Stardom - 5★STAR GP2017 (8/27/2017)

2. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Hana Kimura vs. Xia Brookside

Good match. The pacing was there, the counters were neat and well-timed. It was interesting to see Hana try to out-grapple Xia as that isn't her usual style of wrestling, I'm liking the brutality of her octopus hold.

***

3. 5★STAR GP Blue Stars Block: Konami vs. Toni Storm

**1/4

4. 5★STAR GP Blue Stars Block: HZK vs. Kay Lee Ray

**1/2

5. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Yoko Bito

**

6. Jungle Kyona, Mary Apache & Mayu Iwatani vs. Mandy Leon & Queen's Quest (AZM & Io Shirai)

***1/2

7. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Kagetsu vs. Viper

***1/4

Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (DDT, 9/28/2014)

DDT - Dramatic General Election 2014 Final Voting Day - Last Hope Special (9/28/2014)

KO-D Tag Team Championship: Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (c) vs. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo)

Fucking incredible tag match -- super catchy, fast-paced action to a hot crowd. This really felt like Takeshita & Endo's moment because Golden☆Lovers did a tremendous job putting the heat on them and Korakuen was craving a Happy Motel win. The finishing run between Takeshita and Omega was phenomenal. A magical performance by all four men!

****1/2

Mitsuru Konno vs. Riho (Gatoh Move, 4/15/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・284 (4/15/2017)

Mitsuru Konno vs. Riho

Konno is obviously still green, but I thought her performance was generally acceptable. Riho kept things under control. They start throwing some nasty fucking strikes towards the finish that I was really into. Not a high-end match like Konno/'Kotori', but good nonetheless. 

**3/4

Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno vs. Emi Sakura & Masahiro Takanashi (Gatoh Move, 5/15/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・291 (5/15/2017)

Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno vs. Emi Sakura & Masahiro Takanashi

This was grueling rookie punishment from the veterans, with Konno being the FIP for much of her time in the match. Masa is always an amazing prick in these types of matches, and him being able to effortlessly toss these girls around helps. Aasa's charisma was on full display here, she brought the match to the next level.

***1/2

SEAdLINNNG - Summer Blast (8/24/2017)

1. High Speed: Kaho Kobayashi vs. Manami Toyota vs. Maruko Nagasaki

**

2. ULTRA U-7 Tournament Semi-Final: Mio Momono vs. Yoshiko

The work leading up to the sudden death was whatever... there was a lot of obvious filler, Yoshiko using her weight to crush Mio was interesting. When they get to the sudden death, 2-count for the win, is where things get hot and Korakuen was really into it. Great stuff.

**1/2

3. ULTRA U-7 Tournament Semi-Final: Sareee vs. Takumi Iroha

Great match, loved the strike exchanges, and Iroha destroys Sareee with her powerbombs.

***

4. TLC Rules Match: Nanae Takahashi vs. The Great Sasuke

This match was mostly about The Great Sasuke trying to cripple himself. He sets up traps that do not work out in his favor, time and time again. Nanae wasn't holding back, Sasuke was willing to take hideous punishment, and I thought the action generally flowed well into the high spots. This was a lot of fun.

****

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

This was a 20-minute rollercoaster of double team moves and surly elbow strikes. Arisa/Ohata seems to be the end goal of this best of three series, and I dug the heat building segments. 

****1/4

6. ULTRA U-7 Tournament - Final: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

I wasn't really into this one. It starts to pick up when Iroha does a tremendous sell of Yoshiko's sleeper hold, she was foaming at the mouth, struggling to catch her breath.. but the work before it was dull. Definitely one of the weaker Yoshiko matches this year. 

***

Emi Sakura vs. Madoka (Gatoh Move, 9/6/2014)

Gatoh Move - 2nd Anniversary Holiday Army (9/6/2014)

Emi Sakura vs. Madoka

Shiittt, these two were fucking each other up. There's some very hard smacks here, and the physicality only builds as the match reaches its conclusion. Madoka unleashes these hellish lariats to put Sakura away, and it's such an awesome 'escalation' of violence in the finishing run. Brilliant match.

****1/2

OZ Academy - Plum Hanasaku 2017 (8/20/2017)

2. Sekigun (Maya Yukihi & Mayumi Ozaki) vs. MK4 (Shoko Sekiguchi & Sonoko Kato)

Typical gloriously violent Ozaki match. The new girl gets baptized Osaki-style. Sonoko is busted open after a nasty chair shot to the head and it adds another dimension to her FIP segment. Amazing new attires for the sekigun, btw! (Ozaki!!!)

***

5. OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: MK4 (AKINO & Kaho Kobayashi) (c) vs. Sekigun (Alex Lee & Yumi Ohka)

Another brilliant new sekigun attire with Ohka's. I hope Alex Lee is next. The finishing run was chaotic, I think even the performers were confused as to what was going on. Kaho's corkscrew moonsault landed nicely. 

***

6. OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto (c) vs. Hikaru Shida

This was an amazing payoff to almost 2 years worth of building. Shida targets the neck of Hiroyo in a plethora of ways. Her control segment was mesmerizing, rare that she fights so aggressively. Hiroyo's comebacks were strong, and the counters were dramatic. The finishing run was brutal, a proper finish to an epic.

****1/2

Koo vs. HARASHIMA (DDT, 10/21/2007)

DDT - Day Dream Believer (10/21/2007)

KO-D Openweight Championship: Koo (c) vs. HARASHIMA

During this time Shuji Ishikawa was wrestling under a mask as Koo. I have no idea. HARASHIMA overwhelms Koo from the onset, and when Koo makes his comebacks, he makes them big. I felt HARASHIMA looked dominant. Koo's the bigger wrestler, he should be the one dominating, but a lot of the time he came off looking like an oaf. This was a match that I enjoyed for the movez.

***