Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! Apologies for missing last week, life got a bit too hectic for a minute there but things have returned to normal. We have a little catching up to do so let’s get to it!
Joshi News
It has been a slow few weeks for true “news” aside from match announcements which I will go over in a minute. No major injuries to report or promotion changes. So since we missed a few weeks of events and schedules we will jump straight to it this week.
Event Results
Needless to say there were a lot of events in Japan the last two weeks! I will highlight the bigger matches that took place so we can catch up. First, WAVE had their big anniversary event on August 9th, featuring a title match, a special appearance by Minoru Suzuki, and the debut of transgender wrestler Asuka! Here are the partial results:
Photo: Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine- JWP Jr. and POP Championship Match: Kaho Kobayashi defeats Rina Yamashita (c) to win both championships.
- Yuu Yamagata defeats Asuka (Debut) with a Missile Dropkick.
- Minoru Suzuki defeats Mio Shirai with a Gotch-Style Piledriver.
- Regina di WAVE Championship Match: Ayako Hamada (c) defeats Yumi Ohka with the AP Cross to retain her championship.
Next, JWP had their annual Plum Mariko Memorial Show on August 16th. Plum Mariko tragically died on August 16th, 1997 after taking a wrestling move during a match (her time of death was several hours later, however she never regained consciousness). Mariko was the first Japanese wrestler to pass away from injuries suffered in a wrestling match. Here are the major results from the show:
- Leon defeated Ray with the Clutch de Gao.
- Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto defeat Mio Shirai and Hanako Nakamori.
- JWP Openweight Championship Match: Mayumi Ozaki defeats Command Bolshoi (c) to win the championship.
I will admit I am only mentioning this show because two of my favorites were in the main event. In REINA on August 12th, Syuri took on Hikaru Shida in a rare singles match between the two that I can only hope was taped. Here are partial results from the show:
- Konami defeats Hanako Nakamori with a Shining Wizard.
- Hikaru Shida and Syuri wrestle to a time limit draw (15:00).
We will round things out with Stardom, as Stardom had a smaller event on August 9th. The results were:
- Chelsea and Kairi Hojo defeat Hudson Envy and Kris Wolf.
- Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani defeat Hiroyo Matsumoto and Reo Hazuki.
Upcoming Shows
The biggest news for upcoming events is that SEAdLINNNG has announced the full card for their debut on August 26th. SEAdLINNNG is a new wrestling promotion, owned by Joshi star Nanae Takahashi. Here is the full match list:
- Takumi Iroha (Marvelous) vs. Eri (JWP)
- Kyoko Inoue (Diana) vs. Syuri (REINA)
- Kaori Yoneyama (Free) and MIZUKI (LLPX) vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon) and Sareee (Diana)
- Yumiko Hotta (Diana), Manami Toyota (Free), and Kotori (Gatoh Move) vs. Emi Sakura (Gatoh Move), Hiroyo Matsumoto (Free), and Arisa Nakajima (JWP)
- Nanae Takahashi (Free) and Ayako Hamada (Free) vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls) and Awesome Kong (TNA)
Finally, a quick rundown of the major matches taking place in the next week:
- August 17th in Ice Ribbon for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: Mio Shirai and Tsukushi (c) vs. Leon and Neko Nitta
- August 23rd in OZ Academy for the OZ Tag Team Championship: Mio Shirai and Mayumi Ozaki (c) vs. Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi
- August 23rd in Stardom – The start of the 5 STAR GP, featuring Chelsea vs. Kairi Hojo and Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani
Wrestler Spotlight: Command Bolshoi
I promised a month ago that I would spotlight Command Bolshoi one week, as I think that even amongst those that follow Joshi she is someone that flies under the radar. It is important to note that she does dress a bit like a clown (literally) so it is easy not to take her seriously:
Photo: jwp-produce.comBut that would be a mistake, because she will wreck you:
Command Bolshoi debuted back in 1991, so even though her age isn’t known she is likely in her 40s and still wrestles at a high level. She also has been in body building competitions and has held five championships in her career in JWP, Ice Ribbon, and REINA. A veteran of the game, Command Bolshoi is still one of the best in the business.
Next Week
By next week there will be a lot more results to go over, as there will be multiple title matches as well as the start of Stardom’s FIVE STAR GP. I will also spotlight a new wrestler as we take a closer look at Stardom wrestler Mayu Iwatani! As always, if you have any suggestions for the column, let us know!
