I don’t normally write about Sendai Girls, but with their storylines getting ever more intertwined with those of Marvelous, it felt like it was probably time to stop by. Plus, Mio was challenging for the belt, and I’m never going to miss an opportunity to rave about her and Big Hash.
Yumi Ohka defeated Yurika Oka
Outside of the main players, Oka is perhaps the person who gained the most from GAEAISM. She’s only 17 and young in her career, but they made a real effort to get her over, highlighting her throughout the build and in the six-woman tag that opened the card. It gives her a hell of a platform to build on, and winning the Junior Championship from Mei Hoshizuki on the last Sendai show was a good start.
This was a very different test for Oka, though. Ohka and those long legs controlled the bulk of the action, repeatedly booting her into next week and tying her up in submission holds. However, Oka still looked great fighting from underneath, her rookie fires burning brightly. You got the impression she was throwing everything she had into those dropkicks, but it wasn’t enough, Ohka hitting a final Big Boot for the win.
It made for a fun wee match (that on my VOD was missing the start) with the rookie continuing to impress. Oka made me a fan on the Road To GAEAISM, and this suggested I’m not going to be jumping off that bandwagon anytime soon.
Verdict: Exciting Rookie
Sakura Hirota defeated Aiger
Aiger vs Hirota is something of a Sendai Girls institution. They’ve wrestled each other countless times over the years (Cagematch had it at 38 singles matches before today, but I suspect it’s even more than that), and more often than not, Aiger wins. In fact, of those 38 matches, Cagematch lists one Hirota victory. Or at least it did, as she bundled up her ghostly foe for the three, do that another thirty-odd times and we might have a feud on our hands!
If you wrestle each other that often, you are going to have a stock match, and unsurprisingly, it’s not a particularly serious one. Aiger and Hirota goof their way through these things, combining slapstick with Hirota’s over-the-top fear of her opponent. It’s silly and fun, and if you’ve watched Sendai Girls before, you’ve probably already seen it, so I can’t blame anyone for being a bit fed up with it. Thankfully, I happen to have a very high tolerance for silly, so it’s perhaps not a surprise that I had a fun time. At six minutes long, it’s hardly stealing your day away, so I can’t imagine anyone having any real complaints.
Verdict: It’s Aiger vs Hirota
KAORU, Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuu defeated Yuki Miyazaki, Ayame Sasamura & Rydeen Hagane
Ayame Sasamura is quietly having a great year. She’s not getting a major push in any of the companies I watch, but she’s always hanging around in midcard matches like this one, being solidly impressive. Joshi needs wrestlers like her, and if she can keep it up, she’ll eventually be rewarded for it. Then again, she attempted to hoss it out with Yuu here, which isn’t a smart move for your long-term career prospects.
Outside of that, this was another stop on the KAORU retirement tour, with Yuki again grabbing the chance to spread her legs. She also gave her a nice big kiss, keeping it COVID friendly with a handy piece of cellophane. I’ve been a fan of nearly every match KAORU’s had since this kicked off, enjoying watching her piss around with her mates, and this was no different. There was nothing particularly strenuous or stand out about it, but it was fun, and that’s all you need sometimes.
Verdict: A Fun Time
Hibiki & Andras Miyagi defeated Mika Iwata & Manami
Andras and Hibiki is a pair destined to cause all sorts of trouble, and I’m very intrigued as to what they’re going to get up to. If this is anything to go by, it will be causing issues for all around them. They were straight into the mind games, winding up young Manami in as many ways as they could.
You can’t deny its effectiveness, though. They basically bullied their way through this match, isolating Manami for a significant part of it, but even managing to give Iwata a beating when she finally got into the ring (although she dealt out a fair few kicks of her own). It was a strong, physical performance that instantly got these two over as a force to be reckoned with.
A feeling that was doubled down on by Iwata being the person who was pinned, Hibiki hitting her with a crutch to set up the finish. There’s been a sense that Iwata is being broken down to be built back up again for a while, and this almost confirms that for me, as she took the fall over her rookie partner. If she’s going to regain her momentum by going after Hibiki and Andras, then we could be in for a fun feud.
Verdict: The Inmates Are Running Wild
Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Mio Momono to retain the Sendai Girls Title
The first real offence Mio Momono got in this match was an armbar, as she finally found a way through Hashimoto’s incredible power and managed to lock it on tight. Even there, though, Hash wasn’t willing to give an inch, lifting Mio into the air and driving her into the corner. However, Momono would not let go, to the extent that the two of them ended up tumbling from the ring to the floor, Mio still clinging desperately to that arm. That right there sums up Mio Momono as a wrestler. She is an unrelenting force of nature who will hold onto you even as she bounces from the apron to the ground.
It also set up how Mio was going to hurt Hashimoto. In a singles environment, that strength was even more potent than in tags, giving Hashimoto the edge in all their early grappling. So Mio went after the arm, repeatedly attacking it, hoping that it would take some of that away. Sadly, it was only partly successful, Hashimoto still finding it in her to launch Momono with repeated German suplexes. With each one, Mio came closer and closer to landing on her head as she spun through the air. Yet, she was never out of it. Mio refused to die and even managed to hit a German of her own, defying physics to throw her much larger opponent.
Sadly, the second moment that would define Mio came when she defiantly kicked out of a pin at one, leaping up to her feet with a yell only for her legs to give way. Her brain still wanted to fight, propelling her upwards, but her body was done, and while she didn’t lose straightaway, still kicking out of a horrible powerbomb and desperately trying to counter a German, that power was just too much. When Hash pulled out another vicious Bridging German, reminiscent of the one that won the GAEAISM main event, Mio was done.
Still, while she may have lost here, Mio Momono is currently the best wrestler on the planet, and I’m not sure anyone else is close. She and Hashimoto have incredible chemistry, and while this could be the end of their current feud, I have no doubt we will see them in the ring someday. If they deliver something half as good as this incredible match, then I’m looking forward to it already.
Verdict: Outstanding
Overall Show
A show defined by a stunning main event, but everything else was at the very least enjoyable. I’m not the first person to suggest it, but Meiko heading to the UK to wrestle in a warehouse could end up being the best thing to happen to Sendai Girls for a while, especially if they use it to continue to strengthen their ties with Marvelous. If this is a hint of what’s to come, we’re in for a lovely time.
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