Month: January 2019

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Wave 12/29/18 Live Thoughts

December 29, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

Wave’s big year end show ended up even more significant than usual for the company. Not only was it Misaki Ohata’s retirement show, but also the final “phase 1” show for Wave as they prepared to go on hiatus for four months to then relaunch under new management.

 

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Hiroyo Matsumoto is a force of nature in the ring, and the formula of seeing how much an up and comer can withstand against Lady Godzilla is a good one. Hiroe Nagahama put up a good fight in this opener before Hiroyo’s relentless onslaught gave her the victory.

 

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Next up was a 9-woman battle royal, somewhat surprisingly unthemed since this was a retirement show. Cherry outlasted Fairy Nihonbashi, Hikaru Shida, Himeka Arita, Kaori Yoneyama, Miyuki Takase, Natsumi Maki, Rin Kadokura, and SAKI to win in about ten minutes.

 

 

 

Considering the talent level and interesting names involved, some of the early eliminations and the spotlight coming down to Cherry and Fairy at the end was a bit underwhelming. Still there were a number of amusing spots (including a rather well done slow motion sequence), it didn’t overstay its welcome, and this was reasonably entertaining overall.

 

 

 

In my review of Hikaru Shida’s 10th Anniversary show I remarked how well Wave’s Rina Yamashita and her partner that night Mio Momono executed the resentful tag partners story and won without making their opponents look weak. Men’s Wave featuring Keisuke Goto & Kenichiro Arai vs Koju Takeda & Onryo was pretty much the opposite.

Goto & Arai (opponents in the  previous year’s Men’s Wave tag) were at each others throats all match, leading to occasional advantages for their opponents, but in the end Goto tired of Arai, shoved his partner away, did his own thing, and won the match single handedly. Which earned him Arai’s respect after the match. Basic ringwork and meh story here (and I don’t quite get the point/appeal of Onryo’s gimmick of coming to the ring saturated with powder and essentially being a human dust cloud to the point the ring needed cleaning before the next match).

 

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In what I considered a rather surprising upset, Nagisa Nozaki defeated a former Regina di Wave champion in Marvelous’ Takumi Iroha in singles competition.  This was a well worked, exciting little match and a huge yet believable win for Nagisa.

 

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After a preview seeing them on opposite sides of a tag encounter the night before at SEAdLINNNG, that company’s estranged former tag team champions Rina Yamishita and Yoshiko continued their feud in singles competition. The two waged war and beat the hell out of each other for a full 15 minutes, going to a time limit draw. There was silliness around Rina’s insistence in covering *herself* in a trash can for a couple of (failed) attacks, but in general this heated brawl was intense and relentless. Great match for what it was.

 

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Speaking of SEAdLINNNG, their founder and current champion Nanae Takahashi, defeated ASUKA (a former Regina di Wave champion in her own right) next in a match with a few nice flourishes that was a bit paint-by-numbers otherwise.

 

 

 

So with Mio Momono pulled from every other show leading up to this due to impending knee surgery she rightfully took it easy here and … BWAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, no. While I really hope she didn’t push herself too hard the self proclaimed BOSS as always gave everything she had (including a dive to the floor minutes into the match O_o), with her WAVE Tag Team champion partner Yumi Ohka and opponents Sakura Hirota & Yuki Miyazaki doing a remarkable job of protecting Mio without anyone ever making it look obviously like they were protecting Mio.

Boss to Mammy would eventually drop those titles to the Hirota & Miyazaki after a near twenty minute battle that was much better than I honestly expected with Mio injured and the challengers largely a comedy team. Sakura busted out the working boots in a major way here, reminding everyone how much skill actually goes into her type of comedy by transcending it at points with spot on technical displays. She even hit the dive to the outside (well, after two failed attempts of course 😉 )!!! She’s still Sakura Hirota of course though, and won by collapsing into a pin on Ohka after a collision.

Mio has since had her knee surgery, and I wish her a speedy recovery and return.

 

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In the main event Misaki Ohata challenged her Avid Rival tag team partner Ryo Mizunami for the Regina di Wave Title in Ohata’s final match.

This was a different kind of retirement match than I’ve seen for others. Since it was a championship match they had a straight up contest befitting the prestige of the title and traditional “retirement spots” were completely absent. They clearly still had some fun with things though, such as when they brawled to the time keeper’s table and Misaki rang the bell directly in Ryo’s ear (ouch!).

 

 

 

As to be expected from two wrestlers of this caliber that know each other so well this was an excellent, hard hitting, back and forth encounter. Misaki eventually busted out a rolling variation of her Sky Blue Suplex (!!) and just wore the champion down until a final Sky Blue Suplex with bridge gave her the win and saw Misaki retire as Regina di Wave champion. Fantastic match and a well deserved honor for the twelve year veteran.

 

 

 

Misaki was in good spirits and joking around a bit during her retirement ceremony (even while her poor partner cried goodbye), a nice sign of her being satisfied with her career and ready to proceed to whatever’s next.  I’ll miss her but wish her well.

Likely because of Wave’s hiatus, there was no Zan-1 champion crowned this year. To end the night a video hyping Wave’s return in April was played, hinting at Hirota signing with Wave among other things.

 

 

 

Wave’s year (and “phase 1”) end show was missing some of the elements I’d usually associate with a retirement show, but it still felt a fitting and suitable goodbye for Misaki. The matches were mostly decent with a few exceptional ones, making the show enjoyable even beyond it’s significance and emotional notes.

Categories
Japan Wrestling

Hikaru Shida’s 10th Anniversary Show 10/9/18

I’ve been long familiar with Hikaru Shida from Shimmer, as well as here and there after I started coming to Japan. When I was planning my Fall trip (largely around Aoi Kizuki’s retirement show, which featured Shida in the main event), I noticed I could catch this special anniversary show the night before I returned, and decided to check it out. Looked decent on paper, with a variety of match types and surrounding intrigue featuring wrestlers from various promotions, although I honesty wasn’t 100% sure exactly how well it would all come together.

 

 

Things started out interesting right away with a pairing of two incredible wrestlers who clearly weren’t entirely thrilled to be teaming together. Mio Momono & Rina Yamashita walked the fine line of maintaining a certain level of disrespect for each other throughout their match against Kaori Yoneyama & Koharu Hinata while still remaining competitive and properly recognizing their opponents as a threat.

Mio continues to be particularly fantastic, and I hope she recovers quickly and completely from her recent knee surgery and is able to return to wrestling. Great spots like Mio playing jump rope with their opponent during a Rina giant swing and her “helping” Rina during a submission hold by pulling Rina’s hair for “leverage” were made even better by the charisma and ttitude she brings to them. Really well done overall, with Mio & Rina staying serious enough despite their egos and issues that their eventual victory was still believable and didn’t make their opponents look weak.

 

 

So Misaki Ohata, Hiroyo Matsumoto, & Buffalo vs Yako Fujigasaki, Gabai Ji-chan, Toru Owashi was that good balance of ridiculousness and action that I desperately look for in most of my comedy matches. While not all of the humor was to my personal tastes (I tend to find Ji-chan amusing and annoying in equal measure), this turned out quite fun overall.

The foil cone “weapon” being aimed at people’s backsides was a focal point several times, as was Misaki’s engagement. Her partners sacrificed themselves to an attack with it to protect her at one point, and later when Misaki herself stole and wielded the weapon Toru put on a mask of Misaki’s fiance Makoto Oishi to dissuade her from attacking. Toru’s strategy was unsurprisingly unsuccessful.

It was really nice to see 3S together one last time before Misaki retired, and I enjoyed a lot of this. Also, seeing Misaki absolutely SPIKE Ji-chan with her crucifix bomb for the win was really satisfying.

 

 

In what may have been my personal most anticipated match of the night, Ice Ribbon regular Maika Ozaki got a chance to face reigning Sendai Girls’ champion  Chihiro Hashimoto (in non-title competition of course). It’s not a pairing that would normally be likely given the lack of crossover between the two companies at the moment, and one I was extremely excited to see. This was a great showcase for Maika against one of the very best power wrestlers in the world, and she pushed the beast that is Chihiro to the limit before Sendai’s champ finally put down the upstart.

 

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I swear I’ve seen Madoka announced under like five different names in various matches, and a quick search shows he has like ten. Here, as Hagane Shinnou, he teamed with Risa Sera against Aja Kong & TARU. No illusions about what kind of match this would be, as Risa was bloody in under two minutes. They fought all over, inside and outside the ring and right by me a few times, spreading chaos all over the arena.

This was all about Risa & Madoka trying to survive the monsters, and as such it had a fire absent from some of the other hardcore matches I’ve seen recently. Easily the most compelling performance I’ve seen from Risa all year. Risa can be incredible in this kind of match, often in my opinion when she’s more the underdog, and was both here. This was a “the journey is as important as the destination” type of match, and going to a draw with the monsters made Risa & Madoka look like stars.

 

 

In the main event Hikaru Shida seemed to be setting out to exorcise a personal demon against Naomuchi Marufuji. They had faced earlier in the year, with Shida getting knocked out in under two minutes. I could feel the pressure weighing on Shida as she looked to prove herself by at least putting up a better fight here. The right story, well worked, makes all the difference and they built off of that feeling of insecurity to craft an excellent match in both story and action.

 

 

Marufuji looked great, and it was nice to see him wrestle live again many years after seeing him in ROH. While testing Shida he certainly wasn’t holding back, and his onslaught of chops left Shida’s chest a painful to look at vivid red bruise.

This was really well done, and one of the best matches I’ve ever seen from Shida. She gave Marufuji a real challenge in a believable way and battled for eighteen minutes, but eventually came up short and Marufuji emerged victorious.

 

 

I’m honestly kind of surprised how great this was from top to bottom. Everything clicked, being really well booked an executed in terms of stories and action within each individual situation and avoiding potential pitfalls. Generally everyone just made the most of their opportunities, and this was a high note to end this particular trip on.

 

 

 

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Ninja Mio sees you…

 

 

Categories
Reviews Video Games

Gris Review

 

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Gris is an enjoyable platformer with a melancholy atmosphere and a sense of wonder. It’s absolutely GORGEOUS, with an evolving look as color slowly comes back into the world as the player progresses. I found the controls, evolving abilities, and game design well implemented (for the most part) and most importantly, fun.

On the flip side, there’s a touch too little exploration to be done of/in the engaging landscape, particularly in the wonderfully stark early section. The game will kind of railroad the player around at certain points, making it hard to get a sense of geography. When the visuals change dramatically and the game spins me around rapidly down several unclimbable slopes I often couldn’t tell if I was re-exploring an area I’d already visited or not. It didn’t significantly impact my progression, but did break immersion a bit. Also, some dramatic moments have their impact pretty much killed when control is either forcibly (by turning things into a cut scene in the middle of a pivotable moment) or subtly (having the player apparently in control but without their actions actually making a difference in outcomes) taken away.

So it’s not without its drawbacks, but there’s still a solid, engaging game in Gris well worth checking out for anyone who likes the idea of an “artsy” platformer shaped by its underlying themes.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Gatoh Move 12/30 & 12/31/18 Live Thoughts

December 30 and 31, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

Shows #2 and 3 from Gatoh Move for this trip, although I was also lucky enough to also see Gatoh talent in action at Michinoku Pro on 12/21 and SEAdLINNNG on 12/28.

 

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As I like to explain to start my Ichigaya reviews, these events are held in a small room with no ring and two large windows on one wall which are removed for the shows. The crowd itself is effectively the “rope break” marker and the wrestlers will sometimes use the front row to bounce off of for “running the ropes” and the windowsills to jump off of for high risk maneuvers. The limitations of the venue restrict the action in ways compared to “normal” matches, but also provide opportunities for creative variations on standard wrestling elements.

Pictures are not allowed during the show but can be taken afterward, so my pics here won’t contain anything from the matches and will only be of the roundtable and dancing following the shows (as well as of some souvenirs).

 

12/30/18:

 

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I’ve seen An-chamu at Gatoh Move once before in 6-person tag team competition, but here the gravure model had a singles opportunity against Gatoh’s resident ace in Riho. An has a different look and approach to wrestling that helps her stand out. She’s not nearly as physically strong as the other rookies, so has to adapt a bit in style. So far it’s working well and provides a nice contrast. Decent showing before the women tri-champion Riho turned up the pressure and simply outpaced and dispatched of the rookie.

 

 

Mei Suruga’s straight ahead, “I can take on the world” optimistic character is fantastic, and the undercurrents of mind games and one-upmanship it fostered in her match with the larger, stronger Saki were phenomenal. Lots of compelling, back and forth action until the size and power advantage finally swung things Saki’s way and she picked up the victory.

 

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Masahiro Takanashi, Emi Sakura, & Baliyan Akki are always a blast as a trios team as their heel instincts gradually come out, making their pairing against the hero group of  Mitsuru Konno, Sawasdee Kamen, & Sayaka Obihiro even more appropriate and fun. Obi didn’t quite mesh well with the masked heroes in the end, causing miscommunications that lead to Akki pinning Mitsuru. Sawasdee was not happy with Obi “failing” his regular partner and made it known. Standard high level performance from Gatoh’s 6-person tags.

 

 

12/31/18:

 

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Baliyan Akki  vs Cherry vs Toru Owashi was of course comedy heavy with the talent involved, but still felt nicely competitive. Cherry outsmarting  her much larger opponents and pitting them against one another to earn a win here was a really solid story to build around, and they did so reasonably well.

 

Seeing Masahiro Takanashi and Cho-un go to a time limit draw on New Year’s Eve has become something of annual tradition, and to be honest one I was a bit lukewarm on last year. I feel like they pushed themselves a bit to do something different this time, to great effect. While the previous matches were decent, this one was more interesting, with better pacing and the draw feeling less like a forgone conclusion, and unusual elements (like fighting over an audience member’s stool) being involved. Kudos to the vets for freshening things up.

 

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The main event was a “old Gatoh Move vs new Gatoh Move” 6-woman tag as Riho, Sayaka Obihiro, & Emi Sakura faced Mitsuru Konno, Mei Suruga, & Yuna Mizumori. From little things like brawling through the crowd a little more to coming up with inventive new ways to use the windows to all the tiny, detailed character touches they all use to differentiate themselves, Gatoh Move’s firing on all cylinders and the results are amazing. I loved this match, from the starting moments where Sakura didn’t quite care about being a full part of her team through to when the veterans’ skills were just a little too much for the rookies’ energetic determination to overcome and all the frantic, captivating action in between. Mei was eventually isolated by her opponents, triple teamed liberally, and pinned by Riho.

 

 

Seeing Gatoh Move at full strength is so awesome, and as I’ll mention often in this batch of write ups there was a definite feeling of progression and evolution in these shows. The wrestlers are pushing the boundaries of the format, environment, and the personal strengths and weaknesses they’re working with and elevating what was already always a fun time to another level. Everything’s consistently coming together wonderfully and it’s a joy to see.

 

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Ice Ribbon 10/8/18 Live Thoughts

October 8, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

Stepping back a little to look at one of the last two shows I have to write up from my September-October trip. Big Korakuen show for Ice Ribbon here, the day after most of the roster appeared at Aoi Kizuki’s retirement show.

 

 

The show opened with a non-title 2 out of 3 falls contest with unspecified other stipulations between reigning Ice Cross Infinity Champion Tsukasa Fujimoto and Risa Sera.

If any in story reason for this being the opener was given, I missed it. I generally dislike it when things happen unexplained because of how the match is going to play out and had that sinking feeling here, and sure enough this started the show so it could continue throughout the event.

First fall was a regular match, which seemed there to placate the live audience and be able to say that those who paid to attend the show live got to see some of Risa vs Tsukka. While it involving these two meant it was still decent, it wasn’t enough honestly. Eight and half minutes of them hitting their signature spots before they disappeared to wrestle elsewhere for hours.

To be clear I don’t blame them at all for pacing themselves, but given the majority wouldn’t be happening at the arena I would’ve liked to see something… more compelling at least from this first fall. The biggest problem with the angle they’re running of Risa’s character being much more effective/interested in hardcore matches than regular matches is it seems to be bleeding over into her work and her regular matches feel less interesting/engaging than her hardcore stuff now.

Tsukka won this clean as a whistle center of the ring (more on that later). Then the second fall was announced as falls count anywhere and they brawled through the crowd … and out of the arena, leaving the live audience behind. A referee and camera was sent after them, and the show moved on.

 

 

In a somewhat tough spot of being overshadowed by the match that just vacated the arena, Miyako Matsumoto, Tae Honma, & Uno Matsuya vs Tequila Saya, Giulia, & Makoto was a decent way to keep the energy in the arena up. Good match overall, and I really liked Tae’s increasing frustration with her own partner Uno as things went on. Little touches are so important.

On a side note, I think this was my first time seeing Saya’s entrance gear that riffs on Giulia’s militant look, with Saya’s version having a bandolier of shot glasses and a glass tequila bottle shaped like a gun. Fantastic.

 

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As Misaki Ohata’s career wound down this year I really enjoyed her involvement in P’s Party, particularly her matches / interactions with Asahi. So it was a real treat for me to see them team here against Arisa Nakajima & Karen DATE. I loved this, as beyond just great action it also had several interesting undercurrents being played off of throughout the match.

Arisa and Misaki’s mutual resentment was palpable, and Misaki’s strained patience with Asahi yet being rabidly protective when Arisa mocked the rookie was pitch perfect character work. Great stuff all around.

With all of the DATES currently absent from Ice Ribbon’s shows this seems like it was my last time seeing Karen live for the foreseeable future (if ever). A high note to go out on at least.

 

 

A year and change into her career, Ibuki Hoshi got the… opportunity… to face legend Aja Kong. Exactly as expected and warranted, as the defiant Ibuki fought her heart out but still eventually got wrecked by the veteran monster. Ibuki’s really solid in her storytelling, and this was quite good for this formula.

 

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Shortly before this show Maika Ozaki had temporarily broken up her GEKOKU team with Kyuri in a case of tough love because she thought the latter wasn’t as upset by losing matches as she should be. Here they were pitted against each other in tag action, teaming with Nao DATE and Totoro Satsuki respectively.

I adore the fact that they were teaming with two wrestlers who were regular partners themselves (as Novel Tornado), as it created several interesting parallels between the team who was ok facing each other in a competitive environment and the team who was being torn apart by it. Kyuri wanted NO PART of fighting Maika, looking absolutely miserable during the ring entrances and only lightening up when in the ring against Nao. She wouldn’t even lock up with Maika at first, but later in the match when pushed far enough she completely went off on her usual partner in spectacular, crowd popping fashion.

 

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Maika, perhaps partially proving her point about Kyuri’s priorities, eventually prevails and pins her regular partner with the Muscle Buster. A dejected, depressed Kyuri then slinks off with Totoro in tow as Maika desperately tries to call her back and explain. Great interweaving of stories in a great match. Between this and the ActWres feud Gekoku has been the center of some of the best storytelling Ice Ribbon did all year, and of course the story wasn’t over yet.

Like Karen, Nao has also apparently stopped wrestling for now (?) since I saw this show. She’s one of my absolute favorites among Ice’s rookies and I hope to see her back someday.

 

 

Next up former Ice Ribbon wrestler and unwelcome invader Hikaru Shida faced Akane Fujita. Fine, if a bit perfunctory. Long for what it was as Akane never had a chance here and they didn’t do a great job of ever making it feel like she did. Tae Homna being the only corner person for Shida (since all of Ice Ribbon hates her in story) was a nice little touch. Shida was confronted by the entire batch of Ice Ribbon “rookies” afterwards, which led to nothing.

 

 

So an hour an ten minutes later we get the finish of fall 2 of Tsukka vs Risa, relayed via video clip on a screen directly behind me. Yay live wrestling. Risa wins, and they hop on a train to continue for fall 3. How is “falls count anywhere” and “falls count anywhere (WE’RE ON A TRAIN NOW!)” any logically different as a stipulation? No idea. And on to the next match we went.

 

In the supposed semi-main event Maya Yukihi faced Wave’s Rina Yamishita. Really good showing for Maya against tough competition in a hard hitting fifteen minute battle before coming up short. She’s gradually and continually improved over the three years I’ve been watching her wrestle and is at the level for the position they’ve been building her towards. Rina’s great and it’s always nice to see her come to Ice Ribbon in the few appearances she makes.

 

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It seemed possible that Tsukushi’s journey since her redebut would culminate here and lead to the vacated International Ribbon Tag Team Champions of This is Ice Ribbon (Tsukushi & Kurumi Hiiragi) reclaiming the belts. But instead the team that claimed the belts in their absence, the Lovely Butchers (Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi), had their reign legitimized in a decisive win. Solid match, with Mochi and Tsukushi’s simmering animosity that bubbled over in at the dojo show days before providing a strong central emotional core to build around. But once the dust settled in the aftermath of the heated battled all was forgiven.

 

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But of course that wasn’t really the main event, because we still have a fall left of our “opener” to check in on. Risa wins the train battle, and thus the “match.” This makes her the #1 contender to Tsukka’s title, and then they throw to another video which is an announcement/commercial for a variety show TV special Ice Ribbon had coming up.

I was really torn on this, because I like that Ice Ribbon does unusual promotional things exactly like having a match spill all over Tokyo. On the other hand, as a member of the live, paying audience having the majority of this, including both the falls that actually mattered in the end, happen away from the venue and relayed on a video screen directly behind me quite honestly sucked. And progressing throughout the show the way it did meant it became the focal point, and the wrestling actually happening in the building was in some sense second fiddle to off site action. Another smaller frustration is that as a result the champion and number 1 contender, arguably the company’s two biggest stars, ended up hours away from the venue and missing for post show photo ops, etc.

On top of that Tsukka, the champion facing her rival who’s being set up to challenge her mind you, won center of the ring in the non-stipulation fall. Why does Risa then winning gimmicked, brawling falls make her number one contender in the exact type of match she just lost clean in short order?

This should be fine and enjoyable on dvd, but from my personal perspective as a live audience member as well as how it was presented / booked I was honestly disappointed.

 

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Overall this show was clearly a mixed bag for me live, but the primary issues I had won’t be a problem on tape and there’s some really great gems hiding in the undercard, so this still gets a recommendation from me to check out.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Gatoh Move 12/21 & 12/22/18 Live Thoughts

December 21 and 22, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

 

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Michinoku Pro 12/21/18:

Ok, this clearly wasn’t a Gatoh Move show, but at the risk of sacrilege the Gatoh Move 6-person tag was the reason I went. To be perfectly honest the rest of the card was incidental to me outside of the main event, and that’s a whole other story all together. So for now as I work through my significant backlog of shows I’d like to focus solely on the Gatoh match from this show.

 

 

The way this trip (and many of my others for that matter) fell I only saw Gatoh Move shows at Ichigaya, missing their larger, more traditional offers at places like Shinkiba 1st Ring that took place shortly before and after my visit. I adore Ichigaya and its unique environment (much more on that to come), but working and thriving in that space adds depth and versatility to their wrestling as a whole, not only what they can do there. So it’s also a treat to see them let loose in a traditional ring in general, let alone in a rare appearance at Korakuen Hall.

 

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Emi Sakura, Masahiro Takanashi, & Baliyan Akki vs Riho, Mei Suruga, & Greg Glorious was fantastic. Just non-stop, energetic fun for a straight eleven and a half minutes. It was my first look at Greg, who fit right in with the Gatoh crew and had a great showing in a victorious effort alongside Riho & Mei.

 

 

It was so cool to see rookies Mei and Akki’s Korakuen debuts, and of course any opportunity to see ring masters like Emi, Riho, and Masahiro let loose is to be cherished. Call me overenthusiastic if you like, but this was fantastic and is will certainly be in the discussion when I put together my best of the trip list.

 

 

Gatoh Move 12/22/18:

A day later and I was had my first show of the trip in Gatoh’s home base.

As I always explain to start my Ichigaya reviews, these events are held in a small room with no ring and two large windows on one wall which are removed for the shows. The crowd itself is effectively the “rope break” marker and the wrestlers will sometimes use the front row to bounce off of for “running the ropes” and the windowsills to jump off of for high risk maneuvers. The limitations of the venue restrict the action in ways compared to “normal” matches, but also provide opportunities for creative variations on standard wrestling elements.

Pictures are not allowed during the show but can be taken afterward, so my pics for this won’t contain anything from the matches and will only be of the roundtable and dancing following the shows (as well as of some souvenirs).

 

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Kazuhiro Tamura is a familiar guest at Gatoh, and provided a strong test for Yuna Mizumori to open the show. As I’ve noticed and remarked often about Sakura’s trainees, Yuna has a very distinct personality and energy that’s worked well into her ring style. In her specific case, the impression is that of a friendly, hyper wrecking ball and I adore watching her wrestle. Tamura was victorious here, but it was a fight.

 

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I really love when Masahiro Takanashi teams with Gatoh’s rookies, and Mei Suruga’s exuberance is a particularly great compliment to his straight ahead style. It was absolutely wonderful to see Sayaka Obihiro, recovered from injury and fully back, across the mat from them teaming with another regular guest in Saki. Fun back and forth contest, with Mei managing to be just a more on the same page with her veteran teammate than Obi and Saki managed as time wore on, opening the door for Takanashi to pickup the win. Nice story underlying a good match.

 

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I adore the Riho & Mitsuru Konno pairing (and honestly wish Riho had won the tag belts with Mitsuru instead of Makoto, but I suppose it’s possible that’s my bias speaking), so seeing them main event against Emi Sakura & Baliyan Akki was great.

Akki has come so far in the year since he came to Gatoh Move, and he had already been pretty impressive in my first exposure to his work. He’s making the most of the unique and rewarding experience of training and wrestling at Gatoh Move, and seems really comfortable with his wrestling and as a result can push himself in new directions.

Mitsuru’s showing a nice aggressive streak as frustration with her losses builds, and of course with Gatoh’s ace and founder anchoring this everything came together in an engaging contest that had several nice layers lurking beneath the surface.

 

 

I always enjoy Gatoh Move a lot, but something clicked even more so than the already high usual standard throughout the batch of shows I saw this trip, and it was immediately noticeable starting right here.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Ice Ribbon 12/29/18 Live Thoughts

December 29, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

This was two days out from Ribbonmania, so it was interesting to see how it would build up to the larger show.

 

 

The opening tag match of Giulia & Totoro Satsuki vs Asahi & Tequila Saya was great fun. Giulia and Saya played mind games with each other continuing their rather heated feud (for IR) going into their big mixed tag match at Ribbonmania, while Asahi continued desperately trying to prove herself. The latter would once again come up just short, eventually falling victim to Totoro and Giulia’s relentless assault to give them the victory.

 

 

Ibuki Hoshi is insanely good at working the underdog formula and was in another great showing against a veteran, in this case Tsukushi. Since these two would be on opposite sides of an 8-woman tag at Ribbonmania this was in some sense another lead in, although there was no specific issue between the teams nor this pairing. The rookie who isn’t won this pretty handily.

 

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In a more direct preview of Ribbonmania the Triangle Ribbon title challengers faced each other in a singles contest as Miyako Matsumoto faced Uno Matsuya. This was ok overall and a fine build up for the Ribbonmania match, although as much as I adore Miyako she was having an off night here even for her which did detract a bit. Her transition from sitting straight down with her opponent into the Miyacoco Clutch is awesome in theory, but I’ve never seen her execute it properly. Here she botched it rather severely, leaving her somehow sitting on top of poor Uno for the pin.

 

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The champions vs challengers main event 6-woman tag of Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Cross Infinity champion) & the Lovely Butchers (International Tag Ribbon champions Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi) vs Maya Yukihi & GEKOKU (Kyuri & Maika Ozaki) was fantastic, filled with a real sense of aggression and rivalry all around. Somewhat surprisingly, Maya scored a clean pinfall victory over Tsukka for a huge boost of confidence and momentum going into Ribbonmania.

 

 

This is the type of show I like best leading into a big event. Everything had some connection to matches happening at Ribbonmania, intrigue was added going into said matches without “giving the upcoming match away” so to speak, and the action was great for the most part. Another really enjoyable visit to the Ice Ribbon dojo.

 

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Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

SEAdLINNNG 12/28/18 Live Thoughts

December 28, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

 

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This SEAdLINNNG show at Shin-kiba 1st Ring had three matches and three stipulations announced, but which match would get which stipulation was to be decided by “random” draw day of. High speed rules seemed of most debate/interest, with the SEAdLINNNG roster wanting it for their matches and the visiting Emi Sakura of Gatoh Move desperately wanting anything else.

 

 

1- High Speed Match: Arisa Nakajima vs Ayame Sasamura vs Sakura Hirota

So the opening triple threat got the coveted high speed stipulation, and comedy wrestler Hirota found herself in rather dire straights against both of SEAdLINNG’s reigning tag team champions.  This was really fun and well done, with Hirota severely overmatched but able to take advantage of her opponents teamwork faltering at points due to competitiveness in this singles contest. Also, Hirota showed more of her own expertise in the ring, which enhanced and elevated her humor spots. This being high speed rules in SEAdLINNNG referee Natsuki Taiyo of course became involved in the action at points.

This was my first time seeing Ayame, who’s INCREDIBLE for her experience level. Arisa is of course Arisa, and never fails to impress. Things ended up with the tag champs getting a double pin of sorts on Hirota, and while the announcer initially proclaimed Arisa the victor the referee credited Ayame with the pin, giving her the win. The vet was not pleased, but kept things civil and supportive with her partner… for now, I’d imagine.

 

 

In between matches we got in ring interview segments. I likely would have felt different if I fully understood Japanese, but this really felt like overly long padding to make up for there only being three matches on the show. Especially when the second such segment went right into intermission. The second was slightly more amusing than the first (again, from a non-speaker’s perspective), as Hirota came out in costume and her guests were her opponents from the first match, so some of the emotions / reactions could be understood regardless.

 

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2- No Pinfall: Yoshiko & Himeka Arita  vs Rina Yamashita & Yuina

Yoshiko and Rina were SEAdLINNNG’s first tag team champions, and now apparently want each others heads on a platter. The stipulation here allows the match to end with anything other than a pinfall, including normal things like submission and countouts as well as by knockout (determined by not answering the referee’s count). Honestly it was half heartedly used, with only one attempt at a knockout count and a couple instances of the silly spot where wrestlers “forget” pinfalls don’t count and go for covers (funny how they hardly ever have their instincts take over and ignore the stipulation in ANY other kind of match/situation). For the match they wrestled this should have just been submission rules. The Rina versus Yoshiko sections had good fire and built to their impending singles contest at Wave, and the rest was ok, but overall this didn’t really draw me in as a whole.

 

 

3- Elimination Match: Emi Sakura, Yuna Mizumori, Mei Suruga vs Ryo Mizunami, Sae, Nanae Takahashi

So for the main event we have Gatoh Move’s founder with two of her rookies against SEAdLINNG’s champion, Wave’s champion, and a visiting freelancer rookie in an elimination 6-woman tag. Eliminations could happen by over the top rope to the floor in addition to the usual match ending conditions. 

This was excellent, with great use of the stipulation to structure the story of the match and draw the audience in, on top of awesome ringwork. There were a lot of parallels to the REINA vs Gatoh match from my second trip back in 2016, and I honestly expected this to end the same way, with a rookie from one team toughing it out against the other team’s “captain” at the end only to come up just short and look valiant in defeat. And that formula seemed in full effect throughout the majority of the 25 minute contest. There was a nice spotlight on Mei in the early stages and the expected precision work from Sakura (as a side note I desperate need more matches involving Emi vs Mizunami) as the Gatoh team seemed to be a little more cohesive in their teamwork before experience shifted the tide and things eventually came down to Yuna vs both of the reigning champions involved in the match.

 

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But in a wonderful subversion of expectation, Yuna would eliminate BOTH Ryo and Nanae to claim the upset win for the Gatoh trio in a frantic, wonderfully executed final section. Yuna is a wrecking ball in the ring in the best possible way, and her digging deep and powering her way through the odds was captivating, as well as totally believable. This was the PERFECT way to make the most of the stipulation, as Yuna looked incredibly strong, but without the champions looking weak (as the eliminations were over the top rope instead of pinfall, etc). Just incredibly well done from start to finish, including Sakura’s delight in her pupil’s win and the way she and Mei danced around Yuna in celebration / taunting fashion towards their opponents afterwards.

 

 

So I could have done with shorter talking segments, but the matches delivered overall which is what really matters, making this a strong show and an easy recommendation.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Tokyo Joshi Pro 12/22/18 Live Thoughts

December 22, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

Second time seeing Tokyo Joshi Pro at Itabashi Greenhall, and the first back in September was a lot of fun.

This show featured six special Christmas matches (mostly just in name), with the pairings of the twelve participants decided by random fan draw at a previous event and a 10 minute time limit on each contest. A pair of tag encounters rounded out the card.

 

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As usual, the Up Up Girls came out to dance to kick things off. I saw them debut against each other in a tag match to open TJP’s 1/4/18 show, so they’re coming up on their one year anniversary and all four will be repackaged with new gimmicks at 2019’s 1/4 show.

 

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The first of the X-mas matches was Yuki Aino vs YUMI.  It was my first look at Yumi, who actually seemed more comfortable in the ring than her slightly more experienced opponent (while they’re both in their rookie year, Yuki’s been wrestling since May and Yumi debuted less than a month ago). Basic and a bit bland contest that saw Yuki pick up the win.

 

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Raku & Veda Scott vs Hinano x & Yuki Kamifuku was built around alternating sequences of the Up Up Girls squaring off and Veda getting in each other’s faces about Yuki pretending not to understand English (she eventually went off on Veda fluently when her hair was touched, then reverted back to feigning lack of comprehension). Good character work from Hinano elevated this a bit, and I hope she keeps a lot of her mannerisms, etc with her repackaged character. The rest honestly struggled a bit to tell an interesting story ringwork-wise, and this was just ok as a result.

 

Next up for the the X-mas matches saw Yuna Manase defeat Mina Shirakawa. This was  bit odd, centered around breast based attacks from both that somehow still felt like part of a competitive match instead of comedy. Mina looked good in my first exposure to her work, and seems to have decent potential.

 

 

 

In contrast comedy was largely the focus of the third X-mas match between Hyper Misao and Miu, and it was reasonably amusing. Misao came out in a Christmas tree costume, and Miu was at a loss with what to do with her eccentric opponent. Fine all in all, although I honestly wouldn’t have had Miu lose to a comedy act.

 

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The fourth X-mas match was just past the midpoint of the show, and where things took off and never looked back. In what was very possibly the best match of the night, Reika Saiki battled Nodoka Tenma in a fast paced, exciting contest. Reika eventually wore down Tenma to the point where she could hit her jackhammer for the win. Reika’s gotten so great and I absolutely can’t wait to see her wrestle the legendary Meiko Satomura. Nodoka continues to benefit from the gimmick change, and kept pace with the Muscle Idol nicely.

 

 

 

Itoh Respect-gun (Maki Itoh & Mizuki) against Neko Haruna & Pom Harajuku was a way to feature a promising pair of rookies against two of TJP’s top level stars. It was a really fun tag match, with both Haruna and Pom looking decent before their inevitable defeat. Itoh’s on another level charisma-wise and is captivating to watch, and Mizuki’s one of TJP’s lynchpins from a work rate standpoint.

 

 

 

The semi-main and fifth of the X-mas matches featured reigning Princess of Princess champion Miyu Yamashita against the sole remaining member of the Up Up Girls she had yet to face in singles competition, Hikari.

 

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Hikari looked really good against the champ, portraying a tenacious aura and really seeming like she belonged in the ring with TJP’s ace. Miyu eventually prevailed, but only after a well done in ring story that benefitted both wrestlers. Would love to see a rematch down the road.

 

 

 

The main event and last of the X-mas matchups was Yuka Sakazaki vs Shoko Nakajima. This was a fantastic choice to end the show with going into the big 1/4/19 show at Korakuen. Last 1/4, Yuka & Shoko were the defending tag team champions against Mizuki & Gatoh Move’s Riho. This time, Yuka is now champions with Mizuki instead and Shoko has chosen to partner with Riho to challenge them. Beyond the really interesting dynamic this creates, the match itself last time was amazing and there’s no reason to expected anything else from these pairings.

 

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I’ve said it before and will say it numerous times again I’m sure: these are two of TJP’s most consistently great performers. As such this was excellent, with perfect pacing for a time limit draw and was structured such that the draw didn’t feel anticlimactic nor inevitable, which is difficult. Great preview for the upcoming tag title contest.

 

 

 

Overall this show was a great lead in to 1/4. The early matches were a bit lackluster, but there wasn’t anything horrible and the effort was there for the most part. The second half was excellent, and has really got me excited for Korakuen.