50 - Emi Sakura, Mei Suruga & Riho vs. NEO Biishiki-gun (Martha, Saki-sama & Yoshiko-sama) (DDT, 8/1)
Supremely fun mixture of action and comedy. The reaction of the crowd whenever Yoshiko-sama landed a senton was gold.
49 - Starlight Kid vs. AZM (Stardom, 4/1)
Another amazing Future of Stardom match. This had intense pacing with some hatred behind the moves, especially those dropkicks.
48 - Momo Watanabe vs. Deonna Purrazzo (Stardom, 6/23)
Deonna stuck to her game plan and did a tremendous job working the arm. Momo made strong counterattacks with stomps to the head and B Drivers.
47 - Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Kyuuri & Mio Momono) & Tsukushi vs. Maika Ozaki, Saori Anou & Tae Honma (Ice Ribbon, 5/5)
Fantastic trios with wild sequences and great moments in between.
46 - NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama & Martha) vs. NEO Biishiki-gun (Azusa Christie & Yukio Saint Laurent) (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 8/4)
BEER GARDEN is a great setting for the climax of the Biishiki-gun civil war since the crowds are hot and receptive to everything. Great character work from Martha and Yukio, and great storytelling between Azusa and Saki-sama.
45 - Aoi Kizuki & Mei Suruga vs. SAKI & Yuna Mizumori (Gatoh Move, 8/8)
Suruga continues to look impressive and the power-based team of SAKI & Yuna were a lot of fun. Strong structure with great momentum shifts.
44 - Yumi Ohka vs. Mika Iida (WAVE, 1/7)
Iida put forth a strong effort in her final shot at the WAVE Championship during her retirement road. It was interesting to see Ohka fight using a submission style to match Iida's own, using the height advantage to apply torturous holds.
43 - Queen's Quest (AZM & Io Shirai) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 2/10)
This was intense and heated even though the four are stablemates, and I enjoyed Momo & HZK's team dynamic where they rivaled over who gets to fight Io.
42 - Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Command Bolshoi & Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG, 4/18)
Arisa and Bolshoi are colliding for the first time since the former left JWP, and Yoshiko also wants a piece of the action. This was splendid.
41 - Mika Iida vs. Sonoko Kato (WAVE, 3/23)
No idea why Sonoko Kato is part of Iida's retirement road, but here we are. These two are such different performers that I would have never expected them to have such chemistry. Great back and forth with plenty of stiff uppercuts to go around.
This was an absolute doozy of a trios to close the six-man tournament, with one exciting sequence flowing into the next. Maika Ozaki shined bright.
39 - Saki-sama vs. Marika Kobashi (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 2/18)
Marika's best bout - she pulled through big time with a spectacular underdog performance, and Saki-sama was the perfect opponent. The action was captivating and the finish was highly dramatic.
38 - Miyu Yamashita vs. Nodoka-oneesan (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 6/17)
Great climax with Nodoka coming back from the brink of death. Oneesan's on another level when it comes to creating drama and drawing the crowd in with her selling. Her ragdoll-bumping did Miyu's hellish kicks great justice.
Takase was so much fun to watch in Catch the WAVE, she's green, but she brings spirit and strong emotion to the ring. This had stiff exchanges throughout, and they both favor lariats so naturally it built to a climactic lariat battle.
36 - Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano (Stardom, 9/9)
These two brought the fire and emotion. The opening was amazing, they're tussling, covered in streamers, beating the hell out of each other.
35 - Viper vs. Jungle Kyona (Stardom, 4/1)
Kyona gave a spirited performance working underneath against the monstrous Viper, she's the hometown hero so the crowd was strongly behind her and those last-minute counters she was making were great.
34 - Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi (SEAdLINNNG, 10/3)
Hell of an escalation of violence, maybe a bit excessive on the near-falls but they kept up a high energy, the crowd was hot and I enjoyed it. Nanae using those Lethwei clinch-headbutts down the stretch was awesome.
33 - Nao DATE vs. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon, 5/5)
This was Nao's breakout match, she looked so awesome and nailed her stuff, and Sera's selling and explosive comebacks were great. If only Sera had matches like this during her long ICE×∞ reign.
32 - Jungle Kyona vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom, 9/9)
This was basically an upgraded version of Utami's debut match. Great layout, pacing and some excruciating submission struggles.
Excellent champion vs. champion clash, one of the better 50/50 bouts I've seen this year. Progression felt natural and it breezed through its 20+-min duration.
30 - Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hazuki, Hana Kimura & Sumire Natsu) vs. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, Tam Nakano & Shiki Shibusawa) (Stardom, 5/23)
This ruled! What a wild ride! 3 falls of amazing action and bumping, and the crowd reaction on this show was electric and made everything feel special.
This ruled! What a wild ride! 3 falls of amazing action and bumping, and the crowd reaction on this show was electric and made everything feel special.
29 - Aoi Kizuki, Mei Suruga & Riho vs. Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida & Makoto (Final Happy, 10/7)
Joshi puroresu retirement matches can sometimes go too far into comedy, and while this did have its humor, it was mostly a competitive match to bookend Aoi~chan's career. Thoroughly enjoyable action with an emotional closer.
28 - Miyu Yamashita vs. Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 5/3)
There's a Cobra Clutch struggle here that was fantastic - loved Miyu kicking at Rika's arm as she tried to escape the hold. Rika gave an emotional performance, and introduced a couple of new hip attacks that I dug as well.
There's a Cobra Clutch struggle here that was fantastic - loved Miyu kicking at Rika's arm as she tried to escape the hold. Rika gave an emotional performance, and introduced a couple of new hip attacks that I dug as well.
27 - Kagetsu vs. Viper (Stardom, 7/22)
Viper's looking so great lately with her offense, much of what I enjoyed of this was her clobbering Kagetsu around the ring. Viper worked subtly heel, Kagetsu showed fire while still retaining those cool heel elements.
26 - Toni Storm vs. Viper (Stardom, 3/28)
This is the best gaijin vs. gaijin match I've ever seen in Stardom. It was physical, the pacing and move progression felt natural, even the big spot on the outside flowed well into the action.
This is the best gaijin vs. gaijin match I've ever seen in Stardom. It was physical, the pacing and move progression felt natural, even the big spot on the outside flowed well into the action.
25 - Kagetsu vs. Hana Kimura (Stardom, 10/23)
This was tense and visceral. Hana's metamorphosis has seen her turn into a garish Bruiser Brody style brawler with some lucha libre spliced in. This was mega-violence that was so far removed from traditional Red Belt matches.
24 - Hazuki vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 9/9)
Another great timeout draw on this 1stRING show, it hardly felt like they were killing time, and the soldout crowd gave it good atmosphere.
23 - Oedo Tai (Hazuki & Kagetsu) vs. Thunder Rock (Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani) (Stardom, 6/17)
Korakuen was red hot for Io's send-off. Oedo Tai played their roles well, and it was great seeing Thunder Rock reform for possibly the last time.
The stakes are high and you can feel the tension. There's breathtaking spots and heated segments, and the finale had a lot of heart. Sumire was the MVP.
21 - Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 6/9)
This was an excellent match with a focus on nifty technical wrestling and aerial techniques. The action escalated with Mizuki becoming more emotional and aggressive, and Yuka evoking the spirit of Mil Clown.
20 - Hyper Misao vs. Jun Kasai (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 5/3)
Korakuen was burning for this match. Hyper Misao gave an earnest underdog performance, and Kasai was magnificent of course, he had the crowd going bonkers. Fantastic blend of action, drama and comedy.
Korakuen was burning for this match. Hyper Misao gave an earnest underdog performance, and Kasai was magnificent of course, he had the crowd going bonkers. Fantastic blend of action, drama and comedy.
19 - Hazuki vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 9/16)
Hazuki goes after Mayu like a relentless wolverine. This had a great flow, with nice counters and brutal armwork (the way Mayu switched her wrist band from the healthy arm to the injured arm was a nice subtle touch).
18 - BORDERLESS (Rina Yamashita & Yoshiko) vs. Arisa Nakajima & Ayame Sasamura (SEAdLINNNG, 9/5)
Fantastic performance from Ayame in this action-packed, exciting affair. BORDERLESS were kind of hit-or-miss for me, but this was a hell of a hit.
Fantastic performance from Ayame in this action-packed, exciting affair. BORDERLESS were kind of hit-or-miss for me, but this was a hell of a hit.
This was a highly enjoyable workrate sprint with a few twists and turns and great use of the Ichigaya wall. That Propeller Clutch counter from Suruga was amazing, as was the wall-bounce splash from Yuna.
16 - Azure Revolution (Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera) vs. GEKOKUJyou (Kyuuri & Maika Ozaki) (Ice Ribbon, 2/12)
No one does it better than Ice Ribbon when it comes to these high-octane spotfests. This was incredible from start to finish.
The last match between these two ended in a time over, so the pacing of this match plays into that. Hana was a vicious aggressor, and Iwata's selling and comebacks were strong.
One hell of a build to Miyu-Rika. Everyone got their moment to shine and the storytelling took it to the next level. Miyu's selling of Rika's Dragon Sleeper where she was thrashing around before her eyes rolled over was fantastic.
13 - Miyu Yamashita & magical sugar rabbits (Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki) vs. Maki Ito, Shoko Nakajima & Riho (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 12/1)
Story-driven trios epic with character and superb technique, plus the novelty of seeing Miyu and Riho face off for the first time. Very exciting build towards 1/4.
12 - Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Sumire Natsu) (Stardom, 3/4)
This was a spectacular trios, amazing blend of action and character work, and a packed Shin-Kiba was the perfect setting. Unreal atmosphere. Tamu gave an amazing peril performance, Oedo Tai were ruthless heels, and I loved the finale.
11 - Misaki Ohata vs. Arisa Nakajima (WAVE, 2/12)
This has the same parity as their SEAdLINNNG match, but the action was more intense and diverse. The chaotic outside brawl, the heated flurries, the little cheap shots being thrown - all of the best Big Match Arisa tropes are here.
10 - Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 2/18)This has the same parity as their SEAdLINNNG match, but the action was more intense and diverse. The chaotic outside brawl, the heated flurries, the little cheap shots being thrown - all of the best Big Match Arisa tropes are here.
Momo more than held her own in her first singles main event at Korakuen Hall. The focus on Io's bad neck and the crossface chickenwing was brilliant. Io's comeback has Momo bleeding all over the place so she definitely earned it.
Strong veteran vs. rookie storytelling, with innovative offense and some of the best counterwork I've seen this year.
8 - Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom, 9/24)
This was a star-making performance for Utami in her first ever Korakuen main event. The veteran versus rookie dynamic was played well. Mayu does a splendid job bumping for Utami's power offense and her comebacks were well obtained. Excellent match to cap off a great league tournament.
7 - Hiiragi Kurumi vs. Miyako Matsumoto (Ice Ribbon, 3/25)
Miyako's a comedy worker, but she wrestled an epic with drama and tension. I love how they played off of Miyako's previous ICE×∞ win during the finishing stretch; superb storytelling. The submission struggles were fantastic as well.
6 - Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls, 4/19)
An epic clash between two of the best. There's a great amount of stiffness, and the energy and crowd reaction was unreal.
(Current Blast Exploding Bat Death Match)
This was incredible, the action was fast-paced and exciting, and the tension building into the bat spots and the explosions themselves created such an unsettling atmosphere. I was on the edge of my seat, loved this.
Io's performance here was mesmerizing, when she wasn't savagely beating Momo, she was making the challenger's offense look like death. This was a masterful passing of the torch.
3 - Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuu (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 8/25)
This was a vicious back and forth where the hits got harder and the beatdowns more violent as the match progressed. Pure barbarism on display from the two best wrestlers in the promotion.
2 - Hikaru Shida vs. Aja Kong (OZ Academy, 9/17)
What a war. The dueling limbwork was brutal and they did a splendid job of selling the damage of it. The visual of Aja brandishing the shinai as blood pours from her head was amazing. Great defense for Shida, this rivalry always delivers.
1 - Best Bout // Toni Storm vs. Kagetsu (Stardom, 6/9)
This was an awesome match, both worked hard and pushed each other to the limit in what I feel is the best bout of their respective careers. Intense, snug action throughout. Super Toni's second wind and Kagetsu channeling senpai with the Death Valley Bomb were such great moments.
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