Show Review: Sendai Girls 6th January 2019

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The first Sendai Girls show of the new year sees two title defences and some of my favourites gracing the screen. They got almost 500 in attendance at Shinjuku FACE for this show.

dash vs meiDASH Chisako vs Mei Hoshizuki: DASH takes on this Marvelous newbie, and Mei immediately tries to attack with dropkicks, but it doesn’t do much and then DASH takes her out with a big boot. Not often that DASH is the bigger wrestler in the ring, and she asserts her dominance by taking Mei outside and kneeing the shit out of her. It sounds strange, but there’s something very enjoyable about watching the rookies get beaten down by a veteran. It really helps the rookie’s fire up spots feel more important, and even though she loses here, Hoshizuki gives a decent account of herself. ***

shida vs hirota vs kaoru vs aigerAiger vs Hikaru Shida vs KAORU vs Sakura Hirota: Aiger is totally weird and terrifying, as is the start of this match when the four all start rolling around on the floor. I feel like there’s definitely something I’m missing here, as Aiger’s weird powers seem to turn two great wrestlers and one average wrestler into a waste of a match. I’m begging for more Shida vs KAORU and less of Hirota being weird and Aiger being really strange. Although I will say I laughed out loud at Hirota’s failed suicide dive. Aiger wins after pinning all three, after Shida and KAORU were kissed unconscious by Hirota, who tried the same trick on Aiger, only for it to backfire. Jesus… *1/2

aja, hiroyo, shindo, alex lee vs meiko, mika, manami, miyagiCassandra Miyagi, Manami, Meiko Satomura & Mika Iwata vs Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Alex Lee and Mikoto Shindo: Now, this is the kind of match I can really sink my teeth into. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it to the end of time, the sooner Aja brings back Jungle Emperor the better! Matsumoto is probably my favourite joshi ever, Iwata is a star in waiting, Kong and Meiko are legends, Miyagi is awesome too, but I’m not very informed on the others. Shindo is another Marvelous rookie, Alex Lee is a freelancer and Manami is a 14 year old Sendai Girls rookie. 14…

Hey, everyone in the previous match, Miyagi and Kong are way funnier than you. The more I watch of this, the more I’m convinced Hiroyo vs Iwata is a five star classic in waiting. Shindo introduces herself into the match by flying across the ring into Miyagi after Matsumoto backdrops Iwata and Meiko at the same time. If there ever was a better ring for both Manami and Shindo to learn from, I’d like to see it. Aw, Meiko won’t let her tag out, leaving Manami to be pummelled by Aja and co. Well, you gotta learn somehow kid.

Mika gives Shindo the same rough treatment that Manami got, hitting some big stiff kicks. The match breaks down, while the rookies beat the tar out of each other, and then Manami wins with a nice looking complex rollup. Fun, multi-man tag. ***

Sasamura vs McKenzie.jpgMillie McKenzie vs Ayame Sasamura: This is for the Sendai Girls Junior title, and this is a really good match. McKenzie really shows off her Britwres grappling skills, and while it is ridiculous to say how good she is for 18 years old considering we’ve had a 14 year old on this show, Millie is fucking great. Her stuff looks legit, her suplexes are explosive and she deserved this spot. Sasamura is great too, keeping up with the technical side and selling the submissions really well. She reminds me a lot of KUSHIDA, working this highly technical junior style.

McKenzie controls a lot of the match, working over the arm of Sasamura and she’s also on the receiving end of an Ace Crusher and two nasty looking German suplexes, the second of which wins Millie the match and the Junior title. A really well worked match that is great for grappling fans, but doesn’t quite get to that next level of excitement. McKenzie looks like a rising star though, and Sasamura really helped push that. ***1/2

chihiro vs sareeChihiro Hashimoto vs Sareee: This is for the Sendai Girls World Title, and features one of, I feel, the most underrated joshi in the game, the champion Hashimoto. She’s a powerhouse, and her amateur style really makes her different from a lot of other joshi. I haven’t seen a lot of Sareee before but there is always a bit of buzz about her online so…

The match is pretty evenly contested at the start, with numerous attempts at locking a hold. Chihiro tries to overpower Sareee repeatedly but she keeps slipping out, frequently giving double footstomps. Sareee’s Muta lock is a thing of beauty as well, and she delivers some nasty kicks to Hashimoto. Chihiro catches a PK into an ankle lock, but she makes the rope, then escapes a German suplex with a rollup and repeated double stomps. Hashimoto is sent out of the ring with a nasty dropkick on the bottom rope, then there’s more stomping and forearms, before Hashimoto almost gets a countout after a suplex on the floor.

Chihiro hits the second rope senton, but not from the top as Sareee rolls out of the way, then hits two double stomps from the top to get a close near fall. Sareee takes three short arm clotheslines but still doesn’t stay down, and manages to escape a German into a pinning attempt. She then hits a BEAUTIFUL German suplex on Hashimoto for a two. Chihiro fights out of the Uranage, and after a stiff forearm exchange Sareee slaps Chihiro twice, really fucking hard. That wakes up the champ, who dumps her on her head with a massive German suplex. Chihiro hits a spear but Sareee reverses the following powerbomb attempt. She can’t escape the second attempt though, and hits hard. She kicks out at two, and somehow manages to hit a huge uranage, dropping Hashimoto right on her head. That’s gotta be it. NOPE! We almost had a new champ there. Chihiro manages to get up and hit two big Germans and wins with a bridge on the second. Really good match, Sareee looks strong in her defeat and Chihiro’s title reign continues. ****1/4

Show Review: RibbonMania 31st Dec 2018

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ai and maya

RibbonMania is the biggest show of the year for Ice Ribbon, and generally it is a pretty good show. Last year saw the excellent main event of Kurumi defeating Risa Sera, as well as Hideki Suzuki wrestling three matches. That isn’t as impressive as it sounds, but it was pretty funny. The main event for this show is Tsukasa Fujimoto vs Maya Yukihi for the Infinity title, which I could not be more excited for. This show drew over a thousand people to Korakuen Hall, which is nothing to be sniffed at.

asahi vs suzu

Suzu Suzuki vs Asahi: A matchup of rookies here, I really like Asahi in the few times I’ve seen here, she has great fire. Suzu Suzuki makes her debut here, and rides to the ring on a bicycle, in reference to her recent accident that caused her injury. Another cool point of this match is how Fujimoto and the rest are at ringside, watching the match. There’s always a great basic purity to rookie matches, where flashy moves is overtaken by heart and technique. Asahi tries to break Suzuki in half with a camel clutch, then a tiger feint kick, but Suzuki comes back with a few dropkicks and almost wins with a snug rollup. They exchange pin attempts before Suzuki wins with a German suplex hold. Man she’s so happy about that. Pure joy. ***

fujita arita hoshi totoro vs kurumi tsukushi anou honma

Hiragi Kurumi, Saori Anou, Tae Honma & Tsukushi vs Akane Fujita, Himeka Arita, Ibuki Hoshi & Satsuki Totoro: We get a big 8 wrestler squash in the corner, and then it becomes your regular 8 woman tag match, everyone getting a chance to shine. Highlights include Tsukushi riding on Kurumi’s back, Saori Anou being just too good for this low on the card, Fujita and Kurumi having a big hoss battle and my favourite, the Tsukushi/Kurumi cannonball. They tried a ridiculous avalanche spot that fell apart, and then Kurumi wins with a big splash from the top rope. Fun match but nothing special. ***

suzuki saya vs giulia

Hideki Suzuki & Tequila Saya vs Shinya Aoki & Giulia: I have no idea about the backstory here, nevertheless the Ice Ribbon girls all batter Hideki repeatedly with shoes and other weapons so, I guess we don’t like him in these parts. I like Giulia, and think she can be a decent wrestler but this match was all about getting Hideki. All the roster get in on attacking him, and then he takes a low blow from Giulia that Korakuen winced at. Hell, even Tequila attacks him, and they’re in a team together! Plenty of fun shenanigans here, and Giulia taps Saya out with an Octopus hold to win. **

miyako matsumoto vs chon shiryu vs matsuya uno

Chon Shiryu vs Miyako Matsumoto vs Matsuya Uno: This is for the Triangle Ribbon title, and I’m honestly lost on what is going on for a lot of it. We have a cheating referee who repeatedly gets involved trying to help Matsumoto to win, and I have little interest in this Chon guy. Then there’s some big inflatable balls that appear, and it’s all missing the mark with me. The highlight is when the female referee Banny Oikawa who kept getting knocked out in the promo video at the start appears, pulls the cheating ref out and takes over. Then somehow wins the match. *1/2

hikaru vs risa

Risa Sera vs Hikaru Shida: The Blast Queen vs the Warrior Queen, this hardcore match has hidden gem written all over it. Last I saw these two, Sera was blowing up Fujimoto and Shida was breaking Aja Kong’s nose so they have the credentials. By the way, no one looks cooler than Blast Queen Sera coming to the ring in her shades.

Sera fills the ring corners with chairs, and it doesn’t take long for them to be swinging kendo sticks at each other. When Shida is involved, you know the in ring work is going be really solid, and Sera is no slouch either, even with this Blast Queen character she’s got going on. They brawl in the crowd, before Sera gets a table from the back and throws Shida into it. She’s dragging poor Hikaru all over the place, eventually back into the ring where double knees in the corner then a knee drop from the top isn’t enough to put her away. A big powerbomb onto chairs and a DVD onto a ladder still isn’t enough to beat Shida, who pops me biggest all night when she cracks Sera in the head with the kendo stick and Ai Hara screams on commentary. I cracked up hard for that.

Unprotected chair shots to the head are still a thing I see, as Sera cracks Shida with a chair, then hits her with the Ayers Rock twice, then one on the chairs and ladder for good measure for the win. Pretty good match, with the odd sloppy spot bringing it down. ***1/2

lovely butchers vs kyuri ozaki

Kyuri & Maika Ozaki vs Lovely Butchers: Ai and Maya singing and dancing along with Kyuri and Maika is officially the cutest thing ever. The Lovely Butchers look like the worst hen party dressup, but are a super underrated team. Also their theme bangs. The Butchers take the advantage at the start with some double teaming on Kyuri, before she tries to fight back with some ugly hair pulling and rolling around. She finally escapes Miyagi and makes the hot tag to Ozaki, who seems not so physically dominated by the Butchers. She can’t overpower Hoshi, who flattens her with a lariat, and we get to see Miyagi’s big running butt splash. Miyagi goes for a Torture rack, but Ozaki reverses into one of her own, which looks really impressive. She dumps Miyagi into a Codebreaker from Kyuri, but only gets a two count.

Ozaki hits a Muscle Buster on Mochi which looks really impressive, but Hoshi breaks up the pin. Miyagi comes back with a big spinning slam, then some double foot stomps and a Vader bomb but Kyuri breaks it up. They exchange moves, then both strive for a tag. Kyuri tags in and takes advantage on Hoshi, hitting her with another Codebreaker and into an armbar. The match is picking up pace now, and Kyuri escapes a double team and Ozaki flattens the Butchers with two lariats. Kyuri almost wins with a fisherman’s buster, and they we get a really great combo of backstabber/senton bomb that gets the closest nearfall of the match. It’s neck and neck now, the next big move can win here. Ozaki saves Kyuri from the rolling pin, but then Miyagi crushes her with a Thesz press. Hoshi goes for the top rope splash, but Kyuri rolls her up and WINS! We have new tag team champions, and this match was loads of fun. ***3/4

tsukasa vs maya

Tsukasa Fujimoto vs Maya Yukihi: This is for the Ice Ribbon Infinity title, and let’s be honest, before we even start you know this is going to be excellent. They’ve been on opposite sides all year, and their match in August was number 8 on my MotY List.

There’s something that reminds me of a Power Rangers villian about Tsukka’s robe. These are two of the finest joshi on the planet, and the silence that greets their early work serves to enhance the seriousness of this match. They do the old ‘test how hard my back is by kicking it really hard’ spot, then Fujimoto dropkicks Maya outside, and goes to the top. Maya pulls her off into a nasty thud, then dives herself into a big crossbody. Back in the ring, Fujimoto starts to take control and the two exchange nasty stomps to the face.

Their cycle of camel clutch submission reversals is beautifully worked, and Yukihi barely makes the ropes. Tsukasa goes for the Infinity, but Maya fights it off and hits a suplex and a beautiful tilt a whirl backbreaker. Fujimoto escapes a chokeslam attempt, then rolls her up for a VERY close two. She avoids a PK, sending Tsukasa flying with a capture suplex. They knock each other silly with kicks, and when we get back up it starts getting nasty. Maya mocks the sprint start, almost killing Fujimoto with a knee to the face, then the disrespectful kicks to the back of the head fire Tsukasa up and she starts to get her revenge. The slaps and kicks become stiff as hell, and you can hear some of the crowd wincing with some of Maya’s big hits.

Fujimoto hits Maya so hard Ai moans in pain on commentary! Yukihi kicks out of Infinity, then reverses a Venus Shoot into a Michinoku Driver. There’s some sickening headkicks here, before Maya misses a Swanton, The intensity has built so well so far, and the stiff shots continue. Tsukka misses the Venus Shoot again, Maya connects with a big double knees but can’t score a win. There’s a tombstone botch that almost spoils the moment, but when Maya reverses and drops Tsukasa on her head for the tightest of two counts, you’d almost forget it straight away. Maya hits a Tiger Driver and then a wild Swanton for the victory. Maya wins her first singles title in a great match, and looks overcome afterwards. There’s a great show of respect between the two afterwards, and it just makes it even better. ****1/2

Show Review: OZ Academy Connect to the Future (2nd Dec 18)

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OZ AcademyI love the GAORA intro for OZ Academy, just as a point. This Korakuen show features a tag team title match, as well as the fourth trial match for Kakeru Sekiguchi, taking on the superlative OZ Academy Openweight champion, Hikaru Shida.

Mayu Yuhiki vs Ayame Sasamura: Mayu is such a dastardly heel in Ozaki-Gun, and the dichotomy of that with Ayame’s fiery babyface fughting from underneath works really well as an opener. Some of those whip shots look stingy, and Yuhiki finishes Sasamura with a kick to the head to win. **1/2

Misaki Ohata/Natsumi Maki vs Yumiko Hotta/Tsubasa Kurigaki: The energetic Maki and the great Ohata work well as a team against the bigger and more experienced Hotta and Kurigaki team. The big veterans throw the smaller two around, and that double Torture Rack spot looked impressive. Hotta finishes Maki with a Tiger Driver and then a straitjacket powerbomb that looks nasty. **3/4

Aja Kong vs Sakura Hirota: Hirota’s comedy doesn’t always go over well with me, and at the start of this she hands Kong a bag with an autographed photo of Rina Yamashita in it. I’m sure if I could understand Japanese, this would be a lot funnier. Mercifully, the version I watch has a mere 3 minutes of this, before Kong backfists Hirota with a box on her head for the win. Em, so yeah… * (Kong always gets a star for being in a match)

Ozaki-gun vs MISSION 4K & Ryo Mizunami: Ozaki and Ohka are two of the baddest legends of joshi you’ll see today. Ozaki frequently bleeds all over the place, and this match immediately devolves into a chaotic brawl. Seriously, find someone who loves you like Ozaki must love pro wrestling, because she takes some hard stuff in this match. Also, I understand that Ozaki-gun are the heels, but MAN i hate this POLICE guy… Seriously, every time he gets involved I hate him more. Ozaki-gun would be BETTER heels without his antics. Anyway, this match is really fun, swinging back and forth with good moves. Yumi Ohka hits possibly the best brainbuster you’ll see this year, wow. I feel Saori Anou is really underrated, and the limited moments she gets in this match are great. I also like Sonoko Kato a lot, but she takes the pin after a triple mist and then a big boot. ***

Ozaki

Don’t mess with fucking Ozaki.

Hiroyo Kone vs Yoshiko Rina

Hiroyo Matsumoto/Kaori Yoneyama vs Yoshiko/Rina Yamashita: Your reigning OZ Academy tag team champions are one of the best tag teams in Japan this year, and BORDERLESS have been having great matches all year. Yoneyama is a guilty pleasure of mine, and my love for the Lady Destroyer knows no bounds. I am mainly here for this match. Yoneyama immediately turns out to be a liability when she refuses to be thrown out of the ring onto BORDERLESS, who take over from there. Those Yoshiko facewashes always look rough, and she’s very mobile for a ‘big bully’ style wrestler. Poor Kaori takes a lot of punishment, and I love the giant swing rope skipping that BORDERLESS do, until Yoshiko squashes her. Finally, the hot tag is made and Hiroyo runs wild. Matsumoto is probably my favourite joshi ever, and she and Yoshiko could have a major hoss fight in their future. Yoshiko dumps Matsumoto on the floor, slams Yoneyama on top then drops a big running senton in a cool spot. I’m all in on Matsumoto and Yoshiko crashing clotheslines and headbutts off each other, and Rina finally gets in for a bit of a shine . She dodges a roll up and then escapes having Yoneyama powerbombed onto her too. She traps Hiroyo in a sleeper, who barely escapes to the ropes and then drops a big back drop and an elbow.

Meanwhile, Yoneyama reappears from nowhere and tries to superplex Yoshiko. Yeah, I just wrote that sentence, and what’s even weirder is that it worked, with a little help from Hiroyo. I love the switch when Yoneyama powerbombs Matsumoto onto Rina, and that top rope senton was huge! There’s some big lariats, then we see the lariat-into-sunset-bomb double team, then that high angle back suplex for the 1-2-3! Beast Friends win! Beast Friends WIN! Aja comes in to celebrate, and what a great fun match that was! ****

Hikaru Shida vs Kakeru Sekiguchi: The fourth in Sekiguchi’s five match trial series sees her taking on the reigning OZ Academy Openweight champion Hikaru Shida. Shida can always be relied on for a good to great match, so I think she’ll lead Sekiguchi well here. Sekiguchi is about 18 months into her career, and is part of the Actwres Girl’Z promotion.

Sekiguchi starts quick, throwing dropkicks that Shida just takes barely flinching, then knees her hard in the face. Sekiguchi keeps coming, fighting with spirit but most is totally ineffectual against Hikaru who dominates. Everytime Kakeru starts to build a little hope, Shida just knocks her back down. Sekiguchi shows a great fire, trying hard to get a hold somewhere. She gets a crossbody, a number of dropkicks then a cover transition into an armbar which looks nice. Shida has that great Tanahashi quality, where she normally plays the more heroic babyface but is just as good when her shithead heel comes out too. An enziguri and a big knee to the face kills another Sekiguchi comeback, and she seems to be running on empty. There’s a bit of hairpulling as Hikaru toys with her, before Sekiguchi rolls her over and smashes her with a horrible headbutt. Jesus.

Then it steps up a gear with a hard, stiff strike exchange, then a lovely floatover into an armbar from Sekiguchi; man that was smooth. The focus is now on Shida’s arm, repeatedly cracked against the ring post, then a deep armbar that turns into almost Zack Sabre Jr-like twistedness. This match is really rolling now, and Shida almost wins the fall with some hard running knees. Sekiguchi tries her hardest to roll Shida up, and there’s one particular cradle that was 2.9999. Shida finally wins with a big knee then a Falcon Arrow. What a great effort, Sekiguchi’s fire and refusal to stay down was excellent, while Shida was a great heel to start and her selling of the arm really put some credibility on Sekiguchi. A great example of someone getting over in defeat. ***3/4

MotY List: 1 – Utami Hayashishita vs Mayu Iwatani 24th Sept 2018

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1 Utami vs Mayu

As debut years go, Utami Hayashishita may have had the best since Jun Akiyama. From her debut in August to the final of the 5*Star Grand Prix a mere 6 weeks later, it is obvious that Stardom have huge faith in her. But don’t forget, she earned her way to number one on this list. Her story almost overshadowed the joy of watching Mayu Iwatani who is also having a great in ring year.

The matching of the veteran and the rookie was a perfect idea, as any butterflies could be hidden by Mayu. Mayu goes to work on Utami’s arm early, hoping to weaken the Torture Rack. Utami is noticeably bigger than Mayu, and her strength comes into play frequently. First when she picks Mayu up from the turnbuckle and just hurls her to the floor, and later when she drags Mayu over the top rope into a sleeper. Mayu’s run up the ropes twist into a missIle dropkick was lush, but Utami repeatedly finds a way to slow her down. She takes a mean superkick to the face, but comes back with a huge lariat that looks like it broke Mayu’s neck.

Mayu lying like a rag doll over Utami’s shoulders is a great image, and that Torture Rack slam looks nice. The rookie going to the top works the first time, but she’s caught in a huge Frankensteiner and then Mayu kicks her in the face repeatedly. Utami tries desperately to break free from the Dragon suplex but can’t manage twice, and Mayu wins.

When you put together the story of Utami’s debut year, the in ring prowess of Iwatani and the fact that the two meshed so well together, there was really no other option for my Match of the Year. This was a masterclass, the only five star Joshi match I had this year on my list and it was a thing of sublime, timeless beauty. These two are megastars waiting to explode.

MotY List: 2 – Arisa Nakajima vs Misaki Ohata 14th Jan 2018

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2 Arisa vs Misaki

This might be the match that got me back into Joshi in a big way at the end of this year. Match of the Year lists are so hard because there is so much stuff early in the year that can be forgotten because it was a long time ago. Ohata vs Nakajima was probably the first great Joshi match of the year, and it kick started a feud that ranks up there as one of the finest and most violent this year.

Arisa Nakajima is like if Manami Toyota if she had a bad attitude. She can be awesomely vicious, but can wrestle with the best of them. Ohata is one of the better all rounders in the genre, and the fact that she’s retiring this year is heartbreaking to someone like me who has just discovered her. The chain wrestling at the start of this match is fluid, inventive and beautifully done, before it descends into a stiff slugfest. Everything they do to each other looks legit, particularly the hard crossbody on the bottom rope by Ohata. What I like is how, throughout the match, each aim little kicks or slaps at each other, just to show a bit of disdain, building the tension really well.

They trade some nasty looking suplexes, including one Dragon suplex that dumps Arisa right on her head. But she sorts a receipt for that later on, when the two struggle desperately to hook in the killer blow. Nakajima finally gets her with a half and half suplex for the pin. Probably more important for what it began, but this match was a perfect example of great wrestling drawing you in, hooking your attention and never wanting to look away. Sure, their feud got more violent and more dramatic, but this is where it began, with two amazing women wrestlers fighting for the ultimate prize; victory.

MotY List: 3 – Arisa Nakajima vs Nanae Takahashi 1st Nov 2018

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3 Arisa vs Nanae

The end of SEAdLINNNG’s Beyond the Sea tournament to decide their champion, Arisa Nakajima vs promotion owner Nanae Takahashi in what was always going to be a classic. Nakajima has been outstanding this year, with a violence laden feud with Ohata being a highlight, as well as numerous great tag matches. She beat Hanako Nakamori and Rina Yamishita to get here, the Yamashita match being particularly great. Takahashi beat Takumi Iroha and Hiroyo Matsumoto to make it to the final, unsurprisingly the Matsumoto match was also outstanding. To crown the first champion is always key for a promotion, and the match needs to be great as well. This outmatched all of my expectations and cemented Nakajima as a definite Joshi of the year contender.

3 Arisa

This is what we refer to as ‘murder face’

The fluidity of the work here is awe inspiring. Back and forth they go, exchanging holds, submissions, without a moment’s pause. It flows beautifully, brought to a jarring halt by a double stomp right to Nanae’s stomach. Arisa revels in the fact that she’s grabbed the upper hand, gives Nanae a few kicks to the head and then a slap. A rye smile crawls across Takahashi’s face, and then she gives some big slaps back. Man this is great to watch. Arisa misses a dropkick and gets a wheelbarrow German for her trouble. Takahashi tries to grind Arisa down with twisted armbars, but she escapes and drops Nanae real hard on the apron from the top. Man, I mean she bounces off to the floor. Then gets a top rope stomp to the outside. Arisa looks like a killer here, a legitmately title threat to anyone.

Nanae barely makes it back in before 20, and gets some kicks to the face for her reward. Arisa now targets the leg, including a wonderfully smooth roll up into a stretch muffler combo. Nanae starts to fight back but Arisa cuts her off again. Every time it looks like Nanae may get somewhere, Nakajima is a step ahead. The pace quickens, the crescendo is coming, everything gets more reactions. Arisa goes to the top, Nanae punches her square in the mouth, Nana Rocker from the top then a big splash, OH! Two count, but that’s all. Tiger suplex and a moonsault from Arisa! Two count again, but it’s getting closer. Who will get that final blow? A Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, then a One Second EX finishes Arisa off and Nanae is your inaugural champion. Arisa doesn’t take it well, and I expect she’ll be fighting for this belt again soon.

This match is outstanding, with a non stop pace and the action swings back and forth with no clear idea of who will win. Big moves, hard hits and some fantastic wrestling, plus the drama of a title match means this is top 3 for me.

MotY List: 4 – Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs Misaki Ohata & Hiroyo Matsumoto 9th Feb 2018

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4 Arisa-Tsukasa vs Hiroyo-MisakiNow, I struggled back and forth on this or Oedo Tai vs Hashimoto/Chisako as my joshi tag team match of the year. Frankly it came down to me being a lot more familiar with the wrestlers here than in the other, but both are stone cold classics of 2018 women’s tag team matches. Fujimoto and Nakajima are an awesome tag team, Ohata has really leapt into my consciousness this year and, well the Lady Destroyer is the best!

The singing of the Best Friends (these are the best Best Friends in wrestling btw) is always fun because it clashes so hard with how grim Arisa normally looks. Like, ready to kill you grim. Ohata and Matsumoto jump them, and we’re off. What follows is a perfect example of high octane, high speed joshi tag team wrestling that makes this genre so much fun. Hiroyo is the powerhouse, noticeably bigger and stronger than the rest but that doesn’t stop Tsukasa throwing herself at her with all she’s got. Nakajima crushes Ohata with a huge splash to the outside.

The match is kept at a maddening pace, with a brutal looking top rope stop from Arisa to Hiroyo looking really good. Ohata and Nakajima’s exchange are particularly stiff, following their story from their match in January, which is still to come on this list. The two of them are the reason this ranks so highly, as their personal adn vicious attacks really lift the intensity. A nice crossbody through a chair gives Misaki the advantage, and then a beautiful twisting splash gives her a close two count. When they start battering each other with forearms, connect this straight into my veins! Some of the spots are insane; the superplex/powerbomb, Tsukasa almost kicking Misaki’s head off to break up a pin, Hiroyo powerbombing Tsukasa onto Arisa to break up a pin, it’s all so innovative and crazy. A Venus Shoot, and an Apron DDT leads them all outside again, and they’re all too busy brawling to get back in the ring. A double countout is the result, and Arisa and Misaki looked to be heading into a serious bloodfeud for the rest of the year. Just three days after this, they had a killer one on one in WAVE.

Moty List: 5 – Io Shirai vs Meiko Satomura 19th April 2018

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5 Io vs Meiko

I’m not even sure how I could leave this meeting of icons off my list this year., But it only got as high as number five, which tells you just how good this year has been. A match of the year contender on paper alone, no matter what happened in the ring. Fortunately, what happened in the ring was magical.

The match starts with some solid chain wrestling, with no one getting an upperhand until Meiko starts using the knowledge she’s gained visiting the UK to trap Io in some interesting submissions. Then we’re off, with some big stiff knees, kicks and one knee in particular from Io that almost took Meiko’s head off. A match that was evenly matched almost all the way through, but with some standout spots. Meiko’s flip armdrag off the ropes into the STF was a thing of beauty, but even turning it into the crossface wouldn’t tap out the Queen of the Skies.

There’s a big slap exchange, before we get that insane suicide cross body through the ropes that always looks like it’s going to kill someone. Io takes over, with a Tiger Feint Kick (I’m not calling it a 619, I’m just not) and a big missile dropkick. Man she lands hard on that one. I’m sure the WWE wll be happy to watch those head drops on Io, and that cartwheel knee drop looks very nasty. The action comes thick and fast, knee strikes, moonsault attempts, some real stiff kicks from Meiko that knocks Io straight out of the ring.

This leads to the most insane spot, the top rope moonsault to the floor which is an awesome spot. Meiko is dragged back in, given a double arm facebuster but can’t be pinned. Then it’s Pele Kick, Tombstone, Death Valley Bomb, and the drama is unbearable. Meiko can’t put Io away with the DVB, but she hits Scorpion Rising and crawls to the cover. But it’s too late. The bells rings, and it is a draw. This is a match between two icons, two experienced hands, and it is every bit as good as you’d expect.

MotY List: 6 – Hikaru Shida vs Aja Kong 17th Sept 2018

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6 Kong vs Shida

The simple fact that Aja Kong made a match of the year list in 2018 is crazy. But she is one of the greatest of all time, and can still pull out dramatic and great matches when called upon, and this was this year’s. Her battle with Hikaru Shida over the OZ Academy Openweight title is the most visceral on this list, and probably the most unexpected, but it is definitely one of my personal favourites.

The main event of a pretty great show, and following a fiery tag team match with Yoshiko and Yamashita taking on the dastardly Ozaki-gun for the tag team belts, it had to be good. You can always rely on Shida to have good matches this year, and I think that her legendary gravure videos have made us forget sometimes that she’s a hell of a wrestler. And as for Kong, well, she’s a legend and in Japan that means something more. Plus, that Priest entrance theme is never less than FUCKING awesome.

The contrast is stark. Shida; lithe, athletic, full of fighting spirit. Kong; experienced, unstoppable, unmoving. The battle is set perfectly, with Shida starting off hot before Kong starts taking her apart methodically. The right leg takes a lot of damage, and I’ll bet Aja standing on it is legit brutal. There’s nothing subtle about Kong, and she stands out now as she did back in her heyday as an unstoppable, classic monster heel. Yelling at Shida when she can’t run on her hurt leg, cold eyes staring through her. Headbutting Shida’s injured leg to get out of an armbar. Man, Kong is so good. Don’t get me wrong, Shida is no slouch either. Fiery babyface spirit, her selling is great, and she even takes on some of Aja’s moves, focusing on that arm. Headbutting the locked wrists to get the armbar on properly is an awesome callback to five minutes ago. These are two experts of their craft.

Aja Kong

If anything could make her more terrifying…

The step up in pace begins with the brainbuster on the ramp, when Aja leaves Shida for dead. It’s a tense 19 count, and then they fire back and forth. Two big brainbusters from Kong, a Michinoku driver and a flying knee from Shida. The kendo stick appears, and there’s a bit of duelling weaponry before Kong catches it and hits two big backfists. Then the key moment. A high knee and boom, Kong’s nose is busted. This was a show that had already seen Yamashita, Yoshiko and Oazki bloodied, so it wasn’t the sight of the crimson mask that made this match special. It was everything that led to it, and how, even though it seemed to be accidental, that moment took this match to the next level. I’m pretty sure Aja’s nose breaks, and then you can see her snap it back into place. What a fucking badass. The strikes come thick and fast now, and somehow Kong kicks out after a hard kendo shot to the face, then a big knee to the face. But Shida eventually puts her down after a big double knees from the top, then a hard knee attack.

In a world where being young, athletic and beautiful is the norm, Aja Kong is the anomaly. But she hasn’t been at the top of the game for this long because she’s different. She’s been at this level because she’s an incredible performer. Shida continues her great 2018 with a tremendous performance too. This match was outstanding.

MotY List: 7 – Jungle Kyona vs Utami Hayashishita 9th Sept 2018

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7 Jungle vs Utami

Well, after much deliberation we’ve come to number seven on the match of the year list. I struggled to decide between this and Jungle and Utami’s first match, Utami’s debut, but at this point, Utami was showing more and more what a star she is going to be. It’s obvious that Stardom think so too. A draw with an established star like Kyona in her first match is a big indicator, and then to draw here as well shows that Utami is destined for amazing things.

Utami is more confident coming to the ring than in her debut, and the leaps and bounds she has come on in such a short time is amazing. Jungle helps here too by being more overtly heel, pulling the hair and laying in some stiff shots, dominating the match. Utami fights well from underneath, despite her powerhouse look. That apron powerbomb looked great, Utami’s back bending with a sickening thud. The crowd is more energised than in the first match, which definitely adds to the drama. Jungle goes for the back now, pulling a hard Boston Crab, and then a big splash, then a spinning backbreaker and the Sharpshooter.

Utami fights through the pain, and almost puts Jungle to sleep, then goes for the rack which she fights out of with a big clothesline, and another. Jungle smashes her with a spinning powerbomb but the bell goes on the count of two of a sure thing three. Another draw, and another awesome match between 2018’s best rookie and one of the most underrated wrestlers on Stardom’s roster. One of these two you’ll see again on this list…