Another month, another batch of matches that I mainly watched live. We’ve got returning wrestlers, a big moment for the ChocoPro rookies, and Reina Takano taking on a giant bowl of food. Enjoy!
Takumi Iroha & Senka Akatsuki vs Nyla Rose & Nightshade – Friday Night Gacha Season 2 (5/6/26), Marvelous
I probably owe Nyla Rose and Nightshade an apology. When they won the belts, I had a wee moan, angry that they’d ended a Magenta run that I felt had more to give. While I still think Magenta have unfinished business with those belts, I’m less worried about this Rose and Nightshade pairing. Not only did they stick around in Japan longer than I expected, but they’ve been consistently great while doing so. Whether it’s wrestling Ayame and Senka or popping over to Strong Style to take on Mio and Chi Chi, they’ve picked up Magenta’s workhorse role and run with it.
And so much of what impresses me is the simple stuff. Nyla and Nightshade are bigger than everyone else on the roster, and they aren’t afraid to play to it. They take control of their matches, overpowering people and focusing on what they do best. There is some flash in there, but it’s always in service of showing how intimidatingly strong these two are. Even Senka and Iroha, a powerhouse team as far as Marvelous goes, are woefully ill-prepared to go up against them. If they get into a straight fight, they’re going to be squished.
Sure, I still think Nightshade needs to calm it down on the spooky gestures, but with every good match, it’s becoming less of an issue. Even in defeat, as Iroha bundled her way to victory here, they made sure not to give up too much of themselves. To be out-worked, but not out-muscled. I’ve watched enough Marvelous to know the final result is probably them losing to Spark Rush (editor’s note: I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about this), but if that match is booked, I don’t think it will feel like a foregone conclusion. Rose and Nightshade have built themselves up to be monsters, and anyone who wants to take them down is going to have to bring everything they’ve got. What could be more wrestling than that?
Dialect Party East (Konaka Paleface, HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka w/Maya Yukihi) vs Dialect Party West (Yuko Miyamoto, Chris Brookes, Gaia Hox & Ken), Vol. 162 (6/6/26), 666
I really enjoy 666, but I find it difficult to write about. They occupy their own universe. Plus, as Mr Haku makes very clear, there is at least one match on every show that those in the room are forbidden from talking about, and I’m pretty sure that’s legally binding. Not that I could. 99% of the time, I have no idea what’s happening, and after talking to a few people, I don’t think that’s purely down to flaws in my Japanese.
Anyway, this match did work as a standalone entity. After Chris Brookes joined Dialect Party on the previous show, betraying his beloved Banana Kaicho in the process, the group split into two factions, East and West. Hence, we get a showdown between them contested under elimination rules. The twist being that, in classic Dialect Party fashion, you could also be eliminated by having your trousers removed.
That’s how everyone got eliminated.
It made for one of the better straight comedy matches I’ve seen in recent times. 666 has zero issue with embracing homoeroticism, and while Maya Yukihi was technically a part of the match (she’s still injured, so it was in a limited role), no one seemed particularly bothered about trying to undress her. These lads were committed to stripping each other, and appeared to take a hell of a lot of pleasure out of doing so. It’s no surprise that HARASHIMA is willing to dive into the nonsense, but he was particularly gleeful at getting to rip off people’s trousers. Props also to Gaia, who may not have slipped on one of the thongs popular among his faction mates, but was sporting a fetching pair of Tiger Mask boxers.
The real highlight, however, was the final exchange between Konaka and Yuko Miyamoto. With their trousers slowly slipping further and further down their legs, they somehow managed to keep wrestling, desperately trying to unclothe each other as they waddled around the ring. It was both hilarious and genuinely impressive, as they didn’t miss a beat despite being stuck in a position most people only adopt when they discover they’re out of toilet roll. It was a hilarious end to a very funny match, and one that captured a lot of what makes 666 great.
Suzume vs Mahiro Kiryu, Stand Alone ’26 (7/6/26), TJPW
In many ways, this match felt like a reward. I don’t think anyone really expected Mahiro Kiryu to beat Suzume. Kiryu is a very entertaining wrestler and, as I think this match proved, better than many people give her credit for, but that’s not her role. Crucially, though, she does have a role. It’s not that long ago that Kiryu was spending most of her time floating around the undercard, filling a spot. Then, through a combination of Misao’s HYPE and her own hard work, she started to put it together. She turned her awkwardness into a strength rather than a weakness, and she’s slowly and surely become one of TJPW’s most endearing characters. Mahiro figured it all out.
And it’s probably not surprising that her close friend Suzume let her shine in this match. They worked this to Mahiro’s pacing – slower and more considered than a Suzume match might typically be. While it’s not something that gets pointed out very often, Kiryu, at least within the confines of the TJPW roster, is a bit of a bruiser. She’s built an offence of basic, but powerful moves, and she was able to keep the bee grounded, wearing her down with big hits. It wasn’t to the champ’s detriment, either. Suzume flourishes when working from underneath, and this wasn’t going to be the match that saw her impressive year come to an end. She sold Kiryu’s offence well, getting across the cumulative damage she was taking, and began snatching at her chances. She’s not the first person to turn a cutter into a game-changer, but she’s done a great job of that recently.
It was still Mahiro’s match, though. She took the opportunity to show what she could do with a big opportunity. Should this be a common thing for her? Probably not. I think Mahiro’s home will always be in the undercard, awkwardly wandering her way into trouble as she tries to get ahead of those around her. But she deserved this chance. A moment to show everyone that, if she gets the call, she can step up and fill a spot. I called it a reward above, but it was a reward she’d earned, and getting to do it with one of her closest friends feels like the cherry on top of that particular prize.
Veny & YUNA vs Bobubobu Momo Banana (Mio Momono & Yurika Oka), Sendai Girls (7/6/26), Sendai Girls
Veny got the win here to set her up for challenging Big Hash after the main event, but I hope it also means we get more of her and YUNA as a team. It reminds me a bit of early Maria’s introduction to Las Egos. I don’t think YUNA will ever be a natural heel the way Maria is, but Veny brought an edge out of her. As they brawled on the outside, YUNA was getting into it with Oka, giving her the kind of needle I don’t typically associate with her. I suspect YUNA needs a bit of a push to show her personality, and if there is anyone capable of that, it’s Veny. Plus, it would just be lovely for her to get to regularly team with one of her heroes.
They also gave us one of my favourite Bobubobu Momo Banana matches in a while. Veny and Mio are always a fantastic pairing, as Mio flourishes when handed a challenge. However, they weren’t the only ones to click here. YUNA might have been enjoying getting to be a bit mean on the outside, but it was Oka who got the biggest boos, as she lived up to her pre-match promise to go after YUNA’s bangs. If you need proof that a lot of the Senjo audience is watching the YouTube documentary series, that’s it, as they’ve been a recurring topic of conversation throughout. Those two are good together, even without the hair-pulling, as they’ve got the chemistry you only get from training side-by-side every day. Oka has been embracing her role as something of a mini-tank in recent times, adding more power moves to her game, and that meshed well with both YUNA and Veny. Finally, while Mio and YUNA weren’t the central attraction here, there was enough to their interactions that they’re a pairing I hope Senjo (or Marvelous) explore more.
Mostly, though, I think this was just one of those matches that worked. Everyone came in motivated to perform (which, as much as I love Veny, isn’t always the case with her), and whatever they threw out there came off. It wasn’t particularly complex or deep, but it had four talented wrestlers, working at a decent pace, and bouncing off each other nicely. That made for some effortlessly good wrestling, and if Veny and YUNA are to become a regular fixture (which I really hope they are), this is a match they could easily return to again and again.
Mio Momono vs Johnnie Robbie, Marvelous (14/6/26), Marvelous
There was a moment, deep into this match, where Mio desperately reached towards the ropes, the neck that Johnnie Robbie was working over being painfully wrenched back as she did so. As one, the row in front of her rose, not just cheering Mio on, but beckoning her towards them, as if their small gestures could be what made the difference. There are many reasons why I think Mio Momono is one of the best wrestlers in the world, but that is the biggest one. People love her. They believe in her, sharing her pain, and revelling in her victories. Takumi Iroha might be Marvelous’s Ace, but Mio is its heart.
I think it’s that ability that explains why I spent a lot of this match worried for Mio. When she was launched headfirst into the turnbuckle pad early on, the noise she made, and the way she crumpled, felt a little bit too real. Mio’s got a history of neck injuries, and even as Robbie went to work on it, I couldn’t shake the feeling she’d hurt it again. That the reason her hand kept slipping back to it, and why she was screwing up her eyes before every attack, was that she was in genuine pain. Now, I’ll probably never know whether that was the case. She’s continued to wrestle since, so is clearly not injured, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t jar it on the day. However, it does appear that her selling was just that sympathetic. That she’d caught me on her line, reeling me in as I urged her on while battling with anxiety about her future.
Credit also has to go to Johnnie Robbie, who a lot of people have raved about, but who really clicked with me here. Mio returned the favour by going after her arm, and while she never convinced me she was genuinely injured, she never forgot to work it into the action. She was always holding it awkwardly at her side or making it clear that the strike she’d thrown out came with a cost. The submission I described Mio escaping above was modified because she couldn’t keep the original version on with her hurt arm. While she left this match without the belt, it was the kind of performance that made me hope it’s not too long until she’s back in Japan again.
Ultimately, though, this was a Mio match. Not because Robbie didn’t hold up her end of the bargain, but because Mio is Mio. That bright ball of energy, whom I find it so incredibly easy to root for. In a smaller room, in front of a Marvelous crowd that adores her, she comes alive. Sure, she was great at Buntai, and I’m glad she gets those bigger stages to appear on, but this is where Mio excels. In those smaller, tighter spaces, she’s able to convince every single person that their cheers will be what makes the difference. She’s special, and this was a great match.
Mio Momono vs Veny vs ZONES vs Chikayo Nagashima, Friday Night Gacha (19/6/26), Marvelous
Friday Night Gacha is very much Chigusa Nagoya’s nonsense place. Her sense of humour is hardly invisible in Marvelous, but this is where she really lets loose. Earlier on this show, she booked a match made up of former AWG wrestlers purely so she could spam Love Riddle, forcing them all to dance to her whims. It was very Chig. This match, meanwhile, was billed as softcore, with everyone (apart from Veny, who stuck to a chair) entering with an unusual weapon. In the case of Mio Momono, that meant a training dummy and the toy horse she famously took to her Oz Academy deathmatch, but now without the iconic barbed wire it had previously been wrapped in.
And this was chaos. Truthfully, it’s not really a match that benefits from being written about. Comedy wrestling rarely does. Laying out the jokes is never going to be the way to convince you it’s funny, and if you’re one of these weirdo who thinks wrestling should never dare to elicit a laugh, then I’m not going to change your mind. However, this was very much up my street. At one point, Mio and Veny were trapped in a net, bickering with each other as they furiously tried to escape. There’s a very real chance that I missed something I would have loved because there was too much going on to keep tabs on everything.
Which also probably points to the joy of things like this. It is always going to work better in the room. There’s a reason comedy films always work better in a packed cinema. Laughter is infectious, and while there are many funny matches that I’ve loved from the comfort of my sofa, you’re always going to miss the a sprinkle of the magic by not being there. You want to be sat in the middle of the chaos, caught up in the moment, and laughing along with everyone around you. That’s the best version of this.
Still, I think there was enough here that it should work through a screen. If nothing else, you’ll get to appreciate Mio trying to get a training dummy that was bigger than her into the ring. No wonder she’s able to suplex people twice her size.
Unagi Sayaka & Hikari Noa vs Seiki-gun (Mayumi Ozaki & Kakeru), Unagi Kabuki 3rd Anniversary (21/6/26), Unagi Sayaka Produce
Hikari Noa’s last wrestled on the 17th of December 2023 in a time limit draw with Maki Itoh. Not long after that, she was quietly removed from the Ittenyon title defence of her and Nao Kakuta’s Princess Tag Titles, under the banner of poor health, and was never seen in TJPW again. Rumours whirled, right up until her eventual severing of ties with the company, but I have no real interest in getting into them. All I’ll say is that, as far as I’m concerned, everything I’ve heard about Hikari’s mistakes suggests they were simply those of a young lass not thinking things through, which isn’t something I’m about to crucify someone for.
However, this is Japanese wrestling, and there’s no denying that the system is a bit twisted. Yes, there are several actual sex offenders currently working regularly across the scene. However, it was Noa who was blacklisted (to perhaps give TJPW and Cyberfight a touch of the benefit of the doubt, it is worth mentioning her contract situation will have gone through the Up Up Girls, so I don’t know who will have ultimately been in charge of making that decision), thrown out into the wilderness for nearly three years, seemingly with no obvious route to return. Thankfully, Unagi Sayaka has never been one to care about such things. Who knows how much of the story was embellished in the telling, but the idea of her hunting Noa down in her new place of work and convincing her to return is a touching one. Who doesn’t want to be caught up in the romance of an old friend turning up and offering one last chance?
And yet, that chance comes with a caveat. If you’re outcast, you must earn your place back in the fold, and the blood price must be paid. Who better to extract it than Mayumi Ozaki? Unagi puts this together, but it was Ozaki who passed judgement, bloodying Noa up minutes into this match before dragging her down into hell. Unless you’re new here, you know the deal. We’ve seen it a million times, from Saori Anou to Mio Momono, and that’s just the ones in recent years. Ozaki knows how to punish someone. Hikari’s return to the ring didn’t allow her to do all that much wrestling, as she was beaten all across Korakuen, hung from the ropes and reminded, in case she had forgotten, that this stuff fucking hurts. Sure, I suspect the deathmatch fanatic who always wanted to bleed wasn’t that upset about the situation, but it still worked thematically.
It was also a great way to protect a returning wrestler. Yes, she took a beating, but Noa only had to do so much here. She bled, threw some dropkicks, hit a few of those signature moves, but was largely required to simply survive. While she looked in good shape, no one can return after nearly three years and not be a bit rusty, so this was the ideal way to ease her back in, letting her get the feel of the ring under her boots again before she’s asked to carry more of a match. Hikari’s performance wasn’t anything special, but it was exactly what she was required her to provide.
In case it’s not clear, I’m delighted to see her return. Honestly, this kind of feels like where she should be. If Raku and Miu accidentally became wrestlers out of a desire to be idols (not an insult, I love them both), Hikari accidentally became an idol out of a desire to become a wrestler. I don’t want to speak for her, but she never seemed that enthused by the whole thing. Now she’s got through that first barrier, headlining a Korakuen that was packed to the rafters, the opportunities should start to open up, and with the colourful human bulldozer that is Unagi next to her, I have no doubt she’ll find a home for herself in the wider wrestling scene. What that will look like, only time will tell, but for now, it’s just great to see her home. She doesn’t owe me any blood, but I’m more than happy to watch her donate some for the love of the game.
Warm Caterpillars (Mei Suruga & Chie Koishikawa) vs Ken Ohka & Sayaka Obihiro, ChocoPro #530 (21/6/26), ChocoPro
I love it when Ichigaya commits to something. With Mei Suruga preparing to wrestle Honori Hana, she was looking for someone to help warm her up. Enter Ken Ohka. Beforehand, Mei pointed out that Ohka and Hana share a few moves, so as far as she was concerned, he was now standing in for her future opponent. For the rest of this match, Ohka was Honori Hana, whether he liked it or not.
And that’s the beauty of a small room. Of course, you could do something similar in Korakuen, and a decent number of folk would go with it, but it’s much easier to drag the handful of Choco regulars down that road. They understood the assignment, tormenting Ohka throughout the match with their calls. Of course, he’s also a great choice of victim. A ball of twitchy energy, on the verge of boiling over with frustration, as he played into Mei’s hands. The more he charged after her, flying into attempted spears, the more opportunities she had to dodge nimbly out of the way. Part of what makes Mei’s goblin antics so brilliant is that she’s great at them. She tends to get what she wants.
Of course, it wasn’t everything to this match. Chie and Obi were building to their tag-title match, and there were some sparks between the former champs. It’s no secret how Chie feels about her senior, and the energy that would see her work herself into tears in her post-show promo was already fizzling here. Mostly, though, this was a touch of Ichigaya magic, and I will always have a place in my heart for that.
Chiyu vs Rin, ChocoPro #532 (28/6/26), ChocoPro
I’ve been avoiding writing about the exhibition matches that have happened before most ChocoPro shows in recent times. Rin, Waka and Chiyu will eventually debut (assuming that’s what they still want), but they’re also very young. I felt like they deserved the opportunity to figure themselves out without me chipping in with an opinion. It’s not that I had anything negative to say (I think they’ve all done great), but not everything needs to be commented on, you know? Plus, I had a feeling that if I did start writing about them, I’d never stop.
We’ll find out if that’s true because I’m finally indulging myself. Mei Suruga announced before this match that, for the first time, they’d be having a singles between each other, and all three of them excitedly clustered forward, desperate to be chosen. That actually leads to my first point of order, here. Waka was the one to miss out, and her face made it clear what she thought about that. Good friend of the site, Seb, has already written about Waka’s facial expressions, and this was another one to add to the collection, as she sat somewhere between heartbroken and furious. It’s hard to tell at this point whether she’s a great actor or simply someone whose emotions will always be shown on their face, but it really added to this. While she did eventually get down to the duty of cheering on her peers, it was quite something to have the match being observed by someone who clearly thought they should have been part of it.
As for the action, Chiyu and Rin caught me off guard with how ready they were. I’ve seen a lot of these exhibitions live, so I know these three have talent, but that’s always been under the guiding hand of one of their trainers. Now, they were alone, and yet you could hardly tell the difference. They also proved a fairly perfect pairing. Scrappy wee Chiyu vs powerhouse Rin already feels like the kind of match that could be run for years and years, watching these two develop as it goes. If, and it’s a big if because it’s very early days, wrestling turns out to be what they want to do with their lives, we could see ideas formed here being developed for tens of years. It’s hard not to be a little bit excited about that.
Ultimately, though, what matters is that this was a success. I think ripping it apart to explore the action would be entirely missing the point. It’s two young lasses getting their first taste of freedom on a wrestling mat, and simply getting through that without anything going horribly wrong is an achievement. I hope they, and Waka, get hundreds more chances to impress us all, but this was a good start.
Reina Takano vs Food, Senjo Spirit
Reina Takano is in something of an unusual position. It’s not too strange to know something about rookies before they debut. In companies like TJPW, they’re usually introduced to the crowd at the start of their journey, while I’ve written at length about Darejyo training sessions and Marvelous pro-tests before. Christ, in this very ramble, I’ve talked about Chiyu, Rin and Waka, who, while they technically haven’t debuted, I’ve seen compete roughly once a week for the last few months. Yet, none of that feels like the situation with Takano. Thanks to the Senjo Spirit YouTube channel, we’ve seen everything from her moving into her flat in Sendai to her first day in the dojo to her first time sparring with an actual opponent. Throughout it all, she’s proven to be almost the perfect trainee. Intelligent, hard-working and seemingly unfazed by the world she has stepped into. That was until Meiko Satomura told her that if she was to debut, she had to put on 5kg of weight.
In the aftermath of that, when the camera catches up to her diligently forcing down a protein bar, you see Reina panic for the first time. She keeps saying ヤバい, a word that, in this context, essentially means ‘this is bad’. She looks genuinely unsure of how she’s going to do it. Takano isn’t Big Hash or even Yurika Oka, and is clearly a naturally smaller person. In that initial conversation, she admits she has never reached 50kg before, never mind the 52kg Meiko has challenged her to get to. There is the impression that while she can deal with the hellish training sessions and deluge of information (which includes everything from how to tidy the dojo to bumping), gaining weight feels like a near-impossible challenge.
And this is ultimately why Senjo Spirit works. Yes, we get to see them all messing around, having fun, and I adore that. However, you also see the anxieties. Oka fretting about not being fit enough, YUNA worrying that she doesn’t stand out in the crowd, and even Manami dealing with her acne. Wrestlers tend to present themselves as strong, and all of these women are that, but seeing their vulnerabilities fleshes them out in a way we rarely get. It can be nice to have a superhero to cheer for, but you’re going to care a hell of a lot more about a human being.
Of course, not to spoil anything, we already know Reina is going to do it. Her debut has been confirmed for 12/7, and I am incredibly excited to see how she does. However, that doesn’t make watching her journey any less enthralling. This episode ends with a self-shot video of her cooking her dinner that night, piling rice into a bowl to start her journey towards gaining those towering kilos, and I found it weirdly emotional. The sight of that young lass, ploughing on regardless, tackling the challenge that scared her, so that she can achieve her dream, is inspiring. Yes, it’s just eating, but in this case, eating means a hell of a lot, and it also means I’ve been rooting for Reina long before her actual debut.
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