M.I.O 2: Mission in Odate
A Review by Kevin Wilson

Date: February 14th, 2015
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 509

One thing that is popular in Japan for the bigger freelancers is they like to produce their own cards, with wrestlers from the different promotions they wrestle in (or just old friends). While Mio Shirai on paper isn't a big freelancer, she is currently signed to four different promotions so it is fairly easy for her to put together events with wrestlers from all four. It is almost like a mid-level joshi super event, if you will, with participation from WAVE, Ice Ribbon, OZ Academy, and Union Pro. That means no title defenses, but the main event is huge as Mio Shirai goes against her sister Io Shirai for just the second time ever, with the first time back in 2010 before they were stars. So that should be exciting. Here is the full card:

- Aya Mizunami and Sonoko Kato vs. Miyako Matsumoto and Tsukasa Fujimoto
- Daichi Kazato and Yumi Ohka vs. Isami Kodaka and Mika Iida
- Aja Kong, Haruya Morohashi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Dynamite Kansai, Fairy Nihonbashi, and Shuji Ishikawa
- Cherry vs. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Shuu Shibutani vs. Tsukushi
- Io Shirai vs. Mio Shirai

This is shown in full which is always a plus, let's get to it.

Aya Mizunami and Sonoko Kato vs. Miyako Matsumoto and Tsukasa Fujimoto
Matsumoto and Mizunami start things off and they dance around the ring (at times literally). Fujimoto comes in and dances around with Matsumoto but Mizunami avoids the double body press. Matsumoto tags in Fujimoto while Kato also tags in. Elbow by Kato and he kicks Fujimoto in the back. Kato kicks Fujimoto in the chest and hits a series of knees. Dropkick by Fujimoto and she dropkicks Kato in the back. Fujimoto goes up top but Kato grabs her off. Fujimoto is double teamed in the corner but Kato hits a cannonball off the top turnbuckle. Fujimoto kicks Kato but Kato catches her with a German suplex before she can tag out. Kato tags in Mizunami and Mizunami hits a series of leg drops. Mizunami throws Fujimoto into the corner and hits a jumping elbow. Mizunami picks up Fujimoto but Fujimoto flips away and rolls up Mizunami for a two count. Kato comes in but Fujimoto fights them off and dropkicks Mizunami in the corner. Fujimoto tags in Matsumoto, kicks by Matsumoto to Mizunami and she hits a Shining Wizard. Vertical suplex by Mizunami, elbows by Mizunami and she hits a double spear. Kato comes in and they take turns leg dropping Matsumoto. Mizunami spears Matsumoto but the cover only gets two. Kato kicks Matsumoto in the chest but Fujimoto dropkicks her. Kato goes up top but Matsumoto joins her and applies an octopus hold, but they fall to the mat. Matsumoto goes up top but Kato gets her feet up when she jumps off. German suplex hold by Kato to Matsumoto but it gets two. Kicks by Kato but Fujimoto comes in and they both kick Kato. Kato boots Matsumoto in the head and with Mizunami they hit an assisted elbow drop out of the corner. Diving guillotine leg drop by Kato on Matsumoto and she picks up the three count. Aside from the initial goofiness this was a really good match. Kato is great and doesn't get enough credit, and both teams actually worked as teams which is always appreciated. An entertaining start to the show. Score: 6.5

Daichi Kazato and Yumi Ohka vs. Isami Kodaka and Mika Iida
Kodaka and Ohka start off and they trade wristlocks. Ohka tags in Kazato and Kazato punches Kodaka in the stomach. Armdrags by Kazato but Kodaka hits a dragon screw. Iida tags in and she stomps on Kazato. Kazato throws Iida down by his hair and tags in Kodaka. With Iida back in, Kazato hits a scoop slam and tags in Ohka. Ohka hits a double face crusher on Kodaka and Iida and Ohka boots Iida in the face. Ohka throws Iida down by the hair and does it again. Ohka tags in Kazato and Kazato applies a chinlock to Iida. Neckbreaker by Kazato and he tags in Ohka. Ohka hits a scoop slam and applies a crab hold to Iida. Kodaka breaks it up, and Ohka boots Iida in the corner. Another big boot by Ohka and she tags in Kazato. Uppercuts by Kazato and he applies a submission hold to Iida while Ohka blocks Kodaka. Kazato tags in Ohka but Iida hits a reverse STO and tags in Kodaka. Diving crossbody by Kodaka and he kicks Kazato off the apron. Kodaka kicks Ohka in the corner and he applies an armbar. Ohka gets to the ropes and elbows Kodaka as they go back and forth until Ohka stomps on Kodaka's foot. Vertical suplex by Ohka and she tags in Kazato. Scoop slam by Kazato and he kicks Kodaka repeatedly. Kodaka is double teamed in the corner and Ohka hits an elbow drop.

Kodaka dropkicks Kazato and he tags in Iida. Iida hits a cutter on Kazato followed by a sliding kick for two. Iida applies an ankle hold but Kazato gets to the ropes. Kazato avoids Iida's dropkick and returns the favor before making the tag to Ohka. Diving crossbody by Ohka to Iida but she kicks out. Cross-armed backstabber by Ohka and she kicks Iida in the back of the head. Big boot by Ohka but Iida hits a side Russian leg sweep. Iida applies a submission but Ohka gets out of it. Iida slaps Ohka in an armbar but she gets to the ropes. Dropkick by Iida and she hits rolling fisherman suplexes. Brainbuster by Ohka to Iida, Kodaka gets in the ring, quick cover by Kodaka to Ohka but Kazato quickly breaks it up. Ohka hits a bit boot to Kodaka but Ohka hits a missile dropkick. Ohka hits a backdrop suplex to Iida and she tags in Kazato while Iida tags in Kodaka. Kodaka and Kazato trade elbows, Kodaka puts Kazato up top and hits Frankensteiner. Kick to the head by Kodaka, he goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop. Cover, but Ohka breaks that up. Lariat by Kazato, he picks up Kodaka but Kodaka hits a German suplex hold. Kodaka puts Kazato in a submission but the bell rings to signify a Draw. I prefer matches have endings but this was a solid match. The action kept up all twenty minutes and all four got a chance to shine. So far I can say that Mio produces good stuff, I've noticed before wrestlers seem to try harder on events a wrestler produces, I have no idea why. Score: 6.0

Aja Kong, Haruya Morohashi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Dynamite Kansai, Fairy Nihonbashi, and Shuji Ishikawa
Kong and Nihonbashi start off the match but Nihonbashi tags in Kansai. Kong pushes Kansai into the corner and Kansai tags in Ishikawa. Ishikawa fairies around the ring but Kong kicks him from behind. Ishikawa is shoulderblocked to the mat, Morohashi and Miyagi jump on Kong and Kong hits a body press down onto Ishikawa. Miyagi stays in with Ishikawa but Ishikawa punches her into the corner. Ishikawa tags in Kansai and Kansai punches Miyagi in the corner. Kansai applies a chinlock to Miyagi and she hits an elbow drop. Kansai tags in Nihonbashi and Nihonbashi throws Miyagi to the mat by her tummy. By the way, this isn't going to be an overly serious match. Nihonbashi does it again and tags in Ishikawa. Miyagi slaps Ishikawa but Ishikawa slams her and stands on her against the ropes. Kansai picks up Miyagi but Miyagi hits Kansai from behind and tags in Kong. Kong chops Kansai in the chest, elbows by Kansai and Kong hits a lariat. They trade lariat attempts and both fall to the mat. Ishikawa and Morohashi are tagged in and Ishikawa hits a shoulderblock. Morohashi hits a vertical suplex and then a lariat, but Ishikawa knees him in the stomach. Chokeslam by Ishikawa and then hits a running knee. Ishikawa tags in Nihonbashi and everyone attacks Morohashi in the corner. Nihonbashi uses her wand on people but Kong isn't impacted. Nihonbashi keeps trying on Kong without success, and Kansai comes in to talk to Kong. After the talk, Nihonbashi tries again and this time Kong is flipped to the mat. Morohashi comes in but Nihonbashi hits him with the wand. Lariat by Morohashi to Nihonbashi and Miyagi hits a Lou Thesz Press to Ishikawa. Kong comes in and accidentally hits Morohashi with a trash can, and Nihonbashi uses her wand to make Morohashi kiss her. Kong hits Nihonbashi with the can, and Morohashi rolls her up for the three count. Then afterwards everyone hugs and kisses each other. This was clearly not too serious, the spots with Nihonbashi were cute but besides that not a whole lot happened. Pretty dull one way or the other. Score: 3.5

Cherry vs. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Shuu Shibutani vs. Tsukushi
Everyone attacks Ozaki to start the match but Ozaki knocks them back. Ozaki knocks Shibutani and Tsukushi to the mat and threatens Cherry, but Cherry attacks Shibutani. Cherry and Shibutani attack Ozaki but Ozaki hits a double jumping lariat. Ozaki attacks Tsukushi and chokes her while the referee is doing who knows what. He finally appears to forces a break, and Tsukushi mostly hits a headscissors on Ozaki before dropkicking her repeatedly. Tsukushi dropkicks Ozaki and goes off the ropes but is tripped from ringside. Ozaki is pulled out two and all four brawl around the ring. They return after a few minutes and Shibutani hits Mongolian Chops on Cherry and Ozaki. Tsukushi ends up in the ring with Ozaki but Ozaki throws Cherry out of the ring. Ozaki and Shibutani apply armbreakers to Tsukushi but they released it after a moment and Ozaki throws Shibutani out of the ring. Headscissors by Ozaki to Tsukushi but Cherry applies a headscissors to Ozaki. Shibutani puts Tsukushi in a crab hold but she is whipped for her trouble. Cherry is also whipped, and Ozaki hits a superplex onto Cherry. Tsukushi runs in but Ozaki powerbombs her onto Cherry for a two count. Shibutani hits a tornado DDT on Cherry, Cherry rolls up both Shibutani and Tsukushi but Ozaki breaks it up. Ozaki takes care of Cherry, Tsukushi dropkicks Shibutani and hits the Killswitch onto Ozaki. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Shibutani but Ozaki rolls up Shibutani and gets the three count. Mayumi Ozaki wins! This was pretty rough all the way around. It didn't really have any rhythm to it and there were a few awkward moments here and there. Tsukushi was the bright spot here as she managed to shine through this somehow, but overall it wasn't very good. Score: 3.0

Io Shirai vs. Mio Shirai
The sister vs. sister battle begins! Io steps out of the ring but returns after a moment and they tussle on the mat. Back up they lock knuckles and Io delivers a dropkick. Mio falls out of the ring and Io sails out onto her with a plancha suicida. Io rolls Mio back in and applies a chickenwing before rolling up Mio for a two count. Scoop slam by Io and she hits a standing moonsault. Io goes for a cross armbreaker but Mio quickly gets out of it. Io applies an ankle hold and clubs Mio in the back. Mio kicks Io in the back and applies a bodyscissors but Io gets out of it. Mio goes for a tiger feint kick but Io ducks it, but Mio hits a running kick to the back of Io's head. High kick by Mio and she hits a vertical suplex. Figure four necklock by Mio but Io gets out of it and applies an armtrap crossface. Mio and Io trade elbows back up, and Mio applies a necklock over the top rope. Mio goes for a missile dropkick but Io moves out of the way. Elbows by Io against the ropes but Mio delivers a bit boot to the face. Io and Mio trade elbows as they get back up, Mio jumps up on the turnbuckle but Io hits a springboard dropkick which dumps Mio out to the floor. Io goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down to the floor. Io rolls Mio back in and hits a swandive missile dropkick followed by a tiger feint kick. Another swandive missile dropkick, cover, but it gets two. Headbutt by Mio and she hits a double underhook facebuster. Io headbutts Mio and returns the favor, Io picks up Mio but Mio hits an enzigieri. Superkick by Io and both wrestlers are out on the mat. Io goes up to the top turnbuckle but Mio joins her and hits a powerslam into the ring. PK by Mio, but it gets a two count. Io whips off a German suplex, she picks up Mio but Mio slaps her. German suplex hold by Io, but it gets two. Io goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the moonsault for the three count! It is funny, even though the match went 18 minutes it was so well structured that the time flew and it felt like it ended early. Especially knowing that Mio has a neck injury that will force her to retire later this year, this was a really entertaining match. Io was flying around like she always does and was clearly in control of the match, but Mio had her bright spots as well as she tried to upset her younger sister. Enjoyed this one quite a bit, recommended for a watch even if it stopped short of being a must-see match. Score: 8.0

Final Thoughts:

This event started well, dipped in the middle, and ended with a really quality main event. The problem with events that have only five matches (which I don't think is enough for a live crowd or for the home viewer) is it takes a really complete card for me to give it a recommendation. With two throwaway matches and two that were not more than solid, it would have taken a five star classic in the main event to make the event as a whole one I'd tell everyone to go watch. As it is, I definitely recommend watching the main event as it was really smartly worked and both Shirai sisters are great, but nothing before that really requires any extra attention.

Grade: C- 

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review completed on 3/1/15