KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Kota Ibushi & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 7/15/2007)

NOAH - Summer Navigation '07 (7/15/2007)

KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Kota Ibushi & Naomichi Marufuji 

This was one hell of a spotfest. Everyone looked amazing. The near-falls were super effective in adding drama to the match; each one of them increased the intensity of the third act, and when the referee finally does count 3 the crowd goes berserk. Fucking hell was the finishing sequence breathtaking.

*****

Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) (DDT, 11/14/2010)

DDT - Osaka Bay Blues Special (11/14/2010)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (c) vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi)

This was basically a mini version of their New Japan matches. It's a fast-paced sprint that lasts for just 9-minutes. The action was smooth (save for Taguchi's early fuck-up) and the crowd was really hot.

***1/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (10/14/2017)

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura) vs. Chibis (Konami & Hiromi Mimura)

Chibis got a lot of shine, and they did some double team stuff. Hiromi's charge-up dropkick is a fun spot. Hana's selling during the closer was good and her submission finisher always looks vicious.

**3/4

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK) vs. Yoko Bito & Jungle Kyona

Solid main event. Proper cohesion, double maneuvers, etc. It goes without saying that Io is a genius of the ring, she worked hard to make this feel special. The heated interactions between HZK and Jungle were also very good.

***1/4

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Smile YES Yokohama (10/14/2017)

2. Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan vs. Yuna Manase

***

4. NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama & Masa) vs. Konkatsu-gun (Azusa Takigawa & Nonoko)

***

5. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championship Tournament - Final: MiraClians (Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima) vs. Dragon Bombers (Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone)

***1/4

DDT - Ready Pro Wrestling! Feeling Seijo 2017 (10/4/2017)

1. Mizuki Watase vs. Yukio Sakaguchi

What an awesome slugfest.

***3/4

4. NωA (Makoto Oishi, MAO & Shunma Katsumata) (w/ Kayako Takagi) vs. T2Hide (Kazuki Hirata, Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi)

Super fun trios; good energy. The Hirata-Kayako spot was gold.

***

6. ALL OUT (Akito & Konosuke Takeshita) vs. Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii

This was another solid prelude to Takeshita-Dino. Ishii's my favorite part about these matches, I must say. He's always working hard.

***

Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto) vs. Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (DDT, 11/17/2013)

DDT - God Bless DDT 2013 (11/17/2013)

KO-D Tag Team Championship: Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto) (c) vs. Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)

This started off slow with two workover segments; Yankee targets Ibushi's leg, and you know he's not going to sell that long term. When they pick up the pace, the match turns into a wild spotfest, but in a way that was logical. There were cute moments like Miyamoto hitting the diving chop that he never hits, and Omega and Kodaka have this fantastic finishing run with one of the best counters you'll ever see to Croyt's Wrath. Good shit here.

****1/2

Monster Army (Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino) vs. Golden Rendezvous (Gota Ihashi, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (DDT, 5/26/2013)

DDT - Road to Ryogoku In Hiroshima ~ Dramatic Dream Tokasan (5/26/2013)

KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Monster Army (Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino) (c) vs. Golden Rendezvous (Gota Ihashi, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)

This was an entertaining trios. Hino didn't do a whole lot, but he does hit Gota with the Fucking Bomb. Gota was great, as was Antonio's over the top selling. The best parts were naturally Kenny & Ibushi's flashy movesets. 

***

Manabu Nakanishi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (Union Pro, 1/3/2011)

Union Pro - 1...2...3...Union! (1/3/2011)

Manabu Nakanishi vs. Shuji Ishikawa

Nakanishi moves like a robot, but he was hitting hard and his matches always have the charm of the crowd popping when he does something athletic in his semi-immobile state. Ishikawa does these headbutts that sounded fucking hideous, and he did a good job bumping for Nakanishi.

***1/2