Corwo

The 4/21 SEAdLINNNG main event is a good all-star tag match that some might like even more than I did. It was Best Friends & Sareee vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Hanako Nakamori & Miyuki Takase.

Arisa Nakajima announced at today's SEAdLINNNG show that she's retiring in August. Her final opponent will be Hiroyo Matsumoto. It's great that she's going out on her own terms, but I'd be lying if I said this didn't sting a little. Nakajima's one of the best wrestlers of the 2010s/2020s and someone who made every card she was on better. https://twitter.com/elduderino112/status/1781908871000543567

I just stumbled upon what appears to be an episode of ICW TV with the directors' and producers' instructions. Fascinating stuff. https://youtu.be/toA6LCNIm_8

This isn't strictly joshi, but I thought I'd mention it since it features a prominent joshi wrestler: Chihiro Hashimoto put on an absolute technical clinic with Shinya Aoki on the 4/7 DDT show. Highly recommend checking it out.

I still need to watch Danielson/Blue Panther and a few others, but here's what I have so far: Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 1/4) Sareee & Mio Momono vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls, 1/7 Sareee vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee Produce, 1/16) Bryan Danielson vs. Hechicero (AEW, 2/3) Yukio Sakaguchi vs. HARASHIMA (DDT, 2/7) Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 3/3) Darby Allin & Sting vs. The Young Bucks (AEW, 3/3) The Blackpool Combat Club & Matt Sydal vs. Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 3/29) Mad Dog Connelly vs. Demus (ACTION Wrestling, 4/4) Timothy Thatcher vs. Daniel Makabe (ACTION Wrestling, 4/4) GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn (WWE, 4/6) Shinya Aoki vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (DDT, 4/7)

West Coast Pro/Chris Hero's Pro Wrestling Mixtape is streaming now, featuring Hero vs. Kazusada Higuchi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiALczbcAuM

What a fantastic show/tribute to Dean. The highlight of WrestleMania week for my money. A breezy 3 1/2 hours is not easy to pull off, but y'all did it. Mad Dog/Demus and Thatcher/Makabe are in contention for my MOTY, Slim J/Priest was really good, and I also enjoyed Cerebro/Loco.

Mio Momono & Sareee vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls, 1/7): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8HG1S1gKDA Four of the best on the joshi scene today go all out, but keep things sensible and don't overdo the pin breakups/near falls. Lots of hatred and pettiness from Hashimoto & Sareee in particular, making this one of my favorite matches of the year so far.

Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryu Fuda (Dragongate, 3/6/2024): Mocchy brutalizes the youngster, and Fuda puts up a heck of a fight. Fun kicky boy match. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8d6HT_nwWU

Hechicero & Solar vs. Navarro & Virus (CMLL & Wrestling Brothers, 1/27): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zeHrKuzZpc You know exactly what you're getting into with these guys. Four awesome mat workers riffing for the better part of 20 minutes, and it's delightful.

Tsuyoshi Michibata vs. Yujiro Yamamoto (MeriPro, 1/19): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NbNwCPKGCw Thought they got a little cutesy with the finish, but otherwise this was a total blast. Hard strikes and fun mat work wrapped up in a tight 7-minute package.

Great little Dog Collar match between Mad Dog Connelly & Manders from 1/26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLy9iMDVnKE

This show looks incredible. Definitely my most anticipated event of WM Weekend.

I just released my 2023 Year-End Awards, which covers the top 100 matches and top 20 wrestlers of the year, and much more. Please consider giving it a read. I’d very much appreciate it. https://spinningwheelkick.wordpress.com/2024/01/26/2023-year-end-awards/

AKINO vs. Mio Momono (OZ Academy, 1/7): Very good match. I liked that they used AKINO kicking the post to set up Momono's big dive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG16tbgYRmU&t=8262s Sareee vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee Produce, 1/16): These two have incredible chemistry. It's not their best match, but it's a quality one nonetheless. https://youtu.be/CA8ZqjzWTx0?t=6972