It’s been one of those weeks where my rambling about a random Shinkiba show feels utterly pointless. The death of Asahi is unfair and horrible and something that I still don’t think I’ve entirely processed. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, I’ll feel up to writing about her short but brilliant career. That’s not today, though. However, it would have felt weird to publish this (which I wrote before we learnt about it) without at least mentioning it and sending all my love to those who knew her better than me. Considering the impact she had on those who only knew her through a screen or from a quick chat at a show, I can only imagine the one she had on those who knew her well was something special.
After spending January on the road, Marvelous kicked off February with their first trip of 2024 to Shinkiba. There will, of course, be many more in the months ahead, but it’s always good to get things started right. Let’s see what went down.
Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) defeated ZONES & ChiChi
With Setsubun just around the corner, Maria and Riko came armed with clubs and oni masks. Although I’m choosing to believe it was actually their tribute to Misao and Pom’s slice of nonsense on last week’s TJPW show. Either way, they had a lovely time tormenting ChiChi with them until ZONES got involved and ruined it by revealing she could swing them a lot harder than Magenta. They smartly abandoned that tactic soon after.
Even without their weaponry, this was the match Maria and Riko have needed since becoming champions. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve done some good stuff, but we haven’t had a chance to see them go out and be the dominant pairing against a team a few rungs further down the pecking order than them. It’s one thing to hold those belts, but it’s another thing entirely to wrestle like champions and welcoming the Evolution pair to Marvelous felt like a step towards them doing so.
Not that they had it all their way, as it wasn’t only the blow-up club that let ZONES throw her muscles around. It all played into the narrative, though, as Maria and Riko were caught off-guard but thought their way through the issue, negating that power with teamwork and smarts. It was solid, well-worked tag team wrestling that saw the champs overcome a challenge and, in the process, prove why they’re in the position they are.
It was also an impressive first Marvelous appearance from ChiChi and Zones. With AJPW ditching them in favour of AWG, they have been cut somewhat adrift, but considering how many promotions I’ve seen them impress in, I suspect they’ll be just fine. A performance like this against the champions should do them no harm when it comes to ingratiating themselves with Marvelous, and fingers crossed that it is the first of many appearances.
Verdict: A Good Opener
Miyuki Takase defeated Misa Kagura
Miyuki Takase and Misa Kagura are reflections of each other. They’re roughly the same size, and both burst with enthusiasm. However, Takase is the ultimate wee hoss, with a habit of wrestling like she’s ten feet tall. On the flip side, while Kagura has hints of hoss, she has found herself flourishing as a sympathetic underdog. She’s proven to have a real knack for working from underneath, drawing the fans’ love before she gets a chance to explode back into the action. This wasn’t their first meeting, but they last faced in 2022, and Marvelous deciding to throw them together might be their first standout booking decision of the year.
It paid off, too. It perhaps wasn’t the peak version of this match – it’s still got space to grow – but there was an undeniable chemistry between them. The roles they naturally inhabit worked in their favour, as the more experienced Miyuki could take control and force Kagura onto the defensive, even getting a bit heelish as she wrapped her hair around the ropes. It not only let Takase wrestle to twice her size but showed how Misa was always moving, wriggling around and lashing out as she tried to escape from underneath Takase’s thumb. It’s a big part of what makes her so endearing, as you can feel that energy building up, ready to burst out when she gets a chance. When it did, this got to the next level. Those Kagura comebacks, full of tenacity and grit, left the two of them free to hoss it out, slamming into each other and exchanging lariats. They found a way to give us the best of both worlds, as Misa showed that underdog fighting spirit before standing up and showing Takase that she wouldn’t be bullied.
With all that in mind, we can call this an outstanding proof of concept. It was a good match, but one that can be worked on and perfected before hopefully eventually culminating in something even better. As Kagura improves and figures out how to better blend those two sides of herself together, this pairing should only improve with her. This ten-minute second-on-the-card outing was the building blocks of something I want to see more of, and fingers crossed we get it.
Verdict: Keep Putting These Two Together!
Leo Isaka defeated Yuki Kanzaki
Leo was coming into this match off the back of his first trip to America, as he became the latest Marvelous roster member to debut with West Coast Pro. If the Twitter feedback I saw was accurate, he seems to have gone down well, as he spent his time in the US of A moonsaulting off various parts of the venue. Now, back in Japan, it was time for him to return to his day job. This was a classic Leo booking, as Yuki Kanzaki joins the long list of his opponents whom I know nothing about (which, by the way, is always down to my ignorance rather than a slight on the wrestlers in question).
And, like most Leo matches, it was decent. They built it nicely, starting slow before exploding into the final act, unleashing a flurry of moves before concluding it with Leo bundling him up for the win. It was nothing special, and the finish felt abrupt, but they delivered a solid watch, and it’s a pairing I could imagine Marvelous returning to. I’m not quite as excited for those rematches as for Kagura vs Takase, but I certainly wouldn’t say no. They felt like a natural fit, and if you give them another couple of goes at this, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them come out with something well worth your time.
As usual, if you’re a bigger fan of either of these two than I am (which isn’t hard with Kanzaki), you’ll probably enjoy this more than I did. I’m very emotion-led when it comes to wrestling, which means I somewhat struggle to connect with these random Leo bouts. However, I still thought it had some decent action, so fans should eat it up.
Verdict: Fine
Mio Momono & Tomoko Watanabe fought Itsuki Aoki & Ai Houzan to a time-limit draw
You can always tell when Mio is in the mood to menace, and as she spent the pre-match responding in an increasingly unhinged fashion to fans shouting her name, it was clear that fancy had taken her. She spent the match charging about the place, yelling orders at Tomoko and being a thorn in her opponent’s side. At one point, she snuck in to stand on Ai’s fingers as she tried to crawl to the ropes while in a Tomoko Scorpion Deathlock, making it almost impossible for her to continue her escape.
And while I can’t support that kind of workplace bullying, it did lead to Ai’s best showing in a while. Mio going full Chucky seemed to fire up Marvelous’s rookie, and she was fantastic here, setting up a thrilling final scramble between her and Momono that had a few moments where I was convinced they were about to pull the trigger on an upset. I’ve been shouting for Ai to be let off the leash, but in moments like this, you’re reminded that she has a talent for pulling the most out of the basics. She’s all wide-eyed enthusiasm, slipping through the cracks and throwing herself into the tiniest openings. There’s something about Mio that draws out that feral wrestling child in her heart, and watching the two of them scramble for the win as the clock ticked away was genuinely thrilling.
While that was the centrepiece of the match, I also wanted to throw in some praise for Aoki. It’s easy to take her for granted, as it feels like she’s on every second show, generally in a midcard spot, delivering a solid to great performance. She’s rarely, if ever, the focus, but the scene needs wrestlers like her, pros who will come in and play the counterpart to a Momono, grabbing hold of her hand and forcing her to stay still and fight for even just a second. I mentioned Mio bringing the best out of Ai, but I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence it happened when she was on the same side of the ring as the reassuring presence of Itsuki Aoki.
Anyway, this match was a blast and is worth going out of your way to see. I am a huge Ai fan, so I always enjoy watching her deliver, but she was far from alone, as everyone here pulled their weight. As much as I enjoyed Kagura vs Takase, it was the best match on this show so far.
Verdict: Great Stuff
Maya Yukihi, Gigi Rey & Promise Braxton defeated Takumi Iroha, Chikayo Nagashima & Unagi Sayaka
I haven’t made this comparison before, but there is a touch of the Miyacocos to Unagi. She appears to enter every match with an image in her head of how things should go, but she’s rarely (if ever) bothered to fill everyone else in on that. It’s what causes her to turn up with oni masks and dried beans (it’s a Setsubun thing) to try and engage the foreigners in some Japanese culture, but it means she only succeeds in annoying everyone else. It’s not quite Miyacoco levels of unhinged, but there’s some common ground there. Can we get her in a Gake no Fuchi match? That would be incredible.
Once that silliness was forgotten, this main event struggled to match the pace and excitement of what came before. Anything that delivers a bit of Maya Yukihi vs Takumi Iroha is never going to be devoid of value, but it lacked a spark. The fans in Shinkiba felt like they had already peaked, caught up in the excitement of that finish between Ai and Mio, and while Takumi and Maya teeing off on each other was good, it never quite got to the level you might have hoped. It felt like two people giving us a taste of what they could do together while comfortable in the knowledge that right now, they didn’t have to go all out. Hopefully, the day where they do is sooner rather than later.
The person who did feel like she was giving her all was Gigi Rey, who had a strong third act with Chikayo that ended with the upset we didn’t get in the previous match. Gigi (and Braxton) has slowly improved throughout this tour, and it felt like a nice reward for her work, as you could tell it meant a lot to her when she celebrated with Promise. The match might have never caught fire, but it was the most comfortable she’s looked in a Marvelous ring, even throwing in some impressive high-flying. A win over Nagashima means something, and while it was partly there to play into the ongoing storyline of the various Marvelous tag teams competing to get a shot at Magenta, she should still be proud to have earned that accolade.
Verdict: An Okay Match With Some Good Moments
In the aftermath, the bickering between the various tag teams continued until Kawahata took it upon herself to book a Tag League. Takumi and Chiyako and Mio and Tomoko were the obvious entrants, but ChiChi and ZONES also threw their names into the hat. At that point, Ai rushed to the ring, fell over, tried to enter, realised she didn’t have a partner, seemed to consider asking Yukihi, didn’t ask Yukihi, looked around awkwardly as everyone avoided her gaze, and then, I think, decided she’d just sort that little detail out later. It was all very endearing. (She has extended multiple invitations in the days since but has yet to be successful.) Throw in Kato and Aniki, and we’ve got the makings of something exciting.
Overall Show
That was a good Shinkiba! The main event fell a bit flat for me, but a strong opener, Misa vs Takase and an exciting semi-main meant that wasn’t the end of the world. Plus, we seem to have set up Marvelous’s first big move of the year, as the Tag League will fill the next few shows nicely. It’s good stuff, folks!
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows and a YouTube Membership where they upload videos. You can also buy access to live streams here.
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