One of the problems with joshi wrestlers owning promotions is they have a bad habit of treating it like a hobby instead of a business and doing things on the show that don't make any sense. Mariko Yoshida's Ibuki promotion is no different. That being said, a full house of 415 came to Sunday's Ibuki show at Shinjuku FACE. This is being credited to Ibuki getting more media coverage than most joshi shows especially at Livedoor Sports.
The main event of Sunday's show had Yoshida teaming up with her pal Akiko Nakni. Nakni isn't a pro wrestler but a former amateur wrestler and a wrestling instructor at Gold's Kids Gym. This was her second appearance on an Ibuki show. The show also included a major upset for a younger wrestler over a seasoned veteran. Does it mean anything? Let's see.
The opening match had a couple of virtual rookies. It was Kaoru Ito trainee Ayako Sato vs former DDT trainee Cherry. Sato is a rookie and Cherry has been around since 2004 but still wrestles like a rookie. She's been hanging around Yoshida's Gym since November so maybe she'll improve with time. Sato is actually a pretty good rookie and used suplexes and a missile dropkick to win at 9:31. Ayumi Kurihara & Tomoka Nakagawa were the rookies in the second match. Kurihara won with a cross arm breaker at 7:42.
NEO veteran Yuka Shiina was supposed to be in the third match but injured her neck last week. She was replaced by Sakura Emi teaming with Natsuki*Head vs Bambi from K-Dojo & Leon wearing a goofy mask and calling herself Tojuki Leon. Bambi is another greenhorn who has been training at Yoshida's Gym lately. It was a fast paced 20 minute draw. Bambi cried afterwards because she wanted to win. She usually loses.
Kyoko Kimura recently left JWP to freelance. She's another one who has been spending a lot of time at Yoshida's Gym. Her most significant physical trait is the largest afro I've seen since 1970s Blaxploitation flicks. The girl needs a serious haircut. She's nothing special as a wrestler and is a major underdog in this match against veteran Kaoru Ito. Kimura took a beating from Ito for over fifteen minutes including several of Ito's trademark footstomps. Kimura won with one of those reversal flash pins that tends to irritate me because it looks like a fluke. After Ito got over the shock of losing, she helped Kimura celebrate her victory. Does it mean anything? The upset got some media coverage so that was okay. It remains to be seen if it does anything to elevate Kimura significantly. We may find out at the next Ibuki show on March 19.
The main event was a 2 of 3 fall match with Mariko Yoshida & Akiko Nakni vs Shuu Shibutani & Atsuko Emoto. So what's the deal with Nakni? She's 38 years old and a mother of three kids. She is a legend of amateur wrestling in Japan but what's she doing in a pro ring? It looks like she's just having fun and if you're a wrestler, Yoshida is a good person to have fun with. And I think Yoshida is trying to show the younger wrestlers that Nakni knows everything and they know nothing. Yoshida & Nakni won the match in two straight falls. Nakni over Shibutani with a sleeper hold in 12:35 then Yoshida over Emoto with the Air Raid Crash (Fit Finlay stole it from her) in 8:03. Nakni said afterwards she was just happy not to embarass herself. Yoshida said The Coach is a role model to the younger wrestlers. Nakni has already earned their respect. Here's the results of the show and if you go to Yoshida's website http://yoshidamariko.jp/ she's posted some pics of the show.
IBUKI - 1/29/06 - Shinjuku FACE
Ayako Sato def. Cherry in 9:31
Ayumi Kurihara def. Tomoka Nakagawa in 7:42
Sakura Emi & Natsuki*Head - 20 min. draw - Tojuki Leon & Bambi
Kyoko Kimura def. Kaoru Ito in 16:30
Mariko Yoshida & Akiko Nakni def. Shuu Shibutani & Atsuko Emoto 2 falls straight (Nakni over Shibutani in 12:35, Yoshida over Emoto in 8:03)
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