Azumi Hyuga vs. GAMI (JWP, 12/9/2001)

JWP (12/9/2001)

JWP Openweight Championship: Azumi Hyuga (c) vs. GAMI

GAMI had Azumi's number with savvy counters and unique submission holds that left the champion questioning the meaning of life. She's so graceful in her execution and her counters were cunning and top notch. I love her. Then there's Azumi who has a 1000 different ways to mess you up with DDTs and raw-looking elbows and knees. This was total class.

****1/2

DDT - Dramatic 2017 March Special ~ Road To SUPER ARENA ~ (3/5/2017)

3. KUDO vs. MAO

The ridiculously good-looking MAO did his flippy stuff, and KUDO punished him with strike combinations and kicks to the face. Brutal!

***3/4

7. Happy Motel (Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita) vs. Smile Squash (HARASHIMA & Soma Takao)

Soma and Takeshita are two sides of the same coin. They both have the charisma of a washing board, but make up for it with their intensity. Both of them were awesome here, especially during the final act.

***3/4

Miyu Yamashita & Rika Tatsumi vs. SIN Biishiki-gun (Masa & Saki-sama) (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 1/21/2017)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Girls Fight Out #1 (1/21/2017)

Miyu Yamashita & Rika Tatsumi vs. SIN Biishiki-gun (Masa & Saki-sama)

I didn't know what to expect from Masa's debut, but I ended up loving everything she did here. She's all gimmick, but she never overdid it and she compliments Saki's persona well. Yamashita and Saki traded gnarly kicks, and Rika hit her hip attacks and applied a wicked dragon sleeper on Saki.

***1/2

Kurumi vs. Tsukushi (Ice Ribbon, 9/16/2011)

Ice Ribbon - 19'O Clock Girls Pro Wrestling #87 (9/16/2011)

IW19 Championship (vacant): Kurumi vs. Tsukushi

Little Tsukushi powering out of Kurumi's Cattle Mutilation, sending her flipping out of the hold was so ridiculous it was great. This was a sprint that was built around Kurumi's German suplex, which Tsukushi tries to avoid at all costs. These two are very young and very tiny so you don't want them taking too many bumps so they instead focused on nifty submission work.

***1/4

Yoshiko Tamura vs. Emi Sakura (NEO, 5/3/2007)

NEO - May History 2007 (5/3/2007)

NWA Women's Pacific & NEO Championship: Yoshiko Tamura (c) vs. Emi Sakura

This was a lot of fun. Emi does everything from double arm maneuvers, a moonsault, a 450 splash, to hip-based offense, and it is all well placed. She worked on top, always a few steps ahead. Tamura just threw stiff, jarring strikes. One trope I love in her matches are the strike combinations/sequences. She pummels Sakura. Great match, sick finish.

***1/2

Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls, 10/16/2016)

Sendai Girls - 10th Anniversary Show ~ Women's Wrestling Big Show In Sendai (10/16/2016)

Sendai Girls World Championship: Meiko Satomura (c) vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

Mesmerizing pacing, there's a sense of urgency and danger that makes every movement feel important, like a human chess game. You know when Chihiro starts hitting those Germans that this can end at any second, it's such a unique quality to Chihiro's big matches. Incredible generational struggle.

****3/4

Stardom - 5th Anniversary: Stardom vs. The World II (2/21/2016)

6. High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Evie

This was a masturbatory indie-riffic move and counter fest, but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch. Mayu's lankiness made Evie's back work especially violent, she nearly breaks Mayu with those back breakers. Lovely high speed.

***1/2

7. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Santana Garrett (c) vs. Kairi Hojo

Credit where credit is due, Santana was on point here. Not often you see her do a suicide dive where she doesn't almost succeed in taking her life. There's some really good struggle here and Santana losing her boot was cute.

***3/4

8. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Viper

This match was good. Joshi puroresu take on 'the irresistible force vs. the immovable object'. I like how Viper bumps like Adrian Adonis. Obviously can't forget the spot where Io lifts the 220-pound Viper with a German suplex, nice. 

***1/2