JPN
As Saki Kashima walks the final road, a "monster reinforcement" has appeared. On Wednesday the 8th, she took part in a handicap match at "STARDOM NIGHTER in KORAKUEN" (Korakuen Hall). Teaming up with Shuri in a concave-ankle-convex-out style, she faced Hinami, Lady C, Tomoka Inaba, Ranna Yagami, and Kiyoka Koryu
Despite being at a significant numerical disadvantage of 2 against 5, Kashima looked surprisingly confident. This was because they had promised to bring a "monster" to this match
She asked the ring announcer to introduce her, and the one who appeared to the sound of her entrance theme music was Nanae Takahashi, who retired from active competition last May. She was a senior wrestler against whom she had a match in her debut at the Shin-Kiba tournament on June 26, 2011
After exchanging a hug with Kashima, Takahashi went straight to his corner. He was as energetic as ever, shouting "Passion!"
In the match, Kashima attempted a lightning-fast comeback against Lady, but was blocked by all of the opposing team's members. After that, Shuri fought alone. Kashima was slammed onto Shuri with a body slam and was left writhing in pain
Kashima managed to get into the ring when Hinami was down, but was quickly captured by the opposing team. Kashima was hit with a train attack amidst loud "Saki" chants. Seeing this, Takahashi entered the ring and knocked her down with a slap while shouting "Passion!" This revived Kashima, who then successfully executed a plancha
Although she ultimately succumbed to Hinami's Gedo Clutch, Kashima thrilled the crowd with a match that showcased her full Kashima style. After the match, Sorei Ami, who was absent due to injury, joined the God's Eye members in celebrating their hard-fought battle. There was even a scene where Takahashi hugged her and spoke to her, bringing her to tears
Backstage, Kashima reflected on the match, saying, "I absolutely didn't want to lose, so I brought in a monster. As you can see, everyone was terrified. I had my debut match against Nanae, who is so strong that she was terrified. I was really happy that she had her debut match, and I was glad that it was Nanae's debut match. I told her that in the ring earlier, but she was like, 'What?' (laughs). It was a happy time."
Takahashi urged them on, saying, "I'm glad you remember what happened 15 years ago. Your passion back then was incredible. Why are you running away like that now? Don't run away until the very end, show the same passion you had before your debut when you said, 'I want to work with Takahashi-san'! The audience wants to see passion!"
Kashima has two matches left before his retirement ceremony at Yokohama Arena on April 26th. He promised, "I'll do my best in the remaining matches without running away," but before the words were even out of his mouth, he ran off backstage