Welcome back to ChocoPro and to another weekend of action from Ichigaya’s favourite wrestling company. Emi Sakura had stuck around and was joining the regular cast for another duo of shows, reuniting with another tag team in the Hyakkin Thunders with Masahiro Takanashi against Antonio Honda and Sayaka Obihiro and continuing to corrupt Mei Suruga with more Killer Queens action against Dragon Ninja. Alongside that in #234, Best Bros were returning to the main event slot for a slug-out with Chie Koishikawa and Yuna Mizumori and in #235, Baliyan Akki joins Yuna Mizumori to continue his feud against Shin Suzuki as Chie Koishikawa fights alongside him. It was a pure tag team weekend with more stories being built and the ever-escalating grudge between Akki and Suzuki continuing to heat up. Let’s get into the action and see who stood tall in Ichigaya this weekend.

ChocoPro #234

Hyakkin Thunders (Emi Sakura & Masahiro Takanashi) defeated Antonio Honda & Sayaka Obihiro via Trip Pin trap on Obihiro

The Queen’s return tour continued with a reunion of the Hyakkin Thunders. One of Gatoh Move’s deadliest teams was having another run as Masahiro Takanashi and Emi Sakura banded together once again to take on the hard-hitting, unpredictably chaotic duo of Antonio Honda and Sayaka Obihiro. This was another one that could go anywhere and be anything. It opened traditionally enough with Obihiro and Takanashi getting technical. Obihiro had been taking in Hokkaido air and looked to show off the conditioning. Sakura antagonised her out of the match and got into it with Honda leading to Honda singing Under Pressure to avoid giving up and being caught with his own wrist slap as he tried to trick Sakura with her fortune. Everyone attacked Honda’s wrist and he became the punching bag of the match. He even got bitten as Sakura mimicked Suruga’s cannibalistic trait. The Thunders just kept bullying and embarrassing him until he snapped, unleashing gut punches and a Neckbreaker. Obihiro took off like a house on fire and beat some justice into Sakura but again, Sakura craftily bit her way to freedom. The Thunders continued their oppressive reign on the match until Honda could soothe all the tensions in the room with a song. That was all a ruse for a sneak attack but the Thunders still refused to be beaten. Everyone jabbed and danced until elbows were hit and the Thunders took the win with a tripping pin. It was a fun and frantic match showing Sakura hasn’t lost her sense of humour during her time away. She was still evil in this one but it was light-hearted enough to be a fun watch. Everyone had a blast here and it opened the show rather nicely.

Best Bros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) defeated Yuna Mizumori & Chie Koishikawa via Akki’s Knot on Koishikawa

Show one concluded with the Best Bros returning to the main event spotlight. The second-best team in the company has continued to reign supreme despite their missing titles and were looking to continue their stint at the peak of the mountain with a win over Yuna Mizumori and Chie Koishikawa. Once again, Mei and Akki were battling some of their closest frenemies so some fireworks were guaranteed. We all know what to expect from these teams by now. it’s hard not to just sit back and enjoy when four friends/rivals get paired up to beat the hell out of each other. It was all competitive with Koishikawa once again excelling in everything she did whilst suffering the wrath of the Best Bros. She has found a nice rhythm with Mizumori and the pair showed off some nice team chemistry throughout the match. We see these four fight each other fairly often but it always seems to yield some interesting matches. Whilst you can’t reinvent the wheel, they often showcase something new or bring in more unique moments. For example, it was rather funny to watch Akki and Mizumori jaw jack whilst they had the other’s partner locked down, Suruga really not enjoying her time in a Crab.

Best Bros no strangers to teamwork#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/cqlmJDbPCc

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 11, 2022

Suruga remained sadistic yet saccharine, trying to be nice whilst blatantly going goblin mode. Though Akki seemed to be doing the same, going after the still recovering fingers of Koishikawa. It was all a bit mean from the Best Bros. It did make the times Mizumori beat the hell out of them both all the sweeter though. This match isn’t necessarily going to blow any doors off but it provided another nice showcase for the wrestlers and proved again why ChocoPro has such an interesting tag division. I still won’t tire of the Muzumori vs Akki showdowns and seeing Koishikawa’s continuous improvement always makes the matches worth it.

ChocoPro #235

Baliyan Akki & Yuna Mizumori defeated Shin Suzuki & Chie Koishikawa via Supergirl on Koishikawa

Shin doing it all#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/PypwnsdxUW

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 12, 2022

Show two kicked off with another round of action between Baliyan Akki and Shin Suzuki. With the Super Asia Title match looming on the horizon, the pair had decided to beat the hell out of each other each weekend until the match finally happened. Yuna Mizumori was bringing some tropical flavour to Akki’s side whilst Suzuki was joined by his regular fountain of energy, Chie Koishikawa. Who was going to come out on top this time? This one opened with more competitive action between champion and challenger before giving the floor to Mizumori and Koishikawa. Koishikawa, unfortunately, became the match whipping post again as Akki and Mizumori proved that their team play is just as reliable and polished as their matches. Koishikawa took some very heavy hits in this one but just kept coming, refusing to yield to the constant attacks. Suzuki came in to play difference maker and once again, blew some minds with his creative counters, headstands, and ability to hurt both opponents at once. He met a brick wall in Mizumori and again, found Akki more than willing to try and kill him. This was another match where all the pieces just fit to bring us something compelling. It was pretty damn intense for an opening contest but damn did it highlight the rivalry behind it and the combustible elements in Mizumori and Koishikawa. Ironically enough, Suzuki and Akki didn’t even factor into the finish as Mizumori took the win for her team by hitting the Supergirl on Koishikawa. Akki and Suzuki might be the top feud but Mizumori and Koishikawa refused to be overshadowed. Considering it’s just there to build, it went above and beyond with the action.

Killer Queens (Emi Sakura & Mei Suruga) defeated Dragon Ninja (Sayuri & Choun Shiryu) via Gateau Invisible on Sayuri

Last but not least, to conclude the weekend of action we had the Killer Queens gracing Ichigaya with another match. Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga had gelled unbelievably well in their last outing and now they were looking to up the ante by besting Dragon Ninja. We’ve seen some recent successes from Shiryu and Sayuri recently but the Queens definitely had their sights on spoiling that. Sakura and Suruga were in pure antagonist mode but Sayuri and Shiryu refused to back down from the challenge. Sayuri almost won the match instantly with a roll-up and kept the trend going, scoring multiple close three-counts. Sakura retreated before she could be gotten again and Suruga tangled with Suruga. As expected, the pair went goblin mode quickly as Suruga started pulling ears. The corruption was real as all of Sakura’s evil had taken hold of Suruga. She already acts like this but it was so much worse in this one. Shiryu wasn’t going to let the shenanigans stand though and ended up getting the better of both Queens. It was only when Sayuri got involved that Sakura really struck, locking the pair in a double ear-pulling submission. The ChocoPro Ninja withstood a whole lot of abuse, being mocked, tortured, and torqued around the venue as the ref seemed powerless to stop the carnage. The Queens were in pure torture mode as Sakura seemed to channel Karin from Street Fighter, laughing at her opponent’s pain whilst Suruga became even more of a goblin than normal. It was a massacre. One that Shiryu couldn’t seem to stop and one that was nauseating Akki on commentary.

TRANSFORMER!#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/b90FETkk6t

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 12, 2022

Despite all this, Sayuri wouldn’t give up. Her heart kept beating so she kept fighting on, no matter the pain or humiliation. Shiryu was able to give the team a fighting chance, getting the better of Sakura again and dumping Suruga outside for the nastiest chop of the show. Alas, even that couldn’t stop the onslaught of the Queens. Sayuri got to take the team through the last stretch of the match but despite all of Dragon Ninja’s best efforts, she couldn’t get the win. That elusive killing blow could not be found and Suruga took the opportunity to tap her out with Gateau Invisible. It had been an absolute gauntlet of a main event with Dragon Ninja pulling out some of their best work. This was some of the best we’ve seen from Sayuri and I’m sad it didn’t result in victory. It did make for one hell of a main event though and both teams can leave this one happy they gave it their all.

All images courtesy of Gatoh Move, Yuna Mizumori, FlyingVTrigger, Videos courtesy of Gatoh Move YouTube