AJW Legacy of Queens on August 25, 1993 Review

All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling is one of the most important and influential Joshi Puroresu promotions in the history of the sport. At one point in the early 90s, AJW was drawing crowds similar to the most popular male promotions in Japan (with the clear exception being New Japan Pro Wrestling) and the promotion had some of the most recognizable Joshi wrestlers with Manami Toyota, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano, and Akira Hokuto.

There is some debate on when the exact heyday of AJW was, but few would argue that the promotion was not at the top of their game in 1993. In April of that year, AJW promoted two of the biggest events in Joshi history, All-Star Dream Slam and All-Star Dream Slam II. The first event drew over 16,500 fans, the largest recorded attendance at a Joshi event at that time (a record that would be smashed the following year at Big Egg Wrestling Universe). AJW ended 1993 wrestling in Sumo Hall for the first time, with an announced crowd of 11,500. Between those events, on August 25th, 1993, AJW had their first event at Budokan in almost 15 years called “Legacy of Queens.”

As was not unusual at the time, JWP sent some of their best wrestlers over to enhance the card, as did LLPW and FMW. While the promotions competed against each other, there was also an understanding that these big events were good for all promotions in terms of exposure. Plus I am sure money exchanged hands to make it worth their time. AJW was one of the first promotions to get regular cooperation from multiple promotions in order to put on ‘super cards’, and these events helped build the legacy of many Joshi legends. Here is the full card for the show:

• Tomoko Watanabe, Numacchi, and The Goddess Chikako Shiratori vs. Utako Hozumi, Kurenai Yasha, and Mizuki Endo (LLPW)
• Infernal KAORU and Chaparrita ASARI vs. Bolshoi Kid and Candy Okutsu (JWP)
• Elimination Match: Bull Nakano, Suzuka Minami, Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, and Bat Yoshinaga vs. Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, Miki Handa, Yukari Osawa, and Leo Kitamura (LLPW)
• Takako Inoue vs. Cuty Suzuki (JWP)
• Toshiyo Yamada and Kaoru Ito vs. Megumi Kudo and Yukie Nabeno (FMW)
• Kyoko Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori (LLPW)
• Yumiko Hotta, Manami Toyota, and Sakie Hasegawa vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Plum Mariko, and Hikari Fukuoka (JWP)
• All Pacific Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Rumi Kazama (LLPW)
• WWWA Championship: Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP)

As you can see, every match pits AJW against an ‘invading’ promotion but there would be no outside interference or cheating, just wrestlers from different promotions squaring off to see who was the best. Before each match below, the wrestlers are standing in the same order as I have listed their names to help with identification, and the AJW team will always be listed first.

 
The Goddess Chikako Shiratori, Numacchi, and Tomoko Watanabe vs. Utako Hozumi, Kurenai Yasha, and Mizuki Endo (LLPW)
This is a traditional opener, with a little comedy and lots of fast paced action to kick things off for the crowd. Numacchi was the lead comedy wrestler here as she had a (plastic) shovel she hit people with, but the other wrestlers participated as well so it wasn’t all one-sided. Team LLPW controlled the early portion of this one as Shiratori was the face in peril, but when Watanabe is tagged in the tide changes. Numacchi may be a comedy wrestler at times but she can kick ass when she needs to, she is no one trick pony. After the classic multi-wrestler scissors lock (a staple in any opening multi-wrestler tags) the LLPW team takes back over with Watanabe taking on the role as whipping girl. We get the first nearfalls of the mach as Hozuki controls the action against Watanabe, but Watanabe hits a fisherman suplex hold that would have won the match if it wasn’t broken up. Yasha is tagged in and she drops Watanabe with a chokeslam, one of her primary moves, but the lights go out! No Sabu, I don’t think it was planned. Watanabe tags in Numacchi, and they double team Yasha (after a bit of a botch).  The action spills outside the ring as chaos ensues, Yasha gets Numacchi on the top turnbuckle and hits the Avalanche Nodowa Otoshi for the three count! Utako Hozumi, Kurenai Yasha, and Mizuki Endo win the match.

This was probably an easy way to get LLPW a win without doing any damage to AJW (LLPW was at best the 3rd ranked Joshi promotion, with JWP being second). I think it was longer than it needed to be but aside from one mistake from Numacchi it was fluid. Simple, but fluid. An average and forgettable match, but non-offensive.

 
Chaparrita ASARI and Infernal KAORU vs. Bolshoi Kid and Candy Okutsu (JWP)
A few of these names should be very recognizable to Joshi fans, however this is early in their careers. The biggest difference is with Bolshoi Kid, known today as Command Bolshoi, as she used to be much more of a comedy wrestler. KAORU debuted in 1990 and had not climbed up the card yet, while ASARI had just debuted in 1992. While it is fun to see future stars early in their careers, it is also important to remember that some wrestlers take many years to really get going so its best to not get ones hopes up.

Mariko Yoshida is refereeing this match for reasons unknown, I am sure it is known to someone but not to me. Unlike the last match, this one started with fireworks as team JWP both dive out of the ring onto their opponents, Bolshoi Kid and Okutsu goof around too much so Team AJW leave and walk up the ramp. Bolshoi Kid and Okutsu apologize and we then have a normal match after that. An unusual way to start but things settle down into the normal arm work and limb work, with Bolshoi Kid getting the brunt of it. Bolshoi Kid is tied to the ropes at one point by her hat, and is generally clowned by KAORU until escaping to tag in Okutsu.

Okutsu has more luck against KAORU, but ASARI is a different story. Both teams have trouble gaining an advantage, in this match Okutsu is clearly a step ahead of everyone else as she flies around with dropkicks. Some of this is ugly, such as an attempted catapult kick and some of the interactions with Bolshoi, and it has very little structure to speak of. KAORU and Yoshida get into it, so Yoshida hits a crossbody on her which is counted by Bolshoi for two. This is in the middle of the match, mind you. About ten minutes in, KAORU gets the first real nearfall of the match with a hurricanrana on Okutsu, but Bolshoi hits an avalanche Uranage onto ASARI. ASARI very quickly recovers and hits a dive out of the ring onto Bolshoi, soon after she she nails a top rope twisting something but Okutsu breaks up the pin. Okutsu hits ASARI with seven straight rolling Germans that makes me cringe each time, and she picks up the pinfall! Bolshoi Kid and Candy Okutsu win!

This was not as bad as I had read. It wasn’t good but man was Okutsu bringing it, I was incredibly impressed with her. She just debuted in 1992 when she was only 17, but she showed a lot here. Bolshoi Kid was fine at her thing but it didn’t mesh well in this match, the spots were cute but it would have worked better in the opener. A step down from the last match but with some bright spots.

 
Bat Yoshinaga, Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita, Minami, and Bull Nakano vs. Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, Miki Handa, Osawa, and Kitamura (LLPW)

This match is traditional Tag Team Elimination Rules, like Survivor Series. It starts chaotically, as it would have to with 12 wrestlers from two different promotions facing off against each other, but it does settle down.  They take turns in pairs so everyone has a bit of a chance to shine with no one wrestler taking offense for more than 30 seconds before getting some help from their teammates. Unfortunately for Kitamura, she is the first to be isolated by Team AJW and she soon is planted by a Death Valley Bomb by Mita, and she gets the three count! Kitamura is eliminated. Handa is in next, she hits a beautiful fallaway slam hold but Shimoda comes back with a Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Handa is eliminated.  Osawa comes in for her but Minami comes in for the All Japan Women and within a minute she plants Osawa with a powerbomb to get another three count! Osawa is eliminated. This very temporarily puts Sawai and Saito in a 5 vs. 2 situation, but it won’t last long. Eagle Sawai runs in and knocks Minami to the mat, she covers her and gets three! Minami is eliminated.  Sawai lariats Shimoda and covers her as well, getting another quick three count cover! Shimoda is eliminated. Sawai powerbombs Mita but the cover is broken up by Nakano and Yoshinaga. Sawai catapults Saito at them so she can hit a dropkick, Sawai powerbombs Mita again and she gets a three count! Mita is eliminated.

It is 2 vs. 2 now as Nakano comes in, and she faces off with Sawai. Sawai knocks down Nakano first but Yoshinaga comes in and they hit a double powerbomb. Sawai avoids the Diving Guillotine Drop and tags in Saito, diving spinning heel kick by Saito to Nakano and she covers her for two. Saito kicks Yoshinaga in the back of the head but Yoshinaga kicks out of the cover, and Yoshinaga hits a head kick of her own. Yoshinaga hits a heel kick on Nakano by accident, but then she immediately hits one on Saito and covers her for the three count! Saito is eliminated. Missile dropkick by Yoshinaga to Sawai and she tags Nakano, powerbomb by Nakano but it gets two, as does the Diving Guillotine Drop. Sawai hits a superplex on Nakano but Yoshinaga comes in and hits a heel kick. Somersault Diving Guillotine Leg Drop by Nakano, and she picks up the three count! Sawai is eliminated, Team AJW wins!

This match accomplished a lot. First, even in defeat it put over Sawai as an invading force to be reckoned with, as she pinned three wrestlers and took a lot of offense before going down. Second, it established that Nakano is still badass, we knew this but a reminder every now and then never hurt anyone. And finally it introduced some new wrestlers to the AJW crowd, all the wrestlers got at least a few minutes to show what they could do. The downside of the match is that it did not need twelve wrestlers, as it meant some really solid wrestlers got pinned really easily. It may be forgotten in the grand scheme of things but Shimoda and Mita were pinned too quick for wrestlers of their stature. A really solid match overall as I think it accomplished what it was going for, but not without its faults. Recommended

 
Takako Inoue vs. Cuty Suzuki (JWP)

This match was billed as “Over the Idol ~Summer Heroine Series.” Basically this match is both promotions’ resident hottie battling against each other, both did gravure videos and were known as much for their ‘other media’ as for their wrestling. But both are solid wrestlers also so this should be a fun one. They go right to slapping each other and hard elbows, there is no love here between these two as Suzuki hits a quick German suplex hold for two. I like when matches don’t have five minutes of limb work, I am not against that but its enjoyable when matches go in their own direction. Suzuki controls the action on the mat but Inoue drops her with a sudden tombstone piledriver. Inoue works on Suzuki’s leg for a minute, but it doesn’t go anywhere and soon Suzuki is back in control.

Suzuki quickly hits two backdrop suplexes, she then applies a Dragon Sleeper but Inoue gets into the ropes. She gets it re-applied but Inoue gets to the ropes again and applies her own Dragon Sleeper. Guess the legwork is out the window. Suzuki sneaks in a suplex and hits some quick footstomps, but Inoue avoids the diving footstomp. Chokeslam by Inoue and she hits another one, but Suzuki bridges out of the pin. Avalanche Armdrag by Inoue, she goes up top but Suzuki joins her, allowing Inoue to hit an avalanche chokeslam for two. A backdrop suplex hold also gets two for Inoue, and Suzuki sneaks in a dragon suplex hold for a two of her own. Inoue comes right back with a German suplex before punching Suzuki right in the face. Diving kneedrop by Inoue, and she gets the three count pinfall! Takako Inoue wins the match.

I can’t say I particularly enjoyed this one. If they wanted to just trade bombs, they should have done that, as the first two minutes were solid and the last few were good also, but the middle portion really dragged. There is no need to do five minutes of leg work if it is going to be immediately forgotten by both wrestlers, it is just time filler at that point. I liked the passion, both show emotion very well, but as a wrestling match it was lacking.

 
Kaoru Ito and Toshiyo Yamada vs. Megumi Kudo and Yukie Nabeno (FMW)
Most of these wrestlers are well-known, but some may not be aware of who Yukie Nabeno is. Nabeno was a regular in FMW from 1991 to 1996, and she was a one-time holder of the FMW Women’s Championship. So while she wasn’t on Kudo’s level, she wasn’t a random wrestler thrown into the match. Yamada and Kudo go straight to kicks (they wear the same attire which is confusing on wide shots), Yamada hits a hard suplex and tags in Ito. Dropkicks by Ito and she starts on Kudo’s leg, but Kudo hits a rebound crossbody. Yamada comes back in, I am not going to lie, I thought Nabeno would be the Face in Peril here, not Kudo. Yamada trashes Kudo before Ito comes back in, Kudo finally gets the advantage and makes the tag to her partner. Ito dropkicks Nabeno and tags Yamada, and Yamada trades strikes with Nabeno but Nabeno tags in Kudo. Kudo stretches Yamada but she tags in Nabeno, and Yamada kicks the crap out of her before Ito comes in.

Nabeno eats some hip attacks as she is a bit out of her league, she gets away to tag in Kudo and Kudo trades bombs with Ito. Sleeper by Kudo, Nabeno comes in and they double team Ito. Tiger Driver by Kudo, she picks up Ito and hits another one followed by a third but Yamada comes into help. Kudo gets rid of Yamada but she comes back again, but Kudo hits a hurricanrana for two. Kudo tags Nabeno and Nabeno hits a missile dropkick on Ito. Ito has finally had enough and hits a cannonball, she tags Yamada and Yamada dives down onto Nabeno. Yamada hits four jumping kicks on Nabeno, then Nabeno is double teamed until Kudo comes in and lariats Ito. Ito goes up top with Nabeno and hits a superplex followed by a series of footstomps. Kudo interferes, so Ito hits a diving footstomp off the top turnbuckle to the floor onto Kudo. She then gets back up top and hits one on Nabeno, and she gets the three come! Ito and Yamada win the match.

I liked this match, mostly because of Yamada. I haven’t seen a lot of Yamada but her strikes and suplexes are so good, she is just the type of wrestler that I enjoy watching. Everyone played their parts right though and unlike some previous matches they didn’t waste time doing things that ultimately meant nothing. A bit predictable on whom was taking the fall but a solid tag match. Mildly Recommended

Kyoko Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori (JWP)
Judging from their press conference, these two don’t like each other. They get right into it as Inoue hits a lariat followed a huge helicopter toss. Kandori hulks up and lariats Inoue out of the ring, she brings her back in and slams Inoue before going for the armbreaker. They reset and Inoue starts stretching Kandori, but Kandori gets Inoue’s leg. This is a good back and forth match, they both have enough stature in their company that neither are going to be beaten down for ten minutes, its a very even match with no clear advantages lasting for long. They they show lots of heat with their punches and elbows, and Kandori constantly going for the arm tells a decent story as there is always the sense she can win at anytime if she gets the armbreaker locked in.

Kandori does finally get the first big break in the match as she spins around Inoue with a sleeper, powerbomb by Kandori but it gets two. Kandori goes back to the sleeper but Inoue gets out of it, Inoue quickly springs to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving back elbow drop. Missile dropkick by Inoue and she hits another one, but Kandori blocks the powerbomb attempt. Elbow by Inoue but Kandori catches her arm to go for an armbar. Inoue gets away and hits an enzuigiri, but Kandori hits the Tiger Driver for two. Kandori gets Inoue’s back but Inoue rolls her up and they trade quick pin attempts. Powerbomb by Inoue, Kandori manages to get the Fujiwara Armbar locked in but Inoue reaches the ropes. Kandori drags Inoue to the middle of the ring, she applies a double armbar submission and Inoue is forced to give up! Shinobu Kandori is your winner.

This was a great match that even if you don’t know their history (I am not sure where the hate comes from) it was palpable from start to finish. They both brought something different as Inoue went for power moves while Kandori was more into strikes and submissions, so it led to an interesting dynamic as either could have won at any point with their preferred methodology. Kandori targeting the arm was on point and the finishing submission had that feel of “well Inoue isn’t getting out of this” which is always the right reaction. Really entertaining, just two top end wrestlers in their prime putting on a smart and entertaining match. Highly Recommended

 
Sakie Hasegawa, Manami Toyota, and Yumiko Hotta vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Plum Mariko, and Hikari Fukuoka (JWP)
This is basically a “best of the rest” match, the most talented and/or most popular wrestlers from each promotion that weren’t doing anything else on the card are here. Which certainly isn’t a bad thing, as the match gets lots of time (over 25 minutes, the longest of the night) and the match is borderline insane at times. They don’t stay in the ring for long as the action goes to the floor, and both Hasegawa and Ozaki do dives.  Back in, Mariko and Hotta go at it, but Hotta tags out and the teams go back and forth with fast paced strikes and suplexes. It is fun seeing prime Toyota, I see her quite a bit still and she is still great, but 22 years ago she was a sight to behold. Ozaki gets control over Toyota as JWP controls the early portion of the match, with Toyota eating piledrivers and everything else. Hasegawa comes in but has no luck either, and things slow down a bit as Hasegawa is the Face in Peril. Things even up again when Toyota is tagged in, and and Toyota is catapulted over the top rope down onto Team JWP in a reckless but fascinating to watch manner.

That ends the JWP portion of the match, as AJW takes over with the slow destruction of Fukuoka. And a glorious destruction it is as she is suplexed around the ring in rapid fire fashion with her teammates occasionally coming in to break things up. Finally Mariko is tagged in and she has more luck, powerbombing Toyota to turn the tide back to the invading team. Toyota’s leg is worked on, but soon she breaks away and gets back to her corner. Toyota tags in Hasegawa, she gets Ozaki in a submission but Ozaki gets out of it. There really are no long breaks here, its pretty much non-stop tagging and big moves to whomever is unlucky enough to be in the ring. Fukuoka drops Hotta with a missile dropkick but Toyota flies off the top with a crossbody on all of Team JWP, Oklahoma Roll by Ozaki to Toyota but it gets a two count. Toyota returns the favor but Ozaki tags back out and all six women take turns hitting big spots again. The higher flying wrestlers take dives out of the ring, ending with a Toyota moonsault, Hotta gets Ozaki on her shoulders and she eats a double missile dropkick. Hotta gives Ozaki a hard powerbomb but accidentally hits Hasegawa with a heel kick, bodypress by Mariko and Ozaki delivers the moonsault for two. Cross-arm suplex by Ozaki to Hasegawa, and she gets the three count! Team JWP wins the match!

There was a lot to love about this one, mostly the lack of downtime in a 25 minute match. They were just going hard from bell to bell, it wasn’t as strike based as the last few but more suplexes and double (or triple) teaming. The ending actually came out of nowhere as Hasegawa had just recovered from the previous moves done to her when she took the suplex that kept her down, since wrestlers have been kicking out of everything all night I’d have preferred it take a bit more to get the three count. Still, a hectic and fast paced match, not a ton of psychology but lots of goodness nonetheless. Recommended

(c) Akira Hokuto vs. Rumi Kazama (LLPW)
This match is for the All Pacific Championship. The All Pacific Championship was AJW’s secondary singles title, similar to the United States Championship in WCW or the Intercontinental Championship in WWF. Hokuto not only held the title but had just won the Japan Grand Prix four days before this match, which was AJW’s big yearly tournament. Kazama was not in Hokuto’s league, but Hokuto was coming into the match with an injured knee and exhausted from just being part of a grueling tournament which helped even the odds.

This match starts with a bang, as Kazama hits Hokuto to the mat but Hokuto fires back with two straight piledrivers. That’s how you kick things off. Hokuto tries to choke out Kazama with no luck so she sits down on the Scorpion Deathlock instead. Kazama gains the upper hand with some kicks and starts on Hokuto’s already injured knee, they roll out of the ring together and Kazama lays in with the leg kicks. Back in, Hokuto delivers some kicks of her own but Kazama hits a German suplex hold for two. Tiger suplex hold by Kazama, but that gets a two as well. Spinning heel kick by Kazama and she kicks Hokuto out of the ring, Kazama goes up top and dives out of the ring, but Hokuto moves. Hokuto then goes up top and hits a somersault splash down onto Kazama, but back in the ring Kazama kicks Hokuto when she goes for a Northern Lights Bomb. Hokuto goes for a gutwrench bomb but Kazama reverses it with a hurricanrana, Hokuto goes up top but Kazama kicks her as she jumps off. Kneebar by Kazama but Hokuto gets in the ropes, gutwrench bomb by Hokuto but Kazama kicks out. Missile Dropkick by Hokuto but Kazama hits a German suplex hold for two. Powerbomb by Kazama but Hokuto drops Kazama right on her head with an inverted powerslam. Northern Lights Bomb by Hokuto and she retains her championship!

Hokuto matches are always a pleasure because she is high energy and high impact. Kazama learned that the hard way as she was dropped on her head several times, while all she had to retort with was leg submissions and an occasional suplex. Kazama was good with the reversals though, it showed that she had scouted Hokuto which is a degree of realism that I appreciate. Hokuto could have sold the leg better between holds but it was an exciting and fun match. Recommended

 
(c) Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP)
This match is for the WWWA World Championship. The WWWA Championship was AJW’s top singles title and has its lineage date back to Mildred Burke winning the title in 1937. Kong was AJW’s top wrestler during the promotion’s highest point, and had won the title from Bull Nakano on November 26th, 1992. Kansai was one of the biggest stars of JWP, and at the time of this match was the JWP Openweight Champion which was JWP’s top singles title. A match pitting champion vs. champion was rare, and a lot was at stake beyond Kong’s WWWA Championship.

This match started slower than the last few as both were feeling each other out, looking for a way to get the advantage. Kong’s headbutts send Kansai reeling, she picks her up and drops Kansai with a piledriver. Kong concentrates on Kansai’s leg and back but Kansai takes back over and locks in a chinlock. This won’t go anywhere but the crowd is enjoying it and a slow build in title matches isn’t a bad thing. Kansai hits her own piledriver before going after Kong’s leg but Kong knocks Kansai to the mat and applies a Scorpion Deathlock. Kansai boots Kong and hits a lariat, but Kong fires back with her own lariat and the champion is back in control. Body Avalanche by Kong but Kansai ducks the Uraken and slams Kong for a two count. Kansai kicks Kong out of the ring and then dives out onto her with a pescado.

Back in, Kansai slams Kong and hits a diving bodypress for a nearfall. Kansai hits a lariat as the champion is on the ropes, but Kong decks Kansai with a Uraken. Kong goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a body press, but the challenger gets a shoulder up. She goes up again, Kansai goes for a kick as she jumps off but Kong crushes her leg instead. Kong drops Kansai on her head with a backdrop suplex but Kansai ducks the Uraken. A high kick by Kansai sends Kong to the mat, Kansai charges Kong but Kong hits a suplex. Kong goes up top, Kansai grabs her from behind however and nails the Splash Mountain but Kong barely kicks out. A STF by Kansai doesn’t get the submission so she goes back to kicks, but Kong catches one and hits a German suplex hold. Backdrop Driver by Kong and she hits a Uraken, another Uraken by Kong and she takes off the gloves to hit another one. Kong puts Kansai up top, she gets Kansai behind her back and drops down to the mat, squishing Kansai underneath her. Kong quickly covers Kansai and she gets the three count! Kong retains the championship!

Another great match, these inter-promotional cards were just stacked with talent. The crowd was really eating up some of the nearfalls, especially the Splash Mountain, and Kansai was hard enough to put down that it didn’t hurt her stature in JWP to lose. I wasn’t surprised the match had a slow start since title matches are usually more likely to have a ‘feeling out process,’ partly to increase the length and partly to push the idea that its such an important match that neither wants to make the first mistake. Once the bombs started there was no going back though, and the atmosphere was incredible. Perfect way to end the show and a must-see match between two Joshi legends. Highly Recommended

Results Recap:

• Utako Hozumi, Kurenai Yasha, and Mizuki Endo defeats Tomoko Watanabe, Numacchi, and The Goddess Chikako Shiratori
• Bolshoi Kid and Candy Okutsu defeats Infernal KAORU and Chaparrita ASARI
• Bull Nakano, Minami, Mita, Shimoda, and Bat Yoshinaga defeats Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, Handa, Osawa, and Kitamura  – Recommended
• Takako Inoue defeats Cuty Suzuki
• Toshiyo Yamada and Kaoru Ito defeats Megumi Kudo and Yukie Nabeno  – Mildly Recommended
• Shinobu Kandori defeats Kyoko Inoue – Highly Recommended
• Mayumi Ozaki, Plum Mariko, and Hikari Fukuoka defeats Yumiko Hotta, Manami Toyota, and Sakie Hasegawa  – Recommended
• All Pacific Championship: Akira Hokuto defeats Rumi Kazama  – Recommended
• WWWA Championship: Aja Kong defeats Dynamite Kansai – Highly Recommended