We all have resolutions at the beginning of every year, and this year I decided that I wanted to stay consistently up to date with the Joshi promotion, Sendai Girls. Founded in 2006 by Jinsei Shinzaki (WWE's Hakushi) and Joshi legend, Meiko Satomura, Sendai Girls produces action packed shows filled with all types of wrestling from comedy to grappling to hardcore and high-flying. Plus, it has become more accessible to a global audience over the past few years. Although Meiko Satomura is the current NXTUK Women's Champion, the promotion is very active and Meiko herself does make Sendai Girls appearances often, with her last being their Joshi Puroresu Big Show in June of 2021 where she teamed with Minoru Suzuki to defeat Jinsei Shinzaki and Nanae Takahashi.
Sendai Girls releases their shows free on their Youtube channel after each event. Typically, the matches from one event are released over the course of 1-3 weeks after the event has finished. For this reason, the Sendai Girls reviews will be behind where we are on a real time calendar.
After a little backstory, here is my review of Sendai Girls Acceleration from Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan.
Kanon vs. Ayame Sasamura
At just 15 years old, Kanon is quickly becoming one of my favorite Sendai Girls, the promotion and her opponents are doing a very good job with keeping her to a specific style of grappling and traditional wrestling, and it's working for her. Ayame has been making sporadic appearances for Sendai Girls as she is an active member of the Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) roster.
The match started out with a lot of grappling and mat wrestling, which is refreshing to see especially in a younger talent like Kanon. There was a lot of arm lock and submission attempts made throughout the match and it was a good one to start the show off with, as the crowd was invested.
Both Ayame and Kanon had a lot of momentum behind them in the middle and toward the end of the match, both showcasing their talents outside of their ground work, and the crowd was into it. Kanon delivered a beautiful missile dropkick to Ayame and really had the crowd behind her.
As we get deeper into the match, Ayame starts to gain the momentum back and with a very nice Bridge Suplex, covers Kanon for the three count and takes the win.
Yurika Oka (c) vs. Tomoka Inaba - Sendai Girls Junior Title Match
Both competitors lock up to start the match and look to test the strength of one another, going back and forth with various holds, until Tomoka brings Yurika to the mat. They get back to their feet, and in Junior Title match fashion they both move quickly to get moves in before the other has the chance.
Between submission holds and drop kicks, the match continues and the crowd is very entertained. They clap along as both Tomoka and Yurika look to take the belt in this match. There are a lot of near falls towards the end of the match, with neither competitor giving up on winning this match.
Yurika is on the top rope nearing the end of the match, but Tomoka gets to her feet quickly and slaps her in the face, which is followed by a swift kick to the head. Yurika falls to the mat but reaches her feet, Tomoka hits her with a boot to the face and we enter an exchange of near falls. Yurika sits up, only to be dropkicked in the face and Tomoka covers her for the win. Tomoka Inaba is the new Sendai Girls Junior Champion!
Ryo Mizunami & Manami vs. Saori Anou & Haruka Umesaki
This was a very good tag team match that started off with a double team to Manami from Saori and Haruka. All four competitors were in the ring very early on with multiple tag-ins on both sides. A lot of chops and kicks, and playing to the crowd.
This match became very entertaining with Ryo Mizunami constantly shouting and yelling while she was in the ring, which led to a lot of interaction verbally with the crowd, each time Ryo went to put her opponents in a hold, she would shout at the the referee, her other opponent or to the audience in attendance.
I was very surprised by the athleticism of all four women as there was no down time or stoppage in this match, allowing the match to be very action-filled and fun to watch. In typical Sendai Girls fashion, there were a lot of near falls toward the end of the match, with both teams coming close to victory.
As the match started to wind down, it was Haruka Umesaki and Ryo Mizunami who battled, both showcasing how badly they want this win for their teams, but after a spear, Ryo Mizunami clotheslines Haruka Umesaki and pinned her for the three count.
Mika Iwata vs. Miyuki Takase
I thought this match was good, but compared to others it was lacking the excitement factor in the beginning, which could just be a difference in the energy when the match began, and not every match can be the same on the show. There was a comedic bit during the match when Miyuki ran around the entire venue and went to deliver a clothesline to Mika on the outside of the ring, only for Mika to duck and throw her back into the ring before the 20 count.
The match certainly got better as both competitors tried to wear each other down by continuously hitting the other in the same spots, a nice display of competitiveness that you do not always see. I found the match told a good story in both Mika and Miyuki not wanting to give up and that they were both determined to get the win.
Between clotheslines and dropkicks, the crowd seemed to be equally behind both Mika and Miyuki, and would clap after each move. Mika took advantage with a crossface late in the match, but Miyuki held on and escaped the hold, only to get to her knees and be kicked in the head by Mika. Mika would cover for a near fall, but would pick her up and slam her to the ground where she would pin Miyuki Takase for the win.
Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) vs. DASH Chisako & Hiroyo Matsumoto - Sendai Girls Tag Team Title Match
It is the ace of Sendai Girls, Chihiro Hashimoto and her partner, Yuu versus DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto in what was personally favorite match on this card. Anytime I get to see Chihiro Hashimoto and Hiroyo Matsumoto in the same ring, only good things happen. Chihiro and Yuu are in their second reign as champions, and this is their second defense and it is against a very skilled team in DASH and Hiroyo. This was a very long match that displayed agility, character, and strength in each competitor and it's not hard to tell why they are what I would refer to as the big four in Sendai Girls under Meiko Satomura. Between the overall toughness of Chihiro and Yuu and the speed of DASH and Hiroyo, this is one of the first matches I would recommend for first time Sendai Girls viewers and I won't detail it like I did the others, to make you as the reader want to go watch it, the match can be viewed on the Sendai Girls Youtube channel.
Overall, Sendai Girls is in very good hands in the absence of Meiko Satomura with the roster they currently have and the sporadic appearances by other talents, and there will be many more reviews to come. The upcoming Sendai Girls review will be Sendai Girls Don't Forget That Day from March 18th, the review will be posted once the show is posted in it's entirety (currently one match is posted with two more being posted on April 8th.)
With that, each Sendai Girls review will end with three picks, one for my personal favorite match of the night, wrestler of the night, and match of the night. Here they are for Sendai Girls Acceleration on February 27th, 2022.
Favorite Match of the Night: Yurika Oka (c) versus Tomoka Inaba - Sendai Girls Junior Title
Wrestler of the Night: Chihiro Hashimoto
Match of the Night: Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) versus DASH Chisako & Hiroyo Matsumoto - Sendai Girls Tag Team Titles