Welcome to another weekend of wonder from ChocoPro. I know it’s a bit of a late recap but schedules suck and it wouldn’t be a complete week without covering the latest from Ichigaya’s favourite wrestling company. it would be another two-show affair with audiences back again so even more people could enjoy the Choco fun. For #239 the company was giving us, Egg Tarts vs Dragon Ninja, Ken Ohka teaming with Masahiro Takanashi against Best Bros, and, in the main event, Emi Sakura tangling with the Smiling Violence of Sayaka. Following that in #240, we’d see Hagane Shinno battle Yuna Mizumori, Best Bros against Chie-DK, and the most Queen-filled main event on the planet as Emi Sakura and Chris Brookes team up to take on Queen Black Comaneci. Things were going to get wild and weird so let’s get into the action.

ChocoPro #239

Egg Tarts (Hagane Shinno & Chie Koishikawa) defeated Dragon Ninja (Choun Shiryu & Sayuri) via Double Armbar on Sayuri

ChocoPro was kicking the weekend off with something wild. Egg Tarts were back in full swing and looking to shoot up the tag team rankings. In their sights this time, another team continuously gaining experience and spirit, Dragon Ninja. It’s always fun to see Chie Koishikawa and Sayuri clash and something was intriguing about how Shiryu and Shinno were going to fight. Well damn, this was quite the hot start for the weekend. This was way more competitive than I’d have imagined with both teams getting their fair share of licks in. There was no clear whipping post in the match as everyone was a target at least once during the match. We got the best of both teams with Sayuri showing a whole lot of heart and guts as Shinno continuously bullied and belittled her. Throw in great work from Koishikawa and Shiryu throughout and you found an opener worth the time and effort put into it. Dragon Ninja keeps improving and Egg Tarts continue to climb those ranks.

Best Bros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) vs Ken Ohka & Masahiro Takanashi went to a time-limit draw

*Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man*#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/nwNnAVtfvj

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 25, 2022

Best Bros were in for a long weekend as they had not one, but two matches to get through across the next two days. Up first, they were tackling the combined might and experience of two deadly bosses, Ganbare Big Boss, Ken Ohka, and Masahiro Takanashi. This was going to be a rough one as both teams had a lot of fire and they were going to be fighting in a studio on fire under the noon sun. This delivered exactly what I wanted it to. It was both teams beating the absolute hell out of each other with every wrestler’s personality leaking in through Namaste holds, crafty technicality, explosive offence, and goblin tactics. The fifteen minutes flew by as the action just kept on coming. Suruga seemed to have it in for Ohka and kept bringing her mischief into the early stages of the match. Once things got going, everyone fired off with their best shots but no one could find a three-count. Everyone kept kicking out and the gong sounded right as Ohka might have finally done it with his Spear of Fire. We’ll never know since the match went to a draw. I hope we get more from the Takanashi/Ohka pairing as the clashing styles of both seem to complement the other quite well. It was a different type of Best Bros match but no less fun to watch.

Emi Sakura defeated Sayaka via Queen’s Gambit

Last but not least for show one, the main event. Emi Sakura was taking on one of the most promising of the fourth generation in Smiling Violence Sayaka. We’ve seen some absolute masterclasses from Sakura at the moment and she wanted to make sure one of her singles matches of this tour went to Sayaka. This was going to get stiff as Sayaka was going to try and bulldoze her way through her teacher. Since it opened with Sakura showing her no respect, Sayaka decided to beat it into her with a series of ever-escalating elbows. It was a vicious fight and only served to get nastier as time went on. Tempers flared and Sakura found she had to bring out all her tools to stop the terminator Sayaka had become. It was a fitting main event and showed just how damn good Sayaka is now. It was aggressive as hell, violent as hell, and full of shots that made everyone wince. When it was all done, Sakura stood tall as Sayaka had demanded her best and gotten it. They were both knackered by the end but Sayaka showed that spark of defiance as she swatted away Sakura’s hand, earning another kicking. I have a feeling when Sakura comes back to Japan again, we’re going to see an even heavier version of this match. Until then, Sayaka is going to continue murdering opponents with the stiffest elbows and the happiest of smiles. This match requires very few words because it’s just that good to watch. The video is below, give it a look.

ChocoPro #240

Hagane Shinno defeated Yuna Mizumori via Armbar

Yunamon's really bringing the heat#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/s6dcukUiwA

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 26, 2022

Show two was kicking off with something fierce. Yuna Mizumori, the Tropical Fairy is one of the most dangerous fighters in the company and was getting a chance to open the show with a bang by taking on the ice-cold killer, Hagane Shinno. Both wrestlers are more than capable strikers but how was Shinno going to adapt to the tropical fury? Shinno had specifically said he wouldn’t let Mizumori last long in this one and he tried his hardest to stick to that. He was continuously looking for quick ways to end things but never quite getting away with them. He tried roll-ups and tried to snap on that armbar wherever possible but just couldn’t quite do it. Mizumori was too tough and too resourceful, bouncing back and laying her shots in to shift the tide of battle. It became quite the desperate battle as Mizumori was scoring more and more strikes against him and the time limit was running out. In the end, he got his win but had taken longer than first planned and hurt him a lot more. Mizumori gave it her all and looked strong as hell, even in defeat. The fans were really into it too, loving the Tropical innovation and evil intentions of Shinno.

Best Bros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) defeated Chie-DK (Chie Koishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi) via Bridging Package Hold on Koishikawa

A fast and furious combo from Akki#ChocoPro #gtmv pic.twitter.com/uKLciB4OUX

— Rylino (@FlyingVTrigger) June 26, 2022

Best Bros’ busy weekend concluded with another challenging round with Takanashi. After going to a draw when he was with Ohka, they were looking to beat him this time as he reformed Chie-DK with Chie Koishikawa. Were the wounds of yesterday still nagging and would there actually be a winner this time in the Best Bros vs Takanashi series? Plus, Chris Brookes was on commentary to keep the party going and throw out some shots at Mei. He also heaped on the praise for the teamwork on display by Chie-DK, enjoying the sights as Suruga was chopped up and given mat burn. That’s how a lot of this match went. It was a bully Mei match until she finally powered up and broke the stranglehold Chie-DK had. Even then, they remained the thorn in Best Bros’ side and kept things ridiculously close. This was the best they’d looked yet and they really seemed to have the upper hand at most times. It takes a lot to get the better of the Best Bros but they were continuously close to achieving it. Despite all the punishment, Best Bros came back with a vengeance and took the win but it had been an uphill battle with defeat always being millimetres away. Koishikawa looked great and although she ate the L, it was purely from a trap, not a tap. There was progress shown here and no one would have argued if Chie-DK had won. They put the work in and had the Best Bros rocked for so much of this one. What a match.

Emi Sakura & Chris Brookes defeated Queen Black Comaneci (Antonio Honda & Tokiko Kirihara) via La Magistral on Kirihara

Last but not least, the second main event of the weekend. Things were about to get weird as Chris Brookes and Emi Sakura teamed up to take on the newest incarnation of Black Comaneci. Honda and Kirihara had outdone themselves this time as they’d made sure to send Sakura off with some nightmares by dressing as Queen. Plus, they had their usual prop-based shenanigans at the ready so anything could happen in this madcap main event. Yep, this was ridiculous. A lot of the fun came from watching Brookes and Sakura die inside every time Honda and Kirihara tried to do anything Queen-related. Despite there being two Freddie Mercuries, neither could get the songs right and were murdering Sakura’s whole schtick. She was not happy and as such, we had Brookes and Sakura tearing Black Comaneci apart when they weren’t at each other’s throats. Brookes especially was tired of everyone’s pageantry and attacked everyone which annoyed him. It was also funny seeing how many times Honda lost his wig and Kirihara lost her moustache. Despite the silliness, there was still some great wrestling here and it made for a fun, light-hearted conclusion to Sakura’s Japan return. This was the ultimate feel-good end to a weekend in a blast furnace of a studio. Black Comaneci always knows how to make the comedic elements work and despite the soul-crushing attempts at Queen, I hope Sakura enjoyed the send-off.

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