Falcon's Joshi Blog: REINA 8: Mia Yim v Hiroyo Matsumoto "Revenge Match"

Mia happy to be back in Japan

The best wrestling is feud-based -- think Gail Kim v Awesome Kong in TNA a few years back. You can build a storyline and develop real heat over a period of matches. There is no question that those who are booking REINA events have seen the potential of a feud between Mia Yim and Miss All-World Japan, Hiroyo Matsumoto. The two met for the first time in SHIMMER this past March, but they did not wrestle against each other. When Mia made her first trip to Japan this past May, she was given the honor of a match with Hiroyo that went over 12 minutes and earned Mia much credability with with Hiroyo, the fans, and the REINA brass. So it is not a total surprise to see them booked against each other again at REINA 8 (Mia was in the States for REINA 4-7). From all accounts they had a barn-burner Monday afternoon in Tokyo! It went 15:07 (by far Mia's longest singles match) and involed out of ring action. Mia was "thrown into the chairs" -- a rite of passage in Joshi Puroresu. And the great wrestling fan and photographer Youji Kawauchi said that both wrestlers were in "beast mode" the whole time. Matsumoto won with a back drop -- but near-falls abounded so that just happened to be the move that delivered the win that day.

With Mia planning to stay in Japan until August 28, there may be another opportunity to stoke the fires of this feud again. Matsumoto is a "beast" -- and a happy one at that. I saw a photo over the weekend of Hiroyo hoisting Aja Kong (think of a woman the size of Awesome Kong) over her head, onto her shoulders for an Argentinian backbreaker -- are you kidding me?! Hiroyo has unbelievable strength. But Mia likes to mix it up and she likes to play rough. She says she loves working men in the ring. In that sense Hiroyo "The Destroyer" is a perfect fit for her. They can both go all out -- take the bumps and keep on smiling. Here's to wishing Mia a great stay on her Japan Tour #2!

All Photos by Youji Kawauchi