Emi Sakura &「Kotori」vs. Masako Takanashi & Riho (DDT, 8/7/2015)

DDT - Beer Garden Fight 2015 - Shuten-doji Day (8/7/2015) 

Emi Sakura &「Kotori」vs. Masako Takanashi & Riho

This was spectacular, it doesn't last long, but it's action-packed to a hot crowd. Riho and "Kotori" were doing magical things, Masa was in his gyaru gimmick, but he wrestled it straight. "Kotori" was so seamless with her high-flying, what an amazing performance from her. Great match from start to finish.

****1/4

「Kotori」vs. MIZUKI (Gatoh Move, 6/7/2015)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・170 (6/7/2015)

「Kotori」vs. MIZUKI

Wrestlingdata incorrectly lists MIZUKI as Riho in this match, I guess you can't blame them since they're practically twins. This was a timeout draw so they take it slow before they get into the flashy stuff. There was constant movement and struggle in the mat-based portions that kept things engaging. "Kotori" applies some painful holds, and her wall-bounce elbow is always visually appealing.

***1/4

Emi Sakura vs. Kotori (Gatoh Move, 12/30/2012)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・15 (12/30/2012)

Exhibition: Emi Sakura vs. Kotori

Digging deep into "Kotori"'s catalog with this match, this is one of her pre-debut exhibition matches. A dark match. Worth noting that this was before she got the quotations around her name. An alright match, they kept things simple and focused and the crowd was having a lot of fun.

**

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

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 7/16/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・300 (7/16/2017)

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno

Enjoyable clash between Emi Sakura's veteran and rookie students. The intensity from Konno as she was locking in those submission holds was great, she looked like a real killer. I wonder where she learned these lucha libre llaves. Aasa's sessions with Riho and「Kotori」were full energy and a lot of fun, some of the stuff looked contrived, but I respect the creativity.

***

「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika (Gatoh Move, 8/26/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・308 (8/26/2017)

「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika

This was great, lots of action and movement -- these two put a lot of energy into their performances. 'Kotori' Ryu throws Aasa into the wall, and it looked fucking wicked; and Aasa's counterwork was super awesome and compelling as always.

***3/4

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・264 ~ Christmas Eve (12/24/2016)

1. Kaori Yoneyama & Hikaru Sato vs. Hikaru Shida & Madoka

Very fun match, ultimate battle of Hikarus; Sato was perving it up and Shida tried to avoid hip attacking him. Also, Shida did a very unique submission hold that involved hip attacks. Even with the comedy stuff, the work was great.

***1/2

3. Gatoh Move vs. REINA - 3 out of 5 Falls Match: Emi Sakura, Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno vs. Makoto, Hirori & Mari Sakamoto

This was a great inter-promotional skirmish. They kept the action exciting and moving, everyone looked good and had their moment to shine (except for Hirori maybe, but she was a cute face-in-peril).

***3/4

5. Asia Dream Tag Team Championship: Happy Makers 2 (Aoi Kizuki & Sayaka Obihiro) (c) vs. Riho &「Kotori」

Spectacular match. The action moved fast and momentum shifts happened in an instant. Obihiro was doing a hell of a sell job, and Riho's counterwork was excellent -- loved everything about their closing segment together.「Kotori」's execution was rough, but she's got an energy that makes up for it. Aoi-chan's in-ring genius shined as always. Brilliant stuff all around.

****1/2

Heart Move Kei Reform (Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama) vs.「Kotori」& Makoto (Gatoh Move, 7/5/2015)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・174 (7/5/2015)

Heart Move Kei Reform (Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama) vs.「Kotori」& Makoto

"Kotori" was a nasty aggressor here; Emi tried toying around with her and got a hard slap to the face (!). She was easily the MVP of the match, and brought the heat. Nice flow, and the action got better and better as it went on. Good stuff.

****

Emi Sakura, Kaori Yoneyama &「Kotori」vs. Riho & Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI) (Gatoh Move, 5/3/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・226 (5/3/2016)

Emi Sakura, Kaori Yoneyama &「Kotori」vs. Riho & Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI)

*****

「Kotori」, Antonio Honda & SAKI vs. Masa Takanashi, MIZUKI & Riho (Gatoh Move, 7/19/2015)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・176 (7/19/2015)

「Kotori」, Antonio Honda & SAKI vs. Masa Takanashi, MIZUKI & Riho

I didn't find Antonio Honda's comedy funny here... I don't find him funny a lot of the time, actually. This was solid. There's a couple of moments where the spots look telegraphed/contrived, especially the ending where "Kotori" blatantly positions herself for Riho's diving stomp. Still a fine match, regardless.

**3/4

「Kotori」vs. Riho (Gatoh Move, 3/15/2013)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・28 (3/15/2013)

「Kotori」vs. Riho

This was early in "Kotori"'s career, and I thought she did a swell job; her execution was precise, and her matwork was compelling. She also hits some stiff strikes. Riho gave the rookie a lot of shine. The flow was nice. Great stuff.

****

「Kotori」vs. Shanna (Gatoh Move, 8/11/2017)

Gatoh Move (8/11/2017)

「Kotori」vs. Shanna

This was far from「Kotori」's best match, but I think it was one of her strongest singles performances yet (of what makes tape). She was fluid and nailed her moves perfectly. Shanna's swift and brutal comeback was great.

***

Aasa Maika, Emi Sakura & Sayaka Obihiro vs. Jaguar Yokota,「Kotori」& Riho (HEAT-UP, 10/31/2016)

HEAT-UP - The Light Of Hope That Illuminates Kawasaki ~ Make A Miracle Happen 2016 (10/31/2016)

Aasa Maika, Emi Sakura & Sayaka Obihiro vs. Jaguar Yokota,「Kotori」& Riho

「Kotori」drops Aaasa straight on her head with a tai otoshi. I always enjoy seeing Riho's Palo Special. This is a standard joshi tag, with the usual joshi tag tropes of stereo submission holds, etc, etc. Obihiro should have gotten more. Not much else to say other than that Jaguar,「Kotori」& Riho are a very cute team.

**

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno & Aasa Maika (Gatoh Move, 5/3/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・287 (5/3/2017)

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno & Aasa Maika

I loved everything Aasa was doing here, the segment with「Kotori」where she gets a somersault throw into the wall, and her overconfidence when she's taking on both Riho & 「Kotori」. Konno was not having a good match; her transitions and execution was sloppy, but fortunately she didn't get much. An OK match. 

**1/2

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・302 (7/29/2017)

1.「Kotori」vs. Hirori

**1/4

3. Riho & Aasa Maika vs. Hikaru Shida & Mitsuru Konno

The opening segment between Riho and Shida was awesome. Konno was chaining together painful-looking lucha holds. She's the Negro Navarro of joshi puroresu. Shida and Maika have heat and that led to fun moments.

***3/4

「Kotori」& Riho vs. Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI) (Gatoh Move, 8/7/2014)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・119 ~ 7 Day War (8/7/2014)

「Kotori」& Riho vs. Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI)

Another good match from these teams. Some of the execution was rough, but still good. The「Kotori」and SAKI submission exchange was particularly great, as were all of the vicious wall slams.  

***3/4

「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 2/19/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・274 (2/19/2017)

「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno

I wish I could name the hold Konno applies in the closing segment... some kind of surfboard turned into a modified straightjacket crossface. This was good; the rough body-on-body contact gave it that 'dogfight' vibe. All of the near-falls are effective, and it feels like a match that can end at any second.

****1/2

「Kotori」& Riho vs. Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI) (Gatoh Move, 6/26/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・235 ~ Butaman! Takoyaki! Kushikatsu! Gatoh Move! (6/26/2016)

「Kotori」& Riho vs. Buribato♡ (SAKI & MIZUKI)

The lighting makes the performers look like white silhouettes when they're in the middle of the ring, but still, an enjoyable tag. The double team moves from Buribato are always fun to watch. MIZUKI and Riho exchange heated elbows, and SAKI was hitting some awesome power moves. 

***1/2

Gatoh Move - High School Graduation (3/28/2017)

1. Aoi Kizuki vs. Mitsuru Konno

This was a decent showing for Konno. She's new, so errors are to be expected. Aoi Kizuki is obviously a joshi puroresu artisan so there is a lot to be learned from grappling with her.

**1/4

2. Emi Sakura W vs. Yako Fujigasaki

***

3. Hikaru Shida vs. SAKI

This was a match built up on who has the better brainbuster between these two via social media, so they're going back and forth with them.

***1/4

4. Cho-un Shiryu & Antonio Honda vs. Rocky Kawamura & Sayaka Obihiro

***1/2

5. Aasa Maika vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

***

6. Asia Dream Tag Team Championship:「Kotori」& Riho (c) vs. Masahiro Takanashi & Emi Sakura

This is Chinese variety art in the form of a wrestling match, such a mesmerizing display of balance and timing, coupled with great storytelling.

****3/4

「Kotori」, Riho & Paksa vs. Sayaka Obihiro, Golem Thai & P-Nutz (Gatoh Move, 6/18/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・231 (6/18/2016)

「Kotori」, Riho & Paksa vs. Sayaka Obihiro, Golem Thai & P-Nutz

A bunch of wrestlers from GM's Thailand branch are here and one of them is named P-Nutz. I mostly watched this because Sayaka was dressed up like a cool brawler outfit, but it was a great trios. Golem Thai is ace material, IMO.

****