Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 5/15/2016)

Stardom - Gold May 2016 (5/15/2016)

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

This was such an amazing match. An absolute classic. Io is known to be a master technician and high flyer, but she can also deliver a beatdown. The stomps and kicks she delivered to Mayu in the early stages were almost hard to watch. Mayu had won the Cinderella tournament, this was her third opportunity at the Red belt, and she gave an all-time performance against her Thunder Rock tag partner. Everything here felt pristine, offense and defense, hard strikes and suplexes.

****3/4

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase (WAVE, 3/21/2020)

WAVE - Osaka Rhapsody Vol. 47 (3/21/2020)

Regina Di WAVE Championship: Nagisa Nozaki (c) vs. Miyuki Takase

A rematch, this time with Miyuki positioned as the title challenger in Nozaki’s home promotion. This was a slow starter, with some awesome exchanges of strikes and slick counters when the action picks up. Takase was once again fantastic with her bumping and selling of Nozaki’s offense.

***1/2

Stardom - Cinderella Tournament 2020 (3/24/2020)

1. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

This was a fun opening round that established the over-the-top elimination element of the tournament. Momo countering a yoshi tonic with the B Driver was amazing.

***1/4

2. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Jungle Kyona vs. Giulia

Giulia had bandages all over her neck and she got dropped straight on her head by a powerslam that clearly took something out of her since her movement became worse. Amazingly the match itself didn't suffer much, as they exchanged heavy offense and built up the intensity. It was short, but Giulia endured a lot and came out of it looking strong.

***1/2

4. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Syuri vs. Jamie Hayter

This was awesome for its length, which was about 4-minutes. A fast-paced back and forth where they really maximized the time given and created a special encounter.

***1/2

7. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika

Another great match between these two, with a focus on the fundamentals and exchanging judo techniques. This was just Maika's 25th career match and she already feels like someone who has been around for more than a year.

***1/2

8. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura

This was a fun match, with some exciting elimination teases. They showed personality and worked well off of each other.

***1/4

13. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - Finals: Natsuko Tora vs. Giulia

The finals of the tournament was a "heel vs. heel" match, but Natsuko made a sympathetic figure out of Giulia, who had endured heavy damage coming into the match, by being the nastier, more violent heel. A hard hitting bout with some amazing moments, such as the shoten countered into an octopus hold.

***3/4

Ice Ribbon - #1029 ~ Ice Ribbon March 2020 (3/14/2020)

4. Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Suzu Suzuki

Tsukasa's wrestling had a marked looseness at times, but her strong ring sense made up for her shortcomings. And she was hitting some hard kicks. Suzu’s athletic ability and technical skill are just remarkable. She showed some flashy moves and did a good job establishing her new style.

***1/4

6. ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi (c) vs. Hiiragi Kurumi

Kurumi was a monster in this match, showing a wide range of techniques and some real explosiveness. The Bastard Driver on the apron early on was awesome. There’s also a moment in the match where she shows a rare moment of rage and attacks Yukihi with stomps to the head. Yukihi, who has gone from ace to antagonist, played the heel with relentless strikes and grinding arm work that factored nicely into the finish.

****

Miyu Yamashita vs. Natsumi Maki (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 3/21/2020)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Spring Tour '20 ~ HEART & BODY ~ (3/21/2020)

Miyu Yamashita vs. Natsumi Maki

This was as good as the first match. They did a good job expanding from the first two encounters, with Natsumi stepping up and becoming Miyu's equal. The layout of the match had a feeling of Miyu’s older title defenses with its careful build towards dramatic counters and exchanges at the end.

****

Miyuki Takase vs. Nagisa Nozaki (AWG, 3/21/2020)

AWG - Beginning (3/21/2020)

AWG Championship: Miyuki Takase (c) vs. Nagisa Nozaki

This was the best AWG match I’ve seen so far. They kept the action exciting with a high pacing, and there were flashy moves and counters, and some great bumping. Takase in particular was really good with her bumps, and she made fiery comebacks.

***3/4

Yoshiko vs. Sareee (Diana, 2/22/2020)

Diana (2/22/2020)

Yoshiko vs. Sareee

Good match, the only real downside was the outside brawl which almost never look good on nicopro's hardcam. Sareee looked ferocious on offense, and Yoshiko showed off surprisingly technical skills with some nice transitions. It was nice to see these two meet in the ring one last time, they have a unique chemistry.

***1/2