The AAAW Tag League continues, as the second night of the tournament took place in Shinkiba on a show that doubled as a celebration of Tomoko Watanabe’s birthday. Perhaps as a treat to mark the day, Watanabe was spared Tag League duty, instead being set free to piss about in the opener. Although with how that went, it perhaps wasn’t as thoughtful a present as it appeared. More on that below!
Mio Momono, Tomoko Watanabe, Miyuki Takase & Unagi Sayaka defeated Maya Yukihi, Maria, Riko Kawahata & Itsuki Aoki in an Elimination Match
Mio was not impressed by her teammates’ performances. In the aftermath, she demanded they get down on their knees, looking for an apology for being forced to do all the hard work herself. I’d generally put that down to Momono’s goblin tendencies, as she’s rarely happy with those around her. However, Tomoko celebrated her birthday by getting rolled up in the opening seconds before Takase and Unagi conspired to tumble over the top rope together because of their insistence on pulling a pose. For once, Mio perhaps had a reason to feel aggrieved.
For all Momono’s anger, this match hit something of a sweet spot for me. As an opener devoid of stakes with an elimination stipulation that freed anyone up from having to take a fall, it left some of my favourite wrestlers free to piss about and have a laugh. Whether it was the already mentioned failures on Mio’s team, Yukihi and Aoki reigniting their somewhat self-sabotaging tag chemistry from last year (they hit each other more than their opponents), or Aoki thinking she was safe from going over the top because she landed on the ramp, only to end up chasing Mio to the floor and eliminating herself, this was a blast. On more than one occasion, it had me laughing out loud, and while most of them were taking it fairly easily, that suited the mood of the situation perfectly.
Besides, when it came down to Maria and Mio, they couldn’t help but pick up the pace. Those two have a habit of getting nasty when they’re left alone, and this was no different, as the tension ramped up a notch when all other distractions were removed. Their engaging final act ended with a classic Marvelous exchange of roll-ups, a situation Maria wouldn’t have wanted to find herself in against one of the masters, and in which she predictably came out second best. It was a spark of greatness which topped off an entertaining match that had me smiling the whole way through. Sometimes it’s nice to hang out with wrestlers you like while they piss about, and that’s what this gave me.
Verdict: I Had A Lovely Time
Leo Isaka defeated Dragon Libre
Fuck me, this was slow. Dragon Libre spent most of it seemingly determined to grind things to a halt. I can see what they were going for, building the stage for Isaka’s comeback, but it was too much. Even when they brawled to the outside, it was with all the urgency of a Sunday morning stroll to the shops for a paper and some eggs. I don’t know about you, but Libre messing about with a bottle of water for a bit, a decision that paid off in him putting it down and kicking Isaka instead, is hardly my idea of a thrilling encounter.
Things did improve as they went along, the Isaka comeback pushing the pace up, but even that felt weird, as they never sustained the shine for long enough to show what Leo could do. Instead, they chose to flip the control back to Libre, finally letting him free to do some flashy stuff, but at the expense of Isaka’s moment. Could he not have deployed it earlier in the match rather than boring me senseless during his heat section?
Leo eventually got the win with a split-legged moonsault, which I believe is a new one for him and, on this evidence, still needs a bit of work. He connected with Libre okay, but he didn’t get the bounce he needed off the turnbuckle, which took some of the impact out of it. Still, he’s got time to figure that out, and while it wasn’t perfect, it was one of the highlights of a match that did not work for me.
Verdict: Not For Me
Ryo Mizunami & Sonoko Kato (2-0) defeated Sadie Gibbs & Ai Houzan (1-1)
Watching Ai and Sadie figure things out in real-time is good fun. You’d think they would have chatted about their entrance beforehand, but they seemed to rely on Gibbs directing traffic, pointing Houzan in the right direction, and catching her off guard in the process. It’s always refreshing to have someone pop up who isn’t in the groove of the promotion and, whether intentionally or not, is willing to stray away from the norms. On the flip side, they also debuted their first double-team, as Ai leapt off Sadie’s back for a rather ineffectual kick. They’ll need to work on that.
That dynamic is playing out in the matches, too. Ai has been tasked with doing all the hard work, leaving Gibbs free to throw around the fireworks. The rookie spent a good chunk of this match being worked over by Aniki and Kato, the two veterans enjoying the chance to test her out. It was all solid stuff, as Ai’s an endearing underdog, and those two are never going to let you down when asked to dish out a beating, but it was never the main meal. They were building up to Gibbs coming in to do some cool shit, a promise they delivered on.
And Sadie already felt like she was a step or two further down the road than that last show. A touch of that erraticism was gone, and, in there with two bigger opponents, she got to show off her power alongside the flipping. I wouldn’t want her to completely lose the touch of chaos that she brings to the ring, but it already felt like there was less chance of her dropping anyone on their head, which can only be a good thing. There were still a couple of moments where Aniki and Kato adjusted themselves to ensure everything was in the right place, but they were minor touches rather than last-gasp saves.
To add to the improvement, Sadie and Aniki got into some afters in the post-match, Mizunami not taking kindly to Gibbs pushing her back. It was a rare touch of anger from the fun-loving Aniki, which instantly felt exciting because it was out of the norm. Fingers crossed that wherever this Tag League ends up, that’s a match we get to see before Gibbs heads home. As for this one, it was pretty good. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it something you have to go out of your way to see, but I enjoyed it all, and if Gibbs continues this trajectory, we’ll have a good time.
Verdict: Decent Stuff
ChikaTak (Chikayo Nagashima & Takumi Iroha) (1-1) defeated ZONES & ChiChi (0-1)
ZONES and ChiChi came into this knowing that they were up against it. They were in League 1 team turning up at Man City in the FA Cup territory, so all they could hope for was to get stuck in and make those bastards work for it. To their credit, they did exactly that. This might have been the best performance I’ve seen from them yet, as they weren’t only impressive individually but worked well as a team. Before Takumi and Chikayo could react, they’d come flying out the blocks, sneaking a one-nil lead and forcing the glamour team to get serious.
And they did it with the oldest trick in the group, the good old big lass, wee lass combo. It was genuinely impressive how well they played to that, ChiChi buzzing about the place, creating all the movement before ZONES came in and lariated everything in sight. There was a touch of the dearly missed BeeStar to their performance, and there was a reason that Chigusa Nagayo was dropping Bruiser Brody references on commentary when ZONES got going. I never really believed they would win, as it felt like Takumi and Nagashima’s comeback was inevitable, but it didn’t make it any less fun.
That’s also not to say ZONES and ChiChi were perfect. They are both inexperienced, so awkward moments were littered throughout as their timing or positioning was a touch-off. However, much like with Gibbs, it was all forgivable stuff, arguably more so since the Evolution girls are much earlier in their careers. Plus, that’s what Takumi and Nagashima were there for! They didn’t only give them a lot of shine but kept this all together, steering any mistakes away from getting worse and making sure everything wrapped itself up nicely in a bow. I’m sure ChiChi would have preferred if Iroha had done it with a few less stiff kicks, but if you dare to hit the Ace, you’re going to get yours. That’s a lesson we’ve all got to learn. Besides, she can take comfort in having put in a good showing, as she and ZONES more than stepped up to the plate and delivered in their first Marvelous main event.
Verdict: Impressive From The Youngsters
Overall Show
The main event and the opener are probably the matches I’d recommend strongest here, but everything except Leo vs Dragon Libre was enjoyable. We’re still too early in the tournament to call the winner, but Aniki and Kato have put themselves in a strong position, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them in the final come the end of it. In the here and now, this was a fun show!
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