Welcome back to a Gatoh Move special event as Ichigaya’s favourite group invades Shinjuku FACE to put on an anniversary super card for the Apple Girl, Mei Suruga. There were five matches planned for this monster celebration bringing wrestlers from around the country together. Suruga has impacted a lot of different companies now so we had Gatoh Move, TJPW and so many more showing support and sending fighters to compete. We’d see a four-team war, Haruka Umesaki vs Chie Koishikawa, Tropical Curly Crazies taking on the combined might of Hagane Shinno, Sayaka, and Makoto, CDK defend the Asia Dream Tag Titles against the bruisers MIKAMI and Thanomsak Toba all lead to the main event in which Mei Suruga takes on TJPW’s Suzume. There was fun abound so let’s waste no more time and get into the action.
Four Team Chaos: Dragon Ninja (Choun Shiryu & Sayuri) defeated Black Comaneci (Antonio Honda & Tokiko Kirihara), Sayaka Obihiro & Shin Suzuki & Kaori Yoneyama & Sawasdee Kamen via Bombs Away on Kirihara
The action kicked off with a four-team war bringing together some of ChocoPro’s favourite teams and some odd pairings to keep things interesting. It would be Dragon Ninja vs Black Comaneci vs Sayaka Obihiro and Shin Suzuki vs Kaori Yoneyama and Sawasdee Kamen. These were all potential winning combinations but only one was going to get the better of their foes. Within the first couple of minutes, we’d seen Ninja chops, headstand kicks, Lucha arm-drags and Honda nearly giving up after trying to defend his light-up hat. This was a mess but it was really fun and there to put a smile on the crowd’s faces. Between the songs, misdirection, and prop shots there was some crisp wrestling and as I’ve said before, I’m never going to complain about Sayuri getting a win. Black Comaneci had gone all-out for the occasion but it wasn’t quite enough to get a win today. Everyone was flabbergasted by what they were seeing that even Akki struggled to commentate it. Tongue was firmly in cheek for this one but it was hard not to crack a smile and enjoy the ride.
Haruka Umesaki defeated Chie Koishikawa via La Magistral
Up next was something more technical but no less energetic as Chie Koishikawa prepared to take on Mei Suruga’s new favourite tag partner Haruka Umesaki. It would be too much energy meeting the cool style of Umesaki. We’ve seen Koishikawa pull out some of her best matches when the odds are against her, would that be the case here? Yep. These two killed it. Frantic technicality gave way to an uphill fight for Koishikawa. However, once she found her rhythm this became a greatest hits compilation for both wrestlers as they traded big moves, lethal shots, and painful submissions. Koishikawa had a lot of control in this one and made sure to make full use of her time. She was the underdog in this one but at times you wouldn’t have believed it as she chopped, rolled up, and locked her way through things. It all made for an excellent match that mixed pageantry with hard, pure wrestling action and gave Umesaki another win within the Gatoh Move ranks. Koishikawa may have lost but this was way closer than some of her previous matches and still served as an excellent spotlight for her progress and ability.
Curly Crazies (Baliyan Akki & SAKI) & Yuna Mizumori defeated Hagane Shinno, Sayaka & Makoto via Tropical Lariat on Sayaka
.@haganemakai and @baliyanxakki turn up the intensity! #MeiSuruga4thAnniv #gtmv
➡️ https://t.co/IVqJfxlwOp pic.twitter.com/K4tgwzuIPF
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) June 4, 2022
Time for more anarchy as the Curly Crazies got a tropical infusion as they joined forces with the Pineapple Monster Yuna Mizumori. They were in for some stiff competition though as they’d been pitted against the monster force of the Ice Warrior Hagane Shinno, Smiling Violence Sayaka, and Makoto. This was going to be a wild one. Once again, this match managed to straddle the line between comedic and serious as it started with both teams trying to establish a rapport and often led to a follow the leader style game when it came to group offence. Oh, and Akki and co trying to attack with apples. That dispersed once Akki and Shinno were given the ropes and we got another slugfest from the pair. Alongside that, there were flurries of both TropiKawild and Curly Crazies double-team and flashes of brilliance from the other competitors in the match. No one was left out in this star-packed tag team madness. Everyone was on top form as the show continued the frenetic pace it had built. Akki’s team came away the winners but it had been no easy ride to the top. It’s a good job they’d brought their working boots, they definitely needed them. This show was out to spread joy and fun to celebrate a special occasion and so far, each match had managed that perfectly. The last stretch of this match was the most down to the wire we’d seen things get yet with Sayaka and Mizumori masterfully keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.
Asia Dream Tag Titles: CDK (Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi) defeated Suicide Boyz (Thamonsak Toba & MIKAMI) via Grounded Manji on Toba
Time to raise the stakes a bit as CDK put their Asia Dream Tag Titles on the line against a formidable force, The Suicide Boyz. The old-school DDT team consisting of Thanomsak Toba, a man whose hands are so deadly he has to wear boxing gloves at all times in the ring, and MIKAMI were the chosen foes for Brookes and Takanashi so this could get very ugly, very fast. There were going to be a lot of vicious strikes in this one from both sides of that ring. As predicted, this was a wince-inducer. It started civil enough with CDK pulling their usual shenanigans against MIKAMI but the tide soon shifted once Toba started throwing hands. His shots were bloody scary with Takanashi bearing the brunt of them until CDK could start double-teaming the duo. Toba was a lethal weapon whilst MIKAMI kept the wheels rolling. I didn’t quite expect to see CDK in such danger, they’ve always swaggered through most challengers. Gatoh Move brought out the big guns so CDK brought their best too. Even Brookes couldn’t stay standing when Toba socked him in the jaw though. Akki was practically celebrating from commentary as Toba beat the absolute hell out of Brookes but a German quickly changed the tone of the match, giving CDK the ball.
I may have spoke too soon… because @t639 just bopped Cool Guy Chrissy B into last week! #MeiSuruga4thAnniv #gtmv
➡️ https://t.co/IVqJfxlwOp pic.twitter.com/jEE90fDZTQ
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) June 4, 2022
Toba continued to kickbox his way through the match and that led to another frantic closing stretch as all four men did whatever they could to secure victory. Toba and Brookes just kept beating the absolute hell out of each other, trading chops for more punches straight to the face. Nothing would keep Toba down so in the end Brookes did what he did best and locked Toba down with a Manji Gatame. CDK retained but goddamn did they suffer for their titles here. This was bloody brilliant. Props to Toba and MIKAMI too for being top-tier opponents. We even saw the rare CDK sportsmanship but it was interrupted when the UMA invaded, unleashing a duo of Kappa Kozo’s on CDK. They were sent packing by MAO, setting up their ChocoPro match. Something tells me the Kappas were just a warning, it looks like the UMA still wants Gatoh Move…
Mei Suruga defeated Suzume via Propellor Bomb
Last but not least, the main event. Minoru Fujita got to do the ring announcing for this one as the poster girl, Mei Suruga took the main event spot against TJPW representative, the Vivid Honey Mustard, Suzume. This was going to be pure Joshi carnage as both Suruga and Suzume are as fast as it gets. Suruga even had a new gear to mark the occasion. There was a whole lot of potential in this one and I had the utmost faith it would deliver. I was not disappointed too as it went from a technical masterclass where Suruga got to tease some of her goblin antics and showed off even more submissions and stretches, she’d been working on. She played the domineering bully whilst Suzume was moulded into the underdog, even being mockingly cheered on by Suruga. As expected, Suruga clawed and bit her way through sections of the match because it wouldn’t be a celebration without showing both the Apple girl and the Apple goblin. Suzume had to rely on speed and wit as Suruga was merciless throughout the match. It was her spotlight and she wanted to bully her opponent. Suzume was determined to not go down easily, no matter how much Suruga hit her. Caution was thrown to the wind and both fighters went for broke trying to secure victory. Suzume took to the air and Suruga just got more ruthless with her technique.
.@Mei_gtmv and @suzume_tjpw are brilliant together! #MeiSuruga4thAnniv #gtmv
➡️ https://t.co/IVqJfxlwOp pic.twitter.com/42JeoSqkZQ
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) June 4, 2022
The pair continued to slug their way through with Suzume making up more and more ground as time went on. Suruga’s stranglehold was loosening but she was still far from giving up, continuously kicking out and giving back just as hard as she got. The match elevated into an all-out war with both bringing out the best in each other. The creativity was off the charts as the pair kept finding new and intriguing ways to try and secure victory. It got pretty intense as Suruga went back to submissions, nearly ripping Suzume’s arm off in the process. With her opponent weakened, she brought out the greatest hits, the double stomp and the Propellor Bomb to take the win. It had been a well-fought match and a worthy main event. Suruga’s goblin attitude retracted the second the match was over as she and Suzume shared a moment in the ring and the usual Gatoh Move post-show celebrations kicked off.
That ended another fun show from Gatoh Move. It’s still quite odd getting used to seeing the roster in a ring and in front of crowds after seeing so much ChocoPro but the company continues to show out wherever they are. This was a really well-paced, well-balanced show that had equal measures of comedy, drama and wrestling brilliance. They’d brought so many companies together for this big celebration and everyone seemed to have a blast being there. Happy fourth anniversary Mei Suruga, here’s to many more. The Apple Girl is one of the company’s most recognisable stars and is continuing to take the world by storm. Who knows what will have happened by the time she reaches her fifth anniversary?
All images courtesy of Gatoh Move, Rembrandt_kbs, tde_gif, Video courtesy of Gatoh Move YouTube