Stardom - True Fight 2018 (10/23/2018)

2. Hazuki vs. Mary Apache

Hazuki going blitzkrieg on her opponents is always fun to watch.

***1/2

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2018 Red Goddess: Oedo Tai (Session Moth Martina & Sumire Natsu) vs. JAN (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora)

Thought this developed quite strongly with JAN making their comeback with powerhouse moves. There's some great humor thrown in along the way.

***1/2

5. World of Stardom Championship - No DQ, No Countout & No Rope Escape Rules: Kagetsu (c) vs. Hana Kimura

This was a tense and visceral match. Loving Hana's metamorphosis since returning from Mexico. She's like a garish Bruiser Brody with some lucha libre spliced in. This was mega-violence that was so far removed from traditional World of Stardom matches.

****

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

I didn't think there was much here in the way of depth, but Mayu can be pretty fun when she's in control and there are plenty of great counterattacks and sequences, and some gnarly kick exchanges. The finishing stretch captured Mayu's desperation to win a belt really well.

***3/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom 2018 (Day) (10/20/2018)

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2018 Blue Goddess: Hana Kimura & Mary Apache vs. Hanan & Leo Onozaki

Hana's trip to Mexico awakened something that lied dormant inside of her. She's become a cold-blooded killer. Mesmerizing performance from her in this match, which was basically a torture session.

***1/2

6. Artist of Stardom Championship: STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano) (c) vs. JAN (Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora)

Stardom has been delivering some really great trios matches this year; this was another great one. High tempo action with cooperative attacks and big cutoffs. Tam and Natsuko have one of the best chapters of their feud yet.

***3/4

Sendai Girls - BIG SHOW in Sendai (10/14/2018)

3. DASH Chisako & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Millie McKenzie & Rhia O’Reilly

Great tag team action and introduction to Millie & Rhia. Doubt I'll ever watch either of them again, unless they return to Japan, but they made an impression.

***1/2

6. Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs. Cassandra Miyagi

The pacing was a little clunky and Cassandra was all over the place on offense, but maybe that unpredictability suits her character. The work becomes more focused towards the end and the finishing run with Chihiro making her strong return was good stuff. Both talents came off like stars in this big arena.

***3/4

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi (SEAdLINNNG, 10/3/2018)

SEAdLINNNG - d-Higher (10/3/2018)

SEAdLINNNG BEYOND THE SEA Championship - Tournament First Round: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi

Hell of an escalation of violence, maybe a bit excessive on the near-falls but they kept up a high energy, the crowd was hot and I enjoyed it. Nanae using those Lethwei clinch-headbutts down the stretch was awesome.

****

Io Shirai vs. Dark Angel (Stardom, 10/11/2015)

Stardom - Appeal The Heart (10/11/2015)

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Dark Angel

One of my favorite Io-san title defenses. Dark Angel is one of the few opponents Io faced in Stardom who could match up to her in athleticism so these two complement each other well. DA does a painful workover on the back and has some cool moments where she matches Io's aerial offense with her own.

****1/2

Aoi Kizuki, Mei Suruga & Riho vs. Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida & Makoto (Aoi Kizuki Retirement Show, 10/7/2018)

Aoi Kizuki Retirement Show - ~Final Happy~ (10/7/2018)

Aoi Kizuki, Mei Suruga & Riho vs. Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida & Makoto

This is the final match of Aoi Kizuki's career so this was an emotional match for me, as someone who enjoyed her work a lot. Joshi puroresu retirement matches can sometimes go too far into comedy (fair enough, it's not always about having a "good match"), and while this did have its humor, it was mostly a serious, competitive match to bookend Aoi~chan's career. Thoroughly enjoyable trios action with some exciting multi person sequences and an emotional finale between Aoi and her senpai Emi.

****

Mizuki Watase vs. Shigehiro Irie (DDT, 10/10/2018)

DDT - Live! Maji Manji 卍 #20 (10/10/2018)

Mizuki Watase vs. Shigehiro Irie

I'm always reminded of the Knife Edge Death Match when two wrestlers lock hands and take turns wailing on each other in close proximity until one falls down. What a way to open up this slugfest. These two were going at it. Watase's willingness to destroy himself in the pursuit of a great match was on full display.

****