Prominence 21st Battle Results And Recap

By: Jeff Brown

Prominence was at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring for an evening of their signature frivolity and ultraviolence. The show was headlined by Risa Sera vs Chris Brookes in a 1991 hardcore match, which was a wild fight with weapons. Sera entered the arena in her signature battle garb and duel kendo sticks. Brookes brought out a foam board filled with plastic forks with “1991” written on it, as both were born that year. It started with a handshake, and after Takanashi interfered, the match spilled out into the stands. Brookes attacked with an open umbrella, but Sera got the best of him and sent him into the ring post. Now bleeding, Brookes answered back by shattering several Rubbermaid lids over Sera. He picked her up and used her own Giant Swing against her, swinging her into multiple chairs at ringside. The breaking of lids continued, and he took a shard to Sera’s head, thus making her bleed. Back in the ring, he applied a chair-assisted STF and began grinding a lemon into her wound to make a mixed drink. He then spat it in her face. This fires her up, and she unloads on Brookes and forces him to eat one of the lemons. However, the main event came to an unexpected end when Sera was involved in an accident and was unable to continue. Brookes hit a butterfly suplex off the top rope, and upon landing, Sera rolled to the floor. After being checked, the match was stopped, and Brookes was declared the winner via TKO. The show abruptly ended as Sera was put on a stretcher and waited for the ambulance to transport her from the arena. She later made a statement that it was a mild concussion.

The rest of the card was quite good and showcased the group’s strength in mixing comedy with hardcore action. The opener was Kizuna Tanaka vs Nao Ishikawa, which saw the more experienced Nao be a test for the young Kizuna. It’s really easy to forget how early into her career the fast-rising rookie is. She applied various arm bars and was very confident with wrestling; however, Nao was able to have an answer for everything and hit a sitout powerbomb for the victory.

Next were Miyako Matsumoto and Violento Jack vs Mochi Natsumi and Masa Takanashi. Takanshi was filling in for Takahiro Katori, who was out due to a fever. This was a lot of fun with a standard lockup, but soon everyone started teasing using chairs. Miyako went and got a can from under the ring and proceeded to do almost more damage to herself as she tried stomping on it. Jack got thrown off the top rope onto a pile of chairs after taking Mochi’s confetti gun. This perfectly encapsulated Prominence, a ridiculous and vicious combination that makes fans laugh and cringe in horror. Takanashi is an expert in this type of match and has great timing, while Mochi and Miyako are wild cards and always a little unpredictable. Jack hits a monstrous lariat to Mochi for the three-count.

Another tag match was next, with Kaori Yoneyama and Kakeru Sekiguchi vs Yuu and Hiragi Kurumi. The story here was the big size advantage that was evident when they hurt Kaori and Sekiguchi with a simple handshake. Yuu is tossing them both all over the place before hitting her rolling pin, and Kurumi follows up with her own rolling pin as well. Back in the ring, Kaori attempts a comeback, but to no avail, as Yuu picks her up for an inverted giant swing. At this point, Sekiguchi comes in to try to help, but she is making things worse by accidentally hitting her partner. Kaori makes the tag, and Sekiguchi gets to show how smooth she is with impeccable timing. She is probably a bit underrated in the Joshi scene, but she never fails to deliver and is always a blast to watch. Her fiery comeback is snuffed out as she and Kaori are hit with splashes from Yuu and Kurumi, as their might was just too much to overcome on this day.

The semi-main event was Yuki Miyazaki, Takumi Tsukamoto, and Takayuki Ueki vs Akane Fujita, Toshiyuki Sakuda, and Ryota Nakatsu. Fujita’s team wore baseball jerseys and brought baseballs and bats to the ring. Over-the-top wild brawling that included chairs, umbrellas, ladders, and bats was implemented. This is right in Miyazaki’s wheelhouse as she uses her signature leg stretch submission for laughs after all the carnage, which is broken up with a bucket of Legos. Again, the bats are being used, as are the baseballs; a ladder is being used as a lawn dart; and it’s mostly chaos throughout. Fujita gets hit with a bat from Miyazaki as Tsukamoto has her up for a spinning slam to get the pinfall.

The unfortunate end to the main event will understandably overshadow the show. However, prior to that, every one put in a really strong effort. These shows are on the bloody side but can have a nice amount of wrestling to offset the more hardcore leanings of the group. With some really strong names from the freelance world and young talent like Kizuna getting involved, these Prominence shows offer a good variety for those who want some laughs with their hardcore wrestling.

All Photos by Masahiro Kubota