Hikaru Shida vs. Neko Nitta (Ice Ribbon, 9/14/2012)

Ice Ribbon - 19'O Clock Girls Pro Wrestling #132 (9/14/2012)

IW19 Title #1 Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: Hikaru Shida vs. Neko Nitta

Loved this. Starts off feeling disjointed, but it gained focus when Nitta starts working the leg, and Shida sold tremendously, still delivering her knees, but in a weakened state. When Nitta hits a dead end, she uses her craftiness and speed. Shida proved to be just as cunning, stopping Nitta in her tracks by grabbing her tail. All around high IQ grappling. This was sweet.

****

Manami Toyota vs. Sakie Hasegawa (AJW, 3/20/1996)

AJW - HIGHEST'96 (3/20/1996)

Manami Toyota vs. Sakie Hasegawa

Hasegawa's retirement road. The crowd was heavily invested and the aura that created took this to a different dimension. Saki hits these rolling sovats that result in crazy dramatic near-falls. The ending was pretty flat.. there's a botched avalanche sunset flip and they go straight for the finish, but there was fine grappling leading up to it.

***3/4

Yumi Ohka vs. Fairy Nipponbashi (WAVE, 12/4/2013)

WAVE - Weekday Wave Vol. 69 (12/4/2013)

Yumi Ohka vs. Fairy Nipponbashi

Something of a dream match since Ohka is in her old fairy idol gimmick. They battle with magic wands, Yumi fights dirty with cheap shots to Nipponbashi. Hearing Ohka recite spells with her husky voice was cute. Fun match with throwbacks and impeccable comedic timing.

***1/2

Stardom - Stardom of Champions 2017 (2/23/2017)

2. Konami vs. Yoko Bito

I was thrilled when this match was announced, somewhat disappointed that it was featured in the low card, but I got what I wanted out of it. These two traded savage kicks like you'd want them to and the height difference made for an interesting dynamic.

***

3. SWA World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo

lol

4. High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Kagetsu vs. Kris Wolf

This was tons of fun and fast and furious action, they string the multi-person spots together really well.

***

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) vs. Jungle Kyona

Kyona brings a gravitas that made this match feel special. She's a pro at letting her emotions bleed out. She works over Hojo's mid-section to set up for her gutwrench moves and takes some hard smacks in the process. This was an emotional bout right down to the finish; fine drama and hard hits.

****1/2

6. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Shayna Baszler

There's a confusing moment where Shayna finally captures Io in her sleeper - the very hold that put Io to sleep prior to this match - and the ref makes her break it rather than calling for the bell. He ended up costing her the title! It threw the narrative, that being Io avoiding this deadly sleeper, out completely... the hell were they thinking? That said, Bazler knocking Io silly was enjoyable.

***

Stardom - Premium Star Wars in Nagoya (6/5/2016)

4. Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jungle Kyona

Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall is an immersive venue. This was great; huge hip attacks, open-handed slaps and heavy grappling between burly young lions.

***3/4

5. High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Kagetsu

The action was fast, the kicks were swift and precise, and all of the counters they did were really fluid. Mayu gives Kagetsu a taste of her own medicine with a traffic sign to the head. It was a satisfying end to this chapter of their feud.

***1/2

6. Io Shirai & Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura & Mika Iwata

Iwata's hair goes wild as the match progresses, it's great. Hojo's never-ending quest to prove herself to Satomura turned up the heat in Nagoya. The finishing run was explosive, what a way to cap off the show.

****1/2