Championships Held: AJW Championship, AJW Jr. Championship, All Pacific Championship, NWA Women’s Pacific and NEO Championship, Queen of ARSION Championship, TWF World Women’s Championship, Twin Stars of ARSION Championship, WWWA Tag Team Championship, WWWA World Championship, and the AAAW Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: AJW Grand Prix (1985)
Awards Won: Tokyo Sports “Women’s Award” (1997 and 1999) and the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame (1999)

Notable Matches:

• August 25th, 1984 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Jumbo Hori and Yukari Omori
• February 25th, 1985 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu
• May 16th, 1985 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano
• August 22nd, 1985 vs. Jaguar Yokota
• August 28th, 1985 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano
• May 6th, 1989 vs. Madusa Miceli
• March 26th, 1995 vs. Yumiko Hotta
• October 22nd, 1997 vs. Jaguar Yokota
• May 6th, 1998 vs. Kyoko Inoue
• April 4th, 1999 vs. Chigusa Nagayo
• August 22nd, 1999 vs. Kyoko Inoue
• April 30th, 2004 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Chikayo Nagashima and Sugar Sato
• April 3rd, 2005 with Chigusa Nagayo vs. Chikayo Nagashima and Sugar Sato

Signature Moves:

• Fisherman Driver
• Fisherman Suplex
• K Driller
• LSD II
• LSD III
• Towerhacker Bomb

In Action:

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Lioness Asuka appeared first on Joshi City.

Let’s jump back to some AJW, but not to classic AJW but rather ‘towards the end of its life’ AJW. By 2004, AJW wasn’t doing well. The heyday of arenas full of tens of thousands of people was long gone, as AJW lost its regular TV slot in 2002 and had struggled to keep their head above water with the lost revenue. The promotion still had quality wrestlers for sure, but none that really captured the hearts of fans like The Crush Gals, Manami Toyota, Jaguar Yokota, and all the stars that at one time made AJW one of the most successful promotions in the world. I picked this show intentionally as it had a big title match plus three matches with young wrestlers versus veterans which tend to be pretty entertaining. Plus we have two Tag League the Best Tournament matches and baby Kana! Here is the full card:

• Rising Generation 1: Takako Inoue vs. Haruka Matsuo
• Tag League the Best First Round: Yumiko Hotta and Kana vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Emi Tojo
• Tag League the Best First Round: The Bloody and Fang Suzuki vs. Dump Matsumoto and Sasori
• Rising Generation 2: Momoe Nakanishi vs. Saki Maemura
• Rising Generation 3: Lioness Asuka vs. Hikaru
• Kumiko Maekawa vs. Amazing Kong
• WWWA World Championship: Ayako Hamada vs. Nanae Takahashi

I am sure some of this event will be clipped, but we’ll see which matches are as we get into it.

Takako Inoue vs. Haruka Matsuo

They jockey to start, Haruka avoids Takako’s boot and she hits a springboard armdrag off the ropes. Stomps by Haruka and she applies a seated armbar, but Takako gets into the ropes. Dropkicks by Haruka but Takako shrugs them off and plants the youngster with a DDT. Double underhook suplex by Takako and she applies a leg submission, but Haruka makes it into the ropes. Haruka goes for a crossbody by Takako catches her on the first attempt and ducks the second one before leveling Haruka with a high kick. Avalanche chokeslam of sorts by Takako, but Haruka barely kicks out of the cover. Haruka avoids Takako’s dive off the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricanrana, dropkick by Haruka and she hits a missile dropkick. She hits another missile dropkick, cover by Haruka but it gets two as does the Northern Lights Suplex. High kick by Takako, she picks up Haruka and hits a snap backdrop suplex hold for a two count. Spinning backfist by Takako, but again Haruka gets a shoulder up. Haruka slaps Takako and applies a wing clutch hold for a two count, she goes up top and delivers a diving body press before hitting a German suplex hold for two. Takako’s Night Night by Takako, she goes up top and hits the Takako Panic for the three count! Your winner is Takako Inoue!

One of the benefits of this series being young wrestlers but not rookies is that we get real match. Takako looked great here as she was on point with all her offense but still gave Haruka enough that both came out looking fine. Not a very long match and it might have been clipped a bit, but a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Yumiko Hotta and Kana vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Emi Tojo

Kana and Watanabe start the match as Kana quickly hits a trio of dropkicks, but Watanabe dropkicks her back and hits a scoop slam. Rebound elbow drop by Watanabe, Tojo runs in and hits a body press before Watanabe covers her for two. Watanabe works over Kana on the mat, and we clip ahead to Kana kicking Watanabe in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Watanabe fights back, Tojo comes in and Kana is double teamed in the corner. Watanabe suplexes Tojo onto Kana, Tojo stays in and applies a headlock to Kana but Kana fires off some elbows and hits a dropkick. The young pair jockey for position on the mat until Tojo hits a quick suplex. Tojo tags in Watanabe, sunset flip by Kana but Watanabe grabs the ropes. Hotta comes in and hits a heel kick on Watanabe, Watanabe hits a back bodydrop but Kana dropkicks Watanabe. Watanabe knocks them both back with a springboard double elbow but Hotta grabs her and hits a Tiger Driver for a two count. Hotta tags Kana by slapping her, missile dropkick by Kana but Watanabe kicks her in the chest. Dropkick by Kana but Watanabe fires back with a lariat for a two count. Watanabe tags Tojo, knees by Tojo in the corner and she hits a dropkick. Scoop slam by Tojo but Kana dropkicks her, back bodydrop by Tojo but Kana dropkicks her again and covers her for two. Tojo and Kana trade elbows, Kana goes off the ropes and she hits three hip attacks for a two count. Tojo and Kana trade slaps, roll-up by Kana but Watanabe comes in and Kana is double teamed. Tojo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Kana makes the tag to Hotta. Dropkicks by Tojo to Hotta but Hotta hits a double face crusher, Tojo blocks the Tiger Driver and Watanabe comes in to kick Hotta in the chest. Tojo goes for a sunset flip by Hotta sits on her chest to block it, Hotta picks up Tojo but Watanabe knocks her over. Shining Wizard by Tojo to Hotta, but it only gets a two count. Tojo goes off the ropes but Watanabe hits a palm thrust, Hotta knocks Watanabe to the mat and then hits a Tiger driver on Tojo for the three count! Hotta and Kana win the match and move on in the tournament.

Good, but not great. It was fun to see Kana in her first year, still a bit rough around the edges and not at all like what she is today, but with some glimpses of skill and fire like you want to see in wrestlers early in their career. The match was just a bit too random and had no flow whatsoever, most of it was just them taking turns hitting moves on each other without a sense that either team had a strategy. The clipping may be slightly to blame but the match was probably like that in full as well. The action was generally solid so no complaints there, it just lacked something special to make it a memorable match or to feel like an important tournament match.

The Bloody and Fang Suzuki vs. Dump Matsumoto and Sasori

Matsumoto attacks Bloody before the match starts and the action immediately spills outside of the ring, with Matsumoto’s friends helping as well. Matsumoto and Bloody finally get in the ring with Matsumoto’s masked friend doing a bulk of the work, Suzuki comes in but Matsumoto quickly knocks her back out. Sasori comes in and trades elbows with Bloody, Matsumoto hits Bloody with kendo stick but Suzuki hits Sasori with a chair. Bloody tags Suzuki and Suzuki hits Sasori with a chair, but the masked friend returns and takes it from her. She then hits Suzuki with the chair as Suzuki is triple teamed in the corner. Sasori bites Bloody in the head and hits a hard elbow, cover by Sasori but it gets two. Matsumoto comes in and hits Bloody with the kendo stick, Bloody sneaks in a sunset flip but it only gets two. Sasori suplexes Bloody, the masked woman comes in and she hits a suplex to Suzuki. Matsumoto hits everyone with a paint can, including the referee (well especially the referee), but Suzuki comes in with a chair and hits Sasori in the head. Bloody gets Sasori in the corner and chokes her, snap backdrop suplex by Suzuki and Bloody hits a diving senton off the rope. Bloody is pulled outside the ring and attacked, at some point in all this the referee wakes and DQs Matsumoto and Sasori. Bloody and Suzuki move on in the tournament.

So this was an experience. I knew that it would be a brawl but it was one of those types where Matsumoto never even left the ring and just interfered whenever she felt like it. At least they did get DQed, unlike the old days, but it still wasn’t really a match in the traditional sense of the word. None of these four by 2004 were great wrestlers in the traditional sense of the word but the brawl just wasn’t heated enough to make up for it. Interesting perhaps, but still not something I could really recommended.

Momoe Nakanishi vs. Saki Maemura

Momoe and Saki get right into it with no wasted time, quick dropkick by Momoe and the pair trade elbows back and forth until Saki throws down Momoe by her hair. She does it again and hits a few snapmares before applying a sleeper, bodyscissors by Saki but Momoe gets out of it and delivers with a dropkick. Momoe goes up top and hits a missile dropkick but Saki hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner for two. Saki goes up top but Momoe hits her and joins her. Saki slides off and dropkicks Momoe, release German by Saki and she hits a missile dropkick. Saki dropkicks Momoe out of the ring, she then goes up top and hits a diving crossbody down to the floor. Saki slides Momoe back in but Momoe hits a dropkick, Saki falls out of the ring and Momoe goes for a moonsault, but Saki moves out of the way. Dropkick by Saki from the apron, she slides Momoe back in and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Fisherman suplex by Saki, but Momoe gets a shoulder up again. Saki goes up top but Momoe gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt, quick roll-up by Saki gets a two. She tries another one with the same result, double underhook suplex by Momoe but it gets a two. Momoe goes up top and hits a missile dropkick but Saki comes back with a German suplex hold. German suplex hold by Momoe but Saki blocks the dragon suplex attempt and the two trade pick pins. Saki goes off the ropes but Momoe catches her with a Momo☆OK, a second Momo☆OK by Momoe and she picks up the three count!  Momoe Nakanishi is the winner.

A very high speed match and a hell of a sprint, both hit a million dropkicks and were flying around everywhere. It still had some big moves, with a dive by Saki and a dropkick off the apron, but most of it was focused between the ropes. There wasn’t a lot in terms of things like long term selling as they were going too fast to worry about such things, but for a shorter match it worked fine. A good display by both and overall enjoyable.  Mildly Recommended

Lioness Asuka vs. Hikaru

Asuka shows immediately that she has not mellowed with age, as she attacks Hikaru during the handshake and then sprays green mist in her face. Snapmares and kicks by Asuka, she gets her table and catapults it into Hikaru’s face. Asuka’s posse helps (as if she needed it) as Hikaru falls outside of the ring to be tended to by her corners. Asuka goes out to get her and rams her head into the table, Asuka charges Hikaru and lariats her against the table before rolling her back into the ring. Hikaru is then attacked with chairs as Hikaru is now bleeding, Blue Thunder Driver by Asuka but the referee won’t count it due to all the cheating. Asuka doesn’t care and starts choking Hikaru, knee drops by Asuka but Hikaru finally fights back with elbows. She bounces off the ropes but is tripped from ringside, Asuka grabs Hikaru and puts her in the Tree of Woe. Sliding dropkicks to Hikaru and Asuka puts her in a modified Camel Clutch. Hikaru manages to hit a big spear, knees by Asuka and she kicks Hikaru in the head. The table is propped up in the corner but Hikaru knocks Asuka back and hits a missile dropkick. Hikaru charges Asuka but Asuka moves so Hikaru runs into the table. Asuka puts the table onto Hikaru, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving footstomp onto the table. Liger Bomb by Asuka, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Asuka gets Hikaru on her shoulders but she slides away and goes up top. Asuka joins her but Hikaru knocks her back down and and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Asuka elbows Hikaru but Hikaru hits a spear, Hikaru picks up Asuka and she hits a Samoan Drop for a two count. Spinebuster by Hikaru, she picks up Asuka as Asuka’s friend comes in, but the friend hits Asuka with the chair by accident. Fisherman Driver by Hikaru, but Asuka gets a toe on the ropes. Hikaru goes to pick up Asuka but Asuka throws a fireball at her face, Hikaru rolls out of the ring and Asuka throws her into the stands. Asuka goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp through the table (and obviously Hikaru), she slides Hikaru back in and she nails the Towerhacker Bomb, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Asuka goes for the LSD II, but Hikaru blocks it and rolls up Asuka for two. Heel kick by Asuka and she hits a second one, but Hikaru kicks out. Hikaru slaps Asuka but Asuka slaps her back and hits the LSD III for the three count! Lioness Asuka wins!

I love Asuka, here she was just a few months from retiring due neck injuries but she was holding nothing back to put on a good show. Diving footstomps through tables, fireballs, it was fun to watch. Asuka has a reputation as being a selfish worker, mostly deserved, but she wasn’t here as Hikaru kicked out of some of her bigger moves and had several close nearfalls against the Joshi legend. It was constant action with no wasted time, from the first misting to the final LSD something was always happening. A really solid match and to me just further cements Asuka’s place as one of the top Joshi wrestlers of all time.  Recommended

Kumiko Maekawa vs. Amazing Kong

Maekawa and Kong lock knuckles, chops by Kong and she lariats Maekawa to the mat. Maekawa gets back up and puts Kong in a seated armbar, but Kong gets a foot onto the ropes to break the hold. Kicks by Maekawa but she lets up Kong while smiling, Kong avoids the next kick however and she tosses Maekawa out of the ring. She goes out after her but Maekawa rolls in real quick, Maekawa kicks Kong as she gets on the apron and exits the ring to throw Kong into the guard rail. Maekawa battles Kong around the ring but Kong regains the advantage and throws Maekawa into the railing. Vertical suplex by Kong on the floor and she goes for a powerbomb, but Maekawa slides away and drop toeholds Kong onto some chairs. Maekawa slides Kong back in and hits a heel drop in the corner, Calf Branding by Maekawa and she covers Kong for two.

Kong fires back with a lariat and hits a double underhook facebuster, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving bodypress for a two count. Kong goes for a powerbomb but Maekawa gets out of it and hits a leg sweep. She goes off the ropes but Kong hits a lariat, Maekawa kips up however and delivers a heel kick for two. Kong finally hits the powerbomb, but the cover only gets a two count. Heel Drop by Maekawa, but Kong barely kicks out. Maekawa picks up Kong but she blocks the next Heel Drop attempt, quick roll-up by Maekawa but Kong kicks out. Kong returns the favor with her own roll-up for two, she picks up Maekawa but Maekawa blocks the spinning backfist. Kong finally hits one but Maekawa comes back with a high kick as they trade strikes back and forth. Back kick by Maekawa and she hits a rolling heel kick, she goes for a boot in the corner but Kong avoids it and applies a backslide for two. Sit-down Powerbomb by Kong, she picks up Maekawa and clubs her in the face. Kong goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, she gets on the second turnbuckle again but Maekawa avoids the diving bodypress. Kicks to the head by Maekawa but Kong sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Heel Drop by Maekawa, but Kong kicks out of the pin. Another Heel Drop by Maekawa, and this time she gets the three count! Maekawa is the winner.

Definitely an interesting match. It was odd seeing the monster Kong being the one going for sneaky pins while Maekawa was content in kicking the hell out of her. I love Maekawa’s Heel Drops, she gets so much elevation on her kick, I’ve never seen anything like it. Only issue it that she was so dominating that I never really brought into Kong winning as even though she hit her powerbomb you knew it would take more than that. Lots of hard strikes and solid action, it just had too much meandering brawling and not enough emotion.

(c) Ayako Hamada vs. Nanae Takahashi

They shake hands but Hamada grabs Takahashi and hits a quick powerbomb. Superkick by Hamada and a heel kick, and she delivers the AP Cross for a two count. Back up Hamada hits another heel kick, but Takahashi ducks the next one and hits a backdrop suplex. Another backdrop suplex by Takahashi and she hits a lariat before delivering a Nana☆Racka for two. Dropkick by Takahashi but Hamada returns fire. Hamada and Takahashi trade elbows as they return to their feet, Hamada charges Takahashi but Takahashi dumps her out of the ring. Plancha suicida by Takahashi, she rolls Hamada back in the ring but Hamada avoids the reverse splash. Hamada goes for a moonsault but Takahashi gets her feet up and hits a release German suplex. Takahashi goes up top but Hamada smacks her and joins her, hitting an Avalanche Frankensteiner down to the floor. Both wrestlers are hurt but Hamada is up first and slides Takahashi back in the ring, missile dropkick by Hamada and she hits a sit-down powerbomb for two. Takahashi rolls out of the ring, still in a good amount of pain, but Hamada goes out after her and hits her with a set of chairs. Vertical suplex by Hamada and she climbs up onto the stage, and she hits a moonsault down onto Takahashi. They battle up onto the balcony, Hamada tries to throw her off but Takahashi blocks it and slides her over the edge.

Hamada hangs for a moment before falling down to the floor, Takahashi then climbs to the other side of the railing and jumps down onto Hamada. So far this match is just a series of big spots but I love it. Takahashi tosses Hamada around the ring before they get up on the apron, Hamada gets a chair but tosses it at Takahashi and pretends like Takahashi hit her. The referee fusses at her, giving Hamada time to roll the ring, she then dropkicks Takahashi off the apron and goes for a moonsault, but Takahashi side steps it and puts Hamada on the apron. Takahashi then grabs Hamada and hits a vertical suplex off the apron down to the floor, she puts her back in the ring and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Big lariat by Takahashi, footstomp by Takahashi and she hits a Nana☆Racka for two. Hamada goes for a kick but Takahashi catches it and suplexes her to the mat. Lariat by Takahashi but Hamada sneaks in an inside cradle for a two count. Another lariat by Takahashi but Hamada springs back up just to eat another one. La Magistral by Hamada, but Takahashi gets a shoulder up. Enzuigiri by Hamada but Takahashi slides away from the powerbomb attempt. Dropkick by Hamada, she picks up Takahashi and hits the Pyramid Driver for a two count. AP Cross by Hamada, but Takahashi barely gets a shoulder up. Hamada kicks Takahashi in the head and she puts Takahashi in a backslide for two. Running slap by Hamada and she hits two heel kicks, AP Cross by Hamada but Takahashi kicks out. Lariat by Takahashi and she hits a Nana☆Racka, but it only gets a one. Takahashi charges Hamada but Hamada catches her and hits a AP Cross Diamond for two. Takahashi comes back with a jumping knee, Takahashi goes up top but Hamada joins her, she goes for a cutter but Takahashi blocks it and slides off. Hamada kicks Takahashi back but Takahashi punches her back and gets her in the Muscle Buster position. Nana Racka II by Takahashi, and she picks up the three count! Takahashi is the new champion!

Well that was one hell of a spotfest, just twenty minutes of them doing big moves until finally someone did a move strong enough to keep the other down. Which in a way is the problem with a match like this, the Nana Racka II is a great move but after everything that had been done it seemed almost anti-climatic. But they did two very similar bumps to the Kobashi/Akiyama match, which I doubt was a coincidence as that was the ‘big match’ of the year that had happened six months prior. It was certainly exciting as they kept ramping up the violence and there was never a dull moment, definitely worth tracking down for the “oh shit” moments if nothing else, and Hamada was on another level back in 2004.  Recommended

The post AJW Rising Generation Special in KAWASAKI 12/12/04 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

As I continue my journey of experiencing new wrestlers and new promotions, next up is Joshi promotion ARSION. ARSION was founded by Aja Kong in 1998 with Rossy Ogawa acting as President, a name many will recognize as the owner of Stardom. By 2001 things had changed a bit, as Aja Kong left the promotion after disagreements with management and Lioness Asuka took over the book. This lead to new wrestlers being pushed and a change in the overall feel of the promotion, which we are jumping right in the middle of with this review. The promotion had three titles, two of which will be defended on this show. Here is the full card:

• Ai Fujita vs. Yuu Yamagata
• Chaparita ASARI and Faby Apache vs. Rie Tamada and Rena Takase
• Bionic J vs. GAMI
• TWINSTAR OF ARSION Championship: Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda vs. PIKA and POKO
• Lioness Asuka vs. Mariko Yoshida
• QUEEN OF ARSION Championship: Ayako Hamada vs. Michiko Omukai

Since this was shown on TV in a two hour block, a few of the matches will be clipped.

Ai Fujita vs. Yuu Yamagata

We join in progress as Fujita scoop slams Yamagata before putting her in a crab hold. Yamagata makes it to the ropes, Irish whip by Fujita and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Fujita keeps it on the mat as she applies a sleeper, but Yamagata gets a foot on the ropes. Yamagata fights back with a pair of dropkicks but Fujita rocks her with an elbow and ducks Yamagata’s crossbody attempt. Fujita throws Yamagata in the corner and hits a Space Rolling Avalanche, standing moonsault by Fujita but it only gets two. Jumping lariat by Fujita, she picks up Yamagata but Yamagata rebounds out of the corner with a triple jump crossbody. Fujita levels her with another elbow, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Fujita picks up Yamagata and hits a release German, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault for the three count! Fujita is your winner.

A short match clipped shorter, but not a bad opener. Yamagata showed flashes of ability, just from this I wouldn’t have known she’d be as good as she ended up being but I am not surprised either. Fujita was known for her high flying offense, she mostly stayed grounded here however she did hit a nice looking moonsault. Decent showcase for both wrestlers.

Chaparita ASARI and Faby Apache vs. Rie Tamada and Rena Takase

This match is also joined in progress, with Tamada in the ring with Faby. Takase randomly runs in and spears Faby but Faby avoids Tamada’s missile dropkick. Faby tags in ASARI but Tamada catches her with a Stunner, Tamada goes off the ropes but ASARI pushes her out of the ring. ASARI then goes up top and sails out of the ring down onto both Tamada and Takase, they return to the ring and both ASARI and Faby hit missile dropkicks. Tamada blocks a Northern Lights Suplex but Faby lariats Tamada, helping ASARI hit the move. Frankensteiner by ASARI to Tamada, but the cover gets two. ASARI goes up top but Tamada grabs her from behind and throws ASARI to the mat. German suplex by ASARI but Tamada is back up and hits a roaring elbow. That gives her time to tag in Takase while Faby is tagged in as well, and Faby puts Takase in a Mexican Surfboard. Tamada helps from the apron which allows Takase to apply a quick cross armbreaker, but Faby gets a toe on the ropes.

Takase knocks Faby out of the ring, she then goes up top and dives out of the ring onto ASARI and Faby. Takase gets a chair but the referee tries to get it from her, while the referee is distracted Tamada grabs another chair and whacks Faby with it. Tamada then sets up Faby near the ropes and props the chair against her before hitting a dropkick into the chair from the top turnbuckle. Takase grabs Faby and hits a German suplex hold, but Faby barely kicks out. Takase goes up top but hits a crossbody on Tamada on accident, Faby goes off the ropes but Tamada trips her from the apron. Faby recovers and hits a jumping heel kick on Takase, she goes up top but Takase avoids the diving headbutt. Missile dropkick by Tamada, Takase goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for two. Takase goes off the ropes but Faby levels her with a lariat, Takase sneaks in a backslide but Faby hits another heel kick. Liger Bomb by Faby, and she gets the three count! ASARI and Faby Apache win the match.

What an odd match. Now about four minutes were clipped which can hurt a match in regards to flow and it making sense, but even without that it was probably all over the place. Faby played such an odd role, she really didn’t sell anything long term and each time she hit a big move she would do the ‘cocky’ cover as if she had been winning the whole match. When Faby wasn’t driving me nuts, everything else was great though. Love Takase, she showed a lot of promise and ability for such a young wrestler, and Tamada was on point. ASARI must have been clipped out, as she wasn’t shown as much and played a bit role. Overall I still enjoyed it, lots of solid action, I just wish it was a bit tighter in presentation.  Mildly Recommended

Bionic J vs. GAMI

As we join the match, Bionic J is kneeing GAMI, Irish whip by Bionic J and she hits GAMI in the stomach with a nunchuck. GAMI takes it from her but Bionic J delivers a superkick, she goes for a shoulder tackle but GAMI catches her with a guillotine. GAMI gets Bionic J to the mat but she gets into the ropes, GAMI puts Bionic J on the top turnbuckle and she hits a Frankensteiner, but Bionic jumps to her feet and hits a lariat. Cutter by Bionic J but GAMI bounces up from that and hits a lariat followed by a STO. GAMI goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop, picking up a two count. Chokeslam by Bionic J and she applies a Texas Cloverleaf, but GAMI gets into the ropes. Bionic J throws GAMI into the corner but GAMI drop toeholds her when she charges in and kicks her in the face. GAMI goes for a pump handle but Bionic J blocks it and hits a double underhook facebuster. Bionic J gets on the second turnbuckle but GAMI avoids the diving leg drop and hits a lariat. Pump handle sitout slam by GAMI, but Bionic J kicks out of the cover. GAMI punches Bionic J in the face and puts her in a cross necklock, forcing Bionic J to submit! GAMI is your winner.

Not a whole lot to this one, some good power moves by both but also some random no-selling that didn’t really add anything to the match. It wasn’t a bad watch, as long as you don’t mind some of the more silly aspects of ‘fighting spirit’ cropping up.

(c) Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda vs. PIKA and POKO

PIKA and POKO start off with the advantage as they hit dives out of the ring, but one backfires as one of the clowns takes out the other clowns. Shimoda stays in the ring with with, we’ll say PIKA, and pokes her in the eyes, but the other two clowns come in the ring and confuse Shimoda on which one she had really poked in the eyes. Frankensteiner by POKO, then PIKA hits a sunset flip for a two count. PIKA goes for lariats and finally knocks Shimoda over, sunset flip by PIKA and she rolls her around the ring for a two count. Shimoda gets on the top turnbuckle but PIKA avoids her somersault and applies La Magistral for a two count. PIKA goes up top but Shimoda avoids the moonsault, kick by Shimoda and she covers PIKA for two. Shimoda tags in Mita but PIKA rolls her up for two. She gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a cannonball, picking up two again. She goes for another dive but Mita gets her feet up. POKO comes in the ring and distracts Mita, missile dropkick by… PIKA we will say but Mita hits a double chop to the chest. All three clowns pick up Mita but Mita gets out of it, La Magistral by… POKO but it gets a two count. Shimoda comes off the top with a double missile dropkick, Mita picks up POKO and hits a folding powerbomb for two. Mita goes for a powerbomb but she gets hit in the head with a fan, POKO goes for a hurricanrana but Mita blocks it and hits a Death Valley Bomb for the three count! LCO retain their championship.

This was a really odd way to use LCO. LCO are known for being brutal (they were generally heels) but here they are doing shtick. Not being overly cooperative but they still had to take part in it. A few cute spots but I can’t say I enjoyed it as I’d much rather see LCO in a real tag match and keep the clowning around more towards the bottom of the card. Not a good match at all.

Lioness Asuka vs. Mariko Yoshida

They jockey for position to start and end up on the mat, but after a moment they return to their feet. They return to the mat with Asuka on top, Yoshida goes for a triangle choke but Asuka gets out of it and they end up in the ropes. Yoshida goes for a cross armbreaker but Asuka blocks it and gets back up before kicking Yoshida. Asuka baseball slides Yoshida in the leg and drags her out of the ring, throwing Yoshida into a row of chairs forcefully. She goes for a suplex on the floor but Yoshida lands her her feet, snapmare by Asuka and she kicks Yoshida in the back. Asuka slides a table in the ring and then slides Yoshida back in as well, kicks by Asuka and she slaps Yoshida in the face. Asuka slams Yoshida into the table, she then puts the table across Yoshida’s chest and hits a footstomp off the top turnbuckle onto it. Liger Bomb by Asuka, but Yoshida barely gets her shoulder up. Asuka goes for a high kick but Yoshida catches her foot and applies an ankle hold, she then grabs Asuka around the neck before applying a cross armbreaker.

Asuka gets into the ropes, Yoshida picks her up but Asuka hits a lariat. Yoshida comes back with a German suplex but Asuka blocks the Spider Twist, Yoshida gets the triangle choke locked in but Asuka powerbombs out of it. Asuka gets on the top turnbuckle but jumps back off and stomps Yoshida, she goes up again but Yoshida punches her and joins Asuka up top. Superplex by Yoshida but Asuka hits a quick Blue Thunder Driver. Yoshida comes back and drops Asuka with the Air Raid Crash, but Asuka kicks out of the pin attempt. Cross armbreaker by Yoshida but Asuka gets a foot on the ropes, Yoshida hits another Air Raid Crash but again it gets a two count. Yoshida goes off the ropes but Asuka delivers a high kick, Asuka goes to pick up Yoshida but Yoshida slaps her in an armtrap crossface. La Magistral by Yoshida into the Spider Twist, but Asuka inches to the ropes to force the break. Yoshida goes for another Air Raid Crash but Asuka blocks it and hits the Towerhacker Bomb for a two count. Asuka slides Yoshida out of the ring and throws her into the crowd, she removes the mat at ringside and sets up her table. Asuka puts Yoshida on the table and goes up top, hitting a footstomp down to the floor and through the table. Yoshida is quickly slid back into the ring, Liger Bomb by Asuka but Yoshida barely gets a shoulder up. Heel kick by Asuka, she picks up Yoshida and drops her with the LSD II for the three count! Lioness Asuka is the winner!

It is hard to be mad about a match this entertaining but it certainly had its issues. First of all, the result is what it had to be if Asuka was going to be taken seriously, but she has a reputation as being a selfish worker for a reason as she survived every one of Yoshida’s normal signature moves and then sprinted around the ring like nothing happened to win the match. Asuka was feeling no ill effects during the home stretch, which is classic Asuka but made Yoshida look weak in the process. That being said I liked it anyway, Yoshida is so slick with her submissions and Asuka’s style is a bit different as it mixes in fast pace with brutality very effectively. Definitely worth the watch but better if you know what you are getting into, long-term selling is not Asuka’s strong suit.  Recommended

(c) Ayako Hamada vs. Michiko Omukai

Omukai dropkicks Hamada instead of shaking hands as they start with a bang, Hamada tosses Omukai out of the ring and then sails out onto her with an Asai Moonsault, but Omukai hits her with a chair as she jumps out. Hamada gets the chair from Omukai and hits her with it, Hamada slides Omukai back in the ring and she hits a swandive missile dropkick. Springboard crossbody by Hamada but Omukai rocks her with an elbow, Hamada elbows Omukai back and they exchange hard strikes. They finally slow down as Hamada hits a vertical suplex and she puts Omukai in a modified cloverleaf, but Omukai gets out of it and hits an armdrag. She applies a submission but Hamada gets to the ropes, kicks by Omukai to the head of Hamada and she hits a palm thrust to send Hamada to the mat. Omukai pounds on Hamada’s face in the mount position, busting open Hamada in the process. Omukai focuses on Hamada’s bleeding head, she goes for a powerbomb but Hamada pushes her off.

Suplex by Omukai but Hamada headbutts her, more headbutts by Hamada and she hits mounted headbutts until Omukai is bleeding too. Omukai is bleeding everywhere as they trade headbutts, hard elbow by Omukai and she covers Hamada for two. Hamada puts Omukai in an Octopus Hold, she takes it to the mat but Omukai gets a foot on the ropes. Bodyscissors into a submission by Hamada and they trade submissions until Omukai gets to the ropes. Hamada goes for a powerbomb, Omukai blocks it and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Hamada blocks that and puts Omukai on the top turnbuckle. Hamada then joins her and hits a face crusher to the mat, cover by Hamada but it gets two. Hamada charges Omukai but Omukai catches her in a triangle choke, Hamada struggles but manages to make it to the ropes. Omukai picks up Hamada but Hamada slides away and hits a palm strike. Shining Kick by Omukai, she covers Hamada but Hamada gets a foot on the ropes. Spinning backfists by Omukai but Hamada ducks one and slaps her. Spiral Bomb by Hamada, but Omukai barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Jumping heel kick by Hamada, and she picks up the three count! Your winner and still champion: Ayako Hamada!

Now this was a great match, I loved it. Omukai has great looking and convincing submissions, while Hamada brought lots of fire. The blood loss worked here as both wrestlers snapped a bit once they were busted open, particularly Hamada, and it helped the match go from trading spots to two trying to kill each other. The time went by quickly and nothing felt excessive or out of place. Considering how early Hamada was into her career, she clearly “got it” at a young age, if you are a Hamada fan you really need to track this match down. Perfect way to end the card, it started slow but definitely ended with a bang.  Highly Recommended

The post ARSION Starlight 2001 on 7/3/01 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

A few months ago I purchased tons of older Joshi events so I could catch up on all I missed as I didn’t start following Joshi until 2014. As I watch them, I figured I may as well review the events as well so others can join me in my walk through the past. This was a big show for the now defunct promotion Jd’ (or JDStar) that ran from 1996 to 2007. Jd’ was run and owned by Jaguar Yokota, the former AJW superstar that came out of retirement to form the promotion. Their events didn’t often appear in full form, as this is a television airing that clipped many of the matches. But the main event was shown in full, as Jaguar Yokota and Lioness Asuka battle for the TWF World Women’s Championship! Here is the full card:

• Alda Moreno vs. Yuki Lee
• Ryuna and Fang Suzuki vs. Yuko Kosugi and Kazuko Fujiwara
• Jd’ Junior Championship: Megumi Yabushita vs. The Bloody
• Cooga and Leoga vs. Esther Moreno and Sachie Abe
• Kyoko Inoue and Sumie Sakai vs. Michiko Omukai and Chikako Shiratori
• TWF World Women’s Championship: Lioness Asuka vs. Jaguar Yokota

As I mentioned, a lot of these matches are clipped, and I don’t have match times for many of these matches so I won’t know how much they are clipped. But we are going to watch it all anyway.

Alda Moreno vs. Yuki Lee

This match was joined in progress, as Moreno knocks Lee out of the ring to the floor. Moreno charges the ropes and sails out onto Lee with a Tope con Giro, as they return to the ring she goes for a crossbody but Lee catches her and hits a fallaway slam. Yuki chops Moreno repeatedly before hitting a powerslam, covering Moreno for two. Lee puts Moreno on the top turnbuckle and hits an avalanche powerslam, picking up another two count.Lee picks up Moreno, Moreno gets away but Lee levels her with a superkick. Lee charges Moreno but Moreno kicks her way and hits a Tope con Giro off the top turnbuckle. Diving heel kick by Moreno and she applies Casita for a two count. Lee grabs Moreno and hits a leg trap German suplex for two, she waits for Moreno to get up and kicks her repeatedly. Piledriver by Lee, but Moreno barely kicks out of the pin. Lee puts Moreno on the top turnbuckle and she delivers an avalanche fallaway slam, and she gets the three count pinfall! Lee wins the match.

For an opener they had no issues flying around and doing high spots, which will probably continue for the entire card. I am surprised that Lee didn’t ‘make it’ so to speak, she had some really good moves and I loved all her fallaway slams, quite impressive. Moreno looked fine too, and for a clipped up opener I have no complaints.

Ryuna and Fang Suzuki vs. Yuko Kosugi and Kazuko Fujiwara

The intro I just typed may be longer than the match, as it is joined in progress with Kosugi being double teamed by Ryuna and Suzuki. Suzuki body blocks Kosugi into the corner twice, she gets a chain and wraps her around her fist before hitting Kosugi repeatedly in the head with it. Ryuna comes in with a chair but accidentally hits Suzuki in the head with it, giving Kosugi time to tag in Fujiwara. Back bodydrops by Fujiwara to Suzuki, but Suzuki bridges out of the pin. Suzuki slams Fujiwara and tags in Ryuna, and Ryuna promptly takes Fujiwara out of the ring as all four wrestlers brawl on the floor. Ryuna gets the better of both Kosugi and Fujiwara, Suzuki gets a chair and hits Kosugi in the head with it. Kosugi is bleeding and looks like she has been for awhile as Ryuna and Fujiwara return to the ring, diving crossbody by Fujiwara but it gets a two count. Bubba Bomb by Ryuna to Fujiwara and she hits a lariat, another lariat by Ryuna and she covers Fujiwara for two. Ryuna gets a chair and hits Fujiwara in the head with it, fireman’s carry slam by Ryuna and she picks up the three count! Ryuna and Suzuki are the winners.

Ryuna and Suzuki sure are mean, just terrorizing Kosugi throughout the match as she bled all over the place. Like the last match, I was surprised by how fast this card ramped up, I am used to wrestling promotions now starting slow and reaching a climax but apparently Jd’ did not believe in that philosophy. While it was fun to see baby KAZUKI, she didn’t do a whole lot here as most of what they showed was Kosugi being attacked with weapons. Certainly fun to watch but still too clipped to get overly excited about.

(c) Megumi Yabushita vs. The Bloody

Yabushita’s knee is heavily bandaged coming into the match, which will be Bloody’s main focus in the match. Yabushita quickly goes for a short armbar, but Bloody gets to the ropes and immediately starts attacking Yabushita’s knee with stomps and a dropkick. Yabushita rolls out of the ring but Bloody goes out after her and hits Yabushita’s leg with a chair. They return to the ring after a moment and Bloody hits a backdrop suplex, she goes up top twice and hits two consecutive reverse splashes for a two count. Bloody gets a chair again and slams Yabushita onto it, she goes for another reverse splash but this time Yabushita moves. Yabushita goes for a cross armbreaker but Bloody lands on the ropes, she tries again but Bloody blocks it. Bloody goes up top and hits a diving senton, and she covers Yabushita for two. Kneelock by Bloody, Yabushita is in a lot of pain as Yabushita’s friends run into the ring to break up the submission. The referee tries to clear the ring as Bloody gets the chair, and she throws it at Yabushita’s leg. Bloody re-applies the kneelock but Yabushita manages to get to the ropes, she rolls out of the ring clutching her knee and the referee goes out to check on her. The referee determines she can not continue, and calls for the bell! Since the referee stopped the match and it wasn’t a count out, The Bloody is your new champion!

Two things real quick – first, this match was shown in full, it was just a really short match. Also, you may be picturing The Bloody as a heel with face paint or weapons or something but actually she is a very attractive woman that happens to have a name that implies otherwise. I think Yabushita had a legit leg issue since her knee had a brace on it, so this may have been an easy way to get the title off of her while she healed up as it was a quick match. Yabushita’s seconds acting like Yabushita was in serious pain helped the realism factor, and I liked that Yabushita kept going for quick submissions to sneak in a win since she knew she wasn’t 100%. Quite enjoyable for a five minute match, The Bloody can really move and they laid the match out well all things considered.  Mildly Recommended

Cooga and Leoga vs. Esther Moreno and Sachie Abe

We join this one in progress as Moreno hits a hurricanrana on Cooga for a two count, another quick pin by Moreno but that gets a two as well. Cooga has enough and hits a German suplex, she goes for a cannonball off the top turnbuckle but Moreno moves and she hits Leoga by accident. Abe comes in, Abe and Moreno go to different corners and both hit diving splashes. They go up top and hit splashes again, cover by Moreno but it gets a two count. Abe stays in but Cooga hits a crossbody on both of them and she makes the hot tag to Leoga. Leoga gets on the second turnbuckle but Moreno jumps up an hits a Frankensteiner to the mat. Abe is still hanging around, she goes up top as Moreno does as well and both hit a diving splash onto Leoga for two. Abe comes in but Leoga gets away from her, Northern Lights Suplex by Leoga to Abe but Abe kicks out. Bridging backdrop suplex by Abe, but that gets a two count as well. Cooga comes in and they double team Abe, as Leoga hits a somersault guillotine legdrop off the top. Leoga tags Cooga and Cooga hits a handstand kick in the corner. Moreno runs in and hits a crossbody on Cooga, Cooga still tries to suplex Leoga but Leoga reverses it. Cooga kicks both Abe and Moreno out of the ring, Leoga goes up top and hits a plancha down onto both of her opponents. Abe and Cooga return and Cooga hits a Tiger Driver, but Moreno breaks up the cover. Cooga puts Abe on her shoulders, Leoga goes up top and they hit an avalanche face crusher. Cooga goes up top and dives on top of Abe, she goes up top again and hits a diving knee strike for the three count cover! Cooga and Leoga are your winners.

Aside from the end of the match being a bit botched looking, overall I enjoyed it. Lots of high flying and dives, maybe an excessive amount but I can’t complain about a midcard match that is exciting. Both masked wrestlers delivered, neither had any notable success in Joshi but they were clearly well trained and knew what they were doing. Moreno was virtually flawless in what they showed us, and Abe looked solid as well. I don’t know how much was clipped since we almost immediately had a nearfall as soon as we joined the action, but overall I thought it was a pretty fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Kyoko Inoue and Sumie Sakai vs. Michiko Omukai and Chikako Shiratori

We join the match as Inoue stretches Shiratori in the ring before tagging in Sakai. Dropkick by Sakai and she applies a cross armbreaker, but Shiratori gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Judo throws by Sakai and she goes back to the arm, but Omukai breaks it up. Double underhook suplex by Sakai but Shiratori bridges up, only to get hit by rolling backdrop suplexes. Dropkick by Shiratori, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, cover on Sakai but it gets two. Shiratori puts Sakai on the top turnbuckle and hits a DDT down to the mat, but Inoue breaks up the cover. Inoue lariats Shiratori, which gives Sakai time to crawl to the corner to tag her in. Shiratori tags in Omukai, Inoue immediately kicks Omukai but Omukai applies a backslide. Shiratori comes in but Inoue lariats both of them, Sakai comes in and they both dropkick Omukai. Inoue goes up top but Shiratori grabs her which gives Omukai time to recover and hit a superplex. She goes up top again but Inoue whacks her, Shiratori comes in too and Omukai hits a diving knee. Omukai goes up top yet again and hits another diving knee, she then goes a fourth time and hits another one for a two count cover. Inoue avoids it when she tries again and hits a German suplex, tiger suplex by Omukai and she tags in Shiratori. Shiratori goes for a suplex but Inoue blocks it, Omukai returns and they both knock Inoue out of the ring. Sakai tumbles out too, Shiratori goes out top and dives down onto Inoue and Sakai. Omukai then does the same, they return to the ring and Shiratori hits a dropkick while Inoue is on Omukai’s shoulders. Shiratori grabs Inoue and delivers the cross-arms suplex, but Inoue barely gets the shoulder up. Inoue clubs Shiratori but Shiratori sneaks in La Magistral for a two count. Irish whip by Shiratori but Inoue rocks her with a lariat, Niagara Driver by Inoue and she picks up the three count! Inoue and Sakai are the winners of the match.

I was enjoying this match until the sudden ending. I knew the end result but Inoue just shrugged off a few big moves and nearfalls before easily hitting two big moves to get the convincing win. I would have liked a slightly longer ending stretch, giving Inoue a proper amount of time to recover before finishing off Shiratori. Lots of flying around and I was surprised how much offense that young Sakai got, but overall not a great match mostly due to how it was structured.

(c) Lioness Asuka vs. Jaguar Yokota

I want to apologize in advance, I am not familar enough with Jd’ to know who each wrestler’s “seconds” are that keep getting involved in the match, so I just refer to them as “friends.” Anyway, Yokota is distracted early on by Asuka’s friends at ringside, but she still manages to hit a quick German suplex hold followed by a moonsault for a two count. Asuka retorts by picking up Yokota onto her shoulders and dumps Yokota over the top rope down to the floor. Asuka then hits a top suicida out onto Yokota before suplexing her back into the ring, but Yokota bridges out of the pin and hits a sunset flip. These two are going one hundred as Asuka kicks Yokota in the stomach and in the back before knocking her out of the ring. Their friends brawl with each other while Asuka takes Yokota and throws her into a row of chairs. Asuka hits a backdrop suplex on the floor, Jd’ wrestlers check on Yokota and help her back into the ring where Asuka is waiting with a chair. Asuka sets up the chair, she sits Yokota in it and kicks her in the chest. Piledriver onto the chair by Asuka, and she covers Yokota for two. Asuka knocks Yokota out of the ring again where she is tended to, but she is rolled back in and Asuka kicks her again. Asuka goes up top and hits a moonsault, but Yokota kicks out of the cover. Scoop sit-out slam by Asuka, a table is slid into the ring and Asuka piledrives Yokota through the table. The table breaks, so Asuka takes the jagged part of the table and hits Yokota in the head with it, cutting her open in the process. Irish whip by Asuka and she connects with a high kick, she gets a chain and hits Yokota in the head with it repeatedly.

Asuka goes for a Liger Bomb but Yokota flips over her back and covers Asuka for two. Asuka doesn’t like this and hits Yokota a few more times with the chain, delayed vertical suplex by Asuka but she pulls up Yokota before the cover so she can hit a gutwrench powerbomb. Asuka gets a chair again, Yokota fights back for a moment but Asuka hits a heel kick and throws the chair at Yokota’s head. Asuka goes up top but Yokota hits her from behind with the chair, she then joins Asuka up top and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex for two. Double underhook tombstone piledriver by Yokota, but Asuka gets a shoulder up on the cover. Asuka’s posse tries to help but she hits Asuka by accident, Yokota wraps the chain around her boot and hits a missile dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Asuka falls out of the ring, Yokota gets on the apron and she hits a Tope con Giro to the floor. Yokota goes for a tombstone piledriver but Asuka reverses it and hits a tombstone piledriver of her own on the floor. Asuka then picks up Yokota and plants her hard with a Liger Bomb onto the floor. Yokota is rolled back in the ring, Liger Bomb by Asuka but Yokota barely kicks out. Asuka picks up Yokota and nails the Towerhacker Bomb, but again Yokota gets a shoulder up. Trying to put Yokota away, a table is set up across the second turnbuckle, they get on the table and Asuka suplexes Yokota for another two count. This time, they set up the table all the way on the top turnbuckle, Asuka gets up top as Yokota is fed to her and goes for a super avalanche Liger Bomb, but Yokota reverses it with an Avalanche Frankensteiner and she picks up the three count! Jaguar Yokota is your new champion!

After the match, Yokota asked for Asuka’s hand but Asuka sprayed mist in her face, so the picture above is what she looked like after the match ended. Anyway, this match was literally breath-taking. I don’t normally make audible noises while watching wrestling alone at home but this match got several gasps from me as they were just doing crazy shit. The types of moves you may see maybe once a year they had several of in this one match, and I can’t remember the last time I saw an avalanche Frankensteiner like that. These two were killing each other and it fit well into both of their strengths – Asuka brings the destruction while Yokota is the fierce underdog that takes a beating but finds her spot to come back. No sane person would complain about Asuka losing to a ‘flash’ avalanche Frankensteiner, yes she had done more damage in the match but that was a match-ending move, plus since it was a quick pin it didn’t get Asuka’s friends a chance to react and interfere. Really it only came about due to Asuka’s frustrations, as she kept having to ramp up the violence since Yokota wouldn’t stay down, which led to her going for a ‘final’ move so risky that it was easy for Yokota to reverse. Just an exciting and special match the likes you don’t see these days due to concerns for wrestler’s health, I loved it.  Highly Recommended

The post Jd’ Stir The Blood 1997 on 10/22/97 Review 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

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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

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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 #5 features friends (and soon to be former friends) clashing! In a departure from the last few episodes, with the Fuji TV Cup Japan Grand Prix taking place, tag teams are now facing against each other as Gokuaku Domei, Crush Gals, and Dynamite Girls all battle in singles action. Here is the full listing:

• 4/2/85 – Fuji TV Cup Japan Grand Prix ’85 League: Jumbo Hori vs. Yukari Omori
• 4/26/85 – Fuji TV Cup Japan Grand Prix ’85 League: Dump Matsumoto vs. Crane Yu
• 4/6/85 – Fuji TV Cup Japan Grand Prix ’85 League: Lioness Asuka vs. Chigusa Nagayo

This is an interesting event, let’s see how it shapes up.

Jumbo Hori vs. Yukari Omori

Omori dropkicks Hori as soon as the bell rings but Hori comes back with a bodyslam. Omori yanks on Hori’s arm and puts Hori in a backbreaker, and Hori rolls to the apron to get her back worked on. Back in, Hori and Omori trade chops but Omori tosses Hori to the mat and drops Hori with a gutbuster. Hori rolls out of the ring to re-group but returns after a moment and stomps on Omori, working on her leg. Omori gets Hori up and slams her stomach-first, but Omori tosses Hori off the top turnbuckle. Back bodydrop by Hori and she covers Omori for a two count. Back up, Hori throws Omori into the corner but she jumps up on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving lariat. Hori then goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, piledriver by Hori but Omori bridges out of the pin. Backdrop suplex hold by Omori, she picks up Hori and she hits another one for the three count! Jumbo Hori wins the match!

The most exciting thing about this is Hori trying to kill Omori at the end with the piledriver and backdrop suplexes, as up to that point not a whole lot of interest was happening. They had oddly little chemistry for two wrestlers that team together, as there were a few missteps in a match that not much was shown of. The last few minutes were great for sure and there were some big hits in this, but as an overall match it just felt too segmented.

Dump Matsumoto vs. Crane Yu

They shake hands to start but they are pleasant for about six seconds before Matsumoto drags Yu out of the ring and slams her repeatedly into the table. After choking and whipping her around the ring, they back into it and Matsumoto chokes her some more. Matsumoto stabs Yu repeatedly in the head until she starts bleeding all over the place, then Matsumoto stabs her in the head some more. Even Abe finds the violence excessive but Matsumoto swats him away and keeps up the attack. Yu manages to get a chain and chokes Matsumoto with it, she then gets a chair and hits Nakano with it but Nakano hits her back. Matsumoto lariats Yu and hits Abe with a pail, she covers Yu but Yu bridges out. Irish whip by Matsumoto but the two collide, Matsumoto takes Yu to the corner and bites her in the head. Yu is continuing to bleed everywhere as Nakano comes in, as if Matsumoto needs help, and they lariat Yu. Yu is beaten around the ring and slammed into the ring post, the referee finally has enough and calls for the bell, so it is either a Double Countout or Matsumoto was DQed, who knows.

I couldn’t find an exact record, but this was either Crane Yu’s last match before retiring (for the first time) or really close to it, so this was a ‘passing of the torch’ type match more than anything else. Not that Matsumoto needed the torch passed, but more to Nakano, as Nakano was very visible in the match and at the end it was her and Matsumoto standing tall in the ring while Yu was bleeding everywhere. Yu took her beating like a champion, there was no point during this match that it felt she was going to win, it was just a bloodbath brawl. Even Abe, the heel referee, couldn’t get Matsumoto to stop. I thought it did a great job at accomplishing what it was trying to do and it really set the stage for what was coming next. Which we will get to in the next few weeks. A fun brawl but perhaps not for the faint of heart.  Mildly Recommended

Lioness Asuka vs. Chigusa Nagayo

They start on the mat as they feel each other out, but neither gets a real clear advantage. This was definitely starts slow as they struggle for the upper hand, Nagayo gets the first real advantage as she goes for the Scorpion Deathlock and she finally gets it locked in. Asuka gets out of it but Nagayo picks her up and drops her with a piledriver. Nagayo goes for Asuka’s arm but Asuka lifts out of it and throws Nagayo to the mat. Now it is Asuka that gets the Scorpion Deathlock applied, she picks up Nagayo and hits a piledriver of her own for a two count. Dropkick by Nagayo but Asuka comes back with a back kick followed by a vertical suplex. Diving body press by Asuka, she gets Nagayo’s waist but Nagayo reverses positions with her and hits a German suplex for a two count. Nagayo applies a stretch hold to Asuka but Asuka gets into the ropes, kicks by Nagayo but Asuka puts her on the turnbuckle and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex. Double underhook by Nagayo and she hits a suplex, Irish whip by Nagayo and she delivers the heel kick for a two count. German suplex hold by Asuka, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Giant Swing by Asuka but Nagayo hits a quick backdrop suplex, Asuka grabs Nagayo and drops her with a piledriver. Asuka goes up top and hits a jumping kick to the chest, she picks up Nagayo but Nagayo kicks her in the chest and hits a leg drop. Asuka chops Nagayo in the chest and kicks her in the head, and they trade kicks back and forth. As they count down to the end of the match, each wrestler goes for quick pins but neither can get the three count. The bell rings, and the match is a Draw.

This was a bit more low key than I was expecting. Not the crowd, they were going crazy the entire match, but of the three matches this one felt the most like a tussle between friends than two wrestlers dying to get those points in the Grand Prix. It took awhile to get going, it was about ten minutes in before anything of note happened, and after that it was mostly just them trading moves without much rhyme or reason. The transitions were non-existent, or it was poorly clipped, as they weren’t really selling anything before going back on offense. It was helped a lot by the hot crowd, and the crisp action, but it wasn’t the greatness I was hoping for as it felt like they were just going for the Draw.  Mildly Recommended

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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

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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 #3 features lots of Crush Gals goodness and two matches for the WWWA Tag Team Championship. Here is the full listing:

10/6/84 – WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs La Galactica and Lola Gonzalez
10/6/84 – All Japan Women’s Championship: Itsuki Yamazaki vs Yumi Ogura
1/5/85 – Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs Dump Matsumoto and Rosy Moreno
1/6/85 – WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs. Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki (Jumping Bomb Angels)

Let’s get rocking.

Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs La Galactica and Lola Gonzalez

The Luchadoras attack as soon as the bell rings, and Gonzalez stays in the ring with Nagayo. This clipped ahead a bit as Nagayo is already getting beaten around the ring by both Galactica and Gonzalez, diving leg drop by Galactica and she applies a headscissors until Nagayo gets into the ropes. Dump and Yu are at ringside and help attack the Crush Gals, as the match breaks down to a significant degree. Asuka helps turn the tide, they return to the ring and Galactica is double teamed. Asuka suplexes Galactica, Nagayo is tagged in and after fighting through Gonzalez she suplexes Galactica, covering her for a three count! The Crush Gals lead the match 1-0. Nagayo goes right back at Galactica but Galactica claws her in the eyes before bringing her to the ropes so that Yu and Dump can help again. Dump ends up coming in the ring to beat Nagayo with a metal rod as the referee has lost control in typical fashion, but Nagayo gets Gonzalez up and hits a tombstone piledriver for a two count. Nagayo tags in Asuka and Asuka hits a diving elbow drop. Scorpion Deathlock by Asuka while Nagayo puts Galactica in a crab hold, but Dump and Yu run in the ring to cause carnage.

Nagayo is dumped out of the ring, Galactica picks up Asuka but Asuka fights off everyone while Nagayo recovers. Asuka goes for a diving lariat but hits Nagayo by accident, the Luchadoras slam Nagayo to the mat and hit a double vertical suplex. Avalanche belly to back slam, cover by Galactica and she gets the three count! The match is tied 1-1. Nagayo and Galactica stay in, but Nagayo gets away and tags Asuka. Piledriver by Asuka, Nagayo goes up top and hits a diving headbutt. Asuka is attacked by both her opponents and the ringside wrestlers while Nagayo is isolated in the ring, the Luchadoras put Nagayo in a submission hold but Nagayo doesn’t submit, so they go and get Asuka. Asuka is bleeding everywhere after being hit with scissors repeatedly, objects are being thrown in the ring as the match further breaks down. Other AJW wrestlers try to help and the ring somehow clears, Asuka tags in Nagayo and they take Gonzalez out of the ring so they can throw her into the ring post. They return to the ring with Gonzalez, punches by Nagayo and she applies the Scorpion Deathlock. Gonzalez gets out of it and goes for a move off the top, but Nagayo rolls out of the way and hits the heel kick. Another heel kick by Nagayo and Asuka runs in to give Gonzalez the giant swing. Full rotation backdrop suplex by Asuka, she covers Gonzalez and she gets the three count! The Crush Gals are still your champions.

My feelings like matches like these, watching them 30 years after they happened, are probably different from how they were viewed at the time. After watching years of nWo, whatever stable HHH is running, etc. I tend to not like matches as much that have constant outside interference. Within the context of this match it worked, the Crush Gals were fan favorites of an epic proportion and the cheating just made the crowd hate the gaijins even more, if that was possible. Then they won in the end so everyone went home happy. I enjoyed it, but just looking back at it from the current day I would have enjoyed it more with less blatant outside interference and constant interruptions in the action.  Mildly Recommended

 
(c) Itsuki Yamazaki vs Yumi Ogura

Yamazaki is not the hand shaking type and they get right to the point, Ogura goes for a roll-up but Yamazaki catches her arm and applies an armbar. Back up, hard elbows by Yamazaki and she applies a bodyscissors, but Ogura gets out of it and throws her to the mat. Jumping Knee by Yamazaki and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Armdrags by Yamazaki but Ogura knees her in the midsection and hits a scoop slam. Ogura takes Yamazaki out of the ring and throws her into the chairs before returning to the ring. Yamazaki joins her and hits a dropkick followed by a scoop slam. Yamazaki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, double arm overhead suplex by Yamazaki and she gets the three count! Yamazaki is still the champion.

This match was basic, I mean really basic. Even Ogura taking Yamazaki outside of the ring felt forced and only lasted about 20 seconds before the match went back to dropkicks and scoop slams. Really not much to it, Yamazaki as a champion (and a three year pro) should have been capable of doing a bit more to make the match seem more like an important title match. Limited redeemable traits, besides that Yamazaki is extremely adorable.

 
Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs Dump Matsumoto and Rosy Moreno

As predicted just moments ago, this match is a brawl from the start as Matsumoto gets a kendo stick and starts whacking both Asuka and Nagayo with it. Asuka gets a strap and fights back with it, but the referee takes it away and Moreno knocks Asuka to the mat. Matsumoto comes in with the kendo stick and hits both Crush Gals with it, Crane Yu comes in the ring and helps Matsumoto with Nagayo. Nagayo hits a heel kick and covers Matsumoto, but the referee doesn’t count it and Nagayo is pulled out of the ring. This process continues as I am sitting here not amused. Nagayo does occasionally get in some moves as the crowd roars, but before long she is cut off by Matsumoto or another random wrestler from ringside.

Things suddenly turn normal for about a minute as Asuka hits Moreno with a diving elbow drop, diving headbutt by Nagayo and the referee counts to three! The Crush Gals are up 1-0. Matsumoto comes in with Nagayo, headbutts by Matsumoto and she hits a lariat followed by a piledriver. Another lariat by Matsumoto and she covers Nagayo for the three count! The score is now tied 1-1. Things get odd as they have a long discussion about something I am not aware of, but soon Matsumoto takes Asuka out of the ring with her and beats her on the floor. Back in the ring, Asuka drops Moreno with a giant swing and covers her for two. Nagayo comes in and dives out of the ring onto Matsumoto, where they grapple into the stands. Asuka goes out with Moreno too, the referee starts the count and counts out both teams, even though Asuka insists she made it back in time. I am guessing the match is a Double Countout.

So I didn’t like this. I don’t like heel referees, I don’t like lots of outside interference in matches, and I don’t like bullshit endings. I like the wrestlers, and the maybe two or three minutes of normal action was all fine as there was a lot of talent in the ring, but the constant stops and restarts just took me out of it. There would be many good Crush Gals vs. Gokuaku Domei matches, this wasn’t one of them.

(c) Asuka and Nagayo (Crush Gals) vs. Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki (Jumping Bomb Angels)

The crowd is hot for this match and appear to like both teams, although obviously they prefer the Crush Gals. Yamazaki and Nagayo start fast but don’t accomplish much before they both  tag out. We clip ahead to Asuka throwing Yamazaki around the ring before Nagayo hits a kneedrop off the top turnbuckle. Yamazaki fires back with a crossbody but Asuka hits a lariat off the top turnbuckle before slamming her in front of the corner. Yamazaki avoids the diving headbutt by Nagayo however, she kicks Nagayo out of the ring before sailing out onto her with a springboard plancha. Back in, Tateno catapults Yamazaki onto Nagayo, suplex by Yamazaki and she plants Nagayo with a piledriver for the three count! The Jumping Bomb Angels are up 1-0. We re-start with Nagayo and Yamazaki still in the ring, but Nagayo tags in Asuka who promptly suplexes Yamazaki. Tateno is tagged in and she hits a diving kneedrop, but Asuka drops her with a backdrop suplex as well. Club to the chest by Asuka and with Nagayo they hit an assisted diving elbow out of the corner. Heel kick by Nagayo on Tateno, she picks her up and nails a piledriver but Yamazaki breaks up the cover.

Missile dropkick by Asuka and she gives Tateno the giant swing for another two count. Asuka puts Tateno on the top turnbuckle and hits an avalanche backdrop suplex, and she picks up the three count! The score is tied 1-1. Time for the final fall, with both Crush Gals hitting suplexes on their opponents. The action spills to the floor, but the Crush Gals return to the ring and wait for their opponents. The Jumping Bomb Angels sneak in double sunset flips for a two count before throwing the Crush Gals into each other. Missile dropkick by Yamazaki to Asuka, but Asuka bridges out of the pin. Tateno goes up top but the missile dropkick misses, Asuka picks up Yamazaki and with Nagayo they hit a spike piledriver for a two count. Asuka tags Nagayo but Yamazaki throws her to the mat before hitting a suplex. Nagayo hits a quick enzuigiri, package German suplex by Nagayo to Yamazaki and she gets the three count! The Crush Gals retain the championship.

This unfortunately was not as good as I was hoping. The Jumping Bomb Angels had not completely gelled at this point as there were a few issues on that side of the ring, and the clipping didn’t do this match any favors as it made the already shady transitions seem even worse. When the Crush Gals were on offense the match was on point, as they were two of the better wrestlers in AJW at this point, but as a whole it was a step down from most of their ‘normal’ tag matches I have seen. Some good stuff sprinkled throughout, but too lacking in key areas to be a memorable encounter.  Mildly Recommended

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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 #2 features a rematch from Classics #1, as Jaguar Yokota takes on La Galactica in a bloody affair for both of their championships. We also get a dual retirement match, a tag title match, and a Fuji TV Cup Tag League match. Lots going on this week! Here is the full listing:

4/1/84 – Retirement Exhibition Match: Mimi Hagiwara vs. Tarantula
8/25/84 – WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Yukari Omori and Jumbo Hori vs. Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo
9/17/84 – Fuji TV Cup Tag League: Dump Matsumoto and Crane Yu vs. Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo
9/17/84 – WWWA World Championship and UWA World Women’s Championship: Jaguar Yokota vs. La Galactica

  
Mimi Hagiwara vs. Tarantula

They waste no time as Hagiwara immediately hits a suplex and throws Tarantula to the mat. Tarantula falls out of the ring but Hagiwara sails out onto her with a plancha suicida, she returns to the ring but Tarantula hits a swandive kick followed by a sunset flip. They are making the most of the five minutes they got, that is for sure. Diving kneedrop by Hagiwara and she knees Tarantula before hitting some jabs. Judo throw by Hagiwara as she takes it to Tarantula, but Tarantula hits a nice pair of headscissor takedowns. She pulls Hagiwara out of the ring and slams her into a table, they return to the ring and Tarantula connects with repeated dropkicks. Powerslam by Tarantula but the bell rings as the time expires. The match is a Draw.

Afterwards they have a dual retirement ceremony. Just a few streamers and both get flowers before talking on the microphone. Tarantula takes off the mask for her final farewell and they wave to the crowd before leaving an AJW ring for the last time.

I will give them credit, they packed a lot into a five minute match. Neither were taking it easy as they were doing dives and high flying moves throughout. The end wasn’t in doubt and I am not sure why they both had their retirement matches against each other, but it was better than I thought it would be. Hard to recommend a match this short but it was certainly action packed.

  
(c) Dynamite Girls (Yukari Omori and Jumbo Hori) vs. Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo)

Nagayo starts the match shooting fire but Omori has none of it so she tags in Asuka to see if she can fare better. She doesn’t, as the Dynamite Girls control the early portion of the match. The action spills out of the ring with Nagayo getting the worst of it, Hori gets back in with Asuka but Asuka knocks her down with a lariat. Double heel kick to Hori and Asuka delivers a missile dropkick followed by a spike piledriver. Cover by Asuka and she gets the three count! The Crush Gals are ahead 1-0. Asuka goes back on the attack as she spins Hori around, then Nagayo comes in and puts Hori in the Scorpion Deathlock. Hori gets to the ropes, Asuka is tagged back in but Hori catches her with a bridging fallaway slam. Powerbomb by Hori and she tosses Asuka over her head. Omori comes in, she puts Asuka on her shoulders and hits an Avalanche Samoan Drop. Diving crossbody by Hori on Asuka, and she gets the three count! The score is now tied 1-1, next fall wins.

Omori and Asuka go at it with Asuka hitting a series of enzuigiris, Nagayo is tagged in but Omori gets the better of her and hits a shoulder powerslam. Hori comes off the top with a diving elbow drop, piledriver to Nagayo but she bridges out of the pin. Powerbomb by Hori and she tags Omori and she hits another Avalanche Samoan Drop followed by a headbutt. Nagayo is pulled out of the ring by Asuka so she can re-group but she still is pretty hurt as she is rolled back in, she manages to sneak in a sunset flip but it gets two. Hori gets Nagayo on her shoulders so Omori can dive off the top with a lariat, cover, but Nagayo is in the ropes. Asuka reaches in and manages to tag herself in, and she drops Omori with an avalanche backdrop suplex. Nagayo goes up top but Omori kicks her off, Omori ducks a Nagayo spin kick but she trips as she runs to the ropes. Nagayo quickly grabs her and hits a German suplex hold, and she gets the three count! The Crush Gals are your new champions!

The pop from the crowd was electric, as the Crush Gals won gold for the first time. This was a great match, aided by a hot crowd. The whole “Japanese fans are quiet and respectful” myth is broken on a consistent basis but this is another example, they were really into this match. Nagayo took a hellacious beating here but everyone got their lumps as they were flying off the top rope or hitting piledrivers on each other left and right. No time to think or to breath, it was just non-stop bombs (it may have been clipped, I couldn’t find a match time anywhere).  A great effort by all four, just an exciting and entertaining match from bell to bell. Highly Recommended

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

The match quickly spills to the floor as Gokuaku Domei makes it their style of match, they get back in the ring and Nagayo is double teamed. She manages to tag in Asuka, Asuka clothesline Yu as the Crush Gals get their first advantage of the match. Suplex by Asuka, Nagayo goes up top and they hit an assisted diving elbow strike for two. Nagayo stays in but Yu sends her flying and tags in Matsumoto. Matsumoto gets her spike out and goes to town on Nagayo’s leg, but Asuka pulls her out of the ring. Matsumoto chokes Asuka with a chain and throws her into the ring post before tying her leg to it. Back in, Nagayo kicks Matsumoto twice and tags the freed Asuka, missile dropkick by Asuka and she knocks Matsumoto out of the ring. Yu comes over but Asuka takes care of her also, while Nagayo waits in the ring. Nagayo puts Matsumoto in the Scorpion Deathlock while Asuka does the same to Yu, Nagayo releases Matsumoto and kicks her twice in the head.

Yu comes in and drops Nagayo on the top rope, backbreaker by Yu but Nagayo gets into the ropes. Asuka returns and trades blows with Yu, airplane spin by Asuka and with Nagayo she hits a spike piledriver. Yu eats an avalanche backdrop suplex next but Matsumoto breaks up the cover. Nagayo returns and puts Yu in the Octopus Hold, but Matsumoto breaks it up and starts hitting people with weapons. Double lariat by Matsumoto and she lariats Asuka again, piledriver by Matsumoto but Asuka is close to the ropes. She tags in Yu, double underhook suplex by Yu and she puts Asuka in a backbreaker. Matsumoto comes in with a metal bucket and hits Asuka, but Nagayo takes it from her. Asuka starts hitting the referee with a table while Nagayo chokes Matsumoto in the ring with a chain. At some point in all this the referee has enough as everyone keeps hitting him, and the calls the match off. The match is a No Contest.

I enjoyed this match too, I normally don’t like non-endings but it is easier to stomach in points-based tournaments. Like the last match, the Crush Gals were fire, Nagayo is simply amazing. Yu and Matsumoto did their part here well and there was constantly something going on, either legally or illegally, depending on the situation. Not a high end match due to the length and the ending, but definitely entertaining. Recommended

(c) Jaguar Yokota vs. (c) La Galactica

Galactica attacks as soon as she gets into the ring, but the referee calms them down so we can have an official start. They trade strikes until Galactica gets the upper hand and dumps Yokota out of the ring before sailing out onto her with a plancha suicida. Galactica returns to the ring with Yokota slowly following, Galactica puts Yokota on the apron and rams her head repeatedly into the ring post. Galactica puts Yokota in a submission hold, kicks by Galactica and she covers Yokota for two. Tombstone by Galactica but Yokota bridges up, Galactica gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop for two. Galactica goes for another tombstone piledriver but Yokota reverses it this time and hits one of her own. Yokota goes for a dive but Galactica side steps it, she gets on the turnbuckles but Yokota kicks her to the floor. Yokota rams Galactica’s head into the ring post, and as she gets up you can see blood pouring out of Galactica’s mask. She slowly gets in the ring and they trade strikes, bridging suplex by Yokota and she gets a two count. Yokota puts Galactica on the top turnbuckle and she hits an avalanche double underhook suplex. Cross-arm suplex hold by Yokota, and she picks up the three count! Yokota is the new UWA World Women’s Champion!

I did check and the title win was recognized, so it wasn’t just a phantom win that UWA ignored. This was more about Yokota getting her final revenge than anything else, as Yokota was still AJW’s biggest star and Galactica was the invading gaijin. I loved that they both stepped up the violence level, with Galactica in particular putting in the extra effort. It wasn’t great in the technical sense, but Yokota is so smooth and no time was wasted. A solid and significant match, although not a classic. Recommended

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