Cho-un Shiryu & Masahiro Takanashi vs. Riho & Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 10/22/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・317 (10/22/2017)

Cho-un Shiryu & Masahiro Takanashi vs. Riho & Mitsuru Konno

"Nice" intergender violence. I like the moment where Masahiro blindsides Konno during her posedown with Shiryu. Riho & Konno's reprisals were strong, the assisted crossbody was an awesome spot. Shiryu finishes Konno with a unique hold that looked like a Gory special into a standing cloverleaf.

***1/4

AKINO, Mariko Yoshida & Ai Fujita vs. Lioness Asuka, Takako Inoue & Mima Shimoda (ARSION, 3/2/2003)

ARSION (3/2/2003)

Gauntlet: AKINO, Mariko Yoshida & Ai Fujita vs. Lioness Asuka, Takako Inoue & Mima Shimoda

This was a great gauntlet match, all of the match-ups were exciting. It dragged a bit during the final between AKINO and Asuka, but even then they created great moments. Inoue was the MVP, there's a sequence where she's desperately swinging her stun gun at an evading Mariko that was really cool.

***1/2

Stardom - Year-End Climax 2017 (12/24/2017)

2. Queen's Quest (AZM & Momo Watanabe) vs. Rachael Ellering & Scarlett

An alright match, inoffensive. I enjoyed Momo & AZM's teamwork.

**

3. Loser Can't Shout: Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Oedo Tai (Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu)

Highstakes in this match, Hiromi's "shouto" gimmick is on the line. Like the one before it, it was alright, but nothing special. I think Oedo Tai should have scored some near-falls for added drama, they didn't really play up the stipulation.

**

4. High Speed Championship: Mari Apache (c) vs. Starlight Kid

I enjoyed the hell out of this -- it was awesome. Mari did an amazing job leading, making Kiddo look good while dealing out punishing offense. Kid's rallies were great and the crowd was into her perfomance from start to finish.

***1/2

5. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) (c) vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora)

Team Jungle put forth a strong effort with powerhouse offense and double teams, but Oedo Tai managed to put their in-fighting aside to get the win. This had drama and a lot of action, great work by everyone involved.

***3/4

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. HZK

This is the third match between these two this year, and I thought it was the best of the three. This was an intense back and forth with amazing bumps and counters. Io has been doing a great job of keeping herself fresh lately, she has been finding new approaches to her matches and I thought she was interesting here. HZK's growth was full display.

***1/2

7. Meiko Satomura & Toni Storm vs. Takumi Iroha & Yoko Bito

Bito's last dance... :( This was an enjoyable main event, about what I expected from it, nothing blow-away, but a nice little match. The real main event is the retirement ceremony. I like how Iroha has been treated as a big time player and hope that continues in 2018.

**3/4

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Masa Takanashi (DDT, 4/4/2010)

DDT (4/4/2010)

KO-D Openweight Championship: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) vs. Masa Takanashi

This was a star-making performance for Masa Takanashi at the time, critically acclaimed by Japanese smarks. I don't rate it quite as high as I did when I first watched it, but I still found enjoyment in it. The underdog performance from Masa was spectacular -- DDT is the best when it comes to unproven talent stepping their game up and delivering when they're given an opportunity.

***1/2

Masa Takanashi vs. Yasu Urano (DDT, 8/8/2008)

DDT - Belt HunterxHunter Production Beer Garden Pro Wrestling (8/8/2008)

Masa Takanashi vs. Yasu Urano

This match-up is the main event and its duration is just short of 30-minutes, I didn't know what to expect, but it was a solid match. The bulk of this match is a grueling workover by Yasu on Masa's neck, and I felt the move progression was well done. Masa's dramatic bumping added a lot. His selling of the neck could have been stronger, but the crowd was going wild when he made his comeback, it was an enthralling finish.

***

Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Mr. Pogo (W*ING, 3/8/1992)

W*ING - Who’s the Danger? (3/8/1992)

Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match: Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Mr. Pogo

I had to skim through certain parts of this because there's only so much walking-and-brawling I can take. It's interesting that the only weapon used was a barbed wire bat, I feel they made this object feel important. The highlight here is when Pogo sets Matsunaga on fire. Matsunaga's head goes up in flames! Crazy! The crowd reaction for this was special, they were into everything these two did.

***

Emi Sakura vs. Kotori (Gatoh Move, 12/30/2012)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・15 (12/30/2012)

Exhibition: Emi Sakura vs. Kotori

Digging deep into "Kotori"'s catalog with this match, this is one of her pre-debut exhibition matches. A dark match. Worth noting that this was before she got the quotations around her name. An alright match, they kept things simple and focused and the crowd was having a lot of fun.

**