Welcome back to ChocoPro and to another double-bill of festivities. We’ve had the new year’s challenges, now it was time to keep the ball rolling with more wrestling fun and celebration. Firstly, in #189, we’d see the boys team up against the girls as Baliyan Akki, Hagane Shinno, and Masahiro Takanashi joined forces against Chie Koishikawa, Sayaka Obihiro, and Tokiko Kirihara, and in a main event birthday bash for Honda, we’d see IYASARERUZ back in action against Mei Suruga and Minoru Fujita, what could possibly go wrong? After that in #190, Colours were invading as SAKI and Yuko Sakurai returned to Ichigaya. On that card we’d see Best Bros vs Kaori Yoneyama and Tokiko Kirihara, Sayaka Obihiro vs Masahiro Takanashi and TropikaWild vs Yuko Sakurai and Chie Koishikawa. There was a lot to get through so let’s get into the action.


ChocoPro #189

Baliyan Akki, Hagane Shinno & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Chie Koishikawa, Sayaka Obihiro & Tokiko Kirihara via Ankle Lock on Koishikawa

Up first was the rarely seen guys vs gals match as the boars took on the tigers. It was a battle of years as the two teams fought under their birth animal. This was going to be pure pandemonium as we had another Egg Tarts implosion and a whole lot of bodies on the mat. Any beef would be squashed for the purposes of this match whilst Chris Brookes mocked everyone but Takanashi from commentary. Obihiro started with a tiger step showcase (that reminded me more of Tekken King’s Jaguar Step) and we had multiple mini-fights as Obihiro took on Takanashi and Akki took on Kirihara before fading away to Koishikawa vs Shinno. Each fight brought its own brand of chain wrestling and Shinno ate an early Demon Chop. Both teams collided and the Tigers took control with a trio of submissions. Obihiro laid into Takanashi again with claws and body-scissors, then brought in Kirihara to taunt him with kettlebells. Koishikawa took one of those kettlebells and gave chase, trying to drop in on Takanashi’s chest. Kirihara used that same chest to dance on and nearly put Takanashi to sleep with a Rear-Naked, letting go so Koishikawa could apply a guillotine. Takanashi got sick of this and broke free with a wall throw after an intense thrust battle. Akki came in to break some backs and created a body pile for a triple Spider. Obihiro made him pay with chops and Kirihara was brought in to kick the crap out of him. Both met the wall and Kirihara kept kicking away before mounting for forearms and an armbar. Akki forced a break and fought off the Judo Throw, a Kimura, and the ground Cobra Twist to unleash Shinno on the match. He punished Kirihara with kicks and ate the Judo throw as she threw him at the camera. Egg Tarts had another back-and-forth fight as both hit and dodged each other’s greatest hits. The Boars tried to hit a triple charge and the Tigers tried to hit triple Tiger Drivers but neither could achieve that goal and the Boars ended up on the back foot again. Obihiro and Koishikawa almost rolled up Shinno and Shinno countered a dropkick into the Ankle Lock to take the win. This had been wild from the start with Shinno’s destructive Ankle Lock claiming another win. This was great fun with Obihiro really enjoying being a tiger and the Boars working weirdly well together.

IYASARERUZ (Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda) defeated Mei Suruga & Minoru Fujita via Flying Fist Drop to Suruga

What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a match? That’s what ChocoPro was doing for Antonio Honda as they paired him with one of his best mates against the forces of the totally not a goblin, Mei Suruga and the ChocoPro master Minoru Fujita. IYASARERUZ was back and Brookes was getting another chance to beat up Mei for his mate’s birthday, what more could he ask for? There were no handshakes and Suruga had to be held back from attacking Brookes. Honda and Fujita opened with technical wrestling as Honda danced through a wrist-lock, asking his foes and friends to remember it had been his birthday. No one remembered and he was very distraught by this. It had been a trick, everyone remembered and Suruga presented him with balloons which she popped in his face like a real goblin. Fujita and Suruga attacked both with their double-team and Honda got revenge with gut punches and mat-trapped guitar shots. They kept the beatdown going on Suruga and mangled her hair with Biel throws. That was just the start as Suruga became an IYASARERUZ punching bag with Fujita being kept at bay too. Multiple props and items were used as weapons and the duo trapped Suruga on the crane using a stool, swinging her into mallet attacks. We even saw them steal her hair bobble and mock her with it. Suruga tried to fire up and escape but the Calamari Catch King kept finding a way to trap her. She finally escaped with a flying hand stomp and brought in Fujita. He rampaged through Brookes and crushed his head against the wall with a knee. Fujita kept dodging disaster and torturing Brookes with power and submissions. They beat the hell out of each other with heavy strikes and Brookes KO’ed Fujita with a jumping knee. Honda got tagged in and instantly went after Fujita with jabs and the high knee.

Fujita broke his chin and also escaped the fight with a Swinging Neckbreaker. She rocked Honda with her wall combo and went for Gateau Invisible but Honda forced a break. Honda broke her guts and jabbed away for the dancing elbow but Fujita broke that up and tried to dance up to the elbow until he was cut off by Brookes. Suruga stopped him and we got a four-way jab battle for the dancing elbow, Honda failing to hit it as he accidentally formed the Apple Honey and Tokyo Heartbreak Academy poses. Brookes brought him back to reality and the pair hit Bionic elbows on Fujita and Suruga. They took out Fujita with a double Gon attack but couldn’t hit it on Suruga as she stopped it with a stool to the face. She hit Honda with a flying double stomp and Fujita threw Brookes out of the window. Honda was alone and ate a double-wall charge into an assisted crossbody but wouldn’t give up. Honda dodged another wall whip and opened the window, allowing Brookes to fly in and wreck Fujita with the Shoop Cutter. Suruga got rid of Brookes with the Super-Mei Punch and nearly took the win with a Cazadora, then got stuck on Honda’s shoulders for an elevated nose breaker and superkick. Honda brought her crashing down with a Piledriver and dropped the fist to take the win. The Birthday Boy had won the bout and gotten the win over one-half of the Asia Dream Tag team champions. They ended their segment with another song as Fujita tried to attend to Mei. Again, this was an awesome mix of comedy and wrestling that propelled this to main event fun. Happy belated birthday Honda, hope this match was an excellent present for you.


ChocoPro #190

Best Bros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) defeated Kaori Yoneyama & Tokiko Kirihara via B3 on Kirihara

The second show opened with some Best Bros action. They’d won the first match of 2022, could they keep that streak going with a win over the unpredictable team of Tokiko Kirihara and Kaori Yoneyama? Kirihara was already exhausting Yoneyama with Kettlebell Comanecis, how would they fair together on-mat? Kirihara and Akki opened with another hostile exchange and both went for early submission wins. They reached a stalemate and the chaotic forces were unleashed on each other. Yoneyama and Suruga ran and flew and screamed the building down as they went wild on each other. Suruga was stopped by foot grinding and the duo crushed her with a Comaneci Senton train. Suruga dodged the Comaneci kokeshis and put the boots on Kirihara. Akki wrapped her up with the step-over Deathlock and dropped Namaste Knees across Kirihara’s back and gut. The Namaste Stretch followed and Best Bros applied double submissions. They kept tormenting and beating Kirihara until she escaped with the claw slam. Suruga dodged Yoneyama’s hot tag but Best Bros felt a double dose as she fired off another round on both of them. The Camel Clutch quickly followed but Suruga was able to free herself and apply the Apple Mutilation. Yoneyama temporarily used Akki as a weapon but he regained control and Best Bros hit the double chop Backbreaker. Another foot stomp saved Yoneyama and Akki countered a pinfall war into the wall-run Swanton. He missed the Spider and got dropped on his head with a DDT. Kirihara came in to administer a kicking and tried to pummel Akki into an armbar. She applied a grounded Comaneci for a senton and nearly took the win. Akki blocked the Judo Throw and ran right into another, forcing Suruga to make the save. Kirihara went on the rampage but couldn’t tap out Akki and he took the win with B3. This had been a hectic opener with Kirihara once again showing off a new repertoire as well as shiny new gear. Akki was hurting but he’d won again. Suruga’s return has put him back on a winning path.

Masahiro Takanashi defeated Sayaka Obihiro via Keylock

Up next was another unpredictable fight as Sayaka Obihiro took on Masa Takanashi in a one-on-one fight. We’d seen them get competitive in the six-person, now it was time to see what would happen when no one else could influence the events. Obihiro has grown as a fighter in recent weeks so could she finally topple Takanashi? They opened with a scramble and went to work trading technical holds as Obihiro tried to show she could go hold for hold with him. Takanashi tried to break her arms and kept attacking that target and went to the neck when she tried to fight back. Obihiro went to the legs and again Takanashi made her pay for this with more damage to the arm. He stomped and kicked away when he lost his temper, then went back to torturing that arm, weakening it further. The rules were bent as Takanashi just kept going after his target with ruthless efficiency. Obihiro tried to put the block on this but Takanashi kept overpowering her and slammed her down. She finally stunned him with a throat thrust and knocked him down with a rolling chop. She kept chopping away as Takanashi egged her on and scored a near-fall with a sliding chop. Takanashi went right back to the shoulder and Obihiro transition that into a Sleeper. Takanashi fought off the hold but Obihiro kept finding more ways to apply it. Takanashi started to fade but forced a break and took more chops before kicking out of Obihiro Magic and tapping Obihiro out with a Keylock. Obihiro showed a lot of fire and a lot of heart but again, Takanashi is just too strong and too resourceful as an opponent. She left him with a stinging chest but he had left her with another stinging defeat. Sometimes though, it’s what you learn that’s more important and Obihiro learned she can push Takanashi to his limit.

TropikaWild (Yuna Mizumori & SAKI) defeated Yuko Sakurai & Chie Koishikawa via Brainbuster on Sakurai

Last but not least, the second main event. It was time to get colourful as SAKI and Yuko Sakurai of COLOURS came to fight. SAKI was joining her go-to tag partner in Yuna Mizumori as TropikaWild and Yuko Sakurai was joining the hyperactive chopping machine Chie Koishikawa. No matter who it won, this was going to get energetic. Sakurai and Mizumori opened with a powerhouse showdown and tried to shunt each other around the studio. Sakurai was getting the better of the exchange so SAKI helped Mizumori by giving her a shove. Mizumori tried to pose and Sakurai nearly made her pay for it with a roll-up. They tagged and SAKI pushed Koishikawa into the wall and got right in her face as she did so. Koishikawa went on a run but missed her dropkick and got trapped in a Face-lock. Sakurai came to the rescue and went to work on bullying SAKI. She held SAKI down and Koishikawa gave chase for an attempted Demon Chop. The pair kept SAKI trapped and kept working her over until she smacked down Koishikawa. Mizumori got to work on Koishikawa and the pair crushed her under a double submission. Koishikawa was bullied by TropikaWild and their lack of respect for the rules as the powerhouses tried to break her back. Sakurai tried to come to her aid but she too just ended up as part of the car crash, getting caught in the same double-team and submission work. Koishikawa chopped to freedom and unleashed Sakurai who ran a tackle train through the match. Mizumori stopped her with strikes and a headbutt but Sakurai almost pinned her again and killed her with a dropkick. Koishikawa tagged in to unleash some chops and fought off Mizumori’s counters to deliver the arm-drag. Mat burn followed and Mizumori couldn’t escape the Demon Chop. SAKI rescued Mizumori with a boot and the pair crushed Koishikawa again with a crossbody spree. Koishikawa was resourceful though and turned Tropical Yahho into the Guillotine.

Mizumori wouldn’t be denied though and carried Koishikawa up to the window for a Coconut Crush and handstand press. SAKI kept the murder going but got stopped with more chops and the dropkick. Sakurai gave Koishikawa a much-needed reprieve and struck it out with SAKI. She was taking the fight to SAKI but she too was stopped by the numbers of TropikaWild. She turned that against them and both locked TropikaWild in dual submissions. More chaos reigned as Mizumori bulldozed everyone and SAKI threw Koishikawa out of a window. This bit them in the ass as Koishikawa flew in with a double flying chop. SAKI rebounded with a Michinoku Driver and Sakurai nearly tapped her out with a Dragon Sleeper. In the end, TropikaWild just kept coming back and SAKI took the win with a Brainbuster. It had been a very hard-fought bout with Koishikawa and Sakurai proving to be an ample challenge for TropikaWild. It had been back-and-forth to the bitter end with TropikaWild’s experience and tools giving them the edge. That provided another exceptional main event fight and ended off ChocoPro’s monster week of shows in style.

All images courtesy of Gatoh Move, DOGU, FlyingVTrigger, videos courtesy of Gatoh Move YouTube

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