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

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

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

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

Miyuki Takase vs. Natsu Sumire
Exhibition Match

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

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

Momoka Hanazono vs. Tae Honma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaho Kobayashi

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

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

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

ASUKA and Yuu vs. SAKI and Saori Anou

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event: Marvelous 6th Anniversary
Date: May 1st, 2022
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown
Broadcast: Streamed on Zaiko and Passmarket

I don’t get to watch a lot of Marvelous these days, which is a shame since they are a fun little promotion. Run by Chigusa Nagayo and led by Takumi Iroha, they have had a lot of issues the last few years with wrestlers leaving or getting injured, but they still plug along and put on entertaining events. This is a big show for them, as for their Anniversary event they are running Korakuen Hall. Its not a long event with only five matches (I’ll only be reviewing the Joshi matches, so four for our purposes), but that doesn’t mean it won’t deliver. Even though this is a Marvelous event, the titles for the revived GAEA Japan promotion will be defended, since Chigusa Nagayo is a big part of its occasional revival. Here is the Joshi portion of the card:

• An Chamu, Chikayo Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Miyako Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka
• Maria vs. Riko Kawahata
• AAAW Championship: Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
• AAAW Tag Team Championship: Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe

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

An Chamu, Nagashima, and Makoto vs. Ai Houzan, Matsumoto, and Yurika Oka

Team Matsumoto attack their opponents from behind to start the match, Chamu is isolated and triple teamed in the corner. Makoto and Nagashima eventually return to even the odds, and eventually Houzan stays in the ring with Chamu to become the legal wrestlers. Kick to the check by Chamu, she picks up Houzan while Nagashima comes in the ring so they can double team her. Chamu tags Makoto, kick by Makoto to Houzan and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Another shoulderblock by Makoto, and she covers Houzan for two. Makoto works a headlock, Houzan pushes her back into the corner and Makoto tags Nagashima and Nagashima keeps up the assault on Houzan, but Houzan eventually delivers a dropkick and tags Matsumoto. Matsumoto throws Nagashima into the corner but when she charges in, Nagashima puts her in a hanging armbar. She lets go and steps on Matsumoto’s hands, running kick by Nagashima and she covers Matsumoto for two. Nagashima goes for another kick but it gets blocked, Nagashima knocks Matsumoto to the mat but Matsumoto bridges out of the pin. Nagashima returns to the dominate position anyway, Complete Shot by Nagashima and she tags Chamu.

Chamu dropkicks Matsumoto before hitting a DDT for a two count. Schoolboy by Chamu and she applies a figure four, but Matsumoto gets to the ropes for the break. Chamu goes for a hip attack but Matsumoto moves, kick by Matsumoto and she delivers a Stunner followed by a Shining Wizard for two. Matsumoto tags Oka, lots of dropkicks by Oka and she covers Chamu for two. Face crusher by Oka, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Nagashima grabs her from the apron. This gives Chamu time to recover and she throws Oka back to the mat, hair toss by Chamu and she hits a running double knee in the corner. Chamu picks up Oka, Oka gets away from her but Chamu kicks Oka in the head. Fisherman suplex by Chamu, and she covers Oka for two. Makoto is tagged in, Makoto boots Oka in the corner and hits an armdrag. Makoto applies an armbar but it gets broken up, scoop slam by Oka and everyone on her team runs over Makoto’s stomach. Nagashima and Chamu eventually get in the ring to help their partner, spinning headscissors by Oka to Makoto and she hits a dropkick. Oka charges Makoto but Makoto drop toeholds her into the ropes and delivers a big boot for two. Drop toehold by Oka and she cradles Makoto for two. Dropkick by Oka and she tags Houzan, dropkicks by Houzan to Makoto and she covers her for two. Houzan picks up Makoto and hits a series of elbows, dropkick by Houzan but Makoto boots her in the throat.

Double kneedrop by Makoto, but it gets two. Makoto picks up Houzan but Houzan slides away, and the two trade flash pins for two counts. Double underhook suplex by Makoto and she tags Nagashima, boots by Nagashima to Houzan but Houzan gets away and delivers a few quick dropkicks. Houzan picks up Nagashima but Nagashima blocks her slam and hits one of her own. She goes off the ropes but Oka cuts her off with a dropkick, double dropkicks to Nagashima and Matsumoto kicks Nagashima in the back. Houzan goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Houzan but it gets two. Houzan goes back up top again with an assist from Oka, but Makoto boots Oka and tosses Houzan to the mat. Chamu kicks Houzan before Nagashima hits a suplex for two. Nagashima goes to the top turnbuckle but Houzan avoids the diving footstomp, Makoto tries to help but boots Nagashima by mistake. Cover by Houzan to Nagashima, but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Nagashima but Houzan rolls her up for two. Houzan goes off the ropes but Nagashima boots her in the head, Nagashima picks up Houzan and nails a Fisherman Buster for the three count! Chikayo Nagashima, Makoto, and An Chamu are the winners!

A perfectly fine multi-wrestler tag match. I haven’t seen Oka in awhile, she looked really good and is coming along well, she flies under the radar due to Sendai Girls’ not being talked about much these days but she certainly has all the basics down. It is difficult in a sub-15 minutes six wrestler match for everyone to get some shine, but no one looked out of place as the veterans controlled things and the young wrestlers got their moments. Ultimately not a match that will stick in the brain but nothing wrong with it either, pretty solid work by all.

Maria vs. Riko Kawahata

They are making it obvious from the start that there is a ten minute time limit, which is an ominous sign. Maria immediately goes for a dropkick but Riko moves, boot by Maria and she kicks Riko into the ropes. Running boot by Maria, she goes to the apron and hits a slingshot footstomp. Kick to the ribs by Maria and she hits a heel drop, Riko recovers but Maria hits a dragon screw. Maria hits Riko in the knee before applying an ankle hold, she lets go after a moment and hits a sliding kick. Maria keeps on Riko’s knee and slams her into the mat, she puts Riko in an armtrap crossface but eventually lets go and picks Riko up. Riko snaps off an enzuigiri and delivers a sliding kick of her own, covering Maria for two. Maria quickly puts Riko in a kneelock but Riko gets to the ropes for the break, Maria charges Riko but Riko moves, sunset flip by Maria and the two trade cradle pin attempts. Maria gets Riko’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, they end up on the ground as Maria pulls on Riko’s arm but Riko doesn’t submit. Maria kicks at Riko but Riko nails her with a superkick, Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Riko but it gets two.

Riko picks up Maria and hits a high kick, knee by Riko and she puts Maria in a cross armbreaker. Maria wiggles to the ropes to get the break, Riko goes off the ropes but Maria hits a dropkick. Cross armbreaker takedown by Maria and she keeps it locked in, but Riko rolls out of it so Maria applies an ankle hold instead. She switches to a cross kneelock and then a figure four leglock, but Riko gets to the ropes. Maria goes off the ropes but Riko boots her, they trade strikes until Maria knocks Riko off her feet. Maria picks up Riko and hits a snap suplex, but Riko returns fire with a release German. Just one minute left in the match as they go into high gear, trading flash pins with no success. Kick by Maria and she goes for Riko’s arm, but Riko rolls away and kicks Maria in the stomach. Head kick by Riko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Maria avoids the moonsault. Cradle by Maria, but Riko kicks out. Snap suplex by Maria, but the bell rings before she can do anything else as time expires. The match is a Draw.

For a match clearly designed to be a Draw (they kept the time up on the big screen and showed it throughout), this was really good. I’m a little behind in my Marvelous viewing but Maria is progressing really well, I don’t know why she isn’t getting more of a push somewhere but she has a lot of great moves and shows emotion. Her submission game is smooth, everything they did was fluid. Riko looked good as well but this felt more like a showcase for Maria, which makes sense as this is her home promotion. An entertaining match, would like to see these two get more time without a telegraphed end result.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Takumi Iroha vs. Yuu
AAAW Championship

They tie-up to start, Yuu pushes Takumi into the ropes but she allows Takumi to get back up. They end up on the mat and trade holds, Takumi spins away from Yuu and slaps her back before retreating. Side headlock by Takumi, Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Takumi tries to shoulderblock Yuu over with no luck, she tries again but Yuu shoulderblocks her down. Scoop slam by Yuu but Takumi avoids her running senton, successful shoulderblock by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the chest. Cover by Takumi, but Yuu pushes her off with ease and returns to her feet. Snapmare by Takumi and she kicks Yuu in the back, but Yuu gets up and chops Takumi in the chest. Spinning sidewalk slam by Yuu and she hits a senton, Takumi quickly rolls out of the ring and tries to recover. She eventually does so and gets on the apron, but Yuu knocks her back down to the floor. Yuu drops down in the ring and rolls out of it and over the apron, landing on top of Takumi. Yuu returns to the ring as Takumi slowly follows, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi kicks her, she goes for a suplex but Yuu pushes her away. Kick combination by Takumi and she hits a PK followed by a sliding kick. Snap vertical suplex by Takumi, she picks up Yuu and applies a sleeper hold. Yuu inches to the ropes and makes it to force a break, Takumi kicks Yuu in the corner and delivers a dropkick.

Another kick by Takumi but Yuu eventually catches one and chops Takumi in the chest. They trade blows until Yuu knocks Takumi to the mat, she picks her back up and hits a crossbody for a two count. Yuu gets on the second turnbuckle but Takumi recovers and hits an elbow, she joins Yuu and hits a superplex down to the mat. Takumi positions Yuu and goes to the top turnbuckle, diving senton by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Takumi throws Yuu into the corner and tries to pick her up, but Yuu won’t budge. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu knocks her to the mat, cannonball by Yuu and she covers Takumi for two. Yuu goes for a powerbomb but Takumi blocks it, slaps by Yuu but Takumi blocks the powerbomb again. Takumi charges Yuu but Yuu slams her to the mat, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a Reverse Splash for a two count. Yuu goes up top but Takumi elbows her, Takumi joins Yuu but Yuu chops her back to the mat and hits a diving crossbody for two. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a back bodydrop, Yuu quickly hits a running senton though to stay in control. Yuu picks up Takumi but Takumi hits a heel kick, chops by Yuu and she slaps Takumi to the mat. Another chop by Yuu but Takumi elbows her, kicks by Takumi and she covers Yuu for two. Kick combination by Takumi, she goes for a powerbomb but Yuu shrugs her off. More kicks by Takumi, she puts Yuu in the corner and positions her for the Running Three. Yuu blocks it so Takumi superkicks her in the face, she tries again and this time nails the Running Three for the three count! Takumi Iroha wins and retains the championship.

This was a really fun match, however it may have gone a few minutes longer than it needed to based on the setup. The story of the match was simple – Yuu was bigger and stronger than Takumi so Takumi slowly cut her down with strikes until she was weak enough to get up for the Running Three. Its a good story but a heavyweight hoss/strike battle doesn’t necessarily need to be 20+ minutes to tell it as it did get a little repetitive at times. Takumi’s kicks always deliver and the match felt like hers to lose from the start as Yuu didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls – the story was always about Takumi. A match I enjoyed for sure, a safe defense for Takumi but still a solid one.  Recommended

Itsuki Aoki and Rin Kadokura vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe
AAAW Tag Team Championship

The kids attack the vets before the match starts, Watanabe is then isolated and double teamed. Rin stays in as legal and snapmares Watanabe, hitting a sliding knee for a two count. Watanabe comes back with a suplex and hits a scoop slam, leg drop by Watanabe and she puts Rin in a crab hold. Rin gets out of it so Watanabe puts her in a Scorpion Deathlock instead, Ito comes in and stands on Rin’s hands before stomping on them. Watanabe lets go of the hold so she and Ito can drive Rin’s knees into the mat, Watanabe tags Ito and Ito lariats Watanabe in the corner. Crab hold by Ito, Itsuki tries to break it up but is unable to do so. Ito pulls on Rin’s hair but eventually stops and applies a chinlock, Itsuki tries to help again and eventually Ito lets go. Ito stands on Rin and applies a single leg crab hold, but Rin gets to the ropes for the break. Rin finally hits a move as she delivers a jumping neck drop, giving her time to tag Itsuki. Itsuki elbows Ito but Ito elbows her to the mat, Itsuki gets back up but promptly is elbowed down again. She keeps trying with no luck, but does manage to get Ito off her feet with a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki, but it gets two. Itsuki tries to pick up Ito but Ito blocks it, Irish whip by Ito and Itsuki tries to shoulderblock Ito over with no success. Hard shoulderblock by Ito and she hits a footstomp, running senton by Ito and she covers Itsuki for a two count. Ito tags Watanabe, Watanabe goes for a suplex but Rin attacks her from behind.

Double Irish whip to Watanabe but she hits a double rebound crossbody on both of her opponents, Itsuki manages to get Watanabe down with a drop toehold (with some help) and hits a sliding kick. Itsuki sets up Watanabe in the ropes and chargers in, but Ito grabs Itsuki from the apron and Watanabe hits a lariat. Watanabe goes off the ropes but Itsuki catches her with a STO for two. Itsuki tags Rin, they pick up Watanabe but Ito runs in with a double lariat. Itsuki and Rin recover and hit a double superkick to Watanabe, diving body press by Itsuki from the second turnbuckle and Rin follows with a double footstomp for a two count. Rin picks up Watanabe but Ito returns again and hits a lariat. Ito tries again to help but she hits Watanabe by accident, release German by Rin to Watanabe but Watanabe returns to her feet. Rin plants her again, this time with a release Dragon Suplex, she hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold but Watanabe kicks out. Rin gets Watanabe’s back, Itsuki superkicks Watanabe and Rin hits a crucifix drop for two. Double superkick to Ito, Rin tries to superkick Watanabe but she hits Itsuki by accident. Lariat by Watanabe to Rin and she tags Ito. Lariat by Ito, and she covers Rin for two. Ito picks up Rin and nails a powerbomb, Itsuki runs in but Ito drops her with a uranage.

Rin and Itsuki end up outside the ring and Ito drills them both with a dropkick through the ropes, Watanabe throws Rin back in and Ito delivers a sit-out powerbomb but Itsuki breaks up the pin. Watanabe gets on the top turnbuckle, Ito feeds Rin to her and Watanabe hits a diving lariat. The cover is broken up again, Ito gets on the second turnbuckle but Itsuki elbows her before she can jump off. Watanabe takes care of Itsuki which allows Ito to hit a diving footstomp, but her cover is broken up. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press to Rin, Ito goes all the way up but Itsuki grabs her from the apron. Itsuki distracts Ito until Rin can recover, Rin joins Ito and hits a Frankensteiner. Rin waits for Ito to get up and hits a jumping DDT, but she is too hurt to capitalize and Ito is up first. Ito picks up Rin as Watanabe runs in, but Watanabe lariats Ito by mistake. Itsuki gets Rin on her shoulders and helps her set up for the crucifix slam on Ito, Rin hits the move on Ito and holds her down for the three count! Rin Kadokura and Itsuki Aoki are the new champions!

Poorly done ending aside, with Ito not even willing to keep her shoulders on the mat for a big title win up for grabs, this was a VERY Veteran vs. Young Underdog match. The entire structure was just Itsuki and Rin doing their damnedest to just knock their opponents off their feet, let along get a nearfall. Its not necessarily a bad story, and with Ito and Watanabe definitely not a surprising one, as that has been their go-to match setup for probably the last 15 years. But it led to some problems, like some really iffy transitions (for example when Ito recovered first after being dropped by Rin’s DDT) and the win coming across as a fluke lucky win. Rin and Itsuki are both exciting young wrestlers, so giving them a tiny bit more of a rub wouldn’t have hurt anything, although its surprising enough that Watanabe and Ito lost so I guess we have to take what we can get. I give Itsuki and Rin credit for trying hard, and Ito/Watanabe for mostly rolling with the punches, but it still would be disingenuous to say the match was good even if they got the winners right. It wasn’t bad, and is perfectly watchable, but predictable in structure and for such a big match it would have been nice if they had gone a little outside the box to surprise us.

The post Marvelous 6th Anniversary on 5/1/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Various GLEAT Shows
Dates: July 25th, 2021 to September 29th, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: Various
Broadcast: Streamed on NicoPro and Youtube

Time to spread some GLEAT love! What is GLEAT? GLEAT is a uniquely named puroresu promotion that is owned by Lidet Entertainment, which created the promotion after they sold Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2020. GLEAT has two sub-brands, but we are focusing on their “pro wrestling” brand which has more traditional wrestling. GLEAT airs on NicoPro and also puts their events on Youtube, so they are fairly easy to watch if you are so inclined. They have two Joshi wrestlers on their regular roster – Michiko Miyagi, better known to many fans as Andras Miyagi, and Yukari Hosokawa who is better known as RinRin. Yukari hasn’t had any matches in GLEAT yet, so this review series will focus on Michiko Miyagi, as GLEAT brings in outsiders to wrestle both with and against her. I am going to review her matches from the last four months, here is the line-up:

• July 25th, 2021 – Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
• August 4th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
• September 1st, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
• September 29th, 2021 – Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki

All wrestlers on the event have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s see how good GLEAT is.

Ayano Irie vs. Michiko Miyagi
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 1 on July 25th, 2021
We start the match review series with GLEAT wrestler Michiko Miyagi against Actwres girl’Z wrestler Ayano Irie. Miyagi has had an interesting career so far, going from Sendai Girls’ to Stardom to falling off the map. Once she started wrestling more often, she eventually landed in GLEAT (and is now appearing in Sendai Girls’ again as well), which feels like a step down but sometimes smaller promotions are a better fit for people. Ayano Irie is in her third year and is 25 years old, she has no notable wins in her career but she isn’t a rookie, so hopefully they can pull together something fun for us.

Ayano manages to trick Michiko into hyping up the crowd to start the match, giving her a chance to sneak in a quick schoolboy for a two count. She rolls up Michiko a few more times with no luck, Ayano throws Michiko into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. She does it again before hitting a snapmare and putting Michiko in a bodyscissors. She eventually lets go and puts Michiko in an inverted crab hold, she lets go of that as well and picks up Michiko but Michiko delivers a scoop slam into a backbreaker. Michiko lifts Ayano back up and hits a scoop slam to the mat, Michiko stomps Ayano down in the corner before putting her in a chinlock. Ayano crawls to the ropes to try to slow down Michiko, but Michiko clubs her in the corner, Ayano fights back with elbows but Michiko boots her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Michiko and she hits a second one, she picks up Ayano and delivers a delayed scoop slam for a two count. Michiko goes for a crab hold but Ayano reverses it into a roll-up, she goes for a few more flash pins but each gets a two count. Ayano goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she rolls into an inverted crab hold but Michiko gets to the ropes for the break. Michiko gets back in control and quickly puts Ayano in a crab hold, Ayano almost gets to the ropes but Michiko pulls her back to the middle of the ring. Ayano struggles for another moment but has to tap out! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

This was… pretty simple. Ayano isn’t a very good wrestler, I am sure someone on Twitter will get mad at me saying that but its just the simple truth. So her offense was either really basic, weak, or goofy and she never felt like she was in a position to win this match. Michiko always works better when she has a quality foil, she is fundamentally very sound and her offense looked fine, but there just wasn’t much to the match until Michiko put away Ayano with a crab hold. Hopefully Michiko gets more interesting competition for the rest of the review series.

Michiko Miyagi vs. Momoka Hanazono
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 2 on August 4th, 2021
Next, Miyagi wrestles Momoka Hanazono! If you are not familar with Momoka, don’t feel too bad, as she wrestles in pretty small promotions. She wrestles most frequently in Dotonbori Pro but also wrestles in Colega Pro, plus occasionally she visits OZ Academy and wrestler produced events. She’s never wrestled for a title or anything like that, and is pretty under-the-radar on the Joshi scene. While this isn’t a big match either, she does get to wrestle a proven wrestler on a show that is readily available to view so that’s something, lets see if she can impress.

Momoka asks Michiko for a handshake to start, but its all a ruse as she applies a small package for a quick two count. She tries a few more flash pins but Michiko kicks out of each, Michiko throws Momoka into the corner but Momoka rebounds out with an attempted hurricanrana. Michiko catches her however and hits a sit-down powerbomb, picking up a two count. Michiko stomps on Momoka while she is near the ropes, she picks up Momoka and puts her in the tree of woe. Dropkick by Michiko and she pinches Momoka’s belly (I guess that would hurt), Michiko stomps on Momoka but Momoka elbows her back. Momoka hits a few more elbows but Michiko boots her in the face for her trouble, Michiko goes for a crab hold but Momoka blocks it and cradles Michiko for two. Momoka goes for a bodyscissors but Michiko catches her, she throws Momoka into the mat and puts her in the crab hold. Momoka gets to the ropes for the break, Michiko picks her up and goes off the ropes but Michiko catches her with a cross armbreaker takedown. Michiko quickly gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Momoka goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick for a two count. Momoka picks up Michiko but Michiko blocks the suplex, Momoka gets Michiko’s back however and applies a sleeper hold. Michiko drives Momoka into the corner to break the hold but Momoka jumps off the turnbuckle with a diving hurricanrana before applying a small package for two. Sunset flip into a jackknife by Momoka but Michiko gets out of the hold and applies a Backslide for the three count! Michiko Miyagi is the winner!

What I liked about this one compared to the last is even though it was pretty simple, I got the real sense that Momoka could pull of the upset victory. She had several convincing nearfalls and got in some legitimate offense, so even though she was never in control for long she had enough spots that it didn’t feel like she was totally outmatched. As everyone knows, I love a good cross armbreaker takedown, so that helped. Michiko continues to be sound if not overly interesting, but she got a little desperate here which gave her a chance to show a bit more emotion. Nothing earth shattering but a solid little match.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi and Rina Yamashita vs. Ryo Mizunami and Yuu
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 3 on September 1st, 2021
This one is a little different from the other matches in the series. Not only does Michiko Miyagi have new wrestlers to interact with but all three of these are at a different level than we have seen leading up to this match. Rina Yamashita is a veteran of the Joshi scene, she was best known for her work in WAVE but since leaving WAVE has found success in SEAdLINNNG and Ice Ribbon. Ryo Mizunami is the most seasoned of the bunch, she also had a lot of success in WAVE before going Freelance a few years ago. Yuu started her career in Tokyo Joshi Pro but left the promotion to go Freelance, currently she reps Pro Wrestling EVE. There is no weak link here as all four are quality wrestlers, this may get a little goofy at times but if they stay focused this could be a stealthy good match.

Rina and Yuu start the match, headlock by Rina but Yuu Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. Yuu finally manages to knock Rina off her feet after they battle a few times, but Rina hits a lariat in the corner and tags in Michiko. Michiko tries to suplex Yuu but can’t get her over, Rina comes in to help but Yuu ends up suplexing both of them. Yuu tags Ryo, Ryo clubs on Michiko before Michiko goes for shoulderblocks, but Ryo doesn’t go down. Kick by Ryo and she delivers a hard shoulderblock that is successful, Ryo chops Michiko in the corner before doing her slow charge-up for a running lariat. Cover by Ryo, but it gets a two count. Ryo tags Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she delivers a spinning sidewalk slam for a two count. Running senton by Yuu, but Rina breaks up the cover. Yuu picks up Michiko and repeatedly chops her, Michiko blocks one but Yuu chops her again anyway and covers her for two. Yuu gets Michiko on her shoulder but Michiko slides away and hits a vertical suplex, giving her time to tag in Rina.

Running knee by Rina and she delivers a scoop slam, but she goofs around for too long and eats a chop from Yuu. More chops by Yuu but Rina drops her with a DDT, Rina goes for a German suplex but Yuu lands on top of her for a two count. Jumping kick by Rina but Yuu hits a hip toss, she rolls to her corner and tags in Ryo. Ryo picks up Rina but Rina knees her in the head as the two trade strikes. They both try to lariat the other over until Rina gets Ryo to the mat, she goes for a sliding lariat but Ryo kicks her in the face and both end up flat on their back after a double lariat. Rina tags in Michiko, elbows by Michiko to Ryo but Ryo blocks the suplex and they trade shots. Rina comes in but Ryo shoulderblocks both of them, cannonball by Yuu in the corner and Ryo hits a lariat on Michiko. Ryo picks up Michiko but Michiko slides away, cradling her for two. A schoolboy also gets a two count, Yuu tries to help but Michiko throws Ryo into Yuu. Ryo quickly recovers and hits a lariat, Hot Limit by Ryo on Michiko and she picks up the three count! Ryo Mizunami and Yuu are the winners.

These four could have a match like this in their sleep, so while it was a perfectly fine tag match it didn’t exactly break any new ground either. I find it interesting that in this series of matches that Michiko Miyagi has been wrestling underneath most of the wrestlers. She has a fair amount of experience and has had high profile spots in her career, but it appears that GLEAT is almost having her start from the bottom and work her way back up. The action here was all good, they kept the goofiness to a minimum and didn’t waste time with meaningless submission holds, it was pretty much all offense from start to finish. I enjoyed it but not a whole lot can be said about it, its a solid match that you’d expect from them that stayed active from bell to bell.  Mildly Recommended

Michiko Miyagi vs. Rina Shingaki
GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 6 on September 29th, 2021
We wrap up this series of matches as Michiko Miyagi takes on Rina Shingaki. Rina Shingaki wrestles out of 2AW, she has already announced her intention to retire in November so this is a bit of a farewell tour for her. Her career mostly stayed under the radar – she won a few titles in BBW but no one watches that and she had limited success both in her home promotion and during her visits to other places. She’s been a semi-regular in Ice Ribbon and OZ Academy however and is a solid hand, the type of wrestler that may not pop off the page but every promotion needs to keep things rolling. Michiko edges her in experience but she hasn’t been wrestling like it in GLEAT, so we’ll see what they put together.

They circle each other to start, wristlock by Rina and she gets Michiko to the mat. Rina focuses on Michiko’s arm as she attacks it in the ropes, kick to the arm by Rina and she knocks Michiko into the corner. Rina twists Michiko’s arm in the ropes some more, Michiko charges Rina but Rina moves and Michiko falls in the corner again. Double knee to the arm by Rina, she picks up Michiko and flips her to the mat before applying an armbar. Michiko quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Rina picks up Michiko but Michiko gets way and sneaks in a DDT. Michiko quickly puts Rina’s legs on the top rope and hits a cyclone neckbreaker, Michiko picks up Rina and goes for a tombstone but Rina slides away and slams Michiko’s arm into the mat. Kick by Rina but Michiko elbows her back, they trade strikes until Michiko catches Rina and drops her with a tombstone piledriver. Slow cover by Michiko, but Rina has recovered and slaps on a Fujiwara Armbar. She switches it to a double armbar but Michiko gets too close to the ropes, so Rina pulls her back to the middle of the ring and applies the SBT Lock 2. Michiko barely struggles before she quickly submits! Rina Shingaki wins the match!

The way that Michiko is wrestling in GLEAT is fascinating to me. Its like she really is starting from scratch as she was dominated here by a wrestler with far less experience and successes. Rina is a respected midcard submission wrestler but to so methodically defeat Michiko in Michiko’s promotion is not what I was expecting. The arm work was really well done, and Michiko’s selling was great, so I enjoyed everything about their execution. It needed a few more minutes and maybe another “hope” spot or two by Michiko to look like maybe she would win (she never seemed close to victory), but the action itself was really well done. Rina’s retirement won’t send major ripples or anything but she does have a style that isn’t common on the Joshi scene so those that enjoy submission-based offense will no doubt miss her. Probably the best match of this series, nothing earth shattering but an entertaining match.  Mildly Recommended

The post GLEAT Joshi Match Reviews (July 2021 to September 2021) appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kanon vs. Mei Hoshizuki

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

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

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

Mio Momono vs. Yurika Oka

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

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

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

DASH Chisako vs. Kaho Kobayashi

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

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

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

Chihiro Hashimoto and Yuu vs. Matsumoto and Manami

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

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

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

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

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

Event: SEAdLINNNG Heart is Near ~ Close To You
Date: July 13th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 401

In my quest to find a recent Joshi event to review that isn’t Stardom, this show caught my eye. The lead-up to the main looks a bit pedestrian, but the main event has potential to be pretty damn great. Here is the full card:

• Riko Kaiju vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Ayame Sasamura vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Tsukushi
• ASUKA and Makoto vs. Honori Hana and Yumiko Hotta
• Hiroyo Matsumoto, Rina Yamashita, and Yuu vs. Itsuki Aoki, Miyuki Takase, and Ryo Mizunami
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Yoshiko

This aired on Samurai TV! so its a two hour show, but SEAdLINNNG is pretty good about not clipping more than necessary so I suspect most matches will be shown in full (or close to it). All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, including the debuting Riko Kaiju, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Riko Kaiju vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Riko dropkicks Tsukasa as soon as the match starts and goes for a quick cover, but it only gets a two count. Side headlock by Tsukasa and she hits an armdrag, she gets Riko to the mat but Riko escapes and they reach a stalemate. They lock knuckles and trade wristlocks , snapmare by Tsukasa and she kicks Riko in the back. Camel clutch by Tsukasa, she lets go after a moment and knocks Riko against the ropes. Tsukasa throws down Riko by the hair and applies a crab hold, but Riko gets to the ropes for the break. Tsukasa chops Riko in the corner, Irish whip by Tsukasa but Riko jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a crossbody for two. Riko dropkicks Tsukasa but Tsukasa blocks the scoop slam and puts Tsukasa in an Octopus Hold. Riko gets into the ropes for the break, Tsukasa wraps up Riko in the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Cover by Tsukasa, but it gets two. Tsukasa gets on the second turnbuckle but Riko avoids her dropkick and cradles Tsukasa for two. Riko tries a few more flash pins with no luck, elbow by Riko but Tsukasa elbows her back and they trade shots. Riko goes off the ropes and dropkicks Tsukasa, but Tsukasa rebounds off the ropes and dropkicks Riko to the mat. Tsukasa throws Riko into the corner and hits another dropkick, Riko lands in a seated position and Tsukasa dropkicks Riko full in the chest. Bodyslam by Tsukasa and she puts Riko in an armtrap crossface, but Riko gets to the ropes for the break. Kick by Riko and she applies a sunset flip, but it gets two. Riko goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she hits two more but Tsukasa stays on her feet. Finally on the fifth dropkick she gets Tsukasa to one knee, she hits three more kicks but Tsukasa doesn’t go all the way to the mat. Finally Riko knocks her over, cover by Riko but it gets a two count. Kick to the stomach by Tsukasa and she kicks Riko repeatedly in the back, PK by Tsukasa and she covers Riko for two. Elbows by Tsukasa and she dropkicks Riko for two. Tsukasa goes up top and nails a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukasa and she gets the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner!

Considering the dynamics, I am surprised that this match lasted as long as it did. Its hard to know in advance how much the veteran wrestler will give a wrestler debuting, but Tsukasa was rather generous here, perhaps almost too much so. It was far from a 50/50 match but Riko was in control for a few parts here and there for longer than just a hope spot, and she had several (flash pin) nearfalls. Tsukasa was pretty gentle with the rookie, aside from a dropkick in the corner that looked particularly hurt-y, and won with a move other than a submission hold which is a little unusual in a debuting match. A fun watch as the young Riko seems to show some early promise, just not the structure that I was really expecting.

Ayame Sasamura vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi is double teamed off the bat but she avoids both opponents as they get into a high speed exchange, but they end up in a stalemate. They both go after Tsukushi again, dropkick by Kaho and Ayame hits a running elbow. Double Irish whip to Tsukushi as the double teaming continues and they put Tsukushi in a double armbar. They put Tsukushi in the ropes so they can both pose around her while pulling on her nose, dropkick to the back by Kaho and Ayame hits a dropkick as well. Kaho and Ayame sit on Tsukushi with submission holds, but Taiyo has seen enough with his boring action and kicks both of them. Kaho dropkicks Taiyo, she throws Tsukushi and Taiyo into the corner but Taiyo rebounds out with a crossbody. Catapult dropkick by Tsukushi to Ayame, but Ayame and Kaho avoids their next attack as Ayame schoolboys Kaho for two. She apologizes to Kaho which gives Tsukushi time to dropkick Kaho, Ayame flies out of the ring while Kaho recovers and trades elbows with Tsukushi. Dropkick by Kaho, she picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi blocks the fisherman suplex. Cradle by Tsukushi, but Ayame quickly breaks it up. Ayame picks up Tsukushi and hits a delayed vertical suplex, she goes off the ropes twice and covers Tsukushi for two. Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Tsukushi, she goes up top again but Ayame quickly schoolboys Tsukushi for two. Kaho fusses at Ayame, Tsukushi goes for a crossbody on both of them and Taiyo pushes them over when Tsukushi is initially caught. All three trade flash pins with no luck, Kaho chops both Tsukushi and Ayame (and Taiyo) before dropkicking both opponents. She goes off the ropes but eats a triple dropkick, Ayame goes for cradles on Tsukushi but only gets two counts. La Magistral by Tsukushi on Ayame, and she gets the three count! Tsukushi wins!

The best part of these matches is just seeing Natsuki Taiyo getting involved, she’s the best. The formula for this one was a little bit different from usual as the goal was to double team Tsukushi, partially because her and Taiyo are somewhat in cahoots so its already lopsided against her opponents. Some good exchanges but overall it was pretty simple even for a High Speed Match, they really didn’t do anything in-ring different or memorable. A decent enough watch but not enough to really differentiate itself from what you’d expect and Tsukushi wasn’t as evil in the match as I was hoping she’d be.

ASUKA and Makoto vs. Honori Hana and Yumiko Hotta

We join this one in progress as Makoto attacks Honori in the corner, she grabs Honori by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Boot by Makoto and she sits on Honori for a two count. Makoto applies a kneelock, Honori tries to get out of it but Makoto bites her. Makoto tags ASUKA, punches by ASUKA but Honori elbows her back. ASUKA knocks Honori to the mat and stomps on her head, Irish whip by ASUKA but Honori reverses it and hits a dropkick. Honori tags Hotta, Hotta throws ASUKA into the corner and Honori returns as both hit running strikes on ASUKA in the corner. Another dropkick by Honori and a third while Hotta encourages her, she finally leaves the ring and Hotta picks up ASUKA, but ASUKA rakes her in the eyes. Springboard moonsault by ASUKA and she stomps on Hotta, Makoto comes in to stomp on Hotta too, ASUKA goes for a boot but Hotta catches it. Honori tries to help but Hotta elbows her by mistake, Makoto is still around but Hotta hits a face crusher on both of them. Hotta and Honori put an opponent in a camel clutch and pose, they let go after a moment and Hotta tags Honori. Honori dropkicks ASUKA a few times but ASUKA stays up and dropkicks Honori in return. ASUKA tags Makoto, scoop slam by Makoto and she covers Honori for two. Makoto picks up Honori but Hotta lariats her, cover by Honori to Makoto but it gets a two count. Makoto chops Honori in the chest and delivers a boot, handstand double kneedrop by Makoto and she covers Honori for a two count. Makoto waits for Honori to get up and nails the Blazing Kick, and she picks up the three count! ASUKA and Makoto are the winners!

This was clipped in half but what they showed was fine. I liked Hotta basically being Honori’s cheerleader, since she was the head trainer in Actwres girl’Z it makes sense that she’d be comfortable in the mentoring role. Of course, Honori had to lose, but she showed some fire even though her dropkicks still need work. Not enough made TV to get a real feel of the match, but an effective midcard tag match.

Hiroyo Matsumoto, Yamashita, and Yuu vs. Aoki, Takase, and Mizunami

We start this one slightly in progress, with Yuu in the ring with Ryo. Ryo chops Yuu into the corner with some theatrics, lariat by Ryo and she covers Yuu for two. Ryo goes for a scoop slam but Yuu blocks it, hitting a slam of her own. Body press by Yuu, and she covers Ryo for two. Yuu tags Hiroyo, Rina comes in also and they both elbow Ryo to the mat. Rina jumps on Hiroyo’s back while Hiroyo hits a double knee drop, Yuu then comes in to have a turn so she hops on Hiroyo’s back for a second double kneedrop. Cover by Hiroyo, but it gets two. She tags in Rina, Rina clubs on Ryo and lariats her in the corner. Knee to the back by Rina but Ryo recovers and elbows Rina as the two trade strikes. Bodyslam by Ryo and she tags in Aoki, stomps by Aoki to Rina  and she hits a pair of running elbows in the corner. Face crusher by Aoki and she hits a falling body press for two. Aoki picks up Rina and slams her in front of the corner, she goes for a footstomp but Rina moves out of the way and delivers a sliding kick. Rina goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a Samoan Drop, picking up two.

She makes the tag to Miyuki but Hiroyo and Yuu run in and all three attack Miyuki in the corner. Miyuki’s teammates help her swing the match back in her favor, chop by Miyuki but Rina kicks her in the head. Rina tags Hiroyo, Hiroyo gets Miyuki on her shoulders and throws her out of the ring onto everyone else. Hiroyo brings Miyuki back in with a delayed vertical suplex, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Hiroyo picks up Miyuki but Miyuki elbows her, Hiroyo elbows her back and goes for a powerbomb, but Miyuki blocks it and plants her with a DDT. Miyuki picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo goes off the ropes, Miyuki does as well and hits a satellite DDT. Missile dropkick off the second but Miyuki and she makes the hot tag to Ryo, lariat by Ryo but Hiroyo ducks the kick attempt. Lariat by Ryo, and she covers Hiroyo for two. Ryo applies the rolling Anaconda Vice, but it gets broken up. Ryo goes up top but Hiroyo recovers and joins her, superplex by Hiroyo and she makes the tag to Yuu. Yuu chops Ryo repeatedly and hits a swinging sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers Ryo for two.

Yuu picks up Ryo but Ryo blocks the powerbomb, Aoki runs in and elbows Yuu but Yuu drops her with a lariat. Miyuki comes in but Yuu knocks her down as well, she goes back to Ryo but Ryo gets her back. Miyuki and Aoki go for a double shoulderblock but floor Ryo by accident, Hiroyo lariats both of them while Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle. Rina and Yuu lift Yuu and help her hit a diving body press, but Ryo kicks out of the cover. Yuu picks up Ryo and goes for the powerbomb, but Ryo reverses it with a back bodydrop. Lariat by Ryo, but her cover gets two. Ryo picks up Yuu but Yuu elbows her and dropkicks Ryo into the corner. Cannonball by Yuu but Ryo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle but Ryo avoids her diving senton, lariat to the back by Ryo but Yuu blocks the Uranage attempt. Chops by Yuu but Ryo chops her back and plans her with the Uranage for two. Ryo waits for Yuu to get up and hits the spear, cover by Ryo but Yuu kicks out. Ryo goes up top and nails the Diving Guillotine Leg Drop, and she picks up the three count! MAX VOLTAGE are the winners!

All six of these wrestlers are good, but matches like this are always conflicting for me. Six wrestlers is too many for a ~15 minute match for everyone to shine, in this case Aoki was the odd woman out as she didn’t do a whole lot in the match. There wasn’t really a story behind the match, which isn’t a deal breaker but it makes it harder to really get invested. It was also a little odd that the last several minutes were really just Ryo and Yuu one on one, you expect some Joshi Chaos in the home stretch but it wasn’t there. That all being said, the action itself was solid from bell to bell and it stayed moving, so it never felt like it was dragging. A good match with six quality wrestlers, but nothing memorable which is a shame since in a slightly different circumstance this combination of wrestlers could put on a banger.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Yoshiko
SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship

They start slow as they trade holds, Yoshiko pushes Arisa into the ropes and chops her hard in the chest. Arisa doesn’t like that and slaps her, the two trade strikes until Yoshiko shoulderblocks Arisa to the mat. Kicks by Yoshiko and she pushes Arisa into the ropes, snapmare by Yoshiko and she applies a chinlock. Arisa gets into the ropes for the break, Yoshiko throws down Arisa by the hair and hits a few facewashes, but Arisa avoids the running boot and knees Yoshiko repeatedly in the head. Yoshiko tosses Arisa to the mat but Arisa hits an armdrag, another armdrag by Arisa and Yoshiko falls out of the ring. Arisa goes up top but Yoshiko quickly gets back in the ring and knocks Arisa onto the apron. Elbows by Arisa and she gets back into the ring with a cradle into a footstomp, running boot by Arisa and Yoshiko falls out of the ring again. Arisa goes to the apron and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, she then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Yoshiko with a plancha. Arisa throws Yoshiko back in and throws her down by the hair, double underhook by Arisa but Yoshiko blocks her move attempt and hits a back bodydrop. Arisa reverses it into a sunset flip and applies a submission hold, she lets go after a moment and starts working on Yoshiko’s arm. Yoshiko eventually fights back with elbows but Arisa slaps her, she goes off the ropes and goes for a cradle, but Yoshiko reverses it.

Arisa rolls out of the ring and Yoshiko goes out after her, hitting a running senton on the floor. Yoshiko throws Arisa into the guardrail a couple times before returning to the ring, Arisa slowly follows and Yoshiko kicks her in the back. Kicks by Yoshiko and she puts Arisa in a sleeper, but Arisa gets a foot in the ropes. More kicks by Yoshiko but Arisa snaps off a hurricanrana for two. She puts Yoshiko in an ankle hold, but Yoshiko wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Waistlock by Arisa but Yoshiko gets out of it, the two trade strikes until Arisa hits the Sling Blade. Arisa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and she hits a second one for a two count. Arisa positions Yoshiko and goes up top again, but Yoshiko recovers and joins her as the two trade elbows. Arisa pushes Yoshiko into the Tree of Woe and hits a quick footstomp, Arisa returns to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count. Arisa goes up again and considers the moonsault, but Yoshiko elbows her from behind before she can jump off. Yoshiko goes up too and grabs Arisa around the waist, hitting a German suplex down to the mat. Yoshiko gets Arisa on her shoulders and slams her to the mat, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Senton by Yoshiko, she hits a Reverse Splash followed quickly by a senton off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle again and hits a senton, but once again it gets two.

Yoshiko goes all the way up next time but Arisa rolls out of the way of the diving senton, Arisa goes up top but Yoshiko gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt. Both wrestlers slowly get up and trade elbows, release dragon suplex by Arisa and she boots Yoshiko in the face. Another dragon suplex by Arisa and she kicks Yoshiko in the head again, La Magistral by Arisa but it gets a two count. She goes for another flash pin with no luck, she picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt. Arisa hits a trapped German suplex hold anyway, but it gets two. Arisa picks up Yoshiko and delivers the dragon suplex hold, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Arisa quickly goes up top and nails the moonsault, but again Yoshiko kicks out. Arisa drags up Yoshiko and hits a series of elbows, Yoshiko elbows her back and levels Arisa with a lariat. Yoshiko goes up top and nails the diving senton, cover by Yoshiko but Arisa bridges out of the pin. Yoshiko goes off the ropes and hits another hard lariat, a third lariat by Yoshiko but Arisa returns to her feet. Release German by Yoshiko but Arisa fires back with a half and half suplex, but she is slow to the cover and Yoshiko kicks out. Arisa picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the next suplex attempt, Arisa goes for a hurricanrana but Yoshiko catches her with a powerbomb for two. Sliding lariat by Yoshiko, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Yoshiko then goes all the way up top and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoshiko and she picks up the three count! Yoshiko is the new champion!

This was a pretty amazing match. I loved the whole dynamic, where Yoshiko started off with her usual bully act but Arisa is a bully too and gave it right back to her, leading to an entertaining opening stretch with both trying to get in control. The submission holds were sold in the moment but not long term, which was fine since that wasn’t really their focus point of the match, and once they got into the home stretch they were just throwing bombs. The German suplex off the ropes by Yoshiko looked great, and both just had that “I’m not backing down” aura that made it feel like a real clash. No real obvious flaws, just a hard hitting and intense match from bell to bell with very little downtime. A must see match, one of my favorites so far in 2020.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Close To You on 7/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You!
Date: June 13th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

More new wrestling! As promotions start ramping back up again, I am going to try to keep up the best I can as I’m excited to finally have Joshi back. This is a big card for SEAdLINNNG, as we get ASUKA challenging Arisa Nakajima for the championship in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana
• Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase
• Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko
• Battle Royal with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA

This aired on Samurai TV and was live so matches should be shown in full. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana

Tie-up to start, Hiroyo pushes Honori into the ropes but Honori knocks her back with elbows. Side headlock by Hiroyo but Honori whips out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Hiroyo just bulldozers over her. Chinlock by Hiroyo, she lets go after a moment and picks up Honori, biting on her arm. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Hiroyo throws Honori into the corner but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo doesn’t go down however and stomps on Honori. Elbows by Honori and she dropkicks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a scoop slam but Hiroyo blocks it. Scoop slam by Hiroyo, and she covers Honori for two. Hiroyo goes for the crab hold but Honori quickly gets into the ropes, back up Honori elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her hard back. Honori goes off the ropes but a shoulderblock doesn’t work, she tries a few more times until Hiroyo knocks her over with her own shoulderblock. Crab hold by Hiroyo but Honori inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Honori and throws her into the corner, chop by Hiroyo but Honori avoids her charge and cradles Hiroyo for two. Backslide by Honori, but that gets a two as well. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, she picks up Honori but Honori blocks the backdrop suplex and cradles Hiroyo for two. Irish whip by Hiroyo but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo stays up but a second sends her to her knees. Scoop slam by Honori, and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she puts Honori in a crab hold, Honori tries to get to the ropes but can’t make it, eventually tapping out! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

This was a ‘by the numbers’ veteran vs. rookie match, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t have minded a change here and there to the formula, but there is a reason its been this way for decades as it works. Hiroyo soundly stopped Honori’s offense at the start but slowly as the match built up, Honori finally was able to knock Hiroyo off her feet and even get a nearfall or two in the process. Its early in Honori’s career, her dropkicks still need work and she has a ways to go, but the basics seem to be there. A good way to kick off the show.

Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase

Misa and Miyuki attack before the match starts, double dropkicks by team AgZ but they both eat a shoulderblock for their trouble. Yuu and Miyuki stay in the ring, shoulderblock by Yuu and she puts Miyuki in a front headlock. She tags in Makoto, Makoto twists on Miyuki’s hair before throwing her down by it. Makoto rakes Miyuki’s head across the top rope and boots her in the head a few times, but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Misa. Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto scoop slams her, footstomp by Makoto and she covers Misa for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Misa. Running senton by Yuu, but Miyuki breaks up her cover. Yuu picks up Misa and chops her in the chest, body press by Yuu but again Miyuki breaks up the pin. Misa sneaks in a small package but it only gets two, scoop slam by Yuu but Misa avoids the senton this time and hits a dropkick. She hits another dropkick as Yuu doesn’t go down, dropkick to the knee by Misa and she finally knocks Yuu over. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she clubs Yuu against the ropes. Irish whip by Miyuki but Yuu elbows her in the face, they trade strikes until Yuu chops Miyuki to the mat. Miyuki returns to her feet but Yuu chops her down again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu chops Miyuki in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick.

Lariat by Miyuki but Yuu stays up, she tries again with the same result but Miyuki finally knocks her off her feet and gets a two count cover. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a hip toss, she tags in Makoto and Makoto boots Miyuki in the corner. Face crusher by Makoto and she hits a running kneedrop for a two count. Makoto picks up Miyuki but Miyuki spins away, they both struggle to hit suplexes until Miyuki gets Makoto over. Miyuki tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Dropkick by Misa and she goes for Makoto’s arm, but Makoto quickly gets to the ropes. Makoto chops Misa in the chest but Misa puts her in an Octopus Hold until Yuu breaks it up. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a trio of low crossbodies, she picks up Makoto and goes for a suplex but Makoto blocks it. Elbows by Misa, she goes off the ropes but Makoto drop toeholds her into the bottom rope. Big boot by Makoto and she delivers the cartwheel double kneedrop for a two count. Makoto waits for Misa to get up but Miyuki cuts her off with a dropkick, Miyuki gets Makoto on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Misa goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Misa but Yuu breaks it up. Miyuki gets rid of Yuu, Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a double underhook suplex. Yuu returns and dropkicks Misa into the corner, big boot by Makoto and Yuu runs in with the Cannonball. Spear by Makoto to Misa, and she picks up the three count! Makoto and Yuu are the winners.

This was really fun. One of the advantages of Misa being new but over a year into her career is while she was the weak link, she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t get in her licks as well. Yuu is always a breath of fresh air in these matches, there aren’t a lot of younger “hoss” Joshi wrestlers and it just opens up so many more options for a match’s direction. Makoto is a pro and hit all her spots well, and both teams showed good chemistry which is impressive since they aren’t regular opponents and they just had a lay-off due to the pandemic. I also loved the ending, just move-move-move-dead, not every match needs a bunch of hope spots and 2.9 nearfalls. All four delivered, a fast paced and hard hitting match that may have not been high end but delivered as much as one could hope for from a midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko

Ryo and Kaho start the match, Ryo pushes Kaho into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Kaho gets Ryo to the mat and applies a front headlock, Ryo gets out of it and puts Kaho in a wristlock before elbowing her in the arm. Ryo applies a side headlock, Kaho reverses it but Ryo Irish whips out of the hold. Dropkick by Kaho, but Ryo stays on her feet and knocks over Kaho with a hard shoulderblock. Ryo tags Aoki and they both shoulderblock Kaho, legdrop by Ryo and Aoki hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Aoki gets Kaho in the ropes and hits a body avalanche, she then jumps down onto Kaho’s back but Kaho retorts with a dropkick and tags in Yoshiko. Yoshiko picks up Aoki and throws her down by the hair, facewashes by Yoshiko and she delivers a running boot. Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. She tags Kaho back in, Kaho puts Aoki in the ropes and rakes on her face. Dropkick to the back by Kaho and she covers Aoki for a two count. Kaho tags Yoshiko and she stands on Aoki’s back, Irish whip by Yoshiko to the corner but Aoki avoids her charge, she tries to tag in Ryo but Yoshiko cuts her off. Back bodydrop by Aoki and she makes the tag, leg lariat by Ryo to Yoshiko and she shoulderblocks Kaho. Kaho tries to keep helping but Ryo delivers a double spear, she picks up Yoshiko and chops her into the corner.

Kaho again tries to help but ends up getting chopped in the same corner for her trouble, she leaves the ring and Ryo goes back to chopping Yoshiko. Aoki holds Yoshiko so Ryo can fire herself up before she finally hits a lariat on Yoshiko for a two count cover. Ryo and Yoshiko both go for lariats with both staying up, Irish whip by Ryo but Yoshiko finally wins the lariat battle as she sends Ryo to the mat. She tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Ryo, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Kaho spins Ryo around but Ryo gets her on her shoulders, Kaho slides off an hits an enzuigiri, but Ryo levels her with a lariat and tags Aoki. Aoki hits a running elbow on Kaho in the corner before hitting a face crusher, body press by Aoki and she covers Kaho for two. Aoki slams Kaho in front of the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kaho avoids the footstomp attempt. Kaho gets Aoki to the mat and wraps her up in a modified armbar, Yoshiko blocks Ryo from helping but Aoki wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Kaho picks up Aoki and keeps working on her arm, dropkick by Kaho and she covers Aoki for two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Aoki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ryo finally gets free of Yoshiko and lariats Kaho.

Aoki grabs Kaho and hits a bridging vertical suplex, but it gets a two count. Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine leg drop, Aoki then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for two. Aoki gets Kaho on her shoulders but Kaho slides off, Kaho kicks Aoki in the leg and drops her with a DDT. Yoshiko comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving senton, Kaho then goes all the way up and with Yoshiko’s help hits a somersault senton but Ryo breaks up the cover. Elbows by Kaho and she goes for a cradle, but Aoki blocks it and covers her for two. Elbows by Aoki but Kaho blocks the suplex attempt, Yoshiko elbows Aoki and then Ryo lariats Aoki by accident. Jackknife by Kaho, but Ryo breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a lariat, dropkick to the face by Kaho and she hits a enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Aoki barely gets the shoulder up. Another Fisherman suplex by Kaho, but this time she wraps up Aoki’s legs and keeps her down for the three count! Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko win!

I can’t decide if I like or love the ending. It was a little awkward but I see what they were going for, that it took a ‘better’ version of Kaho’s normal finisher to pick up the win. Anyway this was pretty great, while I expect good performances from the other three I was really impressed with Aoki. I haven’t seen her wrestle in awhile, and while she didn’t control the match, her personality really came through and she held her own with wrestlers with far more experience than she has. I know Yoshiko isn’t incredibly popular with Western fans but she’s so good in the ring, and there was a lot of ‘power’ based wrestling here which I really enjoy. Kaho is one of the best sellers in Joshi and only has one pace, so she kept everyone else moving fast as well. It didn’t feel like a 20 minute match as the time flew by, as the match never slowed down. Really good match between three quality veterans and an up-and-comer starting to show what she can do.  Recommended

Battle Royal
with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana

They all brawl to start, as is usually the case lots of randomness as the bulk of the wrestlers get stacked in the corner so that Kaho can be launched at all of them. Hiroyo and Yoshiko try to launch Yuu but they can’t toss her, leading to her landing on them. The wrestlers take turns stomping each other until they all suddenly leave the ring, brawling on the floor. Hiroyo and Kaho get back into the ring and trade strikes, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo and she puts Kaho in a headscissors. You know what that means, as all the wrestlers slowly return to the ring to stretch out the headscissors chain, as it stretches across the ring and under the ropes. Aoki is the last one so she grabs Kaho’s legs to turn them over, which doesn’t fully work since not everyone is even in the ring. Things get back to normal as Aoki and Misa trade elbows, a battle which Aoki wins with little effort. Ryo and Miyuki get involved as they stack both of them in the corner, but they get distracted and start dancing. Finally Miyuki tries to attack Misa but Misa had gone into an invisible box, sending Miyuki flying. Everyone covers Miyuki, and she is held down for the three count! Miyuki Takase is eliminated.

Ryo moves the invisible box and tosses it out of the ring, but is kicked for her trouble. She spears both Aoki and Misa, the other wrestlers join in to cover them and both are held down for the three count. Misa Mitsui and Aoki Itsuki are eliminated. Kaho and Yoshiko go after Makoto but she drives them across the second rope, she gets everyone else on the second rope and kicks it into their chest, but her attempt to cover everyone for the pin doesn’t work. Yuu elbows Makoto in the corner then tosses Ryo, Yuu dropkicks Makoto while also hitting a senton on Ryo before getting on the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving body press on Makoto. Everyone else helps her with the cover, and she gets the three count! Makoto is eliminated. She does the same to Ryo and everyone again helps with the cover, keeping her down for three as well. Ryo Mizunami is eliminated. Yuu slams Honori in front of the corner to repeat the process to her as well, but Hiroyo and Yoshiko run over and knock her over the top rope to the ring! Yuu is eliminated. Natsuko Taiyo suddenly decides to get involved and hits a missile dropkick onto Hiroyo, Kaho and Yoshiko trade pins but nether are held down for there. Hiroyo goes after Natsuki but Yoshiko grabs her from behind, Natsuki helps Yoshiko attack Hiroyo and they both attack her in the ropes, but Natsuki is knocked over the top rope to the floor. But technically not eliminated since she wasn’t in the match in the first place.

She returns (she is the referee after all) while the four remaining wrestlers brawl, Hiroyo and Honori shoulderblock Yoshiko but Honori schoolboys Hiroyo for a two count. Hiroyo bullies Honori but Natsuki kicks her from behind, Kaho runs over but Hiroyo picks her up and press slams her out of the ring. Kaho Kobayashi is eliminated. Honori dropkicks Hiroyo with Natsuki’s help, cover by Honori but it gets a two count. Honori goes for a roll-up but Hiroyo sits down to block it, pinning Honori’s shoulders to the mat and getting a quick three count from Natsuki. Honori Hana is eliminated. We are left with just the tag team partners, Yoshiko and Hiroyo Matsumoto. They immediately go for lariats on each other with Hiroyo winning the battle. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle to go to the Reverse Splash, but Yoshiko knocks her out to the apron. Yoshiko struggles to knock Hiroyo off the apron to the floor but ends up on the apron herself, with all the eliminated wrestlers trying to pull them off. Natsuki dropkicks Hiroyo and Yoshiko gets free, she gets back in the ring while Hiroyo continues to struggle and gives her a final dropkick to loosen her grip. Hiroyo flops out to the floor, and is eliminated. Yoshiko is the winner!

A typical Battle Royal, with more style than substance. I like Natsuki Taiyo getting so involved because its a silly match anyway, and she’s still just as good as she was before she retired. A few cute moments, like them tricking Yuu, but overall not a whole lot to it. It acted as a nice buffer before the title match and to stretch out the card since they had to fill two hours, but if you are on a time crunch it can be skipped.

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship

They trade holds to start as they jockey for position, ASUKA applies a headscissors but Arisa gets out of it and both wrestlers return to their feet. ASUKA gets Arisa back to the mat and rolls her around with a guillotine, but Arisa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. ASUKA kicks at Arisa but Arisa slaps her and the two trade strikes, headbutt by ASUKA and she chokes Arisa in the corner. ASUKA toys with Arisa in the corner before grabbing her by the hair and flinging her into the opposite corner. Single leg takedown by Arisa and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but ASUKA blocks it and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment, headbutt by ASUKA and she slams Arisa’s head into the mat. Camel Clutch by ASUKA, she releases the hold and tosses Arisa out of the ring. She gets back in but is met with boots, Irish whip by ASUKA but Arisa catches her with a DDT. Dropkick by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA boots her in the midsection. Irish whip by Arisa to the corner but ASUKA avoids her charge, ASUKA ends up on the apron but Arisa goes to the top turnbuckle and slams her head down onto the apron. Arisa picks up ASUKA and slides her back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick.

She goes up top again and hits another one followed by a third to the knee, Arisa picks up ASUKA and cradles her before applying a Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets out of it and applies an armbar but Arisa reverses the hold back instead of reaching for the ropes. ASUKA struggles back to her feet and gets away, knees by Arisa and she hits a release German suplex. Running boot by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA and rolls her to the mat while applying a knee lock. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Arisa kicks her leg and goes off the ropes, but ASUKA catches her with a jumping kick to the face. ASUKA picks up Arisa and drops her with a release German followed by a second one, running kick by ASUKA and she covers Arisa for two. ASUKA positions Arisa and goes up top, but Arisa recovers and joins her, suplexing ASUKA off the top turnbuckle. Arisa goes for a cradle but ASUKA reverses it, Arisa avoids ASUKA’s footstomp attempt however and applies an ankle hold. ASUKA kicks Arisa off and slaps her, but Arisa delivers a trapped German suplex for a two count. Arisa picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits a hard elbow followed by a boot to the face for two. Kick to the chest by ASUKA but Arisa fires back with a kick of her own, Arisa goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a spinning heel kick.

Mounted elbows by ASUKA, she gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for the moonsault, but Arisa rolls out of the way and cradles her for two. Running kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while up top until Arisa snaps ASUKA’s neck over the top rope, she goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Dragon suplex hold by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa drags ASUKA up, she wraps ASUKA’s leg around her but ASUKA hits a Stunner to get out of the suplex hold. Powerbomb by ASUKA, she picks up Arisa and nails a Liger Bomb for a two count cover. ASUKA goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Arisa barely gets the shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Arisa but Arisa reverses the side slam into a DDT, elbows by Arisa and a hard elbow sends ASUKA to the mat for two. Arisa wraps ASUKA’s leg around her waist and nails the modified German suplex, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up ASUKA and goes for the half and half suplex, ASUKA blocks it but Arisa keeps her momentum going and cradles ASUKA for the three count! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

There is a lot to unwrap here but just as a first reaction, this was a great match. ASUKA is no longer in the ‘learning” or “developing” phase, she knows what she is doing and has grown into being a high end wrestler at just 21 years old. Not only are her moves on point but her selling has improved as well, and she had no issues here keeping up Arisa and the structure of the match. I liked the leg work a lot, I wish it had played into the end a bit as it kinda got dropped but I did like the ending with the veteran Arisa taking the blocked move and turning it into a complicated cradle. Its the kind of craftiness you’d expect from a 14 year vet and while it may not have been a ‘killer move’ ending it fit well with her general experience and intelligence. Like the other matches on the card, it felt like it went the right amount of time, not feeling short but not over-staying its welcome with move spamming. All and all a really entertaining match, I could nitpick things and maybe it won’t end up the MOTY, but a damn fine effort from both in one of the biggest Joshi matches post-peak pandemic so far.  Highly Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You! on 6/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Natsu Sumire Produce Forever
Date: December 15th, 2019
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 361

When this event was first announced, little did we know how special it would be. For her show, Natsu Sumire invited all her Oedo Tai buddies, which would end up being the last time they ever teamed together as Hazuki would retire later in the month. On top of that, Kagetsu retired not long afterwards too so it really was the end of an era. Unlike in Stardom, here Oedo Tai was given the send-off they deserved, as they battle random wrestlers from other promotions in unique match-ups in three different matches. That’s the main interest from the event but we also get Jamie Hayter teaming with CIMA, which seems wacky and fun. I’ll only be reviewing the Joshi matches, so here are the Joshi matches on the card:

• Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire
• Hazuki and Kagetsu vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Takumi Iroha
• CIMA and Jamie Hayter vs. Martina and Shigehiro Irie
• Hazuki, Kagetsu, Natsuko Tora, and Natsu Sumire vs. Makoto, Rina Yamashita, Syuri, and Yuu

As this event was only released on DVD, all matches will be shown in full. The Joshi wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire

Takase and Natsuko start the match, they lock up and Takase applies a headlock, and she works it down to the mat. Natsuko gets out of the hold after a moment and they return to their feet to trade elbows, hard shoulderblock by Natsuko but Takase fires back with a dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out as Natsu and Aoki come in, but Takase stays in as well as they double team Natsu. Aoki hits a body block to Natsu before Takase follows with a dropkick, Aoki jumps down on Natsu’s back and Takase then hops on her back to apply even more pressure. Takase finally leaves, Aoki Irish whips Natsu to the corner but Natsu reverses it. Natsu gets the microphone to cut a mid-match promo, I assume she is offering a bribe to Aoki, but its all a ruse as Natsu kicks Aoki in the back. Takase is apparently mad that Aoki was going to accept it and has walked most the way up the ramp, while Natsu and Natsuko double team Aoki while she is in the ropes. Big boot by Natsu to the back of Aoki’s head, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu sits down Aoki in the corner and hits the gyrating Bronco Buster before tagging in Natsuko. Chops by Natsuko in the corner as Takase finally makes it back to the apron, cover by Natsuko but it gets two. Aoki fires back with an elbow and the two trade blows, scoop slam by Natsuko and she covers Aoki again for a two count. Natsu comes in the ring but Aoki hits shoulderblocks on both of them, she goes off the ropes and hits a double shoulderblock on both of them.

She tags in Takase, dropkick by Takase to Natsuko and she hits a second one. Takase chops and elbows Natsuko in the corner, Natsu tries to help but gets chopped for her trouble. Takase goes back to Natsuko and hits a dropkick out of the corner, lariat by Takase and she hits a diving elbow strike for a two count cover. Takase picks up Natsuko but Natsuko hits a spinning backfist, Samoan Drop by Natsuko and she gets a two count. Takase knocks Natsuko back but Natsuko catches her with an uppercut, she goes off the ropes and both wrestlers lariat each other without going down. Takase goes off the ropes and drops Natsuko with a lariat but Natsuko hits a spear and both are down on the mat. Natsu comes in and knocks Aoki off the apron, she makes it back in time for Natsuko to tag her and Natsu boots Takase while she is in the ropes. Cutie Special by Natsu, but Aoki breaks it up with a double kneedrop. Aoki picks up Natsu and hits a STO, Takase jumps on Aoki’s shoulders and she hits a falling body press. Leg drop by Takase, and she covers Natsu for two when Natsuko breaks it up. Backbreaker by Natsu to Takase before Natsuko hits a running leg drop, cover by Natsu but Aoki breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Aoki but Aoki hits a double lariat, Takase goes off the ropes but Natsu has gotten her whip and hits Takase with it. The referee stops her from using her again which gives Aoki time to run in and lariat her, Takase gets Natsu on her shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam followed by a diving legdrop for two. Takase picks up Natsu and delivers a tornado vertical suplex, and she picks up the three count! Aoki Itsuki and Miyuki Takase are the winners.

This was an interesting mixture of comedy and seriousness, which is perfectly fine for an opening match. I haven’t seen much from Aoki Itsuki but she was really solid here and didn’t seem out of place, which can sometimes happen with wrestlers that mostly hover in smaller indies. Natsu is a treasure, as she doesn’t really have any issue transitioning from funny to serious and can hold her own even while playing around. They had enough time that everyone had a chance to shine, and they kept the pace up to keep it interesting. A solid opener.  Mildly Recommended

Hazuki and Kagetsu vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Takumi Iroha

After some false starts we finally get started with Kaho squaring off with Hazuki, they go into a fast paced exchange ending with a Kaho dropkick. Kaho goes off the ropes but Kagetsu trips her from the floor and pulls her out of the ring. Hazuki pulls Takumi out of the ring too as they battle around the floor, Kagetsu tosses Kaho back in and Hazuki greets her with a scoop slam. Kagetsu picks up Kaho, scoop slam by Kagetsu and she tags Hazuki back in. Hazuki slams Kaho again before Kagetsu returns to the ring, double drop toehold and and they kick Kaho in the back before hitting a double senton. Kagetsu covers Kaho, but it gets two. Snapmare by Kagetsu which lands Kaho in the ropes, she tags in Hazuki and Hazuki stands on Kaho’s back. Running boot to the back of the head by Hazuki, bootscrapes by Hazuki and she hits another running boot. Hazuki tags in Kagetsu who gets a drink of water, Irish whip by Kagetsu and she spits the water in Kaho’s face. She spits water in the face of Takumi and the referee too for good measure, she goes back to Kaho but Kaho fights back with elbows. Kaho goes off the ropes but Kagetsu slides out of the ring and trips her, Hazuki runs over and hits a slingshot footstomp to Kaho’s back. Swandive footstomp by Kagetsu, she elbows Kaho but again Kaho fights back.

Irish whip by Kagetsu but Kaho delivers a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. That gives her time to tag in Takumi, kick combination by Takumi and she hits a PK and a dropkick. Takumi picks up Kagetsu but Hazuki interrupts her, Takumi suplexes both of them and turns her attention back to Kagetsu. She goes off the ropes but Hazuki knees her from the apron, Kagetsu rolls up Takumi from behind but it gets a two count. Swandive missile dropkick by Hazuki, she throws Takumi in the corner and hits a running elbow. Codebreaker by Hazuki, and she covers Takumi for two. Armtrap crossface by Hazuki while Kagetsu keeps Kaho back, but Takumi gets into the ropes for the break. Hazuki slaps at Takumi and goes off the ropes, but Takumi kicks her in the chest. snap vertical suplex by Takumi and she covers Hazuki for two. Takumi picks up Hazuki but Hazuki elbows her and the two trade blows, kick combination by Takumi and she delivers a superkick. Hazuki fires back a big boot, DDT by Hazuki but Takumi blocks her hurricanrana attempt and plants her with a powerbomb for a two count. Boot by Hazuki but Takumi returns fire with a superkick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They both manage to tag out, dropkick by Kaho but Kagetsu dropkicks her back. Another dropkick by Kaho and she hits a third, sending Kagetsu into the ropes.

Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Kaho but it gets two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Kagetsu blocks it, Hazuki boots Kaho and Kagetsu hits a Codebreaker. Backstabber by Hazuki to Kaho, Kagetsu nails the Ebisu Drop but Kaho gets her shoulder up on the cover. Kagetsu picks up Kaho and hits another Ebisu Drop in front of the corner, she goes up top but Takumi runs in and joins her. Superplex by Takumi and Kaho hits an enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Kagetsu kicks out. Kaho twists up Kagetsu in a modified armbar but Kagetsu gets a toe on the ropes to force the break. Kaho goes up top but Hazuki grabs her from the apron, giving Kagetsu time to recover and dropkick to the floor. Takumi comes in but a double dropkick sends her right back out, Hazuki and Kagetsu go to do a dive but Takumi and Kaho interrupt them before they can finish it. Kaho gets in the ring and dives out on both opponents with a tope suicida, Kagetsu is slid back in the ring and Takumi slams her in front of the corner. Kaho goes for a corkscrew senton but Kagetsu moves out of the way and spits blue mist in her face. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu in front of the corner, she goes up top and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Takumi barely breaks up the cover. Hazuki takes care of her, Kagetsu picks Kaho up but Kaho slides away and applies the 120% Schoolboy, but Hazuki breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits her from the apron with the Oedo Tai Board, Death Valley Bomb by Kagetsu and she covers Kaho for the three count! Kagetsu and Hazuki win the match!

I’m not sure if it is because I am already nostalgic for Hazuki and Kagetsu, but this match in my opinion was pretty much flawless. I have literally nothing bad to say about it. Hazuki and Kagetsu work so well together as a team with the constant support and assistance you’d expect to see, while Takumi and Kaho did so a lot less which is completely logical since they aren’t a regular team. The action was so fast that I barely even had time to get a sip of water, in fear I’d miss something. Kaho took a beating but she is so good at that, and when she was on offense she was super crisp and smooth, which is impressive since she doesn’t regularly wrestle Hazuki or Kagetsu. I loved the ending, as Kaho got a real hope spot after the mist instead of just going right down, and it took something extra for Kagetsu to get the pin. Just about the perfect match within this style and incredibly fun to watch, I can’t imagine how it could have been any better.  Highly Recommended

CIMA and Jamie Hayter vs. Martina and Shigehiro Irie

CIMA and Martina start the match, but Martina is too much for CIMA to handle so he tags in Jamie. Jamie and Martina lock up, Jamie pushes Martina into the ropes and gives a clean break. They lock up again, Jamie gets Martina to the mat in a headlock but Martina struggles back to her feet. Waistlock by Jamie but Martina dances her way out of it, hard elbow by Jamie but she hurt Martina more than she intended and asks for forgiveness. Martina elbows her back instead and the two trade blows, Irish whip by Jamie to the corner but Martina boots her as she charges in. Release German by Martina and she hits a back elbow in the corner. Another elbow by Martina but Jamie avoids the next one, Martina kicks Jamie and hits a Backstabber out of the corner. Snapmare by Martina and she kicks Jamie in the back, but Jamie snapmares her in return and kicks her in the back as well. On their feet, they block each other’s kicks and both elbow each other before deciding they’ve had enough and tags in their partners. CIMA and Irie tie-up, CIMA pushes Irie into the ropes and gives a clean break. Irish whip by CIMA but Irie delivers a hard shoulderblock, Irie throws CIMA into the corner but CIMA avoids his charge and dropkicks Irie in the knee. Enzuigiri by CIMA but Irie catches him with a powerslam.

Irie tags Martina, Martina goes to slam CIMA but CIMA blocks it. Irie comes over to help and with him she is able to hit the slam, body press by Irie to CIMA but CIMA moves when Martina goes for one. CIMA then hits a bulldog/dropkick combination on both opponents, she tags in Jamie and they both chop Martina in the chest. Lariat by Jamie to Martina and she hits a spinebuster before quickly applying a crab hold. Irie gives Martina a beer to help motivate her, and Martina makes it to the ropes for the break. Martina gets the advantage with a suplex and tags in Irie, Irie clubs Jamie in the back but Jamie fires back with elbows. Irie knocks Jamie to the mat, CIMA comes in to shield her but the referee gets him back to the apron. Irie throws Jamie into the corner and tags Martina, but Jamie elbows her as she charges in and suplexes her into the turnbuckles. Side slam onto her knee by Jamie, and she tags in CIMA while Martina also tags Irie. CIMA dropkicks Irie and knocks Martina off the apron, Irish whip by CIMA but Irie reverses it. CIMA kicks Irie before hitting a double knee in the corner, Martina runs in but CIMA scoop slams her. He then drop toeholds Irie onto Martina before hitting a splash, Jamie comes in and dives on top of the pile as well.

CIMA goes back to Irie, Irish whip by CIMA but Irie blocks it. Chop by CIMA but Irie catches him with a spinning side slam, giving him time to tag in Martina. Elbows by Martina but CIMA chops her back, tilt-a-whirl DDT by Martina into a vertical suplex and she covers CIMA for two. CIMA gets the advantage and tags Jamie, CIMA spanks Martina before leaving the ring so Jamie can take over. Martina dropkicks Jamie however and tags Irie, Irie gets Jamie on his shoulders but Jamie slides away. Lariat attempt by Jamie but Irie stays up, she goes for a suplex but Irie blocks it. Headbutt by Irie, he throws Jamie into the corner and delivers a running lariat. Cover by Irie, but Jamie gets a shoulder up. Irie goes off the ropes but Jamie kicks him, she lariats Irie but he stays on his feet. Scoop slam by Jamie and she hits a running senton, cover by Jamie but it gets a two count. Jamie picks up Irie but Irie snaps off a vertical suplex and tags Martina. Martina goes up top and hits a diving Codebreaker, cover by Martina but Jamie kicks out. Martina picks up Jamie and elbows her, Jamie goes off the ropes and knocks Martina over with a lariat. Jamie picks up Martina, Martina gets away but CIMA runs in and dropkicks her. Schwein by CIMA to Martina, Jamie lariats Martina in the back of the head and nails the Cow Killer for the three count! Jamie Hayter and CIMA are the winners!

This match had a similar mix of serious and playful as the first match, and while it didn’t hit as well with me it still wasn’t bad. Both of the male wrestlers seemed happy to take part in the playful bits but less excited to give the women much in the serious parts, and with the mixed genders the match had a lot of stop-and-go since the same genders seemed to prefer to be against each other. So some of the transitions weren’t great and it came across a bit clunky. The wrestlers themselves are all talented so when they got to it, the match was fun, but the structure was just all over the place. A unique match for sure which gives it some extra appeal, but a step down from the first two matches on the show.

Hazuki, Kagetsu, Tora, and Sumire vs. Makoto, Yamashita, Syuri, and Yuu

Oedo Tai start the fight during the pre-match handshake, and the ring quickly clears with Syuri and Natsu alone in the ring. Natsu doesn’t see Syuri at first but eventually does, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Natsu in the back. Kick to the chest by Syuri but Hazuki grabs her foot when she goes for a PK and pulls her out of the ring. Oedo Tai maintains the advantage on the floor while Natsu waits in the ring, Syuri is eventually rolled back in as Hazuki comes in as well. Natsuko and Kagetsu get in the ring as well and bring their opponents with them, Miyuki Takase and Aoki Itsuki are tossed in too as Jamie and Martina come in, and all six of Oedo Tai connect with running boots to one of their enemies. Rina is wrapped up in the ropes with a band wrapped near her mouth, Hazuki takes the other end of the band into the stands and snaps it back into Rina’s face. They put the band around her head again and this time Nao Yamaguchi takes it up into the crowd, but Natsuko accidentally lets go and snaps the band back into Nao. Martina checks on Nao while Natsu and Hazuki Irish whip Rina, with Hazuki hitting an assisted Codebreaker. Natsu puts Rina in the corner and delivers the gyrating Bronco Buster, but Rina picks her up and hits a powerbomb. Rina tags in Syuri, stomp by Syuri to Natsu and she snapmares her before connecting with a kick to the back. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Natsu quickly gets out of it, she puts Natsu’s arm in the ropes and stomps down on it before tagging in Yuu. Yuu throws Natsu into the corner and hits a jumping elbow, senton by Yuu and she covers Natsu for two. Makoto is tagged in, she throws Natsu in the middle of the ring and goes up top, hitting a diving body press. Running double kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers Natsu for two.

Makoto tags Rina, Rina comes in with a t-shirt and hits Natsu with it repeatedly. Giant Swing by Rina to Natsu while Syuri comes in to jump over her while she swings round and round before Rina drops Natsu to the mat. Natsu tries to tag out but crawls to the wrong corner due to her dizziness, while Rina tags in Makoto. Double underhook suplex attempt by Makoto but Natsu blocks it and elbows her, Natsuko hands Natsu her whip and she hits Makoto with it. She tries to hit Yuu but Yuu catches it, Natsu and Yuu talk for a bit, but Yuu knocks Natsu down with a lariat. Natsu knocks Yuu back and hits atomic drops on Syuri and Rina, Makoto runs in and she gets an atomic drop as well. This gives Natsu time to tag Hazuki, Hazuki rolls Makoto to the mat and chops her in the chest. Natsuko comes in and they both slam Makoto, they hit a double boot as well before Natsuko finally leaves. Hazuki picks up Makoto and the two trade elbows, pump kick by Hazuki but Makoto fires back with a boot of her own before hitting a double underhook suplex for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, hard shoulderblock by Yuu and Kagetsu and Natsu eat hard shoulderblocks as well. Natsuko comes in and Yuu can’t knock her over, they both charge at each other as they attempt to knock the other to the mat but neither can. Eye rake by Natsuko but Yuu drops her with a spinning side slam. Senton by Yuu, and she covers Natsuko for two. Yuu picks up Natsuko, chops by Yuu but Natsuko fires back with an elbow. They trade strikes until Yuu dropkicks Natsuko in the corner, Cannonball by Yuu and she covers Natsuko for two. Yuu gets on the second turnbuckle but Natsuko recovers and tosses her off, spear by Natsuko but Yuu tosses her to the mat when she charges in. Both wrestlers tags out as Kagetsu and Syuri become the legal wrestlers, they trade kicks to the chest until Syuri knocks Kagetsu to the mat. Cover by Syuri, but it gets two. Syuri quickly goes for the cross armbreaker while her team protects her, but Kagetsu rolls out of it and delivers a strike combination. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, but Syuri kicks out of the pin attempt.

Kagetsu picks up Syuri but Syuri snaps off a German suplex, Kagetsu returns to her feet and hits a head kick but Syuri returns the favor and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Syuri tags in Rina while Kagetsu tags in Natsu, Natsu goes for a knee but Rina blocks it and drives her into the corner. Lariats by Rina and she knees Natsu in the back, cover by Rina but it gets two. Rina picks up Natsu but Natsu elbows her and the two trade strikes. Hazuki, Natsu, and Kagetsu all run in as Rina is attacked by all four, Nao Yamaguchi gets in the ring too and she lariats Rina. Natsu suplexes Rina but the cover is broken up, Syuri grabs Natsu from behind and hits a Backstabber with Yuu following with a body press. Cartwheel double kneedrop by Makoto to Natsu, Rina goes off the ropes and hits a lariat but Natsuko grabs the referee to break up the cover. Rina goes off the ropes again but Natsu catches her with an inside cradle for two. Rina picks up Natsu but Jamie Hayter hits her in the head with the Oedo Tai board, big boot by Natsu to Rina but Yuu breaks up the cover with a senton. Hazuki pump kicks Yuu, Makoto then boots Hazuki but Kagetsu kicks Makoto out of the ring. Syuri takes care of Kagetsu and then kicks Natsuko in the head for good measure, leaving bodies everywhere. Rina and Natsu slowly recover and trade elbows, Natsu boots Rina while Rina returns fire with lariats. Rina finally knocks Natsuko off her feet with a lariat, she picks her up and kicks Natsu in the head. Another lariat by Rina, but Natsu barely kicks out of the cover. Rina picks up Natsu and goes for the Splash Mountain, she nails it but the rest of Oedo Tai break up the cover. Rina drags Natsu to her feet and goes for it again, but Martina spits water in her face. Spear by Natsuko to Rina, she falls out of the ring and Kagetsu and Hazuki dive out onto their opponents with stereo tope suicidas. Rina is rolled back in and Kagetsu hits her with an Ebisu Drop, then Natsuko goes up top and hits a guillotine legdrop on Rina. Hazuki follows with a diving senton, Natsu picks up Rina and nails the Demon for the three count! Oedo Tai are the winners!

While the number of wrestlers and different styles may have prevented the match from really getting into a good rhythm, its hard not to enjoy the final match with this version of Oedo Tai. There were some stretches where it felt like nothing was happening but they sprinkled in memorable and fun spots throughout to keep things interesting, whether it was Syuri playing jump rope over Natsu’s body or Yuu and Natsuko having their stand-off. The other Oedo Tai members getting in on the action felt appropriate and it was nice to see Nao Yamaguchi getting involved as well. With eight wrestlers in the match, none really got a chance to stand out but everyone did get their big moves in, and none looked out of place in this chaotic environment. A fun match and a fitting main event for Natsu Sumire’s show, it wouldn’t win any MOTY awards but delivered what they were going for.  Recommended

The post Natsu Sumire Produce Forever on 12/15/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: SEAdLINNNG New Leaf!
Date: March 10th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 360

For a brief period in March, a few wrestling promotions in Japan held events in front of fans, and this was one of those shows. The crowd is small for a Korakuen Hall show but its still a nice break from watching events with empty stands. For the special occasion, SEAdLINNNG is putting on a big five match card, with a championship match and tag matches with some of the best Joshi Freelancers current available. Here is the full card:

• Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami
• ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu
• SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. This show has the annoying commentary box in the corner that I hate, but I will get through it the best I can.

Honori Hana vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

They go to shake hands to start, Honori goes for a headbutt but Tsukasa quickly ducks out of the way. Tsukasa starts on Honori’s arm but Honori reverses it a the two trade holds, they go off the ropes and Tsukasa takes down Honori with a side headlock but Honori gets out of it and the two return to their feet. Tsukasa boots Honori and hits a snapmare before kicking her in the back, Tsukasa applies a sleeper before switching it into a Camel Clutch. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Honori’s back, she tosses down Honori by the hair before ramming her into the corner a couple times. Honori finally has enough and elbows Tsukasa in the chest, but Tsukasa returns fire. Tsukasa charges Honori in the corner but Honori moves and schoolboys Tsukasa for two. Dropkicks by Honori, and she covers Tsukasa for two. Honori goes for a scoop slam but Tsukasa blocks it and puts Honori in an Octopus Hold. Honori gets into the ropes for the break but Tsukasa ties her up in the ropes and pulls on her nose. Dropkick to the back by Tsukasa, and she covers Honori for two.

Tsukasa throws Honori into the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she charges Honori but Honori levels her with a shoulderblock. Honori pushes Tsukasa into the corner but Tsukasa avoids the headbutt, elbows by Honori but Tsukasa elbows her back as they trade shots. Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Honori dropkicks her, cover by Honori but it gets two. They trade waistlocks until Tsukasa rolls up Honori for two, Tsukasa quickly puts Honori in a crab hold but Honori makes it to the ropes for the break. Tsukasa stomps on Honori and drills her with a dropkick, she goes up top but Honori avoids the missile dropkick and goes for a few flash pins for two counts. Headbutt by Honori and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Honori but it gets two. Honori picks up Tsukasa and goes off the ropes, but Tsukasa connects with a dropkick. Tsukasa kicks Honori repeatedly in the back before hitting a PK, but Honori gets a shoulder up on the corner. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but again her cover gets two. Tsukasa puts Honori in the Gokuraku Hold, and Honori has to submit! Tsukasa Fujimoto is the winner.

Pretty basic as one would assume but decent enough. Honori got in more offense than I expected, she has more size than the average Joshi wrestler so that is likely why could hang better with Tsukasa even with her low experience. Building up to the headbutt spot was a unique aspect of a rookie match and they seem to be already putting that over as her big move, since headbutts are still seen as a bit risky I am curious to see if she sticks with that. I probably would have liked it better if Tsukasa has taken it to her a bit more, but not a bad opener.

Leon vs. Misa Matsui vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi and Taiyo are goofing around in the corner as the match starts, Leon goes over to get them to stop and Misa dropkicks her from behind. Leon is briefly double teamed but it doesn’t last one, they all go for lariats but none are able to connect. Tsukushi dropkicks both of her opponents but Misa kicks her and applies a side headlock. Hard shoulderblock by Misa but Tsukushi kips up and hits an armdrag. She goes off the ropes and tries for the cover, but Misa kicks out. Tsukushi applies a submission but Leon breaks it up, Leon picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon but schoolboys her for two, Leon throws Tsukushi into the corner and then does the same with Misa. Leon charges in, Misa moves but Tsukushi eats the shoulder tackle. Leon and Misa Irish whip Tsukushi and Leon helps Misa boot her before they both take turns running over Tsukushi. Leon applies a crab hold to Tsukushi while Misa puts her in a chinlock, but Taiyo breaks it up. This makes Leon made and she elbows Taiyo, Irish whip by Leon but Taiyo applies the Momo Latch. Tsukushi runs in and dropkicks Taiyo, Misa goes for a cover on Leon but Leon reverses it into a kneelock. Tsukushi puts Leon in a headscissors at the same time while Taiyo is too hurt to do anything, but Misa makes it to the ropes to get the break.

Tsukushi and Leon trade elbow, Leon gets Tsukushi up but Tsukushi gets away with a side headlock takedown (she takes out Taiyo at the same time with a headscissors), Tsukushi dropkicks Leon while she is against the ropes before going up top and hitting a missile dropkick. Tsukushi applies a figure four leglock but Misa goes up top and debates who to dive down onto to. She eventually decides on hitting a diving footstomp onto Leon, they both stomp on Leon before squaring off against each other. Dropkicks by Misa, she goes off the ropes and hits a low crossbody. She goes off the ropes a few times and covers Tsukushi, but it gets a two count. Misa picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Misa applies a pin of her own but Leon breaks it up, Irish whip by ll to Misa but Misa puts Leon in an Octopus Hold. Tsukushi comes over and schoolboys both of them, but it only gets two. Leon goes for a suplex but Misa schoolboys her while she is in the middle of the move, Leon elbows Misa and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Tsukushi. Leon hits a spear on both opponents, she goes up top but Taiyo armdrags her back down to the mat. Dropkick by Taiyo to Leon, Misa and Tsukushi both go off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids Misa’s dropkick and applies La Magistral for the three count! Tsukushi is the winner! She jumps into Taiyo’s arms after the match so possible this was a rigged result.

Natsuki Taiyo has gotten more and more out of control in these matches, at some point she may as well just become an actual participant. This was what you’d expect, some people really enjoy these high speed matches and if you fall in that category you’ll probably enjoy this one too. Tsukushi is pretty great so anytime she is in a match I won’t complain too loudly, but there really isn’t a lot of substance to these matches. Perfectly fine for what it is and where it is on the card, just mindless fun.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Syuri vs. Miyuki Takase and Ryo Mizunami

Syuri tries to prove to Hiroyo that she is committed to their team by stomping on a MAX VOLTAGE shirt after dancing around with them, but Hiroyo isn’t convinced as Miyuki and Ryo both attack Syuri. Syuri gets stomped down while Hiroyo watches, double Irish whip to Syuri and she gets hit with a double shoulderblock. Syuri is chopped into the corner by Miyuki and Ryo but take a break to dance some before Ryo hits a lariat. Ryo tags in Miyuki, lariat by Miyuki to Syuri and Ryo hits a scoop slam. Leg drop by Miyuki and she covers Syuri for two. Miyuki picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Miyuki in the back. Syuri tries to tag in Hiroyo and Hiroyo relents, shoulderblock by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she chops her in the chest. Hiroyo goes off the ropes, Ryo tries to help but Miyuki hits her by accident. Miyuki then gets Hiroyo up on her shoulders and tosses her out of the ring down onto Ryo on the floor. Syuri comes over too and helps Hiroyo beat up MAX VOLTAGE, Hiroyo rolls Miyuki back in the ring and covers her for two. Hiroyo tags in Syuri, Syuri stomps down Miyuki in the corner, she brings Miyuki back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. Miyuki gets to the ropes so Syuri tags in Hiroyo, knee by Hiroyo to Miyuki and she covers her for two, Syuri backs back in and she jumps on Hiroyo’s back before Hiroyo hits a double kneedrop, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two.

Crab hold by Hiroyo but Miyuki crawls to the corner and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, she tags in Syuri and Syuri takes Miyuki to the mat. Syuri picks up Miyuki and Irish whips her, Miyuki goes for a dropkick but Syuri swats it aside. Miyuki grabs Syuri’s leg and elbows her, more elbows by Miyuki but Syuri knees her in the midsection. Syuri knees Miyuki into the corner, Irish whip by Syuri but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a missile dropkick. This gives her time to tag in Ryo, shoulderblock by Ryo to Syuri and she plans her with a powerslam. She goes off the ropes but Syuri delivers a knee, kicks by Syuri and she covers Ryo for two. Syuri tags Hiroyo, lariat by Hiroyo to Ryo but Ryo lariats her back. Vertical suplex by Hiroyo, she picks up Ryo but Ryo elbows her and they trade shots. Ryo finally knocks Hiroyo over with a spear, cover by Ryo but it gets a two count. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she chops Hiroyo into the corner. Irish whip by Miyuki and she hits a lariat in the corner, but Hiroyo knocks her back. Elbows by Miyuki and she delivers a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Miyuki tries to go off the ropes but Hiroyo grabs her, Miyuki frees herself but Hiroyo drops her with a backdrop suplex. Hiroyo tags Syuri, Syuri kicks Miyuki into the corner and hits a jumping knee, double underhook suplex by Syuri and she covers Miyuki for two. Syuri applies a crab hold with Hiroyo’s protection, but Ryo gets free and breaks up the hold. Hiroyo gets back to Ryo and puts her in a stretch hold while Syuri stays on Miyuki’s leg, but Ryo breaks free and clubs Syuri.

Double Irish whip to Ryo but Ryo hits a double spear, Miyuki picks up Syuri and both she and Ryo hit lariats. Spear by Ryo to Syuri, Miyuki picks her up and hits a vertical suplex, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Miyuki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving leg drop, but Syuri barely kicks out of the cover. Miyuki drags Syuri to her feet and hits another lariat, but Syuri ducks the next one and delivers a head kick. Both wrestlers crawl to their corners and tag out, hard lariat by Ryo and she covers Hiroyo for two. Ryo grabs Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her off, they trade lariat attempts but neither wrestler goes down. The struggle continues until Hiroyo finally knocks Ryo to the mat, cover by Hiroyo but it gets two. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and lariats her again, she goes for a powerbomb bur Ryo blocks it and Miyuki hits a missile dropkick. Hiroyo drops them both with a backdrop suplex, Syuri runs in and she knees Ryo in the corner. Hiroyo hits a reverse double kneedrop, running knee by Syuri and Hiroyo follows with a lariat, but Ryo barely kicks out of the cover. Hiroyo picks up Ryo and goes for the backdrop suplex, but Ryo blocks it. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Ryo blocks it again, Syuri comes in but Ryo catches her with a Uranage. She hits one on Hiroyo as well, cover by Ryo but it gets two. Ryo goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a back elbow, they get up and both hit a lariat on the other, which sends both crashing to the mat. While they are lying there, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even without a winner, this was a quality match. They kept it simple which worked well – no outside the ring brawling, very little in the way of submission holds, they just took turns hitting each other for twenty minutes. For a non-title midcard tag match, that’s all that was needed here and they executed it. Miyuki can more than hold her own with these three wrestlers and it shows how much and how quickly she has grown, she’s certainly ready to break out and get higher on the Joshi Wrestler pecking order. Very few wrestlers hit as hard as Syuri, Hiroyo, and Ryo and none mind getting hit either, so I am sure that all were sore the next day. The commentary box in the corner of the screen will always be annoying, but still an entertaining match with hard hitting action.  Recommended

ASUKA, Makoto, and Mima Shimoda vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Yoshiko, and Yuu

Yuu and Shimoda start the match, Yuu pushes Shimoda into the ropes and goes for a lariat, but Shimoda ducks it. Yuu knocks her over with a shoulderblock anyway, they trade chops until Yuu hits another lariat, hard shoulderblock by Yuu and she tags in Kaho. Shimoda tags ASUKA, ASUKA and Kaho go into a fast exchange as Kaho goes for a spinning headscissors, but ASUKA lands on her feet. Yoshiko tags herself in but ASUKA bails out of the ring, Makoto comes in as the legal wrestler but Yoshiko knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Yoshiko tosses down Makoto by her hair and hits some bootscrapes followed by a running boot. Yoshiko goes for another one but ASUKA trips her from the floor, she gets in the ring with Shimoda and they all boot Yoshiko in the face. Makoto takes control of the match before tagging in Shimoda, Shimoda throws Yoshiko to the mat and pulls back on her hair. Shimoda steps on Yoshiko’s hands and tags in ASUKA, ASUKA goes up top and hits an ax handle onto Yoshiko’s arm. Snapmare by ASUKA and she delivers a sliding kick to Yoshiko’s face, picking up a two count cover. ASUKA and Yoshiko trade strikes, ASUKA throws Yoshiko into the corner but Yoshiko rebounds out with a lariat and makes the tag to Yuu.

Yuu clears the ring with shoulderblocks, Makoto and Shimoda try to help but Kaho gets in too and Las Fresa de Egoistas are all attacked in the corner. Yuu stays in and covers ASUKA, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers ASUKA for two. Yuu chops ASUKA repeatedly in the chest but ASUKA hits a jumping kick and makes the tag to Makoto. Makoto boots Yuu in the corner and goes for a suplex, but Yuu drives her back into the corner. Diving crossbody by Makoto and she hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Yuu dropkicks Makoto back into the corner and nails the Cannonball, cover by Yuu but Makoto gets a shoulder up. Yuu tags in Kaho, Kaho picks up Makoto and trips her before hitting a dropkick. Kaho puts Makoto in an arm submission hold while her team protects her, but Makoto gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Kaho but Makoto reverses it and hits a double underhook suplex. Cartwheel kneedrop by Makoto, and she covers Kaho for two. Makoto tags Shimoda, they throw Kaho into the corner but Kaho gets away and armdrags Shimoda. Dropkick by Kaho to Makoto, she goes back to Shimoda but Shimoda traps her for a two count cover. Kaho kicks Shimoda in the leg and delivers a DDT, she picks up Shimoda but Shimoda blocks the fisherman suplex attempt and boots her. Yuu runs in and lariats Shimoda, dropkick by Kaho and she hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Kaho tags in Yoshiko, boot by Yoshiko and she hits a senton on Shimoda for two. Yoshiko picks up Shimoda but Shimoda wiggles away, Yoshiko goes for a stretch hold but ASUKA comes in and breaks it up.

Yoshiko throws Shimoda into the corner but ASUKA cuts her off with a kick and Shimoda delivers a missile dropkick. Shimoda tags ASUKA, running boot by ASUKA and she hits a dropkick. Yoshiko goes after ASUKA but ASUKA punches her, moonsault off the ropes by ASUKA and her teammates come in so they can all hit running strikes in the corner. German suplex by ASUKA to Yoshiko, and she covers her for two. ASUKA picks up Yoshiko and goes for the chokeslam, but Yoshiko blocks it and they trade elbows. ASUKA goes off the ropes but Yuu runs in and tosses her, Yoshiko slams ASUKA to the mat but ASUKA kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko goes to the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, but the cover gets broken up. Shimoda and Makoto stay in but Yoshiko lariats both of them, lariat by Yoshiko to ASUKA and she covers her for two. Senton by Yoshiko, but again ASUKA kicks out of the pin attempt. Yoshiko goes for another lariat but ASUKA ducks it, superkick by ASUKA and she nails a spinning heel kick. Chokeslam by ASUKA in front of the corner, she goes up top but Yoshiko avoids the moonsault. Yoshiko goes for a lariat but ASUKA ducks it, ASUKA goes for the Asuka Fantasy but Yoshiko cuts it back into a cover and gets the three count! Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, and Yuu are the winners.

A solid tag team match, with lots of teamwork from both sides so it didn’t feel like two random teams thrown together. This was really just done to further the ASUKA/Yoshiko feud and it was effective in that regard, with the two having several entertaining exchanges throughout the match. Its easy for wrestlers to get lost in six wrestler tags that don’t get a lot of time, as Yuu and Shimoda didn’t leave a strong impression, but neither held the match back either. There just wasn’t enough time for everyone since Yoshiko and Asuka were the focus. Fast paced and well worked, an entertaining match but ultimately nothing overly memorable.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the SEA Singles Championship

Rina attacks Arisa before the match starts while she still has her robe on, Rina elbows Arisa against the ropes but Arisa reverses an Irish whip and hits a snap dragon suplex. She finally gets her robe off and boots Rina while she is against the ropes. Arisa gets a bottle of water but Rina takes it from her and pours the water over Arisa’s head before spitting water in her face. Rina boots Arisa and elbows her in the corner, lariats by Rina and she covers Arisa with her boot for a one count. Scorpion Deathlock by Rina but Arisa makes it to the ropes for the break, Rina goes off the ropes and knees Arisa in the back. Cover by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina kicks Arisa but Arisa fight back, scoop slam by Rina and she walks over Arisa. Rina goes for a backdrop suplex but Arisa lands on her feet and hits the Sling Blade. Arisa kicks Rina and boots her in the head, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, German suplex hold by Arisa and she gets a two count. Arisa goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, Arisa jumps off the turnbuckle however to the floor, snapping Rina’s neck on the ropes in the process. Arisa goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp, cover by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa kicks Rina around the ring and knees her against the ropes, she picks up Rina but Rina fires off a strike combination. Rina picks up Arisa and elbows her, but Arisa elbows her back and they trade blows.

After a minute they both end up sending the other to the mat, and the referee begins the ten count. Both make the count and go back to trading blows, with Rina switching to lariats now and Arisa hitting boots. Arisa wins the battle and gets on the top turnbuckle, but Rina grabs her from behind and throws her into the turnbuckles. Rina waits for Arisa to get up but Arisa kicks away her lariat attempt, Rina nails one anyway but Arisa blocks the sliding lariat attempt. Arisa goes off the ropes but Rina hits another lariat, she follows with a short-range lariat but her cover gets two. Rina picks up Arisa but Arisa slides away from the Splash Mountain attempt and hits a trapped German suplex for two. Arisa kicks Rina in the chest and delivers a dragon suplex hold, but Rina barely gets a shoulder up. Arisa positions Rina and goes up top, moonsault by Arisa but it gets two. Arisa drags Rina to her feet, she traps her leg but Rina elbows out of the suplex attempt. Arisa goes for a hurricanrana but Rina reverses it with a powerbomb, sliding lariat by Rina but Arisa kicks out of the cover. Rina waits for Arisa to get up and delivers a lariat, but again Arisa kicks out. Rina picks up Arisa and goes for Splash Mountain, but Arisa reverses it into a cradle for two. Arisa quickly picks up Rina, traps her leg and delivers a German suplex hold for the three count pinfall! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

I think the real impact of matches like these is lost some due to the one camera set up and the NicoPro box, but its still a really damn good match. These two just beat the hell out of each other, it is just hard to really appreciate it with the circumstances, which isn’t their fault of course but diminishes some of the enjoyment. The story was simple but well told, with Rina using lariats to set up the Splash Mountain that she was never able to hit, while Arisa finally wore down Rina enough to get the win with her version of the German suplex. With a different presentation this may have been one of the best Joshi matches of the year, but as it is, its still an enjoyable match that is worth your time.  Recommended

The post SEAdLINNNG New Leaf! on 3/10/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Kagetsu Retirement Show ~ Many Face
Date: February 24th, 2020
Location: EDION Arena Osaka #2 in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 733

As is always the case in the world of Joshi, the retirement hits never stop coming. This one is harder to swallow than most as Kagetsu not only is a fantastic wrestler and trainer but is still (at least in the eyes of fans) in her prime. But Kagetsu had a pretty lengthy career for a Joshi wrestler (twelve years) and has openly considered retiring in the past, and at least she is going out on her own terms as she booked her own retirement show. As tends to be the case with wrestler-produced events we will see a fun variety of wrestlers on the show, ending with Kagetsu battling her trainer Meiko Satomura for the first time since 2014 in her final match. I’ll be reviewing the Joshi matches on the event, here is the match line-up:

• Leyla Hirsch, Syuri, and Yuu vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire
• AZM vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Suruga
• Saya Iida vs. X
• Kagetsu vs. Meiko Satomura

All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Even though we are watching the TV airing of the event I am assuming there will not be any clipping, but if there is I will point it out as we go along.

Leyla Hirsch, Syuri, and Yuu vs. Natsuko Tora and Sumire

Natsu Sumire talked on the mic as the match was starting until Syuri and friends got tired of listening to her and all attack her. Natsuko tries to help but gets tossed out of the ring, Yuu stays in the ring with Natsu and goes off the ropes, but she is tripped from ringside and pulled out to the floor. Oedo Tai takes over, with Hazuki helping to even the numbers, as they fight on the floor and into the crowd. Hazuki throws Yuu back into the ring, Natsu joins her and sets up Yuu in the ropes. Natsuko puts the big rubber band around Yuu’s head, Natsu takes the other end and runs up into the crowd before snapping it back into Yuu’s face. Natsuko punches Yuu and puts her in the ropes again, this time Hazuki grabs the other end of the band and snaps it into Yuu. No idea where Syuri and Leyla ran off to. Natsu throws Yuu into the corner and knocks her down into a seated position, she charges in and delivers her gyrating bronco buster. Natsu tags in Natsuko but Yuu chops her and the two trade blows. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a sidewalk slam, running senton by Yuu and she covers Natsuko for two.

Yuu positions Natsuko near the corner and goes up top, but Natsuko recovers and gets Yuu on her shoulders. Yuu slides away and goes off the ropes, Natsuko goes for a Samoan Drop but she accidentally drops her. Headbutt by Natsuko, she manages to pick up Yuu this time and hits the Samoan Drop. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Yuu catches her with a toss and finally makes the tag to Syuri. Syuri kicks Natsuko repeatedly in the chest, running knee by Syuri and she hits a double underhook suplex for a two count. Cross armbreaker by Syuri and she switches it to a seated armbar, but Natsu breaks it up. More kicks by Syuri, she goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits Syuri from ringside. Syuri kicks Natsuko in the head anyway but Natsuko comes back with a spear, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They crawl to their corners as Leyla and Natsu are tagged in, knee by Natsu and she boots Leyla in the head. Running boot by Natsu but Leyla elbows her back, Irish whip by Natsu but Leyla flips her to the mat and hits a running knee. Olympic Slam by Leyla, but Natsu kicks out of the cover.

Leyla goes for the Triangle Moonsault but Natsu moves out of the way and stomps on her head. Leyla kicks Natsu and tosses her to the  mat, giving her time to tag Yuu. Yuu chops Natsu in the chest but Natsu avoids the running senton and whips Yuu. Irish whip by Natsu from the corner but Yuu reverses it, Natsu avoids Yuu’s charge and both Hazuki and Natsuko run in the ring as Yuu is triple teamed. Diving crossbody by Natsu, but it only gets two. Natsu picks up Yuu but Leyla and Syuri both run in to help, Natsu takes care of both of them and picks up Yuu, hitting a double arm DDT. Somato by Natsu, but Yuu gets a hand on the ropes to break up the cover. Yuu dropkicks Natsu into the corner, Syuri comes in and delivers a running knee. Cannonball by Yuu, they pull Natsu out of the corner so that Leyla can hit the Triangle Moonsault. Cover by Yuu, but Natsuko breaks it up. Yuu picks up Natsu and nails a powerbomb, cover by Yuu and she gets the three count! Yuu, Syuri, and Leyla Hirsch are the winners.

The only good thing about this match was seeing Hazuki again, love her and she seemed to be having so much fun. Everything else was rough though. Natsuko’s lack of chemistry with Yuu was clear and distracting, with several spots not looking right. Syuri did virtually nothing and wasn’t needed in the match, matches having extra wrestlers just for the sake of it will always be a pet peeve of mine. Wrestlers disappeared for long stretches and for a short match it took awhile to get going. So a very skippable opener, with the lone reason to watch being Hazuki, who obviously wasn’t even in the match.

AZM vs. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Mei Suruga

AZM is slow to shake Mei’s hand before the match but finally does so, Mei and AZM both try to get the crowd’s support while Kaho looks on. All three engage in a double headlock before going into a fast paced exchange, AZM and Mei force Kaho to run the ropes until she collapses on the mat. AZM covers her but Mei breaks it up, Mei and AZM get into it until they all miss a dropkick and face off again. Kaho collapses due to still being tired from running the ropes but recovers as AZM is double teamed. Mei rolls AZM round the mat before posing as she pins AZM down, Kaho poses next to Mei but AZM kicks out. Mei tells Kaho to go on the top turnbuckle so she does, but Mei rolls up AZM real quick for a two count. She tries a few more times before Kaho jumps down and kicks her, Irish whip by Kaho and both she and AZM dropkick Mei. Double Irish whip to Mei to the corner and they take turns dropkicking her, with AZM encouraging Kaho to dropkick her more. Senton by Kaho to Mei and AZM kicks Mei in the back, AZM puts Mei in a camel clutch and Kaho bounces off the ropes a bunch of times before dropkicking Mei. They switch places with Kaho holding Mei for AZM, AZM goes off the ropes but she kicks Kaho instead. Dropkick by AZM to Kaho, she goes to Mei but Mei grabs her wrist and jumps off the ropes before hitting an armdrag.

Mei charges AZM but AZM boots her back, Mei catches her next boot and rakes her face until the referee gets her to stop. Mei tosses the referee to the mat and catapults off his back with a dropkick, cover by Mei but AZM kicks out. Back up, AZM hits a suplex followed by a head kick, cover by AZM but Kaho breaks it up. Irish whip by Kaho but AZM hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors into an armbar. Kaho rolls out of it but AZM kicks her in the head, she goes up top and nails the diving footstomp but Kaho barely kicks out of the cover. Fujiwara Armbar by AZM but Kaho gets into the ropes for the break, AZM picks up Kaho but Kaho schoolboys her for two. AZM elbows Kaho but Kaho elbows her back as they trade shots, Kaho kicks AZM in the shin and delivers a DDT. Step-up kick by Kaho, she covers AZM but it gets two. Kaho goes to the top turnbuckle but Mei reemerges and schoolboys AZM for two. Kaho comes off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick to Mei, she then dropkicks AZM and AZM falls out of the ring. Kaho goes for a tope suicida but AZM and Mei both move, so she splats head-first into the floor. AZM and Mei return to the ring, they trade flash pins but neither can get the three count. Head kick by AZM, she knocks Kaho off the apron but Mei cradles AZM for two. They trade quick covers again until AZM puts Mei in the Azumi Sushi and picks up the three count! AZM is the winner.

This type of comedy wrestling, or a wrestling match with comedy elements, is the type that hits better with me. It was playful throughout but when it got down to it they all were trying to win, all three wrestlers have ‘flash’ style methods of pinning their opponent so everything going on fit within their characters. Kaho being the ‘old’ one they tried to tire out was a fun touch and anytime I get to see Mei I don’t complain. An easy watch and entertaining match. Mildly Recommended

Saya Iida vs. Kagetsu

Kagetsu won’t shake Saya’s hand before the match but as soon as the bell rings, Saya charges her and dropkicks Kagetsu into the corner. More dropkicks by Saya but Kagetsu doesn’t fall to the mat, finally Saya dropkicks her in the knee and again in the chest to knock her over. Saya picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the scoop slam, chops by Saya but Kagetsu ducks one and rakes her in the eyes. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Saya chops her to the mat, she picks up Kagetsu and delivers a scoop slam for a two count. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes to the top turnbuckle again and hits a second one. A third time she goes up and delivers a third missile dropkick which she follows with a fourth one for a two count cover. With Kagetsu down, Saya goes to the top turnbuckle but Natsuko and Natsu grab her from the apron. They let go after a moment, Saya goes for a missile dropkick but Kagetsu moves out of the way and throws Saya out of the ring. Natsuko finds a weapon (Utami) and throws her at Saya before sliding Saya back into the ring, vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she covers Saya for two. Kagetsu picks up Saya and hits a Samoan Drop, but again Saya kicks out of the pin. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, but Saya barely gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu picks up Saya but Saya slides away and cradles her for two. Iida Bridge by Saya, but Kagetsu kicks out of that as well. Saya goes off the ropes but Kagetsu catches her with a cross armbreaker takedown. Kagetsu switches the hold to an arm lock and Saya has no choice but to submit! Kagetsu is the winner.

Its important to remember that a wrestler’s retirement show is for them, not for us. They let us watch, but each match the retiring wrestler is in is one that personally makes them happy or satisfied, they aren’t necessarily concerned with putting on high end matches. This match is what you would expect in an opener between a trainer and a student. Saya got in some hope spots so that it wasn’t a squash, but Kagetsu pretty thoroughly beat her down and won with a random submission hold that isn’t even one of her finishers. A pretty emotional match for Saya and one that likely meant a lot to Kagetsu (even if she didn’t show it), but a pretty average match in the grand scheme of things through the eyes of a viewer.

Kagetsu vs. Meiko Satomura

Kagetsu is in her “traditional” wrestling attire for this match, going back to her roots for her final match. Satomura pushes Kagetsu into the ropes to start and kicks her in the leg instead of giving a clean break, they end up on the mat but roll into the ropes. Back on their feet they lock knuckles, Satomura gets Kagetsu to the mat again and puts her in a side headlock. Kagetsu returns to her feet and gets out of the hold, she tries to shoulderblock Satomura over but Satomura stays on her feet. A dropkick does the trick, Kagetsu picks Satomura up and hits a side headlock takedown, keeping the hold applied on the mat. Satomura quickly reverses it into a headscissors but Kagetsu reverses it back as they trade submissions. Satomura gets the advantage and kicks Kagetsu, uppercut by Satomura and she elbows Kagetsu into the corner. Wristlock by Satomura and she kicks Kagetsu repeatedly in the chest, double kneedrop by Satomura and she covers Kagetsu for two. Satomura goes up top but Kagetsu springboards up and kicks her down to the floor, Kagetsu goes off the ropes and hits a tope suicida. She quickly gets back in the ring and she hits a second tope suicida followed by a third. Kagetsu throws Satomura into the chairs at ringside, she takes her into the crowd and chokes her with a chair. Kagetsu slides Satomura back in the ring and hits a swandive missile dropkick, she puts Satomura in a submission hold but Satomura gets into the ropes for the break.

Kagetsu elbows Satomura into the corner, Irish whip by Kagetsu and she hits a jumping elbow smash. Running boot to the face by Kagetsu, she picks up Satomura and spits water in her face. Satomura doesn’t like that and slaps her, dropkick by Kagetsu but Satomura delivers a heel kick. Satomura goes for a backdrop suplex but Kagetsu lands on her feet and hits a pair of kicks. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, and she covers Satomura for two. Kagetsu gets Satomura on her shoulders and hits another Ebisu Drop, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Satomura recovers and joins her. Superplex by Satomura but Kagetsu returns to her feet and nails a sliding knee, so both wrestlers are down on the mat. They slowly get up, Kagetsu goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it applied, but Satomura rolls out of it. Kagetsu switches it to an armlock but Satomura gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Snapmare by Kagetsu, she goes up top but Satomura nails her with a Pele Kick. Back in the middle of the ring, kicks to the chest by Satomura and she hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Satomura goes for another one but Kagetsu elbows out of it, kicks by Satomura and she drives Kagetsu into the corner. Satomura goes up top and hits a diving body press, but Kagetsu gets out of the cover. Sleeper hold by Satomura, but Kagetsu gets to the ropes.

Satomura kicks Kagetsu before picking her up and goes for a Death Valley Bomb, but Kagetsu gets out of it and spits blue mist in her face. Death Valley Bomb by Kagetsu but Satomura gets back up and  and hits a backdrop suplex. Kagetsu quickly returns to her feet as well and the two trade elbows, high kick by Satomura but Kagetsu kips up and hits her own head kick. Death Valley Bomb by Kagetsu but Satomura avoids the Buzzsaw Kick and hits a leg sweep. Head kick by Satomura and she hits a Death Valley Bomb, cover by Satomura but Kagetsu barely kicks out. Satomura hits a second one, but again Kagetsu kicks out of the cover. Cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura, she picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu pushes the referee down and spits mist in her face again. Ebisu Drop in front of the corner by Kagetsu, she goes up top and nails the Oedo Coaster before hitting a Death Valley Bomb. Kagetsu picks Satomura back up and hits a second Death Valley Bomb before hitting a third. Cover by Kagetsu, but Satomura manages to get a shoulder up. Kagetsu goes to pick up Satomura but Satomura kicks her off, they trade strikes until Satomura hits a Pele Kick. Head kick by Satomura and she hits a Death Valley Bomb, but the cover gets two. Scorpio Rising by Satomura, and she covers Kagetsu for the three count! Meiko Satomura is your winner.

If you enjoy excess in wrestling, this is the match for you. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t be a big fan of them spamming their finishing moves, but this being simultaneously a retirement match and a trainer/student match I am willing to let it slide. Kagetsu slipping back into her Oedo Tai roots when her normal tricks weren’t working was a nice touch and showed her progression since she left Satomura’s tutelage, but in the end it didn’t matter as she still couldn’t take down her former master. Satomura was also smart enough to still end the match with a different finisher then one they were doing over and over earlier in the match. As you’d expect, the strikes were all on-point as Satomura legitimately hasn’t lost a step, and both were going all-out for Kagetsu’s final match. In any situation I’d probably love this match, but with the backstory and everything else involved it was an emotional and perfect ending to Kagetsu’s successful career.  Highly Recommended 

After the final match, they had the retirement ceremony for Kagetsu. Different wrestlers came down to give her a gift and say farewell, including Queen’s Quest, Jinsei Shinzaki, Meiko Satomura, and of course Hazuki. Then the bell tolled, the streamers were thrown, and Kagetsu was carried out of the wrestling ring for the last time.

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