Marvelous (19/5/23) Review
Mio And Takumi Get A Chance To Flex
Front Matter
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The Marvelous roster has been busy since Korakuen, as most of them (Ai stayed home to look after the dogs) headed to San Francisco for the Queen of the Indies tournament. Sadly, Mio didn’t add that crown to her shiny new belt, but at least a Marvelous alumnus did, as Masha Slamovich beat her in the main event. After all that excitement, this show was a return to the relative normalcy of Shinkiba and a chance for the fans to see their new AAAW champion for the first time.
Leo Isaka defeated Keito Murota
Keito Murota has taken the demand ‘get into them heid first’ a tad too literally, as I would estimate that about 95% of his offence in this match involved him headbutting Leo. To start with, I found it rather endearing. He has his thing, and he is going to stick to it. There was even a running, flying headbutt that made me laugh, as I always find the idea of someone literally throwing themselves head-first at an opponent enjoyable. However, as his heat section progressed, it somewhat lost its charm. There are only so many headbutt variants you can watch before you begin to tire of the shtick.
It also failed to tick one of the big boxes required for a great Leo match, getting the middle-aged Chigusa Nagayo fans to worry about his health. There was none of that panic here, as the crowd barely managed to rustle up some polite applause, and the whole thing fell a little flat. It wasn’t awful, but it was just there, and seconds after Leo’s eventual comeback earned the victory, I was already starting to forget what I’d seen. In the big ranking of Isaka matches it slots into the lower tiers.
Verdict: Rather Forgettable
Tomoko Watanabe defeated Maria
After an enjoyable opening section where Tomoko repeatedly attempted to boot Maria in the shine (she eventually succeeded), this became a straightforward battle between strength and technique. Maria was going after the arm, trying to twist Watanabe around into an armbar, and the veteran was doing everything she could to stop her.
I’m not sure Watanabe gets enough credit for how intimidating her power can be. It was vital in setting up Mio’s trial series, and the moment when she reversed Maria’s first attempt at an armbar by hoisting her into the air with one arm was ridiculously impressive. Maria might not be the biggest person in the world, but there is a casualness to the way Watanabe throws people around that only accentuates how painful it looks. Even when Maria did manage to get that armbar on, you always knew that Tomoko had the potential to muscle her way out of it.
Sadly, they didn’t get enough time to make this anything more than a fun wee match, but there was enough to convince me these two could easily stretch it out. Maria is in a strange spot right now, stuck between rookie-hood and being someone who could potentially beat Tomoko, and a series of matches between them would be the perfect way to get her over that hump. In the here and now, though, she’s still falling short, and while this was fun, it’s probably nothing you need to go out of your way to see.
Verdict: Enjoyable, But Not Essential
Team Yellow (Chikayo Nagashima & Ai Houzan) fought Maya Yukihi & Itsuki Aoki to a time-limit draw
Limb work that feels part of a coherent plan is great, but I’m even more partial to it when it feels like opportunism. Early in this match, Chikayo stopped Maya from prodding her with an umbrella (Nagashima did hit her with it first) by gnawing on her thigh, and from there, she and Ai decided that would be the perfect place to focus their attack. Whether slapping the exposed flesh or stretching it over the ropes, they opportunistically attacked her injury, doing everything to make Yukihi as uncomfortable as possible. There wasn’t enough to suggest they would leave her hobbled, but it was a nice little throughline to the rest of the action.
On the other side of the ring, I’m enjoying this Yukihi and Aoki pairing. I suspect they’ve only come together because of Rin moving to Canada, but having Yukihi as a semi-regular is always a good idea and their blossoming chemistry hints at something special. They’re still as likely to hit each other as their opponents, but we’re at the point where when things do work, they’re starting to look dangerous. To borrow from an old footballing cliche: it might not have clicked yet, but you suspect they’ll give someone a hammering when they do.
As for the match, it bobbed along at Good for most of its runtime before accelerating into Great at the end. There was a sense here that Houzan, following her victory over Aoi, had levelled up, and that came to the fore in a frantic final few minutes where they raced against the clock. There was a La Magistral that had me convinced she was about to win, and it was her bundling Itsuki into a pin as the bell rang, not the other way around. It was clear that Houzan only made it that deep into the match because she had Chikayo next to her, but once she got there, she held her own.
It made this easily the best thing on the show so far, and with things getting a bit rowdy in the aftermath, I would love to see them do it again.
Verdict: Ai’s Levelled Up
Mio Momono & Takumi Iroha defeated Riko Kawahata & Unagi Sayaka
Before the show, Mio revealed that her big tactic was to run around a lot, suggesting she’s entering the proper football man stage of her career. While she’ll have to up the levels of gravy in her diet and chug down a couple of pints of wine if she wants to truly earn the title, she has potential. I’m not sure what the wrestling equivalent of launching balls to the big man up front is, but if anyone can figure it out, it’s Mio.
In reality, Mio and Takumi didn’t have to do too much running. They’ve teamed surprisingly little over the years (Cagematch has one other example from 2018, but Cagematch’s Marvelous records are far from comprehensive), and yet have the natural chemistry that comes from having trained alongside each other. Paired up against Riko and Unagi, a team that, let’s face it, was never going to win, this match felt like an opportunity for them to flex. It was Marvelous’s two biggest stars having fun (most of their double-team stuff involved Takumi using Mio as a weapon) and picking up a statement victory in the first main event after a big show.
That isn’t to say it was a squash. Unagi and Kawahata had their moments, and they’re two talented wrestlers who weren’t going to be plugged into Mio’s victory parade without a fight, but this wasn’t about them. It was a chance for Marvelous to make it clear to all who their top two are, which is a vibe I always enjoy. Your Ace and your champ should be winning matches like this easily, and it did nothing to hurt their opponents. Mio and Takumi are the best, and sometimes it’s nice to get some confirmation of that. It perhaps didn’t make for something that you need to go out of your way to see, but it was an easy watch.
Verdict: A Good Time
In the aftermath, Unagi cut another big promo, asking to be taken under Takumi’s wing and taught about wrestling. The tweet Iroha later sent about this included a throwing-up emoji, so rather Unagi than me.
Overall Show
My description of the main event kind of sums up this show. It was fun, but there’s nothing here you need to see. If you are going to check out one match, make it the semi-main, while any regular Marvelous watcher will probably want to see the main event. On the whole, it was a solid couple of hours of entertainment, but it’s not one we’ll be remembering come the end of the year.
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows and you can buy access to live streams here.