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AEW - FEB 2021


Dolfan in NYC

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I'm interested to see how they handle Aja and Yuka in this tournament because of how protected they are in Japan. Aja rarely loses in singles matches even now. 

Shida was on the ChocoPro interview/chill series after the show she did recently and talked about how Itoh was in by popular demand but her work also backed it up. Chirs Brookes was there too and both he and Shida talked about why Itoh is so popular. They basically came up with the idea that she fights as if every match is a matter of life and death, she commits 100% and never has an off day, and her stubbornness is something people relate to. I really enjoyed the section with Mei because Mei talked about herself the entire time (often in comparison w/ Shida so it wasn't entirely self-absorbed). Shida admitted to getting really nervous before matches, always has even dating back to stuff like kendo tournaments and the like when she was younger. Contrast that to Mei's "consistency," which Shida listed as Suruga's best quality, and you get really good insight into Mei's personality of being supremely confident and not shaken by any stage. 

I know I've joked about wanting AEW to turn their women's division into Britt sketches and joshi wrestling, but Veny, Suruga, Itoh, and Sakazaki are all great and would immediately bolster their division. However, I don't think they'll bring over anybody but the winner of the Japanese side of the bracket and Suruga and Itoh still could use some more seasoning, especially Itoh. I'm predicting Yuka as the winner of that side but I think they recognize how special Suruga is and wouldn't be blown away if they have Mei upset Sakazaki. Likelier is Yuka winning a surprisingly close match. I want Veny to win the whole damn thing. 

Here's the interview with Shida if you're bored before the tournament starts:

Shida talked about for entrants on the joshi side, she and Kenny basically took turns picking names. She was going to put forth Suruga's name but Kenny beat her to it. 

Edited by Jiji
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@Jiji Cody is an admitted mark for Maki Itoh, if not purely based off of her Twitter. So I wouldn't be shocked if she's brought over eventually like Riho was in the early days of Dynamite. I mean, I know Omega is probably the one that's behind all of this, and he's probably a fan of everyone involved, but when other higher ups take notice of some of these ladies, you'll get some of them coming over sooner than later (COVID travel permitting, of course).

Also, if it's not clear to anyone that's going to watch this or even passively interested in the Women's title eliminator tournament: there's no way the US vs Japan finals or even the eventual title match happens at Revolution. All of the joshi women, except maybe two, have matches booked and advertised for shows the week of Revolution, some even the day before and on that day. And with the way they're doing the US side, at least for this week (one match an episode of Dynamite), it's not going to happen.

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Yeah, there's a tag tournament coming up that includes a number of the participants on the Japanese side. The final will probably be on a named Dynamite episode is my best guess. 

edit: this thing!

maxheart-bracket.jpg

Mei is in there on the right side as Mei St. Michel (I've seen it in English as "Michelle," "Michele," and "Michel" lol). Maki is teamed up with the very good Miyu Yamashita and Yuka teams with Mizuki.

Edited by Jiji
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1 minute ago, Jiji said:

Yeah, there's a tag tournament coming up that includes a number of the participants on the Japanese side. 

That'd be Yuka Sakazaki, Maki Itoh and Mei Suruga in the Tokyo Joshi Pro tournament, yeah? Also, Sakura & Kadokura are in Stardom's All-Star Rumble on March 3, and ASSEMBLE Vol. 4 is the day before Revolution, and has Veny and Rin Kadokura.

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Veny ?. I guess it makes sense for Yuka to go through both pupil and master in the first two rounds. Great match from Veny and Emi though. Yuka and Mei was very good too. So far so great for match quality. 

I thought AEW was beyond the bush league presentation but not having intro vids and comments from the wrestlers is really disappointing. Also, I didn't know Veny used "they/them" pronouns. Tommy is a woman though, so... 

Edit: so Shida on twitter said Veny is genderless, so they/them makes sense. I always had read that Veny identified as a woman hence my confusion. 

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Just now, hammerva said:

I mean I guess Maki losing is considered an upset but I don't know how weird Aja Kong vs Maki Itoh would have been

You could have just had Aja destroy her and talk up how strong Maki is taking a beating like that and getting up or whatever. You either work around Aja's limitations or just do a squash, that's all that can happen with her these days.

But I'm with @DEAN, let's have Ryo go all the way.

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First match was an acceptable showcase but far from a match I would use to convert anyone to joshi.

Those last three were some of the best AEW-branded matches I've seen in ages. Everyone looked like a superstar. Best I've seen Emi look. Veny's a star. Maki's a charisma supernova. Mizunami's been so good for so long that I forgot what a great character she can play. Aja worked around her limitations because she is a legitimate wrestling God. Rin Kadokura is the real deal and looked like it.

This is my new cool kid answer for "Best Episode of Dynamite".

 

Edited by John E. Dynamite
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@John E. Dynamite I'd have to disagree with you there, since Yuka Sakazaki is one of the "rookies" you're talking about and she's massively popular with the AEW fanbase/live crowds. I'd say if anyone out of that original trios match at DoN 2019 made anyone watching go look up some joshi matches, it was probably her. It's telling that the only joshi that have come back over since was Riho, Yuka and Emi.

I mean, yeah, Aja came back over like, once after that, but since Dynamite started, it's been those three I'm pretty sure.

Edited by Casey
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