By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Kitsune Women’s Wrestling “Kanpai”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
March 24, 2024 in Glendale, California at Nocturne Theatre
This show was released on IWTV on Thursday. Glendale is on the north side of Los Angeles. This show features a LOT of female competitors from Japan’s Marvelous promotion. Of the 30 women on this show, 13 competed the night before for West Coast Pro Wrestling in San Francisco, roughly six hours north of here.
* I’m intrigued by this room, as it feels like a place you would see a play “in the round,” so it’s actually pretty ideal for a pro wrestling show. Lighting is below-average, especially from the hard camera; the ringside camera is much better. This is a small room and attendance is maybe 200; this room has five rows of stadium seating, and the front row is probably a bit too close to the ring. This might be the shortest ring I’ve ever seen; it’s maybe a foot off the ground. Veda Scott and Aria Perkins (wife of TJP) provided commentary. Aria’s mic is nearly inaudible as the show started but they got it worked out quickly. (I’m really glad the knowledgeable Veda is on the call; she knows so much about the women’s wrestling scene.)
1. J-Rod defeated Aspyn Rose, Mylo, and Mazzerati in a four-way at 5:25. I’ve seen the tall, athletic J-Rod in the Chicago-area indies. Mazzerati is a frequent wrestler in the Las Vegas scene; she always reminds me of Kiera Hogan. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Rose before; she has pink and blue streaks in her hair. J-Rod showed off her strength by hitting some bodyslams early on. Mazzerati tied up Rose’s hair in the ropes. She hit some hard chops on J-Rod; J-Rod fired back with her own hard chops at 4:00. Mylo hit a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. Mazzerati hit an axe kick. J-Rod hit a spear for the pin; an awkward finish as the ref stopped counting, unaware that was the finish. Okay action and too bad about the awkward ending.
2. Queen Aminata defeated Sandra Moone at 8:58. These two were on the opposite teams in a six-man tag a night earlier. Aminata grounded Moone early on. Moone hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 1:30. They brawled on the floor and Aminata hit a LOUD chop. In the ring, Moone hit a clothesline to the back of the head for a nearfall at 4:00. She hit a mule kick for a nearfall. Aminata hooked a leg and hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 5:30. They traded forearm strikes and chops. Aminata hit a German Suplex and a running buttbump in the corner, then a Facewash. Moone got a backslide for a nearfall, then a Blue Thunder Bomb at 8:30, but Aminata reached the ropes. Aminata dropped Moone with a headbutt and pinned her! Good action.
3. Amazona, Brooke Havok, and Zyra defeated Karisma, Kitsune, and Lady Apache at 8:41. I’ve seen Mexican star Lady Apache a few times. I don’t think I’ve seen Baronessa or Zyra before. Zyra is Latina and has long straight black hair that goes to her rear. Brooke is about to leave to train at the Marvelous dojo in Japan for three months. The onscreen graphic read “Baronessa” but Veda said it is “Amazona” as a last-minute replacement; she is a bit bigger and wears a mask and has long reddish hair. Ktsune is more slender and also wears a mask. Apache came out last and got a hero’s welcome.
Karisma (no mask) opened against Zyra, and Karisma hit a huracarana. Kitsune entered and hit a huracanrana on Havok. Amazona entered and hit some stomps on Kitsune. Amazona hit an Angel’s Wings faceplant at 3:30. Apache entered for the first time and battled Amazona, and she hit a crossbody block for a nearfall. Everyone fought in the ring. Amazona’s team took turns hitting Apache in the corner. Karisma hit a huracanrana. Kitsune hit a dive through the ropes onto two opponents at 8:00. In the ring, Karisma hit a faceplant on Havok. Havok rolled up Karisma, put her feet on the ropes for leverage, and scored the pin. I gotta be honest, this match was a mess. I’m going to (hopefully) attribute it to Amazona being a last-minute replacement and them not all being on the same page of what they wanted to do here. They did NOT meet my expectations.
4. Sadie Gibbs and Tomoko Watanbe defeated Heidi Howitzer and Ruby Raze at 8:57. Gibbs was an AEW original pre-pandemic and she really impressed me in her match at WCPW a night earlier. With her light blue hair, she is looking a LOT like Tegan Nox. Watanabe is 52 and visibly older. Howitzer has her scary look and face paint. I don’t recall seeing Raze before, and she reminds me of Nyla Rose; just a bigger and thicker person. Heidi immediately hit some hard chops on Sadie. Gibbs hit a huracanrana. Ruby and Watanabe entered at 2:00; I noted this in my WCPW review, but Watanabe actually competed at the 1995 WWF Survivor Series on Bertha Faye’s team in a battle against Alundra “Madusa” Blayze’s team! They traded shoulder tackles and clotheslines and neither went down.
All four brawled to the floor. “Please do not chop the fans!” Veda said as the action went up the staircase, then back to ringside. Sadie hit a top rope dive to the floor on the heels at 7:00. In the ring, Gibbs hit a forward Finlay Roll, then a moonsault for a nearfall. Tomoko hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. This confused ref is the same ref from the sloppy finish to the first match. Watanabe hit a slam on Heidi for the pin. Decent again, and Gibbs again was the standout.
5. Jordynne Grace defeated Yuu at 6:37. Grace was apparently a last-minute addition to this show, which is a great pick-up. I compared Yuu’s size and build to Piper Niven; she’s listed online at 5’2″ and 242 pound. An intense lockup and they fought against the ropes. Neither went down on shoulder tacke attempts. Yuu finally dropped her with a shoulder tacke at 2:30, then hit a LOUD chop. Grace couldn’t get a German Suplex. Yuu applied a belly-to-belly bearhug but Grace escaped and hit some clotheslines. Yuu nailed a rolling cannonball into the corner at 5:00, then a frogsplash for a nearfall. Grace jumped on her back and applied a sleeper. Yuu fell backward, but Grace held onto the hold, and Yuu tapped out. Really good for the time given and I wish this had gone longer.
* Intermission was edited out.
6. “Magenta” Maria and Riko Kawahata defeated Jada Stone and Zara Zakher at 14:40. I’ve seen Stone a few times; she is a short, athletic Black woman with red braids in her long hair. I don’t think I’ve seen Zara before. She is a Black woman and my first thought was “if Shane Taylor was a woman, she would be Zara.” Maria and Riko danced in the ring and they wear identical gear. Stone opened and she shoved Maria (who has more red in her hair), and they traded quick reversals. Riko and Zara entered at 1:30. Stone and Zara hit stereo basement dropkicks and they worked over Riko on the mat. They aren’t cheating but they are cleary the heels. Zara hit a stiff kick to the spine at 3:30. She splashed teammate Jada onto Riko for a nearfall at 5:30.
Maria finally got the hot tag and hit a dropkick on Jada at 7:00. She hit a doublestomp to the stomach for a nearfall. Zara hit a stunner for a nearfall. Maria hit a German Suplex on Zara for a nearfall at 9:30, then a running kick for a nearfall. Maria hit a top-rope missile dropkick for a neafall. Jada and Riko traded forearms and slaps. Stone hit an impressive Northern Lights Suplex, then a faceplant for a nearfall at 12:30. Riko hit a Buzzsaw Kick to the head for a believable nearfall. Magenta hit a team Gory Bomb for a nearfall at 14:00 but Zara made the save. Riko hit a top-rope Moonsault to pin Jada. That was really good. Veda praised the team of Jada and Zara, and I concur.
7. Mio Momono defeated Hyan at 14:49. Mio wore her soft, furry multi-color jacket, and she has blonde hair. They traded mat reversals early, and Yan rolled to the floor to regroup. IN the ring, Mio applied a sleeper and she snapped Hyan’s neck between her ankles at 2:30. Hyan hit a shoulder tackle and a back suplex for a nearfall, and she applied a modified Figure Four Leglock; Mio reached the ropes at 4:30. Mio hit a top-rope crossbody block and a basement dropkick. They traded forearm strikes in the center of the ring.
Hyan hit a spear, a backbreaker over her knee, then a powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall at 11:00. She hit a Road to Valhalla-style faceplant for a believable nearfall. Mio got a rollup and some doublestomps to the stomach for a nearfall. Mio went for a Code Blue but it was blocked. They traded more rollups. Mio hit a running kick for a nearfall, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. Mio then hit the Code Blue for the pin. That was really good, too. They hugged afterward.
8. Masha Slamovich and Takumi Iroha defeated Marina Shafir and Trish Adora at 13:28. Marina wasn’t at the WCPW show so I’m glad she was able to participate here. A day earlier, Iroha and Adora were teammates, with Masha on the other team in a six-woman tag. Marina and Masha opened with an intense lockup on the mat; these two will meet in Philadelphia over Mania weekend. Trish and Iroha entered at 1:30 and Trish dropped her with a shoulder tackle, and she cranked on Iroha’s arms. Masha and Iroha hit suplexes on their opponents at 4:00. Masha it a running penalty kick to Trish’s chest. Trish hit a running crossbody block and a snap suplex for a nearfall at 5:30.
Marina entered and hit a bodyslam on Masha, then some Yes Kicks to Masha’s chest and a basement dropkick in the corner. Masha hit a kneestrike and a Helluva Kick in the corner, then a rolling kick for a nearfall at 7:30. Iroha tagged back in and traded kicks with Marina. Marina hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Marina hit a clothesline to the back of the head and they were both down at 9:00. Masha and Trish both tagged back in and they traded rollups, and Masha applied a rear-naked choke. Trish hit a senton for a nearfall at 10:30.
Masha went for a crossbody block but Trish blocked it. Marina hit a running knee to Masha’s chest, and Adora made the cover for a nearfall. Masha and Iroha hit stereo superkicks. Adora hit a Bubba Bomb on Masha for a nearfall at 12:30, then a Bulldog Powerslam for a believable nearfall. Masha caught her with a roundhouse kick to the head and the White Knight piledriver for the pin; Iroha held Marina’s ankle so she couldn’t break up the pin. I really enjoyed that, too.
9. Unagi Sayaka defeated Janai Kai to retain the Kitsune Women’s Title at 13:04. Kai had her MLW Featherweight Title belt. We had several drummers appear in the crowd to play Unagi to the ring, and this was really cool. Unagi had two title belts. Unagi reminds me of Kairi Sane and she has blonde hair with pink streaks. An intense lockup to open and a feeling-out process, and Unagi applied a Stretch Plum on the mat. Kai hit a series of kicks to Unagi’s spine for a nearfall at 3:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Kai applied a Dragon Sleeper. Unagi hit a Mafia Kick at 7:00.
Unagi hit a faceplant and she was fired up. She hit a guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. They got up and traded boots to the chest. Unagi hit a Lungblower to the chest, then a faceplant. Unagi went for a Shellshock but it was blocked. Kai hit a Mafia Kick and they were both down at 10:00. Unagi hit an axe kick, then a sliding forearm for a believable nearfall, then a frogsplash for a nearfall at 12:00. Kai hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall. Kai missed a roundhouse kick to the head as Unagi ducked it, rolled her up and got the pin. Good match. Kai attacked her after the bell and left.
Final Thoughts: The post-intermission matches were all really good. The Masha/Iroha tag was best of the night, and with the intrigue of seeing Masha vs. Marina in a preview of their upcoming singles match, that match probably should have been the headliner. I’ll narrowly give Hyan-Momono second place, ahead of the main event. Of the first half of the show, Yuu-Grace was good but just too short. Gibbs and J-Rod stood out in their matches. The six-woman lucha tag was just off; they just didn’t click on this night.
This show had great action, and always aided by good commentary as both Veda and Aria are knowledgeable. However, the aesthetics of the taping weren’t great. The lighting was not good, and even the ringside camera came off feeling unfocused at times. The action was great; the quality of the viewing of the action was not “great.” I whole-heartedly recommend this show if you want to see some of the best of the best of U.S. women against some Japanese stars. But that recommendation comes with the caveat at the viewing experience could have been better.
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