Corwo

Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) vs. Bobubobu Momo Banana (Mio Momono & Yurika Oka) (Sendai Girls, 2/11): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXTq4ciDVRI Everything with Mio and Team 200kg is predictably great, but Oka surprised me here. Possibly her career match to this point.

Dekai Ichimotsu vs. Outsider Negoshi (Kenko Pro Wrestling, 4/14): https://youtu.be/u-g0_XBSQxE This match feels like a product of a bygone era in the best way, with clinical, focused limb work that actually pays off. One of my favorite hidden gems of the year.

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

Daniel Makabe vs. Travis Williams (365 Pro Wrestling, 9/22): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2OnjZSWNdQ Thought this was borderline great. They keep the action moving, but it's sensible, and there's some delightfully nerdy leg selling from Makabe.

Bahu wrote about Terry's time in FMW. https://twitter.com/BAHUFMW/status/1695258704390525254

Mio Momono vs. Yurika Oka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLdPElVjXY In a previous post, I called Momono one of the best in the world. This match may have solidified her as my number one. She's a tour de force, guiding Oka to the best match of her career so far. Mad Dog Connelly vs. 1 Called Manders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFQ01sw1abI

Hitamaru Sasaki vs. Hikaru Sato (Kyushu Pro, 1/3): https://youtu.be/L7gGrxcyv6k?t=2754 A neat UWF Rules match that's elevated by both of their mouths getting busted open. Mio Momono vs. Arisa Nakajima (Marvelous, 2/21): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf7ZYiSOSMY Two of the best in the world for my money. It goes about how you'd expect this match to go on paper. Be warned, the video is a bit choppy, though. Daniel Makabe vs. Cody Chhun (NEW, 3/24): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4sTuQWQHn0 Another day at the office for Makabe. Mio Momono vs. ASUKA (Marvelous, 4/22): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjkGU1Ka8yE ASUKA bullies one of the most lovable babyfaces on the planet. Has the same issues as the previous Marvelous video I mentioned.

Devastating news. Wyatt was a creative mind who never ran out of ideas. R.I.P. The Shield series is mentioned often, and rightfully so, but I always enjoyed his work with Daniel Bryan, especially the Strap Match from the 2020 Royal Rumble. The brief run tagging with Orton was fun as well. They had a really good match with American Alpha on the 11/29/2016 episode of SmackDown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8BxYJgwXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FS9darRYpQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmIr8viseQ

I had only seen the Flair series, which I adore, until yesterday. Since then, I've been going through old matches and promos of Terry's recommended on here and PWO. By all accounts, he seemed like a class act and a one of a kind. Terry's the type of guy who'll bust out an Asai moonsault in a 4-minute RAW match with Mark Henry just because he can. R.I.P. Terry Funk. Someone on YouTube created a 300+ video playlist covering Funk's career in chronological order. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnbpvHOWGsqM3Z_o2OfvrQEtEsnEdNwKp