Kings Road Chronicles

Another amazing match over the Sendai world title and possibly the best match of Mika Iwata’s career to date, as she comes agonisingly close to dethroning the best wrestler in the world, male or female, by far - Chihiro “Chicchi” Hashimoto.

Just an outstanding match this, a battle of elbows, brute strength and submissions as the Acid Black Cherry threw EVERYTHING at Big Hash and for a moment I, and what sounded like all of Yoyogi Gymnasium, was ready for Hash to fall.

But once again, the Ace of Sendai digs deep and pulls out another win to move to 8 defences in her 528 day reign. Incredible stuff.

-

As we continue our countdown to Poi’s retirement in January, every match now seems to bring out all the emotions. This time, Poi comes to SEAdLINNNG to make her debut against another super Rookie. While the world raves about Senka Akatsuki (and rightly so) in Marvelous and Seri Yamaoka (eh…yeah she’s good to) in Marigold, Selene Misora has gone largely unnoticed - despite only wrestling a year now and being just as good as anyone else.

This is an excellent little bully vs fiery underdog match, as Poi relishes in beating the passion out of Misora, who answers by making comeback after comeback. In the end though, it’s our favourite High Speed Fairy that takes the win.

-

15 years ago, in the aftermath of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan’s three biggest promotions — New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH — put their rivalries aside for one extraordinary night.

In a sign of solidarity on April 18th at a press conference inside the Budokan, Yukinobu Ebata, President of Tokyo Sports magazine, All Japan President Keiji Muto and Triple Crown Champion Suwama, New Japan President Naoki Sugabayashi and IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and NOAH President Akira Taue and GHC Champion Takashi Sugiura; came together to announce a supercard. With all proceeds raised going directly to the Japanese Red Cross. No storyline’s or title matches would be contested. Instead, combinations of wrestlers from all 3 promotions would be put together in tag matches.

In addition to this, Japanese rock band Funkist created the single “ All Together” with all 30 featured wrestlers contributing backing vocals to it - the event itself would air live on ppv, which for the first time would be picked up by every wrestling channel in Japan: Samurai TV, GAORA, NTV G+ and TV Asahi. The Budokan sold out, as wrestling fans from all over Japan joined together as a community for the first time in decades.

Despite carrying extensive injuries at this point, Kenta Kobashi - heavily taped and only just returning from serious nerve damage - teamed with Keiji Muto to face CHAOS. The match goes exactly as you would expect, with Iizuka & Yano outrageously cheating at times. Kobashi chops, Muto leg whips and Kobashi - despite being 45 years old and so close to the end now - proves that he can always steal the show by simply doing the impossible.

It would of course go on to be Tokyo Sports MOTY.

-

If in doubt, post Shibata.

Seriously, 2004-2006 Shibata is a gold mine of matches. Hating Veterans wherever he went and disrespecting everything they stood for, only to eat absolute s**t when they eventually lost their tempers and smashed him. First it was Genichiro Tenryu who dropped him on his head, then it was Dangerous K Toshiaki Kawada who tried to kick it off, before Jun Akiyama most famously of all gave him a lesson in a Wrestle -1 ring. He’d even got into it with Misawa & Taue during tag matches.

On a random Indy show for innovator, legend and all round s**tty businessman Riki Choshu though, Shibata eats the most sickening of Lariats that could’ve ended him. Don’t believe me? Check out the 59 second mark. How he doesn’t break his neck I’ll never know.

-

It’s April 18th 2001 inside a packed Nippon Budokan, the second ever ZERO-ONE show ever is taking place and Mitsuharu Misawa, alongside a barely professional Takeshi Rikio less than a year into his career, is facing the two biggest as****es in all of Japan: UFO’s Kazunari Murakami & Naoya Ogawa.

It’s fever dream stuff this, it’s a match that Misawa only accepted because he believed that the fans wanted it and he didn’t want anyone thinking he was running away from Ogawa. But more than that, this is a clash of wrestling philosophies. This is Kings Road as Misawa views it vs Inokism. And the crowd love it.

You’d think being in the ring with two dangerous (and in Murakami’s case; insane) shooters, both Misawa & Rikio wouldn’t stand a chance, but far from it. We get to see a very rare side to the Emerald Warrior utilising his dojo training with Lou Thesz, Dick Beyer and Dory Funk Jr to engage in catch style with both Shooters. While as Rikio utilised his very legit Sumo background - making himself an unmovable brick s**thouse.

In the end though, Misawa channels the legendary Jumbo Tsuruta to backdrop that foolhardy bastard Murakami into the earth and secure the win - before what looks like the entire NOAH roster rush to the defence of Misawa when Ogawa tries to jump him.

The whole match is done and dusted in about 7 minutes.

-

At this point we just have to admit to ourselves that Spark Rush, who are pushing themselves to win tag team of the year, are frankly running away with this - with KOB their nearest rival.

Every match that Sareee & Takumi Iroha appear in has been either good to simply incredible and this match firmly falls in the latter. While it wasn’t as heated as I was anticipating - given the history of Poi & Sareee, it absolutely ticked all the boxes and then some. Even the camera angles delivered (minus that little change of the lens at one point). With ref Nikkan Lee not putting a foot wrong either and a sold out crowd in Shinjuku FACE loving every second of the match, this is definitely a show that you need to watch. These are 4 perfect dance partners delivering on yet another banger of a Sareee-ISM event.

Am I disappointed that Poi not only lost but was pinned? No, because I don’t think this is the end of the story. I’m hoping that Sareee will be her final opponent. Or at least will have some kind of involvement during Poi’s retirement run.

-

August 25th 1993. Nippon Budokan. Ace vs Ace for the first time. Simply put, it’s magical.

This was more than a title match. It was a collision between two of the most powerful women in Japanese wrestling, and a rare meeting between the Aces of two rival promotions.

Aja Kong entered as the dominant WWWA Champion representing AJW, having taken the title from Bull Nakano in November 1992. Across the ring stood Dynamite Kansai, the JWP Openweight Champion and one of JWP’s defining stars. The champion-versus-champion dynamic gave the match enormous stakes: this wasn’t simply AJW versus JWP—it was Kong versus Kansai to determine whose version of Joshi would lead the industry.

It’s once again another example of why Joshi in the 90s was simply on another level compared to the male dominated industry of All Japan and New Japan. It’s also another reason why I absolutely don’t take for granted what icons like Kong and Kansai did in their matches. They are brutally stiff, it shocks me that no one is shoot knocked out. From the opening stare down between the two, to the head kicks and sickening Urakens at the finish, this is Joshi in its golden era. This is Joshi at its best.

-