Emi Sakura vs. Baliyan Akki (ChocoPro, 5/4/2020)

ChocoPro - #10 (5/4/2020)

Emi Sakura vs. Baliyan Akki

One of the best ChocoPro matches so far. Emi was working hard, showing her brilliance with clever matwork and counters. Akki's amazing physical ability allows him to do some awesome moves, and he was explosive on offense. The finishing sequence, where they go back and forth with counters, was very intense, especially for a show with no fans.

***3/4

Ryo Mizunami vs. Mei Suruga (ChocoPro, 5/3/2020)

ChocoPro #9 (5/3/2020)

Ryo Mizunami vs. Mei Suruga

This was a good main event. Both wrestlers are known for their charisma so there was lots of personality on display. No fans in attendance allowed them to make full use of the Ichigaya venue for some unique spots and brawling. Mei received brutal chest punishment with those chops from Mizunami.

***1/4

Sayaka Obihiro vs. Antonio Honda (ChocoPro, 4/29/2020

ChocoPro - #8 (4/29/2020)

Sayaka Obihiro vs. Antonio Honda

Obihiro's return match from injury. The match transitions from some hit-or-miss comedy into a hard-hitting, emotional struggle. Thought the shift in tone was executed in a way that was almost unnoticeable. Honda played the bully well in the way that he systematic picked apart Obihiro with a rough leg workover. Really good match.

***1/2

Ryo Mizunami vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto (WAVE, 6/5/2016)

WAVE - Catch the WAVE 2016 ~Namijo Kesshosen~ (6/5/2016)

Catch the WAVE 2016 Finals: Ryo Mizunami vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

An awesome match and easily one of my favorite matches from Fujimoto's catalog. Both wrestlers gave strong performances, showing a real drive to win, and built to a hot finish. There was a new level of viciousness from Fujimoto, rarely seen in her home promotion. And Mizunami drops Fujimoto on her head a bunch with some devastating offense. This was also one of the rare instances in recent years where WAVE drew a strong crowd at Korakuen Hall so the atmosphere was great for the tournament finals.

****1/2

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