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Tournament ARS '98 Junkessho
(semifinal): Mariko Yoshida vs. Reggie Bennett |
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Surprisingly, this was the best match on the show. It had the most heat, but the heat was still pathetic for a tournament semifinal between a native and a gaijin where the outcome was definitely in doubt. "In this match, Bennett would have the advantage with her win
over Kong, both in terms of conserving her stamina and gaining incredible
momentum in motivation, whereas Yoshida had This is all true, but Yoshida's main advantage was that Reggie didn't play to her own strengths. Instead, she tried to match Yoshida on the ground, which made no sense. I like that she is trying to learn this style, but it's not logical for her to try to beat one of the best technical wrestlers there is at her own game. "To my mind, Bennett is on the mat doing the ARSION submissions too much. She has a huge power edge and size edge, so going to the mat doesn't play to her strengths. She does get a guillotine choke that looks good because she can lean her weight into it, much as she did with the finishing hold in the Aja match," wrote Miko. Still, Reggie did a good job on the mat until she got tired and passed up good opportunities to rest. Of course, one reason for this was that Yoshida excelled on the mat, and that translated into her making Reggie look better than she is in this aspect. The first 6 ½ minutes were basically on the mat, with a lot of submissions used, but nothing locked in that could have been the finish. Reggie took control with a suplex that Yoshida sold really well, acting very dazed. This allowed Reggie to hit her diving body press off the 2nd for a near fall. Reggie tried her global bomb finisher, but Yoshida slipped out and went right into her henkei sleeper (cobra clutch). Yoshida was getting frustrated that Reggie was escaping her submission holds. Both women used the hizaujigatame, but it wasn't until Yoshida's turned Reggie's small package into one that it looked like anyone could win with it. Reggie turned Yoshida's lariat into a powerbomb for a near fall then went into a guillotine choke, which finally woke up the fans. Yoshida made it to the ropes, but to make it dramatic, she didn't move once the hold was broke. "I liked this spot because the audience really woke up once Yoshida got locked in for a good minute or so," wrote Keith. It looked like the ref was going to stop the match, but he just let Reggie drag Yoshida up instead, which seemed kind of ridiculous. Apparently Yoshida was playing possum because she almost caught Reggie in a wakigatame, but instead Bennett global bombed her for the win. "Although one may question why Bennett received a huge win over the much more talented Yoshida, I think the positioning of people in this tournament made a strong statement for ARSION in terms of their determination to build stars," wrote Keith. I think one of the main reasons Yoshida lost was that she had only been back from her broken arm for a little more than two weeks. Reggie was the favorite in this match, and killing the momemtum she gained by beating Aja would have been goofy. You could make the argument that losing to Candy killed this momentum, but that would be missing the point. The point was to transfer that momentum to Candy, who overcame seemingly impossible odds to win this tournament. That's one way you can create a star, and in turn, although Reggie was taken down a bit, she is still set up for return matches with Aja, Yoshida, and now Candy. Overall, the match was well worked and executed even though it was goofy in points. Yoshida deserves credit for the job she did of carrying Reggie. Special thanks to: Keith Watanabe -
Manami Toyota Rules!, & Miko Kubota - Michiku
Pro 12:24
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