Current Joshi Talk

[donsem43]

I thought something might be up when she lost the Catch the WAVE final, but then again it's WAVE so who knows for sure.

[WingedEagle]

Its taken way, way long to get there, but I'm out on Oedo Tai tags.* Both Kagetsu & Kimura are more than capable of delivering in singles outings but in a tag setting their matches become clown shows built around gimmicks and poor comedy that I suppose may be aimed at building heat. Done.

 

*Any tags opposing Io Shirai are are of course exempt.

[aguakun]

Hamada is in custody after being arrested for "stimulant" use, announced by WAVE today.

[Dreamboat]

Hamada was arrested on drugs charges; her WAVE contract has been terminated: https://twitter.com/furusawa_m/status/996360574026973185

[brockobama]

Hey, at least this means Chihiro's gonna get the belt back sooner rather than later.

[donsem43]

Figured that Ayako would be smart enough to not accept a gift from Sugi.

[donsem43]

WAVE Network has removed every Ayako match that was on the service.

[Dreamboat]

If there's one thing that site needed, it sure is less content

[Mrzfn]

WAVE Network has removed every Ayako match that was on the service.

 

Jeez, that sure sounds like overkill to me.

 

Sucks in general, I have her Sendai Girls match with Satomura from 1/6 in my top 10 so far this year.

[Mad Dog]

Is the Wave Network the worst deal out there as far as streaming services go?

[jushin muta liger]

Is the Wave Network the worst deal out there as far as streaming services go?

Wave Network and BJW Core are neck and neck in terms of the worst from what I've heard.

[donsem43]

I would give WAVE Network the edge. They didn't post the Ohata/Nakajima match from the Catch the WAVE tournament seemingly because GAMI was pissed that fans were making gifs.

[Dreamboat]

They also barely post any of their shows. BJW has awful turnaround time but will get most things up eventually; WAVE will give you one show every month or so, and if you're lucky it'll be a full one.

[donsem43]

Be prepared for the "Io Shirai to WWE" to start up again if she loss to Momo Watanabe on 5/23. Especially when after Toni Storm lost the Progress Women's title fans were treating it like it was her farewell.

[donsem43]

Tokyo Sports is reporting that Io has signed with WWE. They said that her last show will be June 17.

 

It's also reported that Toni Storm has signed a WWEUK contract.

[WingedEagle]

My biggest reservation on the Shirai signing is how strongly they'll feature her given the incredible push Asuka received in recent years. While there's certainly no need for any streak or similarly killer gimmick, if she's given an opportunity to regularly deliver big matches rather than sparing TV opportunities I think she'll quickly prove herself among the best talents in the entire company. Fingers crossed.

[Mad Dog]

I'm less excited about the signing than I would have been a year ago. It feels like the sky was the limit for someone who could perform last year and now there feels like a glass ceiling on the women's division if you aren't Ronda, Alexa or Charlotte.

[donsem43]

Maybe she'll go blonde and go by the name of Aurora Rose.

[donsem43]

Io/Momo from the 5/23 Stardom show was absolutely terrific. The match does it's job getting Momo over as a top threat and is one hell of a way to end Io's run as the top star of the company for the last five years. Top 5 match in the promotions history too.

[jushin muta liger]

Io/Momo from the 5/23 Stardom show was absolutely terrific. The match does it's job getting Momo over as a top threat and is one hell of a way to end Io's run as the top star of the company for the last five years. Top 5 match in the promotions history too.

I have to rewatch it again cause I didn't think it was a great match at all. It just felt hollow to me especially coming off the 2/3 falls tag that was really good.

[Mrzfn]

I liked Io/Momo but nowhere on the level of top 5 in the promotion's history. Don't think it'd be top 5 for the promotion this year, for me anyway.

 

I did love the Io/Satomura from Sendai Girls in April though, that was a real blast.

[donsem43]

I've tend to rate Io's matches with younger, less experienced workers more than her higher profile ones. I prefer the Momo matches, along with the 6/1/14 Takumi Iroha and 2/22/15 Koguma matches, ahead of most of her matches with Mayu and Meiko. Wouldn't put any of Io's matches with Kairi Sane over those matches either.

[donsem43]

Kagetsu beat Toni Storm to win the World of Stardom title. Not really a surprise given Toni's WWEUK contract is likely to limit the opportunities, if any, that Toni will have to work for Stardom in the future. This is also the fourth title change that Stardom has had in the last two and a half weeks.

[donsem43]

The Toni/Kagetsu title switch is up at Stardom world. The pre-match promos are weird as they are directed at English speaking critics more than hyping the match. As for the actual match itself, I thought it was pretty good. Toni in particular looked great. Kagetsu's selling was weak and I'm not really excited at the prospect of every title match having a ref bump in it like this one and the title match with Io last month.

[donsem43]

According to Tokyo Sports, Meiko Satomura will be in the Mae Young Classic. Sendai Girls' Twitter account tweeted out the story adding that they have no comment at this time.