Marvelous in Sapporo (24/9/23) Review
Marvelous Finished Up Their Hokkaido Trip With A Bang
Front Matter
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Day two of Marvelous’s trip to Sapporo was the big one, as Takumi Iroha defended the West Coast Pro title against Sandra Moone. Elsewhere, we’ve got a mixed tag and a chance for Mio to run her eye over Sumaka Yanagawa when she teams with her.
More important than any of that, however, was Chigusa Nagayo opening the show because she was leaving before things got underway to be with her ill mother. Sadly, Nagayo has since announced that her mum passed away, making the moment where she got everyone to hold hands and send her positive energy particularly heartbreaking on a rewatch. I’m sending all the love to Chig and her family.
Maria & Azusa Inaba defeated Marika Kobashi & Ai Houzan
I love a tag team that you can never imagine being friends outside of wrestling. What do party gal Marika Kobashi and feral rookie Ai Houzan talk about pre-match?
In the ring, Maria was the MVP, having impressive runs with Ai and Kobashi. With it being their first meeting, the Marika showdown was the more intriguing of the two, as they seemed fired up to impress. They’re similar ages, and it felt like they’d both pinpointed a potential rival. Who knows whether that will be the case, but judging by this, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. Her and Ai’s interactions were also good, but without ever breaking out of the mould of what we’ve come to expect from them, as they culminated in a frantic final stretch that saw Houzan desperately try to get the win only to never quite get over the line.
I feel like I’ve left out Azusa, but that’s no fault on her part. While she faded into the background a bit when Maria took over, she (alongside her sister) is becoming one of my favourite regular Marvelous guests. They bring something different to the party, as no one on the roster wrestles that style, and I enjoy watching the likes of Ai have to adjust to it. Sadly, there wasn’t too much of that here, but even without it, this was a good opener, and Azsua will get plenty more opportunities to impress.
Verdict: A Strong Start
Tomoko Watanabe & Sumika Yanagawa defeated Mio Momono & Unagi Sayaka
Coming into this match, I could never have predicted how central Sumika Yanagawa’s towel would become to it. She pulled off some fancy towel tricks during her entrance, which somehow kickstarted a series of events that culminated with Tomoko appearing to try and blow her away. It was beautiful nonsense and had me giggling away like a child to the point where I had to rewind a chunk of the match because I was too giddy to pay attention.
It also set the tone for a showdown in which Unagi and Tomoko locked their opponents in a wheeled cage, spun them around and ended up significantly dizzier than them. My review of the previous day’s show mentioned that these trips sometimes have a holiday atmosphere, and this is what I was talking about. For three-quarters of this, everyone was having a lovely old time, messing around and trying to make each other laugh. Or at least they were until Tomoko kicked Mio really hard in the shin, which she reacted to by attempting to attack her with a wrench.
That moment was the spark that caused things to take a turn, as Mio and Unagi’s interactions started to get a bit tasty. There was fantastic wrestling sprinkled the whole way through this, as Momono and Tomoko have the kind of natural chemistry you only get when you’ve been wrestling for years, but it was all within the tone they’d set. Then, the eel upped the ante by throwing some hard(ish) forearms at Momono, drawing out the side of her that Nagayo affectionately refers to as Chucky. Suddenly, what had been all fun and games devolved into Mio headbutting people as she took it upon herself to show Unagi how to hit a motherfucker.
It was a development that everyone played perfectly. Mio throwing headbutts might not sound like it fits with what I described before, but they transitioned into it seamlessly, the action escalating beyond the silliness into a place where it felt like the logical next step. Plus, while I thought Yanagawa looked alright the day before, she earned herself a bunch more Marvelous bookings here, nailing the comedy aspects before contributing to an impressive final stretch. That she stood out at all on a team with Mio is to her immense credit, and this is one that I’m demanding everyone goes out of their way to see.
Verdict: Outstanding
Chikayo Nagashima & Noriyuki Yamada defeated Riko Kawahata & Leo Isaka
There is a world in which crafty veteran Nagashima and big lad Yoshida are a great heel tag team. Sadly, this Marvelous crowd weren’t about to boo them, even as they chopped the shit out of Leo for his birthday and later had Nagashima boot him in the balls. They’re too nice for that.
Heels or not, they were the clear favourites for this match, as Noriyuki Yoshida, in particular, was a force Leo and Riko struggled to take down. Yoshida is massive compared to Isaka, so he towered over Kawahata, and when he lined up to chop her, there was a shiver of genuine worry from the crowd (if he’d gone through with it, he might have got those boos). It meant their best chance to win came when they coaxed them into misfiring, causing Yoshida to chop Nagashima before she returned the favour by booting him down low. The heel heat might not have been there, but the retribution still felt well-deserved and gave our underdog babyfaces a chance to try and craft an opening for the win.
And that was a fun dynamic. It never quite blossomed into anything more than that, but we did get Kawahata kicking Nagashima an ungodly amount of times in return for Leo’s birthday chops. I thought she planned to return the favour and kick her once for each year she’s been alive (47), but she either wasn’t doing that or lost count/thinks Chikayo is much older than she is. Either way, it had to hurt like a motherfucker, even as they started to slow down towards the end. The match is worth watching for that alone, and the rest was pretty fun, too.
Verdict: Fun, But Nothing Special
Takumi Iroha defeated Sandra Moone to retain the West Coast Pro Title
Cold badass Takumi Iroha is my favourite version of her. As she booted Sandra Moone around the ring, getting angry when she dared to fight back, it became clear she felt like her opponent wasn’t in her league. Sure, she caught her off guard a couple of times, maybe even gave her a bit of a scare, but there was a sense that if Iroha lost this, it would be an injustice. She was there to boot Moone into next week and show the world that Marvelous’s Ace is better than the rest.
And on the whole, I thought Moone dealt with that well. Her decision to scream and writhe around on the floor after each kick was a bit much, but then I’ve never been kicked by Takumi Iroha. Maybe that’s a perfectly reasonable response. Plus, she made up for it in her comebacks, all of which felt like someone who knew they had to throw everything into the chances they got. To this point, I’d put her Marvelous tour down as alright (with extra marks for clearly gelling with the vibes of the promotion), but on her final show, she proved she could step up to the plate. She knew her role, and she played it well.
It was also refreshing to see a Japanese company not be overly deferential towards a foreign wrestler. It’s not always the case, but there is a tendency to value anyone who comes in more than they perhaps deserve, but this placed Moone and Iroha in the spot they should be in. Maybe one day she can come back and match Takumi shot for shot, but right now, the Ace is someone she should be aspiring to get on the level of, and that’s what this match showed. In flashes, she can give her a fight, but Takumi is still far and away the better wrestler.
In the aftermath, Iroha spoke in English (which she had on her phone) to thank Moone, tell her she’s part of the Marvelous family and that Takumi loves her. It’s clear that the American has found a second home in Marvelous, so hopefully, we’ll see her again. On this evidence, she’s got potential, and if she’s going to live up to it, there are many worse places for her to learn.
Verdict: An Ace’s Performance
Overall Show
Out of the two shows on this trip, this was the superior one. I don’t want to get carried away, but that tag match has a decent shot of making its way into my end-of-the-year list, and Takumi going full badass Ace is always a treat. The only downside is that Chig couldn’t be there for the whole thing, and I want to finish up by, once again, sending all the love to her and her family.
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.