WAVE - Be Exciting! (7/2/2017)

6. WAVE Tag Team Championship: Over Sun (Yuki Miyazaki & Yumi Ohka) (c) vs. Gokigen BBA (Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama)

For some reason BBA really want to be put in Miyazaki's Embarrassment Hold, and there was a creative moment where Yoneyama tries to force herself into it. Miyaki also does an inverted version of the move on Cherry, which looked cool as fuck. Probably making this match sound better than it actually was... it was very, very boring other than Miyazaki.

*

7. Regina di WAVE Championship: Ryo Mizunami (c) vs. Rina Yamashita

This was mostly action with almost no emotional depth, and there is nothing wrong with that when the action is fresh... but this was nothing I haven't seen from these two before. Still a solid enough slugfest, though, they were trading bombs, and Yamashita's cracks herself open with a headbutt.

***

DDT - DDT Special 2017 (10/22/2017)

*Dramatic General Election Ranking in Parentheses

4. Keisuke Ishii (#13) vs. Suwama

Fucking awesome extended squash. Ishii tried, he did, but he got fucking decimated. Suwama's such a master class pro grappler.

***1/2

5. Tetsuya Endo (#3) vs. Masahiro Takanashi (#5)

**

6. DDT Extreme Championship - TLC Match: Daisuke Sasaki (#4) (c) vs. HARASHIMA (#2)

Great match, though not as good as I hoped it would be. HARASHIMA's workover on Sasaki was fucking killer, the stomps into the pile of chairs, kicking the ladder into the ribs; it was brutal. Sasaki's comeback was awful. After he botched a Pepsi Plunge, he hits an elbow drop from a ladder, and of course the table does not break. The post match angle with Soma was fucking awesome, hoping this leads to the change he needs.

***

7. KO-D Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (#7) (c) vs. Danshoku Dino (#1)

Dino's stuff can be so hit-or-miss, but he knows when to step it up and deliver classic performances when he has to (the match with Shuji). He came across as Takeshita's biggest threat so far, those fucking near-falls had me on the edge of my seat. Takeshita did good, he displayed fighting spirit, he hit hard, hit bit a dick for his championship. Also dug how he managed to fit a bodybuilding spot into this. The finish was fantastic, Dino was on spaghetti legs, putting Takeshita over like a fucking pro. Excellent main event.

****1/4

Ice Ribbon - #805 ~ Ryogoku KFC Hall #2 (5/28/2017)

1. Maruko Nagasaki & Matsuya Uno vs. TeamDATE (Hana DATE & Nori DATE)

**1/4

2. 235 vs. Cherry

**1/2

3. Karen DATE vs. Miyako Matsumoto

*

4. Maya Yukihi & Nao DATE vs. Satsuki Totoro & Tequila Saya

**

5. Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. GEKOKUJyou (Kyuuri & Maika Ozaki)

Oh man, GEKOKU were getting the shit beaten out of them in this one. Arisa was a stampede, elbowing and kneeing and suplexing everything in her path. Tsukasa and Kyuuri have this submission exchange that I liked. Maika took some good bumps. Great match.

****

6. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: This is Ice Ribbon (Hiiragi Kurumi & Tsukushi) (c) vs. Lovely Butchers (Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi)

***3/4

7. ICE×∞ Championship - Hardcore Match: Risa Sera (c) vs. Akane Fujita

no

WAVE - Sunday WAVE Vol. 32 (3/5/2017)

3. Las Aventureras (ASUKA & Yuu Yamagata) vs. Fairy Nipponbashi & Mochi Miyagi

***3/4

4. Misaki Ohata vs. SAKI

***1/2

5. WAVE Tag Team Championship - Elimination: Over Sun (Yuki Miyazaki & Yumi Ohka) (c) vs. Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hikaru Shida & Mika Iida

***3/4

6. Regina di WAVE Championship: Ryo Mizunami (c) vs. Moeka Haruhi

This was one hell of a carry job from Mizunami. Moeka showed fighting spirit and had great counters and took some punishment. Really great match.

****1/2

Cherry vs. 235 (Ice Ribbon, 6/25/2016)

Ice Ribbon - #732 ~ 10th Anniversary Kitazawa Raising Army (6/25/2016)

Submission: Cherry vs. 235

There's a sequence where Fumiko twists out of Cherry's dragon sleeper into one of her own that was fantastic. Really well-worked submission match.

***1/2

DDT - Judgement 2017 ~ DDT 20th Anniversary Box Office (3/20/2017)

3. Shigehiro Irie vs. Mike Bailey

Two of the nicest wrestlers in the world beating the shit out of each other.

***3/4

4. Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima vs. Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita

There's a lot personality in this match. Of course Meiko and Miyu facing off was awesome and post-match between the two was heated.

***1/2

5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo vs. KUDO & Shungo Oyama

This was some kind of old man nostalgia fest, I guess. I have no idea who Oyama is, but perusing his wiki I learned he's married to an 80s idol. KUDO is always cool.

**1/2

6. Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship - Anal Explosion Death Match: Danshoku Dino vs. Joey Ryan

Donald Trump informs the crowd that this match will take place under 'anal explosion death match' rules as per DDT's new deal with Bakky Visual Planning. Standard Dino singles match with exposed asses. It's only after that match that an anus actually explodes.

*

7. KO-D Tag Team Championship: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo

This was fast-paced and hard-hitting and Endo did his great flippy stuff.

***1/2

8. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) vs. Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))

This sounds like the craziest cluster-fucking shit ever on paper, but they mostly wrestled a straight match, only they were wearing samurai wearing armor.

***1/2

9. DDT Extreme Championship - Sekichu Presents Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai (c) vs. Daisuke Sasaki

Kasai crushes his nose in one spot so when he does his signature nose blowing taunt, there's a cloud of red. That was a cool visual. This was good fun, spot after spot of violent and dangerous stunts.

****

10. KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita makes one hell of a comeback, using signature moves from past opponents, showcasing his growth while overcoming HARASHIMA. This built up well to a strong finale.

***3/4

Tokyo Joshi Pro - '17 (1/4/2017)

2. Hyper Misao vs. Maho Kurone vs. Rika Tatsumi

This was exactly what you'd want from these wrestlers, a match based mostly around character-work. This also served as farewell to Minami, the kigurumi ring announcer. I'm uncertain how Maho is still alive after that surfboard hip attack.

***

3. Konkatsu-gun (Azusa Takigawa & Nonoko) vs. Ai Shimizu & Laura James (Special Referee: Joey Ryan)

People give Joey a lot of flack, but I appreciate him. This was mostly comedy that built up to a fun spot involving Zexy magazine.

**

4. Ito Maki vs. Reika Saiki

Man, the crowd was going absolutely bonkers for Maki Ito, popping for every single thing she did. Ito has a lot of heart and keeps getting back up for more and more, and the fans loved every second of her comeback sequences.

***3/4

5. Candice LeRae vs. Mil Clown

Mil Clown dresses up like the long lost member of Los Psycho Circus, but incorporates little clown antics into her moveset. I wish she would have incorporated more character work. This was decent; the Ballplex spot was great.

**1/2

6. Miyu Yamashita vs. Saki Akai

Saki Akai's tall, lanky body gives her kicks a whip-like effect and they look especially devastating. Yamashita isn't the most charismatic wrestler, but you can feel her intensity through body language and when she's had enough of Akai's shit, you can definitely sense her frustration. These two are the perfect opponents, wonderful match.

****1/2

7. TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship: Yuu (c) vs. Shoko Nakajima

This was a big improvement over their 2016 match. The groundwork was tighter with smoother transitions, but still has that roughness to it that makes the struggle look genuine. Yuu was amazing as the aggressor, she tosses and drops Nakajima with reckless abandon. Nakajima hits the best Nothern Lights suplex I've ever seen, the torque, the speed, the impact. This was an excellent clash.

****3/4

Ice Ribbon - YOKOHAMA RIBBON ~AUTUMN~ (9/19/2016)

4. Hardcore Ribbon: Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Risa Sera

This was a fun match. You could tell that Sera was having fun even as Abdullah ripped the skin off of her forehead with a fork. A good time.

***1/4

5. Triangle Ribbon Championship: Ai Shimizu (c) vs. Maruko Nagasaki vs. Miyako Matsumoto

Fun as these Triangle Ribbon matches usually are. Shimizu fits well in Ice Ribbon ring, and Maruko is rapidly improving.

**1/2

6. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: Best Friends (Tsukasa Fujimoto & Arisa Nakajima) (c) vs. This is Ice Ribbon (Tsukushi & Hiiragi Kurumi)

Best Friends have been on a killer run since their formation. That said, this match wasn't my favorite match from them and certainly did not live up to my expectations, but it did have its moments. The finishing stretch between Fujimoto and Tsukushi was hot and rad.

***