Kana vs Meiko Satomura (Kana Pro, 2-25-2014)

Kana Pro Mania, Tokyo, Japan

This is a request via Ko-fi. It’s the main event of Kana Pro Mania, with Kana (now WWE’s Asuka, if you’re new and unawares) against Satomura, with a live shamisen soundtrack and plenty of mood lighting at Korakuen Hall, in front of a reported 1,253 paying fans.

They start with a little grappling for position as the shamisen plays along with them, distracting at first but not for long. European uppercut and some kicks from Meiko, Kana catches a kick and misses a right hand. Meiko goes behind, Kana looks to elbow out but can’t reach Satomura’s head. Armbar from Kana, Meiko rolls through, and Kana hits a kick to the chest. Second is caught. More grappling and Kana goes for a rolling cross armbreaker.

Meiko floats over into a side headlock on the mat. They roll around some more, trading submission attempts. Everything is a struggle for position, but done smoothly at the same time, sort of combining the best of both worlds in mat work. Satomura gets a standing figure four and snaps the leg of Kana back, then targets it with kicks.

But Kana takes her down after another missed kick, and goes after Satomura’s left leg now. Kana with a sort of stretch muffler, transitioned over into an ankle lock. Satomura rolls through and they’re back to a stalemate as the audience claps in appreciation.

Kana misses a high kick, Satomura throws kicks in return. Kana catches one and slaps the piss out of Meiko, then ducks under a leg and takes Satomura over with a hard German suplex, full effort on the lift and release. Satomura slaps back now, then hits a high kick. Another kick misses, but Meiko spins through the miss and lands a second attempt to the head.

Corner-to-corner whip from Satomura, she follows in with a forearm. Kana reverses a corner-to-corner, but Meiko comes charging out and drops her before Kana can pick up any steam. Now they trade forearms — and they are throwing fucking BOMBS with these shots. Meiko off the ropes and a running forearm drops Kana, who gets up screaming in defiance and lands a kick to the side of the head.

Now they’re trading slaps. Kana with a spinning back fist, Meiko tries a Pelé kick but Kana steps back and catches her in an ankle lock, Satomura immediately reacting to the pain as Kana grapevines the leg and cranks away. Kana up to a chinlock, now out of the hold and back to the ankle, which he stands up with before hitting a German with a bridge for two.

Kana fighting for a sleephold now as the shamisen kicks up in intensity, but Meiko drives her down with a high angle back suplex. Kana storms back with a running knee to the head, but this time as they struggle and battle, Meiko’s Pelé kick connects and they’re both down on the mat.

Kana throwing bombs again, but a whip is reversed and she barely hits the ropes back before Meiko drills her with a hard forearm and a spinning heel kick. Satomura stays in control with some European uppercuts, hits the ropes, and hits a cartwheel knee strike into Kana’s ribs.

Satomura goes up top, Kana cuts her off. Meiko fires back with forearms, though, and tries to maintain positional advantage. Kana knocked back to the mat, and now Satomura has the opening to fly. She does, but her splash meets Kana’s knees. They’re up and screaming, Kana catches her with the rolling cross armbreaker again. Out of that and they’re trading position, Kana getting into a sleephold at center ring.

Meiko lifts her in the fireman’s carry, but Kana slides down and gets the sleephold on again, wrapping her legs around Meiko’s midsection. Satomura continues to fight for air and survival.

Up and out of the hold, and Kana just lays into Meiko with a series of kicks resulting in a two count. Spinning backfist and other strikes from Kana, but Meiko ducks a shot and grabs her own sleephold now. Kana fights for the ropes, but Satomura drags her back to the center of the ring. There’s a sort of crazed, vacant look in Satomura’s eyes in this lighting, making for a great visual as she chokes away at Kana. Since Kana won’t quit, Satomura releases the hold and immediately covers, looking to see if Kana still has the energy to kick out. She does, barely.

Satomura gets Kana up and hits the Death Valley Bomb, but Kana kicks out again. Back to the sleephold. Meiko transitions to an armbar, using Kana’s right arm wrapped under Meiko’s leg to help also choke Kana out with her own would-be free arm.

Kana still won’t quit, so Meiko lets her up and sets her dead body in the corner to go up top. Satomura’s frog splash hits this time, and it gets a long two count. Meiko stands it up, Kana blocks a kick but does not block the Pelé. Meiko calls for the Death Valley Bomb again, gets her up, but Kana rolls it into a cross armbreaker once again. Meiko tries to roll out, instead she fucks up and gets caught in a triangle. Referee aggressively checking Meiko, and she’s passed out so the match is stopped. Hey, it’s Kana’s show.

Rating: 4.5/5. I really love this match. The whole setting and atmosphere and vibe of it are something unique and artistic and special, setting it apart from what would otherwise be a pretty normal and great Kana-Meiko match in the first place. The soundtrack, the lighting, all of it works when it could easily have come off pretentious or, worse, flat dopey. Perhaps because the wrestlers themselves are in fact true artists. If you did this with different wrestlers or in a promotion I won’t name specifically because it’ll come off as anti-something bias, it’d probably come off as a laughable attempt to do something dramatic, like if Kings of Leon did an experimental album or something.