It is hard to summarize how important Manami Toyota was and always will be to Joshi Wrestling. That’s another column for another day, but from her career in AJW to her continued role in wrestling she has left a mark that will never be forgotten. This retirement show does a match style that isn’t uncommon at anniversaries or retirements, nor is it the first gauntlet match of Manami Toyota’s career. The idea behind the match is Manami Toyota will have a long series of singles matches, the vast majority of which have a one minute time limit (except the first and last few matches). The list of wrestlers she will be against includes old friends, current enemies, and everyone between. Some pairings will be serious, some will be playful, but its really about giving the wrestlers a chance to say goodbye in their own way. Of course, it is filmed for our enjoyment as well. This will be the longest match list of any show I will ever review, here is what we have in store for us:

• Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Yumi Ohka, Maya Yukihi, and Alex Lee
• Manami Toyota vs. Tequila Saya
• Manami Toyota vs. Mochi Miyagi and Hamuko Hoshi
• Manami Toyota vs. Meiko Satomura
• Manami Toyota vs. Emi Sakura
• Manami Toyota vs. Rina Yamashita
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki
• Manami Toyota vs. AKINO
• Manami Toyota vs. Risa Sera
• Manami Toyota vs. Drake Morimatsu
• Manami Toyota vs. Cherry
• Manami Toyota vs. Aoi Kizuki
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuki Miyazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bolshoi Kid
• Manami Toyota vs. Sakura Hirota and GAMI
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Manami Toyota vs. Sonoko Kato
• Manami Toyota vs. Leon
• Manami Toyota vs. Yuu Yamagata
• Manami Toyota vs. ASUKA
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaho Kobayashi
• Manami Toyota vs. Hikaru Shida
• Manami Toyota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Ayako Hamada
• Manami Toyota vs. Chikayo Nagashima
• Manami Toyota vs. Ikuto Hidaka
• Manami Toyota vs.  Papillon Akemi
• Manami Toyota vs. Gabai-jichan
• Manami Toyota vs. Kanjyouro Matsuyama
• Manami Toyota vs. KID
• Manami Toyota vs. Small Antonio Inoki
• Manami Toyota vs. Otoko Sakari
• Manami Toyota vs. Isami Kodaka
• Manami Toyota vs. Ryuji Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Carlos Amano
• Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda
• Manami Toyota vs. Itsuki Yamazaki
• Manami Toyota vs. Bull Nakano
• Manami Toyota vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• Manami Toyota vs. Jaguar Yokota
• Manami Toyota vs. Mariko Yoshida
• Manami Toyota vs. Nanae Takahashi
• Manami Toyota vs. KAORU
• Manami Toyota vs. Kaoru Ito
• Manami Toyota vs. Tomoko Watanabe
• Manami Toyota vs. Takako Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta
• Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Manami Toyota Retirement Match: Manami Toyota vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

There also will be a retirement ceremony, which I won’t “review” but I will still discuss at the end of the article. As I mentioned, the vast majority of these matches have a one minute time limit, except for the opener and the final series of matches against Tsukasa Fujimoto. There is a method to the madness, as for some sections the string of wrestlers in a row is promotion-based, then with the older veterans from Toyota’s heyday going last.

The event starts with by far the least fair match of the night, as Manami Toyota faces off against all four members of Ozaki Army. Mayumi Ozaki and Manami Toyota have been battling since the early 90s in AJW and never stopped, as they had matches in GAEA Japan and of course OZ Academy as well. The other members have less of a connection, but they still happily join in as Toyota is beaten by all four of them (plus of course Police). The match goes better once Toyota isolates Ozaki, but it doesn’t last long as Toyota is quadruple teamed and tosses out of the ring. Ozaki Army takes the fight into the crowd and pummel Toyota, Ozaki returns to the ring as the referee counts and Toyota is counted out! Ozaki Army win the match.

So on a night that Manami Toyota has over 50 matches, she starts out getting beaten with chairs and whatever other weapons they can find. Toyota eventually does make it back into the ring, at first Ozaki throws the flowers at her but eventually does pick them up and nicely hands them to her. The other members of Ozaki Army follow suit, except for Police, who throws a chair at her instead. Police was always an asshole.

Tequila Saya is next. Saya is an Ice Ribbon wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years, with only a few tag matches between them. Toyota doesn’t seem to take Saya too seriously  as she sends her flying with a missile dropkick, moonsault by Toyota and she gets the three count! Manami Toyota defeats Tequila Saya. Toyota doesn’t get much of a chance to relax as its back to a handicap match, with Toyota facing off against the Lovely Butchers. They bring Manami a hat and instead of fighting, they all dance together. They even get Toyota do do their signature pose but they jump her while she is doing it and give her the double body block for the double pin three count! Manami Toyota falls for the second time tonight, but they still all pose together and no hard feelings are had.

Next down the ramp is the woman that has no chill – Meiko Satomura. Satomura and Toyota first wrestled in GAEA in the late 90s and had many encounters in the promotion of the years. Since GAEA Japan closed their paths have crossed a few times in Satomura’s Sendai Girls’ promotion. Satomura and Toyota have such a high level of respect for each other that it took time for them to lock up, Satomura eventually hits a DDT and cartwheel kneedrop but the minute has already expired and the match is a Draw. Gatoh Move wrestler and owner Emi Sakura enters the ring, Sakura immediately goes in with chops and delivers the low crossbody in the corner. Toyota slaps Emi Sakura, Riho runs in and with Toyota they pose over Sakura. Toyota puts Sakura in a camel clutch, and she submits! Manami Toyota gets her second win of the night.

Young WAVE wrestler Rina Yamashita is Toyota’s next challenger, Toyota boots her but Rina kicks out of her continuous covers. Rina connects with a hard shoulderblock but she is so excited she never covers Toyota and the time expires. They hug before Rina exits the ring and Tsubasa Kuragaki takes her turn. Kuragaki and Toyota began their battles in JWP back in 2006 and haven’t stopped, as they frequently were paired up in OZ Academy. Kuragaki gets Toyota in the corner and lariats her, she gets Toyota on her back in a backbreaker before she drops her to the mat. Kuragaki goes up top and nails a moonsault, but Toyota bridges out of the cover. Kuragaki picks up Toyota and lariats her, but the bell rings as the match is a Draw. Another hug, and fellow OZ Academy wrestler AKINO takes her spot.

Six matches down, lots more to go! AKINO is another common enemy and foe from OZ Academy, which was Toyota’s primary home the last several years. AKINO gets Toyota in the corner and bootscrapes her, but doesn’t go for the pin as time expires for the Draw. AKINO helps her up before Ice Ribbon wrestler Risa Sera charges the ring to take her shot at the retiring legend. A slew of Ice Ribbon wrestlers jump into the ring with Risa Sera and they all attack Toyota in the corner, Sera goes up top and she nails the diving kneedrop, she hits a second one but the bell rings before she can cover her so the match is a Draw. Almost all retirement matches at some point have a string where the retiring wrestler is attacked by tons of wrestlers in rapid succession, and it may not be the last time. But Toyota gets a special gift from the Ice Ribbon wrestlers after Sera’s match, and everyone poses for the camera.

Drake Morimatsu is next! You may not be familar with Drake, she current wrestles in GUTS WORLD, she started her career in FMW and is definitely an ‘old school’ veteran. She comes into the ring with a baseball bat and hits Toyota with it a few times, lariat by Drake and she covers Toyota, but pulls her up before the three count. Another lariat but she does the same thing, she hits a Samoan Driver but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Drake gets the bat again and hits Toyota with it, but the bell rings which saves Toyota from more carnage. I really enjoyed the feel of this one, very different as Drake showed her old FMW side with the weapon-based offense.

Cherry bops down to the ring, she repeatedly steps on Toyota’s toes and chops her in the face, but Toyota chops her back. Toyota wins the strike exchange but the bell rings, signifying the match is a Draw. Aoi Kizuki is next, Aoi is a young popular Freelancer that wrestles in a variety of promotions. Aoi immediately dropkicks Toyota and hits a jumping lariat, double wrist-clutch suplex by Aoi and she goes for the swivel body press, but Toyota gets her feet up. Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb by Toyota and she gets the three count! Toyota has won her third match of the evening. Aoi is laughing and smiling even as getting pinned, which is accepted in these situations as I am sure she was thrilled to be part of Toyota’s retirement show.

Next is Yuki Miyazaki, she charges Toyota but Toyota boots her. She goes up top but Yuki joins her and gives her a big ‘ol kiss. Superplex by Yuki and she puts Manami in a Compromising Position, where she stays until the bell rings for the One Minute Draw. Poor Toyota, that’s what happens when you wrestle Yuki. Bolshoi Kid comes down, this is I am assuming Command Bolshoi wrestling in her old gimmick, which is a more playful clown. Bolshoi Kid gives Toyota a little bag and they both throw things into the crowd, but Bolshoi Kid schoolboys her from behind for the three count! A rare loss for the gullible Manami Toyota, hopefully she learned something from this experience.

On paper, Manami Toyota vs. GAMI and Sakura Hirota looks normal, but it isn’t….. since both are dressed as Manami Toyota. So this is Manami Toyota vs. her two clones. The real Toyota is double teamed and imitated by the two impostors, Oil Check by Sakura and GAMI hits Toyota with her horn. Luckily for Toyota the bell rings and the match is a Draw. Up next is Kaori Yoneyama, she is affiliated with YMZ but wrestles in a bunch of promotions including OZ Academy and Stardom. Yoneyama wants Toyota to wave a flag she brought down to the ring, which she does, but Yoneyama schoolboys her from behind for a two count. Yoneyama goes for a roll-up but Toyota reverses it, getting the three count! Manami Toyota gets her fourth win of the night. OZ Academy wrestler Sonoko Kato takes her turn, lots of kicks by Kato as she is taking this one minute match very seriously. Cannonball by Kato and she nails the diving leg drop, but the bell rings as she makes the cover so the match is a Draw. Manami gives Kato a rolling cradle just for fun before Kato leaves the ring and the next wrestler enters.

Leon throws Toyota into the corner and spears her, another spear by Leon and she hits the Frog Splash, but Toyota kicks out of the cover. Heel drop by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, but Leon barely kicks out of the cover and the bell rings, as time has expired. Leon barely survives and other Pure Dream wrestlers get into the ring as they all give Manami Toyota their final goodbyes. Yuu Yamagata is next, these two have had very limited interactions over the years even though they are seasoned veterans, as Toyota rarely wrestled in Pro Wrestling WAVE. Enzuigiri by Yuu but Toyota hits a snap vertical suplex and a second one The bell rings soon thereafter as the time has expired, making the match a draw!

WAVE wrestler ASUKA comes down and she hits Toyota with a springboard moonsault, dropkick by ASUKA and Toyota falls out of the ring. ASUKA dives out onto her with a tope con hilo, she then goes back up top and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor, in an homage to Toyota. Everyone is hurt outside the ring as the bell rings, as time has expired. ASUKA seems more hurt than Toyota as she likely regrets that spot, Toyota returns to the ring as my personal favorite Kaho Kobayashi enters. Kaho dropkicks Toyota and goes up top to hit a missile dropkick, elbows by Kaho and she covers Toyota for a two count. Boots by Toyota and she nails the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota defeats her fifth wrestler so far today.

Hikaru Shida takes the next shot (this is the 21st match for Manami Toyota so far), while her friend Syuri watches from ringside. Shida goes for hip attacks, at first Toyota blocks them with her own hip but she finally connects with one. Syuri comes in the ring and with Shida they both kick Toyota, but Toyota breaks out of the cover. Falcon Arrow by Shida, but the bell rings before she can make a cover so the match is a Draw. Syuri returns and both present Toyota with flowers, once she is able to get back up. Hiroyo Matsumoto and her Godzilla mask is next, she shakes Toyota’s hand but kicks her before putting the Godzilla mask onto Toyota. Body avalanche by Hiroyo, she takes the mask off Toyota and hits a missile dropkick. Toyota slowly gets up, Hiroyo allows her to go up top and she hits a missile dropkick as the bell rings, giving Toyota another Draw.

Ayako Hamada is the next challenger, Hamada immediately dropkicks Toyota but she misses the heel kick. Enzuigiri by Hamada and she hits a DDT, superkick by Hamada but Toyota kicks out of the pinfall. Samoan Driver by Hamada, but the bell rings before she can finish the cover, as Toyota escapes another match with a Draw. The rest of the WAVE wrestlers get in the ring and they pose with Toyota for a photo-op, signifying the end of the WAVE string of challengers.

Veteran Freelancer Chikayo Nagashima is Toyota’s next opponent, she has a long history with Toyota as they fought in both GAEA and OZ Academy over the years. Chikayo hits Toyota repeatedly with her jacket and puts her in the rolling cradle, this takes literally the entire match until Chikayo stops just in time to get the three count pinfall! Chikayo Nagashima defeats Manami Toyota! Never know what is going to happen in these matches. Ikuto Hidaka is next, Hidaka is a ZERO1 wrestler with limited interactions with Toyota over the years. Toyota dropkicks Hidaka as soon as the match starts but Hidaka strikes her back, snap German by Toyota and she hits a heel drop for a two count. Boots by Toyota but the bell rings before anything else of note happens, and the match is a Draw.

Things are going off the rails a bit, as Papillon Akemi is next. He wrestles in smaller promotions such as GUTS World and I have no idea how he got into this match. Kick and a snapmare by Akemi, but Toyota puts him in the rolling cradle, but the bell rings before she can finish the move for a cover. The match is a Draw. Gabai-jichan very very slowly comes down to the ring (he has an ‘old man’ gimmick so he can’t walk very fast), with Toyota getting impatient in the ring for him to hurry up. The referee starts the match and the 20 count, Toyota goes out to help Gabai-jichan get into the ring while they pose for pictures. Toyota helps roll Gabai-jichan into the ring but he knocks her back to the floor with his cane, and Toyota is counted out! Gabai-jichan wins by dubious means, but the crowd enjoyed it.

The series continues going down the wrong path as creepy wrestler Kanjyouro Matsuyama is the next one down. Matsuyama tries to attack Toyota with his fan, but she avoids it and hits him with it instead. They trade slaps until Matsuyama is thrown into the corner, she gets Toyota’s wrist and walks the ropes, but he falls off of them before he can finish the move. The bell rings, and the match is declared a Draw. KID is next, I can’t find anything online on who KID is, but Toyota promptly boots him in the face and gets the three count pinfall! Toyota gets her sixth win of the gauntlet. Small Antonio Inoki is next, we still have a few more goofy challengers, punches to the head by Small Inoki and he applies a Cobra Twist. He goes up top and hits the diving kneedrop, more kneedrops by Small Inoki and he hits an enzuigiri. He goes to put Toyota in an Octopus Hold but the bell rings, the match is a Draw!

Otoko Sakari (Alexander Otsuka) is the next opponent, as Toyota faces her second man of the night that is only wearing a thong. Strikes by Toyota, she goes for a sunset flip but Sakari blocks it. Sakari tries to get away but Toyota grabs him by the thong, pulling it down to expose Sakari. The referee finds this offensive so he rings for the bell, disqualifying Sakari, giving Toyota her seventh win so far! Isami Kodaka is next, he throws streamers at Toyota to distract her before kicking Toyota out of the ring and sailing out onto her with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Kodaka grabs Toyota’s hair but Toyota kicks him low and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold for the three count! Toyota gets her eighth win of the evening. Big Japan wrestler Ryuji Ito is the final male challenger in this intergender run of opponents, he comes down to the ring with a barbed wire board. He sets up the board in the corner but Toyota jumps him and tries to throw him into it. He blocks it and goes for a suplex, but Toyota reverses the suplex and puts the barbed wire board on the mat. Ito scoop slams Toyota onto the barbed wire board, but Toyota kicks out of the pin. Ito keeps her on the board, he goes up top and he nails the Dragon Splash for the three count! Manami Toyota is defeated by the Big Japan star.

Now we have reached a run of challengers from Toyota’s past. Retired wrestler Carlos Amano is first, Amano and Toyota held tag team championships together in both GAEA Japan and OZ Academy. They don’t want to wrestle, so they set up chairs in the ring and talk to each other instead. I can’t understand what they are saying, but they seem to be having a good time. Amano gives Toyota a letter, which she reads as the bell rings. The match is, obviously, a Draw. Mima Shimoda is next, with her friend and long time tag partner Etsuko Mita joining her at ringside. But Toyota won’t go at it alone, as old teammate and friend Toshiyo Yamada joins her at ringside as well to make everything fair. These four were friends and foes back in the mid-90s in AJW. Shimoda charges Toyota and hits a jumping neck drop, Mita runs in and chops Toyota in the chest as they both double team Toyota i the ropes. Yamada trips Shimoda from the floor, she gets in the ring as Toyota puts Shimoda in a camel clutch, kicking Shimoda in the chest. Around this time the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Mita brings in a big present for Toyota and all four pose together in the ring.

Itsuki Yamazaki is next, she may be the least-known wrestler to casual fans as she retired back in 1991. You may know her better as part of the Jumping Bomb Angels, a popular Joshi tag team in the late 80s. She and Toyota also wrestled at Toyota’s 25th Anniversary Show, so the two made a strong bond during their brief time in AJW together. Yamazaki gets Toyota to the mat and starts working over her arm, Irish whip by Yamazaki and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Yamazaki pulls Toyota out of the ring and poses her for a picture, they get back in but the bell rings before she can do anything else, as the match is a Draw. Up next is Bull Nakano, yes THE LEGENDARY BULL NAKANO which obviously is exciting for me as I love Bull Nakano and this is her first televised match of any sort in over five years. Nakano looks great, and comes down to the ring with her nunchucks. Once the bell rings, she hits Toyota in the stomach with the nunchucks, but Toyota avoids the next shot and schoolboys Nakano for the three count! Manami Toyota wins and picks up her ninth victory so far.

Very few wrestlers could follow Nakano and not be a drop down in status, but Chigusa Nagayo is next. Nagayo is still a fairly active wrestler, she currently owns and promotes the wrestling promotion Marvelous. Nagayo and Toyota worked together quite a bit in GAEA Japan, and Nagayo already is tearing up before she even gets into the ring. They tie-up as both are getting emotional, but Toyota hits a scoop slam and covers Nagayo for the three count! They hug on the mat, as Manami Toyota wins her 10th match. Equally legendary Jaguar Yokota is next, as we reach a big string of wrestlers. Nakano, Nagayo, and Yokota are three of the biggest names in Joshi over the last 30 years and it feels really special seeing them all here to help send Toyota into retirement. Yokota is more stone-faced as they lock-up, Yokota kicks Toyota in the head and hits a somersault kick but the bell rings before she can further capitalize. The match is a Draw.

Mariko Yoshida is the next challenger, she also has had a great career and is best known for her work in ARSION. She’s also already crying before the match starts, Yoshida throws Toyota in the corner and boots her in the face. Toyota ducks the next boot but Yoshida puts her in the Spider Twist, luckily for Toyota the bell rings before she can submit, so the match is a Draw. Nanae Takahashi is next, she and Toyota both were in AJW together in the late 90s. Nanae charges Toyota and knocks her to the mat, Natsuki Taiyo comes in and dropkicks Toyota in the corner. Nanae grabs Toyota but Toyota drops her with the Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, Nanae returns to her feet however and hits a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb of her own for the three count! Nanae Takahashi wins the match!

It is now KAORU’s turn, KAORU is still an active wrestler and has battled with Toyota in a number of promotions over the years, ranging from AJW in the early 90s up to Marvelous and Diana just a few years ago. KAORU immediately hits Toyota repeatedly with her wooden panel, she picks up Toyota and suplexes her onto it but the referee won’t count the cover since she used the weapon. KAORU drags Toyota to the corner and tries to top the wood piece onto Toyota, but Toyota rolls out of the way as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as Kaoru Ito comes down, Ito and Toyota wrestled with and against each other many many times in the 1990s while wrestling AJW and also won the JWP Tag Team Championship together. Ito isn’t feeling the love as she immediately slams Toyota, Yoshida and another wrestler get in the ring and hit a double facecrusher. Diving footstomp by Ito, and she covers Toyota for the three count! Manami Toyota falls to Ito in painful fashion, but she gets a nice bouquet of flowers for her troubles.

The next challenger is Tomoko Watanabe, like Ito she wrestled with and against Toyota during much of their run in AJW in the 90s. The match starts but Watanabe wants a selfie with Toyota so they do that first. Lariat by Watanabe and she hits another one, a third lariat by Watanabe and a fourth, but as she goes for the cover the bell rings, and the match is a Draw. Former AJW wrestler Takako Inoue is next, they were usually on opposing teams in the tag division and kept wrestling after AJW folded in LLPW, OZ Academy, and Diana. Takako shakes hands but then grabs her baton, Toyota ducks the shot but Takako hits a DDT instead. Takako goes up top as Toyota joins her, but Takako hits an avalanche chokeslam for two. DDT by Takako and she goes up top again, but Toyota ducks the Takako Panic as the bell rings. The match is a Draw as they end the match with an embrace.

Veteran wrestler Yumiko Hotta is next, she has her chain with her of course. Hotta was one of Toyota’s main foes in their AJW years, and they had multiple title matches in their heyday. Hotta gets right to kicking Toyota but Toyota pushes her against the ropes, she charges Hotta but Hotta nails her with a heel kick. Cover by Hotta, but Toyota barely kicks out. Hotta picks up Toyota but Toyota sneaks in a cradle, she goes off the ropes but Hotta delivers another heel kick for the three count! Yumiko Hotta is the winner, as I think all these matches is starting to wear on Toyota a bit. Takako Inoue’s long time tag partner Kyoko Inoue is next (no relation), as we have seen with this set of wrestlers these two used to be common enemies in AJW. They eventually tie-up and Kyoko flings Toyota to the mat, Pyramid Driver by Kyoko Inoue but the bell rings as time expires, the match being declared a Draw. Some of the veteran wrestlers return to the ring again and give Toyota more flowers, as she prepares for Tsukasa Fujimoto.

The one minute time limit is out the window now, as Manami Toyota faces her last opponent, Tsukasa Fujimoto. While Manami Toyota didn’t train Fujimoto, their careers crossed several times as far back as 2011. Toyota was impressed with Fujimoto’s abilities, and in 2015 it was Tsukasa Fujimoto that Manami Toyota endorsed as her ‘successor’ and gave her permission to use all of the Japanese Ocean moves. So this is a fitting final opponent, as Toyota has her last match against the wrestler she believes will best continue her legacy. Before the match starts, Aja Kong gives Toyota some flowers – Kong and Toyota had a long match in late October which is likely why she wasn’t in the Gauntlet. Shinobu Kandori then comes down and gives Toyota flowers as well, she had a ‘final’ match with Toyota on October 22nd.

Tsukasa Fujimoto finally arrives and the match begins, Fujimoto immediately dropkicks Toyota and tries to get Toyota on her shoulders, but Toyota blocks it. Dropkick by Fujimoto as they reach a stalemate, Toyota twists up Fujimoto in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Fujimoto falls out of the ring, Toyota goes up top but Fujimoto recovers before Toyota can jump off and knocks Toyota to the floor. Fujimoto then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Toyota, Toyota returns to the ring but Fujimoto connects with a missile dropkick. Toyota recovers and puts Fujimoto in the rolling cradle, Toyota lets go and goes up top, delivering a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, but Fujimoto springs back to her feet and hits a dropkick of her own. Fujimoto sits Toyota in the corner and dropkicks her in the chest, she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Toyota blocks it and hits a heel drop. Cover by Toyota, but it gets a two count. Toyota gets up on the top turnbuckle and she nails the moonsault, but Fujimoto bridges out of the pin. Fujimoto gets up near the ropes but Toyota grabs her and goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. Fujimoto wiggles out of the hold and cradles Toyota for two, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she hits a PK for a two count. Fujimoto goes up top but Toyota hits her she can jump off and joins her, Fujimoto goes over her back and hits an avalanche sunset flip powerbomb for two. Fujimoto goes for the Venus Shoot, but Toyota grabs her from behind and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Manami Toyota wins!

The match immediately starts again, elbows by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but again Toyota joins her. Fujimoto knocks Toyota into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Fujimoto but Toyota kicks out. Venus Shoot attempt again by Fujimoto but Toyota blocks it the same way, Fujimoto slides off Toyota’s back this time and hits a series of jumping footstomps for two counts. Fujimoto gets Toyota on her shoulders and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Toyota gets a shoulder up. Heel drop by Toyota, she grabs Fujimoto and decapitates her with a Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb. Both are slow to recover, Fujimoto picks up Toyota but Toyota snaps off a suplex. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits another Japanese Ocean Queen Bee Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Manami Toyota wins for the second time against Fujimoto.

Fujimoto quickly gets back up as the final match begins, kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she goes up top, but Toyota boots her off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Toyota goes up top and dives down onto Fujimoto (and a slew of other wrestlers that wanted to be part of the last dive of Toyota’s career), she slides Fujimoto back in and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by Toyota, but it gets two. Toyota picks up Fujimoto and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Fujimoto gets a shoulder up. Toyota goes back up top but Fujimoto gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Fujimoto kips up and hits the Tsukka-chan☆Bomb, but Toyota kicks out. Fujimoto picks up Toyota and hits the PK, dropkick by Fujimoto and she hits a second one followed by a third. Fujimoto goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, which she follows with two more. Another missile dropkick by Fujimoto, she covers Toyota but it only gets a two count. Venus Shoot by Fujimoto, she grabs Toyota and delivers the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto wins the final match in Manami Toyota’s career.

Following the match, many of the wrestlers Toyota faced tonight surround the ring, while Toyota says her final words. She gives Fujimoto her final blessings, and Fujimoto speaks for a moment as well. After that, per her wishes, a chair is brought into the ring and Toyota has her hair cut shorter, with her hair being donated to use for wigs for people that lost their hair due to medical issues. A photo and video slideshow then appears on the big screen, highlighting Toyota throughout her career, which continues for several minutes.

 

The post Manami Toyota Retirement Show on 11/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

 

Championships Held: AJW Championship, AJW Jr. Championship, All Pacific Championship, CMLL World Women’s Championship, WWF Women’s Championship, WWWA Tag Team Championship, WWWA World Championship
Tournaments Won: AJW Grand Prix (1988)
Awards Won: Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame (2001), WWF Slammy Award for Most Devastating (1994)

Notable Matches:

• December 12th, 1985 vs. Yumi Ogura
• August 23rd, 1986 with Dump Matsumoto vs. Chigusa Nagayo and Kazue Nagahori
• May 14th, 1989 vs. Lioness Asuka
• January 4th, 1990 vs. Mitsuko Nishiwaki
• November 14th, 1990 vs. Aja Kong
• November 21st, 1991 vs. Monster Ripper
• April 25th, 1992 vs. Aja Kong
• June 12th, 1992 vs. Lola Gonzalez
• April 11th, 1993 vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• April 18th, 1993 vs. Devil Masami
• July 14th, 1994 vs. Shinobu Kandori
• November 20th, 1994 vs. Alundra Blayze
• August 10th, 1996 vs. Madusa

Signature Moves:

• Bull’s Angelito
• Bull’s Poseidon
• Diving Guillotine Leg Drop
• German Suplex
• Piledriver
• Rope-Hung DDT

In Action:

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Bull Nakano appeared first on Joshi City.

 

The reason they are hard to find is not necessarily just the number made (100 one year and 98 another year), but she only had signed cards for those two years and due to her popularity, they just don’t come on the market very often. One was on Ebay this year (the 2011 version, pictured below) but it was $300, which is well above my price range. I check Yahoo Auctions in Japan about once a week, but never a signed card of hers. In fact not much memorabilia at all, since she has not sold a lot since she stopped wrestling back in 1996.

It is a small miracle that the 2012 True Heart card even exists, and it likely only does because she had her “final” show in 2012. The outfit that she is wearing on the card is the one the wore for her retirement show on January 8th, 2012. During her time away from wrestling, Bull Nakano lost much of the weight she had for the bulk of her wrestling career, but she regained the weight back so that she would look as she used to in her final appearance under the Bull Nakano character. If that isn’t dedication, I don’t know what is.

Nakano’s 2011 True Heart Autograph, /98

Bull Nakano is still around the wrestling scene, so we can hope that one day she participates in BBM True Heart again. But until then, at least I finally have one of her signed cards to add to my collection.

The post Bull Nakano: 2012 BBM True Heart Autograph appeared first on Joshi City.

I have a bit of a special feature today. Joshi Legend Akira Hokuto wrestled over a dozen times in WCW from 1995 to 1997, with the most activity coming after WCW and GAEA entered into a working relationship in late 1996 (which didn’t very long). During that period, Hokuto helped establish the first ever WCW World Women’s Champion (she was the only person recognized by WCW to ever hold the belt).  I have tracked down every televised match that I can find, so hopefully even if I missed one this is a good representation of her stay in WCW. Please note I am watching the matches in the order they aired, not were recorded, as that is how fans at the time saw the matches. Here are the matches I will be watching:

• November 26th, 1995 on WCW World War 3 – Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki
• November 27th, 1995 on WCW Nitro – Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki
• November 4th, 1996 on WCW Nitro –  WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter Final: Madusa vs. Reina Jubuki
• December 8th, 1996 on WCW Pro – WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter Final: Akira Hokuto vs. Meiko Satomura
• December 29th, 1996 on WCW Starrcade – WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Final: Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
• January 12th, 1997 on WCW Worldwide – WCW World Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
• January 19th, 1997 on WCW Worldwide – Reina Jubuki vs. Sonoko Kato
• February 9th, 1997 on WCW Worldwide – Akira Hokuto and Kaoru vs. Madusa and Meiko Satomura
• February 23rd, 1997 on WCW Worldwide – Akira Hokuto and Kaoru Maeda vs. Meiko Satomura and Sonoko Kato
• March 31st, 1997 on WCW Nitro – WCW World Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Debbie Combs
• April 6th, 1997 on WCW Spring Stampede – WCW World Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
• June 9th, 1997 on WCW Nitro – WCW World Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Malia Hosaka
• June 15th, 1997 on WCW The Great American Bash – WCW World Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa

Even though its a lot of matches, most are going to be really short so I’ll try to fill the space when necessary with some backstory on why the match is taking place.

Hokuto made a splash with her first ever WCW appearance, wrestling live on PPV at World War 3. During this time period, Hokuto wrestled in AJW with Nakano, while Suzuki and Ozaki wrestled for JWP. Technically this was not the first match Hokuto had on an event at least partially sponsored by WCW, as she also wrestled in the NJPW/WCW Collision in Korea shows, but this was her first appearance live on United States television. This was more of an Offer Match than anything else, which fans of Japanese Wrestling are familiar with as its a common practice in Japan. On the show, Mike Tenay explained the match was booked so WCW could bring the top stars of Japan to WCW, but I have no idea what the story was behind the scenes. Fans at the time may have been familar with Bull Nakano, since she had just the WWF a few months prior, but the rest were unknown in the US to the casual non-tape trading fan.

Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki
WCW World War 3 on November 26th, 1995

The best thing about this one was just listening to the crowd. They also got plenty of time (compared to most WCW midcard matches) as they had almost ten minutes. The aspect I enjoyed quite a bit in retrospect, which I doubt most fans at the time thought about, is that the heel team won clean. In mid-90s WCW, it was incredibly rare for the heel team to win without any cheating, course that was more the Japanese style but the point is nothing about this match fit into WCW at the time. Just women wrestling wasn’t very WCW, but wrestling competitively and hitting big moves to wow the crowd certainly wasn’t. This was actually a damn good match by any measure, all four of these wrestlers are great, but its one of the more unreal moments in WCW history which says a lot.

Since they were already in town, they wrestled again the very next night!

Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki
WCW Nitro on November 27th, 1995

I loved the crowd reaction to the finisher, I think its important to remember that to the casual WCW fan this was way beyond anything they’d seen before. In a promotion that at the time was promoting things like the Dungeon of Doom and other silly things, you had four women killing each other with moves many people were seeing for the first time. I was watching WCW back in 1995 and while I don’t remember these matches, I am sure they left me in awe, of course I was familar with Bull Nakano but not with any of the others. A really fun sub-five minute match, not a lot of substance but tons of sizzle.

After that, Akira Hokuto did not appear again in WCW for almost a year. In fact the only Japanese wrestler that was still active in WCW during the first part of 1996 was Bull Nakano, but she was gone from the promotion before Hokuto returned. The reason Hokuto returned was by the end of 1996 she was wrestling in a promotion called GAEA. GAEA was a very popular Joshi promotion that ran from 1995 to 2005. In 1996, GAEA and WCW entered into a working agreement where GAEA wrestlers would come to WCW and participate in an eight wrestler tournament (well, seven) to crown the first ever WCW World Women’s Champion. Then in theory the belt would be defended in both promotions.

I mentioned it was really seven wrestlers, well that is because Akira Hokuto participated in the tournament twice, once as herself and once under a mask. This of course was not acknowledged on TV and I doubt the average viewer noticed a difference, Hokuto had not been seen in WCW for a full year and while the above tag matches were fun it is doubtful anyone retained which wrestler was which and their styles after so much time passed. I am not sure why Hokuto wrestled twice, but wrestling is a strange place. Here were the brackets:

courtesy of www.prowrestlinghistory.com

Madusa vs. Reina Jubuki
WCW Nitro on November 4th, 1996 – WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter Final

Hokuto wrestling and losing under a mask is really confusing on a few levels. They could have found another female wrestler in the US or Japan to be in the tournament, so it wasn’t a last minute thing where they were short. Going into the match, Hokuto as Jubuki was the CMLL World Women’s Champion but was stripped due to losing this match (I have no idea if she intended on going back to CMLL anyway but its still an odd way to lost the belt). Anyway, this was a really unusual match and not satisfying in any way, these two would go on to have good matches but this wasn’t one as Jubuki dominated until Madusa suddenly won with the German suplex. No harm done since no one knew it was Hokuto, and it got the tournament some airtime on Nitro, but nothing much to it.

Zero and Kaoru both won their respective tournament matches, leading us to Akira Hokuto as herself wrestling against Meiko Satomura. Satomura debuted in 1995 for GAEA, and was trained by Chigusa Nagayo. She is mostly in this tournament as a jobber (spoiler!) as obviously a wrestler as inexperienced as her was not going to defeat a legend like Akira Hokuto. Sony Onoo is out with Hokuto as he would be for the rest of her stay in WCW.

 
Akira Hokuto vs. Meiko Satomura
WCW Pro on December 8th, 1996 – WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter Final

Not a very long match, but matches on Pro and Worldwide generally weren’t. Hokuto needed a strong win since she was entering soon into a feud with Madusa (another spoiler), whom happened to be the only American wrestler that was any good in WCW. Too short to be offensive but too short to be memorable, aside from Satomura’s crazy arm waving elbows.

I wasn’t able to locate Hokuto’s second match in the tournament against KAORU, so we are skipping straight to the tournament Finals against Madusa. Madusa defeated Zero in her next match, after Zero and Onoo had a miscommunication, leading to Hokuto being the only wrestler that he still represented. The Finals of the tournament had a big stage, as it took place on WCW’s biggest pay per view of the year. Starrcade 1996 was a massive show, with Hogan vs. Piper main eventing and it also had the first ever match between Jushin Thunder Liger and Rey Mysterio Jr.. Kensuke Sasaki accompanied Akira Hokuto to the ring even though he was a ‘good guy’ and she was a ‘bad guy’, and the commentary crew acknowledged that they were married.

It was explained at some point that the reason that Hokuto wore a oxygen mask in WCW was so that she would be in peak shape when the match began. It sounds silly but it is a different concept at least, and there is some science that would support it. Downside is that it made her look like a cyborg.

Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
WCW Starrcade on December 29th, 1996 – WCW World Women’s Championship Tournament Final

If you can tune out the commentary crew, which alternated between talking about the match and discussing the nWo, this wasn’t a bad match. It didn’t feel like the epic it could have been but it was still on the undercard on a WCW PPV, they weren’t going to get but so much time. Plus while Madusa was popular, by late 1996 she was not in Hokuto’s league and there were a few mistakes in the match. It was still very historical however, as Hokuto became the first champion and beat a popular wrestler in the process, course we didn’t know at the time that the championship would fade out of existence on WCW TV in six months.

In those six months however, Hokuto was certainly a fighting champion as GAEA’s partnership with WCW continued into the summer. Due to the interference in the match, and also the fact she was the only female American wrestler on the roster, Hokuto’s feud with Madusa continued. Next we will watch their non-title match which aired two weeks later on WCW Worldwide. The reason it was a non-title match was because it was filmed back in November, so she did not have the title at the time anyway, but it did give Madusa an ‘immediate rematch’ after the screwy ending at Starrcade.

 
Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
WCW Worldwide on January 12th, 1997

This was more of a house-show style match, a quick one for the syndicated show to get a few new eyeballs but while giving away nothing of interest. All it really did was confirm that they were still feuding.

The next few matches were also taped on November 10th, 1996, which is why we are seeing wrestlers that haven’t been in WCW since November. For example, Sonoko Kato did not fly back to the United States just to have a match on Worldwide. This was a good idea of course, as it gave WCW a handful of matches with the champion to keep her on television without her having to keep coming back to the United States. In fact, Hokuto did not have any live appearances in WCW between Starrcade and her match on Nitro in late March. All her matches shown in January and February took place the previous November but with new commentary so they could talk about her being the champion (although one that never carried her belt).

Course, her next match was under the mask so they couldn’t even acknowledge it was Hokuto, which makes it an interesting choice to air at all. Kato was still a youngster at this point, not the star that she is today in Oz Academy, so it was more ‘small show filler’ than anything else.

Reina Jubuki vs. Sonoko Kato
WCW Worldwide on January 19th, 1997

Not much to that one, even though it is fun seeing a really young Kato wrestling in WCW. So we can skip right to the next match, with Madusa teaming with Satomura (I guess Madusa decided which one was the least evil to team with) facing Hokuto (back wrestling as herself) and KAORU. This match was actually the main event of the show, which demonstrates the popularity of Madusa and her battle against the evil foreigners.

Akira Hokuto and Kaoru vs. Madusa and Meiko Satomura
WCW Worldwide on February 9th, 1997

This was more about Madusa hating Onoo than anything else, Onoo was also the manager of Nakano when Madusa battled her so they had a long history together. Course as soon as she was distracted, Satomura was no match for both Hokuto and Kaoru so the match quickly ended. But this is what the syndicated shows were good for, a quick match that continued the bigger storyline of Hokuto vs. Madusa without any real harm being done, even if it was a really quick match.

One more of these, and then we get back to new content. The next tag match was done at the same recording as the past few matches, which again is why Hokuto does not have the title with her. Madusa wasn’t even in this one, as its an all Japanese affair with only one wrestler (Hokuto) that was still an active part of the promotion. Definitely filler.

Akira Hokuto and Kaoru Maeda vs. Meiko Satomura and Sonoko Kato
WCW Worldwide on February 23rd, 1997

That was basically a squash, as they continued attacking after the bell rings. That brings out Madusa, she gets in the ring to face off with Hokuto but Onoo keeps them apart. They eventually get to each other and trade strikes, but its a stalemate and Madusa leaves with Kato and Satomura. This angle was just done like everything else the last few weeks, to keep in the public eye their simmering feud.

That was the last Worldwide taping with the Japanese wrestlers present so we didn’t get to see more of Hokuto until she returned to Nitro over a month later. But when she did return on March 31st, she returned with a bang as her match kicked off the second hour of Nitro. Debbie Combs was put over a bit by Mike Tenay on commentary, referring to her as a second generation star. She started wrestling in 1975 so she is definitely a veteran of the ring. This is the first time we’ve seen of Hokuto holding the title coming down the ramp, and she no longer has the oxygen tank or the headpiece. In fact she is noticeably more “Japanese” now as she is wearing a kimono and fanning herself with a fan with the Japanese flag on it. It is interesting that she went from having a unique look to being more stereotypical, perhaps they were afraid she would get cheered and wanted to emphasize her nationality more. Can’t say I am a fan of the change, hopefully her in-ring work is the same as it was before.

 
(c) Akira Hokuto vs. Debbie Combs
WCW Nitro on March 31st, 1997 – WCW World Women’s Championship

After the match they interview Madusa (they refer to her as ‘prior title holder’ which isn’t true) but Hokuto interrupts it and they battle in the entrance until they manage to be pulled apart. Course this was just to set up their match the following week, but why in the world they had Combs in for this match I have no idea. She wasn’t familar to the crowd but she wasn’t really of the right age for Hokuto to throw her around and impress anyone. The issue wasn’t just that it was short but Hokuto didn’t get much of a chance to really show off which should have been the point.

But that led straight to Hokuto defending her title against Madusa the following week on WCW Spring Stampede. The match didn’t need much set-up considering their history, however Madusa did defeat Malia Hosaka two weeks prior on Nitro which was her first appearance on Nitro or PPV since Starrcade. With how much WCW had going on at the time with nWo, it wasn’t unusual for the other storylines to get pushed aside (or to Worldwide) until there was a bigger match to promote. Madusa came out fully decked out in USA attire, as they wanted to emphasize the America vs. Japan aspect of the match.

(c) Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
WCW Spring Stampede on April 6th, 1997 – WCW World Women’s Championship

Funny how just a few months have passed but the quality has dropped so much. The Starrcade match was short but at least the commentators talked about the match and Hokuto didn’t win in such a weak manner (she still got help, but it was done better than it was here). It was hard to concentrate on this match and it felt like nothing important, rather than the first defense of the title on PPV since December. A step down from their other matches and it felt more like filler.

After this match, Hokuto got a bit of a break. Madusa had to take care of Luna Vachon, which is a match that took place at the next PPV, and WCW wasn’t capable of having multiple women feuds going on at the same time. Hokuto went back to Japan, wrestling for GAEA, and was not seen again in WCW until June. In the meantime, WCW and GAEA were still working together fairly well as they had a four woman tournament to crowd the first ever WCW Women’s Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Toshie Uematsu. Besides that though not a lot was going on, as Akira Hokuto was the only GAEA wrestler with any type of presence on the more watched programs in World Championship Wrestling.

Akira Hokuto made her return to Nitro the week before her big match against Madusa at the Great American Bash. Just to give the crowd a bit of a reminder on who she was. She faced off against the veteran Malia Hosaka, who had participated in the WCW Women’s Cruiserweight Championship. Oddly enough, Hokuto is back to her old attire for this match, wearing the headpiece and oxygen mask as she had when she returned to WCW in November of 1996.

Akira Hokuto vs. Malia Hosaka
WCW Nitro on June 9th, 1997

After the match she hits another one on Hosaka and poses over her, out runs Madusa from the back and she hits a German suplex on Hokuto. Another German suplex by Madusa and she hits a third, but Onoo manages to get Hokuto out of the ring. This was just to hype up their match at the Great American Bash, which it did a decent job in doing as the crowd popped pretty good when Madusa came out and hit the German suplexes. I had forgotten until I re-watched these matches how popular Madusa was, the fans definitely enjoyed watching her.

The set-up for the next match is that in order to get another title shot, Onoo forced Madusa to put her career on the line to make it a Title vs. Career match. If Hokuto lost she wouldn’t have to retire, she would just lose her belt, so the pressure was on Madusa to pick up the win. Up to this point, Madusa had been in WCW regularly for a year and a half, and while she was the only regular female wrestler during that stretch they always managed to find her competition. Up to this point, Madusa had never beaten Hokuto in WCW, but with her career on the line that was sure to change here, right?

(c) Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa
WCW Great American Bash on June 15th, 1996 – WCW World Women’s Championship vs. Madusa’s Career

After the match, even though Madusa was now forced to retire, Hokuto kept beating on her anyway just for giggles. This was my favorite match of the set and a good way to end their feud. First, as I mentioned, the commentators all did a good job putting over what was going on and giving them respect, which wasn’t always the case during Hokuto’s run (to be fair, they were better than I remembered throughout). The match had a story, with Madusa’s knee being the focus, and Onoo didn’t have as much of an impact. It is still rather shocking that Madusa lost, the crowd didn’t seem to know what to think as the obvious story was the injured fan favorite coming back and winning to save her career and win the belt. But that didn’t happen, as Hokuto pinned her in the middle of the ring and Madusa is done forever.

And that was it, Akira Hokuto never appeared in WCW again, nor did the WCW World Women’s Championship. I am not sure why the partnership between WCW and GAEA ended but that was the last match with any GAEA wrestlers in the promotion. Devil Masami won the suddenly vacated championship while in GAEA but it was not recognized by WCW, and in 1998 the belt was referenced as still being held by Hokuto. Madusa really did retire, at least for two years, which is probably the longest a “Loser Must Retire” stipulation has ever been honored.

When you think about it, it is pretty amazing that Hokuto had over a dozen matches in WCW and she never lost (wrestling as herself). She came in and battled the best female wrestler that WCW had and not only beat her, but forced her into retirement. Then left like it meant nothing, one could even kayfabe that she left WCW because there was no more competition there since she retired the only great wrestler they had. Normally, it always appears that the larger company ‘gets over’ on the smaller company, but here that was certainly not the case as Hokuto was the clear victor in the GAEA/WCW partnership.

After leaving WCW for good, Hokuto continued wrestling in GAEA until 2002, when she retired from wrestling (aside from a few quick comeback matches, of course). WCW never got serious about a women’s division again, as this would be the only women’s title that the promotion ever had (I’m not even counting the Women’s Cruiserweight since it was forgotten by WCW even faster than Hokuto’s title was), making Akira Hokuto the most accomplished woman wrestler in the history of WCW. Looking back it is very unusual but Akira Hokuto’s stay in WCW was definitely memorable, as she showed the WCW fans a side of wrestling they had never seen before and left the promotion undefeated. In the end, WCW was just another promotion that fell to the immortal Danger Queen.

The post Akira Hokuto in WCW Retrospective appeared first on Joshi City.

Welcome to another review of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling Classics! AJW Classics is a television program that airs on SAMURAI TV in Japan. There are several different series within the AJW Classics name, I will be reviewing the series starting with the “Retro Hour” AJW Classics that first aired on August 7th, 2007.  They are still airing to this day.

AJW Retro Hour Classics #7 features Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka both going for singles gold! I know it has been awhile, so feel free to go back and read Classics #6 to catch-up. Much of the shows I have reviewed thus far have focused on the Crush Gals as a team, however here we will see them in singles action as they both aspire for their own championships as well. Don’t worry, we still have Gokuaku Domei matches also, as Bull Nakano and Dump Matsumoto team up. All four of these matches took place on August 22nd, 1985 at Tokyo Nippon Budokan. Here is the full listing:

• Monster Ripper vs. Yukari Omori
• Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano vs. Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno
• All Pacific Championship: Devil Masami vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• WWWA World Singles Championship: Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka

There is a ton of potential here so I hope the bigger matches aren’t too clipped. Let’s see how it goes.

 
Monster Ripper vs. Yukari Omori

Omori attacks Monster Ripper off the start but Monster Ripper immediately regains the advantage and throws down Omori by her hair. Omori gets Monster Ripper to the mat but Monster Ripper hits her in the throat and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Omori trips Monster Ripper and applies a crab hold, but Monster Ripper gets to the ropes to force a break. Monster Ripper takes down Omori and hits her in the throat again, lariat by Monster Ripper and she hits a second one, she goes for a third but Omori ducks it and hits a crossbody. Bodyscissors by Omori but Monster Ripper slams out of it and hits a jumping senton, body press by Ripper and she holds down Omori for the three count! Monster Ripper wins.

This was pretty basic, Monster Ripper was still young in her career and adapting to the style, and Omori alone isn’t skilled enough to carry a match by herself. I imagine it was probably clipped also but that wouldn’t have really mattered since it would have been more of the same. For ranking purposes this helped put over Monster Ripper as a dominate force, but not a very good match.

Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano vs. Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno

If you thought this would be a calm and slow paced match, you must not watch much Gokuaku Domei much as they immediately took the action to the floor as they hit the Jumping Bomb Angels with anything they could find. Back in the ring, Matsomoto throws Tateno around by her chair. Yamazaki then gets her turn as Matsumoto chokes her with a chain, Matsumoto then throws down Yamazaki with the chain just so she can keep choking her. As if she needed it, Matsumoto gets help from other Gokuaku Domei members before they go back to the floor again so Matsumoto can find new things to choke Yamazaki with. A table is brought into the ring, but the Jumping Bomb Angels kick the table into Matsumoto and Nakano. They roll out of the ring and briefly Yamazaki and Tateno get the advantage, but again Matsumoto and Nakano take back over. They get back in the ring and Matsumoto lariats Yamazaki, she slams her in front of the corner but Yamazaki avoids Nakano’s diving leg drop. Crossbody by Yamazaki to Nakano, but it only gets a two. Matsumoto gets back in the ring with her paint can and hits Yamazaki in the head with it, body block by Matsumoto and she hits a body press. Matsumoto hits a Samoan Drop on Yamazaki and she then hits a backdrop suplex, but Yamazaki bridges out of the pin. Nakano gets on the top rope to help Matsumoto hit a spike piledriver, and finally Yamazaki stays down for the three count. Gokuaku Domei win!

It seems odd looking back, seeing The Jumping Bomb Angels basically squashed here (at least what they decided to air). At the time though, Gokuaku Domei was just running through everyone so no disrespect was intended, Yamazaki and Tateno just weren’t on their level. I liked the carnage but it was too clipped to get too excited about, even though young Nakano is always a sight to see.

(c) Devil Masami vs. Chigusa Nagayo

The crowd is so amped for this match, even during the initial lock-up they are cheering loudly for Nagayo. Nagayo hits the first big move of the match with a quick German suplex, she picks up Masami and she hits a dragon suplex hold for a two count. Irish whip by Nagayo and she hits a heel kick, Scorpion Deathlock by Nagayo but Masami crawls to the ropes and gets the break. Masami rolls out of the ring but Nagayo sizes up the situation and sails out onto Masami with a tope suicida. Masami returns to the ring after a moment but brings a metal pole with her, she drops it before using it however, hard punch by Masami and Nagayo crumbles in the ropes. Jumping back kick by Nagayo and she hits a tombstone piledriver, but Masami bridges out of the pin. Masami recovers and gets Nagayo on her shoulders before hitting an electric chair slam, rolling senton by Masami and she covers Nagayo for two. Nagayo avoids Masami’s next charge and hits a high kick, single arm suplex with a bridge by Nagayo but Masami kicks out. Hard punches by Masami, she just brutally punches Nagayo right in the face repeatedly, Nagayo then connects with three high kicks which sends Masami to the mat. Exhausted, Nagayo collapses as well and tries to use the ropes to get back on her feet, but neither wrestler can make the referee’s 10 Count. The match is a Draw and Masami retains the championship.

I have to give a disclaimer – this match went over 30 minutes and the full match is available, but this Classics series only showed the match in clipped form. So they suddenly went from trading shots to being really exhausted, which is what happens when 25 minutes of a match is cut out. Anyway, even in condensed form this was so much fun. The crowd is just beyond electric for Nagayo, I know the “Japanese fans are quiet” myth has been well debunked but the cheers for Nagayo went beyond what even I expected. Masami is so vicious here, her punches are extremely snug (to put it lightly) and nothing was held back. As it was shown it is still worth watching, but I do need to track down the full match as it may have been one of the best of the year.  Mildly Recommended (strictly due to the clipping)

(c) Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka

They get right into it with a fast sequence with snapmares and bridges until Asuka plants Yokota with a back kick. Asuka rolls up Yokota with no luck and after both try to get an advantage they square off face to face again. They go to the mat with Yokota working over Asuka’s leg, but Asuka gets out of the hold and hits a hurricanrana. Chop by Asuka and she hits a high kick before slamming Yokota to the mat. Yokota gets back and control and returns to targeting Asuka’s leg, Asuka gets into the ropes to temporarily get a break but Yokota puts her in a kneelock. Hip attack by Yokota and she puts Asuka in an Octopus Hold, but Asuka gets out of it. Yokota puts Asuka in the figure four leglock, but Asuka reverses it and puts the pressure onto Yokota’s leg. They end up in the ropes, Asuka stomps on Yokota’s leg and drops a few knees on it as Yokota writhes in pain. High kick by Asuka and she puts Yokota in a kneelock until Yokota inches to the ropes to force a break.

Asuka picks up Yokota and hits a delayed vertical suplex, but Yokota eventually has enough and gives Asuka a hard dropkick. Double underhook piledriver by Yokota, but Asuka bridges out of the pin. She goes for a tombstone but Asuka reverses it into a sit-down tombstone piledriver of her own. Kicks by Asuka, she gets Yokota on her shoulders and hits the airplane spin before tossing Yokota to the mat. Giant Swing by Asuka, she picks up Yokota in a suplex position but then dumps her over the top rope to the floor. Asuka goes for a tope suicida, but Yokota sidesteps her and Asuka crashes to the mat. Asuka still recovers first and hits a slingshot suplex, she picks up Yokota and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Yokota ducks Asuka’s chop and hits a cross-arm suplex hold, picking up her own two. Yokota puts Asuka on the top turnbuckle, she picks her up in a suplex position and flings her to the mat. Asuka then dives off but Yokota moves, leg trap backdrop suplex hold by Yokota and she gets the three count! Yokota retains the WWWA World Singles Championship!

I am really glad they showed us this in full as it gave a much better picture than if they had just skipped to the high spots. Some would argue the leg work meant nothing but as I watched it, it more felt like it just wasn’t effective. Just as Yokota was getting good in Asuka’s leg, Asuka reversed the tide and worked on Yokota’s leg, so neither really worked on the leg long enough for it to be a major factor. Some of the the moves were just brutal, Asuka threw Yokota out of the ring with no semblance of concern for her health, and she tried to kill Yokota with a running K-Driller. Still though, the Ace of AJW found a way to win by capitalizing on one of Asuka’s few mistakes. Just a great match that would be exciting if it was held today, which is something you can’t say about a lot of wrestling from the mid-1980s. A must see.  Highly Recommended

The post AJW Classics #7: Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka! appeared first on Joshi City.

Welcome to another review of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling Classics! AJW Classics is a television program that airs on SAMURAI TV in Japan. There are several different series within the AJW Classics name, I will be reviewing the series starting with the “Retro Hour” AJW Classics that first aired on August 7th, 2007.  They are still airing to this day.

AJW Retro Hour Classics #6 features Crush Gals vs. Gokuaku Domei and our first trip to Mexico! We briefly go back to April to an important tag match that set the stage for the next several years in AJW before going to UWA for two title matches.  Then we finish with a big match between Crush Gals vs. Gokuaku Domei as they bookend the airing. Here is the full listing:

• 4/2/85 – WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu vs. Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo
• 5/12/85 – Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lola Gonzales and Rosa Maria
• 5/12/85 – WWWA World Championship: Jaguar Yokota vs. Pantera Sureña
• 5/16/85 – WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano

It will be fun to see a different crowd that I am assuming will be rooting against the normally fan-favorite Japanese wrestlers.

(c) Gokuaku Domei (Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu) vs. Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo)

They naturally brawl to start the match but order is restored pretty quickly with Yu and Nagayo in the ring, with the Crush Gals taking early control. This doesn’t last long as Matsumoto comes in the ring to help Yu, Yu picks up Asuka and slams her in front of the corner so that Matsumoto can jump off and land on her. Lariat by Matsumoto on Asuka and she covers her for the three count! Gokuaku Domei is up 1-0. Nagayo comes in and trades shots with Matsumoto, Asuka comes in and they knock Yu and Matsumoto out of the ring. Asuka then sails out of the ring onto both of her opponents, with Nagayo flying out with a plancha not long after her. They isolate Yu in the ring, superplex by Asuka and she covers Yu for the three count! We are now tied 1-1. Matsumoto comes in with her kendo stick and hits Asuka repeatedly with it, Nagayo comes in but she gets the stick as well. Nagayo gets the stick away from her and hits Matsumoto in the leg as the brawling continues, both sides’ posse come in the ring and at some point in this mayhem the match is called off. The eventual call made was due to all the issues both with the tag teams and with the referee Abe, the titles were held up with new champions crowned at a later date.

This was too clipped up (or really short) to get going as less than eight minutes was shown. This was more to set up the events later in the month, with first Yu getting kicked out of Gokuaku Domei and then Crane Yu being the referee when Gokuaku Domei and the Crush Gals fight for the title next month. Which I will be reviewing in about 30 minutes. Not a bad little brawl but in a vacuum nothing particularly special or memorable either even if it was important for the storyline.

Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo) vs. Lola Gonzales and Rosa Maria

Surprisingly the crowd is mostly in favor of Crush Gals (or just quiet), which I wasn’t expecting as in wrestling these days the home team is usually cheered regardless if they are heels or faces. The Luchadoras attack before the match starts, it should be noted there are two referees in the ring, I am assuming one is a tecnico and one a rudo. Nagayo is isolated first, seated senton by Gonzalez and Maria stomps on Nagayo. The double teaming continues until Nagayo flips both to the mat, heel kick to Gonzales and Asuka finally comes in to help. Nagayo and Gonzales trade chops, but kick by Nagayo and she tags Asuka. Maria runs in but Asuka puts her in the Giant Swing, diving crossbody by Nagayo to Gonzales and she covers her for the three count! Crush Gals are up 1-0.

The action starts again as Nagayo is left alone in the ring, senton by Maria and Gonzales covers her for the three! The teams are now tied 1-1. Asuka comes in but is stretched by Gonzales and the action goes to ringside as the Crush Gals are attacked around the ring. Maria and Nagayo get back in the ring and Nagayo gets Maria in a Scorpion Deathlock, but it is quickly broken up. The go out to the floor again with this time Nagayo and Asuka on the offense, Nagayo comes back in and puts Gonzales in an Octopus Hold before rolling her up for two. We jump ahead to Gonzales and Asuka in the ring, Gonzales goes up top but Asuka avoids the somersault senton. Maria and Nagayo come back in too, Gonzales goes up top but when she dives off she hits Maria by accident. Spike Piledriver by the Crush Gals, Nagayo hits a heel kick on Maria and delivers the German suplex hold for the three count! The Crush Gals win the match.

This match was just too disjointed to get a grip on. Between the clipping and the non-existent tag rules, there was never really a semblance of structure whatsoever, it was just random offense with no transitions. It was interesting to see the Crush Gals in a different environment but it simply wasn’t an entertaining match the way it was presented. Even though the Crush Gals were still awesome of course at what they do.

Jaguar Yokota vs. Pantera Sureña

They start with wristlock exchanges, they go off the ropes and Sureña catches Yokota with a double chop to the chest. Hurricanrana by Sureña and she picks up the three count! I am guessing things were clipped there, Sureña is up 1-0.  Yokota hits a jumping elbow as the next fall begins but Sureña gets her to the mat and starts working over the leg. Back up, Yokota gets Sureña to the mat and puts her in the figure four, leading to Sureña submitting! The match is now tied 1-1. After a pause the match resumes, Yokota gets Sureña on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop for a two count. Irish whip by Sureña and she goes for a tilt-a-whirl, but Yokota lands on her feet. Yokota goes for a tombstone but Sureña reverses it into one of her own, cover by Sureña but Yokota bridges out of it. They both go for backdrop suplexes but they are reversed, package German suplex by Yokota but Sureña kicks out. Electric Chair Drop by Sureña, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving lariat. Double underhook piledriver by Yokota, and she gets the three count! Yokota retains the championship.

As is a theme on this television airing, this match was too clipped to get excited about. The last few minutes of the match were good and exciting, and were the only parts to really show off what Yokota can do, but the rest was just too rushed. I am assuming that in the full match the first two falls weren’t so uneventful, as Sureña as it was shown submitted after having no leg work done on her at all.  There was a very brief glimpse of goodness here but as it was shown a skippable match.

Gokuaku Domei (Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano) vs. Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo)

They brawl before the bell rings, which is to be expected, as Gokuaku Domei gets the early advantage as they double team Nagayo. Asuka runs in but Nakano kicks them both in the legs while Yu tries to keep Abe from getting involved. Asuka and Nagayo come back and knock both their opponents out of the ring, tope suicida by Asuka to Nakano and she quickly rolls her in the ring. Japanese Leg Roll Clutch by Nagayo to Nakano, and she gets the quick three count! Crush Gals are up 1-0. Yu and Abe continue to argue as Nagayo and Nakano stay in as legal, Nakano gets her nun-chucks and show off a bit but Nagayo gets a chair and hits Nakano with it. Leg lariat by Nagayo and she tags Asuka, who hits a diving lariat. Backdrop suplex by Asuka, but Matsumoto breaks up the pin and drags Asuka out of the ring. Yu tries to calm things down but gets thrown into the stands for her trouble, Asuka and Matsumoto return to the ring and Matsumoto promptly throws Yu to the mat. Yu manages to get Matsumoto on the apron, Asuka wrestles with Nakano while  Abe and Matsumoto distract Nagayo. Matsumoto chokes Asuka with a kendo stick, Yu tries to stop Matsumoto from choking Nagayo too and finally Matsumoto throws the kendo stick out of the ring.

Matsumoto holds Nagayo so that Nakano can hit a diving leg drop, Nakano jumps off the top turnbuckle with a pail shot and Matsumoto covers Nagayo for the three count! The teams are tied 1-1. Asuka argues with Yu for not maintaining control better before tending to Nagayo, but Matsumoto brings a chain into the ring as well as a metal pipe. While she ties up and beats on Nagayo, Abe is taken care of by some friends of the Crush Gals but he returns and holds down Yu in the corner. Nagayo meanwhile is being attacked by various Gokuaku Domei members until she is freed, she returns to the ring with Nakano but Matsumoto hits Yu with a kendo stick as she goes to make a count. Asuka comes in and dropkicks Nakano, she puts her in a Scorpion Deathlock but Matsumoto breaks it up. Nagayo runs in and puts Matsumoto in a Scorpion Deathlock but Yu is pulled out of the ring. Abe breaks up the submission holds, then Matsumoto takes Yu out of the ring. In the ring, missile dropkick by Nagayo to Nakano and then Asuka hits one also. Yu gets back to ringside while Asuka puts Nakano in a Giant Swing. Cover by Asuka, Yu from ringside gets one arm into the ring while Matsumoto hangs onto her and she counts the three count! The Crush Gals are your new champions!

The final pin is one of my favorite referee three counts in my 25 years of watching wrestling. The match was utter chaos, not only did you have two referees and four legal wrestlers, but there was lots of outside interference and weapons and just general carnage. Which worked within the story of the match, I’d have cried if they had worked a traditional tag match. I am sure it was clipped but enough was shown that it didn’t feel shortened, and the crowd was on fire. Great atmosphere and a really entertaining brawl, a fitting way to end this part of the ongoing Gokuaku Domei vs. Crush Gals feud.  Highly Recommended

The post AJW Classics #6: Crush Gals vs. Gokuaku Domei! appeared first on Joshi City.

Welcome to another review of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling Classics! AJW Classics is a television program that airs on SAMURAI TV in Japan. There are several different series within the AJW Classics name, I will be reviewing the series starting with the “Retro Hour” AJW Classics that first aired on August 7th, 2007.  They are still airing to this day.

AJW Retro Hour Classics #4 features more Crush Gals, Bull Nakano going for the All Japan Women Championship, and more! All three matches come from the same date, on February 25th, 1985. Here is the full listing:

• All Japan Women’s Championship: Itsuki Yamazaki vs. Bull Nakano
• Jaguar Yokota and Devil Masami vs. Dynamite Girls (Jumbo Hori and Yukari Omori)
• WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo) vs. Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu

Only three matches on this one, so I hope they can deliver!

(c) Itsuki Yamazaki vs. Bull Nakano

They get right into it with the champion dropkicking and slamming the challenger before armdragging Nakano around the ring. Nakano takes over and they roll out of the ring, with Nakano throwing Yamazaki into chairs at ringside. Back in, Nakano bounces Yamazaki around the ring as her friend Matsumoto and Yu come in to help. Which she didn’t need, since Nakano was winning at the time anyway. Nakano bites Yamazaki and she is triple teamed in the corner, Yamazaki goes up top and dropkicks Nakano but she dropkicks the referee too on accident. Chaos briefly ensues but is restored rather quickly, Irish whip by Nakano and she knees Yamazaki in the leg. Yamazaki is thrown out of the ring and assaulted by Matsumoto, she gets back in as Nakano goes for a big slash, but Yamazaki rolls out of the way. Nakano knocks Yamazaki back out of the ring where more cheating commences, and Nakano hits a body block. Vertical suplex by Nakano and she covers Yamazaki for two.  Yamazaki fires back with a crossbody, but soon Gokuaku Domei runs in the ring and stomps on Yamazaki. The heel referee Shiro Abe actually has enough and he calls for the bell much to my surprise. Yamazaki is your winner by DQ.

This wasn’t as good as it could have been. It was nice of the referee to actually DQ someone for a change while normally he just watches, but the match finally felt like it was getting going when it was suddenly over. Nakano was pretty green here but was only 17, it would take her a few years to really get the evil brawling technique down pat. Yamazaki ended up forfeiting the title after the match, so why Nakano couldn’t go ahead and win it I am not sure as DQ endings in title matches is never ideal (even if it was better than the referee continuing to allow the group attack). Some good parts here and there and it is interesting to see a young Nakano, but it just never fully clicked.

Jaguar Yokota and Devil Masami vs. Dynamite Girls (Jumbo Hori and Yukari Omori)

Yokota goes after Hori to start the match and hits a jumping elbow followed by a dropkick. Masami comes in with Omori and they struggle for position on the mat, Masami elbows Omori but she tags in Hori. Masami gets Hori to the mat and tags in Yokota, dropkicks by Yokota but Hori gets to her corner and tags in Omori. Omori tosses Yokota to the mat and she hits a gutbuster for a two count. Yokota gets back in control and hip attacks Omori before hitting a Jackhammer. I guess it is true that all moves originated in AJW. She tags in Masami, the action spills out of the ring as Yokota and Masami stay in control. Omori and Masami get back in the ring and Omori hits a tilt-a-whirl slam, she gets Masami on her shoulders and Hori dives off the top turnbuckle with a diving crossbody. Alabama Slam by Hori to Masami but Masami comes back with a backdrop suplex. She tags in Yokota and Yokota puts Hori in an Octopus Hold. Hori gets out of it and slams Yokota in front of the corner, reverse splash by Omori and she covers Yokota for two. Dropkicks by Yokota, Masami goes up top and she hits a diving lariat. Omori lands close enough to her corner to tag Hori, but Masami levels her with a lariat. Hori picks up Masami and drops her with a powerbomb, but Masami gets a foot on the ropes. Masami gets Hori on her shoulders and hits an Electric Chair, they both pick up their respective opponents and hit tombstone piledrivers. Yokota gets on Masami’s shoulders and drops down onto Hori, picking up the three count pinfall! Yokota and Masami win the match!

I knew going in that Yokota and Masami were of a higher stature, but I wasn’t expecting them to handle the Dynamite Girls like this. Of course it was clipped so I do not know what was clipped out, but Yokota and Masami controlled the action for sure. The action was very smooth though, I wasn’t expecting Yokota to bust out a Jackhammer (it was a move she did from time to time but I hadn’t seen it yet) but everything here clicked. And it was nice to have a match that was clean and didn’t have crazy interference every five seconds. A solid tag match, only really hurt due to the clipping as I would have liked to have seen more. Mildly Recommended

(c) Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo) vs. Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu

Nagayo is bleeding before the match even started, which is never a good sign. A few minutes of the recording was black so I do not know if they aired what happened to her, but I assume there was a pre-match brawl considering the participants. The first few minutes of this match were carnage, as you’d expect, but Nagayo manages to lock the Scorpion Deathlock on Matsumoto. It gets broken up, Asuka comes in but she is double teamed in the corner. Nagayo is tagged back in and she kicks Yu against the ropes, she applies a submission but Matsumoto breaks it up and drags Nagayo out of the ring. Matsumoto chokes Nagayo on the apron before dragging her back into the ring but Nagayo hits a sunset flip and tags Asuka. Heel kick by Asuka to Matsumoto, but all of Gokuaku Domei jump in the ring to help. Yu stays in the ring and Asuka slams her to the mat, Asuka applies a front headlock, but Yu gets out of it and Matsumoto hits a Banzai Drop. Matsumoto throws Asuka down by her hair, but she gets close enough to the corner to tag Nagayo. Nagayo kicks Matsumoto to the mat and applies a sleeper, but Matsumoto punches her way out of it. Matsumoto bites Nagayo’s already bloody head and stabs her repeatedly with a pair of scissors. Yu gets in the ring with Nagayo slowly following and Yu bites her head before hitting a body block. Another body block by Yu and she tags in Matsumoto. Nagayo avoids Yu’s diving leg drop, but Asuka accidentally lariats Nagayo.

They end up out of the ring again as Nagayo is thrown into the ring post and attacked more with scissors. Yu gets in the ring as Nagayo is counted out, and Gokuaku Domei wins the first fall. It is now 1-0 for Matsumoto and Yu. A even more bloody Nagayo gets back in the ring and she hits a quick German suplex on Yu, a equally bloody Asuka gets up top and hits a missile dropkick. Double kicks by Asuka and Nagayo, and they drop Yu with a spike piledriver for the three count cover! The match is now tied at 1-1. After a moment to re-group, Nagayo kicks Yu in the leg and applies the Scorpion Deathlock with Asuka keeping watch, but Matsumoto comes in with a trash can and hits everyone with it. Asuka knocks her down and puts her in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Bull Nakano and company run in the ring help Matsumoto take back over. Piledriver by Matsumoto to Nagayo, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Spike piledriver to Nagayo, but Nagayo bridges out of it. Next she is hit with an assisted leg drop and a Samoan Drop, but Nagayo fires back with a heel kick to Yu. Asuka comes in and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex, but Matsumoto breaks up the cover and the rest of Gokuaku Domei comes in again. Matsumoto gets some scissors and starts cutting Nagayo’s hair (the crowd is going ballistic during this), and Matsumoto lariats Nagayo repeatedly to the mat as referee Shiro Abe gets in the ring (not the original referee but the heel referee). Another lariat by Matsumoto, she covers Nagayo and picks up the three count! Matsumoto and Yu are the new champions!

First the good – I love a good heated bloody brawl and this was certainly that. The crowd was at a fever pitch for much of the match as it just never slowed down, every time it looked like the match was going to turn down a few notches suddenly someone would be stabbed with scissors or dragged out of the ring. Nagayo is beyond amazing, she is such a sympathetic wrestler and has tons of charisma that draws you into everything she does. As for the bad, Shiro Abe was basically Gokuaku Domei’s referee, and I don’t like big title matches ending with these kind of shenanigans. It is just a cop-out to have a different referee come down and count, its not an uncommon one but it is just a tactic that I grew tied of after it was over-used in the 90s. I realize this match came well before that but it still makes the ending feel a bit cheap. Still, that is my only real complaint as it was certainly an exciting and emotional match, definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

The post AJW Classics #4: A Bloody Brawl and Nakano goes for Gold! appeared first on Joshi City.

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

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 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 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

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