Hotta over. Mii and Momo take turns running over Hotta’s back, Mii goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Momo knocks Mii away and gets a two count cover of her own, Momo and Mii start trading elbows while Hotta recovers. Hotta hits both of them, she stacks her opponents in the corner but when she charges in she only hits Momo. Mii schoolboys Hotta from behind for two, she suplexes Momo in the middle of the ring and covers her for a two count. Waistlock by Mii but Momo gets out of it, Hotta elbows Momo in the chest and Mii scoop slams Momo near the corner. Mii gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mii but Hotta breaks it up. Momo throws Mii at Hotta, Somato by Momo to Mii but Hotta breaks up her cover. Momo and Mii trade flash pins while Hotta watches, until Momo finally pins down Mii long enough to get the three count! Momo Tani wins the match.

This was an interesting match. Hotta was clearly not trying to win but just to get some in-ring time with the less experienced wrestlers, as at times she was just watching until she decided it was time to get involved for some reason or another. I liked the parts with Mii and Momo double teaming Hotta and if there was more of that it would have been a better match, but in the end it just felt unusual more than good. Some cute spots with Hotta, but not really a great match.

Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita (Cherry) vs. Himeka Arita, Miyuki Takase, and Tae Honma

Hikari and Tae begin the match for their teams, Tae gets Hikari to the mat but Hikari kips up and applies a wristlock. Tae reverses it as they trade holds, armdrag by Tae but Hikari cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Miyuki and Himeka come in the ring but Hikari hits a crossbody on both of them, SAKI and Bonita enter and they all pose on top of Himeka. Tae and Miyuki recover to help, they trey to pose on Hikari but Hikari collapses. The action spills out to the floor with Bonita choking Tae, Miyuki runs up the stairs and hits an elbow on Hikari. Hikari fires back with elbows to Miyuki and hits her own elbow after running down the stairs, Hikari then tosses Miyuki into a row of chairs at ringside. Miyuki slides Hikari back into the ring and the two trade chops, rapid fire chops by Miyuki in the corner but all the other wrestlers in the match get in the ring and get stacked up in the corner. Himeka charges in and hits a body avalanche on the whole lot (except SAKI who dove out of the way), and SAKI puts Himeka in a Rocking Horse. After a moment she lets go, SAKI picks up Himeka but Himeka gets away and hits a shoulderblock. SAKI doesn’t go over, she then tries to shoulderblock Himeka but Himeka stays on her feet. SAKI kicks Himeka but Himeka finally knocks her down with a shoulderblock, crab hold by Himeka but SAKI is too close to the ropes and forces a break. Snapmare by Himeka but SAKI avoids her knee, takedown by SAKI and she puts Himeka in a Scorpion Deathlock.

Himeka quickly gets out of it and gets SAKI on her shoulders, but SAKI slides away. Hikari runs in and hits a crossbody on Himeka to get her over on a sunset flip attempt, but the cover only gets two. Bonita is tagged in, she picks up Himeka and slams her to the mat. Miyuki trips Bonita from the floor, Himeka tosses her into the corner but Bonita avoids her charge and hits a knee. Swinging neckbreaker by Bonita, but he cover only gets two. Himeka fights back and hits a running knee, she gets Bonita on her shoulders in a backbreaker but SAKI and Hikari run in to rescue her. Himeka picks up Bonita again and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Himeka but Bonita kicks out. Himeka tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits a diving elbow smash off the second turnbuckle for a two count cover. Heel kick by Bonita and she dropkicks Miyuki, giving her time to tag in Hikari. Bonita stays in as SAKI comes in also and all three hit running strikes on Miyuki, PK by Hikari and she covers Miyuki for two. Hikari applies a choke but Miyuki gets out of it, Hikari goes for a crossbody but Miyuki elbows her in midair and gets a two count cover. Rolling fireman’s carry slam by Miyuki, but Hikari avoids the diving legdrop attempt. Chops and elbows by Miyuki in the corner but Hikari avoids one and slides out to the apron. She charges back in but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Tae. Tae gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a front dropkick, cover by Tae but it gets two. Bonita comes in and stomps Tae, but Tae throws Bonita into Hikari.

SAKI runs in and boots Tae in the head, kicks to the back by Hikari to Tae but Tae avoids the PK. Tae and Hikari trade elbows until Hikari hits a scoop slam, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. She tags in SAKI, SAKI boots Tae in the head and they start to do the “all six wrestlers suplex each other” spot but Hikari is in no mood and breaks it up with a kick. Vertical suplex by SAKI to Tae, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Himeka grabs her from behind and brings her back into the ring. SAKI hits a double facebuster on Himeka and Tae, SAKI goes for a boot but Tae catches her leg and goes for an ankle hold. SAKI quickly gets to the ropes, Tae dropkicks SAKI in the leg and covers her but SAKI is too close to the ropes. Tae trips SAKI and puts her in a cross kneelock, but the hold is broken up. Himeka and Miyuki come in and double team SAKI, Tae goes up top but Tae accidentally dropkicks her own partners. suplex by Bonita to Tae, Hikari gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. SAKI follows with a reverse splash, but the cover is broken up. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away and rolls up SAKI for two. Himeka shoulderblocks Hikari but Bonita chops her in the face, lariat by Miyuki to SAKI and Tae connects with a missile dropkick on SAKI for two. Tae holds SAKI but SAKI kicks Miyuki away and hits a vertical suplex onto both of them. Assisted footstomp by Hikari to Tae, SAKI picks up Tae and hits a vertical suplex for the three count pinfall! Hikari Shimizu, SAKI, and Sakuran Bonita are the winners!

This match not only met my expectations but exceeded them, a really fun match. You can tell they have been wrestling together for awhile as they have great chemistry, and both Hikaru Shimizu and Miyuki Takase have very bright futures in wrestling if they stay active. Matches with six wrestlers are generally too chaotic to tell a story and they embraced that here as there was constantly action going on and wrestlers running in to help their teammates. A fast paced and well executed match and the exact type you want in this slot to get the crowd excited for the main event coming up.  Recommended

(c) Saori Anou vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru pushes away Saori’s handshake attempt and elbows her repeatedly in the corner, Irish whip by Kakeru but Saori reverses it. Saori lands out on the apron but quickly gets back into the ring and boots Kakeru to the mat. Saori works a headlock but Kakeru quickly gets out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Saori avoids the move and hits a heel drop. Headlock by Saori but Kakeru inches to the ropes and gets there to force a break. Saori goes off the ropes and boots Kakeru in the face, she charges Kakeru but Kakeru hits a judo throw followed by series of dropkicks for a two count cover. Sleeper by Kakeru but Saori gets a foot on the ropes to get the hold released. Kakeru knocks Saori into the corner but Saori avoids he charges and hits an enzuigiri. Saori goes for a chop but Kakeru ducks it and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Kakeru while Saori is against the ropes and she snaps Saori’s head into the apron. Kakeru slams her head into the apron again before returning to the ring, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Another missile dropkick by Kakeru, she goes for the cover but Saori kicks out. Kakeru picks up Saori but Saori elbows her back and the two trade blows.

Slap by Saori and she hits an enzuigiri, Kakeru comes back with more elbows and she delivers a dropkick. Kakeru charges Saori but Saori snaps off German suplex, Kakeru gets back up however and plants Saori with a STO for a two count. Saori goes for a boot but Kakeru ducks it and schoolboys Saori for a two count. Kakeru gets the sleeper re-applied, she lets go to cover Saori but Saori kicks out. Kakeru jumps at Saori and drops her to the mat with a grounded front necklock, but Saori doesn’t fully go to sleep so Kakeru releases it. Kakeru drives Saori’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and re-applying the hold, but this time Saori is too close to the ropes and she forces a break. Kakeru doesn’t let go of the hold so Saori stands back up while still in it and slams Kakeru into the mat. This gets them even more in the ropes and the referee finally manages to break them up, Kakeru drags Saori to her feet and goes off the ropes, nailing a STO for a close two count. Saori goes off the ropes again but this time Saori snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kakeru goes for the front necklock but this time Saori slams her to the mat to block it, Kakeru goes for a cradle but Saori kicks out. Kakeru goes off the ropes and hits another STO, but again it only gets two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Saori goes behind her back and delivers a Wheelbarrow German Suplex Hold for two. Enzuigiri by Saori and she delivers a Dragon Suplex Hold, picking up the three count! Saori Anou is the winner and still the champion.

Even though I wish the match was a bit longer, it was still an enjoyable match. Kakeru’s STOs are fantastic, loads of impact and it is a perfectly reasonable finisher with the way that she executes it. I do wish that she wouldn’t just release submission holds for no reason, its a tough spot but if a submission isn’t going to work then its probably better to do a rope break or some other reversal as releasing them without victory isn’t overly logical. It really was Kakeru’s match as Saori was in despair for the bulk of it, but her move combination at the end felt definitive enough that it didn’t feel like a cheap victory. Overall I liked it, both are good wrestlers, even if it wasn’t completely without its flaws and was a little shorter than I’d prefer a main event title match to be.  Mildly Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act 37 on 3/14/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KAORU vs. Ray Lyn, Maria, and Rin Kadokura

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

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

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

Tomoko Watanabe vs. ZAP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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