Featured image by Masahiro Kubota
First reviewed here.
A perfect little murder here. Hashimoto spent a good time early in the year injecting some life into STARDOM before Syuri finally sent her packing, and what we get here feels like a nice epilogue this time on Hash’s own turf. As with so many of Hashimoto’s best performances, what really comes through is how she portrays herself as such a threat. This typically manifests in her awesome strength and prowess on the mat, but early in the match here I like that she also somewhat keeps up with Natsupoi’s agility as well.
Natsupoi plays her role perfectly as well. It’s all about evasion, escape, and speed for her. Of particular note is the panic she expresses whenever Hash gets close to nailing her with the Albright. That panicked surge towards the ropes, scrambling sometimes with her feet not even touching the ground to try to get out of Hash’s grasp. It’s so good and perfectly puts over what a killing blow it would be should she eventually be caught. Natsupoi also takes some great bumps in this, chief among them being thrown over the top rope straight to the concrete below. I personally wish that led to a longer extended control from Chihiro but the way the transition out of it makes enough sense, and Natsupoi also continues to put over damage to her back and midsection afterwards too.
As full throttle as this is too, they still achieve a great sense of progression. Natsupoi using her flashier skills to catch Hashimoto off guard feels good, but not quite as good as it feels to see her step right up to her and trade hands as we’ve seen she can in the past as well. It’s a great show of fire that creates the tiniest bit of doubt too before it all comes crashing down with the Albright at the end.
One of the best women’s matches of the year.
Rating: ****1/4
