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Zensedai Tournament Ikkaisen: Reiko Amano vs. Hikari Fukuoka |
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This match had really strong work, but no psychology. I suppose that's not all that surprising given Hikari was involved, but these minute by minute rules that incorporated sections of submission only wrestling made her psychology seem even a notch or two below normal. Hikari's matwork dulled the match. In general, the submissions weren't all that good until the 20 minute mark when ironically then became excellent with udehishigigyakujujigatames back and forth. This was the longest and most hard fought match of the first round. Unfortunately, it was no better than good because it lacked direction. Amano scored the upset here. Miko: Another good match. Fairly fast-paced and with good action. Fukuoka destroyed Amano with a series of moonsaults, but didn't get the pin so she lay on her back and waited for Amano to come after her. Presumably Hikari did this because she felt she proved that she could beat Amano pro style, and wanted to show she could also beat Amano at her own game. I liked the variety of arm locks, mostly jujigatames, Amano pulled off. Fukuoka was in the holds too long sometimes though, and they went through too many submissions to the point that they started to lose their impact. Even so, the match worked for me. Amano came off as being competitive with Fukuoka, so it wasn't just a lucky win. James: Directionlessness is a big problem in many of Hikari's matches, with this one and many of her matches against Tomoko Kuzumi being examples. The submissions put Hikari out of her element, which kept this match from being anything more than good. Special Thanks to: Miko Kubota - Michiku Pro & James Phillips- Japanese Womens Wrestling 27:37 (22:38 shown)
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