2025 Matchguide Week 51

 Mari & ACT & MARU vs Marino Saihara & Sakura Mizushima & Naru, AWG 9/7

Entertaining 3 vs 3 match that culminated in one of the best moments of the year. We get some fun exchanges early on with everyone playing their role. Mizushima is good in her underdog role as usual, and it escalates to some brawling with MARU busting out the chain. The two later had another extended in-ring segment that was pretty fun. The real greatness happens when Mari and Saihara tag in to face off. Just great wrestling as the usual confident overdog Mari was desperately scrambling for the ropes by Saiharas crossface and trying to avoid the German Suplex at all cost. Mari would then reestablish herself by braining Saihara with some hard kicks. Tremendous struggle here, even over something like a Sidewalk Slam. Mari getting caught by a surprise German suplex, being seemingly KO'd was ridiculously great. A bunch of chaos happens andhe faces all got together to try and have a superhero moment but it backfired in a funny moment on them. Then when Saihara gets the pin on Mari it actually feels like she did the impossible. Great stuff just for that, really intense without relying on an assload of nearfalls, just great character work, timing and struggle here, a good example of the kind of unique thing the AWG crew can pull off insanely well.

Senka Akatsuki vs Seri Yamaoka, Marvelous 12/28

The most awaited rookie face off of the year! And for the most part this delivers. Opening of this was great as they just did stubborn grappling, slapping the shit out of each other and sprawling on attempted takedowns. Loved how even something like the half crab felt intense and got a reaction. I could've done without the no selling in the middle but the finish is intense. Liked how Yamaoka had to constantly scramble to the ropes when Akatsuki started working for the dreaded pinfall. Also dug Yamaokas early Honda-ish submission. She should stick with that stuff more often given how everyone's just no selling German suplexes these days. I need these two to become perma-rivals.

Makoto vs Hiroyo Matsumoto, Seadlinnng 8/22

Well executed big match and probably one of the better ones of the year considering this was a believable match that felt like a struggle, never got boring and they both fucking walloped each other hardcore throughout this. Really liked Makoto putting over Matsumotos monster strength early on even when basic wristlocking stuff was going on. Makoto was ultra-vicious in this and Matsumoto is insanely hard hitting, putting some real violence even into something like corner stomps or an elbow smash. Makoto pulling illegal tactics to stop the beast made for good pro wrestling. Her kicking the rope into Matsumotos throat was really nasty looking, and her boots and double knee drops were devastating. Should also point out that Makoto going for an eye rake felt meaningful and lead to an important moment. Finishing stretch was mostly a damaged Matsumoto getting more desperate but also repeatedly re-establishing herself as a monster. Really liked how she tried to force a tap with a basic facelock that left Makoto hurting. The entire ending run was well put together thanks to Makotos precise offense and Matsumotos knack for unpredictable transitions and never lost me. Even the suplex no-sell was done right as Makoto was desperate to not loose the advantage and Matsumoto put her right back down turning her lights out and ending the match. Quality stuff and definitely a high note for joshi in 2025.

Minoru Kido vs taku, XGF 11/23

Ghoulish deathmatch spectacle + brutal face punches and headbutts. Oh and it's held in some apocalyptic setting outside a deserted factory. They are wrestling on concrete with just a little mat put on it. Last time I checked out xgf taku looked like a fairly normal guy, now he seems to sport a face tattoo and a green iro. I am only slowly getting into Kido but I am starting to see what makes him a modern cult favourite. He was pretty terrifying in this. The buzzing of the tattoo gun he used to cut taku open was haunting. I liked how whenever Kido got too comfortable in his casual sadism, taku would punch him in the face really hard. While there is some exhibition-y stuff typical of deathmatch wrestling here, there is a real vicious edge the way these two would waffle each other with a kendo stick or wooden plank in this. And they just keep punching and kicking each other in the face. Finish may have been the most insane I've ever seen as Kido just tried headbutting takus face to a mush. I liked how Kido didn't even care to piledrive taku onto those things he emptieed on the floor properly. This was like a combination of a Kurisu/Necro Butcher match and a leaked snuff video.

BADMAX Fujinaga vs Great Kuririn, Kobe MERIKEN 12/25

Who's Great Kuririn? Well, he's clearly stylized after Krillin from Dragonball. But here this bald little man who has a thick body and skinny arms and legs shows up in thai shorts and gloves to fight the man known as Badmax Fujinaga, who puts on the gloves and otherwise wears his usual shirt and pants. They start fighting and this seems to be a real fight. They start swinging and Kuririn quickly goes down and Fujinaga starts kicking the living shit out of him with brutal kicks and stomps to his bald head. Kuririn actually survives this by slipping out the ring. He continues to try and fight, but BADMAX is an unstoppable machine here quickly knocking him down again and then trying to crack his skull with knees on the ground. Kuririn tries to go for a takedown and is stuffed and after some more mauling a nasty armbar tweaks Krillins arm for the tap. I think this may have been a real fight. Whatever it was, it was a weapons grade sleaze at its finest.

2025 Matchguide 

2025 Wrestling Week 12

 Yu Shimizu vs Leo Isaka Marvelous 3/16

A lot of big matches happening in March 2025, and here I am, excited to watch Yu Shimizu vs Leo Isaka. This was a bit slow but solid and had a really good ending. Shimizu has really come into his own providing lots of cool moments with his dragon sleeper/reverse DDT work and his rear naked choke is the best I've ever seen. Isaka is a fun fast moving babyface. It kind of rules to have a short mens match like this on a joshi card.

Meiko Satomura vs Chihiro Hashimoto, 3/21

It's Meiko on her way out vs her top student. Obviously it's a great match. Great straight forward hard hitting pro wrestling. Hashimoto is clearly Meikos best opponent in recent years and this was probably their finest match together. Hash with her grappling skill and sheer physicality really forces Meiko to show more intensity of her own. Some genuinely violent strikes, sick head kicks and Chihiro trying to take her head off with vader hammers here. Loved the constant teasing of the basic German Suplex and something like a basic powerslam from Hashimoto being a huge nearfall. I assume this was ran in a much too large building so the heat was a little subdued early on, so the crowd coming alive with a big Satomura chant breaking out late in the match was awesome. Plenty of great spots and transitions without becoming too cute, I also loved the sleeper hold. What really makes this pop as a great match is the 'passing off the torch aspect' with Hashimoto trying to topple her teacher and Meiko being so unwilling to just lay down and stay down for the 3 and trying her damndest to win the title even on the brink of retirement. Great stuff and easily one of the finest matches not just of the year but of the decade so far.

Yumiko Hotta vs VENY, Seadlinnng 3/20

Yumiko Hotta main eventing a big show in a cage match. Why? I don't know, but I'm watching it. Hotta is 58 years old. She really can't bump, she doesn't even do cool kicks anymore. They just chuck metal objects at each others heads, bleeding, Hotta punches through a chair, they use a rickety ladder to try and climb the cage... some outside interference happens and a bunch of other girls storm into the ring, one of them diving off the cage. VENY is a psychotic hero in this, taking the gnarliest bump and also moonsaulting off the cage with nobody really catching her. When she hits the red mist on Hotta it looks like she spray vomited blood on her. I can't tell if this was any good but I sure enjoyed the spectacle of it, so it was good.

Sareee vs Syuri, Sareee-ism 3/10

I'll start with the positives: they both have plenty of great looking offense and a fair amount of intensity. They really blast each other with everything they've got for 30 minutes and there are a few murderous headbutts. Maybe I was too tired while watching this, but this match just didn't click for me. It starts bad enough with the super generic beginning - perfunctory matwork where nothing happens, some lucharesu-flavoured running exchange before they exchange snapmares and kick each other in the back a lot. It gets better later on, but aside from their offense there is not really much too hook me in. There is some semblance of psychology with Sareee attacking Syuris leg to slow her down, but Syuri never really sells any of it and quickly goes back on offense anyways. Syuri keeps going for armlocks but again Sareee never really sells it and at some point the submissions start to feel like padding. With the lack of a story or focus and the only selling point being how many moves these two can hit in a lot of minutes I started to zone out. Plus, 30 minutes was far too long for this, especially since they both lack offense, so Sareee must have hit like a dozen meaningless uranages in this. At 20 this could've been pretty good, at 30 this made the most bloated early 2000s NOAH matches look fresh and conservative.

Mariah May vs Toni Storm, AEW 3/9

Fun psycho bumpfest with plenty of blood and gross out carnage. I imagine this is how people felt watching Ian vs Axl Rotten in ECW. Brawling or subtleness were non existant but this has enough broken bottle to the crotch to make up for it. Actually thought the one broken glass punch was pretty sick so it was funny they didn't continue with the taipei stuff. I also liked May constantly selling the self-damage and the hip attacks were actually nasty looking and felt innovative. Not something I would want to watch again because I would get desensitized to piledrivers and headdrops but they made the most of what they had.

 

2025 Wrestling Roundup

2025 Wrestling Week 4

 
Sareee vs Veny, SEAdLINNNG 1/17

I haven't thought about Seadlinnnng in forever. Apparently, Sareee is their ace now and has been their champ for a while, so I should probably take a look at that. I haven't seen much of VENY before, but I know she had that excellent weird light tube  match with Akito at one point. This was a lot more conventional. They start of strong with some quality groundwork before a weird outside interference happens and the brawl outside. Sareee however makes it worthwhile when she dishes out some brutal headbutts to Veny on the floor. Back in the ring, Sareee is in control for a bit and it's really good. Her vicious stomps and dropkicks are great. Veny tries to take over but is cut off in nice fashion. Finally, Veny locks on a slick submission and controls by working the arm for a bit. Veny no sells a German suplex and they start trading bombs. Honestly I thought the first half of this was a very good build, but the senseless move trading lost me. Veny kind of half asses her selling a lot and her thigh slapping thrust kicks looked like shit. Sareees offense is great, but she doesn't do much selling either at some point. There is so much "take a move, slowly get up and then do a move of your own here" that really makes me stop caring about a match. For example, Sareees top rope Fishermans Suplex wasn't even followed up by a cover, instead Sareee goes to the top on the opposite side so Veny can get up and hit a superplex. No rhyme or reason to any of this as far as I can tell. At least mix in some cool reverals or something.

Yusaku Ito vs Yu Shimizu, Sportiva 1/22

This was more good shit from SPORTIVA. Yusaku Ito is a certified scumbag who can kick hard, punch someone in the face and act like an all around thug. Shimizu just came back from a really long absence and he still looks tough, in that weird guy-who-started-wrestling-in-his-30s way. Really good wrestling here, these two deliver actually compelling elbow smashes and standing exchanges. Eventually it turns into Ito kicking away at Shimizus arm and shoulder. Itos kicks and elbows to the joint where really hurty looking and Shimizus selling was excellent. By far one of the best 'work the arm' matches I've seen in a while because Shimizus weakness was constantly nagging him, he never forgot about that injury and Ito would cut him off by attacking the arm at crucial moments. Shimizu doesn't have a ton of offense in this match, he is mostly taking an asskicking, but the few moments he gets are solid, and the work around his sleeper hold was really compelling, it leads to one of the best flash reversals into a sleeper that I've ever seen. The match also has the typical Japanese big match stuff, some quality hard hitting and head-droppy moves without going overboard, but what made this outstanding was how well they worked the arm attack stuff and those sleepers. Another banger from that little sportsbar. Lord knows how they do it but they consistently put on some of the best singles matches in all of Japan.

Guerrero Maya Jr vs Xelhua, CMLL 1/13/2025

The first few minutes of this are pretty great. Both guys hit the mat and tie each other in knots, adding cool little touches that you don't see often such as the kicking at the leg while in the indian deathlock, or the nifty trip from the overhook. Xelhua clearly has a ton of passion to be trying the crazy llaves he tries, and he has stellar body control - that bridge walkover he did is NOT easy, I can attest to that. When Maya Jr takes over attacking the mask and throwing punches and Xelhua narrowly breaking out of submissions, I thought this would've been one of the best opening falls to a title match I've seen. Unfortunately it's not 2/3 falls, it's 1 fall, so we get a couple minutes of Maya Jr. dominating and a somewhat sluggish finishing stretch. I think with a 2/3 falls match these two could burn the house down, as a 1 fall match it just falls a little short, though there was a ton of cool stuff. CMLL is definitely on the right track with young guys like Xelhua not being afraid to indulge in esoteric matwork.

Virus vs Neon, MLW 1/11/2025


Love two see luchadors show up in a US promotion to do awesome shit for 8 minutes. This was pretty tight, we get a slick mat exchange to start and then they go nuts. Virus is crazy busting out this shit at the age of 56. He looked way more nimble than, say Bobby Fish who is also on this show and looked ancient despite being  8 years younger. Neon is another one of those technicos who has no offense except shitty looking enzuigiris and really pretty dives. And his dives were pretty in this. I did prefer the slickness of Virus apron armdrag and huracanrana but I am an old Virus mark. I thought this needed maybe a Virus punch or dropkick or a slick reversal to be really great but it was a pretty strong under 10 minute sprint.

 

2025 Wrestling Roundup