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