Welcome back to ChocoPro and to a rare mid-week episode of the Ichigaya action. Today’s show had another two matches to dive into as the company built another big Asia Dream Tag Title match. We’d see Cherry return to team up with Sawasdee Kamen against the intriguing team of Shin Suzuki and Yuna Mizumori and in the main event, the Apple Girl Mei Suruga found herself alone against Masahiro Takanashi and Sayaka Obihiro in triple-threat action. Plus, even though she was injured, Chie Koishikawa was keeping the energy up with the help of a new shark friend. Let’s see who came out the winner in today’s episode and get into the action.

Yuna Mizumori & Shin Suzuki defeated Cherry & Sawasdee Kamen via Supergirl on Kamen

Up first today, we had some more tag team action. The weekend’s enemies had become allies as Yuna Mizumori and Shin Suzuki were teaming up. Their opponents were the unlikely pairing of Cherry and Sawasdee Kamen. The latter claims to be a hero but here he is teaming with someone as villainous as Cherry… Kamen was already in the sin bin for failing a headstand kip-up contest with Suzuki. This leaked into the match too as the pair opened with even more attempted headstands, mixing them in with their chain wrestling. Kamen earned a bit of redemption by winning a headstand kicking contest and Cherry interrupted to turn him to the dark side. It didn’t last though as Suzuki and Mizumori levelled him with double-team and Mizumori tried to crush him. Kamen held out and found his escape, bringing in the malicious Cherry. As expected, she didn’t play nice and tried her best to break as many rules as she could whilst beating down the Tropical Fairy. Kamen followed suit as his attacks took on a mean and mocking nature, helping keep Mizumori trapped and Suzuki out. They were both tormenting her with corrupted versions of the Tropical offence and both paid a harsh price as she fought to freedom, bringing Suzuki back into the fight. Suzuki’s grand hot streak was cut off with nails in the eyes and Cherry ended up throwing both Suzuki and Mizumori into each other, forming one hell of a body pile for a knee drop.

Shin Suzuki is fired up#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/jWqtVnhUnx

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) February 23, 2022

The shenanigans just kept coming as both teams just kept taking lumps out of each other. Mizumori and Suzuki kept finding ways to come back into the fight but at the same time, Kamen and Cherry kept finding ways, fair or otherwise to drop them again. It led to a fast-paced flurry of encounters as everyone fought everyone with the tag rules going out the window. As everything boiled to a head, Kamen and Mizumori were the pair fighting it out and after dodging a multitude of kicks, Mizumori took the win with the Supergirl. Suzuki and Mizumori were thrilled with their victory whilst Cherry was livid. This proved to be a great opening romp with a lot of nice spots and plenty of personalities. Both teams brought their A-game and provided us with a mix of athletic competition and hate-inducing rule-breaking. What’s not to love?

Mei Suruga defeated Sayaka Obihiro & Masahiro Takanashi via Referee Decision Double Pin on Obihiro

Today’s main event would see Mei Suruga flying solo as she represented the Best Bros in triple-threat action. One of her foes was part of their upcoming Asia Dream Tag Title defence in Masahiro Takanashi and the other was the Iron Chef, Sayaka Obihiro. This promised to be hectic as hell and I felt sorry for Shin Suzuki as he was officiating it. For much of the opening stretch, Obihiro was relegated to watching and waiting as Takanashi and Suruga just wanted to fight each other. She grew bored of this and bulldozed her way into the match, going after both opponents. They didn’t take too kindly to this as Takanashi used Suruga as a crossbody weapon. With all three fighters in the mix, we had the competition bubbling as everyone burst into the fight. Little scraps broke out here and there but it would never be too long before the left-out fighter burst back into the fray. Suruga couldn’t resist indulging in some goblin tactics and did everything in her power to send a message to CDK through Takanashi. She was ruthless in her approach, using scarves and shirts to do extra damage. As all this happened, Obihiro’s rage simmered and she exploded back into the match with a flurry of chops. She got into it with Takanashi before he used both of his foes as tools for a double submission.

Double Stomp outta nowhere#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/iBCjxXyZnN

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) February 23, 2022

As time went on, the gloves came off and everyone brought out their big guns, breaking limbs and locking up bodies. The problem was, there was always someone there to break up the hold or another counter to be performed. It was competitive to the end with everyone doing their best to win whenever chance and fate allowed it. Obihiro could have easily become a forgotten element in this match under all the CDK/Best Bros aggression but she continuously made sure that both foes remembered her existence. The woes existed to the end though as Takanashi and Suruga both technically scored the winning pinfall with referee Suzuki awarding the win to Suruga. It had been a hard-fought battle for all three and felt like a fitting main event. It was enjoyable throughout and we continue to build towards the incoming CDK/Best Bros showdown. Suruga narrowly won this battle but who was going to win the war. The answer to that was fast approaching.

All images courtesy of Gatoh Move, FlyingVTrigger, Video courtesy of Gatoh Move YouTube