Date: June 14th, 2014
Location:  Chiba Blue Field in Chiba, Japan
Announced Attendance: 50 

K-DOJO to me has always been a fascinating little promotion. It has been around for 12 years in Japan and has produced a number of stars you have heard of over the years, but for the most part it is just a small indy with crowds under 100 people with the same stable of wrestlers. And yet they still exist, and I assume do well or they would have closed their doors a long time ago. It is owned by the great TAKA Michinoku, who currently also freelances in New Japan Pro Wrestling. I’m not sure why this event was filmed since it doesn’t appear to be a special event, but we’ll see how it goes. Here is the full card:

– Kotaro Yoshino vs. Tank Nagai
– Saburo Inematsu vs. Yuki Sato vs. Bambi
– Daigoro Kashiwa and Ryuichi Sekine vs. Kunio Toshima and Yuma
– Kengo Mashimo and Moonshine Mantell vs. Yuji Hino and Ricky Fuji
– Shiori Asahi and Hiro Tonai vs. TAKA Michinoku and Kaji Tomato

I don’t know who all these guys are, but I will by the end of the event!

Kotaro Yoshino vs. Tank Nagai
Tie-up to start, Nagai pushes Yoshino into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Tie-up again, after a moment Nagai gets Yoshino into the ropes again but like before he gives a clean break.  Another tie-up, wristlock by Yoshino, reversed by Nagai but Yoshino reverses it back.  Hammerlock by Yoshino, Nagai reverses it into a waistlock but Yoshino reverses it.  Nagai reverses it again and gets Yoshino to the mat before applying a leg submission hold.  Nagai applies a stretch hold, Nagai returns to his feet and applies a wristlock, but Yoshino reverses it.  Side headlock by Yoshino but Nagai applies a hammerlock.  Side headlock by Nagai, Yoshino elbows out of it but Nagai gets him to the mat.  Yoshino quickly gets out of it and they return to their feet, clubs to the back by Nagai and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Yoshino gets into the ropes to force a break, so Nagai stomps him in the back.  Scoop slam by Nagai, he picks up Yoshino and chops him into the corner.  More chops by Nagai and he elbows Yoshino in the head.  Irish whip by Nagai, reversed, but Nagai kicks Yoshino back. Another kick by Nagai, he goes off the ropes and hits a hard elbow.  Nagai picks up Yoshino and throws him into the corner, Nagai charges Yoshino but Yoshino delivers a dropkick.  Scoop slam by Yoshino, he goes off the ropes and goes for a splash but Nagai gets his knees up.  Backbreaker by Nagai and he applies a crab hold.  Yoshino almost gets to the ropes but he can’t make it, and he has to tap out. Your winner:  Tank Nagai

Match Thoughts:   A really basic match, no doubt by design since Yoshino is still learning his way around the ring.  But even by basic match standards this one was basic, mostly just tie-ups and meaningless submission holds.  I mean there wasn’t a single pin attempt in this match, nothing done was even worth a two count before Nagai put the kid away.  These matches are necessary I guess for wrestlers to learn but aren’t overly fun to watch.  Score:  3.0

Saburo Inematsu vs. Yuki Sato vs. Bambi
They face off to start and jaw at each other, Inematsu and Sato wrestle in the ropes, Irish whip by Inematsu, he pancakes but Sato runs on his back.  Irish whip by Sato and he dropkicks Inematsu.  Shoulderblock by Inematsu, he goes off the ropes but Sato avoids the body press.  Bambi stands between them to get them to stop fighting.  Bambi and Sato shake hands, and then they both stomp down Inematsu.  They kick Inematsu out of the ring and go out after him, Sato holds Inematsu and Bambi stomps on him.  Slaps to the belly by Bambi and Sato slams Inematsu into the apron.  More belly slaps by Bambi, and they both stomp on Inematsu again.  Sato slides Inematsu into the ring as they all return, double Irish whip to Inematsu and he eats a double elbow strike.  Sato applies a stretch hold to Inematsu while Bambi nudges him in the face with his boot.  Double Irish whip to the corner but Inematsu avoids Bambi’s charge.  Splash by Inematsu to Sato in the corner and he hits a body block.  Elbows by Inematsu to Sato, Irish whip, and Inematsu hits an elbow smash.  Knee drop by Inematsu to Sato, and Bambi hits Sato with a crossbody.  Bambi stomps on Sato, and then Bambi stomps Inematsu.  Slap by Bambi to Inematsu, and Sato gives Bambi her whip.  Bambi whips Inematsu with the whip repeatedly, Sato then runs over and holds Inematsu as Bambi goes off the ropes, but Inematsu moves and Bambi boots Sato by accident. Schoolboy by Inematsu to Bambi, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Saburo Inematsu

Match Thoughts:   I am assuming there is some backstory here that I don’t know, but either way the match wasn’t very good.  Even if I overlook the fact I don’t know the storyline, the action itself just wasn’t entertaining.  Bambi didn’t do much besides switch up who she liked when necessary, and like the last match there wasn’t a single pin attempt until the surprise end as nothing done justified it.  Just a weird little nothing three way match.  Score:  3.0

Daigoro Kashiwa and Ryuichi Sekine vs. Kunio Toshima and Yuma
Kashiwa and Yuma start things off.  Tie-up, waistlock by Kashiwa, reversed by Yuma but Kashiwa reverses it into a hammerlock.  Side headlock by Kashiwa, but Yuma reverses it with a hammerlock.  Side headlock by Yuma and he takes Kashiwa to the mat, but Kashiwa rolls him up and both men return to their feet.  Toshima is tagged in and he applies a side headlock to Kashiwa, but Kashiwa drives him into the corner and tags in Sekine.  Sekine and Toshima circle each other, wristlock by Toshima but Sekine reverses it.  Toshima gets into the ropes to force a break, drop toehold by Sekine but Toshima gets away.  Toshima tags in Yuma, tie-up with Sekine, Sekine pushes Yuma into the ropes but Yuma switches positions with him.  Snapmare by Yuma but Sekine applies a wristlock and tags in Kashiwa.  Kashiwa clubs Yuma in the back and stomps on him.  Elbows by Kashiwa, he picks up Yuma, Irish whip, and Kashiwa hits a back elbow.  Kashiwa goes off the ropes and hits a falling headbutt, snapmare by Kashiwa and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Yuma tags in Toshima, and Toshima boots Kashiwa in the face.  Snapmare by Toshima and he throws Kashiwa out of the ring.  Yuma attacks Kashiwa outside of the ring while Toshima distracts the referee.  Kashiwa is attacked outside of the ring with a chair until he is finally slid back into the ring.  Toshima chokes Kashiwa, he picks up Kashiwa and snapmares him before choking him again.  Headbutt by Toshima and he tags in Yuma.  Yuma stomps Kashiwa in the corner, he picks up Kashiwa and snapmares him again before hitting a double axe handle.  Mounted punches by Yuma and he tags in Toshima.  Toshima picks up Kashiwa and throws him into the corner, Kashiwa fights back but Toshima elbows him.  Toshima punches Kashiwa in the head and then in the stomach before tagging in Yuma.  Punches by Yuma and he clubs Kashiwa in the back.  Punches by Yuma but Kashiwa headbutts his fist, kick by Yuma, Irish whip, but Kashiwa headbutts Yuma in the stomach.  Kashiwa goes off the ropes but Toshima hits him from the apron, he comes in the ring but Kashiwa hits a lariat on both of them and tags in Sekine.  Sekine goes off the ropes and hits a PK onto Yuma, Yuma gets up in the corner and Sekine hits a running elbow.  Back kick by Sekine and he hits a running knee onto Yuma.  Sekine grabs Yuma but Yuma rakes his eyes.  Atomic drop by Yuma but Sekine punches him and they trade shots.  Yuma goes off the ropes but Sekine punches him in the stomach and hits a scoop slam.  Sekine grabs Yuma and he applies a crab hold, Toshima runs in the ring but Sekine throws him back out.  Sekine tags in Kashiwa, they pick up Yuma, double Irish whip and both Kashiwa and Sekine kick Sekine.  Sekine goes off the ropes but Toshima grabs him from the floor while in the ring, dropkick by Yuma to Kashiwa and he tags in Toshima.  Toshima comes in the ring with a senton and he hits an elbow in the corner.  Toshima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a jumping chop to the head, Kashiwa hits him back but Toshima delivers a kick that sends Kashiwa to the mat.  Toshima goes for a suplex but Kashiwa reverses it and tags in Sekine.  Sekine gets Toshima on his shoulders slides off his back and hits a dropkick.  Toshima tags in Yuma and Yuma hits a Code Breaker.  Toshima comes in the ring and both wrestlers dropkick Sekine.  Cover by Yuma to Sekine but it gets a two count.  Yuma waits for Sekine to get up and hits another Code Breaker before applying a stretch hold, but Kashiwa breaks it up.  Toshima throws Kashiwa out of the ring and goes out after him, Yuma picks up Sekine but Sekine pushes him off.  Yuma punches Sekine, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, Kashiwa comes in and hits a running knee to Yuma, with Sekine following with a PK.  Sekine gets Yuma on his shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry takedown followed by the Shoryu.  Cover by Sekine, and he gets the three count.  Your winners:  Daigoro Kashiwa and Ryuichi Sekine

Match Thoughts:   This was a step up from the last two matches but still nothing great.  Still pretty basic as there were a lot of random submissions and snapmares, which are generally time-killing moves while they set up the next few spots and hurts the flow of the match.  Other than that it was fundamentally sound, just not really exciting.  Not a bad match but certainly not very good one either.  Score:  4.5

Kengo Mashimo and Moonshine Mantell vs. Yuji Hino and Ricky Fuji
Mantell and Mashimo attack their opponents to start the match, with Hino and Fuji getting the advantage.  Double Irish whip to Mantell and they hit a double hiptoss.  Fuji and Hino throw their opponents into each other and both hit lariats.  Hino throws Mantell into the corner and he tags in Fuji.  Fuji beats on Mantell, snapmare, and Fuji applies a reverse chinlock.  Knee drop by Fuji, cover, but it gets a one count.  Fuji puts Mantell into the corner and tags in Hino.  Elbow by Hino, Mantell elbows him back, Irish whip by Hino and he hits a back elbow.  Scoop slam by Hino to Mantell, he goes off the ropes but Mashimo kicks him from the apron.  Arm breaker by Mashimo over the top rope and he pulls Hino out of the ring.  Mashimo clubs on Hino and rams him shoulder-first into the ring post.  Mantell comes out and stomps on Hino before throwing him into the ring post again.  Hino fights back and chops Mantell against the apron, but Mashimo comes back over and attacks Hino.  Hino knocks him back and hits Nagai as well who is at ringside before getting on the apron.  Mashimo grabs Hino from the floor, giving Mantell time to knock down Hino.  Mantell drops an elbow onto Hino and then hits a second one.  Mantell tags in Mashimo and Mashimo twists Hino’s arm on the top rope.  Mashimo gets into the ring and stomps on Hino.  Hino slides out of the ring, and Mantell rams his arm into the apron.  Mantell slides Hino back in, and Mashimo drops a leg onto Hino’s arm.  Mashimo tags in Mantell, and Mantell stomps on Hino.  Arm breaker by Mantell and he knocks Fuji off the apron.  Mantell stomps on Hino’s arm, he picks him up but Hino slams Mantell to the mat.  Mantell regains the advantage and applies a stretch hold while Mashimo knocks Fuji off the apron.  Mantell slams Hino’s arm into the ring, he picks him up and throws Hino in the apron.  Mantell tags in Mashimo, and Mashimo kicks Hino in the corner.  Mashimo chops Hino against the ropes, Irish whip by Mashimo and he knees Hino in the stomach.  Cross armbreaker by Mashimo but Hino gets a foot on the ropes.  Stomp by Mashimo, he picks up Hino, Hino goes for a slam but Mashimo blocks it.  Mashimo kicks Hino in the arm a few times, he picks up Hino but Hino snaps off a vertical suplex.  Senton by Hino and he makes the tag to Fuji.  Fuji punches Mashimo repeatedly, then mounts him in the corner and punches him some more.  Fuji puts Mashimo on his shoulders and hits a rolling fireman’s carry takedown, cover, but it gets a two count.  Fuji goes off the ropes but Mashimo catches him with a jumping kick to the head and makes the tag to Mantell.  Fuji kicks Mantell and goes for a slam, but Mantell blocks it.  Irish whip by Mantell, Fuji ducks the lariat and he hits a scoop slam.  Fuji goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count cover.  Fuji goes off the ropes but Mantell catches him with a big boot.  Mantell picks up Fuji and he hits a delayed vertical suplex.  Cover, but Hino breaks it up.  Mashimo comes in and throws Hino out of the ring, shoulder tackles by Mantell to Fuji in the corner but Fuji kicks back Mashimo.  Hino comes in and lariats Mantell before hitting an overhead suplex to Mashimo.  Exploder by Hino to Mantell, Fuji tries to tag in Hino but Mantell grabs his leg and Mashimo snaps Hino’s arm over the top rope.  Mashimo kicks Fuji, Mantell picks up Fuji and plants him with the Moonshine Bomb.  Cover, and Mantell picks up the three count.  Your winners:  Kengo Mashimo and Moonshine Mantell

Match Thoughts:  Best match on the card so far, which I realize isn’t saying much.  Focusing on Hino’s arm was smart and I loved how they tied it into the end of the match by snapping his arm over the top rope when he reached for the tag.  I hadn’t seen that spot before used in that way, and it was well done.  Mantell is new to me but seems solid, aside from the atrociously indy finishing move.  Hino working the bulk of the match was a good idea but he really didn’t get to show off his strength since he was the face in peril.  Overall I enjoyed it, the arm work was solid and none of the wrestlers looked bad, it was a bit slow but picked up by the end.  Score:  6.5

Shiori Asahi and Hiro Tonai vs. TAKA Michinoku and Kaji Tomato
Tonai and Michinoku start things off. They jockey for position to start, waistlock by Tonai but Michinoku applies a wristlock. Tonai reverses it but Michinoku gets into the ropes to force a break. Waistlock by Michinoku and he gets Tonai to the mat, Tonai rolls out of it and both men return to their feet. They lock knuckles, hammerlock by Michinoku but Tonai applies an armbar. Michinoku reverses it into a waistlock and hits a drop toehold before applying a hammerlock on the mat. Wristlock by Michinoku and he tags in Tomato. Tomato stomps on Tonai in the corner but Tonai drives him back and tags in Asahi. Asahi and Tomato circle each other, Asahi balls up on the mat, Tomato approaches him but Asahi applies a wristlock. Asahi locks knuckles with Tomato, Tomato gets out of it but Asahi headbutts him in the groin. Asahi tags in Tonai while Tomato tags in Michinoku, wristlock by Michinoku and he kicks Tonai in the arm. Hammerlock by Michinoku and he drives Tonai into the corner before twisting his arm over the top rope. Michinoku tags in Tomato, and Tomato jumps down onto Tonai’s arm. Tomato applies a wristlock to Tonai and hits an armdrag before applying an armbar on the mat. Tomato splashes down onto Tonai’s arm and tags in Michinoku. Michinoku hits an armbreaker to Tonai and then hits a second one. Tonai slaps on a sleeper but Michinoku throws Tonai shoulder-first into the corner. Michinoku twists Tonai’s’ arm on the mat, he picks him up and hits another armbreaker. Michinoku throws Tonai in the corner and tags in Tomato, stomps by Tomato and he elbows Tonai in the corner. Elbows by Tomato but Tonai elbows him back and they trade blows. Dropkick to the knee by Tonai and he tags in Asahi. Asahi and Tonai snap back on Tomato’s legs, Irish whip by Asahi to Tomato and Asahi hits a hiptoss. Asahi picks up Tomato, Irish whip, and he hits another hiptoss. Asahi tags in Tonai and he dropkicks Tomato in the leg. Tonai twists on Tomato’s ankle and tags in Asahi, Asahi picks up Tomato, snapmare, and he covers Tomato for a two count. Asahi applies an ankle hold while Tonai comes in to stop Michinoku from interfering, but Tomato makes it to the ropes. Asahi tags in Tonai and Tonai yanks on Tomato’s leg. Tonai applies a leg hold but Tomato rolls out of it and reverses the hold. Tonai reverses it back and applies a kneelock, but Tomato gets to the ropes. Stomp to the leg by Tonai, elbows by Tomato, Irish whip by Tomato, reversed, but Tomato avoids Tonai’s dropkick and hits one of his own.

Tomato tags in Michinoku, and Michinoku boots Asahi off the apron. Asahi picks up Tonai, Irish whip, and Michinoku hits a shoulderblock. Side headlock takedown by Michinoku and he applies a keylock, but Tonai makes it to the ropes. Michinoku picks up Tonai and kicks him in the arm, Michinoku throws Tonai into the corner and twists his arm around the bottom rope. Knees to the arm by Michinoku but Tonai returns to his feet, chops by Tonai and elbows, Irish whip, but Michinoku blocks it and applies an armbar. Tonai quickly gets to the ropes but Michinoku gets the keylock applied, which Asahi quickly breaks up. Tomato gets rid of Asahi while Michinoku goes back to the arm, but Tonai makes it to the ropes. Snapmare by Michinoku and he hits a leg kick to Tonai, cover, but it gets two. Seated armbar by Michinoku and he applies a cross armbreaker, but Tonai again makes it to the ropes. Michinoku tags in Tomato, and Tomato kicks Tonai in the arm. Punches to the arm by Tomato and he dropkicks Tonai in the arm. Dropkick by Tomato, cover, but it gets a two count. Tomato applies an arm submission hold while Michinoku keeps Asahi back, but Tonai rolls to the ropes to force a break. Tomato picks up Tonai and elbows him, he goes off the ropes but Tonai hits a back elbow followed by a knee drop. Tonai tags in Asahi, snapmare by Asahi and he knees Tomato in the head. Cover, but it gets a two count. Reverse chinlock by Asahi but Michinoku breaks it up. Asahi picks up Tomato, Irish whip, and Asahi hit a spinning heel kick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Asahi picks up Tomato and throws him into the corner before tagging in Tonai. Face crusher by Tonai to Tomato and he applies a crossface but Tomato makes it to the ropes. Elbow drop by Tonai and he tags in Asahi. Asahi picks up Tomato, elbows by Tomato but Asahi hits him in the face and throws Tomato out of the ring. Tonai throws Tomato into the ring post outside the ring while Asahi and Michinoku fight on the other end of the floor. Asahi returns to the ring but Tomato makes the count, cover by Asahi but it gets a two count. Asahi picks up Tomato, elbows by Tomato, Irish whip by Asahi but Tomato hits a jumping elbow and tags in Michinoku. Michinoku throws Asahi into the corner but Asahi ducks the knee, Michinoku gets Asahi to the mat but Tonai runs in the ring. Michinoku throws Tonai back out, then goes back to Asahi and goes for the Just Facelock. He gets it locked in while Tomato holds back Tonai, but Asahi makes it to the ropes. Michinoku picks up Asahi and he goes for the Michinoku Driver, but Asahi blocks it and rolls up Michinoku for a two count.

Side headlock by Michinoku and he gets the Just Facelock re-applied, but Tonai breaks it up with a dropkick. Tomato comes in the ring and throws Tonai back out, and Michinoku makes the tag to Tomato. Tomato picks up Asahi and throws him into the corner, Irish whip by Tomato and he hits a running shoulder tackle followed by a jumping elbow. Scoop slam by Tomato, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Asahi rolls out of the way of the diving leg drop. Asahi kicks Tomato and makes the tag to Tonai, Tonai picks up Tomato and hits a series of elbows. Irish whip by Tonai and he hits a running elbow, cover, but it gets two. Tonai picks up Tomato and tags in Asahi, Irish whip by Asahi and he applies the Octopus Hold. Michinoku runs in and breaks it up, but Tonai throws Michinoku out of the ring. Double Irish whip to Tomato, Tonai and Asahi both his running strikes and then Tonai hits a diving knee drop. Leg kick by Tonai, rollup by Asahi but Tomato kicks out at two. Tomato goes off the ropes and hits a springboard kick, giving him time to tag in Michinoku. Irish whip by Michinoku to Asahi to the corner but Asahi kicks him back and tags in Tonai. Tonai goes for the Just Facelock but Tonai rolls out of it, he goes for Michinoku’s leg but Michinoku reverses it into the Just Facelock. Seated armbar by Michinoku to Tonai, but Asahi breaks it up. Tomato throws Asahi out of the ring while Michinoku applies a crossface chickenwing to Tonai, he then applies a cross armbreaker but Tonai gets a foot on the ropes. Michinoku tags in Tomato, Tomato picks up Tonai, double Irish whip to the corner and Michinoku hits a jumping knee. Jumping elbow by Tomato and he dropkicks Tonai while Michinoku kicks him in the back. Cover, but Asahi breaks it up. Tomato picks up Tonai and hits an uppercut, but Tonai throws Tomato to the mat. Tomato applies a stretch hold, Asahi tries to get in the ring to break it up but Michinoku stops him and puts him in the Just Facelock. Tomato releases the hold and trades pin attempts with Tonai, jumping kick by Tomato but Asahi gets free and dropkicks Tomato. Flash inside cradle by Tomato, but it gets a two count. Tomato goes off the ropes and dropkicks Tonai, he picks him back up but Tonai quickly spins him to the mat and applies an armbar. Tomato wiggles for a moment but he is trapped, and he has to submit. Your winners: Shiori Asahi and Hiro Tonai

Match Thoughts: While this is the longest match I’ve reviewed in awhile (almost 30 minutes), it still didn’t do a whole lot. The submission holds used throughout the match turned out to be meaningless, as Tomato tapped to an arm submission even though no one had been working on his arm. You’d think they could keep track of which limb they were working on, it was Asahi’s arm and Tomato’s leg (see, I remembered). So the end basically made the entire lead-up a waste of time, would it have been that much harder to put him in a hold that impacted the worked over leg? Besides the epic logic fail, the match was well-worked in the sense it flowed well and there weren’t any miscues that I noticed, it just wasn’t very exciting. For a long main event you’d think it would have some big moments but it didn’t, it was just them trading submissions and quick pin attempts for 90% of the match. A match like this I watch and think its great experience for the wrestlers but as a viewer, it just wasn’t exciting and the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. Not the worst match I’ve seen, the action was solid, it just failed in other key areas and ultimately wasted my time. Score: 4.0

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Kengo Mashimo and Moonshine Mantell vs. Yuji Hino and Ricky Fuji. The best match by default since it was the only match I thought was above average. But it was legitimately a fun match, Hino and Mashimo are both solid wrestlers and I really liked the ending spot to get Hino out of the match. Plus I feel my life is complete now that I’ve seen the Moonshine Bomb, never seen anything like that shit before.

MVP:   Shiori Asahi.  I was trying to pick the wrestler in the main event that looked the best. I can’t credit the wrestlers that took part in the end of the match since they went with the wrong limb, and Michinoku was mostly a supporting player, so it goes to Asahi by default. Asahi did look good though, he was really flying around the ring and hit his spots really well. Probably not a performance I will remember forever, but a solid showing by him nonetheless.

Overall: Indy wrestling can be so hit and miss, and this one was a miss. I am not sure why this event was even taped, they do have titles and ‘big matches’ in K-DOJO, this event just didn’t have either one of those. It just felt like a house show as some of the wrestlers were going though the motions and there wasn’t a single memorable spot on the entire card. It was just void of emotion in general, I know these guys put on a lot of shows with the same wrestlers so it may be old hat to them, but to a new viewer I wanted to see a bit more out of them. I have more K-DOJO events to review, hopefully it picks up as there was really nothing on this event worth watching, even if it did have one fun mid-card tag team match.

Grade: F