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Excited for that. SEAdLINNING has been my favorite promotion to watch compared to Oz Academy and Sendai Girls (havent checked out Stardom World in 2016 yet), Wave wasn't really my thing before they went to a pay service.

They have been really fun and doesn't waste on action. I even re-watched Arisa vs Yoshiko to see if it was **** like I thought it was and it's still that. Also made me realize Nanae Takahashi is one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world right now. Wonder if she did a better carry job of ODB than she did in the ROH match.

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Based on tonight's Korakuen Show, Stardom is gonna be interesting in 2017.

 

I thought the booking was pretty logical and sufficiently balanced. Early in the Queen's Quest storyline it seemed that Mayu might win the title here, but I think it quickly became apparent that they were going to hold off a bit. It hurts things a little bit because they already told a lot of this story between the two earlier in the year.

 

It didn't really make sense for Oedo Tai to hold both tag belts, and the Stardom faction needed a big win on this show to counterbalance the main event.

 

I was a little surprised that HZK & Momo lost. I figured they would at least bounce the belts to them and back for a bit, but maybe the timing didn't work out.

 

Arisu and Kris Wolf both winning is a sign that they might go further with both of them. Kris is pretty over with the live crowds in Tokyo and she's stepped up when they've placed her higher on the card.

 

 

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Oh wow, Ice Ribbon out drew Stardom at Korakuen. They also gave the matches in the ICEx Infinity title tournament a far amount of time so that should be a show to watch out for.

Yeah, 1108 compared to 970. I'm shocked. I thought it would draw a poor crowd cause of NYE. Maybe it was the crowd that was gonna stay for the DDT show and I can see that crowd digging IR.

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Some people are claiming that they offered a 50% discount on tickets to IR fan club members. Plus, they did have more outside help (Toyota, Nanae, Jun Kasai) than Stardom had. Although, Stardom ran as loaded a show as they could right now with their current roster and still drew under 1k. The 11/3 IR show had Tsukka/Tsukushi and Avid Rival/Azure title matches but only drew 285 to Shinkiba. You would think that lineup would at least be a sellout that smaller building.

 

Beside the point, it looks like they featured the tournament matches above everything else. They did the right thing in getting their own stars out in front of a good crowd, irregardless of how they got that crowd. Ice Ribbon will be interesting to watch in 2017 for a variety of reasons.

 

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I like the story that they are trying to tell with Io/Mayu. Their '15 GP match showed that Iwatani could be competitive with Io. The match last May firmly established that Iwatani is a true threat to Io on top. Now this last match showed that Io still has just enough to stay on top making fans wonder if Iwatani can make that one last push to finally take her down.

 

Of course there is the question of will there be another match between these two. If Io is successful in her next title match she will have tied the record that she set in her first run of ten defenses. It will be interesting to see who Stardom goes with in January as a challenger. Do they go with Hojo again or a foreigner? Both Viper and Kay Lee Ray have already had shots so maybe they go with Shayna Baszler? I'm getting the feeling that they are going to have a foreigner win and use her as a transitional champ like they used Alpha Female in '13 to move the title from Nanae to Io. If they do that though, you run the risk of not having that one last Io/Mayu match should Io decide to leave to the WWE. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

Fyi, Stardom World reuploaded the April and May Korakuen shows. The April show is the Cinderella tournament and the May show has the first Io/Mayu title match.

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Just finished a very preliminary list of the best joshi matches of 2016 in spreadsheet form. This is before any rewatching and there are still a few more matches that I need to watch. I thought I should still put something out here for people who are making MOTY lists and are interested in checking out stuff but have no idea what to check out.

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Great resource! My original viewing plans over the long weekend went out the window and I instead ended up down a 2015-16 joshi rabbit hole thanks to Donsem's recs in the MDA. Still haven't made it to the 5 matches recommended elsewhere as most of what I watched was Stardom, but very much looking forward to hitting those and the others on this list. Will have much more to say at that point, but at least from an in-ring perspective joshi is very much alive, well and in fact thriving heading into 2017.

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I like the story that they are trying to tell with Io/Mayu. Their '15 GP match showed that Iwatani could be competitive with Io. The match last May firmly established that Iwatani is a true threat to Io on top. Now this last match showed that Io still has just enough to stay on top making fans wonder if Iwatani can make that one last push to finally take her down.

 

Of course there is the question of will there be another match between these two. If Io is successful in her next title match she will have tied the record that she set in her first run of ten defenses. It will be interesting to see who Stardom goes with in January as a challenger. Do they go with Hojo again or a foreigner? Both Viper and Kay Lee Ray have already had shots so maybe they go with Shayna Baszler? I'm getting the feeling that they are going to have a foreigner win and use her as a transitional champ like they used Alpha Female in '13 to move the title from Nanae to Io. If they do that though, you run the risk of not having that one last Io/Mayu match should Io decide to leave to the WWE. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

Fyi, Stardom World reuploaded the April and May Korakuen shows. The April show is the Cinderella tournament and the May show has the first Io/Mayu title match.

Well, the next challenger at Korakuen is gonna be Viper again. Maybe the perception is that she got a higher profile cause she's on the World of Sport show and they can sell more western subscriptions for Stardom World. I think it would make more sense if Kyoko Kimura challenged instead.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pretty eventful show Stardom show today. Io Shirai retained over Viper, which if the description was right, had a crazy looking finish. Then Shayna Baszler attacked Io post-match, who was then attacked by Viper. So that's probably the main event program for the next month. Meanwhile, Mayu Iwatani missed the show with the flu cancelling her High Speed title match with Momo Watanabe which was disappointing because that looked like it would be the best match on the show. Hopefully they can have that match in the next month or so.

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Found a couple more pics from the Kansai show. One is a better pic of Kandori and her awesome Christmas sweater, the other is something for old school JWP fans.

 

CzYsPUbUAAAmUJ8.jpg

 

CzYTobtVEAA3b8Z.jpg

 

Pretty crazy to think Dynamite was still active when she looked all but washed up in GAEA in 2000. All these women veterans' careers post mid-00s are a complete black hole that hasn't been talked about at all. Cool pics. Cuty still looking great at 47. Really cool to see her saluting her old tag partner.

 

(is that a photo of Plum she's showing ?)

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Pretty eventful show Stardom show today. Io Shirai retained over Viper, which if the description was right, had a crazy looking finish. Then Shayna Baszler attacked Io post-match, who was then attacked by Viper. So that's probably the main event program for the next month. Meanwhile, Mayu Iwatani missed the show with the flu cancelling her High Speed title match with Momo Watanabe which was disappointing because that looked like it would be the best match on the show. Hopefully they can have that match in the next month or so.

 

Really looking forward to this show getting posted, although Mayu missing it is disappointing. Looked like another solid effort from the results & photos. Very curious to see what Io was able to do with Viper.

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Pretty crazy to think Dynamite was still active when she looked all but washed up in GAEA in 2000. All these women veterans' careers post mid-00s are a complete black hole that hasn't been talked about at all. Cool pics. Cuty still looking great at 47. Really cool to see her saluting her old tag partner.

 

(is that a photo of Plum she's showing ?)

 

Yeah, that's a picture of Plum. In fact, both JWP and OZ Academy still have Plum memorial shows in August every year.

 

To be honest, Kansai was probably one of the worst workers in joshi till she announce her retirement earlier this year. Then she became a lot more fun because you could see she was putting in a lot of effort into her work.

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Yeah, that's a picture of Plum. In fact, both JWP and OZ Academy still have Plum memorial shows in August every year.

 

 

To be honest, Kansai was probably one of the worst workers in joshi till she announce her retirement earlier this year. Then she became a lot more fun because you could see she was putting in a lot of effort into her work.

 

The fact they are honoring Plum's memory to this day is way cool.

 

I don't doubt it. Dynamite was one of my favourite from the mid-90's when JWP was the little promotion that could ! After her illness she was never the same and it was kinda sad to watch her in the early 00's already.

 

Did anyone else from classic JWP showed up ?

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Yeah, that's a picture of Plum. In fact, both JWP and OZ Academy still have Plum memorial shows in August every year.

 

 

 

To be honest, Kansai was probably one of the worst workers in joshi till she announce her retirement earlier this year. Then she became a lot more fun because you could see she was putting in a lot of effort into her work.

The fact they are honoring Plum's memory to this day is way cool.

 

I don't doubt it. Dynamite was one of my favourite from the mid-90's when JWP was the little promotion that could ! After her illness she was never the same and it was kinda sad to watch her in the early 00's already.

 

Did anyone else from classic JWP showed up ?

I don't think so but I would have to rewatch the show. But Devil Masami did send in a video congratulating her. Old school AJW alum like the Jumping Bomb Angels, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano (I think but they might have edited her off the show like they did Kandori) along Akira Hokuto sending in a video.

 

El-P, I think you should check out the Retirement Show. The match between Ozaki vs Kansai isn't the greatest but it's fun with Oz Academy tropes. Also Oz pays tribute to Plum every year when the Anniversary of her death comes.

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I don't think so but I would have to rewatch the show. But Devil Masami did send in a video congratulating her. Old school AJW alum like the Jumping Bomb Angels, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano (I think but they might have edited her off the show like they did Kandori) along Akira Hokuto sending in a video.

El-P, I think you should check out the Retirement Show. The match between Ozaki vs Kansai isn't the greatest but it's fun with Oz Academy tropes.

 

Well, I just did and how glad am I ! First current joshi puroresu show I've watched since... 2002 (and probably first joshi match in ten years or so, really).

 

I kinda FF through the first part since I'm not familiar with most of these girls (although, damnit, Bolshoi Kid, in 2016 ??? Nice to see Aja and Manami are still around too). Oz is 48 and looking good. Okay, so the match is complete smoke and mirrors and dog & poney show, with not much at first except some funny bullshit from the Academy (damn, Police. POLICE ? Still around ? One of the new girl is smoking hot too), then goes into the complete absurd with the entire roster hitting spots on Oz the on Dynamites (including... hugs and kisses !) which was quite funny. I didn't expect the girls going hardcore though. Damn, Oz, all 48 years old Oz (sporting a great bicolor Dynamite tribute outfit) litteraly killing herself taking a million backdrops and that sick table spot. Ok, she's officially the female Terry Funk in my book. Plus, and I'm not kidding, she sold way better at then end than either Omega or Okada did at that Dome show thingy. Damn, Oz. She even pulled out a fake finish that worked with the small package. I cringed at the footstomp. Damn, Oz. I'll be honest, I enjoyed this way more than the "greatest match ever". I give this 7 stars.

 

Well. Then comes the retirement ceremony, which is all great and moving. Hell ! That's Carlos Amano ! Cool to see Devil in complete obasan mode and Akira, whom I would not have recognized, but the hair and the curvy body all indicates she probably is healthy again (right ?). So cool. Cuty doesn't look all that different from when she retired 18 years ago. Aja gives Kansai one last bump (great one too). Lots of cry and stuff. I always struck me that in this business of fakery, these joshi retirements were always so real, so far away from any kind of manufactured emotion we get elsewhere. And for obvious reasons. Green streamers and that's a wrap, 30 years and you call it a career.

 

I'm really glad this thread gave me the urge to watch this. Great stuff that reminded me that I was right to be a super joshi puroresu fan when I was one. Total respect for these women.

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I don't think so but I would have to rewatch the show. But Devil Masami did send in a video congratulating her. Old school AJW alum like the Jumping Bomb Angels, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano (I think but they might have edited her off the show like they did Kandori) along Akira Hokuto sending in a video.

El-P, I think you should check out the Retirement Show. The match between Ozaki vs Kansai isn't the greatest but it's fun with Oz Academy tropes.

Well, I just did and how glad am I ! First current joshi puroresu show I've watched since... 2002 (and probably first joshi match in ten years or so, really).

 

I kinda FF through the first part since I'm not familiar with most of these girls (although, damnit, Bolshoi Kid, in 2016 ??? Nice to see Aja and Manami are still around too). Oz is 48 and looking good. Okay, so the match is complete smoke and mirrors and dog & poney show, with not much at first except some funny bullshit from the Academy (damn, Police. POLICE ? Still around ? One of the new girl is smoking hot too), then goes into the complete absurd with the entire roster hitting spots on Oz the on Dynamites (including... hugs and kisses !) which was quite funny. I didn't expect the girls going hardcore though. Damn, Oz, all 48 years old Oz (sporting a great bicolor Dynamite tribute outfit) litteraly killing herself taking a million backdrops and that sick table spot. Ok, she's officially the female Terry Funk in my book. Plus, and I'm not kidding, she sold way better at then end than either Omega or Okada did at that Dome show thingy. Damn, Oz. She even pulled out a fake finish that worked with the small package. I cringed at the footstomp. Damn, Oz. I'll be honest, I enjoyed this way more than the "greatest match ever". I give this 7 stars.

 

Well. Then comes the retirement ceremony, which is all great and moving. Hell ! That's Carlos Amano ! Cool to see Devil in complete obasan mode and Akira, whom I would not have recognized, but the hair and the curvy body all indicates she probably is healthy again (right ?). So cool. Cuty doesn't look all that different from when she retired 18 years ago. Aja gives Kansai one last bump (great one too). Lots of cry and stuff. I always struck me that in this business of fakery, these joshi retirements were always so real, so far away from any kind of manufactured emotion we get elsewhere. And for obvious reasons. Green streamers and that's a wrap, 30 years and you call it a career.

 

I'm really glad this thread gave me the urge to watch this. Great stuff that reminded me that I was right to be a super joshi puroresu fan when I was one. Total respect for these women.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think you should check some more Joshi puro cause the scene is picking up. It's not on the level compared to ten years ago but the wrestling is enjoyable recently.

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Thought Chihiro/Aja was fantastic! Aja in particular was tremendous, she had lots of smart little Fujiwara-like counters to what Chihiro was trying to do. I feel bad now because the last few months I was starting to wonder if Aja was maybe done as a worker but she proved me wrong here in this match.

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Chihiro/Aja was definitely interesting. The early work wasn't particularly interesting, but necessary for where they took things later. Once they got off the mat and started trading bombs it was exactly what you'd want from them. The escalation was spot on with very good selling down the stretch. Hashimoto is understandably limited at this stage of her career but is generally put in positions that accentuate her strengths and hide her weaknesses -- namely delivering & selling big, impressive offense while staying away from the mat and selling for extended stretches. She has a really bright future when considering that potential along with her already unique skills and presence.

 

Very surprised by the finish and am interested to see what direction they go with Hashimoto and the title. Hopefully Aja is still going strong when Hash is more refined on the mat and able to make this match something even more special.

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SamuraiTV is gonna broadcast Kyoko Kimura's Retirement Show on February 4th.

 

I saw the recent Stardom show and it's a letdown from the December show. Hate to repeat the broken record but the semi main and main are the standout matches once again but it didn't follow up well that I thought it would.

 

Also, I got to see the TV Asahi Scout & Choice show with the idols doing their matches with Io & Kairi. It was what it was and not much different than what you see with shows in the states when they do a profession for a day. Reminded me of Dhani Jones doing lucha on his travel show. Only thing that threw me off was seeing Sareee, Kyoko Inoue and Keiko Aono representing Diana but I guess it was the point of the show was them to choose and they choose Stardom obviously. Still a good look for Stardom cause it played before the Wrestle Kingdom 11 Special.

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