Marvelous (7/8/23) Review
Hearts Are Broken
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For the second time this year, Marvelous made their way to Korakuen Hall, where Mio Momono would step into the main event to defend the AAAW Title for the first time. Across from her? An original. The seemingly immortal Mayumi Ozaki, who main evented the first-ever GAEA show (in an incredible brawl that saw her and Devil Masami take on Chigusa Nagayo and Dynamite Kansai). Would she regain the AAAW Title twenty-two years after her only reign? Or would Mio prove herself to this bastion of the old guard? Let’s find out.
Aoi defeated Ai Houzan
For the second Marvelous Korakuen in a row, it was up to Ai Houzan and Aoi to open things up, as they’re developing something of a rivalry. Unfortunately for Ai, while that last meeting saw her pick up a landmark victory, this time, she made a single mistake, causing her downfall. Having unleashed on Aoi with a series of slaps and headbutts, she clambered to the top for a dropkick. However, as she perched there, waiting for Aoi to get to her feet, her rival was recovering, building the strength to bat Ai away when she finally leapt before following up with the A-Wing for the win.
They didn’t have much time to play with here, so they were never really able to get into the meat of the action, but I enjoyed that finish. It felt like Ai, having thrown everything she had on Aoi, was just that little bit too naive, causing her to leave an opening she didn’t need to and face the punishment. It’s the kind of mistake rookies make, as they’re so intent on hitting the next move that they don’t stop and consider whether it’s the right thing to do.
Throw in Houzan going fully feral with those slaps and headbutts and a brilliantly timed near fall off an Aoi flash pin (seriously, they nailed that), and this was a solid wee opener. I still believe these two could eventually have a proper banger, but they didn’t have the time on a packed show with some big matches still to come. However, settling for some fun, fast-paced action isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Verdict: Solid
In the aftermath, Aoi made the brave decision to call out Takumi Iroha. She then laid down a challenge for the JTO show at the start of September, declaring as she did so that she’s attracted to strong women, which got Iroha adorably flustered.
Itsuki Aoki & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Tomoko Watanabe & Leo Isaka
Ikuto Hidaka is one of those wrestlers I’ve seen bits and pieces of but never gone beyond that, and I came away impressed by his performance in this match. Whether he was bumping around for Tomoko or using a combination of rapid offence and great-looking kicks to put Leo to bed, it felt like the action came to life every time he got in the ring. That’s doubly impressive when you consider the guy is 51 but is moving around like someone twenty years younger.
Outside of that, I was pleased to see this match didn’t follow Marvelous’s last intergender tag by being overly generous to its male performers. Takumi and Itsuki took their bumps and certainly didn’t have things all their way, but there was no sense of a gap between them and their opponents. Plus, where that match ended with Takumi Baba putting Mio away, this kept the pinfall between Hidaka and Leo, which all felt a bit neater.
Ultimately, this was a decent showing, which is always the most difficult thing to write about. I enjoyed it while it was on, and I certainly wouldn’t tell anyone not to watch it, but nothing here will stick around in my mind. You can’t hold that against it (many matches dream of simply being good), but it also means I don’t have much to say. If you give it a watch, you’ll have an alright time.
Verdict: More Solid Action
Sakura Hirota defeated Unagi Sayaka
Poor Unagi. She thought she had done the prep. There were videos of her practising her kanchos, and she made her entrance armed with a net, a hammer and an inflatable ring (admittedly, generally things more suited to the beach than a wrestling match, but it is Hirota). However, she had no idea what was to come. It doesn’t matter how charismatic and beloved you are. You’re never going to out nonsense the master.
And who knows how many of these matches I’ve seen now. Watching Hirota nonsense her way through ten minutes of wrestling is my happy place, so it’s a lot, but they never fail to hit the mark. It’s not like she rewrites the book every time, as she spent most of this trying to coax Unagi into doing all the staples, but the setup and the execution never fail to delight me. Whether it’s her trying to subtly signal to Unagi to get her feet up and block the falling headbutt or the look of shock on her face when she pulled off her various forward and backward rolls in the ropes, Hirota always throws something fresh in there.
Unagi also deserves credit, as she read the brief and knew her role. She played the game brilliantly, arming herself with the kancho fingers and happily becoming the butt of the joke when trapped inside a rubber ring. I feel like I’m often harsh on Unagi’s ‘serious’ wrestling, and it’s not because I don’t think she can do it, but because I believe this is where she works best. Not only is The Eel ridiculously charismatic, but her timing is sublime, and she slipped into Hirota’s world with ease. If there is any justice, this will be the first of many, and while it’s not about to change the mind of any Hirota-haters, those people don’t deserve good things anyway.
Verdict: Fantastic
Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) & Sandra Moone defeated Mika Iwata, Tomoka Inaba & Azusa Inaba
A lot was happening here, so let’s unpick it bit by bit.
First, I know nothing about Sandra Moone, but Cagematch tells me she’s an American wrestler who presumably picked up this tour because of the roster’s recent trips to that part of the world. While her introduction probably wasn’t the easiest, as she came up against the kicky trio of Iwata and the Inaba sisters, I thought she looked alright. As the match went on, she faded into the background a bit, and there wasn’t anything mind-blowing about her performance, but it was solid enough.
Part of why she didn’t stand out was that the Inaba sisters were stealing that spotlight. With Tomoka having impressed in her Marvelous debut, Azusa kept the train going, bringing some intensity alongside a few vicious kicks. There is a bit of a mini-me thing going on there, and I don’t think she’s developed a personality beyond being Tomoka’s sister, but at this stage of her career, that isn’t worth worrying about. It will come, and even if it never does, being able to kick someone hard helps you get away with a lot.
If anything, the sisters perhaps did too good a job of standing out, as I wouldn’t have minded a bit more Iwata. It’s been a while since we’ve seen her in Marvelous, and whenever she did step into the ring, she was great, but it felt like she was content playing the supporting role to her younger partners. Perhaps she decided it wasn’t worth the hassle when they barked at her to join them for a move early on, which got a hearty chuckle out of Chigusa Nagayo on commentary.
In the end, this became about Magenta having a strong showing in their new tag gear. Anyone paying attention knows they’re a great team, and it’s exciting to see them commit to that by increasing their power through the magic of matching outfits. Even more importantly, Nagayo announced post-show that Kawahata has officially left T-Hearts to sign a contract with Marvelous. It’s a move that makes perfect sense for both parties, as Kawahata is already on basically every show, and it helps flesh out a somewhat depleted roster. She celebrated her new contract by picking up the win, and I hope it’s the first of many.
It all meant this match was in danger of being overshadowed by everything around it, but it was a lot of fun. While there were too many moving parts wrestling each other for the first time for it ever to become truly great, that didn’t stop it from being a lovely time, and let’s hope we get more of the Inabas and Iwata in the future.
Verdict: A Lovely Time Was Had
Yuu & Nightshade defeated Takumi Iroha & Chikayo Nagashima
As I mentioned in my last Marvelous review, Nightshade has never previously blown me away. Whether in EVE or TJPW, she always seemed like she had the potential to be a hoss force but never quite did enough to convince me she was. Well, until this match, anyway. I don’t know if it was the motivation of being in Korakuen or if she’s improved (I am working off quite a small sample size), but this was a standout performance. She felt like a monster, barging through Takumi and Chikayo as she unleashed her inner powerhouse. It still wasn’t perfect. She could use toning down the ‘I am evil’ facial expressions, but that was easy to forgive when she started crushing everyone with massive sentons.
Credit also has to go to the tag champs for that, who were ready and willing to take the beating required to sell that power. One of the problems with pairing Chikayo and Takumi up is that they’re almost OP, making it difficult to imagine anyone defeating them. However, with two hosses across from them, they worked their arses off to convince the crowd they were vulnerable, and it became an easy idea to buy. When Yuu plucked Iroha out of the air on an attempted Spinning Heel Kick before launching her at Chikayo to break a pin, I was fully invested in the idea that they would lose this match.
And they did. I assumed Nightshade was booked on this tour to give Iroha her victory back, but it turns out that she remains the deadly thorn in our Ace’s side, as she put Nagashima away with a Chokebomb. It was as decisive and straightforward a victory as you will see, and after watching these two bully the champs throughout, it almost felt inevitable. Of course, Takumi and Chikayo weren’t going to win. In what world would that ever be an option? To pull off that feeling is an impressive feat, and it came in a match that smashed through every expectation I had of it.
Verdict: Nightshade Stepped Up
Mayumi Ozaki defeated Mio Momono to win the AAAW Title
Before we get onto everything else, I want to make sure and talk about the actual match, which is already getting swept aside in the tedium of the discourse. I thought this was incredible. There will always be people who whine about Ozaki’s approach to wrestling, but most of them are idiots, and when she’s fighting a babyface you believe in, there is nothing like it. She set the tone when she grabbed the title from Tommy’s hands and drove it into Momono’s head before unleashing the Ozaki rampage, smashing that chain into Mio again and again. It was an onslaught, and all Momono could do was hold one, clinging to the tiniest openings as she was dragged around the arena, spilling her blood as she went.
And this wasn’t just Mio and Ozaki being incredible. It was like the whole room came together to make it work. From the beginning, a small ardent group of Ozaki enthusiasts chanted her name, only for the Marvelous fans to find their voice throughout the match and drown them out. Then you had Takumi and Maria on the outside, getting increasingly upset as they watched their friend be dismantled, with it eventually becoming so much that they clambered onto the apron, forcing Tommy to come across and stop them from interfering. The whole thing felt charged and electric as every slither of a Momono comeback was greeted with a fervour that had to push her on to victory.
Except it didn’t, and that’s where things get interesting. When Tommy’s hand hit the mat for the three, having held her trademark pause for what felt like forever, I was devastated. Mio’s title win was one of those special moments, and I was so ready to watch her go on a run that would see her defend the belt against the best the scene had to offer. All she had to do was find her way past this crafty old veteran, and then the world was hers. Mio Momono, the best wrestler around, in the form of her life, would get the chance to lead her company to whatever the next stage is.
Now (to paraphrase an opinion I saw on Twitter) that’s been thrown away to give impetus to an Ozaki and Nagayo tag match at Yokohama Budokan. When Ozaki stomped on the belt afterwards, it brought in Chigusa to defend its honour, setting up her, Mio and Tomoko (who was right behind her as she charged the ring) to face Ozaki and, I presume, Yukihi and Anou (although that wasn’t confirmed). Either way, that’s where we’re headed, which has predictably infuriated certain sections of Twitter, but much like those who dismiss Ozaki, I’m inclined to ignore them. Because while I’m devastated about this result, it’s the good kind of sad. The sort of gut-churning disappointment that doesn’t make me want to give up but makes me want to return for more. When Chig stormed the ring, I was screaming for her to cave Ozaki’s skull in, and you better believe I will be even more invested when Mio comes face-to-face with her again.
Because the part of this match that will stick with me the most wasn’t a bloodied Momono being pinned. It was her struggling to her feet in the aftermath as the Marvelous fans flooded the ring with streamers. She was a bloody, sobbing wreck, broken by an unfeeling bastard, and all those fans wanted to do was show her that they still cared. She’d given her heart and soul for them, defiantly battling on until she just couldn’t anymore, and they loved for her it. That kind of attachment doesn’t vanish in the face of adversity. It only grows all the stronger, and when the day comes for her to hold that title again, they will love her all the more for getting back there.
Ultimately, whether this was the right call will be revealed in the months ahead. It’s entirely possible that Marvelous will drop the ball, and we’ll never see Mio get the reign she deserves, but right now, I have faith. I know that ‘letting it play out’ has become something of a meme, used to clown on those who still think WWE will do something good, but Marvelous isn’t WWE and Mio’s story is far from over. If nothing else, she’s the best wrestler in the world right now, and no amount of being smashed over the head with Ozaki’s chain will change that. She lost to a legend who was spilling blood before she was born, and there is no shame there. She’ll be back, and would you bet against Mio Momono making that something special? I certainly wouldn’t.
Verdict: Breathtaking Match, Heartbreaking Finish
Overall Show
Christ, I’m exhausted. The main event is the talking point, and Twitter has been very silly, but it shouldn’t take away from this being a strong show. Not only was the wrestling good to incredible, but there was a nice sense of escalation throughout, from the relative calm of Ai vs Aoi to the wildness of that main event. Up next for Marvelous is a trip to Shinkiba, which I normally wouldn’t bother mentioning, but I’m going to be there in person, so I’m kind of excited about it. If you’ve got any complaints about the booking, let me know, and I’ll pass them on to Chig.
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows and a YouTube Membership where they upload videos. You can also buy access to live streams here.