Sendai Girls (3/11/2017)

1. Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

This progressed nicely into something more than your average rookie opener.

***

3. Hikaru Shida, Alex Lee & Konami vs. Cassandra Miyagi, Big Bang Nicole & Nyra Rose

Cassandra gets a lot of time to shine and show her improvement, and both teams performed cohesively.

***

4. Meiko Satomura vs. Syuri

An action-packed sprint where they traded stiff and fluid holds. I dug those crushing knee drops from Satomura in the opening. The finish was a shocker as Meiko taking a fall always is, what a moment.

***3/4

5. Aja Kong & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. DASH Chisako & Chihiro Hashimoto

Chihiro is a super athlete, Hiroyo & Kong are destructive forces, and DASH is just trying to survive among titans. This has probably one of the heaviest tower of doom spots you will see in women's wrestling. What a main event!

***3/4

Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuka Sakazaki (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 5/28/2016)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Yokohama 1:00 Set (5/28/2016)

TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki

This was loads of fun, I liked the psychological warfare from Yuka early on and Miyu repertoire of strike-combinations are on full display here. This built to great submission struggles and near-falls.

***1/2

Yuu vs. Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 10/29/2016)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - In a Corner of a City Called Yokohama (10/29/2016)

TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship: Yuu (c) vs. Rika Tatsumi

The intensity here is tangible. The submissions are sold so effectively, especially in the finish. This builds into a spectacular, emotional climax. Tatsumi is so good at conveying struggle and Yuu is just a machine.

***3/4

DAIJO - September (9/12/2014)

1. Yuu Yamagata, Hikaru Shida & Mika Iida vs. Kana, Tomoka Nakagawa & Kaho Kobayashi

Excellent opener. Kana was the highlight of the match, always get enjoyment out of her feuding with Shida over who has the best hip attacks. Furthermore, Iida got a taste of her glorious stinkface. 

**3/4

2. Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Kyoko Kimura

There's mat work at the start that looks like a genuine struggle, with strikes thrown during holds. The clown fights dirty with closed-fists. Kyoko is more than happy to return the favor. It's not often you see a face Kyoko, but Kushinbo was such an asshole in the way he worked her over that it just worked.

****

3. Fairy Nipponbashi, Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru & Hibiscus Mii vs. Benten-Musume, Misaki Guriko & Nyanbar 

***1/4

4. Ayako Hamada vs. Rina Yamashita

The first half was Hamada smothering the rookie with her superior mat game, and the second half was Hamada overwhelming the rookie with her superior everything else. Rina's offense basic as she is still in her rookie phase, but I thought she made a good fighting spirit rally.

***1/2

5. Yumi Ohka vs. Sawako Shimono

Ohka throws a killer big boot and they are here in abundance, and Shimono's huge hips makes for a painful raiden drop. I thought this flowed well and the selling was good.

***1/2

Miyu Yamashita vs. KANNA (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 12/12/2015)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Turn the Next Corner (12/12/2015)

Right to 1/4 Tokyo Joshi Championship Appearance: Miyu Yamashita (*) vs. KANNA

There's not much to this one, some basic leg-work from KANNA and a comeback from Miyu to a comatose crowd. An okay match.

**1/2

OZ Academy - Konoyarou (2/26/2017)

2. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Syuri

POLICE ambushes Syuri with her own Persian club and takes her on a violent merry-go-round with his chain. The standard Mayumi Ozaki match with loads of fuckery. Syuri gave on one of her strongest singles performances I have seen from her in a while, lots of emotion.

***1/2

3. MK4 (AKINO & Sonoko Kato) vs. Sekigun (Maya Yukihi & Yumi Ohka)

Kato plays the role of FIP really well, takes a lot of punishment, bumping and selling like no one else, which make her comebacks that much more effective. AKINO applies an armbar and ankle lock on the Sekigun simultaneously, neat.

***

4. Aja Kong & Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Tsubasa Kuragaki

Yoshiko and Tsubasa are both chunky girls who are deceptively fast so this made for an interesting match-up. A total hoss fess, just look at the names. This ruled.

****

5. OZ Academy Openweight Championship #1 Contendership: Hikaru Shida vs. Kagetsu

I love Shida's new look. Kagetsu doesn't have a lot of charisma, but she shows great fire when Shida starts putting the pressure on. Great back and forth with exciting counters and leg-work and some creative spots from Shida.

***3/4

DDT - Judgement 2017 ~ DDT 20th Anniversary Box Office (3/20/2017)

3. Shigehiro Irie vs. Mike Bailey

Two of the nicest wrestlers in the world beating the shit out of each other.

***3/4

4. Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima vs. Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita

There's a lot personality in this match. Of course Meiko and Miyu facing off was awesome and post-match between the two was heated.

***1/2

5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo vs. KUDO & Shungo Oyama

This was some kind of old man nostalgia fest, I guess. I have no idea who Oyama is, but perusing his wiki I learned he's married to an 80s idol. KUDO is always cool.

**1/2

6. Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship - Anal Explosion Death Match: Danshoku Dino vs. Joey Ryan

Donald Trump informs the crowd that this match will take place under 'anal explosion death match' rules as per DDT's new deal with Bakky Visual Planning. Standard Dino singles match with exposed asses. It's only after that match that an anus actually explodes.

*

7. KO-D Tag Team Championship: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo

This was fast-paced and hard-hitting and Endo did his great flippy stuff.

***1/2

8. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) vs. Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))

This sounds like the craziest cluster-fucking shit ever on paper, but they mostly wrestled a straight match, only they were wearing samurai wearing armor.

***1/2

9. DDT Extreme Championship - Sekichu Presents Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai (c) vs. Daisuke Sasaki

Kasai crushes his nose in one spot so when he does his signature nose blowing taunt, there's a cloud of red. That was a cool visual. This was good fun, spot after spot of violent and dangerous stunts.

****

10. KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita makes one hell of a comeback, using signature moves from past opponents, showcasing his growth while overcoming HARASHIMA. This built up well to a strong finale.

***3/4

Hanako Nakamori & Emi Sakura vs. Morii & Hiroyo Matsumoto (Gatoh Move, 9/19/2012)

Gatoh Move - Gatoh-meet.14 (9/19/2012)

Hanako Nakamori & Emi Sakura vs. Morii & Hiroyo Matsumoto

This was a good match, it had a fun energy to it, especially with Hiroyo goofing around. Hanako headbanging during the HMK performance was cute.

***

Emi Sakura vs. SAKI (Gatoh Move, 1/9/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・208 (1/9/2016)

Emi Sakura vs. SAKI

Paced and laid out well leading to its draw, but there isn't anything particularly exciting here other than Emi screaming like a banshee as she sells.

**1/2