「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika (Gatoh Move, 8/26/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・308 (8/26/2017)

「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika

This was great, lots of action and movement -- these two put a lot of energy into their performances. 'Kotori' Ryu throws Aasa into the wall, and it looked fucking wicked; and Aasa's counterwork was super awesome and compelling as always.

***3/4

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・264 ~ Christmas Eve (12/24/2016)

1. Kaori Yoneyama & Hikaru Sato vs. Hikaru Shida & Madoka

Very fun match, ultimate battle of Hikarus; Sato was perving it up and Shida tried to avoid hip attacking him. Also, Shida did a very unique submission hold that involved hip attacks. Even with the comedy stuff, the work was great.

***1/2

3. Gatoh Move vs. REINA - 3 out of 5 Falls Match: Emi Sakura, Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno vs. Makoto, Hirori & Mari Sakamoto

This was a great inter-promotional skirmish. They kept the action exciting and moving, everyone looked good and had their moment to shine (except for Hirori maybe, but she was a cute face-in-peril).

***3/4

5. Asia Dream Tag Team Championship: Happy Makers 2 (Aoi Kizuki & Sayaka Obihiro) (c) vs. Riho &「Kotori」

Spectacular match. The action moved fast and momentum shifts happened in an instant. Obihiro was doing a hell of a sell job, and Riho's counterwork was excellent -- loved everything about their closing segment together.「Kotori」's execution was rough, but she's got an energy that makes up for it. Aoi-chan's in-ring genius shined as always. Brilliant stuff all around.

****1/2

Stardom - TRUE FIGHT 2017 (10/17/2017)

2. Elimination: Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley vs. Chardonnay & Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Jungle Kyona & Tora Natsuko

***

5. Queen's Quest vs. Oedo Tai Challenge Series: HZK vs. Kagetsu

HZK was going all out to put down the big bad wolf of Oedo Tai. This was great. HZK delivered one of the best singles performances I've ever seen from her. Hope she's able to maintain this momentum.

***1/2

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Takumi Iroha

It was refreshing to see Iroha work a 'high drama' style match, and it felt like a return to form for her. The action was great for the most part; they managed to keep things fresh for the 30-minute draw. I didn't think the B Driver near-falls were as effective as they could have been, Bito doesn't put that certain 'finality' into the move. Iroha on the other hand was doing a fine job of that. A good match, but there were a couple of things that prevented it from being great.

***1/2

WAVE - Young OH! OH! Vol. 37 (10/3/2017)

1. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono) vs. Satsuki Totoro & Yako Fujigasaki

Mabudachi is already one of my favorite tag teams on the scene, they were super fun to watch here, they're such sneaky little shits. Yako seems to have mastered the art of the hip attack. Totoro is starting to understand how to work with her body type, she looked impressive; cute too. Great opener.

***1/2 

2. Hiroe Nagahama & Miyuki Takase vs. Miki Tanaka & Natsumi Maki

This was alright. Tanaka and Takase had an interesting segment. I'm looking forward to seeing how those two grow.

**

3. Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Natsu Sumire

This was Sumire's second-to-last WAVE match (as a member of the roster, anyway), and it's against Fairy Nipponbashi, so you know what to expect. Just a fun comedy match between two friends.

**

4. Kaho Kobayashi & Rina Yamashita vs. NEW-TRA (Rin Kadokura & Takumi Iroha)

I expected something more from this match-up, so this was a bit of disappointment. The Iroha-Rina stuff in the closer was good, albeit sloppy. 

**1/2

DDT - DDT Special 2017 (10/22/2017)

*Dramatic General Election Ranking in Parentheses

4. Keisuke Ishii (#13) vs. Suwama

Fucking awesome extended squash. Ishii tried, he did, but he got fucking decimated. Suwama's such a master class pro grappler.

***1/2

5. Tetsuya Endo (#3) vs. Masahiro Takanashi (#5)

**

6. DDT Extreme Championship - TLC Match: Daisuke Sasaki (#4) (c) vs. HARASHIMA (#2)

Great match, though not as good as I hoped it would be. HARASHIMA's workover on Sasaki was fucking killer, the stomps into the pile of chairs, kicking the ladder into the ribs; it was brutal. Sasaki's comeback was awful. After he botched a Pepsi Plunge, he hits an elbow drop from a ladder, and of course the table does not break. The post match angle with Soma was fucking awesome, hoping this leads to the change he needs.

***

7. KO-D Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (#7) (c) vs. Danshoku Dino (#1)

Dino's stuff can be so hit-or-miss, but he knows when to step it up and deliver classic performances when he has to (the match with Shuji). He came across as Takeshita's biggest threat so far, those fucking near-falls had me on the edge of my seat. Takeshita did good, he displayed fighting spirit, he hit hard, hit bit a dick for his championship. Also dug how he managed to fit a bodybuilding spot into this. The finish was fantastic, Dino was on spaghetti legs, putting Takeshita over like a fucking pro. Excellent main event.

****1/4

El Generico vs. Kenny Omega (DDT, 12/23/2012)

DDT Never Mind 2012 (12/23/2012)

KO-D Openweight Championship: El Generico (c) vs. Kenny Omega

This was Kenny's big KO-D win and the finish comes out of nowhere. It felt off to me... a stronger finish would have been much more effective. The action was good for the most part, though. It's an American indies-style spotfest with stiff strikes, and big moves and dangerous bumps.

***