[2021-06-13-GAEAism] Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata vs Mei Hoshizuki, Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura

[corwo]

Very few matches during the pandemic have made me feel something the way this match did. Team Marvelous’ strategy was clear from minute one: isolate Sendai Girls’ dominant force, Chihiro Hashimoto. It even worked for a while. In everything they did, the Marvelous crew came off as a cohesive force bound and determined to achieve their goal. Once thrown off their game plan thanks to some chief interference from Iwata and Chisako, they had to rely on a long-term plan to get rid of Chihiro. One of the biggest successes of this match is that they went to the near-fall well early without it ever feeling gratuitous. The match starts at a ridiculous pace and doesn’t let up for its entire 25-minute runtime. Even the weaker points of the match, such as the section between Iwata and Kadokura, are filled to the brim with a sort of energy that most bouts the past few years simply haven’t had. It’s all incredibly mean-spirited and focused.

Chihiro’s power eventually comes back to bite Team Marvelous and it allows the Sendai Girls contingent a brief moment of respite, allowing them to eliminate Mei Hoshizuki. Hashimoto’s performance as the vulnerable but stout giant is delightful. Her selling allows you to believe that Team Marvelous might have a chance in this thing yet. Mio eliminates DASH, and from there, the match becomes a handicap match of sorts, with Chihiro having to fend off Mei Hoshizuki and Momono. There’s a wonderful moment where Hashimoto has Hoshizuki on the ropes, both figuratively and literally, but Mio takes a bullet for her team and allows Mei to survive just a bit longer. Unfortunately, the damage had been done at that point, and Mei was eliminated shortly thereafter.

The final third is exciting, climactic, and joyful. The tale of Mio Momono’s resilience is told with exciting twists and turns. She nails Hashimoto with headbutts, busts out the Momo Latch, and uses every inch of her power to reverse a powerbomb. Try as she might, Mio succumbed to a power slam and an Albright. Sendai Girls has finally won the battle, but as we’d see with their title match and later tags, the war was far from over.

As good as nearly any match you’ll see from 2021, and a stark contrast to the other clap-crowds that marked this year and the one prior. There’s so much to love here, from the synergy of both teams to the trainees and rookies cheering them on from ringside. It all has a sense of camaraderie and vitality that’s been lacking from many big matches recently, making this one of the finest contests of the year.