This is part of the “Stardom’s Favorite Daughter—Icon or Illusion?” watch series, which you can find here.

Unlike last time, this isn’t a glimpse into a close future but a further one.

Momo Watanabe is someone who I’ll have nice things to say about once Queen’s Quest is formed and she’s elevated into a larger role. That’s a bit away, though, as here she’s less than a year into her young career. We’re far from her rapid transformation from underrated to overcelebrated; that’ll happen once Shirai departs. All stuff we’ll touch on later; as for now, this particular bout is more interesting than it initially lets on.

For the most part, this hits on its overambitious nature. Momo starts with a quick rollup before they transition into surprisingly solid control stuff from Mayu. She never sacrifices her bubbly personality, yet still finds a way to be dismissive and mean in a way she’s never been before, even if it only lasts a few minutes. Love the little surfboard spot where she prioritizes the interactions with the crowd and referee over her opponent, which quickly leads to a small Momo comeback. There’s some typical trainee joshi stuff from Momo that follows: a nice dropkick, a crossbody, and a nice struggle over a Boston crab, before two footstomps from Mayu eventually put her away. There is part of me that acknowledges that it’s spiritually incorrect for Mayu to be beating up on anyone—she does bump generously for Momo in this, to be fair—but for something that runs under seven minutes and dares to incorporate a control segment, legwork, crowd-centric comedy, and some babyface shine for the trainee—and still be good, I’ll ignore negative feelings of the spiritual variety this time around.

A good match, but not quite one I’m willing to attach a rating to.

Rating: Meh