ChocoPro - ChocoPro #144 (8/8/2021)
Super Asian Dream Tag Team Championship: Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki vs. Emi Sakura & Masahiro Takanashi
This was as great as expected. Both teams are among the best and most consistent in the country. It was full of ChocoPro's signature fast-paced, innovative action that makes use of the unique environment, interspersed with some slow heat-building moments. An easy to watch 30 minutes.
****1/2
ChocoPro - ChocoPro #125 (8/15/2021)
Super Asia Championship: Minoru Fujita (c) vs. Mei Suruga
The real story of this match was Mei's depth as a performer. She showed that she can carry an interesting match for almost 60 minutes. It was a grueling war of attrition that was built around several key moves that were well-placed throughout the duration of the match. Fujita didn't do anything impressive or excessively flashy, he's more of a personality-first type of wrestler and he played his role here well as a rugged, durable opponent that Mei needed to overcome to obtain the belt. To be honest, it's hard to recommend a match of this length in this style of wrestling, but it was a great match for enthusiasts of ChocoPro and Mei Suruga.
****1/4
Ice Ribbon - #1109 in SKIP City (4/11/2021)
1. AZM vs. Hanan
This was a good, fast-paced opener, with the right amount of time and a real sense of struggle. Hanan worked the leg, finding unique ways to set up her submissions.
***1/2
4. Future of Stardom Championship: Unagi Sayaka (c) vs. Rina
A very good match. Major improvement over the previous title defense. Unagi has grown a lot as a performer, and so has Rina, who blends judo with traditional wrestling and heel work in a unique way. You won't see any other 14 year olds performing gory bombs.
***1/2
6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Takumi Iroha vs. Maika
I think this match was a classic example of the winning wrestler doing little to put over their losing opponent. Maika wasn't able to show much. She was sucked into Iroha's pace and unilaterally dominated.
***
7. High Speed Championship: Natsupoi (c) vs. Starlight Kid
This was a perfect culmination of the budding chemistry Natsupoi and Starlight Kid had shown in their previous matches, with some great callbacks to those encounters. Kid has developed a real killer instinct since joining Oedo Tai and some of her offense was punishing. Outstanding underneath performance from Natsupoi, with her selling and facial expressions. They both have a variety of ways to end a match, which made the closing stretch feel especially dramatic. What a gift to have a title match of this quality in the middle of a tournament.
****1/4
6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Unagi Sayaka vs. Maika
Unagi's rapid-fire growth has been amazing. She does such a good job of building around her ever-expanding, flashy moveset. This was a fantastic time-out draw, brilliantly paced with a lot of depth and emotion and topnotch visuals. A definite improvement over their Cinderella outing. Hard to believe these two are only second-years.
****
7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Mayu Iwatani vs. Himeka
A good match for Himeka's return. There was an awkward moment at about the beginning of the second half, but things improved from there and overall it was good. Himeka looked to be in good condition after her injury, as performed her usual power moves and took some big bumps. Mayu did a bullish workover on Himeka's healed mid-section and some cool kicks.
***1/2
5. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Konami vs. Saya Kamitani
Kamitani's performance was really good, while Konami didn't do much of interest. It was a rather basic match that didn't have much of anything remarkable, but the wrestling was good.
***
6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Tam Nakano vs. Maika
This is an interesting pairing and I didn't know what to expect; they worked really well together and had some nice exchanges. It was good for the time it went.
***1/2
7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Mayu Iwatani vs. Natsupoi
A rematch 6 years in the making. This was an exciting high speed style match with speedy exchanges and flashy offense. Some of the counters here I thought were really well set up and executed, including the finishing sequence. It was nice to see the return of high speed Mayu.
***1/2
8. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Koguma vs. Giulia
Typical Dangerous G style match with rugged, hard-hitting offense, steep angle bumps and strong selling. Their interaction in the Goddess tag match at the Yokohama Budokan was promising, and that chemistry was on full display in this match. I was hooked from the start. The combo of Koguma's agile high flying and power moves using her weight is a novel one. And Giulia again does a great job of highlighting the strengths of her opponent without compromising herself. This was a lush 14 minutes.
****
2. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Unagi Sayaka vs. Konami
Good match. I thought both of them put on lively performances and the action flowed really well.
***1/4
3. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: AZM vs. Maika
AZM has some experience in judo I think she was able to draw upon in some of the grapple exchanges with Maika here. This was a fun burst of action, with AZM using her speed and technique to swarm the larger powerhouse. Maika's comeback was a sudden but crushing, with a stiff lariat followed by a Michinoku Driver.
***1/2
