Ayame Sasamura vs. Millie McKenzie (Sendai Girls, 1/6/2019)

Sendai Girls  (1/6/2019) 

Sendai Girls Junior Championship: Ayame Sasamura (c) vs. Millie McKenzie

This was a clash of contrasting styles, worked at a fine pacing and building into an exciting finish stretch. Millie's rope running and suplex offense had great speed and intensity behind them and Ayame bumped well.

***1/2

BEST OF THE SUPER JOSHI 2018 - Top 50 Best Bouts

These are my top 50 favorite joshi puroresu bouts of 2018.

Ice Ribbon - #930 ~ RibbonMania 2018

5. Hardcore: Hikaru Shida vs. Risa Sera

This was boring as hell, simply put. Basic hardcore wrestling with hardly any creativity. One good thing I can say about it is that that Sera's volley of Death Valley Bombs looked brutal.

*

7. ICExInfinity Championship: Tsukasa Fujimoto (c) vs. Maya Yukihi

Ehh... this had the problems that many Ice Ribbon singles main events tend to have, there's a stacking of sequences and movez but little in the way of nuance or substance. This didn't connect with me at all.

bad

Tokyo Joshi Pro - It's a Happy Story in the Beginning for Wrestling in the New Year (1/5/2019)

1. Maki Ito vs. Raku

Good opener with Ito working aggressive and Raku showcasing her growth.

**1/4

4. Veda Scott vs. Yuki Kamifuku

Good little match where the crowd was surprisingly receptive. Kamiyu throwing Veda's cat head got one of the loudest responses of the show. This match was quite hard-hitting which I was not expecting from the two at all.

***

5. Hikari Noa & Natsumi Maki vs. Miyu Yamashita & Yuki Aino

This was a fun match. Miyu and Maki's exchanges were exciting, and Hikari is showing improvement in her fundamentals and technique. 

**1/2

6. Mina Shirakawa vs. Shoko Nakajima

This was a grounded affair with a focus on chains, transitions and submission struggles and it was good for the most part. The suicide dive set up felt like a forced "get your shit in" spot and I feel the match lost its focus there.

**3/4

7. Millie McKenzie & Miu Watanabe vs. magical sugar rabbits (Mizuki & Yuka Sakazaki)

This was an enjoyable main event. Millie has an interesting presence in a TJPW ring and I would like to see her back some day.

**3/4

Stardom - Year-End Climax 2018 (12/24/2018)

4. High Speed Championship: Mary Apache (c) vs. Hazuki

High paced, intense affair. Mary made counters that were punctuated by heavy hits and Hazuki gave her usual surly big boots. I thought they built tension well with the near falls leading into the finish where Hazuki almost bumps her neck into sawdust with a Shooting Star.

***1/4

6. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita) (c) vs. STARS (Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano)

Saki & Tam develop chemistry as the match goes on while Momo & Utami are a well-oiled duo. This was a really fun match with strong sequences and drama built around Saki's flash pin.

***3/4

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Tokyo Joshi Pro '19 (1/4/2019)

6. Meiko Satomura vs. Reika Saiki

This match had great heat and energy from the crowd. It follows the usual Satomura vs. rookie formula and Reika delivered a strong performance on her end.

***3/4

7. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championship: magical sugar rabbits (Mizuki & Yuka Sakazaki) (c) vs. Riho & Shoko Nakajima

I'm no execution mark, but when the focus is on action for the bulk of the match it should be exciting and this struggled to impress or engage me for the most part. It never felt like they had a good rhythm going until the third act. The ending with Shoko and Yuka was strong stuff, though.

***

8. TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Maki Ito

This was a revelatory match for Ito Maki, she showed that she could stand toe-to-toe with the ace and work the main event style of TJPW. Though I wish they told a more interesting story than one defined by parity.

***1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2018 (12/15/2018)

2. AZM vs. Hana Kimura vs. Mary Apache

Hana and Mary are quickly becoming one of my favorite duos in the promotion. The torture session on AZM was good, and AZM using her short stature and speed to her advantage was a lot of fun.

***1/2

5. Artist of Stardom Championship: STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano) (c) vs. Queen's Quest (Konami, Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita)

Another well-paced, well-laid out trios from Stardom. Great heat building for the upcoming Goddesses with Saki scoring another upset on Momo.

***1/2