RADICAN’S CHIKARA DVD REVIEW SERIES
JOSHIMANIA: NIGHT 3
DECEMBER 4, 2011
MANHATTAN, N.Y.

The show started with Gavin Loudspeaker singing a song about the Jumping Bomb Angels.

Los Ice Creams made their entrance. Dasher Hatfield then made his entrance, but Sugar Dunkerton wasn’t with him. Gavin Loudspeaker then drew names from a hat to see who would be his partner. Kwang was announced first, but he wasn’t there. Kelly Kelly was drawn next, which drew some boos, but it turns out she wasn’t there either. Saturyne was then announced and it turns out she was in fact in the building.

1 - - LOS ICE CREAMS (Ice Cream Jr. & El Hijo De Ice Cream) vs. DASHER HATFIELD & SATURYNE

Dasher and Jr. started the match with some chain wrestling. The announcers touched on the fans chanting for a refund after Kelly Kelly was picked out of the fat. They thought they had seen her backstage. Hatfield hit a move on Jr.’s rear end, which he sold. Jr. got some revenge with a back rake on Hatfield, which drew some boos from the crowd. Hatfield presented Jr. with an imaginary baseball and told him to throw it. Hijo came into the ring and decided he wanted to pitch to Hatfield. Jr. and Hijo argued about who would throw the pitch to Hatfield. The ref tried to interfere and Los Ice Creams kicked dirt at the umpire. Hatfield then ran in and rolled up Jr. for a 2 count. He then rolled up Hijo, but Jr. broke up the pin. Hatfield sent Los Ice Creams to the outside and nailed them with a baseball slide. Hatfield signaled that he was safe.

Dasher conferred with Saturyne in the corner. He then tagged in Saturyne to at it with Hijo. Hijo stroked his cone beard before going at it with Saturyne. He went after her eyes and then begged off to the ref. Saturyne fired back with a dropkick, but missed a second dropkick, which caused Hijo strut. Jr. Held Saturyne from the apron, but she got out of the way and Hijo hit Jr. Hijo then raked Saturyne’s eyes. Hatfield held Hijo, but he got out of the way. Saturyne stopped short of hitting Hatfield before nailing Hijo with a big forearm. Jr. tagged back into the match and drew some boos from the crowd. Jr. drove Saturyne in the corner, but she ducked a punch and then a kick. Jr. went for an elbow, but Saturyne got out of the way and nailed him with an arm drag. Hijo then ran in from behind and sent her flying to the mat. Saturyne went for a springboard, but Los Ice Creams caught her. Saturyne managed to hit an arm drag on Hijo, but Jr. nailed her from behind.

Los Ice Creams continued to work over Saturyne while strutting around the ring. The crowd rallied behind Saturyne, but Hijo nailed her with a big hair mare and the crowd booed. Hijo then nailed Hatfield with a cheap shot on the apron. Saturyne fired back with a sunset flip on Hijo for a nearfall. She then went for a cross body, but Hijo caught her and slammed her for a 2 count due to a cocky cover. The crowd tried to rally behind Saturyne again, but Jr. grabbed her hair and drove her down to the mat to cut her off. Hijo hit a big spine buster on Saturyne that looked brutal. Jr. held Saturyne again. Hijo charged at her. She got out of the way, but Hijo held up. Saturyne then drove their heads together before making the hot tag to Hatfield, who ran wild. Hatfield hit the Cold Stone stunner on Hijo. He then hit the Jack and Jill hammer on Jr., but Hijo broke it up. Hatfield went for a sliding kick on the apron, but Hijo spun him around and slammed his head into the apron. Saturyne then locked the rings of Saturn on Jr. in the middle of the ring, but Hijo broke it up. Saturyne went for a hurricanrana on Hijo, but he rolled through and held on to her tights for the pin.

Winners: Los Ice Creams

Star rating: (**1/4) – The heat segment on Saturyne seemed to go longer than it needed to, but this match had a lot of fun comedy and Saturyne was impressive going against the guys in her debut. Los Ice Creams working as heels is a lot of fun to watch and you’ll only see an imaginary baseball game turn into an argument where dirt is kicked at the umpire in CHIKARA. They sure know how to make wrestling fun.

Portia Perez cut a promo backstage. Perez said people were asking her about facing Gami, but it’s an honor for Gami to face her and not the other way around. Perez said Gami’s time had passed. She said she is the best female wrestler in the world. Perez said she hopes Gami is ready for the biggest day of her life, because she knows that she is ready.

Gami is the president of the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion in Japan. She came out to a nice applause from the crowd. Perez made her way to the ring to a mixed reaction.

2 - - GAMI vs. PORTIA PEREZ

Perez jumped Gami and nailed her with a forearm. Peres followed up with a running knee in the corner followed by a dropkick for a 2 count. Both men began exchanging big slaps to the chest. Gami grounded Perez with a shoulder tackle and then stomped on her head. Gami screamed before nailing Perez with a big slam. Gami grabbed a chinlock, but Perez countered it into a leg submission. Gami then grabbed a body scissors with a chinlock. Portia fired back and began stomping away at Gami’s leg before locking in another leg submission. The ref checked on Gami, who tried to slap him. Gami continued to indicate that Perez was biting Gami’s legs when the ref was out of position. Gami broke free and nailed Perez with a big kick. Gami then hit a delayed vertical suplex and she didn’t drop Perez to the mat until the crowd’s count reached 20.

Gami grabbed an arm submission on the mat, but Perez got her in a rollup for a 2 count. Gami went right back on the attack and locked in an abdominal stretch. Perez grabbed Gami’s hair, so Gami rolled her up for a 2 count when the ref told Perez told stop. Perez nailed Gami with a big punch and took her down with a chinlock. The crowd tried to rally behind Gami. The ref checked her arm twice, but it didn’t drop down a third time. The crowd chanted for Gami as she struggled to her feet and elbowed herself out of the hold. Gami then hit a big running kick and a leg drop for a 2 count. Gami did the Undertaker rope walk as the crowd applauded. She then walked backwards while holding the arm bar. Gami then dropped down into an arm submission using the ropes for leverage, but the ref made her break the hold.

Gami continued to work Perez’s arm over in the ring. Perez hit a kick to Gami’s head and then a basement dropkick. Perez then nailed Gami with a low flying DDT for a 2 count. Perez measured Gami and hit a superkick, but she didn’t go down. Gami fired back with a kick of her own. Gami got her megaphone, but the ref wouldn’t allow it. Perez rolled up Gami from behind for a 2 count. Perez then got the megaphone. The ref tried to stop her, so Gami rolled up Perez for a nearfall. The ref confiscated the megaphone as both women argued with the ref. Gami offered a handshake to Perez, but ended up stepping on her foot. Perez ducked a clothesline and stepped on Gami’s foot. She then rolled her up for a 2 count.

Gami caught Perez with a kick to the head moments later. Gami went for a German suplex. Perez tried to block it, but Gami hoisted her back and delivered the German for a nearfall. Gami went for a clothesline, but Perez caught her arm and drove her into the mat. Perez locked in a chinlock submission, but Gami rolled her over for a 2 count. Gami nailed Perez with a kick, but Perez fired back with a superkick for a nearfall. Gami hit the adios amiga for a nearfall. Gami followed up with a cradle suplex for the pin.

Winner: Gami

Star rating: (***) – This was a good match. Both women did some submission work before picking up the pace leading into the finish. Gami was impressive, as I hadn’t seen her before. I liked Perez’s heel work while she worked over Gami’s leg and bit at it while the ref was out of position. Gami selling anger at the ref during these spots was a lot of fun as well.

UltraMantis Black cut a promo backstage on Brodie Lee. He said he wasn’t pleased. Black explained he had had a long year in CHIKARA and was looking forward to relaxing. Black said he wasn’t a fan of men like Brodie Lee. Black said tonight he would beat Lee to a pulp and then begin his vacation. Black said he also had plans that were cooking. He said Lee would be finished tonight.

Lee got a nice ovation for his entrance. Lee went after Gavin Loudspeaker and tossed him to the floor. Black then made his entrance and got a solid ovation coming out from the crowd. The crowd then began chanting for Black after he was formally introduced.

3 - - BRODIE LEE vs. ULTRAMANTIS BLACK

Black nailed Lee with his staff and the ref called for the bell. Black drove Lee into the turnbuckles and then clotheslined Lee over the top to the outside. Black also fell to the outside, but he got up on the apron and nailed Lee with a big rolling senton off the apron. Lee fired back with a big chop on the outside. The crowd chanted for Black, who fired back on Lee. Lee quickly countered an Irish whip and drove Black into the barricade. Lee and Black brawled to the back and then made their way back onto the stage. Black tossed Lee into some chairs, but Lee tossed a chair back at Black. Black tried to get back into the ring after Lee, but Lee nailed him with a running kick. Mantis charged at Lee, but got backdropped over the top rope and back inside the ring (the stage is level with one side of the ring).

Lee nailed Black with a huge chop as the crowd tried to rally behind Black. Lee hit a slingshot on Black that sent him neck-first into the bottom rope. Lee hit a slingshot senton from the apron for a 2 count and the crowd booed. Lee took his time peppering Black with strikes. He then stood on his head using the ropes for leverage. The crowd tried to rally behind Black again, as Lee slapped him across the back of the head. Black tried to drag himself to his feet using Lee’s jeans. Black fired up with a series of strikes. He went for the praying mantis, but Lee fought out and nailed him with a big punch. Mantis ducked a clothesline and hit a full nelson into a slam for a 2 count. Mantis landed several punches to Lee’s head and bounced off the ropes, but Lee caught him and hit the truck stop for a nearfall.

Mantis slid out of a powerbomb and hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. Both men were slow to get to their feet. Mantis was up first and he went up top. Mantis went for a dive, but Lee kicked him right in the face. Lee then followed up with the tiger bomb for the win.

The crowd booed Lee after the win. A couple of officials attended to Black after Lee left. The crowd started a chant for Black before the camera cut away.

Winner: Brodie Lee

Star rating: (**1/2) – The crowd was behind Black, who played the underdog here and tried to get the advantage from the beginning by nailing Lee with his staff. Lee looks better and better each time I see him. They had a good match here, but it seemed to be designed to get Lee over as a dominant force in the ring. I’m also impressed by Black’s improvement in the ring in 2011 and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him in 2012. He’s clearly improving.

4 - - THE BATIRI (Kobalt & Obariyon & Kodama) & TOSHIE UEMATSU vs. THE COLONY (Fire Ant & Green Ant & Solider Ant) & CHERRY

Uematsu wore matching face paint with her partners. They did some comedy spots early with Uematsu biting away at Cherry’s arm. All three members of the Batiri then took turns biting her arm with the ref distracted. The action broke down a short time later and Fire Ant, Green Ant, and Cherry hit a triple saluting dropkick on Obariyon in the corner. The pace slowed down with Obariyon and Kodama taking turns tagging in and out to work over Solider Ant. Uematsu tagged in and applied the camel clutch on Soldier Ant while grabbing his antennas. Fire Ant finally got the hot tag and ran wild on Obariyon.

The action broke down again. The Batiri and Uematsu isolated Fire Ant and they all connected with moves on him in the corner, but the Colony all jumped into the ring to make the save. After some back and forth action with several nearfalls, the Colony connected with dives on three different sides of the ring to take out the Batiri. Cherry then rolled up Uematsu, but Obariyon made the save. Uematsu finally hit a splash off the top on Cherry for the win.

Winners: The Batiri & Toshie Uematsu.

Star rating: (***1/4) – A classic CHIKARA matchup of faces and heels. There’s something that feels wrong about members of the Colony striking another woman, but Uematsu more than held her own here and it was fun to see her paint her face in the Batiri colors as a show of unity. The crowd got into the match and rallied behind the Colony, which added to the back and forth exchanges down the stretch.

Mayumi Ozaki cut a promo in Japanese backstage before making her entrance.

5 - - MAYUMI OZAKI vs. KAORI YONEYAMA

Ozaki played a great heel in this match. She started off by tossing Yoneyama, who was making her final appearance in the USA, around by the hair. Ozaki continued to use underhand tactics to maintain the advantage. At one point, she raked Yoneyama’s face across the top rope. Later in the match, Kaori mounted a comeback and hit a running boot and a northern lights suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Ozaki then fired back with a double back fist and a powerbomb for a nearfall.

Kaori got a series of rollups later in the match for several nearfalls. She then hit a German suplex with a bridge, but only got a 2 count and the crowd applauded the exchange. Ozaki hit another double back fist for a nearfall. She followed up with a powerbomb for another nearfall and the crowd applauded again. Ozaki finally hit another double back fist and a step up enzuguri for the win.

Winner: Mayumi Ozaki

Star rating: (***1/2) – I had never seen either of these women wrestle before, but despite not speaking any English, they instantly connected with me and the crowd with their personalities. Ozaki was great as a heel here and watching her use every dirty trick in the book to get an advantage was a blast to watch. Yoneyama was a lot of fun to watch as well, as she made several comebacks and went toe-to-toe with Ozaki down the stretch.

After the match, the crowd chanted for Ozaki. Ozaki ended up helping Yoneyama to her feet and both women hugged. The crowd applauded both women to close the segment.

Both Manami Toyota and Aja Kong got big reactions coming out for their Six Woman Tag match. Toyota’s team offered to shake hands before the match, but only Kuragaki accepted the offer.

6 – AJA KONG & MIO SHIRAI & TSUBASA KURAGAKI vs. MANAMI TOYOTA & HANOKO NAKAMORI & SAWAKO SHIMONO

They teased starting with Toyota and Kong right off the bat and the crowd chanted for both women, but Kong spit at Toyota and tagged in Shirai. Kong’s team got the heat on Shimono during the early stages of the match. Kong is just amazing to watch, as she has an aura about her in the ring. At one point, she nailed Shimono with some brutal chops. Shimono finally made the hot tag to both Toyota and Nakamori, who took out Shirai with a double clothesline. All of the babyfaces hit moves on Shirai in the corner and Nakamori covered her for a 2 count.

The babyface team continued to get heat on Shirai for a long period of time. Toyota put on a clinic on the mat while tying up Shirai in some nasty submissions. Kong finally ended up pulling Shirai to the corner and tagging herself in. Kong then went to work taking out Nakamori with a huge slap and then she hit a piledriver for a 2 count. Nakamori tried to tag out, but Kong cut her off and tied her up in a nasty submission with her arms trapped.

The action broke down with all of the women getting involved as the pace picked up. Shimono hit 2 tidal wave splashes on Shirai and rolled her up for a nearfall at one point. Later in the match, Shimono and Kong went at it alone in the ring. They battled up top, but Shimono got the upper hand and landed a Samoan drop on Kong for a nearfall and the crowd went nuts.

The action continued to escalate as the babyfaces got the crowd going by taking turns hitting dives to the outside on Kong’s team. They then did a spot where Toyota’s team all got figure 4 submissions on the heels. The heels eventually escaped the figure 4 submissions and the crowd applauded the spot.

They built a lot of the match around Kuragaki trying to hit her spinning Razors edge maneuver as a finish. The finish saw the action break down with women going at it in and out of the ring. Kuragaki finally hit her spinning Razors edge finish on Shimono for the win.

Winners: Aja Kong & Mio Shirai & Tsubasa Kuragaki.

Star rating: (****) – This was an awesome match with excellent crowd heat. Kong and Toyota were supposed to be the stars of the match, but Kuragaki was awesome down the stretch before finally landing her finisher for the win. The crowd was really into this match and elevated the atmosphere as the match went on. This match is well-worth your time to go out of your way to check it out.

Sara Del Rey and Ayako Hamada both got good reactions before the main event started. Del Rey looks to be in the best shape of her career.

7 - - AYAKO HAMADA vs. SARA DEL REY

They did some nice groundwork early by having both women go back and forth before coming to a stalemate. The crowd was into the action and applauded before the women went back at it. Both women continued to go back and forth exchanging strikes and kicks. Hamada finally grounded Del Rey with a kick and a leaping DDT. Both women battled on the apron a short time later, but Hamada ended up getting the better of the exchange with a DDT and the crowd applauded.

Hamada went up top and hit a moonsault, but Del Rey kicked out and immediately applied a crossface submission. The crowd chanted for Hamada not to tap and she eventually escaped the hold by getting to the ropes. They built up to a big exchange that saw Hamada nail Del Rey with an axe kick to the head. She then nailed her with an enzuguri before hitting a Liger bomb for a good nearfall. The crowd then chanted for both women as they tried to gather their bearings.

Hamada went up top a short time later, but Del Rey cut her off and hit a superplex. Hamada got right up and hit a leg lariat for a nearfall. Hamada went for another kick, but Del Rey blocked it and hit a series of rolling kicks and an axe kick for a nearfall. Del Rey locked Hamada in the royal butterfly submission, but she wouldn’t tap, so Del Rey suplexed her for another good nearfall. The crowd chanted you can’t beat her at Del Rey. Another segment of the crowd chanted yes, she can. Del Rey sold shock that Hamada had kicked out. She went for the royal butterfly submission again, but Hamada slickly countered it into the Michinoku driver that left both women down on the mat.

Later in the match, Hamada went for the royal butterfly, but Del Rey countered it. Both women ended up battling up top and Hamada managed to hit a top rope ace crusher for a nearfall. The crowd went crazy as both women exchanged big strikes in the center of the ring. Del Rey finally caught Hamada with a discus forearm and a piledriver for the win.

Winner: Sara Del Rey

Star rating: (****1/4) – Del Rey has proven to be one of the best wrestlers in the world this year and that goes for men and women. She was fantastic here exchanging submissions and strikes with Hamada throughout the match. The crowd really got behind both women and they built up to some incredible nearfalls. It was especially great when the crowd went back and forth about whether or not Del Rey could win the match after Hamada kicked out of the royal butterfly. This is another match on the card well-worth going out of your way to see.

After the match, all of the Joshi talent came to the ring and the crowd went nuts after Hamada had gotten some cheers once Del Rey went to the back. The show closed with the crowd chanting “Joshi” as the women waved at them from the ring.

Overall thoughts: (8.0) – The show was run in a small venue, but CHIKARA managed to pack the place and the fans that were in attendance sure appreciated the Joshi talent that was brought in for the weekend. This was a heck of a show with a lot of good to great wrestling up and down the card. I was really impressed by most of the Joshi talent that was brought in to be showcased on this show.

The card started slowly, but really picked up with the 8 Person mixed tag between Cheery & The Colony and the Batiri & Uematsu. The Ozaki-Yoneyama match was really impressive and enjoyed Ozaki’s heel work here. It was fun to naturally engage in a lot of the matches despite not being familiar with all of the Joshi talent.

The last two matches were awesome. The Six Person tag semi-main event really lit the place on fire. Toyota and Kong are a blast to watch in the ring, but everyone in the match really had a good showing. I was impressed by the heel work of Kong and Shirai, who were just dirty players in this match. Kong is someone worth going out of your way to see if you haven’t seen her before. She carriers herself like a star and it was a blast watching the fans react to her power offense in the ring.

Del Rey-Hamada had the best match on the show in the main event edging out the previous match by a slight margin. These two women told a good story in the ring. They started slow and did some submission work before picking up the pace. The crowd was along for the ride for each step. It really stands out how much Del Rey has improved in the ring and it’s not like she wasn’t very good before. She’s in the best shape of her career and is having great matches. Del Rey has shown she deserves a bigger stage to ply her craft at this point and hopefully she can make that next step to the WWE at some point soon and make the money she deserves for the talent she has.

I give this release a high recommendation. It was easy to get into the action even though I didn’t know a lot of the talent on the card.

You can purchase this release at SmartMarkVideo.com.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@Gmail.com

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