Joshi Wrestling Weekly (March 22nd, 2016): Maki Narumiya Retirement Set

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Welcome back to a new edition of Joshi Wrestling Weekly! Today we are going to discuss the latest events in Japan, including a big Stardom show, a new ICExInfinity Championship, and Maki Narumiya‘s upcoming retirement!

 

Joshi Wrestling News

 

After having her last match in Ice Ribbon, Maki Narumiya announced plans for her retirement match next weekend in REINA. On March 25th, she will team with Syuri to take on Maya Yukihi to close out her successful career. Narumiya debuted in 2011 and during her career she wrestled in over a dozen promotions in Japan and Mexico. She also took part in hardcore matches and never shied away from any challenge. Next week I will have the full results and pictures from Narumiya’s retirement.  (Source)

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After Stardom’s event on the 21st, several challenges were thrown down to build to the next couple events. Alpha Female recently returned to Stardom and she has challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship. Alpha Female held the World of Stardom Championship back in 2013 and looks to finally regain the title. They also announced Mayu Iwatani and Io Shirai’s next challengers for their tag titles, as they face Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kagetsu. (Source)

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Finally, DASH Chisako appears to have found a new partner after her sister retired in January. On April 8th, she will team with KAORU to take on Hikaru Shida and Syuri for the vacant Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship. This will give Chisako a chance to regain her championship after having to forfeit the belt when Sendai Sachiko retired.  The same event will also have Meiko Satomura vs. Aja Kong, as the two legends collide.  (Source)

 

Joshi Event Results

The biggest show last weekend was in Stardom, which took place on March 21st in Korakuen Hall. The entire event is currently being added to Stardom’s English Youtube Channel. Here are the results:

• Hiromi Mimura, Maki Natsumi, & Starlight Kid defeat Azumi, Eimi Nishina, & Kaori Yoneyama
• Kaitlin Diemond defeats Alex Lee
• Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kagetsu defeat Jungle Kyouna & Momo Watanabe
• The Alpha Female defeats Viper by DQ
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani (c) defeat Kairi Hojo & Meiko Satomura

Sendai Girls’ also had a show last weekend, with a big main event:

• Konami defeats Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru
• Ryo Mizunami defeats Yuina Onasaka
• Gabaiji-chan defeats Chon Shiryu
• HAYATA & Maki Narumiya defeat Mari Sakamoto & YO-HEY
• Cat Power & Mika Iida defeat La Silueta & Makoto
• Syuri & Toru Owashi defeat Konami & Shiro Koshinaka

Finally, Ice Ribbon had an event in Hiroshima, Japan on March 21st. It featured a defense of the ICExInfinity Championship:

• Maya Yukihi defeats Saya
• Kyuri defeats 235
• Mochi Miyagi & Rey Paloma defeat Miyako Matsumoto & Yuko Miyamoto
• Konami & Ryo Mizunami defeat Maruko Nagasaki & Yuuka
• Maki Narumiya & Tsukasa Fujimoto defeat Akane Fujita & Tsukushi
• ICExInfinity Championship: Risa Sera defeats Hamuko Hoshi (c) – New Champion!

 

Upcoming Joshi Shows

As mentioned above, Stardom’s next event takes place on March 26th:

• Alex Lee vs. Azumi vs. Starlight Kid
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Kaitlin Diamond
• Kairi Hojo & Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kagetsu
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Alpha Female

Maki Narumiya’s retirement show takes place on March 25th in REINA, here is the full card:

• Buffalo, Maki Narumiya, Mineo Fujita, & Syuri vs. Gabaiji-chan, Hikaru Shida, Toru Owashi, & Yako Fujigasaki
• Natsumi Maki & Saori Anou vs. Maika Ozaki & Tae Honma
• Hanako Nakamori, Ryo Mizunami, & Yuin Onasaka vs. Aoi Kizuki, Mari Sakamoto, & Rina Yamashita
• La Silueta vs. Zeuxis
• Konami vs. Nanae Takahashi
• Maki Narumiya & Syuri vs. Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera
• REINA World Women’s Championship: Tsukasa Fujimoto (c) vs. Makoto

 

Joshi Wrestler Spotlight – Saori Anou:

 

Splashing into the Joshi wrestling scene last fall, Saori Anou began her career in the very small Joshi promotion called Actress girl’Z. She made her surprise debut in Stardom on October 11th, 2015 as she faced off against Haruka Kato. Anou was impressive, and her strong first impression led to Stardom using Anou more and more over the last six months. Anou’s most memorable trait is her flexibility, which allows her to perform some of the best bridges in wrestling:

To show her growth within Stardom, this month she had singles matches against Kairi Hojo and Io Shirai, two of the biggest stars in the promotion. Anou lost to both, but put up a strong fight to prove she belongs in Stardom. Anou is still officially affiliated with Actress girl’Z, but hopefully she will continue to be a big part of Stardom as well.

 

Next Week

Next week I will be back with more Joshi Wrestling news and results. If you have any suggestions for the column, let us know! Also if you have any Joshi questions feel free to hit me up on Twitter, I can be found at @purocentral. And finally, I have opened a new store where I sell Joshi-related items that I purchase directly from Japan. So if you are looking for some Joshi memorabilia, check out purocentralshop.com!