Akane Miura vs. Miyu Yamashita vs. Shoko Nakajima (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 11/20/2016)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - BATTLE MISSION 2016 Code.6 (11/20/2016)

TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship - #1 Contender 3WAY Elimination: Akane Miura vs. Miyu Yamashita vs. Shoko Nakajima

Akane's monster performance in this match was tremendous. She's unstoppable even as Miyu and Shoko team up against her. Eventually, Shoko manages to catch Akane off guard and eliminate her. Then it's down to Shoko and Miyu, who are still hurting from the damage inflicted by Akane, so they fight with urgency and desperation. An amazing 3WAY match.

****1/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP2017 x Champions (9/24/2017)

3. High Speed Championship: Mari Apache (c) vs. Hiromi Mimura

This was solid, probably one of the better HS matches I've seen recently. Mari's offense looked deadly, and Hiromi did good too.

***

4. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Jungle Kyona

Good. There's continuity to this match (that neither competitor mentions) since Kyona won the tag belt from Bito the last time they were in Nagoya. They put on an engaging performance, and it's Kyona's hometown so the crowd was hot.

***1/2

5. Artist of Stardom Championship: Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Viper) (c) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Tam Nakano)

There were some timing issues/awkwardness here, but nothing too bad. I love this feud between HZK and Nakano, they had a good segment here.

**3/4

Riho vs. Sareee (Gatoh Move, 1/4/2014)

Gatoh Move - Happy New Year Itabashi Tournament 2014 ~ Japan Tour・83

Riho vs. Sareee

This match felt like it went nowhere. It ends in a timeout draw as things start to get going. Sareee did Kurihara-style stomps and a German suplex that looked good. I don't recall Riho doing anything of note.

*1/2

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Osaka de Bakon (9/30/2017)

2. Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Yuu (c) vs. Marika Kobashi

Good amount of violence in this match. Yuu doesn't show much emotion, but her body language and movements can get intense.

***

5. Azusa Takigawa & Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuka Sakazaki & Yuna Manase

***

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

This started off rough, but they found their rhythm quickly. I was impressed with the pacing; the comebacks were timed well, and the submission sequences were very compelling. There's a dramatic moment where Maki Ito motivates Mizuki at ringside and it's amazing. Ito has such a strong presence and it heightens the intensity of the match. Great main event!

****1/4

Konkatsu-gun (Azusa Takigawa & Nonoko) vs. MiraClians (Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima) (DDT, 9/21/2017)

DDT - Tokyo Game Show 2017 4Gamer.net x DDT Pro Wrestling (9/21/2017)

Konkatsu-gun (Azusa Takigawa & Nonoko) vs. MiraClians (Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima)

This was simple like you'd expect from a charity/festival match, but there were a couple of neat moments. Nonoko was going all out with her boob gimmick for this crowd which was fun to watch.

**1/4

HARASHIMA vs. Daisuke Sasaki (DDT, 8/29/2010)

DDT - Memories of Summer Vacation 2010 (8/29/2010)

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

This was Sasaki first ever KO-D Openweight Title shot so he was fighting hard, but I didn't find his underdog performance compelling -- there was no emotional depth here. Just a solid match between two wrestlers.

***

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Sayaka Obihiro (Gatoh Move, 4/2/2014)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・97 ~ Sawasdee Car Tour in Osaka of Spring ~ (4/2/2014)

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Sayaka Obihiro

There wasn't much to this match. Obihiro brought her high energy as usual and she got squashed by Hiroyo.

**1/4

Isami Kodaka vs. Takayuki Ueki (BJW, 1/4/2017)

BJW (1/4/2017)

Light Tubes Death Match: Isami Kodaka vs. Takayuki Ueki

I dug this -- It's 12 minutes. Isami works over Ueki with light tubes and kicks, standard stuff, but what makes the match is Ueki's comeback. He makes this hot-blooded, spirited rally and you can't help but root for him to score the win.

****

Yoshiko vs. Miona Ishii (SEI☆ZA, 7/28/2017)

SEI☆ZA - Third Battle: ~ Stars of the Night of Summer ~ (7/28/2017)

Yoshiko vs. Miona Ishii 

This was OK. Yoshiko's reprisals could have been more punishing. You put Yoshiko in this type of match-up for her to destroy her opponent, not take it easy on them. The crowd sounded like they were anticipating a mauling, but it never came. Ishii looked good; I liked the fire she showed with the slap to the face.

**1/2

"Big Boss" MA-G-MA & Black Buffalo vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Shigehiro Irie (DDT, 7/16/2017)

DDT - Dramatic Dreams! Vol. 4 ~ Never Come ~ (7/16/2017)

"Big Boss" MA-G-MA & Black Buffalo vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Shigehiro Irie

The beatings from Big Boss & Black Buffalo were truly wretched. They were like tokusatsu villains come to life, and Takeshita & Irie bumped and fought hard, giving a tremendous babyface performance. This is the best selling I've ever seen from Takeshita. Whadda match.

****3/4

Akito vs. Daisuke Sasaki (DDT, 4/19/2015)

DDT - Saitama Slam! Vol. 1 (4/19/2015)

DDT Extreme Championship - 60 Minute Iron Man Match: Akito (c) vs. Daisuke Sasaki

This was good, I wouldn't rank it amongst the best 60-min matches I've seen, but good. It kept me watching. I was impressed with how they paid close attention to certain details, and there were these clever little moments. They were wearing each other down with dueling limb work, and then they would have these short bursts of 'action' before slowing things down again with matwork. The finishing stretch had a great sense of escalation.

***3/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP2017 x Champions (9/23/2017)

5. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) (c) vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & Viper)

This was really fun with Oedo Tai heeling it up and a great peril segment from Io.

***1/2

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Yoko Bito

Mayu's a great bully, always enjoy her workover segments. She was stomping Bito's head and hitting these nasty kicks. I thought this was an improvement over the Stardom x Stardom match. They kept things tight and focused.

***1/2

HZK & Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani & Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 11/20/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars: Winter Darkness Road (11/20/2016)

HZK & Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani & Momo Watanabe

This had massive heat. Segments between Mayu and Io were obviously good, but I liked how the match wasn't just about them. This was also HZK's return from hiatus, and she was better than ever, and worked very well with Momo. 

****

BASARA - Vajra 48 ~Isami Kodaka 15th Anniversary~ (10/1/2017)

5. Ryota Nakatsu vs. Yuko Miyamoto

Seems the CyberAgent money has allowed DDT to use copyrighted songs. This was a decent match... both of these guys are still learning. Yuko is a great death match wrestler, but he's just not as engaging working normal singles matches.

**1/4

6. IRON PRIEST (FUMA & Yusuke Kubo) & HUB vs. Ryuichi Sekine, Yuji Hino & Yasu Urano

**3/4

7. Union MAX Championship: Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi (c) vs. Isami Kodaka

This was lackluster for a main event celebrating Kodaka's 15th anniversary. Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi exposed himself as a mediocre worker with this reign. He has no depth as a wrestler, and unfortunately Kodaka couldn't drag much out of him.

**3/4