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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Welcome to the first 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 and are currently up to #141, so this will be a long journey.

AJW Retro Hour Classics #1 is special in that all the matches came from the same event. Most Classics are a compilation of matches from the same time period, but not usually from the same day. This was a massive show however at the Kawasaki City Gymnasium with thousands in attendance, featuring a mask vs. hair title match in the main event. The following matches are featured:

5/7/83 – All Japan Women Jr. Championship: Noriyo Tateno vs. Hiromi Komatsubara
5/7/83 – Mimi Hagiwara vs. Monster Ripper
5/7/83 – Devil Masami and Tarantula vs. Dynamite Girls (Jumbo Hori and Yukari Omori)
5/7/83 – WWWA World Championship, Mask vs. Hair: Jaguar Yokota vs. La Galactica

 
(c) Noriyo Tateno vs. Hiromi Komatsubara

Normally I would complain about a title match being so short and basic, but this belt was designed for wrestlers still training so I will cut them some slack. They did get into it very quickly as they bounced each other off the ropes, and the mysterious Komatsubara controlled the early portion of the match. Tateno goes for a tackle that epicly fails as Komatsubara catches her arm, and she focuses on that arm for the next several minutes. Komatsubara doesn’t let up and she elbows Tateno in the corner, but Tateno finally kicks her back. A few shoulderblocks by Komatsubara sends Tateno back down, but Tateno rolls her to the mat and delivers a dropkick. That is a high spot for them by the way. Headlock by Tateno which Komatsubara rolls out of, Tateno back bodydrops Komatsubara and bodyslams her for a three count! Tateno wins the match and retains the title.

Tateno held onto the championship until losing it back to Chigusa Nagayo on January 8th, 1984. The AJW Jr. Championship was a belt that never had much prestige, many future stars of AJW held the title but it was early in their careers and before they had fully blossomed. Both of these wrestlers looked solid, there were no awkward moments, however the strikes were weak and the match ended with little fanfare. It is fun to watch Tateno so early in her career knowing she became a success in the WWF, but this was more like an opener match than a title match.

 
Mimi Hagiwara vs. Monster Ripper

Ripper sets the tone early with brawling while Hagiwara is tossed around like a rag doll. Ripper has the classic monster offense, filled with punches and body bumps with an occasional slam for extra emphasis. Ripper throws Hagiwara out of the ring and into the crowd, and back in the ring she continues her assault. Hagiwara finally gets some help from ringside and drops a knee onto Ripper’s head before jumping down on her back and applying a chinlock. Ripper effortlessly gets out of that and suplexes Hagiwara, kneedrops by Ripper and she tosses Hagiwara to the mat. She tries to do it again but Hagiwara hits a hurricanrana for a two count! She goes off the ropes but Ripper hits a bodyblock, slam by Ripper and she military presses Hagiwara. Ripper is pulled out of the ring and double teamed on the floor, they get back in and Ripper is dropped with a double back bodydrop and a double vertical suplex. Double backdrop suplex to Ripper, Hagiwara goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Ripper slides out of it and hits a lariat. Military press drop into a backbreaker by Ripper, she hits another military press drop and covers Hagiwara for the three count! Monster Ripper wins!

I am sure that Ripper deserved it but it is unusual to see the monster heel being cheated against and not the other way around. It did help put her over a bit more that she in essence defeated two wrestlers, and her strength was impressive. I think this one accomplished its goal, Hagiwara didn’t go down easy but was no match for the Monster Ripper, decent for what it was.  Mildly Recommended

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

The Dynamite Girls attack first as Masami is isolated, and the Dynamite Girls start working on Masami’s arm. The arm work is good but not overly diverse, Hori kicks Masami but they are really light strikes that are probably barely making contact. Masami tags in Tarantula, she immediately brings Hori out of the ring with her and tosses her around the floor. Back in, Masami has returned but Hori pulls her out of the ring and they take turns throwing each other into the crowd. Masami suplexes Hori back into the ring and tags in Tarantula, but Hori throws her to the ground and hits a powerbomb. Omori comes in and they drop Tarantula with a double suplex, Masami comes in and throws Hori out of the ring while Tarantula attacks Omori with the bell hammer. Back in, Hori is double teamed but the Dynamite Girls regain the advantage. Tarantula runs into the corner and does a crossbody onto Masami, Masami catches her and throws Tarantula over her head onto Hori, and Tarantula picks up the three count pinfall! The series is now even 1-1.

This was a bit structure-less, if I saw this match in a vacuum I would have idea which was the heel team since neither were really playing fair. Not long enough to get excited about but the action kept up and it was fun to watch. With a bit more meaning (i.e. not the second match in the series) this may have been better but the match was fast paced and both teams did a good job showing the match was important.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Jaguar Yokota vs. La Galactica

After some introductory limb and mat work, business picks up as Galactica gets in control and drags Yokota out of the ring. Galactica throws Yokota into the ring post and the crowd before choking her on the apron and throwing her into the post again. Ripper takes over at that point, throwing Yokota into the stands, and back in the ring Ripper continues to help her friend while Yokota applies a leglock. Figure Four Leglock by Yokota, Ripper runs in but the referee gets her back out before she can do much damage. Hip attacks by Yokota and she hits a double underhook bridging suplex, which brings Ripper back into the ring. Tombstone Piledriver by Yokota, but Galactica is into the ropes. Galactica rolls out of the ring but returns after a moment and Yokota begins to stretch her, backdrop suplex hold by Yokota but Ripper breaks it up. Ripper slams Yokota and pulls her out of the ring, and she begins cutting her hair. Yokota gets away and takes the scissors as she begins to cut at Galactica’s mask, they get back in the ring and Yokota hits a bridging suplex for two. Yokota gets a steel chair and starts hitting anyone with it that walks within range, jumping forearm and a dropkick by Yokota but when she goes for the plancha suicida she completely misses. Ripper gets back in the ring as Galactica gets on the top turnbuckle, Ripper slams Yokota in the ring and Galactica hits a diving senton. Diving body press by Ripper, Galactica covers Yokota and she gets the three count! La Galactica wins the title and Yokota loses her hair!

The next five minutes are intense, as Yokota is incredibly not happy about losing her hair. After fighting Galactica and Ripper she finally sits down and allows her hair to be cut, while glaring at anyone that walks by. This was a big deal at the time, as Yokota very rarely lost and she was one Japan’s most popular female wrestlers. So seeing her hair being cut while she struggled really was a powerful image, leading to a few fans throwing things into the ring. The main issue with this match is that La Galactica is simply not anywhere close to Yokota’s level, so when Yokota was on offense it was great but all Galactica brought to the table with Ripper. It worked in this case for the most part, it kept the atmosphere electric and when Yokota snapped it really put over how out of control the match was. More of a spectacle than a wrestling match, but it was a hell of a spectacle and Yokota was perfect both during the match and in the post-match activities.  Recommended

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