Should we rename SENJO THE BIGGEST to SENJO THE BEST?
With a blend of youth showcases and stirring championship matches, the summer blockbuster event rocked. From Reina Takano’s eye-catching debut to Chihiro Hashimoto fighting off her latest challenger, Sendai Girls flexed its muscles in a major way.
SENJO THE BIGGEST, like its name suggests, is the promotion’s biggest show this year.
It sure felt like that. All three titles were defended, Sendai Girls brought in some prominent outside talent (welcome back, VENY!), and the company packed a card with everything it had.
Not everything worked. Some of Senjo’s booking choices were head-scratchers for sure. And man were there too many men in the mix for my taste.
Still, Sendai Girls produced one of the best joshi shows of the year and gave us plenty to talk about. So, let’s get talking. Read on for a breakdown of all the matches, from the opener to the Sendai Girls World Championship war between Hashimoto and VENY.
Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yura Suzuki vs. Ryo Mizunami & Saori Anou
A surprisingly short showdown between two intriguing teams.
Ryo and Saori is a fun “fire and ice” combo with the rowdy Mizunami a stark contrast to Anou’s stoicism. On the other side, we got the longtime vet Matsumoto pairing with a much younger up-and-comer. These are both pairings I’d love to see again.
After Mizunami and Anou’s early control, there was solid back-and-forth between the teams. The bout mostly centered on Mizunami’s antics. That included Aniki giving poor Suzuki a century’s worth of chops in the corner.
The action didn’t last much longer after that as the bout wrapped up before either duo could really get cooking. Largely forgettable fare despite the names involved.
Rating: 5/10
Saya Iida vs. Manami
STARDOM’s Saya Iida is back in Sendai Girls and we love to see it.
This had a fast, energetic start with both women charging at each other. Manami hit a beautiful high dropkick. Iida fired back with a picture-perfect elbow drop. Saya’s power eventually led her to take control and start grinding down Manami with various holds.
The heart of the match was the aggression and frustration pouring out of Manami. Saya overpowered her for most of the bout, and Manami had to fight hard to stay with her foe.
Like the opener, this wasn’t long but was packed with action and emotion. It felt like a true struggle, one that leaves the door wide open for a rematch.
Rating: 7/10
Miku Kanae & Aja Kong vs. Reina Takano & YUNA
The debuting Takano hopped right into the action and got a taste of Miku Kanae’s technical skill. Kanae twisted the poor rookie into various shapes. Takano responded with some nifty moves and an absolutely captivating ferocity. She was a crazed animal out there and it was a joy to watch.
YUNA had some good moments, especially when she was battling back against Kong. Kanae’s offense was crisp. Kong did her usual shtick well. But the story of this match was Takano and how electric everything she did was.
Her emotion filled the arena. Her offense burned with fury. No wonder the crowd chanted so loudly for her. I was bought in right away, too.
Sendai has a rookie to keep your eyes on.
Rating: 7.75/10
Super Sasadango Machine vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
A rare men’s match on a Senjo card. The third Sendai Girls appearance for Mr. Machine.
Sasadango gave a slideshow presentation about himself and Sekimoto. I missed a ton of what he was saying thanks to my super minimal Japanese language skills, but there was something about a food YouTuber, a photo of Mika Iwata holding Chihiro Hashimoto, and some of the more famous hoss gaijins to come to Japan. After this and his performance at Grand Princess, I’m not convinced at all that a PowerPoint is the right way to get a crowd primed for a wrestling match.
Once the actual wrestling began, this was a tale of two brutes pounding on each other. Lots of strikes and grunting. Two aging bulls bashing their horns together.
There was some dashes of comedy in there, too, like Sekimoto hitting Sasadango so hard with a lariat that his mask fell off.
A short, okay match, but I was zero percent invested. It’s just such a random addition to the card, and I don’t get the appeal of this Sasadango fellow.
Rating: 4/10
Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Stephanie Maze & Safire Reed & Anita Vaughan vs. SAIRA & Unagi Sayaka & Jaguar Yokota & Senjo Daikannon
Kuroshio teamed with a trio of foreigners against a motley mix including the rookie SAIRA, a ghost (?) in Saikannon, freelancer extraordinaire Unagi, and the legendary Jaguar Yokota.
The Europeans fought well together, displaying some smooth teamwork. They were clearly having fun as they worked over SAIRA.
After some funny moments with Unagi’s rubber band, SAIRA showed off her athleticism, Jaguar just started slugging people, and Daikannon apparently used the force to catch Kuroshio.
A fine midcard bit of silliness. Half a point off for Kuroshio’s overly long entrance.
Rating: 4.5/10
Senka Akatsuki (c) vs. Spike Nishimura (Sendai GIrls Junior Championship)
The title match started with plenty of aggression as the two young stars went right after each other.
Senka stayed in control early on, and the action remained tense. We got a solid strike exchange and Akatsuki lariating the challenger over the top rope. Nishimura drove Senka’s head into the canvas with a modified body slam that was plain nasty.
Despite the solid chemistry between them, this bout did lose some steam near the end. Spike and Senka flubbed a Gory Special spot the first time and had to redo it. And overall, there seemed to be less juice in those final moments than we saw in the opening moments.
As much as I’d like to see Senka’s reign keep going, it makes total sense to pass the belt over to Spike. An outsider was never going to be champ long-term and Sendai Girls is going to want to see what it has in Spike.
Rating: 7.25/10
Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (c) vs. Yurika Oka & Mio Momono (Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship)
Former tag champs Bob Bob Momo Banana had a chance here to reclaim the gold from Red Energy. Iwata and Takase, however, weren’t going to fool around with these spritely foes. Moments into the match, the champs were laying boots into Oka and Momono.
This was a fast-paced contest with Iwata and Takase tagging in and out, piling on the offense.
There’s a moment where Oka snaps and things get wild. She slaps Takase and is suddenly atop her, a swirl of strikes. There’s an added hostility following this, and the match gets more intense as a result. It ends up being exactly the type of title bout you’d expect from these two teams, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Hard-hitting. Dynamic. Brimming with moxie. That sequence where Oka tries roll-up after roll-up had me locked in!
Sendai Girls tag division remains undefeated.
Rating: 8.5/10
Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs. VENY (Sendai Girls World Championship)
Two masters of their craft thriving under the heat of the spotlight. Wow.
This was an expertly paced championship match that began with tight mat wrestling and ended with each wrestler just throwing bombs. It had savage strikes, great facial expressions from both champ and challenger, and multiple thrilling bursts of action. VENY hitting that wild sideways dive through the ropes was incredible.
Each fighter was pushed to their limit. Each had to endure the other’s best shots. It seemed after multiple misses with the moonsault that all it was going to take was for VENY to land it to win, but nope. Hashimoto would not stay down. She bested the biggest threat to her title yet, and the result was a dramatic work of art.
This immediately vaults itself into the Match of the Year conversation. And Hashimoto’s tremendous year continues. We are watching something special unfold with her.
Syuri showed up after the match and challenged Hashimoto. That great rivalry will roll on. A-freaking-mazing!
Rating: 10/10
I recommend also listening to Scott’s thoughts on the show:
RESURA 