Gatoh Move continued their Road to Korakuen with a trip to Kitazawa Town Hall, rocking up on the same day TJPW held an enjoyable show headlined by Juria Nagano’s retirement. Did Gatoh make it two for two? Let’s find out.
Miya and Nonoka sadly missed this one and later announced it was because their dad passed away unexpectedly. All the best to them and their family at an awful time. Much less importantly, it meant that Ri-Ri-Ri-Ringo was down to just Chie and Mei, but they still kicked things off in a typically cheerful and energetic manner.
Kung Fu Panda (Chon Shiyru & Lee Yoneyamakao) defeated Hoshitango & Erii Kanae
Hoshitango dwarves most people in the extended Gatoh family, but putting him and Yone together is a particular good move. If you’re going to use a lad whose main attribute is being large, put him in there with the smallest person you can find and have her win via an O’Connor Roll off his belly.
Away from the big lad, I find it fascinating how obvious it is that Erii is an Emi Sakura student rather than a Mei Suruga one. Mei is only five years into her career, and yet she’s not only producing wrestlers but doing so in a style distinct from her trainer. Erii brought a brash physicality to this match that was very Sakura, with the loud, over-the-top way she gears up for those tackles being the most obvious example. She’s still a bit rough around the edges, and she could probably use throwing herself into those moves a bit more, but with two experienced hands to guide her through the action, you would never guess that she was less than a dozen matches into her career. There are also some good instincts there, her refusal to give up an early head scissors on Chon showing a willingness to milk moves for all their worth.
Outside of that, this was a fairly standard opener. Shiryu and Yone are as safe a pair of hands as you’re going to get, and while Hoshitango is limited, watching them come up with a way to take him out had its moments. Erii, meanwhile, already feels at home, as Darejyo is on a hot streak.
Verdict: Decent Opener
Black Comaneci (Antonio Honda & Tokiko Kirihara) & Mochi Natsumi defeated Orepan (Chie Koishikawa & Sayaka) & Yuko Sakurai
It’s so great to have Chie back. She’s been doing a wonderful job of hosting shows, but life is better when she’s running around in circles like a hyperactive toddler. Speaking of returns, this was Yuko Sakurai’s first appearance in Gatoh Move for a while and, apparently, the return of Honda’s hair, as he had quite the barnet going on. It even overshadowed Otoki’s impressive afro. I’m forced to accept that both were real since Ref Shota checked them beforehand, so any moments in the match where they appeared to come off must have been a trick of the light.
As the presence of Black Comaneci on one side of the ring makes clear, this was our nonsensical entertainment for the evening. If you’re a regular Gatoh Move watcher, you know the score. If not, well, there were a lot of rubber chickens. Honda and Otoki have shown a talent for the weird, diving into all sorts of bizarre nonsense ponds, but this was an example of them paddling in familiar water. They were second on the card, so they filled the ten minutes with the hits, providing some comfortable silliness that you already know whether you enjoy or not.
And everyone else did an alright job of playing in that shallow water. Sakurai occasionally looked a touch overwhelmed by everything, but Chie and Sayaka had seen it all before and managed to force a bit of their personality onto the action. Meanwhile, Mochi seemed to enjoy being surrounded by it all, even if she never fully committed herself. It made for some light, digestible, but fairly unspectacular lower card silliness, which is something I’m never going to complain too hard about.
Verdict: Easy Nonsense
Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Baliyan Akki
Is it a hot take to say that I think Akki suits this style more than he does the guns-blazing one that he tends to work with Mei? It’s not something I’ve put together before, but most of my favourite Akki match-ups have been against more grounded, submission-based wrestlers like Mitsuru Konno and Otoki (non-nonsense version). Katsumura followed that trend, taking this to the mat early, curtailing some of Akki’s more extravagant impulses and working over his leg as he did so. It allowed the action to build more naturally, paying off in Akki having to go big towards the end, pulling out power moves to try and escape his opponent’s grasp.
That isn’t to say Akki was perfect (or that he’s awful at the other stuff). His selling of the leg was iffy at best. He never forgot it, but it was a lot of hitting a move perfectly and then going back to grabbing his knee or limping around. If anything, he perhaps went a bit overboard, giving it more attention than Katsumura’s attack warranted. It left me wondering how he could springboard to the outside or perform a backbreaker across his supposedly damaged limb. If he’d pulled back on it, sticking to just shaking it out now and again, I would have assumed it was bothering him, but not to the extent it was limiting his movement.
However, even with that flaw, this became an enjoyable match. Time after time, it felt like Akki had broken free to start a run of momentum, only to get cut him off before he could get going. It was simple, well-structured wrestling that eventually saw Katsumura lock on a deep guillotine and force the quick submission. Akki had stepped into the ring with someone better than him at this stuff, and while he did everything he could to keep up, he ultimately failed. It was refreshing to see someone presented as being at the top of the food chain in Ichigaya be challenged in this way, and I hope it’s something they can build on going forward.
Verdict: Good Stuff
Mizuki defeated Sayaka Obihiro
Sayaka Obihiro always feels like the most laid-back member of the Gatoh Move roster. Maybe it’s because she’s been around longer than the rest or because wrestling sits alongside cooking as her passion, but Obi rarely gets riled up. Where people like Mei and Chie have competitive streaks a mile wide, you often get the impression that Obi’s mainly there to have a good time. However, now and then, something pushes her buttons. Whether it’s battling Honda on the anniversary of her debut, stepping in for Yoneyama in the main event of Sakura’s 25th anniversary or challenging for the Asia Dream Tag Titles, you can fire Obi up, as this match against an old friend proved.
It’s easy to forget how deep the history between Obi and Mizuki is. There was a period between 2014-16 where Obi and a partner vs Mizuki and SAKI was a Gatoh Move staple, with Obi starting her (to-date) only run with the Asia Dream Tag Titles with a victory over that pairing. Back then, Obi was above Mizuki in the pecking order, and while Mizyupon has now gone on to wider fame, there was a sense in this match that Obihiro wanted to prove she was still the senior in this relationship. The second the bell rang, Sayaka started bustling around the ring, looking to leave Mizuki dizzy and catch her off guard with that unorthodox style. Everything she did in this felt that bit snugger and more forward than her usual offence, and while there was a touch of messing around, it nearly always concluded with someone going for the kill.
And it’s fun to see Obi wrestle that way. I’ve argued that she is one of the more underrated wrestlers in the scene, and matches like this are why. When she’s pushed to step it up a notch, Obi is more than capable, and there were moments in this match where the rabbit was on the back foot. You got the impression early on that Mizuki was expecting a fun mess around, but instead, Obi came at her, and she had to readjust, battling back to even up the odds. Unfortunately for Sayaka, Mizuki is also rather good. When she managed to survive the Obihiro Magic and slip out of the flash pin attempt that followed, she put this to bed with gusto, providing a timely reminder of why she’s become the star she has.
Still, even if the result ended somewhat predictably, I enjoyed this. Two old friends got a chance to go out and see how far they’d both come. While it only went ten or so minutes, they packed a lot into that time as Mizuki always seems to bring it when she pops her head around the door for a Gatoh Move show. I hope this isn’t the last time we see this pairing, but if it is, they went out on a high.
Verdict: A Strong Showing Between Old Friends
Hyakkin Thunders (Emi Sakura & Masa Takanashi) defeated Black Menso~re & Sawasdee Kamen
Matches like this one are the best kind of comfort food. The kind that you don’t have to worry about letting you down or surprising you. There were four old pros in that ring, and while they weren’t necessarily striving to put on something incredible, there was never any chance of them not at least delivering something fun.
A big part of that comfort came from how good Masa and Emi are as a pairing. In matches like this one, they have no qualms about revelling in the boos as they heel it up to the max. Emi didn’t even flinch at getting some heat off her partner, leaving him to charge into the ring solo while she hid outside. There was nothing complex about it, but as long as it works, there doesn’t have to be. Plus, the complexity comes in their collection of double-team moves, which is vast and inventive, showing off all those years they’ve spent perfecting their act together. It says a lot about Masa’s abilities that between Hyakkin Thunders and CDK, he’s part of two great tag teams, both of whom feel like they bring something completely different to the table.
I feel lazy when I label a match as fun without much else to say about it, but sometimes, that’s all you can do. There were no grand ideas here, but they delivered a lovely old time that was a blast to watch while it was on. I can’t imagine returning to it, but I don’t need to. They filled me up and left me happy, and I can’t ask for more than that.
Verdict: A Nice Time
SAKI defeated Mei Suruga
This match can be summed up by the moment early on when Mei inventively bridged her way out of a headlock. It was a lovely escape that opened her up to pick up the pace, but as she cartwheeled past SAKI, setting herself up for a crossbody, her opponent proved you don’t have to be inventive to be successful. As Mei leapt into the air, SAKI responded by simply booting her out of it, cutting Suruga off before she could get going. It set the tone for what was to come, as Mei repeatedly played herself into trouble thanks to a desire to not only win but do it with style.
Because while Saki perhaps doesn’t have Mei’s stroke of genius, she does have experience and power, both of which are pretty potent in their own right. Mei was brilliant (she always is), but SAKI was the perfect blunt weapon to cut through that. Where typically Suruga succeeds in running rings around opponents, here she was cut off time after time with good old-fashioned brute force, SAKI hammering her way through all the fancy ideas by going straight to the finish line. When that happened, Mei didn’t have an answer. She delved deep, pulling out things we don’t normally see from her, but sometimes the strongest person just wins. And for all Mei’s genius, that’s what happened here.
It’s also something Suruga needs. I don’t want to disparage her in any way because I think she’s brilliant, but the Mei we often see in Ichigaya is a comfortable one. She’s at the top of the company, cocky and sure of herself. In that environment, bullying rookies and with Akki by her side, no one can touch her. Suruga has got so used to that feeling that she approached this match like she would any number of showdowns in Ichigaya, treating it like an opportunity to have fun and stretch her wings. Sadly for her, SAKI had different ideas, booting her down to earth and reminding her that not every ring is hers to own. With Korakuen drawing nearer, it’s a lesson Suruga might have to learn quickly, and I’m excited to see if this is the thread that will lead her there.
Verdict: The Genius Is Overpowered
Overall Show
This show didn’t peak as high as Gatoh Move’s last visit to a ring, but it was probably more consistent. There was nothing I didn’t enjoy, and while a couple of the matches felt throwaway, they did it in an entertaining manner. If you’re picking and choosing, the main event and Obi vs Mizuki would be my suggestions, but you can’t go too far wrong with watching anything on this card. I’ve been saying it for a while now, but Gatoh Move is on a roll, so let’s hope that momentum can keep building all the way to Korakuen Hall.
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