The first starlet: Reggie Bennett & Jessie Bennett vs. Michiko Omukai & Yumi Fukawa. This match had good action, and was very good in points, but there were too many problems with the spots. Many of the spots there were problems with were only partially blown and/or covered well, but even so there were so many little flaws.
"I don't think it was that the spots were blown as much as it was that the set up of a lot of them was slow and sloppy," wrote Michael.
The match was mainly killed by Jessie, whose inexperience was all too obvious. The other three were good, but Jessie just wasn't close to being on the level with them.
Michiko & Yumi double teamed Big Mo early to gain the advantage, but when they had her in a double standing wakigatame, Jessie came in and tried to break it up with a double jumping lariat. In order to do this, Jessie would have to jump over Reggie sunset flip style, lariating both opponents before she started turning in the air. It just wasn't going to happen with the height and hang time Jessie gets on her jumps. The result was that she probably did more damage to her partner by landing on her bent over back than to the opposition. Jessie threw some heavy chops in this match, but her jumping and flying moves didn't look good because of the aforementioned, and also because some were a little off the mark.
Michiko caught Jessie in a hizajujigatame, which Jessie sold well after she got to the ropes, but not enough while she was in the move. Omukai kicked the leg a few times then tagged Yumi, who came right in with a dropkick the leg.
Yumi & Jessie's sequence was good because both had a game plan, but neither would let the other see it through. Yumi wanted to take out the leg, but Jessie, who was on her back, kicked and kicked with her free leg so Yumi couldn't do anything to it. Jessie was trying to squash Yumi in the corner, but Yumi avoided the second running shoulderblock and immediately kicked Jessie in the leg. Fukawa rolled into a hizajujigatame, but Jessie concentrated so much on doing everything she could to make it to the ropes that she didn't really sell the well worked to legit finisher very well.
In order to mount Fukawa, Jessie put herself in spots where she would have lost if this wasn't worked. The problem with the mounts in ARSION is that the women don't do much once they mount. It's good that they know the positions, but getting the mount means nothing if you don't try to launch a strong offense once you get there. Even the pathetic "girl" punches of Mark Coleman would be a vast improvement over sitting on top and thinking about what a good rest you are getting by holding the dominant position.
Reggie and Yumi were going to lock up, but Reggie put her hand over her head where Yumi couldn't reach it as a way of taunting Yumi. Reggie then used the size and power advantage that this tactic pointed out to destroy Yumi, but Yumi eventually countered Reggie with a headscissors out of nowhere and tagged the much taller Omukai.
Reggie dominated Omukai as well though, delivering two great body presses. Omukai seemed to have a slight shoulder injury coming into the match, and Reggie appeared to seriously aggravate it when she blockbustered Omukai. I'm sure the injury was legitimate, though probably not as serious as they would make it out to be in Omukai's second match. For whatever reason, probably just dumb wrestling, Reggie and Jessie never attacked it even though Omukai sold it sometimes. Jessie even put the udehishigigyakujujigatame on the "wrong" arm. It was etched in stone that the veteran Aja was going to attack the shoulder, unless Omukai's arm was so bad it was about to fall off.
"Maybe the Bennett's were not sure about the injury since it obviously was not planned. Due to the language barrier, they may not have been able to communicate well enough to ask her how bad it was. If so, their leaving it alone could have been for safety sake," wrote Chris.
Omukai came back with a series of backdrops, showing she could throw the much heavier opponent around then Fukawa tagged in and did an ultra huracanrana. Fukawa did a diving body press and tried to immediately go into a chickenwing armlock.
Reggie came back and almost had Yumi in the Reggie rack, but she couldn't do it because she couldn't reach Yumi's leg. Seeing this, Omukai came right in and broke it up with kicks before the problem became obvious to everyone.
Jessie did a couple really nice power moves for a near fall, but she had problems lifting little Yumi for a powerbomb. On the second try, Fukawa turned it into a huracanrana. Omukai came in and DDT'd Jessie to set up Yumi's Lionsault. Jessie wasn't close enough though, so Yumi dragged Jessie up and DDT'd her closer to the ropes. When Jessie lifted her arm to kick out of the Lionsault, Yumi took the other arm and applied an udehishigigyakujujigatame. Fukawa then did the Buff blockbuster for a near fall.
Fukawa tried to use jumping moves to knock Reggie off her feet, but Reggie no sold them and tried a lariat. However, Fukawa avoided this by taking Reggie down with a jumping neckbreaker drop. Omukai came in and missed a kick, so Reggie no sold it and gave her the opening for her Taurus kick, which Reggie sold. Omukai got some near falls on Reggie, but Reggie still wasn't in that bad of shape, so Omukai couldn't German suplex Reggie until Fukawa came in and dropkicked her.
Reggie came back and used her Global bomb on Omukai, but Fukawa saved. Jessie got a near fall on Omukai with a guillotine leg drop, but Omukai avoided the second one. Jessie tried to powerbomb Omukai twice, but it was avoided, more likely blown again, and Omukai took Jessie down into a wakigatame. You could see Reggie standing only a few feet in the corner not doing anything as Omukai turned it into her crucifix finisher, but then you realized the reason she couldn't was that Yumi was holding her leg from outside the ring. Jessie had no choice but to submit.
Reggie explained in her post match interview that this was Jessie's first tag match and that even though she had been a pro for two years, she'd only wrestled 15-20 matches, so it was a learning experience. The other three were good enough here that this could be a very good match when Jessie gets better. 19:50. **
The second starlet: Aja Kong & Lady Metal vs. Omukai & Fabi Apache. Omukai made this match with her selling. Aja picked up on the shoulder injury from the previous match, debilitating it. Omukai's facials were once again excellent, and she put over the shoulder every chance she got. If anything it was too much because sometimes she might have been better off selling the move done to her instead of going back to the arm. Perhaps her shoulder was so bad that she had no choice to but to sell the shoulder.
"I think it is likely that they saw what shape the shoulder was in between matches, and then decided it was okay to play the injury up. However, that doesn't change that fact that Omukai is tough and dedicated for allowing Aja to go so nuts on her shoulder when it must have really been hurting," wrote Chris.
Of course, the Mexicans sucked, but this was a short match and neither worked enough to hurt the match that much. The beginning of the match where they worked together for 1:15 was the worst part of the match, but it wasn't Tijuana opener level of green Lucha or anything. The worst thing about Fabi is that she finds it necessary to clap between every spot in an effort to get the crowd to pop. I suppose it's better than what we normally see from that "near Hall of Famer" Leizi Muto, especially his stalling exhibition in that "***1/2" match he had on 1/4/98 at the Tokyo Dome against Choshu #2, but it was still a waste of time that killed the flow of the match.
Omukai was screaming
in pain as Aja debilitated her shoulder. They had to stop the match to spray
Omukai's arm and check if she could continue, but there was no quit in her.
Omukai tried to fight back with one arm, but you can guess how long she was
able to hold off Aja in that manner. Aja was stiff, and she not only continued
to work the shoulder, but she brawled outside the ring, including throwing Omukai
shoulder first into a row of chairs. Omukai showed great fighting spirit and
kept trying to come back, but Aja quickly cut her off. Finally, Omukai avoided
Metal's assisted somersault senton and tagged Fabi.
Fabi did a tope con hilo off the apron and brawled on the floor, which wasn't bad. Metal finally came back and held Fabi so Aja could suicida her. Fabi avoided the suicida, and seeing this coming, Aja tried to hang onto the ropes to avoid taking her partner out, but Aja hurt her back doing this. Omukai took Aja out with her swandive shiki no missile kick, and Fabi applied a submission hold called el nudo for the win.
Omukai got destroyed by Aja, but she gained a measure of revenge by keeping Aja from making the save, which cost Aja the match. Sakie Hasegawa came out and shook Omukai's hand, and they did an interview together. Of course, Omukai was putting her shoulder, which she had an ice pack on, over the whole time. 11:25. ***1/4
Rie Tamada (2-4-1) vs. Mariko Yoshida (ARSION debut). This was a weird match. It was kind of a new style to women's wrestling. In a way it was like some of the worked matches you see in RINGS, but it wasn't close to a worked shoot. It was mainly on the mat, with high spots interspersed. The gist of the match was they that just kept countering each others submissions and spots.
"The match was good, but it would have been a better if Tamada had focused her attack on one specific body part. At times it looked like she didn't know what to do next due to not being focused. Attacking Yoshida's bad arm might have been nice, but another part would also have worked if she it was clear she didn't want to win by working over the arm that had been broken," wrote Michael.
Sometimes one of them would get caught in a finisher, but the weird thing about the match was the selling. Even when there was a finisher, neither really put it over as such. At other times, Rie would do a move and Yoshida would no-sell it by staring at Rie. Some of the counters were great, but you saw so many that they kind of lost their luster. Yoshida got a bloody lip on the way, but won with a henkei facelock. 12:29. ***