Welcome back to ChocoPro. It’s time to start season 13 as there are no brakes on the ChocoPro train. With Emi Sakura back in America, the turbulent arc of the Queen has come to an end for now but you know she’s still watching very closely from the US. To kick us off, we had a triple-bill of episodes. To start with, we’re tackling 217 and 218. We were getting the best and brightest opening everything as #217 gave us Best Bros vs Dragon Ninja and the grand return of Chie Koishikawa as she teamed with Shin Suzuki against Masahiro Takanashi and Sayaka. In #218, we upped the ante with three matches as Antonio Honda battled Chie Koishikawa, Baliyan Akki and Masahiro took on Tropical Comaneci, and lastly, we got a battle between ChocoPro standouts as Mei Suruga and Sayaka collided. Let’s get into the action.

ChocoPro #217

Best Bros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) defeated Dragon Ninja (Sayuri & Choun Shiryu) via Assisted Moonsault on Sayuri

The first match of the season went to Best Bros. The former aces of the tag division were going to open the show in style with a tag bout against the reformed Dragon Ninja. Sayuri was back in action full time and was linking up with her compatriot, Choun Shiryu. It was time to see if Best Bros could handle the Dragon Ninja magic. Shiryu and Akki opened with competitive chain wrestling and after reaching a stalemate, let Sayuri and Suruga do the same. Suruga tried to go goblin mode but Shiryu outdid her there and Dragon Ninja dished out a temporary beating. It didn’t last and Best Bros began systematically destroying Sayuri. She was able to withstand and escape, allowing Shiryu the chance to take some more aggression out on Akki. The pair kept the action interesting with a ridiculous combo of back-and-forth as Shiryu pushed and Akki tried to survive. Best Bros hit Shiryu with both variants of Spider but it wasn’t enough to keep him down and soon, Dragon Ninja was working over Suruga too. Both teams went wild as the rules mostly went out the window for an all-out war around the mat with everyone attacking everyone. Neither team really kept the upper hand until Best Bros came together to hit Sayuri with the Assisted Moonsault and take the win. This was a wild opener and made for a whole lot of fun. Sayuri has really improved as of late and the creativity of Dragon Ninja was off the charts but it sadly wasn’t enough to stop Best Bros today. The aces opened the show victorious and put on an excellent showing.

Masahiro Takanashi & Sayaka defeated Shin Suzuki & Chie Koishikawa via Roll-up on Koishikawa

Big bodyslam from Sayaka#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/20Qs9HddTD

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) April 15, 2022

The first main event saw the grand return of Chie Koishikawa. She’d been entertaining the masses with her friend shark through her injury and now she was coming back in all her hyperactive glory since she was mostly healed up. She too was getting some tag action alongside the Headstand King Shin Suzuki against the forces of Masahiro Takanashi and Sayaka. What was Koishikawa going to be like in her return? The energy was definitely still there. She went into it with Sayaka and despite the weak point, tried to keep her hyperactive style going against the domineering Sayaka. They tagged and Suzuki got into another exchange with Takanashi trying to outshine his idol and succeeding. We had double running action but Koishikawa’s weakened fingers became the target of a brutal assault. Koishikawa became the matches’ punching bag as both Sayaka and Takanashi bullied her, rules and ethics be damned as they did so. The energy wouldn’t be stopped and she arm-dragged her way to freedom, unleashing an angry Suzuki into the match. He too got caught though and it became a battle of survival against the two. Sayaka was feeling vicious and unleashed hell with her forearms and holds. Suzuki had an answer and after a lethal chop of his own, he released Chie for the first Demon Chop of the season. The action just kept firing up as Koishikawa kept attacking both foes whilst they went after her fingers. Suzuki and Koishikawa found their rhythm as a team and started busting out the double-team on Takanashi. Much like the last match, things exploded and all four fighters went all-out. There were counters galore as Suzuki and Koishikawa fought like hell despite the odds and targeted attacks. It wasn’t enough though as Takanashi kept going to the fingers and eventually rolled her up to steal the win. It had been a great return for Koishikawa, it just didn’t result in victory. Bloody hell, this match had energy, heart, and a whole lot of physicality. Sayaka has come leaps and bounds and Koishikawa is showing this injury hasn’t slowed her. Plus, Suzuki is dependable in any match, as is Takanashi. Everything came together nicely.

ChocoPro #218

Antonio Honda defeated Chie Koishikawa via Small Package

GON SOARS?#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/UNqnbz7eww

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) April 16, 2022

The streak continued with Koishikawa’s first singles match post-injury. She was taking on Antonio Honda, someone who is just as chaotic as she is. It’s hard to pinpoint how this match was going to go so let’s see what they did. They started with arm and finger work with Honda going to the fingers and nearly giving up to a Hammerlock. The match paused for a palm reading as Koishikawa got great news, she’d be a space princess in the future but her presence wasn’t so good as she’d be attacked by a handsome opponent. He then attacked and channelled the power of a space octopus from Mars, being very dangerous in both physical and spiritual realms. The props came out and Honda started breaking rules, hiding his misdeeds behind comedy. Koishikawa grew sick of this and gave Honda Mat Burn and the Demon Chop but got cut off by a gut punch. She locked on a Sleeper but Gon came to the rescue and Honda turned the tables. The Shark rescued Koishikawa and had a friendly conversation with Gon about their favourite foods before fighting it out. The Shark fought valiantly but Gon ended him with the Gon Moonsault. Honda and Koishikawa chopped it out for a couple more minutes before Honda brought out the punches. They fought for the dancing elbow and no one got it, instead breaking down into a pinfall war. Honda blocked Acumen and danced into the Elbow. With both foes down, he retrieved Gon and looked to drop the fist but Shark snagged him by the neck. He broke free and panicked, trapping Koishikawa in a Small package to take the win. This was silly fun but I enjoyed it. I’m glad the shark is sticking around and aided Koishikawa here. It was another nice way to ease back into fighting for Koishikawa and highlighted more of her comedy ability too.

Baliyan Akki & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Tokiko Kirihara & Yuna Mizumori via Namaste Press to Kirihara

You have to love it when you see frenemies in action. Masahiro Takanashi and Baliyan Akki continuously prove you can be great enemies and better teammates and now they got the chance to show that off again by taking on the might of Tropical Comaneci. Yuna Mizumori and Tokiko Kirihara had the perfect combination of abilities so they were in for a fight. There’d be no handshakes in this one, just fighting. Kirihara and Takanashi opened with a clinic in technical wrestling and left the floor to a more physical showcase from Mizumori and Akki. Tropical Comaneci forced the pair into a double Comaneci and tried to combine their efforts further but Akki and Takanashi were doing their best to fight it. They focused their wrath on Kirihara, using her as an example for their submission ability, even busting out their own Comaneci. Kirihara brought out the claw and got her freedom, unleashing a tropical rampage on the match as Mizumori got to work. Even then, Akki and Takanashi got through that and began breaking her down. Things just remained competitive as Mizumori exploded back into action and kicked ass, bringing in Kirihara to do the same. Akki has had storied rivals with both foes and had to draw on his experience to avoid being broken by them. Kirihara got her hooks in but Akki fought up and we got another every fighter for themselves showcase. With everything going their way Takanashi removed Mizumori from the equation and Akki finished off things with the Namaste Splash to Kirihara. It had been another hard-fought fight but it got everyone a spotlight, made me want more teaming up from Tropical Comaneci, and gave the champ another win. It’s only a matter of time before we get Akki’s next challenger, part of me hopes it’s Mizumori. Those two continue to tear down the house whenever they’re pitted against each other.

Mei Suruga defeated Sayaka via Lucifer

Last but not least, the final main event. Mei Suruga is one of the top MVPs of the company. Be it singles or tag matches she has always found a way to shine. The same could be said for Sayaka, one of the fourth-gen standouts. Now, it was time to pit them against each other and see who walks out the winner. It was all to play for. This started out as a slow-burn contest, the pair shunting, shoving, and locking the other down to feel the other out. Sayaka unleashed her power with a hair toss and stomps, earning a telling off from the ref. She methodically worked over Suruga and tried to break her back with a Camel Clutch, getting nasty when she wouldn’t quit. Suruga took offence at a plagiarised Cute on Purpose and began imposing her will on the match and Sayaka. Suruga got sadistic with limb twisting and paid special attention to Sayaka’s arm. Take away the throwing arm, you take away the forearms. Throughout it all, Sayaka refused to give up and Akki found himself having to stop Suruga from going goblin mode. Sayaka came back with a vengeance, trapping Suruga in a deep Crab and bending her legs in ways they definitely aren’t meant to. Suruga did the same and tempers flared into a very heated bout, even taking the violence outside. Suruga wrecked her arm against a wall and Sayaka took full advantage continuing to grind it into the concrete. Things remained physical but Sayaka took her eye off the ball for a second and Suruga locked down her arms again. She refused to break the hold, earning further admonishment from Akki, and continued to get mean with wall moves. Another battle of the submissions broke out and Sayaka continued to ratchet up the physicality with more harsh forearms and slams. Sayaka continuously seemed to have it won but Suruga would always find a way out. As the match clawed on, Suruga kept coming back and inflicting the same pain on Sayaka. As the match neared the 20-minute mark, Suruga locked on Lucifer and all that arm damage paid off as Sayaka tapped. This was the first show-stealer of the season. It was a slow-burn, highly-physical battle of attrition as two MVPs looked to end each other. It was a mystery until the end as to who would walk away victorious with both stealing the show’s spotlight. Suruga continues to shine as a singles star and Sayaka proved she’s still nipping at her heels. It’s always competitive in ChocoPro.

All images courtesy of Gatoh Move, Chie Koishikawa, FlyingVTrigger, Videos courtesy of Gatoh Move YouTube