By: Jeff Brown

Photos courtesy of Actwres girl’Z

AWG was at 176Box in Osaka for another installment of ACTwrestling. Mizushima and Rico main-evented against Nene Arahata and MARU, Rio had a singles match, Marino was in a war of body and mind against the Great Asako, rookies ANRI and Erisa were tested by elite talent in Ayano and Mari, and Midsummer Sea Breeze (Manatsu no Shiokaze) were up against members of the Asako Army. Here are some impressions from action in Osaka.

To see this and more, go to AWG Nets, which you can subscribe to here for roughly 1,000 yen a month, or you can opt for the YouTube membership. Speaking of YouTube, you can see a recap of the show narrated by the King of Entertainment herself, Sakura Mishushima.

ACT vs. Rio

The Osaka debut of Rio, and it’s against her tag partner from Korakuen Hall, ACT. This is part of the magic of AWG; Rio already feels like a member of the roster in her second match.

A very simple match that highlighted the strengths of Rio, and that’s another part of the magic of AWG: the veterans like ACT find a way to balance pushing the rookies while focusing on the things they excel at. The legend ACT is by no means small, but she was dwarfed by the powerhouse Rio, who attempted to bulldoze ACT with multiple shoulder blocks. ACT stood her ground and handed out some mean lariats.

The match was relatively short but was a hard-hitting, unrefined hoss battle in the vein of Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. The fact that ACT so easily hoisted up Rio for the ACT Stampede is a testament to the underrated strength of that samurai. ACT picked up the pin but got knocked around for sure. Six months to a year from now, Rio will be a force to reckon with. 

Afterwards, ACT said she would need to see more tag matches before making her decision on the exact participants of the ACT Games, so stay tuned. The established teams, such as Midsummer Sea Breeze or Amatresu, are odds-on favorites if they enter the tournament. 

Ayano Irie & Mari vs. Anri & Erisa Nagai

ANRI and Erisa are breakout talents from 2024, and either one would be a great pick for rookie of the year. Ayano is so smooth and confident in the ring; hopefully the upcoming ACT Games are a chance for her to really shine. When talking about the unique magic of AWG, simply put, other promotions don’t have that magic because they don’t have Mari. There is not another performer going in 2025 that can provide everything Mari does for a roster, in the ring and behind the scenes; it would take 2-3 individuals (or more) to match her.

After showing a lot of heart, the rookies were ultimately overwhelmed by the merciless duo from the Killer’Z. Mari contorted Anri in a brutal submission to get the tap-out victory.

Nagisa Shiotsuki & Natsuki vs. Chii Aoba & Yukina Uehara

Midsummer Sea Breeze came out slapping hands of everyone at ringside (even Togi) and wanted to remind everyone they are the top babyface team of ACTwrestling. However, the Asako Army are not pushovers, especially the underrated Chii and the super rookie Uehara.

Natsuki focusing on tagging really benefits Nagisa, who really comes out of her shell in these settings. Tag team wrestling is a hallmark of AWG, and this was a fantastic performance from all four competitors. Nagsia had the thunderous chops, Uehara answered back with her natural athleticism, Natsuki had wicked kicks, and Chii had her cattle mutilation and power slam as highlights. Near the end Chii put up a great fight against Natsuki; there were a lot of big saves and near-falls, as expected. Natsuki lands the Cutie Special and gets the hard-fought victory. 

Midsummer Sea Breeze always delivers. Highly recommended. 

Marino Saihara vs. The Great Asako (Hamburger Deathmatch)

Stemming from the pre-show attack with a hamburger purse, Marino had partial face paint that resembled an infection spreading. Being that Marino is a big comic book fan, it would be safe to say this was influenced by the characters Carnage and Venom from Spider-Man. Both are parasitic aliens that amplify their hosts abilities and strengths, but it’s a double-edged sword, as they also amplify the dark side, and the worst aspects of a person become dominant traits.

It’s an Asako match, so it’s simultaneously genius while also making zero sense when trying to explain it or find logic. How a hamburger caused all this is something only Asako could understand.

This became a nasty fight with lots of biting, and Marino brawled outside the ring in a way never seen before. Asako is often underestimated by her opponents and ends up posing more of a challenge than expected because she refuses to stay down. Marino applies the crossface chickenwing, and the referee calls for the bell. Marino won the match but had to survive entering Asako’s world to do it.

MARU & Nene Arahata vs. Rico Fukunaga & Sakura Mizushima

The eternal battle between the Killer’Z and Actwres5 continued in the main event as Rico and Mizushima faced MARU and Nene. As a pure babyface, Mizushima is at her best when she’s against dastardly heels who force her to fight back. When Mizushima starts growling and slapping the mat in anger, that’s when a match is getting really good, and that is exactly what the vicious Nene and MARU did here.

Using double-teaming, the ever-present chain, and even Asako, the Killer’Z put a beating on Mizushima and Rico. Rico has so much more confidence with her kicks now. Maru dumped water on Mizushima before landing the double foot stomp and getting the win. Post-match, Mizushima and Rico were unhappy as they closed out the show.

Overall, this show delivered and is setting up some nice feuds as spring is underway. It was everything AWG does well, be it the opener with the legend vs. a rookie, the series of tag matches that are AWG’s specialty, or the Asako lunacy. Mizushima finds herself fighting on two fronts with Maru and Asako, as she learns how much of a target is on her back as a champion. The Killer’Z dominated the show and proved that good guys don’t always win.

The show was roughly an hour and 40 minutes, which makes for a fun and easy evening viewing.