Emi Sakura vs. Madoka (Gatoh Move, 9/6/2014)

Gatoh Move - 2nd Anniversary Holiday Army (9/6/2014)

Emi Sakura vs. Madoka

Shiittt, these two were fucking each other up. There's some very hard smacks here, and the physicality only builds as the match reaches its conclusion. Madoka unleashes these hellish lariats to put Sakura away, and it's such an awesome 'escalation' of violence in the finishing run. Brilliant match.

****1/2

Gatoh Move - One Night in Prince Basement (11/19/2016)

1.「Kotori」& Aasa Maika vs. Madoka & Mitsuru Konno

There's a great heated moment where Aasa and Konno are trading kicks while applying kneebars on each other. Aasa knows how to bring the drama in the ring. Madoka held nothing back against these girls. This match ruled.

****

2. DJ Nira vs. Hikaru Shida

The Ass God goes on a shinai-swinging rampage.

**1/2

3. IWA Triple Crown Championship: Riho (c) vs. Makoto

I like Makoto as this overconfident heel who is holding GM's top singles belt captive and fighting against the roster. Riho shows great fire, and I dig how she makes use of the somato as both an offensive and defensive maneuver.

***3/4

4. Asia Dream Tag Team Championship: Happy Makers 2 (Aoi Kizuki & Sayaka Obihiro) (c) vs. Heart Move Kei Reform (Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama)

A whirlwind of innovative tag maneuvers and counters with plenty of character from the performers. The workrate was mesmerizing; a near-perfect tag match.

****3/4

BASARA - Vajra 26 ~ Tettotetsubi ~ (1/6/2017)

1. IRON PRIEST (Madoka & Yusuke Kubo) vs. Fuminori Abe & Shinya Ishida

IRON PRIEST schooling literal whos on the art of metal.

***

3. Cavalry (Ryota Nakatsu & Ryuichi Sekine) vs. Hi69 & Takumi Tsukamoto

Cavalry bores me to tears. So many interesting gimmicks in BASARA and then you have these dudes dancing around with stick horses. That said, they are solid as wrestlers. Really great match.

***1/2

4. Daichi Kazato, Masamune & Tatsuhiko Yoshino vs. SAGAT, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi

SAGAT is a stickler for abuse. Here he gets his nipples twisted (!), has his hair shampooed (?) and then gets humped Paradise Lock-style (!?).

***

5. Union Pro MAX Championship: Isami Kodaka (c) vs. FUMA

These two have had matches in the past, but not like this. Not while FUMA had a heart of heavy metal. Good, despite some flaws such as inconsistent leg selling. Lots of creative offense on display. FUMA's chops opening up the old scars on Kodaka's chest was wicked.

***1/2

BASARA - VAJRA 25 ~SHIPPUJINRAI~ (12/25/2016)

3. Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi

I never thought much of Ryuichi Kawakami in Big Japan, he was another hard-hitting dude amongst hard-hitting dudes, but here in BASARA he's been allowed to show range and he's great. Match itself was mediocre.

**

4. IRON PRIEST (FUMA, Madoka & Yusuke Kubo) vs. Jun Kasai, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba

Toba looks like something that blew in off the highway, but he throws gnarly punches. FUMA was getting nailed with hard hits left and right and selling amazingly. The veterans did a great job building up heat for the home team to make the comeback. FUMA's heavy metal heart refused to give in!

****

5. Jun Akiyama vs. SAGAT

SAGAT's selling was awesome in this, he's a freak show but the fans rallied behind him as bald, mean bully Akiyama had his way with him. I liked SAGAT reverting back to his crotch-chewing persona during the final sequence... only to get rocked by a big knee from Jun.

***

7. Union Pro MAX Championship (vacant): Isami Kodaka vs. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi

There was great legwork here that was neglected in the final act which is always a pet peeve of mine, but this was pretty good. Both guys were throwing meaty slugs, especially Trans-Am's lariats.

***1/4

GANBARE☆PRO-WRESTLING - BAD COMMUNICATION 2016 (10/04/2016)

1. Ai Shimizu & Aoi Ishibashi vs. Emi Sakura &「Kotori」

Four of the smartest workers in modern joshi putting together a solid match.

***

2. Keisuke Ishii vs. Yukihiro Abe

***

3. Shuichiro Katsumura vs. Takafumi Ito

Two shooters going at it. Sleek, smooth and hard-hitting. I have no idea who these guys are.

**3/4

4. Shiori Asahi vs. Shinichiro Tominaga

No earthly idea who Shinichiro Tominaga is, which goes for a couple of guys on this card. This match told me everything I need to know about him via a wonderfully-crafted story. Asahi tortured Tominaga in the neat ways that only a student of K-DOJO could, goading him to give it his all and prove himself worthy. Tominaga was once a K-DOJO guy as well and Asahi is obviously the more accomplished of the two so there's a backstory based in reality that they played into. It all culminates into a great finish.

****

5. Madoka & Saki Fujita vs. Bambi & Minoru Fujita

Saki and Minoru were once a married couple, but now they're not. Story of the match. Minoru does a wonderful job as Saki's asshole ex husband, garnering boos from the crowd. This was mostly a comedy match, feel good ending, etc. I need to get more familiar with Bambi.

**3/4

6. No Rope Barbed Wire Street Fight: Atsushi Onita, GENTARO, Hideki Hosaka & Osamu Namiguchi vs. Ken Ohka, Masayuki Mitomi, Shota & Yumehito Imanari

The crowd reaction made this match for me, it's a train-wreck, but a very fun one. Korakuen booed everything Onita did and were super supportive of Ohka and his band of indie trash.

***