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WWWA Sekai Single Senshuken: Bull Nakano vs. Kyoko Inoue |
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Kyoko earned this title shot by winning the '91 Japan Grand Prix, which was a one night tournament that year. Since Bull was Kyoko's senpai, that made Kyoko's first world single title shot all the more special. What made the match is that Bull really went out of her way to put Kyoko over. This was a match where I doubt anyone really believed that the title would change hands, but the point was that Kyoko looked "worthy" of the title, even though it would be more than half a decade before she'd actually get it (which was a mistake on AJW's part because she was already past her prime when she finally got it). The first half of the match didn't serve that much of a purpose. Bull bladed 1 ½ minutes into the match after being posted, but there was no more brawling in the match. The blood never played any role in the match at all unless you want to use that lame boxing argument about the person that looks like they are in worse shape must be losing the fight. As long as Bull was bleeding, I felt Kyoko needed to attack the cut because winning the title has to be the most important thing. Instead, they just did a bunch of useless submission holds, sleepers and the like, to kill time. Kyoko just had so much energy at this point. I didn't think she did enough running around considering that would be too her advantage since Bull is bigger and slower, but she did enough to keep the early portion interesting. Her tope reversa (springboard reverse elbow off the 2nd) was utilized well, and it was particularly cool when she did it outside the ring toward the end of the match, which knocked Bull into the guard rail. Getting back to the early portion though, a lot of the submission moves were as unnecessary as Bull getting "the crimson mask." One thing about Bull is that she's usually a bit sloppy, but it's hard to complain about her sloppiness. The reason for this is that her moves usually are more deadly when she doesn't hit them perfectly, which obviously is good for the fans, but sucks if you are her opponent. The match actually became really dramatic even though the outcome wasn't truly in doubt because Kyoko got all kinds of near falls on Bull in the second half. The near falls were credible since Bull had no reservations about making Kyoko look as good as possible, so you were able to "suspend disbelief" about Kyoko winning. Kyoko was just throwing everything she had a Bull. There was a lot of back and forth though, so it "seemed like anyone could win" and you didn't run into a situation where someone ran out of moves so you knew they were about to be countered and lose after a few big moves. The heat really picked up around the fifteen minute mark with "Kyoko!" chants. Bull, of course, did some really impressive moves for her size. I thought her countering some throw by Kyoko with a cartwheel was the most impressive, as that seemed like something only a junior would do in 1991. Kyoko nearly pinned Bull with her Niagara driver after she hit her tope reversa outside the ring. She started utilizing her advantage better by doing a lot of flying, including getting a near fall with Bull's own guillotine leg drop. What I didn't like is Bull came back and it only took two moves, the second of which was a moonsault, to pin Kyoko. I guess it wasn't so bad due to the back and forth factor and Kyoko only being a pro for 35 months. In any case, it was a valiant effort by Kyoko. After the match, Bull and Kyoko hugged each other. James: AJW did a good job of elevating Kyoko in 1991. They paired her with Bull for the Double Hair match against Jungle Jack on January 11, let her win the Grand Prix, gave her the IWA title and then let her and Yamada win the Tag League, beating Jungle Jack in the final. The good thing about this match was that Kyoko, only a third year wrestler, was taken seriously as a challenger. Jason: Basically the match was Kyoko using her speed to avoid Bull's power. Early on the match spilled to the outside where Kyoko rammed Bull's head into the ring post. Bull juiced which wasn't really necessary, but it made Kyoko's offense look more credible. Kyoko tried to use her submissions to wear Bull down, but because of the size difference they didn't come off looking good. In particular, her Romero Special was problematic, but she kept trying to get Bull up in it. She got some really near falls on Bull, and even kicked out of her famous leg drop Kyoko hit her own leg drop, which looked like it hurt her more than Bull, before Bull hit a moonsault for the win. A good match that made Kyoko look like she belonged in the ring with the champion. Special thanks to: Jason Higgs & James Phillips- Japanese Women's Wrestling 20:01
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