2025 Matchguide Week 42

 Masanori Watanabe vs Yusaku Ito, Sportiva 10/29


This was a short undercard match but it was cool. Watanabe is still being put through the paces, but he is already really really good. He did a lot of cool stuff during the opening grappling, and his straight forward approach of attacking the arm to set up a rolling kimura just straight up works. Ito is good as always relishing in his scummy ways. He has the seedy vibe of a delinquent hired to do some dirty work and he was putting the hurt on Watanabe with closed fist punches, boots and nasty headbutts. I also really liked the ultra tight sleeper he did, and then the knee to the face he did was really cool. Solid and worth watching.

Masamune vs Shinji Kamakura, KOBE Meriken 10/17

Masamune stretching someone in a sportsbar. This was not the amateur wrestler Masamune, he was kind of working like William Regal here, and it's pretty fun. Kamakura kind of gave me the vibe of a Japanese David Burkhead, fun pudgy guy who clashes violently into his opponent. I enjoy watching Masamune do his thing and he needs to show up on tape way more often because he's low key really good.

Keita Yano vs Koji Iwamoto, Tenryu Project 10/25 - GREAT

October 2025 was ripe with big matches for Keita Yano. I'm just getting to them, but this is a strong start. Long, drawn out technical match. Of course our lord and savior Keita really shines at that stuff, and he is doing so much cool stuff here that it carried the match no problem. His transition into a stump puller was awe inspiring. A lot of chaining, mostly based on World of Sport style but veering into Karl Gotch shootstyle territory here and there, and all done incredibly smooth and inventive. He's really become a master at this stuff no doubt about it. Iwamoto is very much the 1977 Jumbo Tsuruta to Keitas 1977 Billy Robinson, he's capable but doesn't stand out in a huge way when grappling with Keita. He does have those awesome judo throws and he hits them and that's all you really wanna see him do. Very good match all in all.

GENTARO vs Shuichiro Katsumura, FREEDOMS/Ganbare Pro 10/16

GENTARO is such a great wrestler. With him, everything feels like it master, and his old school technical moves rule of course. Who knew that building a match around struggle and nifty counters would work well? Katsumura has always struck me as good but never quite reaching 'great' level. This was probably the best matwork I've seen him to, and a lot of credit for that can go to GENTARO. At times this resembled an old UWF vs NJPW match but with better pacing and more cool moments. Really need more GENTARO singles matches like this, oh and bring back Mutoha too for that matter.

Marino Saihara vs Yui Tensho, AWG 10/1

Another quality match from AWG. This was built around Saihara with her kicks and submissions putting the heat on Tensho. Tensho would try to pounce on any kind of advantage but kept getting shut down in cool ways. The apron spot was especially good as Saihara took out Tensho with a leg kick and then just blasted her with a dropkick. Eventually Tensho found what she was looking for when she got Saihara in her reverse gory special hold, and there was some nice struggle leading up to that. They both have believable offense, there was a story, good selling and intensity... Saihara ended up beating Tensho rather easily, which I thought was fine and a bit of a cool change from the usual nearfall fest as Tensho had been desperate to put the champ away but just came short. The one not-so-good part of the match was their forearm trading, and even that lead to a cool moment with confident champion Saihara hitting a hurty looking leg kick and Tensho deciding she had enough of that.

2025 Matchguide

Keita Yano Documentation 

GENTARO Matches

 

GENTARO vs El Samurai, FREEDOMS 9/27/2009

Very nice little gem. They easily could’ve coasted and done the bare minimum and it would have been a good match, but instead they wrestle this like it’s a tribute to Samurai vs Otani from 1996. GENTARO was certainly riding high in the late 2000s cementing himself as workhorse doing technical epics left and right, and late career Samurai is extremely game. Lots of pretty great targeted limb work, the opening segment is basically 5 minutes of Samurai stubbornly going after Gentaros arm/shoulder with nasty kimuras and stomps, then Gentaro goes for the leg. It leads to some great subtly building selling. I love that Samurai still throws really good punches and stomps – his punches to GENTAROs nose were woe-inducing, and despite having slowed down he still looks like he’s no pushover for his younger opponent. This is very much wrestlers wrestler stuff but it’s exactly what you’d hope for if you know what these two are capable of.

GENTARO vs PSYCHO, YMZ 7/21/2014

With PSYCHO being announced for the next Mutoha show, I had to check this out. The first half of the match was kind of slow and dragged down by lazy heel tactics, but it actually gets good when they start doing what I like best, hitting the mat and trying to tap each other out and hitting some awesome reversals. We all know GENTARO is the king of making minimalistic mat stuff look awesome and he does lean into that here, but PSYCHO also has lots of really cool stuff in his sleeve. His cross arm/leglocks were pretty cool and he also had a nasty looking shin choke thing. They both get really into fighting over a Sharpshooter and it was probably some of the greatest Sharpshooter work I’ve honestly seen ever, with both guys busting out some really great reversals that I’ve not seen before, even for such a classic hold.

Osamu Nishimura vs. GENTARO, VKF 11/16/2015

Very nice match because they didn‘t go the predictable routine. Instead of tons of holds, they worked this as Nishimura the maestro teaching GENTARO a lesson. Nishimura would outgrapple him, and when GENTARO tried to go for punches Nishimura would absolutely rattle him with sick uppercuts. There was one really cool reversal from Nish where he twisted his way out of a bow and arrow and locked in a tight legbar on GENTARO. Very smartly worked match with a lot of selling where every move meant something. Very old school, probably the last great Nishimura match with GENTARO being a great dance partner and knowing his role perfectly.

GWE Watching: Kenichiro Arai

 
Kenichiro Arai vs Shunsuke Sayama, FREEDOMS 5/22/2019

Really freaking good match. Sayama is a relentless kicker here, and Arai does a really nice sleazier Fujiwara performance taking him apart. His takedowns and holds came across as really forceful and he looked like he belonged with a shooter. Some really nasty armlocks and finger bending from Arai, and I loved how he constantly went for the piledriver. Sayama laid into him good. I really liked how Sayama was able to sink into a choke and then kick a dizzy Arai in his bald head, but then his feet gave out because Arai had twisted them up previously. Match had a relentless pace and they never really let up. Strong recommendation.

Kenichiro Arai vs Keita Yano, VKF 2019/10/31 - GREAT


It's the battle of the sleaze grappling gods! Really fun old school type match as you expect. They do some good stuff working around a full nelson hold for a while, and Keita looks slick as a cat. Arai does an almost Flair-like performance mostly getting eaten up by Yano and bumping for him. Yano is pretty great at eating someone up since he has so much cool shit he can do. Once in a while Arai would do something sneaky, like jab him in the throat or nastily bend his wrist to gain control, but Yano would cradle him or tie him in a submission pretty quickly. I wanted there to be a little more aggression and nastiness but this was a middle of the card match not some kind of epic main event, so it was pretty good for what it was.

 

Kenichiro Arai vs Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Gate 10/6/2023

Immensely fun match. This was supposed to be some kind of revival match for the old Toryumon class, but actually Arai comes in carrying the Haoh title and does a full on 70s technician performance, cranking headlocks and cravates. There was some of the old hard headed drunken master Arai in there, and that is fun too. I love how Arai will turn a basic hold like a headscissor or hammerlock into a holy shit spot. Also loved the work around the Tiger Suplex, the build to the top rope jawbreaker etc. Yokosukas more explosive offense is cool in contrast to Arais big brain technical shit. Very very nice match and another case for the variety of match Arai can pull off. Lengthy technical epic, wrestler vs shooter, sneaky stooging heel, the man is like the swiss army knife of the Japanese idies right now.

Keita Yano Documentation

Of all things... a Yusaku Ito Deep Dive

 Yusaku Ito vs. Koji Kanemoto, Kobe Meriken 3/17/2023

Yusaku Ito is this scuzzy little guy who will kick you hard and blast you with nasty headbutts. He reminds me of the indy guys who would sometimes work Fu-Ten undercard matches, he’s not quite a shooter, but he hits some awesome strikes, really makes his pro style moves hit hard and as a knack for timing a cool transition, like he’s a lost 3^rd Brahman brother or Shoichi Uchida dance partner. Kanemoto is 56 here and while he doesn’t kick as fast as he used to he will still kick a scuzzy indy guy in the face and do random dick moves like stopping Ito by kicking him really hard in the leg. This takes place in some dingy bar and is filmed by a single webcam so we don’t get the brief brawling portion outside, we just Kanemoto leaving the ring, then we hear some clanging banging noise as if from a metal tin can and when they come back Yusaku is in control so you kind of imagine what happened. Ito is not afraid to hit the old man in the face, and he earns his sault leaping into Kanemotos spin kicks and knees. Really really fun stuff.

Yusaku Ito vs. Toru Sugiura, FREEDOMS/Sugiura Pro Wrestling 12/10/2021

Sick fucking match. Japanese wrestling is in this weird state right now where most of the wrestling you see is a bunch of fucking nothing, but occasionally you will get something fucking crazy on the smallest of stages. This was worked like a big match and really great, there is lots of basic but extremely tight and well executed opening hold for hold work. You gotta appreciate that Ito is this scuzzy guy but he can also do things like hit a really slick dragon screw. Opening going reminded me of a great 90s NJPW juniors match due to the tight basic work and both guys peppering in some psycho headbutts and elbows. Toru Sugiura is kind of the scuzzy king of the Japanese indies and I liked how he established himself as a class above his opponent, 1) in terms of wrestling by reversing a leglock from Ito into a cool leglock of his own and 2) by acting deranged and scummy as fuck. Middle portion was a bit middling but the ending portion is one of the sickest finishing stretches I’ve ever seen, just pure insanity with both guys trying to annihilate each other with crazy headbutts and elbows. Just a hair below the best of FUTEN and they worked some great transitions. Match had a bunch of well executed tight wrestling, head dropping moves and truly psycho violence, Japanese indy wrestling at its best.

Yusaku Ito vs. Konaka, Sportiva 12/16/2020

 

This was a rad 7 minute match. Konaka is like a freaky lithe Arn Anderson working a studio TV match here, just constantly attacking Itos arm, while Ito beats him around the ring with his cool kicks, back elbows and headbutts. Everything Ito does lands really solidly and the Konaka arm attack stuff is great. I imagine a 20 minute match between them would be epic considering both these guys are quite the hidden gem workers but sometimes it’s cool to see two talented guys having a unique short little match that has maybe 1 or 2 back bumps.

Yusaku Ito vs. Konaka, Sportiva 9/15/2021

Well, I just said a main event between the two would be epic, and here’s a main event between the two and it’s really good! Mind you it’s a weekday show in front of like 12 people, but that’s kind of the best match these two will do. And this was really good, almost scientific. We start with some really fun matwork with Konaka doing a cool job catching Ito in pins and submissions. The transition is Ito catching Konaka with a sleeper, which Konaka fights out of but Ito keeps knocking the wind out of him with blows to the body. Ito constantly going back to locking in cool chokes was really good. Konaka is such a fun wrestler, I love how he sets up his comeback and ends up working Itos legs over. The finishing stretch was Konakas leg stretches vs. Itos chokes and it was really smart and great. These two are awesome, and it was cool to see Ito in a really good match without brain damaging stiffness that was built around cool submissions and counters.

2022 MOTY Project #4

 

Konaka Pale One vs. ONRYO, 666 1/10/2022

It‘s the spooky ghost vs. The spooky yoga master. No way on earth I wasn‘t gonna love this match. Onryo looked rough as hell, seemingly gassing and flubbing things, but thanks to Konaka the match still ended up being good. Indy guys like him deserve a ton of credit for mixing their more esoteric inventive offense with super solid old school wrestling. He can do both elaborate fancy stuff like the absolutely insane Asai DDT into the sukhasana pose as well as hit a really great basic knee drop, set himself up for a posting in a fun way and work a snug sleeper. Not to mention his throat chops. All in all Konakas stuff feels like the best possible cross of modern day juniors wrestling and an old US territory TV match. Konaka also did a good job selling Onryos filler legwork and making things like the figure 4 look like a struggle. Things pick up in a big way for the finishing stretch thanks to Onryo uncorking his big bombs, with Konaka getting absolutely spiked on a Tiger Driver. The ending mix of impact moves, Konakas cleverness (using a surprise corner choke to set up a springboard move was really great) plus Onryos propensity to end matches with pin combos and/or blasting his opponenent with radiation dust was super cool. And Konaka countering the Onryo clutch has to be the spot of the year. This was a bit sluggish here and there due to Onryo but if Konaka has a few more performances like this he might make a run for sleeper wrestler of the year.

Yujiro Yamamoto vs. 801 Kenichi & Yu Shimizu, Sportiva 3/9/2022

I am counting this as a handicap gauntlet match, because Yamamoto faces both opponents in matches with a 10 minute time limit right after another, and he has a pretty great performance here going 20 minutes against these scrubs. Kenichi had a lot of grappling with Kenichi not being very useful but Yamamoto being good enough to carry things. Surprisingly Kenichi had some nice suplexes and Yamamoto built some good stuff around that. Really dug Yamamotos shoulder dislocating armbars from underneath. Kenichis vader hammers were really ugly but he got tagged hard by Yamamotos kicks and open hands. Shimizu match was just a rush. I thought Shimizu was gonna suck from his flabby look and shitty opening dropkick, but he had some solid submission work, and he was game to get hit really hard. Yamamoto just bludgeons him with nasty stabbing elbows and kicks. There was this great moment where Shimizu went for an abdominal stretch and Yamamoto battered his way out of it. Great Yamamoto performance.

 

GENTARO vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa, FREEDOMS 7/9/2022

Why they had to JIP this one? What we saw was damn good. Basically Takaiwa braining Gentaro with disgusting elbows and lariats and Gentaro trying to contain him with some excellent arm attack work. Gentaro looked really good like the hair to a Nishimura type but doing his own thing. Loved all the submission attempts and his beautiful suplexes. Takaiwas selling wasn't super expressive but he sold that he was pushed to the limit and his arm was bothering him which is more than you can expect form Takaiwa. The ending turned into a Takaiwa bombfest but the actual finish was memorable with Takaiwas arm going limp on a lariat and Gentaro getting punched in the face in really nasty fashion. Last counter was a thing of beauty.

 

2022 MOTY List