Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! This is going to be a more “informative” column than usual, as this past week was a little slow in regards to results. But there is still plenty to talk about and we’ll take a closer look at the biggest Joshi promotion – Stardom!
Joshi News
Photo: @stardomusa/TwitterTo kick things off, you may have heard the exciting news already, but Stardom is coming to the United States! This is the first time an entire Japanese wrestling promotion, including all of their big stars, has come to the United States to have their own show without the assistance of an American promotion. The events will take place near Los Angeles in October.
You can read more details here, I already have my tickets for both events and I hope to see you all there as it is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. (Source)
Photo: ameblo.jp/yasukawayukaIn other great news, Stardom wrestler Act Yasukawa has officially announced her return to the ring! As many may remember, Yasukawa was injured last February in a wrestling match against Yoshiko, and has been unable to wrestle since. Many feared that she would never return to wrestling, but Yasukawa has been adamant all along that she would be back as soon as possible. Yasukawa announced last week that she will be returning on September 23rd, and will be on the United States trip as well! Yasukawa is a one of a kind wrestler whom has overcome a lot to get to where she is, so it will be great to see her back once again. (Source)
Photo: toshiyukimachida.comFinally, in non-Stardom news, Awesome Kong will be returning to Japan! I mentioned last week the birth of a new wrestling promotion, called SEAdLINNNG, which is produced by Nanae Takahashi. SEAdLINNNG has announced that Amazing Kong will be wrestling in the main event, teaming with Stardom champion Meiko Satomura against Takahashi and Ayako Hamada. Kong is best known to fans in the US as wrestling in WWE as Kharma, and this will be her first match in Japan in eight years! We are still a few weeks away from the debut show for SEAdLINNNG but it is shaping up to be one to remember. (Source)
Event Results
Slow week for results but there was one big event for Ice Ribbon. And by big I mean really big. I should explain first – sometimes in Japan wrestlers have a series of really short matches, back to back to back, most of which end in a draw because the time limit is too low for a wrestler to pick up a pinfall or submission. Tsukasa Fujimoto took that match theory to the extreme, as on July 29th she had a 32 wrestler singles match series! Fujimoto wrestled 32 of the better wrestlers Japan has to offer back to back in short one minute matches. There was also a title match on the show, here are the results:
- Elimination Match: 235, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Kyuri defeat Akane Fujita, Hiroe Nagahama, and Mika Iida when Matsumoto pins Fujita
- Risa Sera and Yuko Miyamoto defeat Miyako Matsumoto and Onryo when Sera pins Matsumoto
- Mayumi Ozaki defeats Tsukushi
- Tsukasa Fujimoto 32 Wrestler Singles Match (1 Minute Time Limit)! I won’t list every wrestler, but those participating included Misaki Ohata, Yuko Miyamoto, Syuri, Kana, Aja Kong, Arisa Nakajima, and Manami Toyota. Fujimoto ended the series 8-4-20 which I guess is a success!
- Leon and Neko Nitta defeat Misaki Ohata and Mochi Miyagi when Nitta pins Miyagi
- ICEx Infinity & UNION Fly To Everywhere Championship Double Title Match: Aoi Kizuki defeats Mio Shirai with La Magistral to win both titles!
Upcoming Shows
As things are a bit light in Japan this week, the most notable event is actually taking place here in the Unites States! Marvelous, which is run by Joshi legend Chigusa Nagayo, is having an event in New York City next weekend at the Elks Lodge! Here are all the details you need, if you are in the New York area don’t miss it:
- Date and Time: August 9th, 2015 at 4 PM (event starts at 5 PM)
- Location: Elks Lodge on 82-20 Queens Boulevard, in Elmhurst, NY 11373
- Announced Wrestlers: Chigusa Nagayo, Takumi Iroha, Takaaki Watanabe, and more!
- More Details: https://www.facebook.com/MarvelousPuroresuUSA!
I won’t be able to make it, but if you are able to attend be sure to let us know how the event is, Chigusa Nagaya is a true legend and this is her first match in the United States in over 13 years!
Promotion Spotlight: Stardom
Even before Stardom announced their event in the United States, I had already planned on talking about them anyway as they are the largest and (in my opinion) best Joshi wrestling promotion. I would argue their events are more entertaining than most men’s wrestling promotions as well but that is an argument for another day. Just to start off, here are four of the bigger stars in Stardom (In Order: Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, Io Shirai, and Chelsea):
Photo: wwr-stardom.com
Stardom is like a promotion you have never seen before and is hard to explain. In the ring, they are incredibly hard hitting and non-stop violence, to put it bluntly. I’ve seen the wrestlers in Stardom do things I’ve never seen before in a wrestling ring, it is as action packed as any other wrestling promotion in the world. What makes Stardom unique however is they also show off their feminine sides as well and are more than just fierce wrestlers. Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo go from elbowing their opponents bloody to then going down to the beach to take photo shoots (not literally, but figuratively), as Stardom releases yearly many photo books with their stars, such as Bikiniing4 which came out a few weeks ago:
Photo: wwr-stardom.com
It is an interesting balance but one that Stardom does very well, as they simultaneously focus on being incredible wrestlers and models at the same time. Their biggest stars right now are Kairi Hojo and Io Shirai, but they have a strong contingent of American wrestlers as well. As we lead into the Stardom event in the United States, diva-dirt.com will have more features on the promotion and their stars to help you get familiar with Stardom!
Next Week
I didn’t forget about Command Bolshoi, just ran out of time! I’ll be sure to catch her next week, as well as update everyone on any news from the Stardom USA event or any other shows taking place in Japan. As always, if you have any suggestions for the column, let us know!
