Ruaka vs Azumi vs Arisu Nanase
This is a rookie three way, with all three girls looking
exceptionally young. You get the impression these three must have worked
together and trained together a lot in their development, and thus a few
sequences do look really slick – the quick exchange of role-ups where none of
the girls looked lost for example. As the match progresses, a certain hierarchy
in ability soon becomes apparent, highlighted by Nanase and Azumi putting a
two-person crab on Ruaka, and only Azumi looking like she was applying any pressure.
Nanase also has really flimsy looking strikes. Azumi looks the most capable of
the three, though I was impressed at the angle of the Boston Crab applied by
Ruaka to Nanase. However, Nanase escapes and cradles Ruaka for the pinfall.
Nanase was probably the least impressive of the three, but this was a perfectly
fine opener.
Konami vs Hiromi Mimura
The pre-match interview establishes this is Konami’s first
Stardom match, though she has wrestled elsewhere. Her first move in the match
is to snatch Mimura in a bodyscissors and go for the submission, and they work
a nice little mat sequence of hold and counterhold. Mimura is a rookie, albeit
more advanced than the girls in the opener, and she definitely seems to be
improving from the matches I saw from her earlier in the year. Her selling was
really good here as Konami decides to work on a leg, including it slowing her
running the ropes and giving Konami an opening. At one point they work a strike
exchange, but whilst Mimura goes for blows to the face, Konami unloads a kick
to the leg, which takes Mimura longer to recover from. Mimura gets a close
nearfall of a Majistral cradle, but a nasty looking rolling kneelock by Konami
gets the tap. This was good.
Oedo Tai (Kris Wolf & Hana Kimura) vs Kaori Yoneyama
& Saori Anou vs Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora
This match really flew by. After a brief bit of schtick at
the start with Kimura, Anou and Kyona all posing for the cameras, this kicked
off and didn’t slow down for the rest of the match. Hard to say there was any
real structure, as people kept popping in and out of the ring without any tags,
but it always felt like the people in the ring we actually trying to win.
Nothing was done just for the purpose of looking cool, it always seemed to be
to lead to a pinfall or a submission. Loved Anou teaming with Kyona, whipping
her into the corner to splash Kimura, but then immediately rolling up Kyona
from behind to try a flash pinfall. Yoneyama and Anou also locked a nice combo
figure 8/head scissors on Tora, which looked cool. Wolf looked a lot more solid
and confident than she did the first time I saw her compete, and Yoneyama,
though short and stocky, was a little dynamo here, looked really good. The end
saw Tora leap off her partner Kyona’s back to hit a big senton on Anou, but
Wolf immediately dived in to cover Tora on impact and get the pin. A lot of
fun.
Twisted Sisterz (Holidead & Thunder Rosa) vs Queen’s
Quest (HZK & Momo Watanabe)
This was for the Sisterz NWA Vendetta Pro titles. Queen’s
Quest seem pretty green, with mainly rookie offence like dropkicks and some
soft looking blows, but they were game here, and sold nicely for the Sisterz. I
really liked the fluid teamwork of Rosa and Holidead, with Holidead wheelbarrow
suplexing her partner into a senton looking really choice. They zero in on the
back of HZK, locking in pendulums and nailing a big back breaker, but I also
liked that the moment Holidead makes a mistake and tangles her leg in the
ropes, HZK goes right after it, kicking it in the ropes and locking in a figure
four. Watanabe hits a really nice looking double-knees to Rosa’s face, but the
result never feels in doubt due to the lack of power behind the rookie’s
offence. They do get a really nice nearfall from a top rope senton, but Rosa is
soon able to cradle HZK for the win.
BY HO (Kairi Hojo & Yoko Bito) vs Oedo Tai (Kyoko Kimura
& Kagetsu)
This is for Oedo Tai’s tag titles. Odeo Tai take this to the
floor early, which fits into their style of match more than their opponents.
Kagetsu sends Bito sprawling into rows of chairs. Hojo has entered the match
with strapping on her back, which is targeted by Kimura. It’s soon ripped off
and Kimura lays in with a backbreaker and stomps. I liked the way, rather than
go into a strike exchange, Kimura allows the smaller Hojo to unload with chops,
in the process wearing herself out, and then levelling her with one big strike.
Bito tags in, but doesn’t fare too well. However, her in ring stint does allow
Hojo time to recover. Her flying punch from the top looks great. Loved Hojo
diving in to save Bito from taking a knockout kick to the head to turn the
momentum for their team. Oedo Tai try to use briefcases as weapons to turn the
tide, but it backfires when Kagetsu hits Kimura by accident. Hojo blasts
Kagetsu with her awesome elbow drop and Bito follows this with a Jig’N’Tonic
for the titles.
Io Shirai vs Mayu Iwatani
This is for Shirai’s World of Stardom title, and is an
absolute blast. Shirai played the role of dominant ace perfectly, with a cool
and slightly cruel demeanour, giving a slight hint of a smirk after slamming
Iwatani on the wooden floor. I liked the way they showed Shirai coming into the
match with a gameplan, as she wedged Mayu’s leg in a chair before hitting it
with a running dropkick. The injured leg provided an opening that Shirai would
use to try and make comebacks later in the match when Iwatani was in control.
Iwatani, as the challenger, really put it all on the line to win the title for
the first time. A crossbody to the floor is followed by a Dragon Suplex on the
floor. This is the match turning point that starts things really rolling for
Iwatani, as Shirai can barely beat the count, and this is the first notable
momentum shift. Iwatani goes for the Dragon Suplex at several points in the
match, hitting a nasty one on the ring apron and a conventional one in the ring
for a close nearfall. However, she goes to the well once too often as she tries
for a top rope version, only to have Shirai land on her feet and nail a series
of awesome rolling Germans, where she rolls over Mayu as if to make an O’Connor
roll, then rolls through to her feet and suplexes Iwatani again. This was a
very back and forth match, but the changes in momentum felt organic and both
girls really sold their exhaustion in the closing stages. The end sequence was
excellent, with Shirai spiking Mayu after reversing a tombstone, then nailing
two consecutive moonsaults for the win. Terrific, terrific match.
No comments:
Post a Comment