Event: Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~
Date: March 3rd, 2021
Location: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 3,318
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on PPV and Samurai TV!

It is time for what will likely be the biggest Joshi event of the year! Since Bushiroad purchased Stardom, one of their goals was to have Stardom run in bigger buildings when the time was right, which leads them to Nippon Budokan for All-Star Dream Cinderella. They went all-out for the show, as SEAdLINNNG invades with big singles matches involving Nanae Takahashi and Yoshiko. Also, there is a Rumble with former wrestlers returning, and a total of five title matches. This review will be long so strap in, here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Natsupoi
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• All-Star Rumble with Momoe Nakanishi, Mima Shimoda, Chigusa Nagayo, Kyoko Inoue, Kikutaro, Gokigen Death, Emi Sakura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Miho Wakizawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, Yoko Bito, Yuuri Haruka, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Hiromi Mimura, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Bea Priestley, Ruaka, Mei Hoshizuki, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Saya Iida, and Lady C
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Konami
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship, Hair Vs. Hair Match: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

I will be watching the live broadcast, so matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

(c) AZM vs. Natsupoi
High Speed Championship

They charge each other and get right into a fast exchange, they avoid each others dropkicks and after some flash pins attempts they end up back on their feet. Kick by Natsupoi and she throws AZM into the corner, dropkicking her down to the floor. She goes up top but AZM quickly recovers and gets onto the apron before kicking Natsupoi in the head. Natsupoi falls to the floor, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a double footstomp. AZM rolls Natsupoi back in and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by AZM but it gets two. She applies the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes, Natsupoi throws AZM into the corner but AZM avoids her charge. Kick to the chest by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but AZM rolls through it and applies a submission.

Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes again, AZM goes up top and nails a diving double footstomp for two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits La Mistica, but Natsupoi rolls out of it. Head kick by AZM, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits La Mistica again. Natsupoi gets to the ropes, AZM runs to the corner but when she goes for the triple jump attack, she is greeted by a dropkick from Natsupoi. AZM and Natsupoi trade elbows as they return to their feet, AZM goes off the ropes but Natsupoi catches her with a kick. Backlash by Natsupoi, but AZM kicks out. Waistlock by Natsupoi and she nails a German suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Natsupoi goes up top and delivers the twisting body press, but the cover gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM but AZM elbows her off, rolling inside cradle by AZM but it gets a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, so Natsupoi superkicks AZM in the face. Natsupoi drags up AZM and hits rolling German suplexes, but the third only gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM and nails a Cross-Arm German Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Natsupoi wins and is the new champion!

A really fun way to kick off the show. Not everything was super smooth but the energy helped make up for that as it was just go-go-go from the opening bell. Fans that only watch Stardom may not been as familar with what Natsumi has been up to in recent years but she is fantastic, and she got a pretty dominating win here as by the end of the match she was firmly in control. AZM hit some killer footstomps and stayed in the match, but it almost felt like a coming-out party for Natsumi and I assume she’ll hold the title for awhile. A quality match to begin the big event.  Recommended

(c) Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai jump DDM before the match starts and isolate Maika, double teaming her. Saki stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Himeka before tagging in Natsuko, bootscrapes by Natsuko but Himeka kicks her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover and she tags Himeka, Himeka and Natsuko trade shoulderblocks with Himeka winning the battle. Saki runs in but Himeka stacks them both in the corner and hits a lariat. She puts both up on the turnbuckle and places them in an Argentine Backbreaker together before dropping them to the mat. Himeka picks up Natsuko and delivers a Jumping Knee, but Natsuko kicks out of the cover. Himeka tags Maika, Maika tosses Natsuko around the mat before hitting a STO for a two count. Stomps by Maika and she hits a lariat, but she didn’t notice that Saki blind tagged herself in. Saki jumps in the ring with a bulldog to Maika, Maika is thrown into the corner and Saki hits a running knee. Saki gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a headscissors into a cradle, picking up a two count.

Natsuko is tagged back in, she stacks both opponents in the corner and delivers a cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, she tags Saki and Saki hits a diving footstomp. She quickly tags Natsuko back in, diving body press by Natsuko but Maika kicks out of the cover. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but that gets a two count as well. Natsuko picks up Maika but Himeka runs in to help, Saki kicks Himeka however and she falls out of the ring. Natsuko tags Saki, flying headscissors by Saki to Maika but Himeka cuts her off with a knee. Himeka and Maika charge Saki but accidentally lariat each other, scoop slam by Saki to Maika and she goes up top but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika to Saki, she picks her back up and hits a STO but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Himeka comes in and with Maika they hit a lariat on Saki followed by a sliding lariat for a two count. Maika picks up Saki but Saki slides away and pins her down for a two count. Natsuko has found her way back in but she eats a double chokeslam, Maika picks up Saki and nails a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Donna del Mondo win and retain the championship.

Normally I like title matches to be a little longer than this, but considering the participants and the fact this was a pre-show match, I don’t mind it as much here. This was pretty well-worked, nothing mind blowing but a good match within their limitations. Maika and Himeka are a bundle of fun, I could watch them all day as they bring something fresh and interesting to Stardom’s matches. Saki really brought her A game today which helped elevate the match, and Natsuko didn’t do much which is for the best. Oedo Tai wrestled the match oddly straight besides from the pre-bell jumping, with no cheating which surprised me. A solid match to keep the show rolling along, even if it was nothing special.

Stardom All-Star Rumble

Starlight Kid and Mei Hoshizuki are the first two in the match. They start pretty traditionally as they trade holds, armdrag by Starlight Kid, Mei catches her crossbody attempt but Starlight Kid spins it around into a cradle for two. Dropkick by Mei as Gokigen Death comes down, but she just poses while the other two keep fighting. They get tired of this and jump her, but Starlight Kid and Death end up double teaming Mei. Momoe Nakanishi is the next wrestler to enter the match, she goes up top but Death and Starlight Kid shake the ropes to knock her off. Irish whip to Momoe but she runs over all three opponents and poses on the mat with Death. The veterans stay in control and pose on Starlight Kid and Mei, as Koguma enters the match! First time we have seen Koguma wrestling in almost six years. Koguma hits a falling body press on Death and Starlight Kid before they all get into a fast exchange. Meanwhile the next wrestler is already on their way to the ring, Unagi Sayaka! Starlight Kid is attacked by everyone in the corner but is able to knock back Unagi, Unagi is stomped on by everyone while Saya Iida enters the match. Saya chops everyone, and while she is doing that Mina Shirakawa comes down as the next wrestler in the match.

By now there are too many people in the ring, a common issue in Battle Royal style matches. The Stardom wrestlers get into an exchange while Yuna Manase enters the match. Yuna and Saya exchange shots, Starlight Kid comes over to help but Yuna lariats both of them. Suddenly all of Gatoh Move appear on the ramp as Emi Sakura is the next wrestler down, Emi immediately goes after Momoe and hits a crossbody in the corner. Everyone watches as Emi and Momoe trade dropkick attempts before they hug, but we take a break as Lady C is wrestler #11 to join the match. Lady C snapmares Emi and puts her in a headscissors, and you know what is coming as this starts a giant headscissors chain with all the wrestlers (except Momoe, who runs over all of them instead of joining them). яндекс As it is broken up, Kyoko Inoue enters the ring but she is immediately attacked by everyone. She fights back but Lady C drops her with a chokeslam, everyone covers Kyoko but she kicks out. Lariat by Kyoko to Lady C, and she covers her for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

Ruaka is the next wrestler, she shoulderblocks Kyoko to the mat and boots her, but Kyoko fires back with a lariat for the three count! Ruaka is eliminated. Rina Kadokura enters the match while Emi tricks Kyoko and gets everyone to cover her again, this time getting the three count! Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. We get some Random Chaos in the ring a Hiroyo Matsumoto is the next entry, she is in no rush to enter but eventually makes it into the ring. Miho Wakizawa is wrestler #16, while in the ring Hiroyo is beating everyone with a giant tawashi. Or something like one. Momoe is set up in the ropes to get a rubber band snapped in her face, but it accidentally gets sent back into Miho by mistake. Mima Shimoda comes into the match and dumps Yuna Manase over the top rope! Yuna Manase is eliminated. The legend Bea Priestley enters but Emi chops her in the chest and everyone tries to throw her out of the ring. She hangs on as Yuuri Haruka makes her entrance, meanwhile Mima is thrown over the top rope along with Bea in quick succession. Mima Shimoda and Bea Priestley are eliminated!

Yuuri applies an armbar to Death but it gets broken up, the camera pans to the stage and we see Hiromi Mimura is on her way down. Before she gets in the ring, Emi helps dump Yuuri over the top rope to the floor! Yuuri Haruka is eliminated. Hiromi winds up for an attack but is kicked by Miho, but Starlight Kid comes to the rescue. Hiroyo whacks Hiromi with a backpack, Miho puts Hiromi in the Backslide and she gets the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated. Yoko Bito is the 21st entry, while Hiroyo dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Miho hits a Frankensteiner on Emi onto all the tawashis, and Emi is covered by multiple wrestlers for the three count. Emi Sakura is eliminated. Miho is slow to recover so everyone covers her as well, picking up another three count! Miho Wakizawa is eliminated. Not done yet, the mob rolls up Hiroyo, keeping her down for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is eliminated. That clears the ring a little bit. Yuzuki Aikawa enters as the next wrestler, and she still looks the same as she did when she retired eight years ago. As she slowly walks down, Saya and Starlight Kid work together to throw Rin over the top rope. Rin Kadokura is eliminated. Not wasting time, Chigusa Nagayo quickly follows as she enters the match, Saya Iida greets her and the two trade blows. While they duke it out, the final wrestler enters the match – Kikutaro! 

Back in the ring (which most wrestlers aren’t even in anymore as they stand on the apron) Chigusa drops Saya with a Death Valley Bomb but Saya kicks out of the cover. Chigusa picks up Saya and drops her with a heel kick, but again Saya gets a shoulder up. Saya hulks up and knocks over Chigusa with a double chop, but her cover gets two as Chigusa puts Saya in an armlock. No one helps her and Saya submits! Saya Iida is eliminated. Yuzuki comes in the ring finally and challenges Chigusa, kicks by Yuzuki but Chigusa blocks the heel drop and punches her in the stomach. Yuzuki throws Chigusa into the corner and hits a body avalanche, as everyone else joins in attacking Chigusa in the corner. Yuzuki and Yoko both kick Chigusa, cover by Yuzuki but it gets a two count. She tries again with everyone else helping her, but that gets a two count as well. Chigusa gets back up but is schoolboyed from behind, and finally she is held down for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is eliminated.

Kikutaro still hasn’t entered the ring but finally does so, he’s in full creeper mode as everyone runs away from him. He grabs Unagi but Mina attacks him, Kikutaro covers both of them but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Starlight Kid attacks at Kikutaro, he gets away but Chigusa jaws at him from the apron. Chigusa takes one for the team as Kikutaro grabs her… intimately, she gets back in the ring and hits him with an elbow. Everyone else joins in stomping down Kikutaro, Momo☆Latch by Momoe and she holds down Kikutaro for the three count! Kikutaro is eliminated. Moonsault by Momoe to Death, and she holds her down for the three count as well! Gokigen Death is eliminated. Starlight Kid and Momoe go after each other, Momoe jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Starlight Kid pushes her off before she can hit a move. She keeps hitting Momoe as she dangles on the top rope, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Momoe crashes to the floor. Momoe Nakanishi is eliminated. Snapmare by Yoko to Koguma, she picks her up but Koguma snaps off a DDT. Starlight Kid grabs Koguma and holds her for Yoko, but Koguma ducks and Yoko kicks Starlight Kid by accident. Yoko charges Kid but Kid holds down the top rope, sending Yoko to the apron. Koguma runs over and kicks Yoko, sending her to the floor! Yoko Bito is eliminated. 

We are down to five wrestlers! Cutter by Koguma on Starlight Kid and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Koguma and Unagi trade flash pins, but Unagi gets help from Mina and Yuzuki as they hold down Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated. We are down to three – Mina Shirakawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, and Unagi Sayaka. Yuzuki fights off both Cosmic Angels before getting into an elbow exchange with Mina, slap by Mina but Yuzuki slaps her back. Mina elbows Yuzuki against the ropes and charges her, but Yuzuki avoids the dropkick and hits a heel drop. Yuzuki goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi saves Mina, Mina then returns the favor but Yuzuki nails Mina with a heel kick and delivers the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is eliminated. Yuzuki charges Unagi but Unagi dumps her onto the apron, she goes for a kick but Yuzuki gets her out onto the apron with her. Kicks by Yuzuki as they both stand on the apron but Unagi catches one, heel drop to the back by Unagi and she hits another one to send Yuzuki to the floor. Yuzuki Aikawa is eliminated.  Unagi Sayaka is the last wrestler standing and is the winner!

Its always hard to ‘rate’ Battle Royals, and ones that take place in Japan tend to be even more difficult due to the more lighthearted atmosphere. There was a lot of wrestlers standing out of the way while the planned spots were going on, with some wrestlers such as Koguma disappearing for long periods of time. Some of the exchanges were really enjoyable though, such as Chigusa Nagayo/Saya Iida and the final threesome, and it was really nice of Chigusa Nagayo to “take one for the team” with Kikutaro as I can only imagine the Internet’s reaction if he had done that to Starlight Kid. It was great seeing Yuzuki again in particular, and none of the returning wrestlers looked too out of place. Its a long match with stretches of nothing, but still enough fun moments that long time Joshi fans will likely find something to enjoy.

Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo and Nanae face off and trade slaps, Nanae pushes Momo into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Momo avoids one and kicks Nanae in the head, she hits her own elbows but Nanae gets her back and hits a German suplex. Nanae elbows Momo while she is against the ropes, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor but Nanae catches the PK attempt and hits a dragon screw. Lariat by Nanae but Momo fires back with a dropkick, she dropkicks Nanae down in the corner and delivers a hard dropkick to the chest. More dropkicks by Momo and she kicks Nanae repeatedly in the chest. Nanae eventually catches one but Momo slaps her, headbutts by Nanae and she kicks Momo onto the apron. Nanae picks up Momo and hits a short range lariat, elbows by Nanae and she slams Momo to the mat for a two count cover. Nanae goes off the ropes but Momo nails a head kick, elbows by Momo and she kicks Nanae in the head. Momo goes off the ropes and hits the Somato, but Nanae kicks out of the cover.

Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but again Nanae kicks out. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Nanae and hits the B Driver, but Nanae rolls through it and hits one of her own for a two count. Both wrestlers slowly get up, jumping kick by Nanae and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Momo avoids the Refrigerator Bomb and hits a knee to the back of the head. Momo goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but it gets two. Momo goes back up again but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and this time nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae picks up Momo but Momo slides away and delivers a Tequila Sunrise for two. Momo drags up Nanae but Nanae gets away and hits an elbow. Head kick by Momo, she goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a lariat. Nanae picks up Momo and drops her with the Nana☆Racka but Momo barely kicks out. Nanae picks Momo back up and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

While this match was “good,” something felt like it was missing. Maybe due to the length or placement on the card, it didn’t have that pop I was expecting and never really felt like it elevated itself. If not for the history between Nanae and Stardom, it would have felt like a pretty standard veteran vs. young star match. Which probably isn’t fair, there was nothing “wrong” with the match at all, it just didn’t feel special either. Even with their limited time they seemed to run of out ideas, with lots of Somatos and elbows, and it makes you wonder if they just aren’t too familar with each other and decided to keep it simple. Hard hitting for sure, and Momo held her own, it just felt more like an introduction than an all out war. A decent enough match, but ultimately nothing that will leave a lasting impression once the show ends.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Konami
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They circle each other to start before grappling for position on the mat, Syuri goes for the armbreaker but Konami easily blocks it and goes for one of her own. Syuri gets to the ropes to break the hold, sliding kick by Konami and Syuri falls out to the floor. Natsuko comes over but Konami pushes her away and slides Syuri back in, stomps by Konami and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Konami quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, Syuri rolls out of it but Konami keeps a hold on the arm. Syuri rolls out again and gets a hold of Konami’s ankle, but Konami reverses it and applies her own ankle hold. Konami gets Syuri’s back in a crucifix before driving her to the mat, she gets a stretch hold locked in but Syuri gets to the ropes. Strike combination by Konami and she delivers a head kick, but Syuri fires back with a release German. Konami hits a suplex of her own and applies a sleeper, Syuri gets up but Konami plants her with a Sleeper Suplex for two. Konami goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Syuri catches her leg and hits a double knee gutbuster.

Konami quickly connects with a head kick but is too hurt to capitalize, they slowly get to their knees and trade elbows. They trade kicks as they return to their feet, running knee by Syuri and she covers Konami for two. Syuri applies a guillotine before putting Konami’s feet on the top rope and dropping her with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami slides away and applies a cross armbreaker. Syuri quickly gets out of it and applies a Stretch Muffler, but Konami gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri gets Konami on her shoulders and hits a modified Emerald Frosion, but Konami kicks out of the cover and quickly applies a modified armbar. Syuri muscles out of it and gets the Stretch Muffler re-applied, but modifies it to also tie up Konami’s arm (Stardom called this move the “White Tiger”). Konami struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Syuri wins the match and retains the championship.

Konami shook Syuri’s hand after the match and gave her a hug, showing a level of post-match respect that is rare for a member of Oedo Tai. This definitely had a different feel than most matches in Stardom, as it was a very ground-based and submission focused match. It really did feel like a match these two would have had against each other in 2016, obviously Konami is more polished now than she was back then but the structure reminded me of the older days of Konami. As far as mat-based matches go, this was pretty fun to watch and very fluid, and you could tell they are very comfortable with each other as nothing looked forced. I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement in the closing stretch as it ended with little warning, but still an enjoyable match that probably meant more to the wrestlers than it meant to anyone else.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mayu into the ropes and gives a clean break. Kick by Mayu but Yoshiko blocks the armdrag, hitting one of her own. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she picks up Mayu and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running boot, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko quickly applies a headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Yoshiko picks up Mayu and kicks her in the back. Yoshiko keeps stomping on Mayu’s back before picking her up and applying a stretch hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Mayu reverses it and hits a headscissors. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Yoshiko with a dropkick, sending the SEAdLINNNG wrestler out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and sails out onto Yoshiko (mostly missing) with a plancha suicida, she slowly recovers and slides Yoshiko back in the ring. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt, low kick by Mayu but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mayu crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yoshiko quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton onto Mayu’s back, she goes back up to the second turnbuckle and connects with a regular diving senton for a two count cover.

Yoshiko picks up Mayu but Mayu gets her to the mat with a reverse hurricanrana. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets to the ropes to block the dragon suplex, Mayu pulls her off the ropes but Yoshiko elbows her off. Mayu ducks a lariat and drops Yoshiko with a release German, Yoshiko gets back up but Mayu delivers the dragon suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up to block the move. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they trade strikes when they return to their feet until Yoshiko knocks Mayu back to the mat. Mayu gets back up but eats another hard elbow for her trouble, Mayu returns to her feet and temporarily knocks Yoshiko to her knees before eating two hard lariats. Yoshiko picks up Mayu and slams her to the mat from a fireman’s carry, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko positions Mayu and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the diving senton but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko drags up Mayu but Mayu gets her back and applies a schoolboy for two. Superkick by Mayu and she kicks Yoshiko in the head, another superkick by Mayu and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mayu picks up Yoshiko and delivers the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the winner.

There was a lot to enjoy here, a really entertaining match. Its kinda amazing these two still have such great chemistry after all these years, and everything they did here clicked. Yoshiko’s work on Mayu’s back was top notch, probably good enough it could have used a little more long term selling by Mayu but Mayu constantly looks in pain so it still worked out. I really loved the ending, with Mayu not wasting a second before going to the moonsault. No slow dramatic climb up the turnbuckles and pointing to the crowd, just quickly taking advantage of a hurt Yoshiko who is not the easiest wrestler to pin. The time just flew by and I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few more minutes, but they told their story and told it well. I don’t know where Stardom and SEAdLINNNG’s relationship is going from here, but this was a great hard hitting match that delivered on the expectations.  Highly Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
World of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Saya quickly kicks her and they lock-up before trading holds, they go through an exchange off the ropes ending with Utami dropkicking Saya in the chest. Utami picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami puts Saya in the ropes and delivers a sliding kick to the back, double kneedrop to the back by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami applies a Camel Clutch but Saya inches to the ropes for the break. Utami stomps at Saya and boots her in the corner, Utami picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Saya fights back but Utami avoids her dropkick and kicks Saya in the back. Saya fires back with a dropkick of her own, hurricanrana by Saya and Utami falls out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes and dives out onto Utami with a tope con hilo, she picks up Utami and tosses her back into the ring. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and the two trade shots. Utami wins the battle, she picks up Saya and goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Saya and she covers Utami for a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and delivers a sliding kick.

Utami picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a Canadian Destroyer, scoop slam by Saya and she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind and knocks her onto the apron. Saya comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, she picks up Utami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and hits a release German. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya spins off and delivers a heel kick. Saya picks up Utami and drops her with a fisherman sitout slam, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami avoids the Phoenix Splash. Utami applies a sleeper but Saya drives her back into the corner to break it up, Saya charges Utami but Utami gets her on her shoulders and nails the Air Raid Crash. Utami gets the sleeper on but Saya gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Saya and gets her onto her shoulders, she spins Saya around and slams her to the mat for a two count. Utami picks up Saya and gets her up in a crucifix, but Saya hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Utami recovers first and picks up Saya, rocking her with a hard lariat. Another lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and nails the Hijack Bomb (Spinning BT Bomb) for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

While the last match was great, this one was even better. Even though Saya wasn’t an A+ challenger, she still brought everything she had and she has never looked better than she did here. Everything she hit was smooth as butter and her selling was top-notch, as she made everything Utami did look like death. She did so well in the match, I actually was buying into the nearfalls which is the biggest compliment I can give to a match that on paper had a clear winner. The dynamic between Utami’s power and Saya’s finesse created constantly entertaining back and forths, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire match as there was no telling what they were going to do. The ending was definitive as Utami threw Saya right through the ring, a fitting ending to an evenly contested match. These two are the future of Stardom if they stick with wrestling, easily the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career and a great showing from Utami as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After circling each other they start tracking strikes, waistlock by Giulia and they trade holds. Tam gets Giulia to the mat but Giulia applies a headscissors, Tam slaps Giulia before returning to her feet. Tam goes for a cutter but Giulia applies a sleeper, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. Giulia goes for a dropkick but Tam moves and applies a sleeper, Giulia tries to get out of it with a backdrop suplex but Tam lands on top of her. They trade elbows until Tam knocks Giulia to the mat, Giulia rolls out of the ring to recover while Tam waits for her in the ring. Giulia returns after a moment and picks up Tam, but Tam wiggles away. Release German by Giulia with Tam ending up on the apron, Giulia goes out to the apron as well and kicks Tam in the head. Giulia goes for a suplex but Tam blocks it, big boot by Giulia and she hits a cutter onto the apron. Tam falls out of the ring with Giulia going out after her, Giulia twists Tam in the guardrail and chokes her. Giulia stops choking her long enough to throw Tam into the railing, big boot by Giulia and she throws Tam into the rail again. Giulia gets a table and sets it up at ringside, she grabs Tam and pulls her up onto the table with her. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her onto the table with a piledriver, she returns to the ring while Tam slowly follows behind her. Giulia plants a sliding kick on Tam, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count.

Giulia gets on the top turnbuckle but Tam slowly gets up and joins her, Giulia grabs her head however and applies a guillotine choke while still on the turnbuckles. She lets go after a moment and Tam flops back to the mat, she goes for a missile dropkick but Tam avoids it. Tam goes for a knee but Giulia catches it, she gets Tam up in a Glorious position but Tam reverses it with Reverse DDT. Giulia recovers first and mounts Tam, slapping her in the face. Hard elbow by Giulia and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Giulia falls out of the ring, Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. Tam slides Giulia back in, Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks her suplex attempt, getting to the ropes. Tam pulls her away and hits Giulia’s Glorious Driver, but it gets a two count. Tam drags up Giulia and kicks her repeatedly in the head, but Giulia ducks a kick and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam pushes her away, headbutt by Giulia and she delivers a Glorious Driver for a two count cover. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, Tam connects with a series of slaps before knocking Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and returns the favor, heel kick by Tam and she hits a second one. Giulia comes at Tam but Tam picks her up and drills Giulia with a Sitout Tam Screwdriver for a two count. Tam drags Giulia back up and nails the Twilight Dream, and she keeps Giulia down for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is the new Wonder of Stardom Champion!

There is a lot to digest here. First, the emotion was certainly there and it just had a more urgent feeling than the last few matches. They weren’t really focused on trading bombs but having a real struggle, full of one-upmanship and emotion that was tangible. They still had a couple big moves but honestly they weren’t needed, the table spot was neat but added little to the match as that wasn’t what the match was about. Its harder to rate matches that are more about story and heart than smooth wrestling and big moments, but when considering all things this was a very captivating and memorable match. They didn’t fall into the ‘trading 2.999 nearfalls’ trap that many “epic” matches fall into, so each pinfall felt meaningful. Tam killed Giulia at the end, which was needed as a non-definitive ending just wouldn’t have worked to end this match and feud. A fitting way to end one of the best Joshi events in years, a very entertaining match that will be talked about in Stardom circles for years to come.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella on 3/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Yokohama Cinderella
Date: October 3rd, 2020
Location: Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,007

For Stardom, this is a massive event at Yokohama Budokan, as they stack the card with surprises and title matches. Four titles are on the line here, although the High Speed, Trios, and Future of Stardom championships are not represented (Stardom has a lot of titles). We have two matches with “mystery opponents” plus the random one night return of former Stardom wrestler Yuna Manase. At the top of the card, both major single titles are being defended, and we will crown a new SWA Undisputed Women Women’s Champion after the title was vacated due to Jamie Hayter not being able to travel. On top of that, Oedo Tai and Tokyo Cyber Squad battle it out to see which faction will have to disband…… forever! Here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Starlight Kid
• Hanan vs. X (Mina Shirakawa)
• Natsu Sumire and Yuna Manase vs. Riho and Saya Iida
• Death Yama-san vs. X (Natsupoi)
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe
• Losing Unit Must Disband Match: Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita vs. Himeka and Maika
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
• World Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri

Big show! Since it was shown on PPV and was uploaded on Stardom World, all matches will be shown on full. You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

AZM vs. Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid goes off the ropes to start but AZM dropkicks her to the mat, stomps by AZM and she Irish whips Starlight Kid from the corner and dropkicks her to a seated position. AZM flips Starlight Kid back to the middle of the ring and performs a cocky cover, scoop slam by AZM near the ropes and she stands on her arm. Slingshot footstomp to the arm by AZM, and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Starlight Kid tries to fight back with elbows but AZM levels her, AZM picks up Starlight Kid and Irish whips her but Starlight Kid jumps out to the apron and elbows AZM as she charges in. DDT onto the apron by Starlight Kid, AZM falls out of the ring and Starlight Kid goes up top and dives down onto her with a plancha. Starlight Kid picks up AZM and slides her back into the ring, she goes off the ropes and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, but it gets a two count. Starlight Kid Irish whips AZM to the corner but AZM rebounds out of it with a dropkick, vertical suplex by AZM and she covers Starlight Kid for two.

Fujiwara Armbar by AZM but Starlight Kid quickly gets to the ropes, AZM goes up top but Starlight Kid avoids the diving footstomp. Starlight Kid catches AZM’s kick and delivers a dropkick, Backstabber by Starlight Kid out of the corner and she goes up top, but AZM recovers and joins her. Starlight Kid boots AZM back to the mat and delivers the swivel body press, but AZM kicks out and kicks her in the head. AZM then goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, but it gets a two count. Back up, head kick by AZM but Starlight Kid snaps off a DDT, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both kip-up and trade elbows, Starlight Kid charges AZM but AZM kicks her in the head and sits on the top turnbuckle. Kick to the arm by AZM and she hits another diving footstomp, but again it gets two. AZM picks up Starlight Kid and hits La Mistica, she switches it to a seated armbar but Starlight Kid gets a foot on the ropes for the break. AZM picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid reverses the triple jump move into a Codebreaker, cross-legged suplex by Starlight Kid but AZM kicks out at two.

Starlight Kid picks up AZM but AZM blocks the Ki-chan Bomb, Starlight Kid ducks AZM’s kicks however and delivers another Codebreaker. Tiger Feint Kick to the back by Starlight Kid and she nails the Ki-chan Bomb, but AZM is too close to the ropes and gets a foot on one to break up the count. Starlight Kid goes to the second turnbuckle but AZM avoids the moonsault, they trade flash pins but neither can get the three count. Kick to the head by Starlight Kid, she goes to the top turnbuckle but AZM joins her, slamming her arm-first down to the mat. Cross armbreaker by AZM, but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes. AZM goes back to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp to Starlight Kid’s arm, she pulls Starlight Kid to the corner and hits an armbreaker to the mat. Double armbar by AZM, she switches it to another modified armbreaker hold and Starlight Kid has to submit! AZM wins and is still the champion.

A great way to kick off the show. I liked that AZM’s focus on the arm wasn’t just for killing time or for the fun of it, but it continued to be her main target and then she won the match with an arm submission. What else could one ask for? Normally the opener in Stardom doesn’t try to steal the show but they still put on some high flying moves to show they weren’t just two kids putting on an exhibition, and both hit their moves flawlessly. There were a few weird selling parts, which they will get better at as they continue having longer and more important matches, but overall I thought this delivered. An entertaining match between two of the promotion’s best rising stars.  Recommended

Hanan vs. Mina Shirakawa

They tie-up to start and trade wristlocks, Hanan gets Mina to the mat but Mina gains the dominate position as they trade holds. Irish whip by Mina and she hits an armdrag, she goes for a submission but Hanan quickly crawls to the ropes for the break. Mina goes off the ropes but Hanan catches her with a dropkick, dropkick in the corner by Hanan and she covers Mina for two. Hanan goes for a cross armbreaker but Mina blocks it, Hanan stomps on Mina’s arm but Mina elbows her and the two trade blows. Jumping double chop by Mina and she hits an elbow in the corner followed by another double chop for a two count cover. Mina puts Hanan in the Mexican Surfboard before releasing her after a moment, Mina goes off the ropes but Hanan hits a judo toss. STO by Hanan and she hits a double wrist armsault for two. Hanan goes off the ropes but Mina hits a Lou Thesz Press for two. Hanan ducks Mina’s back elbow and cradles her for two, Hanan goes off the ropes but Mina hits the backfist. Mina goes up top the top turnbuckle and hits a twisting crossbody, Impact DDT by Mina and she covers Hanan for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is the winner.

Its an odd choice to me to have Mina debut for the promotion and have a back-and-forth match with a 16 year old. Clearly Mina isn’t going to be used towards the top of the card and knowing that Stardom is also an “idol” promotion I think we all know the reason that Mina is here. The match had nothing wrong with it, it was technically sound and Hanan seems to have worked the rust off after her time off. This felt more like an opener, a slightly confusing match but non-offensive.

Natsu Sumire and Yuna Manase vs. Riho and Saya Iida

Riho and Saya attack before the bell rings and isolate Yuna, double teaming her. Yuna regains the advantage and lariats both of them, Yuna picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam. Yuna tags in Natsu, Natsu comes in with her whip and hits Saya in the midsection with it. Natsu throws Saya into the corner and mounts her, Yuna comes in to help but Riho breaks it up. Natsu hits the gyrating bronco buster on Saya while Yuna keeps Riho occupied, Natsu tags in Yuna, lariat by Yuna to Saya and she covers her for two. Saya fights back and goes for a scoop slam, but Yuna blocks it and hits a slam of her own. Yuna throws Saya into the corner and hits a lariat, big boot by Yuna and she covers Saya for another two count. Saya finally hits a slam and makes the hot tag to Riho, spinning headscissors by Riho to Yuna and she follows with a Tiger Feint Kick. Riho gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but Yuna rolls through it and throws Riho to the mat.

Yuna kicks Riho in the back before sitting on Riho for a two count. Yuna goes off the ropes but Riho rolls her to the mat and hits a footstomp. She tags in Saya, dropkick by Saya and she chops Yuna against the ropes. Yuna returns with shots of her own but Saya chops Yuna to the mat, they both go off the ropes and Yuna delivers a lariat. That gives her time to tag in Natsu, knees by Natsu and she boots Saya while she is against the ropes. Bridging slam by Natsu, but it gets a two count. Riho runs in to help her partner and they both dropkick Natsu, Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Natsu for two. Saya picks up Natsu but Natsu blocks the Northern Lights Suplex, DDT by Natsu and she connects with the Shining Wizard. Natsu picks up Saya and drops her with the Demon, but Riho quickly breaks up the cover. Yuna shoulderblocks Riho, Natsu gets her whip but Saya avoids it and dropkicks her. Elbows by Natsu and Yuna comes in, but she boots Natsu by accident. Saya picks up Natsu and nails the Northern Lights Suplex, picking up the three count Riho and Saya Iida are the winners!

One of the issues with many Joshi fans online is an unwillingness to admit when a wrestler isn’t good in-ring. Even wrestlers that clearly aren’t very skilled are heavily praised, in cases starting ironically but then somehow becoming real just from persistently being said over a long period of time. I set that up to say – Yuna Manase and Natsu Sumire both aren’t very good wrestlers. Yuna has never been good, there is a reason she jumps from promotion to promotion and if anyone else but Natsu was doing whipping and gyrating bronco busters (particularly to children) everyone would be up in arms about how overly sexual and inappropriate it is. But I don’t get paid to lie (or at all) so the fact of the matter is this match had three ‘average to below average’ wrestlers and Riho, who is good but not good enough to drag everyone else to a good match. I don’t know why his match happened, this combination of wrestlers will never be in the ring together again (hopefully) and we can move on.

Death Yama-san vs. Natsupoi

Death of course poses off the start while Natsupoi ignores her, Natsupoi finally gets into it with her as they go off the ropes before Natsupoi hits an armdrag. Natsupoi throws down Death by the hair a few times, stomps by Natsupoi in the corner but Death grabs her by the nose. Death applies an abdominal stretch (while posing of course), she lets go after a moment and throws Natsupoi into the corner, but Natsupoi boots her when she charges in. Dropkick by Natsupoi but Death hits a throat trust, running senton by Death and she covers Natsupoi for two. Death goes for a suplex but Natsupoi lands on her feet and applies a tilt-a-whirl into a standing armbar. Death gets into the ropes for the break, cradle by Natsupoi but it gets two. Dropkicks by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Death in the head. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, picking up a two count. Natsupoi goes for a neckbreaker but Death rolls out of it, Natsupoi hits a running neckbreaker but Death reverses the cover into a cradle of her own for two. Superkick by Natsupoi, and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Natsupoi is the winner.

Even though the match was a joke, Natsupoi looked really good as she tends to do so I wouldn’t consider it a wasted debut. Making a grand return to Stardom against a comedy wrestler is still an odd decision for Natsumi and there had to have been better options, but she made the best out of the situation and showed that she belongs. I look forward to more matches with Natsumi in the future, hopefully ones that will last longer and will be against better opponents.

Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They immediately get into it trading elbows, Momo goes for a dropkick but Bea avoids it and stomps her in the back. Momo throws Bea out of the ring and goes out after her, snapmare by Momo and she kicks Bea in the back. Momo puts Bea on the apron and goes for the B Driver, but Bea blocks it. Kicks to the chest by Momo but Bea avoids one and Momo kicks the ring post by mistake. Bea pulls Momo back to the floor and stomps on her leg, she picks up Momo and throws her into the ring apron. Bea returns to the ring but Momo follows, Bea twists Momo’s leg around the bottom rope and stomps on it some more. Bea picks up Momo and throws her into the corner, as she continues working on her leg. Bea picks up Momo and hits a scoop slam, cover by Bea but it gets a two count. Bea keeps on Momo’s leg, Irish whip by Bea to the corner but Momo avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Momo, she gets on the second turnbuckle and dropkicks Bea in the back. PK by Momo and she kicks Bea in the corner, cover by Momo but it gets two. Momo applies the chickenwing but Bea blocks the suplex, she rolls Momo to the mat and applies a kneelock. Momo gets out of it, Bea picks her up and hits a snap suplex for two.

Bea sets up Momo’s leg across the rope and goes up top, but Momo recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Bea knocks her back but Momo catches her coming off the top and delivers a uranage. Momo picks up Bea, kick combination by Momo and she puts Bea on the top turnbuckle. Momo joins her and goes for a B Driver, but Bea flips over her and goes for a powerbomb. Momo blocks it but Bea then goes for a German suplex, which Momo blocks as well. Momo turns around and hits a Diving Somato, picking up a two count. B Driver by Momo, but that gets a two count as well. Momo picks up Bea and puts her on the turnbuckles again, but Bea slides away and superkicks Momo in the head. Queen’s Landing attempt by Bea but Momo rolls out of it, Knee by Momo and she covers Bea for two. Momo applies the chickenwing, release suplex by Momo and she delivers a Somato for a two count. Momo goes for a head kick Bea catches her leg, Momo goes for a suplex but Bea blocks it. Dragon Screw Leg Whip by Bea and she nails the Bea Trigger, Regal Plex by Bea but Momo kicks out at two. Bea hits another Bea Trigger in the corner, she gets Momo on the turnbuckles and drops her with the Queen’s Landing, picking up the three count! Bea Priestley is the new champion!

While I probably could have done without such a focus on the leg work in such a short title match, overall this was really good. Bea’s leg work was excellent but Momo didn’t do a whole lot to sell it when it wasn’t actively being worked on, which only matters when it is such a big part of the match. But Bea didn’t forget as really she set up the end run by hitting the Dragon Screw, so I appreciate her dedication to it. Besides the leg selling issue, Momo looked great and is stealthily one of the best wrestlers in Stardom, even if she doesn’t get much of a chance to show it. Everything looked crisp and they kept the match moving, which is good since it was only ten minutes long. I wish they could have gotten more time and a better spot on the card, but still an entertaining match between two quality wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima

Oedo Tai set up a little chair tower in the corner before the match started, which I appreciate so they don’t waste time during the match doing it. Oedo Tai attacks before the match starts, Jungle fights back against Natsuko and the two trade blows. Jungle tries to throw Natsuko into the chair tower but Natsuko slams on the breaks, Konami returns but Natsuko spears both of them. Saki comes in and they both throw Jungle into the chair tower in the corner, Natsuko hits Jungle in the midsection with a chair and Saki hits a facebuster onto it. Senton by Natsuko and a cover, but it gets a two count. Saki chokes Jungle with the chair and then hits both Konami and Jungle with one, she puts the chair on both of them and Natsuko hits a senton. Saki throws Jungle into the corner and tags in Natsuko (I guess this match has tags), Natsuko throws down Jungle by the hair, bootscrapes by Natsuko and she hits a running boot. Natsuko and Saki both try to suplex Jungle but Jungle reverses it into her own double suplex, giving her time to tag in Konami.

Konami delivers strikes on both opponents before putting Saki in a leg submission, Natsuko breaks it up but Konami kicks her in the head. Saki cradles Konami before kicking her, double arm suplex by Saki but it gets two. Konami catches a Saki kick and applies an ankle hold, but Saki quickly gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana. Running boot by Saki and she tags Natsuko, running elbow by Natsuko in the corner and she hits the cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, but it gets two. Natsuko gets a chain and puts it down on the mat, she picks up Konami and tries to slam her onto it, but Konami slides away. Kicks by Konami and she hits a German suplex onto the chain for a two count cover. Konami tags Jungle, shoulderblocks by Jungle to Natsuko but Natsuko doesn’t go down. She finally knocks Natsuko over, Jungle throws Natsuko into the corner but Natsuko avoids her charge. Saki comes in but they get stacked in the corner as all of TCS come in the ring to hit running strikes. Jungle goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving body press, but Natsuko barely kicks out. Jungle goes for the Hammer Throw Bomb but Natsuko gets away, Jungle goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with a lariat for two.

Natsuko gets her chain and chokes Jungle with it, but Konami breaks it up. Kick by Konami to Natsuko but Natsuko levels her with a lariat, swinging side slam by Natsuko to Jungle and she covers her for two. Saki and Bea set up a table, Jungle is put on the table as Natsuko goes up top, but she is grabbed from the apron which gives time for Jungle to recover. Jungle sets up Natsuko for a powerbomb while Konami simultaneously hits a missile dropkick, but Natsuko barely kicks out. They set the table back up while Jungle picks up Natsuko, Jungle drags Natsuko onto the table with her and drops her with a piledriver. Cover by Jungle, but Saki breaks it up by chucking a chair at her. Natsuko tags in Saki, she hits Jungle with the chair and puts it on top of her before hitting a diving footstomp. Konami comes in with a chair but Saki knocks it away form her, she goes to hit Konami with her own chair but stops. Konami picks up a chair but she hits her own partner Jungle with it, Kishikaisei by Saki to Jungle and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai wins the match and Tokyo Cyber Squad must disband!

I am going to try not to go on a rant so I’ll keep it brief. As wrestling fans we have accepted that some things don’t make sense and are just tropes we deal with, but matches like this take it a bit too far for me. I don’t mind partners turning on each other but it should be early in the match, or part as a run-in, not after 13 minutes. If Konami was going to change sides there were many many nearfalls that could have ended the match prior to her turn and she beat the crap out of her future partners – its just a major logic jump for a partner to ‘play along’ for that long. I don’t mind the heel turn, but I would have preferred she just not be in the match and do it via interference if that was the way they were going.

Anyway, complaints of the structure aside, this was actually a really good ‘hardcore’ style match. They fought like four people that hated each other (which is part of the issue with my above point) as they were using weapons whenever possible but not taking excessive time in the process. There weren’t any long beatdown segments or slow parts, there was non-stop action and everything they did made sense. Jungle was fighting with a lot of passion and in general I thought their ‘acting’ was good as the match felt important. The illogical way they went about the turn brings down the match some for me, but the action was great and its worth watching in that regard for sure.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita vs. Himeka and Maika
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Utami and Maika start the match, they start slow as they trade holds until Utami shoulderblocks Maika to the mat. Saya comes in and they double team Maika, she leaves after a moment as Utami stomps on Maika. She tags Saya, stomps by Saya in the corner but Maika blocks the scoop slam attempt and hits one of her own. Maika tags Himeka and they double team Saya in the corner, Himeka tosses Saya around by her hair before hitting a scoop slam. Himeka picks up Saya and hits another slam before tagging Maika back in, slam by Maika and she stands on Saya’s back. Maika didn’t need help but Himeka comes in anyway, PK by Himeka and Maika covers Saya for two. Saya flips away from Maika and delivers a dropkick, giving her time to tag in Utami. Hard shoulderblocks by Utami but Maika gets her to the mat and applies an armbar. Utami wiggles to the ropes and makes it to force the break, Maika goes off the ropes and boots Utami in the head. STO by Maika and she tags Himeka, lariat by Himeka in the corner and she knees Utami in the face for a two count. Crab hold by Himeka but it gets quickly broken up, Saya stays in but Himeka stacks them in the corner and hits a lariat. Himeka puts both Utami and Saya up on the corner before putting both in an Argentine Backbreaker.

She drops them after a moment and puts Utami in a crab hold, but Utami gets to the ropes. Utami slips away from Utami and dropkicks her, hip toss by Utami and she hits a STO for two. Sleeper by Utami but Maika gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Utami picks up Himeka and tries to put her in the Argentine Backbreaker, but Himeka blocks it and hits a lariat. Utami stays up as they both trade lariats, Himeka knocks over Utami first but Utami quickly gets back up and returns the favor. They keep trading lariats until they both collapse to the mat, Utami makes the hot tag first and Saya hits a diving crossbody onto Himeka. Saya goes up top again and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets two. Himeka knocks down Saya with a lariat, Maika comes in and they both hit sliding strikes to Saya. Cover by Himeka, but it gets two. Himeka positions Saya and goes up top, and with Maika’s help she hits a front flip senton for a two count. Himeka picks up Saya and puts her in the Argentine Backbreaker, she slams Saya in front of her but Utami breaks up the cover. Himeka goes for the powerbomb but Utami breaks it up with a lariat. Release German by Utami to Himeka but Maika lariats her, Maika jumps back onto the apron so that Himeka can tag her in.

Maika tosses Saya around the ring but Saya recovers and slaps Maika, elbows by Saya but Maika knocks her back to the mat. Saya gets back up and they trade elbows again until Maika hits a side slam for two. Maika goes for a suplex but Saya reverses it into a guillotine choke, Maika muscles out of it however and still hits the vertical suplex. Maika goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick, crab hold by Saya but Maika gets to the ropes. Saya goes up top but Maika joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Cover by Maika, but Utami breaks it up. Maika goes off the ropes but Saya dropkicks her, kneedrop by Saya and she charges Maika but Maika catches her with a slam. Cross-arm STO by Maika, but Utami makes the save. Maika picks up Saya but Saya slides away and delivers a heel kick. Saya positions Maika and delivers the running Shooting Star Press, but Maika barely kicks out. Fisherman Driver by Saya, but Himeka runs in and breaks up the cover. Utami joins Saya and they hit the Magic Killer onto Maika, Saya goes to the top turnbuckle and she hits the Phoenix Splash! Cover by Saya, and she gets the three count! Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita are still the champions.

One thing that always fascinates me about Utami tag team matches is her partner always seems to do the bulk of the work. Saya was both the Face in Peril and the one that got the last hot tag, as she spent far more time in the ring. Since I love Utami, I’d like to see more of her but I liked her segments with Himeka and she hit a boss German suplex so I’ll let it slide. This match did have an identity issue, for a match that got plenty of time they didn’t really have a story to tell. The submissions were random and without meaning, and Saya seemed to be dominated for the bulk of the match before suddenly winning after hitting a few moves in a row. The action was really good though even if it wasn’t always cohesive, and they didn’t wrestle like a bunch of wrestlers early in their careers. A fun hard hitting match, didn’t quite reach that upper level but entertaining nonetheless.  Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They charge each other to start and immediately start throwing elbows, they go off the ropes and Tam elbows Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and catches a Tam kick, Tam connects with the next one however and throws Giulia into the corner. Giulia avoids her charge and boots Tam in the corner, DDT by Giulia and she covers Tam for two. Giulia goes up top but Tam joins her, they trade slaps until Tam kicks Giulia in the head, sending her down to the floor. Tam goes back up top and dives out onto Giulia with a plancha, Tam slides Giulia back in but Giulia goes back to the apron. Tam grabs her and applies a dragon sleeper over the top rope, the referee gets her to break it so Tam tries to suplex Giulia back to the mat. Giulia blocks it and elbows her, she turns around while still on the turnbuckle and applies a stretch hold while still perched up top. They finally leave the turnbuckles with a powerbomb by Giulia, she goes back up again but Tam grabs her from behind and hits a German suplex off the turnbuckles.

They both slowly recover and trade elbows, backslide by Giulia and she knees Tam. Giulia puts Tam on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a Glorious Buster down to the mat for a two count cover. Giulia picks up Tam and she goes for another one, but Tam blocks it. Heel kick by Tam but she is too hurt to capitalize, they get to their knees and trade strikes. As they get up, Tam hits a German Suplex Hold and then a Tiger Suplex Hold, but Giulia kicks out at two. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia snaps off a backdrop suplex, she goes for the Stealth Viper and gets it locked in, but Tam barely gets a foot on the bottom rope to break it up. Giulia drags up Tam but Tam headbutts her, Tam charges Giulia but Giulia gets her in a headlock. Michinoku Driver by Giulia, she goes off the ropes and boots Tam in the head. Tam fires back with a heel kick, more kicks by Tam but Giulia boots her to the mat for a two count. Giulia quickly picks up Tam and drops her with the Glorious Driver, but Tam quickly kicks out. Giulia charges Tam but Tam schoolboys her for a two count. Front dropkick by Giulia, she picks up Tam and hits a final Glorious Driver for the three count! Giulia wins and retains the championship.

I have to say, they wanted to go in a certain direction with this match and they certainly went for it. From the start they were throwing bombs and doing high impact moves, as it felt like 20% of the match took place with one or the other (or both) on the top turnbuckle attempting to do something extra painful. It was a 15 minute dash with little time for breathing, which sometimes is needed just to let the moves have more of an impact with the viewer. They both showed off their toughness, and the match was smooth, it just felt at times like they were trying to do too much to try to one-up their previous match. Giulia stayed in control which made sense as she was the favorite going in, and she came across like she deserves to be in one of the top spots in the promotion. Certainly an entertaining match with a lot of memorable spots, it just needed a little more of a break at some point to let their moves have more meaning.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri
World of Stardom Championship

Syuri pushes Mayu into the ropes to start and they end up on the mat as they jockey for position. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Mayu blocks it, Syuri goes for Mayu’s leg but Mayu gets to the ropes. Back on their feet they trade wristlocks, Syuri works a headlock and gets Mayu to the mat. Back up, Syuri goes off the ropes and stomps on Mayu, Syuri kicks Mayu repeatedly but Mayu fires back with an elbow. Kick to the midsection by Mayu and they both kick each other in the leg, sending them to the mat. Syuri quickly regains the advantage and hits a running knee, sending Syuri fallout out of the ring to the floor. Syuri goes to the apron and hits a jumping knee, Syuri gets Mayu back into the ring and starts working on her leg. Syuri hits a running knee in the corner followed by another one, cover by Syuri but it gets a two count. Syuri applies a figure four leglock, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Mayu in the back. PK by Syuri, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Syuri picks up Mayu and continues to kick her, double arm suplex by Syuri and she covers Mayu for another two count. Syuri goes back to the leg but Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Mayu rolls to the apron but Syuri goes out after her.

Syuri tries to suplex Mayu off the apron but Mayu blocks it, Mayu grabs Syuri and nails a German suplex on the apron. Mayu gets back in the ring, she goes off the ropes and sails out onto Syuri with a plancha suicida. Mayu slides Syuri back in, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu goes for the dragon suplex but Syuri grabs the ropes to block it, stomps by Mayu and she dropkicks Syuri while she is against the ropes, sending Syuri back out of the ring. Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle  but Syuri gets on the apron to stop her from jumping off, she tries to kick Mayu off the turnbuckle but Mayu catches her leg and snaps it over the ropes. Syuri sits on the top turnbuckle but Mayu joins her and hits a Frankensteiner, Mayu goes back up top and nails the Frog Splash for a two count. Mayu returns to the turnbuckle but Syuri moves out of the way of the moonsault, Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri but she is too hurt to capitalize. Syuri recovers first and elbows Mayu while they are on their knees, but Mayu elbows her back and they trade blows. They keep exchanging elbows as they return to their feet, Syuri hits a Codebreaker and delivers a head kick.

Another kick by Syuri but Mayu rolls out of the ring to recover, she returns after a moment and is immediately grabbed by Syuri. Kicks to the chest by Syuri, cover by Syuri but it gets a two count. Syuri gets Mayu on her shoulders but Mayu hits the Dodonpa for a two count. Syuri goes for a kick but Mayu hits a second one, which gets a two count as well. Mayu goes up top and hits the moonsault, but Syuri barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes off the ropes but Syuri nails a head kick, they both slowly get back up and they elbow each other. Superkick by Mayu and she hits a German Suplex Hold, getting a two count. Half and half suplex hold by Mayu, but that gets a two count as well. Syuri grabs Mayu’s leg and puts her in a Stretch Muffler, but Mayu gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri picks up Mayu and gets her on her shoulders, hitting the double knee gutbuster for two. Running knee by Syuri, she picks up Mayu and knees her in the back of the head for a two count. Syuri picks up Mayu but Mayu grabs her and hits a Tombstone Piledriver, Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers another moonsault for two. Superkicks by Mayu and she kicks Syuri in the head again, Mayu hits the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold and she picks up the three count! Mayu Iwatani remains the champion.

This was a very different match stylistically than we have seen up to this point, which I think helped it after the higher paced match that went on previously. Syuri’s leg work felt old school and certainly lasted awhile, the only small issue being Mayu was running around after it and didn’t seem to remember to limp around until later in the match. Mayu always comes across as borderline invincible in her title matches but not necessarily in a bad way and its going to mean a lot when someone finally takes the title off of her. Mayu sells strikes really well and her offense is fun, it was an interesting contrast to Syuri as Mayu really didn’t bother with submissions as she just went for high flying and high impact moves. Even with their style differences they worked together well and nothing felt awkward or out of place. It may have been a few minutes longer than it needed to be and may have taken too long to ‘get going’ for some but overall a fitting main event to a big show.  Recommended

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Event: TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro 2020
Date: January 4th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,467

Starting the year with something new – Tokyo Joshi Pro! Not a new promotion of course, but one that I didn’t watch much (if at all) in 2019 as their general style doesn’t always line up with my interests. This is one of their biggest shows of the year however, and the card is really stacked with four title matches and a special singles match between Natsumi Maki and Sareee. Here is the full card:

• Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Mahiro Kiryu and Sena Shiori
• Rename In The Pinata Loser Name Change Match: Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima
• DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
• Aja Kong, Pom Harajuku, and Raku vs. Mina Shirakawa, Mirai Maiumi, and Yuna Manase
• Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee
• Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa
• International Princess Championship: Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
• Princess Tag Team Championship: Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
• Princess Of Princess Championship: Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita

As Tokyo Joshi Pro is not a promotion I watch very often, I may miss some of the smaller nuances on what is going on but I’ll do my best. All wrestlers have profiles on the site, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Kiryu and Sena Shiori

Suzume and Sena start, they trade holds on their feet before Suzume takes Sena down to the mat. Sena switches positions and applies a leglock but it gets quickly reversed, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate. Back up, Suzume backs into her corner to tag in Haruna, while Mahiro is also tagged in. Haruna gets the first strike on Mahiro and tries to knock her over, but Mahiro stays up and applies a side headlock. Haruna Irish whips out of it but Mahiro hits a hard shoulderblock, she applies a front necklock as she tags in Sena. Sena tries to throw Haruna into the corner but it gets reversed, seated senton by Haruna to Sena and she covers her for two. Haruna tags in Suzume, Sena is thrown into the corner and she eats running strikes from both her opponents. Cover by Suzume, but it gets two. Suzume picks up Sena but Sena elbows her and the two trade blows, Sena tags in Suzume but Mahiro catches her with a scoop slam. Mahiro slams Suzume into the corner but Suzume connects with a dropkick and tags Haruna. Haruna goes for a slam but it gets blocked, Mahiro goes for a slam but Haruna gets out of it and hits a lariat. Cover by Haruna, but it gets a two count. Haruna tags Suzume, Suzume goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Suzume elbows Mahiro in the chest but Mahiro connects with a hard elbow and tags in Sena. Dropkick by Sena and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Haruna breaks it up. Mahiro throws Haruna out of the ring, Irish whip by Sena to Suzume but Suzume reverses it. Sena avoids Suzume’s dropkick and re-applies the crab hold, but Suzume wiggles to the ropes and gets the break. Elbows by Sena but Suzume elbows her back, schoolboy attempt by Suzume but Sena rolls through it. Dropkick by Suzume and she puts Sena in a sleeper hold, Sena struggles to escape but taps out! Haruna Neko and Suzume are the winners.

Even for a rookie/young wrestler match, the ending here was pretty sudden as there wasn’t really any foreshadowing that a sleeper finisher was in play. I was really impressed by Mahiro, her poise and mannerisms are great for a rookie and I could see her becoming a force down the line. I was less impressed by Haruna and Suzume, however I concede this was a really small sample size. Sena looked fine for a debut, seemed to be confident and didn’t mess up anything. Not a bad way to start, although a slightly longer end stretch would have been nice.

Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima

For their respective weapons, Shoko brought with her a giant bag of kaiju action figures while Misao will use…. Tokyo Joshi Pro producer Tetsuya Koda, who is in no way a wrestler. But he does distract Shoko off the start which allows Misao to attack her from behind, Rocking Cradle by Misao while Koda puts a sheet down on the mat. They roll up Shoko in the sheet, Misao gets the ladder and starts climbing up, but the still-cocooned Shoko knocks it over. Koda and Misao grab the ladder but Shoko dropkicks it away from them and gets the sheet off, she puts the ladder on her shoulders and spins it into Misao. Misao falls out of the ring but Shoko dives out onto her, she goes back in the ring to get some of her action figures and starts throwing them at Misao. Misao crawls under the ring to get away, Shoko goes out to try to find her but Misao sneaks up from behind and sprays her from a spray can. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Misao and she hits a crossbody, she sets up the ladder but Shoko pulls her off. They fight over the ladder until Misao smashes Shoko’s hands between the rungs and then throws the ladder at Shoko. Shoko recovers and hits a bulldog into the turnbuckle, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick.

Shoko charges Misao but Misao hiptosses her onto the ladder, Misao sets up the ladder but Shoko takes it back down and drives Misao into the corner with it. Shoko puts the ladder across the ropes in the corner, trapping Misao in, and sets up her toys in the middle of the ring. Misao gets free and charges her, Shoko puts Misao on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner. Shoko gathers the toys again into a pile, Shoko scoop slams Misao onto the toys before going up top, but Koda runs in and protects Misao. Shoko dives off with a senton attempt but Koda helps Misao get out of the way (maybe?), Misao sets up the ladder and climbs it, but Shoko pulls her off. They trade punches until Misao back bodydrops Shoko onto the toys, but Shoko spins away from her and they both start to climb the ladder. They elbow each other at the top of it, Shoko knocks Misao off the ladder and breaks open the pinata, pulling out the banner! Misao runs up and tries to get it from her but its too late, as Shoko puts it on. Shoko Nakajima is the winner!

These types of matches always annoy me, as just based on skill they could have had a pretty fun ten minute ladder match but in the end it was just about the silly gimmick tied to it. There were a few really nice/painful bumps hidden in here, and when they just got a chance to wrestle this was fine, but when it was about the Hello! Project concert and Koda and toys everything came to a halt. I am sure this match is for someone out there in the world, just not really for me. I want to see destruction in ladder matches, not sub-par comedy.

(c) Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship

Saki starts with a side headlock, Yuki reverses it and takes Saki to the mat but it only lasts a moment as they return to their feet. Yuki stomps on Saki’s feet and trips her, Saki is thrown into the corner and Yuki elbows her. Saki switches positions with her but Yuki avoids the boot, Yuki charges Saki but Saki kicks her in the stomach. Saki stomps Yuki and chokes her in the corner, kick to the back by Saki and she covers Yuki for two. Saki picks up Yuki and hits a drop toehold into a headscissors, Yuki inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Saki goes off the ropes and boots Yuki in the head, cover by Saki but it gets another two. Yuki returns to her feet but Saki kicks her back down again, Saki throws Yuki into the corner and delivers a big boot. Saki goes for a suplex but Yuki lands on her feet and hits a handstand face crusher.

Yuki tosses Saki into the corner and slams her into the turnbuckle repeatedly, boot by Yuki and she covers Saki for two. Yuki picks up Saki but Saki kicks her arm away and the two trade blows, with Saki finally knocking down Yuki with a big boot but Yuki quickly gets up and delivers a “dropkick.” Yuki throws Saki into the corner but Saki knocks her back, head kick by Saki and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Yuki dropkicks her as she jumps off. Scissors Kick by Yuki, but Saki is too close to the ropes and using them to break up the count. Yuki goes after Saki, Saki quickly puts her in a Triangle Choke but Yuki gets to the ropes. Schoolboy by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki goes for a dropkick but Saki swats it away and hits a PK for a two count. Saki goes up top again and this time hits a diving crossbody, but Yuki kicks out of the cover. Kick to the chest by Saki and she hits the Pendulum Knee Strike, Quetzalcoatl by Saki and she picks up the three count! Saki Akai wins and is still the champion.

I hate to go back on what I said about nine minutes ago, but this match really needed some comedy elements. Or something. No one has ever accused Saki of being a super worker (I assume, if they have they are wrong), but she can work a good match if put in the right situation. Going up against someone of the same type of wrestler, but worse, was not the right situation. This was awkward, uncoordinated, and poorly laid out. I am not sure why they would do this to Saki and Yuki. Make it a wacky tag match or a five way match or something, give them some protection. The rookies in the opening match put on a better performance, including Sena. Skip this one.

Aja Kong, Harajuku, and Raku vs. Shirakawa, Maiumi, and Manase

Mirai and Pom kick things off and trade wristlocks, they end up on the mat but Mirai locks in a side headlock as they get back up. Mirai drives Pom back and tags in Yuna, while Kong tags in as well. They lock up, Kong pushes Yuna into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Yuna elbows Kong and goes off the ropes, but she fails in her attempts to shoulderblock Kong over. Kong slaps Yuna against the ropes, Irish whip by Yuna and she hits a double chop to the chest. Kong goes for the elbow drop but Yuna moves and kicks Kong in the back, she quickly tags in Mina and Mina goes for the Romero Special, but Kong ignores her and rolls over to break it up. Kong kicks Mina in the leg and tags Raku, Raku runs over Mina’s midsection but Mina moves when she tries to sit down on her. Pom comes in to help get Mina back to the mat, they invite Kong in but she stays on the apron. Raku tries to sit on Mina again but once again she moves, Mina is knocked down and finally Kong agrees to come in. All three take turns running over Mina’s midsection with Kong sitting on Mina to end the spot, cover by Raku but it gets a two count. Mina scoop slams Raku and puts her in the Romero Special, she lets go after a moment and tags in Mirai. Scoop slam by Mirai and she elbows Raku in the corner, Yuna is tagged back in but Raku greets her with elbows to the chest. Yuna avoids Raku’s lariat and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a kick but Raku catches it and hits a face crusher. She makes the tag to Pom, swinging headscissors by Pom to Yuna and she rolls over Yuna for a two count.

Pom kicks Yuna in the leg but Yuna delivers a big boot in the corner, shoulderblock by Yuna and she tags Mina. Diving double chops by Mina but Pom trips her and delivers a dropkick for two. Pom picks up Mina but Mina blocks the scoop slam, Lou Thesz Press by Mina and she covers Pom for two. Pom ducks the backfist and kicks Mina in the shin, giving her time to tag Kong while Mirai is also tagged in. Mirai tries to knock over Kong with no luck, Mirai goes for a scoop slam but Kong doesn’t budge. Scoop slam by Kong, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mirai pulls her off from behind. Kong quickly comes back with a punch to the face, Mina runs in to try to help and she hits a backfist on Kong. Yuna also gets in the ring and shoulderblocks Kong over, lariat by Mirai to Kong but Kong kicks out at two. Mirai picks up Kong and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Kong blocks it. Elbows by Mirai and she goes off the ropes, but Pom catches her with a forearm. Mina runs in and DDTs Pom, but Raku hits a diving chop to Mina. Yuna boots Raku, she goes to Kong and tries to help Mirai hit a double vertical suplex, but it gets reversed. Kong waits for Mirai to get up and hits a hard lariat, cover by Kong but Mirai bridges out of the pin. Kong looks annoyed, she picks up Mirai and plants her with a backdrop suplex, but the cover is broken up. Kong positions Mirai and gets on the second turnbuckle, falling back elbow drop by Kong and she picks up the three count! Aja Kong, Raku, and Pom Harajuku are the winners.

Post match, they try to trick Aja Kong and pin her to win the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship, but Kong is too smart and bails.

For a midcard match, this was perfectly fine. Not everyone here is a great wrestler so hiding them in a six wrestler tag was a good idea, as it was really about Aja Kong either playing along with some silliness or the younger wrestlers trying to knock her over. Not an original theme but an effective one that I can appreciate. I thought Mirai looked good here, showed a lot of fire and the offense she did connected pretty well which I can’t say for everyone involved. Not critical viewing but decent enough for what it was going for.

Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee

Natsumi dropkicks Sareee right as the match starts, another dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee blocks the crossbody and slams Natsumi. Natsumi bridges out of the pin, armdrag by Natsumi but Sareee armdrags her back and they reach a stalemate after a few trips. Tie-up, Natsumi gets Sareee into the ropes and slaps her as she gives the break. Sareee slaps her back, she throws Natsumi into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. Natsumi returns the favor but Sareee whips her down again, elbows by Natsumi but Sareee elbows her hard to the mat. Stomps by Sareee and she hits a scoop slam, modified Muta Lock by Sareee but she lets go after a moment to kick Natsumi in the leg. Crab hold by Sareee but Natsumi inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Sareee jumps down on Natsumi’s back, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi connects with a dropkick for two. Natsumi quickly goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Sareee wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Dropkicks by Natsumi before Sareee can get back up, Natsumi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sareee in the face. Sareee falls out of the ring, Natsumi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Sareee with a plancha suicida.

Natsumi slides Sareee back in, she goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody for two. Natsumi applies a waistlock but Sareee reverses it and hits a wheelbarrow German suplex. Sareee picks up Natsumi, Natsumi elbows her but Sareee elbows her right back, sending Natsumi off her feet. They trade elbows back and forth with Sareee generally getting the better of it, dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee dropkicks her back. Running dropkick by Sareee, she picks up Natsumi and hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sareee goes for the uranage but Natsumi blocks it, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi ducks the lariat and schoolboys Sareee for two. Natsumi goes off the ropes, Sareee goes for a uranage but Natsumi blocks it and cradles Sareee for two. Natsumi picks up Sareee, kick to the head by Natsumi and she goes off the ropes, hitting the Backlash for a two count. Back up, Sareee blocks the suplex attempt and drops Natsumi with a German suplex hold, but Natsumi gets a shoulder up. Sareee goes towards the turnbuckles but Natsumi grabs her leg, Natsumi slaps Sareee but Sareee elbows her and kicks her in the jaw with a back kick. Uranage by Sareee, and she covers Natsumi for the three count! Sareee is the winner!

Even though Natsumi (in experience) isn’t on Sareee’s level, she sure did try to match her move for move. Sareee tried submissions, Natsumi did too, Sareee threw elbows, Natsuki returned fire, almost as if she was trying to prove she could do anything Sareee can. But in the end that was her undoing – her elbows weren’t as hard, her dropkicks weren’t as on point, and her submissions weren’t as effective. It wasn’t a complex story but it was a smart one, realistically Natsumi wasn’t winning this but she wanted to show the fans that she wasn’t intimidated or backing down to The Sun God. Sareee has gotten so good in the last few years, she doesn’t look intimidating but she hits harder than anyone and her suplexes are beautifully executed. While I wish they had gotten more time, they were able to tell the story they wanted to, and overall I really enjoyed it and look forward to where Natsumi goes from here in Tokyo Joshi Pro.  Recommended

Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa

Mizuki offers her hand to start the match, Thunder Rosa goes to shake it but Mizuki tries to kick her. Thunder Rosa catches the kick and throws Mizuki to the mat. Mizuki is up quickly and hits a tilt-a-whirl armdrag, dropkick by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa throws her into the corner. Mizuki kicks Thunder Rosa back when she charges and goes for a diving crossbody, but Thunder Rosa catches her and hits a backbreaker. Front slam by Thunder Rosa and she covers Mizuki for a two count. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she picks up Mizuki and slams her again. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the Tree of Woe and dropkicks her in the leg, she picks up Mizuki and hits a scoop slam for two. Single leg crab hold by Thunder Rosa into the rocking cradle, she picks up Mizuki and chops her against the ropes. Mizuki goes for a quick cradle but Thunder Rosa kicks out and boots her in the head, she rakes at Mizuki’s face before slamming her into the mat. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the ropes and chops her in the chest, Irish whip by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki ducks the lariat and connects with a dropkick. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa and hits a crossbody, sending Thunder Rosa off the apron to the floor.

Mizuki goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida, she slides Thunder Rosa back into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a diving crossbody for two. Mizuki picks up Thunder Rosa but Thunder Rosa knees her in the head, she picks up Mizuki but Mizuki slides down her back and delivers a Backstabber. Armtrap crossface by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa muscles out of it, she gets Mizuki on her shoulders and drives her into the turnbuckles before hitting a Death Valley Bomb. Cover by Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki barely bridges out. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Mizuki recovers and joins her. Superplex by Mizuki and both wrestlers are down, they slowly get to their feet as they trade strikes. Chops by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl crossbody for two. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa, Thunder Rosa tries to kick her back but Mizuki slides her legs onto the second ropes and hits a reverse double kneedrop. Mizuki goes up top but Thunder Rosa avoids her dive, running kick by Thunder Rosa and she drops Mizuki with the Thunder Driver for the three count! Thunder Rosa wins!

I guess the best way to describe this match would be fundamentally sound. It was pretty basic but solid, the two worked together pretty well and they kept it short enough that it never felt like it was pushing its time. The beginning was a bit clunky as I didn’t buy Mizuki has being able to out-strike Thunder Rosa, but once she got more to her high flying moves everything they were doing started to sync up. One of the better matches on the show so far, which I mostly credit to the veteran Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki held her own once they got to the meat of the match. Not a bad showing by either.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
International Princess Championship

They circle each other to start, Hikari trips Maki and goes for her ankle, Maki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Maki applies a side headlock and takes Hikari down, but Hikari quickly gets out of it and dropkicks Maki out of the ring. Hikari goes out after her and they trade blows, scoop slam attempt by Maki on the floor but Hikari blocks it. Maki drags Hikari around the ring and this time manages to hit the scoop slam, she tells the crowd to move and she hits Hikari down in a chair. Maki stands over Hikari but Hikari slides between her legs and hits her in the back with a chair, she slams Maki into the ring apron and then into the ring post. Back in the ring, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Elbows by Hikari and she Irish whips Maki, but Maki reverses it and hits a scoop slam. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari throws her into the corner, Maki avoids Hikari’s charge and smacks her in the midsection. Maki stands over Hikari in the corner and delivers rapid fire punches, she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring but Hikari quickly cradles her for two. Maki goes for a strike, Hikari bridges down to avoid it but Maki hits a falling headbutt. She goes for a submission but Hikari quickly gets out of it, rolling cradle by Hikari and she holds down Maki for two.

Hikari gets on the top turnbuckle but Maki recovers and joins her, headbutt by Maki and she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring. Itoh Special by Maki to Hikari, but Hikari crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Maki stomps at Hikari, Irish whip by Maki but Hikari blocks it and applies a grounded cobra twist. Hikari drags up Maki and hits a short-range lariat, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Hikari tries a few more quick pins with no luck, she goes for a lariat but Maki blocks it. Maki goes for a DDT but Hikari pushes her off and hits a dropkick, but Maki kicks out of the cover. Hikari goes for a suplex but Maki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Maki plants her with a DDT. Maki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving headbutt, but Hikari barely gets a shoulder up. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari avoids the headbutt and suplexes Maki to the mat. Hikari elbows Maki as they start to get up, but Maki elbows her back. They trade blows as they get up, dropkick by Hikari but Maki isn’t phased and she goes after Hikari’s injured leg as she puts her in the Itoh Deluxe (Elevated Texas Cloverleaf). Hikari struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Maki Itoh wins the match and retains the championship.

While the ending felt a bit sudden, I still enjoyed this one. Maki has gotten better since the last time I saw her, I still wouldn’t call her a high-end wrestler but she connects well with the crowd and her offense was both smart and effective. Hikari still wrestles a simple style but it works at this level, my main complaint is that Maki did great work on Hikari’s leg but she never really showed any signs it was hurting her until the very end with the dropkick. I appreciate some quality limb work, but a little limp can go a long way. Still a pretty well structured and executed match, Maki could have just done a bit more to foreshadow the end with the submissions finally wearing her down to the point of having to submit. Mildly Recommended

(c) Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
Princess Tag Team Championship

Miu and Yuki start the match, they both try to shoulderblock each other over until Yuki sends Miu to the mat. Nodoka tags in as does Rika, Rika takes Nodoka to the mat but Nodoka reverses positions with her and the two trade holds. Rika goes off the ropes but Nodoka knocks her down with a shoulderblock, she tags Yuki back in and they double team Rika. Yuki picks up Rika and throws her into the corner but Rika kicks her back when she charges in and tags Miu. Miu elbows Yuki in the corner, elbows to the back by Miu and she hits a running elbow. Miu puts Yuki in a bear hug before throwing her in the corner, she tags Rika and they double team Yuki. Rika puts Yuki in a waistlock but Yuki gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Rika picks up Yuki but Yuki elbows her back, she knocks over Rika and makes the tag to Nodoka. Shoulderblocks by Nodoka to both her opponents and she hits a scoop slam on Rika, crossbody by Nodoka and she gets a two count. Rika throws Nodoka into the corner, she puts her leg over the second rope and dropkicks her in the leg. Rika slams Nodoka’s leg into the ring post a couple times before dropkicking it into the post, cover by Rika but it gets two. Rika hits a dragon screw on Nodoka and follows with a hip attack, Nodoka gets Rika around the waist and picks her up, but her knee gives out.

She tries again and this time hits a Samoan Drop, She crawls to her corner but Rika tags in Miu and Miu cuts off Nodoka, body avalanche by Miu in the corner and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Giant Swing by Miu, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka slides away and applies a side headlock. Nodoka picks up Miu and hits a fallaway slam, she gets to her corner and tags in Yuki. Yuki boots Miu and Nodoka jumps off her back with a crossbody. Cover by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki elbows Miu and hits a running elbow in the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Miu avoids her dive. Bulldog by Yuki but Rika comes in and rescues her, Nodoka also comes in however and Rika eats a double shoulderblock. Yuki gets on her shoulders as Nodoka goes up to to give her the Bakuretsu Bulldog, but Miu gets away and Rika hip attacks Nodoka off the top turnbuckle. Miu and Rika drop Yuki with an assisted Dragon Twist of Fate, cover by Miu but Nodoka breaks up the pin. Nodoka goes for the Unprettier on Rika but Rika blocks it and hip attacks Nodoka out of the ring, Miu picks up Yuki and she hits a shoulder backbreaker for two. Miu goes for a punch but Yuki ducks it and hits a gutwrench suplex, Yuki applies a full nelson but Miu snapmares out of it. Punch by Miu, she picks up Yuki and nails the Tear Drop for the three count! Daydream win and retain the tag team championship.

Another solid match. From an outsider’s perspective, the Bakuretsu Sisters appear to be done as threats, as if after two years together all you have are three failed title challenges, maybe its time to move on to something else. Miu and Nodoka were my favorite two here, both of their segments on offense were entertaining and they have a variety of ways to hurt people. The leg work was quickly forgotten but it wasn’t enough of a focus to hurt the match, and the end stretch was really good. Rika and Aino didn’t do anything wrong in the match but it just felt like they were kinda ‘present’ rather than doing anything overly memorable, but Tokyo Joshi Pro is full of wrestlers without a lot of experience and not all wrestlers are going to make a difference in every match. Pretty short for a semi-main title match, but an ease to watch with good pacing and a satisfying ending.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita
Princess of Princess Championship

They begin trading wristlocks and headlocks but reach an early stalemate, Yuka sends Miyu to the mat but Miyu reverses positions with her as they jockey for control. Yuka bails out of the ring to regroup but Miyu goes after her, Yuka strikes Miyu as she leaves the ring and kicks her from the apron. Yuka clubs on Miyu’s back and takes her up into the bleachers before throwing her into a wall. Yuka takes Miyu up further into the crowd and scoop slams her on the floor, she gets a table and gets it ready at the top of the stairs to use as a sled. Yuka sits Miyu on the table and pushes her down the stairs, but security is in the way so she only gets about halfway down. Yuka runs down and pushes her the rest of the way, sending Miyu crashing down to the floor at the bottom. They make their way back to ringside and Yuka throws Miyu into the ring post, Yuka props a table up against the post but Miyu fights back with elbows. Yuka elbows her back and scoop slams Miyu into the table (which obviously doesn’t break), Yuka picks Miyu up and slams her into the table again (it kinda breaks this time, Yuka seems satisfied). Yuka brings Miyu up onto the apron but Miyu gets Yuka on her shoulders and slams her onto the apron.

Miyu throws Yuka back into the ring finally, cover by Miyu but it gets a two count. Snapmare by Miyu and she kicks Yuka in the back, Yuka returns to her feet but Miyu knocks her to the mat again. Running knee by Miyu and she hits a gutbuster, kick combination by Miyu and she puts Yuka in a chinlock, but Yuka gets out of it and pushes Miyu out of the ring. Miyu kicks Yuka from the apron as she returns but Yuka catches her with a diving double chop. Running hurricanrana by Yuka and she hits a jumping forearm, missile dropkick by Yuka but Miyu avoids the Sliding D. Yuka connects on her second try, cover by Yuka but it gets two. High kick by Miyu and she nails a rebound high kick out of the corner, running kick by Miyu and Yuka collapses to the mat. Yuka recovers but Miyu kicks her in the back of the head, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Yuka gets back up and elbows Miyu, Miyu elbows her back but Yuka catches her with a vertical suplex. Rolling vertical suplexes by Yuka, she goes up top but Miyu recovers and joins her.

Yuka pushes Miyu off the top turnbuckle to the floor, she gets on the apron and hits a diving hurricanrana. Yuka puts Miyu up on the apron with her head hanging over and goes to the top turnbuckle, delivering a diving body press. Yuka rolls Miyu back in, cover by Yuka but it gets a two count. Swandive body press attempt by Yuka, but Miyu gets her knees up. Kicks to the chest by Miyu but Yuka slaps on a leg submission hold, Miyu inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yuka puts Miyu on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a reverse STO down to the mat. Yuka goes out to the apron and gets on the ropes, but Miyu kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Another head kick by Miyu, she goes out to the apron and dives off the ropes with an elbow to Yuka. Cover by Miyu, but it gets two. More kicks by Miyu but Yuka ducks one and cradles Miyu for two. Rolling elbow by Miyu but Miyu gets her back and hits a German suplex hold for two. Miyu kicks Yuka in the head some more, she goes off the ropes but Yuka catches her with a hammerlock suplex. Miyu goes out to the apron and nails the Magical Magical Girl Splash, cover by Yuka and she picks up the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and retains the championship.

I had heard going in that this match was sloppy, and while there were one or two moves that didn’t hit well I wouldn’t consider that overly unusual in a 20 minute match. Maybe the type of thing that keeps a match from being a true MOTYC, but nothing that impacted my overall enjoyment of the match. My main complaint is the ‘outside the ring’ portion felt too long and wasn’t completely satisfying since the sled spot didn’t appear to go as planned, so it felt more like wasting time than contributing to the match. Once they got back into the ring though, business really picked up and both wrestlers are so much fun to watch. Miyu’s kicks are killer, and she can hit them from anywhere as she can deliver a kick to someone that is well over her own head (which she did several times). A classic flyer vs. strikes match, I wouldn’t have minded if the end stretch was longer so Yuka could get in some more offense, but still a fitting main event as they both went all out. I appreciate the effort and desire to create something amazing and memorable even if not everything landed as smooth as they had planned, hopefully next time things will sync better and they will create a true epic.  Recommended

The post TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro 2020 on 1/4/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

The final spot in the tournament will be determined in a qualifying match between Hikari and Miu on June 3rd. The winner of the tournament will receive a title shot at a later event. If you are new to Tokyo Joshi Pro I highly recommend you check out Heerokun’s Introduction to Tokyo Joshi Pro guide as it does a far better job of explaining things than I’d ever be able to. Let’s get straight to the first show on June 3rd!

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 1
Dates: June 3rd, 2018
Location: Shinjuku Village Studio C 106 in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 384

We have five matches on the first night, with the qualifying match for the 16th spot as well as half of the 1st Round matches taking place. Here are tonight’s matches:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Take A Chance: Hikari vs. Miu
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Hyper Misao vs. Saki-sama
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Maki Itoh vs. Miyu Yamashita
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Reika Saiki vs. Yuu

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Hikari vs. Miu

They grapple to start, shoulderblock by Miu but Hikari returns the favor and starts on Miu’s leg. Hikari throws Miu in the corner and hits a jumping elbow, cover by Hikari but it gets two. Back up they trade elbows until Miu clubs Hikari in the chest and puts Hikari in a crab hold, but Hikari gets into the ropes. Backbreaker by Miu, she picks up Hikari and throws her into the corner before hitting a body avalanche. Miu tosses Hikari to the mat, cover by Miu but it gets a two. Hikari fire back with a dropkick, Miu goes off the ropes and muscles Hikari up onto her shoulder but Hikari slides away and hits a dropkick. Hikari picks up Miu but Miu hits a scoop slam, Hikari slides away again however and puts Miu in an Cobra Twist. Cradle by Hikari, but Miu gets a shoulder up. Miu clubs Hikari in the chest with a Polish Hammer, she picks up Hikari and gets her onto her shoulder, but Hikari breaks the hold and cradles Miu for two. Hikari dropkicks Miu from behind, Leg Roll Clutch by Hikari and she gets the three count! Hikari wins and is now in the Tokyo Princess Cup!

While it is clear these two are still rookies based on their skill level, they still made an attempt to tell a story. Even with no real knowledge going in, it was clear that Miu kept going for the same move that would have gotten her the victory, but Hikari kept avoiding it and eventually was able to defeat Miu as she had a bigger bag of tricks. Basic but fine enough, I don’t know if either will have a long career in wrestling but for this style of match I have no real complaints.

Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase

They begin the match trading wristlocks until Nodoka slaps on a headlock, Yuna gets out of it but Nodoka drops her with a shoulderblock. Nodoka goes off the ropes but Yuna returns the favor with her own shoulderblock, Yuna slams Nodoka’s knee into the mat before flinging her down by the hair. Irish whip by Yuna out of the corner but Nodoka reverses it and hits a running elbow, body press by Nodoka but it only gets a two count. Nodoka goes off the ropes but Yuna plants her with a big boot, snapmare by Yuna and she kicks Nodoka in the back before hitting a seated senton for two. Mounted elbows by Yuna and she puts Nodoka in a headlock, but Nodoka gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Scoop slam by Yuna, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka elbows her off and hits a scoop slam. Nodoka tries to get Yuna on her shoulders but Yuna blocks it, body block by Yuna and she hits an over-the-shoulder slam. Running chest bump by Yuna, she covers Nodoka but Nodoka barely gets a shoulder up. Yuna goes for a kick but Nodoka avoids it, diving bulldog by Nodoka but Yuna floors her again with a big boot. Nodoka dropkicks Yuna into the corner but Nodoka quickly hits a Back Flip (Samoan Driver) for a quick three count cover! Nodoka continues in the tournament.

Nodoka is fiery, I like her quite a bit, but Yuna still doesn’t do a lot for me. There is a reason that Yuna has bounced around so much early in her career, she does the fundamentals well but doesn’t really bring anything special to the table. She did a good enough job as just being a foil for Nodoka but for two wrestlers that know each other well the chemistry wasn’t really there with some of the transitions. The match also felt like it ended really quickly as Yuna didn’t feel worn down at all and the Back Flip isn’t a killer move. A decent enough mid-card match but nothing more than that.

Hyper Misao vs. Saki-sama

Even before the match starts, Misao is already being shady as she tells Saki she has stolen some of her stuff and unless she forfeits the match, she won’t get it back. Saki has none of this and boots Misao hard in the face, cover by Saki but Misao kicks out and bails out of the ring. Saki goes out after her but Misao knocks her down and runs away, she disguises someone at ringside in her attire and hides before Saki recovers. Saki sees the impostor but realizes it is not the real Misao, Saki finds her but Misao bails again and runs up the stairwell near ringside. Saki follows her but Misao throws the curtain at her, she then busts out some tape and tapes Saki’s hand to the guardrail. Misao runs back into the ring as the referee’s count continues, but Saki slips out of her glove to get loose and makes it back before the 20 count. Running elbow by Misao and she rams Saki’s head into her knee, Misao exits the ring and comes back with a chair, but the referee stops her from using it. By now Saki has recovered and she boots Misao in the chest, Saki whips at Misao before kicking her in the back of the head for a two count. Saki applies a headscissors but Misao makes it to the ropes, Saki goes off the ropes and she boots Misao out of the ring. Saki gets on the apron and goes to kick Misao, but Misao throws a chair at her leg.

Misao tapes up Saki’s legs and tries to return to the ring but Saki grabs her, and Saki returns the favor by taping up Misao’s legs. They both roll back into the ring, taped up legs and all, and Misao gets her chair. Misao hops over to Saki but the referee tries to take the chair from her, he fails however and goes flying backwards and out of the ring. Misao hops again over to Saki but Saki knocks her back, roll-up by Misao but the referee isn’t around to count it. Saki and Misao both free their legs, Misao goes to find the referee but Saki kicks her from behind. Saki applies a figure four headlock but lets go since there is no referee still, she goes and collects the referee but Misao promptly accidentally elbows him in the corner. Big boot by Saki in the corner but Misao comes back with a crossbody, she crawls to the corner and gets the tape again, but Azusa Christie runs down to help Saki. Azusa frees Saki with scissors, Misao comes back with some type of spray and sprays it into both Saki and Azusa’s eyes. Misao tosses the bottle to Saki as she goes to wake up the referee, and then takes off her own mask and puts it into Saki’s hands as well. As the referee finally recovers, Misao tells him that Saki cheated and stole her mask, and the referee disqualifies Saki! Hyper Misao wins and advances in the tournament.

While I can see that this shtick may get old if it happens repeatedly, to me it is still fresh so I liked it. The lengths of which Misao went through to win was truly impressive, she wasn’t trying the same thing over and over but had a big bag of tricks. Not all worked but the effort was there. Also for comedy-type matches I tend to listen to the crowd more and they really enjoyed it, so clearly they know their audience. An amusing match, I don’t know how Misao is as a traditional wrestler but her gimmickry is on-point.  Mildly Recommended

Maki Itoh vs. Miyu Yamashita

The match starts with wristlocks, headlock by Miyu but Maki elbows out of it. Miyu charges Maki but Maki moves, Maki goes for mounted punches in the corner but Miyu slides away and hits Maki from behind. Miyu goes off the ropes but Maki greets her with a hard elbow, shoulder tackles by Maki in the corner and she finally hits her mounted punches. Maki goes off the ropes but Miyu avoids her attack, stomps by Miyu and she kicks Maki in the back for a two count. Miyu clubs Maki in the back and applies a headscissors, but Maki wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Miyu goes off the ropes and dropkicks Maki in the back, Irish whip by Miyu which is reversed by Maki, but Maki misses a dropkick. Back up they trade strikes, Miyu goes off the ropes but Maki catches her with a dropkick. Scoop slam by Maki and she covers Miyu for a two count. Elbows by Maki but Miyu knees her in the stomach, battering ram by Maki and she hits a falling headbutt for two. Maki headbutts Miyu but Miyu gets her back, elbows by Maki but Miyu returns fire. Miyu goes for a high kick but Maki catches it, headbutts by Maki and she finally knocks Miyu to the mat. Maki puts Miyu in a crab hold but Miyu inches to the ropes for a break. Maki gets on the second turnbuckle but Miyu avoids her body press, now Miyu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Miyu picks up Maki but Maki slides away, knee by Miyu but Maki elbows her back. High kick by Miyu, she picks up Maki but again Miyu slides off and hits a DDT. Miyu puts Maki in a deep clutch Boston Crab but Miyu is able to make it to the ropes, Maki picks up Miyu and she hits a long series of headbutts. Maki goes off the ropes but Miyu catches her with a pair of high kicks, Attitude Adjustment by Miyu and she picks up the three count! Miyu Yamashita wins and advances in the tournament.

I can see the appeal with Maki, but I wouldn’t say this match ever really went beyond just the ‘good’ level. Course, this is an early round non-main event match so there are some limitations outside of their control, but it all just felt a bit rushed. Maki had a good run at the end to try to put down the clearly more powerful Miyu, but Miyu seemed to shrug it all off a bit too easily to go straight into her home stretch. With a few extra minutes they probably could have wrapped things up a bit better. Miyu’s strikes were on point as always and she has always been one of my favorites in Tokyo Joshi Pro, so I am looking forward to her having longer and more even matches as the tournament progresses.  Mildly Recommended

Reika Saiki vs. Yuu

The match begins with a test of strength, naturally, which Yuu initially wins but Reika gets in top position. Yuu gets back in control but Reika gets into the ropes for the break, headlock by Yuu but Reika gets out of it and they collide with neither wrestler going down. Reika gets Yuu to the mat and kicks her in the back, she picks up Yuu and dropkicks her before hitting a hip toss for a two count. Reika throws Yuu into the corner but Yuu elbows her, Reika returns with an elbow of her own and she puts Yuu in a camel clutch. Yuu gets to the ropes for the break, Reika goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a spinning side slam. Reika quickly comes back with a backdrop suplex, Reika picks up Yuu and goes for the Tower Bridge, but Yuu slides away and hits the Oklahoma Stampede. Yuu picks up Reika, Reika goes for a leapfrog but Yuu catches her and slams Yuu to the mat. Senton by Yuu, but Reika kicks out of the cover.

Back up they trade strikes until Yuu chops Reika to the mat, Yuu picks up Reika but Reika knocks her back and the battle continues. Irish whip by Yuu and she chops Reika to the mat again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu picks up Reika, Reika goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a judo throw. Yuu applies a cobra clutch but Reika quickly gets into the ropes, Yuu charges Reika but Reika leapfrogs over her and dropkicks Yuu into the corner. Reika grabs Yuu and puts her in the Tower Bridge, but quickly tosses her back down and stomps on Yuu’s back. Missile dropkick by Reika, she waits for Yuu to get up but Yuu ducks her kick and re-applies the Cobra Clutch. Reika gets out of the hold and goes for the Shining Wizard, but Yuu catches her and hits a buckle bomb. Last Ride attempt by Yuu but Reika slides away and hits a Shining Wizard to the back of Yuu’s head. Head kick by Reika, she picks up Yuu and goes for the Jackhammer, but Yuu blocks it and hits a hard elbows. John Woo by Yuu, she drags up Reika and she nails a Last Ride for the three count pinfall! Yuu picks up the win and advances in the tournament.

It took a few minutes to get going, but once it did I got the hoss battle that I was hoping for. The only thing holding back Yuu is she isn’t very charismatic so she has to work a bit harder to get the crowd into what she is doing. But she has the skill which is a big component of that, if she sticks with it and improves some in crowd engagement she could be a big star. I really enjoyed when they were trading bombs in the match as that is both wrestler’s style, a few of the spots were repeated and the strike battle may have been a bit too long in a shorter match, but its hard to get mad at two strong wrestlers tossing each other around. For a main event it didn’t seem quite as ‘special’ as one would hope but they packed a lot of content into it, an entertaining match even though it had its flaws.  Mildly Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 2
Dates: June 9th, 2018
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 302

On paper, the second night of the first round should have had four matches, but sadly that turned out not to be the case. Marika Kobashi was forced out of the tournament due to a poorly timed injury, and Maho Kurone forfeited her match as at the time she was taking a leave of absence from TJPW (sadly, since that time it has been announced that she is not returning). So instead of four matches, we get two matches, as a couple wrestlers get automatic byes. Here is the line-up for the event as we conclude the 1st Round:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Hikari vs. Marika Kobashi (Hikari advances via forfeit)
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Shoko Nakajima vs. Maho Kurone (Shoko Nakajima advances via forfeit)
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Azusa Christie vs. Rika Tatsumi
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 1: Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Azusa Christie vs. Rika Tatsumi

They jockey for position in the ropes as the match begins, Irish whip by Rika but she can’t shoulderblock Azusa over. Azusa throws down Rika by the hair and into the corner, kicks by Azusa and she knocks Rika out of the ring. Azusa goes out after her and rams Rika into the apron, Azusa whacks Rika with a weapon before rolling her back into the ring. Rika greets Azusa with boots and hits a face crusher, hip attack by Rika and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Rika kicks Azusa in the leg and applies a cross kneelock, she picks her up after a moment and drops Azusa with a dragon screw leg whip. Kneebreaker by Rika, but Azusa kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Rika but it is reversed, Azusa knocks Rika to the mat but Rika recovers and the two trade strikes until Azusa applies a crucifix into a cover for two. Azusa keeps hold of her arms and applies a double armbar, she lets go and picks up Rika, but Rika gets Azusa in the corner and dropkicks her in the leg. Dragon screw by Rika and she quickly puts Azusa in the figure four, but Azusa makes it to the ropes for the break. Rika picks up Azusa but Azusa blocks the cutter and hits a Codebreaker, running forearm by Azusa but her cover gets two. Azusa and Rika trade elbows, hip attack by Rika and she twists on Azusa’s leg before hitting another quick hip attack for two. Cutter by Rika, she goes up top but Azusa avoids the diving hip attack and hits a running facecrusher. Azusa kicks Rika twice in the chest but Rika hits a backbreaker, sleeper by Rika and she reverts it into a Dragon Sleeper. Azusa struggles for a moment but eventually has to tap out! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances in the tournament.

Not an overly exciting match but pretty well executed. Rika has a lot of fire and I like her offense, but her offense doesn’t really fit together as she was focusing on different parts of Azusa throughout the match. The potential is there, she just needs to tie it all together. Azusa was a bit clunkier, but the bigger issue is that I never really saw her as winning the match. Even without any backstories, just as a casual viewer it always felt like it was Rika’s match to win. Decent enough but it still feels like everyone is holding back a bit for the later rounds of the tournament.

Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Mizuki quickly goes for flash pins but Yuka kicks out of each one, she returns the favor with a few flash pins of her own but she can’t get the three count either. Eventually both wrestlers roll out of the ring exhausted from the flash pin sequence, but they return after a moment with Yuka taking control. Yuka works over Mizuki on the mat and then in the corner, elbows by Yuka and she covers Mizuki for a two count. Yuka’s methodical offense on Mizuki continues until Mizuki flings Yuka out of the ring, Mizuki goes up top but Yuka quickly rolls back in and twists Mizuki’s leg in the top rope. Snapmare by Yuka down to the mat and she covers Mizuki for two. Yuka picks up Mizuki and throws her into the corner, running elbow by Yuka and she delivers a high kick for another two count. Yuka knocks Mizuki into the corner again but this time Mizuki scores with five straight dropkicks, hard elbow by Mizuki and she connects with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors which sends Yuka out of the ring. Mizuki goes up top and dives out onto Yuka with a crossbody, she gets Yuka back into the ring and puts her in a leg submission. Stretch hold by Mizuki, she lets go after a moment and hits a cartwheel into a body press for two. A leg scissors roll-up also gets two, she goes for a wheelbarrow but Yuka catches her and slams Mizuki to the mat. Yuka gets on the second turnbuckle but Mizuki dropkicks her as she jumps off, Mizuki throws Yuka into the corner but Yuka elbows her as she charges in and hits a dropkick of her own.

Mizuki falls out of the ring, Yuka charges the ropes and dives out onto her with a springboard plancha. Yuka slides Mizuki back in, Yuka slams Mizuki and puts her in an armbar, but Mizuki rolls to the ropes for the break. Rolling snapmare by Yuka and she delivers a sliding lariat, Yuka goes up top but Mizuki gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and they trade elbows as they do so, running elbow by Yuka and she kicks Mizuki in the stomach, but Mizuki drop toeholds her into the ropes and dropkicks Yuka in the back. Mizuki gets on the second rope and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mizuki but it gets two. Crossface by Mizuki but Yuka quickly counters it, ankle hold by Yuka but Mizuki crawls to the ropes for the break. Yuka rolls Mizuki to the mat but Mizuki catches her sliding lariat attempt and applies a crossface, she lets go after a moment and applies a stretch hold but Yuka gets into the ropes. Back up, enzuigiri by Yuka and she goes off the ropes, but Mizuki catches her with the Cutie Special. Mizuki goes up top and delivers the diving footstomp, but Yuka kicks out of the cover. Elbows by Mizuki and she cradles Yuka, but Yuka reverses it for her own two count. Discus elbow by Yuka and she delivers the Merry Go Round, she goes out to the apron and nails the Magical Magical Girl Splash for the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and advances!

Even with a bit of time-stretching, I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Mizuki was very spunky, while I think everyone assumed that Yuka Sakazaki was winning they made it a pretty even affair with Mizuki getting plenty of chances to shine. Yuka is so smooth in the ring and she has grown a lot in the last few years from being mostly just cool spots to putting together a full offensive game. It never really reached that next level but it was a well-executed and entertaining match.  Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Day 3
Dates: June 17th, 2018
Location: Narimasu Act Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 326

And we are onto the second round! All the second round matches take place on the same day and everyone survived the first round healthy so no issue with forfeits. The Tokyo Princess Cup matches were the last four matches on the event, here are the pairings:

• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Hikari vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Hyper Misao vs. Yuu
• Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped. Since I already gave a brief summary for the wrestlers before their first round matches, from now on we will just get straight to the matches.

Hikari vs. Yuka Sakazaki

I love Yuka Sakazaki but there wasn’t much to this one. Hikari is too green to really hang with Yuka and so it was a very toned down more mat-based match. They gave Hikari a few hope spots, which was polite but none were particularly convincing and then the match suddenly ended with a slow developing submission hold. Definitely the most skippable match of the tournament thus far, course Hikari advancing in the first place likely wasn’t the plan so they had to do the best they could with the cards they were dealt.

Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan

Nodoka gets on the second turnbuckle but Miyu gets her knees up when she jumps off, push kick by Miyu and she hits a second one, kick combination by Miyu but Nodoka catches one and elbows Miyu in the leg. Miyu comes right back with a hard high kick, she knocks Nodoka into the corner and delivers a jumping knee. Miyu picks up Nodoka but Nodoka gets away and hits a shoulderblock, Nodoka picks up Miyu and she hits a scoop slam. Nodoka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she applies the WAR Special but Miyu gets out of it and hits a lariat. Back up, elbows by Nodoka but Miyu kicks her in the back of the head. Another kick by Miyu, she goes off the ropes and she kicks Nodoka in the head. Miyu picks up Nodoka and nails the Attitude Adjustment, but Nodoka gets a shoulder up at two. Miyu goes up top but Nodoka recovers and joins her, she gets Miyu on her shoulders and delivers an Avalanche Back Flip. Cover by Nodoka, but Miyu barely kicks out. Miyu is up first, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka elbows her. Miyu returns with a kick, another head kick by Miyu but when she goes off the ropes she eats a hard Nodoka elbow. Backflip by Nodoka, and she picks up the three count! Nodoka wins the match and advances in the tournament.

This is by far the biggest upset in the tournament up to this point, as Miyu Yamashita is one of the top wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi Pro while Nodoka is popular but didn’t have a big singles win yet in her career. Even though I still am not impressed with the Back Flip as a finisher, at least she also hit an avalanche version in this match so it didn’t feel like Miyu went down too easy. Miyu’s kicks in this match were crazy, I’m not sure how Nodoka was even still standing at times, she really is one of the top Joshi strikers in the business. Not a long match but an action packed one, my favorite of the tournament so far.  Recommended

Hyper Misao vs. Yuu

Yuu elbows Misao in the corner, Irish whip attempt by Yuu but Misao reverses it and “accidentally” throws Yuu into the referee. While the referee is out, Misao sprays Yuu in the eyes with cold air spray before taking off her own mask and handing it to Yuu. The referee recovers, but Misao forgot to give Yuu the cold air spray so she still has it in her hand. She tries to play it off by spraying herself but the referee isn’t having it, as he appears to finally be getting wise to Misao’s tricks. Misao gets her mask back on, Misao shakes Yuu’s hand again but Yuu catches her kick and hits a double chop. More chops by Yuu, Irish whip and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam for two. Yuu grabs Misao, Misao slides away but Yuu scoops her up and goes for the Oklahoma Stampede. Misao blocks it and applies a chickenwing, but Yuu gets to the ropes. Misao goes for the Final Cut but Yuu blocks it, Misao goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a powerslam. Misao avoids Yuu’s senton and applies La Magistral, but Yuu kicks out. Misao rams Yuu’s head into his knee, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving crossbody for two. Misao knocks Yuu into the corner but Yuu catches her with a Judo Toss when she charges in. Yuu grabs Misao and puts her in a One Wing Twist, and Misao taps out! Yuu wins and advances in the tournament.

This was a pretty good contrast to the last Misao match, as here her schemes just didn’t work and she was forced to wrestle Yuu. What was interesting is when she was concentrating on wrestling, she almost was able to go toe to toe with Yuu and got in some notable offense. Maybe there is an underlying story here of Misao not really needing the tricks to win as even though she lost, after her last trick failed it was a pretty even match until Yuu just overpowered her. I enjoyed it, Misao offers something different and its a nice change of pace.  Mildly Recommended

Rika Tatsumi vs. Shoko Nakajima

Dropkick to the leg by Rika and she hits a couple hip attacks, elbow drop by Rika and she covers Shoko for two. Rika picks up Shoko but Shoko rolls it into a grounded headlock, cradle by Shoko but Rika blocks it and applies the figure four leglock. Shoko gets to the ropes for the break, Rika picks up Shoko but Shoko cradles her for two. Hurricanrana by Shoko, but that gets a two as well as does the Northern Lights Suplex. Shoko elbows Rika but Rika elbows her back as they trade blows, hip attack by Rika but Shoko comes back with a dropkick. Rika ducks the first Tiger Feint Kick attempt but Shoko hits it over the bottom rope instead, she goes up top but Rika avoids the diving senton. Rika picks up Shoko and hits a modified cutter, she hip attacks Shoko in the head and covers her for two. Rika goes up top but Shoko elbows her before she jumps off, Shoko joins her and hits a Frankensteiner but is too hurt to make a cover. She finally gets an arm on Rika, but Rika gets a shoulder up. Shoko picks up Rika and delivers the double arm DDT, she goes for another Northern Lights Suplex but Rika blocks it and hits a cutter. Rika puts Shoko in the sleeper, she tries to revert it into a Dragon Sleeper but Shoko rolls her up for two. Shoko goes off the ropes but Rika catches her with a backbreaker, she gets the sleeper applied again and this time successfully switches it to the Dragon Sleeper. Shoko struggles but Rika grapevines her and Shoko has to tap out! Rika Tatsumi wins and advances!

Another quality match, Day 3 easily eclipsed the first two events of the tournament. I love Shoko, her offense feels fresh and since it was her first match of the tournament it gave us something different to watch. I still don’t really understand Rika’s leg-based offense being a lead-in for the Dragon Sleeper, I have nothing against limb work but the hip attacks would seem to be a better setup for her finisher. Still, the match had a little bit of everything (submissions, strikes, high risk moves) and was an enjoyable 15 minutes. A fitting main event and probably my new favorite match we have seen thus far.  Recommended

Event: Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Final
Dates: July 8th, 2018
Location: KFC Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 404

Tonight the tournament will conclude, as both the Semi Finals and Finals will take place on the same event. The show opens with the two Semi Final matches and finishes with the Finals, here are the tournament matches on the card:

• Tokyo Princess Cup Semi Final: Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuu
• Tokyo Princess Cup Semi Final: Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• Tokyo Princess Cup Final: Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2

Per usual, all wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. As this event aired on DDT Universe, all matches are unclipped.

Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuu

A little on the short side but a fun match. Nodoka is the ultimate underdog, as she is undersized but had the crowd behind her as she tried to take down the stronger and more experienced Yuu. And Nodoka certainly got in her spots, including hitting the Back Flip, but she isn’t ready yet to overcome someone of Yuu’s stature. A solid start to the final night of the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Yuka springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits the missile dropkick, but Rika rolls out of the ring. Yuka goes off the ropes and springboards down onto Rika, Yuka gets Rika into the ring and covers her for a two count. Yuka slams Rika into the mat and goes for a submission, but Rika quickly grabs the ropes. Sliding lariat by Yuka, she goes up top but Rika recovers and hits a dragon screw off the top turnbuckle to the mat. Grounded dragons crew by Rika and she hits the short-range hip attack for two. Figure Four by Rika, but Yuka inches to the ropes and forces the break. Back up they trade elbows, running elbow by Yuka but Rika hits a hip attack. Yuka returns with a kick of her own and both wrestlers fall to the mat, they trade elbows as they get back up, with Yuka winning the battle with a discus elbow smash. Yuka goes to do a springboard move but Rika stops her and hits a cutter, Rika goes up top and nails a diving hip attack for a two count. Rika puts Yuka in a Dragon Sleeper but Yuka pushes Rika’s shoulders to the mat so she has to break the hold. Rika goes for a backdrop suplex but Yuka lands on her feet and hits an enzuigiri, Yuka picks up Rika and nails the Merry Go Round. Yuka goes to the apron and delivers the Magical Magical Girl Splash, and she picks up the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and advances to the Finals!

Someone that follows TJPW is going to get mad at me for calling out Rika for doing great limb work but winning with Dragon Sleepers, the issue here though is the lengths at which Yuka went to blow off all said leg work. Its not that all leg work has to be sold forever but Rika did such a good job with it that it was disappointing that it just got immediately forgotten in the last few minutes of the match. Aside from that issue I enjoyed it but I do wish Yuka would hit the Magical Magical Girl Splash with a bit more urgency as she forces her opponents to not move for a long time. Rika showed me a lot here and I am leaving this review as a big fan of hers, if she just can tie together better the two halves of her offense she’d really be the total package. An entertaining match due to the general action and pacing but not without its flaws.  Recommended

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Yuu
Tokyo Princess Cup Final

A more condensed match than one would hope for as a tournament final (under ten minutes), but at least what they did was decent. My main issue is that Yuka never felt like she was about to win, both times she went to the apron Yuu was up before Yuka could even think about doing a move, and Yuu was constantly cutting her off each time it looked like Yuka was getting the upper-hand. If the idea here was to make Yuu look really strong, they did that, but for the long journey I just went on it didn’t feel like that big climax that I was hoping for. It felt more like two quality wrestlers having a fun midcard match than the finals of a promotion’s biggest tournament of the year. Not a bad watch but overall disappointing since it was the finals and not on the level I was expecting.

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro “Tokyo Princess Cup 2018” Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

Stardom is another promotion that I am introducing myself to as I broaden my wrestling viewing a bit. I have heard good things about the promotion as they have some skilled wrestlers, so hopefully their first event to be taped for 2014 leaves a positive first impression. This is a big event for Stardom as three of their titles are being defended. Here is the full card:

• Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
• Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
• Takumi Iroha 10 Match Series 4th: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Let’s hop to it.

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase

A rookie match, although I am glad that Manase is over 18 with that outfit that she wears.  It was easy to tell these two are still learning, as they still haven’t mastered the staple of Puroresu – strike exchanges.  But besides the awkwardness of those it was not a bad match, just basic which is understandable.  Manase hit her kicks well (the Heel Drop was nice) and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive or anything.  Rookies need experience so while not a great match it wasn’t a bad way to start out the event.

Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Matsumoto, and Iwatani

I don’t care what all the results say on various websites, it was Matsumoto that got the pin, not Toyota… I know who Toyota is.   Only half of the match was shown but I assume we got the gist of it, I am not 100% sure what the significance of the brown bag is but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.  We didn’t really see enough of this to get a great feel for it, but what we saw was fine.  Compared to the last match you could tell these were more seasoned wrestlers as the moves were all hit smoothly and they kept the pace going.  Solid match, just not a lot of it was shown.

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

Looks like we only saw about half the match.  Yoshiko needs a new killer move, I am generally not a big fan of repeating big moves in a match unless its a big title match or something, especially if the move is just a set-up for the finisher.  Iroha is a rookie going through her ‘trial series’ so it is more about her learning than it is about her actually winning matches.  Maybe here she learned that trading strikes with someone twice your size is not a great idea.  Seemed fine for what we saw but I would have liked to have seen the first half of the match.

(c) Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with a big boot, Kimura goes off the ropes now but Takahashi hits a lariat.  Waistlock by Takahashi but Kimura elbows out of it.  Elbows by Takahashi and she applies another waistlock, Wakizawa comes in the ring to help and Takahashi is finally able to hit the backdrop suplex.  Cover, but Kimura gets a foot on the bottom rope.  We clip ahead as Alpha Female is in the ring and she lariats Wakizawa.  She and Takahashi both go off the ropes but Takahashi’s lariat hits the mark.  Takahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle, Wakizawa then runs in the ring and Wakizawa hurricanranas Takahashi onto Alpha Female.  German suplex hold by Wakizawa to Alpha Female but it gets a two count.  Wakizawa picks up Alpha Female but Alpha Female hits a short-arm lariat.  Alpha Female goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is back in the ring and hits Alpha Female.  Wakizawa then gets up, she joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex.  Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two.  Wakizawa stomps Alpha Female, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura runs up on the apron and stops her.  Takahashi knocks Kimura out of the ring, while Alpha Female joins Wakizawa on the top turnbuckle.  Wakizawa quickly jumps down and sits Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, Wakizawa then climbs back up and goes for a Frankensteiner, but Alpha Female catches her.  Kimura comes in the ring and holds Wakizawa, and Alpha Female comes off the top turnbuckle, slamming Wakizawa into the mat.  Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and hits a shoulder drop slam, cover, but again Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and puts her on her shoulders, but Wakizawa gets off and hits a backslide for a two count.  Wakizawa and Takahashi put their opponents lying in the ring, they both go up to the top turnbuckle and go for diving body presses, but both Kimura and Alpha Female get their knees up.  Alpha Female hits a lariat onto Wakizawa, cover, but Wakizawa barely kicks out.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and nails the Alpha Plex, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners and new champions:  Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female

A solid match, but the clips in the action made it hard for the wrestlers to really get a good flow going as it was disjointed in parts.  Not that it is their fault, it is just the way the match was presented which is disappointing for a title match.  The wrestling was generally solid although a bit silly at times (such as the ketchup usage and Wakizawa doing a Frankensteiner on her own partner).  There wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with the match, the skipping just hurt the structure.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and goes for a crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets a hand on the ropes.  Stomps to the back by Hojo, she puts Yasukawa on her shoulders but Yasukawa hops off and elbows Hojo in the chest.  Hojo elbows her back and they trade strikes, which Yasukawa gets the better of.  Hojo gets back up and elbows Yasukawa against the ropes, double chop by Hojo and she goes off the ropes, but Yasukawa catches her and slams Hojo to the mat.  Cover, but it gets a two.  Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hojo recovers in time and throws her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.  Hojo then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back.  Cover, but Yasukawa gets a shoulder up.  Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and cranks down, twisting Yasukawa’s back.  Yasukawa rakes Hojo in the face to break up the hold and hits Hojo in the head.  Hojo recovers first and elbows Yasukawa while they are still on their knees, and Hojo delivers a headbutt.  Cover, but  it only gets two.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa and elbows her in the head, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her with an STO.  Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a rolling senton, cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up.  Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo lands on her feet and elbows Yasukawa in the back of the head.  Jackknife hold by Hojo, but Yasukawa gets a foot on the ropes.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa, snapmare, she goes off the ropes but Yasukawa ducks the elbow and rolls her up for a two count.  Yasukawa quickly applies the Stretch Muffler, adding in a leg hook to apply more pressure.  Hojo fights it for several moments but she is stuck, and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner and still champion:  Act Yasukawa

This was a really good and well worked match.  The focus by Hojo on Yasukawa’s back was done really well as she never lost focus the entire match.  Yasukawa on her part also sold it the entire match and even failed to be able to apply her finishing move the first time because of it, something that I always enjoy seeing as it just shows that both wrestlers understand the psychology being used and won’t sacrifice that just to get a spot in.  Also the referee calling for the bell without Hojo submitting keeps her strong, as even though it was the right call she protested after the match and stayed crying in the ring while Yasukawa celebrated.  Just overall a really entertaining back and forth battle between these two.   Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
World of Stardom Championship

Taiyo goes back to the arm and goes for a jackknife hold, but Shirai pushes her way out of it.  Sit-down powerbomb by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.  Taiyo goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a dropkick.  Taiyo falls out of the ring, she tries to skin the cat but Shirai dropkicks her in the back.  Shirai bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Taiyo with a plancha through the ropes.  Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Taiyo as she was starting to get up.  Shirai throws Taiyo into the ring, she then goes on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick.  Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits another swandive dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Shirai waits for Taiyo to get up and goes for a kick, Taiyo blocks the first one but not the second one.  Kick to the side of the head by Shirai but Taiyo finally catches one and hits a powerbomb.  Shirai deflects Taiyo’s next attack and delivers another kick to the side of the head.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner and hits a standing moonsault, she then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, and finally she hits one off the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai goes up top again but Taiyo is up in plenty of time and jumps on top as well.  Taiyo goes for a German suplex off the top but Shirai lands on her feet and delivers a sliding kick to Taiyo.  Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and goes for a suplex but Taiyo slides between her legs.  They trade move attempts before getting into a strike battle, Taiyo grabs Shirai and hits the leg capture suplex hold for a two count.  Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double stomp, cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes and delivers the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb for a two count.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a hard elbow, but Taiyo returns fire as they trade shots.  Headbutt by Shirai and a slap sends Taiyo to her knees.  Sliding kick by Shirai, cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault doublestomp .  Shirai goes up top again and this time she hits a second incredibly accurate moonsault doublestomp.  Suplex de Io by Shirai and she picks up the three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Io Shirai

Well this was a match.  To get straight to the point I thought it was pretty amazing.  There were some little things here and there that didn’t work as they tried to get too cute, but considering the speed in which they go and having very little downtime some missteps here and there are expected.  It may stop the match from becoming an all-time classic but it doesn’t take away from all that they did right.  I have to admit any match with a perfect moonsault doublestomp automatically is good in my book, it is such an awesome looking move when hit properly like the second one was in this match.  I hadn’t seen either of these women before and Shirai is great fun to watch as she was just flying around everywhere.  They didn’t spend a lot of time with submission holds, just a few general ‘weaken your opponent’ ones and seemed content to just drop bombs and big moves on each other.  It felt like a big match, and it was as this was a big anniversary show for the promotion, so they were sure to end the event with a bang.  Overall just a great match, I can look past a few of the hiccups when a match is as exciting as this one, definitely a must-see.  Highly Recommended

review completed on 3/25/14

The post Stardom “Third Anniversary” on 1/26/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It has been awhile since we visited Tokyo Joshi Pro, but I had to watch my favorite underground indie wrestler Yuka Sakazaki. Tokyo Joshi Pro is a brand of DDT, and as the name implies it is their Joshi brand with mostly very young wrestlers that don’t venture outside of the DDT umbrella. So they don’t get a ton of exposure, but they have a handful of quality wrestlers. This is a small event for the promotion, however it was shown on DDT’s streaming service DDTUniverse.com. Here is the full card:

• Marika Kobashi vs. Syoko Nakajima
• 3 Way Match: Azusa Takigawa vs. Maho Kurone vs. Mizuki
• Rika Tatsumi and Nonoko vs. Yuu and Yuna Manase
• Miyu Yamashita and Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki

You can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. A really short show with no really big matches, but Yuka and Reika teaming in the main event should be fun.

Marika Kobashi vs. Syoko Nakajima

They circle each other to start before locking up, Syoko pushes Marika to the mat and locks knuckles with her, but Marika reverses the hold. They end up at a stalemate, waistlock by Marika but Syoko drives her back into the corner. Marika leaps over Syoko and hits an elbow, chops by Marika but Syoko clubs her to the mat. Punches by Syoko and she starts working on Marika’s arm, Syoko puts Marika into the Tarantula before covering her for two. Kicks by Syoko in the corner and she goes back to the arm, but Marika gets into the ropes for the break. Marika slides away from Syoko and hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Marika and she puts Syoko in a single leg crab hold. Syoko gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, Marika goes up top but Syoko punches her in the stomach as she jumps down. Running elbow by Syoko in the corner, she goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Marika ducks it and rolls her up for two. Marika tries a few more flash pins with no luck, neck drop by Marika and she hits a diving ax handle. Syoko comes back with a dropkick and drives Marika’s face into the mat, Northern Lights Suplex by Syoko and she gets the three count! Syoko Nakajima is the winner.

A really simply laid out and executed match, but probably necessary since Marika is only 16 and just returned to wrestling. Nothing was actively bad about it, just basic and not particularly memorable. Not unwatchable but nothing much to it.

Azusa Takigawa vs. Maho Kurone vs. Mizuki

Maho chases after Mizuki as the match starts, trying to eat her, but Mizuki hides behind Azusa. Maho only wants Mizuki and pays Azusa no mind, Mizuki and Azusa shakes hands before both going after Maho. They both take turns attacking Maho in the corner until Azusa quickly schoolboys Mizuki for a two count. Azusa stands on Mizuki’s hair and continues the beatdown while Maho is still MIA, she comes back just as Mizuki gets an advantage but Azusa tosses Mizuki out of the ring again. Azusa puts on her veil while standing on the second turnbuckle, but Mizuki hits her before she can jump down and throws her to the mat. Crab hold by Mizuki but Azusa gets the microphone slid to her and talks a bit while struggling to get to the ropes. Mizuki lets go, Azusa then goes out to the apron and continues cutting a promo mid-match. She finally stops talking and gets back into the ring, Maho returns too and scoop slams Azusa for a two count. Maho and Mizuki take turns trying to pin Azusa, Mizuki goes off the ropes but Maho puts her in a sleeper. She tries to bite her neck but Mizuki blocks it. Maho and Mizuki trade blows until Mizuki sneaks in a backslide for two, dropkick by Mizuki and she hits a diving footstomp on Maho from the second turnbuckle. Elbows by Mizuki but Maho grabs her and bites her neck, swinging neckbreaker by Maho but Azusa schoolboys her from behind for two. Azusa pulls down the ropes when Maho charges her, sending Maho out of the ring, before hitting Mizuki with a Codebreaker. Azusa gets on the second turnbuckle but Mizuki blocks her dive and applies a backslide for two. Cutie Special by Mizuki, and she picks up the three count! Mizuki is your winner.

This is the type of match that makes me not want to watch smaller indie shows. Maho is a fun gimmick but she isn’t a very good wrestler, making a lot of her sections look a bit awkward. Azusa is pure gimmick, and probably is more funny if I understood Japanese (which I don’t), while Mizuki is a solid wrestler but not one that can pull other wrestlers up. So mostly a clunky ‘take turns’ type three way match and not particularly entertaining.

Rika Tatsumi and Nonoko vs. Yuu and Yuna Manase

Rika and Yuna start the match, Rika gets Yuna to the mat but Yuna gets out of it and they trade wristlocks. Rika tags in Nonoko so Yuna tags Yuu, Nonoko pulls out a magazine and gives it to Yuu but Yuu throws it to the ground and stomps on Nonoko. Armbar by Yuu and she tags in Yuna, Yuna knocks Nonoko into the corner but Nonoko shoulderblocks Yuna and puts her in a stretch hold. Nonoko tags Rika, Rika starts working on Yuna’s leg before dropping her with a face crusher. Rika hits a running elbow drop but it only gets a two count cover so she tags Nonoko back in. Elbows by Nonoko to Yuna and she hits a double arm DDT into her chest, but Yuna delivers a mid kick and makes the tag to Yuu. Yuu shoulderblocks both Nonoko and Rika, double chop to the chest by Yuu and she covers Nonoko for two. Yuu works on Nonoko’s arm before chopping her to the mat, but Nonoko rams her head into her chest and delivers a Lou Thesz Press. Nonoko tags in Rika, Rika jumps at Yuu but Yuu catches her and slams Rika to the mat. Powerslam by Yuu, she throws Rika into the corner but Rika reverses her Irish whip and dropkicks Yuu in the leg. Dragon screw by Rika and she hits a couple hip attacks for two.

Rika goes for a cutter but Yuu pushes her off and hits a judo throw, giving her time to tag in Yuna. Yuna jumps down onto Rika and kicks her in the back, running boot by Yuna and she covers Rika for two. Yuna goes off the ropes but Rika catches her with a hip attack, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving hip attack for a two count cover. Backbreaker by Rika and she applies the dragon sleeper, but Yuu breaks it up. Rika tags Nonoko, they both throw Yuna into the corner and deliver running strikes. Nonoko picks up Yuna and nails the Boinmaker, she puts her magazine in her shirt before hitting a body press but Yuna kicks out of the cover. Nonoko gives Yuna the magazine to read, Yuna tries to put it on the mat so that Nonoko would trip over it, but Nonoko notices and slams on the breaks. Yuu pushes Nonoko from the apron and Nonoko slips on it anyway, but Rika breaks up Yuna’s cover. Yuu takes care of Rika, Yuna delivers the Kakato Drop (heel drop) to Nonoko and she picks up the three count! Yuu and Yuna Manase win!

The primary issue here is, again, general wrestler quality. TJP does have some really good wrestlers, but they were too spread out here. Yuna is on her third promotion in her short career probably for a reason – she’s a sub-par wrestler. Rika and Yuu are both good, but didn’t do much here to stand out. Nonoko is mostly gimmick, its a quality gimmick but she isn’t going to wow you with in-ring skills (nor is she trying to). So what you end up with is a pretty average match, it had some good sections but it was just inconsistent as Nonoko and Yuna wanted to do their comedy bits while Yuu and Rika were generally more serious. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but it was nothing anyone needs to go find to watch.

Miyu Yamashita and Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki

Nodoka and Reika start the match for their teams, they trade headlocks and headscissors but end up back on their feet. Reika puts Nodoka in a front headlock and tags in Yuka, but Nodoka gets away and tags in Miyu. Miyu and Yuka go back and forth until Yuka hits a dropkick, but Miyu gets back up and stomps Yuka to the mat. Miyu tags Nodoka, Nodoka puts Yuka in a headlock before elbowing her in the back of the head. Miyu tags back in, snapmare by Miyu and she puts Yuka in a chinlock. Yuka gets to the ropes to force the break, kick by Miyu and she tags in Nodoka. Irish whip by Nodoka to the corner and she hits an elbow, stretch hold by Nodoka but Yuka gets to the ropes. Miyu returns and dropkicks Yuka in the back, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Miyu goes for a backbreaker but Yuka gets away, knee to the stomach by Miyu but Yuka hits a running elbow. She makes the hot tag to Reika, shoulderblock by Reika and she hits an armdrag. Kicks by Reika but Miyu catches one and kicks her back, giving her time to tag Nodoka. Shoulderblock by Nodoka and she hits a crossbody for two. Big kick by Reika and she hits the PK, she picks up Nodoka and bodyslams her to the mat.

Nodoka gets back up and they trade strikes until Reika hits a dropkick, she tags in Yuka and Yuka comes in the ring with a swandive stomp for a two count. Jumping elbow by Yuka in the corner but Nodoka hits a scoop slam and tags Miyu. Kick to the chest by Miyu, she waits for Yuka to get up and delivers a strike combination. Miyu charges Yuka but Yuka avoids the knee, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving hurricanrana. Enzuigiri by Yuka and she delivers a sliding lariat for a two count. Elbows by Yuka but Miyu ducks one and hits a lariat, she lands near her corner and tags Nodoka. Yuka takes Nodoka to the mat and applies a STF, Reika runs in to cut off Miyu but Nodoka makes it to the ropes. Neckbreaker by Yuka, she goes out to the apron and hits the swandive body press, but Miyu breaks up the cover. Reika picks up Miyu and holds her, Yuka walks the ropes and hits a dropkick to Miyu. Yuka goes back to Nodoka but Nodoka hits a quick Samoan Drop for a two count. She hits a second one for another two as Reika breaks it up, Irish whip by Nodoka to the corner but Yuka reverses it and hits a roaring elbow. Reverse STO by Yuka, she goes to the apron and nails the Magical Girl Splash for the three count! Yuka Sakazaki and Reika Saiki win the match.

While a more subdued main event than I would like, it was still pretty solid. Miyu and Yuka are so much fun to watch since they have such unique offenses, and Nodoka was mostly able to keep up with just a few small issues. Reika is capable of more but she didn’t get much of a chance to shine, which is generally an issue with matches that don’t get a lot of time. I did laugh when Yuka accidentally dropkicked Reika in the face when she was holding up Nodoka, she drilled her, but that and the finish were probably the only two really memorable spots in the match. Generally enjoyable but I know they are capable of a lot more.  Mildly Recommended

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Full Details:

Title: From Stardom’s Shadow
Release : November 3rd, 2014
Producer: Stardom
Photographer: Kris Wolf (on Twitter @wolfinjapan)
Wrestlers Featured: Nanae Takahashi, Kairi Hojo, Miho Wakizawa, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Io Shirai, Yoshiko, Mayu Iwatani, Takumi Iroha, Hazuki Reo, Act Yasukawa, Star Fire, Mystique, and Fuka
Total Pages: 90
Cost: 2,500 yen
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

There are a number of reasons why this is my favorite Stardom photobook to date. First, just for a personal reason, the photobook is signed by none other than Kris Wolf herself. Kris is one of my favorite wrestlers not only because she is a lot of fun in the ring, but also just a great person in general, so having a signed version of her photobook is very special to me. But the main reason I love this photobook is simply because Kris is a great photographer. This isn’t a situation where a random person happens to have a nice camera, the pictures are taken very well and the wrestlers look completely natural, like they are enjoying themselves and not posing for pictures. The natural poses and easy going nature of the pictures makes them feel more real and less staged.

It is also the most in-depth Stardom photobook, as even though it is not full size, it has a very impressive number of wrestlers that participated. Every Stardom wrestler at the time is in the book, plus some gaijin that were in town such as Star Fire and Mystique. Another plus is that the photos are tasteful and don’t use sexuality to make the photos stand out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy scantily clad women as well, but the fact the photos are so compelling without that shows both the skill level of the photographer and the natural beauty of the wrestlers. Yuna Manase couldn’t help herself, but all the other wrestlers were dressed in either their wrestling attire, casual attire, or business attire.

If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend picking it up. I can’t sell mine since it is autographed, so you are on your own Below I have a very small sample of the pictures available in the photobook.

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Championships Held: None
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• January 12th, 2014 vs. Kairi Hojo

Signature Moves:

• Heel Drop

In Action:

Coming Soon

Back to Other Affiliated Joshi Wrestlers

The post Yuna Manase appeared first on Joshi City.

• Maika Ozaki vs. Tsukushi (Ice Ribbon)
• Yuna Manase vs. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon)
• Gab Gabriel Gabuko vs. Yuuki Harima
• Natsumi Maki vs. Yumiko Hotta (Diana)
• Saori Anou vs. Yuka (Ice Ribbon)
• Tae Honma vs. Hiromi Mimura (Stardom)
• Eimi Nishina vs. Asami Hisato

Some of these names are very familar to Joshi fans, as wrestlers from Ice Ribbon and even Stardom are participating on the card. I’ll have the results next week, as I am always excited to see newer promotions grow and to watch young wrestlers hone their craft.

More information on their official website

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