Shiratori has finally assumed the role of a veteran. She did a better job of carrying the opposition. She also worked stiffer than normal. Her setup was still way too slow though. Although she worked hard, Shiratori wasn't having a "good" night. There were just too many spots that didn't look good or were really telegraphed.
It was weird that Shiratori used a chair in this match because she didn't want to brawl when she was with Cachorras. She didn't use the chair in her next TV match (4/29), so it's not like this is her new thing.
The crowd liked the hard slaps, and they got into the storyline of Abe pushing The Goddess. Abe had one good run where she did a diving victory roll, German suplex, and a missile kick, with the crowd getting more into each near fall. Shiratori then got her legs up for Abe's diving body press and tried to come back with her la magistral, but it was so badly debacled that the crowd was laughing. Shiratori started using her big spots, but she couldn't put Abe away so she debuted a nadare shiki no DDT then used her Jaguar suplex (cross arm/straight jacked German suplex) for the win. 9:51 (4:21 aired). * range
These two
will never be pinup girls, but there's a good chance that they can turn into
good wrestlers. Saya did a good job of carrying the match. Since both women
are heels, there was cheating back and forth, but there was no one in Saya's
corner to help her out.
Saya put Bloody in a camel clutch early on and stuck her fingers in Bloody's nose. She tried to ram Bloody's head into the mat, but Bloody didn't go down, so it was embarrassingly bad. Saya took control by immediately going back to the camel clutch with the fingers up Bloody's nose, and there were no more problems from this point forward.
Saya tried to come back with her swinging neckbreaker, but Bloody turned it into a backslide for a near fall. They traded released German suplexes. Saya rolled Bloody's German suplex into a leg lock. She tried to follow it up with a hizajujigatame, but Bloody bridged back into a jackknife hold for a nice near fall.
Saya utilized the top rope until Bloody avoided her guillotine leg drop and followed with a plancha. Bloody hit her diving senton for a near fall. Saya made a comeback and hit her diving leg drop with a chair over Bloody, but because of the chair ref Tommy Ran refused to count the fall. Thus, Saya tried the same spot again to piss Ran off, but Bloody moved, leaving the chair for Saya to land on. Bloody used some good stiff chair shots then won with her locomotion German suplex.
I was very happy with this match because both looked good without any veterans in the match to carry them. Bloody's facials could be better, but overall, she has really shown a lot of improvement this year. Almost anyone can be carried by Jaguar, but Saya is not exactly a magician. 16:36 (6:34 aired). Looked like **3/4, but it's somewhat doubtful that they maintained this quality for the entire match.
This was Yabushita & Sakai's first shot at the tag belts. As is the case with every Jaguar match, it was better than it should have been. What made this different was that it wasn't the Yokota show. Jaguar let Kosugi carry much of the load, and the match wasn't that much better when Jaguar was in. Part of this was that Kosugi just gets better and better, but also Jaguar wasn't up to her normal high standards.
The story of this match wasn't Jaguar or Kosugi though, it was the vast improvement of Yabushita. Yabushita has adopted a Sakai style outfit (which has become the in outfit for the judo girls) and she's copied the majority of Sakai's spots, which makes sense because they both have the same background (although in judo Yabushita was the better of the two).
The judo girls started the match with simultaneous judo throws into udehishigigyakujujigatames (the whole name for the jujigatame), but the opposition blocked the udehishigigyakujujigatames because they were in perfect health. The match had a lot of nice high spots, as well as the challengers attempting their submission holds. If you want to be picky, you can find some spots by the judo girls that were a little off, but given that they have only been wrestling a little more than a year at this point, it's hard to fault their performance because it was a lot better than it should be.
Yabushita has added the rolling headbutt to her arsenal. She also did the Sakai spot where Kosugi does a springboard arm drag then goes for the pin, but as Kosugi is leaning over she gets taken over into an udehishigigyakujujigatame. Kosugi kept Yabushita from straightening her arm here because the match was built around the premise that the judo girls could win if they could lock in a finisher. Yabushita did a great takedown, and just about had the udehishigigyakujujigatame, but Kosugi made it to the ropes before Yabushita could get full extension.
Yabushita udehishigigyakujujigatame'd Jaguar off the top, but still couldn't extend the arm. Jaguar escaped to the floor, so Yabushita did an udehishigigyakujujigatame off the ring apron. She almost had the arm extended, but referee Tommy Ran broke it up because they were outside the ring. Yabushita held the opposition and Sakai tried to plancha them, but they moved so Yabushita was taken out. Jaguar then took both opponents out with a quebrada. Kosugi followed by footstomping Sakai off the apron and Yabushita off the top to the floor.
Back in the ring, Jaguar shuttle loop bustered Sakai onto Yabushita. Kosugi held Yabushita too close and Jaguar didn't have a good jump, so her moonsault attack turned into a back headbutt. Yabushita tried her nadare shiki no ipponzeoi to Kosugi, but Jaguar pulled her off the top and planted her with a devastating fisherman buster. Kosugi then invented a new move (at least it hadn't been done on a taping before) where instead of doing her diving footstomp with the opponent lying on their back, she did it with her opponent standing up. The cool new spot, still called a diving double (as far as the double goes, the best I can tell is that it's inclusion or exclusion depends on what source the results came from) footstomp, was the finish of the match, which is the way a new spot like that should be debuted.
The judo girls looked good in their first challenge. Yabushita never got her udehishigigyakujujigatame, so you are left with the thought that maybe they can win next time they challenge if they can successfully apply their finisher. The match also showed that Kosugi may be better than we give her credit for. 17:21 (8:21 aired). ***1/4
"Sakai and Yabushita have pretty good chemistry as a team, and if Yokota is smart then she'll work with them more frequently before she retires. This is about the longest they've shown Yabushita on any given show, and she looks like she can develop into a pretty good to very good worker. Women's puroresu isn't what it was 3-5 years ago, but it still is very good and it has a bright future. This match helped out the judo girls get closer to stardom much more than the other ‘elevation' matches on this show, although had Sogabe not been so bad she could have been helped by her match vs. Cooga (note: it was really bad so I didn't review it)," wrote Michael Smith.
Lioness delivered a Hall of Fame performance here (hint hint). She's become very much like Ultimo Dragon in that she has to pick her spots, but she can work to or above the level of any women in the business. She picked her spot here, and on this night she once again looked like what she was in the 1980's, one of the best workers in the world. Lioness did a masterful job of carrying this match. This was the kind of savvy performance that only an intelligent veteran who really knows how to wrestle can deliver. I'm sure if you think hard enough you can find an exception to the last statement, but I think you know what I mean. A lot of the things Lioness did right were so subtle that you won't even notice them unless you pay very close attention, but if she didn't do them you would have noticed that something was wrong or missing. Lioness basically put on a clinic of how to do a great match with a bloated wrestler that has limited mobility.
Kyoko weighed more than ever and was limited to powerbombs and lariats. There were some problems with Kyoko's work, but Lioness did such a great job of carrying this that even the spots Lioness couldn't save didn't hurt the match that much. The pacing of this match was great. Kyoko isn't a thoroughbred like she used to be, but Lioness knows that, so Kyoko didn't need to be in this match. This was the best match in Jd' history, and Kyoko was only good, so that tells you how much of this was due to Lioness.
Kyoko
lariated Lioness before the bell and took out Lioness' cronies, but this gave
Lioness time to hit Kyoko with a chain. If you are ever going to brag about
an impressive display of power then this is the match to do so because Lioness
proved here that she's a hell of a lot stronger than she looks. She was doing
a bunch of sheer strength spots to a woman at this point has to jump big time
just to help most of her opponent's German suplex her. The first of her power
spots was her requisite giant swing. Now this wasn't a 30-rep Hase giant swing
by any means, but it was nice and fast, and at this point I'm not sure if Hase
could whirl Kyoko around 30 times either. Kyoko tried to return the favor, but
her giant swing just wasn't happening, so Lioness cut her off.
I was surprised at just how over Kyoko was. I couldn't believe how vocal these fans were because Jd' shows, and it's really the same for every woman's promotion, are sorely lacking in heat. This was the hottest Jd' crowd ever, and Kyoko was over more than she has been any time I've seen her in the past 3 years. Unfortunately, the reason for all this is that Jd' dubbed in an applause track.
The Bloody got booed for breaking up Kyoko's ½ crab. Kyoko went right out after her, ramming Bloody into a table. Kyoko then she took out Fang Suzuki & Ryuna for good measure. By doing this, Kyoko was making a statement that these undercard heels weren't going to keep her from the gold. Once again, attacking Lioness' cronies cost Kyoko the advantage though.
Lioness launched a focused attack on Kyoko's knee, and Kyoko really put it over. The highlight of this segment was Kyoko trying her traditional comeback spot, the springboard back elbow, but Lioness knew it all to well so she kicked Kyoko right in the back of the bad knee.
Kyoko came back with lariats, but she was hobbling big time. She still tried her climb-up elbow spot, but it's down to a walkup, and Lioness, of course, cut it off by pushing Kyoko over the top to the floor before Kyoko embarrassed herself too much. They had a poor camera angle and their sound mix sucked, but I think Lioness body slammed Kyoko off the stage onto an unbreakable table. That doesn't sound like a nice bump to take because it's harder to adjust your body to land right when you aren't facing what you are about to crash into.
Back in the ring, Lioness nadare shiki no brainbustered Kyoko, which was really impressive, but it took too long to set up because Lioness literally had to stand Kyoko up, as if she was a baby. I mean, Lioness sat Kyoko on the top, but Kyoko can't lift her leg from a sitting position over the top rope, so Lioness had to do it for her.
Lioness went for her first powerbomb, but Kyoko was strong enough to resist it, so Bloody & Ryuna wore Kyoko down with kicks and chair shots then assisted Lioness on the Liger bomb for a near fall. Kyoko did a really sad "you are too short and I am too fat" body slam to Bloody. She then pushed Lioness off the top and took Ryuna & Fang out with her lariat. By now you know what happens in this match when Kyoko attacks Lioness' cronies. Well, this time Lioness hit Kyoko with a chain and turned her back not knowing that this shot didn't put Kyoko down. This allowed Kyoko to come back, by catching Lioness off guard. However, Lioness soon countered by back body dropping to the floor. Lioness followed with a great suicida, and when they were back in the ring did an equally great missile kick.
Lioness Ligerbombed Kyoko off a table that was on the 2nd rope for a near fall. This probably should have been the finish, and perhaps they realized that later on given it was the next time the met? She applied a sleeper, but Kyoko did an incredibly bad job of throwing her off. They exchanged no sell spots until Kyoko ducked Lioness' high kick and did an "I can't bend at the waist so I'll go down onto my knees" powerbomb. Lioness then caught Kyoko with an udehishigigyakujujigatame, which was a redo of the bad way Kyoko lost the title to Hotta.
"This spot is an example of how the ref can add to the excitement and realism of the match. If you compare this to the earlier hizajujigatame, you'll see that Kyoko sold the move and needed a rope break to escape. However, the move was not sold as devastating, as something that would do serious damage, or as something that would end the match. Kyoko didn't really seem to sell this submission anymore than she had earlier, but this jujigatame seemed a lot more dangerous because of the ref. Ran was very animated in reacting to the move. She got down very close to check on Kyoko, and she repeatedly asked her if she wanted to give up. This not only gave the impression there could be a submission at any moment, but that the hold was so dangerous that it had to be broken immediately if Kyoko submitted," wrote Michiko Kubota.
Kyoko tried her powerbomb, but Lioness slipped out. Kyoko then tried her lariat, but with a great transition, Lioness turned it into a wakigatame.
Later on, Kyoko did her lariat then a Liger bomb, which looked like the finish, but Bloody made the save. Lioness cronies started stomping Kyoko, but Kyoko took them out with lariats. With no one left to save Lioness, Kyoko delivered a Liger bomb, but Asuka lifted her shoulder just in time.
Bloody choked Kyoko with a chain, and Lioness inconspicuously used the turnbuckle for assistance on her Liger bomb. Since Lioness had already proved that she could lift Kyoko, she had no problem getting away with this, and it was a smart move because she got the same result while burning less energy. Bloody & Fang held a wobbly table up, and Lioness diving footstomped Kyoko twice, but the table wouldn't break. Lioness even piledrove Kyoko on this table, but only the leg gave out. Lioness got a hot near fall with her Liger bomb.
Kyoko came back with a released German suplex off the 2nd then lariated Lioness for the sure finish, but Lioness managed to kick out. Another lariat! Still Lioness kicks out. Another lariat! This time it was all she wrote. There was a ton of applause as well as a Kyoko chant for the new champion. Lioness challenged Kyoko to a rematch on the upcoming Neo show, and they actually shook hands. Kyoko stayed in the ring after Lioness left and got a standing ovation.
This was a little sloppy and Kyoko's comebacks could have been better because they were rather sudden, but it was definitely a match of the year candidate. I just watched their rematch from the 5/6 Neo show, and it was as good, if not better, than this match. 17:29 (16:44). ****1/2
"This performance by Lioness was another example of why she is one of the top 10 female wrestlers of all-time. Maybe she doesn't have the workrate of Toyota, the looks of Chikako, or the minkyness of Oz, but she has one other great element, consistency. By consistency I don't mean she delivers very good matches on a nightly basic, but that she's consistently been excellent throughout lengthy her career. Remember this is 1998. It was 13 years ago that she had one of the most memorable matches in women's Puroresu history against Jaguar Yokota. All these years later, she was still very much able to carry an overweight, out of shape, well past her prime Kyoko to a great match. Lioness did a hell of a job of carrying this one to a solid ****1/2," wrote Hadi.
This was a damn good house show. Some people think that based on the ECW house show reports I have written I don't give enough credit to wrestlers working hard. What separates this show from the last two ECW house shows I've been to isn't the effort, which ARSION only had a small advantage in, but the fact that the hard work translated into them delivering the goods. Everyone on this show looked good with the exception of the two green workers, and the green workers problem certainly wasn't lack of effort.
THE FIRST STARLET: Candy Okutsu (License #7) vs. Fabi Apache (ARSION Mexico, License #11). Candy did everything you could ask for to make this a good match. She didn't just work to Fabi's strengths, she did a match that was almost entirely Fabi's style. The problem was that Fabi was so green she wasn't carryable. She blew spots, partly screwed up spots, and was out of position for spots. She made Esther Moreno look like a healthy Rey Misterio Jr. Candy with a powerbomb. 3:32. 1/4*
The only wrestling list most people would rate these two close to the top in is the best looking list, but the way they worked their spots into this match was incredible. What made this match beautiful to watch wasn't their looks, but that almost all of their wrestling looked like reaction. It was like a shoot in that they used the best technique in their arsenal that fit the opening that presented itself. It wasn't close to all shoot spots though because based on the positioning and physical condition of the opponent, they were able to work in Lucha, pro style, and anything else they knew. This style was awesome to watch, and all their spots looked logical and credible. I mean, it was cool just seeing them be able to go between styles, all of which they had studied enough to portray fairly accurately, without killing the credibility of the match. Stylistically, this was the most enjoyable match I've seen all year.
Fukawa La Magistral'd Omukai right off the bat because that was the opening ducking Omukai's wild high kick gave her. Omukai tried more kicks, but Fukawa ducked the high kick and put her leg over Omukai's head, which really took cooperation given the difference in their heights. Fukawa did a backflip from this position, which is a spot Owen Hart among others used to do, but instead of just landing on her feet like the rest, she headscissored Omukai on the way over!
They knew the positions on the mat, which is more than you can say for most of the "shooters" in the pro wrestling leagues. Of course, passing the guard still wasn't a big deal because they didn't want the match to be slowed to a standstill. They also had good intensity, not to the level of making you think it was a real shoot of course, but how many people can really fake that level of intensity?
Omukai went back to her kicks. At this point, Don "The Dragon" Wilson pointed out that unlike the majority of the UFC combatants, Fukawa actually knows how to block a leg sweep. Omukai finally connected with a high kick because Fukawa was thinking block low. Fukawa then ate a kick in order to shoot in for the takedown, but once they got to the mat her udehishigigyakujujigatame attempts were unsuccessful.
Omukai was finally able to blister Fukawa with kicks because she didn't give her time to get back to her feet after a rope break. These kicks were vicious. You could hear the flesh being pounded and all. Omukai doesn't have the weight behind her kicks that Kansai or Hotta do, which in part is due to having a very high metabolism because she has been trying to gain weight, but still weighs below 135. However, at 5'9", her reach makes up for her lack of weight. She can probably reach Toshiyo Yamada level of stiffness, and if so she would be a better kicker than Yamada because of the reach advantage and far superior flexibility. After using her kicks, Omukai worked over Fukawa's arm to soften it up for future udehishigigyakujujigatame attempts.
Fukawa
was able to use her fisherman suplex because she caught Omukai's foot on a running
front kick. Omukai put Fukawa on the second and tried to hit her, but Fukawa
caught Omukai's arm and rolled off the top into an udehishigigyakujujigatame.
Fukawa DDT'd Omukai then hit a Lionsault. Omukai broke this cover by pushing
Fukawa off, but Fukawa swung into an udehishigigyakujujigatame!
Omukai was too close to the ropes for Fukawa to get a submission there though.
Another good, but not nearly as explosive, reaction spot was when Fukawa rolled
to her stomach to avoid Omukai's spinning toe hold, thus giving Omukai her back,
so Omukai immediately applied the STF. Fukawa was screaming in pain, but she
made it to the ropes for a big pop.
Omukai Tiger drivered Fukawa, but when Fukawa kicked out, she turned it into an udehishigigyakujujigatame! Fukawa got yet another udehishigigyakujujigatame on after a takedown, but once again Omukai was able to grab the rope. Omukai was slow in getting up, which gave Yumi the opening to deliver the Buff Blockbuster for a near fall.
Omukai got a near fall with a Destiny Hammer that didn't really work then applied the udehishigigyakujujigatame. What they were probably trying to show in this match, though obviously it would have worked better if Omukai's Destiny Hammer hit cleanly, was that their old finishers were no longer good enough to win with. Instead, they would have to rely on submissions to get the victory, which separates ARSION from the groups these women used to work in. Now if only All Japan remembered what a submission victory in a big match was like, but I digress. Anyway, Fukawa stayed in this udehishigigyakujujigatame too long before making it to the ropes. Fukawa somewhat atoned for this by selling her arm huge, which allowed Omukai to use her swandive wheel kick for a near fall. This spot looked kind of weird because Fukawa is so small that Omukai had to jump down instead of out. Omukai then caught Fukawa in a crucifix, which is a perfect submission for her to use because it's tailored for her large agile frame, for the win. Fukawa put the finish over big, but Omukai was too cocky for her, getting in her face with her hand up about the win. Thus, Fukawa attacked Omukai and they had a pull apart, which set up their meeting in the first round of the ZION '98 tournament.
Yumi & Michiko both deserve consideration for most improved wrestler, but they'll probably get blown out of the water by such overrated wrestlers as The ChinRock and Captain Suck It now that they are chalking out to "*****" ladder matches. Did I miss the article where it was explained that we are now rating on a seven star scale? I'm wondering how something "not on the level" with TWO OTHER matches of the EXACT SAME TYPE can still be *****, but I guess some things in life will always be a mystery. Anyway, this was a futuristic style bout, and I'd be pretty happy if this somehow turned out to be the style of the future. In any case, the other women's groups should "lift" the way the ARSION women are applying, counter, and finishing with submissions because it would make their matches more well rounded and it would extend their careers. 13:20. ****
"The great thing that other women's groups should copy (GAEA was already doing this to an extent) is how the ARSION women have so many ways to get into and out of submissions. It really adds to their matches. Again, Yumi is the most improved wrestler this year to the point that it's amazing how much she's improved by completely changing her style and look for the better. Certainly it helps that no one in ARSION is holding her back. I truly think that she's one of the 10 or 15 best women's wrestlers right now, and I don't think that's stretching it. Considering that she wasn't in anyone's top 25 last year, or probably even considered a candidate for it, that's an amazing improvement," wrote Michael.
THE THIRD STARLET: Candy Okutsu vs. Jessie Bennett (ARSION USA, License #9). Once again, Candy wrestled the opponent's match. Jessie was trained by D-Lo Brown, so this was pro style. It was nothing special, but Jessie is so inexperienced that you have to be happy that Candy was able to carry her to an average match. Jessie's move set is pretty good, but it should get a lot better because she will be adding more big spots as well as the Texas cloverleaf. Her dieting will make some of the moves she used here look better because she will be able to bridge on them. The problems Jessie had were the same as just about every other young wrestler has, and they can all be corrected with experience and effort.
Candy did a very good job here because
she knew her opponent's limitations, so she didn't put her in the position to
look bad. Candy sold a lot because Jessie is mainly an offense wrestler at this
point. She toned her offense down because Jessie can't do complicated spots
like Yagi and Kuzumi. Candy was smart enough to let Jessie immediately counter
her nadare shiki no Northern Lights suplex
because doing that spot to Jessie might send Candy back into retirement. Candy
was able to rolling German suplex Jessie for the win, which was impressive given
the weight difference. Speaking of the weight difference, what this match proves
is that, like in real shoots, it isn't close to the most important thing. ARSION
is kind of like Gracie Jui Jitsu, in that skill, technique, and experience are
much more important than weight and size. Thus, the 75 or so pounds (which actually
is so much that it could make a big difference in a shoot) Jessie had on Candy
at this point didn't really mean a thing. 6:52. **
This was clearly better than their match on the debut show. It was a good solid match built around Reggie's Global bomb (spinning Liger bomb). Tamada kept finding ways to avoid the killer move, and she was trying to damage Reggie's leg enough to make her submit. Thus, the match was going to come down to the Global bomb vs. the leg lock
Both women were impressive in their own ways. From a technical standpoint, this was the best I've seen Rie look. She's totally out of the Toyota mold now, and she's really become a diverse wrestler. She isn't close to great in any style, but she is proficient in pro style, shoot style, and Lucha Libre. Rie's conditioning, especially tone wise, also appeared to be better than it was on the debut show. You have to give Reggie credit because most wrestlers her age have long been locked into their style, but Reggie tried her best to change. Her technique on the mat isn't clean, and her size is a detriment when trying to work with the much quicker opponents on the mat, but at least she's trying to be a complete "HYPER VISUAL FIGHTER." Aside from the mat, she looked good, delivering impressive power moves and taking bumps that wrestlers of her body type almost have no right to be able to take.
They opened with Lucha, which worked because the spots made sense. Reggie was in perfect condition, so she pulled Rie off the top. When Reggie charged, Rie used her weight, as well leverage, against her by taking her over with arm drags. This showed that speed and technique neutralizes size. The pro spots that followed all worked, but the mat was hit and miss because Reggie lacks the speed and athleticism to make the transitions look clean and smooth.
Rie used a series of kneecap dropkicks to chop the tree down, which was good strategy. This also set up Reggie's comeback, which was catching Rie off the ropes with a powerslam. You could tell that Reggie was starting to blow up already, but she was able to get her wind back because they went to the mat. Reggie mounting Rie didn't work at all because instead of reigning punches or looking for a submission, Reggie basically just sat there and got her wind back. Maybe when ARSION recommended their wrestlers watch RINGS (and other shoot leagues) tapes, they forgot to tell Reggie that Maeda isn't the best guy to copy these days? Once in a while Reggie would throw a love tap to make it look like she was working.
Tamada did a great released German suplex then went back to focusing on the knee with a kneecap missile kick into a hizajujigatame. Reggie took a surprisingly good bump on a swinging DDT for a near fall. She avoided Rie's Dragon suplex finisher, but Rie returned the favor blocking Reggie's Global bomb. Rie turned Reggie's tilt-whirl style powerslam into an arm drag, which looked surprisingly great, then delivered an awesome missile kick.
Bennett again tried for her Global bomb, but Rie turned it into a huracanrana for a near fall. Rie continued countering the Global bomb, but at one point Reggie blocked her huracanrana, so Rie turned it into a sunset flip for a near fall. Reggie dragged Rie up after kicking out of the sunset flip, and Rie finally couldn't counter the Global bomb, so that was all she wrote. 8:57. ***1/4
This was a very good storyline match that Aja did a great job of carrying. Futagami showed she was on Aja's level, and she was willing to do anything it took to take the top star out. Thus, Futagami attacked Aja's legitimately bad knee. Aja's selling was fantastic. She did such an incredible job of looking like she was in excruciating pain that you wondered if she hadn't blown out her knee again. Either Aja was legitimately in a great deal of pain here or she's one hell of an actress because it's hard to fake this kind of emotion, but my guess is it's the latter.
"Since Aja had blown her knee out before, it doesn't surprise me that she can sell it as well as she did in this match. After all, she knows what this kind of pain really feels like. Combine that with her acting ability and everything looks really good," wrote Chris Martinez.
Aja's offense was about what you would expect, stiff. Like the Reggie vs. Rie match, this was a which would win out match, Aja's killer spot, the suichoku rakka brainbuster, or Gami's knee submissions.
Aja set the tone early on by attacking Futagami off a break, so Futagami returned the favor with some Don Frye-esque tactics such as not breaking when told to.
"Against almost any other fighter, Gami's tactics would have her a big heel. However, against a top star like Aja, it showed how determined she was to get the biggest win of her career," wrote Chris.
"At
one point, Aja can be heard shouting out, "Rope! Rope! Rope!" when
Futagami locks on her leg lock with Aja holding onto the ropes. We then see
how Futagami's ‘Stone Cold' persona develops, as she refuses
to relinquish the hold. This small moment really helped develop
Futagami's appearance as someone who is willing to win at all costs and wrestle
a good game. Aja would then sell her knee beautifully almost like when she truly
blew it out against Akira Hokuto at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe show. Futagami
would continue to pound on Aja after she released the hold, but Aja made a comeback
in shouting, "Sore dake!" (or "Is that it?") showing what
a monster Aja is. Yet, Futagami was relentless in her attack on Aja's leg, delivering
some great standing dropkicks that had nice hang time," wrote Keith.
The match really picked up at the 10-minute-mark with Aja doing some high spots before Futagami stopped her diving body press by pulling Aja off the top then locked Aja's bandaged up arm in an udehishigigyakujujigatame. Aja avoided Futagami's diving elbow and tried the brainbuster, but Futagami stopped it and came within a fraction of pinning Aja after a shotei As soon as Aja kicked out, Futagami went into a hizajujigatame. Aja was verging on tears she was in so much pain (yet still not looking like a cry baby as Kobashi & Otani so often do). She managed to grab the ropes, and Futagami was merely slow in breaking this time. Futagami made the mistake of going after Aja's head with a lariat (should have kept attacking the weakened knee or arm), so Aja ducked it and dropped Futagami on her head with a backdrop driver. Aja again tried for the brainbuster, but Futagami slipped out and applied a standing sleeper. Aja dropped down into a jawbreaker, and almost in one motion, also kicked Futagami in the head like you would to break the Dragon sleeper. Futagami was stunned, but she charged at Aja, who caught her with the uraken. This damaged Futagami enough that she was temporarily unable to defend herself. Thus, The Hellion dropped Futagami on her head with the suichoku rakka brainbuster for the 1-2-3.
"I thought that the finishing sequence with the Uraken-Brainbuster combination was beautifully done by Aja. She hits her uraken really fast then immediately executes the brainbuster. Since both focused on Futagami's head, it created the KO type of effect," wrote Keith.
"I agree with Keith. The uraken was great, and Gami's facial was perfect. This finish also shows that even *Aja's* old finisher isn't good enough anymore. For Aja to put away an ARSION girl, she had to use the uraken AND the brainbuster. Aja still got the win, but finishes like this help get the whole promotion over as very tough fighters," wrote Chris.
It was a simple but effective storyline, but it worked because it not only made Futagami look strong before jobbing, but, like the Reggie vs. Rie match, it put the finisher over huge because the first time it couldn't be avoided that was it. 13:32. ***1/2
This was the third Cachorras brawl in a month in a half that rates among the greatest brawls I've ever seen. What made this a great brawl wasn't the cool gimmick spots or the blood. Those things alone only make brawls great to fans of Big Japan and ECW who have no clue what a great brawl actually is. What made this a great brawl was that they did the cool spots in the right order, with everyone using the proper facials to get them over, so the spots had meaning and built to an incredible climax. This is where the vastly overrated Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in the Cell match failed. Since that entire match, given who was going over, was in the reverse order it should have been, the pinnacle was 1 minute into it. Thus, it was all down hill from there. On the contrary, this match got better and better until it peaked for the finish. Due to the spots being made meaningful, everything being properly ordered, and the sellout crowd being incredibly vocal (and not just popping for the spots), this was a very dramatic match.
"This match was a great example of what a brawl and cage match should be. The didn't completely rely on the gimmicks, but they used them enough that you always knew you were watching a cage match. I liked the fact that they used shoot-style moves, such as jujigatame, even though there are no submissions in this type of the match. It not only added a lot of substance to the match itself, but allowed the U*TOPS to stay within their gimmick. The crowd got into this, and they were great down the stretch. If the ECW locker room is determined to actually mix good brawling and good wrestling, then maybe I can send Heyman a copy of this fantastic match," wrote Hadi.
Las Cachorras, who had left the promotion a month earlier, still held the WWWA tag titles, but this match was not for the tag titles. Actually, this style of cage match is always "Texas Tornado" style, so there weren't even any tags here. In order to win the match, both women had to escape over the top of the cage to the floor. What makes these rules much more interesting in tag is it's easy for one woman to escape, but you don't want to leave your partner to be massacred.
Watanabe's shoulder was really in bad shape, so she
wore football shoulder pads. Her injury could have really hampered the match,
but instead it just helped the psychology. Ito & Shimoda had a stare down
before the match to build the rivalry, as well as the fans anticipation. Cachorras
immediately unloaded a series of chair shots. They have the right idea when
it comes to throwing the chair at their opponent on occasion. They can throw
it harder than they can swing it, yet the shot still isn't hard enough that
the opposition is going to lose their brain cells. The first 5 ½ minutes was
all brawling with Cachorras also using chains and introducing
their foes to the cage. Shimoda even tried to remove Watanabe's shoulder
pads to get heat. Watanabe & Ito both displayed some great
facials during this portion, which made you almost be able to feel their
pain. The result of all this was that Ito and Watanabe were both bloody before they did their first offensive
maneuver. This early portion clearly followed a basic
premise, establishing the heels.
The U*TOPS team finally came back with Watanabe working over Shimoda's leg then applying a leg lock, which Shimoda basically bit her way out of. Ito did the same to Mita, but she did nothing to work up to it. Ito tried for an udehishigigyakujujigatame on Mita, but Shimoda, who was working on Watanabe's bad shoulder, made the save with a chair shot then tried an udehishigigyakujujigatame. When Mita recovered, she picked up where Shimoda left off, working Ito's shoulder.
Watanabe was screaming in pain from being put in the udehishigigyakujujigatame. Shimoda continued to work Watanabe's arm, with Watanabe continuing the excellent facials, while Mita took Ito out with her Death Valley bomb. With Ito selling the Death Valley bomb, Mita arm barred Watanabe and Shimoda came off the top with a punch to the shoulder. Cachorras wouldn't normally use this dated common spot, but due to Watanabe's shoulder injury, it enhanced the storyline of the match. What really made the spot work though was the face Watanabe made while Mita was twisting her arm when she saw Shimoda perched on the top rope ready to pounce on the bad shoulder. Shimoda then tried the first escape of the match. It was almost 10 minutes into the match, so this certainly wasn't Los Hermanos Dinamitas vs. Los Payasos in a which team can pull the other team off the cage the most death for all the viewers match. Of course, the first attempt at an escape didn't work, as Ito nadare shiki no released German suplexed Shimoda back into the ring.
Ito displayed a lot more fire than normal here, but all her comebacks were quickly cut off. With everyone down in the ring selling, Shimoda had Saya tie the security rail to a chain so they could get it over the top rope for Shimoda's rail drop. Maekawa tried to stop Saya, which was a nice little feud of the understudies that went on outside the ring throughout the match, but she was unsuccessful. Even though it was cool that Shimoda jumped off the top of the cage, the spot took too long to set up, and the way she does this spot she may as well just push the ladder over because her jump didn't add any impact to it. Cachorras tried to escape, but the U*TOPS recovered in time, and they finally took the advantage when Cachorras chair spot backfired.
Ito used the chain on Shimoda, who juiced a gusher. Ito held Shimoda in the udehishigigyakujujigatame forever, and Shimoda was selling it huge. Since there were no submissions in this match, Mima was at Ito's mercy, and Kaoru wasn't going to show her any. Mita wasn't able to make the save because Watanabe cannonball bustered her. Ito & Watanabe both tried to escape together. Watanabe made it over the top, but Mita recovered in time to cut Ito off by nadare shiki no piggyback dropping Ito, which was incredible. Watanabe being the one that escaped made sense because that meant the healthy one on the team was the one that was working longer.
The fans got
behind Ito because it was two against one. Ito did her diving footstomp to both
and tried to escape, but they cut her off. Cachorras then held Ito against the
cage so Saya could spray a fire extinguisher in her face, and all around for
that matter, which was a page out of Aja's book from the great brawl against
Cachorras from 8/9/97. This created something of a smoke screen, and both Cachorras
tried to escape. They did the smart thing, which was trying to escape from opposite
sides of the ring, thus making it impossible for Ito to stop them both. Mita
escaped, but Ito was able to stop Shimoda with a udehishigigyakujujigatame off
the top. They used the cage for leverage extremely well in this match, allowing
them to do moves off the top rope that they would normally have to do off the
2nd. This was the most incredible of these spots because Ito had Shimoda in
udehishigigyakujujigatame position before she even jumped off the top! Shimoda's
arm was still dead from the earlier udehishigigyakujujigatame, and she had been
doing a great job of selling it all the way. She looked like a bird with a broken
wing. Thus, it didn't take much to finish her off. Ito tried to escape, but
since Mita is a heel, she had to try to stop Ito by climbing up the cage.
They met at the top of the cage, but Ito dragged Mita over the top, and Mita
took the bump into the ring. Ito probably could have escaped right at this point,
but the titles weren't on the line and her legal opponent was "crippled,"
so a measure of revenge was worth more than the chance to win the match then
and there. Ito climbed to the top of the cage and spread her arms for the Superfly leap. However,
she jumped off the top of the cage onto Mita with her diving footstomp, which
was 20 times as brutal as doing a body press would have been. Ito decided it
was time for her to escape, and Mita certainly wasn't going to stand in her
way at this point. Of course, you have to make it dramatic, so Shimoda pulled
herself up with her good arm and tried to stop Ito, but she was in such bad
shape that she got over there too late and was unable to climb up the cage because
she only had one arm. Ito wasn't taking any chances though, so instead of climbing
all the way down the cage she just let go and plunged to the mat landing on or next to Watanabe, who was still
selling the previous damage.
"It was a perfect finish, with Ito really beating the odds of being left alone in the cage with both Shimoda & Mita. Part of what made it so cool was that Ito did not so much ‘escape' the cage, rather she incapacitated both Shimoda & Mita then left. The footstomp from the top of the cage looked so brutal that it was very believable she could leave after that. Must not have taken much acting on Mita's part to sell that move," wrote Michiko.
This finishing sequence was the stuff legends are made of, and the fans went absolutely nuts for it. To top it all off, you had Hotta, the leader of the U*TOPS, lying over her partners and hugging them. Since this was beyond a war, Ito was spitting up something and Shimoda and Watanabe were putting their arm/shoulder over huge. Mita was actually holding Shimoda's arm for her as they left the cage.
This match could hardly have been better. The worst thing about it was that AJW had a really crappy camera for the overhead shots, so that footage wasn't even broadcast quality though obviously it aired anyway. The match put over the heels even though they lost, and actually it was really classy in that respect with AJW showing respect for their departed greats instead of jobbing them out like the US promotions would have done. The match also put the U*TOPS over huge because not only did they make the dramatic comeback win, but their new submission style was the catalyst.
This was the best women's match of 1997, and possibly the best match in the careers of all four wrestlers. It's a little more questionable with Shimoda & Mita since they've had a number of great matches, especially the 8 woman from 11/28/93. Escape cage matches suck everywhere else in the world because they degenerate into a bunch of climbing, clawing, pulling, and tugging, but this was truly great. There may have been a cage match from a previous decade that was worthy of a higher rating, but this is the greatest cage match ever. 17:26. ****3/4
According to Michael Smith, "This match was much better than any of the Hell in the Cell matches because they mixed brawling and wrestling, while all Michaels and Cactus did was bump. Of course, that's all you can do when you wrestle a ‘good worker' who is ‘Hall of Fame' caliber like Undertaker. The bump that Michaels took off of the cage through the table was talked about for months as being spectacular. However, it was extremely overrated because what people fail to mention is that the spot took forever to setup. The double footstomp off of the top of the cage was not only a gutsy move on Ito & Mita's part that was more dangerous than anything Michaels has ever done, but it was a spot that we didn't have to wait forever to see. As Mike pointed out to me, the waiting time for the diving footstomp only served to build anticipation for the spot, as Ito was playing to the crowd in Snuka-esque fashion. This finish truly was a beautiful moment of perfection where everything was just right, with the reaction of the crowd not only intensified an already dramatic and epic brawl, but taking the match to an even higher level. It truly was, ‘the stuff that legends are made of.' Any fan that thinks New Jack is the epitome of a brawler or thinks that taking two suicidal bumps from the top of a cage makes a match "****1/2" owes it to themselves to check out this match and see how a cage match should be done. This match set a standard that may never be reached again."
As far as the Michaels vs. Undertaker Hell in the Cell match goes, the thing that really bothered me was that after Michaels, as always, put us through overexaggerated bump taking 101 and overexaggerated selling 101, he pretty much recovered from the killer bump off the cage by the time Mr. Methodical could climb down from the cage. This was the one bump Michaels needed to put over huge, but instead he finally didn't overact. This match was so far from ***** that I can't even see how anyone could try to justify giving it that rating.
Jerome: THE match that made the legend of LCO. I've never seen better structuring in such a difficult style. This is the perfect antithesis of how cage matches are worked these days because these fours are awesome wrestlers and not a bunch of idiots jumping left and right and breaking their bodies with poorly set up spots in substanceless stuntfests. Here the cage is used as much as a psychological element as a physical one. The number of big spots is incredibly low, and yet each one attains an unbelievable level of drama. The four huge cage spots are at the same time the climax of an entire section and a transition to another part of the match. It's a perfect illustration of what makes a wrestling match great : getting a lot out of doing a little.
In this case, the first ten minutes are basically a destruction of the face team by Mita and Shimoda. The work itself is minimum and consists of heel tactics such as using chairs, choking the opposition with chains, and rubbing their forehead against the steel cage to make them bleed. LCO just have to allow a few comebacks, particularly from Ito's part, to keep the interest of the crowd then cut them off abruptly to instill the feeling of desperation. They build the drama by, in fact, working slowly without using any big or even medium spots. All the drama resides in the painful facials of the poor victims, reinforced by some efficient blade-jobs (smart use of the blood), and in the sadistic attitude of the tormentors. The acting of all four woman is at an all time high, with Watanabe being particularly impressive. Shimoda and Mita are also awesome in their distinct roles of sexy bloodthirsty animal and cold and insensitive executioner respectively. Along with the facials goes the selling, and once again Watanabe is in her glory, selling both the blood loss and the agony of her injured elbow with a shocking realism. The roles were eventually reversed, so it became time for LCO to showcase their great selling and facials. The vision of a bloody Shimoda hooked in Ito's jujigatame, screaming and shaking like a fish out of water, was the perfect counterpoint to the same Shimoda tormenting poor Watanabe's shoulder earlier in the match.
The escape attempts were extremely smart and well built, and all lead to one of the big cage spots. The first one was Shimoda trying to get out after ten minutes of destroying the U*TOPS team, but being cut off by most valid of the two, Ito. The second time around, it was the U*TOPS turn to try to get out, with Ito protecting the path for the injured and more vulnerable Watanabe. Tomoko got out of harms way, but Ito was stopped by Mita, who then executed her signature spot where she puts her opponent on her shoulders before throwing them backward, except this time she was already standing on the top rope! This inhuman spot echoes the German suplex Ito used before to cut off Shimoda on her first escape attempt. The next one was rapidly aborted, as LCO made the mistake of trying to get out together by climbing up at the same time one next to the other. This allowed Ito to stop them both at the time. It finally lead to the last two attempts, which was the climax of the match. This time, LCO climbed the cage on opposite sides, and Ito had to make a choice. She went after Shimoda and put her in the jujigatame as they were both on the top rope, then simply dropped down, driving poor Mima to the mat in awfully brutal fashion. Etsuko Mita had no choice but to climb up the cage again to try to prevent Ito from going out. At this point, the drama hit its climax as Ito manages to throw Mita back in the ring. After this already insane bump, Mita then takes one of the most brutal moves I've ever seen. Kaoru could have gotten out of the cage and won the match for her team, but she chose to finish Mita, who was no longer a legal participant in the match, with her diving footstomp. Etsuko has an incredible heart to agree to take such a move because there's no way to protect yourself. The crowd went totally nuts as Ito escaped the steel trap, leaving LCO in their misery, Shimoda was crying through the blood on her face and selling her shoulder like it was broke, while Mita was holding her ribs (which certainly was a lot more legit than a sell job). Incredible performance from all four woman in every aspect possible, work, selling, psychology and acting. The best LCO match until their match vs. HamaKINO, and probably the best cage match ever since I doubt such a precedent can ever be equaled much less surpassed.
*For the past couple years I've been asking if Motoya & Omukai had tapes yet, and finally my wish was granted. Now I have to type more because I have to add new or another to the question.:) Anyway, it's a lot better now that the Jr. Idol Motoya has the entire tape to herself, rather than having to carry the likes of Yoko Ikeda. The more I see of Kanako, the more impressed I am with her. This is about what you would expect from a first video, with Motoya being a little uncomfortable during the modeling sequences. The production could have been a little better because, for example, they wasted their own time making graphics that didn't add anything to the video. By far the most important thing on these tapes is how the model looks, and Kanako looked great, as always. I won't say this was the best tape since the Super J Cup, but I also won't rip up my copy, give it a diving Kanabutt, and have everyone count 1-2-3 because like Toyota, Kanako definitely doesn't suck. I was very happy with this video, and if you like Motoya, and you must not be a guy if you don't, you would be too.
"It was a lot like the Cuty Suzuki video that Scholar put out, in that they both looked amazing but the video itself could have been made a little better. I really loved this video, and I can't see how Mike didn't mark out for it. She looked incredible in it, and although it can't touch Fascination, the two ARSION tapes, or the two Shiratori tapes, it was reasonably fast-paced and pretty well produced. Kanako looked nervous in some of the shots at poolside, and was constantly checking herself, so I can see what Mike is saying as far as it could've been better. Being that she is only 19, she'll get better and less self-conscious in front of the camera, so we are going to seriously be spoiled in the future," wrote Michael.
Photos: lovefl04.jpg lovefl09.jpg lovefl33.jpg lovefl42.jpg lovefl43.jpg lovefl60.jpg lovefl75.jpg
*Somehow I managed not to mark out in the Motoya write up, and my image editing skills improved enough that I was able to keep the images from these tapes down to a "respectable" number, but I don't think I can contain myself here because this video is so awesome. Omukai was "Blooming" in 1996, and she has turned into the sexiest wrestler not named Ozaki. I guess I'll say this is equal in excellence to Fukawa's video; I can't decide which one is better because that would mean one would have to be worse. Both rule hard because they are really well made and the women looked great. I guess it's a matter of taste. Fukawa looks better when she's smiling/giggling, while Omukai looks better when she's serious. Fukawa is incredibly beautiful, while Omukai is incredibly sexy. Fukawa has an awesome face, while Omukai has an awesome body. Considering Michiko is 23, Yumi is 22, & Kanako is 19, they seem poised to dominate the puroresu MCM's for years.
Michael: I bought a cross-country machine through the mail, and I can usually burn 600 calories in an hour. In the hour that I was watching the Motoya and Omukai tapes, I burned just over a 1000. Now I know where to go when I need some motivation. It gives me an excuse to rewatch these videos a hundred or so times, like I needed one:-) As for Artemis, it ruled!!! The myth about Omukai being her sexiest when she's serious or pissed was exposed here. I think she also looks incredibly sexy when she's smiling, laughing, or just happy. The only time she doesn't look her best was when she tried to make a straight face because she could never keep one. I'd say that this rates right up there with the best, but like Mike I'd have a difficult time trying to choose between the two ARSION videos. I can't wait to see Ayako Hamada's video because I'm sure she'll continue the streak of tremendous ARSION videos.
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Special thanks to Keith Watanabe, Michael Smith, Hadi, Michiko Kubota,Chris Martinez & Mark Gonyea
