Despite heading down to London for a weekend to watch the stuff (don’t expect any writing about that, much beer was drunk), I feel like I didn’t watch as much wrestling as usual in August. There is no grand reason for that. I just never quite got around to a bunch of shows that I’m sure I’ll catch up with eventually. All the same, there were a few matches that I enjoyed. They’re mostly hailing from my usual places, but hey, it’s not like anyone is coming here expecting anything different.
Mayu Iwatani vs Seri Yamaoka, Dream Star Grand Prix (2/8/25), Marigold
Seri Yamaoka feels different. Joshi fans are accustomed to hyped-up rookies, but having someone emerge from an amateur background has been relatively rare in recent times. We’re more used to gymnasts, dancers and idols. Truthfully, I have no idea how strong her amateur credentials are, but you can’t miss how physically gifted she is, which has caused her wrestling career to start at a sprint.
And I’m always somewhat reticent to get carried away with stuff like this. It’s very easy to see a young wrestler with potential and instantly throw all your chips behind them, ignoring their flaws to focus on the positives. While Yamaoka is exciting, she is far from the finished product. At the moment, she shares a lot of similarities with Marvelous’s Senka Akatsuki, as both feel like they haven’t quite figured out how to put the brakes on. Seri is an exciting offensive wrestler, combining those amateur skills with a series of suplexes and power moves. However, as shown in this match, while she’s fine for taking a strike or a big move, the long-term buildup of damage isn’t there. I’m not necessarily talking about selling a limb, although that’s part of it, but about getting across the idea that you’ve been in a fight. When she started reeling off Germans towards the finish, it was no different than if the bell had just rung.
On the flipside, when she does go on the offensive, it is so much fun. There’s a pop to everything she does, a surge of power that you wouldn’t expect from a rookie 18-year-old. She’s not built like a Big Hash, but there is a similar explosiveness to the way she takes someone over. Iwatani deserves credit for making everything look great, too. Not only did she fly around for those suplexes, but she bumped for Seri’s strikes, foregoing the usual trope of the veteran needing one hit for every five of the rookies. It’s hardly a secret that Marigold are getting behind her, but it wasn’t just her beating Mayu that stood out here. Tournaments will always have upsets. It’s that Iwatani wrestled a lot of the match like she was up against an equal.
At the end of the day, Yamaoka isn’t even a year into her career. She’s an eighteen-year-old making her way into a new world that, despite the surface similarities, is very different to what she did before. The fact that she’s as good as she is, flaws and all, is incredibly exciting. If she can live up to half of the potential she’s shown, she’s going to be something special, and from what we’ve seen so far, there’s a chance she does a lot more than that.
Shoko Nakajima vs Rika Tatsumi, Tokyo Princess Cup (2/8/25), TJPW
There were so many great Rika Tatsumi moments in this match. The way she flew out of the blocks with those hip attacks, the evil grin after the Dragon Screw through the ropes or when she finally got a rope break after Shoko had reversed the pressure on a Figure Four, only to roll over and force Nakajima to do the same thing. She was brilliant. It was a match where she looked to stop Shoko from getting in a groove, pushing and prodding at her, never giving her a chance to settle.
The problem is, as I pointed out last month, Shoko might be the best wrestler in the world right now (Mio is back, biting at her heels). There were so many brilliant little details here. Her leg giving out beneath her as she threw forearms or the way she sweeps across the ring while looking for a rope break. As a more general thing, I adore how she’s adapting the 619 to be used in so many different situations. It’s become not only a setup for other moves, but a desperate counter or a way to cut someone off as they’re entering the ring. She’s such a brilliantly rounded wrestler, both in and out of kayfabe, that Rika’s tactics made perfect sense. The only way to beat her is to rush her and end the match before she gets going.
Rika and Shoko might be my two favourite wrestlers in the company, and that’s definitely true if we’re only focusing on main eventers. Not only are they great, but everything they do is rooted in who they are – from Rika’s wildcard nature to Shoko’s calm, determined veteran status. If you’d never seen them before, you could watch this match and instantly understand them, which is a skill in itself. They’re exceptional. This first round of the cup wasn’t everything they could do for obvious reasons, but it was still brilliant, and I think that says it all.
Chihiro Hashimoto vs Hazuki, Sendai Girls (3/8/25), Sendai Girls
Hazuki bursting out of the Stardom bubble has been a real delight. I somehow didn’t even know this match was happening until I clicked onto the Wrestle Universe link and saw it on the card, which was one of the nicer surprises I’ve had this year. If you’d asked me to pick a main eventer to pair up with Hazuki to see what she can do outside of Stardom, I would have picked Big Hash. While Sendai’s Ace is more than capable of being drawn into an ‘epic’ clash or two, she’s also proved to have more to her game than a lot of the wider scene’s headliners. She’s someone who isn’t scared to slow a match down and make someone earn their bigger moments.
And even in the first-time, smaller show version of this match-up, you could see that approach drawing something out of Hazuki. Hashimoto made her work for everything here, be it an escape from a headlock or an attempt to build momentum. I’ve described Hash as a wall before, but that always misses how quick she is. In the blink of an eye, she can go from standing tall, challenging you to take her down, to smashing through you at a hundred miles an hour. It was an onslaught that Hazuki struggled to deal with, as every time it looked like she was starting to turn the tide, Hashimoto was there to cut her off.
Which is exactly what I wanted this first match to be. Stardom have never realised what they had with Hazuki, right back to Rossy’s time. She’s someone who seems to flourish under a challenge, and watching her try to figure out how to level the field against Hashimoto made me excited to see her pushed as far as she can go. On this occasion, she found that wall too big to clamber over, but I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed that this run is going to continue, and we’ll get to see her have another go at it somewhere down the line.
Team Marvelous (Mio Momono, Riko Kawahata, Maria, Ai Houzan & Sora Ayame) vs Team Marigold (Utami Hayashishita, Miku Aono, Victoria Yuzuki, Seri Yamaoka & Komomo Minami), Marvelous (8/8/25), Marvelous
Instead, I’m going to focus on how stuff like this bring the best out of people. It didn’t take long for the shine to come off of Marigold. After a fun first show, it very quickly became apparent this was just another Rossy Ogawa joint, as the lack of another influence meant it wasn’t as big a shift as the move from Arsion to Stardom. It’s Rossy doing what he’s been doing for years, and if you like that, you’ll probably continue to do so. If, like me, the sparkle came off that particular star a long time ago, it’s only ever going to be something you peek around the door of for certain matches. However, throwing the roster into a feud with Marvelous changes that. Suddenly, something that seemed a bit stale and overdone feels interesting again.
And that’s because you get to watch wrestlers like Utami Hayashishita (more on her further down the page), who transformed from an exciting rookie into being one of the faces of the late-Stardom Rossy style, getting pushed to do something different. I didn’t care for her match with Iroha, as they’re ultimately two very similar wrestlers, but when you put her in there with Mio Momono, she has no choice but to adapt. Momono probably could put on an epic, but she’s smart enough to know that’s not how to do it, so instead she forced Utami to play the powerhouse, desperately trying to get her hands on the scampering menace. Similarly, watching Miku Aono, who I’ve been quietly of the opinion has become a worse wrestler since leaving AWG, be pulled back to the basics by Ai Houzan, as she was able to dominate with those kicks before nearly being caught by the younger wrestler, was the most I’ve enjoyed her work in years.
And I don’t want to suggest Marigold is bringing nothing to this. I’m on Team Marvelous, but even I’m not silly enough to imply their Marigold’s wrestlers are being carried through these matches. If nothing else, Seri Yamaoka has joined my list of favourite rookies. Sure, as I mentioned in my original review, I am worried she’s going to get all of her cool, rough edges shaved off, but right now, we’re getting to witness her figure herself out, flaws and all, against Marvelous’s own exciting rookies. It’s something that can only do them all the world of good, as they get to step outside the comfort of their promotion to mix it up with people from a different background.
That’s ultimately why this stuff works. You’re throwing different groups together and seeing what works. Will it all be great? No, I point you back to Utami vs Iroha for that. However, with that spark of tension that comes from pride in the company you love (something the Marvelous lot are particularly passionate about), it creates magic. Will it get me to ever watch Marigold full-time? Probably not, but it’s got more of a chance than they ever did by themselves.
Miyu Yamashita vs Arisu Endo, Princess Cup (9/8/25), TJPW
For years, it felt like we played a familiar game around every big TJPW show. Miyu Yamashita would win, after being pushed to a certain extent by her opponent, and people on Twitter would whine that Teej never got behind anyone new. Hey, I get it, the idea of a dominant Ace is really complicated. It’s not like the vast majority of wrestling history has been built on it or anything.
Now, with Miyu stepping back from being the centrepiece of the promotion to focus more of her efforts overseas, we are getting the latest round of benefits from those years of victories. Unlike many before her, Yamashita doesn’t seem desperate to cling to her throne. Instead, quietly, but consistently, she has been passing that rub on to other people. At the top of the card, Miu Watanabe, Mizuki and Hyper Misao have all benefited from that touch in title matches. Now, slightly further down, Arisu Endo has been given the same honour, beating Yamashita fair and square in the Princess Cup second round. It was no banana skin defeat or return to Miyu’s days of tournament ineptitude. Endo went in there, took the Ace’s best, battled through it and got the win. It’s the biggest result of her career so far, and because of those years of protection, it means something.
The other upside of all those years of protection is that the deeper you get into a match like this, the more that sinking feeling of it happening again comes crashing in. I like Miyu. She’s not my favourite wrestler in the world, and I think her recent TJPW work has suffered from her gallivanting around the globe, but she was a great Ace. However, I’m no Man City fan, and I am always going to root for the underdog. I was desperate for Endo to win this match. She’s been going from strength to strength over the last couple of years, embracing her role as a mini-hoss, while also trying new things in the ring. Yet, when it comes to the big moments, she’s fallen short. As part of Daisy Monkey, she’s won titles, but as a singles wrestler, she’s always stumbled a step or two behind her tag partner, Suzume. As Miyu took control, those kicks flying in from every direction, it felt like the inevitable was creeping in. Like Endo had come right up to the edge of the cliff, only to stumble and go tumbling back down to the bottom. We’ve seen Yamashita do it to everyone else. Why wouldn’t she do it once more?
Despite what certain wrestling types love to tell you, wins and losses kinda matter. Not because they represent any real achievement, but because they make moments like this work. Arisu Endo beating someone you tell the world is your Ace can mean something, but it means even more if she beats someone that the world has seen take that position and kick back all comers for years. It turns a second-round cup win into something special, and it elevated what was already a really good match into one that will be the cornerstone of whatever Arisu Endo does next. You can’t whine about that one.
Mio Momono & Ai Houzan vs Magenta (Riko Kawahata & Chikayo Nagashima), Marvelous (17/8/25), Marvelous
Not long ago, I put forward the opinion that Sora Ayame was the perfect person to work with Magenta. She’s a natural babyface who is still figuring things out, so having her wrestle some heels who are doing the same made perfect sense. I still believe that to be true, but with Chikayo Nagashima joining the group, I think Ai Houzan might have joined her in becoming their ideal opponent. Heart-on-her-sleeve, almost too earnest for her own good, Ai is furious at the betrayal of her mentor, Nagashima. Something that came out at the opening of this match when she’d demanded to start across from her, only for Chikayo to tag out instantly, leaving Houzan brimming over with frustration. It was so bad that she seemed to genuinely stamp her foot with anger before charging into Magenta’s trap.
And while I think too often people portray babyfaces as stupid, I do think they need to be earnest. They need to care. Ai is someone who cares. Perhaps too much. Most of her career has seen her striving for the next level, but you almost get the impression she’s trying too hard. Magenta are the perfect people to take advantage of that. To beat her down and pull out every trick in the book while she keeps battling on regardless, putting her heart and soul into it because she doesn’t know how else to be. By the end of this match, a lot of the people in that room were yelling Ai on. However, the one that stood out to me, was the high-pitched voice of a young lass, repeatedly yelling ‘Ai-chan, ganbere’. If that doesn’t make you a hero, what does?
The flipside of all this is that Chikayo Nagashima being attached to Magenta is an inspired move. Nagashima has been there, done that, as she was one of the first people to join (the then faction) Oz Academy back in the early days of GAEA. If anyone can help Maria and Riko put their heel act together, it’s her. Magenta have been getting there on their own, as I think they’ve been slowly chipping away at it, figuring out what works for them and what doesn’t, but Nagashima has the ability to do all that while also being a fantastic wrestler. I’m excited to see what her influence brings to the group.
Utami Hayashishita vs Maria, Dream Star Grand Prix (22/8/25), Marigold
I can be harsh on Utami Hayashishita. She’s become the face of a style of wrestling that I dislike quite strongly, so she’s the easiest person to throw the jokes at. Truthfully, there was a time when I liked her. When she was the Big Rookie, still a touch awkward as she figured stuff out, but clearly brimming with potential. She’s been moulded into something I dislike, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still something of a good wrestler hiding under the surface. As shown by her recent interactions with Mio Momono, when you take her out of the structures she’s used to, she can be reborn.
And it’s no surprise that it was once again a Marvelous wrestler who dragged Utami into something interesting. I’ve seen some negative reviews of Maria’s work in the Dream Star Grand Prix, perhaps partly fuelled by the frustration of Senka having to drop out. However, I think she’s been doing some solid midcard pest heel shtick, and it was particularly noticeable here. Maria was a nuisance. She spent the opening of the match taunting Utami, only stopping when Tommy yelled at them both, before switching to tying her up. This was a lower-league team vs Celtic in the Scottish Cup, aware that their best chance was to disrupt the flow and work to make sure the big team never gets going. For Maria, that meant stalling and then zeroing in on Utami’s arm, preventing her from throwing out her signature bombs.
To give Utami credit, she sold that arm well. Maria was able to constantly rely on going at it to cut her off, and when she did manage to throw a strike or get a big move away, it slowed her down enough that they weren’t as effective. Maria, meanwhile, stripped away the heel trappings a bit, finding fun ways into those armbars and showing a touch of viciousness. Ultimately, to the shock of no one, Utami did manage to power through, hitting just a bit too hard for Maria to respond, but she was made to work for it.
And I’m repeating myself from above a bit here, but that’s why these feuds are great. It’s why throwing a wildcard like Maria into this tournament is interesting. You get to see people react to something different. There are plenty of 30-plus-minute Utami singles matches with equally epic wrestlers, and that’s lovely for the people who like them. I want to see more of this Utami, though. The one who is being forced to think rather than rely on her (undoubtedly incredible) physical talents.
Sareee vs Mika Iwata, Senjo The Biggest (24/8/25), Sendai Girls
Once again, it’s shown that when you put limits on Sareee, you get her best work. With this being the semi-main on a long show, Sareee and Iwata got under ten minutes to play with, and that was exactly how long they needed. It forced them to strip this match back to what they are best at, beating the shit out of each other. With a barrage of stiff kicks and forearms, building up to Sareee unleashing a series of vicious throws for the win, it was hard not to love this. Especially when it was all wrestled with a frantic energy that fed the violence they were unleashing.
It is also, and I feel I need to whisper this, is one of the best Mika Iwata singles matches of the last few years. I’ve always had a lot of time for Iwata, as her kicks and slightly androgynous cool make me believe she should be Sendai’s Iroha, but a lot of her big matches have fallen short in recent times. Most of her two title reigns were underwhelming at best, as it felt like having finally been given that opportunity, she was trying just a touch too hard to grasp it with both hands. Her tag work with Takase has continued to be high quality, but the only match away from that that has stuck with me was the one where she lost the belt to DASH. Even that comes with an asterisk, as I was in the room for it, which is always going to up your enjoyment. Up against Sareee with the clock ticking, she was able to do what she does best – scowl and kick her way through an opponent.
I loved being able to enjoy this. My expectations were low coming in, for all the reasons touched on above, but they delivered exactly what I wanted from them. Something simple but well-worked that played to both their strengths. I’m hardly the first to say it, but bigger and longer isn’t always better, particularly when it comes to wrestling, and Sareee vs Iwata is the perfect proof of that.
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