OZ Academy - No End Taboo (12/3/2017)

2. Maya Yukihi vs. Rina Yamashita

**1/4

3. Aoi Kizuki, Kaori Yoneyama, Koharu Hinata & Yumiko Hotta vs. MK4 (AKINO, Kaho Kobayashi, Kakeru Sekiguchi & Sonoko Kato)

***

4. Aja Kong vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

**

5. Sekigun (Alex Lee, Mayumi Ozaki & Yumi Ohka) vs. Hikaru Shida, Moeka Haruhi & Saori Anou

***

6. OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Yoshiko (c) vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki

***1/2

SEAdLINNNG - d-Higher (10/18/2017)

4. Arisa Nakajima vs. La Rosa Negra

It's nice to see Arisa working singles again. I didn't feel Negra had any chance of winning, but she played her part as the sub-boss to whatever they have planned for Arisa in December. The way she sold Arisa's offense was great; she was getting demolished by those suplexes.

***

5. Ryo Mizunami, Saki Akai & Sareee vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Rina Yamashita & Yoshiko

This was Sareee's farewell from the D. Although she will still be working with them as an outsider. This had good energy, an upbeat pacing. Yoshiko's building heat with Saki Akai, but the highlight was her lariat battle with Mizunami. I loved their WAVE match last year, I hope they meet in singles again someday. Kaho was also a standout. Great main event.

***1/4

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

Stardom - Midsummer Champions (8/13/2017)

2. 5★STAR Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying Match: Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano

Pretty solid performance from both wrestlers, especially for Tamu, who made a strong impression in her Stardom debut. Tora gets a crazy close near-fall.

***

3. Gabby Ortiz & Hiromi Mimura vs. Konami & Yoko Bito vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid

***

4. SWA World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Xia Brookside

*1/2

5. High Speed Championship: Shanna (c) vs. Mari Apache

**1/2

6. Artist of Stardom Championship: Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Kaori Yoneyama) (c) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Viper)

A solid match for Io's return. I thought she looked great, and she did some new flippy stuff. Viper ends up crushing Kyona's face and causing a nosebleed, and I thought it added to the match visually. It's also nice to see HZK pick up the win.

***

7. World of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Kagetsu

Mayu and Kagetsu had a great High Speed match last year, but this was horrendous. It wasn't connecting with me, and by the end of it I stopped caring. The action was dull, the pacing felt very off, and of course they have to shoehorn a stairwell spot in every single Stardom Korakuen main event. This was no good!

bad

Sendai Girls - Big Show in Niigata (7/15/2017)

4. Aja Kong, Meiko Satomura & Nanae Takahashi vs. Mika Shirahime, Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura

The segments between Satomura and Hime were fantastic. All of the rookie desperation spots and the veteran punishes were great. Kong DEVASTATES Mio with this backdrop.

***3/4

5. Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida & Syuri (c) vs. Cassandra Miyagi & DASH Chisako

Felt like it went longer than it needed to be, but the action never slowed down. This mini Shida-Miyagi rivalry is great. Chisako spent most of the match getting bumped around and worked over, but she makes a surly comeback.

***1/2

6. Sendai Girls World Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto (c) vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

Chihiro is a sturdy wall of meat. Definitely the weaker of the Chihiro matches from this year. It didn't have the sense of danger that her previous big matches did, and boiled down to an exchange of moves and the two using one another's finisher, and while all of this looked great, there wasn't much else going on here.

***1/4

SEAdLINNNG - Fortissimo (5/24/2017)

1. High Speed: Maruko Nagasaki & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Mio Momono & Tsukushi

I love these matches. Very fun hai supido.

***1/2

2. Hiiragi Kurumi & Sareee vs. Rin Kadokura & Takumi Iroha

This wasn't connecting with me until the third half and felt like it went on forever. Always great to see Iroha make tape, though.

**1/4

3. Aja Kong & AKINO vs. Nanae Takahashi & Yuki Miyazaki

Nanae is lowkey one of my favorite joshi. I can always expect her to put on a compelling performance, and she takes one hell of a bump. This was a great match from hard-hitting obasan.

***3/4

4. Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

This was a back-and-forth where all of the moves and counters were well-placed, and it builds into a crushing finish. Arisa's desperation came across well in her facial expressions, and her suplexes were terrific.

****

5. Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko

These two are like alternate universe versions of each other, so they make for great rivals. The finish is a lariat war where they're just trading heavy smacks, knocking the bajeezus out of one another. The selling and execution made it one of the more compelling lariat exchanges I've seen in a while; the blood from Rina's mouth splashes across her face in a sweet visual.

****1/2

Stardom - Shining Stars 2017 (6/28/2017)

2. Hana Kimura vs. Gabby Slays

*1/4

3. Kagetsu vs. Shanna

**3/4

4. Hiromi Mimura & Mayu Iwatani vs. Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Natsuko Tora)

***1/2

5. Konami & Yoko Bito vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Kaori Yoneyama)

Damn good main event. I love this kicker team of Bito and Konami. Yoneyama was putting in work here, which I feel she doesn't do often in Stardom. It was great to see.

****

Stardom - Galaxy Stars 2017 (6/21/2017)

1. Starlight Kid vs Hetzza

Hilarious match.

2. Queen's Quest (HZK & AZM) vs. Shanna & Gabby Slays

DUD

3. Yoko Bito, Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Team Jungle (Kaori Yoneyama & Tora Natsuko) & Rebel 

A fun trios match for Bito's return; dig the new attire. The Bito-Tora finishing sequence was great, they train closely together so they have a good chemistry.

**1/2

4. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona) (c) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura)

This match felt chaotic, and not in a good way. There wasn't a real sense of flow and there was awkwardness at times. I love the decision to put the belts on Kagetsu & Hana-chan, though.

**1/4

5. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

This was a great match, but never reached that next level due to Io's selective selling of the neck. There are moments where she collapses due to her bad neck, followed by moments where she's jumping around, throwing German suplexes without so much as wincing. I thought it made the match less compelling, and Mayu's big moment didn't feel as grand because of it. But, there is a lot to be enjoyed here, like Mayu's tombstone! I hope she adopts it in tribute to Io.

***1/2

Stardom - Shining Stars 2017 (6/17/2017)

2. Hana Kimura vs. Rebel vs. Tora Natsuko

**

3. Shanna & Gabby Slays vs. Mayu Iwatani & Konami

**

4. Artist of Stardom Championship: Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM) (c) vs. Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Kaori Yoneyama)

***

Sendai Girls (6/10/2017)

1. Mika Shirahime vs. Mio Momono

Shirahime, man, she's so good at conveying her frustration! The hits looked great here. Monono was a crafty little pink rookie. Great opener.

***1/2

2. Aiger & Alex Lee vs. Aja Kong & Big Bang Nicole

*

3. Cassandra Miyagi, DASH Chisako & Heidi Katrina vs. Chikayo Nagashima, KAORU & Nyla Rose

**

4. Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida & Syuri (c) vs. Hana Kimura & Meiko Satomura

Solid semi-main, highlighted by the awesome strike exchanges between Syuri and Satomura. Those two have such great strikes. Hana-chan was also a welcome addition to this match!

***1/2

5. Sendai Girls World Championship: Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Hiroyo works over Chihiro's neck throughout, hitting a gruesome Gin and Tonic, and it leads to an amazing finishing stretch where the champion can't maintain the bridge of her German suplex due to the damage done to her neck. The selling was good; the pacing of the match feels smooth with an organic escalation, and Chihiro is just a sight to behold! This was an awesome clash of titans! 

****1/2

Stardom - Shining Stars 2017 (6/11/2017)

3. Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Rebel & Shanna

**1/4

4. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kaori Yoneyama vs. Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora

**1/2

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Hana Kimura

***1/2

6. HZK vs. Io Shirai

***

Stardom - Gold May 2017 (5/14/2017)

3. Hana Kimura vs. HZK vs. Rebel

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona (c) vs. The Craft (Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard)

**3/4

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

**3/4

6. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Toni Storm

This was excellent; an intense high drama main event. Io puts a beating on the challenger in the first act, with a dropkick while Toni's neck is trapped in a chair, followed by stomps, and a double knee smash into the ring post. This is the most vulnerable Toni Storm has ever looked in Stardom. Storm has Io down for the count after she hits her deadly piledriver, the culmination of neck-work, but her pride won't allow her to win that way. Io sells the damage amazingly, lunging around on the mat with a stiff upper body as she fights to make the comeback; easily the best selling I have ever seen from her. Great match!

****

Stardom - Golden Week Stars 2017 (5/3/2017)

1. Hanan vs. Konami

I like the way Hanan takes Konami's kicks.

**

2. Hetzza & Hiromi Mimura vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM & HZK)

HZK and Hana were just going back and forth in a great segment, and I really dug the Boston crab struggle between them. Hiromi tries to get involved and catches a double bicycle kick, and they're back at it. There's also a fun exchange of roll-ups towards the end, and HZK hitting her Bombs Away.

***1/4

3. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora vs. Rebel & The Craft (Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard)

Hiroyo vs. Havok! Lady Destroyer vs. Death Machine! Godzilla vs. Gigan!

***

4. Kairi Hojo vs. Toni Storm

Hojo says she knows Storm's weakness in the pre-match promo. Storm is the unbreakable Kiwi of Steel, but every final boss has their weak spot, and so, Hojo goes to work on Storm's butt. There's rapid-fire chops, a running dropkick, an octopus hold with spanking; this is a stellar ass-targeting workover. Storm makes the comeback, hitting her spike piledriver, but her injured butt prevents her from making the cover and the match ends in a timeout draw.

***3/4

5. Black Tiger, Dragon Heat & Mayu Iwatani vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Io Shirai

The Stardom girls were having fun, Dragon Heat acted like an asshole, the Wagner Family did in their thing; fun vibes all around!

***

Ice Ribbon - Yokohama Ribbon 2017 GW II (5/5/2017)

1. Elimination: Maruko Nagasaki, Matsuya Uno, Satsuki Totoro & Tequila Saya vs. Team DATE (Hana DATE, Karen DATE, Nao DATE & Nori DATE)

**1/4

2. Eiger vs. Hamuko Hoshi

**3/4

3. 235, Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera vs. Akane Fujita, Mochi Miyagi & Rina Yamashita

***

4. Miyako Matsumoto vs. Yoshiko

This turned out to be surprisingly competitive with Miyako getting clever counters and near-falls. Yoshiko kept this thing tight, and shows off her Y-shaped balance.

***

5. Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

This was a good and well-paced timeout draw, full of neat set-ups and counters.

***1/2

6. International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: This is Ice Ribbon (Hiiragi Kurumi & Tsukushi) (c) vs. GEKOKUJyou (Kyuuri & Maika Ozaki)

Maika Ozaki looked awesome here, running through her opponents as the bulldozer of GEKOKU, but Kurumi has power herself and was quick to remind her opponents of that! Kyuuri gave a great performance as well. Obviously Tsukushi threw her wicked strikes. This was great.

***3/4

Hana Kimura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (WRESTLE-1, 5/1/2017)

WRESTLE-1 - ACE Vol. 5 (5/1/2017)

Hana Kimura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Hiroyo's opening control segment here wasn't engaging, and I thought Hana's elbow strikes looked weak, but she does bring the fire eventually, and the action starts to pick up. The exchanges towards the end were good.

***

SEAdLINNNG - GOLDEN GO!GO! (5/14/2017)

1. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura

***

2. Highspeed: Maruko Nagasaki vs. Mio Momono

****

3. Hamuko Hoshi & Yoshiko vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Rina Yamashita

***3/4

4. Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Nanae Takahashi & Sareee

This was fast, furious hard-hitting tag team action, and what the glorious sparkling D is all about!

****1/2

Stardom - Grow Up Stars 2017 (4/16/2017)

1. AZM vs. La Rosa Negra

**1/2

2. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona vs. Konami & Tora Natsuko

**3/4

3. High Speed Championship: Kris Wolf (c) vs. Hetzza vs. Kaori Yoneyama

***

4. Mayu Iwatani & Arisu Nanase vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura)

***1/2

5. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK) vs. Kairi Hojo & Hiromi Mimura vs. The Craft (Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard)

***3/4

Sendai Girls (4/6/2017)

1. Tag Team Championship Challenger Decision Tournament, Semi Final: Konami vs. Mika Shirahime

This was an awesome opener with some great close-proximity grappling.

***1/2

2. Tag Team Championship Challenger Decision Tournament, Semi Final: Hana Kimura vs. Mio Momono

This was a good display of rookie fire and desperation. Hana-chan sends Monono half-way across the ring with an awesome diving dropkick for the finish.

***

4. Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura

The action here was very exciting and had some nice big moves and hits.

****

5. Tag Team Championship Challenger Decision Tournament, Final: Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

This was an even stronger version of the match they had last month. I like how this feud is developing.

****

6. Sendai Girls World Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida & Syuri (c) vs. DASH Chisako & Cassandra Miyagi

This was loads of fun, fast paced and jam-packed with stiff hits and double teams and counters and WEAPONS. Plus the crowd was hot.

****

7. Sendai Girls World Championship: Aja Kong (c) vs. Chihiro Hashimoto

I like how they build into that first German suplex and how desperate Aja gets as she becomes worn down by Chihiro. That finishing stretch was bonkers. Really strong storytelling in this match as Aja puts over Chihiro HUGE.

****3/4

Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM) vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Tora Natsuko (Stardom, 4/15/2017)

2. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf

Hey, a rematch from the 5★STAR GP2016 FINALS, and there's some callbacks to that match here too. Wolf gets overly ambitious and does an extremely sloppy springboard headscissors takedown sequence that ruined the flow until the finish. She finds a counter to Yoneyama's rolling German that I liked.

**

3. Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament, Semi Final: Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM) vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Tora Natsuko

This was another really good Queen's Quest trio in a line of really good Queen's Quest trios. Jungle Friends were a very energetic team, and I thought Tora was fun. HZK's feud with Kyona is starting to heat up. Io is the ace, but she kind of let's her teammates get the spotlight.

***3/4

4. Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament, Semi Final: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & La Rosa Negra) vs. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura & Konami

La Rosa Negra is wearing pink, which is not part of Oedo Tai's palette. But none of that even matters because Hana-chan gets a big win over Hojo.

**3/4

5. Mayu Iwatani & Hetzza vs. Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard

**1/2

6. Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament, Final: Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & La Rosa Negra)

This felt all over the place.

**1/2

Stardom - Grow up Stars 2017 (4/9/2017)

4. Jessicka Havok vs. Tora Natsuko

***

5. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Sumie Sakai & La Rosa Negra) vs. Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani & Hiromi Mimura

***

6. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona (c) vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK)

****