By: Jeff Brown

Photos: Actwres girl’Z

AWG was at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring (Jan. 24) with the AWG Title on the line with Natsuki defending against the young upstart Anri. In the semi-main, it was a preview of the upcoming King of Entertainment match as champion Mari and ACT faced off against the challengers Haruka Ishikawa and Kyoka Iwai. The ever-exciting Actress 5 were in action in the undercard, and newer faces such as Erisa Nagai and Yukina Uehara got some more ring time.

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The following are some impressions from that evening at 1st Ring.

Naru vs. Yui Tensho

Yui is beginning to use her strength and size advantage more in matches; she is adding in more power fighter moves to her repertoire.

Naru targeted the leg of Yui to try and take away her vertical base. Yui got a near fall with her Michinoku Driver, and the crowd perked up. She then landed a mean lariat that Naru barely kicked out of (the patented Actress kick out that is beyond even a 2.9 count). Naru fires up and hits her always impressive missile dropkick and grabs a crucifix bomb to get the victory. Yui already had a huge persona, and now her in-ring is quickly catching up, which was just a matter of getting experience.

A fine way to open the show.

Marino Saihara & Sakura Mizushima vs. Erisa Nagai & Riko Fukunaga

The Actress 5 are becoming integral components of these shows and are setting the tone of each event.

Marino really had a veteran presence as she calmly initiated a strike exchange with Erisa; it was a glimpse of the ring general she is likely to become. Riko is expanding her submission game while getting more confident with her hard kicks. Marino tried to one-arm powerbomb her and got trapped in a hanging guillotine. Mizushima shines when tagged in and never disappoints; she is also expanding her submission skills. Erisa is another roster member who is quickly adding moves and having more well-rounded matches as a result.

Mizushima caught Erisa with a Northern Lights suplex for the 3 count. Marino took a step forward in this match.

Ayano Irie & MARU vs. Nagisa Shiotsuki & Yukina Uehara

Ayano, right out of the gate, dominates the rookie Uehara, and Maru furthers that treatment when tagged in.

Both are great for her to learn from (in and out of the ring). Just as Uehara gained an advantage, Ayano slid the chain in for Maru, but the rookie quickly fought back with an axe kick to the top of the head. Nagisa joins in, and they double-team with chops and kicks. Things settle down to Ayano and Nagisa, who have a good rivalry developing. Ayano, with an Olympic slam, pins Nagisa.

Very good match in the middle of the show.

ACT & Mari vs. Haruka Ishikawa & Kyoka Iwai

This was a spectacle and a must-see performance from Ishikawa.

ACT and Mari get jumped, and Ishikawa is all over Mari like a person possessed. Mari eventually gets control and tags in ACT, who uses the umbrella against Kyoka. At this point the match erupts into chaos; Ishikawa does a sitting senton to the floor, and a big melee ensues over Shinkiba. ACT ended up tied to Maru, who interfered (eventually carrying Maru into the ring on her shoulders), while Kyoka mangled the umbrella as she hit everything that moved.

No chairs were safe as everyone was getting tossed into the crowd, just a high-energy brawl. 

Back in the ring, Ishikawa did not relent as she hit a 2nd rope backdrop on Mari before she wildly knocked referee Banny out of the ring. This resulted in a rare disqualification in AWG and was a career-defining performance from Ishikawa just before her title shot against Mari. Kyoka tapped into that raw emotion that she is so good at portraying in theater productions, and even in ARG, she and Ishikawa made a wicked tag team.

Natsuki vs. Anri – AWG Title Points Match

The main event began with lots of brutal kicks from both Natsuki and Anri. It’s not only impressive that Anri is already in this spot so early into her career, but she is excelling too. Some very nice groundwork as Natsuki gets a single-leg crab. Anri countering and searching for submissions is very MMA/UWF shoot style and helps her stand out from the other young talent. Anri starts getting a series of near falls; she lands the 100,000 volts, and Natsuki kicks out.

Now the champion is fired up and displays why she is at the top of the company. Natusuki gets the cutie special and defeats the very determined challengers to retain the AWG belt. It was a fight and another good title defense for Natsuki to have on her resume. 

Post-match, Asako interrupted and wanted to be the next challenger; everyone laughed, but no word has been said if her challenge will be accepted.

The first title match of the year was a strong one, and the undercard saw an amazing transformation from Ishikawa. Up and down the card, talent showed signs of advancing, which is something that can be gradual and not expected to be overnight. The Actress 5 are becoming the defining pieces of this new era of AWG, and 2025 is looking to be a good bounce back for the company overall. 

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