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Kyoko Inoue Debut 10th Anniversary
Special Single Match: Aja Kong (Free) vs. Kyoko Inoue |
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Maybe I've been too hard on Kyoko? I've criticized her more this year than other top notch veterans who have really tailed off like Kansai and Toyota even though she's had great matches and they haven't. The problem with Kyoko is that she still tries really hard in the ring, but unless she changes her style or loses enough weight that she can do the things she's always done again, it's almost all for naught. Even though this was an excellent match, it was only excellent because like Lioness, Kong really knows what's she's doing. There was clearly a stark contrast between the Kyoko we saw in this match, doing everything right when it came to selling and comebacks than the Kobashi-esque version we've seen all to often this year. Then again, we see that same stark difference in Kobashi when Misawa & Kawada are carrying him in a singles match. Speaking of AJ, one of the things that was an improvement over most of Kyoko's matches was the level of stiffness. Of course, it's not like Aja vs. Kyoko matches from AJW weren't stiff, but that Kyoko does work stiff unless she's in with someone like Aja who encourages her to. These two have always worked well together, and both women were really fired up, which helped make up for the fact they aren't what they were a few years ago. For the most part, it was bombs back and forth for 20 minutes. The execution was near perfect. Aja gave a top notch performance. You couldn't complain about Kyoko because the things that have annoyed us, failing to stay within herself, lack of stamina, and getting goofy, didn't occur here. You could tell this was going to rock right off the bat, as Aja went over to Kyoko with this devilish look on her face and offered flowers to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kyoko's debut, which technically had passed since she debuted on 10/10/88. However, when Kyoko went to take them, Aja hit her over the head with them and tried a suicida, but Kyoko ran out of the way since it was way too soon. Of course, the flower spot didn't actually do any damage, but it showed that they wanted to do something different and that Aja still remembered how to raise hell. From here they built to the big spots little by little, combining low level high spots with stiffness and some wear down holds. Aja tried her diving body press, but Kyoko cut her off on the second. However, Aja dumped her over the top the floor, which Kyoko making a face to show she was scared of falling then taking a nice bump onto the ring apron before hitting the floor. This allowed Aja to hit the suicida they teased earlier. Aja threw Kyoko into the ring, and went to the spot Kyoko had just thwarted, the diving body press off the second, this time hitting it since Kyoko was hurting. Really, what separated this match from so many others was the way they incorporated the spots, logically ordering them with strong build through teases and counters. The next big spot they built to was Aja's backdrop driver, with Kyoko really putting over how much she didn't want to take them before countering the initial attempts and coming back with her lariats. They were already doing a really strong job of carry over selling at this early point. Outside the ring, Kyoko avoided a windsprint body attack, causing Aja to crash into the post. Kyoko then decided to try a windsprint of her own, of course using a lariat, but Aja turned it into a deadly backdrop driver on the hard wood floor, and both sold. As soon as they returned to the ring, Aja delivered two more backdrop drivers, which Kyoko sold like she was dead, for a great near fall. Kyoko made her comeback with a released German suplex off the 2nd. They built toward her Liger bomb because as strong as she is, she still isn't strong enough to truly be able to Niagara driver Aja. Of course, Kyoko had to weaken Aja with her lariats before she could deliver the Liger bomb for a near fall. One thing that made this match more dramatic was that Aja kept kicking out of Kyoko's near falls at the last second. This was especially effective because these two are peers and you could make a case as to why both women could/should have gone over here. The next focus was Aja's uraken. Aja was very persistent here, basically throwing them until Kyoko could no longer block or avoid it. Still, Kyoko was able to kick out, so both sold. Kyoko cut Aja off on the second again, but this time she delivered her killer Victoria driver (inverted Death Valley bomb, a move some people wrongly think Kobashi invented) for a 2 9/10 count. Kyoko tried for the Victoriadriver again, but Aja came back with her suichoku rakka shiki brainbuster for a 2 9/10 count. Kyoko just kicked out of the uraken, which really disappointed Aja. They traded big spots with both women looking like they were "just about dead." Aja was blocking Kyoko's lariat, so Kyoko turned it into a combination. Her right arm lariat was blocked, so she immediately did an enzui lariat with her left arm. Kyoko did a "Niagara driver" (more like another Liger bomb) for a near fall then pulled Aja up and lariated her for the win. The fact that Kyoko went down right on top of Aja when she lariated her made it a more convincing finish because she used her weight to add to the impact and she was immediately on top for the cover. 19:35. ****1/4 Miko: This match really worked for me. You had two big powerful women taking their best shots at each other. It was very hard hitting to the point it looked painful at times. Both women kicked out of each other's finishers, including Kyoko's Victoriadriver, but they sold the wear and tear of the match pretty well. Kyoko stuck to what she can do now. She occasionally flashed back with a surprise flying move, but most of the time she matched power with Aja, which is something she's more suited for now. Jason: This was a really excellent match. Once again because they kept the pace slow at the first, and didn't go to power moves until they wore each other down. They even showed that the power moves weren't going to work early because they were easily countered, which makes the power moves mean more in the end. This match basically held true to Kyoko's current form, her ability to take huge bumps is the best aspect of her work right now, while her weakest aspect is when she does her super-fast comeback after taking the huge bumps. For example, in this match Aja had backropped her on the floor and then twice more in the ring, but Kyoko just bounced right up like nothing happened. Special Thanks to: Jason Higgs & Miko Kubota - Michiku Pro 19:35
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