Issue 54E - 10/14/99 Battle Station JWP 5/20/98

JWP & Battlarts Mixed Tag Match: Hikari Fukuoka & Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts) vs. Tomoko Kuzumi & Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts)

This was a cool mixed match because, while there was some comedy, it was fairly serious and the men and women actually wrestled each other. Unfortunately, there was no heat and the pacing was way too even. Jason: It was very cool to see a mixed match worked mostly serious with the Battlarts guys actually selling for Fukuoka and Kuzumi. The only parts that weren't too serious were the comedy spots where Ishikawa tried to get Fukuoka in the ring, and after the match when Otsuka and Ishikawa were pummelling each other with smiles on their faces. The rest of the match was worked serious as far as I could tell. You are right about the heat. The fans came with their mouths taped up, again, when they should have been popping huge when the women were wrestling the men. The only thing that disturbed me was Ishikawa trying to pin Fukuoka. He had this sick smile/grin on his face when he pinned Fukuoka, and to me it looked like the same grin male dogs get when they are trying to hump somebody's leg. I can see a male wrestler being fascinated by Fukuoka, but I though it was too much for Ishikawa to try to pin her. Keith: I disagree that this match was fairly serious. The look on Ishikawa an Otsuka's faces in anticipation of stepping into the ring with the girls revealed the proverbial story. For me, the storyline was more comedic when it should've been more of a "teaching" their mat skill thing for the Battlarts guys. Hikari was the best in this environment because it allowed her to "develop" a personality for once in a match. One cool spot had Hikari dancing on Ishikawa's hands like a punk girl. Another one had her telling Otsuka "Ike! Ike!" which means "fucking go!" in Japanese (sidenote: "Ike" is essentially the impolite command form of "iku" which means "to go." It's only used by men and drunks, so hearing Hikari to command a guy to "fucking go" demonstrates her strong personality in the match). For Kuzumi though, who has been in "comedy mixed matches" before, she looked totally out of place, perhaps embarrassed. It exposed her lack of personality. Comedy matches should really be used to develop a different side of a wrestler, something to enhance their identity either vocally or with bodily motions. Only Hikari performance was something I didn't expect in this match. She can't match the Toyota of old in terms of intensity, but prior to her neck injury she might have been able to outperform the current Toyota, doing gestures to involve the crowd, rather than solely relying on her high spots. It might've saved her neck and career in the long run. Heck, Austin and the Rock are able to get away with vocals and a few gestures to save their fading or lacking wrestling skills, why can't the women do the same? Michael: Kuzumi and especially Hikari didn't look too comfortable here. Ishikawa being obsessed with Hikari didn't fly with me and turned parts of the match into a joke. Special Thanks to: Jason Higgs, Michael Smith & Keith Watanabe - Manami Toyota Rules! 19:23