The build to Korakuen Hall continued as Gatoh Move once again stopped by Shinkiba for a show with all the potential in the world. We now know our main event for Gatoh’s biggest event in years, as Mei Suruga will take on Emi Sakura, but with the boss having returned to America, she’s deputised one of her oldest friends to step in and put her trainee through her paces. Kaori Yoneyama vs Mei Suruga? Yes, please.
We opened with Obi and Mei singing ‘MAKE@IKUSA’, which is a bit of a Gatoh Move classic. Chie and Miya then joined them at the end before tagging in for Obi to do ‘Ri-Ri-Ringo’, a song that never fails to wriggle its way into my head when I hear it. It will be there for at least a week. When the singing was done, Mei had to get in between Chie and Miya, who were already squabbling ahead of their match. They’re getting quite good at these ring show openings. It’s not quite the Up Up Girls, but it’s serving a similar purpose.
Erii Kanae defeated Hiyori Yawata
Two rookies who have yet to taste victory. Is there a better way to open a show? I’m not sure there is. It’s been a TJPW staple recently, but with Gatoh’s growing roster of youngsters, it makes sense for them to follow suit. Erii and Hiyori are both still inexperienced, so there wasn’t anything too complicated here, but there didn’t need to be. These matches thrive on vibes as much as they do in-ring action.
And I find these two incredibly likeable. I’ve written about Erii and how quickly she won me over before, but Hiyori might have one-upped her. I haven’t quite put my finger on why I find her so utterly charming, but I do. She has a bustling energy that certainly helps, but I don’t think it’s just that. Maybe it’s the pom pom hat? I do love it. Then there’s the fact that she’s concocted such a ridiculous signature move for herself, running around to tap all the turnbuckles before delivering a big boot. It should be a touch too silly, but she does it with such enthusiasm that I can’t help but cheer along. If Gatoh ever decides to do one of those strap matches where you have to tap each corner to win, it should instantly become her speciality.
As for Erii, we saw hints that she could be an effective bully as she got her first opportunity to take the bulk of the offence in a match. She didn’t lean fully into it, but her physicality let her dominate Hiyori at times, and I can picture a future where she gets a little bit mean. Not that she took it easy, as she picked up her first victory in an enjoyable wee opener. Honestly, your feelings towards this will probably be dictated by how much affection you have for these rookies. If you’re parachuting in with no prior attachment, you’ll think it was okay. If, like me, you’ve already watched them grow from their exhibitions to where they are now, it feels like a big deal. They got the chance to carry a match, and while it wasn’t a masterpiece, it was a nice time.
Verdict: A Fun Opener
SAKI, Chie Koishikawa & Sayaka Obihiro defeated Makoto, Miya Yotsuba & Tokiko Kirhara
Popcorn Kawild’s entrance reminded me of taking an energetic puppy for a walk. Obi and SAKI were able to take it easy, strolling along, content that while the distance they covered wasn’t that great, Chie was charging about the place, getting ten times the exercise they did. You’ve got to tire your Chie out if you want her to sleep well at night.
Are there two more reliable figures around right now than SAKI and Makoto? Calling someone a safe pair of hands always sounds a touch patronising, but that’s what they are. Whether they’re doing comedy or hard-hitting action, they’re the perfect anchors to drop in the middle of these Gatoh Move goofs. Plus, when you throw them at each other, you know you’ll get at least something decent, even in a match where they never felt the need to push themselves.
On the side of the regular roster members, the main friction was between Chie and Miya. They’ve been snarling at each other recently, with Chie appearing to have pinpointed Yotsuba as a threat to her spot on the card. That’s perhaps what led to her loud celebrations when she got the win, yelling in Miya’s face with delight after her and Obi’s trickiness helped get them over the line. Miya is strong and bursting with potential, but Obi and Chie had that experience edge on her, and when the action came thick and fast towards the end, they had more shenanigans up their sleeves, leaving them able to bundle her up for the three.
The main flaw was that it was too short. With it all going a touch under eight minutes, they didn’t have enough time to make a mark, and I felt like they could have used a couple more to push this to the next level. Still, it was a fun wee match, and while it’s probably not one you’ll ever return to, it was an easy watch while it was on.
Verdict: A Good Time
Takashi Sasaki defeated Baliyan Akki
We had a classic match of two halves here. The opening was slow, almost painfully so. After Akki tried to blitz Sasaki in the first few seconds, he had a bin launched at his head off a dive attempt, and everything shuddered to a halt. It got to the point where I was worried he was injured, as he stayed down for a long time before they teased multiple count-outs. Thankfully, I don’t think he was (unless he’d taken a knock to the head ), but the action still felt like it was paying off events that hadn’t happened. Akki was selling like he’d been through a war when they’d only just got started.
Thankfully, towards the end, they found a groove that worked much better. It still had Akki battling from underneath, trying to take down the scarred veteran Sasaki, but the pace was up, and the action flowed quicker. We got to see Sasaki unleashing a variety of suplexes and hard knees, delivering the kind of beating that it felt like Akki was selling earlier in the match. He responded with an attack that felt desperate, throwing everything in his opportunities and powering out of pins that looked like they should have been the end. There was nothing complex about it, but it worked nicely, and Akki was much better cast as a defiant, fighting underdog than one who was struggling to get going.
It meant this had the opposite issue of the previous match. Where that felt too short, this felt too long, and if you’d shaved off a couple of minutes at the start, letting them go all out for the time they had, I think it would have been a thrill. Instead, all the momentum was sapped out of it, and while they got it back, it’s hard to forget the period when not much was happening. Still, it was far from a disaster, and there was still plenty to like here. I just came away feeling like it could have been even more.
Verdict: Flawed, But Not Without Merit
Team New Beijing Pro Wrestling (Chon Hone Shiryu, Iwabee Takanashi, Keijiro Ohka & Masamune) defeated Team Baka Gaijin (Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Sayaka)
The Baka Gaijin vs Beijing Pro-Wrestling feud continued, with Brookes swapping out Mecha Mummy for HARASHIMA and Chon doing a complete overhaul of his squad as Masa, Ohka and Masamune came in for MAO, Makoto and Otoki. There were also some references going on here that I did not understand, such as Team Chon dressing in leopard print with Ohka ‘smoking’ a pipe. There is every chance they were hilarious if you were in on the joke, but they sailed over my head.
Sadly, that was also true for the rest of the match. Not that it was going over my head, they didn’t go that weird with it, but that the whole thing never quite landed with me. There were great moments as people like Masa and Chon slid into the grooves caused by years of working together, setting up and executing double-team moves flawlessly. Then you’ve got HARASHIMA, who wasn’t exactly giving this 110% but is a classy enough wrestler that it doesn’t matter much. There’s an elegance to everything he does, even when that something is countering an Ohka spear by driving his knees into him.
Unfortunately, I think it lacked the chaos factor I want from a match like this. Honda and Ohka carried most of the comedic aspects, and there were a few chuckles, but Anton getting a pipe stuck in his head didn’t go down as well as MAO and his Roomba did in the last iteration of this feud. I want a match like this to detach itself from reality, allowing those involved to indulge their daftest ideas, but for the most part, it was fairly mundane. Watchable but never inspiring.
Verdict: Fine
Kaori Yoneyama defeated Mei Suruga
Mei Suruga may have been raised in Sakuraism, but in many ways, she has more of her trainer’s old pal Kaori Yoneyama in her than she does Emi. Not only are they menaces who delight in the goblin arts, but both have committed to the smaller joys of wrestling. While they’ve had their opportunities in more lauded companies, their homes are Gatoh Move and YMZ, where they’re free to indulge in the nonsense they love best. There is every chance Suruga will one day sign with one of those big names, going on to more profitable things. However, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see her running her own tiny independent, following in the footsteps of her mentors.
At this point, though, Mei is still at home and trailing a step or ten behind the master. With Emi Sakura in America, she came into this looking to make a point against Emi’s Reset partner. What Mei hadn’t taken into account is that Yone has been menacing since before Mei even knew what wrestling was. Not only can the older wrestler do everything she can, but she does it nastier than her. We’re so used to Yoneyama as the cheerful veteran imp of the scene that you forget she’s more than capable of being a dick. In front of Mei’s crowd, she leant into that. Whether locking on a chin lock that little bit tighter, stomping down on Mei’s head to escape a Propeller Clutch or dragging her through the booing fans, everything she did had an edge.
That forced Mei to dig deeper than she usually does, calling back to her fantastic match with Momoka Hanazono as she embraced her own nasty side. That even saw her pull out some Sakura moves (the cruellest person she knows), hitting a crossbody through the ropes before taking the fight to the stage and then leaping from the top to stomp down on Yone’s arm. Mei’s always had a bit of edge, but it’s rarely feels as violent as it did when she was trying to wrestle back control of this match. Suruga realised that if she was going to make an impact, she couldn’t rely on the tricks she’s been using her whole career. Yone has seen it all, so she had to find something else, and that something was matching the veteran’s ability to be a prick.
The plan nearly worked. As the match went on, all elements of the good-time wrestling these two are known for dropped off as even the strikes stiffened up. Then, in the final seconds, they indulged themselves, launching into a high speed sequence of flash pins that saw them both steal the other’s signature holds in an attempt to get out of there with the three. Unfortunately, that was Mei’s final mistake. She’s good at that stuff, great even, but Yoneyama is one of the masters. If you play those games with her, she will beat you.
God, I loved this. Whenever Mei has one of these big singles matches, she smashes it out of the park, and she’s arguably getting better at every attempt. Yoneyama was the perfect dance partner as someone who could match her speed while introducing a different element. She forced Mei to evolve, pulling out the part of her that we don’t see all that often, and this match benefitted greatly from it. With Mei vs Takase already booked for the next ring show and the Emi match to follow, Suruga might be about to go one of the best runs of the year, and I can’t wait to watch it.
Verdict: Outstanding
In the aftermath, Masa read a letter from Emi Sakura that seemed to have been purposefully written to annoy everyone. I couldn’t quite keep up with what was going down, but at one point, Chie ripped it to shreds, only for Masa to produce the backup copy Emi had given him for that eventuality. You can’t get one over on the oni. Whatever the small details were, it saw Hyakkin Thunders vs SAKI and Mizuki join Mei vs Miyuki Takase for July’s ring show. That sounds like a lovely time.
Overall
Gatoh Move has been on a roll recently, but I think this was one of their weaker undercards. There was stuff to enjoy, including the rookie battle and a fun six-person tag, but I can’t claim anyone has to go out of their way to see it. However, if you haven’t checked out the main event, fix that problem now. I had high hopes coming in, but Mei and Yone matched and bettered them. They’re two of the best, so don’t miss it.
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