Built Different: The Dynamic Duo of Gatoh Move and ChocoPro
A story about the most unique promotion in joshi wrestling, as told through the eyes of a fan in attendance
2022.9.15, Shinjuku
I’d been in Japan for exactly one week when I arrived at Shinjuku FACE for my first live show here. It was a hot night in mid-September and I’d had a long day of classes. I almost didn’t make it to the venue as I failed to realize the only way to get to the show was via an elevator to the seventh floor of the building that housed it. I didn’t even know this show was going to happen until two weeks prior, when a friend from social media tipped me off, suggesting that I should go to the show in the hope that I would have a good time and break out of the funk I’d been in for most of the summer. When I looked at ticket prices, I was shocked to see that a ringside seat would only cost me around ¥5500 (roughly $38 at the time), considering I’d never seen ringside seats sell for less than a couple hundred dollars back home. It was a tantalizing offer and I deliberated for a while, ultimately deciding it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try—I did want to go to shows in Japan, after all.
It might’ve been the best decision I ever made.
The show in question was Phoenix Rises, organized by Emi Sakura’s promotion, Gatoh Move. This show celebrated the 10th anniversary of Gatoh Move’s founding and was only the second live show promoted by Gatoh since the pandemic began.
To outsiders unfamiliar with the situation, it’s a miracle Gatoh even made it through the pandemic—many of the largest promotions in the world struggled to put on a consistently good product without fans in attendance, and some mainstays outright folded because they literally couldn’t afford to not have fans in attendance. Gatoh, which had just debuted a very talented new group of trainees over the previous year and a half, seemed like it would suffer a similar fate.
But it didn’t.
As I took my seat at the venue (which I couldn’t find and had to be escorted to by a very courteous member of the event staff), it started to dawn on me just how remarkable it was that Gatoh made it to this point. Despite the odds, they managed to sell out a grandiose show commemorating a decade of operation at a well-known and respectable venue, booking their entire roster along with several prominent Japanese freelancers (all of whom are connected to Emi) for a two-hour show.
It was nothing short of miraculous that this was happening, and the show’s name says it all.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Gatoh Move was back in full force.
There was not a bad match on the card. I found myself sitting next to one of the entrance ramps, literally inches from long-established superstars like Kaori Yoneyama and Riho, and rising stars such as Suzume, Arisu Endo, and Mei Suruga. I was even fortunate enough to witness a debut—Miya Yotsuba, the newest of Emi’s trainees, found herself facing her trainer…and discovered that her entrance gear could easily get stuck on my chair.
By the time the gong rang for the main event, I was already convinced that coming to the show was the right move.
The main event convinced me to write this story.
Mei wrestled a soon-to-be-departing (although it hadn’t yet been revealed at the time) Yuna Mizumori. The two are known affectionately by Gatoh fans as Apple Girl and Yunamon, respectively, in a match that remains one of the best I’ve ever been fortunate enough to witness in person. The finishing sequence nearly made me jump out of my chair. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the knowledge that I would get in a lot of trouble for doing it (it’s not exactly respectful to do that in Japan).
As soon as the show ended, I knew that I needed to start attending ChocoPro. The next morning, I bought tickets for the following Tuesday’s show.
Thus begins the next chapter in this story.
2022.9.20, Ichigaya, Shinjuku
I arrived at Ichigaya Chocolate Square after being soaked by the remnants of Typhoon Nanmadol. Even though the venue is literally the first floor of an ivy-covered building in an Ichigaya alleyway, it is the stuff of legend and has hosted ChocoPro, Gatoh’s twice-a-week livestreamed wrestling show, for the better part of two and a half years, with and without fans in attendance. As soon as I stepped inside the building, I was greeted by Mei. I had noticed Chie and Shin outside—Shin was scanning tickets and Chie was taking temperatures—but I was caught off guard by the excited “Hi!” and handful of mints I got (which I still have unopened on my desk at the time of this writing) from one of the best young wrestlers in the world, who was standing and casually talking to everyone in attendance during the ten minutes before the show began.
The show was stellar. Working without a ring and having to take great care not to accidentally hurt spectators demands stellar matches, every single time.
After the show, I met Jeff Mazziotta, another gaijin who had been regularly attending ChocoPro for over a year and who had even appeared in one of Thunder Rosa’s taco vlogs. An affable and talkative personality to say the least, he convinced me to stay around after the show as the talents were selling merchandise and explained to me what exactly was going on.
I got to speak to Emi.
You would never know who she is or what she’s accomplished in 28 years of wrestling if you met her on the street, unless you asked. Even so, there’s nothing about her that would lead you to ask. She was thrilled when she found out I went to Phoenix Rises, too.
I respect that. It would be easy to grow a big head with all the success she’s had.
I also got a picture taken (the famous instant-film cheki) with and signed by Sayaka, who has been my favorite in Gatoh since I started following the promotion about a year ago. It cost me ¥1100.
This sort of thing just doesn’t happen in most places. This is uncommon even in Japan. You don’t just go up to wrestlers and start talking to them after the show unless you’re buying merchandise from them. Even then, there’s really not much time to discuss as there could be a line of people waiting behind you.
ChocoPro is self-described as “the most accessible wrestling show in the world.” I’m inclined to believe it.
2022.10.10, Ichigaya, Shinjuku
By this point I’m a fixture in the Ichigaya crowd. I’ve been at every show since the 20th of September. I’ve stayed around after every show, too. Emi and Mei aren’t around because they’re in the United States this month, which means Akki and Chie are in charge.
They’re facing each other in the main event.
As Akki cuts his pre-match promo, he mentions how well he and Chie know each other from all the times they’ve shared a ring together, both in matches and during training. They see each other almost every day, even when there’s no show or other functions organized by Gatoh for the day. They’re close friends, and their friendship extends beyond the wrestling world.
You might even call them family, as unlikely as it sounds.
Sometimes, the bonds that may seem strange or unusual on the outside are almost unbreakable.
Chie works what could genuinely be considered the best match of her career to that point. The effort she puts in is tangible and so are the changes in her emotion throughout the match. She wears her heart on her sleeve, winning you over with her passion and endless energy.
It doesn’t matter if she wins or loses. It’s impossible not to root for her. Three years ago, she quit her job to become a wrestler.
It’s safe to say this was a good decision, even if it was a crazy one.
As per usual, I stayed around after the post-match fanfare and janken tournament. I’m a reserved person by nature, but I try to get a word in with one or two of the Gatoh regulars after every show if I can. Even if it’s just congratulating someone on a great match, I feel it’s a polite gesture if nothing else.
This time, though, it was Chie who made the first move.
The week before, I had posted a thank-you note for her on social media. Her personality had gotten my mother interested in a product I expected her to watch solely because I was in attendance—indeed, that’s why she started watching ChocoPro every weekend in the first place. One day she unexpectedly told me that she’d grown to really like Chie. When I say this was unexpected, I mean that I absolutely never would’ve thought my mother would become invested in the product.
Chie saw the post.
Her English is broken at best, so she spoke to me mostly in Japanese, but she asked about my mother and I told her how much she enjoyed watching Chie on ChocoPro. I could sense that under her mask, she smiled. Her eyes lit up and I could also sense a bit of emotion.
It touched her heart.
“I’m very happy,” she told me in English. I could feel the happiness she felt. It made me very happy, too.
She then said she wanted to see my mother come to Ichigaya for a show. It’s become my mission to make that a reality.
The more I attend Gatoh’s shows, whether they’re conventional shows or episodes of ChocoPro, the more I feel like I’m part of the family. It almost feels normal to see and talk to the wrestlers who are booked on the show now.
At the time of this writing, I’ve been going to shows for three weeks.
It feels so surreal to know that the connection became that deep in three weeks. It’s unusual, different if you will. Then again, Gatoh Move is different and so is ChocoPro.
I wouldn’t have things any other way.