Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (12/22/2017)

1. Konami vs. Shiki Shibusawa

Another solid Konami singles match. It feels like they are building her up for something, probably a High Speed title shot.

**1/4

2. AZM vs. Hiromi Mimura vs. Mari Apache

Great high speed match, probably one of the best of the year. Mari may not be the most exciting performer, but she is technically savvy, AZM's hit-and-run tactics were great, and of course you have Hiromi's shout.

***

3. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire) vs. Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora)

**

4. AWS Women's Championship: Kris Wolf (c) vs. Scarlett

This was actually fairly cohesive. It drags a bit towards the finish and I thought Wolf kicking out of two of Scarlett's finishers was unnecessary, but this was surprisingly solid.

**1/4

5. HZK & Jungle Kyona vs. Io Shirai & Yoko Bito

This is the first time that Io & Bito are teaming up as a duo (they've teamed in multi-mans in the past), and they made this team-up feel special with a great main event. Io and HZK are feuding for the white belt, but Kyona and Bito also have their own feud going on, both pairings were great.

***1/2

Daisuke Sasaki vs. Yuko Miyamoto (DAMNATION, 12/30/2017)

DAMNATION - Unlawful Assembly Vol. 2 (12/30/2017)

DDT Extreme Championship - 2 Out of 3 Falls Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) vs. Yuko Miyamoto

This was good, but I didn't feel it reached a high level. They had 30 minutes to work with and yet it feels like they were trying to do too much, it was all over the place. The groin attack spot was a great callback.

***

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Thanks, Merry Christmas (12/23/2017)

1. Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Marika Kobashi

A solid opener. Marika used a couple of new techniques and you get a sense of her growth as a wrestler. Yamashita's workover and kicks were good, liked the backbreaker counter to Marika's springboard bulldog.

**1/4

2. Nonoko vs. Yuki Kamifuku vs. Yuna Manase

This match had a couple of really good moments, the Nonoko-Yuna segments were topnotch. I actually felt Kamifuku gave one of her best performances yet in this match, the finishing run with Nonoko was good.

***

3. Nodoka-oneesan vs. Rika Tatsumi

The crowd rallies strongly behind Nodoka, she is a wonderful underdog. Dig the narratives that Rika is building around the power of her ass and hip attacks. Good match, the crowd support added a lot.

***

4. Maki Ito vs. Yuu

This was a solid match. Maki Ito's limitations in the ring become apparent in singles competition, but I was still compelled by her performance. Yuu's offense looked fucking killer as always.

**1/4

5. Hyper Misao & Maho Kurone vs. NEO Biishiki-gun (Azusa Christie & Saki-sama)

**1/2

6. Mizuki vs. Shoko Nakajima

Didn't feel strongly about this. I did like Mizuki's facelock during the finish, Shoko's flexibility made the move look really brutal.

**

7. Reika Saiki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Another great timeout draw involving Yuka. Miyu might be positioned as the ace, but I think Yuka is the full package. I like the way Reika carries herself, and she knows how to make those big moments count. The first half of this is pure gold, the outside segment has to be one of the best I've seen all year, and all of the cut-offs from Reika were great.

***1/4

Kagetsu Produce - Thank You For Everything (10/28/2017)

1. Hana Kimura & Konami vs Sumire Natsu & Aoi Kizuki

**

2. Dyna Mido vs. Jungle Kyona vs. Yako Fujigasaki

*1/2

3. Kaho Kobayashi vs. Kris Wolf

**3/4

4. Hiroyo Matsumoto & HUB vs. Hikaru Shida & Kohei Sato

***

5. Io Shirai vs. Kagetsu

It's not often you see Kagetsu as the sympathetic figure, but this is her show in her hometown so the crowd rallies behind her. Io has an aggressive workover session where she hits a neckbreaker dragon screw that looked brutal. The second half starts to become paint-by-numbers, especially in the finishing run, but the overall match was strong. Great main event.

***1/4

Misaki Ohata vs. Yuuka (WAVE, 5/17/2016)

WAVE - Young Oh! Oh! 29 (5/17/2016)

Catch the WAVE - Orion Blue Block: Misaki Ohata vs. Yuuka

Ohata ambushes Yuuka before the bell, they get right to it in an action-filled encounter. There are hard hits and a couple of killer suplexes. Yuuka was incredible, the raw emotion in her movements and the way she applies holds. Her strong charisma is what separated her from the rest of the IR juniors.

***3/4

Emi Sakura &「Kotori」vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto & Yuuka (Gatoh Move, 6/22/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・170 (6/22/2016)

Emi Sakura &「Kotori」vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto & Yuuka

This was one of my favorite matches of 2016, and on rewatch I still love it. The energy that these four brought to Korakuen Hall was tremendous. The exchanges between Yuuka and "Kotori" were heated and intense (Yuuka's bullet time dodge always gets a pop out of me), but the magical Emi-Tsukasa segments take the match to new heights.

****1/4

Miyu Yamashita vs. Kazuki Hirata (DDT, 12/1/2017)

DDT - Let's Dare Say That It Is Shin-Kiba (12/1/2017)

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Kazuki Hirata

Hirata seems to enjoy his place in DDT as a comedy act, but man, he's so expressive and charismatic that I think he could be so much more. Yamashita's offense looked crisp, Hirata sold it all well; this was enjoyable. The Genghis Khan dancing spot was very cute.

**3/4

OZ Academy - No End Taboo (12/3/2017)

2. Maya Yukihi vs. Rina Yamashita

**1/4

3. Aoi Kizuki, Kaori Yoneyama, Koharu Hinata & Yumiko Hotta vs. MK4 (AKINO, Kaho Kobayashi, Kakeru Sekiguchi & Sonoko Kato)

***

4. Aja Kong vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

**

5. Sekigun (Alex Lee, Mayumi Ozaki & Yumi Ohka) vs. Hikaru Shida, Moeka Haruhi & Saori Anou

***

6. OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Yoshiko (c) vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki

***1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (12/10/2017)

1. Kaori Yoneyama & Ruaka vs. Natsuko Tora & Starlight Kid

**1/4

2. Rookie of Stardom 2017: Hanan vs. Shiki Shibusawa

***

3. Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami), Jungle Kyona & Mary Apache vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu)

***

4. Bea Priestley, Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK & Momo Watanabe)

**1/2

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship Match: Io Shirai (c) vs. Kelly Klein

Another solid filler defense for Io. The builds and set-ups were good. Klein came across better here than she has in any of the other matches I've seen her in. Io hits a moonsault off of a truck because she can, and shows off her strength with a tombstone piledriver counter.

***

6. Gauntlet Match: Yoko Bito vs. AZM, Hanan, Hiromi Mimura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, HZK, Io Shirai, Jungle Kyona, Kagetsu, Kaori Yoneyama, Konami, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid

***

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom , 12/13/2017)

Stardom - Momoiro Christmas (12/13/2017)

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & Momo Watanabe)

This was an enjoyable match, they kept a good energy going and the crowd was engaged. Tam assists her teammates by spanking QQ with a giant fan. Hana and HZK once again had a great exchange, and Momo looked great.

***

Ice Ribbon - #849 ~ Yokohama Ribbon 2017 ~November~ (11/23/2017)

1. Young Ice Tournament - First Round: Asahi vs. Karen DATE

bad

2. Young Ice Tournament - First Round: Giulia vs. Satsuki Totoro

**1/4

4. Young Ice Tournament - First Round: Hana DATE vs. Matsuya Uno

**

5. Young Ice Tournament - First Round: Maruko Nagasaki vs. Nori DATE

**

6. Ibuki Hoshi, Maya Yukihi & Saori Anou vs. Kyuuri, Nao DATE & Tsukasa Fujimoto

***

7. ICE×∞ Championship: Risa Sera (c) vs. Maika Ozaki

I like that Sera has become this slugger-style wrestler, and Maika has grown a lot as a performer as well. This has an exciting pacing and a good flow, and there were impactful moves (Sera's big boots in particular), but it never reaches that next step that you'd expect from a main event title match.

***

Sendai Girls - Big Show In Osaka (12/2/2017)

3. Heidi Katrina & La Rosa Negra vs. Hana Kimura & Mio Momono

***

4. Aja Kong vs. Cassandra Miyagi

***1/4

5. Chihiro Hashimoto & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Io Shirai & Meiko Satomura

***3/4

6. Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako & KAORU (c) vs. Strong Style Rush (Alex Lee & Mika Shirahime)

***1/2

Risa Sera vs. Akane Fujita, Stan Kobayashi (Abdullah Kobayashi), Daisuke Masaoka, Isami Kodaka, Takashi Sasaki, Takayuki Ueki, Yuko Miyamoto, Jun Kasai & Abdullah Kobayashi (Risa Sera Produce 4, 11/14/2017)

Risa Sera Produce 4 - Last Death Match (11/14/2017)

60 Minute Iron Woman Gauntlet Death Match: Risa Sera vs. Akane Fujita, Stan Kobayashi (Abdullah Kobayashi), Daisuke Masaoka, Isami Kodaka, Takashi Sasaki, Takayuki Ueki, Yuko Miyamoto, Jun Kasai & Abdullah Kobayashi

Sera takes her death match gauntlet to its biggest stage in Korakuen Hall. I thought the work was generally good, it breezes through those 60-minutes. I wasn't into the Akane segment, but it picks up when Kasai is in there, and Abby keeps that momentum going. I didn't feel this added anything fresh or new to the Risa Sera death match series, but it was still a lot of fun.

***

Guanchulo vs. Kenny Omega (DDT, 5/6/2014)

DDT - Road To Ryogoku In Yamagata ~ Dramatic Dream Tamakonnyaku (5/6/2014)

Guanchulo vs. Kenny Omega

I didn't expect anything too strong from this being that it was the opener of the show. They both played up their wacky gaijin personas, clowning around with silly strikes. Omega stops fucking around and zeroes in on the mid-section. It's a nice, aggressive workover. The finish had little build, Omega hits Croyt's Wrath and that's that. OK match.

**

Kenny Omega vs. Michael Nakazawa (DDT, 2/28/2013)

DDT - KO-D Openweight Championship One Match Box Office (2/28/2013)

KO-D Openweight Championship - Last Man Standing Falls Count Anywhere Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Michael Nakazawa

This is the match that redeems Michael Nakazawa's career. Never been a fan of the guy, but holy shit. He was willing to go through so much punishment. Omega was putting a hurting on him, getting the crowd to rally behind the ultimate underdog. The wrestling is ultra violent; both guys get busted open hard way. They fight as if they have a death wish. There's a sequence where Omega is hitting Nakazawa with repeated unprotected chair shots that almost took me out of the action. Excellent match, not for the faint of heart.

*****

Tokyo Joshi Pro - I Tighten My Helmet and Leave for Korakuen (12/10/2017)

1. Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuki Kamifuku

*

2. Hyper Misao & Yuu vs. Super Milk Combination (Nonoko & Yuna Manase)

**

3. Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Great match, it's a timeout draw so they're taking it slow, but I thought they made the 'filler' feel meaningful. The crowd bought into the near-falls and submission struggles, and these two build to a hot finish.

***1/4

4. Shoko Nakajima & Marika Kobashi vs. NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-Sama & Azusa Christie)

Azusa has returned as NEO Biishiki-gun's newest member, Azusa Christie, after getting kidnapped by Yukio Saint Laurent. I like how she is presented as a real threat. Her attire is mindblowing (!). Marika was a good heat magnet for Biishiki-gun, the way they were working her over was fun.

**1/2

5. Reika Saiki & Maho Kurone vs. Miyu Yamashita & Nodoka-oneesan

Muscle Waifu & Zombie Waifu are a strange pairing. I don't have a lot to say about this one, it's what you'd expect. Solid prelude to Saiki/Miyu.

**1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (12/3/2017)

1. Hiromi Mimura vs. Ruaka

Hiromi's shouto gimmick is the best. Early in the year, I wondered if she would ever find what she needs and here it is. Her growth is what joshi puroresu is all about. Solid stuff here. Ruaka's a solid worker, I was impressed with what I saw.

**1/2

2. Hanan vs. Konami

It's been a while since Konami has had a singles match. Hana has bandages on her lower back, I hope she's doing okay. Hanan hit her throws. Konami worked the leg, her offense looked crisp and painful. She wins with a vicious knee bar. Couple of awkward spots, but this was a decent little match.

**

3. Mari Apache vs. Shiki Shibusawa vs. Starlight Kid

**1/4

4. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Sumire Natsu) vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora) & Yoko Bito

Oedo Tai are on such a great run right now, loved this.

***1/2

5. Elimination: Bea Priestley, Chardonnay, Kelly Klein & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

This was an enjoyable main event. Momo was the last survivor on her team and got a good spotlight. The ending was super awkward, there seemed to be timing issues between Momo and Kelly. It's unfortunate because Kelly was supposed to be put over like a monster here heading into her match with Io, but the awkwardness made her look like a goof. Fun match overall, though.

**3/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (11/26/2017)

2. Sumire Natsu vs. Shiki Shibusawa

This is the first time Shiki has shown an edge against an opponent, she uses a chokehold and smudges Sumire's make up with a dirty cloth. Sumire was talking a lot of trash and drawing so much heat in this match, she's a wonderful heel.

**3/4

3. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Hiromi Mimura, Konami & Starlight Kid

**1/4

4. Queen's Quest (HZK, Momo Watanabe & AZM) vs. Kelly Klein, Bea Priestley & Scarlett Bordeaux

**1/4

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Chardonnay

I thought this was fine. Io was good, she sold the leg work well, Chardonnay stuck to the basics which made her side of things not so interesting. There is a moment towards the end where Chardonnay's going hold-to-hold with leg-targeting submissions that was nice, if only she had worked that way from the start.

**1/4

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 7/16/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・300 (7/16/2017)

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno

Enjoyable clash between Emi Sakura's veteran and rookie students. The intensity from Konno as she was locking in those submission holds was great, she looked like a real killer. I wonder where she learned these lucha libre llaves. Aasa's sessions with Riho and「Kotori」were full energy and a lot of fun, some of the stuff looked contrived, but I respect the creativity.

***

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Natsu Sumire) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 11/25/2017)

Stardom - Best of the Goddesses (11/25/2017)

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

The Oedo Tai in-fighting is super fun and has added an interesting dynamic to their matches. All of the pairings here were great and everyone did their thing -- there's a hard-hitting segment between Hana and HZK that I was especially into. Great main event for an otherwise weak show.

***1/4

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rina Yamashita (WAVE, 11/15/2017)

WAVE - Weekday WAVE Vol. 111.5 (11/15/2017)

Regina di WAVE Championship #1 Contendership Tournament - Semi-Finals: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rina Yamashita

This is the most impressive Nozaki has looked since returning. She was going at it with Rina. Her movements and emotes are always striking to me, and she is very calculating with that sleeper hold. Yamashita held the match together, and they crafted a great story around Nozaki's dangerous sleeper.

***1/2

Stardom - Best of the Goddesses (11/19/2017)

2. Konami, Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora)

***

3. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

**

4. Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM & HZK)

**1/4

5. Hiromi Mimura vs. Sumire Natsu

**

6. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) (c) vs. Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein

I like the image of Hana & Kagetsu holding the gold, but I haven't been impressed by their reign so far. This match was a step in the right direction. Klein & Bea's workover session was good, and the crowd was strongly behind Oedo Tai (even though they were cheating!). Good match.

***

7. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Io Shirai

Bito announced her retirement shortly after this match and you could see that she was very emotional, but I still felt her performance was lacking. Her strikes were great, Io sold them like crazy, but I didn't find her compelling. Io on the other hand was incredible, her counter to the B Driver was brilliant. I'm interested in her as White Belt champ again. Solid main event; nothing outstanding.

***

OZ Academy - Yokohama Undersea Unexplored Expedition (10/29/2017)

4. Hikaru Shida vs. Rina Yamashita

If Rina wins with the Splash Mountain, she will inherit the move from Dynamite Kansai (who was watching on commentary). Shida ambushes Rina at the start and tries to hit the move herself -- this was the highlight of the match. Shida's workover could have been better, and Rina's comeback felt completely empty. The pacing was off, too. Disappointing match. They had a much better one in WAVE last year.

bad

6. OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: MK4 (AKINO & Kaho Kobayashi) (c) vs. Maya Yukihi & Mayumi Ozaki

This the typical Sekigun match full of fuckery and violence. Mitsuhisa Sunabe running in to help Ozaki at the end was hilarious. Maya-obachan becomes a double champion, having won of the Ice Ribbon tag championship earlier in the day. Good moment.

**3/4

7. OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto (c) vs. Yoshiko

Standard Hiroyo style main event with back and forth movez, but Yoshiko is an interesting enough opponent to make things feel fresh (for me, anyway). Hiroyo's trying everything to hold on to her belt, digging deeper within her moveset and going back to the drawing board a couple of times, but Yoshiko keeps returning fire. There's a strong sense of struggle; good selling too.

***1/2

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Smile YES Shinjuku (11/23/2017)

1. Maho Kurone vs. Yuki Kamifuku

The work was much better in this match than their previous match, the character work, I mean... once they got to the wrestling portion, it lost me.

*1/2

2.  Ito Respect Army (Maki Ito & Mizuki) vs. Nodoka-oneesan & Marika Kobashi

**

3. Hyper Misao vs. Rika Tatsumi

***

4. Saki-sama vs. Azusa Takigawa

**1/2

5. TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship Next Challenger & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship: Yuu (c) vs. Miyu Yamashita

Yuu is on another level when it comes to making her offense look legit. I was wincing at some of the things she was doing to her opponent. Miyu went through hell, her chest reddened from Yuu's chops. She fought hard for the comeback and it felt earned. What a match.

****1/2

6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championship: MiraClians (Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima) (c) vs. Super Milk Combination (Nonoko & Yuna Manase)

Fun match between two fun teams. I thought the boob double teams were clever. I didn't feel strongly about the closer between Shoko and Nonoko, would've been much better if Yuka was there. I think she could have put together a more compelling finishing run. Good match, still.

***

Sendai Girls (11/17/2017)

1. Ami Sato vs. Manami

**1/4

3. Alex Lee, Ami Sato & Hikaru Shida vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, La Rosa Negra & Mio Momono

***

4. Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

When I read this only went 4-minutes, I was psyched. They were making all of their offense count, there's hard slaps and head-sweeping kicks and boots, and a shoot headbutt from Hana that sounded disgusting. Hana showed some barbarism in this, she tries to take Shirahime's face off with a Bakatare Sliding Kick, and ends the match with a rough-looking knee strike. 

***1/4

5. Aja Kong & Meiko Satomura vs. Ayako Hamada & Chihiro Hashimoto

Chihiro gets brought back to reality in this match, taking a beating from two legends she has defeated this year. Good struggle, good match.

***1/4

6. Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako & KAORU (c) vs. Cassandra Miyagi & Heidi Katrina

***

Ice Ribbon - #845 ~ Oktober Ice Ribbon Fest (10/29/2017)

1. Giulia & Takako Inoue vs. Nao DATE & Satsuki Totoro

**1/4

3. Kyuuri & Matsuya Uno vs. Natsumi Maki & Tae Honma

***

4. Arisa Nakajima & Manami Toyota vs. Hana DATE & Tsukasa Fujimoto

****

5. Regina Di WAVE Championship: Misaki Ohata (c) vs. Maruko Nagasaki

**

6. ICE×∞ Championship #1 Contendership Four Way: Akane Fujita vs. Hiiragi Kurumi vs. Maika Ozaki vs. Nori DATE

What a wild ride, I did not expect this from a joshi 4WAY. It was non-stop bomb throwing. Maika and Nori close the match after the other two are eliminated, and I thought they delivered big. I was so proud of Maika when she got the win, big moment for her career.

****

7. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (vacant) Tournament - Finals: Azure Revolution (Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera) vs. Lovely Butchers (Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi)

Great main event. They kept things moving and the action was hard-hitting and enjoyable. Maya-obachan no-selling a Styles Clash was ridiculous, but I didn't feel it hurt the match. Excellent work. Everyone worked hard.

****

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Cassandra Miyagi (Sendai Girls, 11/5/2017)

Sendai Girls (11/5/2017)

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

I know these two are capable of a much grander championship match, but this was good, an improvement over the match they had in Korakuen last year. They've developed better chemistry. Cassandra was using kicks and armbars to do damage, and Chihiro was making her comebacks with power moves and sentons. I liked the tombstone tease early in the match and the way Chihiro counters it. Good match, they'll have a great one some day.

***1/2

SEAdLINNNG - d-Higher (10/18/2017)

4. Arisa Nakajima vs. La Rosa Negra

It's nice to see Arisa working singles again. I didn't feel Negra had any chance of winning, but she played her part as the sub-boss to whatever they have planned for Arisa in December. The way she sold Arisa's offense was great; she was getting demolished by those suplexes.

***

5. Ryo Mizunami, Saki Akai & Sareee vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Rina Yamashita & Yoshiko

This was Sareee's farewell from the D. Although she will still be working with them as an outsider. This had good energy, an upbeat pacing. Yoshiko's building heat with Saki Akai, but the highlight was her lariat battle with Mizunami. I loved their WAVE match last year, I hope they meet in singles again someday. Kaho was also a standout. Great main event.

***1/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/12/2017)

2. Shiki Shibusawa vs. Starlight Kid

What you'd expect from this match-up, but maybe a little bit better. Shiki was blasting the hell out of Starlight Kid with those dropkicks. There were a couple of awkward moments, but I thought this was a fine junior match.

**

4. New Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami) & Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora) vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu)

This was a fantastic debut for Sumire, she fits so well alongside the colorful characters in Oedo Tai. Hiromi is a perfect target for her, their heat-building was brilliant. Hana and Tamu are not getting along with the newest addition to the stable so there was also a relevos increibles element to this match that was amusing. Hot crowd, quality brawling and comedy.

***1/4

5. Four on Three Handicap Match: Bea Priestley, Kelly Klein & Yoko Bito vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

Man, this turned out to be really great. Mari had some travel issues so it was made a 3-on-4 handicap match. Bito's team was at a disadvantage, but they were putting up one hell of a fight. The Bito-Io segments were smashing; Io's answer to the B Driver was neat. Fantastic main event.

***1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/05/2017)

2. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

AZM & Starlight Kid should team up more after this tournament; they make a good pair of tricksters.

**

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu w/ Michiko Ohmukai) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai)

Ohmukai is supporting Oedo Tai in this match and she made her presence felt. Kagetsu accidentally painted her face blue with her poison mist in a very cool spot. This had great brawling, and I like the sadism shown by Oedo Tai when they pull Io's legs open. HZK's always showing improvement, adding new things to her arsenal, like the springboard dropkick she hits here.  Good match.

***

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 - Finals: Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein vs. Jungle Kyona & Yoko Bito

I thought this was a solid main event, even though I didn't particularly care for either team. They worked a fast pace and the action was generally good. Bea hits a sunset flip on Kyona from the second rope that was sold like DEATH, strong way to close the tournament.

**3/4

WAVE - Sunday WAVE vol.33 (10/22/2017)

1. Three on One Gauntlet: Ryo Mizunami vs. Arisa Nakajima, Miyuki Takase & Miki Tanaka

This opens with one hell of a clash between Mizunami and Nakajima. Miyuki was alright, interested in seeing how she develops. Tanaka might have had a breakout performance here, she got over with her comedy act. She tries to melt Mizunami's costume with an iron (!). Great way to start the show.

***1/4

3. ASUKA & Hikaru Shida vs. Nagisa Nozaki & Yuki Miyazaki

**1/2

4. Rina Yamashita & Boss to Mammy (Yumi Ohka &  Mio Momono) vs. Moeka Haruhi & NEW-TRA (Rin Kadokura & Takumi Iroha)

***

5. Regina di WAVE Championship: Misaki Ohata (c) vs. Hiroe Nagahama

I thought Ohata would pull something out of Nagahama, but that did not happen. Instead, she smothered Nagahama in an aggressive way, not allowing her to mount much offense. Nagahama's comebacks were weak -- she's still in the dropkick phase despite having wrestled for 3 years. Fortunately, she didn't get much. One thing I can credit Nagahama for is her flexibility; Ohata was really cranking back on those submission holds. This was high end junior punishment.

***1/2

WAVE - NEW CHAPTER (9/17/2017)

1. DUAL SHOCK WAVE 2017 - Round #1 - TLC Match: Pyonzu, 's (SAKI & Kyusei Sakura Hirota) vs. Natsu & Natsuri (Natsu Sumire & Maki Natsumi)

N/A

2. DUAL SHOCK WAVE 2017, Quarter Final - Y-Shirt Lumberjack Match: Natsu Sumire and Maki Natsumi vs. KUSO ONNA NIGHT (Yuki Miyazaki & Nagisa Nozaki)

**1/4

3. DUAL SHOCK WAVE 2017, Semi Final - 2-Count Rules Match: So on Flowers (Moeka Haruhi & Aoi Kizuki) vs. Gokigen BBA (Kaori Yoneyama & Cherry)

*

4. DUAL SHOCK WAVE 2017, Semi Final - Slow Motion Rules Match: BOSS to Mammy (Yumi Ohka & Mio Momono) vs. Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami)

Good tag match; slo-mo sequence was brilliant. Momo-tan continues to look impressive.

***

5. DUAL SHOCK WAVE 2017, Final - Submission Match: BOSS to Mammy (Yumi Ohka & Mio Momono) vs. NEW-TRA (Takumi Iroha & Rin Kadokura)

This was an enjoyable match, nothing memorable. I have no idea what they've done to DUAL SHOCK WAVE this year, last year's was incredible.

**1/4

6. Cabellera (Mitsuo Momota) Contra Cabellera (GAMI): Fairy Nipponbashi & Chikara (w/ Mitsuo Momota) & vs. Kendo Kashin & Hikaru Shida (w/ GAMI)

DUD

7. WAVE Tag Team Championship: Big Rice Field (Hiroe Nagahama & Kaho Kobayashi) (c) vs. NEW-TRA (Takumi Iroha & Rin Kadokura)

NEW-TRA were fun to watch, Iroha's kicks and the double teams. The champions barely had any presence here, the challengers outshined them completely.

**1/4

8. Regina di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita (c) vs. ASUKA

Good match, it felt like it lost steam a bit, but then they picked things back up via stiffness. ASUKA hits a gnarly German suplex.

***

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/04/2017)

2. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

MOMO'S BACK! This was her return from an ACL injury. She was a little rusty, but she showed that she could still move and deliver those middle kicks. Her new attire is amazing, really happy to see her back.

**1/2

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Scarlett & Chardonnay vs. Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami)

Chardonnay has a great look, but she's bland as a performer. Scarlett has interesting moves, though she doesn't execute them properly most of the time.

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura) vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

Kagetsu's first match as a member of the Stardom roster. The crowd is very into Oedo Tai, they are riding a wave of momentum and it creates a special feel to their matches. Shibusawa gave one heck of an underdog performance in the closer, scoring a near-fall on Kagetsu. Good stuff.

***1/2

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK)

AZM & Starlight Kid focus on HZK and try their best to keep Io out of the equation. Starlight Kid was impressive here, she nearly dies taking a packaged German from Io. It was frightening to watch. Awesome little match.

***1/4

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley vs. Yoko Bito & Jungle Kyona

bad

WAVE - Weekday WAVE Vol. 109 (7/18/2017)

1. Moeka Haruhi & Natsu Sumire vs. Natsumi Maki & SAKI

**1/4

2. Keisuke Goto vs. Yasu Urano

Another enjoyable Keisuke Goto match.

**1/2

3. Fairy Nipponbashi vs. Mika Iida

Cutest match of the year.

***

4. Ayako Hamada & Hiroe Nagahama vs. Gokigen BBA (Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama)

This match was alright, Hamada was the workhorse and really carrying it.

**1/4

5. ASUKA, Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami vs. Rina Yamashita, Yuki Miyazaki & Yumi Ohka

This was spectacular trios match with fast-paced action and classic WAVE silliness; Miyazaki brings a LADDER into the equation in a way that totally worked.

****

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (10/29/2017)

1. Hanan vs. Kris Wolf

*

2. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Ruaka

**

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Hiromi Mimura & Konami

This was a match. The finish was all over the place.

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Jungle Kyona & Yoko Bito vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

Bito & Kyona have surprisingly chemistry for a team that was thrown together, their double team sequences are fun to watch. Best match of Shiki's career so far.

***

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai)

Not a bad match.

**

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu)

Solid. Klein still feels like a waste of size, but she got in a couple of good hits and power moves. Bea is probably the best gaijin I have seen as far as execution goes, she got a reaction with her movez. Crowd was really into Oedo Tai.

**3/4

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Girls Fight Out #6 (10/29/2017)

2. Ito Respect Army (Maki Ito & Mizuki) vs. Yuki Kamifuki & Yuna Manase

Yuna needs to improve that Raiden Drop. She's probably afraid of hurting her opponents, but come on, it has no impact. Kamifuku performed well.

**

3. Nodoka-oneesan vs. Saki-sama

Good one-sided beatdown. I could watch Saki-sama's control segments all day, that paradise lock into the PK is wicked.

***1/4

4. Nonoko vs. Shoko Nakajima

Shoko is becoming my least favorite TJPW performer to watch, her offense is sloppy and weak and she hasn't shown any signs of improvement. Nonoko's portion was good, the Oppai Driver is an awesome move.

**

5. Azusa Takigawa, Miyu Yamashita & Reika Saiki vs. Rika Tatsumi, Yuka Sakazaki & Yuu

This was a solid build for Reika/Tatsumi. Miyu had fucking awesome segments with Yuka and Yuu; Yuka was out to steal the show as always. Azusa was awful, but I'm happy that she got to main event. She was over. Good main event.

***

Misaki Ohata vs. Yuki Miyazaki (WAVE, 9/10/2017)

WAVE - Kobe WAVE ~Revenge~ (9/10/2017)

Hardcore Match: Misaki Ohata vs. Yuki Miyazaki

I thought this was a well-orchestrated hardcore match. They knew how to make the spots feel organic, for the most part... towards the end it felt like they were just cramming in high spots that didn't need to be there. Both bled buckets and took shots to the head, this was as brutal as it gets.

***3/4

WAVE - Saint October (10/9/2017)

2. Moeka Haruhi vs. Yoshiko

Decent match, heatless, but Haruhi showed strong emotion.

**1/2

7. Nagisa Nozaki vs. Ryo Mizunami

Mizunami was overconfident and doing her thing, and Nagisa puts her to bed with a sleeper in under 2 minutes. I feel like this would have been so much better in front of a hot crowd, but I still got something out of it.

***

8. Regina di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita (c) vs. Misaki Ohata

This didn't feel much different than their previous matches, save for a couple of sequences. The Black Dahlia reversal from the Splash Mountain was amazing. Crowd was dead as usual which brought things down. 

***

Hikaru Shida vs. Kana (Hikaru Shida Produce, 9/6/2014)

Hikaru Shida Produce: Go Ass Train! ~ Azalea Taisho Wire Edition (9/6/2014)

Hikaru Shida vs. Kana

This was a fierce dogfight to determine who has the strongest ass in joshi puroresu. Hip attacks were in abundance. The match started to lose steam a bit towards the middle, and ending was the most basic of puroresu finishes, but there is still enjoyment to be found here -- it is ass-based offense at its finest.

***

Yuu Yamagata vs. Hikaru Shida (WAVE, 7/6/2016)

WAVE - Summer Games (7/6/2016)

Regina di WAVE Championship: Yuu Yamagata (c) vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida's targeting the midsection and Yamagata's zeroing in on the leg. The selling was excellent. Shida tries the Majo no Ichigeki (second rope fireman's carry drop onto the turnbuckle) on an unexposed turnbuckle and the WAVE roster is arguing for the referee to stop her. Excellent match.

***3/4

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Smile YES Shinkiba (11/3/2017)

1. Shoko Nakajima vs. Yuki Kamifuku

Kamifuku is learning how to move around the ring better and is wearing smaller cutoff shorts, that's all I got from this. Not a good match.

*

2. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Ito vs. Yuu & Marika Kobashi

The sequence between Yuu and Ito was gripping. I thought Ito could pull it off.

**1/4

3. Azusa Takigawa vs. Nodoka-oneesan

*

4. Saki-sama vs. Mizuki

The struggle that Mizuki was facing was well-told, and Saki-sama's workovers are always compelling. That little interaction between Sama and Ito was great, they need a match together.

***

5. Yuka Sakazaki & Maho Kurone vs. Super Milk Combination (Nonoko & Yuna Manase)

Amazing debut for Super Milk Combination. Yuna looked really motivated, and Nonoko and Yuka were good as always. Maho is obviously the designated fall person, but she was fighting hard. That headscissors counter into the Oppai Driver from Nonoko was nuts. Good stuff.

***3/4

6. TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship: Reika Saiki (c) vs. Rika Tatsumi

Rika has been building the strength of her hip attacks and they were a serious threat to Saiki's title. There's a cool spot where Reika counters one with a kick and ends up hurting herself. This was fantastic; the crowd was hot and the action was engaging and full of emotion.

****1/2

WAVE - 10th Anniversary『CARNIVAL WAVE～NEVER ENDING STORY～』(8/12/2017)

1. WAVE Tag Team Championship: Gokigen BBA (Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama) (c) vs. Big Rice Field (Hiroe Nagahama & Kaho Kobayashi)

*1/4

3. Fairy Nipponbashi, Hibiscus Mii, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru & Sakura Hirota vs. Hana Kimura, Hikaru Shida, Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura

**1/4

4. Aoi Kizuki & Nagisa Nozaki vs. Mika Iida & Yuki Miyazaki

**3/4

6. Ayako Hamada, Meiko Satomura & Nanae Takahashi vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Satsuki Totoro & Takumi Iroha

Satomura and Nanae do a smashing job of bringing heat into this match. This is the best I have seen from Iroha all year; loved the back and forth slapping.

***3/4

7. Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami)

Enjoyable, fast-moving spotfest; these two teams have amazing chemistry. There were some unique counters and the double Hot Limit was great.

***1/2

8. Regina di WAVE Championship: Rina Yamashita (c) vs. Yoshiko

It feels surreal to watch a joshi event that takes place in the same venue Okada and Tiger Mask W fought in. This borrowed a lot from the SEAdLINNNG match, but since this is Rina's turf she was the focus of this story. The action was intense and hard-hitting, and the closing lariat battle was epic.

****1/4

9. ASUKA vs. Yumi Ohka

This went a little longer than it needed to be, but it was good. There were fluid sequences and counters, and ASUKA showing her freakish athleticism. Ohka brought it in this match, I was very impressed by her since she can be mediocre a lot of the time. It felt like it peaked somewhere in the second act; could've used some trimming, but still a great main event.

***3/4

WAVE - Be Exciting! (7/2/2017)

6. WAVE Tag Team Championship: Over Sun (Yuki Miyazaki & Yumi Ohka) (c) vs. Gokigen BBA (Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama)

For some reason BBA really want to be put in Miyazaki's Embarrassment Hold, and there was a creative moment where Yoneyama tries to force herself into it. Miyaki also does an inverted version of the move on Cherry, which looked cool as fuck. Probably making this match sound better than it actually was... it was very, very boring other than Miyazaki.

*

7. Regina di WAVE Championship: Ryo Mizunami (c) vs. Rina Yamashita

This was mostly action with almost no emotional depth, and there is nothing wrong with that when the action is fresh... but this was nothing I haven't seen from these two before. Still a solid enough slugfest, though, they were trading bombs, and Yamashita's cracks herself open with a headbutt.

***

WAVE - Weekday WAVE Vol. 108 (6/22/2017)

1. ASUKA vs. Mika Iida

Damn, this was good. IIda was either legimately hurting or doing a great job selling -- in any case, she did a fantastic job putting over ASUKA. They were roughhousing and stiffing the hell out of each other.

***3/4

2. Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama & Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama & Misaki Ohata

**3/4

3. Isami Kodaka vs. Keisuke Goto

Goto's turning into a solid wrestler, and he seems easy to work off of. He actually had Kodaka's number towards the end, but the veteran caught him lacking.

***

5. Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

Solid heavyweight showdown. I didn't think it reached that 'next level', but they were trading some hard smacks.

***

6. 2 out of 3 Falls: Kyuuri & Mio Momono vs. Over Sun (Yuki Miyazaki & Yumi Ohka)

Enjoyed this a lot, Over Sun are such a fun team.

***1/4

7. Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

What an awesome match, it breezes through those 20 minutes. Shida was working over Mizunami in brutal fashion -- seriously, the outside brawl was one of the best I've seen this year. Those chair-punts to the face of Mizunami were wicked. I really like how Shida has been utilizing those knee strikes lately, they look and sound amazing. Mizunami was struggling to survive, picking her spots when she could and making it count. Fantastic match.

****1/2

Stardom - Mask Fiesta 2017 (10/29/2017)

1. Bear Cat (Hanan) vs. Kikimaru (Ruaka) vs. Starlight Kid

**

2. Nightmare Demon (Bea Priestley) & Lady Punk (Kelly Klein) vs. Sweet and Spicy (Chardonnay) & Spindra (Scarlett)

This match was fun, it helped that they were playing wacky characters.

**1/4

3. Fairy God Jungle (Jungle Kyona), Shiki Melody (Shiki Shibusawa) & Viola Tiger (Natsuko Tora) vs. Gakirou (Kris Wolf), Gekkimaru (Kagetsu) & Kikahime (Hana Kimura)

Jungle Kyona is doing a Fairy Nipponbashi gimmick where she has a magic wand that flips people and stops time -- she was fucking amazing here. It gives you a sense of just how charismatic she is. There's a hilarious moment where she beats the hell out of P-Chan and Tamu's too busy distracting the official to notice.

***

4. Aloha Bito (Yoko Bito), Masked Wan-chan (Konami) & Shout Woman (Hiromi Mimura) vs. Chupa Panda (HZK), IOTICA (Io Shirai) & Mini IOTICA (AZM)

Good and fun vibes everywhere, I loved every second.

****

WAVE - Catch THE WAVE 2017 ~ Namijo Kesshosen (6/4/2017)

2. Catch THE WAVE 2017 - Semi Finals: Rina Yamashita vs. Rin Kadokura

Another Kadokura match that reaches the 15-minute mark... FFS! This one was good, though. They played up the tension of Kadokura being seemingly unbeatable since she hasn't been pinned.

***1/4

3. Catch THE WAVE 2017 - Semi Finals: Misaki Ohata vs. Sareee

***1/2

7. Catch The WAVE 2017 - Finals: Misaki Ohata vs. Rina Yamashita

***3/4

WAVE - Weekday WAVE Vol. 107 (5/10/2017)

1. Catch THE WAVE 2017: Hiroe Nagahama vs. SAKI

DUD

2. Catch THE WAVE 2017 Other Than Block: Mochi Miyagi vs. Rin Kadokura

***1/4

3. Catch THE WAVE 2017: Rina Yamashita vs. Sareee

***1/2

4. Catch THE WAVE 2017 ZABUN Block: Misaki Ohata vs. Moeka Haruhi

***3/4

Hyper Misao vs. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 7/9/2016)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Kasukabe Love Rin (7/9/2016)

Tokyo Princess Cup 2016 - First Round: Hyper Misao vs. Miyu Yamashita

Great match, Hyper Misao shows that she can work a singles main event. Granted, she was in there with Miyu Yamashita, who is probably the most sound wrestler in TJPW, but Misao brought it in terms of execution/emotion. 

***1/2

DDT - Uchikomi! Presents Road to Ryogoku 2017 (7/23/2017)

2. Makoto Oishi & Yoshiko vs. Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai

Good match, Saki looked great and I was into everything Yoshiko did.

**1/2

5. KO-D Tag Team Championship: YaroZ (Kazusada Higuchi & Shigehiro Irie) (c) vs. DAMNATION (Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie)

This was packed with action, really great big boys clash.

***3/4

6. DDT Extreme Championship - Ladder Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) vs. Joey Ryan

The dick spots were well played and I liked how they built around them, and the spike lollipop and LEGOs were a lot of fun. Joey's an underrated brawler, dude was throwing nice punches.

***1/4

7. KO-D Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Keisuke Ishii

Takeshita was holding his own, but this was Ishii's story, he was giving it all he had, zeroing in on the neck and answering almost everything Takeshita threw at him. The escalation in this match was amazing, it gets really heated and emotional towards the end. Terrific match.

****1/2

8. KO-D Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Naomi Yoshimura

After defending the belt, Takeshita has to deal with an orange steamroller named Naomi Yoshimura who has cashed in his Right-to-Challenge contract. This was good, they were throwing bombs and Takeshita gets powerbombed through a table. Really put Yoshimura over as a beast.

***1/4

Stardom - Taiwan (10/21/2017)

1. Natsuko Tora vs. Shiki Shibusawa

**

2. Chardonnay vs. HZK vs. Konami

**3/4

3. Kelly Klein & Scarlett vs. Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona)

**1/2

4. SWA World Championship / World of Stardom Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Bea Priestley

bad

5. Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai & Yoko Bito vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Kris Wolf)

***

HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito (Stardom, 11/27/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars (11/27/2016)

HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito

This was the debut of the unit that would become known as "Queen's Quest", the first in a series of awesome trios involving them. The heat between Mayu and Io was tremendous, with Io's final boss aura adding to the drama. HZK and Bito have a really cool segment, and Momo, the junior of the group, was a great bully. Everyone looked amazing in an awesome match.

***3/4

Hiromi Mimura vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Natsuko Tora (Stardom, 11/23/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars (11/23/2016)

Hiromi Mimura vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Natsuko Tora

This was Momo's first match after turning and becoming a member of Queen's Quest. It's interesting to see the change in character while she's still wearing her face gear. Match was alright... I miss Hiromi's old attire.

**1/4

「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.

***

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

Ice Ribbon - #838 ~ Yokohama Ribbon 2017 ~Autumn~ (9/23/2017)

5. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship Tournament - First Round: Azure Revolution (Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera) vs. TeamDATE (Karen DATE & Nori DATE)

This was a good match. TeamDATE is improving a lot, some of the things they were doing here looked incredibly smooth. Azure Revolution showed off a couple of new combinations.

***1/2

6. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship Tournament - First Round: Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono)

Mabudachi were little shits in this match, showing a lack of respect for Arisa & Tsukasa and getting punished in return. There's good rookie punishment here. Arisa's always a pro at manufacturing heat. Really awesome tag with great double teams, counters and near-falls.

****

Mitsuru Konno vs. Riho (Gatoh Move, 6/11/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・295 (6/11/2017)

Mitsuru Konno vs. Riho

Good! Riho playing the bully was highly entertaining (and cute!), she was teaching poor Konno a lesson. Konno had a couple of neat counters; her comebacks could have been stronger, but they were decent enough. The matwork was enjoyable, and I thought the submission struggle finish was great.

***

Akane Fujita vs. Maya Yukihi (Ice Ribbon, 6/29/2017)

Ice Ribbon - #813 (6/29/2017)

Akane Fujita vs. Maya Yukihi

Great strikefest -- it's a 10 minute draw and they spent most of that time trading strikes. Maya-obachan was chopping away at Akane with kicks, and Akane came back with heavy offense of her own. Lots of hard smacks. Good.

***

Hamuko Hoshi & Ibuki Hoshi vs. This is Ice Ribbon (Hiiragi Kurumi & Tsukushi) (Ice Ribbon, 6/11/2017)

Ice Ribbon - #809 ~ Sapporo Ribbon 2017 (6/11/2017)

International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (vacant): Hamuko Hoshi & Ibuki Hoshi vs. This is Ice Ribbon (Hiiragi Kurumi & Tsukushi)

This was Ibuki's debut and I thought she did great, especially for a 20-minute main event. Hamuko puts on an endearing performance, carrying the load of her team and guiding her daughter. Tsukushi & Kurumi were brilliant as always. Some damn fine tag team wrestling.

***3/4