Sendai Girls Big Show In Sendai (15/1/22) Review
Sendai Girls' First Big Show Of The Year
Front Matter
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Sendai Girls had a weird 2022. You’d think Meiko Satomura choosing to wrestle in a warehouse somewhere in England against the likes of Isla Dawn would have hurt the company, but if anything, having her out of the picture seems to have freshened things up a bit. A lot of the familiar booking issues are still there, with Big Hash spending most of the year being as dominant as ever, but with her dropping the belt to ASUKA in December, they’re coming into 2023 with the potential to do something a little bit different. Will they grasp it? Well, this was their first Big Show of the year, so let’s find out.
Amazon & Sakura Hirota defeated Gabai Ji-chan & Aiger
Technically our opener was three matches. Amazon won the first in a matter of seconds by lariating Ji-chan out of his orthopaedic shoes, only for Aiger to return the favour to Hirota. They did eventually get going with a match that passed the one-minute mark, but that only gave Amazon time to grow incredibly frustrated at being grouped with these nonsense merchants.
Most of that frustration was directed towards Ji-chan as she battled the temptation to murder that infuriating old man. At one point, he took so long to run the ropes that she made moves to attack him mid-stride, only for Hirota to step in and suggest they should probably leave him to it. It was all solid fish out of water material that they mined successfully for giggles.
And before watching this, I saw someone on Twitter describe it as the worst match of the year so far, a take I can’t get behind. It’s certainly not one of the great Hirota nonsense outings as (outside of Amazon’s involvement) it mainly hit familiar beats. However, unless you have zero patience for comedy in wrestling, I don’t understand how you could take against it. It was solid fluffy fun, and I had a good time.
Verdict: A Fun Diversion
Jaguar Yakota, Aja Kong & Kyoku Inoue defeated Saori Anou, Miyuki Takase & Ayame Sasamura
The legends trio in this match have been wrestling for a combined 115 years, a mere 97 more than their opponents. It’s safe to say they know what they’re doing.
And not to get too bogged down in what imaginary people on Twitter have to say, but this is the kind of match destined to infuriate a certain section of the fanbase. You had a group of incredibly talented young wrestlers going up against some ageing legends, and, of course, they lost. Insert rant about holding back the next generation here. However, as usual, they’d be missing the point. First of all, you can bet there were a fair few fans in that room who had paid money to see those legends (the crowd reaction would suggest that was the case) and secondly, they all still fucking rule. How can you watch Jag go head-to-head with Takase and get anything other than excited? She’s 61 and still better than 95% of wrestlers.
On top of all that, I feel fairly confident in predicting that being pinned by Aja Kong isn’t about to derail Ayame Sasamura’s entire career. If I’m wrong, feel free to throw these words back in my face. However, if anything, the defiance the younger trio showed is much more likely to be remembered. Plus, it was fun. Aja, Kyoku and Jag were obviously in the mood to perform, and the youngsters did a great job of feeding themselves to them, setting up all those crowd-pleasing moments. It’s one of those matches you shouldn’t overthink, as it’s much better to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Verdict: Crushing Careers For Years
Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jun Kasai defeated Mayumi Ozaki & Takashi Sasaki
Early in this match, there was a moment that stuck with me, not because it was anything incredible, but because of how normal it seemed. It saw Jun Kasai get whipped towards Hiroyo in the corner, at which point she casually swept him up, deposited him on the top rope and then hit a sidewalk slam to put Sasaki in place for a double stomp. Now, I watch a lot of intergender wrestling, to the point where if the match doesn’t draw attention to it for story purposes, I basically forget that it’s not the norm. However, it’s fair to say that it is still unusual to see the woman involved presented as the more powerful wrestler. Don’t get me wrong, they get chances to shine, but unless they’re Aka Kong, they’re unlikely to be the hoss. At that moment, Matsumoto was the strongest person in the ring, and I thought that was pretty cool.
Outside of that, this had much in common with the last match. There weren’t any stakes here, but everyone involved was in the mood to have a good time. Although, in saying that, they perhaps went harder than they had to. I’m not sure Kasai knows how to take it easy, as he was diving from the top to the outside to send Sasaki through a table. Plus, you got all the usual Ozaki chain shenanigans, including hanging Hiroyo over the side of the ring, and who doesn’t enjoy that?
Much like the last match, it was fun but inessential. However, with four great wrestlers in there, who could put an entertaining fifteen minutes together in their sleep, you’ll never regret giving it your time. If nothing else, you can laugh at the fact that one of the prizes for winning was some dentistry treatment, something I’m sure Kasai and his few remaining teeth will find very useful.
Verdict: Solid Fun
Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) defeated Ryo Mizunami & Unagi Sayaka
There were two quite distinct elements in play here. The first was the straightforward but enjoyable sight of Aniki bashing into Team 200kg. It was simple stuff, but also exactly what you want from those three, as they played human conkers and laid down some heavy chops. They mixed in some comedy, so it wasn’t full-blown warfare, but that only added to my enjoyment. They’re three people with tonnes of personality, so let them show it.
The other side was, however, probably the more intriguing part, as the fly in the ointment, Unagi Sayaka, was also there to make her presence known. Even Mizunami didn’t seem particularly confident in her partner, and it is fair to say she was out-muscled in this match. Don’t get me wrong, she tries really hard, and she’s good in that underdog role, but Unagi is not winning a fight with either Big Hash or Yuu, and even with Aniki there to provide backup, you never really bought into the idea that you could win. It was always ending with Team 200kg eating her for dinner.
It all made for an entertaining outing, but despite saying that I enjoyed the comedy (and I did), it would have been nice to get something with a little more edge in this spot. The undercard on this show all felt a bit weightless, as there were no stakes to any of these matches. I’m a lover of the silly, so I’m not going to complain too much, but something that felt less like a foregone conclusion would have gone down well here.
Verdict: Fun, But Lacking An Edge
ASUKA defeated Mika Iwata to retain the Sendai Girls Title
Ah, there’s that edge. It didn’t take long for this match to show what had been missing, as Iwata’s foot cracked into the side of ASUKA’s head, only for the champ to return with a vicious-looking Dragon Screw in the ropes. If everything else had felt a tad too light-hearted and throwaway, ASUKA and Iwata were ready to bring the weight, laying into each other from the beginning.
And the dynamic here was simple, ASUKA as the cocky champ and Iwata desperate to finally get over that line. Now, the fact that she continued to fail to do so could be seen as an issue, but it’s Sendai, and that’s what they do, so I don’t see any point in going over old ground. Because while you can question where Iwata is going in the future, you can’t doubt her performance here, as she was pure bristling violence, throwing everything she had at ASUKA. It was a short match, but it made perfect sense because it all looked like it hurt, be it an ASUKA Liger Bomb or a slap across the face.
However, as brilliant as Iwata was, the story here was that ASUKA was simply better, and there was a good reason for that. Both these wrestlers rule but putting a title around ASUKA’s waist feels right. She drips with arrogance, dropping into squats as Iwata sold on the outside and matching her blow for blow. In the end, her victory was dominant, dropping Iwata on her head with aplomb, and that’s how it should be. ASUKA should beat people easily because she’s ASUKA.
The whole thing was a perfect example of less being more, as this was a violent thirteen-minute blast where they kicked the shit out of each other. You could have stretched it out for longer, and I’ve no doubt these two could fill the time, but why would you? It played to their strengths and made for a wild ride. If this sets the tone for ASUKA’s title reign, we’re in for a lovely time.
Verdict: Things Got Serious
Overall Show
It’s weird. I enjoyed everything on that show but still came away feeling like the undercard was missing something. All the matches were fun, and you won’t regret watching them, but at the same time, you don’t need to give them your full attention. You should save that for the main event, which, unsurprisingly, ruled. I’m even going to let myself believe it’s part of a story where Iwata will come back and eventually take the belt off ASUKA, removing the issues I did have with it. Let’s be honest, it probably won’t happen, but one can dream.