Marvelous Yokohama (26/3/23) Review
Magenta Try To Redeem Themselves
Front Matter
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As March drew to a close, Marvelous headed to Yokohama for a show headlined by two intriguing tag matches. To begin with, the tag champs were on the same side for the first time since October, so it was time to find out if they’ve still got it. Then, Magenta had an opportunity to redeem themselves after having their arses handed to them by Takumi Iroha last time out. Would they succeed? Let’s find out.
Leo Isaka defeated Takumi Saito
Takumi Saito has a limited Cagematch page that claims he hasn’t wrestled since he was last on a Marvelous show in October. I’d take that with a pinch of salt, as plenty of smaller companies slip under their radar, but I guess there is a chance he’s been injured. Either way, he’s a tall young lad who towered over Leo.
He also packs a mighty slap. This match was chugging along fairly unremarkably, but then Saito started delivering a series of vicious slaps to Isaka’s chest. They not only woke Leo up (at one point, he ran away to hug a pillar) but also the fans, some of whom let out audible yelps of horror. With the Marvelous audience leaning towards middle-aged women who grew up adoring Chig, there’s always been a motherly energy in their support of the roster’s token male, something Saito capitalised on by being really mean to him.
From there, this picked up nicely as Leo slotted into his preferred role of wrestling from underneath, even as his chest started to turn all sorts of unpleasant colours. Saito was also impressive, overpowering Isaka and playing the bully role nicely. They weren’t doing anything particularly complex, but as the reaction to those slaps proved, complexity isn’t essential. If you find something that the crowd respond to, you can ride that to success, and that’s exactly what they did.
Verdict: Ouch!
Unagi Sayaka defeated Ai Houzan
I’ve spent recent Marvelous reviews complaining about Unagi trying too hard to be a ‘serious’ wrestler and losing some of what makes her special by doing so. That would perhaps lead you to believe that her big leaguing Ai, no-selling moves and going full veteran putting a rookie through their paces would annoy me. However, I am nothing if not inconsistent, and while there was a sense of Unagi playing a role she hadn’t entirely earned in this match, I still enjoyed it.
Admittedly, a lot of that was down to Ai, as she was at her pest best. Before the bell even rang, she was on Unagi, firing away at her with forearms and dropkicks, refusing to give her a second to relax. So far, so Houzan, that’s what she does, but what I particularly enjoyed was the way that performance altered as they went on. Ai was still giving everything she had, throwing headbutts and screaming defiance, but the deeper into the match we went, the less her body could do. Unagi just had to sit back, wait for her to tire herself out, and put her away.
It wasn’t all Ai, though. I was pleasantly surprised by Unagi here, as she did have a little bit of that veteran gravitas. It’s still not the role I think she’s best at (she just doesn’t have the wrestling chops to make it truly effective), but when combined with Ai’s relentless enthusiasm, it worked. It also set up Chigusa offering to take Unagi under her wing in the aftermath, so I’m intrigued to see where that goes. Chig has obviously taken a liking to her (she spent the first two matches of this show with Unagi’s dinosaur pal, Stefan, on her back), and if Unagi’s going to learn from anyone, it should probably be the best.
Verdict; Ai Was Great, And Unagi Wasn’t Bad Either
Takumi Iroha & Chikayo Nagashima defeated COLORS (Rina Amikura & HIkari Shimizu)
Rina Amikura is right next to Unagi on Chigusa’s list of favourites, as Nagayo started booing Takumi for kicking her when they were mid-hoss off. She even invited Amin to come out and shoulder tackle her, selling it by stumbling all the way to the back. If she can figure out a few jokes at the expense of Tomoko, she’ll have a spot in Marvelous for life.
And that was just a fraction of the chaos that was this match. At one point, Chikayo was beating people with an umbrella, forcing Takumi to step in and snap it in half to stop her, only to then realise that it belonged to a fan, a mistake that I assume led to a few grovelling apologies afterwards. More importantly, though, the wrestling was really fun. Not only was Amin hossing all over the place, but we had Takumi teaching Hikari that she’s not the only one who can kick, teeing off on her with some stiff blows. I don’t think I would have pegged these two teams as natural foes, but it was one of those matches where everything clicked, and the whole thing flew by in a blast of action.
It also continued the trend of the COLORS being a fantastic addition to Marvelous whenever they turn up. They understand what this promotion’s midcard is all about, bringing comic chops while also holding their own when it’s time to start wrestling. Considering this was a match against the tag champs, who were basically guaranteed to win, Amin and Hikari managed to not only keep up but got me wondering if they could pull off an upset. That’s a hell of an achievement, and one suspects we’ll continue to see plenty of them going forward.
Verdict: Hoss, Amin, Hoss!
Mio Momono & Tomoko Watanabe defeated Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata)
There was a sense of desperation in the main event. Coming off being schooled in a three-way by Takumi at the last show, Magenta were out to redeem themselves, hoping to prove they are worthy of a shot at those tag titles. They were constantly looking to get the win, using their experience as a pairing to try and sneak one over their more seasoned opponents.
The problem is that they were coming up against a Mio who is also desperate to impress. She’s been thrown across the ring, dropped on her head and generally had the shit kicked out of her for weeks now as part of her trial series, and there was a sense in this match that she’d had enough. I’m not going to go as far as claiming she carried the team, Tomoko isn’t someone who needs that, but she brought a hell of a lot of movement, flying around the place and getting involved in every moment. I have said it a lot recently, but she is in sublime form, and it’s a damn pleasure to watch her wrestle.
It culminated with an incredible closing stretch between Mio and Maria, as those two always have magical chemistry. They’re incapable of keeping things lowkey as they escalate from pulling hair to laying into every strike and twisting each other up. That third act was a frantic sprint to the finish, Riko and Tomoko nipping in and out to provide aid, but with Momono and Maria hogging the limelight as the momentum swung wildly between them, neither willing to budge. It would take Mio locking in a sick-looking stretch muffler variation to break the deadlock (Chigusa seemed to call it Golden Gate Bridge), as with her arms trapped, Maria had no choice but to submit.
That was a hell of a main event, and if you’re not watching Mio Momono matches right now, then you really need to sort that out.
Verdict: Mio Delivers Again
Overall Show
Of all the recent Marvelous shows, this is probably the one you could skip. There were no must-see matches, and it did feel a bit like them going on the road (even if it was the relatively short trip to Yokohama). However, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth a watch. Everything on this show delivered something worth seeing, and the last two matches were really good. This roster is firing on all cylinders right now, and they’re rarely going to let you down.
Marvelous have a Nico channel where you can watch older shows and you can buy access to live streams here.