As one big Japanese star makes their way to America, another somewhat smaller one continues to forge a new path on their return to their homeland. Since leaving WWE, Sareee has been brilliant, and these semi-regular Sareee-ISM shows have been a particular highlight of her run so far. Not only do they position her in high-profile matches, but they’re packed with some of the best wrestlers in the scene, with this one looking no different. Let’s see what went down.
Mio Momono & Riko Kawahata defeated Tomoka Inaba & Azusa Inaba
I know I’m in danger of becoming Mio Momono’s unofficial hypeman, but I enjoy watching her let loose and play the prickish veteran. While she’s an exceptional underdog babyface, she can also bring the nasty, and it was fun to see her flex on her younger opponents. She got to slap a crab on and force them to crawl to the ropes or bounce off a double stomp and ‘accidentally’ come down on Riko’s back, too. Plus, when she’s not misfiring, she and Kawahata are a solid wee team. It’s not one we regularly see in Marvelous, but they can both suddenly burst into life, flying into a piece of tandem offence that leaves their opponents scrambling to keep up. While Kawahata hasn’t been full-time under the Marvelous banner for long, she’s already slotted herself into the style.
The Inabas, meanwhile, continue to be damn impressive. I say it every time they pop up in Marvelous (as shown in my review from earlier this week), but they are talented beyond their years and brought an edge to this match. Usually, the more experienced team are the ones aiming to slow things down and lay it on thick, but it was Tomoka and her wee sister who were looking to dish out the kicking. Not that they couldn’t play a bit of Mio and Riko’s game, as a wayward kick from Kawahata sent Momono into a roll-up, causing more than one fan to react to a potential upset.
It all made for a strong opener that didn’t have the time or space to be spectacular but was a breezy and fun watch. Secretly, for all I love watching Mio go for titles and take part in big dramatic moments – it’s these gentle undercard matches of hers I look forward to the most. They let her loose to be a menace, slapping Riko around the head in anger after that aforementioned double stomp. Surround her with three talented young wrestlers, and you’re going to get something good. Although I still want to see that match with Sareee, the ZERO1 taster was nowhere near enough.
Verdict: An Enjoyable Start
Aja Kong & Jaguar Yokota defeated Kizuna Tanaka & ChiChi
Ah, yes, it’s the sacrificial part of the show. Sometimes, a rookie has to die to please the old gods. It’s the natural order of things.
Okay, this wasn’t quite that dramatic, but it did go as you’d expect. The rookies were all fiery bluster, flying across the ring to try and get the jump on Jag, and ultimately, as is right, they ate shit. Aja and Yokota are two of the great grumpy veterans, as there is a real casualness to the way they beat the shit out of these kids. They display all the urgency of two people out for an evening stroll, which makes those blows feel like something of a threat. If that’s what they do when they’re taking it easy, what would they do if you pissed them off?
It wasn’t all about the veterans, though. Those rookies delivered on their bluster, as Kizuna was particularly impressive, repeatedly hammering away with forearms on Aja with all the success of trying to knock down a brick wall with a blow-up hammer. Then, when she did somehow get close to locking in a submission, she began a growling, wide-eyed menace, desperate to slap it on tight. It never worked, but it was a hint of a future where she’s good enough to threaten these legends, and it’s an exciting one, even if she’s currently rough around the edges.
It served as proof that sometimes there is nothing wrong with delivering what everyone expects. The classics are the classics for a reason, and if you do them well, the odds are everyone will have a ball.
Verdict: Exactly What I Wanted
Takumi Iroha defeated Miyuki Takase
At the start of this match, Takumi Iroha seemed almost bemused by Miyuki Takase. As the indomitable ace figure, dripping in cool, she stared down at this enthusiastic dork like she didn’t quite know where she’d come from. Admittedly, Takase didn’t help herself, clapping along to the fans’ chants with a goofy grin on her face. It hardly screamed badass. So, in the early going, Iroha treated her like a dork, laughing at her and keeping her at arm’s length. You sensed that she felt like this was turning out to be an easier day than expected.
However, if there is one thing you can say about Takase, it’s that she doesn’t go down easy. As this match went on, and Miyuki fired up, she made sure Iroha realised that, yes, while she is a massive dork, she’s also a hell of a wrestler. She pushed Marvelous’s ace into taking her seriously, meeting her blow for blow and fighting like she was a hundred feet tall. The big goofy smile faded away, and in its place, you got someone who, no matter how much fun she might be having, is willing to run through a mountain to prove she has what it takes.
It meant that while Iroha hasn’t come in as my favourite Marvelous opponent for Takase (that’s still Mio), these two were a natural fit. Everyone knows how cool Takumi is, so pairing her up with someone who is all enthusiasm and no swagger is a great idea. As for Takase, she’s always thrived in this environment. Throw her at someone bigger and tougher than her, and you know you’ll get a good time out of it, even if it does end in her defeat. These two could undoubtedly top this with more time and stakes, but for a middle-of-the-card, ten-minute showdown, it was a blast.
Verdict: A Match Between These Two Was Obviously Good
Kaoru Ito & Nanae Takahashi defeated Unagi Sayaka & Hiragi Kurumi
Much like the other match involving a veteran pairing, it was obvious how this would go. Unagi might have earned the respect of everyone from Chigusa Nagayo to Kenta Kobashi, but that wouldn’t stop Nanae and Ito from joyously beating on her.
That wasn’t the good stuff, though. While there is always some charm in Nanae getting to put a younger wrestler through the wringer, and the fans enjoyed Unagi being squashed with an Ito senton, this didn’t pick up until Kurumi got in the ring. Initially, it seemed like she had ruined the opportunity, the long build-up to her tag ending with her entering with all the enthusiasm of a child forced to go to school on a snowy day. Thankfully, Nanae and Ito drew that enthusiasm out of her, giving her no other option but to hoss it out. It still wasn’t perfect, but if you can’t enjoy Kurumi repeatedly hammering into Kaoru with lariats, trying to take her off her feet, you’re probably a bit dead inside.
It was all aided by a hot crowd who loved the big lass stuff and had a lot of affection for Unagi. It pushed something that was, on the whole, decent rather than great up a notch or two, allowing you to get invested based purely on the vibes. I’d still probably rank it as my least favourite match on this show, but on a night where most were delivering, that’s not a huge insult.
Verdict: Nanae And Ito Made Sure It Worked
Sareee defeated Chihiro Hashimoto
It feels a bit redundant for me to talk about how great this match was. Everyone reading this knows that Sareee vs Chihiro Hashimoto was outstanding. Even if you haven’t watched it yet, you’re the kind of person who has chosen to come to my niche website, so there is no chance you aren’t aware of their talents. Some pairings just work, and this is one of them, so their brilliance is predictable. However, that doesn’t make it any less exciting when they start dropping each other on their heads.
Not that we got there straight away. Sareee had to work to turn this into a bombfest, which – as wild as it sounds – is what she wanted from the start. Hash doesn’t hit lightly, but Sareee is at home there. Early on, Hashimoto tried to take this to the mat, using her talent, size and speed to stop Sareee from building momentum, and that was only ever going to end one way. Even when Sareee slapped her across the face, a clear attempt to try and rile her up and get her to stay on her feet, Hashimoto took a second, calmed down, and went right back to what was working. If she’d had her way, she would have ground Sareee into the floor and left with a huge smile on her face.
Thankfully, for both Sareee and us, when the Sun God got a smidgen of space, she unleashed both barrels. No one goes hammering into an opponent like Sareee does, and by the time she’d powerbombed Hash onto the floor, there was no chance this was going back to being a grapplefest. They were slugging it out, Hashimoto responding by rugby-tackling Sareee through several rows of chairs before they returned to the ring and started trading blows. As I said above, that’s Sareee’s world, but that doesn’t mean Chihiro can’t hold her own. Whether launching her across this ring with a German or hammering her with lariats, it came down to who could deal the most punishment in the shortest time. In the end, Sareee deployed the same tactic she used against Arisa Nakajima, dumping Hash on her head until she couldn’t get up again.
Despite all that, this wasn’t a perfect match as there was some random arm work from Sareee that neither committed to enough to make it worth the effort, and I never bought into it ending before they’d both unleashed the fireworks. However, when you’ve got two people this good at lobbing explosives at each other, it’s easy to forgive the minor flaws. On Sareee’s return to Japan, we got what a toned-down version of this pairing, and it still rocked. Here, they went all out, which was everything you hoped it would be.
Verdict: Outstanding
Overall Show
I doubt this will be my show of the year, as it lacked a big emotional payoff. However, even with a semi-main that didn’t quite reach its potential, this was as good a couple of hours of wrestling as you’ll see. We got plucky rookies, Mio being a menace, Takumi vs Takase and even some hoss stuff. Throw in a main event between two of the best, and if you haven’t watched this yet, it’s time to fix that.
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