Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Finally I have made it to 1996! Attendance is up a bit for this one, maybe fans were excited for a new year of Joshi to begin. This event had a one night tag tournament but we will only be seeing the finals, as the bulk of the one hour taping focuses on the big 12 woman Captain Falls Elimination Match. We still have no titles in GAEA Japan at this point, so gimmicks such as big elimination matches and promotional wars is how they are maintaining fan interest. Here is the full card:

• Original Captain Fall Match: Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
• Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima 

I had to make some more profiles but now everyone wrestling on the show has one, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. There will definitely be some clipping here, lets see how it goes.

Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
Original Captain Fall Match

As soon as the bell rings all 12 wrestlers start brawling, Saburo catches Makie Numao with a chokeslam and she covers her for the three count! Makie Numao is eliminated. Poor rookie. The match resets while they roll Makie out of the ring, Saburo and Fukuoka stay in as the legal wrestlers and Saburo throws Fukuoka in he corner before tagging in Bolshoi. Bolshoi walks the ropes while holding Fukuoka’s wrist before hitting an armdrag, another armdrag by Bolshoi and she hits a dropkick. Fukuoka dropkicks her back and tags Suzuki, tombstone by Suzuki and she covers Bolshoi for two. Dragon Sleeper by Suzuki, she lets go as Ozaki comes in and Ozaki also puts Bolshoi in a sleeper. Nagayo eventually breaks it up, Ozaki tags in Kaoru and Kaoru hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Kaoru but she eventually lets go and tags Ozaki back in, Bolshoi hits a trio of crossbodies on Ozaki until Ozaki catches her and swings Bolshoi around by her neck. Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a powerbomb, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, her team runs in to block the other team and Ozaki picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid is eliminated.

Ozaki stays in and powerbombs Sugo, a second powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers her for the three count! Hiromi Sugo is eliminated as we get rid of the lower ranked wrestlers. Saburo comes in but Ozaki DDTs her, she tags in Kaoru but Saburo hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Everyone takes turns headbutting Kaoru, Saburo goes up top but Masami grabs her from the apron and pulls her out of the ring. Kaoru goes off the ropes but Bomber hits her from the apron and then dives out of the ring onto Masami. The other wrestlers see this as a challenge as they all take turns doing dives out of the ring, moonsault by Kaoru out of the ring and Nagayo is the final one as she dives out with a crossbody onto Kaoru. Nagayo slides both Kaoru and Saburo back in the ring, swandive missile dropkick by Kaoru and she nails a tombstone piledriver. Swandive moonsault by Kaoru, and she covers Saburo for the three count! Saburo is eliminated. Things are not going well for Chigusa Nagayo’s team. The teams huddle before Masami and Nagayo come in, Masami boots Nagayo in her already injured shoulder before tagging in Kaoru. Kaoru focuses on the shoulder as well but Nagayo avoids her legdrop, kicks to the leg by Nagayo but Kaoru tags in Ozaki. Ozaki applies a seated armbar and then a Fujiwara Armbar, but it gets broken up. Suzuki is tagged in and she also applies an armbar, she tags Fukuoka and Fukuoka elbows Nagayo in the arm. Nagayo gets away and applies a sleeper, but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Nagayo tags in Kansai, headscissors by Fukuoka to Kansai and she tags in Ozaki. Kansai quickly drops Ozaki with a backdrop suplex, she pulls Ozaki off the turnbuckles but is overwhelmed by Ozaki’s teammates. Kansai is stomped by all five of them, German suplex by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki tags Masami but Kansai avoids her senton attempt, she tags in Nagayo and Bomber comes in too as they all stomp on Masami. Nagayo puts Masami in a sleeper but lets go after a moment and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but it gets interrupted, Kansai puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but Masami recovers and goes for a legdrop. Kansai moves out of the way, she goes for Splash Mountain and nails it, getting the three count! Devi Masami is eliminated. Kansai and Fukuoka are the next wrestlers in, piledriver by Kansai but it gets broken up. Kansai tags in Bomber, Bombs Away by Bomber and she hits the Reverse Splash, but her pin is broken up. Bomber picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka slides away and they trade elbows. Fukuoka knocks Bomber off her feet and covers her for two, Fukuoka charges Bomber but Bomber hits a powerslam. Bomber goes up top, Kansai and Nagayo both come in and hit lariats on Fukuoka. Diving headbutt by Bomber, but her cover is broken up. Hard elbow by Bomber, she picks up Fukuoka as Nagayo and Kansai come in, but they elbow their own partner by accident. Ozaki and Suzuki run in to take care of Kansai and Nagayo, Rider Kick by Fukuoka to Bomber and she covers her for the three count! Bomber Hikaru is eliminated.

We are now at 4 vs. 2, Nagayo squares off with Fukuoka and hits a leg sweep. Fukuoka moonsaults over Nagayo and hits a headscissors, Kaoru comes in and hits a front dropkick on Nagayo but Nagayo fires back with a lariat on her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo on Fukuoka but Kaoru tags in, Nagayo goes for a suplex on her as well but Kaoru blocks it and lands on top of her. Kaoru goes for a swandive move but Nagayo moves, leg sweep by Nagayo and she hits a powerbomb. She goes for another powerbomb but Kaoru reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Kaoru tags in Suzuki but Nagayo catches her with a heel kick and tags in Kansai. Kansai picks up Suzuki but Suzuki applies a dragon sleeper, she lets go of it after a moment and hits a release German. Ozaki and Fukuoka both hit release Germans as well, dragon suplex by Suzuki to Kansai but Nagayo breaks it up. Suzuki goes up top but Kaoru kicks her as she jumps off, Ozaki comes in and powerbombs Kansai before Fukuoka hits a moonsault. Double footstomp by Suzuki and Ozaki, then Fukuoka goes back up top and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Nagayo breaks up Suzuki’s cover. Suzuki and Ozaki both go up top of one corner while Kaoru and Fukuoka go to a different corner and all four hit diving headbutts, but once again Nagayo breaks up the pin attempt. Suzuki and Ozaki go back up top again and hit a double jumping knee to the back but the cover is interrupted. They go up top AGAIN but this time accidentally hit their own partners, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain on Suzuki but Suzuki reverses into a cradle and picks up the three count! Dynamite Kansai is eliminated! And… the bell rings and the match is over! But who won?

Look, I don’t know what is going on. Once the bell rings, the referee raises Chigusa Nagayo’s hand as her team looks really happy, even though her partner just got pinned and she was the only one left on her team. My only theory, and its just a theory, is that there was a time limit and that at the end of the time if one team wasn’t completely eliminated, it defaulted to if the captain was eliminated, and if Devil Masami was the captain then that would mean her team lost (assuming Nagayo was also a captain). But I have no idea if that is true, they didn’t flash up a winner/match time after the match like they always do so I can’t say for sure, and I can’t understand Japanese to know if the commentators explained it.

Anyway. This was a really fun match, non-explainable ending aside. There were a few slower periods but generally the action was fast paced, especially at the end. They were just throwing bombs at each other, I’m not sure how Kansai survived everything being done to her. Obviously some of the wrestlers were focused on more than others, but that was generally based on rank and emphasizing the wrestlers that the fans came to see. The dive sequence was memorable and they kept the eliminations coming at a decent pace so it never felt like it was dragging. While I wish I had more details on the ending, still a really entertaining match with all the high flying chaos I was hoping for.  Recommended

Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu

Toshie dropkicks Hiromi from behind, she kicks off of her in the corner and hits an elbow. Another running elbow by Toshie but Hiromi applies a cradle and elbows Toshie in the head. Snapmares by Hiromi and she applies a headlock, Hiromi gets Toshie’s back and applies a bodyscissors. Hiromi switches it into a seated armbar and applies a cross armbreaker, but Toshie wiggles to the ropes before she can fully lock it in to get the break. Irish whip by Hiromi and she hits an armdrag, but Toshie switches positions with her and hits a snapmare before applying an armbar. Cross armbreaker by Toshie but Hiromi immediately rolls out of it, front necklock by Toshie but Hiromi slams out of it and covers Toshie for two. Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie avoids her charge and rolls her up for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, another back elbow by Toshie and she covers Hiromi for two. Toshie applies a stretch submission before putting Hiromi in an Indian Deathlock, she goes back to a stretch hold but Hiromi gets out of it and hits a German suplex.

Hiromi picks up Toshie, Toshie throws Hiromi into the corner but Hiromi avoids her charge and applies a kneelock. Toshie gets in the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie reverses it, she goes for a Leg Roll Clutch but Hiromi blocks it. Knee to the midsection by Hiromi but Toshie cradles her for a two count. Side headlock takedown by Toshie and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes up top again but Hiromi catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar when she jump off. Armdrag by Hiromi but Toshie rolls her up for two, Hiromi quickly gets Toshie to the mat and applies a kneelock. Back up, Toshie gets another quick roll-up but it gets two. Judo toss by Hiromi, she picks up Toshie and drops her on her head with a backdrop suplex. Hiromi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes up again but Toshie recovers and dropkicks her before she can jump off. Toshie joins Hiromi but Hiromi slides down her back and hits a sunset flip powerbomb for the three count! Hiromi Yagi wins!

This was a good match, but oddly structured which happens with younger wrestlers sometimes. It was basically just a random mesh of flash pins and submission holds, without a lot of transitions or method to get from one to another. The submissions never felt particularly deadly and didn’t play into the finish at all, even if it is clear from this match that Hiromi Yagi is a skilled submission machine. The backdrop suplex was very head drop-y so I am glad that Toshie was ok, not sure if they went to the end quicker because of it. Perfectly fine for a casual watch, nothing wrong with the action itself, it just didn’t have a clear direction so it was hard to get invested.

Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki and Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima
Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final

• Semi Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki defeated Toshie Sato and Kanako Motoya
• Semi Final: Chikayo Nagashima and Tomoko Kuzumi defeated Chiharu Nakano and Reiko Amano

Which set up this match to end the event. All four of these wrestlers are basically rookies, with the JWP wrestlers being slightly more experienced as Miyazaki debuted in January 1995 and Kuzumi (better known today as Azumi Hyuga) debuted in December of 1994. The teams are mixed between promotions but that won’t matter here as they all are feisty and want to win the tournament. Not a lot of time is left on this broadcast so I assume this match will be very clipped.

We join this match in progress, with Sonoko being double teamed. Yuki comes in to help as Sonoko gets Tomoko up in an airplane spin, Chikayo cradles Sonoko from behind however and picks up a two count. Chikayo stomps on Sonoko and hits a cutter, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Chikayo but Sonoko reverses it and hits a bulldog. Tomoko runs in and dropkicks Sonoko, Chikayo tags Tomoko but Sonoko hits a hard elbow. Tomoko flips herself out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by Tomoko but it gets two. Sonoko escapes Tomoko and hits a bulldog, giving her time to tag in Yuki. Hip attacks by Yuki to Tomoko, she picks her up but after a collision the advantage is regained by Tomoko. Swandive dropkick by Tomoko and she stomps at Yuki, Yuki goes for a leg clutch but Tomoko blocks it and tags Chikayo. Stunner by Chikayo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Chikayo picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sunset flip for two. She tags in Sonoko but Chikayo catches Sonoko with the Corbata for two. Chikayo goes off the ropes but Sonoko pushes her off and hits four leg drops for a two count. Sonoko picks up Chikayo and hits a running bulldog, Acid Drop by Sonoko but Chikayo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Chikayo, Sonoko then delivers a diving Lou Thesz Press but Tomoko breaks up the cover. Sonoko gets Chikayo on her shoulders but she wiggles off and rolls up Sonoko for the three count! Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima win the match and the tournament.

This was too clipped to get a great feel of, only 5 of 17 minutes was shown, but what we did see was fine. Very fast paced, lots going on, no real downtime as these younger wrestlers haven’t really started working on “pacing” yet so its constant action. The fact three of these four are still active today is pretty cool (and rare), and its fun to see them back when they were still learning. Tomoko looked great as she always does but there were no real weak links here, everyone did their part well and it was the type of match you couldn’t look away or you’d miss something. I liked what I saw, just wish that I could have seen more.

The post GAEA Japan SPLASH J and RUNNING G II on 1/14/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

I mentioned last week that GAEA Japan’s TV slot on GAORA was only one hour long, so some matches had to be excluded from the broadcast while others were clipped. For this event, it was a big enough show that they spread the event over two different TV broadcasts, giving them an extra hour. I’ll be reviewing both TV shows to give a complete picture of what aired from the event, instead of breaking it up into two really small reviews. Some matches were still excluded, but more was shown than usual. Anyway, this event is highlighted by a big main event match between Chigusa Nagayo and Devil Masami! Here are the matches that aired:

• Maiko Narita and Yukari Ishikura vs. Toshie Sato and Kaori Nakayama
• Meiko Satomura vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi vs. Sumio Toyoma and Bomber Hikari
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami

Brief profiles for all the wrestlers above have been added to the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Maiko Narita and Yukari Ishikura vs. Toshie Sato and Kaori Nakayama

We join this match in progress, as Maiko works over Kaori on the mat. Yukari comes in and they double team Kaori, Maiko goes for a dropkick but Kaori avoids it. Toshie runs in now as it is Maiko’s turn to get double teamed, but Maiko manages to tag in Yukari. Yukari elbows Kaori against the ropes but Kaori switches positions with her and returns the favor, kicks to the back by Kaori and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Kaori picks up Yukari and hits a dropkick, she tags in Toshie and Toshie dropkicks Yukari in the chest. Another dropkick by Toshie but Yukari sneaks in an inside cradle. This gives her time to tag in Maiko, Maiko goes for Toshie’s arm but Toshie gets into the ropes. Maiko bites Toshie’s arm, she flings Toshie to the mat and puts her in a cross armbreaker, but Toshie rolls out of it and puts Maiko in a leg submission. Toshie picks up Maiko and tags in Kaori, Kaori throws down Maiko by the hair but she manages to tag in Yukari after landing. Kaori stretches Yukari’s arm but Yukari ducks a lariat attempt and rolls her up for two. Snapmare by Yukari and she tags in Maiko, and Maiko puts Kaori in a stretch hold. Toshie eventually breaks it up, Kaori kicks Maiko and hits the Space Rolling Elbow in the corner. She hits a second one, Toshie tries to hit a missile dropkick to help but she hits Kaori by accident. Yukari runs in and holds Kaori so that Maiko can hit a missile dropkick, but the cover gets two. Maiko tags in Yukari, Irish whip by Yukari but Kaori applies a sunset flip for two.

Kaori tags in Toshie, shoulderblocks by Toshie to Yukari and she goes up top, but Yukari slams her back into the ring. Yukari goes up top and hits a diving sunset flip, but Toshie barely kicks out. Yukari Irish whips Toshie and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Yukari and she hits a third for a two count cover. Yukari tags in Maiko, Maiko hits a pair of single leg monkey flips but Toshie blocks it when she goes for another one and hits the face crusher. She tags Kaori, Kaori slams Maiko’s head into the mat twice before Toshie comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Yukari comes in to help and slams Toshie, while Maiko spins around Kaori and drops her onto her partner. Maiko tags in Yukari, diving crossbody by Yukari to Kaori but the cover is broken up. Double arm suplexes by Yukari to Kaori, but again Toshie breaks up the cover. Yukari goes for a diving crossbody but Kaori moves, Kaori tags in Toshie and Toshie hits Yukari with a neckbreaker. Yukari blocks the next attempted one and tags in Maiko, but Toshie quickly drops her with a swinging neckbreaker. Maiko drives Toshie into the corner and hits a running powerslam, but Kaori breaks up the pin. Maiko hits a running powerslam on her as well, she tags in Yukari as Yukari goes for a diving crossbody, but Toshie moves and she hits her partner by accident. Kaori and Toshie grab Yukari and hit a double vertical suplex, an assisted standing moonsault follows before Toshie comes off the top rope with a diving elbow drop. Cover by Toshie, and she gets the three count!

As far as I can tell, this was the last match of Maiko Narita’s career, so I hope you enjoyed all three matches of it. Not everyone makes it as a wrestler, although she looked perfectly fine in this match so it wasn’t due to her struggling to catch on. This was some quality rookie action, as Toshie already has grown quite a bit since we first saw her two months ago. She looked shaky on the diving elbow drop but connected with it, as both she and Maiko were advancing past just doing “rookie” offense. Both FMW wrestlers looked solid with Kaori getting a bit more of a chance to shine, overall this is probably the best all-rookie match we’ve seen so far in GAEA.  Mildly Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Toshie Uematsu

We join this one in progress also as Toshie is stretching Meiko on the mat, she picks her up but Meiko rebounds out of the corner and an elbow and covers Toshie for two. Meiko puts Toshie in a crab hold but Toshie eventually makes it to the ropes, dropkick by Meiko and she hits another one for a two count cover. Toshie gets back in control and hits a series of running elbows, more running elbows by Toshie into the corner and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Toshie charges Meiko and dropkicks her, she dropkicks Meiko out of the ring and goes for a dive off the apron, but Meiko moves out of the way and Toshie splats to the floor. Meiko jumps off the apron with an elbow to Toshie, she rolls her back in and hits a couple hard elbows followed by a jumping shoulderblock for two. Elbows by Meiko in the corner but Toshie elbows her back, they both avoid each other’s charges until Toshie hits a back elbow. Meiko fires back but Toshie hits two side headlock takedowns, she goes for a scoop slam but Meiko lands on top of her. Jumping shoulderblocks by Meiko and she covers Toshie for two. Toshie kicks Meiko and delivers a sunset flip for two, dropkick by Toshie and she hits a back elbow. Jumping back elbow by Toshie, but Meiko bridges out of the pin. Scoop slam by Toshie, she goes up top but Meiko tosses her back to the mat. Stomps be Meiko and she throws down Toshie by the hair before ramming her head-first into the mat. Mounted punches by Meiko, and she gets a two count cover. Irish whip by Meiko but Toshie dropkicks her, another dropkick by Toshie but Meiko applies an inside cradle for two. Scoop slam by Meiko, she goes up top and hits a diving body press for a two count. Cross armbreaker by Meiko, but the bell rings as the time as expired.

We get an overtime period! Meiko charges Toshie as soon as the referee signals the period has behind, elbowing her hard to the mat. Stomps by Meiko and she goes again for the cross armbreaker, but Toshie quickly gets a foot on the ropes. Boot to the chest by Meiko and she applies the cross armbreaker again, but again Toshie is able to get into the ropes. Meiko picks up Toshie but Toshie blocks the Irish whip attempt and applies a Japanese Rolling Clutch for the three count! Toshie Uematsu is the winner.

I loved the overtime period, as it showed that Meiko had Toshie beaten but maybe got a bit too loose and Toshie was able to sneak in the win. Very well done. The bulk of the match was pretty basic, Meiko showed her usual fire but it didn’t have the variety that the opener had. Overall fun and reasonably crisp, but the last minute or so was the only part that really stood out.

Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi vs. Sumio Toyoma and Bomber Hikari

Yagi and Toyoma start the match for their teams, Yagi gets the early advantage with a crossbody out of the corner before throwing down Toyoma by her ears. She tags in Ozaki, elbows by Ozaki and she applies a Camel Clutch. Yagi runs in to dropkick Toyoma a few times while she is in the hold, Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a jumping neck drop for a two count. Ozaki works over Toyoma on the mat and then chops Toyoma in the ears before tagging Yagi back in. Double elbow to Toyoma’s ears (apparently that is her weak point), but she finally manages to make the tag to Bomber. Yagi stomps Bomber and hits a jumping crossbody, covering Bomber for two. Yagi charges Bomber but Bomber moves and squishes Yagi in the corner before hitting a body block. Another body block by Bomber and she puts Yagi in a crab hold while Toyoma comes in and stomps on Yagi’s head. Ozaki comes in and breaks up the hold, giving Yagi time to tag her into the match. Ozaki DDTs Bomber but Toyoma breaks up the cover, Ozaki chops her ears but this lets Bomber recover and she tags Toyoma in. Ozaki tags in Yagi, crossbody by Yagi and she hits a few snapmares on Toyoma before going back to her ears. Yagi and Ozaki both bite Toyoma in the ears, cover by Yagi but it gets two. Yagi punches Toyoma in the ear while trying to convince the referee that she is using an open palm, which somehow fools him, she tags in Ozaki and Ozaki hits a somersault kick off the top turnbuckle for a two count. Ozaki goes back up top but Toyoma avoids the somersault senton and puts Ozaki in a bodyscissors.

Now it is Toyoma that pulls on Ozaki’s ears while Bomber come sin and bites Ozaki in the nose. The referee finally gets her to stop, Ozaki gets in the mount position and chops on Toyoma’s ears. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ear-based offense like this before. Toyoma manages to get a crab hold applied and tags in Bomber, double shoulderblock to Ozaki and Bomber hits a few shoulderblocks on her own for a two count. Ozaki tags in Yagi but Yagi eats a couple hard shoulderblocks as well, Bomber tags Toyoma and Toyoma kicks Yagi in the chest. Backdrop suplex by Toyoma, and she covers Yagi for two. Yagi gets away from Toyoma and puts her in a short armbar while biting her hand, Ozaki keeps cheating and finally the referee forces the break. Judo throw by Yagi to Toyoma, and she gets a two count cover. Ozaki comes in as the legal wrestler but Bomber comes in too, Toyoma elbows Bomber by accident but then Ozaki does the same to Yagi. Ozaki hits a jumping neck drop on Toyoma, but Bomber breaks up the pin. Ozaki tags in Yagi but Toyoma knees her and hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. She picks up Yagi and tags Bomber, Bomber tries to sit on Yagi but Yagi moves out of the way and dropkicks Bomber in the butt. A couple more dropkicks by Yagi but Bomber reverses the last one, Yagi goes for a crucifix but Bomber blocks it by falling backwards. Toyoma comes in and they both throw Yagi into the air before hitting a double headbutt. They go for the alley-oop but Yagi rolls out of the way, Bomber picks up Yagi  and hits a couple headbutts. Toyoma has recovered and they both headbutt Yagi, but then they start arguing which gives Yagi time to tag in Ozaki. Ozaki hits a double neck drop on both of them, scoop slam by Ozaki to Bomber but Toyoma grabs her when she goes up top.

Bomber joins Ozaki and hits a powerslam back to the mat, but Ozaki bridges out of the pin. Bomber puts Ozaki on the second turnbuckle and Toyoma hits an avalanche chokeslam, cover by Toyoma but Yagi breaks it up. Scoop slam by Toyoma, she goes up top as does Bomber but Ozaki avoids both of their diving headbutts. Ozaki tags in Yagi who hits a missile dropkick on Toyoma, she goes back up top but Toyoma joins her. Yagi jumps over Toyoma and powerbombs her to the mat, she applies a heel hook but Toyoma gets into the ropes. She goes for it again but this time Bomber breaks it up, dropkicks to the leg by Yagi but Bomber hits her from the apron which gives Toyoma time to tag her in. Bomber picks up Yagi and delivers an alley-oop slam, she goes for a second one but Yagi reverses it into a cradle for two. Ozaki tries to help but Yagi hits her by accident, Over The Top by Bomber to Yagi but Ozaki barely breaks it up in time. Bomber gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press to Yagi, but again Ozaki breaks it up. Bomber goes off the ropes but Yagi catches her with a judo toss and tags in Ozaki, somersault cannonball by Ozaki but the cover gets two. Ozaki charges Bomber but Bomber slams her in front of the corner, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Ozaki avoids the Reverse Slash. Ozaki now goes up top but Bomber avoids the somersault senton, Toyoma comes in but Ozaki gets away from them and applies a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Release German by Ozaki to Bomber, then Yagi hits one as well. Another German by Ozaki and Yagi, Ozaki then hits a German suplex hold but Toyoma breaks it up. Toyoma is thrown out of the ring before Yagi dives out onto her, Ozaki goes back to Bomber and hits a powerbomb, but Bomber kicks out. Ozaki picks up Bomber and nails the Liger Bomb, and this time she gets the three count! The winners of the match are Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi!

Well that was certainly something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a long segment focusing on a wrestler’s ear, for no reason really since it had nothing to do with the last third of the match. It was an odd way to go as at times I wasn’t sure if they were doing comedy or not. When they weren’t doing that, the match was good but never felt like it had a story since no one team controlled the action for very long. Wrestlers were tagging in and out even if they were on the defense, and it never felt like anyone was in danger. The ending was solid, bit was just a long journey to get there. More unusual than necessarily good.

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami

Masami quickly gets the advantage in the match and headbutts Nagayo a couple times, Masami goes for the powerbomb but Nagayo back bodydrops out of it. Masami lariats her to the mat and goes up top, Nagayo tries to joins her but Masami headbutts her back down. Masami goes for a senton but Nagayo rolls out of the way, both wrestlers get up and Masami lariats Nagayo into the corner. Enzuigiri by Nagayo and now she goes for the powerbomb, but Masami back bodydrops out of it as well. Nagayo applies the sleeper, she lets go of the hold and throws Masami into the ropes before hitting a lariat to the back of the head. Masami goes out to the apron but Nagayo hits a high kick, sending Masami down to the floor. Nagayo gets on the apron and hits a diving crossbody onto Masami, she picks her up and throws Masami into the guard rail, but Masami fires back with a bodyblock and both wrestlers are hurt. Nagayo throws Masami into another railing and high kicks her over the rail onto a table at ringside. Nagayo gets on the table and hits another kick, she knees Masami and both of them fall off the table. Nagayo returns to the ring with Masami slowly following, Nagayo goes for a kick as Masami gets on the apron, but Masami blocks it and kicks her back. Masami goes up top but Nagayo joins her, Nagayo goes for another kick but Masami catches it and hits a leg drop onto Nagayo’s leg for a two count cover. Masami picks up Nagayo and nails a powerbomb, cover by Masami but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Masami charges Nagayo but Nagayo leg sweeps her, she goes for a kick but Masami blocks it again and kicks Nagayo in her injured leg. Masami goes for a diving leg drop onto Nagayo’s leg but Nagayo mostly rolls out of the way, Nagayo is up first and she puts Masami into the sleeper.

Masami manages to get a hand in the ropes to force the break, Masami slowly gets up but Nagayo promptly delivers a high kick to her head and the referee starts a count on Masami. Masami makes it up but eats another high kick to the head, knee drop by Nagayo and the referee begins another count. Nagayo grabs Masami as she gets to her feet and goes for a powerbomb, Masami slides away but Nagayo kicks her in the head again. Nagayo goes for another kick but Masami catches it this time and she puts Nagayo in the sleeper hold. Masami picks up Nagayo but Nagayo reverses the powerbomb attempt by landing on Masami, she goes off the ropes but Masami kicks her and this time hits the sit-down powerbomb. Cover by Masami, but Nagayo reverses the cover into her own pin attempt for two. Nagayo picks up Masami and hits the Running Three, cover by Nagayo but Masami barely gets a shoulder up.  Nagayo is up first but Masami ducks her lariat attempt, Masami goes for a kick but Nagayo ducks it and her leg gets caught in the ropes. High kick by Nagayo while Masami is still in the ropes, the referee starts the ten count but Masami barely makes it up in time. Nagayo puts Masami on the top turnbuckle, Masami pushes her off once but Nagayo kicks her three times to knock her loopy. Nagayo gets Masami up and delivers the Running Three, cover by Nagayo and she gets the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is your winner.

Even with the full hour broadcast, this match was clipped, as according to the official match time about ten minutes as missing. The match felt very old school but it wasn’t as exciting and heated as I was hoping for. I am all for KO spots and I think they should be used more in wrestling, but they went several minutes with long referee counts and submissions which seemed to take the crowd out of it a little bit since it slowed things down so much. Another issue is that how it was presented, Nagayo was pretty much always in control and I never got the sense that Masami could win. That being said, it told a solid story, with Nagayo continuing to kick Masami in the head until she was groggy enough to succumb to the Running Three. Masami’s leg work was fine, ultimately it didn’t stop Nagayo but it was a sound strategy that just didn’t work out. Hard to really recommend a match so clipped but it was a smart match between two legends in the business so you can’t go too wrong.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Wrestle Of Dreams” on 6/18/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: JWP Junior Championship and the Twin Stars of ARSION Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: Twin Stars of ARSION League (1998)

Notable Matches:

• August 10th, 1994 vs. Candy Okutsu
• May 7th, 1996 vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi
• February 1st, 1999 with Rie Tamada vs. Mariko Yoshida and Mika Akino
• April 9th, 2000 vs. Chaparita ASARI
• August 24th, 2003 with Kyoko Inoue vs. Etsuko Mita and Tanny Mouse

Signature Moves:

• Buffalo Sleeper
• Korubata
• Ippon-Seoi-Nage

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Hiromi Yagi appeared first on Joshi City.

The last classic event that I reviewed, Jd’ Stir The Blood 1997, saw Lioness Asuka in the main event against Jaguar Yokota. While Asuka was tearing it up in Jd’, her old partner Chigusa Nagayo was still putting on high quality matches as well since returning from retirement in 1993. Here she invades JWP at their biggest event of the year at the famous Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Joshi was still booming in 1995, and even though AJW had the lion’s share of the market, JWP was still a well respected promotion that had many big stars including Dynamite Kansai, Devil Masami, Candy Okutsu, Cutie Suzuki, and many others. Interestingly there was only one title match on the show, however it is still an event with lots of potential. Here is the full card:

• Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita vs. Tomoko Kuzumi, Tomomi Kobayashi, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Fusayo Nouchi and Kumiko Maekawa vs. Rie Tamada and Kanako Motoya
• Rookie of the Year Tournament Final: Rieko Amano vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi
• Bomber Hikari and Sumiya Toyama vs. Toshie Sato and Yasuko Kuragaki
• Bolshoi Kid vs. Cutie Suzuki
• JWP Jr. Championship Gauntlet Match: Candy Okutsu vs. Hiromi Yagi vs. Hiromi Sugo
• Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dynamite Kansai

A long show, however for the release it was condensed to two hour so some matches will be clipped. But it still will take me forever to do this review as I have a lot of research to do, so I hope the 20 or so people that will read it will enjoy it. There are a handful of inter-promotional matches, which I’ll be sure to point out when they take place. Also this is the worst quality video-wise I have ever reviewed for the site, so apologies in advance.

Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita vs. Kuzumi, Kobayashi, and Yuki Miyazaki

We join this one in progress, with Kuzumi dropkicking Narita and putting her in a crab hold. Narita is triple teamed until she gets away and tags in Kato, Kato goes after Kuzumi’s arm but Kuzumi’s teammates run in and break it up. Kato is isolated for several minutes as Kobayashi works her over with various submission holds until Narita comes in to assist. This gives Kato time to tag in Nagashima, Kuzumi is tagged in too and Nagashima hits front rolls into headbutts until Kuzumi sneaks in a backslide for two She tags Kobayashi back in, and Kobayashi hits a series of body blocks until Nagashima tags in Kato. A lot is happening but not a lot is happening, if that makes sense. Kato’s team runs in and everyone dropkicks Kobayashi in the corner, bulldog by Kato and she covers Kobayashi for two.

Kato goes up top and hits a diving body press, but that cover is broken up as well. Kobayashi hits a Butt Bomb and tags in Miyazaki, hip attacks by Miyazaki to Kato and she covers her for two. Narita blind tags in and hits a couple one legged monkey flips until Kuzumi comes in to help. Narita gets dropkicked by everyone then eats a triple big boot, but she gets away and drops Miyazaki with a running powerslam for a two count. Missile dropkick by Miyazaki and both teams trade missile dropkicks (well, Narita fell off when she went for hers, but what can ya do). More dropkicks! The time limit expires but they fight on! All six brawl in the ring, things settle back down with Kobayashi hitting body blocks on Nagashima. All three hit diving body presses on Nagashima, but the cover is broken up. Nagashima and Kobayashi stay in the ring while everyone else fights outside of it, Irish whip by Kobayashi but Nagashima quickly rolls her up and she gets the three count! Sonoko Kato, Chikayo Nagashima, and Maiko Narita win!

Just your typical fast paced rookie opener. No one got too much of a chance to shine but all looked solid, Narita had the only slip up of the match but they recovered well and kept on moving. Kato looked the best here so no surprise she ended up being so good down the road, but no one looked bad either. Not a bad way to start a show, giving young wrestlers a chance to wrestle at Sumo Hall is never a bad thing.

The next tag match wasn’t included on the release I have, so we will move right onto the Rookie of the Year Final.

Rieko Amano vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi

We join this in one in progress as Amano has Miyaguchi in a leg hold, but Miyaguchi gets to the ropes. Jumping crossbody by Miyaguchi and she puts Amano in a stretch hold, they return to their feet and Miyaguchi hits a dropkick. Amano avoids the next dropkick and goes up top but Miyaguchi knocks her off the top to the floor. Miyaguchi goes out after her and slams Amano into the apron before they return to the ring, sunset flip by Amano but she gets a two count. They trade slaps, Amano mounts Miyaguchi and rains down elbows onto her chest. Diving crossbody by Amano, but it gets two. Amano goes up top but Miyaguchi flings her back to the mat. Miyaguchi goes for a running boot but Amano catches her leg and takes her down, Miyaguchi lands in the ropes however and gets her own leglock applied. Both wrestlers trade quick pin attempts, mounted slaps by Amano but Miyaguchi sneaks in a backslide. Miyaguchi goes to run off the ropes but Amano grabs her from behind and rolls her up for the three count! Amano wins the Tournament!

Clipped down but I liked what I saw. Amano in particular seemed really on point, the submissions were smooth and she showed a lot of fire with her strikes. Miyaguchi looked fine but was a bit upstaged in what they showed, but still was pretty crisp with her offense and neither looked out of place. Only a few minutes was missing, one of the better rookie vs. rookie matches I have seen in awhile and both would go on to have great careers.  Mildly Recommended

Bomber Hikari and Sumiya Toyama vs. Toshie Sato and Yasuko Kuragaki

This match is only slightly joined in progress, with Hikari in the ring with Kuragaki. Kuragaki tags in Sato but Sato has no luck with Hikari as she eats a headbutt. Sato tags Kuragaki and Kuragaki connects with a dropkick, Sato returns and they both dropkick Hikari to the mat. Kuragaki applies a single leg crab hold but Hikari gets out of it and tags in Toyama. Hard shoulderblock by Toyama and she hits a scoop slam, covering Kuragaki for a two count. Kuragaki fires back with an elbow and tags in Sato, dropkick by Sato and she covers Toyama for two. Shoulderblocks by Sato and she hits a neckbreaker, but Toyama kicks out of the cover. Kuragaki and Hikari end up in the ring too with Sato and Kuragaki maintaining control, Toyama hits a judo throw on Sato and she tags in Hikari. Sato tags in Kuragaki, Hikari powerslams Kuragaki and Toyama comes in so they can drop Kuragaki with a double military press. Kuragaki dropkicks Hikari three times, and she covers Hikari for two. Fireman’s carry slams by Kuragaki and Sato hits a missile dropkick. Hikari lands by her corner and tags in Toyama, and Toyama boots Kuragaki in the chest for two. Side Russian Leg Sweeps by Toyama and she tags Hikari back in, missile dropkick by Toyama and both Hikari and Toyama slam Kuragaki and Sato. Diving headbutt by Hikari, and she covers Sato for the three count! Hikari and Toyama are the winners.

While all four wrestlers looked good here, the match structure was all over the place. To say that the transitions were iffy would be a compliment, at any given moment the winning team could shift to the other team for really no reason. So there wasn’t much of a flow, the carnage was good but I prefer carnage that has a bit more of a purpose. Solid action but just a bit meandering.

Bolshoi Kid vs. Cutie Suzuki

Suzuki is mad as hell at Bolshoi and I have no idea why, as she attacks her before the match starts and knocks her out of the ring. Suzuki dives out onto her with a jumping knee before sitting Bolshoi on the apron and pulling at her goofy hat. Back in the ring, Bolshoi finally gets away from Suzuki and she hits a quick hurricanrana for two. Bolshoi goes up top and hits a diving chop to the head, but Suzuki dropkicks Bolshoi out of the ring and hits a jumping knee from the apron down to the floor. Suzuki returns to the ring and waits for Bolshoi, German suplex hold by Suzuki but it gets two. Package German by Suzuki, but that gets a two count as well. Suzuki puts Bolshoi up top and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex, she goes up top again and hits a diving footstomp. Bolshoi hits a headscissors takedown and snaps off a quick suplex, she dropkicks Suzuki out of the ring and sails out after her with a plancha suicida. In the ring, Bolshoi hits a missile dropkick but Suzuki rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Avalanche Uranage by Bolshoi Kid, but Suzuki bridges out of the pin. German suplex hold by Bolshoi, but it gets two. Bolshoi goes up top but again she misses the moonsault, missile dropkick by Suzuki and she hits a second one before dropping Bolshoi with a dragon suplex hold for the three count! Cutie Suzuki is the winner.

I liked this match quite a bit. Really fast paced, hard hitting, high flying… about all you could ask for. Suzuki was more vicious here than I remember, although I haven’t seen a ton of her matches. So either this is normal for her and I didn’t know, or she just really hates clowns. It felt like it got the right amount of time and was a really good showcase for someone that they really wanted the crowd to take seriously as a wrestler even though she was an idol as well. Quality midcard match and worth a watch.  Recommended

Candy Okutsu vs. Hiromi Yagi vs. Hiromi Sugo

Hiromi Yagi and Hiromi Sugo are the first two in the match. Yagi quickly puts Sugo in a short armbar and stomps on her, jumping knee by Sugo in the corner but Yagi comes back with a rebound crossbody. Judo throws by Yagi and she goes for Sugo’s arm, but Sugo dropkicks her and hits a series of stomps. Sugo rams Yagi into the turnbuckles, Yagi goes for a quick roll-up but Sugo blocks it and holds down Yagi for the three count! Sugo wins the pairing and goes on to face Okutsu.

Sugo attacks Okutsu before their match starts but Okutsu kicks Sugo in the head and hits a missile dropkick. Okutsu runs up the corner and goes for another one, but Sugo swats her away. Sugo goes up top but Okutsu quickly joins her and hits a suplex to the mat for the three count! Okutsu wins the pairing and goes on to face Yagi.

Yagi quickly armdrags Okutsu as their match starts and applies a cross kneelock, but Okutsu gets a hand onto the ropes. Wing Clutch Hold by Okutsu, she picks up Yagi and she hits a backdrop suplex. Yagi blocks the next attempt and gets the kneelock re-applied, but again Okutsu gets to the ropes for a break. Missile dropkick by Okutsu and she hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner for two. Okutsu goes off the ropes but Yagi catches her arm with a short armbar, Okutsu inches to the ropes and gets a toe on the bottom one to get a break. Jumping elbow by Yagi but Okutsu hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Running kicks by Okutsu and she hits a snap German suplex, Irish whip by Okutsu but Yagi rolls her up for a two count. German suplex by Yagi, she goes up top but Okutsu gets her knees up on the diving body press. Irish whip by Okutsu, she springs out to the apron and goes up top but Yagi armdrags her off the top turnbuckle to the mat. Yagi goes up top but Okutsu quickly joins her and hits a big suplex to the mat, but Yagi bridges out of the pin. Okutsu goes for a suplex but Yagi slides away and hits a pair of suplexes. Okutsu grabs Yagi’s leg a however and applies a kneelock, and Yagi submits! Your winner and new champion is Candy Okutsu!

I love the speed and smoothness of the match, I just wish it lasted longer as the whole thing clocked in at well under ten minutes. Okutsu’s method of getting to the top turnbuckle was flawlessly done, perhaps overdone, but it is still a neat trick she does apparently on command. I also really liked Yagi’s throws and submissions, she looked polished for someone so inexperienced. The ending was sudden and didn’t make a ton of sense as Okutsu hadn’t done any work to the leg at all, but this was during the age where armbreakers/leglocks were getting more respect as instant finishers. Overall I liked it, it just deserved more time for such a big occasion on a massive card for JWP.  Mildly Recommended

Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU

Fukuoka and KAORU immediately hit stereo hurricanranas as the match starts, they go to double team Masami but she headbutts both of them. Ozaki comes in and powerbombs KAORU, then Masami slams Fukuoka on top of KAORU for extra measure. Masami and KAORU stay in, but they reach a stalemate and tag in their partners. Fukuoka suplexes Ozaki but Ozaki comes back with a jumping lariat, powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers Fukuoka for a two count. Headscissors by Fukuoka to Masami and she hits a hurricanrana for two, but Masami avoids the moonsault out of the corner and KAORU knocks her down with a missile dropkick. Moonsault by KAORU, Fukuoka goes up top but Ozaki hits her and Fukuoka suplexes Fukuoka to the mat for a two count. Masami tags in Ozaki, Fukuoka slides away from Ozaki and throws her to the mat before tagging in KAORU. KAORU flips out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick on Ozaki, but Ozaki bridges out of the pin. Spinning backbreaker by KAORU, but Masami breaks up the cover. Double diving attack to Ozaki, KAORU covers her but again it gets two. KAORU goes for a quebrada but Ozaki gets her knees up, she quickly tags in Fukuoka while Masami runs in and they hit suplexes on Masami and Ozaki. Masami and Ozaki roll out of the ring to re-group but Fukuoka and KAORU dive out of the ring onto them, KAORU and Ozaki return to the ring and KAORU hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Brainbuster by KAORU, but Masami breaks up the cover.

Fukuoka picks up Ozaki but KAORU hits her with a moonsault by accident, Masami then goes up top and hit a diving leg drop onto KAORU. Masami picks up Fukuoka but hits a sit-down powerbomb, getting a two count cover. She quickly hits three more powerbombs on Fukuoka, but the pin attempt is broken up. KAORU comes in and drags Masami but Fukuoka elbows KAORU by accident. Masami goes for another powerbomb but KAORU knocks her over before she can hit the move, Fukuoka slams Masami and KAORU hits a moonsault. Fukuoka then goes up top too and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Ozaki breaks up the cover. Fukuoka goes up top again and is fed Masami but Masami suplexes her to the mat. Masami tags Ozaki, somersault senton by Ozaki to Fukuoka but KAORU breaks up the pin. Running boots by Ozaki and she hits a stunner. Elbow by Ozaki and she drops Fukuoka with a sit-down powerbomb, she goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron. Fukuoka joins her but Ozaki slams her down to the mat for a two count cover. Masami is in the ring but KAORU hits a hurricanrana on her, Ozaki knocks KAORU out of the ring and then sails out onto her with a springboard somersault senton. Masami then picks up Fukuoka and tosses her out of the ring onto KAORU, Ozaki rolls Fukuoka back into the ring and hits the Tequila Sunrise for a two count. Tiger suplex hold by Ozaki, but KAORU breaks it up. Masami takes care of KAORU, she picks up Fukuoka and Ozaki hits her with an assisted lariat, but again the cover is broken up. Masami throws KAORU out of the ring again, she sits on the top turnbuckle and Ozaki stands on her shoulders. Diving footstomp by Ozaki and Masami following with a diving legdrop, Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki on Fukuoka and she gets the three count! Ozaki and Masami are the winners.

Another really solid match, JWP is going all out to deliver on their big Sumo Hall show. What this match lacked in time (it went about 13 minutes) it made up for by being constant motion. Masami looked great with her power moves, she hits a mean powerbomb, and the rest were all on point with their aerial assaults. They hit all their big moves much to the crowd’s delight and certainly nothing was held back, just an exciting and hard hitting match from bell to bell. A really fun match.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dynamite Kansai

They cautiously shake hands before the match starts but the pleasantries don’t last long as Nagayo kicks Kansai to the mat. Head kick by Nagayo and she goes for a powerbomb, but Kansai slides away and kicks Nagayo’s leg out from under her. Mounted elbows by Kansai and she kicks Nagayo in the head but Nagayo whips off a belly to belly suplex. They lock knuckles as they get to their feet, Kansai goes for Nagayo’s arm and applies an armbreaker, but Nagayo gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Kicks by Kansai, which Nagayo tries with little luck to block, Nagayo finally manages to catch one and she applies a leglock. Kansai reaches the ropes, Nagayo goes for a heel kick but Kansai catches it. Hard kick to the ribs/lower back area by Nagayo, which sends Nagayo crumbling to the mat in pain. Kansai takes full advantage and she continues kicking Nagayo in the lower back, but Nagayo fires back with a high kick, more kicks by Nagayo to the head and she waits for Kansai to get back up. Nagayo gets Kansai to the mat and applies a sleeper but Kansai gets out of it and hits mounted elbows. Nagayo recovers and gets the sleeper re-applied, kick to the head by Nagayo and she drills Kansai with another one. Kansai comes back with a backdrop suplex and she hits a jumping knee, high angle backdrop suplex by Kansai and she covers Nagayo for two.

Kansai goes up top but Nagayo kicks her in the head, sending Kansai out to the floor. Nagayo goes outside as well but Kansai nails her with a lariat. Kick to the head by Nagayo, Nagayo gets in the ring as Kansai gets on the apron and both wrestlers lariat each other. Nagayo applies an armbar but Kansai gets to the ropes, Nagayo applies a sleeper before planting Kansai with a piledriver. Nagayo comes up top but Kansai kicks her from behind, Kansai joins her and goes for Splash Mountain but Nagayo blocks it. Nagayo dives off the top and drives Kansai’s face into the mat, elbow drop by Nagayo and she covers Kansai for two. Nagayo goes up top again but again Kansai kicks her, she goes for Splash Mountain again but Nagayo blocks it and knees Kansai back down to the mat. Nagayo picks up Kansai but Kansai gets out of the Running Three attempt, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain but Nagayo wiggles away. Kansai kicks her in the head for her trouble, she goes for a powerbomb but Nagayo blocks it and hits a high kick. Kansai sweeps out Nagayo’s legs, she picks up Nagayo and she delivers a backdrop suplex for a two count. Nagayo fires back with her own backdrop suplex, she picks up Kansai and she nails the Running Three, but Kansai kicks out of the cover. Kansai gets a second wind and elbows Nagayo repeatedly in the corner, Kansai picks up Nagayo and she delivers the Splash Mountain, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Head kick by Kansai, she drags Nagayo to her feet and hits another Splash Mountain for the three count! Dynamite Kansai is the winner!

Well this was certainly a hell of a match, doubt either one were feeling 100% in the morning. Lots and lots of hard strikes, so if hard kicks are your thing then this match is for you. It wasn’t perfect but it was what it needed to be, this is both wrestler’s styles so they were going to put on the best version of their style that they could. Kansai working on the lower back/ribs area of Nagayo was logical since that is the area that Splash Mountain hits, and Nagayo’s kicks to the head were on point. My main squabble would be basically Kansai’s ‘fighting spirit’ spot leading directly to the end after Nagayo hit her big signature move, but since it is the main event of JWP’s biggest event of the year with their hometown star, those types of things are a bit more forgivable. It didn’t reach that ‘epic’ level but it was incredibly stiff and full of action, a perfect way to cap off the show. A solid “four star” match for sure.  Highly Recommended

The post JWP Thunder Queen Ryogoku Wonderland on 6/16/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.