Ibuki's 2nd Anniversary Show

When Mariko Yoshida started her own company two years ago, she said her main goal was to run a show at the legendary Korakuen Hall. That might seem like a modest goal but most of today's joshi companies are incapable of filling a phone booth. So Ibuki's 2nd Anniversary show was on May 5 at Korakuen Hall. And if the announced attendance of 1324 is any indication, maybe she should run there more often. The main event was Kyoko Kimura vs Atsuko Emoto but it was overshadowed by Yoshida continuing to put over the young wrestlers on the Ibuki roster. All that and Meiko Satomura too.

The opener had Mai Ichii vs Misaki Ohata. Ichii has improved tremendously since training with Kaoru Ito and she won with a missile kick at 7:53. Next was the debut of Yoshida's Mongolian trainee Esi teaming with Ran YuYu vs Leon & Aya Yuki. Esi has been getting a lot of media attention. Obviously she is green but her partner is very experienced. The inexperience showed when Esi chased Leon outside the ring but Ran got her back on track. Then the crowd went nuts when Esi used a giant swing on Yuki. You don't see that everyday. This was followed by a Mongolian chop and a chokeslam for the win at 14:17. After the match, Esi said she was relieved to have an experienced partner and was pleased to win in her debut.

Next was Akiko Nakni & Sakura Emi vs NAO & Aoi Kizuki. Of course Nakni is the former amateur wrestling champ who is a wrestling trainer at Gold's Kids Gym. She has also spent a lot of time training NAO who has just graduated from junior high. Emi won the match over Kizuki with a Cream Puff at 12:21. Next was a Falls Count Anywhere match with Cherry & Ayumi Kurihara vs Ray & Tomoka Nakagawa. There was a lot of action outside the ring and Kurihara won over Nakagawa with a reverse side throw at 18:00.

Next was Mariko Yoshida & Meiko Satomura vs Hiroyo Matsumoto & Shuu Shibutani. Matsumoto has been very impressive since her debut last June. The veterans are in control but Matsumoto does get some offense in. Just when it looks like Yoshida is putting Shibutani to sleep, she gets to the ropes. The end came when Satomura accidently nailed Yoshida with a high kick. Matsumoto used a backdrop suplex for the win at 12:12. Well, there's an upset for you.

The main event is Kyoko Kimura vs Atsuko Emoto. They've had a feud going for a while. Kimura takes things outside the ring and nails Emoto with a chair attack. Back in the ring, Emoto hit a couple of face busters. Kimura came back with a diving foot stomp, an arm breaker and a chicken wing. Emoto gets to the ropes. Emoto hits a lariat and a face buster on the apron. They get back in the ring at 19. Emoto hits an avalanche style brain buster and then Kimura hits an avalanche style Frankensteiner. After a seesaw battle, Emoto hits a vertical fall style brain buster, a lariat and and a big kick for the win at 28:59. So Ibuki's 2nd Anniversary show was a big success and their next show is June 24 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. Have a look at this slideshow of 40 pics from the show.