Super Golden is a recurring column highlighting standout performances from joshi wrestlers. It features shining stars from all around the joshi scene—STARDOM, Sendai Girls, and beyond. The nominees could be big names or up-and-comers. Whoever puts their mark on the month.
Quick note: Apologies for the lack of a Super Golden column for September. It was especially busy month in terms of real life and I didn’t watch nearly as much wrestling as usual. I did want to shout out LINA from LLPW-X and Marigold’s Rea Seto who I both saw deliver in big bouts in September. As for October…
Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls)
The Phoenix of Osaka was on fire this month. From hard-hitting tag matches on Sendai Girls shows to a pair of standout elimination bouts, she was a part of October’s top joshi action.
Takase kicked things off with a celebration of her 9th year as a wrestler where she headlined her own produce show. That handicap elimination tag was among my favorite things she’s been a part of this year. Takase teamed up with Mika Iwata and Ryo Mizunami to face Chihiro Hashimoto, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Manami, Spike Nishimura, YUNA and Yurika Oka.
The intense, dramatic showdown was built around Takase. She had no idea if each wrestler entering the fray was friend or foe until they started swinging at someone. She had to overcome the numbers disadvantage. She had a dogfight with Yurika Oka.
A fun showcase for one of my faves.
Red Energy faced Natsupoi and Saori Anou at Sendai Girls’ BIG SHOW. Takase stepped up to the size of the stage here and brought ample energy and intensity to this fight. Not as great as it could have been, but an entertaining showdown nonetheless.
Later in the month, Takase and Iwata headlined the Oct. 24 Senjo show at Shinkiba 1st Ring where they took on Lady Leigh and Spike Nishimura. This was a bout with some rough edges, but it featured some damn good hard-hitting action. Red Energy beat on Spike relentlessly. Takase looked great embracing her sadistic side.
Then Takase and Iwata took on Hashimoto and Oka in a scintillating tag match.
This started with a fierce exchange between Oka and Takase. In the middle, we saw Takase batter Big Hash with chops. The intensity stayed steady throughout. Another banger from Miyuki in a month full of them.
Recommended matches:
Team Senjo vs. Team Takase, freelance – Miyuki Takase Anniversary (10/3)
Miyuki Takase & Mika Iwata vs. Saori Anou & Natsupoi, Sendai Girls – Big Show (10/9)
Miyuki Takase & Mika Iwata vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Yurika Oka, Sendai Girls – SENDAI in Fukuoka (10/17)
Aja Kong (Freelance)
After 40 years of wrestling, Aja Kong remains one of the hardest working women in the business. The powerhouse was all over the place this month, cracking heads in TJPW, Sendai Girls, and Best Body Japan.
She kicked off the month with a six-person tag at Wrestle Princess VII where she joined forces with Kumadori and Sakura Hattori. Not only did she knock in some heads in that bout, she did a dance number with the whole O-MENZ Street Dancing Crew. What an apt representation of who she is now: part ass-kicker, part comic relief.
Kong later teamed up with Lady Leigh & VENY at Sendai Girls BIG SHOW. That marked her appearance in two massive shows in the span of a week.
To close out October, she followed up a three-minute beatdown of ROSE rookie Konomi Hori with a tag team match alongside Yuki Kamifuku against Miu Watanabe and Pom Harajuku at the TJPW show on the 18th.
This was a fun collision, particular the dynamic between Kong and TJPW’s resident shin-kicker. Aja was the spider toying with a fly in her web. She had Pom reeling and blasted her with a chair shot.
Kong’s best action, though, might have been her teaming with Chihiro Hashimoto to take on Hiroyo Matsumoto and Rina Yamashita at VENY’s produce show BLOOM. What a collection of bruisers to put in the ring together. Plenty of hard-hitting action that hits the spot.
Recommended matches:
Aja Kong & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Rina Yamashita, VENY Produce BLOOM (10/16)
Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku vs. Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku, TJPW – Let’s Keep Going, Nanao! Noto! Noto Genki Women’s Pro Wrestling (10/18)
Reina Takano (Sendai Girls)
The Sendai Girls rookie got some added spotlight and did wonders with it. Takano thrived in some of her first singles bouts of her career.
Reina took on Yura Suzuki, Yurika Oka, Sareee, and Miyuki Takase in one-on-one contests. Each of them is well worth carving some time out to see.
Takano vs. Sareee stole the show at Sendai Girls’ Big Show on Oct. 9. One of the finest examples of the “veteran throttling a feisty rookie” subgenre in recent memory. Takano showed so much heart and guts and toughness here.
Sareee looked like a killer while Reina looked like a star in the making.
In Okayama, Takano clashed with Miyuki Takase in a singles bout. This is a prime example of how the rookie jams drama into every minute of her matches. Whether she was firing off forearms strikes or suffering in a submission hold from Takase, Reina’s energy and body language jumped off the screen. How do you make an eight-minute match so good?
Takano vs. Suzuki is an entertaining kick-heavy fight. Takano vs. Oka is taut and intense. These are two very similarly structured matches with the Oka one just hitting harder with everything it does.
You’d be wise to put together a Reina singles watchlist together and find some time to sit down and play through the whole thing.
Recommended matches:
Reina Takano vs. Sareee, Sendai Girls – BIG SHOW (10/9)
Reina Takano vs. Miyuki Takase, Sendai Girls – SENJO 20th Anniversary in Okayama (10/18)
Reina Takano vs. Yurika Oka, Sendai Girls – SENJO 20th Anniversary in Shin-Kiba (10/24)
To Look into the Heart of Fire; Reina Takano
Yuuka Yamazaki (Marigold)
I haven’t watched nearly as much Marigold this year as I have in the past. Blame Marvelous and SEAdLINNNG having strong years as well as some disinterest creeping in with the product. When I do pop in and see what Margiold is up to, I often find myself drawn to what Yamazaki is doing. That happened several times over in October.
On the Battle Heart day show, Yuuka battled Hummingbird in singles action. It was a sneaky good match.
Yamazaki made Hummingbird’s chest bright red with stinging chops. She was playfully villainous, biting on the wings of Hummingbird’s mask. They had strong chemistry with the wrestlers seeing each other’s moves. A flurry of nearfalls was one of the highlights, too.
A week later, the talk coming out of Grand Destiny was centered on the returning stars and Mayu Iwatani’s big win, but I came away thinking about Yamazaki. She’s just such a good glue wrestler, someone you can plug into any match and know it’s going to be solid.
That was the case for sure when she and Seri Yamaoka teamed up against Komomo Minami and Nagisa Tachibana. Yuuka brought lots of energy and popped her foes with hard strikes. Her
coordinated attacks with Seri were among the biggest highlights of the bout.
Yamazaki helped this undercard contest outshine the triple title match. Props.
The Naniwa Mad Dog followed that up with a fun performance in a Secret Captain match on Marvelous’ Friday Night Gatcha show. Yuuka captained one of the teams and shined as one of the stars of the chaotic clash. Yamazaki was in there beating on Sora Ayame and going toe to toe with Takumi Iroha.
It’s impressive to stand out on a stage crowded with such big names. This won’t be the last time she does that, either.
Recommended matches:
Yuuka Yamazaki & Seri Yamaoka vs. Komomo Minami & Nagisa Tachibana, Marigold – Grand Destiny (10/24)
Team Yamazaki vs. Team Iroha, Marvelous – Friday Night Gacha Season 3 Ep. 1 (10/24)
