Marvelous’s trip to Hokkaido is something I look forward to every year. With the roster and some guests heading north for the weekend, the shows take on the air of a summer holiday as everyone kicks back and enjoys the chance to compete in front of a crowd that isn’t as over-saturated with wrestling as the one in Tokyo. You’re unlikely to come out of these shows with a match-of-the-year contender, but the vibes are immaculate, and that’s what I love about it. So, let’s see what went down.
Miyuki Takase defeated Ai Houzan
Ai continued her recent run of impressive singles matches by being paired with the always-reliable Miyuki Takase. These two kicked things off by yelling loudly at each other, establishing that while there might be quite a few rungs on the ladder between them, their energies weren’t that far apart. Not that Takase acknowledged it. Bullying Ai is in fashion right now, and she was no different, grabbing her hair and tangling her up in the ropes to pose for photos. It got to the point where Mio intervened, drawing Tommy’s attention to the hair-pulling and jumping up and down in front of the fans to block their cameras. Although, with the second one, there is every chance she just wanted to be in the photos. It’s hard to say.
It might not be much fun, but the bullying is doing Ai good. She’s had the scrappy underdog thing down since day one, but we’re starting to see another layer of determination surface. Houzan was throwing strikes until she was exhausted, alternating between chops and forearms as she tried to open a crack in Takase’s armour. We even saw her try to pop up after a bodyslam, firing up to her feet only to eat another one and find that the combination had only succeeded in making everything worse. Still, it didn’t stop her from throwing a headbutt towards Miyune’s arm in a desperate attempt to negate those lariats. It didn’t work, but fair play for trying.
That’s where Ai is right now. She’s full of ideas. She just can’t necessarily push through with them. I’ve expressed frustration at her not being given more to do, but it does feel like that is starting to change. It’s slow, but she is expanding her repertoire and finding more ways to try and push herself to that next level. While it hasn’t yet happened, I’m hopeful this is a sign it will. Then again, I’ve said that before and been proven wrong, so what do I know? Either way, this was an enjoyable opener.
Verdict: Another Good Ai Performance
El Cucuy defeated Unagi Sayaka
El Cucuy messing around with Unagi Sayaka is quite the sight. It’s not often you see a huge demon lad threaten to storm off because everyone’s chanting for his opponent. It got even worse soon after, as The Eel tried to turn this into a bullfight, leading to him giving into frustration and taking a seat in the crowd until she agreed to give it a rest. That lass can get under anyone’s skin.
Unfortunately, those were the highlights. Unagi trying to battle a big lad is a good hook, which I was looking forward to exploring, but they tried too hard to push this towards a serious match. After the nonsense was over, they fell back on the formula, and, to be blunt, Cucuy’s heat section wasn’t that interesting. I wanted to see him make Unagi fly, but it was pedestrian and plodding instead. He’s an athletic guy for someone his size, and those bursts of speed are impressive, but they were limited, and a lot of it was just there.
Honestly, at least for my taste, I think this needed to lean into the silliness a touch more. We only got a whiff of Unagi trying to antic her way to victory before it became a somewhat sincere attempt by her to take down a powerhouse opponent, and that’s just not as interesting. At least not when said opponent isn’t willing to slam her through the ring. The final piledriver was killer, drawing a holy shit out of Chig, and we either needed a whole match of that or bull-baiting nonsense. As it was, we got a somewhat dull middle ground that never lived up to the potential this had.
Verdict: Good, But Flawed
Noriyuki Yoshida, Gurukun Mask & Starboy Charlie defeated Leo Isaka, Titus Alexander & Jiah Jewell
Yoshida is a regular on these Marvelous’ trips north, so I assume he’s based in Hokkaido. Judging by his Cagematch, that is also the case for Gurukun Mask, who does most of his wrestling in that area of Japan. Either way, they must have been delighted to discover that it wasn’t just Leo joining them, giving them a whole new group of people to mess around with.
And I’m starting to think I’ve been harsh on Starboy Charlie. I still think he’s highly flawed (and he works a style I don’t love), but when he’s in the ring with the right opponent, there is something to him. Titus, in particular, gets a lot out of the lad, pulling out some personality and letting him show off the best of his offence without allowing it to get overbearing or annoying. Charlie’s young enough that it makes me think he could be something good in the future. He just has to keep learning from the right people and avoid picking up the numerous bad habits that plague so many independent scenes.
By the end, this was a bit of a smorgasbord as they threw everything at the wall to see us home. It was nothing special, but the fans in the room seemed to enjoy it, and Gorokun pulling out a Hibiscus Mii spot (who, despite being injured, still made the journey up to Sapporo in a wheelchair to sell merch) was a lovely touch. I won’t remember any of it in a week, but as a fun house show match, it did the job.
Verdict: Enjoyable Enough
Chikayo Nagashima defeated Hamuko Hoshi
Cagematch isn’t great for this stuff, but it has Hamuko Hoshi’s last Marvelous appearance coming in 2018, which sounds about right. Whether that’s the case or not, she was a welcome sight on this show, as a bit of Ham is always a good thing. Ibuki was there, too, selling merch and looking like the pregnancy was going well. She even excitedly rushed to grab a picture of her mum when Chikayo posed her in the ropes in a most unflattering way. I eagerly await the day Hoshi III does the same thing to her.
As for the wrestling, this was a classic example of two veterans knowing what a crowd wanted. Did they work particularly hard? No, not at all. Did they need to? Also no. They went out there and had a laugh, winding each other up and drawing the fans into the fold. Why spend time taking awful bumps when you can get just as big a reaction by kicking Hoshi every time she goes for those signature sexy poses? It’s the kind of wrestling I respect the hell out of, as while it’s not particularly thrilling for those of us watching at home, it plays to the room perfectly, and there’s a magic to that. They’ve earned the right to have a match like this through years of learning how to do it in a way that makes sure everyone leaves happy.
Will it stick with me? Probably not, but I tell you what, more of it will than the last match. I enjoyed the move dump at the end of that, but it was a lot harder work than anything Chikayo and Ham did while being about a tenth as memorable. On a small show, in front of a crowd that doesn’t get as much wrestling, they knew what to do, and they nailed it.
Verdict: Veterans Being Veterans
Mio Momono, Takumi Iroha & Brooke Havok defeated Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) & Tomoko Watanabe
Mio Momono is sure she holds all the cards in her relationship with Tomoko Watanabe. She’ll go out there and boss her around, demanding she does what she’s told and then stamp on her foot and be a menace when they face off. However, now and then, Tomoko does like to put her in her place. A big lariat is all it takes to remind Momono that while she’s willing to let her pretend to be the boss, the tables can turn. Quite frankly, I think Mio needs it sometimes. We don’t want her getting too cocky.
Away from that pairing, this followed the last match in playing to the crowd, instantly breaking into a brawl where they all got up close and personal with the fans. People were being throw through chairs while Tomoko and Iroha managed to break something they’d found in a goal at the side of the hall by hitting each other with it. It’s the kind of thing that it’s easy to be sniffy about when you’re sat at home, especially when there’s so much going on that the cameras can’t keep up with, but when you’re in the room, it is thrilling. The people who spend their money on tickets are the important ones for Marvelous, and they were working for them.
Not that they followed Chikayo and Ham’s example completely, as things picked up the longer the match went on. The jewel in its crown was Takumi vs Riko, which saw Kawahata demand the Ace unleash those kicks on her, putting her hands behind her back as she ate them up. She then dared to deliver a slap of her own in return, pissing Iroha off enough to start throwing one of those sloppy, even more violent flurries she unleashes when someone’s annoyed her. It’s one of my favourite Takumi traits, as there is a real sense that she’s ditched attempts to make it look pretty in favour of booting your head in.
It also ended in a big upset, Brooke Havok picking up the biggest win of her tour when she pinned Kawahata, setting up her and Unagi to challenge for the tag titles the next night. (I say setting it up. I’m not sure if that would have been her choice, but Unagi made it so.) Like Starboy Charlie, I’ve been a bit critical of some of her performances, but she is better suited to these big tags, where she’s not required to take centre stage. It lets her focus on what she’s good at rather than having to fill spaces that she’s not yet equipped to do so.
The result aside, this followed the rest of the card in being inconsequential fun rather than great. As I said at the start, that’s what I want from these shows, and while they won’t excite everyone, they are perfect for lazy day watching. I had a good time with this, and if you approach it with the right energy, you might, too.
Verdict: Good Time
The winners got some pizza, which meant that when Maria turned to Mio and Takumi to request that the title match take their place as the main event on the next day’s show, they were caught with their mouths full. To be fair to them, it looked tasty. I will be in Sapporo later this year, so maybe I’ll look the place up.
Overall Show
As I said above, Marvelous’s Hokkaido shows are all about the atmosphere. The wrestling is decent, but they have the whiff of house shows as they look to give the fans a good time. That won’t be for everyone, and if you’re purely seeking out classic matches, it’s probably not worth your time. However, if you’re looking for some fun, you could do much worse.
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