Emi Sakura vs Sayaka Obihiro: Winning Isn’t Everything

Emi Sakura and Sayaka Obihiro had one of my favourite matches of 2020, and while it would be unfair to compare their showdown on ChocoPro 87 to the main event of Sakura’s anniversary, I enjoyed it for the exact same reasons. The bouts between these two mean very different things to those involved. Obi may now be ten years into her career, a decorated wrestler and a veteran in her own right, but when she faces off with Emi, she reverts. She becomes, once more, a young trainee desperate to impress her sensei and prove she’s worthy of stepping onto the mat with her. It doesn’t matter if it’s the main event of Emi’s 25th anniversary, or second on the card, she throws her heart and soul into the action, fighting until she’s exhausted, stumbling around the ring and barely able to stand.

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08/02/2021 1

Stardom Throwback: Year End Stars (23/12/11) Review

Yuzopon’s legs aren’t quite long enough. Credit: Stardom

It’s been a fair while since I did one of these, so let’s head back to 2011 and the end of Stardom’s first full year as a company. We’re unfortunately in a period where Stardom World is missing quite a few shows, but I’ll fill you in on the big stuff that we’ve missed. First up, there was a couple of title challenges, Io Shirai falling short against Yuzopon for the Wonder of Stardom belt and Taiyo failing to beat Nanae for the World of Stardom title. Stardom also ran their first ever tag league with Yuzopon and Yuko Bito beating Taiyo and Yoshiko in the final, making them the first ever Goddesses champions. Finally, they held a Rookie of The Year tournament, which saw Yoshiko beat Arisa to take that particular crown. So, all in all, it was a busy period for Stardom and hopefully those shows turn up someday so we can fill in the gaps. Now, though, it’s time to ramble about Stardom’s penultimate show of 2011, enjoy!

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03/02/2021 0

Ramblings About’s Top Ten Matches of January 2021

Everything about this picture is gold. Credit: ChocoPro

The calendar has ticked over, and we are into 2021, bringing with it, em, well, much of the same so far, but fingers crossed it gets better! It does mean we’re into a fresh year of wrestling, though, with a whole new set of opportunities for people new and old to impress. With it comes, of course, my monthly round-ups of my favourite matches, where I bring you a taste of all the stuff I’ve been enjoying. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s dig in.

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01/02/2021 0

Farewell, Mitsuru

Mitsuru finding great pleasure in her bleeding hand after slapping Mei across the face.

When Gatoh Move announced that Mitsuru Konno was retiring, it was both a blow and somehow entirely unsurprising. The storyline that defined Mitsuru’s 2020 and pushed her to the MVP award in ChocoPro’s second season was built around her bizarre relationship with wrestling. On more than one occasion, she’d expressed that it wasn’t fun for her, and that what kept her going was the need to figure out what exactly it was that made the likes of Mei Suruga fall wildly in love with it.

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28/01/2021 0

Marvelous (25/1/21) Review

Still love this poster. Credit: Marvelous

Marvelous finished up their trio of January shows with the big one. Yup, it’s Stuart’s birthday show. How nice of them to put on such an effort for me and if you want to join them in giving me a present, my Ko-Fi link is, as always, at the bottom of the review.

Okay, it’s possible this wasn’t entirely for my benefit, but lockdown birthdays suck, so I’m going to pretend it was.

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27/01/2021 3

SEAdLINNNG Shinkiba Night (22/1/21) Review

Lot of badasses in that picture. Credit: SEAdLINNNG

The WWE Countdown finally comes to an end as Sareee’s final match in Japan would be with SEAdLINNNG. If anyone has any ideas about how we can stop her going, you better pitch them now because we’re running out of time.

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26/01/2021 1

AJW Throwback: AJW Classics Episode 18 Review

Episode 18 of AJW Classics has four matches all from the same show, as this is the 15th of April 1987. So far, this series has failed to deliver a single stinker of an episode, so surely that runs got to end sometime? Guess we should find out.

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22/01/2021 0

Marvelous (18/1/20) Review

Marvelous have packed January with shows, with this being the second of the three they’re putting on. Not that you’ll get any complaints from me (or at least the part of me that doesn’t look at my bank balance), as so far they’ve been having a very good 2021. Can they keep it up? Let’s find out.

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19/01/2021 0

AJW Throwback: AJW Classics Episode 17 Review

As we head into 1987, things were beginning to shift in the world of AJW. A lot of the old faces are still around, but with the Crush Gals no-more and a host of incredible talent coming up behind them, we’re starting to see some new pairings. Sounds exciting, right?

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15/01/2021 0

Marvelous (12/1/21) Review

Marvelous’s first show of the year was ramping up the build to GAEAISM as Sendai Girls were in town. Our final two matches feature the two companies going head to head while we’ve also got an exciting proposition for young Leo. So, let’s stop blabbing and get into it.

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13/01/2021 1