Marvelous Kariya (23/4/23) Review
Mio's Trial Series Comes To An End
Front Matter
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Marvelous finished their weekend double-header with a trip to Kariya, their penultimate stop before Korakuen next month. The big story coming into this one was the end of Mio’s trial series, as she faces Tomoko Watanabe, but there was always a chance for a couple more twists and turns ahead of the big one. Let’s see what went down.
Leo Isaka defeated Yuki Toki
On top of having a satisfying name to say, Yuki Toki is a Zero1 rookie who debuted on New Year’s Day. Cagematch puts his match count at around 20, so this was a chance for Leo to run through the basics with a youngling.
To be fair to Toki, he did those basics well. He’s still a baby, working with as straightforward a moveset as you’ll see, but he brought a little bit of intensity to everything he did. While he’s not a massive guy, he had the attitude of a hoss, which is something we can always appreciate.
He also ate a beautiful Brainbuster from Leo at the end, who spiked him perfectly for the three. It was an aesthetically pleasing finish to a solid wee match that, much like Leo’s outing the day before, wasn’t anything spectacular but did a good job with what it had.
Verdict: Solid Fare
Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) defeated ASUKA & HisokA
After I complained about Magenta’s treatment on the previous show, it was nice to see them get a rookie to beat up. HisokA followed up her strong performance against Mii with another sold showing, displaying a knack for drawing sympathy. There were some flaws. At one point, ASUKA physically readjusted her to help out with an armbar, but that only made me like her more. Besides, ASUKA also stomped on her head towards the end of the match, so she wasn’t the only one to fuck up.
And that stomp summed up ASUKA’s afternoon, as she was in a delightfully violent mood. She treated the whole thing like it was beneath her, but every time she did end up in the ring with Maria or Riko, she wasn’t afraid to lay into those strikes. There was a feeling that if she felt like it, she could win at any time, which, from another wrestler, would be annoying, but ASUKA pulls it off. When you’re that good, you can get away with that kinda shit.
Thankfully, if that was true, ASUKA never did feel like it, and Magenta finally got a win. It came after Maria got the better of HisokA during a closing stretch that saw them going back and forth between pins and submissions. Honestly, it was a tad all over the place and chaotic, but the rookie put up a good fight before finally getting caught, and a bit of scrappiness is never the worst thing. Not that ASUKA agreed. She was intent on giving her kid partner a kicking after the match. That wasn’t the big news, though, as after a long dissection of Magenta’s performance (at least, I think that’s what was happening), Chigusa announced they’d be facing Jaguar Yokota and Kyoku Inoue at Korakuen. I imagine I know how that one will go, but it will be interesting to see how Maria and Riko get on.
Anyway, this was a fun match which went some way towards settling my worries about Magenta’s future. It seems they do have a plan, and I’m willing to wait and see where it goes.
Verdict: The Magenta Comeback Starts Here!
Takumi Iroha defeated Yurika Oka
I get the impression Oka is a bit of a mouthy wee shit. My Japanese isn’t good enough to say for sure, but there was a moment in this match where she was standing outside the ring, shouting stuff at Takumi, only to run away when she tried to follow her out there. It was classic mouthy wee shit behaviour, and even if that wasn’t what she was doing, it’s now my accepted headcanon.
Either way, Oka is great at this style of match, and Takumi is a bit of a dab hand too. Everyone knew coming in that Iroha would win, but Oka was determined to try and slip some doubt into that thinking. She didn’t get many chances, as there was a lot of being kicked about the place, but when she got an opening to go after the leg, she lept on it, desperately trying to wriggle her way in. She wasn’t successful, but it was all well done.
Plus, I’m a sucker for this stuff. Watching a youngster throw themselves against an impossible challenge is one of my favourite things, and Oka is a hell of a talented youngster, so there was little chance of me not liking it. However, even if you don’t have my weakness for that stuff, there was a lot to love here. When you’ve got Iroha in full badass Ace mode and Oka as a battling underdog, how could you not have a good time?
Verdict: A Great Pairing
Dokupe Kabuki (Unagi Sayaka & Aoi) defeated Team Yellow (Chikayo Nagashima & Ai Houzan)
Before the show, Ai was tasked with doing the introduction and seemed genuinely upset that Unagi was messing around during it, distracting people. Perhaps it was a bit, but Ai is from the area, so it would make sense that she’d find The Eel drawing everyone’s attention away a bit frustrating. There didn’t seem to be any lingering tension during the match, but we can link any future bloodbaths between the two to that moment.
In the ring, Chikayo is good at getting the best out of ‘serious wrestler’ Unagi. She seems to have a knack for reigning her in and ensuring she sticks to what she’s good at, aka flashy touches and delivering boots to the face. It’s not something I would have ever associated with Unagi before this Marvelous run (by which I mean the boots, the flash was always there), but she’s nailed them, and I much prefer to see her throwing those than unimpressive elbows.
It was the rookies who caught my attention, though. Houzan has been a tad unlucky with rivals, as she’s starved of people of her own experience level to wrestle. That makes it feel like a bit of a treat when she gets to face off with one of her peers, and there was an edge to her and Aoi’s battles. That opportunity to test themselves drew out a sense of competition, which led to them slapping fuck out of each other.
Sadly, things went a bit awry for the finish, Ai seemingly not knowing how to take Aoi’s move, which meant it took them three attempts to get it right (something you could tell Chig wasn’t overly impressed by). I’m not one for getting fussy over botches, but that didn’t look great, especially as they kept returning to it rather than moving to a plan B. Still, they got there eventually, and while it’s always a bit of a bummer when it’s the ending that goes wrong, it doesn’t take away from all the good work that came beforehand.
Verdict: Dodgy Finish, But The Rest Was Good
After the match, both Chigusa and Chikayo had a bit of a go at Ai, dealing out some tough love and forcing me to push down my feelings of protectiveness towards my favourite rookie. It wasn’t meaningless criticism, as it played into her challenging Aoi to a match at Korakuen, giving them a chance to make up for the messed-up finish.
Mio Momono defeated Tomoko Watanabe
When Mio faced Tomoko back in January, she made the mistake of taking the veteran lightly and ate a beating in response. That demolition inspired the trial series that culminated with this match, and Momono came in desperate to prove that she’d learnt from her mistakes.
Mio did that by coming flying out of the gates, aiming to overwhelm Tomoko with a flurry of offence. All Watanabe could do in response was grab hold of her and drag things to the mat, slowing it all down and giving herself a chance to catch a breath. It wasn’t just the volume of offence, though, but the way it was delivered. In that last match, a series of disrespectful kicks to the head woke Watanabe up. This time, when Mio did the same thing, they were just as dismissive, but with added spite. Momono wasn’t going to make the mistake of missing an opportunity to inflict pain.
However, for all it felt like Mio’s story, Tomoko Watanabe is no supporting player. The longer the match went, the more her power came to the fore, and when she hit Mio, she hit her hard. For every five blows Momono threw, Tomoko only needed one, and the momentum began to turn, shifting back to what we saw in January. As we inched towards the time limit, Watanabe was in control, slamming Mio to the mat again and again, getting almost reckless as she threw her through the air. It started to feel inevitable that Mio would lose again.
She didn’t, though. The common theme throughout Mio’s trial series has been her inability to find a way to win. Christ, that’s been the pattern since she returned from injury. Momono’s had her moments, but they’re surrounded by draws and near misses. Not this time, though. As Tomoko dominated, Mio was lying in wait, ready to grab her opportunity, and when she did, she bundled Watanabe up for the three.
This was a fantastic ending to Mio’s trial series, as it wrapped the whole thing up in a bow and sent her off to Korakuen, having conquered the issues that have plagued her in recent months. I’ve long believed that Momono’s first title win should come against Takumi, and I still think that’s the ideal, but fuck it, she’s ready. Not for the first time in her career, she’s proving herself to be one of the best wrestlers in the world, and it’s time to pull that trigger. Go, Mio, go!
Verdict: A Fitting Conclusion
Overall Show
Marvelous’s second show of the weekend matched, if not bettered, the first. We had a great veteran vs rookie battle, a couple of fun tags and another outstanding Mio Momono performance. It’s such a joy to watch her wrestle right now, and whatever happens at Korakuen, I’m willing to bet it will be a hell of a match. We’ll find out soon enough! They’ve only got one more show (on the 26th of April), and then we’re there.
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows and you can buy access to live streams here.