Category: Reviews

We’ve got reviews of shows from everyone from AAA to wXw.

Mio Momono vs Senka Akatsuki, Marvelous (22/11/24) Review

Senka met Chucky. Credit: Screenshot

The older I get and the more comfortable I become in my opinions, the more I realise how little appeal your big, main-event style matches have for me. That’s not to say they can’t be great and that there isn’t catharsis in those moments, but it’s not the stuff I naturally gravitate towards. My eye is much more likely to be caught by intrigue like this. A rookie (who has less than ten matches under their belt) vs the best wrestler in the world who, before the show, was openly relishing in the idea of being booed for bullying her.

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Mei Suruga vs Sayaka, ChocoPro 400 Day 2 (5/10/24) Review

Credit: ChocoPro

Mei’s second title defence was the real test of her reign. Wrestling Miyuki Takase is easy. She rarely dips below a certain level and, with it taking place in a ring, you know what that match will look like. That’s not to suggest it wasn’t good or exciting – it was – but there was a comfort level there. Arguably, wrestling Sayaka in Ichigaya should be similar. It’s their home, and most of the sixty-plus times they’ve faced off before have taken place there. However, with that belt on the line, things change. We’ve never seen Sayaka in a high-profile one-on-one match before, and it’s always intriguing to see how someone adapts to that pressure.

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Miya Yotsuba vs Emi Sakura, ChocoPro 400 Day 1 (4/10/24) Review

She won’t be bullied. Credit: Screenshot

Recently, after friend-of-the-site Flupke shared some GIFs on Twitter, I came to the realisation that Miya Yotsuba feels less like a product of Mei Suruga and more like one of Mitsuru Konno. If Mitsuru had kept wrestling, taking up her position as Gatoh Move’s ace and working in Darejyo, you could imagine her producing a Yotsuba – a wrestler who still has that Gatoh spirit but is also aggressive and ambitious. Mei and Mitsuru’s big ChocoPro feud, one of the final things Konno did in wrestling, was built around their differing ideologies, Mei’s fun vs Mitsuru’s drive. It’s funny then that Suruga’s first student would come to reflect Konno’s way of thinking as much (if not more) than she does Mei’s.

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TJPW Wrestle Princess 5 (22/9/24) Review

Gearing up for one more hit. Credit: TJPW

I know it’s how time works, but I’m still unsure how a year has passed since Miyu Yamashita defeated Mizuki for the Princess of Princess title at Wrestle Princess 4. Yet, somehow, here we are, Wrestle Princess 5. Neither Yamashita nor Mizuki were in the main event, as the shining new face of Miu Watanabe looked to defend her title from outsider and Princess Cup holder, Ryo Mizunami. Elsewhere, Tokyo Joshi’s favourite god and ghost married couple go head-to-head, Pom has got some big pals, and Daisy Monkey’s title reign faces its biggest threat yet. Sounds like a good day, right? Let’s find out if it was.

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Gatoh Move – To The Future

It’s a good gang. Credit: Screenshot

Gatoh Move probably shouldn’t have survived the last five years. When COVID shut down wrestling in Japan as we knew it, things looked bleak for even the big promotions, never mind the tiny one that inhabits an old dentist’s in Ichigaya. Emi Sakura has admitted that she thought it was the end, and honestly, with the world seemingly burning down, would anyone have blamed her for giving up? Thankfully, she’s made of tougher stuff. Instead of curling up in a ball, she took a wild swing, calling on an old friend in Minoru Suzuki and putting on a show intended entirely for YouTube. On that day, ChocoPro was born, and while we didn’t know it yet, Gatoh Move was saved.

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Unagi Sayaka & Minoru Suzuki vs Jun Kasai & Minoru Fujita, Unagi Sayaka Produce Show (2/9/24) Review

There was a lot of blood. Credit: Screenshot

The main event of Unagi Sayaka’s latest produce show was a flawed affair. It didn’t need the twenty-six minutes it was handed, which meant there was an abundance of filler as everyone wandered around trying to fill space. However, what it got right, it got really right. When you’ve got Minoru Suzuki and Unagi dripping blood all over the place, the Eel’s blonde hair turning red while Suzuki had streaks of it running down his chest, you can get away with a few flaws.

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Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs Hiroyo Matsumoto & Hanako Nakamori, Arisa Nakajima’s Retirement (23/8/24), SEAdLINNNG

One of the best. Credit: Here

A couple of years back, I had some minor surgery that required me to be anaesthetised. As you’d imagine, I can’t remember the moment of going under, but I do have a memory of the dream I was having as I woke up. In it, I was being hunted. I can’t recall why, but I do know who was doing the hunting. Arisa Nakajima. While I don’t believe Nakajima typically spends her spare time chasing down fellow humans, I think the fact she found her way into my nightmares speaks to part of what made her such an outstanding wrestler. She felt real. She’s so real that whenever I saw her outside of the ring cracking a smile or doing everyday tasks, it caught me off guard. In my head, Arisa is a killer. Someone devoted to the style of wrestling she believes in, and the idea that she’d ever not be in that zone almost never occurred to me.

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TJPW Princess Cup Final (25/8/24) Review

Time for a fight! Credit: TJPW

2024’s Princess Cup was guaranteed a first-time winner, as we had a battle between TJPW stalwart Yuki Aino and outsider Ryo Mizunami. I think there’s an argument that neither was an obvious choice at the start of the tournament, although perhaps Mizunami should have been. However, I wouldn’t complain about either of them getting a match with Miu Watanabe, so I’ll be happy regardless. We’re also down a few roster members, as Miyu Yamashita, Raku, HIMAWARI and Mahiro Kiryu were in the UK wrestling for EVE (a show I was at). Anyway, on with the fun.

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Mayumi Ozaki vs Maya Yukihi, Country of Plum Blossoms (18/8/24), Oz Academy Review

The cracks widen. Credit: Here

Late in this match, when even that cunt POLICE had turned his back on Mayumi Ozaki, it felt like it might finally be time for her to face the consequences of her action. Having been beaten back by Marvelous, losing the AAAW Title to Takumi Iroha, Ozaki did what Ozaki does and turned her anger on her minions, causing Maya Yukihi to challenge the boss. Now, she was all alone. Or at least that’s what you’d think. Where in any other company, the fans would have been relishing in the downfall of the big bad, that’s not Oz Academy. There, Ozaki is emperor, king and whatever else she damn well pleases, and her subjects are grateful to her for it. As her doom appeared apparent, they simply chanted her name louder, willing her on to victory.

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Suzu Suzuki vs Madeline, Sky High (24/10/21), FMWE Review

She wasn’t injured, just scared. Credit: Screenshot

I’m sure it will shock everyone to learn that the 5STAR Grand Prix hasn’t been at the top of my watchlist. However, I haven’t completely avoided it. After hearing word of some promising Saki Kashima antics, I decided to dip my toe into her match with Suzu Suzuki. As far as I can gather, the best Saki has decided that while she’s not overly bothered about winning the tournament, it is the perfect place to make some money off a sponsorship deal. That meant that when she’d done her due diligence and waved the sponsor’s board around, earning her cheque, she was content to head to the back. Unfortunately for her, that Suzu is an eager type. Rather than accepting the countout victory, she gave chase, strong-arming poor Kashima into participating in the action. It was a premise that had a lot of potential, but they didn’t fully commit to the bit. When Saki was forced back to the ring, things reverted to a decent but straightforward match. On the upside, it was short, so I didn’t waste too much time, and, more importantly, it reminded me of this gem from FMWE.

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