Marvelous (22/7/23) Review
Rookies Are Demolished, Spooks Are Loose And Mio Vs Takumi Shines
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Marvelous are making up for a quiet couple of months by cramming a load of shows into as short a period as possible. Having ventured to Tochigi the previous week, they kicked off the weekend in Osaka for the first of two shows in two days. Unfortunately, Maria missed out on these because her back was playing up, so fingers crossed that she gets better soon, but everyone else was present and accounted for.
Rina Amikura defeated Ai Houzan
Being an underdog is nothing new for Ai Houzan. As the least experienced member of the Marvelous roster, she’s used to being kicked around and beaten up. However, she has rarely come up against someone who can bully her like Rina Amikura can. She’s a powerhouse, capable of delivering with one strike what Ai couldn’t with five, and, to make matters worse for poor Houzan, she was relishing the opportunity. Compared to Ai, she’s a veteran, but against most others, she’s nothing of the sort, so this was a rare chance for Amin to flex her hoss muscles.
It also forced Ai into wrestling a different type of match. As noted in my review of the last Marvelous show, it appeared she and Aoi were trying to slow things down and be a tad more considerate with their actions. In this match, it wasn’t a choice, as Amin was simply too dominant for Ai to build momentum, but the outcome was similar. We saw a more controlled Houzan, who still had some fiery bluster, but was prevented from relying on it. She was instead forced to sell the damage of being worked over, which meant that when she bridged out of Amin’s big Senton towards the end, it hit harder than it would have after a match packed with rookie defiance.
All of which isn’t to say that Ai is fully there yet, as it’s still in that blustering fire that she flourishes, but we’re starting to see her learn to slot pieces into place rather than headbutt them. The opener wasn’t a perfect example, but it was a promising one, and with an impressive dominant showing from Amikura, it was an enjoyable watch.
Verdict: They’re Putting Things Together
Nanashi defeated Takumi Iroha
There is a timeline where Takumi Iroha tapping out the day before a tag title match because she was scared by a ghost would lead to several days of tedious Twitter discourse. Thankfully we’re in the one where you can probably count the number of Western fans who watch every smaller Marvelous show on your fingers. I don’t know much about the mysterious Nanashi (which means no name), but she has a bandaged face, a hand scythe and an entrance that was so unsettling that Takumi spent it kneeling in the ring, praying to whichever gods she believes in.
What followed was the best kind of nonsense. Spoiling jokes is never fun, so we’ll avoid that, but Takumi realised she wanted nothing to do with this creepy fucker, leading to a game of cat and mouse around the venue. The highlight of this was Iroha’s attempt to blend into the crowd, a moment I will remember with a smile for a long time. Meanwhile, we also got the joy of small children having their eyes covered by their parents as Nanashi made her way through the fans, trying to sniff out her prey.
And it ended with Takumi, who loses to barely anyone, tapping out, partly because of a submission hold and partly through terror. In my last Marvelous review, I had a wee moan about Mio losing when I didn’t think she had to, and I kind of stand by that, but I also think we put too much importance on some of this shit. Losing ain’t the end of the world, and when you’re doing it to get away from a scary ghostie fucker with a scythe, it might even be one of the better options.
Verdict: Great Creepy Nonsense
Maori Kawashima defeated Leo Isaka
We’re overdosing on scary imagery here, as Maori Kawashima wears a mask with a skull design on it. Although, his look is more power metal than horror. According to Cagematch, he primarily wrestles for Secret Base, so it’s probably not surprising that I was unaware of his work until now.
Sadly, I don’t have a lot to say about this one. I thought Kawashima was alright, emoting well from underneath the mask and showing off some decent offence, but there wasn’t enough here to build up a stronger opinion than that. They mainly hit all the beats you’d expect, with Maori controlling the early going before Leo rallied with a solid comeback, only to be caught by a quick small package. The finish felt sudden and out of nowhere, as, if anything, that was the point where I was expecting them to move up the gears.
Still, it was a perfectly serviceable match that I’m sure some people will enjoy more than me but which I doubt anyone will love.
Verdict: Fine
Itsuki Aoki and Maya Yukihi pinned Chikayo Nagashima together in a three-way match
When Magenta challenged Chikayo Nagashima and Takumi Iroha for the tag titles, they first had to face Iroha in a three-way, giving them a perfect chance to prove they were worthy of the shot. Well, we all know how that went. Takumi (in perhaps her most badass performance since her return from injury) kicked the shit out of them, dismantling the younger team in true Ace fashion. Now, with Itsuki Aoki and Maya Yukihi looking for a shot at those belts, they were given the same deal, except this time, Nagashima stepped up to the plate.
Unlike Iroha, Chikayo couldn’t rely on bullying her way to victory. However, there was a chance she wouldn’t need to. Aoki and Yuki’s team has been on an upward trajectory, but they still have a tendency towards friendly fire and bickering. It was something the veteran Nagashima knew she could use to her advantage, setting up an incredibly entertaining section of this match where she continually tried to turn her opponents against each other. It almost worked, too. They got into a thudding strike exchange, laying down some hella heavy strikes as their chances started to disintegrate.
Unfortunately for Nagashima, the story of this match was that Itsuki and Maya like each other more than they do her, and they found their way back to the same page. There was still some brilliantly intelligent wrestling from Chikayo as she tried to battle them both, but eventually, the numbers caught up with her. Still, she played a significant role in making this a whole load of fun. They told a simple story well, and the satisfying conclusion of Maya and Itsuki figuring things out was the ideal way to end it. It won’t go down as a match-of-the-year contender, but as a chapter in a longer tale, it was near-perfect.
Verdict: Exceptionally Well Done
Mio Momono & Tomoko Watanabe fought Takumi Iroha & Riko Kawahata to a time-limit draw
The key to a great draw is ensuring that the watcher doesn’t consider the idea of it going to one until it’s an exciting thought rather than one full of dread. I’ve watched matches where it’s occurred to me within the opening minutes, ruining everything to come, and I’ve watched ones where it has only come in the dying seconds, with the clock ticking down, as you urge someone on to get the win before time expires. Our main event was much closer to the latter than the former. It wasn’t quite the last minute, but there were three left when I realised it might be where we were heading, suggesting the action had my full attention, the time never feeling like it was starting to drag.
And it wasn’t hard to get caught up in. It was almost your perfect small show main event, blending some comedy (including Nanashi appearing behind Takumi during her entrance), a big brawl on the outside to get the fans involved and a snippet of Takumi and Mio in the home stretch, giving everyone a taste of the meaty stuff. They never had to go all out, delivering the levels you might at a Korakuen, but they kept the pace up, producing a load of different ideas and a final few minutes that were genuinely thrilling. We’ve seen most of it before, but with the talent in there, that’s easy to forget.
Plus, it’s Mio and Takumi. Both have had their injury worries over the last few years, but for the first time in forever, they’re fit and in form at the same time, and watching them wrestle is never going to be anything less than exciting. Marvelous seems to be telling the story that Mio may have won the title, but Takumi still holds the position of Ace, and when that showdown inevitably comes to pass, it has the potential to be breathtaking. We got just a tiny bit of it here, but it was enough, and on top of everything else, it made for one hell of a main event.
Verdict: One Of The Good Draws
Overall Show
I had a blast with that show. We got a rookie demolishing in the opener, some fantastic comedy, a story-led semi-main and a main event that ticked every box. The Leo match was a tad throwaway, but even it wasn’t awful, so all things said, this has to go down as a big old thumbs up for all involved.
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows. You can also buy access to live streams here.