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Suzuka Minami & Takako Inoue vs. Jungle Jack (Aja Kong & Bison Kimura) |
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This was a pretty disappointing match given the talent involved. There were too many submissions considering they played no real role in the match, and the match was too short match to begin with. Aja was fine when she was in, but she really didn't do anything of note. She was not a great worker at this point by any means, but I expected her to do a few things to stand out. Bison was solid, but to my mind she didn't really give an all-out performance. Takako was the kid who "didn't belong" in the match, so she was just a bump girl. Jungle Jack played heel, of course, with Takako being their main foil. The brawling was pretty stiff, but I didn't find it that interesting since Takako really wasn't fighting back. Either the match was designed to further put Jungle Jack over as a dominant force, or Takako was just too timid to hit them back. In any case, there wasn't really any problem with the work or execution, but there was too much squash Takako even for someone like myself who kind of enjoys when that happens. What was really goofy to me was that after Takako got destroyed the whole match, Suzuka, who worked maybe the other 1/4, was pinned by Aja's diving body press off the 2nd. It's like, if you are going to do a whole match of squash Takako, then either pin her or have her comeback and win. Sure, it helped Takako a bit that she survived when they didn't want to let her, but to me, it mainly hurt Suzuka. Keith: This was a cool match. Takako was definitely a punching bag here. She needed Suzuka to soften Bison up a bit before Takako could get some of her offense in. I definitely appreciate Suzuka's earlier efforts because her speed, etc. are pretty good in the earlier years. I was caught off guard when Suzuka got pinned; I expected Takako to get pinned here. James: This would have been a much better match if the All Japan style big tag match psychology had been used, with Jack "injuring" Suzuka, forcing Takako to work much of the match alone. That way she would have got over on account of her fighting spirit, and Jack would have looked tough and dominant because they took out the star of the team, even if Takako had eventually been the one to do the job. Jason: The match was basically Aja and Bison having their way with Takako while Manami would periodically get in the match and supply the offense for her side. Takako was in for most of the match and barely got any offense in, instead Jungle Jack focused their attack on her back and knees. Jack used their brawling, which was their most effective attack at this point in time. The finish was Aja pinning Minami after her top rope splash. This didn't make any sense because Minami was barely "damaged/hurt" during the course of the match, while Takako was the one taking all the punishment. I guess it made Aja's splash look all the more devastating. Special thanks to: Jason Higgs & Keith Watanabe - Manami Toyota Rules! & James Phillips- Japanese Women's Wrestling 12:46
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