July has been a quiet month for me, meaning there has been plenty of time to focus on wrestling. So, this round-up of my favourite matches is a biggie, as we hit everything from New Japan bloodbaths to Asako Mia in a lucha mask. That sounds like a good time, right?
Hikari Shimizu vs Ayame Sasamura, Osaka Rhapsody DX ~ ZEN (2/7/23), WAVE
I have a soft spot for people refusing to give up on submissions. Too often, someone gets a weak, ineffective kick and instantly lets their opponent go, as if any contact necessitates a break. It’s one of those annoying wrestling habits that always irritates me, so when someone doggedly holds on, forcing their opponent to shake them off, it gives me a real jolt of joy. That was Hikari Shimizu in this match. Time after time, she went for the sleeper, and while Itsuki backed her into turnbuckles and crawled to the ropes, Shimizu just went straight back to it, refusing to give up an advantage she’d worked for. It was just a section of the match, but it was the kind of thing that elevates the whole, and when combined with some proper vicious kicks, helped this stand out in all the right ways.
Jun Kasai & El Desperado vs Jon Moxley & Homicide, Independence Day (4/7/23), NJPW Strong
It’s not often that a deathmatch gives you the warm and fuzzies, but Jun Kasai walking into a New Japan show at Korakuen Hall to a hero’s welcome was one of those moments. Kasai was treated like a legend by that crowd, and I’ll fight anyone that doesn’t think it’s deserved. He is the embodiment of non-mainstream wrestling in Japan, as he is equally at home being invited into the world of Hyper Misao as he is having bloody barnstormers with Masashi Takeda. His career never needed a stamp of approval from the biggest company around, but that he got it is still worth celebrating.
Plus, the match was cool as hell. Unlike insults towards Kasai, I wouldn’t argue with anyone who described it as messy and all over the place, but that was a huge part of its charm. It felt like these four went out intending to riff around, brawling through the crowd and seeing what came up, but when you’ve got people this talented, that’s okay. Sure, Homicide isn’t what he was, but throw any combo of the four together, and you’ve got something that at least piques my curiosity, so seeing what they could do with the whole of Korakuen to play with was a blast. It also appeared that New Japan gave them the freedom to do so. Sure, they weren’t crashing through panes of glass or setting each other on fire, but this got violent and bloody in all the best ways.
It’s also been a lot of fun to watch El Desperado get the chance to spread his wings outside of the NJPW formula. He’s always been a bit different, possessing a meanness that doesn’t necessarily sit comfortably in their junior division, but flourishes when put alongside similar sickos. The Japanese wrestling scene can keep people stuck in boxes, staying loyal to one company and never getting to stretch their wings due to various political situations, so it’s refreshing to see someone like Despy get these opportunities. So far, he’s smashing them, and if it leads to more matches like this, I’ll certainly have no complaints.
Minoru Fujita vs Rina Yamashita, Baka Gaijin Vol. 6 (4/7/23), Baka Gaijin + Friends
I can’t think of many matches that have more perfectly encapsulated the idea of two friends going out and having a laugh. It took Minoru Fujita and Rina Yamashita nearly five minutes to start wrestling as every attempt to get going was interrupted by one of them realising there was something they wanted to talk about. At one point, they drank a round of highballs, and even Rina spitting hers into Fujita’s face wasn’t enough to get things started, as Minoru made sure to finish his off before responding. That’s before we even get to them wrestling out onto the roof, gingerly having an arm wrestle on the skylight while the fans clustered below, looking up at them.
There is probably a version of this match where that feeling makes it somewhat intolerable. Film critic Mark Kermode regularly points out that comedies where the actors claim to have had a lovely time making it are often nowhere near as fun for the audience as they devolve into an unstructured mess. Yet, while I would struggle to call this structured, I think they pulled it off. I do not doubt that part of it is that I already have a lot of affection for both of them, as they’re an incredibly likeable pairing and spending time hanging out with them is fun, but what’s wrong with that? I would love to go out for a few drinks with Fujita and Yamashita, listening to them shoot the shit, so having a watered-down version of that experience via a wrestling match is hardly the worst thing in the world.
And it all built to a satisfying payoff, an explosion of violence as they laid into each other and pulled out a chair adorned with firecrackers before Fujita seemingly glitched in the final seconds, spamming forward rolls as the time ticked away. It was silly and chaotic and probably slightly terrifying for everyone in that tiny little bar, which is what I want every Baja Gaijin show to be. There aren’t many promotions where they would have got away with this, but I’m glad they found the one where they could.
Mei Suruga is twenty-four and five years into her career, yet Nonoka Seto is the second student she can claim to have ushered into the world. Her trainer, Emi Sakura, will go down as one of the great teachers of wrestlers, but even she didn’t get into it this quickly, and if Mei continues at the rate she’s going, she may surpass the master. Especially if the first two are an indicator of her talents in that field.
Because after a series of successful exhibitions, this was Nonoka’s debut, and she came out of the gates strong. I mean that literally, as there’s something about the way she runs to the ring that I find instantly delightful. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but she bristles with enthusiasm on top of having a touch of Chie’s all-energy, all-the-time approach to wrestling. In other words, it’s rookie gold and set the scene for an impressive performance. Nonoka fizzles when let loose on offence, that eagerness to impress shining through, while also showing the kind of chemistry with Miya that made the revelation they were sisters make perfect sense. It’s early days, and there were tentative moments in there, as she sometimes seemed to be waiting for an invitation to attack, but she’s already got a lot of upsides.
Nonoka’s arrival also cements the feeling that we’re moving into a new era of Gatoh Move. I don’t want to describe it as post-Sakuraism because Emi’s fingers are still all over it (she did win the title on this show), but it’s Sakuraism with a side-helping of Surugaism, and while those things intermingle, there are differences. Mei leans into the playfulness of wrestling even more so than Emi and watching Miya spin Nonoka around, helping her repeatedly trample over Mei’s back, you can vividly imagine what a Suruga run promotion would look like. I hope we don’t get that too soon because I want Emi around for as long as possible (more on that later), but if it ever was to happen, I reckon they’d be just fine.
Eddie Kingston vs KENTA, Independence Day (5/7/23), NJPW Strong
Sometimes the in-ring stuff isn’t that important. Okay, that’s not true. Despite what some WWE fans will tell you, the wrestling part of wrestling is pretty central to the whole idea. However, now and then, you get a moment so pure that it can elevate something that’s merely good to greatness. Eddie Kingston pinning KENTA to win the Strong Title was one of those. Sure, it’s hardly the most prestigious belt in the world, and I don’t think I knew KENTA was the champ until I heard about this match, but are you going to tell him that? Would you be the cunt who tries to diminish that moment for him?
He did it while having about as good a match as you’re going to have with 2023 KENTA. I love the guy, he’s one of the greats, but he is hurting, and no one is going to him for great wrestling any more. However, they were smart enough to play to his strengths. He attacked Kingston’s arm, pulled off some shit-heel tactics and, towards the end, threw down some of those heavy strikes. It all left Eddie to do what he does best, selling the hell out of it all and building up that babyface sympathy before pulling off the rousing comeback and getting the win. It was simple shit, but it worked.
And even if it had been awful, I would have still loved this. I would have loved it because Eddie Kingston deserves this moment. Fuck, Eddie Kingston deserves a million of these moments, but getting just one is better than nothing. When I think about the things that are good about wrestling, the stuff worth celebrating beyond our little bubble, it’s people like him. He’s a man who has been to the bottom and faced off with his demons, and while that’s not a fight you can ever truly win, Eddie appears to have used his experiences to build a well of empathy a mile deep. In an industry full of some of the worst types of people, we need every Eddie Kingston we can get, and watching him live out his dreams is one of those moments of beauty that I will always celebrate.
Mizuki vs Maki Itoh, Summer Sun Princess ’23 (8/7/23), TJPW
You can’t fake a match like Mizuki vs Itoh. Christ knows enough places have tried, but the only way to create something with this weight of history is to leave things be. Of course, TJPW’s booking has played a big part in getting us here, but none of it would work without Maki and Mizuk having the freedom to craft this twisty, beautiful narrative together. If you’ve been watching TJPW for years, then you have watched them grow up, becoming the wrestlers they are, and no amount of clever promos can rival that.
And I think, as fans, we have a tendency after matches like this to want to categorise them. To slot it into its place in the company canon, declaring it the greatest or second greatest or whatever of all time, and in some ways, that is natural. We love this shit, and we want to celebrate it. However, I think there is an argument to be made that a match like this, much like the story that led to it, only decides its place in history over time. What happens next is almost as important as what happened in the moment, and whether this is the final stop in their story or simply the latest will almost certainly define how we view it.
That’s not to suggest it wasn’t already incredible. It was, and Mizuki and Itoh found a way to channel all those years of emotion into something worthy of their past. A moment like Itoh’s final push of defiance, when you got the impression even she knew it was hopeless, is the kind that sticks in your mind for a long time to come, and whatever happens in the future, that will be part of the TJPW canon. However, much like Itoh and Mizuki’s story, history is something you can’t create by pure force of will, and sometimes you have to sit back and see where it goes. At this point, who knows where these two will end up, but wherever it is, you know they’ll bring a piece of each other with them, and as long as that’s true, this story is never over.
I wrote a full Summer Sun Princess review for Marshmallow Bomb, which you can find here.
Misa Matsui & Mari vs Naho Yamada & Naru, ACTwresting in Osaka (9/7/23), AWG
I finally caught up with AWG recently, which means I should be able to start writing about matches like this one, which perfectly captured what has made Nu-Actwres so special. A pair of exciting young wrestlers, Naho and Naru, got to stretch their muscles in an extended bout against two of the roster’s veterans (who are hardly grumpy old vets themselves). It was fast-paced, well-worked and, most importantly, fun.
And that’s what makes this iteration of AWG such a pleasure to watch. We’re seeing this group come together and figure out what they’re doing in real time. Sure, some of the decisions are a bit silly, and I’ve joked about the AWG prop box on Twitter before (seriously, why does Naru have a dummy?), but that only adds to the charm. The whole company essentially ripped up everything they’d done and started over with what appears to be a clean slate, and in that, it feels like the wrestlers are getting the freedom to flex their creative muscles. You only have to look at the antics of someone like Asako Mia to see it (more on her later).
There are flaws with this new model, they’ve cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and I hate that wrestlers’ bookings appear to be influenced by how many tickets people have reserved through them. It’s an unnecessarily cruel way to make those decisions, especially when you have a lot of young people trying to make a name for themselves. However, in the ring, this version of AWG is everything I want from wrestling. A wild mix of weirdos given the time and space to throw ideas around and see what sticks. So far, it’s produced some incredibly exciting wrestlers (and I appreciate I’ve barely talked about this match, but it’s great), and I have faith it will continue to do so.
Emi Sakura vs Masa Takanashi, ChocoPro #321 (11/7/23), Gatoh Move
Emi Sakura is in the midst of a brilliant year, and the only thing preventing her from being a wrestler of the year contender is that it’s been one of quality-over-quantity when ideally, you’d like both. However, that doesn’t change the fact that when Emi isn’t hanging out, warming the bench in AEW, she has been outstanding in every spot she’s found herself in, be that as DPW’s champ or when popping back to Japan to remind everyone in her home promotion that she’s still the boss.
And yet, what I loved about this match (and also her showdown with Hagane for the Super Asia title) is that while Emi is definitely the boss, she’s also not afraid to be a coward. When Sakura is on offence, she’s the cackling queen character she’s been crafting in AEW, arrogant and aggressive. However, the second the tide turns, she shrinks away, wailing in pain and fear. Most wrestlers are happy to sell being punched in the face, but they’re less willing to show the fear of the punch. Yet, whether it’s Masa aggressively working over her arm or Hagane kicking the shit out of her, Emi has no qualms about showing her terror. She’s the villain, happy to torment all below her, but she’s also a coward, which is a perfect combination.
More importantly, she’s one hell of a wrestler. I don’t know if she’ll ever get taken as seriously as the Meiko Satomuras and Nanae Takahashis of the world, as there is always a contingent who will hold the fact she’s spent a lot of her career wrestling on a mat against her. However, she is right up there with them and has arguably been consistently brilliant for longer. She’s twenty-seven years into her career and still putting on performances of this quality, and there aren’t many people who can say that.
The Princess Cup (15-29/7/23), TJPW
At a time when it feels like every wrestling tournament going chooses the bigger-is-better approach, it’s been refreshing to see the Princess Cup keep it simple. Sixteen wrestlers, all of whom have a right to be there, and a decent chunk of whom are potential winners. It not only helped keep things interesting in the opening two rounds but also meant we got some banger matches.
What’s most impressed me about it, however, is how varied those matches have been. It feels harsh to compare this to a G1 or a 5STAR because those tournaments are so much bigger, so, it’s understandably hard to give everything its own identity. However, your average show on any of those tours has a load of matches that end up blurring into one. In contrast, the Princess Cup has thrown everything at us. They delivered underdogs trying to spring a surprise in Raku vs Rika Tatsumi, battles of the best in Miyu Yamashita vs Mizuki and Kamiyu trying to sneakily trick her way past Miu Watanabe. Each match has not only been a blast, but they’ve stuck in my mind as something unique and exciting even outside the confines of wanting to know who will take home the cup.
It’s also setting blocks in place for the wider story of Tokyo Joshi, as wrestlers like Moka Miyamoto, Arisu Endo and Yuki Arai are evolving. They might not all be in the semi-finals, but they’re growing as performers, with moments like Moka refusing to shake Yamashita’s hand in the aftermath of their match hinting at her next steps. At this point, I’m fully behind Rika Tatsumi winning the one prize to have eluded her in TJPW, but the future of this company is increasingly bright. So while I’d put this down as one of the best Princess Cups yet, I wouldn’t bet against it being upstaged sooner rather than later.
Hirooki Goto vs Toru Yano, G1 Climax (16/7/23), NJPW
Eddie Kingston being in the G1 has inspired me to pay a modicum of attention to it this year, and his battle with Shingo Takagi delivered everything I wanted from it (if I hadn’t blown my Kingston load already, it would have made the list). However, as I was scrolling through the dodgy video I’d found (can someone convince these sites to put up the Japanese commentary? The English stuff is annoying), I stumbled upon Yano vs Goto and couldn’t resist. It’s been too long since I’ve got to enjoy the nonsense of a Toru Yano match, and the G1 is when he brings his best, so it seemed the perfect time to get reacquainted.
It delivered, too, as with the help of Tomu-kun (a local mascot who accompanied Yano), the Master Thief and Goto had a lovely little slice of nonsense. We got all the usual Yano antics plus some under-the-ring silliness, which resulted in Goto wearing Tomu-kun’s head. It was short and funny, and like all Yano shenanigans at this time of year, it was made all the better by knowing how much it annoys the worst people. Is it petty that I take extra enjoyment out of these matches because of everyone who starts foaming at the mouth with anger whenever Yano is announced for this tournament? Yes. Do I care? No. They have enough cunts who do twenty minutes of forearm exchanges and gurning while acting very seriously. I’m sure they’ll survive the six minutes of levity. Not that I’d be particularly bothered if they didn’t. Most of them are bellends.
So yes, this match made the list through a combination of me enjoying it and spite, which I think is a first. Still, what better reason could there be than that?
Chihiro Hashimoto vs Natsupoi, Sendai Girls (16/7/23), Sendai Girls
I can’t think of many wrestling matches in 2023 that have been as thematically satisfying as this one. Natsupoi is a wrestler who, at varying points in her career, I’ve had a lot of time for. Before she left TJPW, I thought she was in line for a huge push and was a bit miffed when she didn’t get a run deep into that year’s Princess Cup (the announcement of her departure not long after explained it). Poi’s a talented wrestler, and you’d have to be somewhat blinkered to act like that’s not true. On the flip side, if you are a fan and can’t admit that she also tends to be intensely annoying, you’re also missing the woods for the trees.
Some of that is in character, as while I’m not entirely sure it’s all intentional (I can’t be the only one who finds her and Tam’s whole thing incredibly off-putting), Poi does have a real knack for playing the stuck-up brat. However, there also seems to be a degree of reality to it all. Her cutesy dumbassery can be the opposite of endearing, and her tendency to burn bridges behind her doesn’t help. Now, I don’t think all of its intentional (her performances in the Baka Queen tournaments back in TJPW prove she isn’t the brightest), but that doesn’t make her any less infuriating, and there are times when a Poi match is the last thing I want to watch.
Unless, of course, those Poi matches involve her eating shit in the most dramatic way possible. Enter Big Hash. I can’t think of a better wrestler to put Natsupoi through the wringer, and she performed her role to perfection. At one point, she went as route one as you can get, simply hoying Poi over the top rope with a Military Press, unbothered by the lack of cushioning at the bottom of that fall. There are a lot of dominant wrestlers around, but few who do it as convincingly as Hashimoto, who has made destroying people half her size into an art.
I don’t want to keep the praise solely for Big Hash, though. Poi was brilliant. Not only did she take her beating like a champ, but when it came time for her to rally and have her moment of hope, every blow struck home sweetly, genuinely making it feel like there was a chance she could pull off the upset. She didn’t, but it was fun to see the fans get behind her, and even I found myself swept up in the moment. It was a reminder of the days when I thought she was the future of one of my favourite companies, and while those aren’t coming back, it was nice to get caught up in her work again.
Look, there were a lot of talented wrestlers in this match, and I could easily write a few hundred words about the action. It was great! As you’d expect when you’re throwing someone like Asahi together with Miku Aono. However, that’s not what I want to talk about. Because up above, when I was laying out what I like about this new era of AWG, there was one thing I only mentioned in passing. Asako Mia.
They may have had some fantastic matches and a host of exciting youngsters debut, but the jewel in the crowd of Nu-Actwres is this wee weirdo who combines the brashness of a young Maki Itoh with the ineptitude of Lulu Pencil and the unearned confidence of Yuuki Mashiro to create something that can only be described as Asako Mia. In this match, she was carried to the ring by her Asako-gun comrades (one willing, one not so) while wearing a lucha mask, which she eventually removed to reveal she had another one on underneath, a moment that will go down as one of my favourites of the year. Asako’s operating on a level most can only dream of.
And Asako is not a traditionally good wrestler yet, and may never become one, but she is an incredible nonsense artist. I don’t know if it’s instinct or if she has some background in physical comedy, but one of my favourite things is watching her pump herself up to enter a match, giving it all the theatrics possible, only to instantly eat shit. It’s not just the big stuff, though. There was a moment in this match where she was practically standing on the top rope, desperate for the tag, only for her to get it, clamber down, and enter the ring the old-fashioned way. It’s an attention to twisting the formula that Sakura Hirota would be proud of, and if you’re evoking her name, you know you’re doing something right.
I don’t know if you noticed, but those three people I compared Asako to aren’t doing this stuff right now. Lulu and Yuuki are off the board, and Maki has succumbed to being a serious wrestler who uses comedy as a garnish rather than the full meal. Hirota will always fly the flag, and nonsense matches will never die, but the next generation of these wrestlers is looking a bit thin right now, so we need Asako Mia. She offers the big-brained approach to this silly little world that is required to remind us all of how daft it is, and while I wish she were free to go cause havoc all over the scene, I’m at least glad AWG is giving her the freedom to do it at home.
Mio Momono vs Tomoko Watanabe vs Unagi Sayaka, Marvelous (23/7/23), Marvelous
Mio Momono has spent most of 2023 with big things on her mind. Her journey to that AAAW title and subsequent holding of it has kept her rather busy, and it’s been understandable that she hasn’t had too much time for goofing off. However, that has robbed us of one of my favourite things, the Momono nonsense match. Thankfully, this saw it return with force.
That’s not to suggest that Mio hasn’t been very funny since her return from injury, she has on numerous occasions, but it’s been a while since we’ve got to see her let loose and make that the sole focus of a match. However, here, where she was free to mess around with Unagi and Tomoko, you were reminded just how hilarious Mio is. It’s not just her bossing Watanabe around like she’s a doddery relative who doesn’t understand what’s going on, but the physical comedy is sublime. In another life, Momono could have been this generation’s Hirota, committing to every bit as she throws herself around the ring in search of a laugh.
Not that we can ignore Tomoko and Unagi. They were fantastic dance partners and the perfect choice for this spot. I’ll take any opportunity to praise Watanabe’s willingness to laugh at herself, while it’s no secret that Unagi has enough personality to carry this kind of thing by herself. It’s Mio, however, who constantly draws the eye right now. Whether she’s engaged in a brutal war or standing on the top rope with her knees knocking together, this is a Momono who appears to be having the time of her life, loving being let loose to wrestle as often as possible. She’s healthy and on fire, and it’s an utter joy to watch her do her thing. Let’s hope it never stops.
Giulia vs Saori Anou, 5STAR Grand Prix (23/7/23), Stardom
So many of my issues with Giulia as a wrestler come not from a lack of talent but from talent misdirected. Whether through her choices or Stardom’s, Giulia has spent the last few years trying to be all things to all people, cramming herself into match styles where she’s never excelled. The reality is that ever since she and Hana Kimura spent her first Stardom feud booting each other in the head, Giulia’s been at her best when she’s allowed to go out and brawl, which is what this match delivered.
And as much as I’ve opened with putting the attention on Giulia, the real star was Anou. Because Giulia might be the golden child, anointed by all and sundry, but Saori Anou has spent years learning under the tree of Mayumi Ozaki. I don’t care how many accolades Giulia has earned, they can’t touch on that lived experience, and Anou was the one who steered this match in the right direction, dragging it to the outside and upping the ante by suplexing Giulia off the ramp and onto a row of chairs. There was a touch of crazy in the eyes of Ozaki’s lass, aided by the blood staining the side of her head and her hair sticking out in wild directions. You got the impression she was willing to eat any manner of punishment if it gave her the chance to bury Giulia six feet deep.
And it wasn’t perfect. Towards the end, it was like the hand of Stardom came down, pushing them towards a more acceptable home stretch in which, despite the time running out, it was clear Giulia was on the ascendancy. However, on a show with a lot of good wrestling but very little to make the matches distinct from each other, this stood out. There was spite and hate to it, which pushed it into being more than just two people trading cool moves in an increasingly impressive manner. Sometimes, all you need is a fight, and Giulia and Anou delivered.
I contribute regular reviews to Marshmallow Bomb, so if you’d like to read more of my writing, you can subscribe here: https://marshmallowbomb.substack.com/
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