With the AAAW Tag League behind us, Marvelous’s eyes now move to Korakuen as they start building towards their trip to that famous old venue with a visit to Shinkiba. So far, we only know about the tag title match, and the main event of this show saw Unagi and Itsuki try to gatecrash it. Would they succeed? Let’s find out.
Tomoko Watanabe defeated ZONES and ChiChi in a three-way
Tomoko Watanabe is a wrestling treasure. Facing off against a pairing coming off a run in the AAAW Tag League, the veteran was potentially at a severe disadvantage. Luckily for her, ChiChi took exception to ZONES’ lacklustre celebration after a double suplex, and when Tomoko tried to calm everyone down, she received a slap across the face. Understandably put out by that, Watanabe figured the best way to deal with it all was to leave them to it, taking up a spot in the corner, chatting with Mio, shouting some occasional advice and nipping in to break up a pin here and there. It was an outstanding running bit that drew a lot of laughs from the crowd (and me).
Sadly, if we’re honest, the in-ring stuff didn’t live up to Tomoko’s comedy. ChiChi getting an even share of the offence shone a light on her strikes not landing flush, as she’s much better suited to playing the scrappy underdog. Meanwhile, ZONES never quite got up to speed, as while the laughs were enjoyable, they prevented her from getting down to bashing into people, which is what she excels at. The Evolution pairing have had some impressive showings in Marvelous since they started turning up, including on the last show, but from a pure-wrestling standpoint, this probably goes down as their weakest yet.
However, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Tomoko is so good in these situations, and when she decided to get involved towards the end, we got a taste of her and ZONES colliding in the centre of the ring. It wasn’t enough to turn this into something I’d highly recommend, but if you’re looking for a light, chuckle-inducing Friday night portion of wrestling, you could do worse.
Verdict: Meh Wrestling, Fun Comedy
Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Leo Isaka
Tsutomu Oosugi is a long-time Japanese indie guy who has done a bit of everything but makes his home in Michinoku Pro. Like many Leo opponents, this was my introduction to him, but his CV is impressive.
He showed off that experience with a standout performance. Early on, when the pace sped up a touch, Leo got the better of him, which Oosugi seemed to take personally. In response, he got nasty, slowing things down and attacking Isaka’s arm. It was a nicely focused stretch of work, and while Leo isn’t the best limb-seller (he’ll grab it now and then but still do a perfect handspring into the ropes), it wasn’t quite as much of an issue as when he’s asked to sell a leg.
That meant when Leo got away from his attacks and sped things up again, it felt earned, even more so when Oosugi pushed himself to match the kid. Often, the third act of Isaka matches is the one that loses me, as I feel like I’ve seen it all before, but Tsutomu did enough to keep this interesting, throwing in a handful of big spots of his own before nearly taking Leo’s head off with a knee. As much as he heeled it up, there was a sense of satisfaction in him managing to show this youngster that he can still play that game (although it’s worth noting, while he’s been around for a while, he is only in his 30s) when the time calls for it.
It all made for what I’ll call a strong and professional showing. No one will be naming this a match of the year (or even of the month), but both guys put their best foot forward and gave an impressive account of themselves. If Leo can work on that limb selling, I’d like to see them revisit it somewhere down the road and see if they can hit that next level.
Verdict: Good Stuff
Chikayo Nagashima defeated Ai Houzan
I believe this was somehow Ai’s first singles match against the leader of Team Yellow. Houzan has taken a lot from Nagashima over the last couple of years, both in and out of kayfabe, and (coming off a strong showing against Maria) I was excited to see what she could do against her sometime mentor.
Not that Nagashima was going to take it easy on the youngster. After using the opening handshake to cheapshot Ai, Chikayo quickly settled into pulling her hair, introducing her to the first row of chairs and generally being a dick. However, it all came with the feeling that she was testing Houzan. She didn’t give the rookie a lot here, but the slithers she did provide all felt like a challenge, daring Ai to fire up and show everyone what she could do. I often find the best rookie performances come when they’ve got a tiny gap in which to cram every bit of themselves rather than wide open space to run free and potentially make a mess of it all. They benefit from being funnelled, allowing them to fashion their frustration into something worth watching.
On the whole, I thought Ai met that challenge. Houzan is far from a perfect wrestler, but if you want her to do fiery underdog, she generally delivers. Whether it was screaming her way through a series of forearms, battling out of an armbar or putting her head to use with a series of headbutts, she threw herself at this problem. However, I do think she lacked something with a bit more oomph. We’ve been watching Ai do this stuff for years now, and when this match would have benefitted from her pulling out a bigger move, one that, even if just for a second, felt like a potential game-changer, she had nothing. As it was, her best chance of catching Nagashima was to bundle her up, which, again, is something we’ve seen a million times before.
I do have hope for Houzan’s 2024, though. Marvelous’s lack of a regular midcard has hurt her. The people she would have been closest to, the now Mei Seira and Cohaku, both left, leaving her with a lack of options to get that big upset win over. However, the introduction of a couple of rookies could be what she needs, as she’ll no longer be the roster’s whipping post. I’m excited to see what a dominant Houzan win looks like, and I have faith that when she gets the chance to pick up a few, we’re going to see a different side to wee Ai.
Verdict: Ai Meets The Test, But Needs More
Mio Momono & Takumi Iroha defeated Miyuki Takase & Brooke Havok
I thought I knew who Brooke Havok was, but then I realised I was thinking of Jessica Havok. Brooke has appeared on the Kitsune shows that Chigusa Nagayo has been helping out with (Marvelous’ wrestlers made up most of the Japanese talent on the last one), so I’m assuming that’s where the connection is. Regardless of how she got here, I will need to know if the ‘Emo Queen’ slogan on her gear is referencing proper emo or whiny pop-punk. Yes, I am the kind of person who will judge you based on that distinction. No, I’m not ashamed of myself.
Anyway, my gatekeeping aside, it’s fair to say Havok didn’t have the easiest introduction to life in Japan. Mio and Takumi decided the best way to welcome her was by being mean. Then, when they weren’t bullying her, she had to deal with Takase’s somewhat confusing attempts at giving instructions in English. She’s probably better at it than I am Japanese, but it still might have helped to keep it simple. Considering all that was going on, I thought Havok gave a good account of herself. She seemed a touch nervous, and some of her offence was a bit sloppy, but she was sympathetic when selling and had Chigusa Nagoya leaping out of her chair in delight when she finally managed to escape the bullying. At only 24, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her come leaps and bounds during this trip.
As for the rest of the match, it was reliably great. Takase’s chemistry with Mio and Takumi has been established, so whenever she tagged in, things got exciting. At the start, she was leaning into the messing around (not that I’m complaining about that), but it didn’t take long for her to be offering up her back for Iroha to kick before chopping the shit out of Momono. There are few wrestlers more reliably good than Miyuki Takase, so when you pair her up with two of the best in the world, you’ll get plenty to keep you happy. It made up for any weaknesses in Havok’s performance and ensured that this was all worth your time.
Verdict: Welcome To Marvelous, Brooke!
H2D (Ryo Mizunami & Sonoko Kato) defeated Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) and Unagi Sayaka & Itsuki Aoki in a three-way elimination tag
When Marvelous announced this match, I was a bit worried about the inclusion of Itsuki and Unagi, as it felt like an attempt to try and shoehorn them into the title picture. Thankfully, I was overthinking it. Their job was to provide a buffer between the tag champs and their challengers. Early on, they gave us a bit of comedy, as when they weren’t bickering, everyone else chose to ignore them. Then, after Unagi’s early elimination, Aoki was a useful figure to take out Maria and Kato, sneaking in to grab pinfalls over them without giving anything away ahead of the big one. What I’d worried was going to be dodgy booking that invalidated the Tag League turned out to be a smart piece of work.
That left the question of what happened between the two sides of our Korakuen showdown. What we got reminded me of the Daisy Monkey vs Ryo Mizunami and Yuki Aino match. Magenta are outgunned, coming up against a pairing who are both stronger and more experienced than them. They weren’t totally useless, with Riko’s kicks managing to do some damage when it came down to her and Aniki, but time after time, they found themselves being outmuscled. Magenta were chipping away, which would be fine, but when H2D got the opportunity, they were taking off whole lumps, as shown when Mizunami wrapped up the win at the end.
All of that leaves us with the question which will have to be answered in Korakuen Hall: can Magenta find a way to neutralise that power? Against the all-star team of Chikayo and Takumi, they waited them out, letting them tire and then leaping on a mistake. It’s possible a similar thing could happen here, but with two such experienced figures (who have shown none of ChikaTak’s dysfunction), it’s a risky move. Whatever they decide, this match only made me more excited to see it, which means it has to go down as a job well done.
Verdict: Good Booking
Overall Show
There isn’t a match on this show that I’d say you have to see. Most of it was good, and even when it wasn’t, it was entertaining, but nothing pushed itself up to that next level. However, from a putting blocks in place perspective, it felt like an important one. We set the tempo for that tag title showdown at Korakuen, saw Ai get a chance at her mentor and introduced a new member of the ever-growing Marvelous family in Brooke Havok. On top of that, it was an easy, roughly two-hour watch that made for some good Friday night viewing. I had no complaints.
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